PRESIDENT Mnangagwa’s son, Emmerson Tanaka Mnangagwa, reportedly lost US$1 500 to a bogus wedding garments supplier whom he had contracted to supply suits ahead of his wedding last year.

Samson Mavhunga (31) of Hillside, Harare, promised to deliver five men’s suits from Italy two weeks before the wedding.

He charged US$3 500 and Mnangagwa paid US$1 500 deposit, but nothing was delivered.

Mavhunga yesterday appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Judith Taruvinga charged with fraud and was remanded out of custody to May 7 on $1 000 bail.

As part of his bail conditions, Mavhunga was ordered to report once a week to the police and to surrender his passport.

Prosecutor Mr Tatenda Mukatera alleged that sometime in May last year, Mnangagwa met Mavhunga who indicated that he specialised in making and supplying wedding suits.

Mnangagwa expressed interest since he was preparing for his wedding, which was scheduled for August 25 of the same year.

Mnangagwa then gave Mavhunga an order to supply five bridegroom’s suits which he was supposed to order from Italy.
He was charged US$3 500 and paid a deposit of US$1 500. The balance was to be paid upon delivery of the suits on an agreed date.

It later came to light that Mavhunga had lied to Mnangagwa that he had capacity to supply the said suits.

Mnangagwa asked for a refund after nothing materialised and made a police report when he failed to get his money back.-State media

Farai Dziva|MDC president Nelson Chamisa has denounced the politicisation of Coronavirus aid by government officials.

On Wednesday Chamisa said the politicisation on aid was unfortunate.

“Zimbabwe needs a multi-phased broad range of measures to mitigate the worst effects of the pandemic on communities, individuals and businesses.

These include tax relief, support to vulnerable households and business and job protection.

Govt must stop politicizing or weaponizing this relief,” tweeted Chamisa.

By Farai D Hove | Faced with humiliation after claiming a list of UK returnees who arrived earlier in the week are demanding hotel quarantine facilities, the state media paper, Herald, has published another story, this time saying 3 of them are Covid positive, a label that could affect the whole group, unfairly.

Yesterday the government was further exposed after falsely claiming that hotels have refused to accept the group on fears of taking on “the COVID label” – what permanent secretary Nick Mangwana claimed.

The latest allegation (picture) is however totally misleading and untrue, ZimEye.com reveals. The issue of COVID patients being unleashed into the premises, had already been reported as far back as Monday. By Tuesday morning these very details were the subject of media interviews as the UK returnees questioned why government has done this. It was therewith, revealed that the patients are not at all part of the group. In fact in one of the videos, one of the returnees can be heard revealing that when they arrived they found the premises already occupied by by patients.

In another video, the complainant says government has unleashed COVID positive number 24 onto the group.

Police were alerted following the ZimEye interview, to attend the premises and ensure the patients do not intermingle with the patients.

ZimEye reveals the LIVE video interviews which are fully timestamped.

In making these allegations, it was believed the government seeks to justify their agenda of forcing hotels not take the returnees in.

The latest drama comes as Chinese visitors are being unleashed onto the community by government and granted self quarantine treatment luxuries, while Zimbabweans are confined to waterless-toilet dungeons the likes of Belvedere Teachers College.

PICTURE

– ORIGINAL STORY –

By A Correspondent| The Zimbabwean government is since January to date unleashing Chinese visitors into the community- granting the Asian country’s citizens luxury self quarantine treatment, while on the other hand imposing dirty waterless toilet facilities for returning black Zimbabweans.

The government spokesman Nick Mangwana on Monday claimed that there are 65 Zimbabweans who flew from the UK and now due for mandatory quarantining, who are demanding hotel Quarantine facilities, an allegation which has turned out to be untrue. The government is on video announcing official policy that Chinese visitors are not subjected to mandatory quarantining. Health minister Obadiah Moyo said, “we want to make sure that the arrangements that we have put in place with the Chinese Embassy here in Zimbabwe is maintained.

“They have been extremely good to us.

“They have come forward with solutions and one solution which they came with was that of ensuring that if anybody happens to come form China and arrives at one of our airports they will have to subject themselves to 14 to 21 day self quarantine, which is good.

“We did not tell them that, but they are the ones that came to us and said that is the way we want to go.”

(Watch below)

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Via inbox
Belvedere Teachers College
Harare, Zimbabwe

April 20, 2020

Dear Zimbabwe

Re: Government is Lying: We didn’t demand hotel housing; we demanded basic amenities

As a matter of fact, and for the avoidance of doubt, I’m one of the returning residents who came via an Ethiopian airline yesterday (Monday).

I don’t want to belabor you with a long read. I will therefore go straight to the point.

Yesterday, the permanent secretary in the ministry of information Nick Mangwana tweeted that we — overseas returnees — were demanding hotels. No, this is an outright lie! We did not demand hotel accommodation.

In fact, I was shocked when I read the tweet which many Zimbabweans believed, including those who purport to be frontline human rights defenders. And the Fourth Estate too was hoodwinked.

Here is the other side of the coin. Just like any other Zimbabwean citizen with rights including access to shelter, water and health amongst other basic amenities, we demanded to be housed at a decent facility.

Decent in as far as basic health as defined by health bodies in the wake of the coronavirus is concerned. By basic facilities we meant at least a room with a bed and blankets; toilets with running water and clean bathrooms.

Belvedere, a facility which government authorities provided doesn’t have all those. And government spin doctors led by Mangwana want all Zimbabweans and the rest of the world to laud government for a job well done when in fact what they are doing is exposing returning residents to COVID-19, a pandemic government is claiming to be working to halt.

That hundreds of desperate college students live in shanty facilities such as Belvedere with no complaints doesn’t make it a habitable place.

That other citizens returning via Plumtree and Beitbridge ports of entry have agreed to be housed in dirty, stinky and cholera-infested facilities doesn’t make it right either and doesn’t indicate at all that the government of Zimbabweans cares about its citizens.

If this treatment of citizens by Zimbabwean authorities has anything to show, it is that authorities who have presided over poor infrastructure including hospitals does not care at all about protecting its citizens from COVID-19.

While we understand that this is an abnormal situation, a period of crisis, no right thinking Zimbabwean should commend government for treating its returning citizens like animals.

When we arrived at Belvedere we thought authorities had already assessed the place and certified it as habitable. Although we did not expect anything flashy given the fact that this is a temporary quarantine facility in an emergency situation, we didn’t expect that we will be thrown in a place which doesn’t have basic amenities such as running water.

To make matters worse, government authorities who came to address us regarding our concerns were arrogant.

A case in point is when a senior official in the ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare threatened to unleash police on us, to force us to occupy an inhabitable accommodation.

“If you don’t comply we will ask police to enforce our commands,” the permanent secretary in the Social Welfare ministry who should otherwise know better about the government’s obligations about taking care of the vulnerable, us included, told us.

He added: “You can’t choose where to stay, we chose for you.”

This was after we had requested to be either quarantined at our homes or housed at a decent facility. Alternatively we requested the government authorities to open one of the hotels so that we pay living costs on our own while government provides food.

We also made it clear to the government authorities that we’re willing to be quarantined like other returning citizens but only if bare minimum conditions are met.

To those who have made insulting returning residents, their full-time jobs during this ongoing crisis; please know that while we understand the importance of being isolated from the rest of the community now, the conditions that returning residents are subjected to will in fact propagate the spread of COVID-19. While most of us are from Coronavirus hotspots, we don’t necessarily have the disease, but because of our poor living conditions in quarantine we’re now at more risk of contracting the deadly disease more than other citizens yet government should protect everyone equally.

And while some of you are wailing, thinking returning home is the stupidest thing to do, remember that some of the returnees are students whose accommodation has been withdrawn by their universities in countries such as the U.K and the U.S.

And also remember that some of the returning residents are people who had just visited for shorter periods and therefore cannot live in those countries indefinitely. After all it’s better to die in Zimbabwe where your family can bury you albeit within 24 hours than to die elsewhere where your family will not be able to access your mortal remains.

And by the way, returning residents also have homes where they can actually self-quarantine and cater for basic services our government is failing to meet.

While most of us are willing to be quarantined, we also do not understand why authorities are imposing a 21 day isolation, instead of the WHO approved 14 days.

Why should a cash-strapped government seek to host returning citizens for 7 extra days at it’s expense when it can use those resources to cater for more vulnerable communities who are already bearing the brunt of the extended lockdown, with barely no food?

And while you naysayers are supporting government on outright violation of human rights in the name of fighting COVID-19, remember that the government that you’re enabling to abuse it’s returning citizens now will not stop at that.

Post COVID 19 this government will continue to violate citizen rights because you enabled it to do so during a crisis.

Last but not least, Mangwana, we appreciate your ardent job in timely informing the nation about COVID-19, especially using real time platforms such as twitter. But I just have one request: Please stop spinning public interest information.

