Own Correspondent
Tanzania this weekend became the first African country to resume a national league suspended during March because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Elderly, children barred from ground
Tanzania suspended the 20-club national championship in mid-March as the Covid-19 outbreak began to wreak havoc throughout Africa.
Spectators were permitted as the league resumed in the east African state, but the elderly, who are generally most vulnerable to the virus, and children were barred.
Before being allowed into a stadium, fans must wear a face mask, wash hands with soap or use a hand sanitiser, and have their temperature checked.
Once inside, spectators must practice social distancing by sitting or standing several metres apart.
Footballers, referees, coaches and support staff are subject to equally strict measures to combat the virus, and change rooms are fumigated before and after matches.
Own Correspondent
President Emmerson Mnangagwa announcing lockdown reviews Zimbabweans generally believe that the country will regret President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s somewhat rushed opening up of the country from Covid-19 lockdown.
In a poll conducted on ZimEye.com on Friday, a slight majority of 40% of the respondents believed that Mnangagwa’s move was a bit rushed and we will regret it.
36% applauded Mnangagwa’s decision while 24% remained not sure of the consequences of the decision.
Zimbabwe is gradually returning to almost full economic activity with Mnangagwa announcing last week the reopening of the informal economy, where three quarters of the economically active population earn their living.
By last night, the number of confirmed Covid-19 positive cases had reached 384, with another 27 cases announced at the weekend all among returning residents and citizens in formal quarantine.
Below is the result of the poll.
Own Correspondent
Fadzai Mahere The MDC Alliance Mashonaland West Women’s Assembly has thrown its weight fully behind newly-appointed national party spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere after her appointment was publicly condemned by Hatfield MP Tapiwa Mashakada.
Speaking in an interview with SlyMedia Productions on Sunday, Mashakada queried why Mahere, a latecomer to the Alliance was given such a powerful post ahead of party members who have been in the movement for a long time.
The Mash West Women’s Assembly, however, condemned Mashakada’s “sexist” remarks and his alleged failure to appreciate the rise of women in politics.
Below is a statement issued the Mash West MDCA Women’s Assembly in support of Mahere:
Statement from MDC Alliance Mashonaland West Women’s assembly
ServicesBuildingHomeGroceries
DatingJobsCommercialHealth
We condemn the sexist attack on our national spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere by Hatfield MP Tapiwa Mashakada in his interview with SlyMedia Productions on 14 June 2020.
He singled out and attacked Fadzayi Mahere because she is a woman.
We feel Tapiwa Mashakada does not appreciate the ascendance of women to powerful positions of power in politics.
Women are the torchbearers of our struggle and we applaud and support the recent appointment of Fadzayi Mahere to the post of MDC Alliance Spokesperson by our able president Advocate Nelson Chamisa.
President Chamisa is indeed our top change agent as he is changing the dynamic of self-promotional politics to team-oriented, service style leadership in order to achieve the change that delivers.
We are proud of president Chamisa for promoting gender inclusiveness at all levels of our structures with young women like Fadzayi Mahere getting top positions.
To Fadzi, in heels yes you can.
MDC Alliance Mashonaland West Women’s Assembly
By A Correspondent | WorldRemit, the global online money transfer service has announced a partnership with Mukuru, one of Africa’s largest remittance providers to broaden options for cash pick up in Zimbabwe. The partnership will be instrumental in bringing world-class financial services to Zimbabweans and generating new synergies for African financial inclusion.
Pardon Mujakachi, Head of Sub Saharan Africa and Country Director for Zimbabwe at WorldRemit says “We have witnessed an increasing demand as more Zimbabweans are using our digital app to send money to their loved ones. Through this partnership we are able to drive our service further and wider, providing access to remittances even in small towns and growth points across the country. We want to ensure that everyone, everywhere has access to our service which offers a fast and convenient user experience, affordability and easy access to cash.”
Andy Jury, CEO, Mukuru says “We are excited to be able to extend Mukuru’s valuable pay-out footprint to more customers, and to harness this opportunity with WorldRemit’s global reach to expand our fast-growing global presence – while simultaneously creating new opportunities for customer-led innovation on the continent. These types of synergies bring immediate value to our customers, and alleviates their day to day challenges with user-friendly solutions.”
With many families in dire need of financial resources during the coronavirus pandemic, the partnership enables WorldRemit customers in over 50 countries including the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Europe to send money to their loved ones far and wide in Zimbabwe. Recipients are now able to collect their WorldRemit remittance at any of Mukuru’s 120 orange booths and branches, which are located across the country in both rural and peri-urban areas. The money transfer service is operational for six days a week and offers cash in US dollars. Customers will not have to endure long queues, and can collect their cash quickly and safely.
“Worldremit is 25% more affordable than the traditional players and banks. Our extensive cash collection network, flexible cash collection hours and lower fees, offer value for money to our customers. This proves us to be the most affordable means of sending money to Zimbabwe.” says Mujakachi.
Global solutions, local expertise
The pioneering deal with WorldRemit, a leading global player in money transfers, was made possible by a strong synergy between the two companies and a shared mission to support Zimbabwe’s large diaspora in their quest to send critical financial resources to families back home. The WorldRemit platform is 100% digital pay in for customers across the diaspora in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Europe in particular, while Mukuru is an established remittance provider in Zimbabwe.
The relationship between WorldRemit and Mukuru is particularly significant in that both players are simply leveraging their existing capabilities and resources – and neither company has to invest or generate new resources to make it work.
“Having recognised the challenges that so many Zimbabwean families are facing, both of our leadership teams were able to cut to the chase and find a solution very quickly – whilst still meeting all the financial and regulatory requirements of the partnership,” added Jury.
“We are delighted that both Mukuru and WorldRemit can come together to be part of the solution for so many of our Zimbabwean customers.”
Nick MangwanaPresident, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has declared today 15 June 2020 to be a day of national fasting. According to government spokesperson Nick Mangwana that does not make today a public holiday, it is still a working day and employees are required to report for work.
However, reports coming through indicate that ZRP and other security forces are preventing people from entering Harare’s CBD.
THE trial of suspended PetroZim Line (Pvt) Ltd general manager Catherine Katsande, accused of awarding a US$2 million tender for equipment delivered six years late, continued last week, with the court dismissing her application for discharge.
Katsande is facing seven counts of fraud and is jointly charged with Kaltrade (Pvt) Ltd, the winner of the contract.
In her defence, Katsande told the court that she could not be called a fraudster since everything she did was in line with her duties and she was allowed to do so. She denied all the allegations being levelled against her.
Harare magistrate Mr Lazini Ncube recently dismissed her application for discharge at the close of the State’s case.
He said it had to be explained why Kaltrade failed to supply goods since 2013, only to supply them last year, after the matter had been reported to the authorities.
“There is no reason or explanation given as to why Kaltrade delayed delivering the goods,” said Mr Ncube.
“Therefore, the accused must be put to their defence.”
Mr Ncube said the State managed to prove a prima facie case against Katsande and Kaltrade.
Prosecutors Mr Tafara Chirambira and Mr Panganayi Chiutsi told the court that on seven separate occasions between January 2013 and September last year, Katsande fraudulently and in connivance with a private company, awarded it various tenders for equipment that was immediately paid for, but never delivered.
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5 People Killed In Luveve And @CityofBulawayo Council Says Our Drinking Water Is Clean | TRUTH or TOTAL NONSENSE? @byopra @MRPYouths
— ZimEye (@ZimEye) June 15, 2020
By A Correspondent | Another Primary School Child has died in Luveve, Bulawayo, the local MP, Stella Ndlovu has announced.
The deceased who is in Grade 7, is a next door neighbour of another victim, another minor.
This brings the total number of the deceased to 5 who have died following a drinking water problem. Bulawayo City council has maintained saying it’s water is clean.
The other four are three minors, and an elderly woman who is around 85 years old …
VIDEO LOADING BELOW…
Own Correspondent
Reports that a two-weeks old company, Drax Consult sagl, also known as Drax International fronted by Delish Nguwaya was contracted to procure medical equipment for the Ministry of Health and Child Care in Zimbabwe has attracted attention of the United States of America embassy in the country.
The company which has very strong links to the first family supplied the equipment to the government at inflated prices thereby triggering public outrage and calls for the prosecution of everyone involved.
Following the huge corruption allegations on the deal, the United States Embassy emphasised the importance of transparency in enhancing democracy.
Posting on Twitter this Sunday, the embassy said:
State Media
Jacob Mudenda MORE than 100 MDC legislators are set to appear before the Parliament’s Privileges committee this week charged with contempt of Parliament for successive incidents of disrespect for the President.
While 20 Senators have already been served with summons, more than 80 members of the National Assembly from the opposition are set to be served with summons when the House resumes sitting tomorrow.
The 20 Senators were served with summons last week and are set to appear before a Privileges Committee chaired by Mudzi South MP Cde Jonathan Samkange (Zanu PF).
The eight-member committee was constituted by Parliament’s Standing Rules and Orders Committee (SROC) to investigate whether or not MDC legislators were in contempt of Parliament when they boycotted sittings attended by the Head of State and Government.
The committee is expected to come up with appropriate recommendations for punishment should they find the opposition legislators guilty of contempt of Parliament.
The decision to form the committee followed successive incidents since 2017 where MDC Alliance legislators would refuse to rise or recognise the presence of the President when he attended Parliament, a breach of Parliament’s customs and practices.
“You are therefore hereby invited to appear personally before the Privileges committee that is investigating allegations of misconduct levelled against you. You were advised of the charges levelled against you and others in our earlier communication dated Wednesday February 12, 2020,” reads the letter written by clerk of Parliament, Mr Kennedy Chokuda.
The misconductchargearose when they failed to rise when the President entered or left the Chamber and also when they would boycott his address.
In constituting the committee last year, Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda said it should establish whether such conduct constituted contempt of Parliament and any other incident that may arise from the investigation.
Last year, Adv Mudenda directed that MDC Alliance legislators lose their sitting allowances for the day when they failed to attend the State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by the President.
This come as Parliament has come up with regulations aimed at tightening disciplinary conduct among legislators.
Last week Senate adopted regulations aimed at reigning errant MPs who failed to respect the President, visiting Heads of State and Government, Speaker of the National Assembly and Senate President and Chief Justice whenever they enter or leave the chamber.
According to the measures, legislators face penalties that include suspension for disorderly conduct.
The new measures were adopted by Parliament the SROC, a 26-member top committee that organises Parliament and sets rules. It includes the presiding officers and representatives of the major parties, both Government and opposition.
Own Correspondent
President Emmerson Mnangagwa prayingPresident Emmerson Mnangagwa has called the nation into a day of prayer and fasting today.
Zimbabweans are generally divided on the call with some saying Mnangagwa is an evil man weigh blood on his hands and so God will not listen to our prayers as long as they are led by Mnangagwa.
What’s your thought on this? Make your call in the poll on the link below.
Activities have been halted in Gaborone, Botswana, after a lockdown was reinstated in the city.Botswana’s director of health services, Dr Malaki Tshipayagae, announced Friday that the capital, Gaborone, will return to extreme lockdown after eight new COVID-19 cases at a private hospital.
“We are concerned because we did not know if it is a communal infection or a hospital-acquired infection, or [it] indicates significant local transmission, or whether there is some form of contamination at the facility,” Tshipayagae said. “As a result, because of those factors, or unknowns, we have decided to shut down or lock down Greater Gaborone.”
A further four imported cases were reported Friday, bringing the country’s COVID-19 tally to 60.
Tshipayagae said the army and police would resume patrols, effective Friday midnight.
“Movement of people will be through a permit and there would be patrols to ensure that rules are adhered to.”
Most economic activities had resumed as the diamond-rich country emerged from a seven-week lockdown that ended May 21.
Schools had reopened but will now close in Gaborone and surrounding areas until further notice.
Gaborone resident Mpho Marumo said the latest development is a drawback.
“It’s quite disappointing really,” Marumo said. “We were looking forward to… the schools, the kids. It’s a really big setback, the schools had reopened and now closed.”
Prior to Friday’s 12 cases, Botswana only had one active case. The country has recorded one COVID-19 death.
VOA
Own Correspondent
MDC Alliance secretary for policy and research Tapiwa Mashakada took a swipe at the other members of the oppostion MDC Alliance accusing them of misleading party leader Nelson Chamisa.
“There is dictatorship within the cabal surrounding Chamisa,” said Mashakada.
Mashakada also said he believed that the three MDC Alliance officials were abducted and that those suggesting that the three faked abduction have to prove so.
He also warned Mnangagwa saying “he must change course, he must listen to the voice of reason.
Watch video downloading below. Please be patient as the video downloads.
July Moyo President Mnangagwa will today host a church service at the State House that will be broadcast live on ZTN, ZBC TV and also streamed live on radio stations and social media platforms.
Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo yesterday said all was now set for the National Day of Prayer.
“We are now ready as Government. The programme is now complete. We have invited all stakeholders, mostly religious leaders. In doing so, we have been mindful of the need to observe the required number of people during gatherings, that it should not exceed 50 as well as the need to observe social distancing consistent with the Covid-19 measures,” said Minister Moyo.
During the same time, millions of people across the country will join the President in prayer and fasting from 10am to 12pm as the country collectively turns to faith in response to an invisible enemy.
Faith leaders, drawn from different denominations said in seeking prayer the country is putting all its problems into the hands of the Almighty God who is able to offer answers to questions and a phenomenon that is baffling logic and science.
Roman Catholic Priest Father Fidelis Mukonori said the call for National Day of Prayer and Fasting by President Mnangagwa ought to be complied with by every Zimbabwean regardless of one’s political persuasion.
“It has nothing to do with politics, neither is it a political whip. It is rather a national cry for the people of Zimbabwe so that God can hear us. As church we have always been praying and we support every decision in furtherance of our sworn objective,” said Father Mukonori.
The Council of Apostolic Churches of Zimbabwe (CACZ), an umbrella body of Apostolic and Zion Christian Churches which is led by its president, Bishop Clement Karikoga Chisango, said in a statement that it was fully behind the call to prayer by President Mnangagwa in order to collectively appeal to the Lord during a time of crisis.
“The Monday June 15 occasion truly brings all Zimbabweans together as it accords them a very rare opportunity to appeal to their creator in order to overcome the coronavirus pandemic that has ravaged the entire world, seek God’s intervention in reigniting the economy, heal the nation and unite all peoples of Zimbabwe towards a common goal,” said CACZ deputy president Apostle Amos Seremani.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa also urged the nation to heed the President’s call for the nation to observe a day of national prayer and fasting and to join him as he meets with various church leaders.
She said churches should observe the lockdown regulations and maintain social distancing during the time of prayer.
“The country is still exposed to the coronavirus pandemic, as more people continue to return from outside the country,” she added.
Minister Mutsvangwa said that the country was experiencing difficult times as confirmed cases of Covid-19 continued to rise.
In his address at State House last week, President Mnangagwa said time had come for Zimbabweans to come together in supplication so as to seek the Almighty God’s “mercy, wisdom, help and healing to overcome this deadly pandemic”.
“I also urge you all on this day, to join us giving up one, two or all meals in fasting. It will be best to arrange to participate in this service as families, small groups of church services not exceeding 50 people, and observing the precautions we have been taking to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” said the President.
“Let us offer prayers of petition to the Lord that He may grant us His mercy, deliver us from this noisome pestilence and give us the wisdom to take the effective steps to overcome it,” said the President.
In prayer and fasting, the country joins most of the world’s nations, including the United States, Brazil, and fellow SADC member states — Botswana and Tanzania — in observing a specific day of prayer in the wake of the novel virus that has dislocated lives and turned societies upside down.
The President said the country would even in prayer and fasting “diligently continue to observe every precaution necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus”.
Presently, Zimbabwe is on level 2 lockdown that has seen most formal businesses opening, and also a relaxation in the number of people that can be carried on a bus.
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Mr Mnangagwa… your thievery, your ungodly life, your murders, your abductions, your rapes, your pillaging…immorality…God is going to take your breath from you…" – @nathanhambyrd pic.twitter.com/VcjDrPuvlC
— ZimEye (@ZimEye) June 15, 2020
https://youtu.be/qCToAzxisWA
Own Correspondent
Energy Minister Advocate Fortune ChasiEnergy Minister Advocate Fortune Chasi has said he will not fold his hands while the Zimbabwe Power Company continues to drag Intratek boss, Wicknell Chivhayo to court over the Gwanda Solar Project.
Chasi said ZPC has so far lost the case on numerous occasions thereby losing resources. He added that it would be prudent to leave Chivhayo and his company to implement the project which would assist the Gwanda community and the country at large. He said:
Zesa has been in contempt of court for several years and losing, as Minister, I will not allow such to happen because I need to see power being generated not just to see court reports.
The two parties have agreed to sit and map the way forward.
The project is expected to produce 10MW within six months.
Intratek won the tender for the project in 2015 and there is nothing on the ground to show that the government paid the company an advance of US$5 million.
When Chasi was appointed the Minister of Energy last year, he vowed that he would make Chivhayo deliver or payback the money.
Meanwhile, Intratek has appointed lawyer, Wilson Manase as executive Chairperson and Presidential Advisory Council chair Edward Manikai as a board member, a move some view as a strategy to intimidate critics.
