Vendors in Kwekwe have come up with new tactics, selling their wares from bags while others throng street pavements holding banners advertising their products as the local authority intensifies its blitz on vending.

Kwekwe City Council launched a blitz on street vendors and backyard food outlets last week, confiscating wares in an effort to fight the cholera and typhoid outbreak that has rocked some parts of the country killing over 30 people.

Kwekwe is yet to record a single case of typhoid and cholera and the city fathers are working towards moving the vendors out of the streets.

A snap survey by state media in Kwekwe’s central business district established that vendors had moved away from traditional way of spreading out their wares in the open for prospective customers to see but were now hiding their goods in shops and cars while they stand on pavements soliciting for clients using advertising banners. The same cases, as witnessed in the city’s heavily congested long distance bus terminus, food vendors play hide and seek with municipal police moving around soliciting for clients before collecting the food items from their hiding points.

Vendors interviewed said they have been losing their wares to the municipal police and were now using new methods to do business.

They said the local authority should create modern vending stalls and relocate them before they try to move them out of the streets.

“I have been eking out a living from the streets, selling my stuff here for years but the city council bosses just wake up and decided to chase me away from my source of income. It’s ridiculous, we will not be moved but continue to play the cat and mouse game with them.

“They should instead provide us with vending stalls than just trying to drive us away,” said one of the vendors, Mrs Gloria Madziva.

State Media

ZimEye will be livestreaming a press conference by Tajamuka/Sesjikile campaign.

Below is the notice to the presser:

*Dear All*

You are cordially invited to a Press Conference today, *Friday 21 September 2018*, to be addressed by #Tajamuka Sisjikile campaign. Details of the press conference are as follows:

*Agenda:* Issuing a statement on current skirmishes between the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and vendors in Harare CBD

*Date & Time*: Friday, 21 September 2018 at 1400hrs

*Venue*: Media Centre, 2nd Floor Bothwell House, 66 Jason Moyo Avenue, cnr. First Street/Jason Moyo Avenue.

Refresh this page for updates.

Jane Mlambo|A Gutu magistrate has ordered a local man to undergo a mental examination after he dug up his father’s grave and took the remains which he kept in his house.

Court heard that 46-year-old Moses Zuva’s father died two decades ago.

Prosecutors say that on September 13 this year, Zuva went to the grave and dug up the remains of the late Haurovi Mafuva.

In court he told magistrate Victor Mohamandi he exhumed the remains because he wanted to live with his father.
He further claimed that his father had instructed him to exhume his remains and bury them somewhere else.

The bizarre incident came to light after one of his elder brothers, Paul Zuva visited the family’s homestead and discovered that the grave had been tempered with.

Upon being questioned Hove admitted tempering with the grave and told his older brother that he had raised their father from the dead.

Paul later noticed that his younger brother had human bones in his bedroom and notified the police leading to the latter’s arrest.
Argatha Gabriel prosecuted.
-Newzimbabwe.com

Jane Mlambo| The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) has hinted that the nation might experience further increase in bread prices due to serious drought in Europe and tariff wars between Russia and America which have seen the two giant suppliers cutting down wheat exports.

According to the GMAZ chairman, Tafadzwa Musarara the price of bread will likely go up due to low supply of wheat on the international market.

“I can’t speak on behalf of bakeries but we have a serious drought in Europe, heat waves in some parts of America, we have Elnino currently affecting the northern hemisphere and it’s going to start visiting us in the next 90 days as we enter into our season.

“The impact of that the immediate victim is agriculture Germany has actually stopped exports and it is now importing, Russia because of the geo politics, the tariff wars between Russia and America we have seen them cutting down their exports.

“What it does is that it limits the supply of wheat on the international market and when supply lowers prices goes up so we are experiencing one of the waste or rather the highest prices,” said Musarara.

He added that they are importing rice and salt in anticipation of increased demand during the festive season though he was quick to highlight that foreign currency challenges had delayed the process.

“We have already put in place orders for rice and salt supply agreements for festive season, we are kind of late, we must have enough rice, salt and wheat fir the entire festive season.

“But because of the foreign currency nostro challenges that we are facing, we are operating on monthly basis which is not good for food security and in the event that we have a logistic movement from the sea up to Harare it affects supply into the market,” he said.

-263Chat

Jane Mlambo| Captains of industry have urged the government to cut on the number of state universities, saying some of them are adding no value to the economy.

Industry representatives who attended a Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) Business Leaders Conference here recently expressed concern at the quality of graduates coming from the country’s institutions of higher learning.

They said some graduates are ‘useless’ to the industry as they are out of sync with their trades and thus become a burden to the employer.

Speaking at the SAZ 5th conference Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Chris Mugaga said some universities were adding no value to the economy.

“In terms of the education sector, there are too many state universities in the country,” he said.

“Let’s reduce them and also change the curriculum because a majority of them concentrate of social sciences when the country requires engineers.”

Participants at the conference challenged the education sector to embrace international standards in order to produce competitive graduates.

“The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology is the foundation of ideas hence should be the centre of research and development,” said one conference delegate.

“The challenge is that students that join the industry don’t properly meet requirements in terms of holistic work.

