By Charles Dzimwasha|The Zanu PF leader Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa has rewarded his own wife with a Doctor of Philosophy degree.

The degree was conferred on Mrs Auxillia Mnangagwa by the Zimbabwe Open University.

See ZBC report below:

First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa has been confered a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (Honoris Causa) in Development Studies by the Zimbabwe Open University in recognition of her accomplishments in raising the standards of the marginalised and also her great philanthropic works.

The Minister of Women Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni received the degree on her behalf.

WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS?

Mines and Mining Development minister Winston Chitando has been entangled at the centre of a vicious fight with international investors over vast lithium claims in Mutoko, Mashonaland East.
Although Chitando is linked to the Good Days lithium mining claims through an investment vehicle — Barrington Resources — there are fears that the cabinet minister could be trapped in a conflict of interest saga.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been on an offensive to attract the much-needed foreign investors under his ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’ mantra.

Investors from South Africa, Europe, China and the Americas have flocked to Zimbabwe. But the involvement of cabinet ministers in some of the projects has sent market jitters.

An investigation by the Zimbabwe Independent this week revealed that Chitando, through Barrington Resources, is locked in a battle of titans with foreign investors over Good Days.

It appears Chitando does not want to let go of the lithium mining claims in Mutoko, according to sources.

There are concerns over how other investors were allocated the same claims acquired in 2012 by Barrington Resources, a company Chitando declared to the government as one of his assets.

Approached for comment, Chitando and Mashonaland East provincial mining director Tendai Kashiri did not respond to questions sent.

Efforts to get a comment from the investors were futile.

However, details obtained by the Independent show that the Mutoko lithium resource remained untapped for years until new investors injected capital last year to operationalise the mining claims.

This sparked a messy fight as Barrington Resources claimed ownership.

According to the mining legislation, titles for energy minerals are approved by the Office of the President and Cabinet.

A source close to the developments said before the new investors were allocated the claims, Chitando tried to offload the resource.

“Chitando pegged the Good Days lithium claims in 2012 and has been trying to sell them. At some point, he tried to sell the claim to Prospect Resources and the company drilled about four holes but was not happy with the results,” the source said.

“Chitando cannot be seen openly fighting the investors but there is certainly a battle raging behind the scenes.”

Geo Associates managing director Paul Chimbodza confirmed exploring the Good Days claims.

“I can confirm that we once did an exploration at Good Days but we left because it did not meet our expectations. We were already at Arcadia, but looking at other potential lithium resources across the country,” Chimbodza told the Independent.

As the fight over the Mutoko lithium heats-up, the investors have reportedly approached top government authorities, seeking intervention to settle the matter.

This is not the first time Chitando has been embroiled in fights over mines.

Earlier this year, the minister was implicated in a mine ownership wrangle with businessman Yakub Ibrahim Mahomed.

He allegedly re-issued the claims under a special grant to Golden Reef Mining (Pvt) Ltd, in which he has interests.

Mohamed, who owns Anesu Gold (Pvt) Ltd, filed a High Court application seeking to interdict Chitando, former Mines secretary Onesimo Moyo, Golden Reef Mining, and Midlands provincial mining director Tariro Ndhlovu from grabbing his mining claims.

Mohamed claims that Anesu Gold is the registered owner of the gold claims in Mberengwa district, Midlands province, which are also referred to as Mangoro claims (Ipanema).

The Mines and Mining Development ministry and courts have been dealing with several other cases of mine ownership wrangles across provinces.

Recently, there has been a wave of scramble for minerals with individuals and companies filing court papers battling for ownership of various claims.

Some miners have been accused of forging documents.

At the beginning of this year, there were reports of hostile grabbing of a Mashonaland East-based lucrative gold mine called Jeke Mining Syndicate.

A well-knit syndicate involving high-ranking officials in the ministry of Mines and Mining Development and some of the investigators from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc), who were assigned to look into the matters, were accused of being compromised in the investigations.

In July 2021, Zawadi Mining (Pvt) Ltd, owned by Asante Mayeka, won a case against Revmark Mining Syndicate, Vavarirai Revesai, Anymore Makarichi and Andrew Chaboka, who were accused of invading the mine at Mayeka’s farm in Concession.

The matter was reported to the provincial mining director of Mashonaland Central province of the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, who sought the assistance of the provincial coordinator, Zimbabwe Republic Police Minerals Flora and Fauna Unit. Mayeka was unsuccessful in trying to evict the “illegal miners”.

There are allegations that senior politicians in the province have been piling pressure on the provincial mining director and the lands office to terminate Mayeka’s agriculture permits.

A report produced by Zacc last year exposed gross irregularities involving top Mines and Mining Development officials. – Independent

The robbery which occurred at a service station in Kwekwe last month where nearly US$600 000 and over R63 400 was stolen, was an inside job involving a female employee who supplied information to her boyfriend and his accomplices, police have said.

