Top stories for August 6- 10

Capital City of corruption– Finance Minister has described the State Procurement Board, which is responsible for awarding all major government tenders, as the “capital city of corruption” which was even awarding tenders to briefcase business people.  “When you talk about corruption, be it in government or the private sector, first look at the procurement system. This is the capital city of corruption.  Public procurement systems are strategic tools that can either make or destroy a country. They are central to economic value chains and it is the procurement function that can normalise or distort the cost structure in an economic system,” Chinamasa said, according to The Herald.  “When it comes to tenders, something which I have noticed and which worries me is the dominance of briefcase businesses in the tender system. People come to bid yet they do not own anything and, say it is a tender for soap, you will find out they do not have a factory but they are the people who get the tender. The next thing after winning the tender they go to the people who make soap. By so doing the cost structure is different.  We have to do due diligence on those who tender and find out where they are going to find their supplies. We have to enhance the public procurement legislation and governance structures to minimise distortions, that is, the role of middlemen and collusion (with SPB) that increases the cost of doing business and also reach out to a broader supplier base.”

Zim First Lady says MP is harassing her

First Lady Grace Mugabe said Mazowe South legislator Fortune Chasi was terrorising her in Mazowe where she has a children’s home and had told people in the area that she and her husband wanted to take all the land in Mazowe.  She said that Chasi, who is the Deputy Minister for Justice, was very rich and was using his money to hire lawyers to block her from getting more  land. “I must be open and honest. Muno muconstituency muno tina MP munyowani, ini handinyatsomuzivi anonzi Chasi . . Ndakangonzwawo kuti ane mari sitereki saka anenge achienda kumalawyer. Zvazvakaita ndakaita apply pane conservancy iri kuseri uko which was being run by the whites.  Ndikangoona yakagara, then I applied to use it to raise mari yekuchengeta vana pano apa ndobva ndapiwa tsamba inini. Saka vanhu vakangozvigarisa vaichera chera imomo vakanzi vabude, iye akati ‘muri kuvaburitsirei? Mugabe nemukadzi wake vari kuda kutora land yese’.  Akaenda kucourt nevanhu vaye kuti kana hazvimboite. Iye akapiwa farm naVa (Martin) Dinha akariramba. Akatengwa nemurungu akapiwa mari akati handiride,” the First Lady was quoted by The Herald as saying.  Grace Mugabe has been proposed at the secretary for the Women’s League which will see her going into the party’s highest body, the politburo.

Why Oppah is quitting

Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front women’s leader Oppah Muchinguri says she has decided to step down because of the nasty things that are being done by some of the party members.  Muchinguri who has proposed First Lady Grace Mugabe to take over said: ““President vari kuti mafarm ipai mayouths. Ivo vari kutora vachipa vana vavo. Migodhi ndeyavo, madiamonds ndeavo, fertiliser ndedzavo.  Mukaona ndasvikawo neWomen’s League kuti kwete nguva yatasvika iyi zvave kutoda Mai kuti vaone zvinhu zvaita musangano, mbavha dzakaitwa nursed naPresident dzakaba mamines, dzakaba mapurazi dzanakirwa zvino dzave nematumbu akadai . . . vave kuda zvino kuti dai President vachibva vachengete loot yavo.”  Though she did not name anyone her comments seemed to be targeted at Vice-President Joice Mujuru, who is believed to be one of the major contenders for president if ZANU-PF leader Robert Mugabe leaves office mid-term.  Mujuru’s main rival is Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa who allegedly leads the hardliners. Mujuru allegedly leads the reformists who are prepared to bring in big business.  Though factionalism seems to have worsened as the race for succession hots up, this has always been a trend when ZANU-PF does not face a strong opposition.  Minister for Provincial Affairs for Mashonaland East Simba Mudarikwa told United States officials nearly five years ago that ZANU-PF was like TNT but they quickly ganged up in the face of an enemy.   He said ZANU-PF was like a troop of baboons “incessantly fighting among themselves but coming together to face an external threat”.

