Farai Dziva|Emmerson Mnangagwa has issued a statement warning businesspeople to desist from sabotaging the country’s economy by hiking prices of basic commodities unnecessarily.

Mnangagwa warned that Government would be forced to introduce price controls.

“We do not want to go to a situation where Government is forced to regulate prices.”

“I am against the regulation of prices. I would want prices to be regulated by market forces. However, our compatriots in business should have a human face when they are making their profits.”

“It’s not going to be business for them to make super profits the same day they begin their businesses. I think it is necessary that they have a human face in dealing with the public and communities so that when they make their money they also realise that they are serving the community to which they belong.”

Turning to the creation of jobs, the President said Government was on track and the One-Stop Shop Investment Centre had approved 59 projects that were set to create over 780 000 jobs over the next two years if implemented.

The MDC joins the people of Zimbabwe in celebrating 39 years of Independence.

In commemorating the day, it is important to highlight that the status quo brings to question the agenda ,values and ethos of the liberation struggle.

Zimbabweans are still in the trenches sadly fighting for the following issues which were the basis of the liberation agenda.

1. The land question
   2.Universal suffrage – the principle of one man one vote
   3.Transfomation of the lives of Zimbabweans.

Thirty nine years after the liberation struggle, land ownership is still a question for discussion.

Those politically connected to Zanu PF just work up with an offer letter and displace a fellow citizen.

New invasions are still the order of the day. Those who occupy pieces of land only do so at the benevolence of the ruling elites.

This is without mentioning that land has been reduced to a dead Capital carrying only use value with no exchange value.

The MDC makes the point that four decades of independence is enough to give title to the beneficiaries of the land reform, facilitate mechanisation of farms and adapt from dependency on rain fed agriculture.

On transformation, black Zimbabweans are subjected to unpalatable suffering by those who hijacked the agenda of the liberation struggle for personal gain.

The majority are living in abject poverty, millions have fled a warless country, millions are unemployed and the gap between the rich and the poor keeps widening.

Access to healthcare is now a pipe dream, the public health delivery system is broken and hospitals have been turned into death traps.

Hundreds of Zimbabweans are dying of curable diseases and stress related ailments.

The same applies to education.

An unacceptable number of children is dropping out of school.

The health system itself needs a complete overhaul.

Hundreds of thousands are still walking ten kilometres to the nearest primary school.

Some of the schools are not even worth the name.

The men and women manning those schools are disgruntled and neglected.

They show up everyday, and yet are offered an insult as wages.

The same applies to any other public service institution.

Those controlling the State have converted it into an arena for personal enrichment.

They are not concerned about the rest.

On the political front, Zanu PF has ensured that they oppose what the liberation was all about.

They murder dissent, they rape women, they abduct those who disagree and they steal elections.

The democratic space is closing by the day, there is no freedom of the press, journalists like Zenzele are arrested for producing a documentary and some like Dzamara are made to disappear and calls to account for him are ignored.

There is blatant abuse of raw state power, the gun is now directing politics.

The people of Zimbabwe are however resilient.

They will turn out victorious, as we celebrate 39 years of Independence we encourage every Zimbabwean to keep the faith and focus on reclaiming the agenda of the liberation of the motherland.

MDC 5th Congress: Defining a New Course for Zimbabwe!

Jacob Mafume
MDC National Spokesperson

Farai Dziva|TheMDC A says the Masvingo Provincial Congress has come and gone and focus is now on the National Congress.

The opposition party has also set the record straight on rigging and vote buying allegations during the Provincial Congress in Masvingo:

The MDC congratulates the people of Masvingo for holding a successful congress in a process attended by over 3145 delegates.

The party appreciates members who gathered for two days showing patience and resilience. Some of the structures had traveled from the most inaccessible parts of Zimbabwe in places like Malipati in Chiredzi South and Chiredzi East where bridges were destroyed by a Cyclone back in the year 2000.

The roads are not paved, they use a bumpy gravel road nicknamed Bhinya Road.
We reiterate the point that the resilience being displayed through enduring sleepless nights and cold wet weather is a show of confidence both in the party and the principle of Democracy as the best channel out of the crisis born out of autocracy.

There is no alternative to Democracy.
The Province elected a new executive led by veteran trade unionist, James Gumbi. The gathering also nominated a list of leaders who will contest at the National Congress which will be held in Gweru on the 24th of May 2019.

Top on the list is Adv Nelson Chamisa, the Province nominated him to contest the post of President bringing his nominations to nine out of the nine Provinces done so far.

The Congress is running under the theme ‘Defining A New Course for Zimbabwe”. It is part of the MDC’s plan to regenerate and strengthen the people’s alternative.

MDC 5th Congress: Defining a New Course for Zimbabwe!
Jacob Mafume
MDC National Spokesperson

Farai Dziva|Controversial Deputy Information Minister, Energy Mutodi, has sensationally claimed that the MDC A electoral system is a circus.

Mutodi, according to analysts, pretends to be oblivious of the fact that the government, which he is part of, subverted the will of the people in the July 2018 polls.

Mutodi lampooned the opposition MDC A for preaching democracy while the party is trampling on the very basic democratic principles.

“Reports that nominations ahead of the MDC Congress were rigged in favor of Nelson and his cronies make the whole process undemocratic, a circus and a shame.

The outcome will not earn the respect of Zimbabweans. A stolen victory will not bring rest and peace to the opposition party,” declared Mutodi.

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By Own Correspondent- Police in Matabeleland North province has arrested a group of 8 notorious robbers who had terrorised Bubi district.

Three of the gang members are brothers who have been on the rampage since December last year.

The gang allegedly moved around armed with machetes and bolt cutters. It pounced on its victims at night, robbing people of groceries, electrical gadgets, clothes as well as money.

Matabeleland North provincial police spokesperson, Chief Inspector Siphiwe Makonese said that police received a tip-off which led to the arrest of the robbers.

She said:

“We have arrested eight suspects in connection with some robberies that took place in and around Inyathi since December last year.”

As the police, we were worried that all reported cases were committed using the same modus operandi and the arrest of the eight has cleared nine cases so far.

In one incident, the eight raided one Tthembi Mpofu and went away with groceries, clothes, electrical gadgets, RTGS$5, R3 200, US$20 and 200 Chinese Yuan in cash. Added Makonese:

On April 5, the complainant Thembi Mpofu, who operates Prince Enterprises Shop closed the shop as she retired to bed.

At around 2 AM while she was sleeping in a bedroom which is within the shop premises, she was awakened by the noise of a door being struck with an unknown object.

The eight were identified as three Tshuma brothers; Ndodana (35), Milos (37) and Nkosana (29) as well as Baleni Nyoni (32), Lizwe Nyoni (47), Busani Ncube (27), Bukhosi Ngwenya (31) and Handsome Ndlovu (27).-StateMedia

By Own Correspondent- Foreign nationals who had fled from a farm in KwaZulu Natal last week started to return after the South Africa Police Service assured them that they would get round the clock protection.

Zimbabweans who are employed at Emerald Dale Farms and Patula Sawmill owned by Charles Anderson went into hiding after a group of locals mostly made up of former workers allegedly butchered 17 cows owned by the farmer. They accused the farmer of employing Zimbabweans in favour of locals.

A Zimbabwean who is a manager at the farm revealed that they have started to troop back after they were given assurances by the police. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the qualified harvest manager, who has a diploma from the College of Forestry said:

“We are back on the farm after some assurance from the police to give us protection. A private armed guard vehicle has also been on patrol during the day while at night, a guard patrols our residences. We are on 24-hour protection. I am less worried about safety at the moment.”

The police confirmed that they arrested six people in connection with last week’s xenophobic attacks but were later released.

