Farai Dziva|The bail application ruling on the case of Stephen Chuma and MDC members who were arrested in Chitungwiza is set for Friday March 20.
See below the opposition party’s statement on the matter:
The matter of Stephen Sarkozy Chuma and others v The State was heard today(Tuesday) before Justice Chitapi.
After powerful presentation by lawyer Tapiwa Muchineripi assisted by Job Sikhala the Judge agreed with the arguments of the two counsels. The State was taken to task on how they classified a finable offense to be serious.
Secondly, the Judge asked the reasoning of the Magistrate who denied our comrades bail on the grounds that they were arrested at the scene of the commission of the alleged offense when they were long arrested doing nothing before the outbreak of violence.
The State became hopeless when one Mapfuwa for the State lied to the Court that the comrades were caught with catapults and knives when such evidence was never produced at the Court aquo.
After being grilled by the Judge, he embarrassingly conceded that there were no grounds to deny our comrades bail. He then suggested that they be admitted to bail on 300 rtgs each the submission vehemently opposed by the lawyers.
The lawyers said bail should be measured by the ability of an accused person to pay.
They are only able to pay 100 rtgs suggested by the Applicants.
The judge advised that he will give the judgement on Friday as he wants to deal with the two reasons in a comprehensive manner the Magistrate cited to deny the Applicants bail.
But in short, the State has conceded the granting of bail to the comrades and we wait for the full judgement of their freedom on Friday the 20th of March 2020.
The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) has announced that Zimbabwe’s annual inflation was, as of February 2020, at 540.16 percent while the month on month inflation was at 13.52 percent.
The rate at which inflation rose is alarming considering that annual inflation was 59.39% in February 2019.
Analysts attribute the rise to low production in the country which forces locals, individuals, businesses and government, to import almost everything from other countries.-Xinhua
Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC has said public transport operators must go through training on how to combat Coronavirus.
Read full statement below :
Zimbabwe’s Public Transport system is a key element to be considered amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Trains, Buses and Airplanes are our modes of mass public transport and these are mostly overloaded and often unhygienic.
The conditions prevalent in mostly buses, kombis and pirate taxis (mshikashika) can prove to be catalysts during such outbreaks.
Cognisant of this problem, the MDC urges transport operators to sanitise public transport systems to improve the hygiene conditions.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
Staff operating these mass transport systems must go through compulsory training on how to keep high standards of hygiene.
Personal Protective Equipment for the crew must be worn appropriately and at all times. Hand sanitizers must be provided in all public transport systems and must be used by travellers.
Disinfectants must be sprayed in the buses and kombis at regular intervals to guard against conditions that promote survival of the coronavirus.
The MDC calls upon private companies to assist in the fight against Coronavirus through facilitating the acquisition of disinfectants and training the operators as well as provision of personal protective equipment for staffers.
The government is for the first time expected to put to good and appropriate use the USD26 million facility availed by the Global Fund in the fight against Covid19.
Zimbabweans remain skeptical as to the capacity of our government to be accountable since other such grants have been abused in the past at the expense of Public Safety.
The MDC family would like to thank President Adv Nelson Chamisa for providing leadership by inspecting the Harare Coronavirus Isolation Centre which is Wilkins Hospital. Leadership at all levels is expected to be alive to the challenges facing our institutions so that practical solutions can be arrived at from an informed position.
The MDC urges those that have been advised to self-quarantine to religiously follow all steps as advised by Health Authorities so as to avoid possible spread of the virus.
Prevention is better than cure and as such we applaud all Health Staffers who are taking all precautionary measures to ensure that the COVID19 pandemic is kept in check.
Hon Settlement Chikwinya. (MP)
National Secretary for Transport and Logistics
Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC has said public transport operators must go through training on how to combat Coronavirus.
Read full statement below :
Zimbabwe’s Public Transport system is a key element to be considered amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Trains, Buses and Airplanes are our modes of mass public transport and these are mostly overloaded and often unhygienic.
The conditions prevalent in mostly buses, kombis and pirate taxis (mshikashika) can prove to be catalysts during such outbreaks.
Cognisant of this problem, the MDC urges transport operators to sanitise public transport systems to improve the hygiene conditions.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
Staff operating these mass transport systems must go through compulsory training on how to keep high standards of hygiene.
Personal Protective Equipment for the crew must be worn appropriately and at all times. Hand sanitizers must be provided in all public transport systems and must be used by travellers.
Disinfectants must be sprayed in the buses and kombis at regular intervals to guard against conditions that promote survival of the coronavirus.
The MDC calls upon private companies to assist in the fight against Coronavirus through facilitating the acquisition of disinfectants and training the operators as well as provision of personal protective equipment for staffers.
The government is for the first time expected to put to good and appropriate use the USD26 million facility availed by the Global Fund in the fight against Covid19.
Zimbabweans remain skeptical as to the capacity of our government to be accountable since other such grants have been abused in the past at the expense of Public Safety.
The MDC family would like to thank President Adv Nelson Chamisa for providing leadership by inspecting the Harare Coronavirus Isolation Centre which is Wilkins Hospital. Leadership at all levels is expected to be alive to the challenges facing our institutions so that practical solutions can be arrived at from an informed position.
The MDC urges those that have been advised to self-quarantine to religiously follow all steps as advised by Health Authorities so as to avoid possible spread of the virus.
Prevention is better than cure and as such we applaud all Health Staffers who are taking all precautionary measures to ensure that the COVID19 pandemic is kept in check.
Hon Settlement Chikwinya. (MP)
National Secretary for Transport and Logistics
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga was last week forced to abandon his official duties on the advice of his doctors.
Chiwenga failed to attend a field day that was hosted at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Precabe farm in
Kwekwe , fuelling speculation that he had snubbed the event.
It has turned out that ill-health forced the former army general to skip the show.
Presidential spokesperson
George Charamba confirmed to the Daily News on Sunday that Chiwenga was on temporary medical leave.
Said Charamba:
“What I know is that he complained of fatigue and is resting at home.
He is in the country. He was not feeling too well and he wanted a bit of rest … that is the real issue.
Now, he is much, much better. I spoke to him and he is doing well, not that speculation that there is bad blood between him and the president.
That is nonsense.”
Chiwenga was airlifted to India, South Africa and China last year due to ill health.
He spent about four months in a Chinese hospital and has been embroiled in a messy divorce with his ex-model wife Marry since his return in November.-Daily News
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga was last week forced to abandon his official duties on the advice of his doctors.
Chiwenga failed to attend a field day that was hosted at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Precabe farm in
Kwekwe , fuelling speculation that he had snubbed the event.
It has turned out that ill-health forced the former army general to skip the show.
Presidential spokesperson
George Charamba confirmed to the Daily News on Sunday that Chiwenga was on temporary medical leave.
Said Charamba:
“What I know is that he complained of fatigue and is resting at home.
He is in the country. He was not feeling too well and he wanted a bit of rest … that is the real issue.
Now, he is much, much better. I spoke to him and he is doing well, not that speculation that there is bad blood between him and the president.
That is nonsense.”
Chiwenga was airlifted to India, South Africa and China last year due to ill health.
He spent about four months in a Chinese hospital and has been embroiled in a messy divorce with his ex-model wife Marry since his return in November.-Daily News
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga was last week forced to abandon his official duties on the advice of his doctors.
Chiwenga failed to attend a field day that was hosted at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Precabe farm in
Kwekwe , fuelling speculation that he had snubbed the event.
It has turned out that ill-health forced the former army general to skip the show.
Presidential spokesperson
George Charamba confirmed to the Daily News on Sunday that Chiwenga was on temporary medical leave.
Said Charamba:
“What I know is that he complained of fatigue and is resting at home.
He is in the country. He was not feeling too well and he wanted a bit of rest … that is the real issue.
Now, he is much, much better. I spoke to him and he is doing well, not that speculation that there is bad blood between him and the president.
That is nonsense.”
Chiwenga was airlifted to India, South Africa and China last year due to ill health.
He spent about four months in a Chinese hospital and has been embroiled in a messy divorce with his ex-model wife Marry since his return in November.-Daily News
VICE President Chiwenga has said the court cannot place his three minor children in the custody of his estranged wife, Marry Mubaiwa, who requires to be under constant care of a surgeon, physician and a psychiatrist.
High Court judge, Justice Christopher Dube-Banda, early this year granted Mubaiwa custody of the children and restrained the VP from interfering with her access to the Borrowdale Brooke home.
But VP Chiwenga said Mubaiwa should be in hospital for the intricate and life-saving treatment.
This emerged during the appeal in which VP Chiwenga is challenging the High Court decision to allow Mubaiwa to have custody of the couple’s three minor children.
Through his lawyer, Advocate Lewis Uriri, instructed by Mr Wilson Manase of Manase and Manase, VP Chiwenga, told the court that having relied on her medical affidavit to secure her freedom, and without alleging that the condition had been resolved, the balance of convenience was tilted against her.
Mubaiwa was granted bail after submitting a sworn statement confirming that she “must be under the care of surgeon, physician and a psychiatrist”.
“The court cannot as uppermost guardian of the children endanger them in the circumstances,” argued Adv Uriri.
“The court saw the affidavit. Its attention was specifically drawn to it. It is the uppermost guardian of the child.
“It should, once it decided to assume jurisdiction, enquire into the matter and make findings in the interest of the children.”
The three judge panel-led by Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza heard that the court was mandated by the Constitution to take into account the best interests of the children.
Adv Uriri urged the court to have custody of the children placed on VP Chiwenga on the strength of Mubaiwa’s medical report.
In the High Court, Mubaiwa sought an order of spoliation, claiming VP Chiwenga abducted the couple’s children.-State media
VICE President Chiwenga has said the court cannot place his three minor children in the custody of his estranged wife, Marry Mubaiwa, who requires to be under constant care of a surgeon, physician and a psychiatrist.
High Court judge, Justice Christopher Dube-Banda, early this year granted Mubaiwa custody of the children and restrained the VP from interfering with her access to the Borrowdale Brooke home.
But VP Chiwenga said Mubaiwa should be in hospital for the intricate and life-saving treatment.
This emerged during the appeal in which VP Chiwenga is challenging the High Court decision to allow Mubaiwa to have custody of the couple’s three minor children.
Through his lawyer, Advocate Lewis Uriri, instructed by Mr Wilson Manase of Manase and Manase, VP Chiwenga, told the court that having relied on her medical affidavit to secure her freedom, and without alleging that the condition had been resolved, the balance of convenience was tilted against her.
Mubaiwa was granted bail after submitting a sworn statement confirming that she “must be under the care of surgeon, physician and a psychiatrist”.
“The court cannot as uppermost guardian of the children endanger them in the circumstances,” argued Adv Uriri.
“The court saw the affidavit. Its attention was specifically drawn to it. It is the uppermost guardian of the child.
“It should, once it decided to assume jurisdiction, enquire into the matter and make findings in the interest of the children.”
The three judge panel-led by Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza heard that the court was mandated by the Constitution to take into account the best interests of the children.
Adv Uriri urged the court to have custody of the children placed on VP Chiwenga on the strength of Mubaiwa’s medical report.
In the High Court, Mubaiwa sought an order of spoliation, claiming VP Chiwenga abducted the couple’s children.-State media
By A Correspondent- The Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun has dismissed Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri’s statement alleging that the virus is God’s punishment on Western countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Speaking at the press conference held in Harare yesterday Shaochun said the virus was a pandemic that had struck the world which needed unity of everyone globally.
“I do not agree with the notion that this is God’s punishment rather it a natural disaster that could hit anywhere henceforth there is need for us to unite and strategize enough vetting systems at all border post,” he said.
He further testified that there is no Zimbabwean residing in China that has been affected by the virus yet.
Speaking at the same press conference minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Kazembe Kazembe said there is no need to panick because there is no danger for Zimbabwe as far as the virus is concerned.
…Her comments also come after Chinese banks blacklisted Zimbabwe not because of any sanctions, but bad credit history…
Muchinguri on Saturday slammed an inference against China and other nations over the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19.
It is a known fact that COVID-19 began in China and Zimbabwe’s ally’s economy has been worst hit.
Speaking in Chinhoyi, Muchinguri said coronavirus is punishment for sanctions put against members of her party, ZANU PF. Even though in her message she at the first mentioned US President Donald Trump, she also broadened the inference to other nations.
Her comments also came after Chinese banks blacklisted Zimbabwe not because of any sanctions, but bad credit history.
She said, “these are sanctions brought by nations that impose sanctions on us.
“God is punishing them, they’re now trapped inside their houses.
“Nowhere to go.
“Their economies are now screaming, the same way they are making ours suffer.
Said Muchinguri in full: This Coronavirus which has come is a result of sanctions.
These are sanctions brought by nations that impose sanctions on us.
God is punishing them,
They’re now trapped inside their houses.
Nowhere to go.
Their economies are now screaming, the same way they are making ours suffer.
Trump must know he is not God.
You are squeazing us expecting us to go where?
May you be squeazed as well by Coronavirus, until you understand the pain of how it feels!
Update on the National Preparedness and Response Progress Regarding the COVID-19 Outbreak Cabinet received and adopted a report by the Minister of Health and Child Care on the national preparedness and response progress regarding the COVID-19 outbreak. As at 13 March 2020, more than 9 505 travellers had been screened at the country’s ports of entry and 378 put on surveillance. The National Microbiology Reference Laboratory had tested 14 suspected cases for COVID-19 and all were negative. Cabinet was informed that to date there is no confirmed case of COVID-19 in Zimbabwe.
The Minister advised that while more cases and deaths are being reported in Europe, 26 countries in Africa, have confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of these countries, four are from the SADC region, namely: South Africa, Eswathini, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. South Africa, in particular, has reported local spread of COVID-19, while the other three countries have reported imported cases largely from Europe. His Excellency the President has already provided more detail on this.
Furthermore, a number of measures have been put in place to deal with the outbreak chief among which are the following:
• Developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) to guide implementation in the following key areas: points of entry; self-isolation, surveillance; rapid response teams; and case investigation; laboratory case management, logistics, and infection prevention and control. The SOPs aim to achieve efficiency, quality output and uniformity of performance in COVID-19 preparedness and response.
• Strengthening the capacity of identified isolation centres to be able to manage severe cases throughout the country. Work has begun to upgrade Wilkins Hospital with support from the Chinese.
• Procuring confirmatory test kits for COVID-19 with some having been received as donations from partners, such WHO, Africa CDC, DFID, and the Chinese Government.
• Procurement of COVID-19 Rapid Diagnostic Test kits (RDTs) for use at ports of entry is in progress.
• Discouragement of Zimbabweans from travelling to and through high risk affected countries as well as cancelling all non-essential travel.
• Immediate suspension of all gatherings of more than 100 people, such as 2020 Independence Anniversary Celebrations, church gatherings, weddings and burial ceremonies for a period of 60 days.
Government also urges the citizenry to rely on official reports from the Ministry of Health and Child Care only. Details on the operationalization of the directives will be announced in due course.
Outcome of the Main TNF Meeting held on 16th March 2020 The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare updated Cabinet on the outcome of the main Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) held on 16th March, 2020. Cabinet noted the recommendations made by the following sub-committees: on the monetary, fiscal and inflation reduction; on institutional reforms; proposals on the erosion of salaries and wages; and measures to mitigate the impact of coronavirus.
Principles to Amend the State Service Pension Act [Chapter 16:06] Cabinet considered and approved Principles to amend the State Service Pensions Act [Chapter 16:06] as presented by the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare. Key provisions of the Principles include the following:
• to provide for the establishment of a Pension Fund whose objective shall be to provide for the payment of pension, gratuities and other benefits;
• to provide for the management of the Fund by a Board of Trustees whose function shall include but not limited to the administration of the Fund; and
• to provide for contributions made by members towards the Fund. The rates of contribution by both the employer and the members will be outlined. Furthermore, the pension benefits that will be payable to members in the employment of the State shall be fixed in the members’ conditions of employment.
2020 Winter Wheat Pre-planting Price and the 2019/2020 Soya Bean Producer Floor Price Cabinet considered the 2020 Winter Wheat Pre-planting Price and the 2019/2020 Soya Bean Producer Floor Prices as presented by the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement on behalf of the Chair of the Cabinet Committee on Food Security and Nutrition and approved as follows:
a) that the pre-planting winter wheat producer floor price be pegged at ZW$11 786.44 per metric tonne at a margin of 20%, assuming a yield of 4 metric per hectare;
b) that the premium price for Grade A wheat be set at ZW$14 143.73 which is 20% above the wheat producer floor price;
c) that the soya bean floor price be set at ZW$12 833 per metric tonne at a 20% margin, assuming a yield of 2 metric tonnes per hectare;
d) that, going forward, the cost build-up plus margin model should be used in the determination of producer prices; and
e) that the growing of sesame and sunflower be promoted to increase feedstock for cooking oil production and as an import substitution strategy.
Presentation of the ZimVAC Report and the Zimbabwe Domestic and International Appeal for Assistance Cabinet noted and approved the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) Report which clearly outlined that 75% of the rural districts had received over 50% of support from Government. Government will soon unveil to the nation and the international donor community measures to be taken in order to map the way to bridge the food deficit gap, including through the launching of an international appeal for assistance.
HARARE, —President Mnangagwa today said pandemics like coronavirus (Covid-19) cannot be blamed on anyone since they have a scientific explanation, and called on Zimbabweans to empathise with those affected.
In a statement, the President sent his condolences and solidarity to all those who were already suffering due to the effects of the deadly virus.
“Pandemics of this kind have a scientific explanation and knows no boundary, and like any other natural phenomenon cannot be blamed on anyone,” he said.
“We have all witnessed the tragic scenes in China, Iran, Italy and other countries around the world. We stand with our friends in the international community. My Government empathises with the affected people around the globe and stands ready to assist in whatever ways within our capacity.”
The President’s statement comes in the wake of remarks by Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri who at the weekend insinuated that COVID-19 was God’s response to countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Muchinguri described the coronavirus as God’s way of punishing the United States and other western countries for imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe, prompting the president to issue a statement Monday restating his government’s commitment to fighting COVID-19.
Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe stands by the international community in fighting the Covid-19, and that it was time to look after each other, especially the weak and vulnerable.
He said even though the virus was yet to strike in Zimbabwe, it was important not to “rest on our laurels”.
COVID-19, said the President, was the worst global pandemic, and perhaps the greatest threat to humanity since the great wars of the last century.