Police have since arrested one of the suspects, Mathias Mushure (43), who alleged that a female employee identified as Sharon, had supplied information on where the money was kept and the general set-up.

The robbery occurred on November 27, at Rockdox Service Station and Mushure was arrested at a car park in New Lobengula, Bulawayo.

Police recovered US$1 937 cash which Mushure had left at his niece’s home, Mercy Muisa (35) for safekeeping. They also recovered a Toyota Runx, (AEI 6671), which Mushure bought with proceeds of the crime.

Mushure reportedly received US$7 500 cash as his share.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest saying they had since launched a manhunt for the other accomplices who are still at large.

They were identified as one Shacky, Dingilizwe Mloyi, Terrence Ngwenya, Mutonga, Ngolile, Mangwiro and Mtunzi.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police confirms the arrest of Mathias Mushure aged 43 in connection with an armed robbery case which occurred on the 27th of November 2022 at Rockdox Service Station, Kwekwe, where US$580 840 and R63 430 cash was stolen.

“On December 1, 2022 detectives from CID Hillside, Bulawayo received Information that the suspect was involved in the robbery case and was hiding at a house in New Lobengula, Bulawayo,” he said.

Acting on the tip-off, police arrested Mushure at George Mlilo Car Park in New Lobengula last Friday.

“The arrest led to the recovery of US$1 937 cash which had been left at the suspect’s niece, Mercy Muisa’s home, for safekeeping. The detectives went on to recover a Toyota Runx vehicle, registration number AEI 6671, which was bought by the suspect using the proceeds of the crime.

“The suspect revealed that he had received US$7 500 cash as part of his share for the robbery loot. Investigations have also revealed that the suspects had received inside details on the way money was kept at the service station and the general setup, from one of the suspects’ girlfriend identified as Sharon,” Asst Comm Nyathi said.

Police are however, appealing for information which may lead to the arrest of other suspects who are still outstanding.

Meanwhile, police are appealing for information which may lead to the arrest of Judge Evans Zinzombe (36) who is wanted in connection with a case of murder which occurred on Wednesday at a house in Cowdray Park, Bulawayo. The suspect allegedly sneaked in a room where his wife, Phelomina Mabika (32), daughter (12) and son (7) were sleeping, before strangling her to death with his hands.

Zinzombe and his wife were reportedly having marital disputes which forced them to sleep in separate rooms.

“After the callous murder, the suspect allegedly went on to sexually abuse the body in full view of his children. The children spent the whole night with the body before a police report was made in the morning.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police warns the public against resorting to violence in resolving domestic disputes. The Police will ensure that the law takes its course on suspects involved in violent crimes such as murder and armed robbery,” Asst Comm Nyathi said.-state media

A 24-year-old prisoner has escaped from Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison where he was serving a one-year sentence after being convicted of malicious damage to property.
Danaishe Chinyama escaped from prison on Wednesday and police have launched a manhunt for him.

He had served eight months of his term and was due to be released soon.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident.

“Police in Harare are appealing for information which may lead to the arrest of Danaishe Chinyama aged 24 for escaping from Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison on December 7, 2022.

“The suspect was serving a 12-month prison term for malicious damage to property and had served eight months.

“Anyone with information on his whereabouts should report at any nearest police station,” he said.-state media

Five cyclones are expected to hit Zimbabwe in the current rainy season, although there are no predictions of when, where they could strike, and their strengths.

But the Government has drawn valuable lessons from past cyclones and put in place measures to warn and protect people even should a high-energy cyclone with extreme rainfall hit.

Speaking during the National Tobacco Workshop, an agriculture meteorologist at the Meteorological Services Department, Benjamin Kwenda, said there would be an increase in cyclone activity from next month, with the risks being high over the next four months during the cyclone season.

“This season we are anticipating an increase in cyclone activity in January, February, March up to April but in terms of projections we are expecting five cyclones,” he said.

It was only when a cyclone finally formed in the Indian Ocean that it would be possible for meteorologists to start working out their likely path and updating that information frequently as the cyclone started moving towards Madagascar and Africa.

But even so the warnings were fairly short-term as the storms were unpredictable.

“The tropical cyclone, its just like a whirlwind so when the whirlwind is generated you are not able to pick where exactly it will go but as it grows bigger you will then able to pick the direction and then you can actually say this is where it is going,” said Mr Kwenda.

He said the Met Department was expecting rains into next week. There would be a decline of rainfall up to Wednesday next week, with some places experiencing sunny conditions.

The first half of the season, up to the end of the year, the expectation was that most of the country would be in the category of normal to below-normal, but the southern parts would see normal to above-normal totals.

“For the period December, January and February we are expecting the bulk of the country to receive normal to above-normal rainfall in this season and this is the same that we are expecting in January, February and March. We are generally looking for a better season in terms of seasonal totals,” he said.

The Met Department saw a possibility of having more frequent extremes, such as hailstorms, and so there was a need for crop insurance because that was the only way farmers could cope with losses to their crops.

