Tinashe Sambiri| MDC Alliance has lost a veteran of the struggle for democracy, Forget Hlomani.
Hlomani was a dedicated party cadre who was based in Chipinge, according to former Movement for Democratic Change Change Youth Assembly chairperson, Happymore Chidziva.
Chidziva described Hlomani’s death as a huge blow to the MDC Alliance family.
“I am so saddened by the news that one of my dear friends in struggle from Chipinge South has died Forget Dread Hlomani.
He was a fighter and a true leader in the struggle for democratisation of Zimbabwe.
Forget my dear brother leader rest in power till we meet again kurikuda kwaMwari,” Chidziva wrote on Facebook.
The government has listened to advice by Zengeza West MP Job Sikhala who says the prisons are overflooded.
Cabinet yesterday considered and approved the proposed General Amnesty, which was presented by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
Section 112 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe empowers the President after consultation with Cabinet, to exercise the power of mercy to grant pardon to any person concerned in or convicted of an offence against law.
The proposed general amnesty is targeted at all prisoners who have served at least one third of their sentences, save for those convicted of specified offences such as the following: murder, treason, rape or any sexual offence, car-jacking, robbery, stock theft, and public violence.
There shall be full remission of sentence to be granted to all prisoners who would have served life imprisonment for at least 15 years commutation.
The amnesty will de-congest the prison institution whose population currently stands at 20 407 against the prison’s holding capacity of 17 000.
The overpopulation already poses a health hazard, especially considering the Covid-19 pandemic and the recommended measures to curtail the spread of the disease. -state media/additional reporting
Tinashe Sambiri| MDC Alliance has lost a veteran of the struggle for democracy, Forget Hlomani.
Hlomani was a dedicated party cadre who was based in Chipinge, according to former Movement for Democratic Change Change Youth Assembly chairperson, Happymore Chidziva.
Chidziva described Hlomani’s death as a huge blow to the MDC Alliance family.
“I am so saddened by the news that one of my dear friends in struggle from Chipinge South has died Forget Dread Hlomani.
He was a fighter and a true leader in the struggle for democratisation of Zimbabwe.
Forget my dear brother leader rest in power till we meet again kurikuda kwaMwari,” Chidziva wrote on Facebook.
Actress Anne Nhira, who was granted a State-assisted funeral, died a painful death after she was attacked by robbers in South Africa last week while coming from morning prayers in a mountain where she had gone with her brother Juan.
Family spokesperson and Anne’s cousin, Mrs Florence Ziyambi, yesterday said a day after the attack, Anne started spitting blood and her body was swollen.
“It is very painful. My sister was mugged while coming from a mountain for prayers with her brother Juan. They had gone to pray early in the morning and Anne was the first to descend, while her brother remained at the mountain for a few minutes,” said Mrs Ziyambi.
“As she was walking in the park, she was attacked and the robbers got away with her handbag. She was then assisted by Juan who took her to the clinic where she was checked first day. They said she was okay.”
Mrs Ziyambi said Anne’s condition worsened the following day.
“On Tuesday last week, she started having pains from the injuries and her body was swollen. On Wednesday, Juan took her back to the hospital where they examined her again and said she had sustained internal injuries.
“They prescribed medication and there was no change. On Thursday early in the morning, Juan noticed that Anne was worse and took her to hospital. her body was starting to get cold and moments later she was pronounced dead.”
Mrs Ziyambi said they had decided to open a murder case in South Africa and Juan was already working with the police.
“Juan went to Germiston police station in South Africa yesterday where they recorded his statement and he was writing an affidavit, after we have decided to open a murder case,” she said.
“According to the police, investigations are underway and they said have taken the matter to a higher police station. I can’t remember the name.”
Mrs Ziyambi said they were working with Nyaradzo Funeral Service to repatriate the body to Zimbabwe, and hoped that paperwork will be completed by Friday.
“We are hoping that after two to three days the paperwork will be done and her body will be in Zimbabwe for burial as planned. We will bury her at Zororo Memorial Park cemetery.”
Mrs Ziyambi thanked the Government for granting Anne a State-assisted funeral.
Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Deputy Minister Tino Machakaire, Zanu PF acting deputy secretary for the Youth League Cde Tendai Chirau, Zanu PF Member of Parliament for Seke-Chikomba Cde Tatenda Mavetera, Zanu PF Harare Province youth chairman Cde Emmanuel Mahachi and National Arts Council director Mr Nicholas Moyo visited the Nhira residence in Manyame Park, Chitungwiza, yesterday.
Deputy Minister Machakaire, who delivered news of the State-assisted funeral to the family, said the death of Anne was a sad loss for the arts fraternity.
“We are here because of Anne’s good work. She was a great actress and it is so unfortunate that sad news have been following the arts industry. Recently we had buried another pillar of strength in the music industry, Soul Jah Love, and barely a month later, we have lost an actress, Anne.
“I am happy with how the Government has responded fast after the request. We saw it fit for her to be given the State-assisted funeral as she played a major role in the arts sector. I immediately went straight to the President and thanked him.”
Deputy Minister Machakaire said the family would get financial assistance for funeral. Cde Chirau described Anne as a strong and bold person who stood by her word.
“We have lost a talent, a household name in the television and film industry. I urge other artistes to learn from the legacy left by Anne. She promoted good values. She died a painful death,” said Cde Chirau.
“Crime is everywhere and should be stopped. As young people we must condemn such acts.” -Herald
Tinashe Sambiri| The bail application for MDC Alliance Youth Assembly leaders, Hon Joana Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri has been postponed to Wednesday.
ZINASU leader Takudzwa Ngadziore’s bail application has also been postponed to Wednesday.
MDC Alliance and Human Rights defenders have denounced the persecution of political activists in Zimbabwe.
Read MDC Alliance Statement below:
Hon Joana Mamombe Cecilia Chimbiri and Takudzwa Ngadziore whose bail appeals were set to be heard today before Justice Chitapi, will go back to Chikurubi Female Prison and Harare Remand Prison after their matters were postponed to Wednesday.
The trio represented by Charles Kwaramba, @rose_hanzi @bamujm & Tinashe Chinopfukutwa of @ZLHRLawyers filed appeals at High Court against Harare Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro’s decision to deny them bail on charges of convening or partaking in a gathering during national lockdown. https:
They are accused of issuing & reading a press statement outside Harare Magistrates Court denouncing the arrest of @MakomboreroH & calling for the dismissal of @PoliceZimbabwe boss Godwin Matanga.
7 Common Nutrient Deficiencies: Know the Signs The hidden cause of common symptoms such as fatigue and muscle aches could be a nutrient deficiency.
By Elizabeth Shimer Bowers and Moira Lawler Medically Reviewed by Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDCES Last Updated: March 9, 2021 Medically Reviewed
vitamins and minerals If you think you may have a nutrient deficiency, talk to your doctor, who may recommend a supplement.
You may think nutrient deficiencies are a thing of the past, experienced only by sailors on long sea voyages. But even today, it’s possible to lack some of the essential nutrients your body needs to function optimally.
“Nutrient deficiencies alter bodily functions and processes at the most basic cellular level,” says Tricia L. Psota, PhD, RDN, a lecturer in the exercise and nutrition sciences department at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health in Washington, DC. “These processes include water balance, enzyme function, nerve signaling, digestion, and metabolism. Resolving these deficiencies is important for optimal growth, development, and function.”
Nutrient deficiencies can also lead to diseases. “For example, calcium and vitamin D deficiencies can cause osteopenia or osteoporosis, two conditions marked by brittle bones,” says Kate Patton, RD, a dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. “And inadequate iron can cause anemia, which zaps your energy.”
Telltale symptoms are usually the first clue that you are low in one or more important vitamins or minerals, says Patton. Here’s how to recognize seven common nutrient deficiencies.
Calcium: Numb, Tingling Fingers and Abnormal Heart Rhythm Calcium is important for maintaining strong bones and controlling muscle and nerve function, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Signs of severely low calcium include numb, tingling fingers and abnormal heart rhythms, says the Cleveland Clinic. That said, there are no short-term, obvious symptoms of calcium deficiency.
Most adults need 1,000 milligrams (mg) of calcium each day, though women over 50 and men over 70 need 1,200 mg, per the Mayo Clinic. Patton says you’ll likely get enough from at least three servings of milk or yogurt a day. Cheese is another good source of calcium, but if you’re not big on dairy, you can find this nutrient in calcium-fortified orange juice or breakfast cereal (check the nutrition facts label of the food to see if calcium has been added), and dark leafy greens like kale and broccoli, according to the NIH.
MOST HELPFUL Could You Be Vitamin D–ficient? The 7 Best Bone-Building Foods Study: Nutrients From Diet Better Than Supplements
Vitamin D: Fatigue, Bone Pain, Mood Shifts, and More This vitamin is another that’s crucial for bone health and may also prevent some cancers, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency can be vague — fatigue, bone pain, mood changes, and muscle aches or weakness may set in.
“If it goes on long term, a vitamin D deficiency can lead to softening of the bones,” Psota says. Long-lasting deficiency also may be linked with cancers and autoimmune diseases, says Michelle Zive, an NASM-certified nutrition coach based in San Diego.
According to the NIH, most adults need 15 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin D each day, and adults older than 70 need 20 mcg. Patton suggests having three servings of fortified milk or yogurt daily and eating fatty fish, such as salmon or tuna, twice a week, as these are foods that contain vitamin D; spend some time outside in the sunshine every day, too, as this is a great source of the nutrient. Ten to 30 minutes a few times a week of direct sunlight exposure should help, Zive says.
Potassium: Muscle Weakness, Constipation, Irregular Heart Rhythm, and More Potassium helps your heart, nerves, and muscles work properly and also delivers nutrients to cells while removing waste, according to MedlinePlus. Plus, it’s a useful nutrient that helps offset sodium’s negative impact on your blood pressure: “It’s important in maintaining a healthy blood pressure,” Zive says.
You could become low in potassium in the short term because of diarrhea or vomiting; excessive sweating; antibiotics, laxatives, or diuretics; excessive alcohol consumption; or because of a chronic condition such as kidney disease, per the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms of a deficiency include muscle weakness, twitches, or cramps; constipation; tingling and numbness; and an abnormal heart rhythm or palpitations, says MedlinePlus.
For natural potassium sources, try bananas, milk, acorn squash, lentils, and kidney beans and other legumes. Adult men need 3,400 mg each day, and women need 2,600 mg, according to the NIH.
Iron: Fatigue, Shortness of Breath, Cold Hands and Feet, Brittle Nails, and More Iron is necessary to produce red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body, according to the University of California in San Francisco. When iron levels get too low, there may be a deficiency in red blood cells, resulting in a condition called anemia. Some groups at increased risk of iron deficiency include menstruating women, growing individuals (such as children and pregnant women), and those following a vegan or vegetarian diet, Zive says.
Anemia can leave you with symptoms including weakness and fatigue, shortness of breath, a fast heartbeat, pale skin, headache, cold hands and feet, a sore or swollen tongue, brittle nails, and cravings for strange things like dirt, according to the Mayo Clinic. The symptoms may be so mild at first that you don’t notice something’s wrong, but as iron stores become more depleted, they will become more intense.
To boost iron levels, Patton recommends eating iron-fortified cereal, beef, oysters, beans (especially lima, navy, and kidney beans), lentils, and spinach. Adult men and women over 50 need 8 mg per day, and adult women younger than 50 need 18 mg each day, according to the NIH.
Vitamin B12: Numbness, Fatigue, Swollen Tongue, and More Vitamin B12 aids the production of red blood cells and DNA, and also improves neurotransmitter function, according to the NIH. Vegetarians and vegans may be at particular risk for vitamin B12 deficiency because plants don’t make the nutrient, and people who’ve had weight loss surgery may also lack B12 because the procedure makes it difficult for the body to extract the nutrient from food, according to Harvard Health Publishing.
Symptoms of severe B12 deficiency include numbness in the legs, hands, or feet; problems with walking and balance; anemia; fatigue; weakness; a swollen, inflamed tongue; memory loss and difficulty thinking, per Harvard Health Publishing. These symptoms can come on quickly or gradually, and since there’s such a wide range in symptoms, you may not notice them for a while.
Adults need 2.4 mcg of B12 per day, according to the NIH. It’s most commonly found in animal products, and Patton recommends fish, chicken, milk, and yogurt to boost your B12 levels. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, Zive suggests opting for foods fortified with B12, such as plant-based milk and breakfast cereals. You can also find B12 in most multivitamins, according to the NIH, but if you’re at risk of being deficient, you can take a supplement specifically containing B12.
Source: Everyday Health
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
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Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane says the rumours linking Cristiano Ronaldo with a return to the Spanish capital might be true.
Ronaldo’s future has been the subject of much debate since Juve’s shock round of 16 Champions League exit at the hands of Porto last week.
The Italian giants are being tipped to cash in on the 36-year-old before he becomes a free agent in 2022.
And reports in Spain have suggested the striker is keen on returning to Madrid, where he enjoyed a hugely successful nine years before leaving in 2018 for €100 million.
Speaking to Sky Italia ahead of his team’s Champions League clash with Atalanta on Tuesday, Zidane admitted a comeback a comeback is “possible” for Ronaldo.
“Yes, it may be [true],” the gaffer told Sky Italia, when asked about the rumours linking the player with a return to Real.
“We know Cristiano, we know the person he is and everything he has done here.
“But now he’s a Juventus player and we must respect this.
“Now, let’s see what the future will be. I was lucky enough to coach him and he is very impressive. Right now, he’s helping Juventus.”- Soccer 24 Zimbabwe
WARRIORS coach, Zdravko Logarusic, can now freely go about doing his official duties, after getting his work permit, last week.
The Croatian gaffer, who is preparing his team for the final two 2021 AFCON qualifiers, against Botswana and Zambia later this month, has been without a work permit, since his return from his native country last month.
Loga’s one-year permit expired in January this year.
As a result, the coach has largely been in the background, over the past couple of weeks, but he can now fully concentrate, on the task at hand, after getting clearance, to legally work in this country.
Zimbabwe play Botswana, in the penultimate round of the qualifiers on March 25, before hosting Zambia, in the final group game, at the National Sports Stadium, four days later. “We are all delighted that coach Loga has been issued with his work permit,” said Warriors manager, Wellington Mpandare. “We would like to thank the authorities. He can now start to do his duties, within the confines of the law.”
Loga has been battling to find a solution, after the mass withdrawals, which has hit his camp. All the UK-based players, including Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, have pulled out of the team, because of the Covid-19 protocols, in the European nation.
The France-based duo of Tino Kadewere, and Marshall Munetsi, whose side Olympique Lyon and Stade Reims played out a 1-1 draw at the weekend, are also out of the crunch matches. Talismanic forward, Khama Billiat, has pulled out of the two battles, because of injury. Zimbabwe have never qualified for the Afcon tournament three times in a row.
“We will have to make that happen,” said Loga. “The good thing is we have our destiny firmly in our hands.
“We have to fight like Warriors. It’s still difficult, given what we are facing, but we are optimistic of getting the required results. “Nothing has ever been ideal, in football, and we need to find solutions, if we have problems.
“The ultimate goal is for us to make it for the AFCON tournament. We are facing two very good sides in Botswana and Zambia.
“But, we are where we are at the moment, for a good reason, too. It means we are capable and that should spur us on, as we try to overcome the two hurdles, in front of us. It’s been difficult, football has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic big time.-The Herald
By James Gwati- The government has relaxed lockdown measures which were put on restaurants and allowed them to operate under strict COVID-19 guidelines
The lift on the ban was announced by the Ministry of Information Secretary, Nick Mangwana, Tuesday, through his Twitter account.
“Restaurants are now allowed to open for sit-ins at 50% sitting capacity, under strict adherence to COVID19 Guidelines. Those found breaking the restrictions will be closed immediately,” posted Mangwana.
By James Gwati-Botswana national broadcaster, BTV said it will broadcast the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match between Zimbabwe and its national soccer team on March 25.
According to the Botswana Daily News, the game which will be played at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown will be broadcast on BTV as well as on Radio Botswana.
The publication also reports that the BFA held a meeting last week on preparations needed, especially concerning Covid-19 and it’s all systems go ahead of the crunch tie.
The Warriors are set to travel to Botswana for the encounter on March 22 before hosting Zambia in Harare on March 29.
The two assignments are a must-win for the Warriors if they harbour hopes of joining Group H leaders and African champions Algeria in the finals set for Cameroon next year.
Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe all have a fair chance of qualifying, with the Warriors second on five points from four games, while the Zebras are third with four points and Chipolopolo anchor the group with three points.
The Warriors’ local-based players are already in camp and will be joined by their foreign-based compatriots from this Saturday.
By A Correspondent- The newly appointed Transport Minister, Felix Mhona, has introduced a new method of collecting tollgate fees from the motoring public, in a move which road users view as a government’s fast-track fundraising project.
