Tinashe Sambiri|Controversial Masvingo preacher, Isaac Makomichi who has been attracting attention for the wrong reasons in the past few weeks, has reportedly gone into hiding after being bashed by a woman who accused him of wrecking her marriage.
Impeccable sources revealed Makomichi was confronted by the irate lady who accused the preacher of distributing love charms to a small house who snatched the woman’s husband.
Several women have also accused the cleric of destroying their marriages by distributing the love charm to single ladies.
It is understood the controversial preacher has gone into hiding following incessant pressure from disgruntled women in the ancient city of Masvingo.
“This time he will not get away with it, we are ready to take him on.Our marriages are crumbling because of the love charms,” fumed one woman.
Sources say the charm causes men to sell their belongings and abandon their respective wives for small houses.
Pressed for a comment on the matter, Makomichi’s personal assistant said: ” What are you talking about? The prophet is out of town for a prayer retreat, is that what you call going into hiding?
Tinashe Sambiri|Controversial Masvingo preacher, Isaac Makomichi who has been attracting attention for the wrong reasons in the past few weeks, has reportedly gone into hiding after being bashed by a woman who accused him of wrecking her marriage.
Impeccable sources revealed Makomichi was confronted by the irate lady who accused the preacher of distributing love charms to a small house who snatched the woman’s husband.
Several women have also accused the cleric of destroying their marriages by distributing the love charm to single ladies.
It is understood the controversial preacher has gone into hiding following incessant pressure from disgruntled women in the ancient city of Masvingo.
“This time he will not get away with it, we are ready to take him on.Our marriages are crumbling because of the love charms,” fumed one woman.
Sources say the charm causes men to sell their belongings and abandon their respective wives for small houses.
Pressed for a comment on the matter, Makomichi’s personal assistant said: ” What are you talking about? The prophet is out of town for a prayer retreat, is that what you call going into hiding?
A BEITBRIDGE tenant is in trouble for allegedly attacking the house owner with an axe several times during a dispute with his landlord over why he fed his dogs with eggs.
Solomon Sigauke (31) denied the attempted murder charges when he appeared before Beitbridge magistrate Stanley Mambanje.
He was remanded in custody to November 30 for continuation of trial.
Prosecutor Munyonga Kuvarega told the court that the complainant, Samuel Moyo Chijekere (52) who owns a house in Dulibadzimo suburb in Beitbridge was sitting outside his house on October 1 at around 11pm when Sigauke fed his dogs with eggs which did not go down well with Chijekere who then insulted him saying “Mbava dzinonetsa” (thieves are problematic).
A quarrel ensued between the two resulting in Sigauke striking Chijekere with an iron bar on the head and arms several times.
He allegedly went on to strike him with an axe on the forehead three times before he was restrained by one Margret Mbedzi.
Chijekere sustained serious injuries on the head and arm and was taken to hospital for medical attention. A report was made to the police leading to Sigauke’s arrest.-NewsDay
Three police office were yesterday dragged to court to face criminal abuse of duty after they reportedly demanded US$4000 from an accused person whom they had arrested for dealing in illegal drugs.
The trio of Donlad Dube, Charles Ndumo and Innocent Madziya were not asked to plead when they appeared before Harare magistrate Judith Taruvinga.
The three are stationed at CID Braeside.
Allegations are that on October 8, between 7 and 8pm, the trio who were on duty received information that there was a truck loaded with BronCleer Cough Syrup.
The three acting on the information went to N Richards Truck stop and found a truck loaded with goods from South aAfrica nd identified the owner of the goods Philda Makumbe and amongst the goods were 60 boxes of BronCleer syrup.
They reportedly produced their police cards and indicated that they were following up on the information they had received and ordered Makumbe to load the boxes into a car that they had hired and was being driven by Webster Madzoko.
While at the scene they reportedly started demanding US$6 000 from Makumbe in the presence of her brother so that they release the boxes prompting Makumbe to send her brother to collect the money and he came back with US$4200.
The trio received the moenyin the presence of Bellah Mbizi her business partner and after receiving it they took out two boxes of Bron Cleer before handing over the rest to Makumbe.
Makumbe later made a police report and when the realised that they were being investigated they re-arrested her after the found her in possession of one box of the illegal substances.-H-Metro
Minister for Finance Mthuli Ncube has delivered the 2021 National Budget which will be running under the recently launched economic recovery plan NDS1. The theme for the 2021 budget is “Building Resilience and Sustainable Economic Development”.
Here are some of the highlights from the document:
Economic Performance
Economy estimated to contract by -4.1% in 2020, reflecting weak demand due to necessary lockdown.
This suppressed output, productivity and capacity utilisation.
COVID-19 pandemic hit an economy already dealing with devastating impacts of climatic shocks of drought, Cyclone Idai and Cyclone Kenneth.
Mining, manufacturing, tourism, construction, distribution and other service sectors faced the full negative impact of containment measures.
Agriculture was less affected as the summer cropping season was almost over when the pandemic hit.
Government reprioritised budget allocations and announced $18.2 billion Stimulus Package to save lives and livelihoods.
Domestic Economy
Economy expected to rebound by 7.4% in 2021 from consecutive 2-year downturn.
Government’s response aimed at ensuring strong economic recovery building on the milestones from the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) and targeting additional support measures to cushion vulnerable households.
150 000 formal jobs are expected to be recovered after having been lost due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Inflation
Prices are expected to remain stable as fiscal and monetary measures complement in containing inflation.
Foreign Currency Auction market system is central in bringing stability to foreign exchange market.
Year on year inflation is projected to reach 9% by the end of 2021.
The full highlights and Nation Budget documents are in the links below:
Iranian ambassador to Zimbabwe Abbas Navazani this morning paid a courtesy call on Vice President Kembo Mohadi at his Munhumutapa offices in Harare where the two discussed possible areas of co-operation and strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries.
In an interview after the meeting, VP Mohadi said they discussed a number of issues including possible investments in the agriculture and mining sectors.
“There are quite a number of areas whereby we can benefit from each other. We have a joint commission together with Iran and under that joint commission, we discussed quite a lot.
“We discussed our cooperation on the international fora and organisations such as the Non-Aligned Movement and we also talked about our agriculture. At one time, we had tractors from Iran and we would want that to be established as well. We want to see those tractors assembled here,” he said.
Mr Navazani said they he had a fruitful meeting with Vice President Mohadi where they had the opportunity to review co-operation between Zimbabwe and Iran and also possible areas of boosting economic ties between the two countries.
“We have a cordial relationship which dates back to the days of the liberation struggle of Zimbabwe.
We have relationship politically and economically and we are trying to extend co-operation in economic and trade. I have a different mechanism this time to enhance our relations. Our political and international relation is close. We are trying and hope we will enhance our economic cooperation despite the oppressive sanctions imposed by Americans,” he said.
The ambassador expressed gratitude to the Zimbabwean Government ‘s for its unwavering support to Iran.
Exciting future beckons. Almost at the same time, China unveiled its 14th FYP & vision for 2035 and Zimbabwe launched NDS1. Ambassador Guo Shaochun explains China's blueprint and how it will boost China-Zimbawe cooperation. https://t.co/nN1hfovnQ2… #ChinaFiveYearPlanpic.twitter.com/60gtfKJdjb
Mthuli Ncube has presented his 2021 budget hinged on a good agricultural season, increased mining revenue and a stable currency.
The finance and economic development minister on Thursday presented his 2021 national budget, which he believes will work if these criteria are met.
He is also pinning hopes on a tourism recovery, which will depend on the Covid-19 pandemic not worsening.
As such, the 2021 budget has an “expenditure ceiling of ZW$421.6bn [US$5.08bn, or R77.33bn]”, he said.
Development partners were expected to lend or give the country a total of US$841.5m (R12.81bn), of which $282.1m (R4.29bn) would come from multilateral partners.
Ncube is projecting a 7.4% overall GDP growth, with year-on-year inflation by the end of 2021 reaching 9%.
These are some of the highlights of the budget:
ZW$46.3bn will be allocated to agriculture with the hope of growing the sector to a US$8.2bn (R124.83bn) industry;
The ministry of transport will receive ZW$30.1bn for infrastructure development, with dualisation of the Harare-Beitbridge highway to be allocated ZW$19bn;
A post-Covid recovery plan for the tourism sector will take up ZW$1.8bn;
Zimbabwe’s water sources countrywide are in an appalling state and Ncube resolved to allocate ZW$10.7bn — while an additional ZW$3.9bn will be set aside to deal with water issues;
The ministry of information technology has been allocated ZW$2bn as the country attempts integration into the digital revolution;
Local authorities and provincial councils will get ZW$19.5bn proposed for devolution. While the ministry of local government walks away with ZW$10.1bn;
The ministry of health will be allocated a staggering ZW$54.7bn, largely driven by how Covid-19 has exposed how badly the sector has been funded, and how poor its infrastructure and equipment is;
Higher education will receive ZW$14.4bn; and
The security sector, namely defence, will get ZW$23.8bn while the police under home affairs receive ZW$23.6bn.
The government has proposed a ban on the importation of second-hand motor vehicles aged 10 years and more.
An officer has been dismissed without notice following his conviction for misconduct in public office and conspiracy to acquire criminal property.
Two British policemen stand with backs to camera. Selectively focussed. A crowd of people appears in the background, out of focus. Policemen are wearing tall traditional British helmets and fluorescent Jackets.
A misconduct hearing was held on Thursday, 26 November for PC Kashif Mahmood, based at Central East, to answer allegations his conduct amounted to a breach of the standards of professional behaviour in respect of discreditable conduct, honesty and integrity and duties and responsibilities.
On Wednesday, 5 August at Southwark Crown Court PC Mahmood pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office and conspiracy to acquire criminal property. He is remanded in custody awaiting sentence on Tuesday, 22 December.
PC Mahmood was convicted alongside five other people for a number of offences following an investigation by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards’ Anti-Corruption Command.
The investigation began in March into the activities of PC Mahmood and his associates, involved in the wholesale movement of drugs and the laundering of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Between November 2019 and March 2020 PC Mahmood, in uniform and using a marked police car, worked with an associate dressed as a police officer to seize significant amounts of cash from couriers which was either due to be laundered or had been provided to the couriers as payment for drugs. He was first arrested on Tuesday, 28 April and again for further offences on Tuesday, 7 July. He was charged on Wednesday, 8 July.
The misconduct hearing, after considering the circumstances, found all allegations against PC Mahmood proven and that they amounted to gross misconduct. He was dismissed without notice.
Commander Paul Betts, MPS Directorate of Professional Standards, said: “This is a very serious matter and there is absolutely no place for corruption within the Metropolitan Police Service. Following his conviction at court it is entirely right PC Mahmood has been dismissed and he will also be placed on the College of Policing’s barred list.”
Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube has proposed an array of taxes in his projected 2021 national budget.
Ncube has proposed to introduce a Cannabis Levy, which is chargeable on the value of exports at varied rates of tax that correspond to the level of the process.
The Levy is premised on the projection that the potential value of cannabis exports for medicinal purposes is estimated at US$1.25 billion next year.
According to the levy proposal, 10% will be charged on the export sales value of finished packaged medicinal cannabis oils that are ready for resale; 15% on the export sales values of bulk extracted medicinal cannabis oils that require further processing and/ or packaging; and 20% on the export sales value of dried medicinal cannabis flowers.
On presumptive taxes, that is, taxes levied on informal traders, Ncube proposed that self-employed professionals will now pay a presumptive tax ranging from $250 000 to $1 million a month effective January 1, 2021.
Medical professionals will pay $500 000, engineers $500 000, legal $500 000, architects $250 000 and realtors $1 million.
Ncube, however, said the presumptive tax will, however, not apply to professionals who produce a valid Tax Clearance Certificate for the year of assessment.
On the fuel sector, Ncube said fuel excise duty will be paid in foreign currency unless the importer provides satisfactory documentary evidence to the effect that funds were sourced through the auction system.
To encourage the importation of fuel by pipeline, the Petroleum Importers’ Levy has been reviewed to USD$0.05 a litre on both diesel and petrol.
FINANCE Minister Mthuli Ncube has banned importation on second-hand private use vehicles above 10 years from the date of manufacture.
Ncube made the policy pronouncement while delivering his 2021 budget in parliament this Thursday.
“Mr Speaker Sir, about US$1.3 billion was spent on imported buses, light commercial and passenger motor vehicles from 2015 to September 2020,” said the minister.
“This is despite the existence of capacity by the local motor industry to assemble the above-mentioned range of motor vehicles.
“Furthermore, due to lack of effective standards and regulation, road unworthy vehicles, which, in some instances fail to meet environmental and safety standards, find their way onto the market.
“In line with the NDS1, which underscores value addition, I propose to remove second-hand motor vehicles aged 10 years and above, from the date of manufacture at the time of importation, from the Open General Import Licence.
“In the interim, commercial vehicles such as tractors, haulage trucks, earth-moving equipment and other specialised vehicles used in mining and construction will be exempt from this requirement.”
Police have launched a manhunt for seven men who attacked and killed a 29-year-old man they suspected to have stolen gold ore from their mine in Inyathi, Matabeleland North Province.
The suspects allegedly beat the deceased with logs and fled the scene. It is alleged that the suspects confronted the man at his homestead before taking him to their mine where they accused him of stealing gold ore.
Some of the suspects were armed with logs, which they allegedly used to attack the victim.
The man later died as a result of the assault.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident and said that investigations were in progress.
“Police in Inyathi are looking for a group of seven male adults who fatally assaulted a man (29) after suspecting him of having stolen some gold ore from their mine on November 19, 2020. The group assaulted the victim using logs and took him to their mine where he later died.
“They then fled the scene. Investigations are underway,” he said.
Police in Umguza, Matabeleland North Province, are also looking for 10 men who kidnapped a 60-year-old man on September 27 after they broke into his premises, searched for money and took away his rifle.
The man was released the same day.
Last Wednesday, the man found his stolen rifle dumped by his gate. A report was then made to the police who are still investigating the case.
Meanwhile, an 81-year-old Rushinga man recently died after he was attacked by two men who were armed with a machete and wearing black clothes after they raided his homestead on the pretext that they wanted to pay for services they had gotten from a late traditional healer in the area.
Kingstone Kasazi of Nyamakoronga Village, Chief Makuni in Rushinga, was an aide to the late traditional healer identified as Evaristo Meki or Chiokoto.
He was struck with a machete several times on the head. The two men, who are still at large, are reported to have fled the homestead using a motorcycle they had parked about 300 metres away from the scene.
They had tricked the victim into believing they had come from Mozambique and wanted to pay for the services they once got from Chiokoto, before producing a machete and attacking the man.
Another six armed robbers who were brandishing machetes, raided a mine in Esigodini and attacked a family which they robbed of US$87 000, R38 800 and cellphones.
The gang was armed with a bolt cutter which they used to break burglar bars to enter the house.
They tied two of the house occupants with an electrical cable and shoe laces before ransacking the house, getting away with US$87 000 and R38 800, which was in the safe, four Samsung Galaxy tablets, a Samsung laptop and a flash disk.
1555: Professor Ncube has concluded his address and that brings an end to our updates.
1554: Going around the country, meeting with all groups of people, I came up with the following observations. Out there, confidence is improving and the Budget is committed to cement that hope by addressing various expectations.
These expectations evolve around provision of basic services such as water, housing, food, health, education of children, among other issues. The young at colleges and those leaving colleges look forward to find and keep the jobs. In fact, people of all backgrounds want to be assured that, through the Budget, we are doing all we can to make sure that promises become a reality.
And that’s what is required of us now, each playing our part to meet the common goal of growing our economy. Precisely, this what this Budget and the NDS1 are seeking to address.
I end with a quote from an English Philosopher and Economist, John Stuart Mills, ‘All good things which exist are the fruits of originality’. And indeed, we are charting a better future through the NDS1 and this Budget.
I commend the 2021 National Budget to this August House.
President Mnangagwa and his two deputies VPs Chiwenga and Mohadi attend the budget presentation
1552: Mr Speaker Sir, about US$1.3 billion was spent on imported buses, light commercial and passenger motor vehicles from 2015 to September 2020. This is despite the existence of capacity by the local motor industry to assemble the above-mentioned range of motor vehicles. Furthermore, due to lack of effective standards and regulation, road unworthy vehicles, which, in some instances fail to meet environmental and safety standards, find their way onto the market.
In line with the NDS1, which underscores value addition, I propose to remove second hand motor vehicles aged 10 years and above, from the date of manufacture at the time of importation, from the Open General Import Licence. In the interim, commercial vehicles such as tractors, haulage trucks, earth-moving equipment and other specialised vehicles used in mining and construction will be exempt from this requirement.
1547: Mr Speaker Sir, Government remains committed to improving workers’ disposable income as part of the broader agenda to increase aggregate demand and savings. The recent salary and wage adjustments for public and some private sector employees necessitates a corresponding review in the personal income tax framework.
I, therefore, propose to review the Tax-Free Threshold from $5 000 per month to $10 000 per month. I, further, propose to adjust the tax bands to begin at $10 001 and end at $250 000 per month, above which the Highest Marginal Tax rate of 40 percent will apply. The above measures are effective from 1 January 2021.
1542: Honourable Members would be aware that Government has implemented a presumptive tax structure on informal businesses that include micro and small enterprises, with a view to ensure that they contribute to the Fiscus.
A number of enterprises operate from designated business premises where the landlords are either Local Authorities or private property owners such as the Gulf Complex and Kwame Mall, among others. Their place of business is, thus, comprised of partitioned units in commercial buildings.
The fixed nature of business, thus, presents an opportunity for the tax administration to improve tax collections from presumptive taxes. I, therefore, propose to introduce a presumptive tax of an equivalent of US$30 per unit per month.
Landlords will be responsible for the collection of the above taxes which take effect from 1 January 2021. Landlords that fail to collect and remit the tax will be subject to a penalty equivalent to the amount of tax payable and interest. Furthermore, landlords have the responsibility to keep accurate records regarding the number of occupants or operators in respective properties, in order to facilitate administration of tax.
1538: Notwithstanding the abundant phosphate deposits, fertilizer manufacturing has gradually declined due to antiquated equipment and competition from imports, among other factors.
