MINES minister Winston Chitando says he expects to announce a diamond policy later this month, which will also regularise the operations of the State-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC).

The policy is expected to lead to the unbundling of ZCDC and put legal requirements for mining companies to have corporate social responsibility programmes.

ZCDC was established in 2015 after government cancelled licences of miners in the Chiadzwa fields and consolidated all the diamond mining concessions in the area under ZCDC.

But the parliamentary committee on mines in the previous Parliament recommended that ZCDC be shut down because it was illegally constituted, while it was also revealed that former Mines secretary Francis Gundyanga and an unidentified individual held shares in the company. Government said it later bought them out.

“The diamond policy will be announced by November to give guidance on the operations of the diamond industry in the country, and specifically to deal with issues of ZCDC,” Chitando told the parliamentary committee on mines.

ZCDC expects to produce three million carats this year, up from 1,6 million last year, while production could hit 12 million carats in 2023.

Chitando also gave an overview of the mining sector, where he said currently, there were three major producers of platinum – Unki, Zimplats and Mimosa mines – which were either at stages of expansion, exploration, or finishing major projects.

“We are targeting that the final funding arrangements for the Great Dyke Investments be done by December, and we expect to see a major doubling up of the platinum sector through value addition,” he said.

Chitando told the committee he expects a total of 34 tonnes of gold by year end, a new record.

“The overall projection of gold is to get to 100 tonnes per annum, and this will be done through increasing support for the small-scale miners. There will be a $100 million facility for medium and large-scale miners,” Chitando said

NewsDay

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has reportedly cracked the whip on top ally and State residences principal director Douglas Tapfuma, who has been implicated in alleged corrupt deals, including the disappearance of $6,4 million at Hwange Colliery.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa
Tapfuma, who replaced, Dzapasi Tizora, a top ally of former President Robert Mugabe in January this year, has now been relegated to a less influential post of principal director (PD), monitoring and evaluation in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).

Coxwell Chigwana is the new principal director of the State House, according to tweet by the Information ministry late Tuesday evening.

“We have noted a number of media inquiries regarding the position of principal director at the State House Residence. PD Douglas Tapfuma has been reassigned as PD monitoring and evaluation in the OPC. Coxwell Chigwana takes over as PD at the State Residence,” the ministry said.

The tweet came after NewsDay tried in vain to secure a comment from the same ministry during the day, with secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana professing ignorance of the shake-up.

“Reassignments and redeployments are a normal part of civil service life,” Mangwana later told NewsDay yesterday.

Well-placed sources said Tapfuma was facing several allegations, including abusing Mnangagwa’s name and using letters from the President’s Office to facilitate the importation of vehicles for friends and relatives duty-free.

The same letters were also allegedly being used to evade paying Zimbabwe National Road Administration toll gate fees.

According to the sources, the reassignment, instigated by Mnangagwa, has been done to pave way for investigations into Tapfuma’s alleged misconduct.

The Zanu PF leader was reportedly irked after his name was dragged into the Hwange Colliery saga where $6,4 million meant for exploration could not be accounted for.

“He (Mnangagwa) had received many complaints about Tapfuma before, but the Hwange issue was the last straw,” a well-placed source said.

Last week, the Zanu PF Midlands central committee member was implicated in the Hwange Colliery scandal where the company’s board members claimed he was working with one Shephard Tundiya to call shots at the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed company.

Mnangagwa and Mines minister Winston Chitando’s names were also dragged into the scandal after Tundiya reportedly summoned the Hwange Colliery board members to State House where they were met by Tapfuma, who claimed he was representing the President.

The board members and senior managers claimed they were abducted in mafia-style by Tundiya, who claimed he was well-connected to Mnangagwa.

They also claimed they were summoned to State House to see Mnangagwa, but only met Tapfuma in the company of Tundiya, who ordered the reinstatement of fired managers.

Tapfuma is also accused of abusing his office to prejudice the State.

“He is accused of abusing State machinery and apparatus by giving friends and relatives letters from the President’s Office for them to be exempted from paying duty,” an official said.

“Apart from that, he is also being investigated for nepotism after he facilitated the employment of his relatives in various government departments.”

Tapfuma, a former Zanu PF provincial administrator, was promoted to principal director in Mnangagwa’s office when the latter was still Vice-President in 2014. He was roped in as principal director based at State House in January.

Sources claimed Tapfuma used the letters from the President’s Office to assist a fellow Zanu PF official from Midlands to import Toyota Quantum commuter omnibuses without paying duty. He is also alleged to have imported some farm and industrial equipment from South Africa without paying duty.

NewsDay

FORMER ICT minister, Supa Mandiwanzira yesterday described his night at Matapi police cells in Mbare as uncomfortable.

Mandiwanzira, who is facing two counts of abuse of office, spent the night at Matapi before appearing in court yesterday where he was released on $2 000 bail.

When asked whether he had complaints against the police, through his lawyers Brian Hungwe and Selby Hwacha, Mandiwanzira said the Matapi cells were uncomfortable.

“There are no formal complaints against the police but the court may note that the Matapi cells were uncomfortable, there was no reason for the former minister to sleep at the cells as the matter was ready for trial yesterday,” said Hwacha.

Supa Mandiwanzira after being released on $2,000 bail.

The State led by Michael Chakandida opposed the sentiments raised by the defence saying that they were still within their 48 hours allowed by law and the matter was not yet ready for trial.

The matter was presided over by chief magistrate, Mishrod Guvamombe who granted Mandiwanzira $2000 bail.

The other bail conditions included reporting twice a week at Borrowdale Police Station, to provide surety in the form of tittle deeds valued at $100 000 and not to interfere with State witnesses in the matter.

Magistrate Guvamombe commended the State for being able to provide the list of State witnesses before trial as they have often failed to provide the list before trial in other high profile cases.

The State witnesses are Dr Sam Kundishora, Reward Kangai, Alex Marufu, Ozias Bvute and Brian Mutandiro.

It is the State’s case that in the first count, NetOne being represented by former CEO Reward Kangai and a Chinese company Huawei Technologies, entered into a contract for the supply of network expansion and modernisation equipment, the value of the contract was US$218 954 843.

After securing the contract, NetOne secured a loan through the Ministry of Finance and Huawei began implementing the contract immediately.

On January 19, 2015, a South African company called Megawatt Energy wrote a correspondence to former Minister Mandiwanzira introducing themselves, they sought a meeting and they later met to engage Megawatt purportedly on pro-bono basis.

Megawatt Energy Pvt Ltd is owned by Liu Xiadong and co-owns a business property with Blue Nightingale in Johannesburg where Mandiwanzira is a director.