Mhona told the National Assembly’s Wednesday during a Question and Answer session that they are going to introduce a coupon system to address congestion at tollgates.
The government through the Zimbabwe National Roads Authority, ZINARA, last month increased tollgate fees by more than 100%.
The authority also okayed the use of foreign currency and now demands US$2 from a small vehicle passing through a tollgate.
By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) is said to be working on a new method of collecting tollgate fees from the motoring public.
Transport Minister Felix Mhona, told the National Assembly’s Wednesday during a Question and Answer session that they are going to introduce a coupon system to address congestion at tollgates.
Apart from fast tracking revenue collection at tollgates motorists are spending hours long in queues.
The Foreign Exchange Auction System which was introduced by the Bank on 23 June 2020 has been successful in achieving price stability in the national economy.
RBZ
The success has been achieved through market price discovery of the exchange rate and provision of a dependable foreign exchange market.
Since the inception of the Foreign Exchange Auction System, there has been a significant increase in both the number of bids and the value thereof from just under 100 bids valued at US$11 million at the first auction to the current levels of over 500 bids valued at around US$40 million at both the Main and SME auctions.
The top 100 beneficiaries of the Foreign Exchange Auction System over the past eight months, from 23 June 2020 to 28 February 2021, are listed hereunder for public information.
It is also important to note that the same entities have been the major beneficiaries of the interbank foreign exchange market during the same period.
One of the foreign exchange auction rules requires banks to ensure that applicants have enough local currency in their accounts to finance their bids.
However, it has come to the attention of the Bank that some banks are not paying particular attention to this requirement and have instead been extending overdraft facilities to finance their customers’ bids.
In line with the Bank’s monetary targeting framework designed to control the growth of money supply, funding of bids through overdrafts and advances is discouraged.
Where absolutely necessary, bank lending should be limited to a maximum of 50% of a bid. Under these exceptional circumstances, bidders would be required to have in their accounts a minimum balance equivalent to 50% to cover their bids.
Banks are further reminded to conduct full Know Your Customer (KYC) checks on their clients, and should not be complicit or connive in malpractices with their customers.
The Bank’s Exchange Control Division and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) are continuously monitoring users of foreign exchange in the economy in order to deal with the malpractices.
This exercise has resulted in 12 entities being banned from participating in the foreign exchange auction whilst 62 entities are under the FIU watch list.
The banned entities’ respective bankers have been warned against breach of the foreign exchange auction rules.
By James Gwati-The Zimbabwe Republic Police has announced that they have launched an operation in which they will be arresting touts in cities and towns.
ZRP spokesperson Paul Nyathi said the ZRP will continue intensifying some of its operations which include; ‘No to unregistered motor vehicles’, ‘No to touts’, ‘No to unscrupulous fuel dealers’, ‘No to illegal forex dealers’, ‘No to dangerous weapons’, ‘No to machete gangs’ and ‘No to cross-border crimes’.
Nyathi said over 2500 have been arrested by police for various illegal activities, including dealing in foreign currency, in a move aimed at ridding the country of malcontents.
This year, touts, unscrupulous fuel dealers, motorists with unregistered vehicles and those found with dangerous weapons, have also been arrested under various police operations.
By A Correspondent- In a bizarre incident that shocked Zaka District, two women who are alleged to be witches reported a colleague to a traditional leader’s court because the colleague is refusing to have her child sacrificed for the group’s supply of human flesh.
The women (names supplied) claimed that they each killed their children and ate the human flesh together with the colleague.
The two complained that the accused was now refusing to have her child killed although it was her turn to supply human flesh to the group.
Chief Clemence Nhema confirmed the case. He said everyone in the district is shocked by this turn of events.
The matter came to light when the witches claimed that they ate the human flesh of a popular tout at Jerera Growth Point who died a week ago—the tout is said to be the son of one of the witches.
The women are from Musavengana Village under Chief Nhema in Zaka.
Chief Mpakwa said they will on Saturday appear before a traditional court.
The complainants have formalised their case with the Village head, Benias Musavengana and the trial will be there this Saturday.
“This is not a rumour, the matter has been brought before Musavengana in whose village the three reside. I have received a letter confirming the matter and they will appear on Saturday, ” said Chief Nhema.
When contacted for comment, Headman Musavengana said he was still in shock since he never thought people of that calibre were in his village. “It shocked me so much that I decided to refer the matter further up to Chief Mpakwa” he added.
The woman whose turn is to have her child killed is allegedly refusing to make the offer saying that the tout who died at Jerera was thin and her child, the one they want killed is fat and bigger.
“It is disgusting for a community to sink to such levels of open witchcraft. I will call the parties involved in the issue and get the full details,” said chief Mpakwa.
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC MDC Alliance Youth Assembly national spokesperson, Stephen Sarkozy Chuma has urged young people to resist the allocation of land to idle POLAD members.
POLAD is seen as a platform meant to authenticate Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s stolen electoral victory.
Chuma urged youths to demand land…
“It’s high time we demand land as youths.
We must resist POLAD pigs from having farms at the expense of citizens,” Chuma wrote on Twitter.
By Valerie Karimakwenda MDC Alliance UK And Ireland Youth Assembly Organising Secretary
Violence, unleashed by ZANU PF, to force Zimbabweans to give it legitimacy, through the ballot box, from as early 2000s has failed dismally.
So did other machinations of ZANU PF, such as lawfare, state capture, a resistance to devolution, conjoining of the three arms of the State, partisan distribution of desperately needed food, among others.
The opposition, thanks to its remarkably resilience, it has trounced all ZANU PF efforts to evolve into a one party state.
Defections by disillusioned opposition officials, attempts to capture and influence urban local services and their subsequent, will be naturally abortive.
They will miscarry on the basis of the fact that, the political apathy that ZANU PF rode at the expense of economic development and growth is now exhausted, hence the desperate attempts stated above.
ZANU PF under Emmerson Mnangagwa has the erroneous assumption that sponsoring defections, cajoling them to jump ship and join ZANU PF will translate to mass exodus of loyal opposition supporters who have suffered the brunt of a repressive and human rights violating security system.
ZANU PF will be disappointed. Those who defect are nothing but career politicians. Men and women who are sellouts to the struggle against tyranny.
They don’t serve the people. The defections only serve to brighten their colors, colors of betrayal.
The people in their respective constituencies, most of them who suffered from Zanu Pf exclusionary arm twisting tactics such as partisan distribution of food, will not suddenly follow the defectors.
Communities are yet to heal from these divisive and coercive machinations, and joining ZANU PF, following the traitors because they, the defectors love money or power the people denied them through Congress is ample testimony.
ZANU PF thinks that Zimbabweans have intelligence of donkeys, as such, a capture of local urban government operations such as water supply and refuse collection will be such an avenue for a landslide victory, come the 2023 elections. Zimbabweans are well aware of the economic mismanagement and rot that had been presided over by ZANU PF. The people know that ZANU PF flaunts their wealth in their faces, meant for them. For instance, Chiwenga’s brazen opulence of having a mansion valued in millions of American dollars, at the same time being a minister of health running a broken health system, without critical drugs, equipment and infrastructure, to the extent of seeking Chinese medical attention is proof that ZANU PF attempts to capture the local government operations are vain and satisfyingly, futile.
A president who gives a permit to colonial Chinese exploit, without recourse or conscience, natural resources of communities in Hwange is an example of ZANU PF insincerity and lack of empathy for the common and no longer unusual or sacred suffering of Zimbabweans under the yoke of Zimbabweans. The same president who gives more than $20000 USD to a foreign country for construction of a school in a foreign country, while neglecting run down and dilapidated rural schools infrastructure, is the president Zimbabweans know, hence their choice in the people centered opposition, their choice that ZANU PF thinks it can circumvent, by capturing the operations of urban councils.
The people know better, the opposition remains unfazed.
Age limits and so called Patriot bills targeting the opposition, seeking genuine change that is pro-people is another bout of ZANU PF plans destined to miscarry spectacularly. For one, there is nothing patriotic about ZANU PF. There is nothing patriotic about a president who hires a private jet while people are dying in large numbers in hospitals owing to lack of crucial equipment. There is nothing patriotic about a president who has a stake in a company that removes people from their ancestral lands for profit not is there anything patriotic about a first family that awards itself a multi-million tender, unprodecurally at that. ZANU PF has no grounds to legitimately bar the opposition from contesting elections it is favored to win, that having said, ZANU PF is the most unpatriotic collective in history of politics.
In conclusion, all of ZANU PF attempts to derail the opposition have hit the amazing brick wall of opposition resilience, supported by an unwavering public, that is no longer largely apathetic, hence the barrage of donkey brained schemes by ZANU PF. The opposition will continue to be the people’s choice of their consent, and the same opposition will remain the sole custodian of popular will and legitimacy.
By Valerie Karimakwenda MDC Alliance UK And Ireland Youth Assembly Organising Secretary
Violence, unleashed by ZANU PF, to force Zimbabweans to give it legitimacy, through the ballot box, from as early 2000s has failed dismally.
So did other machinations of ZANU PF, such as lawfare, state capture, a resistance to devolution, conjoining of the three arms of the State, partisan distribution of desperately needed food, among others.
The opposition, thanks to its remarkably resilience, it has trounced all ZANU PF efforts to evolve into a one party state.
Defections by disillusioned opposition officials, attempts to capture and influence urban local services and their subsequent, will be naturally abortive.
They will miscarry on the basis of the fact that, the political apathy that ZANU PF rode at the expense of economic development and growth is now exhausted, hence the desperate attempts stated above.
ZANU PF under Emmerson Mnangagwa has the erroneous assumption that sponsoring defections, cajoling them to jump ship and join ZANU PF will translate to mass exodus of loyal opposition supporters who have suffered the brunt of a repressive and human rights violating security system.
ZANU PF will be disappointed. Those who defect are nothing but career politicians. Men and women who are sellouts to the struggle against tyranny.
They don’t serve the people. The defections only serve to brighten their colors, colors of betrayal.
The people in their respective constituencies, most of them who suffered from Zanu Pf exclusionary arm twisting tactics such as partisan distribution of food, will not suddenly follow the defectors.
Communities are yet to heal from these divisive and coercive machinations, and joining ZANU PF, following the traitors because they, the defectors love money or power the people denied them through Congress is ample testimony.
ZANU PF thinks that Zimbabweans have intelligence of donkeys, as such, a capture of local urban government operations such as water supply and refuse collection will be such an avenue for a landslide victory, come the 2023 elections. Zimbabweans are well aware of the economic mismanagement and rot that had been presided over by ZANU PF. The people know that ZANU PF flaunts their wealth in their faces, meant for them. For instance, Chiwenga’s brazen opulence of having a mansion valued in millions of American dollars, at the same time being a minister of health running a broken health system, without critical drugs, equipment and infrastructure, to the extent of seeking Chinese medical attention is proof that ZANU PF attempts to capture the local government operations are vain and satisfyingly, futile.
A president who gives a permit to colonial Chinese exploit, without recourse or conscience, natural resources of communities in Hwange is an example of ZANU PF insincerity and lack of empathy for the common and no longer unusual or sacred suffering of Zimbabweans under the yoke of Zimbabweans. The same president who gives more than $20000 USD to a foreign country for construction of a school in a foreign country, while neglecting run down and dilapidated rural schools infrastructure, is the president Zimbabweans know, hence their choice in the people centered opposition, their choice that ZANU PF thinks it can circumvent, by capturing the operations of urban councils.
The people know better, the opposition remains unfazed.
Age limits and so called Patriot bills targeting the opposition, seeking genuine change that is pro-people is another bout of ZANU PF plans destined to miscarry spectacularly. For one, there is nothing patriotic about ZANU PF. There is nothing patriotic about a president who hires a private jet while people are dying in large numbers in hospitals owing to lack of crucial equipment. There is nothing patriotic about a president who has a stake in a company that removes people from their ancestral lands for profit not is there anything patriotic about a first family that awards itself a multi-million tender, unprodecurally at that. ZANU PF has no grounds to legitimately bar the opposition from contesting elections it is favored to win, that having said, ZANU PF is the most unpatriotic collective in history of politics.
In conclusion, all of ZANU PF attempts to derail the opposition have hit the amazing brick wall of opposition resilience, supported by an unwavering public, that is no longer largely apathetic, hence the barrage of donkey brained schemes by ZANU PF. The opposition will continue to be the people’s choice of their consent, and the same opposition will remain the sole custodian of popular will and legitimacy.
The national team has started the preparations for the Afcon Qualifiers against Botswana and Zambia with the local players being the first group reported for camp on Saturday.
The squad is camped in Harare where there are undergoing a 10-day mandatory isolation. They will still be training while waiting for the foreign contingent which will start arriving on Saturday.
The local players that have reported for duty include only those that were named in the preliminary squad. These are goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda, defenders Shadreck Nyahwa and Carlos Mavhurume, the midfield trio of Brian Banda, King Nadolo and Tatenda Tavengwa as well as striker Farau Matare.
Those that were placed on standby will isolate at home.
Meanwhile, the France-based pair of Tino Kadewere (Lyon) and Marshall Munetsi (Stade de Reims) might show up for this month’s AFCON qualifiers despite earlier indications that they won’t.
ZIFA is still in talks with the two clubs over the release of the star duo.- Soccer 24 Zimbabwe
Can someone warn @realnigelndlovu and @DrNyashaForMP, CIOs are trailing them right now to abduct them Dzamara style, I've come across some docs that state the magistrate who acquitted them was supposed to jail them. The kidnapping is a quick operation & is happening right now
Dzamara was not a threat to either the state or ZANU PF and yet they took him. They did it to try set an example, to discourage against demos, his own which used to attract a paltry 15 people. You might be insignificant, but the criminals have targeted you because of the verdict
Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane says the rumours linking Cristiano Ronaldo with a return to the Spanish capital might be true.
Ronaldo’s future has been the subject of much debate since Juve’s shock round of 16 Champions League exit at the hands of Porto last week.
The Italian giants are being tipped to cash in on the 36-year-old before he becomes a free agent in 2022.
And reports in Spain have suggested the striker is keen on returning to Madrid, where he enjoyed a hugely successful nine years before leaving in 2018 for €100 million.
Speaking to Sky Italia ahead of his team’s Champions League clash with Atalanta on Tuesday, Zidane admitted a comeback a comeback is “possible” for Ronaldo.
“Yes, it may be [true],” the gaffer told Sky Italia, when asked about the rumours linking the player with a return to Real.
“We know Cristiano, we know the person he is and everything he has done here.
“But now he’s a Juventus player and we must respect this.
“Now, let’s see what the future will be. I was lucky enough to coach him and he is very impressive. Right now, he’s helping Juventus.”- Soccer 24 Zimbabwe
THREE men were on Thursday last week killed by a lightning bolt at Mhembwechena Business Centre in Makonde district, while one was seriously injured.
The three – Tongai Gandiwa (32), Stewart Phiri (23) and Shadreck Bvudzijena (age unknown) – were pronounced dead on arrival at Kenzamba Clinic.
Tongai’s brother, Shine (30), who sustained serious burns, was taken to the same clinic where he received medication.
Mashonaland West police spokesperson Inspector Margaret Chitove confirmed the incident and said the four where sitting under a tree when the thunderbolt struck.- The Herald
Zimbabwe international Marshall Munetsi has been named in the French Ligue 1 team of the week for match day 29.
The Mabvuku-bred star was simply brilliant for Stade de Reims in their 1-1 draw with Olympique Lyon over the weekend.
He made 62 touches, two key passes, two tackles, most interceptions (seven) and also won six out of 12 duels, as well as the most clearances (nine).
Consequently, renowned French publication L Equipe, named him among the best eleven for match day 29, with a rating of 8 out of 10.- Soccer 24 Zimbabwe
Four local players have been placed on standby as the Warriors squad starts preparations for the Afcon Qualifiers against Botswana and Zambia later this month.
The quartet includes Highlanders defender Andrew Mbeba, FC Platinum pair of Kelvin Madzongwe and Ralph Kawondera, as well as Ngezi Platinum’s Qadr Amini.
The players will not join the rest of the team in the camp but will isolate at home, waiting for an emergency call-up.
Other lacal players that were included in the initial 38-man preliminary squad have already started reporting for camp in Harare where there are undergoing a 10-day mandatory isolation before joined by the foreign contingent.- Soccer 24 Zimbabwe
Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane says the rumours linking Cristiano Ronaldo with a return to the Spanish capital might be true.
Ronaldo’s future has been the subject of much debate since Juve’s shock round of 16 Champions League exit at the hands of Porto last week.
The Italian giants are being tipped to cash in on the 36-year-old before he becomes a free agent in 2022.
And reports in Spain have suggested the striker is keen on returning to Madrid, where he enjoyed a hugely successful nine years before leaving in 2018 for €100 million.
