At least five countries have suspended flights from South Africa after a coronavirus variant was recently discovered in the country.
Germany, Turkey, Israel, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that have announced the banning of such flights to prevent the spread of a variant of the SARS-COV-2 virus currently termed 501.V2 Variant.
The ban was coming into effect on Monday in most of these countries. Germany was one of the first nations to announce the ban.
“Because of the reported coronavirus mutation, the federal government intends to restrict travel options between Germany and Great Britain and South Africa,” said Government Spokesperson Martina Fietz.
Israel also banned the flights on Sunday, saying that its citizens returning from South Africa would be required to undergo a 30-day mandatory quarantine on their return.
The new variant was discovered in the Eastern Cape and also affects Kwazulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said his department has been observing a huge number of young people with no illness testing positive lately.
“The evidence that has been collated, therefore, strongly suggests that the current second wave we are experiencing is being driven by this new variant,” he said.
A number of countries have also added Britain to their list of banned flights following the discovery of a COVID-19 variant there.
WARRIORS captain Knowledge Musona is in the midst of a Covid-19 crisis at his Belgian top-flight club KAS Eupen after 17 players and five officials at the club reportedly tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Although Standardsport could not establish if the Zimbabwe international is among the players who tested positive for Covid-19, KAS Eupen last week confirmed that they were battling to contain the spread of the virus within their camp.
The club, however, did not disclose the identity of infected players “out of respect for their private life”.
On Thursday, Eupen released a statement confirming the postponement of their match against Musona’s former team KV Oostende, which was scheduled for yesterday, having been granted permission to defer their last three matches by the Royal Belgian Football Association.
“Due to the numerous Covid infections in the KAS Eupen A-squad, the Pro League cancelled the KAS Eupen championship game at KV Oostende that was scheduled for next Saturday. 17 players from the KAS Eupen senior squad are currently infected with Covid. The home games against Zulte Waregem and KRC Genk had previously been cancelled. Replacement dates have not yet been set,” the club said in a statement.
KAS Eupen’s sporting director Jordi Condom, however, revealed that none of the players and officials who had tested positive was currently hospitalised.
“Seventeen players are affected, as well as five members of the staff and collaborators. We had everything in place, with our doctors, but also in consultation with the specialists of the Pro League. “We did everything to avoid this situation, but it is clear that something did not work,” Condom said in an interview with the Belgian newspaper L’Avenir.
“Fortunately, nobody is hospitalised, so in this serious situation, it is something positive. “Some have symptoms, others have none at all. ”
The Belgian club is worried of the possibility of having a heavily congested schedule and the impact it could have on their players when they are finally granted permission to compete in the league probably in January.
“We really hope that everything will be over to resume in good conditions in January. You have to think about the physical, but also the psychological after-effects on the players,” KAS Eupen coach Beñat San José said.
KAS Eupen have not featured in the Jupiler Pro League since December 6 when they beat Beerschot VA 1-0 away at the Olympisch Stadion Antwerp to extend their unbeaten run in the league to five matches.
Their last three matches against Zulte Waregem (December 6), KRC Genk (December 15) and yesterday’s encounter against KV Oostende were postponed as they battle a Covid-19 outbreak.
The Qatar government-owned club, which is based in the German-speaking city of Eupen in Belgium’s province of Liège, has been on a good run of form in the Jupiler Pro League after enduring a difficult start to the season.
Musona has played a pivotal role in the club’s recent success having featured in all the club’s 15 Jupiler Pro League matches this season while managing two goals and as many assists.
The 30-year-old Zimbabwe international, who is in his second loan spell at Eupen, has flourished after being redeployed to an unfamiliar central midfield role by Eupen’s Spanish manager Beñat San José this season.
Musona also led from the front during the Warriors’ back-to-back 2021 Afcon qualifiers against Algeria, scoring a spectacular freekick during the 2-2 draw at the National Sports Stadium on November 16.
Augur Investments is demanding US$1 million defamatory damages from the MDC Alliance and Harare lawyer Tendai Biti for allegedly slandering the company on social media.
Biti and the MDC Alliance have both been cited as respondents because they allegedly posted libellous messages on their official Twitter pages.
In summons filed before the High Court, the applicants are Augur Investments, owned by Ken Sharpe, and Russian national Tatiana Aleshina.
They allege that Biti, who is the MDC Alliance vice president, and his party scandalised their good standing over Harare Airport Road tender through tweets.
Augur and Aleshina want an order for the removal of the tweets posted on December 4 and 13 implicating them in the Harare Airport Road scandal and for the defendants to print a retraction and apology in three widely circulating newspapers.
Augur argued that the tweets portrayed them in a bad light as they alleged that they were involved in fraudulent transactions and stole land from the City of Harare.
THE Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) has expressed concern over the state of roads in Bulawayo which are littered with potholes.
This has prompted the civic society group to petition the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) demanding that it should fix the roads as the potholes had worsened due to the rains.
In the petition sent to the BCC yesterday, the MIHR said people were not happy about the dilapidated state of the roads and wanted prompted action from the local authority as the potholes were now a menace.
“As Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights we urge the local authority to quickly move in and close these potholes before people die because of them. We also urge the Zimbabwe National Roads Authority (Zinara) to disburse funding to local authorities for them to be able to maintain roads.
“Zinara is collecting funds from cars through taxes every quarter and if that money is not returned to fix the roads, why should motorists continue paying? It will reach a point where motorists will refuse to pay because it seems by paying Zinara, they are actually funding the damage of their vehicles,” part of the petition read.
The human rights group said the road network in the city should not be a death trap because of failure by the authorities to fix the roads, adding that the loss of life on unmaintained roads is a human rights violation.
It said the most affected roads are Khami Road, Luveve Road, Joshua Nkomo Road and Plumtree Road to the city centre, while roads in high-density suburbs such as Pumula, Njube, Magwegwe, among others were in a sorry state.
In the low-density areas they said the worst roads were in Paddonhurst’s Netherby Road, Dillon Road in Parklands and Hillside suburbs.
Recently the BCC indicated that $20,7 million will be disbursed under the Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers Programme to fund the completion of road construction works to gravel standard.
“The contract awarded to Bitumen World for the surfacing of several sections did not commence, as such the said sections now require re-formation before the surfacing can be applied.
The roads in question were Maduna between Intemba Road and Ngwenya shops, Murchison between Scone and Adair, Luveve Road and Nkulumane Road,” the council’s latest minutes read.
The minutes also stated that the 2020 Zinara allocation was $16,4 million for road maintenance and Zinara disbursed the balance of $10,3 million during the first week of October for routine maintenance.
The council said focus was on pothole patching for the listed roads and the reconstruction of Wingrove, Woodstock and Walsall roads in the vicinity of Renkini country bus terminus.
The BCC minutes also revealed that the $11 million budget which was meant for the rehabilitation of Masiyephambili Road from Emakhandeni flyover to Luveve Road was now inadequate, prompting the local authority to suspend the programme and carry it forward to next year.
“Zimdollars were no longer adequate to carry out the work. It was planned that the reconstruction works suspended last year would be funded by Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers this calendar year.”
THE Second Republic has the political will and boldness to confront the past so as to ensure national healing and closure, President Mnangagwa has said.
In his speech on the occasion to mark the signing of the historic Unity Accord that was signed on this day by the revolutionary parties, ZANU and ZAPU, in 1987—the President said the Accord brought about peace which must forever remain a key feature of national development.
“Peace-building, conflict-resolution and management must remain a binding feature of our national development agenda. Where there are differences, we must aim to settle and resolve them through dialogue and engagement. Further guided by our national Constitution, heritage and traditional value systems; toxic politics and divisive tendencies have no room in our society. By and large, we are a peaceful people and nation.
“My administration has the political will and boldness to confront the past and bring about healing and closure”.
“I am encouraged by the success we are scoring towards building greater national cohesion and singleness of purpose informed by lessons from the disturbances which characterised the early years of independence. To date, a concrete course of action has been drawn out following inclusive interventions and meetings held with traditional leadership and stakeholders of Matabeleland Provinces and parts of Midlands Province,” he said.
The President described unity as the bedrock of national stability which must be entrenched through the full participation of all Zimbabweans through policies such as Devolution.
“Decades have passed since that historic event of our Unity Accord. However, its conceptualisation must now go beyond narrow interpretation. Therefore, today as we remember and celebrate Unity Day, let us re-commit ourselves to the important virtues that bind us as a people and equally incorporate the importance of our unity within the transformative national economic agenda”.
The President said the common goal for every Zimbabwean is to continue strengthening the unitary State that is Zimbabwe and which is home to multiple cultures, “all co-existing in harmony under one flag and one national anthem. Individually and collectively, we bear the responsibility to bequeath present and future generations, an economically developed, modern and prosperous country”.
Zimbabwe is one of the most peaceful nations in Africa and a destination of choice for tourists thanks to the Unity Accord, which remains key to driving the country’s development agenda towards Vision 2030, to become a middle class economy.
“As we focus on the future and inspired by the new national trajectory of economic development; I challenge us all to draw from the fundamental principles of the Accord to unify and collate our national capabilities, competencies and skills for the attainment of Vision 2030.
“On its part, my administration remains decisive in ensuring that all Zimbabweans have a sense of belonging and that they flourish and prosper leveraging on their potential and abundant natural resource endowments. This is indeed what our Founding Fathers envisaged when they committed to entrench unity as a critical pillar of our great nation”.
And towards equalisation and development that leaves no one behind, under the Second Republic budgeting, administration and the execution of development projects is being done in a way to give a voice to communities.
Zanu PF has hailed founding fathers — Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo — for selflessly putting the country’s interest ahead of their own through the signing of the Unity Accord.
Today, Zimbabwe marks 33 years since the signing of the Unity Accord between liberation parties ZANU and ZAPU to form Zanu PF.
In a statement, Zanu PF acting secretary for Information and Publicity Patrick Chinamasa thanked the show of selflessness by the late former leaders.
“After years of internal instability and disturbances in the southern provinces and parts of Midlands, on 22 December 1987, our founding fathers led by the late national heroes Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe and Cde Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo took the selfless giant step to bury our differences bring about unity, peace, stability, harmony and tranquillity.”
Zanu PF applauded President Mnangagwa for continuing on the path of entrenching the ideals of unity through bringing opposition parties together to contribute to nation building.
A platform for opposition parties to interface with the ruling party was created through the formulation of the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad).
“Zanu PF congratulates the President and First Secretary of the party His Excellency Cde ED Mnangagwa for his continued resilience in consolidating the gains of the Unity Accord and fostering the spirit of unity and dialogue through the creation of the POLAD platform to ensure that dialogue becomes the cornerstone of democracy.”
In the statement, Zanu PF also commended the President for the formulation of the healing processes to bring closure to the Gukurahundi issue.
“As the Unity Day marked the end of regrettable disturbances which were unfolding in the southern provinces, Zanu PF commends President ED Mnangagwa and his Government for tireless efforts and bravery in engaging the Matabeleland collective groups: chiefs, churches, civic society, affected individual families and youths in order to bring finality on the emotive Gukurahundi issue.
“Zanu PF applauds the President for creating platforms for open discussions on this issue as part of the national healing process.
“This gesture of statesmanship by the President is indeed in fulfilment of the spirit of the Unity Accord and the aspirations of our founding fathers.”
Remington Gold cigarettes favourite for smuggling into South Africa.
One of the Zimbabwean men arrested at a lodge in Polokwane for dealing in illicit cigarettes earlier in the year, appeared before the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
Walter Madhongi (25) was arrested on 20 October by the Directorate of Priority Crimes’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation members.
According to a statement by Hawks Limpopo Spokesperson, Capt Matimba Maluleke, a tip-off about people selling illicit cigarettes at a lodge in Polokwane was received and followed up.
“The team proceeded to the said lodge and found 330 cartons of Remington Gold cigarettes hidden in one of the rooms. The cigarettes, to the value of R87 000, were seized and Madhongi and a 42-year-old man were arrested,” Maluleke explained.
The accused appeared in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court.
“Madhongi pleaded guilty and sentenced to pay a fine of R40 000 or three years’ imprisonment, of which half is suspended. He should also pay a defects fine of R5 000,” Maluleke explained.
Maluleke said that the case against Madhongi’s co-accussed was “withdrawn by the court as Madhongi admitted to be the sole owner of the cigarettes”.
THE drama with late Michelle “Moana” Amuli’s parents appears far from over as the pair clashed heavily early on Saturday morning.
This time the feud is over who should take charge of their granddaughter.
A delegation for Moana’s mother, Yolanda Kuvaoga allegedly stormed Ishmael Amuli’s Domboshava home at around 3am demanding Moana’s daughter.
Her father, Lloyd Chipomho, is said to have taken her to Amuli for her to get used to Domboshava.
A lady, understood to be a friend of Moana, within the team allegedly knocked down Amuli’s door in the ensuing melee and was later arrested for her troubles.
Amuli said they came in a kombi at around 3am:
“There is a girl who was claiming to be from the Daily News and claimed she had a hamper for my granddaughter. I asked why she would be bring a hamper for such a young child at 3am.
“My wife advised me not to open for them because she suspected they were up to no good as a genuine visit to get my granddaughter would have been during day. She feared they wanted to kidnap the child and people would in turn accuse or blame us if anything bad happened to the child.
“When I wanted to engage them I discovered they wanted to be violent. My wife then dragged me inside, locked the door and hid the keys. That is when this girl, who claimed to be from a newspaper then broke the door. I got out of the house through the broken down door to find out why they were even accusing me of stealing the child when her father brought her.
“The father brought the child and said she should at least get used to my place as well as his home in Kuwadzana and I was grateful to my son-in-law. Now they accuse me of going to Kuwadzana and kidnapping my grandchild.”
He said, even though they have capacity to hit back, they would let the law take its course.
Congestion persisted at Beitbridge Border Post yesterday, with large numbers of Zimbabweans driving north and hoping to be home for Christmas and New Year, although the surge is only a third as large as the normal year end rush.
But curfews and health checks are delaying processing at the border post.
Traffic at Chirundu and Kariba border posts is also significantly lower compared to the same period last year, but there is no real surge as there are few people on either side trying to get home for Christmas.
South Africa is different as many Zimbabweans work or live there and besides the normal festive season surge in traffic, many of these have been unable to come home and return to work since the start of Covid-19 lockdowns on both sides of the border.
Until December 1, only commercial cargo, bodies for burial, returnees and diplomats on Government business were allowed into either country.
And while Zimbabweans in South Africa had an absolute right to come home, it was a one-way trip until the lockdowns were lifted as they would not be able to get back to South Africa.
Zimbabwe opened its land borders, including Beitbridge, at the beginning of this month, with private motorists and pedestrians now travelling under strict regulations to manage the risk of Covid-19.
Implementation of the curfew on the South African side of the border runs between 10pm and 4am coupled with strict Covid-19 screening, which is slowing down the movement of traffic.
After 10pm only commercial cargo is allowed to travel through Beitbridge Border Post, resulting in vehicles piling up on both sides of the border.
Travellers continue to need at least 48 hours to pass through Sadc’s busiest inland port of entry once time in the queues is taken into account
Although, there appears to be many people at the border, official statistics show that less than one-third of the usual volume of traffic during peak periods, is using the border.
“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the border used to handle at least 30 000 travellers per day and currently, the average figure is 6 500. The issue of implementing curfew regulations and slow Covid-19 screening has caused a lot of delays,” said one border official.
According to a cross-border transporter, Mr Trust Ndlovu, the slow movement of traffic at the border was likely to see some families having a dull festive season.
“Something has to be done about the situation here. Imagine I haven’t moved for 1km since arriving at the border at 5am,” said Mr Ndlovu.
“When the Government reopened the land borders, most of us were happy that we would be able to transport groceries and all the basic commodities we have failed to move at the peak of the lockdown.
“If we look at the rate at which things are moving here, we won’t manage to make deliveries to all our clients.”
Mr Albert Pinjisi who was travelling from South Africa said he had spent more than six hours to cross from South Africa to Zimbabwe due to long queues.
Another motorist, Mr Brian Tshabangu said: “We have a crisis here. We don’t know if we will be able to cross over to South Africa today. We have cleared everything on the Zimbabwean side and have been waiting in this queue for a very long time.”
Security staff are strictly screening travellers for valid documents which included passports and Covid-19 clearance certificates. It is understood that a total of 1 015 people have since December 10, been arrested at the border for violating immigration laws.
Authorities at Chirundu Border Post are handling between 400 and 500 travellers a day compared to around 1 500 during the same period in years gone by.
Regional Immigration officer Mr Joshua Chibundu said most of the people being cleared at the border were truck drivers.
“We are mostly clearing truck drivers who have been travelling even during the Covid-19 restrictions. There has been a marginal increase in the volume of traffic in recent days but it still falls far short of the numbers during normal times,” said Mr Chibundu.
One of the major stumbling blocks for travellers had been the sparse distribution of laboratories authorised to issue Covid-19 certificates while the 48-hour validity period had also deterred travellers.
Those who need to get tested and issued with Covid-19 certificates in Mashonaland West province have to travel to Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital.
“The certificate is valid for only 48 hours and that affects the planning of people who have to go to Zambia and conduct their business and come back within 48 hours.
“This means less time for some to conduct their business if they are coming from Harare and any other part of the country,” said a traveller at Chirundu.
The situation at Kariba Border Post had not changed with the usual low volume of traffic being the order of the day.
Traffic is expected to increase marginally as Christmas Day gets closer.
Thanks Makore, who is on remand and had been granted bail on charges of allegedly murdering his seven-year old nephew Tapiwa for suspected ritual purposes, has been rearrested by the police on allegations of defeating or obstructing the course of justice by destroying evidence.
He was arrested last Friday a few hours after being granted $10 000 bail by the High Court on the grounds that there was no evidence linking him to the killing. Two other suspects remain on remand in custody on murder charges, including Thanks’ brother Tapiwa (Senior).
Investigators now allege that when Tapiwa Makore (Snr) was arrested in September, Thanks allegedly drove to Murehwa Police Station where he asked for keys to Tapiwa Makore’s house. He then went to the house and allegedly destroyed and burnt some evidence which linked to the commissioning of the crime.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest and said investigations were still in progress.
“Thanks Makore has been rearrested by the police on allegations of defeating or obstructing the course of justice. He was arrested after being granted bail and investigations are still in progress,” he said.
On Friday night, Thanks Makore had his kitchen hut at his Murehwa homestead destroyed by fire, a few hours after being granted bail by the High Court.
A month ago, the kitchen hut of Tapiwa Makore Senior, twin brother to Thanks and the principle suspect in the killing, was also gutted by fire, giving rise to suspicion that the same person is trying to force the brothers out of the community.
By Saturday, Thanks Makore’s hut and gazebo at the homestead were totally destroyed, with a CID forensic team sifting the ashes as they conducted investigations.
