By- Operation dudula activists are said to be hunting down Zimbabwean truck drivers living and working in South Africa .

The affected drivers said that the Dudulka thugs were accusing them of stealing trucking jobs from South Africans.

Richard Mudhara, a Zimbabwean truck driver working in Johannesburg, told GroundUp in an interview that he was abducted on 2 March a few kilometres from Durban by three men.

He said his abductors told him they were with the All Truck Drivers Foundation (ATDF) and Operation Dudula.

Mudhara alleged that the men had stopped his truck, smashed the windows and forced him out.

They then tied him up and held him at gunpoint in bushes while his truck was driven away. Said Mudhara:

My mind was racing. They told me they were after truck drivers from Zimbabwe.

They told me to comply or be killed so I prayed for them to let me live.

… I prayed for them to let me live because some who found themselves in similar circumstances, were reported dead.

He said his life was saved when the gunman received a phone call and left him there.

The drivers, with Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEP) permits, claim that rogue police are also extorting them for cash.

However, Operation Dudula, a rising anti-immigrant, vigilante-like group has distanced itself from the attacks.

Zandile Dabula, Operation Dudula’s secretary-general said they don’t fight people, but the government, adding that the movement was yet to focus on the trucking sector.

Not only Zimbabwean drivers are under attack, but other immigrant drivers from Zambia and Malawi are also targeted by xenophobic groups.

Vusimusi Sibanda from the African Diaspora Global Network claimed that 15 immigrant truck drivers were reported to have been killed over the past three years. He said:

People who attacked these truck drivers were not arrested, which is why we have more vigilante groups such as Operation Dudula and the ATDF.

Lives were lost and trucks were destroyed yet no one was ever held accountable and even the government has not done anything to stop these attacks.

Sibanda said the Network was pushing for SAPS and the SA government to intervene in the attacks against immigrant truck drivers.

SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Robert Netshiunda told GroundUp that they have made several arrests linked to attacks on truck drivers.

Netshiunda urged drivers to report any corrupt activities so that police can investigate them.

He said criminals are behind the spate of attacks on truck drivers three months ago and the attacks had nothing to do with vigilante groups.

More: GroundUp

By-South African who murdered Elvis Nyathi, a Zimbabwean national on 6 April are expected back in the Randburg Magistrates Court, in Johannesburg this morning.

The seven face charges of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

The accused appeared in court on Friday last week where the matter was postponed to Monday.

They are expected to apply for bail this morning when they return to the dock.

On Friday, one of the accused delayed court proceedings as he requested time to get legal representation from legal aid.

The accused’s lawyer told the court that she would be recusing herself, citing a lack of communication with her client.

The late Elvis Nyathi Banajo Mbodazwe was born on 14 February 1979, at Brunapeg Hospital to parents Mfanyana Nyathi and Sipho Ndlovu.

He grew up at Tshatshe, Sewula in Kezi, and did his primary education at Sewula Primary School in Matabeleland South Province.

Nyathi’s family moved to Insuza and in 2006 he left for South Africa, where he was a gardener until his death.

In South Africa, he lived in Diesploot Extension One where he was beaten, stoned and set alight metres from his home.

Nyathi was currently building his own home in Ntabazinduna, Umguza District, Matabeleland North Province.

He leaves behind his wife Nomsa Tshuma and four children.

More: EWN

By- Citizens Coalition for Change President, Nelson Chamisa has sent a congratulatory message to the French President-elect- Emmanuel Macron following his victory in the European country’s Presidential election run-off.

In his message, Chamisa said it’s the time for the young generation to lead.

“Congratulations to the 44 year-old 

@EmmanuelMacron

 on this historic re-election.This is such an inspiration and reminder to all the young people across the world that it’s doable!. Going forward, France is a strategic ally and a key player in addressing global challenges,” tweeted Chamisa.

Congratulations to the 44 year-old @EmmanuelMacron on this historic re-election.This is such an inspiration and reminder to all the young people across the world that it’s doable!. Going forward, France is a strategic ally and a key player in addressing global challenges. pic.twitter.com/dO64JYbfKz

— nelson chamisa (@nelsonchamisa) April 25, 2022

By- Zanu PF has responded to allegations that the ruling party was planning to infiltrate the opposition CCC structure should the latter hold an elective congress.

The party’s director of communications Tafadzwa Mugwadi said that claims by CCC that the ruling party plans to infiltrate the opposition party’s elective congress showed that Zanu PF was ubiquitous.

This comes after CCC deputy spokesperson Gift Siziba recently claimed that CCC had no plans of holding a congress as Zanu PF plotted to infiltrate their movement. 

Siziba was quoted as saying:

Let me clear this once and for all, some people are motivated by Zanu PF, to imagine and think that we are going for a congress.

Look we are a new political organisation, we do not hold congresses and we have no intention to hold a congress.

In CCC, the congress does not exist… it is in the headquarters of Zanu PF and CIO, who in their imagination think we are going to have a congress and they can deploy their people.

Mugwadi said CCC leaders are confused and paranoid, a legacy of their days at the helm of the MDC Alliance. Said Mugwadi:

Are they suggesting that with that claim they are also Zanu PF? Zanu PF will be glad to hear that the organisation which claims to be the biggest opposition is now claiming that it has Zanu PF membership within it.

But most importantly, it is their fear of leadership acrimony which continues to dog the organisation, the leadership acrimony which they carried from their old party MDC. They are clueless.

They don’t have a constitution, and they claim that the citizens are the structures, but surprisingly they carry the titles which they had when they were in the MDC Alliance.

Ironically, some political commentators with links to Zanu PF argue that CCC should hold a congress before the 2023 general elections.

Exiled former Zanu PF politburo member Jonathan Moyo dismissed CCC’s fears of infiltration. Moyo tweeted:

The CCC is saying no vacancies and no congress of any kind. CIO (Central Intelligence Organisation) wants to infiltrate us; maybe a people’s convention, get the nomenclature right.

But a citizen’s convention is better nomenclature. Wait, CIO can only infiltrate a congress; not a convention since it’s American, right.

More: NewsDay

By- A Zimbabwean teacher has won a case in which he was seeking compensation from the state for being tortured in prison.

Harare Magistrate Victoria Mashamba ordered the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) and two cabinet ministers to pay ZWL$200 000 to Munyaradzi Masiyiwa, who is employed as a teacher and is the Deputy Secretary-General of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ).

According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Masiyiwa was arrested on 16 August 2019 in Harare.

He was arrested at Market Square bus terminus in Harare as he was waiting to board a commuter omnibus to go to his place of residence.
Police officers who arrested Masiyiwa allegedly mistook him for an opposition MDC party supporter as he was wearing a red shirt.
The arrest took place on the day when the then Nelson Chamisa-led party had organised an anti-government protest over the country’s worsening economic crisis.