Speaking to Sky Italia ahead of his team’s Champions League clash with Atalanta on Tuesday, Zidane admitted a comeback a comeback is “possible” for Ronaldo.
“Yes, it may be [true],” the gaffer told Sky Italia, when asked about the rumours linking the player with a return to Real.
“We know Cristiano, we know the person he is and everything he has done here.
“But now he’s a Juventus player and we must respect this.
“Now, let’s see what the future will be. I was lucky enough to coach him and he is very impressive. Right now, he’s helping Juventus.”- Soccer 24 Zimbabwe
Tinashe Sambiri|Vibrant MDC Alliance UK and Ireland Youth Assembly organising secretary, Valerie Karimakwenda has said Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF are fooling themselves by celebrating the defection opposition members because nothing will obstruct the people’s struggle.
Karimakwenda also accused Mr Mnangagwa of allowing Chinese nationals to plunder national resources at will.
Read statement below:
By Valerie Karimakwenda MDC Alliance UK And Ireland Youth Assembly Organising Secretary
Violence, unleashed by ZANU PF, to force Zimbabweans to give it legitimacy, through the ballot box, from as early 2000s has failed dismally.
So did other machinations of ZANU PF, such as lawfare, state capture, a resistance to devolution, conjoining of the three arms of the State, partisan distribution of desperately needed food, among others.
The opposition, thanks to its remarkably resilience, it has trounced all ZANU PF efforts to evolve into a one party state.
Defections by disillusioned opposition officials, attempts to capture and influence urban local services and their subsequent, will be naturally abortive.
They will miscarry on the basis of the fact that, the political apathy that ZANU PF rode at the expense of economic development and growth is now exhausted, hence the desperate attempts stated above.
ZANU PF under Emmerson Mnangagwa has the erroneous assumption that sponsoring defections, cajoling them to jump ship and join ZANU PF will translate to mass exodus of loyal opposition supporters who have suffered the brunt of a repressive and human rights violating security system.
ZANU PF will be disappointed. Those who defect are nothing but career politicians. Men and women who are sellouts to the struggle against tyranny.
They don’t serve the people. The defections only serve to brighten their colors, colors of betrayal.
The people in their respective constituencies, most of them who suffered from Zanu Pf exclusionary arm twisting tactics such as partisan distribution of food, will not suddenly follow the defectors.
Communities are yet to heal from these divisive and coercive machinations, and joining ZANU PF, following the traitors because they, the defectors love money or power the people denied them through Congress is ample testimony.
ZANU PF thinks that Zimbabweans have intelligence of donkeys, as such, a capture of local urban government operations such as water supply and refuse collection will be such an avenue for a landslide victory, come the 2023 elections. Zimbabweans are well aware of the economic mismanagement and rot that had been presided over by ZANU PF. The people know that ZANU PF flaunts their wealth in their faces, meant for them. For instance, Chiwenga’s brazen opulence of having a mansion valued in millions of American dollars, at the same time being a minister of health running a broken health system, without critical drugs, equipment and infrastructure, to the extent of seeking Chinese medical attention is proof that ZANU PF attempts to capture the local government operations are vain and satisfyingly, futile.
A president who gives a permit to colonial Chinese exploit, without recourse or conscience, natural resources of communities in Hwange is an example of ZANU PF insincerity and lack of empathy for the common and no longer unusual or sacred suffering of Zimbabweans under the yoke of Zimbabweans. The same president who gives more than $20000 USD to a foreign country for construction of a school in a foreign country, while neglecting run down and dilapidated rural schools infrastructure, is the president Zimbabweans know, hence their choice in the people centered opposition, their choice that ZANU PF thinks it can circumvent, by capturing the operations of urban councils.
The people know better, the opposition remains unfazed.
Age limits and so called Patriot bills targeting the opposition, seeking genuine change that is pro-people is another bout of ZANU PF plans destined to miscarry spectacularly. For one, there is nothing patriotic about ZANU PF. There is nothing patriotic about a president who hires a private jet while people are dying in large numbers in hospitals owing to lack of crucial equipment. There is nothing patriotic about a president who has a stake in a company that removes people from their ancestral lands for profit not is there anything patriotic about a first family that awards itself a multi-million tender, unprodecurally at that. ZANU PF has no grounds to legitimately bar the opposition from contesting elections it is favored to win, that having said, ZANU PF is the most unpatriotic collective in history of politics.
In conclusion, all of ZANU PF attempts to derail the opposition have hit the amazing brick wall of opposition resilience, supported by an unwavering public, that is no longer largely apathetic, hence the barrage of donkey brained schemes by ZANU PF. The opposition will continue to be the people’s choice of their consent, and the same opposition will remain the sole custodian of popular will and legitimacy.
Tinashe Sambiri| The bail application for MDC Alliance Youth Assembly leaders, Hon Joana Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri has been postponed to Wednesday.
ZINASU leader Takudzwa Ngadziore’s bail application has also been postponed to Wednesday.
MDC Alliance and Human Rights defenders have denounced the persecution of political activists in Zimbabwe.
Read MDC Alliance Statement below:
Hon Joana Mamombe Cecilia Chimbiri and Takudzwa Ngadziore whose bail appeals were set to be heard today before Justice Chitapi, will go back to Chikurubi Female Prison and Harare Remand Prison after their matters were postponed to Wednesday.
The trio represented by Charles Kwaramba, @rose_hanzi @bamujm & Tinashe Chinopfukutwa of @ZLHRLawyers filed appeals at High Court against Harare Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro’s decision to deny them bail on charges of convening or partaking in a gathering during national lockdown. https:
They are accused of issuing & reading a press statement outside Harare Magistrates Court denouncing the arrest of @MakomboreroH & calling for the dismissal of @PoliceZimbabwe boss Godwin Matanga.
THE SNAKE THAT SLITHERED INTO HON JOANA MAMOMBE AND YOUTH LEADER CECILIA CHIMBIRI’S CELL AT CHIKURUBI EPITOMISES ZANUPF SATANISM, MDC ALLIANCE NAMIBIA ECHOES.
15 MARCH 2021
In the Christian Tradition, Satan (in the guise of a serpent) instigated the fall of mankind by tricking Eve into breaking God’s command. The serpent was/is a symbol of evil power and chaos from the underworld. In addition, the serpent is a universal and complex epitome of death , destruction , evil or poison. To prove Zanupf Satanists’ undoubted sadist role in planting the snake in the gallant daughters’ hell hole cell, long-mouthed Zanupf’s clueless Presidential Spokesperson George Charamba posted on his twitter handle, “Yanga ichitsvaga jecha rekukandirira!!! Chinja iwe !!!” This wild celebration on the use of satanic weapons to torture and create artificial psychosocial problems must be resisted with equal measure.
Mdc Alliance Namibia is infuriated by the incessant political persecution of its leadership and membership who are not criminals but advocates of socio-economic transformation. Hon Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri, Cde Makomborero Haruzivishe, Takudzwa Ngadziore, Chiriga only to mention the most tortured at the hands of a rogue Harare regime must be released unconditionally since they are mere prisoners of conscience. We condemn the use of snakes to further intimidate and harass patriotic Zimbabweans who are simply demanding freedom of expression and association. How can Zanupf ban by-elections and press conferences when their party and their surrogates are holding rallies willy nilly? We demand an end to command politics where selective application or weaponisation of the law has become a national religion for Zanupf and their surrogates (little boys and girls).
Moreover, we are quite aware that these Zanupf harassers exploit stressful traumas or shocks to break the resolve of our leaders to confront senseless looting and gross misgovernance. We absolutely condemn their monkey tactics of Mind-reading, Total Surveillance, Body-mind control and Dream-manipulation and we are clear and resolute that no kind of torture will neither deter nor break the resolution of our leaders to converge for complete change. Mdc Alliance Namibia is cognisant of the need for solidarity in its various forms since it is a core value in Social Democracy. We shall never tire to soldier on with the national democratic revolution. Zanupf must keep on hallucinating that they will one day decimate the People’s Agenda, Agenda 2021.
Furthermore, as a district that subscribes to the change that delivers, we urge Zanupf- controlled prison officers and security agents to treat political prisoners presuming that they are innocent until proven otherwise and should not be tortured to silence their loud voices scathing stomach politics practised by Zanupf terrorists. We continue to ponder how someone appears to be celebrating the torturing of two patriotic citizens(young women) using a snake, this ridiculous and nonsensical ! Mdc Alliance Namibia urges all Zimbabweans across the globe to peacefully register their outrage demanding the freedom of Hon Joana Mamombe and all incarcerated political prisoners. We are all prisoners! It’s now imperative for us to converge for the change that liberates our people.
In a nutshell, Zanupf Satanists must realise that no weapon of destruction shall aid them to perpetuate poverty on the innocent citizens. Not even a snake shall erase the revolutionary appetite to bring constitutional democracy in Zimbabwe. We are determined to win Zimbabwe for change. As if the abductions, sexual harassment, incessant arbitrary arrests and all forms of torture , Zanupf still thinks that snakes will break the fighting spirit of the gallant democratic fighters. Never in a 1000 years shall that happen, victory is certain with participatory democracy, dangerous freedom, endurance , dedication and commitment to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of the liberation struggle.
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC MDC Alliance Youth Assembly national spokesperson, Stephen Sarkozy Chuma has urged young people to resist the allocation of land to idle POLAD members.
POLAD is seen as a platform meant to authenticate Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s stolen electoral victory.
Chuma urged youths to demand land…
“It’s high time we demand land as youths.
We must resist POLAD pigs from having farms at the expense of citizens,” Chuma wrote on Twitter.
Tinashe Sambiri| The bail application for MDC Alliance Youth Assembly leaders, Hon Joana Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri has been postponed to Wednesday.
ZINASU leader Takudzwa Ngadziore’s bail application has also been postponed to Wednesday.
MDC Alliance and Human Rights defenders have denounced the persecution of political activists in Zimbabwe.
Read MDC Alliance Statement below:
Hon Joana Mamombe Cecilia Chimbiri and Takudzwa Ngadziore whose bail appeals were set to be heard today before Justice Chitapi, will go back to Chikurubi Female Prison and Harare Remand Prison after their matters were postponed to Wednesday.
The trio represented by Charles Kwaramba, @rose_hanzi @bamujm & Tinashe Chinopfukutwa of @ZLHRLawyers filed appeals at High Court against Harare Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro’s decision to deny them bail on charges of convening or partaking in a gathering during national lockdown. https:
They are accused of issuing & reading a press statement outside Harare Magistrates Court denouncing the arrest of @MakomboreroH & calling for the dismissal of @PoliceZimbabwe boss Godwin Matanga.
By Valerie Karimakwenda MDC Alliance UK And Ireland Youth Assembly Organising Secretary
Violence, unleashed by ZANU PF, to force Zimbabweans to give it legitimacy, through the ballot box, from as early 2000s has failed dismally.
So did other machinations of ZANU PF, such as lawfare, state capture, a resistance to devolution, conjoining of the three arms of the State, partisan distribution of desperately needed food, among others.
The opposition, thanks to its remarkably resilience, it has trounced all ZANU PF efforts to evolve into a one party state.
Defections by disillusioned opposition officials, attempts to capture and influence urban local services and their subsequent, will be naturally abortive.
They will miscarry on the basis of the fact that, the political apathy that ZANU PF rode at the expense of economic development and growth is now exhausted, hence the desperate attempts stated above.
ZANU PF under Emmerson Mnangagwa has the erroneous assumption that sponsoring defections, cajoling them to jump ship and join ZANU PF will translate to mass exodus of loyal opposition supporters who have suffered the brunt of a repressive and human rights violating security system.
ZANU PF will be disappointed. Those who defect are nothing but career politicians. Men and women who are sellouts to the struggle against tyranny.
They don’t serve the people. The defections only serve to brighten their colors, colors of betrayal.
The people in their respective constituencies, most of them who suffered from Zanu Pf exclusionary arm twisting tactics such as partisan distribution of food, will not suddenly follow the defectors.
Communities are yet to heal from these divisive and coercive machinations, and joining ZANU PF, following the traitors because they, the defectors love money or power the people denied them through Congress is ample testimony.
ZANU PF thinks that Zimbabweans have intelligence of donkeys, as such, a capture of local urban government operations such as water supply and refuse collection will be such an avenue for a landslide victory, come the 2023 elections. Zimbabweans are well aware of the economic mismanagement and rot that had been presided over by ZANU PF. The people know that ZANU PF flaunts their wealth in their faces, meant for them. For instance, Chiwenga’s brazen opulence of having a mansion valued in millions of American dollars, at the same time being a minister of health running a broken health system, without critical drugs, equipment and infrastructure, to the extent of seeking Chinese medical attention is proof that ZANU PF attempts to capture the local government operations are vain and satisfyingly, futile.
A president who gives a permit to colonial Chinese exploit, without recourse or conscience, natural resources of communities in Hwange is an example of ZANU PF insincerity and lack of empathy for the common and no longer unusual or sacred suffering of Zimbabweans under the yoke of Zimbabweans. The same president who gives more than $20000 USD to a foreign country for construction of a school in a foreign country, while neglecting run down and dilapidated rural schools infrastructure, is the president Zimbabweans know, hence their choice in the people centered opposition, their choice that ZANU PF thinks it can circumvent, by capturing the operations of urban councils.
The people know better, the opposition remains unfazed.
Age limits and so called Patriot bills targeting the opposition, seeking genuine change that is pro-people is another bout of ZANU PF plans destined to miscarry spectacularly. For one, there is nothing patriotic about ZANU PF. There is nothing patriotic about a president who hires a private jet while people are dying in large numbers in hospitals owing to lack of crucial equipment. There is nothing patriotic about a president who has a stake in a company that removes people from their ancestral lands for profit not is there anything patriotic about a first family that awards itself a multi-million tender, unprodecurally at that. ZANU PF has no grounds to legitimately bar the opposition from contesting elections it is favored to win, that having said, ZANU PF is the most unpatriotic collective in history of politics.
In conclusion, all of ZANU PF attempts to derail the opposition have hit the amazing brick wall of opposition resilience, supported by an unwavering public, that is no longer largely apathetic, hence the barrage of donkey brained schemes by ZANU PF. The opposition will continue to be the people’s choice of their consent, and the same opposition will remain the sole custodian of popular will and legitimacy.
Tinashe Sambiri| MDC Alliance has lost a veteran of the struggle for democracy, Forget Hlomani.
Hlomani was a dedicated party cadre who was based in Chipinge, according to former Movement for Democratic Change Change Youth Assembly chairperson, Happymore Chidziva.
Chidziva described Hlomani’s death as a huge blow to the MDC Alliance family.
“I am so saddened by the news that one of my dear friends in struggle from Chipinge South has died Forget Dread Hlomani.
He was a fighter and a true leader in the struggle for democratisation of Zimbabwe.
Forget my dear brother leader rest in power till we meet again kurikuda kwaMwari,” Chidziva wrote on Facebook.
Zanu-PF has stepped up preparations for primary elections to elect candidates for by-elections in the three parliamentary seats that were left vacant in Mashonaland East province.
This is despite that government last year banned the holding of by-elections citing COVID-19 restrictions, although the World Health Organisation had given a go-ahead for holding of elections.
The three vacant constituencies are Marondera Central, Marondera East and Murewa South.
Several other seats countrywide are also vacant after the MDC-T recalled MDC Alliance MPs and councillors.
While the Zanu-PF party is yet to announce the dates for the primaries, the seats which its members are already campaigning for in Mashonaland East were left vacant following the death of former Transport minister Joel Biggie Matiza who was MP for Murewa South, while the Marondera Central seat fell vacant after MDC Alliance MP Caston Matewu was recalled and the Marondera East seat fell vacant after the death of Patrick Chidhakwa.
There are reports that during the Zanu-PF provincial co-ordinating committee (PCC) meeting held in Marondera recently, it was resolved that there was need to begin the hunt for potential candidates.
Zanu-PF acting provincial chairperson Michael Madanha yesterday said the party was yet to set a date for the by-elections.
“People have been campaigning, we are moving around telling them that they have to wait for the party leadership to set a date for the by-elections. That is the position. For now, as a province, we are busy with endorsing the recently-elected DCC structures. We have done so in Mutoko, Mudzi, Goromonzi and Marondera districts. Today we are in Murewa and this week we will be through,” Madanha said.
A total of eight candidates are likely to participate in the Marondera East by-election. In Murewa South, Zanu-PF top officials like provincial women’s league boss Lyn Gororo, Nyasha Masoka, Josphat Tanga, Michael Chifamba and the late Matiza’s rival, Noah Mangondo are reportedly on the ground campaigning.
In Marondera Central, educationist Cleopas Kundiona and former MP Lawrence Katsiru are expected to renew their rivalry during the same elections.