It doesn’t help your government and citizens who should make informed decisions during this unprecedented time.

And to gullible Zimbabweans, please always take what government authorities say with a pinch of salt. 99.9 percent of what they say is false or half-true.

The worst you can get from government authorities is a single story narrative. Find the other narrative before you opine on issues of public interest.

Quick updates:

1. There is still no running water at Belvedere.
2. Contrary to reports, police did not guard Belvedere so that returnees don’t riot or at worst escape. As a matter of fact, three police officers came, engaged with returnees then left after an amicable discussion.
3. Nomatter what authorities say, we won’t stay where we risk catching more viral diseases in addition to coronavirus. We will fight for our rights until we’re relocated to a facility that meets basic conditions: running water, one-person room, functional ablution facilities, bedding and food.

For the purposes of signing off, let’s just say my name is Case #0

Farai Dziva|MDC MP for Mutasa South Constituency, Regai Tsunga was on Tuesday arrested and fined for distribution mealie to hungry villagers.

“It is a matter of regret that our Member of Parliament for Mutasa South, @regaitsunga has been fined for sourcing and donating mealie meal.

This is not the time to politicise assistance to the needy and vulnerable.

Instead, we should be joining hands to save lives,” MDC said in a statement on Twitter.

Tsunga and his aides were arrested and taken to Mutare Central Police Station where they reportedly paid RTGS $500 fine for an unspecified offence.

• In silence, onlookers walked past his body sprawled beneath a wanted poster offering $30,000 for him, dead or alive.
• New twist.
• ZIMBABWE, THE WORLD’S FASTEST GROWING CROP ECONOMY SUDDENLY CRASHED FOLLOWING MNANGAGWA’S PRONOUNCEMENTS

By Staff Correspondent| ZIFA’s spokesperson, Xolisani Gwesela has responded to allegations by some quarters in Matebeleland who attack him saying that he is the son of the notorious so called dissident, Ranson or Richard Gwesela.

Gwesela is an infamous “immortal” character who the Zimbabwean military claimed they were after between 1983 and 1987 when they continued to kill civilians until a total more than 22,000 people were massacred. He was immortal for a whole 4 years and only “killed” when ZANU PF now wanted to sign a unity accord with Joshua Nkomo’s ZAPU party in 1987.

Thousands of people sensationally flocked to a police station in Gweru on the 18th November 1987 for a glimpse of the bullet-riddled corpse of Zimbabwe’s most wanted “fugitive.”

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Zimbabwe Republic Police say Richard Gwesela, a former guerrilla fighter, was a gang leader who terrorized the people of two provinces for four years.

Gwesela was alleged to have murdered 20 people in the Midlands and neighbouring Matabeleland provinces. He also was said to have raped women and robbed villagers.

In silence, onlookers walked past his body sprawled beneath a wanted poster offering $30,000 for him, dead or alive.

The state media said Gwesela was the country’s most wanted man, and was killed in a gunbattle with Zimbabwean security forces near Gweru “on Sunday,” earlier.

His death was reported for the first time three days later, on the Wednesday. There were no independent investigations to confirm the state media report.

His mother and an uncle identified the corpse as Gwesela, and police fingerprints confirmed the identity, according to the state media report.

″Gwesela had killed more than 20 people since he started operating in the area,″ Enos Nkala, home affairs minister in charge of police, told reporters. ″Now he is going to join them, whether in heaven or hell, we don’t know,” he said.

NEW TWIST.

33 years later, some Mthwakazi activists have begun claiming ZIFA’s Gwesela was rewarded the sports job for a sterling role the supposed father played as an insider who staged for Emmerson Mnangagwa during Gukurahundi in order to kill civilians, pursuing Emmerson Mnangagwa’s terror operation to kill people under the guise of flushing out dissidents.

One activist makes the above chilling allegations (pic).

Responding however, ZIFA’s Mr Xolisani Gwesa told ZimEye, the so called Gwesela was not even a real Gwesela.

He said: “This writer is waffling. I am shocked by these ghastly falsehoods.

“I am the son of the late Chief Gwesela whose real name was Cornelius Nobody Gwesela Ndebele who died in 1996.He was never a dissident. The so called “dissident Gwesela” was never a Gwesela and his real name was Zedious Mangena.

“I am holder of a Masters Degree in Media and Society studies, Post grad Diploma in Media , Bsc Honours degree , Diploma in Management and Diploma in Sport Management.

“I have over 15 years experience in media management and sport management and events coordination. I joined Zifa purely on merit.

“The Gweselas are also from Zhombe and not Lower Gweru. The Gweselas are also from Zhombe and not Lower Gweru.”

ZIMBABWE, THE WORLD’S FASTEST GROWING CROP ECONOMY SUDDENLY CRASHED FOLLOWING MNANGAGWA’S PRONOUNCEMENTS

Rhodesia, was once the worst hit African economy by both United Nations sanctions and a debilitating 14 year running civil war from within, and yet by 1976, it had been hailed as the world’s fastest growing crop economy. So what really went wrong? Soon after 1980, it was handed over to Robert Mugabe and his state security minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, who less than 3 years later launched a military crackdown against civilians who he personally described as cockroaches who must be wiped out using DDT. That operation destroyed the economy in ways exactly similar to the recent 1 Aug 2018 military crackdown (which the Finance Ministry has told The Motlanthe Commission has cost the nation USD16 billion.) Zimbabwe’s economy began crumbling following Mnangagwa’s words on the 4th April 1983:

“Blessed are they who will follow the path of the Government laws, for their days on earth will be increased. But woe unto those who will choose the path of collaboration with dissidents for we will certainly shorten their stay on earth.”

As Minister of State Security, Mnangagwa was in charge of the brutal massacre of more than 22 000 Ndebele. He labeled dissidents ‘cockroaches’ and the killers of the Fifth Brigade army unit as ‘DDT,’ an insecticide.

Economy data shows how the country’s GDP crashed down following the operation, and effects were immediately felt from 1983 all the way to 1985.

Fast forward to the period 2004 – 2018 more evidence shows the correlation between economic performance and the rule of law, specifically human rights adherence.

A UK based academic investigates human rights violations and economic decline. In the graphs below revealed by ZimEye.com, it is displayed that for instance in the 14 years since 2004, investor interest has either risen or declined in a direct consequential correlation with Human Rights.   Dr Admore Tshuma from Kent University was asked by SABC: What were you aiming to achieve?, and he answered as follows: “the study is a socio-economic perspective. The study explores how the future in South Africa may unfold if expropriation of land without compensation goes ahead. “The aim is not to take a side in this argument, but to unpack the perspective, of human rights and economic paradigms. This is the first time that such a question has been examined by social science using an objectively collected data. The main aim is not to diminish claims for redistribution of land, but to highlight the detriment of the expropriation of land without compensation. “In this study I am very mindful of the sensitivity of the issue of land and I am also aware that there is little consensus of what benefit expropriation of land will produce for South Africa.

“Hence the basic aim is to suggest an alternative and progressive policy on what could constitute an economically sensible cause of action if South Africa is to pursue.

“In this case Zimbabwe remains an empirical case study, for such a social policy, a public policy. The primary focus in this study is to illustrate the interaction between human rights and the economy, also to highlight the model of retributive Justice in response to growing calls for the land question in South Africa as what happened in Zimbabwe.

“And some of my objectives basically are to raise awareness of the potential long term social economic harm that may result in the expropriation of land, it is also to show the interaction, the inter-twinement … the globalisation of the world, how world nation states have become smaller: how the international law has become supreme…part of what I am looking into, and basically the project in the end, it demonstrates the growing recognition that deep-rooted problems of Human Rights violation… are most likely to affect the economy, it is a very broad subject…”

– AP/ZimEye

THE number of people who have tested positive to Covid-19 in Zimbabwe has risen to 28 after three more confirmed cases were reported in Harare.

In an update last night, the Ministry of Health and Child Care said the total number of reported deaths remained at three while there have been two recoveries.

Harare Metropolitan Province now has the highest number of confirmed cases at 13 followed by Bulawayo Metropolitan Province with 10 cases. Mashonaland East has four confirmed cases, while Matabeleland North has one case. The rest of the provinces are yet to record Covid-19 positive cases.

The ministry said 841 tests were done yesterday, giving a total of 4 159 diagnostic tests done to date. Results for 65 samples were still pending.

“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,” said the ministry.-State media

Everyone remembers the powerful world leaders who derided the coronavirus threat or even denied its existence in its early stages. U.S. President Donald Trump said the virus would disappear “like a miracle.” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson boasted cheerfully about shaking hands with “everybody” at a hospital, including COVID-19 patients. Chinese officials arrested or muzzled doctors who tried to warn of the danger.

