Teachers’ unions have called on government to postpone the November final examinations for Grade 7, Form Four and Upper Sixth — to January, saying pupils whose learning has been severely disrupted by COVID-19 lockdowns will not be ready to be examined.
Pupils have only been in school for one term and were due to go back to learning institutions on July 28, but a raging COVID-19 third wave forced government to postpone indefinitely the reopening of schools.
Pupils also had limited learning in 2020.
This has forced teachers unions to call for the postponement of examinations saying it was not fair for most pupils who had no access to online learning during the pandemic.
“Six weeks after schools were supposed to have reopened, it’s still not clear when they will,” Progressive Teachers Union Zimbabwe (PTUZ) said in a statement.
“We call on Primary and Secondary Education ministry to postpone the examinations to January, at the least,” the PTUZ said.
“These kids learned for only three months since last year, radio and television lessons reach less than 10% of the candidates.”
Government introduced radio and television lessons, but the programme only reached few people due to poor broadcasting reception in some areas, lack of the gadgets as well as electricity challenges.
“It is sad that government has not been forthcoming to support teachers’ initiatives of subject and class WhatsApp learning,” PTUZ said.
“Teachers are prepared to teach pupils and only want government to support them with bundles. Opening of schools is unlikely to happen anytime soon.”
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure said teachers were incapacitated to go back to work even if government reopened the schools today.
“The government should urgently convene dialogue and resolve the long-standing salary crisis,” Masaraure said.
The teachers yesterday said they would not relent on their demands for US$520 to US$550 salaries, or their equivalent after government this week opened a new window for talks to break the salary impasse.
Government and its workers have been embroiled in protracted negotiations for a salary increment, with civil servants constantly rejecting the salary hike offers, while demanding payment in United States dollars.
Last month, government increased civil servants’ salaries by 45% to 50%, but teachers and other civil servants said it was not enough.
Zimbabwe National Teachers Union president Manuel Nyawo said teachers were being pauperised.
Zimbabwe Teachers Association secretary-general Goodwill Taderera said government appears unmoved by the miserable lifestyles of teachers both urban and rural.
“…as it is right now we have a short fall of about US$213 from what we were getting in October 2018 where we were earning about US$540”, Taderera said.
By A Correspondent- Government has barred unvaccinated officials from attending next week’s key national events, including Heroes and Defence Forces Day celebrations, to curb the spread of COVID-19 virus.
Cabinet has since barred unvaccinated workers from boarding Public Service Commission (PSC) buses. It has also threatened to scrap allowances for unvaccinated employees.
Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa, during a postCabinet Press briefing yesterday, said only 200 vaccinated people would be allowed to attend the Heroes and Defence Forces Day celebrations.
This came at a time when the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has declared all measures put in place to force people to be vaccinated “illegal”.
“The Defence Forces Day will be held on August 10 with the rest of the nation following on virtual platforms,” Mutsvangwa said.
“The Defence Forces and Heroes Day celebrations will only be attended by fully vaccinated persons. In addition, attendees will be subjected to testing for COVID-19 at the event. There will be small gatherings this year to mark the Heroes Day commemorations. The 2021 main Heroes Day commemorations, which will be held on August 9 at the National Heroes Acre, will be a hybrid event with a small gathering of 200 people.”
Mutsvangwa said to ensure the government achieves 60% herd immunity by year end, a number of strategies had been put in place, with the Health Services Board (HSB) recruiting retired nurses to help boost the vaccination programme.
Government is targeting to inoculate about 10 million people, representing 60% of the population, in order to attain herd immunity.
However, only about 700 000 people have received both doses while about 1,6 million have received only one jab since the country rolled out its vaccination programme in February.
“To accelerate the vaccination programme, the payment model of allowances for vaccinators is being reviewed so it can be based on the number of persons vaccinated,” Mutsvangwa said.
“The HSB has written to Treasury seeking concurrence to recruit retired nurses to help boost the vaccination programme.
But the ZHRC earlier said: “The commission acknowledges the initiative of testing and vaccinating frontline workers. However, a number of media platforms have raised concern over employers disregarding freedom of choice, integrity of the person, right to dignity and existence of underlying conditions.
“Some public institutions and private companies are allegedly prohibiting unvaccinated employees from accessing their premises or workstations and others are purportedly having their salaries deducted.”
The ZHRC added: “The government has taken a commendable policy position to allow free choice by individuals with regards to uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. It is, therefore, important for all stakeholders to avoid any coercive measures that directly or indirectly compel people to get vaccinated against their choice.
“It is important to be guided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) guiding principles which posit that vaccination programmes must not be made compulsory, but should be a matter of choice.”
Several companies, including those owned by the government have placed unvaccinated workers on forced leave.
Health and Child Care deputy minister John Mangwiro on Tuesday told stakeholders during a vaccination event sponsored by Seed Co in Harare that everyone in the country should be vaccinated as it was the only way to deal with the deadly respiratory virus.
“People must stop spreading myths about the virus and the side-effects of vaccines. Some of the myths include that COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility,” he said.
Mangwiro said government was in the process of ensuring that everyone in the country gets vaccinated, including children.
By Prince Njagu- Three years on, and the soldiers that the ZANU PF led regime unleashed on protesters in the aftermath of the stolen general elections, have since not been bought to justice.
At least six civilians were killed on this fateful day, scores more injured and put behind bars for exercising a constitutional right which now seems to be existence only on paper.
In 2019 Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa, said; despite the fact that the alleged perpetrators were identified through the media and social media videos and pictures, no one has been apprehended. It has been more than three years now and nothing has since been done.
If the Zimbabwean government was committed to human rights, the wheels of justice should have turned in the past three years, brings these perpetrators forward and making them answer for their heinous crimes. The ZANU PF led regime can still turn the wheels and bring the perpetrators to booking if there is any hope in the judicial system in the country.
Activist Sandra Bvungidzire said; “Justice delayed is justice denied”.
The fact that soldiers can actually be let loose to go and butcher unarmed citizens by a government shows how brutal the current ZANU PF crop is and how low the rule of law has disintergrated in the ountry.
Not even a single soldier has been put before the courts to answer for these heinous crimes, not even for firing live ammunition on unarmed civilians. The soldiers killed and brutally assaulted civilians who were exercising their constitutional right. Zimbabwean citizens can take up to the streets according to the constitutional provisions.
Soldiers are there to protect civilians and not to be used as weapons to silence protestors when they are expressing discontent.
Only in a dictatorship would a government use soldiers to disperse demonstrators, and only during a war should they use live rounds.
And only in a dictatorship does a government not bring to justice soldiers that open fire on unarmed civilians exercising their constitutional rights.
Recent human rights violations in Zimbabwe show that these constitutional provisions are on paper, and they are meant to fool the international community. If an activist or opposition member voices discontent, they are put behind bars, tortured or they vanish.
The ZANU PF regime will always mask its inhuman behaviors by preaching the gospel of democracy in the country, but such authoritarian behaviours point to dictatorship rule.
In recent months activist Makomborero was languishing in prison from April 2021, were he was serving a 14-month jail term. He was convicted of inciting public violence after he had demonstrated with colleagues demanding the release of ZINASU president Takudzwa Ngadziore.
MDC Alliance National spokesperson Advocate Fadzayi Mahere expressed her discontent at the death of democracy in the country as she said:
I am disappointed that Mako’s liberty was unduly curtailed. He is innocent. It is not a crime to demand a better society.
Such arrests, tortures, killings and abductions are why Zimbabwe is being described by many human rights defenders and party colleagues as a blow to democracy.
MDC Alliance vice president Hon Lynette Karenyi-Kore paid tribute to the six civilians who were killed by the soldiers on August 1, 2018.
Karenyi-Kore called for a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims who lost their lives on this fateful day.
“I call upon all Zimbabweans , to pause for a minute of silence in remembrance of those who fell victim on 1 August 2018,” said Lynette Karenyi-Kore.
August has become a difficulty month for many Zimbabweans as it earmarks the beginning of the Emmerson Mnangagwa led dictatorship which resumed with the spilling of unarmed civilians blood.
The ZANU PF regime has remained silent and fails to acknowledge its failings in as far as upholding the basic requirements of a democracy.
The soldiers that killed and tortured civilians should have been bought to justice. The person who authorised the unleashing of terror on the streets should have been held accountable.
Amnesty International in August 2019 said, “The tragedy of the post-election shootings is compounded by the fact that no one in the army suspected to be responsible for the bloodshed has been held to account for these brutal killings”.
If ZANU PF is a democracy they should under no circumstances allow further impunity and cover ups for the killings. No one should be untouchable in Zimbabwe if the country wants to become a human rights respecting society, especially for violating human rights
By A Correspondent- Police in Chipinge have intercepted 221kgs of mbanje with a street value of US$221 000 from a Mozambican national and his accomplice.
Johane Sithole (31) of Bofe village Macuu Chimoio Mozambique and Gift Mutekesa (46) of Number 6825 Cowdrey Park Bulawayo appeared before Chipinge Magistrate Elizabeth Hanzu for unlawful possession of dangerous drugs.
They are in custody and will be back in court on August 11.
For the State, Edmore Mahlanganise said on July 24 at 7 pm, Police got information that Sithole and Mutekesa were transporting dagga using an Isuzu motor vehicle Reg number AEC 0451 from Mozambican to Checheche.
A roadblock was mounted along Checheche Hakwata dusty road near Rimai Business Centre.
Upon seeing the Police, the driver made a U-turn and sped off towards Hakwata.
Police gave chase and managed to intercept the vehicle which was being driven by Mutekesa near Rimai Business Centre. The vehicle was searched and six by 90kg sacks of dagga were recovered.
By A Correspondent- A member of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agent and a female passenger died in a compromising position in a car after a horrific road accident which also claimed the life of a police detective near Marondera.
An online portal, ZimLive, reports that a Mazda 3 driven by Detective Sergeant Benson Chingawo of Juru Police Base collided with a truck near Watershed in Marondera just after midnight on Monday, on the highway linking Harare and Mutare.
Chingawo died on the spot together with CIO agent Batsirai Maposa and a woman identified as Franny Onai Zinyuku who were passengers in the back seat.
Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the accident adding that the driver of the truck survived. He said: The ZRP can confirm a road traffic accident that occurred at the 60km peg along Harare-Mutare Road.
The victims are a male individual from the President’s Office, another a male police officer and a female civilian. The accident involved a Mazda 3 and a truck whose driver survived with some injuries.
Pictures from the accident scene showed Maposa without his trousers on and Zinyuku’s dress raised above her waist. She appeared to have been lying across the seat at the time of impact, while Maposa was in a sitting position.
By A Correspondent-Officer Commanding Administration Masvingo province, Assistant Commissioner Florence Marume has directed police details in the province to arrest and impound cars and buses which are plying intercity trips.
Marume and her high-Masvingo provincial police commanders on Tuesday visited the site where some of the impounded buses under her directive were kept at Zimuto Police Camp on the outskirts of the city.
Assistant Commissioner Marume and her team wanted to drive the point home that cross-border smuggling rackets and lockdown violators would not be brooked along the province’s roads.
Speaking during the tour provincial police spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa said police were out in full force to thwart any attempts to violate lockdown rules, especially by intercity buses.
He said those returning into the country from outside Zimbabwe should have valid Covid-19 testing certificates.
Inspector Dhewa also warned long-distance buses that try to circumvent police checkpoints by using bush roads while also carrying smuggled goods, would be brought to book. Some of the bus crews of the impounded buses and drivers of mushikashika vehicles that were impounded have since appeared in court.
By A Correspondent- Police in Masvingo on Tuesday rounded up suspected border jumpers and impounded more than 200 vehicles including cross-border buses for violating lockdown rules and regulations.
The impounded vehicles were parked at various police stations in the town including ZRP Zimuto Camp, Chikato Police Station and Rujeko Police Station.
The development came after the police at the weekend intensified crack against border jumpers and buses.
THE Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill, passed without debate in Senate last week, was revoked after it was discovered that it had an error and the Bill must now go through the committee stage and then the third reading again in the Senate so the errors are corrected before it can be safely signed into law.
If signed into law, it will provide for the investigation and collection of evidence for cybercrime and data breaches, allowing the admissibility of electronic evidence by courts.
This Bill is especially important given that data breaches or abuse disregard several fundamental human rights and could lead to many unforeseen challenges if treated carelessly . However, a provision to criminalise false information has generated debate although what the law desires in this area is regulation of the use of internet and social media to curb computer crimes such as distributing pornography and electronic financial fraud.
Last week, deputy president of the Senate, Michael Nyambuya, announced that the Bill had been referred back to the committee stage in the Senate for further debate as there was an error.
Amendments have to be proposed, debated and passed for any legislation in the committee stage, which is between the second and third readings.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa Zimbabwe recommended that the Bill be broken up into three separate laws on cyber security, electronic transactions and data protections since these three areas were so different it was difficult to have a coherent single law covering all three areas.
In its submissions to Parliament on the Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill, Misa Zimbabwe said the proposed law constituted several complex issues that should not be addressed as a single law.- State media
By A Correspondent- Authorities in Kenya were on Tuesday set to destroy 20 000 tonnes of condemned brown sugar imported from Zimbabwe three years ago.
The Nation reported that the sugar has been lying at the Kilindini customs warehouse in Mombasa since 2018.
However, the Kenyan-based publication did not reveal why the sugar was condemned and why it was kept for so long without being disposed of.
According to the Gazette notice of 2 July, which the port operations chief manager, Abdi Malik Hussein issued, the sugar worth over Sh1.4 billion was expected to be crushed on Tuesday, 3 August 2021.
The sugar packed in 40 containers of 500 metric tonnes each, arrived at the Port of Mombasa on 15 July 2018, aboard MSC Nicole.