Civic society groups have been pressuring government to lift the ban on by-elections.-newsday
By A Correspondent- Police are investigating a case in which unknown people reportedly broke into the office of Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo over the weekend at Mt Pleasant Business Park.
The motive behind the said break-in is still unknown and investigations are now underway to establish if any crucial documents or property are missing.
After the disturbing incident, Justice Matanda Moyo took an early break and decided to work away from the offices. Justice Matanda-Moyo confirmed the development.
“Yes, there was a break in at my office. Investigations are in progress,” she said.
Sources told reporters that preliminary investigations revealed that there was an opening on the ceiling, inside the office, an indication that if there was indeed a break-in, the burglars would have entered through the roof. When reporters visited ZACC offices yesterday morning, detectives were pacing around the building trying to establish the circumstances of the matter. Some were putting on white dust coats. The premises are manned by the ZRP whose guardroom is right at the entrance to the offices.
ZACC spokesman Commissioner John Makamure said police were still investigating.
“Police investigations are underway. We cannot say much for now,” he said.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he was still to get details of the case from the relevant section of the police.
“I am still to get details of the case from Criminal Investigation Department. Once I get the information, I will revert to you,” he said.
Justice Matanda-Moyo’s office is located at ZACC’s headquarters at Mt Pleasant Business Park in Harare. In the past years, a number of offices belonging to high profile officials in the justice delivery system have been broken into.
In September 2014, burglars broke into the late former Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku’s chambers at the Constitutional Court at Mashonganyika Building and stole a computer and a television set.
Police had to deploy more guards to the premises and security was tightened to prevent further burglaries.-statemedia
The avenging spirit of a man who was murdered nearly 50 years ago is demanding more cattle after the family of the murderer paid 26 cattle as compensation.
The alleged spirit of Chizemo is reportedly venting its anger on the Mashairenyi family in Mutambara, Chimanimani, following his murder by Erick Mashairenyi in 1974.
Mashairenyi told Chief Mutambara’s court last week on Saturday that he, together with his friend only identified as Musoni, murdered Chizemo.
He said they killed Chizemo after discovering that he was in love with his (Mashairenyi)’s sister.
Mashairenyi said he handed over 18 beasts to the Chizemos in the 1980s in a bid to appease the avenging spirit.
That was after the then Chief Mutambara, the late Sam Mutambara, had instructed him to do so, and not the avenging spirit.
Mashairenyi’s son, Tapuwa, said when the avenging spirit began manifesting in the 1990s, his father developed a mental illness and left home to stay on the streets.
Tapuwa said the family found out that Chizemo’s avenging spirit was behind his father’s mental illness in 2009 when the spirit demanded eight more beasts.
When the top-up was done, Mashairenyi recovered from the mental illness.
But twelve years later, the avenging spirit has begun making fresh demands of two more beasts.
Meanwhile, Tapuwa begged Chief Mutambara to summon the Musoni family so that they will pay the other beast to the Chizemos.
However, Chief Mutambara ordered the Mashairenyis to engage the Musonis and chart a way forward on how to appease the avenging spirit.
Tapuwa claimed that Chizemo’s avenging spirit was affecting his marriages as he has been divorced several times.
But the deceased’s daughter, Sarah Chizemo, said Tapuwa’s collapsed marriages were caused by his philandering rather than by the avenging spirit.
She said: He has had six wives and all of them left because of his womanising antics. Have you ever heard of an avenging spirit that causes promiscuity? They should just pay up what they owe our family and not beat about the bush.
Why would we accept our father’s spirit back into the family when they haven’t paid everything to us? We need what is due to us before conducting the rituals.
Mashairenyi and his friend killed my father and I grew up without a father. I should have been a teacher leading a good life, but I failed to do so because there was no one to support my dream.-Manica Post
A lone gunman reportedly robbed Puma service station in Marondera central business district (CBD) of US$1 000 cash on Saturday.
The suspect who has been identified as male, reportedly entered the office at around 8:45 pm, holding a black plastic bag.
The robber allegedly pulled a gun out of the plastic bag and aimed it at two employees who were on duty.
He ordered the duo to surrender all the money they had, and they gave him US$1 000.
The suspect then threatened to shoot anyone who tried to follow him, before he melted into the darkness.
Mashonaland East police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza confirmed the incident and appealed for information that may lead to the suspect’s arrest.-statemedia
By A Correspondent- Unknown people broke into the office of Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission (ZACC) chairperson Justice Loice Matanda Moyo over the weekend at Mt Pleasant Business Park.
Justice Matanda-Moyo confirmed the development on Monday morning.
She said:
Yes, there was a break-in at my office. Investigations are in progress.
The motive for the break-in could not be immediately ascertained but investigations are now underway to establish if any important documents or property are missing.
Justice Matanda Moyo took an early break and decided to work away from the offices following the break-in.-statemedia
The MDC Alliance Assembly of Women would like to congratulate the National Spokesperson of the party, Adv Fadzayi Mahere, for being recognized as one of the Iconic Women of the last decade in Zimbabwe.
Adv Mahere was named alongside various influential women from different walks of life who defined the last decade in the fight for equality, feminism and women’s rights.
The announcement was made by Business Connect who celebrated the International Women’s Day by acknowledging the economic, social, political and cultural achievements of women in various spheres of influence.
We are proud to have Adv Mahere as part of our movement. She has displayed a high level of professionalism and capacity by articulating pertinent issues and speaking eloquently on behalf of the party and the people of Zimbabwe.
She is an inspiration and role model to many. We believe in her and wish her well in all her endeavours.
She has demonstrated that glass ceilings can easily be broken and the sky is the limit. We are proud to be associated with this tine achievement.
We are grateful to the People’s President, Adv Nelson Chamisa, for having faith and trust in appointing Adv Mahere.
State-owned Mobile Network Operator (MNO) NetOne has issued a statement in response to High Court judge Justice Webster Chinamora’s ruling that reinstated Lazarus Muchenje as CEO.
NetOne’s statement reads as follows:
NetOne Cellular (Private) Limited suspended L. Muchenje from employment on 21 February 2020 and instituted disciplinary proceedings against L. Muchenje on the 2nd of March 2020.
This was after various audits had unearthed serious cases of abuse of office which included purchasing of household furniture for his personal use using company funds, at the time valued at approximately USD600 000.00 as well as the signing of agreements with an offshore company which led to the installation of equipment on NetOne’s network without board approval and without any security clearances.
This equipment had the potential of causing serious national security breaches. Apart from the threats to national security, the contracts that L Muchenje had unlawfully entered into with the offshore company had a potential financial prejudice to NetOne of USD2.24 million.
Muchenje is also facing numerous criminal charges in which he is accused of potentially prejudicing NetOne of at least US$2.6 million and ZWL$10.4 million through unauthorized purchases, awarding himself hefty allowances which are outside his terms of employment, unilaterally awarding himself and his wife holiday stipends, including placing his personal domestic workers on the NetOne payroll and leasing himself a deluxe company house in Harare’s leafy Borrowdale suburb for just a fraction of its market value, further prejudicing the company financially.
According to the charge sheet, in November 2019, “Muchenje allegedly allocated himself and his wife ZWL$895,000 (USD36 000.00) as a holiday allowance although she was not eligible for it.”
Muchenje challenged the disciplinary process in the High Court. On the 8th of July 2020, NetOne Cellular (Private) Limited reinstated L. Muchenje and subsequently terminated his contract of employment on three months’ notice.
He filed an urgent chamber application (L Muchenje vs S. Mutangadura and Others HC 3611/2020) challenging the termination. The urgent chamber application was placed before Hon. Justice Chinamora for hearing.
The judge issued a preservation order which recognized the reinstatement of the employee and ordered the employer not to effect the termination of the contract of employment.
The matter was heard by Justice Chinamora on the 4th of August 2020 and judgment was reserved. NetOne Cellular (Private) Limited made several follow-ups on the ruling through its legal practitioners.
Despite this being an urgent chamber application, by December 2020 the ruling had not been handed down.
NetOne having been seriously prejudiced by the delays in the handing down of the judgment then abandoned the termination of the 9th of July 2020 and reinstated L. Muchenje on the 21st of December 2020 after it was granted approval by His Excellency The President of the Republic of Zimbabwe to terminate L. Muchenje’s contract of employment.
The reinstatement of the 21st of December 2020 meant that the termination that had been challenged by L. Muchenje before Justice Chinamora had been done away with.
After this reinstatement NetOne Cellular (Private) Limited terminated L. Muchenje’s contract of employment. This termination was also challenged by L. Muchenje in the High Court (L. Muchenje vs S. Mutangadura and Others HC 7653/2020).
The application was placed before Justice Muremba who declined jurisdiction on the matter and held that the matter was a labour matter which had to be decided by the Labour Court and not the High Court.
Justice Muremba noted in her ruling that L Muchenje was seeking reinstatement through the back door. This, therefore, means that the ruling that has been handed down by Justice Chinamora is purely academic because it has been overtaken by events.
The termination that was being challenged in the urgent application that was heard by Justice Chinamora on 4 August 2020 was set aside by NetOne leading to the reinstatement of L. Muchenje on the 21st of December 2020.
L Muchenje’s contract was subsequently terminated in December 2020 leading to the ruling by Justice Muremba.
This means that there is no judgment that has been issued by the High Court nor the Labour Court setting aside the December 2020 termination of L. Muchenje’s contract of employment following the approval of the termination by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe E.D. Mnangagwa.
L Muchenje’s contract of employment remains terminated.
Prosecutor general Kumbirai Hodzi says he had no reason to return to law school as recently advised by High Court judge Tawanda Chitapi who had accused the public official of bungling a bail application case involving a notorious armed robber.
Justice Chitapi on Thursday advised the Prosecutor General to go back to law school and familiarise himself with the country’s statutes.
This was after Hodzi had allegedly messed up in a bail appeal in a case involving suspected notorious armed robber, Musa Taj Abdul, his accomplices Rudolph Tapiwa Kanhanga and Godfrey Mupamhanga.
But Hodzi defiantly said his professional training and experience were sufficient to competently discharge his duties.
“I am still very sharp, and I don’t need to go to any law school, like what others have said,” said Hodzi while talking to the media soon after he was vaccinated for Covid-19 at his offices in Harare.
Justice Chitapi last Thursday dismissed Hodzi’s appeal against the case.
The case was granted bail by High Court judge Benjamin Chikowero last December.
Justice Chitapi said he was stunned by Hodzi’s failure to comprehend legal fundamentals when making an appeal.
He also said it had worryingly become the norm for officials at the National Prosecuting Authority to rush to courts armed with poor applications.
Hodzi was appointed PG following public interviews which were held by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) in 2019.
This was despite coming fifth out of the 10 candidates for the top job.
He had failed to score 70% mark which was required in the interviews.
The PG was then handpicked by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had rejected three front runners namely Calvin Mantsebo, Tinomudaishe Chinyoka and Misheck Hogwe.-newsday
Police are investigating a case in which unknown people reportedly broke into the office of Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo over the weekend at Mt Pleasant Business Park.
The motive behind the said break-in is still unknown and investigations are now underway to establish if any crucial documents or property are missing.
After the disturbing incident, Justice Matanda Moyo took an early break and decided to work away from the offices.
Justice Matanda-Moyo confirmed the development.
“Yes, there was a break in at my office. Investigations are in progress,” she said.
Sources told The Herald that preliminary investigations revealed that there was an opening on the ceiling, inside the office, an indication that if there was indeed a break-in, the burglars would have entered through the roof.
When The Herald visited ZACC offices yesterday morning, detectives were pacing around the building trying to establish the circumstances of the matter. Some were putting on white dust coats.
The premises are manned by the ZRP whose guardroom is right at the entrance to the offices.
ZACC spokesman Commissioner John Makamure said police were still investigating.
“Police investigations are underway. We cannot say much for now,” he said.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he was still to get details of the case from the relevant section of the police.
“I am still to get details of the case from Criminal Investigation Department. Once I get the information, I will revert to you,” he said.
Justice Matanda-Moyo’s office is located at ZACC’s headquarters at Mt Pleasant Business Park in Harare.
In the past years, a number of offices belonging to high profile officials in the justice delivery system have been broken into.
In September 2014, burglars broke into the late former Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku’s chambers at the Constitutional Court at Mashonganyika Building and stole a computer and a television set.
Police had to deploy more guards to the premises and security was tightened to prevent further burglaries.
A Zimbabwean woman based in the United Kingdom (UK) was arrested after she tried to defraud an insurance company, Aviva of nearly £400 000 by claiming her husband had died, City A.M. reports.
Thuile Bhebhe, 51, reported that her husband had died in Zimbabwe in August 2016, submitting false documents to her insurer, Aviva, in order to substantiate her claim.
However, discrepancies in the paperwork submitted by Bhebhe raised Aviva’s suspicions, leading them to carry out further enquiries into the case.
Investigations established that Bhebhe’s husband was alive and well, and in fact, working his shift as a nurse at a London hospital on the day he was alleged to have died.
Bhebhe was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on 15 March 2021, to two years’ imprisonment suspended for two years and 100 hours of community service, with a twenty-five-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.
She had previously pleaded guilty at the City of London Magistrates Court in November 2018.
Detective Constable James Rafiq, from the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, said:
Mrs Bhebhe tried to exploit Aviva and steal nearly £400,000 by shamelessly claiming her husband had died.
Although she has shown remorse, these fraudulent actions have tainted years of commendable work as NHS nurses for both her and her husband.
Jacqueline Kerwood, Claims Governance Manager for Individual Protection at Aviva, said: This was a particularly audacious act of dishonesty by Mrs Bhebhe – in attempting to claim nearly £400,000 by falsely claiming her own husband’s death.
Fortunately, it was quickly detected by our expert investigators, and we’re pleased to see justice has been done.
This is also very good news for our genuine customers, who ultimately bear the cost of fraud through their premiums.
In this case, however, it’s Mrs Bhebhe who will pay the cost for her crime.
HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been cornered to explain a secret land deal with controversial millionaire businessman Ken Sharpe after a Harare MP and two others went to court to get it reversed.
Allan Norman Markhan, the MDC Alliance MP for Harare North, is one of the litigants who want the land deal between City of Harare and controversial businessman Ken Sharpe – apparently forced through by local government minister July Moyo – to be reversed on the grounds that it was not only illegal but a “grand theft” of land belonging to the people of Zimbabwe.
The deal involved 273 hectares of prime land in Harare’s affluent area of Pomona. The land is worth US$205 million, but was allegedly undervalued to a mere US$20 million.
Court papers filed on March 10 show that after a series of litigations between the City of Harare and Sharpe’s Augur Investments, a secret Deed of Settlement was executed on May 28, 2018, at the behest of Moyo who also claimed he had Mnangagwa’s authority. Herbert Gomba, the then mayor of Harare, signed for the local authority.
Mnangagwa is cited as the ninth respondent in the court filing.
The deal gave Sharpe’s Augur Investments dubious and illegal immunity from litigation over disputed vast tracts of land he acquired through the Airport Road Construction project which itself was not completed. There is no evidence to suggest that Sharpe paid for the land he was given by Harare.
As the local authority was trying to regain the land through the courts, Moyo, representing himself and Mnangagwa signed a secret deal offering Augur and its associated companies, directors and representatives immunity from past, present and future litigation over the land by the government, council or any third parties.
The deal was signed without the knowledge of the full council and Gomba was not authorised to sign it on behalf of the local authority, lawyers for Markhan, housing activist Jacob Pikicha and the Tavonga Savings Scheme say.
The Deed of Settlement partly reads: “Upon signature of this Deed of Settlement, the Minister (July Moyo), City of Harare and Augur undertake to withdraw all and any legal actions and proceedings, both civil criminal, pending against each other before the courts.
“The minister undertakes to instruct the Coghlan, Welsh and Guest to release the title deeds to stand number 654 Pomona Township to Augur. Immediately thereafter, the Minister and/or the President shall sign all and any documents necessary to facilitate and effect the transfer of the said stand to Augur or its nominee, Doorex Properties within 14 days.
“The COH guarantees that it has the requisite authority to sign this Deed of Settlement. The minister (July Moyo) warrants that he has the requisite authority from the Government of Zimbabwe and the President to sign this Deed of Settlement as well as all the necessary documents involved in the transfer of Stand 654 Pomona Township to Augur.
“Further to the above the above, the ministry and COH, in the spirit of Zimbabwe being open for business and to support Augur in its continued investments, undertake, subject to statutory compliance, to expedite the issuance of all and any necessary licences and permits to Augur and its related companies for any of its developments which it is carrying out in Harare.”
Augur has been allocated nearly 700 hectares of land in Harare, sparking dozens of legal disputes.
The secret Deed of Settlement was reached after COH won several cases against Sharpe but the businessman then went for arbitration where Justice November Mutshiya ordered that Augur be compensated to the tune of US$15 million. The COH appealed and won again at the High Court.
