FINANCE and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube says treasury has managed to reduced the public wage bill by cutting salaries of senior government officials by 5% across the board, retiring over 3 000 youth officers.

Other “unnecessary expenditure and ‘perks’” for ministers and MPs, most notably the procurement of vehicles, were also halted.

These measures had helped lower monthly budget deficit from US$242m in November to a surplus of US$733m in December, and a provisional surplus of $113m for January, with the “overall picture so far (being) one of cautious optimism”, Ncube said.

Minister Ncube sees inflation – currently at 59% – declining to 10% by the end of the year.

He is banking on slowing down money supply, liberalisation of the exchange rate and other broader economic reforms, although it will “not be plain sailing” for the struggling southern African country, he says.

In February 2019, Zimbabwe’s inflation rate shot up to 59.4% from 56.9% in January. In December 2018, it was 42.09%.

Foreign currency shortages and a thriving parallel market for Forex have been blamed for the steep rise in inflation in Zimbabwe, while shortages of some commodities have also seen prices creeping up.

However, Ncube is cautiously optimistic that inflation will fall down to 10% by the end of the year.

“As all Zimbabweans know, it has not been all plain sailing. The inflationary pressures we have faced have caused uncertainty and pain, and we have made dealing with this our number one concern,” Ncube said in an economic update released on Tuesday.

Ncube highlighted that in a bid to address this, “We have pushed ahead in our efforts to narrow the fiscal deficit and slow down money supply growth, and we project inflation to slow down to below 10%” by the end of the current year.

Zimbabwe’s monetary policy has also been tweaked to include what the government is describing as the “liberalisation of our foreign currency market and discarding of the fixed 1:1 exchange rate” peg for RTGS Dollars and bond notes.

Zimbabwe is reforming parastatals and aims to raise an initial US$350m from the disposal of shares in government-controlled enterprises that include telcos TelOne, Telecel and NetOne as well as the Post Bank and Zimpost. It has targeted these enterprises for “immediate reforms”, and work is already underway to identify transaction advisors.

Own Correspondent|The Minister for Local Government, July Moyo, revealed that there could be as many as 300 bodies of Zimbabweans washed away by floods and now floating in Mozambique.

Minister Moyo said this during a post-cabinet media briefing in Harare Tuesday.

He said: “The distress calls started coming from Kopa, in Rusitu where two rivers which converge there burst and we understand there are bodies which are floating.

“Some have floated all the way into Mozambique and some of the peasants in Mozambique were calling some of our people saying that ‘we see bodies, we believe those bodies are coming from Zimbabwe.

“The total number we were told there could be a hundred, some going as far as saying there could be 300 but we cannot confirm this situation; our army is going on foot to Rusitu in order to go and assess the situation on the ground.”

THE UK Home Office has been accused of acting illegally when it invited Zimbabwean government officials to interview an asylum seeker at an immigration centre.

The Zimbabwean woman, who has been in the UK for more than 16 years and has an ongoing asylum claim, attended Vulcan House in Sheffield in December to find Zimbabwean officials waiting to speak to her.

She is one of scores of Zimbabweans to have been interviewed by Zimbabwean embassy officials at Home Office centres across the UK over the past few months, in what has been seen as an acceleration of the removals process since the country’s change of government.

The Home Office described the interviews as routine “redocumentation interviews” to establish the identity of a refused asylum seeker so that travel documentation can be issued and they can be removed from the UK.

In a letter to immigration minister Caroline Nokes, Paul Blomfield, the MP for Sheffield Central, said that as her claim to asylum was outstanding, subjecting her to such an interview contravened immigration rules. She had submitted her latest claim on 5 October last year.

UK rules state that no action should be taken to remove an individual from the UK until a decision on their asylum claim has been made.

In his letter, the MP said the interview had put his constituent at greater risk of persecution by the Zimbabwean government.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Re-documentation interviews with officials from receiving countries are a standard part of the Home Office returns process.

“These interviews are conducted where an asylum claim has failed and it is necessary to establish nationality and identity and to enable a travel document to be produced to facilitate return. They do not have a bearing on an asylum application.”

— The Guardian.

Farai Dziva| Nyasa Big Bullets head coach Callisto Pasuwa is on a collision course with the club’s executive over new signings.

The Zimbabwean mentor is not happy after the club brought in new players he had not recommended ahead of the of the 2019 TNM Super League.

According to Nyasa Times, a Malawian newspaper, Pasuwa blasted his employers on MBC Radio 2 on Monday saying he was confused with the new signings and insist he had players he recommended to help the team not those signed.