In order to complement the thrust of the National Development Strategy which includes recapitalisation of fertilizer manufacturing companies and investment in new technology, I propose to introduce a Fertilizer Manufacturers’ Rebate, whereby raw materials used in the production process will be imported tax and duty free by Approved Manufacturers.
1535: As part of a broader reform process under the TSP, Government through the Central Bank introduced market determined exchange rate through the Monetary Policy of (SI 33 of 2019) on 20 February 2019. This entail transition from exchange rate of US$1: $1, initially to US$1: $2.5 and thereafter determined by the interbank market activities.
This transition resulted in currency losses to small and vulnerable households with deposits less than US$1 000 in the bank. The movement in the exchange rate from US$1: $1 to US$1: $2.5 resulted in a loss for such depositors.
Therefore, Government has made a decision to compensate the small and vulnerable depositors who had US$1000 and below, for the exchange rate movement loss from US$1: $1 to US$1: $2.5, with resources equivalent to US$75 million. The resources will be administered by the Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC).
1533: Parliament, on its part has been allocated $7,2 billion. Farmers compensation: 2021 National Budget to allocate $2 billion to vulnerable farmers.
1529: In recognition of the importance of peace, the security sector has to be adequately supported and hence, the 2021 Budget has made provision for essential requirements of security services such as training, accommodation, mobility, equipment, uniforms, medical facilities and other welfare essentials. Defence, Security and War Veterans, $23,8 billion; and Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage $23,6 billion.
1527: Basic education: Minister Ncube says 2021 National Budget will fund for the acquisition of PPEs. $52 billion to go towards the Ministry of Primary Education
1526: The 2021 National Budget will allocate $54,7 billion to the health sector. Tertiary education sector will get $14, 4 billion
Professor Mthuli Ncube
1524: $19,5 billion to be allocated towards Devolution in 2021. Housing and Social Amenities Ministry to be allocated $2,8 billion.
1520: Water supply and sanitation. Dam projects across the country to receive $10,7 billion. $3,9 billion to go towards urban water projects.
1516: Ministry of Mines to receive $1,4 billion. Tourism Ministry to be allocated $1,8 billion. Transport Ministry to receive $30,1 billion and $10,1 billion of that amount to go towards the Harare-Beitbridge road
1514: Govt to set aside US$37 million for youth, and a similar amount for war veterans. 2021 National Budget to allocate $2,2 billion to SMEs Ministry. Ministry of Youth and Sport to receive $3,2 billion
1513: Minerals that have been targeted for beneficiation include PGMs, gold, coal and chrome
1509: Agricultural output targeted increase to US$8, 2 billion. Agriculture Ministry to be allocated $46,3 billion in the 2021 National Budget. Govt to resuscitate Zimbabwe Agricultural Exchange.
1507: Monetary policy will be based on exchange rate stability, financial stability and management of money supply.
1500: Revenues next year expected to reach $390,8 billion. Government is targeting a budget deficit of $30,8 billion next year. It will be on line with SADC threshold. Prof Ncube says there will be an expenditure ceiling of $421,6 billion. Employment costs next year to be capped at $142 billion.
1458: Zimbabwe’s current account expected to remain positive despite vulnerabilities in the global economy. $88, 7 billion in revenues generated to date. A budget deficit of $4,9 billion is expected by year end.
1457: Annual inflation to reduce to an average of 135 percent in 2021. Finance Minister Ncube says exchange rate has been range bound at $81 to the US dollar between July and November 2020. Exchange rate to remain stable next year, says the Treasury boss.
1454: He says Government response is to ensure that economy rebounds in 2021. 7,5 percent GDP growth expected for 2021.
1453: Prof Ncube says Zimbabwe’s economy to contract by – 9 percent this year.
1449: Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube commences his presentation of the 2021 National Budget.
The director police Intelligence Commissioner Douglas Nyakutsikwa yesterday made an application for referral of his matter to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) where he intends to challenge the constitutionality of the establishment of the Special Anti-Corruption Unit (SACU) headed by Mr Thabani Mpofu.
Com Nyakutsikwa, who is jointly charged with City of Harare director of works and housing services Addmore Nhekairo on criminal abuse of office, said he wants the ConCourt to make an order declaring SACU’s activities unconstitutional.
He also indicated that he wants the ConCourt to declare his arrest, brief detention and prosecution under the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs unconstitutional, a legal nullity and void.
Making an application for referral of the matter to the ConCourt on behalf Com Nyakutsikwa, lawyer Mr Tapson Dzvetero said: “The first accused is challenging the constitutionality of SACU and he wishes this court to refer the aforesaid issues to the highest court on constitutional issues -ConCourt- to make judicial pronouncements on the issues aforesaid.
“He will seek amongst other ancillary issues if this matter is referred for an order declaring that the conduct of the establishment of the Special Anti-Corruption Unit be here declared unconstitutional and of no legal effect.”
He will seek that ConCourt declare his arrest, brief detention and prosecution under the co-ordination of Ministry of Justice be and here declared unconstitutional, a legal nullity and void.
“He will seek the ConCourt to order a permanent stay of his prosecution.”
Mr Dzvetero said he also intends to challenge the powers of SACU in arresting, detention and prosecution of suspects and the involvement of the Ministry of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in the processes.
He took Com Nyakutsikwa to the witness stand to testify on other reasons why he decided to take the matter to the ConCourt.
In his testimony, Com Nyakutsikwa told the court that he noted that people employed under SACU, including its director Mr Thabani Mpofu and his deputy Mr Pearson Mbalekwa, were not public officials.
“I thought since they were under SACU they were civil servants. I thought since they were under President Office they were part of our intelligence world, that is, maybe under Military Intelligence Department or Central Intelligence Organisation,” he said.
“This led me to tell them information that was classified and sensitive. I gave them information that should not be shared with someone who is not under oath. When you hold such office you should be public officer.”
Com Nyakutsikwa said he was surprised to note that they SACU director Mpofu and his deputy were not even civil servants despite being paid by tax payers’ money and using Government facilities.
“Mpofu and Mbalekwa are earning Government money and using facilities that must be for civil servants. Their earnings should be coming from a particular Government vote,” he said.
Com Nyakutsikwa narrated how he was arrested although he refused to divulge some of the details, which he said were classified and not fit for public consumption.
He told the court that he relinquished the stand that SACU alleges was corruptly allocated to him after connivance with Nhekairo to City of Harare after being advised by the Environmental Management Authority that it was on wetland.
“I said no if you check for my records it will show that I was given when I was chief staff officer in 2018 and I was on the waiting list. I relinquished the stand because I did not want to be involved in scandals. I approached the director general EMA because I wanted to understand the implications of building at that stand,” he said.
The former Personal Assistant to fired Health and Child Care Minister Obadiah Moyo has been arrested on allegations of criminal abuse of office.
Gideon Mapokotera was picked at 1430hours by law enforcement agents on allegations of illegal issuance of visas in contravention of section 174 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23.
Mapokotera is accused of illegally facilitating the issuance of visas to Ali Mohammad and his family to gain access into the country.
Muhammad has a case pending before the courts where he is charged together with Henrietta Rushwaya and others on smuggling, unlawful possession of gold charges.
It is the state’s case that Mapokotera acted unlawfully in the discharge of his duty, signed and dispatched letters to the department of immigration to facilitate the issuance of visas to Ali Mohammad.
The accused created visa application letters on June 18, 2019 for a single entry visa, September 26, 2019 for a multiple entry visa and November 24, 2019 for multiple entry visas for Ali Mohammad’s family – wife and six children.
“The accused person had not been given authority by his principal and further did not bring the heinous development to his attention up to the 25th of November 2020 when the principal was made aware after investigations commenced.”
"I am 58," Moana's father has told ZimEye in an exclusive interview. He also dismissed an alleged verdict circulating which claims he has been granted burial rights of his daughter Mitchel Amuli. THESE AND MORE ARE REVEALED IN THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – ZIMEYE pic.twitter.com/g4WBtBEA0Q
Marseille coach Andre Villas-Boas has called on FIFA to retire the number 10 shirt from the game to honour Argentine great Diego Maradona.
The 1986 World Cup hero died on Wednesday, aged 60, after suffering a heart attack.
The former Barcelona and Napoli forward was regarded as one of the greatest players in football history, with fans in Argentina referring to him as “The God”.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday after his team lost 2-0 to Porto in the Champions League, Villas-Boas said:
“Maradona, yes it is tough news, I would like FIFA to retire the number 10 shirt in all competitions, for all teams.
“It would be the best homage we could do for him. He is an incredible loss for the world of football.”
Napoli have not used the No. 10 shirt since 2000 as a mark of respect for the player who guided them to several trophies-Soccer 24
Social media was yesterday awash with condolences for the late Argentine great Diego Maradona.
The 1986 World Cup hero and former Barcelona, Servilla and Napoli star, considered by some as the greatest ever footballer in history, succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 60.
Football stars across the globe took turns to post messages of condolence for him.-Soccer 24
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance leader, President Nelson Chamisa, has pointed out that the opposition party is an unbreakable formation despite efforts by Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa to destroy it.
According to President Chamisa, a return to legitimacy is the only solution to the country’s deepening crisis.
He also commended the people of Uganda for their determination to fight for freedom.
“Uganda..keep on marching, you are almost getting there.Thank you Africa for standing with those seeking to break the always-temporary chains of oppression..Freedom!
Zimbabwe must be RESTORED TO PROSPERITY anchored on a return to a People’s government.
VP @BitiTendai delivered a State of the Economy address articulating our alternative SMART views on how to fix Zim economic challenges.
Join us in this fight to WIN Zimbabwe for Change.
Chinja is unbreakable..The people shall govern,” President Chamisa said in a statement.
Warriors striker Prince Dube will likely be sidelined with injury for a while after he was stretched off in Azam’s 0-1 loss to Young Africans in the Tanzanian Premier League yesterday.
The 23-year-old was replaced in the first half of the game due to what the club confirmed to be a broken ulnar (the long bone found in the forearm that stretches from the elbow to the smallest finger, and when in anatomical position, is found on the medial side of the forearm.)
He is set to travel to Cape Town, South Africa, for treatment.-Soccer 24
CAF president Ahmad Ahmad has challenged a decision by FIFA to ban him from all football activities for five years after he was found guilty of corruption.
The Malagasy administrator said he will launch an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In a statement posted on his Twitter account on Wednesday night, Ahmad described the ban as unfair and partial.
“I challenge the sanction that has been imposed. Beyond my case, it is the self-determination of football in Africa that is under attack,” the 60-year-old said.
“This decision was not rendered in a fair and impartial manner.”
The ban has affected his bid for re-election as head of the African confederation in March 2021. He took the office in 2017 after beating long-time CAF chief Issa Hayatou.-Soccer 24
A close member to the late Moana’s parents has dismissed as fake a circulating High Court judgment which claims that the video vixen’s father Ishmael Amuli had been granted burial rights in consultation with the mother Yolanda Kuvawonga.
According to the source, High Court judge Justice Pisirai Kwenda promised to reach out to both parties once his ruling was ready and had not done so.
“Its fake, the parents have not been called by the High Court, we dont know where it is originating from, we even read articles posted online where they were saying a ruling had been made,” said the source.
Justice Kwenda told both parties yesterday that the case was novel and required more time as the courts had never dealt with an issue where parents quarreled over the funeral of a child.
Moana’s mother approached the High Court requesting for cancellation of a burial order which requires that both parents be available to collect the body for burial.
NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area!!If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you.When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up.Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder.
Indoor Lightning Safety
Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity.
Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths and faucets.Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches.
Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.
Last Resort Outdoor Risk Reduction Tips
If you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby the following actions may reduce your risk:
Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks
Never lie flat on the ground
Never shelter under an isolated tree
Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter
Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water
Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.) Source: National Weather Service
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information follow /like our Facebook page :Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
BY DR MASIMBA MAVAZA | The 2030 vision set by President ED Mnangagwa is an inch away.
Ngulube with President Mnangagwa
MPs have pulled up their socks and pulled the constituencies towards success. Honourable Albert Ngulube the member of parliament for Beitbridge East Constituency has taken the area by storm. His constituency is in region 5. One of the least developed Constituency but however the coming in of 2nd Republic the new dispensation has brought in a lot of changes and hope. Comrade Ngulube came into the constituency with one sole goal,to change the mind set of the people of his constituency.
He wanted them to have ownership of the development taking place in their respective wards. Ngulube worked hard to involve people in coming out with development projects and own them. This made the people have a pride of their own area and guard any development woth their lives. This was a change in people mindset which made Beitbridge see great developments and developing a slogan “ Iwe neni tine basa” Besides following the Party’s Manifesto Ngulube’s focus was on Infrastructure Development, health, education and roads. Beitbridge embraced and supported all HE’s programmes aimed at Vision 2030.
This we can confidently say Albert Ngulube came out tops and involved the constituency in the self defining projects.
In most cases due to the tight financial constraints Albert Ngulube had to use his personal funds. He donated 200 bags of cement for a construction of a school block and a clinic at Langeni school and Dumba clinic in ward 15. Again working with the rural Council and using Devolution funds the constituency managed to finish another clinic at Tshabili in Ward 2. Honourable Ngulube eased the water problems by drilling 4 boreholes at River Range Irrigation scheme. Thanks to the DFF. The constituency so more than 30 boreholes being repaired all over the Counstituency making water easily assessable for livestocks and people at large. Chikwarakwara Irrigation is currently being rehabilitated and water will be dlowing very soon. This Albert Ngulube had vowed to accomplish soon.
The development in the constituency will mot be enough if we do not mention The Beitbridge – Masvingo- Harare Highway currently underway. The constituency is grateful to cde ED Mnangagwa and the new dispensation for such developments in Beit Bridge. It has created a lot of employment and business in the Constituency. Social Welfare and business partners have continued to feed people but this will be a thing of the past as the programmes being brought bu the new dispensation are life changing and everlasting. The main challenge is drought and livestock feed but with the bore holes being sunk The constituency is hopeful that things will change. Albert Ngulube is one of the MPs who made promises during elections and kept each one of the promises made. During campaigns Ngulube promises to give Brahman Bulls to the Community starting a good breed of food cattle. His aim is to improve the cattle quality. True to his word he will be giving 10 Bulls a year for the quality of the cattle to be born. The Honourable MP has encouraged goat farming. Currently he os spearheading the formation of an add value company dealing with beef production. This will go a long way to by pass the middle man.
With the effects of the COVID 19 Cde Ngulube has donated food to the vulnerables in his Constituency through churches and traditional leaders. Every year he throws a Xmas party for the elderly and also a separate party for the Chief and all his traditional leadership.
He has further Managed to push through for Presidential scholarship for youngsters from his Constituency.
For the First time in thirty years Beitbridge will have a Community Radio Station of which it will get it’s licence in December this will be known as BB-Shashi Venda Community Radio Station.
Ngulube has brought in the diaspora in the developing plans. He has formed Development Groups with the diaspora in order to give those in diaspora a chance to own the development in their area.
Contrary to what people say out there ED has put a positive energy on all constituencies. Zimbabwe is indeed open for business
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance leader, President Nelson Chamisa, has pointed out that the opposition party is an unbreakable formation despite efforts by Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa to destroy it.
According to President Chamisa, a return to legitimacy is the only solution to the country’s deepening crisis.
He also commended the people of Uganda for their determination to fight for freedom.
“Uganda..keep on marching, you are almost getting there.Thank you Africa for standing with those seeking to break the always-temporary chains of oppression..Freedom!
Zimbabwe must be RESTORED TO PROSPERITY anchored on a return to a People’s government.
VP @BitiTendai delivered a State of the Economy address articulating our alternative SMART views on how to fix Zim economic challenges.
Join us in this fight to WIN Zimbabwe for Change.
Chinja is unbreakable..The people shall govern,” President Chamisa said in a statement.
Tinashe Sambiri| Former Mayor of the city of Harare, Ben Manyenyeni, has urged current Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume to remain strong and courageous because occupying the powerful post requires resilience in the wake of persecution.
Manyenyeni described Harare’s Town as a trauma centre because of persecution of opposition politicians by Zanu PF.
“Wishing His Worship the Mayor of Harare, Cllr Jacob Mafume strength following news of his arrest yesterday.
We, the 3 most recent occupants of the most difficult job in the country, have been “Guests of the State” at some point.
Who wants this job at Trauma Centre, the pain station which we call Town House?
PRAYING FOR JUSTICE,” said Manyenyeni in a statement.
Tinashe Sambiri| Former Mayor of the city of Harare, Ben Manyenyeni, has urged current Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume to remain strong and courageous because occupying the powerful post requires resilience in the wake of persecution.
Manyenyeni described Harare’s Town as a trauma centre because of persecution of opposition politicians by Zanu PF.
“Wishing His Worship the Mayor of Harare, Cllr Jacob Mafume strength following news of his arrest yesterday.
We, the 3 most recent occupants of the most difficult job in the country, have been “Guests of the State” at some point.
Who wants this job at Trauma Centre, the pain station which we call Town House?
PRAYING FOR JUSTICE,” said Manyenyeni in a statement.
By A Correspondent- A 42 year-old woman and her five children aged between six months and 10-years-old have been found murdered at their home in Dabekweni near Mqanduli in the Eastern Cape.
The police were alerted by neighbours who suspected something bad had happened at the home of the deceased.
On arrival, police found the six bodies in a pool of blood. Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Liziwe Ntshinga says it is inconceivable that this horrible crime happened on the opening day of 16 Days of Activism.
Police spokesperson Tembinkosi Kinana says the deceased were all hacked to death with an axe that was also found at the crime scene.
He says the motive behind the gruesome killing is investigated and are calling for assistance in finding the perpetrators.
“Six murder cases have been registered for investigation. A man believed to be a husband to the deceased mother has disappeared without any trace at the moment. We are therefore requesting community assistance in finding the husband whom we believe is in a position to assist police investigation into the incident. Any information received will be treated with strict confidentiality.”
#SAYIT Campaign launched to support victims of GBV
Earlier in November, a campaign to support women and young girls who are victims of violence was launched in Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape.
The #SAYIT Campaign aims to provide adolescent girls and young women with a basket of services that will enhance their health, psycho-social and socio-economic wellbeing. They will be able to access these services at a designated site.
Similar projects are already operating in the Free State, Limpopo and one other site in the Eastern Cape in Nyandeni.
