Farai Dziva|Overzealous
ZRP Cops brutally assaulted the director of Masvingo based NGO, Community Tolerance Reconciliation And Development (COTRAD), Gamuchirai Mukura on Friday.

Mukura was assaulted for allegedly violating lockdown restrictions.

He was bashed despite possessing an approval letter authorising him to carry out his duties during the lockdown.

“Mukura was stopped by the police at a roadblock in the city and as he was reaching out for his papers, they arrested him.

Despite producing an approval letter, the cops accused him of flouting lockdown restrictions. They bashed him in the process,” a Masvingo based human rights activist told ZimEye.com on Friday.

Human rights activists have expressed concern at the high incidence of harassment of citizens by the police.

Speaking to ZimEye.com, Mukura confirmed the incident.He urged police officers to respect citizens’ rights.

“I was harassed and forced to pay a fine.This happened despite the fact that I had a letter of approval,” said Mukura.

29 Zimbabweans have died in the UK and 24 of them are nurses and doctors and care workers. This number is five times more than those who died in the whole of Zimbabwe. It has been said Coronavirus does not discriminate – but some evidence has suggested it does affect some communities far more than others. Zimbabweans and all other Asian and black communities in the front line are dying.

The majority of the Zimbabweans in the UK have chosen nursing as their profession. They are the ones in the front line. Most black nurses are bullied in the hospitals some have complained of being forced to be in contact with positive patience despite the fact that they have underlying conditions Most Zimbabwean nurses have died on duty.

The government has announced a review into the disproportional impact Covid-19 has on ethnic minorities in the UK, including British Muslims and black nurses. Risking their lives’

Zimbabwean nurses have always dreamed of being big nurses. In line of duty 18 Zimbabwean nurses have died and Their families family said they had been considered fit and healthy before they contracted the virus. They never believed that they were seeing them for the last time alive.

“Any death is devastating but losing one of our own is beyond words,” Zimbabwean nurses in the UK are described as professional, passionate nurses who always put their lives in front.

Every where you go Zimbabwean nurses a very, very, respected and valued members and they are absolutely valued. Now the community sits down behind the closed doors wondering who is next.

Every house in a Zimbabwean family in England has a person working as a nurse or a care worker. Care workers work with vulnerable population of the society. This puts of sixty thousand Zimbabwean in England at Risk of getting Corona virus.

“It shows the incredible bravery of every member of the NHS who goes into work knowing that these dangers are there.”The Corona virus continues its grim march’ but ‘every life lost makes me Zimbabwean determined than ever to push for victor

“It shows the incredible bravery of every member of the NHS who goes into work knowing that these dangers are there.”The Corona virus continues its grim march’ but ‘every life lost makes me Zimbabwean determined than ever to push for victory’.

The NHS’s chief nursing officer Ruth May also paid tribute to the medics who have given up their lives, but added that she is concerned the fallen heroes will not be the last to die.

Ms May urged the public to shun sunny weather this spring and stay home to honour the memories of nurses who are dying.

As we write now twenty Zimbabwean nurses have died in the course of duty. Look at all the lives they have looked after and all the families they comforted when patients passed away.

Zimbabwean nurses are angels and they will wear Zimbsbwean flag above the NHS crown forever more because they earned that crown the very first day they started.

One report, from the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre, has found 30 per cent of Covid-19 victims were from Black, Asian and other minority backgrounds, whilst people from these backgrounds make up just 13 per cent of the UK’s population. This is scary because you ask yourself exactly what is happening if this Corona has no discrimination why are the hospitals having different statistics which is actually accurate. Is there a sinister thing happening in the hospitals. Is this a conspiracy against the blacks. Nowhere has Covid-19 hit minority communities more than those working on the frontline of the NHS, where doctors and nurses have been trying to save their lives of their fellow colleagues. Those from ethnic minority backgrounds constitute two thirds of NHS deaths; on Friday two more doctors from BAME backgrounds lost their lives to the virus, it was announced.

ITV News has been examining the causes, we have learnt that socio-economic factors such as deprivation, underlying health conditions and cultural differences, like inter-generational households which more common in ethnic minority communities, could lead to an increase in the transmission of Covid-19. Health literacy is definitely an issue in Black and Ethnic Minorities, again, this is partly linked to socio-economic deprivation and language barriers that may exist,” Dr Hina Shahid told ITV News.

“Cultural and faith factors may also change a way a person perceives health or health information. We know that there is also this mistrust in health and healthcare professionals and also accessing healthcare itself.” She added: “People tend to present when they are sicker and that can make it more difficult to treat so we do have a big role to play in assembling or disseminating the correct information in ways that people can understand, in ways that take into consideration their beliefs about health and illness because that’s how the message is going to resonate for them.”

We need to lol at at faith and religion…which we know is an important determinate of health – we don’t have this data so it makes it difficult to unpick and understand what is going on.”But on the ground churches were meeting in house and unknown to them they were spreading the virus. One small church in the midlands had six people in hospital. Each day one Zimbabwean dies of Corona. Today every family knows one family which has a victim of the virus. This means almost every Zimbabwean in the Uk has a risk of catching the virus. We have many Zimbabwean men who are working as bus drivers,delivery drivers train drivers and train assistance.

These jobs exposed the man to the virus and as a result the diseases is exported in the houses. The nature of jobs Zimbabweans do in the UK is such that the interaction with the public is inevitable. This has seen so many Zimbabweans at risk. There is a great mm number of nurses in the Zimbabwean community and since they are in the frontline they the soft targets of the virus. whilst there are socio-economics differences; but cultural differences – which could lead to more disproportionate ethnic minority Covid-19 cases and deaths – have a part to play.

Within the Zimbabwean community community. Many feel the need to visit loved ones who are ill with virus symptoms, or go to a family or friend’s house to pay their respects for someone who has died from Covid-19 as culturally this is what many would do.

The issue of social distancing from a Somali context is to be honest alien to us, we shake hands, we go to our houses for condolences.”

“The other issue is that when you have families that are visiting each other where there are funerals, condolences, we do share this with other communities…but for us it’s more alarming.” How can the socio-economic factors affect ethnic minorities amid the coronavirus outbreak? The first ten doctors to died of coronavirus in the UK were from ethnic minority backgrounds. In that ten three were Zimbabweans.

The virus’ impact across all minorities may be because many of them work or live in the most “at risk” scenarios which often don’t allow for social-distancing at home or at work. For instance, the frontline of the NHS and care work to public transport and the “gig economy”. Ethnic minorities are often over represented in high-risk key jobs where they can’t afford to stay at home; including taxi, bus and delivery drivers.

Some communities may have a mistrust of healthcare systems so don’t go to their GP or seek medical advice until it is late. One Zimbabwean nurse said It is a tragic loss for, you know, I lost my brother, two of my uncles were critically ill, and I had lost a cousin and a friend, a very close friend of mine. “And it has psychological impact on the whole family, it’s a really difficult time and I’m sure there’s others, we’re all in this together and sharing the same pain but words cannot describe. We’re just going to have to continue with his legacy and try to move on.”

She continued: “It’s very difficult, you know I still look after my dad who’s critically ill and he’s bed bound, it’s very difficult but we try to do the best that we can.”

“Even within my community I know a lot of family and friends who have lost loved ones due to coronavirus.” “You get to a point where I don’t want to pick up the phone, you’re just constantly worried and you’re frightened who’s next…or who’s been taken to hospital, it was already traumatising enough with my uncle and brother taken from the same house and another uncle I admitted myself,” she added.

It is indeed painful each day does not pass without a death of a Zimbabwean nurse or any in the care work. The British government only praises NHS workers nothing for the care workers or any other frontline job. Our greatest prayer is that this virus ends now. If Zimbabwe Is to be ravaged like Europe surely we will not stand.

-Online

By Kudzai Mutisi| Your Excellency, Zimbabwe is my country of birth and, as such, it is natural that I am interested in what is happening or not happening there. Many Zimbabweans celebrated your ascension to power in November 2017 because, for them, it was an opportunity for launching a new political and economic dispensation. It is now 2 years and 5 months with you as the president of Zimbabwe, is there anything to celebrate?

The same bus with a new driver

Your excellency, when you were sworn in as the president of Zimbabwe in November 2017, your critics dismissed the change of leadership as nothing but a mere change of the bus driver while the bus remained the same.

They were right to some extent. You simply replaced Robert Mugabe as leader of ZANU PF and Zimbabwe. ZANU PF remained the governing party and Zimbabwe remained the governed country.

Is the change of the bus driver trivial?

The change of the bus driver can either be an inconsequential affair or a significant one. It is inconsequential if the new driver continues in the same direction and with the same speed as the old driver. Scientifically speaking, the change of the bus driver is trivial if the new driver continues with the same velocity as the old driver.

On the other hand, the change of the bus driver can be a very significant affair if the new driver continues in a different direction and with a different speed. In this case, the direction can either be the right direction or the wrong direction.But, Your Excellency, governance can’t be compared to the simple analogy of a bus and its driver.

Governance is an inherently important matter and, as such, the direction taken has serious consequences on the government and the governed. It is only right that, time and again, we take a pause and ask: whither are we bound?

The beginning of the second republic was awesome in many ways. You said all the right things and, to a greater extent, did all the good things. It was encouraging to hear you denouncing all the actions and inactions that ‘brought us to where we are.’ Your experience in government gave many Zimbabweans confidence that their new president knows what works and what does not work.Since you were finishing the presidential term of Robert Mugabe, most of us did not expect drastic changes politically and economically. Nevertheless, you ran a clean election campaign with a great manifesto.

The political ecosystem before and during the elections was perfect for democracy.On the economic front, the pre-election period saw an influx of investors flocking to Zimbabwe. Some of these investors have already started implementing their projects. In addition, some pending projects from the Mugabe era were also revived in the early days of your presidency. For example, most of the Chinese deals signed by President Mugabe in 2013 were revived and implemented after your visit to China.The coming of the second republic also saw lots of international goodwill towards Zimbabwe.

Several envoys and delegations from Western countries flew to Zimbabwe signalling a thawing of the previously frosty relations between Zimbabwe and the West. Moreover, Zimbabwe’s traditional allies were very supportive and swiftly embraced your presidency.

Your Excellency, as early as December 2017, barely a month after your inauguration, Zimbabweans witnessed an unprecedented upgrading of roads in urban and rural areas. Dam projects that had stalled for years were revived. Some bridges that were damaged as far back as 2000 were repaired. In many ways, we saw your desire to build and rebuild Zimbabwe’s infrastructure.

The post-election period

Despite the ugly events of 1 August 2018 and the tensions thereafter, you showed good leadership by calling upon your election rivals to work with you for the good of Zimbabwe. You also appointed the Montlanthe commission to deal with the unfortunate events of August 1.

After your inauguration, you appointed a cabinet with several technocrats and new faces. If anything, this was a great move on your part. To many Zimbabweans, this was a sign that our new bus driver is eager to take us in a new direction.The Transitional Stabilization Program launched in October 2020 as the government’s economic blueprint had all the good things needed to put Zimbabwe on a growth path.

In other words, the TSP was the embodiment of good policies needed to bring prosperity to Zimbabwe or any other country.After a full year of unpopular austerity, many economic indicators were coming right. From September to October 2019, the Zimbabwe dollar had largely stabilized. This period also a stabilization of prices of goods and services. In addition to this, the country also witnessed an unprecedented narrowing of the trade deficit.

On the fiscal side, the government’s books were in good order. In fact, the government achieved a budget surplus in 2019 for the first time in more than a decade.

The big mistakes of your presidency

Your Excellency, the major difference between successful and failed states is their approach to policy formulation and its implementation. The economic turmoil currently obtaining in Zimbabwe can be traced back to adoption of bad policies, piece-meal implementation of good policies, and policy inconsistency.

Mr President, good policies in themselves don’t produce good results if not implemented and implemented well. The piecemeal implementation of policies creates uncertainty and confusion. The reversal of good policies destroys investor confidence in our economy. Here are some of the big mistakes of your presidency:      

The forex market

The introduction of the interbank market in February 2019 was an exciting moment for local and foreign investors. If anything, it signalled your determination to return the Zimbabwean economy to normalcy.

However, the excitement quickly evaporated when the Reserve Bank kept interfering with the market in a series of incoherent policy introductions and reversals.Your Excellency, Zimbabwe receives more foreign currency than most countries in Africa. Just like fuel and maize meal, there is no shortage of foreign currency in Zimbabwe, but there is no functional forex market. Again, just like in the fuel and mealie meal issue, the government is distorting the market through its communist policies.

A transparent and efficient forex trading platform is key in ensuring the efficient distribution of foreign currency in the economy. As it stands, businesses and investors either have to rely on the black market or the ‘mercy’ of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe for foreign currency.