Speaking on Wednesday, provincial police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said:

“Police are still investigating malicious damage to property.”

A community leader, Silwanaziphi Jama said that the situation has normalised on the farm.

He said:

“We are happy that there is calm after two weeks of uncertainty and turmoil.

But we wish the police could step up its investigation and arrest the perpetrators who are tarnishing both the image of the village community and traditional leadership.”-IOLNews

By Own Correspondent- Influential Dynamos midfielder Claude Junior Nkahan “Neymar” is set to be sidelined for a significant period of time after he picked up an injury during training on Thursday.

The Cameroonian gave a good account of himself on his debut for the Glamour Boys in the 2-1 defeat to Hwange.

He is yet to resume training after missing the trip to Bulawayo were Dynamos lost 2-0 to Chicken Inn.

Dynamos lock horns with Highlanders on Independence Day in the Independence Day Trophy at the National Sports Stadium.

The two teams are expected to field their best teams for the encounter after the organisers roped in the two giants in a bid to draw people to the Uhuru celebrations.

Speaking on Neymar’s injury, Dynamos team manager Richard Chihoro on Wednesday said:

“He is injured, he is not training with the team. The doctors are monitoring his progress.”-Newsday

By Own Correspondent- The United States of America has congratulated Zimbabwe on its attainment of 39 years of independence.

Through its embassy in Harare, the US wrote:

“We congratulate Zimbabwe on 39 years of independence today. The United States remains a committed partner to the people of Zimbabwe and shares your hopes for growth, prosperity and a brighter future.”

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to deliver the keynote independence address.

This year’s celebrations are running under the theme: “Zimbabwe @39 — Embracing Devolution for Vision 2030.”

ZimEye will be livestreaming Zimbabwe’s 39th Independence Commemorations at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.

Refresh this page for latest news and updates.

A supplied image of a check-in kiosk at Sydney Airport. Pic: Sydney Airport
The brave new world of biometric identification and passport-less travel has arrived.

Just when you thought the rapid pace at which technology is altering the way we go about our daily lives couldn’t gain any more velocity, something brand-new and exciting comes along.

Case in point – Sydney Airport is currently running a facial recognition programme that allows passengers to enjoy smooth sailing through their airport gates without the need to take out their passport even once.

If this innovative system succeeds, there will soon be no need for international travellers to juggle paperwork and luggage at the airport – their faces will serve as both their passport and boarding pass while they check in, drop their bags, access the airport lounge and board their plane.

Sound a little too futuristic to be true? Just wait until you hear the rest.

Consumer demands drive technological development

Marius Coetzee, CEO of Ideco, a South African company with a focus on future-proof smart identification solutions, believes that biometric technology is developing in accordance with consumer demands.

“As consumers, we are used to the convenience of a mobile lifestyle. These days, the prevalence of technology has taught us to expect seamless engagement – we order rides and food, book accommodation and organise our social lives from our smart phones without skipping a beat, but when we get to the airport or bank it feels like we’ve stepped back in time. Fortunately, biometric recognition solutions are now available that will allow consumer-facing businesses to provide their clientele with effortless identification processes,” says Marius.

Countless applications for biometric tech

The field of biometrics includes fingerprint, voice, facial and iris identification and there are countless applications for each of these components. This includes everything from access control in secure environments to crowd management at big sporting events.

“There are so many ways in which biometrics can be applied to streamline the way we do things,” says Marius. “In the mining environment, for instance, a facial recognition feed can be used to identify everyone who enters a secure area and raise a red flag if an unauthorised individual steps foot inside an of a limit perimeter. In banking, on the other hand, it can be used to alert relationship managers if VIP clients enter their branch, so they may be of immediate assistance. Event organisers at big stadiums and outdoor venues can also pre-load the biometric information of known troublemakers on their database so they may be alerted if they attend, and their security team may prepare accordingly.”

How does facial recognition work?

It’s highly specialised software that is overlaid on conventional surveillance footage, which allows the programme to isolate the face from the footage, extract the unique features of the face, feed it into a matching engine and determine the identity of the individual in question.

Biometric information has two sides:

There is the actual photo or fingerprint, and then there is the algorithm that allows the technology to match it to others on a given database.

As such, when you enrol in a biometric system (e.g. scanning your fingerprints at the bank), the information that is captured and stored is not the actual image or imprints, but rather the algorithm that will be used for matching purposes down the line.

What is the next frontier for South Africa?

With Australia blazing the trail in terms of biometric check-ins at Sydney Airport, it raises the question as to what we might expect here in sunny South Africa.

According to Marius, the onus lies with the big business. “The technology is there, and we have the skills resources at our disposal to implement it. We just need a few innovative South African businesses to step up to the plate and take advantage of the incredible tools at their disposal.”

MDC president Nelson Chamisa has extended his uncontested run to eight out of 13 possible nominations for the party’s top post, while vice-president Elias Mudzuri finally got his first nomination to remain in his current post.

The new Masvingo executive, that saw current provincial chairperson James Gumbi retaining his post, unanimously nominated Chamisa to become president ahead of the party congress next month with five more provinces yet to present their nominations.

Mudzuri landed the third vice-president slot nomination while Morgen Komichi was nominated for the first vice-presidency and Welshman Ncube for the second vice-president post.

Happison Chidziva was nominated for the deputy chair position, while Charlton Hwende was nominated for the secretary-general.

Current secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora was not nominated for any post.

David Coltart was nominated for the treasurer-general post.

Luke Tamborinyoka was nominated for the spokesperson post ahead of Jacob Mafume, while Thabitha Kumalo was nominated for the national chair post.

Gumbi beat Simon Mupindu after his initial challenger Tongai Matutu was disqualified for having once defected from the party.

Presiding over the nominations was Jolson Mugari, who said that the process was fair and done in a transparent manner.

NewsDay

At a time when numerous victims of 1 August military brutality still have bullets lodged in their bodies, a Voice Of America journalist, Marvelous Mhlanga Nyahuye has written the below article printing cruel falsehoods which mask out Emmerson Mmangagwa’s own sanctions on the local economy for over 35 years since 1983.

Mhlanga Nyahuye is the same VOA journo who was filmed asking Mnangagwa for a job at the end of last year.

Nyahuye in the below piece, makes false claims that there are US sanctions on Zimbabwe.

FULL TEXT –

Washington Experts Call for End to Zimbabwe Sanctions

April 16, 2019
Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye

Some of the panelists who attended a meeting in Washington DC on Monday focusing on Zimbabwe.

Some of the panelists who attended a meeting in Washington DC on Monday focusing on Zimbabwe.

WASHINGTON —
Experts in Washington, discussing whether or not Zimbabwe is a source of shame or opportunity for Africa, were unanimous in their position that targeted sanctions were hurtful to the country, and must be removed, but equally held the government and the ruling Zanu-PF party accountable for the poor state of the economy and overall decline.

Organized by the Washington-based think-tank Cato Institute, on Monday, panelists of the discussion, titled ‘Zimbabwe: Africa’s Shame and Opportunity’, challenged the United States and members of the international community such as the European Union, all of which recently extended sanctions on Zimbabwe, citing lack of reforms under the newly-elected government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, to drop them.

Zimbabwe has been calling for the removal of what it terms illegal sanctions, since their imposition almost two decades ago, and have blamed them for the country’s economic demise. In particular, the government of Zimbabwe has chided the U.S. over the Zimbabwe Economic and Recovery Act of 2001 (ZIDERA), which despite noting some improvements in Zimbabwe, was recently extended by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Panelist and RTHK Washington Correspondent, Barry Wood, who was recently in Zimbabwe, sided with critics of the sanctions who argue the sanctions hurt the ordinary citizens, and not the intended target of high level officials, which include Mnangagwa and his predecessor Robert Mugabe.