Watch video downloading below.
Own Correspondent
The number of coronavirus cases in Zimbabwe today rose to 383 after 27 returnees from South Africa tested positive.
The country now has 325 active cases. Four people have died and 54 have recovered.
It has tested 58 438 people.
State Media
A BULAWAYO man who was about to be released from prison appeared in court for allegedly participating in the gruesome killing of a security guard at a flea market in the city centre in 2013.
Ignatius Mehluli Mhlanga (26) of Old Pumula who was about to complete a nine-month jail term for robbery is alleged to have killed Mr Vengai Murisi (34) in the company of two other accused persons while he was on duty manning Mutize and Sons Flea Market in the city centre seven years ago.
Mhlanga allegedly killed Murisi with Timothy Mathema (30) and Isaac Nyakurerwa (35) who were sentenced to life in prison for murder with actual intent in 2018. The two implicated Mhlanga who had fled to South Africa.
They brutally attacked the security guard at his work place by tying his hands, legs and neck using a wire coat hanger before strangling him to death using a jacket draw-string.
Mhlanga was on the run for six years but came back to the country and was arrested and jailed for nine months for another robbery he committed. However, police continued to search for him for killing the security guard while he was in fact in prison serving time for the robbery charge.
He was arrested last year in October at Bulawayo Prison moments before being released from jail after serving nine months for the robbery. Mhlanga appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Christopher Dube-Banda on Wednesday facing a murder charge.
Prosecuting, Mr Khumbulani Ndlovu said on February 10 in 2013 at about 7PM, Murisi reported for duty at Mutize and Sons Flea Market situated along Lobengula Street between 8th Avenue Extension and Leopold Takawira Avenue.
During the course of the night, Mhlanga in the company of Mathema and Nyakurerwa, arrived at the flea market and found the deceased asleep.
“They assaulted Murisi on the head with a plank and further strangled him using a jacket until he died. His body was discovered the following morning by his colleague, the late Mr George Gwachari who called the police. The three men stole clothing items and fled from the scene,” said Mr Ndlovu.
Mathema and Nyakurerwa were later arrested and it was discovered that they had sold some of the clothing items to people who live as far as Plumtree.
Police also recovered the deceased’s phone during indications.
A post mortem report showed that Murisi had died due to strangulation, asphyxia and homicide. In his defence through his lawyer, Mr Lament Ngwenya of Mathonsi Ncube Law Chamber, Mhlanga said he acted in self-defence to avert an attack from the deceased who was trying to apprehend him after they had strayed into the flea market.
“Soon after entering the flea market, we were startled by the deceased who attempted to apprehend us. During the scuffle, I struck the deceased with a plank twice on the forehead and my blow had the effect of disorienting Murisi who was then held by my accomplices,” he said.
He tried to exonerate himself from the murder, alleging that his accomplices were the ones who caused Murisi’s death by tying his hands, legs and neck using a wire coat hanger before strangling him.
THE SPEAKER of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said Parliament will name and shame MPs who have not been attending parliamentary committee sittings, with some having a shocking zero attendance rate.
Some Ministers were also censored for failing to submit financial reports to Parliament in violation of the Constitution and standing rules and orders of the legislative assembly.
During the 2019 fiscal year, only 15 percent of ministries furnished portfolio committees with their quarterly reports while very few monthly and annual reports were tabled.
On the other hand, some MPs never attended a single session of parliamentary committee hearings out of the 28 that were conducted.
The revelations come out of Parliament’s Liaison and Coordination Committee (LCC) retreat which started in Bulawayo last Friday and ended yesterday.
The LCC, which comprises all committee chairpersons, party whips and their deputies as well as the chairperson and vice chairperson and is the custodian of parliamentary reforms was meeting to review the performance of the first and second sessions of the 9th Parliament.
Adv Mudenda addressed the retreat last Friday and President of the Senate Mabel Chinomona delivered the closing remarks yesterday, with both expressing disappointment on the conduct of some members.
Adv Mudenda said the power of the legislature is derived from the people and can be taken away anytime by the citizenry if they fail to perform.
“It is shocking that some members have zero attendance, while some have one or two out of 28 sittings. You have got to be ashamed of yourselves because you are not performing up to the expectations of the electorate nor to your oath of office that you will do your very best and work for the people of Zimbabwe in the context of the demands of the Supreme law and the general legislation,” he said.
“I was very disappointed to see that analysis and some of these members. I think it is best that as a measure of corrective action, a list must be compiled and given to the political parties where they belong so that we say here are your people whom you sponsored as a party but they are not performing. Forewarned is forearmed. We shall report to those responsible for sponsoring you to ensure that they take collective action.”
Yesterday, Chinomona said it was worrisome to note that some committees are driven to do their duties by monetary incentives more than the sacred mandate that they hold as the people’s elected representatives.
She said MPs should remember that they are chosen by the people not for self-enrichment but to stand for the hopes and aspirations of Zimbabweans.
“It is sad that a committee will refuse to participate in an activity that will improve the lives of the people simply because there is no per diem that will line the members pockets. Do not get me wrong, while every effort will be made to provide allowances for committee activities, this must not and should never be the focus of our efforts as parliamentarians,” said the President of the Senate.
She said MPs have been doing the country a disservice by abdicating their responsibility to follow up with ministries to submit and then subsequently analyse reports
Earlier on Friday Adv Mudenda had said there is a need for LCC to act decisively and must not allow the behaviour by some Ministers not to table reports to continue unabated.
Standing order 26 (2) of the National Assembly explicitly notes that failure to respond to the reports constitute contempt of Parliament.
He said the Ministers’ conduct is an illegality which attracts severe censure.
He said during the 2019 fiscal year, only 15 percent of ministries furnished portfolio committees with their quarterly reports while very few monthly and annual reports were tabled.
Adv Mudenda also challenged MPs to ensure they call for accountability on resources mobilised for the Covid-19 pandemic.
The LCC is meeting to review the performance of the first and second sessions of the 9th Parliament.
Adv Mudenda said there is a need for LCC to act decisively and should not allow the behaviour to continue unabated.
“It is sad to note that ministries do not comply with these constitutional statutory obligations. During the 2019 fiscal year, only 15 percent of ministries furnished portfolio committees with their quarterly reports and very few if any monthly and annual reports were tabled before the committees,” he said.
“Even those that were submitted had insignificant information to allow honourable members to fully carry out their oversight function. The Parliamentary Budget Office analysed 18 reports and presented 14 analysis reports before the committees in 2019.”
Adv Mudenda said no report on the budget performance was tabled before the House in the first session.
“This is unacceptable and unforgivable dereliction of duty by the LCC. The superintendence of the LCC should always remain clinical in this regard. Section 107 (2) of the Constitution as read in conjunction with Standing Order 36 of the National Assembly places a brutal obligation on Government to respond to the reports and recommendations made by portfolio committees,” he said.
He said he had to write to President Mnangagwa appealing for his intervention so that Ministers and their ministries could respond to recommendations contained in parliamentary committee reports and there was some good positive response.
Adv Mudenda said Zimbabwe like the rest of the world, is facing a protracted deepening crisis owing to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, which has created an unprecedented health crisis and stifled economic growth. “The nation looks to us as Members of Parliament to address these challenges in close liaison with the Executive so that they are able to respond robustly to the multifaceted impact of the pandemic,” said Adv Mudenda.
“That response has to be stubborn and resilient. Parliamentary committees must therefore be prepared to address mitigatory measures that call for innovation in pertaining to the devasting consequences of the pandemic including the employment of indigenous knowledge systems that may lead to the discovery of the vaccine to cure Covid-19.”
He said it was important for Parliament to continue with the daunting task of aligning laws to the 2013 Constitution.
Charamba Death Threats Against President Chamisa, Poetry or Pure Attack? – ZimEye https://t.co/fUlyYahNc9.
— ZimEye (@ZimEye) June 15, 2020
By A Correspondent | MDC Alliance President Nelson Chamisa had death threat undertones subtly worded against him by his memesis Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesman yesterday, it has emerged.
Writing on his microblogging portal, Charamba five times repeated undertones that suggest Chamisa will soon suffer a sudden health crisis, just before twice mentioning death as the end of it all.
While some said Charamba’s words were mere poetry, experts said they were clearly pointing at death and certainly the threat thereof An academic at the Baltimore School Of Law says:
threats that place individuals in great fear can (and often have been
found to) constitute acts of mental or psychological torture.”
Charamba was commenting on allegations of Chamisa leading a fractured MDC Alliance.
He said: ” Clearly both the young man and all those around him, all of them barely sharper than a mallet by way of intellect and analysis, thought silence in politics means nothing, however brooding and foreboding!
“And looking into the crystal ball?? Well, Chamisa
“…set to bleed terminally, both from internal injuries & from external blows. After this analysis has settled, & all those who think can yell and bark angrily for him are done, I will come back on the external blows that await him, mortal blows at that. Good evening maComrades!”
Commenting over the development, is the MDC Alliance Youth Assembly Secretary General, Gift Ostallos Siziba. VIDEO LOADING BELOW –
Informal traders registered with a local authority for the purposes of paying presumptive taxes or who pay rent on premises for carrying out their operations are now deemed to be in the formal sector and so exempted from lockdown regulations, while churches can now congregate on set conditions, under recently gazetted amendments.
This means those licensed by a local authority as a hawker or vendor or who rent space in a flea market or people’s market, or are registered but work from home can now reopen their business under the same conditions as a formal business, but have to be able to prove this if asked.
Churches can now have congregations of less than 50 people, as announced by President Mnangagwa, but everyone in church has to wear a mask and observe social distancing and the church has to be disinfected between sittings.
Statutory Instrument 136, which converts recently announced changes in the lockdown into law, was gazetted on Friday but only made available yesterday. It defines an informal trader as someone whose business is too small to be registered for VAT and who has not made an income tax return for that business.
The amended regulations make it clear that an informal trader includes a hawker or street vendor; a person who sells articles at a place commonly known as a “people’s market” or “flea market”; and a person who manufactures or processes any articles in or from residential premises.
But not included in the definition, and so relying on other regulations for any exemption from the lockdown, are small-scale miners, the operators of a taxicab, commuter omnibus or goods vehicle, informal cross-border traders, operators of a restaurant or bottle store, and cottage industry operators.
Those informal traders registered with a local authority for the purpose of paying presumptive tax in terms of the Twenty-Sixth Schedule to the Income Tax Act, or in accordance with the same schedule tell their landlord that they carry on their trade from the rented premises, are now deemed to be operating within the formal sectors and so are exempted under the same conditions.
This means they have to wear face masks, observe social distancing and close for trade by 4.30pm.
The regulations amendment now allows officials opening the border to let in returning residents and citizens to keep all travel and identity documents while that person is in quarantine, but has to issue a receipt, keep the documents safe and return them when the person is released from quarantine or isolation.
This provision was earlier announced as an aid to prevent returning residents skipping quarantine or escaping from a quarantine facility.
The lockdown amendment also goes into detail on cross border cargo truck drivers.
Drivers and recognised passengers in their truck have to present a Covid-19-free certificate at the point of entry, showing they have been tested within the past seven days. They will be tested again and if negative can proceed to the next truck stop. But if positive, must either agree to undergo isolation in Zimbabwe or immediately return to where they came from. Owners of trucks can substitute drivers in these cases.
SADC residents transiting Zimbabwe to get home undergo similar measures.
Restaurants and take-aways are now allowed to have chairs, but only for elderly, infirm or disabled customers and only while they are waiting for their orders.
As soon as they get their food, they must leave. The ban on eating and drinking on the premises remains.
More critically restaurant staff must be tested every 14 days for Covid-19 and must wear both a mask and gloves. Whenever they take off the gloves, and in any case every three hours, they must wash their hands.
An amendment to the temporary powers regulations on the residential rent moratorium now ends at the end of this month. As the President announced, this means that rent not paid during the lockdown now must be paid within the next six months in equal instalments. It can be paid earlier.
A final statutory instrument amends the main public health regulations by making it clear that the Minister of Health and Child Care, when issuing health regulations, does so on his own authority under the Public Health Act with the phrase implying that any regulations have to be in conformity with directions from the President now being deleted. This closes a potential legal loophole.
Matthias Mhere will also performVARIOUS gospel musicians will tonight sing in worship when they perform during the virtual National Prayer Day Gospel Concert to be screened live on national television, ZBCTV.
Dubbed “Breaking the Fast in Fighting Covid-19”, the concert will also be screened on the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation and National Arts Council of Zimbabwe Facebook pages.
This comes after President Mnangagwa proclaimed today as the Presidential National Day of Prayer and Fasting to seek healing, as the country grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The President is today expected to host a service at State House where church leaders from various denominations are expected to attend.
Communication and advocacy manager in the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Ranson Madzamba said they found it befitting to host the concert, as the ministry and give people a platform where they also praise and worship in song.
“As you know the President declared June 15 as the day of prayer and fasting. In any set up where you communicate with the Almighty, people sing and pray.
“This is where the issue of having a gospel concert comes in. Various gospel artistes will be performing and this will be broadcast live on ZBCTV, Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation and National Arts Council of Zimbabwe facebook pages.
“The gospel concert starts at around 9pm, ending at around midnight,” he said.
Pastor Charles Charamba and wife Olivia, Minister Mahendere, Mambo Dhuterere, Janet Manyowa and Family Voices are expected to perform at the gospel concert.
Mutare-based Blessing Shumba, Mathias Mhere, Dorcas Moyo, Kuda Mutsvene and Pastor Emmanuel Marecha also make the list of gospel musicians billed to performtonight.
FORMER Cabinet Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has allegedly hired a gang led by former ruling party youth leader Jim Kunaka to evict Mazowe district war veterans’ chairman Elfanos Madzimunye from his Concorpia Farm recently, ZBC reported last night.
Kunaka said he was enforcing a court order that was granted at High Court in Kasukuwere’s favour, but the matter is now before the Supreme Court on appeal.
In any case enforcement of court orders has to be done by State officials, in particular eviction orders are done by the Sheriff.
Madzimunye says he was allocated the farm by Government.
“I was not given the chance to speak. They said they were giving me 48 hours to vacate the farm. I then approached the Supreme Court with an appeal, which would then override the High Court Order.
“We are now living in fear,” said Madzimunye.
Kunaka and his team reportedly attacked people at the farm leaving Madzimunye’s son nursing injuries.
Mashonaland Central war veterans’ chairman Sam Parirenyatwa expressed concern over the development.
“We are deeply concerned. What they are simply saying is that they are waiting for orders from their superiors.
“Do they have to wait for orders from someone who is perpetrating criminal activities?” he asked.
Kunaka has, however, remained adamant and turned a blind eye on the Supreme Court appeal saying Madzimunye must leave the farm.
“I hope Madzimunye will vacate the place peacefully and return to where he came from and wait for the court papers,” he said.
State Media
At least eight teachers’ unions have filed an urgent High Court application seeking to compel the Government to postpone the sitting of June examinations until all examination centres meet World Health Organisation (WHO) Covid-19 prescribed standards.
The public examinations are scheduled to start on June 30, but teachers’ unions say the teachers are not ready to go back to school until a well-informed analysis of the impact of Covid-19 has been done and all health and safety measures are in place.
In an urgent application filed last Friday, the teachers’ unions are seeking the High Court intervention to stop the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) from holding public examinations until sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) has been provided for both learners and teachers.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union (ARTUZ), Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTU), Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (TUZ), Zimbabwe Democratic Teachers Union (ZDTU), Zimbabwe National Education Union (ZINEU), Zimbabwe Teachers Association, (ZIMTA) and Zimbabwe National Teacher Union (ZINATU) are the applicants in the urgent chamber application.
The unions listed Zimsec, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, the Civil Service Commission, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and Minister of Health and Child Care as respondents.
Zimta chief executive Dr Sifiso Ndlovu confirmed the teachers’ unions have approached the court on an urgent basis.
“It is true we have taken the issue of premature administration of June 2020 exams to the courts,” he said.
Dr Ndlovu said they were praying for the court to compel the State to fumigate all examination centres and meet WHO prescribed standards, provide facilities and personnel for thermal testing of teachers and learners and further support adequate sanitation like water, and take all necessary measures to reduce class sizes.
In addition, Dr Ndlovu said what the unions would like resolved by the employer is that Covid-19 should not be the sole burden of heads and teachers.
“Heads and teachers are traumatised by the ravaging Covid-19 and, therefore, need social and financial support, there should be no threat posed on their lives and families,” he said.
“Use of sticks, threats, blame games are uncalled for. Unity must prevail. Heads did not invent Covid-19 and, therefore, should not be threatened. Government (Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education) should fund this. Therefore, a comprehensive budget and provision should be availed to all schools.”
Dr Ndlovu said as school heads and teachers would be assuming the role of frontline workers, they should be entitled to the occupational hazard allowance or Covid-19 risk related allowance/benefits which are awarded to all frontline workers fighting the pandemic.
They also want examination supervision and invigilation to be paid for.
The lawsuit comes after the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on education recently recommended Government to consider health and safety concerns of the teachers and defer the national examinations.
The respondents are yet to respond to the application.
