Captains of industry and economists are holding a breakfast dialogue with the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank on the state of the economy in Harare this morning.

Watch the live proceedings of the dialogue in the video below:

By A Correspondent- A man’s hopes for fresh meat were shattered when he was stopped in his tracks disguised as a goat inside the goat’s kraal attempting to capture one at Springs Farm village near Imbizo Barracks.

The 24-year-old Artwell Ncube who had managed to gain entry into Silas Ngwenya’s (63) home was caught red-handed by Ngwenya trying to steal a goat that was inside the kraal.

It was heard in court that when Ncube saw he was about to be caught, he allegedly knelt and took the posture of a goat holding on to the horns of the goat that was facing him.

Prosecuting, Mehluli Ndlovu said Ngwenya’s neighbour heard funny noises before noticing Ncube suspiciously loitering around Ngwenya’s kraal around 10pm last month. The neighbour quickly went to alert Ngwenya who was inside the house that is in the same yard with the kraal.

The neighbour accompanied Ngwenya to the kraal and they reportedly saw Ncube among the many goats standing on all fours imitating a goat posture. He was holding onto the horns of the goat that was in front of him with part of his head showing.

The duo reportedly chucked Ncube from his posture and questioned the allegedly stammering Ncube at the time as to what he was doing in Ngwenya’s kraal. They apprehended and dragged him to Queens Park Police Station where they reported and opened a case against him.

In his defence, Ncube said he was not trying to steal any of Ngwenya’s goats but instead he had scurried for cover inside Ngwenya’s yard.

“I was drinking beer with some people at the bar and as we got drunk, they wanted to beat me for some unknown reason. I tried to run away from them and I got inside Ngwenya’s yard. When I saw the kraal I went inside it because I knew that my chasers were not going to be able to find and get to me inside the kraal.

“I clutched on to the horns in front of me for balance and to have a bit of view to see if I had really escaped,” said Ncube.

However, Ngwenya disputed Ncube’s defence as he said that Ngwenya looked sober when he caught him inside the kraal on that day.

Ncube was charged with attempted livestock theft and presiding magistrate at Tredgold, Nomagugu Maphosa remanded him out of custody for sentencing on Friday. -Independent, DailyNews

12 MDC activists who were arrested about two weeks ago over public violence charges in Chitungwiza languish longer in prison until next Tuesday after High Court judge, Justice David Foroma failed to read badly written record of the magistrate’s record.

Vongai Muchuchuti from Harare Magistrate’s Court was the magistrate who handled the case in Chitungwiza.

The judge postponed the case to 17 March to allow the State to have the record transcribed again.

“The judge couldn’t read the docket. It was so badly written that he could not pick what was contained,” the suspects’ lawyer, Job Sikhala after the postponement of the bail ruling.

They are accused of participating in a public gathering with intent to promote public violence.

NewsDay|THE Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Takavafira Zhou says teachers have relapsed into incapacitation because the salary increment effected by government in February for civil servants has since been eroded by inflation.

Government in February this year increased civil servants salaries by between 140% to 200% depending on the grades of the government employees, a development that enabled the least paid to take home $3 000.

“We said it in February that teachers did not need a salary increase, but restoration of their purchasing power parity. Those who thought PTUZ was radical need to look at basics. When teachers got that so called salary increase in February, a standard pocket of potatoes was $80 cash,” Zhou said.

“It is now $200 or more; 1 litre of milk was $15, and it’s now $27, bread was $17, it is now $24. The salary of teachers is being eroded against United States dollar with US$10 now trading at $400. Rentals are now charged in US dollars with a single small room costing between US$30 and US$50; fuel has virtually dried up except at garages selling in forex and 1 litre costs US$1.25.”

Zhou said the economy was dollarising fast despite government denial.

“We reiterate our long held view that teachers do not need a salary increase or cushion, but restoration of the US$520 salary or its equivalent in terms of inter-bank rate. Any other claim is ludicrous lunacy that must never be entertained by trade union leaders worth their salt,” Zhou said.

“The more things appear to change in Zimbabwe, the more they remain the same. Yes, the government and Apex Council talked of continued negotiations after the increase. But have you ever heard of any further negotiations after the Victoria Falls meeting? Virtually nothing.”

He urged teachers’ unions to take the collective action to address the plight of educators.

“We also call upon the Apex Council to rise to the occasion and show workers fruits of further negotiations that they alluded to from the Victoria Falls meeting. The cause of workers cannot be surrendered even under difficult conditions,” he said.

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary actions and extraordinary solutions. Teachers are their own liberators.”

Following the negotiations between government and its workers in January, Apex Council president Cecilia Alexander said her outfit was pushing government to have salaries reviewed quarterly and Labour minister Paul Mavima also promised to negotiate with Treasury for periodic salary reviews.-

Wuhan hosted 2019 Military World Games in October last year, in which the US armed forces had participated.

China has made a stunning allegation against the US saying it may have brought the coronavirus to Wuhan and caused the epidemic that’s unleashing distress and deaths around the world. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lijian Zhao said this while referring to the admission by the director of the US Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that the country had many deaths before they were able to test for the virus.

Zhao lambasted the US for the late admission and accused it of lacking transparency. “When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be the US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!” Zhao said in a English tweet. Earlier, CDC Director Robert Redfield some cases of coronavirus in the US had been misdiagnosed.

Chinese anger against profiling, conspiracy theories

Coming from a responsible and highly placed Chinese official, the charge is astounding, even after discounting the Chinese anger against the West for blaming it for various things like a cover-up of the death toll. China was also cut up with the alleged racial profiling as well as insinuations that the coronavirus may have been leaked from a Wuhan lab.

When the senior Chinese official says the American military may have brought the virus to Wuhan, the reference is to the Military World Games in Wuhan last year in which the US participated. Wuhan had hosted 2019 Military World Games, officially known as the 7th CISM Military World Games, between October 18–27 in Wuhan.

The deadly coronavirus strain, officially named Covid-19 by the World Health Organisation, broke out in Wuhan in late last year. While China bore the brunt of the virus in the initial stages, seeing more than 3,000 deaths, the focus has now shifted to the West.

Iran made similar charge earlier

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had also made a similar claim last week. The Iranians said Covid-19 was possibly produced as a biological weapon by the US and had it had deliberately spread it in Iran and China, two of its chief adversaries. However, the theory, as outlandish as it sounds, does not explain why Nato ally Italy is the worst hit now.

The US congress has received a report that says between 70 and 150 million people could be infected with the novel coronavirus in the US, a Congresswoman said on Thursday. “Congress’s attending physician told the Senate that he expects between 70 to 150 million people to eventually contract the coronavirus in the United States,” Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said at the House of Representatives.

Italy remains worst-hit

In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the scare is not over yet and more people are going to die from coronavirus, in the country. Italy’s crisis deepened on Thursday with deaths going past 1,000 even as most of the country is under lockdown. As many as daily death toll jumped by 189 on Thursday.

While the exact origins of the novel coronavirus is not yet established conclusively, experts have said it might have spread from a Wuhan meat market. The virus may have developed in snakes or bats and then spread to the humans at the market where Chinese shop for assorted live animals.

However, in January, an Israeli biological warfare analyst kicked up a row when he made the sensational claim that the Coronavirus 2019-nCoV was developed by China as part of its covert biological weapons programme. The claim got wide currency after it was picked up by the Washington Times.

While China questions the US over its patient zero, Beijing has also not been come out with a plausible theory around its own patient zero. However, with the outbreak seemingly in control, China has lately pushed it back against the detractors who blamed it for the epidemic.

China mouthpiece criticices US

Earlier this week, influential Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times accused the US of gross inefficiency in handling its own virus problem. “This is worrisome because the US, the world’s superpower which is thought to have the strongest medical resources in the world, can’t even confirm the exact number of COVID-19 infections,” the publication said.

