By A Correspondent- Zimbabweans in South Africa whose visas or days expired during the Covid-19 lockdown period will not be arrested or deported for violating the neighbouring country’s immigration laws.
The regulation, which applies to all foreigners in South Africa, states that those who opt to return to their countries after the lockdown instead of renewing their visas, will not be declared illegal immigrants upon departure.
In a statement posted on its Twitter Page, SA’s Department of Home Affairs said the temporary measures were introduced after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster on March 15 and subsequently a total lockdown, which was extended to April 30 to contain the spread of Covid-19. South Africa’s lockdown started on March 21.
The department said the visa concessions apply to those with visas that expired from February 15, 2020 unless a person has proof that they had already submitted an application for visa extension prior to that date.
“Holders of temporary residence visas, which expired from mid- February 2020, who did not renew their visas before the lockdown, will not be declared illegal or prohibited persons. Any person whose visa expired before or during the lockdown will not be arrested or detained for holding an expired visa,” read the statement.
The department stated that during the lockdown, it is receiving or adjudicating applications for visas and permanent residence permits.
“Foreign nationals whose visas expired after February 15, and had scheduled appointments on dates which fall within the lockdown period, should reschedule their appointments to an available date after the lockdown has been lifted,” said the department.
People whose work, study and business visas expired during the lockdown including those who had submitted their applications before the lockdown will be allowed to work, study or conduct business after the lockdown while waiting for the outcome of their applications.
“Visas issued to nationals of high-risk countries who were outside South Africa on March 15, 2020 were revoked as per the directions issued by the department in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 these visas remain revoked,” the department said.
According to the statement, all foreigners who are in South Africa are not allowed to leave the country during the lockdown except for cases relating to expatriation initiated by another State.
“Any asylum seeker whose visa expired from March 16, 2020 to the end of the lockdown period will not be penalised or arrested, provided they legalise their visa within 30 calendar days of the lockdown being lifted.”
Commenting on the SA lockdown yesterday, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to South Africa Mr David Hamadziripi said that Zimbabweans in the neighbouring country who may be in distress from the lockdown will soon be allowed to return home.
Ambassador Hamadziripi said the Embassy and consulates countrywide had received distress calls from some Zimbabweans who were finding it difficult to make ends meet owing to the lockdown and wanted to return home.
Meanwhile, the South Africa government has deployed the military to the Beitbridge Border Post after suspected border jumpers and smugglers vandalised part of the R37 million border fence, which is being erected between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The deployment of soldiers follows reports and pictures circulating on social media showing that the barbed wire fence had been cut through, with a gaping hole now clearly visible in the 1,8m high fence, which separates the two countries.
The fence is supposed to span 20km on each side of the border post. Confirming the deployment of the army in a series of tweets, South Africa’s Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille said her ministry requested the Department of Defence to increase security measures as reinforcement to protect the border and curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. She said they were also considering additional deterrent measures such as surveillance, sensors and alarms.
“With regard to the Beitbridge border fence which DPWI [Department of Public Works and Infrastructure] is erecting and criminal elements damaging the fence, I am investigating this matter and the contractor has increased security personnel. The Defence Force has also deployed soldiers to patrol the border,” said Ms de Lille.
She also posted pictures with the tweet showing military vehicles and soldiers, including some on motorbikes, along the fence.
“This was a project by DPWI to secure the borders and repair and replace the fence which has been badly damaged. I have requested that the department of defence increase security measures as reinforcement to protect our borders especially during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said the Minister.-StateMedia
By A Correspondent- The truck drivers have often been accused of picking up s.e.x workers at such spots, a practice likely to worsen the spread of COVID-19.
Cross-border truck drivers who stop at truck inns and business centres to rest are making Zimbabwe more vulnerable to COVID-19, a legislator has warned, as he seeks new rules that would force the drivers to practice social distancing.
Chivi Central Member of Parliament Ephraim Gwanongodza made the remarks while making a contribution during a recent visit to Chivi District Hospital by members of the Masvingo provincial COVID-19 taskforce led by Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister Ezra Chadzamira.
“There might be no business during the day at business centres like Chibi Turn-Off and other areas along the Harare-Beitbridge Highway, but truck drivers from South Africa still park there in their numbers,” he said.
“In the surrounding villages, for example at Chibi Turn-Off, there are women who like to entertain the truck drivers, and there is a lot of contacts that happens that makes social distancing impossible.
“We discussed the issue with the local councillor and it is our request that trucks should be banned from parking at these places because it’s putting our province and the nation at serious risk.” In his presentation, Minister Chadzamira said Government was worried about non-compliant behaviour.
“We have noted with concern that some citizens continue to struggle with practising social distancing,” he said. “Government urges each and every one of us to remind the next person they need to maintain social distancing and other preventative behaviour. “We have to be each other’s keeper in order to beat this invisible enemy, coronavirus.”
Minister Chadzamira said truck drivers should abide by the social distancing rules, while at the same time abstaining from hiring sex workers at business centres and truck inns along the highway as these were potential coronavirus hotspots.
Officer Commanding Zimbabwe Republic Police Masvingo Province, Assistant Commissioner Taoneyi Nyazema, urged the public to observe the social distancing rule and avoid moving around aimlessly. “Police have observed aimless movements by motorists, with some claiming to be looking for fuel or shopping for basic commodities,” he said.
“We are going to increase operations and patrols at night, especially at such truck inns and business centres along the Harare-Masvingo Highway as efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Those found without justification of being outside will be arrested and prosecuted.
“Members of the public who are queuing for basic commodities should do so in an orderly manner in line with guidelines provided by Government.-StateMedia
By Own Correspondent| Zimbabwe has recorded its first recovery case from the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) case, Ministry of Health and Child Care has updated the nation.
Though the ministry did not disclose which patient among the 18 has recovered, the news comes as positive news considering that the country is underfunded and running an uncoordinated response to the global pandemic.
Zimbabwe has begun decentralising COVID-19 testing with machines, reagents and test kits being sent to two cities other than Harare.
Bulawayo has already begun conducting tests with Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital expected to do the same soon.
Confirmatory tests are done at the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory in Harare.
About 45 laboratory workers are getting trained in Bulawayo to handle the testing.
“As part of the decentralisation initiative, we have set up a testing facility at Mpilo. Tests done at Mpilo will be sent to NMRL for confirmation as was done when we used to send our results to South Africa’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in KwaZulu Natal.
“We should be receiving reagents for this testing on April 15, 2020 which is next week.
“These reagents will be used for the Gene Xpert machines we have in our testing facilities.
“We are not going to ending with Mpilo as plans are that every provincial and district hospital should be able to do the testing at sub-national level,” said the Health Ministry.
The testing for the Southern Region samples done at Mpilo begins on Monday when they get more reagents.
The Ministry has designated more sites as isolation facilities.
Every provincial health centre and a local authority health facility will be designated as isolation centres.
“Plumtree High School is now holding 450 Zimbabweans returning from Botswana.
By A Correspondent- President Mnangagwa recently appointed, on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), a three-member tribunal to decide on Justice Bere’s suitability to continue holding office, with the commission doing a U-turn after initially clearing him in November last year.
The High Court will tomorrow rule whether or not the legal challenge mounted by Supreme Court judge, Justice Francis Bere, over his disciplinary tribunal should be heard as an urgent matter.
In a bid to block the proceedings, Justice Bere — through his legal team comprising Professor Lovemore Madhuku and Advocates Girach Firoz and Lewis Uriri — filed an urgent chamber application challenging the legality of the tribunal because of that U-turn.
High Court judge, Justice Alfias Chitakunye yesterday heard arguments from the commission and Justice Bere’s lawyers before deferring his ruling to tomorrow. If the matter is considered urgent, it can be heard almost immediately, but if not, then it must take its place in the queue for High Court civil cases. The JSC had raised preliminary points arguing that the matter was not urgent.
Adv David Ochieng, who was being instructed by Mr Andrew Mugandiwa of Winterton’s law firm, argued that the case was not urgent and that it cannot be heard during the lockdown. He defended the JSC’s decision to refer Justice Bere’s case to the President for the constitution of a tribunal, despite having cleared him of any wrongdoing in November last year.
Adv Ochieng argued that the tribunal cannot be stopped from inquiring into the matter, saying if the JSC was wrong, such a finding has to be made by the tribunal. However, Adv Firoz argued that the JSC acted unlawfully by recommending a tribunal against Justice Bere when the commission had earlier cleared the judge of any wrongdoing.
He argued that Justice Bere’s right to be heard was violated because the complainant in one of the cases, Mr Itai Ndudzo, wrote a second letter implicating the judge, but the JSC did not afford Justice Bere an opportunity to respond. On that basis, Justice Bere seeks an interdict to restrain the tribunal from commencing the inquiry.
The judge, through his lawyers, insisted that the matter was urgent. Justice Chitakunye is expected to rule on the preliminary points tomorrow. The tribunal to inquire into Justice Bere’s case will be chaired by retired judge, Justice Simbi Mubako. Justice Mubako will work with two lawyers — Advocate Takawira Nzombe and Mrs Rekayi Maphosa.
Justice Bere is accused of telephoning Zinara lawyer, Mr Ndudzo of Mutamangira and Associates, asking him to consider settling a civil dispute pitting Zinara against Fremus Enterprises, a firm owned by the judge’s relatives.
The complaint was first raised before Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza during a court hearing before Mr Ndudzo was asked to make the complaint in writing. “The learned judge, indeed contacted me telephonically,” said Mr Ndudzo.
“The commercial dispute between my client (Zinara) and Fremus Enterprises Pvt Ltd was discussed in the course of the conversation. The learned judge’s relatives are co-directors of Fremus Enterprises Pvt Ltd. The learned judge inquired whether or not there would be possibility of payment being expedited to Fremus Pvt Ltd. I declined the request and the conversation ended abruptly on that note.”
Justice Bere responded to the complaint denying the allegations. In a response to the Judicial Service Commission, he said he only contacted Mr Ndudzo in the context of their personal relationship dating back to the days when they were both members of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) Ethics Committee.
“In 2015, I was chairman of the ZIFA ethics committee and Mr Ndudzo was legal advisor to ZIFA,” he said. “We developed a personal relationship through ZIFA. I spoke to Mr Ndudzo in the context of the said personal relationship before litigation had commenced, and in circumstances wherein litigation was not apparent.
“This was prior to my transfer to Bulawayo High Court to head that court following the passing on of the late Mr Justice Mutema.” Justice Bere said he visited his aunt, who, together with her husband, are co-directors of Fremus Enterprises.
“My aunt was critically ill,” he said. “The directors of Fremus wished to take my aunt to South Africa for immediate medical attention, but did not have the required resources.
“In talking to them, my sister’s husband disclosed that if only Mr Ndudzo had honoured his promise to release money owed to Fremus, they would not have been in that predicament.”
Justice Bere said he was relieved that his relatives were talking about Mr Ndudzo whom he knew through interaction at ZIFA. “I reacted by immediately calling Mr Ndudzo whose number I already had by reason of the personal relationship we had developed,” he said.
“I inquired of him, whether or not there was any possibility of him expediting the payment to Fremus given the dire situation at hand.” Justice Bere described the complaint as a falsehood meant to taint his clean record.
“In this exciting phase that we are in as a country, and in view of the much spoken about confrontation against the vice of corruption, there will always be excitable individuals who would wish to create some relevance in this noble fight,” he said.
“They are the greatest threat to this noble endeavour and stand in the path of, and indeed in this way obstruct, the genuine fight against corruption. It is in this spirit that the false complaint against me must be looked at.”
Mr Ndudzo, in a follow up letter, stuck to his story, saying he had no reason to frame Justice Bere and denied the existence of any personal relationship.-StateMedia
ONE-million households identified through the Social Welfare Department to benefit from the $600 million kitty availed by the Government to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 are set to start receiving their cash transfers today.
This comes as the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has risen to 18 after 53 samples were tested yesterday and 0ne was positive.
The Government resolved to cushion vulnerable households, whose sources of income were affected by the 21-day national lockdown, which is aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19.
The $600 million package, for three months, was announced two weeks ago by Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube.
To ensure that the beneficiaries realised the full value of the payouts, the Government would ensure that they were not charged transactional costs when cashing out the money.
EcoCash has already indicated that it will not charge transactional costs on funds pertaining to Covid-19.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Deputy Minister Lovemore Matuke confirmed to The Herald yesterday that cash transfers for the beneficiaries were processed and would be effected starting today.
“The names of the beneficiaries have been sent to the network providers to effect the payments. The money should start reflecting in their mobile phones starting on Wednesday (today). There was a bit of some delay because there was duplication of names, for instance, one name can appear in Mabvuku and Mufakose, so we were scanning those names to ensure that they appear once in the database. The scanning process took a bit of time,” said Deputy Minister Matuke.
He dismissed reports that beneficiaries were being forced to use NetOne sim cards to receive the money, adding that both NetOne and Econet networks would be used, depending on the beneficiary’s preference.
By A Correspondent- A 27-year-old South African man was recently arrested for fatally stabbing his friend whom he suspected of having an illicit sexual affair with his lover.
On top of this, the apparently distressed killer, who is facing two charges of murder, also pounced on his drug dealer after he failed to give him his daily fix.
The two killings happened on Sunday in Northern Cape, DailySun has revealed. The now-deceased whose names have not been provided were aged, 27 and 29.
Northern Cape police spokesman Brigadier Mohale Ramatseba confirmed the arrest and the tragic killings.
‘Both murders are being investigated. ‘The suspect will appear in the Galeshewe Magistrates Court soon,’ he said.
According to an eye witness who spoke to the publication, the suspect first stabbed a friend in the chest over a woman while a crowd watched.
‘I was on my way to the shops when I overheard two men arguing. The suspect was accusing his friend of poking his lover. I intervened but the suspect drew a knife. ‘He chased his friend until he fell over. He stabbed him while screaming, ‘You poked my girlfriend’ before fleeing. The street is usually patrolled by cops, but during the stabbing there were none. Most residents went outside to watch the fight,’ said the eye witness.
After making his escape, the suspect then visited his drug dealer in order to get his fix. According to another eyewitness, Kamogelo Motlae, an altercation broke out between the suspected killer and the drug peddler, forcing the accused to withdraw his knife and stab the dealer.
‘I could hear him demanding drugs from a man standing outside. He suddenly stabbed him twice and fled. I later learnt the same suspect had stabbed someone else earlier,’ he said.
By A Correspondent- Harare North MP Allan Norman Markham (MDC Alliance) and human rights activist Mfundo Mlilo have dragged President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ministers to court to force them to provide safety nets for struggling Zimbabweans and cushion them during the 21-day lockdown.
Tendai Biti represented the applicants and cited Mnangagwa, ministers Mthuli Ncube (Finance), Obadiah Moyo (health), July Moyo (Local Government) and Joel Biggie Matiza (Transport) as respondents.
The other cited officials were Kazembe Kazembe (Home Affairs), Oppah Muchinguri (Defence) and Police CommissionerGeneral Godwin Matanga.
Biti said the government was obliged to provide residents with potable water, food, money and other essentials during the lockdown, adding that it was folly to impose such measures on people without providing essentials.
“We were arguing that the Constitution provides for the right to life, right to health and if you are going to lock down people in a country where 95% of the people are unemployed, where 79% of the people in a country are leaving in extreme poverty then you have a problem,” he said.
“If you are going to lock people in, give them food otherwise they will go out and that will be a threat to right to life itself and the right to health so safety nets should be provided for by the State.”
The application, Biti said, was not opposed to adding that he remained hopeful the court will issue an order allowing the executive to issue a statutory instrument that recognises safety nets. Biti said authorities have no basis for extending or not extending the lockdown as they have no adequate data.Loading…
“We are not testing, unfortunately. Zimbabwe so far has done 500 tests, so in the absence of data, the authorities do not have the basis of making a decision of extending or not extending. In our view, there is no point in locking down people unless you are actually testing. The whole idea of a lockdown is to enable the cycle and in those 14 days you are not testing, there is no basis for lockdown, massive tests are missing in Zimbabwe,” Biti said.
By Own Correspondent| Chipo Chimbadzo of Headman Mashame under chief Chireya in Gokwe will forever rue the day she decided to pay her relatives a visit after spending time living abroad. She had left behind in Sweden, her husband and two minor children on the pretext she would return in earnest.
Unbeknown to Chipo this was to be the onset of her problems which would eventually see her losing her sight during a traditional ceremony known as ‘kurova guva’ loosely translated to ‘bringing back the spirit of the deceased back into the family setup’.
Chipo’ s problems began during the nocturnal hours when a paternal aunt purporting to be possessed by the spirit of the deceased relative boldly declared that the spirit wanted to settle and be inherited by Chipo. An assertion she flatly refused. In an instant she lost her eye sight.
After consultations with her mother on what had befallen her, Chipo was told by her mother that her refusal to inherit the said spirit of the deceased was the cause of her predicament. Now Chipo is in a spot of bother as the once vivacious lady needs assistance to carry out basic chores she was accustomed to doing by herself as she is now blind. She misses her husband and children and cannot go back to her family in Sweden in her current state. Her family in Gokwe have bluntly informed her that she will remain in her current state until she compromises and accepts to be the bearer of the deceased spirit.
In essence, “Chipo is being forced to accept the spirit.
Some cultures in Zimbabwe dictate that when a family member dies the spirit of the deceased should be brought back into the family setup and inherited by a spiritually designated host who is a close relative of the deceased.
Chipo is one of the many Zimbabweans who have suffered prejudice under such customary norms and ideals which have been described by progressive minds as archaic and retrogressive.
However, the Zimbabwean constitution still incorporates such backward cultural practices.
Chad President announces:- 1. Free water for 6 months
– 2. Free electricity for 3 mnths. Idriss Déby: Govt to cover cost of electricity for 3 months & water for 6 months; 1638 health workers to be recruited; Covid-19 Medicals & materials exempt from taxation.
Tax audits suspended pic.twitter.com/QiS1e5j3W4
ZimEye last night reached out to the Zimbabwean military for answers on why soldiers are assaulting civilians and health workers during the lockdown period. This comes after clear video footage emerged showing attacks against residents in Harare, and the latest ones being in Masvingo where health workers were brutally assaulted together people traveling to purchase mealie meal,classified in the category of essential goods.
In January, ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa announced during a speech saying he will deploy the army to assault Kuwadzana residents upon discovering that they are the ones who stopped the rain.
One of the victims is Emmanuel Mushaiwa who was left with fractured arm and taken to Nyangombe clinic. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was immediately transferred to Chinhoyi Hospital. (See pictures- WARNING THE IMAGES MAY BE DISTRESSING TO THOSE OF A NERVOUS DISPOSITION.)
Emmanuel Mushaiwa, taken to Chinhoyi Hospital
INTERVIEWING THE ZNA SHORTLY – INBOX US DETAILS OF WHERE AND WHEN THIS HAPPENED- ALSO FULL DETAILS PF THE VICTIMS pic.twitter.com/LdbgHvARy7
By Own Correspondent| Prominent traditional healer Sekuru Banda has reiterated President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s plea to Zimbabwean citizens to stay home during the 21-day lockdown in a bid to contain the deadly COVID-19 virus.
Speaking to this publication, Sekuru Banda said people should heed the call by President Emmerson Mnangagwa for citizens to stay at home as a measure to contain the deadly pandemic Coronavirus.
“I urge citizens to stay home and like President said the lockdown is not punishment but necessary to prevent the spread of this highly contagious disease, ”said Sekuru Banda.
The traditional leaders said he is aware that many livelihoods are at stake during the lockdown hence he is bailing out some people aged 60 years and above with money and groceries during the 21-day lockdown.
“I am aware of the effects of the lockdown hence I have started an initiative of bailing out the elderly community across Zimbabwe who are aged 60 years and above with groceries and ZW$1000 for each beneficiary .
“This will go a long way in cushioning the elderly as they are the most vulnerable during this time,” added the flamboyant traditional leader.
Meanwhile , the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA) president George Kandiero has reiterated that there is no cure yet for COVID-19 and advised members of the public to make use of herbs to boost their immune systems.
“Currently, there are no vaccines and drugs to treat COVID-19 but as traditional healers we urge the public to make use of herbs to boost their immune system which can be beneficial since we have haerd that the virus is severe among people with compromised immune systems,”advised Kandiero
The ZINATHA boss however says they will remain guided by the recommendations by the World Health Organisations and the government directives in combating the deadly COVID-19. In Zimbabwe,11 cases so far have been recorded of COVID-19 which include 3 deaths.
By A Correspondent- Sabastian Magacha’s camp was last night desperate to protect the award-winning gospel star’s battered and bruised image after his picture(s) leaked on social media.
The Bosvo singer sent social media on overdrive when a screenshot of his picture, allegedly sent to his lover, leaked.
For the greater part of yesterday, Magacha’s phone went unanswered and was already switched off at the time of going to print.
His younger brother and also gospel artiste Tinashe Magacha, who was believed to have been comforting the talented performer for the greater part of yesterday, was evasive when contacted by a local publication.
“I’m actually looking for him and I also want to speak to him,” said Tinashe, who was said to have been desperate to cover up for his elder brother’s problems. “I think he is at his place of residence if he is not answering his phone, I don’t know anything (regarding leaked pictures) as yet,” he added.
Magacha’s close friend said he was also not answering his phone, and they feared for him as they described him as a `fragile’ person.
“He was once devastated after his marital woes mounted at some point and we had to be with him. “Saba is not used to controversy and my fears are that he can do anything if he doesn’t get the proper counseling.
“He is not that person who enjoys controversy and I wonder how he would overcome this issue,” said one of Magacha’s close friends who preferred anonymity.
