• Uproar in Parliament
• Strive Masiyiwa denies donating money to MDC
• Mugabe - "too bossy"
• Massive retrenchment at minerals firm
• Uncertainty threat to agriculture, says official
• Harsh conditions threaten survival of timber industry
• Media Monitoring
• Prayer meeting (letter)

For the first time since independence, there was no unanimity among the 150 MPs on the choice of Speaker and Deputy Speaker. Mnangagwa and his deputy, Edna Madzongwe, were elected by secret ballot.
Providing the first practical indication of how business will be conducted in Parliament following Zanu PF's narrow victory in last month's election, the MDC, which won 57 seats against 62 for the ruling party, flexed its muscles by opposing the nomination of Mnangagwa. They proposed instead the former MP for Chimanimani, Mike Mataure, for Speaker and Paul Themba Nyathi, the MDC MP for Gwanda North, as deputy.
Wooden ballot boxes and polling booths from the Registrar-General's Office were set-up in the House for the ballot which was supervised by the Clerk of Parliament, Austin Zvoma.
All 148 MPs who had just been sworn in and were present in the House cast their ballot. Mnangagwa polled 87 votes against Mataure ıs 59 votes. Two ballot papers were spoilt.
Madzongwe received 87 votes to Nyathi's 60, with one spoilt paper.
After Zvoma proclaimed that Mnangagwa, 58, had been elected Speaker of the Fifth Parliament, Shuvai Mahofa, MP for Gutu South, and Joyce Mujuru, the Minister of Rural Resources and Water Development, jumped from their seats and led Zanu PF MPs in a war dance, singing loudly in Shona "Zimbabwe ndeyeropa baba, Zimbabwe ndeyeropa remadzibaba" (Zimbabwe's independence was won through bloodshed.)
Taken by complete surprise by this sudden outburst on the part of Zanu PF, MDC MPs momentarily sat glued to their seats.
Then, one by one, they all stood up. Then, chanting in unison, they drowned the Zanu PF voices as they sang "Zanu yawora, Zanu yawora!" (Zanu is now rotten!)
As if on a cue, the Zanu PF members suddenly became quiet, retreated to their seats and watched in silence as the MDC MPs sang to their hearts' content.
Dressed in his black and white ceremonial robes, Zvoma was forced to raise his voice above the din to call for order in the chamber before restoring some semblance of decorum in the august House.
After Mnangagwa, the Leader of the House before his electoral defeat last month, was introduced to the MPs and had taken the oath of office, he told the legislators he would be "fair and impartial, but firm".
The former Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, who lost his Kwekwe Central seat to the MDC's Blessing Chebundo, promised to enhance the efficiency, transparency, fairness and the dignity of the office of the Speaker and the institution of Parliament.
He said: "The Fifth Parliament of Zimbabwe is unique in that for the first time since independence we have a significant opposition from among fellow indigenous Zimbabweans. My joy rests in that once elected a Member of Parliament by the people of Zimbabwe, such a member will work for the national interest and to this end I hope to interact and communicate effectively with every Honourable Member, irrespective of their partisan origin.
" In this way, I hope to be a true representative of this august House and a guardian of the rights and privileges of the House, its committees and its members."
Mnangagwa said he hoped Parliament would be as relevant as possible to the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans by passing laws that were conducive to greater national development and that led to the improvement of the quality of life of every citizen.
Responding to Mnangagwa's address, Sibanda, the MDC vice-president and MP for Nkulumane who is the official leader of the opposition in Parliament, pledged that his party would engage in meaningful and constructive debate to bring about democracy in Zimbabwe.
He said: "On behalf of the MDC I would like this House to recognise that today there is a voice that has the right to speak on behalf of those that cherish democracy. We hope that our contribution is going to be a contribution to the development of Zimbabwe."
Welcoming the MPs, Vice-President Simon Muzenda called for a harmonious working relationship among all MPs.
He said: "We need to remember that we are all members of one nation working to advance its interest and not personal interest. I hope we shall all work with that objective in the forefront of our minds."
The new Leader of the House, former Attorney-General Patrick Chinamasa, the new Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, said his office would be open to all MPs who had suggestions on how the conduct of parliamentary business could be improved or enhanced.
He said: "We will, without shame or apology to anyone, incorporate and take on board any proposals, policies or suggestions from any quarter whatsoever which we perceive are promotive of the cause of all our people."
Chinamasa said Zanu PF accepted the different voices of the people represented in Parliament and was confident that those voices would not send "discordant messages" that were damaging to national interest.