Who, in their right mind, would want to invest in such an economy? You always say capital goes where it finds comfort, but your government has dismally failed to provide the basic things that gives comfort to capital!      

The currency problem

The Zimbabwe dollar was formally reintroduced as a currency in June 2019. Despite the introduction of the Zimbabwe dollar as the sole legal tender, the government made no effort to introduce new Zim Dollar notes and coins with sufficiently high denominations.

Why keep people stuck in the ‘bond note’ mode that they so much despised? A smart government makes one bold decision to abandon the past instead of sitting on the proverbial fence.Your Excellency, corruption is endemic in our societies. When government officials like the Reserve Bank governor deliberately create inconvenience to the general citizenry, it is usually meant to benefit them.

There is no reason for cash shortages in banks except that it benefits those with access to cash.The shortage of cash and the resulting cash premium has made the Zimbabwean dollar unattractive as a currency. The reckless printing of money to fund fuel, mealie meal, and electricity subsidies is causing runaway inflation and currency depreciation. Such reckless actions of your government are causing real pain to ordinary citizens.

People’s savings have been wiped out by inflation. How can an ordinary citizen save money to start a business when, time and again, her savings are wiped away by government induced inflation?Mr President, even the poorest countries in this world have their own currencies that are largely stable. It is possible for Zimbabwe to have a stable currency, the government must follow proper economics, not the failed communism of the 20^th century. You have economic experts in government and outside, listen to them!      

Inefficient subsidies

Fuel queues are now the norm in Zimbabwe. These queues, like most of the queues in Zimbabwe, are not caused by the shortage of fuel, they are caused by market distortion. Zimbabwe has enough fuel, but it is channelled to the black market where it is sold at higher prices than at fuel garages.In many ways, most Zimbabweans buy the fuel at the black-market prices. This means the government is subsidising fuel only for the benefit of fuel companies and a few other black-market traders.Since the introduction of the mealie meal subsidy, long queues of people waiting to buy the subsidized roller meal have become the norm.

These queues are only found in the big supermarkets that sell the mealie meal at the recommended price. The bulk of the maize meal is diverted to the black where it is sold at higher prices. In the end, the majority of Zimbabweans buy the subsidised product at market price even though the government paid the subsidy to millers.

Mr President, the intention of the subsidy programs might be good, but the model is bad. The only people benefitting from the subsidies are the fuel dealers, the grain millers, and some well connected queuepreneurs (queuepreneurs are people who queue to buy the subsidised goods for resale on the black market).

The continuation of these subsidies has substantially eroded confidence in your government, locally and internationally. The IMF monitors attributed the continuation of these subsidies to ‘vested interests.’ Locally, many Zimbabweans believe that the continuation of the fuel subsidies is meant to benefit the so-called ‘fuel dealers’ while the continuation of the maize meal is meant to benefit the ‘grain millers’ cartel.

Indeed, fuel companies and grain millers are the ones benefitting from these subsidies.Have you chosen to be the president of the few? Why continue wasting taxpayer money on subsidies that, in effect, lead to unjust enrichment of a few people at the expense of the majority?      

The land issue

The land reform program is irreversible and was largely successful. Since all agricultural land now belong to the state, the government should prioritise productivity above anything else.

Foreign and local investors should be given the opportunity to invest in agriculture freely. In this regard, the government should provide a mechanism through which local and foreign investors can apply for access to agricultural land for a certain period.

This will ensure that land is in the hands of people who are willing and capable of utilising the land productively.Your excellency, there is absolutely nothing wrong with leasing state land to former white farmers or foreign investors. What is important is that the land now belongs to the state, everyone else will only have access not ownership. Zimbabwe must cease being a house of hunger; we have enough land and water to grow enough food for the nation.      

Social safety nets

Even the most capitalist governments in the world provide social safety nets for the vulnerable groups. These groups include the elderly, orphans, the disabled, widows and the unemployed.

Your Excellency, apart from the random acts of charity done by the First Lady and other government officials, the vulnerable groups have largely been ignored by your government. The government, through the Ministry of Social Welfare, should have well designed policies and programs to help the vulnerable in our midst.

The money being wasted on fuel and the mealie-meal subsidy should be directed to these groups.As much as I am strong proponent of free markets, I am cognisant of the fact that some people will be left behind. These people will always require the assistance of the government. There is need for a concrete government policy on the assistance of vulnerable citizens. Poor people shouldn’t be left at the mercy of politicians and NGOs, the government should provide budgeted and targeted assistance to them.

Zimbabwe can afford to do so; the government should just stop wasting public money enriching a few businesspeople.      

Infrastructural development

Mr President, Zimbabwe needs good roads, railways, new schools, new hospitals and, power stations. These are public goods that private capital may not be interested in funding. Instead of wasting public money on inefficient subsidies, the government should focus on building infrastructure and create more direct and indirect jobs.

For many Zimbabweans, it really doesn’t matter who gets the tenders for infrastructure projects, all they want to see is good infrastructure. Mr President, during the 2023 elections, you can brag about the infrastructure you built, but you can’t brag about food subsidies that people never benefitted from. In fact, people prefer jobs than handouts from the government.Without proper infrastructure, Zimbabwe would be closed for business. Many Zimbabweans were encouraged by your government’s initial thrust in building roads and bridges, you need to accelerate such projects now and into the future.

The government can explore other funding models like BOT arrangements with local and international companies. In the end, there must be significant infrastructural development in Zimbabwe!      

Foreign policy

Your Excellency, Zimbabwe’s foreign policy is outdated. It is important that we move away from the foreign policy of the Cold War era. There is no benefit derived from befriending weak and pariah states that have no political and economic clout on the world stage.

Our foreign policy should put the interests of Zimbabwe first. As much as we love Palestinians and Yasser Arafat, we can benefit more from befriending Israel! After you were invited to Israel by the Israeli Foreign Minister, I expected you to accept the invitation, but you didn’t.

Zimbabwe has a lot to benefit from Israel’s agricultural technology and Israel’s diplomatic clout. What is it that we benefit from being close to North Korea, Syria, Iran, Cuba, and Palestine? We can still have good relations with these countries while opening new relationships.Zimbabwe’s pariah status is cemented and perpetuated by the way we vote in the United Nations. Many a time, we choose to vote with the rogue nations of this world.

It is high time we separate our nation from these pariah states and join the normal world.Mr President, diplomatic clout comes from economic clout. We can only be taken seriously by other countries if our economy is doing well. As it is, we are the sick man of our region. Even our neighbouring countries laugh at us because of the crappy economic policies we embrace. It is time to restore the dignity of Zimbabweans wherever they are!      

Political and legal accountability

Your Excellency, in all successful countries, people and organisations that flout laws/regulations are held accountable for their actions through the justice system. In the same manner, public officials and civil servants who fail to discharge their mandate are forced to resign or are fired.

This is a culture that your government has failed to promote.The White City bombing was a huge security breach that claimed the lives of several Zimbabweans and injured top government officials yet, to date, nobody was held accountable for it. Those in charge of security before and during the event were supposed to be held accountable for failing to prevent the security breach. You were supposed to fire some people at least.On the business front, companies flout government regulations at will. The government must be strict in enforcing its own regulations/policies.

Market discipline has to be instilled. The best way to instil market discipline is to charge huge fines to those companies that flout regulations. The government must never control the market, government must only regulate the market!

Mr President, Zimbabwean security forces have been a source of international embarrassment for the government and the nation at large. Many a time, security officers have acted beyond the limits of their mandate and thus creating unnecessary negativity against the country.

However, these incidences are never unique to Zimbabwe. All over the world, police and military brutality are common. What is important is to hold them accountable for their actions. This, again, is a culture that we need as Zimbabweans. We should never allow impunity to be the norm!      

Economic model

When you took over from Robert Mugabe, many observers described you as a proponent of free markets. This, to me, was a breath of fresh air after years of the failed communist policies of the Mugabe era.

Mr President, you signalled the desire to establish a free market economy in the early days of your presidency as you chanted the ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ slogan. Sadly, it turned out to be an empty slogan because of the reluctance of your government to make bold policy decisions that would open Zimbabwe for business.

Zimbabwe is not open for business if it does not have an open and transparent forex market. Foreign investors want to invest in a country where they can easily and freely turn their profits into foreign currency for repatriation.

There is no reason for delaying the implementation of a managed floating exchange rate policy. The delay is destroying the Zimbabwean economy!Zimbabwe is not open for business if the government is actively involved in creating massive market distortions through inefficient subsidies. Zimbabwe can only be open for business if government leaves the market alone and focus on collecting taxes, regulating the market, and providing incentives to businesses.

Your Excellency, it is important that you establish yourself as a supporter of a free market economy with targeted social safety nets for vulnerable groups. Countries with free market economies are thriving while those that love communism are the poorest countries.      

A cabinet shakeup

Your Excellency, most of your ministers are underperforming or not performing at all. The young Ministers you appointed are invisible, tired and have no new initiative to their names. They have nothing to show for the time they have been in office so far.Zimbabweans don’t care about propaganda and rosy reports from ministers, they want to see meaningful change in their lives.

The finance minister can harp about a balanced budget but that doesn’t mean anything to a civil servant struggling to pay his bills. The minister of energy can brag about paying off the Eskom debt, but it means nothing to a citizen experiencing more than 8 hours of load shedding. Mr President, we can’t say we have a minister of home affairs, yet citizens struggle to get passports and ID cards.

The performance of ministers should be linked to real change in the lived realities of our people.With almost 2 years into your 5-year mandate, it is time to shake up your cabinet and bring life to it. There are lots of capable people in parliament and outside who can be better ministers than some of your current ministers. Zimbabweans deserve ministers that are accessible, responsive, and visible.

In the digital era, cabinet ministers should be active on social media and regularly interact with citizens. Apart from posting pictures of unproductive functions, there is nothing useful posted by the majority of your ministers. Zimbabweans deserve better!In order to broaden the choice for ministers, I suggest that the constitution be amended to allow the president to appoint as many non-MP ministers as he wishes. In fact, Ministers shouldn’t be MPs at all.

If an MP is appointed a minister, she should cease to be an MP and be replaced by someone appointed/elected by the party/people. Zimbabweans deserve capable ministers, not incompetent partisan appointees.Mr President, your two and half years in power have shown us that you can take Zimbabwe in the right direction. In the first 2 years, your government largely implemented good policies required to make Zimbabwe a prosperous country.

Sadly, the last four months saw the complete reversal of those good policies in favour of meaningless communist policies. Your government introduced very inefficient subsidies, scaled back infrastructure projects, reversed the monocurrency regime, and delayed the introduction of the managed floating exchange rate policy. All the good work of the first two years of your presidency have been thrown down the drain.Your Excellency, you are on the wrong path.

Zimbabwe will not prosper unless you change the way your government is operating. Most of your government’s policies are uniquely Zimbabwean, no other country has such self-destructive policies. ZANU PF has a whopping two thirds majority in parliament, you have the ability to implement good laws/policies and to repeal/amend bad laws/laws without any hindrance. You have nobody but yourself to blame if you fail to enact good laws and implement good policies, the people gave you a very strong mandate!

By A Correspondent- Government yesterday provided a Zupco bus to transport part of the 100 female returnees and deportees from Botswana who were dumped at a hiking spot by officials from the Department of Social Welfare and also apologised to the affected individuals and their families.

The returnees and deportees who were staying at the United College of Education (UCE) in Bulawayo were on Thursday evening ordered to vacate the institution following the expiry of the 21-day Covid-19 mandatory quarantine period.

The group was part of the 456 returnees who were recently brought from an isolation centre at Plumtree High School to provide them with better living conditions and ease crowding. The group, most of whom were deported from the neighbouring country, were released from the quarantine centre on the same day after testing negative for Covid-19.

Their male counterparts who were staying at Bulawayo Polytechnic were released on Wednesday. Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Judith Ncube condemned the manner in which officials from the Department of Social Welfare handled the issue, saying Government does not condone such actions.

“It is unfortunate that our people were subjected to inhuman treatment and what is more worrying is the fact that there are also vulnerable babies involved. I had an opportunity to listen to the complaints of the affected people and their sad story after they were dumped at the hiking spot,” she said.

“These are Zimbabweans hence the Government has an obligation to cater for their needs, especially during this Covid-19 period. The Government, through the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare has a responsibility to address the plight of its returnees and no one can do that if we don’t. I met the officials from the Department of Social Welfare and a Zupco bus was arranged to take the returnees to Harare from where they will proceed to their respective homes.”

Minister Ncube said she regretted the actions by social welfare officials. She said her office will not allow recurrence of such incidents.

“On behalf of the President and the Government, I wish to apologise to the affected returnees, their families and the generality of Zimbabweans for this mishap, which should not be allowed to occur again. Whosoever decided to release these people at 5PM acted irresponsibly,” she said.