It was imported by Nairobi-based company, Sirocco Investments (K) Ltd. Stated the notice:
Pursuant to the provisions of sections 42 and 248 of the East African Community Customs Management Act, 2004, notice is given that the undermentioned condemned goods shall be disposed by way of destruction on August 3, 2021.
Sirocco Investments is one of the more than 200 companies licensed to import sugar to plug the deficit in the country, according to the Agriculture and Food Authority of Kenya (AFA).
Also to be destroyed is an unspecified amount of condemned brown sugar imported by Igaal Trading Company Ltd and Wilayan Traders Co. Ltd.
Zimbabweans don’t want donations Fantan, they want an economy that works so that they can buy whatever they want for themselves!
As a native of Mbare yourself, you are stripping your fellow brothers and sisters of their dignity by reducing them to being recipients of cheap donations!
They want hospital care, they want jobs, they want clean water, they want regular electricity, they want roads without potholes, they want a public transport system that works! Are you going to get all that donated too?
You can’t rob through looting from public funds and then expect your victims to be thankful when you drop crumps, cheap blankets!
Have some respect for your people and fight for them to own their lives and not be beggars and recipients of cheap and insulting donations!
Get your new friend to ask his father to fix the economy by stopping corruption so that the young people in Mbare can look after themselves!
Any Zimbabwean who applauds this is an Idiot without self-respect for both themselves and these people who are being humiliated!
Ask yourselves why these people are living like rats! Who is responsible?
Why do they need donations? Who is responsible?
Musa remare pfungwa mhani vafanha!!! [don’t be crazy] Hopewell Chin’ono’
CONDOLENCE MESSAGE ON THE PASSING ON OF VETERAN JOURNALIST MR CONWAY TUTANI
Information Ministry
It is with a deep sense of grief that I learnt this afternoon of the passing on of veteran journalist, Mr Conway Tutani, who collapsed yesterday evening at his home in Houghton Park. On behalf of the Ministry of Information. Publicity and Broadcasting Services, the media fraternity, and indeed on my own behalf, I wish to convey my deepest condolences to the Tutani family on this very sad loss.
At the time of his death. Mr Tutani was working for Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) newspaper stable. Ile held strong- opinions on current affairs, and he ignited the media landscape with his Saturday column that added to the diversity of opinion. characteristic of a media landscape with a plurality of voices.
Mr Tutani’s death is particularly saddening as it conics In a year where we have lost a number of journalists including Saul Ciwaktiha Ndlovu. Tawanda Gudhlanga, Sandra Nyaira and Samuel Mkithika Thebe, among others, the ranks of the more experienced senior journalists are diminishing, and the nation is poorer without them.
Mr Tutani boasts of an illustrious career in the media industry spanning 4 decades, beginning in 1981. Throughout this period, he distinguished himself as a meticulous proofreader, who would later evoke into a columnist of note. Before joining AMR where he ended up, he had worked for Zimpapers for 2 decades and later for ANZ.
Mr Tutani’s strong opinions should, however, never be mistaken for lack of patriotism, as he was a stout patriot who dedicated his sharp intellect to the enrichment of national discourse. There is much to glean and learn from his professional conduct, particularly for the new and upcoming journalists who are buffeted on all sides with compromise and prevarication. To the very end, he remained true to the values and ethos of pan-Africanism. He was indeed a rare breed of patriotic journalist.
His voice will be sadly missed. May his soul rest in eternal peace
Tinashe Sambiri|In a video footage that is circulating on social media, MDC Alliance leader President Nelson Chamisa says he is fully aware of Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s intention to obliterate the alternative voice.
In the footage President Chamisa describes POLAD as a farce.
According to MDC Alliance Youth Assembly Secretary General Gift Ostallos Siziba, President Chamisa will never betray the suffering people of Zimbabwe:
On Polad and government stipends: President @nelsonchamisa levels of clarity and consistency remain unmatched.
Comrades here is a man who has stood with his word when some thought he will waiver & betray our people.
He remains Zimbabwe’s young political crusader with a vision.#Lead:
On Polad and government stipends: President @nelsonchamisa levels of clarity & consistency remains unmatched. Comrades here is a man who has stood with his word when some thought he will waiver & betray our people.He remains Zimbabwe's young political crusader with a vision.#Leadpic.twitter.com/01X3VZjTm2
Cabinet yesterday resolved that schools must remain closed as the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education prepares for safe reopening of learning institutions.
Government postponed the reopening of schools in June following a spike in Covid-19 cases.
Covid-19 cases still remain high as Zimbabwe battles with a third wave of Covid-19 infections caused by the fast-spreading delta variant. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is assessing schools’ preparedness for reopening.
Cabinet also took a position to accelerate provision of internet in schools as it implements the national e-learning strategy.
The country has connected 400 schools to the internet and an additional 180 rural learning institutions are expected to be connected by the end of the year.
Cabinet observed that while schools have been connected to the internet most of them are struggling to pay for broadband and will be allocated free data for a nine-month period.
Government has joined development partners in the roll out of the e-learning strategy to ensure that pupils regardless of their geographical location can access e-learning.
During a post-Cabinet media briefing, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa said Government has taken a position that no pupil should be left behind in e-learning.
“The national e-learning programme will be complemented by the UNICEF GIGA Schools Connectivity Project. The project, which is a response to COVID-19 pandemic by UNICEF and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), has the following pillars: raising funding for schools’ connectivity; mapping the connectivity status of every school; connecting the unconnected and poorly connected schools to the internet; and linking connected schools and young people to digital public goods that provide job skills and remote working opportunities, among other benefits. The overall objective of GIGA in Zimbabwe is to connect every school to the internet and afford every young person access to information. The GIGA project will be rolled out in all provinces,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
GIGA is an initiative to mobilise resources to connect schools to the internet.
Minister Mutsvangwa said Cabinet also resolved that Information Communication Centres would start providing free internet services to promote e-learning and e-commerce.
“In addition to the provision of free access to internet services at Community Information Centres and Community Village Information Centres, Government will meet all operational expenses, inclusive of staff remuneration. Taking into cognisance the financial hardships brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak, Cabinet wishes to advise the citizenry that all students, pupils and the general public using these facilities will enjoy free access to internet services at Community Information Centres and Community Village Information Centres for a period of nine months,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
She said those intending to use services at community information centres will continue to pay for the other services such as printing, scanning and photocopying that are offered at these facilities.
Minister Mutsvangwa said Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) is expected to lead the capacitation of schools in the implementation of the national e-learning strategy. –Chronicle
Tinashe Sambiri|In a video footage that is circulating on social media, MDC Alliance leader President Nelson Chamisa says he is fully aware of Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s intention to obliterate the alternative voice.
In the footage President Chamisa describes POLAD as a farce.
According to MDC Alliance Youth Assembly Secretary General Gift Ostallos Siziba, President Chamisa will never betray the suffering people of Zimbabwe:
On Polad and government stipends: President @nelsonchamisa levels of clarity and consistency remain unmatched.
Comrades here is a man who has stood with his word when some thought he will waiver & betray our people.
He remains Zimbabwe’s young political crusader with a vision.#Lead:
On Polad and government stipends: President @nelsonchamisa levels of clarity & consistency remains unmatched. Comrades here is a man who has stood with his word when some thought he will waiver & betray our people.He remains Zimbabwe's young political crusader with a vision.#Leadpic.twitter.com/01X3VZjTm2
By Farai D Hove | ED, Mnangagwa, number One!, convicted rapist, Kofi Olomide screams in a 2023 election campaign song for the ZANU PF leader, while with a group of other artists.
The lyrics portray ZANU PF leader Mr Emerson Mnangagwa as a gay lover.
They narrate in part the following:
ZIMBABWE woyee!, ED Mnangagwa, number One, yeyee, [RUBS PENI* ON CAMERA] Chiso chake chakanaka, chivakashure chakakura, maziso ake anopenya, ukangobata unokuvara, ayee, Usabata, musikana wangu usabata! Usabata, Bhebhi rangu usabata!
The development comes as the producer, Passion Java was criticised for his recent pictures with the ZANU PF President.
Passion Java with Emmerson Mnangagwa
In a mock edit, a child quickly interjects in a quick clip saying, haha, futseke. The musicians continue in dance and song, and the baby decides to walk away, clapping them all off with a louder: pfutseke!
The offensive song is a declaration that the coup leader has already won the 2023 elections 2 years before the time.
The below stitch up is of socialites Mai Titi, Madam Boss, and Passion Java performing a stager following their unity campaign for their 2023 election hit sponsored by Youth Minister Tino Machakaire.
Govt has barred unvaccinated officials from attending next week’s key national events, including Heroes and Defence Forces Day celebrations, to curb the spread of COVID-19 virus.
Cabinet has since barred unvaccinated workers from boarding Public Service Commission (PSC) buses. It has also threatened to scrap allowances for unvaccinated employees.
Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa, during a post-Cabinet Press briefing yesterday, said only 200 vaccinated people would be allowed to attend the Heroes and Defence Forces Day celebrations.
This came at a time when the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has declared all measures put in place to force people to be vaccinated “illegal”.
“The Defence Forces Day will be held on August 10 with the rest of the nation following on virtual platforms,” Mutsvangwa said.
“The Defence Forces and Heroes Day celebrations will only be attended by fully vaccinated persons. In addition, attendees will be subjected to testing for COVID-19 at the event. There will be small gatherings this year to mark the Heroes Day commemorations. The 2021 main Heroes Day commemorations, which will be held on August 9 at the National Heroes Acre, will be a hybrid event with a small gathering of 200 people.”
Mutsvangwa said to ensure the government achieves 60% herd immunity by year end, a number of strategies had been put in place, with the Health Services Board (HSB) recruiting retired nurses to help boost the vaccination programme.
Government is targeting to inoculate about 10 million people, representing 60% of the population, in order to attain herd immunity.
However, only about 700 000 people have received both doses while about 1,6 million have received only one jab since the country rolled out its vaccination programme in February.
“To accelerate the vaccination programme, the payment model of allowances for vaccinators is being reviewed so it can be based on the number of persons vaccinated,” Mutsvangwa said.
“The HSB has written to Treasury seeking concurrence to recruit retired nurses to help boost the vaccination programme.
But the ZHRC earlier said: “The commission acknowledges the initiative of testing and vaccinating frontline workers. However, a number of media platforms have raised concern over employers disregarding freedom of choice, integrity of the person, right to dignity and existence of underlying conditions.
“Some public institutions and private companies are allegedly prohibiting unvaccinated employees from accessing their premises or workstations and others are purportedly having their salaries deducted.”
The ZHRC added: “The government has taken a commendable policy position to allow free choice by individuals with regards to uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. It is, therefore, important for all stakeholders to avoid any coercive measures that directly or indirectly compel people to get vaccinated against their choice.
“It is important to be guided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) guiding principles which posit that vaccination programmes must not be made compulsory, but should be a matter of choice.”
Several companies, including those owned by the government have placed unvaccinated workers on forced leave.
Health and Child Care deputy minister John Mangwiro on Tuesday told stakeholders during a vaccination event sponsored by Seed Co in Harare that everyone in the country should be vaccinated as it was the only way to deal with the deadly respiratory virus.
“People must stop spreading myths about the virus and the side-effects of vaccines. Some of the myths include that COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility,” he said.
Mangwiro said government was in the process of ensuring that everyone in the country gets vaccinated, including children. -Newsday
Tinashe Sambiri|Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa tried in vain to bribe MDC Alliance officials with cash and vehicles it has emerged.
According to MDC Alliance Secretary General Charlton Hwende , Mnangagwa relentlessly tried to bribe senior MDC Alliance officials with cash, gold mines and farms but he dismally failed to capture the people’s struggle.
Mnangagwa is spending sleepless nights trying to moot ways of destroying the MDC Alliance.
Political analysts say Mnangagwa is deeply concerned about President Nelson Chamisa’s rising influence.
“We have our own shortcomings as opposition leaders and human beings but President Morgan Tsvangirai taught us one thing: To Never Sell Out The People’s Struggle.
ED offered us millions of USD$, cars, offices, farms and gold mines in order for him to destroy the MDC Alliance but we refused. After the refusal he has gone after every business and employment opportunity that comes our way and the system has ensured that genuine opposition leaders don’t get any employment or business.
They have made it even difficult for our party to get a lease agreement to rent a place to stay or even open a bank account. But we march on until victory,” Hwende said in a statement.
Zimbabweans should ensure they always follow laid down Covid-19 prevention measures to avoid the introduction of deadlier strains of the disease in the country as the virulent Indian Delta variant now accounts for 79 percent of infections. The Beta strain first detected in neighbouring South Africa accounts for 16 percent of the cases followed by the Alpha variant detected in the United Kingdom which accounts for 2,5 percent.
Illegal cross-border activities, failing to mask-up properly, crowding and visiting drinking spots are among activities that fuel mutations of the virus and bring new variants into the country.
A total of 462 Covid-19 related deaths were recorded in the past week. Over the past seven days the country recorded a total of 10 900 new Covid-19 cases and 462 deaths mostly from health institutions.
The Delta variant was first detected in Zimbabwe in June which prompted the Government to tighten lockdown conditions to avert new infections and deaths which have been on the upward trend since then.
Scientists have said that the Delta variant is 50 percent more contagious than the Alpha variant.As of August 2, Zimbabwe had 110 855 confirmed cases, including 79 420 recoveries and 3 635 deaths.
Zimbabwe has received a total of 6 785 000 doses so far of the Indian Covaxin, Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac as well as Russia’s Sputnik V vaccines.
To date, a total of 1 674 710 people have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, while 798 880 have received their second dose. The country is targeting to vaccinate at least 10 million people to achieve herd immunity.
Statistics for the past two weeks also show that Zimbabwe is one of the five African countries that contributed to 80 percent of total recorded cases.