Although Magacha was not cooperating, presumably preparing to make an official statement, comedienne Mai ‘IT, who is on self-quarantine in the UK, went live on Instagram where she urged the singer to man up and take responsibility for his actions.
Mai TT, who is on self-quarantine in the UK, yesterday leaped to the defense of gospel musician Sabastian Magacha urging him to man up.
This was after the energetic prince of praise and worship sent social media abuzz following the leaking of his picture.
According to the screenshot of the picture, purportedly sent around 2.am on March 31 to his lover, Magacha was flaunting his dink donk.
Mai TI’, whose Facebook page was allegedly hacked, opted to go live on Instagram where she sympathized with the pint-sized singer.
Although many people back home, according to Mai TT, expected her to send Magacha to the cleaners, she gave him strength in an interview with H-Metro.
“This is the right time that Magacha should man up,” said the said. Mai TT, who is also a gospel artiste in her own right, said Magacha needed support to ensure he moves on. “We all know Mukoma Saba as one of the finest gospel artistes who have a calling as a singer and this is the right time that the church, family and workmates need to give him all the support.
“This is spiritual warfare that people meet all the time and it would be unfair to poke fun at him without offering him help. “Of course we have all seen how ‘gifted’ Mukoma Saba is in his pants, but let’s cheer him up because I know that all is not well with him: she said.
“My advice to him is that he should delete the number of that girl who posted it and move on. “I always tell people to be responsible for their actions, and this must come as a lesson to many of you that you don’t just send the pictures of your loved one.
“If your lover is demanding photos, be it b00bs, privates and even your bams, please make an appointment and find a place where you can undress and quench your thirst,” she said.
Mai TT also urged fellow artistes to stop laughing at Magacha, but pray for him so that he gets the courage to move on.
Mai TT also told H-Metro that Magacha could be a victim of blackmail or extortion.
“If we look closely at this issue, you will realize that he could be a victim of blackmail or extortion where the girl who leaked the pictures might have demanded money not to leak the picture.
“Again, Mukoma Saba might have been milked by the girl who kept on demanding money from him until he lost the battle or failed to provide the money.
“Such cases are now common and Mukoma Saba might not be alone in that predicament as many people are suffering in silence,” she said.
Asked what action Magacha should take, Mai TT was blunt. “It’s very simple here because Magacha’s image has been tainted, but he simply needs to go and report this girl.
“This girl, if she was blackmailing him, committed a serious offense and she has to face the music because she has also mined someone’s life.
“It was never proper for her to send or post someone’s nudes for public consumption know-ing the repercussions.”
The outspoken comedienne said it was high time cases of blackmail extortion be dealt with. “In my own view, extortionists or people who are convicted of blackmail should be jailed for close to a year because many people are dying in silence.
As expected from Mai TT, a revered entertainer, she also poked fun at Magacha live on Instagram. She praised Magacha for being gifted and likened his privates to a dangerous weapon she referred to in vernacular as zvombo.
Mai TT also said that she didn’t know that gospel artistes had big one-eyed monsters, in reference to Magacha’s size.
She then urged Magacha to man up after the disappointment and urged people facing the same predicament to take legal action.-StateMedia
By Own Correspondent| The High Court on Tuesday 14 April 2020 ordered government to provide all frontline health practitioners with personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect them from the deadly coronavirus as they execute their duties and to adequately equip public hospitals with enough supportive medication and help curb the spread of the epidemic.
High Court Judges Justice Joseph Musakwa and Justice Owen Tagu ordered all frontline health practitioners working at public health facilities in Zimbabwe or deployed to trace contacts exposed by infected people, to be provided with adequate PPE and for sufficient testing kits to be deployed at all designated public hospitals, airports and ports of entry. The determination by Justice Musakwa and Justice Tagu came after Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) represented by Andrew Makoni and Jeremiah Bamu of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights filed an urgent chamber application at the High Court on Sunday 5 April 2020 protesting against the risk of contracting coronavirus (COVID-19) because government had not put in place measures to ensure that health practitioners across the country, who include nurses, nurse aides and pharmacists among others are adequately protected against the deadly epidemic.
In a consent order agreed to by lawyers representing ZADHR and Health and Child Care Minister Obadiah Moyo, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube and Transport and Economic Development Minister Joel Biggie Matiza, who were listed as respondents in the application, the parties agreed that government should ensure that adequate measures are put in place to prevent, contain and treat the incidence of coronavirus and to establish and appropriately equip quarantine and isolation facilities in all provinces, district hospitals and at the designated airports and ports of entry.
Justice Musakwa and Tagu also ordered that all frontline health practitioners working at public health facilities in Zimbabwe or deployed to trace contacts exposed by infected people should be provided with adequate PPE while sufficient testing kits should be deployed at all designated public hospitals, airports and ports of entry.
The High Court also ordered that extensive screening and testing should be carried out, including mobile or door to door testing in order to account for asymptomatic carriers while all health practitioners and personnel at the frontline should be regularly screened and tested for coronavirus.
By A Correspondent- Citizens living in South African who have been enjoying the added benefit of DStv Open window for the past three weeks are in for some bad news after DStv announced that the special open window will be terminated on the 16th of April 2020.
For the past three weeks, since the lockdown began, Multichoice was kind enough to open a lot of its channels for everyone to enjoy, these included Mzansi Magic, which had previously been on Dstv Compact upwards. A total of 16 free channels had been added to DStv to help with the lockdown.
However, subscribers woke up to SMS messages announcing the end of the service.
The message read:
Last few days to enjoy the DStv Access Open Window. Catch WWE 24/7, Gomora and Toonami until 16 April! Reply Stop To Opt-Out.
From the sms, it would seem like two Channels are being disconnected i.e Mzansi Magic and WWE channel. The channels however are a fan favorite and not good news for the DStv Access subscribers. Multichoice has a subscription of over 11.5 million active accounts in Southern Africa
What this means for the thousands of subscribers on the DStv Access plan is that they will have to upgrade their plan if they wish to continue watching the free channels.
In response to the worldwide outbreak of the novel coronavirus – which causes COVID-19 – MultiChoice had opened BBC World, CNN, eNCA, SABC News, Newsroom Afrika and Euronews Now for free to all viewers, including those who don’t have a DStv subscription.
“Staying informed about the latest news on the virus is the first step in stopping its spread,” MultiChoice said in the statement, dated 11 March, explaining why it’s opening the news channels to everyone with a broadband connection.
The move to stop the free channels can be seen as an arm twisting move by multichoice to force their subscribers to upgrade their packages. Something which is not an option for many during the lockdown.-Online
The National Airline today at 11:38hrs positioned its B777-200ER Reg# Z-RGM to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Ethiopia, for special mandatory periodic maintenance which could not be carried out in Harare owing to the unavailability of special maintenance equipment.
The maintenance tasks are key in ensuring that the aircraft remains serviceable in line with the ongoing process of dry leasing the aircraft.
Discussions and negotiations are at an advanced stage with potential short-listed lessees and a final position will be officially communicated once an agreement has been signed hopefully in the next coming few months as we continue to monitor the effects and milestones in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Activation of a lease agreement will bring in the much needed foreign currency revenue for Air Zimbabwe to augment its current aircraft fleet with an option of outright purchases or lease in of smaller aircraft.
This initiative is part of the National Airline’s Strategic Turnaround Plan (STP) whose main focus is the development of robust regional/international and tourist hubs for seamless trade and tourism connectivity.
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government must seriously take heed of the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s advice that hurriedly lifting coronavirus lockdown measures may spark “deadly resurgence” in infections.
With 18 cases of the deadly pandemic, including three deaths, and under a 21-day lockdown, Zimbabwe must not fool itself that it is out of the woods. In reality, the low level of infections is a reflection of the country’s failure to test and screen more people. As of Sunday, we had only tested 547 people – a measly figure.
The more tests we have, the upward increase in people testing positive to the pandemic and it will be suicidal of our government to lift lockdown measures at the end of the 21-day shutdown — six days from today.
Zimbabwe needs an extension of the lockdown until we have done several tests, including door-to-door despite that the shutdown will hit our economy hard, further driving it into the precipice.
It is against this backcloth that we appeal to Mnangagwa and his government to take WHO’s advice seriously not to rush and lift the lockdown measures.
WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said countries should be cautious about easing restrictions, even as some struggle with the economic impact.
Given the state of our rural public health system, this is scary.
ED and his government must continue to enforce lockdown measures way after the shutdown, otherwise we perish!
A SOLDIER was yesterday slapped with a 10-month prison term for stealing eight bags of cement at Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo’s residence.
Naboth Muzvare, 28, pleaded guilty to theft charges when he appeared before Harare magistrate Sheunesu Matova yesterday.
He was ordered to pay $2 000 fine or spend five months in jail, the other five months were suspended on condition that Muzvare does not commit a similar offence within five years.
“I have considered that the accused person pleaded guilty and did not waste the court’s time. He did not benefit from the criminal enterprise since all the stolen property was recovered before he left the residence,” Matova said in passing sentence.
“However, it is clear that this offence was premeditated and the accused person breached the trust bestowed upon him by his employer who deployed him to ensure that residence is secured. The court takes matters of employees that steal from employers seriously.”
Muzvare’s accomplices Raphael Hwenjere, 29, Peace Perire, 27, and Desmond Chiwarire, 27, whom he had hired for transportation of the cement were released on $350 bail each and remanded to May 5 for trial. In mitigation, Muzvare said he was a father of two and breadwinner to his siblings adding that he hoped to use the cement to build in his rural home.
The complainant was Musarurwa Moone of One Commando Regiment, Craneborne in Harare. Prosecutors Lovemore Siyamunda and Nancy Chandakaona proved that on April 11 Muzvare connived with Hwenjere, Perire and Chiwariro to steal from 34 A Combie Drive, Glen Lorne in Harare.
They used a commuter omnibus which was driven by Perire and loaded eight bags of cement and drove towards a security check point where Collen Ngwenya and his colleagues who are members of the neighbourhood watch were on duty.
Ngwenya asked about the source of the cement but they failed to give a satisfactory answer. Hwenjere then called Muzvare to the check point and he tried to convince Ngwenya to allow his accomplices to exit but he refused.
Ngwenya then escalated the matter to Moone who said the accused persons had not been authorised to take cement out of the premises leading to their arrest.
MDC led by Dr Thokozani Khupe’s party official Nickson Nyikadzino has reminded Douglas Mwonzora that he is the party secretary-general who was in charge of preparing for the congress as ordered by the Supreme court, Newsday reports.
Nyikadzino who was elected at Khupe’s extraordinary congress in 2018 said he will communicate the party’s position in a few days:
In continuing to execute my responsibilities as the secretary-general of the party, I shall advise stakeholders on the path the party will be following I am cognisant of the fact that we contested the 2018 harmonised elections as the MDC-T and at bare minimum, managed to secure a seat for a Member of Parliament in the Lower House as well as a senatorial seat. I shall be communicating the party position with regards to these deployments within the next few days
As such, please note that there is only one secretary general of the MDC-T as elected at the said congress on the 23rd of April 2018, which was legally convened and attended by bona fide members of our party, the MDC-T. Be guided accordingly.
Mwonzora had declared himself the party’s secretary-general using the party’s 2014 structures.
ZIMBABWE has confirmed another case of Covid-19, bringing to 18 the number of positive cases recorded in the country so far.
This was revealed Tuesday by the country’s health ministry in one of its regular updates though with very little detail compared to previous cases reports.
“Today, the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory tested 53 samples and one was positive for Covid-19. More to follow.
“Therefore, to date Zimbabwe now has eighteen confirmed cases, including three deaths.”
Since the first case was recorded in Victoria Falls last month, Zimbabwe now has, per province, 1 confirmed case in Matabeleland North, 5 in Bulawayo, 8 in Harare and 4 in Mashonaland East.
The country has now carried out 665 cumulative tests, with 647 found negative while 18 are positive cases.
A COVID-19 crisis outline threat assessment for Zimbabwe that utilises the modelling by Imperial College (London) predicts that, over the next 250 days, the country is likely to record between 8 370 104 and 13 981 038 infections and between 14 943 and 33 073 deaths.
Part of the assessment report reads:
1. Context, Assumptions and Consequences
This threat assessment utilizes modelling developed by the Imperial College (London) COVID-19 Response Team headed by Professor Neil Ferguson (and released on 26 March 2020) on progression patterns of COVID-19 as applied to Zimbabwe. The study incorporates a range of factors including both general global patterns of progression and specific features applicable to less developed countries.
In the range of scenarios projected in the Imperial College study, over the next 250 days Zimbabwe is anticipated to experience:
Between 8 370 104 and 13 981 038 infections;
Between 14 943 and 33 073 deaths;
Requiring between 126 738 and 230 755 hospital beds;
Including between 19 810 and 43 864 critical care beds.
Although the primary intention of the scenario modelling in this study is to draw attention to the implications of prompt and appropriate intervention strategies, and whilst the study does not explicitly address broader contextual and impact issues, it does note that impact “is likely to be most severe in low-income settings where capacity is lowest… As a result, we anticipate that the true burden in low-income settings pursuing mitigation strategies could be substantially higher than reflected in these estimates”.
Whilst all such generic models are based on a series of assumptions, and, in this particular context, the data is approximate, for the purpose of a threat assessment the progression patterns of the disease provide a general indication of the health consequences that are likely to emerge. It is on the basis of this framing of the disease progression and health impact that this outline threat assessment is constructed.
2. Implications In the circumstances of the collapsed health care system in Zimbabwe today, the first conclusion drawn from this data is that the anticipated requirement for hospital beds and critical care simply does not exist. As a result, we can expect a higher mortality rate than the model suggests as a direct result of the disease itself.
Assuming that, in the absence of hospital capacity at least half of those requiring hospitalization will die, the number of deaths in Zimbabwe would be between 75 000 and 150 000. Taking account of other factors that arise from state incapacity, general levels of poverty, food insecurity, other existing health threats and more broadly the impact of disease containment measures (lockdown, border closure and production loss),
CONSUMERS should be wary of substandard hand sanitisers and personal protective equipment (PPE) products that are flooding the market following the outbreak of Covid-19, industry experts have said.
Declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) last month, the highly contagious disease has become a global emergency, given its devastating effect on the entire world population and global economies.
Zimbabwe has recorded 14 cases of Covid-19 and three deaths.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, there have been a number of businesses that have mushroomed selling and distributing disinfectants alleged to kill the coronavirus.
The WHO has said sanitisers with at least 60 percent alcohol content are highly recommended for use in the fight against Covid-19 but there are fears that the local market could be flooded with hand sanitisers that do not meet the WHO guidelines.
Some of the leading chemical producers in Bulawayo told Business Chronicle yesterday that it was a cause for concern that the market was presently flooded with substandard hand sanitisers and protective clothing thereby putting people’s lives at risk.
Tiera Chemicals chief executive officer Mr Edward Muchengeti said enterprises involved in the production of disinfectants and protective clothing should shun unethical business practices.
“It’s commendable that businesses are trying to help the country by producing sanitisers and gloves in the short term. However, such businesses should take advice from those who have been in the field for a long time,” said Mr Muchengeti.
He said those involved in the production of chemicals should have relevant qualifications and right technology to avoid compromising quality.
Chemical Technology Africa operations manager, Mr Liberty Nyathi, said substandard products expose people to Covid-19.
“These substandard products are being sold to the people who use them believing they help them maintain personal hygience when it’s not the case,” he said.
Mr Nyathi said investigations conducted by his company established that hand sanitisers flooding the market were below standard as they had less than 60 percent alcohol.
“People are therefore at risk of getting infected by Covid-19 if they use such sanitisers,” he said.
Mr Nyathi also accused a number of businesses of fleecing consumers by charging exorbitant prices for sanitisers taking advantage of the high demand.
“This is a global pandemic that the Government has declared a national disaster and so as businesses we must complement Government efforts to curb the spread of this pandemic by charging affordable prices for products such as sanitisers which assist people maintain personal hygiene,” said Mr Nyathi.
He urged members of the public to buy sanitisers from reputable companies that have been in existence even before the outbreak of the pandemic.
Chemicals Technology Africa has donated hand and surface sanitisers to public institutions such as Ekusileni Hospital, which has been designated as one of the isolation centres in Bulawayo as part of its contribution to fighting Covid-19.
By Simba Chikanza| Yesterday ZANU PF activists complained why the International Monetary Fund, IMF, has excluded Zimbabwe from its list of 25 countries for debt relief- the main reason is that Zimbabwe has been removed from the threshold of eligible countries; and this is all because of inflated economy performance figures Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube produced.
Even though Zimbabwe has paid off its debt to the IMF, the institution has said Zimbabwe is still in need of debt relief, and an IMF executive is on video recently saying Zimbabwe remains handicapped because it owes several international lenders.
precisely the point. IMF didn't say Zim no longer need debt relief. It said "although Zim has no arrears to the IMF,all rules would preclude lending given the arrears to other financial institutions, and on thecrackdown…try to develop policies that would stabilise the economy."
In the latest development, the two reasons why the IMF excluded Zimbabwe from its list of 25 countries, are that: Zimbabwe’s GNI is greater than the other nations’.
The GNI per capita is the dollar value of a country’s final income in a year, divided by its population.
The second reason is that Zimbabwe has cleared its debt arrears.
In a response to ZimEye on Tuesday morning, an official said:
Yesterday, IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva issued the following statement:
“Today, I am pleased to say that our Executive Board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF’s member countries under the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts.
“The CCRT can currently provide about US$500 million in grant-based debt service relief, including the recent US$185 million pledge by the U.K. and US$100 million provided by Japan as immediately available resources. Others, including China and the Netherlands, are also stepping forward with important contributions. I urge other donors to help us replenish the Trust’s resources and boost further our ability to provide additional debt service relief for a full two years to our poorest member countries.”
The countries that will receive debt service relief today are: Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo, and Yemen.
Cross-border truck drivers who stop at truck inns and business centres to rest are making Zimbabwe more vulnerable to Covid-19, a legislator has warned, as he seeks new rules that would force the drivers to practice social distancing.
The truck drivers have often been accused of picking up sex workers at such spots, a practice likely to worsen the spread of Covid-19.
Chivi Central Member of Parliament Ephraim Gwanongodza made the remarks while making a contribution during a recent visit to Chivi District Hospital by members of the Masvingo provincial Covid-19 taskforce led by Masvingo provincial Affairs Minister Ezra Chadzamira.
“There might be no business during the day at business centres like Chibi Turn-Off and other areas along the Harare-Beitbridge Highway, but truck drivers from South Africa still park there in their numbers,” he said.
“In the surrounding villages, for example at Chibi Turn-Off, there are women who like to entertain the truck drivers, and there is a lot of contact that happens that makes social distancing impossible.
“We discussed the issue with the local councillor and it is our request that trucks should be banned from parking at these places because it’s putting our province and the nation at serious risk.”
In his presentation, Minister Chadzamira said Government was worried about non-compliant behaviour.
“We have noted with concern that some citizens continue to struggle with practising social distancing,” he said. “Government urges each and everyone of us to remind the next person the need to maintain social distancing and other preventative behaviour.
“We have to be each other’s keeper in order to beat this invisible enemy, coronavirus.”
Minister Chadzamira said truck drivers should abide by the social distancing rules, while at the same time abstaining from hiring sex workers at business centres and truck inns along the highway as these were potential coronavirus hotspots.
Officer Commanding Zimbabwe Republic Police Masvingo Province, Assistant Commissioner Taoneyi Nyazema, urged the public to observe the social distancing rule and avoid moving around aimlessly.
“Police have observed aimless movements by motorists, with some claiming to be looking for fuel or shopping for basic commodities,” he said.
“We are going to increase operations and patrols at night, especially at such truck inns and business centres along the Harare-Masvingo Highway as efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Those found without justification of being outside will be arrested and prosecuted.
“Members of the public who are queuing for basic commodities should do so in an orderly manner in line with guidelines provided by Government.”
The High Court will tomorrow rule whether or not the legal challenge mounted by Supreme Court judge, Justice Francis Bere, over his disciplinary tribunal should be heard as an urgent matter.
President Mnangagwa recently appointed, on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), a three-member tribunal to decide on Justice Bere’s suitability to continue holding office, with the commission doing a U-turn after initially clearing him in November last year.
In a bid to block the proceedings, Justice Bere — through his legal team comprising Professor Lovemore Madhuku and Advocates Girach Firoz and Lewis Uriri — filed an urgent chamber application challenging the legality of the tribunal because of that U-turn.
High Court judge, Justice Alfias Chitakunye yesterday heard arguments from the commission and Justice Bere’s lawyers before deferring his ruling to tomorrow.
If the matter is considered urgent, it can be heard almost immediately, but if not, then it must take its place in the queue for High Court civil cases.
The JSC had raised preliminary points arguing that the matter was not urgent.
Adv David Ochieng, who was being instructed by Mr Andrew Mugandiwa of Wintertons law firm, argued that the case was not urgent and that it cannot be heard during the lockdown.
He defended the JSC’s decision to refer Justice Bere’s case to the President for constitution of a tribunal, despite having cleared him of any wrongdoing in November last year.
Adv Ochieng argued that the tribunal cannot be stopped from inquiring into the matter, saying if the JSC was wrong, such a finding has to be made by the tribunal.
However, Adv Firoz argued that the JSC acted unlawfully by recommending a tribunal against Justice Bere when the commission had earlier cleared the judge of any wrongdoing.
He argued that Justice Bere’s right to be heard was violated because the complainant in one of the cases, Mr Itai Ndudzo, wrote a second letter implicating the judge, but the JSC did not afford Justice Bere an opportunity to respond.
On that basis, Justice Bere seeks an interdict to restrain the tribunal from commencing the inquiry.
The judge, through his lawyers, insisted that the matter was urgent.