But what about other leaders around the world? Some have performed admirably under pressure – educating their citizens, advocating good health measures, taking brave action to protect lives.

Others were, er … less helpful.

Who were the deniers, the minimizers, the blithe mockers, the confident believers, the vodka promoters, the unconcerned and the uninterested?

The Globe and Mail looks at some of the most dubious responses to the pandemic, and Emmerson Mnangagwa is one of the notorious none.

Here is what they said about Mnangagwa:

In mid-March, as the pandemic grew, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa took action: he announced a series of measures, including an immediate ban on gatherings of more than 100 people.

A day later, he held a political rally and gave a speech to several hundred people at a school in northeastern Zimbabwe, blatantly violating his own decree. When asked about it, he claimed his ban on large gatherings didn’t take effect for two days, even though his own government had made it clear that the decree was effective immediately.

Mr. Mnangagwa, a former vice-president who replaced the long-ruling Robert Mugabe after a military coup in 2017, has shown little interest in improving Zimbabwe’s decrepit health care system to deal with the pandemic.

Its first victim was a well-known broadcaster, Zororo Makamba, who died in a Harare hospital that had been designated as the main isolation facility for the coronavirus – but lacked any ventilators to treat patients. His brother said the government was unprepared for the virus.

As of April 15, just 716 coronavirus tests had been conducted in Zimbabwe, a country of 15 million people. In one case, a test was delayed for so long (reportedly because of transport problems) that the patient died three days before the positive results came back.

But police and soldiers in the authoritarian state have been enthusiastically enforcing the national lockdown. In one raid, police confiscated and destroyed several tons of fresh fruit and vegetables by setting fire to them – because the vendors had broken travel restrictions. In a country plagued by malnutrition and hunger, it was a shockingly irrational response.

The late Ambuya Nguni, mother to former Cabinet Minister Mr Sylvester Nguni, was buried this afternoon after becoming the fourth person in the country to die of Covid-19.

Ambuya Nguni died at West End Hospital in Harare last night aged 82. She was buried in line with standard operating procedures for Covid-19 victims.

Burial was scheduled for the family’s rural home in Mhondoro, Mubaira area.

Meanwhile, West End Hospital has stopped all admissions with immediate effect until further notice. Patients currently in admission are using upper floors.

The casualty area has since been disinfected and contact tracing, including health workers who were assisting the patient, has since begun.

Zimbabwe has recorded its first positive Covid-19 death from the rural areas sparking fears that the virus has spread beyond towns to rural areas with run down health facilities. 

The patient died at a private hospital in Harare bringing the country’s total deaths to four.

The death, sources have said, was not part of the Ministry of Health positive statistics also raising fears that there could be more undetected positive cases in both urban and rural areas.

Health and Child care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo told state media that contact tracing began on Tuesday night following the death of the patient.

“We are still trying to trace the source of infection for this case, so far we only know that the case came from Mhondoro,” he said.

Zimbabwe extended its 21-day Covid-19 national lockdown with an additional 14 days with the government saying it has not met the standards set by the World Health Organisation to end the lockdown.

ZIMBABWEANS accompanying bodies of dead relatives from outside the country now face 21-days compulsory quarantine before they can proceed to bury their loved ones.

This came out in a government memo directed to funeral parlours Tuesday.

The memo in part read as follows:

“All bodies being repatriated to Zimbabwe for burial will be treated as contagious except in cases where the cause of death is by road accident, murder or other body injuries,” read the statement.

“Consequently, all such mortal remains will require clearance by the Ministry of Health and Child Care in Zimbabwe using the usual clearance channels.

“Relatives accompanying the remains will now be subjected to mandatory quarantine at the designated points before proceeding to the funeral.

“The same applies in cases where the body is transiting through Zimbabwe.”

Zimbabwe’s Consul-General to South Africa, Mr Melody Chaurura said they had since communicated the new set of regulations to the funeral parlours.

“We have advised the funeral parlours on the new order after getting correspondence from the Ministry of Health and Child Care at home,” she said.

“Under the new order, all bodies being brought repatriated o Zimbabwe for burial will be treated as contagious except in cases where the cause of death is a road accident, murder or other body injuries.

“In addition, all remains now require the clearance of the Ministry of Health and Child Care prior to their transportation to Zimbabwe under the usual procedures.

“Relatives accompanying the remains are now being subjected to under mandatory quarantine at any port of entry upon arrival in the country before proceeding to the various destinations”.

Beitbridge Border Post is unlikely to be opened to the public anytime soon after South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised the employment of an additional 73 180 members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to assist the SA Police Service (SAPS) in enforcing an extended lockdown.

Ramaphosa specified that the duties of the additional officers would include among other things maintaining law and order through supporting other state departments as well as securing the country’s borders in order to combat the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in all nine provinces.

“Covid-19 infections cases continue to increase in the country … as a result, I have decided to employ an additional 73180 members of the SANDF consisting of the regular force, reserve force and auxiliary force,” reads Ramaphosa’s letter.

Judging by the tone of the letter, the Beitbridge Border Post might only open by the end of June, considering that the employment of the additional forces is for the period April 2 to June 26.

This is a significant addition to the initial 2820 SANDF members that were dispersed on March 25 across the country to assist police officers in ensuring that citizens adhered to the lockdown measures.

The authorisation of the additional officers by the president was made public on Twitter by DA leader John Steenhuisen who shared a letter by Ramaphosa to the co-chairperson of the joint standing committee on defence, Cyril Xaba.

A top government official has spoken about the possibility of opening the schools later in the year.

According to the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting services Nick Mangwana, there is a possibility that the schools might open in August and go all the way to end of December.

Mangwana was speaking during a webinar media training which was organised by UNDP, Higherlife Foundation, in partnership with the ministry of information.

Mangwana said:

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. It may mean that we are going to open schools in 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. 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 looking working ensuring that those who can do things online right now can continue learning.

Zimbabwe schools closed on 24 March 2020 after a directive by the president as part of the measures to reduce the spread of covid-19. Zimbabwe currently has 28 cases of covid-19, 4 deaths and two recoveries.

The government moved swiftly to put the country under lockdown and the measures have successfully reduced the number of infections. The government is working to improve the availability of protective clothing and medicine.

Savannah

By A Correspondent- The Johanne Masowe eChishanu apostolic sect has dismissed an audio clip circulating on social media purporting that its church members were forced to drink beer by members of the Zimbabwe National Army during an all-night prayer session in Dzivaresekwa during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The apostolic sect’s leader, Madzibaba Israel Muhana, said their church members respected and complied with the Government directive to stop mass gatherings to avoid the spread of the pandemic.

“We heard about the audio circulating on the social media claiming that our members were forced to drink alcohol during a night prayer session,” he said. “We have informed our members that they should stay at home until the end of the lockdown.

“There is nothing like that. We do not have members who are conducting prayer sessions at night. No one was forced to drink beer. Our members are conducting prayer sessions at their homes.”

Madzibaba Muhana said the audio clip was created by some people who wanted to tarnish the image of the church.

“We have urged our church members to stay at home and to comply with Government’s directive,” he said. “Coronavirus is a disease which knows no boundaries, so everyone must heed Government directives.

“As I speak, I am observing social distancing as required by the World Health Organisation.”

Madzibaba Muhana said they were yet to receive complaints from their church members on the alleged harassment by the uniformed forces, so they could not base comments on the audio.

Most churches have complied with the Government’s directive to suspend mass gatherings as part of measures to control and prevent the transmission of Covid-19.

Government on Sunday extended the Covid-19 national lockdown to May 3 as part of the response to the rising number of cases in the country.

Zimbabwe has so far recorded 25 confirmed Covid-19 cases, three of which resulted in death. -Statemedia

By Farai D Hove | Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana who claimed hotels are unwilling to take in returnees, was left tight lipped Wednesday when several hotels announced the very opposite.

The development was exclusively covered by ZimEye.com since Monday as this network exposed the abuse of 35 UK returnees who were trapped at Belvedere Teachers College without any running water and proper ablution facilities.

The latest drama comes as Chinese visitors are being unleashed onto the community by government and granted self quarantine treatment luxuries, while Zimbabweans are confined to waterless-toilet dungeons the likes of Belvedere Teachers College.

Mangwana, misinformed the nation and lied that the returnees were demanding hotel quarantine when in actual fact all they had asked for was running water and functioning ablution facilities.

Last night Mangwana announced saying, “the cruise ship employer of fellow Zimbabweans housed at Belvedere has now offered to meet hotel bills for them.

“Hotels not keen, citing the risk of a ”Covid Hotel” label. We are expecting about 50 more cruise ship returnees.”

But the state media reports how several hotels have done the opposite, to take in the same victims.