“It’s time for the US and the West to let go of their egotism, start to confront the epidemic from the perspective of protecting people’s lives and health, learn from China’s experience, adopt effective measures and jointly cooperate on defeating COVID-19 with other countries,” it added.

GOVERNMENT has insisted that the country is not despite continued use of the US dollar in the economy and expressed confidence that full de-dollarisation would be achieved in five years.

In June last year Government outlawed use of multiple foreign currencies in the economy, marking the return of the Zimbabwean dollar as the official currency.

But since then several institutions and sectors such as tourism, have been given special dispensations to charge for their goods and services in foreign currency, notably the US dollar. And while in formal trade, the currency used is generally the local dollar, the situation is largely the opposite in the informal market.

Even some Government institutions like the Registrar General’s office have been allowed to charge foreign currency for passports, prompting many to conclude that the country was slowly re-dollarising, an assertion Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya denied on Wednesday.

Dr Mangudya said de-dollarisation was a process which would take years to fully implement.

“I think we are suffering in this country from definitional issues that we should not suffer from, de-dollarisation is a gradual movement rom dollarisation,” he said.

“On February 22 of 2019 when Zimbabwe introduced the inter-bank exchange rate and its own currency, that was the beginning of the journey which we do believe as the Central Bank will take five years.”

Mangudya said other countries had taken up to 10 years to fully de-dollarise.

“When you talk of dollarisation, it does not mean that we lose everything. We take the benefits of the dollarisation, the benefits of a de-dollarised environment, bring them together to form one thing called a journey, it is a process,” he said.

“Some of us we do not see any contradiction to policy. We are seeing a process and the process is painful but it needs to be done. What is lacking is confidence that we need to ensure we give to the market.”

Meanwhile, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, said the country was generating enough foreign currency.

“In 2019 we generated about $6.8 billion and this really matched the demand, so the issue is not about supply, the issue is about the efficacy of the system, we have enough foreign currency coming into Zimbabwe,” he said.

“Clearly there is a lot of foreign currency sloshing around, but that is not the issue, the issue is the efficacy of how the system works in distributing and allocating the abundant foreign currency.”

– New Ziana

Ever optimistic economist Eddie Cross, who is also a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, says the Zimbabwe dollar might initially drop to 22:1 on the interbank market but it is possible it might end the year at 10:1.

Effiel Ncube of the National Consumer Rights Association, however, did not agree. He said the Zimbabwe dollar could fall to 500:1 against the South African rand which is currently trading at 16:1 against the United States dollar.

Zimbabwe announced a “managed float” exchange rate yesterday giving commercial banks and bureaux de change a bigger role in the market.

Previously the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe controlled the exchange rate regime.

“These measures should bring the rate down – how much is impossible to say,” Eddie Cross said. “But I think 10 to 1is possible later this year. I would be very happy if we came down to 22 to 1 next week.”

Effiel Ncube disagreed.

“A managed floating exchange rate system works where there is production and where there are reserves to back up the local currency,” he was quoted by the Daily News as saying.

“Zimbabwe has none of those and what we are going to see is the exchange rate shooting up, thereby resulting in an increase in the prices of basic goods and services.

“Honesty, when market forces are at work, the Zimbabwe dollar is likely to drop to 500 against the rand and other currencies because what the interbank rate has been doing is to overvalue the local currency.”

The interbank market rate remained at 18.1 to 1 today but the black market rates went down to 41:1 for electronic money and 30:1 for cash according to Marketwatch.

Some businesses were today pegging the dollar at 47:1 for electronic money and 35 to 1 for cash.

Cross has always argued that the exchange rate will appreciate if the central bank allows the market to operate transparently.

Two weeks ago, he said that the country was on the right path and asked why Zimbabweans were complaining so much.

He received a bashing for this comment which was on his personal blog with most people accusing him of singing for his supper.

Cross, a former policy adviser for the Movement for Democratic Change and former legislator for Bulawayo South, quit active politics just before the 2018 elections and has openly supported the Emmerson Mnangagwa government especially Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube.

Although now a member of the Monetary Policy Committee which is chaired by central bank governor John Mangudya, Cross has accused Mangudya on several occasions of frustrating Mthuli Ncube’s efforts to turn around the economy.

THREE suspected cases of coronavirus have been reported at Mpilo Central Hospital and the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH).

The city’s emergency services have reacted swiftly to the cases.

So far, no one has tested positive of the virus in Zimbabwe despite numerous suspected cases.

A Zimbabwean woman who is said to have travelled to Dubai and returned to Bulawayo via South Africa this week was taken to Mpilo Central Hospital with flu-like symptoms.

The hospital’s Public Relations Officer Mr Ozias Ndlovu confirmed the incident yesterday.

While stressing that the hospital was just following laid down emergency response procedures, he said the patient has not yet tested positive for Covid-19 and it could have been a false alarm. “We received a patient who presented herself this afternoon. She showed flu like symptoms. She had travelled to Dubai and returned via South Africa. She arrived in the city sometime this week. She said her husband in South Africa also had flu. However, we are taking all the necessary precautions to ensure that we treat the matter carefully as we cannot be lax,” he said.

“We are working on modalities to transfer the patient to Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital.”

Later, Mr Ndlovu said the woman was examined by the Rapid Response Team (RRT) and appears to be free of the virus.

“However, we have put her under self-quarantine at her home for 21 days as an additional precaution,” he said.

At UBH two people who were said to have recently travelled to Italy allegedly presented at the hospital with Coronavirus like symptoms. UBH Clinical Director Dr Narcisius Dzvanga dismissed the allegations and said UBH had not attended to any white patients in a very long time.

The patients were allegedly attended to by personnel from Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital, who had to be called to the scene when nurses at UBH refused to attend to them.

Bulawayo City Council, which runs Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital said they did not receive the matter and referred questions to UBH staff.

In a Press statement, BCC senior public relations officer Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said the city has a rapid response team on call to attend to suspected Covid-19 cases.

“It (RRT) responds to calls from all over the city to assess if the client fits the WHO case definition for Covid-19 and then either; Causes the patient to be moved to Thorngrove, along with follow up provisions for isolation, or/ and excludes the patient as a suspect, hence the patient can have all their medical services in the usual manner,” she said.

She said council was training health staff to capacitate them to deal the virus.

THE National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) has constituted a special Gukurahundi committee for Bulawayo and similar panels will be established in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces in due course.

The NPRC has said it has started laying the groundwork for a process that will culminate in Gukurahundi exhumations, with President Mnangagwa expected to participate in an indaba to map the way forward.

President Mnangagwa has encouraged citizens to openly speak on Gukurahundi and has reiterated that no subject should be made taboo in resolving conflicts surrounding the subject.

The President has so far held two meetings with civil society groups and a separate one with chiefs to promote national healing and the NPRC has said another meeting is on the cards.

The special Gukurahundi committees that are being constituted are meant to deal with the 1980s disturbances that were concentrated in Matabeleland region and parts of the Midlands province.

The committee members would be drawn from Bulawayo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and Midlands provinces.

Bulawayo’s eight-member special Gukurahundi committee was constituted on Wednesday and it is chaired by Mr Johnson Mkandla, who is also the one of the Bulawayo provincial peace committee deputy chairpersons.

The Bulawayo committee was constituted at the end of a three-day provincial capacity building training workshop for Bulawayo provincial peace committee members that ended on Wednesday.

Next week, the NPRC will train provincial peace committee members from Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South before moving to Midlands province.

During the training workshops for provincial peace committees, members of each provincial peace committee will second selected members who will be part of the provincial Gukurahundi special committee.

