Mufandaedza 🩵🩵🩵

📍 South Africa 🇿🇦 South Africa is suspending fuel levies for a month to ease the impact of rising oil prices on consumers. “It is estimated that the partial reduction in the fuel levy will cost around R6 billion in foregone tax revenue for the one-month period”

Ostallos attended CAB3 hearing yesterday in Bulawayo Fadzai Mahere is at the City Sports Centre for the CAB3 public opinion hearing Tendai Biti is at the City Sports for the CAB3 public hearing Lovemore Madhuku is at the City Sports Centre WHERE IS NELSON CHAMISA?.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐨𝐠: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐍𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐬 In journalism, we have a cliched phrase “no sacred cows” which represents the industry’s most critical principle: that no person, individual, group, institution, or ideology is immune to scrutiny and criticism. That hackneyed aphorism is precisely a fundamental truth about the human condition: no one is infallible. Being fallible means that mistakes are an inherent part of life, and everyone is capable of making errors or errors of judgement. Mistakes in life are not always fatal, they are also opportunities for self-correction, learning, improvement and growth. No leader, regardless of their position, popularity, authority, or successes, should be above criticism as accountability, their maturity and prevention of dictatorship depend on that. Criticism serves as a vital check on power, ensuring that leaders remain focused on the interests of those they serve rather than their own self-interest or ego. No leader should try to abuse the people or voters' support for their own personal ambitions, benefit or comfort which serve no public interest or good. That's an important lesson to always remember when dealing with self-seeking political actors. When leaders are shielded from necessary criticism, they often become detached from reality and accountability, which often lead to poor decision-making, abuse of power and corruption. Leaders are not born dictators, they are made that by people, especially through personality cult politics. So criticism acts as a necessary "wake-up call" when leaders fall short of their responsibilities and forget their main responsibility: To serve the people. Whether it is President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Nelson Chamisa or any other leader, be they political, civil society, opposition, religious or community, there are no sacred cows when it comes to our reporting. If Mnangagwa does good things, we will report them. If he does bad stuff, we will expose them. Similarly, if Chamisa does good things we will report them as we have always done. If he goes astray, we will equally expose that; call him out. When Chamisa abandoned the main opposition CCC in January 2024, crying the party had been "infiltrated" and "hijacked", we criticised him, although it was mild, for basically abandoning the electorate and conceding hard won democratic space to Zanu PF. Sengezo Tshabangu was used by Zanu PF to spearhead the capture of CCC, but Chamisa should have firmly stood his ground and fought back courageously, not just quickly throwing in the towel and running away. That's not tenacious leadership, especially in times of adversity; it's cowardice. Now we are reporting on his back door move to negotiate a secret deal with Mnangagwa - which we always knew anyway - to be prime minister without telling his party or fellow leaders, and some think it's a fabrication or it should be suppressed. No, far from it, it's not a "sting operation" or "machination", as Chamisa claims, it's the truth. And he knows it. It is just that the sources with the details are insisting on confidentiality, otherwise the full story is yet to be told. There is nothing wrong with an opposition leader trying to find a solution to a national crisis through dialogue behind the scenes, but there is a world of difference between seeking a resolution to a problem for the common good and manoeuvres for personal accommodation or getting into the feeding trough to eat. Whenever Joshua Nkomo or Robert Mugabe during the struggle sought to engage Ian Smith, those in key, strategic positions always knew. Even during the 1987 Unity Accord talks between Zanu and Zapu in the aftermath of massacres in the southwestern region, those around Nkomo knew what was happening, even if some did not agree. Similarly, when Nelson Mandela engaged in prison talks, Oliver Tambo and key ANC leaders were put in the loop, especially as the process unfolded.