“Institutions of higher learning should embrace world standards so as not to produce half-baked graduates.”
-Newzimbabwe.com

A SUSPECTED Peruvian drug trafficker has been arrested at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport after he was found in possession of over a kilogramme of cocaine worth $91 520.

Wilmer Taruzona Aro (32) was not asked to plead when he appeared before magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa who remanded him in custody to October 6 for bail application.

The State sought a long remand for Aro before bail application to allow it to seek a Spanish interpreter after the accused advised the court that he did not understand English.

The State also wants to verify his criminal record with Interpol, Harare, as they suspected Aro to be an international criminal who traffics drugs from country to country as evidenced by his passport which has stamps from a source country of hard drugs, Brazil.

It is the State’s case that detectives from Drugs and Narcotics, stationed at the airport, received information that a male Peruvian national was coming from Brazil aboard United Arab Emirates flight number EK 713.

The State alleges that Aro was suspected to be in possession of dangerous drugs. As the flight landed at around 5pm, Aro went through verification with Immigration before picking his two suitcases and headed for the green route exit point where he was intercepted by detectives.

It is alleged searches were conducted by detectives, who discovered a whitish substance concealed in the holes of Aro’s suitcases’ handle rails.

A field test analysis was carried out on the whitish substance and it tested positive to cocaine, with a weight of 1,144 kilogrammes and a street value of $91 520.

Francisca Mukumbiri appeared for the State.

NewsDay

Jane Mlambo| Spokesperson of the National Patriotic Front (NPF), Jealousy Mawarire has dismissed rival faction leader, Ambrose Mutinhiri who yesterday announced his decision to disband the party to re-join the ruling Zanu PF saying he was nolonger part of the former President Robert Mugabe backed movement after he failed to rise to the challenge.

NPF split into two camps prior to the July 30 harmonised elections with Mawarire and other members appointing Eunice Sandi Moyo as Acting President while Mutinhiri remained with the other group.
In a series of Twitter posts, Mawarire said NPF recalled Mutinhiri after he failed to lead the party adding that he is free to continue working with Zanu PF.

The National Patriotic Front (NPF) is run by a 38 member National Executive Committee, which recalled Ambrose Mutinhiri and made a resolution to appoint Hon Eunice Sandi Moyo as Acting President. That NEC has not made a resolution to disband the NPF or join Zanu-PF. pic.twitter.com/XuxXQFqf0l

— mawarire mbizvo jealousy (@mawarirej) September 21, 2018

Mutinhiri, as an individual, and Zanu-PF project during the elections, is free to continue working for Zanu-PF and shld not purport to be dissolving a party whose NEC he never chaired. The NPF is a people's movement and will remain a permanent feature of Zim politics.

— mawarire mbizvo jealousy (@mawarirej) September 21, 2018

Mutinhiri shld enjoy the small trinkets he was promised by @edmnangagwa when they met & stop pretending like he was still the leader of NPF. It's on record that the Party recalled him & didn't support his gimmicks when he tried, and failed dismally, to run for the presidency pic.twitter.com/wrgIzHqUOm

— mawarire mbizvo jealousy (@mawarirej) September 21, 2018

Jane Mlambo| Marondera police have arrested three suspected robbers linked to a spate of car thefts recorded in Mashonaland East province over the past two months.

Vincent Chikasha (19), Lawrence Marimbizhike (32) and Alfred Dzobo, all of Goromonzi who allegedly targeted pirate taxi drivers, were arrested after they were found in possession of two stolen vehicles.

Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza confirmed the arrests, saying investigations were in progress to verify if the suspects were not linked to other vehicle theft cases.

“As police we urge pirate taxi drivers to be on alert when hired by strangers,” he said.

According to police, on July 29, Kudakwashe Maliseni of Goromonzi was operating a pirate taxi at Majuru business centre when he was approached by the three accused who allegedly hired him to drive them to Valley Grower’s Farm for a ‘funeral.’

It is reported that upon approaching Cyclone Acturus Farm, one of the suspects pulled a knife and stabbed Maliseni several times, dragged him out of his vehicle and sped off.

However, on August 9, Maliseni received information that his vehicle had been spotted at Majuru business centre but with different registration number plates fixed on it.

He tipped police detectives who arrested Marimbizhike and Chikasha.

The pair then implicated Dzobo who was also arrested.
-Newsday

By Paul Nyathi|MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has held talks with elected party councillors who opted to vote for Mayors and Deputy Mayors who were not prescribed by the party.

On Tuesday, he met councillors from Victoria Falls where the party preferred mayoral candidate councillor Margaret Varley was replaced by Somvelo Dlamini and on Thursday he met Bulawayo councillors where councillor Tinashe Kambarami was voted in instead of Malandu Ncube as directed by the party.

Chamisa’s spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda confirmed the meetings indicating that Chamisa or his representatives would be meeting more councillors next week.

Dr Sibanda said that it was only proper for Chamisa to dialogue with the councillors if they don’t toe the party line.

“The president will necessarily whip all councillors that don’t follow party directions and if there are those who have done that they will be whipped, yes. He has the right to do that. They have to follow the party’s instructions as required by the party’s constitution. The smooth running of the councils is very important.