Thanks Makore was given bail on the murder charges last Friday after Justice Tapiwa Chitapi said there was no evidence linking him to the offence.
The State’s case was weak as there was nothing connecting him with the offence and that police did not find anything at his house as was alleged by a police informant.
Crippling debt, lack of transparency and endemic corruption are sadly all too familiar stories in southern Africa. But now, in a landmark court ruling, Zimbabwean citizens have successfully demanded accountability from their government.
For citizens seeking truthful disclosure about exactly how much debt the country is in, the ruling made in their favour on 1 December signals a big victory in the fight for transparency. However, it stands to be seen to what extent government will comply with the ruling.
The ruling comes at a time when government has been pushing for constitutional amendments that would make the executive unaccountable to legislature regarding all foreign debts. Such an amendment would be a big blow to the quest for transparency. The government stands accused of guaranteeing loans from pan-African multilateral lender, Afreximbank, and other financiers using national resources without disclosure about the terms of the deals.
Harare North legislator Allan Norman Markham and the Community Water Alliance Trust, a civil society organisation, took finance minister Mthuli Ncube, the central bank and Afreximbank to court in September last year over the issue of full disclosure of financial agreements made by government and external lenders.
In his litigation, Markham sought the nullification of a USD500 million loan facility from Afreximbank to back the Zimbabwe currency, because it had been awarded without parliamentary approval. Zimbabwe had reportedly offered platinum production as collateral for the loan, in a move that showed lack of transparency.
Headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, Afreximbank was established in 1993 by African and non-African private and institutional investors for the purpose of financing, promoting and expanding intra-African and extra-African trade. However, most transactions between the government and Afreximbank have been made without full disclosure, in violation of section 300 (3) of the Constitution.
Zimbabwe’s finance ministry permanent secretary, George Guvamatanga, admitted, in earlier opposing papers, that the USD500 million loan should have had parliamentary approval, but argued that cancelling such loan would be a breach of contract.
Zimbabwe’s high court ruling compels finance minister Mthuli Ncube to publish all loans and guarantees entered into by government from 1 January 2019 to 1 December 2020. The finance ministry is also expected to gazette all details of the Afreximbank loans by January 2021.
The court did not grant Markham’s application to nullify the USD500 million loan facility but ruled that the terms of the agreement be made public.
Police say they will heavily deploy officers on major highways, residential areas, industrial and Central Business Districts and conduct increased foot and motorised patrols on all major and feeder roads, checking for wanted persons and those who move around with stolen property.
In a statement yesterday, police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga warned drivers not to drive while under the influence of alcohol or other substances which could affect their judgment on the roads.
He said the festive season was characterized by a lot of movements as the volume of traffic increased on the roads.
“Zimbabweans normally take this opportunity to visit relatives, friends and engage in various social activities. Of particular interest is the issue of road traffic accidents which take centre stage during this period. It is sad to note that most road traffic accidents during the festive season are caused by speeding, drunken driving, misjudgment, overtaking errors, failure to observe traffic rules and regulations and mechanical faults.
“Motorists must therefore ensure that vehicles are roadworthy before embarking on journeys and avoid using worn out tyres especially during this rainy season,” he said.
Traffic police officers mann a roadblock in Eastlea, Harare yesterday. Picture by Innocent Makawa
All defective vehicles and those not displaying number plates would be accounted for by police officers.
“We are also appealing to travellers not to board private and unregistered vehicles, especially mushikashika, as others have lost lives, property and some have been left injured after attacks by criminals using these vehicles.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police will work together with the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), Vehicle Examination Department (VED), ZINARA and other stakeholders to conduct awareness campaigns. This therefore entails the need for vigilance on the part of road users.
“It is paramount for all to recognise that road safety is a collective responsibility.
Besides traffic issues, police would also deploy officers to curb robbery, murder, rape, stock theft and unlawful entry cases. We urge the public to secure their premises and property during the holidays,” said Comm-Gen Matanga.
He advised the public not to move around with large sums of money or keep such amounts at home or business premises to prevent robbery cases.
The trial on charges of particpating in an illegal demonstration in May of six political activists, including MDC Alliance members Joana Mamombe, Cecelia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova has been set for January 19.
Mamombe, Chimbiri and Marova are also facing separate charges of faking their abduction after the demonstration.
Lovejoy Chitengu, Stanley Manyenga and Obey Tererai Sithole join Mamombe, Chimbiri, Marova on the demonstration trial set down for January 19 to 21.
They are charged with participating in a public gathering with intent to cause public violence.
The Sate led by Mr Tafara Chirambira yesterday furnished the six with court papers to allow them to prepare for the hearing.
It is alleged that on around noon on May 13 the six teamed up with several others and gathered at Warren Park 1 shopping centre in Harare before marching towards the Harare-Bulawayo Road.
According to the State, they displayed and waved placards, one of which was inscribed “Unlock us before we revolt”.
They were allegedly demonstrating against the extension of Covid-19 national lockdown and were intercepted and dispersed by the police.
LIONEL Messi says his failed attempt to leave Barcelona in the summer has affected his form this season.
In August the Argentina forward said he wanted to exercise a clause in his contract which he said allowed him to leave on a free transfer.
But Barcelona refused, saying his €700 million release clause had to be met.
“I dragged everything into the start of the season a bit,” Messi (33) told Spanish television channel La Sexta.
“The truth is right now I’m feeling fine, but in the summer I had a very bad time.”
Messi equalled Brazil legend Pele’s record of 643 goals for a club by scoring for Barcelona in Saturday’s draw against Valencia.
It was Messi’s ninth goal in 17 appearances this season for Barcelona, who are fifth in La Liga.
Messi, who can leave Barcelona for free when his contract runs out at the end of the season, is able to negotiate with other clubs from January 1.
Barcelona interim president Carlos Tusquets, who took over until elections in January after Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned in October, has said that “economically speaking” Messi should have been sold in the summer.
Barcelona’s players agreed to wage cuts in November that will save the 26-time La Liga champions €122 million.-Chronicle
2- Do you want me to plant cameras inside people's offices to prove that they have clashed?, he says, contradicting himself with his immediate prior statement in which he suggested that the 90 days (from the 18th Sept 2018) have not elapsed.
CLAIM: Talent Chiwenga says he is the only person who speaks genuinely for God, implying the only accurate voice of thought in Zimbabwe.
“The govt was supposed to invite the church, us, and me in particular, because I happen to be the only voice in Zimbabwe that speaks genuinely for God. (Video below inside article).
Is this true?
Talent Chiwenga
Apostle Chiwenga while Mocking Mayor Mafume, says: I Speak The Mind Of God, I'm Just Like Hopewell, I'm Just Like Joshua Nkomo, I've Got More Followers Than You Can Ever Have, Mayor Mafume Is Naïve, Opposition Is Infiltrated, Car Accident Was Not Ordinary pic.twitter.com/LT5YQwNWLK
By Religion Reporter| Where are the two coffins? What happened to the 90 days of back November 2018 ? And where is Joab, where is Adonijah? – After failing to predict the Coronavirus and other plagues, the preacher who once claimed ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa did not send soldiers to shoot people on the 1st of August 2018 (saying that God told him so, contradicting several LIVE video broadcasts of Mnangagwa literally doing it), Talent Chiwenga has said he is the only voice of God in the country.
“The government was supposed to invite the church, us, and me in particular, because I happen to be the only voice in Zimbabwe that speaks genuinely for God. (Video)
“You may hate me for all I care, but this is the truth.
“When they invite these people that they call prophets, men of God, bishops, they invite them to ratify the ungodly acts they are doing against the citizens and these so called men of God, the bishops , the prophets, they do not have the voice of God in them they have not heard from God.” – Talent Chiwenga
Meanwhile, the people of Kuwadzana, Harare were the worst brutalised by soldiers in August 2018 when Emmerson Mnangagwa deployed the army to kill many while changing election results, and on the 4th August local clinics told ZimEye.com of how military trucks would arrive at night and officers begin assaulting residents. Being reminded of these atrocities could not be any more hurting.
A soldier clearly fires live ammunition at protesting citizens
Soldiers move in to disperse crowds of opposition Movement for Democratic Change supporters outside the party’s headquarters in Harare, Zimbabwe, August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
An armed soldier points his gun at an innocent aged vendor
At least 10 000 suspected ghost workers have been struck off the Government payroll after a biometric registration exercise as the Second Republic walks the talk on its reforms aimed at restoring order in the civil service.
The eliminated names are of those whose biometric data was non-compliant under the exercise that was assisted by the World Bank.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) has also reassured its workers that their welfare remains a top priority in the coming year promising continued engagement on sustainable salaries while new non-monetary incentives, including another 120 buses to boost the fleet that brings civil servants to and from work, are being worked out.
Other existing non-monetary incentives such as affording civil servants housing schemes and duty rebate on vehicle imports will also be retained in 2021.
During last week’s workshop for the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Service Labour and Social Welfare, the PSC and the Apex Council grouping staff associations, PSC head of human capital development and management, Mr Moses Mhike, said the exercise of flushing out ghost workers was continuous.
“Ghost workers are no longer an issue. We have managed to account for those on the Salary Service Bureau,” he said.
“We conducted a biometric exercise to get the data of all civil servants and comparing with the Registrar’s office. We realised that about 10 000 were not biometric compliant and traced them at each and every work station.”
PSC Secretary Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe said the PSC simply eliminated ghost workers by withdrawing salaries to those who were non-complaint to the biometric exercise.
“We made sure that we stopped paying those non complaint and only the legitimate ones came forward. However, the exercise should be an ongoing thing,” he said.
The biometric registration was implemented with the assistance of the World Bank as part of efforts to weed out ghost workers and modernise management of the civil service.-The Herald
3 boys aged 10 and 11 reportedly drowned in a disused shaft they were swimming in Kuwadza in Harare over the weekend.
The shaft was left open by the Harare City Council, and it was filled with rainwater in which the boys were swimming when tragedy struck.
The incident was confirmed by ZRP National Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi who told the publication that:
The trio was playing in the shaft allegedly left by Harare City Council in Kuwadzana 5, in the Paddocks area. The shaft is filled with water. Reports are that at first they would go in the shaft one at a time. But they decided to jump in all of them, that is when they drowned.
The trio was playing in the shaft allegedly left by Harare City Council in Kuwadzana 5, in the Paddocks area. The shaft is filled with water. Reports are that at first they would go in the shaft one at a time. But they decided to jump in all of them, that is when they drowned.
Their parents started looking for them the whole night, but could not locate them. The following day, a Harare City Council employee found some clothes at the scene and also one of the bodies was floating.
ZRP Urged people to avoid water bodies.-The Herald
A lecturer at Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) has filed a $3 million defamation lawsuit against a female student who claimed that he failed her last year as punishment for spurning his love advances.
Three independent examiners brought in the university remarked her module and all agreed she had failed sport science.
Dr Tapiwa Mudyahoto, a holder of a PhD from Fort Hare University, wants Nomsa Mwashita, a Bachelor of Education student at GZU, to compensate him for tarnishing his image through making what he called “baseless and false” allegations.
In summons dated December 12 filed by Dr Mudyahoto at the Masvingo Civil Court, which have since been served on Mwashita through Chihambakwe Law Chambers, Dr Mudyahoto wants the student to pay defamation damages and costs of the suit.
He also gave Mwashita seven days to respond to the suit. In his application, Dr Mudyahoto said that Mwashita was one of 24 students part one students that were doing a module in sport science that he taught in the second semester.
After results came out, Dr Mudyahoto alleged that Mwashita upon noticing that she had failed the module made allegations that she was being punished for turning down his advances. Yet Dr Mudyahoto said he was cleared of any wrongdoing after the engagement of independent examiners who remarked Mwashita’s work.
He further alleged that Mwashita made a second “malicious” allegation against him by claiming that while in his office he had showed his manhood to her but then abandoned her case midway after being asked to prove her allegation against him by university authorities.
Dr Mudyahoto said he suffered damaged equivalent to $3 million which Mwashita must pay him. Mwashita has not yet filed papers opposing the suit.-The Herald
It has come to the attention of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (the Bank) that some persons are refusing to accept old and worn United States dollar (U.S. dollar) notes alleging that they are old and mutilated and therefore of no value.
For the benefit of the transacting public and as already advised by the USA Embassy in Zimbabwe in its Tweet on 16 November 2020, the Bank wishes to inform and restate the position of the United States Government that U.S. dollar notes do not expire no matter their age, and that the U.S. Government does not even consider old, worn notes to be mutilated as long as more than half of the note is intact, and the value of the note is clear.
Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance, through its youth assembly, has intensified efforts to defeat Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF.
MDC Alliance Youth Assembly spokesperson, Stephen Sarkozy Chuma, quoted by NewsDay, said the #One Million Campaign was progressing well.
“The #OneMillionCampaign is our vehicle to victory in the fight against Mnangagwa’s corrupt military dictatorship.
The campaign seeks to mobilise, educate, recruit and radicalise new one million youth voices that will take this regime head-on to solve the economic, social and political rot in the country,” Chuma told the publication.
“We are convinced the source of this decay is an illegitimate regime that stole the will of the majority who happens to be young people. We are now going village by village through the #OneMillionCampaign to coalesce young people to reclaim their stolen victory,” he added.
Thanks Makore, who is on remand and had been granted bail on charges of allegedly murdering his seven-year old nephew Tapiwa for suspected ritual purposes, has been rearrested by the police on allegations of defeating or obstructing the course of justice by destroying evidence.
He was arrested last Friday a few hours after being granted $10 000 bail by the High Court on the grounds that there was no evidence linking him to the killing. Two other suspects remain on remand in custody on murder charges, including Thanks’ brother Tapiwa (Senior).
Investigators now allege that when Tapiwa Makore (Snr) was arrested in September, Thanks allegedly drove to Murehwa Police Station where he asked for keys to Tapiwa Makore’s house. He then went to the house and allegedly destroyed and burnt some evidence which linked to the commissioning of the crime.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest and said investigations were still in progress.
“Thanks Makore has been rearrested by the police on allegations of defeating or obstructing the course of justice. He was arrested after being granted bail and investigations are still in progress,” he said.
On Friday night, Thanks Makore had his kitchen hut at his Murehwa homestead destroyed by fire, a few hours after being granted bail by the High Court.
A month ago, the kitchen hut of Tapiwa Makore Senior, twin brother to Thanks and the principle suspect in the killing, was also gutted by fire, giving rise to suspicion that the same person is trying to force the brothers out of the community.
By Saturday, Thanks Makore’s hut and gazebo at the homestead were totally destroyed, with a CID forensic team sifting the ashes as they conducted investigations.
Thanks Makore was given bail on the murder charges last Friday after Justice Tapiwa Chitapi said there was no evidence linking him to the offence.
The State’s case was weak as there was nothing connecting him with the offence and that police did not find anything at his house as was alleged by a police informant. -Herald
Zanu PF politburo member Jorum Gumbo, who was in charge of Masvingo District Coordinating Committee (DCC) elections held this month has said a faction allegedly fronted by senior party member Clemence Makwarimba, former national political commissar Retired Lt Gen Engelbert Rugeje and Josaya Hungwe employed violent tactics in a desperate bid to win the elections.
The faction rallied behind Trust Mugabe for the position of Masvingo DCC chairperson but he lost dismally to Tawanda Dube.
The Makwarimbas; including Clemence’s son Phainos, Rugeje and Hungwe are alleged to have been pushing for a rerun but all was in vain as the politburo approved the results of all the seven districts of Masvingo province.
Gumbo told TellZim News that there were some centres in Masvingo and Chiredzi districts that did not vote and he recommended a re-run for those centres only.
“Generally, the elections were free and fair though there were some incidences here and there. There were five centres which failed to vote in Masvingo district and 17 in Chiredzi district.
“Masvingo district was torn between the people who supported Trust Mugabe and those who supported Tawanda Dube for the post of chairperson. It was unfortunate that the Mugabe camp was very violent and at some point I threatened to disqualify them,” said Gumbo.
“The Mugabe team was always at the provincial command centre shouting obscenities and I advised them to leave and go to the people. They chased away a team which had come from Gutu to conduct elections at one polling centre. The Gutu team ran for their lives and left ballot boxes which were later collected by the police and brought to us,” Gumbo added.
In Masvingo, there were petitions written by disgruntled members from Zaka and Masvingo districts who were pushing for a re-run of the election but the politburo, chaired by President Emmerson Mnangagwa has since shut the doors on any possible re-runs in the province.
When contacted for comment over the alleged violence, Rugeje angrily said TellZim News must get comment from the very people who aligned him to the Mugabe faction.
“Why are you calling me? I am at home with my family. Get comment from the person who gave you that story. You are disturbing me I want to sleep,” said Rugeje when he was contacted for comment around past 7 in the evening.
Due to the disputed results, sources say that there is now a fierce rivalry between the Makwarimbas and the Chadzamira factions.
The Makwarimba faction is said to be the one which authored the re-run narrative saying the people were robbed of their right to democratically-elect their leadership.
Phainos, who is provincial deputy political commissar, told TellZim News that there was no factionalism in Masvingo. He said people were only asking for a chance to participate in free and fair elections.
“All people did was ask for a free and fair elections. Now they are attacking my person and my father for telling them the truth. All of a sudden they want to be more Lacoste than others. We know the history of some of them and they were not there when my father was fighting for Zanu PF,” said Makwarimba.
He added that such transgressions would cost the party come 2023 elections.
“The scariest thing is to go against Chadzamira but he should allow his people to decide. I am afraid this will cost the party come 2023 elections. I am just vocal but I will never plot against President Mnangagwa,” said Makwarimba. TellZim News
Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance, through its youth assembly, has intensified efforts to defeat Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF.
MDC Alliance Youth Assembly spokesperson, Stephen Sarkozy Chuma, quoted by NewsDay, said the #One Million Campaign was progressing well.
“The #OneMillionCampaign is our vehicle to victory in the fight against Mnangagwa’s corrupt military dictatorship.
The campaign seeks to mobilise, educate, recruit and radicalise new one million youth voices that will take this regime head-on to solve the economic, social and political rot in the country,” Chuma told the publication.
“We are convinced the source of this decay is an illegitimate regime that stole the will of the majority who happens to be young people. We are now going village by village through the #OneMillionCampaign to coalesce young people to reclaim their stolen victory,” he added.
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance spokesperson, Advocate Fadzayi Mahere has dismissed Auxillia Mnangagwa’s so called national dress arguing cultural matters are deeper than the cloth.
Advocate Mahere also described Auxillia Mnangagwa’s controversial dress code as meaningless and divorced from ordinary citizens.
“The people must be included in all matters that affect them.
Elite-driven imposition of matters such as “dress” won’t secure buy-in.
Citizens must trust the process and understand the intended objective before they can get on board. Lessons should have been learnt from “the scarf”.