Justice Chitakunye is expected to rule on the preliminary points tomorrow.
The tribunal to inquire into Justice Bere’s case will be chaired by retired judge, Justice Simbi Mubako.
Justice Mubako will work with two lawyers — Advocate Takawira Nzombe and Mrs Rekayi Maphosa.
Justice Bere is accused of telephoning Zinara lawyer, Mr Ndudzo of Mutamangira and Associates, asking him to consider settling a civil dispute pitting Zinara against Fremus Enterprises, a firm owned by the judge’s relatives.
The complaint was first raised before Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza during a court hearing before Mr Ndudzo was asked to make the complaint in writing.
“The learned judge, indeed contacted me telephonically,” said Mr Ndudzo.
“The commercial dispute between my client (Zinara) and Fremus Enterprises Pvt Ltd was discussed in the course of the conversation. The learned judge’s relatives are co-directors of Fremus Enterprises Pvt Ltd. The learned judge inquired whether or not there would be possibility of payment being expedited to Fremus Pvt Ltd. I declined the request and the conversation ended abruptly on that note.”
Justice Bere responded to the complaint denying the allegations. In a response to the Judicial Service Commission, he said he only contacted Mr Ndudzo in the context of their personal relationship dating back to the days when they were both members of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) Ethics Committee.
“In 2015, I was chairman of the ZIFA ethics committee and Mr Ndudzo was legal advisor to ZIFA,” he said. “We developed a personal relationship through ZIFA. I spoke to Mr Ndudzo in the context of the said personal relationship before litigation had commenced, and in circumstances wherein litigation was not apparent.
“This was prior to my transfer to Bulawayo High Court to head that court following the passing on of the late Mr Justice Mutema.”
Justice Bere said he visited his aunt, who, together with her husband, are co-directors of Fremus Enterprises.
“My aunt was critically ill,” he said. “The directors of Fremus wished to take my aunt to South Africa for immediate medical attention, but did not have the required resources.
“In talking to them, my sister’s husband disclosed that if only Mr Ndudzo had honoured his promise to release money owed to Fremus, they would not have been in that predicament.”
Justice Bere said he was relieved that his relatives were talking about Mr Ndudzo whom he knew through interaction at ZIFA. “I reacted by immediately calling Mr Ndudzo whose number I already had by reason of the personal relationship we had developed,” he said.
“I inquired of him, whether or not there was any possibility of him expediting the payment to Fremus given the dire situation at hand.”
Justice Bere described the complaint as a falsehood meant to taint his clean record.
“In this exciting phase that we are in as a country, and in view of the much spoken about confrontation against the vice of corruption, there will always be excitable individuals who would wish to create some relevance in this noble fight,” he said.
“They are the greatest threat to this noble endeavour and stand in the path of, and indeed in this way obstruct, the genuine fight against corruption. It is in this spirit that the false complaint against me must be looked at.”
Mr Ndudzo, in a follow up letter, stuck to his story, saying he had no reason to frame Justice Bere and denied the existence of any personal relationship.
State Media|ONE-million households identified through the Social Welfare Department to benefit from the $600 million kitty availed by the Government to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 are set to start receiving their cash transfers today.
The Government resolved to cushion vulnerable households, whose sources of income were affected by the 21-day national lockdown, which is aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19.
The $600 million package, for three months, was announced two weeks ago by Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube.
To ensure that the beneficiaries realised the full value of the payouts, the Government would ensure that they were not charged transactional costs when cashing out the money.
EcoCash has already indicated that it will not charge transactional costs on funds pertaining to Covid-19.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Deputy Minister Lovemore Matuke confirmed to The Herald yesterday that cash transfers for the beneficiaries were processed and would be effected starting today.
“The names of the beneficiaries have been sent to the network providers to effect the payments. The money should start reflecting in their mobile phones starting on Wednesday (today). There was a bit of some delay because there was duplication of names, for instance, one name can appear in Mabvuku and Mufakose, so we were scanning those names to ensure that they appear once in the database. The scanning process took a bit of time,” said Deputy Minister Matuke.
He dismissed reports that beneficiaries were being forced to use NetOne sim cards to receive the money, adding that both NetOne and Econet networks would be used, depending on the beneficiary’s preference.
The Government hopes that all the beneficiaries would have received their money before the end of the lockdown.
Deputy Minister Matuke said should there be any technical glitches or errors, people would continue to receive the money even after the lockdown period.
The Government recently said it would continue to implement selected priority programmes and projects to sustain the economy, but more resources would be channelled towards saving lives during these trying times.
Further, the 2 percent intermediated money transfer tax (IMTT), which is ring-fenced for social protection and capital development projects, will be channelled towards Covid-19 related mitigatory expenditures.
Recognising the importance of the health sector, the Government availed a number of tax incentives for the production and importation of essential drugs and health-related capital equipment, as well as other medical supplies.
Treasury has also suspended duty and tax on various goods and services related to testing, protection, sterilisation, and other medical consumables to boost the country’s state of preparedness against Covid-19.
State Media|Government has so far released $591 million for immediate Covid-19 response support, with some of the money channelled towards the rehabilitation of Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said the Ministry of Health and Child Care got $154 million for immediate use in the Covid-19 fight.
The figure excludes the cost of the 4 000 new health personnel that are being hired.
For the Wilkins rehabilitation, Government released $3,7 million.
Yesterday, Prof Ncube toured Wilkins Hospital to assess progress.
“The figure for the whole Government is $591 million that has been released for immediate Covid-19 response support, and this includes $60 million for Chemplex for water treatment chemicals, and lockdown operational costs, and cash transfers to the vulnerable,” he said.
“I visited Wilkins Hospital in order to appreciate for myself how the resources that Treasury has released are being used in renovating and upgrading the facility.”
The rehabilitation of Wilkins, which is almost complete, was also supported by the Chinese. Chinese companies operating in Zimbabwe have invested over US$500 000 for the rehabilitation of Wilkins to boost efforts to control the spread of Covid-19.
An additional US$150 000 has also been put together for the procurement of medical equipment, which includes an oxygen machine, breathing machine, test kits and protective suits, masks and other protective clothes for health workers.
Prof Ncube said more resources were being availed to fight Covid-19 on an ongoing basis to eliminate “this invisible enemy”.
“Working together and solidarity is key to winning this fight,” said Prof Ncube.
State Media|The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced half a billion United States dollar debt service relief fund for the world’s poorest and vulnerable economies to help them fight and contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Twenty-five affected countries, including several African countries, have been selected to benefit from the debt relief package.
However, Zimbabwe is not among economies that have been earmarked as beneficiaries; all because of a technical condition one must meet to qualify.
The countries that will receive debt service relief are Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, DRC, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo and Yemen.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, yesterday said Zimbabwe did not expect to benefit from the money because it does not fall under countries to receive debt relief.
“Zimbabwe does not owe money to the IMF as we paid off loans with the world body.
“The support was mainly for countries that owe the IMF and are receiving relief on payments to the body in order to support the Covid-19 response,” said Prof Ncube.
An independent economic analyst Moses Chundu also concurred with Prof Ncube and said; “It is nothing political, but just something technical emanating from the fact that we cleared what we owed to the IMF.”
According to IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, the relief applies to member countries affected by the global pandemic, but critically, those that owe the Bretton Woods institution and whose obligations fall due in the next two months, so they can direct their scarce resources to the deadly health emergency and economic recovery programmes.
Declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a global emergence, Covid-19 has killed tens of thousands across the world and infected over a million others.
The impact, however, has been massive in the USA, Italy, Spain and China.
Zimbabwe has recorded 14 cases of Covid-19 including three deaths since December 2019 when the virus was discovered in Wuhan, China.
In contrast, while Zimbabwe is struggling with a US$2,2 billion debt to International Financial Institutions (IFIs), including the World Bank and African Development Bank, Harare cleared its outstanding position of US$107,9 million with the IMF in October 2016.
This makes the country technically ineligible to receive relief funds.
It is also because of unpaid overdue debts that despite being current on its obligations to the IMF, Zimbabwe is still not eligible to borrow concessionary funding from the global lender in line with the pari passu principle that requires equal treatment of multilateral and bilateral lenders, except if this condition is waived.
A senior IMF official in Harare, commenting on condition of anonymity, said Zimbabwe does not qualify because of the arrears to WB, African Development, European Investment Bank and bilateral creditors.
“This is as far as traditional channels are concerned.
“We are looking if there are other ways/other funds, but it’s not promising,” the official said.
Commenting on claims US had blocked IMF from giving Harare a part of the relief grant, the official said: “Zimbabwe was being blocked at the bilateral level where Washington will not allow a restructuring of an unspecified debt owed by Zimbabwe.”
The latest relief package has been extended from the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT), as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on members owing the IMF.
“This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts.
“The CCRT can currently provide about US$500 million in grant-based debt service relief, including the recent US$185 million pledge by the UK and US$100 million provided by Japan as immediately available resources.
“Others, including China and the Netherlands, are stepping forward with important contributions,” she said in a press statement released yesterday.
In fact, Zimbabwe saw the removal of remedial measures applied to it by IMF because of overdue financial obligations to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT), effective November 14, 2016, after clearing its outstanding arrears.
These measures included declaration of non-cooperation with the IMF, the suspension of technical assistance to the country and exclusion from participating in most IMF funding programmes.
On October 20, 2016, Zimbabwe fully settled
its overdue financial obligations to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) using its special drawing right (SDR), equivalent of liquid funding, holdings.
The country had been in continuous arrears to the PRGT since February 2001, before the Government started making regular monthly payments of US$0,15 million each year since 2013.
In February 2015, the IMF established a Catastrophe Containment and Relief (CCR) Trust, transformed Post-Catastrophe Relief Trust, to expand the scope of its global relief efforts during disaster periods.
This allows the Fund to provide grants for debt relief for the poorest and most vulnerable countries that are hit by catastrophic natural disasters or public health disasters.
The relief on debt service payments frees up additional resources to meet exceptional balance of payments needs created by the disaster and for containment and recovery efforts.
The new trust complements donor financing and the Fund’s concessional lending through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT).
Assistance through the CCR Trust is currently available to low-income countries eligible for concessional borrowing through the PRGT and which also have either a per capita income below the IDA Operational Cutoff (currently US$1,215) or, for small states with a population below 1,5 million and a per capita income below twice the IDA Cutoff (currently US$2 430).
The CCR Trust has two windows namely post-Catastrophe and Containment.
Eligible low-income countries that are hit by public health disasters as defined the global fund would receive up-front IMF grants to immediately pay off their upcoming debt service to the IMF on eligible debt.
The amount of grant support is capped at 20 percent of a country’s approved borrowing quota.
PEDDLERS or originators of falsehoods claiming that the Government had extended the national lockdown by any time-frame face a 20-year jail term if caught, President Mnangagwa warned yesterday, adding that he had since ordered an investigation into the origins of such messages circulating on social media.
The President said this at his Precabe Farm in Sherwood, Kwekwe, after returning from a tour of Mkoba and Senga suburbs in Gweru to assess residents’ levels of compliance to regulations of the current 21-day lockdown He hinted that Cabinet would meet on the 20th of this month to review whether or not to extend the 21-day national lockdown which expires early next week.
The President dismissed as nonsensical, reports that were doing the rounds on social media purporting that he had extended the lockdown, saying he alone cannot extend without first consulting with his two Vice Presidents and Cabinet.
“I am supposed to make an official statement if we are going to extend the lockdown. I have never made such a statement and that social media statement is absolute nonsense.
We now have a law, which punishes those who produce fake news and I have ordered an investigation into those behind the fake statement and if found, we want that person to be an example by getting up to 20 years in prison. It’s bad to peddle falsehoods, especially about a President,” he said.
The President said he and his two deputies would be touring provinces to get an appreciation of the situation on the ground and only then will they sit down and review the lockdown.
He said he would tour at least five provinces to get first-hand information on what is happening on the ground and the effects of the lockdown before the review meeting.
“We shall review the situation on the 20th of April on whether we adjust the lockdown conditions or we extend. It’s a question of a collective discussion after we tour the provinces and get first-hand information on the obtaining situation.
I will do my level best to sample at least five provinces on my own, but I have my two Vice Presidents, they will also tour some of the provinces so that we share views as we move forward.”
President Mnangagwa said it was however, better to sacrifice the economy in a bid to save lives by preventing the spread of Covid-19, as he stressed on the need to stay home.
He said the economy can still be rebuilt, but there were no ways anyone could resuscitate life once it was lost.-State media
PEDDLERS or originators of falsehoods claiming that the Government had extended the national lockdown by any time-frame face a 20-year jail term if caught, President Mnangagwa warned yesterday, adding that he had since ordered an investigation into the origins of such messages circulating on social media.
The President said this at his Precabe Farm in Sherwood, Kwekwe, after returning from a tour of Mkoba and Senga suburbs in Gweru to assess residents’ levels of compliance to regulations of the current 21-day lockdown He hinted that Cabinet would meet on the 20th of this month to review whether or not to extend the 21-day national lockdown which expires early next week.
The President dismissed as nonsensical, reports that were doing the rounds on social media purporting that he had extended the lockdown, saying he alone cannot extend without first consulting with his two Vice Presidents and Cabinet.
“I am supposed to make an official statement if we are going to extend the lockdown. I have never made such a statement and that social media statement is absolute nonsense.
We now have a law, which punishes those who produce fake news and I have ordered an investigation into those behind the fake statement and if found, we want that person to be an example by getting up to 20 years in prison. It’s bad to peddle falsehoods, especially about a President,” he said.
The President said he and his two deputies would be touring provinces to get an appreciation of the situation on the ground and only then will they sit down and review the lockdown.
He said he would tour at least five provinces to get first-hand information on what is happening on the ground and the effects of the lockdown before the review meeting.
“We shall review the situation on the 20th of April on whether we adjust the lockdown conditions or we extend. It’s a question of a collective discussion after we tour the provinces and get first-hand information on the obtaining situation.
I will do my level best to sample at least five provinces on my own, but I have my two Vice Presidents, they will also tour some of the provinces so that we share views as we move forward.”
President Mnangagwa said it was however, better to sacrifice the economy in a bid to save lives by preventing the spread of Covid-19, as he stressed on the need to stay home.
He said the economy can still be rebuilt, but there were no ways anyone could resuscitate life once it was lost.-State media
A habitual thief was yesterday sentenced to an effective 60 days in jail after failing to raise a $500 fine for loitering, in violation of lockdown regulations, while more than 5 700 people have been arrested countrywide over various violations.
There was commotion when the thief, Billiard Chigodora (41), of House Number 4330 Nketa 7 suburb in Bulawayo, strolled to court wearing a pair of stolen khaki trousers and a red gold T-shirt, belonging to a Chronicle reporter.
The clothes were stolen last week from a washing line at a residential flat in the city’s central business district.
A report was immediately made and a docket was opened for theft.
Chigodora, who has several criminal records, mostly theft and pickpocketing, was nabbed by police who were on patrol for unnecessary movement during the national lockdown in violation of Section 4 (1) (a) of Statutory Instrument 83 of 2020 (Covid-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order, 2020.
The SI was recently published by the Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Obadiah Moyo in terms of the Public Health Act and in consultation with President Mnangagwa.
The SI was promulgated to give legal effect to the restriction of movement of people for 21 days, March 30 to April 19.
Chigodora, who is not employed, was convicted by Bulawayo magistrate Mr Shepherd Munjanja.
In passing the sentence, Mr Munjanja said violating lockdown regulations is a serious offence as it exposes the generality of the population to the deadly Covid-19.
“The accused person’s conduct of ignoring the law decreed to fight the deadly Covid-19 virus is a serious offence.
This is actually not a banana republic, it is a country that has laws and every citizen has to comply for the purposes of fighting the spread of the deadly global pandemic,” he said.
The magistrate said people who violate lockdown regulations deserve punishment.
“People like you certainly deserve punishment, which will be exemplary to like-minded people who deliberately violate the law,” said Mr Munjanja.
Prosecuting, Ms Martha Tafa said on Monday at around 12.45AM, Chigodora was spotted by police walking along Plumtree Road near Lobels Bakeries in Bulawayo’s Belmont area.
He was stopped and on being asked why he was walking around at night in violation of the lockdown regulations, Chigodora failed to give a valid reason leading to his arrest.
“On being quizzed, the accused person failed to give a satisfactory response. He also failed to produce any exemption document allowing him to move around during the lockdown period,” said Ms Tafa.-State media
A NURSE at a local hospital is among the three new Covid-19 positive cases confirmed on Monday and investigations are underway to establish how she got the virus since she had no recent history of travel or known contact with a confirmed case.
The nurse, only identified as case number 15, is a 34-year-old female resident of Bulawayo.
According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, the patient had no recent history of travel or known contact with a confirmed case but her case was picked during a routine screening procedure.
Her positive tests were confirmed at the National Tuberculosis (TB) Reference Laboratory at Mpilo Central Hospital which is working in conjunction with the National University of Science and Technology’s (Nust) Applied Genetic Testing Centre (AGTC).
Bulawayo’s Covid-19 positive cases have increased to five while the national figure stands at 17 including three deaths. Patient 15’s case remains a puzzle.
Bulawayo City Council (BCC) health services director Dr Edwin Sibanda, said the patient is a nurse but refused to disclose the hospital she works from.
Dr Sibanda said the provincial health workers are still tracing her contacts in order to establish who she might have contracted the virus from.
“She is a health worker in one of our local hospitals but we cannot disclose much on her at the moment and where she works as we don’t want to cause unnecessary alarm. We are following up on her contacts while she is self-isolating at home.
We are also yet to communicate with the relevant officials regarding her case,” said Dr Sibanda.-State media
Stay aware of the latest information on the COVID-19 outbreak, available on the WHO website and through your national and local public health authority. Many countries around the world have seen cases of COVID-19 and several have seen outbreaks.
Authorities in China and some other countries have succeeded in slowing or stopping their outbreaks.
However, the situation is unpredictable so check regularly for the latest news.
You can reduce your chances of being infected or spreading COVID-19 by taking some simple precautions:
Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water.
Why? Washing your hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand rub kills viruses that may be on your hands.
Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
Why? When someone coughs or sneezes they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease.
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
Why? Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and can make you sick.
Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately.
Why? Droplets spread virus. By following good respiratory hygiene you protect the people around you from viruses such as cold, flu and COVID-19.
Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of your local health authority.
Why? National and local authorities will have the most up to date information on the situation in your area. Calling in advance will allow your health care provider to quickly direct you to the right health facility. This will also protect you and help prevent spread of viruses and other infections.
Keep up to date on the latest COVID-19 hotspots (cities or local areas where COVID-19 is spreading widely). If possible, avoid traveling to places – especially if you are an older person or have diabetes, heart or lung disease.
Why? You have a higher chance of catching COVID-19 in one of these areas.
Credit: World Health Organisation
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information like/ follow our Facebook page:
Farai Dziva|The MDC Youth Assembly has challenged Zanu PF to stop insulting suffering Zimbabweans through meaningless donations.
See full statement below : At a time when the country is grappling with the deadly Corona virus, ZANU PF MPs instead chose to grandstand and politick by donating a paltry portion of their salaries ‘towards fighting Covid-19’.
It is very imperative that beyond these farcical donations, citizens should have it in mind that these are the same MPs from a party that has been looting the national cake since 1980.
These are the very same MPs who remain tight-lipped when the leader of their looting committee, Emmerson Mnangagwa hires a US multi million dollar luxurious Saudi plane just to fly from Harare to Bulawayo when he is in Kwekwe.
Remember the US 10 million mausoleum Mnangagwa wanted to build for a corpse!
The multi-million state of the art luxurious plane Mnangagwa hired for Grace Mugabe just to bury her mother!
What of the missing US3 billion from a Command Agriculture program that was run direct from Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office?
By Robert Mugabe’s own admission, these are the very same people that have answers to the missing US15 billion Marange diamond money.
Amongst the donating ZANU PF MPs, there is one from Gokwe-Nembudziya who recently bought the latest US 1 million Lamborghini top of the range vehicle.
Ironically his name is Justice.
Certainly there is no justice in donation of a mere RTGS 1000 by the very same people who stole our future and that of generations to come.
These are the very same people who presided over the transformation of what used to be a breadbasket to a basket case scenario.
Before we ululate over these decoy donations, maybe it is time to ask what happened to the 2% money we were taxed by Mthuli Ncube!
If anything, the ZANU PF MPs donations are akin to that of a thief who steals all your inheritance only to come back with a coffin on your funeral!
While it looks like a noble initiative at face value, it is also not mendacious that beneath these plunderers’ ‘giving’ hand there is a clandestine agenda beyond fighting Covid-19.
Clearly the donations are a veneer to shroud the looting of our vast mineral wealth by ZANU PF cartels.
These are the same people that have brought Zimbabwe to its knees through corruption and mismanagement.
As MDC we have said it way back that Zimbabwe needs to create a Sovereign Wealth Fund especially given her vast and rich mineral wealth.
Such a fund would go a long way in averting a crisis in times of natural disasters and pandemics like Covid-19.
Maybe that is the reason why countries like Botswana can afford to declare a 6 months lockdown while at the same time providing for her citizens.
Zimbabwe deserves better than crumbs from ZANU PF MPs table!
Stay safe from Corona virus, Zimbabwe needs you!
Stephen Sarkozy Chuma MDCYouthAssemblyNationalSpokesperson __
The COVID-19 pandemic was first reported in Wuhan, China, on 31st December 2019, and was declared a public health emergency of international concern on January 30th, 2020. The disease has since spread widely to over 180 countries.
