By A Correspondent- Former First Lady Grace Mugabe last week reached out to her erstwhile political rival and former Vice President Joice Mujuru to apologise “profusely” for publicly humiliating the latter, leading to her sacking from the government in 2014.

The two met in Zvimba for the first time in five years, and again last week on Wednesday, according to the Daily News. The publication’s sources are quoted as saying:

When Mujuru came, Grace broke down. She wept for 30 minutes and was inconsolable. She narrated how the president had died and then apologised profusely for the way they had treated her (Mujuru) in 2014.

She (Grace) even revealed the name of the person who was used to record and film Mujuru talking negative things about the former president.

Following Grace Mugabe’s elevation to the leadership of the ZANU PF Women Assembly, she went after Mai Mujuru, castigating her in public, accusing her and her Gamatox faction of corruption and incompetence.

Mai Mujuru was eventually fired by the then President, Robert Mugabe, in 2014 and went on to form a political party, Zimbabwe People First, alongside former ZANU PF stalwarts Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo.

– DailyNews

By A Correspondent- In a horror incident, a 10 year-old girl from Chirongoma Village, a stone throw away from Lake Mutirikwi in Chief Mugabe’s area had the agony of watching her mother tie a rope around her neck before hanging herself from a tree.

The girl who cannot be named for ethical reasons saw the whole episode of suicide by hanging.

Her grandmother Mbuya Aleta Gunyangu–Jaricha said that the juvenile who is one of the most brilliant pupils at Boroma Primary School is showing signs of unexplained fear and may suffer nervous breakdown if she does not receive the right counselling as a matter of urgency.

The juvenile’s school head, Esdon Mukuma confirmed the story and said that one of the school teachers who specialised in the area of counselling will start working on the girl next week and the case will be taken to a district specialist if the problem proves to be too big for the local teacher.

The girl talked to The Mirror and said she cried throughout as her mother went through the paces of hanging herself.

“Mama vakasvuvura gavi, vakazvisunga muhuro. Vakabva vakwira mumuti murefu vakasungira gavi riya pamuti ndokubva vazvirembedza. Vakatanga kukava-kava vakaita weti. Ini ndaingochema ndichidaidza vanhu. Vanhu vakazouya vakandiudza kuti mama vako vatofa (My mother got a fresh tree bark and tied it around her neck. She climbed up a very tall tree and tied the bark to the tree branch. She then jumped off from the branch and dangled in the air and kicked around as she tried to remove the bark from her neck. She passed urine and I was crying out for help until some villagers came and told me that my mother was dead,” said the juvenile.

Masvingo Police spokesperson Chief Inspector Charity Mazula said she is not aware of the incident.

Mbuya Jaricha said her daughter’s death pained her so much that she feels like dying. She however, said what made the death worse is that Ellen committed suicide while her own little daughter watched.

“I really don’t understand why Ellen had to do that when her daughter was watching. When I look at my granddaughter and try to think of what she went through I almost faint.

“My granddaughter came back from the hill a while after she left with her mother. She was holding her mother’s shoes in one hand and a mobile phone in the other. We were sitting here and I asked her where her mother was and she said she hung herself and was dead.

No one said anything. For what seemed like a decade everyone remained quiet.

“Now my granddaughter is afraid even to enter the house alone, even in the afternoon. She has fear. I am really frightened that she can have a nervous breakdown because of what she saw,” said Mbuya Jaricha.

Mukuma said the juvenile is one of the best grade four pupils in the school always coming among the top three in the two classes in her grade.

“She is a very bright pupil and we fear that her mother’s death might affect her perfomance and even her life in a very negative way,” said Mbuya Jaricha.

Ellen hung herself after some differences with her mother who was not happy that she left the mother’s home to go and stay with her father’s girlfriend Edna Chiringima in Mlambo village which is just close by.

On the fateful day Ellen’s father, her mother and other relatives had a meeting over the issue and Ellen agreed to go and bring back her clothes from her father’s small house where she was staying. She is said to have cried out aloud after the meeting. She then left with her daughter in tour and only to hang herself a few kilometres from home.

Her husband Nosta Muleya who comes from Maranda in Mwenezi but is now living in South Africa last communicated in 2014 and Mbuya Jaricha has been struggling to look after her daughter and the two grandchildren.

She appealed for assistance both for counselling and fees for the children who are both very bright.

–The Mirror

By A Correspondent- Survivors of the Gweru-Kwekwe bus accident, which claimed 12 people told harrowing stories on how they cheated death.

Ten people were killed on the spot, while 43 others were injured when a Gokwe-bound cross-border bus, Mandeep Tours collided head-on with a Govasberg bus near Kwekwe River along the Gweru-Kwekwe highway on Sunday morning.

Two more people died on admission to hospital.

The Herald visited some of the survivors at Kwekwe District Hospital who narrated their terrifying experiences.

Mr Tsaurayi Mativenga, who runs a grocery business at Nembudziya, Gokwe, and was travelling from Beitbridge said he had taken a nap when he was awakened by deafening noise followed by shrieks and yells.

“I tried to raise my head to see what had happened, but I realised that I was trapped underneath some seats.

“As the screams of pain and anguish reached a crescendo I could not help, but join in hoping my screams were louder than everyone else to attract immediate help,” recalled Mr Mativenga.

He said the accident occurred at around 4.30am and he only found this out after he managed to free himself from the wreckage of the Mandeep bus at around 5am.

“It was still dark as I pulled myself from under the seats and crawled in the blood drenched bus floor until I was finally out of the bus,” he said.

Mr Mativenga, who sustained a deep cut on the left eye, lips after he freed himself, fell to the ground after realising he had dislocated a hip.

He said the driver was tired and this could have caused the accident.

“We had some near misses before the accident because the driver was dosing and swerving from side-to-side. We complained, but he kept going.

“He eventually fell asleep and our bus encroached into the lane of the Govasberg Bus resulting in the head-on collision,” he said.

Another survivor, Ms Sandra Sibanda, who was in the Govasberg bus said it was by God’s grace that she survived to tell the story.

“I had just boarded the Govasberg bus in Kwekwe when the accident occurred less than 30km on. It happened in a twinkle of an eye.

“When the buses collided the impact threw me to the back seat and was thrown on top of people.

“I realised that some of them were already dead. It was a really harrowing experience,” she said.

Mr Last Gurinde, who was also in the Govasberg bus, said he watched in anguish and hopelessly as people died around him.

He said when he got out of the bus through the window, he saw more dead bodies.

“This will haunt me for ever. I watched helplessly as a pre_gnant woman approximately in her eighth or ninth month, frothing and dying in anguish.

“The two drivers were also trapped for nearly an hour until they died. The fire brigade only arrived approximately an hour after the accident maybe because it was still early in the morning when the accident occurred,” he said.

— StateMedia

By A Correspondent- The Minister of Local Government, July Moyo has been dragged to court over Binga Chieftainship after he recommended the late Mr Gasta Siakulya Muleya for the appointment as Chief Binga four months ago.

Mr Peter Mwembe has since approached the High Court challenging the appointment of the late Muleya as Chief Binga saying that he did not belong to the Sikabuwa lineage where rightful heirs to the throne should come from.