The other countries include South Africa, Tunisia, Namibia and Zambia.
Speaking during a fact checking training workshop hosted by the Gender Media Connect Zimbabwe (GMC), the World health Organisation Zimbabwe team leader Dr Lincoln Charimari said all viruses, including Covid-19, change over time through processes called mutations.
He said that some changes may affect the virus’ properties which include increase in transmissibility.
“These changes may also increase in virulence or change in clinical disease presentation, decrease in effectiveness of public health and social measures or available diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics,” said Dr Charimari.
He said viruses that have above changes are referred to as a Variant of Concern (VOC). “The Alpha (first detected in the UK) variant has been reported in 182 countries, territories or areas.
“The Beta variant first detected in South Africa has been reported in 131 countries,” he said.
“The Gamma variant (first detected in Brazil) was reported in 81 countries (three new countries); and The Delta variant (first detected in India) was reported in 132 countries (eight new countries).
“In Zimbabwe Delta is responsible for 79 percent of cases; Beta for 16 percent and Alpha for 2,5 percent. These proportions are dynamic and likely to change over time,” he said. Dr Charimari said it was important for people to continue to get vaccinated to reduce their risk of hospitalisation and developing severe symptoms.
“Not less than six vaccines have since received the WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) approval including the Sinopharm and Sinovac currently being rolled out in Zimbabwe. The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) recently approved the use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in Zimbabwe. To date, over 1 million Zimbabweans have been fully vaccinated.”
Contacted for comment, health expert Professor Solwayo Ngwenya said if members of the public continue being complacent, they may attract worse off variants which is likely to lead to more deaths.
He said if nothing is done to change risky behaviours displayed by the public the more vicious variants like the Delta Plus could hit the country.
“Our people continue to disregard all the Covid-19 measures set by health experts and our Government although our deaths have continued to rise in an alarming manner. People are still attending funeral wakes, parties and even visiting each other,” he said.
“We now have a Delta Plus variant which is stronger and deadlier but still under investigation in other countries. There is another airborne variant still under investigation which may hit the country if we continue defying Government regulations.”
Prof Ngwenya called on the Government to continue monitoring these variants and how people are behaving so that the country is spared mass deaths and hospitalisations. -Chronicle
This year, for WBW 2021, WABA has selected the theme: Protect Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility. The theme is aligned with thematic area 2 of the WBW-SDG 2030 campaign which highlights the links between breastfeeding and survival, health and wellbeing of women, children and nations.
WABA states that this year’s objectives are to:
Inform people about the importance of protecting breastfeeding. Anchor breastfeeding support as a vital public health responsibility. Engage with individuals and organizations for greater impact. Galvanize action on protecting breastfeeding to improve public health.
Pregnancy and lactation are an especially vulnerable time for working women and their families. Expectant and nursing mothers require special protection to prevent harm to their or their infants’ health, and they need adequate time to give birth, to recover, and to nurse their children. At the same time, they also require protection to ensure that their jobs are not jeopardized because of pregnancy or maternity leave.
Maternity Protection is key to enable breastfeeding and empower parents for a successful implementation of recommended breastfeeding practices. PAHO/WHO recommends that countries must implement and reenforce the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes at all levels. It is vital to ensure that breastfeeding mothers do not get targeted by the industry, marketing or public health professional who want to jeopardize their breastfeeding by promoting formula-feeding
BREASTFEEDING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
PAHO/WHO continues to recommend that standard infant feeding guidelines be adhered to during the COVID-19 pandemic. The standard infant feeding guidelines are:
Initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of birth, Exclusive breastfeeding until babies are six months old, and Continued breastfeeding along with nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods, until age two years old or beyond.
The benefits of breastfeeding and nurturing mother-infant interaction to prevent infection and promote health and development are especially important when health and other community services are themselves disrupted or limited
Mothers and infants should be supported to remain together, and practice skin-to-skin contact and/or kangaroo care whether or not they or their infants have suspected, probable, or confirmed COVID-19 virus infection. Breastfeeding counseling, basic psychosocial support, and practical feeding support should be provided to all pregnant women and mothers with infants and young children…
Source : WHO/ PAHO
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Government has set new fines for various offences ranging from $500 up to $500 000.
The new fines were gazette by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and are contained in Statutory Instrument 209 of 2021. [CAP. 9:23 Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) (Standard Scale of Fines) Notice, 2021.
According to the schedule, for offences in level one, offenders will part with $500 while the highest amount of $500 000 is for level 14 crimes.- The Herald
By A Correspondent- Several cross border buses were Tuesday impounded by Masvingo police leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
The impounded buses were parked at different police stations in the town.
This followed a directive by the Masvingo Police Boss Assistant Commissioner Florence Marume to arrest and impound cars and buses which are plying intercity trips in defiance of Covid-19 regulations.
Marume and her high-Masvingo provincial police commanders on Tuesday visited the site where some of the impounded buses under her directive were kept at Zimuto Police Camp on the outskirts of the city.
Assistant Commissioner Marume and her team wanted to drive the point home that cross-border smuggling rackets and lockdown violators would not be brooked along the province’s roads.
Speaking during the tour provincial police spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa said police were out in full force to thwart any attempts to violate lockdown rules, especially by intercity buses.
He said those returning into the country from outside Zimbabwe should have valid Covid-19 testing certificates.
Inspector Dhewa also warned long-distance buses that try to circumvent police checkpoints by using bush roads while also carrying smuggled goods, would be brought to book. Some of the bus crews of the impounded buses and drivers of mushikashika vehicles that were impounded have since appeared in court.
By A Correspondent- The Tonga people have condemned President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Government for neglecting their plight.
The Tonga tribe of Kariba, said they have no electricity although they were displaced in the 1950s to pave way for the Kariba Dam and hydro-power station’s construction.
Chief Negande, born Kausu Mpofu, of the area, accused Mnangagwa’s administration of failing to electrify local households to compensate for their pain and suffering during displacement to allow for the building.
“The issue of electricity has been on the agenda for so many years. We have continuously asked why as the people who were displaced during the construction of the Kariba Dam wall, we don’t have electricity.
“They have sent workmen to hoodwink us by erecting pylons which have not brought electricity at all. E-learning cannot take off, and with Covid-19 nowhere near coming to an end, school pupils are most affected. It’s like pupils starting all over again.”
He lso blamed the government for failing to prioritise concerns of the Tonga people which are never addressed, attributing the neglect due to lack of adequate representation in Parliament and Cabinet.
“We are tired of lodging complaints which are never addressed. They don’t recognise us worthy people and tribalism has taken root in discriminating against the Tonga people.
“I think the situation was going to be different if we had a Tonga legislator or a minister representing us,” added the traditional leader.
Local youths are excluded in wildlife and other environmental conservation programmes, which are undertaken by rangers from other parts of the country who are poaching for wild animals, the chief claimed.
By A Correspondent- A half-naked Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agent and a female passenger died in a car after a horrific road accident which also claimed the life of a police detective near Marondera.
An online portal, ZimLive, reports that a Mazda 3 driven by Detective Sergeant Benson Chingawo of Juru Police Base collided with a truck near Watershed in Marondera just after midnight on Monday, on the highway linking Harare and Mutare.
Chingawo died on the spot together with CIO agent Batsirai Maposa and a woman identified as Franny Onai Zinyuku who were passengers in the back seat.
Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the accident adding that the driver of the truck survived. He said: The ZRP can confirm a road traffic accident that occurred at the 60km peg along Harare-Mutare Road.
The victims are a male individual from the President’s Office, another a male police officer and a female civilian. The accident involved a Mazda 3 and a truck whose driver survived with some injuries.
Pictures from the accident scene showed Maposa without his trousers on and Zinyuku’s dress raised above her waist. She appeared to have been lying across the seat at the time of impact, while Maposa was in a sitting position.
By A Correspondent- Former cabinet minister Walter Mzembi says MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa’s refusal to join Polad and consequent failure to be blessed with a brand-new twin-cab by President Emmerson Mnangagwa has lifted the opposition leader’s ratings against his under-fire nemesis.
Mzembi was commenting on Mnangagwa’s Father Christmas style lavishing of sumptuous Isuzu D-Max vehicles on politicians who have paid the price of public ridicule to be part of the Zanu PF number one’s disciples.
“Pasi ne Polad” Mzembi posted on Twitter weekend. “Losing an Election gets you a car in Zimbabwe – you sink $1000 with ZEC and you get this! The Return on Investment is the highest in the world!” Polad comprises a group of politicians who challenged Mnangagwa in the 2018 elections, with all their votes.
Under the country’s electoral laws, Presidential candidates were each compelled to pay $1000 to be eligible to contest for the poll.
Mzembi likened Mnangagwa’s generous parcelling out of public property at the era of the now defunct JOMIC where politicians from both MDC and Zanu PF enjoyed perks for being part of an organisation that was of little significance to the national cause.
“Once upon a time we had JOMIC, the grandfather of POLAD with similar appetite and profligacies! And we don’t seem to learn anything from history repeating the same stuff all the time!” he said.
Responding to commenting the thread, Mzembi said by dishing out vehicles to the exclusion of his biggest challenger, Chamisa, Mnangagwa had scored an own goal.
“I think it’s a boomerang on ED,” he said. “@nelsonchamisa by not receiving the poisoned chalice is more appealing to Voters right now. His ratings are up. Interestingly POLAD car beneficiaries also feature on the JOMIC car list, Ndomuririro wadzo shiri idzi!”
By A Correspondent- Authorities in Kenya were on Tuesday set to destroy 20 000 tonnes of condemned brown sugar imported from Zimbabwe three years ago.
The Nation reported that the sugar has been lying at the Kilindini customs warehouse in Mombasa since 2018.
However, the Kenyan-based publication did not reveal why the sugar was condemned and why it was kept for so long without being disposed of.
According to the Gazette notice of 2 July, which the port operations chief manager, Abdi Malik Hussein issued, the sugar worth over Sh1.4 billion was expected to be crushed on Tuesday, 3 August 2021.
The sugar packed in 40 containers of 500 metric tonnes each, arrived at the Port of Mombasa on 15 July 2018, aboard MSC Nicole.
It was imported by Nairobi-based company, Sirocco Investments (K) Ltd. Stated the notice:
Pursuant to the provisions of sections 42 and 248 of the East African Community Customs Management Act, 2004, notice is given that the undermentioned condemned goods shall be disposed by way of destruction on August 3, 2021.
Sirocco Investments is one of the more than 200 companies licensed to import sugar to plug the deficit in the country, according to the Agriculture and Food Authority of Kenya (AFA).
Also to be destroyed is an unspecified amount of condemned brown sugar imported by Igaal Trading Company Ltd and Wilayan Traders Co. Ltd.
By A Correspondent- Authorities in Kenya were on Tuesday set to destroy 20 000 tonnes of condemned brown sugar imported from Zimbabwe three years ago.
The Nation reported that the sugar has been lying at the Kilindini customs warehouse in Mombasa since 2018.
However, the Kenyan-based publication did not reveal why the sugar was condemned and why it was kept for so long without being disposed of.
According to the Gazette notice of 2 July, which the port operations chief manager, Abdi Malik Hussein issued, the sugar worth over Sh1.4 billion was expected to be crushed on Tuesday, 3 August 2021.
The sugar packed in 40 containers of 500 metric tonnes each, arrived at the Port of Mombasa on 15 July 2018, aboard MSC Nicole.
It was imported by Nairobi-based company, Sirocco Investments (K) Ltd. Stated the notice:
Pursuant to the provisions of sections 42 and 248 of the East African Community Customs Management Act, 2004, notice is given that the undermentioned condemned goods shall be disposed by way of destruction on August 3, 2021.
Sirocco Investments is one of the more than 200 companies licensed to import sugar to plug the deficit in the country, according to the Agriculture and Food Authority of Kenya (AFA).
Also to be destroyed is an unspecified amount of condemned brown sugar imported by Igaal Trading Company Ltd and Wilayan Traders Co. Ltd.
By A Correspondent- The Haracity Council says it is failing to manage the number of patients visiting their clinics with Covid-19 and other ailments due to a shortage of nurses.
Acting Harare City Mayor, Stewart Mutizwa says the local authority is being deserted by health staff which is going for greener pastures.
“Our clinics are understaffed. While we attend to COVID-19 vaccinations, we still attend to other ailments,” the council posted on social media Monday while responding to residents’ concerns over poor service delivery.
“We have lost nurses to other institutions.”
According to the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA), several clinics, among them the Kuwadzana Polyclinic, were overwhelmed by people seeking to be vaccinated.
“Currently, residents are being turned away as the health personnel are prioritising those who registered last Friday,” CHRA said in a statement.
By A Correspondent- The city of Harare said it has been hit by a serious shortage of grave diggers owing to a high number of people dying of Covid-19 related illnesses.
The city council told NewsDay that they were burying over 40 people per day.
“It is true that we are somehow overwhelmed. We had sent half of our workforce home as part of the lockdown regulations and protocols, but we have brought everyone back because of the rise in demand for graves which is just too much now,” said Acting mayor Stewart Mutizwa.
“We are burying at least 40 people a day and the problem is there are some who apply and want to bury their loved ones the same day because of COVID-19.” He said they pleaded for grave diggers from their partners and recently received 15 from a local funeral parlour to assist in addressing the crisis. “We were overwhelmed to an extent that we asked our partners to assist. It is a challenge, but we are trying,” Mutizwa added.
Tinashe Sambiri|Former Chivi South MP Killer Zivhu has described former First Lady, Grace Mugabe as a principled woman who worked tirelessly to help disadvantaged children.
Surprisingly, Zivhu has remained mum on Mrs Auxillia Mnangagwa’s projects.
The controversial politician also mocked Professor Lovemore Madhuku and his POLAD compatriots for joining the platform to get freebies from government.