The police officers who arrested Masiyiwa handcuffed, bundled him into their truck and severely assaulted and tortured him while he lay on his abdomen.
They used truncheons to assault Masiyiwa all over his body before instructing him to make coital movements and simulate as if he was having sexual intercourse with the ZRP vehicle.
He was taken to Harare Central Prison where he was remanded in custody and further assaulted.
Masiyiwa was allegedly ordered by prison officers to strip naked and jump up and down with his hands in the air and was also denied food.
He was eventually cleared of the public violence charges on 7 October 2019.
Masiyiwa engaged ZLHR’s Tinashe Chinopfukutwa who sued ZRP Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and ZPCS Commissioner-General Moses Chihobvu and a police officer only identified as Jambaya.
Masiyiwa demanded ZWL$200 000 in damages for pain and suffering, trauma, contumelia, embarrassment and humiliation.

He told the court that he had been severely abused and humiliated by the conduct of ZRP and ZPCS officers.
Magistrate Mashamba ordered Matanga, Kazembe, Ziyambi, Chihobvu and Jambaya to pay ZWL$200 000 to Masiyiwa as compensation for the ill-treatment.
The penalty was broken down as ZWL$100 000 for pain and suffering and ZWL$100 000 for embarrassment, affront to dignity, humiliation and contumelia.

By- Operation dudula activists are said to be hunting down Zimbabwean truck drivers living and working in South Africa .

The affected drivers said that the Dudulka thugs were accusing them of stealing trucking jobs from South Africans.

Richard Mudhara, a Zimbabwean truck driver working in Johannesburg, told GroundUp in an interview that he was abducted on 2 March a few kilometres from Durban by three men.

He said his abductors told him they were with the All Truck Drivers Foundation (ATDF) and Operation Dudula.

Mudhara alleged that the men had stopped his truck, smashed the windows and forced him out.

They then tied him up and held him at gunpoint in bushes while his truck was driven away. Said Mudhara:

My mind was racing. They told me they were after truck drivers from Zimbabwe.

They told me to comply or be killed so I prayed for them to let me live.

… I prayed for them to let me live because some who found themselves in similar circumstances, were reported dead.

He said his life was saved when the gunman received a phone call and left him there.

The drivers, with Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEP) permits, claim that rogue police are also extorting them for cash.

However, Operation Dudula, a rising anti-immigrant, vigilante-like group has distanced itself from the attacks.

Zandile Dabula, Operation Dudula’s secretary-general said they don’t fight people, but the government, adding that the movement was yet to focus on the trucking sector.

Not only Zimbabwean drivers are under attack, but other immigrant drivers from Zambia and Malawi are also targeted by xenophobic groups.

Vusimusi Sibanda from the African Diaspora Global Network claimed that 15 immigrant truck drivers were reported to have been killed over the past three years. He said:

People who attacked these truck drivers were not arrested, which is why we have more vigilante groups such as Operation Dudula and the ATDF.

Lives were lost and trucks were destroyed yet no one was ever held accountable and even the government has not done anything to stop these attacks.

Sibanda said the Network was pushing for SAPS and the SA government to intervene in the attacks against immigrant truck drivers.

SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Robert Netshiunda told GroundUp that they have made several arrests linked to attacks on truck drivers.

Netshiunda urged drivers to report any corrupt activities so that police can investigate them.

He said criminals are behind the spate of attacks on truck drivers three months ago and the attacks had nothing to do with vigilante groups.

More: GroundUp

By-The Nelson Chamisa’s CCC political outfit has been warned against choosing not to hold an elective congress.

The warning has been issued by political analysts who said that the party risked t tarnishing its democratic credentials if it avoids holding an elective congress before the 2023 general elections.
CCC interim deputy spokesperson Gift Siziba recently said that the party was not going to hold any elective congress before the 2023 national elections.

Siziba said that the party will have a people’s convention, and not a congress.
However, political analyst Methuseli Moyo argued that CCC needs to hold a congress for its legitimacy. Said Moyo:
A congress is what constitutes a party, appoints persons into position to exercise power and administration of party affairs.
One wonders how CCC will constitute itself and delegate authority to office-bearers.
Without a congress, CCC remains a collection of friends deploying each other into positions.

As such, they would be handicapped to challenge ZANU PF on any issue to do with democracy and procedure.
In a nutshell, CCC must go to Congress before elections to legitimise itself. It can’t take over power when it has not been mandated by anyone.
As things stand, CCC is a party in the making, and only a congress can constitute a party.
Another political analyst Vivid Gwede said holding an elective congress is a cornerstone of democracy. Gwede said:
It is true that a congress may be divisive for CCC ahead of the 2023 elections.
But the quest for political change should not trump the imperative for elected leadership as the cornerstone of representative democracy.
Exiled former ZANU PF politburo member Jonathan Moyo downplayed CCC’s fears of infiltration and insisted the party should hold an elective congress. Moyo tweeted:
The CCC is saying no vacancies and no congress of any kind. CIO (Central Intelligence Organisation) wants to infiltrate us; maybe a people’s convention, get the nomenclature right.
But a citizen’s convention is better nomenclature. Wait, CIO can only infiltrate a congress; not a convention since it’s American, right?

By- Police in Harare have arrested a 37-year-old suspected lone armed robber who shot and killed a Waterfalls woman during an armed robbery before committing a spate of other criminal cases has been arrested in Chitungwiza.

The notorious armed robbery suspect Aaron Fransisco Machona (37) committed a series of armed robbery cases in Harare from December 2021 to April 2022.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest.
“The suspect would operate alone while targeting cash or electrical accessories and would fire to subdue identified victims. On 9th December 2021 at about 0200 hours, the suspect stormed a house in Uplands Waterfalls, Harare and captured two complainants while armed with a pistol and wearing a balaclava. He stole property worth US$4 160 and drove away in the complainant’s silver BMW 318 vehicle (ACW 4417).
“On 30th January 2022, the suspect invaded another home along Ruwa Avenue Waterfalls, Harare where he attacked a couple whom he threatened to shoot with a pistol before he fired one shot into the roof. The suspect later ran away after noticing some light rays filtering through the room before stealing anything,” he said.
On March 9, 2022, the suspect who was armed with an unidentified pistol while covering his face with a balaclava, stormed another house in Uplands Waterfalls, Harare through an unlocked door and attacked three occupants while demanding cash.

The complainants surrendered US$60, Itel 16 and Huawei cellphones, however the suspect kept on demanding for more cash while assaulting one of the complainants aged 78 all over the body with a stick.
One of the victims Jubilee Utsiwegota (30) tried to stop the suspect resulting in Machona drawing a pistol before shooting her once on the head. Utsiwegota died instantly.
“On 13th April 2022, the suspect broke into a house in Uplands Waterfalls, Harare and tortured three complainants while armed with a pistol and wearing a balaclava. The suspect stole property worth US$ 1 302 and left the complainants locked up in a wardrobe.
“On 22nd April 2022, Police detectives spotted Machona’s silver Toyota Runx vehicle (AFD 6503) and pursued him resulting in a high speed chase. The suspect was eventually arrested at Chigovanyika St Mary’s, Chitungwiza,” Asst Comm Nyathi said.
Police searched the suspect’s house in Unit C Chitungwiza and recovered a CZ P-10 pistol with a magazine of one round, Samsung cellphone, four purses, three plastic flippers used to open windows, catapult, screwdriver, Hp laptop, Mobicel laptop, Compaq black laptop, black satchel and black laptop bag.
Police investigations have revealed that the CZ P-10 pistol was stolen by means of theft from a motor vehicle in Kadoma on November 25, 2021 and the recovered Samsung cellphone was stolen by means of robbery in Uplands Waterfalls, Harare on April 13, 2022.

