Pamushana News

13/01/2022

In Defence of Lindiwe Sisulu:

The SA Constitution is not Sacred and SA Judges are not Demigods.

By AGO Mutambara

13/01/2022

Minister Lindiwe Sisulu penned an opinion piece on 7 January 2022 titled: ‘Hi Mzansi, have we seen justice?’

It was quite a refreshing critique of the challenges confronting South Africa.

Sisulu’s right to express herself and the content of her remarks must be vigorously defended without equivocation or ambiguity.

On 8 January 2022, soon after I read the opinion piece, I publicly expressed the following remarks:

‘Wow, what a piece by Lindiwe Sisulu. I am pleasantly surprised that some in the ANC still get it and are prepared to articulate it eloquently. The issue is how to get such incisive thinking to influence the ANC and the country's direction. Is it a lost cause?’

I stand by these utterances.

There has been quite several articles and remarks attacking Minister Sisulu. The basis of the repudiation can be placed in three categories as follows:

1) The context and motive of the opinion piece.

It is argued that: 'Sisulu has been a Cabinet Minister, a leading parliamentarian and a key leader of the ANC for 27 years. What has she done about the issues she is raising in those years? She is a member of the RET faction of the ANC and is just campaigning for the ANC presidency.’

Well, I concede the context and motives of the Minister’s piece must be interrogated. However, the discussion must not end there.

That will be disingenuous and despicable.

The content of the piece must be engaged on its own merits. If your position is that: ‘The message is fine, but I don’t like the messenger,’ then say so and tell us what you are going to do about her unassailable message.

2) The opinion piece is an attack on the Constitution.

Well, a few questions will assist in dispelling this misguided disposition. Is the SA Constitution the supreme law of the land? Yes. Is the document sacred? No. Is it flawed? Yes, and it must be criticized, and fundamental changes sought. Why? Well, the SA Constitution is a ceasefire document (a settlement agreement) between the architects of Apartheid and its beneficiaries on one side and the victims of Apartheid on the other. It is a compromise and an imperfect document, pure and simple.

Obviously, such a Constitution will contain clauses, provisions and values meant to protect the interests of the architects and beneficiaries of Apartheid.

This is common sense.

3) The opinion piece consists of insults against the SA Judges.

The key mover of this view is SA Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. Well, who are these SA judges? Are they demigods or holy men and women who are not mentally influenced by their history and current circumstances?

Certainly not!

What is that history, and what are those current circumstances?

We can state a few aspects of the history - Slavery, Colonialism, Apartheid and Patriarchy. Currently, what do we have in SA? We have economic and social Apartheid
(Let us be clear, what ended in 1994 was political Apartheid, period), and of course, in 2022, we are still swimming in the pool of Neocolonialism and Patriarchy.

None of us (myself included) can claim to be completely free of mental slavery, colonized mindsets or patriarchal dispositions. None.

We are all consciously or subconsciously victims of our history and current circumstances.

Ngugi wa Thiong'o taught us that; ‘Decolonizing the mind is the most difficult exercise’, while Steve Biko asserted that: ‘The most powerful weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.’

Judge Raymond Zondo must show SA his certificate of mental decolonization, tell us when he obtained it and the person/authority that granted it.

No, he (like all of us) is still a mental victim of history and the SA context, consciously or subconsciously.

When someone says: 'Mutambara, you are displaying a colonized mindset and behaving like a male chauvinist,'

I should NOT be offended.

Instead, I should accept the criticism, review and reflect on my actions, do some soul searching and change my ways.

I am a product of colonial education and society, and I live in a neo-colonial and patriarchal society.

How can I vouch for the perfection and nobility of my subconscious mind? That would be crass arrogance rooted in unadulterated ignorance.

So, Judge Zondo and your colleagues take a deep breath and absorb the message from Minister Sisulu. Do some reflection, learn one or two things and change your ways.

We all must do this.

Another point. Don't tell us: 'Criticism is fine but insults, no.' Who are you to distinguish an insult from criticism? Under what authority do you make that distinction? Is that not a subjective exercise?

Just take the message from the Minister without labelling it. Is the idea to label the remarks as insults so that you can dismiss them without the thorough reflection that they deserve? Of course, only children will allow you to get away with that strategy.

There are none here.

In conclusion, let us have a healthy debate about the issues raised by Minister Sisulu. There should be no holy cows in the struggle to establish a SA characterized by peace, inclusive democracy, social justice and shared prosperity.