Hail is ideally suited to insurance, since the odds of destruction of a crop on any particular farm is low, so premiums can be low, but if a hailstorm does move over a farm, the damage is extreme, and the insurance payout is vital.

The Government has been budgeting to ensure that adequate responses can be made for storm and flood damage.

Recently, the Department of Civil Protection chief director Mr Nathan Nkomo said adequate funds to deal with disasters such as flash floods associated with the rainy season have been set aside.

“The rainfall season comes with a lot of challenges, but more importantly, it also comes with a lot of hope because most of our agriculture is rain-fed. So we welcome the rainfall season in Zimbabwe. However, in terms of preparedness, we have done our level best. Remember we are preparing to handle natural hazards in the form of flash floods and ultimately, when we get into the cyclone season, mostly from January to March, we will escalate our level of preparedness,” he said.

Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union economist Ms Nyasha Taderera said staggering of crops is critical when the floods occur because not all crops will be affected. Diversification was crucial tp spread risk, hence a need to plant different types of crops.

“Cyclones are usually accompanied by dry spells so not all crops will be destroyed. The effects of floods are different to crops. Some can be totally destroyed but some may survive,” she said.

Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union president Dr Shadreck Makombe urged farmers to stay away from river banks adding that farmers should take all warnings seriously to keep themselves safe.-state media

THE Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care has warned that underfunding of the Health ministry in 2023 would haemorrhage the sector and cause massive brain drain.

Presenting the committee’s report on the 2023 health budget, acting chairperson of the committee Nicola Watson said: “This implies that the health sector will continue to significantly rely on out-of-pocket expenditures and donor assistance. This is not sustainable given the low disposable incomes among the public and the unpredictability of donor support.”

The Health and Child Care ministry was allocated $474,7 billion (11,2%) of the $4,5 trillion 2023 national budget.

Watson said the 11,2% allocation towards health was a far cry from the 15% budget allocation stipulated by the Abuja Declaration made by African governments in April 2001.

“All the hospitals across the country were grossly underfunded in the 2023 national budget. Central hospitals received $113,4 billion, while provincial hospitals received $35,02 billion. This level of financing will leave them incapacitated to deliver services.

“It is of concern that there is gross under-investment in medicines. It is now normal for patients to buy basic medicines like painkillers; and lack of medical supplies at hospitals has seen the mushrooming of pharmacies that are fleecing patients of their hard-earned cash. The 2023 national budget is grossly inadequate to address the massive brain drain.

The committee also accused government of heavy-handedness in handling health personnel during strikes, saying that fuels the brain drain.

“Health workers continue to earn salaries in local currency, yet they pay for expenses in United States dollars. Family health was allocated $12,09 billion and this constitutes only 37% of its bid. This is grossly inadequate given the level of maternal deaths and health needs at hospitals.”

Tinashe Sambiri|CCC leader President Nelson Chamisa has blamed Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s dysfunctional administration for the power crisis in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe has been hit by massive load shedding with the country’s towns and cities experiencing a frustrating 22- hr power outage daily.

According to President Chamisa, the load shedding is a result of a dysfunctional government.

See President Chamida’s full statement on the power crisis in the country…

NOTHING WORKS..Zimbabwe is without basics in water, power, communication,health & education because of a dysfunctional government. Food &jobs are elusive. It’s leadership stupid! Remember; not voting is a vote for darkness and hardships.#RegisterToVote

The CCC is the next Govt & remains the only credible and viable alternative that will win Zimbabwe for change & usher in a new Great Zimbabwe. The citizens want & deserve new, ethical leaders in Govt & Parliament led by Adv @nelsonchamisa.

OUR NEW GREAT ZIMBABWE ENERGY PLAN
Zimbabwe currently has a national electrification rate of 42%. While electricity has reached 83% of the urban households, rural electrification is still around 13% as per the National Energy Policy of 2012 (as per last updated stats)

Our estimated electricity demand is 2300 MW against actual generation of below 1100 MW. The current output of 1100 MW is not sufficient to guarantee support for a rapid economic growth programme.

The supplies are fraught with persistent outages. In addition, there are significant electricity losses as a consequence of aged and inefficient transmission and distribution networks.

The country has an installed capacity of about 2,300 MW, with Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), a generation subsidiary of ZESA, owning around 95% of this. More than 50% of electricity is generated from hydropower power while the remainder is from thermal power plants.

Bagasse, mini hydropower and small sized grid connected solar systems have an installed capacity of a paltry figure of less than 150MW. Against this background, the actual power generation capacity in 2022 averaged below 1100MW against a peak demand of about 1800MW

The limited generation capacity is attributed to human capital capacity &quality of mgmt due to corruption & cronyism at our utilities,poor financing,water wastage &availability at Kariba,old equipment which needs rehabilitation &limited coal availability &clean energy issues.