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We publish below reactions to Mangwana’s twitter post updating the nation on Prof Mavhima’s visit at Belvedere Teachers College where he claimed that there was running water. He has however since earned himself the nickname “Mr Fake News” for lying about the obtaining situation at the quarantine centre…..

By David Hofisi| Like several countries, Zimbabwe is in a state of lockdown. In response to the Covid 19 pandemic, the Minister of Health promulgated a series of statutory instruments to prevent further infections. Individuals are confined to their homes by law except in such circumstances as grocery shopping and purchase of drugs. It is only the forms of work which are deemed essential services which are to continue until 3 May 2020. The statutory instruments also provide for compulsory testing and allows members of the military to assist the police in enforcement.

These measures are laudable to the extent that they combat a highly infectious global pandemic.

However, this noble intention does little to mask patent constitutional invalidity. The 2013 Constitution contains an expansive declaration of rights. These rights are heavily implicated by the national lockdown.

The prohibition of gatherings suspends the rights to freedom of association, assembly, expression and the right to demonstrate and petition. Confinement in the home derogates from freedom of movement whilst limiting access to work is obviously against the section 64 right to ‘carry on any profession, trade or occupation.’

These rights are not absolute. The Constitution allows the limitation of most rights in the public interest including for public health reasons. Such limitation would qualify as reasonably justifiable if enacted through a law of general application.

The Constitution distinguishes laws passed by Parliament from statutory instruments from the executive branch. The statutory instruments establishing the national lockdown would be sufficient to limit rights were it not for section 134 (b) of the Constitution; statutory instruments must not infringe or limit any of the rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration of Rights;

It is abundantly clear that the Constitution does not allow a statutory instrument to limit a constitutional right. This is left to Acts of Parliament.

In other words, it is only when the people’s elected representatives pass a law, and it is signed by the President, that a right can be limited. It is a coordinate branch responsibility. Limitation of rights upon the stroke of a Minister or the President’s pen is no longer constitutionally permissible.

These checks and balances are meant to preserve popular democratic participation. Parliament is central to any limitation of rights because of its representative role. It ensures that the people remain engaged in the constitutional conversation.

The procedure for passage of a bill, which includes public hearings, reduces the distance between the people and their own governance. It ensures a balance between top-down and bottom-up approaches to governance. Thus, the Government of Zimbabwe should have called an emergency session of Parliament to consider bills necessitated by the pandemic.

This process would have allowed members of Parliament to bring the plight of their constituents to bare and have this reflected in subsequent legislation. In the United States, this was the process by which Congress incorporated a version of universal basic income for all Americans. The failure to incorporate such concerns has led to stiff resistance and a court order against the lockdown in Malawi. 

This is the reason why the Constitution contemplates a state of public emergency for such circumstances. It defines the extent to which rights can be limited by emergency laws and subjects such declaration to approval by Parliament (if it does not fall away within fourteen days or twenty one if Parliament is not in session).

It does not contemplate unilateral action out of the executive branch. However, this is what the government of Zimbabwe opted for in making a declaration of a national disaster. Such declarations empower the executive to issue statutory instruments.

The Civil Protection Act, which provides for national disasters, predates the current constitution. Even though Ministers can still promulgate statutory instruments, the Constitution no longer permits such when they limit fundamental freedoms.

This renders the entire scheme for the national lockdown unconstitutional. This should not be blamed on non-alignment of laws with the Constitution. Rather, it should be understood in the context of institutional choices by a Machiavellian executive. It is not an innocent mistake by a well-meaning administration.

These are powerful functionaries circumventing constitutional imperatives to increase the scope and scale of executive power. Not only do the statutory instruments infringe fundamental freedoms, they create new powers, such as those allowing the Minister of Home Affairs to close ports of entry and exit as he/she deems fit. Yet there remain no answers to the crucial questions of whether the state will pay for the Covid 19 tests, who will provide for workers who are laid off and social safety for the informal sector.

These crucially important provisions should be contained in a comprehensive parliamentary bill which incorporates the views of all critical stakeholders. Statutory instruments will not suffice. Times of crises present uncertainty, which makes many yearn for decisive action, even if it be authoritarian.

This heightens the need to be wary of high level power grabs and constitutional misfeasance, more so when subsidiary legislation is used to justify yet another deployment of the notorious Zimbabwean military onto the civilian population.

Farai Dziva|MDC president Nelson Chamisa has denounced the politicisation of Coronavirus aid by government officials.

On Wednesday Chamisa said the politicisation on aid was unfortunate.

“Zimbabwe needs a multi-phased broad range of measures to mitigate the worst effects of the pandemic on communities, individuals and businesses.

These include tax relief, support to vulnerable households and business and job protection.

Govt must stop politicizing or weaponizing this relief,” tweeted Chamisa.

A group of Zimbabwean nationals living in South Africa want to be repatriated. They say they are battling to make ends meet during the lockdown, and their resources have since run out.

“The last decent meal I had was a month ago … I don’t know how I will pay my [R250] rent this month,” says Munyaradzi, who asked for his surname to be withheld.

Munyaradzi is one of a group of Zimbabwean nationals living in South Africa who want to be repatriated. They say making ends meet became even harder since the lockdown began, leaving most of them who were informal traders without an income.

“It’s better to go back home and start my life afresh. The lockdown came at a time when I did not have any savings. My sister has stopped assisting me because her money has also finished,” says Munyaradzi who lives alone in Wells Estate. Before the lockdown, he relied on odd jobs as a painter.

“I need assistance from the Zimbabwe Embassy to be repatriated back home,” he says.

Nancy Mukaro from Motherwell lives in a two-room home with her two children. They too have asked to be sent back to Zimbabwe because Mukaro has not been able to work in weeks.

Mukaro came to South Africa four years ago to live with her husband who works at a citrus processing factory in Kirkwood. The couple have since separated, leaving Mukaro to raise the children alone.

“I have never worked for one employer for long periods of time whom I could have turned to for assistance. I want to go back home because I can’t afford paying school fees when things are this tough. I also have to pay rent at the end of the month,” she says.

Mukaro says the decision to return to Zimbabwe was not easy. “There are no jobs in Zimbabwe and the economic and political situation is bad. I am between a rock and a hard place,” she says.

In a statement earlier this month, the Zimbabwe Embassy in Pretoria outlined some of the conditions for those applying for voluntary repatriation: “The Embassy wishes to advise members of the community that the government of South Africa allows for the voluntary, orderly repatriation of foreign nationals to their countries of origin during the lockdown period.”

Zimbabwean Consul General Melody Chaurura told GroundUp that they were compiling a list of people willing to be repatriated. She refused to say how many people had already applied.

“We also urge our members to practice the spirit of ubuntu by spreading this offer to other members who may want to go home on voluntary repatriation. We encourage members with access to the internet and Facebook to help others,” said Chaurura.

Those returning to Zimbabwe were warned to prepare for compulsory quarantine for three weeks.online

Farai Dziva|The leader of Nyenyedzi Nomwe Apostolic Church, Madzibaba Enoch has implored Vapositori to abide by the lockdown restrictions.

On Sunday Emmerson Mnangagwa extended the lockdown by 14 days.

Madzibaba Enoch, of Budiriro 4, Harare, in a statement on Monday, urged members of the apostolic sect to take note of the lockdown extension. He leads more than 300 shrines in Zimbabwe, according to his followers.

“I would like to urge all leaders of apostolic sects and their members in the country to take note of the lockdown extension.

As President Mnangagwa announced on Sunday, the lockdown will end on May 3.

As such all leaders and members of apostolic sects are expected to abide by the restrictions.

Coronavirus is real and let us respect the authorities.

We will also try our best to support health workers in the fight against the pandemic,” said Madzibaba Enoch in a statement.

Madzibaba Enoch is also said to have predicted the coming of the deadly Coronavirus scourge in a 2018 video footage.

Government has banned price hikes during lockdown,ordering goods and service providers to revert to 25 March pricing, ZimEye can report.

This was said by Vice President Kembo Mohadi while addressing journalists in Harare.

More to follow…

As the People’s party, MDC Alliance strongly condemns the wrongful and unlawful arrest and detention of Honourable Regai Tsunga and 12 others for ostensibly contravening Section 11(1)of the Public Health Act SI 83/2020 unnecessary movement during lockdown.

To start with there is no such penalty section as cited and the disruption and harassment of the Honourable Member of Parliament for Mutasa South and Councillor Farai Bhiza of Ward 11 as well as 11 other people was as unwarranted as it was unlawful.

Regrettably, due to the heavy handed nature and belligerent behavior of the Police they paid admission of guilt fines under protest in order to avoid the risk of contracting the Corona virus in the police cells as the police refused to accept that no offence had been committed.

Apart from the failure to appreciate that the offence and penalty under Section 11(a)and (b) of Statutory Instrument arise from either hindering or obstructing the police or failing to refuse to comply with a request or direction given by the police no attempt was made to engage the people who were driven by hunger and the State’s failure to make arrangements for the delivery of the basic staple food of maize meal to the ward.