“My Government empathises with the affected people around the globe and stands ready to assist in whatever ways within our capacity. As a nation we must stand strong. Strong and united. Strong and vigilant. We must act early and we must act sensibly.”
Oppah Muchinguri, the defense minister, appeared to mock Western nations while addressing a group of ruling party supporters at the weekend.
“This coronavirus that has come are sanctions against the countries that have imposed sanctions on us. God is punishing them now and they are staying indoors now while their economy is screaming like what they did to ours by imposing sanctions on us,” Muchinguri said at a rally in Chinhoyi, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of the capital, Harare, according to local reports. A video of her statement has gone viral.
“(Donald) Trump should know that he is not God. They must face the consequences of coronavirus so that they also feel the pain,” she said in the local Shona language.
Muchinguri’s utterances prompted massive criticism from opposition politicians, humanitarian organizations and ordinary Zimbabweans on social media.
Zimbabwe has not yet recorded a case of COVID-19 but neighboring South Africa has more than 60 cases. Across Africa, 30 of the continent’s 54 countries have confirmed cases.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa issued a statement Monday saying his government “empathizes with the affected people around the globe.” He did not mention Muchinguri by name, but the statement published in the state-run Herald newspaper appears to modify her criticism of the U.S.
“Pandemics of this kind have a scientific explanation and know no boundary, and like any other natural phenomenon cannot be blamed on anyone,” Mnangagwa said.
Relations between Zimbabwe and Western countries have been icy for the past two decades after sanctions were imposed on Zimbabwe over alleged human rights abuses.
The U.S, the European Union and Britain, however, remain Zimbabwe’s biggest donors, routinely helping the troubled southern African country fight widespread hunger, cholera and other afflictions by providing food aid and medicines to millions of people.
The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change party on Monday described Muchinguri’s statement as “reckless, morbid and inhuman.”
Others on social media did not miss the irony that the COVID-19 originated in and is heavily affecting China, one of Zimbabwe’s biggest political allies. Muchinguri did not mention China in her weekend address.
“How does she face her Chinese counterparts, where the pandemic began when she makes such insulting and insensitive statements?” queried Alex Magaisa, a government critic and law lecturer at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom.
#Coronavirus affects those over 70 the worst. Younger people have a particular responsibility to protect the elderly by doing all they can to limit the spread of this virus. This may well include cutting back on social engagements. We must all act responsibly #Zimbabwepic.twitter.com/AbrDOYYVEh
It’s come to our knowledge that the Econet has started introducing remote work for certain staffers – with around 50% of their staff now instructed to work from home due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Whilst Zimbabwe hasn’t had an officially confirmed case, the telecommunications has reacted proactively and minimized the risk that staff and by extension the wider society would have if people keep to their daily routines as if things are normal.
We are also reliably informed that a few weeks ago some employees were given face masks and hand sanitizers as precautionary measures against the virus.
Liquid Telecom also recently postponed their EduZones Campaign event that was supposed to start tomorrow with invited press members receiving the following email;
Good Day
Due to concerns about the potential spread of COVID-19 (corona virus) the Liquid Telecom Zimbabwe Eduzone Campaign slated for the 18th of March 2020 has been postponed in the interest of public safety. A new launch date will be announced in due course.
We apologise for any inconveniences caused. Email from Liquid Telecom
A logistical nightmare
Most Zimbabwean companies – especially the likes of Econet who are among the largest local companies will no doubt have to deal with the logistical nightmare that is remote working at a moment’s notice.
With the current power situation locally and the fact that some employees might not have laptops, it might prove difficult to ensure that productivity stays at the level Econet would normally want but in all fairness, this isn’t a normal situation.
Maybe these challenges are why some of the staff is still required to come in and maybe those with less critical roles or those who are prepared to work from home have been cleared to work outside their normal offices.
UEFA has suspended the Champions League and Europa League finals because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The association then announced new final dates for the two competitions as follows:
Europa League: 24th June
Champions League: 27th June
The UEFA Champions League had reached the last 16-second leg level when the association suspended all matches.
Some of the matches, including PSG Vs Dortmund match, had been played in empty stadiums as authorities feared that public gatherings would further worsen the situation.-Transfer News Live
A SENIOR police officer and his subordinate were arrested in Shurugwi on Saturday after they released a gold ore theft suspect nabbed during the ongoing Operation Chikorokoza Chapera.
According to a leaked police memo, one Inspector Banga and his junior, Constable Zhou were on assignment on Saturday at Show Mining Claims in Shurugwi.
During the operation, they arrested Patrick Maredza who had fled from them in an earlier raid driving an unregistered Honda Fit car.
They searched him and his vehicle and discovered 200kg of gold ore and ZW$4 000. Their boss, Chief Superintendent Tom ordered Banga and Zhou to escort Maredza to Show Business Centre and the impounded vehicle.
The pair, together with other police officers Constable Chipato and Kabvundura escorted him to the business centre.
On arrival, Zhou advised Banga that Maredza was offering a ZW$10 0000 bribe for his release. Banga allegedly ordered him to facilitate the release.
Zhou is said to have advised his colleagues to offload the gold ore which was in Maredza’s vehicle and put it in Banga’s vehicle. Maredza handed US$300 to Zhou and was released.
The offence came to light when Tom returned to Shurugwi Police Station and wanted to account for Maredza and the impounded vehicle.
He phoned Banga to inquire about Maredza and the vehicle’s whereabouts. However Banga in turn texted him back allegedly advising him that his share of the bribe was ready for collection, leading to their arrest.
On the British tourist previously- officially-reported to have been tested positive for Coronavirus, Zim Tourism minister says she has not at all been tested to date. #COVID19pic.twitter.com/TBejBKYNj2
THREE suspected armed robbers are on the run after they allegedly robbed a 35-year-old Beitbridge illegal money changer of R76 000 and US$838 at a gunpoint.
The suspects threatened the osiphatheleni with a firearm after one of them stopped him saying he wanted to conduct a transaction.
The suspects then assaulted and robbed him.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident which occurred on Monday at around 6PM.
“I can confirm that we received a report of three unknown armed robbers who allegedly assaulted an illegal money changer before robbing him of cash amounting to R76 000 and US$838 at gunpoint. No arrests have been made so far and investigations are underway,” he said.
Asst Comm Nyathi said the complainant was driving a Toyota Kia on his way from a soccer match when one of the accused persons allegedly stopped him at a service station in Beitbridge.
The suspect allegedly said he wanted to change US$100 into Rands.
“During the transaction two more accused persons emerged. The third suspect who had a pistol forced the complainant at gunpoint to drive them to a secluded area where they started attacking him with fists before robbing him of cash,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
He said after the robbery the accused persons fled from the scene leaving the complainant who rushed to Beitbridge police station and reported the matter.
Asst Comm Nyathi urged members of the public to desist from engaging in illegal foreign currency dealings, saying they risk arrest or losing their money to fraudsters.
He said money changing on the streets was illegal and police would not hesitate to arrest culprits.
Recently, four suspected armed robbers allegedly attacked and robbed a Beitbridge illegal money changer of US$4 000, R6 000, $80 and a cellphone at a gunpoint.
The incident occurred at a garage along the Beitbridge-Bulawayo highway.
NORTON MP, Temba Mliswa has accused Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube of crashing the national economy through the continuous introduction of unpopular policies which often result in economic upheaval.
In a Twitter post Tuesday, Mliswa urged Ncube to stop introducing policies that have proven to worsen the country’s dire economic situation than the opposite.
“Each time Mthuli Ncube makes any policy intervention, the Zimbabwean dollar rate against the United States Dollar tumbles. Malume, why don’t you keep quiet for a year maybe the rate will go down. Just go on Sabbatical, lecture somewhere and come back after a year. Things will be sort themselves out,” said Mliswa.
In a recent policy pronouncement, Ncube ‘floated’ the US dollar in attempts to create a system he said would properly predict exchange rates.
Ncube (pictured below) succeeded Patrick Chinamasa after being appointed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in September 2018.
The following year, he banned the United States dollar, a currency credited for stabilising the Zimbabwean economy since dollarisation in 2009.
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared the coronavirus a national disaster and further decreed a ban on weddings, church gatherings and foreign travels to countries worst affected by the rampaging disease.
In a special address to the media at State House this Tuesday afternoon, Mnangagwa also moved to suspend this year’s Independence Day celebrations which were scheduled for Bulawayo on 18 April and this year’s edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.
He maintained Zimbabwean schools shall remain open until their initially scheduled closing at the beginning of next month.
“Dates for school opening will be announced,” he said.
Any gathering of people of over 100 people has been banned for the next 60 days.
Sporting events have also been suspended with immediate effect.
Government has postponed the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair and the independence celebrations until the the threat of corona virus recedes, President Mnangagwa has announced.
“Government has decided to postpone, curtail or cancel public events, gatherings and activities,” he said.
“In that respect, Government has postponed the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, all national independence celebrations previously planned, and pending international sporting fixtures until the threat of corona virus recedes.”
“We must join hands working with the rest of the world on fighting this virus even though it has not yet crossed our borders. We must have a national response plan. Humanity is at risk and stands at hazardous crossroads,” said President Mnangagwa.
Zimbabwe Football Association has advised the Premier Soccer League that all Harare venues are not eligible to host the upcoming league season due to their poor state.
Harare has National Sports Stadium, Rufaro and Gwanzura as the main stadiums but they have all failed the initial inspection.
The city hosts several teams in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League including giants Dynamos and CAPS United, Harare City, Black Rhinos and Yadah.
According to a letter sent to the PSL by Zifa, only six venues have been approved to host top-flight games in the 2020 campaign. These are Bulawayo’s Barbourfields and Luveve Stadiums, Gibbo in Triangle, Vengere in Rusape, Zvishavane’s Mandava and Baobab Stadium in Mhondoro.
However, there is still a chance for all banned stadiums to host the league provided they meet the minimum standards before the re-inspection.-Soccer 24
Farai Dziva|Coronavirus has claimed it’s first football victim following the death of Spanish coach Fransisco Garcia.
Garcia (21), a youth team coach at Malaga-based Atlético Portada Alta, had a previously undiagnosed form of leukemia that made him more vulnerable to the dangerous epidemic and was pronounced dead on Monday.
“We are still in a state of shock. They called me at 7 p.m. on Sunday saying that he was stabilized after they had admitted him on Friday. And an hour later…,” Pep Bueno, the club’s president told Spanish media.
“The coronavirus and a bad thing came together,” he said. “I’m not believing it. I don’t believe it. It seems impossible to me.”
Farai Dziva|Coronavirus has claimed it’s first football victim following the death of Spanish coach Fransisco Garcia.
Garcia (21), a youth team coach at Malaga-based Atlético Portada Alta, had a previously undiagnosed form of leukemia that made him more vulnerable to the dangerous epidemic and was pronounced dead on Monday.
“We are still in a state of shock. They called me at 7 p.m. on Sunday saying that he was stabilized after they had admitted him on Friday. And an hour later…,” Pep Bueno, the club’s president told Spanish media.
“The coronavirus and a bad thing came together,” he said. “I’m not believing it. I don’t believe it. It seems impossible to me.”
The South African Premier Soccer League has suspended all ABSA Premiership matches scheduled for mid-week and the weekend after the cases of coronavirus rose sharply in the past days.
The outbreak has seen over 60 locals infected and on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared it a national disaster.
The PSL has followed up by putting on hold the games until further notice, as part of the efforts to curb the spreading of the deadly virus.
This was confirmed by the League’s chairman Ivan Khoza at a press conference on Monday. The boss also said they will hold another meeting on Thursday to make a final decision regarding the remainder of the season.
Several top-flight leagues including the Serie A, French Ligue 1, EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga and UEFA’s inter-clubs competitions were all suspend in the wake of coronavirus.
CAF follow suite by postponing all Afcon qualifiers which were scheduled for this month-end.-Soccer 24
The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) has announced that Zimbabwe’s annual inflation was, as of February 2020, at 540.16 percent while the month on month inflation was at 13.52 percent.
The rate at which inflation rose is alarming considering that annual inflation was 59.39% in February 2019.
Analysts attribute the rise to low production in the country which forces locals, individuals, businesses and government, to import almost everything from other countries.-Xinhua
Farai Dziva|Musician Greatman, whose real name is Tongai Gwaze says he is happily married -contrary to reports of squabbles with his wife.
See below Greatman’s statement :
A pleasant evening to all my fans, I have to say I’m honored to annonce that I’m happily married to Silibaziso Masara.
I know a lot has been said about her character by some who have a belief that she has other intentions but honestly as unbelievable as it seems or as hilarious as some of you think it is, the indisputable fact is what brought us together is unconditional love.
So we’re going to do everything within our power to try and give a blind eye to all the negative comments and appreciate those who are suppotive.
I want to be clear on one thing; my condition doesn’t make me useless, I’ve proven in most cases to be worthy of being called human among humans so I take such negativity as nothing but discrimination.
My wife loves me for who I am not because of what I can do for her. I don’t mean to brag but there is true love out there. I’ve seen some are further investigating my sexual issues which I find very desturbing and unnecessary.
I’m not going to waste my time explaining myself on that,,, as I said before, what humans can do, Greatman can do so I’m sorry but what’s keeping us going is the power of love, hence they say love conquers everything.
I’ve heard some commenting about the things that she used to say as a kid. How could someone try to excavate the unknown and try to weigh it with reality. To be frank enough, everyone has a past and if we dig deeper some are murderers but we moved on because such are phases of life.
Moreover whatever happened before I met my wife is none of my business, I dont live in the past so I’m concerned about the current Silibaziso because she is the one that I know.
The character that you’re depicting is your own and I really do not worry about that one because I don’t know her.
Thank you for your support but to nail this hot issue, Greatman is HAPPILY MARRIED, so we will keep you posted…
Farai Dziva|Musician Greatman, whose real name is Tongai Gwaze says he is happily married -contrary to reports of squabbles with his wife.
See below Greatman’s statement :
A pleasant evening to all my fans, I have to say I’m honored to annonce that I’m happily married to Silibaziso Masara.
I know a lot has been said about her character by some who have a belief that she has other intentions but honestly as unbelievable as it seems or as hilarious as some of you think it is, the indisputable fact is what brought us together is unconditional love.
So we’re going to do everything within our power to try and give a blind eye to all the negative comments and appreciate those who are suppotive.
I want to be clear on one thing; my condition doesn’t make me useless, I’ve proven in most cases to be worthy of being called human among humans so I take such negativity as nothing but discrimination.
My wife loves me for who I am not because of what I can do for her. I don’t mean to brag but there is true love out there. I’ve seen some are further investigating my sexual issues which I find very desturbing and unnecessary.
I’m not going to waste my time explaining myself on that,,, as I said before, what humans can do, Greatman can do so I’m sorry but what’s keeping us going is the power of love, hence they say love conquers everything.
I’ve heard some commenting about the things that she used to say as a kid. How could someone try to excavate the unknown and try to weigh it with reality. To be frank enough, everyone has a past and if we dig deeper some are murderers but we moved on because such are phases of life.
Moreover whatever happened before I met my wife is none of my business, I dont live in the past so I’m concerned about the current Silibaziso because she is the one that I know.
The character that you’re depicting is your own and I really do not worry about that one because I don’t know her.
Thank you for your support but to nail this hot issue, Greatman is HAPPILY MARRIED, so we will keep you posted…
By Court Correspondent| There was drama at the Harare Magistrates Court this morning when the prolific MDC President Nelson Chamisa’s lawyer, Thabani Mpofu turned up to represent a fraudster who says he is the late property mogul, Edward Pfugari’s son.
Adv Mpofu is representing Mr Edward Bayiti Rwendela, who in South Africa uses the knickname, Foreman.
Edward Bayiti has forged a fake birth certificate and created a fake educational profile so that he can obtain a residency permit in Zimbabwe.
The South African man only turned up after 39 years to begin claiming that he is the son of the late businessman who passed away last year in February, and in the latest development he has forged company documents to demand a 50% stake in the man’s entire business empire, pushing away 4 for surviving children.
Adv Mpofu was once billed to represent the same Pfugari siblings he is now opposing, on the same case. Having adulterated his robe, as it were, Adv Mpofu today told the court Edward Bayiti might have committed fraud but he remains the son of the late businessman.
He asked the court to throw out the case. – MORE TO FOLLOW…
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to address the nation on the country situation with regards to coronavirus.
Follow ZimEye for live updates…
15:06hrs- Nations together have to stand as one.
15:06hrs- We are under no illusion that what befall other nations will come to us.
15:07hrs- We have to take preventive and precaution steps
15:07hrs- We have to have a national response plan once the pandemic reaches us.
15:08hrs- More still needs to be known about the virus, humanity is at risk, worldwide the pandemic’s impact on national health system has been enomous
15:09hrs- We now have to join hands against this global threat
15:10hrs- We have seen key bilateral trade being stopped or being halted, travel and tourism have been the most affected
15:11hrs- The economic impact of coronavirus is being felt threatening our vision 2030
15:12hrs- Govt has been seized with this matter for some time, our measures include -Rapid response to any suspected cases, creating isolation centres where suspected cases are being monitored and tested, reinforcing national health systems, improving hygiene systems, information dissemination and national awareness, creating a special fund against the pandemic
15:14hrs government taking additional measures, including declaring the pandemic coronavirus a national disaster
15:16hrs- Travel ban for the next 30 days. Zimbabweans are discouraged from travelling to, through coronavirus affected countries.
15:17hrs- Zimbabwe will not close any of its entry points but will upscale screening
15:18hrs- All public gatherings have been suspended including the independence celebrations
15:18hrs- Government has cancelled the independence day celebrations and ZITF
15:19hrs- money for independence celebrations will be redirected towards fighting the coronavirus pandemic
15:24hrs- Question and Answer Session
15:24hrs- Asked if tertiary institutions will close, Mnangagwa says he does not follow social media reports
15:32hrs- Mnangagwa says they have completely closed out undesignated entry points into the country
Farai Dziva|Zimbabwe Online Health Centre, a digital platform for health awareness, has urged the nation to remain watchful as COVID-19 continues to ravage the world.
Cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in South Africa.
See below a statement compiled by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre director, Dr Ellane Simon:
The COVID-19 virus is crown shaped.
It affects both animals and humans and can be transmitted from animals to humans. Anyone anywhere can be infected by the virus. It infects people through coughing and sneezing, touching an infected person’s hands or face or touching infected objects an infected person has touched.
It is like all the other viruses that cause common cold and is common in winter.
Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever and a feeling of being unwell. In people with an immunocompromised immune system such as children, elderly, those with heart diseases they might develop respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia or bronchitis.
There are ways one can protect themselves from catching the virus. Prevention methods include: washing hands with soap and water or using a hand rub always. Avoid touching the eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact with infected people. Those infected should also cover their nose, mouth when coughing.
However, if infected one needs plenty of rest, lots of fluids and management of symptoms such as sore throat, fever.
If there is pneumonia or bronchitis one should also receive appropriate treatment for that respiratory tract infection.
Because this is a communicable virus it spreads fast therefore always protect yourself and your community.
Prevention is always better than cure.
Compiled by Zimbabwe Online Health Centre
For more information like/ follow our Facebook page:
Political stability depends on the role of the military in civilian affairs.
In the case of Zimbabwe the military is meddling in politics because the philosophy is that the gun guides politics.
In 2002 the securocrats sent the clearest signal that they would determine who occupies State House when they declared that the position of the President was a strait jacket only occupied by someone with liberation war credentials.
Therein lies the problem. It means that elections do not mean anything.
For instance In 2008 Tsvangirai won elections but did not win power. The same contestation replayed itself in 2018. What is clear is that the Zimbabwe military is playing the midwifery role in any transition.
They are political players too. In other jurisdictions the army stays in the barracks and defends their constitutional role to protect the sovereignty of the country. In other countries the army does not involve itself in elections.
Whoever wins the ballot becomes the President. In other words they respect the will of the people.
The MDC respects the army which is one of the best in Africa and assures them that they have nothing to fear under an MDC government.
Their welfare,interests and conditions of service will be improved.
The military will continue to play a pivotal role in the development of the country as they uphold the Constitution and promote better Civil-Military Relations. Obrigado.
Farai Dziva|MDC president Nelson Chamisa has call on Zimbabweans to do their best to defeat Coronavirus.
“I visited Wilkins hospital. So encouraging to see how the City of HARARE leaders & staff are working to enhance training, capacity and preparedness in dealing with COVID-19.I was taken through the processes.We must all do our best to be fight this pandemic,” tweeted Chamisa.
“As the world battles the COVID19 pandemic,our prayers and sympathies are with the victims,families and their loved ones.
We wish strength to the health &social services workers on the frontlines.Thank you world leaders for your efforts and leadership in these trying times,”he added.
Farai Dziva|The bail application ruling on the case of Stephen Chuma and MDC members who were arrested in Chitungwiza is set for Friday March 20.
See below the opposition party’s statement on the matter:
The matter of Stephen Sarkozy Chuma and others v The State was heard today(Tuesday) before Justice Chitapi.
After powerful presentation by lawyer Tapiwa Muchineripi assisted by Job Sikhala the Judge agreed with the arguments of the two counsels. The State was taken to task on how they classified a finable offense to be serious.
Secondly, the Judge asked the reasoning of the Magistrate who denied our comrades bail on the grounds that they were arrested at the scene of the commission of the alleged offense when they were long arrested doing nothing before the outbreak of violence.
The State became hopeless when one Mapfuwa for the State lied to the Court that the comrades were caught with catapults and knives when such evidence was never produced at the Court aquo.
After being grilled by the Judge, he embarrassingly conceded that there were no grounds to deny our comrades bail. He then suggested that they be admitted to bail on 300 rtgs each the submission vehemently opposed by the lawyers.
The lawyers said bail should be measured by the ability of an accused person to pay.
They are only able to pay 100 rtgs suggested by the Applicants.
The judge advised that he will give the judgement on Friday as he wants to deal with the two reasons in a comprehensive manner the Magistrate cited to deny the Applicants bail.
But in short, the State has conceded the granting of bail to the comrades and we wait for the full judgement of their freedom on Friday the 20th of March 2020.
Zimbabwe’s Public Transport system is a key element to be considered amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Trains, Buses and Airplanes are our modes of mass public transport and these are mostly overloaded and often unhygienic.
The conditions prevalent in mostly buses, kombis and pirate taxis (mshikashika) can prove to be catalysts during such outbreaks.
Cognisant of this problem, the MDC urges transport operators to sanitise public transport systems to improve the hygiene conditions.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
Staff operating these mass transport systems must go through compulsory training on how to keep high standards of hygiene.
Personal Protective Equipment for the crew must be worn appropriately and at all times. Hand sanitizers must be provided in all public transport systems and must be used by travellers.
Disinfectants must be sprayed in the buses and kombis at regular intervals to guard against conditions that promote survival of the coronavirus.
The MDC calls upon private companies to assist in the fight against Coronavirus through facilitating the acquisition of disinfectants and training the operators as well as provision of personal protective equipment for staffers.
The government is for the first time expected to put to good and appropriate use the USD26 million facility availed by the Global Fund in the fight against Covid19.
Zimbabweans remain skeptical as to the capacity of our government to be accountable since other such grants have been abused in the past at the expense of Public Safety.
The MDC family would like to thank President Adv Nelson Chamisa for providing leadership by inspecting the Harare Coronavirus Isolation Centre which is Wilkins Hospital. Leadership at all levels is expected to be alive to the challenges facing our institutions so that practical solutions can be arrived at from an informed position.
The MDC urges those that have been advised to self-quarantine to religiously follow all steps as advised by Health Authorities so as to avoid possible spread of the virus.
Prevention is better than cure and as such we applaud all Health Staffers who are taking all precautionary measures to ensure that the COVID19 pandemic is kept in check.
Hon Settlement Chikwinya. (MP)
National Secretary for Transport and Logistics
Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC has said public transport operators must go through training on how to combat Coronavirus.
Read full statement below :
Zimbabwe’s Public Transport system is a key element to be considered amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Trains, Buses and Airplanes are our modes of mass public transport and these are mostly overloaded and often unhygienic.
The conditions prevalent in mostly buses, kombis and pirate taxis (mshikashika) can prove to be catalysts during such outbreaks.
Cognisant of this problem, the MDC urges transport operators to sanitise public transport systems to improve the hygiene conditions.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
Staff operating these mass transport systems must go through compulsory training on how to keep high standards of hygiene.
Personal Protective Equipment for the crew must be worn appropriately and at all times. Hand sanitizers must be provided in all public transport systems and must be used by travellers.
Disinfectants must be sprayed in the buses and kombis at regular intervals to guard against conditions that promote survival of the coronavirus.
The MDC calls upon private companies to assist in the fight against Coronavirus through facilitating the acquisition of disinfectants and training the operators as well as provision of personal protective equipment for staffers.
The government is for the first time expected to put to good and appropriate use the USD26 million facility availed by the Global Fund in the fight against Covid19.
Zimbabweans remain skeptical as to the capacity of our government to be accountable since other such grants have been abused in the past at the expense of Public Safety.
The MDC family would like to thank President Adv Nelson Chamisa for providing leadership by inspecting the Harare Coronavirus Isolation Centre which is Wilkins Hospital. Leadership at all levels is expected to be alive to the challenges facing our institutions so that practical solutions can be arrived at from an informed position.
The MDC urges those that have been advised to self-quarantine to religiously follow all steps as advised by Health Authorities so as to avoid possible spread of the virus.
Prevention is better than cure and as such we applaud all Health Staffers who are taking all precautionary measures to ensure that the COVID19 pandemic is kept in check.
Hon Settlement Chikwinya. (MP)
National Secretary for Transport and Logistics
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga was last week forced to abandon his official duties on the advice of his doctors.
Chiwenga failed to attend a field day that was hosted at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Precabe farm in
Kwekwe , fuelling speculation that he had snubbed the event.
It has turned out that ill-health forced the former army general to skip the show.
Presidential spokesperson
George Charamba confirmed to the Daily News on Sunday that Chiwenga was on temporary medical leave.
Said Charamba:
“What I know is that he complained of fatigue and is resting at home.
He is in the country. He was not feeling too well and he wanted a bit of rest … that is the real issue.
Now, he is much, much better. I spoke to him and he is doing well, not that speculation that there is bad blood between him and the president.
That is nonsense.”
Chiwenga was airlifted to India, South Africa and China last year due to ill health.
He spent about four months in a Chinese hospital and has been embroiled in a messy divorce with his ex-model wife Marry since his return in November.-Daily News
By Own Correspondent| The matter of Stephen Sarkozy Chuma and others v The State was heard today before Justice Chitapi.
After powerful presentation by lawyer Tapiwa Muchineripi assisted by Job Sikhala the Judge agreed with the arguments of the two counsels.
The State was taken to task on how they classified a finable offense to be serious. Secondly, the Judge asked the reasoning of the Magistrate who denied our comrades bail on the grounds that they were arrested at the scene of the commission of the alleged offense when they were long arrested doing nothing before the outbreak of violence.
The State became hopeless when one Mapfuwa for the State lied to the Court that the comrades were caught with catapults and knives when such evidence was never produced at the Court aquo.
After being grilled by the Judge, he embarrassingly conceded that there were no grounds to deny our comrades bail. He then suggested that they be admitted to bail on 300 rtgs each the submission vehemently opposed by the lawyers.
The lawyers said bail should be measured by the ability of an accused person to pay. They are only able to pay 100 rtgs suggested by the Applicants.
The judge advised that he will give the judgement on Friday as he wants to deal with the two reasons in a comprehensive manner the Magistrate cited to deny the Applicants bail. But in short, the State has conceded the granting of bail to the comrades and we wait for the full judgement of their freedom on Friday the 20th of March 2020.
SIX suspected armed robbers who killed a Mutare businessman Kumbirai Khumbula during a prayer meeting at his home on Sunday morning were involved in a road accident a few hours after committing the crime.
They escaped from the accident scene and are still on the run after dumping the businessman’s car at 22 Miles Business Centre.
Manicaland provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa confirmed the accident.
“The armed robbers were involved in a road accident at 22 Miles from Mutare and the car was abandoned at the same spot, they escaped and they are still on the run,” he said.
He said the six stormed Khumbula’s house during an all-night prayer service on Sunday morning.
The armed robbers reportedly tied all the church members with curtains before force-marching the businessman and his wife to the bedroom where they demanded cash.
The now deceased handed over an undisclosed amount of cash before being fatally shot.
The robbers also took away the businessman’s unregistered Honda Fit car.
A SENIOR police officer and his subordinate were arrested in Shurugwi on Saturday after they released a gold ore theft suspect nabbed during the ongoing Operation Chikorokoza Chapera.
According to a leaked police memo, one Inspector Banga and his junior, Constable Zhou were on assignment on Saturday at Show Mining Claims in Shurugwi.
During the operation, they arrested Patrick Maredza who had fled from them in an earlier raid driving an unregistered Honda Fit car.
They searched him and his vehicle and discovered 200kg of gold ore and ZW$4 000. Their boss, Chief Superintendent Tom ordered Banga and Zhou to escort Maredza to Show Business Centre and the impounded vehicle.
The pair, together with other police officers Constable Chipato and Kabvundura escorted him to the business centre.
On arrival, Zhou advised Banga that Maredza was offering a ZW$10 0000 bribe for his release.
Banga allegedly ordered him to facilitate the release.
Zhou is said to have advised his colleagues to offload the gold ore which was in Maredza’s vehicle and put it in Banga’s vehicle.
Maredza handed US$300 to Zhou and was released.
The offence came to light when Tom returned to Shurugwi Police Station and wanted to account for Maredza and the impounded vehicle.
He phoned Banga to inquire about Maredza and the vehicle’s whereabouts.
However Banga in turn texted him back allegedly advising him that his share of the bribe was ready for collection, leading to their arrest.
By Lionel Saungweme| Indigenous Zimbabwe Interdenominational Council of Churches patron and Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC), Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi, has been described as “a Zanu PF enabler who is unfit to lead a mediation process amongst political parties in Zimbabwe.”
MDC Deputy Treasurer, Senator Lilian Timveos, and Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi’s fourth wife, sit together during a ZCC church service.
Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi drew the ire of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters after recently declaring that the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) is the only route to national dialogue.
POLAD is a political platform for ZANU PF and 17 fringe political parties that contested the presidential elections in the 2018 harmonised elections.
The opinion survey titled “Pip Over the Wall” came after MDC security hired Independent Researchers to do a SWOT analysis on whether or not the opposition should acquiesce to Bishop Mutendi’s mediation efforts.
The survey also enquired on whether or not MDC should allow its members, who include MDC Deputy Treasurer and Midlands Senator Lilian Timveos
to remain ZCC congregants.
Among ZCC congregants, Senator Timveos is the most senior MDC member.
Independent Researchers found that from 100 congregants, 89% declared that Bishop Mutendi’s “Indigenous Zimbabwe Interdenominational Council of Churches was compromised politically.” Researchers noted that the same public thinks Bishop Mutendi should not be a mediator.
“There are rumours that Bishop Mutendi is not only a ZANU PF member but Emmerson Mnangagwa’s cousin,” says Nomusa Chido (not her real name), a ZCC member who refused to be identified for fear of being ex-communicated.
Nomusa accused the Bishop of occasionally turning church services into “pro-ZANU sermons.”
“Bishop Mutendi can talk positively about ZANU PF, recognise POLAD and degrade MDC President, Nelson Chamisa during a whole sermon. That naked bias disqualifies him,” said Nomusa.
“In 2018, we (ZCC) were considered by many people a ZANU voting block because many congregants took cue from Bishop Mutendi’s partisan sermons,” said Nomusa.
On another note, at least 5% of the congregants approved of the Bishop being deployed as mediator. ZCC member Luckson Chimoto believes the Bishop is correct to preach pro-Mnangagwa sermons because, “at Hebrews 13:17 (the King James Version Bible), God says, “obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves.”
Luckson added that “Bishop Mutendi should therefore be respected as a messenger of God.”
Independent Researchers found that 6% of congregants felt that the Bishop should remain neutral since the survey questions were of a political nature.
ZCC member, Idah Shumba from Chivi, maintained that Bishop Mutendi should steer clear of politics. Idah mentioned that Godliness is above national politics.
“The questions by Independent Researchers were too political. A Christian should not be moved by politics,” said Idah.
Furthermore, Independent Researchers concluded that Bishop Mutendi’s political beliefs do not affect the political stance of ZCC congregants who are MDC members.
MDC security official who only identified himself as Samuriwo, wrapped it up by saying, “after thorough investigations we believe MDC members are not affected by Bishop Mutendi’s sermons and political views. Bishop Mutendi is not a threat to MDC members.”
FULL STATEMENT FROM KWEKWE MBIZO LEGISLATOR SETTLEMENT CHIKWINYA ON CORONAVIRUS
Zimbabwe’s Public Transport system is a key element to be considered amid the Corona virus (Covid-19) pandemic. Trains, Buses and Airplanes are our modes of mass public transport and these are mostly overloaded and often unhygienic.
The conditions prevalent in mostly buses, kombis and pirate taxis (mshikashika) can prove to be catalysts during such outbreaks. Cognisant of this problem, the MDC urges transport operators to sanitise public transport systems to improve the hygiene conditions.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
Staff operating these mass transport systems must go through compulsory training on how to keep high standards of hygiene. Personal Protective Equipment for the crew must be worn appropriately and at all times. Hand sanitizers must be provided in all public transport systems and must be used by travellers.
Disinfectants must be sprayed in the buses and kombis at regular intervals to guard against conditions that promote survival of the corona virus.
The MDC calls upon private companies to assist in the fight against Coronavirus through facilitating the acquisition of disinfectants and training the operators as well as provision of personal protective equipment for staffers.
The government is for the first time expected to put to good and appropriate use the USD26 million facility availed by the Global Fund in the fight against Covid19.
Zimbabweans remain skeptical as to the capacity of our government to be accountable since other such grants have been abused in the past at the expense of Public Safety.
The MDC family would like to thank President Adv Nelson Chamisa for providing leadership by inspecting the Harare Coronavirus Isolation Centre which is Wilkins Hospital. Leadership at all levels is expected to be alive to the challenges facing our institutions so that practical solutions can be arrived at from an informed position.
The MDC urges those that have been advised to self-quarantine to religiously follow all steps as advised by Health Authorities so as to avoid possible spread of the virus.
Prevention is better than cure and as such we applaud all Health Staffers who are taking all precautionary measures to ensure that the COVID19 pandemic is kept in check.
Zanu PF was last week forced to dispatch a high-powered delegation on a fact-finding mission to Mudzi district after illegal miners, who are its members, were driven out of gold-rich Makaha area under Operation Chikorokoza Chapera to pave way for legal mining activities.
The delegation was dispatched after some party members doing mining activities in the troubled area reported the matter to the provincial leadership during a meeting held in Marondera, accusing police officers of extorting and harassing them.
The members also revealed that some villagers were now living in hills following a crackdown by police.
Recently, at least 240 gold panners and vendors were arrested in the blitz in Makaha, where machete gangs terrorised innocent people through rape and armed robberies.
The Zanu PF delegation led by provincial vice-chairperson Michael Madanha met the affected villagers at headman Chimusinda’s homestead in ward 14 where they pleaded with the leadership to solve the impasse.
Zanu PF provincial youth leader Kelvin Mutsvairo, who was part of the delegation, confirmed the visit.
“We went to Mudzi on a fact-finding mission after our party members informed the leadership about their problems,” Mutsvairo said.
“We were told that some people are now living in hills because some people are claiming to own the place, while some police officers are reportedly extorting and harassing gold panners.”
He added: “However, we urged the youths to form syndicates and regularise their operations so that they won’t be affected by police operations. We want them to take the legal route and as a party, we will assist them in whatever way.”
A number of villagers living near Rwamba Hills have been fighting running battles with gold mine owners who want to extract gold on the hills.
Villagers have been resisting, demanding a chunk of the piece of the hill for their own mining activities.
Other top provincial Zanu PF officials who travelled to Makaha include secretary for administration Kudzai Majuru, secretary for finance Munyaradzi Kashambe, secretary for legal affairs Jeremiah Chiwetu, women’s league boss Lyn Gororo and youth political commissar Lincoln Matare.
Every Child In School #ECIS Campaign welcomes the new Education Amendment Act which was gazettes into law on the 6th of March 2020. As a critical partner that pushed for the release of this law through petitioning parliament, ECIS wishes to congratulate the Zimbabwean government for putting to law its legal obligation to fulfill this basic human right. This is also a build up to the policy that the government released last year, the ‘Secretary’s Circular of 2019, again something that ECIS worked in partnership with parliament and the ministry to be put in place, with the goal of ensuring access to education for every child. We also acknowledge the response to ECIS request from the minister through our press statement dated 24 February where we requested the government to move exam fee due date for June exams from the 28th of February to a further date due to the disturbances that had occurred due to exam fee changes. We note in the press statement of the 11th of March that the Minister moved June registration to the 30th of March.