“This will affect me, I saw some players at our reserve side, and I wanted to have them,” said Pasuwa.

The team made a couple of signings including Precious Sambani from Namiwawa, Gomegzani Chirwa from Civil Sporting Club, Luke Chima from Azam Tigers and Ben Manyozo from Dwangwa United.

Bullets Chief Executive Officer, Fleethood Haiya, however, told the newspaper that all the players which the club bought were, in fact, recommended by Pasuwa.

“I am very surprised,” said Haiya. “I fail to understand what he is implying because we have promoted four players after he had recommended them.”

However, Haiya did not disclose the names of the players promoted.

Own Correspondent|Prominent Bulawayo journalist Zenzele Ndebele was on Thursday morning taken away by state security agents at State House in Bulawayo when he was found with tear gas canisters in his car.

Ndebele who heads innovative Bulawayo media CITE had his car searched as he entered State House to cover the dialogue between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Bulawayo Civic Society Organisations.

On searching the vehicle, state security discovered, what sources close to him say were used tear gas canisters in the boot of his car.

The sources claim, Ndebele kept the canisters in his car after picking them up in the streets of Bulawayo during the January citizen protests and may have forgotten to get rid of them before going to State House.

Details on his where abouts were still sketchy at the time of writing but reports indicate that he was whisked away by army and CIO operatives.

Farai Dziva|The Warriors are set to take to the field against Congo on Sunday without the official Umbro kit following some delays in its arrival.

Zimbabwe Football Association president Felton Kamambo admitted that the England based sportswear manufacturer delayed in releasing the kit and is likely to arrive in the country well after the match.

“There were some technical problems that happened in the release of the kit. That’s the reason the manufacturer might release it a bit later than we anticipated,” said Kamambo.

“We have an alternative that we have as we hope that the kit might arrive before the match. We have a plan in place.”

Under the deal with Umbro, the Warriors are not allowed to wear any other kit. The national U23 team left for Mozambique on Wednesday ahead of Friday’s game without the Umbro kit.

By Own Correspondent| Deputy Minister for Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Energy Mutodi said that evacuations of villagers in Manicaland could not be carried out as they were likely going to resist.

Mutodi asserted that this would have necessitated the involvement of the army which would naturally apply minimum force to overcome the resistance.

Such a move would then result in reports of fake rape, fake torture and fake abduction claims.

Writing on Twitter on Thursday. Mutodi said:

Evacuations would do for those who complied but in this case, it would’ve been eviction as villagers would resist moving. The exercise would have required the police & the army to use minimum force & as usual, there were going to be fake rape, torture & abduction claims.

Meanwhile, journalist Mduduzi Mathuthu has ‘corrected’ the Honourable deputy minister, saying that ‘you wouldn’t know the difference, but it’s significant. It’s EVACUATE not EVICT‘.

Farai Dziva|Respected political analyst Dr Pedzisai Ruhanya has pointed out four factors that influence election results in Zimbabwe.

“Elections in Zim are never determined or won by votes. To win elections one needs FOUR THINGS 1. Money 2. Security apparatus 3.ZEC 4.Judiciary. This is the view of the Zaka villager after analysing electoral outcomes in Zim especially after 2000,” argued Dr Ruhanya.

“There4 MONEY, SECURITY APPARATUS, ZEC and JUDICIARY are the four centres of ZANU PF electoral gravity that the opposition led by @nelsonchamisa need to work on apart from controlling the VOTE/VOTERS in order to defeat ZANU PF in 2023. Centres of manipulation must FALL.”

My fellow Zimbabweans

I am appealing to you all to set aside your differences, especially political differences, so that together we can tackle the huge task before us that needs our attention in all our millions. This is no time for politics. This is no time for apportioning blame.

There will be plenty of time for us to sit down as a Nation family and draw lessons from this most unfortunate and unforgettable calamity. We can learn where we went wrong and who was supposed to do what so that if God forbid there is a next time, we will be best prepared.

I can tell you first hand that the situation is desperate indeed. The devastation was unforgiving and typically of nature, indiscriminate.

For now the focus is on massive humanitarian and relief requirements and needs. The job of cleaning up after this disaster falls on each and every one of us and it is a responsibility that can only and easily be executed through our collective efforts.

The world’s eyes are fixed on us. Let us show one spirit through one love.

May God bless Zimbabwe

Correspondent|Three women spent nearly 24 hours hanging onto a tree naked before they were eventually rescued after Cyclone Idai-induced floods swept away 80 houses at Dzingire Growth Point, popularly known as Kopa in Chipinge.