“Madhuku nezvivanhu zvishoma shoma zvakamuvhotera ndokutowana motor saka Chamisa uchawana Ndege . Ndasvika pa street ino izvozvi ingori motor , motor ndikati regai ndikandewo maswera seyi Guys…”
Zivhu added: “Former First Lady vaindigonera ini ,pose pandaichema kuti kumusha kwedu Masvingo kwaita dambudziko vaiti huya ku State House uzotora rubatsiro. Munhu haaipiri vanhu vose kwandiri pabasa recharity yaiva simbi chaiyo.
2008 is coming back 2023 in Masvingo, corruption is now the order of the day in Masvingo.”
Harare giants CAPS United have signed former Chicken Inn hotshot Clive Augusto.
Augusto took the local top-flight by storm in the 2019 season and scored for fun for the Game Cocks and his exploits earned him a move to Dstv Premiership side Maritzburg United.
At the Team of Choice, Augusto rarely featured and was inevitably shown the exit door.
He has been signed by the Green Machine, a developmentconfirmed by a source at the club.
“Yes. He is here, he will announced officially in the next few days,” the source said.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
Warriors duo of Tinotenda Kadewere and Marshall Munetsi will begin their French Ligue 1 season this weekend.
Kadewere’s Olympique Lyon will start the campaign on Saturday against Brest. The match will be played at Groupama Stadium at 5 pm CAT.
The striker will be available for selection after recovering from a thigh surgery that kept him out for three months.
The 25-year old featured in Les Gones’ final pre-season friendly against Porto on Saturday, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute. He missed the team’s other warm-up games as he battled to return to full fitness.
Munetsi’s Stade de Reims will open their season when they travel to Nice on the following day at 3 pm CAT.
The midfielder is set to play an integral part in the campaign after he featured in all the pre-season games.
Reims played four warm-up matches against Valenciennes, Chambly, Lens and Hoffenheim.
Ligue 1 Matchday 1 Fixtures:
Friday 6th August Monaco vs Nantes – 9 pm
Saturday 7th August Lyon vs Brest – 5 pm Troyes vs Paris Saint-Germain – 5 pm
Sunday 8th August Rennes vs RC Lens 1 pm Bordeaux vsClermont – 3 pm Nice vs Reims – 3 pm St Etienne vs Lorient – 3 pm Strasbourg vs Angers – 3 pm Metz vs Lille – 5 pm Montpellier vs Marseille – 8:45 pm- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
By A Correspondent- In an interview with Open Parly, Masarira said she has got her own cars already but just want a platform to table issues affecting people and have them addressed.
She said POLAD is currently the only platform offering the opportunity and given a chance she will join.
She said:
I realised that is the only platform where I can table the real issues affecting the voiceless and have them addressed. Antagonism will never fix the problems bedevilling ordinary people like me and you.
I have three cars, a Toyota Allion, a D4D and a T35, surely, I can’t be enticed by an Isuzu DMax. Anyway, people being people they will always have something to say.
As a party that is concerned about the growth of the ordinary person at the grassroots, we feel it is important for us to be part of POLAD so that we go and represent the voiceless, whose voices have never been heard.
For a long time, we have had political parties attaining seats in Parliament and moving their political agenda and not the agenda of the ordinary person in the streets. We have had people going into the council pushing their political party agendas ahead of what the ordinary person who voted for them wants.
So as for us LEAD, a social democratic party, which is hinged on pan Africanism we feel that it is important to also have a seat on the POLAD table so that we go and share ideas on how to develop the ordinary person and to ensure that every Zimbabwean has got an opportunity to create wealth and to live a decent life in our beautiful country Zimbabwe. And as you have asked and rightfully asked, given the opportunity to go and sit and share our ideas for sustainable livelihood in Zimbabwe we will definitely join POLAD.
Achievement of POLAD
Masarira said she was not aware of achievements made by POLAD so far “mainly because they haven’t spoken much about their achievements.”
She added:
But we have seen time and again Professor Madhuku and Innocent Netanyahu pointing out that they have been engagements between them and some ministries and that they have also been engaging in electoral reforms, but I don’t think I am the right person to be responding to what they have achieved as I am not part of POLAD.
She said it was important for Zimbabweans to work together because “for 20 so years Zimbabwe has been a highly toxic and volatile political environment which has led to unnecessary political violence.”
By A Correspondent- A Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agent and a female passenger allegedly died half-nak_ed in a car after a horrific road accident which also claimed the life of a police detective near Marondera, police said.
A Mazda 3 driven by Detective Sergeant Benson Chingawo of Juru Police Base collided with a truck near Watershed in Marondera just after midnight on Monday, on the highway linking Harare and Mutare.
Chingawo died on the spot together with CIO agent Batsirai Maposa and a woman identified as Franny Onai Zinyuku. Maposa and Zinyuku were passengers in the back seat.
Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said: “The ZRP can confirm a road traffic accident which occurred at the 60km peg along Harare-Mutare Road.
“The victims are a male individual from the President’s Office, another a male police officer and a female civilian. The accident involved a Mazda 3 and a truck whose driver survived with some injuries.”
Pictures from the accident scene showed Maposa without his trousers on and Zinyuku’s dress raised above her waist. She appeared to have been lying across the seat at the time of impact, while Maposa was in a sitting position.
Assistant Commissioner Nyathi condemned the people who took the pictures.
“About the two half-nak_ed people at the back seat, we’re still investigating the circumstances and we urge people who rush to accident scenes to avoid taking pictures,” Nyathi said.
“People who arrive first at accident scenes should try to offer help, instead of rushing to take pictures for social media glory.”
Nyathi said they had recovered money from Zinyuku’s belongings, but he would not disclose the amount. A police source said the cash was in excess of US$3,000.
Tinashe Sambiri|In a video footage that is circulating on social media, MDC Alliance leader President Nelson Chamisa says he is fully aware of Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s intention to obliterate the alternative voice.
In the footage President Chamisa describes POLAD as a farce.
According to MDC Alliance Youth Assembly Secretary General Gift Ostallos Siziba, President Chamisa will never betray the suffering people of Zimbabwe:
On Polad and government stipends: President @nelsonchamisa levels of clarity and consistency remain unmatched.
Comrades here is a man who has stood with his word when some thought he will waiver & betray our people.
He remains Zimbabwe’s young political crusader with a vision.#Lead:
On Polad and government stipends: President @nelsonchamisa levels of clarity & consistency remains unmatched. Comrades here is a man who has stood with his word when some thought he will waiver & betray our people.He remains Zimbabwe's young political crusader with a vision.#Leadpic.twitter.com/01X3VZjTm2
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane did not show up at the club’s training ground as expected this morning, fuelling speculation of his want-away status at the North London side.
The England captain (28), was expected at Hotspur Way this morning after the conclussion of his holidays following the Euro 2020 finals but he did not show up.
He is reportedly itching for a move to Manchester City and the Premier League champions even made a £100 million bid for the him.
Kane, according to Sky Sports, has already told the Spurs hierarchy that he wants to leave the club during the current transfer window.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
Willard Katsande has reportedly signed a contract with Sekhukhune United on a free transfer.
According to the FARPost website, the Zimbabwe midfielder has penned a two-year contract to join several fellow countrymen who have moved to the club.
The 35-year old became a free agent at the end of the 2020/21 season after Kaizer Chiefs decided against extending his decade-long stay.
He was engaged in talks with the Soweto giants after the PSL giants offered him a technical role at the club to appreciate his service.
But it seems the player wasn’t ready to hang up his boots so soon and has moved to Sekhukhune United. He will link up with captain Tapuwa Kapini, McClive Phiri, Walter Musona, Charlton Mashumba and Talent Chawapiwa.
The club is also assessing King Nadolo and are said to be interested in Warriors’ vice-captain Ovidy Karuru.
Meanwhile, Katsande will be registered as local player as he is holder of a South African permanent residence permit.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe
Tinashe Sambiri|Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa tried in vain to bribe MDC Alliance officials with cash and vehicles it has emerged.
According to MDC Alliance Secretary General Charlton Hwende , Mnangagwa relentlessly tried to bribe senior MDC Alliance officials with cash, gold mines and farms but he dismally failed to capture the people’s struggle.
Mnangagwa is spending sleepless nights trying to moot ways of destroying the MDC Alliance.
Political analysts say Mnangagwa is deeply concerned about President Nelson Chamisa’s rising influence.
“We have our own shortcomings as opposition leaders and human beings but President Morgan Tsvangirai taught us one thing: To Never Sell Out The People’s Struggle.
ED offered us millions of USD$, cars, offices, farms and gold mines in order for him to destroy the MDC Alliance but we refused. After the refusal he has gone after every business and employment opportunity that comes our way and the system has ensured that genuine opposition leaders don’t get any employment or business.
They have made it even difficult for our party to get a lease agreement to rent a place to stay or even open a bank account. But we march on until victory,” Hwende said in a statement.
By Dr Masimba Mavaza | Patients and their family members are facing the horrors of mounting bills and poor care quality.
A patient supposedly films self before dying in an unnamed hospital – source: Social Media
A heart wrenching story unfolded in the social media: A man believed to be suffering from Coronavirus recorded himself before he died. His story reveals the cruelty Covid patients are facing in our hospitals despite the exhobitant extortionate bills they are forced to pay.
The man in his last painful audio complains about the nurses who have not taken care of them. The patients are just dumped and condemned to die in their beds. He courageously takes a photo of another COVID patient who has fallen from his bed and coiled onto the floor in agony.
Nurses and health care workers have taken advantage of the fact that visitors are not allowed to visit patients in Covid wards. The patients are then left at the mercy of some evil nurses who treat them like they are condemned killers.
Our health system in Zimbabwe does not have guidance for clinically extremely vulnerable individuals with COVID-19. Again there is no control action for GPs who are the first port of call for Coronavirus sufferers.
Zimbabwe is very grateful for the considerable work nurses and health workers have undertaken over the last year to identify, notify and care for people who are clinically extremely vulnerable and having COVID-19. But many Private Hospitals have not laid down support available for people who are clinically and extremely vulnerable.
In the process hospitals have not identified groups of people who should now be considered as clinically extremely vulnerable to COVID-19. In the absence of this, due diligence a lot of people are exposed to COVID 19.
With all due respect to our hard working ministry of health nobody has highlighted the urgency of clinicians completing the process of reviewing – and, where appropriate, taking measures in protecting patients who are admitted in the Covid wards.
We know this is an extremely challenging time for practices and hospitals but, given the vulnerable nature of those admitted with COVID-19 the ministry must activate its supervisory role in dealing with those who are admitting Covid patients. Given the detrimental impact to health worker’s wellbeing of following unnecessary additional restrictions, it is important that the nurses be trained in this new care of the victims of COVID 19.
We all need to work to identity and support our patients at greatest risk in all hospitals and private clinics. Patient neglect is an issue of increasing public concern yet remains poorly understood.
Patient neglect is found to have two aspects. First, procedure neglect, which refers to failures of healthcare staff to achieve objective standards of care. Second, caring neglect, which refers to behaviours that lead patients and observers to believe that staff have uncaring attitudes. The perceived frequency of neglectful behaviour varies by observer. Patients and their family members are more likely to report neglect than healthcare staff, and nurses are more likely to report on the neglectful behaviours of other nurses than on their own behaviour. The causes of patient neglect frequently relate to organisational factors (e.g. high workloads that constrain the behaviours of healthcare staff, burnout), and the relationship between carers and patients.
Despite the risk the health workers are exposed to it is highly cruel that they accept these patients then they neglect them.
Another family described how their beloved father died in one of the very expensive private Corona wards. The father was admitted at around seven in the morning. From the time he was admitted not even a single nurse attended to him. He died four hours later. The relatives were only informed the following day when they insisted that they want to bring him some pyjamas to change. Another nurse narrated the story in confidence.
Despite the funds they pay in fees the treatment given to the COVID-19 patience is horrible and inhuman.
Covid patients are left without food or water, wounds left open and dressings unchanged, patients are unwashed, there is woefully inadequate toileting leaving people soaked in urine or lying in faeces, lack of pain relief, incorrect medication, people left on the floor after falling. Said another nurse who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The nurse outlines this “callous
treatment of the Covid patients and shows what many families have known and complained about since the beginning of the pandemic.
Established discharge procedures are also regularly flouted, leaving patients trapped in the blame game between the accounts department and the nurses in-charge.
yet not one single member of staff in any of the hospitals concerned has been sacked or even disciplined. These are surely cases of culpable HOMICIDE at the very least. Patient neglect in hospitals is more common than most care to admit.
It happens intentionally and unintentionally, even in top-quality hospitals where resources can still become stretched and staff can be stressed.
Hospital neglect can lead to injury, unnecessary extra treatment, disability, or even death.
Unfortunately, millions of cases go unreported each year.
However, that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from the mistakes that are made in looking after the welfare of patients.
There are a few tell-tale signs that you can look out for when visiting people in hospital. Some of these may not be immediately apparent unless you are actively looking out for them.
To make it easier for you, we’ve identified the three leading symptoms of hospital neglect. As we continue through the coronavirus pandemic, our healthcare system remains under immense pressure due to Covid-19. So a lot of private COVID-19 carers have come up.
A long and difficult winter comes to an end Corona still lies ahead for our country, our healthcare system, and thousands of patients with other life affecting conditions.
We may finally be getting a grip on Covid-19, but the impact on the nation’s health has unfortunately stretched far beyond our expectations.
Throughout the pandemic outbreak coronavirus patients who have needed specialist care have not benefitted from treatment but they endured trial and error.
Whilst the daily figures on death rates from coronavirus have been published for us all to consider, the longer term impact for those who have died due to negligence is still to unfold and become clear.
Each day patients are being treated badly in clinics hospitals and in private clinics.