Launch of the campaign:
Women facing a double pandemic
Yesterday, Deputy President David Mabuza said women continue to face a double pandemic as they struggle to stay safe from the coronavirus as well as their violent partners. With cases of murder, rape and assault on the rise, activism groups have called on society to actively assist those being abused.
Mabuza was speaking in Pretoria as South Africa observes 16 Days of Activism.
“We call for the unity of purpose and commitment in tackling the fight against the twin pandemics; COVID-19 and Gender-Based Violence. We are certain that if we work together as a nation to repair the social fabric of our society, victory is guaranteed. We can now eradicate all these social ills and build a nation that is stronger and united.”
NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area!!If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you.When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up.Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder.
Indoor Lightning Safety
Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity.
Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths and faucets.Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches.
Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.
Last Resort Outdoor Risk Reduction Tips
If you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby the following actions may reduce your risk:
Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks
Never lie flat on the ground
Never shelter under an isolated tree
Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter
Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water
Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.) Source: National Weather Service
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information follow /like our Facebook page :Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
Is it possible for President Advocate Nelson Chamisa to be close to Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa?
●Zanu PF has a system which is eating its own key members.
What guarantees the safety of Chamisa who opposes it?
▪︎We can’t all be stupid to believe that General Mujuru died of a candle flame. He was a key member, yet he perished and nothing was done. People moved on! ▪︎We cant all be stupid to believe that Air Marshal Perrance Shiri died of Covid-19. It doesn’t kill instantly, we all know Covid-19.
What about the other Colonels who followed! People moved on! ▪︎We can’t ignore the fact the General Chiwenga survived polonium poison and he had to return nicodemusly without even telling his number 1!
▪︎We have a series of suspicious accidents that claimed the lives of key members that we all know.
Chindori Chininga, Moven Mahachi, Brigadier Gunda, Eliot Manyika, Border Gezi, Peter Pamire…. the list is endless. ▪︎Matemadanda who is their political çommissar (Vatete vomusangano) the auntie of the Party, has just survived food poisoning, but the damage has already been done, he will go slowly! We are waiting for his reaction…
▪︎What about abductions and assassinations?
●If the system kills those who support it, what then guarantees the safety of President Nelson Chamisa who opposes it?
Tinashe Sambiri|Former Manchester United, England and Real Madrid star, David Beckham, has said the death of Diego Maradona is a blow to the global football fraternity.
Maradona is famous for his “Hand of God” goal.
“A sad day for Argentina and a sad day for football as we celebrate the greatness of what this man gave us…
Someone that played with passion , spirit and was nothing less than a pure genius .. I was so excited to meet Diego and we will all miss him Rest In Peace,” Beckham said in a statement.
Tinashe Sambiri|Controversial Masvingo preacher, Isaac Makomichi who has been attracting attention for the wrong reasons in the past few weeks, has reportedly gone into hiding after being bashed by a woman who accused him of wrecking her marriage.
Impeccable sources revealed Makomichi was confronted by the irate lady who accused the preacher of distributing love charms to a small house who snatched the woman’s husband.
Several women have also accused the cleric of destroying their marriages by distributing the love charm to single ladies.
It is understood the controversial preacher has gone into hiding following incessant pressure from disgruntled women in the ancient city of Masvingo.
“This time he will not get away with it, we are ready to take him on.Our marriages are crumbling because of the love charms,” fumed one woman.
Sources say the charm causes men to sell their belongings and abandon their respective wives for small houses.
Pressed for a comment on the matter, Makomichi’s personal assistant said: ” What are you talking about? The prophet is out of town for a prayer retreat, is that what you call going into hiding?
Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance Students Council says the arrest of Harare City Council Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume is shocking and unacceptable.
Mafume was arrested in Harare on Wednesday.
Political analysts say the arrest is meant to disrupt his progressive work at Town House.
In an interview with ZimEye.com on Thursday morning, the MDC Alliance Students Council Secretary General, Rujeko Hither Mpambwa said Mafume should be released with immediate effect.
“We view the persecution of Harare Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume as baseless and unacceptable.This is a clear case of political victimization.
The MDC Alliance Students Council is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Mayor Jacob Mafume.
We are calling upon all pressure groups to push for the release of our Mayor,” said Mpambwa.
“Let’s all speak with one voice- the persecution of MDC Alliance officials has reached an alarming level,” added Mpambwa.
Rujeko Hither Mpambwa, MDC Alliance Students Council Secretary General
By A Correspondent- The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is working on a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency trading platforms operating in the country.
Governor John Mangudya said that the central bank was not against financial development as it had formed the national Fintech group to look at digital currencies.
Already circulars have been sent to banks about the sandboxes and requesting for their proposals.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has approached local banks to help clear a two-week backlog of unpaid importers invoices amid indications that the auction is struggling to keep up with demand for foreign currency.
Eddie Cross a member of the MPC said the central bank was asking the banks to fund the cash flow for a week.
He said they had agreed to aim for 14 days to clear all applications.
By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has ordered power utility ZESA to reduce its stepped electricity tariff from about US$0.19 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to about US$0.10 /kWh following a public outcry.
ZESA recently increased power tariff by more than 100% in a space of a month, a move that triggered panic in the critical sectors of the economy and the public.
“The president issued a directive to ZESA to reduce the tariff. ZESA has complied,” a well-placed ZESA source said. His sentiments were echoed by several other sources at the Ministry of Energy and Power Development.
Energy and Power Development Minister, Zhemu Soda confirmed the reduction of the tariff saying this was after consumers complained about the skyrocketing tariff.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has ordered power utility ZESA to reduce its stepped electricity tariff from about US$0.19 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to about US$0.10 /kWh following a public outcry.
ZESA, wholly owned by the government, recently increased power tariff by more than 100% in a space of a month, a move that triggered panic in the critical sectors of the economy and the public.
There were growing fears that the tariff hike would worsen the operating environment by increasing the cost of production. Well-placed ZESA and government sources told Business Times that President Mnangagwa had to intervene.
“The president issued a directive to ZESA to reduce the tariff. ZESA has complied,” a well-placed ZESA source said.
His sentiments were echoed by several other sources at the Ministry of Energy and Power Development.
Efforts to get a comment from deputy chief secretary in charge of Presidential communications, George Charamba, were futile.
Contacted for comment Energy and Power Development Minister, Zhemu Soda confirmed the reduction of the tariff saying this was after consumers complained about the skyrocketing tariff.
“ZESA had indicated that it wanted to absorb their running cost, that’s why they were granted tariff increases.
But, consumers were not happy about the tariff increase and they raised a complaint.
“So, they appealed and the regulator, ZERA ordered ZESA to revise downwards its tariffs. You can imagine ZESA is importing at US$0.10 but wanted to sell at US$0.19. So, the regulator reviewed downwards the tariff,” Soda told Business Times.
This is not the first time that consumers have challenged ZESA’s tariff increase.
In 2011, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industry, successfully challenged ZESA’s proposed tariff increase in the Administrative Court.
ZESA, however, refused to budge and maintained the tariff at the contested level.
That increase had been approved by ZERA which claimed the judgement reversing the then agreed tariff had the potential to plunge the country into darkness, if implemented.
ZESA appealed to the Supreme Court saying the court judgement would open floodgates of lawsuits from consumers who had paid bills based on the new tariff.
A ruling on the appeal has not yet been made.
Some analysts say it would be illegal for ZESA to review upwards the tariff in the absence of a decision from the Supreme Court.
Last year in August, ZESA introduced the domestic stepped tariff to encourage consumers to use electricity efficiently and to make power affordable to low consumption households.
It had four steps.
But, it now has six steps following President Mnangagwa’s directive.
In a notice to customers, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), a unit of ZESA, this week advised of structural changes to the stepped prepayment tariff structure which has been increased to six from four.
“ZETDC would like to advise that it has revised the domestic prepayment tariff structure from four to six stepped tariff structure to give customers more buying options,” ZETDC said, adding that customers who bought prepaid electricity tokens on the old stepped tariff structure before this adjustment to six steps “will be credited the difference in due course”.
The new tariff will see ZESA charging US$0.016/kWh for the first 50kWh and US$0.03 /kWh for units between 51-100kWh.
After the 100kWh, consumers start paying about US$0.06 per unit.
Between 201 to 300kWh, it will be US$0.086 per unit.
From 301 to 400kWh, it will cost US$0.09 per unit while those purchasing more than 400kWh, will have to fork out US$0.10 per unit.
This means the lower bands are now more expensive than the higher bands. Consequently, the directive to reduce tariff, analysts say would encourage reckless consumption of electricity.
This would render the demand side management concept useless.
The demand side management concept was encouraging consumers to save power, apparently creating or realising a virtual power station.
By Nomusa Garikai- MDC Alliance treasurer-general David Coltart has welcomed the appointment of United States human rights defender and career diplomat Linda Thomas Greenfield as US ambassador to the United Nations.
“I don’t know what she is going to do. The main point is that she is sympathetic to human rights issues. Her appointment definitely puts Zimbabwe on her radar since she has an understanding of the ongoing persecution of journalists, opposition activists and human rights defenders,” said Coltart.
President-elect Joe Biden and his incoming administration must read 2004 to 2007 USA Ambassador Chris Dell’s report describing the late MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai as “a flawed and indecisive character who, if he got into power, would be an albatross round the nation’s neck!” Time has proven beyond all reasonable doubt that Ambassador Dell was right.
MDC did get into power in the 2008 to 2013 GNU and the party’s primary task was to implement the democratic reforms and end the curse of rigged elections. They failed to implement even one reform because Mugabe bribed them with the trapping of high office and, to demonstrate their appreciation, they throw away the reforms.
Ever since the GNU, MDC leaders have participated in elections, knowing fully well that Zanu PF was rigging the election; they did because Zanu PF was giving away a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition. They remembered the good-time of the GNU years and could not resist the bait.
Worst of all, the MDC leaders KNEW that by participating in flawed and illegal elections they will give the process credibility, as David Coltart himself admitted in his book.
“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the (2013) elections,” wrote Senator Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.
“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”
Of course, by giving the flawed election process credibility the opposition also gave the vote rigging, ipso facto illegitimate, Zanu PF regime legitimacy!
It really is very frustrating that Zimbabwe should still groaning under the yoke of this corrupt, tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship when the country has had so many golden opportunities to end the dictatorship and wasted them. Worst of all that it should be the same corrupt and incompetent MDC leaders who have wasted the chance and are now the greatest impediment to meaningful democratic change who are pontificating about Zanu PF dictatorship.
The Americans’ 2001 ZDERA sanctions on Zanu PF leaders have failed to bring about any meaningful political change in Zimbabwe because those tasked to deliver the change have sold-out and betrayed the nation and cause. Like it or not MDC leaders are now an albatross round Zimbabwe’s neck!
MDC leaders have made a big song and dance about fighting for free, fair and credible elections for the last 20 years and yet they have failed to deliver even one meaningful democratic change even when they had the golden opportunity to do so. MDC leaders have been running with the hare whilst, nicodemously, hunting with the hounds. The renewed sanctions must not only target Zanu PF leaders but their clandestine partners in crime – the MDC sell-outs. It is time for some clever boxing!
HON. MAMOMBE: Good afternoon Madam Speaker and thank you for the exception.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Good afternoon Honourable.
HON. MAMOMBE: Madam Speaker, I am rising on a point of privilege. The 16 days of activism against gender based violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off today on the 25th November which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and it runs until the 10th December, which is the Human Rights Day. Madam Speaker, statistics in Zimbabwe show that one in three women between the ages of 15 and 49 experience gender based violence. The gender based violence undermines opportunities for women and denies them the ability to fully….
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are not connected Hon. Mamombe. Hon. Mamombe, there is a motion already on the Order Paper about Gender Based Violence. You can go straight to your issues.
HON. MAMOMBE: I was saying that Parliament of Zimbabwe has not been spared, especially on female Hon. Members from the gender based violence. As elected Members we are expected to reduce tolerance to gender based violence both in our communities as well as in the Hon. House. Madam Speaker Maam, I would like to refer you to some of the cases that undermine and violate the rights of female MPs in the House, especially in this Ninth Parliament. Madam Speaker Maam, I want to refer you the Hansard of 21st November 2018 where Hon. Karenyi, who is no longer with us today raised an issue of sexual harassment by one of the male MPs.
In the Hansard of 4th December 2019, Hon. Toffa brought to your attention another matter of sexual harassment by the same male Member of Parliament. Again, the Chair noted the matter and promised to look into this. Madam Speaker Maam, yourself being a female Hon. Member, I expect you to also act on these issues. This Member of Parliament is the one from Mberengwa North Hon. Tafanana Zhou. The abuse cannot be tolerated any further. Madam Speaker, if you look at these two matters, my name as Joana Mamombe was cited as a victim of abuse in these two matters that I have told you about.
On the 29th October 2020, Hon. Zhou raised in this House that I should be recalled from Parliament due my mental illness. This is perpetuated abuse on my being by this Hon. Member. While the MP enjoys his status he forgets that he is a perpetrator of sexual harassment in his province and has a case before the Bulawayo High Court. Madam Speaker Ma’am, my prayer today is that sexual harassment against female Hon. Members must stop. Therefore, my prayer today is that a privileges committee be set up for the two matters, one that was raised by Hon. Karenyi in 2018 and the other one that was raised by Hon. Toffa in 2019. Let there be a Committee on Privileges that will be set up. I thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, Hon. Members. Hon. Biti, order please. Hon. Mamombe, I have heard what you said. I am going to look into it. Thank you.
Hon. Chinotimba having stood up on a point of order.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Sorry Hon. Chinotimba, we are not allowing points of order on Wednesdays. You will raise your point of order tomorrow on Thursday – [HON. CHINOTIMBA: Madam Speaker, munoumu mapinda munhu anorwara, anopenga. Tomubvumidza kuti ngaataure-] – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – [AN HON. MEMBER: Ngaabude panze!] – – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjection.] – Order, Hon. Members! Order! – [HON. MLISWA: Inaudible interjections.] – Order, Hon. Members! – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – Hon. Members, please take your seats or I will order you out of the House – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. BITI: Madam Speaker, Hon. Chinotimba must withdraw his offensive statement. It is abuse to gender. We are in the week of gender-based violence and he perpetrates gender based violence. We ask for your ruling to expel that bearded man from this House for abusing this young lady. Parliament must protect women. Women must feel secure in this august House, so this man Hon. Chinotimba must be expelled from this House. Thank you.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER having recognised Hon. Masenda – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –
HON. T. MLISWA: Madam Speaker, ataura kuti anopenga. A medical report must be produced kuti munhu is not stable and without that he must withdraw. He cannot get away with it. The precedent we are setting is wrong. You said there are no points of order. You gave him a chance.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Withdraw that statement Hon. Chinotimba…
HON. CHINOTIMBA: Anorwara you – [HON. T. MLISWA: Inaudible interjections.] – You are MDC. – [HON. MEMBERS: Withdraw your statement.] –
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Chinotimba, please withdraw your statement –
Hon. Tsunga and Hon. Kwaramba having walked in.
HON. T. MLISWA: Thank you Hon. Tsunga and Hon. Kwaramba for standing in for women.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Chinotimba, please withdraw your statement and sit down.
*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Madam Speaker, before I withdraw, I would like to say something – [HON. MEMBERS: Withdraw.] – Madam Speaker, let me withdraw. I am withdrawing my statement that Hon. Mamombe murwere.
THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Withdraw your statement Hon. Chinotimba – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections, hazvisi right murwere mune macard ake here?] –
HON. CHINOTIMBA: Madam Speaker, I withdraw, that Hon. Mamombe murwere – [AN HON. MEMBER: Haudaro chingoti I withdraw.] Ndozvaataura. – [HON. T. MLISWA: Haubati mukadzi mushe kumba uko.] – Madam Speaker, I withdraw. Can Hon. T. Mliswa withdraw his statement also?
HON. T. MLISWA: I will not withdraw because it was in the newspaper, it is in the public that you are failing to give your wife conjugal rights – [HON. CHINOTIMBA: It is written in the Affidavit that Hon. Mamombe vanorwara zvakabuda mucourt.] – Enda unobata mukadzi zvakanaka kumba.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. T. Mliswa, what you are doing is abusing me by the noise that you are making.
HON. T. MLISWA: I am sorry Madam Speaker.
*THE HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Members, I want you to stretch your hands. If your hands touch another person, you are not one metre apart.
By Martin Chihoka and Garai Donald Barahanga | This article focuses on Paramount Chief Mbari of the Shumba Gurundoro clan, the ruler of Harare and part of Mazowe before colonialism – the man whom Harare, Mbare, Dzivarasekwa and a number of iconic geographical features in the region are named after.
This time we focus on the gallant fight put up by Mbari’s people in the First Chimurenga/Umvukela and the resultant genocide suffered by the clan. We want to introduce a few of Mbari’s heroic people who were edited out of the First Chimurenga history for reasons that shall be highlighted in the coming series.
Chief Mbari’s area was the hotbed of the First Chimurenga, the nucleus of resistance from which the war spiralled to other regions in Mashonaland. Most of the key players in the uprising: Mkwati, Nehanda, Kaguvi, Makombe (not to be confused with the Makombe of the Humba people) Nyamadzawo and Mapondera operated in Mbari’s area. During the time of the upheaval it was Makombe (Mbari’s brother) who was the ruler. The following are some of Mbari’s people who played a pivotal role in the uprising.
MUDAVANHU (MKWATI)
Most readers are familiar with the powerful spirit, Mkwati, but not his medium, Mudavanhu – much as Nehanda is more popular than her medium of the war-period – Charwe. Mudavanhu was Mbari’s son. Mkwati was the brains behind the uprising. He co-ordinated the uprising in Matabeleland and Mashonaland, giving spiritual guidance to the chiefs who fought gallantly in the revolt which caused shock-waves not only in the region but in Empire capitals such as London. After consulting with the Voice at Matonjeni, Mkwati gave the signal for the revolt to start. Mudavanhu (Mkwati) moved from place to place galvanising hesitant groups into action. Mudavanhu was never caught. Befittingly, one of the tallest buildings in Harare – Mkwati Building – is named after the mastermind of the uprising.