Mandiwanzira is alleged to have subsequently engaged Megawatt to review the pricing made by Huawei without going to tender and regardless of the fact that there was no contract between Megawatt and Netone, Megawatt did the work that Huawei had been contracted to do.

On October 12, it is alleged that Mandiwanzira held a meeting at the ministry office boardroom in which he gave a chronology of how the Ministry came to contract Megawatt as well as the mandate given to Megawatt.

In February 2016, Mandiwanzira allegedly called another meeting which was attended to by the NetOne board claiming that Megawatt had successfully negotiated the price down to $30 million and directed Alex Marufu and Reward Kangai to pay $4 million to Megawatt, a demand to which they refused.

In the second count, it is alleged that Mandiwanzira fraudulently brought his Personal Assistant Raymond Chinembiri who was employed by AB Communications to be the Ministry’s representative to sit on both POTRAZ and USF board meetings.

By this move, Mandiwanzira violated the Corporate Governance Principles in that he was supposed to appoint appropriately qualified personnel from the ministry that was knowledgeable in the area of mandate.

Chinembiri was paid a total of $35000 in allowances.

The matter was remanded to November 30 for interim and the trial date is set to commence on 10 or 11 December.

Correspondent|A VIDEO of a raucous between musician Andy Muridzo and his wife Chido Manyange aka Mai Keketso is flaming on social media.

Rumour since Wednesday morning was that the dreadlocked musician who seemingly has hot pants had abandoned his wife and moved in with a new flame a one Nyarie Mukucha. His wife apparently found out and tried to smoke him out.

This isn’t Andy Muridzo’s first rodeo act, however, as he once set tongues wagging when he dated popular pole dancer and stripper Beverly Sibanda whom he reportedly bedded without using protection much to the shock of most Zimbabweans.

Some social media analysts have however dismissed the video as a cheap publicity stunt, possibly to stay afloat in these trying times or as a precursor to a new project/album!

IT never rains but pours for Obert Mpofu, the Zanu PF secretary for administration who is being frustrated by a group of former liberation war fighters who want him out.

Dr Mpofu is topping the list of under fire Zanu PF functionaries that have received a hostile reception at the party headquarters.

Trouble is brewing in Zanu PF, with some militant war veterans pushing for former Cabinet ministers now stationed at the party’s Harare headquarters to be expelled from the former liberation movement for alleged corruption and undermining President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

This comes as Mnangagwa and his government are under pressure to stabilise the country’s sickly economy which has been in turmoil ever since Finance minister Mthuli Ncube unveiled a cocktail of measures aimed at mitigating the situation.

The old Zanu PF guard — which includes former ministers who were shunted to the party’s HQ after Mnangagwa appointed a new Cabinet – could become victims of the disgruntled war veterans who were “envious” of these bigwigs’ mouth-watering perks which are similar to those of serving ministers.

Mnangagwa re-assigned these “chefs” to the party’s headquarters — commonly referred to as Shake Shake House in Harare street lingo — in a bid to breathe new life in government and to strengthen the former liberation movement’s administration.

War veterans chairpersons drawn from the country’s 10 provinces recently petitioned Mnangagwa in this regard, demanding the removal of Zanu PF’s secretary for administration Obert Mpofu and fellow former ministers David Parirenyatwa, Patrick Chinamasa and Sydney Sekeramayi — who are all politburo members.

DailyNews

Correspondent|POLICE have launched a manhunt for the Smart Express bus driver, Cosmas Marembo, who fled together with his conductor soon after surviving the horrific bus accident that killed 47 people yesterday evening.

The accident involving Bolt Cutter and Smart Express buses occurred at around 5.30pm at the 166km peg along the Harare-Mutare Road.

Manicaland police spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa confirmed that they were keen to interview Marembo.

“We are still searching for the Smart Express bus driver Cosmas Marembo who fled together with his conductor soon after surviving the horrific bus accident on Wednesday.

“We appeal to members of the public who could be aware of his whereabouts to contact the nearest police station,” said Insp Kakohwa.

More to follow…

PARLIAMENT has no room for mum and redundant legislators who contribute nothing during sessions and committees, Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda warned yesterday.

Addressing portfolio committee chairpersons in Bulawayo, Advocate Mudenda said appropriate action will be taken against silent legislators to avoid wasting taxpayers’ funds. He said the non-contributors will be reported to their political parties for inefficiency.

“I have not heard or received in writing a complaint from any of the chairpersons complaining that this honourable MP is not contributing. I have said it from the beginning during the induction of legislators that where there is no performance by an honourable Member of Parliament, let us know within one year so that we can advise the party from where that member comes and say that this member has not performed,” said Adv Mudenda.

He said an audit would be carried out to check on the performance of the legislators.

“In the House it’s very easy, we will carry out an audit, those who remain silent perpetually, we will advise the respective political parties because you are not representing the interests of that party. You are there, just there keeping quiet. So in committees it’s the same, tell me who is giving problems, tell me who is perpetually absent, tell us! You have a register; if you read the rules they clearly tell you that there must be an attendance register. We must do self cleaning,” said Adv Mudenda.

He said page 153 of the Standing Rules and Orders clearly states that the committee clerk must at the conclusion of any meeting of the select committee, submit to the Clerk of Parliament a return showing the day of the meeting, the hour the committee met and adjourned, the name and time of arrival of any member of the committee who attended a meeting of the Committee from the commencement of its business.

Advocate Mudenda said the clerk should also supply the name and time of departure of any member of the Committee who left and did not return before the meeting was adjourned or the committee had concluded its business.

The Speaker of Parliament said the rules also demand names of members absent with or without leave and members entitled to sitting allowances. “In the last five years I have not seen an attendance list which indicates continuous absence and those who are absent perpetually are short-changing the tax payer. They are short-changing the party that sponsored them to come to Parliament,” said Adv Mudenda.

He said legislators must not hide behind their party’s whipping system to contribute nothing.

“There is this thing of whipping. I belong to a party but I have not heard that you are whipped to say nothing. So those that remain quiet should not put forward whipping to cover up for their inactivity and ignorance,” said Adv Mudenda.

A research carried out by women empowerment non-governmental organisation, the Women in Politics Support Unit (Wipsu) last year showed that only 35 MPs out of 350 have been actively contributing to debates in Parliament in the four years they had been elected.

The Wipsu research shows 52 MPs are mum and not contributing at all to debate in Senate and the National Assembly.

“Parliament has 350 MPs and as at December 2016, 125 of those are women, which constitutes 34 percent and which is the highest number ever of female MPs,” the report read.