This prompted Augur to approach the Supreme Court but they withdrew the case and before the council knew what was happening, a Deed of Settlement was signed with the parties claiming that they had reached a resolution.
Markhan, Tavonga Savings Scheme and Pikicha argue that the Deed of Settlement is not only illegal but a clear case of theft of prime council land.
In their affidavit, the three applicants want an order that the Deed of Settlement be set aside citing a number of reasons. The affidavit partly reads: “The signatories to that agreement namely Herbert Gomba and Hosiah Chisango (COH), who purported to act on behalf of the City of Harare did not have any authority from the City of Harare. The honourable Minister July Moyo lacked authority from the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Deed of Settlement itself is against the public policy of Zimbabwe, it being founded on illegal and extremely corrupt set of facts.”
They want an order “setting aside the transfer of the property covered in the Deed of Settlement to the 7th respondent (Doorex Properties) being a certain 273,2 hectares of land called Stand 654 Pomona Township.”
The applicants also want the original agreement between the City of Harare and Augur for the development of the Harare Airport Road declared null and void on the basis that besides the illegal signatures on the Deed of Settlement, the deal did not go through tender and did not comply with Zimbabwe’s Investment laws. They say in any case, the deal conditions were never fulfilled.
They added: “Further the agreement represented a complete fraud, a massive land heist against the people of Zimbabwe. The Deed of Settlement is also a nullity because the agreement contained provisions that purport to grant criminal immunity to Augur Investments and its associates. To that extent, it is an agreement that offends the laws of Zimbabwe and in any event it’s an agreement contra to public morality.
“There is no other reasonable explanation as to why the Deed of Settlement was signed other than corruption and an attempt to deceive the residents of Harare and the people of Zimbabwe.”
By A Correspondent- A Gokwe man from Nembudziya’s Mutora stands is living in fear after he was terrorised by alleged members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) for reporting a case of torture by members of the army.
Shadreck Muchena, who was assaulted by uniformed army officials at Nembudziya business centre on February 1 this year, was last week assisted by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) to pursue his case after several attempts to have the docket finalised by the police hit a brickwall.
Police had been dragging their feet to conduct an identification parade.
Muchena, according to a medical affidavit gleaned by NewsDay, sustained injuries to his right ear, nose and throat after an iron bar and the butt of a gun were used to assault him.
“I had gone to Nembudziya to buy maize-meal when two soldiers approached us. My cousin managed to escape, but they charged towards me and started beating me, kicking me on the ribs and backside before they took me to a police base where the torture continued,” Muchena said.
He said he was later released without charge, but from February 2-8 he tried to pursue the case to no avail.
Some police officers allegedly coerced him to withdraw the charges against the army officers citing challenges in investigating such cases.
Muchena, a Gokwe ZimRights member, then approached the human rights organisation which helped him to pursue the case – numbers RRB4641695 and CR 07/02/21.
Muchena’s lawyer, Kenias Shonhai from ZimRights said an identification parade willnow be conducted.
But Muchena alleges that CIO officials (names withheld) were threatening him for seeking help from ZimRights.
“We want to remind the State and all its institutions that every citizen has rights, the right to legal representation by a lawyer of choice is one such right. As a human rights organisation we are saying no to impunity, every perpetrators of human rights violations must be brought to book without fear or favour. The police and the army should respect and protect the rights of citizens,” Shonhai said.
By A Correspondent- Zesa Holdings executive board chairperson Sydney Gata yesterday struggled for answers after he was cornered by the Tendai Bitiled Public Accounts Committee to explain how the parastatal secured a US$35 million loan from the Afreximbank without parliamentary approval.
Besides the opaque US$35m loan deal, the committee also questioned the awarding of the Gwanda solar project to Wicknell Chivayo, PME transformer deal as well as Sakunda Holdings’ Dema Power project.
Zesa was supposed to receive transformers from an Indian supplier named PME, but the company failed to supply despite being paid in full.
Gata admitted that members of his delegation were not competent to respond to most of the questions as they were not involved when the deals were sealed.
“We have noted the questions down and we shall respond in writing. The managers who were supposed to respond to those questions are not here but we can research the facts and write to this honourable committee in response to these questions,” Gata said.
In response, Biti said: “I’m disappointed with the management of Zesa for failing to appear before this committee on a matter which they knew they had to answer on specific matters, especially the matter of the 2019 forensic audit report.
“We express disappointment that Zesa did not come armed with the relevant personnel that was present at that time to help answer the committee’s specific questions.
“Our disappointment is exacerbated by the fact that you brought a large team to the committee and that gave us hope that we have an arsenal, but you failed to give us answers. So we hope that this won’t happen in the future.”
“We adjourn this meeting to next week Monday same time,” Biti said as he warned Gata and his team against absconding the meeting.
By A Correspondent- The Parliament of Zimbabwe has launched an investigation into how Sakunda Holdings and Intratek were unceremoniously awarded tenders by the local power utility, ZESA.
Sakunda Holdings which is owned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s friend Kudakwashe Tagwirei was awarded a multi-million-dollar tender to construct a 200MW diesel power plant in Dema even without placing a bid.
The tender was initially won by APR Energy Holdings, a United States-based firm in 2015, but was later inexplicably rescinded and handed over to Sakunda, who in turn subcontracted a losing bidder, Aggreko, as a partner.
Meanwhile, Intratek which is owned by ex-convict Wicknell Chivayo was awarded the 100MW Gwanda solar power plant tender albeit the company did not meet all the minimum requirements.
Committee chairman Tendai Biti, a legislator for Harare East, said they were also digging into other underhand dealings involving Zesa following a 2019 audit that alleged endemic corruption at the power utility.
He said:
Today as Public Accounts Committee we began our work on Zesa. We will be examining issues to do with the Gwanda Intratek solar project, the Dema Sakunda Diesel Power Plant, the Zesa technology transfer agreement with India’s PME, and the US$35m Afrexim-Zesa loan, among other issues.
He was speaking after Zesa executive chairman Sidney Gata on Monday had appeared before legislators for questioning and gave him until Friday to avail all the pertinent details on the deals.
Gata, however, argued that individuals who were better positioned to respond to some of the questions were no longer with the power utility promising nevertheless that he will research the facts and provide answers.
He also told lawmakers that the Dema diesel project had since been abandoned.
Zimbabwe is reported to have lost billions of dollars through corruption and analysts believe the country could have been one of the fastest-growing economies on the continent.
Leonard Koni| The year 2021 started at a very sad note. A year which everyone thought was going to breath a new lease of life has turned into a very bleak one coupled with myriad of challenges.
As long as we continue with politics of tribalism, sexism, regionalism, patronage and hatred surely Zimbabwe will never be successful and it will take more years to heal the nation. The country is so much divided on tribal political grounds. What shall we do? “`Todii Senzenjani?“` Trojan horses are prevalent and numerous presently considering the current scenario. The purported new dispensation was simply another illusion and a fake for our beloved nation since the desired trajectory was never achieved.
Its failure was imprinted onto the walls for everyone to see. President Mnangagwa is not a leader of par excellence and he lacks that aura sound of leadership. He is not even aware that he is seating or presiding over a shakey government. To be precise President Mnangagwa cannot go it alone. He needs Chamisa in this game.
Teachers are not happy with the stimulus packages they are getting from the state. Nearly all civil servants except the uniformed forces if not the army are the only people happy in the government. The situation has now reached a tipping point.
The struggle of the people of Zimbabwe has nearly reached the fulcrum of the crux. People are increasingly becoming impatient even the diehards.
The ordinary people who survive on crossing the borders are still stuck in the inferno. The cross border traders mostly survive on trading between South Africa and Zimbabwe and the situation is now unbearable.
The so called system under the crocodile has been exposed of its shortcomings. Compliments to the MDC-Alliance which is always keeping the ruling party at its toes.
Zimbabwe is such a very rich country but it is being mismanaged.
A country that expressly harnesses and utilizes its mineral resources for the betterment of their citizenry has advanced in this modern cosmos for a very gòod example the once troubled Rwanda.
The opposition MDC Alliance seems to be the only party which has people at heart unlike the political street urchin MDC- T which was born out of a Zanu PF wedlock.
We have noticed the efforts from the MDC-Alliance leaders on the 12 000 people of Chilonga who are facing eviction to pave way to a farmer who wants to grow lucerne for his cattle.
What President Emmerson Mnangagwa don’t understand is that power is like morning dew. It evaporates as the temperature rises. His dialogue with political failures grouped under the umbrella of Polad jas failed to produce the fruits.
There is need for a genuine political dialogue in the country not this defunct Polad. The only meaningful dialogue must be between Nelson Chamisa who garnered more than two million votes. Any political dialogue without MDC-Alliance non other than plitical grandstanding.
The cowards Douglas Mwonzora and Thokozanu Khupe who have betrayed the people’s struggle and went to bed with the devil, seem to be losing the steam and the verve. The Douglas Mwonzora’s web of Zanu PF capture has been unravelled and the people are ready to place him into his political oblivion.
They have been unmasked and exposed. The freedom train is ready to resist any form of oppression coming in disguise as an opposition party yet it is a surrogate of the ruling party. The government must speed up the process of rolling out vaccines to make sure that the choked democratic space is open up and end these lockdowns
By A Correspondent- Nine members of the secessionist Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) will appear in court today for bail application following their arrest last week after they protested outside Bulawayo Central Police Station.
The activists sang anti-government songs as they burnt tyres, and blocked the driveway into the police station before threatening to storm the building.
They were protesting over the alleged harassment of their leader, Mqondisi Moyo following a night raid at his house by armed police with the intention to arrest him. Moyo, who was not present during the raid, has been quoted in the media saying he will not surrender himself to the police.
Police fired gunshots to disperse the activists before arresting nine of them on charges of public violence and holding an unsanctioned demonstration.
They are represented by lawyers from Abammeli Human Rights Lawyers.
“Abammeli has so far deployed three attorneys, Prince Butshe Dube, Nqobani Sithole and Kwanele Mbongeni Nxumalo to represent the #MRP9,” the lawyers’ group said in a statement.
“The lawyers are due to attend to the #MRP9 members’ bail proceedings on Tuesday the 16th March 2021.
“Hopefully the #MRP9 members will be admitted to bail.
“Abammeli will assist with bail deposits as it becomes apparent that they are unable to raise bail money.
“So their call for assistance in that respect will be attended to.”
On Monday, the MRP leader and his followers also clashed with police in Ntabazinduna, Umguza district, Matabeleland North province.
The confrontation emanated from a land dispute between commercial farmer, Brian Davies and Zanu-PF official Floyd Ambrose.
The MRP evicted Ambrose from the disputed farm to pave way for Davies after accusing the former of using his Zanu-PF links to grab the property.
Gunshots were also fired as the confrontation turned violent.-newsday
Cabinet will meet today at 11am to accommodate President Mnangagwa’s prior engagement.
In a statement last night, Secretary for Presidential Communications, Mr Regis Chikowore, said the meeting will be held at the same venue.
“Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr M.J.M. Sibanda, wishes to advise Members of Cabinet that tomorrow’s sitting, Tuesday, 16th March 2021, starts at 11am at the usual venue instead of the earlier advised time in order to accommodate His Excellency the President, E.D Mnangagwa’s prior engagement,” said Mr Chikowore.
The Warriors’ technical team is praying that none of the foreign-based that confirmed availability for Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers duty don’t pick up injuries while playing for their clubs.
Eight players have already been ruled out for the penultimate away Afcon qualifier against Botswana on March 25 as well as the home tie against Zambia four days later.
Kaizer Chiefs forward Khama Billiat has just started light, non-contact training after a lengthy injury layoff and is the latest player to be ruled out for the must-win assignments after his club’s doctors informed the national team that the player will only start contact training on March 22, three days before the match against Botswana.
Other players that have already been ruled out for the crucial encounters are the United Kingdom brigade led by Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba and includes Jordan Zemura (AFC Bournemouth), Tendayi Darikwa (Wigan Athletic), Brendan Galloway (Luton Town), David Moyo (Hamilton Academical) and striker Admiral Muskwe of Wycombe Wanderers.
The UK contingent was forced to withdraw following stringent Covid-19 travel restrictions, which require one to quarantine for 10 days upon return from red zone countries that include Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Warriors manager Wellington Mpandare reported yesterday that the South Africa-based pair of Amazulu central midfielder Butholezwe Ncube and Orlando Pirates striker Terrence Dzukamanja are expected to join camp after recovering from their injuries, Mpandare revealed that they were still in talks with Olympique Lyon for the possible release of Tinotenda Kadewere and another France-based midfielder Marshal Munetsi.
Foreign-based players are expected to start trooping into camp on Saturday, with the last batch expected on March 23.
National senior men’s soccer team coach Warriors’ coach has Zdravko Logarusic, who has now received his work permit, included seven locally-based players, goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda, defenders Shadreck Nyahwa and Carlos Mavhurume, midfield trio of Brian Banda, King Nadolo and Tatenda Tavengwa as well as striker Farau Matare.
“Camp for the crucial Afcon qualifiers has started, with locally-based players and the technical team reporting for duty from Saturday.
“For players that have been called to be on standby, we’ve asked them to self-isolate at home because you never know because some players that are scheduled to come might be forced out due to unseen events,” said Mpandare.
The quartet of Highlanders defender Andrew Mbeba, FC Platinum pair of Kelvin Madzongwe and Ralph Kawondera, as well as Ngezi Platinum’s Qadr Amini is on standby.
Belgium-based Warriors skipper Knowledge Musona and Turkey’s Teenage Hadebe are expected to be among the last players to report for camp late, as they will be in action on Saturday, March 20.
By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s name has been dropped in a messy land scandal involving controversial Ukranian investors who were given vast tracts of prime land in Harare following the intervention of one of his allies.
A High Court application filed by Harare North MP Allan Norman Markham, together with a company called Tavonga Savings Scheme and a Harare resident, Jacob Pikicha, on March 10, which challenges a deed of settlement between Augur Investments and Harare City Council, claimed that Mnangagwa’s name was used in the process of allocating the land, leading to the “corrupt” deal.
The deed of settlement was signed on May 28, 2019 following the alleged intervention of Local Government minister July Moyo, who according to court papers, claimed to have been sent by the President.
It was signed after protracted legal battles between Augur Investments owned by Ken Sharpe, government and Harare City Council (HCC) over land given to the Ukrainian company for its role in the construction of the Robert Mugabe International Airport Road.
Moyo is said to have claimed that Mnangagwa directed him to withdraw criminal charges levelled against Augur Investments, its associated companies, representatives, directors and to grant them impunity.
The applicants are seeking cancellation of the deed of settlement that saw Augur Investments getting a staggering 709,3424 hectares of prime land in the capital.
The MDC Alliance legislator said Moyo, cited as sixth respondent, had no authority to transfer Stand number 654 Pomona Township measuring about 273,29323 hectares to Augur under deed of transfer number 350/2020.
Mnangagwa was cited as the ninth respondent in an application that is set to test his government’s resolve to fight land barons who have grabbed most prime land in major cities and towns using their links with the ruling party and converted it to residential stands for personal gain.
The applicants said although Mnangagwa had “no direct interest in this matter”, he was “cited as such because to the extent that the sixth respondent (Moyo) is concerned, the Minister of Local Government and Public Works purported to dispose of State land, which is vested in the President under the circumstances where legally only the President can dispose of the land.”
“He thus has interest in protecting the law and most importantly protecting the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” the applicants argued.
They added that the deed of settlement represented a “complete fraud, a massive land heist against the people of Zimbabwe in general and the residents of Harare, who saw (vast tracts of land) being siphoned off by Augur Investments, Kenneth Raydon Sharpe, Tatiana Aleshina and Michael Van Blerk, among others without any value and lawful basis.
They want the deal scrapped because former Harare mayor Herbert Gomba, who represented the city council when the agreement was signed, was not authorised by the local authority to act on its behalf.
In 2008, Augur Investments and council signed an agreement for the construction of the then Harare Airport Road, which stipulated that 90% of the costs would be paid in the form of land while 10% of the payment would be in cash.
Augur Investments failed to deliver according to expectations, forcing council to cancel the deal with about 10km of the road having been covered.
Augur Investments was given the contract on the understanding that it would pay US$4 million compensation to a firm known as Fairclot represented by Russell Grant, which previously held the contract.
However, Augur Investments refused to honour the deal even after losing an arbitration and High Court cases as well as Supreme Court appeals.
Augur Investments only agreed to pay the US$4 million in local currency in 2019 after the government issued a controversial statutory instrument converting foreign currency at a 1:1 rate to the United States dollar.
“Pursuant to this, Augur was then provided with massive pieces of land by the City of Harare,” reads the court application.
“Further, contrary to the understanding between the parties, much of the land was actually transferred to Augur Investments despite the absence of certification by the City of Harare director of works and the consulting engineers that work had been done.”
