High Court Judge Justice Garainesu Mawadze on Monday postponed to this Thursday the hearing of a request filed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) seeking leave to appeal against the acquital of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) board chairperson Beatrice Mtetwa two years ago. Mtetwa was cleared of charges of defeating or obstructing

Zimbabwe’s wildlife agency said on Monday that 173 kilogrammes of ivory valued at 43 000 US dollars was seized at the Harare International Airport at the weekend. Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Caroline Washaya-Moyo said in a statement three locals and one Malian national were arrested in connection with the smuggling. She said

According to the latest figures from Statcounter Global Stats, as at October 2015, for Zimbabwean internet use, Facebook commands 90.75% of internet traffic directed at social media and Pinterest is the second most popular social media platform with 3.26%, getting a slight lead over Twitter with a 2.82% share of traffic.

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Pinterest more popular than Twitter in Zimbabwe

(ANALYSIS)(12) twelve months after she signalled she is going for the Presidency, Joice Mujuru is still hiding from the public. It is now even 24 months before the crucial 2018 elections and she chooses to remain fudged under the thickets. To this day millions of desperate Zimbabweans are kept guessing on who will take on

Can feminism and Christianity co-exist? If you read this article, Feminism is evil!, the answer is an resounding and emphatic…

The post Can Christianity and Feminism Ever Mix? appeared first on Her Zimbabwe.

via IMF funds ‘specialised’ audits in parastatals – New Zimbabwe 26/10/2015

GOVERNMENT says the IMF has provided funding for “specialized audits” in the country’s collapsed and corruption ridden state enterprises with the aim of finding “scenarios” of revival.

Among the state enterprises which have collapsed are the Cold Storage Company (CSC), National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), Air Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) and the Grain Marketing Board (GMB).

Top management at most of these ailing parastatals have been accused of looting, at times fraudulently awarding themselves hefty salaries and personal loans at the expense of their struggling entities.

Flouting tender procedures, tax evasions and money laundering have also characterised most of these public firms.

Corporate Governance, State Enterprises and Delivery Unit permanent secretary in the Office of the President, Ambassador Stuart Comberbach, said specialised audits have already started in some of these state enterprises whose aim is to come up with “a range of scenario” for turning around the failing firms.

“That will, in some cases, certainly involve the coming in of joint venture partners of private partnerships, but it takes time to turn a monster like NRZ around or to get the road system back to the capacity where it should be at,” he told Newzimbabwe.com at the weekend.

He said after the audits, government should not only inject fresh capital but ensure that qualified personnel are given the mandate and responsibility of running these state enterprises.

“Reforming a parastatal is one thing and you need also need to make sure that the management knows what it is doing.

“Management at CEO, board and senior staff levels should be qualified and competent and we should also make sure that they are abide by sound good corporate governance principles which has not been the case with most of our state enterprises,” he said.

“A number of parastatals do not have full boards and others do not have boards at all and this is something which really needs to be addressed but it will take time seriously because we have 97.

“Moreover, you cannot run a modern economy if you do not have electricity and you need water and an efficient railway network.”

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People’s Democratic Party President Tendai Biti says President Robert Mugabe’s days are numbered and his death is going to destabilize the nation by causing a civil war emanating from lack of a succession plan in his Zanu PF party. President Robert Mugabe who has ruled the country since independence in 1980 has not allowed succession

Another ousted former vice President Joice Mujuru ally Paradzai Chakona who was the acting Zanu PF Masvingo Province has been fired. Chakona was booted out of the troubled party on Friday through a vote of no confidence at a provincial executive committee meeting. The party’s Masvingo provincial Secretary for Administration Ezra Chadzamira announced Chakona’s ouster on

Here’s a look at some of the aspects being examined in Zimbabwe’s proposed Cybercrime Bill and how it will change the scope of IT in the upholding of the law.

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Child porn, spam & everything illegal under Zimbabwe’s draft Cybercrime Bill

Business Reporter—
THE Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe has embarked on consultations to gather input towards a planned review of the licensing framework. The input is being sought from telecoms service providers, users, stakeholders and other interested parties to input towards a framework that promotes development of the sector.