“Certainly ZIDERA which is still in the books and has been extended by President Trump – do they hurt the poor more than the ruling elite? There is a strong case that the sanctions do hurt the poor more than they hurt the ruling elite, which through corruption gets around the sanctions,” said Wood.

Echoing that point was fellow panelist and longtime critic of the Zimbabwe’s government, Professor Steve Hanke of Johns Hopkins University, who, while maintaining that the government and its ruling party officials, operate “like an organized criminal syndicate or crime syndicate,” submitted that the sanctions have failed to make the government accountable.

“Sanctions should be dropped immediately. Sanctions don’t work,” argued Hanke, adding that “the history of economic and financial sanctions is one failure after another, the production of all kinds of negative, unintended consequences,” said Hanke.

Hanke advised the U.S. and the international community to adopt a different strategy that excludes sanctions and foreign aid, which he said, also doesn’t help.

“So step one, unilaterally the US and the international community, to the extent the international communities involved should drop sanctions, and encourage, of course, the adoption of the ‘Singapore Strategy’ and stop talking about foreign aid. Foreign aid is not going to rescue Zimbabwe,” said Hanke.

Visiting fellow, W. Gyude Moore of the Center for Global Development, who was also on the panel, reinforced the point that sanctions don’t work.

“Sanctions that target the people of Zimbabwe ordinarily is not going to work and in the long term is not going to help resolve the issues in Zimbabwe,” Moore said.

Though the panelist appeared to back Zimbabwe’s position on the ineffectiveness of the sanctions, they didn’t spare the government blame for the country’s state of the economy.

Hanke shared his observation. “So how did Zimbabwe plunge to these tremendously low levels?” queried Hanke, before offering his assessment.

“We have property rights, number one. Two, money. Three, there’s no hard budget constraints in Zimbabwe, a situation where you have no discipline, very weak institutions, no one is in control of fiscal affairs. When you have a soft budget and no hard budget constraint, and anything goes basically in the fiscal sphere. In the fourth item … the dominant political party, Zanu-PF is a party which operates much like an organized criminal syndicate or crime syndicate,” Hanke said.

Wood laid the blame directly on Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, who was among the audience at the discussion.

“Zanu-PF at its core opposes market-based reform which is championed, I might say, and it’s certainly true, by Mr. Ncube. So, we don’t know what’s really going on. The government is incompetent and divided, and the reforms won’t be implemented,” he concluded.

Ncube, who was in Washington for the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Annual Spring Meetings, defended his government’s effort to address the issues raised by the panelists, and said, contrary to the belief that the world was still closed to Zimbabwe, things were changing, especially with the International Monetary Fund.

Zimbabwe has been unable to secure lines of credit from many financial institutions, due to unpaid debt, amounting to close to US$10 billion.

Ncube said his meetings with IMF and World Bank officials were encouraging and they are appreciating the country’s commitment to what he called the Economic Reform Agenda.

“We reached an agreement on the Staff Monitoring Program with the IMF which will help us on the road map towards arrears clearance. We need the debt to be cleared so that we can access credit loans for our private sector really, we are looking for private sector support,” said Ncube.

To Hanke’s criticism about Zimbabwe’s lack of regard to property rights, Ncube said the government has shown regard for property rights through its recent decision to compensate white farmers forcibly removed in 2000. Ncube set aside the equivalent of US$S17 million to compensate farmers.

“If you look at the issue of compensation, that’s a recognition of property rights. We are going to do that in line with the constitution and there’s a commitment from the government and from the President (Mnangagwa) as well,” said Ncube.

Ncube added that the government is also staying true to its mantra that it’s open for business, and has established the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency (ZITA) to vet and process investor applications quickly.

In addition, he said, the government has revised its controversial indigenization law, which restricted foreigner from owning more than 50% of a company.

“The indigenization rule has been largely waved except for the diamond sector so far, and eventually you can be sure that everything will be allowed in terms of foreign investors owning 100% of companies,” said Ncube.

Regarding the targeted sanctions, Professor Ncube welcomed the position by the panelists, saying it validates the government point that the sanctions are hurting the ordinary person.

With Zimbabwe’s 39th Independence Day anniversary approaching, the question of how much progress the country has made, particularly following the resignation of former president Mugabe in 2017, has been a topic of much debate.

Attendants at the event in Washington DC, who included the diplomatic corps, members of the Zimbabwean diaspora and several others groups, challenged the government of Zimbabwe to work on the reforms that would place Zimbabwe back on good footing with the international community, so as to help revive the economy, and be the beacon of hope it was at independence, in 1980.

GOVERNMENT is facing renewed pressure on the economic front, with the parallel foreign currency market once again running amok — pushing the prices of basic consumer goods like bread beyond the reach of many Zimbabweans..

This comes as many leading schools around the country have also sharply hiked their fees, further piling on the stress on already hard-pressed parents — especially those earning their salaries in RTGS dollars, which have been seriously eroded by inflation which officially stands at a staggering 66,8 percent.

Yesterday, the coveted United States dollar breezed past the 5,20 mark to the RTGS$ on the back of what both business and political analysts say is a result of policy inconsistencies by authorities — following last week’s surprising announcement by Finance minister Mthuli Ncube that the country would have a new currency within a year.

“I predict that by the end of June this year, it (the black market rate) will be 1:10 … in other words people are becoming poorer and poorer. “Bad economic mismanagement is theft on people’s savings and this has been created by Mthuli Ncube … he lives in a reality-distorted world,” former Finance minister during the short-lived government of national unity (GNU), Tendai Biti, told the Daily News yesterday.

“The reason why we are having high inflation is that we are not producing, and because we are not producing, we are not earning foreign currency in the form of export earnings. “So, we are eating that which other countries are producing. Our import bill is high, and our imports are paid in US dollars.

“So, the US dollar has become a commodity … we have this disaster that it shoots up on the black market and when it shoots up the prices of everything go up while the value of wages goes down,” Biti added.

He also warned that government could soon be forced to increase the price of fuel again, to avoid even worse shortages.

“In the past 10 days, I have been in Matabeleland South, North and Bulawayo and there is no fuel anywhere. “I am moving with jerry cans in my car as if we are in 1930 southern Rhodesia … all thanks to Mthuli Ncube,” Biti railed.

In February, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) introduced the RTGS dollar when it unveiled its Monetary Policy Statement which sought to breathe new life into the economy. However, the RTGS dollar — which opened trading at 2,5 against the US dollar — has since lost its value sharply, with the interbank market battling to attract money.

Following Ncube’s announcement, the forex parallel markets shot to nearly RTGS$5 to the greenback from 4,30 amid indications that the situation would get worse. Worried business leaders told the Daily News yesterday that things “were edging towards a concerning zone”, requiring the government to take remedial action without “further delays”.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) president, Denford Mutashu, said consumers were now “under siege” because of falling production levels and the rampant foreign currency black market.

“The wave of price increases is worrisome and happening at a time that disposable incomes have been eroded.

“The foreign currency parallel market has been running amok. Bread and maize-meal went up due to movement on new producer prices for grain and wheat that pushed up input costs for millers and bakers.

“If one factors in the speculative nature of our pricing, it only means the consumer is seriously exposed,” the forthright Mutashu warned.

On his part, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president, Sifelani Jabangwe, blamed the foreign currency black market for driving the prices of basic goods beyond the reach of many consumers. “The sellers are not releasing money at the low price quoted on the official market. So, businesses are still unable to access that.

“We have seen an influx of buyers, but the sellers are not forthcoming. What we need is the interbank to operationalise.

