Watch video below. ..

Deputy minister of Information Energy Mutodi has rubbished G40 stalwart and former cabinet minister Saviour Kasukuwere’s presidential ambitions saying he is a mere former driver who serves no purpose.

Said Mutodi:

Mutodi dragged the late MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai and his predecessor Nelson Chamisa into his sarcastic description of Kasukuwere adding that it was baffling that he had presidential ambitions.

“Aspiring President Saviour Kasukuwere is a former driver at Gwaradzimba Express Motorways, his role model Morgan Tsvangirai was a tea boy and his potential ally Nelson a church pastor. Wonders will never end. Saviour serves no purpose.”

Today it is the World Mental Health Day, a very important occasion where we stop and reflect on how we would have spent the previous year looking after the most import part of the human body, the mind.

On the 10th of October every year, the world commemorates and acknowledges the importance of mental health across the world in metropolitan and rural communities.

The focus on this year’s World Mental Health Day is on suicide, because it has become a global public health crisis that is preventable, and yet it has become a mental health menace which has taken many of our people to the grave prematurely.

The World Health Organisation informs us that every 40 seconds, someone, somewhere in the world takes their own life through suicide.

That is a frightening statistic, 2160 people dying daily through suicide, it translates to 788,400 people dying annually from suicide.

This prevalence makes suicide an immediate problem that requires urgent medical and social solutions within our communities, because not doing so is robbing the country of people who succumb to this menace at the prime of their lives.

Suicide is now believed to be the leading cause of death among young people aged between 16 and 28 in Zimbabwe.

Unfortunately here in our country, it is not unusual anymore to read headlines in the local media related to suicide.

Our citizens are now so used to it, such that they simply shake their heads in disbelief whenever another suicide story is published in our media.

A society should NEVER be conditioned to something so dreadful that can be drastically reduced by public mental health interventions, failing to do so is an act of gross irresponsibility and social negligence.

This means that suicide has become a major public health priority that needs immediate attention in Zimbabwe.

Unfortunately we currently have a broken public health delivery system that is struggling to treat the most basic of medical conditions due to years of underfunding and neglect.

According to the World Health Organisation, our country has one of the highest suicide rates in the region, this is not surprising anymore because a struggling economy puts unbearable pressure on the minds of its citizens.

Associated with suicide are also mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders and many other mental health conditions that unfortunately due to our age old cultural taboos, they are not talked about sufficiently and openly in our communities.

These mental health disorders are easily treatable, but because of the huge treatment gap for such conditions in our country, 90 percent of those needing evidence-based care do not get it because we don’t have enough professionals to treat them.

Zimbabwe currently has only 15 practicing psychiatrists for a population of 15 million people that is one psychiatrist for every one million people.

Unfortunately almost all of them are restricted to tertiary health facilities in Harare, making it difficult for those at community and rural locations to access this pertinent service.

Task shifting is a concept that has been encouraged by the World Health Organisation as a way of addressing this treatment gap.

Making evidence-based care treatments accessible to many of our people who can’t afford to see a psychiatrist or a psychologist is extremely important.

By training community health volunteers as we have seen with the Friendship bench program, it is possible to provide immediate access in communities, schools, universities and the work place with the much-needed mental health care.

There is an urgent need for our mental health professionals to explore ways of scaling up task shifting models, particularly the ones that have been developed locally.

Mental health requires our communities to get together because Zimbabwe is going through one of the most difficult times, and the risk of mental ill health is high and probable in all segments of our country regardless of societal status, class or race.

As a political party concerned with the mental well-being of our citizens, the MDC values the importance of mental health because it is a key building block to a prosperous society and economy.

A prosperous and healthy economy by its very nature will reduce the pressures that afflict our people daily, resulting in disorders such as depression and anxiety or worse.

I therefore on this very important day encourage all Zimbabweans to take time out to show compassion towards each other, and remember that regardless of our various chosen political persuasions, we are one people.

Be your brother’s keeper, be the mother of the nation who will help heal the many traumatic wounds that we carry from a very difficult past and presently harsh economic environment. Under my new government, I make a commitment today to putting mental health amongst my first priorities in order to reduce the unacceptable mental treatment gap.

It is totally unacceptable that out of every 100 people that require access to mental health services in our country, only 10 people are able to get that much needed help that is 10 percent.

 We will change all that and make mental health the most urgent priority in our health delivery system. For what are we without our minds?

Today let us create space and pay attention to citizens that need someone to talk to and share their stories, talking is an important therapy tool in healing the mind.

Let us all take time to listen to the broken hearted, and let us all remember to take good care of our mental health.

On behalf of the MDC and myself, I wish the whole country a happy World Mental Health day.

Advocate Nelson Chamisa
President – Movement For Democratic Change

By A Correspondent- A recent report in the Daily News on the deliberations of and the goings-on within the Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) caused Emmerson Mnangagwa to blow the gasket – in a development which left the high-profile counsellors stunned.

Well-placed sources told the newspaper that the normally laid back Mnangagwa tore into his advisors and angrily asked them to resign if they were not happy with him and his government’s response to the country’s myriad political and economic challenges.

Mnangagwa reportedly told his advisors to resign from their posts as advisers if they are unable to keep secrets.

His remarks come after reports suggesting that some PAC members leaked internal and confidential information to the Daily News on the discussions taking place in PAC.

Mr George Charamba who is the spokesperson of President Mnangagwa confirmed the development saying that the president was not happy with his advisers.