The application is yet to be set down for hearing.
By Dorrothy Moyo | Douglas Mwonzora’s makeshift party was Tuesday morning slapped with a permanent ban on a parliamentary debates Facebook group. The development was confirmed by one of the administrators who circulated the below video.
The development means the entity will not be able to regain entry into the forum again, unless the ban is lifted. Mwonzora has since early last year received ZANU PF backing to assert himself as the legitimate leader of the MDC T party, and has in recent days begun saying he is the real leader of the MDC Alliance, the same party he says does not exist.
Douglas Mwonzora
Mwonzora party permanently banned from Parliament debates Facebook group | IS THIS FAIR? pic.twitter.com/Xypumftsoa
By Jane Mlambo| National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) leader Professor Lovemore Madhuku has responded to damaging reports that members of the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) are demanding farms, diplomatic passports and top of the range cars saying not everyone in the platform is interested in land.
Responding to MDC Alliance vice chairperson Job Sikhala who tagged him on his Twitter post asking if the reports are true, Madhuku said not every POLAD member is interested in farms.
Madhuku said there is no special privilege for any POLAD member to benefit from the land reform process.
“The true position is that there is no special privilege for any in Polad to benefit from the land reform process ahead of others. Polad leaders interested in farming and seeking to benefit from the land reform are applying like any other. Not every Polas leader is interested,” said Madhuku.
The weekly Standard newspaper carried a story that POLAD members had put forward their own list of things they wanted President Emmerson Mnangagwa administration to give them including farms with the Secretary for Justice Virginia Mabhiza reportedly looking into their request.
The issue attracted wide condemnation from the public who felt MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa had been vindicated for claiming that the POLAD platform was only for material things at the expense of national development.
The regime lies to the public many times, I am not convinced @mutami_susan is still alive. If you didn't kill her, why are you failing to show us a live video of her as at today @PoliceZimbabwe@nickmangwana
By A Correspondent | As this week marks one month after Norton MP, Temba Mliswa’s girlfriend was stopped from flying out of Zimbabwe, following her allegations that she possesses knowledge on the terrorists who bombed White City Stadium in June 2018, ZimEye launches a search for her whereabouts. Is she in Zimbabwe or in Australia?
Susan Mutami
This is Brisbane, where Susan Mutami resides and we check today check on her at her usual addresses. This is St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Brisbane, where she could be employed and where her mother, Rabecca works.
Susan herself used to work here as a Care Assistant.
We are told, “she is not here; she has not been seen in several months.”
We cannot reveal the identity of interviewee at the hospital, per their request.
We now head to Princess Alexandra Hospital. Susan Mutami is not here. Sources tell ZimEye she is not here at all.
The Hospital was placed into lockdown after a positive #COVID19 case was detected 3 days ago. But we manage to speak to a source via phone who responds saying:
“For legal purposes. I cannot say much, but the person you are asking for no longer works here,” a female employee tells ZimEye.
It also turns out Susan cannot work there anymore as she was fired over continued absenteeism, the day before she travelled to Zimbabwe last year.
We now turn to Durack, the place where Susan can only come when she arrives into the country. This is where she lives.
Two of Susan’s closest friends tell ZimEye, they do not believe she is anywhere in Australia. “If she comes back into the country she will come here first, ” one of her colleagues says while asking not to be identified due to the political sensitivities around her case in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, as Susan’s mother Rabeccca does not appear willing to speak with journalists, we turn back to Susan herself.
We send her two messages, one becomes, blueticked, the other is still to be opened.
1st message: “Hello Susan. Are you okay? You’ve gone suddenly quiet. Strength to you!”
2nd message: “Many are worried over you. When are you traveling to Australia?”
There is no reply at all, and neither does she pick the phone up, which is not characteristic of her.
As her Zimbabwean phone sounds disconnected, her two Australian numbers all lead to her voicemail boxes. They have been in this state for nearly month.
Where is Susan then, and is she the one who is tweeting on her portal in the last month? A structured content audit of her tweets suggests someone else is publishing the posts. Terms like FDI, and economy do not form her known vocabulary.
When she was stopped from flying out of Zimbabwe on the 18th February, she quickly sought the help of lawyers and began referring journalists to them. Her solicitor last month told ZimEye, “she is alive, she is ok and she is safe.
“I can’t say much due to professional ethics; She will come back to you soon,” she said without revealing much detail.
ZimEye checked on the position of the Australian Embassy in Harare whose assistance she invoked last month, and found in their statement they have distanced themselves from Miss Mutami’s case saying her private conduct in Zimbabwe does not fall under the embassy’s interests.
“Ms Mutami’s behaviour in Zimbabwe are matters for the Zimbabweans authorities as they fall under Zimbabwean law,” the Australian embassy said in a statement responding to her affair with Norton MP Temba Mliswa.
ZimEye today returns to the Australian Embassy for further comment as we investigate Susan Mutami’s whereabouts.
By The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (the Forum) and the Zimbabwe Peace Project | (ZPP) yesterday launched a report on the abuse of food aid distribution for political gain in Zimbabwe. The report exposes the blatant abuse of government and traditional leadership structures by the ruling ZANU-PF party to exclude members of the opposition from accessing food aid sourced by government and humanitarian organisations.
The report highlights the strong connection between the right to food and a broad range of socio-economic and political factors. It concludes that, the right to food is equally tied to other civil and political rights such as the right to free political association, freedom of expression, the right to vote for a political party or candidate of one’s choice.
“Human rights are indivisible and interdependent such that the rights to food cannot be isolated. Citizens can never be asked to choose between access to food and the right to belong to a political party of their choice. When this happens then Zimbabweans become captive to those wielding political and State power and the State’s responsibility to protect human rights loses meaning,” said Jestina Mukoko, Director of Zimbabwe Peace Project and Chairperson of the Forum.
Traditional leaders, particularly village heads, are identified in the report as accomplices to the ruling party in the politicisation of food aid taking advantage of their role and influence within the food distribution matrix. Village heads in some areas are accused of convening pre-food aid distribution meetings which are not usually attended by representatives of NGOs and Social Welfare Officers. Local ZANU-PF leaders reportedly take advantage of such meetings to claim that the aid has been either donated or facilitated by the government or the ruling party, which is usually false.
The study reveals that despite the government’s efforts to put in place several food and nutrition policies, setting up institutional frameworks to facilitate food and nutrition security, food self-sufficiency remains elusive for millions of people and for the nation at large. It notes that most policy interventions have not been successful in ensuring food security due to weak policy implementation, climatic shocks and natural hazards, economic challenges and extreme poverty.
“The recommendations put forward in this report should not remain just that, but humanitarian players and civil society should ensure that relevant action is taken especially as the country will be going to elections within two years. The depoliticisation of traditional leadership structures, capacity building for rural development structures and advocacy for laws that criminalise violations of citizen’s right to food are priorities,” said Musa Kika, Executive Director of the Forum.
The aim of the study is to provide a holistic analysis of the factors and dynamics impacting on the right to food in Zimbabwe, particularly focusing on the extent to which partisan distribution of food has impacted on the right to food and related rights such as human dignity and the right to life. The study report provides insight into the following:
The broad factors which affect the availability and accessibility of food in general. These include agricultural policies, climate change, agrarian reforms, economic, social and political stability, etc.
The political economy of food and food aid in Zimbabwe i.e. the political, economic and social factors that impact the availability and accessibility of food and food aid.
The nature and dynamics of the food aid distribution matrix, the role of various stakeholders in the distribution chain and the resultant impact on the right to food.
The institutional and regulatory framework relevant to the realization of the right to food. This includes domestic, regional and international protocols.
Detailed and holistic recommendations on reforms and measures to be taken to promote the progressive realization of the right to food in Zimbabwe.
Vadikani nezuro mangwanani kuma 2am kumba kwangu kwakauya mukadzi aichema zvikuru achinoka nekutry door zvikuru achida help…ndakamubvunza nepawindow kuti ndiani akataura Zita remunhu wandaiziva ndikaphonera munhu wacho akati akanga arikumba kwake…ndopandakaita hasha sezvo munhu uyu airamba achinoka nekuchema ndakamutuka ndikamuudza kuti ndakudeedza mapurisa ndipo paakati akuenda from nowhere l heard other voices aimuti siya munhu handeyi APA l thot ari ega.
So lm pleading with you my dear fellow Zimbabweans musavhurire vanhu door vamusingazivi especially manheru mbavha dzaipa dzave kutoshandisa tactic yekuku deceiver through women’s or children’s cry iwe wofunga kuti someone is in deep trouble. Mbavha dzaipa zvekuti vanonoka zvinokuita uite hasha wovhura door.Veduwe whether maskati or manheru be aware we are living in the end times.l urge you all to be prayerful for God’s protection uye nekugara mune number dzemapurisa epedyo.Let’s all share this lesson nevana vedu vagare vakangwarira.
Ini l have played my part in sharing with you what l faced and l hope you continue spreading the message until its nation wide
A Zimbabwean woman based in the United Kingdom (UK) was arrested after she tried to defraud an insurance company, Aviva of nearly £400 000 by claiming her husband had died.
Thuile Bhebhe, 51, reported that her husband had died in Zimbabwe in August 2016, submitting false documents to her insurer, Aviva, in order to substantiate her claim.
However, discrepancies in the paperwork submitted by Bhebhe raised Aviva’s suspicions, leading them to carry out further enquiries into the case.
Investigations established that Bhebhe’s husband was alive and well, and in fact, working his shift as a nurse at a London hospital on the day he was alleged to have died.
Bhebhe was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on 15 March 2021, to two years’ imprisonment suspended for two years and 100 hours of community service, with a twenty-five-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.
She had previously pleaded guilty at the City of London Magistrates Court in November 2018.
Detective Constable James Rafiq, from the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, said:
Mrs Bhebhe tried to exploit Aviva and steal nearly £400,000 by shamelessly claiming her husband had died.
Although she has shown remorse, these fraudulent actions have tainted years of commendable work as NHS nurses for both her and her husband.
Jacqueline Kerwood, Claims Governance Manager for Individual Protection at Aviva, said:
This was a particularly audacious act of dishonesty by Mrs Bhebhe – in attempting to claim nearly £400,000 by falsely claiming her own husband’s death.
Fortunately, it was quickly detected by our expert investigators, and we’re pleased to see justice has been done.
This is also very good news for our genuine customers, who ultimately bear the cost of fraud through their premiums.
In this case, however, it’s Mrs Bhebhe who will pay the cost for her crime.
A 60-YEAR-OLD Hwange man who allegedly sexually abused his 14-year-old daughter claiming to be checking her virginity has appeared in court charged with three counts of indecent assault and one each of aggravated indecent assault and rape.
Virginity testing is a cultural practice done by some ethnic groups around the world including Zimbabwe, to determine whether a girl or woman has had sexual intercourse or not before.
The man who cannot be named to protect the complainant, pleaded not guilty when he appeared before Hwange Regional magistrate Mr Collet Ncube.
He claimed that the charges were fabricated by the complainant’s mother and grandmother to fix him following a misunderstanding over lobola.
The accused and complainant’s mother separated.
The complainant used to stay with her maternal grandmother until Grade Six when the accused took her so she could live with her in Lwendulu village, Hwange.
The complainant’s grandmother who also cannot be identified, said she couldn’t believe her son-in-law’s actions.
“One day I was passing by and the complainant saw me and started crying. She showed me a diary where she had documented the abuses by her father. She told me that the accused said some people had told him that she was no longer a virgin hence he wanted to prove for himself,” said the grandmother in court.
The court heard that the shameful father would allegedly order his daughter to share the bedroom with him after which he would sexually abuse her.- Chronicle
WARRIORS coach, Zdravko Logarusic, can now freely go about doing his official duties, after getting his work permit, last week.
The Croatian gaffer, who is preparing his team for the final two 2021 AFCON qualifiers, against Botswana and Zambia later this month, has been without a work permit, since his return from his native country last month.
Loga’s one-year permit expired in January this year.
As a result, the coach has largely been in the background, over the past couple of weeks, but he can now fully concentrate, on the task at hand, after getting clearance, to legally work in this country.
Zimbabwe play Botswana, in the penultimate round of the qualifiers on March 25, before hosting Zambia, in the final group game, at the National Sports Stadium, four days later. “We are all delighted that coach Loga has been issued with his work permit,” said Warriors manager, Wellington Mpandare. “We would like to thank the authorities. He can now start to do his duties, within the confines of the law.”
Loga has been battling to find a solution, after the mass withdrawals, which has hit his camp. All the UK-based players, including Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, have pulled out of the team, because of the Covid-19 protocols, in the European nation.
The France-based duo of Tino Kadewere, and Marshall Munetsi, whose side Olympique Lyon and Stade Reims played out a 1-1 draw at the weekend, are also out of the crunch matches. Talismanic forward, Khama Billiat, has pulled out of the two battles, because of injury. Zimbabwe have never qualified for the Afcon tournament three times in a row.
“We will have to make that happen,” said Loga. “The good thing is we have our destiny firmly in our hands.
“We have to fight like Warriors. It’s still difficult, given what we are facing, but we are optimistic of getting the required results. “Nothing has ever been ideal, in football, and we need to find solutions, if we have problems.
“The ultimate goal is for us to make it for the AFCON tournament. We are facing two very good sides in Botswana and Zambia.
“But, we are where we are at the moment, for a good reason, too. It means we are capable and that should spur us on, as we try to overcome the two hurdles, in front of us. It’s been difficult, football has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic big time.-The Herald
FOOTBALL and other medium-and-high-risk sport codes, have been handed a huge lifeline, for a possible return to action, following a prolonged Covid-19 break.
The 29 sports associations, though, have to first satisfy conditions laid down by the World Health Organisation, their international sports bodies and the Sports Commission.
Following adjustments, to some of the health protocols that associations and athletes had to meet, such as setting up of bio-secure environment, and regular PCR testing, a window of hope has been opened for the associations that face perennial financial challenges.
Athletes can return to action, without the need for a bio-bubble and having undergone rapid tests, which range from US$10 to US$15, instead of the PCR tests, which go for US$65.
Already, the Government have approved 24 low-risk sport codes to resume their activities.
Speaking during a virtual press briefing yesterday, Sports Commission board member Allen Chiura, who is also the chairman of the SRC Covid-19 committee, said circumstances had changed,since the last requirements were imposed.
Chiura is a Urological Surgeon, who lived and practiced in the United States, for 30 years.
He home in 2012 to open his Urology practice, and to facilitate the training of young surgical subspecialists, at Parirenyatwa Hospital.
All the commissioners — Karen Mutasa, Nigel Munyati, Titus Zvomuya and Colleen de Jong and Gail Van Jaarsveldt — attended the meeting virtually.
“We had rather an unpleasant job of stopping people from playing sport. Now, we are in a pleasant position to try and see how we can get people back to play sport safely,’’ said Chiura.- The Herald
Hundreds of people yesterday thronged the Bulawayo Passport Office after being misled by social media reports that travel documents applied for by the end of February 2020 were ready for collection.
The correct position that was published in the Chronicle last week is that passports that were applied for by the end of February 2019 are ready.
Government was utilising the lockdown period to clear a passport backlog which was close to 200 000.
The passport backlog is a result of shortage of foreign currency to procure some of the consumables used in the production of passports. Registry officials were overwhelmed and had to turn some members of the public away.
The queue snaked from the gate of the passport office along 10th Avenue, making a turn along Herbert Chitepo Street towards 11th Avenue before it made another turn towards Basch Street.
Some of the members of the public said the queue nearly reached the robots at the intersection of 11th Avenue and Basch Street.
A Chronicle news crew yesterday caught up with some of the passport applicants who revealed how they were fooled by the social media message.
“I read WhatsApp messages that the passports that were applied for up to February 2020 were out and we should come and collect. So, I was excited and came to collect my passport that I applied for in June 2019. But when I arrived here, I was told that the passport is not yet out so it’s really confusing,” said a woman who declined to be named.
“So, I’m really disappointed as I have wasted a lot of money coming here for nothing. I thought the information on WhatsApp was authentic. And why would someone spread false information on such issues? What do they stand to benefit?”
Another passport applicant who identified herself as Mrs Nkomo said she was disappointed that registry official stopped serving them at 1pm.
“We spent the whole morning in a queue. They had to cut the number of people they were serving because there were a lot of people who came through today. Imagine, I joined the queue when it was at the corner of Lobengula Street and 11th Avenue. When we were close to the entrance, we were told that they were no longer serving anyone. If only they opened for us after lunch,” said Mrs Nkomo.
Another applicant Mr Mbuso Siziba said he had lingered at the passport office hoping that officials would change their mind.
