HARARE // Never before had the National Heroes' Acre, a cemetery for Zimbabwe's political icons, hosted such a crowd as the one that gathered for the burial of Joseph Msika, the vice president, this week.
With no space left in the grandstands, some people found perches in trees from which to watch Monday's proceedings that tens of thousands are thought to have attended, including leaders from other parts of the continent.
"He is our hero," said Muchada Nzou, 20, of Kambuzuma suburb in Harare, who was sitting on a tree branch. "He was honest, brave and loathed corruption, unlike some of our leaders."
Msika died last Wednesday aged 86, 10 years after Robert Mugabe, the president, appointed him his second-in-charge. He had been in poor health for years following a stroke in 2005. His death is expected to spark a succession battle.
Known as much for his forthrightness and humility as for his love for whisky and use of expletives, Msika was among the pioneers of the liberation struggle in the 1950s.
"Joe had given himself over to his people through the liberation struggle, to this very soil to which we commit his remains," said Mr Mugabe in a speech at the funeral.
Msika was born on December 6, 1923 in Chiweshe, north of Harare, and trained as a carpenter. He later worked as a cabinet maker in Bulawayo where he launched a political career that spanned 52 years.
By 1930s standards, the late vice president had a decent upbringing - his polygamous father owned more than 100 cattle, ran a wagon transport business and paid his children's school fees in eggs.
Msika's political activism landed him in trouble with colonial governments. He was arrested in 1964 while attending a political meeting at the house of a fellow nationalist, Josaih Chinamano, in Harare and jailed. He was released in 1974 after which he left for neighbouring Zambia to support the independence war. He was a member of PF- Zapu, a political party that amalgamated with Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF in 1987.
"As we inter his remains, we do so with both gratitude and acknowledgement that here lie the remains of one who saw it all, fought for it all and lived to see it all from the beginning to the end; the alpha and omega of our struggle for independence," Pathisa Nyathi, a historian, wrote in an opinion piece in The Chronicle, a newspaper published from Bulawayo
Msika was respected across the political divide and related with all, said a former employee, Edson Ntalawe, 67, who is originally from Malawi.
"It is sad especially for me that he is gone," said Mr Ntalawe.
"I am originally from Malawi and have worked for him for more than 20 years. Where will I go now? I cannot return to Malawi now, where will I start from?"
Jacob Zuma, South Africa's president, who sent his deputy Kgalema Motlanthe to Msika's funeral, extolled the late vice president, saying his death was a blow to Zimbabwe's six-month-old inclusive government which needed someone of his experience.
Msika's death means Mr Mugabe, 85, has lost three vice presidents in 10 years. The first, Joshua Nkomo, died in 1999 aged 81, followed by Simon Muzenda in 2003 at the age of 80.
The Independent weekly said Msika's death could see a bitter succession battle in Zanu-PF, already divided by a parallel war among rivals eyeing Mr Mugabe's post.
John Nkomo, 75, Zanu-PF's chairman and a former PF-Zapu official, is favoured to succeed Msika, though analysts say he could face a surprise challenge.
"A briefing to the Independent by senior Zanu-PF officials indicates that jostling for Msika's position started to escalate when it became clear his health was rapidly deteriorating ahead of the party's congress in December," the Independent said last Friday.
"Sources said Msika's death would fuel battles between Zanu-PF chair John Nkomo, [Minister of Mines] Obert Mpofu and Bulawayo governor Cain Mathema to succeed him. Nkomo is seen as the frontrunner."
Mr Mugabe religiously follows the terms of the 1987 unity agreement his Zanu-PF party signed with PF-Zapu, under which both share equally the top four posts in the party and government. The top four, called "the presidium", are the president, his two vice presidents and the party chairman. After Msika's death, the "presidium" has Mr Mugabe, Joice Mujuru as the remaining vice president, and Mr Nkomo as national chairman.
"So in terms of the 1997 accord, I expect Nkomo to rise to the vice presidency," said Madock Chivasa, political commentator and spokesman of the National Constitutional Assembly, an organisation that is campaigning for a new democratic, people-driven constitution.
"He is the most senior former PF-Zapu member still in Zanu-PF. I do not see much debate there. The debate will be who replaces him as national chairman. For that post, I do not see any favourites, but the successor will have to come from the old PF-Zapu as dictated by their unity agreement."
tmpofu@thenational.ae
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Where to submit a sample
Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
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Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Director: Stephen Merchant
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Florence Pugh, Thomas Whilley, Tori Ellen Ross, Jack Lowden, Olivia Bernstone, Elroy Powell
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How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate