By A Correspondent- Zanu PF politburo member Perrance Shiri has called for harmony on the squabbles between Mashonaland Central province Members of Parliament and War Veterans.
Shiri was part of the hot emergency Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting held in Mvurwi last Friday.
Mashonaland Central which was formerly ZANUPF’s strong hold is being snubbed by the presidium due to poor mobilization of the party supporters by the Kazembe Kazembe led provincial leadership.
Shiri warned MPs and War Veterans to desist from “fighting”in public.
“ZANU PF is one both MPs and War Veterans you should not be seen fighting in the press, let us all work towards building our party and our province, pamberi nekubatana!” Bellowed Shiri.
War Veterans are bitter with Kazembe whom they are accusing of holding meetings with MPs and influencing them to use presidential food handouts for their selfish gains.
Kazembe forced the war veterans executive out of the PCC meeting as tempers flared, war veterans leader Sam Parinyatwa declared that they will not sit and watch while the province is being let down by Kazembe and his allies.
OPINION | The Real Change Times – It has become apparent that Mnangagwa and ZANUPF are not taking the lives of Zimbabweans seriously against the aggression of the Corona virus, which has claimed thousands of lives across the globe. Over the weekend, the government was forced by scribes to release information pertaining to a death suspected to have been caused by the virus.
In spectacular fashion, the government claimed that a Mutare woman had indeed passed away of other causes before arriving at the designated Wilkins Hospital for tests. It turns out that the “Mutare woman” was a Chinese national, a fact which the government of Zimbabwe is yet to disclose to date.
The lies and deception is not only unnecessary but puts Zimbabweans at risk. It is now clear that the government has not been telling the truth in respect of its tracking methods and preparedness to deal with the deadly diseases. Pictures of a sorry testing station at the Beitbridge border post surfaced on social media three weeks ago and the images do not inspire confidence, neither do they reflect any level of seriousness.
Citizens on different social media platforms are blaming the chaos on Mnangagwa’s appointment of a Minister of questionable credentials to head such an important portfolio. His tenure has been characterised by failure, lack of care and mediocrity. Under Obadiah Moyo, Zimbabwe was hit by a cholera epidemic which claimed lives and in similar fashion its extent was also understated. Just recently, a medical doctors’ strike went on for over four months, his proposed solution included a blanket expulsion of all junior doctors and an attempt to fast track medical students into graduation.
The MDC contends that availing accurate information to citizens would actually help them prepare and take precautions. Beyond that the government has to be able to test, track and isolate all those returning from affected areas, a vague statement about self-quarantine with no monitoring methods places everyone at risk.
The Real Change Times also learnt from a statement released by the South African government that the results of the tests take up to 48 hours, yet declarations have been made in the shortest of times by the Zimbabwean government. It would be prudent for the government to come out clean and inform the citizens that indeed they have better equipment than South Africa. World Health Organisation has already warned countries which are not taking the pandemic seriously.
The government of Zimbabwe must allow technical people in the Ministry of Health to update citizens on developments as opposed to the propaganda being churned out by Ministry of Information functionaries like Nick Mangwana and Energy Mutodi.
Developments are just too complex for their understanding, worsened by their affinity to mislead and paint a non-existent rosy image of themselves. – The Real Change Times
By A Correspondent- The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) at the weekend led political parties and villagers in a Zapu-organised memorial for 11 Gukurahundi victims.
Three of the victims were believed to be teachers and the others were either villagers or Zapu supporters killed on February 17, 1983 and buried in two shallow graves at Zibungululu Secondary School in Tsholotsho.
Meanwhile, the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) has said it has started laying the groundwork for the process that will culminate in Gukurahundi exhumations, with President Mnangagwa expected to participate in an indaba to map the way forward.
The NPRC has since started training provincial peace committees that will engage people leading to public hearings and exhumations. President Mnangagwa has encouraged citizens to openly speak on Gukurahundi and has reiterated that no subject should be made taboo in resolving conflict.
The President has so far held two meetings with civil society and a separate one with chiefs to promote national healing.
The NPRC is expected to lead the exhumation and reburials of Gukurahundi victims, some of whom were buried in mass and shallow graves at the height of the 1980s disturbances largely concentrated in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces.-Newsday
The CAF ban, which was effected in all the country’s stadia has forced the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) to move the Warriors’ next home match against Algeria on March 29 to Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
This follows CAF’s refusal to a plea by ZIFA to have a re-look at their decision after the local football governing body had been given reassurances by the government which last week injected $37,7 million towards the refurbishment of three stadiums including the National Sports Stadium.
Coventry tweeted this morning confirming CAF’s refusal to give ZIFA a reprieve while reaffirming her ministry’s commitment to look after the 60 000-seater National Sports Stadium.
“ZIFA have failed to assure CAF that work we are doing in the stadiums will safeguard our national teams playing home games in Zimbabwe. ZIFA now have to come up with a stadium outside of Zimbabwe…
“It has finally been agreed that the ownership and operations of the National Sports Stadium in Zimbabwe will now be transferred to the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Art and Recreation. We have the experience and passion to now use this opportunity for Zimbabwe to become a sporting powerhouse,” she said.
By A Correspondent- Higher Education, Science and Technology Development, Innovation and Tertiary Education Minister, Amon Murwira has defended the recent tuition fees hike by local universities.
Murwira on Monday told the Parliament’s portfolio committee on Higher Education, Science and Technology Development, Innovation and Tertiary Education that it is a fact that low-income civil servants have never been able to pay fees for one semester at a go. He said:
In order to answer the question of affordability, sustainability and reasonability of fees based on what the public can afford, it is important to note that in the past decade, low-income civil servants have never been able to honour the tuition fees using one month’s salary as is being published in the papers, such things are a fallacy and I will prove it.
For instance, the bulk of the civil servants in 2017 had a salary range of between US$298 and US$350 a month and at that time universities were charging fees of up to US$1 200, so we just want to make it very clear that there was never a time when they managed to pay the fees at one go.
Murwira also said that the current tuition fees being paid in the country are the cheapest in the region as they are a mere 30 per cent of what other universities are charging
By Jane Mlambo| Following pressure from international bodies including Amnesty Interntional and European Union on the whereabouts of missing government critic Itai Dzamara, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of information, media and broadcasting services, Nick Mangwana has claimed they are doing everything to find him.
Dzamara went missing in March 2015 and has not been seen amid allegations that it was the work of state security agents.
Mangwana said the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) was also offering a US$10 000 reward to anyone with information on the whereabouts of Mr Dzamara and was also making regular appeals to the public for those with information to come forward.
“Government feels very strongly that no Zimbabwean should disappear without trace and empathizes with the Dzamara family in their quest for the safe return of their loved one,” said Mangwana.
He added that it was therefore undiplomatically unhelpful and misleading to insinuate that the Government of Zimbabwe did not intend to shed light on Mr Dzamara’s disappearance, as if it had a hand in it.
The Government remains open to engagement with all diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe and provide clarity on any matter of mutual interest using the agreed formal channels, said Mr Mangwana.
By A Correspondent- A man from Gokwe last week axed 5 people to death, axed a calf and a cattle and touched a hut for reasons yet to be ascertained.
The incident happened in Binga‘s Lusungu area on Friday.
According to the publication, the deceased includes:
Mr Sibanda’s 7 year old Shan, Mr Admire Nyangarai, his wife Ms Bibeat Munsaka, the couple’s one-year-old baby Loice Compassion Nyangarai, who was axed while on her mother’s back. Ms Chiravigwa Shumba, whose age not given but originally from Makope Village under Chief Sayi in Gokwe.
All of the victims lived in close proximity to 20-year-old Christopher Gotore of Marapira area under Chief Jiri in Gokwe who was living at the Nyangarais when he committed the heinous crime. ZRP confirmed the incident, Gotore is currently in police custody.-Statemedia
An organised criminal gang that scammed businesses and charities out of £750,000 through a UK-wide cheque fraud network has been sentenced for a combined total of over 24 years in prison at Inner London Crown Court. This follows a successful investigation by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), a specialist police unit funded by the banking and finance industry.
The ringleader of the gang, Patson Mupinyuri, 37, of Charlecote Way, Northampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced to six years in prison. Two other gang members, Collen Chikore, 42, of Moseley Avenue, Coventry, and Simbarashe Dengu, 30, of The Circle, Nuneaton, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and were sentenced to six years and two months, and two years and ten months in prison respectively.
Mr Mupinyuri would first research target businesses and gather their banking information including the names, date of birth and address of signatories. He would provide these stolen details to Mr Chikore, who used advanced techniques to produce high quality counterfeit cheques and invoices. Mr Mupinyuri would distribute the counterfeit documents to a network of five individuals, known as “runners”, who presented them at dozens of bank branches across the country from Exeter to Aberdeen.
The criminals used highly convincing counterfeit driving licences as well as stolen account and security details to impersonate the genuine customers. Mr Mupinyuri would organise travel arrangements for the criminal network, spending thousands of pounds hiring luxury cars and booking hotels for them to stay in, including on one occasion a luxury golf resort in Wales.
In total £746,679 of fraud was attempted or committed by the gang over a period of almost thirty months from 27 February 2017 to 9 July 2019. Over 220 counterfeit cheques were used, with a typical value of around £2,000 each. The bank accounts targeted belonged to a variety of institutions and businesses including charities, schools, town councils and a church. All victims of the fraud were fully refunded by their bank.
The high volume of identical frauds committed was spotted by the banks and referred to the DCPCU to investigate. Last year, the DCPCU caught and prosecuted one of the “runners” involved in the criminal network, Colin Mosdell. The DCPCU then launched an investigation that successfully tracked down the criminal gang responsible for organising the fraud.
Mr Mupinyuri and Mr Dengu were caught and arrested by DCPCU officers in Hull on 9 July 2019 alongside two of the “runners”, Cynthia Archibong and Toni Shorley. The group were in a Mercedes car preparing to drive off after having tried to cash in several fraudulent cheques at a nearby bank branch. A search of the vehicle uncovered several items linked to the fraud including an envelope full of cash, a large quantity of counterfeit driving licences, blank cheques plus handwritten notes of bank accounts and names of businesses.