“You know I’m excited that my passport is out. I applied for it in December 2018 so if their cut off is February 2019, I know I’m guaranteed of collecting it. Even if borders are closed it’s good to just have your passport with you. Ungeke wazi okungavuka and you lose an opportunity because you don’t have a travel document. I’m sure that my passport is out because officials here have been emphasising to the people in the queue that the passports that are ready for collection are those applied for before the end of February 2019,” said Mr Siziba.
Touts who operate outside the passport office tried to take advantage of the situation claiming that they could facilitate for some of the members of the public to obtain their passports.
However, provincial registrar Mrs Jane Peters is on record warning members of the public not to engage in any business with the touts as they risk being fleeced.
She said the touts do not work for the registry and have no business on matters relating to her office. Mrs Peters could not be reached for comment yesterday as she was out of office.
A registry official who was not cleared to talk to the Press said they were shocked by the number of people who came to collect their passports yesterday.
“I think this was a combination of two factors, some read social media messages and were misled into believing that their passports were out. But others followed authentic information. A lot of people walked away with their passports today. But members of the public should also understand that we cannot serve them all at one go.
“The queue was almost reaching Basch Street from our gate. We could not serve them all at once, only if they came in batches, we would be able to serve them. At the moment we are not operating with a full staff complement because of Covid-19. Members of the public should understand that,” said the official. -Chronicle
A Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) senior engineer has been arrested for allegedly facilitating the connection of power to companies without following laid down procedures.
Martin Kanyepe who is based at Kwekwe office, was arrested by police who were working with Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) investigators and has since appeared before Kwekwe Magistrate, Ms Florence Nago facing five counts of criminal abuse of office as a public officer. He was granted $20 000 bail and will be back in court on March 26.
Accordingg to State papers, as a senior engineer, Kanyepe is responsible for ensuring that Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) procedures are followed when a client seeks to engage a private contractor for the construction of substations and erecting power lines. He also inspects the same work by private contractors.
According to State papers, June 19 in 2018, the accused person allegedly contracted Mr Reggie Zvanezuro, a freelance electrician who constructed a 0,4 kilometre, 11kv line and 200KVA sub-station at Ming Chang Bell Mine without ensuring that the ZETDC procedures are followed. On the same day, the accused again engaged the same freelance electrician as a private contractor without following the ZETDC procedures to do work at Jojo Mine. Zvanezuro constructed a 0,3km, 11kv line, 100KVA substation and 500 metres LT powerline costing US$11 519.
On count three, on September 19 in 2019, the accused first contracted Mr Rifa Mapuranga to construct an underline substation and LT powerline at Leanne Hove home in Mlala Park, Kwekwe. The accused person later on tasked Mr Zvanezuro to complete the work. The accused person also used the same modus operandi in counts 4 and 5. – Chronicle
Tinashe Sambiri|There are disturbing reports of a huge snake that crept into Joana Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri’s prison cell at Chikurubi Maximum Prison.
There was confusion, fear and anxiety at Chikurubi Maximum Prison on Sunday when the reptile crept into Hon Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri’s prison cell.
The reptile poked its head through a hole at the rooftop…
On noticing it, the two screamed over and over, and the officers casually said they were calling the National Parks Department for help.
Nat Parks never came. Reacting to this, the two continued screaming though no one came to their rescue.
“Only two officers came after a long wait- to say they would wait for National Parks,”Netsai Marova told ZimEye.
No official comment has been obtained from the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services.
Tinashe Sambiri|There are disturbing reports of a huge snake that crept into Joana Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri’s prison cell at Chikurubi Maximum Prison.
There was confusion, fear and anxiety at Chikurubi Maximum Prison on Sunday when the reptile crept into Hon Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri’s prison cell.
The reptile poked its head through a hole at the rooftop…
On noticing it, the two screamed over and over, and the officers casually said they were calling the National Parks Department for help.
Nat Parks never came. Reacting to this, the two continued screaming though no one came to their rescue.
“Only two officers came after a long wait- to say they would wait for National Parks,”Netsai Marova told ZimEye.
No official comment has been obtained from the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services.
Tinashe Sambiri|There are disturbing reports of a huge snake that crept into Joana Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri’s prison cell at Chikurubi Maximum Prison.
There was confusion, fear and anxiety at Chikurubi Maximum Prison on Sunday when the reptile crept into Hon Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri’s prison cell.
The reptile poked its head through a hole at the rooftop…
On noticing it, the two screamed over and over, and the officers casually said they were calling the National Parks Department for help.
Nat Parks never came. Reacting to this, the two continued screaming though no one came to their rescue.
“Only two officers came after a long wait- to say they would wait for National Parks,”Netsai Marova told ZimEye.
No official comment has been obtained from the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services.
Tinashe Sambiri|Zanu Zanu PF is at the centre of corruption in local authorities, MDC Alliance Secretary for Local Government, Sesel Zvidzai has said.
Local Government Minister, July Moyo has been mired in a corruption scandal and he is at pains to clear his name.
Below is Hon Zvidzai’s statement:
JULY MOYO, ZANU PF AT THE CENTRE OF CORRUPTION IN LOCAL AUTHORITIES
The events of recent weeks demonstrate that ZANU PF and central government are at the centre of corruption in local authorities.
It has been recently reported that Local Government Minister, July Moyo, is entangled in a corruption scandal.
It is alleged that Minister Moyo awarded a US$9,3 million contract to supply water pumps to the City of Harare without going to tender. Reports state that July Moyo instructed staff in the City of Harare (who are appointed by central government) to source the equipment from a company linked to a Mr Kruger without following tender requirements laid down in our procurement laws. Mr Kruger is believed to be a friend of the Minister whom he associates with and is involved in the Chilonga displacement saga.
This latest act of grand corruption scandal demonstrates that Minister July Moyo, central government and ZANU PF are at the centre of the corruption crisis in local authorities. It has further come to our attention that Chiredzi Town Council has also been forced to procure generators and other equipment unprocedurally from persons who are connected to the Minister.
July Moyo’s US$9,3 million corruption scandal follows the recent arrests of ZANU PF land barons, Frederick Maramba and Smelly Dube. This is only the tip of a massive iceberg. The Uchena Land Commission Report on State-land established that over US$3 billion worth of land was misappropriated by these land barons who are connected to ZANU PF. We condemn theses corrupt acts as they lead to the delivery of substandard equipment, the siphoning of taxpayers’ money and perpetuate the capture of local authorities by central government. We call upon the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the National Prosecution Authority to urgently investigate Minister Moyo and hold him to account for his corrupt conduct that is prejudicing taxpayers and citizens who will, as a result, be deprived of decent service delivery. As highlighted by President Nelson Chamisa in his Agenda 2021 address, the fight against corruption is one of the key pillars in our People’s Agenda. Corruption is choking the ordinary person and we call upon all progressive forces and citizens to converge with the MDC Alliance to fight against this scourge. We demand accountability and transformation on all matters of maladministration. The fight against corruption must be driven by a broad alliance. It must overshadow our political polarities because it is killing all sectors of our society. Sesel Zvidzai Secretary for Local Government and Rural Development
7 Common Nutrient Deficiencies: Know the Signs The hidden cause of common symptoms such as fatigue and muscle aches could be a nutrient deficiency.
By Elizabeth Shimer Bowers and Moira Lawler Medically Reviewed by Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDCES Last Updated: March 9, 2021 Medically Reviewed
vitamins and minerals If you think you may have a nutrient deficiency, talk to your doctor, who may recommend a supplement.
You may think nutrient deficiencies are a thing of the past, experienced only by sailors on long sea voyages. But even today, it’s possible to lack some of the essential nutrients your body needs to function optimally.
“Nutrient deficiencies alter bodily functions and processes at the most basic cellular level,” says Tricia L. Psota, PhD, RDN, a lecturer in the exercise and nutrition sciences department at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health in Washington, DC. “These processes include water balance, enzyme function, nerve signaling, digestion, and metabolism. Resolving these deficiencies is important for optimal growth, development, and function.”
Nutrient deficiencies can also lead to diseases. “For example, calcium and vitamin D deficiencies can cause osteopenia or osteoporosis, two conditions marked by brittle bones,” says Kate Patton, RD, a dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. “And inadequate iron can cause anemia, which zaps your energy.”
Telltale symptoms are usually the first clue that you are low in one or more important vitamins or minerals, says Patton. Here’s how to recognize seven common nutrient deficiencies.
Calcium: Numb, Tingling Fingers and Abnormal Heart Rhythm Calcium is important for maintaining strong bones and controlling muscle and nerve function, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Signs of severely low calcium include numb, tingling fingers and abnormal heart rhythms, says the Cleveland Clinic. That said, there are no short-term, obvious symptoms of calcium deficiency.
Most adults need 1,000 milligrams (mg) of calcium each day, though women over 50 and men over 70 need 1,200 mg, per the Mayo Clinic. Patton says you’ll likely get enough from at least three servings of milk or yogurt a day. Cheese is another good source of calcium, but if you’re not big on dairy, you can find this nutrient in calcium-fortified orange juice or breakfast cereal (check the nutrition facts label of the food to see if calcium has been added), and dark leafy greens like kale and broccoli, according to the NIH.
MOST HELPFUL Could You Be Vitamin D–ficient? The 7 Best Bone-Building Foods Study: Nutrients From Diet Better Than Supplements
Vitamin D: Fatigue, Bone Pain, Mood Shifts, and More This vitamin is another that’s crucial for bone health and may also prevent some cancers, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency can be vague — fatigue, bone pain, mood changes, and muscle aches or weakness may set in.
“If it goes on long term, a vitamin D deficiency can lead to softening of the bones,” Psota says. Long-lasting deficiency also may be linked with cancers and autoimmune diseases, says Michelle Zive, an NASM-certified nutrition coach based in San Diego.
According to the NIH, most adults need 15 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin D each day, and adults older than 70 need 20 mcg. Patton suggests having three servings of fortified milk or yogurt daily and eating fatty fish, such as salmon or tuna, twice a week, as these are foods that contain vitamin D; spend some time outside in the sunshine every day, too, as this is a great source of the nutrient. Ten to 30 minutes a few times a week of direct sunlight exposure should help, Zive says.
Potassium: Muscle Weakness, Constipation, Irregular Heart Rhythm, and More Potassium helps your heart, nerves, and muscles work properly and also delivers nutrients to cells while removing waste, according to MedlinePlus. Plus, it’s a useful nutrient that helps offset sodium’s negative impact on your blood pressure: “It’s important in maintaining a healthy blood pressure,” Zive says.
You could become low in potassium in the short term because of diarrhea or vomiting; excessive sweating; antibiotics, laxatives, or diuretics; excessive alcohol consumption; or because of a chronic condition such as kidney disease, per the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms of a deficiency include muscle weakness, twitches, or cramps; constipation; tingling and numbness; and an abnormal heart rhythm or palpitations, says MedlinePlus.
For natural potassium sources, try bananas, milk, acorn squash, lentils, and kidney beans and other legumes. Adult men need 3,400 mg each day, and women need 2,600 mg, according to the NIH.
Iron: Fatigue, Shortness of Breath, Cold Hands and Feet, Brittle Nails, and More Iron is necessary to produce red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body, according to the University of California in San Francisco. When iron levels get too low, there may be a deficiency in red blood cells, resulting in a condition called anemia. Some groups at increased risk of iron deficiency include menstruating women, growing individuals (such as children and pregnant women), and those following a vegan or vegetarian diet, Zive says.
Anemia can leave you with symptoms including weakness and fatigue, shortness of breath, a fast heartbeat, pale skin, headache, cold hands and feet, a sore or swollen tongue, brittle nails, and cravings for strange things like dirt, according to the Mayo Clinic. The symptoms may be so mild at first that you don’t notice something’s wrong, but as iron stores become more depleted, they will become more intense.
To boost iron levels, Patton recommends eating iron-fortified cereal, beef, oysters, beans (especially lima, navy, and kidney beans), lentils, and spinach. Adult men and women over 50 need 8 mg per day, and adult women younger than 50 need 18 mg each day, according to the NIH.
Vitamin B12: Numbness, Fatigue, Swollen Tongue, and More Vitamin B12 aids the production of red blood cells and DNA, and also improves neurotransmitter function, according to the NIH. Vegetarians and vegans may be at particular risk for vitamin B12 deficiency because plants don’t make the nutrient, and people who’ve had weight loss surgery may also lack B12 because the procedure makes it difficult for the body to extract the nutrient from food, according to Harvard Health Publishing.
Symptoms of severe B12 deficiency include numbness in the legs, hands, or feet; problems with walking and balance; anemia; fatigue; weakness; a swollen, inflamed tongue; memory loss and difficulty thinking, per Harvard Health Publishing. These symptoms can come on quickly or gradually, and since there’s such a wide range in symptoms, you may not notice them for a while.
Adults need 2.4 mcg of B12 per day, according to the NIH. It’s most commonly found in animal products, and Patton recommends fish, chicken, milk, and yogurt to boost your B12 levels. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, Zive suggests opting for foods fortified with B12, such as plant-based milk and breakfast cereals. You can also find B12 in most multivitamins, according to the NIH, but if you’re at risk of being deficient, you can take a supplement specifically containing B12.
Source: Everyday Health
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Tinashe Sambiri|Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration is deeply reluctant to prosecute looters of COVID-19 funds, the MDC Alliance has said.
In its weekly health update, the MDC Alliance accused Mr Mnangagwa’s administration of lacking the zeal to protect citizens from the deadly pandemic:
MDC Alliance Weekly Health Alert
*8th Edition *
14 March 2021
One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, how did Zimbabwe fare?
Executive Summary:
The government’s response to the covid-19 pandemic was characterized by failure to test the people, failure to manage immigration, failure to provide necessary resources like Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), COVID-19 admission facilities, oxygen, ventilators, failure to support and appreciate healthcare workers, poor or non-existent messaging, abuse of the pandemic to score cheap political gains at the expense of the people, failure to provide social safety nets and failure to deal with corruption like the Drax scandal and others. Lately, the government has also shown that it has no vaccine plan and only depending on knee jerk reflexes. On a scale of “A” to “E”, with A being the best score, we give the government of Zimbabwe a score of “D” for its performance in the first year of this pandemic because of the aforementioned.
As we commemorate the first anniversary of the worst pandemic in a century, we need to introspect as a nation on what we could have done better. “An unexamined life is not worth living”, as someone has already said. The first cluster of cases of COVID-19 were reported on December 31 2019 in Wuhan, China, and on March 11 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 “a public health emergency of international concern”.
All systems in Zimbabwe then should have gone into overdrive to avert a national disaster. Mortality in China and some European countries had already started showing sinister trends. The Government of Zimbabwe declared its preparedness for the pandemic, with Wilkins hospital completely kitted up and ready to admit patients, with ventilators and oxygen in place.
The first wake-up call was on March the 20th, 2020, when we had our first real case of COVID-19, a young promising journalist, who passed on three days later under deplorable conditions. The nakedness of both the government and the purported national isolation centre, Wilkins hospital, was exposed. Health workers did not have adequate PPE, they did not quite know what to do with the case, and there was no single ventilator available, though the patient could easily have afforded one.
This was a chaotic and traumatic experience for both the family and all Zimbabweans. We all started weighing our chances of survival in the face of this new reality, with much trepidation, considering that this first fatality did not come from a family of meager means.
These are the lessons learnt from this experience: • Government should never lie to the people that we are prepared when in fact we are not. Complete transparency and honesty have no substitute.
• A caring attitude is important, and cover-ups stink. • All resources should have been channeled to life saving technologies and human resources in a pandemic of this magnitude.
• Government has no power to stop death, but government has the power to avail the best possible service to its citizens, so that at the end we can all say, “Well, all that could be done was done. This was now purely in the hands of The Maker”.
The failure of government to resolve a labour dispute with the doctors & nurses contributed much to our poor state of preparedness. Government should have dealt speedily with the health-workers’ industrial action and restored normalcy ahead of this pandemic. There was enough time to do that. The militarization of housemanship is not an answer to our human resources problem, and is bound to backfire with time. Government must reconsider.
Politicization of COVID-19 lockdowns was a serious miscalculation on the part of government, as this only served to spread the virus. The March 31 Supreme court ruling, now commonly known as the COVID-19 judgement, is a good example of the abuse of lockdown measures. The selective harassment, abuse and fining of citizens throughout this period is another example. These did not serve the interests of the nation in dealing with the pandemic. Instead, we saw Zanu PF functionaries holding parties and posting pictures on social media, supposedly to show that they were in power, without any legal repercussions. But COVID-19 did not understand that, and the events were unfortunately not without their own adverse consequences.
Institutionalized corruption and the looting of the covid-19 funds emasculated government’s response to the pandemic.
Government continues to pay lip service to the fight against corruption as real looters of COVID-19 funds continue to roam the streets scot free and we have not heard about any recoveries, especially from the Drax scandal.
