Both Houses of Parliament met Tuesday 11 September to elect their presiding officers. These were their first sittings since members were sworn in on Wednesday 5th September, and they were held on the date fixed by the President by proclamation in terms of section 145 of the Constitution [Proclamation 4/2018, published in Statutory Instrument [SI] 159A/2018 as corrected by SI 168A/2018].

In the National Assembly
The National Assembly met at 9.30 am with the Clerk of Parliament, Mr Kennedy Chokuda, in the chair. The sitting only came to an end at 6.17 pm after the late afternoon swearing-in ceremony before the Chief Justice; there were two long adjournments to allow for the printing of ballot papers and for the Clerk and his assistants to officiate at the afternoon’s parallel proceedings in the Senate.

Election of Speaker

The Clerk called for nominations:
– Former Speaker Hon Jacob Mudenda was nominated for ZANU PF by Hon Mguni, seconded by Hon Mliswa.
– Hon Paurina Mpariwa was nominated by Hon Biti for MDC, seconded by Hon Gonese.

As there were two candidates, voting by secret ballot was required. The House adjourned for ballot papers to be printed.

On the resumption of proceedings the election was conducted by the Clerk under the supervision of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC]. Voting figures in the secret ballot were:

Ballots issued: 263
Mudenda: 179
Mpariwa: 79
Spoilt papers: 5

Hon Mudenda was declared duly elected as Speaker.

Election of Deputy Speaker

A similar process was followed for the election of the Deputy Speaker. Two candidates were nominated: Hon Tsitsi Gezi for ZANU PF, Hon Murisi Zwizwai for MDC. Voting figures in the ensuing secret ballot were:

Ballots issued: 254
Gezi: 175
Zwizwai: 79
Rejected ballot: 1

Hon Gezi was declared duly elected as Deputy Speaker.

These results were hardly surprising as ZANU-PF have a large majority in the National Assembly. As Hon Mudenda was not a sitting member of Parliament, and Hon Gezi continues to hold her National Assembly seat [Constitution, section 127] these elections did not alter the relative strengths of parties in the National Assembly.

Swearing-in ceremony

Chief Justice Malaba entered the House to noisy objections from some Opposition MPs, who called for another judge to preside over the swearing-in ceremony and broke into song. Despite this the ceremony went ahead. Both Mr Mudenda and Mrs Gezi were duly sworn in, and Mr Mudenda took the chair as Speaker.

Adjournment to 18th September

After a brief acceptance speech from the Speaker and congratulations from the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Hon Ziyambi, and Hon Mutseyami of MDC, the House adjourned for a week, until Tuesday 18th September.

In the Senate

Starting at 2.30 pm, proceedings in the Senate followed the same pattern as those in the National Assembly.

Election of President of the Senate

There were two candidates: Hon Mabel Chinomona from ZANU PF [National Assembly MP for Mutoko North] and Hon Senator Morgen Komichi from MDC. Voting figures in the secret ballot were:

Ballots issued: 74
Chinomona: 52
Komichi: 22

Hon Chinomona was declared duly elected as President of the Senate.

Note: When elected as President of the Senate Hon Chinomona immediately and automatically ceased to be a member of the National Assembly [Constitution, section 129(1)(d)]. There must, therefore, be an early by-election for her former constituency of Mutoko North.

Election of Deputy President of the Senate

There were two candidates: Hon Senator General (Rtd) Michael Nyambuya from ZANU PF and Hon Senator Lilian Timveos from MDC. Voting figures in the secret ballot were:

Ballots issued: 76
Nyambuya: 51
Timveos: 25

Hon Nyambuya was declared duly elected as Deputy President of the Senate. He continues to hold his Senate seat [Constitution, section 123].

Swearing-in ceremony

Both Hon Chinomona and Hon Nyambuya took the necessary oaths of loyalty and office before the Chief Justice in the Senate Chamber shortly after their National Assembly counterparts took their oaths in the National Assembly.

Adjournment to 18th September

Like the National Assembly, at the close of yesterday’s proceedings the Senate adjourned until Tuesday 18th September.

Attendance in both Houses was good:

– 263 of the 270 total membership in the National Assembly
– 76 of the 80 total membership in the Senate.

As voting in Tuesday’s elections appears to have been on party lines, the voting figures serve as a guide to how the National Assembly and the Senate will vote on issues on which there is disagreement between the governing party and the Opposition.

The figures also suggest that, while on paper it is possible for ZANU PF to achieve two-thirds majority votes in both Houses, this would need very careful organisation.

Two Vacancies in the National Assembly

There are two vacancies in the National Assembly:

– one ZANU-PF proportional representation seat in Matabeleland North, vacant since the death of Hon Thokozile Mathuthu on 13th August [to be filled by a qualified woman nominated by the party in terms of section 39 of the Electoral Act]

– the Mutoko North constituency seat vacated on Tuesday by Hon Chinomona when she became President of the Senate [to be filled by a by-election called in terms of section 39 of the Electoral Act].

Source: Veritas

THE Zanu-PF Youth League has warned MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa not to go ahead with his plans for a “swearing-in ceremony” at Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield, Harare, on Saturday.

The MDC Alliance leader intends to be “inaugurated” as the People’s President after gathering more than 2 million votes against President Emmerson Mnangagwa who had about 200 000 votes more than Chamsia.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga a close friend to the MDC carried out a similar inauguration in January after narrowly losing the presidential race.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, the ruling party’s Deputy Secretary for Youth Affairs Lewis Matutu said the Kenya situation could not be replicated in Zimbabwe.