By A Correspondent- The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has pushed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government into a tight corner after saying teachers will withdraw labour on the 14th of October unless the government increases their salaries.

Writing on their Twitter handle, teachers said:

“We don’t have to risk the integrity of national examinations by deploying hungry and angry teachers as invigilators. Withdrawing labour on 14 October is in the best interest of our education sector.”

We dont have to risk the integrity of national examinations by deploying hungry and angry teachers as invigilators. Withdrawing labour on 14 October is in the best interest of our education sector. @RMajongwe @advocatemahere @PedzisaiRuhanya @DavidColtart #NoToSlaveWages pic.twitter.com/0xWN6Lh7BN

— Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe,ARTUZ (@ARTUZ_teachers) October 10, 2019

https://twitter.com/MarketZimbabwe/status/1181898754082906113?s=19

By A Correspondent- A gold panner died after he fell into a 20-metre-deep mine shaft in Umzingwane while illegally prospecting for the mineral.

Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Loveness Mangena confirmed the incident which occurred on Sunday at around 6AM at Stancorn Farm.

She said Goodness Sibanda (25) of Dingile Village in Matobo slipped and fell into the shaft.

“I can confirm that we recorded a sudden death case which occurred in Umzingwane. Goodness Sibanda who was in the company of two others was illegally prospecting for gold at Stancorn Farm.

“While he was entering the shaft Sibanda slipped and fell into the shaft and sustained broken legs and head injuries. He was assisted by his mates who pulled him out of the shaft and he was ferried to Umzingwane District Hospital where he was confirmed dead upon arrival,” she said.

Insp Mangena urged people to desist from illegal mining.

“As police we continue to urge people to desist from engaging in illegal mining activities as by so doing they will be putting their lives at risk. Such people conduct their mining activities without protective clothing and necessary equipment which may result in injuries or death, like in this case. People have to regularise their mining operations and acquire the necessary equipment and clothing,” she said.

–StateMedia

By A Correspondent- Passengers who survived Saturday’s Smart Express Vumba bus accident have blamed the driver for causing the mishap as they accused him of drinking beer before the journey to Mutare.

A man who identified himself as the owner of the bus, Ken Makosi, refused to comment on the accident. He begged the reporter to drop the story.

“Please don’t publish this story because it will tarnish the image of our company. We will definitely do something for you/”

The driver of the bus, who refused to divulge his name, however quickly dismissed the allegations and attributed the accident to a mechanical fault.

The accident occurred barely a year after another Smart Express bus killed over 50 people along the Harare-Mutare Highway in a horrific national disaster.

With over 40 people on board while descending the steep Vumba curves, the driver lost control of the bus at the 15km peg from Mutare at the Lower Vumba Gardens.

It landed on its right side, injuring several passengers who were quickly rushed to hospital by guests who were attending a wedding nearby.

When the Manica Post arrived at the scene moments later, most of the injured had been taken to hospital.

The visibly confused bus driver labored to explain what had happened.

“When I was negotiating a curve, I heard something breaking under the bus and I knew it was the U-bolt. I lost control of the vehicle but I managed to avoid hitting trees, otherwise people would have died,” he said.

When asked about his alleged braai and beer drinking binge at Chishakwe Business Centre before the journey to Mutare he said: “I didn’t drink beer. These are mere allegations.”

However, accident victims were singing from a different hymn book.

Precious Marigo who suffered head and body injuries said: “I boarded the bus at Tambawaguta bus stop after I had been told by a passerby that the bus was delaying because the bus driver was busy drinking beer and braaing at Chishakwe Business Centre. When I boarded the bus he (the driver) was shouting at passengers to move fast because he was behind time. He was also speeding, despite passengers discouraging him from doing so.”

The MDC rejected a proposal by churches for a seven-year moratorium on elections on Wednesday, but welcomed efforts by heads of Christian denominations to end Zimbabwe’s economic and political paralysis.

The pitch was made by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the Union for the Development of Apostolic Churches in Zimbabwe Africa on Tuesday.

The churches called for a “Sabbath on all political contestation for seven years to allow for the rebuilding of trust and confidence, reset our politics and chart a shared way forward towards a comprehensive economic recovery path in a non-competitive political environment.”

Zanu PF has yet to respond, although deputy information minister and Goromonzi MP Energy Mutodi put out a tweet on Wednesday saying the churches’ call was based on “visions from the devil”.

The MDC was more measured, saying it welcomed the church’s efforts at finding solutions to the country’s deepening economic crisis marked by triple digit inflation; fuel, bread and electricity shortages; a weak currency and declining salaries.

“Every interested key stakeholder in the country must look for a long-lasting solution, because the people are suffering,” MDC spokesman Daniel Molokele said.

“But as the MDC, we have been very clear in our position concerning the future of this country and the way forward, that unless and until we resolve the political issues, the economy is going to be affected.”

Key to solving Zimbabwe’s problems, Molokele said,  was resolving what he called a “crisis of political legitimacy”. His party does not recognise President Emmerson Mnangagwa following his disputed election win last year.

Molokele added: “The MDC has come up with the RELOAD policy document that outlines the five steps that need to be taken to ensure we move forward as a country. These begin with addressing political and diplomatic issues; an all-inclusive national dialogue process; a national transitional mechanism; comprehensive reforms and a free and fair election that will restore us to political legitimacy and allow us to focus on the economic and social issues.

“As the MDC, we encourage citizens to present their own positions on the future of the country so that we finally come to a national convergence to resolve the political issues.”

