Dear Mr Greg Sebbon REF: ECONOMIC SITUATION AND IMPLICATIONS TO STANBIC BANK STAFF
We write to advise of the dire situation that your workers are in. You are fully aware of the economic crisis we are in. Most of the employees are now unable to buy food enough for a week from their salaries let alone paying rentals and rates risking possibility of evictions. The majority are failing not only to meet committed school fees payment plans for their children, but the situation is being further worsened by the top-up requests in foreign currency. Other basic necessities are now beyond the reach of many.
In addition, the majority are no longer able to pay for transport to and from work. Those able are not able to buy lunch and in most days work without eating anything. The majority of the families of your workers are now living on one meal a day. This situation is now unbearable.
We therefore advise that from now Stanbic Bank workers will report for duty as and when they have transport Ores and or breakfast and lunch. Alternatively, most of your workers will start sleeping and staying at the workplace from Mondays to Saturdays in order not to abscond from work. We hope you find this is order. Please note that this is not a collector job action but a measured response to the challenges your workers are facing.
Farai Dziva|Newly appointed MDC Secretary for Welfare and Public Service Maureen Kademaunga has challenged Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to stop harassing innocent civilians and opposition political leaders.
See her statement below : Hon Settlement Chikwinya and Hon Mukapiko appear before courts to answer to trumped up charges as the vicious cycle of injustice continues.
The two are part of a large contingent of elected MDC officials, activists and ordinary citizens who have faced arbitrary arrests for speaking out since the election of July 2018.
Judicial harrasment of dissenting voices comes at a cost to the victim who in most cases does not have access to a remedy when their rights have been violated, or cannot proactively claim their rights and entitlements resulting in the entrenchment of their exclusion, powerlessness and deprivation. In keeping with our pro-poor niche and ideological inclination towards freedom, justice and solidarity as the MDC, we acknowledge that political victimisation is a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing a chronic lack of choices, security and power, all building on each other in a feedback loop of disadvantage.
We therefore commit to building a comprehensive welfare plan to cater for our victimised members while we continue to push for broader freedoms.
We urge the government to respect people’s fundamental rights, end judicial harrasment and arbitrary arrests of political leaders and citizen voices.
The ZANU PF government must envisage effective access to justice; not just as a right but also as a tool for reducing poverty and inequality and fostering social inclusion.
In Service of Humanity,
Maureen Kademaunga
Secretary for Public Service and Social Welfare
MDC
Farai Dziva|Teachers have notified the Public Service Commission that they will report for duty three days per week with effect from June 24, 2019.
The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe has written a letter to the Public Service Commission indicating that teachers will report for duty only three days per week with effect from Monday 24 June 2019 due to incapacitation.
The teachers have made four demands to their employer that are as follows:
(1) A rescue package of US $200 over above our RTGS-denominated salaries;
(2) An urgent upward review of our salaries in line with the purchasing power parity principle;
(3) Non-payment of tuition fees for at least three of a teacher’s children; and
(4) Free and transparent allocation of land for accommodation purposes with clear time frames.
A routine shift for a bread delivery crew in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, turned awry after a gang of armed robbers pounced and escaped with 500 loaves.
The bread is valued at roughly RTGS$3 000.
According to information at hand, the crew from Lobel’s Bakery was making deliveries at Speciman Shopping Centre in Harare’s Glen Norah suburb on Tuesday.
An unmarked vehicle suddenly pulled up in front of their van.
Armed with pistols, the gang accosted the crew, which, in turn, tried to put up a fight but was overpowered.
Lobel’s Bakery spokesperson Heritage Mhende would not be drawn to comment, while Zimbabwe Republic Police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said investigations were in progress.
Zimbabwe is experiencing bread shortages, leaving consumers at the mercy of illegal traders who charge exorbitant prices.
State of the Nation Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa
Cyril Ramaphosa
Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Thandi Modise,
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Mr Amos Masondo,
Deputy President David Mabuza,
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and esteemed members of the judiciary,
Former President, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe,
Former President, Mr Thabo Mbeki,
Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Frene Ginwala,
Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Max Sisulu,
Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Baleka Mbete,
President of the Pan African Parliament, Mr Roger Nkodo Dang,
Veterans of the struggle for liberation,
Dr Dennis Goldberg,
Dr Andrew Mlangeni,
Advocate Priscilla Jana,
Ms Joyce Dipale,
Ms Lillian Keagile,
Ms Smally Maqungo,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Premiers and Speakers of Provincial Legislatures,
Chairperson of SALGA and Executive Mayors,
Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Mr Lesetja Kganyago,
Heads of Chapter 9 Institutions,
Leaders of faith based organisations,
Leaders of academic and research institutions,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Invited guests,
Honourable Members of the National Assembly,
Honourable Members of the National Council of Provinces,
Fellow South Africans,
We gather here at the start of the 6th Democratic Parliament, 106 years to the day after the Natives Land Act – one of the most devastating acts of dispossession, pain and humiliation – came into force.
We recall the words of Sol Plaatje on that tragic event, when he said:
“Awakening on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth.”
Our people suffered gravely and endured untold hardships as a result of the implementation of the Natives Land Act. The effect of that law are still present with us.
More than a century after that grave injustice, we are called upon to forge a South Africa where no person will be slave or pariah, only free and equal and respected.
We gather here at an extremely difficult and challenging time in the life of our young democracy.
Yet, we are also at a moment in our history that holds great hope and promise.
In 25 years of democracy we have made remarkable progress in building a new nation in which all South Africans have equal rights and broadening opportunities.
Over 25 years, we have done much to meet people’s basic needs, to reduce poverty and to transform a devastated economy that was built to serve the interests of the few.
Working together, we have laid a firm foundation on which we can build a country in which all may know peace and comfort and contentment.
Yet, we also meet at a time when our country is confronted by severe challenges.
Our economy is not growing. Not enough jobs are being created.
This is the concern that rises above all others.
It affects everyone.
It affects you, the young man eMzimhlope, out of school five years now and still not employed.
It impacts you, the single mother from Delft, whose grant supports not just yourself but your grandchildren too.
It hurts you, the worker in Nelson Mandela Bay, who despite earning a salary is struggling to make ends meet.
It is hard for you, the young student from the Sol Plaatje University, who must rely on a thin stipend from your parents to feed yourself.
Yours are the lived struggles of the people of this nation.
We have heard you, and many others.
Sinizwile. Hi twile. To zwi pfa. Re itlwile.
Through the elections held in May, you provided all of us with a clear mandate for growth and renewal.
All of us have heard you – myself, Hon Maimane, Hon Malema, Hon Buthelezi, Hon Groenewald, Hon Meshoe, Hon Holomisa, Hon Zungula, Hon De Lille, Hon Magwaza-Msibi, Hon Galo, Hon Lekota, Hon Nyhontso and Hon Hendricks.
The persistent legacy of apartheid has left our country with extreme structural problems – both economic and social.
At the same time, we are having to contend with rapid technological change that is ushering in a new world of work, that is reshaping the global economy and that is redefining social relations.
Together with all the nations of the world, we are confronted by the most devastating changes in global climate in human history.
The extreme weather conditions associated with the warming of the atmosphere threaten our economy, they threaten the lives and the livelihoods of our people, and – unless we act now – will threaten our very existence.
We have heard the voices of the young people who marched to the Union Buildings last week urging us to take action to protect our planet.
It was to address these fundamental challenges that we adopted the National Development Plan in 2012 to guide our national effort to defeat poverty, unemployment and inequality.
However, with 10 years to go before we reach the year 2030, we have not made nearly enough progress in meeting the NDP targets.
Unless we take extraordinary measures, we will not realise Vision 2030.
This means that we need to prioritise.
We need to focus on those actions that will have the greatest impact, actions that will catalyse faster movement forward, both in the immediate term and over the next 10 years.
It is worth noting that the Medium-Term Strategic Framework for the last five years had more than 1,100 indicators by which we were to measure progress in the implementation of the NDP.
Now is the time to focus on implementation.
It is time to make choices.
Some of these choices may be difficult and some may not please everyone.
In an economy that is not growing, at a time when public finances are limited, we will not be able to do everything at one time.
As we enter this new administration, we will focus on seven priorities:
Economic transformation and job creation
Education, skills and health
Consolidating the social wage through reliable and quality basic services
Spatial integration, human settlements and local government
Social cohesion and safe communities
A capable, ethical and developmental state
A better Africa and World
All our programmes and policies across all departments and agencies will be directed in pursuit of these overarching tasks.
At the same time, we must restore the National Development Plan to its place at the centre of our national effort, to make it alive, to make it part of the lived experience of the South African people.
At the inauguration, we said that this is a defining moment for our young nation.
We also said that it is through our actions now that we will determine our destiny.
As South Africa enters the next 25 years of democracy, and in pursuit of the objectives of the NDP, let us proclaim a bold and ambitious goal, a unifying purpose, to which we dedicate all our resources and energies.
As we enter the last decade of Vision 2030, let us even more clearly define the South Africa we want and agree on the concrete actions we need to achieve them.
To ensure that our efforts are directed, I am suggesting that, within the priorities of this administration, we agree on five fundamental goals for the next decade.
Let us agree, as a nation and as a people united in our aspirations, that within the next 10 years we will have made progress in tackling poverty, inequality and unemployment, where:
No person in South Africa will go hungry.
Our economy will grow at a much faster rate than our population.
Two million more young people will be in employment.
Our schools will have better educational outcomes and every 10 year old will be able to read for meaning.
Violent crime will be halved.
Let us make these commitments now – to ourselves and to each other – knowing that they will stretch our resources and capabilities, but understanding that if we achieve these five goals, we will have fundamentally transformed our society.
We set these ambitious goals not despite the severe difficulties of the present, but because of them.
We set these goals so that the decisions we take now are bolder and we act with greater urgency.
Our determination that within the next decade that no person in South Africa will go hungry is fundamental to our effort to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality.
In addition to creating employment and other economic opportunities, this means that we must strengthen the social wage and reduce the cost of living.
It means we must improve the affordability, safety and integration of commuter transport for low income households.
While we have made great progress in providing housing, many South Africans still need land to build homes and earn livelihoods.
In the next five years, we will accelerate the provision of well-located housing and land to poor South Africans.
To improve the quality of life of South Africans, to reduce poverty in all its dimensions and to strengthen our economy, we will attend to the health of our people.
We must attend to the capacity of our hospitals and clinics.
An 80-year-old grandmother cannot spend an entire day in a queue waiting for her medication.
An ill patient cannot be turned away because there is a shortage of doctors and nurses.
A woman in labour cannot have her unborn child’s life put in danger because the ambulance has taken too long to come.
As part of the work we must urgently do to improve the quality of the health system, we are finalising the Presidential Health Summit Compact, which draws on the insights and will mobilise the capabilities of all key stakeholders to address the crisis in our clinics and hospitals.
We are far advanced in revising the NHI detailed plan of implementation, including accelerating quality of care initiatives in public facilities, building human resource capacity, establishment of the NHI Fund structure, and costing the administration of the NHI Fund.
We remain concerned about rising HIV infections rates, particularly among young women, and the relatively low numbers of men testing for HIV and starting treatment.
We will intensify our work to implement the 90-90-90 strategy to end HIV as a public health threat, which includes increasing the number of people on treatment by at least another 2 million by December 2020.
If we are to successfully address the challenge of poverty across society, we need to provide skills and create economic opportunities for persons with disabilities.
It is therefore a matter of great concern that there are around half a million children of school-going age with disabilities who are not in school.
In responding to these challenges, we have moved the coordination of disability initiatives to the centre of government, in the Presidency.
We have revived the Presidential Working Group on Disability, and will submit the Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa to Parliament this year for ratification.
To address the problems of the working poor, the national minimum wage has been in place for six months and the early indications are that many companies are complying.
The National Minimum Wage Commission is expected to conclude research on the impact of the minimum wage on employment, poverty, inequality and wage differentials by the end of September 2019.
We cannot turn our fortunes around without a relentless focus on economic growth.
Within the next decade, it is our ambition that our economy should be growing at a rate far greater than our population.
It is only when we reach consistently high rates of growth that we will be able to reverse the economic damage of our past.
We make this assertion at a time when the economic outlook is extremely weak.
Following the sharp contraction in growth in the first quarter, the Reserve Bank now projects that growth in 2019 is likely to be lower than anticipated in the February Budget.
One reason for the lacklustre economic performance has been the load shedding early this year, together with the continued uncertainty in the supply of electricity and the state of Eskom.
The lesson is clear: for growth, we need a reliable and sustainable supply of electricity.
Eskom is facing serious financial, operational and structural problems.
Since the load shedding earlier this year, Eskom has made much progress in implementing its nine-point plan, ensuring better maintenance of its generation fleet, reducing costs and ensuring adequate reserves of coal.
In line with the recommendations of both the Eskom Sustainability Task Team and the Technical Review Team, Eskom is deploying its most skilled and experienced personnel to where they are needed most.
The utility’s financial position remains a matter of grave concern.
With the current committed funding from government, outlined in the 2019 Budget, Eskom has sufficient cash to meet its obligations until the end of October 2019.
For Eskom to default on its loans will cause a cross-default on its remaining debt and would have a huge impact on the already constrained fiscus.
We will therefore table a Special Appropriation Bill on an urgent basis to allocate a significant portion of the R230 billion fiscal support that Eskom will require over the next 10 years in the early years.
This we must do because Eskom is to vital to our economy to be allowed to fail.
Further details will be provided by the Minister of Finance in due course.
We will announce the appointment of a new CEO following the Mr Phakamani Hadebe stepping down. He came in at a difficult time at ESKOM and has done a great deal with the board led by Mr Jabu Mabuza to stabilize the company.
We will soon also be appointing a Chief Restructuring Officer, who will be expected to reposition Eskom financially with careful attention to the mix between revenue, debt and cost structure of the company.
Eskom is working with government and other stakeholders to address its overall debt as well the debt owed by municipalities and individual users.
As a country, we must assert the principle that those who use electricity must pay for it.
Failure to pay endangers our entire electricity supply, our economy and our efforts to create jobs.
The days of boycotting payment are over. This is now the time to build it is the time for all of us to make our own contribution.
Fellow South Africans,
To meet our growth targets, we will rebuild the foundations of our economy by revitalising and expanding the productive sectors.
This requires us to reimagine our industrial strategy, to unleash private investment and energise the state to boost economic inclusion.
It requires the state to effectively play its role as an enabler that provides basic services and critical infrastructure, a regulator that sets rules that create equitable opportunities for all players, and a redistributor that ensures that the most vulnerable in society are protected and given a chance to live up to their full potential.
We will give priority attention to the economic sectors that have the greatest potential for growth.
Drawing on our successes in the automotive sector, we will implement master plans developed with business and labour in industries like clothing and textiles, gas, chemicals and plastics, renewables, and steel and metals fabrication sectors.
We are going to substantially expand the agriculture and agro-processing sector by supporting key value chains and products, developing new markets and reducing our reliance on agricultural imports.
We will bolster the mining industry by developing markets for South African minerals through targeted beneficiation, reduced costs of inputs, and increased research and development.
Through spatial interventions like special economic zones, reviving local industrial parks, business centres, digital hubs and township and village enterprises, we will bring economic development to local areas. We will also focus on small medium enterprises in our cities, townships and rural areas and create market places where they trade their products.
We will make good on our ambition to more than double international tourist arrivals to 21 million by 2030.
This will be achieved through the renewal of the country’s brand, introducing a world-class visa regime and a significant focus on Chinese and Indian markets and air arrivals from the rest of our continent.
We are determined to ensure that tourists who come to our country are safe.
We will expand our high tech industry by ensuring that the legal and regulatory framework promotes innovation, scaling up skills development for young people in new technologies, and reducing data costs. Wherever we have gone young people have continuously raised the issue of the excessive high data costs in South Africa.
To provide impetus to this process, within the next month, the Minister of Communications will issue the policy direction to ICASA to commence the spectrum licensing process.
This process will include measures to promote competition, transformation, inclusive growth of the sector and universal access.
This is a vital part of bringing down the costs of data, which is essential both for economic development and for unleashing opportunities for young people.
We call on the telecommunications industry further to bring down the cost of data so that it is in line with other countries in the world.
We are intensifying our investment drive.
Of the R300 billion of investments announced at our inaugural Investment Conference last year, just over R250 billion worth of projects has entered implementation phase.
We continue to build a pipeline of investments, which will be showcased at the second South African Investment Conference to be held on 5 to 7 November.
At a time of uncertainty, the work of the investment envoys has built important bridges between government and the business community.
From their feedback, it is clear that much more still needs to be done to improve the investment climate.