NPRC says while the provincial peace committees will be responsible for tackling various conflicts in provinces there is a need to set up a special team to tackle Gukurahundi issues only.

In an interview, NPRC commissioner Patience Chiradza said the special Gukurahundi committee members will bring under one roof concerns of people from affected regions and how they want the matter to be addressed.

“I think it is important to have a collective meeting because we have been speaking in different spaces. But we now need to come together and say this is what needs to be done. We need to give appropriate policy recommendations to our Government and to other players that need to do work around this issue. It will also guide us on what is the collective voice saying remember the work that we are supposed to do is centred on the needs of the people,” said Comm Chiradza.

She said the special committee will also be tasked to come up with a collective position as NPRC is preparing for a meeting to be held with President Mnangagwa, chiefs and civil society organisations from Matabeleland region.

“We will have a collective voice there. When we were talking about Gukurahundi it becomes overlapping to other provinces. So, it becomes difficult to discuss it in the different spaces. We want to bring the voices together and agree on a roadmap that will encompass the views of everyone,” she said.

Mr Mkandla said it was important to set up special Gukurahundi committees targeting the four provinces that were worst affected by the disturbances. He however said individuals like him were constrained just being limited to Bulawayo yet they had so much information regarding Gukurahundi, that some people in Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and the Midlands do not have.

NPRC chairperson Retired Justice Selo Nare said peace committees from which the special Gukurahundi committee members are drawn from are key in ensuring that NPRC fulfills its mandate.

NewsDay|Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga yesterday allegedly snubbed his boss President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s field day held at the latter’s Pricabe Farm in Sherwood, Kwekwe, as reported power struggles continue to haunt the running party.

Chiwenga was the guest of honour at the gathering comprising Cabinet ministers, Zanu PF bigwigs and restive party supporters.

According to a source, Chiwenga snubbed in protest over Mnangagwa’s alleged weekend meetings at the farm with loyalists to discuss ways of solidifying his grip on power.

“In January when Chiwenga made a surprise visit to the farm in the company of only his driver on a Sunday, he actually came in to check on what happens at the farm, contrary to State media reports that the visit showed his good relations with ED,” the source said.

“Today, he snubbed an important event and it is a latest indication of the power struggles between the two. Why would Chiwenga not come when he is in the country? With a helicopter, it’s a journey of less than two hours from Harare.”

However, Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba last night downplayed the snub. “Well, yes, VP Chiwenga was supposed to come.

But he did not pitch up because he was given another assignment by President Mnangagwa. Defence minister (Oppah) Muchinguri ended up being the guest of honour,” he said.

Charamba said Chiwenga’s absence does not equate to bad blood between the two.

“That he did not come does not show that the two have a rift. That would be a creation of the media. The truth is that he was given another assignment, that is the reason why he did not come. How can he snub his boss? Yourself, can you snub your Editor?” Charamba asked rhetorically.

When Chiwenga returned from China last year where he had gone for medical treatment, Mnangagwa and senior Zanu PF officials were conspicuous by their absence at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, where he was received by Chinese deputy ambassador Zhao Baogang.

Exiled former Cabinet minister Jonathan Moyo has lately been claiming that there is a rift between Chiwenga and Mnangagwa, insisting that the former army commander, who pushed out the late long-time ruler Robert Mugabe in the November 2017 coup, is planning to stage another palace coup to remove his boss from power.

In his speech yesterday, Mnangagwa did not talk about Chiwenga, but focused on government’s efforts to reverse effects of climate change, promising that in two years, Zimbabwe would be food secure.

He said the country, currently confronted with severe food shortages, with the World Food Programme estimating that over seven million people are in need of aid, will be food secure through the promotion of small holder farmers.

“Two years from now, we should be food secure due to that scheme,” he said.

Government has been banking on its ambitious scheme, Command Agriculture, for food security, spending US$2,3 billion from the fiscus, but corruption and poor rains left the country vulnerable.

Some of the Cabinet ministers who attended the event include, Mthuli Ncube (Finance), July Moyo (Local Government), Cain Mathema (Primary and Secondary Education), Owen Ncube (State Security), Monica Mutsvangwa (Information), Sekai Nzenza (Labour) and Perrance Shiri (Lands), Larry Mavhima (Midlands Affairs) and Ezra Chadzamira (Masvingo provincial affairs). Munyaradzi Machacha, the head of the Chitepo School of Ideology and Zanu PF youth leader, Tendai Chirau, party secretary for legal affairs Paul Mangwana and Midlands provincial chairperson Daniel Mackenzie Ncube, among others, were also in attendance.

Own Correspondent|State run Herald Newspaper claims that police investigations into the disappearance of activist Itai Dzamara are continuing, with law enforcement agents submitting over 113 fortnightly updates to the High Court.

Investigators are working closely with human rights lawyers in compliance with a court order issued five years ago.

The High Court compelled the police and intelligence officers to “do all things necessary to determine his whereabouts, including advertising, within 12 hours of the granting of this order, on all State media including all radio stations, ZTV, The Herald and Chronicle”.

According to the court order, the police and CIO were required to despatch a team of detectives to work with lawyers appointed by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights to search for Mr Dzamara.

They were also ordered to report progress of such search to the Registrar of the High Court by 4pm every Friday fortnightly until his whereabouts were determined.

A record in the High Court gleaned by The Herald yesterday indicated that 113 reports had been filed by police although no inroads had been made.

“The whereabouts of Itai Peace Kudakwashe Dzamara of House Number 11640 Glen View 7, Harare, who went missing since 9 March 2015, remains unknown,” reads the report from the Police General Headquarters sent to the Civil Division in the Attorney-General’s Office.

“No new information about his whereabouts has been received so far. The reward offered by the police of $10 000 is still standing. Police is still appealing to anyone with information to come forward to help in the investigations.”

The AG’s office in turn submitted the report to the Registrar of the High Court.

Own Correspondent|Zanu PF Politburo member Christopher Mutsvangwa has accused MDC Vice President Tendai Biti and the MDC of conspiring with detractors to smuggle back colonial rule into Zimbabwe.

In a highly-charged panel discussion hosted by Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN) in partnership with the United Nations on Sustainable Development Goals last night, Mutsvangwa said Biti and his peers were responsible for inviting illegal sanctions that have ravaged the country’s economy.

“You went to America with your colleagues to ask for sanctions and this is the problem that we have of domestic elements conspiring with foreign countries against their country,” he said.

“This is the bane of Africa.”

In the debate, Biti accused Mutsvangwa of being a thug.

Watch the full robust discussion in the video downloading below:

Own Correspondent|The Zimbabwe National Roads Authority, ZINARA, has sensationally revealed that close to $2 million may have been stolen by its collection staff at one tollgate in one month.

This was revealed by the new management, which came into office in September last year. The new team claims to have tackled corruption and theft and is using new technologies at the top gates to promote accountability.

Skyline tollgate along the Harare-Masvingo highway, which was notorious for theft and corruption, was upgraded by the new management, resulting in revenue collection jumping from $251 451 in December 2019 to $2 071 415 in January 2020.

At its 2020-2023 strategic meeting recently, Zinara’s acting finance director Mr Strauss Tembo said the administration had set a target collection of $1 billion.

“Zinara came up with innovative revenue collection strategies at its 2020-2023 strategy formulation session where the target for 2020 was set at $1,275 billion,” said Mr Tembo.

Mr Tembo said overall revenue collection had increased by 50 percent since September 2019 following radical revenue assurance strategies deployed at tollgates and other revenue centres.

He said they were also ridding the system of corrupt elements.

Zinara has removed the familiarity risk at tollgates by rotating staff and dismissing corrupt elements.

It has also restored revenue collection systems that had been vandalised.

