Wednesday 19 February 2025 *MORNING NEWS UPDATES* _• USD: ZiG Official Exchange – Z$25.69_ • _Black Market Rate - Zig 30:USD1_ • _Innscor in-store – Z$35_ • _KFC, Slice, Eat'n'Lick – Z$35_ New members who wish to receive detailed local, regional and international news from Ignite Media Zimbabwe should "follow" our channel on the link below: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaASRLX6mYPM2XphWy2n *For advertising inquiries call, text or Whatsapp us on +263 778 242 692* *THE HEADLINES* *Ministers abandon developmental projects to focus on ED2030 agenda, undermining President Mnangagwa’s legacy- says Murakashi* *Discipline key, says President Mnangagwa. . .Slams disrespect of leadership at public events: such as burials of national heroes at the National Heroes Acre* *Geza revolution re-setting the political agenda: Leonard Koni* *Mnangagwa's 2030 withdrawal violates ZANU-PF Conference resolution: Gideon Madzikatidze/Simbarashe Sithole* *We will convince Mnangagwa to stay: Mahiya* *New Mnangagwa Runner Bribes Journalists* *Luke-ing the Beast in the Eye, Mnangagwa is simply a liar: Luke Tamborinyoka* *Eddie Cross Questions Missing NSSA Billions, Demands Accountability* *Harare Council executives spending US$120,000 a year on holidays; US$1 million from City Parking used to purchase posh cars amid poor service delivery* *ARTUZ calls on govt to scrap two examination boards for Ordinary, Advanced Level* *Zimbabwe pushes landmine clearance deadline to 2028 due to funding gaps* *ZACC quiz for top lawyer Wilson Manase over ‘abuse’ of deceased estate* *Two Cars Stolen As Owners Booze* *10 000 drug abusers arrested in five months* *Disaster as Chitungwiza teenage ‘small house’ storms into married boyfriend’s (42) bedroom and finds him having lula lula with official wife* *Rwanda Suspends Development Cooperation with Belgium Amid Diplomatic Tensions* *Russia and US agree to work toward ending Ukraine war in a remarkable diplomatic shift* *European leaders hold crisis talks as US signals transatlantic reset* *IGNITE SPORT* *Hamilton 'invigorated' by Ferrari move at F1 launch* *A series of terrible decisions sends Milan packing from UCL* *Champions League as it happened: Davies wins tie for Bayern last minute* *Man City need 'perfect game' - can Guardiola find miracle in Madrid tonight?* *Oliver wrong to send off Lewis-Skelly - refs' chief Webb* *Man Utd weigh up £40m move for Ipswich's Delap* *Liverpool are prepared to offer Uruguay forward Darwin Nunez, 25, plus cash in exchange for Newcastle's £100m-plus rated Sweden forward Alexander Isak, 25. Isak has scored 17 Premier League goals this season* *However, Newcastle will not allow their best players to leave if they miss out on qualifying for next season's Champions League* *Arsenal and Chelsea are interested in Eintracht Frankfurt's French striker Hugo Ekitike, 22, as an alternative to Isak* *Liverpool are set for a busy summer of transfer activity, with Barcelona and Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong, 27, on a list of players the Reds might bid for* *Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, who has got Cherries fans dreaming of Europe, is top of Tottenham's list if they decide to replace Ange Postecoglou, who has been in charge since June 2023 but is under pressure following a poor run of results* *Manchester City's Argentine midfielder Maximo Perrone, 22, wants to turn his loan in Italy with Como - managed by former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas - into a permanent move* *Brighton might reluctantly sell Japan forward Kaoru Mitoma, 27, this summer for about £66m as he enters the final two years of his contract, with Chelsea one of the clubs interested* *THE DETAILS WITH IGNITE MEDIA ZIMBABWE* _*Ministers abandon developmental projects to focus on ED2030 agenda, undermining President Mnangagwa’s legacy- says Murakashi*_ Prominent ZANU PF foot-soldier murakashi Kudzai Mutisi says ministers have stopped working on developmental projects to focus on (ED2030 agenda) President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa’s term of office. He says this is now undermining President Mnangagwa’s legacy. He said for people who truly love President @edmnangagwa, FOCUS should be on SEALING the his legacy. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. He adds that instead, the political discourse should be centred on asking questions like: - Minister @MhonaFelix, when will the Harare-Beitbridge Highway be completed? The section from Mwenezi to Masvingo has become SO TERRIBLE that there is literally no road to talk about! - Minister Masuka, when are you completing the Gwayi-Shangani Dam, Kunzvi Dam, & all the stalled Dam projects? When are you implementing the irrigation projects on the completed dams? - Minister Chadzamira, when will the Chilonga Lucerne project be implemented? Why are you sloganeering while Tugwi-Mukosi dam remains a white elephant in Masvingo? When will you do your job?? - Minister @TateMavetera, we saw you have too much energy for slogans and dancing at rallies, but when will you start ensuring that public schools, hospitals, clinics, and all govt offices have Starlink internet or a high speed fibre connection? When will you get serious about delivering the goals and objectives of the Ministry you head? - Minister @MthuliNcube01, when will you start behaving like a real economist who understands the importance of Economic Freedom & creating a low cost business environment? When will you remove the unnecessary regulations, taxes, and fees that make it difficult to do business in Zimbabwe? When will u remove the IMTT tax & other transaction taxes that are discouraging people from using digital payments? When will you become serious about channeling funds to all the stalled infrastructure projects?? When will understand that smuggling is a SYMPTOM of FAILED economic policies rather than an act of criminality?? - Minister Mombeshora & your @MoHCCZim, when will you buy the Cancer Machines that are desperately needed by Cancer Patients in Zimbabwe? The money is there, the equipment is readily available all over the world, when will u get serious about the job you were given? - Minister Garwe, we have seen your energy in chanting dumb 2030ist slogans but cities have no water and trash is all over. You are simply FAILING to do your job NOW but u want 2 more years to play… When will u focus on solving the problems facing Zimbabweans? This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. - @ReserveBankZIM, people are keeping money in cash boxes because your incompetence and lack of care created a TOXIC FINANCIAL system that doesn’t incentivise people for banking money. You stubbornly look aside while banks STEAL money from depositors, you introduce a currency that has no convenient notes and coins, you have flatly refused to have a market determined exchange rate, you arbitrarily devalued the ZiG & wiped out people’s savings, u impose your flawed exchange rate on businesses leading to massive exchange rate losses…. When will you become a normal central bank???? - @HonJMuswereJnr, we have seen you struggling to read verbose statements defending the senseless 2030ist campaign, when will you start being a competent Minister of Information? When will u understand that people don’t care about the 8000 projects you “talk about”, they wanna see VISUALS! People want a clear explanation of how much was spent on the projects, how many jobs were created, how will the project benefit the country… When will u get these simple things? - @nickmangwana, you told us that the govt bought cancer machines in 2023, where are they? Did u lie, why are you lying to Zimbabweans? - @BarbaraRwodzi, we see the strings of 🇿🇼flags on your timeline BUT u never post anything promoting Zimbabwe as a Tourism Destination, why? What exactly do you as a Minister? Is there anything u do? - President @edmnangagwa, you haven’t fired non-performing Ministers, why???? How will u achieve Vision 2030 with Mthuli Ncube’s toxic policies? Why not appoint MPs like @TafadzwaMugwadi to give them a chance? _*Discipline key, says President Mnangagwa. . .Slams disrespect of leadership at public events: such as burials of national heroes at the National Heroes Acre*_ President Mnangagwa has warned people who put on Zanu PF regalia, but then go on to deviate from the principles the revolutionary party stands for through indiscipline such as disrespect of leadership, especially at public events. He said Zanu PF values discipline as a cornerstone of its survival and everyone was duty-bound to uphold discipline. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. The President said this on Monday at an interactive meeting with editors from the public and private media at State House. He made the remarks after being asked on the apparent disrespectful conduct shown by some Zanu PF supporters and some members of the public, who sometimes seek to denigrate the party leadership, particularly the Presidium at national events such as burials of national heroes at the National Heroes Acre. “I am so happy; this is the vibrancy of democracy. The foolish and the wise both have their day. I think those who really are Zanu PF at heart go by the rules and decorum of Zanu PF. “We have other people who are in Zanu PF, who in themselves are not Zanu PF, but they dress in Zanu PF regalia, so you must always see when people talk and see which camp they belong to when they open their mouths,” said President Mnangagwa. State media _*Geza revolution re-setting the political agenda: Leonard Koni*_ Zimbabwe's political climate and weather patterns are shifting like a tornado. The majority of Zimbabweans are currently upset over the revolutionary party's leadership shift and are hoping that President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the country's second president since independence, will resign. The military gang that imposed Emmerson Mnangagwa under the leadership of current Vice President Constantino Guvheya Nyikadzino Chiwenga appears to have played a significant role in Zimbabwe's political history in bringing about the much-needed reform. The involvement of veterans of the war is also included in this. Blessed Gezi and Knox Chivero have already arrived, and their voices have been added, and the masses are responding favourably to them. Since there isn't a powerful opposition party, many Zimbabweans have turned to Geza Revolution. Any opposition political party that is in favour of this revolution will seize the opportunity to collaborate with it. When Emmerson Mnangagwa steps down from the podium, the odds of winning a battle to steer the new political course are higher. As the majority of Zimbabweans have aspirations, it is true that the current administration requires a completely new engine to drive the turbines of new and solid policies as well as new leadership characteristics and ideals. There is nothing substantive being done to address unemployment, corruption, nepotism, and the consistency of economic policies in this current administration. Citizens are currently unable to breathe due to the dark smoke's fires; once they are inhaling clean air, they will be able to quickly begin addressing these problems. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. In this matrix, Team Geza Revolution is the instrument that needs to be used to weaken Dambudzo and prevent him from establishing a Mafidi dynasty. Public finances have been squandered carelessly while Mnangagwa has done nothing about it. No one is entitled to embezzle public monies and live comfortably off of them. Mnangagwa has utterly failed to control some of the crooks that are around him. You cannot expect to rule forever while encouraging crime, corruption, poverty, and nepotism. In addition to paying absurd import taxes and excessive taxes, someone is tasked with spending US$60 million on pada. The source of Geza's influence among the nation's struggling masses is unknown to Mnangagwa. They have sharpened the swords.The Geza Revolution has surprised the regime, with Tungwarara and his war veterans funding the beginning of building Mickey Mouse cottages and pumping boreholes. Comrade Knox Chivero of the Geza Revolution explains what needs to be done for the nation to advance. Re-setting of the political agenda. Reforms to be implemented. Free and fair elections will be held after he obliquely outlined guidelines for the establishment of a transitional administration. _*Mnangagwa's 2030 withdrawal violates ZANU-PF Conference resolution: Gideon Madzikatidze/Simbarashe Sithole*_ President Emmerson Mnangagwa will continue to serve beyond the maximum term limit as adherence to the party structures' demand and last year's conference resolution number one, ZANU-PF insiders and influential members under his faction have vowed. Mnangagwa's camp claimed that the President is legally bound to continue serving as the first secretary of the party and no further succession will take place outside the resolutions made in Bulawayo. "Comrade this is politics and we will stick to conference resolution number 1 which is an expression that the masses wanted President Mnangagwa to continue at the helm until or beyond 2030. We will stick to that resolution and anything outside that will be as good as tampering with our constitutional resolutions," the defiant source and loyalist said. “We cannot betray the masses' conference resolution expression in an effort to impress a small pressure group. We stick to the means and processes which do not violate resolutions unanimously made by the party structures," the source added. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. "We are not going to succumb to pressure from a small pressure group with its purported act to overturn the will of the people. We will use any means possible to force the President to adhere to the conference resolution which endorsed him as the sole candidate until and beyond 2030," the source added. "The President is not going to withdraw from carrying on until 2030 and we will either convince him that the masses within and outside our structures have demanded that you should carry on. Withdrawal will be the greatest betrayal to ZANU-PF structures and violation of our party constitution driven from resolutions by the last conference which endorsed him," the source said. Meanwhile, when contacted by this publication's news crew on the way forward in making sure that they will adhere to conference resolution number 1 versus recent pronouncement and clarity by Mnangagwa towards staying beyond 2030, the party's Secretary-General, Obert Mpofu was evasive to answer but claimed that the party will follow what the President said. "Yes the resolution for him to stay beyond 2030 was made before, during and after our conference held in Bulawayo. My brother, let me tell you the truth, we will only listen to what the President has said. We cannot change or overturn what he said, we just follow," Obert Mpofu said. Further asked what they would do and how they would address those structures that endorsed President Mnangagwa's stay in power beyond 2030, and if it would not violate their party constitution or conference resolution, Mpofu was evasive again. "Yes, they endorsed him, but if he does not want to serve beyond that time frame, it is beyond our control please. As for violating the resolutions, I can't answer you on that, but what I can assure you is that we will stick to what the President has said," Mpofu further promised. ZANU-PF spokesman, Christopher Mutsvangwa (then) claimed that succession into the party's helm is done through the ballot not the bullet system. Addressing the media during a press briefing then, Mutsvangwa said the party will only follow what the structures have said and nothing outside that will be entertained. A viral video has also surfaced where Mnangagwa loyalists (featuring War Veteran Douglas Mahiya, Presidential Advisor, Paul Tempter Tungwarara, among others) are vowing to persuade him to continue serving beyond 2030. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. Despite pressure from loyalists backing the most feared and powerful Army Commander, General (Retired) Chiwenga, Mnangagwa is caught in between conference resolution number 1 and pressure to pass the baton his deputy. Claims are that the two had a secret and well-planned succession agreement which would first enable Mnangagwa to lead and leave the baton to Chiwenga if he served his constitutional terms. Facing pressure from war veterans and other circles backing Chiwenga to takeover, Mnangagwa summoned state and few selected privately-owned media editors to announce that he would not seek to serve beyond the maximum limit. _*We will convince Mnangagwa to stay: Mahiya*_ Details to follow… _*New Mnangagwa Runner Bribes Journalists*_ President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s investment advisor, Paul Tungwarara has reportedly distributed high-end smartphones to journalists, a move raising ethical concerns about media independence. Reports from Mashonaland West indicate that Tungwarara, who has recently emerged as the de facto campaign manager for Mnangagwa’s 2030 vision, handed out over 20 smartphones, including Samsung S25 and iPhone 16 Pro models, to journalists in the province. Social media has been flooded with messages from Zanu PF-aligned figures praising Tungwarara’s generosity. One X (formerly Twitter) user, @TinotendaGacha1, posted: “Thank you, Dr. Tungwarara, for your generous donation of 20 high-tech phones to journalists. Your commitment to enhancing digital communication and supporting media professionals is commendable. This initiative will undoubtedly aid in better showcasing the achievements of the Second Republic. We also appreciate the establishment of the journalist fund and the provision of monthly stipends to comrades for promoting EDWORKS. Your efforts are truly making a difference.” Another Zanu PF supporter posted: “Presidential Investment Advisor, Dr. P. Tungwarara, makes a generous donation of 20 high-tech phones to journalists. In a move aimed at enhancing digital communication, the donation will facilitate social media engagement and reporting. It will be used to showcase the accomplishments and initiatives of the Second Republic, led by H.E. President ED Mnangagwa.” In addition to the phones, reports suggest that 32 journalists are now receiving a $300 USD monthly stipend for promoting “EDWORKS.” Furthermore, a special fund has been established to reward journalists actively engaged in pro-Mnangagwa social media campaigns. Efforts to contact Tungwarara for comment were unsuccessful, and the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists has yet to respond regarding the authenticity of these claims. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. However, media watchdogs and press freedom advocates have expressed concern, highlighting that it is unethical for journalists to accept gifts in exchange for favorable coverage. Tungwarara’s rise to prominence is particularly significant given his appointment last year as Mnangagwa’s Special Presidential Investment Advisor to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). His growing influence comes at a time when Mnangagwa has publicly declared that he will not seek re-election in 2028, fueling speculation about succession battles within Zanu PF. The UAE has been at the center of controversy following the Al Jazeera Gold Mafia exposé, which implicated Mnangagwa’s associates in illicit gold smuggling. The investigation suggested that Mnangagwa’s administration has been using the UAE as a key hub for laundering Zimbabwe’s gold, bypassing formal channels and depriving the country of much-needed revenue. Additionally, Mnangagwa frequently uses a private jet provided by the UAE for his international travels, raising further suspicion about his deep financial ties to the Gulf state. Observers have drawn parallels between Tungwarara’s growing role and that of controversial cleric Uebert Angel, who was exposed in the Gold Mafia documentary as a key figure in facilitating illicit financial deals on behalf of the regime. Tungwarara’s increased prominence and involvement in high-value projects, including a multimillion-dollar borehole drilling initiative extended to war veterans aligned with Mnangagwa, indicate strategic positioning within the ruling party’s internal power struggles. This comes as Vice President Constantino Chiwenga is reportedly consolidating power in anticipation of Mnangagwa’seventual exit. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. Chiwenga, the former military general who orchestrated the 2017 coup that brought Mnangagwa to power, has long been seen as a potential successor. However, Mnangagwa’s maneuvering—through figures like Tungwarara—suggests he is working to secure his long-term influence beyond the presidency. With Tungwarara now overseeing major political and economic initiatives, his role in shaping the post-Mnangagwa era cannot be ignored. His connection to the UAE, suspected involvement in gold dealings, and financial influence over the media raise critical questions about the integrity of Zimbabwe’s governance and the battle for succession within Zanu PF. _*Luke-ing the Beast in the Eye, Mnangagwa is simply a liar: Luke Tamborinyoka*_ Early this week on Monday at 9 am, Emmerson Mnangagwa hosted selected media editors at State house at a choreographed event specifically designed for him to publicly reiterate his lie that he is a constitutionalist, all in a desperate quest to douse the raging party flames by the rival Zanu PF military faction that wants him to go now. Deputy Chief secretary (Communications) in the Office of the President and Cabinet George Charamba, himself an acolyte of the military faction but who must be seen to be doing his job of defending ED, deliberately staged the media editors’ event to give Mnangagwa a platform to push back the military faction’s call that is being fronted by one Blessed Geza who has sonorously called Mnangagwa to order for using proxies to push for the unconstitutional extension of his term to 2030. At the choreographed event on Monday, Mnangagwa feebly reiterated his call that he is a constitutionalist and will not go beyond his constitutionally prescribed term limit. However, Mnangagwa dismally failed to show his sincerity. Trabablas failed in absolute terms to use the event to unequivocally order the halting of the motion in Parliament and to stop the