Masiyiwa was denying a statement made by Eddie Cross, the MDC economic affairs executive that he was being hounded by the government for supporting the opposition's cause.
Cross told a business breakfast meeting on 7 July that Masiyiwa was being persecuted for the money he had donated to the MDC election campaign. He did not disclose the amount.
"Strive Masiyiwa is being punished for giving us a cheque for our operations," said Cross at the meeting. "At least he was man enough to sign the cheque."
Welshman Ncube, the secretary-general of the MDC, yesterday said he knew nothing about the donation.
"I don't know where Eddie Cross got the information," said Ncube. "I am not aware of anything. Therefore I am not in a position to confirm for you, one way or the other. In any case, we do not discuss our donors in public unless the person wants to go to the Press."
Cross yesterday referred The Daily News to Masiyiwa, saying the party was not keen to mention individual donors.
He said the MDC would soon announce the donations made to the party. "But we will not be discussing individuals for obvious reasons," said Cross.
Buthe said, businessmen had supported the MDC in many different ways.
"If Strive says he did not make a cash donation, he is not telling an untruth. Half the businessman in Harare could say the same," said Cross.
Ncube could neither confirm nor deny that Masiyiwa donated to the party.
Masiyiwa is understood to be in the United States. He has been under investigation by the National Economic Consultative Forum's Anti-Corruption Committee, headed by Phillip Chiyangwa, a businessman and now Zanu PF MP for Chinhoyi.
Police have said they want to interview Masiyiwa as part of investigations of misconduct at First Mutual Life (FML).
Nigel Chanakira, the chief executive of Kingdom Financial Holdings, has appeared in court in connection with the allegations of fraud at FML.
Econet has said Masiyiwa is on an extended business trip and did not have to account for his movements.

Tekere, 63, a former Cabinet minister in Mugabe first government, said the only way the new ministers would be able to perform effectively was without Mugabe, whom he described as "too bossy".

The chief executive, Onesimo Moyo, said the process was meant to rejuvenate the parastatal and ensure superior service to its stakeholders.
"We had to retrench staff because we want to be leaner and more organised to give superior service to all our stakeholders," said Moyo.
He said certain positions became redundant due to advances in technology and the direction of the corporation.
"We believe that if we're lean and efficient, even if revenues were to fall, we would remain viable," said Moyo.
The MMCZ paid $56,3 million in dividend and corporate tax to the government on Wednesday, 12 July.
One of the retrenched managers who refused to be named said the process was so transparent there was no reason to complain.
The works council agreed with management on the criteria for retrenchment which included education and age, with workers aged 50 and above being retrenched.
Moyo would not disclose details of the retrenchment packages saying there was an agreement with the workers to maintain confidentiality. The corporation was set-up by government in the early 80s to centralise and control the export of all the country's minerals.

"I don't think anyone could have foreseen the unbelievable events which have taken place in the farming community over the past five months," Simon Pritchard, chairman of the Zimbabwe Cereal Producers' Association, said in Nyanga recently.
"The anguish and uncertainty caused, and the inability to foresee the problems as they arose has been horrendous."
In his remarks to the association's 15th annual congress, Pritchard expressed cautious optimism that the future looked somewhat rosy provided farmers were allowed to carry on with their farming activities and better agronomic practices were adopted.
He said the timing of the land invasions could not have been worse from a crop production point of view. Reaping of summer crops, land preparation and planting of the winter crop were severely disrupted in some areas and, consequently, winter hectarages were reduced.
At least five farmers were killed as war veterans occupied over 1 000 farms between February and June this year.
Pritchard applauded farmers who faced threats and intimidation, but still managed to plant.
But while the future of the wheat industry, in particular, was uncertain, he was optimistic it would get back on its feet next year with increased yields.
"The way forward is uncertain, though I am cautiously confident that we can get back on track next year and increase production again," Pritchard said.
"Viability is perhaps the biggest threat faced by all and needs to be resolved."
Last year the industry yielded 325 000 tonnes of wheat from 57 500 hectares, up from 300 000 tonnes from 50 000ha in 1998.
An estimated 250 000 tonnes of wheat and 30 000 tonnes of barley will be produced this year.
Actual production would depend on the season but yield was likely to be reduced since much of the crop was planted late for various reasons,Pritchard said.

"The situation is critical and the fundamental issues must be resolved for the industry to succeed," Phillip Kariwo, chairman of the Timber Producers Federation, said in Mutare on Monday.
Kariwo warned, at the organisation's annual general meeting, the government must introduce policies that promote industrial growth and development.
His speech was read for him by Bill Johnstone, the federation's chief executive.
Kariwo urged the new government to recognise the importance of forestry land and clearly spell its position on security of tenure for timber plantation land.
Kariwo said such clarity would restore confidence and encourage investment and development of the industry.
His remarks follow industry concerns that land tenure, so fundamental to the sector, was under threat.
Development of the industry was being stifled by loss of investor confidence while markets were shrinking due to the depressed economic climate, he said.
Unrealistic currency exchange rates were making exports unattractive while high production costs driven by high inflation and high interest rates were eroding profitability.
"Collectively, these constraints constitute a hostile environment which is damaging business moral and seriously limiting the effectiveness of the industry," Kariwo said.
The industry was ready to work with the government and other key players to help put it recover through increased timber production and export sales.
The sale of timber, poles and primary products, including wattle extract, charcoal, paper, board products and matches in 1999/2000 yielded about $3,1 billion.
This included about $1 billion from export sales, representing a 32,4 percent increase on the previous year's contribution.