A New Great Zimbabwe economy needs to be driven by clean, and sustainable energy sources that will achieve net-zero by 2050 &also ensure a decarbonised economy.The Citizens gvt will expand installed generation to at least 4,2 mw by 2029 which we estimate will cost $4.33 billion

Current energy policies overlook the need for improving the share of renewable energy in the overall energy mix. It’s just not prudent to use a hydropower station like Kariba which was designed mainly for peaking power, as a base load power station.

Zimbabwe should focus on driving cost-effective implementation of sustainable energy sources, social upliftment through community involvement, gender equality and employment generation.

The renewable energy sector in Zimbabwe should consist of solar, hydro, wind, geothermal and biomass (which includes bagasse (sugarcane based), biogas, forestry and sawmill waste) all of which have barely been fully exploited.

Zimbabwe has vast renewable energy resources that are presently underutilised. Our Citizens’ Government will prioritise a clean energy investment that will make power shortages, load shedding and the current dark age a thing of the past

We will lead in the setting of targets for renewable energy based on the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) interventions submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

demand-supply scenario, grid absorption capacity, and the economic viability of our utilities to pay for renewable energy electricity from independent power producers (IPPs).

We will promote sustainable Feed-in Tariffs (FiT) for small hydropower, biomass, and geothermal projects as well as corruption free competitive bidding for solar photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP), wind and other renewable energy sources.

Off-grid energy will be promoted and incentivised to make them a viable option for our Citizens government 100% electrification of Zimbabwe by 2035.

We will address the socio-economic areas in our energy policies to include affordability &accessibility of energy from renewable sources, employnt opportunities, diversity & inclusion especially gender equity, and food security, and improved access to basic facilities.

Our FIVE POINT PLAN for Energy is informed by the suffering of our citizens due to the lack of sufficient energy to carry on with our economic activities. We plan .

to pursue sustainable energy for all and to mobilize action from all sectors of society in support of

three interlinked objectives to be achieved by 2027: providing universal access to modern energy services; doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix in Zimbabwe .
to expand generation by modernising our existing power plants through life extension technologies that are smart and green by 2027.

to build an energy efficiency revolution that creates an energy surplus by encouraging demand side management, energy efficiency and optimal use of our water resources in our hydropower generation systems dispatch and operations

to provide enough project financing and investment for power generation, transmission , distribution and supply systems with an emphasis on rural development and urbanization as well as install ethical, competent and professional human capital to run our utilities

to source through the private sector the sum of USD 300 million dollars that is required to modernise our grid. Zimbabwe’s transmission infrastructure is archaic. We will allow private players in the form of independent
power producers (IPPs)

We will implement sustainable energy development based on scientific &engineering studies that will continuously launch projects for solar power, energy Internet,carbon Capture, utilisation & storage (CCUS), nuclear,energy storage,hydrogen &total electrification of our country

Decades of lack of investment in energy infrastructure, visionary leadership, planning and corruption now haunting us. Averting a problem is always cheaper than treating it. We have the answers! We will make Our ZIMBABWE New and Great! We’re ready. #RegisterToVoteZW

A KWEKWE woman has filed an assault case with the police against her boyfriend’s wife who assaulted her in the Central Business District (CBD).

The wife had already paid a fine for the assault.

Michelle Ngwenya, 22, was allegedly bashed by her lover’s wife, Vimbai Dube, 37, sometime last month.

The beating was recorded in a video that has since gone viral on social media.

Dube accused Ngwenya of snatching her husband and influencing him to assault her for no apparent reason.

According to Dube’s lawyer, Linah Nyamukachi, the matter was settled soon after the assault when Ngwenya filed a report with the police.

Dube paid an admission of guilty fine for disorderly conduct.

“The matter between my client and Ngwenya was settled soon after the incident and my client paid a fine.

“But, to my surprise, the complainant (Ngwenya) has filed an assault case with the police on the same matter. We are waiting for a court date to be availed,” said Nyamukachi.

According to State papers, on November 8 at around 8am in the Kwekwe CBD, Dube and four others confronted Ngwenya, and accused her of being the cause of her beatings at home.

The State said Dube grabbed Ngwenya and cut her hair with a pair of scissors before whipping her with a sjambok.

— HMetro

A 70-YEAR-OLD man from Bulawayo’s Njube suburb, in a drunken stupor grabbed his wife by her neck before choking and bashing her for asking their son why he was not going for his extra-lessons.

Never Chaponda arrived at his family home at around 5.30pm on Saturday last week and found his wife Auxilia Chaponda (60) sitting with their son in the living room.

After a few minutes Auxilia asked their son why he was not going for his Mathematics extra-lessons and that question sparked an argument between the couple.

In a fit of rage, the court heard, Never grabbed his wife by her neck and throttled her before bashing her while accusing her of disrespecting him.

Never, mercilessly bashed his wife and left her with a swollen face and mouth, prompting her to file a physical abuse charge against him.