In that discourse, the SA Constitution is not sacred, and SA judges are not demigods.

https://bit.ly/3nom2hj

13/01/2022

Chamisa to boycott by-elections and cause chaos - Mupambi

In a controversial tweet that triggered a lot of mixed comments, renowned pro-democracy activist, Abigale Mupambi indicated that there is a high possibility of Chamisa and the team boycotting the upcoming March by-elections as a cowardly and yet disruptive way of running away from facing the heat ahead of the March 26 by-elections which were recently proclaimed by the President ED Munangagwa,

" l foresee Chamisa and team planning to boycott the By-elections hiding behind a finger. This is why they still cling to the MDC brand despite them knowing the consequences, the idea is to later gather some sympathy, hype the masses and cause chaos "

Her comments triggered a hit debate on Twitter with some Twimbos suggesting that her comments were just a mere nightmare which will not come to pass whilst some took the opportunity to dig into Chamisa whom they accused of always using the "jecha " approach to national politics and in some cases exposing his shortcomings in leadership.

Critics and some MDC loyalists took the opportunity to express their displeasure with the delay in the signal and clarity on the way forward following the declaration by Douglas Mwonzora, through a letter addressed to ZEC, that the MDC T will be using the MDC A banner ahead of the 26 March By-Elections.

Meanwhile, Chamisa is insisting on using the MDC A ticket despite clear indicators that the name is already compromised. Many MDC supporters are calling for the rebranding of the Chamisa led faction as a matter of urgency as they fear more damage ahead.

It seems Chamisa is now squeezed in between hard rock and a hard surface. Well, could the above prediction be accurate? Well, only time will tell.

https://bit.ly/3rgoRlW

17/09/2021

MDC Alliance eyes Uzumba & Mutoko Votes
THE opposition party MDC- Alliance vowed to stand up for rural communities and protect their rights especially during the elections.

During the press conference yersterday the MDC-T spokesperson Fadzai Mahere said they are going to mobilize and pe*****te in the rural areas to address the concerns of the residents.

BY BEAUTY NYUKE

“There is no plan for this regime to protect the rights of these people and we will do anything possible to protect them,” she said.

Mahere said the MDC Alliance set down and planed a mobilisation with their rural supporters who are being victimized by the ruling part.

Adding that the MDC supporters in Mutoko and Uzumba houses have been experiencing a lot of challenges probably for being MDC supporters.

Others’s houses were burnt and this means that MDC exists in rural areas.

She indicated that they also have local political leaders in rural areas just like the ruling part.

These local political leaders are responsible for disseminating information concerning how residents are being treated.

Mahere added that MDC Alliance is very much concerned about the welfare of children especially those who walk a long distance to and from school.

The secretary for rural mobilization Happymore Chidziva said in rural places like Uzumba and Mutoko have been receiving news from different sources that they are about to be displaced.

However the residents are saying they cannot be displaced from their own lands as they are entitled to that land.

Chidziva added that but ZANU- PF members are claiming to be the ones who freed the people of Zimbawe from the hands of enemies but this freedom seems to be on paper because citizens are crying and there is no freedom.

“We are meeting with communities right now and mobilize how we can do it but we have nothing much to do because communities are already fighting on their behalf,” he said.

Chidziva attributed the rural residents: “You have sold out our nation “watengesa ivhu redu zvakwana,”.

The MDC Alliance also called the institution like ZECC be independent and not to be influenced by ZANU- PF or having soldiers.

07/09/2021

Dr Shumba campaigns for 2023 presidency

THE founding President of ZimFirst Dr Maxwell Shumba Rusike yesterday said he is the best candidate for presidency due to his convergence efforts.

He said they are building their own party via building Silent Revolution (Chimhukutira-Umtshetsha) though they are not yet willing to divulge the strategy.

By Beauty Nyuke

“Convergence efforts. Its main focus was the ability to multitask at the highest level is key to my success”, he said.

He added that strategic prioritization is a unique capacity that he used to easily and efficiently manage juggling all the things that come to his table.

“That is why I am the best candidate for the Zimbabwe Presidency, the country has a myriad of problems that require a leader with expertise to multitask.”

He said they still have the challenge of the name because another Mujuru pennant Brigadier Mutambara, continues to use their name, adding that Zimfirst is founded on the principles of Honesty, Accountability and Unity.

He said the party has a clearly defined roadmap and a strategy for 2023.

Adding that with trillions of mineral and other natural wealth Zimbabwe can be a first world country.

“I want to get it right for Zimbabwe because people are tired of poverty and false promises”, Dr Shumba added.

He said MDC Alliance accepted the party that stole their name (Zimbabwe People First) and was engaged to fix that.

“On POLAD we believe it is not properly predicated”, he said.