Machona had acquired a stand and built a three roomed house in Chitungwiza, bought a vehicle and paid US$10 000 lobola for his wife through the proceeds of armed robbery cases.

By- Zanu FF Matabeleland South province has said that they might lose more seats if their party does not intensify to campaign in the next year’s elections.

They said their party should campaign to get more people to register to vote before the delimitation exercise as the province risks losing over five constituencies.

Delimitation, which is carried out after a population census and is provided for in Sections 160 and 161 of the Constitution, refers to the dividing of the country into constituencies and wards for the purposes of elections and involves coming up with a minimum threshold of registered voters in each of the country’s 210 National Assembly constituencies.
The exercise could see some constituencies with a low number of registered voters being merged with others while some could be split into more than one, subject to the number of registered voters.
The region, which is least represented in Parliament, has 38 parliamentary seats out of 210 constituencies.
Bulawayo has 12 seats with Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North having 13 each.
The remainder of the seats are spread across the other seven provinces outside the Matabeleland region.
It has been previously reported that the Matabeleland region has the least number of registered voters countrywide, a development that could eventually result in the loss of constituencies ahead of the 2023 harmonised elections if the trend remains the same.
According to statistics released by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) recently, Bulawayo has the lowest number of registered voters with 254 630 followed by Matabeleland South with 259 689 registered voters and Matabeleland North standing at 335 851.
Speaking during a provincial coordinating committee (PCC) meeting in Gwanda yesterday, Zanu-PF Matabeleland South provincial chairman, Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu, said the party has the capacity to retain its seats in the province.
He, however, said more needs to be done to ensure that people register to vote.
“The country is going through three major activities which include the mobile registration exercise, which is being conducted by Civil Registry Department, the biometric voter registration exercise and the population and housing census.
“These are very important exercises and Matabeleland South province however, stands to lose between five to seven constituencies if the voter registration numbers don’t improve,” said Ndlovu.
“We are a stronghold of Zanu-PF and if we don’t take action now to correct the trend we are seeing, we would have let our party down.”
Ndlovu called on party members to encourage the masses to obtain birth certificates and national identity documents for them to be able to register to vote.
“The dispensation that we have been given by President Mnangagwa has relaxed the requirements for obtaining national identity documents. If we don’t take action to correct the trend of low voter registration, we would have let our President down,” he said.
“Let us therefore try as much as we can to save our constituencies in this province.”
Ndlovu said the ruling party has the responsibility to make sure that development initiatives are delivered to the people.
“President Mnangagwa has made sure that provinces have power through devolution. The party constitution confers adequate powers for us to monitor implementation of Government programmes and propose policies for implementation,” he said.
-State media

Congratulations to the 44 year-old
@EmmanuelMacron
on this historic re-election.

This is such an inspiration and reminder to all the young people across the world that it’s doable!.

Going forward, France is a strategic ally and a key player in addressing global challenges.- Advocate Nelson Chamisa

Congratulations to the 44 year-old
@EmmanuelMacron
on this historic re-election.

This is such an inspiration and reminder to all the young people across the world that it’s doable!.

Going forward, France is a strategic ally and a key player in addressing global challenges.- Advocate Nelson Chamisa

By A Correspondent- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa Abebe Haile-Gabriel has said that the deepening hunger crisis in Africa has left more than 280 million people facing malnutrition in the continent.

 Haile-Gabriel made the remarks at the FAO Regional Conference for Africa in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea to discuss solutions to the growing hunger crisis.

The 32nd session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa (ARC32) was attended by more than 50 government ministers across Africa and representatives from the observer countries, donor organisations, civil society and the private sector.

“Collectively, we have learned to do things differently, to go digital like never before, and to quickly forge new partnerships to overcome threats,” he said.

“That same agility and spirit of collaboration is needed now for the silent pandemic of poverty, hunger and undernourishment and extreme vulnerabilities to shocks in Africa.”

He said even before the Covid-19 pandemic, there were more than 280 million undernourished people in Africa.

“In 2020, the region recorded the sharpest rise in the prevalence of undernourishment covering 21 percent of the population which is more than double that of any region,”  he said.

By A Correspondent- Renowned engineer and banker, Wilbert Mubaiwa, has launched a new political party which will contest in next year’s general election.

The new party, which uses blue and purple colour codes, is known as the National People’s Congress (NPC).

The party was launched in Harare Saturday afternoon, with Mubaiwa, who claims to be a pan-Africanist, pledging to unite a polarised nation.

Addressing delegates at the launch, drawn from the country’s 10 provinces, Mubaiwa said his party was centralist in nature, and different from other political parties in terms of ideology.

“We don’t believe in pointing fingers and fighting other parties; we believe in proffering solutions,” Mubaiwa told delegates at the launch.

Mubaiwa, a Guruve South losing independent candidate in the 2018 polls, said they had been planning to launch the party since 2019.

“We considered a lot of things before coming up with this new party,” he said.

“We know that there are more than 100 political parties registered with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and we are offering an alternative from all those political parties.”

The former managing director (MD) of Sunway City said his party was anchored on the concept of Ubuntu.

“Ubuntu entails Africanism. If you see me talking to a Zanu-PF leader, it doesn’t mean I am a sell-out,” he said,

“When you see me dining with Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) officials, it means there is osmosis of ideas. Being in different political parties does not make us enemies.”

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed Rosemary Rubvumo Mukogo as a commissioner of the Public Service Commission (PSC) with effect from 1 May 2022.

Mugoko’s appointment was announced by Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Misheck Sibanda in a statement on Friday.

He said Mukogo has over 30 years of experience operating at strategic levels both in the public and private sectors.

Mukogo served Government in the then Ministry of Trade and Commerce and rose to the post of under-secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

She was subsequently appointed the chief executive of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA).

I

n the private sector, Mugoko was an executive director of Air Harbour Technologies.

Since 2001, Mukogo served on boards in both public and private sector institutions including Zimbabwe Newspapers Group, and the Zimbabwe Council for Tourism.

She has also served on the boards of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority, Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe, Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe, Zimref Gold (Pvt) Ltd and Mosioa Tunya (Pvt) Ltd.

Mukogo is a holder of a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe.

She also holds post-graduate qualifications in Environmental Economics and Policy Analysis from Harvard University.

-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has hit back at Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya’s suggestion that their position on the crumbling local currency was misinformed.

It warned that the economy faces a total collapse if government insists on foisting the rapidly weakening local currency on the market when it is obvious that it is no longer viable.

Mangudya came out guns blazing Saturday, strongly criticising the lobby group and said instead of removing the Zimdollar, government was actually in the process of dedollarising.

But CZI escalated the situation Sunday, warning the Zimdollar was on the “brink of rejection in the face of exchange instability and increasing inflation”.

In its position paper on the sensitive issue leaked to the media on Friday, CZI called on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to suspend the foreign currency auction system after the Zimdollar fell to $350 against the greenback whose official interbank rate stands at $155.