On the same day (9 July 2019), the third gang member Mr Chikore was arrested at his home address in Coventry. A search of the property uncovered equipment used to mass produce counterfeit cheques including specialist printing paper, cutting equipment, UV inks and several colour printers. Subsequent analysis of CCTV footage identified two more of the “runners” who had presented counterfeit cheques at bank branches, Tracey Henry and Amy Browne.
Detective Constable Alex Coubrough, who investigated the case for the DCPCU, said:
“We have dismantled a highly organised criminal gang who were committing cheque fraud on an industrial scale.
“As the ringleader, Mr Mupinyuri oversaw a sophisticated network of individuals who were used to carry out this fraud, going as far as booking hotels and luxury cars to transport them around the country.
“The gang used stolen details and advanced equipment to callously target organisations ranging from charities and schools to small businesses.
“We are delighted to have brought these criminals to justice and to have removed the threat they posed to the banking industry and its customers.”
Sentencing details
Gang members
Patson Daniel Mupinyuri, 37, of Charlecote Way, Northampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced to six years in prison on Thursday 27 February 2020.
Collen Chikore, 42, of Moseley Avenue, Coventry, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced to six years and two months in prison on Friday 28 February 2020.
Simbarashe Dengu, 30, of The Circle, Nuneaton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced to two years and ten months in prison on Thursday 27 February 2020.
Runners
Toni Shorley, 38, from Cardiff, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced to two years and one month in prison on Thursday 27 February 2020.
Tracey Henry, 52, from London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced to three years and three months in prison on Thursday 27 February 2020.
Cynthia Archibong, 48, from Grays, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced to three years and one month in prison on Thursday 27 February 2020.
Colin Mosdell, 33, of no fixed abode, was previously sentenced to 27 months in prison on Tuesday 23 July 2019, after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation.
Amy Browne, 37, from North London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and received a custodial sentence of 18 months on Friday 6 March 2020 – Metropolitan Police
MDC Youth Assembly statement on Morgan Tsvangirai’s birthday :
Long live the Revolutionary and Undying spirit of Morgan Richard Tsvangirai
On this day 68 years back a hero was born, Morgan Tsvangirai, the doyen of democracy, the father of democracy in post independent Zimbabwe. A man who lived a humble life of service and sacrifice epitomizing the struggle for a new Zimbabwe which would be anchored on rule of law and an end to misrule by ZANU PF.
Morgan Tsvangirai was a dedicated leader and a selfless cadre who initiated the journey for the national democratisation agenda in the late 90s having led a life which was dedicated towards uplifting and ensuring collective bargaining for the workers in Zimbabwe through his relentless efforts at ZCTU .
As we mourn your departed soul dear father Democracy but we applaud your life achievements ,recognise your legacy and we are dedicated to punctuate the national democratic revolution under the able leadership of the President you left for us , Nelson Chamisa .
Save we have some misguided elements who have derailed from the party position and think they can use your name in cohoots with ZANU PF to perpuate their agenda to destroy the party. As the MDC Youth Assembly we would want to state it very clearly that ,this party will not have any leadership determined by the courts or by any rogue elements who masquerade as the Tsvangirai legacy torch bearers to such demonic extends of taking traditional healers to Humanikwa gravesite yet when Morgan Tsvangirai was still alive the same were rebellious more than four times making headlines but now they want to be more Tsvangirai than the party and the people you left in the party who stood by you in turmoil and in tenacity.
Today we celebrate your birthday cognizant of what ought to be done in the confrontation of the regime towards a democratic agenda which will usher in a new trajectory for our teapot shaped nation.
We stand with the President you left us with as you departed mother earth, we can safely confirm that the party has grown , the voters doubled in 2018 under the able leadership of President Nelson Chamisa .
May your departed soul rest in eternal power as we punctuate the democratic struggle as you commissioned us before your untimely death .
Long Live the Revolutionary Spirit of Morgan Richard Tsvangirai Long Live
Womberaiishe Nhende
MDC Youth Assembly National deputy spokesperson
By Patrick Guramatunhu- A suspected coronavirus case (fourth one in Zimbabwe) was reported at Masvingo Provincial Hospital on Sunday morning.The individual had travelled from Dubai and test result was negative.
“In Masvingo, a traveller from Dubai tested negative for Coronavirus. He is now in self-quarantine and being monitored,” read the twitter message by the Information ministry.
It is all very well for the officials to say these suspected cases tested negative and were advised to self-quarantine. It is a well known fact that in the early stages of the infection individual can test negative and yet not only have the virus but, worse still, be infectious. There are a number of question the people have a right to have answered (which cannot be answered in these twitter messages)
What measures are in place to ensure these suspect cases are kept away from the rest of the population as soon as they suspect they might have the virus? Did our traveller walk in and mingled with the other patients before he finally got tested?
How well kitted are the staff carrying out these test?
How stringent is the self-quarantine procedure? Is the individual provided with all the basic needs for the entire quarantine period? It is pointless to ask someone to self-quarantine when he/she has to go out to the shops to buy food!
The fear in Zimbabwe is that if there was to be a corona virus outbreak, God forbid, it will spread like wild fire. The fear is wholly justified. We have one of the most corrupt, incompetent and utterly reckless regime in the world. And four decades of misrule has left the country’s economy in ruins and the nation weak and feeble.
Our health care has all but collapsed; we have no doctors, nurses, no medicine, no equipment. If countries with well resourced health care services are being tested to breaking point; we face our worst nightmare!
One gets the feeling that not only is the regime failing to take maximum precautions to stop the corona virus outbreak but that it will be found wanting in stopping the spread of the virus. The regime will be tempted to deny the outbreak, just as the Chinese did. By the time the regime finally admit there is a problem, the wild fire would have spread far and wide!
In Zanu PF, we are dealing with a regime whose cold-hearted indifference to the suffering and even deaths of the ordinary people is well documented. The ruling elite have soaked up the country’s wealth and resources building palatial mansions like Mugabe’s Blue Roof and starved essential services like health care of funds. Even the country’s big hospitals like Parerenyatwa and Mpilo are in advanced stage of rot and decay, they regularly run out of something as basic as painkillers and clean running water!
Zimbabwe’s economy is now in such a mess, unemployment has soared to dizzying heights of 90%. According to a WB report last year, 34% of Zimbabweans (countries in the region all have single digit figures) now live in “extreme poverty” – they cannot afford one decent meal a day much less decent shelter, education for their children, health care, etc. It is here the grim-ripper such as corona virus will have a field day.
Data on the corona virus in countries like China and Italy shows, with medical care most people will recover and only 1% to 2% will die. Of those who die, most of them are either old or had some other underlying illness. The fatality figures in Zimbabwe will be much high and the underlying cause will be extreme poverty!
As a rule of thumb, nations get the government they deserve. In Zimbabwe we certainly deserve this corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous Zanu PF dictatorship complete with its coterie of corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless opposition parties, all 130 of them.
Let us hope and prey that corona virus pass us by. Still, it must be a wake-up call to us all to snap out of our 40 year old sloth-like slumber, demand democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections and thus finally end the curse of rigged elections and bad governance.
By A Correspondent- The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) has pleaded with Parliament to assist its members settle a US$43m owed to wheat suppliers for 2017-2018 period.
In letter penned by Tafadzwa Musarara after his recent appearance before the committee of Agriculture, Lands, Water and Rural Resettlement chaired by Justice Mayor Wadyajena, the GMAZ boss said grain millers owe international suppliers USD$43m.
“We humbly submit that the portfolio committee hearing meeting held on 25 February 2020 did not adequately afford us time to elucidate a number of key issues that are necessary to assist the parliamentary portfolio committee to come up with an informed decision,” Musarara wrote to Parliament.
The GMAZ head said his organization did not abuse any foreign currency availed to members for wheat procurement.
“This wheat purchasing structure was completely above board and most certainly in the national interest. In fact, it has saved the country from unprecedented bread shortage that could have degenerated into food riots,” Musarara said.
“We would appreciate if this esteemed committee could assist us in the payment of our foreign debts of individual millers for wheat supplied three years ago.
“Currently an amount of USD$43 million is still owed to foreign wheat suppliers for wheat supplied in 2017-2018,” Musarara said.
The GMAZ team appeared before the Justice Wadyajena-chaired committee and had a torrid time trying to explain how the funds they received from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe were used.
By A Correspondent- President Mnangagwa’s wife yesterday launched the first-ever women and youth driver training program in Goromonzi.
The state media reported that:
Auxillia who is the National Transport and Drivers Association (NTDA) patron, speaking at the launch of the program which will be run in conjunction with Traffic Safety Council Of Zimbabwe said;
Today, we have gathered here to officially launch a driver training programme where we would like to train youth and women how to drive.
The quality of drivers we intend to produce is the ideal driver who is courteous, cautious, and responsible.
The main objective of such a programme is to empower both women and youth in Zimbabwe. We would like to produce competent drivers in order to reduce and even better, to eliminate road carnage in Zimbabwe
During the 2019 festive season, the First lady would intercept motorists and interact with them on the need to observe road rules according to the publication.-StateMedia
By Patrick Guramatunhu: “The Chinese Government has pledged to refurbish and equip Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital to improve its capacity to handle suspected and confirmed cases.
To this end, China is set to dispatch a team of experts to visit Wilkins Hospital soon to assess the facility’s needs as part of the Eastern Asian county’s initiative to assist African countries to deal with the coronavirus.
Where local facilities fall short as in the case of test confirmation laboratories, the country leverages on its cordial relations with South Africa to ensure that nothing is left to chance,” advised Nobleman Runyanga in Bulawayo 24.
Zimbabweans have very good reasons to be alarmed at this. Why is it that the country does not have even one fully kitted facility to test and treat coronavirus victims nearly four months since the outbreak of the virus?
“Other people have even criticised these arrangements as though they do not know the enormity of the economic challenges which the country has had to contend with since 2001 when illegal sanctions were imposed on the country,” continued Runyanga.
I pray to God that there is no coronavirus outbreak in Zimbabwe because if there should be it is articles like this that make the people’s blood boil with anger!
There is no deny that the outbreak will cause untold human suffering and deaths in the country and all because the country’s economy has all but collapsed and so too has its health care service. The economic meltdown was caused by misrule and not sanctions!
40 years of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and rank lawlessness that has earned the country the pariah state label have left the country in economic ruins. The country has failed to maintain the hospitals and other infrastructure it inherited from the white colonial regime in 1980, much less improve on them.
The Zanu PF ruling elite have creamed off the wealth generated by the nation to bankroll their prodigal and extravagant lifestyles. Billions of dollars were poured into building palatial mansions such as Mugabe’s Blue Roof, the epitome of the regime’s selfish greed, whilst even the referral hospitals like Parerenyatwa and Mpilo Hospital were starved of funds so much so they often run out something as basic as painkillers and even clean running water!
Two weeks ago, ZACC, government’s own appointed anti-corruption Tzar, reported that it had uncovered US$ 7 billion in cash and assets salted out of the country by corrupt individuals including government leaders. There are billions more in cash and assets inside the country whose owners have no tax returns to prove they earned the loot legally.
ZACC will never recover even a fraction of the looted billions because the Godfathers of corruption are President Mnangagwa and his fellow Zanu PF cronies themselves. He promise “zero tolerance on corruption” when he took over from Mugabe in November 2017 but has since failed to stamp it out. He has admitted that corruption is “deep rooted”.
To uproot corruption, one must first uproot the Zanu PF dictatorship itself. And that is the one thing Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies will never do and risk losing power. They are addicted to power and the loot it has guaranteed.
Of course, it is an insult to be told the country’s economic meltdown is caused by sanctions when one can see all the evidence of ruling elite’s insatiable greed and the wholesale looting.
“Afirwa haatariswe kumeso!” (One must never look the aggrieved in the eye, especial those who played a part in the death!) So goes the Shona adage.
For Zanu PF to blame sanctions for any coronavirus deaths will be tantamount to spitting the aggrieved in the face. The nation has been cowed by brute force into submission but Zanu PF must not make the mistake of thinking we stupid not to see the blatant vote rigging, the looting, the insulting attempts to blame sanctions for all the country’s ills, etc. !
By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s former aide and State House principal director, Douglas Tapfuma, has exposed how senior government and Zanu-PF officials allegedly abused the free-duty vehicle scheme for self-aggrandisement.
He added that some of the vehicles he is being accused of importing were used for campaign purposes in Chirumanzu-Zibagwe constituency.
Tapfuma named Youth deputy minister Tinoda Machakaire, who runs TinMac, a logistics company, as one of the many government and party officials who abused the scheme.
The facility was also used to buy campaign vehicles for Zanu-PF’s Vongai Mupereri in Mbizo constituency.
Tapfuma, who is facing a criminal abuse of office charge for allegedly abusing a government facility to import five personal vehicles, was testifying in court yesterday where he accused several Zanu-PF and government officials of using the facility for their personal projects.
He said some of the projects were meant to be “a good gesture to my principal, the President, Emmerson Mnangagwa”.
“Everyone in government and Zanu-PF has been doing it,” Tapfuma said.
“I wrote a letter to Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Ray Ndhlukula requesting him for duty free exemption letter and the request was granted through the letter he signed. If there were any doubts of my requests, he would have declined, but due to the fact that everyone was doing it, I see no problems with that.”
He told the court that several officials connected to the system, that include Mupereri and Machakaire, imported their personal vehicles through the duty-free facility of the Office of the President and Cabinet.
“It is a system that has been in existence for long to import personal vehicles through the Office of the President and Cabinet under the vehicles duty-free facility. TinMac Company has done exactly what I am accused of and using the same documents that I used. Mupereri also used the same documents. These kinds of transactions have been in existence for a long time,” Tapfuma said.
He added that there were many high-profile personalities he could not name in court who have imported several personal vehicles using the duty-free facility.
He said he assisted in the importation of Mupereri’s two vehicles which are being used as an ambulance for his Mbizo constituency to prop up his political campaign so that he retains the seat for the Zanu-PF party and please Mnangagwa in the process.
Mupereri, however, lost the seat to MDC’s Settlement Chikwinya.
“When I assisted Mupereri, I wanted him to be seen as doing a wonderful thing by donating ambulances to his constituency and win a seat for the Zanu-PF party, which would be a good gesture to my principal, the President, Emmerson Mnangagwa,” Tapfuma said.
Quizzed by prosecutor Clement Chimbari why Mupereri did not use his Constituency Development Fund allocated by Treasury to pay duty for the vehicles instead of seeking for a duty free facility, Tapfuma said: “I made use of the facility for my benefit and also for the benefit of my principal, who is the President.”
Chimbari asked how the principal (Mnangagwa) would have benefited from his personal vehicles to which Tapfuma said the vehicles went to First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s former constituency, Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe.
He said the vehicles were also used in the preparations for elections in the constituency “and that would also be a good gesture to my principal”.
On why he did not use the Zanu-PF party channels when importing the vehicles to campaign, Tapfuma said he had to use his privilege as State Residences director.
He said his downfall was orchestrated by Ndhlukula, who did not want him to be occupying his position as per appointment by Mnangagwa.
He said when Mnangagwa was appointed Vice-President in 2014, Ndhlukula refused to do an induction for them because he felt that they were people seconded by Mnangagwa and not the Office of the President.
Tapfuma described the allegations against him as malicious, accusing Ndhlukula of wanting to second his own people to such key positions.
The former State Residences director said his department and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority had never complained about the importation of the vehicle via the facility and that there had not been any disciplinary procedures by his employer based on the issue.
The matter was remanded to March 26 for judgment.-Newsday
By Tsitsi N. Nyirongo| Job ‘Wiwa’ Sikhala has made news headlines recently following the show trial in Masvingo in which he was being tried for wanting to overthrow the Zanu PF government.
The trial obviously didn’t go any far because the charges where typical ZANU PF nonsense, even though the government is still trying to get him back in the dock.
Nonetheless, many people have been marvelling at the stance Job Sikhala has taken against President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ZANU PF government. That is good to hear. That is confirmation about the mood in the general public.
Wiwa has on a few occasions expressed his honest assessment of the problems in Zimbabwe, essentially concluding that only the removal of Mnangagwa and ZANU from government. Some people are calling him a radical for saying this. But what he is saying is common sense and these views are held by many in Zimbabwe who are too scared to say so publicly.
Now, the time has come for other MDC MPs to stop cheering silently at what Sikhala is saying and start supporting him by repeating his message publicly in a fashion akin to ‘I’m Spartacus’.
It shouldn’t take just one MDC MP to be brave, all of them need to show us they have guts. If our leaders many of whom are lawyers can’t be brave against Mnangagwa and Zanu, how then can the public who have no money to defend themselves in court show any bravery against state repression.
Yes, Mnangagwa and Zanu pf are a tumour and the only cure for those is removal which is often bloody. It should not be sacred to say that the Zimbabwean government needs to be overthrown since it’s authority is illegitimate.
What is needed right now is for MDC MPs, senators and leaders in their hundreds to stick their heads out and say what needs to be said. It’s the least they can do what with the privilege they have in the country. If it takes for all of them in their hundreds to be arrested by Zanu for saying these things the better for it as it will finally make this situation a proper struggle.
For a long time now, MDC MPs have been taking what is either a craven approach to the Zimbabwean crisis, a stance that is disconnected to what many of us are thinking. We want it to be clear and public that Mnangagwa and Zanu should be removed by any means necessary if our country is to have a chance of recovery. Time is running out.
Sudan’s Prime Minister survived a reported assassination attempt in the capital Khartoum on Monday, tweeting after the incident that he was “safe and in good shape”.
Briefing reporters, the UN’s Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said UN chief António Guterres was “shocked and saddened” to learn of the attack, and expressed “full solidarity” with the Prime Minister and people of Sudan.
The joint UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) also released a statement expressing “deep regret” at the attempted assassination.
UNAMID’s Joint Special Representative, Jeremiah Mamabolo, said “we are both deeply shocked and saddened by this serious incident. It is indicative that the perpetrator(s) of such a heinous act aims to derail the transitional period. The hopes of the Sudanese people for a transition to peace, freedom and justice must prevail.”
Mr. Hamdok was appointed to lead Sudan’s transitional Government last August, after its longterm ruler, Omar al-Bashir, was deposed by the military in response to months of popular protest against his rule.
So far nobody has claimed responsibility for the assault on the Prime Minister’s convoy, which the country’s information minister is reportedly describing as a “terrorist attack”. The political transition has led to many former key figures in politics and the military, losing influence and authority.
‘Full support’ from UN Mission
“UNAMID and its leadership reiterate their full support to Prime Minister Hamdok in his endeavors to see Sudan through a successful transition in a manner that achieves the hopes and aspirations of the Sudanese people for a peaceful, stable and prosperous future”, said Mr. Mamabolo.
Nobody was reported to have been hurt in Monday’s attack, which reportedly took place near the northeastern entrance to a bridge which collects the north of the city to the Prime Minister office in central Khartoum.
Mr. Hamdock said on Twitter: “Rest assured that what happened today will not stand in the way of our transition; instead it is an additional push to the wheel of change in Sudan.”
Sowetan|Multimillionaire trucker businessman Sam “Mshengu” Chabalala has gone missing and has sent his wife and some of his employees a “suicide note”, claiming that his life was in danger.
Sources in the Hawks said the note, which he apparently sent to his wife on March 3, Chabalala said he never wronged anyone and does not know what he has done to “deserve this”.
Chabalala is a wanted man after a warrant of arrest was issued for him on Friday when he failed to appear in the Witbank magistrate’s court in connection with charges of corruption, illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, illegal entry and remaining within the borders of SA, and providing false information to be granted entry into the country.
He was out on R200,000 bail, which was granted in September.
Chabalala is also out on R500,000 bail on a separate matter and faces charges of corruption and bribery after he allegedly attempted to bribe a senior police officer to return his vehicle and make his docket disappear in the initial case.
The matter was being heard in the Middelburg magistrate’s court and was postponed to March 30.
In the note seen by Sowetan, Chabalala wrote to his wife, Lerato Legodi, saying he was scared that he was going to be killed. He sent the same note to some of his employees at Sam Holdings.
Strive Masiyiwa’s former business partner, Daniel Shumba explains how he has fallen into trouble with the government for supporting Nelson Chamisa’s concourt case against Emmerson Mnangagwa and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission which was launched in August 2018 and has since been revived. In the latest development, Shumba narrates how his house was allegedly visited by state agents last week.
By Own Correspondent| The hearing and determination of an appeal filed by Harare East constituency legislator Hon. Tendai Biti got off to a false start on Monday 9 March 2020 after the High Court postponed the matter to Monday 11 May 2020.
High Court Judges Felistus Chatukuta and Pisirayi Kwenda postponed the hearing of Hon. Biti’s appeal after the state requested for a deferment of the hearing as Editor Mavuto, a law officer with the National Prosecuting Authority, was not available to argue the matter on behalf of the state owing to a bereavement in his family.
Last year, Hon. Biti filed an appeal in the High Court challenging both his conviction and sentence for contravening some provisions of the Electoral Act.
Hon. Biti wants the High Court to set aside his conviction so that he is not found guilty and get acquitted on both charges of contravening section 66A(1)(a) and section 66(A)(1)(b) of the Electoral Act.
The appeal was filed after Harare Magistrate Gloria Takundwa on Monday 18 February 2019 convicted the opposition MDC-Alliance party’s Vice President for unofficial or false declaration of election results as defined in section 66A(1)(a) and section 66(A)(1)(b) of the Electoral Act after ruling that the state had managed to prove its case against the Harare East constituency legislator beyond any reasonable doubt and sentenced him to pay a fine of $200 and in default of payment seven days imprisonment.
In their appeal, Hon. Biti’s lawyers Beatrice Mtetwa and Alec Muchadehama of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights argued that Magistrate Takundwa had grossly erred and misdirected herself when she convicted the human rights lawyer and imposed such a sentence.
Mtetwa and Muchadehama argued that Magistrate Takundwa misdirected herself in failing to properly consider and pronounce herself on the pre-trial violations of Hon. Biti’s fundamental rights and on the legality or otherwise of the human rights lawyer’s “arrest” in Chirundu in Mashonaland West province.
The lawyers argued that Magistrate Takundwa grossly erred and misdirected herself by holding that the Harare Magistrates Court had jurisdiction to preside over Hon. Biti’s trial when the unquestioned evidence was that he was unlawfully removed from Zambia in violation of the neighbouring country’s High Court order and of domestic, regional, continental and international law relating to political asylum seekers.
Mtetwa and Muchadehama contended that the Magistrates Court erred and misdirected itself when it failed to consider and take into account that results posted at polling stations and constituencies by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) are in fact official results on which the public is entitled to report on.
Hon. Biti’s lawyers submitted that the charges preferred against their client were superfluous once it was accepted that the election results are in fact declared and announced, once the constituency return is posted outside the polling station, or a constituency ward centre and a provincial command centre.
The lawyers stated that Magistrate Takundwa erred and misdirected herself in convicting Hon. Biti when there was no intention proven by the state of him having committed the offences given the opposition legislator’s evidence that he held a media briefing to compel ZEC to release the election results early and in any event what he announced were not official results.
The lawyers also argued that section 66A(1)(a) and section 66(A)(1)(b) of the Electoral Act are unconstitutional in that the two provisions unjustifiably infringe his right to freedom of expression as set out in section 61 of the Constitution, his right to information provided in section 62 of the Constitution and his political rights guaranteed in section 67 of the Constitution.
THE Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) is unhappy with Philip Chiyangwa’s meddling in their discussions with the Confederation of African Football (Caf) over the country’s stadium ban, accusing him of trying to get cheap mileage from the crisis.
Chiyangwa claimed last week that he had personally contacted Caf president Ahmad Ahmad and asked him to intervene and help lift the ban imposed on Zimbabwe’s football stadiums from hosting international football matches.
The businessman said he intervened in his role as the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) president.
However, Zifa yesterday raised a red flag over Chiyangwa’s efforts, saying his actions could muddle the process.
“We are worried about some people who are seeking cheap attention by trying to pre-empt what Caf is doing,” a Zifa official, who requested anonymous, said yesterday.
“We are hearing some reckless statements from people, some going as far as suggesting that they have spoken to the Caf president personally over the matter. That is not good. The Caf president can’t make decisions over the stadiums.
There are committees that deal with that, and we believe they are very professional. The issue is about the areas (stadiums) that need to be improved to meet certain standards to host international matches. No amount of politicking or phone calls to Ahmad would solve that. It’s simple as that.”
Caf last month banned the country from hosting international matches because all the three international venues (the National Sports, Barbourfields and Mandava Stadiums) failed to meet the required standards.
“As Zifa, we have engaged the government and other stakeholders to improve our stadiums and we are very happy with the progress. The minister (Local Government minster July Moyo) on Friday toured the National Sports Stadium, and the deputy Sports minister (Tinoda) Machakaire were in Bulawayo last week, which shows the commitment that the government is putting on this situation.
“These are delicate discussions, and Caf will not entertain anyone besides Zifa when dealing with Zimbabwe football issues. That is why they are not even communicating with the government. Everything comes through official channels, which is Zifa. If Caf wants something, they will not go through anyone else, except Zifa.
“What we see here is a person who is trying to make Caf angry by pre-empting the discussions that are happening behind the scenes. Claiming that one has already told Caf to grant us authority to use the stadium is nothing short of sabotaging the appeal process as Caf may shy away fearing reprisals that they take instructions from some individuals. Such glory seeking antics are dangerous and compromise us.”
Zimbabwe is set to play Algeria in a Group H qualifier on March 29, but the country risks the embarrassment of hosting the match outside its borders.
A Caf inspection team is expected in the country this week to check the progress at the National Sports Stadium in Harare and Barbourfields in Bulawayo.
I-Harare|Terence Mukupe’s ex-wife Rachel J who was allegedly impregnated by Bushiri gives birth: Pics. With all the drama that has been surrounding these 3, that is Rachel J, ex-Minister Terence Mukupe and ECG founder prophet Bushiri there has been a good thing that has come out of it. Yes, there is a baby that has been produced and we are so happy.
Its a shame though that a baby was born in such a way where there are so much controversy and hype and even drama. The singer who is behind the song Ngoro which she collaborated with Enzo Ishall has just given birth to a bouncing baby girl.
Social media has been flooded by pictures of the baby in which the singer posted as she shared the news. Check the pictures below
She was in a beautifully decorated room, that we almost got confused about whether she was in the hospital or she delivered at home. The setup was just nice…
MPILO Central Hospital nurses yesterday demonstrated against the chief executive officer Mr Leonard Mabandi’s directive for them to start working four-day shifts instead of the two days they agreed on with the Government.
Nurses used to work seven days a week but adopted the two-day weekly shifts due to incapacitation.
The Zimbabwe Nurses’ Association (Zina) signed an agreement with the Government last year which gave provision for nurses to work two days of 12-hour shifts per week, which are flexible working hours that were also adopted by staff in other health institutions.
The nurses however said Mr Mabandi issued a circular on Monday last week instructing them to revert to a four-day weekly shift despite their agreement with the Government.
Hospital business came to a standstill as nurses staged a four-hour protest between 8AM and 12pm yesterday.
They stood at the administration block where Mr Mabandi’s office is, chanted slogans against the CEO, who is said to be in Harare.
It was a sea of white as nurses waved placards with messages that read: “No to slavery, Asidli Vaya (we don’t eat Vaya – a reference to $1 transport that the hospital organised for workers to cushion them against $7 charged by kombis).”
In an interview during the demonstration, Zina provincial chairperson, Mr Nicholas Chidora said since last week the nurses were being forced to work for four days.
During the demonstration the nurses accused the CEO along with the Administration department of mismanagement.
“Zina last year agreed with the Government to allow nurses to work for two days of 12-hour shifts. We adopted the working schedule which was agreed by Government during the period when the doctors were on strike.
“However, on Monday last week Mr Mabandi issued a circular instructing nurses to go back to normal duties without even addressing our issues. As nurses we are demonstrating today to send a message that we will not revert to the normal working hours until the institution addresses our grievances as nurses,” said Mr Chidora.
He said nurses were working under very difficult conditions as a result of shortage of resources.
“The hospital is not adequately prepared for any emergencies including coronavirus itself. As nurses we have not undergone training to equip us with adequate knowledge about the virus and how to address it.
“I can tell you that in the event that there is an outbreak of the virus today, the patients will suffer because the institution is not well prepared for it. This is a very infectious environment but we are forced to work without resources to protect ourselves from the infections,” said Mr Chidora.
President Mnangagwa has restricted international travel especially outside Africa, while civil servants have been banned from foreign trips as Government takes measures to minimise the risk of exposure to Covid-19, which is caused by coronavirus.
In Zimbabwe more than 6 000 people have been screened of the virus at ports of entry, mainly Robert Gabriel Mugabe International and Victoria Falls International airports. All 26 ports, eight of which are airports and 18 inland border posts, have screening facilities.
The concern by Mpilo nurses comes at a time when South Africa reported yesterday that it now has seven confirmed cases of coronavirus. According to the Sabc, the four new cases were among the group of people who were travelling from Italy.
In Zimbabwe, the Chinese government has committed to upgrading facilities at Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital which will be used as a centre to quarantine and treat patients in case of an out break in Bulawayo and is doing the same for Wilkins Hospital in Harare.
Mpilo Central Hospital acting CEO Mr Thomas Nyikadzino referred questions to Mr Mabandi who could not be reached on his mobile phone.
Robert Mugabe and Emmerson Mnangagwa during the Gukurahundi era
State Media|THE National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) has said it has started laying the groundwork for the process that will culminate in Gukurahundi exhumations, with President Mnangagwa expected to participate in an indaba to map the way forward.
The NPRC has since started training provincial peace committees that will engage people leading to public hearings and exhumations.
President Mnangagwa has encouraged citizens to openly speak on Gukurahundi and has reiterated that no subject should be made taboo in resolving conflict.
The President has so far held two meetings with civil society and a separate one with chiefs to promote national healing.
The NPRC is expected to lead the exhumation and reburials of Gukurahundi victims, some of whom were buried in mass and shallow graves at the height of the 1980s disturbances largely concentrated in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces.
Provincial peace committees that consist of various societal groups who are players on issues to do with conflict resolutions are playing a role in the process.
When the Bulawayo provincial peace committee was constituted last year, it identified issues of concern in the city that include Gukurahundi, importation of labour, non-enrolment of students from Matabeleland region at tertiary institution in the region and resuscitation of the city’s industries among others.
Addressing a Press conference during the Bulawayo provincial peace committee training workshop yesterday, NPRC chairperson Justice Selo Nare said the provincial peace building committees will the lay the groundwork for public hearings and exhumation processes.
“Presently, as a commission, we are not sitting idle; we are working hard. That is why we are taking the matters further. This training session of the peace committees and hearing the other side and how to look into it (exhumations) and after that we can come to a stage where we are going to be conducting hearings that are important so that we know exactly what the people are saying,” said Justice Nare.
Justice Nare said the President is expected to hold an inclusive meeting with various players from the region to tackle Gukurahundi matters.
“We do believe in the most recent future as the President said we would be holding a meeting that will include various stakeholders including the chiefs in order to map the way forward. Chiefs are a very important stakeholder group with regards the interesting subject of exhumations,” said Justice Nare.
He said President Mnangagwa’s engagements with civil society organisations from Matabeleland region complements peace building efforts.
Justice Nare said although NPRC was not part of the first meeting between the President and Matabeleland Collective, they were later incorporated into the discussions as issues that arose from that engagement touched on their constitutional mandate.
He said while many people are demanding answers on when exhumations should be conducted, due processes have to be followed to effectively deliver on lasting peace.
Yesterday, the Bulawayo provincial peace committee was holding its first training workshop after being constituted last year.
Commissioner Leslie Ncube, who is assigned to Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South, leads the provincial peace committee and is deputised by Ms Nokuthula Dube from Ukuthula Trust.
The three-day training workshop which ends tomorrow is being conducted under closed doors due to the sensitivity of conflict issues to allow participants to effectively contribute in the peace building processes.
He said Gotore then proceeded to a bedroom hut which he shared with Tawanda and Shan, where he allegedly fatally struck Shan twice on the head.
Gotore left the hut and went to a shed across the same homestead where Mr Sibanda was sitting with his wife Ms Gotore and Ms Shumba.
Upon arrival at the shed, police said, Gotore struck Ms Shumba once on the collarbone and the woman collapsed and died on the spot.
Mr Sibanda tried to disarm him but was overpowered.
Mr Sibanda and his wife fled from the scene with the accused in pursuit. He failed to catch the couple, police said.
Gotore allegedly walked back towards the homestead and proceeded to the cattle pen where he tied a cow to a tree before axing it to death. He also axed a calf. The two beasts belonged to Mr Sibanda.
Ms Munsaka, with her one year old baby strapped to her back, screamed for help while running towards Mr Sibanda’s bedroom hut to seek help after seeing that her husband had died, not knowing the couple had fled from the scene.
Police said Gotore chased after her into a maize field where after catching up with her, struck her with an axe several times causing her instant death. The baby was still on its dead mother’s back when Gotore struck it once on the shoulder causing its instant death.
The deceased’s bodies were taken to Bulawayo for postmortem while the axe was recovered.
Gotore was arrested and is detained at Lusulu Police Station on allegations of murder.
The trial of former Health and Child Care Minister David Parirenyatwa on charges of criminal abuse of office will now continue, with him presenting his defence after yesterday’s attempt to delay the trial failed.
Parirenyatwa, through Advocate Depak Mehta, unsuccessfully applied for the next stage of his trial to be delayed further until the High Court reviewed the dismissal by the Harare Magistrates Court of an earlier application for discharge after the State case.
The presiding magistrate had ruled that the State had made a strong enough case to require Parirenyatwa to defend his actions.
Yesterday, Harare Provincial magistrate Mr Elijah Makomo dismissed Parirenyatwa’s application for a delay until the review and put him to his defence.
Allegations are that Parirenyatwa abused his position as a public officer and directed NatPharm board chairperson Dr George Washaya to terminate the contract of Ms Flora Sifeku as managing director, allegedly showing favour to Mr Newman Madzikwa, who had once been sacked from the pharmaceutical company for reportedly selling donated drugs.
At the time he was fired in September 2009, Mr Madzikwa was NatPharm’s Masvingo branch manager.
The indictment revealed that Parirenyatwa had indicated that he required Ms Sifeku’s services at the ministry’s head office for an indefinite period.
The board, it is alleged, complied with Parirenyatwa’s directive and gave Ms Sifeku and Mr Madzikwa six months contracts each as managing directors.
It is alleged that Parirenyatwa’s conduct created double dipping on NatPharm funds as the company was paying two salaries towards the managing director’s position, thereby prejudicing it of a total of $30 006. The State further alleges that Parirenyatwa’s actions were prejudicial to the good administration of NatPharm and the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
President Mnangagwa welcomes outgoing Egyptian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mohamed Fahmy during a courtesy call at his Munhumutapa offices in Harare yesterday. — Picture: Memory Mangombe
Farai D Hove| The outgoing Egyptian Ambassador, Mohamed Fahmy, has said up until the day reforms are implemented, Zimbabwe has no future to talk about. He described it as a “promising future,” that can only come after institutional reforms are completed.
He was speaking soon after meeting ZANU PF president Emmerson Mnangagwa and his comments come barely days after South Africa’s ambassador to Harare said for Zimbabwe to succeed, politicians must take their hands off the national institutions.
The state media twisted ambassador Fahmy’s words to mean he is saying Zimbabwe’s economic future is bright. But he clearly said the future will only come “after the reform process is completed.”
He also added saying “investors from the private sector are waiting” for that stage to be accomplished.Wr
He said in full:
“I have to say that my end of mission report back to my Government will definitely emphasise the very promising future for Zimbabwe after the reform process is completed and I am very aware that some investors from the private sector are waiting,” he said.
“Now you have the new investment authority. I was informed by His Excellency (Emmerson Mnangagwa) that we will have some people from finance where they can meet directly with investors coming in different specialised sectors, so all my best wishes for your beautiful country.”
Meanwhile, ambassador Fahmy also threw another shot at Mnangagwa’s regime known for hiring people who are past the retirement age. He said he would retire as he was going to reach the mandatory retirement age of 60 in the next few days.
The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has self-quarantined himself in the wake of the spread of the Coronavirus.
Coronavirus: Portugal’s President becomes latest to be quarantined
This comes after it was found that a class from a school with a student confirmed to have the coronavirus visited the presidential palace last week.
A statement from the President’s office said he interacted with the class on Tuesday, but noted that the student with the infection was not part of those who visited the palace.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has since been quarantined at his personal residence for two weeks.
Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
According to the statement, he has also cancelled all public activities and will not be traveling abroad.
The deadly Coronavirus has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO).
China has been hit very hard by the coronavirus, with over 2,000 killed and over 80,000 more infected.
The coronavirus is most severe in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, where many have been infected.
However, it has spread to other countries in Asia and Europe, with Nigeria being the latest to record a case.
Meanwhile, the Ghana government has taken steps to ensure that no person infected with the Coronavirus enters the country unchecked.
The Ministry of Health has stationed health officials at the Kotoka International Airport to screen for the coronavirus.
Persons arriving from other countries are taken through thorough screening for the Coronavirus.
These measures have been put in place the Ministry and the Ghana Health Service to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, 40 suspected coronavirus cases that have so far been reported in Ghana have all tested negative.
ZIFA have secured Orlando Stadium as the venue for the Warriors’ 2021 AFCON qualifier against the Desert Foxes while the association continue to sell the nation a dummy that they are battling to have the match played in Zimbabwe.
Authoritative sources in South Africa told The Herald yesterday that ZIFA chief executive, Joseph Mamutse, yesterday sealed a contract with his South African Football Association counterparts for the match to be held at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
This is in sharp contrast to the song which the ZIFA officials have been singing in public saying they were confident of getting the Confederation of African Football to give the greenlight to Barbourfields to host that blockbuster showdown.
A number of ZIFA officials have, in the past few days, given an impression that they are waiting for CAF to make a decision, possibly this week, amid hopes in their camp that the big game will be played here in Zimbabwe.
However, The Herald can reveal that Mamutse, who is in South Africa on business, signed an agreement with his SAFA counterparts for the match to be held at Orlando Stadium.
‘‘Mamutse is here in SA for a FIFA workshop, he met with SAFA (officials) today and signed the agreement, the match is at Orlando Stadium,’’ said the sources.
‘‘Some ZIFA guys are likely to travel to Johannesburg on Wednesday or Thursday to work on the logistics.’’
ZIFA have been sending signals to the Government, which intervened with a massive programme to renovate the National Sports Stadium and Barbourfields, that they were hoping to get the match played in Zimbabwe.
The Government and other stakeholders have been working overtime with the owners of the stadium, Bulawayo City Council, to get the stadium ready for inspection.
The workmen at Barbourfields had been given a deadline, until end of day today, to complete the most critical aspects of the required standards, as mentioned in the CAF report.
However, the association have — on the other hand — been securing a deal with foreign partners for the match against Algeria to be played in South Africa.
Chief Director in the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, Benson Martins Dube, who is currently in Bulawayo overseeing the work, said he was impressed by the pace of the refurbishments at Barbourfields.
“There has been a lot of commitment from everyone involved. Resources have been availed and the staff on the ground is working very hard,’’ he said.
‘‘I can tell you Barbourfields has changed from what it used to be.
“We had given ourselves up to Tuesday (today) to work on the most urgent requirements and the most encouraging thing is that we are meeting the deadlines.
“There has been massive work in the changing rooms, the medical rooms, the doping rooms and the ablution facilities.
‘‘I am sure this ground is now good to go. We are now waiting for ZIFA to send pictorial evidence to CAF and this should be done by end of day tomorrow.’’
Association spokesperson, Xolisani Gwesela, yesterday said they were still confident the blockbuster game could still be held in this country.
Gwesela said they were still hopeful of a positive response to the appeal to CAF.
“ZIFA is still engaging CAF on the matter and no binding decision has been arrived at as yet,’’ he said.
“We appeal to the football fraternity to be patient as the engagement goes on; hoping that CAF will grant us our sovereignty to play home matches in Zimbabwe.
“ZIFA is grateful to the Government, and all other stakeholders, for the great strides made since the ban to ensure that stadiums are upgraded to meet international standards.”
Another letter, advising ZIFA that they need to reveal the name of the stadium where they will host Algeria, came from CAF on Sunday.
However, just like other official communications surrounding the case, it was not availed to the media and public.
ZIFA were directed by CAF to look for an alternative venue for the match scheduled for March 31 after Barbourfields was added to the list of banned stadiums in Zimbabwe
CAF last month announced a blanket ban of all Zimbabwean stadiums saying they do not meet the minimum standards to host international matches.