He appeared before Western Commonage magistrate Linear Ncube facing a physical abuse charge.

He pleaded guilty and was remanded out of custody to 12 December 2022 for sentencing.

— BMetro

A 25-year old man from Nkulumane 5 suburb in Bulawayo who gave his 15-year-old girlfriend money to buy fresh chips in exchange for sexual favours has appeared in court.

Muthole Muleya appeared before Western Commonage magistrate Shepherd Mjanja charged with having sexual intercourse with a young person as defined in Section 70 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was remanded out of custody to 20 December for trial.

The court heard that sometime in May 2022, the accused phoned the victim while requesting to visit her at her place and she agreed before she told him to come since her aunt and uncle had gone out.

It is reported that the accused went to the girl’s place at night when two minors who were also staying with the victim had slept.

Upon arrival the accused reportedly solicited for sex from his girlfriend and she accepted. The two then had sex.

It is reported that sometime in June 2022, the accused requested for another visit and the girl agreed.

Using the same modus operandi of going there after hours, it is reported that upon arrival Muleya had sex with the girl.

Muleya reportedly gave the victim money to buy fresh chips and a Russian sausage in exchange for sexual favours.

The court further heard that the matter came to light sometime in July 2022 when the victim’s aunt found some money in her bag and asked her where she got it from and that’s when she told her that she got it from the accused.

Upon being questioned that is when she revealed her shenanigans with the accused.

The matter was then reported to the police leading to the arrest of the accused.

The victim was referred to hospital for examination. —B Metro

Lobels Biscuits Company in Bulawayo’s chief operations officer (COO) Andrew Dinhidza has been arrested over allegations he sexually attacked several female subordinates.
A source close to investigations said four women had since filed rape charges against Dinhidza.

According to the source one of the victims is a 29-year-old woman who is employed as a packer.

“Sometime in 2017 the 29-year-old woman went to look for a job at Lobels Biscuits Company at the time Dinhidza was the Human Resources Manager and he recruited her.

“After that he approached her demanding payment for employing her. At first she turned down his request, but he threatened to expel her, forcing her to give in and slept with him,” the source said.

The source added: “Sometime in October this year the woman said Dinhidza called her to his office and demanded to have sex with her and she did not resist because she was afraid of losing her job.”

The woman in question reported the rape incidents at Kumalo Police station after protests were recently staged against Dinhidza over allegations of nepotism and sexual harassment.

Another alleged rape victim is a 33-year-old woman who resides in Nkulumane suburb.

It is said the victim did not report for duty for two consecutive days, and when she reported for duty she informed her immediate supervisor who allegedly turned her away.

Lobels workers demonstrate outside the Belmont factory

“Being desperate for her job she approached Dinhidza who told her that if she wanted to save her job she must have sex with him and she agreed before they had sex in his office and her job was saved,” said the source.

The victim reported the alleged rape at Donnington Police Station on Tuesday this week.

Another victim, a 40-year-old woman from Entumbane suburb was allegedly sexually attacked by the boss when he called her to his office and asked her if she wanted to be employed permanently.

“He promised the complainant that if she wants to be employed as a permanent worker she has to sleep with him and she agreed before he drove to a lodge in the city centre and had sex with her.”

On another occasion they reportedly had sex in his car near the company premises.

To her disappointment Dinhidza reportedly never fulfilled his promise.

On 7 December the woman who joined a protest against all forms of abuse later filed a rape case against Dinhidza at Bulawayo Central Police Station.

The fourth victim is a 37-year-old woman who is employed as a machine operator.

She fell prey to the attacker after she approached him to have her husband who had been fired to be reinstated.

“She approached Dinhidza in his office and pleaded with him to have her husband re-hired but Dinhidza told her that he could only be reinstated on condition that she had sex with him and she bowed down to the demands and had sex with him. After that the victim’s husband was re-hired. On another occasion he picked her up at the company premises and had sex with her at a lodge.”

The woman reported the alleged rape cases at Donnington Police Station on 7 December 2022 leading to the arrest of Dinhidza who is now awaiting his day in court.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed his arrest.

“I can confirm that we received several reports that range from abuse of office and sexual abuse of females and one of the suspects who is accused of sexual abuse has been arrested and is helping police with investigations.”

President of Biscuits Manufacturing Industry Workers Union who is also Lobels Workers Union representative Moses Matupire said the strain between workers and the embattled COO emerged when they advocated for a Sexual Harassment Policy to be put in place but Dinhidza allegedly refused.

“As the workers we have noted with concern that there were many issues of sexual harassment which were happening in the company but they were going unreported as workers feared losing their jobs. We pushed for the sexual harassment policy to be in place but the COO was the stumbling block,” said Matupire.

He went on and said Dhinhidza was employing his relatives while turning a blind eye to the employees with proper qualifications for the job.

He said workers were also victimised after a robbery case that recently happened at the company, when money started to be deducted from their salaries.