This includes reviewing the way Government coordinates work to resolve challenges faced by investors and reforming our investment promotion policy and architecture.
Good progress has been made through the Public-Private Growth Initiative, which is being championed by Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Mr Roelf Meyer and Dr Johan van Zyl.
The private sector has committed to invest R840 billion in 43 projects over 19 sectors and creating 155,000 jobs in the next five years.
In discussions with business, government has committed to remove the policy impediments and accelerate implementation of these projects.
We are urgently working on a set of priority reforms to improve the ease of doing business by consolidating and streamlining regulatory processes, automating permit and other applications, and reducing the cost of compliance.
Infrastructure is a critical area of investment that supports structural transformation, growth and job creation.
It is essential to our economic rejuvenation, to giving meaning and effect to our new dawn.
Our new approach to infrastructure development is based on stronger partnerships between the public and private sectors, and with local communities.
It includes a special package of financial and institutional measures to boost construction and prioritise water infrastructure, roads and student accommodation through a more efficient use of budgeted money.
As announced in the previous SONA, Government has set aside R100 billion to seed the Infrastructure Fund.
We are working to institutionalise the fund, which will be managed by the Development Bank of Southern Africa, with the newly configured Department of Public Works and Infrastructure playing an oversight role.
We have been doing this in consultation with private investors, such as pension funds, who are enthusiastic about participating in the Infrastructure fund.
These reforms will ensure better planning of infrastructure projects, rigorous feasibility and preparatory work, improved strategic management, impeccable execution and better governance.
This will provide a much-need boost to the construction sector.
We will stimulate local demand and grow South African manufacturing by making sure the ‘Buy Local’ campaign is everywhere and ever-present.
We call on all South Africans to deliberately and consistently buy locally-made goods.
The suit, the shirt and the tie I am wearing today was locally made by South African textile workers working at the House of Monatic here in Saltriver Cape Town.
Let us all buy locally-made goods to drive up demand in our economy.
Within this next year, we seek to conclude agreements with retailers to stock more South African goods on their shelves and to actively promote the great products made by South African hands.
At the same time, we will promote our products more actively to the rest of the African continent and the world.
These measures are underpinned by our strong commitment to a macroeconomic and fiscal policy framework that will continue to boost confidence and investment.
We are committed to prudent borrowing and stringent expenditure management to stabilise our public finances and lower the debt trajectory.
The South African Reserve Bank is a critical institution of our democracy, enjoying wide credibility and standing within the country and internationally.
Price stability is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for economic growth.
Rising prices of goods and services erode the purchasing power of all South Africans, but especially that of the poor.
Inflation further undermines the competitiveness of our exports and our import-competing firms, putting industries and jobs at risk.
For these reasons, our Constitution mandates the South African Reserve Bank to protect the value of our currency in the interest of balanced and sustainable growth.
Today we reaffirm this constitutional mandate, which the Reserve Bank must pursue independently, without fear, favour or prejudice.
Our Constitution also requires that there should be regular consultation between the Reserve Bank and the Minister of Finance to promote macroeconomic coordination, all in the interests of employment creation and economic growth.
If we are to be internationally competitive, if we are to attract investment, we must address the high cost of doing business and complicated and lengthy regulatory processes.
We must reach a point where no company need wait more than six months for a permit or licence and new companies should be able to be registered within a day.
We will continue to reduce the cost of doing business by reducing port export tariffs, pursuing lowest cost electricity generation options, and making rail transport more competitive and efficient.
Guided by the NDP, it is our responsibility to pursue inclusive, sustainable development that is resilient in the face of climate change.
Working in partnership with the private sector, labour and the international community we will step up our adaptation and mitigation efforts.
We have the opportunity to be at the forefront of green growth, of low-carbon industrialisation, of pioneering new technologies and of taking quantum leaps towards the economy of the future.
We must increase the contribution of renewable and clean energy to our national energy mix and explore the potential of the hydrogen economy.
Faster economic growth also requires accelerated land reform in rural and urban areas and a clear property rights regime.
We have received the report of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture, which will now be presented to Cabinet for consideration.
The panel’s recommendations will inform the finalisation of a comprehensive, far-reaching and transformative land reform programme.
In the immediate term, government will accelerate efforts to identify and release public land that is suitable for smart, urban settlements and for farming.
In the stimulus and recovery package announced last year, we promised to prioritise funding for emerging farmers.
Over the medium term budget period, R3.9 billion has been allocated to the Land Bank to support black commercial farmers.
An essential part of South Africa’s growth strategy is the integration of our economy with those of our neighbours and the rest of our continent.
The African Continental Free Trade Area will improve the movement of goods and services, capital and means of production across the Continent.
Our revitalised industrial strategy focuses on the expansion of our trade and investment links with the rest of the Southern African region and the Continent at large.
Within SADC, we will prioritise development of cross-border value chains in key sectors such as energy, mining and mineral beneficiation, manufacturing, infrastructure and agro-processing.
Fellow South Africans,
The growth of our economy will have little value unless it creates employment on a far greater scale.
The fact that the unemployment rate among young South Africans is more than 50% is a national crisis that demands urgent, innovative and coordinated solutions.
And because more young people are entering the labour force every year, the economy needs to create far more jobs for youth than it currently does merely to keep the youth unemployment rate steady.
The brutal reality is that when it comes to youth unemployment, we have to run just to remain in the same place.
It is therefore essential that we proceed without delay to implement a comprehensive plan – driven and coordinated from the Presidency – to create no fewer than two million new jobs for young people within the next decade.
This plan will work across government departments and all three tiers of government, in partnership with the private sector.
We are already working with the private sector to create pathways into work for young people through scaling up existing pathway management networks.
These are networks that allow young people who opt in increased visibility, network support and opportunities to signal their availability for jobs and self-employment.
They make sure that youth from poorer households – and young women in particular – are empowered to take up the new opportunities.
Government will continue to provide employment through the Expanded Public Works Programme, especially in labour intensive areas like maintenance, clearing vegetation, plugging water leaks and constructing roads.
We will continue to develop programmes to ensure that economically excluded young people are work ready and absorbed into sectors where ‘jobs demand’ is growing.
These sectors include global business processing services, agricultural value chains, technical installation, repair and maintenance and new opportunities provided through the digital economy and the fourth industrial revolution.
Government will also ensure that young people are employed in social economy jobs such as early childhood development and health care.
We will expand the National Youth Service to take on 50,000 young people a year.
Government will support tech-enabled platforms for self-employed youth in rural areas and townships.
We will expand our programmes to enable young people to gain paid workplace experience through initiatives like the Youth Employment Service, and also facilitating work-based internships for graduates of technical and vocational programmes.
We are going to roll out out small business incubation centres to provide youth-driven start-ups with financial and technical advice as they begin their journeys.
Yesterday, I had the great privilege to meet and engage in dialogue with several young South Africans who are doing amazing work to build our country and develop our people.
They are entrepreneurs and community builders, activists and artists.
If there is one thing we have learned from our engagements with this country’s youth is that we cannot impose our solutions: everything we have to do must be led by them.
They have told us what they want, and what they need.
They want to be employed, yes, but they also want to become employers.
They are brimming with ideas, they are at the forefront of innovation, and they want to do things for themselves.
We have to support the fire of entrepreneurship, because the fortunes of this country depend on the energies and creative talent of our young people.
Fellow South Africans,
If we are to ensure that within the next decade, every 10 year old will be able to read for meaning, we will need to mobilise the entire nation behind a massive reading campaign.
Early reading is the basic foundation that determines a child’s educational progress, through school, through higher education and into the work place.
All other interventions – from the work being done to improve the quality of basic education to the provision of free higher education for the poor, from our investment in TVET colleges to the expansion of workplace learning – will not produce the results we need unless we first ensure that children can read.
It is through initiatives like the National Reading Coalition that we will be able to coordinate this national effort.
All foundation and intermediate phase teachers are to be trained to teach reading in English and the African languages, and we are training and deploying a cohort of experienced coaches to provide high quality on-site support to teachers.
We are implementing the Early Grade Reading Programme, which consists of an integrated package of lesson plans, additional reading materials and professional support to Foundation Phase teachers.
This forms part of the broader efforts to strengthen the basic education system by empowering school leadership teams, improving the capabilities of teachers and ensuring a more consistent measurement of progress for grades 3, 6 and 9.
We also have to prepare our young people for the jobs of the future.
This is why we are introducing subjects like coding and data analytics at a primary school level.
Honourable Members,
The South Africa we want is a country where all people are safe and feel safe.
Let us therefore work together to ensure that violent crime is at least halved over the next decade.
The first step is to increase police visibility by employing more policewomen and men, and to create a more active role for citizens through effective community policing forums.
Currently, there are over 5,000 students registered for basic training in our police training colleges and we envisage that this number will be increased to 7,000 per cycle over the next two intakes.
We are working to improve success rates in investigating and prosecuting crimes, and to ensure better training and professionalisation throughout the criminal justice system.
Violent crime is a societal problem that requires a society-wide response.
We are working with civil society organisations on strategies to end gender based violence and femicide.
Following intensive consultations and engagements, we are working towards the establishment of the Gender Based Violence and Femicide Council and a National Strategic Plan that will guide all of us, wherever we are, in our efforts to eradicate this national scourge.
We are capacitating and equipping the police and court system to support survivors of gender-based violence.
We are stepping up the fight against drug syndicates through the implementation of the National Anti-Gang Strategy and the revised National Drug Master Plan.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Distinguished guests,
The achievement of all these objectives requires a capable and developmental state.
This is a state that not only provides the institutions and infrastructure that enable the economy and society to operate, but that has the means to drive transformation.
Earlier this month we announced the reconfiguration of a number of government departments to enable them to deliver on their mandates.
Our decision was premised on efficiency, cost-containment, cooperative governance and strategic alignment.
This is the start of a wider process of arresting the decline in state capacity and restructuring our model of service delivery so it best serves our citizens.
We will be adopting a district-based approach – focusing on the 44 districts and 8 metros – to speed up service delivery, ensuring that municipalities are properly supported and adequately resourced.
To ensure that the state is able to effectively enable economic and social development, it is essential that we strengthen our state owned enterprises.
Through the Presidential SOE Council, government intends to create alignment between all state-owned companies and to better define their respective mandates.
Through the Council, we will work with the leadership of SOEs to develop a legal and regulatory environment that promotes innovation and agility and enhances their competitiveness.
We will build on the work we have already begun to address problems of poor governance, inefficiency and financial sustainability.
We are committed to building an ethical state in which there is no place for corruption, patronage, rent-seeking and plundering of public money.
We want a corps of skilled and professional public servants of the highest moral standards – and dedicated to the public good.
The decisive steps we have taken to end state capture and fight corruption, including measures to strengthen the NPA, SIU, SARS and State Security, are achieving important results.
But there is still much more work to do.
We have asked the National Director of Public Prosecutions to develop a plan to significantly increase the capacity and effectiveness of the NPA, including to ensure effective asset forfeiture.
We need to ensure that public money stolen is returned and used to deliver services and much needed basic infrastructure to the poorest communities.
We expect that the new SIU Special Tribunal will start its work within the next few months to fast rack civil claims arising from SIU investigations, which are currently estimated to be around R14.7 billion.
South Africa will continue to play an active role in international relations in the quest for global peace and security, people-centered development and prosperity for all.
We renew our determination to work in concert with the international community to preserve and protect the rules-based multilateral system with the United Nations at its head.
We will use our membership of the UN Security Council to promote the peaceful resolution of disputes particularly on the African countries.
Fellow South Africans,
If we are to achieve the South Africa we want, we need a new social compact.
We need to forge durable partnerships between government, business, labour, communities and civil society.
This places a responsibility on each of us and all of us.
Government must create an enabling environment, use public resources wisely and invest in developing the country’s human potential.
We would like business to consider the country’s national strategic objectives and social considerations in their decisions and actions.
We agree that labour should advance the interests of workers while, at the same time, promoting the sustainability of businesses and the creation of jobs.
Civil society needs to continue to play its role in holding government to account but must also join us in practical actions to attain our common goals.
We look to the parties in this Parliament to be a vital part of this partnership, lending support, insights and effort to promoting the national interest.
This social compact requires a contribution from everyone.
It will also need sacrifices and trade-offs.
It is upon the conduct of each that the fate of all depends.
If we are to reinvigorate the implementation of the National Development Plan, we must cast our sights on the broadest of horizons.
We want a South Africa wherein all enjoy comfort and prosperity.
But we also want a South Africa where we stretch our capacities to the fullest as we advance along the superhighway of progress.
We want a South Africa that has prioritised its rail networks, and is producing high-speed trains connecting our megacities and the remotest areas of our country.
We should imagine a country where bullet trains pass through Johannesburg as they travel from here to Musina, and they stop in Buffalo City on their way from Ethekwini back here.
We want a South Africa with a high-tech economy where advances in e-health, robotics and remote medicine are applied as we roll out the National Health Insurance.
We want a South Africa that doesn’t simply export its raw materials but has become a manufacturing hub for key components used in electronics, in automobiles and in computers.
We must be a country that can feed itself and that harnesses the latest advances in smart agriculture.
I dream of a South Africa where the first entirely new city built in the democratic era rises, with skyscrapers, schools, universities, hospitals and factories.
This dream has been fueled by my conversations with four people: Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Dr Naledi Pandor, Ms Jessie Duarte and President Xi Jinping, whose account of how China is building a new Beijing has helped to consolidate my dream.
This is a dream we can all share and participate in building.
We have not built a new city in 25 years of democracy.
Seventy percent of South Africans are going to be living in the urban areas by 2030.
The cities of Johannesburg, Tshwane, Cape Town and Ethekwini are running out of space to accommodate all those who throng to the cities.
Has the time not arrived for us to be bold and reach beyond ourselves and do what may seem impossible?
Has the time not arrived to build a new smart city founded on the technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution?
I would like to invite South Africans to begin imaging this prospect.
We are the South African nation that with its Constitution gives hope to the hopeless, rights to the dispossessed and marginalised, and comfort and security to its men, women and children.
Though we may have faltered, we have not forgotten who we are, and what we stand for.
We are still that nation.
You may ask how I can be hopeful at such a difficult time.
I am hopeful because I have walked with the people of this country – the nurses and health care workers, our men and women in uniform, the teachers in our schools, the students who despite their family’s hardship are determined to succeed, and the youth who are trying to start their own businesses, to invent and create, and to rise above their circumstances.
It is you who give me courage, and to whom I offer courage in return.
Working together there is nothing we cannot be, nothing we cannot do, and nothing we cannot achieve.
As we enter this new era, let us take to heart the words of Ben Okri, when he says:
Will you be at the harvest,
Among the gatherers of new fruits?
Then you must begin today to remake
Your mental and spiritual world,
And join the warriors and celebrants
Of freedom, realizers of great dreams.
You can’t remake the world
Without remaking yourself.
Each new era begins within.
It is an inward event,
With unsuspected possibilities
For inner liberation.
We could use it to turn on
Our inward lights.
We could use it to use even the dark
And negative things positively.
We could use the new era
To clean our eyes,
To see the world differently,
To see ourselves more clearly.
Only free people can make a free world.
Infect the world with your light.
Help fulfill the golden prophecies.
Press forward the human genius.
Our future is greater than our past.
By A Correspondent| A gang of armed robbers on Tuesday pounced on a Lobels crew who were on their routine bread delivery shift and looted 500 loaves.
The bread is valued at roughly RTGS$3 000.
According to information at hand, the crew from Lobel’s Bakery was making deliveries at Speciman Shopping Centre in Harare’s Glen Norah suburb on Tuesday when the robbers attacked them demanding the scarce commodity.
Sources privy to the development alleged that an unmarked vehicle suddenly pulled up in front of the Lobels van before the occupants disembarked.
Armed with pistols, the gang accosted the crew, which, in turn, tried to put up a fight but was overpowered.
Lobel’s Bakery spokesperson Heritage Mhende would not be drawn to comment, while Zimbabwe Republic Police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said investigations were in progress.
Zimbabwe is experiencing bread shortages, leaving consumers at the mercy of illegal traders who charge exorbitant prices.
US Assistant Secretary in Dptmnt of Bureau of African Affairs,Tiboh Nagy says Mnangagwa must bring to account state security agents who killed civilians in August 2018 and January 2019 protests. Do you think Mnangagwa will prosecute these soldiers who killed innocent civilians?
By Own Correspondent| Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi yesterday assured Parliament that government was in the process to see civil servants salaries increased.
He said that this was meant to cushion workers from the rising cost of living.