The continental football mother body given partial approval for Barbourfields to host the game.
ZIFA are still hoping CAF will send an inspection team this week to look at the revamped Barbourfields.
Regional football bloc, COSAFA, have also chipped in to try and have Zimbabwe given back the right to play their home matches on the domestic front.
However, an official yesterday said it was unlikely CAF will reverse their decision for the match to be played on neutral soil.
“The procedure for re-inspection is quite thorough. First, work has to be done on the ground,’’ said the official.
‘‘After the work has been completed, the local club licensing manager is supposed to conduct an inspection and produce a report.
“It has to be proved beyond reasonable doubt that the facility meets the required standards and then an application is made to CAF to send an inspection team.
‘‘The CAF inspector will evaluate the state of the stadium and then a decision is made.’’-HERALD
Donald Trump has repeatedly come into contact with folks who have self-quarantined, but he refused to answer whether he has actually been tested for coronavirus.
During a press conference with the so-called coronavirus task force, Trump walked out after reporters asked whether he has been screened for the virus that is now sweeping the country.
Trump and Pence don’t answer a question about whether Trump has been tested for coronavirus, since he’s been in repeated contact with people who have self-quarantined pic.twitter.com/rJ9tTuMmhQ
Trump may have escaped the room, but Mike Pence was left behind to offer his non-answer.
“I honestly don’t know the answer to the question,” the vice president said. “We’ll refer that question and we will get you an answer from the White House physician very quickly.”
Trump’s refusal to answer comes as more reporting indicates that he has repeatedly come into contact with individuals who have self-quarantined, like Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Zimbabwe is headed toward the tipping point as the economy continues to implode in the wake of government clampdown against dissent.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government is struggling to put brakes on a multi-layered crisis with the International Monetary Fund predicting stagnant economic growth this year after an 8 per cent decline last year.
The country is also battling the worst famine in over a decade, which affects more than half of its 14 million people.
The food shortage has forced the government to release at least 5,000 prisoners to curb food shortages at correctional facilities as the southern Africa country struggles with a collapsing economy.
The move is meant to decongest prisons that have 22,000 inmates against a carrying capacity of 17,000, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said.
Acute shortages of medicines, fuel, electricity, water and other basic commodities have left workers agitated, with the country’s main trade union already mobilising for a national shutdown.’
Political stand-off between President Mnangagwa and his main opposition rival Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) over the 2018 election has increased tension in the country.
Mr Chamisa, who refused to recognise President Mnangagwa’s election victory citing rigging, said he has given up on dialogue with the ruling party after the ruling Zanu-PF rebuffed his overtures.
The MDC, which draws most of its support in the country’s urban areas, said it will now resort to protests to force political and economic reforms ahead of the 2023 elections.
In the past two weeks, the opposition has been rolling out spontaneous protests in the capital Harare and the dormitory town of Chitungwiza, which have been violently broken up by the police.
The worst clashes between the opposition and security forces so far took place in Chitungwiza, a town on the outskirts of Harare, where protests erupted on February 29 following a police raid on MDC vice chairperson Job Sikhala.
Police arrested 11 MDC youths after the clashes, and residents were subjected to beatings. The MDC said the police were now treating the party as a terrorist organisation.
POLICE BRUTALITY
“The police went on an orgy of violence in Chitungwiza, breaking down doors and barging into private homes in search of anyone suspected to be MDC leader,” the party spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka said.
“No reason was given for the siege and the state-sanctioned violence.
“The MDC regards the siege in (Chitungwiza) and the incessant harassment of party leaders as needless persecution.
“The regime is treating the MDC as a terrorist organisation when it is a legitimate political party running the majority of local government councils.”
The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), a human rights monitoring group, said the country was on the edge because of the economic and political crisis.
ZPP said a heavy-handed response by the police against the protests will only serve to inflame the situation further as citizens, especially the youths, were now agitated.
“The demonstration by MDC youth in Harare’s CBD and the Chitungwiza clashes are pointers to the agitation that is within the citizenry, particularly the youth,” ZPP said.
“If the government does not urgently address the bread and butter issues that citizens are grappling with, the country is likely to experience more pockets of such protests as citizens become more impatient.”
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), which organised last year’s protests over a steep increase in the price of fuel that shut down businesses for at least three days, said it was mobilising its members for a “national shutdown” to force the government to pay workers a living wage.
“The MDC has also threatened mass protests across the country,” the ZPP added. “Measures need to be taken to address the concerns of citizens.
“Already certain reports received by ZPP indicate that citizens in some areas no longer sit back and watch their rights being violated.
“Police’s heavy handedness when dealing with citizens is a cause for concern.
“They indiscriminately assaulted citizens including those that were going about their business in Chitungwiza on February 29.”
Peter Mutasa, the ZCTU president who was charged with treason alongside dozens of activists and MDC officials for organising last year’s ‘national shutdown’, said workers could no longer remain passive as their livelihoods were being destroyed.
“We must ask ourselves to say what we are going to do when we sleep without eating and our kids go to school without shoes,” Mr Mutasa said
“Should we continue to be passive just hoping things will suddenly become normal just like that?” He asked.
On Wednesday, the United States said it was extending sanctions against Zimbabwe for another year because President Mnangagwa’s government “has arguably accelerated its persecution of critics and economic mismanagement in the past year, during which security forces have conducted extrajudicial killings, rapes, and alleged abductions of numerous dissidents.”
Correspondent|The High Court has dismissed an application for post-divorce maintenance filed by Vice President Kembo Mohadi’s ex-wife Tambudzani Mohadi.
Tambudzani and VP Mohadi finalised their divorce last year with the former getting motor vehicles, 50 percent shares in a company and more than US$25 000 in value of farm and household goods.
The two were married for 37-years.
After finalisation of the divorce, Tambudzani applied for spousal maintenance claiming assets she was given were limiting her means.
Tambudzani, a Beitbridge Senator, was also awarded three pieces of real estate land and more than 500 herd of cattle.
In dismissing the claim Justice Esther Muremba said Tambudzani misled the court when she claimed that she had resorted to eating sadza and dried vegetables.
The judge said Tambudzani was not a candidate for the maintenance given her status as a government official.
“In case all factors considered it is my view that the applicant is not entitled to be maintained by the respondent.
“While she is fairly advanced in age and has greatly diminished prospects of remarriage, she was awarded capital assets upon divorcing with the Respondent (VP Mohadi).
“The applicant’s list of expenses shows that she wants the Respondent (VP Mohadi) to pay for each and every item of her expenditure.
“She got three pieces of real estate two of which are developed, more than 500 herd of cattle, motor vehicle, Discovery Land Rover, 50 percent shares in a company, more than US$25 000 in value of farm assets and household goods,” reads part of the judgment.
Justice Muremba also said that Tambudzani failed to account for her own earnings.
“The applicant (Tambudzani) was not being truthful with the court, If ever she was feeding on sadza and dried vegetables it was certainly by choice.
“With the assets awarded to her, the applicant cannot claim that she is now living a miserable life and that she cannot afford a decent meal.
“She can still live comfortably even if she does not dispose of any of the two houses awarded to her.
“She is a legislator and she earns income from that every month,” said the judge.
VP Mohadi had contested the claim saying his ex-wife’s application had no basis.
The judge said Tambudzani should not burden the VP.
“The Respondent (VP Mohadi) cannot be punished for having married the applicant at some stage during his life time to the extent that he should be burdened with maintaining her for the rest of her life whilst she refuses to use her money and assets to look after herself,” she said.
Tambudzani had also maintained that the Vice President and his new wife were enjoying fruits of her labour after taking part in building his political career from being a cabinet minister to his current post.
During finalisation of the divorce, the Vice President only benefited the Mohadi family home and a State farm as properties.
State Media|FIRED Victoria Falls Mayor, Councillor Somvelo Dlamini has approached the High Court challenging the MDC decision to recall him on allegations of violating party rules and undermining protocol.
In his court application, the fired mayor cited the opposition party, its leader Nelson Chamisa and other party officials.
The MDC accuses Mr Dlamini of refusing to resign from his position as Victoria Falls mayor after a contentious election in 2018 to pave way for the party’s preferred candidate Cllr Margaret Valley of Ward 1.
By so doing the party alleges that Clr Dlamini defied the party directive when he stood as a candidate and defeated Clr Valley by eight votes to three.
The party’s secretary general Mr Charlton Hwende wrote to Clr Dlamini a letter dated February 24, 2020, advising him about the decision of the party’s national council to terminate his membership and remove him as the resort town’s mayor and ward 9 councillor.
The letter which was copied to the party’s Matabeleland North provincial chairperson Mr Prince Dubeko Sibanda and Victoria Falls Municipality said Clr Dlamini had violated party instructions.
“Your expulsion is in terms of article 5.11(a) of the Movement for Democratic Change constitution as read with the unanimous national council resolution of 23rd November 2018. Consequently, the party is immediately invoking the provisions of Section 278 (1) of the Zimbabwe Constitution as read with Section 129 of the same to have you removed from the position of councillor of the Victoria Falls Municipality,” reads part of the letter.
It is the third time that the Chamisa-led party has fired Clr Dlamini after expelling him from the party twice in 2018 before reinstating him for allegedly defying his superiors’ decision not to stand for election as Victoria Falls mayor to pave way for a candidate of their choice Clr Valley.
Clr Dlamini, who is a self-actor, filed an application at the Bulawayo High Court challenging his removal from the council seat, citing Mr Hwende, MDC, MDC-Alliance and Mr Chamisa, Mr Sibanda and Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo as respondents.
In his founding affidavit, Clr Dlamini said his dismissal from both the party and council was in violation of his constitutional rights, arguing that he was never brought before a disciplinary hearing.
“I was never charged of any act of misconduct in terms of the MDC Alliance’s constitution. The law clearly states that where an adverse administrative decision is to be taken against me I ought to be given an opportunity to make representations, but in this case, I was neither afforded such an opportunity nor furnished with any reasons thereof,” he argued.
“My right to a fair administrative justice under section 68 of the constitution has been violated since I was never brought before a disciplinary hearing to answer any charges either at provincial level or on appeal before the national disciplinary committee.”
Clr Dlamini said in terms of section 129 (1) (k) as read with section 278 of the constitution of Zimbabwe, he could not be recalled by MDC Alliance, arguing that at the time of his election, the party on whose ticket he was elected was MDC. “I must state that at the time of elections, the party, which I belonged to was the MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube. It went into the composite political agreement with other six political parties including the MDC-T led by the late Morgan Tsvangirai and all these parties remained independent and none of them were dissolved in terms of their respective constitutions,” he said.
Clr Dlamini said he was together with Masvingo and Chegutu mayors asked to step down since they were elected under the same circumstances.
“However, my colleagues from Masvingo and Chegutu have not be recalled while I am being recalled. I am therefore subjected to unfair discriminatory conduct which is against the constitution of Zimbabwe. The fourth respondent (Mr Chamisa)’s actions of showing racial discrimination in saying I must resign from being mayor of Victoria Falls to pave way for his preferred losing candidate Margarete Varley is against the ethos of equality among the people of different races,” he said.
Clr Dlamini wants an order nullifying his letter of dismissal dated February 24, 2020.
He also wants the court to declare the actions of the respondents illegal and a breach of the constitution.
Clr Dlamini is also facing charges of abuse of office after he allegedly forged title deeds of a housing stand in 2013 before illegally selling it for US$20 000. The matter is still pending before the courts.
GoState Media|FORMER Cabinet Minister Dr Ignatius Chombo reportedly received 125 stands from Delatfin Properties for resolving a dispute with other Zvimba developers, further stands from a second developer and had money paid into his personal account by cooperative members in the area.
The Commission of Inquiry into the Sale of Urban State Land, chaired by Justice Tendai Uchena, recommended — in its report recently handed to President Mnangagwa — that both sets of stands and cooperative payments should be investigated further.
The commission visited 37 farms designated for urban development in Mashonaland West Province and found a raft of dealings that raise concern and, in the commission’s view, justify further investigation.
The commission recommended investigations into the actions of 105 people in the province, including politicians and senior Government officials, on allegations of possible corruption, criminal abuse of office, bribery, the sale of State land without authority from the Ministry of Local Government and selling land without fully servicing it.
Politicians from Mashonaland West recommended for further investigation include Dr Chombo, Mr Saviour Kasukuwere, Mr Jimayi Muduvuri, Mr Bright Matonga, Mr Francis Mukwangwariwa and Dr Philip Chiyangwa.
Ministry of Local Government and Public Works directors who should be investigated include Mr Christopher Shumba, Retired Colonel Joseph Mhakayakora, Mr Andrew Rhory Shawatu, Mr Casper Ngoshi and Mrs Sekai Matimba.
Officers from the then Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement who should face investigation include Mashonaland West provincial lands officer Mr Marlvern Mhaka and the district lands officer for Sanyati, Mr Mapfumo.
According to the report, Dr Chombo allegedly received 125 commonage stands from Delatfin Private Limited in return for the support he rendered to the firm in a land dispute with other developers in Zvimba. The stands, according to the report, were given to Dr Chombo through the now late permanent secretary Mr Killian Mpingo and another ministry official, Mr Rhory Shawatu.
Dr Chombo, according to the report, allegedly demanded from the same property developer, additional stands at a meeting held at Number 7 Bath Road, Milton Park where he was represented by his brother, Mr Nimrod Chiminya, according to the report.
Dr Chombo is said to have received more stands from Leengate, another property developer working in Zvimba.
The commission also looked at cooperative contributions paid by home-seekers in Zvimba.
“Some cooperative contributions were deposited into the personal Agribank account held in the name of former minister Dr Ignatius Chombo, which funds were never remitted for development purposes,” reads the report.
Mr Kasukuwere should be investigated after he “unjustifiably” withdrew land from Beyond Reality and awarded it to UDCORP at Knockmallock Estate A in the province, without an agreement of sale or payment of the purchase price.
Mr Shumba stands accused of subdividing the Governor’s residence in Chinhoyi when he was provincial administrator for Mashonaland West. He is accused of sharing the stands created from the subdivision with two other ministry officials identified as Matimba and Watambwa.
Mr Shawatu should be investigated after receiving a number of stands from Delatfin at Haydon Farm in Zvimba, according to the report.
Mr Ngoshi is said to have allegedly prepared layout plans for property developers called Shine Plus and Leengate, who had land in Zvimba, using his personal company while still employed by the Government and allegedly received payment through his wife’s bank account.
Rtd Col Mhakayakora reportedly asked for stands from Delatfin’s Haydon Farm project after he had facilitated the allocation of 120 hectares of State land to the company.
Delatfin director Mr Felix Munyaradzi should, according to the report, be investigated for allegedly illegally selling State land and for selling stands to people without servicing them.
Zvimba South legislator Chiyangwa should, according to the report, be investigated for abuse of office after reportedly convening and chairing a council meeting to solicit a favourable resolution to enable his company Gabroc Investments (Pvt) Ltd to sell State land. He allegedly sold Lot 1 of Lot 3 of Brundish Farm to the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) when he did not have title to the land.
Zanu PF central committee member Cde Muduvuri faces investigation on allegations of selling State land before fully developing it in Kadoma through his company, Macsherp Pvt Ltd.
The commission recommended the investigation of former Zvimba East legislator Mr Francis Mukwangwariwa for allegedly selling State land without the authority of the relevant ministry and selling stands before servicing them at Penrose Farm.
Incumbent and former local authority leaders in Mashonaland West were also not spared by the audit.
Zvimba Rural District Council former chief executive officers Mr Peter Hlohla and Mr Shacky Siyamayambo are also implicated for selling State land without authority from the Ministry of Local Government, with some stands being sold before development.
Chegutu Town Clerk Mr Alex Mandigo, Sanyati Rural District Council chief executive officer Mr Akim Shadaya, Karoi Tow Secretary Mr Wellington Mutikani, Kadoma Town Clerk Marlvin Dondo, ex-Chinhoyi Town Clerk Mr Godwin Khosa, Makonde Rural District Council former chief executive officer Mr Lahliwe Murefu are also on the list of those recommended for further investigations over irregular land allocations and sales.
ZIFA have secured Orlando Stadium as the venue for the Warriors’ 2021 AFCON qualifier against the Desert Foxes while the association continue to sell the nation a dummy that they are battling to have the match played in Zimbabwe.
Authoritative sources in South Africa told The Herald yesterday that ZIFA chief executive, Joseph Mamutse, yesterday sealed a contract with his South African Football Association counterparts for the match to be held at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
This is in sharp contrast to the song which the ZIFA officials have been singing in public saying they were confident of getting the Confederation of African Football to give the greenlight to Barbourfields to host that blockbuster showdown.
A number of ZIFA officials have, in the past few days, given an impression that they are waiting for CAF to make a decision, possibly this week, amid hopes in their camp that the big game will be played here in Zimbabwe.
However, The Herald can reveal that Mamutse, who is in South Africa on business, signed an agreement with his SAFA counterparts for the match to be held at Orlando Stadium.
‘‘Mamutse is here in SA for a FIFA workshop, he met with SAFA (officials) today and signed the agreement, the match is at Orlando Stadium,’’ said the sources.
‘‘Some ZIFA guys are likely to travel to Johannesburg on Wednesday or Thursday to work on the logistics.’’
ZIFA have been sending signals to the Government, which intervened with a massive programme to renovate the National Sports Stadium and Barbourfields, that they were hoping to get the match played in Zimbabwe.
The Government and other stakeholders have been working overtime with the owners of the stadium, Bulawayo City Council, to get the stadium ready for inspection.-State media
He was once the master of local television. Draped in his signature makeshift khaki short and black vest, sometimes barefoot, his witty humour would guarantee millions of eyes glued to the television set.
Lazarus Boora, who rose to fame through his role as “Gringo”, remains among veterans of local television.
Who would have imagined him back to default setting, re-embracing a rural life?
Though long past his prime, and now relocated to his rural home, Rukweza Village in Nyazura, Gringo believes his glory days are not yet over.
It’s not every day that celebrities of national acclaim move back to rural areas, especially when they still have more to offer to the world.
But sometimes it is a good idea to go back to one’s roots, reflect on their life, gain some perspective, before resuming one’s career.
It was this great need of fresh air, and new insights on life that drove Gringo back to where he gasped his first breath.
This follows his recent surgical operation for appendix rapture.
A visit to Gringo’s homestead, a decently built home well inviting, and modest finds a once spirited individual whose witty humour always drove the nation in stitches, a fable of his former being, thin and visibly in pain.
Gringo laboriously takes his time to walk, stops every now and again to gain his composure, yet still, he remains hopeful for a better future.
He is not the jovial spirit always cracking jokes, one would expect to meet, but a quiet person, seemingly tired, maybe from his ailment and drugs.
Gringo and his wife are very welcoming and happy to receive visitors.
“I am now well, the worst is over,” he said. “What I cannot really do is the hard jobs.”-State media
SADC has, with immediate effect, suspended planned public events in the bloc as part of efforts to minimise risks from the coronavirus (Covid-19).
Sadc meetings will now go virtual, with video conferencing or teleconferencing.
As of yesterday, South Africa had confirmed seven cases of the virus, although the rest of Sadc has yet to record cases.
President Mnangagwa, who is the Chairperson of SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security last week banned civil servants from international travel.
In a statement, the Sadc secretariat member Ms Mapolao Mokoena said owing to the virus, the Secretariat had put on hold scheduled events until further notice.
“Considering the recent developments regarding the coronavirus outbreak, a number of countries and institutions have taken responsible precautionary measures to prevent the risk of exposure to contracting and spreading of the deadly virus,” she said.
“In this phase of preparedness and uncertain moment, the SADC Secretariat regrets to inform you that all planned SADC events around this period have been put to hold until further notice, when the situation has normalised and this global pandemic has been contained.”
Ms Mokoena said for the meantime all meetings will be held through video and teleconferences and will shift to virtual meetings at an advised date.
“We recognise that the timing of this prudent decision may pose an inconvenience on you, however, it is made out of profound concern for the health and well-being of the SADC citizens,” she said.-State media
MADRID. — Real Madrid’s response to winning the Clasico was another surprise defeat on Sunday as they lost 2-1 away at Real Betis to hand the initiative straight back to Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga football title race.
Betis were deserving victors of a thrilling contest at the Benito Villamarin where two galling Madrid errors cost them their place at the top of La Liga, with Barca now two points clear.