Said Mr Tembo: “In order to further improve revenue assurance, Zinara will deploy the services of loss control officers and introduce tip-off anonymous to ensure corruption is nipped in the bud and revenue leaks are plugged.”

Zinara will be taking steps to stop tendencies by road users to bypass tollgate using side roads.

Talent Chiwenga appeared before a Mutare magistrate on Tuesday facing charges of smuggling radio and teargas equipment.

The Harare-based clergyman allegedly smuggled five Kenwood two-way communication radios, solar battery chargers and teargas injectors through the Forbes Border Post.

Chiwenga appeared before Mr Nottbulgar Muchineripi, who granted him $400 bail and remanded him to March 31.

He was charged with contravening a section of the Customs and Excise Act.

Chiwenga was represented by Advocate Tariro Paul Machiridza, while the State was represented by prosecutor Perseverance Musukuto.

Ms Musukuto told the court that on December 11, 2019, Chiwenga drove from Mozambique to Zimbabwe through the Forbes Border Post in the company of Lovemore Kanyuru and Darlington Moyo.

The court further heard that after immigration formalities, Chiwenga passed through the customs and clearing counter without declaring goods in his possession.

“A Zimbabwe Revenue Authority official later asked Chiwenga to take his goods for scanning, where it was discovered that the goods were not declared, which then led to his arrest,” said Ms Musukuto.

The value of the goods was not mentioned in court papers.

State Media|Tobacco farmers will this year have unlimited access to foreign currency from the sale of their crop after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) designated tobacco proceeds as free funds.

Last year farmers were getting 50 percent of their earnings in United States dollars with the rest in local currency at the prevailing interbank rate.

However, most farmers could not access foreign currency due to stringent control measures where they were expected to submit applications for foreign exchange.

In line with Government efforts to promote production, RBZ has effected changes to the foreign currency allocation.

Under the new regulations farmers are can keep the money in their foreign currency accounts for an indefinite period and will be free to conduct inter-FCA transfers or make any foreign transfers without restrictions.

The development was announced in a statement co-signed by RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya and Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) chief executive Dr Andrew Matibiri.

“The 50 percent foreign currency portion shall be paid directly into the growers’ foreign currency bank accounts (FCAs) and the 50 percent local currency portion directly into the growers’ local currency bank accounts or e-wallets on the day of the sale,” said the RBZ and TIMB.

“To facilitate adequate preparations and importation of inputs for the next growing season, the foreign currency entitlements for growers shall be treated as free funds and may be retained in their FCAs for an indefinite period.

“For the avoidance of any doubt, holders of such funds are permitted to conduct inter-FCA transfers or effect foreign payments without any restrictions and the FCA balances will not be subject to any liquidation requirements,” reads the statement.

The bank and the board also advised that farmers will still be required to adhere to the stipulated booking requirements at the auction or contract fl­oors.

Under the new payment modalities growers who require cash to settle immediate requirements shall have access to cash, at a rate of $1,50 per kg of delivered tobacco up to a maximum of $2 000. There will be adjustments to the local currency maximum cash withdrawals as the season progresses.

Meanwhile, farmers have welcomed the new payment modalities.

RBZ and TIMB met stakeholders in the industry including farmer organisations after most farmers incurred losses last season.

Tobacco Association of Zimbabwe president, Mr George Seremwe said they were happy authorities consulted farmers.

“We are happy with the developments. Our concerns have been addressed. We have seen the liberalisation of the foreign currency rate and we hope it will work.

“With these developments we expect to see many farmers going back to the land next season.

“We hope the RBZ will closely monitor banks. Last year farmers had challenges with some banks. We also hope unscrupulous buyers will be eliminated this season,” he said.

Zimbabwe National Farmers Union, executive director, Mr Edward Dune applauded the RBZ, but said a 100 percent allocation of foreign currency was ideal.

“Hopefully, authorities will deliver on their promises this time. Last season, we got the same promises, but farmers ended up not accessing the foreign currency we just pray that goal posts will not be changed.

“Some farmers have lost faith in the system and this is the reason why there has been a decline in the number of farmers growing tobacco this season,” he said.

Tobacco Industry Development Support Institute for Southern Africa director, Mr Jeffrey Takawira said there had been a slight improvement, but added that farmers should not be taxed.

“There has been an improvement in the FCA management, but farmers should be exempted from taxes, as this will erode their profits. We also hope there will be consistency in these developments,” he said.

Farai Dziva|Health Minister Obadiah Moyo has said it is not safe for the Warriors of Zimbabwe to travel to Algeria.

Moyo said : We understand that our (national football) team will be playing in Algiers.

That is where we have a problem.
They will go there and meet other people.

We understand that in Algeria there are people who are sick and they will meet those people. We have to quickly see what we can do on that issue.

They must not go, is it not? I want to thank you because I have heard you agreeing with me. I will take that word up.

Linda Masarira castigates Mnangagwa government:watch video below-

A Harare man yesterday appeared in court for allegedly trying to kill his wife with rat poison after she refused to give him her cellphone password.

The court heard that George Lovell (age not supplied), who suspected that his wife was cheating on him, went on to point a gun at her, stealing her cellphone and assaulting her.

Lovell was facing attempted murder charges when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Rumbidzai Mugwagwa.

He made complaints against police whom he accused of over-detaining him.

Mrs Mugwagwa remanded Lovewell in custody and advised him to approach the High Court for bail.

The court heard that on March 6, Lovell followed his wife who was at a funeral and started shouting at her accusing her of having boyfriends yet she was married.

It is the State’s case that Lovell took a cellphone and US$200 which was in his wife’s bag and went back home.

The court heard that the complainant returned home the following day and Lovell assaulted the complainant with a belt and clenched fists all over her body demanding the phone’s password.

Lovell allegedly went on to cover the complainant’s head with a plastic bag while pointing a gun at her and continued to assault her leading the complainant to become unconscious.

After assaulting the complainant, Lovell took rat poison and forcibly opened the complainant’s mouth while was demanding her password.

The complainant then pleaded with Lovell not to end her life as she was willing to give him the password.-State media

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There are fresh fears in the country- amid the continuing plunge of the Zimbabwe dollar on the black market and the ever rising prices of basic goods- that things could deteriorate to the horror levels of a decade ago, when the local economy imploded, causing immense pain citizens.

Zimbabwe will adopt a “managed float” exchange rate regime, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said yesterday, abandoning strict control of foreign exchange by the central bank in the latest move in a series of currency reforms that have so far failed.

The country, which has seen bouts of hyperinflation since the 2008, has taken steps to ease its heavy reliance on the United States dollar, part of a raft of economic reforms by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who replaced longtime leader Robert Mugabe after an army coup in 2017.

Last June it made its interim currency the country’s sole legal tender, ending a decade of dollarisation and taking another step towards relaunching the Zimbabwean dollar.

The central bank has controlled the interbank forex trading market, which was introduced in February 2019.

The latest move will see banks play a bigger role in foreign currency trades, narrowing the gap with the unofficial market by allowing trade on a more transparent platform.

“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 told reporters in Harare.

He said the Reuters electronic forex trading platform was being put in place immediately.

“This platform will allow foreign exchange to be traded freely among banks and permit a true market exchange rate to be determined.”

Last month the International Monetary Fund warned that delays by Zimbabwe in implementing foreign exchange and monetary reforms risked undermining the new currency and the government’s re-engagement internationally on debt arrears.

Ncube said Bureaux de change will access hard cash from the central bank, adding that there would be no limit for them to finance exporters.

The central bank will gradually discontinue allocating foreign currency to fuel companies who will have to bid for it on the interbank market.