POTRAZ said it intends to review the current service-specific licensing framework with a view to develop and ultimately implement a converged licensing framework.

“The proposed review is in keeping with the authority’s statutory mandate to promote the development of the postal and telecommunications sectors in Zimbabwe in line with technological advances and evolving consumer needs,” the telecoms regulator said. The objectives of the review include, the creation of a framework which is future proof (relevant for the next 20 years at least) and which allows the sector to embrace the benefits offered by cutting edge technologies such as next generation networks.

The review is also expected to ensure stronger sector growth in the industry anchored on innovation, fair competition, affordability and good quality of services, encourage free growth of new applications and services leveraging on the technological developments in the Information and Communication Technology) area. Further, the revised licensing framework will simplify licensing and enforcement procedures in the telecommunications sector and ensure flexibility and efficient utilisation of limited spectrum and numbering resources taking into account the technological developments in the sector as well as the need to maintain a level playing field.

POTRAZ currently licences operators under the different categories namely public switched network, public cellular telecommunication network, internet service providers, general postal, commercial courier, private network and private mobile radio. The converged licensing framework comes as the telecommunications industry regulator has of late been working hard to improve most aspects of its regulatory processes.

POTRAZ recently completed drafting of new stringent rules setting service and customer care standards for both the fixed network and mobile network telecommunications industries. The rules also compel operators to ensure minimum call completion rate of 80 percent. The new legislation will compel telecommunications firms to observe minimum service quality. The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe also recently completed the

initial draft rules for compulsory sharing of infrastructure in the telecoms sector. According to the draft, POTRAZ intends to audit the infrastructure to determine the areas for sharing with telecom companies compelled to submit information as requested from time to time. All telecom operators shall submit existing infrastructure sharing arrangements for approval within a period of 6 months from the effective date of the rules.

via Saving and planning skills change lives – The Zimbabwean 27.10.2015

A $5,000 grant has been put to good use by five young women to impact communities and transform lives, reports CLAYTON MASEKESA

Calling themselves Young Women in Enterprise (YOWE), a group of five young women has boosted the capacity of their sisters to launch businesses that impact their communities and transform their lives.

A grant from Foundation Mutual Trust (FMT), a charitable organisation, in 2013 enabled the women to continue their initiative to economically and socially empower young women in Mutare. The Programmes Director, Olivia Chisese said the women, aged between 20 and 30 from low-income areas of the city, had been empowered by the project.

“We are working with the young women so that they can avoid problems such as HIV and AIDS and go on to create employment for themselves. We have helped some of them to own businesses that support their communities,” she said.

The women have been trained in using tools to plan, implement and manage a small business. “We have linked the women to financing with an emphasis on the importance of savings. They have been receiving mentorship from leading women entrepreneurs. We have also launched mini-business plan competitions, which identify promising business ideas and enable talented entrepreneurs to further advance their businesses,” Chisese said.

Business skills
YOWE has already made a big difference in people’s lives. Joining the group enabled Catherine Matimati to stitch together her entrepreneurial vision of selling knitted goods. She became responsible for her family’s welfare after her parents died. She managed to attain a secondary school education but lacked a steady income.

“Through YOWE, I learned new business skills and used them, together with the $1000 in seed capital I won in the YOWE business plan competition, to launch a shop for my products,” she said in a recent interview.

She firmly believes that within 10 years she will be running a successful business with many employees and operating at several different locations.
Daphne Mugaradziko, 28, who operates a salon, said the business skills, support network and life skills such as HIV and AIDS awareness and prevention obtained through YOWE had created new economic opportunities for her.

Keeps me safe
“This has helped me to avoid the vulnerability that too often leads girls to become child brides or at risk for HIV and AIDS,” she said. “Because of my business, I have choices that help keep me safe and HIV-free. And today, I employ other girls from my community so that I can pass on what I learn and keep them HIV-free too,” added Mugaradziko.

Shylet Kadzura and Tsverukai Gonzo who run a sewing shop in Mutare said: “It was trust, belief and reliance on each other that kept us going and we are sure that our goals have been fulfilled.”