The Minister also commended Reverend Pedzisai Sam Sithole of the Crown of Glory Ministries for assisting the affected returnees and deportees by offering them accommodation.

“The pastor who rendered assistance to these people did a great job and we really appreciate his gesture and the spirit of humanity. May God bless him. We really need such people because as Zimbabweans we all have a role to play in the fight against Covid-19,” she said.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Deputy Minister Lovemore Matuke said officials in his ministry have an obligation to treat returnees with dignity upon their arrival and departure at quarantine centres.

“Social welfare officials have a duty to handle returnees with due respect and dignity. However, we have a challenge in that these people will be coming from different parts of the country making it difficult to organise one bus as they will be fragmented in terms of their destinations,” he said.

Deputy Minister Matuke also condemned the actions by officials in his ministry to order the returnees to vacate the quarantine centre at night.

“We need to come up with a strategy where a majority of people coming from the same areas are provided with a bus for convenience purposes,” he said. When Chronicle arrived Rev Sithole’s house there was a hive of activity as the excited returnees were busy loading their luggage into the Zupco bus. Those who spoke to the Chronicle thanked the pastor for his hospitality and the news crew for the expose.

Ms Rumbidzai Maguta of Harare said: “I am so excited we are now finally heading home after going through this unfortunate incident. We would like to thank you (Chronicle news crew) for highlighting our plight as well as the pastor who offered us overnight accommodation and food.”

Ms Stella Munemo from Mutare who was also visibly excited said she was worried her her two-year-old son would catch a cold after they were dumped at the hiking spot without transport. However, Ms Yvonne Ndlovu of Gokwe, who is a mother of a week-old baby and Ms Privilege Ndlovu of Nkayi, remained behind since the bus was not using their route and they are set to leave Bulawayo today.

They were given money for transport. Ms Ndlovu voluntarily returned from Botswana where she was employed as she wanted to give birth at home, but ended up delivering at Plumtree High School where they were initially quarantined before being later moved to Bulawayo.-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- Two men have appeared in court for allegedly defrauding Econet Zimbabwe of $14 million.

The duo, Gavin Tinashe Guwu (31) and Tshambo Madhava (41), appeared before Chipinge magistrate, Mrs Elizabeth Hanzi, facing fraud charges on Friday.

Guwu and Madhava were not asked to plead when they appeared in court.

They were ordered to pay $10 000 bail each.

The matter was remanded to May 15 for trial.

Prosecuting, Mr Timothy Katsande told the court that from December 30 last year to March 27 this year, the two connived with Mukai Mapanzure a sales consultant in Chipinge, to defraud the telecommunications giant.

“Mapanzure had access to the database. He replaced a sim card for Econet’s merchant mobile broadband number 0784953460 and processed a private identification number to access the complainant’s merchant.

“Mapanzure then transferred $6 million from Econet’s account into Guwu’s agent number 0784718093,” said Mr Katsande.

On another occasion, Madhava received $8million on his agent number 0771337884.

It is the court’s case that the $14 million was used to buy United Stated dollars on the black market.

“Guwu then handed US$40 000 over to Madhava for temporary safe keeping. When Guwu collected the forex, he handed it over to Mapanzure.”

Only $3 million was recovered.

By A Corresondent- Police have arrested two self-styled prophets following the death of a Harare woman while they were exorcising evil spirits out of her.

The woman died of severe burns after the prophets made her cover her face with a blanket under hot water mixed with herbs. Police said in a statement:

Two self-styled prophets and a traditional healer have been arrested in Harare following the death of a 44-year-old woman whom they were “treating”.

The victim complained of a headache and was referred to the 2 prophets for assistance to no avail.

She was then referred to the self-styled traditional healer in Epworth who concluded that she was being attacked by evil spirits. In order to cleanse the spirits, he mixed some herbs and boiling water and made the victim cover herself with a blanket (kufukira) and the suspects tightly held the blanket and the victim sustained serious facial burns.

She later passed on whilst admitted at a local hospital.

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwean authorities on Friday 24 April 2020 charged a Chipinge man with undermining authority of or insulting President Emmerson Mnangagwa after he allegedly circulated a message on WhatsApp in which the ZANU PF party leader was accused of ineptitude.

Said the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights in a statement:

Chrispen Rambu of Chipinge in Manicaland province, who is an
opposition MDC Alliance party Councillor for Ward 8 in Chipinge urban
constituency was summoned by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) members to appear at Chipinge Central Police Station, where he was charged with
insulting and undermining authority of President Emmerson Mnangagwa as defined in section 33 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform)
Act.

ZRP members claimed that Rambu denigrated Mnangagwa when he allegedly forwarded a message onto a local WhatsApp group which reads “Ramaphosa just announced R500 billion SA ‘Stimulus package. Seeing him
addressing and comparing him with E.D you won’t doubt that we are
having a fool for a head of state”.

Rambu, who is represented by Mekias Gwamanda of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights is expected to appear at Chipinge Magistrates Court on
Saturday.

By A Correspondent- Retailers have disputed a statement that was issued on Thursday night by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa who said prices of basic goods have started to go down following a moratorium announced by the Government on Wednesday.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers Association (CZRA) president Denford Mutashu said the retail sector will start reducing prices in the coming week. Mutashu said:

We should begin to see comprehensive changes from next week. Remember this is a product of dialogue and engagement so we are in the final stages.

We are having meetings and these meetings are very crucial to map the implementation strategy.

But so far, the same spirit of negotiations which founded the moratorium continues.

We continue to carry the same spirit under the tripartite arrangement.

The tripartite in the sense that we have Government, manufacturers and retailers and consumers.

On Wednesday, Vice President Kembo Mohadi announced that the government and business leaders had agreed that prices of basic foodstuffs – including maize-meal, rice, cooking oil, sugar, salt, flour and bread — will revert to the levels of March 25, just before the lockdown.-StateMedia

ZBCtv has been affected by the national lockdown due to Covid-19, as some of its programmes like soapies and talk shows have run out of episodes. Among those affected are soapies Indlalifa- The Heir, Estate Blues and Zvazviri.

As such, the national broadcaster is looking to partner online productions such as Wadiwa Wepa Moyo for possible showing and also bring back old shows to ensure people are entertained during the lockdown.

ZBCtv’s head of production and television services, Godknows Chera said the national broadcaster approached producers of hit online soapie Wadiwa Wepa Moyo to find out how they can have the soapie that was shown weekly on YouTube, on television.

“The lockdown has affected our programming as ZBCtv. We have programmes such as Estate Blues, Bvunze and soapies like Zvazviri and Indlalifa being affected. We’re now discussing with producers, some whose productions are doing well online such as Wadiwa Wepa Moyo to see how we can partner with them,” Chera said.

But, even if the broadcaster gets content from Wadiwa Wepa Moyo, it will not last long as the show, which came to an end this week, only has 10 episodes. Its production has also been halted due to the pandemic.

“We’ve engaged them (Wadiwa Wepa Moyo producers) but they’ve also cited that their last episode was aired on Wednesday. They’re also failing to produce more content because of the lockdown. If we take their content, we’ll be getting one season and when that is over, we’ll be stuck as a broadcaster. So, these are the challenges that we’re facing,” said Chera.

He said some production houses had shown willingness to supply content such as producers of Indlalifa who requested for clearance letters from the national broadcaster for them to continue shooting.

“Indlalifa wanted a letter giving them permission to shoot. But we said in as much as a letter can be provided, there are regulations that have to be adhered to such as social distancing etc.

“So, we might not be able to provide the letter because of that,” said Chera. The station’s in-house shows such as Talking Sport, Munhandare and youth programme Hashtag Drive have also been affected.

“Hashtag Drive, a youth-driven show in its first season, which was gaining momentum, has since been dropped. Because of the social distancing requirement, we as the national broadcaster cannot then contravene that regulation. “As such, we can’t be inviting guests to the studio.”

Quizzed why they cannot conduct some of the interviews online, Chera said it was not that easy as some of the interviewees do not have Internet access.

“Most of the people don’t have access to the Internet as it’s expensive. So to do a Skype call will be a challenge for the guests and presenters,” said Chera. However, to mitigate this problem, Chera said they were digging into their archives for shows.

“Like any other broadcaster, we’re digging into our archives to check for content. So, in the meantime until things normalise, we’re bringing back shows like Dlala Ngamla, Tiriparwendo, Madlela Series and Amakorokoza.”

To try and keep people entertained during the lockdown that has been extended by two weeks, Indlalifa has since uploaded four of its episodes online on YouTube channel AJV Afri – Art to cater for audiences there. ZBCtv is not the only one with the headache of lack of content as broadcasters in South Africa are facing the same predicament.

Soapies such as Uzalo on SABC 1, Scandal!, Rhythm City, Imbewu: The Seed on eTV, Isibaya and Gomora on Mzansi Magic all stopped shooting when the lockdown in their country was introduced weeks ago. This has seen them run out of new episodes. The likes of Gomora and Isibaya will stop showing this week and will be replaced by Somizi and Mohale: The Union and The River which will have double episodes shown.

Dear Editor

Morgen Komichi was not the National Chairman of MDC -T as of 2014 Congress . Can we hear from the National Chairman who was Mr Lovemore Moyo.

I thought the Congress is organized by the National Council not by individuals, so why are we hearing that there are only 3 individuals running around saying they are organising the Congress.

In an exclusive interview with ZimEye Friday, Senator Morgen Komichi said he took it upon himself to address the anomalies withing the MDC T in a move aimed at restoring the party’s legacy following the Supreme court ruling that nullified Nelson Chamisa’s presidency.

Said Komichi:

“… what has been happening is that the victims that you are mentioning …were fighting for certain core values, they were fighting for the rule of law, justice, the Constitution, freedom….But what has been happening for the last two years has been a total betrayal of those values, which these women and men died for.

So what we then did on the 31st of March was to restore that legacy, restore the order putting back the party to where it was, this is what we are correcting. Many of the people within the MDC are very happy with what we have done….

There are many people who will turn up for our Congress. All the 12 Provinces of the party are in touch with me, you will be shocked.”

Watch the live video loading below….

By A Correspondent- The Deputy Labour and Social Welfare minister Lovemore Matuke has revealed that among the returnees are convicted criminals who were granted clemency by the Botswana government and deported.

There are also Zimbabweans working in the neighbouring country as well as shoppers who were stuck on the other side of the border while trying to stock up food supplies in preparation for the lockdown.

“In the group, there are criminals who were deported because of this Covid-19 in Botswana. As the government, we have ensured they are free from Covid-19,” the deputy minister said.

Matuke tasked the social welfare department to follow up on the deportees to check if they have enough food when they get home so that the government can provide basic commodities to enable them to settle without challenges.

He also urged them to stay at home when they get there, adding that rapid response teams would make follow-ups for another round of Covid-19 testing.-Daily News

By A Correspondent- Scores of people are flocking self-styled prophet, Madzibaba Nzira’s shrine in Hobhouse, Mutare, as they seek spiritual healing in breach of the national lockdown restrictions, the Weekender has established.

Early this week, police had to disperse the crowd that was queuing up to consult the prophet on various spiritual problems.

Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa said law enforcement agents are determined to ensure that physical distancing is observed so as to stop the spread of Covid-19.

“People should take heed of the lockdown restrictions and desist from such gatherings. They should abide by the lockdown rules and regulations for the sake of their own safety,” he said.

When contacted for comment, Madzibaba Nzira defended himself.

“I have been encouraging people to maintain physical distancing and follow the lockdown restrictions. However, some of them do not take heed and end up stampeding to get into my shrine,” he said, adding that some have even vowed not to return to their homes until they consult him.

“This leaves me very worried because Covid-19 is real,” said Madzibaba Nzira.

Covid-19 has claimed thousands of lives globally.  On Sunday, Government extended Zimbabwe’s lockdown by 14 days. The lockdown seeks to contain the spread of the pandemic.-ManicaPost

By A Correspondent- The Founding ZAPU leader and ZPRA Commander General Joshua Nkomo is a character larger than life and who is known for many great exploits that led Zimbabwe to attain her Independence from the white minority regime in 1980.

One tiny juicy story that has not been told in full concerning the life of General Josh, as he was affectionately known, is that he married his step mother’s sister.

The later Father Zimbabwe gives us a peep into this intimate secret in his book The story of my life on page 39.

The story is confirmed by his son Michael Nkomo during an interview with journalist Garikai Mazara in 2017.

Thomas Nyongolo Nkomo was married to Gogo Mlimo Hadebe and the couple was blessed with seven children: Paul (died at 7), Alice (died in 1998), Joshua, Otillia (and her twin, who passed away in infancy), Stephen (died in 2003) and Edward.

In 1942, Gogo Hadebe passed away, and Thomas Nkomo had to look for a new wife and he settled for Mama Elizabeth Mafuyana, who is still surviving. She bore him four children: Patrick, Regina, Margaret and Clara.

At the wedding of Thomas and Elizabeth, Joshua met Joanna, sister to Elizabeth and fell in love and they later married and were blessed with  Themba, Thandiwe, Tutani, Michael and Louise.-Byo24

By A Correspondent- First lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s aide died while three others got injured when a speeding Toyota Hilux vehicle he was travelling in veered off the road at Mavhuradonha range, Muzarabani in Mashonaland  Central province.

Sources familiar to the incident allege the speeding vehicle failed to negotiate a curve on their way to Muzarabani for a COVID-19 awareness campaign by Mnangagwa.

“The speeding vehicle overturned soon after completing Mavhuradonha range and five people who were on board were injured,” said the source.

“We rushed  to the scene where we rendered first aid before taking them to Muzarabani clinic.”

It is further alleged that the security details were subsequently airlifted to Harare where one aide died.

However, Mnangagwa could not proceed to Muzarabani after the accident and had to send a representative who concertized people donated food jumpers and sanitizers at Chidikamwedzi primary and Kabatamukombe primary in Muzarabani district respectively.

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting, Energy Mutodi, said on Friday that the consumption of dogs and other animals by the Chinese and other countries had left the world exposed to COVID-19.

Posting to his Twitter, Mutodi also said people in Asia and some African countries who eat “dogs, cats, snakes, bats, monkeys, baboons, and other wildlife” were putting the rest of the world at risk.

He, however, singled out China and Indonesia as countries to which Zimbabwe would like to export beef, apparently to provide alternative meat.

Said Mutodi:

The consumption of dogsDog, cats Cat, snakes Snake, bats Bat, monkeys Monkey, baboons & other wildlife in Asia & some parts of Africa has left us all at risk of contracting the COVID-19 & Ebola viruses. We hope to up our game on beef exports to China, Indonesia & others soon.

By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Saturday morning visited officers from the President’s Department assigned to the First Lady, who were involved in an accident on Friday.

Three of the officers are admitted at Westend Hospital in Harare while a fourth died at the accident scene when the Totoya Hilux they were travelling veered off the road soon after Mavhuradonha Range.

Reports indicate that the accident occurred after the driver failed to negotiate a curve and rolled down a steep embankment before hitting a tree as the convoy was en route to Muzarabani, Mashonaland Central Province.

An airforce helicopter was scrambled from Harare and transferred the injured from a clinic in Muzarabani where they had been taken.

The First Lady was on her way to donate food hampers and sanitisers at Chidikamwedzi and Kabatamukombe primary schools.

Following the accident, Mnangagwa reportedly abandoned the journey and sent representatives to deliver the donations on her behalf.

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) commissioner Jessie Majome will not be rejoining MDC-T regardless of the Supreme Court ruling which reinstated structures elected at the party congress in 2014.

Majome insisted that she left the party voluntarily in 2018 and is reluctant to be dragged into the “mess”.

Said Majome:

Which part of the ruling says one should go back to the MDC no matter what… I left the MDC voluntarily, I was not even fired so I don’t see why I should be dragged into a mess that I am not part of.

Majome’s remarks come after a youth pressure group, the Zimbabwe National Youth Advocacy Group, called on National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda to act on Majome whom they alleged to be a political player in the MDC.

Majome was appointed deputy secretary for legal affairs at the MDC-T Congress that was held in 2014.

She however contested in the 2018 general elections as an independent candidate following a fallout with her party in primary elections and lost.

President Mnangagwa appointed Majome as a ZACC commissioner after the elections, a position she currently holds.-Newsday

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) UPDATE: 24 APRIL 2020

As of 24 April 2020, a cumulative total of 2 626 321 confirmed cases and 181 938 deaths were reported from more than 210 countries/territories globally (Source WHO Sitrep No.95).

The Ministry would like to report that today, a total of 237 tests were done as detailed in table 1 below giving a total of 5 687 screening and diagnostic tests done to date.

Therefore, to date, Zimbabwe has twenty-eight confirmed cases, including two recoveries and four deaths.

Table 1. Distribution of tests done today
Mash. West – 22
Mat. North – 16
Manicaland – 10
Mash. East – 5
Mat. South – 38
Midlands – 6
Harare – 93
Bulawayo – 47
TOTALS – 237

All the PCR tests done in Harare and Bulawayo today were negative for COVID-19

Table 2. Number of confirmed cases to date
Matabeleland North – 1
Bulawayo – 10
Harare – 12
Mashonaland East – 4
Mashonaland West – 1
Total – 28

The Ministry continues to be on HIGH alert to the COVID-19 pandemic and would like to remind the nation that the most effective ways to protect yourself and others against COVID-19 are to practise good personal hygiene and exercise social distancing.

When you use a mask, cover your mouth and nose, and make sure that there are no gaps between your face and the mask.

Avoid touching the mask while using it; if you do, clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

If masks are not used correctly, they can be a source of infection.

For assistance, please call the COVID-19 tollfree hotline number: 2019.

By A Correspondent- Mutasa South MP Regai Tsunga (MDC Alliance), who was arrested by police on Tuesday for “unnecessary movement” during the lockdown after addressing a gathering of vulnerable members of his constituency described his arrest as “unreasonable”.

Tsunga was arrested together with ward 11 councillor Farai Bhiza and other residents and were each fined $500.

The MP said he had not strayed from of his constituency and was doing his work as an MP.

He accused the government for failing to assist residents in his constituency with subsidised mealie-meal during the lockdown.

“My councillor in ward 11 Farai Bhiza was taking names of residents who wanted to be assisted with subsidised roller meal that government had not still delivered after the 21-day lockdown phase,” he said

“I arrived at the scene at the conclusion of this exercise and within minutes, police officers arrived. I got out of my truck to greet the police officers who had positioned themselves around a section of the parking lot at Mac’s Business Centre in ward 11,” he said.

“I was promptly ordered to jump onto the nearby police truck to Mutare Central Police Station because I was under arrest along with councillor Bhiza and other residents.

“I was charged with unnecessary movement. My lawyer Innocent Gonese argued for me, but the police were adamant. Under protest, I paid $500 for my release,” he said.

He added: “In my view, it was unreasonable to arrest me for doing work in my constituency. An area MP cannot be said to be moving unnecessarily in area that he represents in Parliament.

“I had not strayed out of the constituency; I was implementing a local food security and nutrition programme to ameliorate the suffering of our people arising from COVID-19 and the attendant lockdown.”

He said the police actions did not benefit anyone. Residents, Tsunga said, had lost immensely because the police denied them their right to food.

“As we speak, government has still not made door-to-door mealie-meal sales as promised and people face starvation.”

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwean doctors have urged authorities to make it mandatory for citizens to wear face masks in public places in the fight against COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The Senior Hospital Doctors Association (SHDA) said the country’s growing number of confirmed coronavirus cases is worrisome and calls for an aggressive response.

SHDA president Shingai Nyaguse said:

With community transmission underway, on a balance of probabilities, it is worthwhile to make face masks use mandatory in public places.

We need to up our game in the COVID-19 fight.

Chitungwiza Residents Trust (Chitrest) president Alice Kuvheya queried why the government is not giving residents face masks when research has shown that they mitigate the spread of the virus.

She said:

If the use of a face mask can mitigate the spread of coronavirus, why is the government not giving it to residents? Are they waiting until someone is infected?

As residents, we are worried, we thought by now, things like masks and sanitisers should be available to everyone?-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Second Covid-19 tests done on samples taken from the late Gogo Nguni, who became the fourth Zimbabwean to succumb to the disease locally, have come out positive.

The Nguni family demanded second tests to be done because the now-deceased person lived in a self-isolated homestead and had never got in touch with anyone from Covid-19 hotspots and never left the country.

The principal director policy, planning, monitoring and evaluation in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr Robert Mudyiradima revealed that authorities are now trying to establish the source of the virus.

He said:

Obviously someone brought the virus to Gogo and this is what we are trying to establish. Our teams are already seized with the matter and we are hoping to have a clearer picture as soon as possible as contact tracing progresses both in Harare and Mhondoro.

Gogo Nguni, nee Chitemere passed on at West End Hospital on Wednesday morning soon after she arrived at the medical facility.

Before receiving treatment at West End Hospital, Gogo Nguni had earlier experienced a bout of flu, from which antibiotics were prescribed and seemed to have gotten better.

By A Correspodent- A Mutare man hanged himself on Monday in the eastern border city over his wife’s alleged infidelity.

The now-deceased Leeroy James Marifiye (27) alleged committed suicide early in the morning of Monday.

His wife, Shamiso Magosvongo (24) woke up around 3am, only to find her husband hanging from a roof truss.

Manicaland police spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa confirmed the suicide.

Kakohwa said Magosvongo rushed to inform her friend Silva Maudze (43) who went to report the matter at the Area 3 Dangamvura Complex Police Base.

Marifiye’s body was taken to Dangamvura Police Station for post-mortem.

Kakohwa said no suicide note was left and they are yet to know why he committed suicide, but sources in the neighbourhood told this publication that the pair had a misunderstanding over Magosvongo’s alleged infidelity.

One neighbour, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “What I know is that the now-deceased was not happy with his wife whom he accused of infidelity. Maybe that is the reason why he killed himself,” he said.

Another neighbour weighed in saying: “The pair had a misunderstanding, that is what we are aware of so we are positive that led the husband to kill himself.”-Online

By A Correspondent- The police have warned commuter omnibuses and pirate taxis (Mushikashika), who are routinely flouting lockdown restrictions by ferrying people to and from the Central Business District as well as around high-density suburbs in Harare that they face arrest.

The transporters ferry desperate vendors to and from fresh produce markets as well people who sneak into town early in the morning before police officers are on the roads.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi warned that if caught, the vehicles will be impounded and the drivers and owners arrested.

Said Nyathi:

We are concerned with some pirate taxis which are ferrying people from one point to another. Some are transporting people from suburbs into city centres.

We have observed that they evade checkpoints and sometimes they drop people before police checkpoints. We are going to impound their vehicles and the drivers or owners will be arrested.

Since they are not offering any essential service this lockdown period, we urge them to stay at home.

Zimbabwe has been on lockdown since March 30, with the restrictions extended from the initial 21 days by another 14 days to May 3.

However, the implementation of the stay-at-home order has left a lot to be desired as crowds of hungry citizens jostle for foodstuffs at supermarkets and produce markets.-Statemedia

GOVERNMENT yesterday said it will not be able to increase its cushion payouts of $200 per family because it has no resources in its coffers to provide more cover for workers, traders and distressed families facing an uncertain future owing to disruptions caused by COVID-19.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare minister Paul Mavima yesterday said the $200 represented the resource base that government had in the face of competing interests and could not be increased at the moment.

“The $200 represents the resource envelope that is available given the fiscal space that we are operating in,” Mavima said.

“We will continue to engage Treasury not only about the $200, but also about the $180 that is being given under the traditional food mitigation programme, or the cash transfer for cereals programme.

“Obviously, there are competing needs and values for whatever budget the nation has, so we can only advocate and negotiate with Treasury. If it becomes possible given the resources that they are collecting, then we may have to revise upwards this allowance that we are giving.”

He said the payout was not supposed to be the only money that vulnerable families and workers in distress were supposed to have at their disposal, saying it was just only a top-up to what was already there.

“We have also said that it was not supposed to completely replace whatever families were providing for themselves, but it was just supposed to supplement to provide some relief,” Mavima said.

South Africa on Tuesday unveiled a R500 billion economic support package to support vulnerable companies, people and to protect jobs as part of its response to COVID-19, which has seen the country being placed under lockdown for five weeks.
Its cases have passed 3 000, with 58 deaths.

Zimbabwe’s offer, equivalent to US$8 at the official rate and US$4 on the black market rate, to cushion vulnerable communities was only enough to buy a 10kg bag of mealie meal.

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa said workers were facing retrenchments, layoffs and salary cuts at a time the bread basket has risen to $7 000 for a family of four, meaning the government offer was a drop in the ocean.

“In other countries, governments are providing relief for workers who have been laid off, sent on unpaid leave or forced to take pay cuts. Here, we have to make do with a $200 payout decided in unclear methods,” Mutasa said.

“There are no stimulus packages to save jobs or put money in the pockets of the suffering workers. This is a painful period in the life of workers who are alone in this.”

Through the Tripartite Negotiating Forum, labour and business have asked government to come up with interventions that would save many from hunger and job losses.

Mavima confirmed receiving requests which include bailouts, unemployment benefit claims and stimulus packages, saying he had since presented them to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who will soon meet with business and labour to chart a way forward.