“As at March 2017, since the beginning of the Eighth Session of Parliament, a cohort of 35 MPs has been speaking actively in both Houses of Parliament while 52 MPs have not said anything and this group of MPs is made up of both men and women.”

HIGH Court Judge Justice David Mangota on Wednesday 7 November 2018 dismissed an application filed by a relative of a shooting victim of the August 2018 violence challenging the legality of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s executive decision to appoint the Commission of Inquiry set up to probe the post-election violence including its composition.

Allison Charles, whose brother Gavin Dean Charles was shot and killed alongside other civilians in post-election violence on 1 August 2018, had together with Counselling Services Unit (CSU) petitioned the High Court challenging the legality of Mnangagwa’s executive decision to appoint the Commission of Inquiry, its composition and its terms of reference.

In the application filed by Chris Mhike of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and argued by Advocate Eric Matinenga, Charles and CSU contended that Mnangagwa’s decision on 29 August 2018 to appoint the Commission of Inquiry was unconstitutional and that the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission or the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission should be appointed to conduct investigations into the 1 August 2018 violence.

Charles and CSU also wanted Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission or the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission to be authorised to appoint members of the Commission of Inquiry and to formulate the commission’s terms of reference.

Charles and CSU also wanted the appointment of Professor Lovemore Madhuku and Professor Charity Manyeruke to serve as Commissioners in the Commission of Inquiry to be set aside on the basis that they are biased in favour of government and the ruling ZANU PF party.

But Justice Mangota on Wednesday 7 November 2018 dismissed the application after ruling that the Commission of Inquiry was legally set up and that the conduct of the authority which constituted it is above reproach.

Justice Mangota accused Charles and CSU of seeking to derail the work of the Commission of Inquiry and also ruled that the appointment of Professor Madhuku and Professor Manyeruke to serve as Commissioners cannot be challenged.

Jane Mlambo| Police have launched a manhunt for the Smart Express bus driver, Cosmas Marembo, who fled together with his conductor soon after surviving the horrific bus accident that killed 47 people yesterday evening.

More to follow…

VIDEO BELOW

Terrence Mawawa|There is pandemonium at Masvingo Provincial Hospital as authorities are demanding referral letters from critically ill patients- without offering any medical assistance.

Hundreds of patients, including some who are critically ill are being asked to produce referral letters from local clinics.

Hundreds of patients are being forced to resort to natural herbs due to the refusal by authorities at the biggest referral centre in Masvingo Province to officer medical services to individuals who fail to produce referral letters.

“People are dying as a result of the mishap at Masvingo Provincial Hospital.The situation must be resolved as a matter of urgency,” said a Masvingo based medical practitioner.

However Masvingo Provincial Medical Director Dr Amadeus Shamu told a Masvingo based weekly publication there was need to decongest the crowded provincial hospital.

“We embarked on the move in accordance with provisions enshrined in the Medical Act. We want to decongest the hospital because most of the cases can be dealt with at local clinics,” said Shamu.

Terrence Mawawa|A Zanu PF MP has been implicated in shadowy black market fuel deals at a time Emmerson Mnangagwa’ s government is blaming the opposition for the economic quagmire in the country.

Zaka West MP Onias Murambiwa is allegedly involved in illicit black market deals, an accusation he denies.

“The MP obtains fuel under his Parliamentary privileges and sadly he has chosen to abuse his esteemed position by forming secret syndicates with black marked dealers,” sources in Zaka said.

“The MP is working with pirate taxi drivers and touts to exploit the already suffering local residents and villagers,” an official at Zaka Rural District Council offices said yesterday.

Former Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, (ZIMRA) commissioner general Gershem Pasi who was arrested yesterday on allegations of criminal abuse of office has been since been released on $2 000 bail.

Pasi pleaded with the court to lower his bail fee which had been pegged at $5000, committing to pay $2000 which both parties eventually settled for.

It is the state’s case that Pasi acted unlawfully and inconsistent with his duties by engaging a third party in the acquisition of the information management system in the process causing an amount of US$23 763 780.65 to be transferred out of the country to beneficiaries who are yet to be determined.

Jane Mlambo| President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced that the Rusape bus accident that left 47 people dead will be declared a national disaster to enable the mobilisation of resources to offer treatment to injured victims and support to families of the bereaved members.

In a statement released this afternoon, Mnangagwa said he has since directed the responsible minister to declare the accident a national disaster calling on traffic enforcement agents to respond the rampant lawlessness on the roads and ensure a culture of compliance and safety on the roads.

He added that the use of unroadworthy vehicles on the roads amount to criminal breach of trust between transporters and commuters who expect and deserve a safe transit.

Below are snippets from Mnangagwa’s statement;

“That so many lives were lost in just one traffic incident raises serious questions about the behaviour on our roads, especially that of those responsible for offering and operating passenger services. The use of vehicles that are not roadworthy, or drivers who do not seem to care for passenger safety, amount to criminal breach of trust between bus operators and paying commuters who expect and deserve safe transit. Both the responsible Ministry and our law enforcement agents must use this bloody accident to close in on all those bus operators, drivers and road users who put profit and speed above life, thus causing avoidable carnage on our roads. Equally, the rampant lawlessness now evident on our highways and especially on our dense urban roads, must now meet with a robust response from our traffic enforcement agents whose duty is to ensure a culture of compliance and safety on all our roads.

“In view of the magnitude of the loss of human life in this one incident, I have since directed that the responsible ministry takes steps to declare this accident a national disaster in order to enable the mobilisation of resources both for the treatement of all those injured and for the support to families which have lost their loved ones.

Jane Mlambo| Fresh details on the cause of the Rusape bus disaster that claimed 47 lives yesterday evening, have emerged.

According to Acting Officer Commanding Rusape District Isaac Gowe, who spoke to ZBC News this morning, the accident occurred when the two buses side swiped, and not a head-on collision as widely reported on social media.

Gowe added that 40 people died on the spot, 5 died on their way to hospital last night, while 2 more passed on this morning, bringing the death toll to 47.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Joel Biggie Matiza and Manicaland Minister of State Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba have visited the Rusape bus accident scene today.

A command centre has since been set up at Rusape General Hospital following the Rusape bus accident which has so far claimed 47 lives.

The hospital has been overwhelmed this morning as relatives visit to identify their relatives.

It has been clarified that when the media put the death toll at 47 last night, the figure actually stood at 45.

According to Acting Officer Commanding Rusape District Isaac Gowe, who spoke to ZBC News this morning, 40 people died on the spot, 5 died on their way to hospital last night, while 2 more passed on this morning, bringing the death toll to 47.