Mnangagwa has invited the MDC to a political dialogue process along with two dozen other political party leaders who took part in last year’s elections, but the MDC says it will only take part in direct talks with the Zanu PF leader in a dialogue mediated by a neutral foreign convenor with an African Union and United Nations mandate.

The church leaders said Zimbabwe was in the grips of an economic and political paralysis which could not be solved by another election.

“Since 2000, election periods have been characterised by violence and paralysing polarisation… We foresee that whichever political party wins an election, the paralysis will remain if the opposing parties do not learn how to collaborate,” they said.

“The… current environment does not allow for meaningful political reforms nor is it conducive for an inclusive economic participation for ordinary citizens. Such an environment of toxic political relations also renders our international re-engagement process futile, which international isolation inhibits investor confidence.”

The suspension of elections in the constitution, the churches said, would be put to a national referendum following which discussions would begin about a detailed government structure.

“The assumption is that once the principle receives national acceptance through a referendum, a consultative process to design the operationalisation framework of the Sabbath season will be established through a broad-based and comprehensive national dialogue involving all levels of society.”

The churches said the Sabbath was a deep theological theme based on God’s command to his people to set the seventh day for a rest.

“Seven years were also considered as Sabbath years. Seven-year Sabbaths or 49 years constituted what was called the Jubilee season. In this Jubilee season, land would be left fallow so that it could recover its nutrients. Debts would be forgiven. New relationships would be built and God would bless his people.

“Zimbabwe reaches her Jubilee year in 2029. The nation could use this coming period to usher in a true Jubilee for the nation by removing all political contestation…”

Prominent Harare based clergyman Bishop CB Motondo of Grace Fellowship Ministries has revealed that there is a suspicious plot by a woman in this country and Zimbabweans must be on the lookout.

Speaking in an interview which touched the developments happening in Zimbabwe Motondo said he was going to give a Prophetic word for Zimbabwe during a Conference that he will be holding in Harare from the 18th to the 20th of this month.

Said Motondo, “There is a particular person God has shown me and that particular person is in and out of the country and his movement is suspicious but the issue involves a woman. I cannot reveal much now but I reveal more during the Conference from the 18th to the 20th of October. But I can only say that person is up to something.”

Listen to the full interview below:

Source – Byo24

Professor Jonathan Moyo has alleged that the members of the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation have infiltrated into all the newsrooms of media houses in the country except that of the South African owned Sunday Times.

Moyo was talking after the Daily News wrote a scathing letter to his Twitter statement that the Financial Gazette was owned by the CIO.

Said Moyo, “The CIO bought into the Financial Gazzette long before the latter’s association with Daily News. This is a fact. It stands to reason that the CIO is also in the newsroom of the DailyNews. Now the CIO is in the newsrooms of all major media houses in Zimbabwe except the Sunday Times.”

Read below the extract of the Daily News article:

“It is generally not our style to either engage with or respond to the mad rantings of deluded chaos mongers, pathological liars and social media retards. But there comes a point where some things cannot be ignored as remaining silent under such circumstances can, unfortunately, encourage shameless charlatans and other small minds in their malicious, wicked ways. Indeed, and as Richard Edelman said, to be silent is sometimes to be complicit.

“And so, it was with utter horror that we were alerted to a social media posting this week by the self-exiled former Cabinet minister, Jonathan Moyo, which suggested that our sister newspaper, The Financial Gazette, is allegedly owned by the country’s notorious Central Intelligence Organisation.

“Only dunderheads think CR6s & CR14s are the best evidence to expose shareholders or to pierce the corporate veil of a rogue media house in bed with an embattled predatory State. The CIO ownership of the Fingaz is not recorded in any CR6 or CR14, yet it is a fact!” this notorious author of the current dire state of Zimbabwe’s media wrote “authoritatively” as he had a go at a rival media house.

“As expected, his ever obliging poodles a good number of them thoroughly discredited former State media hacks supported this rank lunacy.

Norton Member of Parliament Temba Mliswa has urged former Minister of Tourism Senator Prisca Mupfumira to resign from her senatorial position due to the alleged mounting cases against her.

Said Mliswa, “I don’t know why Mai Mupfumira continues to hang on to the Senatorial seat; she’s already been humiliated and should resign. More cases are already piling up against her.”

Mupfumira was released on bail last month after spending two months in jail over the disappearance of $94million from NSSA.

Mliswa was at the forefront of calling for her arrest.

Mupfumira is  first sitting minister of the ruling Zanu-PF party to be arrested for corruption under the new administration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Two weeks after her arrest  Mnangagwa sacked her from his cabinet.

After several attempts to be released from jail while she faces the charges, she was freed on bail and ordered her to report to a police station twice a week

Mnangagwa has identified endemic corruption as a major contributor to the country’s economic woes and vowed to root it out.

Zimbabwe is expected to experience scattered thunder showers accompanied by lightning, strong winds and hail in some parts of the country, according to the Meteorological Services Department (MSD).

In a statement issued yesterday, the MSD said Manicaland, Matabeleland South, Masvingo, Midlands and parts of Mashonaland East were expected to start recording heavy rains starting today.

Elsewhere, scattered clouds are expected to develop with some isolated thundershowers.

“The thundershowers may be very violent in some places and accompanied by lightning, strong winds and even hail,” said the MSD.
“The public is advised that it is safer to be indoors during thunderstorms and do not stay under trees as these tend to be natural lightning conductors.”

The country had been characterised by erratic weather, with very hot temperatures. The MSD said the current spate of isolated heat storms, light showers coupled with thunder and lightning in places far apart was normal during this transitory stage between winter and the main rain season which has not yet began.