You can’t microwave culture, identity or national symbols. It’s deeper than a piece of cloth.
There are matters of social cohesion, plurality, national unity & common understanding that must precede such an endeavour,” argued Advocate Mahere.
Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance Students Council has said Auxillia Mnangagwa’s national dress is irrelevant at a time the majority of citizens are wallowing in poverty.
In an interview with ZimEye.com on Sunday, MDC Alliance Students Council Secretary General, Rujeko Hither Mpambwa, described the so called national dress as an insult to the suffering Zimbabweans.
“We view the whole thing as an insult to the suffering Zimbabweans.
Actually Mrs Mnangagwa is simply imposing her personal interests on the entire nation.
Cultural matters cannot be determined by an individual.
Nobody has the right to redefine the culture of the nation,” argued Mpambwa.
“As students we we totally reject Mrs Mnangagwa’s dress code.The attempt to force the nation to buy her own choice of fashion is unfortunate and disturbing,” added Mpambwa.
Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance Students Council has said Auxillia Mnangagwa’s national dress is irrelevant at a time the majority of citizens are wallowing in poverty.
In an interview with ZimEye.com on Sunday, MDC Alliance Students Council Secretary General, Rujeko Hither Mpambwa, described the so called national dress as an insult to the suffering Zimbabweans.
“We view the whole thing as an insult to the suffering Zimbabweans.
Actually Mrs Mnangagwa is simply imposing her personal interests on the entire nation.
Cultural matters cannot be determined by an individual.
Nobody has the right to redefine the culture of the nation,” argued Mpambwa.
“As students we we totally reject Mrs Mnangagwa’s dress code.The attempt to force the nation to buy her own choice of fashion is unfortunate and disturbing,” added Mpambwa.
What are the signs and symptoms of typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever?
Typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever have similar symptoms̵.
People usually have a sustained fever (one that doesn’t come and go) that can be as high as 103–104°F (39–40°C).
Other symptoms of typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever include
Weakness
Stomach pain
Headache
Diarrhea or constipation
Cough
Loss of appetite
Some people with typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever develop a rash of flat, rose-colored spots.
What do you do if you think you have typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever?
The only way to know for sure if an illness is typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever is to have a sample of blood or stool (poop) tested for Salmonella Typhi or Salmonella Paratyphi.
If you have a fever and feel very ill, see a doctor immediately.
How are typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever treated?
Typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever are treated with antibiotics.
When bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, the bacteria are not killed and their growth is not stopped when antibiotics are taken. Your doctor may order special tests to see if the bacteria causing your infection are resistant. Results from those tests may affect what antibiotic treatment you receive.
People who do not get appropriate antibiotic treatment may have fever for weeks or months and may develop complications. People who do not get treatment can die from complications of the infection.
The danger from typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever doesn’t end when symptoms disappear.
Even if your symptoms seem to go away, you may still be carrying Salmonella Typhi or Salmonella Paratyphi. If so, the illness could return, or you could pass the bacteria to other people. In fact, if you are a healthcare worker or work at a job where you handle food or care for small children, you may not be able to return to work until a doctor has determined you no longer carry the bacteria.
If you are being treated for typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever, it is important to do the following to lower the chance that you will pass the bacteria on to someone else.
Keep taking antibiotics for as long as the doctor has recommended.
Wash your hands carefully with soap and water after using the bathroom.Do not prepare or serve food for others.
Source: Centre For Disease Control And Prevention
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information follow /like our Facebook page :Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
Zimbabwe international Tino Kadewere has given credit to his strike partners Memphis Depay and Karl Toko Ekambi following yet another impressive display by the trio, in last night’s victory over Nice.
The three, who have scored 22 of Les Gones’s 31 league goals this season, were instrumental again last as Rudi Garcia’s men climbed to the summit of the table.
Man of the match Kadewere, netted one and assisted another while Houssem Aouar rounded off the scoring as Lyon showed their title credentials for all to see.
Speaking to OLTV after the match, Kadewere said: “We are very happy. We needed to win after a tough match against Brest. We wanted to come back with the three points. This kind of match gives us confidence. We worked together. There is one match left before the break, we have to stay focused. We played well together, Toko Ekambi, Memphis, and myself everything is going well. It’s good for the whole attacking line to score.”-Soccer 24
Johannesburg – The Hawks have intensified their fight against foreign nationals involved in illegal mining activities.
This comes after the investigative unit pounced on suspects in North West and Pretoria for their alleged illicit mining activities.
Two Lesotho nationals operating in North West were found with seven pieces of amalgam weighing 40g with an estimated value of R20 000.
Searches at another location in North West uncovered amalgam weighing 35g valued at R 17 500.
More than R100 000 in cash was recovered from the pair, while 38 rounds of ammunition were seized.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the two arrests may seem like a drop in the ocean considering the magnitude of the phenomenon.
“The operations aimed at rooting out established illegal mining syndicates will be intensified on a continuous basis.”
Mogale said it was an open secret that illegal mining was the nexus of other serious crimes such as human trafficking of illegal immigrants, who were promised employment and ended up being exploited by their recruiters.
Mogale indicated that investigations were continuing to identify those high up in the value chain.
“These undoubtedly have a negative impact on the South African economy, with billions worth of mineral resources leaving our shores undetected.”
The North West co-ordinator of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA, Mere Boase, said the illegal mining activities in the province were of “great concern” to Numsa.
“We are aware of some of these syndicates, which is a worrying factor considering that it does not benefit our community members at all.”
Boase said a number of cases were reported to the police and they were awaiting the outcome.
Mogale also revealed that a group of 36 alleged illegal miners from Lesotho were arrested on Sunday morning in Stilfontein after authorities responded to an apparent turf war among armed factions.
According to Mogale, the district illicit mining task team and local police found a fight between more than 100 illegal miners under way, allegedly over mining turf.
The Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team was summoned, and the authorities arrested at least 36 suspects, aged between 20 and 42, after they had split into small groups upon discovering the law enforcement presence.
One suspect was shot and wounded in the upper body after he reportedly ignored calls for him to drop his firearm.
Three loaded AK-47 assault rifles, a .303 rifle, a pistol, magazines and various ammunition were seized.
The group was expected to appear at the Stilfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on various charges including conspiracy to commit crime, and the possession of prohibited firearms and ammunition.
The men’s status in the country was also being investigated.
Former CAPS United Player Nyasha Mushekwi over the weekend married his Swedish fiance Arsema Ghebrehiwot at a ceremony held in Sweden. The development was posted by ZimCelebs Official on Instagram which congratulated the couple and shared the following pictures.
Mushekwi according to My Zimbabwe proposed to Ghebrehiwot in November 2018 in Seychelles. Mushekwi was previously married to Luminitsa Dumbisa Jemwa before the 2 went their separate ways a few years ago.
ZAPU has said it regrets signing the Unity Accordl with Zanu PF 3 decades ago on 22 December 1987, New Zimbabwe reports. The matter came to light as the party which was formed on 10 December 1961 was celebrating its 59th anniversary when the acting party president Isaac Mabuka who was addressing senior party officials said:
Only one condition was given by Zanu PF’s Mugabe in order for Gukurahundi to stop that Zapu signs the never negotiated unity accord document and agree to be swallowed by his party
As a result, Zapu went in and the physical killings stopped albeit with the scorched earth policies of the government continuing up to this very day. What followed were years of unsuccessful efforts to reform the Zanu PF government as well as prescribing Zapu’s social, economic and developmental component into the resultant government’s policy.
The Zapu component in the government also called in the government to respect, protect and promote human rights, but the calls fell on deaf ears,
Eventually, Zapu got fed up and in 2009 severed the unity accord ties and pulled out from both Zanu PF as well as government. A resolution was taken at the White City Stadium and marked the first step of Zapu’s revival, followed by a special convention at McDonalds Hall in 2009 and later in 2010 at the ZITF Congress.
The Zapu structures, after these events, were revived and became independent from Zanu PF. It has been a tumultuous journey, with the party operating in the most hostile of environments with close to zero budgets, but the loyal members and committed leaders. The party saw through its 2016 congress.
However, we lost our sitting president (Dumiso Dabengwa) in 2019. We are preparing the upcoming 2021 (elective) congress. Zapu has proved to be the most resilient political party of all time After surviving the worst adversities and still be able to celebrate its 59th anniversary.
ZAPU’s President Dumiso Dabengwa died in May last year and the party said they are putting their house inorder as they prepare for the upcoming elections. Meanwhile the country will tomorrow commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the accord ZAPU is regretting.
The mother of the late Mitchelle Amuli (Moana) has talked the time to explain why she wants to have a second memorial for the late Moana, the Daily News reports. Yolanda Kuvaoga has said she wants to have the memorial so that Moana’s friends who could not attend her burial can attend the memorial. She also said she was not happy with the way Moana was buried and said her daughter was buried as a dog.
Speaking to the Daily News on Sunday Kuvaoga said:
I am not happy with the way my daughter was buried. Mitchelle was buried like a dog and this pains me a lot. She was popular and that was not a secret. All I wanted was to see all her friends attending the burial. It was also my wish to see Doves Funeral Services leading the funeral procession to match Moana’s standards.
I had no problem with seeing Mitchelle going down without a casket, all I wanted was to do a normal funeral including taking the body from the hospital mortuary to the private mortuary, in this case Doves. Doves were supposed to provide a casket for the funeral procession. It would have been better if they (Muslims) had crushed the casket at the grave site and buried the body the way they wanted.
Since she was a people’s person, the event is mainly targeting some of her friends who failed to attend the burial. We are also trying to give our daughter deserving respect considering that she was buried like a dog.
Kuvaoga also said Moana was seeing Ginimbi at the time of her death and also dispelled rumours that she was not close to her daughter when she said:
I am surprised by people who labelled Mitchelle a commercial sex worker. No, she was not into sex work. She was a hard worker who earned her money from her acting and her fitness career. She was not in love with Genius (Kadungure) but they clicked very well as they were all into business.
All her properties will be inherited by her daughter. We will rather sell some of her belongings for the upkeep of the child.
We were very close to each other. If I was not close to her, there was no way she could renovate our Highfield house. Before she died, she gave me some of her belongings. Above all, we used to share some life secrets.
I still remember she had attempted to commit suicide three times when she was in an abusive relationship. Through my counselling, she managed to escape the abusive marriage. What she went through in her marriage is almost similar to what I went through in my marriage. Men can be ruthless and abusive. The only way to save your life is to walk away from that union.
Moana died alongside 3 others including popular socialine Ginimbi when the car they were travelling in was involved in a collusion with a Honda fit along Borrowdale road on 8 November 2020.
NETONE has reinstated and for the second time fired its former chief executive officer, Lazarus Muchenje on alleged criminal abuse of duty charges.
Muchenje who was dismissed from Netone on July 9 recently 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.
In dismissing Muchenje, NetOne served him with a letter advising him of termination of his contract. Muchenje today received a letter of withdrawal of the July termination which was signed by the acting chairperson Susan Mutangadura.
In that letter, NetOne was advising Muchenje that they were withdrawing the July 9 dismissal and that he should await further communication.
“As you are aware, on 9th July 2020, NetOne Cellular (PVT) limited delivered a letter to you terminating your fixed terms contract of employment on notice in terms of section 12 (4) of the Labour Act (chapter 28.01).
“You then filed an urgent chamber application seeking to challenge the termination of the contract in case No. HC 3611/20. The matter was argued before Justice Chinamhora and a judgement in the matter is still pending.
“Netone Cellular(PVT) limited hereby withdraws the letter of 9 July 2020 informing you of the termination of your contract. By extension, that termination of your contract is hereby withdrawn,” reads the letter.
At that very moment, Muchenje received another letter which was terminating his contract of employment for the second time. The letter which was again signed by Mutangadura was advising Muchenje of his removal from the position of chief executive officer of Netone.
“The Ministry of ICT Postal and Courier Services and his Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe have expressed concern about the long drawn out dispute between you and NetOne Cellular Pvt Limited.
“They both note that your relationship with the institution (NetOne Cellular Private Limited) has irretrievably broken down and that it is in everyone’s best interests that the parties disengage,” reads the letter.
It further stated that President Mnangagwa has given his endorsement for Muchenje’s removal from the office of chief executive officer of NetOne.
“In the circumstances by this letter and exercising its rights, NetOne Cellular Private Limited hereby terminates your employment contract on three months’ notice.
Since NetOne Cellular Private Limited does not require your services it hereby waived the need for you to work. You will not be required to report for duty. The notice period will be taken into account in calculating your terminal benefits,” reads the letter.
It further stated that Muchenje’s employment was terminated with immediate effect.
Apostle Chiwenga while Mocking Mayor Mafume, says: I Speak The Mind Of God, I’m Just Like Hopewell, I’m Just Like Joshua Nkomo, I’ve Got More Followers Than You Can Ever Have, Mayor Mafume Is Naïve, Opposition Is Infiltrated, Car Accident Was Not Ordinary pic.twitter.com/LT5YQwNWLK
Charles Laiton the Newsday Senior Court reporter died at Parirenyatwa Hospital today, Nehanda Radio reports. Laiton reportedly succumbed to a kidney ailment according to a relative Sophia Chalenga who confirmed his death to the publication and said:
He was not well after being diagnosed with a kidney ailment and we took him to Harare Hospital where he was admitted and discharged last week.
However, his health deteriorated again last Friday and he was admitted at Parirenyatwa Hospital and was placed in a Covid-19 isolation ward.
According to the publication:
Laiton joined Alpha Media Holdings publishers of NewsDay, The Independent and The Standard in June 2010 as a reporter rising through the ranks to the position of senior court reporter.
Prior to joining the media, he worked as a court interpreter and rose through the ranks to become principal court interpreter in charge of Mashonaland province and later Manicaland province.
Burial arrangements are yet to be announced. We will update this article if new details.
Apostle Chiwenga while Mocking Mayor Mafume, says: I Speak The Mind Of God, I'm Just Like Hopewell, I'm Just Like Joshua Nkomo, I've Got More Followers Than You Can Ever Have, Mayor Mafume Is Naïve, Opposition Is Infiltrated, Car Accident Was Not Ordinary pic.twitter.com/LT5YQwNWLK
12 BOMBASTIC THINGS – Apostle Chiwenga said while Mocking Mayor Mafume: I Speak The Mind Of God, I’m Just Like Hopewell, I’m Just Like Joshua Nkomo, I’ve Got More Followers Than You’re Ever Going To Have In Your Life, Mayor Mafume Is Naïve, Mafume Is So Simple Minded, Opposition Is Infiltrated, I Am Speaking On Behalf Of God, I Am Speaking The Mind Of God, The Car Accident Was Not Ordinary, Where Is Norton MP Temba Mliswa?
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s “niece”, Shantel Chikafu, has been arrested for abusing his name in a messy mine ownership wrangle in which she ejected John Maungwa from a Shamva mine.
Chikafu has allegedly been masquerading as President Mnangagwa’s daughter in conducting illicit deals, including defrauding a bank of US$37 000.
However, her arrest followed a meeting held on Thursday in Bindura to resolve the bitter mining wrangle with Maungwa where she reportedly told some Mines ministry officials that she was given a special grant to mine in Umfurudzi Game Park, including at Maungwa’s Wickman 23 Mine by the President.
Chikafu, who spoke through her lawyers in the bank fraud case which is before the courts, said she was the President’s niece, as her father Patson Mnangagwa was the President’s elder brother.
Mashonaland Central police spokesperson Inspector Milton Mundembe yesterday said he would only confirm the matter today (Monday) after getting all the details.
“I will have to verify. I can only confirm to you tomorrow (today) after getting all the details,” Mundembe said.
However, a police source close to the matter yesterday confirmed that Chikafu was picked up by law enforcement agents.
“It’s true, she has been arrested. Her arrest followed her abuse of President Mnangagwa’s name after she told Ministry of Mine officials that she was given a special grant to mine in Umfurudzi Game Park by the President.
“She has been using the names of Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander Phillip Valerio Sibanda and State Security minister Owen Ncube to defy a court order ordering her to vacate a Shamva mine, Maungwa’s mining claims. She also used the President’s name to defraud CBZ Bank of US$37 000 and the matter is in the courts as I speak,” he said.
The source said Chikafu was in police custody and was waiting to be taken to court today.
“She has been in the cells since Saturday afternoon and will be taken to court tomorrow. I think the authorities decided to arrest her because she has been using names of big people including President Mnangagwa with impunity to conduct illicit deals and has been going scot-free,” he said.
Chikafu reportedly dropped Sibanda and Ncube’s names while defying a High Court order evicting her from the mine located in Umfurudzi Game Park.
She is reportedly working with Shamva North legislator Oscar Gorerino to wrest the mining claims from Maungwa.
She was recently ordered off the mine by the High Court, which ruled that Maungwa had a legal right to the property.
Despite the ruling, Chikafu has remained on the ground, claiming she enjoys protection from Sibanda and Ncube.
The saga has also sucked in officer commanding police in Mashonaland Central province, Assistant Commissioner David Mahoya, who is being accused of failing to implement a directive from the provincial Joint Operations Command to evict her.
High Court judge Justice Jacob Manzunzu in his order on April 29 directed that Maungwa be restored possession of Wickman 23 Mine which Chikafu and some Zanu PF youths invaded and illegally occupied on April 17.
The woman, who allegedly has four different ID cards, passed herself off as “Chantelle Mnangagwa”, daughter of the President, to defraud CBZ Bank and the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority of a gold claim.
When she appeared before Harare magistrate Victoria Mashamba, she had another identity as she assured the court that she was “Chantelle Chikafu Mnangagwa” and was actually only a niece of the President.
State prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokota had opposed bail saying she was using four different national identification particulars and if released on bail, Chikafu could manufacture more IDs and commit more offences.
“According to police investigations, the accused has four IDs she is using, including the name Chantelle Mnangagwa. She was also fined $6 000 on a previous conviction in Mount Darwin. She had given the police the address of 4099 Tynwald South in Harare, but she had left those premises three years ago and the stand is now a private college.”
Mutsokota told the court that there were 10 witnesses who would testify in court.
Suspected armed robber Douglas Mutenda, who was released on bail after law officer Mr Douglas Chesa consented to bail on December 8, is now on the run.
Mutenda is facing several counts of armed robberies and was released on $5 000 bail on December 9 when the State consented on the basis that some of his co-accused were out on bail.
But he failed to turn up on Friday for routine remand and Harare magistrate Mrs Judith Taruvinga issued the warrant of arrest.
Mutenda was supposed to stand trial for his armed robbery charges on February 17 next year with co-accused Prince Makodza, Carrington Marasha, Liberty Mupanhanga, Godfrey Mupamhanga, Spicer Takawira and Musafare Mupanhanga.