It has also been clarified that the accident occurred when the two buses side swiped, and not a head-on collision.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families of the tragedy on the Harare-Mutare Road last night pic.twitter.com/z7YUJ2SWtA

— President of Zimbabwe (@edmnangagwa) November 8, 2018

The accident that has claimed lives in Rusape is very sad and shocking. We have lost our loved ones and we must mourn as a nation. This is a dark day for #Zimbabwe. May they all rest in peace.

— Raj Modi (@RModiByoSouth) November 7, 2018

I would like to convey my condolences to the bereaved families after the unfortunate bus accident in Rusape which claimed 47 lives. May they be comforted & strengthened through this trying time. I urge all drivers to be cautious & more so especially as we enter the festive season

— Dr. Nkosana Moyo (@DrNkosana) November 8, 2018

My prayers are with the bereaved families & friends who have lost their loved ones in the #RusapeBusAccident.It’s saddening.I pray for the injured to get well soon. Gvt must move in to assist all the injured and deceased’s families during this trying time.R.I.P our dear departed!

— nelson chamisa (@nelsonchamisa) November 8, 2018

An adopted son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Abhallha Mone Moussa Moummare has engaged a local lawyer to challenge his continued detention at Harare Remand Prison where he has been held for five years without trial.

Top lawyer, Charles Warara yesterday confirmed that he had been engaged by Moummare to challenge his detention after he fled the oil-rich country at the height of a civil war in 2011.

“Yes, I have been engaged to assist him to seek legal recourse as he had been on remand for many years and whatever his case is, it should come to an end,” Warara said.

Gaddafi was deposed from power and killed in 2011 after the popular Arab Spring uprising which swept across the North African Arab region.

In July this year, Moummare approached the High Court on a self-representation basis challenging his continued detention.

“I have requested that he be brought to the High Court today, so that I could talk to him and be able to represent him with a full understanding of his case. I have not yet talked to him other than seeing his papers that narrate his case. I will need to get his word so that we can get on the matter,” Warara stated.

According to his handwritten High Court application, which was then forwarded to Warara for legal assistance, Moummare said he came to Zimbabwe because his father had a good relationship with the country’s leadership.

“I left Libya after the assassination of my father in 2011 to seek asylum and protection in Zimbabwe due to the good relationship between Libya and Zimbabwe,” he wrote in the application.

Moummare said when he arrived in the country in April 2014, he presented himself to authorities with the hope that he would be taken to a refugee camp.

But instead, he was taken to the remand prison and no charges have been levelled against him so far.

NewsDay

Correspondent|ZIMBABWE’S leading brewer has said the government dithering over a controversial tax on money transfers has led to panic buying of beer and a disruption in fuel supplies, overshadowing a bumper six-month period of sales.

Delta Beverages, which has the world’s biggest brewer as its largest shareholder, said business confidence has been undermined in the country by “conflicting statements from authorities”.

The shortage of fuel has disrupted deliveries while a surge in demand has made the market unpredictable, it said in a results presentation on Wednesday.

Finance minister Mthuli Ncube introduced the levy last month to help repair stretched state finances, only for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to announce a rethink after a wave of panic buying and a rise in basic-commodity prices.

Foreign-exchange shortages and austerity measures have also hurt consumers yet to see signs of an economic revival after the ouster of Robert Mugabe a year ago.

Delta’s performance in the six months to the end of September benefited from the optimistic mood that characterised the election period, with lager sales jumping 54% to $187m. Volumes passed their historical peak in 2012-2013, with sorghum beer production also rising.

— Source Bloomberg

A LOCAL traditional leader in Masvingo on Tuesday took advantage of the signing ceremony of the Great Zimbabwe Preservation Project — where the United States donated $475 000 — to beg the superpower to remove sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Chief Murinye (pictured), who had been asked to give a vote of thanks after the donation made through US ambassador Brian Nichols, appealed to the diplomat to inform President Donald Trump to lift the economic embargo on Zimbabwe.

“I thank you for the donation. The monuments fall under my jurisdiction and it is my ancestors who built it. However, I beg you to go and tell President Trump to remove sanctions on Zimbabwe,” he said.

During the ceremony earlier on, Masvingo Provincial Affairs minister Ezra Chadzamira had also said if the US was really sincere with Zimbabwe, then it should make wholesale concessions.

“Let us be guided by the desire for our two countries to create a better world for our people. This is the environment which will make our monuments safe and protected. In the event that we disagree on other issues, let us be guided by this medical principle: you can cut a limb to save life. You cannot take away life to save a limp. May your assistance to the Great Zimbabwe monuments today be symbolic of broader participation by the US in the realisation of the President of Zimbabwe’s vision of making our country an upper middle economy by 2030,” Chadzamira said.

US Ambassador Brian Nichols with Masvingo Provincial Minister Ezra Chadzamira Nichols, in his speech had, however, reiterated that the US was committed to assisting Zimbabwe.

“Our presence in Zimbabwe continues to be a sign of the American people’s friendship and commitment to Zimbabwe. We are also building a new embassy modelled on the great Zimbabwe monuments. Our project has injected more than $14 million into the Zimbabwean economy and employed 1 200 locals. We have an unwavering commitment to the people and culture of Zimbabwe and the friendship between our two peoples,” Nichols said.

World Monuments Fund programme director for sub-Saharan Africa Stephen Battle, said he was grateful for the trust bestowed on them by the country to preserve the site.

“We are grateful for the US embassy and the people of the US for the generous support for this project. I would also like to thank the people of Zimbabwe for the trust they placed in us to carry out this project. We understand the significance of the Great Zimbabwe Monuments for the people of Zimbabwe, and I pledge it will be treated with the care and respect it deserves,” he said.

GWERU City Council management has put forward an expenditure of $660 000 to go towards the purchase of all-terrain 4×4 vehicles for top officials and a posh. $150,000 Mercedes-Benz for mayor Josiah Makombe.

The itemised expenditures are included in the 2019 budget submission presented to thematic committees and key stakeholders by the finance director Edgar Mwedzi this week. Management intends to buy six all-terrain 4×4 vehicles — at $85 000 each — for the five department heads, Mwedzi (Finance), Sam Sekenhamo (Health Services), Shingirayi Tigere (Housing and Community Services) and Robson Manase (Engineering Services) as well as town clerk Elizabeth Gwatipedza and chamber secretary Vakai Douglas Chikwekwe.

Council also intends to purchase a Mercedes Benz C class for mayor Makombe at a cost of $150 000.

