LOCAL NEWS

Staff reporter

Mass graves at Chibondo Monument in Mt Darwin are a sad reminder of the atrocities committed by the Rhodesian government on the people of Zimbabwe during the struggle for independence.

Staff reporter 

Author and Government critic, Tsitsi Dangarembwa has sharply condemned the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) for describing party leader, Nelson Chamisa’s wife as the mother of Zimbabwean citizens.

The CCC communication department, which is headed by Fadzai Mahere, who is deputised by Gift Siziba, on Saturday responded to CCC leader, Nelson Chamisa’s birthday message to his wife, Sithokozile Chamisa by tweeting a message which included a reference to Mrs Chamisa as the mother of Zimbabweans.

“A special birthday wish to the mother of the citizens. May you be strengthened as you strive daily and work towards a new great Zimbabwe,” gushed the department.

Within an hour of the post, which was made at 1932hours, Dangarembwa, who was not amused by the department’s reference to Chamisa’s wife as her mother since she is a citizen of Zimbabwe, shot back. She argued that Mahere and her department had no right to regard Mrs Chamisa as the mother of all Zimbabwean citizens.

“We have to resist this, (we must) not get carried away and (we should) keep our feet on the ground. The respectable Mrs Chamisa, who I don’t even know, is the wife of Zimbabwe’s…opposition leader. She is not the mother of Zimbabwean citizens. You have no right to claim (that) she is my mother,” fumed Dangarembwa.   

Other Zimbabweans such as a netizen who uses the name Bingo Mukaya agreed with Dangarembwa.

“She is Nelson’s wife, one of the opposition leaders in Zimbabwe. She is the mother to Nelson’s children! Finished,” he tweeted.

One Mbonisi Ncomanzi agreed with Dangarembwa and argued that if opposition members refused to recognise people such as First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa as a mother they should not regard Chamisa’s wife as their mother. He called out Mahere and the opposition outfit for hypocrisy.

“I respect your view and agree with it completely. We rebuke it when ZANU PF (members) does it, so must we when our party copies such,” he tweeted.

Other CCC members, smarting from Government critic, Hopewell Chin’ono’s regular criticism of the opposition party and its leadership, which its members think are somewhat self-righteous, a pissed off James Chikonamombe accused Dangarembwa of thinking too highly of herself.

“Zimbabweans in high positions rarely humble themselves. Everyone takes the ‘main actor’ syndrome to stratospheric levels,” he posted.

This is not the first time that Mahere has clashed with a CCC sympathiser or supporter. Many CCC supporters do like her because of the way she routinely embarrasses the outfit through using her position to communicate her personal opinions as the party’s official position. She was convicted on 5 April of charges of publishing falsehoods arising from her January 2021 tweet in which she lied that a police officer had beaten to death a child strapped on its mother’s back with a baton stick in Harare.

The conviction worsened the already-strained relations between her and most CCC members who felt that she had tarnished the party’s name.  

Staff reporter

Nelson Chamisa’s candidate selection process has started to widen fissures within that party as allegations of imposing candidates with financial muscle are already doing rounds.

Staff Reporter

Lessons that there is no such thing as a free meal are coming heavy and practical for the under pressure Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader, Nelson Chamisa whose party financiers are demanding constituencies to represent ahead of the 2023 Harmonized General Elections.

CCC has been running a myriad of fundraising projects from the GoFundMe initiatives to approaching Civic Societies and individuals for financial support; a clear testimony of crippling effects of donor fatigue.

The Harare Post spoke to a highly placed source in that party who confided that Chamisa had a lot of people and enablers to thank and please and is running out of time and space before the 2023 Harmonized General Elections dawn on him. The source confided that Chamisa failed to control the nomination process resulting in skirmishes and bribery storms as tussling ensued amongst the young turks and the old guard.

“Chamisa is under pressure from the same people who claimed they were helping him personally, the party and its projects financially. Last week, businessman Lovemore Jimu from Tafara threatened to go public over US$6000 that he is owed by Chamisa. Jimu claimed that Chamisa had promised him an opportunity to represent CCC in Harare Central constituency in the upcoming plebiscite.

“However, Chamisa was irked by Jimu’s incessant demands for his money. In this regard, Chamisa elbowed him out of the Harare Central nomination race. The impasse is so tense and is not being helped by continued demands for constituencies by that party’s enablers. This has resulted in the delay of nomination results in several constituencies as the party deploys the balancing act,” said the source.