“The central bank shall provide the ministry of finance and MPC with precise data on daily/weekly forex inflows and estimated amounts available for release into the interbank market. It will also liberalise use of free funds for importation of goods and services. This process has already commenced with direct fuel imports. Other measures to liberalise the use of free funds are being considered,” said Ncube.

Ncube said the country was generating sufficient foreign currency, but it was not being properly managed.

“The foreign currency supply is enough, so the issue is not about supply. The issue is on the efficacy of the system. We have a lot of foreign currency around,” he said.

Ncube instructed the central bank to terminate the gold incentive facility once the Reuters system becomes fully functional adding the central bank will introduce minimum interest rates on all bank deposits, including trust accounts underpinning mobile banking wallets to incentivise savings and holding of the domestic currency.

By A Correspondent- A Victoria Falls man who kicked and punched his wife to death for gossiping about him with neighbours, has been sentenced to five years in jail for culpable homicide.

Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo, who is on circuit in Hwange, found Japhet Mapfumo (41) of House Number 2525 Chinotimba not guilty of murder but guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide on Monday.

Mapfumo who was represented by Mr Thulani Nkala of Dube, Nkala and Company told the court that he was provoked by his late wife Annastacia Tshuma who was aged 44 who he found telling a neighbour Ms Caroline Masuku that he was cheating on her.

Mapfumo said he acted under the influence of alcohol, adding that the deceased was also violent.

The judge said the court considered Mapfumo’s mitigation but had a duty to protect the sanctity of life by passing deterrent sentences.

“The court considered that the accused is a first offender who pleaded guilty to the charge and was drunk when he committed the crime. The court also considered that Tshuma hit her head on a concrete slab which worsened the situation. However, violence in all its forms must be discouraged. Domestic violence is a cancer and this court has a duty to guard against that,” she said before sentencing Mapfumo to five years.

Mapfumo who has been out of custody on bail since the incident in April last year, will however serve an effective three years after two years were suspended on condition of good behaviour.

For the State Mrs Martha Cheda had implored the court to exercise its role to protect the sanctity of life and pass a sentence that discourages violence in solving disputes.

Details of the case were that Mapfumo beat up Tshuma until she fainted and carried her home where he slept next to the body until the following day when it was discovered that she was dead.

“On 22 April at around 11PM, the now deceased Annastacia Tshuma visited a neighbour Ms Caroline Masuku and told her that her husband Japhet Mapfumo was cheating on her. As she was narrating her story Mapfumo, who appeared sober arrived and overhead her talking about him.

“Mapfumo punched Tshuma twice on the back of her head. The now deceased staggered and fell headlong on concrete slab on the door step. She staggered back to her feet and Mapfumo punched her again on the back of the head. He kicked her on the abdomen and she fell down,” said the prosecutor.

The court heard that Tshuma screamed once before losing consciousness.

Ms Masuku who witnessed the attack, woke her father Mr Dabison Masuku, who restrained Mapfumo and told Mapfumo to take his wife inside the house.

Mapfumo carried the unconscious Tshuma and placed her on the bed.

He slept next to the body until morning when he discovered that she had died. -StateMedia

Some Bulawayo supermarkets on Tuesday were rejecting payment in Ecocash and swipe when residents were buying the subsidies mealie meal.

A survey done in some of the shops such as Cover Supermarket and Oceans established that the shops were accepting only cash and rejecting Eco cash and swipe much to the inconvenience of many residents who now relay on the two payment methods due to escalating cash shortages.

“I have asked the till operators here if they accepted Ecocash but they told me that they want cash only. I am stranded now and have not been having mealie meal for days now. The only method available for me is Ecocash since I do not have a bank account and the cash is difficult to get,” said one resident who was queuing for the staple product at Cover supermarket.

An one said it s high time we will make noise in these shops, these methods are provided for us by the government and financial institutions  and it is known that there is a shortage of cash, why then would some one demand payment for such a staple food in cash only,” fumed another queuing resident.

The shops have been not having mealie meal for a long time and residents who saw a truck parking in front of these shops run to queue anticipating to get something. However the product got finished while many were still in a queue.

HARARE – The Chinese government on Thursday pledged to upgrade Zimbabwe’s main isolation center for suspected coronavirus patients in the capital Harare.

Also, the Zimbabwean government announced it was stepping up its preparedness after neighbouring South Africa on Thursday confirmed its first case of the virus, the first such case in southern Africa.

Addressing the media after touring Wilkins Hospital in Harare which has been designated to deal with the virus, Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun said China will support Zimbabwe and other African countries to deal with coronavirus which has now been reported in seven African countries.

“So far there is no confirmed case of coronavirus in Zimbabwe and it’s not because we are lucky. It is the outcome of the cooperation between China and Zimbabwe. We will support the Zimbabwe government to adopt necessary measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

“This afternoon I toured Wilkins Hospital and I now have a rough idea about the facility. China would like to assist particularly African countries in fighting against the coronavirus,” Guo said.

Guo said the Chinese government will provide fund and equipment to upgrade Wilkins Hospital so that it could provide better conditions for suspected coronavirus patients.

Zimbabwean Health Minister Obadiah Moyo thanked China for the kind gesture, saying it will not only boost the country’s capacity to deal with the virus but ensure a clean and conducive environment for medical staff and patients that meets World Health Organization requirements.

The facility has so far handled two suspected cases of the virus since it was set up in January.

Moyo said following the detection of the virus in South Africa, Zimbabwe needed to ramp up its preparedness and continue to strengthen its response mechanisms, including making all its borders and points of entry full proof.

“It is very frightening that it (coronavirus) is around the corner. We have to be prepared,” he said.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) on Thursday donated coronavirus protective equipment to Wilkins Hospital worth about 100,000 British Pounds (129,390 U.S. dollars). 

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The leader of the opposition MDC, Nelson Chamisa is waiting for the signal from former South African president Thabo Mbeki on when talks with President Emmerson Mnangagwa will begin despite an intensification of campaign as parties eye the 2023 polls.

Mbeki was given the greenlight by South Africa to oversee dialogue between President Mnangagwa and Chamisa as Pretoria moves to end the crisis in Zimbabwe.

This saw him visiting Zimbabwe in November where he met Mnangagwa, Chamisa and other fringe political players that make up the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad). Mbeki was due to come back after Christmas.

MDC presidential spokesperson, Nkululeko Sibanda said the party was still waiting for communication from Mbeki’s office to know when the talks can resume and was looking to resolve the political question to avoid another disputed election in 2023.

He said Chamisa was in constant touch with Mbeki.

“We are waiting for communication from Mbeki who had informed us that he wants to contact Mnangagwa and we can know when the dialogue can start as he informed us that Mnangagwa did not want dialogue with Chamisa but we are ready for dialogue,” Sibanda said.

“There is need to move forward but we need genuine reforms going towards 2023 elections so that we know that we have finished the unresolved legitimacy dispute of 2018.”

South Africa’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mphakama Mbete told Business Times that his government was ready to help to facilitate the dialogue.

“We shall continue to support former President Thabo Mbeki’s initiative with the logistics he needs if he comes back to the country to talk to political parties.

Last year his visit was a private initiative being handled by the Thabo Mbeki Foundation but we support it.

We are also waiting to know from our government in Pretoria when he is coming back to Zimbabwe,” Mbete said.

Debate on whether or not the military should be involved in the talks is gaining momentum following the historic role that has been played by the army on issues relating to governance.

On the eve of the 2002 Presidential election, the military —then Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander Vitalis Zvinavashe — said the presidency was a “straight jacket” and they would not support anyone without liberation war credentials to occupy State House.

Talks between Mnangagwa and Chamisa are expected to restore the lost confidence in the economy which has seen the local currency depreciating against the dollar over the weeks amid fears of a spike in prices.