Dr Shumba said people are tired of getting into elections and getting the same result, tired of being lied to and living like second class citizens in their own country.

Dr Shumba is a former member of the then non-partisan National Constitutional Assembly (NCA).

https://pamushana.co.zw/2021/09/dr-shumba-campaigns-for-2023-presidency/

27/07/2021

A new medical oxygen plant has been built in Mutare

In a major milestone, a medical oxygen plant has been built in Mutare by a company under the Harare Institute of Technology to ensure Zimbabwe has adequate supplies, especially as demand has risen with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Farirai Machivenyika-Senior Reporter (Herald)

The plant, expected to be formally commissioned by President Mnangagwa, will ensure that there are enough supplies of medical oxygen, which is used for first aid resuscitation for emergencies, during anaesthesia, giving life support for patients who can’t breathe on their own, and oxygen therapy.

Athletes also use medical oxygen at high altitudes or training.

Mutare-based Verify Engineering, a technology development agency under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, constructed the medical oxygen plant.

The company is mandated to create efficient technology-based companies to feed new ideas into the economy as well as take advantage of opportunities

It was established in 2005 and is now an integral part of the Harare Institute of Technology.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Professor Fanuel Tagwira spoke of the new plant when he appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education yesterday.

“The plant is now ready and will be commissioned by His Excellency the President at a date to be advised,” he said.

Further details on the plant would be availed when its commissioned.

To ensure the medical oxygen reaches the hospitals and others who need it, the company had already imported 5 000 cylinders with a further 5 000 set to arrive in the country soon.

Prof Tagwira also told the Committee that the company was also working on other projects that include the establishment of a coal-to-fertiliser plant and coal-to-fuel plant in Lisulu, Hwange.

The company has designed a pilot plant capable of producing 5 000 litres of fuel a day, synthesized using an iron based-catalyst. It has commissioned an air separation unit and is now constructing an acetylene plant.

Oxy-acetylene welding is common when electricity is not available for arc-welding and is critical for a great deal of metalwork done in areas not on the national grid, while being useful in other areas.

https://pamushana.co.zw/2021/07/a-new-medical-oxygen-plant-has-been-built-in-mutare/

21/07/2021

A Tale of Three Billionaires in Space

AGO Mutambara Reflections

Who are the three, and what are they up to?

a) Richard Branson – Space Vehicle - Virgin Galactic

b) Jeff Bezos – Space Vehicle - Blue Origin

c) Elon Musk – Space Vehicle - Space X

On Tuesday, 20 July 2021, with Jeff Bezos’s blast to the edge of space, the trio’s space odyssey was dramatically ignited.

Why? What is the rationale of it all?

a) To foster private sector-driven space exploration and activities as opposed to traditional state efforts such as those of NASA, European Space Agency, and space agencies of China, Russia, and India.

b) To appreciate the need to save the only habitable planet – the earth.

c) To internalise how small and insignificant the earth is with respect to the entire universe.

d) Human existence must become a multi-planetary and multi-solar system based.

The Vision and its Implications

a) Space tourism, moon landings by ordinary folks, launching more satellites into space, take people to space stations, landing people on Mars, extracting resources from space e.g., asteroid mining, satellite-based internet (a disruptive rival technology to both 5G and Fibre), exporting pollutants to space, carrying out manufacturing in space, and of course, eventual human space habitation.

b) Yes, there are many problems to be solved on earth. However, a case can be made for both addressing our earthly challenges and space exploration.

Insights, discoveries and commercial activities in space can complement the efforts to address the agenda of planet earth.

c) As Africans, we must not be unimaginative laggards, disinterested observers or noisy bystanders.

The African private sector, public sector and academia must embrace the space agenda its articulated ambitions.

The envisaged various space commercial enterprises are separately valued as trillion-dollar industries, which will, of course, have an impact on global GDP.

Indeed, Africa must get a piece of the action.

The tale of the three billionaires in space is an indisputable game-changer for our planet, solar system and universe.

The Three Videos:

a) See below: Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRaF3e0eOOc

b) See below: Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin)

https://www.wsj.com/video/watch-jeff-bezos-floats-in-space-after-blue-origin-launch/7C373DA4-5872-440D-B74E-F4CE59BBC87F.html

c) See below: Elon Musk (Space X)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2021-06-30/spacex-nails-landing-of-reusable-rocket-on-land-video

08/07/2021

The commander of the Zimbabwe National Army, Lieutenant-General Edzai Absolom Chanyuka Chimonyo, has died. According to Presidential spokesperson George Charamba, Chimonyo succumbed to cancer.