Meanwhile, Chamisa is also reportedly under fire from the Civic Society Organisations to accommodate Maureen Kademaunga who has been mobilizing and campaigning for CCC from the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The quest for money has also left Chamisa with little or no choice, but to also make room for Gift Banda in Lobengula constituency in Bulawayo. Indications are that Chamisa is afraid that Banda could run as an independent and retain the seat, should CCC try to outmanoeuvre him.

Staff Reporter

Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) members continue to lose confidence in their leadership which they accuse of being inept and childish.

According to an impeccable source within CCC, there is fallout amongst that party’s senior members, with Nelson Chamisa being accused of turning a blind eye on the wrangle.

Political Reporter

Former Cabinet Minister and political analyst, Professor Jonathan Moyo has dismissed the Al Jazeera documentary on alleged gold smuggling activities in Zimbabwe, as nothing but a disjointed thesis.

Professor Moyo said that it was evident that the Gold Mafia documentary had failed to tarnish the image of the Government, as has been anticipated by many people.

“Now that three of its four episodes have been - and notwithstanding the fact that the fourth episode might have bombshells in the form of controversial or shocking utterances by its main interlocutors - there is nothing that the last episode will do to save the documentary's disjointed and incoherent thesis, which would have long gone up in smoke but for the gripping and often self-incriminating verbatim claims of its greedy interlocutors,” said Prof Moyo.

Professor Moyo added that the documentary was poorly researched and had a political agenda to smear the good name of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).

“This is one of the most important clips in the Al Jazeera documentary, which exposes either its sloppy and shockingly poor research, or its deliberate distortion and misrepresentation of evidence to smear RBZ in the malicious hope that distortion and misrepresentation will have enough propaganda value to incite the sanctioning of the RBZ and the grey listing of Zimbabwe to push a nefarious political agenda to the detriment of lives and livelihoods in the country,” added Prof Moyo.

According to Professor Moyo, the Al Jazeera documentary has not presented a shred of evidence to show that the RBZ has abused the country's banking and financial system to aid and abet the gold smuggling and money laundering operations of the ‘Gold Mafia’.

“To be sure, and without any doubt or fear or favour whatsoever, RBZ must be held fully accountable for any wrongdoing by it or its officials; but the wrongdoing must be factually demonstrated or proven, and not merely alleged.  The Al Jazeera documentary has not demonstrated or proven any of gold smuggling or money laundering against RBZ,” said Professor Moyo.

Meanwhile, the last episode of the Gold Mafia documentary is expected to be aired today by Al Jazeera with many people already dismissing the entire documentary as a failed political project that wanted to damage the reputation of the ruling Government ahead of this year’s plebiscite..

 Staff Reporter

The European Union (EU) is expected to exhibit at the upcoming Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) to be held in Bulawayo from25 to 29 April 2023.

This years’ event will be running under the theme ‘Transformative Innovation, Global Competitiveness.’

In a press statement, the Chairperson of the ZITF board, Busisa Moyo informed that this year’s event would see guest speakers from the EU gracing the occasion among other dignified speakers such as Vice President Constantino Chiwenga who will be the guest of honour at the second edition of the Connect Africa Symposium.

"The Vice President of Zimbabwe, Honourable General (Rtd) Dr C. G. D. N. Chiwenga will be the Guest of Honour. Some of the other confirmed speakers thus far include representatives from the European Union, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, African Development Bank (AFDB)," said Moyo.

An economist, Simon Tsoro commended the ZITF board for organising this year’s event, which will host the EU bloc for the first time, an indication of thawing relations between Zimbabwe and the EU.

"The ZITF board has done a great job in organising this year's event, the exhibition of the European Union is testimony to the warming of relations between the Second Republic and the EU. The ZITF is a noble stage as it locates the country at the epicenter for fortifying local and regional enterprise ecosystems to be able to compete on the global stage.

"The international and multi-sectorial trade showcase will be both a meeting arena and a learning platform for industry players to accelerate their growth and innovate with impact," said Tsoro.

Meanwhile, the ZITF Diplomat’s Forum organised in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade will run under the theme “Crafting a Global Landscape of Resilience and Innovation Strategies for International Competitiveness. The meeting will bring together businesses, governments and international institutions with the aim to expand access to a global exchange of ideas and knowledge.

Staff Reporter

Varun Beverages Private Limited is one of the first transnational companies to heed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s call in 2018 that Zimbabwe is open for business, thereby strengthening bilateral and trade ties between Zimbabwe and India.

Political Reporter

A man who was sodomised by Norton independent legislator, Themba Mliswa in 2003, has come out in the open and said he was still traumatized by the incident.

Staff Reporter

The Government has listened to the public’s outcry on traffic congestion and has embarked on a blitz to curb traffic congestion and reckless driving in Harare.