Hwange put under reconstruction

Mr Shava is also going to serve as the assistant administrator.

The gazette further reads: “Direct that, from the date of publication of this order – the company under reconstruction shall be under the control and management of the administrator, and the boards of the companies under reconstruction shall be divested of the control and management of the companies’ affairs and any person managing or controlling the companies’ affairs in any capacity other than as simply a member of the board referred to above shall continue in the office subject to the control and direction of, and be answerable to, the administrator.”

Sources close to this matter confirmed to the Herald yesterday that the administrator had hit the ground running and yesterday had already moved in at Hwange Colliery offices in Harare.

“The administrator has already moved in as the parent ministry moved in line with its set goals of meeting the 2030 Vision targets as enunciated by the President,” said the source.

Top Harare lawyer Advocate Lewis Uriri said the effect of the extra ordinary Government Gazette was that Hwange Colliery board had automatically dissolved by operation of the law.

“This means that the board function now vests in the administrator,” he said. “The underlying rationale is that this is a state enterprise that is insolvent because of failed management. With a different manager the fortunes of the enterprise may be turned around and its operations “reconstructed”. This is the equivalent of corporate rescue provisions such as judicial management. The staff remains in place but the policy and strategic vision ordinarily reserved for the board is now vested in the administrators who will now direct management.”

A senior manager at Hwange Colliery Company last week had hinted that Government might consider reconstruction of the company given a myriad of challenges it was facing.

“Government may consider a reconstruction exercise which works in three principles. The first principle is that Government has to be owed money, the second works on the basis that the company is insolvent and the third principle works on the basis that if properly reconstructed, the company can turn around the fortunes and Hwange fits in all those three. Firstly, because it owes money to Government in excess of US$150 million, secondly its liabilities far exceed its assets and thirdly it’s a good asset which if properly run, should be able to operate profitably. Therefore, based on that, there is merit in having the company reconstructed.” FORMER Bulawayo High Court senior judge Justice Francis Bere has been elected president of the Sadc Administrative Tribunal (SadcAT) during the court’s elections held in Gaborone, Botswana on Monday.

Justice Bere, who was recently elevated to the Supreme Court, joined the seven-member bench of the SadcAT last year in April.

His appointment to the SadcAT is for a period of two years, which is renewable once in accordance with the Sadc administrative statutes.

He takes over the presidency of the regional court from Eswatini High Court judge Justice Mbutfo Mamba.

In an interview from Gaborone yesterday, Justice Bere said during his tenure of office he would strive to ensure that there is promotion of transparency in the administration of the affairs of SadcAT.

“I am humbled by my election to the presidency of this regional court. I wish to assure my fellow judges and all stakeholders that there shall be continuity and transparency in the administration of the affairs of SadcAT. I also would like to pay particular tribute to our outgoing president Honourable Justice Mbutfo Mamba from Eswatini and her deputy, Her Ladyship Justice Fulgency Chisanga of Zambia for the sterling work they did in the inchoate stage of our court,” he said.

Justice Bere was appointed to the SadcT during the Sadc Council of Ministers which was held in Ezulwini, Swaziland between March 15 and 16 last year. He was subsequently sworn in three months later in Gaborone, Botswana.

The SadcAT came into effect at the Sadc Summit in Botswana in August 2015, which passed a resolution approving its formal establishment, succeeding the controversial Sadc Tribunal whose judgments were vehemently opposed by Zimbabwe.

He said the findings and other allegations would be investigated by the Commission of Inquiry through consultations with the relevant ministry for transparency and accountability.

In an Interview, Tsholotsho RDC chief executive officer, Mr Moyo, said the audit was a routine one by Central Government and its mandate is to provide recommendations and a roadmap for the future running of the local authority.

He rubbished allegations that he was going to be suspended pending investigations by the Commission of Inquiry.