“The long and short of it, just as the case in any political party, any representative sent by the party to represent it in Government must be willing to implement the party’s policies. All councillors are being told and all councillors know that they have to follow the party’s policies because that is what the people voted for.

“The council (meetings) agenda is about the 100 day plan. He was also whipping the councillors as he should just to make sure that they are following the party’s priorities. The electorate will be questioning the party when things don’t go right. There is nothing out of the ordinary. He will be meeting councillors from everywhere next week. He was meeting councillors from Bulawayo today (Wednesday).”

Chamisa has held similar meetings with councillors from Masvingo and Chegutu who were also charged for defying the party directives on the mayoral candidates.

Jane Mlambo| The Ambrose Mutinhiri-led National Patriotic Front has disbanded and its officials are rejoining Zanu-PF after realising that the events that led to the removal of the Robert Mugabe-led government in November last year were in the best interests of the country.

“We the founders, leaders and supporters of the NPF hereby inform the nation of Zimbabwe that the NPF has disbanded with immediate effect from September 19, 2018,” Brigadier-General (Retired) Mutinhiri said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The main reason for disbanding the party is that NPF has outlived its purpose. NPF was formed as a response to the events and circumstances of November 2017 that led to the removal of the previous Government of Zimbabwe and in our opinion we perceived it to be a threat to national security and stability.”

Brig-Gen (Rtd) Mutinhiri said they had re-considered their position and decided to rejoin the ruling party in its drive to rebuild Zimbabwe.

“However, after careful considerations and deliberations our party came to the conclusion that the November 2017 events were in the best interest of Zimbabwe as a nation. To that end, the existence of the NPF is no longer necessary. “As such we deem it expedient and appropriate to disband NPF and also to join and support the Zanu-PF party and Government in its endeavour to build a better Zimbabwe for all unity and loving and progressive Zimbabwe,” he added.
-State Media

A PROPHET from Bulawayo appeared in court yesterday for allegedly raping a pregnant woman who had visited him for consultation.

Wilson Thabe (52) who resides at Robert Sinyoka pleaded not guilty to rape when he appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Crispen Mberewere.

He was remanded in custody to October 3 for commencement of trial.

Prosecuting, Mr Simbarashe Manyiwa said sometime in May this year, the complainant (19) fell ill and approached the healer for assistance.

The court heard that the complainant was assisted with prayers and returned to her home in Umguza on the same day.

Mr Manyiwa said on May 12, Thabe visited the complainant’s place of residence to check if she was getting any better and ministered prayers to complete the healing.

The court heard that after prayers, Thabe did not return to his home and was given a hut to spend the night.

“During the same night, Thabe sneaked into the complainant’s hut and gave her holy water to sprinkle,” said the prosecutor.

The court heard that when the complainant retired to bed, Thabe allegedly joined her before raping the woman three times without protection.

“Thabe went back to his house on the following day at around 8AM,” said Mr Manyiwa. The complainant told the court: “On May 19, l slept with my husband and he felt something different which made him ask if l had slept with anyone else.”

The court heard that the complainant revealed to her husband that Thabe raped her.

They then reported the matter to the police leading to Thabe’s arrest.

State Media

Staff Reporter|The Zimbabwean authorities must bolster the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry into the country’s post-election killings if victims’ families have any hope of obtaining truth, justice and reparations, Amnesty International said after the swearing in of the commissioners on Wednesday.

The organization is also concerned about the independence and impartiality of the Commission, which includes a presidential candidate in the 30 July elections, who has criticized opposition parties challenging the results of the vote, and an academic, who has publicly expressed her support for the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). Commissioners with strong ties or support of ZANU-PF may compromise the independence and impartiality of the investigation and expose it to external interference.

“Zimbabweans deserve to know what happened in the bloody aftermath of the elections, including who shot six people dead, who gave the command to shoot and who was responsible for the deployment of soldiers. But as the Commission of Inquiry’s mandate stands right now, they may never know,” said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa.

“The authorities must show that this Commission is not a fig leaf intended to cover the human rights violations and abuses committed in the aftermath of the election. The first step is to broaden the Commission’s mandate to investigate violations and abuses committed by all parties involved.”

An MDC-T activist based in Mutare was yesterday slapped with a six-month jail term for threatening to torch 25 houses belonging to Zanu PF supporters soon after the July 30 elections.

James Oswell Chitere was also facing a charge of arson, but Mutare magistrate Tendai Mahwe ruled there was no evidence linking him to the latest offence.

Mahwe, however, said Chitere violated the Electoral Act by threatening a political opponent and sentenced him to six months in jail.

The magistrate, however, suspended two months of the sentence on condition of good behaviour.

On August 2, the complainant’s daughter Linnet Kagweda (22), who is a Zanu PF supporter, met Chitere while on her way to Watsomba business centre.

Chitere confronted her with the intention of showing him videos of MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa, but Kagweda refused to entertain him.

The convict threatened to burn Kagweda’s home, after labelling her a Zanu PF supporter.

Kagweda later informed her mother Raviro Kagweda (56) about Chitere’s threats after their hut was set ablaze that same day.

All the property in the hut was reduced to ashes.