Gwatipedza confirmed the plans and said since appointment in 2016, she and the city council directors have not been given brand new vehicles, which were part of their conditions of service.

“Yes, the plan is to include purchase of the vehicles in the 2019 budget. Gweru city recruited directors in 2016 and since then, no vehicles were purchased for them. As you may be aware, before April 2016, it was only the director of finance who was substantive,” she said.

Gweru Residents Forum chairperson Charles Mazorodze, however, immediately shot back at the plans to spend big on the vehicles, saying council must prioritise service delivery problems bedevilling the city.

“The proposed purchase of a luxurious mayoral Benz C Class to the tune of $150 000 for mayor Makombe and six 4×4 vehicles for city directors is an insult to residents, especially considering the serious financial crisis of revenue income at council. The plans come at a time when the road network system is in a deplorable state and the traffic lights in the central business district are all not working,” he said.

“The city is grappling with the typhoid outbreak and the rehabilitation of the public toilet systems is at its low in the city. Water and sewer services need serious funding to resuscitate them. These are areas where money must be channelled to instead of the cars.” He said it was better to channel the money towards purchase of more skip bins to tackle the erratic garbage collection problem in suburbs.

Makombe, however, told Southern Eye that the proposed purchases were still being discussed at management level, but he also expressed concern over such extravagance.

“We are yet to sit down with councillors to deliberate on those figures, but there is no way we can buy cars at such expensive prices. Our priorities as of now are water and service delivery for our residents,” he said.

“I think the planned cost of a car for my use is too much. I do not even think a Merc will do for a mayor who is not executive. What is needed is a car to use, but not an expensive one.”

He rubbished reports that council management intended to pamper him with the vehicle so he would not fight the plans to purchase the vehicles.

“I am principled and I will not go that route if that is what they think. I will put service delivery first, and above all, I have my own cars and so I cannot be enticed by one,” he said.

Cecil Zvidzai, the MDC Alliance national secretary for local government, declined to comment on the matter, but indicated that he would engage the councillors and management as “an interested stakeholder”.

The proposed 2019 budget is pegged at $44 million. Gweru is financially crippled and between January and August this year managed to collect $12 080 149 out of a targeted $38 533 380.

— NewsDay

Correspondent|POLICE last night arrested former Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) commissioner-general Gershem Pasi over criminal abuse of office.

“I can confirm that Pasi has been arrested. He is likely to appear in court tomorrow (today).

“He is being charged with contravening section 174 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act as a public officer,” police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi told announced last night.

Pasi was suspended in April 2016 after allegations of corruption involving vehicle imports. He eventually quit the tax agency in May last year.

Disgruntled members of the Mpilo Hospital Doctors Association (MHDA) have indicated that they are slowly losing faith in their employer and threatened to take industrial action over a cocktail of grievances one of which is payment of their salaries in ‘greenbacks’ (United States dollars)
In a press statement released by MHDA information desk, the medical practitioners said after previous engagements and fake promises they were giving their employer a warning of industrial action.

“It is with a heavy heart that the association notes disappointing and delaying tactics employed by our principals in addressing what is visibly an urgent national health crisis. Sadly the health sector, which handles life and death matters in the new dispensation, is still stuck in the nostalgia of the old dispensation where uncertainty, opaqueness and ‘wait and see’ approaches were the order of the old day.

The health sector is still forgotten and forsaken, in light of this and the following intensive discussions with our members, we have seen it appropriate to give our employer a warning of collective job action in the form of a strike. The prime objective is to motivate the ministry into reorienting and adapting itself to the new and unpleasant realities hovering over the health sector.

We take no pleasure or pride in engaging in strikes but it is the only disposable weapon that our principal can only understand,” read part of the statement.

The association cited several factors that needed attention and the list include transport allowance and housing allowance which they say should be revised to match the current economic status quo.

The doctors also demand the government to pay their salaries in foreign currency preferably United States dollars to match the current market environment.

“In the spirit of transparency and inclusiveness, we would like to inform our members that the majority of us seem to be geared for a strike come Real time Gross settlement (RTGS) payment day, for RTGS is an insult considering that December is coming and hospitals would be packed to the brim. We deserve better,” read the press statement.

The doctors want clarity in what the Health ministry is planning in regard to maintaining constant supply of hospital consumables. They also demand the government to address the issue pertaining to private pharmacies who are charging drugs only in United States Dollars which is beyond the reach of most patients.

Meanwhile the Zimbabwe Nurses Association has joined the doctors who are demanding the payment of their salaries in greenbacks to match the current economic hardships.

M&T

NINE surviving spouses and three guardians of the June 2017 horror accident involving a King Lion bus along the Harare-Chirundu Highway have filed a $2,2 million compensation lawsuit from the bus company and its insurers.

The accident occurred on June 17, 2017 and claimed 43 lives passengers after the bus driver failed to negotiate a sharp curve. The cross-border bus was heading to Lusaka, Zambia.

Through their lawyers Macheyo Law Chambers c/o Dzimba Jaravaza and Partners, the victims’ surviving spouses issued summons on October 26, 2018 citing the bus company and NicozDiamond Insurance as respondents.

Both the bus operator and the insurance company are yet to enter appearances to defend.

In their combined declaration, the victims’ relatives claimed the late bus driver, Jimson Ruzvidzo, drove negligently, resulting in the accident at the 257km peg.

Among those who were killed in the accident were Tinos Mashayanyika, Francis Chivaraidze, Shorai Ngazviipe, Thompson Mupanga, Marcus Mukonowatsauka, Coaster Saimani, Patrick Nyika, Maggie Nzuma, Naomi Jimu, Constance Gandanzara and Brenda Chiota.

“The late Jimson Ruzvidzo drove the bus in a negligent manner in that he continued to drive the bus while the wheel was under-inflated. He even continued to drive the bus when the wheel had failed, causing the wheel to be extensively damaged,” the application read.

“He ought to have realised that the wheel was under-inflated. Even worse, he ought to have realised that the wheel had failed. He also overloaded the bus. The bus had a carrying capacity of 65 passengers, but it had 90 passengers some of whom were standing and sitting in the passage and steps at the doorway.”

The plaintiffs further said on the day in question, the bus was speeding, causing the driver to fail to negotiate a curve.

“He failed to keep the bus under proper control or to stop it when the accident seemed imminent. The deceased persons were bread winners of the surviving spouses and their children,” they said.

“The plaintiffs (surviving spouses) claim compensation in the form of delictual or edictal damages from the defendants (King Lion and NicozDiamond). The first defendant (King Lion) is being sued in its capacity as the employee of the late Ruzvidzo and it is vicariously liable for the negligence of its employee, who was in the course of his duties when he was involved in this accident.