Ziyambi was responding to questions on the economic situation which were being raised by fellow legislators. At the moment, the least paid civil servants earn around ZWL$300 and their unions have petitioned Parliament, demanding a salary hike to more than ZWL$3 500 of which $200 must be in US dollars.
Ziyambi informed the Parliament that due to rising prices, the government was establishing people’s shops to cushion the citizenry.
Norton MP Temba Mliswa then asked Ziyambi to explain how civil servants will afford to buy from those people’s shops given that their salaries were very low and did not match with the prices of goods.
Ziyambi responded:
You are correct to say that, but government is in the process of negotiating with civil servants with a view to further increase their salaries.
As to the private sector, indeed, it is worrisome that prices are going up, but employers are not giving their employees corresponding salary increases. What is happening is that prices of goods and services are going up yet salaries are stagnant, but soon we will have a salary structure to cushion civil servants.”
A 52-YEAR-OLD member of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) who was remanded in custody by Concession resident magistrate Ruth Moyo on an armed robbery case last week has died.
Shelton Marerwa who was remanded in custody to 28 June while on his hospital bed at Concession District Hospital died after being transferred from Concession hospital to Bindura hospital under Zimbabwe Prison Services and Correctional Services (ZPSCS) watch on Tuesday.
Contacted for comment the (ZPSC) public relations department first requested the questions on email and later said they were not in a position to confirm the case.
Murerwa was part of the eight soldiers that reportedly stormed at Ocelea mine in Concession last week with a military van and tried to disarm security guards there saying they had been sent from the President’s office.
Seven of the soldiers who are still at large, armed with loaded pistols allegedly demanded storeroom keys from security guards saying the mine firearms had no licences were then overpowered by the guards after they unleashed vicious dogs on them.
The now deceased Marerwa failed to jump in their escaping van due to injuries sustained in the tussle and was surrendered to the police.
A source from Concession district hospital said they suspected foul play on the death of Murerwa as they transferred him after some military guys tried to take him away from the hospital.
“We suspect foul play on the death of the soldier, because from the injuries he sustained he was not supposed to die, some military guys came and tried to forcefully take him and we denied them access after that trial they came other guys who first came with food after visiting hours claiming to be his relatives and when we asked him he said they were his workmates hence we had to transfer him to the provincial hospital, said the official.
It is further alleged that Murerwa told the police that he was on a mission from a higher office which he was yet to disclose.
Three major local bus companies suspended their services on Thursday while most schools both private and public as well as shops closed because of the mass protests against electoral irregularities organised by civil society organisations under the banner of Human Rights Defenders Coalition.
Malawi in mass protests
They are pushing for resignation of Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah for allegedly mismanaging the May 21 polls.
Business has gone very slow in major cities of Blantyre, Zomba, Lilongwe and Mzuzu as some people are intending to join the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) organized protests.
Axa Bus company, Sososo as well as Khwezy all suspended their bus services for today in fear that the peaceful protests might turn violent.
All public schools as well as some private schools and shops in Lilongwe are all closed whilst some minibus operators have scaled down their services.
This follows Wednesday’s clashes on Kamuzu Procession Road between the police and opposition supporters, mainly Malawi Congress Party (MCP) faithful.
President Peter Mutharika had to abandon the road as he was coming from Mangochi and use the by-pass road as angry party supporters burnt tyres on the road and placed stones.
MCP and UTM have gone to court seeking remedy after accusing Malawi Electoral Commission of helping the ruling Democratic Progressive Party manipulate presidential poll results in favour of president Peter Mutharika.
By A Correspondent| The child-custody case of the controversial “pastor” turned businessman, Frank Buyanga took to a twist when he lost again in the High Court on Tuesday.
Frank Buyanga
Buyanga was suing his girlfriend, Chantelle Muteswa for the custody of the couple’s only son.
Chantelle Muteswa’s lawyer, Munyaradzi Bwanya spoke to ZimEye just after coming out of court revealing that this “was an urgent chamber to stop the removal of the child from Zimbabwe.”
The development comes barely days after the business man had tried to get the mother of his child jailed over the same bone of contention.
High Court judge Justice Jacob Manzunzu ruled that there was no hurry in removing the child from the jurisdiction of the mother before conclusion of the matters before the courts.
“Please take note that on 19th day of June, 2019, the High Court sitting at Harare before the Honourable Mr Justice Manzunzu issued a provisional order as shown,” part of the order
read.
“The annexed chamber application, affidavit and documents were issued in support of the application for this provisional order.
“If you intend to oppose the confirmation of this provisional order, you will have to file a notice of opposition in form No 29B together with one or more opposition affidavits with the registrar of the High Court at Harare within 10 days after the date of which this provisional order and annexures were served upon you. You will also have to serve a copy of the notice
of opposition as affidavit/s on the applicant at the address for service specified in the application.
“According to Justice Manzunzu, Buyanga should show cause to the court why an “order in the following terms should not be granted: Execution of the magistrate court ruling in the matter
CCA205/18 be and is hereby stayed pending the determination of application for review in matter number HC4954/19. The opposing respondent to pay the costs of application.”
“Pending the return day it is hereby ordered that, respondent be and hereby ordered not to remove the minor child from Zimbabwe,” Justice Manzunzu ruled
Commenting on the court win, the popular Social Worker and women’s rights activist, Betty Makoni praised the lawyer while saying, “firstly, I would like to appload the work that has been done by the legal expert Mr Bwanya, who managed to secure an interim order so that Chantelle can have custody of her child. These cases as you know, they are painstaking in Zimbabwe. We are looking at situations where hundreds of women, are having their children taken away from them no maintenance paid, and just to think about the hustle of going through courts… is something that a woman doesn’t want to get herself into.
Betty Makoni
“So just to know that today there is victory, for a woman with the assistance of a good lawyer actually set a good precedence, because these cases are not just of child custody, these cases are of domestic violence, public violence, harassment, which leave a lot of women’s lives devastated, so I am glad the court has made a good decision.
“What I would like to strongly recommend to the court is we want to see the role of social workers…also to monitor the situation of the child, because normally when the High Court gives such good orders, when we go to family level, people [sometimes] also start…out of court settlements, or tacticks in order to take that child, so I think I am celebrating, this is victory.
“And I would like to say this is something positive about Zimbabwe’s courts given all the criticism that we give them… we want to see much more… women must be protected by the law, children must be protected by the law.”
Ewn|Former President Jacob Zuma has reportedly lost his latest court bid and will now have to pay more than R16 million spent over 14 years on litigation.
The Business Day has reported that the High Court in Pretoria last week dismissed Zuma’s plea for leave to appeal against a finding that he couldn’t use State funds to pay for his defence costs.
Zuma was trying to avoid a trial on corruption charges which first surfaced in 2009.
The former president’s lawyer and the National Prosecuting Authority have not yet been available for comment on Thursday morning.
‘I’M NOT SCARED OF DEMOCRACY’
The former told his supporters he was not scared of democracy, adding he would fight it when it attacked him.
“There is no one who scares me. I wasn’t scared of the Afrikaners when they attacked me. So, I won’t be scared of democracy. When it attacks me, I will face it head-on,” he said.
The former president made the comments outside the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in May where he had been fighting for his case to be dismissed.
He told the court he was a victim of a political conspiracy and that he didn’t have money to finance a corruption trial.
He faced charges of corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering related to the controversial multibillion-rand arms deal.
This was not the first time the former president spoke about democracy in less than glowing terms.
While speaking in Parliament in 2017, he raised many eyebrows when he said: “It’s a funny democracy that says punish a person before they make a mistake.”
Zuma said he didn’t know he would struggle fighting for freedom only to continue struggling even after the fall of apartheid.
Techzim|All eyes from all over the world will be on our boys tomorrow as they take on Egypt in Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament. Sadly, it’s looks like those fans that were hoping to see the match on ZBC will miss it. In fact, there is a highly likelihood that they will not watch the while Afcon tourney on ZBC.
The disappointing news was revealed this morning by ZBC Chief executive, Mr Patrick Mavhura during a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Information, Media and Broadcasting services session. He disclosed that the state television needs €700 000 ($790 000) to be able to broadcast the tournament. Its the eve of the start of Afcon, will it get that $790 K by the end of today?
If it doesn’t, that will be a huge blow to many of us who were hoping to watch the tournament on ZBC because DStv, which can only be paid using US dollars, is now unaffordable to the average Zimbabwean. Most likely many people are gonna head to betting houses, local beerhalls and all those establiments that pay for DStv to entertain people so that they can watch the tournament.
It’s hardly surprising though to hear ZBC failing to pay for the rights when its failing to pay royalties that have been outstanding for many years. This, in turn, has discouraged artists from making new content for the hard-pressed state broadcaster. Couple that with falling license fees revenue that have prompted it to partner Harare City Council.It’s turning into a death spiral for ZBC unless it’s bailed out and reorganize or sold to private investors.
Zimbabwe’s interim currency fell to a new low on the black market on Thursday and local firms were demanding payment in U.S. dollars as a hedge against inflation, which is running at its highest in a decade.
The RTGS dollar has plunged 60 per cent against the U.S. dollar since its introduction in February, and public sector workers’ demands for a second pay rise this year could undermine a government drive to convince lenders of its fiscal discipline.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa won a disputed election last year on a promise to revive a Zimbabwe economy shattered by decades of mismanagement by his ousted predecessor Robert Mugabe.
But a year later daily life is harder. Ordinary Zimbabweans are enduring a severe shortage of U.S. dollars, fuel, medicines, bread and daily power cuts that last 10 hours.
The RTGS dollar, introduced by the government on Feb. 22 as the first step towards a new currency by year-end, traded at 10.5 to the U.S. dollar on Thursday, 14.3 per cent lower than a week ago.
On the official interbank rate, the RTGS currency was pegged at 6.2 compared to 5.9 a week ago.
Zimbabwe formally adopted the U.S. dollar as its official currency in January 2009, when most Zimbabweans had already ditched the hyperinflation-wrecked Zimbabwe Dollar.
A decade later, analysts see the same situation repeating itself.
More than 80 per cent of Zimbabweans earn RTGS dollars but from bricks to rentals, car parts and many grocers, prices are now pegged in U.S. dollars.
That has seen inflation rose to 97.86 per cent in May, its highest level in a decade, eroding salaries and savings and causing Zimbabweans to fear a return to the hyperinflation of 2008.
“I earn 400 RTGS$, where do I get the U.S. dollar? The government should fix this before we all die,” said Robson Ndiringepi, a security guard manning a supermarket in Harare.
Public sector workers are negotiating a salary hike, the second this year, which the justice minister told parliament on Wednesday would be announced soon.
That would put more pressure on the state budget just as the government has started a monitoring programme with the International Monetary Fund in a bid to create a track record of fiscal discipline that could secure it future funding.
Patrick Imam, IMF resident representative in Zimbabwe said the central bank should quickly allow the RTGS dollar to float freely, allow exporters to sell dollars at the interbank rate rather than surrender them to the central bank. IMF advice Zimbabwe should raise interest rates to curb inflation and avoid “spontaneous re-dollarisation.”
“Everyone now anticipates the RTGS dollar will weaken further, so businesses increase prices and workers demand more and the cycle continues. We are chasing our tails,” John Robertson, a Harare-based economist said.
A 24-year-old Midlands State University student from Gutu allegedly committed suicide by drinking a poisonous substance on Sunday in protest for being reprimanded by his father for continuously coming home drunk.
It is reported that Pride Chifamba of Masvingise Village under Headman Mutema area was found lying unconscious while frothing at the mouth, moments after his father, Mr Samuel Chifamba reprimanded him for coming late, drunk.
Sources close to the case said Pride, who was in his final year and studying towards a degree in Information Science, was in the habit of leaving home in the morning and returning in the wee hours the next day.
South Africa and Mozambique defence have launched investigations after a fatal shootout between local soldiers and Mozambican border police.
It occurred in the northern part of Kwazulu-Natal on Sunday afternoon. Two of Mozambique’s border police were shot dead.
The soldiers were on routine border patrol when the shooting occurred. A joint investigation is now under way to find the cause of the incident.
SANDF Brigadier General Mafi Mgobozi says, “On Monday the chief of the defence force sent a team to KZN, Indumo area, to investigate the reason for the shooting. I can confirm that the team also confirmed that there was a shooting incident which our soldiers were involved in. Because of the nature of the incident, it was decided that a high level delegation must be dispatched to Mozambique as soon as possible to meet and interact with our counterpart in Mozambique to further investigate.”
The two members who have been killed are thought to be Mozambique’s border police.
“Us South Africa and Mozambique we have a good relationship, even at the lower level. At the present moment I want to say that it’s not going to cause hostility between the countries. We both understand that it’s one of those unfortunate incidents that happened and surprised everyone,” says Mgobozi.
The Defence Force has sent a team to the border area to get more information.
Government has stepped up efforts to address electricity challenges obtaining in the country, but signalled that collective efforts are required for a long-lasting solution.
Addressing a press conference on the 21st Cabinet Meeting Decision matrix yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the long hours of load shedding being experienced by domestic and some commercial consumers of power were a concern to Government.
She said Cabinet had received a status report on the electricity situation from Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi.
“The report showed that the fuel supply situation remained fairly stable,” she said.
“Concern was, however, expressed over the long duration of electricity power supply load shedding schedules, which was hurting both domestic and business consumers. Government has stepped up efforts to service its power imports debt arrears so as to ensure continued power supplies.
“As part of demand-side management measures, Government ministries and Government agencies should install meters to help them to closely monitor their power usage. All local authorities and other consumers are called upon to settle their bills with Zesa so as to improve the power utility’s viability.”
Minister Chasi said the issue required all Zimbabweans to work together to resolve the matter through paying their bills to ensure Zesa operated viably.
He said there was need for stakeholders to discuss the tariff charged by Zesa because the current rates were now below market rates. Zesa owes Hydro Cahora Bassa of Mozambique and Eskom of South Africa US$83 million.
Zimbabwe is getting about 50MW from the two suppliers, but this could be increased to 450MW once the arrears are cleared.
“We must make the necessary noises to ensure that the entity is viable,” said Minister Chasi.
“It’s a responsibility for everyone, we need to work together to sort this out because if we don’t, we will only shut ourselves down and to try and restart the formula will be difficult.
“Zesa, in spite of the numerous demands and complaints that we make as users of power, are owed $1,2 billion by local consumers.”
The mining sector, which gobbles most of the power, owes Zesa $200 million, local authorities ($300 million) and domestic consumers up to $400 million.
“I think the generality of the public owes something between $350 and $400 million, and that includes you and me; that includes people in Zanu-PF and in MDC, so the issue we have at hand doesn’t need us to engage in political banter,” said Minister Chasi.
“So the bottom line is when you consume a service you must pay and as a country, we must never allow ourselves to get into this situation (again). This has nothing to do with who you are. We can play games around this issue, but if there is an issue that needs us to be together as a country, it’s power. That’s why it’s called power.”
Minister Chasi said he engaged Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, who indicated that $20 million would be paid to Zesa.
He said while the figure was significant, “it’s still a drop in the ocean”, judging by what was required.
BULAWAYO residents and church leaders yesterday called for the abandonment of Section 40 of the Marriages Act Amendment Bill, saying it is likely to influence unchaste behaviour, leading to a situation akin to biblical Sodom and Gomorrah.
This came at a meeting organised by a civic society group to unpack the proposed amendments to the Marriages Act section 40 in Bulawayo.
Participants said it was clear that the Bill was seeking to legalise adultery, which is immoral according to Zimbabwean culture and norms.
Kucaca Phulu, MDC legislator for Nkulumane constituency, helped unpack the Bill, which he described as legalising adultery in an indirect way.
The proposed section 40 of the Marriages Act states that one can enter into a civil partnership with any person of the opposite sex, who is above the age of 18, despite their being married under chapter 5:11.
In the Bill, civil partnerships are not defined as a marriage, although they are recognised by the court of law.
A partner now has a claim over the property belonging to a married couple. Pastors from different church denominations opposed the Bill outright.
Pastor Mzizi from the Jabula New Life Covenant Church described the Bill as an instrument to fuel adultery.
“This proposal to me seems to be pushing the country into a devil’s pit and honestly, we are going to be a Sodom and Gomorrah mentioned in the Bible,” he said.
Residents described the proposals in the Bill as nonsensical and likely to wreck families.
A woman, who identified herself as MaNxumalo, said a nation can only be built on strong family institutions and destroying them was akin to tearing the very fabric holding the nation together.
“This civil partnership, if allowed to be made law, will lead to serious problems. We will lose the spirit of ubuntu. Remember, nations are built on strong family institutions. If we destroy family values, what kind of a nation are we building?” she asked.