CONTEXTUAL ASSESSMENT
Heavy military presence in Masvingo Urban
By Ephraim Mutombeni
MACRAD Trust
Last week scores of Masvingo residents were forced to return home and their exemption letters were confiscated.
The heavy military presence and strictness at roadblocks is sign of government’s panicky reaction to promised demonstrations against worsening economic situation.
It has been a week and a couple of days with no fuel in Masvingo.
Since last week vehicles were just queuing for fuel.
UPDATES
Nine MDC Alliance district chairpersons were arrested on 9 June 2020 in Masvingo and they were fined $500rtgs each for violating lockdown rules.
The opposition party members blamed the police for operating in a partisan manner.
Last week in Gutu North, MP Yeukai Simbanegavi addressed a gathering of more than hundred people in Nyazvidzi but she was not arrested.
About MACRAD
Masvingo Centre for Research Advocacy and Development (MACRAD) Trust is an independent Zimbabwean Community Based Civil Society institution committed to the development of socio-economic rights and agrarian systems that enhance equitable land rights and sustainable land uses throughout Zimbabwe.
MACRAD interacts with various organizations and communities to assist them in developing capacity for policy formulation and research. It also facilitates policy dialogue among communities, governments, academics, civil society and others on land and agrarian development, especially the land rights of marginalized social groups.
Masvingo Center for Research Advocacy and Community Development (MACRAD) is driven by a desire to contribute towards improved rural livelihoods that should lead to greater capacities for the rural poor to determine their own destinies and contribute towards national development.
MACRAD has worked with citizens in resettlements areas around Masvingo Province on civic and voter education to ensure their voices are heard.
We support victims and survivors of diverse forms of conflict, violence, displacement and disenfranchisement. MACRAD’s approach entails encouraging continuous policy debates and refinement of policy.
This is achieved through generation and provision of research based information, platforms for dialogue, creating and nurturing a policy community in Zimbabwe.
The ambition of Masvingo Center for Research Advocacy and Community Development (MACRAD) is to provide leadership in socio-economic justice and land-agrarian policy processes, to become a Centre of Excellence and remain an independent and credible center for knowledge on social and economic justice.
We support victims and survivors of diverse forms of conflict, violence, displacement and disenfranchisement.
By Blessing Simpson Madzima
The nation must go into prayer and fasting for this regime to go.
We pray in Jesus name and the Almighty God for Mnangwagwa to have his sense and mental state restored so that he can have his insight back to see reality that he is not wanted to lead Zimbabwe.
He must see his failures, incompetence and lack of qualifications to run the office of the President.
May God let him understand that he is an evil man who is possessed by the worst demons of Judeo.
His works and deeds are epitomize the barbaric and evil world.
Oh Mighty God! We are praying for a People’s government that respects your values and the dignity of love and peace. Your people have suffered long.
This time it’s different, your people are not captured in Egypt. They are captured in their own land.
Pharaoh came with his army and his judges to Canaan specifically to persecute and brutalise your people. We know you are God of mercy, help your people and remove this Goliath from our land.
AMEN!
By Blessing Simpson Madzima
The nation must go into prayer and fasting for this regime to go.
We pray in Jesus name and the Almighty God for Mnangwagwa to have his sense and mental state restored so that he can have his insight back to see reality that he is not wanted to lead Zimbabwe.
He must see his failures, incompetence and lack of qualifications to run the office of the President.
May God let him understand that he is an evil man who is possessed by the worst demons of Judeo.
His works and deeds are epitomize the barbaric and evil world.
Oh Mighty God! We are praying for a People’s government that respects your values and the dignity of love and peace. Your people have suffered long.
This time it’s different, your people are not captured in Egypt. They are captured in their own land.
Pharaoh came with his army and his judges to Canaan specifically to persecute and brutalise your people. We know you are God of mercy, help your people and remove this Goliath from our land.
AMEN!
By Prince Gora
Ever wondered what role can, and should churches play in the political process?
What – if anything – should pastors say about politics from the pulpit?
What about voting? Should the clergy try to influence the results of an election or encourage people to go out and vote? What about a more direct involvement in politics, should churches ever call for the removal of a leader? Can they demonstrate and take action when faced with incompetent leaders and systematic injustices? Should they remain silent and docile?
We have people like the famed Pastor Evan Mawarire and more recently Pastor Shingi Munyeza who have been vocal and active in political matters.
We also have Apostle Talent Chiwenga, whose relentless activism at the pulpit has now landed him in trouble. The Catholic church is no newcomer to Zimbabwean politics and the Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice (CCJP) has never hesitated to call the government to order whenever it has strayed.
But we also have many church leaders who urge their followers to only pray and disengage from political activities arguing that leaders come from God.
This group of church leaders argue that the church shoud simply be the church with its priority being only to pray for the government the day.
Is support for candidates or discussion of issues from the pulpit activism?
Is encouraging everyone to get out and vote activism? I ask these questions because the Christian community is largely divided on these issues.
Some church leaders routinely discourage their followers to stay away from anything to do with politics, yet some of these leaders are themselves often seen in the company of political leaders.
Talking about issues is even more polarising.
It is hard to ignore the poverty around us at the moment nor the corruption and the systematic injustices that the Zimbabwean citizenry is facing right now, yet the moment starts talking about these issues they are quickly labelled as regime change agents. But aren’t they talking about real issues?
Another role of the churches is in providing a place for dialogue between political leaders and individuals.
Those of us who keenly follow Zimbabwean politics will remember that not long ago church leaders tried to kickstart a dialogue between Nelson Chamisa and Emerson Mnangagwa.
The church, I believe should be a place where unity can be achieved but is that going to happen? When our church leaders either shun away from politics or choose to pretend to be blind to the challenges affecting the country?
When they can’t speak openly about issues and discourage followers from speaking openly about politics?
Should the church pray so the economy gets better or so that our lives are happier or easier as we are about to witness on June 15, 2020?
I don’t think churches should be in the political-influencing business whatsoever.
This is the question with which I struggle most, and I increasingly tend to think that churches and Christians should avoid political processes.”If we disagree with something, we need to vote to make our voices heard.
One of the problems Christians have is not getting involved in the political process, even if it is on a small level, and then crying ‘sour grapes’ when a new law is passed that takes God out of our communities even further.
Christians should play a role in the political process. If God does have authority over the ones who are elected, then his will needs to be known as a part of the process.
Should the church not advocate for the oppressed? Should it not call out injustices that are perpetuated within our political systems?
I think it is the church’s duty to keep watch, listen, and respond where there is injustice.
I believe that an important role that the church should play in politics is to provide a foundation for people in communities.
When people feel helpless in the face of a turbulent political climate and in the presence of systemic injustice, the church should be the place where they reclaim hope.
My hope is to spark respectful conversation about political issues that are important to us.
Personally I believe that churches command a lot of following, like the catholic church has found over the centuries, they will soon find out that they have a role to play in politics.
As such, they need to give credit when credit is due and criticism when criticism is due, being silent will only harm the very people they purport to serve.
As long as they are silent, systemic injustices will be perpetuated because as they say, silent means contentment.
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance president, Advocate Nelson Chamisa has said a transitional mechanism is needed to “soft-land” the crisis in the country.
Chamisa, quoted by The Standard, described the crisis in Zimbabwe as unbearable and beyond imagination.
“We are in a disaster. There is no income, no foreign investments, no jobs, nothing and it is a tinderbox, it is an explosion, everything is going southward.
The centre can no longer hold.
More than eight million people are facing starvation and this situation does not require a business-as-usual approach,” Chamisa told the weekly publication.
He added:
“We need a transitional mechanism to soft-land the crisis.
We need nation-building and consensus to extricate ourselves out of this problem in the country.
With service delivery collapse, economic collapse, corruption flourishing, human rights abuses on the increase, victimisation of lawyers, attacks on human rights defenders, attacks on journalists, diplomats and non-governmental organisations, everyone seems to be under attack.
It’s a state that seems to be in a difficult position and they are seeing enemies everywhere.”
Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance president, Advocate Nelson Chamisa has said a transitional mechanism is needed to “soft-land” the crisis in the country.
Chamisa, quoted by The Standard, described the crisis in Zimbabwe as unbearable and beyond imagination.
“We are in a disaster. There is no income, no foreign investments, no jobs, nothing and it is a tinderbox, it is an explosion, everything is going southward.
The centre can no longer hold.
More than eight million people are facing starvation and this situation does not require a business-as-usual approach,” Chamisa told the weekly publication.
He added:
“We need a transitional mechanism to soft-land the crisis.
We need nation-building and consensus to extricate ourselves out of this problem in the country.
With service delivery collapse, economic collapse, corruption flourishing, human rights abuses on the increase, victimisation of lawyers, attacks on human rights defenders, attacks on journalists, diplomats and non-governmental organisations, everyone seems to be under attack.
It’s a state that seems to be in a difficult position and they are seeing enemies everywhere.”
Zimbabwe recorded 13 more COVID-19 cases on the 13th of June bringing the total number of known cases in the country to 356.
All the new cases, 12 are returnees from South Africa while 1 is from the United Kingdom.
Three more people have recovered from the virus bringing the total number of recoveries to 54 while deaths remain at 4.
The majority (8) of the new cases were recorded in Masvingo Province-Health Ministry
Zimbabwe recorded 13 more COVID-19 cases on the 13th of June bringing the total number of known cases in the country to 356.
All the new cases, 12 are returnees from South Africa while 1 is from the United Kingdom.
Three more people have recovered from the virus bringing the total number of recoveries to 54 while deaths remain at 4.
The majority (8) of the new cases were recorded in Masvingo Province-Health Ministry
CONTEXTUAL ASSESSMENT
Heavy military presence in Masvingo Urban
By Ephraim Mutombeni
MACRAD Trust
Last week scores of Masvingo residents were forced to return home and their exemption letters were confiscated.
The heavy military presence and strictness at roadblocks is sign of government’s panicky reaction to promised demonstrations against worsening economic situation.
It has been a week and a couple of days with no fuel in Masvingo.
Since last week vehicles were just queuing for fuel.
UPDATES
Nine MDC Alliance district chairpersons were arrested on 9 June 2020 in Masvingo and they were fined $500rtgs each for violating lockdown rules.
The opposition party members blamed the police for operating in a partisan manner.
Last week in Gutu North, MP Yeukai Simbanegavi addressed a gathering of more than hundred people in Nyazvidzi but she was not arrested.
About MACRAD
Masvingo Centre for Research Advocacy and Development (MACRAD) Trust is an independent Zimbabwean Community Based Civil Society institution committed to the development of socio-economic rights and agrarian systems that enhance equitable land rights and sustainable land uses throughout Zimbabwe.
MACRAD interacts with various organizations and communities to assist them in developing capacity for policy formulation and research. It also facilitates policy dialogue among communities, governments, academics, civil society and others on land and agrarian development, especially the land rights of marginalized social groups.
Masvingo Center for Research Advocacy and Community Development (MACRAD) is driven by a desire to contribute towards improved rural livelihoods that should lead to greater capacities for the rural poor to determine their own destinies and contribute towards national development.
MACRAD has worked with citizens in resettlements areas around Masvingo Province on civic and voter education to ensure their voices are heard.
We support victims and survivors of diverse forms of conflict, violence, displacement and disenfranchisement. MACRAD’s approach entails encouraging continuous policy debates and refinement of policy.
This is achieved through generation and provision of research based information, platforms for dialogue, creating and nurturing a policy community in Zimbabwe.
The ambition of Masvingo Center for Research Advocacy and Community Development (MACRAD) is to provide leadership in socio-economic justice and land-agrarian policy processes, to become a Centre of Excellence and remain an independent and credible center for knowledge on social and economic justice.
We support victims and survivors of diverse forms of conflict, violence, displacement and disenfranchisement.
By Leonardo Makuya
Like it or Not Nelson Chamisa will lead Zimbabwe.
When we call him President it’s out of principle.
Section 88 of the Zimbabwean Constitution states that the Executive authority is derived from the people of Zimbabwe.
Executive authority does not come from ZEC or the Constitutional Court.
The 2,6 million voters who endorsed his Presidential bid are the ultimate custodians of power.
Nelson Chamisa is the President l recognise others can seek their legitimacy from the Courts!
By COVID Prisoner- So after spending 22 days in captivity we were told that we cannot leave quarantine after testing.
The standard quarantine days as published by the government is a maximum of 21, but I am sitting at 25 with cellmates having up to 30 and even more.
The reason behind our continued detention being: of the over 100 tests conducted 4 days ago, one inmate has tested positive.
We are thus supposed to stay on for another 8 days after which we shall be tested again.
The rationale, according to the ministry of health which only started showing a presence at the centre in my day 18, is that quarantine standards have been flouted, and we could all be contaminated.
Their main bone of contention is the dining room where we have been mingling indiscriminately, as well as the fact that cohorts have been mixed in halls of residence.
Henceforth each hostel will be taken as a separate cohort, and graduation into the community shall be determined by the final test results, after a further 8 days.
Here are the questions I posed to ministry of Health on the ground and did not get an answer.
I will pose them again and hope someone with decision making stamina will objectively look at them:
In the meantime, if we are to restart our quarantine, may it be in line with prevention standards that I believe the MOHCC is aware of;
Farcical and surreal – like a poorly scripted Mr Bean film without the comedy’ was how MDC Vice-President Tendai Biti described his arrest with other party leaders last week for trying to enter their headquarters, which had been taken over by security forces in the name of a rival faction.
Even more surreal was the re-arrest of the three young MDC women, now charged with lying about being abducted and tortured by government agents – condemned by UN human rights experts who demanded to be allowed to visit Zimbabwe to assess the situation.
In the middle of all this came a bizarre news conference called by the National Security Council at which the heads of the army, police and prisons, along with the commanders of the air force and the intelligence agency, denied rumours of planning a coup against Mnangagwa.
Experience suggests that such a denial by the top brass is a sure indication that something really is up – not surprising as the country is fast running out of money and may soon have difficulty paying police and troops.
Finance Minister Ncube and Reserve Bank Governor Mangudya were summoned to a politburo meeting to account for the financial chaos. Ncube, whose policies have run into strong criticism, is said to have protested that he is not a magician (see: https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2020/06/12/im-no-magician-ncube-to-zanu-pf/).
Meanwhile, Biti, himself a former finance minister, has written to the World Bank welcoming assistance to Zimbabwe but warning that money must not go through the government and ‘further enrich or entrench the very people who have destroyed our economy and democracy’. (See: https://bulawayo24.com/opinion/letters/186896).
Earlier, in an account of his arrest, he said he and his companions were accused of criminal nuisance and violating lockdown regulations by singing a song on Nelson Mandela Avenue. They were held overnight in a squalid cell without blankets or a mat to sleep on before being released on bail.
‘We were relieved because, despite our terrible experience, we were the lucky ones. Many have died. Many have been tortured. And many are fearful they will become victims of this dysfunctional, anti-democratic state.’ (See: https://africanarguments.org/2020/06/09/tendai-biti-the-story-of-my-arrest-in-mnangagwa-tinpot-zimbabwe/).
Against this background, when Mnangagwa took to the airways to announce an easing of the lockdown, the Vigil was not convinced when he said it would allow the government to continue its ‘reform’ agenda and promote freedom of assembly and freedom to vote in free and fair elections (see: https://www.herald.co.zw/president-calls-zimbabwe-to-action/).
Confidence in the government has been further eroded after it was forced to cancel multi-million dollar deals linked to one of Mnangagwa’s sons following the exposure of overpricing of Covid-19 medical equipment and drugs. Zimlive says Mnangagwa’s three sons with his current wife Auxillia live an opulent lifestyle: ‘Their driveways are so full with luxury cars, one source said, their mother often drives away in frustration when failing to park inside.
By A Correspondent- The High Court will on Monday 15 June 2020 and on Tuesday 16 June preside over the hearing and determination of two urgent chamber applications filed by two advocacy groups seeking to stop Parliament from conducting public hearings across the country to discuss some proposed amendments to the Constitution at a time of the outbreak of
the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
In Bulawayo, High Court Judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo will on Monday 15
June 2020 at 10:AM hear an urgent chamber application filed by
Habakkuk Trust seeking an interdict barring Parliament, Clerk of
Parliament Kennedy Chokuda and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Hon. Ziyambi Ziyambi from holding public meetings in
Bulawayo or anywhere in Zimbabwe scheduled to begin on Monday 15 June
2020 and ending on Friday 19 June 2020 to discuss amendments to the
Constitution until the health pandemic and resultant national lockdown
caused by coronavirus currently afflicting Zimbabwe is over.
In an urgent chamber application filed on Thursday 11 June 2020 by Job
Sibanda of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Habakkuk Trust
represented by its Chief Executive Officer Dumisani Nkomo, argued that
Zimbabwe is currently facing a health pandemic which had necessitated
the imposition of a national lockdown, where public gatherings were
virtually banned to try and curb the spread of coronavirus.
Habakkuk Trust argued that by conducting public hearings to discuss
some proposed amendments to the Constitution, Parliament, Chokuda and
Ziyambi were putting the health of the public at risk at a time of the
coronavirus pandemic.
The conduct of Parliament, Chokuda and Ziyambi, Habakkuk Trust said,
is grossly unreasonable and holding public hearings at a time of the
outbreak of coronavirus would defeat the very noble purpose of
inviting the input of the public to any proposed constitutional
amendments.