The houses were washed away when three rivers, Rusitu, Nyahode and Chipita flooded, confluenced and changed course, washing away all the houses and a police station situated between the rivers.

Several of the houses where owned by agricultural extension workers. Kopa possibly experienced most of the devastation.

One of the three women, Majiva Magweva (32), lost her two children to the floods as well as her mother. She also lost a niece and is now the only survivor in a family of three.

In a heart-rending account, Magweva said she hung onto her two-year-old child while she was being swept way by the floods, but was hit by debris and lost grip of the baby in the process.

“It was around 9pm on Friday when water started entering our house. I took my two-year-old child and went outside to look for a secure place,” Magweva said.

“I walked a few steps and was knocked down. I tried hard to keep a tight grip on my child, but was hit by a rock on the chest and forced to let off the child.”

She added: “I was thrown onto the river bank and I realised I was marooned and more water was coming. That time, I saw another woman. We rushed and helped each other up a tree, pushing and pulling each other. One more woman came and in no time, we were up three branches. We were all naked; we had been stripped naked by the floods.”

The women were forced to brave the rains for the whole night and tried to look for help after day break, which did not come until around 3pm.

“Around 3pm on Saturday, rescue came, but in a very difficult way. A group of men with three ropes, which did not reach us. One of them volunteered to have a rope tied around his waist and dived into the water while the other men held the rope to ensure that he does not drown. He arrived at the tree and went up, tied the rope on the branch to allow us to hold on it before they dragged him out using the same rope.

“When we were up the tree, we prayed the whole night for rescue. We wanted to join others, we didn’t know they had all been washed away. My two kids, my sister’s child and my mother are gone. I don’t know where they are,” she said, tears racing down her frail cheeks.

After the rescue, that is when Magweva realised hundreds of people had been washed away by the floods. What used to be their residential suburb is now littered with huge rocks, leaving no sign that it was a residential place.

“I am sure our relatives are trapped under these stones. Just there (pointing to a place littered by the rocks) was were our house was.”

Harryman Kazembe, a teacher, said his wife and daughter were woken by the sounds of the flood water at around 10pm and they attempted to move out of
the area to higher ground.

“I briefly got stuck in the mud and my wife and children continued to go up. But suddenly, a wave of floods came and swept my wife and my five-year-old daughter away right in front of me. I was briefly swept away too and I had to hold onto a tree, where I was marooned for nearly 24 hours when local rescuers came with ropes and pulled me and others who had hung onto trees, to safety,” Kazembe said.

“One of my daughters, who survived, sustained burns on the neck after she got into contact with (live) electricity cables as she had taken refuge on poles that were carrying a transformer.”

As professional and State rescue took long to come, locals ended up taking matters into their hands because they could not continue to watch their fellow residents stuck up on trees as the water levels took long to subside.

It took five days for the first police and army trucks to reach Kopa and by that time, some who could have been rescued, had been swept away downstream.

Farai Dziva| Warriors captain Knowledge Musona says his injury is not complicated.

Musona arrived in the country yesterday for camp ahead of the crucial Afcon qualifier against Congo Brazzaville on Sunday.

The winger’s arrival is a boost to the national team following concerns that the player could miss the game due to an injury.

Musona did not play over the weekend after picking a minor tear on his groin last week, but he is hopeful he would be fine by the time the Warriors plunge into the defining battle.

“I went for a scan and they saw a small rupture on my groin, so they said it’s nothing big, so I will see in the next coming days how I will recover,” Musona told The Herald.

“I am feeling okay at this moment, but I think I have to go to the field and try to do the things that I was doing before I was feeling the pain and see how I am feeling.”

“But, at this moment, I can run normally, I have no pain, so I just have to go and try to kick the ball and see.”

Malaysian Airlines has repossessed four planes which had been sold to Zimbabwe Airways, the ill-fated Air Zimbabwe proxy, informed sources said.

Former President Robert Mugabe personally negotiated the acquisition of the four Boeing 777-200 planes which had been retired by Malaysian Airlines after one of the fleet disappeared without trace and another was shot down over Ukraine.

Zimbabwe, seeking to build a debt-free airline under the pretence that it was privately-owned to avoid inheriting Air Zimbabwe’s $300 million debt, negotiated to buy the four planes for a discounted $70 million.

But aviation sources said on Wednesday that the planes, two of which are in Malaysia and the other two in the United States, had been repossessed after the Zimbabwe government failed to meet the terms of payment.