Newsday

THE MDC Alliance leadership has instructed provincial structures of coalition partners to begin the integration process bringing their membership under one roof, a process that could see some members losing their positions and causing tensions in the party.

This comes after MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa recently announced the appointment of MDC leader Welshman Ncube and MDC-T chairperson Morgen Komichi as his deputies and former PDP leader Tendai Biti as deputy national chair as the coalition starts morphing into one political party.

The MDC Alliance brings together seven opposition parties — MDC-T, MDC, PDP, Transform Zimbabwe, ZimPF, Zanu-Ndonga and Multi-Racial Democrats.

In an interview, Ncube confirmed the provincial structures of the seven parties to the MDC Alliance have been ordered to begin the painstaking process of integrating.

“What is happening is that we are integrating; we are integrating the parties which are in the alliance. All the seven parties in the alliance have passed resolutions to authorise the integration of all the parties in the alliance,” he said.

“The provincial leadership has been instructed to meet and say how do you integrate, how do you bring together at provincial, district and ward level, the leaders of the seven political parties into the Alliance?,” Ncube told Southern Eye on Wednesday.

The exercise is likely to stoke tensions and horse-trading among the leadership in the provincial structures to ensure they keep their positions after Ncube admitted some were likely to lose their positions.

“There are obviously people who will not have space to be integrated at provincial level, they will then have to be integrated at district level, and those who have no space at district level will have to be integrated at ward level, while everyone eventually integrated at branch level because the branches can be as many as there are members,” Ncube said.

“Anyone who has not found any space at national, provincial, district and ward level will ultimately find space at the branch level. So everyone will ultimately be integrated.

That is in terms of the structures. Then there is membership, people who are just card-carrying members, they automatically then become members of the MDC Alliance by virtue of being a member of one of the seven parties.”

Ncube admitted the process will not be uniform as the negotiations will be determined by the political dynamics and political party presence in each province.

“In Bulawayo, for example, you might find that there are three parties, the MDC-T, MDC and PDP with a full leadership and those will be integrating. The same runs true in many provinces,” said Ncube.

Southern Eye

Scores of stakeholders drawn mainly from the motoring public and sections of the commuting public have raised concern over their non-consultation by the Chitungwiza municipality on the Unit C-junction traffic light project. The stakeholders have recently been frequenting the Chitungwiza and Manyame Rural Residents Association (CAMERA) offices urging the Association to facilitate that there is dialogue between the local authority and the related stakeholders.

Some stakeholders are of the view that a traffic circle popularly known as a roundabout could have been a better solution in addressing matters connected to traffic jam, unruly conduct by some motorists and general traffic mayhem associated with this busy intersection. The demonstration traffic light by Solarlux Solutions Company could have been a strategic intervention had the local authority sought the opinions of the motoring and commuting public before the trial-run phase.

The Chitungwiza pilot project by Solarlux Solutions Company comes at a time after the same company was ordered to remove a similar demonstration traffic light at the corner of Masotsha Ndlovu and First Avenue in the Waterfalls area in Harare. The company was ordered to remove the traffic lights owing to an absence of prior feasibility studies and lack of stakeholder engagement as the case in Chitungwiza.

CAMERA calls on the Chitungwiza municipality and Solarlux Solutions Company to engage related stakeholders who are directly affected by such a development. Some of these stakeholders include the motoring public, commuters and residents among others. Several Chitungwiza residents interviewed on the traffic lights matter indicated that the areas that are in critical need for traffic lights are along Harare-Chitungwiza highway adjacent to St Mary’s police station and at the intersection of Tilcor road and Chitungwiza-Machipisa highway.

Source: Chitungwiza and Manyame Rural Residents Association (CAMERA)

Jane Mlambo| Police yesterday refused to open a docket in a case in which a Harare resident, Alice Kasinamunda sought to file criminal charges against City of Harare officials implicated in attempts to swindle Econet Wireless by inflating figures of goods procured towards combating the cholera outbreak.

According to Community Water Alliance (CWA), an organization behind the move, Kasinamunda was referred from one officer to another, in a manner that is clearly meant to frustrate her.

“Out of the six police officers to which Alice was referred, not even one of them accepted opening a docket.

Instead of getting assistance Alice had to endure unnecessary questions like: are you a council employee? and are you a worker at Econet?. They were ready to interrogate her on what is your interest,” noted CWA.

The organization noted that Kasinamunda’s case warranted action by the Zimbabwe Republic Police as it clearly demonstrated that there is a primafacie case, there is a reasonable suspicion that the accused persons committed the crime.

CWA condemned City of Harare for its move to suspend despite there being enough evidence to prosecute the accused.

”The action by the Local Authority to suspend the accused, shows reasonable suspicion.

“This case has evidence that the court can rely upon. Although there is dispute on whether the charge of gloves was inflated to $65, there is evidence that it was pegged above $30 instead of a mere $3. Receipts to that effect are there. The actions by the accused show a clear case of fraud, which is a crime. These facts make CWA believe that Alice had a case that the state should have acted upon,” added CWA.

“Alice Kasinamunda’s treatment casts doubt on the commitment of the Executive ( the police being part of the Executive Arm of the State) to fight graft. It places in jeopardy even any policy pronouncement by councilors to fight graft,” further noted CWA.