“The second defendant (NicozDiamond) is the insurer of the first defendant and is liable in terms of statutes to compensate dependants of the deceased passengers. All the plaintiffs claim for compensation in the form of delictual or edictal damages for themselves and their minor children from both the defendants jointly and severally one paying the other to be absolved. They also claim for interest at the prescribed rate from date of judgement to date of payment in full. They also claim costs of suit. The grand total claimed by all the plaintiff is $2 225 692.”

NewsDay

Correspondent|Norton Member of Parliament Temba Mliswa has described William Gerald Mutumanje, also known as Acie Lumumba, as a desperado and an insane person whom people must not give too much attention to. In a heated exchange on Twitter, Lumumba retorted: “I also once helped your desperate daughter at my apartment…”

Said Temba Mliswa: “The continued public and political infatuation with Acie Lumumba s theatrics is very disturbing for us as a people. It speaks to a defective society that we have become.”

“The guy is not normal, and I blame all those who are continuously dealing and infatuated with him for the mess. I have always been on record questioning his sanity.”

Mliswa said he once met the stranded Lumumba loitering around OR Tambo airpot in Johannesburg, South Africa and assisted him with transport fares.

“I once assisted the guy at OR Tambo airport whilst he was looking for money to go back home and he was looking like a destitute at a marketplace.”

Replying to @TembaMliswa
The guy is not normal and I blame all those who are continually dealing and infatuated with him for the mess. I have always been on record questioning his sanity.

@TembaMliswa
I once assisted the guy at OR Tambo airport whilst he was looking for money to go back home and he was looking like a destitute at a marketplace.

Mutumanje was last month briefly and irregularly appointed as the head of a communications taskforce in the Finance ministry.

Replying to @TembaMliswa
I once assisted the guy at OR Tambo airport whilst he was looking for money to go back home and he was looking like a destitute at a marketplace.

@acielumumba
I have also assisted your daughter at my apartment whilst she was looking for rent money, she was looking like a destitute. Before you look after grown men, why not look after your children? Happy to name her for you if you want kuti mutaure naye, it’s the lawyer.

Ncube was later pressured to sack him after he made staggering allegations on Facebook, on supposed illegal foreign currency dealings at the central bank – claims which shook Zanu-PF and the government to their core.

In that social media blast, Mutumanje named the four senior RBZ officials and Tagwirei as being at the centre of illegal foreign currency dealings- leading to the precautionary suspension of the central bank executives by governor John Mangudya.

In a leaked recorded voice message, Mutumanje revealed seemingly nonchalantly that he had ‘sold his soul to the devil’ by accepting the money- which he claimed he needed desperately to send his ailing father for treatment in India.

Correspondent|TOP Harare lawyer and civil rights activist, Advocate Fadzayi Mahere has taken it upon herself to seek clarification from Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube on what President Emmerson Mnangagwa really meant when he said we must take the pain.

Here below is Mahere’s letter:

Dear Mthuli Ncube

My question is to do with the meaning of ‘taking the pain.’
1. Does it cover Presidential travel – eg use of Swiss jets vs Air Zim?
2. Does it include endless foreign trips by Govt that cost the fiscus?
3. Does it only apply to citizens?

Addressing a Professional Women, Women Executives and Business Women Forum (Proweb) breakfast meeting in October Mnamngagwa said, “The liberalisation of the economy has its own pains [and] this is one of the pains that we are going to go through. I am happy that you have said I am decisive for good or bad, I am decisive for us again to become a viable economy, a solid economy, we are going to take measures that are going to be painful and this is one of such measures.”

Adv. Mahere’s letter come at a time when President Mnangagwa has been globe trotting to foreign capitals yet has failed to bring any tangible investments to Zimbabwe. Since he assumed control of the Presidency, Zimbabwe has been facing a massive shortage of basic commodities, increase in prices and cholera.

Recently, there were revelations of massive corruption reported to be happening at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Addressing portfolio committee chairpersons in Bulawayo, Advocate Mudenda said appropriate action will be taken against silent legislators to avoid wasting taxpayers’ funds.

He said the non-contributors will be reported to their political parties for inefficiency.

“I have not heard or received in writing a complaint from any of the chairpersons complaining that this honourable MP is not contributing. I have said it from the beginning during the induction of legislators that where there is no performance by an honourable Member of Parliament, let us know within one year so that we can advise the party from where that member comes and say that this member has not performed,” said Adv Mudenda.

He said an audit would be carried out to check on the performance of the legislators.

“In the House it’s very easy, we will carry out an audit, those who remain silent perpetually, we will advise the respective political parties because you are not representing the interests of that party. You are there, just there keeping quiet. So in committees it’s the same, tell me who is giving problems, tell me who is perpetually absent, tell us! You have a register; if you read the rules they clearly tell you that there must be an attendance register. We must do self cleaning,” said Adv Mudenda.

He said page 153 of the Standing Rules and Orders clearly states that the committee clerk must at the conclusion of any meeting of the select committee, submit to the Clerk of Parliament a return showing the day of the meeting, the hour the committee met and adjourned, the name and time of arrival of any member of the committee who attended a meeting of the Committee from the commencement of its business.

Advocate Mudenda said the clerk should also supply the name and time of departure of any member of the Committee who left and did not return before the meeting was adjourned or the committee had concluded its business.

The Speaker of Parliament said the rules also demand names of members absent with or without leave and members entitled to sitting allowances.

“In the last five years I have not seen an attendance list which indicates continuous absence and those who are absent perpetually are short-changing the tax payer.

They are short-changing the party that sponsored them to come to Parliament,” said Adv Mudenda.

He said legislators must not hide behind their party’s whipping system to contribute nothing.

“There is this thing of whipping. I belong to a party but I have not heard that you are whipped to say nothing. So those that remain quiet should not put forward whipping to cover up for their inactivity and ignorance,” said Adv Mudenda.

A research carried out by women empowerment non-governmental organisation, the Women in Politics Support Unit (Wipsu) last year showed that only 35 MPs out of 350 have been actively contributing to debates in Parliament in the four years they had been elected.- state media

Terrence Mawawa| A shocked eyewitness has given an account of how the terrible Rusape accident happened.

“The driver of the Smart Express
bus was trying to overtake a haulage truck and encroached into the lane of the oncoming bus, resulting in the head on collision.

The driver and conductor of Smart Bus Express survived and are said to have escaped from the scene soon after the accident.”

The status of the Bolt Cutter driver could not be ascertained last night.
Some passengers were trapped in the bus and could be heard crying for help.
The Rusape fire brigade quickly responded and helped remove the trapped passengers.