23/10/2020

SAA wants R350m blocked in Zimbabwe
SAA is in talks with Zimbabwe-based mining company Imani to repatriate blocked funds from the neighbouring country.

The airline’s rescue practitioners, Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, have already accepted the mining company’s offer to pay SAA in exchange for access to its funds in Zimbabwe, but are waiting for the approval from the department of public enterprises. In a letter sent to Imani on Wednesday, lawyers representing the rescue practitioners say discussions with the airline’s shareholders regarding the matter are ongoing.

Should the government accept the offer from the chrome mining company, SAA would be able to repatriate around R350-million of its revenues from ticket sales and other activities from Zimbabwe. These funds had been blocked by Zimbabwe while it tried to contain its monetary challenges such as foreign currency shortages and rising inflation.

The move to recoup the blocked funds comes amid continuing uncertainty about where the funds required to finance the cash-strapped airline’s rescue plan will come from.

Although remaining mum on the details of the transaction, SAA’s rescue practitioners told the Mail & Guardian that because the airline is under financial distress, any funding that can come into SAA would go a long way towards alleviating that distress.



Matuson and Dongwana have, however, confirmed that the airline has not received any other offer apart from Imani’s to acquire the funds from Zimbabwe.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) funds are deemed to be blocked if companies are unable to transfer revenue from one place to another for a period of two months due to exchange controls imposed by the host government.

Apart from exchange controls, funds may be blocked due to shortages of foreign currency, tax laws or the obligatory submission of documentary evidence of monthly activities required by some foreign countries.

When funds are blocked, a local firm (such as Imani) can offer to pay part of the funds to the foreign firm (SAA in this case) in exchange for access to the local funds. In its final offer letter, Imani says it has over the past three years assisted JSE-listed companies to settle their foreign obligations through a RBZ-approved mechanism.

Considering the national carrier’s liquidity challenges, the mining company says its offer would be able to inject much-needed cash into the airline in a short period of time.

The rescue practitioners rejected Imani’s initial offer of R50-million sent in August.

But, puzzlingly, SAA’s unaudited financial statements for the year ending March 2019 and submitted to parliament’s standing committee on public accounts in May show that R174-million in blocked funds remain in Zimbabwe. For the previous year, combined blocked funds from Angola, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire amounted to R687-million.

In response to Imani’s initial offer, the airline’s rescue practitioners requested that Imani increase its offer to R630-million, which amounts to 70% of the funds held by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).

In its final offer of R350-million, in September, Imani says its offer to SAA is fair considering the “inherent foreign currency risk and the monetary policy uncertainty Zimbabwe has”.

“In the past two years the RBZ has gazetted a number of statutory instruments that have created confusion in the market and culminated in a number of multinationals exiting the Zimbabwean market and writing off the respective legacy debt,” the offer reads.

The RBZ’s move has resulted in foreign companies with investments in the country making huge losses on their investments.

The airline’s legacy debt or blocked funds held in Zimbabwe trades at 30% less than the interbank rate (the rate at which banks trade currencies with each other), which is meant to be the official rate, according to Imani.

Sources close to the deal have told the M&G that a response on the offer is expected at the end of October, subject to approval from the national treasury.

Scrambling for funding
The offer to acquire the loss-making airline’s blocked funds comes as the government scrambles to find the funds required to finance SAA’s business rescue plan. The M&G previously reported that the scramble was one of the reasons finance minister Tito Mboweni requested that parliament postpone the presentation of the medium-term budget policy statement by a week.

Last week, the director general of the public enterprises department, Kgathatso Tlhakudi, told parliament’s portfolio committee on public enterprises that an announcement on the funding for the rescue plan would be made during the medium-term budget speech.

In September, the airline’s rescue practitioners suspended the airline’s repatriation flights and placed SAA under care and maintenance subject to the finalisation of the funding discussions. Without the funding, the pair told creditors that the airline would go into liquidation.

The public enterprises department said in a statement that funds would be reprioritised to finalise the implementation of the airline’s business rescue plan. The department added that lending institutions would also be approached to finance the restructuring process and honour commitments for voluntary severance packages and retrenchments.

The M&G understands that these discussions have come to nought as the airline’s major lenders have no appetite to finance the airline, which is sinking under its R16.4-billion debt burden.

The airline requires at least R10-billion to finance its rescue plan.

The government says the loss-making airline has received 20 unsolicited expressions of

interest from private sector funders, private equity investors and partners for a future restructured SAA.

These discussions are ongoing, according to the public enterprises department’s spokesperson, Sam Mkokheli.