On January 21 next year, Mutenda was supposed to be tried at Harare magistrates’ court on other armed robbery charges with Eddison Mashamhanda, Spicer Takawira, Prince Makodza, Musafare Mupanhanga, Nevanji Madanhire, Christopher Mashamhanda and Dudzai Chidangwara.
Mutenda was also expected to appear in court on December 30 for routine remand on similar charges with Musa Taj Abdul, Musafare Mupamhanga, Godfrey Mupanhanga, Spicer Takawira, Carrington Marasha, Benjamin Chitunhu and Conwell Kasambarare.
Mutenda was initially denied bail when he applied at the High Court on October 20 this year.
The State led by Mr Chesa opposed the application, arguing that they had a very strong case against him.
Mr Chesa also told the court that Mutenda had led to recoveries of some of the stolen items, that there was a CCTV footage that showed him at the crime scene, that his accomplices implicated him and there were phone calls linking him to the offence, all of which left the prosecution with a very strong case against him.
High Court Judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi dismissed Mutenda’s bail application on grounds that he was likely to abscond and that he was facing a serious offence.
Barely a month after his bail application was dismissed at the High Court, Mutenda engaged a different lawyer and approached the same court, and went before a different judge.
New lawyer Mrs Concilia Maheya made a fresh bail application citing changed circumstances on December 8. In that application, Mutenda argued that his co-accused, Musafare Mupanhanga, Spicer Takawira, Benjamin Chitunhu and Conwell Kasambarare, had been granted bail.
He also argued that he had no pending cases as the State had alleged.
Mr Chesa responded to the fresh bail application on the same day consenting.
“The present application is based on changed circumstances, which the respondent (State) is of the view that they tilt the scales in favour of the applicant,” he said.
“In the initial application, neither the then legal representative nor the investigating officer who gave oral evidence in court told the court that there were other accused persons who are facing the same charges, already on remand and are out on bail.
“The applicant (Mutenda) is linked to the commission of the offence through implication by his co-accused. He was arrested at his home and no recoveries were made from him. Further, no formal identification parade was conducted to allow the respective victims to finger the applicants as having been part of the gang that committed the offence. The only probable link being the CCTV coverage and call history of his cell phone.”
Mr Chesa said in his consent papers that issues of the CCTV and call history were to be tested and determined during trial.
He said there was need to have proof from the police on whether Mutenda was on the run or not, as there was no evidence presented before the court in that regard.
Justice Benjamin Chikowore, acting on Mr Chesa’s consent, granted Mutenda bail on December 9, a day after he made his application.
Former Egypt international Mohamed Aboutrika has claimed that Mohamed Salah is unhappy at Liverpool and the Reds are considering selling him.
Aboutrika said he called the 28-year who told him that he was frustrated at not being made captain for the recent Champions League tie against FC Midtjylland. The forward expected to lead as the most experienced player in the team, but the armband went to 22-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold.
“I called Salah about his situation at Liverpool, and he is upset, but that would never affect his performance on the field,” Aboutrika told beIN Sports, as cited by Goal.
“I know that Salah is not happy in Liverpool, he told me the reasons why he is not happy, but they are secrets, and I cannot talk about it in public. One of the reasons that made Salah angry was that he was not the captain against Midtjylland.”
Salah publicly expressed his dismay at not getting the armband and also reiterated his admiration for Real Madrid and Barcelona, two clubs regularly linked with him.
And Aboutrika believes that move will happen in future.
“If Salah was a player at Real Madrid or Barcelona, and playing at the same level as Liverpool, he would’ve won the Ballon d’Or, and it is normal for a Spanish newspaper to ask Salah about Real Madrid and Barcelona,” added the 42-year-old.
“In my opinion, Liverpool are considering selling Salah for economic purposes.
“I do not have any influence over Salah’s decisions, he is my friend and brother, and he is smart enough to know what is best for him.”-Soccer 24
Brazil soccer great Pele has congratulated Lionel Messi for equalling his goal-scoring record for a single club.
The Argentine forward netted his 643rd goal for Barcelona in Saturday’s 2-2 home draw with Valencia. He achieved the milestone in 748 matches while Pele managed the tally in 665 competitive games for Santos.
“When your heart overflows with love, it is difficult to change your path. Like you, I know what it’s like to love wearing the same shirt every day,” the Brazilian legend said on Instagram.
“Like you, I know that there is nothing better than the place we feel at home. Congratulations on your historic record, Lionel. But above all, congratulations on your beautiful career at Barcelona.
“Stories like ours, of loving the same club for so long, unfortunately, will be increasingly rare in football. I admire you very much.”-Soccer 24
The Namibia Football Association (NFA) has reportedly requested an international friendly against the Warriors.
The game is meant to be used as part of the preparations for the 2020 African Nations Championships (Chan) finals set for Cameroon next month. Both teams are taking part in the tournament.
According to the Standard, it is not clear if Zifa will take up the offer.
The locally-based Warriors team has been in camp for almost two weeks, playing a couple of practice games with local Premiership clubs.
However, coach Zdravko Logarusic feels there is a need to play more competitive games before the tournament starts.
There were also plans to play Kenya in a friendly match, but nothing has been said since.
Zimbabwe is in Group A and will play hosts Cameroon in the opening match on January 16.-Soccer 24
Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance Students Council has said Auxillia Mnangagwa’s national dress is irrelevant at a time the majority of citizens are wallowing in poverty.
In an interview with ZimEye.com on Sunday, MDC Alliance Students Council Secretary General, Rujeko Hither Mpambwa, described the so called national dress as an insult to the suffering Zimbabweans.
“We view the whole thing as an insult to the suffering Zimbabweans.
Actually Mrs Mnangagwa is simply imposing her personal interests on the entire nation.
Cultural matters cannot be determined by an individual.
Nobody has the right to redefine the culture of the nation,” argued Mpambwa.
“As students we we totally reject Mrs Mnangagwa’s dress code.The attempt to force the nation to buy her own choice of fashion is unfortunate and disturbing,” added Mpambwa.
Olympique Lyon talisman and captain Memphis Depay has lauded his strike partners Tino Kadewere and Karl Toko Ekambi after another decisive role by the three in the demolition of Nice last night.
The Dutchman opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute before Kadewere doubled Les Gones’ advantage of the stroke of half time.
Kadewere would turn from scorer to provider in the second half; unselfishly setting up Toko Ekambi for the Cameroonian to score Lyon’s third goal.
Depay, Kadewere and Toko Ekambi have been impressive this season and are statistically the most dangerous attacking trio in any of Europe’s top five leagues, with a combined 22 goals this campaign.
Depay, speaking to OLTV after the game, showered his strike partners, as well as his teammates at large, with praise.
“I am happy with the victory. We came to win so we are satisfied. I am happy with the relationship among myself, Toko Ekambi and Kadewere. The substitutes also bring their qualities to the match… I did not think about the penalty. I did it by feeling,” he said.
Lyon coach Rudi Garcia hailed the performance produced by his troops, which consequently sent them to the top of the pile in Ligue 1.
“We absolutely wanted to be in first place. We won by a large margin. We scored some nice goals, in different ways, from build up play and on the counter. There is nothing wrong with the goal we conceded.It’s nice to see the team play that way,” said the Frenchman.
”Memphis is dazzling. I am very satisfied with everyone’s work. We were smart. We didn’t have the legs to press more. We decided to play in a block in midfield… The players take pleasure in playing well and defending well together. Our past experiences have helped us to stay strong,” he added.-Soccer 24
What are the signs and symptoms of typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever?
Typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever have similar symptoms̵.
People usually have a sustained fever (one that doesn’t come and go) that can be as high as 103–104°F (39–40°C).
Other symptoms of typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever include
Weakness
Stomach pain
Headache
Diarrhea or constipation
Cough
Loss of appetite
Some people with typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever develop a rash of flat, rose-colored spots.
What do you do if you think you have typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever?
The only way to know for sure if an illness is typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever is to have a sample of blood or stool (poop) tested for Salmonella Typhi or Salmonella Paratyphi.
If you have a fever and feel very ill, see a doctor immediately.
How are typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever treated?
Typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever are treated with antibiotics.
When bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, the bacteria are not killed and their growth is not stopped when antibiotics are taken. Your doctor may order special tests to see if the bacteria causing your infection are resistant. Results from those tests may affect what antibiotic treatment you receive.
People who do not get appropriate antibiotic treatment may have fever for weeks or months and may develop complications. People who do not get treatment can die from complications of the infection.
The danger from typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever doesn’t end when symptoms disappear.
Even if your symptoms seem to go away, you may still be carrying Salmonella Typhi or Salmonella Paratyphi. If so, the illness could return, or you could pass the bacteria to other people. In fact, if you are a healthcare worker or work at a job where you handle food or care for small children, you may not be able to return to work until a doctor has determined you no longer carry the bacteria.
If you are being treated for typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever, it is important to do the following to lower the chance that you will pass the bacteria on to someone else.
Keep taking antibiotics for as long as the doctor has recommended.
Wash your hands carefully with soap and water after using the bathroom.Do not prepare or serve food for others.
Source: Centre For Disease Control And Prevention
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information follow /like our Facebook page :Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance spokesperson, Advocate Fadzayi Mahere has dismissed Auxillia Mnangagwa’s so called national dress arguing cultural matters are deeper than the cloth.
Advocate Mahere also described Auxillia Mnangagwa’s controversial dress code as meaningless and divorced from ordinary citizens.
“The people must be included in all matters that affect them.
Elite-driven imposition of matters such as “dress” won’t secure buy-in.
Citizens must trust the process and understand the intended objective before they can get on board. Lessons should have been learnt from “the scarf”.
You can’t microwave culture, identity or national symbols. It’s deeper than a piece of cloth.
There are matters of social cohesion, plurality, national unity & common understanding that must precede such an endeavour,” argued Advocate Mahere.
Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance, through its youth assembly, has intensified efforts to defeat Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF.
MDC Alliance Youth Assembly spokesperson, Stephen Sarkozy Chuma, quoted by NewsDay, said the #One Million Campaign was progressing well.
“The #OneMillionCampaign is our vehicle to victory in the fight against Mnangagwa’s corrupt military dictatorship.
The campaign seeks to mobilise, educate, recruit and radicalise new one million youth voices that will take this regime head-on to solve the economic, social and political rot in the country,” Chuma told the publication.
“We are convinced the source of this decay is an illegitimate regime that stole the will of the majority who happens to be young people. We are now going village by village through the #OneMillionCampaign to coalesce young people to reclaim their stolen victory,” he added.
By A Correspondent- A lecturer at Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) has filed a $3 million defamation lawsuit against a female student who claimed that he failed her last year as punishment for spurning his love advances.
Three independent examiners brought in the university remarked her module and all agreed she had failed sport science.
Dr Tapiwa Mudyahoto, a holder of a PhD from Fort Hare University, wants Nomsa Mwashita, a Bachelor of Education student at GZU, to compensate him for tarnishing his image through making what he called “baseless and false” allegations.
In summons dated December 12 filed by Dr Mudyahoto at the Masvingo Civil Court, which have since been served on Mwashita through Chihambakwe Law Chambers, Dr Mudyahoto wants the student to pay defamation damages and costs of the suit.
He also gave Mwashita seven days to respond to the suit. In his application, Dr Mudyahoto said that Mwashita was one of 24 students part one students that were doing a module in sport science that he taught in the second semester.
After results came out, Dr Mudyahoto alleged that Mwashita upon noticing that she had failed the module made allegations that she was being punished for turning down his advances. Yet Dr Mudyahoto said he was cleared of any wrongdoing after the engagement of independent examiners who remarked Mwashita’s work.
He further alleged that Mwashita made a second “malicious” allegation against him by claiming that while in his office he had showed his manhood to her but then abandoned her case midway after being asked to prove her allegation against him by university authorities.
Dr Mudyahoto said he suffered damaged equivalent to $3 million which Mwashita must pay him. Mwashita has not yet filed papers opposing the suit.
Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance, through its youth assembly, has intensified efforts to defeat Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF.
MDC Alliance Youth Assembly spokesperson, Stephen Sarkozy Chuma, quoted by NewsDay, said the #One Million Campaign was progressing well.
“The #OneMillionCampaign is our vehicle to victory in the fight against Mnangagwa’s corrupt military dictatorship.
The campaign seeks to mobilise, educate, recruit and radicalise new one million youth voices that will take this regime head-on to solve the economic, social and political rot in the country,” Chuma told the publication.
“We are convinced the source of this decay is an illegitimate regime that stole the will of the majority who happens to be young people. We are now going village by village through the #OneMillionCampaign to coalesce young people to reclaim their stolen victory,” he added.
What are the signs and symptoms of typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever?
Typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever have similar symptoms̵.
People usually have a sustained fever (one that doesn’t come and go) that can be as high as 103–104°F (39–40°C).
Other symptoms of typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever include
Weakness
Stomach pain
Headache
Diarrhea or constipation
Cough
Loss of appetite
Some people with typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever develop a rash of flat, rose-colored spots.
What do you do if you think you have typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever?
The only way to know for sure if an illness is typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever is to have a sample of blood or stool (poop) tested for Salmonella Typhi or Salmonella Paratyphi.
If you have a fever and feel very ill, see a doctor immediately.
How are typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever treated?
Typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever are treated with antibiotics.
When bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, the bacteria are not killed and their growth is not stopped when antibiotics are taken. Your doctor may order special tests to see if the bacteria causing your infection are resistant. Results from those tests may affect what antibiotic treatment you receive.
People who do not get appropriate antibiotic treatment may have fever for weeks or months and may develop complications. People who do not get treatment can die from complications of the infection.
The danger from typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever doesn’t end when symptoms disappear.
Even if your symptoms seem to go away, you may still be carrying Salmonella Typhi or Salmonella Paratyphi. If so, the illness could return, or you could pass the bacteria to other people. In fact, if you are a healthcare worker or work at a job where you handle food or care for small children, you may not be able to return to work until a doctor has determined you no longer carry the bacteria.
If you are being treated for typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever, it is important to do the following to lower the chance that you will pass the bacteria on to someone else.
Keep taking antibiotics for as long as the doctor has recommended.
Wash your hands carefully with soap and water after using the bathroom.Do not prepare or serve food for others.
Source: Centre For Disease Control And Prevention
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information follow /like our Facebook page :Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Republic Police has redeployed 84 senior police officers throughout the country.
Commissioner Moses Magandi has been moved from Gweru to head the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Harare, replacing CID director Comm Chrispen Charumbira who was recently arrested for criminal abuse of office.
Asst Comm Patrick Majuta has been transferred from CID Law and Order section in Harare to CID headquarters as the deputy director for law and order.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday said the transfers were necessitated by recent promotions.
“When there have been promotions, there are transfers to fill in the gaps that could have been left either by death or the need for job rotation so that the organisation benefits from the expertise that certain officers have,” he said.
Some of the transfers include Comm A Moyo from PGHQ Command Agriculture to the PGHQ crime as chief staff officer.
Asst Comm Mthimukulu was transferred from Mashonaland East to Police General Headquarters (PGHQ) administration as senior staff officer, while Asst Comm D Dhlakama was moved from Manicaland provincial headquarters to PGHQ internal investigations as senior staff officer.
In Harare province, Comm W Tembo was transferred from the PGHQ Admin to Harare provincial headquarters as Officer Commanding.
In Mashonaland East, Asst Comm SG Ndou was transferred from CID to Mashonaland East provincial headquarters as Acting Officer Commanding while Asst Comm G Mugonda from Murehwa district headquarters was transferred to Mashonaland East provincial headquarters as Asst Commissioner crime.
Commissioner P Makotose from Mashonaland West provincial headquarters to Mashonaland Central provincial headquarters as Officer Commanding.
In Mashonaland Central Comm David Mahoya was transferred to Masvingo as provincial headquarters as officer commanding.
Asst Comm Florence Marume was transferred from Mutare Central district headquarters to Masvingo provincial headquarters as Asst Comm in charge of administration.
In Matabeleland North, Commissioner Erasmus Makodza will remain Matabeleland North provincial headquarters as Officer Commanding.
Under CID, Asst Comm B Bangajena was transferred from Manicaland provincial headquarters to CID headquarters a deputy director commercial crimes department.
Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance has described the late Reverend Herbert Siziba as a man of faith and undoubted commitment to change.
Reverend Siziba is the father of MDC Alliance Youth Assembly Secretary General Gift Ostallos Siziba.
MDC Alliance Secretary for Welfare, Maureen Kademaunga, described Reverend Siziba as a hero of faith.
“Following our President’s call on the bereaved family of our Youth Assembly General Secretary Gift Ostallos Siziba , I today joined other party leaders to commiserate with Gift & family.
On behalf of the MDC Alliance, I shared a tribute and a testimonial at the committal service. From the testimonials delivered there, I learnt today that our Youth S.G was raised by a giant of faith who led an exemplary life.
Go well father and thank you for the Gift that is Ostallos, you raised a leader and for that we will forever be grateful. Go well Rev. Siziba,” said Kademaunga in a statement.
Reverend Siziba was laid to rest in Bulawayo on Monday.
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance spokesperson, Advocate Fadzayi Mahere has dismissed Auxillia Mnangagwa’s so called national dress arguing cultural matters are deeper than the cloth.
Advocate Mahere also described Auxillia Mnangagwa’s controversial dress code as meaningless and divorced from ordinary citizens.
“The people must be included in all matters that affect them.
Elite-driven imposition of matters such as “dress” won’t secure buy-in.
Citizens must trust the process and understand the intended objective before they can get on board. Lessons should have been learnt from “the scarf”.
You can’t microwave culture, identity or national symbols. It’s deeper than a piece of cloth.
There are matters of social cohesion, plurality, national unity & common understanding that must precede such an endeavour,” argued Advocate Mahere.
By A Correspondent- A Zimbabwean born South African based hearse driver was this week jailed for 15 years for smuggling explosives with over R 400 000 into South Africa from Zimbabwe, The Herald reports.
Wisper Ndiwen was arrested in July and he had been in remand since then after he was found with explosives in the hearse van he was driving from Zimbabwe where he had delivered a body.
According to Captain Maluleke of The Hawks in South Africa:
On July 26, 2020, at Beitbridge Border Post, the police were busy with their routine stop and search duties when they stopped a hearse that was coming from Zimbabwe and searched it.
Instead of finding a coffin in the hearse, they discovered explosives with an estimated value of over R420 000 and subsequently arrested Ndiweni who was the driver of the vehicle.
This is a second jail sentence imposed on explosives’ smugglers in the month of December alone. Patson Banda (25) and Life Mbazi (33) were recently sentenced to 15 years’ direct imprisonment by the Musina Magistrate’s Court for smuggling explosives.
Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance Students Council has said Auxillia Mnangagwa’s national dress is irrelevant at a time the majority of citizens are wallowing in poverty.
In an interview with ZimEye.com on Sunday, MDC Alliance Students Council Secretary General, Rujeko Hither Mpambwa, described the so called national dress as an insult to the suffering Zimbabweans.
“We view the whole thing as an insult to the suffering Zimbabweans.
Actually Mrs Mnangagwa is simply imposing her personal interests on the entire nation.
Cultural matters cannot be determined by an individual.
Nobody has the right to redefine the culture of the nation,” argued Mpambwa.
“As students we we totally reject Mrs Mnangagwa’s dress code.The attempt to force the nation to buy her own choice of fashion is unfortunate and disturbing,” added Mpambwa.
Rujeko Hither Mpambwa, MDC Alliance Students Council Secretary General
By A Correspondent- Thanks Makore, on remand on charges of allegedly murdering his seven-year old nephew Tapiwa for suspected ritual purposes, had his kitchen hut at his Murehwa homestead destroyed by fire on Friday night, a few hours after being granted $10 000 bail by the High Court on the grounds that there was no evidence linking him to the killing.
A month ago, the kitchen hut of Tapiwa Makore Senior, twin brother to Thanks and the principle suspect in the killing, was also gutted by fire, giving rise to suspicion that the same person is trying to force the brothers out of the community.
By Saturday, Thanks Makore’s hut and gazebo at the homestead were totally destroyed, with a CID forensic team sifting the ashes as they conducted investigations.
Thanks Makore’s older brother, Shadreck, said he was alerted of the incident by their cousin who resides at the homestead.
“My cousin brother who is currently staying at Thanks’ homestead woke me up at midnight and alerted me of the incident. When I woke up, I noticed that the hut and gazebo were on fire.
“I am still wondering how the kitchen caught fire because it’s barely a month since we witnessed Tapiwa Makore Senior’s hut also being burnt to ashes,” he said.
A villager from the neighbourhood, Tendai Muzura, said he was surprised to see the fire damage. “I was passing through Makore’s homestead when I realised that his hut had been reduced to ashes. We made a police report with my fellow villagers who were equally shocked,” he said.
Another witness who only identified herself as Rita, said the fire could have been caused by someone seeking revenge for the murder of Tapiwa Makore Junior.
“When the incident occurred, I was fast asleep and I only woke up to see Makore’s house burning. Now, what is troubling us is the person behind these fires because sometime early this month, Tapiwa Makore Senior’s hut was also reduced to ashes. I personally think that whoever is behind these fires, is seeking revenge for the murder of Tapiwa,” she said.
Thanks Makore was given bail last Friday after Justice Tapiwa Chitapi said there was no evidence linking him to the offence.
The State’s case was weak as there was nothing connecting him with the offence and that police did not find anything at his house as was alleged by a police informant.
Thanks Makore was originally suspected of masterminding the murder of the seven-year-old and is alleged to have offered to pay US$1 500 for the head and arms of the deceased.
Meanwhile, Chief Mangwende of Murehwa has agreed to the burial of the boy’s remains without the head on January 9 next year, as the family seeks closure to his case.
Yesterday, there reports that some Damofalls residents gathered at Thanks Makore’s Ruwa house over the weekend to protest the decision by the High Court to grant him bail.
Residents confirmed the brief protest.
“Yes, I saw a handful of people gathered at his gate. I was some metres away so I could not hear what they were saying. Later on, I heard that they were protesting why he was given bail. They were there for a couple of minutes before they dispersed, but I did not see Thanks Makore outside,” said a resident who refused to be named.
Another resident, a vendor at the shops near Makore’s house, confirmed the protest. “When it happened, I was not here. However, when I came back, I heard from some people that there was drama outside Thanks’ house, right at the gate. I am not sure what it was all about but I think residents are angry that he got bail.”
Zimbabwe’s border with South Africa will be closed to the public between 10PM and 6AM, officials said on Sunday.
The decision follows new Covid-19 restrictions imposed by South Africa last week, including a curfew between 11PM and 4AM.
The border at Beitbridge re-opened to the public on December 1 for the first time since the end of March when both countries went into lockdown.
Nqobile Ncube, the assistant regional immigration officer in charge of Beitbridge, explained: “Post-December 1, our curfew times were set between 10PM and 6AM. Yes, from December 1 we were not implementing that because the border was operating 24 hours daily, but then South Africa implemented their curfew.
“It’s effectively because of the implementation of the South African curfew that we also now suddenly have got to employ that curfew aspect because there is no way we can clear traffic and have it stuck in no-man’s-land.”
He said the curfew restrictions would not affect cargo and other essential service providers who are exempt.
The new restrictions come as tens of thousands of Zimbabweans living in South Africa return home for the Christmas holidays.
Ncube said human traffic at the border began surging on Friday as many companies in South Africa closed for the holidays. Many of those entering South Africa were school children travelling to Africa’s richest economy to be with their parents.
By A Correspondent- At least 10 000 suspected ghost workers have been struck off the Government payroll after a biometric registration exercise as the Second Republic walks the talk on its reforms aimed at restoring order in the civil service.
The eliminated names are of those whose biometric data was non-compliant under the exercise that was assisted by the World Bank.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) has also reassured its workers that their welfare remains a top priority in the coming year promising continued engagement on sustainable salaries while new non-monetary incentives, including another 120 buses to boost the fleet that brings civil servants to and from work, are being worked out.
Other existing non-monetary incentives such as affording civil servants housing schemes and duty rebate on vehicle imports will also be retained in 2021.
During last week’s workshop for the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Service Labour and Social Welfare, the PSC and the Apex Council grouping staff associations, PSC head of human capital development and management, Mr Moses Mhike, said the exercise of flushing out ghost workers was continuous.
“Ghost workers are no longer an issue. We have managed to account for those on the Salary Service Bureau,” he said.
“We conducted a biometric exercise to get the data of all civil servants and comparing with the Registrar’s office. We realised that about 10 000 were not biometric compliant and traced them at each and every work station.”
PSC Secretary Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe said the PSC simply eliminated ghost workers by withdrawing salaries to those who were non-complaint to the biometric exercise.
“We made sure that we stopped paying those non complaint and only the legitimate ones came forward. However, the exercise should be an ongoing thing,” he said.
The biometric registration was implemented with the assistance of the World Bank as part of efforts to weed out ghost workers and modernise management of the civil service.
Ambassador Wutawunashe also said the Pay As You Go pension scheme, which sees civil servant pensions paid out of contributions made by working members, is being replaced with the Defined Benefit Pension Plan whereby pension contributions from working civil servants are invested to fund their future pensions.
As part of the restricting of the civil service there was need to fully adopt Information Communication Technology for modernisation.
By A Correspondent- The national dress, which was launched in Harare on Saturday has been described as a mockery and a blatant display of misplaced priorities in a country where over eight million people are food insecure.
The national dress was launched by President Emmerson Mnangagwa where models showcased the national cloth which has a Zimbabwe bird and national flag colours on it.
Political analyst Gladys Hlatshwayo described the event as extravagant and lack of priories by government.
“We have no government actually. How can resources be committed to a lesser priority when the country is besieged with bigger challenges?” Hlatshwayo told NewsDay in an interview.
“We need good stewards who can manage the finances in a manner which prioritises the vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society.”
Hlatshwayo said, while the event to launch the national dress gobbled a lot of money, the country’s hospitals lacked basic items.
The Information ministry permanent secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana said the First Lady Auxillia was the brains behind the project.
“The national fabric was designed in consultation with different stakeholders from all the 10 provinces. They agreed that the Zimbabwe Bird is the symbol that uniquely and best describes us as Zimbabweans. The theme of the launch is Zimbabwe, My Identity, and My Pride, Mangwana said.
MDC spokesperson Fadzai Mahere said: “Around 8,6 million Zimbabweans are food insecure. The public health system is on its knees. Teachers are incapacitated. Nurses can’t afford transport to go to work. Yet, the government is focused on this,” Mahere said.
Academic Tinashe Muzamhindo said: “Lack of priorities. We need a proper national economic recovery framework to address such.”
Another political analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya said: “Zimbabwe has a monumental dual political and economic crisis happening simultaneously, not a national dress crisis.”
Speaking during the national dress launch, the First Lady said: “I considered countries like South Africa and Malaysia with complex cultures but had national dresses and I said Zimbabwe with its more unified culture should find it easier to have one of its own.”
By A Correspondent- Daring thieves stole a gate at St Alois Hunyani Catholic Church in Chitungwiza.
This was revealed by Tendekai Mwashita who posted and said:
Stolen from St Alois Hunyani Catholic church in Chitungwiza is a Giant Chocolate brown Gate. All those who might have any leading information to the stolen Gate kindly report to the nearest police station or contact Parish Priest Fr Gutu on +263 77 301 8309 or Parish Chairperson Mr Garawada on +263 77 339 4784
By A Correspondent- Tension has once again gripped the Zanu-PF Mutare district after the ruling party politburo ordered the rerun of the district co-ordinating committee chairmanship elections after chaos rocked the first round of the party electoral contest.
The first round was marred by allegations of massive rigging with some ballot papers found in bins while others were burnt, amid an outcry by some voters that there were party members that were paid to vote more than once.
Four candidates are vying for the hot seat in Mutare, and these are Binali Yard, Clever Muparutsa, Cecilia Gambe and war veteran Ivan Mbengo.
Preliminary results showed that Muparutsa had won the election but it was later revealed that Yard had won the election, which caused confusion and prompted demonstrations at the Manicaland provincial headquarters office.
The election exposed factionalism in the party with Zanu-PF Manicaland provincial party chairman Mike Madiro reportedly backing Muparutsa. On the other hand, Yard is allegedly being backed by Zanu-PF national chairperson, Oppah Muchinguri.
Both Madiro and Muchinguri are fighting for the control of the province.
Yard yesterday refused to comment, and directed questions to party’s acting spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa.
Yard’s supporters yesterday said they were sure their preferred candidate would win the election.
“We need fairness in this election, if there is fairness, we are going to win, it was clear that our candidate Yard was rigged from winning (sic),” said a supporter who refused to be named.
“We are saying let’s go for a rerun, the best candidate is going to win the election. As supporters of Yard, we are following what President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been saying that let the voice of the people be the voice of God, and we have been on the ground and we are campaigning.”
Muparutsa’s supporters said they have accepted the rerun directive by the politburo, adding that it was a hard pill to swallow.
“We did not want the rerun because we believed we had won the election, but there is nothing we can do because the politburo passed a resolution that there should be a rerun,” another supporter said.
Muparutsa was not immediately available for comment.
By A Correspondent- United Kingdom-based founding president of the Economic Freedom Fighters Zimbabwe (EFFZ) opposition party, Innocent Ndibali has stepped down.
Ndibali will pave way for Xolani Tshuma, who was his deputy.
He was at the helm of the party since its formation four years ago.
Ndibali said the reasons for stepping down were that he wanted to concentrate on philanthropic activities as well as his businesses.
The outgoing leader also said his decision was a “conscious, carefully thought-out, strategic, progressive, selfless and democratic” move for a leader to step down from the top position and facilitate smooth transfer of power.
“It was my personal decision. The central command team and the war council of EFFZ have endorsed that decision. My view is and has always been that EFF Zimbabwe is transformative and revolutionary. This is why as a leader I want to demonstrate a new political culture that political leaders should facilitate a peaceful transfer of power. I am happy that I led by example,” Ndibali told Southern Eye.
He said the decision-making body in the party, the central command, had since endorsed Tshuma as the new president.
“I now want to focus on other areas of interest, mainly to focus my attention on growing my business and also to dedicate more time and resources on philanthropy,” Ndibali said.
“I want to thank all those who worked so hard and continue to work so hard to build the party. I am stepping down from the leadership at a time the party is in good shape and the support base has grown exponentially.”
Ndibali hailed government for embarking on the land reform programme, but expressed reservations about the move to compensate white commercial farmers who lost farms under the programme.
In 2017, Ndibali made headlines after he was arrested while addressing journalists at the Bulawayo Media Centre.
Police alleged that he had violated his visa conditions by addressing journalists. He was, however, acquitted of the charges.
By A Correspondent- Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya has threatened to freeze the bank accounts of businesses which are taking advantage of the lower forex auction rate to make exchange gains through either importing or retailing.
Speaking at the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) 6th Annual Business Review Conference last week on Thursday, Mangudya said businesses were inflating supplier receipts or using higher exchange rates to make exchange gains.
“We are used to arbitrage opportunities, its arbitrage. It is the spirit of arbitrage and that is what is happening a lot in Zimbabwe so we are using moral suasion. We have our FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit), CID (Criminal Investigation Department), the police. You see, these things are so difficult to police. You need to have introspection, self-discipline, because it’s not there if you can imagine . . . You need to selfpolice yourselves,” he said.
“The FIU comes and closes your accounts, freezes them, when you are doing third party transactions…When we get hold of you we just close your accounts then you come to my office because the best way to make a person come to my office and tell me what he was doing is to freeze it. If you hit the pocket he won’t be able to transact . . .
“They now have associate companies in South Africa so they issue invoices from South Africa, come to Zimbabwe – transfer pricing, we are watching you. So they come to the auction for US$10 000 but the product is US$4 000. The other US$6 000 is what is transfer pricing… that mentality does not help the country.”
Currently, the official forex rate stands at US$1:$81,76 against a parallel rate ranging between US$1:$110 to $120.
Companies then go to the official forex auction and buy the US dollar more cheaply to either make US dollar gains through inflating prices from suppliers or to retail goods at a forex rate ranging between $91 and $110.
This is why in the 2021 National Budget, VAT registered operators’ systems were ordered to be interfaced with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority server with effect from December 1, 2020 to capture US dollar sales.
Failure to do so will result in operators being denied a tax clearance certificate.
“The instruments are there. We have got plenty of statutory instruments in Zimbabwe but compliance is our weakest point in Zimbabwe,” Mangudya said.
By A Correspondent- The opposition Zapu party and political analysts have described the Unity Day holiday as a commemoration that has lost relevance as it no longer reflects the tenets of the unity accord which was signed in 1987.
They said government should first solve the issues of national peace and reconciliation pertaining to the Matabeleland and Midlands victims of the Gukurahundi massacres of the 1980s.
Acting Zapu president Isaac Mabuka told the Southern Eye in an interview that it was better for the holiday to be changed to Gukurahundi Victims Day, to remember the 20 000 lives lost during the massacres.
The remarks come as the country prepares to commemorate the Unity Day, which is celebrated every year on December 22.
The day was declared a national holiday as a result of the Unity Accord which was signed on December 22, 1987 by two political parties, Zanu, which was then, led by the late former President Robert Mugabe, and Zapu which was led by the late former Vice-President Joshua Nkomo.
Mabuka said the Unity Day celebrations could only have relevance if they reflected that the day was being celebrated to mark an official end to the mass killings of innocent civilians in Matabeleland and the Midlands.
“We prefer a Unity Day which does not coincide with the signing of the unity accord by Mugabe and Nkomo,” Mabuka said.
“Unity Day is no longer relevant to us as Zapu and I do not see how it is linked to the Unity Accord signing,” Mabuka said.
Ibhetshu likaZulu secretary-general Mbuso Fuzwayo said the Unity Day should be changed to a day to remember the victims of the Gukurahundi.
“How can Unity Day be memorable when it was born out of the suffering of innocent people who were tortured, raped, and over 20 000 civilians were massacred by those who were against multi-party democracy? They were killed in order to have a one party State,” Fuzwayo said.
“It is of no relevance to us as it is an important day to them, born out of the blood of innocent citizens killed by their government,” he said.
Human Rights Activist Effie Ncube said there was nothing worth celebrating on Unity Day as the commemorations had no meaning.
“This is because the government has not addressed the key issues which were supposed to be addressed by the Unity Accord, and one of them is the 1980s Gukurahundi genocide. Everything is still outstanding in terms of national peace and reconciliation, and compensation of victims of the genocide. Government has not addressed anything to that extent, so there is nothing worth celebrating,” Ncube said.
He added: “Unity Day should be a day to mourn the victims of Gukurahundi. We should also mourn the standard of living which has deteriorated since Gukurahundi. There is loss of jobs, poverty and hunger. That is why we cannot celebrate.”
By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has ordered police to tighten lockdown restrictions during the festive season.
Mnangagwa also said that Zimbabwe was preparing to roll put the coronavirus vaccine, with the country among the first due to receive the much-needed antidote for the lethal virus.
During his State of the Nation Address, Mnangagwa said Zimbabweans should cooperate with the police as they enforce tougher lockdown restrictions during the festive holidays.
He said the biggest danger was that people are not complying with the current restrictions and preventative measures.
Zimbabwe has so far recorded 12 325 cases of the virus with 320 people.
Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe will only roll out vaccines that have been analysed and found to be effective and safe.
By A Correspondent- Main opposition MDC Alliance youths led by party president Nelson Chamisa have launched a campaign to dethrone President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the 2023 elections.
The youths intend to mobilise one million votes mainly from Zanu-PF strongholds in rural areas.
Stephen Sarkozy Chuma, the MDC Alliance youth spokesperson said the campaign dubbed #One Million Campaign was progressing well.
“The #OneMillionCampaign is our vehicle to victory in the fight against Mnangagwa’s corrupt military dictatorship,” Chuma said.
“The campaign seeks to mobilise, educate, recruit and radicalise new one million youth voices that will take this regime head-on to solve the economic, social and political rot in the country.”
In the 2018 elections, Mnangagwa won the presidential elections with a thin margin which was disputed by the MDC Alliance leader.
The opposition party youths believe if they can mobilise one million votes to add to their urban support base, their party would form the next government.
“We are convinced the source of this decay is an illegitimate regime that stole the will of the majority who happens to be young people. We are now going village by village through the #OneMillionCampaign to coalesce young people to reclaim their stolen victory,” Chuma said.
He claimed that villagers in the countryside were yearning for new leadership in the country.
“So far we have received overwhelming response from young people particularly those in the rural areas who are showing unparalleled zeal to confront those looting the national cake at the expense of the people. We can confirm that so far we have managed to bulldoze our way into traditional hotspots of violence which Zanu-PF misconstrues to be its strongholds.”
The MDC youths have been to Masvingo’s district of Zaka, Kwekwe in Midlands, Mhondoro in Mashonaland West and Bulawayo to campaign.
The youths also mobilised oversubscribed campaigns in Gwanda and Chiredzi.
By Nomusa Garikai- It was 2004 to 2007 USA ambassador to Zimbabwe, Chris Dell, who said in a leaked cable back to Washington that Morgan Tsvangirai “was a flawed and indecisive character who, if he ever got into power would be an albatross round the nation’s neck!” He came to this conclusion after meeting Tsvangirai on a few occasions.