NewsDay

ZIMBABWEANS have demanded the deportation of a top Chinese diplomat for posting on Twitter, a message that ‘celebrated’ Covid-19 deaths on 29 of their United Kingdom based compatriots.

Zhao Baogang, the Chinese deputy ambassador, posted on Twitter that no Zimbabwean had died in China from COVID-19 compared to the UK.

The virus originated from China at the end of last year and has since spread across the globe killing 197 082 people as of Saturday morning.

“No Zimbabwe died of COVID-19 in China, we take good care of them. 29 Zimbabweans die of COVID-19 in UK,” Baogang wrote on his Twitter – @zhaobaogang2011.

However, Zimbabweans did not take kindly to the message and leading the assail, exiled former Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo called for Baogang to leave Zimbabwe immediately.

Baogang later deleted the tweet.

Zimbabweans said his message was ‘insensitive’, ‘celebratory’ in that 29 Zimbabweans had died of COVID-19 in the UK.

“This revolutionary Chinese friend of the rogue regime is undiplomatically and proud celebrating Zimbabwean deaths in the UK due to #COVID-19 in such an insensitive way that would get him sent back to his racist homeland in any other country with a proper and legitimate government,” Moyo said in protest.

“The racist diplomat from racist China had deleted his offensive, outrageous and totally unacceptable tweet as if he does not know that the internet, or rather @Twitter does not forget, this @zhaobaogang2011 must go.”

Journalist Hope Chin’ono said Baogang wanted to pit Zimbabweans against other nations.

“This racist Chinese deputy ambassador @zhaobaogang2011 wants to pit us against other nations! We should REFUSE that! Our people living in UK have held our economy with remittances. China has done NOTHING for the common except to LOOT our resources and attack Africans in China,” he said.

Most of the Zimbabweans who have died in the UK are nurses and front line health workers.

All Africa

Farai Dziva|Overzealous
ZRP Cops brutally assaulted the director of Masvingo based NGO, Community Tolerance Reconciliation And Development (COTRAD), Gamuchirai Mukura on Friday.

Mukura was assaulted for allegedly violating lockdown restrictions.

He was bashed despite possessing an approval letter authorising him to carry out his duties during the lockdown.

“Mukura was stopped by the police at a roadblock in the city and as he was reaching out for his papers, they arrested him.

Despite producing an approval letter, the cops accused him of flouting lockdown restrictions. They bashed him in the process,” a Masvingo based human rights activist told ZimEye.com on Friday.

Human rights activists have expressed concern at the high incidence of harassment of citizens by the police.

Speaking to ZimEye.com, Mukura confirmed the incident.He urged police officers to respect citizens’ rights.

“I was harassed and forced to pay a fine.This happened despite the fact that I had a letter of approval,” said Mukura.See Mukura’s approval letter below :

As of 24 April 2020, a cumulative total of 2 626 321 confirmed cases and 181 938 deaths were reported from more than 210 countries/territories globally (Source WHO Sitrep No.95).

The Ministry would like to report that today, a total of 237 tests were done as detailed in table 1 below giving a total of 5 687 screening and diagnostic tests done to date.

Therefore, to date, Zimbabwe has twenty-eight confirmed cases, including two recoveries and four deaths.

Table 1. Distribution of tests done today
Mash. West – 22
Mat. North – 16
Manicaland – 10
Mash. East – 5
Mat. South – 38
Midlands – 6
Harare – 93
Bulawayo – 47
TOTALS – 237

All the PCR tests done in Harare and Bulawayo today were negative for COVID-19

Table 2. Number of confirmed cases to date
Matabeleland North – 1
Bulawayo – 10
Harare – 12
Mashonaland East – 4
Mashonaland West – 1
Total – 28

The Ministry continues to be on HIGH alert to the COVID-19 pandemic and would like to remind the nation that the most effective ways to protect yourself and others against COVID-19 are to practise good personal hygiene and exercise social distancing.

When you use a mask, cover your mouth and nose, and make sure that there are no gaps between your face and the mask.

Avoid touching the mask while using it; if you do, clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

If masks are not used correctly, they can be a source of infection.

For assistance, please call the COVID-19 tollfree hotline number: 2019.

By A Correspondent- Two men have appeared in court for allegedly defrauding Econet Zimbabwe of $14 million.

The duo, Gavin Tinashe Guwu (31) and Tshambo Madhava (41), appeared before Chipinge magistrate, Mrs Elizabeth Hanzi, facing fraud charges on Friday.

Guwu and Madhava were not asked to plead when they appeared in court.

They were ordered to pay $10 000 bail each.

The matter was remanded to May 15 for trial.

Prosecuting, Mr Timothy Katsande told the court that from December 30 last year to March 27 this year, the two connived with Mukai Mapanzure a sales consultant in Chipinge, to defraud the telecommunications giant.

“Mapanzure had access to the database. He replaced a sim card for Econet’s merchant mobile broadband number 0784953460 and processed a private identification number to access the complainant’s merchant.

“Mapanzure then transferred $6 million from Econet’s account into Guwu’s agent number 0784718093,” said Mr Katsande.

On another occasion, Madhava received $8million on his agent number 0771337884.

It is the court’s case that the $14 million was used to buy United Stated dollars on the black market.

“Guwu then handed US$40 000 over to Madhava for temporary safe keeping. When Guwu collected the forex, he handed it over to Mapanzure.”

Only $3 million was recovered.

By A Correspondent- ZBCtv has been affected by the national lockdown due to Covid-19, as some of its programmes like soapies and talk shows have run out of episodes.

Among those affected are soapies Indlalifa- The Heir, Estate Blues and Zvazviri.

As such, the national broadcaster is looking to partner online productions such as Wadiwa Wepa Moyo for possible showing and also bring back old shows to ensure people are entertained during the lockdown.

ZBCtv’s head of production and television services, Godknows Chera said the national broadcaster approached producers of hit online soapie Wadiwa Wepa Moyo to find out how they can have the soapie that was shown weekly on YouTube, on television.

“The lockdown has affected our programming as ZBCtv. We have programmes such as Estate Blues, Bvunze and soapies like Zvazviri and Indlalifa being affected. We’re now discussing with producers, some whose productions are doing well online such as Wadiwa Wepa Moyo to see how we can partner with them,” Chera said.

But, even if the broadcaster gets content from Wadiwa Wepa Moyo, it will not last long as the show, which came to an end this week, only has 10 episodes. Its production has also been halted due to the pandemic.

“We’ve engaged them (Wadiwa Wepa Moyo producers) but they’ve also cited that their last episode was aired on Wednesday. They’re also failing to produce more content because of the lockdown. If we take their content, we’ll be getting one season and when that is over, we’ll be stuck as a broadcaster. So, these are the challenges that we’re facing,” said Chera.

He said some production houses had shown willingness to supply content such as producers of Indlalifa who requested for clearance letters from the national broadcaster for them to continue shooting.

“Indlalifa wanted a letter giving them permission to shoot. But we said in as much as a letter can be provided, there are regulations that have to be adhered to such as social distancing etc.

“So, we might not be able to provide the letter because of that,” said Chera. The station’s in-house shows such as Talking Sport, Munhandare and youth programme Hashtag Drive have also been affected.

“Hashtag Drive, a youth-driven show in its first season, which was gaining momentum, has since been dropped. Because of the social distancing requirement, we as the national broadcaster cannot then contravene that regulation. “As such, we can’t be inviting guests to the studio.”

Quizzed why they cannot conduct some of the interviews online, Chera said it was not that easy as some of the interviewees do not have Internet access.

“Most of the people don’t have access to the Internet as it’s expensive. So to do a Skype call will be a challenge for the guests and presenters,” said Chera. However, to mitigate this problem, Chera said they were digging into their archives for shows.

“Like any other broadcaster, we’re digging into our archives to check for content. So, in the meantime until things normalise, we’re bringing back shows like Dlala Ngamla, Tiriparwendo, Madlela Series and Amakorokoza.”

To try and keep people entertained during the lockdown that has been extended by two weeks, Indlalifa has since uploaded four of its episodes online on YouTube channel AJV Afri – Art to cater for audiences there. ZBCtv is not the only one with the headache of lack of content as broadcasters in South Africa are facing the same predicament.

Soapies such as Uzalo on SABC 1, Scandal!, Rhythm City, Imbewu: The Seed on eTV, Isibaya and Gomora on Mzansi Magic all stopped shooting when the lockdown in their country was introduced weeks ago. This has seen them run out of new episodes. The likes of Gomora and Isibaya will stop showing this week and will be replaced by Somizi and Mohale: The Union and The River which will have double episodes shown.-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- Scores of people are flocking self-styled prophet, Madzibaba Nzira’s shrine in Hobhouse, Mutare, as they seek spiritual healing in breach of the national lockdown restrictions, the Weekender has established.

Early this week, police had to disperse the crowd that was queuing up to consult the prophet on various spiritual problems.

Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa said law enforcement agents are determined to ensure that physical distancing is observed so as to stop the spread of Covid-19.

“People should take heed of the lockdown restrictions and desist from such gatherings. They should abide by the lockdown rules and regulations for the sake of their own safety,” he said.

When contacted for comment, Madzibaba Nzira defended himself.

“I have been encouraging people to maintain physical distancing and follow the lockdown restrictions. However, some of them do not take heed and end up stampeding to get into my shrine,” he said, adding that some have even vowed not to return to their homes until they consult him.

“This leaves me very worried because Covid-19 is real,” said Madzibaba Nzira.

Covid-19 has claimed thousands of lives globally.  On Sunday, Government extended Zimbabwe’s lockdown by 14 days. The lockdown seeks to contain the spread of the pandemic.-ManicaPost

Hundreds of people, predominantly in rural Zimbabwe have since February died of what is believed to be from malaria infections at a time when the country is battling with the Coronavirus.

Already battling to contain the novel coronavirus, Zimbabwe health authorities are also facing the surge in malaria cases which has claimed 205 lives this year.

The increase in malaria cases has raised concerns that some coronavirus cases may go unrecognised since symptoms of the two diseases are highly similar.

As the country entered its fourth week of a five-week lockdown imposed to control the spread of the virus, the government announced a 45 percent rise in malaria cases compared to 2019 as the number of deaths increased more than 20%.

“We are beginning to see the cases rising,” Norman Matara, secretary general of the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights told AFP on Friday.

“Unfortunately this is happening at a time we are battling with another health crisis – Covid-19 pandemic.

“One of the conditions can be mistaken for the other because some of the symptoms tend to be similar,” said Matara.

The country’s latest Coronavirus death is one of gogo Nguni, 82, who succumbed to the disease at the Westend Hospital in Harare after being rushed from her malaria infested rural home in Mashonaland West province.

Confirmation that she died from the Coronavirus has left many people confused on how she could have contacted the disease at her secluded rural home.

Two Covid-19 tests done on samples taken from the late Gogo Nguni all came out positive.

The second tests were necessitated by information from Gogo Nguni’s relatives who insisted that the now deceased person lived in a self-isolated homestead, never got in touch with anyone from Covid-19 hotspots and never left the country.

This information left her relatives wondering on the credibility of the initial results, thereby forcing health authorities to do a second round of the same polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for Covid-19.

Commentators have however indicated that had gogo Nguni not been rushed to Harare by members of her family, she could have easily been declared as a malaria case as with several other people who have died in the province since the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile, Government has intensified contact tracing in Chitemere village under Mhondoro-Mubaira, where the late Gogo Nguni lived with two house maids and two herders before she was taken to Harare for treatment while Harare City Health department has also initiated a parallel process on her relatives in Harare, some of whom went to pick her for treatment.

“Obviously someone brought the virus to Gogo and this is what we are trying to establish. Our teams are already seized with the matter and we are hoping to have a clearer picture as soon as possible as contact tracing progresses both in Harare and Mhondoro,” said principal director policy, planning, monitoring and evaluation in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr Robert Mudyiradima.

Earlier, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo had told journalists during a press conference on Covid-19 update that Mhondoro-Mubaira had now become an area of interest.

“This has become an area of interest and therefore we are going to be hot-spotting by making sure that the population around there is screened. That is the only way we can make a determination on the source of Gogo’s infection,” said Dr Moyo.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa added that even the Mashonaland West provincial Covid-19 taskforce was going to visit the area for their own assessment, to try and understand circumstances surrounding transmission in that area.

“It is very sad that we lost our grandmother. As a member of the national taskforce, in charge of Mashonaland West and I have since engaged with the provincial taskforce, which is also seized with this matter.

“They told me that they are going to visit this area to make sure that it is disinfected and that people in this village are conscientised on the need to up their hygienic practices. Even the MP for the area was very worried and is equally seized with the matter,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.

Gogo Nguni, nee Chitemere passed on at West End Hospital on Wednesday morning becoming the fourth Covid-19 casualty in Zimbabwe.