“We are deeply disturbed by Mr Chamisa’s plans to hold a pseudo inauguration on Saturday,” he said.

“We know it is not all MDC Alliance members who support his actions. He wants to disturb the peace in the country and lead innocent young people astray. We, however, urge the youths not to be used. The focus now following the appointment of the Cabinet by His Excellency the President is on development and improving the people’s livelihoods,” said Matutu.

“He (Chamisa) should know that Zimbabwe is not Kenya and that he is not Mr Odinga. We are aware that he is taking advice from Odinga, that advice is not constructive for Zimbabwe.”

Chamisa has however indicated that he will go ahead with the inauguration as planned at the MDC 19th Anniversary celebrations in Harare on Saturday.

Newsday

By Paul Nyathi|Residents of Harare and members of the Community Water Alliance in Glen View and Budiriro have agreed to march to and hold a sit-in protest at City of Harare Glen View District Offices in reaction to the worsening cholera outbreak in Harare.

The protests which was still gathering momentum at the time of writing is to push the City of Harare and Government authorities to speed up containing the epidemic that has claimed over twenty people and hospitalised thousands.

According to the protestor, the Community Water Alliance committee in Glenview started engaging the local district officer a Mr Gwiriri three months back to impressing upon him the need to address sewer pipe bursts but he ignored their call.

The widespread sewer blockages and bursts in the area are attributed to the cholera and typhoid outbreak that hit the area before spreading to much of the country.

“Two weeks before the outbreak the CWA local structures re-engaged Mr Gwiriri and he did not respond. A day before outbreak, CWA structures in Glen View engaged local councilor Mr. Charles Chidagu, who visited Mr Gwiriri that same day. The local councilor was told that there is no fuel. The distance from district offices to affected areas is 250-300 metres,” said Community Water Alliance Information Officer Timothy Chitambure in a statement.

“We view the actions by Mr. Gwiriri as gross negligence and we hold him liable for cholera deaths”

The residents have vowed to remain camped at the offices until they are convincingly addressed by the Mayor of Harare Herbert Gomba.

“Residents will not leave the offices unless and until the Mayor of Harare Councilor Hebert Gomba comes to address them and their grievances. NO WORK WILL BE CARRIED OUT AT THE DISTRICT OFFICE UNTIL RESIDENTS GRIEVANCES ARE ADDRESSED,” Chitambure emphasised.

ZimEye.com efforts to get a comment from the Mayor were not successful at the time of writing.

Jane Mlambo| MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has claimed President Emmerson Mnangagwa was bluffing on his promises to implement devolution, accusing him of violating the Constitution by appointing Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs.

“He has appointed ministers of State, which appointments are unconstitutional in the first instance and a subversion of devolution. Provincial councils will have no role in circumstances where a province already has an executive minister,” he said, adding that the appointment of 10 Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs was, therefore, void at law.

Top lawyer Thabani Mpofu also said there was no provision in the law which allowed Mnangagwa to appoint Provincial Affairs ministers.

“The Ministers of State are unconstitutional; there is no constitutional sanction for their appointment and their effect, however, is to negate devolution which is constitutionally provided for. How can a provincial council function when there is an executive minister for the province?” he asked.

Kent University law lecturer, Alex Magaisa said the violation of chapter 14 of the Constitution by Zanu PF was clear testament that there was no will to stick to constitutionalism by Mnangagwa’s government.

“Chapter 14 of the Constitution vests power in the people to elect their own provincial leaders through provincial councils. This limits the power of the President to make political appointments. However, when former President (Robert) Mugabe was in charge, he ignored the devolution provisions and appointed Ministers of State. After the coup, President Mnangagwa persisted with this practice,” he said.

Another constitutional law expert Lovemore Madhuku said the appointments undermined devolution.

“That’s not an easy question (whether the appointment was unconstitutional or not). It will need the courts to say. What is easy to say is that they undermine devolution,” Madhuku said.

“Whether it’s constitutional or not, I think it’s a different question because the President has the prerogative to appoint ministers and to assign them functions.”

Mnangagwa, while swearing-in Ministers of State said he was acting in line with the Constitution, which empowered him to make such appointments to aid his government in running the affairs of provinces.

On his campaign trail, the President said his government would implement devolution, a statement that was in sharp contrast with his then Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, who during his budget presentation last year said the government was bankrupt and could not fund the provincial councils and wanted Parliament to remove the devolution clause from the Constitution.

The 2013 Constitution makes provision for devolution, but Parliament is yet to enact the legislation.

Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana said Mnangagwa was committed to implementing devolution and that appointment of Ministers of State for provinces would not stop the implementation of devolution.

“There is a separation of government and the legislature. The President is exercising executive powers, he has the power to appoint any ministers,” Mangwana said.
Section 268 of the Constitution stipulates that “there is a provincial council for each province, except the metropolitan provinces, consisting of — (a) a chairperson of the council, elected in terms of section 272; b) the Senators elected from the province concerned”.

Constitutional law expert and opposition leader Welshman Ncube said the appointment of provincial ministers was unconstitutional and against Mnangagwa’s stated objectives to implement devolution.
“It is not only a threat to devolution but unconstitutional,” Ncube said. He said with the appointment of Ministers of State, provincial councils would have no role in circumstances where a province already has an executive minister.

“This should be corrected immediately,” he said. “One hopes that they will have a U-turn to this. We expect the provincial council chairpersons to be elected and sworn-in.”