Zanu PF is adamant that talks should be held under Polad. Chamisa argues that Polad is composed of Mnangagwa’s cheerleaders.

His fears were confirmed after one of the Polad principals, Taurai Mteki, retraced his Zanu PF roots. Obert Mpofu, Zanu PF Secretary for Administration, said his party was not keen for any talks with Chamisa outside Polad.

“If Chamisa wants dialogue with President Mnangagwa, he must come to the Polad.

Former President Mbeki is aware that we have started dialogue under the Polad and this is the best platform we have and must be accepted by all Zimbabweans who want to see the country progress,” Mpofu said.

“The door is still open for Chamisa to join the Polad dialogue rather than to wait for outsiders; we are not going to wait for outsiders to determine what we can do to resolve our problems.

We shall go ahead with Polad going towards the elections.” Mpofu said Zanu PF was going ahead with preparations for the 2023 polls.

Last week, Mnangagwa told the party’s Politburo meeting that party members had to intensify campaigns and meetings with the electorate in constituencies.

“There is an imperative need to prepare for the 2023 harmonised general elections, which we must win by at least sixty five percent.

To do that the party needs to start strategic programmes and recruit more membership so that they can become the bedrock of a promising Zanu PF electorate,” he said.

Business Times

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SOME service stations selling fuel in foreign currency have hiked prices, reportedly in response to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority’s (Zimra) foreign currency duty demand for petrol and diesel sold in hard currency.

Zimra said in line with Statutory Instrument 161 of 2019, companies that imported fuel in forex since August 2019 should pay taxes in hard currency in retrospect.

Zimra said duty imports for petrol will charged at US$0,45 cents per litre for unleaded petrol and US$0,40 cents per litre for diesel.

It could not immediately be confirmed that the Statutory Instrument contributed to fuel price hikes. A survey revealed that fuel prices have gone up for most stations selling fuel in foreign currency.

Previously, diesel and petrol were being sold for between US$1,18 and US$1,36 per litre but the pump price jumped up to US$1,51 for petrol and $1,43 for diesel.

Flo service stations that were selling both diesel and petrol at between US$1,18 and US$1,25 per litre last week have increased their pump price with petrol being sold at US$1,43 and diesel at US$1,29 per litre.

At Zuva Service Station along Leopold Takawira Avenue petrol was being sold at US$1,51 per litre and US$1,36 for diesel.

A fuel attendant who requested anonymity said the price increase was due to the introduction of duty payments in foreign currency.

“This forex duty is now dipping into the pocket of profits so the price has to go up to avoid operating at a loss. The only problem is that we are paid in local currency yet we serve people in forex all day,” said the fuel attendant.

At Busuman Service Station along Fife Street between 14th and 15th Avenues, the pump price for both diesel and petrol had not changed at US$1,25 per litre.

It was the same situation at Classic Cars Station in Belmont, as it sold both petrol and diesel for US$1,25

The discrepancies in forex fuel prices had seen motorists demanding to know why it seems Government was not regulating the commodity sold in foreign currency as it does with fuel sold in local currency.

Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi last week revealed that the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) would be announcing new fuel prices on or before the 5th of every month.

Minister Chasi said Government was still working on modalities of regulating companies selling fuel in foreign currency.

Zera acting chief executive officer Mr Eddington Mazambani, responding to Chronicle’s emailed questions, said they were still working on regulations to govern stations selling fuel in foreign currency.

“There are regulations that will deal with operators who may attempt to violate the direct fuel import facility. Zera requested all interested operators to submit their applications to be considered for licensing to sell fuel in foreign currency. The applications are being compiled and a detailed analysis and classification of sites to be licensed by province and town will be availed in due course,” said Mr Mazambani.

He said once all the regulations have been put in place operators who will violate the law, will be penalised.

“A combination of civil and criminal procedures will be applied as part of enforcing the regulations. Punitive penalties are in place,” he said.

Mr Mazambani said operators who will be granted licences to sell fuel in foreign currency will be advertised in mainstream media as well as Zera’s social media platforms.

Farai Dziva|Health Minister Obadiah Moyo has said it is not safe for the Warriors of Zimbabwe to travel to Algeria.

Moyo said : We understand that our (national football) team will be playing in Algiers.

That is where we have a problem.
They will go there and meet other people.

We understand that in Algeria there are people who are sick and they will meet those people. We have to quickly see what we can do on that issue.

They must not go, is it not? I want to thank you because I have heard you agreeing with me. I will take that word up.

The Government of Zimbabwe has announced new exams fees and the payment deadline barely weeks after reverting to 2015 fees.

According to the publication, grade 7, O level and A-Level students at Public and private schools will pay the following fees to sit for their exams:

This means that Grade Seven candidates registered at private institutions will pay a total of $264 for all their five subjects while those at public institutions will pay $125 for all subjects.

At Ordinary Level candidates will pay $190 per subject at private institutions and $90 at public institutions.

Advanced Level candidates will pay $351 and $165 per subject at private and public institutions respectively.

Those re-sitting for public examinations will also pay full examination fees.

The government has released $150 million to ZIMSEC to cushion parents who might be burdened with the exam fees hike, leaving parents to pay the remaining 53% of the fees.-State media

By A Correspondent- Some Bulawayo supermarkets on Tuesday were rejecting payment in Ecocash and swipe when residents were buying the subsidised mealie meal.

A survey done in some of the shops such as Cover Supermarket and Oceans established that the shops were accepting only cash and rejecting Eco cash and swipe much to the inconvenience of many residents who now relay on the two payment methods due to escalating cash shortages.

“I have asked the till operators here if they accepted Ecocash but they told me that they want cash only. I am stranded now and have not been having mealie meal for days now. The only method available for me is Ecocash since I do not have a bank account and the cash is difficult to get,” said one resident who was queuing for the staple product at Cover supermarket.

An one said it s high time we will make noise in these shops, these methods are provided for us by the government and financial institutions  and it is known that there is a shortage of cash, why then would some one demand payment for such a staple food in cash only,” fumed another queuing resident.

The shops have been not having mealie meal for a long time and residents who saw a truck parking in front of these shops run to queue anticipating to get something. However the product got finished while many were still in a queue.

By A Correspondent- In a disturbing development, a South African man allegedly raped his friend’s girlfriend at his house after taking advantage that his associate was not there.

The alleged rapist, Siyanda “Viper” Madubula, reportedly pounced on his friend’s girlfriend and had s.e.x with her without her consent. The matter was exposed after an audio clip allegedly recorded during the crime leaked.

On the day of the incident, Mabula is reported to have gone out for drinking spree with complainant’s boyfriend who passed out after having one too many drinks. Aware that the complainant was all alone at his friend’s house, he seized the opportunity and went there.

In the heart-rendering recording which has been making rounds on social media, the victim who refers Madubula with his moniker, Viper, begs him to stop but he turns a deaf ear to her plea and rapes her. “Viper I can’t breathe. Please don’t hurt me. Rather masturbate, you are scaring me. My boyfriend knows my story. I’ve been raped twice before and now this. You are opening old wounds.” the helpless woman can be heard.

The disturbing incident was confirmed by Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinan who also revealed that a case had been opened against Madubula.

“We can confirm that we are aware of a voice recording in circulation on social media and it forms part of police investigation. A case of rape in relation to this incident has been opened. A 25-year-old suspect was charged with rape,” said the police spokesperson.

The victim’s sibling (name withheld) told online publication, The Star, that his sister recorded the clip so as to present it before her boyfriend to expose Madubula for making s.e.xual pursuits at her. Unfortunately for her, she was raped that very night.

“Viper is a very close friend of my sister’s boyfriend. The two had been drinking together earlier. The boyfriend passed out and Viper decided to go and attack my sister because he knew she had been waiting at her boyfriend’s house.