MAKOMBE
When Mbari died in 1872 due to old age, the chieftaincy passed on to his younger brother, Makombe, who in settler accounts of the popular revolt is referred to as Makombi. Nicknamed Chimurenga (a term that was later broadly used to refer to the uprising), Makombe organised the revolt in the Mazowe area. A number of settlers (estimated at more than fifty) perished in the region. The most famous casualty was the brutal Native Commissioner Henry Pollard, the colonial administrator who subjected Africans to forced labour and brutality.
Makombe himself was captured three times but his deep knowledge of the terrain, including its underground tunnels (ninga) enabled him to escape each time. In disguise, he was able to collect the body of Mbuya Nehanda, amongst others, and buried it at a place unknown to enemies.
Makombe would not have succeeded without the participation of his nephews (Mbari’s sons) namely Nyamadzawo and Mutinha and Chiridzambira.
NYAMADZAWO
Much attention has been paid to the spiritual leaders of the 1896/7 revolution but little to the people who actually did the fighting. One such is Nyamadzawo, Mbari’s son, who commanded the insurgents and carried out daring attacks, despite the inferior weapons at their disposal. Nyamadzawo mastered guerrilla tactics which had never been employed elsewhere in the region. These were surprise attacks, ambush, siege, and hit and run. He made the Mazowe area dangerous for white settlers. A master tactician, Nyamadzawo also cut off telegraph wires to isolate settler families in the region. These guerrilla tactics were used decades later by the Chinese under Mao tse Tung in the Chinese Revolution.
To make matters worse for settlers, the influential spirit of Mbuya Nehanda operated from Makombe’s (Mbari’s) territory. Combining spiritualism with guerrilla warfare, the fighters gained in confidence. Colonial documents of this period refer to the area as the “troubled Mazowe area.”
Some of the white settlers who died in the area were Frank Austin, a prospector, and James Steel who were killed on 24 June 1896. The others were Walter Tapsell (21 June), Louis Herman (21 June) and William Harvey Brown (23 July).
The siege of Deary’s Store lasted from 21 June to 13 July.
When the revolt was suppressed, Nyamadzawo evaded arrest and died of natural causes.
MUTINHA
Another of Mbari’s sons, Mutinha, by then a sub-chief in the Mazowe area, is best known for organising the capture of the notorious Native Commissioner, Henry Pollard. With the co-operation of Mbuya Nehanda, the capture and subsequent killing of Pollard, a symbol of colonial power, dealt a heavy blow for the Administration.
CHIRIDZAMBIRA
Outsiders did not and still do not understand the complex two-tier chieftaincy system of Mbari’s Shumba Gurundoro people. Chiridzambira, one of the several of Mbari’s sons, was ordained by his father to be the spiritual leader of his kingdom while Makombe was the de-facto Paramount Chief. Chiridzambira, though his reign was short-lived due to the annihilation of the clan by colonial rule, had almost the same powers as Mbari, that of King-maker who gave land and jurisdiction to fugitives such as Seke. Chiridzambira gave his blessing for the start of the uprising.
GENOCIDE
All the gallantry of Mbari’s clan effectively ended on the 1st of March 1897 when the settlers massacred everyone in sight in Makombe’s settlement. Some escaped to the caves where they were betrayed by well-known collaborators. They were dynamited. This will be the subject of a follow up article.
By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Republic Police’s crack anti-theft vehicle unit is appealing to motorists to be on the lookout for robbers that are masquerading as hitch hikers on the country’s high ways.
This comes as the criminal investigation department vehicle theft squad has in recent weeks attended to numerous incidents were motorist have been hijacked by be would be passengers.
By A Correspondent- A Chivhu man was on Monday sentenced to 20 months in prison for ill-treating his son (10) by shoving him into a raging fire for alleged indiscipline.
Talkmore Mawopa (36) of Village 9 in Magamba pleaded not guilty to the charges when he appeared before magistrate Batanai Madzingira.
Mawopa will serve an effective one-year jail term after Madzingira suspended eight months on condition that he does not commit the same offence within five years.
Prosecutor Kumbirai Charamba told the court that sometime in September this year, Mawopa went home drunk and entered the kitchen hut where his son, Tanaka, a Grade 3 pupil, was sleeping with his siblings.
He woke up the minor and assaulted him with a sjambok for allegedly disobeying his stepmother.
He then pushed the child into the fire, causing serious injuries on him
By A Correspondent- A Rusape based Roman Catholic priest was last week arraigned before the magistrates’ courts on indecent assault charges after he allegedly sexually harassed a female chef at a church-run mission school.
Dominic Zambuko (32), who is stationed at Kriste Mambo Mission, was represented by Munyaradzi Manyengavana of Chiwanza Partners and was not asked to plead when he appeared before magistrate Obediance Matare.
He is out of custody, and the matter will be heard on December 3 where he will be given a trial date.
State prosecutor Tawanda Munjanja said on November 6, 2020 at around 10pm, the accused person went to the complainant’s room and knocked at the door.
The complainant (name withheld) opened the door and Zambuko entered the room wearing a boxer short and Tshirt.
The complainant said she asked Zambuko why he had visited her. He then told her that he wanted her to be one flesh with him, but the complainant refused.
The accused allegedly then grabbed the complainant by her shoulder, and pulled her closer to him.
In the process, she felt his manhood on her privates.
Zambuko allegedly asked for a kiss from the complainant, but she refused. She managed to push him away and free herself.
The complainant then reported to another priest, one Father Gutu, which led to the arrest of the accused.
By Guest Columnist| Three years ago, euphoria gripped a nation that was epitomised by cronyism, corruption mis-governance and repression when President Emmerson Mnangagwa took over from long-time leader Robert Mugabe after a military-assisted intervention that was code-named Operation Restore Legacy.
Zimbabwe had known one leader since Independence in 1980 and this gave many who took to the street the more reason to celebrate Mugabe’s fall. Mugabe’s ouster was a culmination of dramatic events on the political front which were triggered by internal dynamics within the ruling party ZANU PF.
Mugabe who died aged 95, two years after being booted out had himself to blame for failing to address an inevitable question on succession. Before his death, he said Mnangagwa was inept and so were other ZANU PF apparatchiks.
This paper seeks to take stock of the executive pronouncements that were made ostensibly to build a better developmental state and what is obtaining now.
At the time of the coup, battle lines were drawn within the governing party after Mugabe fired his long time prodigy Mnangagwa. His dramatic escape and threats by a faction coalesced around former First Lady Grace Mugabe among other simmering tensions led to the coup. Post Mnangagwa’s sacking Mugabe reshuffled his Cabinet and on his first meeting after the reconfiguring of his executive team army tanks were rolled on to the streets. The few of Mnangagwa’s sympathisers snubbed the high-level meeting signalling their allegiance.
Sibusiso Moyo, then a high ranking military official became the face of the coup when he announced that “the situation in the country had moved to another level” and the army wanted to restore liberation war ethos—driving out corruption and building a prosperous post-colonial state.
The wheels have been moving slowly in Mnangagwa’s anti-graft drive amid revelations that corruption was one of the drawbacks to economic growth. While the dragnet netted Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry minister Prisca Mupfumira and former State residences director Douglas Tapfuma, critics say the big fish remain unscathed. Zimbabwe fight to end corruption remains a fallacy now despite promises made in 2017.
Against a backdrop of international isolation, frosty relations with the West and drying up of credit lines, Mugabe’s successor promised a raft of reforms to attract foreign capital.
After his ascendancy, Mnangagwa promised to adopt neo-liberal policies to grow the economy. Issues relating to property rights, re-engagement, compensation of white former commercial farmers topped his agenda.
Zimbabwe defaulted on its payment of arrears owed to international financial institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank in 1999 and new allies had to come to its rescue at the turn of the century.
In pursuit of a socialist agenda, Mugabe attempted to change that narrative of relying solely on Western capitals to advance his development agenda. Mindful of the growing international isolation, re-emergence of the bi-polar international political system, and the breakneck pace of globalisation, he looked east.
After all, relations had soured after he embarked on the fast-track land reform that had been in abeyance during the first 10 years of majority rule. He took radical steps during the land exercise and immediately he transformed from being a knight to a hermit.
Most Western capitals declared him a persona non grata and despot. His admirers who disdained what they termed contemporary imperialism extolled him as a modern-day Kwame Nkrumah.
In 2003, the long-time leader pulled out of the Commonwealth amid ratcheting pressure to do so from Western powers and today Zimbabwe wants readmission.
Following Mugabe’s dramatic resignation and failure by multitudes of locals to emigrate to the United Kingdom to seek better economic prospects, the ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ mantra gained some currency. On the face value of it, Mnangagwa wanted to reach out to Zimbabwe’s erstwhile foes.
International relations 101 teaches you that the foreign policy-making process is like a game of chess – one can only be declared the winner when the game is over. Encouraged by the international goodwill, Mnangagwa, during his early days as head of state played down the impact of sanctions imposed by the United States on Zimbabwe. Now that is no longer the case, he now sings from Mugabe’s hymn book after seeing the writing on the war—Washington is not ready to have dinner with him unless he embarks on political and economic reforms he promised. The arrest of journalists, leaders of civic society organisations and opposition party officials has presented challenges on his reform agenda. Despite promising to break with the past, Mnangagwa is now seen by many critics as perpetuating the doctrine of Mugabeism which was coined by renowned academic Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni.
Foreign policy is complex and the international affairs of a state can be classified under the status quo, imperialism and ambiguous. Zimbabwe appears to have adopted a deliberate policy of ambiguity.
Last year in October, Mnangagwa was seen cosying up to the Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings. Something which would have not happened under Mugabe’s rule?
Traditionally, Zimbabwe under Mnangagwa’s predecessor lobbied for the independence of a Palestine state as part of Zimbabwe’s Foreign Policy on the Middle East region, but Mnangagwa chose a different path and many are watching.
Visiting Chinese Foreign minister Wang Yi this week made a cryptic message that left many asking whether or not Beijing was shifting its foreign policy on Harare and why.
Zimbabwe-Japan relations are deepening and the question is “where does this put China?” Before leaving for the Tokyo International Cooperation on Africa Development (TICAD) in August this year, Mnangagwa expressed his gratitude to Shinso Abe’s government for helping Zimbabwe to construct a 6.5 km road stretch along the slippery Harare- Chirundu highway.
The story of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s rise to power has been a subject of study for political science and international relations students across the continent.
It’s the election aftermath, which placed Zimbabwe back on the spotlight, for the wrong reasons. A dark cloud hung over the country when security forces opened fire killing seven people in the capital city after protesters expressed anger over the delay by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to release the results, two days after polls.
Mnangagwa controversially “won” 50.8 per cent of the vote while his closest rival Nelson Chamisa of the MDC-Alliance garnered 44.3 per cent of the polls. The election victory was upheld by the Constitutional Court after the MDC Alliance accused the ruling party of manipulating the results.
Now three years on, Mnangagwa faces a crisis of expectations as he battles to stimulate economic growth.
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic forced authorities in Zimbabwe to bring back the United States dollar through the backdoor. The local currency was fast losing value barely a year after being reintroduced it appeared that there was no hope in sight. Now the Finance minister Mthuli Ncube can smile for now as prices appear to have stabilised due to a plethora of factors such the reintroduction of the greenback and capping daily limits on mobile money platforms to tame parallel market foreign exchange trading.
In 2009, Zimbabwe ditched its local currency for a basket of multiple currencies, mainly dominated by the United States dollar, to tame runaway inflation which had reached 231 million per cent in 2008, becoming one of the highest in the world. It never rains but pours for Zimbabwe, many will say. Only time will tell.
Scenarios The post-coup period has also exposed new fissures within the governing party as it restructures. The election of members of District Coordinating and the provincial leaderships has been marred by infighting, violence and vote-rigging allegations.
Unsubstantiated reports claim that war veterans, who have been the backbone of the party, have been backing fronting Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s allies while newcomers and party members from the Midlands and Masvingo provinces have been rallying behind Mnangagwa’s associates.
However, the vice president chances of succeeding might just but be a pipe dream and his political fortunes are becoming slim if Mnangagwa’s attempt to push for a Constitutional Amendment sails through, as the president will have the powers to appoint a running mate of his choice who may not necessarily be his deputy at party level.
Consequently, while the ruling party is faced by its own challenges the main opposition, MDC alliance seems clueless, with a lack of a clear direction which may affect the party in the next elections. After losing grip in Parliament as well as some local authorities, Chamisa has to go back to the basics and strategies otherwise the MDC Alliance’s chances will further dwindle in the 2023 elections.
As Mnangagwa consolidates power, Zimbabwe’s constitutional democracy weakens. Millions that voted for 2013 Constitution which among other reforms, limited the powers of the executive presidency will be disenfranchised as political gladiators sacrifice democracy on the altar of expedience.
A level mediation process led by respected former heads of state like Joachim Chissano, Jakaya Kikwete or any other renowned negotiator could break the political jinx in Zimbabwe that has taken the southern African nation backwards.
Relatives of the late socialite and businessman Genius Ginimbi Kadungure and other possible beneficiaries of his estate, yesterday unanimously accepted an unsigned will recently filed at the Master of High Court which gives a friend known as “Kit Kat” a Lamborghini and places all other assets under a family trust.
The bulk of the assets including the Domboshawa mansion, cars and companies will be part of the Genius Kadungure Trust.
The mansion will be converted into a hotel which operates under the said trust.
Ginimbi’s father, Mr Anderson Kadungure, according to the will, is entitled to 10 percent of funds generated in the trust while Ginimbi’s sisters Nelia and Juliet will get 60 percent and 30 percent respectively.
A Harare man claiming to be Ginimbi’s best friend, Mr Nomatter Zinyengere, last week registered the deceased’s estate and filed a will that was not signed.
Yesterday, at least 10 people including Ginimbi’s father and his two sisters, Ms Zodwa Mkandla and Zinyengere met at the Master of High Court’s office in Harare where they unanimously agreed on using the unsigned document for administration of the estate.
Sources said the unsigned will was read out to all the possible beneficiaries who agreed to using it for the administration of the estate.
To that end, the Master of High Court’s office officially accepted it and appointed Ms Patricia Darangwa as the executor in terms of the will.
Ms Darangwa is expected to file a bond of security, her letter accepting the appointment and other requirements in terms of the law to enable the issuance of formal authority to start work.
The Herald understands the will in question, though unsigned, gives the Lamborghini to Kit Kat and another vehicle to the late socialite’s uncle Mr Michael Mubaiwa.
Ms Darangwa, the executor to the estate, will then choose the trustees from a list of people that include Ginimbi’s father, two sisters and Kit Kat.
The bulk of the estate, including the businesses and Domboshava mansion and cars, are to be assigned to a trust called Genius Kadungure Trust.
The will shows that Kadungure owned the Domboshava mansion, a company called Infinity Gas, an undisclosed fleet of vehicles and several other companies.
The custodians of the unsigned will, Ranros Estate Administrators, wrote a cover letter seeking the speedy acceptance of the unsigned document as the actual last will and testament for the distribution of the estate.
They argued that some of Kadungure’s companies in Botswana had stopped operating since that country requires an estate to be reported to the authorities before operations can resume.
“The deceased died before signing his last will and testament. We are therefore kindly asking your office to urgently convene a meeting with all beneficiaries so that you can accept the will and issue the court sealed letters of administration.
“The deceased had a running business in Botswana and it stopped operations on November 9, 2020.
“The laws of that country require the estate to be reported to the Master of High Court within 14 days so that operations will resume.
“The major fear of the beneficiaries is that the business partners of the deceased in Botswana might take advantage and vandalise the assets of the deceased,” reads part of the letter.
Ginimbi died on the spot on November 8 along Liberation Legacy Way in Harare when his speeding Rolls Royce collided head-on with a Honda Fit.
It veered off the road and hit a tree before catching fire.
He was with two foreigners who had come for the Saturday night party of a friend Michelle Amuli.
Limumba Karim from Malawi and a Mozambican, who was only identified as Alishia and the birthday girl, Mitchelle were burnt beyond recognition after the doors of the Rolls Royce jammed on impact and it took many hours for police and the Fire Brigade to retrieve their remains from the wreckage.
What a disgusting show of unparliamentary, crude behaviour. @JoanaMamombe was tortured, abducted & sexually assaulted by state agents. Then on the first day of #16Days she is subjected to this mental torture?
On the 1st day of #16Days of activism against GBV Hon Chinotimba decided to insult @JoanaMamombe in parliament after she had expressed her disgruntlement on continued sexual harassment in parliament. Chinotimba should know that we don't tolerate any form of violence against women pic.twitter.com/giU6RY8mPS
By Jane Mlambo| The opposition MDC Alliance has slammed the police for being used to fight politics saying the move to arrest Harare Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume was illegal and barbaric.
Posting on Twitter, MDC Alliance Masvingo Province said:
“Its illegal and barbaric for Police to be used to fight politics. Our justice system is dead. Criminal are in control of the state. Mnangagwa, Mwonzora and Khupe must face resistance at all cost. The people are pressured about to busty.”
Mafume was arrested on Wednesday evening on charges of corruption and is set to appear in court soon.
Commenting on Mafume’s arrest, former Harare Mayor Herbert Gomba said his successor will be exonerated of any wrong doing.
By A Correspondent- Arrested Harare mayor and MDC Alliance councillor Jacob Mafume who was arrested last night and is currently in police custody will have to endure another night behind bars after his lawyers were advised that the police still need more information about his alleged offence.
This was revealed by the MDC Alliance:
“We are advised by @JMafume’s lawyers that he will no longer go to court today because Police Zimbabwe need more information about the issue. Despite the undertaking by the I.O that he woud go to court today, he will only go to court tomorrow.”
#MAFUMEARREST We are advised by @JMafume's lawyers that he will no longer go to court today because @PoliceZimbabwe "need more information about the issue."
Despite the undertaking by the I.O. that he would go to court today, he will now only go to court tomorrow. #FreeJacobpic.twitter.com/u80AvMeX0x
Mafume spent the night behind bars at Rhodesville Police Station after he was arrested on allegations of criminal abuse of office involving illegal parcelling of residential stands.
His arrest was confirmed by the National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi.
This is a developing story. More details to follow.