“Companies are still struggling because hard currency is not readily available, and so the production side is constrained,” he said.
Yesterday, bakers increased the price of bread from RTGS$1,80 to RTGS$3,50 — citing the rising costs of production and the volatile operating environment.

This came hardly a day after millers had increased the price of maize-meal in response to last week’s hike by the government of grain producer prices. Now, some private schools are also announcing sharp hikes in their fees, in response to the worsening economic situation in the country.

Among the private schools, which have advised parents of new school fees are Arundel School in Harare and Petra College in Bulawayo. Parents with children at Arundel, who are day scholars, will now be required to pay RTGS6 600 or US$1 500 — whilst weekly borders will be paying RTGS$8 900 or US$2 023.
Full borders on the other hand will have to stump up RTGS$10 800 or US$2 455.

At Petra College, the fees for ECD have escalated from RTGS$991 to RTGS1 050. Grades 1 to 7 will now be paying RTGS$1 620 from RTGS$1 390 — with Cambridge levy now costing US$710.

Forms 1 to 6 fees have also gone up from RTGS$1 965 to RTGS$2 400, and US$1 040 for Cambridge levy.                                              

Meanwhile, political analysts have warned the government that it was killing confidence through policy inconsistencies. “I think what we are seeing is the collapse of the economy in a number of ways. First, the foreign currency crisis has persisted, necessitating that industry has to pay a premium at the black market in order to access foreign currency for inputs that are needed for production.

“The second thing is that the economy is not growing … we are not seeing new industries … so incomes for citizens have remained stagnant. “Then thirdly, there is the speculative aspect in which prices are pegged at the black market rate, and where people tend to take advantage of the situation.

“Fourthly, there are inconsistencies in terms of policy. We hear one thing on the currency from the RBZ. We hear another from the minister of Finance Mthuli Ncube,” political analyst Rashweat Mukundu told the Daily News.

“There was the talk of the Transitional Stabilisation Plan, but we are not sure where it is right now, especially with reports that the government has gone back to its usual behaviour of overspending and crowding out productive sectors.

“Essentially, we are in a stagnant situation where prices are shooting up, incomes have remained stagnant, civil servants received an average of $60 to $70 as an increment … meaning at the end of the day, the increment may come down to $30, which is going to be washed away by the increases in consumer goods, transport and fuel costs.

“Zimbabwe is in a deep crisis and one can really wonder if we will get to the end of the year under this situation,” Mukundu added.

Source – dailynews

ZIMBABWE turns 39 tomorrow and NewsDay (ND) senior reporter Blessed oMhlanga caught up with the opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa (NC) to discuss the importance of the day vis-a-vis the current economic and political situation in the country and how Zimbabwe can move from its stasis. Below are the excepts:

ND: Zimbabwe turns 39 tomorrow, what are the achievements and milestones that we have travelled over the years?

NC: We are turning 40 next year, it’s time to take stock of the benefits of the liberation struggle to say: how far have we come in fulfilling the gains of the liberation struggle. The liberation struggle was about the will of the people, one-man, one-vote, it was about sovereignty, land. How far have we gone in addressing those fundamental questions? We continue to have disputed elections. In 2018, the elections were disputed on account of deprivation of the will of the people; that shows you and that confirms that we have achieved nothing in terms of ethos of the liberation struggle.

On the land issue, we have not genuinely empowered our people and you see now there continues to be problems around fundamental issues of title. The land issue continues to be a hanging question. The third issue has do to with prosperity and opportunities for the people of Zimbabwe. We are the saddest people in the world, we score least on the index of happy people in the world, because of government’s illegitimacy, governance deficit, because of the absence of comprehensive reforms, institutionally, constitutionally, economically and politically these fundamental reforms are lacking. If you look at our laws we continue to have trails of repression from the Rhodesian times. Look at how people continue to have a police force which is questionable, typical of the Selous Scouts.

We still have deep-seated divisions, you can’t have independence when we have divisions around tribes, when you have unhealed wounds around past challenges, around Gukurahundi, Murambatsvina, erosion of pensions; all those things are wounds on the hearts and minds of people of Zimbabwe. Independence must mean something, Independence can’t be paper independence, it can’t be rhetoric. It has to be independence in the means of production, independence in the economy, in the ownership of the means of production; those issues have not been addressed.

ND: In the foregoing, are you saying there is nothing to celebrate?

NC: I am pointing to the challenges of having independence without independence and we go to April 18 it is a very important day on the calendar of our country because it is a reminder of our sacrifices as a people. It’s a reminder of our struggles, collectively, a reminder of common denominator points. Under normal circumstances, you would have Independence Day being a non-partisan day, being an inclusive day, being a day you don’t think about political parties. You think about Zimbabwe, your only home not a political party, but we find ourselves dividing the nation into ladders, into enclaves of partisan politics into numerators, instead of a denominator belonging to mother Zimbabwe, to that which unites us which is far more important than that which may divide us. So, yes, we must go back and say: what does independence mean to us?

Mr (President Emmerson) Mnangagwa is right now talking about phantom and false dialogue with people he is agreeing with. We have a fundamental disagreement on his legitimacy, around how elections were held. We must close that chapter, but we don’t close that chapter by running away from it.

ND: What then is the way forward for Zimbabwe?

NC: For us to go forward, we must go back to genuine political dialogue about the issues affecting our country. We will not be able to resolve the issues affecting our country until we have been able to resolve the fundamental issues, which is the issue of disputed political discourses and a disputed mandate. Mr Mnangagwa’s mandate is disputed, not by Chamisa, but by the people of Zimbabwe, the people who voted and were cheated, that must be addressed.

ND: The present government has hinted that it will move on without you and answer the fundamental questions of socio-economic and political crises while you watch from the sidelines?

NC: Tackle the issues of national building, issues of peace-building, issues of legitimacy and until such issues are solved we will not be able to find a common answer to our economic challenges, to our economic questions, any answers (Finance minister) Mthuli Ncube and whoever you may try to come up with, will actually be an unsustainable answer and a fake answer because it’s not attacking the real issues affecting Zimbabwe.

ND: Zanu PF says they brought independence through the liberation struggle and they are the owners – is this their baby?

NC: They want to distort history and rewrite it in their own terms, in their own persuasion, but clearly the struggle of the liberation of our country was not a sole effort. It was not a partisan effort, it was not a political effort, and it was a people’s effort. The liberation struggle was and still remains a people’s project. Nobody should appropriate themselves the liberation of this country, this country belongs to its owners and authors being the people under the auspices of the almighty God and nobody is supposed to appropriate the sole proprietorship of our country. We fought as a people, yes, we used different vehicles, Zanu was one of them, Zapu was another and any other vehicle, that vehicle can’t become the destination. The destination was a liberated Zimbabwe.

ND: They (Zanu PF) have been custodians of this liberation struggle over the years, have they taken good care of it?

NC: Zanu played a role, Zipra played a role, Zanla forces played a role and that role must be acknowledged, but it does not mean that they are the only ones who have a legitimate right to the liberation legacy and its custody. If anything, we all fought together as a people. We now have certain greedy and selfish characters who are hijacking the liberation struggle for their own benefit.

The liberation struggle was never about an individual owning multiple cars, multiple farms, houses and swimming pools, even if you can only swim in one. It was never about that, it was never about the trinkets and trappings of power, it was never about shefuism which we see today, it was about the decency of the people. But you can see that those ideas have been trampled upon, those ethos are no longer on the table that’s why you find that people are no longer thinking about ordinary livelihoods of all Zimbabweans in rural and urban areas, but they are now thinking about their own positions; careerism and opportunism have become the order of the day.