The observation spoke volumes about those around Tsvangirai who had elected him their leader ever since the MDC’s launch in 1999. It also spoke volumes of the people of Zimbabwe themselves who were risking life and limb to elect Morgan Tsvangirai and company to carry out the important task of bringing about the democratic changes the nation was dying for.
Tsvangirai and his MDC banded mongooses did get into power, in the 2008 to 2013 GNU, and had the golden opportunity to implement the raft of democratic reforms which SADC leaders had managed to get Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies to agree to. The banded mongooses failed to get even one reform implemented in five years; proving beyond all reason able doubt that MDC leaders were breathtakingly corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless.
Events have proven that Ambassador Dell was right, Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC banded mongooses have become an albatross round the nation’s neck but only because the ordinary Zimbabweans themselves have failed to see the banded mongooses for the corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless individuals they all are even with all the benefit of hind sight?
“Schools are without water and sanitation facilities that meet the needs of the students and teachers,” commented Karsten Noko in The Standard/Bulawayo 24.
“How is it that a party (MDC) that was formed as the vanguard of the working class today fails to turn all these grievances into political action and put pressure on the ruling party?
“How is it acceptable, for the over two million people who voted for Nelson Chamisa and the MDC, that they seem to accept that the ruling party and its handlers will loot the country dry?
“How long do they plan to roll over and play dead for?
“Should we be waiting until the next election and then start campaigning a few months ahead of the elections – only to cry foul when the ruling party yet again rigs the elections?”
All these are all very pertinent and urgent questions one would ask any other opposition but not the MDC! There is a mountain of evidence to show MDC leaders are beyond the pale.
MDC has failed to implement even one democratic reform in 20 years, even when they had the chance to do so during the GNU. And ever since the GNU the party has participated in flawed and illegal elections knowing that doing so would give the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy.
They have also known that Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition to participate. And this they could not resist.
“How long do they plan to roll over and play dead for?” Is a foolish question to ask; MDC leaders are not playing dead, they are dead!
By hanging on to MDC, Zimbabweans are not doing themselves any favour; they are holding back the search for the competent women and men to implement the reforms. For the nation to search for quality leaders the people must first accept the reality that MDC leaders are not up to the task!
It is the ability to pay attention to detail that enabled Ambassador Dell to see Tsvangirai for who he was, even after meeting him a few times, – a flawed and indecisive character who will be a milestone dragging the nation into the abyss.
It is the inability to pay attention to detail that is stopping many Zimbabweans from seeing MDC leaders for the corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless leaders they are. MDC will never implement any democratic reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections. They failed to do so when they had the golden opportunity, during the GNU; it is naive to believe they can do so now when Zanu PF has all the trump cards.
Great appreciation to The Gafas, to whom l dedicate this award, i'm forever humbled by your uncompromising confidence and unwavering commitment to the Vigilance works. This is a befitting Festive bonus for the trilogy#babaabhurahamapic.twitter.com/2XapUynzss
By Kennedy Kaitano- I have seen notices from the MDC-T 2014 Matebelenand South and Harare Provincial leadership teams instructing people from their respective provinces not to attend the Extra-Ordinary Congress which was due to be held on 19 December 2020 because the due process as provided for in the MDC Constitution was not followed in conducting provincial elections for the Presidency.
These provinces are dead right, and I also read an admission of guilty circulated by Dr Komichi in which he wrote:
“After exhaustive deliberations of the National Standing Committee the Extra-Ordinary Congress that should take place tomorrow, Saturday 19 December 2020 has been moved further to a date to be advised soon”.
That was a brilliant statement, Dr Komichi, except that I am not sure which Standing Committee you were referring to, whether the MDC-T 2014 Standing Committee or the unconstitutional Standing Committee that was handpicked to organise the Extra-Ordinary Congress.
The real Extra-Ordinary Congress of the MDC-T ordered by the Supreme Court is only one that is called for by the appropriate MDC-T 2014 structures, and anything short of that is bogus and will be challenged in the courts. Already I have read an intention by someone in the MDC-T 2014 South Africa Province to take the bogus MDC-T leadership to the courts if they had unconstitutionally proceeded with the Congress, and that is a good warning that should not be taken lightly.
All the recalls from Parliament and local authorities by the bogus leadership, which were unfortunately endorsed by Parliament and Government are not in line with the Supreme Court judgement which recommended the holding of an Extra-Ordinary Congress.
The simple mandate given to Dr Khupe, and if she failed to Dr Komichi by the Supreme Court was simply to call for an Extra-Ordinary Congress to replace the late Dr Richard Morgan Tsvangirai as President of the MDC-T, and nothing extra. The fact that a time limit was given meant that should that fail, the parties would continue the way they were operating until the Supreme Court ruling was announced.
So, Dr Komichi, we are back to square one, the 2014 MDC-T structures must re-start the preparations for the Extra-Ordinary Congress without delay.
I emphasise to you that the so-called Standing Committee which deliberated on 18 December 2020 and decided to postpone the Extra-Ordinary Congress is not the legitimate 2014 MDC-T Standing Committee and should never have been involved in the Congress preparation process in the first place.
Khaliphani Pugeni is already on record concerning that the 9 May 2020 WhatsApp based Council meeting which kicked off the Extra-Ordinary Congress planning process was not properly constituted, so everything was flawed from the onset.
If the Extra-Ordinary Congress that abides by the MDC Constitution and in the extended timeframe given by the Supreme Court, then all the recalled legislators and councillors must be reinstated to their positions, and it is very unfortunate that Parliament of Zimbabwe and Government of Zimbabwe took sides before the Supreme Court judgement to elect a replacement of the MDC-T leader had been implemented.
Many people, myself included, have advised, advised and advised against the way the bogus Council and Standing Committee were handling things, and I even advised that the MDC was born out of the ZCTU, hence there was need to seek ZCTU mediation, and all my advice fell on deaf ears, only to read a statement from the ZCTU that someone in the bogus Standing Committee had falsely communicated that the ZCTU were to be supervising the election process on 19 December 2020.
Dr Komichi, Dr Khupe, Senator Mwonzora and all those you were working with in this failed project, accept you have failed to manage this, and resign in shame. Ask yourselves if you really deserve the respect of the people who have stood with the MDC since its formation.
By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s niece, Shantel Chikafu has been arrested for abusing the president’s name to defraud CBZ f US$37 000and to grab John Maungwa from a Shamva gold mine.
Chikafu has reportedly been masquerading as the president’s daughter but told the court that she was the President’s niece as her father Patson Mnangagwa was the President’s elder brother.
Her arrest followed a meeting held on Thursday in Bindura to resolve the bitter mining wrangle with Maungwa where she reportedly told some Mines ministry officials that she was given a special grant to mine in Umfurudzi Game Park, including at Maungwa’s Wickman 23 Mine by the President.
A police source close to the matter yesterday told NewsDay that Chikafu was picked up by law enforcement agents.
The officer said:
It’s true, she has been arrested. Her arrest followed her abuse of President Mnangagwa’s name after she told Ministry of Mine officials that she was given a special grant to mine in Umfurudzi Game Park by the President. She has been using the names of Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander Phillip Valerio Sibanda and State Security Minister Owen Ncube to defy a court order ordering her to vacate a Shamva mine, Maungwa’s mining claims. She also used the President’s name to defraud CBZ Bank of US$37 000 and the matter is in the courts as I speak.
She has been in the cells since Saturday afternoon and will be taken to court tomorrow (Monday). I think the authorities decided to arrest her because she has been using names of big people including President Mnangagwa with impunity to conduct illicit deals and has been going scot-free.
Chikafu is reportedly working with Shamva North legislator Oscar Gorerino to wrest the mining claims from Maungwa in violation of the High Court’s April 29 order which directed her off the mine.
Chikafu who is alleged to have four different ID cards posed as “Chantelle Mnangagwa”, daughter of the President, to defraud CBZ Bank and the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority of a gold claim.
When she appeared before Harare magistrate Victoria Mashamba, she had another identity as she assured the court that she was “Chantelle Chikafu Mnangagwa” and was actually only a niece of the President.
She was denied bail with the state saying she was using four different national identification particulars and if released on bail, she could manufacture more IDs and commit more offences.
By A Correspondent- MDC-T interim president Thokozani Khupe yesterday summoned all provincial structures to Harare on Wednesday to inspect the voters roll as she moves to curb interim secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora’s alleged attempts to use a manipulated roll at the extraordinary congress to be held at the weekend.
The party was forced to postpone the congress last weekend after disputes arose over the voters roll amid allegations that Mwonzora availed a manipulated roll.
But the national council (NC), in a virtual meeting held yesterday, resolved to summon all 2014 structures to Harare to verify the voters roll.
The NC also resolved to fire Mwonzora’s lieutenant, Simon Hove, who was masquerading as the Harare provincial chairperson and was reportedly causing problems in the party in cahoots with him.
The aborted congress had been scheduled for Harare last Saturday, but was postponed at the eleventh hour after Khupe and Mwonzora, seen as the main rivals, were involved in a vicious battle over the voters roll.
After the agreement to cancel the congress, another war erupted over US$29 000 that was allegedly given to some delegates clandestinely, it has emerged.
Yesterday, the national council made a resolution that the 2014 voters roll, which was produced by the Khupe camp, was going to prevail.
“The party has summoned its 2014 provincial structures to inspect the voters roll. Team Dougie suffered a blow. Mwonzora had presented a roll staffed with his allies who were not members of the 2014 structures, as ordered by the Supreme Court in March this year,” the source said.
The source said the party’s highest organ also resolved to fire Hove, Mwonzora’s ally, from his post as Harare provincial chairperson.
“It was ordered that Simon Hove, Mwonzora’s ally who was masquerading as Harare provincial chairman, reverts to his position as treasurer in Hatfield district. He replaced the late Thomas Muzuva, who held the post. Hove was working with Mashonaland East provincial chairman Piniel Denga and Lloyd Damba, from Chitungwiza, to drive the process of filling gaps left in the structures with Mwonzora’s supporters before the party stopped them. Mwonzora’s team protested over Khupe’s gapfilling which brought in her backers, treasurer-general Chief Ndlovu and spokesperson Khaliphani Phugeni. Khupe referred to a part of the constitution that empowers her as party leader to appoint members to key posts to avoid a void,” he said.
A Matabeleland North provincial official is said to have asked for an explanation on allegations that Mwonzora and team took US$29 000 from party coffers, but the issue was abandoned during the virtual meeting after no one responded.
Efforts to get a comment from party acting spokesperson Tapiwa Mashakada and Mwonzora were fruitless as their cellphones were unreachable.
However, Khupe confirmed the new development in a statement she issued yesterday, saying that they were now using the 2014 structures to produce the voters roll.
“We called this meeting to update you on the postponement of the extraordinary congress (EOC) which was scheduled for the 19th of December 2020. This was as a result of irregularities in the voters roll. There is no way we could have had the EOC with a disputed voters roll, which was going to produce a disputed outcome with the potential of leading the party to endless litigation, divisions and disunity. We expect to have a free, fair and credible election where all candidates and voters will be satisfied,” Khupe’s statement read in part.
She also urged party members to remain calm as her party works towards the congress.
“This is not a fight, but it is just a contest, so let us avoid tearing each other apart because after the EOC we have a party to run, which is an alternative government. We are aware that there are certain individuals who were pushing that the elections be conducted in open defiance of the leadership directive,” Khupe said.
“This kind of insubordination, ill-discipline and factional behaviour must come to a stop immediately. If this kind of behaviour continues, we will be left with no option but to take disciplinary action against such malcontents.”
In October, the MDC-T was given up to December 31 to hold the extraordinary congress to select a new leader after missing the July deadline that was set by the Supreme Court.
Social media is awash with messages which wrongly suggest The Herald journalist Tafadzwa Zimoyo has died.
The claims were triggered by pictures of Zimoyo’s birthday cake which some say look like an “obituary”. H-Metro posted on its social media platforms refuting the claims that the journo had died. Said the publication:
We can confirm Tafadzwa Zimoyo is alive and well in the Herald Newsroom …this was no body viewing but a birthday cake
See the pictures below.
Below are some of the responses that were made over the cake:Addy MasunungureKeke uchidya msoro wemunhu, heyy itai mega ngozi yacho????♀️
In handcuffs is Malawi’s once powerful Minister of Home Affairs who was sentenced by the High Court to FIVE years in prison for abuse of office during the time he was minister.
By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Schools examination Council (Zimsec) mixed up examination dates for the Ordinary Level Agriculture Paper One, with students only finding out via social media that they were supposed to sit for the tests one month earlier than scheduled.
Students had statement of entries that showed that the exam would be written on January 15, 2021 when in actual fact the examination was scheduled for December 15, 2020.
Zimsec then informed schools via social media platforms to tell candidates to sit for the examination on December 15.
“The statement of entry says Agriculture Paper One is to be written 15/01/2021, but the timetable says 15/12/20. Please help by telling every learner (sic) who does Agriculture that the paper will be written tomorrow 15 December 2020 at 2pm,” read one of the messages that went viral on social media platforms.
Teachers in hurungwe district said Zimsec’s latest boob affected particularly rural candidates, who could not get the communication on time.
“These exams have been mired in confusion and these are comedy errors that we have since given up on as we try to assist learners. Our education system is now worse and Zimsec was never prepared for these exams,” a rural teacher, who refused to be named, said.
A disgruntled parent, Ronald Mubayo, added: ‘‘These exams have uncalled for blunders happening, which will seriously tarnish our education system.”
But Zimsec public relations manager Nicolette Dhlamini claimed the mix up of the examination dates did not affect candidates.
In a written response to NewsDay, she said there were some statements of entry that were issued with dates corresponding with the timetables.
Dhlamini said it was an “administrative issue” that school authorities handled amicably and it did not affect candidates writing exams.
“In the event that a candidate did not collect statements and finds conflicting dates, the standard procedure is that the timetable always takes precedence. This is known by all heads and teachers, therefore, no candidate should have been adversely affected,” she said.
By A Correspondent- Government is working towards introducing an online passport application service with the view to curbing corruption currently rocking the application process.
This was said last week by Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe during the official opening of Zimbabwe’s first district passport office at Chitungwiza municipality’s headquarters.
“We are in the process of coming up with an integrated information communication technology (ICT) solution which will not just bring these physical structures to your doorsteps, but bring the actual service to homes through online services,” Kazembe said.
“Ideally, the passport application process in its entirety should be done within the confines of our homes.
“You see these people clapping they are crying. People are being swindled at passport offices. Corruption must come to an end. When people come to our offices, please let’s serve them with the dignity they deserve. Two or three should be arrested to set an example,” he said.
Passports seekers, who spoke to NewsDay, lamented the corruption at passport offices and expressed hope that the newly-opened office would operate transparently.
“Surely, corruption at the passport offices should end. You sleep in a queue at the offices and when the authorities come in the morning you will be surprised that you will be number 130. People are asked to pay bribes of US$20 to join or skip the queue. We pray that the system at Makombe offices doesn’t repeat itself at the new Chitungwiza passport offices. The authorities should be on the lookout,” Phyllis Vambe said.
A South Africa-based Chitungwiza resident Loveness Mugadza, who came back to renew her passport said: “I came back home with my US$318. It wasn’t easy to raise that money. I can’t just give away my hard-earned cash. Outside, they demand US$20 and inside, they also demand US$100 for us to be served. This should come to an end.”
Kazembe told the attendees that the decentralisation of the civil registry department to districts was meant to decongest provincial offices.
“Given that the passport application facility was restricted to 10 provincial offices, this had resulted in congestion. In response, my ministry through the Department of Civil Registry has taken a deliberate stance to improve service delivery through decentralised systems integration and infrastructure development. The decentralisation of passport services to Chitungwiza is the third 100-day project by the department.
“The ministry remains committed to further decentralise passport services and streamline passport issuance procedures. In my view it will remove physical human interface. People have a problem that whenever they meet they want to bribe someone. With this online solution which my ministry is working on, that will be history.”
Zimbabwe’s cash-strapped utility Zesa Holdings Ltd. is allowing people to pay their bills in foreign currency as it struggles to fund the nation’s power imports.
Zesa said in an emailed statement on Sunday that the decision would bring consumers more “convenience.” Previously, only miners and exporters were allowed to pay for power supplies in U.S. dollars and other foreign currencies.
The southern African country generates less than half of its own electricity and relies on imports from South Africa and Mozambique for the rest. Local production has been hit by a drought that shuttered the nation’s main hydropower plant and by frequent breakdowns at its coal-fired Hwange facility.
The government has gradually opened more of the struggling economy to foreign transactions since the start of a virus lockdown in March, backtracking on an earlier decision to make the Zimbabwe dollar the sole legal tender. Citizens can now use U.S. dollars for food shopping, fuel, toll fees and passports.
The move has undermined demand for the Zimbabwe dollar, sending its value slumping and it now trades at 81.73 to the U.S. dollar.
The utility said the exchange rate from a weekly foreign auction system would be used to settle consumers’ electricity bills.
By A Correspondent- Government has once again snubbed the MDC Alliance after it disbursed a total $76 million to Zanu-PF and MDC-T interim leadership.
Of this amount Zanu-PF received $61 million while the MDC got nearly $15 million under the Political Parties Finance Act, which sanctions the disbursement of funds to major political parties in Parliament.
In July, government also released $25 million, which was shared between Zanu-PF and MDC-T.
This comes as the MDC is involved in a zero-sum internal war over the control of the country’s main opposition party.
SOME parts of Hwange rural particularly areas around Dete have been without electricity for the past week after suspected copper cable thieves allegedly cut down some poles with the intention of stealing copper wires.
After cutting down an unspecified number of poles, the suspects allegedly did not cut the cables probably after discovering that the wires were not made of copper, according to villagers.
The suspected vandals allegedly cut poles in Dete near Marist Brothers Secondary School thereby causing blackout in the whole of Dete and surrounding areas covering Dete Centre, Marist Brothers, Chezhou Silewu, Dingane, Makwandara, Gulalembila, Lambo, Dinde as well as several safari lodges located near Hwange National Parks.
Schools, clinics, shops, grinding mills and lodges are the worst affected by the blackout.
Villagers are experiencing mobile network challenges as a result.
The situation has been compounded by heavy rains that caused some poles to fall.
Zesa electricians have been literally camped in the community replacing some of the damaged lines to restore power and yesterday parts of Dete had been reconnected while other areas were still in blackout, Hwange District Development Coordinator Mr Simon Muleya told the Chronicle.
Councillor for Hwange Rural District Council’s Dete ward 15 Stanley Torima said Dete was in a dire situation because of lack of electricity.
“We had some poles that were cut down by some people hence the blackout. We have perennial electricity problems because of technical faults but the recent incident worsened the situation. Lack of electricity has a huge negative impact especially around Dete because there are lodges and clinics as well as schools.