By A Correspondent- The late socialite Moana Michelle Amuli’s mother Yolanda Kuvaoga, who courted controversy after she was pictured wearing her yet to be buried daughter’s outfit has revealed the real reason why she is wearing her daughter’s clothes.
In her defense, Kuvaoga told H-Metro that people should mind their own business and that Moana gave her the clothes before moving to SA hence the clothes now belong to her.
Watch Yolanda as she gives her side of the story:
WATCH- #Moana's mother Yolanda reveals the real reason why she is wearing her late daughter's clothes pic.twitter.com/ZnpXhdXyo0
By A Correspondent- Relatives of the late socialite and businessman Genius Ginimbi Kadungure and other possible beneficiaries of his estate, yesterday unanimously accepted an unsigned will recently filed at the Master of High Court which gives a friend known as “Kit Kat” a Lamborghini and places all other assets under a family trust.
The bulk of the assets including the Domboshawa mansion, cars and companies will be part of the Genius Kadungure Trust.
The mansion will be converted into a hotel which operates under the said trust. Ginimbi’s father, Mr Anderson Kadungure, according to the will, is entitled to 10 percent of funds generated in the trust while Ginimbi’s sisters Nelia and Juliet will get 60 percent and 30 percent respectively.
A Harare man claiming to be Ginimbi’s best friend, Mr Nomatter Zinyengere, last week registered the deceased’s estate and filed a will that was not signed.
Yesterday, at least 10 people including Ginimbi’s father and his two sisters, Ms Zodwa Mkandla and Zinyengere met at the Master of High Court’s office in Harare where they unanimously agreed on using the unsigned document for administration of the estate.
Sources said the unsigned will was read out to all the possible beneficiaries who agreed to using it for the administration of the estate. To that end, the Master of High Court’s office officially accepted it and appointed Ms Patricia Darangwa as the executor in terms of the will.
Ms Darangwa is expected to file a bond of security, her letter accepting the appointment and other requirements in terms of the law to enable the issuance of formal authority to start work. The Herald understands the will in question, though unsigned, gives the Lamborghini to Kit Kat and another vehicle to the late socialite’s uncle Mr Michael Mubaiwa.
Ms Darangwa, the executor to the estate, will then choose the trustees from a list of people that include Ginimbi’s father, two sisters and Kit Kat. The bulk of the estate, including the businesses and Domboshava mansion and cars, are to be assigned to a trust called Genius Kadungure Trust.
The will shows that Kadungure owned the Domboshava mansion, a company called Infinity Gas, an undisclosed fleet of vehicles and several other companies.
The custodians of the unsigned will, Ranros Estate Administrators, wrote a cover letter seeking the speedy acceptance of the unsigned document as the actual last will and testament for the distribution of the estate.
They argued that some of Kadungure’s companies in Botswana had stopped operating since that country requires an estate to be reported to the authorities before operations can resume.
“The deceased died before signing his last will and testament. We are therefore kindly asking your office to urgently convene a meeting with all beneficiaries so that you can accept the will and issue the court sealed letters of administration.
“The deceased had a running business in Botswana and it stopped operations on November 9, 2020. “The laws of that country require the estate to be reported to the Master of High Court within 14 days so that operations will resume.
“The major fear of the beneficiaries is that the business partners of the deceased in Botswana might take advantage and vandalise the assets of the deceased,” reads part of the letter.
Ginimbi died on the spot on November 8 along Liberation Legacy Way in Harare when his speeding Rolls Royce collided head-on with a Honda Fit.
It veered off the road and hit a tree before catching fire. He was with two foreigners who had come for the Saturday night party of a friend Michelle Amuli.
Limumba Karim from Malawi and a Mozambican, who was only identified as Alishia and the birthday girl, Mitchelle were burnt beyond recognition after the doors of the Rolls Royce jammed on impact and it took many hours for police and the Fire Brigade to retrieve their remains from the wreckage.
By A Correspondent- Parliament has recommended that the government immediately shuts down schools, blaming the rising COVID-19 cases on its failure to adequately prepare for the reopening of learning institutions after 57 pupils at Chinhoyi High School tested positive for the virus.
At All Souls Mission School in Mutoko, over 20 pupils are reportedly showing signs of the virus.
A Form 4 Chinhoyi High student tested positive for COVID-19 last Saturday and the cases ballooned to 57 yesterday.
“We have 57 COVID-19 cases at Chinhoyi High School and we continue to test more learners. We started testing pupils after a 17-year-old girl tested positive last week” provincial medical director Gift Masoja said yesterday.
“The examinations will continue but those who tested positive should write on their own the same applies with day scholars.”
Mashonaland West provincial education director Gabriel Mhuma added: “The school has been sealed off, no boarder will be allowed to leave the school and all day-scholars were told to stay at home as a precautionary measure.”
Although the Primary and Secondary Education ministry said it was yet to verify the cases in Mutoko, unconfirmed reports said day-scholars had been advised not to come to school while boarders were under quarantine until tests have been conducted.
Schools have become COVID-19 hotspots aided by the cramped environment and non-existent social distancing.
John Tallach, a mission school in Ntabazinduna near Bulawayo was shut down after reporting over 120 positive cases last week.
The number has since risen to 184.
Debating a report by the Parliamentary committee on Primary and Secondary Education chaired by Proportional Representation Member of Parliament Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, the MPs said the government was ill-advised and acted prematurely to open schools and exposed children to the deadly virus.
Contributing to the debate, Sotherton MP Peter Moyo said schools should not have been opened in the first place and that the best way forward now was to close them to avoid a disaster.
“I hope the whole world agrees with what has been said here that schools were not supposed to be opened. We have opened schools and children who were COVID-19 positive and negative were put at the same place hence infecting the whole school,” Moyo said.
“What does this mean? It means that we made a mistake as a government. Schools were not supposed to have been opened before the necessary precautions to protect the children were taken. Only God knows whether these children will survive. Government should just close schools.”
Schools reopened on September 28 for examination classes in a phased process that saw the last group open on November 9.
Most schools, however, remained closed after teachers, who were on strike demanding a pay hike, failed to report for duty.
There have been concerns that students were not ready for examinations due to the COVID-19-induced schools’ closure and strike by teachers, but government insisted examinations should go ahead.
Moyo said schoolchildren should not write examinations because they were not prepared.
Misihairabwi-Mushonga, in her committee report, suggested examinations that were set for December 5, 2020 be moved to February since there were no adequate preparations due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown and the teachers’ strike.
The report was penned at the time teachers were on strike and there were reported incidents of wayward behaviour by the unsupervised students.
Beitbridge West MP Ruth Maboyi said Parliament should ensure all preparations for examinations should be for 2021 as schools were not adequately prepared to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“The COVID-19 lockdown started in March and we are expecting the students to be sitting for their exams. There is nothing like that. What type of examination is that?” she quizzed.
MDC-T PR MP Paurina Mpariwa said a disaster was looming in schools if children were allowed to continue attending classes.
“Firstly, the report says schools did not prepare for the coming back of schoolchildren. It is clearly seen that there was no preparation concerning the sanitisers, face masks and even the children do not understand the social distance issue,” she said, adding that the country was staring a disaster.
Government insists that adequate measures have been put in place in schools to curb the spread of COVID-19, but the situation on the ground indicates otherwise.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe took a swipe at government for failing to heed advice from teachers that schools should remain shut.
NEARLY 59 000 people have been arrested countrywide since March for not wearing face masks in public as required by public health regulations and police are now intensifying patrols, surveillance, checks and other measures and will arrest anyone found disregarding public health regulations and the eased lockdown regulations.
Those arrested over masks were released after paying deposit fines, although there was an option of taking them to court, where they could have been jailed or fined far higher sums.
Since March, Zimbabwe has recorded 9 398 Covid-19 positive cases, but 8 297 recovered while 274 died.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi reiterated that lockdown measures were still in force, including a curfew between 10pm and 6am.
“The enforcement of these health, safety and security measures is still paramount. Police have noted that some members of the public are no longer wearing face masks, observing social distancing guidelines and sanitising.
“Covid-19 is real and the public should avoid being complacent and should cooperate with law enforcement agencies to curb the spread of the pandemic. So far we have arrested a total of 58 981 people for not wearing face masks and we will continue arresting them so that the law will take its course since these people are posing a risk to others and the society.”
Asst Comm Nyathi urged members of the public to cooperate with police to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Recently, over 1 400 bar and nightclub owners around Harare were arrested on allegations of disregarding national lockdown regulations, with police deploying more officers to ensure compliance with health protocols. Bars and nightclubs remain closed under lockdown rules.
Police said there were increased cases of people violating curfew regulations and widespread public drinking at shopping centres especially in high-density suburbs.
There was also need to stick to regulations on public gatherings which are restricted to a maximum of 100 people or less at church gatherings, 50 people or less at funerals, low risk sports and sports clubs.
Weddings, birthday and house parties, political and other social gatherings including musical concerts, remain banned.
A Zimbabwean truck driver who survived an ambush by six gunmen on the N12 highway near Daveyton, on the East Rand, yesterday was just 35km from his destination when the attack happened.
Joseph Chidodo, 45, was transporting a load of frozen chickens form Standerton to Linbro Park in Johannesburg.
Chidodo said a group of armed men ambushed him at about 4.42am yesterday when he slowed down to look at what appeared to be burning tyres in the middle of the road. He tried to make a U-turn but the assailants opened fire at his truck and tried to open its doors. Chidodo’s truck was torched on the highway after he jumped out of the window and fled on foot.
Chidodo and another a 33-year-old SA truck driver, who asked not to be named, are the latest victims of recurring violent attacks targeting truck drivers across the country.
The attacks that peaked in July, according to police, have forced some trucking companies to beef up security and increase patrols to identified hotspots on major national roads.
Manny Ferreira from MBS security, a company assisting logistics companies with patrols, said the rise in truck attacks has forced them to patrol all hotspot routes that included the N17 and the R552.
He said the latest attacks happened after a quiet night that resulted in them knocking off earlier than usual, at about 3am.
“They [the attackers] came from the side of the road where they were hiding before they opened fire on me,” said Chidodo.
He said he outran his attackers after he jumped out of the truck window, and they turned back and torched the truck belonging to Hestony Transport.
Police forensic investigators combed the scene of the latest attacks, searching for clues among the remnants of the burnt trucks. An investigator on the scene told Sowetan that more than 50 attacks on trucks had been recorded in Gauteng in the past two months but police spokesperson Col Brenda Muridili refused to give figures.
Muridili said police were revisiting an earlier plan that relied on intelligence to stop the attacks before they happened.
“This [torching of trucks] is not new. It started last year, resurfaced in July and now we’re seeing it again so we dusted off those plans that we had and adjusted them accordingly and we are executing those plans,” Muridili said.
The Road Freight Association said it had recorded 30 such incidents of torching of trucks in the past 21 days while there were other minor incidents of trucks being stoned.
A 33-year-old South African driver employed by logistics company Digistics, who was heading to Middelburg, Mpumalanga, from Johannesburg, also escaped death when he was attacked by the same group of men on the N12.
He said he had stopped along the highway after he saw Chidodo’s truck on fire in the middle of the road.
“As I was driving under the bridge on the N12 towards the off-ramp, I noticed a burning truck on the right side of the road and I slowed down, thinking the driver of the other truck needed help but the worst happened,” said the driver
“The heavily armed three men shot at the truck. I jumped out of the truck and ran towards the back and found my way into the nearby bushes.”
Sifiso Nyathi, secretary of All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied SA, a forum of SA truck drivers, said trucking companies have to be blamed for having pitted SA truck drivers against foreign nationals by giving preference to non-South Africans.
“The reason these truck companies prefer foreigners is because foreign nationals are prepared to take salaries of between R5,000 and R10,000 when they should be earning more than R30,000, which would include overtime and sleep out allowance as per agreements reached in the industry’s bargaining council,” Nyathi said.
He said there were many trucking companies with a 100% staff compliment of foreign nationals.
But Renier du Preez, CEO of Digistics, said his company has a staff compliment of 790 and “only four of my drivers are foreigners”.
“We have to address the problem now because our drivers are the fundamental foundation of our economy, they are the ones that move goods from point A to point B,” Du Preez said.
Attacks will hike transport costs
The Road Freight Association says attacks on trucks lead to higher insurance premiums for logistics companies and this eventually increases the cost of moving goods.
Gavin Kelly, the CEO of the association, said over time some of the companies will start charging a premium for using certain routes as a result of the violence.
“Say a company charges R1,000 right now to move goods on a particular route, now they can either completely stop using that route altogether or start charging, let’s say R5,000, to move the same goods due to the increased risks on his truck and drivers,” Kelly said.
Economist Duma Gqubule said the slow SA economy cannot afford any disruption irrespective of how minor the incidents are.
“Obviously, this will hurt our trade as a country and we cannot afford this during this worst depression in a century, but I think this illustrates the desperation and the situation in our country which has been exacerbated by this Covid,” Gqubule said.
He said although xenophobia has to be condemned, South Africans were desperate for jobs and somehow felt that foreigners were responsible for the lack of job opportunities.
Today I go back to court for a remand hearing on the second charge from my November 3 arrest where I am charged with obstruction for saying that my sources told me that the NPA would not oppose Henrietta Rushwaya’s bail after she was caught with 6kgs of gold at RGM international. pic.twitter.com/gNgTylVo0w
HARARE City Council yesterday admitted it was not inspecting its infrastructure due to resource and skills constraints, a development that could prove disastrous following claims that a bridge on a busy Harare road has developed structural defects and could collapse anytime.
There were claims on social media yesterday that Mupedzanhamo flyover where Simon Mazorodze Road interchanges with Rotten Row, was shaking and vibrating.
In a statement yesterday, council engineer Bernard Musarurwa said inspections on structures were not being done frequently because of lack of skill.
“It is a requirement that every structure, be it a building, a bridge, a dam, a powerline, any form of infrastructure, be inspected periodically for structural integrity, and fitness for purpose,” he said.
“Sadly, these inspections are not being conducted regularly, if at all, due to lack of resources, expertise, or in most cases, ignorance, or quite often, plain ‘ignoring.’
“So, it is more disconcerting where inspections have been conducted, and defects noted, and yet no remedial action is taken for over a decade; then it becomes a matter of waiting for a disaster to happen, which perhaps may be the only way to jolt the relevant authorities to take action.”
Musarurwa said the Mupedzanhamo flyover was last inspected in 2006 and serious structural defects were noted, but no action had been taken to date.
“Unfortunately, this is not the only case of ‘ignoring’ to take remedial action on defective structures, with several other bridges on the national highways having been inspected and reported upon that remedial action was required,” he said.
Musarurwa said he prayed that there would be no fatalities in the event of the inevitable collapse of one of the bridges or a building, an escalator/lift, or any other infrastructure which requires attention.
Council in 2006 invited a consulting engineering firm to conduct inspections and to report on the defects noted at the flyover, which noted defects.
“From the two inspections, the consultant was able to ascertain first-hand the extent of defects to be able to propose the requisite intervention strategies required for the repair of the structures, and to outline the scope of the work required to conduct a detailed assessment of the manifesting defects, and the structural analysis required to be able to make detailed recommendations for the appropriate remedial works.”
Harare City Council has awarded a tender for palisade fencing and refurbishment of Mbare Bus Terminus to a local company when the same work had already been done for free by transport operators recently and the terminus was ready to open.
The tender has already been condemned by Harare Provincial Development Coordinator (PDC) Mr Tafadzwa Muguti and Harare Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume, suggesting it is some sort of backdoor deal.
The council tender delayed the reopening of the bus terminus despite completion of the work to the standards agreed between the council and the donors and it is assumed the delay was meant to allow the company in question to do some work and justify the tender awarded to it.
Mr Muguti yesterday rubbished the latest deal and ordered the immediate re-opening of the bus terminus while he examines the contracts to see how such a tender could be awarded and by whom.
And Mayor Mafume yesterday said that any such tender was illegal.
“That will be an unprocedural tender and we as council, are not privy to it. What I know is we have an agreement with the transport operators for the Mbare terminus works and anything outside that is illegal,” he said before he was arrested on corruption charges.
It is understood that the tender was awarded to a company owned by a person only identified as Zhakata, who has no track record of reputable construction works and is suspected of being the same person awarded a 23-year lease for personal use of Harava Dam at the expense of the residents.
The Zimbabwe Passenger Transport Organisation (ZPTO) in the middle of this year offered to assist the city council through fencing and refurbishing the biggest bus terminus in the country, a donation worth more than US$85 000, so they could resume services as the lockdown eased in a safe and secure environment.
True to the organisation’s word, palisade fence was erected at the terminus and two boreholes were drilled to ensure there is running water to wash hands in line with public health requirements.
A storeroom for chemicals and sanitisers was built and facilities for sanitisation of people and fumigation of buses were put in place in line with Government’s fight against Covid-19.
However, The Herald has learnt that a local company was in October awarded a tender to do the same work for a yet to be disclosed figure.
Mr Muguti said there was absolutely no grounds for a tender for the same work already done by the transport operators.
“The bus operators are assisting in upgrading Mbare bus terminus in line with a donation made in July this year.
“Fencing was done and a great deal of work was also done. Recently I toured the rank together with the minister and I was directed to re-open the terminus upon satisfaction that the work had been done.
“However, in October council issued a tender for palisade fence and refurbishment of shades when the work had already been done. Surprisingly, we hear that council’s department that received the donation, was the one that awarded the tender to the company,” he said.
He added: “I have since requested copies of the tender documents from the relevant council department.”
ZPTO chairman Mr Samson Nanhanga demanded the re-opening of the terminus saying the upgrade had been done to the set standards.
“We worked with council specifications in upgrading the bus terminus but we failed to understand why council was not re-opening the terminus.
“Everything is now in place and we demand the re-opening of the market with immediate effect,” he said.
According to Mr Muguti, the terminus must re-open as soon as possible on condition that all the Covid-19 specifications are observed.
There must be social distancing and buses must be fumigated when entering the terminus, he said adding that sanitisation must be done and all the vagrants who were living in the shades must be evicted.
Touts and space barons, Mr Muguti said, have no place at the newly refurbished bus terminus.
Mr Muguti, Cllr Jacob Mafume, council officials and bus operators toured the terminus to assess the infrastructural development and even saw a demonstration of how buses will be fumigated and how passengers will be sanitised when boarding buses.