“He deducted 15 percent from our salaries without notice. We work 12 hours without overtime and after that the workers are given US$140 per month.

“He decided to take the company out of the bakery sector to operate without a collective bargaining agreement. We complained to the National Employment Council (Nec) until a decision was made on 13 October to have the company reinstated as a bakery,” he said.

The alleged rape victims and about 496 aggrieved employees are being represented by their lawyers Task Vhiki and Mary Nyika of Macharaga Law Chambers.

Meanwhile, about 500 employees from the company were on Tuesday blocked by the police from staging a demonstration against Dinhidza, whom they accuse of many wrongdoings including sexual harassment, abuse of the office and nepotism.- B Metro

A 70-YEAR-OLD man from Bulawayo’s Njube suburb, in a drunken stupor grabbed his wife by her neck before choking and bashing her for asking their son why he was not going for his extra-lessons.

Never Chaponda arrived at his family home at around 5.30pm on Saturday last week and found his wife Auxilia Chaponda (60) sitting with their son in the living room.

After a few minutes Auxilia asked their son why he was not going for his Mathematics extra-lessons and that question sparked an argument between the couple.

In a fit of rage, the court heard, Never grabbed his wife by her neck and throttled her before bashing her while accusing her of disrespecting him.

Never, mercilessly bashed his wife and left her with a swollen face and mouth, prompting her to file a physical abuse charge against him.

He appeared before Western Commonage magistrate Linear Ncube facing a physical abuse charge.

He pleaded guilty and was remanded out of custody to 12 December 2022 for sentencing.

— BMetro

A KWEKWE woman has filed an assault case with the police against her boyfriend’s wife who assaulted her in the Central Business District (CBD).

The wife had already paid a fine for the assault.

Michelle Ngwenya, 22, was allegedly bashed by her lover’s wife, Vimbai Dube, 37, sometime last month.

The beating was recorded in a video that has since gone viral on social media.

Dube accused Ngwenya of snatching her husband and influencing him to assault her for no apparent reason.

According to Dube’s lawyer, Linah Nyamukachi, the matter was settled soon after the assault when Ngwenya filed a report with the police.

Dube paid an admission of guilty fine for disorderly conduct.

“The matter between my client and Ngwenya was settled soon after the incident and my client paid a fine.

“But, to my surprise, the complainant (Ngwenya) has filed an assault case with the police on the same matter. We are waiting for a court date to be availed,” said Nyamukachi.

According to State papers, on November 8 at around 8am in the Kwekwe CBD, Dube and four others confronted Ngwenya, and accused her of being the cause of her beatings at home.

The State said Dube grabbed Ngwenya and cut her hair with a pair of scissors before whipping her with a sjambok.

— HMetro

A KWEKWE woman has filed an assault case with the police against her boyfriend’s wife who assaulted her in the Central Business District (CBD).

The wife had already paid a fine for the assault.

Michelle Ngwenya, 22, was allegedly bashed by her lover’s wife, Vimbai Dube, 37, sometime last month.

The beating was recorded in a video that has since gone viral on social media.

Dube accused Ngwenya of snatching her husband and influencing him to assault her for no apparent reason.

According to Dube’s lawyer, Linah Nyamukachi, the matter was settled soon after the assault when Ngwenya filed a report with the police.

Dube paid an admission of guilty fine for disorderly conduct.

“The matter between my client and Ngwenya was settled soon after the incident and my client paid a fine.

“But, to my surprise, the complainant (Ngwenya) has filed an assault case with the police on the same matter. We are waiting for a court date to be availed,” said Nyamukachi.

According to State papers, on November 8 at around 8am in the Kwekwe CBD, Dube and four others confronted Ngwenya, and accused her of being the cause of her beatings at home.

The State said Dube grabbed Ngwenya and cut her hair with a pair of scissors before whipping her with a sjambok.

— HMetro

A 70-YEAR-OLD man from Bulawayo’s Njube suburb, in a drunken stupor grabbed his wife by her neck before choking and bashing her for asking their son why he was not going for his extra-lessons.

Never Chaponda arrived at his family home at around 5.30pm on Saturday last week and found his wife Auxilia Chaponda (60) sitting with their son in the living room.

After a few minutes Auxilia asked their son why he was not going for his Mathematics extra-lessons and that question sparked an argument between the couple.

In a fit of rage, the court heard, Never grabbed his wife by her neck and throttled her before bashing her while accusing her of disrespecting him.

Never, mercilessly bashed his wife and left her with a swollen face and mouth, prompting her to file a physical abuse charge against him.

He appeared before Western Commonage magistrate Linear Ncube facing a physical abuse charge.

He pleaded guilty and was remanded out of custody to 12 December 2022 for sentencing.

— BMetro

Tinashe Sambiri|There was a heated argument between CCC MP for Kuwadzana Hon Johnson Matambo and controversial Norton legislator Temba Mliswa in Parliament on Tuesday.