Politburo members who are all over the country exhorting party structures to support this unconstitutional Presidential term extension. Instead, Monday’s platform exposed Mnangagwa as insincere and as a liar who is wont to double-speak and (un) strategic ambiguity by indicating left when he apparently wants to turn right. If Mnangagwa were sincere, as the first secretary of the party, he was supposed to use Monday’s event to publicly call for an immediate stop to all these televised party party events across the party districts exhorting all party structures to support the unconstitutional extension of his term. He did not do this but was instead flimsy and indecisive about the whole sordid saga, preferring only to say he will “persuade” his persuaders not to do so. Asked specifically on whether he would extend his term if asked to do so, Mnangagwa, in his own feeble attempt at dishing out a clever polemic to the gathered editors, said he would persuade his persuaders not to persuade him to act in breach of the Constitution. For God’s sake, a sincere and constitutional leader of a party that is on the verge of doing something unconstitutional does not have to persuade anyone!. The leader simply has to stop the Constitutional breach by publicly halting, with immediate effect, all these assemblages of unconstitutionality that are being convened by senior party leaders across the country. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. Mnangagwa also failed to use the platform, to speak robustly against high-scale avarice and graft and to distance himself from the barons of corruption, the so-called zvigananda, to use his deputy Army General (Rtd) Constantino Chiwenga’s war-time diction. Curiously, Mnangagwa was openly hostile to the question of Wicknell Chivayo being his front. He first feigned a look at the upper front of his body, pretending to take the word “front” literally, before tellingly saying to the questioner that Chivayo was using his own money. Mnangagwa then upped his defence of the ex-convict by protectively and insulatively describing Chivayo as a philanthropist. On the same day, Chivayo was braggingly telling the public on his X account that through his Father Christmas shenanigans, he was not only singing for his supper but for his breakfast and lunch as well. It was very clear to whom he was singing and Mnangagwa dismally failed to use Monday's event to shake himself off Chivayo’s antics by mellowly couching him as a self-made philanthropist. This week, I give just five reasons that show that Mnangagwa was lying and was not being honest on his word that he was a Constitutionalist who did not want his term extended: 1. Failure to blast members of his party calling for term extension As stated earlier, Mnangagwa showed his insincerity by failing to use Monday’s event to publicly chastise and call to order Ziyambi Ziyambi and other Politburo members by ordering them to immediately stop exhorting party members across the party districts to support an unconstitutional misadventure. He should have also publicly called on Energy Mutodi to halt his mischievous motion in Parliament. Tellingly, he did neither but instead softly and euphemistically chose to describe these merchants of unconstitutionality as mere “persuaders.” 2. The ZBC’s tell-tale double messaging On the same day that the ZBC beamed live Mnangagwa’s State House event where ED said he was a Constitutionalist and would not extend his term, the same ZBC, in the same news clip on the same day, had a rider streaming across the bulletin informing viewers that all was set for the Constitutional amendment seeking to extend the President’s term to sail through. This was unhelpful to ED’s intended message and grossly exposed his insincerity. That the ZBC, a known Zanu PF megaphone, would undermine (or is it overmine) Mnangagwa’s constitutionalist stunt on the same day and in the same bulletin was significantly telling. It exposed the true position that Mnangagwa wanted his term extended and all else was just a stunt and a theatric. 3. Failure to stop the party conference from adopting an unconstitutional resolution As the Zanu PF first secretary and a lawyer for that matter, ED in October last year presided over a party conference in Bulawayo which passed and adopted a patently unconstitutional resolution. It is telling that ED allowed the resolution to be adopted first before he deployed Patrick Chinamasa to slam it and to describe it as unimplementable. Indeed, it remains telling that the constitutionalist allowed the unconstitutional resolution to go through the processes and to be adopted before claiming it was unconstitutional therefore unimplementable. ED acted much like the leader of restaurant guests who order a meal and then upon being served, claim being allergic to the very meal they have ordered. Indeed, Mnangagwa stands akin to a parent who drives his family to a game park but upon arrival, drives back, on the grounds that his children are too young and may develop palpitations or heart seizures upon seeing lions, zebras and elephants. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. If Mnangagwa were sincere and honest, he had the powers as the first secretary of the party to make this unconstitutional resolution suffer a stillbirth before adoption at the party conference in Bulawayo. That he did not do so is telling in where he truly stands regarding that resolution. 4. The all-out attempt to incriminate and arrest Geza If Mnangagwa truly doesn’t want his term extended as he says, then why this all-out and desperate attempt to arrest Geza, who is saying the same message? Mnangagwa on Monday spoke about a camp in the party that had people who dressed in Zanu PF regalia but were not really Zanu PF. He appeared to insinuate that it is this “un”Zanu PF camp that was trying to make him a life President, which then inadvertently puts him in the same camp as Geza, who is saying No to a Presidential term extension. So if Geza and Mnangagwa are in the same camp of constitutionalists, why is the former being hunted down like a common criminal? Just why is Mnangagwa’s fellow Constitutionalist on the run while the camp of anti-constitutionalists led by Ziyambi Ziyambi and others is roaming scot-free? It all exposes the fact that ED was not being sincere. He is simply a certified liar. 5. ED's litany of unconstitutional acts Mnangagwa says he is a Constitutionalist but some two weeks ago, this column cited just 10 of his litany of Constitutional breaches since 2017 that show that the man is a serial Constitutional delinquent. The cited Constitutional breaches included the very coup that birthed his initial entry to the Presidency, his unconstitutional Cabinet appointments that he later reversed both in 2017and in 2018, his blatantly unconstitutional extension of Luke Malaba’s term, his capture of the judiciary and independent Commissions, including the ZACC and the ZEC, his deliberate trammelling of the sacred notion of separation of powers, his recently introduced unconstitutional land tenure system and his decision at some point to appoint a serving army commander into the Zanu PF politburo, among other Constitutional breaches. The man is simply no constitutionalist and his legacy is replete with several breaches of the supreme law of the land. . Conclusion Mnangagwa is simply a liar and Monday’s meeting with selected editors exposed his lack of sincerity around the unconstitutional Presidential term extension. Not only did he fail to extricate himself from the doyens of corruption on the land but he also dismally failed to show his fidelity to constitutionalism by calling for an immediate halt of both the Parliamentary motion and the mischievous party gatherings across the country that are playing bridesmaid to a purely unconstitutional misadventure to extend his Presidential term. Mnangagwa did not call anyone to order and was not even taking the matters seriously, given his demeanour and deportment during Monday’s meeting with the chosen editors. The man is simply a certified liar who is convinced that on this crucial matter, he can take a whole nation up the garden path. Well, let’s wait and see. _*Eddie Cross Questions Missing NSSA Billions, Demands Accountability*_ Economist and former MP Eddie Cross has raised serious concerns over the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), questioning the whereabouts of billions of dollars collected from employers over the past 25 years. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. Speaking at a public forum in Harare, Cross criticised NSSA’s financial management, alleging significant discrepancies in its reported assets. “If NSSA is worth $1.5 billion today after collecting $27 billion in the last 25 years from employers, where the hell has the rest of the money gone?” Cross asked, highlighting concerns over potential financial mismanagement, corruption, or misallocation of funds. NSSA, Zimbabwe’s mandatory pension fund for private-sector employees, has long been scrutinised over allegations of poor investment decisions, corruption, and lack of transparency. Over the years, the institution has been implicated in multiple financial scandals, with top executives facing charges of fraud and abuse of office. Cross’s remarks come amid growing frustration among pensioners who complain of meagre payouts that fall far below the rising cost of living. Many retirees, having contributed to the fund for decades, now struggle to make ends meet, leading to calls for a full forensic audit into NSSA’s financial dealings. In response, NSSA officials defended the organisation’s financial position, claiming that assets have been invested in various projects, including real estate and equities. However, critics argue that these investments have not yielded adequate returns, further fuelling public scepticism. Pressure is now mounting on the government to conduct an independent audit and implement reforms to restore confidence in NSSA’s financial management. _*Harare Council executives spending US$120,000 a year on holidays; US$1 million from City Parking used to purchase posh cars amid poor service delivery*_ HARARE Mayor Jacob Mafume has exposed a can of worms regarding how Council executives embezzled over US$1 million to purchase the latest vehicles in an inexplicable scheme. Mafume made these revelations on Tuesday as he concluded his testimony before the Commission of Inquiry, which is investigating the operations of the Harare City Council. In 2023, the Harare City Council (HCC) executive, led by the then Town Clerk Hosiah Chisango, purchased Toyota Fortuners using remittances from Harare City Park—a subsidiary of the HCC. Mafume revealed that the vehicles are being used by top officials, and no action has been taken to explain the purchase, which was made without the Council’s approval. “That is one of the biggest challenges because last year City Parking brought to the City Council about a million. When we started asking where that US$1 million went that is where the problem began and I am told that the US$1 million was used to purchase executive cars or Fortuners and so forth,” said Mafume. Mafume told the Commission, led by retired Justice Maphios Cheda, that the purchase of the top-of-the-range vehicles was made when the Council was dissolved ahead of the elections. “It happened towards 2023. Towards the elections. City Parking used to enforce one by-law which is the parking by-law then we made a resolution for them to enforce another by-law to give them two. “The sharing of the revenue was that they collect the revenue and we get 50 percent of that. Now because it was the first time they implemented that by-law, it raised US$2 million and the US$1 million was then remitted to the City Council. “We were going to the elections and the City Council dissolved. When we came back we said what happened with that US$1 million because we had earmarked it for doing the parking and all that. We were told that it was used. What it was used for and how it was used and we then learnt that purchases of vehicles for the Executives had been done in the time whilst we had the electioneering,” he said. - Harare losing US$10 million a year due to opaque billing system; says Mayor Mafume, last council audit done six years ago - Harare Town Clerk Chisango’s acquittal in US$9 million fraud case raises stink The chaos currently reigning at the Town House has been attributed to the lack of a functioning Electronic Resource Planning (ERP) system. The absence of an ERP system has resulted in financial mismanagement and unaccounted leakages of funds by the City Council. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. The Commission of Inquiry’s evidence leader, Thabani Mpofu, revealed that executives at the Council are spending US$125,000 per year on holidays. The Town Clerk is entitled to one international trip per year, while other executives are entitled to a regional trip. These holidays are paid for using ratepayers’ money, which the Council has claimed it does not have, hence the poor service delivery in the city. When questioned about the astronomical figures, Mafume professed ignorance, stating that he was shocked by the amounts. “From the figures, I will have no right to dispute those figures they do not come through me. I have no access to that. I am actually shocked at the figures and the information because they come at a time when we as Councillors are being asked and everybody is being asked to tighten their belts. Others are loosening,” said Mafume. Meanwhile, the Commission of Inquiry has completed its public hearings. The Commission will compile a report, which will be presented to President Emmerson Mnangagwa upon finalisation. _*ARTUZ calls on govt to scrap two examination boards for Ordinary, Advanced Level*_ THE Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has implored the government to scrap the current set-up of two examination boards for Ordinary and Advanced Level students arguing that this is increasing inequalities among learners. Students in the country can sit for their examinations under the Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) board while those who can afford can opt for the University of Cambridge exams board. However, the teachers’ group contends that some learners have enjoyed the prestige of the foreign examinations board, diminishing the value of equality in education. “ARTUZ reiterates its demand for a single examination board that serves all candidates, regardless of their socioeconomic status. The current system, which favours elites who can afford Cambridge examinations, is discriminatory and perpetuates inequality. “It is deeply concerning that duty bearers, including government officials, continue to neglect ZIMSEC while their own children sit for Cambridge examinations,” the union said. In the wake of ZIMSEC exam registrations, the teachers’ group bemoaned chronic underfunding of the local exams body and called for the urgent availing of resources by the government. The teachers union castigated ZIMSEC’s higher fees for private candidates saying they are unjust and exploitative and warned that the excess funds collected from private candidates are likely to be lost to corruption, further undermining the integrity of the examination system. The lobby group said the gazetted US$11 and US$24 to be paid subject to payment by O and A’Level students is way beyond affordability and brings to question whether the government’s subsidies towards basic education still exist. “ The government’s claim of covering 55% of the fees is a fabrication designed to create the illusion of support while shifting the burden onto parents and guardians,” added ARTUZ. _*Zimbabwe pushes landmine clearance deadline to 2028 due to funding gaps*_ Zimbabwe’s efforts to clear landmines and explosive remnants of the war have been delayed due to a lack of funding and disruptions by the Covid-19 pandemic. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. The landmines were put in by Rhodesian colonial forces during the fight for independence in the 1970s to stop freedom fighters from moving to and from Zambia and Mozambique. The government has been working towards achieving a landmine-free environment by December 2025 however the deadline has been pushed to 2028 due to financial challenges. Speaking at the national stakeholders’ dialogue on humanitarian demining and mine victim assistance Tuesday, Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri said changes in financial support from international donors have affected the demining project. “Our projection was to complete demining by December 2025. This is no longer realisable due to challenges associated with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and fluctuation in funding from the international donor community. “As a result, we are working on submitting another three-year extension request to the Secretariat of the Treaty. “The funding gap as at September 2024 and completion of mine clearance in Zimbabwe by 2028 was US$23.79 million.” Muchinguri said. She added that the government will keep funding the demining project. “On its part, the Government of Zimbabwe will continue to fund the National Mine Clearance Unit which requires a minimum of US$2,000,000 per year. “It is our hope that deliberations during this workshop will help unlock funding for mine action in Zimbabwe as completion of mine clearance hinged on sustained funding from the government and current and new donors. “Completion of mine clearance in Zimbabwe will not only help enhance safety and security in affected communities but will also go a long way in unlocking sustainable socio-economic development,” she added. Since 1980, landmines have killed or injured over 1,500 people, while more than 120,000 livestock have also died as a result. _*ZACC quiz for top lawyer Wilson Manase over ‘abuse’ of deceased estate*_ Top lawyer Wilson Manase was last Wednesday picked up by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) over alleged abuse of a deceased estate, ZimLive has learnt. Manase was leaving the Harare Magistrate Court where he is embroiled in another matter of abuse of estate property. His arrest comes after the late businesswoman Jane Maisiri’s son, Tongai Mhlanga, filed a complaint against him alleging that as an executor, he had failed to account for some of the estate’s property. Manase was at the court to attend to a case in which he is accused by Langton Nyatsambo on allegations that he abused his wife, the late Fiona Shadaya’s estate. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. Manase allegedly forged divorce papers to claim that Nyatsambo and Fiona were already divorced at the time the latter died. This was done to ensure that Nyatsambo could not benefit from the deceased estate. The top lawyer claims that he was given the divorce documents by the late Fiona’s father, Marshal Shadaya. However, Shadaya is denying ever giving him the papers. Instead, he claims that it was Manase who gave him the papers. The two will testify on the forged divorce documents. The case number on the divorce certificate was later established at the High Court to belong to a certain white couple, according to Nyatsambo. Fiona died in 2009 and since then, her estate has not been winded up. Several properties have already been disposed of by Manase, but Nyatsambo claims he has not received anything realised from the sale. In papers to the Master of the High Court, Manase said the value of the deceased’s estate was about US$1.5 million, but in papers before the High Court, he estimates the same to be close to US$5 million. He also claimed in papers at the Master that he has claimed executor fees of US$80,000 but at the High Court, the figure is about US$320,000, according to Nyatsambo. On Wednesday, when Manase was picked up by ZACC, Nyatsambo was surrounded by police officers who wanted to arrest him over an undisclosed complaint that Manase had reported against him. ZACC picked Manase to answer to charges of abusing the estate property by selling and renting out properties of the late Maisiri without consulting her family members. He was allegedly not remitting the funds to the beneficiaries, and failed to account for money in Maisiri’s offshore account. He also allegedly gave one of Maisiri’s houses in Eastlea, Harare, to his son. Mhlanga also alleged that Manase has been collecting rentals from various properties that belong to the estate over the years, and failed to account for the funds. Complaints against Manase are before the Law Society of Zimbabwe, which regulates the conduct of lawyers. Manase denies wrongdoing. _*Two Cars Stolen As Owners Booze*_ Bulawayo police have recovered two vehicles that were stolen on Sunday while their owners were drinking at KoSamuriwo Pub and Grill in Old Luveve suburb. The vehicles, a silver Mazda CX5 and a black Honda Fit, were found abandoned in the city within 48 hours of the theft. The Mazda CX5 was found with a missing battery, while the Honda Fit was intact. Acting Bulawayo police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele confirmed the development. According to Assistant Inspector Msebele, the owner of the Mazda CX5 parked his vehicle at Chigumira Shopping Centre on Saturday night and entered KoSamuriwo Pub and Grill. The man became heavily intoxicated and later woke up in a drainage trench in front of another bottle store at around 4am the following morning. He discovered that his car was missing, along with his car keys, prompting him to make a police report. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. Meanwhile, a 21-year-old man and his 23-year-old friend parked their Honda Fit at the same shops. They locked the doors but left the front passenger window open before entering the pub. When they returned around 3am, the vehicle was gone, despite still having the car keys. Chronicle _*10 000 drug abusers arrested in five months*_ POLICE have destroyed 80 illegal drug bases and arrested close to 10 000 offenders between September 2024 and January this year as government intensifies the campaign against drug and substance abuse. _*Disaster as Chitungwiza teenage ‘small house’ storms into married boyfriend’s (42) bedroom and finds him having lula lula with official wife*_ A Zengeza 1 man, Chamunorwa Kaitano (42), is nursing a severe facial injury and a heap of regret after a domestic dispute with his teenage girlfriend escalated into a violent confrontation. The incident has landed his 18-year-old girlfriend, Talent Gurure, in court, facing charges of domestic violence. The drama unfolded on January 27th when Gurure, from St Mary’s, allegedly stormed into Kaitano’s residence in the early hours of the morning and found the married couple busy enjoying a ‘morning glory lula lula session’. According to court testimony, Gurure simply opened the door without knocking, a move that would set off a chain of events with painful consequences. Prosecutor Passmore Rolenzo told the court that Gurure’s unexpected entry revealed a scene that triggered the alleged assault. She reportedly found Kaitano in bed with his wife, Pamela Gambiza (20), and both were unclothed. Gambiza recounted the shocking moment in court, stating, “I was shocked that someone could just arrive and open the door while we were naked and ‘sleeping together’. So, while my husband and I were scrambling to get dressed, that’s when she picked up a gas tank and struck him in the face, causing him serious injuries. At that time, I was already asking her who she was and what she wanted, and before I got an answer, this incident happened.” The alleged attack left Kaitano screaming in pain, prompting Gurure to flee the scene. Members of the public attempted to apprehend her, but their efforts proved unsuccessful. The incident was subsequently reported to the police, leading to Gurure’s arrest. Medical records presented in court as evidence confirmed the severity of Kaitano’s injury, revealing a deep wound above his right eye. Gurure is now facing charges under Section 3(1)(a) ARW Section 4(1) of the Domestic Violence Act Chapter 5:16. However, she is vehemently denying the charges, offering a different version of events. In her defence, Gurure claimed that she acted in self-defence after Kaitano initiated the violence. “I deny this charge because he was the one who started hitting me, and I retaliated, causing him to fall to the ground and injure his face. I did not strike him with a gas tank as he is claiming,” she told the court. The case, presided over by Magistrate Karen Jeffery, promises to be a complex one, with conflicting accounts and allegations of infidelity and violence. The incident has not only exposed a messy love triangle but has also brought to the fore the issue of domestic violence and the complexities of extra-marital relationships. _*Rwanda Suspends Development Cooperation with Belgium Amid Diplomatic Tensions*_ As the international community is being called upon to support the mediation process mandated by the African Union and the Joint EAC-SADC Summit to resolve the crisis in Eastern DRC, Belgium has led an aggressive campaign, together with DRC, aiming to sabotage Rwanda’s access to development finance, including in multilateral institutions. Belgium has made a political decision to choose a side in this conflict, which is its right, but politicizing development is plainly wrong. No country in the region should have its development finance jeopardized as a tool of leverage. Punitive, one-sided measures can only be construed as unwarranted external interference that undermines the African-led mediation process, and thereby risks delaying the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Indeed, such measures have repeatedly failed to provide a solution in the past, only adding to the problems and deferring them to the future. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. These efforts demonstrate that there is no longer a sound basis for development cooperation with Belgium. Accordingly, Rwanda is suspending the remainder of the 2024-2029 bilateral aid program with Belgium. Rwanda will not be bullied or blackmailed into compromising national security. Our only aim is a secure border, and an irreversible end to the politics of violent ethnic extremism in our region. Rwanda needs peace and a durable solution, and no one should continue to tolerate the cycles of conflict which continually recur because of the failure of the DRC Government and the international community, decade after decade, to fulfil their commitments to dismantle the UN-sanctioned genocidal FDLR militia, and protect minority rights. Development partnerships must be based on mutual respect, and Rwanda has made it a point to ensure maximum accountability for all the funding we receive, a fact that no partner has questioned. Maintaining mutual respect, and fully supporting the AU/EAC/SADC mediation, is essential during these difficult moments for our region. _*Russia and US agree to work toward ending Ukraine war in a remarkable diplomatic shift*_ Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, the two countries’ top diplomats said after talks that reflected an extraordinary about-face in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump. In an interview with The Associated Press after the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two sides agreed broadly to pursue three goals: to restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation. He stressed, however, that the talks — which were attended by his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and other senior Russian and U.S. officials — marked the beginning of a conversation, and more work needs to be done. _*European leaders hold crisis talks as US signals transatlantic reset*_ European leaders held a crisis meeting Monday in Paris to discuss Ukrainian and European security. the meeting comes after a blizzard of diplomatic interventions by Washington that have raised doubts over the U.S. commitment to the transatlantic alliance. *IGNITE SPORT* _*Hamilton 'invigorated' by Ferrari move at F1 launch*_ Lewis Hamilton made his first global appearance as a Ferrari driver as Formula 1 launched its 2025 season with a glitzy, ground-breaking show at London's O2 Arena. Hamilton, whose first laps in a Ferrari were watched at the team's test track by a few hundred fans in Italy last month, was the star attraction during the two-hour show on Tuesday, and received the biggest cheers. But many of the drivers drew huge reactions from the 15,000 crowd at the event, tickets for which sold out in 20 minutes last year. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. "Good evening everyone," Hamilton said as the crowd celebrated him and their first sight of the seven-time champion in Ferrari's red overalls. "Such a great night to be here among all of you. The word I am thinking about is 'invigorated'. I feel so full of life, because everything is new. Just focused on what's ahead. I am so excited to be part of the team." Host Jack Whitehall, meanwhile, joked about what it must have felt like for Mercedes to see their former champion walking out for their rivals. Hamilton became the most successful driver in F1 history racing for the Silver Arrows. Now, he is turning out for the biggest, most celebrated, most historic name in the sport, in a partnership that has created a huge buzz already, with the season still just under a month away. "It's everyone's worst nightmare," Whitehall said. "Your partner of 10 years running off with an Italian stallion." Hamilton, team-mate Charles Leclerc and Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur flew back to Italy straight after the show, to prepare for the official launch of Ferrari's 2025 car in Maranello on Wednesday. As with the other teams, the car on stage was a show car in this year's paint job, not the machine that will contest this championship. But Hamilton, who has gone to Ferrari with the aim of securing a