It is necessary for the police to understand the import of the legislation and regulations they seek to enforce instead of being trigger happy and arrest innocent people who will not have committed any offence.

Hundreds of people have been harassed under similar circumstances and as the People’s party, the MDC Alliance is demanding for a FULL STOP to this madness.

Indeed as the MDC Alliance, we have pointed out before that while the lockdown is necessary to curb the spread of the pandemic what the state has dismally failed to do is to provide the safety nets for the people of Zimbabwe the majority of whom were already living from hand to mouth.

The situation was compounded and exacerbated by the ambush on Sunday afternoon when a caring government would have made a timeous announcement of the extension of the lockdown.

As the MDC Alliance, we reiterate that the right to food and water is enshrined in Section 77 of our national Constitution and it is imperative that the government ensures that this right is realized.

Further other crucial human rights like the right to Life, Human Dignity and Not to be Tortured or subjected to Inhuman Degrading Treatment or Punishment can not suspended under any circumstances.

We therefore demand that the State should deliver on the promises it made at the commencement of the lockdown and to implement the High Court orders made by the High Court last week in terms of which the police and other law enforcement agencies are required to observe people’s Rights in enforcing the COVID-19 Regulations.

Further, as the MDC Alliance we are also concerned that Lovemore Zvokusekwa who was arrested on Saturday and appeared in Court on Monday on charges of may be deprived of his right to a fair trial.

We say so because the complainant appears to have already taken the role of both the Prosecutor and Adjudicator by making a pronouncement that an example should be made of the Accused by imposing the maximum penalty of 20 years.

We believe in the doctrine of Separation of Powers and undue pressure should not be exerted on the courts to convict and the doctrine of the presumption of innocence is the cornerstone of our judicial system.

Innocent Gonese
Secretary for Justice and Legal Affairs
MDC Alliance

By A Correspondent- A government official has revealed that government will soon conduct research on citizens’ knowledge and attitudes regarding COVID-19.

Deputy Health Director resposible for Communications in the Health Ministry Paul Chinakidzwa told journalists that plans were underway to conduct the study in the few coming weeks egarding the knowledge and attitudes of citizens regarding the disease.

He said :

“Public health students at various universities are conducting various researches. Research is also being conducted at various hospitals. But as government, very soon we are going to conduct a knowledge and attitudes investigations study regarding the disease. However, in hospitals there are also studies taking place.”

Illegal forex dealers are beginning to trickle back into central Harare, despite roadblocks designed to check on motorists and on passengers in Zupco buses, with both groups required to prove they are in essential services.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi recently warned the illegal money changers saying police would descend on them.

“Police urge members of the public to receive their money from authorised dealers and then go to the shops, which have been authorised to transact in both local and foreign currency, to buy basic commodities or access medication from pharmacies,” he said.

“There is no need, therefore, for people to engage illegal foreign currency dealers while in the process exposing themselves to the Covid-19 pandemic. The ZRP will arrest all illegal foreign currency dealers who are committing such criminal acts, while at the same time disregarding the Government’s Covid-19 lockdown measures.”

Investigations by The Herald revealed that the illegal dealers target people who collect their forex from Mukuru and World Remit after these services were restored three days a ago to help Zimbabweans reliant on transfers from the Diaspora.

One of the money changers, who spoke to The Herald crew posing as potential clients, revealed how they evade the police on their way into the city centre.

“My friend, it is not easy to be operating from the city centre, but it is harder to do business at home so we are left with no choice but to sneak our way into the CBD and evade the security check points since we do not have passes or letters, which state that we offer essential services,” he said.

“At times we leave our vehicles outside the city centre and complete the journey into the CBD on foot. It is actually safer that way, as we have to make sure that the security services, particularly soldiers, do not see us since these do not compromise at all.”

His colleague added that they only came into the city centre during the week as more people would be receiving their remittances  from either Mukuru or World Remit.

“Those are our customers and we offer them a good rate,” he said. “Some of them are our regulars now so as soon as they withdraw their forex, they come to us.

“We have to be in the city centre to make good profits. There is competition in the suburbs and we are at an advantage if we do our business in the CBD.”

One of the people who had just received her foreign currency from Mukuru along Sam Nujoma Street confirmed that she regularly does business with illegal money changers.

“I always go to money changers to convert my foreign currency into local currency and will do the same today,” she said.

The Herald visited Copacabana bus terminus where some illegal money changers were conducting business, but discreetly.

The Herald approached one of them pretending to be seeking local currency from US$10.

“If you want to change US$10, I will have to transfer $410 into your EcoCash wallet and if you need cash then you will get $350,” said the money changer.

-State House

By A Correspondent- A Zimbabwean male working in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is currently in isolation at Karoi District Hospital after exhibitng Covid-19 symptoms on his way to Harare from the DRC.

Mashonaland West provincial medical director, Dr Wancesluss Nyamayaro yesterday said the patient was admitted at the hospital on Sunday night enroute to Harare from the DRC.

He said tests were done on the suspected patient and are now awaiting CPR confirmatory results from the Microbiological Laboratory in Harare.

Dr Charles Mupfururirwa, who was standing in for Hurungwe district medical officer, Dr Frankston Masiye, said the patient exhibited Covid-19 symptoms which were accompanied by fever and high temperatures.

“The patient is currently admitted at the hospital as we wait for CPR confirmatory test, but his temperature is varying daily,” he said. “We can only conclude that the patient is Covid-19 positive after tests.”

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Mashonaland West province Mary Mliswa who also chairs the provincial task force team on Covid-19, underscored the need for people to exhibit high levels of adherence to the lockdown regulations as they were in place to curtail the spread of the disease.

“People should not panic now that there is suspected case of COVID-19 but rather they should continue to adhere to the lockdown regulations,” she said.

She outlined the need for the Karoi hospital to improve on its levels of hygiene.-Statemedia

One more person has died of Covid 19 at a private hospital in Harare bringing the country’s total deaths to four.

Confirming the death on the sidelines of a WHO donation of PPE and a PCR machine in Harare today, Health and Child care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said contact tracing began last night following the demise of this case.

He said authorities were also working flat out to trace the source of infection.

“We are still trying to trace the source of infection for this case, so far we only know that the case came from Mhondoro,” said Minister Moyo.

-State Media

By A Correspondent- One more person has died of Covid 19 at a private hospital in Harare bringing the country’s total deaths to four.

Confirming the death on the sidelines of a WHO donation of PPE and a PCR machine in Harare today, Health and Child care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said contact tracing began last night following the demise of this case.

He said authorities were also working flat out to trace the source of infection.

“We are still trying to trace the source of infection for this case, so far we only know that the case came from Mhondoro,” said Minister Moyo.-StateMedia

By A Correspondent| The Zimbabwean government is since January to date unleashing Chinese visitors into the community- granting the Asian country’s citizens luxury self quarantine treatment, while on the other hand imposing dirty waterless toilet facilities for returning black Zimbabweans.

The government spokesman Nick Mangwana on Monday claimed that there are 65 Zimbabweans who flew from the UK and now due for mandatory quarantining, who are demanding hotel Quarantine facilities, an allegation which has turned out to be untrue. The government is on video announcing official policy that Chinese visitors are not subjected to mandatory quarantining. Health minister Obadiah Moyo said, “we want to make sure that the arrangements that we have put in place with the Chinese Embassy here in Zimbabwe is maintained.

“They have been extremely good to us.

“They have come forward with solutions and one solution which they came with was that of ensuring that if anybody happens to come form China and arrives at one of our airports they will have to subject themselves to 14 to 21 day self quarantine, which is good.

“We did not tell them that, but they are the ones that came to us and said that is the way we want to go.”

(Watch below)

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Via inbox
Belvedere Teachers College
Harare, Zimbabwe

April 20, 2020

Dear Zimbabwe

Re: Government is Lying: We didn’t demand hotel housing; we demanded basic amenities

As a matter of fact, and for the avoidance of doubt, I’m one of the returning residents who came via an Ethiopian airline yesterday (Monday).

I don’t want to belabor you with a long read. I will therefore go straight to the point.

Yesterday, the permanent secretary in the ministry of information Nick Mangwana tweeted that we — overseas returnees — were demanding hotels. No, this is an outright lie! We did not demand hotel accommodation.

In fact, I was shocked when I read the tweet which many Zimbabweans believed, including those who purport to be frontline human rights defenders. And the Fourth Estate too was hoodwinked.

Here is the other side of the coin. Just like any other Zimbabwean citizen with rights including access to shelter, water and health amongst other basic amenities, we demanded to be housed at a decent facility.