A short while ago the minister cancelled the exam fee increase which ZIMSEC had imposed which was too far from the reach of many. Just when we thought our voices that spoke against this increase had been heard, the Minister came back on the 11th of March with new fees that he reduced downwards with 53%. The news exam fees are $125 for grade 7, $90 per subject for ordinary level and $165 per subject for advanced level.
We wish to let the government know that these fees are against the basic right of the child to access state funded basic education:
The state continues to shift the 47% of exam fees to be responsibility of parents, despite the constitution section 75 A, and the education amendment act 2019 being clear that it is the primary responsibility of this government to provide state funded basic education, therefore this is unacceptable and illegal.
The government seems to continue to be highly detached from the suffering of citizens. Zimbabwe has more than 95% informal employment, meaning most families are living from hand to mouth. We have a significant percentage of children who are failing to get into formal education system despite the availability of the policies and laws that now allow these kids access, many are resorting to ‘private collages’. These private colleges are poorly run and are mainly attended by poor families who have been either refused enrollment due to lack of money or pushed out of government schools. Through its grading, the government is regarding these children as being in ‘private colleges/schools’ and deserving of paying full exam fees which is an absolute violation of their rights and discrimination. If the government did it’s homework, it would have classified these colleges as deserving of same benefits the other government school children have. Many of the children will not seat these exams if the state does not fully fund examination fees for the largely poor children who constitute more than 70% of its learners.
While the state has provided the progressive policies; Circular of 2009 which disallows children to be sent back home for failing to pay fees, circular 3 of 2019 which comprehensively allows children access to enrollment and outlines grounds for discrimination, as well as through the recently signed education amendment act, imposing exam fees is taking away from all these provisions. Why should a child be allowed access into school and kept without money for all these years only to be discriminated upon when it comes to be tested for what they have gained in knowledge through exam fees which they cannot pay? It is showing a glaring absence of the respect for the constitution, the education amendment act and all policies that promote child education. This discrimination of exam fees is glaring and the government must immediately address it.
State funded basic education is not just about putting in place laws, it is about respecting, mechanizing and funding for infrastructure seriously and earnestly to achieve those provisions. Zimbabwe is the only government in the Southern African region whose children still pay for basic education.
Every Child In School therefore urges the government of Zimbabwe to review its position and scrap examination fees altogether for children especially those it classifies as Government Schools, Local Authority Schools and Non Profit Mission Schools as well as the mushrooming private colleges.
We further encourage the government to fund basic education seriously by allocating adequate funds to meet these costs. In the past the ministry of education has received large sums of the fiscal allocation that only meet personnel costs, and little has been done to resource the commitments directly for learners. Schools remain under funded forcing them to go against the government policies that promote access to state funded education.
We reiterate that this government must put practical measures to ensure children have access to state funded basic education, and that in its actions the government shows its realisation of what the law says in its responsibilities to ensure state funded basic education. Imposing such exam fees is not one of actions showing that responsibility, abolishing exam fees will ultimately ensure Zimbabwe children begin to enjoy their right to state funded basic education.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said health authorities have asked a Bulawayo family to self-quarantine after a South African-based doctor consulted by one of the family members tested positive for Covid-19.
After coming home to Zimbabwe, the woman received a call from South Africa that her doctor had tested positive, so the Zimbabwean authorities immediately took specimens from the woman and her family before recommending self-quarantine, which means staying at home with no contact with anyone else, while awaiting release of their results. The woman returned from South Africa on Monday last week.
The Government has also begun contact tracing of workers from a Victoria Falls hotel and other people who could have been in contact with a British tourist who left Zimbabwe early last week for South Africa, where he visited some tourist areas, before testing positive back in the UK after being detected by screening when her plane landed.
Zimbabwean authorities now want to find out if she was infected before arrival in Zimbabwe or when she visited South Africa and this means testing everyone she was in close contact with in Zimbabwe.
Two more travellers who arrived in the country yesterday from Shanghai, China, and London, have been placed at the isolation centre at Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital awaiting results of laboratory tests for Covid-19.
The developments have prompted Government to recommend protective clothing for workers in the hotel and tourism industry to protect them from potential infection from suspected cases.
All public institutions are encouraged to provide hand sanitisers in line with global recommendations to adhere to basic hygienic practices as prevention of Covid-19.
The launch of the upgraded national plan, which is expected to take place at State House, will outline public health strategies that the country will implement in the fight against Covid-19.
“I want to advise you that we have worked on the national preparedness and response plan for Zimbabwe and this is going to be launched on Thursday and it is going to be launched by non-other than the President of Zimbabwe, Cde Mnangagwa,” said Minister Moyo.
The launch follows a position taken by SADC member States at an emergency meeting held in Tanzania last week where they agreed to come up with co-ordinated national strategic plans against Covid-19.
The national efforts come as the Government continues to screen, isolate and recommend self-quarantine on a number of travellers, including Zimbabweans coming from affected countries.
So far about 8 000 travellers have been screened for coronavirus, a majority of whom passed through the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
The Government has reiterated that people should limit unnecessary travel and gatherings, especially as the Easter holidays draw close.
Cabinet is also expected to deliberate on more measures the country will put in place for Covid-19 preparedness and response today.
Minister Moyo continued to urge the public to follow basic hygiene.
“In order to reduce the risk of the infection, we want to continue to educate the public. We are working with various international donors in the production of materials so that we can be able to reach out to the rural areas,” said Dr Moyo.
Cases of coronavirus continue to increase in Africa. Egypt is the worst hit with 150 confirmed cases, with South Africa the next worst, reporting at least 64 cases by end of yesterday.
Over 7 000 people globally have since died of coronavirus while almost 180 000 others have been infected. China, where the pandemic is dying back swiftly, Italy and Iran are the worst affected with more than 133 000 or the cases and more than 6 000 of the deaths.
Despite President Emmerson Mnangagwa banning government officials from travelling outside the country, his immediate deputy Constantino Chiwenga was airlifted to China as his health woes resurfaced.
The Vice President was airlifted to the coronavirus-hit nation on Sunday after his health took a turn for the worse.
According to online publication, Zimlive.com, Chiwenga left Harare shortly after mid-day Sunday on a Dubai-registered private jet, a Boeing 737-7AK (BBJ), which is regularly used by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The President even uses the same private plane when he is travelling locally.
However, Presidential spokesperson George Charamba downplayed the event saying that it was just a routine medical checkup. Charamba told the publication,
“I can confirm that the vice president left for China for his medical check-up. Obviously, we can’t say how long that will take because that will depend on what experts say. But he is out of the country.”
Chiwenga had not been seen in public for the two weeks leading up to his flight from China. The vice president’s absence from the public eye had sent tongues wagging with some quarters opining that this signalled a major fallout between Chiwenga and Mnangagwa, who have long been speculated to have a tense relationship.
Chiwenga missed the monthly national clean-up exercise on March 6, when he was due to officiate in Mvurwi. This was followed up by the Vice President missing the national field day held at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Pricabe Farm in Kwekwe where he was supposed to be guest of honour. Chiwenga was supposed to be the guest of honour at the event, but this honour was later given to Minister of Defence and War Veterans Oppah Muchinguri.
However, Charamba denied reports on any fallout over the weekended, dismissing the allegations as nonsense. He said that Chiwenga was absent because he was not feeling well and had been ordered to rest by his doctors.
“He was not feeling too well and he wanted a bit of rest. That’s the real issue. Speculation that there’s bad blood between him and the president… is nonsense,” Charamba said.
Vice President Chiwenga spent more than four months in China last year getting treated for an undisclosed ailment which he claimed would have certainly killed him if it was not for the intervention of the Chinese. There was speculation that Chiwenga may have got sick after being poisoned. At one point he was being attended to by medical experts from Zimbabwe, South Africa, India and China.
There has been speculation, that the Vice President was a victim of a poisoning plot, to rule him out of the succession race. Only last month, there were reports that Chiwenga was collapsed in his office and had to be airlifted to South Africa, because of the risk of the deadly coronavirus in China. The fact that Chiwenga has been airlifted to China in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic indicates that he may be facing a medical emergency.
A tourist who visited Victoria Falls early this month tested positive to COVID-19 following her return to the United Kingdom.
As a result, health workers with the help of police and state security agents are tracking down all people who came into contact with the woman.
Authorities said they would be quarantined and tested for the disease, with schools having already suspended mass assemblies and sporting activities in the resort town.
Health and Childcare Minister Obadiah Moyo on Monday told reporters that the woman was in Zimbabwe between the 7th and 10th of March.
“Today, we received a report that a tourist who came to Victoria Falls on March 7 and departed on March 10 back to the United Kingdom has been found positive for Covid-19 and is currently being treated in the United Kingdom.”
The Briton stayed at the exclusive Ilala Lodge and engaged in several outdoor events organised by Wild Horizons, before going down with a fever.
Reports claim that a doctor who saw her told her she was probably reacting to anti-malaria medication – and no tests were conducted.
MDC secretary general Chalton Hwende has accused ZEC of showing duplicity in the way it treats the opposition and Zanu-PF.
This follows the registration of another party named MDC Original from Mutare.
In an interview with Daily News, Hwende said the move to register another movement in the MDC’s name was a plot to destroy the party, accusing ZEC of refusing to register another party named Zanu PF Original.
“As the MDC we see this as a continuous plot to destroy the party, we are not worried because the people know their party. This exposes Zec’s duplicity. They refused to recognise a party that was called Zanu-PF Original and now there are recognising a party bearing our name.
“We are going to court to protect our name because this Zanu-PF regime has run out of ideas and is now doing everything possible to cause confusion among the people. However, the people know their president, they will not be confused,” Hwende fumed.
The closing down of the majority land ports of entry into South Africa as part of a state of national disaster in the wake of the Covid-19 epidemic does not affect the busiest land border in Africa, the Beitbridge border post.
This is according to Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
“We will close three border posts with Mozambique, which means only one will remain operating because we had four. We will close five border posts with Namibia, and only two will remain operating because we had seven. We have only one border post with Zimbabwe, that’s Beitbridge, and we will never close that one of course,” Motsoaledi said addressing journalists in Pretoria.
South Africa has 72 ports of entry, and 53 of them are land ports of entry. Eleven are airports and eight are sea ports. Of the 53 ports of entry, the South African government has closed down 35 as part of the national disaster declared by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday night.
“All these 35 (ports of entry) have never had commercial activity anyway. It was only movement of people, pedestrians and cars. The second criteria we used to select these 35 is that they never had department of health port authorities, meaning they don’t have capacity to check anybody for health – things like temperature and all that. They only have police and home affairs officials,” said Motsoaledi.
Intelligence Minister, Ayanda Dlodlo, said a meeting had been held earlier on Monday, exploring ways to beef up South Africa’s border intelligence unit.
“The President [Cyril Ramaphosa] announced the National Command Council which will of course have a command centre. We have put in place a process of ensuring that our national communication centre starts with the process of identifying systems that we put in place in the form of secure communications to assist the National Command Council,” said Dlodlo.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said if the epidemic continues to ravage South Africa, the intervention might be upgraded from national disaster to a state of emergency.
“That would be an element of last resort, if there is a need. We are also showing you that we are putting all options on the table and we will use all the necessary means as guided by the Constitution,” said Lamola.
On Sunday, Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster in South Africa and announced school closures and travel bans as the number confirmed Covid-19 infections in the country rose to 61.
He said all schools across the country would close from Wednesday and gatherings of more than 100 people were prohibited.
South Africa has now imposed a travel ban from China, Germany, Iran, Italy, South Korea, Spain, and the United States from Wednesday, and South Africans were, with immediate effect, to refrain from travelling to the United Kingdom, Europe, the US, China, and South Korea.
A 15-year-old boy was arrested in Zambia for allegedly defaming President Edgar Lungu in Facebook posts, police said on Wednesday, as critics accuse the regime of turning increasingly authoritarian.
The unnamed teenager, based in the central small town of Kapiri Mposhi, was arrested on Monday and charged with three counts of libel. He will appear in court “soon”, police said.
“Police have charged and arrested a male juvenile, aged 15 years, for the offence of defamation of the president,” police spokesperson Esther Katongo said in a statement. “The suspect is alleged to have created a Facebook page using the name ZOOM and published defamatory matters against the republican president.”
The teenager faces a maximum five-year jail term.
One of his posts read “Which other name can you name a dog apart from Edgar Lungu,” and another said “We are better off as a country without Edgar Lungu.”
Lungu, in power since 2015, faces mounting complaints that he is cracking down on dissent and seeking to consolidate power ahead of next year’s elections. A few opposition leaders have been arrested in recent years on charges of defaming Lungu.
Outspoken hip-hop musician and activist Chama “Pilato” Fumba has also been previously arrested over his anti-government protests. On one occasion he was arrested over his hit song, Koswe Mumpoto (Rat in the Pot), which supporters of the ruling Patriotic Front saw as an attack on Lungu and his government.
NetOne has joined Econet and become the second mobile network operator to announce their new tariffs for voice, data and SMS.
The voice tariffs being effected tomorrow will be cheaper than Econet -which is now priced at $1.50/minute.
SMS & USSD
For SMSs – local texts are similarly priced at $0.38 but international texts are almost twice the cost $4.27 whilst NetOne only sets you back $2.49.
When you use your bank’s mobile banking facility via USSD for example, your bank will be charged $0.3805 per session – similar to the new USSD/session.
Data
NetOne subscribers will pay $0.29 whilst Econet subscribers pay $0.30, a marginal difference.
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s allies in the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) are seeking to block him from amending the Constitution at a time the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC and other civic organisations are also mobilising to protest against Constitutional Amendment Bill No 2.
NCA leader Lovemore Madhuku, who chairs a Polad sub-committee on governance and legislative agenda, has already proposed changes to the amendments which Mnangagwa said he would take to Cabinet.
The sub-committee is hoping to pressure Mnangagwa’s administration to withdraw the Constitutional Amendment (No.2) Bill as it was premature and undermining the dialogue process under Polad.
Madhuku last week said Mnangagwa will bring feedback this week and a way forward will be determined by his response.
“Some of the issues are administrative and can’t be dealt with here, but others that are fundamental like what came out of our committee, we have presented before him that we are not happy with the process that has been followed,” Madhuku said.
“We believe they should withdraw this Bill to allow more discussion, allow more input from Polad and others.
He added: “This week there will be another meeting where the President will be meeting us as leaders of the various parties. He was listening and gave back preliminary responses. He liked the debate on the Constitution and that it must continue. He said government is ready to compromise.”
The MDC has already started mobilising against the proposed amendments with the party’s Harare chairman Wellington Chikombo telling residents gathered for a constituency feedback meeting last week to reject attempts to “vandalise the Constitution.”
Mnangagwa last week confirmed there were issues his government disagreed with Madhuku.
“Their report was broken into two major components; that is the process of constitutional amendments and the contents. All the issues were articulated and there are areas where, of course, they are not in agreement with government, but it was received in a good manner because these are the views they expressed,” he said.
Chikombo told residents that Mnangagwa was seeking to ‘vandalise the Constitution’ by calling for 27 amendments to it.
“Government wants the Constitution to be amended 27 times. They want to change a lot of things and most of them can only give powers to the President. What that means is if you have an election dispute and you need the courts to rule, you will face the presidential appointee in the Chief Justice,” he said.
“We will be compromising the integrity of the judiciary. A person should pass on merit.”
Civil organisations are also mobilising for protests against the amendment, which they claim will give Mnangagwa imperial powers.
GOVERNMENT says the fiscal and monetary policies it is implementing will stabilise the exchange rate and keep under check, inflationary pressures, which have seen the annual inflation rate clock 540,16 percent as at February 2020, in the short to medium term.
The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) yesterday announced that the country’s annual inflation had soared to 540,16 percent as of last month. The report comes nine months after Treasury had suspended the publication of the results citing distortionary impressions following the shift to the Zim-dollar. At that time annual inflation was hovering around 176 percent.
“The year-on-year inflation rate for the month of February as measured by the all items Consumer Price Index stood at 540,16 percent,” said Zimstat.
“The month-on-month inflation rate in February was 13,52 percent gaining 11,29 percentage points on the January rate of 2,23 percent.”
Rising inflation continues to limit options for consumers who have suffered diminishing spending power as prices keep increasing in response to changes on the exchange rate. A snap survey conducted by this news crew in Bulawayo yesterday revealed that several leading retailers had further increased prices of basic goods, ostensibly in response to exchange rate increases. As of yesterday, the US$ was trading at $42 from $40 last week on electronic transfer on the parallel market while the official market trailed at $39.
During the visit, some shop workers were busy removing old shelf prices replacing them with new pegs. A 2kg packet of sugar now costs $44 from $38 last week while a 10kg bag of unsubsidised mealie meal has gone up to $230 from about $180. A 2-litre bottle of cooking oil now costs $84 from about $78 while green bar soap has risen to $42 from about $30. A loaf of bread now costs $27 from $21. Mazoe Orange Crush less sugar 2L went up to $87 from about $70. Tissue, salt, cerevita, bath soap and rice are also among the affected commodities.
While acknowledging the spike in inflation and subsequent price escalation, Finance and Economic Development Deputy Minister Clemence Chiduwa said Government policy interventions would restore normalcy in the market and enhance confidence in the local currency.
“The inflation rate at the moment is exchange rate driven. So, what is needed on our part is to stabilise the exchange rate,” he said.
“In terms of the stability of the exchange rate, the medium-to-long term is for us to produce. The stability of the exchange rate is on us being in a position to export.
“But in the short-term the movement in the exchange rate at the moment is due to a number of factors. One such factor is speculation and operations of the parallel market. This is where we are now saying we want to bring some stability and formality in the trading of currency.”
Last week Treasury liberalised the formal foreign currency trading system as part of measures to limit informal activities and ensure all the foreign exchange is traded through registered channels for the benefit of the economy.
Government went further to ban transfer of capital outside the country through dual-listed shares on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, and selling of these in foreign currency on other exchanges. Deputy Minister Chiduwa said the measures will curtail inflation based on derived economic indicators such as the Old Mutual Implied Rate.
“We have also looked at the fungibility of shares that are dually listed like the Old Mutual shares where people are getting the exchange rate from the implied rate,” he said. The suspension of the fungibility of the shares will last for a period of 12 months.