The suggestion left Mangudya seething with anger. He issued a strongly worded statement that the auction system would remain because suspending it would cause shortages of goods on the market and abet inflation.

But an unperturbed CZI president Kurai Matsheza Sunday said there was need for a compromise.

“I think the route of discussion and engagement should be open and we all are really positive that these engagements will take us forward. I don’t think authorities will not listen to us. They may have a position, but I am sure that position can be debated and common ground can be found,” he said.

“I am sure they will listen to what we have highlighted in that paper and they will engage. We are not saying that they can adopt 100% of the recommendations, some of them can be picked, but I am sure that common ground can be found.”

Should the status quo remain, Matsheza said: “I am sure some will have difficulty to continue operating, it is going to be difficult. But, look, the situation has been difficult for the Zimbabwean operating environment and I am sure some may actually find it difficult to continue.”

CZI was adamant in its position paper that getting the price of foreign currency right was fundamental to Zimbabwe’s economic development.

“An overvalued Zimdollar broadly undermines the scope for maximising structural efficiency and the growth of both the export industry and import substitution,” it said.

“The policy of maintaining an overvalued Zimdollar imposes a big tax on the export industry undermining its growth and transparency. The policy also unwittingly subsidises imported industrial goods that then start competing unfairly for supermarket space with locally manufactured goods and accelerates deindustrialisation.”

CZI also suggested that foreign currency retentions be financed through the budget and that banks encourage exporters to freely set reserve prices and sell their foreign currency on the auction system.

The group also suggested that the central bank should do away with the foreign currency priority list and liberalise the market, while also keeping tight control on money supply.

It also called for RBZ to suspend quasi-fiscal activities which increase money supply growth and create market distortions or arbitrage opportunities.

Mangudya responded: “Government and the bank (RBZ) are committed to an orderly de-dollarisation process and, hence, it is false that a mono-currency system is now in place. The foreign exchange auction system remains in place and will not be suspended as doing so will cause shortages of goods on the market and abet inflation. All foreign exchange accounts are safe and the bank has no reason or appetite to ‘raid’ the accounts as alleged in the CZI paper.”

As a result of the Zimdollar depreciation and rising inflation, prices are soaring almost daily as businesses try to maintain the value of goods and services.

The annual inflation rate, in particular, reached 72,7% as of last month.

Renowned American economist, Steve Hanke, gave the country the highest inflation rate in the world at the start of last week.

“I measure Zim’s inflation every day with PPP and high-frequency data. At 189%/yr, it has surpassed Venezuela and soared to the top of my #WeeklyWatchlist. According to my precise measurements, Zim is now the not-so-proud owner of the highest annual inflation in the world,” he wrote in a tweet dated April 17.

In a tweet on Friday, Hanke said Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate was now at 207%.

“Zimbabwe’s government is so crooked that its own anti-corruption commissioner was fired for being corrupt. This story is ironic with a capital ‘I’. Speaking of ‘I’, consider inflation. In Zimbabwe, inflation no laughing matter. Today, I measure Zimbabwe’s inflation at 207%/yr. That’s a 1yr high,” he said.

Bus operators have challenged the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) to deal with some soldiers, police officers and Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) officers who are allegedly facilitating the smuggling of goods instead of arresting “soft” targets.

This comes after ZACC impounded nine buses during the ongoing blitz against smuggling.

One of the bus operators, who declined to be named, told NewsDay that one of the buses impounded by ZACC was an inter-city bus operating between Beitbridge and Harare. Said the bus operator:

My bus was caught in that blitz operates from Dulivhadzimo bus terminus in Beitbridge and not across the border.

Obviously, most of our clients are people from South African trips, but it is not my duty to ask for a declaration form.

We simply load the goods on the bus and whether these people have gone through the border to declare their goods is not our business as bus operators.

After all, we hear these people pay soldiers and police to cross with their stuff.

ZACC is coming to the soft target; it should be dealing with soldiers, police and other security agents who are facilitating this smuggling.

How do the goods cross where these officers are patrolling? That is where ZACC should be probing.

The contraband found on the buses included an assortment of alcoholic drinks, blankets, bags containing new clothes, shoes, washing powder and energy drinks.

Meanwhile, ZACC spokesperson John Makamure said those bus operators whose buses were impounded can argue their cases in court.-newsday

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) says it will discontinue issuing copies of the voters’ roll to stakeholders on CDs.

ZEC said that the move is to help protect people’s personal data from being shared via social media platforms.

In the past, ZEC had been issuing the voters roll to election stakeholders so that they can analyse it.

ZEC spokesperson Commissioner Jasper Mangwana said that instead of the voters’ roll on CDs, ZEC will be creating an interactive online portal that it will be monitoring. Said Mangwana:

In the future, we are not going to issue the voters’ roll on CDs to candidates and stakeholders.

We are going to create an online portal that is searchable because the voters roll is supposed to be searchable, and this portal can be monitored by ZEC you will be issued with login details to access it and the portal will send an OTP to a local number only.

However, Team Pachedu said the move would be illegal and will make it impossible to audit the voters’ roll. Tweeted Team Pachedu:

Jasper Mangwana says that ZEC will soon stop issuing voters’ rolls on CDs.

ZEC wants to create a monitored online portal where records can only be searched one at a time and will only be accessible in Zimbabwe.

This is illegal and will make auditing impossible!

ZEC and Team Pachedu are involved in a dispute on the issue of the ZEC server which Team Pachedu claims is being hosted by Africom, a company owned by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF).

Mangwana denies that the ZEC server is hosted by Africom, saying it is not in a location that was alleged by Team Pachedu.

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has announced new diesel and petrol prices effective 25 April 2022.

Diesel now costs US$1.71 and ZWL$264.77 per litre while the price of petrol has been increased to US$1.63 and ZWL$252.40 per litre.

In a public notice, ZERA said prices have been set in accordance with oil price patterns on the international market. Part of the notice reads:

Prices have been set in accordance with oil price patterns on the international market, which the Authority is continuously monitoring. The public and operators are advised that the blending ratio is now at E10.

Operators may sell petroleum products below the prescribed prices depending on their trading advantages and should display prices in a prominent place as provided for by the fuel pricing regulations.

Before this latest price adjustment, the price of diesel was US$1.60 and ZWL$213.90 per litre while the price of petrol was US$1.59 and ZWL$213.49 per litre.

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) said that vehicle owners who are behind in their vehicle licence payments will be allowed clear arrears without incurring any penalties during the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair from 26 to 30 April.

ZINARA public relations and marketing manager Tendai Mugabe said the offer to motorists is part of the ZITF promotion held annually.

He urged vehicle owners with arrears to take advantage of this window period to pay their vehicle licences at minimum cost.

Motorists can make payments at any ZINARA office or agent across the country. Said, Mugabe:

We want to encourage motorists who have arrears to take advantage of this window period to regularise their vehicle licences at ZINARA offices or that of our licensing agents countrywide.

Mugabe also said ZINARA would give tollgate exemption coupons to motorists who are up to date with payment of their licences during ZITF. He said:

As ZINARA, we salute all motorists who are paying their vehicle licences because this has enabled us to make timely disbursements to road authorities.

We are also appealing to road authorities to expedite their acquittal processes to accelerate the refurbishment of our road network.