Zimbabwe has had over 2 months to prepare for this outbreak since it was declared a public health emergency of international concern. The purpose of this review is to assess the preparedness and response of the nation ten weeks later, and to advise government on what can be done better to avert a catastrophe in Zimbabwe. Preparedness and response plan:
Our preparedness and response plan is quite standard and meets all the requirements under the WHO recommendations. But this technical document is not complimented by appropriate implementation decisions and actions. Political will and transparency seem to be scanty. We need to examine the decisions and actions of our government while there is still time to make a difference and save Zimbabwe from disaster.
This we can do by looking at each of the eight pillars of the preparedness and response plan.
1.Coordination, planning and monitoring:
Planning for this lockdown was very poorly done, because Multi-Stakeholder consultations were not done. We are wading through uncharted waters, and everybody’s contribution should have been solicited. We now have our most vulnerable people almost starving to death in their houses. People have been locked in without the most basic commodities like mealie meal, and this is undermining the lockdown.
You cannot confine a hungry man. We are beginning to see chaotic scenes at shops now, almost about to degenerate into riots, because everybody wants the staple food, and there is not enough to go around even for those who have the money. The crowding and jostling for mealie meal that we are seeing at shops is fertile ground for rapid COVID-19 spread, and our people understand that. But now they are being forced by government to choose between death from COVID-19 or death from hunger, and most people would rather take their chance with COVID-19.
This is a serious failure of planning, and may cost the nation far more than we can afford in human lives. Government should first have ensured that there are no shortages on the market before announcing the lockdown. We are not for a moment suggesting that the lockdown should have been delayed, NO! In the two and a half months lead time we had, government should have diverted all resources to fighting COVID-19 as we have always been saying. That includes making sure there is grain in the country adequate for say six months (we don’t know how long this pandemic will last, but six months gives government time to plan new interventions).
Money wasted on luxury cars for officials should have been used for grain. We cannot leave social safety nets to chance and partisan politics. Firm measures which include reliable transparent non-partisan databases of vulnerable families should have been put in place before the lockdown. Bear in mind, millions of people already needed food aid without the covid-19 outbreak. Allocating RTGS600 million without a credible formula for disbursing it is useless. People are starving, and we wonder how much of the allocated amount has been used to benefit the people. This is day 16 of the lockdown.
The government is advised to engage the health care professionals in all decision making and policy formulation. This includes procurement decisions.
The emphasis being given to sanitisers in our messaging, and even in our programming, is disproportionate. Government should do everything possible to ensure that clean potable water is available to every citizen. This has to be done as a matter of urgency. Washing hands frequently with soap and water is the mainstay of hygiene in this and other pandemics.
Hand sanitisers are useful but secondary. We urge government to urgently prioritise provision of water to the people. This will also prevent crowds from gathering around the current scanty water sources and flouting social distancing regulations. Boreholes in both rural and urban areas are undermining social distancing regulations and could prove to be serious drivers of the pandemic. Government should take this epidemic as an opportunity to upgrade infrastructure eg by rapidly drilling more boreholes to prevent crowding at water sources. All borehole drillers in the country should be in overdrive mode, and government should pay for that.
Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary solutions, and a lot of focus and sacrifice. In summary, our people are very compliant with the terms of the lockdown, but the government has not planned for the poor, those who live on hand to mouth daily budgets, and those without adequate supplies of potable water. Scarcity of basic commodities is also undermining the lockdown seriously. Shortage of basic commodities must be eliminated as a matter of urgency.
2.Surveillance, rapid response and case investigation:
We are not testing enough. Therefore we don’t have a clear picture of the extent of spread of the virus in Zimbabwe, bearing in mind that 80% of the infected get away with mild symptoms, according to data from those countries that have already experienced massive outbreaks. We need to know in order to plan. Let’s not bury our heads in the sand. Active case finding and event based surveillance must be intensified.
It is alarming to note that very little if any follow up and monitoring is being done for returning citizens and other immigrants. Rumors that 32 Zimbabweans flew in from the UK and government had no place to quarantine them are extremely worrisome. The UK is one of the global epicenters of the covid-19 pandemic at the moment, and it is mandatory that these people should have been quarantined. Government should respond and tell us if it is indeed true that these precious Zimbabweans were told to go home and self isolate.
It is equally alarming that our rapid response teams have neither the necessary PPE nor other tools of the trade when they come to investigate a reported suspect. What needs to be done?
i. Let’s test massively to establish a baseline. It doesn’t do us any good to say a suspect does not meet the criteria for testing, then the same suspect is tested a little later in another country and found to be positive. It means we have missed an opportunity to isolate and treat the patient, and we have put not just our nationals, but the entire international community at risk.
ii. Let’s investigate all community deaths. There are reports of unexplained community deaths where ordinary citizens suspect COVID-19, but these deaths are not being investigated. This has the potential of giving us false statistics, and it becomes a time bomb waiting to explode.
iii. Let’s equip our rapid response teams with PPE and other equipment & consumables.
iv. Let’s decentralize COVID-19 testing to provincial laboratories and district laboratories. Every local authority must be given the mandate of testing and reporting statistics to its residents. We must devolve responsibility to the local authority, who in turn will report to head office through normal channels for a composite report. There is nothing to hide.
Points of entry: Reports of people walking across the border without being screened by a port health official, and without their details being taken for follow up in their district of destination, do not inspire much hope in this fight. We must beef up our human resources particularly at busy ports like Beitbridge, and we must protect the health workers at the ports with appropriate PPE. Record keeping and transmission to the provinces must be meticulous, and actual follow up must be done, whether by phone or in person. Remember, a carrier of the virus may be afebrile at the time of crossing the border.
National Laboratory System: Our laboratories are not capable of doing enough tests. We are relying too much on donations. What has GoZ done in this outbreak? The 500 tests donated by WHO seem to be the only ones working, and therefore we are using them sparingly and missing cases.
Does the government really have to rely on Higher Life Foundation to purchase the balance of the extraction reagent needed for us to start using the donated reagents from China (via the AU)? Without decentralizing our testing services, and without increasing testing capacity, we are wasting our lockdown period. We are making people suffer for no gain. In this lockdown period we must map out our epidemic, that means we must test a lot. We must isolate all cases, and that can’t be done because we are not testing.
The people of Gwanda who are complaining about a new malaria with strange symptoms (which include sore throat) that is killing people at an unusually high rate should have been answered long back. All those deceased and their close contacts should have been tested, and the people given accurate & scientific answers. Have we tested for COVID-19 in Mat South, considering its proximity to South Africa?
Why should villagers lead us in coming up with a differential diagnosis when we have health professionals in the province? Could it be because the professionals are incapacitated by lack of testing capability, lack of training, and lack of PPE? The continued ignorance about COVID-19 among health professionals is extremely dangerous at this point in time, and ordinary citizens are beginning to notice and complain. Where is the donated money going?
Risk communication and community engagement:
Public trust for the government is at an all time low, because of the general perception that figures are being suppressed, government is not putting enough resources into the COVID-19 response, health workers are untrained, unsure, and very exposed due to lack of PPE, and government’s preparedness claims have been exposed as imaginary by the sequence of events in the few fatalities we have already had. Relatives of the deceased are consistently disputing government’s official narrative of what exactly happened, and this is embarrassing. Government needs to rescue its image immediately by remedying these ills during this 21 day lockdown.
Ignorance among the healthcare workers induces in them fear and paralysis, and this lockdown will have been wasted if we go for the next week without equipping our front line soldiers with knowledge and clear guidelines and protocols for dealing with COVID-19, in addition to PPE. Police brutality has negative consequences for our response plan. Treat humans with the dignity the creator endowed each one of us with. No one is immune to COVID-19. Treat others as you would want to be treated.
The ministry must respond timeously to misleading social media reports. For example, did the ministry really authorize traditional healers to start treating covid-19 patients with traditional herbs? How are the vulnerable populations going to be protected from these experiments? The silence of the ministry (MoHCC) to these and other media outbursts is worrying.
Case management:
Lack of training for health care workers, both in private and public practice, is sticking out like a sore thumb. We have no prospect of conquering COVID-19 if we ignore training and equipping of health workers. If the training program had continued from the time training of trainers was done, by now every doctor and every nurse would have been trained. What’s gone wrong with our covid-19 preparedness training program?
The issue of institutional quarantine cannot be over emphasized for visitors from COVID-19 countries, which is virtually every country now. Those in self isolation should be monitored. That is not happening.
Government should urgently capacitate provincial and central hospitals with special covid-19 intensive care units, complete with ventilators and ready to admit.
It is pleasing to note that most local authorities have taken the initiative to set up isolation facilities on their own. But it is equally disturbing to learn that government wants to take over management of municipal clinics for the purposes of COVID-19. We think that the government is seriously misdirected on this matter. This move has no value addition to our COVID-19 response plan.
It is our considered view that the government must avail resources to local authorities to do what they have always done, i.e. help government to deal with public health threats within their jurisdictions. We have GoZ funds, and we have donated funds, and these should be passed on to local authorities. I’m sure donors will find it more cost effective to deal directly with local authorities, which is where the action is.
Infection prevention and control:
This pillar is yet to be visited in its entirety. We urge government to deal urgently with infection prevention & control before we have catastrophic results among our valued health care workers. Provision of PPE and antiseptics is key. We should not sacrifice our health workers because we don’t want to prioritise their lives. We need every single one of them alive.
Logistics, procurement and supply management:
There is need for transparency in procurement. This is not a time for self enrichment. We are in a crisis. The proliferation of self testing kits must be dealt with immediately. Any test kits for use in the country must first be approved by the relevant arm of government. These self testing kits have not been proved, and could give citizens a false sense of security due to false negatives, and accelerate the spread of covid-19. Government must issue a statement on self-testing kits.
As a nation we should not rely entirely on donor funding. This is the time when survival of the nation should supersede any other national program. All resources should now be diverted to the COVID-19 response. Other programs will kick in later once we survive this onslaught. Let’s show the international community our seriousness by deploying our funds first, and they will come on board once they realize we are serious. Bear in mind that the usual donor countries are suffering under their own load of the pandemic.
Conclusion:
We have a good technical document on the preparedness & response plan, but implementation is close to zero. We are ignoring the actions that will make this lockdown meaningful and effective. Simply noting that Zimbabweans are complying with the lockdown order does not translate into halting the epidemic. We must investigate all suspects, identify cases, isolate & treat cases, and do thorough contact tracing; then we may succeed in halting the spread of covid-19. Our aim as the MDC-A is to illuminate the deadly blind spots in our path as a nation, and to help government to make better decisions. Together we will conquer COVID-19.
Dr Henry Madzorera Secretary for Health and Child Welfare, MDC-A.
Farai Dziva|Overzealous police details and soldiers seized Coronavirus awareness posters in the ancient city of Masvingo On Tuesday.
Despite possessing letters of approval that enable essential service workers to carry out their duties, members of Prayer Network of Zimbabwe, running a Coronavirus awareness programme were blocked by police officers and soldiers -from doing their duties.
Police also seized their posters.
See statement below : I am the Coordinator of Prayer Network Zimbabwe and we have launched a Covid-19 awareness programme.
We are distributing Covid -19 awareness posters in Masvingo town.
I was shocked by the behaviour of officers at Rujeko footbridge.
I produced letters that clearly state that I’m printing Covid- 19 Awareness posters through my graphic and designing company.
However police officers and soldiers beat up my colleagues who were distributing the posters.
My workmates were assaulted with baton sticks for no apparent reason.
Farai Dziva|Overzealous police details and soldiers seized Coronavirus awareness posters in the ancient city of Masvingo On Tuesday.
Despite possessing letters of approval that enable essential service workers to carry out their duties, members of Prayer Network of Zimbabwe, running a Coronavirus awareness programme were blocked by police officers and soldiers -from doing their duties.
Police also seized their posters.
See statement below : I am the Coordinator of Prayer Network Zimbabwe and we have launched a Covid-19 awareness programme.
We are distributing Covid -19 awareness posters in Masvingo town.
I was shocked by the behaviour of officers at Rujeko footbridge.
I produced letters that clearly state that I’m printing Covid- 19 Awareness posters through my graphic and designing company.
However police officers and soldiers beat up my colleagues who were distributing the posters.
My workmates were assaulted with baton sticks for no apparent reason.
Farai Dziva|Police officers and soldiers assaulted residents of the city of Masvingo on Tuesday morning and stopped them from getting into town to buy mealie meal.
In a statement Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights condemned the harassment of citizens by soldiers and police officers.
The High Court has also ordered security forces to respect human rights. This comes after Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had filed a complaint against the police and the army following the brutal attack on one Lucia Masvondo.
“The High Court has just granted an interim order that @PoliceZimbabwe , army and other enforcement officers must respect human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms, in the case of Lucia Masvondo.
The case challenges torture, inhuman and degrading conduct, disrespect of dignity and violation of Const by @PoliceZimbabwe and army who invaded Masvondo’s home, assaulted her and set dogs on her.
It also challenges none compliance with social distancing by ZRP and others.” Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.
Farai Dziva|Police officers and soldiers assaulted residents of the city of Masvingo on Tuesday morning and stopped them from getting into town to buy mealie meal.
In a statement Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights condemned the harassment of citizens by soldiers and police officers.
The High Court has also ordered security forces to respect human rights. This comes after Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had filed a complaint against the police and the army following the brutal attack on one Lucia Masvondo.
“The High Court has just granted an interim order that @PoliceZimbabwe , army and other enforcement officers must respect human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms, in the case of Lucia Masvondo.
The case challenges torture, inhuman and degrading conduct, disrespect of dignity and violation of Const by @PoliceZimbabwe and army who invaded Masvondo’s home, assaulted her and set dogs on her.
It also challenges none compliance with social distancing by ZRP and others.” Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.
Farai Dziva|Police officers and soldiers assaulted residents of the city of Masvingo on Tuesday morning and stopped them from getting into town to buy mealie meal.
In a statement Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights condemned the harassment of citizens by soldiers and police officers.
The High Court has also ordered security forces to respect human rights. This comes after Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had filed a complaint against the police and the army following the brutal attack on one Lucia Masvondo.
“The High Court has just granted an interim order that @PoliceZimbabwe , army and other enforcement officers must respect human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms, in the case of Lucia Masvondo.
The case challenges torture, inhuman and degrading conduct, disrespect of dignity and violation of Const by @PoliceZimbabwe and army who invaded Masvondo’s home, assaulted her and set dogs on her.
It also challenges none compliance with social distancing by ZRP and others.” Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.
A former prisoner who suffered a broken arm in an attack at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison has filed a police report that two officers assaulted him after he barged into a cell of a convicted popular businessman who was entertaining a woman while a second report states that it was fellow prisoners who hit him.
Tatenda Govere, who was recently freed under the Presidential Amnesty after serving four years in jail for housebreaking and theft, reported his case at Highlands Police Station under CR 52/10/18 accusing two prison officers of assault while a later report CR 62/10/18 accuses other prisoners.
Both reports have been sent to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) who will decide on the way forward, said national police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi.
“I can confirm that an assault report was made to the police against some prison officers but the case became complicated when another report was made, implicating fellow inmates as assailants,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
Govere complained to High Court judge Justice Herbert Chitapi in March this year during the judge’s routine prison visit.
Govere, who was in 2015 jailed eight years for housebreaking, claims he entered the businessman’s cell intending to borrow a newspaper, only to find him enjoying the company of a woman.
He allegedly left the cell and continued with his daily chore of serving sadza to fellow prisoners.
Two prison officers, whom he believes were linked to the businessman grilled him, he said, demanding to know why he got into the cell without notice.
“Being a trusted prisoner at yellow stage (prisoners deemed to have reformed), on September 26, 2018, I was serving food at A Hall where the businessman was staying.
“Since I was in good books with the businessman, I left a bucket of Sadza on the floor and went into his cell to ask for the day’s newspaper.
“In the cell, I was surprised to see the businessman in the company of a woman and they were eating a cake. I quickly retreated and walked away without saying a word,” said Govere.
“A few hours later, the two prison officers (names supplied) called me and grilled me over the incident.
They quizzed on why I entered the cell without notice. I told them I wanted a newspaper but they turned violent and ordered me to lie on the ground.
“They took turns to assault me all over the body with a black baton until my left arm broke.
I also sustained injuries on my left leg after one of the officers tripped me to the ground as I tried to escape,” he said.-State media
A Bulawayo woman who fatally axed her husband following a misunderstanding during the Easter period said she committed the gruesome act because she had been humiliated by the deceased.
Ordetta Mpofu (44) of Emganwini suburb told the court that her husband humiliated her in front of their children when he told her in the face that she had no shares in their matrimonial home.
Mpofu axed her husband, Thembani Mpofu (52), an employee of the Bulawayo City Council three times on the head on April 10 while he was asleep, killing him instantly.
Mpofu had reportedly refused to resolve a dispute between his wife and daughter over which television channel to watch.
When Mpofu appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Shepherd Munjanja facing a murder charge, she said:
I acted out of anger when I struck my husband with an axe because he humiliated me in front of our children when he told me that I did not have shares in our home.
Mpofu was remanded in custody to May 11 pending examination by two doctors to ascertain her mental health status in terms of the Mental Health Act.-statemedia
A former prisoner who suffered a broken arm in an attack at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison has filed a police report that two officers assaulted him after he barged into a cell of a convicted popular businessman who was entertaining a woman while a second report states that it was fellow prisoners who hit him.
Tatenda Govere, who was recently freed under the Presidential Amnesty after serving four years in jail for housebreaking and theft, reported his case at Highlands Police Station under CR 52/10/18 accusing two prison officers of assault while a later report CR 62/10/18 accuses other prisoners.
Both reports have been sent to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) who will decide on the way forward, said national police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi.
“I can confirm that an assault report was made to the police against some prison officers but the case became complicated when another report was made, implicating fellow inmates as assailants,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
Govere complained to High Court judge Justice Herbert Chitapi in March this year during the judge’s routine prison visit.
Govere, who was in 2015 jailed eight years for housebreaking, claims he entered the businessman’s cell intending to borrow a newspaper, only to find him enjoying the company of a woman.
He allegedly left the cell and continued with his daily chore of serving sadza to fellow prisoners.
Two prison officers, whom he believes were linked to the businessman grilled him, he said, demanding to know why he got into the cell without notice.
“Being a trusted prisoner at yellow stage (prisoners deemed to have reformed), on September 26, 2018, I was serving food at A Hall where the businessman was staying.
“Since I was in good books with the businessman, I left a bucket of Sadza on the floor and went into his cell to ask for the day’s newspaper.
“In the cell, I was surprised to see the businessman in the company of a woman and they were eating a cake. I quickly retreated and walked away without saying a word,” said Govere.
“A few hours later, the two prison officers (names supplied) called me and grilled me over the incident.
They quizzed on why I entered the cell without notice. I told them I wanted a newspaper but they turned violent and ordered me to lie on the ground.
“They took turns to assault me all over the body with a black baton until my left arm broke.
I also sustained injuries on my left leg after one of the officers tripped me to the ground as I tried to escape,” he said.-State media
By A Correspondent- A Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) based in Concession, Mashonaland Central province was allegedly robbed at gunpoint by Harare robbers.
The matter came to light at Bindura magistrates courts when Elisha Manhanga (53) of 34 Tait avenue Hilside, Harare pleaded not guilty to armed robbery charge before Bindura magistrate Tinashe Ndokera yesterday.
Ndokera remanded him in custody to April 22.
The state alleged Manhanga together with his accomplices who are still at large on October 19 last year pounced on a Concession resident who is not mentioned in state papers armed with a pistol, two axes and iron bars.
The robbers fired two warning shots while outside before breaking into the house and assaulted the complaint all over the body before harassing his wife and children.
They stole money, empty jelly cans, a laptop, a digital camera, mobile phones and stormed outside where they deflated tryres of the complanaint’s three cars before fleeing.
Manhanga was arrested on April 9 following a tip off.
The National Airline has licensed engineers on contract from Asia Aero Technic of Malaysia, but the maintenance tasks could not be completed successfully to the required conformance standards at Harare in the absence of technical rigs and test equipment.
The National Airline today at 1138hrs positioned its B777-200ER Reg# Z-RGM to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Ethiopia, for special mandatory periodic maintenance which could not be carried out in Harare owing to the unavailability of special maintenance equipment.
The maintenance tasks are key in ensuring that the aircraft remains serviceable in line with the ongoing process of dry leasing the aircraft.
Discussions and negotiations are at an advanced stage with potential short-listed lessees and a final position will be officially communicated once an agreement has been signed hopefully in the next coming few months as we continue to monitor the effects and milestones in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Activation of a lease agreement will bring in the much needed foreign currency revenue for Air Zimbabwe to augment its current aircraft fleet with an option of outright purchases or lease in of smaller aircraft.
This initiative is part of the National Airline’s Strategic Turnaround Plan (STP) whose main focus is the development of robust regional/international and tourist hubs for seamless trade and tourism connectivity.
By A Correspondent- Originators of falsehoods claiming that the Government had extended the national lockdown by any time-frame face a 20-year jail term if caught, President Mnangagwa warned.
He added that he had since ordered an investigation into the origins of such messages circulating on social media.
He hinted that Cabinet would meet on the 20th of this month to review whether or not to extend the 21-day national lockdown which expires early next week.
The President dismissed as nonsensical, reports that were doing the rounds on social media purporting that he had extended the lockdown, saying he alone cannot extend without first consulting with his two Vice Presidents and Cabinet.
Spreading fake news on social media and mainstream media about coronavirus (COVID-19) has been categorised as a Level 14 offence, the highest in the country and people liable will be jailed for 20 years, officials have confirmed.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told Sunday News yesterday that the measure to categorise spreading of fake news about the pandemic as a Level 14 offence was part of Government’s efforts to ensure that the country effectively contains the spread of COVID-19.