The meeting was meant to prepare residents for the forthcoming nationwide consultative meetings to gather people’s views on the Bill, before it is passed into law.
A 24-year-old Midlands State University student from Gutu allegedly committed suicide by drinking a poisonous substance on Sunday in protest for being reprimanded by his father for continuously coming home drunk.
It is reported that Pride Chifamba of Masvingise Village under Headman Mutema area was found lying unconscious while frothing at the mouth, moments after his father, Mr Samuel Chifamba reprimanded him for coming late, drunk.
Sources close to the case said Pride, who was in his final year and studying towards a degree in Information Science, was in the habit of leaving home in the morning and returning in the wee hours the next day.
The MDC yesterday convened a special National Council, which sat as Congress to complete the business of the party’s 5th Congress that began in Gweru three weeks ago.
The President made several appointments to complete the leadership structure of the party in line with the theme: Defining A New Course for Zimbabwe.
Below is the party’s National Standing Committee
President – Advocate Nelson Chamisa
Vice President – Prof Welshman Ncube
Vice President – Hon. Tendai Biti
Vice President – Hon. Lynnette Karenyi
National Chairperson – Hon. Thabitha khumalo
Deputy National Chairperson – Hon. Job Sikhala
Secretary General – Hon Charlton Hwende
Deputy Secretary General – Hon. Concilia Chinanzvavana
Deputy Secretary General – Jameson Timba
Treasurer General – David Coltart
Deputy Treasurer – Sen. Lilian Timevous
National Organiser – Hon. Amos Chibaya
Deputy National Organiser – Hon. Happymore Chidziva
Deputy National Organiser – Sibusisiwe B. Masara
National Spokesperson – Hon. Daniel Molokele
Deputy National Spokesperson – Luke B. Tamborinyoka
In an ironic development, Jabulani Makhuyana Ndunge, 45, the son of the renowned late traditional healer Sekuru Charles Ndunge has been arrested on charges of theft.
Jabulani who has on numerous occasions said that he was going to continue with the work that his father was doing is facing charges of breaking into his estranged wife’s house and stealing US$7 300 and R9 600.
NewsDay reports that Jabulani appeared before Chipinge magistrate Joshua Nembaware facing charges of unlawful entry and theft. He denied all the charges and was remanded out of custody to June 26 for trial.
According to the state’s case, Jabulani divorced the complainant, Ethel Loreen Jenhu, 35, in January 2018 and married another wife. However, as the couple had built the house in Usinga suburb together, they decided to divide the house as no one seemed to want to move out.
On June 11, Jabulani demanded the keys of the master bedroom which Jenhu uses from her maid. However, the maid refused to accede to the demand.
Jabulani is reported to have forced his way into the room through the roof. After gaining entry, he allegedly stole US$7 300 and R9 600.
Jenhu reported the matter to the police but nothing was recovered.
Police in Malawi fired tear gas at some protesters on Thursday as thousands demonstrated in major cities over last month’s disputed election.
The confrontation in Blantyre occurred as some protesters tore down and burned billboards showing President Peter Mutharika, who narrowly won a second term.
The protesters in this southern African nation have demanded the resignation of Malawi Electoral Commission chairwoman Jane Ansah. A Human Rights Defenders Coalition statement alleged that the commission did not properly deal with more than 140 election-related complaints, and it accused Ansah of a “scandalous approach and stubborn attitude” in managing voters’ concerns.
Opposition leaders Lazarus Chakwera and Saulos Chilima, who finished second and third in the election, respectively, joined the protesters in the capital, Lilongwe. Both are challenging the election results in court, alleging irregularities. Also present was former Chief Justice Richard Banda, the husband of former President Joyce Banda.
The protesters in Lilongwe delivered a petition listing grievances to the president’s office.
Protesters on Wednesday in Lilongwe scuffled with police as they blocked the road the 78-year-old Mutharika was meant to travel to speak to parliament, forcing his motorcade to use a different route.
The president in response to the weeks of unrest has urged unity and calm while accusing the opposition of “mobilizing illegal demonstrations” and trying to cause chaos after the peaceful election.
In one incident in Lilongwe earlier this month, police used tear gas on Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party headquarters while the opposition leader was meeting with the U.S. ambassador , and some of the gas wafted into the nearby U.S. Embassy. Police later told The Associated Press they had not been aware the ambassador was there.
Farai Dziva|Teachers have notified the Public Service Commission that they will report for duty three days per week with effect from June 24, 2019.
The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe has written a letter to the Public Service Commission indicating that teachers will report for duty only three days per week with effect from Monday 24 June 2019 due to incapacitation.
The teachers have made four demands to their employer that are as follows:
(1) A rescue package of US $200 over above our RTGS-denominated salaries;
(2) An urgent upward review of our salaries in line with the purchasing power parity principle;
(3) Non-payment of tuition fees for at least three of a teacher’s children; and
(4) Free and transparent allocation of land for accommodation purposes with clear time frames.
Farai Dziva|Newly appointed MDC Secretary for Welfare and Public Service Maureen Kademaunga has challenged Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to stop harassing innocent civilians and opposition political leaders.
See her statement below :
Hon Settlement Chikwinya and Hon Mukapiko appear before courts to answer to trumped up charges as the vicious cycle of injustice continues.
The two are part of a large contingent of elected MDC officials, activists and ordinary citizens who have faced arbitrary arrests for speaking out since the election of July 2018.
Judicial harrasment of dissenting voices comes at a cost to the victim who in most cases does not have access to a remedy when their rights have been violated, or cannot proactively claim their rights and entitlements resulting in the entrenchment of their exclusion, powerlessness and deprivation. In keeping with our pro-poor niche and ideological inclination towards freedom, justice and solidarity as the MDC, we acknowledge that political victimisation is a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing a chronic lack of choices, security and power, all building on each other in a feedback loop of disadvantage.
We therefore commit to building a comprehensive welfare plan to cater for our victimised members while we continue to push for broader freedoms.
We urge the government to respect people’s fundamental rights, end judicial harrasment and arbitrary arrests of political leaders and citizen voices.
The ZANU PF government must envisage effective access to justice; not just as a right but also as a tool for reducing poverty and inequality and fostering social inclusion.
In Service of Humanity,
Maureen Kademaunga
Secretary for Public Service and Social Welfare
MDC
By Eddie Cross| I thought we had seen everything that this country of ours could throw at us, but the situation right now looks like nothing we have seen before.
Prices have quadrupled and continue to rise inexorably, incomes remain fixed or at least only 15 to 30 per cent higher for people in paid employment, fuel is still short or expensive and now massive electricity cuts. At my place in Harare we are out of electricity for 15 to 18 hours a day, every day.
Personally, I started to pay for my long term security with a major pension company when I was 17 years old, my father having told me you have to have an insurance policy. Eventually my portfolio was 5 policies – all with the same company, the biggest in the region, and I had contributed in one way or another well over a million US dollars to this company for my personal security once I retired.
Today this company, proudly sends me an e mail each month saying we have paid your pension into your account today in the amount of RTGS$94.00 (that is about US$10.00). A cup of coffee costs RTGS$8 to RTGS$12 in local coffee shops.
I met with a small group of student leaders on Saturday and they asked me all sorts of questions – one thing I told them was never pay into a pension fund. But really, what kind of a future can we offer our brightest and best young people if we cannot maintain the most basic economic ingredients for growth? What sort of future faces them and how do that prepare for that future? For most of them the future is a passport.
At Church on Sunday, one of the larger aid agencies told me that they were gearing up to provide basic food to 5 million people in the rural areas but were now thinking they might have to start a program in urban areas where absolute poverty and hunger were becoming a major issue. If you cannot provide food and fuel to your people, we are, as far as many people are concerned a ‘failed State’. How else do you describe what is happening?
But the reality is that we are far from a failed State, our fiscal surplus in the first quarter was $500 million, we are accumulating hard currency in our banks, for the first time ever, the balance of payments is strong, so why the crisis? Let’s look at each problem one by one.
Firstly, food: 20 years after the Government launched the ‘Fast Track Land Reform Program’ and three years after ‘Command Agriculture’ we are still importing the great majority of our food, food prices are high by regional standards and our poorest people (who are 70 per cent of the entire population) cannot afford to buy their essentials for daily life. Why? We have plenty of land, water to irrigate a million hectares of crops, we have the expertise and most of the equipment needed – what’s missing? Two words – real farmers.
In the USA 3 per cent of the population lives on farms, in Europe perhaps 5 per cent, in South Africa 70 per cent of all food is produced by 100 companies, in Zambia a small community of less than 1000 farmer’s make that country a net exporter on a large scale.
What they all have in common is the respect of their countries for the contribution they make and security. Personal security and security over assets which enables them to borrow massively from the banks to cover short term costs and capital equipment. Here none of that applies and it’s just a matter of changing our policies.
Secondly, Fuel: In 2009, in a fifteen-minute statement we liberalized – floated our currency, removed all import restrictions, removed all controls on gold production and sales and dismantled price controls. In 10 days’ fuel supplies were freely available at world market prices, no allocations of foreign exchange from the Reserve Bank, no subsidies, no State controlled imports. Just private sector and free markets – ‘publish your prices on the forecourts’ was all we had to do and leave customers to decide where to buy their fuel from.
2013, we reversed those decisions, restored controls and State intervention, made the Reserve Bank the main trader in foreign exchange and we allowed monopoly interests to take control of the fuel industry. Instantly we were back in 2008, fuel shortages, high prices, well above regional and international levels and constant disruptions and shortages of foreign exchange.
What do we have to do – unscramble the egg, go back to basics. Do not tell me we do not know what the solutions are – we do, it’s just the will to do the things that are necessary. What mechanism was behind the 2009 announcement by Chinamasa? A simple resolution in Cabinet, the day before.
Thirdly, Electrical Energy: We have made a start, we fired the top management and the Board, but that is just the start. This sector is an unholy mess. We have just spent, between Zambia and ourselves nearly a billion dollars on doubling the capacity of Kariba – with no increase in water supply?
We have then allowed the dam to operate well above capacity because the power coming out was cheap and available and as a country with full supply at low prices, we went to sleep. Now – disaster strikes as the inevitable happened – we ran out of water.
Then at Hwange, where we built a huge thermal power station nearly 60 years ago, we have been paying little attention to coal supplies. Hwange Colliery with millions of tonnes of coal reserves, is running out of coal?
They have perhaps six months left in the open cast mine and Hwange Power Station must rely on private sector operations. The conveyor system, the drag line, tens of millions of dollars of plant and equipment is broken down and crude, out of date methods of mining are being employed at much higher cost.
Our currency collapses and we do not increase prices for coal. Are we then surprised that the coal stops coming? Are we crazy? We have spent tens of millions of dollars on the three small thermal stations with less capacity than one turbine at Hwange. Hwange uses thermal coal at half the cost of other forms of coal which are used in these old stations, who in the world spends money on coal fired stations that were built in the 1920’s and 30’s?
We need new power sources – every home should have solar panels on the roof. Solar can supply our needs during the day – without storage, at very low costs. Let’s get an emergency program under way. We need a new major thermal power station that uses coal – let’s make it happen, its private sector driven, keep it that way but support them financially, its only money. And for heaven’s sake, raise the price of power to reflect current costs. The only short term solution is to import power and for that to happen we have to pay for the stuff.
Finally, Prices: I say prices because what we have right now is not inflation in the normal sense – its price rises driven by speculation in our currencies. This is fueled by the Reserve Bank with its mismanagement and manipulation of the interbank market and the foreign exchange system as a whole. The ability of the private sector (or speculators) to make a margin, sometimes a massive margin, on simple currency deals every day is just too great at the moment and the only way to stop the practice is to enlist the market.
We know how to do this – do we think we are the only country in the world that has had this problem, if we do we are stupid and I do not think that is the case. We must make it expensive to secure supplies of local currency by raising short term interest rates to a punitive level.
We must make the official, interbank market for foreign exchange work so that the exchange rate in the Banks has credibility and when we want foreign currencies, we can buy them and remit them to clients and suppliers outside the country.
We cannot do that if the Reserve Bank is allowed to unilaterally take foreign currency out of our bank accounts for their own use and replace it with local electronic currency at a false exchange rate. Make all Banks sell the foreign exchange that is available on the interbank market every day and allow people to buy from the market through their banks what they need. The exchange rate will strengthen and prices will go down, automatically. Is that so difficult to understand and do?
Eddie Cross is a former opposition MDC MP for Bulawayo South
Farai Dziva|Warriors head coach Sunday Chidzambwa has named Tafadzwa Kutinyu’s replacement at the Afcon 2019.
The midfielder was ruled out of the tournament after sustaining a muscle strain which will only recover after the start of the national team’s campaign.
Chidzambwa and his technical team have decided to bring in FC Platinum midfielder Lawrence Mhlanga.
“WARRIORS UPDATE
Injured Tafadzwa Kutinyu has been ruled out of the 2019 AFCON tournament and will be replaced by @FCPlatinum’s Lawrence Mhlanga,” ZIFA tweeted.
Farai Dziva|Zimbabwe national team coach Sunday Chidzambwa has said his charges will not be intimidated by the Pharaohs’ home support.
The Warriors will play the Pharaohs tomorrow in the opening game of the competition at Cairo International Stadium at 10 pm Zimbabwean time.
Speaking ahead of the match, Chidzambwa said: “I think we have very experienced players who are currently playing outside Zimbabwe.”
“We played under the same atmosphere in DRC and in Congo-Brazzaville, our players are now used to playing under this atmosphere.”
“I think winning in Kinshasa against DR Congo was a very big achievement for us, Congo is one of the best teams in Africa and they won the tournament twice and that actually is going to motivate our players,” the Warriors mentor added.
His own country is struggling with electricity and transport problems, and here he is, busy electrifying a foreign city’s entire bus network – this is the irony of it all.
By Business Reporter| The project to create the first electric buses in London has been led by a Zimbabwean, it has emerged.
Irvine Nyamapfene has won praises in the UK for this groundbreaking work.
This is the second project after another by the CrossRail company where he won the project manager of the year award.
Congrats Engineer Irvine Nyamapfene Regional award for project manager of the year for work on electric buses infrastructure in London (Could not hide such big news at a time when Zimbabwe is struggling with energy and transport. I hope this project is replicated back home ) pic.twitter.com/axnTcXYHRy
— Muzvare Shonga Betty Makoni (@MuzvareBetty) June 17, 2019
“Congrats Engineer Irvine Nyamapfene Regional award for project manager of the year for work on electric buses infrastructure in London (Could not hide such big news at a time when Zimbabwe is struggling with energy and transport. I hope this project is replicated back home).”
By Own Correspondent| The Assistant Secretary for the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs Tiboh Nagy has urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to hold accountable the security forces over the August 1 2018 and January 14 2019 murders.
Nagy, who is attending the US AFRICA Business Summit in Mozambique called on the country’s leader to bring to book the state for their actions emphasising the importance of implementing real political and economic reforms.
He said:
“I met with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa today. I stressed the urgent need to hold security forces accountable for acts of violence committed against Zimbabweans including August 2018 and January/ February 2019 and the importance of real political and economic reforms.”
I met with Zimbabwean President Mnangagwa today. I stressed the urgent need to hold security forces accountable for acts of violence committed against Zimbabweans including in August 2018 and January/February 2019 and the importance of real political and economic reforms.
— Bureau of African Affairs (@AsstSecStateAF) June 19, 2019
Farai Dziva|The Warriors have suffered another injury setback ahead of the Afcon tournament which kicks off tomorrow in Egypt.
Vice captain Ovidy Karuru pulled out of the training session on Tuesday following a knock.
According to the Herald, the midfielder will have to be assessed ahead of the Friday’s game against the hosts, Egypt.
The Warriors have since lost midfielder Tafadzwa Kutinyu who will not feature at the tournament after sustaining a muscle strain while Khama Billiat is being monitored by the medical team.
Lawrence Mhlanga has been called to the squad as Kutinyu’s replacement.
Outspoken Masvingo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Ezra Ruvai Chadzamira has accused the MDC run Masvingo City Council of failing to resolve the issue of the main “dumpsite” indicating the mayor is grossly neglecting his duties.
Chadzamira claimed local government released funds meant to upgrade service delivery at the beginning of the year.
Chadzamira further blasted MDC Mayor Councillor Collen Maboke for” sitting on his duties.”
Speaking at a Zanu PF meeting in the city of Masvingo last week Chadzamira said:”We are giving the council two months to resolve the issue of the main dumpsite and we expect the mayor to attend to the matter as soon as possible.
What is stopping the council from addressing the issue? We will not accept any excuses,” declared Chadzamira.