People are always thinking about how to line their pockets; instead of hands-on, they now have hands-in, in terms of looting and corruption. Look at the Zinara (Zimbabwe National Road Administration audit) report, it’s stinking to high heaven, look at the Hwange report it’s also stinking to high heaven. Who is being fingered there? The big guys, the shot callers, but have you even found any fat cat being jailed for corruption, no, they just do catch and release.

ND: You spoke about cleansing the past, Gukurahundi in particular, President Mnangagwa is moving to address this issue. In your view is this not a positive move?

NC: The first thing is for him to apologise because he was also a participant. He was part of government, he must apologise to the people of Zimbabwe in order to claim responsibility. Leadership revolves around two issues, responsibility and accountability, you can’t be in leadership if you are not accountable and you are not responsible. Owning up and apologising deeply not just with the lips, but with the lips of your heart and not your mouth, with all full conclusion, there must be acknowledgment of what happened. Beyond that we must have a bottom-up healing process, truth-telling for real reconciliation, not top-down approach. Let us have traditional leaders, community leaders, and the church playing a pivotal role in truth telling so that we have restorative justice. Then we also need to stop the same atrocities and perpetrating the same crimes that were done. Look at what happened in August 2018, look at what happened in January this year, we must repair it.

ND: Does the MDC have the capacity to deal with these issues you are talking about?

NC: We have maximum and ultimate capacity because we have the mandate of the people, you can’t ask a dirty hand to wash itself.

ND: Is this about a mandate from the people or political will and capability?

NC: The political will yes, already the political will we have, and that’s why I am not talking about the mandate. The people trust us, the people have confidence in our leadership, which has been the biggest problem of my brother ED. People have no confidence in him, they have no trust in him, and confidence can’t be manufactured.

ND: The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission closed the 2018 electoral cycle meaning that to them the 2018 general elections are over, but you keep singing legitimacy; what are your chances of achieving a redress?

NC: They themselves, their mandate is disputed, they failed to handle elections to the satisfaction of Zimbabweans, so it doesn’t matter what they say, they have no credibility, they are a discredited lot. Their hands are dripping with accusations. To them they closed it long back, but it does not close it for the people of Zimbabwe. They know that their credentials are questionable.

ND: Will Zimbabwe have to wait for another five years to realise what you say are the ideals of independence, that’s if you win in 2023?

NC: Why wait for five years? We must deal with the July 30, 2018 elections so that the issues of legitimacy are dealt with, so that parliamentary reforms are dealt with.

ND: How do you propose to do that nearly a year after the elections?

NC: Political dialogue, we say it and we are going to say it again, we are going to resort to other constitutional avenues and platforms around our right to express ourselves until what we believe to be the legitimate request is acceded to.

ND: But Zanu PF is marching on and does not appear to be listening to your calls.

NC: Zanu PF is not Zimbabwe, they may be stubborn, but that’s why democracy is there, that’s why Constitutions are there, that’s why people are there to deal with these issues. They may choose to be stubborn, but we will tame their stubbornness.

ND: So what action are you taking, or you are concentrating on your party’s congress?

NC: We are always in action, I don’t know what kind of action you are referring to, but we are a party in action; we are a party of action. In fact, we are a definition of action in whatever we do. So look, struggles have no timetable, struggles are always determined by circumstances, it depends on what the situation demands and circumstances dictate.

NewsDay

ZANU PF President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday chided businesses over the recent wanton price hikes, saying that the development has no justification at all.

Mnangagwa spoke to the state broadcaster, ZBCtv ahead of Independence Day Celebrations. He said he has no desire to regulate prices but warned businesses they may force the government’s hand to do so.

He said, “with regard to the issue of prices, I made an appeal a few days ago to our compatriots in industry and commerce that prices are coming up but there is no justification in many areas why they are coming up.

“It’s just a question of perception, fear of the unknown that we want to cushion ourselves today for possible challenges tomorrow.

“When we met the majority said we are reducing by half whatever has happened before we can talk about it and the prices went down. That is how we must go.

“We don’t think that is the way we should operate. Last time we had the same phenomenon of prices just being increased and I asked captains of industry to come and meet me here at State House.

“We do not want to go to a situation where the Government is forced to regulate prices.”

Price controls were last implemented in 2007 when inflation went out of control.

Farai Dziva|Controversial MDC T deputy president, Obert Chaurura Gutu has praised Emmerson Mnangagwa for “purchasing” new ZUPCO Buses to ease transport problems.

Gutu has also scoffed at those who say he is a Zanu PF puppet.

“Hoping that Zimbabwe’s economic situation will improve for the benefit of the majority of the people doesn’t make one a Zanu PF agent.

That’s where some of our folks get it awfully wrong. I will continue to wish for the best for my beloved country Zimbabwe. #PatriotismReLoaded,” said Gutu.

“An efficient and reliable public transportation system is urgently needed in Zimbabwe. The acquisition of a new ZUPCO fleet is commendable. ZUPCO has got to be properly managed with accountability.”

By Own Correspondent- The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) has implored Zimbabweans to make truthful and honest testimonies that may assist in investigations into Gukurahundi attrocities.

NPRC has embarked on a nationwide outreach programme to share with the public mechanisms and approaches that will be used in handling national healing issues, with Gukurahundi being one of the key topics to be discussed.

President Mnangagwa has called for open discussion about Gukurahundi to pave way for national healing.

Speaking during a community hearing pioneered by the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA) to bring dialogue between the commission and the public in Bulawayo recently, Commissioner Leslie Ncube said exaggerations may mislead investigators.

“The commission is opening doors to everyone who has information concerning the disturbances in Matabeleland. We are encouraging you to be honest and truthful because additions or subtractions will remove the aspect of accuracy and objectivity in the investigations,” he said.

Ncube said those who feel that passing information through other people may distort their testimonies are free to approach the commission as individuals.

“You can come to us as an individual and give us a detailed account of what happened. We capture them as they are and present them to the authorities. The testimonies should be given without fear or favour because the President opened this platform to everyone,” he said.

Comm Ncube said the commission will also go to the affected people in rural areas to get their testimonies.

“These are communities that were greatly affected and most of them have first hand information,” he said.

ZCA director Reverend Useni said giving testimonies is critical as it necessitates national dialogue towards national healing.

“We want to thank the President for opening up space for the people in Matabeleland to discuss Gukurahundi which was a taboo in the past years. It is good that the ordinary man has been given an opportunity to testify and give detailed accounts of whatever they witnessed. This will pave way for national healing,” he said.

Rev Sibanda said the hearing, which included political parties, civic societies and residents’ representatives, was meant to bring dialogue between NPRC and the public so that the commission gives a preview of what it expects during the 21 days of outreach.”-StateMedia

“It is our duty as the church to bring the nation together to pave way for dialogue. Churches are by calling a peace building organisation,” he said.

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By Own Correspondent- A traditional leader here has called on government to equip kraal heads with smartphones, television sets and solar power for them to effectively fulfil on their mandate.

Robert Ticharwa Maruta who is popularly known as Sekuru Samba said the people they lead depend on them for information and it is not fair that they rely on outdated methods of sourcing for news and latest information.

He said:

“I urge the government to equip all traditional leaders with three key leadership assets like a smartphone for easy and cheaper communication through WhatApp, television sets and solar power.

Remember we are number six from President Emmerson Mnangagwa. There is the presidium, senators, provincial administrators, district administrators, chiefs, village head and us the kraal heads, so we are important in the running of Zimbabwe.

What the President says is finally handed over to the wide rural masses by us. But we rely on second hand information from our traditional beer gatherings, meetings and funerals.