-Newsday

Paul Nyathi|FINANCE and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has embarked on a stakeholder listening and consultation programme as he prepares to roll out reforms to transform the country’s economy.

Former ZANU PF Central Committee and Politburo Member Jonathan Moyo this week advised Ncube not to start talking or creating any programmes without first hearing from these two key ZANU PF structures or risk frustration on his job.

“A minister of finance is not a technocrat but a politician. You will need political clout that comes from being a ZanuPF member, an MP and, crucially, a central committee & politburo member. If you are not these things, it’s a disaster & if you are, your technocratic CV dies,” said Moyo.

On Wednesday Prof Ncube met with 50 chief executive officers of the leading businesses in Zimbabwe to consult and listen to the challenges they are facing in their operations.

In a statement, the ministry said Prof Ncube began his consultative meetings with the private sector and would be meeting other stakeholders.

The meeting was held in Harare.

“Issues raised by Zimbabwe’s leading chief executive officers who met today with Professor Mthuli Ncube include prohibitive cost of finance, shortage of foreign currency, high import duties, uncompetitive business environment and bureaucracy,” reads the statement.

“The Minister of Finance and Economic Development and the captains of industry discussed possible solutions to the challenges the business leaders are experiencing while operating in Zimbabwe.”

Minister Ncube has promised to take into account the issues raised and proposed solutions as he kicks off his mandate to make Zimbabwe a middle income country by 2030.

The chief executives and senior business leaders that met privately with the minister yesterday came from different companies drawn from diverse sectors.

These include Anglo-American, British American Tobacco, Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ), CDF Investments Trust, Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, Delta, Dulux Paints, Ecobank, EcoCash, Econet, Fastjet, FBC Bank, GEM Group, Imara, Innscor, Lafarge, Levy Group, Lobels, Masimba Holdings, Meikles Hotels, Minerva, National Foods, Nedbank, NMB Bank Limited and Old Mutual Group.

Others were Pick & Pay, Pulse Pharmaceuticals, RioZim, Securico, Stanbic Bank, Standard Chartered, Steward Bank, TelOne, Total Zimbabwe, United Refineries and Zimplats.

The minister is set to meet with other stakeholders on his “listening roadshow”.

State Media Extract

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has arrived in Bulawayo where he is scheduled to officially open the $2 billion Hopeville Housing Project and commission a $2 million tomato processing plant in the City.

He was welcomed at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport by Vice President Kembo Mohadi, Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Judith Ncube, Cabinet Ministers, senior government and Zanu PF officials.

Sondelani Ranching owned by Peter Cunningham launched the $2 million state-of-the-art tomato processing plant for the production of tomato paste in Bulawayo in June this year.

Co-director Reverend Patson Netha said the plant has the capacity to process 150 tonnes or over 1,5 million tomatoes.

Most of the plant’s machinery was sourced from China while the other components were shipped from Italy at a cost of about $1 million with the total cost of setting up the factory being close to $2 million.

South Africa imports about 30 000 tonnes of tomato paste annually while the other big importers are the Democratic Republic of Congo (16 630t), Angola (16 000t) and Namibia (1 208t).

The Hopeville Housing Project is a $2 billion up-market satellite town spearheaded by Thompson Properties. The first stage of the project began with the servicing of residential stands whose size range from 500 square metres to more than 1 000 square metres.

The entire project, which can be equated to Kempton Park in neighbouring South Africa, will see the construction of 20 000 plush and affluent houses, up-market shopping malls as well as state-of-the-art recreational facilities.

The housing development will be carried out in three stages with stage one, which is estimated to cost more than $100 million, comprising homes, a shopping complex, gymnasium, library, three schools, local authority offices as well as land reserved for the construction of churches.

State Media

MDC Alliance councillors in Victoria Falls are the latest band of party councillors to face the wreath of the party for defying the party in the election of mayors and deputy mayors.

The Alliance on Wednesday summoned new mayor Somvelo Dhlamini to the party’s Hwange offices over allegations of defying a party directive where they were directed to vote for Margaret Varley as mayoral candidate and, instead, voted in Dlamini.

Dhlamini confirmed the orders, saying that alliance leader Nelson Chamisa had called him asking about the Friday incident.

“We were summoned to go to Hwange to explain how things changed on Friday and as I was there, the president called me inquiring what had transpired on election day and I suggested that I write a report and submit to his office tomorrow (today) where I’ll also explain myself to him,” Dhlamini said.

However, provincial party secretary-general, Mxolisi Ndlovu, who attended the Hwange meeting, had no kind words for Victoria Falls councillors and Dhlamini.

“We convened a meeting with them at our Hwange offices because we wanted to know what transpired since the day of swearing-in, we were not there. We only attended the first one and on the second, we suddenly heard that they had been called in for another swearing-in ceremony. So we wanted them to tell us their story so that, in turn, we inform the national executive, but I cannot pre-empt anything before the president (Chamisa) receives the report,” Ndlovu said.

“We summoned them as councillors because it was collective defiance what they did. We have our own guidelines and if you go against them, honestly no one accepts that. In our organisation, we stand by our rules and the rule was to have Varley as a mayor and him as a deputy.”

Residents protested against Varley’s imposition, leading to the postponement of the elections.

They accused the party of imposing candidates and sending director for mobilisation, Farai Chinobva, who was openly giving councillors orders during nomination.

Ndlovu said residents should not meddle in party politics.