This was after the Norton MP had attempted to attack CCC leader President Nelson Chamisa accusing him of “clinging to vehicles he obtained during the GNU era.”

Mliswa claimed President Chamisa was interfering with Parliamentary affairs ( regarding the 40 000 USD loan facility.)

Proceedings came to a standstill as Hon Matambo and Mliswa clashed over the matter.

Hon Matambo then exposed Mliswa’s corrupt shenanigans including land scams and cattle scandals.

“You don’t have the right to attack someone in his absence.We know what you did, you were involved in land scams and cattle scandals.

You don’t have the moral obligation to denounce President Chamisa in his absence,” Hon Matambo told Mliswa.

The controversial Mliswa was reduced to size as the CCC MP exposed the former’s chequered political career.

Tinashe Sambiri|The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) says the prolonged load shedding is unacceptable.

Zimbabwe is grappling with a 22-hr load shedding daily.

This, according to CCC, is a sign of Zanu PF failure.

Below is CCC’s statement on the deepening power crisis in Zimbabwe:

ENERGY SOLUTION: CCC believes in building a sustainable environment and prioritising the use of clean energy & this will be achieved through offering various incentives for individuals & businesses to use and invest in renewable energy. Vote for Change, Vote CCC for an interrupted electricity supply.

22 hour load shedding is unacceptable.

A @CCCZimbabwe Govt will:

Modernize our transmission infrastructure
Build more hydro-power stations
Rehabilitate Hwange power stations
Open up the energy sector to independent producers .

By A Correspondent

MDC vice president Elias Mudzuri has blasted his Boss, Douglas Mwonzora, for rigging the party’s internal electoral process.

Mwonzora was recently nominated as the sole MDC Presidential candidate in the party congress due this month.

Mudzuri said he would not contest for any post at the upcoming congress, citing irregularities in the party’s electoral processes.

In a leaked WhatsApp conversation, Mudzuri said he does not agree with the whole process and will only change his stance if the process becomes transparent and democratic.

He said:
Thank you to all members of the MDC family who have expressed their wish that I stand for re-election as second Vice President of the party at the coming 5th congress.

Please take note that I will not submit myself for that election for any position. I will however remain a committed card-carrying member of the party.

I am not in agreement with the process so I stand conflicted to vie for any position until and unless the process becomes transparent and democratic including knowledge of the colligate from ward to province.

Contacted for comment by Tell Zim News, Mudzuri confirmed the development. He said:
I cannot be nominated by the elite members of the party, nominations should start at the grassroots level.
We are 22 years as a party and that is what we have been doing all along.

I cannot be nominated by my friends, that is not what we do as a party.
He said will not leave the party but will remain a card-carrying and loyal member of the party. Said Mudzuri:

I am ashamed of what is happening right now but I cannot run away from the party, I have talked to them and I will continue to talk to them but if they don’t listen, I will remain a card-carrying member as I cannot be part of the leadership which fails to observe the democratic tenets of the party.

I can be nominated for any position in the party and have at some point assumed the leadership of the party as you know when Mr (Morgan) Tsvangirai died, he left me in charge of the party.

By A Correspondent

MDC vice president Elias Mudzuri has blasted his Boss, Douglas Mwonzora, for rigging the party’s internal electoral process.

Mwonzora was recently nominated as the sole MDC Presidential candidate in the party congress due this month.

Mudzuri said he would not contest for any post at the upcoming congress, citing irregularities in the party’s electoral processes.

In a leaked WhatsApp conversation, Mudzuri said he does not agree with the whole process and will only change his stance if the process becomes transparent and democratic.

He said:
Thank you to all members of the MDC family who have expressed their wish that I stand for re-election as second Vice President of the party at the coming 5th congress.

Please take note that I will not submit myself for that election for any position. I will however remain a committed card-carrying member of the party.

I am not in agreement with the process so I stand conflicted to vie for any position until and unless the process becomes transparent and democratic including knowledge of the colligate from ward to province.

Contacted for comment by Tell Zim News, Mudzuri confirmed the development. He said:
I cannot be nominated by the elite members of the party, nominations should start at the grassroots level.
We are 22 years as a party and that is what we have been doing all along.

I cannot be nominated by my friends, that is not what we do as a party.
He said will not leave the party but will remain a card-carrying and loyal member of the party. Said Mudzuri:

I am ashamed of what is happening right now but I cannot run away from the party, I have talked to them and I will continue to talk to them but if they don’t listen, I will remain a card-carrying member as I cannot be part of the leadership which fails to observe the democratic tenets of the party.

I can be nominated for any position in the party and have at some point assumed the leadership of the party as you know when Mr (Morgan) Tsvangirai died, he left me in charge of the party.

Tinashe Sambiri|CCC leader President Nelson Chamisa has blamed Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s dysfunctional administration for the power crisis in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe has been hit by massive load shedding with the country’s towns and cities experiencing a frustrating 22- hr power outage daily.