Touring the renovation works being done by ZPTO, Mr Muguti said there should be massive control and a limited access of people getting into the terminus.
He applauded ZPTO for doing a marvellous job in renovating Mbare Musika and urged them to work closely with council and the police to make sure that the place is well secured and maintained.
About 40 illegal gold miners have been trapped at Ran Mine in Bindura after a disused mine shaft collapsed. 6 badly injured miners have so far been retrieved and rushed to Bindura Hospital for treatment.
Former ZMF regional rep Mr Victor Rupende confirmed the development and said the actual number of trapped miners is currently unknown.
“It is true there has been a tragic accident here in Bindura. The actual number of the trapped artisanal miners underground is unknown. So far six badly injured miners with broken limbs have been rescued,” said Rupende.
Freda Rebacca mine engineers are reported to be on site coordinating rescue efforts.
ECONET Wireless Zimbabwe (Econet) this week marginally adjusted its voice bundle tariffs in a bid to guarantee continued delivery of acceptable service to its customers.
The telecommunications giant, which has invested over US$1,3 billion in infrastructure since 2009, told customers in a notice that it would “review its Bundle of Joy voice bundles on Wednesday 25 November 2020”.
However, the popular daily voice bundle – previously pegged at ZW$6.00 or (US$0.07) for two minutes – has been reviewed upwards by only 20 percent – way below the annual inflation rate of 475.21 percent for October 2020.
The latest tariff adjustment comes at a time when the government is banking on increased infrastructure development in the information and communication technologies (ICTs) sector to achieve its Vision 2030 targets.
“Without a robust ICT sector, it follows that the dream of an all-inclusive and economically vibrant nation remains a pipe dream,” ICT minister Jenfan Muswere said last week, adding that it was critical that the telecommunications sector plays its part in improving Zimbabwe’s digital capabilities, especially with regards to ensuring universal access. “Without access to ICTs, people cannot actively participate in the socio-economic development agenda of the country. Access to ICTs is therefore not a luxury and a preserve for the elite… We need to catch up with technology, in particular 5G, for which we need a road map and strategy, or else we remain digital laggards,” Muswere said.
Analysts said for this dream to become a reality, the government must approve cost-reflective tariffs and reduce taxes to allow telecommunication firms to continuously re-invest in their businesses and in the industry.
Economic analyst Francis Mukora said current market economic fundamentals were stifling growth in the country’s high capital-intensive telecoms industry, which constantly requires a steady flow of investments into networks, spectrum, towers and new technology.
“Contrary to the popular belief that capital injection into the telecommunications industry is a once-off investment, companies have to constantly pour in money to upgrade networks, pay software licenses, buy fibre, radio, and towers, among other things. “And for the industry to survive there is need for sustainable data, voice and SMS tariffs as well as tax breaks,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s telecommunications sector – dominated by Econet, NetOne, Telecel, TelOne and Liquid-ZOL – is reeling from hyperinflation, declining capital expenditure, rising operating costs and stiff competition from over-the-top services, among other challenges.
Economist Victor Bhoroma said the recent increase in electricity charges also negatively affected the delivery of efficient and quality services to customers in the telecommunications industry.
“The increase in electricity prices, approved by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority for November 2020, by 50 percent, will undoubtedly have an impact on the prices of goods and services in the market. Prices will increase sharply in Zimbabwean dollars and slightly in United States Dollars,” he said.
“Households will feel the greatest pinch given the fact that wages have not been adjusted in line with the inflation rate and many are earning below the Poverty Datum Line (PDL) which is around ZW$24 000 for a family of six.”
National power utility Zesa Holdings has already increased electricity tariffs by more than 150 percent in the last two months. Bhoroma however said, electricity prices have been affected by inflation, with Zesa failing to pay for coal supplies locally and from regional suppliers such as Eskom in foreign currency.
“It is therefore critical for the power utility to adjust prices gradually so as to break even or fully fund imports without accruing debt. The tariff has to be cost reflective at all the times in order to guarantee stable power supply,” he added
TOPPICK Investments, which has invested US$2,5 million in Makhado, Beitbridge, has approached the Government for authorisation to spruce up the district airstrip and introduce commercial flights between the border town, Victoria Falls and Harare.
The company’s director, Mrs Saliwe Marema, said the initiative was part of their bigger plan to transform Beitbridge Town and contribute to the revival of the country’s tourism sector. The company has investment interests in accommodation, petroleum, integrated farming and mining.
Mrs Marema said their plan was to make use of the existing airstrip on the east of Beitbridge town, which is being used for occasional light aircraft by the Government.
“We have since lodged our application with the relevant Government departments. Our plan is to have a hanger and rehabilitate the current airstrip in the town,” she said.
“Beitbridge is developing rapidly as a town and hence we want to invest in this critical service and contribute to Zimbabwe’s tourism development.”
Mrs Marema said they already owned two private jets with a carrying capacity of 16 people and one helicopter they intend to use to service the Beitbridge to Victoria Falls, and Beitbridge to Harare routes. The business has mobilised enough capital to set up a hanger and for the requisite standard civil works at the airstrip, she said.
Mrs Marema said they were also looking at investing in more on infrastructure development in the border town. The development comes a few months when the Government said it has started working on the processes leading to the construction of a state-of-the-art airport in Beitbridge. A team from the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe has toured the site Makhavhane area, 20km north of the border town and is said to be now conducting relevant studies on the project.
It is proposed that the new airport will be constructed under the Build Operate and Transfer concept. Our Beitbridge Bureau understands that the new airport will serve as a dry port for international trade and that the 20 villagers could be displaced in the process and relocated to new homes to be built in line with Government policy.
THE Airforce of Zimbabwe (AFZ) yesterday conveyed condolences to the families of two pilots, who died after their trainer aircraft crashed just outside Gweru in Somabula area on Tuesday afternoon.
A flying instructor, Squadron Leader Mkhululi Dube and a trainee pilot, Officer Cadet Silungile Sweswe died on the spot when a trainer aircraft (SF 260 Genet) crashed around 2pm on Tuesday.
The two were on routine training from Josiah Tungamirai Airbase.
Airforce of Zimbabwe commander Air Marshal Elson Moyo said: “It was with a heavy heart and a deep sense of sorrow that I learnt of the aircraft accident that claimed the lives of our pilots. On behalf of the Airforce of Zimbabwe, officers and members and indeed on my behalf, I would like to express our deepest condolences to the families of Squadron Leader Dube and Officer Cadet Sweswe.”
He said the Airforce of Zimbabwe was robbed of a proficient pilot in Squadron Leader Dube and a dedicated trainee pilot.
“While the Airforce of Zimbabwe is mourning, it is also a moment to reflect and recognise the sacrifices and dedication of the deceased pilots. The AFZ will forever cherish their commitment to excellence in training and unwavering dedication to duty,” said Air Marshal Moyo.
Besides being a flying instructor, Squadron Leader Dube was the secretary general of AFZ football club, Chapungu.
“He joined the club as the deputy secretary general in 2015 before he was elevated to the post of secretary general in 2018. His experience and commitment to football administration will be sorely missed by the Club and the football fraternity at large,” said the AFZ in a statement.
Witnesses said the plane which was heading southwards was trying to make a U turn when it crashed.
Health and Child Care Deputy Minister, Dr John Mangwiro
Zimbabwe is now manufacturing and procuring most equipment used to fight Covid-19 locally, which shows that the country is more prepared to contain a possible second wave of the pandemic, legislators heard yesterday.
Health and Child Care Deputy Minister, Dr John Mangwiro said unlike the period during the national lockdown where the country was importing the bulk of the equipment that include small items like sanitisers and personal protective equipment, the country was producing most of its requirements.
He said the country was now carrying out testing and other processes locally making it ready to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Deputy Minister Mangwiro said this in the National Assembly while responding to inquiries from backbenchers during a Question and Answer session.
“The advantage we have is that we are now manufacturing most things locally. At least 95 percent of our requirements are manufactured locally and we are quite ready,” said Deputy Minister Mangwiro.
Earlier on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said they were dealing with the new infections in schools on a case-by-case basis.
He had been asked whether Government will close schools given that there were some that had recorded a number of infections.
“We have to adopt and live in a new normal where there is an outbreak, we have to contain it. We will look on a case-by-case basis. So we cannot close a school in Manicaland because there was an infection in Chinhoyi,” said Minister Ziyambi.
Responding to another question, Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira said they were working on a programme to raise allowances for students on apprenticeship as well as student teachers.
He said it was easier to review allowances for those on apprenticeship because they fall under the Ministry, while student teachers were paid by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.
Legislators had complained that allowances for the students had not been reviewed in a long time.
“We have since signed papers to have allowances for those students on apprenticeship reviewed. Parliament should know that the country was no longer taking apprenticeship, but we resumed in 2018 and we now have 3 000 students. They are at school and not at work,” said Prof Murwira.
Meanwhile, leader of the opposition in Parliament, Dr Thokozani Khupe rebuked legislators from the opposition for disorderly conduct after they continuously disrupted the smooth flow of business.
She said there was a lot of expectations from the electorate to hear their concern responded to by Ministers yet legislators from the opposition were busy politicking.
This was after some members of the opposition led by Harare East MP Mr Tendai Biti continued to disrupt the smooth flow of business by interjecting whenever a Government minister intended to respond.
The Gwanda hospital isolation centre being set up.
GWANDA Town is experiencing a shortage of isolation space following an increase in Covid-19 cases that have been recorded in the area.
The district has recorded more than 40 cases over the past two weeks. The district is relying on one isolation centre housed at the Gwanda Provincial Hospital which can only accommodate 16 people.
Gwanda Provincial Hospital acting medical superintendent, Dr Blessing Gwarimbo said they had resorted to discharging patients to self isolate at home even though their conditions required them to be housed at the isolation centre.
“We have recorded an increase in Covid-19 cases in Gwanda Urban over the past two weeks. By Tuesday we had recorded 41 cases. This has resulted in the shortage of quarantine space because we are currently relying on one isolation centre which is at the Gwanda Provincial Hospital and it can accommodate only 16 people.
“The isolation centre at Phakama Clinic is still incomplete and it can accommodate 20 people. We have resorted to discharging some of the patients to self isolate at home due to limited space. We first interview them to find out who they stay with and to establish whether their living condition is conducive for them to self isolate. Our surveillance team makes regular follow ups on these people especially those who are symptomatic,” he said.
Dr Gwarimbo said most of the positive cases which have been recorded in the town were all symptomatic which meant that they were highly contagious and likely to spread the virus.
The Gwanda District taskforce committee on Covid-19 has tightened enforcement of regulations to contain cases of Covid-19 which are on the increase in the mining town. The committee has also formed an inspectorate team comprising of officials from Ministry of Health, ZRP and Local Government which has deployed to the town to enforce regulations.
The Joshua Mqabuko Polytechnic College has suspended face to face lectures indefinitely after six cases were reported at the institution.
Lack of compliance to Covid-19 regulations has been identified as one of the causes of this spike in cases. Members of the business community have also been urged to enforce regulations within their premises.
Three police office were yesterday dragged to court to face criminal abuse of duty after they reportedly demanded US$4000 from an accused person whom they had arrested for dealing in illegal drugs.
The trio of Donlad Dube, Charles Ndumo and Innocent Madziya were not asked to plead when they appeared before Harare magistrate Judith Taruvinga.
The three are stationed at CID Braeside.
Allegations are that on October 8, between 7 and 8pm, the trio who were on duty received information that there was a truck loaded with BronCleer Cough Syrup.
The three acting on the information went to N Richards Truck stop and found a truck loaded with goods from South aAfrica nd identified the owner of the goods Philda Makumbe and amongst the goods were 60 boxes of BronCleer syrup.
They reportedly produced their police cards and indicated that they were following up on the information they had received and ordered Makumbe to load the boxes into a car that they had hired and was being driven by Webster Madzoko.
While at the scene they reportedly started demanding US$6 000 from Makumbe in the presence of her brother so that they release the boxes prompting Makumbe to send her brother to collect the money and he came back with US$4200.
The trio received the moenyin the presence of Bellah Mbizi her business partner and after receiving it they took out two boxes of Bron Cleer before handing over the rest to Makumbe.
Makumbe later made a police report and when the realised that they were being investigated they re-arrested her after the found her in possession of one box of the illegal substances.-H-Metro
A BEITBRIDGE tenant is in trouble for allegedly attacking the house owner with an axe several times during a dispute with his landlord over why he fed his dogs with eggs.
Solomon Sigauke (31) denied the attempted murder charges when he appeared before Beitbridge magistrate Stanley Mambanje.
He was remanded in custody to November 30 for continuation of trial.
Prosecutor Munyonga Kuvarega told the court that the complainant, Samuel Moyo Chijekere (52) who owns a house in Dulibadzimo suburb in Beitbridge was sitting outside his house on October 1 at around 11pm when Sigauke fed his dogs with eggs which did not go down well with Chijekere who then insulted him saying “Mbava dzinonetsa” (thieves are problematic).
A quarrel ensued between the two resulting in Sigauke striking Chijekere with an iron bar on the head and arms several times.
He allegedly went on to strike him with an axe on the forehead three times before he was restrained by one Margret Mbedzi.
Chijekere sustained serious injuries on the head and arm and was taken to hospital for medical attention. A report was made to the police leading to Sigauke’s arrest.-NewsDay
MORE than 1 200 nurses who failed to comply with a Government directive to revert to the normal working hours did not receive their November salaries and bonuses after they were struck off the payroll by their employer, the Health Service Board (HSB).
Zimbabwe Nurses Association (Zina) said more than 1 200 of its members who defied the Government directive to revert to the normal working hours did not receive their November salaries and bonuses on the no-work-no-pay basis.
Nurses had crafted a working schedule under which they worked for a few hours a week dubbed “flexible hours”, but the arrangement proved unsustainable, especially with the threat of Covid-19 continuing to hover over the country, resulting in Government cancelling the plan and ordering a return to normal duty rosters.
The flexible working hours originally entailed working long hours of up to 12 for two days a week, an arrangement that was introduced through a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to cushion health workers, particularly nurses, from high transport costs leading to an indefinite strike over erosion of their salaries by inflation.
Most nurses were now working two days a week for 12 hours a day before Government resolved that all health workers should now revert to normal working hours.-Chronicle
Zimbabwe faces a staggering fine of US$150 000 and a possible ban from participation in future Cosafa competitions after the Sports and Recreation Commission refused to sanction the Under-20 trip to South Africa for the Cosafa Championship that gets underway next month.
Zifa had already confirmed participation and making a late withdrawal has dire consequences according to the Cosafa tournament rules.
SRC, according to information gathered, needed 30 days notification.
“Yes (the trip been aborted), the sports commission says they need 30 days notification but they were notified on the 9th of October and they cleared teams to start training on the 16th. They want names of travelling party 30 days in advance which is not possible in football,” the source told Chronicle Sports.
Efforts to get a comment from the SRC board chairman Gerald Mlotshwa or the director general Prince Mupazviriho, yielded no success.
Zifa communications and competitions manager Xolisani Gwesela, however confirmed that the country’s supreme sports body had refused to approve the trip.
“We confirm that we have received correspondence from SRC not approving the U-20 team to travel to South Africa. We are disappointed by this decision and we have since appealed to the Minister of Sport, Kirsty Coventry,” said Gwesela.
The Under-20 boys coach Tonderayi Ndiraya and his assistants Mandla Lulu Mpofu and Nesbert Saruchera have been in camp at Prince Edwards High School in Harare and were set to leave for South Africa on Monday.-Chronicle
By Dr Masimba Mavaza | The president Cde Emerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has reiterated that Zimbabwe needs to improve on its infrastructure developments.
The Second Republic has adopted a deliberate strategy to channel more resources towards speeding up key infrastructural development projects such as dam construction in order to ensure food security.
President Mnangagwa said the revolutionary Zanu-PF party had zero tolerance to name-dropping to camouflage criminal behaviour and all other nefarious activities as this was against the drive to spur economic growth and development.
Speaking at the 346 session of the politburo at the party headquarters in Harare yesterday, President Mnangagwa said Zanu PF, under the Second Republic, will not allow the party to be a sanctuary of malcontents but will rather focus on improving the lives of ordinary people.
“I recently had the privilege to commission the completed Marovanyati Dam in Buhera District, Manicaland Province, which will go a long way to ensure food and nutrition security. Under the 2021 National Budget, which will be announced tomorrow (today), more dams such as Causeway, Chivhu, Gwai-Shangani, Silverstream, among others will receive resources to enable speedy completion,” he said.
On infrastructural transformation and industrialisation, with the ultimate aim of turning the country into an upper middle class economy by 2030, the President commended universities for being innovative by coming up with solutions to some of the country’s needs.
“As Chancellor of State Universities, I have witnessed commendable ground breaking innovations, inventions and the production of goods to meet our national needs. The onus is now in the various sectors of the economy and us at the party level to adopt these solutions to resolve our day to day needs, whilst creating wealth and employment for our communities”.
In 2019 President Mnangagwa released more than US$20 million towards universities’ innovation hubs that have since come up with various innovations vital to national development.
The President said the heritage-based Education 5:0 model which is a result of the reorganisation of the Higher and Tertiary Education sector, implemented since the advent of the Second Republic, is delivering tangible results.
Unity of purpose and the culture of dialogue that was birthed by the Second Republic has resulted in unprecedented infrastructure development as demonstrated by road constructions around the country as well as the transformation of agriculture towards increased production and productivity.
“On the agriculture front, we have recorded a threefold increase in the production and subsequent delivery of wheat which is projected to cover about 9 months of our national wheat requirements. Land preparations, input distribution and extension support is equally pleasing. Let us continue to rally our communities to produce during this promising 2020/2021 agriculture season.”
The Second Republic has also pursued robust dialogue both internally and with foreign nations, a decisive policy that has seen once strained relations with some Western countries improving while cases that were once beyond discussion such as Gukurahundi are being tackled with the involvement of communities.
“We are one people in a unitary state. The progress recorded at meetings with chiefs from Matabeleland provinces in
relation to the Gukurahundi issue and other development programmes is commendable and serves to enhance national cohesion,” he said
On the diplomatic front, the President said, “a number of countries are extending a hand of friendship and cooperation most recently from France and the Gulf nations”, something that testifies the success of the Government’s reengagement thrust.