“Here’s how aviation purchases are structured. One, you have the seller; two you have the buyer; three you have the seller’s bank; four you have the buyer’s bank and five you have the owner. In the case of these four planes, Zimbabwe negotiated directly with the seller only to be referred to number three (seller’s bank),” a source familiar with the deal said.

“Once the Zimbabwe government made a payment for two planes that you see branded, and made a commitment for the other two, they were then removed from the sales portal. But months down the line the Zimbabweans failed to collect what they had paid for. They failed to pay the balance after the commitment fees.

“Storage and maintenance costs started piling up until this point. There are other costs that the Zimbabweans had not calculated that made the planes actually more expensive.”

Two of the planes, bearing registration 9M-MRL and 9M-MRM, were flown for checks in the United States last year, and are believed to be still in Kansas in the state of Missouri. Two others, 9M-MRQ and 9M-MRP, only conducted test flights in 2017 and remain in Malaysia.

“The government of Zimbabwe wanted the planes delivered to Harare, I’m not sure what changed. What has happened though is that the planes were eventually all repossessed.”

Our source added that “no money was made” by Zimbabwe. “It was a huge loss.”

Transport Minister Joel Biggie Matiza could not be reached on Wednesday after travelling with President Emmerson Mnangagwa to cyclone-hit Manicaland. His deputy, Fortune Chasi, declined to answer questions on the planes, insisting only the minister could provide an update on the matter.

Only in February, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa told a post-Cabinet briefing with journalists that the Ministry of Transport had been directed to “rebuild Air Zimbabwe by acquiring four Boeing 777 aircraft from Malaysia and to seek delivery of Embraer aircraft from the United States.”

The Zimbabwe government desperately wants to shore up Air Zimbabwe, which is now operating just one plane.

The mishandling of the acquisition of the Malaysian planes, which took the back-burner after Mugabe was ousted in a military coup in November 2017, will invite fresh questions into the deal.

Commercial pilot and aviation blogger Jerry Haas, writing on Twitter on Wednesday, said the four planes had already been sold on for $12.5 million each. Zimbabwe Airways had been quoted $18,5 million for two of the planes and $16,5 million for the other two, according to former Transport Minister Joram Gumbo.

“Unfortunately for Zimbabwe Airways or Air Zimbabwe they were repossessed for obvious reasons,” Haas tweeted.

Some aviation experts have argued that the four planes are not what Air Zimbabwe currently needs, pointing out to high fuel and maintenance costs.

Instead, they have suggested smaller planes like the Brazilian-made Embraer ERJ as agile alternatives to ply regional routes to regrow the airline before it secures bigger aircraft to resume overseas flights

Media Statement By Total Zimbabwe|Following the devastating effect of cyclone Idai experienced in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, the fuel supply chain logistics into Zimbmabwe have been negatively affected.

Based on the information we have received, the following has since been established:

The jetty in Beira has been damaged and can’t receive vessels to discharge.

Pumping House roof has been blown away, the electrical board was affected, and the status is not yet known (damage yet to be established).

The condition of the pipeline from Beira to Zimbabwe is yet to be established and we still await NOIC update on the same.

Given the above, the stocks in the tank in Msasa may not be replenished in due time as is required and this is likely to put pressure on the supply chain.

We are seized with finding a quick supplying option and we will keep you posted on the developments and any cost structure implementations as we progress.

The MDC Congress is on course with proceedings going on smoothly and peacefully throughout the country as the party continues to confirm its democratic credentials.

The branch congresses have now been completed and the ward congresses in the 1 958 wards across the country taking place this weekend. By Sunday, 24 March 2019, there will be newly elected ward executives across the length and breadth of Zimbabwe.

District congresses are slated for 29-31 March while the provincial congresses will take place from 7-16 April 2019, starting with Matabeleland South province.

The process so far has gone on peacefully and without incident. Notwithstanding misleading press reports of chaos, our congress is living true to the democratic culture and character as encapsulated in chapter 4 of the MDC constitution.

Our Congress to be held on 24-26 May will be a festival of ideas. It will prioritize propositions and not positions. So far, the people across the country continue to elect leaders of their choice at various levels and our Congress process is well on course.

MDC 5th Congress: Defining a new course for Zimbabwe.

Hon. Amos Chibaya
MDC National Organising Secretary

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president, Peter Mutasa, has bemoaned the payment methods adopted by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) for tobacco farmers.