“We are the custodians of the Victoria Falls Municipality, but we believe there were outside forces who were at play in our affairs and we wonder why those people are so interested in our affairs. Yesterday, I was in Umguza, Zanu PF do their things well and whip their councillors into line and everything went smoothly because they followed orders given by the party,” he said.

“We might hate Zanu PF, but they are a principled party in terms of whipping people to toe the party line. They choose their chairperson from the caucus of the party up to the end, but when it comes to us, when we do our internal things, it becomes an outcry.”

Meanwhile, at least one Zanu PF councillor voted with opposition for the post of chairperson and his deputy at Chiredzi Rural District Council on Monday.

With a majority of four councillors against three for the MDC Alliance, Gibson Hwende won the chairperson’s post, beating Blessing Mazinyani with five votes against three.

The post of the deputy chairperson went to an independent candidate, Ropafadzo Makumire, who beat Liberty Macharaga of Zanu PF by a similar margin.

“I believe the task that has been installed on me by my fellow councillors is huge. It is not about which party I support, but what I represent, the interests of the people of Chiredzi,” Hwende said.

“I promise to push for development of the area without looking at who supports which party or what. All we want is development.”

NewsDay Extract

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has claimed President Emmerson Mnangagwa was bluffing on his promises to implement devolution, accusing him of violating the Constitution by appointing Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs.

“He has appointed ministers of State, which appointments are unconstitutional in the first instance and a subversion of devolution. Provincial councils will have no role in circumstances where a province already has an executive minister,” he said, adding that the appointment of 10 Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs was, therefore, void at law.

Top lawyer Thabani Mpofu also said there was no provision in the law which allowed Mnangagwa to appoint Provincial Affairs ministers.

“The Ministers of State are unconstitutional; there is no constitutional sanction for their appointment and their effect, however, is to negate devolution which is constitutionally provided for. How can a provincial council function when there is an executive minister for the province?” he asked.

Kent University law lecturer, Alex Magaisa said the violation of chapter 14 of the Constitution by Zanu PF was clear testament that there was no will to stick to constitutionalism by Mnangagwa’s government.

“Chapter 14 of the Constitution vests power in the people to elect their own provincial leaders through provincial councils. This limits the power of the President to make political appointments. However, when former President (Robert) Mugabe was in charge, he ignored the devolution provisions and appointed Ministers of State. After the coup, President Mnangagwa persisted with this practice,” he said.

Another constitutional law expert Lovemore Madhuku said the appointments undermined devolution.

“That’s not an easy question (whether the appointment was unconstitutional or not). It will need the courts to say. What is easy to say is that they undermine devolution,” Madhuku said.

“Whether it’s constitutional or not, I think it’s a different question because the President has the prerogative to appoint ministers and to assign them functions.”

Mnangagwa, while swearing-in Ministers of State said he was acting in line with the Constitution, which empowered him to make such appointments to aid his government in running the affairs of provinces.

On his campaign trail, the President said his government would implement devolution, a statement that was in sharp contrast with his then Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, who during his budget presentation last year said the government was bankrupt and could not fund the provincial councils and wanted Parliament to remove the devolution clause from the Constitution.

The 2013 Constitution makes provision for devolution, but Parliament is yet to enact the legislation.

Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana said Mnangagwa was committed to implementing devolution and that appointment of Ministers of State for provinces would not stop the implementation of devolution.

“There is a separation of government and the legislature. The President is exercising executive powers, he has the power to appoint any ministers,” Mangwana said.

Section 268 of the Constitution stipulates that “there is a provincial council for each province, except the metropolitan provinces, consisting of — (a) a chairperson of the council, elected in terms of section 272; b) the Senators elected from the province concerned”.

Constitutional law expert and opposition leader Welshman Ncube said the appointment of provincial ministers was unconstitutional and against Mnangagwa’s stated objectives to implement devolution.

“It is not only a threat to devolution but unconstitutional,” Ncube said. He said with the appointment of Ministers of State, provincial councils would have no role in circumstances where a province already has an executive minister.

“This should be corrected immediately,” he said. “One hopes that they will have a U-turn to this. We expect the provincial council chairpersons to be elected and sworn-in.”

NewsDay

By Paul Nyathi|President Emmerson Mnangagwa has assured the nation that his government is doing all it can to curb the cholera outbreak ravaging the country.

“My thoughts and prayers are with those suffering from the cholera outbreak, and the loved ones of those we have lost.

In order to speedily contain the outbreak and efficiently mobilise our resources, we have declared a state of emergency in Harare, and are working closely with our international partners who are assisting us in this crucial endeavour.

I urge all residents of the affected areas to exercise extra care with their hygiene and follow the instructions of the authorities as we seek to contain and overcome this outbreak.

Let me assure you that we are working tirelessly to control the situation, and we hope to communicate progress in due course.”

By Paul Nyathi|Opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa says his visit to cholera patients at Glenview Hospital in Harare on Wednesday left him very touched and challenged on how bad the situation is.

“My visit to Glen view left me so touched, harassed and challenged.The scale of the cholera crisis is severe.A collective national approach is necessary to contain and stop any loss of life,” said Chamisa on his Facebook page on Thursday morning.

Paul Nyathi|In the middle of contracting positions by the Ministry of Education and The Ministry of Health on claims that at least two school children have died due to the ravaging cholera outbreak, latest information indicates that a school head in Glen View succumbed to the disease on Wednesday morning and too the death toll from the epidemic to 21.

Health minister Obadiah Moyo confirmed the incident during a special meeting with various ministries as government sort to find a solution to the epidemic.