To date, he said, the Second Republic continues to experience the development of new and exciting international relations with immense prospects on the horizon.
The President commended the party for standing up against the illegal sanctions imposed on the country by some foreign nations as punishment for the land reform programme.
In his address he warned party officials from name-dropping and dabbling in corruption saying such practices have no place in Zanu PF.
“Our revolutionary nature and the ongoing national development agenda demands that we engender a corrupt free Zimbabwe. Let us therefore shame, shun and expose all forms of corruption.
“To this end, name-dropping to camouflage criminal and corrupt behaviour is unacceptable. Those using such retrogressive and counter-revolutionary tactics must stop forthwith. Varikuita izvi, cherai chikomba musvipe mate,” said the President.
In his address the President also condemned the gruesome murders of innocent and vulnerable children and appealed to Zimbabweans to work together to address these social ills and restore the values of Ubuntu/Hunhu.
Following his attendance of the Mashonaland East Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting recently, President Mnangagwa said all provinces should convene economic development and political meetings in alternating sessions to keep track of national development.
“We must sustain and entrench the action-oriented culture of hard work and productivity. 2023 is just around the corner. Let us therefore keep implementing projects that will transform the quality of life of our people.
The structures of the party must also be constantly organised and mobilised as if elections are tomorrow,” he said
Turning to the resounding victory of Chama Cha Mapinduzi in Tanzania, which won 262 of 264 parliamentary seats, President Mnangagwa said it must inspire Zanu PF to vanquish the opposition in the forthcoming by-elections and subsequent 2023 harmonised general elections.
Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda has, for the first time, revealed how he managed to convince late former president Robert Mugabe to tender his resignation, allowing him to leave office with “some form of remaining dignity”.
Mugabe resigned from office on November 21, 2017 following a week of unrelenting calls from the public and his own party, Zanu-PF, to step down after 37 years of leading the country.
When Mugabe tendered his resignation via a letter read to Parliament by Adv Mudenda, the process of impeachment had already begun during a joint sitting of both the Senate and the National Assembly at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC).
It was during the debate that Adv Mudenda received the late former President’s resignation letter which had been brought by then Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Happyton Bonyongwe.
Adv Mudenda, who was speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting of media practitioners and the civil society organisations in Bulawayo on Tuesday, said he phoned Mugabe and told him in no uncertain terms that he risked suffering the ignominy of being impeached in the event that he failed to heed his advice.
“I was in conversation with the President (Mugabe) and advised him that ‘why don’t you resign and stop this impeachment because you will not win it’. We spoke over the phone because I did not want him to suffer the consequences of impeachment where he was going to appear before a Parliamentary committee to answer to charges; he could not have escaped,” he said.
“Out of respect, I told him not to allow himself to be humiliated through that. I said do not allow yourself to go through this damming process of impeachment. He said ‘I will come back to you’ and it was around 1.05PM.
“I think he consulted his lawyers and he phoned back and said ‘Honourable Speaker, I agree with you and I am going to write a letter and it will be delivered where the impeachment process is taking place’.”
Adv Mudenda said reading Mugabe’s letter, which had his signature, marked an end to the impeachment process.
“I never doubted his signature because I knew it very well. I read the letter and that killed the impeachment process and the President was free to receive all his benefits and those of the First Family. Unfortunately, he had fallen ill and he battled that cancer, but couldn’t conquer it,” he said.
The motion to impeach Mugabe was moved by Senator Monica Mutsvangwa (Zanu-PF) and seconded by Mabvuku-Tafara MP Mr James Maridadi (MDC-T).
Mugabe stood accused of serious misconduct and abrogating his constitutional mandate to his wife who was making utterances on business of Government and accessing classified information without constitutional authority.
The announcement was followed by jubilation among legislators and members of the public that had come to witness the impeachment proceedings at the HICC. The joint sitting of the houses of Parliament had been convened to discuss the President’s impeachment after he had initially failed to resign, as directed by the Zanu-PF Central Committee.
Adv Mudenda said the former First Lady, Grace Mugabe, had usurped the powers of the President in breach of the Constitution and going to the extent of summoning Vice Presidents to give them instructions.
“It is not a secret that Grace Mugabe had turned into a de facto leader of Zimbabwe. She said it herself during one her rallies that ‘every morning I summon the two Vice-Presidents and they would bring notebooks and I tell them what to do’. Where have you found that in the world where a Frist Lady does that?
“President Mugabe was now very old and his wife was now running the affairs of this country and it was unconstitutional. The constitution does not allow a first lady to be prominent in the rule of the country,” said Adv Mudenda.
Adv Mudenda said there was also a mistaken view in the public domain that he should have stopped the recent recalling of expelled MDC-T MPs, adding that as Speaker of Parliament he had no right to go into the merits and demerits of the matter.
The MDC-T led by Dr Thokozani Khupe recalled 21 legislators including eight senators it nominated to fill seats won by the umbrella MDC-Alliance, which it sees as an electoral pact. -Chronicle
A Lupane man allegedly whipped his 18-month-old stepson to death and connived with the boy’s mother to conceal the death by secretly burying the body in an anthill.
Saviours Ncube (22) and his wife Siphethangani Moyo (20) were staying together as husband and wife in Mafa Village under Chief Mabhikwa. Moyo had the child from her previous marriage.
It is not yet clear why Ncube beat up the infant leading to the heinous crime a fortnight ago.
After burying the body, Ncube and Moyo fled from their homestead and have been staying in Insuza in neighbouring Umguza District where they were arrested on Monday.
The arrest came after an unidentified person, who Moyo had confided in about the crime, tipped the police. Ncube and his wife have been jointly charged with murder.
They were not asked to plead to the charge when they briefly appeared for initial remand before Lupane Resident magistrate Mr Ndumo Masuku.
The magistrate remanded the couple in custody to December 9 and advised them to approach the High Court if they want to apply for bail.
Prosecuting, Mr Clive Gumbo said Ncube beat up the infant on November 12 causing his death the following day.
“On 12 November and at the accused persons’ homestead, Ncube assaulted his stepson Tawanda Madombiro with a switch several times all over the body. Tawanda died the following day around 9am in the morning,” said Mr Gumbo.
The court was told that instead of reporting the issue to the police or informing family or neighbours about the death as is the norm, the couple kept the body at the homestead until 7pm when they allegedly buried it.
Ncube and his wife allegedly put the boy’s body in a sack and proceeded to a nearby anthill. The couple allegedly fled from the homestead and went to Insuza although it was not stated who they were staying with.
According to police, Moyo confided to a hairdresser while doing her hair in Insuza and the unidentified informer tipped police, leading to the couple’s arrest. -Chronicle
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance deputy President, Hon Tendai Biti, has said Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration cannot resolve the economic crisis before addressing the legitimacy crisis.
Hon Biti also described talk of economic revival as cheap grandstanding and empty bravado.
Below is part of Hon Biti’s State of the Economy Address:
The State of the Economy Address (SEA) and the MDC Alliance’s post COVID-19 pandemic recovery plan: Restoring and Returning Zimbabwe back to prosperity
Zimbabwe’s economy remains mired in a deep structural crises, that includes humungous macroeconomic imbalances, huge fiscal deficits, massive corruption, low output, an extractive monetary policy and exchange rate structure, massive unemployment and a collapse of the public sector particularly health and education.
Save for a few periodic moments of respite, the Zimbabwean economy has remained permanently embedded in this dark vortex of underperformance, disequilibrium and devaluation in its four decades of independence. Despite this, the regime has embarked on a self-serving agenda of distortion and deceit, promoting the hollow sound bite of stability and recovery that is not backed by economic data or reality.
Zealous claims have been made about stabilizing exchange rate, positive current account, contained money supply, declining month on month inflation and budget surpluses. The truth however is that Zimbabwe is sinking deeper in unimaginable depths.
No amount of propaganda nor spin can wash away the hard reality on the ground.
As we have constantly argued one can rig an election but not the economy.
The truth is unless there is political change and a new leadership, Zimbabwe under ZANU PF, will implode as economic and social decay transforms into social disorder and social chaos oiled by the triplets of illegitimacy, corruption and inequality.
A situation that is compounded by a rising population level. By 2045, Zimbabwe’s population would have doubled and in the next 40 years the population in Zimbabwe’s cities Bulawayo and Harare will double up, yet there is no growth in the economy.
On the contrary, thanks to Emmerson Mnangagwa’s economics of destruction and distortion, the economy is in fact in comatose, leaving the citizen exposed to poverty and social collapse.
Proving once more that you can rig an election but not the economy. In this this State of the Economy Review, we posit the position that the economic situation is dire and requires urgent redress, it cannot be business as usual.
We make the point that the people of Zimbabwe must be given a chance through a political settlement giving birth to an economic program addressing structural challenges.
The Political Crisis At the epicentre of Zimbabwe’s multiple crises remains a political gridlock anchored by a crisis of legitimacy emanating from the November 2017 military coup and the flawed 2018 harmonized election.
The four decades of destructive predatory and exclusive politics have created a society captured by lack of trust, alienation, indifference, intolerance and polarization.
In January 2020, the South African Foreign Relations Minister Naled Pandor addressing a symposium on the Zimbabwe crisis said, “The political formations in Zimbabwe remain at loggerheads and have apparent deep antipathy towards each other which makes joint decision-making and planning extremely difficult.
“It seems clear that even as we support the call for an end to economic sanctions, the political dynamics that we observe are inextricably linked to the economic solutions and thus the politics and the economic as well as the social need to be confronted simultaneously.
“We are not going to achieve the economic resolution without resolving the political, intractable hostility and lack of amity or social conjoining on finding a national solution.”
Zimbabwe therefore urgently requires a new disruptive consensus.
One that recognises the urgency of the matter. One that places the citizen at the centre.
A transformative Consensus that will vindicate and salvage hitherto stretched and exhausted narratives, namely the liberation consensus and the democratisation consensus.
One that will create an ethical, consultative and consensus state in which everyone lives without fear, and uncertainty.
Restoring and returning back to prosperity In short, we push, for the restoration and return of Zimbabwe to prosperity.
Our people have suffered long enough.
This is why at the beginning of the year we launched our high five campaigns all focused on returning Zimbabwe to prosperity.
These were: a) Fight for the People’s Government b) Fight for better life and dignity c) Fight Against Corruption d) Fight for the People’s rights ,Freedoms and Security of Persons e) Fight in Defence of the Constitution and Constitutionalism In our document launched in March 2019, the Road to Economic Recovery Legitimacy Openness and Democracy (RELOAD), we make the case for dialogue, for deep structural reform, and implementation mechanism (NTA), with elections to be held therein after. ..
Tinashe Sambiri|MDC Alliance deputy President, Hon Tendai Biti, has said Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration cannot resolve the economic crisis before addressing the legitimacy crisis.
Hon Biti also described talk of economic revival as cheap grandstanding and empty bravado.
Below is part of Hon Biti’s State of the Economy Address:
The State of the Economy Address (SEA) and the MDC Alliance’s post COVID-19 pandemic recovery plan: Restoring and Returning Zimbabwe back to prosperity
Zimbabwe’s economy remains mired in a deep structural crises, that includes humungous macroeconomic imbalances, huge fiscal deficits, massive corruption, low output, an extractive monetary policy and exchange rate structure, massive unemployment and a collapse of the public sector particularly health and education.
Save for a few periodic moments of respite, the Zimbabwean economy has remained permanently embedded in this dark vortex of underperformance, disequilibrium and devaluation in its four decades of independence. Despite this, the regime has embarked on a self-serving agenda of distortion and deceit, promoting the hollow sound bite of stability and recovery that is not backed by economic data or reality.
Zealous claims have been made about stabilizing exchange rate, positive current account, contained money supply, declining month on month inflation and budget surpluses. The truth however is that Zimbabwe is sinking deeper in unimaginable depths.
No amount of propaganda nor spin can wash away the hard reality on the ground.
As we have constantly argued one can rig an election but not the economy.
The truth is unless there is political change and a new leadership, Zimbabwe under ZANU PF, will implode as economic and social decay transforms into social disorder and social chaos oiled by the triplets of illegitimacy, corruption and inequality.
A situation that is compounded by a rising population level. By 2045, Zimbabwe’s population would have doubled and in the next 40 years the population in Zimbabwe’s cities Bulawayo and Harare will double up, yet there is no growth in the economy.
On the contrary, thanks to Emmerson Mnangagwa’s economics of destruction and distortion, the economy is in fact in comatose, leaving the citizen exposed to poverty and social collapse.
Proving once more that you can rig an election but not the economy. In this this State of the Economy Review, we posit the position that the economic situation is dire and requires urgent redress, it cannot be business as usual.
We make the point that the people of Zimbabwe must be given a chance through a political settlement giving birth to an economic program addressing structural challenges.
The Political Crisis At the epicentre of Zimbabwe’s multiple crises remains a political gridlock anchored by a crisis of legitimacy emanating from the November 2017 military coup and the flawed 2018 harmonized election.
The four decades of destructive predatory and exclusive politics have created a society captured by lack of trust, alienation, indifference, intolerance and polarization.
In January 2020, the South African Foreign Relations Minister Naled Pandor addressing a symposium on the Zimbabwe crisis said, “The political formations in Zimbabwe remain at loggerheads and have apparent deep antipathy towards each other which makes joint decision-making and planning extremely difficult.
“It seems clear that even as we support the call for an end to economic sanctions, the political dynamics that we observe are inextricably linked to the economic solutions and thus the politics and the economic as well as the social need to be confronted simultaneously.
“We are not going to achieve the economic resolution without resolving the political, intractable hostility and lack of amity or social conjoining on finding a national solution.”
Zimbabwe therefore urgently requires a new disruptive consensus.
One that recognises the urgency of the matter. One that places the citizen at the centre.
A transformative Consensus that will vindicate and salvage hitherto stretched and exhausted narratives, namely the liberation consensus and the democratisation consensus.
One that will create an ethical, consultative and consensus state in which everyone lives without fear, and uncertainty.
Restoring and returning back to prosperity In short, we push, for the restoration and return of Zimbabwe to prosperity.
Our people have suffered long enough.
This is why at the beginning of the year we launched our high five campaigns all focused on returning Zimbabwe to prosperity.
These were: a) Fight for the People’s Government b) Fight for better life and dignity c) Fight Against Corruption d) Fight for the People’s rights ,Freedoms and Security of Persons e) Fight in Defence of the Constitution and Constitutionalism In our document launched in March 2019, the Road to Economic Recovery Legitimacy Openness and Democracy (RELOAD), we make the case for dialogue, for deep structural reform, and implementation mechanism (NTA), with elections to be held therein after. ..
MDC ALLIANCE ASSEMBLY OF WOMEN STATEMENT ON THE 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women marks the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence (GBV) internationally and the Assembly of Women joins the rest of the world in commemorating the annual campaign, which ends on the 10th of December, which is the Human Rights Day.
In actual fact it should be 365 days of activism against gender based violence awareness if we are to create a peaceful society.
Our theme this year is “Orange the World; End violence against women and girls” and the colour orange continues to be used to raise awareness on GBV.
As we commemorate these days amid a global pandemic of Covid -19, we mourn the escalation of statistics of gender based violence victims especially during lockdown where couples, partners and families were forced to spend all their entire time under one roof. This created tension in relationships resulting in deaths and/or injuries.
We note with great concern the violation of human rights by the Mnangagwa government as it crafted draconian covid laws and restrictions. Of major concern is the harrassment of civilians by state securities as they tried to demonstrate against the deterioration of services during covid 19, together with the looting of covid funds by the then Minister of Health, Obadiah Moyo and other relevant authorities.
Gender based violence is a violation of several women’s rights such as the right to life, the right to equal protection, freedom from torture, degrading and inhumane treatment, right to dignity, the right to equality and also the right to physical and mental health.
It is therefore very important that we demand the government to respect the rights of the women by adhering to the constitution.
We also say no to the amendment of the people’s constitution by few individuals and demand the alignment of all acts to the constitution. The MDC Alliance under the able leadership of Adv Nelson Chamisa, will continue to fight for a people’s government that respects women and all human beings regardless of ther gender, colour, tribe, political affiliation, race, sex, marital status and or creed
B. Tanyanyiwa Spokesperson – MDCA Assembly of Women
Tinashe Sambiri|A self-declared war veteran threatened to shoot MDC Alliance councillor for ward 18, Chiredzi West, Gilbert Mutubuki following skirmishes over the distribution of land.
Members of the MDC Alliance youth assembly and the People-Power movement challenged the partisan distribution of land in the area, arguing the process should done in an objective manner.
During the heated argument, a war veteran threatened to shoot Councillor Mutubuki, Makomborero Haruzivishe and representatives of the People-Power movement.
Mutubuki said: “Land belongs to all Zimbabweans. Zanu PF and war veterans should not monopolize land distribution processes.”
Read full report below:
We were mobilising People-Power to confront corruption involving land distribution in Chiredzi West, Ward 8.
War veterans were distributing land on partisan basis and leaving out women and youths under the pretext that they were opposition supporters.
The war veterans were also giving land to those who already own multiple farms.
So the People-Power Movement went on Saturday 22 November to distribute 150 hectares of land to the people.
The exercise was very successful but was however disturbed towards the end when Zanu PF youths and war veterans came to violently disrupt the process. However, they were stopped by vigilant youths.-Peope-Power Movement
Tinashe Sambiri|The MDC Alliance Bulawayo Province Assembly of Women chairperson, Tendai Masotsha, has said she was not involved in the abduction of Tawanda Muchehiwa.
In an interview with ZimEye.com on Tuesday, Masotsha sought to clear her name following a leaked audio clip attributed her.
In the audio clip, a female voice is heard accusing Muchehiwa of “plotting to bomb government buildings.”
The audio clip has angered human rights activists and representatives of pressure groups.
Speaking to ZimEye.com, Masotsha said:
“The matter has blown out of proportion, I am also a victim of State brutality- my life is in danger.
I have nothing to do with Tawanda’s abduction.I don’t even know his address.
What I know is that we are fighting for the freedom of the people of Zimbabwe.
Let us focus on removing Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF from power.”
“Zanu PF is simply trying to divide attention . Let us not fall into the enemy’s trap,” she added.