“This is part of a Statutory Instrument (SI) under the Public Health Act, which now criminalises the peddling of falsehoods relating to this pandemic. The reason we had to come up with that SI was after we noted the proliferation of fake news, which were hindering the fight against the spread of the pandemic.
We are using the Public Health Act which according to Section 68, empowers the Minister of Health and Child Care to make such regulations in times of emergencies, to help contain such viruses,” said Minister Ziyambi.-statemedia
Unicef and Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education are reportedly at an advanced stage in introducing TV and Radio lessons to Zimbabwean students.
The efficacy of TV and Radio lessons has never been in doubt where it is done properly. However, with the collapse of CDU in Zimbabwe, inaccessibility of several areas to both TV and radio receptivity, lack of adequate engagement of teachers, and absence of both functional radios and TVs in several homesteads, it is doubtful that this can be successfully implemented in Zimbabwe at this historical juncture.
While the idea is certainly good it is unfortunate there has not been adequate consultations with both educators and students and this would seriously affect practical implementation.
We are aware that the Ministry wants to justify the use of donor funds (UNICEF funds), but let it be warned that hap hazardous meddling and muddling have never produced good results. Any reforms in the education system must realise the centrality of those nearer the classroom if ever there is to be some modicum degree of success.
There is virtually no baseline survey on students with access to radios, let alone televisions. In a country where the majority of students have no access to radios, let alone TVs it remains to be seen how UNICEF and the Ministry would navigate this quandary.
Worse still, it is students from poor families that have no access to both radio and TV that would be affected most. We are aware of neo-liberal policies camouflaged as e-learning and its long intended goal of cutting personnel in the education sector.
We hope the government would not try to use current COVID 19 and lockdown to experiment with such a diagnosis that treats the disease by killing the patient. No technology can replace a teacher in the education system. Any good intervention in schools must certainly involve teachers, who still remain scattered throughout the length and breadth of Zimbabwe.
By Simba Chikanza| The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has excluded Zimbabwe from its list of 25 countries for debt relief, and the main reason is that Zimbabwe is out of the threshold for eligible countries.
Even though Zimbabwe has paid off its debt to the IMF, the institution has said Zimbabwe is still in need of debt relief, and an IMF executive is on video recently saying Zimbabwe remains handicapped because it owes several international lenders.
precisely the point. IMF didn't say Zim no longer need debt relief. It said "although Zim has no arrears to the IMF,all rules would preclude lending given the arrears to other financial institutions, and on thecrackdown…try to develop policies that would stabilise the economy."
In the latest development, the two reasons why the IMF excluded Zimbabwe from its list of 25 countries, are that: Zimbabwe’s GNI is greater than the other nations’.
The GNI per capita is the dollar is the dollar value of a country’s final income in a year, divided by its population.
The second reason is that Zimbabwe has cleared its debt.
In a response to ZimEye on Tuesday morning, an official said:
Yesterday, IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva issued the following statement:
“Today, I am pleased to say that our Executive Board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF’s member countries under the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts.
“The CCRT can currently provide about US$500 million in grant-based debt service relief, including the recent US$185 million pledge by the U.K. and US$100 million provided by Japan as immediately available resources. Others, including China and the Netherlands, are also stepping forward with important contributions. I urge other donors to help us replenish the Trust’s resources and boost further our ability to provide additional debt service relief for a full two years to our poorest member countries.”
The countries that will receive debt service relief today are: Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo, and Yemen.
ZimEye tonight reaches to the Zimbabwean military for answers on why soldiers are assaulting civilians and health workers during the lockdown period. This comes after clear video footage emerged showing attacks against residents in Harare, and the latest ones being in Masvingo where health workers were brutally assaulted together people traveling to purchase mealie meal,classified in the category of essential goods.
In January, ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa announced during a speech saying he will deploy the army to assault Kuwadzana residents upon discovering that they are the ones who stopped the rain.
One of the victims is Emmanuel Mushaiwa who was left with fractured arm and taken to Nyangombe clinic. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was immediately transferred to Chinhoyi Hospital. (See pictures- WARNING THE IMAGES MAY BE DISTRESSING TO THOSE OF A NERVOUS DISPOSITION.)
Emmanuel Mushaiwa, taken to Chinhoyi Hospital
INTERVIEWING THE ZNA SHORTLY – INBOX US DETAILS OF WHERE AND WHEN THIS HAPPENED- ALSO FULL DETAILS PF THE VICTIMS pic.twitter.com/LdbgHvARy7
Vice president Kembo Mohadi addressing journalists after a meeting with senior doctors at munhumutapa offices recently - Pic Annie Mpalume
Daily News|IN A refreshingly candid admission, Vice President Kembo Mohadi says the government should do more to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Daily News On Sunday — after a meeting with doctors in Harare on Friday — the usually introverted Mohadi said bluntly that he was not happy with what the country had done to prepare for the lethal disease.
He also conceded that the number of people who have so far been tested for the virus in the country, at less than 500, did not reflect well on Zimbabwe’s efforts to combat the global pandemic.
This comes as Zimbabwe has registered its third death from coronavirus, from the 13 people who have so far tested positive for the deadly disease — a development that has made the country’s Covid-19 mortality rate among the highest in the world, at 27 percent.
It also comes as health experts have also raised the red flag over Zimbabwe’s preparations for Covid-19, citing a glaring lack of testing kits, intensive care units, ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE), among other critical things.
“Tests should be done expeditiously and they (doctors) said we should also move out of Harare and go to other areas. Even before the lockdown, we did not know who had been where and who they had visited and met. We need to do more testing using facilities that are there. I am equally not happy myself that we have only tested over 400
people. We need to have tested more,” Mohadi said.
“The same with Bulawayo, we have an international airport there. So, there is a possibility that we might be having people that might have been somewhere who might have sneaked into the country without us knowing. We need to do the necessary sampling,” the VP added.
Mohadi also disclosed that the government would soon dispatch teams to hunt for possible cases at busy ports of entry such as Victoria Falls and Beitbridge.
“The other area we will soon look at is Victoria Falls, as well as areas like Buffalo Range … Doctors believe that if many people test positive, Wilkins will be overwhelmed. It’s a small place. They said we must refurbish Parirenyatwa and I agree with them. But there must be an area that must deal specifically with coronavirus since the hospital also admits people who are not Covid-19 patients.
“As I am talking to you now, members of the ad hoc committees are in the provinces establishing structures. We want to decentralise operations even up to the district level,” Mohadi said.
“We have some areas we think might be having people that have the virus, especially in places like Beitbridge and Matabeleland South in general, where most people go to seek employment in South Africa.
“Usually they will be working in Johannesburg, where there is a high possibility of infections. We are also looking at areas like Masvingo and Chipinge from where many people go to South Africa. A number of these people are deported and … I don’t think they were screened enough. So, we need to have tests in those areas now,” Mohadi said further.
Just before South Africa’s national lockdown a fortnight ago, more than 13 000 Zimbabweans returned home through Beitbridge Border Post.
Although these people were screened before they were released, the government says it is following up on them after the 14-day incubation period to check for coronavirus symptoms.
But fresh doubts were raised on the country’s testing thoroughness following the death of a 79-year-old Bulawayo man last week, who succumbed to the lethal virus but whose results were only released four days after his death.
He had been treated and held in a general ICU, where health experts say he may have exposed other patients and health care workers there to the deadly disease.
“The patient was treated at a local hospital. Is this an infectious diseases hospital or a Covid-19 designated facility? The inability to diagnose on time is a clear sign that health professionals attending the deceased were exposed as they lack essential protective equipment. The patient was first seen on March 23 and was not advised to self-quarantine … What is the state of preparedness in centres outside Harare,” the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said after the man died.
And as concerns grow over the country’s rising coronavirus death toll, Mohadi told the Daily News On Sunday that these deaths revealed weaknesses in the country’s healthcare system.
“We are worried about the death rate as government. Even if it was one percent, we would still be worried. It’s a new thing (coronavirus),and we are still learning from other countries … doctors raised concerns about their safety and that of their families.
“They don’t have enough personal protective equipment. Psychologically, it affects everybody if you attend to someone who is Covid-19 positive. If he or she dies, and you don’t know if you contracted the disease … so, doctors need to be equipped,” Mohadi said.
“It’s like taking soldiers into battle without ammunition. What do you expect? You should expect a defeat. So, we need to equip them,” he further told the Daily News On Sunday.
Mohadi also said committees that were set up to mobilise resources to fight coronavirus were still seeking essential equipment and funding.
“Every day we are getting something from our friends around the world and within Zimbabwe. Zimbabweans have responded well against this virus,” he said.
The VP also revealed that Zimbabwe was yet to train more health practitioners on how to handle the deadly virus.
“Doctors and nurses need to be trained and that training has got to be done now. We must make it a point that they are trained.
“On the issue of incentives for doctors, the government is looking into that. Doctors have had those grievances for a long time, but now, coupled with the dangers that come with the virus, the situation has to be looked at differently, because we need our patients to be attended to,” Mohadi added.
This comes as the government has taken a lot of flak from a large cross section of Zimbabweans for the manner in which it has been preparing for Covid-19.
Presently, Zimbabwe does not have adequate quarantine centres, with most parts of the country remaining uncovered — as the cash strapped government struggles to mobilise resources.
In cities like Gweru, the government has set up a makeshift centre — which has copped a lot of criticism — to quarantine possible positive cases of the virus.
The country is currently in the middle of a 21-day lockdown that was imposed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last month in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Coronavirus has killed about 105 000 people around the world as of yesterday, with infection rates fast hurtling towards the two million mark globally.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the coronavirus comes from a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases.
Its symptoms include pneumonia, high fever, flu, shortness of breath and diarrhoea — and the precautions that have to be taken include covering the mouth when coughing and sneezing, and continuously washing hands.
Following a gathering of the National Command Council on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered Health Minister Zweli Mkhize to hold a live commitment online to manage specialized viewpoints identifying with the Covid-19 reaction.
The pastor said on Monday that the president had requested that he trust people in general on the choices being taken to battle the Covid-19 episode.
This gathering, sorted out from Durban, was joined by a few specialists on Covid-19.
The pastor said toward the beginning of the commitment that the current details on the episode were that there are presently 2,272 affirmed cases in the nation, a hop of 99 cases. There have been an extra two passings, a 68-year-old male from the Western Cape and a 57-year-old male from Gauteng who died in ICU. This takes the complete count of passings to 27.
In excess of 83,660 tests have been finished. In excess of 438,000 screenings have been finished. There are 10,654 tracers on the ground.
Prof Salim Abdool Karim said in his introduction that the primary diseases most likely happened in November in China, in spite of the fact that the principal recorded cases were in December. It presumably started from pangolins at a fish/wet market in Wuhan, where the zoonotic infection hopped to people.
The key component of the educator’s introduction focused on the R0 rate, which is the essential multiplication number of an irresistible malady. He said that if this rate could be demonstrated to be beneath one, which means the ailment was not spreading at a wild rate, at that point a choice could be considered to facilitate the present lockdown, which is one of the most stringent on the planet.
The coronavirus is known to have a worldwide R0 of somewhere in the range of 2 and 3.
He brought up that South Africa’s bend was not normal for most others, and South Africa contrasted well with nations that had switched things around, for example, Singapore and South Korea.
South Africa was one of a kind, however, he said. “No other nation has arrived at that purpose of leveling.”
Karim said that potential clarifications were that South Africa was just not testing enough, which he said was not borne out however.
‘Three waves’
The educator at that point clarified that there would be three rushes of contamination. The principal wave was the presentation of the infection into the nation from worldwide voyagers.
In any case, that wave didn’t increment to wild degrees of far reaching network contaminations, said the prof.
He brought up on one slide how the South African pestilence had been following the UK’s diagram (for instance) intently until the lockdown kicked in.
Regardless of whether you take the most effectively controlled pestilences, South Africa is interesting. We simply are not seeing that out of control fire spread that we anticipated. The state of our bend is very extraordinary,
Karim talked about the pace of contamination, which means what number of individuals with the sickness were tainting others. He said that in South Africa they had figured out how to hold it to one, which means those with the sickness were on normal just contaminating one other individual.
“Each tainted individual turns into an impasse.”
He additionally said that they were not seeing numerous instances of individuals with extremely terrible indications either, and the passing rate had likewise been kept generally low.
The ‘three center points’ and past
The urban areas of Johannesburg, Cape Town and eThekwini were the focuses where the infection could spread from most quickly. He said that since there was no antibody, no invulnerability and no treatment, the exponential bend would return in South Africa.
He said the nation had in this way sadly just deferred the spread of the infection.
I need to disclose to you that as much as we have prevailing with regards to stemming the progression of this infection, a triumph nobody else has accomplished, I need to reveal to you a troublesome truth. The exponential spread can’t be gotten away. Not except if we have some magic that ensures us that is absent anyplace else on earth.
When we end the lockdown, we will have that high hazard.
“For what reason is it so unavoidable that we expect when you get the infection, for the initial three or four days, you won’t transmit this infection. For the following four or five days you will be irresistible. At that point when you show indications you will be irresistible for about fourteen days or somewhere in the vicinity.
“We realize that this infection can spread truly quick. A tainted individual can contaminate a few people.”
He said that the infection could in this manner twofold in its spread each a few days.
The administration’s mediations had, be that as it may, effectively postponed the viral spread for the time being.
For what reason is the postpone significant? In such a case that we permit it to develop unchecked we will perceive what we see in New York where the medicinal services framework is overpowered.
Karim said that by being proactive network wellbeing laborers could now go into networks and analyze individuals before they demonstrated manifestations. He communicated trust that an immunization would be accessible in a year or year and a half, however by then “our pestilence will be finished”, however in the meantime fruitful medications could open up.
The teacher said this coming week would be basic to perceive what the network pace of contamination was. By 18 April, if network contamination had been kept low, and the normal fluctuation had been kept to somewhere in the range of 45 and 89, at that point “on the off chance that we base it on that, we have a lot of criteria: on the off chance that the normal is 90 somewhere in the range of 10 and 16 April, at that point we have to keep the lockdown”.
He brought up that it took around fourteen days to truly observe the impact of any intercessions due to what extent it took for those with the infection to show side effects, which was the reason the R0 rate and other information over this coming week would be so enlightening for how to manage the lockdown before the month’s over.
In the event that the normal demonstrated that the disease was moving at short of what one individual tainting one individual (ie, a R0 of under 1), at that point a choice could be taken to facilitate the lockdown.
“On the off chance that we end the lockdown unexpectedly, we risk fixing all we have accomplished. We will put low and high hazard individuals together.”
He said there would be a precise facilitating of the lockdown.
The following four phases of the reaction
.
Stage 5 would be tied in with finding where the infection was spreading and should have been managed. Stage 6 had just begun. We should be prepared for when those patients come. We should be prepared with triage.
At the point when somebody is debilitated, you go to a field medical clinic. A choice is made to send you to clinic, on the off chance that you should be ventilated. You hold the weight off the fundamental emergency clinics.
He said that Stage 7 would be tied in with managing the mental and social effect of individuals biting the dust.
Stage 8 would require continuous carefulness and keeping one stride in front of the infection
The teacher said he was demonstrating the open this with the goal that it could have a thought of where the nation was and where it’s going. He called attention to that it was essential to battle the little flares before they became seething infernos. Network wellbeing laborers would be the ones searching for the little flare-ups.
It’s significantly more hard to extinguish seething flames than little blazes. We don’t know we will succeed but rather we’re going to attempt.
We need to know where we are.
When a month or all the more regularly there would be a national observation day, and schools, mines, organizations and different foundations would be chosen to increase a 5% test utilizing swabs or finger pricks to increase an image of how far the infection may have spread.
.
.
Karim examined how Stage 6 would have been entangled by the ordinary influenza season, the a huge number of individuals with HIV and how to ensure the older, especially those over 70 years of age.
He said that poor access to medicinal services had been distinguished as a significant explanation behind why dark individuals were biting the dust in more noteworthy numbers in the US, which couldn’t be permitted in South Africa.
Youngsters would need to be avoided the older, on the grounds that they may contaminate them.
.
Towards the finish of the introduction, Prof Karim said the net impact of individuals wearing material veils, regardless of whether home-made, indicated that it would forestall the spread of the infection. Clinical examinations had indicated that it kept individuals with the infection from spreading it, however there was insufficient proof that it prevented individuals from getting the infection.
He said washing of hands remained the most significant, trailed by social separating and afterward veils.
Have two veils. One you wash and let dry, and afterward another you can wear that day when you go out.
Karim informed emphatically against any part with respect to the open utilizing clinical or careful/N95 veils, since those eventual required for medical clinic staff on the forefronts.
The BCG antibody
Prof Karim said that the BCG antibody was just intended to forestall extreme types of tuberculosis. A paper from specialists in New York had discovered that nations with an all inclusive BCG immunization arrangement were less influenced by the coronavirus, however Karim said this was potentially an imperfect report and that after some time the world was probably going to see that populaces wherever would most likely be influenced likewise. Almost certainly, the nations were simply on an alternate direction. He had been told by specialists in China that they had not seen a contrast between patients inoculated with BCG and the individuals who had not.
He said he would adore simply for the hypothesis to be valid, yet he was doubtful.
Karim said atmosphere would have little impact on the infection, however the way that South Africa and Africa all in all had unmistakably progressively energetic populaces would in all probability bring about the mainland having a far lower by and large passing rate.
The South African Minister of Health has announced 143 new confirmed cases taking the national tally of confirmed cases to 2415 from a previously recorded 2272 on Monday. Tests conducted nationally are now more than 87 00, with the number anticipated to continue on rising.
These statistics follow after Professor Karim, one of the country’s leading epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialists and the chairperson for the COVID-19 ministerial advisory committee highlighted that the country’s epicentres still remain as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
The Health Minister stated that so far over 4000 people have been referred for further testing due to the extensive screening practice that is currently taking place nationally. Over 10 000 tracers have been tasked with tracking down persons with confirmed cases to ensure that the necessary procedures and further tests are conducted on them.
Internationally, the latest number of confirmed cases is around 1.9 million with just over 120 000 deaths and 460 recoveries. South Africa’s death toll due to the virus now stands at 27.
HEALTH officials at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport yesterday rigorously screened and tested for Covid-19, 28 Zimbabweans and two South Sudanese who arrived in the country from various European destinations aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
The returnees included Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Sudan Dr EB Gumbo who has to be quarantined and tested as per protocol. Dr Gumbo is in Zimbabwe on official business.
Zimbabwe has recorded 17 positive cases and three deaths.
Cumulatively the number of people tested stands at 604 with the latest cases all from Bulawayo.
The returnees were later escorted to the Zimbabwe Institute of Public Administration and Management (Zipam) for a 21-day-quarantine.
The thorough screening and testing are part of measures which the Government put in place to ensure the prevention and containment of Covid-19.
Harare City health director Dr Prosper Chonzi said some of the returnees who exhibited Covid-19 symptoms were not allowed to proceed to Zipam and were now under healthcare at Wilkins Hospital awaiting test results.
“As you know, we cannot stop Zimbabweans living abroad from coming home. But upon their arrival at ports of entry, they will go through a thorough check and screening,” he said.
“As for these that arrived today (yesterday) none of them will be allowed to go home. They are heading for Zipam where they will be quarantined for 21 days. But before they were referred to Zipam, they passed through Wilkins Hospital for testing.
“If those who have not been allowed to proceed and are waiting for their results test negative, they will subsequently proceed to Zipam or remain at Wilkins to receive medical care if they test positive.”
Dr Chonzi said there were people who are already at Zipam who had tested negative and needed to be protected from newcomers.
“There are people quarantined at Zipam who have tested negative to Covid-19. They need to be protected. We do not know the status of those who are coming in. Some have letters that they were screened before but we are not taking any chances, so we will not allow anyone particularly with Covid-19 symptoms to proceed to Zipam.”
Recently, the Government quarantined 287 people including 15 foreign nationals at various places countrywide as a precautionary measure against the spread of Covid-19.
The 287 included seven locals who returned from the United States, 265 who were in Botswana and 15 Ethiopians.
Apart from quarantining those coming from abroad, Government has also moved hundreds of homeless people in Harare to Mt Hampden, Ruwa Rehabilitation Centre and Jamaica Inn as part of measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
There are plans to open more such centres across the country to cater for the homeless people.
MDC Alliance vice president Tendai Biti said the International Monetary Fund snubbed Zimbabwe from the debt relief provided to 20 African countries because of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’ failure to reform and stealing of elections.
On Tuesday, the IMF board approved immediate debt relief for 25 countries, 20 of them African nations but Zimbabwe was excluded.
“20 African countries obtain debt relief and Zimbabwe is conspicuously absent. The reason is political illegitimacy, fascism and disrespect of the rule of law. Reason is corruption and rent seeking behavior,cartels and Sakunda. Reason is failure to reform and stealing elections,” said Biti.
Countries that will receive debt service relief include Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo, and Yemen.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Executive Board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF’s member countries under the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts,” she said.
The High Court of Zimbabwe on Tuesday ordered the government to provide all medical practitioners in all public health institutions with adequate protective personal equipment (PPE).
The ruling followed an application by the Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights (ZDHR) who sought the High Court to compel the government to provide adequate PPEs for health personnel to protect them from COVID-19.
Posting on Twitter, Dr Norman Matara of ZDHR said that the High Court granted a consent order, ordering Health Minister Obadiah Moyo to immediately ensure the following:
1. Provide ALL health professionals working in all public health institutions with adequate PPE
2. Screen and test health workers for COVID-19
3. Conduct mass screening for COVID-19, including door to door tests to detect asymptomatic individuals
4. Screen and test all public transport drivers, security officers enforcing the lockdown and provide them with PPE
5. Roll out nationwide training programs for all health workers on COVID-19 management protocols
6. Establish appropriately equipped quarantine and isolation facilities in all provinces, district hospitals and designated airports and port of entry.