By A Correspondent| Deputy minister of Information Energy Mutodi has rubbished G40 stalwart and former cabinet minister Saviour Kasukuwere’s presidential ambitions saying he is a mere former driver who serves no purpose.

Said Mutodi:

Mutodi dragged the late MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai and his predecessor Nelson Chamisa into his sarcastic description of Kasukuwere adding that it was baffling that he had presidential ambitions.

“Aspiring President Saviour Kasukuwere is a former driver at Gwaradzimba Express Motorways, his role model Morgan Tsvangirai was a tea boy and his potential ally Nelson a church pastor. Wonders will never end. Saviour serves no purpose.”

Aspiring President Saviour Kasukuwere is a former driver @ Gwaradzimba Express Motorways; his role model Morgan Tsvangirai was a tea-boy & his potential ally Nelson a church pastor. Wonders will never end! Saviour serves no purpose.

— Dr Energy Mutodi (@energymutodi) October 10, 2019

Paul Nyathi|Constitutional Lawyer and political commentator Alex Magaisa on Twitter listed these 7 as the stages a person who supports President Mnangagwa and the ruling party goes through.

1. Euphoria following “victory”. They don’t care how he won. They won. That’s all that matters. They mock, berate & ridicule their opponents as sore losers

2. Blind optimism in the early days. The future looks bright. Obvious failings are ignored. It’s the “Give Him a Chance Stage”. Any voices of dissent are shut down as negative and unpatriotic. During this stage any tiny bit of news is amplified to make it look bigger. Zvichaita.

6. Damascene moment. Accept the decision was wrong. Do the right thing. Best to abandon ship. Seek and find atonement. The genuine ones with a moral constitution rediscover it and fight hard. Some are sceptical but others understand. It’s good to have allies.

 7. Some, however, remain trapped in denialism and blame-shifting. For some, that is all they know. Or they are eating. They know leadership has failed but they still hope for crumbs. So they keep banging on the propaganda drum. But that too will become embarrassing.

Seven Stages of an ED supporter

1. Euphoria following “victory”. They don’t care how he won. They won. That’s all that matters. They mock, berate & ridicule their opponents as sore losers.

— Alex T Magaisa ?? (@Wamagaisa) October 8, 2019

Source: Alex Magaisa Twitter

ZANU PF MP  and Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs chairperson Kindness Paradza was forced to jump to government defence after an opposition lawmaker demanded information on  reports a shadowy US public relations consultancy firm had been engaged without Treasury approval.

Foreign Affairs Ministry permanent secretary James Manzou was left scratching his head after MDC Mpopoma legislator Charles Moyo demanded explanation on the circumstances surrounding government’s hiring of the US lobbyist firm Ballard Partners in March this year.

The committee was receiving oral evidence from the Ministry on its 2020 budget proposal as well as explaining some outstanding issues as raised by the Auditor General’s report.

Moyo asked Manzou to confirm if it is true that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration in March this year hired the US firm to spruce up Zimbabwe’s image before the international community as the “Second Republic” battles to restore the country’s image.

“There are reports and speculation that say the government paid the US lobbyist firm called the Ballard Partners about US$500 000. Since we are discussing your budget, as a Ministry may you explain exactly what happened?” Moyo asked.

Manzou however requested that Moyo retake his question to which Paradza jumped in: “I don’t know, the question says there is some company hired to  do re-engagement which I am not aware of.”

Referring to Moyo, Paradza added : “I think you should put your question in writing and refer it to the Minister and he is going to answer that lets deal with the budget.”

Moyo was however not to be pushed as he pleaded with Paradza to protect him arguing Parliament needed to know whether the Ministry used resources allocated to it in the previous budget to pay the public relations firm or not.

“I need your protection chairman. We are talking of a re-engagement process. We are talking of forking out money to pay a firm, that is clearly a budget chairman,” Moyo said.

Paradza remained firm advising Moyo to document his question so that Foreign Affairs Minister Sibusiso Moyo would respond.

Manzou later said: “Our expenditures are before you. If the honourable (Moyo) can zero in on the particular expenditure this will help the minister in his response.”

Ballard Partners is a US lobbyists firm connected to US President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign.

As if to confirm that indeed Mnangagwa had engaged the Ballard Partners, speaking to Bloomerg in March 2019, Information Ministry permanent secretary Nick Mangwana said lobbying is part of the strategy the new dispensation uses in its bid to end isolation from the international community.

Paul Nyathi|Long-serving chief of protocol in the office of the president Munyaradzi Kajese last week retired from his post as part of an ongoing government restructuring exercise that is expected to bring in new faces in key portfolios.

Kajese has been the chief of protocol for more than three decades, working most of his career under the late former President Robert Mugabe.

He kept his role after President Emmerson Mnangagwa came to power in late 2017, despite initial claims he would be retired immediately together with chief secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet Misheck Sibanda and other senior officials who had served under Mugabe.

An unidentified woman has claimed that the late former president of Zimbabwe, Rober Mugabe had no children. The woman further claims that the three children, Bona, Robert Jnr and Chatunga were fathered by Peter Pamire, a prominent Zimbabwean entrepreneur who died in a tragic car accident.

Her remarks are consistent with a purportedly leaked CIO document which also claims that in 1994 and 1995 Grace had two abortion which she claimed were a miscarriage but they were the kids of Peter Pamire”s.