Jane Mlambo| Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) has called on workers to resist the ‘barbaric actions of the state’ of chasing vendors from Harare CBD saying government does not understand the difficulties citizens are through.

Posting on Twitter today, ZCTU questioned the logic behind government’s decision to chase vendors from the streets considering that they will be fending for their families.

A Government that does not understand the difficulties citizens are going through, will not develop the country. If vendors are chased away from their sources of livelihood, how will all the affected families survive? All workers must resist this barbaric actions of the state.

— ZCTU – Zimbabwe (@ZctuZimbabwe) September 20, 2018

Police have been engaged in running battles with vendors who are resisting being displaced due to the cholera outbreak that has so far claimed the lives of 32 people including under fives.

By Paul Nyathi|The Harare City Council has appointed Engineer Hosea Abraham Chisango as the substantive town clerk with immediate effect. Chisango had been acting town clerk since last year.

In April 2016 James Mushore was appointed as town clerk only to be suspended after two weeks in office by (then) Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere. The minister claimed that the council had gone against appointment procedures.

Kasukuwere later clashed with the council again after he blocked the appointment of MDC legislator Tapiwa Mashakada despite the fact that he came out tops in interviews for the town clerk job.

Watch Mayor Herbert Gomba announce the appointment of the town clerk.

Jane Mlambo| The ghost of the G40 faction has continued to haunt the ruling Zanu PF with party supporters in Manicaland yesterday storming the provincial headquarters in Mutare, demanding the election of a new executive to replace the current one led by Mike Madiro.

Placard-wielding demonstrators accused Madiro’s provincial executive of fanning divisions by suspending perceived rivals.
Some of the placards read: “We don’t want imposition of candidates,” “No to imposition of party leadership”, “We want the current leadership to be dissolved. Why sacrificing party members?”

Several party members, including former provincial vice-chairperson Joseph Mujati and Prosper Sithole, who is political commissar in Chipinge, were recently slapped with prohibition orders.

The duo, alongside several others, yesterday underwent disciplinary hearings led by Zanu PF provincial vice-chairperson, Dorothy Mabika.

Mabika, who was also reportedly imposed by Madiro, was humiliated as party supporters stormed the hearings and started singing protest songs.

The visibly shaken Mabika watched in despair as the supporters openly told her that she was imposed by Madiro and, therefore, illegitimate.

One of the demonstrators, Aphia Ingresi, who is the Zanu PF Headlands constituency youth chairperson, said they were being victimised by Madiro, claiming that he was responsible for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s poor showing in the province in the July 30 poll.

Despite Zanu PF winning 19 parliamentary seats out of the 26 available in the province, Mnangagwa lost in the presidential elections to MDC Alliance leader, Nelson Chamisa.
“We are worried that Madiro is no longer popular in the province. He imposed himself and he later imposed his deputy, Dorothy Mabika,” he said.

“He was responsible for the loss of President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the province, and if this is not addressed, things are going to get worse.”
-Newsday

Jane Mlambo| Renowned traditional healer Kamwelo Banda popularly known as Sekuru Banda has joined the fight against cholera and pledged support to those impacted by the pandemic.

In a rare show of love and compassion, Sekuru Banda took time off his busy schedule where he often meets his legion of clients who come with various problems and ailments to visit the sick at Glenview Polyclinic Cholera Treatment Centre.

“It is not something we often get every day to be visited by a person of the calibre of Sekuru Banda whom we know to be a very busy man. This visit on a hospital bed, especially from a stranger, should be applauded because it gives us hope for life despite being diagnosed with cholera. I know he is a popular traditional healer and what he has done to me and other families is a huge show of compassion and philanthropy and for that I am very grateful,” said a middle-aged man who identified himself as Charles to protect patient confidentiality.

Apart from assuring the bed-ridden that they would walk out of the treatment centre strong and energetic, Sekuru Banda donated an assortment of hygienic stuff to the sick and their families.

On Wednesday 19 September 2018, Sekuru Banda bought hygienic ware to more than 100 families in Glenview, which is the epicentre of the cholera pandemic. Each of the families received an assortment of groceries like cooking oil, sugar, rice, maize meal and toiletries like soap, water disinfectants, washing powder, detergents and toilet paper.

He capped the donation by visiting the sick at Glenview Polyclinic after which he led reporters and other members of the corporate world to the Nyamweda family where he commiserated with the bereaved following the death of Jane Mandaza Nyamweda who succumbed to cholera a fortnight ago.

Titus Nyamweda, brother to the late Jane, thanked Sekuru Banda for his philanthropic heart and compassionate gesture of his love to his family and the whole of the Glenview community.

“I don’t have words to aptly describe how grateful I am to Sekuru Banda. It is not easy for an individual to subtract from the little he gets and come to help us in this magnitude.

The donation he gave us will go a long way in protecting other family members from contracting the deadly cholera. We urge other corporates and well-wishers to follow in the footsteps of Sekuru Banda so that we can have a healthy society,” Titus Nyamweda said.
-Spiked

The Harare City Council (HCC) has said it will apologise to Zimbabwe’s largest mobile telephone company Econet Wireless after municipal officials attempted to steal humanitarian aid meant to stem Zimbabwe’s deadliest cholera outbreak in a decade.