Gonzo said after sharing their profits, which they did not disclose, she had managed to buy roofing sheets for her house and send her two young sisters to school.

“We are saving other profits and we will put together our savings to expand our business to other areas and employ other women. This means that next year we can plan for other things, which will change our lives for the better,” she said.

“I am very thankful for this group as it has made us realise that we are not poor. Before, we had no chance of saving and planning, but this is exactly what this project has taught us,” Gonzo said. The women in the group hope that the programme will reach out to others who are not yet aware of this kind of wisdom and that they will be encouraged to form their own groups.

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When Zimpapers, Zimbabwe’s largest media company, announced its half year results two months ago, it reported a US $20,000 loss. Shortly after, the company apparently uncovered an error in its tax accounting for the period and had to adjust the accounts, effectively pulling itself out of the loss all the way up to a US $1.9 million profit. The company […]

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Zimpapers’ HY results and the challenges of a digital future the company faces

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The post Headline news 28 October, 2015 appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Former Vice President Joice Mujuru has been forced to upgrade her security amid fears that some of her political enemies in the warring post-congress Zanu PF “continue to plot day and night” against the presumptive People First leader. This comes as the Daily News has recently reported that the hapless widow of the late liberation

George Chisoko in New Dehli, India—
While the Western media, as expected, does not find anything positive to write on President Mugabe, the African media, whose voice matters the most on articulating issues the continent is grappling with, finds favour in him and hold him in very high esteem. A fortnight ago I wrote an opinion piece that sought to unpack the basis of President Mugabe’s popularity whereupon I concluded, as many other impartial observers and researchers have done, that it hinged hugely on his ability to craft and implement policies that resonate with the aspirations of the majority of Zimbabweans.

Indeed, the President is very popular in Zimbabwe, that is unquestionable. However, my interaction here with some of the 43 journalists from Africa attending the 3rd India-Africa Editors’ Forum, has made me walk with a spring in my step as they have attested to President Mugabe’s popularity, which they have attributed to his ability and willingness to respond to the needs of the people.

They also said his preparedness to ward off the interference of the West in the affairs of his country had, among other things, made him a standout performer in Africa and abroad. The journalists’ views exposed me to the fact that President Mugabe’s popularity was not only localised within Zimbabwe but extended beyond the borders of the country.

Upon learning that I was from Zimbabwe, the journalists have been quick to ask the question: “How is Mugabe?” and this has been the pattern since I have been here, which then prompted me to interview the journalists on their perception of President Mugabe. Some journalists were happy to be quoted in the story while others were a little uncomfortable because they feared they would cause their own leaders distress by the positive views they expressed about President Mugabe.

Liberian Rodney Sieh, the publisher of Front Page Africa, said: “President Mugabe is popular without any doubt because he stands up to the West, especially Britain and America which many leaders are afraid to do. He is a leader you would wish to have for a president any day and at any time.”

Kennedy Dhlamini of the Swaziland Observer said: “I like President Mugabe as a person because for me he is a leader among our leaders. “He leads the way in standing by the decisions he makes and for that I respect him for his principles. He is not afraid to take decisions and remains the only leader we have who is not easily shaken to do that.”

Yet another journalist, Mozambican William Mapote, who works for SOICO Group, had this to say: “Leaders, who today are criticising President Mugabe for his bold stance on many issues will in the next 10 to 20 years remember him and wish they had done the same for their countries.

“He provides the vision, the leadership and maturity needed to take, not only Zimbabwe forward, but Africa as a whole. He is the kind of a leader we want in Africa. “In fact, we need more Mugabes in Africa. Yes, I like my President too but I think he needs to be made of steel like President Mugabe and become assertive.” Mapote also cited the gay issue and said unlike other leaders, President Mugabe has been unequivocal on the matter, making it very clear to the world that the issue was not up for negotiation.

“This is what we expect leaders to do. They must desist against massaging the issues because they are recipients of aid and would thus not want to upset the money bags, No,” said Mapote.