According to the Daily News, Grace Mugabe nee Marufu who was working as secretary to then-president Mugabe, became his mistress and, while still married to Stanley Goreraza (air force pilot Stanley Goreraza), had two children with him, Bona born in 1988, named after Mugabe’s mother, and Robert Peter Jr.

Credit : pindula

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Farai Dziva|MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has said the biting economic crisis in the country is the major cause of suicide cases.

Below is Chamisa’s statement on World Mental Health Day:

Today it is the World Mental Health Day, a very important occasion where we stop and reflect on how we would have spent the previous year looking after the most import part of the human body, the mind.

On the 10th of October every year, the world commemorates and acknowledges the importance of mental health across the world in metropolitan and rural communities.

The focus on this year’s World Mental Health Day is on suicide, because it has become a global public health crisis that is preventable, and yet it has become a mental health menace which has taken many of our people to the grave prematurely.

The World Health Organisation informs us that every 40 seconds, someone, somewhere in the world takes their own life through suicide.

That is a frightening statistic, 2160 people dying daily through suicide, it translates to 788,400 people dying annually from suicide.

This prevalence makes suicide an immediate problem that requires urgent medical and social solutions within our communities, because not doing so is robbing the country of people who succumb to this menace at the prime of their lives.

Suicide is now believed to be the leading cause of death among young people aged between 16 and 28 in Zimbabwe.

Unfortunately here in our country, it is not unusual anymore to read headlines in the local media related to suicide.

Our citizens are now so used to it, such that they simply shake their heads in disbelief whenever another suicide story is published in our media.

A society should NEVER be conditioned to something so dreadful that can be drastically reduced by public mental health interventions, failing to do so is an act of gross irresponsibility and social negligence.

This means that suicide has become a major public health priority that needs immediate attention in Zimbabwe.

Unfortunately we currently have a broken public health delivery system that is struggling to treat the most basic of medical conditions due to years of underfunding and neglect.

According to the World Health Organisation, our country has one of the highest suicide rates in the region, this is not surprising anymore because a struggling economy puts unbearable pressure on the minds of its citizens.

Associated with suicide are also mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders and many other mental health conditions that unfortunately due to our age old cultural taboos, they are not talked about sufficiently and openly in our communities.

These mental health disorders are easily treatable, but because of the huge treatment gap for such conditions in our country, 90 percent of those needing evidence-based care do not get it because we don’t have enough professionals to treat them.

Zimbabwe currently has only 15 practicing psychiatrists for a population of 15 million people that is one psychiatrist for every one million people.

Unfortunately almost all of them are restricted to tertiary health facilities in Harare, making it difficult for those at community and rural locations to access this pertinent service.

Task shifting is a concept that has been encouraged by the World Health Organisation as a way of addressing this treatment gap.

Making evidence-based care treatments accessible to many of our people who can’t afford to see a psychiatrist or a psychologist is extremely important.

By training community health volunteers as we have seen with the Friendship bench program, it is possible to provide immediate access in communities, schools, universities and the work place with the much-needed mental health care.

There is an urgent need for our mental health professionals to explore ways of scaling up task shifting models, particularly the ones that have been developed locally.

Mental health requires our communities to get together because Zimbabwe is going through one of the most difficult times, and the risk of mental ill health is high and probable in all segments of our country regardless of societal status, class or race.

As a political party concerned with the mental well-being of our citizens, the MDC values the importance of mental health because it is a key building block to a prosperous society and economy.

A prosperous and healthy economy by its very nature will reduce the pressures that afflict our people daily, resulting in disorders such as depression and anxiety or worse.

I therefore on this very important day encourage all Zimbabweans to take time out to show compassion towards each other, and remember that regardless of our various chosen political persuasions, we are one people.

Be your brother’s keeper, be the mother of the nation who will help heal the many traumatic wounds that we carry from a very difficult past and presently harsh economic environment.
Under my new government, I make a commitment today to putting mental health amongst my first priorities in order to reduce the unacceptable mental treatment gap.

It is totally unacceptable that out of every 100 people that require access to mental health services in our country, only 10 people are able to get that much needed help that is 10 percent.

We will change all that and make mental health the most urgent priority in our health delivery system. For what are we without our minds?

Today let us create space and pay attention to citizens that need someone to talk to and share their stories, talking is an important therapy tool in healing the mind.

Let us all take time to listen to the broken-hearted, and let us all remember to take good care of our mental health.

On behalf of the MDC and myself, I wish the whole country a happy World Mental Health day.

Advocate Nelson Chamisa – President
Movement For Democratic Change

By A Correspondent- Zanu PF and the opposition MDC have shot down proposal by churches that the country should suspend elections for seven years to pave way for political and economic reforms under a new structure of government to usher free and credible elections.

The Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) made the proposal on Tuesday, arguing that a seven-year sabbatical from elections would address the current political paralysis and deepening mistrust and polarisation.

The churches claimed the period of reform would stabilise the fast deteriorating economy under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, which has seen the country’s inflation figures rising at an unprecedented pace since the record-breaking 2008 hyperinflation.

But Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu said the country was coming from elections that produced winners and there was no need to suspend the Constitution.

He said economic hardships were not caused by elections and the proposals by the churches were misplaced.

“That is their proposal, that is their view. We go by the dictates of the Constitution,” Mpofu said.

“We have a Constitution that guides the conduct of elections and the mandate thereof. We have been reading about the view from the churches and it is their entitlement to have their own views. As Zanu PF, we feel there is need to constantly respect the Constitution.