Habakkuk Trust said while the process of soliciting for input into the
proposed constitutional amendments cannot be stopped, it must await
normalisation of the situation in the country and no prejudice will be
suffered by the respondents namely Parliament, Chokuda and Ziyambi.
The process of soliciting for people’s input into the proposed constitutional amendments, Habakkuk Trust said, should be stopped and only proceeded with after the country shifts to Level 1 stage of the national lockdown, which is the period which prevailed before the outbreak of coronavirus and before a State of Disaster was declared by government in March.
Alternatively, Habakkuk argued that if Parliament, Chokuda and Ziyambi
intend to proceed with the public hearings in the midst of the current
health pandemic, they must ensure that all precautions are taken to
prevent and contain the disease at such public gatherings.
In Harare, High Court Judge Justice David Mangota will on Tuesday 16
June 2020 at 8:30 AM hear and a make a determination on an urgent
chamber application filed by Chitungwiza and Manyame Residents
Association (CAMERA) and Alice Kuvheya, a resident of Chitungwiza
seeking an order to stop Parliament, Speaker of Parliament Jacob
Mudenda, Senate President Mabel Chinomona and Attorney-General
Advocate Prince Machaya from conducting public hearings on some
proposed amendments to the Constitution.
In the application, which was filed on Wednesday 10 June 2020 by
Tonderai Bhatasara of ZLHR, CAMERA and Kuvheya argued that conducting
public hearings at a time when the country is reporting increased
numbers of people testing positive to coronavirus is a negation of the
efforts being done by those committed to arresting the spread of the
pandemic and is also an abrogation of the purpose and spirit of
provisions contained in section 141 and 328 of the Constitution.
CAMERA and Kuvheya argued that Parliament, Mudenda, Chinomona and
Advocate Machaya have not indicated any measures that they have put in
place in order not to breach the coronavirus regulations and citizens’
constitutional rights.
The residents association and Kuvheya said there is a real danger of
the accelerated spread of coronavirus if the public hearings are held
at a time of the outbreak of the pandemic.
CAMERA and Kuvheya wants the proposed public hearings to be declared
to be in contravention of section 56, 67, 141 and 328 of the
Constitution as well as Statutory Instrument 83/2020 as read with
Statutory 199/2020 as further read with Statutory 110/2020.
The proposed public hearings, CAMERA and Kuvheya said, should be
postponed until such a time when the national lockdown has been lifted
and when there is no longer a health threat of coronavirus.
-ZLHR
By A Correspondent- Edmund Kudzayi, a former editor of the state run Sunday Mail, has suggested that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s family is deeply sunk in the corruption scandal which involves Drax International.
He alleged that the reality handicapping Mnangagwa from initiating genuine prosecution of his corruption accused ministers of Health and Finance, Obadiah Moyo and Mthuli Ncube respectively was because his family was directly involved in the scandal.
Said Kudzayi on Twitter:
Mnangagwa is protecting (George) Guvamatanga, (Agnes) Mahomva, Obadiah (Moyo) and Mthuli (Ncube) because he knows if he dares arrest them, they will sing and expose the extent of his family’s involvement. The charges against Delish (Nguwaya) are deliberately incompetent because he too will sing.
His remarks come when the president’s son, Collins has been linked to Draz International, a company that siphoned millions of dollars from the government in a shady deal that saw the company selling medical equipment to the Ministry of Health at ridiculously inflated prices.
Although Nguwaya has been arrested while Mahomva and Moyo are currently being investigated, observers say the prosecution is superficial adding that the accused will walk, as the case was with other government officials previously arrested for corruption.
By A Correspondent- Four out of five members of a Bulawayo family that had tested positive for the coronavirus have recovered and they say they used home remedies such as steaming and lemon juice to fight the symptoms.
The first member of the family to contract the virus is a nurse who had come into contact with Ian Hyslop while he was admitted at Mater Dei Hospital.
Her entire family tested positive and they became cases 16, 19, 20, 21 and 22. Case 19 became the youngest person to be infected with the disease in Zimbabwe at the age of three.
The nurse said her three-year-old daughter was traumatised by the experience, particularly the swab tests. She narrated:
When she is playing alone with her dolls she takes small stalks of grass and pokes a doll’s nose and screams ‘doctor don’t do this, it’s painful’ as she cries on their behalf.
These are signs of mental trauma, considering that my baby is only three years old…
She also said her mother who is still infected has since moved from the main house and lives in a room outside and uses the bathroom outside in a bid to curb the spread of the novel virus.
-Standard
By A Correspondent- Energy Minister Advocate Fortune Chasi has said he will not fold his hands while the Zimbabwe Power Company continues to drag Intratek boss, Wicknell Chivhayo to court over the Gwanda Solar Project.
Chasi said ZPC has so far lost the case on numerous occasions thereby losing resources. He added that it would be prudent to leave Chivhayo and his company to implement the project which would assist the Gwanda community and the country at large.
He said:
Zesa has been in contempt of court for several years and losing, as Minister, I will not allow such to happen because I need to see power being generated not just to see court reports.
The two parties have agreed to sit and map the way forward.
Watch the video loading below:
The project is expected to produce 10MW within six months.
Intratek won the tender for the project in 2015 and there is nothing on the ground to show that the government paid the company an advance of US$5 million.
When Chasi was appointed the Minister of Energy last year, he vowed that he would make Chivhayo deliver or payback the money.
Meanwhile, Intratek has appointed lawyer, Wilson Manase as executive Chairperson and Presidential Advisory Council chair Edward Manikai as a board member, a move some view as a strategy to intimidate critics
Zimbabwe recorded 27 more coronavirus cases on 14 June 2020 bringing the total number of known cases to 383.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care says all the new cases are returnees from South Africa.
Harare recorded 24 of all the new cases thereby cementing its status as the hotspot for COVID-19 with a total of 149 cases.
UNITED States of America-based musician Lovemore “Majaivana” Tshuma has recounted some of his sad tales including how his music was not appreciated in the country but was embraced elsewhere.
Known for shying away from the media and preferring to lead a quiet life since he left the country almost two decades ago, Majaivana shared his views during an interview with YouTube channel Zazise Wide.
“My life has been a sad one, have been dealt blows below the belt. First of all it was the language that I sang in, it didn’t really bring me the fortune that one expects like when you look at these other people that sing in the widely known languages.
“They get a better share of the profits. It’s partly why I left music because whenever I went to collect my cheque, I saw the other cheques of people that sang in different languages, they had better cheques than mine,” Majaivana said.
He added: “You might say my music was not better than theirs and after travelling a lot in places like Sweden, England, Denmark and Canada, we had full houses and at home here it was on tribal lines.”
Asked if he saw any hope for things improving for musicians in Zimbabwe, Majaivana was pessimistic.
“For musicians, no I don’t see any hope in my country. It’s because we don’t have a strong union. Whenever we try to build something, there is always something that comes up and destroys the good things, it’s either people hate the person who is leading the union or they really don’t have somebody they would want to have in there, so I don’t see any of us making any successful union. So the plight of the musicians will always be the same.”
On the issue of Zimbabwean music being supported along tribal lines Majaivana, who is now believed to be a pastor, said: “I am a man of God now, I would like to say I leave everything in the hands of our Lord up there because this thing about tribes started years ago and for me to really say I see it getting to a better situation, well I don’t know, I leave it in God’s hands.”
While several pleas have in the past been made for music promoters or even government to facilitate Majaivana’s comeback and perform even a single show, he has, however, largely ignored the appeals.
At some point, his music followers ran an online petition “Bring back Majaivana” which received support, but it all fell on deaf ears.
Majaivana is known for airing his views about his personal life through his music in which he largely complained about lack of support for his music, his troubled life and the challenges he encountered in trying to earn a better living.
At the turn of the millennium, Majaivana called it quits in the music industry. It then took a lot of persuasion by veteran producer Tymon Mabaleka for him to produce one last album for his avid followers.
Fortunately, he accepted and the album, which was released around year 2000 titled Sono Sami, became an instant hit although it was a painful farewell to his followers.
The album carried songs that speak of his personal experiences.
On the song Xolani, he asks for forgiveness from the masses but doesn’t specify what crime he had committed. On the other song Angila Mali, Majaivana speaks of how he has for years struggled to earn a living while on Golide the singer tells his followers how they will miss him when he goes abroad.
A pitch invader shockingly circumvented stadium security and made his way onto the field of play as Barcelona resumed their La Liga title defence with a comprehensive 4-0 drubbing of Real Mallorca on Saturday.
No fans are allowed in the Spanish top flight as football returned after a three months break due to the Covid-19 pandemic but the man, spotting Leo Messi’s Argentina number 10 shirt, boldly stormed the pitch to take pictures with Barcelona stars before security caught him.
Arturo Vidal nodded the Catalan giants in front with just over a minute on the clock, rising to head home Jodi Alba’s cross to ensure the perfect start for Quique Sentien’s men.
Martin Braithwaite doubled Barcelona’s advantage minutes later, finishing off from a Messi assist, with VAR being called to determine if the goal stood following suspicion of handball in the buildup.
2-0 at half time.
Messi was the provider again for Barca’s third, chipping a pass over the top for Jodi Alba to finish.
The Argentine ace would round off the scoring in time added-on as the defending champions cruised to a comfortable win, opening up a five point gap at the summit of the table-Soccer 24
Charity Ngwenya, the mother of Warriors and Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, is continuously praying for her son and his colleagues to avoid relegation from the English Premier League.
The Claret and Blue will commence the restart of the English top flight after a three month Covid-19 enforced break when they host Sheffield United at Villa Park on Wednesday.
Dean Smith’s men are relegation-threatened; they are just 4 points above bottom-placed Norwich City is a fiercely-contested relegation battle and Nakamba’s mother is not taking any chances as far as the Premier League status of her son’s team is concerned.
“Obviously, as a family we don’t want his team to get relegated so we are expecting nothing short of a win on Wednesday,” Nakamba’s father Antony told The Sunday Mail.
“I have been speaking to the boy and I can tell he is very jovial. He is very excited with this return to action and he is eager to play again. He tells me his teammates are psyched up; they know this is a must-win game for them. He has been sounding very confident.”
“As usual, the boy’s mother has been praying a lot, she knows what’s at stake now. But the good thing is that Marve (Nakamba) is sounding confident and we can only hope for better fortunes,” he added-Soccer 24
CONTEXTUAL ASSESSMENT
Heavy military presence in Masvingo Urban
By Ephraim Mutombeni
MACRAD Trust
Last week scores of Masvingo residents were forced to return home and their exemption letters were confiscated.
The heavy military presence and strictness at roadblocks is sign of government’s panicky reaction to promised demonstrations against worsening economic situation.
It has been a week and a couple of days with no fuel in Masvingo.
Since last week vehicles were just queuing for fuel.
UPDATES
Nine MDC Alliance district chairpersons were arrested on 9 June 2020 in Masvingo and they were fined $500rtgs each for violating lockdown rules.
The opposition party members blamed the police for operating in a partisan manner.
Last week in Gutu North, MP Yeukai Simbanegavi addressed a gathering of more than hundred people in Nyazvidzi but she was not arrested.
About MACRAD
Masvingo Centre for Research Advocacy and Development (MACRAD) Trust is an independent Zimbabwean Community Based Civil Society institution committed to the development of socio-economic rights and agrarian systems that enhance equitable land rights and sustainable land uses throughout Zimbabwe.
MACRAD interacts with various organizations and communities to assist them in developing capacity for policy formulation and research. It also facilitates policy dialogue among communities, governments, academics, civil society and others on land and agrarian development, especially the land rights of marginalized social groups.
Masvingo Center for Research Advocacy and Community Development (MACRAD) is driven by a desire to contribute towards improved rural livelihoods that should lead to greater capacities for the rural poor to determine their own destinies and contribute towards national development.
MACRAD has worked with citizens in resettlements areas around Masvingo Province on civic and voter education to ensure their voices are heard.
We support victims and survivors of diverse forms of conflict, violence, displacement and disenfranchisement. MACRAD’s approach entails encouraging continuous policy debates and refinement of policy.
This is achieved through generation and provision of research based information, platforms for dialogue, creating and nurturing a policy community in Zimbabwe.
The ambition of Masvingo Center for Research Advocacy and Community Development (MACRAD) is to provide leadership in socio-economic justice and land-agrarian policy processes, to become a Centre of Excellence and remain an independent and credible center for knowledge on social and economic justice.
We support victims and survivors of diverse forms of conflict, violence, displacement and disenfranchisement.
Netsai Marova, a Zimbabwean woman, is a blood donor.
Netsai’s blood will not know what party or race it saves all it does is to save a life.
Netsai works tirelessly to source women’s sanitary wares .The product are then distributed to all women in different communities.
The sanitary wares are distributed on non partisan lines.
Netsai is currently in prison on trumped up charges
Netsai will be in in court tomorrow at 9am.
We urge the government to release Netsai so she can continue her work in the community- MDC Alliance
In a move that is likely to trigger widespread protests, government has announced that school pupils are expected to pay second term fees in full.
See article below :
No school pupil will be exempted from paying school fees for the Second Term although some pupils will only resume classes in September.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Cain Mathema said parents and guardians might not pay the full fees for their children as consultations are going on to determine when and how much they should pay.
He said:
What parents will pay and when they will pay is going to be addressed in due course.
These are details that we are going to work out with parents too, they have a right to make suggestions on what we should do, no one person or institution has an answer, we have to all come out with a solution that satisfies everybody.
At the end of the day, the system must be sustainable, we do not want solutions that will make people believe all is in order when it is not.
The education system cannot exist without money, so all of us have to contribute, the State, parents and guardians all have to contribute and our partners in education too.
Schools were closed at the end of March due to the coronavirus outbreak and the government has since announced a phased reopening of primary and secondary schools.
Under the phased approach, the first group comprising Form Six, Form Four and Grade Seven pupils will be resuming classes by the end of July.
After three weeks, those in Lower Six, Form Three and Grade 6 will return to school and the other grades and forms will resume later, depending on the COVID-19 situation, with lower classes such as Early Child Development (ECD) expected to start around September- The Sunday News
MDC Alliance demands an immediate release of three, calls for UN led independent inquiry
MDC Alliance Youth Assembly leaders Cecelia Chimbiri,Netsai Marova and Hon Joana Mamombe are in prison detained for the sole reason of persecution.
We demand their immediate release and an independent inquiry into their abduction & torture because their arrest is a planned cover up. It is meant to traumatize them further, intimidate them and silence them.
The MDC Alliance is aware that the criminal justice system is being used in a desperate attempt to complete and validate Mr. Kazembe Kazembe and Ndabaningi Mangwana’s conspiracies. Both men made statements predicting and pre determining that police investigations into the abduction report made by the three would end with the conclusion that the abduction was stage managed. Kazembe Kazembe publicly discussed evidence that is before the courts in a clear act of obstruction of the course of law and no action has been taken against him. The judiciary is compromised and cannot effectively deliver justice and fairness in this matter.
The conspiracies by the aforementioned two Emmerson Mnangagwa appointees were told on behalf of the police despite the fact that the police ought to act independent of politicians in line with the conduct outlined in section 208 of the Zimbabwe Constitution.
The three are being accused of making false statements before investigations are concluded. Their doctors and state doctors advised the police that the three were highly traumatised and not in a position to give statements but the police went ahead and interrogated the three. They should have been afforded time to recover from the trauma and PTSD before they tell their full story. Even under those circumstances, they have fully cooperated with the police to assist with investigation into their abduction. Only for police to suddenly lock them up and accuse them of faking an abduction. The conduct of the police has been unprofessional.
Furthermore, unidentified members of the police are implicated in the abduction so it is not possible for the police and other security agencies to investigate themselves. The police is compromised and has demonstrated ineptitude in investigating this matter.
The MDC Alliance lodged formal complaints with the Human Rights Commission, the National Peace & Reconciliation Commission and the Gender commission. These commissions are yet to give reports of their investigations into the abduction & torture of the trio. Investigations by independent commissions must be timely so as to aid redress of violations. This has not been the case.
Given the ineffectiveness of the police, the judiciary and chapter 12 institutions possibly owing to undue external pressure from the Mnangagwa regime, the MDC Alliance notes with regret the lack of any internal complaint mechanism against members of the security service. This stems from failure to establish an independent complains mechanism against members of the security services as provided in section 210 of the Zimbabwe Constitution; again a deliberate ploy by Mnangagwa who has allowed partisan abuse of security services.
Given the stated facts, the MDC Alliance is convinced that the current justice system is contaminated. We therefore reiterate our call for a prompt, thorough, impartial and effective investigation into this criminal act possibly led by the United Nations.
While efforts are made to get justice for the three, it must be understood that the current spate of human rights abuses are a symptom of a wider governance crisis stemming from Mr Mnangagwa’s illegitimate presidency; equal effort must be put in resolving the political crisis besetting the country.
Maureen Kademaunga
MDC Alliance Secretary for Public Service and Social Welfare
By Blessing Simpson Madzima
The nation must go into prayer and fasting for this regime to go.
We pray in Jesus name and the Almighty God for Mnangwagwa to have his sense and mental state restored so that he can have his insight back to see reality that he is not wanted to lead Zimbabwe.