Independent financial market analyst, Mr George Nhepera, said the 540,16 percent year-on-year inflation indicates that Zimbabwe is now the only country in the Sadc region with a three-digit inflation rate. He said a higher inflation trend negatively effects financial markets and reduces consumer buying power.
“The only ‘financial vaccine’ in my view as a financial analyst is to adopt the multi-currency system largely made up of US dollar and Rand,” he said. “This has worked for us as a country in the past, with remarkable results. It can do the same now before the whole country is plunged into economic and financial ruin akin to 2006-8 period.”
Economist Mr Morris Mpala said monetary authorities should do more to arrest inflationary pressures. He feared that the liberalisation of the forex exchange market would force prices to go further up and suggested more effort be driven to controlling money supply growth.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) president Mr Denford Mutashu said price increases were a product of the whole value chain cost saying shops only receive the load and pass it on to the consumers.
“Prices are notable at the retailer and wholesaler stand, but it is a product of the whole value chain. The value chain has been increasing its prices citing hyperinflationary environment and the continued shortage of foreign currency and the power issues,” said Mr Mutashu.
“The high cost of doing business, especially now that manufacturers rely on importation of raw materials. The cost of the manufacturer will remain and some even increasing, because in an environment where you are not producing anything the costs will overburden the business.”
Consumer Rights Association spokesperson, Mr Effie Ncube said that rural consumers were the most affected.
“These increase in prices will affect the poorest of the consumers disproportionately. The consumers in rural areas are more affected because when bread is $27 here in rural areas it goes up to $30 something dollars,” he said.
“Considering that rural areas have no economy to rely on, therefore there are no incomes in rural areas meaning the poorest stay in rural areas. So, it means this increase is going to hit them the hardest.
“We are calling on Government again to come together with stakeholders and ensure that they cushion the poorest consumer and ensure that there is price stability for creditability sake.”
Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) regional manager Mr Comfort Muchekeza said the prices dilemma was a problem of policy gaps and lack of confidence in the local dollar.
“If you look at the price of basic goods you will note that the change is only in the bond but when you go to the US dollar of the Rand the price remains the same.”
THE first thing Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya thought he needed to say, standing up to speak on Wednesday, was that Mthuli Ncube was well within his rights as Finance minister to tell central bank what to do with the exchange rate.
According to section 27 of the RBZ Act, Mangudya said, it is the Finance minister’s job to set the exchange rate policy.
There is significant co-ordination between the fiscal and monetary authorities, he insisted. “It is a close-knit relationship,” he insisted.
What followed at that Press conference, though, showed otherwise.
Of course, Mangudya was right that the Finance minister has a right to set exchange rate policy. But, with the latest set of measures, he was only telling half the story when he said RBZ still has a role to “ensure that that formulated policy is implemented”.
But by announcing a “taskforce” that will in fact do the implementing, Treasury is signalling to the market that it has lost faith in RBZ’s handling of the exchange rate.
Ncube and Mangudya never seemed like they would be a pair. Their approaches to policy were always different, and it didn’t take long to show.
Not long after his appointment as Finance minister in September 2018, Ncube told reporters in New York that what Zimbabwe needed was shock therapy.
“My preference would be more of a big bang approach because everyday counts in terms of cost,” Ncube said.
Soon after, Mangudya, appearing before a parliamentary committee, said where others choose a “big bang” approach to policy, his style was to be conservative and to take things slowly.
At another meeting in 2019, Mangudya again insisted: “For a start, we thought of being conservative…when we graduate, we will do what is right.”
On Wednesday, Ncube announced a new direction on managing the exchange rate, something that has proved elusive so far. A new taskforce that includes members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and the Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) will now run the currency. Tellingly, Ncube himself will head the new taskforce, which will work from Treasury, and not from the central bank.
“The taskforce will be chaired by the Minister of Finance and will meet at least once a week to review the conditions in the markets, monitor the behaviour of key variables such as the exchange rate and inflation, and to ensure that the measures that I outline below are expeditiously implemented. The taskforce will put in place additional policy measures, where necessary,” Ncube announced.
There was no detail on who from the MPC and PAC – some of whom may have vested interests – will sit on the taskforce.
The interbank market, introduced in February 2019, was not working, Ncube admitted.
“Zimbabwe has had no transparent and effective foreign exchange trading platform for a long time. Consequently, official rates have not been effectively determined, while a thriving parallel market has developed,” Ncube said.
Treasury, apparently, believes it can manage the currency better than Mangudya’s RBZ.
And so, we ask: Mangudya clearly can no longer be trusted to do one of his main jobs. So, why was he reappointed in the first place, and why is he still in the job?
We recall George Charamba, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesman, mocking those who had dared hope for a fresh pair of hands at RBZ.
“The President is very clear on the Reserve Bank governor’s tenure and his performance. Not only is he there to stay, but the President is about to renew his contract for a second time,” Charamba said in November 2018.
Yet, clearer and less arrogant heads had known for a long time that some change was needed. But the erosion continued.
Allegations against senior officials at the bank were dismissed as the work of social media alarmists. Leaks of new banknotes, the freezing and unfreezing of bank accounts of alleged “forex manipulators”, plus a series of poorly communicated policy steps all undermined what little confidence remained in RBZ.
That the market has now lost all belief in both RBZ and Treasury shows. It shows in how business and consumers respond to policy decisions — doubt, derision and a rush to buy US dollars.
Mangudya acknowledged the confidence crisis on Wednesday, saying sentiment was the main factor driving the exchange rate, and not forex inflows. That has been clear. What has been less clear is what Treasury’s plans to do about it.
That plan, most certainly, cannot include retaining a discredited governor in his job, then emasculating him, and then keeping him in his job still.
It shows the same sort of hesitation that the authorities appear to see in Mangudya. It is, in the end, the sort of policy cowardice and inconsistency that has eroded confidence in the Finance ministry.
Government’s options are clear; sack the man they have obviously lost confidence in and find a governor they can trust to do the job. Either that, or simply live with him as they had chosen to.
Because, let’s face it, trying to do his job does nothing but give Treasury yet another opportunity to show the country more of government’s usual clumsiness. — newZWire
The South African Football Association (Safa) has advised all members to suspend all football matches and events attended by more than 100 people.
After President Cyril Ramaphosa’s declaration that the coronavirus disease is a national disaster, he outlined measures to prohibit gatherings of more than 100 people.
Safa has now advised that all its members suspend games or events in line with the president’s directive.
“Some of the football authorities elsewhere in the world have taken measures such as playing matches in “empty” stadiums without spectators,” Safa said in a statement.
“This response has not proven to be effective in minimizing the spread of the virus. In Europe, some players who were participating in matches “behind closed doors” have recently been found to be positive. Therefore, we do not believe that the practice of playing behind closed doors is effective.
“Following on our statement of last week in which we had indicated that it was not necessary to postpone or suspend the domestic football program at that stage, circumstances have changed drastically for the worse.
“Government has called on all stakeholders to take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of the virus.
“On behalf of the National Executive Committee of the South African Football Association (Safa), all members of Safa are advised to suspend and/or postpone all football matches and football events that are attended by more 100 people in the country until further notice.
“We will be in contact with the Health Authorities and we will be reviewing the situation on an on-going basis. Members will be advised on a continuous basis accordingly. This is our effort to promote the health and safety of all our members including players, officials, sponsors and staff.”
The Premier Soccer League is due to make an announcement shortly to whether it will suspend all professional matches indefinitely.
State Media|THE Government will deploy more manpower to Beitbridge Border Post to intensify screening and surveillance to detect and manage cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) as positive cases continue to increase in South Africa.
The move is meant to strengthen the current operational procedures and manage an anticipated increase in travellers after Pretoria closed 35 land ports yesterday as part of drastic measures to combat the pandemic.
The country has also issued a travel ban on those coming from highly infectious countries such as Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China.
Prior to the latest development, some travellers would use the closed ports of entries that go through Botswana or Mozambique to access Zimbabwe.
In an interview, Health and Child Care Minister, Dr Obadiah Moyo said he will soon be visiting Sadc’s busiest border post to ensure that everything is full proof.
The Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Obadiah Moyo (2nd left), looks on as nurses screen visitors for coronavirus during a tour on the preparedness at Plumtree Border Post recently
Currently, Beitbridge Border Post handles 14 000 people daily (off-peak) and 38 000 daily (in peak times). By end of day on Monday the movement of people remained normal.
On the other hand, South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi told journalists on Monday that though they had closed 35 land ports, they were not going to shut down Beitbridge because it is the commercial hub of Sadc.
He said they were increasing capacity and resources to the ports which remain operational to avoid any leakages.
According to Dr Moyo, Zimbabwe cannot afford to relax considering that South Africa was the first country they share a land border with, which had recorded a number of positive cases.
“We are going to put more people to Beitbridge to strengthen the capacity in the event we have high volumes of traffic pushed by the closure of other borders which people previously used to access Zimbabwe.
“In addition, I am going to visit Beitbridge to check on the state of affairs again and boost capacity where need be.
“The travellers should bear with us because the screening process will now be more intense and it might take time for them to gain access into Zimbabwe through Beitbridge,” said Dr Moyo.
He said the port health section was working 24 hours a day at Beitbridge and hence it will be prudent to add more resources to boost the current interventions.
Dr Moyo urged Zimbabweans to continued employing some of the prevention methods to minimise infection among them personal hygiene and maintaining prescribed greetings etiquette.
The Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister, Cde Kazembe Kazembe said though multi-sectorial teams were hard at work at all borders, Government was on the lookout for security issues.
“We have deployed multi-sectorial teams to all ports of entries including Beitbridge and we are looking at allocating more manpower and resources when the need arises. We are working in unison with other line ministries,” said the Minister.
Zimbabwe has 26 ports of entries including small and major borders.
President of the International Cross-Border Traders Association (ICTA), Mr Dennis Juru said they will be deploying 200 voluntary health workers to Beitbridge to assist authorities.
“We would like to warn all our members and the generality of Cross-Border Travelers about the pandemic COVID-19(Corona Virus Disease-2019).
“Please avoid traveling and note that some of the borders are closed for visitors but opening for returning residents. In addition, we have deployed voluntary health workers in some borders across Africa with the target to deploy health workers in all African borders,” he said.
A 49-year-old Victoria Falls man, who had been missing for a week was found dead in a bush with both legs, right arm and intestines missing, in what is suspected to be an attack by wild animals.
It is suspected that Edson Bhebhe of Mkhosana Suburb was killed by elephants after which hyenas fed on his body.
His left arm, rib cage and skull were found on Saturday scattered in Chamabondo National Park.
The game park borders Mkhosana Suburb, west of Victoria Falls town. There were elephant and hyena spoors around the clothes and body parts.
The deceased’s younger brother, Mr Amos Bhebhe (46), said the family had reported him missing on Monday last week after failing to locate him.
“He left home around 4PM on Saturday 8 March with four friends who came to pick him up as they went to drink beer at G-Spot. He did not return home and we reported him to police as a missing person,” he said.
Amos, who stayed with Edson, said his brother left his colleagues at the bar intending to go home at around 9PM.
Edson, who worked for a safari company, did not reach his place of residence prompting his family to look for him.
A search team comprising residents, police and rangers from Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority was dispatched on Saturday and found Edson’s left arm and rib cage while the skull was found on Sunday further in the bush.
The search team initially discovered Edson’s single brown shoe and a white blood-stained T-shirt which had been left on tree branches.
Upon further searching they found his pair of trousers, another shoe, a wallet with identity particulars and cash while a left arm and some ribs were also scattered in the bush.
Hyenas allegedly ate most of the flesh from the parts that were picked scattered all over the place.The family was yesterday preparing to travel to his rural home in Zhombe for burial.
Matabeleland North police spokesperson Chief Inspector Siphiwe Makonese confirmed the incident.
She urged members of the public not to walk through the bush or secluded places, especially in wildlife areas to avoid conflict.
Last year about 40 people were killed by wildlife, with crocodiles, elephants and lions accounting for most of the deaths. Chronicle
A robbery gang comprising two policemen, a soldier and cellphone dealers that had unleashed a reign of terror in Chitungwiza and Kuwadzana, using guns, machetes and axes, was yesterday remanded in custody.
During its criminal operations, the gang allegedly stole $29 350, US$6 310 and R12 000 from five victims.
Golden Magunje (30), based at Zimbabwe National Army Headquarters, is jointly charged with Watson Magodhi (37) stationed at Support Unit armoury and Ayanda Gumbo (28), also stationed at Support Unit Zulu Troop.
They allegedly committed the crimes in connivance with two cellphone dealers — Norest Hombarume (23) and Brendon Kupeta (23) — both based at Huruyadzo Shopping Centre in Chitungwiza.
Their alleged accomplices remain at large.
According to the State, Magunje bought a CZ pistol he was using to commit the crimes from Gumbo.
Magunje is facing other related charges and committed the latest offences while on bail.
The gang appeared before magistrate Mrs Rumbidzai Mugwagwa facing five counts of armed robbery.
They were remanded in custody to March 30, with instructions to approach the High Court for bail due to the gravity of their offences.
Harare lawyer Mr Tawanda Takaindisa from TK Takaindisa legal practitioners is appearing on their behalf.
Prosecutor Mr Lancelot Mutsokoti alleges that on August 26 last year, the gang went to a house in Zengeza 4, Chitungwiza, at 11pm and waylaid the victim who had just drove into her yard.
As she was closing the gate, the gang emerged from its hiding place and forced her to open the gate.
The victim ran away towards her house but was struck on the left shoulder with an axe and sustained a deep cut.
Another gang member fired a shot at her, but missed, it is alleged.
As she lay on the ground in a pool of blood, the gang allegedly searched her car and stole $6 700, various clothing items and 20 packets of dried kapenta.
They tried to break the door of her house with an axe and failed before running away.
The following day, the suspected armed robbers went to a house in Granary, in Harare, around midnight and broke in while the complainant was asleep.
While in the house, the State alleges that the accused persons who were armed with pistols, fired shots demanding the complainant to surrender cash.
The complainant surrendered US$20, $500, a television set, DVD recorder and cellphones.
After getting the loot, they drove away from the scene.
It is the State’s case that on January 4 this year, the gang proceeded to a house in St Mary’s, Chitungwiza, at around 8pm and pounced on an unsuspecting victim who was driving into her yard and confronted her just after parking.
The State alleges that the gang, fired shots demanding the complainant to get off the wheel.
One of them took over and kidnapped the woman before dumping her after some distance.
They allegedly stole her vehicle and cash amounting to $20 000, R12 000 and US$900 and mobile phones.
Using the same tactic, the gang allegedly connived and broke into a house in Kuwadzana around 0130hrs on February 7 while the complainant and her two daughters slept in separate bedrooms.
They broke the door using machetes and hammers and again fired shots at the woman, but slightly missed her.
The complainant was manhandled before they demanded money, prompting the complainant to surrender US$1 500.
A rapist of a 15-year-old destitute Chitungwiza girl will serve an effective 17 years in jail, just over six weeks after he was apprehended by two men who reacted swiftly to the girl’s screams.
Kudakwashe Tigere (26) pleaded not guilt to rape, but was convicted after a full trial by regional magistrate Morgan Nemadire who imposed a 20-year sentence, but suspended three years on condition of good behaviour.
Prosecuting, Mr Edmond Ndambakuwa, proved that on January 31 this year, at around 9am at Manyame Leisure Centre, an outdoor facility in Chitungwiza, the girl, who is a destitute, was drying her clothes on top of a rock.
Tigere called her over, but she ignored him.
He climbed the rock she was on, grabbed her and dragged her to a bushy area and raped her without protection, while she was screaming.
Two men praying nearby ran over to find Tigere assaulting the girl.
He ran off, but the two men took the girl to the police where she made her report.
The police later arrested Tigere and the girl was taken straight to hospital for the medical report that proved she had been raped.
Correspondent|Spanish football coach, Francisco Garcia becomes the first person in football to die of Coronavirus. He was also diagnosed of leukamia by the doctors but it was confirmed that he died due to the pandemic disease.
Garcia is the coach of junior team of Malaga-based side Atletico Portada Alta until the time of his death. He couldn’t survive even after he was rushed to the hospital when he showed severe symptoms.
He is the fifth person to die of coronavirus in Malaga and he is youngest amongst them.
Atletico Portada Alta released an official statement as they pay tribute to their young coach who passes on.
“From Atletico Portada Alta we want to express our deepest condolences to the family, friends and relatives of our coach Francisco Garcia who has left us, unfortunately, today,” the club stated.
“What do we do without you now, Francis? Yes you were always with us or wherever needed, helping.”
State Media|Police have completed investigations into the charges faced by Marry Mubaiwa for attempted murder, fraud and money laundering and are waiting for relevant documents from South Africa to complete the prosecution docket.
Mubaiwa, who is the estranged wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, yesterday appeared before magistrate Mr Chrispen Mberewere for her routine remand.
She was remanded to May 8 after the State led by Mrs Tinashe Makiya told the court that although local investigations were complete, there were outstanding documents to be obtained from South Africa.
Mrs Makiya said there had been remarkable progress in the cases.
“Your Worship, I am in possession of the dockets for the fraud and money laundering charges,” she said.
“Local investigations are complete and what is outstanding is obtaining documents from South Africa, which are being obtained through mutual legal assistance.
“The position is the same with the attempted murder docket.”
Mubaiwa, through her lawyer, agreed to the proposed remand date, but said she was still giving notice to make an application for refusal of further remand.
She gave the notice on 14 February, but has yet to give the date when she may file the application.
Mubaiwa did not give a specific date as to when she would file the application which she gave notice on February 14.
The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) lost over US$40 million in dubious payments approved by former chief executive officer Frank Chitukutuku.
The payments were for substandard work, overpayment for projects without board approval, flouting tender procedures, hand-picking firms, payment for incomplete work and awarding projects to companies linked to a specific individual.
The former chief executive officer, Mr Chitukutuku is alleged to have unilaterally paid contractors without board approval.
Giving oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development yesterday, Zinara board chairperson Engineer Michael Madanha said he was curious to know where Mr Chitukutuku derived his powers when he unilaterally authorised payments for poorly done work that prejudiced the parastatal of US39 515 627,66 and R31 452 102,53 respectively.
“Zinara is interested to know the power behind these shenanigans committed by the already fired Zinara executive headed by the then CEO, Mr Frank Chitukutuku, who was the accounting officer,” said Eng Madanha.