By- The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has announced new diesel and petrol prices.

The new fuel prices are with effect from today 25 April 2022.

Diesel now costs US$1.71 and ZWL$264.77 per litre while the price of petrol has been increased to US$1.63 and ZWL$252.40 per litre.

In a public notice, ZERA said prices have been set in accordance with oil price patterns on the international market. Part of the notice reads:

Prices have been set in accordance with oil price patterns on the international market, which the Authority is continuously monitoring. The public and operators are advised that the blending ratio is now at E10.

Operators may sell petroleum products below the prescribed prices depending on their trading advantages and should display prices in a prominent place as provided for by the fuel pricing regulations.

Before this latest price adjustment, the price of diesel was US$1.60 and ZWL$213.90 per litre while the price of petrol was US$1.59 and ZWL$213.49 per litre.

By- A Bulawayo’s Nketa suburb man has been arrested for stabbing his wife after a misunderstanding over relish.

Circumstances are that on 17 April, at around 7.25pm, Veronica Phiri (34), who is married to Mehluli Dube (47), arrived home from the city centre and found her husband in the sitting room.

She asked him for money to buy relish and he replied that she should get it from her boyfriend since she was out with him.
Veronica got angry and slapped Mehluli twice on the left cheek. Mehluli responded by picking a kitchen knife and stabbing Veronica on the right shoulder.

He then locked himself in their bedroom.
Veronica called the police who attended the scene and arrested Mehluli.
They recovered the kitchen knife.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the incident and urged couples to find better ways of solving their issues.

“I confirm the arrest of Mehluli Dube for stabbing his wife Veronica Phiri on her right shoulder. He is helping the police with investigations and will appear in court soon.
“As police, we are worried about the cases of physical abuse that are emanating because of mistrust and infidelity. In most cases mistrust makes people fight over rumours,” said Inspector Ncube.

By- Villagers in Musita, under Chief Nemangwe’s area in Gokwe, were shocked when a humongous snake, about two metres in length, allegedly emerged from a huge lump which was on the neck of a cow which they were slaughtering.

The snake reportedly started sucking blood from the dead cow for almost an hour before it eventually gave up.

The reptile later slithered into a nearby grassy pasture where it eventually died, according to the villagers.



Chief Nemangwe told B-Metro that those who witnessed the bizarre incident are now living in fear as they believe the snake was a goblin. He said:

What happened is that the cow in question was left in the custody of Mike Muchavazo by one of his neighbours (name supplied) when he relocated to Chegutu last year.

The cow then developed a huge lump on its neck. When Mike (Muchavazo) phoned the owner telling him about the lump, he instructed him to slaughter it and sell the meat.

Muchavazo then asked some villagers to help him slaughter the beast. Added Chief Nemangwe:

While they were busy skinning it, one of the villagers who was wary of the huge lump, pierced it with a knife and shockingly a huge snake sprang out and subsequently started sucking the blood which was dripping from that lump.

Out of fear the villagers ran away in different directions until some gathered courage and came back and tried to remove the snake but without success.

Chief Nemangwe said it is highly unusual that a snake would suck blood from a dead animal. He said:

This is because snakes do not suck blood and don’t even have the mouth structure necessary to do it. A snake bite would be expected to bleed a little bit.

The fact that it came out of the lump and stuck there and started feeding on the dead cow’s blood shows that it was not a real snake.

That is why some people suspected that it was a goblin in the form of a snake.

Scary scenes like these usually indicate that your enemy is sucking your life force through black magic or is trying to harm you in real life in a way that you are not aware of.

More: B-Metro

By- The Nelson Chamisa’s CCC Bulawayo province is celebrating the sacking of Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Thompson Mabhikwa.

Mabhikwa was fired by President Emmerson Mnangagwa early this month after a tribunal chaired by retired judge Justice November Mtshiya recommended his removal from office for gross misconduct.

Mabhikwa allegedly had a misunderstanding with his lover, a subordinate, who in a fit of rage, shared pictures of his genitalia in WhatsApp groups.

In 2019, Mabhikwa delivered a judgement that caused the removal of Kambarami as Ward 3 councillor and Bulawayo deputy mayor.

The ruling followed an application by 1893 Mthwakazi Restoration Movement Trust, which had challenged Kambarami’s election as councillor and deputy mayor on the grounds that he had stolen an electricity extension cable.

CCC Bulawayo spokesperson Swithern Chirowodza said that the party, formerly the MDC Alliance, has not forgiven Mabhikwa for the ruling. Said Chirowodza:

Mabhikwa dethroned Kambarami for an alleged criminal conviction the latter had appealed against.

Mabhikwa ignored Section 278 (2) of the constitution which provides that an Act of Parliament must provide for the establishment of an independent tribunal to exercise the function of removing from office mayors, chairpersons and councillors.

Meanwhile, the Bulawayo City Council has not yet readmitted Kambarami to the council chambers despite winning his appeal at the Supreme Court.

More: The Standard

Tinashe Sambiri|Citizens’ Coalition For Change leader President Nelson Chamisa’s support base is increasing in the rural areas.

On Saturday President Chamisa was in Chirumanzu, traditionally known as Emmerson Mnangagwa’s stronghold.

Watch video below:
https://twitter.com/nelsonchamisa/status/1517918585255079938?s=20&t=qlVao6BJKCtvSdXT-mb69A

CCC also held a successful fundraising event in Namibia on Saturday:

Citizens Coalition For Change Namibia Windhoek held a successful fundraising event at Katutura Youth Centre.

The idea is to raise funds for the 7 May by-elections. Change champions in Namibia, Windhoek pledged to prosecute the yellow revolution to its logical conclusion.

Special thanks to the Chairperson Elisha Chambara and his entire leadership team. The message to go and register to vote on 2023 was at the centre.

Victory is certain with participatory democracy.- CCC Namibia

Tinashe Sambiri|Citizens Coalition For Change leader President Nelson has said the resounding victory in the March 26 by-elections is a signal of great things to come.

President Chamisa took a swipe at the panicky Zanu PF regime for “cowardly disrupting” CCC programmes.

“The CCC BY-ELECTIONS LANDSLIDE VICTORY has put the world on notice that CCC is the next government in ZIMBABWE.

On this, Zpf is panicking and cowardly disrupting our Citizens dialogue Assemblies.The road to 2023 must be signposted by Pre-Election Pact on Reforms (PREPARE),” President Chamisa wrote on Twitter.

He added:
“We’re busy preparing your honey! It’s happening. Fellow Citizens, are you ready to be involved? “

Tinashe Sambiri|Citizens’ Coalition For Change leader President Nelson Chamisa’s support base is increasing in the rural areas.

On Saturday President Chamisa was in Chirumanzu, traditionally known as Emmerson Mnangagwa’s stronghold.

Watch video below:
https://twitter.com/nelsonchamisa/status/1517918585255079938?s=20&t=qlVao6BJKCtvSdXT-mb69A

CCC also held a successful fundraising event in Namibia on Saturday:

Citizens Coalition For Change Namibia Windhoek held a successful fundraising event at Katutura Youth Centre.