The RBZ announced on Tuesday that farmers will receive payment for their tobacco in RTGS currency, rather than the 50% US dollars it had promised them initially.

Mutasa said that there will be no development in the country as long as it did not reward the producers.

“There will be no development or economic progress in a country which does not reward those who produce (workers).”

“Farmers must be paid in USD coz tobacco is exported. Farmers paid for the inputs in USD and will lose if they are paid in RTGS.”

Framers have been angered by the decision and have vowed to withhold their produce until they are paid in US dollars.True Zim Patriots Files

A Bulawayo Magistrate Franklin Mkhwananzi has freed journalist Zenzele Ndebele after he described the arrest illogical.

Dismissing the case the Magistrate Mkhwananzi said, “It beats logic that a used canister and an empty cartridge could be defined as dangerous weapons if weapons at all”

Ndebele was charged with possession of an offensive weapon after he was found with two used tear gas canisters found in his vehicle at Bulawayo State House on Thursday.

A lot of media organizations including Media Institute for Southern Africa and the Committee for the protection of Journalists condemned the arrest and called for Ndebele’s immediate release.

He was attending a meeting where President Emmerson Mnangagwa was meeting members of Bulawayo civic society.

Correspondent|War veterans leader Victor Matemadanda has renewed his planned anti-sanctions march to the United States Embassy in Harare, adding that opposition leader Nelson Chamisa had to speak against sanctions if he entertained any hopes of ever being elected president of this country.

Matemadanda was speaking to Zanu PF supporters in Bindura, where he also accused MDC leader Nelson Chamisa of taking a back seat while all progressive organizations were calling for the removal of the restrictive measures he described as sanctions.

“You think that we are afraid of Donald Trump ? Not at all, this time we will march straight to the US Embassy because our people have suffered for too long as a result of these sanctions,” said Matemadanda.

“We are therefore mobilising support for the march from our sympathisers in Zimbabwe and abroad. We want to send a loud and clear message to Theresa May and Donald Trump- enough is enough,”added Matemadanda.

” If you want to rule this country then you have to speak out against sanctions. “

ZIMBABWE’S local currency, the RTGS dollar, has plunged by as much as 16% since it was introduced last month. But Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor John Mangudya is not losing sleep over it. At least not yet.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe scrapped its discredited 1:1 dollar peg for surrogate bond notes and electronic dollars last month, merging them into a lower-value transitional currency called the RTGS dollar as part of monetary policy measures to address the country’s currency challenges.

The RTGS dollar made its debut at 1:2,5 to the greenback on the official interbank platform, but on the parallel market, rates were as high as 3,5 to 3,8.

While parallel market rates have somewhat held steady, the official rate for the RTGS dollar has dipped to 2,8 to the greenback.

Economist Ashok Chakravarti said every new market takes time to settle in order to be fully functional, which is why the market was performing the way it was. But he called on the market to be free of controls that were determined by traders.

“When we proposed the interbank foreign exchange market, we did so with the mind that it would be liberalised in the sense of allowing the market to determine the rates free of controls,” he said.

“But I think those are issues that will be sorted as time goes on. But we need to have transference rules that can govern the interbank platform, like how the stock exchange has trading rules. This is because some banks have nostro accounts, while others do not have. I would encourage the Ministry of Finance and the central bank to quickly put these rules.”

Chakravarti added that transfer rules would also encourage trust among exporters and sellers so that they come onto the market in order to trade their foreign currency.

“The rate has devalued as a result of the Reserve Bank just increasing the exchange rate because all banks are depending on them for the supply of foreign currency. The bulk of foreign currency is being supplied by the Reserve Bank because generators of foreign currency are holding onto their foreign currency,” financial expert Persistence Gwanyanya said.

“The reason why they are holding onto their foreign currency is because the exchange rate would be deemed to be less attractive compared to the exchange rate they have been getting from their individual structures. So the Reserve Bank has deliberately increased the rate at which the banks are accessing foreign currency from it because the market is not releasing foreign currency; suppliers are not ‘coming to the party’.”

Gwanyanya said the central bank was not too keen on the “big bang” approach in dealing with currency distortions as the bank believes this would negatively impact the economy.

“As I have advised previously, we are reaching equilibrium on the interbank forex market. I think you are using the term ‘devaluation’ in the wrong context. Equilibrium between the supply and demand for forex based on willing buyer, willing seller basis,” Mangudya told NewsDay.

However, Gwanyanya was of a different view about the effect of foreign currency on tobacco sales, as buyers and sellers were already trading among themselves using the more lucrative parallel market rates.