“We have just held a special meeting so that we come up with proper coordination in trying to resolve the crisis. This outbreak is not just of cholera but typhoid as well,” said the minister.

“I would want to confirm that a teacher has passed on in Glen View. It’s actually a Headmaster who lost his life to cholera and that’s how serious it is,” the Health minister said.

“It is getting worse and the number of cases is going up.”

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Paul Mavhima earlier issued a contradicting statememt claiming that none of the twenty one victims so far were school children or anyone from within the schools in the country.

Moyo said number of suspected cases has risen to 3060 with 45 confirmed.

Most of the cases have been recorded in Harare, mostly in Glen View and Budiriro.

“We are a new team coming in and we don’t want to have this continuous cycle of outbreaks,” said minister Moyo.

“We are going to make sure Zimbabwe becomes clean again. We will look and correct water reticulation and this will be our main agenda.”

Moyo conceded a worry that the outbreak degenerate to 2008 levels when over 4,000 people died from the disease. He however, insisted that measures being put in place by the authorities should mitigate the possibility.

NEW Harare Mayor, Herbert Gomba says the central government and Zanu PF should take responsibility for the cholera outbreak which has so far claimed the lives of 21 people, alleging that a caretaker commission that was put in place to run city’s affairs last month abrogated its duties leading to the outbreak.

Health minister Obadiah Moyo told a meeting of government departments dealing with the outbreak that cholera had now spread outside the capital, with more than 3 000 people now infected.

The outbreak is the biggest since 2008 when 4 500 people died and another 40 000 were treated after being infected.

Gomba said although it was not appropriate in the circumstances to play the blame game, the newly-appointed Health minister should “shut up” and assist in solving the crisis as his Zanu PF party and the central government were largely to blame for the outbreak.

“If we are to be honest to ourselves, this issue is all because of Zanu PF and central government. While we accept that our council ought to have done more in terms of public health management, central government and Zanu PF should feel ashamed for this. They should not even try to blame us, but assist in finding a solution,” Gomba told NewsDay.

Gomba said government last year undertook a study on boreholes and it was discovered that most of them were contaminated and ordered that they be decommissioned.

“But because central government had failed to provide a reliable source of water for the residents, and people continued to use those boreholes,” Gomba said.

“Also, we had a challenge of Zanu PF politicians who, during campaigns, were telling the people to use borehole water even though as council we had decommissioned them. Our workers could not do anything. When the previous council was out of office and government set up a commission, the workers went on strike because the commission did nothing to provide them with protective clothing. This also exposed people to a situation under which no one could do the public health monitoring and garbage collection.”

The Harare mayor said the absence of such mechanisms, exposed residents to unsafe water and the end result was a cholera outbreak.

“We remain committed to do our job to solve the cholera/typhoid pandemic. We have been calling on government to build Kunzvi and Musami dams since 2008 in order to deal with water supply issue and you have a minister coming in saying we have failed, it is sad. People are dying and (residents) certainly don’t need all this,” Gomba stated.

On Tuesday, Moyo blamed council for failing to collect garbage and attending to sewer outbursts in the affected areas as the cause for the outbreak.

But Gomba said from the laboratory tests conducted last week, the epicentre of the outbreak was the same boreholes that had been decommissioned as well as lack of monitoring by city workers on public health.

“The minister should have taken time to ask his officials what happened before opening his mouth. We don’t need to expose our lack of understanding on public health issues so early. This is a problem which central government and Zanu PF should take responsibility for.

“Had the illegal commission which was there attended to the welfare of the workers, we could have prevented this. Had government provided the long talked about Kunzvi Dam and other new water sources, we could have not exposed people to use contaminated boreholes,” Gomba said

Another city councillor, Jacob Mafume, who is also the MDC Alliance spokesperson said the cholera outbreak was a result of “lack of seriousness by central government to fund infrastructural development”.

“The minister has to stop the blame game and focus on the crisis. He should not make us think that (former Health minister David) Parirenyatwa was better by uttering lies. This is a central government issue. He must appreciate that we don’t have enough water to supply residents and central government has the obligation to source for that,” Mafume said.

“They have for years failed to deliver on the Musami or Kunzvi projects. I urge to minister to think more and speak less on these issues. We don’t intend to question his educational capacity or question the authenticity of his doctorate just because he is showing a lack of appreciation of public health issues.”

However Local Government minister July Moyo, who appointed the contentious commission to run Harare, said he had engaged the mayor on the cholera issue and they had agreed on a work programme.

“The issue of the commission is nothing really to the matter we have at hand. The commission was in place for two weeks only. Council management was also there, they ought to have looked at those things,” Moyo said.

“For your own information, I met the mayor and his deputy this morning and we are charting a way forward. I don’t think this would help at all. Let us focus on solving the issue at hand and mapping a way forward than looking for scapegoats.”

Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo said as far as the party was concerned, all urban local authorities have been under the jurisdiction of the MDC and they should not blame anyone for the outbreak.

“The Health minister has details on that, but all I know is that all urban local authorities have been under the MDC. If they cannot be held accountable for their failure, then they should not be anywhere near governance.”

In Mashonaland East province, six cases of cholera have so far been reported.

According to provincial epidemiology and disease control officer Paul Matsvimbo, of the six suspected cases, three were reported in Marondera, while Murehwa, Seke and Wedza districts reported a case each.

“The province received reports of suspected a cholera outbreak on Friday evening and as of Tuesday, six suspected cases have been reported,” he said.