“Dete business centre services surrounding communities and lack of electricity affects both business people and villagers. Lack of electricity also means no water for Dete and this is affecting health delivery at our clinics,” said Cllr Torima.
He urged the power utility company to use alternative electric poles to guard against vandalism and damage of gum poles by natural hazards like fire and rain.
“Besides lack of water and electricity, we have a section of Dete Compound whose houses known as Mtuya are dilapidated and the inhabitants are elderly and orphans who cannot fetch water elsewhere. That’s why we advocate for quick restoration of power so that they have water,” added Cllr Torima.
His Silewu/Chezhou counterpart Cllr Olipha Lisutu said villagers’ lives were at risk as some of the electricity cables were lying on the ground.
“We have reported the fallen cables to Zesa but we are living in fear because we don’t know if they have cut off power from the fallen cables. We wish they could have a permanent solution because these poles fall every year because of rains and termites,” she said.
It is not clear if any report of vandalism was made to the police as Matabeleland North police spokesperson Superintendent Siphiwe Makonese could not be reached on her mobile.
Bulawayo City Council workers staged a sit-in on Thursday and Friday protesting poor salaries and delays in payment of November salaries and bonus, a development that saw some people failing to access services at council clinics.
The workers who fall under the Zimbabwe Urban Councils Workers Union (ZUCWU) have accused council management of failing to address the issue of poor salaries.
Last month the workers demanded to be paid Covid-19 allowances and also asked management to increase their salaries which they said lagged far behind.
They threatened to down tools citing incapacitation unless their grievances were addressed urgently.
The least paid BCC worker earns a basic salary of $1 900. According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat), the latest Poverty Datum Line (PDL) for an average family of five stands at $17 244,07.
The sit-in on Thursday and Friday saw long winding queues at council clinics in a number of suburbs as people waited patiently hoping to be attended to by nurses.
It was only late after realising that the nurses were not working that people dispersed.
The ZUCWU Bulawayo branch chairperson Mr Ambrose Sibindi yesterday confirmed that the council workers staged a two-day sit-in to protest against poor salaries.
He said what workers were being paid could hardly meet basics which was a confirmation that council was insensitive to the plight of its workers.
“The employer negotiates in bad faith and has grossly proved that in terms of priorities, workers’ salaries are at the bottom and we demand an immediate stop to that. Some workers are paid a basic salary of less than $2 000 when the PDL is around $20 000 a month. Most workers’ families cannot afford even basics because of these poor salaries,” he said.
Mr Sibindi said the industrial action was meant to push council management to pay the workers their salaries and bonus as agreed at the December 7 works council meeting.
He said council management was unilaterally changing agreements reached at works council meetings which was unfair labour practice.
Mr Sibindi said workers were resuming work today but urged council management to urgently address the workers’ grievances or risk another industrial action.
“The workers morale is very low as they are yet to be paid their November salaries and bonus,” said Mr Sibindi. He said in the event of council management failing to meet its obligation of paying salaries and the bonus, the union will engage the workers on the way forward.
“There are several options to push the employer to address the workers’ grievances and what we are just saying for now is that management should urgently pay November salaries and bonus,” said Mr Sibindi.
He said now that Government has approved BCC’s $551 million supplementary budget which will see tariffs increasing by nearly 400 percent, there was no excuse for council to fail to review workers’ salaries upwards and also pay the bonus.
In a statement last week, council said the 2020 supplementary budget had been approved which results in charges going up by 372 percent.
The new charges will be reflected in the January 2021 bills.
Bulawayo Town Clerk Christopher Dube yesterday said the industrial action by workers was illegal because proper procedures were not followed.
“It was a surprise to us and as far as we are concerned, the workers didn’t follow the procedures for an industrial action,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police has redeployed 84 senior police officers throughout the country.
Commissioner Moses Magandi has been moved from Gweru to head the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Harare, replacing CID director Comm Chrispen Charumbira who was recently arrested for criminal abuse of office.
Asst Comm Patrick Majuta has been transferred from CID Law and Order section in Harare to CID headquarters as the deputy director for law and order.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday said the transfers were necessitated by recent promotions.
“When there have been promotions, there are transfers to fill in the gaps that could have been left either by death or the need for job rotation so that the organisation benefits from the expertise that certain officers have,” he said.
Some of the transfers include Comm A Moyo from PGHQ Command Agriculture to the PGHQ crime as chief staff officer.
Asst Comm Mthimukulu was transferred from Mashonaland East to Police General Headquarters (PGHQ) administration as senior staff officer, while Asst Comm D Dhlakama was moved from Manicaland provincial headquarters to PGHQ internal investigations as senior staff officer.
In Harare province, Comm W Tembo was transferred from the PGHQ Admin to Harare provincial headquarters as Officer Commanding.
In Mashonaland East, Asst Comm SG Ndou was transferred from CID to Mashonaland East provincial headquarters as Acting Officer Commanding while Asst Comm G Mugonda from Murehwa district headquarters was transferred to Mashonaland East provincial headquarters as Asst Commissioner crime.
Commissioner P Makotose from Mashonaland West provincial headquarters to Mashonaland Central provincial headquarters as Officer Commanding.
In Mashonaland Central Comm David Mahoya was transferred to Masvingo as provincial headquarters as officer commanding.
Asst Comm Florence Marume was transferred from Mutare Central district headquarters to Masvingo provincial headquarters as Asst Comm in charge of administration.
In Matabeleland North, Commissioner Erasmus Makodza will remain Matabeleland North provincial headquarters as Officer Commanding.
Under CID, Asst Comm B Bangajena was transferred from Manicaland provincial headquarters to CID headquarters a deputy director commercial crimes department.
Government has once again snubbed the MDC Alliance after it disbursed a total $76 million to Zanu-PF and MDC-T interim leadership.
Of this amount Zanu-PF received $61 million while the MDC got nearly $15 million under the Political Parties Finance Act, which sanctions the disbursement of funds to major political parties in Parliament.
In July, government also released $25 million, which was shared between Zanu-PF and MDC-T.
This comes as the MDC is involved in a zero-sum internal war over the control of the country’s main opposition party.
THE police has been exposed for double standards and came under heavy scrutiny after they allegedly forced the 11th hour cancellation of the highly-publicised Best of Both Worlds concert that was to be headlined by the country’s music giants Winky D and Jah Prayzah on Friday at the Harare International Conference Centre.
While live music concerts that attract a physical gatherings and jamborees of over 100 people remain banned since March as part of a raft of measures to curb the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus, the lockdown restrictions, however, appear to have been selectively used to grant permission not only for music concerts, but many other gatherings.
This development has been widely viewed as a scam by many creatives as some arts promoters and venue owners believed to have political connections in the ruling Zanu-PF party are allows to hold shows.
In the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic were the second wave has seen Zimbabwe recording a massive spike, gospel songbird Janet Manyowa last week successfully hosted the launch of her extended play at the Harare International Conference Centre were some people gathered physically although the show was also live streamed via the pay-per-view (PPV) platform.
The PPV platform enables fans to buy tickets and attend shows online from the comforts of their homes or any location with access to Internet through live streaming and it is usually priced at a fraction of the cost of physical shows.
In a similar fashion, organisers of the Jah Prayzah and Winky D show Kayse Connect were also set to hosts a “limited” physical gathering, while the majority had to pay US$2 or equivalence in local currency to watch via the PPV platform. However, the police is said to have enforced the cancelation of the concert with few hours left and Kayse Connect had to take to social media platforms to publicise the developments.
“We regret to advise that despite our efforts it has become impossible to proceed with the Jah Prayzah and Winky D Best of Both Worlds pay-per-view event as initially scheduled. We will update you on further details soon. We sincerely apologise,” wrote Kayse Connect on social media.
Kayse representative Elton Kurima yesterday told NewsDay Life & Style that the issue was a complicated one such that he had to meet with the law authorities in the company of his lawyers before issuing a comprehensive statement which he had not released by the time of going to print.
Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi could not be reached for comment yesterday as his mobile phone was not being answered before go-ing to print.
In a recent interview with this newspaper, a seasoned music promoter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said politics was affect-ing the showbiz industry.
“There is a lot of politics at play on the showbiz scene during this COVID-19 environment. We have seen some artistes who perform despite the warnings as some politically-connected venue owners are receiving “special treatment” from the authorities as their joints have continued to host these unsanctioned shows that even exceed the stipulated numbers,” he said.
“Sadly using their political muscle they connive with promoters or musicians for these unsanctioned gigs put-ting fans’ lives at risk and nothing has been done by the relevant authorities to stop them. This is what has fuelled the staging of more and more concerts where fans are gathering.”
A number of artistes among them, Jah Signal, Mbeu, Killer T, Sulumani Chimbetu, Peter Moyo, Andy Muridzo, Baba Harare, Romeo Gasa and Progress Chipfumo have been staging concerts at joints like East Point, LA Rouge, Bar Rouge, Big Apple, Margolis Plaza and Electric Quench (formerly Extra-Mile Leisure Spot) under the guise of private functions, attracting huge gatherings.
Some of the joints have been hosting a series of gigs where merrymakers gather weekly, notwithstanding COVID-19 lockdown regulations which emphasise the importance of temperature checks, social distancing and wearing of face masks.
Congestion of vehicles and travellers visiting South Africa and Zimbabwe is building up at Beitbridge Border Post, with the curfews on both sides adding to the normal seasonal year-end pressure.
Though the travellers are being cleared under safe and strict Covid-19 management protocols, the full implementation of the 10pm to 4am curfew has resulted in traffic piling up on both sides of the border, and on Friday the South Africans added more pressure when stopped clearing light vehicles, pedestrians and buses after 10pm. They are only clearing commercial cargo at night.
Said a border official: “There is a need for Zimbabwe and South Africa to seriously consider the issue of curfews at the land borders. As it stands, the South Africans are not clearing any traffic besides commercial cargo after 10pm.
“This has created problems for border officials considering that the border is usually hectic during peak periods, even where it operates for 24 hours a day.”
The source said between 4am and 10pm they will be clearing all types of traffic, both south and northbound traffic, albeit in batches.
It is understood that after 8pm, the South Africans are closing their border to private vehicles, pedestrians and buses.
Thanks Makore, on remand on charges of allegedly murdering his seven-year old nephew Tapiwa for suspected ritual purposes, had his kitchen hut at his Murehwa homestead destroyed by fire on Friday night, a few hours after being granted $10 000 bail by the High Court on the grounds that there was no evidence linking him to the killing.
A month ago, the kitchen hut of Tapiwa Makore Senior, twin brother to Thanks and the principle suspect in the killing, was also gutted by fire, giving rise to suspicion that the same person is trying to force the brothers out of the community.
By Saturday, Thanks Makore’s hut and gazebo at the homestead were totally destroyed, with a CID forensic team sifting the ashes as they conducted investigations.
Thanks Makore’s older brother, Shadreck, said he was alerted of the incident by their cousin who resides at the homestead.
“My cousin brother who is currently staying at Thanks’ homestead woke me up at midnight and alerted me of the incident. When I woke up, I noticed that the hut and gazebo were on fire.
“I am still wondering how the kitchen caught fire because it’s barely a month since we witnessed Tapiwa Makore Senior’s hut also being burnt to ashes,” he said.
A villager from the neighbourhood, Tendai Muzura, said he was surprised to see the fire damage. “I was passing through Makore’s homestead when I realised that his hut had been reduced to ashes. We made a police report with my fellow villagers who were equally shocked,” he said.
Another witness who only identified herself as Rita, said the fire could have been caused by someone seeking revenge for the murder of Tapiwa Makore Junior.
“When the incident occurred, I was fast asleep and I only woke up to see Makore’s house burning. Now, what is troubling us is the person behind these fires because sometime early this month, Tapiwa Makore Senior’s hut was also reduced to ashes. I personally think that whoever is behind these fires, is seeking revenge for the murder of Tapiwa,” she said.
Thanks Makore was given bail last Friday after Justice Tapiwa Chitapi said there was no evidence linking him to the offence.
The State’s case was weak as there was nothing connecting him with the offence and that police did not find anything at his house as was alleged by a police informant.
Thanks Makore was originally suspected of masterminding the murder of the seven-year-old and is alleged to have offered to pay US$1 500 for the head and arms of the deceased.
Meanwhile, Chief Mangwende of Murehwa has agreed to the burial of the boy’s remains without the head on January 9 next year, as the family seeks closure to his case.
Yesterday, there reports that some Damofalls residents gathered at Thanks Makore’s Ruwa house over the weekend to protest the decision by the High Court to grant him bail.
Residents confirmed the brief protest.
“Yes, I saw a handful of people gathered at his gate. I was some metres away so I could not hear what they were saying. Later on, I heard that they were protesting why he was given bail. They were there for a couple of minutes before they dispersed, but I did not see Thanks Makore outside,” said a resident who refused to be named.
Another resident, a vendor at the shops near Makore’s house, confirmed the protest. “When it happened, I was not here. However, when I came back, I heard from some people that there was drama outside Thanks’ house, right at the gate. I am not sure what it was all about but I think residents are angry that he got bail.”
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says it will request the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to close bank accounts of business entities that are pricing using exchange rates not linked to the ruling auction rate.
The central bank said it was aware of errant businesses in the habit of using exchange rates far removed from the ruling exchange rate despite obtaining US dollars from the auction system.
RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya, addressing a Zimbabwe Chamber of Commerce(ZNCC) conference last week, also said the bank FIU will take action against businesses that are practising transfer pricing.
This comes amid fears that the delinquency by some businesses will lead to a raft of price increases that could send inflation, which appear to have stabilised, on a rampage once again.
Annual inflation dropped to 401 percent in November from 473 percent the prior month, the Zimbabwe Statistics Agency (Zimstat) said, while monthly inflation is now trending below 5 percent.
The central bank says the economy appears to be on a strong footing for recovery and growth, adding this assertion was backed by solid export performance numbers and forex inflow figures.
Dr Mangudya said in terms of the law, market players should price their products in line with the ruling exchange rate, but businesses are not complying and profiteering through exchange gains.
Since the introduction of the auction on June 23, 2020, approved businesses have been buying foreign currency on the RBZ auction at the ruling weekly rate, now perched circa US$1/$81,7.
But upon receiving the money, several unscrupulous business entities charge prices using rates that reflect margins between $15 and $30 over the prevailing official market exchange rate.
Others, the Governor said, seek quotations in foreign countries for approved imports and manufacture invoices that reflect grossly inflated prices in order to get more US dollars from the auction.
Dr Mangudya said the monetary authorities were watching and had all along been using moral suasion for compliance, but may soon request the FIU to close bank accounts of culprits.
“We were trying to use moral suasion all along, and as we traverse the journey towards 2021, we now want compliance. Others are using $85, others $95, and others $130. It is non-compliance.
“The instruments are there, we have plenty of statutory instruments but compliance is our weakest point in Zimbabwe. (Businesses) are (taking) arbitrage opportunities.
“We were using moral suasion, but we have our FIU, Criminal Investigations Depart, and the Police.
“These things are, however, so difficult to police, we need self introspection and self discipline,” he said.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) was established in 2004 in terms of section 3 of the Bank Use Promotion and Suppression of Money Laundering Act. The Unit exists as a unit in the administrative establishment of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), but has its own governing statutes, giving it a mandate distinct from that of the country’s central bank.
Its mandate is ensuring anti money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) compliance but works in close cooperation with supervisory or regulatory bodies of the various types of designated reporting institutions to ensure that the regulated entities comply with their AML/CFT obligations.
The unit, which falls under RBZ, also works with relevant stakeholders, in ensuring the investigation, prosecution, conviction of criminal offenders, and confiscation of recovered assets or funds.
“Businesses want to sell at $91, $95, but every day they come to the auction (for USD at $81,3) and when you go and buy in their shops they charge $95, $110, they think only of making money.
“The $14 or $15 is exchange gains; this is arbitrage, we see it happening but we cannot police everyone, we need self-policing, this is lack of compliance, the FIU will come and close your accounts,” he said.
Dr Mangudya said the best way to rein in the errant businesses involved in the mentioned arbitrage activities using funds obtained from the auction market was to freeze their accounts.
“If (FIU) hit your pocket, you cannot transact and the next thing to do is to phone the RBZ and when they come and you ask ‘Why were you doing (this)?’, all they say is, aah Governor I’m sorry.
Dr Mangudya said he was aware a number of businesses now have associate companies in South Africa that issue invoices and come to Zimbabwe to get US dollars, which is transfer pricing.
“We are watching you. They come to the auction for US$10 000 yet the goods are for $4 000, the other $6 000 is transfer pricing; that is why we need to do production here,” he said. — ebusinessweekly
Late President Mugabe and the late Vice President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo after the signing of the Unity Accord
For thirty three years now, Zimbabwe has been celebrating, disguised as unity, loss of tens of thousands of lives for ZANU PF political expediency.
What ZANU PF failed to achieve by way of dialogue and negotiations they forcefully accessed at the altar of bones piled in unmarked mass graves, toasting and drinking from glasses full of blood of innocent, unarmed and harmless civilians of Matebeleland and Midlands. The violence, brutality was initially targeted at all opposition political parties, but then turned into a genocide against the Ndebele people.
ZANU PF, absolutely clueless about how to mobilise support and rally them to their cause, resorted to an armed operation to force the people to follow their ideology. What they failed to achieve by persuasion and getting people to vote them legitimately to power, they resorted to attain at the barrel of the gun. Had ZAPU been similarly minded, of course the history and course the country took would have been completely different. But ZAPU has always stood for the respect of human life and total freedom of choice.
What will be presented as unity is anything but, a forced conformity, subjugation of people’s will, conquest and marginalisation. How nonsensical to talk about unity when the cracks of division are everywhere to be seen? Unity cannot be forced down people’s throats as we see in Zimbabwe. Unity is, and must be a natural reaction to a policy of inclusiveness, equality, respect and promotion of rights of all citizens irrespective of colour, creed, place of birth or any minor differences that may exist.
The so called unity day in Zimbabwe, celebrated every December, is actually a sad day. To many who, the only memorable event was the beginning of the end of an orgy of gratuitous killings of innocents in the western parts of Zimbabwe from 1982 to 1987. The politically motivated operation that had aimed to specifically annihilate ZAPU, the opposition party that stood in the way of Mugabe attaining a one party state in Zimbabwe.
Many lives were subsequently lost while leaders of ZAPU were either incarcerated like Gen Masuku and President Dabengwa or murdered in cold blood like MP Njini Ntutha.
Attempts at convincing the marauding ZANU PF to stop the Gukurahundi killings were made with President Nkomo even writing Mugabe a letter from exile in UK. However, all were in vain as ZANU PF had only one condition it wanted met in order to stop the madness. The condition was that ZAPU be swallowed by ZANU PF and cease operating independently. This was the condition that is summed up in what is known as the Unity Accord agreement document.