A doctor resident at Rusape General Hospital said at least 70 people had been admitted to the hospital.

“People are still coming in, but according to our register now, 70 people have been admitted to the hospital,” said the doctor.

According to the RG’s Office Clients Service Charter, the cheapest passport valued at $53 should be issued within four weeks.

However, applicants are now waiting for more than three months to get one as forex challenges have crippled the department’s capacity to produce 3 000 passports daily.

Addressing journalists in Bulawayo yesterday, the Registrar General Mr Clemence Masango said his office was even failing to keep up with emergency passport applications which normally should be processed within 24 hours.

“We are doing our very best to produce passports and we have a backlog from May which means we have to produce 166 500 passports. This figure excludes the number of new applications we receive daily which are an average of 2 100,” said Mr Masango.

“We have a capacity to produce about 3 000 passports daily but given the current challenges we are failing to keep up. All passport materials, threads, ink and stationery is sourced from outside the country and like any Government department, we have to rely on forex allocations which are highly competitive.”

He said the Passport Office had finished processing April applications and they will now work on May applications going forward.

Mr Masango also took the chance to clear the air around emergency travel documents.
“Emergency travel documents are only issued to those who intend to go to countries like Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique. Countries like Botswana and South Africa no longer accept them hence we are no longer issuing them to anyone intending to go there,” he said.

Mr Masango said they were planning to open new Registry offices in Magwegwe and Cowdray Park suburbs to address the growing demand for official documents.

He said the department was also facing staff shortages as it was operating with less than 50 percent of its manpower requirements.

Mr Masango said members of the public should report any official who demands bribes.
He said members of the public on their part should also not entice staff members if the war against corruption is to be won.

“We are also working on uniforms and tags so that people can easily identify our staff. We will also introduce online passport applications to reduce interactions between our staff and members of the public,” he said.

The Registrar General’s Office recently raised concern over the high number of uncollected passports some of which were processed in 2000.

Some of the passports were applied for as urgent and got priority over non-urgent applications despite the department’s limited resources.- state media

The Zimbabwe National Road Administration and the National Oil Infrastructure Company of Zimbabwe used personal bank accounts of employees outside Harare to conduct cash transactions for their entities, in the process exposing the funds to abuse, an audit has shown.

In her audit report for the financial year ended December 31 2017, Auditor General Ms Mildred Chiri said there were 21 State entities that were failing to uphold good corporate governance standards and to provide services sustainably.

“I also noted weak internal controls over cash and banking. NOIC Feruka depot was using the assistant depot manager’s personal bank account for administering cash transactions for the company. The same obtained for Zinara which was disbursing cash to provinces through employees personal bank accounts,” said Ms Chiri in her report tabled before Parliament.

“In addition, there was no laid down policy or procedure to cover this arrangement. I also noted that there was no evidence of approval by the head of station on the petty cash voucher. The petty cash voucher was only signed by the accounts clerk. There is risk of loss through misappropriation of funds.”

In response to audit observations, Zinara management admitted not using official bank accounts but said this was only a temporary measure to allow the smooth flow of operations at provincial offices. – state media

Former Higher and Tertiary Education minister has sensationally claimed that the period between December 2014 and November 2017 was like hell for most bureaucrats in former president Robert Mugabe’s government to the extent that he almost tendered his resignation.

Moyo, who is living in self-imposed exile following the military coup that toppled Mugabe in November last year, said the putsch was once foiled in 2017 but continued brewing underneath the surface.

“By this time, 1st of November, last year the coup was in progress. The rehearsals had been done with a number of options.

“People knew. Attempts, which of course ultimately failed, were being made to neutralize the coup. The real drama started in earnest on 4 November in Bulawayo,” Moyo revealed on Twitter.

On November 4 last year former first lady Grace Mugabe was booed by a section of Zanu PF youths at a rally in Bulawayo that was backing then vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa to succeed her husband, aged 94.

Since that day, the tables began to turn against the former powerful first couple.
But according to Moyo another coup had been attempted in 2017.

“And on the first day of the month of November, whose ‘Mbudzi Curse’ was inscribed by Rhodesia’s UDI on the month’s 11th day in 1965 and by the coup that was not a coup on the month’s 15th day in 2017, it bears repeating once again that coups beget one another. Camera rolling,” Moyo said in the wake of revelations that the alliance between the military and civilians who united to remove Mugabe is now unravelling.

The former top flier who many would think was on cloud nine after Mnangagwa’s expulsion last November claimed on the micro-blogging platform that he almost handed his resignation letter to Mugabe.

“One day, maybe sooner rather than later, your fairy-tale will be sobered by the discovery of the excruciatingly painful and tragic reality of the time.

“For now, just know that the period 1 Dec 2014 to 24 Nov 2017 was hell. On 8 Nov 2017, I drafted a resignation letter. I wanted out,” Moyo said in response to an observation that the Generation 40 (G40) faction, which backed Mugabe and his then powerful wife Grace, was having it all around this time last year before the insurrection.

Moyo left the country fleeing for dear life as he was said to be among those who were wanted by the army on account of being “criminals surrounding” Mugabe.

A key member of the vanquished G40 faction that almost succeeded in stopping Mnangagwa’s rise to power only to be thwarted by a military intervention, Moyo is one of the few people with first hand details of what happened before Mugabe’s graceless fall,

-Daily News

The novel treatment is designed to kill HIV-infected cells without harming uninfected ones. In stark contrast to current antiretroviral drugs which merely suppress the spread of the virus, Gammora offers hope of an actual cure.

An Israeli biotech company specializing in HIV and cancer treatments has finally released the results of its first clinical trial of its HIV-drug Gammora and the news is bringing renewed hope to the many affected by this devastating retrovirus. The novel drug has been found to eliminate up to 99% of the HIV virus within four weeks of treatment.

Integrases triggering apoptosis
The firm is called Zion Medical and Gammora is an innovative treatment consisting of a synthetic peptide compound derived from the HIV-derived integrase. Integrases are enzymes produced by retroviruses, such as HIV, that enable their genetic material to be integrated into the DNA of the infected cell.

Taking advantage of this process, Gammora stimulates the integration of multiple HIV DNA fragments into the host cell’s genomic DNA. This then essentially triggers the infected cell’s apoptosis or self-destruction.

“These first clinical results were beyond our expectations and promise hope in finding a cure for a disease that’s been discovered over 35 years,” said in a statement Dr. Esmira Naftali, head of development at Zion Medical. “Given the limited nature of this study, we are excited to prove the efficiency of our drug in Phase 2b with a greater number of participants over a longer period of time.”