Imagine our people are still donating towards Cyclone Idai because they are getting this information through the social media… So I need a smartphone, television set and solar power to help me keep in touch with latest news.”-StateMedia

By Own Correspondent- Brighton Elliot Moyo, the “resurrection man” succumbed to pneumonia on April 5 after he had fled from South Africa.

According to a TimesLive report, Moyo was born Thabiso Mlanje in a village in Lupane, Matabeleland North, over 150 km from the city of Bulawayo.

Thabiso attended Gogo Primary School where he was known for his football skills. He took the name Brighton Moyo when he got to South Africa.

Thabiso’s family was not aware of the “resurrection miracle” at pastor Alph Lukau’s church in South Africa. Emily Moyo, Thabiso’s grandmother said:

“He went to South Africa in 2011 to look for a job. He married a girl from a nearby village. When they had children, they sent them back home and we never knew what he was up to … what we are being told now.

The skeletons in Thabiso’s closet came tumbling out after his death at the local referral hospital, St Luke’s.

His death certificate record is 49/19 – meaning that he was the 49th person to die at the rural hospital this year.

Moyo’s grandmother revealed that when he died, he had lost a lot of weight. She said:

“Now when I look at it, the time he was said to have been resurrected is the time he had been in hospital in Johannesburg. I think he was a perfect candidate because he had shed a lot of weight.

Moyo’s brother, Stanley Mlanje, who also works in South Africa, said that Thabiso did not get proper medical care in South Africa because he was running away from the police. That was, in fact, the reason why he returned home with his wife, Simelweyinkosi.

Said Stanley:

“He always ran away from hospital when he heard there were police around. It was in connection with the ‘miracles’. We decided not to ask him about it because we wanted him to fully recover. I guess the truth has gone with him.

Moyo’s wife, however, distanced herself from her late husband’s resurrection stunt with Alph Lukau.

“What he did during his spare time is not my business. I am not in a position to talk about that issue because I am in the dark.

With him gone, we will never know the truth – but I have to go back to South Africa, where I work. He died three days after he was admitted in hospital with severe pneumonia.”

Police spokesperson Siphiwe Makonese revealed that they were informed that Moyo was a fugitive from South Africa’s justice system.

She said that according to standard police procedure, the police had to find out how and why they housed someone on the run.

By Own Correspondent- Harare City Council (HCC) is establishing a new cemetery at Eyestone Farm.

Minutes of the HCC’s Community Service Committee Meeting reveal progress made so far.

Read part of the minutes:

“A Memorandum of Agreement had been drafted and validation of the Memorandum of Agreement draft by the legal division had been completed. The draft had now been sent to the ministry of Finance and Economic Development for further validation and clearance and a meeting was held.

The local government has already reserved the remaining 7.2 hectares of the Warren Hills Cemetery for expansion of the Provincial Heroes Cemetery only. That meant the cemetery was no longer available for public burials.

The Eyestone Farm cemetery comes at a time when the council is also opening up new burial spaces at Granville Cemetery or Kumbudzi and other sites.-DailyNews

By Own Correspondent- Afriforum, a Civil rights group representing Gabriella Engels has revealed that it has been informed of plans to Extradite Grace Mugabe to South Africa for prosecution.

Gabriella Engels, a Johannesburg model, claims she was assaulted by Grace Mugabe with an extension cord in 2017 at a hotel in Johannesburg.

In a statement, Afriforum said:

“We hope that the prosecution of Grace Mugabe will commence shortly and we will monitor the case.

AfriForum gets involved in issues like this to ensure that people with political power do not get away with committing crimes. Grace Mugabe must be brought to book for her deeds and this is the first step in ensuring that Miss Engels will get justice soon.”

South African courts overturned the South African government decision to grant diplomatic immunity to the former first lady of Zimbabwe.-AfricanDailyVoice

By Own Correspondent- Temba Mliswa, Norton Member of Parliament has said President Emmerson Mnangagwa should set up a Commission to investigate the death of pro democracy activist, Itai Dzamara.

Mliswa said the issue of Dzamara was going nowhere hence the need to tackle it head-on

Said Mliswa:

“Human Rights violations must be dealt with. We need the issue of Itai Dzamara dealt with. Whether we like it or not, it’s a sticking issue. And there is no reason why the President cannot set up a commission of Inquiry to look into that the same way he did by setting up a commission of Inquiry to look into the August 1 situation.

Any human life lost is not good for Zimbabwe.”

Dzamara, who reportedly went missing at a barbershop near his home in Harare in 2015 was allegedly kidnapped by five men.

Former president Robert Mugabe is on record instructing the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the disappearance but to date nothing has materialised despite the country’s police force being ranked highly regionally and globally.

Pro democracy campaigners have accused the disapperance of Dzamara to the state, alleging that he was abducted by state security agents for staging protests calling on Mugabe to resign.

By Own Correspondent- “Alan Garcia has died, long live Apra,” said Omar Quesada, the general secretary of Garcia’s American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (Apra) party.

Garcia was resuscitated three times after suffering cardiac arrest while undergoing emergency surgery, before he died, Peru’s Health Minister Zulema Tomas said.

Peru’s former president Alan Garcia died in hospital on Wednesday after shooting himself in the head at his home as police were about to arrest him in a sprawling corruption case, a party official said. He was 69.

The Casimiro Ulloa Emergency Hospital in Lima earlier confirmed he had suffered “a bullet wound to his head.” 

“This morning there was a regrettable accident: the president took the decision to shoot himself,” Erasmo Reyna, Garcia’s lawyer, told reporters outside the hospital after Garcia was admitted.

The attempted arrest took place at 6:30 am (1130 GMT) at Garcia’s home in Lima’s upmarket Miraflores neighbourhood.

Police were acting on an arrest warrant for money laundering that would have allowed Garcia to be held for 10 days, giving authorities time to gather evidence and prevent him from fleeing, the prosecutor’s office said.

Peru’s President Martin Vizcarra expressed his sympathy on his Twitter account. 

“Dismayed by the death of ex-president Alan Garcia. I send my condolences to his family and loved ones,” Vizcarra wrote in a tweet.

Asylum application denied –

Garcia, who was president from 1985-90 and again from 2006-11, was suspected of having taken bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht in return for large-scale public works contracts.

In November, he sought refuge in the Uruguayan Embassy after a court ordered him not to leave the country for 18 months. He applied for asylum but following 16 days in the embassy, he left when his request was denied.

Garcia, a social democrat, claimed to be the target of political persecution, an accusation denied by centrist Vizcarra. On Tuesday, Garcia said he would neither try to flee nor hide again.

In recent weeks, Garcia insisted that “there is no statement, evidence or deposit that links me to any crime and even less so with the Odebrecht company or the execution of any of its projects.”

Although under investigation by the public prosecutor’s office, Garcia had not been charged with anything.

Money laundering and bribes

He was one of four Peruvian ex-presidents embroiled in various corruption scandals — alongside Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-18), Ollanta Humala (2011-16) and Alejandro Toledo (2001-06).

Kuczynski, who is accused of money laundering and was being held under a 10-day preliminary detention until April 20, was also taken to hospital on Wednesday suffering from high blood pressure. 

The 80-year-old was being treated in intensive care and had a cardiac catheter fitted, lawmaker Gilbert Violeta said.

Toledo faces extradition from the United States, having been charged with taking a $20 million Odebrecht bribe. Odebrecht has admitted paying $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials over three administrations.

Some of those payments were allegedly made during Garcia’s second term in office to secure a contract to build the Lima metro.

Peruvian press reports also claim Garcia received a $100,000 payment from an illicit Odebrecht fund for giving a speech to Brazilian business leaders in Sao Paulo in May 2012. Prosecutors allege that Garcia and 21 other officials conspired to enable Dutch company ATM Terminals to win a 2011 concession to operate a terminal at the port of Callao, near Lima.