The unity accord document signed in 1987 is quite weird and makes for sorry reading. There was nothing of unity discernible in any of its clauses. Just a requirement that ZAPU surrenders to the the British Conservative party project of 1963 with Robert Mugabe as its leader in perpetuity. To Zanu PF, unity was conforming to whatever nonsense the party is up to. To them, unity was having that odious formation alone on the political podium and absence of any opposition as well as checks and balances to their incompetence and cluelessness. To them, unity of Zimbabweans meant ZAPU ceding all its rights of existence to the ethnocentric Zanu PF. The party then and now uses ethnic lenses in deciding every aspect of national policy. To them, anybody and anything that was not ZANU PF at that time represented the enemy, hence the use of the toxic reference to dissidents equating ZAPU and the Ndebele speaking people alone with that term. Primitive way of drawing the lines that demarcated areas where the genocide would take place. Bloody tribalism mindset!
So, as the so called unity day approaches, it is imperative that Zimbabweans and the world know that the so called unity accord was the biggest misnomer, a process that never was. What happened on that fateful the 22 December was a sham, a deception and the greatest betrayal of all values, intentions and objectives of the liberation struggle.
22 December must be a day of shame for all who had participated in the liberation of our country. The only champagne that could have been popped on the signing of unity accord would have been of blood of children, women, the elderly, all unarmed and the fitting ink used to append signatures on that surrender document similarly the free flowing blood of the innocents.
ZAPU does not celebrate on this day. Yes, we may pause, remember and pay respects to all our people who were killed from 1982 to 1987, for either being members or for being perceived to be members of ZAPU, for that alone is the reason why tens of thousands were killed.
It is not a unity day, for the people of Zimbabwe are not united. It actually is a day that Zanu PF celebrates its conquest on the mother party and the western Zimbabwe civilians. A day when primitive banditry was signed into the method of governance of our country.
Iphithule Maphosa Secretary for Information Publicity and Marketing [email protected] www.zapu.org
At least 10 000 suspected ghost workers have been struck off the Government payroll after a biometric registration exercise as the Second Republic walks the talk on its reforms aimed at restoring order in the civil service.
A ghost worker is an unknown and unaccounted for employee who draws wages and benefits from the state.
The eliminated names are of those whose biometric data was non-compliant under the exercise that was assisted by the World Bank.
During last week’s workshop for the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Service Labour and Social Welfare, the PSC and the Apex Council grouping staff associations, PSC head of human capital development and management, Mr Moses Mhike, said the exercise of flushing out ghost workers was continuous.
“Ghost workers are no longer an issue. We have managed to account for those on the Salary Service Bureau,” he said.
“We conducted a biometric exercise to get the data of all civil servants and comparing with the Registrar’s office. We realised that about 10 000 were not biometric compliant and traced them at each and every work station.”
PSC Secretary Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe said the PSC simply eliminated ghost workers by withdrawing salaries to those who were non-complaint to the biometric exercise.
“We made sure that we stopped paying those non complaint and only the legitimate ones came forward. However, the exercise should be an ongoing thing,” he said.
The biometric registration was implemented with the assistance of the World Bank as part of efforts to weed out ghost workers and modernise management of the civil service.
In a 2019 Audit Report, government lost in excess of US$4 million through payment of ghost workers not through the Salary Service Bureau (SSB) but via line ministries’ payrolls.
According to the report, the Local Government and Lands Ministries topped the list of those fleeced the most through amounts of US$1,889,899 and US$1,656,966 respectively.
SSB records indicate employment costs of US$1,059,163,623 against 10 ministries’ US$1,055,828,763 wage bill.
Other ministries implicated are; Labour (US$122,334), Health (US$1,283,704), Home Affairs (US$282,788), Higher and Tertiary Education (US$75,394), Industry and Commerce (US$583,994), Public Service (US$431,268), Energy (US$16,107) and the Zimbabwe Gender Commission at US$16,553.
Government has over the past three years been battling the effects of ghost workers on its expenditure.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has said it will soon start providing money to enable pregnant girls to continue with their education after Treasury allocated $123 million for the programme in the 2021 national budget.
Part of the funds will also be used for counselling services, conducting needs assessment surveys and crafting empowerment programmes to reduce the prevalence of girls falling pregnant before completing their studies.
The development is in line with the amended Education Act which now allows girls to attend school during and after the pregnancy.
The budget allocation follows the approval in August by President Mnangagwa of the amended Education Act. Prior to the amendment of the law, school authorities expelled pregnant girls but boys that impregnated the girls were spared, which was seen as discriminatory.
An increasing number of girls fell pregnant during the Covid-19 induced long school break and Government is taking measures to ensure the affected girls are not deprived of their education.
A number of the pregnant girls did not report for school for the Third Term which ended on Friday and efforts to track them down are underway. Two of the pregnant Bulawayo schoolgirls committed suicide after probably failing to cope with the new reality.
In an interview, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education’s director of communications and advocacy Mr Taungana Ndoro said the ministry now has an allocation from the national budget to assist pregnant girls cope with their new situation.
“We are now able to conduct research to establish the prevalence of girls falling pregnant, conduct needs assessment surveys and also track down the affected girls so that they are not deprived of their education,” said Mr Ndoro.
He said the ministry will soon engage communities to find out how best to address the problem of girls falling pregnant while at school.
Mr Ndoro said the Ministry will work with the Department of Social Welfare to ensure teenage mothers’ babies are well looked after.
“We will also offer them counselling and come up with empowerment programmes for less privileged girls so that they are not abused by men or boys with money taking advantage of their social status,” said Mr Ndoro.
In her contribution during the 2021 budget debate in Parliament recently the chairperson of the Primary and Secondary Education Parliamentary Portfolio Committee, Ms Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said the money to assist pregnant girls will go a long way in ensuring the affected girls continue with their education.
She said the increasing number of girls falling pregnant while at school was a cause for concern and needs to be addressed urgently.
She said Government working with school authorities should ensure affected girls were afforded the opportunity to continue with their education. Ms Misihairabwi-Mushonga said figures released so far could just be a fraction of the girls that fell pregnant during the long break.
The City Of Harare is being run by town clerks, as a result of internal power struggles within the capital city.
Acting town clerk Engineer Zvenyika Chawatama and the suspended substantive town clerk Engineer Hosiah Chisango are allegedly both at work.
Eng Chawatama last week attended a town clerk’s forum in Bulawayo while Eng Chisango was also reportedly conducting his official duties at town house after his suspension was lifted by acting mayor Councillor Luckson Mukunguma.
In an interview on Tuesday, acting town clerk Eng Chawatama confirmed that Eng Chisango was back at the office, but himself insisted that he was still running the show.
“Yes l am acting,” he said. “Eng Chisango and Mr Bozman Matengarufu are at work. Myself l am in Bulawayo on council business,” he said.
Eng Chisango was arrested in September and subsequently suspended over allegations of being involved in the illegal creation and allocation of stands on an open space in Kuwadzana 3 in July last year without going through the legal process of changing land use.
Mr Matengarufu has been on suspension over alleged abuse of office where he irregularly granted a loan to a new employee identified as Moffat Ndlovu, in inexplicable circumstances.
However, Eng Chisango while admitting having been at council premises said he had not been carrying out any official duties.
“I did not chair any meeting. I just passed by at the institution. When l am back it would be officially communicated,” he said.
The Herald is however, in possession of a letter referenced expiry of paid leave dated December 17, 2020 in which acting mayor councillor Luckson Mukunguma clandestinely reinstated Eng Chisango.
“Following the expiry of 30 working days paid leave imposed on you by my office on December 11, 2020 in a letter dated October30, 2020 and effective on November 2, 2020 pleased be advised of the expiry of the leave.
“Meanwhile, due to the exigence of work and the demands of the office of the town clerk, you are hereby notified to proceed with your work in your capacity as the town clerk,” reads part of the letter.
His reinstatement comes at time the Government has condemned the move by Harare City Council to reinstate senior and middle managers with pending corruption court cases, saying such moves are tantamount to undermining the courts.
Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo said there was no guarantee that those reinstated will not interfere with evidence or with witnesses since they were among their subordinates.
Shortly before Eng Chisango’s arrest he seem to have developed bad blood with Eng Chawatama whom he had suspended over disciplinary offences. Eng Chawatama was reinstated a few days later during Eng Chisango’’s absence.
According to the Urban Council’s Act, where a town clerk has been suspended his suspension, unless earlier lifted, shall terminate when the council has decided not to discharge him or after six months has elapsed, whichever occurs the sooner.
During the period of his suspension he shall not be entitled to his salary or wages in respect of that period but he may be paid such allowance, not exceeding the amount of his salary or wages, as the council may fix.
The act said if he is not subsequently discharged, he shall be entitled to the full amount of his salary or wages and any allowances that would otherwise have been paid to him in respect of the period of his suspension, less any allowance paid to him.
A South African Health worker sanitizing a shopping mall.
Neighbouring South Africa has identified a new severe variant of the coronavirus could explain the rapid spread of a second wave that has been mainly affecting younger people, according to the South African health minister.
It is said that there are quite a few similarities between both the new variants found in the UK and South Africa.
“We have convened this public briefing today to announce that a variant of the SARS-COV-2 Virus – currently termed 501.V2 Variant – has been identified by our genomics scientists here in South Africa,” South African Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize tweeted.
He also tweeted, “The evidence that has been collated, therefore, strongly suggests that the current second wave we are experiencing is being driven by this new variant,”
South Africa has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases in Africa – 900,000 cases and over 20,000 deaths. The increase in the number of cases made the government tighten the restriction.
Known as the 501.V2 Variant, it was identified by South African researchers and details have been sent to the World Health Organization, Zwelini Mkhize said in a statement.
The World Health Organisation confirmed on Friday that it was in touch with the South African researchers who found this new variant. The WHO added that there was no indication there were changes in the way the new virus strain was behaving.
“We are working with them with our SARS-COV-2 Virus evolution working group. They are growing the virus in the country and they’re working with researchers to determine any changes in the behaviour of the virus itself in terms of transmission,” WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said at a news conference in Geneva.
The South African researchers said that the new variant seems to spread faster than the previous iteration. But it’s too early to say anything about its severity and if current vaccines will work against it.
South African doctors have remarked that more patients are younger, and do not always have other conditions that amplify the virus’ effect, but are nonetheless suffering from more severe forms of COVID-19.
BBC – By James Gallagher Health and science correspondent
The rapid spread of a new variant of coronavirus has been blamed for the introduction of strict tier four mixing rules for millions of people, harsher restrictions on mixing at Christmas in England, Scotland and Wales, and other countries placing the UK on a travel ban.
So how has it gone from being non-existent to the most common form of the virus in parts of England in a matter of months?
The government’s advisers on new infections have “moderate” confidence that it is more able to transmit than other variants .
All the work is at an early stage, contains huge uncertainties and a long list of unanswered questions.
As I’ve written before, viruses mutate all the time and it’s vital to keep a laser focus on whether the virus’ behaviour is changing.
Why is this variant causing concern? Three things are coming together that mean it is attracting attention:
It is rapidly replacing other versions of the virus.
It has mutations that affect part of the virus likely to be important.
Some of those mutations have already been shown in the lab to increase the ability of the virus to infect cells.
All of these come together to build a case for a virus that can spread more easily.
However, we do not have absolute certainty. New strains can become more common simply by being in the right place at the right time – such as London, which had only tier two restrictions until recently.
But already the justification for tier four restrictions is in part to reduce the spread of the variant.
“Laboratory experiments are required, but do you want to wait weeks or months [to see the results and take action to limit the spread]? Probably not in these circumstances,” Prof Nick Loman, from the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium, told me.
How much faster is it spreading? It was first detected in September. In November around a quarter of cases in London were the new variant. This reached nearly two-thirds of cases in mid-December.
You can see how the variant has come to dominate the results of testing in some centres such as the Milton Keynes Lighthouse Laboratory.
Mathematicians have been running the numbers on the spread of different variants in an attempt to calculate how much of an edge this one might have.
But teasing apart what is due to people’s behaviour and what is due to the virus is hard.
The figure mentioned by Prime Minister Boris Johnson was that the variant may be up to 70% more transmissible. He said this may be increasing the R number – which indicates if an epidemic is growing or shrinking – by 0.4.
That 70% number appeared in a presentation by Dr Erik Volz, from Imperial College London , on Friday.
During the talk he said: “It is really too early to tell… but from what we see so far it is growing very quickly, it is growing faster than [a previous variant] ever grew, but it is important to keep an eye on this.”
There is no “nailed on” figure for how much more infectious the variant may be. Scientists, whose work is not yet public, have told me figures both much higher and much lower than 70%.
But there remain questions about whether it is any more infectious at all.
“The amount of evidence in the public domain is woefully inadequate to draw strong or firm opinions on whether the virus has truly increased transmission,” said Prof Jonathan Ball, a virologist at the University of Nottingham.
How far has it spread? It is thought the variant either emerged in a patient in the UK or has been imported from a country with a lower ability to monitor coronavirus mutations.
The variant can be found across the UK, except Northern Ireland, but it is heavily concentrated in London, the South East and eastern England. Cases elsewhere in the country do not seem to have taken off.
Data from Nextstrain, which has been monitoring the genetic codes of the viral samples around the world, suggest cases in Denmark and Australia have come from the UK. The Netherlands has also reported cases.
A similar variant that has emerged in South Africa shares some of the same mutations, but appears to be unrelated to this one.
Has this happened before? Yes.
The virus that was first detected in Wuhan, China, is not the same one you will find in most corners of the world.
The D614G mutation emerged in Europe in February and became the globally dominant form of the virus.
Another, called A222V, spread across Europe and was linked to people’s summer holidays in Spain .
What do we know about the new mutations? An initial analysis of the new variant has been published and identifies 17 potentially important alterations .
There have been changes to the spike protein – this is the key the virus uses to unlock the doorway to our body’s cells.
One mutation called N501Y alters the most important part of the spike, known as the “receptor-binding domain”.
This is where the spike makes first contact with the surface of our body’s cells. Any changes that make it easier for the virus to get inside are likely to give it an edge.
“It looks and smells like an important adaptation,” said Prof Loman.
The other mutation – a H69/V70 deletion, in which a small part of the spike is removed – has emerged several times before, including famously in infected mink.
Work by Prof Ravi Gupta at the University of Cambridge has suggested this mutation increases infectivity two-fold in lab experiments.
Studies by the same group suggest the deletion makes antibodies from the blood of survivors less effective at attacking the virus .
Prof Gupta told me: “It is rapidly increasing, that’s what’s worried government, we are worried, most scientists are worried.”
Where has it come from? The variant is unusually highly mutated.
The most likely explanation is the variant has emerged in a patient with a weakened immune system that was unable to beat the virus.
Instead their body became a breeding ground for the virus to mutate.
Does it make the infection more deadly? There is no evidence to suggest that it does, although this will need to be monitored.
However, just increasing transmission would be enough to cause problems for hospitals.
If the new variant means more people are infected more quickly, that would in turn lead to more people needing hospital treatment.
Will the vaccines work against the new variant? Almost certainly yes, or at least for now.
All three leading vaccines develop an immune response against the existing spike, which is why the question comes up.
Vaccines train the immune system to attack several different parts of the virus, so even though part of the spike has mutated, the vaccines should still work.
“But if we let it add more mutations, then you start worrying,” said Prof Gupta.
“This virus is potentially on a pathway for vaccine escape, it has taken the first couple of steps towards that.”
Vaccine escape happens when the virus changes so it dodges the full effect of the vaccine and continues to infect people.
This may be the most concerning element of what is happening with the virus.
This variant is just the latest to show the virus is continuing to adapt as it infects more and more of us.
A presentation by Prof David Robertson, from the University of Glasgow on Friday, concluded: ” The virus will probably be able to generate vaccine escape mutants .”
That would put us in a position similar to flu, where the vaccines need to be regularly updated. Fortunately the vaccines we have are very easy to tweak.
European nations have begun to impose travel bans on the UK after it reported a more-infectious and “out of control” coronavirus variant.
Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium are all halting flights. The measures vary and are initially short-term but the French rules also affect Channel freight.
An EU meeting on Monday morning will discuss a more co-ordinated response.
The new variant has spread quickly in London and south-east England.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday introduced a new tier four level of restrictions for those areas, scrapping a planned relaxation of rules over the Christmas period for millions of people.
Top health officials said that there was no evidence the new variant was more deadly, or would react differently to vaccines, but it was proving to be up to 70% more transmissible.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the new strain “was out of control. We have got to get it under control”, admitting that this was “an incredibly difficult end to frankly an awful year”.
Which countries have acted and how?
Within hours of the UK announcement on Saturday, the Netherlands said it would ban all passenger flights from the UK until 1 January.
Later on Sunday it said it would also bar ferry passengers arriving from the UK, although freight would continue.
The country on Sunday reported a daily increase of more than 13,000 cases – a new record, despite tough lockdown measures being applied on 14 December.
As Sunday wore on, major new restrictions were imposed by key European nations.
France suspended all travel links, including freight lorries, with the UK for 48 hours from midnight on Sunday (23:00 GMT).
Thousands of lorries move between the countries every day.
In response to France’s ban, Eurotunnel said it would suspend access to its Folkestone terminal from 22:00 GMT for traffic heading to Calais. People booked to travel on Monday can get a refund. Trains will still run from Calais to Folkestone.
The ferry terminal at Dover is now closed for all accompanied traffic leaving the UK until further notice because of the French restrictions.
The freight issue has become so pressing that Mr Johnson will chair a COBRA emergency response meeting on the matter on Monday.
In Ireland , which has significant passenger traffic with the UK at this time of year, the government announced that flights arriving from England, Wales and Scotland would be banned for 48 hours at least from midnight, and “in the interests of public health, people in Britain, regardless of nationality, should not travel to Ireland, by air or sea”.
Ferry crossings for freight would continue.
In Germany , an order from the ministry of transport said planes from the UK would not be allowed to land after midnight on Sunday, although cargo would be an exception. Health Minister Jens Spahn said the UK variant had not yet been detected in Germany.
Belgium suspended flights and train arrivals from the UK from midnight on Sunday for at least 24 hours as a “precautionary measure”.
Italy is blocking all flights from the UK until 6 January. The first case of the UK variant has also been detected in Italy, the health ministry reported on Sunday. The patient is in isolation in Rome.
Austria is to ban flights from the UK. Bulgaria has suspended flights to and from the UK from midnight but, unlike the short-term measures in many other nations, its ban lasts until 31 January.
Turkey has temporarily banned all flights from the UK as has Switzerland .
A European Council meeting will be held at 10:00 GMT on Monday on co-ordinating EU actions.
The new variant was first detected in September. In November it made up around a quarter of cases in London. This reached nearly two-thirds of cases in mid-December.