He must see his failures, incompetence and lack of qualifications to run the office of the President.
May God let him understand that he is an evil man who is possessed by the worst demons of Judeo.
His works and deeds are epitomize the barbaric and evil world.
Oh Mighty God! We are praying for a People’s government that respects your values and the dignity of love and peace. Your people have suffered long.
This time it’s different, your people are not captured in Egypt. They are captured in their own land.
Pharaoh came with his army and his judges to Canaan specifically to persecute and brutalise your people. We know you are God of mercy, help your people and remove this Goliath from our land.
AMEN!
By A Correspondent | MDC Alliance President Nelson Chamisa had death threat undertones subtly worded against him by his memesis Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesman yesterday, it has emerged.
Writing on his microblogging portal, Charamba five times repeated undertones that suggest Chamisa will soon suffer a sudden health crisis, just before twice mentioning death as the end of it all.
While some said Charamba’s words were mere poetry, experts said they were clearly pointing at death and certainly the threat thereof An academic at the Baltimore School Of Law says:
threats that place individuals in great fear can (and often have been
found to) constitute acts of mental or psychological torture.”
Charamba was commenting on allegations of Chamisa leading a fractured MDC Alliance.
He said: ” Clearly both the young man and all those around him, all of them barely sharper than a mallet by way of intellect and analysis, thought silence in politics means nothing, however brooding and foreboding!
“And looking into the crystal ball?? Well, Chamisa
“…set to bleed terminally, both from internal injuries & from external blows. After this analysis has settled, & all those who think can yell and bark angrily for him are done, I will come back on the external blows that await him, mortal blows at that. Good evening maComrades!”
Commenting over the development, is the MDC Alliance Youth Assembly Secretary General, Gift Ostallos Siziba. VIDEO LOADING BELOW –
IF your face mask does not have more than one layer of fabric it may expose you to Covid-19 infection, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on home made masks.
Also, anyone who wears a single mask for more than three hours increases chances of infection.
Unlike medical masks which are produced for hospitals, handmade masks yield higher infection rates caused by droplets and airborne micro-organisms.
Studies have shown that multi layered masks offer more protection and single layer cloths masks are riskier.
Cloth masks, become magnets for the virus when they get wet, even due to vapour from breathing in and out.
WHO points out that homemade masks become less effective if they are not used in conjunction with other Covid-19 prevention measures like social distancing and hygiene.
Masks, the organisation advises, should be washed using hot water in a basin with laundry detergent and if hot water is not available, cold water with 0.05 percent chlorine should be used.
They should be soaked for 30 minutes and then be rinsed with water and laundry detergent.
Low resource countries will have to rely on the handmade cloth masks to contain Covid-19 which has so far infected 292 people in Zimbabwe and killed four.
Globally, more than 7 million have been infected and deaths top 400 000.
Local manufacturers and tailors have ventured into mask making after Government made it mandatory for everyone to wear a mask in public spaces.
A majority use just any cloth in single layers.
Police have been arresting people spotted without face masks after the law was enacted, effective May 4.
WHO says cloth masks should not replace respirators and should never be used by healthcare workers in health institutions.
“Homemade cloth masks may offer marginal protection from droplet and airborne infections from asymptomatic persons by reducing the number of respiratory droplets from them to others,” read the statement from WHO.
“Homemade cloth masks can be assembled from many different materials readily available within the community.
Yet, preliminary data shows that masks made up of two or more cloth layers are more effective at keeping particle penetration lower than single-layered masks.”
The guidelines also recommended that in providing routine care to a Covid-19 patient, health care workers should wear surgical masks.
“Make sure to keep the homemade cloth mask dry at all times. Even moisture from exhaling could potentially make the fabric more prone to transmitting infection,” said WHO.
“Homemade cloth masks may be worn up to three hours without an increase in particle penetration and they must be cleaned daily.”
WHO also emphasised the need for physical distancing of at least 1-metre and adopting sound hand hygiene practices in addition to wearing masks.
Credit:WHO
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Farai Dziva|MDC Alliance president, Advocate Nelson Chamisa has said a transitional mechanism is needed to “soft-land” the crisis in the country.
Chamisa, quoted by The Standard, described the crisis in Zimbabwe as unbearable and beyond imagination.
“We are in a disaster. There is no income, no foreign investments, no jobs, nothing and it is a tinderbox, it is an explosion, everything is going southward.
The centre can no longer hold.
More than eight million people are facing starvation and this situation does not require a business-as-usual approach,” Chamisa told the weekly publication.
He added:
“We need a transitional mechanism to soft-land the crisis.
We need nation-building and consensus to extricate ourselves out of this problem in the country.
With service delivery collapse, economic collapse, corruption flourishing, human rights abuses on the increase, victimisation of lawyers, attacks on human rights defenders, attacks on journalists, diplomats and non-governmental organisations, everyone seems to be under attack.
It’s a state that seems to be in a difficult position and they are seeing enemies everywhere.”
State security agents interrogated former Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere’s brother, on the day government claimed there were people spreading rumours of an “imminent coup”.
Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe told journalists that Kasukuwere, known as Tyson during his time in Zanu PF, who skipped the country after soldiers allegedly tried to kill him and his family during the 2017 coup, was among people peddling the coup rumours.
The former Zanu PF commissar’s brother Dickson Mafios was arrested as he left Harare Polytechnic alongside Rushinga MP Wonder Mashange, where they were on quarantine after a recent trip to South Africa.
The two, who are members of the opposition National Patriotic Front, made up largely of G40 members that were targeted during the coup against former president Robert Mugabe, were released without charges being laid against them.
Their passports were allegedly confiscated by the police “to check with immigration officers”.
Although both Mafios and Mashange refused to comment on their arrest, well-placed sources revealed the two were taken to the police’s law and order section.
The pair was later moved to Braeside Police Station after the police allegedly said they had nothing to do with their arrest.
At Braeside, they were reportedly grilled by Central Intelligence Organisation agents who wanted to know why they were in South Africa, and what they were “plotting” with Kasukuwere.
“They were grilled on Kasukuwere’s whereabouts, where he stays, his movements, his contacts in government as well as in the military,” the source disclosed.
“They were released later, but without their passports, with the CIO agents saying they wanted to check something with the immigration department.
“Throughout the interrogation, Mashange was asking the police and CIOs if he was under arrest, and was told that they only wanted to talk to them, and they were not under arrest.”
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi was not answering his mobile phone yesterday.
By A Correspondent| Musician Tambaoga of the ‘The Blair that I know is a toilet’ has apologized to his fans over his previous Zanu PF links.
Tambaoga born Last Chiyangwa rose to prominence in the early 2000 when his Zanu PF aligned jingles including Rambai Makashinga were repeated countless times on national radio and television.
On Friday night, Tambaoga had a show to remember when he performed on Nash TV online show alongside South African duo Mafikizolo.
He got rave reviews from music fans who said his previous links to the ruling party had shadowed his talent as a musician.
But in a rather show of his rebirth, Tambaoga begged music lovers to forgive him for his past.
“Hello Zimbabwe. You can watch my last night performance on Nash Tv YouTube Channel
Forgive Me for my association with a certain political party! I’m back now and i need your support,” said Tambaoga on Twitter.
By A Correspondent | Another Primary School Child has died in Luveve, Bukawayo, the local MP has announced.
The deceased who is in Grade 7, is a next door neighbour of another victim.
This brings the total number of the deceased to 5 who have died following a drinking water problem. Bulawayo City council has maintained saying it’s water is clean.
The other four are three minors, and an elderly woman who is around 85 years old …
VIDEO LOADING BELOW…
By A Correspondent- Zanu PF chief whip, Pupurai Togarepi has hit back at Julius Malema, leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) after he criticised the Zimbabwean government over reports of massive looting of funds under the guise of fighting the novel coronavirus.
Togarepi accused Malema of being a G40 puppet who should focus on his country’s problems rather than Zimbabwe’s. Togarepi said in a statement:
The whole world is groaning under the weight of Covid-19, our President H.E Emmerson Mnangagwa has made it clear that the primary goal is to save lives Malema has no moral ground to lecture to Zimbabwe on how it can handle the Covid-19 pandemic, while he raises pertinent issues around corruption and possible misuse of donations, he is, in this instance a puppet of the country’s detractors masquerading as journalists yet they are vigilante groups who are trying to use the cover of Covid-19 to remove a constitutionally elected government.
We will forgive Malema for he is a dancing puppet in a show of puppetry by former G40 functionaries, like Saviour Kasukuwere. Yes, we also know that there is a relationship between Kasukuwere and Malema but that should not make him hallucinate and prescribe views on how Zimbabwe can solve its problems.
The president has unequivocally spoken against corruption and we don’t want foreigners to offer prescriptive views on us. No nada, please Mr Malema, focus on challenges in your EEF and your country in general before you look at the spec in the eye of a brother.
By A Correspondent- Civil servants have written to the government demanding an urgent meeting over salaries, which they say have been significantly eroded by inflation.
This comes as prices of basic commodities and services have continued to rise over the past weeks.
In a letter addressed to the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC), Apex Council chairperson Cecilia Alexander demanded an urgent meeting with the government.
“The Apex Council has noted with grave concern the obtaining situation on the ground that has left civil servants in a devastating situation. We last had an NJNC meeting and agreement in January with the view that regular meetings to address changes in the economy would be made but hitherto, nothing has materialised.
“It is to this end that the council requests you to convene the meeting with urgency so as to address the challenges which are drastically bedevilling the civil servants. We also want to bring to your attention that this meeting is overdue with regards to the agreements we made in our last meeting,” Alexander said.
A number of government workers are getting less than $3 000 dollars, which is around US$46 and this money does not tally with the prices of commodities in most supermarkets.
According to April’s ZimStat figures, the total consumption poverty line was $6 420,87 for a family of five. The figure has since increased over the past few weeks.
Apex Council organising secretary Charles Chinosengwa, yesterday told the Daily News that the letter had not yet been responded to, even though there were indications last weekend that the government intended to meet with civil servants this week.
“Ministers want political mileage at the expense of the workers. The prices went up soon after the claims that the civil servants were to get a salary increment were made. Our members are now putting pressure on us to pursue the salary negotiations,” Chinosengwa said.
He said the government was not forthcoming, saying it was going to be more difficult for civil servants at the end of this month, as prices were likely going to continue increasing due to inflation.
This also comes after the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) wrote to the Public Service Commission yesterday notifying of its members’ intention of going on strike.
“Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, hereby notify you of our nationwide strike in the next 14 days if our demands of a salary pegged in United States dollars are not met,” Artuz secretary-general Robson Chere said.
He said teachers should be paid US$550, saying their current salaries are no longer viable. The government yesterday said the salary issue was being handled through the Tripartite Negotiating Forum.
“The matter is being dealt with by the Tripartite Negotiating Forum. You can speak to the permanent secretary,” Labour ministry deputy minister Lovemore Matuke said.
However, Labour ministry permanent secretary Simon Masanga’s mobile went unanswered yesterday.
The civil servants’ demand comes after prices have almost doubled in shops over the past few weeks.
A loaf of bread, which was being sold at between $31,99 and $35,99 last month, is now selling between $50,30 and $60. A crate of eggs which was ranging between $180 and $214, is now retailing between $280 and $295.
A snap survey by the Daily News also showed that a 2-litre bottle of cooking oil is now $227 against its last month price of $181, while a 2kg rice packet which was $109, is now between $140 and $170, while 10kg maize-mealie which was $234 to $262 is now between $392 and $403.
-DailyNews
By A Correspondent- Government officials in Chikomba district on Friday appealed to local businesspeople to donate food to feed returnees who are running out of basic provisions at the St Francis of Assisi High School quarantine centre.
The officials held a meeting with local businesspeople and asked for food, clothes and cash donations to improve the welfare of the 29 returnees.
Addressing about 100 local businesspeople gathered at the council hall, Chikomba district development coordinator Michael Mariga, who is the chairperson of the local Covid-19 taskforce, said there was urgent need for locals to assist in addressing the shortages at the quarantine centre since the provisions from the government through social welfare were running out.
“There are 29 returnees including two children at the St Francis of Assisi quarantine centre and 17 of them recently tested positive to Covid-19,” Mariga said.
-Standard
By A Correspondent- According to a report by a local online publication, sources in Mashonaland Central have confirmed that there were violent physical clashes between former G40 youths and War Veterans Sunday afternoon at a farm owned by former ZANU PF Political Commissar Saviour Kasukuwere.
The incident happened when a group of youths allegedly led by a former youth leader went to Kasukuwere’s farm and violently kicked off war Veterans who had invaded it.
According to the sources, police were invited to stop the youths but Minister of Home Affairs Kazembe Kazembe ordered the police not to interfere.
This is a developing story. Refresh this page for latest updates.
-Byo24
ByA Correspondent- Caps United has issued a statement regarding the chaos that rocked the club early last week.
Senior players confronted vice-president Nhamo Tutisani at the team’s head offices in Eastlea, demanding their outstanding salaries. The club said in the statement:
We would like to apologise to all our beloved stakeholders, including our fans for the mishap that rocked our camp this week.
We would like to bring to your attention that a consensus was reached after a successful dialogue between the club’s leadership and both the playing and the non-playing staff.
Several resolutions were arrived at, among them, the owed balances to be immediately cleared off in full.
The leadership has also agreed to top up the funds currently in the club’s account for the purposes of the players’ welfare.
The players have apologised for the confrontation and for the unfortunate behaviour they exhibited.
They also thanked the leadership for putting additional resources towards their welfare.
-Soccer24
Let’s pray against economic demons on National Day of Prayer
By Robin Mungate- Tomorrow (June 15, 2020 has been declared the Presidential Day of Prayer in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic whose infections have spiked.
After Zimbabwe recorded its first case on March 20, 2020, the infections have now risen to 343, as of June 12, 2020, with predictions painting a grim picture in the coming days or months.
In its latest forecast, the World Bank said Zimbabwe’s economy may contract by 10% from the initial growth projection of 2,7%.
To all intents and purposes, this is an understatement. In his letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April this year, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, was candid.
Professor Ncube told the IMF that the country could be headed for a health and economic catastrophe because of Covid-19, pleading for bailout packages to jumpstart the economy.
According to Zimbabwe’s Treasury chief, the economy could cumulatively contract by between 15% and 20%, and warned that “this is a massive contraction with very serious social consequences”.
As the nation cries out for divine intervention to fight the pandemic, Zimbabweans must not lose sight of their self-inflicted miseries that probably dwarf the negative impact that Covid-19 has had on the economy.
When Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor, Dr John Mangudya, likened the on-going economic woes to a “demon” that needs to “exorcised”, cynics fell off their chairs with laughter, brushing-off the former CBZ Holdings chief executive as hallucinating.
I hope the Governor, whose speeches are now punctuated by bible verses and parables, will not apologise for speaking truth. In actual fact, Zimbabwe’s has been held hostage by “demons”, defined in Merriam Webster as “a source or agent of evil, harm, distress, or ruin”.
Zimbabwe’s economy is under vicious attack from many fronts.
Perhaps its biggest undoing is the endless political bickering which has poisoned the operating environment. Next in line is the culture of corruption that now permeates all facets of our society.
Of late, a new type of cancer is devouring the country’s currency which has been on the back-foot ever since the exchange rate was liberalised in February 2019.
The reckless and selfish behaviour of currency speculators, big and small, is actuating the collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar whose effects are being felt through skyrocketing prices in retail outlets and the disintegration of aggregate demand, which has weakened the cash-flows and balance sheets of many companies.
Such short-termism has nothing to do with Covid-19. And yet it creates high levels of poverty and instability that strokes the egos of demons that the Central Bank Governor was referring to.
Whenever rampant malpractices start to threaten those in power, their natural reaction is to defend their turf.
In the face of the crisis, President Emmerson Mnangagwa fired warning shots on June 10, 2020, by declaring a war against “political detractors, elite opportunists and malcontents” who are pushing a nefarious agenda or regime change.
Hours later, the security chiefs issued an ominous warning following an upsurge in rumours suggesting an imminent military coup d’état in the country due to the groundswell of public disenchantment over the economic crisis.
While such extreme reactions are unwarranted and uncalled for, the culprits must not cry foul when the long arm of the law finally catches up with them.
Instead of getting sucked in needless rent-seeking behaviour and creating money from thin air, at this juncture Zimbabwe requires patriotic citizens who turn their swords into ploughshares.
Crucially, our farmers must work the land while those in business must turning ghost factories in Workington, Southerton, Graniteside, Msasa, Belmont, and elsewhere into industrial hubs that produce for the domestic market and for export.
The curious case of Drax International which sought to make a killing from the Covid-19 pandemic is just one of the cases, most of which go unreported, that highlight that conscience is on empty in many of our people.
The fact that the country ranks high up the Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International shows that those in our penitentiaries could be a small fraction of the offending citizens who deserve incarceration in Zimbabwe’s prisons for breaking the law, wittingly or unwittingly.
Just recently, the RBZ came hard on mobile payment platforms that have been turned into havens for illicit deals. Dr Mangudya has described the rampant abuse of the payment system as now more like the biblical “Sodom and Gomorrah”, which had to be destroyed because of the waywardness of its citizens.