However Mayor Maboke accused government officials of “endless dithering.”
“We are ready to shift the dumpsite but that can only be done when we get the required land.”
“I can confirm that we are investigating a case of sudden death where a worker at Luveve High School was found hanging from roof trusses in a house at the school compound.”
Farai Dziva|The Warriors of Zimbabwe are hoping to subdue the Mighty Pharaohs of Egypt when the two teams meet at the giant Cairo International Stadium tomorrow.
See the Warriors’ final 23-man squad:
Goalkeepers: George Chigova, Edmore Sibanda, Elvis Chipezeze.
Defenders: Tendayi Darikwa, Jimmy Dzingai, Divine Lunga, Teenage Hadebe, Alec Mudimu, Ronald Pfumbidzai.
Farai Dziva|Zimbabwe needs genuine and sincere dialogue- to create a conducive environment for economic transformation- MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has said.
Addressing a news conference in Harare today, Chamisa dismissed Emmerson Mnangagwa’ s POLAD “monologue.”
“We will put pressure on ED so that we have genuine dialogue not the current Polad monologue.
We will then go for elections where a credible electoral commission will run the electoral process not ZEC.
We are going to have two deputies for the Secretary General and Organizing Secretary departments,” said Chamisa.
Farai Dziva | In a development that is likely to frustrate thousands of soccer lovers, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is struggling to acquire broadcasting rights for the Africa Cup of Nations.
This was said by ZBC Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Mavhura during a meeting with the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Information, Media and Broadcasting Services.
“The Corporation needs 700 000 Euro to secure broadcasting rights,” he said.
The Warriors have a date with hosts Egypt tomorrow.
This means the national broadcaster may not screen the much anticipated AFCON Tournament.
What Nelson Chamisa has done is not new in politics and it is normal to have such gestures considering that he is shaping up the movement, it was expected. I earlier on reiterated that people must get shock absorbers before listening to the announcements. There are key areas which must look at on the appointments.
Dealing with any possible threat
The young generation consensus
Alternative cabinet must reflect international standards
Balancing act
Consolidation of power
Power matrix between loyal cadres and quality ( Cream& Dream team)
MDC going through a revolutionary process
Averting a possible split
Kitchen Cabinet dismantled and power control
New political players
In any political outfit and matrix, there is a lot of power dynamics and gambling. Politics is dirty and one needs a bit of shock absorbers to deal with reality. The new national executive, council and standing committee has dealt with any possible threat to Nelson Chamisa’s Presidency. The door has been shut for anyone who might want to focus on Presidency. Whilst he has managed to bring back Mwonzora and Mudzuri to the national executive, he has given them less influential posts but also to keep them in check. What Nelson has managed to do is to surround them with powerful cahoots who can keep them in check.
Young Generation is a consensus that has to be reached. What Nelson is trying to achieve, is a balance of act, working on power struggles, and he is looking at the future, identifying the talent and making use of it. If you study the MDC pool, majority of the people are grassroots people from different backgrounds ; Vending, small scale farmers, traders, cross border trade, SMEs etc and I think he has realised that there is a gap. Look at the Parliament, it’s not looking attractive and it’s not sound, it lacks substance, and he is trying to identify the talent around in a broader perspective. However he has to work extra mile to manage situations and perceptions. Remember there are people who have been in the movement since 1999, who have not been rewarded anything and this has to be dealt with tactful.
Alternative Cabinet – Nelson has been struggling to deal with this crisis. Remember there is need to have the middle class people around him, in the event that he forms the Government how does he deal with such a scenario. From a scholarly and development perspective point of view, Nelson Chamisa is preparing for 2023. He is already in the election mode. He has pressed the election mode button. In the next election, congress or convention more big wigs are likely to fall by the way side.
Balancing Act
Dont forget Nelson Chamisa is a pastor, He is a lawyer, he is an advocate, He is a party president and he is Business man, to cut the long story short he is also a father. Don’t forget he has a wife behind him. He also has children. So all these spheres around him have influence and there is also centre of power. For me it’s simple, look at the reflection of appointments, you can easily tell all these scenarios which I have drawn. There is a pool of advocates coming in with full force and it’s very difficult to stop them. There are also church people around him. I have always warned people before that in politics, do not have much expectations you will be dissapointed. Mahere comes in as an advocate, Maurene comes in as an academic, and Gladys comes in as a development and international relations person. Remember these three have their own backgrounds other than politics so you cant disconnect them or de-ttach them from Nelson. In one way or another, these three Will be in Nelson Chamisa’s cabinet.
Power Matrix – There is power struggle between loyal cadres and the dream team or quality. This may arise in future. They are those people who will say we started this thing and they are those who are obviously closer to the President by virtue of their area of expertise and wealthy experience. No doubt about Fadzai Mahere and Maurene, both have their area of expertise, but Nelson has to manage people’s perceptions about them. Remember Fadzai stood in as an independent and she erroneously attacked MDC towards elections and this is in people’s minds. This is the dream team which will grab cabinet posts in the event that MDC has been given the mandate to rule
MDC going through a revolutionary process – heavyweights and the grey hair are being eroded and offloaded through a structural adjustment. It’s being done in a smart way. No question about it. New blood is coming in and new ideas. Expect more of this as we move towards elections. In 2023, there is likely to be new faces around Harvest House, it’s a cleansing smart process. Remember Nelson is 41, and his strength is in the young blood. What matters most is when tables turn, that will be a dangerous trajectory move and it will dismantle all the existing forces around.
Kitchen Cabinet dismantled& Averting a possible split – The current appointments made sure that everyone has been accomodated, the loser and the winner. What this means is that noone will be left out and this will strengthen the party ahead of any crucial assignments. What I’m not sure of is the role of the congress? Will these appointments reflect the will of the people? Will these appointments reflect the vote of the congress? This is a question which will be left for another day. Previously during Tsvangirai’s tenure, there was a kitchen cabinet in place which ran the show, apparently led by political heavyweights, has apparently beem dismantled. The likes of Makones are out of the game, Ben the former mayor and others. There is now the pool of Advocates emerging, and if you are out of this circle, the game is not yours, this is led by the powerful young lawyer , the likes of Thabani Mpofu. It’s a new dispensation.
New political players coming in – What we are likely to witness is a set of new political players coming in through the revolutionary process. What this means is, majority of them will be running for parliamentary seats and local Government elections. Some are likely to feature as legal counsel for the party, some will be ministers and some will be running for Mps.
Jacob Mafume – He was doing a good job but in politics don’t forget dogs eat dogs. There could be forces within who might have resisted his re-appointment or pressure to move him to his new elected role. Jacob is firm and he has the political grip but politics was at play.
In a nutshel, Chamisa had limited positions and it was difficult for him to leave out key cadres and at the same time, there were those who were nominated for those positions.
Having appointed Murwisi as Deputy Treasurer General, it was difficult for him to drop him completely, he played a key role to Chamisa’s ascension during the 2018 debacle. He fought hard together with the likes of Hwende, Chibaya, Bvondo and Timveous so it was going to be difficult to leave them out. In one way or another he had to find a way to accomodate them. At the same time he had the 50/50 gender balance, he had to creat several portifolios to accomodate women and other players to balance the party.
My assumption is Chamisa has consolidated his power base ahead of future elections and he has silenced his opponents and any other internal revolt. Any possible threats have been surrounded by point persons who will be offering checks and balances.
Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo – Doctor of Philosophy at Women’s University of Africa PhD- Candidate and he can be contacted at [email protected]
One of the sons of the late popular Chipinge traditional healer, Sekuru Ndunge — Jabulani Makuyana who is now a traditional healer and following in the footsteps of his father — was arrested and appeared in court on Monday facing charges of breaking into the bedroom of his estranged wife, where he allegedly stole US$7 300 and R9 600.
Sekuru Ndunge, born Charles Ndunge Makuyana, died in April at his plush home in the Southdown suburb of Chipinge at the age of 87.
Jabulani (45), of Usinga suburb in Chipinge, pleaded not guilty to charges of unlawful entry and theft when he appeared before Chipinge magistrate Joshua Nembaware.
He was remanded out of custody to June 26 for trial. Jabulani was represented in court by Tariro Tazvitya of Bere Brothers.
Prosecutor Sesekedzai Mayera told the court that Jabulani and the complainant, Ethel Loreen Jenhu (35), divorced in January last year.
Before their divorce, they had built a house in Usinga suburb where they were both staying.
Jabulani late last year married another wife and divided the house, with the complainant occupying the master bedroom.
It is alleged that on June 11, the accused asked for Jenhu’s bedroom keys from the complainant’s housemaid who, however, refused to hand them.
Jabulani allegedly entered his former wife’s bedroom through the roof and stole US$7 300 and R9 600.
When Jenhu came back home, she discovered the offence and made a police report, but nothing was recovered.
Zim Mail|The Municipality of Marondera is set to give former mayor Anthony Makwindi a Mercedes-Benz C200 or equivalent as part of his golden handshake.
This was revealed in a full council meeting held at council chambers on Monday, where councillors urged the management to speed up the process and give the former Zanu PF councillor the vehicle or money equivalent to it.
The Mercedes-Benz was a bone of contention in 2013 after the then newly-elected Zanu PF councillors blocked the outgoing MDC mayor Farai Nyandoro from leaving with the vehicle despite approval by the Local Government ministry.
Upon his exit in 2013, Nyandoro was reportedly offered a commercial stand as the newly-appointed mayor, Makwindi, took over the vehicle.
On Monday, all councillors resolved that Makwindi, who also lost in the Zanu PF primaries last year, be given the vehicle.
Responding to the resolution, chamber secretary Runesu Nyamuzihwa said he would invite Makwindi and deliberate on the issue.
“I will invite the former mayor and discuss the way forward. Currently, the management is seized with the matter as to whether we give the former mayor the vehicle or a golden handshake in the form of money. But the vehicle is currently being used by the current mayor (Chengetai Murowa) and there is need to consider a replacement or any alternative means,” he said.
The 2008 Mercedes-Benz was bought in 2011 at a cost of US$13 000.
The disposal of the vehicle means the cash-strapped council will soon fork out more money to secure a vehicle for Murowa.
Recently, Marondera Municipality was involved in a botched car deal after a Harare company duped them thousands of dollars by delivering four second-hand trucks that were re-painted and disguised as new.
The council is reportedly yet to recover the money.
Jenny Williams addressing the Matabeleland Collective meeting with Mnangagwa.
The convention of Matabeleland based Civic Society Organisations operating under the Matabeleland Collective banner is facing an imminent split or collapse following their much talked about meeting with President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently.
Highly placed sources within the organisation told ZimEye.com that the collective is involved in huge internal fights since the meeting with Mnangagwa to an extent that separate parallel meetings of the organisation are being held.
The sources indicated that the collective’s issues arose after some organisations in the region felt that the meeting with Mnangagwa was ill-timed and did not fully present the concerns of the region to the President.
Following the concerns on the meeting, the sources indicate that the issue boiled down to individual members questioning the credibility of the leadership of the collective amid rumours that some funds were being fed into the collective system from President Mnangagwa’s office without the knowledge of other members.
According to the highly placed sources, Bulawayo Province proportional representation Member of Parliament Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga of the Thokozani Khupe led splinter MDC is being used by the suspect leaders of the collective as a link with Mnangagwa’s office for the illicit funding.
Probed further, the sources claimed that the leadership of the collective has been working very close with members of the Central Intelligence Organisation who have developed a kin interest in the collective since the meeting with Mnangagwa.
The CIOs are reportedly having a major hand in splitting the collective as they are said to be reaching out to some of the members and giving them instructions on how to destabilise the collective whose initial idea was to push Mnangagwa to concede that he participated in the Gukurahundi atrocities and subsequently apologise for his role in the atrocities.
“The collective is heavily divided at the moment and some organisations are contemplating quitting altogether, ” said the sources.
“The main issue behind the division is around Mnangagwa’s meeting and how suddenly Matabeleland must be seen to be embracing him and not getting him to account on the region’s issues, ” added the sources.
“There is visible signs of money passing through between Mnangagwa and some of our members who are suddenly on a full force to try and get the Matabeleland Civil Society to be Mnangagwa’s voice to the marginalised people of the region.”
“Some of the top leaders of the collective have confessed to having direct talks with members of the CIO but refusing to honour up on what they were discussing which is very uncomfortable with some of us,” said the sources.
The known leader of the collective Jenny Williams could not immediately be reached for a comment on the matter.
State Media|TEACHERS have petitioned Parliament demanding that Government immediately releases a teacher salary rescue package of US$200 on top of their RTGS salaries saying earnings have been eroded by inflation.
Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda on Tuesday advised Parliamentarians that he had received the petition from the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) and the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ).
“I wish to advise the House that on June 14, 2019, Parliament of Zimbabwe received a petition from the Zimta and PTUZ beseeching Parliament to ensure that the Government reviews teachers’ salaries according to the prevailing inflation and interbank market rates.
“The associations have said they want teachers to be paid at least US$200 in addition to their RTGS dollar salaries,” said Advocate Mudenda.
He said the petition has since been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.
In an interview yesterday, Zimta president Mr Richard Gundane said Government must urgently pay the rescue package.
“Schools are also under great pressure and financial stress. Government should consider strengthening safety nets to protect the learner’s right to quality education in keeping with SDG 4.
“SDG 4 calls for inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all. Education is a fundamental human right and is indispensable for the achievement of sustainable development,” said Mr Gundane.
Last month, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube told Parliament that Government will continue to engage civil servants and adjust their salaries against the prevailing inflation levels but not the foreign currency exchange rate.
Responding to MPs questions, Prof Ncube said Government cannot benchmark its workers’ salaries on the RTGS dollar exchange rate to the United States dollar.
Minister Ncube said Government had recorded surplus revenue in both RTGS and US dollars, which has benefited civil servants and other humanitarian needs such as Cyclone Idai relief efforts.
“First of all, when you think of salary adjustments for the civil servants, we never benchmark to an exchange rate to the USD in which case he’s used a parallel market rate of 1:8. We don’t do that. We try to bench mark salaries to the inflation level and that is how it ought to be done,” he said.
“Secondly, should we give civil servants an increase in line with the exchange rate which some Members of Parliament are mentioning? The answer is no. We’ll continue to engage the civil servants and it will be an increase that begins to ameliorate against the current levels of inflation and we’ll continue to engage them so that we can adjust their emoluments both in monetary and non-monetary terms.”
Two days after successfully completing his second Comrades Marathon, Limpopo runner Sonnyboy Ngobeni was found dead in his home.
The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) confirmed on Wednesday that the 55-year-old athlete, who represented the University of Limpopo’s running club, died after taking part in the ultramarathon on June 9.
He completed the race in just under 10 hours, his 9:53’44 being well within the 12-hour cutoff.
His running partner, Thabo Buthani, said that the death came as a shock to the running club, which he joined about two years ago.
“We ran most of the race together. He did not complain once. He seemed fine afterwards as well. We returned to Limpopo on Monday and Sonnyboy was still fine.”
Buthani said he became concerned when his calls to Ngobeni went unanswered. “On Wednesday I went to his place to check on him. His door was locked from the inside. I had to break down the door.
“When I went in, I found him lying there. It appears he died in his sleep,” said Buthani.
CMA chairperson Cheryl Winn said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Ngobeni. This was his second Comrades, at which he achieved his Comrades back-to-back medal.”
Ngobeni will be buried on Saturday.
According to the CMA, 595 runners received medical treatment at the race’s extensive medical facility on the day.
Zuma new wife becomes the 7th addition to his wives list. Clearly, the former president is a lover of women and a polygamist by nature. Apart from having a lot of wives, he is also known to have more than 20 kids. This is just a part of the legacy he lives behind, apart from his leadership contributions, when his time comes. After all, family will always be important.
Image: instagram.com, @laconco
Is it that Jacob Zuma just loves to get a new wife or there is something else yet to be uncovered? His reasons are best known to him. One thing is for sure though, he is a man that chose this path and it appears that it is working just fine. One may ask how many children does Jacob Zuma have considering his many wives. Obviously, he has a lot of children. Although he is supposed to have 7 wives in total, 2 of them are no longer with him. He lost his first wife to divorce and another to death. Check out the details about Zumas wives below.
List of Zuma’s wives
So, how many wives does Zuma have? This is a question that many have asked especially when last year there were rumours that he had engaged a 24-year-old and was keen on making her his wife. Their engagement was announced sometime in April 2018. The last wife-to be whom he paid lobola for is known as Nonkanyiso Conco, who has a son for him.
He did not justify this when people lashed him for it. According to him, his brother and several community representatives, this was very normal for people in his clan. With all these, it appears as though polygamy in South Africa is a norm that is acceptable, as long as you can take care of the women. Apart from the new wife, the following is a list of other Zuma wives.
1. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Image: instagram.com, @ndlaminizuma
Zuma married her in 1972 and later, the two divorced in 1998. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma age is 70 years old. Although she is currently an ex- wife, she can be considered as the first one to have been married by the former president. She is a South African politician and a renowned anti-apartheid activist. She once worked as the South African Minister for Home Affairs between 2009 to 2012. Her kids include Thuthukile Zuma, Gugulethu Zuma-Ncube, and Msholozi Zuma.
2. Gertrude Sizakele Khumalo
She was married in 1973 and is currently considered Zuma’s first wive. The 79 years old started dating her husband back in 1959 but got separated when he was taken into exile for 10 years. She was the serving South African first lady from 2009 – 2014 when the husband was in power. She has no children though. She is respected as the oldest of Jacob Zuma wives and also the fact that she is the first wife too. She is noted for founding the Sizakhele MaKhumalo Zuma Foundation.
3. Kate Mantsho
She was married in 1976 and died in 2000. It is impossible to mention the wife and not talk about Jacob Zuma children. Kate Mantsho children include Duduzane Zuma, Mxolisi Zuma, Duduzile Zuma, Saddy, Nhlakanipho Vusi Zuma and Phumzile Zuma. She reportedly died after taking an overdose of malaria drugs and sleeping pills at the age of 44 years. She was Duduzane Zuma mother and got a state burial since at the time of her death, Zuma served as the vice president of the country. Her son, Duduzane Zuma’s wife is known as Shanice Stork.
4. Nompumelelo Ntuli
Image: Faceook.com, @yazmo
Zuma married her in 2008 but she segregated from him after it was alleged that she wanted to poison him. She has a daughter by the name Thandisiwe Zuma. She was sometimes referred to as Mantuli Zuma. She no longer lives in Nkandla and has since said that she did not plot to kill her former husband.
5. Thobeka Madiba
Image: facebook.com, @metrofm
She is Zuma’s wife that was married in 2010. She is one of the most glamorous wives of Zuma. The beautiful Madam Thobeka Madiba Zuma is the boss lady herself. She is a former banker and has always been active in charity. She has also been known to voice her strong opinions on matters health, security and employment just to mention a few things. She has 3 kids in total.
Thobeka is known for leading a Unicef-backed campaign that was meant to raise awareness on the subject of child brides. She pushed increased action towards stopping illegal marriages to under-aged individuals and minors that was rampant. She went to school at Umlazi Campus of the University of Zululand and graduated with a B.Com
6. Gloria Bongi Ngema
Image: faceook.com, @jarvischristiancollege
Commonly known as Gloria Bongekile Ngema or Bongi Ngema Zuma, the beauty is also one of Zuma’s wives. She was the last wife for a long time considering that she was married in 2012. You can say that naturally, she is Jacob Zuma wife that was closest to him, at least before rumours of a new woman surfaced. She has a child by the name Sinqumo Zuma.
7. Nonkanyiso Conco
Image: Instagram.com, @laconco
This is the latest additions to Zuma’s ladies. She was engaged in April 2018 and gave birth to a son during Zuma’s 76th birthday on April 12. The fact that Zuma is older than her by over 52 years does not seem to bother her. If you were wondering how many children does Zuma have, it appears not enough. This could be why he just needed another by Conco, and this time it happened that the boy was born on his birthday.
She is not one to look at Zuma age, apparently. For a long time, she believed and participated in the Zulu reed dance which was a show of virginity when girls presented reeds to the Zulu king as part of the tradition proving their virginity. Before her engagement to Zuma, Conco served as the director of a Pietermaritzburg-based Nomkhubulwane Culture and Youth Development organisation, that promoted and preserves the famous Zulu cultural practice of virginity testing. She can be said to be the youngest of Jacob Zuma spouse choices ever.
The young Zuma new wife may have been the talk of the town for a while but that has not stopped her from doing her thing. With her lobola paid, she is as good as married. In fact, her baby seals the deal. She may just be the woman that Zuma spends his retirement years with most. Anyway, hers is a story proving that at the time, age is but a number.
Lobel’s bakery on Tuesday indefinitely closed its Bulawayo plant, just days after shutting down its Harare operation.
Officials at the bakery said they had exhausted their flour stocks and had not been able to secure new supplies owing to a severe United States dollar crunch, made worse by unviable bread prices.
Fifteen-hour daily power cuts have also taken their toll on Zimbabwe’s oldest bread maker, which employs about 500 people in Bulawayo and 900 in Harare.
“We have been told to stay home and wait for more news,” a Lobel’s employee said.
Bakers Inn, the country’s biggest bakery, has reduced production by over 80 percent and is expected to announce a price increase within days. A loaf is expected to sell for RTGS$6, up from the current RTGS$3.50.
Oceans Foods, which has a bakery division, said it had raised the price of bread to RTGS$5 “provisionally”, and expected another upward adjustment.
An Oceans Foods official told ZimLive: “The price of packaging is now RTGS 45c, the clip that locks your bread bag is RTGS 15c, distribution costs are now at minimum RTGS 40c per loaf. Just these three before the actual production costs puts the price of bread at RTGS $1.
“It’s no longer viable to sell bread at $3.50. We have provisionally put ours at RTGS$5, but the viable price is RTGS$7.”
Bread shortages are expected to be felt across the country in the coming days.
In Victoria Falls, shops are selling bread in United States dollars. Big supermarkets like OK and TM Pick n Pay rarely have bread on their shelves.
In Harare, some shops were demanding cash payments for bread.
The Grain Millers Association said wheat stocks have “drastically” declined, and a lack of foreign currency was impeding imports.
There are wheat consignments at Beira port in Mozambique and a warehouse in Harare – but these would not be released before payment.
Bakers sell their products in the local RTGS and without access to foreign currency, they cannot directly pay for their own imports and must rely on millers who get priority foreign currency.
“We are constantly updating our key stakeholders who include bakers on the obtaining situation,” said Garikai Chaunza, media and public relations manager for the millers. “We are also jointly working with the bakers in engaging the authorities on a number of issues that would improve bread supplies.”
THE assault case of Chief Chivero (Brown Shopo) at Sunny Yi Feng tile manufacturing plant in Norton this week, has taken a new twist with the Chinese firm counter-accusing the traditional leader of beating up its security guard.
Chief Chivero on Monday made a report at Norton Police Station accusing Sunny Yi Feng employee Qiao Shuang Long of assault.
Chief Chivero claims his arm was injured in the scuffle that occurred at the plant’s main entrance.
Police have since arrested Qiao.
It has since emerged that there are serious allegations of some powerful interests demanding a reported US$16 000 bribe from the company with a politician and lawmaker (name withheld) being at the centre of the scandal.
Yesterday, Sunny Yi Feng assistant manager Mr Gong Wei Lin addressed a Press conference and laid the blame on Chief Chivero.
“On Monday around 11am, the chief came here with a list of 70 people he wanted us to employ. While at the gate, our security guard Qiao asked him to write down his name and contact details for security reasons which he resisted.
“Qiao tried to stop him from entering, but the chief turned violent and slapped him while many people watched,” said Mr Gong.
Chief Chivero reportedly sustained a twisted arm after being beaten up by the Chinese national.
He said he had welcomed the Chinese into his area, but they were allegedly now abusing ordinary citizens.
Employees at the tile plant stated that Qiao was the first to approach the police with an assault report, but Chief Chivero’s complaint which came through the phone, was prioritised.
The commissioning of the massive plant is expected anytime soon following the completion of construction and installation of machinery.
Caught red handed, Highlanders Chairman and his son off to Egypt.
A major storm has broken out in local football following revelations that football authorities in the country are taking their girlfriends and family members to the African Cup of Nations in Egypt robbing genuine warriors fans of an opportunity to go and cheer the team on.
Bususinessman Kuda Tagwireyi, popularly known as Queen Bee, donated money to sponsor forty genuine die hard Warriors fans to accompany the team to Egypt through ZIFA.
The money the businessman donated covered everything as it included airfare, hotel accommodation and food to ensure that the Warriors would have someone to back them during their matches.
Unfortunately, officials from ZIFA who received the money are reported to have picked each other as well as their friends who include some journalists and their girlfriends to make the trip. Only 4 genuine fans were picked to make the Egypt trip.
Prominent socialite and radio presenter, Ezra Tshisa Sibanda was the first to expose the rot when he revealed that Highlanders chairman Kenneth Mhlophe had abused the facility by taking with him his son and friends on the trip.
“But this is a sad day for football and most especially the Warriors who need every support they can get in Egypt,” wrote Sibanda.
“Highlanders Chairman Kenneth Mhlophe at it again. This is the picture of Bosso Chairman and his son joining others at Zifa offices ready to be taken to the airport enroute to Egypt. Zifa invited premier league clubs to nominate 3 of their die hard supporters to travel for AFCON Tournament in Egypt which starts this coming Friday and guess who Bosso chairman picked? Mhlophe whose lack of leadership qualities have caused chaos, division and infighting at Highlanders picked his own son and a friend to travel with him to Cairo to watch Warriors take on Pharaohs on Friday.”
“Why not choose Highlanders ordinary fans Mr Chairman? You hate Bosso Supportrers. What an embarrassment by Mhlophe and his son. Zifa should send both of them back to Zim immediately after landing. This is barbaric behaviour. “
When local media, Zim Morning Post, asked ZIFA to comment on the issue, they dismissed the allegations as baseless. ZIFA spokesperson Xolisani Gwesela is quoted as saying,
“Those are baseless allegations and a concoction of falsehoods. ZIFA is an accountable organisation and we are fully aware of our responsibilities. We will never abuse any funds. Your so-called “good authority sources” have misled you. We dismiss these falsehoods with the contempt they deserve. Meanwhile, we remain focused as we prepare for our AFCON group A encounter against the Pharaohs on Friday.”
Former Health and Child Care Minister David Parirenyatwa appointed National Pharmaceuticals (NatPharm) managing director Newman Madzikwa was yesterday jailed for an effective 14 months after he was found guilty of criminal abuse of office in relation to the arbitrary increase of drug prices.
The price increases, with the effect of precipitating a crisis in the sector and endangering public health, were against the directive of the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the NatPharm board.
Harare regional magistrate Mr Hosea Mujaya initially sentenced Madzikwa to 20 months in jail before suspending six months for five years on condition of good behaviour.
The State proved that Madzikwa, contrary to laid down procedures, directed his financial manager Mr Roland Mlalazi, in a management meeting held on September 3, to effect an 11 percent increase on handling fees, a move that could have triggered an increase in the cost of basic drugs.
According to the State, there was a standing regulation for a four percent handling fee for all medical products delivered to the Health ministry.
When there was need for price adjustments, consultations were supposed to have been done with the NatPharm management committee and the board, which then recommends and seeks approval from the parent ministry.
In his ruling, Mr Mujaya indicated that Madzikwa was a first offender and everyone deserved a second chance and to be kept out of prison when necessary.
“The minutes that are available from NatPharm clearly show that the accused gave an instruction to increase the levy from four to 15 percent,” Mr Mujaya said.
Mr Mujaya ruled that the evidence that was placed by the State is very clear and in some aspect was actually confirmed by Madzikwa.
“The Ministry of Health was clear that the accused person failed to comply with the directive of the NatPharm board,” said Mr Mujaya.
He further stated that NatPharm board chairperson Dr George Washaya was also clear that the accused person was supposed to get approval from the ministry before implementing any increases.
In mitigation, Madzikwa’s lawyer, Mr Moses Nkomo, told the court that his client was a first offender, a family man and a pharmacist by profession.
He told the court that his client might lose his job due to the conviction.
Parirenyatwa is currently in the courts on charges that the Zanu PF official abused his government position to appoint Madzikwa as Managing Director in place of Flora Nancy Sifeku, who was substantive MD.
Madzikwa was once employed by NatPharm as branch manager Masvingo and was dismissed on September 3, 2009 for allegedly selling donated drugs to private institutions.
It is alleged that on 04 June 2018, Parirenyatwa acted contrary and inconsistent with his duties as a public officer by directing Natpharm Board Chairman, George Washaya to end Sifeku’s contract with the firm, thereby showing disfavour to her.
“His letter was in compliance with the objective contained in the ministry’s 100 day action plan which was approved at the ministry before it was presented to the cabinet prior to transmission of the said letter by the accused to Natpharm,” argued his lawyer.
The state alleges that the former minister further indicated that he required Sifeku’s services at his ministry which he headed since 2013 until he was dropped from cabinet last year.
Sifeku was given an indefinite period to serve in the ministry.
In the same directive, Parirenyatwa allegedly showed favour to Madzikwa by imposing him as the acting managing director NatPharm with effect from 01 June 2018.
The board implemented a directive by giving both Sifeku and Madzikwa six months contracts effectively from 1 June 2018 to 30 November 2018.
Parirenyatwa’s actions, it is further alleged, created a double dipping of NatPharm funds as the parastatal was now paying two salaries towards the managing directors’ position.
State alleges he prejudiced the firm of $15 003 and $15 003 potentially.
State Media|The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) yesterday held public interviews to fill two vacancies at the Supreme Court and will forward a list of successful candidates to President Mnangagwa to choose from.
Presently, judges manning the Constitutional Court are the same judges presiding over appeals in the Supreme Court.
Five judges racing for the two positions appeared before the JSC, led by Chief Justice Luke Malaba, where they did their best to outdo each other during the interviews.
First to be interviewed was Justice Felistus Chatukuta. She told the interviewing panel that once elevated to the Supreme Court she would bring value addition to the appeals court given her vast experience and rich background having served in the Attorney Generals’ Office and the judiciary as a judge of the High Court for a long period.
“I believe that I can add to the Supreme Court my research and analytical skills,” she said.
Justice Alfas Chitakunye, who has a strong bias towards children rights and succession, which in most cases he sought to develop the law, said if he succeeds in going to the Supreme Court he would be of immense value.
He said his experience as a member of African Committee of Experts on Rights and Welfare of Children will impact positively in his work on the Supreme Court bench on rights issues particularly in the interpretation of the law.
Justice Chitakunye has been a member of the continental body looking at children’s rights for the past five years where he has been dealing with the rights and welfare of the children making analyses of state party reports on how member states are implementing the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children and also interpreting the various provisions that affect children and assist member states to understand the international instruments.
Another interviewee, Justice Charles Hungwe said he had vastly improved to the extent that he was now ripe to join the superior bench given his work at the High Court.
He was recently seconded to the Lesotho High Court where he is currently based.
Justice Nicholas Mathonsi, who has previously failed twice, said he had the requisite qualities to make it to the Supreme Court.
To his credit, he has churned out more than 800 judgments since he joined the High Court bench 10 years ago, and the panel appeared to unanimously agree that his work was beyond exceptional.
Justice Samuel Kudya said given his experience, judicial intellect and diligence, he deserved the appointment. He is currently manning two courts— the Fiscal Court of Appeal and Income Tax Appeals Court. He also does work for the Electoral Court and the High Court.
Out of the 800, Mathonsi had only three judgments that were overturned in the Supreme Court. He also did not have a backlog of reserved judgments at the time he was invited for interviews.
“I have the necessary qualities needed at the Supreme Court, having failed to make it in the previous occasions,” he said.
“I am supremely confident the reason why I was not considered is either the commission or appointing authority was looking for certain other qualities in the judges that were appointed which qualities I did not have.”
“Surely on the third occasion, these qualities that I possess are the ones that I have used for the appointment.”
Justice Samuel Kudya said given his experience, judicial intellect and diligence, he deserved the appointment. He is currently manning two courts— the Fiscal Court of Appeal and Income Tax Appeals Court. He also does work for the Electoral Court and the High Court.
State Media|President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday met his Mozambican counterpart President Filipe Nyusi and apprised him of the country’s food security situation, including electricity shortages, with a view of accessing power from Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric plant (HCB), which is generating excess power.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 12th edition of the US-Africa Business Summit currently in progress in Maputo Mozambique.
Speaking after a two-hour meeting with President Nyusi, President Mnangagwa said the two sister Republics were “Siamese twins” and, therefore, “there is nothing out of bounds” for the two countries to discuss issues.
“We discuss anything that we think is necessary to share; on my part, I was briefing His Excellency the President about the current food insecurity in Zimbabwe as a result of the drought that has visited us and also the fact (that) our energy sector – electricity – has gone down primarily as a result of that drought,” he said.
“But because it is now as low as 33 percent, we have reduced generation of power by almost 50 percent; that also affects Zambia. So, I was appealing to my brother that Cahora Bassa (Dam) is around 96 percent full, so the generation there has not been affected. We felt that perhaps we look at it and see whether Zimbabwe can access that energy from Cahora Bassa.”
The two Presidents also discussed ways of mitigating the consequences of Cyclone Idai, which claimed more than 1 000 lives in the region and damaged property worth billions of dollars.
Relatedly, Harare and Maputo also intend to deepen economic cooperation in infrastructure development to modernise the two economies.
President Mnangagwa said he found “common ground” to consolidate relations between the two countries.
“Beyond that, we talked about how we can upgrade our economic cooperation between Zimbabwe and Mozambique; in particular, in relation to infrastructure development; that is, both road, rail and the transportation of fuel – the pipeline,” he said .
“And in all those areas we found common ground to consolidate our relations with a view of modernising and growing the two respective economies.”
The new political administration intends to transform the country from being landlocked to land-linked, and Mozambique provides a convenient route to the sea.
Zimbabwe is also angling to get positive spin-offs from the US$20 billion gas project that will soon be implemented by Mozambique and US company Anadarko Petroleum.
“We are looking forward to the consummation of the current project in northern Mozambique; the gas project, which will usher in benefits to Mozambique as well as to Zimbabwe because there will be by-products coming out of that project,” said President Mnangagwa.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday met with United States assistant secretary of State for African Affairs Mr Tibor Nagy where he begged the US to consider dropping the staggering US$385 Million fine imposed on the country’s top bank the CBZ in 2017.
The meetings took place on the sidelines of the 12th edition of the US-Africa Business Summit, to which Zimbabwe was invited following years of being snubbed under the previous regime.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, who took part in the meeting, said Zimbabwe — in addition to updating the US official on progress made through the ongoing reforms — also raised the issue of CBZ Bank’s punitive US$385 million fine imposed for ostensibly violating sanctions laws.
“Yes, we met with Tibor Nagy, who is the head for Africa in the US State Department, and we had a wonderful conversation,” he said.
“I think we are beginning to find common ground, step-by-step, so basically His Excellency (President Mnangagwa) was able to share with him, Mr Nagy, the progress that we are making on legislative reforms, the progress that we are making on economic reforms through the TSP (Transitional Stabilisation Programme).
“We were also able to thank him and the United States for supporting Zimbabwe directly, giving us financial support regarding the Cyclone, but also the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) encouragement to support Zimbabwe at that level.
“So, we really had a wonderful discussion, but also His Excellency was able to convey to American companies that; ‘Zimbabwe is open for them, we are open for business’.”
Prof Ncube said the Government wanted to move to a position where it could engage freely with the US. “We recognise the way General Electric is trying to play in the economy, trying to get involved in various infrastructure projects,” he said.
“We also raised the issue of CBZ Bank; as you know CBZ was fined US$350 million, it is our largest bank and perhaps we need some assistance if they have to pay that amount of money; it is a lot of money.
“I think there was sympathy from the other side of the table that we were really able to make progress on all these issues. Of course the biggest elephant in the room is the issue of sanctions, the issue Zidera.
“Again, we were able to explain that a lot of progress has been made in terms of restoring those issues that have been troubling our colleagues in the United States. And we want to move to a point that we are able to interact freely and engage freely with the United States. I think this meeting is a milestone in terms of re-engagement with the United States.”
Zimbabwe’s biggest bank by asset base, CBZ Bank, was slapped with a staggering US$3,8 billion fine by the United States Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) for thousands of financial transactions done on behalf of ZB Bank then under economic sanctions imposed by the world’s largest economy.
However, after mitigation and negotiations, the penalty was reduced to US$385 million.
In a pre-penalty notice to CBZ through its American lawyers Ferrari Law Partners, Ofac said CBZ had perpetrated 15 127 violations of US sanctions on Zimbabwe.
“Accordingly, the base penalty for the apparent violations equals the applicable schedule amount for each apparent violation, capped at US$250 000 per apparent violation, which in this case totals US$3 856 505 460,” Ofac deputy director Andrea Gacki wrote in March. The case has been ongoing since then.
Ofac said it had arrived at the figure after CBZ failed to make voluntary self-disclosure of the violations.
After some CBZ mitigation, Ofac reduced the amount to US$385 million.
“Ofac has determined that these factors taken together support a reduction of 90% (US$385 650 546) from the base penalty amount,” the Ofac letter said.
The sensational claimed the scalp of CBZ group chief executive Never Nyemudzo. Although he had said he voluntarily decided to take a rest, the Ofac case was the root cause of the problem, not insider loans, shareholder displeasure or alleged fraudulent activities.
CBZ is the largest bank in the country by deposits and assets. According to an internal presentation which processes US$50 billion in transactions in a year, accounts for 35% of the value of national transactions. The bank, which boasts of 408 000 active accounts, has assets worth US$2,2 billion, representing 14% of gross domestic product.
Outside the central bank, CBZ is government’s main banker with most state-owned enterprises and the bulk of civil servants transacting through the institution.
CBZ offers a wide range of financial services solutions to personal and corporate customers, including current accounts, term deposits, corporate banking, investment banking, treasury services and trade finance.
CBZ majority shareholders include CBZ Holdings Limited 24,59%, Government of Zimbabwe 16,01%, Libyan Foreign Bank 14,06% and Nssa 11,71%.
The US Treasury has airways said pursuant to guidelines, the fine could either be increased or reduced.
CBZ, according to the Ofac letter, took remedial action by closing the internal account used to conduct transactions on behalf of ZB customers. Ofac also considered other mitigating factors as the bank has no prior sanctions history, including receipt of penalty notice or finding of violation in the five years preceding the date of the earliest transaction giving rise to the apparent violations.
CBZ’s lawyers claimed that most of the transactions in question between ZB and CBZ were “in-country”, arguing these may not be subjected to Ofac compliance requirements. The lawyers also argued that the transactions were not carried out by persons or entities facing sanctions.
Zimbabwe has lost more than 100 correspondent banking relationships, making movement of funds and financial intermediation offshore even more difficult.
Mr Nagy was coy to discuss details of the meeting. “We discussed a full range of issues between our countries, but you can ask His Excellency the Ambassador over there,” he said.
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has said preparations for the Lupane East constituency by-election are at an advanced stage after nine candidates successfully filed their papers at the Nomination Court last Friday.
The Lupane East by-election will be held on August 3 after the seat fell vacant following the death of Zanu-PF parliamentarian Cde Sithembile Gumbo in April due to injuries sustained in a road traffic accident.
Nine candidates successfully submitted their papers while Mr Thomas Sibanda of the United African National Council (UANC) dropped from the race after failing to pay nomination fees pegged at $302.
ZEC Matabeleland North provincial manager Mr Mark Ndlovu said the nine who will contest in the election are Cde Mbongeni Dube (Zanu-PF), Morgen Ndlovu (Labour Economists and African Democrats Party), Given Ncube (MDC-T), Dalumuzi Khumalo (MDC-Alliance), Nelson Mkandla (National Action Party), Andrew Tshaba (Mthwakazi Republic Party), Njabulo Sibanda (National Patriotic Front), Gezekile Mkhwebu (Zapu) and Alice Sibanda (National Constitutional Assembly).
President Mnangagwa proclaimed August 3 as the date for the by-election as well as council polls for Nkayi Rural District Council Ward 23 and Bubi RDC Ward 22. The two council seats fell vacant following the death of incumbent councillors.
The Nkayi Ward 23 Nomination Court sat at Western Commonage Courts last Friday, while the Bubi Ward 22 Nomination Court sat yesterday at Bubi RDC offices.
ZEC said it will provide details on the council elections candidates today. Zanu-PF Lupane East parliamentary candidate Cde Dube said he was ready for the election.
The 31-year-old Cde Dube is the national deputy secretary for education in the Youth League and Zanu-PF Matabeleland North Province unanimously endorsed his candidature.State media
Zanu-PF has sent a condolence message to the Mguni family following the death of Deputy Chief Whip and legislator for Mangwe Obedingwa Mguni in Harare on Tuesday.
Mguni, who was also Zanu-PF provincial treasurer for Matabeleland South Province and former Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, succumbed to diabetes at Avenues Clinic on Tuesday night. He was 57.
He had earlier attended to his duties in Parliament. Zanu-PF spokesperson Simon Khaya described Mguni as a committed, humble and disciplined man who contributed immensely to the development of the country.
“It is a tragic loss as he was in Parliament yesterday (Tuesday) and this came as a shock to us and we are really with the family in this tragedy,” he said. “It is a terrible loss to the party and to the nation.”
Khaya Moyo said the death of Mguni left the party and Mangwe constituency in utter bewilderment. “As Senator for Bulilima Mangwe, I feel part of my physical being ripped off,” he said. “Cde Mguni died on duty as he attended Parliament on Tuesday where he interacted with his colleagues in a jovial, positive and constructive manner.”
Zanu-PF Chief Whip Pupurai Togarepi, who was with Mguni in Parliament when he was taken ill, described his death as a shock to the nation and the party at large.State media
Tafadzwa Kutinyu in CAIRO, Egypt HELLO Zimbabwe, it is my hope that I find you well.
This is Tafadzwa Kutinyu, the Warriors midfielder who is in camp with the national team here for the 2019 AFCON finals.
Well, it’s sad that we have to chat at a time when I have been ruled out of the tournament because of a knee injury I sustained during a practice match against Tanzania here on Sunday.
Of course, as a player and a Warrior I feel very bad. I didn’t expect to get injured in that match, it was a practice match. It would have been better to get injured in a competitive match and, so, everything just makes me feel so bad. But these things can happen anytime in football and injuries can just come at any time and any minute. It’s something that you cannot resist and I just feel so bad, but there is nothing that I can do.
I really wanted to play in this AFCON, remember the last AFCON I was there when coach (Callisto) Pasuwa was there, I was part of the squad again. I was playing, I was training and on the last day, when he chose his final 23, I was left out.
But I kept pushing and when coach Mhofu came again, I got another chance and this time I managed to be among the 23, but look again, I won’t be playing and this means two AFCONS which I have missed. It’s really bad for me, but if God decides what He decides, no one can resist.
I know the team can do it, even without me, I know the morale and I know we have been pushing each other for a long time with the other boys and they can do it.
I am still there, I am still around and I know with the team we have, the way we fight and I know that the fighting spirit is still there, we can do something and I believe we will do something great.
The first day it was like funny, I got kicked, but I was walking and it looked normal and I was relaxed, but then things changed.
The boys feel bad right now and they all come to my room and you can see they are sad and that’s why you see I even force myself to be there all the time with them, even going to training and laughing so that they don’t see how bad I am feeling, but I can tell you that my injury is very bad.
I can’t even stretch my leg the way I usually does. I can’t even bend it, but I don’t want to show them that it’s this bad because I don’t want this to affect them, they are my friends.
We have been with each other for a long time, laughing and encouraging each other and you don’t want them to see that you are in such pain.
Their morale will go down, they will feel bad and that’s why I will never show them that things are so bad, I pretend that everything is okay. When I get injured, I have a family, I have a wife and a kid and I tell them, but as for mum, I only have my mum at home, I know she always feels very bad whenever I get injured, but that’s part of our job because whenever you play, you are likely to get injured.
I didn’t tell them, but when the boys saw the newspapers today (yesterday), you know how boys are, they went to them to say the guy is out, and all the stuff, “look mum, the guy is no longer playing”, and I had to call and tell mum and the family.
I have just joined a new team, Horoya of Guinea, and the team is going into camp on July 6, they are going to a pre-season camp in Morocco so that they prepare for the Champions League. The plan was that they would wait for me after I finish AFCON and get a little rest. You know I never got time to rest, I left Tanzania, joined camp and left to sign for the new team and returned into camp.
I was supposed to get a little rest before I joined them, but I have told them that I will no longer participate in AFCON after what happened and they also feel very bad for me.
The owner of the team is the CAF vice-president, he is a good man and is feeling sorry and he told me that when he comes, here he is going to visit me and see if it’s possible he can help and cheer me and they have told me that I should not hesitate but tell them anything I want so that they can help.
Thank you Zimbabwe for your prayers and let’s rally behind the boys who will play for us.State media
IT has been the year of the underdog — from the exciting boys of Ajax Amsterdam illuminating the UEFA Champions League to wild slugger Andy Ruiz (Jnr) humbling heavyweight boxing hulk, and hunk, Anthony Joshua and a group of fearless Warriors now want to rock the 2019 AFCON finals.
Somehow, despite the whole world suggesting it’s Mission Impossible, as fruitless an exercise as trying to extract milk from a football and as improbable as expecting Dynamos to be crowned champions of Zimbabwe football this year, this merry band of swashbuckling Warriors are not in the mood flow with the tide.
The only thing they are conceding is that they are the underdogs. But, it starts and ends there.
And, anything else from that word becomes a beautiful tale of defiance, a compelling drama of bravery, a refreshing story of resilience and optimism and a superb expression of courage when faced with insurmountable odds in the fortress of the Pharaohs.
After weeks of preparations, where the COSAFA Cup was finally reduced to what it should always have been — a sideshow for preparations and not a tournament where we should always be chasing silverware — and where the Super Eagles were stopped in their backyard, it all comes to this.
Ninety minutes of action in the heat, and suffocating humidity of the Cairo International Stadium, where temperatures are expected to hover above 35 degrees, even for this night game, and where water breaks will be part of the confrontation to give the players a chance to rehydrate.
“During the Total AFCON Egypt 2019 tournament, the average (dry) temperature in June/July is expected to be between 35° C and 38° C, with an average humidity of 40% to 60%,’’ the organisers advised yesterday.
“This would give a high WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe) temperature above 32° C. It is certain that most teams will be aware of this and will train accordingly.
“At this level, FIFA recommends three minutes rest and refreshing breaks in the 30th and 75th minutes. “These three minute breaks must be properly prepared in logistical terms, before the tournament and before each match and require the provision of cold containers on wheels to put crushed ice, drinks for referees and small towels, cold and wet, to place around the neck for 26 people (four referees + 22 players) for minutes 30 and 75 if necessary.
“It will also be necessary to prepare for any eventuality of Emergencies. It will be important to be able to diagnose and treat heat-related illnesses, if they occur, on site.’’ Yesterday, Zimbabwe coach Sunday “Mhofu’’ Chidzambwa and his influential skipper, Knowledge Musona, finally faced the world media here at their media conference, with the veteran gaffer declaring that his Warriors are underdogs on a mission to show that minnows can also put up a show.State media
National Pharmaceuticals (NatPharm) managing director Newman Madzikwa was yesterday jailed for an effective 14 months after he was found guilty of criminal abuse of office in relation to the arbitrary increase of drug prices.
The price increases, with the effect of precipitating a crisis in the sector and endangering public health, were against the directive of the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the NatPharm board.
Harare regional magistrate Mr Hosea Mujaya initially sentenced Madzikwa to 20 months in jail before suspending six months for five years on condition of good behaviour.
The State proved that Madzikwa, contrary to laid down procedures, directed his financial manager Mr Roland Mlalazi, in a management meeting held on September 3, to effect an 11 percent increase on handling fees, a move that could have triggered an increase in the cost of basic drugs.
According to the State, there was a standing regulation for a four percent handling fee for all medical products delivered to the Health ministry.
When there was need for price adjustments, consultations were supposed to have been done with the NatPharm management committee and the board, which then recommends and seeks approval from the parent ministry.
In his ruling, Mr Mujaya indicated that Madzikwa was a first offender and everyone deserved a second chance and to be kept out of prison when necessary.
“The minutes that are available from NatPharm clearly show that the accused gave an instruction to increase the levy from four to 15 percent,” Mr Mujaya said.State media
Your measurement of 397%/year is arguably correct. Our economic data is manipulated to assist the messaging around economic decisions in our country manipulated for political reasons.@ZimEye
Your measurement of 397%/year is arguably correct. Our economic data is manipulated to assist the messaging around economic decisions in our country manipulated for political reasons.@ZimEye
Farai Dziva|Crisis Group’s Senior Consultant for Southern Africa, Piers Pigou has lamented the erosion of civil servants’ salaries as a result of inflation.
Writing on social media on Wednesday, Pigou said:
“If you have the USD, and only a select do, prices of goods and services are in fact very reasonable; BUT the majority are reliant on this “funny money”, the RTGS $ whose value continues to erode and every day most Zimbabweans see their cost of living climb. Is there an end in sight?”
Journalist and political analyst Hopewell Chin’ono also said:
“To fully understand what is happening to Mthuli Ncube’s economy daily, you should look at the price of goods and the exchange rate.