CMED boss sent on forced leave

The managing director of the CMED, Davison Mhaka has been sent on forced leave pending investigations into a US$3 million fuel scam in which an oil company, First Oil, failed to deliver three million litres of diesel to the parastatal. The fuel manager Brian Manjengwa was also suspended to facilitate investigations.  In his letter to Mhaka, CMED board chairman Godwills Masimirembwa said: “Please be advised that the CMED board of directors has resolved to send you on an indefinite forced leave on full benefits with immediate effect. This step has been taken to facilitate investigations being carried out by the board regarding the First Oil transaction in which CMED was prejudiced (of) US$2.7 million.  Note that while on leave you are not allowed to visit any CMED premises for whatever reason, unless you have been granted permission to do so by the board.” Manjengwa was given until 15 August to respond to charges of gross unsatisfactory work performance, willful disobedience to a lawful order, theft or fraud and gross disregard of standing procedures or rules.

What is happening in ZANU-PF, Mugabe asks?

The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front youth conference was well planned but poorly implemented with delegates not getting enough buses and food to the extent that President Robert Mugabe had to bail them out. Although Mugabe blasted his lieutenants, he never answered the question about who was to blame or how things went wrong. But he asked a very interesting question: What is happening in the party?   “We have started late, why? Mabhazi anga asina kuoganaizwa. Vanhu vanga vasina kunotorwa kune dzimwe nzvimbo even now. Why, why, why?  I will not accept kuti zvinonzi tanga tisina mari, mari yemabhazi. Ko, masubscriptions evanhu ari kuenda kupi? Ehe we must be frank, I am just not happy!  The whole of the Central Committee has been sitting to plan these conferences on the basis that the financial side of the party, those who are responsible for raising finances of the party, are doing so, only to be told that we don’t even have a single cent.  What is happening in the party? I have also been informed kuti kwakaiswa vanhu, apart from the delay in transport, havana kudya. Aah! Tiri kushaya kana kugadzirira vanhu? Hapana zvokudya, we cannot provide food for the people?  The Central Committee, what are we doing? Why members dzepamusorosoro? And that is the situation yandanga ndichiudzwa tisati tapinda muno kuti hakuna zvekudya iye zvino. So, ndati kuna Mai Mugabe, takarima chibage, 1 000 tonnes ngavanotora uko, pane kuti tinzi hakuna. There is nothing at all kune vanhu. Okay, hupfu hunodaka kubika nenyama saka tati tinotora mombe dziriko. Within the party isu members tobva tatadza kana kuita macontributions? So, it doesn’t matter how many cattle whether they are 20 or 30 tati ngadzinotorwa dzenyama. It’s very painful. Mukaka tomborega kutengesa kuDairy ikoko. Ngauuye upihwe vanhu vanwe tea ine mukaka.” This was quite revealing especially in view of what Mugabe said next.  “Our people are generous people. You can’t tell me our people could not donate even a cent towards this Congress. Anyway, we shall look at the matter tozvivheneka isu vatungamiri nokuti vanhu are just concentrating on power, zvimusangano…but where does the power come from?  It comes from these people. So, I would want to apologise for the inconveniences. Saka mozvibata tichagadzira kuti muve nebetter stay. I just don’t want what has happened. Saka tichange tichigadzira navaSikhosana. I will ask some members vatichasarudza from the Central Committee kuti tiite committee yekubata zvinhu to manage the conference and the welfare of the conference.”

Mugabe and political prostitutes

President Robert Mugabe blasted his lieutenants for vote buying at the youth conference but also warned the youth leaders that they did not serve to be leaders if they could be bought. “You are not political prostitutes, are you?” he asked.  ‘’I know there have been hitches, ndinoziva zvangu kuti vakuru vamwe vakamboedza apa nepapa, some monies and so on. Get away from that! Mukaita tsika yekujaira kupihwa mari and you want to act nekuti ndatopihwa mari kana ndisina kupihwa mari hapana chandinoita, you are spoiled already. ’To me you don’t deserve to be a youth leader at all. If you allow other people to buy you and if you have voted because ndakapihwa mari nangana kuti ndivhote nepapa nemutowo uyu ende ukavhotawo nemutowo iwowo nekuti wapihwa mari, goodness me, you are rubbish. ’You are just rubbish, dirty rubbish as the person who has given you money both of you. The giver and the given are alike but we know, you have emerged, most of you are not like that but some are like that we know and kumusoro kwedu kune vane tsika iyoyo, vanonotsvaga mari yekuti vatenge kuti vadiwe, kutenga kuti udiwe. You are not political prostitutes, are you? Some people will want to make you political prostitutes.’’

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