7. All health facilities are equipped with enough supportive medication for frontline practitioners and patients.
The Office of the State Attorney acting on behalf of the president Ramaphosa has finally responded to the Gauteng Liquor Forum (GLF)ʼs letter of demand demanding the lifting of the ban on alcohol. In the response, the State Attorney representing asks for an extension until close of business on Friday in order to properly respond to GLF.
As it were, the GLF (apparently representing approximately 20 000 micro and small businesses in Gauteng) on Saturday sent a letter of demand to President Ramaphosa demanding among other things that:
“That the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs should immediately and forthwith remove, amend or lift the regulation which places a total ban of the selling of alcohol.”
The letter goes to state:
“18. Unless we receive the written undertaking from the Honourable President by no laterthan 12h00 on Tuesday 14 April 2020, our clients will have no option but to approachcourt on urgent basis for appropriate relief.19.”
Of particular relevance and legal significance in this letter of demand are paragraphs 13-14 which state as follows:
“13. Our clients also submit that even if there is authority to issue the Regulations, thetotal ban on the selling of alcohol is unreasonable and it has no rational connectionto the mischief which is sought to be prevented.
Public statements which have beenmade by senior members of Cabinet suggest that the alcohol ban is being used toachieve ends which are not related to combating Covid-19. We also submit thatthere are less restrictive measures which could have been out in place to prevent oralleviate the spread of the disease.
14. Our clients would have readily accepted the limitation on their trading hours as wasthe case when the first Covic-19 Regulations were published on 18 March 2020. However, a total ban on the selling of alcohol unduly and unlawfully infringes on their section 22 constitutional rights.”
These two paragraphs raise interesting arguable points of law. It would indeed be in the public interest if not the interest of Justice to see how the court rule on them.
The High Court of Zimbabwe on Tuesday barred the police from beating up people and subjecting them to inhumane treatment when enforcing lockdown measures.
The order comes after there has been an upsurge in reports of military and police brutality against civilians accused of ignoring the stay-at-home order across the country.
Lucia Masvondo of Karoi was allegedly assaulted by security forces and bitten by dogs as she cooked on an open fire outside her house in the evening.
Masvondo, represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), applied to The High Court seeking an order overturning the lockdown order.
ZLHR filed an urgent chamber application with the High Court last Thursday, also challenging the lack of social distancing by police officers.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum says it has documented over 51 assault cases involving security agents, with most of the cases recorded in urban areas.
These images show the world’s largest cargo plane touching down in China as part of a 400-tonne medical supply run to Poland amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.
The Antonov An-225 Mriya landed at Tianjin Binhai International Airport in North China late on Sunday (12th April), picking up roughly 250 tonnes of critical medical supplies in what is to be two round-trip journeys.
Mriya, or ‘Dream’, was contracted by the Polish government and landed in Warsaw today (14th April), carrying personal protective equipment including seven million surgical masks, as well as thousands of face shields and decontamination suits.
While some countries have praised China for its shipments of aid, others have warned that they could be part of its ‘mask diplomacy’ to repair its image, which has been harmed since the coronavirus crisis began.
The World’s largest plane, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, sits on the runway in Tianjin Binhai International Airport in North China late on Sunday as it prepares to be loaded with medical supplies headed for Warsaw, PolandThe Antonov An-225 Mriya landed in Warsaw today carrying medical PPE to help Poland in its fight against the coronavirusThe plane, which has the longest wingspan of any plane in the world, was first designed in the 1980s to carry space equipment, including a space shuttle and rockets, for the Soviet UnionThe plane, named ‘dream’ in Ukranian, is 84 meters long (275 ft 7 in), which is longer than the length of the first ever flight achieved by the Wright brothers in 1903
The Polish Ministry of State Assets reportedly said of the decision to hire the six-engine freighter: ‘With just one flight, the An-225 can bring as much cargo from China as 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.’
Despite Mriya’s record-setting 250-tonne cargo capacity, it will need to make a second trip to China in order to transport the full 400-tonne supply.
Chinese state media reported that Germany would also be employing the heavy-duty cargo aircraft – the only one of its kind in the world – for medical supplies from China, while contracts are believed to cost governments at least 1 million USD (800,000 GBP).
The plane can hold a record cargo of 250,000 kilograms. To access the hold, the node of the plane opens upwards (pictured)Forklift trucks at China’s Tianjin international airport begin to load medical supplies into the plane, which will carry them to Warsaw, Poland. The plane was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov Design BureauDespite it’s 250 tonne capacity, the plane will make two round-trips from China to Warsaw to deliver the 400 tonnes of supplies that are being transportedPictured: Two people dressed in protective clothing help to load the An-225 Mriya with supplies bound for Warsaw, PolandThe medical supplies will help Poland’s medical workers in their battle with the coronavirus. Poland has ordered seven million surgical masks, as well as thousands of face shields and decontamination suits which will be transported on the planeAfter flying from China, the Antonov An-225 Mriya comes into view as it prepares to land at the Chopin airport, WarsawPhotographers and airport staff away the arrival of the plane. There is only one of its kind that was ever finishedThe plane is powered by six turbofan engines, and as the heaviest aircraft ever built, requires 32 wheels for takeoff and landingThe plane was originally designed in the 1980s to carry the Buran space shuttle, as well as the Energia rocket’s boosters, while Ukraine was part of the Soviet union and in the midst of the space race with the U.S.When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and the space programme was wound down, the plane was put into storage in 1994In the 2000s, the need for a large aircraft to carry huge payloads arose once more, and it was re-purposed to complete commercial and humanitarian aid missions
Ukraine is also expected to send the plane back to China to acquire its own supplies to fight the pandemic later this month, joining Beijing’s aid provision list which currently includes Russia, Iraq, Kuwait and Algeria, among others.
An-225 belongs to Ukraine’s state-owned Antonov Airlines and is still the heaviest aircraft ever built, with the largest wingspan, despite being constructed during Soviet Ukraine in the 1980s.
Its Tianjin flight, which left Kyiv on 11th April, with a refuelling stop in former Kazakhstan capital Almaty, was the first in two years after it had undergone extensive upgrades.
ts first commercial flight was completed in 2002, when the plane flew from Stuttgart, Germany to Thumrait, Oman, carrying 216,000 prepared meals for American military personal that were based in the region
Antonov Airlines, a division of Antonov State Enterprise, built Mriya to airlift the Soviet Union’s first-ever space shuttle Buran.
It still holds the world record for heaviest civilian cargo transportation at 253.8 tonnes.
According to reports, Mriya usually makes around 20 trips a year, but it now joins a fleet of five Antonov An-124 Ruslan currently flying medical supplies around the world during the global COVID-19 crisis.
Commissioning the aircraft to carry item can cost over $2 million dollars for a single tripPictured: Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (C) speaks at the press briefing at the Chopin Airport in WarsawThe Polish Ministry of State Assets reportedly said of the decision to hire the six-engine freighter: ‘With just one flight, the An-225 can bring as much cargo from China as 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliners’Chinese state media reported that Germany would also be employing the heavy-duty cargo aircraft, and Ukraine is also expected to send it back to China to collect supplies
Aid shipments from China have drawn praise in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovakia, although some Chinese shipments of coronavirus testing kits and face masks turned out to be faulty or defective.
‘We must be aware there is a geopolitical component, including a struggle for influence, through spinning and the politics of generosity,’ EU’s top foreign policy official Josep Borrell recently wrote in a blog, referring to China. ‘Armed with facts, we need to defend Europe against its detractors.’
Chinese officials have repeatedly rejected claims that Beijing is seeking political gains by providing medical aid to other countries, saying the allegations result from deep-rooted misconceptions of China’s goals in the West.
The An-225 prepares to take off again as it returns to China for its second trip to bring the second half of the order of medical supplies made by the Polish governmentPoland ordered a total of 400 tonnes worth of medical supplies. While the plan can hold 250 tonnes worth of cargo, it now must return for a second pick-upAccording to reports, Mriya usually makes around 20 trips a year
While China struggles elsewhere to polish its image tarnished by its initial handling of the coronavirus outbreak, Beijing has no problem maintaining its hard-won influence in Eastern Europe, where it battles for clout with the EU as well as with Russia in countries like Serbia.
China was criticized by many in the West for its early mishandling of the health crisis due to politically motivated foot-dragging while the virus raced through a major province and its capital, Wuhan. Now it is seeking to change perceptions through ‘mask diplomacy’ – a combination of soft power policy, political messaging and aid that is designed to portray Beijing as a generous and efficient ally.
The plane now joins a fleet of five Antonov An-124 Ruslan planes (other large planes) currently flying medical supplies around the world during the global COVID-19 crisisThe aid shipments from China drew praise in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovakia, although some equipment has been faulty
Earlier reports were published that Zimbabweans undermined South African government by cutting R37 million fence separating the two countries. However, new findings suggests otherwise.
Zimbabweans are actually innocent.
The fence have been there and they didn’t temper it. It was actually cut opened by South African nationals who are going across the border in search of alcohol and cigarettes. They are bringing in cheap alcohol and cigarettes and they sell it illegally at a very high price in the black market.
Infact, Zimbabweans are demanding apologies from the South African press after the revelation was made yesterday evening when some Zimbabweans saw a group of South Africans crossing over to carry alcohol and cigarettes.
Meanwhile in South Africa, blame is put on foreign nationals and illegal immigrants for the border fence destruction. The fence was destroyed during lock down and immigrants are not coming in for now due to the lock down.
South Africans destroyed it in search of beer, cigarettes, liquor and booze.
Many people have been urging the government to lift the ban on alcohol and cigarettes because people need it to relax at home during the lock down but police minister, Bheki Cele opined that he will be happy if these can be banned forever in South Africa.
Already, my bars, liquor stores and booze shops have been looted by those in search of alcohol to quench their thirst.
“The government should know that we have chronic alcohol consumers in the country. They can’t adapt easily. We have chronic smokers. You don’t expect them to give up the habit easily. They are the ones who destroyed the fence,” said a South African.
Mr A. Makoni with Mr J. Bamu and Mr C. Mutsvandiani for the applicant Mr LT. Muradzikwa for the respondents
I. RESPONDENT e. RESPONDENT
3.) RESPONDENT
WHEREUPON, after reading documents filed of record and hearing Counsel
IT IS ORDERED BY CONSENT THAT:
For the duration of the Public Health (COVID-I9 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order, Statutory Instrument 83 of 2020 or the extended period thereon I . The respondent shall ensure that adequate measure are put in place to prevent, contain and treat the incidence of COVID-I 9, and A particular ensure, within the limit of resources, that:
• a. Appropriately equipped quarantine and isolation facilities are established in all provinces, district hospitals and at the designated airports and ports of entry. b. All frontline health practitioners working at public health facilities in the country or deployed to trace contacts exposed by Alec. people, arc provided with adequate Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). c. Sufficient testing kits are deployed at all designated public hospitals, airports and ports of entry.
d. Extensive screening and testing be carried out, including mobile or door-to-door testing in order to account for asymptomatic carriers.
e. All health practitioners and personnel at the frontline be regularly, screened and tested of the COVID-19 virus.
1. All health facilities are equipped with enough supportive medication for both frontline practitioners and patients.
g. More laboratories equipped to test highly infectious diseases such as COVID-19 be established in every province to increase the turnaround time for test to be conducted.
h. Personnel responding to the COVID-19 pandemic including drivers and their assistants, security personnel, and essential services employees are regularly screened. and tested.
i. Authorised ZUPCO buses, omnibuses and other passenger service vehicles operated by or on behalf of the Public Service Association, the Police Service. the Defence Forces and the Civil Protection Authorities. and commuter ominibuses and other passenger service vehicles operated or chartered by local authorities for the carriage of staff the essential services, the carriage of sick persons to hospitals and other health care are disinfected upon arrival and departure at each destination.
j. Frontline health practitioners arc adequately trained on how to handle COVID-I9 and protect themselves from the risk of contamination.
k. Clear guidelines are provided to the public on the implementation of the social distance principle, especially A crowded suburbs.
2. There shall be no order as to costs.
Advocate Tendai Biti, an official in the opposition MDC has filed an urgent application at the High Court to compel the government to enact regulations that support Statutory Instrument 83 of 2020, (the Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order, 2020).
The SI 2020-083 Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order, 2020 was gazetted for the implementation of the 21-day national lockdown which is premised at curbing the spread of coronavirus.
The SI banned or suspended some events and activities. “Essential services” which are not forbidden by the SI include any hospital service; transport service referred to in sections 4(2) and 7(2); generation, supply or distribution of electricity; supply and distribution of water; sewerage or sanitary service; and production, supply, delivery or distribution of food (in particular supermarkets and food retail stores).
There is great concern over the economic and humanitarian effects of the lockdown on the nation. The country already had a serious shortage of many commodities including mealie-meal and the lockdown has reportedly slid many into poverty.
Closure of companies means less to no income to many citizens hence inability to meet daily expenses.
Biti’s lawsuit comes at a time when scores of citizens going about their businesses are being arrested and brutalised for violating lockdown regulations
A few weeks ago the President announced that a law was being put into effect that would allow for the sentencing of those spreading false information regarding the Coronavirus.
The President has spoken again, following speculation that he would announce an extension to the current lockdown. Mnangagwa claims there is no such declaration being made as the Cabinet will review whether an extension is necessary towards the end of the current lockdown.
Mnangagwa also announced that the Government will try and trace whoever originated this misinformation and give them an exemplary sentence to defer others from spreading false information;
I have seen on social media people saying that I’m going to make a statement extending [the lockdown]. That is absolutely nonsense, I never made such a statement.
We now have a law, which punishes those who produce fake news and I believe we have asked the CIO to make a trace as to who made the claims that “the President has made an extension” when I have not. If we catch that person, it must be exemplary and they must go in [prison] at level 14 – which is 20 years imprisonment.
I think we need to demonstrate that we don’t want false news to be circulated especially when you are spreading false news about the President. That is not proper!
Regarding the lockdown, the President went on to say the Cabinet will sit down and review whether or not to extend it on the 20th or 21st day of the lockdown which suggests we will be getting an official address either on Sunday 19 April or on the following day which marks 21 days.
Times Live|Some Chinese nationals in Zimbabwe have been denied access to health care since the Covid-19 outbreak though their cases were not related to the pandemic, says Beijing’s representative in Harare.
Guo Shaochun, China’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, made the claim after complaints by African countries that their nationals were subjected to forced quarantines and testing for the coronavirus in the Asian country.
Shaonchun called the cases in China “sensationalised” and “isolated incidents of what is misunderstanding caused by insufficient communication”.
He said some Chinese citizens were being unfairly treated in Zimbabwe.
“Since March, Zimbabwe has seen a series of cases in which Chinese nationals, with medical conditions unrelated to Covid-19, were refused treatment by local hospitals. Some Chinese individuals were verbally and physically abused in the street,” he said in a statement.
These cases were not in the public domain because “the Chinese embassy, Chinese nationals and journalists in Zimbabwe chose to inform the Zimbabwean authorities” rather than going to the media.
Zimbabwe has 17 cases of Covid-19 and three deaths from 600 tests in a population of about 15 million. Minister of local government, public works and national housing July Moyo, a member of the Covid-19 task force, told journalists that more needed to be done.
“The numbers (of positive Covid-19 cases) are few but we must not be satisfied about that because our testing is also very little. When the number of testing (samples) goes up, we think we will have more cases,” he said.
So far the majority of positive cases are in Harare metropolitan province which accounts for two deaths, Bulawayo with one death and Victoria Falls where the only positive case is recuperating at home.
Very few positive cases have been identified in the rest of the country. Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights said this “reflects the minimal focus on the regions outside Harare”.
Meanwhile, workers at Sino Hydro Corporation — a Chinese-owned power utility company — say they will sue their employer for failure to provide protective clothing and safe shelter for its 400 employees working at the US$1.4-bn Hwange Thermal Power Station expansion project.
The self proclaimed prophet of the Enlightened Christian Church(ECG) Shepherd Bushiri says tithe will be given with or without coronavirus.
The prophet incited critics after asking members of his church to pay tithe during coronavirus. People were shocked that the prophet is asking money rather than donating to the needy.
Bushiri says they will not stop collecting offering during coronavirus and if pastors do not believe in offering their congregants should join ECG.
“In ECG on Sunday we give our tithe, with or without coronavirus. We have pastors who I have seen shouting out why is prophet Bushiri calling for offering in the church…why!! Okay if you do not believe in offering can you send those members of your church who believe in offering to come and give to our church. We are still collecting offering in ECG and we will not stop because this is what we have been doing,” said Bushiri during live session.
Bushiri has received flack for asking money from social media, this is the second time the prophet ask offering from the congregants, in his first video clip he said people should put offering on the church account.
“You are saying it’s a ‘Sunday and I cannot go without my offering’. There’s a church account I’m putting on the screen right now,”
Presidential Spokesperson George Charamba has urged Zimbabweans to stay at home and follow the lockdown rules so that they avoid being arrested because it is cheaper to arrest people that incur costs of testing them for the deadly Coronavirus.
Commenting on a ZimEye.com article which bemoaned the arrest of citizens, Charamba (using his moniker Jamwanda) said, “PEOPLE GET EASILY TAKEN IN BY THIS FOOLISH NARRATIVE!! Of course, it’s far better, cheaper to arrest than to incur costs of testing suspected cases arising out of sheer recklessness and lack of lockdown enforcement.
“The kits have to be imported, and that means using foreign exchange!!! All to cope with individuals who willfully break lockdown rules?? Let’s get real!!!”
Charamba urged Zimbabweans to adhere to the laws to avoid a brush with the law.
“Stay at home; obey the lockdown rules and let’s see if any policeman/woman enters your yard to beat you up!!”
In March the government announced the Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment, and Treatment) Regulations 2020. One of the sections deals with “false reporting during the national lockdown. It says:
14. For the avoidance of doubt any person who publishes or communicates false news about any public officer, official, or enforcement officer involved with enforcing or implementing the national lockdown in his or her capacity as such, or about any private individual that has the effect of prejudicing the State’s enforcement of the national lockdown, shall be liable for prosecution under section 31 of the Criminal law Code (“Publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the state”) and liable to the penalty there provided, that is to say, a fine up to or exceeding twenty years or both.
Uganda has received sad news from their president, Yoweri Museveni, who has announced that the country is extending its Coronavirus Lockdownon lockdown.
This follows the government’s measures to control the spread of Coronavirus in the country.
“Right from the beginning, I told you it’s possible to defeat this virus provided we are disciplined and understand the ways the virus spreads.” Said Museveni.
For this reason, Museveni extended the ongoing lockdown by 21 days.
On restricted movement within the country, president stressed that those police who will allow unauthorised people in restricted areas shall be charged with murder.
President Museveni said, “I trust the LC’s not to allow anybody foreign to enter their villages. But now these corrupt police and the immigration officers. You’re not going to be charged with corruption or negligence but murder.” He added
Uganda has confirmed 54 cases of positive Coronavirus in the country.
“I don’t want us to begin celebrating but the facts are here, 5664 people have been checked and only 54 have been confirmed positive.
State Media|COVID-19 testing commenced at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo on Sunday with the health institution starting with six samples as the Government decentralises the testing system to the southern part of the country.
Mpilo Central Hospital in conjunction with the National University of Science and Technology’s (Nust) Applied Genetic Testing Centre (AGTC) will be testing samples from Bulawayo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands and Masvingo.
The development means that results of tested samples would be released faster as opposed to having a centralised system.
Previously, Covid-19 tests were only being done at the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory in Harare, delaying release of the results. Conducting tests locally means that results can now be released within five hours of being collected.
So far Zimbabwe has recorded 17 Covid-19 positive cases, two of them in Bulawayo. From the 17 cases, three people have died.
Nust’s AGTC director Mr Zephaniah Dhlamini said they were using the internationally recognised system to test the samples.
“We started testing yesterday. We started with six samples. We are using World Health Organisation (WHO) and American Centre of Disease Control approved systems. If you go anywhere in the world, they will be using the same system. We are not doing haphazard and controversial rapid tests. We are doing the high-end tests which is the polymerase chain reaction,” said Mr Dhlamimi.
He said they have partially moved equipment from the Nust’s DNA lab to Mpilo Central Hospital where local tests are being conducted. He said local tests will result in results being released much earlier.
“Government has provided us with test kits enough to handle 3000 samples. With the local tests it means the turnaround period would be much better and results for tested samples would be available within 24 hours.
“Depending on the number of samples that would have been done, the process to confirm a case takes at least five hours but again I will emphasise that this depends on the number of samples. When you are testing 10 samples it is different from testing 100 samples but the give and take period is about five hours,” he said.
Mr Dhlamini said protective gear for the laboratory team remains a challenge that can hamper their tests.
“The challenge that we have at the moment is we don’t have enough protective equipment. We actually don’t have it. If nothing is done today, we will stop testing today up until we get adequate protective material,” said Mr Dhlamini.
Mpilo Central Hospital acting chief executive officer Dr Solwayo Ngwenya said it was a good development that tests were being conducted locally.
He said hospital authorities will ensure lives of health workers conducting the tests will not be put at risk.
Bulawayo City Council (BCC) director of health services Dr Edwin Sibanda said conducting local tests will improve the confirmation of suspected cases.-
FORMER Zapu treasurer of the United Kingdom chapter Naison Mgatsho Msebele has succumbed to Covid-19, bringing to five the number of locals who have died of the disease in that country.
The 77-year old, a former employee of Bata Company and the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) passed away after a short illness at a London hospital last Wednesday.