“All the cases so far are linked to an earlier cholera outbreak in Harare, they did not originate within this province. One of the patients admitted to Wedza Hospital actually stays in Glen View and had gone to Wedza for work.

The one admitted at Musami (Murehwa) had also travelled from Glen View, so these cases are directly linked with Harare.”

Meanwhile, First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa has urged responsible authorities to implement measures to eliminate factors leading to the spread of disease.

Speaking after a tour of Beatrice Road Infectious Diseases Hospital, Auxillia also called on people to ensure their safety at all costs.

“All this is happening as a result of overcrowding and poor service delivery. People should be given land to build houses and avoid overcrowding and the subsequent spread of diseases like cholera,” she said.

Zimbabwe’s largest mobile network, Econet Wireless joined the fight against the outbreak and yesterday launched a public awareness campaign.

The group yesterday said it has also begun to offer material support to public health teams working to combat the epidemic.

“We have partnered with the government, through the Health and Child Care ministry’s department of epidemiology and disease control, to offer centrally co-ordinated material support to the nationwide effort to combat the cholera outbreak,” the company’s chief executive, Douglas Mboweni said.

“We are sad at the deaths that have been reported due to the outbreak of this disease and we will play our part by using our resources and our reach to help prevent the spread of the disease and save lives.”

He said the support included preventive items, such as hand sterilisation material, aqua tablets and special protective clothing for health workers, as well as case management supplies that include antibiotic medicines and IVR fluids.

Mboweni said Econet had already begun sending out free SMS alerts to the public, educating them on how the disease is contracted and how it spreads, how to avoid contracting the disease, how to prevent its spread and how to treat it.

NewsDay

Paul Nyathi|The MDC Alliance provincial chair for Harare province Eric Murai says that the blanket ban issued by the police on public gatherings in Harare due to the cholera outbreak in the capital has not affected their rally set for Gwanzura Stadium on Saturday.

Murai said via social media on Wednesday that police have given the nod for the MDC event to proceed free of any interruption.

“Let everyone know that we have been granted permission by the Zimbabwe Republic Police.

“Please let the word spread as far as possible so that everyone come and witness this historic event where our President His Excellency Adv Nelson Chamisa will take oath before his legion of supporters.

“Don’t miss out on this unique event. Chamisa Chete Chete. Chamisa of the people, by the people, from the people.”

Police in Harare earlier in the week issued the MDC with a letter which allowed the party to proceed with the event on condition they controlled the behaviour of their supporters, they did not alter the venue and time of the event and did not try to intimidate passers-by among some of the restrictions.

“You shall ensure the peaceful dispersal of your members from the celebrations. Any deviation from the above will result in police dispersing your gathering,” read part of the letter written by Officer Commanding Police Harare District Chief Superintendent Winston Muzah.

Police have not issued any order stopping the MDC from proceeding with the gathering.

Earlier on, MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume had vowed the main opposition was determined to defy the ban on public gatherings citing the need to contain the cholera outbreak.

“They have used these epidemics to ban our own activities but not one of their activities has been banned due to cholera or typhoid outbreaks. They are proceeding as usual. We are therefore also proceeding as usual,” he said.

State Media on Thursday outlined various plans being set out by newly-appointed Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs who claim that their focus during their five-year term would be economic development using resources in their respective provinces.

The Ministers speak to issues that are specifically designated to the Provincial Council Chairpersons who are specifically identified by the constitution of which the Ministers are not mentioned.

Throwing a purge on former President Robert Mugabe when parliament decided to impeach him, one of the issues raised by the houses was that Mugabe had failed to implement the chapter 14 closes of the Constitution as prescribed, a fate which President Emmerson Mnangagwa has followed suit.

They said the devolution concept, if fully implemented, would accelerate economic growth as it empowered provinces to determine their development priorities.

Government plans to introduce wholesale changes to the national governance architecture by devolving power and authority to provinces.

This means each province will have its own economic development plan underpinned by resources found in that province.

Experts are already working on the policy and legal framework to make devolution a success.

Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs Ellen Gwaradzimba said she wanted to rebrand the province using available resources.

“We want Manicaland to be the model province,” she said.

“We also need an equitable distribution of national resources and major projects I will give focus on include diamond-cutting and polishing, completion of Marowanyati Dam in Buhera, resuscitation of irrigation schemes in Middle Sabi, Nyanyadzi and Nyakomba as well as construction of Kondo Dam. We also have to ensure we construct new irrigation schemes around Osborne and Mupudzi dams.”

Minister Gwaradzimba said she would also prioritise road infrastructure development and maintenance in rural and urban areas.

“We want an alternative bridge to Birchenough Bridge because maintaining the existing one costs $40 million, while construction of a new one costs $35 million,” she said.

“I also want to see the construction of Manicaland State University and its satellite centres. Health will also be promoted through infrastructure development. Of immediate priority is Mabvazuva polyclinic in Makoni which requires about $360 000. We also want to give our tourism attraction centres a facelift.”

Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs Larry Mavima said priorities would be in different sectors.

“The Provincial Affairs Minister now has new responsibilities, which involve ensuring that devolution takes place from a legislative point of view as well as the economic activities that contribute to the GDP of the country,” he said.

“To grow our GDP as Midlands, we are luck that we are endowed with rich mineral resources which include diamonds, gold, platinum, coal, chrome, emeralds and lithium. We have to look at how best we can grow the mining sector in an inclusive manner. Artisanal miners have to be capacitated so that they grow and contribute to the GDP.