Senegalese Aly Diouf, a journalist working for the Societe Senegalaise de Presse et de Publication (SSPP), while conceding that much of the information he knows about President Mugabe and Zimbabwe came from the Western media, which has never hidden its hatred for him, believes President Mugabe’s popularity stems from his refusal to pander to the whims of the West and its allies.

“I know him as someone who does not co-operate with the West on matters where his principles are put into ques- tion.

The land reform is a very good example where Britain and America were fiercely opposed but the President, because of the strong conviction he had that he was doing the right, did not abandon land reform but went ahead and today I hear many Zimbabweans now have land, farms. President Mugabe has fought so hard to have the free will to choose political and economic partners without having to be detected to by the West. It is important for a nation to be able to decide who its partners are,” he said.

Another journalist, who requested anonymity, said President Mugabe was the only leader of Africa and wished all leaders were like him. “I like his principles. The West’s interference is just too much and President Mugabe is one man who has stood up to its excesses. I shudder to think what Africa would have been without him. It is unthinkable, unimaginable.

“I am also thinking of President Mugabe’s famous statement a couple of years ago when he said to then British Prime Minister Tony Blair: ‘Blair, keep your England and I will keep my Zimbabwe’ something only a leader not given to fickleness of the mind would say to a leader of country that has the potential and capacity to provide aid,” said the journalist from Southern Africa.

Victor Kgomoeswana, who is the director of Africa Is Open For Business from South Africa, said President Mugabe’s legacy was unquestionable as he had done a lot for Zimbabweans from improving the literacy rate to land reform.

“Every leader must be striving always to improve literacy rate and to addressing land reform issues. He has earned respectability across the world because he has been able to identify the methods that work for his country. He is a legend, no doubt considering the immense contribution he has made to Africa, in general and Zimbabwe in particular,” he said.

Malawian Ephraim Munthali, who is the acting managing editor of Nation Publications Limited, said President Mugabe was popular because his message of pan-Africanism resonated much across Africa given the extent to which the West wanted to dominate the global agenda.

“He will remain popular for a very long time to come as people respect what he stands for. “He has endeared himself to a lot of people because he speaks more forcefully when other leaders want to pander to the whims of the West in the hope of getting more aid. “President Mugabe’s resistance of the West’s ‘one size fits all’ attitude linking problems in Africa to a lack of democracy has earned him love and respect among his people at home and those outside,” Munthali enthused.

Other journalists expressed similar views but felt the challenges facing Zimbabwe needed Zimbabweans themselves to tackle them with venom to make the country the legitimate economic hub of Southern Africa. To this end the Government has come up with the 10-Point Plan for Economic Development to turnaround the economy and, broadly, Zim-Asset to provide home-grown solutions to economic chal- lenges.

It is clear, therefore that while the Western media, as expected, does not find anything positive to write on President Mugabe, the African media, whose voice matters the most on articulating issues the continent is grappling with, finds favour in him and hold him in very high esteem.

Opposition MPs want Parliament, through the portfolio committees of Finance and Agriculture, to probe First Lady Grace Mugabe on what they say is her abuse of public property — in the wake of her ongoing “donation” of government-sourced farming equipment to Zanu PF supporters only. Speaking during a parliamentary debate on Wednesday, Vice President Emmerson

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via Indian killer begs to be deported to Zim – New Zimbabwe 27/10/2015

ONE of India’s most wanted criminals Chhota Rajan, who was arrested in Bali, Indonesia on Sunday, had pleaded with the police officers to deport him to Zimbabwe claiming threat to his life in India.

Bali CID officer Major Reinhard, who arrested Rajan at the airport, told India Today newspaper that the underworld don had pleaded with him to be sent to Zimbabwe and not to India.

“When we took him for interrogation, initially, he refused to accept that he was Chhota Rajan.

“He kept on flashing his passport which mentioned his name as Mohan Kumar. But, later confessed that he indeed is Chhota Rajan,” Major Reinhard said.

“There is a threat to my life in India, please take me to Zimbabwe,” the CID official quoted Rajan as saying.

Rajendra Nikalje, widely known as Chhota Rajan, has been on Interpol’s wanted list since 1995 for running a crime syndicate that engaged in extortion, arms smuggling and contract killing.