Last Tuesday, the virus claimed the lives of Dr Paul Matewele (57) a senior lecturer in microbiology immunology at London Metropolitan University and Ms Thandi Matho Thobela while on March 31, socialite and accountant Gardner Madzongo and health worker Sikhanyisiwe Kaziboni died of Covid-19.Msebele family’s spokesperson Mr Felix Silundika said they are at a loss for words with the passing of a “dedicated family man and educationist.”
“It is with deep sorrow and pain that we inform the public about the death of our beloved father, grandfather, husband, brother, uncle and friend Mr Naison Mgatsho Msebele who passed away after a short illness in a London hospital on April 8.
“From an early age, Naison loved learning and had a thirst for knowledge and acquitted himself with an excellent record at school. In the UK he worked and held a number of positions including political and economic analyst, a refugee advocate with Amnesty International, a local government manager, and in later years he trained as a teacher then psychotherapist,” said Mr Silundika.
Msebele was among the advisors during the Lancaster House talks which led to Independence.
“Mr Msebele was a fearless cadre and once served as an advisor to the Zapu delegation to the Lancaster House talks, a delegation that included his cousin and mentor, the late national liberation hero TG Silundika.
“He was the most loved and cherished father, grandfather, brother, uncle and a friend whose values went beyond his immediate family and borders. He was passionate about supporting his family and community through whatever challenges they faced,” said Mr Silundika.
Msebele is survived by seven children, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
The fallout between Gabriel Nyoni and his wife Chivaraidzo Mukome has attracted massive public attention and it’s not looking good for the Maritzburg United winger.
Mukome posted on Twitter over the weekend, claiming that if she turns up dead, her husband should be the one to answer.
She said: “If I wake up dead please ask Gabriel Nyoni and use my phone as evidence. I shall not say much.”
Though details are still sketchy why the couple clashed, it’s alleged the wife ran away with $US 10 000 and this angered the player.
However, South African media has already taken it as an issue of abuse on the wife’s side.
A Jo’burg-based publication said Mukome’s post “paints Nyoni as an abusive man who is capable of killing”.
The newspaper also claimed the message “detailed signs woman should look out for when trying to spot abusive men”.
This is just bad for the 27-year old who is still trying to make a name for himself in the south of Limpopo, having moved there at the start of the 2020 season.
Not only talking of the humiliation the former CAPS United and Highlanders star could suffer, a tainted image and sever reproach lies ahead of him.
The way it has been reported in South Africa will certainly put an enormous huddle on his way up.
The country doesn’t take women abuse lightly, worse death threats, due to a sharp increase in femicide cases.
Meanwhile, Nyoni is yet to comment on the alleged accusations by Mukome.- Soccer 24
Highlanders have started a fundraising initiative to help in equipping Ekusileni Medical Centre that will host coronavirus (COVID-19) patients in Bulawayo.
The club confirmed the news on Monday saying: “Highlanders would like to take this opportunity to officially launch the COVID-19 fundraising campaign whose purpose is to galvanise support for and to equip Ekusileni, the hospital that will cater for COVID-19 patients.
“We are devastated by this novel virus, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has since declared a pandemic. The club has been involved in COVID-19 awareness campaigns, but we have decided to scale up our efforts in the fight against the pandemic by taking this direction.”
Donations can be made via the OneMoney merchant code 40533 or Ecocash biller code 70662.
The country has so far registered seventeen cases of the virus and three deaths.-Soccer 24
Forgotten former Dynamos captain Ocean Mushure says the Glamour boys are going to pull a humdinger and win the 2020 PSL championship.
Mushure who is now plying his trade in Zambia has been quietly observing proceedings at his former club.
He reckons that Tonderai Ndiraya has assembled an arsenal strong enough to restore glitz and glamour at Dynamos.
“The team is strong and good from my view. They have good players who I believe are going to win big for Dynamos,” he said.
“The coaches have done a lot of work to make the team a force, and I believe they will fight and get something this season.
“There will be obviously strong competition from the likes of Ngezi, FC Platinum, Highlanders and Caps United but this squad has people with character and that means a lot.”
Ndiraya made a whopping 13 signings, headlined by poster boy King Nadolo, Partson Jaure, Cameroonian Albert Eonde, Jeansmith Mutudza among others.
Last season Dynamos ended the season on the seventh position following a rather cagey season, where they blew hot and cold having started the season with Lloyd Chigowe at the helm.
They will be hoping to turn around the fortunes and end FC Platinum’s dominance of the domestic league.-Soccer 24
Farai Dziva|Police officers and soldiers assaulted residents of the city of Masvingo on Tuesday morning and stopped them from getting into town to buy mealie meal.
In a statement Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights condemned the harassment of citizens by soldiers and police officers.
The High Court has also ordered security forces to respect human rights. This comes after Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had filed a complaint against the police and the army following the brutal attack on one Lucia Masvondo.
“The High Court has just granted an interim order that @PoliceZimbabwe , army and other enforcement officers must respect human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms, in the case of Lucia Masvondo.
The case challenges torture, inhuman and degrading conduct, disrespect of dignity and violation of Const by @PoliceZimbabwe and army who invaded Masvondo’s home, assaulted her and set dogs on her.
It also challenges none compliance with social distancing by ZRP and others.” Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.
Die hard Dynamos fan Freddy ‘Pasuwa’ Mugadza has died.
Reliable sources revealed to us that Mugadza suffered a heart attack yesterday in the United States of America where he was based.
He is widely known for his admiration for his love for former Dynamos and Warriors coach Kalisto Pasuwa.
Chairman, as the vocal Mugadza was affectionately known in the blue half of the capital, was also a staunch supporter of the senior men’s national soccer team, the Warriors.-Soccer 24
The High Court has issued an order compelling the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the army and other law enforcement officers to respect human rights, dignity, and fundamental freedoms.
The judge made the order during a case where one Lucia Masvondo and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights challenged brutality on Masvondo.
In a tweet on Tuesday ZLHR said, “High Court has just granted an interim order that the police army and other enforcement officers must respect human rights, dignity, and fundamental freedoms, in Masvondo and ZLHR case.
By A Correspondent- At least thirty two people have mysteriously disappeared from a quarantine facility in Kenya’s Elwak area, Mandera County, the county government has revealed.
They were part of the 66 who were put on mandatory quarantine after two travellers tested positive for Covid-19 last week.
In a letter to the Deputy County Commissioner, an executive committee member, Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed cited a lack of seriousness by police officers in providing foolproof security to the quarantine centre as a possible motivation for escapees.
“It appears a few elements within the security system are yet to understand the seriousness of this campaign against coronavirus, he said.
The Deputy County Commissioner has been asked, as the chairman of the Sub County Security Coordination, to explain how negligence by the officers may have contributed to the development. – The Star
Stay aware of the latest information on the COVID-19 outbreak, available on the WHO website and through your national and local public health authority. Many countries around the world have seen cases of COVID-19 and several have seen outbreaks.
Authorities in China and some other countries have succeeded in slowing or stopping their outbreaks.
However, the situation is unpredictable so check regularly for the latest news.
You can reduce your chances of being infected or spreading COVID-19 by taking some simple precautions:
Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water.
Why? Washing your hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand rub kills viruses that may be on your hands.
Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
Why? When someone coughs or sneezes they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease.
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
Why? Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and can make you sick.
Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately.
Why? Droplets spread virus. By following good respiratory hygiene you protect the people around you from viruses such as cold, flu and COVID-19.
Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of your local health authority.
Why? National and local authorities will have the most up to date information on the situation in your area. Calling in advance will allow your health care provider to quickly direct you to the right health facility. This will also protect you and help prevent spread of viruses and other infections.
Keep up to date on the latest COVID-19 hotspots (cities or local areas where COVID-19 is spreading widely). If possible, avoid traveling to places – especially if you are an older person or have diabetes, heart or lung disease.
Why? You have a higher chance of catching COVID-19 in one of these areas.
Credit: World Health Organisation
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information like/ follow our Facebook page:
Stay aware of the latest information on the COVID-19 outbreak, available on the WHO website and through your national and local public health authority. Many countries around the world have seen cases of COVID-19 and several have seen outbreaks.
Authorities in China and some other countries have succeeded in slowing or stopping their outbreaks.
However, the situation is unpredictable so check regularly for the latest news.
You can reduce your chances of being infected or spreading COVID-19 by taking some simple precautions:
Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water.
Why? Washing your hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand rub kills viruses that may be on your hands.
Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
Why? When someone coughs or sneezes they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease.
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
Why? Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and can make you sick.
Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately.
Why? Droplets spread virus. By following good respiratory hygiene you protect the people around you from viruses such as cold, flu and COVID-19.
Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of your local health authority.
Why? National and local authorities will have the most up to date information on the situation in your area. Calling in advance will allow your health care provider to quickly direct you to the right health facility. This will also protect you and help prevent spread of viruses and other infections.
Keep up to date on the latest COVID-19 hotspots (cities or local areas where COVID-19 is spreading widely). If possible, avoid traveling to places – especially if you are an older person or have diabetes, heart or lung disease.
Why? You have a higher chance of catching COVID-19 in one of these areas.
Credit: World Health Organisation
Inserted by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information like/ follow our Facebook page:
Eswatini King Mswati III is in a critical condition in hospital, according to local media reports.
According to Swaziland News, high-profile royal sources told the online newspaper that the king was admitted to Manzana Royal Hospital in a critical condition and was struggling to breathe.
The publication reported that Lusendvo Fakudze, the governor of Ludzidzini Palace, when asked to confirm and clarify the matter on Thursday evening after senior members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force were seen maintaining high security at the hospital, avoided the questions and asked the nation to pray.
The governor said the king would not take part in a Good Friday service expected to be attended by a minimum number of people, but maintained that “wherever he is, he will also be praying”.
The newspaper reported in March that Mswati was in self-isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic after meeting a delegation from Taiwan that recently visited Eswatini to donate helicopters.
Two Taiwanese soldiers who formed part of that delegation were among 400 military personnel who were quarantined for coronavirus, Swaziland News reported, citing a Taiwan news report.
The soldiers were reportedly invited to dinner with the king where they shook hands one by one as they posed for photographs with him.
According to Wikipedia, Mswati was crowned king in 1986 at age 18. He is Africa’s last absolute monarch in the sense that he has the power to choose the prime minister, other top government posts and top traditional posts.
In 2004, Mswati promulgated a new constitution that allows freedom of speech and assembly for the media and the public.
The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-A), while noting the role played by China in the refurbishment of Wilkins Hospital, a critical COVID-19 isolation centre in Harare, hereby calls upon the Chinese Government to take all measures as is required under international law to protect Africans in China who are facing discrimination, unwarranted evictions and all manner of ill treatment and abuse.
There are disturbing reports of people of African descent being subjected to forced epidemic investigation and Nucleic Acid Test, forced quarantine including in cases where they have not travelled outside China, came in contact with infected persons or show symptoms of COVID-19.
Africans are being evicted from their places of accommodation, banned from entering restaurants and other public facilities, threatened with deportations, arrests and revocation of visas despite not being infected with the pandemic, especially in the Guangdong Province of China.
Indeed, this targeting of Africans amounts to racism as it is not supported by any scientific logic and contradicts the fact that it was in Wuhan province of China where the pandemic originated. Such targeting also violates international law.
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights without distinction of any kind including race, colour or national origin.
In addition, the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination commits member states to the elimination of racial discrimination.
The Convention defines racial discrimination as any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.
The MDC-A therefore calls on the Chinese Government to protect Africans under its jurisdiction.
The fight against COVID-19 requires unity of all countries and races. It is therefore imperative for the world to rally everyone’s resolve in defeating this pandemic.
Gladys K. Hlatywayo Secretary for International Relations MDC Alliance
Idols judge, radio presenter and choreographer Somizi Mhlongo handed himself over to police last week and was granted R1 500 bail, after Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula opened a case against him, police confirmed to News24 on Tuesday.
Mhlongo, one of the country’s leading celebrities, was thrust into the centre of a controversy when a video in which he is heard talking about the national lockdown emerged last Thursday.
In the video, Mhlongo can be heard telling his Metro FM co-host Dineo Ranaka that “Fikile” told him the lockdown, which was initially due to end on 16 April, would be extended. It was understood that he was referring to Mbalula.
The video is a recording of an Instagram Live stream Ranaka was running from her account on the popular video and photo sharing platform.
Hours after the clip went viral, Ramaphosa indeed announced a two-week extension of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Mhlongo’s comments sparked much concern that Mbalula had shared sensitive information with a friend before it was announced by the president.
The entertainer subsequently apologised for his comment, labelling it a “very bad joke”. He also denied speaking to the minister at all about the lockdown.
While Mbalula said he forgave Mhlongo, this did not stop him from opening a case against the celebrity at the Sandton Police Station on Friday.
He said he was opening the case “under the Disaster Management Act on fake news and misinformation peddling”.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo confirmed that Mhlongo had appeared at the station with his attorney on Friday.
“He was granted bail and he is expected to reappear again on 3 July 2020,” Naidoo said.
Naidoo said Mhlongo was charged with contravening Section 11(5)(c) of the regulations pertaining to the Disaster Management Act.
Calls to Mhlongo for comment before publication were unsuccessful. His response will be added once received.
On Friday, he took to Instagram and told his followers he was willing to accept the repercussions of his actions, adding that he wasn’t above the law.
At a time when the country is grappling with the deadly Corona virus, ZANU PF MPs instead chose to grandstand and politick by donating a paltry of their salaries ‘towards fighting Covid-19’.
It is very imperative that beyond these farcical donations, citizens should have it in mind that these are the same MPs from a party that has been looting the national cake since 1980.
These are the very same MPs who remain tight-lipped when the leader of their looting committee, Emmerson Mnangagwa hires a US multi million dollar luxurious Saudi plane just to fly from Harare to Bulawayo when he is in Kwekwe.
Remember the US 10 million mausoleum Mnangagwa wanted to build for a corpse!
The multi-million state of the art luxurious plane Mnangagwa hired for Grace Mugabe just to bury her mother!
What of the missing US3 billion from a Command Agriculture program that was run direct from Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office?
By Robert Mugabe’s own admission, these are the very same people that have answers to the missing US15 billion Marange diamond money.
Amongst the donating ZANU PF MPs, there is one from Gokwe-Nembudziya who recently bought the latest US 1 million Lamborghini top of the range vehicle.
Ironically his name is Justice.
Certainly there is no justice in donation of a mere RTGS 1000 by the very same people who stole our future and that of generations to come.
These are the very same people who presided over the transformation of what used to be a breadbasket to a basket case scenario.
Before we ululate over these decoy donations, maybe it is time to ask what happened to the 2% money we were taxed by Mthuli Ncube!
If anything, the ZANU PF MPs donations are akin to that of a thief who steals all your inheritance only to come back with a coffin on your funeral!
While it looks like a noble initiative at face value, it is also not mendacious that beneath these plunderers’ ‘giving’ hand there is a clandestine agenda beyond fighting Covid-19.
Clearly the donations are a veneer to shroud the looting of our vast mineral wealth by ZANU PF cartels.
These are the same people that have brought Zimbabwe to its knees through corruption and mismanagement.
As MDC we have said it way back that Zimbabwe needs to create a Sovereign Wealth Fund especially given her vast and rich mineral wealth.
Such a fund would go a long way in averting a crisis in times of natural disasters and pandemics like Covid-19.
Maybe that is the reason why countries like Botswana can afford to declare a 6 months lockdown while at the same time providing for her citizens.
Zimbabwe deserves better than crumbs from ZANU PF MPs table!
Stay safe from Corona virus, Zimbabwe needs you!
Stephen Sarkozy Chuma MDCYouthAssemblyNationalSpokesperson __
Farai Dziva|The MDC Youth Assembly has challenged Zanu PF to stop insulting suffering Zimbabweans through meaningless donations.
See full statement below : At a time when the country is grappling with the deadly Corona virus, ZANU PF MPs instead chose to grandstand and politick by donating a paltry portion of their salaries ‘towards fighting Covid-19’.
It is very imperative that beyond these farcical donations, citizens should have it in mind that these are the same MPs from a party that has been looting the national cake since 1980.
These are the very same MPs who remain tight-lipped when the leader of their looting committee, Emmerson Mnangagwa hires a US multi million dollar luxurious Saudi plane just to fly from Harare to Bulawayo when he is in Kwekwe.
Remember the US 10 million mausoleum Mnangagwa wanted to build for a corpse!
The multi-million state of the art luxurious plane Mnangagwa hired for Grace Mugabe just to bury her mother!
What of the missing US3 billion from a Command Agriculture program that was run direct from Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office?
By Robert Mugabe’s own admission, these are the very same people that have answers to the missing US15 billion Marange diamond money.
Amongst the donating ZANU PF MPs, there is one from Gokwe-Nembudziya who recently bought the latest US 1 million Lamborghini top of the range vehicle.
Ironically his name is Justice.
Certainly there is no justice in donation of a mere RTGS 1000 by the very same people who stole our future and that of generations to come.
These are the very same people who presided over the transformation of what used to be a breadbasket to a basket case scenario.
Before we ululate over these decoy donations, maybe it is time to ask what happened to the 2% money we were taxed by Mthuli Ncube!
If anything, the ZANU PF MPs donations are akin to that of a thief who steals all your inheritance only to come back with a coffin on your funeral!
While it looks like a noble initiative at face value, it is also not mendacious that beneath these plunderers’ ‘giving’ hand there is a clandestine agenda beyond fighting Covid-19.
Clearly the donations are a veneer to shroud the looting of our vast mineral wealth by ZANU PF cartels.
These are the same people that have brought Zimbabwe to its knees through corruption and mismanagement.
As MDC we have said it way back that Zimbabwe needs to create a Sovereign Wealth Fund especially given her vast and rich mineral wealth.
Such a fund would go a long way in averting a crisis in times of natural disasters and pandemics like Covid-19.
Maybe that is the reason why countries like Botswana can afford to declare a 6 months lockdown while at the same time providing for her citizens.
Zimbabwe deserves better than crumbs from ZANU PF MPs table!
Stay safe from Corona virus, Zimbabwe needs you!
Stephen Sarkozy Chuma MDCYouthAssemblyNationalSpokesperson __
The COVID-19 pandemic was first reported in Wuhan, China, on 31st December 2019, and was declared a public health emergency of international concern on January 30th, 2020. The disease has since spread widely to over 180 countries.
Zimbabwe has had over 2 months to prepare for this outbreak since it was declared a public health emergency of international concern. The purpose of this review is to assess the preparedness and response of the nation ten weeks later, and to advise government on what can be done better to avert a catastrophe in Zimbabwe. Preparedness and response plan:
Our preparedness and response plan is quite standard and meets all the requirements under the WHO recommendations. But this technical document is not complimented by appropriate implementation decisions and actions. Political will and transparency seem to be scanty. We need to examine the decisions and actions of our government while there is still time to make a difference and save Zimbabwe from disaster.
This we can do by looking at each of the eight pillars of the preparedness and response plan.
1.Coordination, planning and monitoring:
Planning for this lockdown was very poorly done, because Multi-Stakeholder consultations were not done. We are wading through uncharted waters, and everybody’s contribution should have been solicited. We now have our most vulnerable people almost starving to death in their houses. People have been locked in without the most basic commodities like mealie meal, and this is undermining the lockdown.
You cannot confine a hungry man. We are beginning to see chaotic scenes at shops now, almost about to degenerate into riots, because everybody wants the staple food, and there is not enough to go around even for those who have the money. The crowding and jostling for mealie meal that we are seeing at shops is fertile ground for rapid COVID-19 spread, and our people understand that. But now they are being forced by government to choose between death from COVID-19 or death from hunger, and most people would rather take their chance with COVID-19.
This is a serious failure of planning, and may cost the nation far more than we can afford in human lives. Government should first have ensured that there are no shortages on the market before announcing the lockdown. We are not for a moment suggesting that the lockdown should have been delayed, NO! In the two and a half months lead time we had, government should have diverted all resources to fighting COVID-19 as we have always been saying. That includes making sure there is grain in the country adequate for say six months (we don’t know how long this pandemic will last, but six months gives government time to plan new interventions).
Money wasted on luxury cars for officials should have been used for grain. We cannot leave social safety nets to chance and partisan politics. Firm measures which include reliable transparent non-partisan databases of vulnerable families should have been put in place before the lockdown. Bear in mind, millions of people already needed food aid without the covid-19 outbreak. Allocating RTGS600 million without a credible formula for disbursing it is useless. People are starving, and we wonder how much of the allocated amount has been used to benefit the people. This is day 16 of the lockdown.
The government is advised to engage the health care professionals in all decision making and policy formulation. This includes procurement decisions.
The emphasis being given to sanitisers in our messaging, and even in our programming, is disproportionate. Government should do everything possible to ensure that clean potable water is available to every citizen. This has to be done as a matter of urgency. Washing hands frequently with soap and water is the mainstay of hygiene in this and other pandemics.
Hand sanitisers are useful but secondary. We urge government to urgently prioritise provision of water to the people. This will also prevent crowds from gathering around the current scanty water sources and flouting social distancing regulations. Boreholes in both rural and urban areas are undermining social distancing regulations and could prove to be serious drivers of the pandemic. Government should take this epidemic as an opportunity to upgrade infrastructure eg by rapidly drilling more boreholes to prevent crowding at water sources. All borehole drillers in the country should be in overdrive mode, and government should pay for that.
Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary solutions, and a lot of focus and sacrifice. In summary, our people are very compliant with the terms of the lockdown, but the government has not planned for the poor, those who live on hand to mouth daily budgets, and those without adequate supplies of potable water. Scarcity of basic commodities is also undermining the lockdown seriously. Shortage of basic commodities must be eliminated as a matter of urgency.