“They should collaborate with big mining companies and get the necessary technical expertise to be professional,” he said.

Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs Minister Apollonia Munzverengi said the province would focus mainly on agriculture and mining for development.

“Mashonaland East province is dominated by agriculture but there are mining activities in areas such as Acturus, Goromonzi, Mutawatawa and Mutoko,” she said.

“We have to come up with viable activities to develop the province using these two key areas. As someone taking over, I need to have an insight into what is taking place in the province. I do that through meeting heads of department. They will give me reports of what they have been doing and their annual plans,” she said

“I will get to know what projects they have implemented and what is still outstanding. I will also come up with my input. For example it is not a secret that this is year there is a possibility of low rainfall and this means the abundant water bodies in the provinces have to be fully utilised such that we irrigate our crops to have sufficient food.”

Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Richard Moyo said all programmes in the province should be completed within set timelines.

“We have got our projects like the Gwayi-Shangani Dam, the Bulawayo-Nkayi and the Bulawayo- Tsholotsho Road, among others,” he said.

“We are checking on how far those have gone and push them so that by the end of December they should be able to impact positively on the lives of the people in the province,” he said.

“In terms of devolution, if it comes into practice, it will help us a lot as we have got our mines, animals and tourist attraction centres. These we will use to develop ourselves and the good thing is we will be running most of these projects on our own. We also have the methane gas project coming in Lupane and this will go a long a way in uplifting the living standards of our people.”

Under devolution, Harare Metropolitan would be Zimbabwe’s ICT nerve centre, while Bulawayo Metropolitan would become the country’s industrial hub, said President Mnangagwa recently.

Manicaland province would be the diamond beneficiation centre, with Midlands being the iron and steel value-chain beneficiation centre, he said.

Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister Ezra Chadzamira said focus would be on poverty eradication using resources in the province.

‘We have a strong mining background, a lot of livestock and dams in the province,” he said.

“We will focus on irrigation, creating employment and value addition to the many products that come out of the province. Eyes will be on the Tugwi-Mukosi project as it is expected to take the province to another level. Experts are working on the master plan. Once that is done that’s when we will have a clear picture of what goes where. There will be tourism, agricultural and recreational activities.”

Minister of State for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Judith Ncube said: “There are a lot of projects and programmes in the pipeline but priorities have to come from the people. The people of Bulawayo are key in this whole issue of development. My policy is there is nothing I can do without the people. They are going to come up with their own priorities and my role will be to facilitate and adhere to the policies. I am going to engage them so that we fail together or succeed together. Failure though is not an option.”

Minister of State for Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs Monica Mavhunga said she would be able to comment after “completing the hand-over take over process.”

Harare is yet to have a Minister of State for Provincial Affairs.

By A Correspondent| The Zimbabwean authorities must urgently take measures to stop and address the cholera epidemic that has so far claimed 20 lives, Amnesty International said after the government today declared the outbreak a national disaster.

Initial cases of cholera were reported in Gweru and Harare last month and the capital is now the worst affected area, with more than 15 people confirmed to have died of the infectious disease. The country’s 2008 cholera outbreak, which claimed the lives of more than 4,300 people, was the largest ever recorded in Zimbabwe. Unless urgent action is taken the death toll of this current epidemic is also likely to be significant.

“The current cholera epidemic is a terrible consequence of Zimbabwe’s failure to invest in and manage both its basic water and sanitation infrastructure and its health care system. It is appalling that in 2018, people are still dying of such a preventable disease,” said Jessica Pwiti, Executive Director of Amnesty International Zimbabwe.

“Given what happened in 2008 the government should have been better prepared. But no lessons were learned from the 2008 epidemic and the outbreak and deaths we’re seeing now is symptomatic of a still broken-down sanitation infrastructure and poor sewer management, worsened by shortages of drugs and medical supplies.”

In 2008, Amnesty International found that the government’s failure to contain and manage the cholera outbreak was caused by the lack of a safe drinking water supply and broken-down sanitation systems that left residents surrounded by flowing raw sewage. Yet a decade later we are seeing the same failures causing this latest outbreak.

The organization is calling on the government to take immediate action to ensure that further deaths are prevented through ensuring access to appropriate medical care and treatment. Longer term the new government must prioritize rebuilding the country’s health care system and infrastructure.

“The newly elected government of Zimbabwe must learn from its predecessor’s mistakes and take action that stops people dying from preventable diseases. The authorities must invest in proper sanitation and health infrastructure and ensure universal access to health care,” said Jessica Pwiti.

“If Zimbabwe lacks the resources to address these issues it can and is obliged under international law to request assistance to do so. As the government itself has now admitted this is a national disaster which requires an immediate and effective response.”

Amnesty International

By Paul Nyathi
|If it was e old days of the postman, he will be literally camping at National People’s Party leader Joice Mujuru’s doorstep dishing in resignation letters from the hundreds of her party officials who are dumping her.

The former Vice President’s once very promising opposition party is literally closing doors as almost everyone in the leadership of the party is throwing in the towel after a disastrous performance in the July 30 elections.

ZimEye.com was on Wednesday highly inundated with copies of numerous resignation letters that were being showered at Mujuru in a manner one would believe was planned ahead.

Below are, just, some of the letters that have been sent to Mujuru and made available to ZimEye.com.

Madam President, as I had indicated to you in our last Working Committee meeting that I would like to quit politics entirely, I now tender my resignation from NPP as Vice President and member of the party! Madam president, I wish you well for the future. Dr S S Nkomo.