Econet founder and executive chairperson Strive Masiyiwa blew the whistle on the attempted fraud after the telecommunications giant had pumped $10 million to contain the outbreak of cholera that has so far killed 32 people, mostly in the capital, Harare.

Masiyiwa — who overcame protracted government opposition to launch mobile phone network Econet Wireless in 1998 — had responded to a crowd funding campaign launched by new Finance minister Mthuli Ncube on microblogging site Twitter to contain the rampaging outbreak, being fuelled by contaminated water and collapsing infrastructure.

The disgusted billionaire took to social media to express disappointment on the attempted fraud of humanitarian aid.

“One of the saddest things that happened last week when Econet announced that it had set aside $10 million to help with support to buy medicines and materials, was the number of suppliers and even officials in some of the affected municipalities who tried to defraud our company by offering things at highly inflated prices. Gloves worth $3 were suddenly worth $65. That is just pathetic.

“I have told my people to prepare lists of anyone who wilfully tries to exploit the situation. After this crisis is over, we will go after them on this platform, naming and shaming them,” he tweeted.

After the 57-year-old businessman expressed outrage, HCC quickly posted on its Twitter page that it had suspended four of its officials suspected of inflating prices for goods and services to be used in the fight against cholera.

The Zimbabwean businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist’s post went viral, attracting unprecedented public opprobrium.

Econet — one of the largest companies on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalisation — is the largest provider of telecommunications services, providing solutions in mobile and fixed wireless telephony, public payphones, Internet access and payment solutions.

Harare Mayor Herbert Gomba told the Daily News that council takes full responsibility for the regrettable attempted fraud of a company with a Christian-based vision and mission and a broad strategy for social and community investment, run under the “Econet in the Community” banner.

“We intend to write to Masiyiwa,” a remorseful Gomba said.

“Collectively council is responsible but individually those suspended are responsible. So, as the mayor, I have considered writing to him, apologising and stating what
happened.”

Gomba said council “intends to set up a special committee to look into what happened, what is currently happening, the pricing, the quality, the supply of the goods bought and whether it all conforms to the procedures of council and the procedures of the State procurement regulatory authority of Zimbabwe.”

He said there are still ongoing investigations on the four suspended officials.

“We suspended four officials from the Harare Water department procurement division and these are Philimon Rwafa a procurement and stores officer, Smart Mhuka a buyer, Tawanda Marange a cadex clerk and Tafadzwa Reza a buyer.

“Allegations are that they inflated the prices for the materials that were supposed to be bought for cholera.

“Investigations are ongoing and we will look at what they did and what items they had inflated,” he said.

It is not immediately clear if criminal charges will be preferred against the fraud-accused officials.

Local Government, Public Works and National Housing minister July Moyo said donors should not be discouraged by the conduct of the four but continue to come through.

Government has declared a state of emergency that has seen the ban of public gatherings, closure of some schools around the epicentre of Glen View, and also banned the sale of meat and fish by vendors in affected areas, said the new Health minister, Obadiah Moyo.

Police are enforcing the ban to the hilt.

Moyo slammed the fraud and vowed to halt the theft of humanitarian aid by corrupt municipal officials.

“Immediate action was taken, and fortunately we know them. We are glad that the system caught those who were trying to be mischievous,” a tough-talking Moyo said.

“We are now alert that there are some people who have wrong intentions on the cholera funds.”

This is not the first-time officials have taken advantage of the cholera fund. When cholera struck Zimbabwe in 2008- 2009, the international community cried foul over their resources being abused as their monies were not accounted for and fatalities increased among those infected. At least 4 000 were killed during that era.

The incubation period for cholera, which spreads through ingestion of faecal matter and causes acute watery diarrhoea, is a matter of hours. Once symptoms start, it can kill within hours unless the patient receives treatment.

The World Health Organisation has rolled out an emergency treatment programme, based on the vestiges of Zimbabwe’s shattered health system, to try to catch new cases early and stop the explosive spread of the disease.

DailyNews

Most service stations in Harare have run dry with long queues emerging as the fuel crisis continues, despite Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya saying the sector is fully-funded.

Mangudya told the media yesterday that logistical challenges that were faced by the sector, coupled with high demand, had resulted in intermittent supplies of fuel.

“We have made arrangements to ensure that there is fuel in Zimbabwe. There is an increase in the number of vehicles in the country and that the demand for fuel has also increased, we have also increased the facilities of fuel that we have been arranging, to ensure that you and me keep on driving our vehicles and therefore what you are seeing is an increase in the demand for fuel. What you are seeing are efforts that we are putting in place to ensure that at least people continue driving their vehicles.

“What you also need to know is that there are logistical issues that are in fuel, that fuel is not produced in Zimbabwe, it comes from offshore through ship, and transported by pipeline to Harare at Msasa, so sometimes what you see are intermittent logistical issues that will be there, otherwise the fuel companies are fully funded,” Mangudya said.

Zimbabwe has, over the last few months, been experiencing intermittent fuel supplies, which has been previously blamed on foreign currency shortages.