The Transport and Infrastructural Development committee is chaired by Shamva North MP, Cde Oscar Gorerino (Zanu-PF).
Eng Madanha gave a breakdown of the projects that proved that contractors were either overpaid, paid for incomplete work, sub-standard work and in some instances paid for no work at all.
Said Cde Gorerino: “Was the CEO alone or there was someone behind him? The CEO cannot authorise all these projects without a political officer giving him this courage. Was this guy working on autopilot?”
Eng Madanha responded by saying that the board is supposed to regulate the operations of management.
For a CEO to override the board, said Cde Gorerino, meant a close link with the minister.
“There is no way the board can be skipped in the whole process given these huge amounts,” he said.
He said the Transport Minister at the time was Mr Nicholas Goche.
“If I remember well, that was the time of Minister Goche. But it is up to the accounting officer to come and say who was the power behind all this,” said Eng Madanha.
Some of the projects that were paid for include Badon Enterprises, which was paid US$9 million for two separate projects worth US$5,3 million, which were 30 percent and 80 percent complete in Chegutu.
Eng Madanha said Twalumba Associates had prejudiced Zinara of US$11,8 million through nine different road projects, whose completion ranged from five percent to 45 percent.
Other companies linked to Twalumba included Transter, Bermingpools, Arcttechards, and Notify.
In most instances, said Eng Madanha, an order to local authorities to engage Twalumba came from Mr Chitukutuku.
Efforts to recover the money are underway.
The cases will also be reported to the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
Bitumen World however, which was awarded seven projects, is one the companies that completed their projects properly.
But Eng Madanha said while Bitumen’s work was satisfactorily done and that the company had submitted documents showing that costs had escalated above initially agreed charges, there was no proof of a board resolution approving payments above agreed value of contracts.
Shurugwi North MP, Cde Robson Nyathi (Zanu-PF) said it was important that the committee invite Mr Goche and Mr Chitukutuku to give their evidence in order to have full appreciation of the goings on at Zinara at the time.
Authorities are intensifying efforts to ensure that no sick animals are accepted for slaughter and no uninspected meat is put on sale.
Officials from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Ministry of Health and Child Care and local authorities, among others are coordinating an upgraded operation code-named, “Nyama Yabvepi”.
Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri said yesterday that the authorities had noted with concern recent reports on social media of unscrupulous operators in the beef value chain.
“Following shocking postings on social media that abattoir operators, butcheries and supermarkets were selling uninspected meat derived from sick and dead animals, a team of veterinary public health officers carried out extensive investigations to verify the authenticity of the allegations.
“The team could not find evidence to support the claims that meat derived from sick and dead cattle was entering the human food chain,” said Minister Shiri in a statement read on his behalf by his Permanent Secretary Dr John Bhasera.
He said the Department of Veterinary Services in his ministry had the mandate to ensure public food safety through the inspection of cattle at farms or dip tanks of origin with permits only issued for the movement of healthy animals.
“Under no circumstances are movement permits issued to move sick or dead animals. The department is also charged with the responsibility of abattoir inspections and registrations as well as ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections at registered abattoirs.
“Meat inspectors from the Ministry of Health and Child Care and local authorities also carry out meat inspections at abattoirs not covered by veterinary personnel,” Minister Shiri said.
“If sick or dead animals are detected at ante-mortem inspections, those animals are not processed through the abattoirs, but are condemned and destroyed by burning under the supervision of the meat inspector. This is done to ensure infected or contaminated meat is not sold to unsuspecting public.
“Only meat that is inspected and found to be unconditionally fit for human consumption is released for sale to the public and such meat is roller marked. The public is therefore advised to buy and consume meat that is roller marked in blue ink.”
Minister Shiri said such meat was available in reliable supermarkets and butcheries in and around urban centres countrywide.
Supermarket chains and butcheries are legally obliged to source their meat only from registered abattoirs.
It is a criminal offence for any meat outlet to sell or display for sale meat that has not been processed in a registered slaughterhouse and inspected and certified as fit for human consumption.
On the current situation of tick-borne diseases, Minister Shiri said Government was very concerned about cattle losses and was doing all in its power to provide the requisite dipping services and urged farmers to be proactive and protect their cattle against January disease (Theileriosis) and other tick-borne disease like heartwater, redwater and gall sickness.
He said whenever they were no dipping chemicals at the communal dip tanks, farmers were expected to procure their own dipping chemicals from registered veterinary chemical suppliers and distributors.
“Private dipping sessions can be done effectively using registered dipping chemicals at dilutions indicated by the manufacturers. The recommended dipping regime in Zimbabwe is once every week in summer and once every two weeks in winter or dry season.
“In summer season, tick activity is usually very high. In cases of outbreaks of tick borne diseases in an area an intensive dipping regime is recommended, 5-5-4-day dipping interval regime, meaning animals are dipped three times in two weeks,” he said.
He said January Disease was difficult to treat, especially when treatment is started in the late stages of the disease while successful treatment was dependent on early diagnosis and early treatment.
“Dead animals should be immediately burnt and buried. It is an offence to sell for direct slaughter sick animals as this poses a huge public health risk,” Minister Shiri said.
He said awareness campaigns were currently underway to educate the public to desist from eating and buying meat from unlicensed sources.
The Department of Veterinary Services was working closely with the police to bring any perpetrators to book and the public should come forward with information.
Reports can be made at the nearest police station or senior veterinary officials on the following numbers: head office 0772 260 724/0712 806 710, Mashonaland West on 0773 055 175, Mashonaland Central on 0772 223 216, Mashonaland East on 0772 311 817, Manicaland on 0773 047 102, Masvingo on 0773 066 031, Matabeleland South on 0775 169 544, Matabeleland North on 0712 608 404 and Midlands on 0772 114 571.
VICE President Chiwenga has said the court cannot place his three minor children in the custody of his estranged wife, Marry Mubaiwa, who requires to be under constant care of a surgeon, physician and a psychiatrist.
High Court judge, Justice Christopher Dube-Banda, early this year granted Mubaiwa custody of the children and restrained the VP from interfering with her access to the Borrowdale Brooke home.
But VP Chiwenga said Mubaiwa should be in hospital for the intricate and life-saving treatment.
This emerged during the appeal in which VP Chiwenga is challenging the High Court decision to allow Mubaiwa to have custody of the couple’s three minor children.
Through his lawyer, Advocate Lewis Uriri, instructed by Mr Wilson Manase of Manase and Manase, VP Chiwenga, told the court that having relied on her medical affidavit to secure her freedom, and without alleging that the condition had been resolved, the balance of convenience was tilted against her.
Mubaiwa was granted bail after submitting a sworn statement confirming that she “must be under the care of surgeon, physician and a psychiatrist”.
“The court cannot as uppermost guardian of the children endanger them in the circumstances,” argued Adv Uriri.
“The court saw the affidavit. Its attention was specifically drawn to it. It is the uppermost guardian of the child.
“It should, once it decided to assume jurisdiction, enquire into the matter and make findings in the interest of the children.”
The three judge panel-led by Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza heard that the court was mandated by the Constitution to take into account the best interests of the children.
Adv Uriri urged the court to have custody of the children placed on VP Chiwenga on the strength of Mubaiwa’s medical report.
In the High Court, Mubaiwa sought an order of spoliation, claiming VP Chiwenga abducted the couple’s children.
But Adv Uriri told the court that children could not be the subject of spoliation proceedings, as the law provides the proper course to charter and the remedies available where unlawful “abduction” is alleged.
“The children were not abducted,” he said.
“They were in need of care when the respondent was in prison.
“The appellant owes the children a duty of care. His sole custody was thus not unlawful abduction.”
Adv Uriri dismissed as incorrect Mubaiwa’s claims that minor children were abducted.
VP Chiwenga, he argued, took custody of the children as the mother was in prison.
Further, Adv Uriri argued that the lower court judge erred in his judgment when he failed to address the issue of spoliation, which Mubaiwa sought. Arguing for Mubaiwa, Adv Taona Nyamakura said despite having a medical affidavit indicating that his client needed medical attention, the doctor did not conclude that she was incapable of taking care of her children.
It was Adv Nyamakura’s submission that in terms of custodianship of children, Mubaiwa was denied access to children despite formally notifying VP Chiwenga that she was now out of jail.
He said Mubaiwa has the right to have custody of the children as their mother.
After hearing submissions from both parties’ counsel, Deputy Chief Justice Gwaunza sitting with Justices Paddington Garwe and Chinembiri Bhunu reserved judgment.
Her bail order has since been varied and she is now residing at her parents’ home until all her matters are finalised.
President Mnangagwa, in a formal statement, has stressed that coronavirus responsible for the global outbreak of Covid-19 is a purely natural phenomenon, is no one’s fault and needs scientific solutions to prevent its spread.
He expressed empathy, solidarity and support for all countries already affected, and has strongly urged all Zimbabweans to follow strictly the medical advice already given while scientists work on solutions and the Government intensifies its already considerable efforts to prepare Zimbabwe to cope with any outbreak.
“This is the worst global pandemic in our lifetimes, perhaps the greatest threat to humanity since the great wars of the last century. We have all seen the news. We have all witnessed the tragic scenes in China, Iran, Italy and other countries around the world.”
He specifically urged Zimbabweans “to make sure that this is not our next Cyclone Idai”, referring to the last damaging natural phenomenon to hit Zimbabwe almost exactly a year ago when hundreds were killed, homes and infrastructure damaged and destroyed in Chimanimani and surrounding areas, and there was economic disruption whose effects are still afflicting the country.
The Presidential statement comes in the wake of off-the-cuff and personal remarks made at the weekend by Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri that have circulated widely on social media and have been misinterpreted in some circles as reflecting the views of Zimbabwe, its Government and its people.
Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri was speaking at a Zimbabwe National Liberation War Collaborators Association meeting in Chinhoyi on Saturday.
She said in Shona: “This coronavirus that has come are sanctions against the countries that have imposed sanctions on us.
God is now punishing them now and they are staying indoors now, while their economy is screaming like what they did to ours by imposing sanctions on us.
(US President) Trump should know that he is not God. They must face the consequences of coronavirus, so that they also feel the pain.”
But President Mnangagwa said: “We expect science to come up with solutions to this problem soon. Pandemics of this kind have a scientific explanation and like any other natural phenomena cannot be blamed on anyone and know no boundary.
We send our condolences and our solidarity to all those who are already suffering; and strength and good health to those in need.”-State media
President Mnangagwa, in a formal statement, has stressed that coronavirus responsible for the global outbreak of Covid-19 is a purely natural phenomenon, is no one’s fault and needs scientific solutions to prevent its spread.
He expressed empathy, solidarity and support for all countries already affected, and has strongly urged all Zimbabweans to follow strictly the medical advice already given while scientists work on solutions and the Government intensifies its already considerable efforts to prepare Zimbabwe to cope with any outbreak.
“This is the worst global pandemic in our lifetimes, perhaps the greatest threat to humanity since the great wars of the last century. We have all seen the news. We have all witnessed the tragic scenes in China, Iran, Italy and other countries around the world.”
He specifically urged Zimbabweans “to make sure that this is not our next Cyclone Idai”, referring to the last damaging natural phenomenon to hit Zimbabwe almost exactly a year ago when hundreds were killed, homes and infrastructure damaged and destroyed in Chimanimani and surrounding areas, and there was economic disruption whose effects are still afflicting the country.
The Presidential statement comes in the wake of off-the-cuff and personal remarks made at the weekend by Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri that have circulated widely on social media and have been misinterpreted in some circles as reflecting the views of Zimbabwe, its Government and its people.
Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri was speaking at a Zimbabwe National Liberation War Collaborators Association meeting in Chinhoyi on Saturday.
She said in Shona: “This coronavirus that has come are sanctions against the countries that have imposed sanctions on us.
God is now punishing them now and they are staying indoors now, while their economy is screaming like what they did to ours by imposing sanctions on us.
(US President) Trump should know that he is not God. They must face the consequences of coronavirus, so that they also feel the pain.”
But President Mnangagwa said: “We expect science to come up with solutions to this problem soon. Pandemics of this kind have a scientific explanation and like any other natural phenomena cannot be blamed on anyone and know no boundary.
We send our condolences and our solidarity to all those who are already suffering; and strength and good health to those in need.”-State media
Authorities are intensifying efforts to ensure that no sick animals are accepted for slaughter and no uninspected meat is put on sale.
Officials from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Ministry of Health and Child Care and local authorities, among others are coordinating an upgraded operation code-named, “Nyama Yabvepi”.
Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri said yesterday that the authorities had noted with concern recent reports on social media of unscrupulous operators in the beef value chain.
“Following shocking postings on social media that abattoir operators, butcheries and supermarkets were selling uninspected meat derived from sick and dead animals, a team of veterinary public health officers carried out extensive investigations to verify the authenticity of the allegations.
“The team could not find evidence to support the claims that meat derived from sick and dead cattle was entering the human food chain,” said Minister Shiri in a statement read on his behalf by his Permanent Secretary Dr John Bhasera.
He said the Department of Veterinary Services in his ministry had the mandate to ensure public food safety through the inspection of cattle at farms or dip tanks of origin with permits only issued for the movement of healthy animals.
“Under no circumstances are movement permits issued to move sick or dead animals. The department is also charged with the responsibility of abattoir inspections and registrations as well as ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections at registered abattoirs.
“Meat inspectors from the Ministry of Health and Child Care and local authorities also carry out meat inspections at abattoirs not covered by veterinary personnel,” Minister Shiri said.-State media
VICE President Chiwenga has said the court cannot place his three minor children in the custody of his estranged wife, Marry Mubaiwa, who requires to be under constant care of a surgeon, physician and a psychiatrist.
High Court judge, Justice Christopher Dube-Banda, early this year granted Mubaiwa custody of the children and restrained the VP from interfering with her access to the Borrowdale Brooke home.
But VP Chiwenga said Mubaiwa should be in hospital for the intricate and life-saving treatment.
This emerged during the appeal in which VP Chiwenga is challenging the High Court decision to allow Mubaiwa to have custody of the couple’s three minor children.
Through his lawyer, Advocate Lewis Uriri, instructed by Mr Wilson Manase of Manase and Manase, VP Chiwenga, told the court that having relied on her medical affidavit to secure her freedom, and without alleging that the condition had been resolved, the balance of convenience was tilted against her.
Mubaiwa was granted bail after submitting a sworn statement confirming that she “must be under the care of surgeon, physician and a psychiatrist”.
“The court cannot as uppermost guardian of the children endanger them in the circumstances,” argued Adv Uriri.
“The court saw the affidavit. Its attention was specifically drawn to it. It is the uppermost guardian of the child.
“It should, once it decided to assume jurisdiction, enquire into the matter and make findings in the interest of the children.”
The three judge panel-led by Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza heard that the court was mandated by the Constitution to take into account the best interests of the children.
Adv Uriri urged the court to have custody of the children placed on VP Chiwenga on the strength of Mubaiwa’s medical report.
In the High Court, Mubaiwa sought an order of spoliation, claiming VP Chiwenga abducted the couple’s children.-State media
emy. We must declare war on this virus. That means countries have a responsibility to gear up, step up and scale up,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
“How? By implementing effective containment strategies; by activating and enhancing emergency response systems; by dramatically increasing testing capacity and care for patients; by readying hospitals, ensuring they have the space, supplies and needed personnel; and by developing life-saving medical interventions.”
It is all very well for you to advise us to “activate and enhance emergency response systems; etc; etc.” You are just wasting your breath because, in Zimbabwe, we cannot do any of these things. Our healthcare services have all but collapsed.
indepth…Wilbert Mukori
Decades of poor funding have left this basic human service with poorly paid staff most who’ve long left the profession and the few still working can only afford to come to work 2 days a week. There is no equipment and no medicine. It is very common for even the big referral hospitals to run out of something as basic as painkillers and to have no running clean water and electricity for days or weeks on end.
One can only imagine the sorry state of the clinics and hospitals in the rural backwaters!
“The most vulnerable are the most affected – particularly our elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions, those without access to reliable health care, and those in poverty or living on the edge,” acknowledged Secretary General Guterres.
You are right there Mr Secretary General, in Zimbabwe, unemployment has been a nauseating; 90% for the last decade; at least the economy has collapsed and millions are living on the edge with 34% of the population, according to a WB report last year, are living “in extreme poverty.” Millions of Zimbabweans are utterly defenceless against this new enemy, Coronavirus.
40 years ago, when the country attained her independence, Zimbabwe had a robust economy with some of the best health-care services in the world. Four decades of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption that have systematically destroyed the nation’s economy, basic services such as health care, everything.
Zimbabwe could have been saved from the ravages of four decades of corrupt and tyrannical misrule if the people of Zimbabwe were not denied their democratic right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country as stipulated in Article 21 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”
Covid-19 is any pandemic , a common enemy for us all and yet we know there are some who will be better equipped to defend themselves than others and yet others will be utterly defenceless – they are sitting ducks!
Of course, the UN has known these last 40 years that Zanu PF has been rigging elections to stay in power and rob the nation blind and in contemptuous disregard of the UN UDHR. The UN has turned a blind eye to Zanu PF’s brutal oppression and a deaf ear to the ordinary people crying out for justice, freedom, human rights and dignity.
“Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts (of the Second World War) which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,” reads the UN UDHR preamble.
The most barbaric and heartbreaking story to emerge out of this Coronavirus outbreak will be of the hundreds of thousands of lives lost unnecessarily for lack of clean running water to wash their hands! A damning testimonial in failed leadership and a damning testimonial on those tasked to champion human rights but are instead cheering and applauding the tyrants!
If the poor and voiceless from the developing countries had a voice then they would be demanding that the post Covid-19 UN must be reformed if it is to fulfill its mandate delivering all the freedoms and rights in the UDHR. Because, as far as the people Zimbabwe and many others in the developing countries are concerned, the UN has provided a platform for our tyrannical leader to pontificate about freedoms and human rights with no intention of honouring any of it. – SOURCE: zimbabwelight.blogspot.com
Farai Dziva|Staff members at Gutu Mission Hospital are in deep trouble after a nurse claimed she was being victimized by a medical doctor for being sympathetic to Zanu PF.
Sources said the nurse, a declared Zanu PF sympathiser, was summoned to a hearing by the senior medical doctor but she refused.
“The nurse went to the Central Intelligence Offices in Gutu town and made a report stating that she was being victimized by the senior doctor because of her devotion to Zanu PF.
