Watch video below. ..

Motormouth deputy information minister Energy Mutodi is at it again after mocking opposition leader Nelson Chamisa and his South African counterpart Julius Malema saying they are small hills that will never grown into mountains.

Mutodi who is no stranger to controversy has always been the receiving end of social media users who feel he just say things without thinking through considering his position as a member of the executive.

Posting on Twitter today, Mutodi touched raw nerves when he dismissed former Zanu PF Commissar Saviour Kasukuwere whom he equated to Chamisa and Malema.

Small hills will never grow into mountains. Often, they face the risk of being washed away by floods. I hope Tyson, Malema & Nero will understand this metaphor.

— Hon. Dr Energy Mutodi (PhD) (@energymutodi) October 6, 2019

FORMER Tourism Minister Priscah Mupfumira who is facing corruption charges related to the National Social Security (Nssa) scandal may not have committed any offence after all if emerging details are anything to go by.

According to sources privy to the case, charges that Mupfumira could have abused her position as Public Service Minister around 2015, to force Nssa to buy her a vehicle may have been unfounded.

In a June 26, 2015 letter to Nssa general manager at the time James Matiza , then Public Service permanent secretary Ngoni Masoka who is also on trail for abuse of office charges related to the scandal at the government pensions administrator, made the request.

“Among the issues to do with her (Mupfumira)’s conditions of service is the provision of a Mercedes Benz for her official duties.

“Requests have been made to the Ministry of Finance and the CMED for the purchase of this vehicle but due to financial constraints, Treasury has indicated that the funding of the said vehicle will be made available when cash inflows improved,” said Masoka then.

“In order for this vehicle to be purchased for the Minister, your are kindly requested for the release of an amount of $90 000 as an advance from Nssa. Repayment of this advance will be made as soon as the funding is made available by Treasury.”

In response Matiza on July 1st the same year wrote to Masoka confirming receipt of the request and that it would be actioned.

“We take note of your request and we are in the process of putting the funds together. We are working towards paying the full $90 000 on Wednesday 8 July, 2015. In the meantime could you please furnish us with your bank details. We would want to disburse the money through your Ministry,” said Matiza’s letter in part.

On July 8th the money reflected in the Ministry of Public Service’s account and recorded under “sundry debtors” reference number DFC1098/15 as an “advance to purchase Minister’s vehicle to be refunded by Treasury when budget is approved.”

An FBC Bank slip is also available showing the money was indeed moved from Nssa to the Ministry and signed by authorised signatories as required and recorded as had consistently been done elsewhere.

However a red-flag in the transaction is that Masoka seems to have skipped processes only requesting Cabinet authority a week after the money had been released.

In response to what should have been a letter requesting Cabinet authority for the purchase of the vehicle, Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Ray Ndhlukula gave Masoka green-light to but Mupfumira the car.

“Proceed as requested and purchase an E300 Mercedes Benz vehicle. This is on the understanding that Nssa will be reimbursed of the funds they avail to you once Treasury has allocated the required funding,” said Ndhlukula in the letter referenced “request for Cabinet authority to purchase condition of service  and utility vehicles for Honourable P Mupfumira, Minister of Public Service and Social Welfare.”

The letter was dated 13 July 2015. The car was subsequently purchased from a local car dealer.

Mupfumira, was arrested in late July and slapped with a litany of charges including allegations of fraud, money laundering and abuse of office involving US$95 million.

At least 10 people died on the spot, including both drivers, while several others were injured when two buses – Govasburg and Mandeep Tours – collided head-on just before Kwekwe River along the Gweru-Kwekwe road this morning.

When The Herald crew arrived at the scene around 8:30 am, Gweru and Kwekwe Fire Brigade were using cutters to try and retrieve the bodies of the two drivers trapped on the seats.

Officer Commanding Kwekwe District, Chief Superintendent Conrad Mubaiwa, who was at the scene of the accident, confirmed the disaster.

He said the number of the deaths could rise.

“We have 10 people who died on the spot including the two bus drivers but we are still at the scene.

“We will do a follow up on those who were rushed to Kwekwe District Hospital,” he said.

More to follow…

Zimbabwe Newspapers Limited (Zimpapers) has announced new cover prices for all its publications with effect from Thursday 3 October 2019. In a statement, Zimpapers said:

Zimpapers would like to advise its valued customers of new cover prices for all its publications with effect from Thursday 3 October 2019. The increases come as a mitigatory measure in the face of increasing costs of production.

The new prices which come into effect are as follows:

• Herald – ZW$10
• Chronicle – ZW$10
• SundayMail – ZW$15
• Business Weekly – ZW$15
• Sunday News – ZW$10
• H-Metro – ZW$5
• B-Metro – ZW$5
• Kwayedza – ZW$5
• UMthunywa – ZW$5
• Manica Post – ZW$6

In what could be a major overhaul of the local voting system, Government will assess the feasibility of introducing Diaspora voting to Zimbabweans living in foreign lands, The Sunday Mail can reveal.

Current legislation limits voting rights to Zimbabweans who are on official Government assignments.

Any other Zimbabwean living in a foreign land is required to physically present themselves at their registered polling station to cast their vote.

Zimbabwe has a large Diaspora in countries such as South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told The Sunday Mail that an international study will be commissioned next year.

“We want to commission a study to see how other jurisdictions are implementing the Diaspora vote and hopefully we will be done with that by June 2020,” said Minister Ziyambi.

“Once we have seen how others do it, we will then be able to make a decision on whether we need to amend the law to give effect to it or not.”

Election Resource Centre (ERC) executive director Mr Tawanda Chimhini said Government’s intention to consider introducing the Diaspora vote is welcome.

“The Diaspora vote is there in our statutes but it is just restricted to people on Government business,” said Mr Chimhini.

“They vote at their designated polling stations through postal voting.

“What is needed is to extend postal voting to all voters in the Diaspora on the condition that they register to vote.

“There will be need to change the Electoral Act to extend postal voting, not only to people on Government business, but to all people who are registered voters.

“But what is clear is that the Diaspora vote cannot be extended to every country where there is a Zimbabwean voter.”

He said other African countries have Diaspora voting systems that ensure citizens are not disenfranchised.

“They extend the right to countries where there is a significant population from their countries.

“The only difference is that they have different electoral systems from ours.

“In Mozambique, for example, they have created a Diaspora constituency, where they vote for a Diaspora representative.

“In South Africa they have proportional representation, which means that voters cast their ballots for political parties, not necessarily for individuals.

“We already have a postal voting system that works, the same provision can be extended to everyone.

“It is important for Government to carry out this study so that we can come up with a system that works for us,” he said.

-State Media

A leaked intelligence report mapping out strategies on how to deal with MDC Alliance demos in Chiredzi District has sent chills down the spines of activists.

The report which was confirmed by several sources as an authentic document from the Chiredzi District Joint Operations Command specifies which individuals to put under surveillance, how to deal with them and thwart any machinations.

Activists who talked to The Mirror said the report is disturbing particularly in view of the rising number of alleged abductions in the country.

In Chiredi there are a number of activists who have disappeared in the past including ZESA manager Dumisani Hapazari in 2008 and Kariborn Nyemba. Nyemba later escaped from his abductors but the whereabouts of Hapazari are still unknown.

The report which was prepared on August 16 2019 accused MDC leaders in Chiredzi of planning to host a heavily armed insurgence team from South Africa to destabilize the district.

The report placed six MDC members including Chiredzi Town Council Chairman Gibson Hwende, former MP for Zaka West Festus Dumbu and Chiredzi MDC District Chairperson James Kampota as potential threats.

Other people named as security threats are Menias Gangata who is an MDC activist and one named Sisokisi.

The homes of Gangata, Dumbu, Hwende, Gilbert Mutubuki, and Kampota were identified as potential threats.

When contacted for comment Dumbu said MDC did not seek to unsit the Zanu PF Government through unconstitutional means.

“I saw the report but it`s fortunate that it leaked to the public but we know that they always track us,” said Dumbu.

-Mirror

Zimbabwe’s largest platinum producer Zimplats recorded a 36,1% slump in production volumes to 415,72kg in August as rising inflation, coupled with power cuts and foreign currency shortages, took a toll on the extractive sector, it has been revealed.

Zimplats’ production in the first eight months was pegged at 5 230,584kg.

The Impala Platinum Holdings (Implats) subsidiary retained US$150,9 million and US$98 million respectively from platinum sales.

Figures, however, indicated that Zimplats was getting a lot of value from other metals that form part of the platinum group of metals (PGMs), particularly palladium and rhodium sales.

Zimplats recently put its US$23 million refinery project on hold citing lack of a clear government road map on the mineral beneficiation policy.

“The SMC Base Metal Refinery refurbishment project remains on hold pending finalisation of the national beneficiation road map.

“The project total expenditure as at 30 June 2019 was US$23,6 million,” the company said in statement accompanying its year-ended June 30 results.

The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)-listed miner was upbeat about the future despite the economic challenges facing Zimbabwe. Its shareholders continue to inject more capital into the company.

“The group spent a total of US$115 million in the full year-ended 30 June up from US$135,3 million spent on capital projects (stay in business, replacement mines and expansion projects) during the year compared to US$135,3 million spent in 2018,” the company added.

Zimplats said it had successfully navigated Zimbabwe’s turbulent currency market because most of its revenues were in foreign currency.

“Revenue is generated from sales of platinum group metals. We traced, on a sample basis, payments received in US$ to the relevant bank statements, noting no material exceptions,” the company said.

“We considered factors impacting the operating subsidiary’s access to foreign currency by inspecting relevant exchange control regulations and underlying agreements and obtained an understanding of the underlying terms and conditions.

“We found management’s conclusions to be reasonable.

“We inspected the expenditure disclosed for the operating subsidiary and noted that the operating subsidiary transacted using a combination of United States dollars, bond notes and real time gross settlement (RTGS).

“(We looked at) underlying agreements and noted that all long-term debt and borrowings were denominated in US$.”

Zimplats said the scrapping of the Indigenisation and Empowerment Regulations was expected to attract more players into the mining sector.

-The Standard

CHIEF Dobola of Binga District has been fined $800 for negligence and driving without a licence after he crashed his newly Government issued Isuzu double cab pick-up truck last year.

Chief Dobola whose name is Edward Munkombwe (44) of Binga was on Tuesday convicted on his own plea of guilty to charges of “driving without a licence” and “negligent driving” by Hwange provincial magistrate Mr Gift Ntando Dube.

He was fined $400 for each charge and in addition was suspended from driving any class of vehicle for a month. Prosecuting, Mr John Mutyakaviri said on 11 October 2018 at about 7am, Munkombwe was driving an unregistered Isuzu double cab pick-up along Tinde-Pashu Road with no passengers on board. The court heard that when he reached the 23km peg, he lost control resulting in the vehicle veering off the road and hitting a tree before overturning. Munkombwe sustained minor injuries and was ferried to Kamativi Clinic where he was treated and discharged.

The vehicle was damaged during the accident as its windscreen was shattered, had dents on the left side, passenger door and loading box. It was recommended that the vehicle be taken to VID Hwange for examination.

The State relied its case on particulars of negligence which include failing to keep the vehicle under proper control, failing to stop when accident was imminent and travelling at an excessive speed under the circumstances.

Last year Mnangagwa’s Government, distributed cars to chiefs as part of improving their mobility to execute traditional roles.

State Media

Paul Nyathi|Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo and her team of commissioners were recently provided with firearms for personal security amid reports that they have been receiving death threats from unknown people over high profile graft cases under investigation.

About a fortnight ago, Justice Matanda-Moyo and the commissioners underwent a firearms training at the Zimbabwe Republic Police shooting range at Morris Depot in Harare before being issued with arms.

In an interview, Justice Matanda-Moyo said she personally received incessant phone calls from members of the corruption cartels involving cases of high profile political figures under investigation and a firearm becomes a necessary self-defence weapon.

“I have received a number of calls from people instructing me to drop certain cases involving political figures and other prominent people.

“I still receive the calls with others threatening my life. Others were trying to influence me on how ZACC should operate, particularly telling me who should and should not be investigated,” she said.

The callers, Justice Matanda-Moyo said, complain about the investigation of certain individuals.

It has since emerged that the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) and President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s advisor Christopher Mutsvangwa is top amongst those people who have been threatening Justice Loice Mtanda-Moyo.

According to weekend media reports, Mutsvangwa is among those who are said to have called the Zacc chairperson accusing her of fronting a G40 agenda following the arrest of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority board chairperson Callisto Jokonya early last month.

Jokonya appeared in court on charges of abuse of office after reportedly showing favour in extending Zimra Deputy Commissioner General Happier Kuzvinzwa’s contract for another four year term.

“Kuzvinzwa is a war veteran and Mutsvangwa was not happy with what he thought was Jokonya’s harassment over the re-appointment of a member of his association.

“The other thing is that Kuzvinzwa and (Zimra Commissioner General Faith) Mazani are not on talking terms. There is tension between them and she was happy his term had come to an end only to be shocked by the re-appointment,” a top source told online media nEWS263zim.com.

Zacc then pounced on Jokonya who is currently on on bail. Mutsvangwa was unamused and took this as an attack on veterans of the liberation struggle.

“The war veterans think they should not be touched. They want a hear no evil see no evil approach. But its wrong and while a lot more people called Justice Matanda-Moyo, Mutsvangwa also did,” the source said.

Justice Mtanda-Moyo is wife to Foreign Affairs Minister Sibusiso Moyo who is not in the best of relations with Mutsvangwa.

Zimbabwe’s largest platinum producer Zimplats recorded a 36,1% slump in production volumes to 415,72kg in August as rising inflation, coupled with power cuts and foreign currency shortages, took a toll on the extractive sector, it has been revealed.

Zimplats’ production in the first eight months was pegged at 5 230,584kg.

The Impala Platinum Holdings (Implats) subsidiary retained US$150,9 million and US$98 million respectively from platinum sales.

Figures, however, indicated that Zimplats was getting a lot of value from other metals that form part of the platinum group of metals (PGMs), particularly palladium and rhodium sales.

Zimplats recently put its US$23 million refinery project on hold citing lack of a clear government road map on the mineral beneficiation policy.

“The SMC Base Metal Refinery refurbishment project remains on hold pending finalisation of the national beneficiation road map.

“The project total expenditure as at 30 June 2019 was US$23,6 million,” the company said in statement accompanying its year-ended June 30 results.

The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)-listed miner was upbeat about the future despite the economic challenges facing Zimbabwe. Its shareholders continue to inject more capital into the company.

“The group spent a total of US$115 million in the full year-ended 30 June up from US$135,3 million spent on capital projects (stay in business, replacement mines and expansion projects) during the year compared to US$135,3 million spent in 2018,” the company added.

Zimplats said it had successfully navigated Zimbabwe’s turbulent currency market because most of its revenues were in foreign currency.

“Revenue is generated from sales of platinum group metals. We traced, on a sample basis, payments received in US$ to the relevant bank statements, noting no material exceptions,” the company said.

“We considered factors impacting the operating subsidiary’s access to foreign currency by inspecting relevant exchange control regulations and underlying agreements and obtained an understanding of the underlying terms and conditions.

“We found management’s conclusions to be reasonable.

“We inspected the expenditure disclosed for the operating subsidiary and noted that the operating subsidiary transacted using a combination of United States dollars, bond notes and real time gross settlement (RTGS).

“(We looked at) underlying agreements and noted that all long-term debt and borrowings were denominated in US$.”

Zimplats said the scrapping of the Indigenisation and Empowerment Regulations was expected to attract more players into the mining sector.

-The Standard

VIEW PICTURE BELOW…

By Own Correspondent| The Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Obadiah Moyo, has brokered a deal with striking doctors by offering them a 60 percent increase in allowances and ordered all health workers to report to work tomorrow or face disciplinary action for breaching their contracts.

In a statement, Dr 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.

“ . . . the doctors’ representatives walked out on the negotiations as they preferred 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,” he said.

Dr Moyo said they were, however, appalled by the conduct of the doctors whose duty is to save lives as they abandoned their work stations.

“Government is appalled that doctors have walked out from the negotiating table and from their patients who are in need of their dire care. Government is grateful to those doctors who remained at their posts of duty delivering care, saving lives and alleviating suffering.

For the sake of saving lives and patients we now call on all doctors to (Ministry of Health and University Consultants) to report to their posts of duty on Monday the 7th of October 2019. Those who fail to do so are reminded that they are in breach of their contacts of employment and will face disciplinary action,” he said.

Dr Moyo said the proposed new allowance rates would cover night duty allowance, nurse managers allowance, on call allowance, special health allowance and a standby/call out allowance.

“The parties to the meeting also agreed on the locum rates for nurses and paramedics to be reviewed from the current $4 to $16 per day hour and from $6 to $24 per night hour. 

“Locum rates for doctors were also reviewed from the current $7 to $28 per day hour and from $10 to $40 per night hour,” he said.

Dr Moyo said uniform grant was reviewed from $75 to $300, uniform maintenance allowance moved up from $75 to $300 while those who are in the psychiatric department will see an increase in allowance from $20 to $100 per month. Out of residence allowance has been reviewed from $250 to $500 each month while post basic allowance now stands at $150 from $70 each month and additional post basic allowance would be increased from $10 to $25 per month for the first additional qualification.

Dr Moyo stressed that the Government was concerned with the working conditions of doctors.

Our Harare Bureau understands that the latest offer tabled by Government, will see senior doctors pocketing between $8 000 and $11 000 monthly in salaries and allowances while junior doctors earn slightly less.

“Government has shown its sincerity by continuously engaging the health workers to address their challenges including implementing programmes that ensure that they have the needed medicines and equipment to deliver health care.

Their remuneration packages have been reviewed constantly in the context of the obtaining economic climate,” said Dr Moyo.

Doctors, who downed tools weeks ago, had argued that they were unable to continue reporting for duty citing poor working conditions and poor salaries together with lack of adequate working equipment at central hospitals.

Contacted for comment Zimbabwe Hospitals Doctors Associating acting vice-president Dr Dean Ndoro said doctors rejected the offer but were still looking at the other contents of the Minister’ statement. 

He said doctors were also pulling out of the Health Apex Council. Sources said doctors wanted to be paid at United States dollar interbank rate.

“We have peculiar grievances which are unique to ourselves and the Bipartite Negotiating Panel is not addressing them. We are seeking an alternative association to belong to,” he said.

-StateMedia

OUTSPOKEN independent MP Temba Mliswa has made sensational claims legislators from both the ruling Zanu PF and opposition MDC parties coax him into making some demands from Parliament.

Mliswa claimed most MPs don’t want to come in the open with their demands for allowances and other trinkets because they are scared to lose their political positions and a backlash from their parties.

He was speaking at #TheHubUnconference, the opening platform of Shoko Festival in Harare last week Friday.

His statements come barely a week after some 290 parliamentary vehicles were delivered for the MPs at Croco Motors in Harare.

This is despite massive uproar from the public that the all terrain vehicles that will gobble US$410 million are too expensive.

“If you ask yourself who in parliament makes the most noise, it is me, not because I am good but because I am independent.

“In fact, I actually help the MDC and Zanu PF MPs because they cannot speak out on issues to do with cars, they are afraid but they want those V8 vehicles because they are durable,” said Mliswa.

“So they send me to bite and tell me that they will not clap hands after my address because they will be recalled, they are smart.”

In July, Mliswa threatened to sue President Emmerson Mnangagwa over failure by Parliament to give MPs their perks which it had promised them. The promised perks include residential stands, a hike in allowances, among other things.

Mliswa was the most vocal in demanding vehicles and diplomatic passports from government with MDC and Zanu PF legislators both hesitant on issues to do with these benefits.

He argued that 4×4 vehicles will make their work much easier as they will be able to access far flung areas in their constituencies.

Parliament then offered all legislators a Vehicle Loan Scheme with a cap of US$35 000 to purchase Ford Ranger all terrain vehicles from Croco Motors.

Government will pay the amount over eight months with MPs paying for the vehicle over the next five years.

1/3 I am not saying whatever Nelson Chamisa did was right or wrong, everyone does have his own opinion! But my challenge with these Feminist movements is they only resurfaces when it’s Nero only! Old ladies were beaten in town last months and I am yet to hear their voices!

2/3 Don’t tell Women Coalition of Zimbabwe never saw that picture of an old woman who was beaten for exercising her constitutional right and was left for dead by our law enforcement agents, they never said a single word up to now! If they want the pics or videos I have them

3/3 Many women were beaten up and raped by soldiers in Jan this yr and I have a relative who is a victim! Where was there Women Collation Group? Never heard their voice at all, and suddenly after Nero took the mic from his wife they are demanding a public apology?

VIEW PICTURE BELOW

VIEW PICTURE BELOW…

In what could be a major overhaul of the local voting system, Government will assess the feasibility of introducing Diaspora voting to Zimbabweans living in foreign lands, The Sunday Mail can reveal.

Current legislation limits voting rights to Zimbabweans who are on official Government assignments.

Any other Zimbabwean living in a foreign land is required to physically present themselves at their registered polling station to cast their vote.

Zimbabwe has a large Diaspora in countries such as South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told The Sunday Mail that an international study will be commissioned next year.

“We want to commission a study to see how other jurisdictions are implementing the Diaspora vote and hopefully we will be done with that by June 2020,” said Minister Ziyambi.

“Once we have seen how others do it, we will then be able to make a decision on whether we need to amend the law to give effect to it or not.”

Election Resource Centre (ERC) executive director Mr Tawanda Chimhini said Government’s intention to consider introducing the Diaspora vote is welcome.

“The Diaspora vote is there in our statutes but it is just restricted to people on Government business,” said Mr Chimhini.

“They vote at their designated polling stations through postal voting.

“What is needed is to extend postal voting to all voters in the Diaspora on the condition that they register to vote.

“There will be need to change the Electoral Act to extend postal voting, not only to people on Government business, but to all people who are registered voters.

“But what is clear is that the Diaspora vote cannot be extended to every country where there is a Zimbabwean voter.”

He said other African countries have Diaspora voting systems that ensure citizens are not disenfranchised.

“They extend the right to countries where there is a significant population from their countries.

“The only difference is that they have different electoral systems from ours.

“In Mozambique, for example, they have created a Diaspora constituency, where they vote for a Diaspora representative.

“In South Africa they have proportional representation, which means that voters cast their ballots for political parties, not necessarily for individuals.

“We already have a postal voting system that works, the same provision can be extended to everyone.

“It is important for Government to carry out this study so that we can come up with a system that works for us,” he said.

State Media

Paul Nyathi|The government of the United States has once and for all come out blunt, candid and unwavering about the status of bilateral relations with Zimbabwe declaring that it has no sanctions at all against Zimbabwe and they have always made the fact clear to President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Responding to a question from the state run Sunday Mail Newspaper journalist Norman Muchemwa in a Telephonic Press Briefing the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, Tibor P. Nagy, Jr, implored that Zimbabwe must begin telling the truth about the relationship with the United States.

Tibor P Nagy, Jr emphasised unequivocally that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s “leadership understands what the United States is looking for, before we can begin to have a normal, constructive, positive relationship with Zimbabwe.”

We produce below extract of the transcript of the interview:

MODERATOR: Thank you. The next question goes to a listening party at U.S. Embassy Harare. Operator, please open the line.

OPERATOR: What was the location?

MODERATOR: Embassy Harare, Zimbabwe.

OPERATOR: Thank you. And that line is now opened.

QUESTION: Okay, good afternoon. My name is Muchemwa Norman from Sunday Mail in Harare, Zimbabwe. And my question is as you mentioned earlier on that you hoped for Africa and that is an encouragement for American businesses to invest in Zimbabwe. You know that Zimbabwe is open for — in Africa, rather, you know that Zimbabwe is open for business. What measures are there in place for a win/win arrangement regarding the issue of investment for the benefit of the long-suffering Zimbabweans?

ASST. SEC. TIBOR NAGY: Well I love that question too because I’ve had occasions several times to have dialog at highest levels of your government and our dialogue has been very frank and honest and I’m not going to go into details because those are private discussions. But your leadership understands what the United States is looking for, before we can begin to have a normal, constructive, positive relationship with Zimbabwe.

Now, I told you guys this before, that I have a very special place in my heart for Zimbabwe because not only did I help open up the embassy there shortly after the Lancaster House Agreement in 1980, I think my vehicle was the second one to cross the Chirundu Bridge going from Zambia to Zimbabwe. But my kids first trip was born in independent Zimbabwe were born in Harare. So I really, really appreciate the country. I appreciate the tremendous talents, the positive attributes. Unfortunately it’s no secret, we have a problematic relationship with Zimbabwe. There’s the ZIDERA Act which restricts to a certain extent what the United States can and cannot do.

However, there’s a very false narrative out there which I want to correct. Some people say that the United States has sanctions against the country of Zimbabwe. We do not, repeat, do not have sanctions against the country of Zimbabwe. We have sanctions against certain individuals and certain corporations and there could be greater detail on that, but not against the country of Zimbabwe. There is nothing to stop U.S. businesses from investing in Zimbabwe, from going to Zimbabwe.

However, again, let’s be very frank. Zimbabwe has a reputational problem. We have great concerns over how the government treats its own citizens. We have great concerns over the space that’s available for democracy and governance in Zimbabwe. We have been alarmed with how the government has treated its own citizens. So those are the issues. But as I said, we’ve had very frank, honest and open discussions between ourselves and the highest levels of your government. So you know, hopefully, again, you know my dream and prayer is that we can have fully normalized positive relations with every country in Africa. And Zimbabwe is near the top of my wish list.

Again, given the personal connections I’ve had with your beautiful, beautiful country and your wonderful people. Over.

Read the full transcript below:

https://ng.usembassy.gov/transcript-telephonic-press-briefing-with-assistant-secretary-of-state-for-the-bureau-of-african-affairs-tibor-p-nagy-jr/

Masvingo villagers say awareness programmes being carried out by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) have helped them dealing with cyber safety issues.

The villagers attended one of the programmes at Nemamwa growth point in Masvingo yesterday.

Timothy Chikozho said such interactions with the regulator were key and called for urgent intervention by government on tariffs to ensure affordability by users.

“We are privileged to have such interactions with Potraz,” he said. “We now know what to do and where to go when we encounter problems with operators and it is something we learnt from this programme.

“The cost of data is now beyond our reach. We can’t connect via data and it is becoming a challenge.

“We want to appreciate your education through such programmes, they open our eyes on ICTs.”

Agnes Bhasera said Potraz should continue with awareness programmes and also target schools and colleges as a number of abuses of technology were being reported there.

Consumers also pleaded with Potraz and government to intervene and ensure mobile data is accessible.

“We cannot access some networks here and it is becoming a big challenge.

“From what we learnt from Potraz today, we have a lot to use our mobile phones for, but there is very little coverage,” Marble Mabhena said.

Potraz consumer affairs manager Phibion Chaibva said the authority would remain a consumer’s shield and open platforms for regular interactions.

Chaibva warned consumers against abuse of digital media platforms saying as a regulator, the safety and security of the users remains critical.

“We warn users against improper use of digital media platforms. Use them for your good and growth of our communities and not to harm yourselves or others,” he said.

“We have heard your challenges and your good words on what we are doing as Potraz and we will not tire to keep on coming and engaging you. We are there for you.”

He said Potraz was advocating for stiffer penalties against vandalism and theft.

This followed numerous reports of destruction and theft on base stations and infrastructure across the country.

Paul Nyathi|Harare Mayor Herbert Gomba says late former President Robert Mugabe’s nephew Leo Mugabe, who was funeral spokesman, is the reason why the City of Harare does not have water today.

In an angry series of Tweets on his Twitter page, the mayor revealed that Leo Mugabe was over twenty years ago given a tender to built a new backwash treatment plant along Bulawayo road at Morton Jeffrey plant, which despite payments never worked.

An angry Gonna has threatened that he will be taking the issue to the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission.

Said Gomba, “Harare will engage the new Zacc to investigate the tender alleged given to ex President’s nephew who was funeral spokesman to built a new backwash treatment plant bluish in color along Bulawayo road at Morton Jeffrey plant, which despite payments never worked, causing water problems.”

He added, “The plant was to give water to Hre residents,a contractor was given an opportunity to deliver but didn’t if all had happened according to plan, 80 million litres  of water per day for 25 years would have alleviated our problems in our fight we get strength from those carrying buckets every day.”

The Mayor was not happy with some responses he received, “I see some would want to defend what cannot be defended, all we want is water, in fact more water, surely how do you sleep knowing fully you caused that, how do you use Bulawayo rd knowing fully you abused your uncle’s position and 25 years latter we don’t have water.”

The Mayor also accused another Mugabe relative, Mr John Mapondera of neopatrimonialism.

“The reason why kunzvi could not be built and nothing was done to Mr Mapondera John is that he was said to be relative of the founding father, we are now in a crisis because of the neopatrimonialism ….truth must rain like bumharutsva.”

State Media|THE backlog in the issuing of passports in the country has ballooned to 370 000 from around 340 000 last month as the Registrar-General’s Office is only able to process just 750 per day, an official has revealed.

Registrar-General Mr Clemence Masango told state media on the sidelines of Civil Registration and Vital Statistic (CRVS) Day held in Bulawayo yesterday that lack of foreign currency remained the major challenge.

“The Department is currently hamstrung by the shortage of essential passport production materials which is imported and requires foreign currency and it is also public knowledge that foreign currency is scarce in the country and is affecting not only the department but many other sectors in the country. At the moment we are doing 750 passports a day and these are mainly on urgent basis and also on first come first serve and we have a backlog of over 370 000 passport applications,” he said.

Mr Masango acknowledged that the department needed to clear the backlog as soon as funding is availed.

“We are also aware that there is a backlog that we have to attend to and arrangements are underway that we get funds to get the materials to work on clearing the backlog so that we return our services back to normal. We need to go back to what our charter says of providing urgent passports, 24 hour passports as the fastest, three days and one for four weeks. We have not been able to do this because of unavailability of resources,” he said.

Asked on reports on pending increases in passport fees, Mr Masango said the department has not yet received the green light from the Government to do so. He said the problem of antiquated machinery has been eased following the acquisition of a US$600 000 machine to produce the passports.

Mr Masango said his office has also received numerous complaints from the public about the treatment they are getting from officials in the department.

“It is unfortunate that there are members of the public who have not been well attended to as seen by the complaints that we get. It is Government policy that everybody must be served professionally, courteously and with respect. However, we do get individuals not living up to that expectation. We currently have an ongoing public care and public customer handling internal refresher course to ensure that we maintain the standards expected by the public and Government to serve our public,” he assured.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Ambassador Cain Mathema has stressed the need for all parents and guardians to register births for their children within the stipulated time in order to secure basic human rights to name, identity and nationality.

Speaking during the CVRS Day belated commemorations which were held for the first time in Zimbabwe, Ambassador Mathema said it was disturbing to note that many undocumented children were coming from South Africa. The celebrations were held under the theme “Birth Certificate for All: a Fundamental for Protecting Human Rights and Promoting Inclusion”.

“It is sad to note that there are children born in South Africa and brought here with no birth certificates via illegal transporters and dumped without any particulars to elderly grandparents who will fend for them. Those grandparents may not be able to secure those documents which is a problem when they want to start school,” he said.

The celebrations were marked with a march from the Bulawayo Passport Office to Milton Junior Primary School, which was the venue for the commemorations. The commemorations were meant to raise awareness on the importance of birth certificates and other identity particulars which people should acquire in order for them to enjoy full benefits of being citizens and residents of Zimbabwe.

State Media|Aspirants who wish to lend the country’s top job — that of President — will have to be nominated by at least 1 000 registered voters from the country’s 10 provinces and fork out more than the current $1 000 nomination fee.

This comes as Government moves to align local nomination processes with regional and international best practices, it has been learnt.

The overhaul is also expected to winnow out “chancers”.

Last year, 23 candidates successfully registered for the Presidential election, the largest number since 1980.

However, the large pool of candidates created a logistical nightmare for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) in designing the ballot paper.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told The Sunday Mail that the new regulations will ensure that only serious candidates participate.

“We are also looking at provisions that deal with nomination fees for Presidential candidates and that of people who nominate the President with a view of increasing them from 100 to maybe 1 000,” said Minister Ziyambi.

“We want to revise the fees to make sure that they are reasonable.

“As you saw, (in) the last election we had the largest pool of candidates in the history of the country. While we want to encourage participation, we also want to make sure that only serious candidates find their names on the ballot.”

Current regulations require candidates seeking to contest Presidential, Parliamentary and local council polls to submit their candidacy to one of several specially convened nomination courts across the country.

To register successfully, Presidential candidates pay a fee of $1 000 and must be nominated by at least 100 registered voters from across the country’s 10 provinces.

Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) chairperson Mr Andrew Makoni said the changes will eliminate chancers from participating.

“Increasing the number of signatures required to register one as a candidate is meant to avoid a situation where we have people trying their luck at a cost to the elections management body,” said Mr Makoni.

“Organising an election is a very expensive exercise, so if we have a situation where someone just gathers a 100 signatures and a small amount of money, but have no following at all, becomes a very huge cost to the elections management body.

“So I think the idea is to ensure that only serious candidates with constituencies behind them are able to participate and do away with chancers.”

Last year President Mnangagwa out-polled 22 candidates that include Nelson Chamisa (MDC-Alliance), Thokozani Khupe (MDC-T), Nkosana Moyo (Alliance for People’s Agenda), Joice Mujuru (People’s Rainbow Coalition), Elton Mangoma (Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe), and Ambrose Mutinhiri (National Patriotic Front).

Also on the Presidential ballot were Lovemore Madhuku (National Constitutional Assembly), Daniel Shumba (United Democratic Alliance), Noah Ngoni Manyika (Build Alliance Zimbabwe), Joshua Makamba Busha (FreeZim Congress), Johannes Tonderai Chiguvare (People’s Progressive Party), Melba Dzapasi (Hashgtag 1980 Freedom Movement Zimbabwe), Peter Mapfumo Gava (United Democratic Front), Kwanele Hlabangana (Republicans Party of Zimbabwe), Divine Mhambi Hove (National Alliance of Patriotic Democratic Republicans), Blessing Kasiyamhuru (Zimbabwe Partnership for Prosperity), Violet Mariyacha (United Democratic Movement), Taurai Bryn Mteki (Independent), William Taonezvi Mugadza (Bethel Christian Party), Tendai Peter Munyandiri (New Patriotic Front), Harry Peter Wilson (Democratic Opposition Party).

State Media|Although former President Robert Mugabe was buried last week, the story of his caskets has remained subject of much debate, adding to the “controversy” surrounding his burial.

Many believe his body was changed into three caskets between his arrival in Zimbabwe and burial.

A source who was in Singapore at the time of the death said there was nothing amiss on the change of the caskets.

“When the former President died in Singapore, a casket was secured and that is the wooden one which everyone saw at Rufaro Stadium and at the State Funeral held in the National Sports Stadium.

“The confusion was that when that wooden casket arrived at the airport, it was wrapped in a brown hessian cloth as it had been carried among luggage from Singapore and the covering was meant to ensure it does not get damaged. This is very normal,” said the source.

Adding: “Further, it should be distinguished that the body came on board a charted private plane, hence the decision to place it in a casket.

:If it was a commercial plane maybe it would have been placed in the traditional air tray, which is a wood-bottom tray with a lid made of a wooden board.

“When the body arrived at the airport, it was taken to One Commando Barracks where the hessian cloth was removed before the exposed brown wooden casket with independent side and front flap handles was taken to Cde Mugabe’s Borrowdale Brooke home.

“Everyone will agree that the programme from Wednesday to Saturday was packed and there had not been solid confirmation of the burial place, hence the continued use of the wooden casket.

“It was only placed into another casket on Monday morning by Doves undertakers before going to Zvimba.

“The casket that was in Zvimba is the same whose pictures circulated in the media when Julius Malema came. It is also the same that the former President has been buried in.”

In a terse statement after a church service for the late leader and before his burial, family spokesperson Mr Walter Chidhakwa said: “The journalists, we thank you for being here with us.

“Tell your story the way you want to tell it, but we are confident that that which we did will never be tainted by a wrong interpretation of the story.”

According to national handling services, the process of preparing a body for a flight, in non-exceptional cases — is relatively straightforward.

It must be double-wrapped in a plastic, then packed into an air tray filled with cooling gel packs.

Typically, caskets are not used because there are high chances they might get damaged since they will be among other cargo during travel.

Aviation sources say caskets or coffins are usually provided by the funeral home on the receiving end of the flight.

The former President was buried in a centimetre-thick copper and steel, square-cornered casket.

The coffin also came with a 5mm thick inside glass compartment and airtight gasket, presumably meant to preserve the body.

The Sunday Mail can reveal that the casket arrived into the country well before his death and has been in the custody of Doves Funeral Services, which at one time kept it —locked — at its Harare Street and Kwame Nkrumah parlour.

According to sources, the automotive paint finish — with three layers of clear coat casket — is fitted with handles secured by inside reinforced metal strips.

It came with a three-way adjustable bed frame and mattress for both tilt and height adjustments.

The casket’s interiors also include a 100 percent polyester cushioning and pillow.

A further search of similar caskets online showed that they are usually given a continuous welded bottom, including joints.

It is also fitted with a polypropylene-injected moulded gasket to ensure air tightness once closed.

The airtight casket keeps away insects, air or water and allows the body to decompose naturally.

Mystery, however, surrounds the whereabouts of the wooden casket that the body of the former revolutionary icon came in from Singapore.

State Media|In what could be a major overhaul of the local voting system, Government will assess the feasibility of introducing Diaspora voting to Zimbabweans living in foreign lands, The Sunday Mail can reveal.

Current legislation limits voting rights to Zimbabweans who are on official Government assignments.

Any other Zimbabwean living in a foreign land is required to physically present themselves at their registered polling station to cast their vote.

Zimbabwe has a large Diaspora in countries such as South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told The Sunday Mail that an international study will be commissioned next year.

“We want to commission a study to see how other jurisdictions are implementing the Diaspora vote and hopefully we will be done with that by June 2020,” said Minister Ziyambi.

“Once we have seen how others do it, we will then be able to make a decision on whether we need to amend the law to give effect to it or not.”

Election Resource Centre (ERC) executive director Mr Tawanda Chimhini said Government’s intention to consider introducing the Diaspora vote is welcome.

“The Diaspora vote is there in our statutes but it is just restricted to people on Government business,” said Mr Chimhini.

“They vote at their designated polling stations through postal voting.

“What is needed is to extend postal voting to all voters in the Diaspora on the condition that they register to vote.

“There will be need to change the Electoral Act to extend postal voting, not only to people on Government business, but to all people who are registered voters.

“But what is clear is that the Diaspora vote cannot be extended to every country where there is a Zimbabwean voter.”

He said other African countries have Diaspora voting systems that ensure citizens are not disenfranchised.

“They extend the right to countries where there is a significant population from their countries.

“The only difference is that they have different electoral systems from ours.

“In Mozambique, for example, they have created a Diaspora constituency, where they vote for a Diaspora representative.

“In South Africa they have proportional representation, which means that voters cast their ballots for political parties, not necessarily for individuals.

“We already have a postal voting system that works, the same provision can be extended to everyone.

“It is important for Government to carry out this study so that we can come up with a system that works for us,” he said.

Aspirants who wish to land the country’s top job — that of President — will have to be nominated by at least 1 000 registered voters from the country’s 10 provinces and fork out more than the current $1 000 nomination fee.

This comes as Government moves to align local nomination processes with regional and international best practices, it has been learnt.

The overhaul is also expected to winnow out “chancers”.
Last year, 23 candidates successfully registered for the Presidential election, the largest number since 1980.

However, the large pool of candidates created a logistical nightmare for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) in designing the ballot paper.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told The Sunday Mail that the new regulations will ensure that only serious candidates participate.

“We are also looking at provisions that deal with nomination fees for Presidential candidates and that of people who nominate the President with a view of increasing them from 100 to maybe 1 000,” said Minister Ziyambi.

“We want to revise the fees to make sure that they are reasonable.
“As you saw, (in) the last election we had the largest pool of candidates in the history of the country. While we want to encourage participation, we also want to make sure that only serious candidates find their names on the ballot.”

Current regulations require candidates seeking to contest Presidential, Parliamentary and local council polls to submit their candidacy to one of several specially convened nomination courts across the country.State media

A health expert in Masvingo has raised a red flag over the behaviour of most sexually active girls amid reports that about 70 percent of young women prefer the morning-after-pill ahead of condoms.

In an interview last week, the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) marketing officer, Mr Hebert Chikosi said research has revealed that during school days, most pharmacies in Masvingo run out of the morning-after-pill suggesting that sexually active girls preferred them in place of other methods.

He said the trend was worrying considering that the country was trying to eradicate new infections. Mr Chikosi also said during school and university days, health facilities have also recorded high incidents of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) thereby scuttling efforts of achieving zero infections by 2030.

“We are unfortunate here in Masvingo, as we have discovered that most young girls are shunning the use of condoms during intimacy.

They prefer the morning-after-pill and about 70 percent from the sample size we used are found on the wrong side. Youths are more worried about falling pregnant than contracting STIs which is a conduit to HIV infection.”
He said while the morning-after-pill help the girls against unwanted pregnancies, it was disastrous in terms of HIV prevention.

“We therefore encourage the sexually active youths to use condoms instead of the emergency contraceptive so that we can win the war against new infections, especially HIV.

Our condom champions distribute free condoms in colleges, public places such as bottle stores or beer halls, universities as well as hospitals. These condoms are for free that youths can get at zero cost.” State media

President Mnangagwa yesterday capped 2 243 graduates at Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) where he was also conferred with an honorary Doctorate Degree in Engineering, Sciences and Technology in recognition of his efforts to promote science and technology as key enablers of development.

In his acceptance speech, the President said science and technology fields had the potential to create jobs and improve people’s livelihoods.

“As I receive this prestigious award, allow me to acknowledge that engineering, sciences and technology are key in the developmental trajectory, modernisation and industrialisation of our great country.

“The transformation of these fields and associated milestones will undoubtedly have a profound effect on the achievement of sustainable economic development. Altering the types of jobs, the way people live, connect, communicate and transact,” President Mnangagwa said.

He urged institutions of higher learning to enhance capacities and competences in engineering, science, technology and innovation in line with the country’s development thrust.

“The CUT is one of those institutions in our country with the mandate to advance the development, design and utilisation of technologies.

“I recognise the strides that the institution continues to make in this regard. I am aware that some alumni of this university have gone on to develop ICT and engineering solutions which are now being used by various public entities,” he said.

The President said the Government will continue supporting the education model that emphasises innovation.State media

FULL TEXT: VERITAS

ID Checks at Roadblocks – Are they Legal?

For several days after the MDC-A attempted to hold a demonstration in Harare last month, the police mounted roadblocks along routes leading into the city centre [the CBD].  They stopped and searched commuter omnibuses and other vehicles and forced passengers without identity documents to disembark, leaving them to walk the rest of their journey.  A Member of Parliament raised the issue in the National Assembly, calling the conduct of the Police “unlawful”, and received the following response from the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs:

“Where there is a threat to the peaceful co-existence of members of the society, the police will use every necessary means that they have to ensure that there is peace, and that includes having roadblocks, ensuring that everyone who is in a commuter omnibus gets out and they search to ensure that there are no dangerous weapons that will get into the city centre.  So that is standard practice.”

Perhaps emboldened by the Minister’s support, the Police adopted the same tactics late last month when the MDC-A celebrated their 20th anniversary in Harare.  Again, they set up roadblocks, searched vehicles and demanded IDs from passengers.

The Minister was correct in saying that the Police are entitled to use “every necessary means that they have” to preserve peace, i.e. to prevent violent disorder.  But the “necessary means that they have” are those the law gives them:  the Police must not act unlawfully, and when the Minister went on to suggest that their conduct was lawful, he was with respect wrong.  In fact, the conduct of the Police violated the Constitution and the law in several respects.

Freedom of Movement

Section 66(2)(a) of the Constitution provides that:

“Every Zimbabwean citizen and everyone else who is legally in Zimbabwe has the right to … move freely within Zimbabwe.”

As long ago as 1997 our Supreme Court ruled that arbitrarily stopping either people or vehicles infringes the constitutional right to freedom of movement, though the court held that the random stopping of vehicles to check for vehicle defects could be regarded as a justifiable limitation if it was done for the purpose of ensuring safety on the roads.

Section 72(1)(a)(i) of the Road Traffic Act authorises the Police to stop vehicles, but they may do so only for the purposes specified in the Act, namely to check the vehicles and their equipment for compliance with the law and to ensure the vehicles are not overloaded.  This provision is probably constitutional, but there is no suggestion that the Police were checking for vehicle defects when they stopped vehicles and required passengers to identify themselves.  So the section cannot be used to justify the conduct of the Police.

A statute which the Police might more plausibly rely on for their actions is the Public Order and Security Act [POSA] — which is still in force, not yet having been replaced by the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill [MOPO].  Section 34(2) of POSA states that the Police can set up roadblocks to stop and search vehicles and everyone in them, “in circumstances where there are reasonable grounds for believing that the search is in the interests of public safety, public order or public health”.  Another section of POSA, section 32(4)(d), permits the Police to require anyone stopped at a police roadblock to produce an identity document and, if they do not, to detain them until their identity is established.

These two sections of POSA, far-reaching as they seem to be, probably do not authorise the Police to stop and search all vehicles and to prevent passengers without IDs from continuing their journey.  Section 86 of the Constitution allows fundamental freedoms such as freedom of movement to be limited by a law which is “fair, reasonable, necessary and justifiable in a democratic society”, but the law cannot go so far as to remove the freedom altogether.  By ordering passengers without IDs to disembark from their vehicles the Police were denying many if not all of those passengers their right to travel to the Harare CBD.  That was not fair, reasonable, necessary or justifiable in a democratic society.

In any event, section 32(4)(d) of POSA does not permit the Police to order people without IDs to get out of their vehicles and proceed for the rest of their journeys on foot.  No law allows them to do that.

The action by the Police was clearly illegal.

The Right to Privacy

Another ground for regarding the Police action as illegal is that it infringed peoples’ right to privacy guaranteed by section 57 of the Constitution.  This right includes the right not to have one’s home, premises or property (including a vehicle) entered or searched without permission.  Zimbabwe, like other countries, accepts that there can be limitations on this right, though in our case any limitation must be “fair, reasonable, necessary and justifiable in a democratic society”.

We noted above that freedom of movement can be limited by a law which allows vehicles to be stopped so that they can be checked for vehicle defects and to ensure that their drivers are licensed to drive them.  The right to privacy can be limited for the same purpose, to search vehicles in order to see that they are roadworthy ‒ for example, to check that they are carrying a spare tyre.

The right to privacy can also be limited to allow the Police to search premises and vehicles if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the search will yield evidence of a crime — the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act [CP&E Act] makes provision for this.  But neither the Constitution nor the CP&E Act allows the Police to stop and search vehicles on the off-chance that one or two of them may be carrying something that may be connected with a crime:  the Police must have a reasonable and prior ground for believing that an item of evidence concerning the commission of a known offence is likely to be in the particular vehicle they want to search.  The CP&E Act certainly does not allow random searches, and section 34(2) of POSA, if it is interpreted to  comply with the Constitution  – and the Constitution is supreme  – must be construed restrictively so as not to permit the Police to stop and search at random any vehicle and person at a roadblock.

Conclusion

Under section 219(1)(d) of the Constitution the Police are responsible for maintaining law and order in Zimbabwe.  In carrying out that responsibility they must comply with the law because they, like all other institutions of government, are subject to the Constitution and the law.  They must remember that their responsibility is not just to maintain order:  it is to maintain law and order.

Watch video below. ..

There was drama on Saturday when some Zimbabweans alleged that the nation will not get any electricity supply sufficiency until a snake creature of the Kariba dam, worshipped by locals as Nyami Nyami, is appeased. Below was the discussion-

By A Correspondent| The backlog in the issuing of passports in the country has ballooned to 370 000 from around 340 000 last month as the Registrar-General’s Office is only able to process just 750 per day, an official has revealed.

Registrar-General Mr Clemence Masango told the state media on the sidelines of Civil Registration and Vital Statistic (CRVS) Day held in Bulawayo that lack of foreign currency remained the major challenge.

“The Department is currently hamstrung by the shortage of essential passport production materials which is imported and requires foreign currency and it is also public knowledge that foreign currency is scarce in the country and is affecting not only the department but many other sectors in the country.

At the moment we are doing 750 passports a day and these are mainly on urgent basis and also on first come first serve and we have a backlog of over 370 000 passport applications,” he said. 

Mr Masango acknowledged that the department needed to clear the backlog as soon as funding is availed.

“We are also aware that there is a backlog that we have to attend to and arrangements are underway that we get funds to get the materials to work on clearing the backlog so that we return our services back to normal.

We need to go back to what our charter says of providing urgent passports, 24 hour passports as the fastest, three days and one for four weeks. We have not been able to do this because of unavailability of resources,” he said.

Asked on reports on pending increases in passport fees, Mr Masango said the department has not yet received the green light from the Government to do so. He said the problem of antiquated machinery has been eased following the acquisition of a US$600 000 machine to produce the passports.

Mr Masango said his office has also received numerous complaints from the public about the treatment they are getting from officials in the department. 

“It is unfortunate that there are members of the public who have not been well attended to as seen by the complaints that we get. It is Government policy that everybody must be served professionally, courteously and with respect. However, we do get individuals not living up to that expectation.

We currently have an ongoing public care and public customer handling internal refresher course to ensure that we maintain the standards expected by the public and Government to serve our public,” he assured.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Ambassador Cain Mathema has stressed the need for all parents and guardians to register births for their children within the stipulated time in order to secure basic human rights to name, identity and nationality.

Speaking during the CVRS Day belated commemorations which were held for the first time in Zimbabwe, Ambassador Mathema said it was disturbing to note that many undocumented children were coming from South Africa.

The celebrations were held under the theme “Birth Certificate for All: a Fundamental for Protecting Human Rights and Promoting Inclusion”.

“It is sad to note that there are children born in South Africa and brought here with no birth certificates via illegal transporters and dumped without any particulars to elderly grandparents who will fend for them.

Those grandparents may not be able to secure those documents which is a problem when they want to start school,” he said.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent| Zimbabwe War Vets deputy minister Victor Matemadanda was last week left embarrassed after a female Masvingo resident told him straight to his face that she had no under_wear ear as she could no longer afford it.

Matemadanda was in Masvingo to assess the consumer situation in face of rising prices fueled by high inflation.

Matemadanda embarked on a walk-about, talking to ordinary members of the public about their situation and asking them to tell him what they wanted him to report to President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

At Pick n Pay Supermarket, Matemadanda met his worst embarrassment when a woman told him she had no under_wear as it had become an unaffordable luxury for her.

“I am a domestic worker and I earn RTGS$100 which cannot buy me enough of the most basics of life. Prices of sugar and cooking oil have risen beyond my reach. Right now I don’t even have under_wear because I cannot afford it,” the woman said.

I write to you with a profound sense of shame proffering my most sincere apologies for the deplorable manner in which your kind gesture of honouring the legacy of the late revolutionary icon, President Robert Gabriel Mugabe has been maligned and abused by Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime.

As a Zimbabwean, I feel obligated to apologise and take responsibility for the bad behaviour of Mnangagwa and his band since they are my compatriots.

The objective of the abuse and disparagement is to deflect attention from how Mnangagwa’s regime and its associated entities hounded and tormented President Mugabe into his death in exile.

Mnangagwa has tried to bully and threaten President Mugabe’s family into burying him at Heroes Acre.

He failed. After failing, Mnangagwa continues on a programme of retribution against President Mugabe’s widow and family. They have set illegal panners onto the family farms.

It is appalling that the Mnangagwa government owned and controlled Sunday Mail newspaper has been consistently abusing you for honouring the memory of President Mugabe. Mnangagwa’s media is pushing a blatantly false narrative that President Mugabe anointed Honourable Saviour Kasukuwere for president in a bid to downplay President Mugabe’s respect for democratically electing leaders.

These narratives are then taken on by state-run social media ghost accounts that seek to further undermine President Mugabe by stoking tribalism.

It is also unfortunate that some individuals have also given hostage to fortune by injudiciously seeking to publicise the so-called Zimbabwe Generation 40 political party as being associated with some of us who are labelled as G40 stalwarts.

Whilst I acknowledge that individuals have a right to harbouring and furthering their own personal political ambitions, I also have a right to dissociate myself from such ambitions as I hereby do.

Apart from which, I am still mourning and grieving for my uncle, President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, to engage myself in such political shenanigans.

Asante Sana. Iwe Neni Tine Basa. Umsebenzi lo Umkhulu.

Yours comradely, Patrick Zhuwao

By Own Correspondent| Barely a year after she was exposed, a self confessed UK based Satanist and a fraudster, Fungai Maruta has struck again.

Maruta threatens her victims saying she has satanic powers from a so called, “njuzu,” so the thing will retaliate should they report her.

The 40 year old Maruta, who last year swindled Zimbabweans in the UK more than a hundreds thousands pounds, has taken her trade to South Africa were scores are wailing after being duped in a similar pattern.

Maruta is notorious for editing financial documents one of which is a founding constitution booklet. ZimEye opens another whistleblowing series of programs and below is the account of the first victim. VIDEO LOADING BELOW ….

By Own Correspondent| Mahommed Mussa Wholesalers have warned customers that prices displayed on shelves might not reflect the correct prices.

This may suggest that prices on the shelves are meant to mislead or they change regularly that they no longer update them on a regular basis.

See the notice below:

WORKERS and clients at Sakubva’s Green-market home industrial park were lucky to escape unhurt after an empty fuel tanker exploded on Sunday afternoon. The tanker was being welded in a backyard industrial hub.

Although it was empty, residual fuel and pressure built up from
the welding heat, resulting in the explosion. Manicaland assistant provincial police spokesperson Luxson Chananda could not give details but expressed concern at the unprofessional procedure.

“The incident is very disturbing and people should learn from it. “It’s not everything that can be dealt with in our backyard industries without risking people’s safety,” Chananda said. Witnesses said disaster was only averted because the area was not busy on the day.

The identity of the owners of the fuel tanker could not be established by the time of going to press.
– dailynews

NewsDay|The opposition MDC has alleged that warring machete-wielding artisanal miners in Mashonaland Central province are under Zanu PF control.

MDC’s provincial chairperson George Gwarada challenged a high-powered delegation of five Cabinet ministers which visited Mazowe and Eureka mines on Wednesday to physically inspect the state of the mines. The team comprised Winston Chitando (Mines), Fortune Chasi (Energy), Monica Mutsvangwa (Information), Kazembe Kazembe (ICT) and Monica Mavhunga (Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs).

“We know that illegal miners who are causing terror in this province are under Zanu PF control,” he charged.

“They visited the homes of artisanal miners at Mazowe and Eureka, what for? Yet we all know that Zanu PF leaders are behind the machete-wielding gold panners?”

Mazowe Mine popularly known as Jumbo is now the hub for illegal miners amid reports that Zanu PF bigwigs were sponsoring their activities.

“It is now pay back time for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime after removing former President Robert Mugabe. Surely, how can the police and the army fail to control artisanal miners who use machetes and concentrate on unarmed protesters,?” he asked.

“The reason is that some Zanu PF officials are sponsoring the illegal miners.”

He claimed that some Cabinet ministers, particularly from Midlands province were godfathers of the artisanal miners.

But Kazembe, who is Zanu PF the Mashonaland Central provincial chairperson said his party does not condone abuse of authority.

Kazembe recently led a stakeholders meeting in Glendale and Bindura after Zanu PF youths attacked panners popularly known as MaShurugwi resulting in the burning of two commuter omnibuses and damage of houses.

“If such cases are taking place, we ask those with information or evidence to report to the police. We also need to be wary of criminals who abuse names of senior party officials to instil fear in their victims,” he said.

Some of the artisanal miners who spoke to NewsDay, however, commended Mnangagwa for allowing them to mine, unlike his predecessor the late Mugabe who arrested them.

Meanwhile, war veterans in Guruve have been accused of using their district party vehicle to harass mine owners and demanding gold ore and money. Two suspected State operatives were also seen mobilising illegal miners who invaded Ashly Makara’s gold mine in Kachuta two months ago resulting in divisions reportedly arising between operatives in the President’s Office and the police in Guruve district.

Rogue police officers are also accused of illegally mining and accepting bribes to allow artisanal miners to mine in both Mazowe and Eureka.

Eleven police officers who were guarding Mazowe Mine were last month arrested on charges of murdering an artisanal miner after receiving US$120 in “protection fees” from the panners.

I write to you with a profound sense of shame proffering my most sincere apologies for the deplorable manner in which your kind gesture of honouring the legacy of the late revolutionary icon, President Robert Gabriel Mugabe has been maligned and abused by Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime. As a Zimbabwean, I feel obligated to apologise and take responsibility for the bad behaviour of Mnangagwa and his band since they are my compatriots.

The objective of the abuse and disparagement is to deflect attention from how Mnangagwa’s regime and its associated entities hounded and tormented President Mugabe into his death in exile. Mnangagwa has tried to bully and threaten President Mugabe’s family into burying him at Heroes Acre. He failed. After failing, Mnangagwa continues on a programme of retribution against President Mugabe’s widow and family. They have set illegal panners onto the family farms.

It is appalling that the Mnangagwa government owned and controlled Sunday Mail newspaper has been consistently abusing you for honouring the memory of President Mugabe. Mnangagwa’s media is pushing a blatantly false narrative that President Mugabe anointed Honourable Saviour Kasukuwere for president in a bid to downplay President Mugabe’s respect for democratically electing leaders. These narratives are then taken on by state-run social media ghost accounts that seek to further undermine President Mugabe by stoking tribalism.

It is also unfortunate that some individuals have also given hostage to fortune by injudiciously seeking to publicise the so-called Zimbabwe Generation 40 political party as being associated with some of us who are labelled as G40 stalwarts. Whilst I acknowledge that individuals have a right to harbouring and furthering their own personal political ambitions, I also have a right to dissociate myself from such ambitions as I hereby do. Apart from which, I am still mourning and grieving for my uncle, President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, to engage myself in such political shenanigans.

Asante Sana. Iwe Neni Tine Basa. Umsebenzi lo Umkhulu.

Yours comradely, Patrick Zhuwao.

By Patrick Guramatunhu| “Rinemanyanga hariputirwi!” (The truth will always come out no matter how much one tries to conceal it!) so goes the Shona adage. After 20 years of blundering from pillar to post the truth is now coming that MDC is a party of breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent individuals. 

“Exclude me, I did not participate in that nonsense (support of the November 2017 coup). Firstly, being a scholar of history not as a lawyer alone, knowing well that where the military has taken a leading role in the changing of government, nowhere in Africa have soldiers led a democratic change,” remarked Job Sikhala, MDC Alliance deputy national chairperson.

“We knew we were going through a military coup and a military coup would only be supported by those people who did not have the eyes to see that we are being taken into a trap of a worse dictatorship.” 

It is interesting to note here that most MDC Alliance leaders including the late Morgan Tsvangirai and the current party leader Nelson Chamisa publicly and unreservedly supported the military coup. Of course, Sihkala is right; supporting the November 2017 coup was foolish because the coup was never going to bring about any meaningful democratic changes as events have since shown.

What was the blind as a mole MDC leaders hoping to achieve, one might well ask. 

Chamisa and Tsvangirai said they supported the coup because Mnangagwa, through his emissaries, had promised to replace the Mugabe regime with a National Transition Authority (NTA), in which MDC was to play a role, and to postpone the upcoming 2018 elections. The elections due in July 2018, were to be postponed to allow the NTA to implement the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections, MDC argued. 

We all know that MDC leaders had failed to get even one reform implemented during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Mugabe had bribed them with the trappings of high office, ministerial limos, very generous salaries and allowances, a US$4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, etc., etc. With their snouts in the feeding trough; MDC leaders completely forgot about implementing the reforms. 

MDC leaders failed to implement even one reform in five years. Not even one!

“We got in the inclusive government and just sat there, spent five years in there. We came out without doing anything,” Nelson Chamisa admitted in July this year.

Of course, Tsvangirai and company were going to get the same royal treatment of ministerial limos, generous salaries, etc. in the proposed NTA. One has to be really naive to believe the NTA would have implemented any meaningful reforms; Tsvangirai et al would have, once again, sat there, eat and did nothing else.

Indeed, if MDC leaders were truly interested in making sure the reforms were implemented BEFORE the elections, then why did the party participate in the 2018 elections knowing fully well that Mnangagwa had not implemented even one reform? 

Chamisa has often commented on how Tsvangirai “died a bitter man” because Mnangagwa did not keep his NTA promise. Even with the benefit of hindsight of the broken promise to have NTA and the broken promise of holding free, fair and credible July 2018 elections; he still fails to see  the folly of having trusted the Zanu PF dictatorship to deliver democratic change. 

Indeed, even now, MDC is still fighting for the NTA as a way out of the country’s worsening economic and political mess. Even now, with millions of Zimbabweans living in abject poverty, with all basic services such as supply of clean water and health care all but collapse and the nation at the edge of edge of the precipitous abyss, all MDC leaders care about is another chance to sit, eat and do nothing! 

Job Sikhala is spot on Mnangagwa has indeed “taken (the nation) into a trap of a worse (than the Mugabe) dictatorship” and MDC leaders too corrupt and incompetent to even see it! And to make matters worse, there are many Zimbabweans out there who still continue to trust MDC leaders to deliver free and fair elections and follow them blindly like sheep to the slaughter.

On 4 October 2019, 01 parties to the Health Service Bipartite Negotiating Panel (HSBNP, agreed to a 60% increase on Health Sector-Specific Allowances. However, the doctors’ representatives walked out on the negotiations as they preferred a higher percentage. The 60% increase was an improvement on the previous offer by Government of 30% which was rejected by the Health Apex Council.

The new allowance covers:-Night Duty Allowance, Nurse Managers Allowance, On-call allowance, Special Health Allowance and a Standby/ Callout Allowance.

The parties to the meeting also agreed on the Locum rates for Nurses and Paramedics to be reviewed from the current $4 to $16 per day hour; and from $6 to $24 per night hour, locum rates for Doctors were also reviewed from the current $7 to $28 per day hour; and from $10 to $40 per night hour.

The following were also reviewed in the manner prescribed below:-

• Initial Uniform Grant reviewed from $75 to $300.

• Uniform Maintenance Allowance reviewed from $75 to $300.

• Psychiatric Allowance reviewed from $20 to $100 per month.

• Out of Residence Allowance reviewed from $250 to $500 per month.

• Post basic Allowancereviewed from $70 to $150 per month, whilst Additional Post Basic Allowance would be increased from $10 to $25 per month for the first additional qualification.

Government has shown its sincerity by continuously engaging the health workers to address their challenges including implementing programmes that ensure they have the needed medicines and equipment to deliver medical care. Their remuneration packages have been reviewed consistently in the context of the obtaining economic climate. Government is therefore appalled that doctors have walked out from the negotiating table and from their patients who are in dire need of their care.

Government is grateful to those doctors who remained on their post of duty delivering care, saving lives and alleviating suffering. For sake of saving lives of the patients, we now call on all doctors (Ministry of Health and University Consultants) to report to their posts of duty at 0800 hours on Monday the 715 of October 2019. Those who fail to do so are reminded that they are in breach of their contracts of employment and will face disciplinary action.

Patients’ lives are paramount.

Statement by

Hon Dr 0. Moyo

Minister of Health & Child Care

Leo Mugabe, the spokesperson of the family of the late former president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has reportedly said that a number of people have come out alleging that they were children of Zimbabwe’s founding leader.

Speaking after one lady, Siphiwe, whom Mugabe reportedly produced with a lady only known as Gogo Mancube, has popped out, Leo said: We would not know what happened decades ago.

We getting a lot of people coming and saying ‘I am Mugabe’s child, my mother passed away’ and so forth. But as family, we are not buying into all that. All these admissions should have been made when he was still alive.

Zim Morning Post reports that a close member of the Mugabe family revealed that Mugabe was in a relationship with Gogo Mancube whom he promised to marry. He, however, would later marry Sally. The source reportedly said:

Gogo maNcube relocated to Canada with her daughter, Siphiwe, They have been living there ever since. Siphiwe now has a family of her own. On Siphiwe’s wedding, Mugabe sent a gift through his late sister Sabina, but that gift was rejected by Gogo maNcube.

Zim Morning Post further reports that the family in Canada extended their condolences to the Mugabe family through a letter they sent.

Source – Zim Post

In cases where the Exchange Control Unit of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has approved in writing the payment of salaries for a company/institution’s employees in USD, the following terms and conditions must be strictly adhered to;

• Funds should be transferred to individual NOSTRO FCAs for employees.

• There shall be no cash withdrawals from these particular accounts funded under this arrangement. However, should there be a genuine need for cash to be withdrawn from the accounts, specific applications must be made to the Reserve Bank and supported by letters written by the accountholders detailing the reasons and circumstances surrounding such requests. The absence of cash withdrawal facilities is also extended to offshore travellers who must load their MasterCard prior to departure.

• Where an account holder intends to conduct domestic transactions, such shall be done in line with SI 142 of 2019 where all such transactions should be done in local currency (for domestic transactions, funds in the accounts should be liquidated at the prevailing exchange rate)

• Foreign currency funds in these accounts may, however he used to settle bona fide foreign payments wherein the bank shall ensure that goods and services paid for are fully accounted for through submission of relevant documentation to be scrutinized and approved by either the Branch Operations Manager or Branch Manager who must annotate FOREIGN PAYMENT FROM THE NOSTRO FCA ACCOUNT APPROVED BY ME, record the full name, date, sign and quote the signing number and such documentation must be filed in the Exchange Control file and retained as an auditable item.

• Such foreign payments shall not include offshore investments or transfer to offshore accounts as well as domestic inter-FCA transfers.

• Branches must maintain a register for tracking the funds in the individual NOSTRO accounts and MasterCard to curb abuse and facilitate liquidation after the 30 day period. Prior to processing transactions for this category of account holders, a statement enquiry (operating account and MasterCard) to check and ensure that the transaction is within the limit of the amount authorized as per salary proceeds credited and that the MasterCard has not been reloaded from another branch.

• Any unutilized balances in the individual NOSTRO FCAs shall be compulsorily liquidated after thirty (30) days from date of salary payment at the prevailing interbank market rate. The onus is on the administering branch to ensure full compliance with the conditions of the RBZ approval, otherwise, we risk being fined which regrettably is unacceptable.

Please be guided accordingly and ensure there is strict adherence to the above requirements at all times.

Distributed to: Branches / Departments/ Divisions/Units By • Group Marketing Division

By A Correspondent| Workers and clients at Sakubva’s Green-market home industrial park were lucky to escape unhurt after an empty fuel tanker exploded.

The incident, which occurred on Sunday happened when the tanker was being welded in a backyard industrial hub.

Although it was empty, residual fuel and pressure built up from the welding heat, resulting in the explosion.

Manicaland assistant provincial police spokesperson Luxson Chananda could not give details but expressed concern at the unprofessional procedure.

“The incident is very disturbing and people should learn from it. It’s not everything that can be dealt with in our backyard industries without risking people’s safety,” Chananda said.

Witnesses said disaster was only averted because the area was not busy on the day.

The identity of the owners of the fuel tanker could not be established by the time of going to press.

– dailynews

ZANU-PF should learn to move with the times and stop persecuting the late former president Robert Mugabe’s family.

Mugabe – who ruled Zimbabwe from 1980 until November 2017 when he was removed through a soft coup – died in Singapore last month.

Following the repatriation of his body, a standoff over the former president’s final resting place ensued between his family and the government.

After almost three weeks of negotiations, Mugabe was finally buried at his rural home in Zvimba on Saturday last week instead of the National Heroes Acre.

Zanu-PF wanted Mugabe’s remains interred at the national shrine. Just a few days after his burial in Zvimba, there are indications that government may evict Mugabe’s widow, Grace, from the various properties the family occupies.

Grace risks losing farms in Mazowe where she has built a business empire that includes Gushungo Dairy and the Amai Grace Mugabe School.

The government has indicated that it intends to re-allocate the farms under her control to miners who were displaced from the area during her late husband’s tenure in power.

The Mugabes’ farms, including Manzou, Smithfield, Arnold and Foyle Estate, could now be parcelled out to miners. Grace also faces the prospect of losing the multi-million-dollar Blue Roof mansion in Borrowdale.

Zanu-PF claims Mugabe did not have title deeds to the grand house — which has 25 bedrooms — and was built using the finest Italian marble as well as crystal.

The ruling party is also claiming ownership of the Mt Pleasant house that Mugabe had given as a gift to his daughter Bona at her wedding to Simba Chikore.     

The government and Zanu-PF should have claimed all these properties while Mugabe was still alive.

The irony of these latest moves by the government and Zanu-PF is that they come at a time when there are calls to protect the property rights of widows.

First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa is on a nationwide tour to enlighten women on their rights when it comes to wealth redistribution when their spouses pass on.

Whether you like her or not, at this juncture Grace is a vulnerable widow, who needs to be protected from the vultures circling around Mugabe’s wealth.

If a rich and influential woman like Grace stands to lose all her wealth after her husband’s death, what hope will a widow in Rushinga or Dotito have? 

– dailynews

IN what is a painful reality faced by Zimbabwean sports personalities, female karateka Grace Chirumanzu has failed to travel to Russia for the Sixth Kyokushin World Cup.

Chirumanzu, who is also the reigning Zimbabwe Sportswoman of the Year, was supposed to fight in the Under-65 kg category.

According to the draw released on Thursday, she was supposed to fight Anara Suyundukova from Khazakstan.

“The tatami has been laid in Russia for the 6th Kyokushin World Cup. The draw for the women’s U-65kg has been drawn with Zimbabwe‘s Sportswoman of the year set to face a fighter from Khazakstan. But Grace Chirumanzu is in Harare having failed to travel due to lack of funding,” Chirumanzu wrote on her Twitter account.

“Dream of becoming the first woman from Africa to be crowned World Champion have faced the sad reality that it’s not happening. Not because l gave a good fight & got defeated. But because l never showed up. Please get well soon Zimbabwe.”State media

VIDEO LOADING BELOW. ..

Former Finance minister Tendai Biti has taken Duly’s Motors (Pvt) Ltd, to the High Court demanding a US$60 000 refund and a $400 000 compensation after the company allegedly sold him a defective Ford Ranger.

Biti, who is also MDC vice-president and Harare East MP, recently filed summons against Duly’s Motors saying all his efforts to seek redress from the firm have failed to yield any positive results.

In his declaration Biti said he bought a Ford Ranger Limited Edition from the firm sometime in February 2013 and there was an express term of the agreement between the parties that the vehicle, being brand new, would be free of latent defects and fit for use on any public roads.

“At the time of the sale and unbeknown to the plaintiff (Biti), the motor vehicle suffered from the following defects; the challenge of overheating with the temperature gauge not reflecting the details and challenges in the gearbox, resulting in the vehicle stalling and not moving,” Biti said in his declaration.

“On various occasions between 2015 and 2016, the vehicle had engine seizures arising from overheating, resulting in the defendant (Duly’s Motors), replacing on two occasions and supplying new motor vehicle engines.”

Biti further said despite the company replacing the engines, the vehicle continued developing the same challenge of overheating with the result that in 2017, the company ended up replacing the vehicle with a totally new one, but the problem persisted.

“Despite the replacement of the vehicle and despite the fact that the new vehicle has clocked less than 80 000km, the same continues to suffer from the same latent defects of overheating with the temperature gauge not reflecting the changes in temperatures in the engine,” he said.

Biti said his new Ford Ranger vehicle has broken down on more than four occasions while the firm has failed to permanently rectify the problem.

“The defects on the vehicle are of such a nature that the vehicle can no longer be used on a public road. Had plaintiff known of the defects, he would not have purchased the vehicle at all….over the years the vehicle constantly broke down while the plaintiff was driving the same, in faraway places like Murewa, Mutare, Harare central business district, sometimes in the middle of the night, thereby causing plaintiff humiliation, pain, shock and suffering mental and physical abuse and injuria,” Biti said in his claim for US$60 000 and $400 000 respectively.

The matter is pending.

-Newsday

VIEW PICTURES BELOW…

Zimbabwe War Vets deputy minister Victor Matemadanda was last week left embarrassed after a female Masvingo resident told him straight to his face that she had no under_wear ear as she could no longer afford it.

Matemadanda was in Masvingo to assess the consumer situation in face of rising prices fueled by high inflation.

Matemadanda embarked on a walk-about, talking to ordinary members of the public about their situation and asking them to tell him what they wanted him to report to President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

At Pick n Pay Supermarket, Matemadanda met his worst embarrassment when a woman told him she had no under_wear as it had become an unaffordable luxury for her.

“I am a domestic worker and I earn RTGS$100 which cannot buy me enough of the most basics of life. Prices of sugar and cooking oil have risen beyond my reach. Right now I don’t even have under_wear because I cannot afford it,” the woman

VIDEO LOADING BELOW. ..

Dr. Noah Manyika| The recent banning and unbanning of Ecocash cash-in and cash-out by the Reserve Bank has renewed the discussion about Econet being a monopoly. What is lost in that debate is that an environment of bad governance and corruption creates oligarchies, monopolies and the lethal distortions that threaten the very survival of our nation.

As I wrote in an earlier post, no change will come to Zimbabwe until we understand that continued Zanu(PF) rule poses an existential threat.

Bad governance and corruption increase the cost of doing business, giving an unfair advantage to people with significant access to capital (regardless of the source of that capital or how it is obtained), and pushing the average and legitimate player out of business.

Take licensing fees for instance.

The reality is that because our government has failed to create a healthy economy from which it can draw reasonable tax revenue, it levies extortionate operating fees on whoever is strong enough to still remain in business.

A few years ago, I did some consultancy work for a business which required a fuel license. Within a year, the fee for a fuel license was doubled. There is a reason why in the last decade, the monsters that have remained in that business are the Sakundas of this world who have access to capital others don’t have. In the case of Sakunda and the Queen Bee connection and the criminal arbitrage with Treasury Bills and Command Agriculture, we know where that capital comes from, and what their unfair advantage has done to anyone else who plays by the rules.

Having Econet as something of a monopoly they can milk, and a dominant Sakunda as an instrument for their corrupt activities suits Zanu(PF) fine.

It’s not possible for job-killing bad governance to produce more jobs or to attract legitimate investment that powers a healthy and sustainable economy. We are paying a high price today for ignoring the fact that from the beginning of our journey as an independent nation, Zanu(PF) created a parasitic government which could only be stronger at the expense of the health of the economy.

The term “parasite” sounds benign until one understands what a parasite is and how it survives. It is “an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other’s expense.”

Parasites have no conscience. They are not concerned about the health of the host. They won’t stop drawing nutrients from the host simply because the host is dying.

Zanu(PF) is, in addition to being a parasite, also a monopoly. From the beginning of his rule, Robert Mugabe made his intention to create a One Party State known to everyone. The swallowing up of ZAPU in 1987 was an important step towards that goal. It was supposed to be followed by the outlawing of all other political parties to create de jure single party rule.

What Mugabe failed to accomplish by legislation, he still accomplished by other means, including making sure that Zanu(PF) essentially became the State, and that no other party could legally wrest power from it.

What we have in Zimbabwe is a political monopoly, a de facto One Party State which is no different for all practical purposes from a legislated one.

Zanu(PF) reaps inordinate political and economic capital from being a monopoly. It has absolutely no incentive to level the political and economic playing field for everyone. A healthy economy not dominated by the oligarchies and monopolies beholden to them would nourish alternative ideas (or what they like calling “The Third Force”) which would lead to “regime change.” Young people in good jobs would pay membership fees to other political formations that would challenge Zanu(PF)s political dominance.

In other words, real jobs for these young people would pose a threat to Zanu(PF)’s power and rule.

Ironically the other thing besides a thriving economy that would pose a threat to Zanu(PF) is the complete death of the economy, which is why we have a president and his team who will do everything in their power to keep it in intensive care and on life-support. They congratulate themselves daily for “keeping the patient alive” and expect us all to join them in their condemnation of the “evil sanctions” that they claim put the patient there.

Let me spell it out clearly: Zanu(PF) has no interest in dealing with 95% unemployment because more employed people would support alternative ideas. They would once again swell the ranks of the labor movement which is more difficult to deal with than vendors in the informal economy.

Zanu(PF) has no interest in getting 72% of the population (mainly rural) out of poverty because then the people would not be beholden to Command Agriculture which they use as an effective weapon of political control, and as a means for stealing money from the State.

Zanu(PF) is not interested in restoring critical services to urban communities because in Mnangagwa’s own words, the people in the cities vote for opposition parties.

Zanu(PF) has no interest in stopping the plunder of Chiadzwa by companies associated with the military, or the incredible environmental degradation caused by unregulated informal miners who have become a critical support base for them.

All this has dire consequences for the state of our hospitals, our ability to pay for our medical treatment, our schools and ability to pay our children’s school fees, our energy generation capacity, our roads, our pension system, availability of fuel, our water treatment facilities, the value of our currency and our very survival as a people.

I get the question: “What then shall we do?” from many Zimbabweans. I want to suggest to you that there is nothing significant we can do unless we first agree on what the problem is and who is responsible for creating and sustaining it.

There is a reason Zanu(PF) is as focused as it is on recruiting agents of disinformation even from among the ranks of the opposition. They know that the right knowledge is power, and that the right diagnoses is the first critical step towards decisive action.

They recruit people of faith because they hope we are more inclined to accept what they say without question.

They recruit educated people who they hope will confuse us enough with high-sounding economic theories not to see the corruption, the plunder, the incompetence.

They want us to believe that sanctions pose a greater threat to our freedom and well-being than Zanu(PF) does so that we can spend all our energy on futile protests against Trump instead of focusing on those terrorizing us daily with their repressive rule and the poverty they have created.

They want us to blame an imaginary “Third Force” instead of the destroyers that friends, advisors and relatives of the president and Zanu(PF) itself are.

They want us to forget that it’s no one in the opposition who is given freshly-printed bond-notes every morning to use to trade on the black market.

It’s not anyone in the opposition who has received billions of dollars for cashing in Treasury Bills at a rate multiples of times higher than anyone else.

They want us to believe that our primary patriotic and pan-African duty is to defend their right to rule and life of privilege instead of demanding the complete emancipation that is our right, and the well-being every citizen must be guaranteed by those who govern.

Abu Hamed al Ghazali could not have put it any better: “Knowledge without action is vanity, and action without knowledge is insanity.” Act indeed we must, but before we do, we must know what the problem is and who we are dealing with.

Is There Not a Cause?

By Terence Rusirevi| Sitting on the fence is an idiom which describes a person’s neutrality. In life, most people like to be neutral to avoid controversy or trouble and I don’t blame them for that. It’s also true that in politics, people sometimes say they are neutral because the options which are on the table are simply hopeless. But in terms of the situation in Zimbabwe, there is a certain kind of political fence sitting that is ostentatious and dishonest. Here I’m referring to people who claim to be apolitical or neutral but are effectively pro Zanu. In my view, there are two types of this virulent strain of ‘neutrality’ and these are low and top end fence sitters.

Low end fence sitters
These are people who don’t do a good job of faking their political neutrality which is why they are the less sophisticated of the fence sitters. They say they do not belong to Zanu pf but are closely associated with the party and its leader. We see them fraternising with the leadership at Zanu events, in presidential advisory roles, getting their pictures taken with the president, laughing at his probably crap jokes and sometimes doing the whole gambit while carrying a Bible. These fence sitters are devoid of much sophistication that could almost qualify as knuckle draggers themselves. From time to time they regurgitate propaganda and Zanu pieties similar to the drivel churned out by war vet mongers or the Ministry of Information. They say they do what they do because of patriotism like the scoundrels they are (check Samuel Johnson’s famous quote about patriotism).

High end fence sitters
At the top end are the most sophisticated of the fence sitters who include a few scribes in the political commentary fraternity. Now this lot are quite skilful in their fence sitting. They will criticise both Zanu and the MDC but will do so perspicaciously. When they criticise Zanu they skate around the issues and will not blame the real culprits of the regime. They will make vague lamentations about the existence of corruption in Zimbabwe and from time to time will name and shame unscrupulous low level Zanu politicians or cronies – but they will fall short of fingering the big boys! But when the MDC make an innocuous misstep, the sophisticated fence sitters are quick to throw the kitchen sink at it and even quicker to liken them to Zanu pf which they follow up with exasperated generalisations that all Zimbabwean politicians are corrupt. The trouble with that is when one says that all Zimbabwean politicians are crooks or corrupt, then essentially none of them really are crooks or corrupt. Bear with me here. Saying that all politicians are crooks is a stance sometimes used by elitist intellectuals in order to absolve the really bad people with power i.e the ones right at the top of society. In the Zimbabwean context, it’s a position that benefits Zanu.

Other times, the sophisticated fence sitter will hide behind the mask of patriotism and make impassioned calls for unity. Inevitably, to the reader who is non the wiser, these fence sitters are ‘rational’ or ‘balanced’ observers of Zimbabwean politics who command a lot of respect and have impressive CVs to boot which as we know goes a long way in enthusing the meritocratic pedestrian consumer of political news. But it’s all a ruse, it’s a facade, a con job, juti chaiwo in Shona. These people are not neutral. They have a dog in this race and it’s a filthy dog that wins by cheating. It’s a filthy dog they secretly back but will refuse to let it lick their faces in public because that will put their hygiene into question. They would like the dog to change its habits which is why they will make general statements about dog hygiene.

The sophisticated fence sitters are crafty sorts. Another one of their tactics is their ‘patriotic’ call for the lifting of western ‘sanctions’. We know these sanctions are targeted at the regime but the sophisticated fence sitter will purposefully not elucidate on that crucial bit of detail. The regime wants these sanctions to be lifted because that would remove the tag of rogue state which rightfully shames it. As the designated cheerleaders of the regime, the fence sitters sophisticated or not, want the regime to be appropriated by the west and will continue to call for the lifting of ‘sanctions’.

Fence sitters are dangerous
The trouble with fence sitters is that they are agents of Zanu. I don’t mean agents in the sense of CIO spooks or violent sorts of that nature, but agents as in manufacturers of confusion and futility in the drive for radical political changes needed to bring democracy, justice and functionality in Zimbabwe. Fence sitters confuse and obfuscate matters, when they identify faults they ignore the elephant in the room. They narrow down the political debate to issues which do not bring the change that is needed. They are like oncologists who knowingly prescribe paracetamol to patients who need chemotherapy. They are dangerous people. Of course, they have the right to do what they do within the confines of the law and like Voltaire said I will defend that right even though I don’t agree with them. But they are dangerous people. I wish people on the progressive side of politics did not indulge these agents of confusion and futility. I think it was Desmond Tutu who said that if you are neutral in situations of injustice then you have chosen the side of the oppressor. Fence sitters see the suffering in the country but still knowingly go on to do things which perpetuate the Zanu hegemony which is the source of the suffering. They have impaired empathy. Psychiatry describes such persons as psychopaths. Fence sitters are dangerous. ,

Statement by the Minister of Health and child care on the withdrawal of labour by doctors On 4 October 2019, all parties to the Health Service Bipartite Negotiating Panel (HSBNP, agreed to a 60% increase on Health Sector Specific Allowances.

The new allowance covers:-Night Duty Allowance, Nurse Managers Allowance, On-call allowance, Special Health Allowance and a Standby / Callout Allowance.

The parties to the meeting also agreed on the Locum rates for Nurses and Paramedics to be reviewed from the current $4-$16 p/day hour; & from $6 to $24 per night hour.Locum rates for Drs were also reviewed from the current $7 to $28 per day hour; and from $10-$40 per night hr.

The following were also reviewed in the manner prescribed below:-

•Initial Uniform Grant reviewed from $75 to $300. Uniform Maintenance Allowance reviewed from $75 to $300.

•Psychiatric Allowance reviewed from $20 to $100 per month.

•Out of Residence Allowance reviewed from $250 to $500 per month.

•Post basic Allowance reviewed from $70 to $150 per month, whilst Additional Post Basic Allowance would be increased from $10 to $25 per month for the first additional qualification.

Government has shown its sincerity by continuously engaging the health workers to address their challenges including implementing programmes that ensure they have the needed medicines and equipment to deliver medical care.

Their remuneration packages have been reviewed consistently in the context of the obtaining economic climate. Government is therefore appalled that doctors have walked out from the negotiating table and from their patients who are in dire need of their care.

However the doctors’ representatives walked out of the negotiations as they preferred a higher percentage. The 60% increase was an improvement on the previous offer by Government of 30% which was rejected by the Health Apex Council.

Government is grateful to those doctors who remained on their post of duty delivering care, saving lives and alleviating suffering. For sake of saving lives of the patients we now call on all doctors (Ministry of Health and University Consultants) to report to their posts of duty at 0800 hours on Monday the 7th of October, 2019. Those who fail to do so are reminded that they are in breach of their contracts of employment and will face disciplinary action.

Jane Mlambo| Government has given all public sector doctors an ultimatum to report for duty at 8.00hrs on Monday 7 October 2019.

Addressing a press conference this Saturday, Health Minister Dr Moyo that those who do not comply will be in breach of their contracts of employment and will face disciplinary action.

More to follow