She recorded him after he started making s.e.xual advances at her. She wanted to use the clip to show her boyfriend that she is not cheating on him with Viper. She didn’t know that he was going to rape her,”said her sister.

The victim is a 21-year-old Walter Sisulu University student and her mobile phone has since been confiscated by the police as part of the ongoing investigations.

By A Correspondent- The government has banned hospitals from purchasing equipment from companies that do not offer after-sales services, saying it has been incurring high service costs.

Last month, the  Senior Hospital Doctors Association blasted government for purchasing US$600 000 worth of obsolete equipment, which included theatre equipment, incubators and ventilators from an Indian supplier last year.

The doctors said some of the equipment was condemned by the engineers on arrival and that the manufacturer had long discontinued the lines and no longer manufactured spares for repairs.

Health permanent secretary Agnes Mahomva made the remarks yesterday while touring Mpilo Central Hospital, United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) and the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport.

She was part of the delegation which included Health minister Obadiah Moyo, Bulawayo Provincial Affairs minister Judith Ncube and Global Fund executive director Peter Sands.

“We will not be able to sort every problem and issues that you come across. Let us be clear on that, service contractors are there. That does not take away the equipment that has already been bought,” Mahomva said.

“Let us make sure that the equipment we have works, but let us be clear that the new or replaced equipment should have service providers. You (Mpilo) are a procurement unit, you should work with your service providers. They are the ones who then buy the specifications for the equipment and become part of it.

“The challenge you have is now ours because of the equipment that was bought in the past, which have no service contractors. So let us work together to make sure that those machines are functioning.”

She said she was delighted that the power challenges at Mpilo had been sorted out. Mpilo was on Sunday last week plunged into darkness after daring thieves stole power cables.

“Last week, Mpilo Hospital chief executive officer Leonard Mabhandi came to our offices in Harare speaking about the interruption of power. We are delighted that everything is finally working and that there has been a software upgrade,” Mahomva said.-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Bulawayo residents have threatened to take to the streets if maize meal shortages persist.

Residents queuing for the staple product expressed concern over the shortages, claiming that the obtaining situation was precarious and if not addressed, they would be left with no option, but to storm the streets demanding remedy.

Residents accused government of stretching their patience.

“We have been tested for too long and, believe you me, if things continue like this residents will end up taking to the streets because a hungry man is an angry man,” a Bulawayo resident, Lesley Mathe said.      

The residents appealed to the relevant authorities and retailers to address the issue of mealie meal shortages, accusing some shop owners of selling the commodity on the black market for a higher price.               

“We are sick and tired of corrupt officials working with corrupt retailers to buy mealie meal then sell it on the black market. We are now buying a 10kg of mealie meal for ZAR100 and this is beyond the reach of many,” Nombulelo Ncube of Mahatshula said.

Contacted for comment yesterday, Grain Millers’ Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) spokesperson Garikai Chaunza said the association had imported 10 000 tonnes of maize from South Africa which was already in the country.

“People should not panic as GMAZ has imported 10 000 tonnes of maize from South Africa and the maize is already in the country awaiting distribution. We will continue to import more maize,” Chaunza assured.-statemedia

By A Correspondent- A Bulawayo man was this week jailed for 45 years for stealing electricity copper cables.

Prosper Tshuma (26) of Iminyela, Bulawayo, was arrested after police received a tip-off from residents.

He appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mark Dzira on Thursday facing three counts of theft and will spend three-and-a-half decades in jail after being sentenced to 15 years in jail for each count.

He will, however, serve an effective 35 years after 10 years were suspended on condition of good behaviour.

The value for the stolen property was $484 and $460 for the first and second counts and nothing was recovered.

In the first count, the court was told that sometime in January, Tshuma connived with his friend only identified as Thabani, who is still at large, and went to Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution ( ZETDC) substation at Queens Sports Ground where he stole 1×4 metres of copper cables and earth wires.

In the second count, during the same month, Tshuma stole 1×5 metres of copper bar and earth wires at Chicken Inn ZETDC substation at 11th Avenue and 4th Street.

He was at it again last month when he stole 10kg copper gasket bars and earth wires at Powerssales ZETDC Substation at the corner of Carthan Road and Birmingham Road.

A report made to the police led to Tshuma’s arrest.-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- The number of coronavirus infections in SA has increased to 17, the health ministry said on Thursday.

And one of the new patients, in the Free State, is the first case of local transmission of the illness.

“This is an additional four cases from [Wednesday] ,” said health ministry spokesperson Lwazi Manzi in a statement.

The Mpumalanga and Free State provinces have registered their first cases. 

In Mpumalanga, the patient is a 27-year-old woman who had travelled to the US.

“She returned to SA on the 7th March 2020,” Manzi said.

In the Free State, a 32-year-old man has tested positive.

“[He] came into contact with a Chinese businessman. This is the first case of local transmission, as all others have been by patients who had travelled abroad,” Manzi said.

Another case was registered in KwaZulu-Natal.

Manzi said the patient is a 38-year-man who is originally from Durban but now lives in Turkey. He was however, in the country, visiting his family.

“He had travelled to the UK and returned to SA on the 7th March 2020,” Manzi said.

In Gauteng, the latest infection recorded was that of a 43-year-old man.

The Johannesburg resident had travelled to New York via Dubai and returned to SA on March 8 2020.

“At this stage, all patients are in self-quarantine and have mild-to-moderate symptoms,” Manzi said.

“They are also on symptomatic treatment.”

Officials are trying to trace all the people who have come into contact with those who have since tested positive.-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has reserved for war veterans 20% of mining claims in the chrome, nickel and steel sectors in what is seen as an act of appeasement.

Addressing a post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, Information minister Monica Mutsvagwa said the decision to give mining claims to the veterans of the 1970s liberation war was reached after Mines minister Winston Chitando had proposed that claims ceded by ZimAlloys be re-allocated.

“These claims will be re-allocated to other companies which will receive mining claims to sustain and expand ferrochrome production,” Mutsvangwa said.

“As per government policy, 20% of the ceded claims, being 2 348 hectares of the total ceded claims, which are a total of 11 747 hectares, will be allocated to war veterans. The modus operandi of the distribution of claims to war veterans will be announced in due course.”

Speaking at the same briefing, Chitando confirmed the development, adding that government was working on the modalities and also working on a chrome development policy.

“In line with the US$12 billion milestone by 2023 in the mining sector, the steel and chrome sector is targeting to achieve one million tonnes of ore from the 360 000 tonnes we had in 2018.

“In the roll out of the programme, we are looking at synergies between ferrochrome producers and individuals. Government is also working on a chrome development policy that will outline the modalities,” Chitando said.

War veterans have been Zanu-PF’s main campaign cogs during elections, propping up the ruling party during the reign of the late former President Robert Mugabe.

Since Mnangagwa came to power on the back of a November 2017 coup, the war veterans have made several demands, claiming their welfare has been neglected.

Zanu-PF is also amending its constitution to incorporate war veterans, war collaborators and detainees as a wing of the party.-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- A Harare man yesterday appeared in court for allegedly trying to kill his wife with rat poison after she refused to give him her cellphone password.

The court heard that George Lovell (age not supplied), who suspected that his wife was cheating on him, went on to point a gun at her, stealing her cellphone and assaulting her.

Lovell was facing attempted murder charges when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Rumbidzai Mugwagwa.

He made complaints against police whom he accused of over-detaining him.

Mrs Mugwagwa remanded Lovewell in custody and advised him to approach the High Court for bail.

The court heard that on March 6, Lovell followed his wife who was at a funeral and started shouting at her accusing her of having boyfriends yet she was married.