While it is correct to posit that Zimbabwe is weighed down by a host of economic challenges that are contributing to the current crisis, among them the unrestrained government spending which is outside the National Budget, if would be tragic if not fatal to ignore the perilous behavioural patterns whose negative impact has overtaken them all.
What that means is that the nation must join President Mnangagwa and members of the clergy in praying not just for divine protection against the menacing Covid-19, but for our own redemption.
In other words, we must pray for the spirit of discernment to overcome currency manipulators and the corrupt amongst us, whose selfishness is impoverishing the majority of our citizen while destroying the future for our children.
By the same token, those in the police force, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Judiciary must be God-fearing and be of good courage when confronting crime, especially in high offices.
To restore public confidence in the arms of the State, the conduct of our public officials must be beyond reproach, even when pressure is brought to bear on them by those who abuse their power.
Soon, a treatment for Covid-19 will be found, but it will not exorcise the demons that are running riot in our society and economy.
If only our people could embrace the old wisdom that says ‘there is no substitute for hard work”. Such wisdom will help cast away the demons that are destroying our country’s economy while rendering our people destitute.
Robin Mungate is a development expert with interest in Corporate Social Responsibility practices in the southern African region. He writes here in his personal capacity. He can be contacted at [email protected]
By A Correspondent- Former ZANU PF member, Dickson Mafios who is now a member of the National Patriotic Front has been released from police custody without a charge.
Mafios was arrested soon after his release from Harare Polytechnic quarantine centre where they were detained upon return from South Africa.
He was arrested together with former MP for Rushinga Wonder Mashange, also a member of the NPF and taken to Braeside Police Station for questioning over an undisclosed charge.
Their release was confirmed by NPF spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire who had earlier expressed outrage over the arrest. Speaking on Saturday, he said:
They were released without charge
The arrest coincides with threats by the government to Mafios’ brother Saviour Kasukuwere an exiled former Cabinet Minister who was allegedly one of the kingpins of the G40 faction.
The majority of G40 members were ousted from the government when President Emmerson Mnangagwa took power from his mentor and longtime boss Robert Mugabe in 2017.
The arrest comes when there are reports suggesting that G40 remnants in ZANU PF are organising a coup to prepare for Kasukuwere to come back and take over ZANU PF leadership while other reports suggest Vice President Chiwenga and army chiefs are mulling dislodging Mnangagwa.
The government dismissed the reports as bar talk.
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By Robin Mungate- Tomorrow, June 15, 2020 has been declared the Presidential Day of Prayer in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic whose infections have spiked.
After Zimbabwe recorded its first case on March 20, 2020, the infections have now risen to 343, as of June 12, 2020, with predictions painting a grim picture in the coming days or months.
In its latest forecast, the World Bank said Zimbabwe’s economy may contract by 10% from the initial growth projection of 2,7%.
To all intents and purposes, this is an understatement. In his letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April this year, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, was candid.
Professor Ncube told the IMF that the country could be headed for a health and economic catastrophe because of Covid-19, pleading for bailout packages to jumpstart the economy.
According to Zimbabwe’s Treasury chief, the economy could cumulatively contract by between 15% and 20%, and warned that “this is a massive contraction with very serious social consequences”.
As the nation cries out for divine intervention to fight the pandemic, Zimbabweans must not lose sight of their self-inflicted miseries that probably dwarf the negative impact that Covid-19 has had on the economy.
When Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor, Dr John Mangudya, likened the on-going economic woes to a “demon” that needs to “exorcised”, cynics fell off their chairs with laughter, brushing-off the former CBZ Holdings chief executive as hallucinating.
I hope the Governor, whose speeches are now punctuated by bible verses and parables, will not apologise for speaking truth. In actual fact, Zimbabwe’s has been held hostage by “demons”, defined in Merriam Webster as “a source or agent of evil, harm, distress, or ruin”.
Zimbabwe’s economy is under vicious attack from many fronts.
Perhaps its biggest undoing is the endless political bickering which has poisoned the operating environment. Next in line is the culture of corruption that now permeates all facets of our society.
Of late, a new type of cancer is devouring the country’s currency which has been on the back-foot ever since the exchange rate was liberalised in February 2019.
The reckless and selfish behaviour of currency speculators, big and small, is actuating the collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar whose effects are being felt through skyrocketing prices in retail outlets and the disintegration of aggregate demand, which has weakened the cash-flows and balance sheets of many companies.
Such short-termism has nothing to do with Covid-19. And yet it creates high levels of poverty and instability that strokes the egos of demons that the Central Bank Governor was referring to.
Whenever rampant malpractices start to threaten those in power, their natural reaction is to defend their turf.
In the face of the crisis, President Emmerson Mnangagwa fired warning shots on June 10, 2020, by declaring a war against “political detractors, elite opportunists and malcontents” who are pushing a nefarious agenda or regime change.
Hours later, the security chiefs issued an ominous warning following an upsurge in rumours suggesting an imminent military coup d’état in the country due to the groundswell of public disenchantment over the economic crisis.
While such extreme reactions are unwarranted and uncalled for, the culprits must not cry foul when the long arm of the law finally catches up with them.
Instead of getting sucked in needless rent-seeking behaviour and creating money from thin air, at this juncture Zimbabwe requires patriotic citizens who turn their swords into ploughshares.
Crucially, our farmers must work the land while those in business must turning ghost factories in Workington, Southerton, Graniteside, Msasa, Belmont, and elsewhere into industrial hubs that produce for the domestic market and for export.
The curious case of Drax International which sought to make a killing from the Covid-19 pandemic is just one of the cases, most of which go unreported, that highlight that conscience is on empty in many of our people.
The fact that the country ranks high up the Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International shows that those in our penitentiaries could be a small fraction of the offending citizens who deserve incarceration in Zimbabwe’s prisons for breaking the law, wittingly or unwittingly.
Just recently, the RBZ came hard on mobile payment platforms that have been turned into havens for illicit deals. Dr Mangudya has described the rampant abuse of the payment system as now more like the biblical “Sodom and Gomorrah”, which had to be destroyed because of the waywardness of its citizens.
While it is correct to posit that Zimbabwe is weighed down by a host of economic challenges that are contributing to the current crisis, among them the unrestrained government spending which is outside the National Budget, if would be tragic if not fatal to ignore the perilous behavioural patterns whose negative impact has overtaken them all.
What that means is that the nation must join President Mnangagwa and members of the clergy in praying not just for divine protection against the menacing Covid-19, but for our own redemption.
In other words, we must pray for the spirit of discernment to overcome currency manipulators and the corrupt amongst us, whose selfishness is impoverishing the majority of our citizen while destroying the future for our children.
By the same token, those in the police force, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Judiciary must be God-fearing and be of good courage when confronting crime, especially in high offices.
To restore public confidence in the arms of the State, the conduct of our public officials must be beyond reproach, even when pressure is brought to bear on them by those who abuse their power.
Soon, a treatment for Covid-19 will be found, but it will not exorcise the demons that are running riot in our society and economy.
If only our people could embrace the old wisdom that says ‘there is no substitute for hard work”. Such wisdom will help cast away the demons that are destroying our country’s economy while rendering our people destitute.
Robin Mungate is a development expert with interest in Corporate Social Responsibility practices in the southern African region. He writes here in his personal capacity. He can be contacted at [email protected]
By Prince Gora
Ever wondered what role can, and should churches play in the political process?
What – if anything – should pastors say about politics from the pulpit?
What about voting? Should the clergy try to influence the results of an election or encourage people to go out and vote? What about a more direct involvement in politics, should churches ever call for the removal of a leader? Can they demonstrate and take action when faced with incompetent leaders and systematic injustices? Should they remain silent and docile?
We have people like the famed Pastor Evan Mawarire and more recently Pastor Shingi Munyeza who have been vocal and active in political matters.
We also have Apostle Talent Chiwenga, whose relentless activism at the pulpit has now landed him in trouble. The Catholic church is no newcomer to Zimbabwean politics and the Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice (CCJP) has never hesitated to call the government to order whenever it has strayed.
But we also have many church leaders who urge their followers to only pray and disengage from political activities arguing that leaders come from God.
This group of church leaders argue that the church shoud simply be the church with its priority being only to pray for the government the day.
Is support for candidates or discussion of issues from the pulpit activism?
Is encouraging everyone to get out and vote activism? I ask these questions because the Christian community is largely divided on these issues.
Some church leaders routinely discourage their followers to stay away from anything to do with politics, yet some of these leaders are themselves often seen in the company of political leaders.
Talking about issues is even more polarising.
It is hard to ignore the poverty around us at the moment nor the corruption and the systematic injustices that the Zimbabwean citizenry is facing right now, yet the moment starts talking about these issues they are quickly labelled as regime change agents. But aren’t they talking about real issues?
Another role of the churches is in providing a place for dialogue between political leaders and individuals.
Those of us who keenly follow Zimbabwean politics will remember that not long ago church leaders tried to kickstart a dialogue between Nelson Chamisa and Emerson Mnangagwa.
The church, I believe should be a place where unity can be achieved but is that going to happen? When our church leaders either shun away from politics or choose to pretend to be blind to the challenges affecting the country?
When they can’t speak openly about issues and discourage followers from speaking openly about politics?
Should the church pray so the economy gets better or so that our lives are happier or easier as we are about to witness on June 15, 2020?
I don’t think churches should be in the political-influencing business whatsoever.
This is the question with which I struggle most, and I increasingly tend to think that churches and Christians should avoid political processes.”If we disagree with something, we need to vote to make our voices heard.
One of the problems Christians have is not getting involved in the political process, even if it is on a small level, and then crying ‘sour grapes’ when a new law is passed that takes God out of our communities even further.
Christians should play a role in the political process. If God does have authority over the ones who are elected, then his will needs to be known as a part of the process.
Should the church not advocate for the oppressed? Should it not call out injustices that are perpetuated within our political systems?
I think it is the church’s duty to keep watch, listen, and respond where there is injustice.
I believe that an important role that the church should play in politics is to provide a foundation for people in communities.
When people feel helpless in the face of a turbulent political climate and in the presence of systemic injustice, the church should be the place where they reclaim hope.
My hope is to spark respectful conversation about political issues that are important to us.
Personally I believe that churches command a lot of following, like the catholic church has found over the centuries, they will soon find out that they have a role to play in politics.
As such, they need to give credit when credit is due and criticism when criticism is due, being silent will only harm the very people they purport to serve.
As long as they are silent, systemic injustices will be perpetuated because as they say, silent means contentment.
Josey Mahachi, who contested the 2018 elections on a Zanu Pf ticket, has made a u-turn blasting her former party over failure to run the country.
She aspired to become the Hatfield legislator but was defeated by MDC Alliance’s Tapiwa Mashakada.
The u-turn, which drew criticism from her former party Zanu PF torched a social media storm after twimbos retweeted and magnified the harshtag #ZanuPFMustGo.
We publish below reactions to Zanu PF Patriots tweets:
By A Correspondent- Nelson Chamisa’s failure to heed calls to join the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) has hampered much-needed national dialogue to help resolve Zimbabwe’s myriad challenges, presidential spokesperson George Charamba has said.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Daily News on Sunday this week, Charamba also insisted that President Emmerson Mnangagwa would not hold private talks with Chamisa outside Polad – as “this would amount to privileging him” above other opposition players.
This comes as the country’s political and economic crises are deepening, amid growing local and international calls for inclusive national dialogue to lift Zimbabwe out of its quagmire.
“The essence of dialogue is not about re-visiting the 2018 election results, it is to move forward in a co-operative environment – seeking to solve the country’s economic challenges.
“So, really, you cannot revoke the 2018 results because if we were to use that logic, then the president has no reason to invite him.
“If the Constitution says with 50 percent plus one vote you govern and the opposition opposes, this means that the measure of the interaction with them (the opposition) is extra-constitutional and its basis cannot be founded on the results of the elections,” Charamba told the Daily News on Sunday.
“It just doesn’t make sense. What we are refusing is this big-headedness on the part of Chamisa, to say I’m the second biggest brother after the president, and to also bring to the table his squabbles with his peers in the MDC,” he added.
This comes after Zanu-PF stalwart and politburo member, Tshinga Dube, recently re-ignited the inclusive dialogue issue, telling the Daily News on Sunday last month that a government of national unity (GNU) was the panacea to the country’s political and economic crises.
In the same vein, South Africa’s International Relations minister, Naledi Pandor, revealed last week that her country was making all efforts to persuade the country’s political protagonists to find each other – adding that Zimbabwe’s solution to its crises required its leaders to engage each other.
But Charamba insisted that in the case of Chamisa, his biggest stumbling block that was hindering him from participating in Polad was that he did not want to share the stage with the MDC’s interim leader, Thokozani Khupe.
Khupe is part of Polad, a platform for political parties which fielded presidential candidates in the 2018 harmonised elections to contribute to social, economic and political progress in the country. It was launched in May last year.
Chamisa has refused outright to be part of the platform, arguing that it is there to further Mnangagwa’s political interests – whose leadership of the country he also disputes.
“The biggest stumbling block in Chamisa’s participation in Polad is not Polad. It is the fact of sharing the seat with Thokozani Khupe. That’s what he can’t countenance.
“He doesn’t want Khupe to appear (on the same stage) at all. He has no difficulty working with the likes of Welshman Ncube who got far less votes compared to him or Tendai Biti.
“But he has a problem with sitting in the context of Polad with Khupe, whom he acknowledges got the most votes after him. What is the logic here?” Charamba further told the Daily News on Sunday.
He added that Chamisa was hoping that his interaction with Mnangagwa would be an “extra string in his bow, so that he shoots better at competition within his own party”.
“That can’t be our basis for dialogue. We have no reason absolutely to oblige him on such a motive. That’s not our purpose.
“We want to unite Zimbabweans across the political divide and tackle welfare issues, not so that we help a besieged politician to settle squabbles in his political party.
“Zanu-PF doesn’t bring its personal issues to Polad,” Charamba said.
He also dismissed claims that Mnangagwa and Zanu-PF were behind the ugly factionalism bedevilling the MDC – which has spilled into the courts.
“First of all, people must not pretend like they don’t know the rules of litigation. Zanu-PF is not a litigant (in the MDC’s wars).
“So, how then does it become party to a legal dispute that it has no stake in? The whole idea is that pitting Chamisa against Khupe doesn’t resonate with the donor community.
“You need to have ED as an opponent for you to become a sympathy figure and for you to be worth investing in because the world out there will not be appeased by anything short of ousting Zanu-PF,” Charamba further told the Daily News on Sunday.
“So, if you oust Khupe it has no political value to the donors. You have to be seen fighting Zanu-PF which is the arch-enemy of the Western countries.
“So, what better way to gain that sympathy than to drag in a non-party to a legal process who happens to be the enemy of your donors.
“They took each other to court on their own,” Charamba added.
He also said MDC leaders had brought misfortunes upon themselves when they decided to take their battles to the courts, instead of resolving their differences internally.
Therefore, Charamba added, they could not blame Zanu-PF which had managed to deal with its own internal challenges on its own.
“They (Chamisa and his allies) appealed and brought misfortunes to themselves. When they lose they blame others for their loss.
“The fact that judges dealing with their cases are arriving at different positions is a vindication of the autonomy of the judiciary system, because a judge is allowed to treat a case individually and interpret the law.
“So, really, the long and short of it is that there is never going to be a separate platform to accommodate Chamisa,” Charamba said.
“If he feels nationalistic enough to want to participate in national processes, the Polad door stands ajar for him to walk in.
“Thankfully, he is so slim and the door is so wide that he doesn’t have to squeeze in. He can walk in freely.
“Also, as he walks in by the door step, could he leave his party’s problems so that he comes on to the table with a mind which predisposes him to focus on solving national issues,” Charamba further told the Daily News on Sunday.
-DailyNews
Five Mbire men were slapped with $500 fine each for poaching a kudu by Guruve resident magistrate Shingirai Mutiro yesterday.
Thomas Tofa(25), Fannuel Gwekwerere(34),Trymore Ngarumwe (44), Freedom Chikomwe (21) and Simbarashe Mudzingaidzwa (19) pleaded not guilty before the magistrate.
They told the magistrate that they committed the crime due to hunger.
“We killed the Kudu in search of relish we are hungry your worship please spare us a jail term,” they pleaded.
Prosecutor Albert Mazhindu alleged that on the 9th of June the game scults from Dande Anti poaching unit Rajabu Kazembe and Prince Mhosira were informed that the accused persons removed kudu meat at Kateshiko village.
The residents claimed that the water is the source of ill health for most of the community members adding that engaging the local authorities has not helped.
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By A Correspondent- Zanu PF chief whip, Pupurai Togarepi has hit back at Julius Malema, leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) after he criticised the Zimbabwean government over reports of massive looting of funds under the guise of fighting the novel coronavirus.
Togarepi accused Malema of being a G40 puppet who should focus on his country’s problems rather than Zimbabwe’s. Togarepi said in a statement:
The whole world is groaning under the weight of Covid-19, our President H.E Emmerson Mnangagwa has made it clear that the primary goal is to save lives Malema has no moral ground to lecture to Zimbabwe on how it can handle the Covid-19 pandemic, while he raises pertinent issues around corruption and possible misuse of donations, he is, in this instance a puppet of the country’s detractors masquerading as journalists yet they are vigilante groups who are trying to use the cover of Covid-19 to remove a constitutionally elected government.