But Mangudya yesterday said the sector was adequately funded.

“We do allocate $20 million per week, which is $80 million a month and that’s a lot of money, because you are also aware we are also allocating foreign currency to import wheat, which is basically to supplement local production. In fact, the local production is supplementing imports, because, if we produce 120 tonnes, it means it’s only good for three months, we spent about 40 000 metric tonnes, that’s about $16 million per month, over and above that you guys need cooking oil, which is about $20 million per month, so it means that you need to export more.

“So what we are talking about is that we need to generate more foreign currency in Zimbabwe, so that at least there will be no shortage at all in the country as that needs foreign currency and foreign currency does not come cheap. We need to work very hard, that’s why we need to export more minerals, more platinum, more chrome … we need to ensure that everyone works hard to ensure increased production in this country, so that we improve on import substitution. Produce more soya beans, produce more wheat, so that we don’t import wheat, produce more importable goods so that we increase on the foreign exchange, so as I have said, the permanent solution to Zimbabwe is to increase production,” he said.

Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) chief executive officer Gloria Magombo told the Daily News on Sunday during the weekend that the shortages were attributed to logistical challenges, adding efforts had been made to normalise the situation.

“Some logistical challenges were experienced in some areas resulting in erratic supply of fuel. Stakeholders in the energy sector are seized with the matter and the logistical challenges have been addressed.

“Relevant stakeholders in the energy sector are being appraised of the situation on the ground and so far indications are that normal supplies have resumed across the country,” Magombo said.

Petrol in Zimbabwe is going for $1,39 per litre, while diesel is sold for $1,32, and is one of the most expensive in the region.

Fuel operators also attributed the obtaining intermittent fuel crisis to the shortage of foreign currency, as the country is grappling with a serious cash crisis, a devaluing bond note and inflated exchange rates on the black market.

Retailers buy their products outside the country through the RBZ which pays directly to the suppliers.

In terms of the arrangement that was created by the RBZ, oil companies, which are top on the priority list, approach their banks and request that payment of a certain amount be made to a company that they will be dealing with on the basis of their nostro accounts. Nostro accounts are accounts that a bank holds in foreign currency in another bank.

Following the request, the bank would accept the request, with approval from RBZ. Most fuel suppliers get the commodity outside the country, where they pay cash upfront in United States dollars, but have been having some challenges.

DailyNews

MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has ordered Victoria Falls mayor Somvelo Dhlamini to step down and make way for Margaret Varley whose nomination had been rejected by both councillors and residents, MDC Alliance Matabeleland North provincial chairperson Joel Gabuza said yesterday.

Dhlamini and his 10 fellow councillors appeared before Chamisa at Richard Morgan Tsvangirai House in Harare yesterday.

“Yes, he has been asked to do that because he has to comply with the party’s directive and that directive is that, the president (Nelson Chamisa) appointed mayors in terms of the (party) constitution, so he should simply do that.

“He is supposed to do what the president directed. He is not paving a way for anyone. He is simply going to where he was put [deputy mayor] and where each one of them was put,” Gabuza said.

“The meeting was simply to explain that and for them to explain to us what exactly transpired.

In their explanation, they indicated that they had misfired and erred by not following the party directive.”

Gabuza said Varley was likely to assume the mayoral post after dismally losing to Dlamini who garnered eight votes while she got only three.

“Most probably she will attain her original position because the onus is on them. We are finalising discussions with them confirming the position because they sold out.”

Asked if Dhlamini would comply, Gabuza said: “If he is a member of our party, he has to just comply.

The president is empowered to choose (people for) those positions.

We can’t have [President Emmerson] Mnangagwa appointing a minister then another minister comes in, it doesn’t work that way.”

“So, firstly, let’s see what happens to that directive.

Once he complies, then the other things will just fall in place,” he said.

Efforts to get a comment from Dhlamini were fruitless.

Meanwhile, the Victoria Falls Municipality has postponed the 2019 budget consultative meetings after all councillors were summoned to Harare, town clerk Ronnie Dube had said.

“We were left without choice after all the 11 councillors were called to report to Morgan Tsvangirai House in Harare,” he said.

“We will likely resume from Friday [tomorrow] into the weekend, hoping they will be back by then. These issues disturb council operations.

“We will also seek guidance from the Ministry of Local Government on how we should proceed under such circumstances, because we have failed to execute our mandate as council.

The postponement was uncalled for because the budget meetings were scheduled and these councillors should have politely informed their party then travel after that,” he said.

NewsDay

Jane Mlambo| Former South African President, Kgalema Motlanthe, who chairs Zimbabwe’s Commission of Inquiry into the August 1 violence in which six civilians were shot dead by the army, has assured Zimbabweans his team shall come up with a credible report after the hearing.

He was addressing journalists soon after the commission’s swearing in by President Emmerson Mnangagwa at State House Wednesday afternoon.

Motlanthe urged locals to allow his probe team some time to do its work before passing negative comment over both its composition and impartiality.

“So far allow us to do that assignment. The members in the commission are honourable people so it gives the commission a bit of credibility,” he said.

Some Zimbabweans are anxious the appointment of the team was a cover-up attempt by Mnangagwa whose government came under fire for unleashing the army to gun down unarmed civilians.