“To me, it is not about the availability of foreign currency. It is about the attractiveness of the rate to the suppliers of foreign currency.

Remember, the suppliers are going to supply into the interbank market from their retentions. They are retaining the foreign currency and others are continuing to hold onto the foreign currency,” Gwanyanya said.

“Until the price discovery mechanism is arrived at, we shall see a situation where we have foreign currency that may seem to be enough to cater for the needs of the market, with generators of foreign currency continuing to hold onto their foreign currency.”

Gwanyanya said too much control from the central bank was exacerbating the problem. — NewsDay

Correspondent|The situation in the port city of Beira in Mozambique was “boiling” as residents suffered shortages of food, water and other essentials one week after a devastating cyclone, the head of a South African rescue operation said on Friday.

Hungry residents besieged a warehouse owned by a Chinese business and helped themselves to bags of rice and other foods as resources run dry while the incoming help is not matching up with the needs of the residents.

Cyclone Idai battered Beira, a low-lying city of 500,000 residents, with strong winds and torrential rains last week, before moving inland to neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi.

In Mozambique, 242 were killed in the storm and resulting floods, according to the official death toll, although this is expected to rise. In Malawi, around 56 were killed while Zimbabwe has recorded 142 deaths.

Around 15,000 people were still missing in Mozambique, Land and Environment Minister Celso Correia said late on Thursday. The government is expected to give a briefing on Friday morning to update the number of people missing and dead.

Briefing his team late on Thursday night, Connor Hartnady, rescue operations task force leader for Rescue South Africa, said Beira residents were becoming fed up with shortages.

“There have been three security incidents today, all food related,” he told his team, without giving further details.

Cartnady also said a group of 60 people had been discovered trapped by flood water in an area north of Beira during a reconnaissance flight. Rescue teams and the government were deciding how best to help them, he said, either by airlifting them to safety or dropping supplies.

The storm’s torrential rains caused the Buzi and Pungwe rivers, whose mouths are in the Beira area, to burst their banks.

Roads into Beira were cut off by the storm, and most of the city remains without power. The Red Cross has estimated 90 percent of the city was damaged or destroyed in the storm.

Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Information said at least 30 students, two headmasters and a teacher from three schools were missing in the eastern region of the country.

In the capital Harare there were shortages of diesel, leading to long queues following reports earlier this week that a control room for the pipeline in Beira that transports fuel to Zimbabwe had been damaged.

The EFF leader has never hid his support for Zimbabwe’s disastrous land reform plans, and Julius Malema made some bold comparisons on Thursday.

Hundreds of EFF supporters gathered at Dlomo Dam in Sharpeville on Thursday, to pay tribute to the 70 people who were massacred by apartheid cops during a peaceful protest 59 years ago. Julius Malema delivered a rambunctious speech and, well, you know how it goes from here.

The party leader was at his vociferous peak on Human Rights Day, going on to explain that he only calls the public holiday “Sharpeville Day” – he told the crowd that the “human rights” part washes over the atrocity itself.

Julius Malema quotes from the Sharpeville rally

Malema made several eye-catching statements during his address, claiming that white people must never be forgiven for what happened in Sharpeville. He also turned on the electioneering charm, telling supporters that only the red berets could return the land and create jobs for unemployed black citizens.

Julius Malema compares South African to Zimbabwe… unflatteringly:

Juju is no stranger to causing a stir, but it would be his comments about Zimbabwe that fetched the most scrutiny. South Africa’s land redistribution proposals have found themselves (somewhat unfairly) compared to the disastrous policies of Robert Mugabe, who incited black citizens to invade the land of white farmers.

The economic disaster that followed has been a huge cause for concern for the South Africans who disagree with non-compensatory land expropriation. However, it would seem Julius Malema is ready to embrace the chaos that came before, claiming he’s happy to tell people that Mzansi is already “worse than Zimbabwe”.

“We are not here to please white people. When you leave here, they are going to say to you, ‘Malema will turn South Africa into Zimbabwe’. Tell them we are worse than Zimbabweans.”

“Firstly both ourselves and Zimbabweans are poor. Secondly, Zimbabweans own their land and finally, Zimbabweans are literate and we are illiterate.”Julius Malema

Land reform done the Zim -way

Malema himself has previously shown support for the way Zimbabwe ruthlessly implemented their land policy. His comments at the Sharpeville event will do nothing to calm his detractors, but Juju isn’t a man who’s out to please his critics. In fact, he’s probably at his happiest when he’s winding up those particular opponents.