record-breaking eighth title, was far from the only driver feeling the love of the audience. _*A series of terrible decisions sends Milan packing from UCL*_ Who knows exactly what thoughts lurked inside the head of Theo Hernández, just beneath his shocking pink tufts of hair, when he made the most boneheaded of decisions five minutes into the second half of AC Milan's Champions League playoff second-leg clash against Feyenoord? Games don't often turn on individual players and moments of startlingly bad decisions. This one largely did, and it cost Milan a place in the Champions League round of 16. A goal down from the first leg, Milan needed to win by two to advance. They got halfway there within 60 seconds of the opening kickoff: a Christian Pulisic cross, a Malick Thiaw nod back across goal and new signing Santi Gimenez on hand to tuck it in. One-nil up and 89 minutes (plus injury time) at home, in front of their fans, to notch the second. It seemed easy-peasy when you consider their opponents, Feyenoord -- who haven't been good since Arne Slot left for Liverpool nine months ago and whom already fired his successor, Brian Priske -- were missing no fewer than 10 players and were starting three teenagers as a result. Milan were squarely in control of the first half and missed several chances to double the lead. They started brightly in the second half going close to scoring again ... but then came Theo's lapse. Rafael Leão fed his full-back on an overlap as Theo sliced into the penalty area, duly ran at defender Givairo Read and ... very obviously tumbled over his leg, with no contact at all. Referee Szymon Marciniak had no choice but to show him the yellow card ... and then a red one too. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. Why? Theo had already been cautioned at the end of the first half, a booking as needless as this one. The first was for a pointless foul on Jakub Moder in the center circle, which erupted in a melee that left Theo's adversary on that flank, Anis Hadj Moussa, needing to be physically restrained. Some might be inclined (in a Machiavellian, Dark Arts sort of way) to justify trying to con the referee to win a penalty, but there's a time and a place for it. This wasn't it. It was classic risk-reward type stuff made worse by the fact that the way Milan were playing at the time, the second goal was bound to come. _*Champions League as it happened: Davies wins tie for Bayern last minute*_ Celtic were left devastated after Alphonso Davies scored in the last minute of stoppage time to send Bayern into the Champions League last 16. Nicolas Kuhn, who spent two years in Munich, had given the Scottish champions the lead on the night with a cool finish and they deserved the right to go to extra time. But he and his team-mates were denied at the very last with Davies following in after a superb Kasper Schmeichel save to avoid a huge upset. Celtic have been eliminated while Bayern Munich will face either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16. _*Man City need 'perfect game' - can Guardiola find miracle in Madrid tonight?*_ Pep Guardiola strode into the Bernabeu Stadium's palatial surroundings knowing Manchester City must overturn the odds - and logic - in a special place that usually reserves its miracles for Real Madrid. He has known every emotion in this legendary arena on a Champions League journey that has brought him here with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. And on Wednesday, Guardiola will once more appear alongside his friend and great adversary, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, beneath those towering stands knowing victory will rank among his finest achievements. Guardiola rates City's chances of overturning a 3-2 deficit from the first leg of this play-off to reach the last 16 as "1%". And, to gauge the opinions of locals in a city that has held more Champions League victory parades than any other, they feel Guardiola is erring on the side of optimism. Guardiola was in measured mood when he appeared in front of the media at the Bernabeu, an environment that represented enemy territory during his time as player and coach with Barcelona - and his message was crystal clear. "We have to make it almost the perfect game," he said. "We have to attack. We have to score goals. This is the idea." Guardiola is determined City will not leave the Bernabeu wondering or with regrets, saying: "We must play with courage. We must be ourselves. It will need incredible courage and we must play to win. "We could still lose, but we have to show that courage and be ourselves. We have to play so well, especially after the result we took away in the first leg." Opta statistics rate City's chances of advancing at a more optimistic 19.8%, but those percentages must be viewed through the prism of Real's history in this tournament and the muscle memory that kicks in for the 15-time winners when it matters. This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production. Guardiola's record with City against Real is chequered, though it started with victory in the last 16 in 2020, the two legs being played six months apart because of the Covid-19 pandemic. _*Oliver wrong to send off Lewis-Skelly - refs' chief Webb*_ Referees' chief Howard Webb says Michael Oliver was wrong to send off Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly during their Premier League win at Wolves. Arsenal were fined £65,000 for failing to control their players during the incident in which 18-year-old Lewis-Skelly was shown a straight red card for a foul on Matt Doherty in a 1-0 win at Molineux on 25 January. Video assistant referee (VAR) Darren England upheld referee Oliver's decision that Lewis-Skelly committed serious foul play. The Gunners appealed against the decision and the teenager's three-match ban was subsequently overturned. _*Man Utd weigh up £40m move for Ipswich's Delap*_ Manchester United are weighing up a move for Ipswich Town's £40m-rated England Under-21s striker Liam Delap, 22. Delap, who came through Manchester City's academy, has 10 Premier League goals this season and is also interesting Chelsea Ignite Media Zimbabwe sports tit bits: *Liverpool are prepared to offer Uruguay forward Darwin Nunez, 25, plus cash in exchange for Newcastle's £100m-plus rated Sweden forward Alexander Isak, 25. Isak has scored 17 Premier League goals this season* *However, Newcastle will not allow their best players to leave if they miss out on qualifying for next season's Champions League* *Arsenal and Chelsea are interested in Eintracht Frankfurt's French striker Hugo Ekitike, 22, as an alternative to Isak* *Liverpool are set for a busy summer of transfer activity, with Barcelona and Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong, 27, on a list of players the Reds might bid for* *Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, who has got Cherries fans dreaming of Europe, is top of Tottenham's list if they decide to replace Ange Postecoglou, who has been in charge since June 2023 but is under pressure following a poor run of results* *Manchester City's Argentine midfielder Maximo Perrone, 22, wants to turn his loan in Italy with Como - managed by former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas - into a permanent move* *Brighton might reluctantly sell Japan forward Kaoru Mitoma, 27, this summer for about £66m as he enters the final two years of his contract, with Chelsea one of the clubs interested* This is an Ignite Media Zimbabwe news production.