“We have come out of an election that produced their leadership. What is motivating the view, I don’t know.”

Pressure has been mounting on both Mnangagwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa to engage in dialogue to solve the country’s plunging economy.

Mnangagwa this year entered into dialogue with presidential representatives of fringe political parties in last year’s elections.

Chamisa snubbed the talks, demanding a neutral mediator, instead of Mnangagwa, who he accused of lacking legitimacy after allegedly stealing last year’s polls.

The opposition leader has constantly claimed that the country was experiencing a legitimacy problem.

Chamisa’s deputy, Tendai Biti, also dismissed the proposal by the church, saying any solution on the country’s crisis was predicated on genuine talks between Zanu PF and the MDC, the main political actors, followed by social dialogue.

“The churches are putting the cart before the horse,” Biti said.

“The country is in serious structural crisis, we don’t want to put make up on the crisis. There has to be genuine dialogue in the country, supported by the international community. This dialogue is not about sharing positions or suspending the Constitution, but structural reforms, that is what is key.

“The problem is much deeper than elections, the country is in crisis. Any solution should be a product of dialogue. There are two major players in the country’s polity, Zanu PF and the MDC and the dialogue between these two actors is key, followed by social dialogue. The church should only facilitate their dialogue. And the solution should come from the process of dialogue.”

— NewsDay

Farai Dziva|
ZANU PF Political Commissar, Victor Matemadanda came to cornered MP Killer Zivhu’s rescue when he warned the party’s Provincial Executive against suspending the Parliamentarian.

The Chivi South MP, Zivhu, was suspended for allegedly abusing social media platforms after he tweeted that
president Emmerson Mnangagwa and leader of opposition MDC, Nelson Chamisa must find each other and dialogue.

ZANU PF Masvingo Provincial leadership suspended him and were calling for his dismissal from the party.

When one firewood block produces smoke, you do not have to remove it. You must leave it in the fireplace so that it can be assisted by others to catch fire than removing it.

If you keep on removing firewood, you may end up without any in your fireplace.

So you should help each other to reform than dismissing those who are found violating the party rules and regulations,” said Matemadanda.

Farai Dziva|Zanu PF insiders have maintained Killer Zivhu will be fired from the party in spite of Political Commissar Victor Matemadanda’ s intervention in the matter.

Although Matemadanda came to Zivhu’s rescue when he warned the party’s Provincial Executive against suspending the Parliamentarian, party stalwarts have vowed Zivhu will be fired.

The Chivi South MP, Zivhu, was suspended for allegedly abusing social media platforms after he tweeted that
president Emmerson Mnangagwa and leader of opposition MDC, Nelson Chamisa must find each other and dialogue.

ZANU PF Masvingo Provincial leadership suspended him and were calling for his dismissal from the party.

When one firewood block produces smoke, you do not have to remove it. You must leave it in the fireplace so that it can be assisted by others to catch fire than removing it.

If you keep on removing firewood, you may end up without any in your fireplace.

So you should help each other to reform than dismissing those who are found violating the party rules and regulations,” said Matemadanda.

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By A Correspondent- There was pandemonium along Angwa street opposite the former Ximex Mall in Harare this morning when a sacred snake was discovered raising speculation that it came out of the boot of a car belonging to one of the entrepreneurs who operates near the area.

The snake, which brought pedestrians in the city centre to a standstill was however reportedly killed and shoved down a drain along Angwa street.

While others said it had been killed, others alleged that the snake was shoved inside the drain alive considering that it is a sacred snake.

Said a man who refused to speak on camera:

“The snake is called “ngara” and it is sacred and a very rare snake which signals misfortune. It had so many colours and i am shocked that such a type of snake can be discovered in the central business district.”

Added a female vendor along Angwa street:

“While i did not see where it came from, what i know is that it was shoved down the drain alive. I think the owner is the one who pushed for it not to be killed. It is very strange that such a type of snake can be discovered here. But this is not the first time that we have witnessed such. Vanhu vepano vanoshandisa mushonga meaning the business people who operate from this area use juju.”

An elderly man confirmed that the type of snake that was discovered is a very rare species adding that besides misfortune, the snake signalled the death of a very big person within a community such as a King.

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“It was good that they did not kill it. Ngara is a very sacred snake which when you see it in any community, it signals sickness or even death. In most instances, the death of even a king.”

Watch the live video loading below for this story and more…….

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By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa pulled a shocker and pledged to donate USD$1 Million to the Global Fund during a Global Fund replenishment event held in France on Thursday.

The money is for fighting against, TB and Malaria.

In a statement on Thursday Finance and Economic development Minister Mthuli Ncube said, “His Excellency President ED Mnangagwa giving his speech at the Global Fund replenishment event in Lyon France. He acknowledged the critical role of the Global Fund in Zimbabwe’s flight against HIV, TB and Malaria. He pledged US$1 million towards the Global Fund.”

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Today it is World Mental Health Day, a very important occasion where we stop and reflect on how we would have spent the previous year looking after the most import part of the human body, the mind.

On the 10th of October every year, the world commemorates and acknowledges the importance of mental health across the world in metropolitan and rural communities.

The focus on this year’s World Mental Health Day is on suicide, because it has become a global public health crisis that is preventable, and yet it has become a mental health menace which has taken many of our people to the grave prematurely.

The World Health Organisation informs us that every 40 seconds, someone, somewhere in the world takes their own life through suicide.

That is a frightening statistic, 2160 people dying daily through suicide, it translates to 788,400 people dying annually from suicide.

