This icon died on June 29 in 1997.
Philip Mushangwe, Paraffin. For me the greatest to ever do it.

The ‘Zino Episode’ still rules…😀 Couple goals…

Another round of the “white farmers in Zambia now feeding us” lie. Again: great propaganda against Zanu. But doesn’t help us learn how others have grown their yields, farming.
Fact: +90% of Zambian maize is grown by small scale farmers
🧵 With links: zimfact.org/analysis-are-e…… 2/ According to FAO, Zambian small-scale farmers produce 80% of their country’s food. Give them credit, and not diminish their work just for ‘we chased away whites propaganda.
How are they doing it? Yields.

🧵 Unpopular facts thread on lithium:
First, about Bikita, then Zim lithium in general.
1. Bikita does NOT export “lithium”, and certainly not 500 tons/day. Facts below:

https://twitter.com/fmaguwu/status/1525380513896226816

2. There are 2 ‘types of lithium’:

Bikita exports petalite. Used in ceramics (tiles, glass, kitchenware). The petalite Bikita exports is fully beneficiated; added AS IS in manufacturing. 
The company does not yet mine spodumene, which bears the lithium used for batteries

Greetings.
Celebrating #ZimAt42 with a thread of my Top 25 Zim songs of all time.

Far too many songs to pick from. But each of these songs on my list carries a special memory of growing up in Zim for me.
(Save for # 1, not in any order)

🧵Here goes🧵 1. Simukai - Pied Pipers

Not just my fave Zim song, but just my fave song, period. Takes me back to my childhood, on the lawn, in those ridiculous adidas shorts and North Stars, Simukai playing out of the Tempest radio, eating a sherbet.

It lifts my spirits. Every time.

🧵 Delta (Coke) vs Varun (Pepsi): Two brands slugging it out on the streets in Zim. ‘Ngoro’ at every corner as they push product straight to market.
At play? A market that loves drinking sugar. Varun reckons that a Zimbo drinks 65 bottles of fizz per year…
🧵thread When they first tested the Zim market about 6 years ago, first thing Varun did? Undercut big brother Delta’s prices. Then in 2018 they built a plant, set up a $250m warchest. Said we want 35% of market share in 5 years and at least half the market in a decade. Bold.

Let’s talk solar projects in Zimbabwe.

[Small thread on current solar projects, and planned ones]

This is Harava, building a 20MW solar farm in Seke. Initial phase of 6MW done and company is now scaling up. According to Harava, the plant would provide power to 45 000 home This is in Mutoko. It’s the 2.5MW Riverside Solar Power Station by Nyangani Renewable Energy. It’s one of the first independent power producers to feed solar power into the national grid. It went live in 2018

Pretty awesome seeing the irrigation tech being deployed at this project, Palmlife, Ivanhoe Farm, Mash East. Seems blueberry is the new gold.
How they grow them #Thread Project started 2019. The farm is 45ha with 30ha of blueberry so far. Production this year is c100 tonnes, off the first 10ha. 600 tons expected next year off 30ha. A further 14ha will be planted in April 2021, taking total to 44ha of blueberries

[THREAD] The US$3.5bn white farmers’ compensation

Personally, I think it’s a total waste of time and effort. Won’t change anything.
But some of the debate has missed facts, history and context.
First, some detail here on genesis of the issie since 2016

newzwire.live/analysis-your-… First, what does the law say?
According to the Constitution, white farmers are entitled to compensation for “improvements” on the farms. There’s no compensation for the land itself. You can’t go to court if your land is taken over for farming. “Property rights” yadda yadda

Thread on Dr Kamuzu Banda, apartheid and African nationalism.
Here, arriving at Waterkloof in SA, 1971. He disagreed with other African leaders on isolating apartheid SA. While touring SA, Kamuzu spoke to Malawian migrants working in the mines there. Told them he defied other African leaders on relations with South Africa.
(Amused at the applause mid-statement - before he got to his point)