Decent in as far as basic health as defined by health bodies in the wake of the coronavirus is concerned. By basic facilities we meant at least a room with a bed and blankets; toilets with running water and clean bathrooms.

Belvedere, a facility which government authorities provided doesn’t have all those. And government spin doctors led by Mangwana want all Zimbabweans and the rest of the world to laud government for a job well done when in fact what they are doing is exposing returning residents to COVID-19, a pandemic government is claiming to be working to halt.

That hundreds of desperate college students live in shanty facilities such as Belvedere with no complaints doesn’t make it a habitable place.

That other citizens returning via Plumtree and Beitbridge ports of entry have agreed to be housed in dirty, stinky and cholera-infested facilities doesn’t make it right either and doesn’t indicate at all that the government of Zimbabweans cares about its citizens.

If this treatment of citizens by Zimbabwean authorities has anything to show, it is that authorities who have presided over poor infrastructure including hospitals does not care at all about protecting its citizens from COVID-19.

While we understand that this is an abnormal situation, a period of crisis, no right thinking Zimbabwean should commend government for treating its returning citizens like animals.

When we arrived at Belvedere we thought authorities had already assessed the place and certified it as habitable. Although we did not expect anything flashy given the fact that this is a temporary quarantine facility in an emergency situation, we didn’t expect that we will be thrown in a place which doesn’t have basic amenities such as running water.

To make matters worse, government authorities who came to address us regarding our concerns were arrogant.

A case in point is when a senior official in the ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare threatened to unleash police on us, to force us to occupy an inhabitable accommodation.

“If you don’t comply we will ask police to enforce our commands,” the permanent secretary in the Social Welfare ministry who should otherwise know better about the government’s obligations about taking care of the vulnerable, us included, told us.

He added: “You can’t choose where to stay, we chose for you.”

This was after we had requested to be either quarantined at our homes or housed at a decent facility. Alternatively we requested the government authorities to open one of the hotels so that we pay living costs on our own while government provides food.

We also made it clear to the government authorities that we’re willing to be quarantined like other returning citizens but only if bare minimum conditions are met.

To those who have made insulting returning residents, their full-time jobs during this ongoing crisis; please know that while we understand the importance of being isolated from the rest of the community now, the conditions that returning residents are subjected to will in fact propagate the spread of COVID-19. While most of us are from Coronavirus hotspots, we don’t necessarily have the disease, but because of our poor living conditions in quarantine we’re now at more risk of contracting the deadly disease more than other citizens yet government should protect everyone equally.

And while some of you are wailing, thinking returning home is the stupidest thing to do, remember that some of the returnees are students whose accommodation has been withdrawn by their universities in countries such as the U.K and the U.S.

And also remember that some of the returning residents are people who had just visited for shorter periods and therefore cannot live in those countries indefinitely. After all it’s better to die in Zimbabwe where your family can bury you albeit within 24 hours than to die elsewhere where your family will not be able to access your mortal remains.

And by the way, returning residents also have homes where they can actually self-quarantine and cater for basic services our government is failing to meet.

While most of us are willing to be quarantined, we also do not understand why authorities are imposing a 21 day isolation, instead of the WHO approved 14 days.

Why should a cash-strapped government seek to host returning citizens for 7 extra days at it’s expense when it can use those resources to cater for more vulnerable communities who are already bearing the brunt of the extended lockdown, with barely no food?

And while you naysayers are supporting government on outright violation of human rights in the name of fighting COVID-19, remember that the government that you’re enabling to abuse it’s returning citizens now will not stop at that.

Post COVID 19 this government will continue to violate citizen rights because you enabled it to do so during a crisis.

Last but not least, Mangwana, we appreciate your ardent job in timely informing the nation about COVID-19, especially using real time platforms such as twitter. But I just have one request: Please stop spinning public interest information.

It doesn’t help your government and citizens who should make informed decisions during this unprecedented time.

And to gullible Zimbabweans, please always take what government authorities say with a pinch of salt. 99.9 percent of what they say is false or half-true.

The worst you can get from government authorities is a single story narrative. Find the other narrative before you opine on issues of public interest.

Quick updates:

1. There is still no running water at Belvedere.
2. Contrary to reports, police did not guard Belvedere so that returnees don’t riot or at worst escape. As a matter of fact, three police officers came, engaged with returnees then left after an amicable discussion.
3. Nomatter what authorities say, we won’t stay where we risk catching more viral diseases in addition to coronavirus. We will fight for our rights until we’re relocated to a facility that meets basic conditions: running water, one-person room, functional ablution facilities, bedding and food.

For the purposes of signing off, let’s just say my name is Case #0

By A Correspondent- Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals has denied social media claims that four of its employees have contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The hospital’s public relations officer Linos Dhire said none of the hospital’s 98 staff members who were subjected to an immuno-chromatographic screening test tested positive for COVID-19. He said:

We have once again noted that there are some unscrupulous people circulating falsehood on social media claiming that four of our staff members including nurses tested positive for COVID-19.

To put the record straight, none of our staff members tested positive for the SARS-CoV 2 which causes COVID-19.

The facts of the matter are that 98 of our frontline staff members went through an immuno-chromatographic screening test.

Of the 98 who were screened using this particular tool, five required definitive testing method and were sent for rt-PCR which is a confirmatory test. We wish to announce that all the five members who were eventually tested using rt-PCR were confirmed negative for the COVID-19.

The statement followed a tweet by one Dr Chris Kandeya who said four employees including two nurses tested positive blaming the health ministry for not doing due diligence in contact tracing.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe has 28 confirmed cases, three deaths and two recoveries from COVID-19.-HealthTimes

By A Correspondent- The government has gazetted Statutory Instrument 81 of 2020 which sets the national minimum wage at $2 549 74 for all employees except those in the agricultural and domestic sectors.

Labour Minister Paul Mavima said the directive comes into effect immediately, with those who are unable to pay the stipulated fees granted permission to apply for exemption with the relevant National Employment Councils.

Statutory Instrument 81 of 2020 reads in part:

THE MINIMUM WAGE OF $2 549 APPLIES TO ALL WORKERS OTHER THAN DOMESTIC AND AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYEES, FOR WHICH ALTERNATIVE PROVISION WILL BE MADE.

THE EXEMPTION SHALL TAKE IMMEDIATE EFFECT AS GRANTED BY THE NEC UNLESS AND UNTIL THE MINISTER ON GROUNDS OF PUBLIC POLICY OBJECTS TO IT, IN WHICH EVENT THE MINIMUM WAGE MUST BE PAID FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE.

THE NEW GAZETTED PRICES OF $2 500 TRANSLATE TO US$100 AT THE FIXED EXCHANGE RATE OF 1:25.

Laywers representing a man who was arrested for allegedly circulating a fake message about Zimbabwe’s intention to extend its 21-day lockdown, are expected to file a High Court bail application Wednesday seeking to overturn a lower court order to detain him.

Attorney Thomas Machinga told VOA Zimbabwe Service that he is working with some members of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights in an attempt to seek the release of Lovemore Zvokusekwa from remand prison.

Machinga said, “… Once he was denied bail our only option was then to approach the High Court on appeal. We are working on the bail appeal, now I’m working with two more lawyers who are members of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Mr. Jeremiah Bhamu and Mr. Caleb Mutandwa. We are working on the paperwork so that by tomorrow, may be before close of business, we are going to file our bail appeal and may be upon reflection we are also considering taking this matter with the Constitutional Court to challenge the constitutionality of Section 31 of the Code.

“As you might be aware, in 2013 the Supreme Court which was our Constitutional Court in terms of the old constitution ruled that some part of Section 31 was unconstitutional. We believe it could be a chance again to take this matter before the Constitutional Court so that the constitutionality of the rest of the section can be considered by the Constitutional Court. That’s where we are. We will be filing this bail appeal tomorrow (Wednesday).”

The 36 year-old Zvokusekwa of Chitungwiza appeared at Harare Magistrates Court on Monday after he was arrested on Saturday by Zimbabwe Republic Police officers, who charged him with publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the state as defined in section 31(a)(i) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

In court, prosecutors alleged that Zvokusekwa peddled falsehoods when he reportedly circulated a false and unsigned press statement purportedly written and issued by President Mnangagwa titled “EXTENSION OF LOCKDOWN PERIOD BY 13 DAYS ONLY” advising people that he had extended the national lockdown period by 13 days from 20 April, 2020, to 3 May, 2020.

Zvokusekwa, prosecutors charged, disseminated the false press statement on different WhatsApp platforms using his Huawei mobile phone handset and yet President Mnangagwa had not written or signed the purported press statement.

Prosecutors said some witnesses who received the false press statement will testify against Zvokusekwa during his trial.

Zvokusekwa will return to court on 13 April.