P/S We have written this to you as we note that the Chairman whom we were supposed to address this letter to has since resigned

State Media –

In a statement issued yesterday, the newly elected Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda said the “indecorous” behaviour was uncalled for and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

The unruly opposition party members caused delays in the swearing-in of Adv Mudenda and his deputy Cde Tsitsi Gezi when they broke into song denouncing Chief Justice Luke Malaba, who presided over the ceremony,” said Adv Mudenda in the statement.

“On behalf of the Parliament of Zimbabwe and, indeed on my own behalf, l would like to publicly apologise unreservedly to the Chief Justice, His Lordship Hon Luke Malaba and the Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Justice Priscilla Chigumba for the indecorous behaviour by some members of the National Assembly during the swearing in ceremony of presiding officers yesterday.

“The Chief Justice is the head of the third arm of the State and should be accorded the respect due to his office and indeed the entire judiciary. The behaviour was uncalled for and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

“Let me remind those members who displayed such deplorable conduct that Section 119 of our Constitution provides that:

“(1) Parliament must protect this constitution and promote democratic governance in Zimbabwe (2) Parliament has power to ensure that the provisions of this constitution are upheld and that the State and all institutions and agencies of government at every level (including Parliament) act constitutionally and in the national interest.

“It is in this context, therefore, that I convey my sincere apologies to the Chief Justice and Justice Chigumba for the shameless attacks on their character and person in the course of their constitutional duties. It is my expectation that such unbecoming behaviour will not be repeated in the House whose lofty stature must be guarded jealously at all times.”

Zanu-PF Chief Whip Cde Pupurai Togarepi said they also regretted the behaviour exhibited by MDC Alliance members.

Cde Togarepi said in future, appropriate action would be taken against such members.
“We as Zanu-PF regrets the behaviour of MDC Alliance Members of Parliament during the proceedings, including the swearing in of the presiding officers of Parliament on September 11, 2018 in the National Assembly,” he said.

“As the ruling party, we found the behaviour of the opposition party as demeaning the decorum and dignity of both the legislature and the judiciary.

“As a ruling party, we were taken aback by the uncouth behaviour of the opposition party, especially at a time when the country witnessed a free, fair and credible plebiscite. This deplorable behaviour is not expected from serious Members of Parliament.” -state media

Former Vice President Joice Mujuru, who performed dismally in the July 30 elections, has been deserted by most of her allies leaving the National People’s Party (NPP) she leads on the deathbed.

High profile figures that resigned from Mujuru’s sinking ship include the party vice president Samuel Sipepa Nkomo and chairperson Dzikamai Mavhaire.

NPP spokesperson Jeffryson Chitando also threw in the towel leaving Mujuru, who could only poll a measly 12 000 votes in the July 30 harmonised elections deserted.

Although Mujuru was not immediately available for comment, the Daily News saw several resignation letters that were addressed to the former vice president, who is on record conceding that the country’s political space is a domain of two political parties, the MDC Alliance and Zanu PF.

“As I indicated to you in our last working committee meeting that I would like to quit politics entirely, I now tender my resignation from NPP as vice president and member of the party! Madam President, I wish you well for the future,” read a letter from Nkomo.

Former minister of Energy Mavhaire, who was one of Mujuru’s closest allies, also quit.
“I hereby resign from National People’s Party as national chairman and member of the party. It was a pleasure working together as a team. I now wish you madam president and the party greater progress in your future endeavours,” Mavhaire said in his letter.

When she was expelled from Zanu PF in 2014 on a litany of charges that ranged from treason to witchcraft, Mujuru left the ruling party with several party bigwigs, including the then party spokesperson Rugare Gumbo and secretary-general Didymus Mutasa.

But like a deck cards, Mujuru’s party started to crumble a few months after its formation.

Initially, Mujuru’s party was called the National Patriotic Front (NPF) but divisions led to a split and then the formation of NPP.

Mutasa, Gumbo and many others left Mujuru accusing her of being an indecisive leader and she was left to count on the outspoken Mavhaire, who helped her weather the blizzards but the July 30 polls brought their own lessons and consigned the former vice president to a bridesmaid’s role. – Daily News

The Zimbabwe Republic Police are reportedly being left out in the ongoing investigations into a bombing incident that took place at a Zanu-PF rally in June and left at least two people dead and several others – including senior party officials – injured.

According to Daily News, unnamed police sources said the investigations into the deadly bombing were still “inconclusive” despite President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s claims that those responsible were now known.

Mnangagwa told his supporters in August that suspects behind the bombing incident were now known and were to be dealt with after the country’s election period was concluded.

“We now have the knowledge of who did it. We want the current (electoral) processes to pass then we will deal with that matter,” the state-owned Herald newspaper quoted Mnangagwa as saying.

But a top security agent told Daily News that the police were yet to identify and arrest those involved.

“This is a high security issue, maybe those in Harare know things that we might not know here. Remember we have been shut out of this. But as far as we are concerned here in Bulawayo, we are still hunting for the suspects,” the unnamed top police official was quoted as saying.

Police spokesperson, Charity Charamba, also claimed she was in the dark, the report said.

The explosion rocked the White City Stadium where Mnangagwa was addressing thousands of his supporters.

Mnangagwa managed to escape unhurt, while over 40 people, including the president’s two deputies were injured.

One of the vice presidents, Kembo Mohadi and Zanu-PF Chairperson Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri were airlifted to South Africa for medical treatment.

News24