This prevalence makes suicide an immediate problem that requires urgent medical and social solutions within our communities, because not doing so is robbing the country of people who succumb to this menace at the prime of their lives. Suicide is now believed to be the leading cause of death among young people aged between 16 and 28 in Zimbabwe.

Unfortunately here in our country, it is not unusual anymore to read headlines in the local media related to suicide.

Our citizens are now so used to it, such that they simply shake their heads in disbelief whenever another suicide story is published in our media.

A society should NEVER be conditioned to something so dreadful that can be drastically reduced by public mental health interventions, failing to do so is an act of gross irresponsibility and social negligence. This means that suicide has become a major public health priority that needs immediate attention in Zimbabwe.

Unfortunately we currently have a broken public health delivery system that is struggling to treat the most basic of medical conditions due to years of underfunding and neglect.

According to the World Health Organisation, our country has one of the highest suicide rates in the region, this is not surprising anymore because a struggling economy puts unbearable pressure on the minds of its citizens. Associated with suicide are also mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders and many other mental health conditions that unfortunately due to our age old cultural taboos, they are not talked about sufficiently and openly in our communities. 

These mental health disorders are easily treatable, but because of the huge treatment gap for such conditions in our country, 90 percent of those
needing evidence-based care do not get it because we don’t have enough professionals to treat them. Zimbabwe currently has only 15 practicing psychiatrists for a population of 15 million people that is one psychiatrist for every one million people.

Unfortunately almost all of them are restricted to tertiary health facilities in Harare, making it difficult for those at community and rural locations to access this pertinent service.

Task shifting is a concept that has been encouraged by the World Health Organisation as a way of addressing this treatment gap.

Making evidence-based care treatments accessible to many of our people who can’t afford to see a psychiatrist or a psychologist is extremely important. By training community health volunteers as we have seen with the Friendship bench program, it is possible to provide immediate access in
communities, schools, universities and the work place with the much-needed mental health care.

There is an urgent need for our mental health professionals to explore ways of scaling up task shifting models, particularly the ones that have been developed locally. Mental health requires our communities to get together because Zimbabwe is going through one of the most difficult times, and the risk of mental ill health is high and probable in all segments of our country regardless of societal status, class or race.

As a political party concerned with the mental well-being of our citizens, the MDC values the importance of mental health because it is a key building block to a prosperous society and economy. A prosperous and healthy economy by its very nature will reduce the pressures that afflict our people daily, resulting in disorders such as depression and anxiety or worse.

I therefore on this very important day encourage all Zimbabweans to take time out to show compassion towards each other, and remember that
regardless of our various chosen political persuasions, we are one people.

Be your brother’s keeper, be the mother of the nation who will help heal the many traumatic wounds that we carry from a very difficult past and presently harsh economic environment. Under my new government, I make a commitment today to putting mental health amongst my first
priorities in order to reduce the unacceptable mental treatment gap.

It is totally unacceptable that out of every 100 people that require access to mental health services in our country, only 10 people are able to get that much needed help that is 10 percent.  

We will change all that and make mental health the most urgent priority in our health delivery system. For what are we without our minds?

Today let us create space and pay attention to citizens that need someone to talk to and share their stories, talking is an important therapy
tool in healing the mind. Let us all take time to listen to the broken hearted, and let us all remember to take good care of our mental health.

On behalf of the MDC and myself, I wish the whole country a happy World Mental Health day.

Advocate Nelson Chamisa President – Movement For Democratic Change

DISGRUNTLED Bulawayo residents have criticised the selection process of 24 student nurses at Mpilo Central Hospital after 20 were selected from outside Matabeleland. 

The 24 reportedly started their studies on Monday. 

The Health and Child Care Ministry recently introduced an online nurses’ application forum after investigations by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission concluded there were unacceptable levels of bribery in the old system.

In a letter to the hospital, disappointed applicants said there was need for responsible authorities to investigate the development. “The national advertisement came out a few months ago and we failed to access the website and if you did, you couldn’t know where to pay the RTGS$10 application fee. Internet is not accessible and affordable especially to our rural peers in and outside our region for example where will one get internet connection in Lupane, Bulilima, Nkayi, Tsholotsho?”

The letter also questioned why the selection and interviews were done “secretly” compared to the past years before online application system was adopted.  “Some of us went and noticed that most of those coming for interviews are mostly from Harare and surrounding areas of Mashonaland East and Central. People from our region did not make it surprisingly but most if not all from other provinces came back to Bulawayo to start school on Monday at Mpilo and United Bulawayo Hospitals.” 

They also called on Health Ambassador First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa, provincial ministers of state, MPs, councillors, and all activists to demonstrate against corruption.

The applicants claimed the health system was sidelining the Matabeleland region. “We should start fighting for the statistics in terms of allocation as we have hospitals in Matabeleland like Mpilo and UBH which are as big as Parirenyatwa. Mpilo School of Nursing enrols 25 students per intake, Gwanda 15, St Luke’s 10 while Harare hospital 50, Parirenyatwa 50, Chitungwiza 40, and looking at number it’s clear they don’t want us to learn. They keep lying that we are all quick to cross the border to South Africa but allocation of posts is not justifiable for starters,” reads the letter. 

Some nurses at Mpilo Central Hospital said the students who came from other places were likely to be employed in their provinces of origin on completion of studies, leaving a gap in Matabeleland.  Contacted for comment, Mpilo clinical director Dr Solwayo Ngwenya who also heads the school of nursing said: 

“I would like to confirm that this time around, the selection and interviews were done from Harare and none of us had a hand or were consulted. We have since received the 24 names of the student nurses who started on Monday and all these were a recommendation from the head office,” said Dr Ngwenya. 