Citizens have also questioned the inclusion of University of Zimbabwe professors Charity Manyeruke and Lovemore Madhuku who are seen as interested parties in the matter.

Manyeruke is a known Zanu PF apologist whom many say was incapable of producing an impartial report while Madhuku, leader of the National Constitutional Assembly, was a presidential candidate in the just ended election.

Madhuku has angered opposition supporters through public denials the July 30 elections were rigged by the incumbent.

In his comments, Motlanthe dismissed the assertions some of his colleagues were not suited for the job.
“We did not select ourselves, the authorities, the powers that be, the person of the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe was satisfied that these commissioners are fit and proper for this job.

“This does not worry us at all because we want to hear from the people. We will consider that as a commission,” he said.
Motlanthe also said the outcome of the investigation shall be made public, adding, “You cannot have public hearings and thereafter have a secret report. It must be a public report of course.”

Angry protests rocked Harare’s CBD August 1 when there were clear signs the MDC Alliance was headed for defeat following the July 30 elections.

The opposition supporters were also angered by the erratic announcement of the results by ZEC with fears the Zanu PF led administration was buying time to tamper with the outcome.

Other members of the probe team assembled by Mnangagwa include renowned British attorney Rodney Dixon, former Commonwealth secretary general Chief Emeka Anyouko, ex-Tanzanian military boss General Davis Mwamunyange and Vimbai Nyemba, former President of the Law Society of Zimbabwe.

-Newzimbabwe.com

By Jane Mlambo| Police have intensified crackdown on vendors operating in the central business district of Harare.

In the pictures below, more than five police trucks were seen roaming around the CBD arresting and confiscating vendors wares, in an operation that is aimed at containing the deadly cholera outbreak currently ravaging Harare.

Jane Mlambo| Government has urged people to change their habits when greeting each other and do away with handshakes to avoid the spread of cholera.

Addressing the media in the capital yesterday, deputy minister of Health and Child Care Dr John Mangwiro said people should try other means of greeting each other so as to avoid cholera epidemic.

“Personal hygiene remains something that we need to continue doing because it is the main form of transmission of cholera, cleaning up our dump areas needs to be done very urgently and we should continuously do it as a nation not only because there is an outbreak of cholera.

“For us, cholera and typhoid are diseases of the past, when people didn’t know how to go about it. These are just diseases of cleanliness so we must be always clean.
“We need to change our habits, l know it’s very rude when someone extends a hand and you do not greet them, it might be very unfair so we have to change the way we greet so that we don’t really clasp each other’s hand hence we have to do it other way round,” he said.

Mangwiro confirmed that government was now in control of the outbreak, thanks to the intervention of various corporate companies.
“We have managed to contain the outbreak for now through interventions from different people.

“We still have cases people report but the curve is now going down which shows that our interventions are working and this is something we need to continue doing.

“The numbers arriving at our camps are now reduced so it shows that things are much better because as the disease the emergency was declared, a lot of people are conscious they rushed to the centers and people have been treated and we hope to continue like that as a nation,” added Mangwiro.

-263Chat

Jane Mlambo| Deputy Minister of Information, Energy Mutodi has tweeted that   Sibusiso Moyo, the minister of Foreign Affairs is recovering well from ‘minor illness’ at Avenues Clinic.

Mutodi who visited SB Moyo this morning said;

I have visited Minister SB Moyo at the Avenues clinic this morning. I can confirm that he is recovering well from a minor illness.

— Dr Energy Mutodi (@energymutodi) September 20, 2018

SB Moyo is reportedly suffering from renal complication and was expected to join President Emmerson Mnangagwa on his trip to the United Nations General Council but could not make it as he is admitted in hospital.

A 28-year-old kombi driver from Gweru committed suicide by downing poison in an attempt to evade arrest after impregnating a 14-year-old form two pupil.

Acting Midlands police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Ethel Mukwende confirmed the incident which occurred on 14 September in Mkoba 9 when Godknows Zambezi of Mkoba 10 took a pesticide in a bushy area near Mkoba 9.

“I can confirm that we are investigating a case of sudden death where a male adult committed suicide by drinking a pesticide. It is suspected that the now deceased Godknows Zambezi committed suicide by drinking a pesticide in a bushy area near Mkoba 9 high density suburb. He was rescued by his brother who called an ambulance and was taken to Gweru Provincial Hospital. He later died on 14 September around 5 PM.

We suspect that he must have had personal problems,” she said.‎

Asst Insp Mukwende could neither deny nor confirm that Zambezi had impregnated a form two pupil.

She said it is suspected that Zambezi had personal issues.

Asst Insp Mukwende appeared to the public to seek counselling whenever they have challenges and avoid committing suicide.

A source however alleged that Zambezi had allegedly impregnated a form two pupil.‎

“What happened is that Zambezi had impregnated a form two school pupil who he used to offer lift going to school. When the girl informed him that she was pregnant he panicked and decided to commit suicide. He took a pesticide and went to a bushy area near Mkoba 9 and committed suicide. He was spotted by his brother who immediately followed him and managed to rescue him. This incident occurred on September 13 but he later died on September 14,” said the source.

State Media ‎