In his court papers, Mr Mwembe said:

In the circumstances, the second respondent (Minister Moyo) should not have made recommendations to the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe for the appointment of the first respondent as Chief Binga.

Any other person outside the Sikabuwa lineage cannot be appointed Chief Binga as there are spiritual rain making and other ceremonies which the incumbent chief should perform and the first respondent could not perform them as he was outside the Sikabuwa matriarch lineage.

Mwembe seeks a court order which orders the minister to convene a meeting within 14 days for the selection and approval of an appropriate candidate to be appointed Chief Binga.

He added that only those from Sikabuwa lineage could perform traditional rituals including rainmaking.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- Long queues have become the order of the day again at the passport offices amidst reports that passport production has decreased once again.

Zimbabwe is said to have a backlog of about 370 000 as the Registrar General’s office has inadequate essential passport production materials which are imported and require foreign currency.

See the picture below…

Paul Nyathi|Following a fake price list that was circulating on Social Media of a Fuel price increase, The Zimbabwe Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has set the record straight.

ZERA wishes to advise consumers that there is a fake fuel price list circulating on social media purporting to be effective on 14 Oct’ 19. The official fuel price changes are only shared on official ZERA social media handles Twitter:

Below is the bogus list that had caused panic in the market.

Paul Nyathi|PARLIAMENT yesterday grilled Bankers’ Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) president Webster Rusere over a circular which was recently leaked on social media by one of their members announcing that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) will control withdrawal of foreign currency from people’s nostro accounts.

The circular meant to guide bank branches on the Terms and Conditions which were set by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe when organisations pay workers’ salaries in USD.

Rusere had appeared before the Felix Mhona-led Parliamentary Portifolio Committee on Budget and Finance to speak on the 2020 budget proposals.

Mhona said the internal memo had caused a lot of panic among nostro account-holders.

Last week, the leaked internal memo from a commercial bank revealed that the RBZ had instructed banks that Zimbabweans employed by exporting companies and who earn their salaries in foreign currency will now have their money converted into local currency, or only withdraw in forex after applying and getting approval from the central bank.

“This circular that found itself on social media was an internal circular for a bank and it was commenting on approval for certain requests made by some companies, and it only referred to foreign currencies funded by export proceeds and does not relate to free funds,” Rusere said.

“This was an internal circular meant to guide on some conditions of approval, but unfortunately people chose to read one line which talked of disposal of those foreign currency assets. It does not relate to free funds,” he said.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has dismissed rumours that it will raid citizens’ Nostro accounts. This follows a leaked memo from FBC bank that highlighted the RBZ’s new policies on Nostro accounts.

Under the new regulations, Nostro Account Holders can not withdraw their money in USD at will but have to seek special permission from the Central Bank,Secondly, Nostro Accounts balances will be liquidated at the Interbank rate after 30 days from date of receipt. The latest regulations have been slammed by Zimbabweans as illegal and in violation of the constitution.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe would like to dismiss the social media reports suggesting that Nostro Accounts will be raided by the RBZ and Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

This assertion should be dismissed with the contempt it deserves. There hasn’t been any change in the operation of Nostro Accounts.

The Central Bank is not new to flip-flopping as in the past,they assured citizens that Bond Notes and USD were at par only to shift goalposts two years later with accounts now denominated in ZWL and no compensation for lost value.

Last week the RBZ banned Mobile Cash in and Cash Out only to rescind their directive after 48 hours following a public backlash.

Paul Nyathi|Zimbabwean businessman and philanthropist,  Strive Masiyiwa says Africa needs to address the reality of corruption in order to progress. 

Masiyiwa was delivering the annual Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture in Cape Town on Monday, the same day that the Emeritus Archbishop celebrated his 88th birthday. 

Masiyiwa says corruption affects everyone, not just Africans, and is the “elephant in the room” that needs to be addressed. 

“Corruption is no laughing matter,” says Masiyiwa. “Nations are destroyed by corruption,. and yet we talk about it. We talk about almost in a cynical way I guess. Come elections, up comes the topic of corruption, and then it does away.”

According to the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, Masiyiwa created a massive global telecommunications, media and technology network, Econet, to bring benefits of the 4th industrial revolution home to the African continent.

He also manages an extraordinary Facebook account that aims to inspire and mentor the next generation of young African entrepreneurs and leaders, with more than 3.6 million followers.

He serves on international boards including Unilever, the Council on Foreign Relations in the US, and Stanford University, and is the only private sector representative on the SMART Africa Board driving continental digital transformation. In 2019, he held the sixth position on Forbes’ list of Black Billionaires.

The foundation says the lecture was conceived as “an annual opportunity to take stock of issues critical to the sustainability of our species and our planet.” 

On Monday, Masiyiwa said about corruption: “Everything we fought for, everything we hoped for is on the line. 

“State Capture – call it what you may, it’s corruption.”

Masiyiwa said his hope is that the next generation could beat the scourge of corruption, chi his why he spent a lot go time mentoring young people. 

“I seek to teach them not only the craft of the entrepreneur, but I try to share with them some fo the things that I’ve experienced; to encourage them that it is possible here in Africa to runa successful business, to do successful things in business, without corruption.”

Paul Nyathi|Former Tourism Minister, Priscah Mupfumira is said to have paid back NSSA funds which therefore means that she did not prejudice the authority of any funds as earlier reported.

According to online news agency, Pindula News, an unidentified source who claimed Mupfumira had paid back the money, is accusing the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Corruption of arresting her without making investigations first.

The source said:

“If ZACC does not know that Mupfumira had Cabinet authority allowing her ministry to get that loan and, more than that, the loan was repaid four years ago resulting in no prejudice to NSSA or pensioners, it begs the question if any investigation was conducted.

“You keep hearing that she (Mupfumira) stole US$95 million but when you look at the specifics, there is no indication that she took any money; instead, the allegation is that she encouraged bad investments, a point that is equally disputed.“

Mupfumira who was recently granted bail is facing corruption charges after she allegedly abused her office as the minister of Labor and Social Welfare.

Her actions are said to have prejudiced the association about US$95 million. President Emmerson Mnangagwa dismissed Mupfumira from her ministerial post following her arrest.

Source: Pindula News

Paul Nyathi|With the economic hardships in the country heading for a peak and Zimbabweans moral at its lowest due to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s continued failing economic policies, the President needs to urgently warn his wife to stop her so called “family fun day,” gatherings as people have no time for that.

First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s family fun day at Chipadze Stadium in Bindura on Saturday was complete flop as very few people attended the off time event.

The programme, which had been scheduled to start at 10am, started three hours later with mostly schoolchildren and a few bussed Zanu PF supporters in attendance.

The First Lady took almost two hours grilling Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs minister Monica Mavhunga and chairperson Kazembe Kazembe, accusing them of failing to properly mobilise people for her event.

“Mnangagwa was not happy with the attendance and she took Mavhunga and Kazembe to task for failing to mobilise supporters to her event. She allegedly fumed as she compared her poorly attended events with those of the former First Lady Grace Mugabe which were fairly attended,” party sources told media at the weekend.