Before receiving treatment at West End Hospital, Gogo Nguni had earlier experienced a bout of flu, from which antibiotics were prescribed and seemed to have gotten better.

Her condition deteriorated on Monday, forcing her relatives to take her to West End for treatment. She however died before receiving any treatment nor further investigation into her condition as authorities waited for Covid-19 results first, which then came out positive.

To date four people have died of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe. The other three were a 79-year old man from Bulawayo, who also died before receiving confirmatory results, a 50-year old man from Harare who had travelled from the United Kingdom and a 30-year old man from Harare who had also travelled from the United States of America.

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) commissioner Jessie Majome will not be rejoining MDC-T regardless of the Supreme Court ruling which reinstated structures elected at the party congress in 2014.

Majome insisted that she left the party voluntarily in 2018 and is reluctant to be dragged into the “mess”. Said Majome:

Which part of the ruling says one should go back to the MDC no matter what… I left the MDC voluntarily, I was not even fired so I don’t see why I should be dragged into a mess that I am not part of.

Majome’s remarks come after a youth pressure group, the Zimbabwe National Youth Advocacy Group, called on National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda to act on Majome whom they alleged to be a political player in the MDC.

Majome was appointed deputy secretary for legal affairs at the MDC-T Congress that was held in 2014.

She however contested in the 2018 general elections as an independent candidate following a fallout with her party in primary elections and lost.

President Mnangagwa appointed Majome as a ZACC commissioner after the elections, a position she currently holds.-Newsday

A Mutasa man recently took his own life after allegedly failing to stomach step children’s disrespect.

The 35-year-old Chioniso Korowa Sithole, better known as Korowa, is said to have decided to end his life after his lover’s 15-year-old child had refused to go to the grinding mill.

It is alleged that ever since the late gold panner moved in with his 55-year-old lover, only identified as Mai Glenda, he had known no peace as her three children where always disrespecting him.

According to Nyamukwarara Village 4 head, Lovemore Matunhira, this was causing countless misunderstandings between the two lovebirds.

However, Mai Glenda refused to talk to The Weekender, saying she is still mourning. But according to our sources, Korowa was not a happy man during his last few days. Said Matunhira: “They all refused to do house chores. Before going for his panning, Korowa would clean the house, wash the plates and cook for himself. He would then leave as soon as he was done. Upon his return, Korowa would cook for everyone and then retire for bed.

“On the last occasion, he asked Mai Glenda’s 15-year-old son to go to the grinding mill and the boy refused, stating that it was already getting dark. The boy also told Korowa that he was not his father and therefore had no right to order him to do anything.

“This angered Korowa. He grabbed an axe and ran after the child, threatening to kill him. The boy in turn threatened to commit suicide if Korowa did not leave their home.

“Following another heated argument on the conduct of Mai Glenda’s children, Korowa hanged himself the following morning,” said Matunhira.

Korowa left a suicide note which instructed that he be laid to rest at his rural home in Chimanimani.

He, however, did not state why he had taken his own life.

Korowa’s friend, Tongai Mandigore, told The Weekender that Korowa was always fuming over the children’s conduct.

“Mai Glenda never rebuked her children for the way they were treating my friend. To her, l think Korowa was just another lover who would leave someday while she moves on to another.

“I had known Korowa for the two years and he had never exhibited any suicide tendencies. He was a quiet person who enjoyed his beer,” said Mandigore.

-State Media

KAMPALA – Six Chinese nationals have been convicted by the Nakawa Magistrate’s Court after they pleaded guilty to escaping from quarantine.

Mr Huang Haiguiang, Mr Li Chaochyan, Mr Lin Xiaofang , Mr Qin Shening, Mr Liang Xinging and Mr Huang Wei on Tuesday, April 21 appeared before Chief Magistrate Ruth Nabaasa before they pleaded guilty of disobeying lawful orders, an act likely to spread infection of disease.

The magistrate then remanded the Chinese nationals until May 4 when they will appear for sentencing.

Prosecution led by Ms Annette Namatovu states that on the 19th day of March 2020 at Kibuli Hotel Africa in Kampala knowing or having reason to believe that it was likely to spread the infection of a disease dangerous to life, the six Chinese nationals unlawfully or negligently escaped from self quarantined at the said hotel without completing their fourteen mandatory days against COVID 19 to Zombo district.

According to the court records, the six Chinese arrived at Entebbe international airport aboard Ethiopian Airlines on March 10, 2020 and had been subjected to 14 days self quarantine at Kibuli Hotel Africa but decided but they decided to defy the orders of the Ministry of Health I’m decided to run away under unclear circumstances.

PML Daily

OVER 30 000 plus frontline health workers in the country are vulnerable to coronavirus after government reportedly ignored a court order to provide them with personal protective equipment (PPE), with healthcare providers warning that this was a ticking time bomb.

Already, two heath workers in Bulawayo, identified as case numbers 15 and 19 last week tested positive for the novel virus but thousands are facing increased risk as they deal with the rising number of returning residents from COVID-19 hotspots and community transmission cases.

“The PPE situation remains very critical. We have not received any positive feedback from health workers countrywide (that government had started supplying the equipment),” Fortune Nyamande, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) told NewsDay yesterday.

He said there has been no indication from government how it wanted to proceed. “We are consulting with our lawyers how to seek enforcement of the High Court order in view of the continued exposure of health workers.”

The exposure of health workers to coronavirus has become an issue of concern internationally. More than 27 000 health workers in Spain have tested positive for coronavirus, according to that country’s emergency co-ordination centre. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States figures show that nearly 9 300 healthcare workers contracted COVID-19 during the course of their work and 27 have died in that country while in Italy, more than 41 doctors died while over 5 000 doctors and nurses had tested positive to the deadly virus. In the United Kingdom, at least 100 healthcare workers have died of coronavirus, according to Nursing Notes, a platform run by nurses in that country.

In Zimbabwe, on April 14 the High Court ordered the government to provide personal protective equipment for frontline health workers across the country to protect them against contracting COVID-19 while attending to patients after ZADHR went to court to argue that the State was putting them at risk by not providing them with PPE.More in Home

The government was also not carrying out tests on the frontline health personnel, putting them and patients at risk of infection, while ZADHR argues that it did not use proper equipment to screen a few.

“A few health workers were screened using the rapid diagnostic test kits last week. The numbers are still very low and almost insignificant,” Nyamande said.

“The tests used are also not the diagnostic PCR tests which are the gold standard in diagnosing COVID-19. All registered health workers in Zimbabwe are at risk, both private and public practitioners.”

Zimbabwe Nurses Association (Zina) president, Enock Dongo told NewsDay that failure by government to avail PPE to heath workers was creating a breeding ground for the fast-spreading virus.

“Government officials will be quick to point out that no health worker in the country has tested positive for the virus or is affected in one way or another. It is easy to say that but mind you, none of the essential healthcare workers have been tested so far for COVID-19,” Dongo said.

He said efforts to raise the issue with government had fallen on deaf ears as none of the senior government officials was keen on taking the association’s advice seriously.

“Zina has been advising government to ensure that there is testing of the nurses who are the first instance persons when it comes to the coronavirus. Nurses are the first ones who observe the patients and check them every time they go to a hospital with symptoms of the coronavirus.

“If those nurses contract the virus, they are in a very big risk of spreading it around themselves and among patients and the only way to avoid this is to test them and be sure that none of them have contracted the virus.

The challenge is that no one in government is listening to our advice,” Dongo added.

The Zina boss said the few kits that his organisation’s members had received were inadequate, with some of the members mostly working without the protective gear.

“The kits for personal protection are highly adequate. Most of our members are exposed to this pandemic because there are no protective clothing kits. Testing of nurses has been poor so far. It seems nobody cares at all.

“If the nation fails to take care of those that are in the first line of defence, it means very little care is taken about all the other people who are also likely to contract the virus. We are worried as Zina as to why government is failing to focus on those issues that concern health workers,” Dongo said.

He warned that coronavirus cases in the country would likely spike if government continuously fails to act.

“We have said a lot and nobody seems to be listening. Should we continue as if everything is normal. We are at a high risk of having a massive rise in the numbers of those that have the virus,” Dongo said.

“We have to look at the spread ratios of this pandemic. If we don’t contain it at the first level and we leave nurses so exposed, they will infect others who will in turn infect others and the infection chain will continue to grow. In the end, we will have an unmanageable situation which we could have avoided had our government listened to what we tell them.”

-Newsday

A $17 million relief fund to support youth-led businesses and associations to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 on their operations has been set up by Government.

The fund is being given as a grant and is meant to build capacity among youth-led businesses and registered youth organisations engaged in activities complementing the national taskforce’s relief efforts.

Such activities include manufacturing and distribution of protective materials such as face masks, sanitisers and soaps.

Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister Kirsty Coventry said yesterday: “This relief fund targets youth enterprises and registered youth associations. To qualify for the grant, associations or enterprises owned by Zimbabwean youths must have been existing and operating for a period of at least six months to a year before the lockdown.

“They must also demonstrate how their activities have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Their business must have a formalised structure complying with the statutory requirements governing that sector.

“They must demonstrate innovation, value addition, and or beneficiation and enterprises helping combating Covid-19 will be given priority in the release of funds. The association or enterprise must be able to produce a bank statement dating back six months to a year prior to the lockdown.”

Minister Coventry said applicants should not have benefited from other Government Covid-19 relief facilities.

The principals should be youths aged between 18 and 35 and should be citizens of Zimbabwe who reside and operate in the country. “They must show proof of place of operation, for example, Zesa bill or water bills,” said Minister Coventry.

She said disbursement of funds to qualifying beneficiaries shall be a once off payment.

“I wish to assure the nation that mechanisms are in place to ensure that the fund will be administered in an open and transparent manner as well as to ensure that all Zimbabwean youths who meet the above set criteria will have an equal chance of benefiting from the programme,” said Minister Coventry.

“No application will be turned away. In fact, those that do not qualify under this fund will be referred to other facilities such as the social protection and arts sector support scheme.

“The application process involves various online platforms mainly because of the precautionary measures put in place to avoid further spreading of the corona virus. Youths who fail to access our online platforms can liaise with our provincial contact persons for onward submission to the head office and it will be a continuous process.”

-State Media

The state broadsheet, the Herald has run a story in which they claim that a UK-based Zimbabwean woman Mary Nyandoro is among the group of 26 who the government is abusing at the Belvedere Teachers College since Monday. 

The story is published as the same person is currently in London right now near Buckingham Palace and has not been in Zimbabwe for several years.

Government journalist accuse the woman of assaulting the foreign affairs minister SB Moyo while on his trip in London in July last year.

ZimEye reveals with clear live video Mary enjoying the sun while assisting in the covid fight.

VIDEO LOADING BELOW

The state Media article however alleges as follows in full print:

ONE of the United Kingdom-based Zimbabweans who attacked Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso Moyo and his delegation while on Government business in London is among the 26 returnees quarantined at Belvedere Technical Teachers’ College, The Herald is reliably informed.

It is alleged that the attacker, Ms Mary Nyandoro, is a known MDC-A activist. She is also believed to be one of the people who tried to resist compulsory quarantine at the college citing “poor conditions” and preferred to be accommodated in a hotel.

Deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Lovemore Matuke confirmed her presence, saying Government had noted with concern that some of the 26 UK returnees were actually MDC-Alliance activists who attacked Dr Moyo and other senior Government officials in London last year.

“Ms Nyandoro is among the batch of 26 UK returnees who are complaining about the facilities at the college,” he said.

“Now is not the time to score cheap political mileage, as Government, with the rest of the world is making frantic efforts to fight the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.

“These people are attention seekers with a political agenda. This is not time for politicking, the pandemic is serious. We cannot risk their families because they have their own motives. The activists are trying to politicise Covid-19 and trying to destabilise the spirit of unity, which is currently prevailing in the country.

“We will only be able to give attention to such behaviour after we manage to control the pandemic.”

The returnees cited deplorable state of affairs at the isolation centre that included lack of running water and being forced to share toilets and bathrooms.

It has since been revealed that toilets are working properly and there is clean running water for bathing, while mineral water for drinking is provided.

There is also uninterrupted electricity, with the group enjoying three-course meals a day.

Government has since declared that there would be no red carpet treatment for the UK returnees, stating that they would be quarantined just like any other Zimbabwean returning, as the country joins the rest of the world in the battle to contain the spread of Covid-19.

In July last year, Dr Moyo was accompanied by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Mr Nick Mangwana, among other Government officials, to London on a four-day re-engagement programme to strengthen ties and lure investors.

While, on the re-engagement mission, they were attacked by placard-waving protesters who were demanding the release of MDC-Alliance deputy chairperson Mr Job Sikhala who had been arraigned before the courts for allegedly trying to subvert a constitutionally-elected Government.