Rajan’s arrest has come at a time when the Modi government is stepping up diplomatic pressure on Pakistan to hand over his former partner and underworld boss, Dawood Ibrahim, suspected of militant links.

Dawood masterminded India’s deadliest bombings, which killed at least 250 people and wounded more than 700 in Mumbai in 1993.

It is not clear why Rajan wanted to be deported to Zimbabwe.

He, however, would have probably found it difficult to be accepted by President Robert Mugabe’s government which is keen to keep India as a partner as Harare seeks to turnaround the country’s troubled economy.

Only Monday Mugabe travelled to New Delhi to attend the third India-Africa Forum Summit.

India is emerging as one of Harare’s main partners as the Asian nation is now funding strategic projects in Zimbabwe.

Moreover, Mugabe is known to trade wanted people with strategic countries for economic gain.

A few years ago, Mugabe handed over former British army officer Simon Mann to Equatorial Guinea as a way of securing deal with the oil rich West African nation.

Mann had been arrested together with other mercenaries in Harare in 2004 where their plane had landed to load arms with which they wanted to stage a coup in Malabo against Teodoro Obiang Nguema Basogo.

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Dr Sekai Nzenza On Wednesday
“MY children have the humour and laughter of English people,” said my cousin Reuben, the one who lives in Australia. “And when I tell them funny stories from the village, they look at me and say, huh? Then they say, “That’s not funny dad.” And they walk away, just like that.” Reuben told me this when we spoke on Skype a few weeks ago. “Then when you see them watching American or British comedies on television, they laugh their heads off at something that is not remotely funny,” he continued.

I could relate to Reuben’s feelings. I had been there myself. Humour is cultural and it has a lot to do with language. How many times have I tried to translate a joke to my English friends and they simply smile politely and then say nothing? That silence means, thanks but honestly, what you just said is not funny. So I have since stopped translating Shona jokes or African type jokes into English.

I recall, many years ago, when I was a student in Australia and I went to see a film called “Death in Brunswick.” I was with my Australian friend Alison. In the film, there is a scene whereby a man walks around a graveyard and digs up one grave. Then a ghost skeleton with some flesh rises up, oozing horrible fluid. I almost jumped out of my seat with fear and turned away from watching the screen. My friend Alison and the rest of the audience went into hysterics with laughter.

“If your children spoke Shona they would be laughing more,” said my cousin Piri, standing behind me and speaking on to the computer screen to Reuben on Skype. Then Reuben and Piri started arguing. Piri said Reuben and his wife had failed as parents to teach Shona to their Diaspora children.

How could they expect them to laugh at Shona jokes even if these jokes are translated into English?

Reuben tried hopelessly to defend himself, saying he went to Australia more than 10 years ago and at that time, his children spoke Shona fluently. But too much work, absence from home and the environment had made it difficult for him to maintain the language and the Shona humour in his family. “Ah, how we used to laugh back in the village,” said Piri. She then started laughing as she reminded us of the day when a tall woman from Manhika, the valley along the Save River once burst into our grandmother, Mbuya VaMandirowesa’s kitchen hut.

I recalled that time too. It was just after sunset and outside, it was about to rain. We all knew the tall woman as the one who had gone to prison in Enkeldoorn (Chivhu) for some time when she was arrested for growing marijuana.

The woman was unusually tall and skinny. Unannounced, she burst in singing: “Chenjerera, mhuka inonzi munhu, yakaparadza Sodom ne Gomorrah iwe!” The tall woman danced in the middle of Mbuya’s hut without formally greeting anyone. Then she leapt into the air, clapped her hands and shook her small bottom. Her bare cracked feet made thunderous sounds on the mud kitchen floor. We sat on the bench as Mbuya kept on laughing while preparing pumpkin leaves for our evening meal.

Mbuya then put aside the vegetables and stood up to join the tall woman in the song and dance. Suddenly, there was a show going on. We clapped and sang along with them. After a while, the tall woman stopped singing. Breathless and sweating, she greeted Mbuya with both hands. They laughed, hugged and shook hands. After a brief formality relating to health and general well-being, Mbuya then said, “You are back from prison?”