It is the State’s case that Lovell took a cellphone and US$200 which was in his wife’s bag and went back home.

The court heard that the complainant returned home the following day and Lovell assaulted the complainant with a belt and clenched fists all over her body demanding the phone’s password.

Lovell allegedly went on to cover the complainant’s head with a plastic bag while pointing a gun at her and continued to assault her leading the complainant to become unconscious.

After assaulting the complainant, Lovell took rat poison and forcibly opened the complainant’s mouth while was demanding her password.

The complainant then pleaded with Lovell not to end her life as she was willing to give him the password.-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- Government has slammed the United States government for placing State Security Minister Owen Ncube and Ambassador Anselem Sanyatwe on the sanctions list.

In a statement yesterday, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso Moyo said the move eroded trust and confidence in the relationship between Harare and Washington.

“We once again note with regret the inclusion of Honourable Minister Owen Ncube and Ambassador Anselem Sanyatwe as specially designated nationals on the OFAC US Treasury Sanctions list,” said Dr Moyo.

“Both officials were already placed on the State department visa and travel negative list during the course of 2019. In both cases, the US cited human rights abuses and political repression as the reasons for imposing the sanctions.

“The decision can only further erode trust and confidence in the relationship between Zimbabwe and the United States at a time when, more than ever, confidence-building measures are required to sustain the ongoing process of engagement between our two countries.”

In taking this action, Dr Moyo said, the US government appears unilaterally to have charged, tried, convicted, and sentenced two very senior Zimbabwean nationals, “surely the very antithesis of justice as we understand it”.

He said the holding to account of any individual or individuals anywhere in the world for alleged human rights abuses and or political repression must be evidence-based as scrutinised in and upheld by a court of law. “Any other approach is surely in itself a violation of those individuals’ human rights,” said Dr Moyo.

“Our Government does, however, register its deep appreciation for the bilateral assistance being provided to Zimbabwe in many areas.

“The US could be of even greater assistance by moving towards the lifting of the sanctions, which it maintains in place and which it renewed last week. Contrary to US government assertions, those sanctions inflict collateral damage way beyond the individuals and entities included in the OFAC list. This impacts negatively upon every Zimbabwean.”

Dr Moyo continued: “As I have said previously, regardless of these negative developments and the lack of even-handedness in the US approach to Zimbabwe, my Government will continue to engage in meaningful dialogue with the United States. In parallel, we will continue to travel the path of reform for the benefit of our people.”-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- A farm worker in Beatrice was killed while two others were injured on Saturday evening when the driver of a tractor they were travelling in lost control near a dam on the farm.

Tinashe Chimunhu (51), a casual worker at Mudehwe Farm, died on the spot after sustaining head injuries. His body was taken to Chivhu General Hospital for post-mortem.  

The injured, Charles Mushure, who was driving without a licence and Tinei Mare, were admitted at Chitungwiza Central Hospital.

Mashonaland East police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza confirmed the incident. He said Mushure was driving the tractor within the farm with four passengers on board.

As he approached a dam wall, he lost control of the tractor, which veered off the road into the bush. The tractor then landed on its roof, trapping three passengers beneath it, resulting in the fatality.

Mwanza urged farm workers to ensure that their tractor drivers have valid permits to avoid unnecessary fatalities.

In other unrelated cases, two pedestrians were killed when they were run over by cars in separate accidents which occurred in the Beatrice area along the Harare-Masvingo Highway.

One of the victims is a 14-year-old and the other is a 38-year-old mentally challenged woman.  

Mwanza confirmed the incidents, but said the victims could not be named because their next of kins had not yet been informed.-

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has tabled before government a demand that all wages be paid in the South African rand and that the country joins the Rand Monetary Union as the Zimbabwe dollar continues to lose value.

The economic situation continues to deteriorate and workers are reeling under the crisis which has seen the Zimdollar plunging against the United States dollar with black market rates reaching 1:38 as of yesterday.

Prices of goods and services have spiked in the past week, condemning workers to poverty.

Speaking at the Gweru labour forum meeting last week, ZCTU secretary-general Japhet Moyo, said the demand for rand-pegged salaries was officially tabled before President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration at the National Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF).

“We have made it clear to government that we demand the adoption of the rand currency for salaries of all workers. We said RTGS is not money,” Moyo said.

“For us, the rand is a far much better solution for the country to adopt the rand as the mode of exchange rather than to turn to the US dollar which is sought after by all the crooks in the World.”

He added: “If we say we want our salaries in US dollars, that will have a problem in the future because there are those people from other countries who can come to mop up the money.

“So we are saying the US dollar is risky because it can be mopped by outsiders if we are to be paid in the currency. But the rand is a stable currency. If we look at the past three years, the rand has lost maybe three or four points against the major currencies. So it’s a stable currency in our view.”

However, Moyo revealed that government, represented by the then Labour minister Sekai Nzenza and the incumbent, Paul Mavhima, has not been keen on the proposal.

Mavhima, however ,denied that he was non-committal, saying discusssions with labour were underway in the NTF.

“This is not true. Our discussions take place within the context of the TNF. Our next meeting will be next week on Monday. You should have followed TNF developments from last meeting in February,” Mavhima said.

But Moyo insisted: “The government has been non-committal on adopting the rand. The business community, has meanwhile, asked for more time  for government to stabilise the economy before it is pressured into adopting the rand.

“The people in business have also been saying they have trillions of dollars in their accounts and so they cannot allow for a change of currency overnight. However, as the ZCTU, we are pushing for all workers to be paid in the rand currency,” the ZCTU secretary-general said.

During the inclusive government, the then Finance minister Tendai Biti also called for the adoption of the rand, but Zanu-PF officials opposed the call, saying Zimbabwe would lose its sovereignty by using money from a neighbouring country.

Last year, government passed Statutory Instrument 142 which outlawed a multi-currency system it adopted in 2009 after the Zimdollar was driven out of circulation by hyperinflation..

Moyo revealed that the ZCTU had petitioned Nzenza to ask Cabinet to repeal SI 142, but she did not do so.

He revealed that the new minister Mavima has also rejected rand salary demands.

“Mavima, through a government technical committee at the NTF, has also said the workers cannot be paid in rands because changing the currency is now an issue that should be addressed by Parliament because S1 142 which introduced the Zimdollar as a mono-currency is now a law that would need to be repealed by legislators if need be. However, we are continuing to push government because the Zimbabwe dollar salaries are making all workers poorer because the currency keeps tumbling,” Moyo said.

By the time of going to print, Mavima had not responded to questions sent to him via WhatsApp and his phone was unreachable since Sunday.

Information secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana was also not responding to messages and calls.-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) secretary-general Robson Chere has dumped his new school in rural Marondera, saying he could no longer work on an empty stomach after government froze his salary last year.

Chere, a science teacher was moved from Arcturus High School to Dimbe Secondary School in Marondera East constituency this year in a suspected politically-motivated transfer.

The firebrand trade unionist had his salary frozen by government after he was accused of indiscipline following his arrest during the January 2019 fuel protests.

In a letter seen by NewsDay, dated March 10, addressed to Dimbe Secondary School head one Mrs Zenda and copied to the provincial education director, Chere said he will only return to  work after government releases his 14 months’ salary.

“I write informing you of my incapacitation to carry out my duties due to financial constraints to cater for my welfare. I have suffered severe emotional, psychological and social stress due to this problem. It has been 14 months since my salary was unlawfully ceased and I am finding it difficult to survive in this harsh economic condition,” read the letter.

Through his lawyers, Mtetwa and Nyambirai law firm, Chere has since approached the courts challenging the freezing of his salary,  arguing that government had no basis to act in such a manner.

In the letter, Chere revealed that he has been surviving on hand outs from well-wishers. -Newsday