Zanu PF’s Mashonaland Central provincial chairman Kazembe Kazembe and Bindura North lawmaker Kenneth Shupikai Musanhi nearly came to blows after trading sabotage accusations during an inquest into poor attendance at the event.

Saturday’s event in Bindura was supposed to be a family fun day which she said was designed to “promote economic development through sport tourism.”

Mnangagwa hectored local officials for poor organisation and demanded that political commissar Monica Mavhunga, who’s also the provincial affairs minister, “should be sacked immediately”.

Paul Nyathi|Striking government employed doctors have called upon international organisations including the World Health Organisation and the United Nations to urgently intervene in the country’s health situation by raising funding for the sector.

We present below the ZHDA statement in full.

Zanu PF’s Mashonaland Central provincial chairman Kazembe Kazembe and Bindura North MP Kenneth Shupikai Musanhi nearly came to blows on Saturday after accusing each other of sabotage during an inquest into poor attendance at an event for first lady, Auxillia Mnangagwa.

Saturday’s event in Bindura was supposed to be a family fun day which she said was designed to “promote economic development through sport tourism.” however there were delays to the starting time and there was a poor turnout.

The first Lady is said to have demanded answers and asked for heads to roll over the poor attendance.

A source who attended the meeting told ZimLive:

“Kazembe and Musanhi exchanged harsh words and were literally restrained to avoid a physical altercation. There was a dispute over who was to blame over the low turnout.

“Musanhi at one point told Kazembe that ‘ndokum*’, and he in turn shot back saying, ‘age haina basa topedzarana pa fight’ (age doesn’t matter, let’s settle this in a fight). They were restrained by Mashonaland Central provincial state intelligence officers.”

‌

State Media|THE Apex Council has requested an urgent National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) meeting tomorrow, to map a way forward on salaries that correspond with the continuously escalating cost of living.

The council, which represents all civil servants wrote to the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and also demanded salaries indexed to the interbank rate.

“The Apex Council requests the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to convene an urgent NJNC meeting on or before October 9, 2019 to map the way forward on continuous escalating cost of living.

“The council also wishes to bring to the attention of the ministry that it maintains its demand of salaries payment to be indexed to interbank rate, basing on the salary scale of October 2018,” reads the letter.

Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) president Mr Richard Gundane said it was important for the Government to adjust salaries monthly considering high inflation in the country.

“We are pressing for a new round of talks following the recent spike in prices of goods and services.

“The price increases rendered the cost of living adjustments (COLA) a non-event. Teachers are worse off after the COLA.

“In this hyperinflationary environment, monthly adjustments would assist in closing the gap between salaries and prices. Government should, as a matter of urgency, also ensure that its workers have access to cash from the banks. There is more value in cash than alternative ways of transacting,” said Mr Gundane.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza could not comment on the issue yesterday, saying she needed to speak to the NJNC chairman first.

In August, Government increased civil servants’ salaries by 76 percent, a development that saw the lowest paid worker earning $1 023 up from $582.

Civil servants were demanding at least $4 750 for the lowest paid worker.

Prices of basic commodities have continued to increase, pushing the prices beyond the reach of many.

Apart from the various monetary incentives to cushion the civil servants, Government has promised to offer non-monetary incentives.

The Apex Council’s request comes when the Ministry of Health and Child Care brokered a deal with striking doctors by offering them a 60 percent increase in allowances and ordered all health workers to report to work or face disciplinary action for breaching their contracts.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said the Health Services Bipartite Negotiating Panel (HSBNP) agreed to a 60 percent increase on Health Specific Allowances despite the doctors walking out on the negotiations demanding a higher percentage.

The 60 percent was an improvement on the previous offer by Government of 30 percent, which was rejected by the Health Apex Council.

State Media|Chitungwiza councillor for Ward 13 Kiven Mutimbanyoka (Zanu-PF) has urged Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo to suspend all the town’s councillors citing poor service delivery.

Cllr Mutimbanyoka told state media that there was an urgent need for Government’s intervention and allow a commission to run the affairs of the council while investigations were being undertaken.

“I strongly feel that all the 25 councillors, including myself, should be suspended and the Minister of Local Government should put in place a commission to run the council for the next three months as prescribed in the Urban Councils Act so that we do away with the politics that is impeding service delivery.

“Such that at least our people can actually get the services that they are yearning for all the trust and confidence that the residents had in us are all gone,” he said. He said the processes leading to the suspension of the Town Clerk, Dr George Makunde, last month by Mayor Lovemore Maiko and the appointment of Engineer David Duma as Acting Town Clerk were illegal and suspicious.

He said under the circumstances, according to the law, chamber secretary was supposed to become the acting town clerk. Mayor Maiko appointed Eng Duma barely a few days after he was arrested by the police on allegations of corruption and abuse of office regarding land deals and the matter is still pending before the courts.

“At one point the mayor himself, Engineer Duma and Councillor Kudakwashe John were arrested together prior to them suspending the town clerk, but then why did the mayor rush to appoint Eng Duma, who has a case before the courts, and whose bail conditions prohibit him from interfering in council operations,” he said.

Eng Duma this week informed residents that regularisation of illegal properties had resumed. He also appointed a new chamber secretary, Mr Raymond Wenyeve, on the basis that the position was previously being held by a person who had no law qualifications.

“I think that after these guys realised that the game was up, the so-called acting town clerk and Mayor Maiko they are now sanitising their corrupt activities by intensifying the regularisation exercise and appointing an acting chamber secretary in retrospect.

“He has appointed a junior legal officer to the post of chamber secretary, which is not provided for in the Urban Councils Act.”

Cllr Mutimbanyoka alleged that the MDC-run council had illegally taken over managerial functions at Town House.

State Media|Survivors of the Gweru-Kwekwe bus accident, which claimed 12 people told harrowing stories on how they cheated death.

Ten people were killed on the spot, while 43 others were injured when a Gokwe-bound cross-border bus, Mandeep Tours collided head-on with a Govasberg bus near Kwekwe River along the Gweru-Kwekwe highway on Sunday morning.

Two more people died on admission to hospital.

State media reporters visited some of the survivors at Kwekwe District Hospital who narrated their terrifying experiences.

Mr Tsaurayi Mativenga, who runs a grocery business at Nembudziya, Gokwe, and was travelling from Beitbridge said he had taken a nap when he was awakened by deafening noise followed by shrieks and yells.

“I tried to raise my head to see what had happened, but I realised that I was trapped underneath some seats.

“As the screams of pain and anguish reached a crescendo I could not help, but join in hoping my screams were louder than everyone else to attract immediate help,” recalled Mr Mativenga.

He said the accident occurred at around 4.30am and he only found this out after he managed to free himself from the wreckage of the Mandeep bus at around 5am.

“It was still dark as I pulled myself from under the seats and crawled in the blood drenched bus floor until I was finally out of the bus,” he said.

Mr Mativenga, who sustained a deep cut on the left eye, lips after he freed himself, fell to the ground after realising he had dislocated a hip.

He said the driver was tired and this could have caused the accident.

“We had some near misses before the accident because the driver was dosing and swerving from side-to-side. We complained, but he kept going.

“He eventually fell asleep and our bus encroached into the lane of the Govasberg Bus resulting in the head-on collision,” he said.