Another ex-president, Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), is serving a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity and corruption.

His daughter, opposition leader Keiko Fujimori, is being held in pre-trial detention for up to three years, accused of accepting $1.2 million in illicit party funding from Odebrecht for her 2011 presidential campaign.

Farai Dziva|Prominent political analyst, Dr Pedzisai Ruhanya has postulated that the MDC A may not win even a single Parliamentary Seat in Masvingo in 2023 after James Gumbi’ s disputed win at the Provincial Party Congress .

Gumbi narrowly won the elections for the post of provincial chairperson yesterday.

” It is not good enough to just oppose Zanu PF; you can’t replace Zanu PF to behave like Zanu PF.

The MDC is growing a sickening repetition without change mentality premised on corrupted distributive politics; this unemployment issue is reproducing corrupt politics!” Dr Ruhanya said.

“If Masvingo remains defiant with FOREIGN BASED (Harare tourists), 2023 will be worse. They will not win any seat, moving from 1/26 to 0/26. MDC rigs itself in Masvingo,” argued Dr Ruhanya.

Farai Dziva|Former MDC Masvingo Provincial Secretary, Tongai Matutu has dismissed as baseless claims that he insulted party leader Nelson Chamisa after being disqualified from contesting against James Gumbi for the post of provincial chairperson.

Matutu has said his political opponents are busy spinning propaganda pieces to soil his reputation.

“I respect consistitutional ñprocesses and I will remain on the ground working for the party.

Our objective is to defeat Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF and we will not shift attention to petty issues,” said Matutu.

Matutu was responding to the report below claiming he insulted Chamisa:

It was all hell as the unrepentant prodigal son Matutu bared his contempt for MDC President Chamisa in front of grassroots structures during the Party Congress in Masvingo on Monday.

The bellicose Matutu had the guts and gumbtion to publicly chide Organ Chibaya before belittling President Chamisa saying “iwe ndichochii chauri kutiitira pano. Vanhu vangu vauya kuzondivhotera nhasi and you say Template pano “

This shocked those present but only exposed the unrepentant genetic construction of the man who insulted President Tsvangirai by calling him “Gumbura.”

The same Matutu posted an article in the Media describing the Congress which was witnessed by President Chamisa VP Welshman Ncube VP Komichi Women Chairwoman Kore Vice SG Mpariwa and other party seniors as a “charade”.

Matutu who has not worked with the Party structures in the Province is known to be headstrong,pompous and arrogant. Matutu vowed that the party will never win elections in Zimbabwe and that Chamisa will never rule Zimbabwe
The party is yet to pronounce itself on the sanction to be prescribed.

Farai Dziva|Pressure group Tajamuka has vowed to “take on” Emmerson Mnangagwa in the wake of skyrocketing prices of basic commodities.

See the Tajamuka statement below:

Fellow citizens!

We note with grave concern the skyrocketing of basic commodities, in particular bread. We are very concerned about this. It appears this is just the beginning of another tumble of the RTGS to the great detriment of us-the ordinary people. We cannot remain silent.

We have to speak out against the increases of basic commodities which is not mirrored by any positive salary adjustments for those who still have a salary to talk about.

As we announced in our first press conference after the January protests a few days ago, we have begun rolling out another wave of peaceful and non-violent protests against the ill fated Mnangagwa government and it’s bad and anti-people policies.

We cannot ask Mnangagwa and his illegal government to reduce the price of bread as this is not the root cause of the problem but we ask Mnangagwa to reflect on the untold suffering and the abject poverty poverty he has put the nation through.

We are calling for all and sundry to join Tajamuka in condemning him and his government and to call upon them to effectively resolve the economic crisis within a reasonable space of time. Failure to do so will result in earth shattering demonstrations reminiscent of the ones we led in 2016 which led to the abdication of President Mugabe.

Algeria has done it.
Sudan has done it.
Zimbabwe has done it.
And will do it again, this time more wisely!

For the love of our country and its people!!!

Tajamuka/Sesjikile Campaign

Farai Dziva|Outspoken politician Linda Masarira has taken over all MDC T social media accounts barely two weeks after being fired from the opposition party.

Masarira is in now totally in control of MDC T social media accounts and renamed them after her new political party, LEAD.

Masarira was fired for wearing Zanu PF regalia two weeks ago.

On Twitter, the Thokozani Khupe led MDC-T was using the username @MDC_Tofficial it has now been changed to @Lead_2019.

A defiant Masarira has vowed to take her LEAD project to dizzy heights despite widespread criticism from her political foes.

By Own Correspondent- Jah Prayzah’s manager, Keen Mushapaidze has claimed that his boss is apolitical.

He was speaking ahead of three United Kingdom (UK) concerts where Jah Prayzah is expected to perform alongside Winky D, Jah Signal, Baba Harare, Tocky Vibes and DJ Silence Dosh on April 19 through to 21.

Mushapaidze’s comments follow social media criticism of the Military Touch Movement boss and ZDF Ambassador.

In various circles, Jah Prayzah has been closely linked to the ZANU PF and the army. There are reports saying that UK fans have been trying to block Jah Praysah from performing in the country. Some have pledged to boycott his shows.

Mushapaidze told the Daily News that Jah Praisah’s music cuts across groups. He said:

“It has been always the case that people try to associate Jah Prayzah with politics but he is apolitical. The majority link him to Zanu PF but there are also some incidences where MDC leaders such as Nelson Chamisa and even the late Morgan Tsvangirai were seen in different videos dancing to his song Mdara Vachauya.

Songs can be interpreted differently and can be used by anyone. Remember a song ceases to ‘belong’ to the musician once it finds its way onto the market.

The manager also explained why his boss is largely associated with the army. He said that Jah is the appointed Zimbabwe Defence Forces Cultural Ambassador

By Own Correspondent- Kirsty Leigh Coventry, Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts, and Recreation announced on her official Twitter account on Wednesday that she will be going on maternity leave.

She said her leave had to start a bit earlier but she will be working hard to accomplish everything that needs to be done.

She said

By Own Correspondent- A joint operation by the police and army is reported to have invaded Bindura following the murder of two soldiers by gold panners over sex workers.

The incident reportedly occurred around 1 AM on Tuesday.

Locals said that the fight started in a bar and spilled outside where the miners armed themselves with machetes, knives and empty beer bottles and attacked 4 soldiers.

Zimbabwe National Army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Alphios Makotore revealed that the four soldiers were deployed in Bindura where they were to take part in rehearsals for the Independence Day parade.

The police are believed to have rounded up women in the suburb suspected of being prostitutes for investigation. This has however attracted backlash from human rights activists.

By Own Correspondent- Two people are now in police custody over a hoax resurrection video flighted in February by pastor Alph Lukau’s Alleluia Ministries International.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Louw-Mjonondwane confirmed to TimesLIVE on Tuesday afternoon that two people were arrested on fraud charges in connection with the alleged resurrection.

“They are in custody. They will be appearing in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court (soon) to apply for bail,” she said.

Police spokesperson Capt Mavela Masondo said in March that SAPS was investigating three cases of fraud opened in connection with the “resurrection” incident.

“One case was opened by a funeral parlour based here in Gauteng, another case was opened by people who said they were concerned citizens, and a third one was opened by pastor Paseka Motsoeneng,” said Masondo.

Motsoeneng had staged a protest at Lukau’s offices for “bringing Christianity into disrepute” and opened a case at the Sandton police station.

Kings and Queens funeral parlour denied any knowledge of the deceased or selling the coffin to the church.

Brighton Moyo, the man falsely “brought back to life”, has meanwhile died of pneumonia in his home country of Zimbabwe, TimesLIVE reported this week.

There he was known as Thabiso Mlanje, 28.

Initially dubbed “Elliot” by Alleluia Ministries, he had on a previous occasion been “healed” from being confined to a wheelchair, a colleague of his said.

Moyo, who according to his family had been in SA since 2011, had been employed by a customised door manufacturing company prior to going missing after the “resurrection” hoax.

The church had denied knowing in advance that it was a “fake miracle”.

“At no stage did pastor Alph claim that he resurrected the person shown in the video, who was identified to him as Elliot. From the video footage, it is clearly stated that when the mortuary vehicle arrived at the church premises, there was already movement in the coffin.

“Prior to even praying for Elliot, pastor Alph states that Elliot is in fact breathing,” said the church in statement issued at the time the scandal first broke.

READ TAJAMUKA STATEMENT BELOW….

Fellow citizens!

We note with grave concern the skyrocketing of basic commodities, in particular bread. We are very concerned about this. It appears this is just the beginning of another tumble of the RTGS to the great detriment of us-the ordinary people. We cannot remain silent. We have to speak out against the increases of basic commodities which is not mirrored by any positive salary adjustments for those who still have a salary to talk about.

As we announced in our first press conference after the January protests a few days ago, we have begun rolling out another wave of peaceful and non-violent protests against the ill fated Mnangagwa government and it’s bad and anti-people policies.

We cannot ask Mnangagwa and his illegal government to reduce the price of bread as this is not the root cause of the problem but we ask Mnangagwa to reflect on the untold suffering and the abject poverty poverty he has put the nation through.

We are calling for all and sundry to join Tajamuka in condemning him and his government and to call upon them to effectively resolve the economic crisis within a reasonable space of time. Failure to do so will result in earth shattering demonstrations reminiscent of the ones we led in 2016 which led to the abdication of President Mugabe.

Algeria has done it.
Sudan has done it.
Zimbabwe has done it.
And will do it again, this time more wisely!

By Own Correspondent- Nurses at Sadza District Hospital in Chivhu District staged a demonstration over the poor diet given to patients at the health centre while the administration.

The nurses on Tuesday marched from the hospital to the administration block waving placards and chanting songs that denounced the conduct of the administrators.

Said a source who spoke to a local publication:

“The food that is given to patients is pathetic and yet we have those in higher offices spending lavishly on their food and other consumables. They eat bacon and eggs for breakfast and they drink soft drinks daily while patients are fed a very poor diet.”

Contacted for comment, Sadza District Hospital medical officer Hugh Manyere said he was busy:

“I have some visitors who want to donate towards Cyclone Idai. I can’t comment at the moment.

Mashonaland East Zimbabwe Nurses’ Association chairperson Stewart Mudzingwa said that the nurses were justified in their demonstration.

Said Mudzingwa:

The demonstration was justified because there are some issues which we feel should be addressed locally for smooth service delivery rather than to wait for government intervention.-Newsday

By Own Correspondent- Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) chief investigation officer Tinashe Madakadze had submitted the financial statements before magistrate Hosea Mujaya as exhibits through prosecutor George Manokore.

Walter Magaya’s Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries yesterday disowned unstamped financial statements presented in court as exhibits in the church’s alleged tax evasion case.

But PHD lawyers Oliver Marwa and Admire Rubaya challenged the documents, saying they wanted to know how they were acquired before they could be tendered as exhibits in court.

PHD Ministries, represented by Tawanda Marimo, is being charged with failing to declare tax on over $28 million revenue accumulated from 2013 to last year.

Madakadze told the court that the documents were retrieved from PHD Ministries’ computers seized from the church’s premises after they refused to voluntarily submit them pertaining to the sale of anointing oil, wrist bands and other items.

The Zimra chief further told the court that after seizing the computers, they asked the accused person to provide the passwords of the computers and they sent two employees, Winnie Matimati and Tatenda Chinguwa, to grant them access into the computer files.

However, Madakadze said after retrieving the documents from their computers, Zimra asked Magaya’s officials to bring their church stamp to authenticate the printouts as the true copies retrieved from their computers, but they refused saying Marimo was responsible for stamping such documents.

Marwa, however, objected to the tendering of the financial statements as exhibits, saying the witness fabricated the documents. This led to the court to conduct a trial within a trial to establish their authenticity.

However, during cross-examination,. a letter from Marimo directing Matimati and Chinguwa to assist Zimra was tendered in court as an exhibit. But the State could not produce the letter in which Marimo accepted the financial statements as legitimate.

Magistrate Mujaya was expected to rule on the said exhibits submission.-DailyNews

By Own Correspondent- The MDC is set to hold its 5th Bulawayo provincial Congress today.

The congress was reportedly shelved several times due to squabbles within the party’s provincial structures.

MDC officials have however denied that the delay in the holding of the Congress has something to do with infighting.

Provincial party spokesperson Edwin Ndlovu said:

“The delay has not been caused by infighting but it was due to the fact that the senior officials, who are supposed to be in charge of the elections, we’re still doing other provinces.

Today (yesterday) we are finishing the remaining wards and the elections will happen concurrently with the remaining district elections after which they will nominate those they want to represent them at the provincial level.

So as soon as this is done, it then means that tomorrow (Wednesday) we will be holding our provincial election.”

Party president Nelson Chamisa has been nominated by all the 8 provinces that have held Congresses so far.-DailyNews

By Own Correspondent- The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has demanded payment of teachers’ salaries in United States dollars.

The teachers’ body said in a statement:

“A living wage for enhanced production. (A reminder submitted to the government today demanding a living wage for teachers.)

15-04-2019
Zimbabwean workers have been hailed globally for being highly competent and hard working.

In a sharp contrast back home they are scorned by their own government at times they are labelled as lazy and unproductive.
The low morale of the working class is caused by underpayment and at times no payment at all.

Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, ARTUZ has been at the forefront of demanding better wages for the teachers of Zimbabwe in particular.

The Union has been accused of being an agent of regime change and the State has launched an onslaught targeting the leadership and membership of the Union.

ARTUZ is committed to the fight for a living wage and remains undeterred by the State’s barbaric response. A living wage for the working class is fundamental if Zimbabwe is going to unlock its growth potential.

The first learning term of 2019 was a disaster as teachers spent most of the learning term demanding salary increment as they were failing to meet the costs of living.

The government should realise that our economy will only tick when the workers are high productivity. We can’t use the stick to force production but we can motivate through competitive remuneration of our workers.

We don’t want to lose learning time in the second term and we urge the government to sober up and pay its workers in United States Dollars or the market equivalent of the amount agreed in 2012.

Government should realise that if they exploit their own workers they are setting bad precedence which can be emulated by uncouth business people in the private sector.

We have neither run out of ideas nor energy to fight on the streets but we decided to communicate this reminder to our government before squaring off on the streets as has become the norm.

This communique has been delivered to government officials and we will wait for a response before we fight back.”

By Own Correspondent- Opposition MDC Alliance member who is Nyanga Rural District Council Ward 26 councillor, Elias Mashumba has died.

Mashumba died (Tuesday) after a short illness at Bonda Mission in Mutasa Central.

Trevor Sarawuka, Mutasa Central MP and outgoing MDC Manicaland provincial spokesperson confirmed the sad news.

He said:

“It is with a heavy heart that we inform people of the sad departure of councillor Mashumba, who was elected in July 2018 to represent the interests and concerns of the predominantly forestry area of Erin, Selborne and Mutarazi.

Mashumba was a hardworking councillor whose departure is going to be felt by many. We are sure that the seat is going to remain in the MDC Alliance hands since it has been our stronghold since 2000.”

The spokesperson advised that burial arrangements will be announced in due course.-Newsday