We will forgive Malema for he is a dancing puppet in a show of puppetry by former G40 functionaries, like Saviour Kasukuwere. Yes, we also know that there is a relationship between Kasukuwere and Malema but that should not make him hallucinate and prescribe views on how Zimbabwe can solve its problems.
The president has unequivocally spoken against corruption and we don’t want foreigners to offer prescriptive views on us. No nada, please Mr Malema, focus on challenges in your EEF and your country in general before you look at the spec in the eye of a brother.
-ZimMorningPost
By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Peace Project has recorded 110 cases of harassment and intimidation in the country most of which were perpetrated by state security agents.
The organisation revealed recording 13 cases of unlawful detention, 40 cases of assault and two extra judicial killings.
Said the organisation in its monthly report:
“One of the major cases is that of an illegal miner who was shot in the head by a security guard in Shamva on 15 May 2020. During the month of May, Harare recorded 100 cases of violations, the highest in the country, followed by Mashonaland East with41 cases.
Attention was drawn to the efforts oftwo Bulawayo sisters, Nokuthula and Ntombizodwa Mpofu to get justice after being arbitrarily arrested and assaulted by police. Police released the women following the intervention of civil society organisations and the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission.”
ZPP said the six offending officers were subsequently arrested and have appeared in court.
“A Bulawayo resident, Levison Ncube died as a result of injuries sustained after he was brutally assaulted by police officers for violating lockdown regulations on the first day of the lockdown. Ncube’s family, with the assistance of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, has indicated that they intend to sue the state for the death of Levison.
The family of Munakopa mentioned earlier has written to the police requesting an independent inquiry into the shooting that led to Paul’s death. It must be noted that pressure from victims, citizens and civil society organizations is essential in the promotion and protection of human rights as well as the seeking of justice.”
ZPP said the report focuses on how the State continues to perpetrate human rights violations during the COVID-19 crisis.
“The COVID-19 induced national lockdown has exacerbated the pre-existing food insecurity. Although the Zimbabwean economy is highly informal, the sector has been excluded from essential services thereby increasing the vulnerability of citizens.
The distribution of aid continued to be largely partisan and discriminatory, with Mashonaland East recording the highest food and other aid violations at 42.57 percent followed by Manicaland at 28.86 percent.”
“This report highlights some of the cases of discrimination on food aid and provides an insight into the government aid that was either grossly insufficient or did not reach the deserving beneficiaries.
It also looks at the discrepancies in government responses to COVID-19 and how these are impact on human rights in Zimbabwe.”
By Robin Mungate- Tomorrow, June 15, 2020 has been declared the Presidential Day of Prayer in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic whose infections have spiked.
After Zimbabwe recorded its first case on March 20, 2020, the infections have now risen to 343, as of June 12, 2020, with predictions painting a grim picture in the coming days or months.
In its latest forecast, the World Bank said Zimbabwe’s economy may contract by 10% from the initial growth projection of 2,7%.
To all intents and purposes, this is an understatement. In his letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April this year, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, was candid.
Professor Ncube told the IMF that the country could be headed for a health and economic catastrophe because of Covid-19, pleading for bailout packages to jumpstart the economy.
According to Zimbabwe’s Treasury chief, the economy could cumulatively contract by between 15% and 20%, and warned that “this is a massive contraction with very serious social consequences”.
As the nation cries out for divine intervention to fight the pandemic, Zimbabweans must not lose sight of their self-inflicted miseries that probably dwarf the negative impact that Covid-19 has had on the economy.
When Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor, Dr John Mangudya, likened the on-going economic woes to a “demon” that needs to “exorcised”, cynics fell off their chairs with laughter, brushing-off the former CBZ Holdings chief executive as hallucinating.
I hope the Governor, whose speeches are now punctuated by bible verses and parables, will not apologise for speaking truth. In actual fact, Zimbabwe’s has been held hostage by “demons”, defined in Merriam Webster as “a source or agent of evil, harm, distress, or ruin”.
Zimbabwe’s economy is under vicious attack from many fronts.
Perhaps its biggest undoing is the endless political bickering which has poisoned the operating environment. Next in line is the culture of corruption that now permeates all facets of our society.
Of late, a new type of cancer is devouring the country’s currency which has been on the back-foot ever since the exchange rate was liberalised in February 2019.
The reckless and selfish behaviour of currency speculators, big and small, is actuating the collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar whose effects are being felt through skyrocketing prices in retail outlets and the disintegration of aggregate demand, which has weakened the cash-flows and balance sheets of many companies.
Such short-termism has nothing to do with Covid-19. And yet it creates high levels of poverty and instability that strokes the egos of demons that the Central Bank Governor was referring to.
Whenever rampant malpractices start to threaten those in power, their natural reaction is to defend their turf.
In the face of the crisis, President Emmerson Mnangagwa fired warning shots on June 10, 2020, by declaring a war against “political detractors, elite opportunists and malcontents” who are pushing a nefarious agenda or regime change.
Hours later, the security chiefs issued an ominous warning following an upsurge in rumours suggesting an imminent military coup d’état in the country due to the groundswell of public disenchantment over the economic crisis.
While such extreme reactions are unwarranted and uncalled for, the culprits must not cry foul when the long arm of the law finally catches up with them.
Instead of getting sucked in needless rent-seeking behaviour and creating money from thin air, at this juncture Zimbabwe requires patriotic citizens who turn their swords into ploughshares.
Crucially, our farmers must work the land while those in business must turning ghost factories in Workington, Southerton, Graniteside, Msasa, Belmont, and elsewhere into industrial hubs that produce for the domestic market and for export.
The curious case of Drax International which sought to make a killing from the Covid-19 pandemic is just one of the cases, most of which go unreported, that highlight that conscience is on empty in many of our people.
The fact that the country ranks high up the Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International shows that those in our penitentiaries could be a small fraction of the offending citizens who deserve incarceration in Zimbabwe’s prisons for breaking the law, wittingly or unwittingly.
Just recently, the RBZ came hard on mobile payment platforms that have been turned into havens for illicit deals. Dr Mangudya has described the rampant abuse of the payment system as now more like the biblical “Sodom and Gomorrah”, which had to be destroyed because of the waywardness of its citizens.
While it is correct to posit that Zimbabwe is weighed down by a host of economic challenges that are contributing to the current crisis, among them the unrestrained government spending which is outside the National Budget, if would be tragic if not fatal to ignore the perilous behavioural patterns whose negative impact has overtaken them all.
What that means is that the nation must join President Mnangagwa and members of the clergy in praying not just for divine protection against the menacing Covid-19, but for our own redemption.
In other words, we must pray for the spirit of discernment to overcome currency manipulators and the corrupt amongst us, whose selfishness is impoverishing the majority of our citizen while destroying the future for our children.
By the same token, those in the police force, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Judiciary must be God-fearing and be of good courage when confronting crime, especially in high offices.
To restore public confidence in the arms of the State, the conduct of our public officials must be beyond reproach, even when pressure is brought to bear on them by those who abuse their power.
Soon, a treatment for Covid-19 will be found, but it will not exorcise the demons that are running riot in our society and economy.
If only our people could embrace the old wisdom that says ‘there is no substitute for hard work”. Such wisdom will help cast away the demons that are destroying our country’s economy while rendering our people destitute.
Robin Mungate is a development expert with interest in Corporate Social Responsibility practices in the southern African region. He writes here in his personal capacity. He can be contacted at [email protected]
By A Correspondent- A Beitbridge couple has been arrested for sharing on WhatsApp a photoshopped picture of Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa wearing Zanu-PF regalia around his neck with a male organ adorned with a mask at its end.
Sarudzayi Ambiri Jani, 38, and Remember Simbarashe Ncube, 34, were arrested and charged on Friday with undermining the authority of or insulting the president in contravention of the Criminal Law Act.
Police details who arrested the couple alleged that they made an abusive, indecent or obscene statement about Mnangagwa that may engender feelings of hostility towards him, with the knowledge that the statement is false.
Chief Inspector Kenneth Mushongahande, who is a member of the residents WhatsApp group, reported the couple to law enforcement agents, who arrested and detained them overnight at Beitbridge Urban Police Station.
The couple also faces a charge of contravening the Censorship and Entertainments Act, which criminalises the production and publishing of certain material and if convicted, they face up to a year in prison.
By Jane Mlambo| United Kingdom based constitutional law expert, Dr Alex Magaisa has dismissed the arrest of controversial businessman Delish Nguwaya as a facade which is likely to leave government with an egg on the face.
In a Twitter thread, Magaisa said police documents on the Nguwaya criminal case suggests that if sued, government will be found in breach of contract.
Below is the full thread….
I’ve read the police documents in the Nguwaya criminal investigation concerning #DraxGate #CovidGate It’s a classic example of a case that is deliberately designed to fail. The defence lawyers will have a field day. The scandal is they are presenting this facade as action.
If anything, facts suggest that if sued by Drax, the government, through NatPharm, will be held liable for breach of contract. The government freely entered into 2 contracts with Drax. The real scandal is how & why Drax got the contracts if the government did due diligence
It is senior government officials, especially the Minister of Health, who have serious questions to answer because they hold public office & are custodians of public funds. How did they allow US$60 million public contracts to be awarded to a company represented by a criminal?
The charges are spurious. Easy to tell. Lawyers will simply argue that the facts do not disclose an offence. That the case is weak case is deliberate. The regime wants to give a false impression that it’s fighting corruption when in fact it’s actually protecting the corrupt.
In short the case against Nguwaya as presented by the State is much ado about nothing. The state will be sued for breach of contract & it will probably lose. The chief targets of investigation & prosecution are the public officers and their political principals who allowed it.
By A Correspondent| Government will not stop revamping and modernising the public transport systems using private entities like Landela Investments which has been instrumental in the acquisition of new buses.
It has emerged that contrary to the criticism being pushed by those opposed to President Mnangagwa’s administration, Government had actually saved about USD 6 million by acquiring 162 buses through Landela Investments.
Landela is using its own resources to bring in the buses into the country and get paid in local currency as it makes its contribution to the national economy.
Landela Investments has been linked to businessman mogul Kudakwashe Tagwirei but a search at the registrar of companies has revealed that he is neither a shareholder nor a director in the company.
Locally prices for the Marcopolo, VW and Golden Dragon buses being bought by Landela costs between between USD 223 000 and USD 357 000 per bus.
Landela is selling those buses to Government at around USD 215 000 and getting paid in local currency using the offial exchange rate of 1:25.
Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo said they would continue buying more buses in a bid to modernise the public transport system.
“There are those who are opposed to Government programmes and they write incorrect information even on social media but we will continue to follow what the President (Mnangagwa) is doing to improve the transport system. He will launch more buses soon,” said Minister Moyo.
“Those willing to have their buses included can simply go and register under Zupco so that we have many owners but one system to control who does what. During the Covid-19 era, Zupco can be trusted in terms of sanitising the buses and checking passengers face masks than leaving it to kombi operators. The new transport system will also cover how vendors will be linked with the 457 bus termini to ensure health and safety measurements are adhered to.”
Landela Investments, and according to its officials, intends to bring 500 more buses by June 2021.
How government saved millions of dollars.
Investigations have revealed that Landela prices, and for the prices after duty and taxes are cheaper than what is being charged by local companies who are the agencies of the buses brought in by the firm.
A price check from Zimbabwe Motor Distributors (suppliers of Marcopolo and VW buses) and FAW Zimbabwe (suppliers of Golden Dragon buses) showed that the buses were going for between USD 223 000 and USD 357 000.
This means that if Government the buses locally, it could have spent nearly US$40 but the Landela route will see it parting with about US$34 million.
Inquiries from ZMD, which holds the franchise for VW buses, showed that each bus is being sold for USD286 000. Landela bought 30 VW buses at about US$6 million and if it had sourced the buses from local suppliers, it could have forked out US$8,5 million.
At Faw Zimbabwe, 64~ passenger seater Golden Dragon buses are pegged at US$223.300, translating to US$27 million for 122 bought by Landela.
Landela used about USD 24 million for the coaches.
Landela Investments also bought 10 Marcopolo buses at about US$2 million and saved US$1,57 million because locally ZMD was charging each bus US$357 000.
Why Government decided to buy the buses than leasing
Landela was leasing its buses to the Central Mechanical and Equipment Department (CMED) in a same model where companies and individuals are leasing to Zupco.
The cost of hiring the buses was high, thus Government and Landela entered into an agreement for the latter to sell its 162 buses.
Out of the 162 buses valued at ZWL$863,2 million, CMED has paid ZWL$132,4 million, leaving a balance of ZWL$730.8 million.
If the buses had been paid for using the parallel market rates of 1:70, would each bus would have cost 14 million ZWL meaning the government would have had to fork out 2.3 billion ZWL.
A Landela official said: “Apart from this being our own way of contributing to this economy, we as Landela have mines around the country and we can use the local currency payments by Government to cover the local components needs of our mines. We know that this is not the exchange rate for us to recoup our investments on the buses but the difference is our contribution to Government programmes,” said the company.
The official said 500 more buses were expected into the country by June 2021 as 2000 buses are required for the mass public transport system.
By A Correspondent| Social media has gone ablaze over an image of a prison truck which defied the norm by reversing deep inside Harare Magistrates Court backyard to collect controversial Businessman Delish Nguwaya who was set to go into remand after being denied bail.
What caused social media furore is the fact that other top officials including Prisca Mupfumira, Samuel Undenge, Ignatius Chombo among others were usually picked outside the gate to the premises.
Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono writing on Twitter questioned the special treatment given to Nguwaya.
“We have seen many cabinet ministers arrested and boarding prison trucks from Chombo to Mupfumira to Marry Chiwenga.
“Yet today the van had to be driven inside to get Delish Nguwaya of Drax International fame.
WHY?
“WHAT is so special about Delish Nguwaya?,” questioned Chin’ono.
This has raised doubts on whether the state is sincere in its commitment to tackle corruption especially with claims that Nguwaya is linked to the first family.
A Photoshopped nude picture of Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa shared on WhatsApp has landed a husband and wife in trouble.
Sarudzayi Ambiri Jani, 38, and Remember Simbarashe Ncube, 34, were arrested and charged on Friday with undermining the authority of or insulting the president in contravention of the Criminal Law Act.
Law enforcement agents who arrested the couple claimed that they made an abusive, indecent or obscene statement about Mnangagwa that may engender feelings of hostility towards him, with the knowledge that the statement is false.
The couple allegedly shared a nude picture of Mnangagwa wearing Zanu-PF regalia around his neck with a male organ adorned with a mask at its end on a WhatsApp group for residents in Ward 3 of Beitbridge.
Chief Inspector Kenneth Mushongahande of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, who is a member of the residents’ WhatsApp group, reported the couple to law enforcement agents, who arrested and detained them overnight at Beitbridge Urban Police Station.
Mushongahande said police officers “hunted” and arrested the couple, who had no right to publish the Photoshopped picture.
Takavingei Mahachi, the councillor for Ward 3 in Beitbridge, who created the residents’ WhatsApp group, will testify as a state witness when the trial of the couple commences on July 3.
The couple also face a charge of contravening the Censorship and Entertainments Act, which criminalises the production and publishing of certain material.
They face up to a year in prison.
Observers and government critics have expressed concern at the increase in the number of people who of late are being persecuted for dissent and expressing themselves on social media platforms.
Home affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe has accused opposition political party leaders, former ruling party members and some civil society organisations of plotting to topple the president, who seized power from Robert Mugabe through a coup in November 2017.
Musician Tambaoga of the ‘The Blair that I know is a toilet’ has apologized to his fans over his previous Zanu PF links.
Tambaoga born Last Chiyangwa rose to prominence in the early 2000 when his Zanu PF aligned jingles including Rambai Makashinga were repeated countless times on national radio and television.
On Friday night, Tambaoga had a show to remember when he performed on Nash TV online show alongside South African duo Mafikizolo.
He got rave reviews from music fans who said his previous links to the ruling party had shadowed his talent as a musician.
But in a rather show of his rebirth, Tambaoga begged music lovers to forgive him for his past.
“Hello Zimbabwe. You can watch my last night performance on Nash Tv YouTube Channel
Forgive Me for my association with a certain political party! I’m back now and i need your support,” said Tambaoga on Twitter.
BARBOURFIELDS Stadium’s sentimental value to local football history does not make room for its destruction, a Government official has said.
Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation principal director, Benson Dube said the iconic stadium will only be improved to meet Fifa and Caf standards with a new facility being built if there is need for a bigger one.
Speaking during a tour of the stadium yesterday morning to assess the ongoing renovations, Dube said they considered the stadium’s close link with Highlanders Football Club and felt it should be retained with only improvements being made.
“Highlanders’ history is intertwined with that of BF for a better part of its existence hence we are aware of the sentimental value the stadium has not just to the club but football history in the country. We are of the opinion that if our efforts to make the required improvements cannot be done, structurally, then we would have to build a new stadium for Bulawayo.