Why is the ministry of health not seeing what is happening and intervene? How are the private clinics able to gain foundation status while clinical standards are so poor? Why is the ministry not putting pressure on the regulatory bodies to act sooner and to investigate a clinic whose mortality rate had been significantly higher than the average. The public deserve answers.
The cause for people dying in hospitals and clinics is due to negligence, not COVID.
Tinashe Sambiri|Former Chivi South MP Killer Zivhu has described former First Lady, Grace Mugabe as a principled woman who worked tirelessly to help disadvantaged children.
Surprisingly, Zivhu has remained mum on Mrs Auxillia Mnangagwa’s projects.
The controversial politician also mocked Professor Lovemore Madhuku and his POLAD compatriots for joining the platform to get freebies from government.
“Madhuku nezvivanhu zvishoma shoma zvakamuvhotera ndokutowana motor saka Chamisa uchawana Ndege . Ndasvika pa street ino izvozvi ingori motor , motor ndikati regai ndikandewo maswera seyi Guys…”
Zivhu added: “Former First Lady vaindigonera ini ,pose pandaichema kuti kumusha kwedu Masvingo kwaita dambudziko vaiti huya ku State House uzotora rubatsiro. Munhu haaipiri vanhu vose kwandiri pabasa recharity yaiva simbi chaiyo.
2008 is coming back 2023 in Masvingo, corruption is now the order of the day in Masvingo.”
This year, for WBW 2021, WABA has selected the theme: Protect Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility. The theme is aligned with thematic area 2 of the WBW-SDG 2030 campaign which highlights the links between breastfeeding and survival, health and wellbeing of women, children and nations.
WABA states that this year’s objectives are to:
Inform people about the importance of protecting breastfeeding. Anchor breastfeeding support as a vital public health responsibility. Engage with individuals and organizations for greater impact. Galvanize action on protecting breastfeeding to improve public health.
Pregnancy and lactation are an especially vulnerable time for working women and their families. Expectant and nursing mothers require special protection to prevent harm to their or their infants’ health, and they need adequate time to give birth, to recover, and to nurse their children. At the same time, they also require protection to ensure that their jobs are not jeopardized because of pregnancy or maternity leave.
Maternity Protection is key to enable breastfeeding and empower parents for a successful implementation of recommended breastfeeding practices. PAHO/WHO recommends that countries must implement and reenforce the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes at all levels. It is vital to ensure that breastfeeding mothers do not get targeted by the industry, marketing or public health professional who want to jeopardize their breastfeeding by promoting formula-feeding
BREASTFEEDING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
PAHO/WHO continues to recommend that standard infant feeding guidelines be adhered to during the COVID-19 pandemic. The standard infant feeding guidelines are:
Initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of birth, Exclusive breastfeeding until babies are six months old, and Continued breastfeeding along with nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods, until age two years old or beyond.
The benefits of breastfeeding and nurturing mother-infant interaction to prevent infection and promote health and development are especially important when health and other community services are themselves disrupted or limited
Mothers and infants should be supported to remain together, and practice skin-to-skin contact and/or kangaroo care whether or not they or their infants have suspected, probable, or confirmed COVID-19 virus infection. Breastfeeding counseling, basic psychosocial support, and practical feeding support should be provided to all pregnant women and mothers with infants and young children…
Source : WHO/ PAHO
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Tinashe Sambiri|Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa tried in vain to bribe MDC Alliance officials with cash and vehicles it has emerged.
According to MDC Alliance Secretary General Charlton Hwende , Mnangagwa relentlessly tried to bribe senior MDC Alliance officials with cash, gold mines and farms but he dismally failed to capture the people’s struggle.
Mnangagwa is spending sleepless nights trying to moot ways of destroying the MDC Alliance.
Political analysts say Mnangagwa is deeply concerned about President Nelson Chamisa’s rising influence.
“We have our own shortcomings as opposition leaders and human beings but President Morgan Tsvangirai taught us one thing: To Never Sell Out The People’s Struggle.
ED offered us millions of USD$, cars, offices, farms and gold mines in order for him to destroy the MDC Alliance but we refused. After the refusal he has gone after every business and employment opportunity that comes our way and the system has ensured that genuine opposition leaders don’t get any employment or business.
They have made it even difficult for our party to get a lease agreement to rent a place to stay or even open a bank account. But we march on until victory,” Hwende said in a statement.
Tinashe Sambiri|Former Chivi South MP Killer Zivhu has described former First Lady, Grace Mugabe as a principled woman who worked tirelessly to help disadvantaged children.
Surprisingly, Zivhu has remained mum on Mrs Auxillia Mnangagwa’s projects.
The controversial politician also mocked Professor Lovemore Madhuku and his POLAD compatriots for joining the platform to get freebies from government.
“Madhuku nezvivanhu zvishoma shoma zvakamuvhotera ndokutowana motor saka Chamisa uchawana Ndege . Ndasvika pa street ino izvozvi ingori motor , motor ndikati regai ndikandewo maswera seyi Guys…”
Zivhu added: “Former First Lady vaindigonera ini ,pose pandaichema kuti kumusha kwedu Masvingo kwaita dambudziko vaiti huya ku State House uzotora rubatsiro. Munhu haaipiri vanhu vose kwandiri pabasa re charity yaiva simbi chaiyo.
2008 is coming back 2023 in Masvingo, corruption is now the order of the day in Masvingo.”
By A Correspondent- Teachers’ unions are calling on the government to postpone November’s final examinations for Grade 7, Form 4 and Upper Sixth – warning that pupils are not ready after severe disruptions due to Covid-19.
Pupils saw very limited learning in 2020, and this year has seen delays in the re-opening of the first and second terms.
“Six weeks after schools were supposed to have reopened, it’s still not clear when they will. We call on ministry of primary and secondary to postpone the exams to January, at the least,” the Progressive Teachers’ Union said in a statement on Monday.
The union said pupils had “learned for only 3 months since last year”, adding that radio and TV lessons which the government hoped would allow learning to continue during the extended lockdown “reach less than 10 percent of candidates.”
Teachers’ poor pay which led to work boycotts has also added to the learning disruptions.
The Almalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure said: “If the government doesn’t change its attitude, schools will never be ready for opening. Teachers remain severely incapacitated and will only show up to work to log-in, if they manage to.
“No teaching will take place when schools open. The government should urgently convene dialogue and resolve the long-standing salary crisis.”
The government had set June 28 as the date for schools re-opening for the second term, but a surge in Covid-19 infections and deaths scuppered the plans.
Ministers have not said when schools will re-open, although school heads have been ordered to begin preparations.
On Monday, there were 52 deaths and 1,309 new Covid-19 infections. The government’s plan to vaccinate 10 million people by December has fallen behind schedule, with just over 4 percent of Zimbabwe’s 15 million people having taken the vaccine so far
By A Correspondent- The 73 year old madala claims he is always working hard to feed and educate every member of his family.
The outspoken traditionalist’s eldest child is 49 while the youngest with his youngest wife – Rose – is 15 months old.
“I am proud of my family and it has grown to be one big happy family through the years.
“All my six wives get along very well and I have never neglected responsibility on any of my children numbering 55 and counting.
“It has never been an easy road educating most of them who are leading their lives with their families outside my compound,” said Sekuru Kafera.
He identifies his wives by their totems with his first wife as Mampofu #1, Mapofu #2, Mamoyo #1, Mamoyo #2, Mai Dennis, Martha and Rose.
He claims none of his children or wives have been exposed to Covid-19 since the break of the pandemic in December 2019.
“I am happy to say that none of my family members, young or old has been exposed to Covid-19, the family is big and we have been practicing safe health.
“I have been receiving patients and we advise them to always wear their masks, sanitize and make sure there is safe distance between them and any of my family members,” he said.
Sekuru Kafera has also warned against impersonators who are targeting his clients.
“None of my wives, children or brothers possesses the traditional knowledge to heal such as mine. I work alone and I have never left Chitungwiza running away from Covid-19 like someone pretending to be me is claiming.
“I want to warn my clients from all over against con artistes going by the name Chimwanje Kafera who are asking them to send money via ecocash as if they are dealing with me.
“I deal with all my clients face to face and I have never asked for money from a client through social media,” he said.
By A Correspondent- Professor Lovemore Madhuku has said his party will advocate for more vehicles from government to boost his party’s capacity to campaign for the forthcoming election.
“We need more vehicles as NCA,” said Professor Lovemore Madhuku.
Watch the live video loading below……please be patient as it uploads
By A Correspondent- Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has suspended burials at the Athlone West cemetery after a grave-digging machine broke down.
According to council sources, all burials in the city are now being conducted at Luveve cemetery.
The sources attributed the breakdown of the machine to the increased number of burials which is being fuelled by the spike in covid-19 related deaths.
Said the source:
“The grave digging machine broke down and council has not been burying bodies at Athlone West cemetery. All burials are now being conducted at Luveve cemetery.”
By A Correspondent- Kusena villagers in Marange, who last week had resisted an order by the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) to temporarily vacate their homes so that the diamond miner can engage in exploration activities finally capitulated.
Bocha Diamond Community Trust board member Takura Betera yesterday told NewsDay that most of the affected families are set to lose their land after the exploration exercise.
“The ZCDC approached us saying it wanted to do exploration activities, including blasting activities, near our homes. It had a meeting with our traditional leaders last Wednesday, and as villagers, we also held our own meeting last Thursday,” Betera said.
“They told us to camp at Kusena Primary School on the day that they will be performing their exploration activities. Our response was that it was not proper for them to force us to camp at a school during this COVID-19 era,” he said.
Betera said most of the villagers were set to lose their land due to ZCDC exploration activities.
“Most families are going to lose their agricultural land after the blasting activities. It would be impossible to grow plants on such land. ZCDC must explain to us how it is going to rehabilitate our land,” he said.
The villagers, who had resisted eviction, finally gave in on Friday after striking a compensation agreement for damages that might be caused by blasting activities.
ZCDC spokesperson Sugar Chagonda said the company engaged the villagers, adding that the process went on well.
“They (villagers) did not resist. We carried out awareness campaigns, which is a requirement. We cannot just take villagers by surprise. Some of them have no understanding of what exactly is happening. However, they later appreciated the process of exploration and it was a success,” Chagonda said.
The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) joins the World in celebration of breastfeeding week under the theme “Protect Breastfeeding: A shared responsibility.”
The commemoration comes at a time when most council clinics which provide maternal and post-natal health care services have been overwhelmed due to the mass exodus of health personnel triggered by poor working conditions.
The situation has been further worsened by the advent of Covid 19 which has seen deterioration of post-natal and maternal health care services as COVID has become a “priority” due to its devastating effects.
Provision of quality post-natal health care services is essential in protecting breast feeding as breastfeeding is one of the effective ways to ensure child growth, health and survival.
We urge lactating mothers, employers and CSOs to take the breast-feeding agenda more seriously especially after the disruption of breastfeeding by the advent of COVID 19.
Employers must improve working conditions for women by providing spaces and times at the workplace for women to breastfeed their children.
We concur with the government Devolution and Decentralization Policy that “devolved mandates on Local Authorities which are unaccompanied by adequate financial capacities would overwhelm Local Authorities’ limited resources and ultimately lead to poor service delivery outcomes.”
Provision of primary health care services by local authorities without adequate financing is one of the “unfunded mandates” our local authorities have been grappling with for a long period and we therefore call upon the government to provide adequate health grants to local authorities for the purposes of improving post-natal and other health services.
We call for urgent intervention in improving the working conditions of health personnel at council clinics to ensure provision of quality post-natal health services to nursing mothers.
We bemoan that COVID 19 has been used as an excuse by some health personnel in Council clinics to turn away women in accessing maternal and post-natal services, with some nurses demanding bribes to attend to these desperate women.
We assert that quality health care services can be achieved through a devolved system of governance as provided for in Chapter 14 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
AT least 113 aspiring drivers who paid US$250 each to suspected fraudsters to be issued with driving licence discs in the comfort of their homes without undergoing the Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) tests, recently suffered a huge blow after police seized the fake documents before they were released to them.
Detectives arrested a Harare businessman Tendekai Madongorere and Julius Punungwe before seizing 113 fake driving licence discs and certificates of competence with names of aspiring drivers, five fake defensive driving certificates, five card printers used to produce the documents, fake blank national identity cards, one fake Zimra tax clearance certificate, one fake deed of grant in respect of a Mufakose house, 29 copies of serialised birth record documents and nine copies of birth certificates.
A fake Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) identity card in the name of Madongorere was also recovered together with fake Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) identity cards bearing the names of Innocent Kayo, Edmund Mhere and Tichaona Chijwanha.
The arrest of the suspects and the seizure of documents occurred barely three months after The Herald carried an investigative story in which fraudsters were advertising on social media that they can facilitate issuance of driving licences within hours.
On the advertisements, they would provide contact cellphone numbers to be used for enquiries.
Madongorere (48) is a director of Impact Designs Private Limited which operates in Harare’s central business district while Punungwe (47) is unemployed.
The Herald established that from interviews conducted by the police, most of the 113 people whose names appear on the fraudulent driving licence documents, confirmed to have paid US$250 each for the discs.
The people in question, are expected to give evidence as State witnesses in the trial of the two suspects.
By A Correspondent- Schools have heightened preparations for reopening for the second term with fumigation of buildings and grounds currently in progress.
This comes a week after President Emmerson Mnangagwa said schools should prepare for reopening. Information minister Monica Mnangagwa also told a post-Cabinet media briefing last Tuesday that schools should begin preparations for reopening, saying parents must provide their children with personal protective equipment (PPE).
Schools remained closed for the most part of 2020 after the second wave of COVID-19 struck some learning institutions.
During the current third wave of the pandemic this year, government postponed opening of schools in winter for the second term to avoid more infections.