Another survivor, Ms Sandra Sibanda, who was in the Govasberg bus said it was by God’s grace that she survived to tell the story.

“I had just boarded the Govasberg bus in Kwekwe when the accident occurred less than 30km on. It happened in a twinkle of an eye.

“When the buses collided the impact threw me to the back seat and was thrown on top of people.

“I realised that some of them were already dead. It was a really harrowing experience,” she said.

Mr Last Gurinde, who was also in the Govasberg bus, said he watched in anguish and hopelessly as people died around him.

He said when he got out of the bus through the window, he saw more dead bodies.

“This will haunt me for ever. I watched helplessly as a pregnant woman approximately in her eighth or ninth month, frothing and dying in anguish.

“The two drivers were also trapped for nearly an hour until they died. The fire brigade only arrived approximately an hour after the accident maybe because it was still early in the morning when the accident occurred,” he said.

State Media|The Labour Court is this afternoon expected to make a determination on the legality of the 36-day mass job action by medical doctors who have repeatedly snubbed the employer’s plea to return to work.

The doctors have also rejected offers tabled by the Government.

This was said by Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo last night.

Government last Friday urged the striking doctors to return to work with effect from yesterday or face disciplinary action.

Dr Moyo yesterday said most doctors remained defiant, leaving Government with no option, but to institute legal proceedings.

“Further to the statement issued by Ministry of Health and Child Care on Saturday, October 5, 2019, regarding the ongoing withdrawal of labour by some doctors, Government today (yesterday) the 7th of October 2019 has made an assessment of the situation at public health institutions and noted that some doctors did not take heed of the appeal and still chose to stay away from their work stations.

“Government is therefore allowing due legal process to continue with the Labor Court scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, 8 October 2019 at 14:30 hours wherein the Labor Court will determine the legality of the mass job action,” said Dr Moyo.

He commended the few doctors and some health workers who continued providing services during the ongoing job action.

“The Government continues to be grateful to those doctors and other health care workers who have remained on their posts of duty delivering care, saving lives and alleviating suffering.

“Patients’ lives are paramount,” said Dr Moyo.

In a statement last Friday following the Health Services Bipartite Negotiating Panel from which doctors rejected Government’s offer of 60 percent, all doctors were called to report for work beginning yesterday at 8am.

It was argued that those who fail to do so would be breaching their contracts of work and could face disciplinary action.

The death toll in the Kwekwe bus accident involving a Gokwe-bound cross-border bus, Mandeep, which collided head-on with a Govasberg bus near Kwekwe River on Sunday morning, has risen to 12 after two more people succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

This comes as police have so far named four people who perished in the accident after their next of kin had been informed.

Police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi identified the four as Gideon Magwaza (40) of Vuravhi Village under Chief Madhlangove in Chivi, Shareck Muyinisi Chirombe of Chirekwa Village under Chief Nyashanu in Buhera, Tafadzwa Shambare of Epworth, Harare, and Richard Muchenje (40), whose address was not given.

Kwekwe District Hospital officials announced the death of the two additional people during a visit to the hospital by the Kwekwe District Civil Protection Unit team yesterday to check on the state of 43 injured passengers that were admitted there.

The district CPU chairman Mr Fortune Mpungu said one of the two latest victims died upon admission at Kwekwe District Hospital on Sunday, while another victim died at Gweru Provincial Hospital where she had been transferred.

“It was a sad experience and as we mourn with those who lost their loved ones, our prayers are also with those in hospital and we wish them a quick recovery,” he said.
“We visited the hospital as Kwekwe District CPU and we learnt with sadness that two more people had died.

“One died upon admission at Kwekwe on Sunday and the other victim died this morning (yesterday) at Gweru Provincial Hospital where she had been transferred.”State media

THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has halted installation of prepaid water meters saying the project has become too costly.

Bulawayo Director of Engineering Services, Engineer Simela Dube revealed this on Friday as he told a gathering attending the Bulawayo Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project Service (BWSSIP) delivery indaba held at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre that changes in the economic environment have led council to have a change of heart regarding implementing the policy.

BCC for years has been pushing for the implementation of prepaid meters saying it would improve ways of generating revenues as rate payers were defaulting payments.

“The issue of prepaid meters that was also raised by my colleague which obviously the city has looked at. One of the biggest challenges at the moment is that most of them (prepaid meters) are actually imported. We changed our currencies while council had actually approved a policy forward,” said Eng Dube.

“You will find out that the prepaid meters and what we are billing does not make any business sense.

“The cost of a prepaid meter is between US$300 to US$500 per unit. But our bill of water after effecting 42 percent increase the water bill could be ZW$1 per cubic metre.

“On average people use between 15 to 20 cubic metres. So, to look for a US$350 device in order to collect ZW$15 wouldn’t make sense. However, that policy has not been thrown away. We will continue to review it as the economic environment stabilises. But currently that’s where our challenges are with the policy.”

Residents associations had in the past strongly opposed the prepaid water system.State media

Farai Dziva|MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has said the country’s roads need urgent attention.

“Our roads in Zimbabwe need urgent expansion and upgrade to minimize such head-on collisions.10 people died, several others injured in an accident involving 2 buses along Bulawayo-Harare road.

We pour out our hearts as we grieve with the bereaved families & pray for the injured,” said Chamisa.

It never rains but pours, it’s not just pain but thorns, for Kazembe Kazembe; previously in trouble with former first lady Grace Mugabe, the man who has neither surname nor firstname has fallen into hot soup with Emmerson Mnangagwa’s wife. The tale is perhaps lyrically told that Kazembe has fallen from God’s Grace into an auxiliary of fire: the experience told of by state residence employees who say- we once had a first lady who used to verbally scold us at podiums, but this new one, she physically bashes us. – COMMENT

Paul Nyathi|First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s family fun day at Chipadze Stadium in Bindura was poorly attended amid fears that the event could have fallen victim to Zanu PF factional fights for control of Mashonaland Central province.

The programme, which had been scheduled 10am, started three hours later with mostly schoolchildren and a few bussed Zanu PF supporters in attendance.

According to ruling party insiders, the First Lady took almost two hours grilling Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs minister Monica Mavhunga and chairperson Kazembe Kazembe behind closed doors, accusing them of failing to properly mobilise people for her event.

“Mnangagwa was not happy with the attendance and she took Mavhunga and Kazembe to task for failing to mobilise supporters to her event. She allegedly fumed as she compared her poorly attended events with those of the former First Lady Grace Mugabe which were fairly attended,” the source said.

Both Mavhunga and Kazembe could not be reached for comment after the event.

Emmerson Mnangagwa has on two occasions cancelled his scheduled rallies in the province and has not visited the province since last year’s general election, amid reports of wide rifts emerging within the party’s top leadership.

In her brief address, the First Lady said the event was meant to promote economic development through sport tourism and diplomacy.

“Mnangagwa was not happy with the attendance and she took Mavhunga and Kazembe to task for failing to mobilise supporters to her event. She allegedly fumed as she compared her poorly attended events with those of the former First Lady Grace Mugabe which were fairly attended,” the source said.

Both Mavhunga and Kazembe could not be reached for comment after the event.

BY MACDONALD DZIRUTWE| HARARE – Striking doctors defied a government ultimatum to return to work on Monday, after rejecting a 60 percent pay rise offer they say is not enough to keep up with soaring prices of basic goods.

VIDEO LOADING BELOW….

Zimbabwe’s economy is grappling with its worst crisis in a decade, with triple-digit inflation, rolling power cuts and shortages of U.S. dollars, medicines and fuel that have revived memories of the 2008 hyperinflation.

The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA), the union for junior and middle level doctors in the public sector, on Monday pulled out of the Health Apex Council that represents public health workers in negotiations with the government, saying it no longer served their interests.

The association said the government offer was “ridiculous” as it would take their monthly salaries to around 1,700 Zimbabwe dollars (US$111), well below their demand of a 400 percent salary hike.

More than 100 of its members marched at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare on Monday demanding higher pay and vowing not to return to work.

The doctors have been on strike since September 3, which has seen some patients being turned away from public hospitals already struggling with shortages of medicines.

ZHDA in a statement said that the government was not willing to address their concerns but had instead responded with “intimidation and threats of disciplinary action or dismissals.”

“The will and desire is there but the means to execute their (the doctors’) duties does not exist,” it said.

Health Minister Obadiah Moyo, who on Saturday issued the ultimatum for doctors to return to work on Monday or face disciplinary action, said he could not immediately comment.

Tapiwa Mungofa, the ZHDA treasurer, later told reporters that the World Health Organisation and other United Nations agencies should help raise funding for Zimbabwe’s health sector and broker a solution to end the strike.

The doctors want their salaries indexed to the U.S. dollar because the Zimbabwe dollar is losing value against the greenback daily while earnings are being eroded by inflation, which the International Monetary Fund said stood at nearly 300 percent in August.

The government lifted the price of diesel and petrol by up to 27 percent on Saturday, days afterpower utility ZESA hiked tariffs by over 200 percent. The price increases were followed by hikes in the prices of goods like sugar, cooking oil, milk and transport.

Last week, President Emmerson Mnangagwa pleaded for time and patience to revive the economy.

Hopes that it would quickly rebound under Mnangagwa, who took over after former president Robert Mugabe was deposed in a coup in November 2017, have faded fast, as Zimbabweans grapple with inflation that has eroded earnings and savings. – Reuters

Farai Dziva|Auxillia Mnangagwa came face to face with Zanu PF factional fights when ruling party members snubbed her Family Fun Day at Chipadze Stadium in Bindura at weekend.

The event was marred by low attendance, amid fears that the event could have fallen victim to Zanu PF factional fights for control of Mashonaland Central province.

The programme, which had been scheduled to start at 10am, started three hours later with mostly schoolchildren and a few bussed Zanu PF supporters in attendance, according to NewsDay.

In the video footage below Chief Svosve exposes Emmerson Mnangagwa’s brutility and how his government is abusing human rights. ..

The MDC is appealling for solidarity for both our national Organising Secretary Amos Chibaya and his Deputy Sibusisiwe Bhuda Masara.

The two people’s movement leaders are due to appear at the Harare Rotten Row Magistrates courts on Tuesday 8th October morning at 8:30am.

The duo are already out on bail.

They were both arrested on the clearly politically motivated charges of failing to comply with a police prohibition order banning our Free Zimbabwe March on 16th August 2019.

The MDC is once again urging all our leaders and members to turn out in their large numbers in active solidarity on Tuesday morning.

MDC: Celebrating 20 Years of Courage, Growth and the People’s Victories

Daniel Molokele
MDC Spokesperson

By A Correspondent- National University of Science and Technology (NUST) students expected to graduate on November 8 have protested against exorbitant graduation fees.

In a memo sent to their administration, the graduants petitioned their leaders by saying:

We the undersigned Nust graduands would like to express our discontentment following the unanticipated 700% increase in the graduation fee.

We are not unmindful of the current economic downturn, but our parents are peasant and they haven’t had complementary increases in their salaries.

We are appealing to your higher office to bid a commendable farewell to the future leaders and afford families and friends to celebrate the academic successes of their own by reviewing downwards the graduation fee to a reasonable and justifiable amount, which is a reflection of what other State universities are charging under the same economic hardships,

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Police in Bulawayo have intensified stop and search patrols in the central business district (CBD) and in the residential areas following a surge in violent robberies.

A Bulawayo-based milling company was however recently left seething with anger after police on night patrol arrested and detained overnight its employees coming from a night-shift after accusing them of being thieves.

However, police spokesperson, assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele said police were not taking chances, hence the intensification of the night patrols to eradicate crime in the city.

“We have witnessed a lot of robberies in the city. As a result, we have intensified stop and search patrols in our fight against crime and we urge residents to carry with them identity particulars,” Msebele said.

Directors of Rite Price Foods milling company, Alex Goosen and Abednico Bhebhe, however, were not amused by the arrest of their employees who spent Thursday night at Bulawayo Central Police station holding cells after they were nabbed during the police stop and search operation.

They were arrested on their way from work in the CBD and only released yesterday morning following the intervention of their employers.

“The arresting officers and the one who detained them violated the police charter. The very essence of the charter that allows for investigations before arrest was violated,” Bhebhe said.

“We want those cops punished because that kind of behaviour cannot be tolerated…we will be pursuing court action against the police if there is no disciplinary action against the arresting officers.”

Goosen added: “I had to bring the company time book to show that indeed they were coming from work to facilitate their release. Their arrest is not only shocking, but is also a violation of their rights to work.”

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- First lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s family fun day at Chipadze Stadium in Bindura on Saturday was marred by low attendance, amid fears that the event could have fallen victim to Zanu PF factional fights for control of Mashonaland Central province.

The programme, which had been scheduled to start at 10am, started three hours later with mostly schoolchildren and a few bussed Zanu PF supporters in attendance.

According to ruling party insiders, the First Lady took almost two hours grilling Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs minister Monica Mavhunga and chairperson Kazembe Kazembe behind closed doors, accusing them of failing to properly mobilise people for her event.

“Mnangagwa was not happy with the attendance and she took Mavhunga and Kazembe to task for failing to mobilise supporters to her event. She allegedly fumed as she compared her poorly attended events with those of the former First Lady Grace Mugabe which were fairly attended,” the source said.

Both Mavhunga and Kazembe could not be reached for comment after the event. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has on two occasions cancelled his scheduled rallies in the province and has not visited the province since last year’s general election, amid reports of wide rifts emerging within the party’s top leadership.

In her brief address, the First Lady said the event was meant to promote economic development through sport tourism and diplomacy.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Kwekwe City Council is set to demolish a block of houses in Mbizo 7’s single quarters and build better housing units.

This was revealed by acting Kwekwe Town Clerk Lucia Mkandla in a telephone interview with a local publication.

She said:

There is an ongoing project to upgrade Mbizo 7 whereby the council will demolish some rooms there and build better structures.

Those who will be affected by the operation shall be relocated to other areas where we are building houses for them.

Meanwhile, Mbizo 7 residents are not pleased by the council’s failure to inform them of its plans. The residents said that they learnt of the looming “Operation Murambatsvina” through social media.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- Jealousy Mawarire, the spokesperson of the National Patriotic Front Party (NPF), believed to have been linked to the late former President Robert Mugabe alleges that President Emmerson Mnangagwa rejected advice from the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC), calling his own advisors “alarmists”.

Mawarire says a meeting between Mnangagwa and PAC was held on 30 September 2019 where the advisors appraised him of the dire economic conditions prevailing in the country. 

Writing on Twitter, Mawarire said:

After meeting PAC on 30 Sept 2019, President Emmerson Mnangagwa accused PAC [Presidential Advisory Council] members of being “alarmists” after the group gave him an appraisal of the dire economic conditions.

PAC members were shocked by his reaction and are convinced he doesn’t appreciate hardships faced by people or he doesn’t care.

The Presidential Advisory Council is a group of individuals brought together by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to advise him after violent mass protests in January 2019 and a violent crackdown on Zimbabweans by the military and police that followed.

It includes notable individuals in business and religious leadership such as Natalie Jabangwe (leader at EcoCash), Shingi Munyeza (outspoken cleric), Kudakwashe Tagwirei (established entrepreneur) and Trevor Ncube owner of AMH.

Paul Nyathi|Zimbabweans have overwhelmingly declared ZANU PF government as pathological liars regarding targeted sanctions imposed on the Southern Africa country by the world giant.

In a poll conducted by ZimEye.com online, 74% of those who expressed their opinion felt ZANU PF was lying that the so called sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe are crippling the nation.

The USA this week declared that ZANU PF has been misinforming its citizens on the kind of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.

Below is how the online voting proceeded.

An ARTUZ member crafted this ahead of 14 October.

INFLATION AND SALARY FIASCO

Civil servants’ salaries have never been hit by inflation. How can inflation have an effect on something that is not there? Civil servants’ salaries have long been scrapped by austerity measures and not even a resemblance has been left.

ln its place a SLAVE WAGE took form. It will only be a mere waste of time trying to explore and explain the effects of something on another thing that is not in existence.

A soccer commentator can’t spend ninety minutes of commenting on a match declared walkover owing to the failure of another team to show up.

The bottom line is inflation is just making a walkover on civil servants’ salaries which have been stolen by austerity measures.

COME OCTOBER 14 I’M WITHDRAWING MY SERVICES
I WANT MY STOLEN SALARY BACK
A BIG NO TO SLAVE WAGES!!!!!!!

Paul Nyathi|First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s family fun day at Chipadze Stadium in Bindura was poorly attended amid fears that the event could have fallen victim to Zanu PF factional fights for control of Mashonaland Central province.

The programme, which had been scheduled 10am, started three hours later with mostly schoolchildren and a few bussed Zanu PF supporters in attendance.

According to ruling party insiders, the First Lady took almost two hours grilling Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs minister Monica Mavhunga and chairperson Kazembe Kazembe behind closed doors, accusing them of failing to properly mobilise people for her event.

“Mnangagwa was not happy with the attendance and she took Mavhunga and Kazembe to task for failing to mobilise supporters to her event. She allegedly fumed as she compared her poorly attended events with those of the former First Lady Grace Mugabe which were fairly attended,” the source said.

Both Mavhunga and Kazembe could not be reached for comment after the event.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has on two occasions cancelled his scheduled rallies in the province and has not visited the province since last year’s general election, amid reports of wide rifts emerging within the party’s top leadership.

In her brief address, the First Lady said the event was meant to promote economic development through sport tourism and diplomacy.

“Mnangagwa was not happy with the attendance and she took Mavhunga and Kazembe to task for failing to mobilise supporters to her event. She allegedly fumed as she compared her poorly attended events with those of the former First Lady Grace Mugabe which were fairly attended,” the source said.

Both Mavhunga and Kazembe could not be reached for comment after the event.

Paul Nyathi|The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has announced that a national strike has been called for the 14th of October.

The date clashes with the start of the Zimsec October – November examination leaving the sitting of examinations in doubt.

Artuz is demanding a fair living wage that is equivalent to the United States Dollar interbank rate.Currently teachers are paid a salary less than USD$100. 

In a statement ARTUZ said, “The 14 October job action is protected by the law. We feel duty bound to defend our salaries within the confines of the law. We therefore urge all teachers to join this job action which is protected by the laws of the country.”

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe leader Raymond Majongwe said the government seems not willing to engage the workers.

“Our demand to be paid in USD or the equivalent at the interbank rate still stands. Teachers out there are demanding that we join the Doctors in demanding for a living wage. Government is not even keen to engage its workers. The pressure is building.”

MDC Media Statement|Fuel prices went up over the weekend, triggering price hikes of basic commodities and further worsening an economic calamity whose roots lie in a legitimacy crisis arising out of the stolen election of July 2018.

Mr Mnangagwa must disembark from his high horse of arrogance and engage for dialogue with the people’s President, Advocate Nelson Chamisa. Morale is at a low ebb in all private and public institutions especially schools and hospitals.

Villagers, urban dwellers, the old, school children and the vulnerable can barely make ends meet in the current crisis where prices and transport fares are going up several times in a single week.

This regime continues to bury its head in the sand even as fuel prices increase every week, further straining the lives of ordinary citizens who are surviving on barely US 30 cents day.

So dire is the national crisis that the president who came from the courts must urgently engage the President who came from the people.

That dialogue must be aimed at scaffolding the country upon the firm foundation of a sincere, meaningful and genuine dialogue process that must address the unfinished business of 2018.

As we state in our RELOAD document, the dialogue must ensure that the country breaks away from the vicious cycle of disputed elections through an agreed national transitional mechanism whose mandate will be to implement a raft of comprehensive reforms that must culminate in a free, fair and credible election as the only way to return the country to legitimacy.

Arrogance and pride will not help because people are suffering. It does not help that Mr Mnangagwa seeks to re-engage the world when he is not engaging nationally with a key national player who has over two million supporters in the country, even by ZEC’s rigged figures.

Mnangagwa must not hoodwink himself through his constant rhetoric on dialogue that is not backed by any substantive action on the ground.

His political soliloquy as evidenced by the self-serving political actors’ dialogue (POLAD) process is inconsequential as he is essentially speaking to himself because all the so-called political actors are a choir that is singing in agreement with him. The POLAD platform is essentially a monologue as it is not dialogical.

The deteriorating national crisis is crying out for a meaningful dialogue process and Mr Mnangagwa must take the national situation seriously before the people peacefully and constitutionally stampede him onto the dialogue table. It is their democratic right.

MDC@20: Celebrating courage, growth and the people’s victories

Luke Tamborinyoka
Deputy National Spokesperson

Paul Nyathi|As the fallout resulting from the burial of former President Robert Mugabe at his rural home village continues, his widow Grace has been accused of grabbing a project donated to the country by the Chinese and personalising it.

According to the Zim Morning Post, Grace allegedly grabbed the US$7 million Mazowe Orphanage project which had been donated by the Chinese and turned it, into her own despite the fact that the project had been donated to the country of Zimbabwe. Grace was only supposed to be the patron of the project and not the owner. However, Grace is alleged to have grabbed the project which was meant to cater for orphans and turned it into her own sumptuous state of the art private schools.

A source close to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government who spoke to the Zim Morning Post said,

“This project is the same project with the Defence College of Zimbabwe where the National Army was brought in this deal as an implementing partner and after its completion, it was handed over to Government that is what Grace was supposed to do.”

However, when reached for comment, the government insisted that all questions regarding the issue will be better answered by the police and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).

Deputy Information minister Energy Mutodi distanced Mnangagwa’s government from the matter saying,

“This is just grapevine, the executive does not investigate anyone rather this is done by the police and the anti-corruption commission

“It is from these institutions that you can get an indication if an investigation has been opened against Grace Mugabe.

“Government is not a law unto itself. The law operates separately through institutions mandated to administer it.”

The Mnangagwa government has been accused of allegedly targeting Grace Mugabe because she refused to give in to their demands for Robert Mugabe to be buried at the National Heroes Acre.  Just days after the burial of Mugabe at his home village in Zvimba, the Mnangagwa government was accused of unleashing gold panners at the Mugabe family’s farms in Mazowe.

Source: Zim Morning Post

Chinese businesses are taking advantage of the rising demand for renewable sources of energy in Africa to dump substandard solar panels on the continent’s market, energy experts say.

In Zimbabwe, Nobert Mataruse, an engineer with the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA), recently warned people to be cautious about substandard products.

“In recent months, we have witnessed an influx of solar products which are not appropriate,” said Mataruse, as cited by the government-owned newspaper The Herald.

Zimbabwe, like many countries in Africa, is facing an energy crisis, and the government is advocating for the wider use of solar energy. But many products entering the market are not meeting local standards.

Failing Products

A vast majority of the currently failing and defective solar panels can be traced back to Chinese manufacturing plants, Tawanda Chitiyo, an energy expert based in Zimbabwe, told The Epoch Times.

“The growth of the local market has resulted in high inflows of PV [photovoltaic] products in the country. That’s resulted in many substandard products finding their way into the market, with negative consequences for consumers,” said Chitiyo, who is also the director of Tawanda Energy.

Tawanda Energy operates in the energy, biofuel, petrochemical, and related industries, utilizing community-scale bio-refineries to produce diesel, natural gas, electricity, and bio-char from sewage sludge and waste plastic.

Chitiyo said the lure of a bargain is strong, and saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars is an attractive proposition, especially when the quality deficits of lower-priced panels aren’t immediately apparent, making Africa a dumping ground for cheap and defective solar panels.

“Like all manufactured goods, solar panels and other solar energy system components degrade and gradually generate less electricity over time. But the rate of failure of Chinese solar panels is now a great concern. There are no industry-wide figures about defective solar panels; no one is sure how pervasive the problem is,” he said.

Counterfeit solar products in the marketplace are now a key challenge facing solar energy in the country, Chitiyo said.

“Products from such suppliers often suffer from uneven performance and low power output, and do not perform according to specifications written on their data plates. Another problem is low-quality components and fittings, which sometimes lead to the complete failure of solar panels,” he said.

Solar panels, he said, are relatively uniform in appearance and have no moving parts, so it’s difficult—if not impossible—for the average consumer to gauge a particular panel’s quality when compared to another, even side by side.

“Most suppliers offer a 25-year warranty, but malfunctions and failures usually surface a few months from purchase, especially solar lighting systems, leading to losses,” he said.

Chitiyo said these issues have also created a new problem of how to dispose of these solar panels, resulting in environmental problems since there is insufficient expertise in the safe disposal of solar panels.

Innovation and Regulation

Tawanda Energy is collaborating with European technology providers, including Danish company infinityPV, and is in the process of setting up innovative proprietary processes that will enable them to manufacture and deliver leading-edge solar products while cutting the cost.

“We plan to start the local production of organic solar cells. These solar cells are a third-generation printed solar photovoltaic technology for energy production in small-scale niche applications to large-scale installations such as building-integrated photovoltaics,” Chitiyo said.

He said the government and vocational training institutes in Zimbabwe must invest more in local research and development in the production of photovoltaic panels.

“We need more solar technology programs at our training institutes to generate reliable solar experts. We are also advocating for the local manufacture of solar panels and products, a move that would enable the majority of Zimbabweans to purchase the equipment at cheaper prices and in the local currency compared to imported solar products,” he said.

Chitiyo said the government through ZERA should inspect all solar products at points of entry and should start conducting impromptu inspections to seize all substandard solar products sold in retail shops.

He called on local entrepreneurs to establish independent testing labs that will be able to track the quality of panels.

“Lack of suitable environment, lack of affordable funds, lack of awareness, and lack of capacity building seems to sum up the barriers to PV penetration and thus explain the Zimbabwean and African PV paradox, whereby the best-served countries in terms of solar radiation are the lowest in terms of PV installations,” he said.

By A Correspondent- In an interview with ZimEye Monday, Health Services Board Chairperson Dr Paulinus Sikosana dispelled claims that doctors are on strike and are not reporting for duty saying doctors are at work.

Commenting on the doctors’ letter signalling that they had pulled out of the Health Apex Council which was submitted today morning at the HSB offices, Dr Sikosana said the pull out pointed to the need in changing the current legislation which governed the negotiating forum between the doctors and their employer.

He said:

“….The negotiating forum that is there is governed by certain legislation. For them to exit and get another negotiating forum, we need to change the legislation and its not a day’s thing.”

Responding to a question on how long this process to change the legislation will take, Dr Sikosana revealed that he did not know.

He said:

“For the process to be completed, I would not know.”

When quizzed on the way forward following the doctors rejection of the 60 percent salary increment that was announced by government, Dr Sikosana dispelled reports that doctors are not at work.

He said:

“They are at work. They are at work.”

Watch the video below for this and more….

Mthwakazi Liberation Organisation Leader Paul Siwela who was a top aide to the late Dumiso Dabengwa has sensationally alleged that the late national hero was poisoned during the November 2017 coup that ended 37 years of Robert Mugabe’s rule.

According to Siwela, who worked close to Dabengwa in the revival of ZAPU, before going Mthwakazi way, Dabengwa was poisoned by the same group of people who also poisoned ailing Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.

Posting on Facebook siwela said, “I can not resist the feeling that our national hero cde Dumiso Dabengwa was poisoned either towards , during or immediately after the 17th November 2017 military coup in Zimbabwe that toppled the long time dictator Robert Mugabe from power. The same person or group of persons is the same that poisoned Gen Constatino Chiwenga.”

Dabengwa was buried in Ntabazinduma after snubbing heroes acre burial.

Siwela further claimed that Joana Mafuyane the wife of the late Father Zimbabwe Joshua Nkomo was also poisoned for revealing that former First Lady Grace Mugabe was a daughter to Stephen Nkomo.

“Mrs Joana Nkomo, nee Mafuyana was also poisoned for revealing that Mrs Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe was the daughter of cde Stephen Jeqe Nyongolo Nkomo, the young brother to cde Joshua Nyongolo Nkomo and so was Maurice Nyagumbo and many others in zanupf. The next guys who need to be very careful is Obert Moses Mpofu and Jacob Mudenda and one of the two may not be successful. Watch this space.”