Ms Nyandoro was part of the crowd seen showering the delegation with bottled water and calling the delegation names, and she was the most vocal among the group.

She held a placard labelled “TOO EARLY TO REMOVE SANCTIONS”, referring to illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by some Western countries that have affected the economy.

By Own Correspondent| Zimbabwean authorities on Friday 24 April 2020 charged a Chipinge man with undermining authority of or insulting President Emmerson Mnangagwa after he allegedly circulated a message on WhatsApp in which the ZANU PF party leader was accused of ineptitude.

Chrispen Rambu of Chipinge in Manicaland province, who is an opposition MDC Alliance party Councillor for Ward 8 in Chipinge urban constituency was summoned by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) members to appear at Chipinge Central Police Station, where he was charged with insulting and undermining authority of President Emmerson Mnangagwa as defined in section 33 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

ZRP members claimed that Rambu denigrated Mnangagwa when he allegedly forwarded a message onto a local WhatsApp group which reads “Ramaphosa just announced R500 billion SA ‘Stimulus package. Seeing him addressing and comparing him with E.D you won’t doubt that we are having a fool for a head of state”.

Rambu, who is represented by Mekias Gwamanda of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights is expected to appear at Chipinge Magistrates Court on Saturday.

Three Zimbabwean men have been jailed for between two and six years after they admitted their role in an elaborate “industrial scale” cheque fraud in the United Kingdom.

Criminal mastermind Patson Mupinyuri (37), forger Collen Chikore (42) and Simbarashe Dengu (30) engaged four con-women who power-dressed to scam charities, schools, businesses and a church out of £750 000 during a UK-wide crime wave.

Unemployed Tracey Henry (52) disguised herself as a businesswoman to cash counterfeit cheques and invoices at banks including branches in Chelsea, Richmond, Wimbledon, Camden, Paddington and Wood Green.

Henry, of Harlesden, Cynthia Archibong (48) of Grays, Toni Shorley (38) and Amy Browne (37) of north London, also impersonated wealthy account holders for ringleader  Mupinyuri, Inner London Crown Court heard.

Mupinyuri splashed out thousands on cars and hotels for his “runners” as the gang committed crimes from Exeter to Aberdeen.

On one occasion, he booked rooms at the five-star Celtic Manor golf resort in Newport, South Wales.

Mupinyuri would research businesses to target and harvest bank signatories’ names, dates of birth and addresses.

He provided these stolen details to Chikore, who used advanced technology to produce high-quality forged cheques and invoices.

Fake driving licences together with the stolen account and security details were used to impersonate genuine customers.

Accounts belonging to a variety of institutions and businesses including charities, schools, town councils and a church were targeted.

Police said £746 679 was stolen between February 2017 and July last year.

More than 220 counterfeit cheques were cashed with a typical value of £2 000.

But the gang was rumbled when bank staff spotted identical frauds and alerted the dedicated card and payment crime unit, a specialist police department funded by the finance industry.

All victims were fully refunded.

After “runner” Colin Mosdel (33) was arrested, an investigation led to Mupinyuri and Dengu, who were detained alongside Archibong and Shorley in Hull.

They were in a Mercedes car preparing to drive off having tried to cash several fraudulent cheques at a bank.

Archibong was seen counting £50 notes before officers seized a large quantity of fake licences, blank cheques and handwritten notes of accounts details.

On the same day, Chikore was held in Coventry.

A search of his home uncovered equipment used to mass- produce counterfeit cheques including specialist paper, cutting equipment, UV inks and several colour printers.

Detective constable Alex Coubrough, who investigated the case, said: “We have dismantled a highly organised criminal gang who were committing cheque fraud on an industrial scale.

“We are delighted to have brought these criminals to justice and to have removed the threat they posed to the banking industry and its customers.”

After each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud, Mupinyuri, of Northampton, was jailed for six years; Chikore, of Coventry, six years and two months; Dengu, of Nuneaton, two years and 10 months; and Browne, of London, one year and six months.

For their part as runners, Henry, received three years and three months; Archibong, three years and one month; Shorley, of Cardiff, two years and one month; and Mosdell, of no fixed abode, two years and three months. 

— Evening Standard

Covid-19 screening and testing will be integrated into malaria response to mitigate the recent spike in deaths and cases, with the death toll hitting 205, so far this year.

This would mean capacitating community health workers who are instrumental in malaria response in most rural communities to screen and test for Covid-19 and providing them with personal protective equipment.

The consideration followed challenges noted by Government that were prompted by the outbreak of Covid-19, although malaria so far remains the most dangerous.

Statistics on malaria availed by Government showed that deaths shot up from 127 between January 1 and April 23 last year to 205 in the same four months this year.

Similarly, cases have also increased from 117 715 last year to 203 964 this year between January and April.

Addressing a press conference ahead of the World Malaria Day today, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said Zimbabwe had made great strides in reducing the burden of malaria in central and southern western parts of the country and was now concentrating on the eastern and northern parts, which border Mozambique and Zambia.

He said malaria incidences had gone down by about 83 percent from 36 per 1 000 people in 2 000 to 22 per 1 000 people in 2019.

Similarly, Dr Moyo said mortality had declined by 75 percent from 1 069 deaths in 2003 to 266 deaths in 2019.

He said 28 malaria endemic districts were already recording less than five cases per 1 000 people — a stage referred to as pre-elimination.

“However, these gains are being threatened by the Covid-19 pandemic, a disease which has common initial symptoms to malaria, which include fever, headache, generalised body pains and weakness,” said Dr Moyo.-State media

Second Covid-19 tests done on samples taken from the late Gogo Nguni have come out positive.

The second tests were necessitated by information from Gogo Nguni’s relatives who insisted that the now deceased person lived in a self-isolated homestead, never got in touch with anyone from Covid-19 hotspots and never left the country.

This information left her relatives wondering on the credibility of the initial results, thereby forcing health authorities to do a second round of the same polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Government has intensified contact tracing in Chitemere village under Mhondoro-Mubaira, where the late Gogo Nguni lived with two house maids and two herders before she was taken to Harare for treatment while Harare City Health department has also initiated a parallel process on her relatives in Harare, some of whom went to pick her for treatment.

“Obviously someone brought the virus to Gogo and this is what we are trying to establish. Our teams are already seized with the matter and we are hoping to have a clearer picture as soon as possible as contact tracing progresses both in Harare and Mhondoro,” said principal director policy, planning, monitoring and evaluation in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr Robert Mudyiradima.

Earlier, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo had told journalists during a press conference on Covid-19 update that Mhondoro-Mubaira had now become an area of interest.

“This has become an area of interest and therefore we are going to be hot-spotting by making sure that the population around there is screened. That is the only way we can make a determination on the source of Gogo’s infection,” said Dr Moyo.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa added that even the Mashonaland West provincial Covid-19 taskforce was going to visit the area for their own assessment, to try and understand circumstances surrounding transmission in that area.

“It is very sad that we lost our grandmother. As a member of the national taskforce, in charge of Mashonaland West and I have since engaged with the provincial taskforce, which is also seized with this matter.

“They told me that they are going to visit this area to make sure that it is disinfected and that people in this village are conscientised on the need to up their hygienic practices. Even the MP for the area was very worried and is equally seized with the matter,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.

Gogo Nguni, nee Chitemere passed on at West End Hospital on Wednesday morning becoming the fourth Covid-19 casualty in Zimbabwe.

Before receiving treatment at West End Hospital, Gogo Nguni had earlier experienced a bout of flu, from which antibiotics were prescribed and seemed to have gotten better.

Her condition deteriorated on Monday, forcing her relatives to take her to West End for treatment. She however died before receiving any treatment nor further investigation into her condition as authorities waited for Covid-19 results first, which then came out positive.

To date four people have died of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe. The other three were a 79-year old man from Bulawayo, who also died before receiving confirmatory results, a 50-year old man from Harare who had travelled from the United Kingdom and a 30-year old man from Harare who had also travelled from the United States of America.

ZBCtv has been affected by the national lockdown due to Covid-19, as some of its programmes like soapies and talk shows have run out of episodes.

Among those affected are soapies Indlalifa- The Heir, Estate Blues and Zvazviri.

As such, the national broadcaster is looking to partner online productions such as Wadiwa Wepa Moyo for possible showing and also bring back old shows to ensure people are entertained during the lockdown.

ZBCtv’s head of production and television services, Godknows Chera said the national broadcaster approached producers of hit online soapie Wadiwa Wepa Moyo to find out how they can have the soapie that was shown weekly on YouTube, on television.
“The lockdown has affected our programming as ZBCtv.

We have programmes such as Estate Blues, Bvunze and soapies like Zvazviri and Indlalifa being affected.

We’re now discussing with producers, some whose productions are doing well online such as Wadiwa Wepa Moyo to see how we can partner with them,” Chera said.-State media

Farai Dziva|The Ministry of Health and Childcare has corrected the blunder it made on the number of COVID-19 cases in Zimbabwe.

The Ministry announced that the number of cases had increased to 29, yet the figure is still 28.

See statement below :
The Ministry would like to report that of the 101 PCR tests done in Bulawayo which had pending results on the 22nd of April 2020, one was positive for COVID-19.

However, the positive result was not for a new case but from a re-test of a case that has been reported previously.

The re-test was conducted in line with WHO guidelines for confirming clinical recovery.

Therefore, the positive result from Bulawayo was not for a new case.

The Ministry continues to be on HIGH alert to the COVID-19 pandemic and would like to remind the nation that, the most effective ways to protect yourself and others against COVID-19 are to practise good personal hygiene and exercise social distancing.

Farai Dziva|Emmerson Mnangagwa has angered the Christian community after equating Kuda Tagwirei to biblical character Simon Peter.

Mnangagwa likened the Sakunda Holdings Chief Executive to Biblical Apostle Peter following his donation of of equipment to the government -meant to fight the new Cronavirus.

Mnangagwa said :
I want you all to know, that we accept with similar gratitude whatever you have brought but, of course, even Jesus had twelve disciples but we all know he had more favour towards Peter.

I don’t know the reason but maybe Peter quickly understood Jesus’ character more than the others.

I am saying so because I have a list from Sakunda. They have done quite a lot in the volumes of things that we need.”

Church leaders have described Mnangagwa’ s utterances as blasphemous.

“This is totally unacceptable, I think the President should retract his words.His utterances are blasphemous,” said a Masvingo based church leader. Several church leaders have also expressed similar sentiments.

Angry Zimbabweans have accused Senator Morgen Komichi of betraying the “people’s struggle”-watch video below :

Farai Dziva|Controversial Masvingo based church leader, Isaac Makomichi says he is ready to meet a Malawian traditional traditional healer, who has challenged contemporary prophets’ “supernatural powers.”

Makomichi, who is known as the lion of witches by his followers, is the leader of Calvary Prayer Group.The n’anga in question is currently based in Zaka.

Makomichi publishes weekly statements about his work on social media.

According to social media reports the traditional healer openly denounced present day prophets.

Makomichi said he was not afraid of the n’anga adding he was ready to confront him.

” I wish to send a strong warning to a Malawian traditional healer who is challenging servants of God.

He must desist from despising anointed men and women of God.

He cannot win the battle against anointed servants.

The n’anga is inviting trouble.I am not afraid of him. I am ready to confront him,” declared Makomichi.

The n’anga reportedly threatened to cast a bad spell on what he described as fake “prophets” in Zimbabwe.

Watch live dancehall singer Ras Caleb’s live perfomance loading below……….

By A Correspondent- nformation permanent secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana yesterday said schools were likely to re-open in August due to the COVID-19 scourge.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa early last month ordered a premature shutdown of schools and universities as a precautionary measure after the country recorded its first COVID-19 death.

However, Mangwana said schools may not re-open soon. He predicted that schools would likely re-open in August and run until Christmas time.

“We still need to bring people to classes and whatever number of days that have been lost in the current school calendar would have to be covered,” he said.

“It may mean that we are going to open schools around maybe August and go all the way to Christmas with no breaking between.

“I am not saying this is what we are going to do, but we are still talking so that we ensure learners recover.”

Mangwana was speaking during an online workshop for journalists from across the country co-ordinated in Harare. It was organised by the United Nations Development Programme and Higher Life Foundation, in partnership with the Information ministry.

He added:

“The school calendar is one of the most affected in our country because of the lockdown and because of the virus. The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is working on ensuring that those who can do things online right now can continue learning.

“Introducing online learning in Zimbabwe will be a challenge as the majority of pupils live in rural areas where there is little access to electricity and the prohibitive cost of mobile data.-Newsday

Mangwana said at least 1,5 million primary and secondary education students were pursuing their studies from home through an online platform called Ruzivo.

Zimbabwe has an enrolment of about 3,6 million students.