The tall woman laughed again and in great humour, she told us how her husband has been growing marijuana along Save River for years. One day someone told the police about it and he got arrested. But they had already agreed between husband and wife that if he ever got caught, she would be the one to take the blame because women breast feeding were given lesser sentences than men. She was sentenced to three years jail but she served for one -and-a-half years only.

“Ndaive bhanditi rine tsika,” she said, meaning she was a well-behaved inmate in prison. And she laughed so much about her experiences though they were painful.

Humour eased the pain.
Piri was unstoppable. She kept on laughing, reminding us of one humorous village incident after another. “But we are not in the village any more. When we lived back there, everyone was a comedian. Everyone had a story to tell,” said Reuben. “And when we came to town, there were all the television dramas,” Piri said, recalling the humorous dramas of Safirio Madzikatire as Mukadota and Katarina and other dramas with Chibhodhoro and Mutirowafanza.

“Send me some videos so I can laugh,” said Reuben.

Instead of reassuring Reuben that we can get him some humorous videos, Piri just made it worse. Looking at Reuben on the Skype camera she said, “Iwe, humour yakapera nechurch. Zuva nezuva vanhu vanofunga chekudya, zvitadzo zvavo nekuenda kudenga. Vanowanepi nguva yekuseka? Kusekei? ” meaning the people’s humour has been taken away by the church. Day after day, people think about what to eat, their sins and going to heaven. Where would they get time to laugh?

She walked away from the computer to twist open her bottle of beer and talk to someone on the phone.

She was gone for a while.

By the time Piri came back, she found Reuben laughing his head off with eyes looking at me and also at the screen on his other computer. I had just introduced Reuben to Anne Kansiime, the Ugandan comedian whose humorous video clips make many people laugh so much.

I discovered Anne Kansiime a couple of years ago. She uses a Ugandan accent to speak in English. Sure, it would take some time and serious interest for a Westerner to understand Anne’s humour. But this 28-year-old girl, can cross any African language barriers with her comedian skits.

One of her best short piece is the incident of the girl in a miniskirt.

Anne is walking down a lane way in Uganda, which looks like any other place in Mbare or somewhere in Africa. She meets a young girl wearing a very short skirt. Anne immediately asks the girl where she thinks she is going wearing that short piece and revealing so much of her thighs.

“Those are not legs, but arms,” Anne says. While the girl stands there trying to pull down her skirt, Anne continues, “You think some of us who do not show our legs do not have them?” Anne pulls her skirt up a bit and says her legs are even better than those of the girl and tells the girl that if she continues walking down that lane way, Anne would make sure there was a riot against the miniskirt.

In another short clip, Anne is campaigning to be an MP. There are people listening to her speech. Behind her is a pile of shoes that she wants to handover to people as gifts. Her audience is listening to her and shouting slogans in support of Anne. Then Anne pauses and asks them to look at the shoes. She lifts one shoe and tells them that they will get shoes today. The people are excited. “But wait,” Anne tells them. “You always say you will vote for me and you don’t. This time I will give you one shoe as deposit and when I win, you can have the other shoe!”

Apart from Anne Kansiime and other African comedians, we are beginning to see that there is universal humour if both the African and the Western contexts are merged well. African American comedians have crossed these cultural and racial boundaries. Bill Cosby, Will Smith and Whoopi Goldberg are among the funniest ones.

South Africa has produced Trevor Noah. He is able to laugh at his mixed race upbringing and merge it with the Zulu or Xhosa contexts. Americans of different backgrounds have embraced him. The British have produced Mr Bean and of course, the classic Faulty Towers and many others. As some of us move more and more to the Internet and digital age, that village communal humour is fast disappearing.

We are forced to enjoy humour that crosses boundaries of race, language, culture, the city and the village.

Dr Sekai Nzenza is a writer and cultural critic.

Zimbabwe’s state owned fixed line mobile operator TelOne says it expects to conclude negotiations for a $98 million loan facility from China’s Exim Bank to finance its network modernisation program before year end. Part of the modernisation plan entails replacing the company’s entire network and embarking on a backbone fibre optic transmission and broadband access