“Remember BF was constructed just over 60 years ago and it would be difficult for us to make it fully meet 2020 specifications. There are sections we can modify, there are some that structurally we cannot alter and if Fifa are not happy then as Government we will construct a new stadium for the city.”
Dube said they were pleased with the improvements that have been made so far although progress had been slowed down by the Covid-19 lockdown. He said most areas of concern had been addressed with the expansion of the dressing rooms being a sticking point while there were concerns of capacity reduction due to the installation of bucket seats.
Dube said he was pleased with the condition of the pitch which has greatly improved while there is marked positive change to the flood lights.
Project manager, Thembinkosi Ncube revealed the capacity of the stadium will be reduced by almost half when they install buckets seats, from 23 000 to accommodating 13 000 spectators.
He said using calculations, measured by conventional single mold bucket seats, show that capacity will be greatly reduced prompting Dube to urge them to opt for the foldable bucket seats.
“Bucket seats are one critical area that has been highlighted as a requirement by the Fifa/Caf officials and we just have to install them but the downside is the reduction of the stadium capacity. It is something we have to live with. However, we have to opt for the foldable model that will allow for an increased capacity rather than the conventional ones. A reduction of more than half the current capacity would not be ideal,” he said.
Ncube said outstanding areas include the turnstiles, which had to be electronic, search bay areas and CCTV. The parking area behind the Mpilo End has been done with the one behind the Soweto Stand still being worked on.
The tour held in preparation for the second visit by a Fifa/Caf inspection team scheduled for next month also included Sports and Recreation Commission director of sport, Sebastian Garikai, Bulawayo City Council community services officer, Nkosiyavuma Sivela, Zifa’s First Instance Body officials, Piraishe Mabhena, Xolisani Gwesela and Francis Mabika and officials from the Ministry of Youth, Arts, Sport and Recreation.
Zimbabwe has been racing against time in order to meet the Caf requirements after local stadia was barred from hosting the body’s sanctioned matches citing failure by the venues to meet minimum criteria.
ZANU PF Mberengwa North district executive member and prominent businessman, Tinashe Shumba has torched a tribal storm after he reportedly insulted members of the Lemba (VaRemba) community who refused to chant ruling party slogans as well as denigrate MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa.
The development has since angered the opposition MDC Alliance with the party’s Midlands provincial spokesperson Takavafira Zhou warning the Zanu PF politician that he risked facing the wrath of the Lemba community.
The Lemba people are a minority tribe, but were part of early settlers to come from Sudan, Tanzania and Yemen upon which they settled in various parts of Zimbabwe including Mberengwa.
Southern Eye is reliably informed that on Sunday, Shumba also known as Goga, had several meetings at Takarangana, Magavakava, Rusvinge and other areas in Mberengwa North where those who attended said he was canvassing for support to become the constituency MP in the next elections on a Zanu PF ticket.
A 25-year-old Binga man who fatally assaulted his 72-year-old aunt with switches after accusing her of “bewitching him in a dream” was last Wednesday jailed for seven years.
Tutambulye Munkuli of Siachipanda 4 Village, Lusulu in Binga attacked his aunt, Belita Mugande with mopane tree switches accusing her of bewitching him in his dreams before threatening to burn down her homestead. He appeared before Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Maxwell Takuva facing a murder charge during the second term of the Hwange High Court circuit last week. Munkuli, however, offered a limited plea of culpable homicide arguing that he had unintentionally killed his aunt, Mugande.
Munkuli told the court that although he did not have evidence to support his claims that his aunt was bewitching him, he argued that the dreams he was having and misfortune had pushed him to commit the crime.
“I did not intend to kill my aunt, I got angry after I became convinced that she was bewitching me especially after I saw her in my dreams. After going through a series of misfortunes and the subsequent dreams I began to suspect her of being the cause,” he said.
In passing sentence, Justice Takuva said Munkuli deserved a harsh sentence for killing his aunt.
“You deserve a harsh sentence because you took the life of the only woman that showed you love, that fed you and clothed you after your parents separated. You killed her only because you dreamt of her bewitching you and there was no evidence to support those claims. You were cruel in your conduct as you just assaulted the now deceased without any misunderstanding and left her to die and did not offer first aid. I don’t know what the young ones are doing nowadays busy thinking of witchcraft and killing instead of engaging in productive projects that will give them money,” said Justice Takuva.
According to a statement of agreed facts between the State led by Ms Memory Munsaka and the defence counsel, Ms Joylyn Change of Muvhiringi and Associates on 5 November 2019 at around 8.30am, Munkuli met his aunt along a footpath. He went on to accuse her of bewitching him before striking her several times all over the body with mopane switches.
Efforts to restrain Munkuli by a fellow villager, Mr Reason Munsaka who had rushed to the scene were futile as he continued to assault the woman. Munkuli eventually stopped assaulting his aunt before leaving her lying on the ground.
The aunt’s children who had also rushed to the scene after hearing her screams, found her lying on the ground and took her home where she later died. According to the post-mortem report, Ms Mugande suffered brain contusion and head trauma as a result of the assault.
By Own Correspondent| Government has saved US$6 million after buying 162 buses through a local firm Landela Investments, investigations have revealed.
The buses are being used to modernise the public transport system in Zimbabwe and Government intens to bring 500 more buses through Landela by mid next year.
Investigations have shown that Landela is charging Government between US$200 000 and USD 220 000 per bus including duty and taxes for the buses while local suppliers are charging between US$223 000 and US$357 000 per bus.
Government is buying mainly Marcopolo, VW and Golden Dragon buses.
Having 162 such coaches locally could have seen government spenting about US$40 million.
Landela charged Government US$34 million.
Landela Investments has been linked to businessman mogul Kudakwashe Tagwirei but a search at the registrar of companies has revealed that he is neither a shareholder nor a director in the company.
Zimbabwe Motor Distributors (ZMD), which is the franchise holder for VW buses, is selling each bus for USD286 000.
Landela bought 30 VW buses at about US$6 million but had it bought them locally it cld, it could have parted with US$8,5 million.
Faw Zimbabwe is selling each Golden Dragon bus for US$223.300.
Landela brought in 122 such buses and instead of using US$27 million locally, it used US$3 million less. .
Landela Investments also bought 10 Marcopolo buses at about US$2 million and saved US$1,57 million for government as Zimbabwe Motor Distributors qoutes esfh bus for US$357 000 per bus.
Landela is using its resources to buy the buses and the juice part of the deal is that government is settling the money in local currency using the official exchange rate system.
Landela has been leasing its buses to the Central Mechanical and Equipment Department (CMED) the same way several bus companies and individuals are leasing to Zupco.
It proved that the cost of hiring the buses was high and Government and Landela entered into an agreement for the latter to sell its 162 buses.
Out of the 162 buses valued at ZWL$863,2 million, CMED has paid ZWL$132,4 million, leaving a balance of ZWL$730.8 million.
Landela Investments, and which owns several mines across the country, says this was its way of paying back to the community as it works on bringing in 500 more buses by June next year.
“Apart from this being our own way of contributing to this economy, we as Landela have mines around the country and we can use the local currency payments by Government to cover the local components needs of our mines. We know that this is not the exchange rate for us to recoup our investments on the buses but the difference is our contribution to Government programmes,” said the company.
Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo said Government was not backtracking on increasing its fleet through beneficial arrangements.
He said everyone was allowed to bring his or her own bus.
“There are those who are opposed to Government programmes and they write incorrect information even on social media but we will continue to follow what the President (Mnangagwa) is doing to improve the transport system. He will launch more buses soon,” said Minister Moyo.
“Those willing to have their buses included can simply go and register under Zupco so that we have many owners but one system to control who does what.”
THE Government has reiterated that private transport operators are still barred from taking to the road except those registered under Zupco.
On Friday President Mnangagwa addressed the nation on the national lockdown which is on Level Two and announced that the informal sector can resume operating after formalising their operations. The development however, does not include private transport operators.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Mr Nick Mangwana told Sunday News that transport operators including taxis who have not been operating following the introduction of the nationwide lockdown were still barred.
“The only kombis that are allowed to operate are those under the Zupco franchise. We are still under lockdown Level Two and the SME’s referred are not in the transport sector,” he said.
Mr Mangwana said the window was still open for those that wish to resume operations but under Zupco. He said those that were interested should register at Zupco depots countrywide.
Nonetheless, Tshova-Mubaiwa Transport Co-operative Limited chairman Mr Atlas Moyo said they were not ready to be assimilated under the Zupco franchise. The co-operative has hundreds of kombis operating in Bulawayo.
“Those that wish to join Zupco can do so but we are not going in that direction. We are a company, not an association so that move is difficult for us. We have built a garage as a company where we are securing our own fuel for our fleet, so we cannot leave all that and go and be under the Zupco franchise,” he said.
Mr Moyo said their company has already secured the requisite Personal Protective Equipment (PEE) for its workers together with sanitisers and disinfectants awaiting a time when the Government gives them the green light to resume operations.
He said they have all documentation that permits their vehicles to be on the road and have written to relevant authorities seeking permission to be on the roads.
“We were also surprised to hear that other sectors have been given the green light to return to work and not us. Who will ferry those extra people to their various destinations as there is high demand for transport now?” he said.
President Mnangagwa said in his address that informal traders need to formally register their business and follow the set requirements of having PPE and sanitisers among others, in order for them to go back to work.
“All our people in the informal sector, who have not formally registered themselves or their enterprises, are directed to do so. Once they can prove that such registration has been made, they can resume their operations. Upon resuming their work, they are compelled to adhere to the laid down Covid-19 prevention requirements, such as the wearing of masks, washing or sanitisation of hands and social distancing,” he said.
-State Media
The Marriages Bill does not outlaw the payment of bride price (lobola), but it seeks to prohibit marriage officers from requesting proof of payment of the same when solemnising a customary marriage, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has said.
The current law requires marriage officers to satisfy themselves with proof of payment of the traditional bride price before formalising a customary marriage.
As a result, some families were not consenting to solemnisation of customary marriages until the groom pays full or part of the amount he would have been charged by his in-laws.
Minister Ziyambi told The Sunday Mail yesterday that there was a glaring discrepancy where the same onerous requirement did not apply to civil marriages.
“In terms of our current marriages laws, there are two types of marriages: civil and customary marriages.
“What has been happening is that in the case of a civil marriage, a couple would go to the marriage officer to solemnise the marriage with no questions being asked about payment of lobola,” he said.
“As long as the couple satisfies the requirements set out in the law, they solemnise the marriage through their marriage certificate.
“However, in terms of a customary marriage, the marriage officer would ask whether lobola had been paid to the bride’s family.
“That requirement had to be satisfied first before the marriage is solemnised.
By Jane Mlambo| United Kingdom based constitutional law expert, Dr Alex Magaisa has dismissed the arrest of controversial businessman Delish Nguwaya as a facade which is likely to leave government with an egg on the face.
In a Twitter thread, Magaisa said police documents on the Nguwaya criminal case suggests that if sued, government will be found in breach of contract.
Below is the full thread….
I’ve read the police documents in the Nguwaya criminal investigation concerning #DraxGate #CovidGate It’s a classic example of a case that is deliberately designed to fail. The defence lawyers will have a field day. The scandal is they are presenting this facade as action.
If anything, facts suggest that if sued by Drax, the government, through NatPharm, will be held liable for breach of contract. The government freely entered into 2 contracts with Drax. The real scandal is how & why Drax got the contracts if the government did due diligence
It is senior government officials, especially the Minister of Health, who have serious questions to answer because they hold public office & are custodians of public funds. How did they allow US$60 million public contracts to be awarded to a company represented by a criminal?
The charges are spurious. Easy to tell. Lawyers will simply argue that the facts do not disclose an offence. That the case is weak case is deliberate. The regime wants to give a false impression that it’s fighting corruption when in fact it’s actually protecting the corrupt.
In short the case against Nguwaya as presented by the State is much ado about nothing. The state will be sued for breach of contract & it will probably lose. The chief targets of investigation & prosecution are the public officers and their political principals who allowed it.
COVID-19 cases continue to rise with Zimbabwe recording 13 new cases yesterday to take the country tally to 356, 54 recoveries and four deaths.
As has become the trend all the 13 cases are from returnees from South Africa and United Kingdom.
Zimbabwe recorded three new recoveries which were all from the Midlands province.
Own Correspondent
The ZBC radio lessons schedule for primary schools has been published for 15 June to 19 June 2020 for ECD, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3 and Grade 7.
The ZBC radio lessons schedule for primary schools has been published for 15 June to 19 June 2020 for ECD, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3 and Grade 7.
On Monday ECD pupils will learn English and Maths 9-9:15am and science 11 to 11:15 in the morning and Family and Heritage studies on Tuesday 11 to 11:15 am..
On Wednesday ECD pupils will learn English in the morning 9:00 -9:15 am and Maths and Science 11am to 11;15am
On Thursday ECD students will study Family and Heritage Studies in the morning 11:00 to 11:15 am.
They will not study in on Friday.
Grade 1 pupils will study Maths and Science in the morning 10 am to 10:15 am on Monday. They will not study on Tuesday but will study Family and Heritage Studies on Wednesday at 11:45 to 12am.
On Thursday they will study Family and Heritage Studies between 11:45 and 12am and they will rest on Friday.
Monday From 9:30am – 10am Grade 2 students will study Maths and Science. On Tuesday and Wednesday they will study Family and Heritage in the afternoon from 2 pm to 2:15 pm. On Thursday they will study Maths and Science in the morning rom 10am to 10:15 am.
Grade 3 pupils will study Maths in the morning on Monday from 9:30 am to 10am. Then Family, Religion and Moral. Education (FAREME) from 3 to 3:30 pm. They will study Maths from 9:30 to 10am on Thursday. They will study FAREME on Friday in the morning 9:30 to 10am on Friday.
Monday: English 11-11:30am, Mathematics 11:30 to 12am
Tuesday: 11-11:30 am English, Maths 11:30 to 12am, Environmental Science 3:00 to 3:30 pm
Wednesday: Mathematics 11am to 11:30 am, Environmental Science 3:00 to 3:30 pm
Thursday: English 11-11:30am,
Friday: 11:00 to 12am Environmental Science
Protesters at a demonstration linked to far-right groups clashed with police in central London on Saturday, after gathering to counter an anti-racism march despite officials urging people not to turn out due to coronavirus restrictions.
Thousands of people appeared to have defied the rules in and around Parliament Square, with footage on television news channels showing violent scuffles with police as some agitators threw punches and objects at officers.
Interior Minister Priti Patel called the chaotic scenes of violence and bottles, cans and smoke bombs being hurled at police “thoroughly unacceptable thuggery”.
“Any perpetrators of violence or vandalism should expect to face the full force of the law,” she said on Twitter, as footage of the disorder was shared widely on social media.
“Violence towards our police officers will not be tolerated,” she added, noting Covid-19 remained “a threat to us all” and those assembled should “go home”.
A protest by the Black Lives Matter group planned for Saturday had instead been held on Friday to avoid clashes with self-styled “patriots”, who had vowed to turn out to protect memorials damaged at anti-racism demonstrations last weekend.
Paul Golding, the leader of fringe far-right political group Britain First, which has seen its members jailed for hate crimes and been banned from Facebook, was among the first to assemble in Parliament Square.
He told the domestic Press Association news agency they had turned out to “guard our monuments”.
“Anyone who comes along today to try and vandalise them will probably be dealt with by all of these Englishmen that turned up, and they’re fed up as well,” he said.
A march by several hundred Black Lives Matter activists through the UK capital still went ahead at lunchtime Saturday, ending in Trafalgar Square near where the counter protesters had gathered and amid a heavy police presence.
London’s Metropolitan Police had said those who had ignored the pleas not to protest must comply with conditions imposed, including keeping to separate designated areas and dispersing by 1600 GMT.
“We are asking you not to come to London, and let your voices be heard in other ways,” Bas Javid, a Met commander, said in a statement ahead of the events.
‘Hijacked by extremists’
Britain has seen a wave of protests prompted by the death during a US police arrest of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American, which has triggered outrage around the world.
The majority have been peaceful, but demonstrations in London last weekend latterly turned violent while crowds in Bristol, southwest England, toppled a statue to a 17th century slave trader Edward Colston and threw it into the harbour.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said the protests had been “hijacked by extremists” while criticising the targeting of statues as “absurd and shameful” and also urging people not to rally.
The comments drew criticism from some opposition MPs, with Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokeswoman Christine Jardine accusing him of “stoking division and fear in our communities by suggesting they have been hijacked by extremists.”
Several central London memorials were boarded up as a precaution ahead of Saturday, including one of World War II leader Winston Churchill – which was defaced with the word “racist” last weekend — and the Cenotaph war shrine.
Former Conservative lawmaker Nicholas Soames, Churchill’s grandson, said the “very, very small, extremely explosive group of people” responsible for the vandalism were “behaving in an unspeakable and cowardly manner”.
But he told the Daily Telegraph: “The idea that the hard right should stand guard over Churchill is absolutely repulsive.
“It feels like a society that has lost its compass.”
Anti-racism group Hope Not Hate warned ahead of Saturday’s protests that hooligan gangs attached to some English football clubs intent on violence were planning to attend.
“For those in central London today, please be care(ful). Football hooligan gangs and far right activists are still planning to descend on the capital,” said Nick Lowles, of the organisation.