Thando Maeko is an Adamela Trust business fellow at the Mail & Guardian

Share this:

23/10/2020

SAA is in talks with Zimbabwe-based mining company Imani to repatriate blocked funds from the neighbouring country. The airline’s rescue practitioners, Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, have already accepted the mining company’s offer to pay SAA in exchange for access to its funds in Zimbabwe, but are waiting for the approval from the department of public enterprises. In a letter sent to Imani on Wednesday, lawyers representing the rescue practitioners say discussions with the airline’s shareholders regarding the matter are ongoing. [ 826 more words ]

SAA is in talks with Zimbabwe-based mining company Imani to repatriate blocked funds from the neighbouring country. The airline’s rescue practitioners, Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, have already accepted the mining company’s offer to pay SAA in exchange for access to its funds in Zimbabwe, bu...

22/10/2020

USAID Announces Two New Food Security Programs Totaling US$130 Million
Harare, Zimbabwe, October 21, 2020- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on October 21 two new food security programs, Takunda and Amalima Loko. These five-year programs will target nearly 490,000 Zimbabweans in Matabeleland North, Masvingo, and Manicaland provinces.

“These two new programs will build on the United States’ investment in Zimbabwean people and tackle the root causes of food insecurity and poverty by assisting almost a half a million vulnerable Zimbabweans to transition from humanitarian assistance to resilience and self-reliance,” said USAID director Art Brown.

Takunda, a Shona word meaning “We Have Overcome,” is a US$55 million program implemented by CARE International. Takunda will target more than 301,000 Zimbabweans in two districts of Masvingo province, Chivi and Zaka, and two districts in Manicaland province, Buhera and Mutare. The program will empower women and youth to create sustainable livelihoods, improve agriculture practices and technology, and strengthen the governance and management of community assets and infrastructure, which will strengthen household and community resilience to shocks and stresses.

Amalima Loko derives its name from the Ndebele word for a group of people coming together to achieve a common goal and a Tonga word that means “genuine.” Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture will implement this US$75 million investment to improve food security for more than 188,000 vulnerable Zimbabweans in five districts of Matabeleland North Province: Tsholotsho, Lupane, Nkayi, Hwange, and Binga. The program will increase access to food, improve nutritional behaviors, and educate communities on sustainable watershed management.

USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the U.S. Government’s lead coordinator for international disaster assistance, provides life-saving humanitarian assistance—such as food, water, shelter, emergency healthcare, sanitation and hygiene, and critical nutrition services—to the world’s most vulnerable people.

Since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, the American people, through USAID, have contributed over $3.2 billion in assistance to Zimbabwe. Current projects include initiatives to increase food security, support economic resilience, improve health systems and services, and promote democratic governance.

# # #

For additional information, please contact Information Officer John Hishmeh at [email protected] or Development Outreach and Communications Specialist Doreen Hove at [email protected].

22/10/2020

Harare, Zimbabwe, October 21, 2020- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on October 21 two new food security programs, Takunda and Amalima Loko. These five-year programs will target nearly 490,000 Zimbabweans in Matabeleland North, Masvingo, and Manicaland provinces. “These two new programs will build on the United States’ investment in Zimbabwean people and tackle the root causes of food insecurity and poverty by assisting almost a half a million vulnerable Zimbabweans to transition from humanitarian assistance to resilience and self-reliance,” said USAID director Art Brown. [ 262 more words ]

Harare, Zimbabwe, October 21, 2020- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on October 21 two new food security programs, Takunda and Amalima Loko. These five-year programs will target nearly 490,000 Zimbabweans in Matabeleland North, Masvingo, and Manicaland provinc...

22/10/2020

Ethel Mupambwa among top 10 finalists of Africa’s Business Heroes prize
Zimbabwean entrepreneur Ethel Mupambwa is among the top 10 finalists of the Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) prize, a program to support and inspire the next generation of African entrepreneurs.

The program, which is in its second year, is created by the Jack Ma Foundation’s African Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI).

The organizer of the 2020 ABH prize announced its top 10 finalists on Monday, who will pitch at the competition’s grand finale in November, for a chance to win a share of a 1.5 million U.S. dollars prize pool.

The 10 outstanding entrepreneurs – half of whom are female – have been selected from over 22,000 applications across all 54 African nations, following several rounds of rigorous evaluation.

“I am excited. I am so so so excited, super excited. You don’t know what’s happening in me right now,” Mupambwa told Xinhua while struggling to contain her excitement.

Mupambwa is the co-founder and Executive Director of MoneyMart, a microfinance firm that provides its clients with tailor-made business loans and offers energy solutions to energy-poor households living off the electricity grid in rural areas.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency