Farai Dziva|The MDC has said the Facebook Account reportedly owned by MDC leader Nelson Chamisa’s wife, Sithokozile is fake.

See the party’s full statement below. ..

MDC would like to clarify that Mrs Sithokozile Chamisa does NOT own a Facebook account.

Accordingly, the Facebook account Sithokozile Chamisa -The First Lady; that is being run in her name is a FAKE account.

The fake account is being used by our usual detractors to malign and tarnish senior MDC Party leaders.

The MDC members and the public at large are encouraged not to take at face value any of the posts from the fake Facebook account

Daniel Molokele
MDC Spokesperson

Farai Dziva|The MDC Youth Assembly has described Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State of The Nation Address as an empty soliloquy.

See full statement below:

Emmerson Mnangagwa’s long, boring and empty soliloquy disguised as a State Of the Nation Address (SONA) presented yesterday is not only a bunch of useless, contemptuous, superfluous and pernicious lies but rather an insulting and provocative act to the long suffering, hungry and starving ordinary citizens.

It is very clear that Mr Mnangagwa is clueless, hopeless and directionless when it comes to proffering solutions to the country’s socio-economic and political problems.

If anything there, Mr Mnangagwa’s SONA only served to confirm that the septuagenarian is totally divorced from bare issues stalking our people.

It is quite regrettable that Mr Mnangagwa’s speech which was supposedly and ideally expected to touch on issues affecting the nation was glaringly devoid of any mention let alone remedy on issues like lack of electricity, water, fuel, non availability of cash, poor wages, human rights abuses, terror, abductions, illegitimacy and reforms.

As an Assembly, we are very much convinced that the ConCourt selected ruler is far from sad realities affecting our people on daily basis and as such he is not fit to be accorded any attention and respect by our people elected Parliamentarians who live and engage with the suffering masses on daily basis.

As young social democrats who believe in solidarity with the downtrodden, we applaud the decision by MPs who walked out on Mnangagwa as it is a clear sign of people to people solidarity by our legislators.

We would also want to warn Mr Mnangagwa that what our esteemed Parliamentarians did yesterday is just an alarm and a signpost of the massive citizen defiance activities lying ahead.

While our esteemed legislators might be punished by having their allowances withdrawn for five months, we the citizens have nothing to lose except our poverty and chains!

We are very much determined as empoverished youths of this once great nation to walk out of poverty, hopelessness and misery and our only path to do so is by confronting this military regime.

As an Assembly, we are very clear that Mnangagwa has failed and only a leader with a social contract with the people can extricate our country from this taunting malady.

Stephen Sarkozy Chuma

MDC Youth Assembly National Spokesperson

By A Correspondent- The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) has declared war on those who vandalise their property and is advocating for stiffer penalties on perpetrators.

Speaking in Rutenga, Masvingo during one of their consumer awareness campaigns, Potraz consumer affairs manager Phibion Chaibva said the authority will leave no stone unturned in its efforts to curb acts of vandalism on network infrastructure.

“We want to warn those perpetrators to desist from such acts. We all need to take action and ensure that we protect the equipment. There is a growing trend which has resulted in all operators experiencing a number of theft and vandalism cases at their base stations which has resulted in disruption of the network,” Chaibva said.

“People are stealing fuel, batteries and solar panels and when the network is disrupted, it is the consumers who are affected and cannot transact. You know these thieves because they leave within the community. Let’s report them to the police because they are dragging our country backwards. Take ownership and responsibility.”

He said the authority was advocating for stiffer penalties for base station vandals.
“We are working on various security mechanisms which we will not say in public, but desist from such habits such as tampering with telecommunications infrastructure. It is a serious offence which attracts a mandatory jail term.”

Potraz is holding roadshows to educate consumers on their rights and obligations, as well as on the economic and social impacts of vandalism of ICT equipment.

This week, the regulator is covering Chiredzi, Triangle, Rutenga, Neshuro, Ngundu, Renco, Muchakata, Mapanzure, Sese and Mushandike with a mega roadshow expected to be held at Nemamwa Growth Point on Saturday in collaboration with Radio Zimbabwe.

The road shows are being held under the theme Postal and Telecommunications Consumers — Know Your Rights.

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission has distanced itself from a fake social media message calling on citizens to report their landlords who are charging tenants in forex.

Said the ZACC in a statement:

“We have noted a counterfeit notice circulating on WhatsApp and various social media platforms, purported to have come from @matandamoyo regarding foreign currency syndicates. Neither the commission nor the chairperson has released such communication.”

By A Correspondent- The situation in public hospitals is set to worsen after senior doctors declared incapacitation saying they will not be reporting for duty with effect from tomorrow.

The doctors will be joining their junior counterparts who downed tools close to a month ago, leaving public health institutions crippled.

In a memo addressed to the Health and Child Care minister, his permanent secretary and the Health Services Board (HSB), the Senior Hospital Doctors Association (SHDA) said they are no longer able to carry out their duties due to the prevailing economic situation.

The senior doctors said their conditions of service are appalling and disgraceful since their remuneration is not in line with comparative trends regionally.

On the other hand, the doctors claim to be waiting for their employer to respond to their request for their salaries to be reviewed before they abandon the strike. As these accusations and counter accusations fly, patients are stranded in hospitals while some are dying since the doctors have been on strike for 30 days.

-DailyNews

By A Correspondent- In a disturbing incident, a 14-year-old girl was se_xually assaulted when she boarded a ZUPCO bus.

According to the H-Metro, the girl (name withheld) boarded a Washtag bus along Robson Manyika Avenue and she was standing.

The incident reportedly occurred after the girl bent down with her butt0cks towards a seated passenger, Tozivaripi Musandipa, who then reached out for her backside.

The girl then quizzed Musandipa why he was doing that to her and to the girls surprise Musandipa then started shouting at the victim.

The enraged girl then alerted a police officer who was in the bus leading to Musandipa’ arrest.

The matter came to light before Harare magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa who deferred the case to October 8 for trial.

The ZUPCO bus is a cheaper alternative for most Zimbabweans since commuter omnibus prices have skyrocketed following the erratic hikes in the price of diesel and petrol. Due to the overwhelming demand, it is now quite normal for buses to be crowded and have two lines of standing passengers in the aisles, something which se_x predators and pick-pocketers have used to their advantage.

– HMetro

Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) Director Farai Maguwu has refuted claims by the United States government to ban the Marange diamonds on the basis of reports of forced labour in their extraction.

Maguwu said his organisation has been working in Marange and is not aware of cases of forced labour.

“I wish to make it clear that as leader of one of the organizations doing human rights work in Marange, we are NOT aware of cases of forced labour in Marange. This is mainly because artisanal miners go to Marange voluntarily. We have raised serious concerns with human rights of artisanal miners and the wider Marange community but in our analysis these do NOT amount to forced labour. Our work is guided by high ethical standards and as such we would never issue unverified information,” said Maguwu while posting on Twitter.

Yesterday, the US government shocked many when it announced a ban on the sale of Marange diamonds citing issues of forced labour in Marange.

According to the US Customs and Border Protection the ban was based on information obtained that indicates that the products are produced in whole or in part using forced labor.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued five Withhold Release Orders (WROs) covering five different products, imported from five different countries yesterday, September 30. This action was based on information obtained and reviewed by CBP that indicates that the products are produced, in whole or in part, using forced labor,” reads part of the communication.

By A Correspondent- A City woman’s marriage is at the brink of collapse after her boyfriend leaked nud_e pictures of them together when she ended the affair.

The local tabloid, H-Metro reports that Temptation Mugwenhi who is married to Gladyman Gurupirai who works in South Africa is entangled in a nasty fall out with her boyfriend Zondai Zuze.

Taking advantage of her husband’s absence, Mugwenhi is alleged to have been having an affair with Zuze for over a year and only recently ended the affair following her husband’s return.

Mugwenhi who works as a teller at a supermarket in Highfield told the publication that Zuze was sending their nud_e pictures to her superiors at work, her husband and to the media in an attempt to punish her with revenge p0rn0graphy.

“My husband is back from South Africa, so I told Zuze that we must stop but he won’t have any of that.

“The man he saw me with is not my other boyfriend as he is alleging, but my husband. “Ndakamuti ngatimbomira but haasikuda, Zuze came to our house and started beating up people, akatorova vanhu nezuro and nyaya yake iri kupolice kutaura kuno.

”What angers me most is that I took care of him with the money my husband sent for my upkeep but he is just ungrateful and now wants to expose me.

“He is just a bitter someone who cannot move on with his life, akuramba kurambwa and I have bruises from his beatings,” said Mugwenhi.

Contacted for comment, Zuze alleged that Mugwenhi lied to him that she was not married.

“I have been with Temptation for almost one year three months and we were now having unprotected se_x because I had grown to love her that much but I later discovered she was married to a man who works in South Africa.

“I confronted her over the issue and she told me she has since separated with him on the grounds that he no longer takes care of the family or buys food.

“She has even gone to the extent of dating other men and a few days ago akandidhumhanisa,” said Zuze.

Efforts to contact Gurupira were in vain since his phone was not reachable.

Mugwenhi and Gurupira are blessed with two children.

— HMetro

Jane Mlambo| A GoFundMe campaign has been opened for Patience Nyangove, a Zimbabwean journalist who died in Namibia early this week, with the hope of raising USD3000 towards repatriating her body back home.

Nyangove who was working in Namibia was hospitalised for months suffering from brain infection.

According to the message on the campaign posted by Sandra Mandizvidza, the funding will help the repatriation of her body from Namibia to Zimbabwe and also assist with support to her son.

“Prominent Confidante journalist Patience Nyangove is no more. The Zimbabwean born journalist has been hospitalised at Windhoek hospital over the past months after doctors detected a brain infection. Until the time of her demise , she has been a journalist at The Confidente Newspaper in Namibia.

“A top-drawer reporter covering health, hard news, investigative and feature writing, Patience has over 15 years work experience in the print industry. Her journalism career began in Zimbabwe where she worked for the AMH Media holdings which publishes The Standard,  News Day and The Zimbabwe Independent. She has also worked in South Africa and had stints with the Mail and Guardian, among others before joining Informante Newspaper around 2009, in Windhoek.

“Lately Patience has been juggling between a full time job at The Confidente and academy studies at the university of Namibia where she was completing her studies towards an Honours Degree in Public Management.

“She was a single mother and has left a young son behind,  May Her Soul Rest In Peace.”

By A Correspondent- Police in Bulawayo are appealing for information that may assist in the location of two women from Pumula North suburb aged 34 and 22 who were last seen in August this year.

Ms Grace Ndlovu (34) was last seen on August 27 while Ms Prudence Nobesuthu Ncube went missing on August 22.

The two are not related.

In a statement, Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube appealed to members of the public to help in locating the missing persons.

“Police in Bulawayo are appealing for information that may assist in the location of a missing person, Grace Ndlovu a female aged 34 who went missing on August 27 this year. Ms Ndlovu was last seen wearing a white polo neck, black track bottom and a blue sunhat,” said Insp Ncube.

He said Ms Ndlovu is light in complexion, slim built about 1.5 metres tall, has black eyes and black hair.

“Meanwhile we are also appealing for information that will help us locate Prudence Nobesuthu Ncube, a female aged 22 who went missing on August 22 this year. She was last seen wearing a maroon jacket, a pair of black jeans and a pair of cream lady pumps,” he said.

Insp Ncube said Ms Ncube is light in complexion, slim built and 1.3 metres tall.

“Prudence also has brown eyes and black hair. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the two women may contact ZRP Pumula on 0292- 422907 or Elizabeth Dongora on 0776 708 612 or any nearest police station,” added Insp Ncube.

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- Mugabe’s sister Regina Gata told mourners that the late leader’s widow Grace had foiled plans by people who wanted to use her brother’s body for rituals.

Gata showered her late brother’s widow Grace with praises for her heroic stance and commitment to the wishes of her late husband Robert Mugabe adding that she defended his body to the grave.

She said:

“She (Grace) stood as a hero and said she would not betray him even on his death bed.

She took care of him in life and death and defended his body so that nobody could defile it.

There are others who wanted to do traditional things on it, but we stood firm and said no.”

Gata however said the decision to bury Mugabe at his rural home was not done by his widow but the family who simply wanted to respect Mugabe’s wish where he had indicated that he did not want to be buried at the National Heroes Acre.

Added Gata:

“They simply respected the wishes of a dead person, this is not their doing and I am here to vindicate them.”

The late president’s relatives claimed there were people that wanted to “defile” the 95-year-old’s body for ritual purposes.

Mugabe’s family decided to bury him in Kutama after initially agreeing that his remains be interred at the Heroes Acre in Harare.

A mausoleum was already being constructed at the national shrine.

At the burial site in Kutama, which is in his homestead’s courtyard, the family tightened security and a top engineering firm was hired to secure the grave. Angle iron screens and toughened locks were installed to seal the entire house which was built by Mugabe’s first wife, Sally.

Initially journalists and other mourners were prevented from accessing the burial site. They were only given access during the burial late in the afternoon.

Insiders said the grave was cast with thick concrete, lined with stainless steel plates and reinforced with steel.

“The high security is premised on the grounds that we fear there are people who want to steal his body for ritual purposes and we are just basically taking precautions,” a member of the Mugabe family said.

-Newsday

The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) has applied to the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) for an electricity tariff increment to allow it to improve electricity generation, procure critical spares for maintenance and electricity imports to reduce load-shedding.

The tariff application has been made in terms of Section 53(2) of the Electricity Act (Chapter 13:19) of 2002.

In statement ZETDC said; “The current tariff of ZWLc38,61/ kWh has been severely eroded due to the movement of macroeconomic fundamentals. Therefore viability and service delivery has been compromised.

“Local electricity production has been negatively impacted by the low water levels in Lake Kariba which have restricted power production to a current average capacity of 190MW at the Kariba power station against an installed capacity of 1 050MW.”

-State Media

By A Correspondent- Ecocash agents in Harare have reportedly started charging a staggering 100% to patrons looking for hard cash from them.

The agents are using ZIPIT, merchant lines, personal lines etc to perform cash-out transactions.

One small business owner who confided to a WhatsApp group where Pricecheck is a participant  said:

For small businesses like mine which require hard cash, we rely on those Rogue Ecocash Agents. Banning Cash out has worsened the situation, where I had to pay an extra 35% commission to get my cash via cash out, the agents are now requiring 100 % i.e if i send him $100 into his Ecocash wallet or Zipit account he gives me $50 in hard cash…

Its reported people are charging 100% for notes and 80% for coins. The situation was exasperated by the RBZ ban on mobile cash-in and cash-out transactions. 

Paul Nyathi|EFF leader Julius Malema who recently had a huge lunch with former First Lady Grace Mugabe at her Blueroof Residence, has rejected an invitation from fellow South African opposition, the former Western Cape premier Helen Zille to discuss the future of SA.

On Tuesday, TimesLIVE reported that Zille invited Malema to be a guest on her podcast Tea with Helen “for a no-holds barred discussion on SA’s future prospects”.

This after fans on social media were given the power to vote between former president Thabo Mbeki and Malema as the next guest — and Juju was the winner.

The EFF has gone to the mountains claiming that Juju’s lunch discussions with Grace Mugabe made the former first family dump National Heroes Acre burial for late former President Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe was buried in Zvimba allegedly as per his death bed wishes which Malema pushed that they be respected.

Paul Nyathi|Zimbabwe President Emerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday hinted at further policy measures aimed at addressing cash shortages and financial distortions. 

Mnangagwa said in his State of the Nation Address the country would set up an alternative stock market for small enterprise companies and allow companies to independently import fuel. 

“The government is fully aware of the challenges faced by the public in accessing cash, which has resulted in some unscrupulous traders selling cash in exchange for electronic money,” Mnangagwa said. 

The address also came a week after authorities froze bank accounts of companies alleged to have been involved in black market foreign exchange dealings. 

Meanwhile, the opposition MDC has told Mnangagwa that he is wasting people’s time making commitments he will never fulfil.

The opposition party lawmakers walked out of parliament as soon as Mnangagwa began his address.

Watch MDC National Chairperson Thabitha Khumalo blast Mnangagwa for his hopeless promises.

State Media|GOVERNMENT is disturbed by moves by the United States to frustrate wildlife trophy hunting in Zimbabwe and is engaging Washington over the matter, a senior official said yesterday.

The United States is in the process of promulgating an anti-trophy hunting law called ‘Cecil Act’ purportedly inspired by the killing of Cecil the lion at Hwange National Park by an American millionaire dentist, Walter Palmer, in 2015.

The killing of the globally famous lion sparked worldwide outrage.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Mr Munesu Munodawafa, revealed Government’s frustrations at Matopo National Park during the launch of the country’s Rapid Response Guide (RRG) toolkit on wildlife crimes yesterday.

A local non-governmental organisation that advocates for protection of animals, Speak for Animals, spearheaded the formulation of the toolkit with the involvement of stakeholders in various Government departments.

Mr Munodawafa said the US congress recently invited Government to make its presentation on the proposed law and Harare is still negotiating with Washington to understand its implications.

“The background of the law is that there was a lion called Cecil which was shot in Hwange National Park under circumstances that are well documented. Now what has since happened is that the American government is coming up with what they call the Cecil Act. The long and short of what is happening is that they are saying we need to protect certain species and for that to happen the effect of the law will be to prohibit the movement of trophies to America whether by airplanes going to America or even to prohibit the American hunters from coming here. That would be the effect of that law,” he said.

Mr Munodawafa said Zimbabwe’s tourism industry thrives on wildlife conservancy and the proposed law would negatively affect conservation efforts.

He said the country benefits from controlled trophy hunts as revenues generated are used for anti-poaching mechanisms.

Mr Munodawafa said if the Cecil Act sails through, the country would regress on progress it has made in fighting wildlife crimes as Government cannot fund conservation efforts from its coffers.

“On average the operational budget, just the operational budget for national parks, is plus or minus US$30 million and that money has been coming in from various activities like sport hunting. That is why we even fight the issue of the ban on ivory trade. If you look at it, ivory has been banned, trading in live elephants has effectively been banned, now they are moving to cut off trophies for buffaloes, for lions, for anything they are closing all the sources of revenue,” he said.

Speaking at the same event, acting deputy Prosecutor General Mr Innocent Mutsonziwa said it was curious that the Cecil law is being crafted after an American sparked global outrage by killing the famous lion.

“The law which is being crafted to deprive Zimbabwe and other African countries of benefiting from their wildlife is coming from the same country where that person (who killed Cecil) came from. So, as a thinker you must think big and say what was the plan. Was it just a coincidence or it was a well-planned thing that we do this and after so many years then we tie this country down so that it doesn’t develop? It can’t use its resources. These are things that those with huge imaginations should think about,” said Mr Mutsonziwa.

President Mnangagwa recently revealed that the country is considering pulling out of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as it prevents Zimbabwe from benefiting from ivory stocks worth US$600 million.

GOVERNMENT has, with immediate effect, increased fines for criminal offences by up to 200 percent in a new scale of fines announced in terms of the Finance Act and the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. 

The new fines were published in the Government Gazette under Statutory Instrument 209 of 2019 (Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act) (Standard Scale of Fines) Notice, 2019. 

According to the new figures, an accused person will now pay a minimum of $40 admission of guilt fine for Level One offences from a previous charge of $20 and a maximum of $$30 000 for Level 14 offences from $10 000. 

Fines in Level One are for minor offences while Level 14 for serious offences carries the highest amount.

“The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs in consultation with the Minister of Finance, in terms of section 280 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23 as read with section 24(1) of the Finance (No.2) Act, 2019, hereby make the following notice: standard scale of fines level 1 is $40, level 2 is $60, level 3 is $100, level 4 is $300, level 5 is $600, level 6 is $1 200, level 7 is $2 400, level 8 is $3 600, level 9 is $4 800, level 10 is $6 000, level 11is $7 500, level 12 is $9 000, level 13 is $15 000, level 14 is $30 000,” read the S1 209/19.

Section 35 of the Finance Act reviewed Levels 1, 2 and 3 of the standard scale of fines in the Criminal Law Code with effect from January 1, 2017.

In January this year, the police increased the maximum fine for traffic offences to $700 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months.

Announcing the increase last December, Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said the increase was meant to promote a road safety culture by adhering to road traffic regulations and act as a deterrent to criminal behaviour. 

Recently, the Government increased tariffs of court fees by over 150 percent, a development that has seen marriage licence fees increasing to $100 and liquor licence applications going up to $1 500. The increases are contained in Statutory Instrument 188 of 2019 (Magistrates Court (Civil) (Amendment) Rules, 2019 (No.1). The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi said his ministry was in the process of reviewing all fees to make them relevant to the economic environment. 

A ZIMBABWE Revenue Authority (Zimra) employee stationed at Plumtree Border Post has been arrested on charges of defrauding his employer of over US$430 000 and over $1,4 million.

Norest Ushe (29) was not asked to plead to fraud charges when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Shepherd Mjanja.

On Monday, Ushe had filed an application for bail and the matter was remanded to yesterday.
Yesterday, the magistrate postponed the ruling to today.

The court was told that in May 2017, Ushe was working at a private import section responsible for clearance of private goods before he was changed to a section where he was responsible for scanning goods.

It is the State’s case that in February 2019, while working at private imports section, he was issued with an SAP password which enabled him to capture, view and print customs clearance certificates in the Zimra system.

Ushe allegedly fraudulently entered 50 vehicles into the Zimra system and the authority lost potential revenue in the form of unpaid duty amounting to US$432 767,54 for 39 vehicles and $1 469 791,58 for 11 vehicles.

It is alleged that when the anomaly was discovered, Ushe was found in possession of fake customs clearance certificates and customs clearance certificate printouts on bond paper.

Five motor vehicles were also recovered and Ushe was allegedly found in possession of a Zimra date stamp allegedly used in the commission of the crime.

Ushe is alleged to have forged customs clearance certificates, endorsed them with used serial numbers printed on bond paper and used to register and licence such vehicles without paying duty.

He was subsequently arrested.

The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) has applied to the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) for an electricity tariff increment to allow it to improve electricity generation, procure critical spares for maintenance and electricity imports to reduce load-shedding.

The tariff application has been made in terms of Section 53(2) of the Electricity Act (Chapter 13:19) of 2002.

In statement ZETDC said; “The current tariff of ZWLc38,61/ kWh has been severely eroded due to the movement of macroeconomic fundamentals. Therefore viability and service delivery has been compromised.

“Local electricity production has been negatively impacted by the low water levels in Lake Kariba which have restricted power production to a current average capacity of 190MW at the Kariba power station against an installed capacity of 1 050MW.”

A leading poll watchdog organisation, the Election Resource Centre (ERC) has filed a case against the President of the National Chiefs Council, Chief Fortune Charumbira, who has defied the court, failing to renounce his statements supporting the ruling party in contravention of the Constitution.

On May 9, 2018 the High Court of Zimbabwe gave an order against the President of the National Chiefs’ Council, Chief Fortune Charumbira instructing him to retract statements he made on October 28 and December 20, 2017 in support of a political party in contravention of Section 281 (2) of the Constitution.

The order was secured after a successful application by the ERC against the President of the National Chiefs’ Council, the National Chiefs’ Council and the Minister of Local Government, National Housing and Public Works.

“Given the clear disregard for the court order by the respondents, the ERC has been left with no other choice but to file a criminal case with the police against the President of the Chiefs’ Council for purposes of upholding the integrity of the court and that of electoral democracy in Zimbabwe,” Tawanda Chimhini, the organisation’s director said in a statement on Tuesday.

Chimhini said up to date  Charumbira has remained adamant  to the High Court ruling.

“To date, the court order stands ignored despite spirited efforts by the ERC to engage all parties involved to act in compliance with it,” said Chimhini.

Chimhini added that the High Court order reinforces constitutional provisions whose enforcement would contribute towards positively responding to calls for electoral reforms following questions raised about the 2018 harmonised elections.

ERC, a think tank and advocacy institution on elections and democracy in Zimbabwe, vowed to leave no unturned in its quest to improve the quality of future elections in the Southern country.

“The ERC affirms its commitment to exhausting all remedies available in Zimbabwe to improve the quality of future elections,” Chimhini said.

Senior Zimbabwean doctors have given the government 24 hours to increase their salaries and provide essential services at state hospitals, saying they are too incapacitated to perform their duties as junior doctors are on strike while nurses and other workers are reporting for duty only two or three days a week.

They are threatening to down their tools on Thursday if the government does not address their grievances.

In a memo written to the Ministry of Health and copied to all relevant authorities, the doctors said the government ignored their concerns following a meeting they held with state officials last month.

“No effort has been taken to address any of our concerns, giving the impression that there is no interest on the part of the Government to address those concerns. In this regard, we need not remind you of the State’s obligations in terms of sections 65 and 76 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe as well as Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as read with Article 12 (a) to (d) of General Comment No. 14 of 2000.”

The doctors said there are no basic requirements for the attainment of the right to health in Zimbabwe.

They said health service delivery requires a full complement of medical professionals such as consultants, senior registrars, junior doctors, nurses and other allied health professionals.

“At present, due to their incapacitation, nurses and other allied health professionals are coming to work for 2-3 days per week, as per ministry directive, while junior doctors are completely incapacitated. This creates unbearable pressure on the senior hospital doctors in terms of the work load. It is for this reason that we scaled down our operation to the provision of only emergency hospital services.”

They noted that state hospitals do not have adequate stocks of essential medicines and sundries particularly in critical areas such as Casualty, Maternity, Neonatal Units, High Dependency and Intensive Care Units as well as theatres.

According to the doctors, medical equipment and machinery keep breaking down. Diagnostic services, especially laboratory and radiological, are erratic and not in keeping with the requirements for patient care and there are perennial stock-outs of reagents.

“Without a full complement of medical personnel necessary for the management of a patient’s health, and without the necessary tools of trade such as essential and critical drugs, machinery and other essentials, we cannot conscientiously pretend to be offering acceptable and quality healthcare when all that we are doing is to walk with patients to a certain slow death due to a failing health care system. We are incapacitated and cannot continue working like this.

“Our conditions of service are appalling and disgraceful to say the least. Our remuneration is not in line with comparative remuneration trends regionally. South African senior hospital doctors are paid an average of ZAR80 000 – ZAR 120 000 per month. In our situation senior medical doctors are paid a basic salary of less than RTGS500.00 while Consultants receive a basic salary of RTGS 1010.00.”

They said the salaries are a pittance which does not take into account the rising cost of living, which sees the entire basic salary of a senior medical doctor as barely adequate to fuel up a small vehicle to get the same doctor to go to work.

“As it stands, our remuneration is neither commensurate with our skills and services and also out of touch with our lived realities in terms of the costs of basic goods and services. We are thus incapacitated from continuing to come to work as our remuneration has been eroded by the ever-rising cost of living. We have a right to be able to practice our profession in a manner that allows us to fulfil our professional responsibilities to patients and society.”

The doctors stressed that they also have a right to practice ethically and in an environment that allows them to practice legally and in accordance with professional standards. They added that they “have the right to advocate for ourselves, to receive fair compensation for our services, to perform our duties in safe working environment and to negotiate our working conditions and compensation levels. As a profession, we have been patiently negotiating our conditions of service with the Employer for years. Unfortunately, the Employer has not been forthcoming.

“In the circumstances, and on account of your failure to address or at least respond to our concerns as summarised above, we are left with no option but to openly declare our incapacitation. It is with a heavy heart we hereby inform you that with effect from Thursday 03 October 2019 at 0800hrs, we shall not be able to continue reporting for duty until the causes of our incapacitation have been addressed by you.”

Paul Nyathi|The Trump administration on Tuesday announced it is stopping imports of clothing, gold, diamonds and other items believed to have been produced with forced labor by companies based in Brazil, China and Malaysia as well as some gold mined in eastern Congo and diamonds from Marange in Zimbabwe.

An official at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Brenda Smith, said her agency issued orders to immediately detain the goods at U.S. ports of entry for further investigation. The move comes amid a wide-ranging trade dispute between the U.S. and China, which has led to new tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of goods.

Smith says the “message here is that one of the ways the U.S. and China can collaborate together is to ensure that forced labor is not used.”

She said the companies can re-export the detained shipments or submit information to show they’re legal.

The companies sanctioned are Bonechar Carvão Ativado Do Brasil Ltda; Hetian Taida Apparel Co., Ltd. in Xinjiang, China and WRP Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia. The action also covers gold mined at small artisan mines in eastern Congo and rough diamonds from the Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s government in a statement called the U.S. decision “a blatant and shameless lie.” The Marange region was in the spotlight a decade ago over alleged army killings of artisanal miners and forced labor. The fields are now commercially mined though the country through the years failed to meet Human Rights Watch recommendations on clean mining of the diamonds.

VIDEO LOADING BELOW

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa, Tuesday honoured the late national hero and former leader, Robert Mugabe by observing a moment of silence before he began his State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The event coincided with the President’s official opening of the Second Opening of the Ninth Parliamentary session of Zimbabwe.

Mnangagwa requested legislators to rise for a brief meditation in celebration of the life of the late former President.

Mugabe died early September aged 95 in Singapore where he was receiving cancer treatment.

“Before I begin my address, I kindly request the August House to observe a minute of silence in honour of the late Founding Father of our country and Former President His Excellency, Comrade R. G. Mugabe who passed on, on the 6th of September 2019.

“As we remember him, let us stand emboldened by the fact that we cannot change the past, but the future is in our hands,” Mnangagwa said.

Mnangagwa deposed his predecessor, Mugabe in a November 2017 military coup and relations between the two former allies were strained since then.

Mugabe later referred to Mnangagwa as his “tormenter” and reportedly went on to instruct his immediate family that he would not have the latter who betrayed and insulted him pontificate over his funeral proceedings.

After government had several closed-door meetings with the late leader’s family they settled to have his remains interred at the National Heroes Acre in a state of the art mausoleum but in a surprise twist of events, Mugabe was on Saturday buried at his rural Zvimba home.

By Own Correspondent| Zimbabwe’s doctors are striking again at Harare’s Parirenyatwa Hospital this morning over remuneration and work conditions grievances. This comes at a time when their employer did not do anything to address their work complaints.

Announced Dr Bhebhe late last night, “Tomorrow (today) doctors in Harare will convene at Pari Hospital to stage another protest against poor wages

“The Hsb has not moved an inch to resolve the impasse. Officials there are watching & enjoying as the health system crumbles. We will be visiting their offices tomorrow(today).”

WATCH LIVE BELOW…

Paul Nyathi|In 2009, Human Rights Watch reported that Zimbabwe’s armed forces, under the control of then President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), were engaging in forced labor of children and adults and torturing and beating local villagers on the diamond fields of Marange district.

According to the report, the military seized control of these diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe after killing more than 200 people in Chiadzwa, a previously peaceful but impoverished part of Marange, in late October 2008.

With the complicity of ZANU-PF, Marange became a zone of lawlessness and impunity, a microcosm of the chaos and desperation that currently pervade Zimbabwe.

The international body made hard hitting recommendations that Zimbabwe needed to adhere to for Marange Diamonds to be sold throughout the world.

Yesterday, the United States Of America blocked a batch of Zimbabwean diamonds from entering the country. The move has been met with a huge furore from the Zimbabwean government.

We publish below the full list of recommendations that were made by the Human Rights Watch Report that led to the action by the United States.

To the Government of Zimbabwe

• Immediately end all human rights abuses in the Marange diamond fields, including killings, beatings, forced labor, child labor, and torture.
• Remove the army from Marange district, demilitarize the diamond industry, and restore security responsibilities to the police, but ensure that the police abide by international law enforcement standards governing use of lethal force and illegal searches. Further to this, the government of Zimbabwe should, set up a local police oversight committee to monitor police compliance with basic human rights and international law enforcement standards.
• Launch an impartial and independent investigation into alleged human rights abuses, smuggling of diamonds, and corruption. Hold accountable all soldiers and police implicated in these abuses, irrespective of their seniority.
• End diamond smuggling, urgently resolve the outstanding legal questions of control and title to the Marange diamond fields, and ensure that only licensed miners are permitted to mine and that all buyers of diamonds are properly licensed in compliance with the requirements of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
• Fully cooperate with KPCS investigation teams or review missions and ensure full compliance with KPCS rules and requirements.
• Put in place mechanisms to ensure greater revenue transparency from diamond mining and ensure that the Marange community benefits directly from the mining of diamonds in their area. This may be achieved by regularizing diamond mining to stem smuggling, licensing local miners, taxing them, and redistributing a portion of their revenue to the local community.
• Ensure that, in the event that relocation of the local community around the diamond fields is found to be necessary and in the public interest, based on thorough consultation with affected communities, such relocation fully complies with national and international human rights standards.

To the Government of South Africa

• Actively support calls for a broader inclusion of human rights in the mandate of the KPCS to ensure that any systematic human rights violations in the diamond industry of a KPCS participant result in that country’s suspension and ultimate expulsion from the KPCS.
• As a member of the KPCS, and as chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), press for speedy reforms and policy changes that will stop the export of smuggled diamonds from Marange due to the serious human rights abuses involved. Urge Zimbabwe to comply with KPCS rules, including stopping all smuggling of Marange diamonds and ensuring that all diamonds that leave Zimbabwe are accompanied by authentic KPCS certificates.
• Ensure that South Africa’s diamond industry is not tainted by diamonds from Marange and the human rights abuses taking place there. In this regard, exercise greater vigilance through the use of the KPCS “footprint”-a detailed description highlighting distinctive features-of smuggled Marange diamonds that would enable South Africa to more easily identify diamonds originating from Marange and stop them from entering its diamond market. South Africa should ensure that all diamonds imported and exported within its territory are accompanied by valid Kimberley Process certificates.

To the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme

• Immediately investigate allegations of serious human rights abuses and smuggling of Marange diamonds outside Zimbabwe and any other violations of the Kimberley Process.
• Immediately suspend Zimbabwe from participation in the KPCS until it satisfactorily addresses the violations set out in this report and puts in place genuinely effective and transparent measures to regulate its diamond industry, stop human rights abuses, and end smuggling.
• Urgently review and broaden the definition of “conflict diamonds” or “blood diamonds” to include diamonds mined in the context of serious and systematic human rights abuses and develop an actionable response to KPCS members that commit these violations.

To States and Organizations that Are Major Consumers of Rough Diamonds, including the European Union, the United States, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and India

• Support initiatives to speedily reform and broaden the mandate of the KPCS to include human rights concerns at the core of its mandate.
• Highlight the human rights abuses occurring with respect to diamond mining in Marange and require that these abuses end immediately and that there be full accountability for previous human rights violations, including prosecutions of those responsible for unlawful killings, torture, and other serious crimes.
• Support the suspension of Zimbabwe from the Kimberley Process until it rectifies rights abuses.
• Demand greater transparency and accountability on the origin of diamonds, including whether ZANU-PF is using diamond mining as a parallel source of revenue, which would undermine good governance, transparency, and accountability in the inclusive power-sharing government.
• Guard against the purchase of rough diamonds from Marange and exercise greater vigilance through the use of the KPCS “footprint” of Marange diamonds, which enables buyers to more easily identify diamonds originating from Marange.
• Take steps to inform consumers of polished diamonds that they should not buy, trade, or sell diamonds originating from sources in Marange, due to the serious human rights abuses taking place there.

To the Southern African Development Community

• Call upon the new government of Zimbabwe to ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law in the Marange diamond fields and across the country.
• Insist upon full accountability for perpetrators of human rights abuses in Marange and press for appropriate remedies for victims.

To International Donors, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Other European Union Members

• Continue to press the government of Zimbabwe to investigate and prosecute all responsible for human rights abuses and end the prevailing culture of impunity.
• Urge the government of Zimbabwe to ensure wider accountability and restore the rule of law, not only in the Marange diamond fields but generally across Zimbabwe.
• Ensure that development aid to Zimbabwe is tied to clear progress in promoting respect for human rights and ensuring justice for victims of abuses. Donor nations should set specific benchmarks and closely monitor Zimbabwe’s progress.

State Media|Government will crack the whip on local authorities that expose residents to unpleasant living conditions through failing to provide services such as water and sanitation, President Mnangagwa has said.

He said local authorities should make use of legal instruments at their disposal to mobilise resources to ensure the provision of services.

The Head of State and Government said this yesterday while addressing legislators, traditional leaders and senior Governments officials during a luncheon held by the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing to mark the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament, which he had officially opened earlier on.

“I exhort local authorities to fully utilise the provisions of the Rural and Urban Councils Acts to mobilise adequate resources for service delivery,” said President Mnangagwa.

“The principal issue for creating local urban councils is to give service to the people. The current degenerating water and sanitation infrastructure in nearly all urban councils resulting in immense health risks to millions of our people cannot be allowed to continue.

“As central Government we will not stand by and watch our people being unduly exposed to despicable living conditions where councils fail to meet their duties and obligations. We need in future to craft legislation to deal with such councils.”

A fortnight ago, Harare City Council closed Morton Jaffray, the city’s water treatment plant after it failed to mobilise financial resources for chemicals.

This saw Government intervening with financial resources to save the situation after the MDC-Alliance council failed to procure chemicals despite collecting revenue from residence.

President Mnangagwa said Government has since put in place measures aimed at helping local authorities to ensure they provide decent services.

“To that end, Government recently put in place measures to capacitate the City of Harare to mitigate the current water crisis. We have also allocated funds to urban councils to deal with sanitation problems, a few councils have not submitted their requirements, those who have, we have allocated funds,” he said.

The President said the reform path Government had chosen towards the attainment of Vision 2030 required wholesome transformation of public service.

“Government is committed to updating pieces of legislation which will facilitate the modernisation of our local authorities in line with our national vision such as the Physical Planning Act, Provincial Councils and Administration Act, and the Architectural Act.

“Equally important is the need to relook at the local government legislation focusing on areas which relate to financial and resource mobilisation,” said President Mnangagwa.

He said Treasury disbursed $120 million to fund local authorities capital projects under the Inter-Government fiscal transfers window.

“This allocation will go a long way towards accelerating development and modernisation of our communities.

“Those communities and authorities who disburse their money faster will also be given faster. The ongoing reorganisation and re-engineering of local authorities must therefore enhance the capacity of local authorities to facilitate investment within their respective areas.

“This is envisaged to positively impact on both the provincial and national gross domestic product.

“Traditionally, councils have focused on the provision on the basic municipal services and not necessarily the promotion of business and investments,” said President Mnangagwa.

He said it was hoped that under the devolution thrust, the role of councils must systematically transform to respond to the new economic trajectory of the new order.

The transformation should see provincial economies becoming hubs for the revitalisation of the national economy, leveraging on the ward, district and provincial specific comparative advantages in those areas.

State Media|Government will not tolerate acts of economic sabotage as it continues with initiatives to grow the economy as enunciated in Vision 2030 and the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), President Mnangagwa has said.

Further, he said, the fight against corruption will be deepened until the vice was gotten rid of. President Mnangagwa said this while delivering his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) since winning last year’s elections.

He also officially opened the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament.

“My Government continues to take bold and decisive steps to open up and grow the economy for the benefit of all our people,” he said.

“The roadmap articulated in our Vision 2030, with the TSP as the key building block, is being systematically pursued. We are reforming our economy, we are reforming political space, and the very fabric of our society.

“I am encouraged by the nation’s positive response to the currency reforms which we have embarked on. Government is equally pleased with the relative stability of the exchange rate over the past eight weeks.”

However, he said last week’s events of exchange rate manipulation, “amount to economic sabotage and should not be tolerated”.

“We all need to adhere to the rule of law and foster discipline at all levels. We are determined to consolidate digital financial services which are contributing to the creation of financial inclusion by way of delivering banking services to previously unbanked and vulnerable groups of our population,” said President Mnangagwa.

He said Government was fully aware of the challenges faced by citizens in accessing cash, resulting in some unscrupulous traders selling cash in exchange for electronic money.

“Appropriate measures are being taken to address the cash situation, which include a gradual removal of arbitrage opportunities created through multi-tier pricing,” said President Mnangagwa.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) suspended about 10 accounts of companies suspected of manipulating the currency.

On Monday, the RBZ banned cash-in, cash-out and cash-back transactions that were being used by unscrupulous individuals to manipulate the exchange rate.

Mobile money agents were also fleecing people of their money through exorbitant premiums for cash-out transactions.

President Mnangagwa said Government had noted with concern the emergence of monopolies and cartels which stifle competition and engage in unjustified price hikes.

He said while Government will not revert to price controls, it was in the process of reviewing the Competition Act to introduce deterrent penalties to combat such business malpractices.

Turning to corruption, President Mnangagwa said reports of mismanagement of public finances as exposed by the Office of the Auditor-General, and brought before Parliament, must never be condoned.

“Corruption retards our development, frustrates our ease and cost of doing business reforms and robs us of revenue. Government will continue to strengthen institutions that help in the fight against corruption.

“We must rid our society of this corruption cancer, to this there is no going back. It is time to increase accountability and transparency.

“We must work hard and smarter to serve our people; they deserve better,” he said.

President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe can only develop through increased productivity and innovation.

He said the economic reforms Government has embarked on are beginning to bear fruit, adding that making the economy work again will “require time, patience, unity of purpose and perseverance”.

President Mnangagwa said Government’s policies had resulted in a budget surplus in the first half the year.

He added that economic turnaround was hinged on focused support for the productive sectors especially in agriculture, mining and manufacturing.

“The 2018/2019 drought has seen our agricultural sector registering a negative growth rate. Going forward, Government has set aside $1,8 billion towards the production of strategic crops, such as maize, soya beans and cotton.

“Of this amount, $567, 4 million has been allocated for the provision of inputs for vulnerable households and $332 million to ensure the procurement of inputs for cotton production.

“A total of $968 million will augment the $2,8 billion put forward by banks and the private sector to support the Command Agriculture Programme,” said President Mnangagwa.

A $60 million facility has been set aside for the rehabilitation of machinery under the Command Agriculture Programme while US$51 million has been allocated for the supply of various agricultural machinery from John Deere, some of which, are already being delivered.

“Meanwhile, Government will accelerate the consummation of a facility with the Government of Belarus for the importation of tractors, planters and combine harvesters,” he said.

Paul Nyathi|GOVERNMENT has come out screaming at the United States of America after it barred local diamonds from entering Washington on grounds that they were produced through forced labour.

The diamonds were denied entry on Monday.

The US Embassy Harare sent a tweet yesterday saying: “US Customs & Border Protection issued a Withhold Release Order for artisanal rough cut diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields on Oct. 1, 2019 due to evidence of forced labour. US law prohibits importation of goods made with forced labour.”

In 2001 diamonds were first discovered in the Marange area in Eastern Zimbabwe. Since then these diamond fields have been beset by conflict, bloodshed, forced labor and government crackdowns. According to one industry expert the Marange diamond area is the richest diamond field ever seen. Not only do the local communities see very little of the benefits of this natural resource on their land, they suffer immeasurably as a result.

But Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Mr Nick Mangwana told state media last night that Government was dismayed by the US action which amounted to new sanctions on Zimbabwe’s diamond industry.

He pointed out that Zimbabwe had not officially had a report on the alleged systematic forced labour, which is illegal under the country’s laws.

Mining in Marange began in 2006. Initially the government allowed anybody to prospect in the area. Then it started clamping down. Recognizing the mines as an important revenue opportunity, the Zanu PF-controlled army invaded the mines in October 2008, massacring over 200 miners in the process.

Helicopters swooped down over illegal miners, shooting live ammunition and teargas. 800 soldiers were sent in to secure the area. Illegal miners were forced to dig mass graves for their murdered comrades. The report says:

A local headman told international rights organisation, Human Rights Watch that in the three weeks of the military operation, Chiadzwa resembled “a war zone in which soldiers killed people like flies.” Another headman was forced to bury five bodies of miners; all five bodies had what appeared to be bullet wounds. None of the bodies were identifiable.

With the army in control of the area, the violence has continued even today and illegal mining — which the police and military were ostensibly supposed to shut down — has continued to flourish, this time in the hands of soldiers and security guards from ZMDC.

The army is forcing at least 300 children to work without pay in the mines. A woman forced to work on the mines told an HRW researcher: “We worked together with about 30 children of ages between 10 and 17 years. The children worked the same 11 hours each day as adults did. The soldiers had a duty roster for all villagers in Chiadzwa to take turns to work in the fields, irrespective of age.” The woman explained how men did the digging, while children and women carried the ore, then sieved it before sorting the diamonds. The women and children were forced to work without breaks, with soldiers not even providing food and water, and beating those working too slowly.

Soldiers and ZMDC guards have also been plundering impoverished villages, stealing items like cellphones, maize and blankets.

Said Mr Mangwana: “The Government of Zimbabwe is baffled by the decision of the United States of America to issue a so-called Withhold Release Order for roug labour.”

“This is a regrettable development because the reason the US authorities are citing, namely that Zimbabwean diamonds are being produced under forced labour, is a blatant and shameless lie that will surprise even cynics amongst us.

“Zimbabwe’s Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labour. We also amended the Labour Act in 2015 to ensure that it is aligned with the Constitution. As a Government we have a very strong revulsion towards any form of slavery or servitude,” said Mr Mangwana.

He added they have not received reports of forced labour and “definitely (not) of a systematic nature” that might arouse international sanction.

“Apparently, invoking the repulsive prospect of alleged forced labour is a new nomenclature for seeking to bar Zimbabwe’s diamonds from the international market after previous attempts to label Zimbabwean diamonds as blood diamonds failed,” said Mr Mangwana.

Mr Mangwana said there was no doubt that the latest move by the US constitutes “a grave and serious attack on Zimbabwe’s interests and is no less a manifestation of undeclared sanctions that have hurt the economy”.

“We will engage the US authorities on this while we continue with our re-engagement efforts as part of President Mnangagwa’s continuous foreign policy thrust of locating Zimbabwe within the global family of nations,” he said.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza told state media last night that they have just completed the “Decent Work Programme strategy and one of our objectives is to promote the dignity and rights of workers in the work place”.

Cassava Smartech Zimbabwe Limited has approached the High Court seeking to nullify the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s directive to shut down its EcoCash cash-in and cash-out facilities, saying the move was unlawful.

The company argues that the directive by RBZ is ultra vires Section 10 of the National Payments Systems Act (Chapter 24:23) under which it was made.

Cassava Smartech is represented by Mtetwa and Nyambirai Legal Practitioners and the matter is yet to be set down for hearing.

The bank banned all cash-in, cash-out and cash-back transactions, as the platforms had become tools to extort cash and cause price instability.

The central bank also warned banks, mobile payment system providers and other economic agents to ensure that the entire ecosystem operates within the confines of the law and enforce compliance.

However, the shutdown, Cassava Smartech is arguing in an urgent chamber application for a temporary interdict, will cause financial loss to the company and to millions of users.

Reads the application: “The directive by the defendant to shut down the EcoCash cash-in and cash-out facilities is ultra vires Section 10 of the National Payments Systems Act (Chapter 24:23) under which it purports to have been made.State media

Paul Nyathi|The International Confederation of Red Cross (ICRC) says that Zimbabwe’s prisons are now regarded as some of the best in terms of inmates welfare and human rights.

Speaking to journalists in Gweru last week, ICRC representative Mr Hilton Zvidzayi said Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service had implemented reforms prescribed by Red Cross in prisons during a training programme to improve the welfare of inmates.

Mr Zvidzayi said ICRC has since weaned ZPCS off its programme following full compliance by Government and prison authorities.

“Zimbabwe prisons are some of the best ones in Southern Africa. We engaged ZPS to improve on the welfare of prisoners and we are happy that we trained them and now they are on their own. We are very happy with the tremendous progress in prisons.

“We had access to every corner of prisons and we had one-on-one interviews with prisoners in the absence of prison officers or authorities. We also trained them on humanitarian law. As we speak in terms of food we have prisons such as Khami Prison which is now assisting other prisons in the country. We are happy that Zimbabwean authorities are very compliant,” he said.

The claims come at a time when the country’s prisons are crumbling at the seams, assailed by overcrowding and a critical shortage of medicines, food and other basics as the economically-crippled country battles to care for its inmates.

Convicts and wardens alike bemoan packed cells where running water is erratic and shortages of food, clothes and bedding prevail. Basic painkillers and antibiotics are impossible to come by, meaning prisoners risk dying from easily treatable conditions.

Prisoners have been seen bwearing threadbare uniforms in the prison’s male and female sections. Inside most prison cells, paint flakes off the walls and for bedding, prisoners have thin blankets on bare cement floors and the cells were infested with lice and other vermin.

The country’s 46 prisons were built to collectively incarcerate 14 000 prisoners, but hold more than 25 000 today.

At Chikurubi Prison, as an example, the men’s section houses 2 508 inmates, instead of the 1 360 it was designed for.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has condemned such “deplorable” conditions, which it said “exposes inmates to illnesses and psychological trauma”.

The body said, more than 100 prisoners have in recent years died of malnutrition-related illnesses.

Mr Zvidzayi said ICRC is also engaging Zimbabwe Republic Police and Zimbabwe Defence Forces on humanitarian law and protection of civilians.

Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo and her team of commissioners have acquired firearms for personal security amid reports that they have been receiving death threats over high-profile graft cases they are investigating.

Last Friday, Justice Matanda-Moyo and her team underwent firearms training at the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Shooting Range at Morris Depot in Harare before being issued with arms.

The ZACC chair said she had personally received incessant phone calls from members of 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, complained about the investigation of certain individuals.State media

Watch video below. ..

Farai Dziva|MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has said Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State of The Nation Address is meaningless and devoid of key matters affecting the people of Zimbabwe.

“A SONA that does not address key issues facing the nation such as lack of electricity, water, fuel, non availability of cash, poor wages, human rights abuses, terror, abductions, illegitimacy and reforms is a waste of resources and an unprovoked insult.This invites us all to act,” wrote Chamisa on Twitter.

Farai Dziva|MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has said Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State of The Nation Address is meaningless and devoid of key matters affecting the people of Zimbabwe.

“A SONA that does not address key issues facing the nation such as lack of electricity, water, fuel, non availability of cash, poor wages, human rights abuses, terror, abductions, illegitimacy and reforms is a waste of resources and an unprovoked insult.This invites us all to act,” wrote Chamisa on Twitter.

A ZANU PF activist asks: “By walking out (on Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday, what was achieved (by MDC MPs)? DISCUSSION:

By Own Correspondent- The Public Service Commission (PSC) has extended the biometric authentication project and mop-up exercise to October 31, 2019 as Government presses ahead with reforms to restore order in the civil service by flushing out ghost workers.

The project was supposed to be completed yesterday.

In a statement, PSC chairman Dr Vincent Hungwe said the postponement had been necessitated by the ongoing end of year examinations.

“Further to our previous Press statement published on the 22nd of September, 2019, the Public Service Commission in conjunction with its technical partner, would like to update our members and stakeholders as follows; the majority of the public service members have now been registered for the biometric authentication project and the mop-up exercise has been extended to 31st October, 2019.

“The extension has been necessitated by the ongoing end of year school examinations, which are being supervised by school teachers, some of whom are still to regularise their registration on the database,” said Dr Hungwe.

-StateMedia

Paul Nyathi|President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday pleaded for time and patience to bring the economy back from the “dead”, as his government faces blame for surging inflation evoking dark days under Robert Mugabe.

Hopes that the economy would quickly rebound under Mnangagwa, who took over after Mugabe was deposed in a coup in November 2017, have faded fast with Zimbabweans grappling with acute shortages of fuel and electricity and soaring prices.

In a state of the nation address in parliament, boycotted by the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) which disputes his election, Mnangagwa acknowledged the economic crisis as well as the need for reforms.

Paul Nyathi|Speaker’ of Parliament Jacob Mudenda has vowed to punish opposition MDC MPs who walked out on President Emmerson Mnangagwa when he entered parliament building to give a state of the nation address.

“We need to respect our head of state…who, in terms of the Constitution represents the sovereignty of the people.” Mudenda said.

MDC  has a standing rule that it will not respect Mnangagwa as the President of the country and will walk out on all parliamentary sittings where he is present.

ZANU PF Deputy Secretary for Youth Affairs Lewis Matutu told MDC leader Nelson Chamisa that his MPs must snub the cars and allowances that they are getting form parliament.

“Chamisa, they did it again (your MPs) as expected but lm waiting on the day they will also surrender parliament vehicles and stop sleeping in hotels. The elephant will always move on and nothing will stop it.” Matutu said.

HIGHLIGHTS OF MNANGAGWA’S SONA

• Cash shortages – Government is conducting a gradual removal of arbitrage opportunities created through multi-tier pricing of goods by retailers.
• US$51 million set aside for the supply of various agricultural machinery under Command Agriculture.
• Government also working on a programme to avail animal dipping chemicals to improve general animal husbandry
• US$2.7 million grant from India for the upgrading of technology centers throughout the country.
• Zimbabwe recognized by the World Bank as having made considerable regulatory improvement in five areas measured on the ease and cost of doing business.