According to President Chamisa, the load shedding is a result of a dysfunctional government.

See President Chamida’s full statement on the power crisis in the country…

NOTHING WORKS..Zimbabwe is without basics in water, power, communication,health & education because of a dysfunctional government. Food &jobs are elusive. It’s leadership stupid! Remember; not voting is a vote for darkness and hardships.#RegisterToVote

The CCC is the next Govt & remains the only credible and viable alternative that will win Zimbabwe for change & usher in a new Great Zimbabwe. The citizens want & deserve new, ethical leaders in Govt & Parliament led by Adv @nelsonchamisa.

OUR NEW GREAT ZIMBABWE ENERGY PLAN
Zimbabwe currently has a national electrification rate of 42%. While electricity has reached 83% of the urban households, rural electrification is still around 13% as per the National Energy Policy of 2012 (as per last updated stats)

Our estimated electricity demand is 2300 MW against actual generation of below 1100 MW. The current output of 1100 MW is not sufficient to guarantee support for a rapid economic growth programme.

The supplies are fraught with persistent outages. In addition, there are significant electricity losses as a consequence of aged and inefficient transmission and distribution networks.

The country has an installed capacity of about 2,300 MW, with Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), a generation subsidiary of ZESA, owning around 95% of this. More than 50% of electricity is generated from hydropower power while the remainder is from thermal power plants.

Bagasse, mini hydropower and small sized grid connected solar systems have an installed capacity of a paltry figure of less than 150MW. Against this background, the actual power generation capacity in 2022 averaged below 1100MW against a peak demand of about 1800MW

The limited generation capacity is attributed to human capital capacity &quality of mgmt due to corruption & cronyism at our utilities,poor financing,water wastage &availability at Kariba,old equipment which needs rehabilitation &limited coal availability &clean energy issues.

A New Great Zimbabwe economy needs to be driven by clean, and sustainable energy sources that will achieve net-zero by 2050 &also ensure a decarbonised economy.The Citizens gvt will expand installed generation to at least 4,2 mw by 2029 which we estimate will cost $4.33 billion

Current energy policies overlook the need for improving the share of renewable energy in the overall energy mix. It’s just not prudent to use a hydropower station like Kariba which was designed mainly for peaking power, as a base load power station.

Zimbabwe should focus on driving cost-effective implementation of sustainable energy sources, social upliftment through community involvement, gender equality and employment generation.

The renewable energy sector in Zimbabwe should consist of solar, hydro, wind, geothermal and biomass (which includes bagasse (sugarcane based), biogas, forestry and sawmill waste) all of which have barely been fully exploited.

Zimbabwe has vast renewable energy resources that are presently underutilised. Our Citizens’ Government will prioritise a clean energy investment that will make power shortages, load shedding and the current dark age a thing of the past

We will lead in the setting of targets for renewable energy based on the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) interventions submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

demand-supply scenario, grid absorption capacity, and the economic viability of our utilities to pay for renewable energy electricity from independent power producers (IPPs).

We will promote sustainable Feed-in Tariffs (FiT) for small hydropower, biomass, and geothermal projects as well as corruption free competitive bidding for solar photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP), wind and other renewable energy sources.

Off-grid energy will be promoted and incentivised to make them a viable option for our Citizens government 100% electrification of Zimbabwe by 2035.

We will address the socio-economic areas in our energy policies to include affordability &accessibility of energy from renewable sources, employnt opportunities, diversity & inclusion especially gender equity, and food security, and improved access to basic facilities.

Our FIVE POINT PLAN for Energy is informed by the suffering of our citizens due to the lack of sufficient energy to carry on with our economic activities. We plan .

to pursue sustainable energy for all and to mobilize action from all sectors of society in support of

three interlinked objectives to be achieved by 2027: providing universal access to modern energy services; doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix in Zimbabwe .
to expand generation by modernising our existing power plants through life extension technologies that are smart and green by 2027.

to build an energy efficiency revolution that creates an energy surplus by encouraging demand side management, energy efficiency and optimal use of our water resources in our hydropower generation systems dispatch and operations

to provide enough project financing and investment for power generation, transmission , distribution and supply systems with an emphasis on rural development and urbanization as well as install ethical, competent and professional human capital to run our utilities

to source through the private sector the sum of USD 300 million dollars that is required to modernise our grid. Zimbabwe’s transmission infrastructure is archaic. We will allow private players in the form of independent
power producers (IPPs)

We will implement sustainable energy development based on scientific &engineering studies that will continuously launch projects for solar power, energy Internet,carbon Capture, utilisation & storage (CCUS), nuclear,energy storage,hydrogen &total electrification of our country

Decades of lack of investment in energy infrastructure, visionary leadership, planning and corruption now haunting us. Averting a problem is always cheaper than treating it. We have the answers! We will make Our ZIMBABWE New and Great! We’re ready. #RegisterToVoteZW