The idea is to raise funds for the 7 May by-elections. Change champions in Namibia, Windhoek pledged to prosecute the yellow revolution to its logical conclusion.

Special thanks to the Chairperson Elisha Chambara and his entire leadership team. The message to go and register to vote on 2023 was at the centre.

Victory is certain with participatory democracy.- CCC Namibia

Tinashe Sambiri|Mr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa must apologize for murdering Ndebele people during the Gukurahundi era.

This was said by a disgruntled citizen who argued Mr Mnangagwa does not have the capacity to unite the nation.

Speaking at a rally in Epworth on Saturday, Mr Mnangagwa claimed he was determined to unite the nation.

“We should all be ZANU PF.
We should never sell our birth right for trinkets.ZANU PF is not going anywhere so let us continue supporting Zanu PF and the unity in the party. Unity is Zanu PF’s DNA.”

Below are responses to Mr Mnangagwa’s remarks:

Brighton Dube :
“You are talking about Unity?
This man has not yet apologized for killing the Ndebele people during Gugurahindi. So which peace is he talking about.”

Hillary Johns :
“These statements are just for intimidating voters and discouraging people from voting. Manje manyangira yaona. That strategy won’t work. People let’s go and vote in numbers.”

Kabelo Absa Mpofu
“Not going anywhere?we are voting you out clowns.”

TK Padona:
“Nonsense, bunch of fools supporting thieves, the same people who have destroyed Zimbabwe. No wonder, as long as Zimbabwe has people with narrow minded like you we can’t go anywhere.”

By A Correspondent= United Kingdom-based Zimbabwean constitutional law expert Alex Magaisa says the newly-formed Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) led by Nelson Chamisa should prioritise the drafting of a constitution, even an interim document, before holding a congress.

This comes after some political commentators, including ZANU PF officials, have suggested that CCC should have an elective congress before the 2023 general elections. We publish Magaisa’s comments below verbatim:

Congress debate: Putting the cart before the horse

1. When they say you’re putting the cart before the horse they mean you’re doing things in the wrong order. You want to buy a wedding gown before your partner has proposed! Everything must follow a process. This is why the debate over the CCC “Congress” is misplaced and misdirected.

2. I’ve been searching for when the “Congress” became an issue of public debate. I took a break over Easter and I probably missed its genesis then. Back to the idiom: an event of the nature described as a “Congress” is the culmination of other foundational processes.

3. The nomenclature of “Congress” is a reflection of how ZANU PF discourse has shaped our political thinking. MDC simply copied & pasted the language & processes of ZANU PF. The organs were similar albeit with minor modifications such as “Youth Assembly” for “Youth League”

4. Where ZANU PF had a Women’s League, the MDC called it Women’s Assembly. For ZANU PF’s Politburo (Soviet-style political bureau) the MDC had the Standing Committee (SC). It’s here where there was a major difference. MDC’s SC was elected while ZANU PF’s Politburo was appointed.

5. But most may not realise that it wasn’t always like this in ZANU PF. The big changes giving the President powers to appoint Politburo members started at its Congress in 1984. It centralised power with Mugabe becoming not just the President but the First Secretary of the party. The Secretary-General role then held by the political maverick Edgar Tekere became redundant. Mugabe was not only centralising power but eliminating competition.

6. Therefore elected members gave way to appointees. The MDC’s National Council is the equivalent of ZANU’s Central Committee the difference again being in appointment and election. However, it’s important to note that the MDC had an appointed National Executive.

7. This digression is meant to demonstrate how the obsession with the discourse of “Congress” is rooted in a political culture established by ZANU PF and copied with some modifications by the MDC. Hence both ZANU PF and the MDC had a “Congress” serving similar roles.

8. It’s therefore perhaps less surprising that this same political discourse is being uncritically exported to the CCC. What if the CCC is reimagining how it is constituted, far away from this discourse? This is where that idiom of putting the cart before the horse comes in.

9. The organs of a party are creatures of its founding document, the Constitution or the “grund norm”. The roles, functions & powers of these organs are set out in the party’s constitution which is adopted by a special gathering whose role it is to debate & approve the grund norm

10. How this special gathering is constituted and its purpose is a matter for the founding members. Every organisation has founding members. After all, a party is a voluntary organisation with the liberty to make its own rules that best advance its interests and goals.

11. They can choose to have an interim constitution which establishes rules & organs pending the adoption of the final constitution by the body of people given that role by the interim constitution. They might call it a “Congress” but they might decide to change this discourse.

12. It is therefore the proposed constitution of the CCC that will set this discourse. If therefore there’s a matter that should be a priority at this time, it is not what people are pre-occupied with regarding a “Congress” but the question of the party’s constitution.

13. So we return to that idiom: You cannot put the cart before the horse because that would be the wrong order. Once you deal with the constitutional question you will find that current issues are easily resolved because it is the document that will chart the path for the party.

14. I conclude by urging the CCC interim leadership to hasten the pace to establish the set of rules called the constitution, even on an interim basis. These debates and accompanying noises are a reflection of the unsureness that results from a constitutional void.

15. If the CCC wants to transform the political discourse, it has the great opportunity to do so via its constitution. Presently the discourse around “Congress” festers because that is what people are accustomed to from their days in ZANU PF and the MDC. That’s all they know.

WaMagaisa

By A Correspondent- In a development that has highlighted how much the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is incapacitated, Rujeko Police Station in Masvingo urban is reported to have hijacked City Council’s public toilet which is a few meters from the station and is reportedly locking away members of the public who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of the facility.

This came out in a full council meeting held at Town House on April 21 2022 when the recently re-elected ward 7 councilor Richard Musekiwa raised the concern.

Musekiwa said the police post has no toilet of their own, and officers have resorted to using the public toilet which they are reportedly personalizing.

“Police in Rujeko have personalized the public toilet in the suburb yet it is a council-owned property and it should be accessed by the public not the police to make it their property,” said Musekiwa.

He said police have since put a padlock to deprive hundreds of people who ply and stay close to Rujeko A shops.

Ward 8 councilor Against Chiteme also said the police camp should construct their own toilet than depriving residents access to their toilet.

“Rujeko police station should construct their own toilet instead of taking over council property leaving the public without ablution facilities,” said Chiteme.

Masvingo City Council Mayor Collen Maboke said the police station should just be closed as no such institution is allowed to operate without a toilet.

“No one is allowed or should operate without a toilet and those without toilets must be shut down. So if Rujeko police base does not have a toilet, they should just close,” said Maboke.
Efforts to get a comment from acting provincial police spokesperson Sergeant Lloyd Masundire were futile as he was not reachable.

When Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Kazembe Kazembe and Commissioner General of Police, Godwin Matanga visited Masvingo in April 2021, they toured police posts including Rujeko and were told that there were lots of shortages in terms of resources in police departments, chief among them being shortage of toilets at many camps.

Officer Commanding Masvingo Province Commissioner David Mahoya told Kazembe and Commissioner General Matanga that the province was faced with shortages of toilets,

ffices, police vehicles, stationery, fuel and accommodation among other things and also said the case of Rujeko police station was worrying saying under normal circumstances, the station would be condemned as there were no toilets as well as office space.