CIO operatives then came to the hospital and threatened the doctor and several staff members.
We are living in fear because we are under surveillance . Individuals in dark glasses are seen here during odd hours so we don’t know what they are planning to do,” said a nurse who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Zanu PF activists are also threatening to deal with us and we are living in fear,” she added.
Farai Dziva|Staff members at Gutu Mission Hospital are in deep trouble after a nurse claimed she was being victimized by a medical doctor for being sympathetic to Zanu PF.
Sources said the nurse, a declared Zanu PF sympathiser, was summoned to a hearing by the senior medical doctor but she refused.
“The nurse went to the Central Intelligence Offices in Gutu town and made a report stating that she was being victimized by the senior doctor because of her devotion to Zanu PF.
CIO operatives then came to the hospital and threatened the doctor and several staff members.
We are living in fear because we are under surveillance . Individuals in dark glasses are seen here during odd hours so we don’t know what they are planning to do.The nurse who made the report has openly confessed her allegiance to Zanu PF,” said a nurse who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Zanu PF activists are also threatening to deal with us and we are living in fear,” she added.
Zimbabwe’s economy can be transformed through sustainable development based on the religious implementation of the 17 SDGs.
However the first order of business is maintaining macro-economic stability which is presently harmstrung by exchange rate volatility and currency depreciation on the back of hyperinflation.
The Trinity of domestic currrency, foreign currency and the resultant exchange rates have become the elephants in the living room together with rent seeking and asset stripping.
What is the solution?
In my view a Transitional Mechanism would have to initiate economic reforms and electoral reforms to prepare for a free and fair election that will usher in a new administration which is legitimate and ready to engage the international community and embrace democracy, good governance, rule of law, economic policy reforms and ensure peace and security of citizens. Without a legitimate government born out of free and fair elections we must keep goodbye to a prosperous Zimbabwe.
The problem in Zimbabwe is political not economic. The IMF was recently alarmed by the rate of decline in GDP to an estimated 0.8 percent drop.
This free fall is worrisome as it will spell poverty and continuous suffering of Zimbabweans.
This is the reason why Zimbabweans must find each other.
We must behave like a truly educated people with sharp brains.
Farai Dziva|Masvingo based clergyman, Isaac Makomichi has said Zanu PF national chairperson and Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri must apologize for the remarks she made about Coronavirus.
Muchinguri claimed Coronavirus was some form of punishment for the west because of “sanctions” imposed on Harare.
Speaking in an interview with ZimEye.com on Monday Makomichi said Muchinguri must apologize for the remarks she made out of anger.Makomichi is the leader of Calvary Prayer Group.
“I know that Minister Muchinguri expressed the sentiments out of anger.
I also acknowledge the efforts being made by the government to resolve the economic crisis in the country.
The issue of sanctions is very sensitive but Minister Muchinguri must apologize for what she said,” said Makomichi.
“She said it because she is trying kugadzirisa nyika but vari kuona kunge ma sanctions ari kuvatadzisa,that woman is a Christian so she must apologize even atadzirwa because hatidzosere chakaipa nechakaipa.
Mathew 5:8 blessed are pure hearts because they shall see God.”
By A Correspondent- President Mnangagwa said pandemics like coronavirus (Covid-19) cannot be blamed on anyone since they have a scientific explanation, and called on Zimbabweans to empathise with those affected.
In a statement, the President sent his condolences and solidarity to all those who were already suffering due to the effects of the deadly virus.
“Pandemics of this kind have a scientific explanation and knows no boundary, and like any other natural phenomenon cannot be blamed on anyone,” he said.
“We have all witnessed the tragic scenes in China, Iran, Italy and other countries around the world. We stand with our friends in the international community. My Government empathises with the affected people around the globe and stands ready to assist in whatever ways within our capacity.”
The President’s statement comes in the wake of remarks by Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri who at the weekend insinuated that COVID-19 was God’s response to countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri was speaking at a Zimbabwe National Liberation War Collaborators Association meeting in Chinhoyi on Saturday.
She said in Shona: “This coronavirus that has come are sanctions against the countries that have imposed sanctions on us. God is now punishing them now and they are staying indoors now, while their economy is screaming like what they did to ours by imposing sanctions on us.
“Trump should know that he is not God. They must face the consequences of coronavirus, so that they also feel the pain.”
President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe stands by the international community in fighting the Covid-19, and that it was time to look after each other, especially the weak and vulnerable.
He said even though the virus was yet to strike in Zimbabwe, it was important not to “rest on our laurels”.
COVID-19, said the President, was the worst global pandemic, and perhaps the greatest threat to humanity since the great wars of the last century.
“My Government empathises with the affected people around the globe and stands ready to assist in whatever ways within our capacity. As a nation we must stand strong. Strong and united. Strong and vigilant. We must act early and we must act sensibly.”
President Mnangagwa said Government was working to ensure doctors and nurses had the necessary know-how and equipment to deal with the Covid-19 threat.
He advised people to seek early treatment if they developed symptoms of the virus. Covid-19 has claimed more than 6 000 people worldwide, after it was first noticed in China’s Wuhan city in December last year.-StateMedia
By A Correspondent- Two nurses stationed at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo allegedly abandoned an expecting mother and left her to give birth unattended, leading to the newly-born baby falling from the bed and dying.
Sekerai Museka (41) and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu (36) pleaded not guilty to the charge of culpable homicide when they appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Lizwe Jamela on Friday.
They were remanded out of custody to March 26 for trial.
The court heard that on November 20, 2019 at 3am, the complainant Purity Dube of Cowdray Park was admitted at Mpilo Central Hospital when she experienced labour pains.
It is alleged that Dube called for help from Museka and Ndlovu who were on duty, but the two failed to attend to her.
As a result, she ended up delivering a baby girl on her own.
However, the baby slipped from the bed and landed on the floor just before the two nurses entered the room.
Museka cut the umbilical cord from the baby and took Dube who was unconscious to the resuscitation room. The doctors came to attend to the baby in the resuscitation room.
However, the two did not disclose to the doctors that the baby had fallen from the bed.
At around 5am, the baby was transferred to the neo-natal intensive care unit.
Dube was later told that her baby had passed on. A post-mortem report revealed that the cause of death was intracranial haemorrhage and head injury.
A police report led to the arrest of the two nurses.-Newsday
By A Correspondent- The Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun has dismissed Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri’s statement alleging that the virus is God’s punishment on Western countries that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Speaking at the press conference held in Harare today Shaochun said the virus was a pandemic that had struck the world which needed unity of everyone globally.
“I do not agree with the notion that this is God’s punishment rather it a natural disaster that could hit anywhere henceforth there is need for us to unite and strategize enough vetting systems at all border post,” he said.
He further testified that there is no Zimbabwean residing in China that has been affected by the virus yet.
Speaking at the same press conference minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Kazembe Kazembe said there is no need to panick because there is no danger for Zimbabwe as far as the virus is concerned.
By A Correspondent- Acting chief magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi has called for the decongestion of Tredgold House in Bulawayo by removing some government departments operating there to allow more space for the provincial and regional courts.
Mutevedzi made the plea during a tour of the premises by Local Government minister July Moyo, his Justice counterpart Ziyambi Ziyambi and Chief Justice Luke Malaba on Friday.
He said other government departments which were not part of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) must be relocated to create adequate space for court officials.
“There is massive overcrowding in this building by various departments, for instance Deeds Office, Surveyor-General, the district (co-ordinator) for Umguza district and District Development Fund, among others,” Mutevedzi said.
“It was our hope, with resources permitting, when other challenges would have been overcome, measures could be taken to decongest the building so that our members work in an enabling environment.”
Mutevedzi said the congestion had resulted in the proliferation of illegal activities inside the building, adding he could not rule out corruption under the circumstances.
In response, the Local Government minister said: “I am happy to say that as we continue to build here in Bulawayo, we will look at how to relocate other departments in the building.
We will have a window of opportunity to look into Tredgold once other offices have moved to their respective places.”
Justice Malaba warned illegal forex dealers operating in front of the court building that the long arm of the law would soon catch up with them.-Newsday
By A Correspondent- Former Chiredzi boxer, Charles Jackson (45) was last week sentenced to 35 years over the cold blood murder of his live-in girlfriend, Ndaizivei James.
The incident happened sometime in March last year.
Jackson, popularly known as Charo in the boxing circles, pummelled his girlfriend to death over an undisclosed beerhall dispute.
Masvingo High Court judge, Justice Garainesu Mawadze handed down the long custodial sentence after it emerged that Jackson had a history of violence.
Jackson committed the gruesome murder barely two years after his release from prison on a kidnapping offence.
Justice Mawadze said the boxer deserved a deterrent sentence after it emerged that he had a knack for violence. He once kidnapped Wonder Mabika, a taxi driver in Chiredzi and robbed him, which earned him a seven-year sentence.
The court heard that on the fateful day, Jackson and Ndaizivei were on a beer-drinking binge at Chigarapasi Beerhall when they had a misunderstanding. Jackson hit his girlfriend with fists before he was restrained by some revellers.
The two eventually left the beerhall for their home where Jackson continued to beat his defenceless girlfriend with fists, booted feet and various other objects. He later used a blunt object to beat the now-deceased all over the body until she died.
After realising that he had killed his girlfriend, he vainly tried to shove a handful of tablets down Ndaizivei’s throat so that she would appear as having committed suicide. The body was taken to Bulawayo for post-mortem which concluded that Ndaizivei succumbed to multiple fractures, including broken ribs and loss of blood.-Newsday
Highlanders Football Club would like to express its absolute disgust about the pitch invasion and missile throwing incidents that transpired on Saturday the 14th of March, during the Castle Challenge Cup match played against FC Platinum at Barbourfields Stadium.
The ugly incidents that marred a potentially good sporting event reflect badly on our football, Highlanders FC as a brand and various stakeholders involved in this beautiful game.
We would like to urge all football loving fans to refrain from such acts of hooliganism that stunt the growth of the sport as they scare away potential sponsors and partners.
As Highlanders F.C, we want to take this opportunity to apologise to all stakeholders who were affected by the incidents and give an assurance that as a club, we are working tirelessly to decontaminate our football of this vice.
With the assistance of key actors in the game, we will look into how we can better our security and crowd control skills for future football events.
The club also notes with gratefulness the amount of work that the Government of Zimbabwe , Bulawayo City Council and other stakeholders involved have done in uplifting Barbourfields stadium generally and particularly the playing pitch, which was in pristine condition for the match.
Thus, the lifting and throwing of watering pipes that were stored between the touchline advertising space and the Soweto stand perimeter fence by violent fans is uncalled for, and stand unequivocally condemned by the club.
Violence has no place in football.
Football is a family sport, and the stadium should provide a conducive environment for football-loving people to bring their families.
Highlanders Football Club would like to express its absolute disgust about the pitch invasion and missile throwing incidents that transpired on Saturday the 14th of March, during the Castle Challenge Cup match played against FC Platinum at Barbourfields Stadium.
The ugly incidents that marred a potentially good sporting event reflect badly on our football, Highlanders FC as a brand and various stakeholders involved in this beautiful game.
We would like to urge all football loving fans to refrain from such acts of hooliganism that stunt the growth of the sport as they scare away potential sponsors and partners.
As Highlanders F.C, we want to take this opportunity to apologise to all stakeholders who were affected by the incidents and give an assurance that as a club, we are working tirelessly to decontaminate our football of this vice.
With the assistance of key actors in the game, we will look into how we can better our security and crowd control skills for future football events.
The club also notes with gratefulness the amount of work that the Government of Zimbabwe , Bulawayo City Council and other stakeholders involved have done in uplifting Barbourfields stadium generally and particularly the playing pitch, which was in pristine condition for the match.
Thus, the lifting and throwing of watering pipes that were stored between the touchline advertising space and the Soweto stand perimeter fence by violent fans is uncalled for, and stand unequivocally condemned by the club.
Violence has no place in football.
Football is a family sport, and the stadium should provide a conducive environment for football-loving people to bring their families.
Farai Dziva|An opposition leader who contested against Emmerson Mnangagwa in the 2018 Presidential election stunned all and sundry when he exposed his manhood to female employees.
Read below the full story that was by H-Metro:
New Patriotic Party leader and 2018 Presidential aspirant has been admitted to the hospital for psychiatric care after exposing his erect manhood to some female workmates during a wellness program held in the provincial town.
Engineer Peter Munyanduri left female employees shell-shocked and trumatized by his indecent exposure.
Munyanduri is a member of POLAD.
“The incident happened during a wellness program exercises that we held here at the offices
“Munyanduri saw some ladies who were wearing sporting attire and immediately went to them and exposed his manhood saying that he wanted to have sexual intercourse with them leaving the female employees in a state of shock and disbelief,” said the source.
After the incident, Munyanduri was them taken to the Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital psychiatric care unit for assessment by two medical doctors.
Another employee who requested anonymity said that they were shocked when they saw Eng Munyanduri advancing towards female employees and without warning exposed his erect manhood to them.
I was shocked and I am yet to come to terms with what he did,” he said.
Another female employee who saw the shocking incident said that she was still in a state of shock.
“I am yet to come to terms with what Eng Munyanduri did.
“Ndiro rinonzi shura chairo rwakaitwa navaMunyanduri,” she said.
She said that they felt at home when Eng Munyanduri was taken to hospital and admitted to the psychiatric care unit.
“Ndakanzwa kutya nokunyara zvikuru nezvekaitwa naEng Munyanduri,” she said.
Farai Dziva|An opposition leader who contested against Emmerson Mnangagwa in the 2018 Presidential election stunned all and sundry when he exposed his manhood to female employees.
Read below the full story that was by H-Metro:
New Patriotic Party leader and 2018 Presidential aspirant has been admitted to the hospital for psychiatric care after exposing his erect manhood to some female workmates during a wellness program held in the provincial town.
Engineer Peter Munyanduri left female employees shell-shocked and trumatized by his indecent exposure.
Munyanduri is a member of POLAD.
“The incident happened during a wellness program exercises that we held here at the offices
“Munyanduri saw some ladies who were wearing sporting attire and immediately went to them and exposed his manhood saying that he wanted to have sexual intercourse with them leaving the female employees in a state of shock and disbelief,” said the source.
After the incident, Munyanduri was them taken to the Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital psychiatric care unit for assessment by two medical doctors.
Another employee who requested anonymity said that they were shocked when they saw Eng Munyanduri advancing towards female employees and without warning exposed his erect manhood to them.
I was shocked and I am yet to come to terms with what he did,” he said.
Another female employee who saw the shocking incident said that she was still in a state of shock.
“I am yet to come to terms with what Eng Munyanduri did.
“Ndiro rinonzi shura chairo rwakaitwa navaMunyanduri,” she said.
She said that they felt at home when Eng Munyanduri was taken to hospital and admitted to the psychiatric care unit.
“Ndakanzwa kutya nokunyara zvikuru nezvekaitwa naEng Munyanduri,” she said.
By A Correspondent| The Ministry of Health has officially confirmed that it issued a coronavirus positive patient with a certificate for a negative result.
They made the announcement soon after being grilled by journalists on Monday afternoon.
Their statement comes as an official at the Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital announced that another patient arrived from China while positive (tested in that country) and was upon arrival issued with a certificate for a negative results. (Video)
The two cases now throw into the open the fact that contrary to its claims that Zimbabwe has had ZERO COVID-19 records, the country has knowingly hosted at least one well known positive patient.
We won't close borders or shut down schools because we are still at ZERO COVID-19, says minister Obadiah Moyo @MoHCCZimpic.twitter.com/nRUYHrLuuw
The Ministry has received information on a traveller from the UK who was in Victoria Falls from the 7th — 10th March 2020. She was attended to b) a private practitioner in Hwange district on the 9th March 2020 with respiratory symptoms (cough, chest pain, difficulty in breathing) and was referred to Victoria Falls Hospital as a -suspected case” of COVID-19. However, upon assessment by the local Rapid Response Team on admission at Victoria Falls Hospital, she did not meet the WHO case definition of a suspected case and therefore was not tested. She was instead managed as a case of Pneumonia, recovered and departed for Kruger National Park in South Africa on the 10th March 2020 before proceeding back home to the UK. Upon return to the UK. a COVID-19 test was conducted. and she tested positive.
The Ministry through the Provincial Medical Directorate has followed up all her contacts, including the staff at the private clinic. hotel staff and staff at Victoria Falls Hospital to put them under self-quarantine and intensified surveillance. Samples for COVID-19 testing have been collected and the Ministry will report on the outcome of these results tomorrow.
The top actor, Idris Elba has announced he has tested positive for coronavirus.
The star of BBC drama, Luther said on Twitter “I feel OK” as he confirmed he does not have any symptoms.
Elba, 47, said he has since been isolated after finding out he was exposed to the virus.
He said: “This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus.
“Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing ???? No panic.”
By A Correspondent| If Zimbabwe is not distorting Coronavirus statistics what else is it doing? The local United Nations office also misled the public last week when they claimed that there are no Coronavirus cases to worry about in Zimbabwe.
A Chinese national who travelled all the way from the Asian country, was fully tested positive for coronavirus, has obtained a certificate of negative testing from Zimbabwe’s health institution, Wilkins Hospital, a top official at the infirmary announced today.
The unnamed official was speaking to MDC President Nelson Chamisa during a visit today. The development confirms an investigation by ZimEye.com revealing that there is a secret contract entered into by Health Minister Obadiah Moyo and the Chinese government over the expansion of Wilkins Hospital, which it is funding. China has reportedly demanded that Zimbabwe must suppress its reportage of Coronavirus and its links with China in exchange of the Chinese building Wilkins Hospital. The development may explain why Zimbabwe’s Coronavirus statistics have remained at a dramatic zero since the pandemic began 3 months ago.
While a comment could not be obtained from the health minister he is on record while on video saying that he will never quarantine Chinese citizens ‘because they have been very good to us.’
Linking in with the revelations, Moyo, today, announced that he opposes the shutting down of borders and closing of schools because we have ZERO COVID 19.
VIDEO LOADING BELOW…
We won't close borders or shut down schools because we are still at ZERO COVID-19, says minister Obadiah Moyo @MoHCCZimpic.twitter.com/nRUYHrLuuw
In another case, Moyo today confirmed a Coronavirus positive patient finally tested in UK but was tested negative while in Victoria Falls when she visited as a tourist, and back then told she was reacting to malaria treatment.’
VIDEO LOADING BELOW….