VOA

POLICE in Bulawayo have arrested a machete gang leader who allegedly killed a police officer last year in Kadoma following a dramatic 40km high speed chase that saw his accomplice jumping off their vehicle and escaping on foot.

Officers from CID Bulawayo got a tip off that the suspect, Anyway Nkomeni of Chief Nembudziya village in Gokwe who had been terrorising communities in Inyathi had been spotted at a business centre in the area on Sunday.

Nkomeni who was popularly known as ‘Dinda’, allegedly led a terror gang called ‘maZiga’ which terrorised mining communities in Kadoma and Kwekwe before moving to Inyathi where they attacked police and civilians.

Nkomeni and his accomplice were involved in a high-speed chase with the police and when they were cornered, they jumped off their Honda Fit vehicle and escaped on foot.

The gang leader who had been driving the vehicle was apprehended but his accomplice fled from the scene.

In an interview yesterday, Bulawayo police spokesperson inspector Abednico Ncube said the suspect was arrested after a 40km high speed chase as he tried to evade arrest.

He gave up the car and tried to escape on foot, before he was subsequently arrested.

“CID Bulawayo received a tip off from a community member in Inyathi that the suspect who was connected to the murder of a police officer at Brenton Mine, Kadoma, was around Mhlotshana mining area in Inyathi.

“The team followed and went to Inyathi where a follow up was made. Further information was received that the suspect was seen at Badala business centre where among other issues some members were arrested for violating Covid-19 regulations. The accused person, driving in a purple Honda Fit registration AFE2766 took off in a bid to escape,” said Inspector Ncube

“The team gave chase for about 40 km until they reached a place called Derbshire rank in Lower Gweru where the accused person and his accomplice stopped their vehicle and jumped off in a bid to run away after being cornered by the police.

“However, this accused person Anyway Nkomeni whose alias name is Dinda aged 28 years of Chief Nembudziya Gokwe district was arrested. His other accomplice managed to escape. He has been referred to Kadoma to face the charges.”

Sources said nine other people were arrested at Inyathi, most of them artisanal miners for violating lockdown orders and public drinking among other offences.

THE number of deportees quarantined at Mosi-oa-Tunya High School in Victoria Falls to curb the spread of Covid-19 had risen to 29 yesterday, up from eight last Friday while two more people were expected last night.

A total of 13 women and 16 men returning from Botswana, Namibia and Zambia have been quarantined while the other two who were already in town pending logistics are Victoria Falls residents who had returned from Cameroon.

The Matabeleland North Provincial Covid-19 Taskforce led by Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Richard Moyo identified the school as a quarantine centre for the province.

Yesterday the Minister and members of the Joint Operations Command (JOC) visited the quarantine centre where deportees are housed in classrooms with the department of Social Welfare taking care of them in partnership with the private sector.

The returnees were screened using the Rapid Diagnostic Testing (RDT) for Covid-19 at the border.

Minister Moyo assured them that they would be well taken care of as he explained the purpose of the isolation.

“You are not under arrest and no-one is accusing you of anything. We are trying to minimise the spread of coronavirus and this is only a precautionary measure as you will be housed here for 14 or 21 days depending on what health officials will say before you proceed to your homes after being tested. This means that you will be in Government hands during that period. As you noticed on your way here, borders are closed and only Zimbabweans returning home are allowed in,” said Minister Moyo.

In an interview after the tour of the quarantine centre, Mkhosana Clinic and Zimbabwe Aids Project (ZAP) Clinic which have been turned into isolation centres, Minister Moyo thanked the private sector for assisting to set up the centres.

He said Victoria Falls was ready in the event of any case that may need clinical isolation.

“Today we as the provincial taskforce were visiting all isolation centres in the province. We divided ourselves into groups. The Minister and Joint Operations Command members came to Hwange where we visited Painted Dog which donated sanitisers and disinfection chemicals in the morning. We went to Five Miles isolation centre in Hwange which we feel still needs support from Government.

“The local taskforce identified the place and they are connecting water and electricity but it still needs beds and other equipment. However, after touring the isolation centres in Victoria Falls, it shows that they are prepared and in case we have a patient with Covid-19 symptoms anytime they can handle it because one of the two facilities is well equipped,” said Minister Moyo.

Minister Moyo said Government had released RTGS$1.7 million to the Victoria Falls taskforce through the local authority to assist at the two isolation centres.

Hwange District Medical Officer (DMO) Fungai Mvura said the ZAP isolation centre is ready to receive patients while Mkhosana Clinic will be ready within two weeks.

Besides beds and other equipment, the centre has been equipped with two portable ventilators procured by the tourism industry.

“What is outstanding is medication and personal protective clothing,” said Dr Mvura.

Matabeleland North Provincial Social Welfare officer Mr Macnon Chirinzepi said the deportees are from across Matabeleland North while others are from Bulawayo, Chinhoyi, Harare, Kadoma and Rusape.

He said the quarantine centre has capacity for 100 people.

Mr Chirinzepi appealed to well-wishers to donate internet services and a television set so that the deportees are kept abreast with what is happening in the country.

THE Bulawayo’s central business district (CBD) resembled a normal day as people thronged banks that opened yesterday as well as shops, pharmacies and the market place with also a marked increase in vehicular traffic.

With the hive of activity, one could be forgiven to assume the lockdown period was over.

President Mnangagwa extended the lockdown on Sunday by two weeks to May 3 as Covid-19 cases are increasing.

As of Monday, 3 308 people had been tested for Covid-19 in the country with three recorded deaths and two recoveries from 25 positive cases recorded so far in the country.

In Bulawayo’s CBD yesterday, there were long queues at banks and supermarkets, with forex remittance outlets arguably having the longest queues.

At the markets, a lot of vendors came all out with their boxes to stock up on fruits and vegetables for resale, while a lot of ordinary people were buying fresh produce in bulk and sharing outside.

Police and the army had to be called to restore order at a Western Union and MoneyGram queue at EcoBank at the corner of Fife Street and 9th Avenue when hundreds of people were demanding their diaspora remittances from the bank.

Most Western Union branches and MoneyGram branches in the city were closed as they reportedly had no money.

Banks re-opened for business yesterday and there were winding queues at NMB, First Capital Bank, NBS, EcoBank and at CBZ.

At most queues people were not adhering to social distancing rules.

Most people in queues said they had walked into the city centre from various suburbs as there is no public transport open to non-essential services staff.

At banks, clients said they had to stand in long queues as they needed the cash for day-to-day expenses as commodities were much cheaper when buying in cash as compared to using electronic transactions. Also, people avoid bank or electronic transaction charges when using cash.

For example, at Oceans Supermarket in the city, bread was going for $21 cash and $30 using other payment options which also attracts additional transaction charges.

“It’s better to just spend the whole day in the queue knowing that at the end of the day I will buy five items with cash than swiping for only three items at the shops. In Western areas, they charge you $120 for 2kg sugar when swiping but $80 if you are buying in cash. That is why we will just stand in the queue. We are happy that the banks have since opened. We have been suffering,” said Mr Thembani Ndlovu from Magwegwe North suburb.

People who queued for forex remittances said they were struggling to get their money as most branches were closed, with the few open ones reportedly offering “slow service”.

“We have been here since 7AM. We walked. We couldn’t be in the Zupco bus and the police made us leave our car at Athlone Avenue and continue on foot. They told us that they will close at 12PM, right now its way past 11AM and the queue is still not moving. We need the money because we need to eat,” said Mrs Nobuhle Matshazi from Sauerstown.

In a statement, Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said they had noted the high volumes of people trekking into the city yesterday and they were going to act.

He said they had arrested some people but could not immediately give the number of those arrested.

“While we understand that people need to restock on food supplies and some people have genuine business in town, we still want to limit the numbers and decongest the CBD. We will continue to work and our teams are still working at the roadblocks. The high numbers of people arrested are not necessarily a reflection that the people of Bulawayo are the rowdiest, but it is a reflection of the effectiveness of the police force in the province. We warn all those who continue to violate lockdown orders that they will be arrested as we shall leave no stone unturned,” he said.

Speaking during a donations handover ceremony at Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital yesterday, Bulawayo mayor Councillor Solomon Mguni said the public’s attitude on Covid-19 was worrying as there were many people still defying lockdown regulations, putting themselves, their families and the general public at risk.

The mayor said flattening the curve is a collective responsibility and it needs everyone to avert the spread of Covid 19.

“It is saddening to note that the issue of social distancing is still not being adhered to, especially in Bulawayo. Let us protect each other to save lives and practice social distancing. I also need to implore businesses operating this time to ensure that they do not expose people to Covid-19. While hand sanitisers and washing of hands is encouraged, may we also ensure that we discourage unnecessary loitering outside our premises,” he said.

During the same occasion, the assistant director of the Health Services Department Dr Khulamuzi Nyathi urged Bulawayo residents to observe lockdown regulations and stay at home as the movement of people spreads Covid-19.