• ZESA to be restructured to eliminate corruption and improve efficiency
• Companies with own foreign currency free to procure own fuel through registered oil companies
• Government to roll out an electronic national fuel monitoring system to curb malpractices
• Public Enterprise Reforms
• GMB to demerge into strategic grain reserves and silo food industries
• National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ ) to be recapitalized to the tune of US$220 million
• New partnership programmes for Cold Storage Commission
• NetOne and TelOne to be privatized
• Partial privatization for Allied Timbers, POSB, ZUPCO, AgriBank and the IDBZ.

LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

The Second Session of the Ninth Parliament is expected to continue with the re-alignment of various laws to the constitution. Some of the laws and bills under consideration include:

• The High Court Act, Labour Court Act, Magistrates Court Act, Police Act, the Public Finance Management Bill, Insurance and Pensions Act, Securities and Exchange Commission Bill, Mines and Minerals Amendment bill and the Gold Trade Act.
• The Precious Stones Act will be realigned to improve competitiveness of the local mining industry.
•  The Petroleum Act is expected to pave way for the creation of an enabling environment for the exploration of natural gas and mineral oil.
• The Electricity Act will see imposition of stiffer penalties for vandalism.

• Cyber Crime and Cyber Security Bill, Data Protection and the Electronic Transactions Bill will regulate the technology environment in order to protect users.
• Pension and Provident Funds Bill to ensure compliance with international standards and protect policy holders and pensioners.
• Medical Aid Societies Bill to facilitate the creation of a  Medical Aid Society Regulatory authority in order to protect members.
• Child Justice bill, Sexual Offences Bill and the Prisons and Correctional Services Bill are also expected to be tabled before Parliament during the Second Session

Watch video downloading below:

MDC Media Statement|The judiciary is a key cornerstone of any State.

Zimbabwe theoretically is a constitutional democracy where the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and any law, practice, custom or conduct inconsistent with the same is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency.

To this extent, the judiciary plays a key role of oversight in respect of constitutional compliance. Further, the judiciary plays a specific role in safeguarding human rights, and freedoms and the rule of law. The MDC thus respects the judiciary, and its importance in Zimbabwean society, despite the fact that once in a while, we differ fundamentally with the some judicial opinions expressed in court judgments.

It is in this respect, that we regret and find unfortunate the remarks of the Chief Justice on the rule of law as reported in The Herald edition of 30 September, 2019, concerning last week’s visit by the United Nations Special Repporteur, Mr Clement Voule, on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

It was reported that it was the Chief Justice’s opinion that the MDC’s lawyers approached the wrong courts and had an appeal against the decision of the police to ban their planned demonstrations last month.

For starters Mr Chief Justice, as a party, we have noted an appeal to the Supreme Court against the decision of Justice Musakwa, which ruled that our application to the High Court to set aside the prohibition order issued on the 15th of August 2019 was unlawful. For a Chief Justice to pronounce a comment and make a judgment on an appeal that is pending before the same court is wrong, unprocedural and unprofessional.

The truth of the matter is that the MDC raised procedural issues against the issuance of the prohibition order, which can only be entertained by a review court, namely the High Court.

For instance, we pointed out that it was wrong and unprocedural for the police to issue a prohibition order late in the night, a day before the intended demonstration on the 16th of August 2019 when it was too late for the MDC to respond adequately.

Moreover, as the Chief Justice himself will know, over the years, parties, including the MDC have consistently and successfully applied before the High Court for an order, allowing the same to march and restraining the police.

Only last week, the very same High Court granted an application in favour of medical doctors seeking to protest against the abduction of Doctor Peter Magombeyi.
Besides, the Chief Justice will be aware that in respect of our notifications for Bulawayo, Gweru, Masvingo and Mutare, which protestations were also banned by the police, the MDC did in fact appeal to the Magistrate Court.

Regrettably and as is common cause, the Bulawayo Magistrate Court dismissed our application. In the case of Gweru, Masvingo and Mutare, our appeals were not even heard. The Magistrate simply delayed or disappeared or avoided handling the applications.

The truth of the matter therefore is that the authorities in Zimbabwe have failed to recognise the right to freedom of assembly, the right to demonstrate peacefully guaranteed and codified in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

A prudent Chief Justice must avoid descending into the political arena. It is our strong view that the Chief Justice has descended into the political arena.

The Chief Justice must not use the law as a political battlefield.

The Chief Justice must not masquerade as a judge if he has a political agenda.

We implore him to resign from the bench and take up membership of Zanu PF so that we operate on equal terms.

We therefore ask the Chief Justice to consider his position and to protect the judiciary and the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

In this regard he has failed and failed miserably.

Luke Tamborinyoka
Deputy National Spokesperson

Paul Nyathi|Tawanda Majoni, the national coordinator at Information for Development Trust has argued that president Emmerson Mnangagwa is a natural accomplice in Sakunda Holdings corruption.

Majoni claims that the president has strong ties with Sakunda Holdings chief executive officer, Kuda Tagwirei who is also an adviser to the president as he sits on the Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC).

Majoni observes that Mnangagwa should not have engaged Tagwirei who was known to be corrupt even before the president came to power.

These remarks come when Sakunda Holdings is said to have abused US$3 billion meant for the Command Agriculture Programme. The Programme is being monitored and supervised by the President’s office.

Majoni is bothered by the fact that the government has renewed the command agriculture contract with Sakunda when evaluation for previous initiatives has not been undertaken.

It is, therefore, puzzling why Mnangagwa has decided to keep Queen Bee on his side, despite all the odds. Clearly, what Tagwirei is being accused of has an acutely negative effect on the president’s standing. The more prices rise, the less popular Mnangagwa becomes. It’s now becoming a hard sell to blame Zimbabwe’s economic crisis on sanctions. Because it’s clear that the likes of Queen Bee are responsible for that.

By implication, Mnangagwa is also responsible for the crisis because he is keeping bad company. As already said, if you are found dining with a thief, it becomes difficult to believe that you are not a thief too.

Jane Mlambo| The wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Mary is still suffering from a rare skin disease that plagued the couple since last year.

Mary who was pictured officially opening a new sewer plant in Borrowdale yesterday had visible wounds on her swollen hand.

This is despite that she and had her husband have spend close to six months in a Chinese hospital where the powerful retired army general is reported to be recovering from.

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Paul Nyathi|Zimbabwe’s main opposition lawmakers yet again walked out of Parliament as President Emmerson Mnangagwa presented his state of the nation address, a sign of the political tensions still gripping the country.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change party led by Nelson Chamisa says it does not recognize Mnangagwa, accusing him of rigging last year’s elections which they claim Chamisa won.

Mnangagwa made his State of The Nation Address as Zimbabwe reels from its worst economic crisis in more than a decade.

Hope greeted Mnangagwa’s rise to power when the late Robert Mugabe was forced out of office in a military coup in 2017, but now Zimbabweans are enduring shortages of everything including medicines, bread, petrol, cash and even water.

The economic collapse has led to weariness and disgust that often flare into street protests and government crackdowns in what was once one of Africa’s most prosperous countries.

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By A Correspondent| Cassava Smartech has approached the High Court seeking to “temporarily” stop the implementation of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s ban on all cash-ins, cash-out and cash-back facilities by mobile money agents.

The urgent application follows RBZ’s directive which is alleged to be a way to stop money laundering.

Cassava Smartech which is an offspring of Econet Wireless, runs ECOCASH, the largest mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service in the country.

Authorities accuse Ecocash agents of promoting and or participating in money laundering which has undermined the economy of the country.

Find below parts of the text of the court application.