Sadly, government has not been able to provide adequate free testing to the population, consequently no contact tracing was possible, and many cases went undiagnosed. Without testing, there is no isolation and containment of the pandemic. One year later, free testing is still not available to the majority of Zimbabweans. The result is that there has been no science in mapping the epidemic, and targeted lockdown measures and other data informed decisions could not be made. Blanket lockdown measures brought untold suffering to people who did not even need a lockdown in their locality. Government should take healthcare seriously, and make sure adequate resources are availed for the people’s healthcare, in keeping with section 76 of the constitution.
Failure to provide social safety nets in spite of pronouncements by the minister of finance was a monumental failure for this government. People were locked down into hunger and starvation, because the majority of our people live on hand to mouth budgets. We all watched with envy as other nations provided relief to their citizens in these trying times. Locking down the nation without providing food relief was the most cruel thing government did in response to this pandemic. The promised stimulus package to industry did not filter down to the intended recipients. One wonders who benefited.
There were many policy failures in the approach to this pandemic, chief of which was immigration control. Quarantine centres did not work as expected, they were porous and inmates were able to bribe their way out, use political influence to avoid quarantine, or simply escape from the centres through unknown channels. That is how we domesticated a disease that otherwise could have been kept out of Zimbabwe. It is important to move in tandem with international trends when dealing with a pandemic. The visit by the so-called Chinese COVID-19 specialist doctors was suspicious and certainly added no value to our response to the pandemic.
Failure to anticipate the second wave and prevent it was a monumental failure by the government. We all knew that the infection figures and deaths in our neighbouring South Africa were high. We also knew that a new more vicious strain in terms of transmissibility had been identified. It is common knowledge that we have a few million Zimbabweans in South Africa many of whom always want to come home for the festive season. The government took no thought of that to avert disaster, and we ended up with our worst two months, the nasty second wave which was both completely predictable and preventable.
Failure to set up COVID-19 isolation and treatment facilities resulted in untold suffering and unnecessary mortality.
Patients requiring moderate interventions like oxygen supplementation could not get it for there was no place to admit them. Until now, there are many towns without a single COVID-19 admission facility and patients are still turned away to go and die at home without any attempt to supportive therapy. But by far, the greatest looser was the ordinary non-COVID patient who could not be attended to because staff did not have PPE and had no capability to screen for COVID-19. Chronic disease patients were hardest hit, as many could not access their usual medication.
Communication and information dissemination has been very poor throughout this pandemic. The whole response was shrouded in mystery. This is now manifesting in the low vaccine uptake, which is largely caused by the people’s mistrust of government’s choices and failure to deal with conspiracy theories and other legitimate questions pertaining to vaccine safety and efficacy. The lack of transparency regarding the cost of the vaccine is a potential loophole for corruption and looting. The science behind choice of vaccine should be made plain, and full information should be disseminated, first to health care workers who have to deal with the public’s questions and doubts, and then to everybody in the country.
No heavy-handed tactics like withholding social benefits from those who are vaccine hesitant should be used, as previously intimated by Mr Mnangagwa.
The vaccine is our final weapon in the fight against COVID-19 and no effort should be spared in educating the public and allaying all related anxieties, to ensure that all eligible people receive the vaccine. Bringing in other vaccines as announced is a welcome move, but still information dissemination is key to dealing with mis-information and conspiracy theories, which remain rampant. We cannot just wish them away.
Bringing in private laboratory services as a substitute to free government testing sent the cost of all tests spiraling upwards. It was a serious abdication of duty by the government. We have always had private laboratory services in Zimbabwe, and they have their place, but they cannot become the mainstay of service delivery in such a massive public health emergency without a government subsidy. The poor are automatically excluded, and that is 90% of Zimbabweans. Contact tracing and routine surveillance died right there.
The rapid response teams were one of the weakest links in the government’s response strategy. They had a serious mandate without the necessary financing and equipment, notably PPE and diagnostic consumables like nasal swabs. They therefore failed dismally in their execution of duty. These are well-trained cadres by the way, but it is like a good soldier going to war without a gun and basic supplies.
How do we summarize government’s response to this pandemic? In a few words, government was not prepared to spend money on healthcare and on feeding the people during the very necessary lockdowns. Corruption was rife and crippled the response to COVID-19. The ruling party was the chief architect of super-spreader events, in the form of political party meetings and extravagant pleasure parties. Politicization of the lockdowns was rampant and led to much suffering, unnecessary arrests with consequent unnecessary exposure of citizens to COVID-19 in prisons. When it comes to pandemics of this nature, we admonish the government to put aside all partisan behavior, and all Zimbabweans should work together for the common good.
On the basis of this assessment, the government failed dismally in protecting Zimbabweans from this pandemic. We are all here today by a sovereign act of God. We give the government a score of “D”, with “A” being the best score and “E” the worst. The whole nation wants to help government get a score of “A” in this second year, so please, work with the people, and be completely transparent. All eyes are on the vaccine issue.
Going forward, here are our recommendations for the government to take Zimbabwe to a better place and avert a third wave as we open up the economy. Government should vigorously promote COVID-19 safe practices in all languages and on all media platforms. These include hand washing, sanitization, social distancing and avoiding close contact, avoiding supper spreader events, avoiding large gatherings, cough etiquette, and masking up as the new normal (not as a way of avoiding fines!), at least for the next one year as we measure progress. Health workers should be thoroughly equipped with knowledge so that they become the champions for vaccination and other interventions. Vaccine procurement is not the domain of private companies. Government must do its duty. As we move forward, government needs to concentrate on taking the people with it on all issues to do with vaccination and vaccine choice regarding safety, efficacy cost and other factors.
COVID-19 isolation and treatment facilities should be set up in every town, and a generous supply of PPE should be delivered to all health institutions. Schools should be properly equipped, and liaison with teachers’ unions should be intense. Businesses should be appropriately equipped and empowered to prevent infection.
Government needs to ramp up vaccination, and take professional advice seriously, particularly from the national immunization technical advisory group. Educate health workers and the population, procure vaccines in a transparent manner, distribute and administer to all. Convince health workers first and everything else will fall into place.
Dr. Henry Madzorera. Secretary for Health and Child Welfare. MDC-Alliance
By A Correspondent | As this week marks one month after Norton MP, Temba Mliswa’s girlfriend was stopped from flying out of Zimbabwe, following her allegations that she possesses knowledge on the terrorists who bombed White City Stadium in June 2018, ZimEye launches a search for her whereabouts. Is she in Zimbabwe or in Australia?
Susan Mutami
This is Brisbane, where Susan Mutami resides and we check today check on her at her usual addresses. This is St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Brisbane, where she could be employed and where her mother, Rabecca works.
Susan herself used to work here as a Care Assistant.
We are told, “she is not here; she has not been seen in several months.”
We cannot reveal the identity of interviewee at the hospital, per their request.
We now head to Princess Alexandra Hospital. Susan Mutami is not here. Sources tell ZimEye she is not here at all.
The Hospital was placed into lockdown after a positive #COVID19 case was detected 3 days ago. But we manage to speak to a source via phone who responds saying:
“For legal purposes. I cannot say much, but the person you are asking for no longer works here,” a female employee tells ZimEye.
It also turns out Susan cannot work there anymore as she was fired over continued absenteeism, the day before she travelled to Zimbabwe last year.
We now turn to Durack, the place where Susan can only come when she arrives into the country. This is where she lives.
Two of Susan’s closest friends tell ZimEye, they do not believe she is anywhere in Australia. “If she comes back into the country she will come here first, ” one of her colleagues says while asking not to be identified due to the political sensitivities around her case in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, as Susan’s mother Rabeccca does not appear willing to speak with journalists, we turn back to Susan herself.
We send her two messages, one becomes, blueticked, the other is still to be opened.
1st message: “Hello Susan. Are you okay? You’ve gone suddenly quiet. Strength to you!”
2nd message: “Many are worried over you. When are you traveling to Australia?”
There is no reply at all, and neither does she pick the phone up, which is not characteristic of her.
As her Zimbabwean phone sounds disconnected, her two Australian numbers all lead to her voicemail boxes. They have been in this state for nearly month.
Where is Susan then, and is she the one who is tweeting on her portal in the last month? A structured content audit of her tweets suggests someone else is publishing the posts. Terms like FDI, and economy do not form her known vocabulary.
When she was stopped from flying out of Zimbabwe on the 18th February, she quickly sought the help of lawyers and began referring journalists to them. Her solicitor last month told ZimEye, “she is alive, she is ok and she is safe.
“I can’t say much due to professional ethics; She will come back to you soon,” she said without revealing much detail.
ZimEye checked on the position of the Australian Embassy in Harare whose assistance she invoked last month, and found in their statement they have distanced themselves from Miss Mutami’s case saying her private conduct in Zimbabwe does not fall under the embassy’s interests.
“Ms Mutami’s behaviour in Zimbabwe are matters for the Zimbabweans authorities as they fall under Zimbabwean law,” the Australian embassy said in a statement responding to her affair with Norton MP Temba Mliswa.
ZimEye today returns to the Australian Embassy for further comment as we investigate Susan Mutami’s whereabouts.
By James Gwati- MDC-Alliance vice President and the parliamentary portfolio committee on Public Accounts Chairman, Tendai Biti, has ordered Zesa Holdings to submit documents related to the 200 MW Dema diesel power plant.
The Harare East lawmaker also directed the power utility to be ready to answer questions on other projects that were flagged in the 2020 forensic audit report produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The dubious Dema project was awarded to Sakunda Holdings although the deal has since been cancelled due to the high cost of electricity produced at the plant.
The directive was issued this afternoon by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee when Zesa Holdings management led by executive board chairperson Dr Sydney Gata appeared before it to respond to issues raised in the report.
Biti who adjourned the Zesa’s public hearing meeting to Monday next week expressed his committee’s frustration at the Zesa management’s inability to adequately prepare for the meeting despite the meeting having been scheduled since last year.
Zesa was also directed to submit documents related to the transformer deal between its subsidiary, ZENT Enterprises and Indian firm PME, the US$35 million loan deal with Afreximbank and the Gwanda Solar deal with Intratrek.
The forensic audit uncovered irregularities in the manner the deals were conducted.
By James Gwati-The announcement by the government Monday, that the authorities have now takenover the funeral of the late former Studio 263 actress, Anne Nhira, is a great relief to the bereaved family which was appealing for support to transport the body of the deceased to Zimbabwe for burial.
Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda, confirmed that the government was now taking over the funeral of the late actress, meaning that even the repatriation of her body from South Africa could now be facilitated by the state.
Anne Nhira died in South Africa last week from injuries she sustained from a robbery attack.
By A Correspondent- High Court judge Justice Webster Chinamhora has ordered the reinstatement of the NetOne CEO, Lazarus Muchenje.
Muchenje was dismissed on three months’ notice in July last year, but then made an urgent chamber application at the High Court challenging his dismissal and an interim order was granted in his favour suspending the letter of termination.
NetOne tried on 21 December 2021 to fire Muchenje on the same basis, using common law or Notice of Termination according to the Labor Act.
In his ruling, Justice Chinamhora said he had concluded that there was no inconsistency between the Labour Act and the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act within the contemplation of section 2A (3) of the Labour Act.
The provisions of section 12(4) should not have been utilised to bring an end to Muchenje’s employment, he said.
By James Gwati- The late Sibusiso Moyo’s wife and the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission chairperson, Loice Matanda Moyo, has deserted her offices following a break-in that happened at ZACC premises at the weekend.
According to the state media, unknown people broke into ZACC’s Mt Pleasant Business Park offices at the weekend. The state media said investigations were now underway to establish if any crucial documents or property were missing.
After the disturbing incident, Justice Matanda Moyo took an early break and decided to work away from the offices, the state media reported.
Justice Matanda-Moyo confirmed the development this morning.
“Yes, there was a break-in at my office. Investigations are in progress,” she said.
By James Gwati- Sungura music maestro, Alick Macheso has bagged another prestigious award.
The Madhau hitmaker was awarded the Best campaigner- lifestyle and entertainment special award by the Institute of Public Relations and Communications Zimbabwe.
The award was posted on the host organisation’s Facebook page at the weekend.
Tinashe Sambiri|POLAD does not have the capacity and zeal to resolve the country’s political stalemate.
This was said by MDC Alliance Youth Assembly spokesperson, Stephen Sarkozy Chuma.
According to Chuma, POLAD was created to authenticate Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s stolen electoral victory.
Read full statement below:
POLAD’s Piggish Demands Must Be Condemned, Resisted
14-03-2021
Extravagant demands by Emmerson Mnangagwa’s acolytes coalescing under the banner of POLAD must be condemned and resisted by all progressive forces and citizens.
Verified reports from the mainstream media is that a grouping of 2018 political rejects are seeking to be pampered with luxurious gifts ranging from farms, diplomatic passports and top of the range vehicles and all this being forked out from the taxpayers money.
Such kind of greed especially coming from men and women who were rejected by the people through the ballot is not only unconstitutional but criminal.
Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money to buy fancy cars that money should be given as Covid-19 Relief Fund for the informal sector which had been shut down whilst big commercial businesses were operating.
The informal sector which hugely contribute to the national fiscus is employing the bulk of young people and it is struggling to recover from effects of lockdown.
With schools opening from Monday the majority of citizens who also happens to be major drivers of this informal sector are now suddenly faced with the school fees bill yet have no income.
We can not afford this piggish appetite and extravagance especially at a time when our teachers are incapacitated to report for work because of poor salaries.
That money intended to buy plush cars for POLAD guys will better save our education sector if added to teachers salaries.
We have said it before and we will say it again that POLAD serves no purpose at all in resolving the national crisis that came out of a disputed presidential election. The simple reason being that the guys in POLAD have no dispute with Mnangagwa but are in agreement with him.
Our free advice is that since the POLAD compradors are all but ZANU PF extensions, they better take the short route, join ZANU PF and spare us this nonsense.
Mnangagwa must stop wasting our time and national resources on these POLAD fellows because they are inconsequential to the national question of the day- national crisis borne out of his illegitimacy.
It is a public secret that MDC Alliance President Advocate Nelson Chamisa is the key ingredient that is needed to solve the current national crisis.
The guys in POLAD were rejected by the people and will be rejected again hence this black market approach to the national crisis does not yield intended results.
This is a year of citizens convergence against lunacy that has brought us where we are as a country.
We, the people we will resist this daylight thievery of the national cake by a few POLAD elites.
DefyOrDie
CitizensConvergence4Change
Agenda2021
Stephen Sarkozy Chuma MDC Alliance Youth Assembly National Spokesperson
By Dr Masimba Mavaza | UNKNOWN people broke into the office of Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission chairperson Justice Loice Matanda Moyo over the weekend at Mt Pleasant Business Park.
ZACC chairperson Loice Matanda Moyo
Investigations are now underway to establish if any crucial documents or property are missing. Current investigations suggest there are some gadgets that have gone missing following the burglary.
After the disturbing incident, Justice Matanda Moyo took an early break and decided to work away from the offices.
Justice Matanda-Moyo confirmed the development on Monday morning.
“Yes, there was a break in at my office. Investigations are in progress,” she said.
Justice Matanda Moyo’s retreat to work away from the office is not a retreat in fear but to allow investigations.
Two years back thieves broke in the offices of the Chief Justice Like Malaba and no one has been brought to books over it. In 2016 thieves again broke into the then Vice President’s office the now President of Zimbabwe again no arrests where made.
It is not clearly known if this incident at Matanda Moyo’s office is linked to any of the Corruption case which are under investigations.
In many countries the fighters of corruption are targeted by those who will be wishing to have their cases ignored. The full force of the police has been activated to solve this daring assault on fight against corruption.
Based on Toyota’s founding principle of contributing to society by making automobiles, we have been striving to the sustainable growth of society.
We set environment, traffic safety, and education as the three global priority fields for our initiatives, in addition to making social contributions through our main business.
We also hold social, cultural and other activities according to the social needs on each country or region, utilizing our resources of technology and expertise, etc.
In addition, we focus on volunteering and passing on automotive and manufacturing cultures to the next generation in order to enrich the lives of communities.
To contribute to sustainable development in Africa, Toyota Tsusho actively works on CSR activities, such as providing medical supplies, and maintenance parts for the Toyota vehicles that support people’s lives, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Africa.
And also, Toyota Tsusho has decided to support the activities of WFP (World Food Programme), sympathizing with their philosophy to eradicate hunger and poverty amongst the poorest and most food-insecure countries and populations.
CSR activities in some countries:
Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has donated close to 50 000 face shields and masks to the local health institutions of KwaZulu-Natal, as well as other personal protective equipment (PPE) paraphernalia to schools in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. (2020)
TSAM donated more than 65 000 litres of sanitisers to the local taxi industry. (2020)
Toyota Uganda (TUGA) donated a Brand New Hino Truck, food and funds in support of Covid efforts in Uganda. (2020)