State Media

Zimbabwean citizens who returned from the United Kingdom on Monday aboard Ethiopian Airlines will have to stay at Belvedere Technical Teachers’ College, as Government could not secure alternative accommodation.

The returnees had agreed to put up at the college on Monday on condition that Government would secure a “better place”. .

The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) was suggested, but the fact that UZ is already being used as a manufacturing hub for Covid-19 equipment does not allow it to be a quarantine facility. Other people, some of whom are involved in the production of the Covid-19 materials, are also staying on campus.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Secretary Mr Simon Masanga yesterday said Government was now working on availing borehole water to the returnees for drinking, adding that the college already had running water from the local authority.

“The institution had running water, but what they wanted was borehole water and we are in the process of getting that sorted,” he said.

“However, today we will organise bottled water for them. Since we could not secure accommodation for them at the UZ, that means we will have to work with what is there. They will have to stay at Belvedere Teachers’ College, after all this is only a temporary arrangement.”

Mr Masanga said those intending to get their personal blankets and linen from their relatives where free to do so, but no interaction would be permitted between them and their relatives.

“If anyone of them feels or visits a friend’s cubicle, that will be at their own risk, but we have made efforts to maintain social distancing even as they sleep,” he said.

Government had a difficult time on Monday trying to negotiate with the returnees to accept compulsory quarantine.

The returnees insisted that the quarantine facility was below standard and inhabitable and only accepted to sleep at the college on condition that they would be moved the following morning.

Yesterday, videos and pictures of the dormitories, bedding and ablution facilities made rounds on social media, but most Zimbabweans could not take any of it, insisting that Government should not compromise on compulsory quarantine.

The anger by most Zimbabweans emanated from confirmed cases of Covid-19 involving returnees who failed to abide by self-isolation rules and instead roamed around the streets, exposing other people to the virus.

JUSTICE Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has said processes are underway to amend the recent clemency order and ensure more categories of prisoners benefit from the Presidential amnesty as an urgent measure to decongest prisons.

Government is also working on transferring inmates from heavily-congested prisons to less-populated centres to promote social distancing.

Early this month, President Mnangagwa exercised his constitutional powers of mercy to effect the amnesty to reduce the prison population to levels that could be accommodated safely.

Only 1 680 were released, a figure far off the targeted 5 000.

The country’s prisons, whose holding capacity is 17 000, had about 22 000 inmates prior to the amnesty, but the figure dropped by 1 680.

Only 53 women benefited from the amnesty after it turned out that most of them committed specified offences like murder, robbery, carjacking, sexual offences and public violence.

Women prisoners who have served at least half their effective sentence, juvenile prisoners who have served a third; those sentenced to 36 months or less who have served half and those over 70 who have served half qualified for release as long as they were not serving for specified offences.

Offenders excluded from the amnesty include those convicted of murder, treason, rape or any sexual offence, carjacking, robbery, stock-theft and public violence, plus any conspiracy, incitement or attempt to commit these crimes or being an accessory.

Also excluded are prisoners who benefited from a previous amnesty, those jailed by a court martial, which would apply to certain offences by members of the defence forces and prisoners with a record for escaping from lawful custody.

Minister Ziyambi said Government was working on amending the clemency order to allow more categories of prisoners to benefit.

“As a stop-gap measure, we are in the process of amending the clemency proclamation so that it includes other categories of offenders in a bid to reduce the prison population.

“We are also considering transferring some categories of prisoners to other jails that are not crowded as a way of maintaining social distance in light of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

Minister Ziyambi said Government was also planning to construct new prisons.

“Our prisons were constructed long back when our national population was around seven million, but the figures have now ballooned to around 13 million people.

“That calls for expansion of prison facilities to accommodate more offenders. To that end, we have approached Treasury for funding,” said Minister Ziyambi.

Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison in Harare has remained overcrowded by 94 percent despite the recent Presidential amnesty that freed prisoners. Only 19 inmates qualified for amnesty in the section of most serious offenders, resulting in the population insignificantly dropping from 2 654 to 2 635.

The current population remains close to double the prison’s ideal holding capacity of 1 360 and the situation has strained the prison’s resources, including food and water supplies.

Chikurubi alone requires 1,6 tonnes of maize meal daily and the authorities are struggling to source the scarce commodity.

THE number of people who have tested positive to Covid-19 in Zimbabwe has risen to 28 after three more confirmed cases were reported in Harare.

In an update last night, the Ministry of Health and Child Care said the total number of reported deaths remained at three while there have been two recoveries. Harare Metropolitan Province now has the highest number of confirmed cases at 13 followed by Bulawayo Metropolitan Province with 10 cases. Mashonaland East has four confirmed cases, while Matabeleland North has one case. The rest of the provinces are yet to record Covid-19 positive cases.

No details on the new cases were provided by the Ministry.

The ministry said 841 tests were done yesterday, giving a total of 4 159 diagnostic tests done to date. Results for 65 samples were still pending. “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,” said the ministry.

Private sector producers and retailers have agreed with the Government to freeze prices of essential foods as part of measures to cope with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown measures required to contain the threat.

The envisaged moratorium, still to be formally announced and implemented, follows recent steep increases in prices of basic goods, including bread, super-refined maize-meal, cooking oil, flour and sugar, largely driven by a huge jump in exchange rates, both interbank and black market, in the weeks before the Covid-19 lockdown.

Many of the inputs for most of these basics are still imported.

However, exchange rates have now stabilised, the interbank rate being fixed at Z$25 to US$1 for the duration of the Covid-19 emergency and the black market rate stabilising after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) stamped on two bureaux de change who had driven the rate up fast in a buying spree on behalf of a small group of buyers just before the lockdown.

The stable rates, coupled with lockdown exemptions for mining and tobacco auctions, the two major export earners, means that a price moratorium is financially viable without creating shortages and rates are likely to remain stable since import pressure has been sharply reduced by travel bans and the difficultly of moving non-essential cargo.

The decision to halt further price increases was contained in a report to Cabinet on the country’s preparedness and response to the Covid-19 outbreak presented by Vice President Kembo Mohadi, who is also the chairman of the ad hoc inter-ministerial task force on the disease.

Bread prices rose by around 33 percent from an average $20 to $30 during the lockdown, while cooking oil now costs anything between $120 and $160 for two litres, up from $70 depending on brand and the retailer.

Sugar is now selling for over $65 for 2kg while the price of refined maize meal is averaging $230 per 10kg pocket although roller meal remains fixed at $70 per 10kg packet.

Presenting the 12th Cabinet Decision Making Matrix yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said an announcement on the moratorium would be made soon.

“Salient areas where remarkable achievement has been made include discussions regarding the proposed moratorium on prices of identified basic commodities that were concluded and announcements in this regard will be made in due course,” Minister Mutsvangwa said.

Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza said her ministry had engaged the private sector organisations, including the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers among others.

According to a survey carried out by the consumer protection affairs section under her ministry, the food basket for a family of six rose from $4 656 in February to $6 660 as of April 11.

“We met with suppliers and producers and this was a multi-sectoral meeting held on April 11 and the people involved are those who produce, manufacture and distribute food and the purpose of that meeting was to find out how we can put our heads together and protect the consumer and the people involved include the GMAZ, the CZR and others.

We came to an agreement, which still needs to be announced and we intend to make the announcement together in due course where everyone will be present,” Dr Nzenza said.

The minister added that consultations agreed that the producers would ensure that there would be continuous supply of commodities.

Meanwhile Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister, Professor Paul Mavima said his units had completed compiling the data base for vulnerable people expected to benefit from the $200 monthly cash transfer.

Government has set aside $600 million to be disbursed to vulnerable people over three months up to June.

THE number of people who have tested positive to Covid-19 in Zimbabwe has risen to 28 after three more confirmed cases were reported in Harare.

In an update last night, the Ministry of Health and Child Care said the total number of reported deaths remained at three while there have been two recoveries.

Harare Metropolitan Province now has the highest number of confirmed cases at 13 followed by Bulawayo Metropolitan Province with 10 cases. Mashonaland East has four confirmed cases, while Matabeleland North has one case. The rest of the provinces are yet to record Covid-19 positive cases.

The ministry said 841 tests were done yesterday, giving a total of 4 159 diagnostic tests done to date. Results for 65 samples were still pending.

“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,” said the ministry.-State media

Farai Dziva|MDC MP for Kuwadzana East, Charlton Hwende will on Friday distribute mealie meal to the elderly people in the constituency.

“Those who stay in Kuwadzana East who are over 65 and are struggling to get mealie meal your MP will be distributing free mealie meal on Friday contact my PA Enos 07 33012625 .

I have also specifically asked the Zanu PF and the MDC-A leadership to help identify beneficiaries,” said Hwende in a statement.