“As you can see, I’m still at work and nothing in that audit report implicated me directly. In fact I’m happy that this audit was done because it helps in the day to day running of the council as it provides recommendations and a road map to

The Sadc Administrative Tribunal replaces the Sadc Tribunal, which was formed in 2010 and dissolved at the 32nd Sadc Summit in Mozambique in 2012 after concerns were raised that it was straying from its original mandate.

Justice Bere together with Constitutional and Supreme Court judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu were last year appointed adjudicators for Sadc and Comesa courts.

Justice Bhunu was seconded to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Court of Justice. The Comesa Court of Justice was established in 1994 as one of the organs of Comesa created under Article 7 of the Comesa Treaty as its judicial arm.

Judiciary Service Commission (JSC) acting secretary, Mr Walter Chikwana, said the appointment of the two top judges was a reflection of confidence in the country’s judiciary system by the region. — @mashnets follow,” Mr Moyo said.

Responding to allegations that he was using council funds to run his personal businesses, he said he has his own business in Bulawayo and a farm in Esigodini and both have nothing to do with the council money. “Being a public figure makes everyone want to scrutinise how you live your life. I have a private life also. Instead people should be talking about developmental projects instead of spreading falsehoods,” Mr Moyo said.

He said the council has managed to construct Umtshina Primary School in Ward 10, Mpilo Clinic in Ward 7 and Tshithatshana Clinic in Ward 8.

“We are waiting for the $256 000 promised by Government for water and sewer reticulation in the district,” Mr Moyo said. — @esinathy_essira

The price of a 50kg bag of fertiliser had gone up to over $100 from around $ 50 and $65.

A survey by our Harare Bureau yesterday showed that a 10kg of maize seed now costs between $42 to $55 while a 25kg bag now costs between $111 and $137 depending on the variety and seed house. Fertiliser prices are back to between $50 and $65 for a 50kg bag. Most farmers who are self-financed yesterday said the reduction in seed and fertiliser prices was a welcome development but insisted few will be able to go back to the land and make meaningful profits as production costs were still high.

Others said they were contemplating reducing the hectarage they would put under maize due to the increase in production costs and the possibility of the El-Nino phenomenon. Some farmers said they were rushing to buy fertilisers and seed before prices increase again as there was still uncertainty on whether the prices would continue coming down or would start rising again.

Zimbabwe Indigenous Women Farmers Association Trust president Mrs Depinah Nkomo pleaded with authorities to reduce the prices further. “The prices are still high and we will not be able to break even or the producer prices should be increased. Farmers contribute immensely to the economy and their plight should be addressed.

“It is better for Government to subsidise inputs at manufacturing level so that the farmer accesses affordable fertilisers and chemicals. We should even be able to access affordable machinery. Women farmers have been affected by the increases and are appealing to authorities to intervene,” she said.

Zimbabwe Farmers Union director, Mr Paul Zakariya, said there was a need for the prices to continue coming down. “The revised prices are denoting 100 percent increase on the original. What is justifying the inputs price increases? If not addressed, farmers will be forced to seriously downsize. Eventually, farmers will also be forced to push for higher producer prices. This will have a very negative impact on most of the plans to stabilise our economy,” he said.

Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president, Mr Wonder Chabikwa, said: “The “reduced” prices provide some relief but are not sufficient to maintain budgeted hectarages especially by self-financing farmers.

“These prices are still too high. Prices prevailing as at September 30 and October 1, 2018, are the ones farmers used in their budgets. The prices are unviable unless the producer prices are revised by the same margins,” he said.

Mr Chabikwa said only those farmers under Command Agriculture and beneficiaries of the Presidential Inputs Scheme would go back to the land without challenges if prices continue to rise.

“It seems those under Command Agriculture will go back to the land this season. Thanks to the Presidential Input Scheme, which ensured farmers had inputs early before the season, farmers under the scheme will also be able to return to the land,” he said.

Government recently said there was no reason for maize seed producers to hike prices as it promised to take measures to protect farmers from the unwarranted behaviour by the manufacturers.

Industry and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said there was no justification for seed producers to increase prices.