As he refused to shut Zim borders, Health Minister Obadiah Moyo today confirmed a Coronavirus positive patient finally tested in UK but was tested negative while in Victoria Falls when she visited as a tourist, and back then told she was reacting to malaria treatment,' pic.twitter.com/zmAF3DFsDR
Former police Assistant Commissioner Gideon Baloyi has exposed the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP)’s alleged underhand dealings, including cover-ups for officers who committed murder and other various offences.
Baloyi made the exposé in a court application filed on March 3 this year, in which he is challenging his dismissal by then-Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri in 2015 after accusing his boss of covering up high-profile criminal cases and rewarding corruption.
In his court challenge, Baloyi said he was forced to retire from the police force at gunpoint after he spilt the beans over his bosses’ shenanigans in court. At the time of his dismissal, he was in charge of operations in Masvingo province.
In a letter dated May 1, 2015 addressed to the Home Affairs Minister and copied to the late former President Robert Mugabe, Justice minister, ZRP Commissioner-General, Public Service Commission, director-general in the President’s Office and the Prosecutor-General, Baloyi said he was puzzled as to why the ZRP did not pursue murder reports that had been filed against police officers.
“I wrote a letter to the Commissioner-General (Chihuri) on December 7, 2014 and I am sure you (minister) had a copy to that effect, sir. It was my hope and trust that the Commissioner-General would favour me with a response, but he chose not to. Why he chose not to respond to my letter is unknown to me,” Baloyi said.
“A follow-up correspondence dated March 26, 2015 was delivered to his office and I am sure you were also given a copy to that effect, Sir. All the same, the Commissioner-General chose not to respond to my letter once again. Why he could not favour me with that much-needed response still remains unknown to me.”
Baloyi said as a result of the bad blood between him and Chihuri, the latter caused his arrest on trumped-up charges, and he was later acquitted by the High Court.
He continued: “Sir, what I am humbly asking is for you to pressure the Commissioner-General of Police to take his child killer to court for justice to take its course. Paragraph 5 of my letter dated December 7, 2014, here attached says it all and how the killer was shamelessly rewarded for killing a street kid…
our Commissioner-General is busy protecting such heartless murderers in the organisation. If it means that the murderers’ appearance in court would also drag the big boss, so let it be.” Besides the murders, Baloyi also said several other top police officers were protected by Chihuri after committing various crimes.
“Defeating the course of justice, according to my understanding applies equally to all public office holders, police officers included. Nobody is being charged for the above crime for having accepted his resignation letter knowingly enough that he had committed a crime,” he said.
Daily News|LINGERING health concerns forced Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, pictured, to abandon his State duties last week, compelling his doctors to order him to rest at home, the Daily News can reveal.
This comes as speculation and conspiracy theories swelled last week after the powerful VP failed to attend a field day that was hosted at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s farm in Kwekwe.
It also comes as Chiwenga is embroiled in an acrimonious divorce with his ex-model wife Marry – whom he has stunningly accused of attempting to kill him last year, during the time he was hospitalised at a top South African hospital.
Called for a comment, presidential spokeperson George Charamba confirmed to the Daily News yesterday that the VP had “temporarily taken leave of absence on the advice of his doctors”.
“What I know is that he complained of fatigue and is resting at home. He is in the country. He was not feeling too well and he wanted a bit of rest … that is the real issue.
“Now, he is much, much better. I spoke to him and he is doing well, not that speculation that there is bad blood between him and the president. That is nonsense,” he said.
Although the former military commander – who spent the better part of last year in hospital in China – had appeared fit and well last Tuesday, when he attended the weekly Cabinet meeting and a subsequent function at State House, it later emerged that he was “under the weather”.
This saw him failing to attend the field day at Mnangagwa’s Precabe Farm in Kwekwe on Thursday, where he was billed to be the guest of honour.
Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri ended up standing in for him. Chiwenga was also conspicuously absent during a handover ceremony of model houses to victims of Cyclone Idai in Chivhu, where he was represented by the minister of Agriculture, Perrance Shiri.
The 63-year-old retired army general – who led the dramatic November 2017 military coup which toppled the late former president Robert Mugabe from his long and ruinous tenure in power – was taken ill in July last year, before being airlifted to South Africa first, and then to China where he spent 123 days in hospital.
He returned home on November 23 last year, looking remarkably recovered, just before the ruling Zanu-PF held its annual conference in Goromonzi.
Mnangagwa later met Chiwenga at his private residence the same day, with the two men appearing to be on very good terms despite the continuing speculation about their relationship.
“He has returned. He is looking strong and he is very clear, raring to go … my colleague is back to assist me on national projects.
“I am not concerned about him resuming duty. My concern is on his health, that he has recovered. He is strong. That is my concern.
“Even if he resumes duty, he should do light work and incrementally … Ukamuona unoona kuti munhu anechiedza, akachena kumeso (if you see him you will notice that he has recovered),” Mnangagwa said then. On his part, Chiwenga said he was grateful that Mnangagwa had facilitated his medical treatment in China.
“Up to yesterday, from the time I left, I had spent 123 days in hospital. When I got there it was the 21st of July and I got my discharge certificate later on after 123 days.
“I feel strong and I am raring to go to work … Everything possible was done. They left no stone unturned … I am very fit and happy.
“Once again I want to thank the president. He didn’t act as the president, but acted as my brother to ensure that I survived,” Chiwenga said.
He added that if Mnangagwa had not intervened “I could have been history by now”.
Since leading the coup that toppled Mugabe from power, Chiwenga has been a larger-than-life character in the country’s body politic.
However, his health has been a source of concern over the past two years – with the former Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander tracing his physical woes in 2018 to the days when he orchestrated Mugabe’s fall. At one time, he said he was suffering from “nhuta”, which he claimed had caused his complexion to lighten – triggering speculation that he was bleaching his skin.
“It was during that time (the coup days) that I fell ill. I had this skin sickness (nhuta) that affected my whole body from beneath my feet to my back, and the journalists started saying I was using skin lightening creams.
“But that was not the case. I was sick. I have decided to talk about it because that is what you see … but you should know that everything that happens comes with a price.
“We then sent everything to South Africa to find out what was causing the sickness, but they failed to treat it,” Chiwenga said.
“It was then that my (late) sister Margaret approached Sister Redemptor (Roman Catholic nun) and was given herbs that I began taking until I was healed.
“But before I took the medication, they also prayed for me,” he said at the burial of Margaret. After his return from his lengthy treatment in China, Chiwenga also told people at his Wedza rural home that he had undergone treatment for idiopathic oesophageal stricture.
“I was telling colleagues that I spent close to six months without seeing the sun. I only saw it this last Saturday upon returning home,” he said.
“I want to thank you all for your prayers. Those prayers made me survive.
“Since I started falling sick in October last year, there were not many who thought I would heal completely. There were not many who thought I would be standing before you like this.
“The sickness is called idiopathic oesophageal stricture. It means that you cannot take in food and also you cannot even vomit.
“It involves blocking of the oesophagus and I spent a lot of time in the intensive care unit,” Chiwenga said. Meanwhile, the VP has also stunningly accused his wife Marry of allegedly wanting to kill him in June last year, while he was gravely ill in a top South African hospital.
Marry has denied the allegations, going on to make her own stunning counter-claims.
A Chinese national who travelled all the way from the Asian country, was fully tested positive for coronavirus has obtained a certificate of negative test from Zimbabwe’s health institution, Wilkins Hospital, a top official at the infirmary announced today
The unnamed official was speaking to MDC President Nelson Chamisa during a visit today. The development confirms an investigation by ZimEye.com revealing that there is a secret contract entered into by Health Minister Obadiah Moyo and the Chinese government over the expansion of Wilkins Hospital, which it is funding. China has reportedly demanded that Zimbabwe must suppress its reportage of Coronavirus and its links with China in exchange of the Chinese building Wilkins Hospital. The development may explain why Zimbabwe’s Coronavirus statistics have remained at a dramatic zero since the pandemic began 3 months ago.
While a comment could not be obtained from the health minister he is on record while on video saying that he will never quarantine Chinese citizens ‘because they have been very good to us.’
Linking in with the revelations, Moyo, today, announced that he opposes the shutting down of borders and closing of schools because we have ZERO COVID 19.
VIDEO LOADING BELOW…
We won't close borders or shut down schools because we are still at ZERO COVID-19, says minister Obadiah Moyo @MoHCCZimpic.twitter.com/nRUYHrLuuw
In another case, Moyo today confirmed a Coronavirus positive patient finally tested in UK but was tested negative while in Victoria Falls when she visited as a tourist, and back then told she was reacting to malaria treatment.’
VIDEO LOADING BELOW….
As he refused to shut Zim borders, Health Minister Obadiah Moyo today confirmed a Coronavirus positive patient finally tested in UK but was tested negative while in Victoria Falls when she visited as a tourist, and back then told she was reacting to malaria treatment,' pic.twitter.com/zmAF3DFsDR
ARTISTES are up in arms with the Primary and Secondary Education ministry over a commissioned textbook which it implies that musician Lovemore Majaivana is dead.
Titled Best Approach to Visual and Performing Arts, the book is for Grade 3 learners and it is currently being used in schools. It was published by Priority Projects Publishing (PPP) and commissioned by the government.
Majaivana is alive and lives in the United States, having left Zimbabwe at the turn of the millennium. He has since quit music and does other jobs there.
A top musician during his time in Zimbabwe and based in Bulawayo, he released national hit songs such as Umoya Wami, Wakewashayina, Isono Sami and Mkwenyana among several hits.
Dub poet Albert Nyathi, who has known and worked with Majaivana said: “I am so infuriated by a publisher teaching children lies in a book, claiming one of our topmost musicians in Zimbabwe is late. Am wondering if that book is on the syllabus! This must be stopped forthwith.”
Outspoken playwright Cont Mhlanga blasted the Education ministry for awarding contracts to people who “are too lazy to research”.
“We should not do this with the education of our children just because we want quick money from donors and to loot public funds from government by giving contracts to people who are too lazy to research and have no clue about the cultural creative industries of Zimbabwe. And how does such content find its way into our national schools?”
Pressed for comment by Mhlanga, Priority Projects Publishing operations executive Samuel Chuma responded to the outcry. “As a leading publisher, Priority Projects Publishing acknowledges the feedback on the Visual and Performing Arts Grade 3 Learner’s Book where Lovemore Majaivana was captioned as ‘The late’.
“We shall offer an official statement soon after we have done our investigations. PPP sincerely apologises for the emotional pain and trauma caused to Majaivana’s immediate family, Majaivana himself and the country at large.”
Mhlanga was furious: “Can the minister, Cain Mathema, and his government please pay Majaivana +/- US$1 million compensation and send an official apology to his family and the people of Bulawayo and the rest of the country for this misinformation before holding the Zimbabwe @40 Celebrations in Majaivana’s city community and neighbourhood. We cannot allow the nation to celebrate such errors and nonsense 40 years on!
“The Bulawayo Resident Minister should pass on this massage to the Office of the Cabinet and President. What are government officials doing to our national memory and to the minds of our young people? And for the publisher of this book, he must face the music!”
Mhlanga said as a leader in the performing arts sector who represents the interests of many, he simply wants to know who gave the writers that information that Majaivana had died.
“We are more than interested in the source of that information than what the publishing house intends to do. There are also serious historical implications in that page; when you place Oliver Mtukudzi and Majaivana on the same page you are appealing to tribal context and expression. When you then add a caption that Mtukudzi entertained people during the war, and Majaivana entertained people after independence, you imply two things; that Majaivana was not performing before 1980 and second that Ndebele artistes did not participate or add any value to the liberation war.”
The playwright said to avoid such things, Amakhosi has been in negotiations for an MoU with the Primary and Secondary Education ministry since 2017 “to be part of the process to produce history, arts and heritage content for the new competence based curriculum for Zimbabwe schools and to this date that MoU has not been considered nor signed as if no one in government knows what Amakhosi is good at or specialises in”.
“We have been marginalised by our own government in this field for the past years simply because we are in Bulawayo and not in Harare. What drive me crazy are people in government offices who are convinced that Zimbabwe is Harare and the fact that they are in Harare and in government departments, they do it for every Zimbabwean.”
A Bulawayo family has reportedly been put under self-quarantine after a South African doctor who was visited by a family member tested positive to coronavirus.
The development was announced by Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo on Monday during a press conference to update the nation on the Coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, there are reports suggesting that a tourist who left Zimbabwe on March 10 via South Africa also tested positive upon his return to his home country in the United Kingdom.
The Herald reports that the government has since started tracing those who interfaced with the tourist in Victoria Falls.
There are no officially registered coronavirus cases in Zimbabwe yet.
35 of South Africa’s 72 land ports of entry will be closed in an effort to limit the movement of people, not goods.
Skilpadshek border post, North West province. Picture: ANA
On Monday morning, various ministers from a number of South African departments convened to brief the media and elaborate on the national state of disaster announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday evening.
Among the announcements made by Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi was the announcement that 35 of South Africa’s 72 land ports of entry would be closed in an effort to limit the movement of people, not goods.
He reiterated that the department of trade and industry would not be negatively affected by measures implemented by DHA as they were cognisant not to impact commercial activities.
As a result, 12 border posts between Botswana and South Africa will be closed. Five border posts between Lesotho and South Africa will be operational, four will be closed. One border post between Mozambique and South Africa will be operational, two will be closed. Two border posts between Namibia and South Africa will be operational, three will be closed. Because there is only one border post between South Africa and Zimbabwe, it will have to remain open.
Officials from the closed posts will be reassigned to open posts to assist with the possibility of increased traffic.
See the full list of affected border posts below:
BORDER POST
COUNTRY
Alexander Bay
Namibia
Sendelingsdrift
Namibia
Onseepkans
Namibia
McCarthy’s Rest
Botswana
Middelputs
Botswana
Rietfontein
Namibia
Gemsbok
Botswana
Twee Rivieren
Botswana
Bray
Botswana
Makopong
Botswana
Makgobistad
Botswana
Swartkopfontein
Botswana
Derdepoort
Botswana
Stockpoort
Botswana
Platjan
Botswana
Pontdrift
Botswana
Zanzibar
Botswana
Pafuri
Mozambique
Giriyondo
Mozambique
Emahlathini
Swaziland
Bothashoop
Swaziland
Waverley
Swaziland
Nerston
Swaziland
Josefsdal
Swaziland
Kosibay
Mozambique
Onverwacht
Swaziland
Sani Pass
Lesotho
Boesmansnek
Lesotho
Tellebridge
Lesotho
Ongeluksnek
Lesotho
Ramatsiliso
Lesotho
Mononstha Pass
Lesotho
Pekabridge
Lesotho
Makhaleng
Lesotho
Sepapus Gate
Lesotho
Of the country’s eight seaports, only two will be closed to the movement of people. This will be done at Saldhana Bay and Mossel Bay.
Passengers at Saldhana Bay and Mossel Bay will not be allowed to disembark and there will be no crew changes allowed for ships who often exchange staff compliments from time to time.
Visas
Since Visas are the only way to limit movement, this is how the movement of international visitors from high-risk areas will be controlled.
Visas issued to Iranian and Chinese citizens between January and February will be revoked.
Italian, French, German, American, South Korean and British citizens will now need visas to enter South Africa.
Health certificate-based visas for international visitors from medium-risk areas such as Portugal, Hong-Kong and Singapore will now be required.
Study visas and work permits will not be affected. However, if people on study visas and work permits travel to the aforementioned affected areas, this may affect their re-entry into the country.
Mostoaledi also explained that his department is making use of an offshore passenger control system to pre-emptively screen air passengers in ongoing efforts to limit the entry of high-risk individuals into the country.
Statement by MDC North America Province (MDC- NAP) on the Diplomatic Gaffe by Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri on the Reason for the CoronaVirus Pandemic.
MDC- NAP condemns the reckless and inflammatory utterances by Zimbabwe’s Minister of Defense, Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri. Speaking at a rally in Chinhoyi, a Northern town in Zimbabwe, the ZANU-PF Defense Minister said that Coronavirus is the work of God punishing countries who imposed sanctions on Zimbabweans, adding that these countries’ economies are now screaming just like they did to the Zimbabwe economy. Oppah Muchinguri also said that the coronavirus will teach the US President Donald Trump that “he is not God.”
Oppah’s diplomatic gaffe is reported in this link:
Fact: The Corona Virus was first detected in China (Wuhan city) in December 2019, and worldwide over 150,000 people have been infected and 6,000 killed by the virus to date. China doesn’t have sanctions on Zimbabwe. The United States and the European Union imposed targeted sanctions on then-President Mugabe and his inner circle of high-ranking officials and government institutions for crimes against humanity, denying the citizens of Zimbabwe democracy.
The government minister’s distasteful and imprecise utterings do not reflect the character and ubderstanding of Zimbabweans towards a serious global crisis like the Coronavirus outbreak. Her mentality is typical ZANU-PF; despotic, repressive and irresponsible, which has cost the lives of tens of thousands of citizens and caused the economy to collapse.
ZANU-Pf stalwarts, including Oppah, claim to be freedom fighters who liberated the people but have become quack revolutionaries who betray the ideals that brought them to power. The ZANU-PF government is guilty of treachery, crimes against humanity, cultural betrayal, economic devastation, while blaming western countries for the country’s economic woes. Oppah’s psychotic, ignorant and irresponsible statement towards those who have succumbed to the Coronavirus pandemic is typical ZANU-PF brutality that has enabled armed forces to rape, abduct, muzzle, torture and kill citizens with impunity.
The respect and spirit of Zimbabweans on the globally devastating Coronavirus is well captured in President Chamisa’s statement on the epidemic, found in this link:
International engagement is one of MDC’s five-Point Plan key areas of importance, and MDC shuns irresponsible and ignorant utterances that can destroy relationships with other nations.
As the MDC-NAP, we sympathize and empathize with the people of China and Italy that have been hit hardest, as well as all countries that have reported infections and deaths. We also pray for countries, like our nation of Zimbabwe and neighboring states, that are starting to experience or are still to experience this pandemic, that they are prepared and have resources to treat and combat the spread of this virus. These, we know are the sentiments shared by all peace-loving, long-suffering democracy seeking Zimbabweans as they watch this pandemic approach their country where the healthcare system has crashed because of the corruption and inept management of resources by ZANU-PF government, where Oppah holds a ministerial position.
Tawanda Dzvokora
NAP-MDC Chairperson.
with
Dr. Hatifanani
Secretary for International Relations and Advocacy.