Government has since published Statutory Instrument (SI) 210 of 2021 stipulating that schools will be closed until August 10.
Primary and Secondary Education ministry spokesperson Taungana Ndoro yesterday expressed satisfaction with progress in fumigation of schools in preparation for their reopening.
“Yes, we are happy. The ministry has begun preparations for schools opening in all the provinces.
“Schools have embarked on construction work to increase their infrastructure in an effort to decongest existing structures and enable social and physical distancing,” Ndoro said.
“Examples of schools such as Ntuthuko Primary, Sinqobile Primary, Makulubise Primary, Mahlalufikile Primary, all in Lupane district in Matabeleland North province have already embarked on the exercise. Other schools with social and physical distancing challenges have also been encouraged to follow suit,” he said.
Ndoro said a number of donors and development partners had begun supplying PPE for the prevention and management of COVID-19 at various schools in Harare such as Mabvuku Primary, Mabvuku High, Domboramwari Primary, Chinamano Primary, among others.
“Boreholes and new water sources have also been drilled at Mwewele Primary, Mahlalufikile Primary and Kana Primary in Matabeleland North province. In Manicaland province, Tonhorai Primary (Mutare), Munyoro High, Chitova Primary schools have had their roofs repaired. Munyoro High School also embarked on the programme of reducing three-seater desks to single-seater desks to allow for physical and social distancing,” he said.
Ndoro said boreholes were drilled at schools in Mashonaland East province such as Barahwe Primary, Gadaga Secondary, Machekera Primary and Secondary schools, while efforts were underway to drill more boreholes at Magunje Primary and High schools.
He said through the School Improvement Grant (SIG), piped water infrastructure was installed at Rukariro, Mayema, Mugabe, Sowa, Chinhanga and Mashambanhaka primary schools, while installation is in progress at Kutsokodeka Primary School.
Ndoro said in Bulawayo, Vulindlela Primary School would open its doors for the first time to pupils up to Grade 4 in the Hlalani Kuhle/Garikai area to decongest Mkhithika Thebe Primary School, while there will be vacancies for all forms at Mhlophe Secondary School to decongest Luveve and Cowdray Park High schools.
In the Midlands province, he said the preparations had seen 35 applications for school registrations, adding that this would assist to decongest other schools.
“At least 217 schools have had their water sources rehabilitated and seven schools have constructed new classroom blocks to decongest existing infrastructure. In Matabeleland South province, at least 25 schools have refurbished their water and ablution facilities in a bid to do away with Blair toilets completely,” he said.
However, Almalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure said teachers were still incapacitated to return to schools.
“If government doesn’t change its attitude, schools will never be ready for opening. Teachers remain severely incapacitated and will only show up to work to log in, if they manage to. No teaching will take place when schools open. Government should urgently convene dialogue and resolve the long-standing salary crisis,” Masaraure said.
By A Correspondent- The Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) has embarked on a re-branding exercise, which will see the opposition changing its flag and party regalia.
The party’s spokesperson, Velile Moyo confirmed the development and said the new party’s paraphernalia will be unveiled during the party’s first virtual political rally set to be held on August 15.
“MRP’s information department will be introducing the re-branding process which the party is currently working on. This will include unveiling MRP’s new flag, paraphernalia, banners, and how the party would look across all provinces of Mthwakazi,” said Moyo.
The spokesperson said the party will also launch its 2023 election campaign during the e-rally.
“Our president Mqondisi Moyo will also speak on the state of the party, ongoing programmes of structure building, and mobilisation. People will also see the new leadership particularly the national chairperson, secretary-general, the organising secretary, and information secretary.”
He said the e-rally will run for two hours on social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Moyo said due to the high cost of data, the party was encouraging its members to gather in small groups so as to cut costs.
“We encourage those who can gather in their small numbers across the globe to do so. Based on the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, continued lockdown and of course, the government taking advantage of this, to close down on political parties holding gatherings, the MRP has resorted to go virtual. We want to reach out to the people across the country and the international community,” added Moyo.
The MRP was informed in 2013 in a bid to create a sovereign country for Matabeleland and Midlands regions.
By A Correspondent- South Africa is set to receive another batch of Pfizer vaccines from the US on Tuesday which is part of 5.6 million doses America donated.
The donation is part of the Covax facility and the first batch of 2.8 million arrived on Saturday.
The Health Department is welcoming the vaccines, saying it boosts the security of supply.
This comes when doctors in South Africa, which accounts for more than 35 per cent of all cases recorded on the continent, are struggling with an unprecedented influx of patients.
Said Doctors’ Association chief Angelique Coetzee:
Unlike past waves, this time the hospital system is not coping.
South Africa’s average new daily infections have increased 15-fold since early April, with hospital admissions rising around 60 per cent.
South Africa says it has secured enough Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines to immunise 67 per cent of its 59 million inhabitants.
But the rollout has been hit by setbacks and only about 6.9 million people (14.8% of the population) have received a jab so far.
Seventeen civic society organisations have submitted their work plans and credentials to the office of Harare Provincial Administrator, Tafadzwa Muguti, amid threats to ban non-compliant ones. The Harare Metropolitan Province announced in a statement:
The office of the PDC Tafadzwa Muguti would like to thank the all NGOs &Trusts that have submitted their work plans & programmes. We encourage all development partners to work together with us. The following submitted their credentials on Friday 30/7/21.
1. Child Protection Society
2. Royal Business Consult Trust
3. J.F Kapnek Trust
4. HelpAge Zimbabwe
5. Mavambo Orphan Care
6. Centre for Sexual Health &HIV & AIDS Research
7. Life Empowerment Support Organisations
8. Zichre 9. AIDS Counselling Trust
10. REPSSI
11. Msasa Project
12. Voluntary Service Overseas
13. Population Services Zimbabwe
14. SOS Children’s Villages Zimbabwe
15. Christian Blind Mission
16. The China Africa Economy & Culture Exchange & Research Centre Trust
17. Zimbabwe National Organisation for Residents Trusts (ZINOART)
Harare Metropolitan Province is committed to ease of business and shall therefore support all the organisations that have complies with our request to implement their programmes & projects. Let’s work together to build an upper middle-income society.
By A Correspondent- Police have arrested a Harare businessman and seized at least 113 driving licence discs that were due to be handed to aspiring drivers who paid US$250 each to be issued with the documents without undergoing the Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) tests.
Detectives arrested businessman Tendekai Madongorere and Julius Punungwe before seizing a number of documents which included:
113 fake driving licence discs and certificates of competence with names of aspiring drivers,
five fake defensive driving certificates,
five card printers used to produce the documents,
400 fake blank national identity cards,
one fake Zimra tax clearance certificate,
one fake deed of grant in respect of a Mufakose house,
29 copies of serialised birth record documents and nine copies of birth certificates.
A fake Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) identity card in the name of Madongorere
fake Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) identity cards bearing the names of Innocent Kayo, Edmund Mhere and Tichaona Chijwanha.
fake Covid-19 essential staff cards,
fake Cambridge O-Level and A-Level certificates,
a desktop computer,
three fake diploma certificates, and other dubious papers.
Three months ago, The Herald carried an investigative story in which fraudsters were advertising on social media that they can facilitate the issuance of driving licences within hours.
Madongorere (48) is a director of Impact Designs Private Limited which operates in Harare’s central business district while Punungwe (47) is unemployed.
Police established from interviewing the 113 people whose names appeared on the fraudulent driving licence documents that they had paid US$250 each for the discs.
The people in question, are expected to give evidence as State witnesses in the trial of the two suspects.
Detectives at Chitungwiza Police Station received information that some fraudsters were printing forged official documents selling them to people in Harare and Chitungwiza.
The police arrested Madongorere who then implicated Punungwe who was subsequently arrested.
The two are in custody, having lost two freedom bids at Chitungwiza Magistrates’ Court and the High Court.
They are now back at Chitungwiza Court with a fresh freedom bid dubbed “application for bail pending trial on changed circumstances”.
A magistrate is yet to determine the application.-statemedia
By A Correspondent- Bulawayo City Council (BCC) employees have been implicated in a scandal where they allegedly demanded US$35 bribe from the Anglican Church in Luveve to repair a burst sewer line.
The issue emerged after one of the church leaders, Sibangani Dube, was demoted from the vice-chairmanship for facilitating payment of the bribe to council employees.
Dube yesterday confirmed the development to Southern Eye.
“I am a congregant at the Anglican Church in New Luveve. On July 11, a team from the BCC sewer department attended to and cleared a blocked private line at the church,” Dube said.
“The norm is that one makes a payment at the council revenue office and gets issued with a receipt. However, in this case, it was a Sunday and council offices were closed. The guys asked us to pay US$35 to clear the line. The church leaders negotiated and settled for US$20 which was given to council workers. This meant that council lost revenue.
“Council lost fuel, including wear and tear of council vehicles. Residents experiencing sewage spilling at their premises are kept waiting while council employees will be doing their personal piece jobs using council equipment,” he said.
Dube said bribery was also affecting the church, adding that after reporting the corruption by council employees to BCC, it was unfortunate that he was removed from his church position as vice-chairman.
Two members of the Anglican Church trustees, Father Msasa and Father Madida said they were not in the office and could not comment.
Mayor Solomon Mguni said he was in a meeting, while his deputy Mlandu Ncube professed ignorance of the corruption issue.
Schools remain closed until August 10 under the latest statutory instrument extending the original closure for another two weeks that was gazetted at the end of last week.
SI210 of 2021 simply confirms under the public health regulations the announcement made last week that schools will remain closed until the government says otherwise.
Government has made it clear that while schools and parents must prepare for the reopening, this will only happen when the risk to children is significantly lower.
The third wave is retreating slowly, but infection rates are still at historically very high levels.
The statutory instrument was the 31st amendment to the consolidated lockdown regulations issued in October last year and basically just moved forward the earliest possible legal reopening date from July 27 to August 10.
By A Correspondent- A fresh war has erupted in Mashonaland Central province after the Zanu PF embattled chairman Kazembe Kazembe allegedly made co-options into the provincial executive structure in a bid to realign his allies.
Kazembe’s position is dangling by a thread after losing taste and favour from the high and low ranks in the party.
The recent co-options have renewed a longstanding war between him and the war veterans who are irked by Kazembe’s failure to unite the party as well as mobilise support for the party.
In a leaked chat that has been gleaned by this publication, outspoken war veteran leader Cde Samuel Parirenyatwa expressed anger over Kazembe hijacking of the cooption process on weekend saying it is reminiscent of the G40 era and against the grain and spirit of the ED regime.
Below is Parirenyatwa leaked comment against the weekend co-options.
“Morning Cdes. The issue about co-options at the Sunday PEC is not about who brought this to this and other platforms. It is more about the contents of this article and the intention of those involved. What need to answered and clarified is whether what is said is true or not. Chairman accepts that people were co-opted at the just ended PEC. If that is true, then the province is defying a party position that since the party is currently restructuring, co-options should stop.
In any event, what’s the essence of co-opting when the party has undertaken restructuring exercise. It is clear from the manner in which these co-options were done that “pane vanhu varikuronga chinhu chavo” against the will of the people and party. Our memory brings us back to the time of the G40 machinations. We now have the G40 modus operandi.
Let’s remind ourselves about what the President and first Secretary of our party said, in the interest of unity and forging ahead as a party and as a nation, “let bye-gones be bye-gones, forgive but don’t forget”. We forgave the G40s but we haven’t forgotten. Sisonge!!.
Kazembe refuited the claims that he coopted the alleged members saying it was coopted by PEC.
“Good morning. I don’t normally comment on social media but the abuse of my name is getting out of hand . There is one or two people who always choose to mislead people and abuse my name. We had PEC yesterday which was constituted properly and in accordance with the party constitution .
The suggestion to fill in gaps in the organ came from PEC members and was unanimously agreed to. The suggestion did not come from the chairman . All the cooptions were done by PEC and not the chairman . And this is constitutional.
The chairman simply chaired the meeting and the committee made all the decisions according to its constitutional mandate . This was done simply to make sure that basa remusangano rienderere mberi in view of the upcoming conference and ongoing restructuring exercise.
It was also acknowledged that elections in all organs are coming very soon but meanwhile basa rinofanira kuitwa. People who were in the meeting can confirm this that all decisions were debated and agreed upon by the meeting,” reads Kazembe’s response.
By A Correspondent- SADC ground and naval forces have arrived in Mozambique’s troubled northern province and are closing in on Islamic insurgents who have killed about 2 800 people in cold blood and displaced over 800 000 more. in the region.
Last week, Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri announced that President Mnangagwa, who is also the Commander-In-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) will be deploying instructors to Mozambique in accordance with section 213(1) (a) and subsection 213 (3) of the country’s Constitution. She said:
Zimbabwe is awaiting the signing of the Status Force Agreement after which the Zimbabwe training continent will be sent to Mozambique. Once the training team is dispatched, Parliament will be informed accordingly in terms of section 214 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
This issue is no doubt of great importance to Zimbabwe considering our proximity to and warm relations with Mozambique and is also critical to the peace, security, and stability of the entire SADC region.
Botswana has deployed 296 troops while the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is reported to have shown its presence in the Indian Ocean yesterday heading to the Cabo Delgado.
Rwanda, which is not part of SADC, has deployed more than 1 000 soldiers who have killed some 30 insurgents in joint military campaigns with Mozambique.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s SAS Makhanda which is docked in Pemba will form part of the small maritime contingent of the SADC’s intervention brigade known as the SADC Mission in Mozambique or SAMIM, South African media reported yesterday.
The first contingent of armoured vehicles from 43 SA Brigade, based north of Pretoria, was also visible as it moved through the border post of Ressano Garcia at Komatipoort at first light on Saturday.
Two of the South African Air Force’s Hercules C130 cargo aircraft have been flying regular flights between Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria and Pemba in the past two weeks transporting soldiers, equipment, ammunition, and a contingent of Special Forces.