Bread is now at RTGS$7, that means a teacher’s salary is now worth 49 loaves of bread or 15 bottles of Mazoe.
Farai Dziva| A Chinese factory owner based in Norton has been accused of deliberately infecting women with Sexually Transmitted Infections.
The matter was discovered after traditional leader Chief Chivero was assaulted by a Chinese businessman when he went to inquire why his subjects were not being employed by the company.
Norton Member of Parliament Temba Mliswa said:
“I was very angry and disappointed to learn that Chief Chivero was assaulted by a Chinese National at Sunny Yi Feng Tiles Zimbabwe.
This act reflects disrespect of the highest order and I’ll be following up on the police report made for more details.”
“While making a follow up on the matter I was shocked and appalled to receive reports of sexual harassment for jobs and cases of untreatable STIs being contracted by ladies. This too will be investigated.”
Farai Dziva|Social media analyst Antony Taruvinga has said the ruling party Zanu PF is an impediment to economic recovery.
See Taruvinga’s statement :
You celebrate budget surplus, of the money that you get from taxing to death the poor. That is not an indicator of a ticking economy. Hospitals are an eye sore and roads have become death traps.
Prices are sky rocketing daily and industry is dead. Stealing from people to get a surplus in the budget isnt a way to turn around this economy. The other day, ED was talking of the possibility of having a new currency. What’s the sense of introducing a new currency on a dead economy? It will be eroded of any of its value in no time.
That money they call surplus isnt going to be injected into the economy in any meaningful way, its getting squandered by Zanu pf politicians. They are celebrating that dollars have come to their households. You will not know where it went.
This economy, or its remains, needs discipline in the way goverment manages people’s money. There is too much leakage of dollars. Corruption is rampant and real burden. No one in Zanu pf can arrest anyone for corruption which means they can steal as much as they wish.
Misplaced priorities is a disease with Mnangagwa. Hiring very expensive planes, flying people overseas for treatment, financing the abduction of dissenting voices, financing the infamous POLAD are all examples of wrong priorities. Less important if not unimportant things are financed first and pressing issues like drugs in the hospitals get no cent.
Production and extraction industry must re open, thus creating employment and at the same time exporting to get foreign currency and cure trade deficit. There cant be an economy that relies on importing everything. Industries must produce smoke and farms must be green. There has to be a beehive of activity.
How does that happen? Farms must be re allocated to farmers not chancers in Zanu pf. White commercial farmers, preferably citizens, who were chased away must be given an opportunity to either own land or lease land in Zimbabwe. A farmer must be a farmer and a banker must be one.
We have a political crisis in Zimbabwe. A crisis emanating from a rigged election. A rigged outcome that gave people a president they did not vote for. The people hate and distrust this government and the government turns to forceful means to cow people into submission, making it worse. A killer government can never deliver! All the three, Mnangagwa, Mohadi and Chiwenga, are uninspiring. By mere looking at them, one gets no hope. There are all clueless. And the “all talk and no action” finance minister Mthuli Ncube completes the circus. Always exuding nonsense as if he lives outside Zimbabwe.
This political crisis augmented with army killings and discouraging investment laws has chased away Foreign Direct Investment. Investors can not trust with their money a government whose legitimacy and legality is questionable. Investors are not donors, they are pushed by the desire to make profits.
Without a true political dialogue, its another term of misery and there is no guarantee that the next election will be free and fair. Actually, signs are showing as evidenced by MOPA BILL that seeks to replace POSA that Zanu PF aims at cosmetic fake reforms.
By A Correspondent| Just as the government spokesman, Nick Mangwana last night claimed that relations between Donald Trump and Emmerson Mnangagwa are improving, the US Assistant Secretary Of State, Tibor Nagy stated contrary.
Nagy said he told Mnangagwa to his face that he must hold the military accountable for the violence of 1 August 2018 and January 2019. He wrote,
“I met with Zimbabwean President Mnangagwa today. I stressed the urgent need to hold security forces accountable for acts of violence committed against Zimbabweans including in August 2018 and January/February 2019 and the importance of real political and economic reforms.”
Farai Dziva|Norton MP Temba Mliswa has accused the police and a Chinese man who allegedly assaulted Chief Chivero of conniving to bribe the traditional leader.
Chief Chivero was reportedly assaulted by the Chinese national on Tuesday.
Chief Chivero is being pushed to withdraw the charges and hold a joint press conference with the Chinese man, it has emerged.
“It would appear that some sort of corruption is going on between the Chinese and police in the Chief Chivero matter.
I have it on good authority that the Chief is being persuaded to withdraw the matter and will be having a press conference with the Chinese at Sunny Yi Feng Tiles.
I’m not sure what they’ve got planned but at the end of the day, there are so many more matters that the Chinese there are in violation of that it will not end here.
As an example look at the one meal a day they’re being given. Is this how to treat your employees?
This matter will go to the very bitter end,” Mliswa said
Farai Dziva|A Mutare man, Tinashe Dembo is being persecuted for merely commenting on the economic challenges in Zimbabwe.
Dembo was arrested for allegedly accusing Emerson Mnangagwa of being a fool.
Although Dembo denied the allegations, he was denied bail when he appeared before magistrate Tendai Mahwe on Friday.
He shall appear again in court on June 28.
The bail was denied after the state opposed the application on grounds that the accused who had other pending cases was likely to flee.
The state further argued that Dembo was also likely to interfere with evidence.
The state alleges that on June 12, 2019, the Dembo was at Villa Sports Bar, where he allegedly made an abusive statement concerning Mnangagwa.
A Chitungwiza pregnant woman was burnt to death while trying to save essentials, popularly known as preparation, for her unborn child. Primrose Panganai, 23, of Unit P in Chitungwiza was burnt to death on Monday night following a fire that spread after a suspected gas leak.
Narrating the ordeal, the father of the deceased, Norman Panganai said the gas leak had not been noticed and when Primrose lit a match stick there was a sudden ball of fire engulfing the whole house.
“I came back from work around 7pm and my wife asked Primrose to warm my food in the kitchen, which was also used as a bedroom. “She did not realise that the gas was leaking and when she lit up the matches the fire started.
“It spread to the washing basket before it burnt the blankets and the bed. “The fire spread to the whole house but we managed to rescue our little children, who sustained minor injuries.
“Primrose was the first one to get outside but to my surprise she went back trying to take out her bag of preparation,” he said. He added: “She was pregnant and she was trying to rescue her baby’s clothes as well but when I saw her I instructed her to get outside and leave everything.
“Since we were all busy I thought she went out but she went on to take her preparation bag but to no avail. “She was then engulfed by the fire which destroyed the whole house as you can see.”
Panganai said everyone in the house was injured due to the fire. “Everyone sustained injuries due to this fire and I have injuries on my hands as I was burnt trying to take out my children and also rescuing my wife.
“One of the children was burnt on the leg, honestly it was a horror of my life.” Some witnesses said that the family could have been keeping petrol in the house which then became a catalyst to spread the fire. “I think Panganai was keeping petrol in the house, that’s the reason behind this disaster.
“It’s sad that Primrose lost her life while pregnant,” said one neighbour who refused to be named. Some neighbours said the family did not get enough support. “We tried to stop the fire using water with the little resources we had. “We also seek support from the responsible authorities to be readily available in times like these.
“The numbers of fire brigade should be available so that they are reachable in time of need.”
“No one bothered to take them to the hospital yet they sustained injuries which requires medical experts. “They have burns and they are overlooking their health at the expense of the deceased.”
Expert’s comment (gas) but refused to be named: LPG has an added odour which should be used as a security feature as you should make sure you use LP Gas in well ventilated places only. Cylinder valves should be checked regularly and one can use liquid soap foam to test for leaks and bubbles will foam when the valve is closed to indicate leaks.
Gas stoves and cooker tops should be serviced regularly and a cylinder should be stored at upright position to make sure the gas cylinder valve is tightly closed when not using it. After cooking never switch off the gas stove but rather switch off by closing the cylinder valve first.
This allows all the LP gas in the hose pipe to burn and the stove should then extinguish on its own. More emphasis should be on entering a room with an LP Gas filled cylinder were one should try to detect traces of the smell, LP Gas is odourless. The smell was specifically added, in order to act as a signal of presence in the atmosphere.
Once you detect the smell you open all the windows and check the cylinder valve and never ignite a naked flame once you detect a leak. Children usually play with cylinder valves by letting out LPG and pressure into the atmosphere. It is advisable to store away from children.
Some with financial stamina can use metal fabricated screens and lock them up outside the room, only the stove and hose can be allowed inside. ZESA Spokesperson Fullard Gwasira’s comment.
It is indeed a sad development and we offer our condolences on behalf of ZESA but however we cannot do anything about it because electricity supply outage is beyond our control. The reason why the country does not have sufficient electricity is because there’s no enough power to supply the whole country.
If people decide to use other means of power supply they should take safety precautions to avoid dangerous incidents like the one that has happened in Chitungwiza which we regret.
Load shedding will not end anytime soon because the country does not have enough power supply so people should try to be safe when it comes to power sources be it fire, gas or generators.
A Chitungwiza pregnant woman was burnt to death while trying to save essentials, popularly known as preparation, for her unborn child. Primrose Panganai, 23, of Unit P in Chitungwiza was burnt to death on Monday night following a fire that spread after a suspected gas leak.
Narrating the ordeal, the father of the deceased, Norman Panganai said the gas leak had not been noticed and when Primrose lit a match stick there was a sudden ball of fire engulfing the whole house.
“I came back from work around 7pm and my wife asked Primrose to warm my food in the kitchen, which was also used as a bedroom. “She did not realise that the gas was leaking and when she lit up the matches the fire started.
“It spread to the washing basket before it burnt the blankets and the bed. “The fire spread to the whole house but we managed to rescue our little children, who sustained minor injuries.
“Primrose was the first one to get outside but to my surprise she went back trying to take out her bag of preparation,” he said. He added: “She was pregnant and she was trying to rescue her baby’s clothes as well but when I saw her I instructed her to get outside and leave everything.
“Since we were all busy I thought she went out but she went on to take her preparation bag but to no avail. “She was then engulfed by the fire which destroyed the whole house as you can see.”
Panganai said everyone in the house was injured due to the fire. “Everyone sustained injuries due to this fire and I have injuries on my hands as I was burnt trying to take out my children and also rescuing my wife.
“One of the children was burnt on the leg, honestly it was a horror of my life.” Some witnesses said that the family could have been keeping petrol in the house which then became a catalyst to spread the fire.
“I think Panganai was keeping petrol in the house, that’s the reason behind this disaster. “It’s sad that Primrose lost her life while pregnant,” said one neighbour who refused to be named. Some neighbours said the family did not get enough support.
“We tried to stop the fire using water with the little resources we had. “We also seek support from the responsible authorities to be readily available in times like these. “The numbers of fire brigade should be available so that they are reachable in time of need.”
When H-Metro crew arrived the injured were yet to be medically examined.
“No one bothered to take them to the hospital yet they sustained injuries which requires medical experts. “They have burns and they are overlooking their health at the expense of the deceased.”
Expert’s comment (gas) but refused to be named: LPG has an added odour which should be used as a security feature as you should make sure you use LP Gas in well ventilated places only. Cylinder valves should be checked regularly and one can use liquid soap foam to test for leaks and bubbles will foam when the valve is closed to indicate leaks.
Gas stoves and cooker tops should be serviced regularly and a cylinder should be stored at upright position to make sure the gas cylinder valve is tightly closed when not using it. After cooking never switch off the gas stove but rather switch off by closing the cylinder valve first. This allows all the LP gas in the hose pipe to burn and the stove should then extinguish on its own.
More emphasis should be on entering a room with an LP Gas filled cylinder were one should try to detect traces of the smell, LP Gas is odourless. The smell was specifically added, in order to act as a signal of presence in the atmosphere.
Once you detect the smell you open all the windows and check the cylinder valve and never ignite a naked flame once you detect a leak. Children usually play with cylinder valves by letting out LPG and pressure into the atmosphere. It is advisable to store away from children.
Some with financial stamina can use metal fabricated screens and lock them up outside the room, only the stove and hose can be allowed inside. ZESA Spokesperson Fullard Gwasira’s comment.
It is indeed a sad development and we offer our condolences on behalf of ZESA but however we cannot do anything about it because electricity supply outage is beyond our control. The reason why the country does not have sufficient electricity is because there’s no enough power to supply the whole country.
If people decide to use other means of power supply they should take safety precautions to avoid dangerous incidents like the one that has happened in Chitungwiza which we regret.
Load shedding will not end anytime soon because the country does not have enough power supply so people should try to be safe when it comes to power sources be it fire, gas or generators.H-Metro
A Chitungwiza pregnant woman was burnt to death while trying to save essentials, popularly known as preparation, for her unborn child.
Primrose Panganai, 23, of Unit P in Chitungwiza was burnt to death on Monday night following a fire that spread after a suspected gas leak.
Narrating the ordeal, the father of the deceased, Norman Panganai said the gas leak had not been noticed and when Primrose lit a match stick there was a sudden ball of fire engulfing the whole house.
“I came back from work around 7pm and my wife asked Primrose to warm my food in the kitchen, which was also used as a bedroom.
“She did not realise that the gas was leaking and when she lit up the matches the fire started.
“It spread to the washing basket before it burnt the blankets and the bed.
“The fire spread to the whole house but we managed to rescue our little children, who sustained minor injuries.
“Primrose was the first one to get outside but to my surprise she went back trying to take out her bag of preparation,” he said.
He added:
“She was pregnant and she was trying to rescue her baby’s clothes as well but when I saw her I instructed her to get outside and leave everything.
“Since we were all busy I thought she went out but she went on to take her preparation bag but to no avail.
“She was then engulfed by the fire which destroyed the whole house as you can see.”
Panganai said everyone in the house was injured due to the fire.
“Everyone sustained injuries due to this fire and I have injuries on my hands as I was burnt trying to take out my children and also rescuing my wife.
“One of the children was burnt on the leg, honestly it was a horror of my life.”
Some witnesses said that the family could have been keeping petrol in the house which then became a catalyst to spread the fire.
“I think Panganai was keeping petrol in the house, that’s the reason behind this disaster.
“It’s sad that Primrose lost her life while pregnant,” said one neighbour who refused to be named.
Some neighbours said the family did not get enough support.
“We tried to stop the fire using water with the little resources we had.
“We also seek support from the responsible authorities to be readily available in times like these.H-Metro
Farai Dziva|MDC Councillor for ward 7, Masvingo Urban Constituency, Richard Musekiwa has castigated Masvingo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Ezra Chadzamira for claiming Nelson Chamisa will never rule Zimbabwe.
Chadzamira told Zanu PF supporters in Chivi at the weekend Chamisa would never rule Zimbabwe.
Chadzamira’ s remarks have sparked widespread criticism from concerned Zimbabweans.
Commenting on Chadzamira’s utterances, Musekiwa said: “Chadzamira, who are you to tell us who qualifies to lead Zimbabwe?You are not God so please keep quiet”
By Talent Gondo- Energy and Power Development minister Fortune Chasi yesterday said that everyone needs to pay bills to power utility Zesa for it to deliver on its duties and responsibilities.
Responding to questions at a post-Cabinet Press briefing last night, Chasi said that Zesa was hamstrung by a creditors list which has top politicians across the divide and State entities.
He said:
We just have to pay. This is not the time for political banter or what. We have to pay. Zesa is a commercial entity which needs to survive. It is owed in excess of $1,1 billion. Yes, today the Minister of Finance (Mthuli Ncube) has indicated that he would pay ZWL$20 million owed by government departments. That is a drop in the ocean.
The advocate also said that Zesa has to service its US$80 million external debt to Mozambique and Eskom of South Africa. He indicated that Cabinet had agreed to pay at least US$10 million to ensure a continued supply of energy.
Chasi also said that if everyone would pay their debts, Zesa will be able to service its own debts.
He said:
We need to pay our debts. There is no quick fix here. We are getting about 50 megawatts (MW) from Eskom of South Africa. If we pay, we are able to get something in the region of 400MW.
If there is anything that should unite us at this moment, it is power. This is a national crisis and we must solve it as a collective.-Newsday
By A Correspondent- A child died and seven other people were injured when a commuter omnibus they were travelling in was involved in a collision with a twin cab yesterday.
The accident which occurred at the intersection of Samora Machel Avenue and Bishop Gaul involved the commuter omnibus and an Isuzu KB300 with South African registration plates.
The boy was in the company of his guardian who was also rushed to a nearby hospital.
The kombi driver and his conductor were among the injured whilst the driver of the Isuzu, Tinotenda Chidhawu escaped unhurt