Should this phase prove equally successful its effects would be literally life-altering. Today, current commercially available HIV retroviral treatments work by suppressing the spread of the virus but do not offer any cure for the infection.

As such, HIV patients can only hope for an improved lifespan, not a true respite. Zion Medical’s peptide, however, has the potential to destroy all cells carrying the HIV virus-genome offering a real cure for infected patients.

Zion Medical’s Phase 1/2a Gammora human clinical trial found that most patients showed a significant reduction of the viral load of up to 90% from the baseline during the first four weeks. In Part II of the study, Gammora was further combined with additional retroviral treatments which led to patients demonstrating up to 99% reduction in viral load from baseline within four weeks.

In addition, throughout the entire 10 weeks of tests, Gammora was found to be safe and well-tolerable. In fact, no side effects whatsoever were reported.

Boosting CD4 cell count
Furthermore, Gammora was found to boost patient CD4 cell count – up to 97% from the baseline. CD4 cells, also referred to a T cells or T helper cells, are the cells that the HIV virus kills. They are white blood cells that play a key role in the human immune system, the body’s natural defense system against pathogens, infections, and illnesses.

As HIV infections progress, CD4 cells significantly decline. A person will be diagnosed with AIDS when their numbers drop below 200 and will then be considered at high risk of developing serious illnesses. For reference, a healthy individual’s normal range for CD4 cells is about 500-1,500.

Zion Medical claims that Gammora “is designed to kill HIV-infected cells without harming uninfected cells.” Its success would change the course of HIV treatments forever.

Interesting Engineering

By Own Correspondent| The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is yet to confirm the number of deaths from the horror bus crash which occurred near the Rusape tollgate along the Harare- Mutare road today.

The crash, which according to the national broadcaster ZBC has so far claimed 30 lives was reportedly caused by a head on collision of the two buses.

Gruesome pictures of the dead at the scene of the accident are already doing the rounds on social media.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.

A health fund established to meet the medical expenses of inmates has for the fifth year running been misused by Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) staff to pay for their own medical expenses, the Mail and Telegraph has learnt.

Harare – A health fund established to meet the medical expenses of inmates has for the fifth year running been misused by Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) staff to pay for their own medical expenses, the Mail and Telegraph has learnt.

The revelations were made in a damning expose of the ZPCS accounts for the year ended December 31, 2017, by the auditor general (AG) Mildred Chiri.

“For the fifth year in succession, in violation of section 5.4 of the Fund’s Constitution which requires the Fund to meet medical expenses just for inmates only, the fund incurred medical expenses for employees of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service totalling $80 003 (2015: $68 778) without treasury authority,” Chiri said in the report tabled in the National Assembly on October 31.

“Further to the above, the fund’s budget for medical supplies and services was exceeded by an amount of $77 166 that was incurred without treasury authority.”

Chiri said the risk of misuse of the inmates Health Fund by ZPCS was tantamount to abuse of the resources and may affect the ability of the Fund to deliver its mandate.

In its defence ZPCS maintained using the Fund was a life and death scenario.

“The allocation for medical expenses from the main Appropriation Account is not adequate, even for staff alone, hence the use of the Fund to finance emergency cases to save lives,” ZPCS said in the report.

Observers maintain access to health and medical facilities is a basic human right that must be protected by government which is responsible for prisoners’ welfare.

This comes as government is failing to provide medication in prisons and correctional facilities threatening the lives of many prisoners who suffer from various ailments.

-Mail and Telegraph

Jane Mlambo| Opposition MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa has insisted that he will force President Emmerson Mnangagwa to a negotiating table to address the biting economic problems facing the country.

Responding to a Twitter user who asked what the youthful politician was doing to solve the country’s economic crisis, Chamisa said Mnangagwa had spiked his requested to come to a table, adding that he will cause him to be interested.

I have requested Our old man ED to a table to come to a common answer to our challenges.He is not interested.We shall cause him to be interested

— nelson chamisa (@nelsonchamisa) November 6, 2018

Jane Mlambo| MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa has chose to take a different path from most opposition politicians after announcing that he will not cling on power for too long.

Chamisa who is an Apostolic Faith Mission pastor said leaders must lead and leave with his long term plan lying in full time ministry.

I’m not a life president. Democracy defines my leadership shelf life. I am just serving for a little while and then focus on the preaching the salvation gospel of Jesus Christ for eternity.leaders must lead and leave !!Yes, just lead and live!

— nelson chamisa (@nelsonchamisa) November 6, 2018

Jane Mlambo| Controversial ZIFA President Phillip Chiyangwa could be in trouble with the Zimbabwe National Army following his botched plan to use one their team’s players to nail a competitor in the forthcoming elections.

Sources claimed that Chiyangwa is battling to convince a Black Rhinos Queens player to file rape charges against one Kamambo.

Black Rhinos Queens is owned by the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and the sources said Chiyangwa’s “dirty manoeuvres” have angered the army, who feel that their name is being dragged into the mud, and is ready to intervene and restore order.

“The lady who is said to have been raped is a soldier, who plays for Black Rhinos Queens and the Mighty Warriors. She has refuted the alleged rape reports and said she did not even know Kamambo. She says she has been approached by some Zifa officials who wanted to give her $15 000 so that she makes a (rape) report to the police. The lady has phone numbers of these Zifa people who have been pestering her,” the source said.

“The player was undergoing military training during the time that the alleged rape happened. But we know that when soldiers are undergoing training, they are confined and it is mysterious how she could have been raped, especially by an outsider. The army is not happy because its name has been dragged into this mess. It will act, and it won’t be very nice,” another source said.

Chiyangwa’s spirited effort to retain his post at all costs in next month’s executive committee elections have been exposed, amid shocking claims that he invented fictional rape charges against his challenger Felton Kamambo so that the latter could be disqualified.

The huge mountain of litter coupled by urine is enough recipe for cholera outbreak in Mt Pleasant.

It is alleged that the property rented by Genius Kadungure as a bar is owned by Croco Motors. Residents of Mt Pleasant have vowed to assert their constitution right to clean and health environment enshrined on Section 73 of the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe.

CHRA implore private sector and stakeholders to be part of solutions to the crisis of service delivery facing Zimbabwe and stop perpetuating the problem. Residents of Mt Pleasant also lamented on the failure of elected officials in particular councilors to act decisively on the matter and enforcement of by-laws.Last year former Mayor Ben Manyenyeni nicknamed Harare a “booze city” citing that liquor outlets were “becoming the only game in town at every shopping centre”.