An Air Force Cessna Caravan light aircraft arrived in Pemba last week and its crew has set up base at Pemba’s international airport.
A long convoy of armoured assault vehicles and other support trucks were also seen as it crossed the border between Zimbabwe and Mozambique at Gondola.
By A Correspondent- The deployment of soldiers in Bulawayo by the government has revived memories of the 1980s state-sponsored mass killings.
The government on Monday seconded has the military to Covid-19 vaccination centres in the second capital in what it called efforts to notch up a targeted 10 million herd immunity by end of this year.
Members of the Zimbabwe National Army are conducting the inoculation exercise in collaboration with the Bulawayo City Council that has set up 33 stationary centres and 29 mobile ones in the country’s second capital. Bulawayo is said to be targetting 400 000 to achieve city herd immunity.
In a notice to the public Monday, Town Clerk Christopher Dube said the outreach exercise involving the army is being conducted in Cowdray Park and Emganwini suburbs.
“The City of Bulawayo in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Zimbabwe Defence Forces will be conducting a community outreach Covid-19 Vaccination Programme in Cowdray Park – Hlalani Kuhle Consortium Office and Emganwini (Food for Less Shopping Centre). “The exercise which is part of ZDF’s Community Outreach programme will be from Tuesday, 3 August 2021 to Friday, 6 August 2021,” Dube said. The city boss invited all residents above 18 to attend the inoculation exercise.
Last month, the government announced it was adding some police stations, army barracks and bus termini to its growing list of vaccination centres to add impetus to the inoculation exercise. The involvement of the military in the country’s health delivery space is not the first of its kind as doctors from the military are often called to the rescue when civilian doctors go on strike within public hospitals. The participation of the military in efforts to restore good health among civilians brings a refreshing August narrative to a country that has now been forced to look back to every 1 August, the date in 2018 in which truckloads of soldiers were deployed to gun down civilians in central Harare, ostensibly to quell post-election violence linked to disgruntled opposition sympathisers. In Matabeleland, citizens even have sobering memories of the military which is responsible for the 1980s killing of 20 000 civilians in the region and the Midlands under what is now commonly referred to as the Gukurahundi Atrocities.
By A Correspondent- A Harare woman’s bid to obtain a $500 000 compensation through a default judgment against former Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) chief executive officer Mr Farai Bwatikona Zizhou and the organisation hit a snag after the High Court struck the matter off the roll for non-compliance with court rules.
Ms Rita Margue Mbatha now has to go back to the drawing board to rectify the defects and make a fresh application. Where a matter has been struck off the roll for failure by a party to abide by the rules of the court, the party will have 30 days within which to rectify the defect, failing which the matter will be deemed to have been abandoned.
Ms Mbatha, who was unceremoniously dismissed from employment after refusing to succumb to Mr Zizhou’s sexual advances, won her case in the Supreme Court on appeal in 2019 after she sued the former and CZI.
The CZI was given a 30-day ultimatum to pay more US$40 800 compensation plus costs to Ms Mbatha.
In the present case, Ms Mbatha had filed an additional $500,000 lawsuit against CZI and Mr Zizhou, saying the latter’s actions severely impacted on her marriage and her personal health, but both the defendants failed to defend the claim, resulting in Ms Mbatha approaching the court seeking a default judgment. When the matter was brought to court in June this year, Justice Tawanda Chitapi deferred the ruling because Ms Mbatha, a self-actor, had referred to several Supreme Court and High Court judgments, including the arbitral award.
It became necessary for the judge to check on the records alluded to and to authenticate the information supplied by Ms Mbatha. Having interrogated Mbatha’s heads of argument after authenticating the paper trail of the case, which had a long chequered history.
The judge also had to do further research on the area of delictual damages for sexual harassment since the law appeared to be largely uncharted with a dearth of diced case law. However, for all the pickles Justice Chitapi took, it turned out that he could not grant Ms Mbatha’s application for procedural shortcomings.
Ms Mbatha’s application for default judgment was predicated on the Supreme Court ruling, which was in her favour, yet she had instituted fresh proceedings against Mr Zizhou and CZI.
“The correct grounds for applying for a default judgment should have derived from the defendant’s failure to file their pleas contrary to what the Supreme Court had ordered,” said Justice Chitapi.
“It is not the default in entering appearance to defend that entitles the plaintiff to seek judgment. That being the case the application is not in order.”
In her claim, Ms Mbatha, is seeking a default judgment against Mr Zizhou and CZI for payment of $500 000 as damages for “shock, non-patrimonial damages, post traumatic disorder, pain and suffering”, saying she endured sexual harassment by her former boss, who later fired her from employment in June 2013, over a petty offence.
By A Correspondent- Clemence Moyo, a soldier and member of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) was heavily assaulted and stabbed to death in Kadoma over a bar lady.
Reports suggest that on July 25 Moyo went to a local bar in Kadoma around 7 pm to drink beer, he saw Lydia Zhou a bar lady and proposed.
Zhou turned the soldier down and the two suspects Silas Siyamusimbe (26) and Johanese Twalidi (24) arrived and started pushing Moyo away.
They assaulted him with open hands and Siyamusimbe broke a bottle before stabbing Moyo in the neck.
Prosecutor Tafadzwa Vhore said the soldier fell down and died on the spot.
The duo vanished after the mob surrounded the dead body and were later arrested.
The assailants were dragged to Kadoma magistrates courts on Monday for allegedly killing Moyo.
Magistrate Shingirai Mutiro did not ask them to plead to a murder charge and remanded them in custody to August 13.
By A Correspondent- The government has deployed soldiers in Bulawayo’s vaccination centres in what it called efforts to notch up a targeted 10 million herd immunity by end of this year.
Members of the Zimbabwe National Army are conducting the inoculation exercise in collaboration with the Bulawayo City Council that has set up 33 stationary centres and 29 mobile ones in the country’s second capital. Bulawayo is said to be targetting 400 000 to achieve city herd immunity.
In a notice to the public Monday, Town Clerk Christopher Dube said the outreach exercise involving the army is being conducted in Cowdray Park and Emganwini suburbs.
“The City of Bulawayo in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Zimbabwe Defence Forces will be conducting a community outreach Covid-19 Vaccination Programme in Cowdray Park – Hlalani Kuhle Consortium Office and Emganwini (Food for Less Shopping Centre). “The exercise which is part of ZDF’s Community Outreach programme will be from Tuesday, 3 August 2021 to Friday, 6 August 2021,” Dube said. The city boss invited all residents above 18 to attend the inoculation exercise.
By A Correspondent- MDC Alliance Secretary-General, Chalton Hwende, has claimed that the opposition MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa, rejected some bribes which it had been offered by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Hwende did not state when this happened. Posting on social media, Hwende said MDC Alliance leaders, however, rejected the offer. He said: We have our own shortcomings as opposition leaders and human beings but President Morgan Tsvangirai taught us one thing: To Never Sell Out The People’s Struggle.
ED offered us millions of USD$, cars, offices, farms and gold mines in order for him to destroy the MDC Alliance but we refused. After the refusal, he has gone after every business and employment opportunity that comes our way and the system has ensured that genuine opposition leaders don’t get any employment or business. They have made it even difficult for our party to get a lease agreement to rent a place to stay or even open a bank account. But we march on until victory! His remarks come as President Mnangagwa last week handed over 19 brand new Isuzu cabs to principals of the Political Actors’ Dialogue, a forum initiated by Mnangagwa in 2018 for presidential candidates in the 2018 presidential election. Some argue that the vehicles were meant to influence the politicians and will affect their objectivity.
MDC Alliance refused to join the forum arguing that nothing useful was to come out of POLAD, a platform the party said was created to legitimise Mnangagwa’s rule and endorse the disputed 2018 elections. POLAD was formed after calls for national dialogue to put an end to economic, humanitarian and political crises that were reportedly being worsened by the deadlock between MDC Alliance and ZANU PF. Hwende’s remarks also come amid allegations that MDC-T led by Douglas Mwonora is a ZANU PF agent mandated with neutralising and if necessary destroy the opposition. MDC-T dismiss the allegations as lies by their rivals who want to taint the party’s image.
By A Correspondent- Authorities in Harare on Monday freed from Norton Covid-19 quarantine centre 13 of the 14 people who were recently deported from the UK.
The 14 had finished serving jail terms for various offences they committed in the UK.
When deporting the 14 recently, the British government through its Home Office in London said the deportees were convicted, foreign criminals.
In a tweet, the Home Office said the deportees were sentenced to a combined total of over 75 years in prison for various crimes, including rape and murder.
The British government said it wanted to keep its communities safe from criminals.
By A Correspondent- Police have arrested 38 000 people who were trying to cross the borders to neighbouring countries during the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions when the government banned intercity and cross border travelling.
In a statement Monday, the police said the number of people arrested accumulated from the 1st of July when they launched operation “No to Cross Border Crimes”.
“Police arrested 176 people for cross border-related crimes while 106 others were arrested under operation, code-named, ‘Usalama A total of 38 000 people have been arrested, since the inception of operation ‘No to Cross Border Crimes/ Fhasi Ngamilandu Yamukanoni Yamashango/ Mhosva Pamiganhu Ngadzipere/ Amacala Kawaphele Emingceleni Eelizwe,” said the police.
By a Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson, George Charamba has opened up on Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s ill-health reports.
Chiwenga, according to media reports was last week rushed to China for his routine medical check-up as well as some meetings with officials in that country.
The reports said that someone from Chiwenga’s delegation tested positive for COVID-19 leaving nearly 400 guests inside the hotel in quarantine.
Charamba dismissed the reports as wishful thinking. He said:
Vatanga vano paumba kwavasina kuswera. I spoke to VP Chiwenga last Saturday. Musatisembura nenhema!!!!!! [They have started speculating. I spoke to VP Chiwenga. Don’t bore us with lies.]
An anonymous source told The NewsHawks that Chiwenga was expected to return to Zimbabwe after 10 days, but now with this latest incident, his itinerary may be changed.
This is not the first time the government has dismissed reports that suggest the former military boss was critically ill.
Government has set new fines for various offences ranging from $500 up to $500 000.
The new fines were gazette by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and are contained in Statutory Instrument 209 of 2021. [CAP. 9:23 Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) (Standard Scale of Fines) Notice, 2021.
According to the schedule, for offences in level one, offenders will part with $500 while the highest amount of $500 000 is for level 14 crimes.- The Herald
Schools remain closed until August 10 under the latest statutory instrument extending the original closure for another two weeks that was gazetted at the end of last week.
SI210 of 2021 simply confirms under the public health regulations the announcement made last week that schools will remain closed until the Government says otherwise.
The closure of schools has been extended through statutory instruments a fortnight at a time as Zimbabwe fights the third wave.
Government has made it clear that while schools and parents must prepare for the re-opening, this will only happen when the risk to children is significantly lower.
The third wave is retreating slowly, but infection rates are still at historically very high levels.
The statutory instrument was the 31st amendment to the consolidated lockdown regulations issued in October last year and basically just moved forward the earliest possible legal reopening date from July 27 to August 10.- The Herald
Tinashe Sambiri|Bishop Ancelimo Magaya has challenged the Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa to prosecute soldiers who shot and killed unarmed civilians on August 1, 2018.
Six civilians were shot by soldiers during protests at rigging of elections by Zanu PF in 2018.
Below is Bishop Magaya’s statement:
By Bishop Ancelimo Magaya
Today, 01 August three years ago, President Mnangagwa deployed the army into the streets to shoot at unarmed civilians resulting in the death of at least seven people.
Whilst the state denied its involvement in the killings,the Mohlanthe led commission appointed by the president to investigate the happenings of the day came up with evidence pointing to the state’s involvement in the killings of innocent citizens.
The commission recommended that justice must be done. Upon receiving the commission’s report, President Mnangagwa publicly launched it, but sadly, no justice has been executed to date, leading to some people concluding that the President cannot execute justice in a case where he is guilty of murder.
This adds to the pain arising from many such unresolved cases like the Matebeleland massacres, the bloody land seizures,2000 June parliamentary and 2002 Presidential elections that were bloody, post 2008 march harmonised election violence resulting in more than 127 deaths and thousand displacements according to the Zimbabwe Human rights NGO forum report, the dissapearance of Dzamara among many.
Let it be known to the powers that be that voices of the blood of many Zimbabweans are crying from the ground in the very same way that Abel’s cried and God requires that Justice be executed.
Mr President, you appointed the Mohlante led commission. You recieved their report which you launched. Your minister of Home affairs, Kazembe Kazembe announced some time in 2019 that the perpetrators would be arrested the year that was to follow.
Though this announcement was stupid given that no murderer would remain in the country after having been publicly given one year notice of arrest, no attempts of arrrests were made.This is so despite the arrests of those who violently destroyed property and looted as well as many arbitrary arrests of human rights and political activists. Such selective application of the law is obnoxious before God’s court of justice.
Mr President, where is the long arm of the law to catch up with the murderers? Why is it that your long arm is quick to arrest and torture those that express thier views on your system of governance and leave out the murderers and the corrupt? Unless you sincerely repent, the divine long arm of justice will catch up with you.
To the church, it is hypocrisy as it is loathsome before God to continue worshiping through big offerings,stringed instruments,fattened cows etc and failing to demand justice from your government.
“I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5 Vs 21-24.
As a way of not only showing active solidarity with those killed and the bereaved families but also demanding justice from government in keeping with the just qouted scripture,share this with as many as you can.
By A Correspondent- Former Zimbabwe Agricultural Show Society spokesperson and Arts promotor, Heather Madombwe has died.
Madombwe is also known as Ms H Zim, passed on in the Netherlands of cancer.