“Literally there is no police station here, there are no toilets, the place is small, officer in charge shares offices with other staffers and no vehicles to deliver services,” said Commissioner Mahoya.

During that visit Kazembe said government was aware of the challenges being faced by the police which include accommodation for officers saying concerted efforts were being made to address that but up to now nothing has materialized.

By A Correspondent- The majority of ZIFA councillors on Saturday, 23 April, voted to recall the association’s president, Felton Kamambo, and two other board members, Philemon Machana and Bryton Malandule.

The ZIFA Congress, however, retained the rest of the executive committee and appointed Gift Banda the acting president.

The Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) was presided over by ZIFA lawyer Chenaimwoyo Gumiro. 45 of the 58 Congress members attended the meeting.

Kamambo, Machana, Malandule and Stanley Chapeta were all invited to answer to charges levelled against them but they did not turn up.

Premier Soccer League chairperson Farai Jere, Women’s Soccer League chairperson Barbra Chikosi as well Sugar Chagonda were asked to respond to the charges levelled against them and were all spared the axe.

ZIFA vice president Gift Banda, whose suspension by his colleagues on the board had been lifted a month before the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) suspended the ZIFA board on 16 November 2021, also survived the chop.

The availability of Banda, Jere, Chikosi and Chagonda would ensure that ZIFA would continue to be led by a duly-elected board as the four officials are enough to make a quorum.

Gumiro, however, said the SRC and ZIFA suspensions are still in force. Said Gumiro:

This was an internal process which does not change much regarding the situation on the ground.

The SRC suspension remains in force; the FIFA suspension remains in force.

So what now needs to be done is to ensure or convince the SRC to first lift the suspension of the executive committee and also convince FIFA, because, remember, there is a condition on the FIFA letter that they can only lift the suspension (of Zimbabwe) upon the reinstatement of the Kamambo-led board.

The ZIFA Congress is expected to write to the SRC this week to inform them of the latest developments.

After that, SRC will review the situation before any re-engagement with FIFA happens.

More: The Sunday Mail

By A Correspondent- A Plumtree man who picked a grudge with a drinking mate he accused of assaulting his young brother has been arrested for the murder of the same.

Police in Matabeleland South revealed that they arrested Silvester Ngwenya (30) from Madlambudzi for allegedly killing a drinking  mate Nkosilathi Nleya (48) with a log accusing him of assaulting his 16 year old male cousin.

Matabeleland South Police spokesperson Inspector Loveness Mangena confirmed the murder saying on  April 14 around 3:30 am Ngwenya  was drinking beer at Makhulela 2 business centre, Madlambuzi in the company of Nleya.

She said Ngwenya  asked  Nleya why he had assaulted his cousin, a juvenile aged 16 years. 

“This did not go down well with Nleya  who withdrew an Okapi knife from his pocket and stabbed Ngwenya  once on the right side of the stomach,” said Mangena.

She said a fight ensued resulting in Ngwenya punching Nleya with a fist on the forehead. It is said Nleya  tried to run away but he  fell down and Ngwenya picked a Mopani log and struck Nleya  several times all over the body.

“His brother Sabelo Nleya found  Nleya bleeding and unconscious and took  him to Ndolwane clinic where he was pronounced dead,” she said.

By A Correspondent- Several homes, a school, and roads were destroyed by a hailstorm in Nkayi District last week.

Government officials are struggling to assess the extent of the damage caused by heavy rains that began on Wednesday due to inaccessibility and lack of telephone coverage.

Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs minister Richard Moyo told VicFallsLive that the rains affected wards 1, 2, 13 and 14 in villages such as Tsheli, Sobunyonyo, Gampinya and Sovondo. Said Moyo:

The report is true as I have just spoken to Nkayi officials, but the challenge is that there is no (telephone) network (coverage) for us to contact our government representatives on the ground and the road is also inaccessible.

Once the place is reachable, we will give the status of families who lost their homes.

The hailstorm reportedly caused the collapse of a classroom block at Jabulisa Secondary School.

The storm also killed livestock such as goats, sheep and poultry

Moyo advised affected villagers to find safe places to live until they receive help from the Government. He said:

For now, we would like to advise them to stay indoors until we find a way to access them.

We are still not sure about the extent of the damage, but soon we will be there to assist those families.

Meanwhile, Civil Protection Unit acting director Nathan Nkomo said he was not aware of the destruction of infrastructure in Nkayi.

-VicFallsLive

By A Correspondent- Bulawayo could be forced to re-introduce a stringent water shedding schedule as one of its major supply dams faces decommissioning due to low inflows.

The city has over the past years been forced to resort to water shedding as a means of ensuring that they conserve the available supplies in their dams. It has since emerged that the local authority could be forced to re-introduce the dreaded water shedding as Umzingwane Dam faces decommissioning as it received minimal inflows during the rainy season.

Initially, the dam was expected to have been decommissioned on 31 March but the local authority had to defer it after minimal rains that were recently experienced in the country. 

Bulawayo City Council corporate communications officer Miss Bongiwe Ngwenya said the minimal inflows to the dam had seen council not decommissioning the dam.

“Umzingwane Dam has not yet been decommissioned because it still has some water that was received from the minimal rains that were experienced in the catchment area, however, as soon as we know that it now has to be decommissioned, we shall communicate,” said Miss Ngwenya.

According to the latest council report, the local authority noted that the decommissioning of the dam will result in a reduction of daily water use by 35 megalitres a day.

Umzingwane Dam was projected to be de-commissioned by 31 March 2022 if no significant rainfall occurs that would result in sizeable inflows to the dam. The decommissioning would result in reduced available abstraction by 35 megalitres a day thus affecting total available raw water for delivery to Criterion. Whereas Criterion would receive more than 110 megalitres a day of raw water and produce an average of 100 megalitres for the city reservoir levels to be stable and ensure continuous water supply.

In the event that the decommissioning of Umzingwane occurs, the department proposed an incremental shedding regime to be determined at the time of decommissioning vis-à-vis the would be remaining available abstraction from other dams,” reads the report.

According to the latest dam statistics, as supplied by the local authority, in total the dams are 58.12 percent full with Insiza Mayfair having the most at 78.1 percent full, the dam has a carrying capacity of 173.4 million cubic metres.

Mtshabezi, with a carrying capacity of 51.9 million cubic metres being 75,67 percent full, Lower Ncema, with a carrying capacity of 18,2 million cubic metres is 75,39 percent full and Inyankuni with a carrying capacity of 80,7 million cubic metres is 51,9 percent full. 

Upper Ncema which has a carrying capacity 45,5 million cubic metres is 14,58 percent full while Umzingwane which has a carrying 44,6 million cubic metres is 8,3 percent full. According to the statistics, Upper Ncema is expected to be the next dam to be decommissioned with its depletion date set for 18 August 2022.

The Zimbabwe National Water Authority also recently revealed that an increase in vandalism of power infrastructure feeding in Nyamandlovu’s Rochester water works was also affecting water delivery to the city.

The Government is working on completing the Gwayi-Shangani pipeline by year-end, a move that will give a permanent solution to the city’s perennial water challenges.-sundaynews

By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has assured Epworth residents that his Government will give them biometric title deeds to regularise their homes.