UBH clinical director Dr Narcissus Dzvanga could not be reached for comment. Another source from the hospital said what she described as “deliberate marginalisation” of Matabeleland prospective students would have far reaching effects on access to health.

“What they have simply done is declare that as a people from this region we do not deserve access to health care. From the list of 24, only four students are from this region and it is clear that they are not worried about our right to health,” she said. 

She also said the online application though a noble idea, did not take into cognisance economic challenges. 

-State Media

By A Correspondent- The Zanu-PF Youth League executive left the country yesterday for Angola to attend the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) youth congress which kicks off today.

The party’s deputy secretary for Youth Affairs Lewis Matutu is the head of delegation.

Matutu said the congress was meant to discuss issues affecting youths.

“They invited us to observe and give solidarity to them as our colleagues,” he said.

“Remember MPLA is a former liberation movement and this follows the meeting we had in Victoria Falls.

“They extended an invitation to say, ‘please come and grace our congress so we discuss issues of youth leadership in the region and amongst former liberation movements’.

“We will also focus on issues affecting the youth and improve their welfare.”

The conference runs from October 10 to 12.

Matutu said they will exchange notes and ideas on youth participation in leadership.

“They are ahead of us in terms of economic development, youth participation in leadership and government so that is what we want to learn from them, that interaction is critical to us,” he said.

“We will also relay the issue of sanctions and update them on what we are doing as we move towards 25 October.”

-StateMedia

The current bank exchange rates for the ZWL$ today are as follows:

USD = ZWL$15.3037
ZWL$ = RAND0.9897
Data according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

Black Market Rates:

USD = ZWL$18.50 zimrates
USD = ZWL$18.60 zwl365
USD = ZWL$19 bluemari
USD = BOND12 zimrates

More: Marketwatch

The Zanu-PF youth league has blasted the University of Zimbabwe over the the sacking of two specialist doctors that sparked an uproar from their colleagues who also threatened to down tools.

The youth league secretary general Tendai Chirau said the move by the UZ was irrational.

He was responding to a statement by the tertiary institution that it had reinstated the two doctors.

“In the first place, such irrational pronouncements should not be made,” said Chirau.

Below is the statement by the UZ.

Zanu PF and the opposition MDC have shot down proposals by churches that the country should suspend elections for seven years to pave way for political and economic reforms under a new structure of government to usher free and credible elections.

The Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) made the proposal on Tuesday, arguing that a seven-year sabbatical from elections would address the current political paralysis and deepening mistrust and polarisation.

The churches claimed the period of reform would stabilise the fast deteriorating economy under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, which has seen the country’s inflation figures rising at an unprecedented pace since the record-breaking 2008 hyperinflation.

But Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu said the country was coming from elections that produced winners and there was no need to suspend the Constitution.

He said economic hardships were not caused by elections and the proposals by the churches were misplaced.

“That is their proposal, that is their view. We go by the dictates of the Constitution,” Mpofu said.

“We have a Constitution that guides the conduct of elections and the mandate thereof. We have been reading about the view from the churches and it is their entitlement to have their own views. As Zanu PF, we feel there is need to constantly respect the Constitution.

“We have come out of an election that produced their leadership. What is motivating the view, I don’t know.”

Pressure has been mounting on both Mnangagwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa to engage in dialogue to solve the country’s plunging economy.

Mnangagwa this year entered into dialogue with presidential representatives of fringe political parties in last year’s elections.

Chamisa snubbed the talks, demanding a neutral mediator, instead of Mnangagwa, who he accused of lacking legitimacy after allegedly stealing last year’s polls.

The opposition leader has constantly claimed that the country was experiencing a legitimacy problem.

Chamisa’s deputy, Tendai Biti, also dismissed the proposal by the church, saying any solution on the country’s crisis was predicated on genuine talks between Zanu PF and the MDC, the main political actors, followed by social dialogue.

“The churches are putting the cart before the horse,” Biti said.

“The country is in serious structural crisis, we don’t want to put make up on the crisis. There has to be genuine dialogue in the country, supported by the international community. This dialogue is not about sharing positions or suspending the Constitution, but structural reforms, that is what is key.

“The problem is much deeper than elections, the country is in crisis. Any solution should be a product of dialogue. There are two major players in the country’s polity, Zanu PF and the MDC and the dialogue between these two actors is key, followed by social dialogue. The church should only facilitate their dialogue. And the solution should come from the process of dialogue.”

The University of Zimbabwe has succumbed to pressure and rehired paediatric surgeon Dr Bothwell Mbuwayesango and senior cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr David Chimuka recently suspended for allegedly leading doctors’ demonstrations.

In a twist of events, the top academic learning institution in the country on Wednesday backtracked on its decision after other lecturers at its Medical School threatened to stop taking classes.

A joint statement signed by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Paul Mapfumo and Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZiMA) secretary-general Dr Sacrifice Chirisa said:

Following these deliberations and further submissions by representatives of the Surgical Department of the University of Zimbabwe, the parties resolved that… the university reconsiders its action in light of further information availed and submissions made during the discussions.

The suspension had been widely condemned by many within and beyond the medical fraternity. Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association had said that surgical training was going to suffer because of the suspensions.

Dr Mbuwayesango made headlines after leading a team that successfully separated conjoined twins in 2014 during an eight-hour operation at Harare Hospital.