Announcing the passing on of Madombwe on the Arts Journalists Association of Zimbabwe Facebook page, Monday, ZBC newsreader, Zanele Ndlovu who, however, did not state the date of Madombwe’s death said the arts industry had lost a passionate promotor.
” My dearest AJAZ family I come with heartbreaking news. One of our members Heather MadombweHeather had a passion for promoting Zimbabwean arts especially the use of traditional instruments such as the mbira. She succumbed to cancer during childbirth. She is survived by her husband and newly born son Theo. My deepest condolences to her family and friends. Rest in Power Ms H,” she said.
Three people died on the spot and two others sustained severe injuries when a Honda Fit they were travelling in collided head-on with a bus transporting Covid-19 patients along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road near the Esigodini tollgate.
Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson Inspector Loveness Mangena confirmed the accident which occurred last Thursday.
The Honda Fit was travelling to Gwanda while the bus that had returnees from South Africa, was headed for Bulawayo. The three deceased and the two injured were in the Honda fit.
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Insp Ncube urged drivers to adhere to road regulations saying most accidents were due to human error.
The accident preceded another one that happened early Friday between Musina and Makhado (Louis Trichardt) towns in South Africa.
Four people died while 10 others were injured when a bus transporting Zimbabwean returnees collided head-on with a kombi.
The bus was travelling to Zimbabwe while the minibus was travelling towards Makhado town along the N1 highway.- State media
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance leader President Nelson Chamisa has described the distribution of vehicles to POLAD members as a move meant to reward those who endorsed the Zanu PF president’s stolen mandate.
Mr Mnangagwa’s political gimmicks are calculated to confuse the electorate, according to political observers.
President Chamisa wrote on his official Facebook page: “This can never happen in a New Zimbabwe. This is an abuse of the people for political capital.
Why should Madhuku get a government funded car? What did he do and how many votes did he get? 0.00001% votes and he gets a car.”
On the future of the nation he said: “Everything is possible. What is needed is correct leadership. Our friends in Ghana are doing their best. Zimbabwe needs new leadership and I’m the NEW.”
A new town is set to be born between Mvuma-Chivhu and Manhize where Tsingshan Group Holdings, a Fortune 500 listed company is set to build a world class iron and steel plant that will also come with ferrochrome furnaces.
Region’s biggest steel plant roars to life‼️ ⁰A NEW town is set to be born between Mvuma-Chivhu and Manhize where Tsingshan Group Holdings, a Fortune 500 listed company is set to build a world class iron and steel plant that will also come with ferrochrome furnaces. 1/ pic.twitter.com/sV4goOZG0u
— ?? ZANU PF PATRIOTS ?? (@zanupf_patriots) August 2, 2021
Already, siting for a dam along Munyati River, urban planning, logistical and other infrastructural development projects are underway in what is the fruition of one of President Mnangagwa’s flagship investment programmes under his Zimbabwe is open for business mantra.
Mutsvangwa: Zimbabwe Building Multi-million-dollar Iron Plant | IS HE TELLING THE TRUTH?
The project will be carried by Tsingshan’s subsidiary, Dinson Iron and Steel Company which will be the largest steel plant in Southern Africa.The US$1 billion investment project will have an annual turnover of US$1,5 billion from the processing plant and iron ore mine from next year.
Equipped with a 1,5km-by-600-metre carbon and steel plant, an iron ore mine, and a ferrochrome plant, the project will have a capacity of 1,2 million tonnes a year, while between 4 000 and 5 000 people will benefit through employment across value chains.
The project, which was almost scuppered by G40 functionaries in 2014 as a powerful figure allegedly demanded a 60 percent shareholding in the US$10 billion investment that Tsingshan had earmarked for Zimbabwe, comes at a time when the country’s economy is on a rebound.
Back then Tsingshan Group, whose annual revenue in 2018, according to Forbes exceeded US$28 billion took their money to Indonesia and only returned to Zimbabwe after the birth of the Second Republic under President Mnangagwa’s rule.
In an interview, former Norton legislator and Zimbabwean Ambassador to China Mr Chris Mutsvangwa, who has followed the project since its inception said President Mnangagwa’s vision is on display as Tsingshan, whose chairman is Mr Xiang Guangda, transforms Mvuma, Chivhu and Manhize.
“Mr Xiang Guangda was already an investor in Selous and wanted to expand in Zimbabwe but was turned down because an influential figure in G40 wanted 60 percent of the company under the Indigenisation Act. That explains why the first thing that President Mnangagwa did when he came into power was to repeal the Indigenisation Act,’’ he said.
While he was Vice President, President Mnangagwa in 2016 went to China to revive the project but was undone by the G40 elements who stopped some of the members of the team from travelling to the Asian country.
“On two occasions, the G40 elements stalled the project. The G40 were blind moles, they didn’t see where this project was going. Look at where the company is now. In 2020 Xiang was number 329, the previous year he was number 361, and now he is 279 on the Fortune 500,” said Ambassador Mutsvangwa.
For the local communities, the project is a game-changer as it will bring employment and also give economic pulse to a region that has lost in terms of investment over the years.
The epicentre of the multi-million-dollar project is around the mountainous Manhize escarpment which forms the border with Mashonaland West and slightly protruding into Chirumhanzu but with its backbone in the Chikomba District, within an area under the traditional jurisdiction of Mambo Nyoka of the Museyamwa lineage.
Recently a site visit was conducted by the company representatives and the local leadership led by Chief Chirumhanzu within the Manhize area, to facilitate the commencement of feasibility research that will lead eventually to project implementation.– Chronicle
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance leader President Nelson Chamisa has described the distribution of vehicles to POLAD members as a move meant to reward those who endorsed the Zanu PF president’s stolen mandate.
Mr Mnangagwa’s political gimmicks are calculated to confuse the electorate, according to political observers.
President Chamisa wrote on his official Facebook page: “This can never happen in a New Zimbabwe. This is an abuse of the people for political capital.
Why should Madhuku get a government funded car? What did he do and how many votes did he get? 0.00001% votes and he gets a car.”
On the future of the nation he said: “Everything is possible. What is needed is correct leadership. Our friends in Ghana are doing their best. Zimbabwe needs new leadership and I’m the NEW.”
Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance has challenged Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration to agree with teachers and parents on the opening of schools.
Last week Mr Mnangagwa announced schools would be opened in spite of the rising COVID-19 cases.
Below is the MDC Alliance weekly health update:
MDC Alliance Health Alert 15th Edition
Sunday 01 August 2021
Coping with the Delta variant
We are now seeing an unprecedented number of covid-19 infections when we compare with the first and second waves. Over the last four weeks we had 53703 new infections and 1551 deaths. For the first and second waves combined, up to May 31st 2021, we had 38961 cases and 1594 deaths. The carnage caused by this Delta variant is self evident. It seems to be more vicious in transmissibility and severity of illness, and seems to be affecting younger members of the population also.
We must re-visit our prevention and clinical management of the disease if we are to conquer this virus. We must employ all the covid 19 safe practices with more diligence as we add new tools in our arsenal.
Firstly, all public meetings must stop. It’s ironical that church meetings of up to 50 people, the most disciplined meetings in the land where everybody is generally sober and masked up, have been banned while political meetings and large gatherings of other politically aligned sects are allowed to go on. In the rural areas other people are systematically flouting the lockdown regulations by regularly calling for meetings of over 200 people.
There is a huge outcry from the rural areas. That irresponsible behavior must stop, because this third wave is hitting rural areas as much as urban areas. We continue to implore government to ensure that there is social distancing in the buses, that means availing more buses and removing the greedy ZUPCO monopoly.
Secondly, government must accelerate vaccination of the population. Distances to clinics in the rural areas are too long, and mobile clinics must be deployed to every district. The elderly and those with co-morbidities need the vaccine most, but they can’t walk those long distances.
We are still expecting government to make a pronouncement on the efficacy and safety of all the vaccines that we are using. That will surely motivate any who are still doubting. Once again we urge all Zimbabweans to be vaccinated. This is our ticket out of the pandemic. Vaccination must remain a matter for free choice. The majority of Zimbabweans want to be vaccinated now. Lets make the vaccine available.
Let’s remember that even if you are fully vaccinated for Covid-19 you can still carry and spread the disease to other people, so let’s all continue to mask up, practise social distancing, stay at home as much as possible, enjoy out door life where the air blows freely, and seek medical care early if you have any covid-19 symptoms like fever, headache, general aches and pains, dry cough, weakness, fatigue, sore throat, loss of sense of smell or taste, shortness of breath, & feeling pain or pressure in the chest. Seek early treatment for better outcomes. Remember to self isolate. We implore the government to increase the Covid-19 admission facilities and to improve oxygen supply.
Lastly, date for opening of schools must be agreed upon by parents and the teachers’ unions. Both pupils and teachers must be protected.
VaccinateZim #MaskUp #StaySafe
Dr.Henry Madzorera Secretary for Health and Childwelfare MDC-Alliance
This year, for WBW 2021, WABA has selected the theme: Protect Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility. The theme is aligned with thematic area 2 of the WBW-SDG 2030 campaign which highlights the links between breastfeeding and survival, health and wellbeing of women, children and nations.
WABA states that this year’s objectives are to:
Inform people about the importance of protecting breastfeeding. Anchor breastfeeding support as a vital public health responsibility.
Engage with individuals and organizations for greater impact. Galvanize action on protecting breastfeeding to improve public health.
Pregnancy and lactation are an especially vulnerable time for working women and their families. Expectant and nursing mothers require special protection to prevent harm to their or their infants’ health, and they need adequate time to give birth, to recover, and to nurse their children. At the same time, they also require protection to ensure that their jobs are not jeopardized because of pregnancy or maternity leave.
Maternity Protection is key to enable breastfeeding and empower parents for a successful implementation of recommended breastfeeding practices. PAHO/WHO recommends that countries must implement and reenforce the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes at all levels. It is vital to ensure that breastfeeding mothers do not get targeted by the industry, marketing or public health professional who want to jeopardize their breastfeeding by promoting formula-feeding
BREASTFEEDING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
PAHO/WHO continues to recommend that standard infant feeding guidelines be adhered to during the COVID-19 pandemic. The standard infant feeding guidelines are:
Initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of birth, Exclusive breastfeeding until babies are six months old, and Continued breastfeeding along with nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods, until age two years old or beyond.
The benefits of breastfeeding and nurturing mother-infant interaction to prevent infection and promote health and development are especially important when health and other community services are themselves disrupted or limited
Mothers and infants should be supported to remain together, and practice skin-to-skin contact and/or kangaroo care whether or not they or their infants have suspected, probable, or confirmed COVID-19 virus infection. Breastfeeding counseling, basic psychosocial support, and practical feeding support should be provided to all pregnant women and mothers with infants and young children…
Source : WHO/ PAHO
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Tinashe Sambiri|The Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa is using POLAD to buy loyalty from the opposition, it has emerged.
Political analysts say Mnangagwa wants to use the POLAD freebies to trap the opposition as he seeks to fortify his 2023 Presidential Election campaign.
On Saturday, Professor Lovemore Madhuku of the NCA was at pains to justify why he took the POLAD vehicle.
Commenting on the distribution of POLAD vehicles, MDC Alliance vice chairperson Hon Job Sikhala said:
“The POLAD freebies demonstrate how Emmerson Mnangagwa has turned other people into his political yoyos.
The coloring almost the same with the ZANU PF vehicles.
Mnangagwa anoita vamwe varume zvituta vakomana nokungokara mota chete.”
Professor Jonathan Moyo argued Professor Madhuku was rewarded by Mnangagwa for enabling him to steal the 2018 Presidential Election:
“WAGES OF TREACHERY: @ProfMadhuku receiving a “thank you” Isuzu Max-D from @edmnangagwa yesterday at State House for enabling him to steal the 2018 poll, as one of the wannabe presidential candidates who contested without polling agents!”
Mnangagwa himself also literally failed to explain the purpose of the donated vehicles. He said:
“The vehicles have been made identifiable and make sure they carry the dignity of POLAD.
The cars, you are not going to use as you see it fit, except that it must be for political work or developmental work.
In terms of regulations in the public sector, after three years we will then review and make sure that they can belong to you.”
By A Correspondent- MDC Alliance Secretary-General, Chalton Hwende, has claimed that President Emmerson Mnangagwa (ED) offered millions of dollars, gold and other gifts to the opposition MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa, allegedly to destroy the party.
Hwende did not state when this happened. Posting on social media, Hwende said MDC Alliance leaders, however, rejected the offer. He said: We have our own shortcomings as opposition leaders and human beings but President Morgan Tsvangirai taught us one thing: To Never Sell Out The People’s Struggle.
ED offered us millions of USD$, cars, offices, farms and gold mines in order for him to destroy the MDC Alliance but we refused. After the refusal, he has gone after every business and employment opportunity that comes our way and the system has ensured that genuine opposition leaders don’t get any employment or business. They have made it even difficult for our party to get a lease agreement to rent a place to stay or even open a bank account. But we march on until victory! His remarks come as President Mnangagwa last week handed over 19 brand new Isuzu cabs to principals of the Political Actors’ Dialogue, a forum initiated by Mnangagwa in 2018 for presidential candidates in the 2018 presidential election. Some argue that the vehicles were meant to influence the politicians and will affect their objectivity.
MDC Alliance refused to join the forum arguing that nothing useful was to come out of POLAD, a platform the party said was created to legitimise Mnangagwa’s rule and endorse the disputed 2018 elections. POLAD was formed after calls for national dialogue to put an end to economic, humanitarian and political crises that were reportedly being worsened by the deadlock between MDC Alliance and ZANU PF. Hwende’s remarks also come amid allegations that MDC-T led by Douglas Mwonora is a ZANU PF agent mandated with neutralising and if necessary destroy the opposition. MDC-T dismiss the allegations as lies by their rivals who want to taint the party’s image.