Mnangagwa on Saturday reaffirmed the promise he initially made when he launched the ZANU PF by-elections campaign in Harare’s dormitory settlement early this year.

Addressing ZANU PF supporters at a rally in Epworth on Saturday, 23 April, to celebrate ZANU PF legislator Zalerah Makari’s by-election victory, Mnangagwa said the process to offer title deeds to residents was delayed by the proliferation of fake title deeds.

He said the title deeds for Epworth residents would be of the same type as the recently introduced electronic passports. Mnangagwa said:

We promised you title deeds, I remember telling you the last time that we had completed the geospatial mapping, which allows us to see the state of the settlement and we were ready to give title deeds.

However, our security told us that some crooks were printing their own title deeds. We had to go back to the drawing table and find a way around that, we are now introducing biometric title deeds with security features.

hese are title deeds which cannot be fraudulently printed by individuals. These title deeds have the same security features as e-passports.

We procured equipment from Germany, which allows us to print secure documents with impenetrable security features.

So far we have ordered for 50  000 to be printed, some of which will be brought here.

Mnangagwa also promised to solve all of Epworth residents’ challenges that were forwarded to him by Makari for action. He said:

Yesterday, your MP (Makari) told me that there is a struggle for water in Epworth.

I have four Presidential borehole drilling rigs, three that are in Harare and one in Binga.

So yesterday around 6 pm I called the team running the scheme and I told them of this event, I told them that they should spend the night drilling one borehole.

I am proud to say by this morning they had completed drilling the borehole and installing the whole system.

It will take time to solve water challenges because there are structural issues which need to be taken care of.

But in the meantime, we will put two boreholes in each of the seven wards in Epworth.

-statemedia

By A Correspondent- Civic Society Organisations have lamented that 42 years after independence, women are still marginalised in positions of leadership.

Women Excell Trust (WET) expressed concerns that no significant improvement has been made by the political leadership in including women in positions since independence 42 years ago.

Zimbabwe celebrated 42 Independence Day celebrations at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo this year, the first time since 1980 for such an event to be hosted outside Harare.

“We join the people of Zimbabwe in celebrating 42 years of nationhood, this is a day we take to reflect on the journey we have travelled as a nation state cognisant of the challenges of the day and attentive to our obligation,” the group said.

“The composition of candidates for the by elections indicate that political parties have largely ignored a commitment to a gender balance.”

By A Correspondent- The Registrar-General’s (RG) Office says it has issued over 50 000 electronic passports (e-passports) at its offices in Harare and Bulawayo from January to April this year.

In an interview with The Sunday Mail, the Registrar-General, Henry Machiri, said there are plans to open eight other provincial e-passport offices by the end of June this year. Said Machiri:

We started producing passports on January 18, 2022, and as of today (April 21, 2022), we have issued 51 080 e-passports.

These are e-passports applied for by people in Harare since January and since March for those in Bulawayo.

I can now say that we have enough material and we have ramped up production.

With the current system, the Government signed a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), whereby GP invests and they will be paid gradually.

So, in terms of consumables, they are now readily available.

He also said the other eight provinces will have passport offices in their provincial centres by 30 June. Machiri said:

The other provincial towns should have these centres by June 30, as was promised by early this year.

We still stand by that date. These are Lupane in Matabeleland North, Gwanda in Matabeleland South, Gweru for Midlands, Masvingo for Masvingo, Mutare for Manicaland, and Marondera for Mashonaland East, Chinhoyi for Mashonaland West and Bindura for Mashonaland Central.

On the issue of the online passport application system, whose booking system is now live, Machiri said the system seeks to shorten the time applicants will spend at the RG offices as they will apply for the documents in the comfort of their homes or offices. He said:

It is ongoing work but I can assure you that before the end of the year, it will be possible that people can apply in the comfort of their offices or homes.

However, this does not mean that one applies and the passport is delivered to their doorstep. A travel document is a secured document and has to be given to the rightful owner.

So one can apply online and be notified of when to come to have their biometric information taken so that we make sure that the information on their passport is correct, this is the international standard.

All this seeks to shorten the time when the client is at our offices.

By A Correspondent- The leader of the New Patriotic Front (NPF), a little-known opposition party, Peter Munyanduri, said that voters who will not vote for him in 2023 are illiterate and need voter education.

NPF fielded candidates for Parliament and council in the 26 March by-elections but performed badly, failing to win a single seat.

Writing in his media group, Munyanduri said most voters make the decision about who to vote for based on false election manifestos and fake propaganda. Munyanduri said:

People who will not vote for Munyanduri and NPF in 2023 are democratically illiterate and need voter education. These people do not know what it exactly takes to make Zimbabwe great.

They are victims of false elections manifestos and false propaganda. Munyanduri is definitely the most educated Presidential candidate in Zimbabwe with enormous capacity to improve the economic fortunes of Zimbabweans.

Let’s all please engage in voter education. People who vote for Munyanduri and NPF are called innovators and need to be proud of themselves.

Those who vote for parties that appear on the first pages of newspapers are called laggards in marketing and need to be ashamed of themselves.

A laggard is someone who is slow in adopting newly developed elements later than the rest of the population

Munyanduri was recently expelled from the Political Leaders and Actors Dialogue (POLAD) platform for questioning the credibility of the 26 March by-elections

He had been enjoying POLAD perks since the inception of the platform but lost everything, including the Isuzu D Max vehicle he was allocated to last year.-OpenParly

By A Correspondent- A new opposition party, the National People’s Congress (NPC) was launched in Harare on Saturday.

The party is led by renowned banker and engineer Wilbert Mubaiwa, who considers his party centralist in nature, and different from other political parties in terms of ideology.

Speaking at the launch of the party, Mubaiwa, a Guruve South losing independent candidate in the 2018 elections, said:https://zero.pindula.co.zw/market/featured/?limit=4

We don’t believe in pointing fingers and fighting other parties; we believe in proffering solutions.

We considered a lot of things before coming up with this new party.

We know that there are more than 100 political parties registered with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and we are offering an alternative different from all those political parties.

Mubaiwa, a former MD of Sunway City, said his party values Ubuntu (a quality that includes the essential human virtues; compassion and humanity). He said:

If you see me talking to a ZANU PF leader, it doesn’t mean I am a sell-out.

When you see me dining with Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) officials, it means there is an osmosis of ideas.

Being in different political parties does not make us enemies.

By A Correspondent- Mbira musician Tatenda “Gushungo” Gomwe who was previously in South Africa conducting shows is back in the country and has lined up two shows this weekend for his welcome.

Today Gushungo is in Chegutu where he enjoys huge following and is riding high with his newly released  two tracks “Ndidane and Mhondoro which he featured Diana Samukange.

On Sunday Gushungo will be in the capital Harare at Bar Rouge where he will be having a family show.

He told Bulawayo24.com that he is happy to be  back in the country and is taking his music around the country.

“It is always good to be back home and interacting with my fans, this weekend we are touring Mash West Chegutu and Harare but the idea is to go around the country,” Gushungo said.

Gushungo is regarded as Andy Muridzo and Jah Prezah’s copy cat.

Muridzo was first in South Africa and Gushungo also followed both artistes received a warm welcome at the neighbouring country.