2.Surveillance, rapid response and case investigation:
We are not testing enough. Therefore we don’t have a clear picture of the extent of spread of the virus in Zimbabwe, bearing in mind that 80% of the infected get away with mild symptoms, according to data from those countries that have already experienced massive outbreaks. We need to know in order to plan. Let’s not bury our heads in the sand. Active case finding and event based surveillance must be intensified.
It is alarming to note that very little if any follow up and monitoring is being done for returning citizens and other immigrants. Rumors that 32 Zimbabweans flew in from the UK and government had no place to quarantine them are extremely worrisome. The UK is one of the global epicenters of the covid-19 pandemic at the moment, and it is mandatory that these people should have been quarantined. Government should respond and tell us if it is indeed true that these precious Zimbabweans were told to go home and self isolate.
It is equally alarming that our rapid response teams have neither the necessary PPE nor other tools of the trade when they come to investigate a reported suspect. What needs to be done?
i. Let’s test massively to establish a baseline. It doesn’t do us any good to say a suspect does not meet the criteria for testing, then the same suspect is tested a little later in another country and found to be positive. It means we have missed an opportunity to isolate and treat the patient, and we have put not just our nationals, but the entire international community at risk.
ii. Let’s investigate all community deaths. There are reports of unexplained community deaths where ordinary citizens suspect COVID-19, but these deaths are not being investigated. This has the potential of giving us false statistics, and it becomes a time bomb waiting to explode.
iii. Let’s equip our rapid response teams with PPE and other equipment & consumables.
iv. Let’s decentralize COVID-19 testing to provincial laboratories and district laboratories. Every local authority must be given the mandate of testing and reporting statistics to its residents. We must devolve responsibility to the local authority, who in turn will report to head office through normal channels for a composite report. There is nothing to hide.
Points of entry: Reports of people walking across the border without being screened by a port health official, and without their details being taken for follow up in their district of destination, do not inspire much hope in this fight. We must beef up our human resources particularly at busy ports like Beitbridge, and we must protect the health workers at the ports with appropriate PPE. Record keeping and transmission to the provinces must be meticulous, and actual follow up must be done, whether by phone or in person. Remember, a carrier of the virus may be afebrile at the time of crossing the border.
National Laboratory System: Our laboratories are not capable of doing enough tests. We are relying too much on donations. What has GoZ done in this outbreak? The 500 tests donated by WHO seem to be the only ones working, and therefore we are using them sparingly and missing cases.
Does the government really have to rely on Higher Life Foundation to purchase the balance of the extraction reagent needed for us to start using the donated reagents from China (via the AU)? Without decentralizing our testing services, and without increasing testing capacity, we are wasting our lockdown period. We are making people suffer for no gain. In this lockdown period we must map out our epidemic, that means we must test a lot. We must isolate all cases, and that can’t be done because we are not testing.
The people of Gwanda who are complaining about a new malaria with strange symptoms (which include sore throat) that is killing people at an unusually high rate should have been answered long back. All those deceased and their close contacts should have been tested, and the people given accurate & scientific answers. Have we tested for COVID-19 in Mat South, considering its proximity to South Africa?
Why should villagers lead us in coming up with a differential diagnosis when we have health professionals in the province? Could it be because the professionals are incapacitated by lack of testing capability, lack of training, and lack of PPE? The continued ignorance about COVID-19 among health professionals is extremely dangerous at this point in time, and ordinary citizens are beginning to notice and complain. Where is the donated money going?
Risk communication and community engagement:
Public trust for the government is at an all time low, because of the general perception that figures are being suppressed, government is not putting enough resources into the COVID-19 response, health workers are untrained, unsure, and very exposed due to lack of PPE, and government’s preparedness claims have been exposed as imaginary by the sequence of events in the few fatalities we have already had. Relatives of the deceased are consistently disputing government’s official narrative of what exactly happened, and this is embarrassing. Government needs to rescue its image immediately by remedying these ills during this 21 day lockdown.
Ignorance among the healthcare workers induces in them fear and paralysis, and this lockdown will have been wasted if we go for the next week without equipping our front line soldiers with knowledge and clear guidelines and protocols for dealing with COVID-19, in addition to PPE. Police brutality has negative consequences for our response plan. Treat humans with the dignity the creator endowed each one of us with. No one is immune to COVID-19. Treat others as you would want to be treated.
The ministry must respond timeously to misleading social media reports. For example, did the ministry really authorize traditional healers to start treating covid-19 patients with traditional herbs? How are the vulnerable populations going to be protected from these experiments? The silence of the ministry (MoHCC) to these and other media outbursts is worrying.
Case management:
Lack of training for health care workers, both in private and public practice, is sticking out like a sore thumb. We have no prospect of conquering COVID-19 if we ignore training and equipping of health workers. If the training program had continued from the time training of trainers was done, by now every doctor and every nurse would have been trained. What’s gone wrong with our covid-19 preparedness training program?
The issue of institutional quarantine cannot be over emphasized for visitors from COVID-19 countries, which is virtually every country now. Those in self isolation should be monitored. That is not happening.
Government should urgently capacitate provincial and central hospitals with special covid-19 intensive care units, complete with ventilators and ready to admit.
It is pleasing to note that most local authorities have taken the initiative to set up isolation facilities on their own. But it is equally disturbing to learn that government wants to take over management of municipal clinics for the purposes of COVID-19. We think that the government is seriously misdirected on this matter. This move has no value addition to our COVID-19 response plan.
It is our considered view that the government must avail resources to local authorities to do what they have always done, i.e. help government to deal with public health threats within their jurisdictions. We have GoZ funds, and we have donated funds, and these should be passed on to local authorities. I’m sure donors will find it more cost effective to deal directly with local authorities, which is where the action is.
Infection prevention and control:
This pillar is yet to be visited in its entirety. We urge government to deal urgently with infection prevention & control before we have catastrophic results among our valued health care workers. Provision of PPE and antiseptics is key. We should not sacrifice our health workers because we don’t want to prioritise their lives. We need every single one of them alive.
Logistics, procurement and supply management:
There is need for transparency in procurement. This is not a time for self enrichment. We are in a crisis. The proliferation of self testing kits must be dealt with immediately. Any test kits for use in the country must first be approved by the relevant arm of government. These self testing kits have not been proved, and could give citizens a false sense of security due to false negatives, and accelerate the spread of covid-19. Government must issue a statement on self-testing kits.
As a nation we should not rely entirely on donor funding. This is the time when survival of the nation should supersede any other national program. All resources should now be diverted to the COVID-19 response. Other programs will kick in later once we survive this onslaught. Let’s show the international community our seriousness by deploying our funds first, and they will come on board once they realize we are serious. Bear in mind that the usual donor countries are suffering under their own load of the pandemic.
Conclusion:
We have a good technical document on the preparedness & response plan, but implementation is close to zero. We are ignoring the actions that will make this lockdown meaningful and effective. Simply noting that Zimbabweans are complying with the lockdown order does not translate into halting the epidemic. We must investigate all suspects, identify cases, isolate & treat cases, and do thorough contact tracing; then we may succeed in halting the spread of covid-19. Our aim as the MDC-A is to illuminate the deadly blind spots in our path as a nation, and to help government to make better decisions. Together we will conquer COVID-19.
Dr Henry Madzorera Secretary for Health and Child Welfare, MDC-A.
Farai Dziva|Overzealous police details and soldiers seized Coronavirus awareness posters in the ancient city of Masvingo On Tuesday.
Despite possessing letters of approval that enable essential service workers to carry out their duties, members of Prayer Network of Zimbabwe, running a Coronavirus awareness programme were blocked by police officers and soldiers -from doing their duties.
Police also seized their posters.
See statement below : I am the Coordinator of Prayer Network Zimbabwe and we have launched a Covid-19 awareness programme.
We are distributing Covid -19 awareness posters in Masvingo town.
I was shocked by the behaviour of officers at Rujeko footbridge.
I produced letters that clearly state that I’m printing Covid- 19 Awareness posters through my graphic and designing company.
However police officers and soldiers beat up my colleagues who were distributing the posters.
My workmates were assaulted with baton sticks for no apparent reason.
Farai Dziva|Overzealous police details and soldiers seized Coronavirus awareness posters in the ancient city of Masvingo On Tuesday.
ZDF Soldiers and @PoliceZimbabwe are on a rampage in Masvingo right now (places like Rujeko Footbridge) assaulting essential workers, with letters of govt approval. Why are you allowing this abuse to continue (vid relates to an earlier incident) @Jamwanda2@nickmangwanapic.twitter.com/P1pnO7TmEM
Despite possessing letters of approval that enable essential service workers to carry out their duties, members of Prayer Network of Zimbabwe, running a Coronavirus awareness programme were blocked by police officers and soldiers -from doing their duties.
Police also seized their posters.
See statement below : I am the Coordinator of Prayer Network Zimbabwe and we have launched a Covid-19 awareness programme.
We are distributing Covid -19 awareness posters in Masvingo town.
I was shocked by the behaviour of officers at Rujeko footbridge.
I produced letters that clearly state that I’m printing Covid- 19 Awareness posters through my graphic and designing company.
However police officers and soldiers beat up my colleagues who were distributing the posters.
My workmates were assaulted with baton sticks for no apparent reason.
Farai Dziva|Police officers and soldiers assaulted residents of the city of Masvingo on Tuesday morning and stopped them from getting into town to buy mealie meal.
In a statement Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights condemned the harassment of citizens by soldiers and police officers.
ZDF Soldiers and @PoliceZimbabwe are on a rampage in Masvingo right now (places like Rujeko Footbridge) assaulting essential workers, with letters of govt approval. Why are you allowing this abuse to continue (vid relates to an earlier incident) @Jamwanda2@nickmangwanapic.twitter.com/P1pnO7TmEM
The High Court has also ordered security forces to respect human rights. This comes after Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had filed a complaint against the police and the army following the brutal attack on one Lucia Masvondo.
“The High Court has just granted an interim order that @PoliceZimbabwe , army and other enforcement officers must respect human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms, in the case of Lucia Masvondo.
The case challenges torture, inhuman and degrading conduct, disrespect of dignity and violation of Const by @PoliceZimbabwe and army who invaded Masvondo’s home, assaulted her and set dogs on her.
It also challenges none compliance with social distancing by ZRP and others.” Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.
Farai Dziva|Police officers and soldiers assaulted residents of the city of Masvingo on Tuesday morning and stopped them from getting into town to buy mealie meal.
In a statement Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights condemned the harassment of citizens by soldiers and police officers.
The High Court has also ordered security forces to respect human rights. This comes after Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights had filed a complaint against the police and the army following the brutal attack on one Lucia Masvondo.
“The High Court has just granted an interim order that @PoliceZimbabwe , army and other enforcement officers must respect human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms, in the case of Lucia Masvondo.
The case challenges torture, inhuman and degrading conduct, disrespect of dignity and violation of Const by @PoliceZimbabwe and army who invaded Masvondo’s home, assaulted her and set dogs on her.
It also challenges none compliance with social distancing by ZRP and others.” Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said in a statement.
The government of Zimbabwe is planning to repatriate its distressed citizens stuck in South Africa following travel bans and lockdowns put in place globally in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter dated April 13, 2020, the Embassy of Zimbabwe in South Africa said it had learnt that there were Zimbabwean citizens and permanent residents facing challenges that would make their continued stay in South Africa uncomfortable and was now liaising with the head office in Harare on the possibility of repatriating those who were willing back to Zimbabwe.
“While consultations with the head office in Harare are underway, the embassy will continue with efforts to come up with a comprehensive evaluation of the situation on the ground as it develops,” Counsellor Martin Makururu wrote.
“Citizens and permanent residents who choose to exercise the option of returning to Zimbabwe during the lockdown period are expected to go into compulsory quarantine for a period of 21 days (three weeks.)”
Makururu pointed out that South Africa allowed the “voluntary, orderly” repatriation of foreign nationals to their countries of origin during the lockdown period.
He said Zimbabwe’s borders remained open to allow for the return of its citizens and permanent residents.
Makururu added that those who wished to return home had to provide their full names and surnames, passport or national identity card numbers, age, gender, current physical address, local [phone number, home address and phone number of next of kin in Zimbabwe a well as the home address in Zimbabwe to the Zimbabwe consulate.
South Africa has recorded more than 2 000 cases of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the country responding by implementing a lockdown. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, has recorded 17 cases and three deaths.
Zimbabwe has implemented a lockdown that is due to end on Sunday.
The High Court has granted an interim order barring police, army and other enforcement officers to respect human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms when enforcing lockdown measures.
More to follow…
ZDF Soldiers and @PoliceZimbabwe are on a rampage in Masvingo right now (places like Rujeko Footbridge) assaulting essential workers, with letters of govt approval. Why are you allowing this abuse to continue (vid relates to an earlier incident) @Jamwanda2@nickmangwanapic.twitter.com/P1pnO7TmEM
ZDF Soldiers and @PoliceZimbabwe are on a rampage in Masvingo right now (places like Rujeko Footbridge) assaulting essential workers, with letters of govt approval. Why are you allowing this abuse to continue (vid relates to an earlier incident) @Jamwanda2@nickmangwanapic.twitter.com/P1pnO7TmEM
By A Correspondent|Members of the Zimbabwe National Army in partnership with the police are reportedly beating up civilians ahead of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s visit to Masvingo this afternoon.
Mnangagwa is currently on a national tour to assess how citizens are fairing during the 21 Day Lockdown in a process set to inform whether to extend or not the lockdown.
However, the soldiers and police details manning the road from Rujeko township into town were indiscriminately assaulting civilians this morning.
Said a supermarket worker who did not want to be named but could not go to work but said was beaten up this morning:
“The letters from our employers were not working and i was beaten before being told to go back home.”
This is a developing story as ZimEye is engaging the responsible authorities for a comment on this.
By Dr Masimba Mavaza | The words of Hopwell Chingono in 2018 are true today as they were then. Hopwell wrote with all his brains in one place, when he was guarded by reason and common sense unfortunately Chingono now has packed his brains in Chamisa pocket and no longer sees straight. “THERE are two political discussions taking place concurrently around the MDC-T leadership spectacle that reached a crescendo with the passing of Morgan Tsvangirai. One led by rationale and logical thinking hinged on constitutionalism and one led by sycophancy and a popularity contest that doesn’t want to subject itself to the legal dictates of the MDC-T constitution and one that refuses to show respect in death.” Chamisa went on to lead a coup where he forcefully upstaged Khupe and recalled all rebels and led the MDC A. The purpose of MDC was supposed to be seen in its name. It was supposed to be a movement for democratic change but Chamisa had poured sand in the purpose of the MDC and it has become an unconstitutional party.
Ironically the whole time Chamisa and his backers have been refusing to acknowledge the president Emerson Mnangagwa as a legitimate leader. They have insisted on Constitutionalism and blamed ZANU PF for being in the power illegally. The whole time a man who was himself illegal has been causing problems in parliament in international platforms,in the country about the presumed illegality of the legal president. MDC can one day be in power but God forbid the character exhibited by Chamisa shows that once he becomes a president that will be the death of democracy as we know it.
ZANU PF has led by example, despite the disturbances caused by the illegal opposition leadership they were left to be. MDC was meant to reintroduce constitutionalism and a fair environment for political space but it has been found wanting. The party has been breaching their own constitution. They have shown that they are an outfit which respects no law and yet scream the loudest about the rule of law.
The MDC forgets that Democracy was brought in by ZANU PF which actually fought for a one man one vote and fairness to all. The purpose of the war was the need to have clean elections which allowed the winner to govern. But from its inception MDC has sought to disrupt each and every election. They even boast that if they lose they will pour sand which is another word of saying they will disturb any lawful rule in the country.
Zimbabwe is premised within the confines of the rule of law and democratic tenets of free and fair elections. These are the elections the MDC has swore to disrupt.
Chamisa has taken a good lesson from his master Hitler himself. MDC has lost control of the moral compass that it had been defined and based on at inception they have become an unguided missile. Chamisa has adopted Tsvangirai’s character of the use of violence as a weapon of settling disputes and illegal and unconstitutional decisions. This is seen by Chamisa Jon Sikhala and Biti plotting your kill Gutu Mwonzora and Komichi. Instead of sitting down and coming up with a legal solution to their illegal actions they have come up with plots and counter plots to silence any opposition and in the case of Gutu they want him silenced for good. What a shame?
The MDC-T has put up teams of thugs called the vanguards meant to enforce unlawful and undemocratic decisions. “These thugs exist at the center of this party to this very day.” MDC has actually refused to accept court rulings. They have stirred animosity between the judiciary and the people. They have made the people to disrespect the law yet they claim to be a party fenced around legality.
The MDC has lost its purpose it has become a terrorist party led by a Mafia Jecha Chamisa fully advised mercenaries Job And Tendai Biti. MDC has already failed its purpose and should not be allowed even to contest as they are a terrorist party which respects no existing law. Now the MDC are supposed to respect the laws and lead by example. If they cannot follow simple rulings while they are opposition how can they manage when they are in power. Zimbabwe does not need a monster on the helm a vampire has been breeding in the opposition and he is knocking the doors of the state house. Zimbabweans have a duty to close the doors to state house and keep the monster away. Unfortunately, those that support Nelson Chamisa fail to understand the mental condition of Chamisa and his team.
Chamisa and his team have decided to take a route which is not only illegal but satanic demonic and tyrannical. It will be hypocritical for the MDC and indeed Chamisa and his alliance partners to talk about return to constitutionalism as a campaigning tool when they themselves have failed that test dismally.
It is ridiculous for MDC to accuse ED of being a coup leader when they have done the same thing, grabbing power by any means necessary and refuse to abide by the rules or comply with court’s ruling.
Even those who have been sponsoring Chamisa and Biti must be ashamed they must eat a humble pie and allow Zimbabwe to be and to move on. Hopwell Chin’ono who now licks Chamisa’s dirty has this to say in 2018.
“The civil society brigade that went to town about the constitutional breaches derived from the military intervention have been rendered partial and partisan by not condemning the unconstitutional arrangements in the MDC-T.” Yes it is true that by the threats flying around against Gutu and Mwonzora MDC has now adopted mob rule enforced by thug militias known as the vanguard.
The nation has now seen that those who talk too much about witches have a live snake as a belt and is around their waist.
“The fact that the MDC-T has been breaking its constitution and some citizens seeing nothing wrong with it has now created a monster, which if elected will resort to the same default positioning when confronted with similar challenges in the future.” Hopwell had his rare moments of sanity. It is sad to see that there are some people who chose not to see the devil in the pastor’s tittle. Considering that MDC has many lawyers than supporters it baffles to see them deliberately disregarding the decision of the highest court in the land.
“They hate ZANU PF and will give support to this group of people in the hope that it will replace ZANU PF through the ballot box, a dream now too unreal, based on the fast changing political circumstances in the country.”
ZANU PF has always maintained that it was legal and that the one who sees a piece of grass in one’s eye is usually blinded by his log in his eye. It has shown that MDC never wanted to continue the legacy of democracy but they just wanted to grab power. They have grabbed power within their party and they have relied on the misguided popularity of Chamisa. MDC only wishes to replace a democratically elected government with their tyranic unconstitutional outfit.
If constitutionalism was an issue, they would actively encourage that it be adhered to in their party first, in order to show the world that they mean what they say. Unfortunately MDC has climbed down from the tree of democracy. MDC has preached a word which says do as I say not as I do. The embarrassment in the MDC party is that it is a party led by a lawyer and supported by lawyers who are breaking the law.
Chamisa and Biti have tried to circumvent the law by saying theirs is a new entity called MDC A. “For a party that was once known for its advocacy for constitutionalism, it is also ironic that it doesn’t have a constitution readily available online or on request.”
The Supreme Court made it clear that Chamisa is an illegitimate leader who is pushing a regime change agenda. This explains why Biti and Sikhala advocate for an illegal regime change. Chamisa has always been confused and he was completely finished when he placed his trust from the old guards to the two rebels who successfully destroyed any hope left for Chamisa to rule. Zimbabweans need to stand up and show Chamisa a way out of politics. Zimbabwe cannot be held at ransom by an illegal opposition led by an illegal leader who is sabotaging the nation.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said he will review the Lockdown period on April 20. He is currently on a tour of all provinces to access the current situation and map the way forward. Do you think that the #21DayLockdown should be extended?
By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said that he is currently touring the country’s provinces to appreciate the situation on the ground with regards to the coronavirus pandemic and the effects of the national lockdown on the nation.
He said that the findings from the tour will be used to determine whether the national lockdown should be extended or its regulations are adjusted. He said:
We shall review the situation on the 20th of April on whether we adjust the lockdown conditions or we extend.
The president’s remarks come when there is a fake statement circulating on social media suggesting that he has extended the lockdown.
Zimbabwe is currently on a 21-day lockdown that is premised at stopping the spread or transmission of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
The country also has 17 confirmed cases including three (3) deaths, a number which some say could rise if the government embarks on more rigorous testing, tracking of case contacts and quarantine campaign.-statemedia
Three members of the Sungano Apostolic church died in a tunnel at Murahwa’s hill in Chikanga in an attempt to secretly conduct a sermon recently.
The deceased Timothy Mandeya aged 23, Rodric Mafongoya (28) and Maimbo Nigel (17) allegedly succumbed to smoke from a fire that had been lit in the tunnel for their night prayers on Wednesday.
Manicaland Police Spokeperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa said one of the seven survivors who escaped suffocation from the tunnel, Walter Kwaime reported the incident to the police upon realization that 3 of their members had died leading to their arrest for contravening the covid-19 lockdown offence act of 2020.
Inspector Kakohwa added that the deceased were taken for postmotem at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital, further urging members of the public to heed the lockdown call by government.