Reports just received claim that one person has been killed and four others injured in a road accident involving First Lady Auxilia Mnangagwa’s motorcade.

The accident happened in Muzarabani, Mashonaland Central province on Friday afternoon and confirmed details are that that four of the First Lady’s security officials were seriously injured.

The First Lady is, however, safe and not harmed, as she was in another vehicle.

The First Lady was on her way to donate foodstuffs including her dried vegetables and other goods to the vulnerable people of Muzarabani, near the Mozambican border, when the accident occurred.

More details to follow…

MDC Alliance ward 8 Chipinge Town Council Chrispen Rambu has been  called to CID today for allegedly calling Emerson Mnangagwa a fool.

It is alleged that Rambu compared Mnangangwa to South African President Ramaphosa who announced R500 billion package.

MDC Alliance councillor is accused  to have said that the head of state is a fool for failing to cater for citizens during lockdown.

According to allegations at the CID, Rambu has been quoted saying, “You won’t doubt that we’re having a fool for a head of state.”

Chrispen Rambu is represented by Lawyer Rinonzi Gwamanda.

HUMAN rights doctors have threatened to approach the courts to seek urgent enforcement of a High Court order forcing government to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for health personnel at the forefront of fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, the High Court ordered government to provide PPEs for frontline healthcare workers across the country to help prevent possible contraction while attending to patients.

This was after the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR), represented by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, filed an application demanding that government provides equipment to frontline healthcare workers.

“ZADHR will soon approach the courts to seek urgent enforcement of the High Court order,” the human rights doctors said.

The human rights doctors said “special treatment of politically connected patients must not violate screening and infection control measures in hospitals and ports of entry.”

They said the continued exposure of healthcare workers to COVID-19 due to absence of PPE was in violation of the law, adding “health workers must be protected”.

“ZADHR calls upon all health institutions (private and public) to urgently institute measures that protect health workers from COVID-19,” the doctors said.

Zimbabwe on Friday revised downwards its number of coronavirus cases to 28, saying a positive case had been counted twice.

The Health and Child Care ministry had earlier reported that the country’s coronavirus or Covid-19 cases had risen to 29 from the previous day’s total after a patient tested positive in the second city of Bulawayo.

“The ministry would like to report that of the 101 PCR tests done in Bulawayo, which had pending results on April 22, one was not for a new case but from a retest of a case that had been reported previously,” reads the statement.

“This reduces the cases of Bulawayo from 11 to 10 and nationally from 29 to 28 since the Covid 19 outbreak.”

It has also been noted that the government’s figures for tests are also not accurate.

On Monday, the government said it had conducted 3 308 tests, the following day it said 841 tests were conducted.

Cumulatively, that means 4 149 tests were conducted, but government records said 4 159 tests were done.

When asked about this, a government official said it was probably a typographical error, which was going to be corrected.

However, that error remains uncorrected.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has remained silent on the highly sensitive matter which in other countries may have cost the officials responsible their jobs.

Former MDC strongman Morgan Komichi has warned that all MDC Alliance parliamentarians will be recalled from parliament as soon as parliament resumes business after the Coronavirus Lockdown.

In an interview, with ZimEye on Friday afternoon, Komichi claimed that him and his colleagues Thokozani Khupe and Douglas Mwonzora have the powers to recall the MPs.

Listen to the audio below:

Independent|THE extension of the country’s lockdown by two weeks has worsened the plight of worker as employers struggle to keep their companies afloat. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) recently revealed that 82% of companies will not be able to pay salaries beyond one month, and some companies have already laid off workers, while others have sent them on forced leave.

Zimbabwe Independent reporter Bridget Mananavire (BM) engaged Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa (PM) on these and other issues to unpack and understand the employment crisis caused by the lockdown implemented to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Below are excerpts of the interview:

BM: What is your assessment of the current lockdown and how it has affected workers?

PM: Covid-19 has had catastrophic impact on almost all facets of live. The UN stated that this is a health crisis unlike any in 75 years of UN existence.
For Zimbabwe it came at a time we were already facing a serious humanitarian crisis due to various factors. The lockdown therefore brought additional trouble to a troubled nation.

Firstly, we believe the lockdown was essential for us to understand the epidemic and to prepare whilst still facing few cases. It also helped to slow down infections especially imported cases due to closure of borders.

But, l think we missed an opportunity, by failing to have mass testing, isolation and effective management of the cases. ln this regard, the lockdown opportunity was not fully utilised.

The lockdown while beneficial on health considerations had its negative socio-economic problems. For workers in the formal sector many are earning below the poverty datum line, which is fictitiously put at ZW$5 293 for February 2020. Even a big number of workers earn lower than the food poverty line of ZW$2 097.
As a result, many are not able to purchase food for their families enough for 21 days. Many depend on moonlighting and other income-generating projects that cannot be done now during the lockdown. In addition, some employers put workers on unpaid leave and some terminated employment contracts.

Those in the informal sector, which has the majority of employed persons amounting to around 2,2 million or 75,6%, have no social security like paid leave. They live from hand to mouth and without work they are facing starvation.

The majority of workers from formal and informal sectors are starving and in need of urgent help. To make matters worse prices of basic food items shot up steeply.

Although electricity is generally available, it is expensive and way beyond the reach of the majority. There are also shortages of essentials like mealie-meal and water making people break the lockdown rules in search of these. Many people in the suburbs are literally scavenging for food.

BM: What are your plans regarding companies that are temporarily laying off workers and those sending workers on forced leave?
PM: We expected government to issue a moratorium on retrenchments and other terminations of employment until we have an agreed post-Covid-19 social contract between business, labour and government.

The government has failed workers, maybe because many in government are shareholders in businesses. They therefore refrained from making decisions that affect their interests in companies. However, we are still pursuing our demands at TNF (Tripartite Negotiating Forum).

We are also going to take various measures against these unpatriotic employers who prioritise profits over national survival.

Firstly, we believe all the terminations or lay offs are unlawful because there cannot be a valid legal ground for terminations. Secondly, we are going to have sustained campaigns against such brands once we get out of the crisis. If a company dismisses workers during our time of great need, it simply means they despise workers.

We will also mobilise workers to choose alternative brands to purchase using salaries from employers who kept them at work. We are, therefore, compiling the list of all such employers and once we finish with this lethal enemy, we will for a long time face these brands.

Not even fake charity through some posturing called corporate social responsibility programmes will erase this from our black book. Such brands are going to pay dearly for neglecting workers and the nation during this period of need.

BM: Can you explain or comment on the issue of remuneration of workers during the lockdown?

PM: There is a general agreement amongst legal and industrial relations practitioners that employers are obliged to pay salaries during the lockdown. There are international conventions that protect wages such as the ILO Protection of Wages Convention 95. In addition, the Constitution of Zimbabwe guarantees the right to fair labour practices and standards and payment of a fair and reasonable wage.

Furthermore, the Labour Act protects workers against unlawful deductions of salaries as well as guaranteed payment of wages during different forms of leave including special and sick leave. So, there are legal provisions securing workers wages during this period, but we always call for social dialogue to address any challenges each partner faces.

BM: What has been the impact of the lockdown on jobs?

PM: We are still assessing and will probably get the full scale of the carnage after the lockdown when restrictions are lifted and unions start holding meetings with employers and workers.

However, it is given that there would be massive job losses unless we craft equitable and inclusive public policies that protect and create jobs. ILO estimates that 6,7% of working hours translating to 195 million full-time jobs will be wiped out globally by second quarter of 2020.
ZNCC project that 25% of Zimbabwean formal jobs could be lost. Without doubt this crisis, which the ILO describes as the worst crisis since World War II, poses serious threats to jobs. We submit that we can reduce these projections drastically if we dialogue and come up with a post Covid-19 economic recovery that is focused on employment led growth.

BM: What must employers do to save jobs?

PM: The task to save jobs is not for one particular player in the labour market. Business, labour and government have responsibilities towards saving jobs. Only through collective action based on social dialogue and solidarity will we be able to save and create jobs.

Government has to come up with fiscal and monetary policy measures that assist businesses in most affected sectors such as tourism, transport and logistics, retail, informal sector and SMEs. These can get tax breaks, bailouts, suspended loan repayments and debt restructuring.

Employers, on their part, maybe tempted to come up with new models that result in job losses. We demand that they involve workers in dialogue around restructuring of the workplaces and new working methods.

During the lockdown employers should, in consultation with workers, consider working from home, shifts, teleworking and other forms that protects jobs. Employers should also invest in training, up-skilling and re-skilling of their workers for them to acquire necessary skills for the transition.

Workers also have to appreciate that post Covid-19 is going to transform the labour market. There will be new challenges especially new working methods. The epidemic may tend to speed up digitalisation and automation. Employers will try to minimise future risk of production disruption and also consolidate the digital distribution channels they experimented with during the lockdown.

BM: What do you think of the government-imposed minimum wage?

PM: lt is awfully inadequate and simply entrench slavery that has sadly become the hallmark of independent Zimbabwe industrial relations since the ill-informed adoption of Esap (Economic Structural Adjustment Programme).

During negotiations we had agreed with government for around US$238 converted at interbank rate. This would have given us around ZW$5 950 at current fixed official rate. This will still be below the Consumer basket, which we calculated to be around ZW$10 850 in February.

Now with the current price increases, it is way above that. This shows how the minimum wage is a pittance. We were only disrupted from vigorously challenging this because of the common enemy we now face, Covid-19.

BM: CZI recently said 82% of companies will not be able to pay salaries beyond one month, what is your reaction to this, what is your plan?

PM: We implore on businesses to understand the need for national solidarity that is required for us to go through this crisis. We believe many can pay April salaries as we look at how to move forward. Companies should therefore pay salaries more so now that some are operational. Those who are not genuinely able to pay should be known and assisted by the State, but these must be in the minority.

BM: Are your workers safe to return to work, in relation to the partial lockdown?

PM: The decision of government to open more workplaces without satisfying safety and health conditions may turn to be a disaster. Our assessment so far revealed that many workplaces are not safe. Workers have no personal protective equipment and clothing. Workers are using congested public transport.

In some mines, as many as seven workers stay in one room. Mining workers are susceptible to respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumoconiosis and the lifting of the lockdown puts them into danger. The government succumbed to business demands and prioritised profits over lives.

We are going to demand safety of workers and have already demanded that unions be part of the inspectors. The partial lifting of lockdown goes against the WHO recommendations for Zimbabwe which has not yet met the preconditions set by the organisation.

BM: Some countries are giving out packages to workers and companies during the lockdown, have you engaged the government on this issue?

PM: We gave the government and employers our proposals, and now we have an agreed TNF Covid-19 response. However, our government does not treasure social dialogue. We are almost going past the lockdown and issues we proposed as interventions during the lockdown have not been implemented.

What the government has proposed so far is not sufficient to address the needs of business and citizens. It proposes to pay ZW$200 per person as cash transfers to the vulnerable. This is pathetically low, it only purchases a 10kg mealie-meal pack. We proposed a raft of measures to lessen the burden of citizens. These include cash transfers using food poverty line of ZW$1 863 or the ZW$2 500 minimum wage. This is not enough but better than the ZW$200.

We also suggested that government should subsidise or allocate foreign currency towards foods import and production so that prices of basic food items are reduced. The majority cannot afford electricity at the current tariffs and the government should subsidise for the poor suburbs. The same for LPG cooking gas as well as ensuring constant supply of water.

For businesses, we suggested the setting up of a fund to bail out the companies in distress. We also advised that government should use both fiscal and monetary policies to address the funding needs of businesses and informal sector players in order to ensure a quick recovery.

Unfortunately, dialogue and effective participation of citizens in policy formulation has not been accepted as important by the government. We are likely to have government making the same blunders it has always been making sinking us deeper into post Covid-19 crisis.

Currently, the government is giving workers and poor citizens a choice between Covid-19 deaths or starvation. Citizens must reject this and demand prevention against both Covid-19 deaths and starvation. Protection of citizens against harm and preventable deaths is the central role of government. Zimbabwe can reprioritise its expenditures and ensure we put resources towards health services, income security and food security of all.

We also need international humanitarian assistance and a multi-sectoral resource mobilisation task force which must be composed of respected and trusted local leaders for us to build the lost confidence.

Already, many are questioning the selection criteria and disbursements of the social assist. Without transparency we will not be able to mobilise sufficient international support to complement national resources.

Two Harare men who allegedly used a vehicle-unlocking device to neutralize remote-controlled locking before stealing cash and official documents belonging to President Mnangagwa’s office, appeared in court yesterday.

They were charged with theft from a motor vehicle after they took $5 000, US$528 and official documents belonging to the President’s Office.

The car was parked at N. Richards along Bulawayo Road in Harare.

They were remanded in custody to May 8 and advised to apply for bail at the High Court.

Source: Daily News