Tinashe Sambiri|Four former MDC-T employees are demanding payment of outstanding salaries and pension benefits from Douglas Mwonzora and Thokozani Khupe.
The four are Wilson Box, Aleck Tabe, Geraldine Sibanda and Lawrence Paganga.
In court papers seen by ZimEye.com, Mwonzora, Khupe, CBZ Bank and the Minister of Justice are cited as respondents.
Below is a letter written by the lawyer representing the quartet, Milliscent Moyo of Caleb Mucheche and Partners Law Chambers:
Dear Sir or madam
Please find attached an application for a garnishee order we made against MDC –T on behalf of our clients.
We cited CBZ Bank because we believe that MDC-T holds a bank account with you.
We have attempted to serve the application at your offices physically several times without success, hence we have resorted to sending it via email.
We request that you acknowledge receipt of this email and indicate whether or not you have any objections to the granting of a garnishee order.
Tinashe Sambiri|Four former MDC-T employees are demanding payment of outstanding salaries and pension benefits from Douglas Mwonzora and Thokozani Khupe.
The four are Wilson Box, Aleck Tabe, Geraldine Sibanda and Lawrence Paganga.
In court papers seen by ZimEye.com, Mwonzora, Khupe, CBZ Bank and the Minister of Justice are cited as respondents.
Below is a letter written by the lawyer representing the quartet, Milliscent Moyo of Caleb Mucheche and Partners Law Chambers:
Dear Sir or madam
Please find attached an application for a garnishee order we made against MDC –T on behalf of our clients.
We cited CBZ Bank because we believe that MDC-T holds a bank account with you.
We have attempted to serve the application at your offices physically several times without success, hence we have resorted to sending it via email.
We request that you acknowledge receipt of this email and indicate whether or not you have any objections to the granting of a garnishee order.
The government has laid out COVID-19 preventive measures in boarding schools, while enforcement of regulations will be tightened amid fears of a second wave of the coronavirus.
Within the past week, the country has recorded over two hundred positive cases of the virus, with a worrying trend being reported in schools and tertiary institutions.
John Tallach and Matobo High Schools, in that order, Matebeleland North and South provinces have since been sealed off after recording 184 and 10 coronavirus cases.
In a post-cabinet briefing this Tuesday, the government announced that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education with technical support from the Ministry of Health and Child Care is organising logistics for implementing the following practical measures to minimise the recurrence of the John Tallach School experience in other boarding schools;
reviewing the maximum carrying capacity of all boarding hostels;conducting a detailed inspection of boarding facilities;targeted training of hostel matron, boarding masters as well as kitchen staff.
Cabinet reiterates that the lockdown and curfew measures previously announced are still subsisting. It noted.
It should be noted that public bars, night clubs, beerhalls, casinos, betting shops and theatres are still not permitted to operate.The nation is informed that gatherings are still limited to two (2) persons, while authorised events such as weddings and church congregation as are limited to fifty (50) and one hundred (100) persons, respectively.The enforcement of lockdown measures will be intensified henceforth.It should be emphasized that where there is non-compliance to these regulations the low enforcement agencies will not hesitate to enforce the penalties prescribed.With the festive season fast approaching, the public is advised to take all the necessary precautions to prevent a surge in COVID-19 positive cases.Those visiting the country should undergo COVID-19 tests in their countries of origin and bring valid COVID-19 negative results obtained within 48 hours of departure in line with WHO protocols.
The government also announced that there shall be a robust awareness creation programme under which the engagement of communities is being strengthened.
Cabinet also advised that Natpharm and private companies have adequate stocks of most medicines and drugs required for the prevention, treatment and supportive management of COVID-19.
The government also said stocks of PPE are also sufficient to meet demand.-ZBC News
The councillor for Ward 36 in Chizungu, Mberengwa Alderman Nephat Shumba (78) has died.
Shumba’s bicycle fell off a bridge on November 9, 2020 as he was coming from Fonex Shops along Mberengwa-Dolo Road.
He sustained serious head injuries and was pronounced dead the next day at Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo. He was buried on November 12, 2020 in his home area in Chizungu.
He is survived by six children and grandchildren. He was councilor from March 29, 2008 until he died.
Mberengwa Rural District Council Chief Executive Officer, Thompson Maeresa described the late as a hardworking man.
“I have known Alderman Shumba as a hardworking councillor. I had been in the same meeting two days before his tragic death. The ward has been robbed of a wonderful man,” said Maeresera.
District Development Coordinator Nyede Ndeya described the death as a blow to the district.
He thanked MP Joram Gumbo assisting at the funeral. -Masvingo Mirror
Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi
HARARE mayor Jacob Mafume has been arrested for criminal abuse of office allegedly involving residential stands.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest.
He is detained at Rhodesville Police Station.
“I can confirm his arrest over criminal abuse of office involving a residential stand. We will give more information about his arrest tomorrow,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
The Herald understands that Mafume unlawfully allocated residential stand to his sister.
It is alleged that he gave another stand to his secretary without following procedure.
The stands are understood to be in Westlea, Harare.
PREPARATIONS for final examinations at Dambudzo Secondary and Lundi Primary schools in Zvishavane have been affected after a violent hailstorm destroyed infrastructure at the two learning institutions this Monday.
The rains were met with relief in Zvishavane but not at Dambudzo secondary and Lundi primary schools, where classroom blocks were destroyed by a hailstorm on Monday.
This comes with less than a week before grade seven examinations and a fortnight ahead of ordinary level exams. Lessons have since been suspended to clear debris at Dambudzo secondary school while the local leadership and school administrators at Lundi primary school convened an urgent meeting this Tuesday to map the way forward.
The hailstorm which destroyed infrastructure at Dambudzo secondary, as well as three classroom blocks and a teacher’s cottage at Lundi primary school, also left a trail of destruction in the neighbouring village and business centre.
South Africans attacking a supermarket employing foreigners
Provincial and national government authorities are increasingly looking at legislation to limit the hiring of foreigners in South Africa, as anti-immigrant tensions flare-up across the country.
More than 20 trucks were petrol-bombed and destroyed on various roads in the Heidelberg area last week, while protesters marched in Durban on Monday (23 November) calling for foreign nationals to be deported.
Responding to the protests, KZN premier Sihle Zikalala said the Department of Labour and Home Affairs is currently involved in a process of developing legislation that will address employment of non-South Africans in all sectors of the economy, including road freight.
“We must, however, reiterate that we will not allow lawlessness to threaten our economy, more so as we emerge from the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We thus call on those who have grievances to work with us and not to shut down our roads, torch trucks or even resort to attacking truck drivers as has happened before,” he said.
In a July 2020 interview, Labour minister Thulas Nxesi said that the new legislation would not be limited to the road and freight sector but also apply to other industries which employ a high number of foreign workers.
These include:
The hospitality sector;
Restaurants;
Security;
Farming and agriculture.
“We are looking into this matter in a proper way. However, it is important to remember that we can’t just ‘do away with foreigners’. Some of them are refugees and legally supposed to be here,” he said.
“The issue that we have to deal with is the illegal people which have been employed without any papers from Home Affairs.”
Nxesi said that the country’s labour laws state that South Africans should be given preference, but he noted that some bodies were pushing for a complete ban on foreigners in the trucking sector.
Township workers
In September 2020, the Gauteng government published the Gauteng Township Economic Development Draft Bill which expressly prohibitsforeign nationals from participating in economic activities reserved for citizens of, or persons with ‘permanent residency’ status in South Africa.
“Every citizen of and every person with permanent residency status in the republic has a right to practice his or her trade, occupation or profession of choice freely in the province,” the bill states.
The bill further indicates that a list of business activities will be drawn up which will be exclusively and solely-reserved for ownership and operation by citizens.
This list of business activities may be updated at any point based on a number of guiding principles including:
Affirming black people in general and Africans in particular, women, youth and people with disabilities;
Growing the economy;
Increasing levels of the country’s Gross Domestic Product;
Upstream production of primary resources or industrialisation;
The exploitation of readily available and developed expertise in the republic;
Potential or capacity to absorb a large number of people into employment;
Opportunities for on-the-job training for the unskilled and unemployed and new graduates;
Opportunities for localisation;
Potential to create new streams of revenue to broaden the tax base and revenue of municipalities.
The councillor for Ward 36 in Chizungu, Mberengwa Alderman Nephat Shumba (78) has died.
Shumba’s bicycle fell off a bridge on November 9, 2020 as he was coming from Fonex Shops along Mberengwa-Dolo Road.
He sustained serious head injuries and was pronounced dead the next day at Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo. He was buried on November 12, 2020 in his home area in Chizungu.
He is survived by six children and grandchildren. He was councilor from March 29, 2008 until he died.
Mberengwa Rural District Council Chief Executive Officer, Thompson Maeresa described the late as a hardworking man.
“I have known Alderman Shumba as a hardworking councillor. I had been in the same meeting two days before his tragic death. The ward has been robbed of a wonderful man,” said Maeresera.
District Development Coordinator Nyede Ndeya described the death as a blow to the district.
He thanked MP Joram Gumbo assisting at the funeral.
GOVERNMENT claims it is putting in place measures to strengthen Covid-19 prevention in boarding schools through reviewing the maximum carrying capacity of all boarding hostels and conducting inspections of boarding facilities as well as training hostel matrons, boarding masters and kitchen staff.
Treasury also claims to gave released $150 million for the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to drill boreholes.
This comes in the wake of Covid-19 cases at John Tallach High School in Ntabazinduna, Matabeleland North Province where 184 pupils contracted the virus, resulting in the learning institution being turned into a quarantine centre.
Covid-19 cases in schools are rising following reported cases in schools in Matabeleland region, with Matopo High School in Matabeleland South also recorded 10 Covid-19 cases. Emakhandeni Primary School in Bulawayo has also recorded some cases.
However, Government has put in place measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 at John Tallach High School and the situation is now under control.
Despite the rising Covid-19 cases at learning institutions, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education says schools are strictly following regulations put in place to curb the spread of Covid-19 which had killed 273 as at Monday.
Under the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), hugs, handshakes and sharing of desks are not permitted in schools.
In a post-Cabinet briefing yesterday, Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education with technical support from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, is organising logistics for implementing the following practical measures to minimise the recurrence of the John Tallach School experience and other boarding schools.
“The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education with technical support from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, is organising logistics for implementing the following practical measures to minimise the recurrence of the John Tallach School experience in other boarding schools, reviewing the maximum carrying capacity of all boarding hostels, conducting detailed inspection of boarding facilities and targeted training of hostel matron, boarding masters as well as kitchen staff,” he said.
“In order to guarantee fresh water to schools in need, Cabinet reports that $150 million was released to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education for the drilling of boreholes.”
Cabinet also noted with concern an increase in Covid-19 positive cases in the country recorded over the past three weeks.
The spike has been attributed to laxity by the generality of the public. Two weeks ago, Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga who is also the Minister of Health and Child Care warned of the possibility of the country being hit by a second wave of Covid-19 saying ignorance, denial and wishful thinking could lead to more deaths.
Minister Ndlovu said the lockdown and curfew measures previously announced are still subsisting.
“It should be noted that public bars, night clubs, beerhalls, casinos, betting shops and theatres are still not permitted to operate. The nation is informed that gatherings are still regulated, while authorised events such as weddings and church congregations are limited to 50 and 100 persons, respectively,” he said.
He warned the public that those who violated the lockdown regulations would be punished in terms of the law.
“The enforcement of lockdown measures will be intensified henceforth. It should be emphasised that where there is non-compliance to these regulations the low enforcement agencies will not hesitate to enforce the penalties prescribed,” said the Minister.
“With the festive season fast approaching, the public is advised to take all the necessary precautions to prevent a surge in Covid-19 positive cases.”
Minister Ndlovu said visitors to the country should undergo Covid-19 tests in their countries of origin and bring valid negative results obtained within 48 hours of departure in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) protocols.
He said a robust awareness creation programme is being rolled out under which the engagement of communities is being strengthened.
The Minister said NatPharm and private companies have adequate stocks of most medicines and drugs required for the prevention, treatment and supportive management of Covid-19, including stocks of PPEs.
Minister Ndlovu also presented the primary and secondary education sector, learner attendance statistics which stand as follows: Phase 1 (final examination classes), 50,7 percent, Phase 2 (Grade Six, Form Three and Lower Six classes), 42,26 percent; and Phase 3 (ECD, Grades 1,2,3,4,5, Form One and Two), 32,78 percent.
A STUDENT at Girls’ College High School in Bulawayo has tested positive for Covid-19 just days after attending a dinner dance organised by the school.
Girls’ College principal Mrs Lesley Ross told parents in a letter that an attendee to an Upper Sixth Leavers Dinner Dance held last week tested positive for Covid-19.
“As you know, on Thursday 19th November Girls’ College held a Leavers Dinner Dance for our U6 Leavers. The event was held in a large open venue and numbers of both guests and staff working at the event were kept below 100. Unfortunately, since the dance one of the attendees has tested positive for Covid 19,” read the letter.
She added that they were not sure as yet whether this person contracted it before or after the dance, but the school however, recommended that as a precaution all U6 students and their partners who attended the dance, staff and other people working at the dance to follow the CDC (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines.
Mrs Ross said that as far as the rest of the school is concerned, they were hopeful that the virus has been contained within the U6 group as they had for the most part finished their exams and left school and hostels some time before the dance.
“However, the school continues to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our staff and students,” she said.
CHAPUNGU FC has been robbed of an astute administrator following the tragic death of their Secretary General Mkhululi Dube in a plane crash on Tuesday.
Dube (37), who was an Air Force of Zimbabwe instructor, died on the scene together with a female student pilot Silungile Sweswe when a training plane they were flying developed a technical fault and crashed at Dabuka in Somabula on the outskirts of Gweru.
The two were on a routine training mission from Josiah Tungamirai Air Force Base when the accident occurred.
Sweswe is a relative of former Dynamos defender Thomas Sweswe and former FC Platinum coach Lizwe Sweswe.
Chapungu coach Moses Chunga said he was at loss for words following the tragic death of Dube.
“This is a shock because we were actually working very closely with Dube on how to bring back the team to the PSL as soon as possible,” said Chunga.
“Dube was a passionate football administrator and we are busy working on addressing the welfare of the team and the players. He will be greatly missed.”
The PSL said it was saddened by the untimely death of Dube.
“We are saddened to learn of the untimely passing of Chapungu FC secretary-general Squadron Leader Mkhululi Dube. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, Chapungu FC and the football family during this difficult time. May his soul rest in peace,” said the PSL in a statement.
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has passed away at the age of 60 after suffering a heart attack.
The Gimnasia coach had been hospitalised at the start of November, days after celebrating the landmark birthday, after complaining of low spirits and fatigue.
Tests at the La Plata clinic revealed a blood clot on the brain, which doctors later revealed was operated on successfully.
Maradona was subsequently released from hospital as an outpatient to continue his convalescence, which he carried out in his dwelling in a private neighbourhood near Tigre, northern Buenos Aires.
But on Wednesday morning he suffered cardiac arrest, and paramedics at the scene failed to revive him.
The Argentine national team’s official Twitter account confirmed the news on Wednesday, paying tribute to one of the nation’s favourite footballing sons.
“You will be eternal in every heart of the football world,” the message stated as it bade farewell to the superstar.-Goal.com
Football legend Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60.
The former Argentina attacking midfielder and manager had successful surgery on a brain blood clot earlier in November.
It was then announced he was to be treated for alcohol dependency.
One of the greatest players of all time, Maradona was captain when Argentina won the 1986 World Cup, producing a series of sublime individual performances.
He played for Barcelona and Napoli during his club career, winning two Serie A titles with the Italian side.
Diego Maradona has died from a heart attack just days after turning 60.
The Argentinian football legend died at home, his lawyer said, just two weeks after having surgery on a blot clot in his brain.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time on the pitch, his life off the pitch was equally notorious – amid battles with drug and alcohol addiction.
Maradona won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986, having knocked England out of the tournament in a match which saw him score the famous ‘Hand of God’ goal.
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60
Maradona’s Hand of God was responsible for England’s elimination from the 1986 World Cup
He also achieved league success with Italian side Napoli, winning the Serie A title in 1987 and 1990, along with an Italian Cup in 1987 and a Uefa Cup in 1991.
But it was also during these years that his addiction to cocaine took hold. In 1991, the year he left the club, he was banned for 15 months for drug violations.
In 1994 he was thrown out of the World Cup in America after failing a drugs test, and in 1999 and 2000 he was taken to hospital suffering heart problems.
The Argentine news outlet Clarin broke the news on Wednesday afternoon UK time, describing the news of Maradona’s passing as having a ‘worldwide impact’.
The sad news was confirmed by Maradona’s lawyer. Soon, tributes were pouring in from all over the world of football.
Two journalists were on Tuesday picked up and harassed by soldiers from the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) in Gweru after they were found taking pictures at the crash site of an AFZ plane in Somabula just outside the Midlands capital.
The journalists were forced to delete the pictures they had captured and taken through military drills for about four hours.
A report by MISA Zimbabwe reads:
Two journalists were on 24 November 2020 detained by soldiers from the Airforce of Zimbabwe in Gweru for about four hours.
Elizabeth Mashiri the Assistant Editor for The Masvingo Mirror and Patrick Chitumba the Bureau Chief of Midlands province for The Chronicle, were detained after they were found by members of the soldiers taking pictures at an accident site where an Airforce aeroplane is reported to have crashed.
When MISA-Zimbabwe communicated with the duo upon their release from captivity, they highlighted that they were made to do toyi-toyi; their phones were confiscated and forced to delete the pictures from the scene of the accident as well as other phone contacts.
MISA-Zimbabwe position MISA-Zimbabwe urges the security forces in Zimbabwe and all other stakeholders to respect media freedom as envisaged in Section 61 of the Constitution which provides the right to seek, receive and impart information.
In the event where security forces, stakeholders and the broader public feel aggrieved by the media, MISA-Zimbabwe urges stakeholders to not take the law into their own hands but instead use lawful and professional mechanisms to address such circumstances.
Such professional steps include utilising the Zimbabwe Media Commission as the constitutional body set up in terms of Section 249 of the Constitution to receive and consider complaints on the conduct of the media and to take professional action in the event of any breach of law or code of conduct and the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe.