The Nkomo family is yet to respond to the allegations.

The ruling Zanu PF party has declared that government will only give jobs to its supporters only.

The ZANU PF National Secretary for security, Lovemore Matuke made the declaration when he was addressing his party’s Masvingo Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting held in Masvingo town recently.

The free speaking Matuke told the party members that Zanu PF faced a security threat if it’s youth remain unemployed and will be made worse if opposition MDC youths are seen in government employment at their expense.

“We have a new security threat; when our youths are not employed it’s a threat so we want to make sure that our people are employed.

“We were in China recently and they told us that they needed a lot of teachers so we need to make sure that our degreed youths get are given that opportunity. However, they have to be taught the party ideology and those who do not want will not benefit because we have to make sure that when they go they will serve our interests,” said Matuke, who is also the Deputy Minister of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare.

Matuke also claimed that the MDC Alliance rigged the 2018 elections by issuing fake identity documents to people who were under the legal age of voting.

Matuke claimed that since the Zanu PF security department picked intelligence to that effect, the party was now doing a follow up with the office of the registrar general.

“In 2018, thousands of young people below the age of 18 were issued with fake IDs that allowed them to register to vote. You would see that this person is too young to vote but when you check the ID, you see that he/she is eligible to vote

“We then did some investigations and noticed that some people were given IDs but they are not in the registrar general’s data base,” said Matuke.

He warned against complacency in terms of voter registration saying the opposition had intensified its voter registration programmes for next election.

“The opposition has intensified its voter registration programmes and most of the young people registering to vote now belong to MDC and we should do more than them. Let’s make sure that our people are registering as we prepare for 2023 elections,” Matuke said.

Speaking at the same event, politburo member Josaya Hungwe claimed that the MDC used the same strategy to rig the elections in 2008.

He claimed the MDC had connived with the Masvingo provincial registry for the issuance of fake IDs to people sympathetic to the opposition party.

Hungwe also said they should go and investigate the recent Zaka East election and find out where the over 1000 people who voted for the MDC ‘came from’.

“Go to Zaka and find out the villages of the people who voted for the opposition so that when we go to 2023, those people will be accounted for,” said Hungwe  

Zanu PF national political commissar Victor Matemadanda warned MPs against marginalising President Emmerson Mnangagwa in their 2023 election campaigns.

“We will need a list of people who got more votes than the President’s and unless we are told that they have reformed, we will not allow them to contest in 2023 election. In 2023 we are targeting five million votes and we can get them by making sure that each one of us recruits one new voter because last time we got 2.5 million votes,” said Matemadanda.

Farai Dziva|Auxillia Mnangagwa came face to face with Zanu PF factional fights when ruling party members snubbed her Family Fun Day at Chipadze Stadium in Bindura at weekend.

The event was marred by low attendance, amid fears that the event could have fallen victim to Zanu PF factional fights for control of Mashonaland Central province.

The programme, which had been scheduled to start at 10am, started three hours later with mostly schoolchildren and a few bussed Zanu PF supporters in attendance, according to NewsDay.

Farai Dziva|Lead president Linda Masarira has accused USA of plotting to attack Zimbabwe.

“We are trying to show the world that even if
@ZANUPF_Official
is failing our call is like that of America.

Zimbabwe first. No war will be fought on Zimbabwean soil. Our clarion call as @LEAD_2019 is ” Let’s unite and rebuild our country for prosperity and posterity.

” The justification they are looking for is a civic uprising of the people. This is where MDC comes in, to psyche the people to revolt,” Masarira tweeted.

“When we demonstrate against Sanctions we are trying to make sure that public upheaval does not happen. We need to fix Zimbabwe together.

Sanctions have nothing to do with the well being of Zimbabwe but about the American interests in Zimbabwe. We know that America’s next move is an all out military attack. America cannot attack without justification,” she added.

Farai Dziva|MDC leader Nelson Chamisa is a gifted preacher in his own right.

Chamisa was invited to minister as a guest preacher at Shammah Worship Centre.

“Amazing..Just finished preaching at a church where I was invited as a guest preacher by bretheren at Shammah Worship centre.

Oh,the anointing was so strong…the Holy Spirit leads! It’s all about Jesus.

Shared from John 4.The theme being.. ‘Jesus Christ -The Well of wells’,” said Chamisa.

A 33-year-old se_x worker from Gweru’s Mkoba suburb has been slapped with a six-month imprisonment term after she stole money and cellphone from her client.

The self confessed thigh vendor, Constance Mhango pleaded guilty to theft when she appeared before Gweru magistrate Mrs Phathekile Msipha.

Mhango stole $600 and a Samsung S6 cellphone from her client, Philemon Muzenda, who had hired her for an all-night se_x service.

In her plea, Mhango told the court that she wanted to use the money to pay school fees for her two children.

“Your Worship, I admit that l stole from my client. I desperately needed the money to pay school fees for my children. I deeply regret what l did, and may this honourable court be lenient towards me as l still need to fend for my children since l am a single mother,” she said.

Mrs Msipha dismissed Mhango’s plea saying she was only sorry because she had been caught.

She sentenced Mhango to six months in prison and two months were suspended on condition that Mhango restitutes Muzenda $600 and his cellphone.

It is the State’s case that on August 8, Muzenda asked to spend a night with Mhango and he was charged $20.

The two went to a lodge and Mhango was paid for her services upfront. The accused, however, took advantage of Muzenda who was drunk and stole from him, before fleeing from the scene. Muzenda woke up and found himself alone. He cried like a baby.

Muzenda reported the matter to the police leading to Mhango’s arrest.

Gracious Rongai prosecuted.

-State Media

NATIONAL University of Science and Technology (Nust) students, who are expecting to graduate on November 8, have petitioned their administration over exorbitant graduation fees which they described as more like punishment for learning at the institution.

Nust has pegged the graduation fees at $600 from $85, excluding graduation gown and food. In a petition dated October 1 and signed by the students representative council president Dennis Mwashita and his deputy Billy Muchiphisi, the graduands said the graduation fees were exorbitant.

“We the undersigned Nust graduands would like to express our discontentment following the unanticipated 700% increase in the graduation fee,” read the memo.
“An amount of $600 is ludicrous, unbearable and was established without the consultation of the students.”

“We are not unmindful of the current economic downturn, but our parents are peasant and they haven’t had complementary increases in their salaries. We are appealing to your higher office to bid a commendable farewell to the future leaders and afford families and friends to celebrate the academic successes of their own by reviewing downwards the graduation fee to a reasonable and justifiable amount, which is a reflection of what other State universities are charging under the same economic hardships.

For instance, the University of Zimbabwe $240, Chinhoyi University of Technology $300, Great Zimbabwe University $350 and Midlands State University $300,” read the memo.
“We recommend that, in your planning for the big day, eliminate unnecessary costs which are burdening your resources.”

The students said if their plea is ignored, they would demand that the event be postponed.Contacted for comment, Nust spokesperson Felix Moyo said he was busy and asked Southern Eye to send questions on his WhatsApp account, but had not responded by the time of going to print.

-Newsday