A heavy touch from Sergio Ramos led to Sidnei’s stunning opener for Betis and then Karim Benzema, who equalised with a penalty on the stroke of half-time, was at fault for their 82nd-minute winner.
Benzema’s misplaced pass in midfield allowed Cristian Tello to go clear and he held his nerve to give Betis their first victory in eight games that adds yet another twist to this season’s back-and-forth title race.
“We lacked everything today(Sunday),” said Real coach Zinedine Zidane.
“It was our worst game of the season. We lacked energy, fluency, possession, aggression. It was a bad day and that can happen. I am responsible. We can’t lose our heads but we can’t be happy either.”
Madrid appeared to have taken a significant step forward, at least psychologically, by beating Barcelona 2-0 last weekend but this result undid all their good work at the Santiago Bernabeu while bringing defensive doubts swiftly back to the surface.
Betis climb to 12th and put eight points between themselves and the bottom three.
Madrid have now lost three out of their last four games and won only two from seven, a dip in form that has appeared even more charitable given Barca’s own problems on and off the pitch.-AFP
Farai Dziva|The Mayor of the city of Masvingo, Councillor Collen Maboke, has denied claims that he denigrated MDC president Nelson Chamisa.
Party sources accused Maboke of attacking Chamisa during the district elections on Saturday.
The sources claimed Maboke publicly attacked Chamisa.
Speaking to ZimEye.com on Monday, Maboke said he passed through the MDC Provincial offices just for a few minutes to assess what was taking place as he had been informed that there were some skirmishes during the district elections.
Maboke said:
That is false ndakasvika pa office for less than 5 minutes. I wanted to collect something from a certain guy who was at party office -what caused me to disembark from the vehicle ndaida kubetsera mukomana akange arohwa kuenda naye kuchipatara paakanditi ndiri right ndakabva ndatobva ndikaenda kumusha kuBikita kwandaida kundoona Mai vangu vasinganzwi mushe.
I know vanhu vanotaura izvozvo. I regret kuti ndakapfuurirei nepo pamwe vaizoshaya zvokunyora.”
Farai Dziva|The Mayor of the city of Masvingo, Councillor Collen Maboke, has denied claims that he denigrated MDC president Nelson Chamisa.
Party sources accused Maboke of attacking Chamisa during the district elections on Saturday.
The sources claimed Maboke publicly attacked Chamisa.
Speaking to ZimEye.com on Monday, Maboke said he passed through the MDC Provincial offices just for a few minutes to assess what was taking place as he had been informed that there were some skirmishes during the district elections.
Maboke said:
That is false ndakasvika pa office for less than 5 minutes. I wanted to collect something from a certain guy who was at party office -what caused me to disembark from the vehicle ndaida kubetsera mukomana akange arohwa kuenda naye kuchipatara paakanditi ndiri right ndakabva ndatobva ndikaenda kumusha kuBikita kwandaida kundoona Mai vangu vasinganzwi mushe.
I know vanhu vanotaura izvozvo. I regret kuti ndakapfuurirei nepo pamwe vaizoshaya zvokunyora.”
Nurses at the government-run Mpilo Central Hospital held a demonstration at the institution on Monday morning.
The nurses were protesting against hospital Chief Executive Officer Mr Mabandi who is reportedly making the nurses work 4 days of 12-hour shifts.
Meanwhile, the nurses are waiting for the outcome of negotiations between the government and the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA). The nurses want to work for two days.
Another grievance raised by the protesting nurses has to do wit the misuse of the hospital’s ambulances.
They were complaining that matrons use the hospital ambulance to go for worship while the hospital cannot take care of its patients.
Some nurses were saying that they are forced to come to work but there is no medication for patients. An unnamed nurse said there is only one thermometer in the whole hospital.-
Farai D Hove| The outgoing Egyptian Ambassador, Mohamed Fahmy, has said up until the day reforms are implemented, Zimbabwe has no future to talk about. He described it as a “promising future,” that can only come after institutional reforms are completed.
He was speaking soon after meeting ZANU PF president Emmerson Mnangagwa and his comments come barely days after South Africa’s ambassador to Harare said for Zimbabwe to succeed, politicians must take their hands off the national institutions.
The state media twisted ambassador Fahmy’s words to mean he is saying Zimbabwe’s economic future is bright. But he clearly said the future will only come “after the reform process is completed.”
He also added saying “investors from the private sector are waiting” for that stage to be accomplished.
He said in full:
“I have to say that my end of mission report back to my Government will definitely emphasise the very promising future for Zimbabwe after the reform process is completed and I am very aware that some investors from the private sector are waiting,” he said.
“Now you have the new investment authority. I was informed by His Excellency (Emmerson Mnangagwa) that we will have some people from finance where they can meet directly with investors coming in different specialised sectors, so all my best wishes for your beautiful country.”
Meanwhile, ambassador Fahmy also threw another shot at Mnangagwa’s regime known for hiring people who are past the retirement age. He said he would retire as he was going to reach the mandatory retirement age of 60 in the next few days.
Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC has described the death of Masvingo Provincial vice secretary, James Mushonga as a huge blow.
Mushonga died in a car accident in Nyanyadzi on Sunday.
See statement below:
The MDC mourns the sad passing of a veteran of the struggle James Mushonga who was involved in car accident in Nyanyadzi on Sunday.
Mushonga was in the structures of the party in Harare South at the inception of the party,he later moved to Sunningdale following the delimitation of 2008.
He was the party’s House of Assembly candidate for Harare South in 2005 and Zaka Central in 2013.
Our prayers and thoughts are with the family and fellow Comrades who worked closely with the Mushonga.
Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC has described the death of Masvingo Provincial vice secretary, James Mushonga as a huge blow.
Mushonga died in a car accident in Nyanyadzi on Sunday.
See statement below:
The MDC mourns the sad passing of a veteran of the struggle James Mushonga who was involved in car accident in Nyanyadzi on Sunday.
Mushonga was in the structures of the party in Harare South at the inception of the party,he later moved to Sunningdale following the delimitation of 2008.
He was the party’s House of Assembly candidate for Harare South in 2005 and Zaka Central in 2013.
Our prayers and thoughts are with the family and fellow Comrades who worked closely with the Mushonga.
Farai Dziva|Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has described Real Madrid’s weekend loss as terrible.
Zidane: “It was our worst game of the season.
We lacked everything; energy, play, possession, intensity. It’s a bad day and it can happen. I’m the one responsible.
We can’t go crazy, but we can’t be content with the game that we played, it’s impossible.”
“We made lots of mistakes, we lost the ball a lot. When you’re not at your best, things get difficult. We started the game badly. You can have a bad first half, but then you have 45 minutes to change it and it wasn’t to be. I have no explanation.”
“We lacked a bit of everything, not one thing in particular. There are solutions.
” We’re having a good season and we can take this forward. It was a shame. We didn’t deserve to win. I’m with the players, I’m the one responsible here.”
ZRP Spokesperson, Paul Nyathi has said police officers must be reported to the police for corruption.
“So far, a number of officers have been asked to account for their wealth. We are inviting those with evidence of corruption or information on our officers with ill-gotten wealth to come forward and assist us,” he told the state media.
He continued saying: “We would also want to urge the media and members of the public to report any officer involved in any criminal or corrupt activities and those with ill-gotten wealth. There is no room for corruption in the ZRP.”
He said from those audited so far, some managed to justify their wealth.
“From those summoned so far, we picked that some bought houses and cars from the money they got after being sent on United Nations (UN) peace-keeping missions.
“Some were fortunate enough to benefit from the land reform programme where they were allocated farms. A number of our officers are doing well on their farms,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
However, Asst Comm Nyathi said, some officers who have been engaging in corrupt activities were arrested and have been appearing before the courts.
Asst Comm Nyathi said the police service will not have mercy on those proved to be corrupt.
“I would like to assure everyone that the exercise is very serious and the corrupt will be arrested and prosecuted.
“There is a policy which is being judiciously followed by the organisation and members are aware that any form of dishonesty or criminality, the law will be applied without fear or favour.
“They will be discharged from service,” he said.
Police notified the public of their intention to launch the audits in October 2017, but the issue went quiet until last week when The Herald made a follow up. –Herald
William (“Billy”) Rautenbach was born in Harare and is aged about 62. His father was Wessel Rautenbach. Billy is one of three children, a brother, Otto, who died in a motor car accident when he was about 13yrs old and a sister Dora.
He was educated in Harare and after leaving school he became very interested in motor car rallying and, over the years, won many trophies.
He worked for a time for Cargo Carriers Ltd. his father’s company and very soon this company had branches in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Mocambique and Malawi. Wessel very quickly became a multi-millionaire and his son benefited and soon moved to South Africa where he took control of the company there. He soon became involved in some sort of partnership with a Japanese motor company Daewoo for a few years until it ran into financial difficulty. This was exacerbated by the murder of one of the Japanese directors. Billy was to become a suspect in his killing but nothing was ever proven by the police.
At the time when president Mugabe entered into a contract with Laurent Kabila of the DRC, Billy entered the country, facilitated by minister Emmerson M’Nangagwa. This was in the early 1990s and Rautenbach very soon became the CEO of Gecamines, a very big diamond mining company. He thereafter made payments into the accounts of M’Nangagwa’s five daughters, who were then living in the UK. All payments were from Ridgepoint’s ABN ammo account.
It has been claimed that Billy is wanted in South Africa for a number of serious crimes, which include murder, fraud, corruption and exchange control violations. In his absence there police seized a large yacht and other material assets but to this date no prosecutions have been forthcoming.
Billy also became a shareholder in the UK based company CAMEC after leaving Gecamines and was responsible for this company’s good fortunes in the DRC and its rise in the stock market. However, South Africa exerted pressure on the the authorities and was decalred “P.N.G.” and subsequently deported from the DRC. This was sometime in the late 2000s
Billy has a mansion in the Umwinsidale area outside Harare with his wife and family. He has his own helicopter and soon became interested in Hwange’s coal mining activities and also the pipe line.
He is currently involved in an ethanol plant in the Chisumbanje area, Lower/middle Sabi, in the Chipinge district. – ZimEye
Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister
Edgar Moyo has said his Ministry is working with the
Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) to come up with Ordinary and Advanced Level examination fees agreeable to both the examinations board and parents.
Moyo added that the new exam fees will be announced soon and that parents who had already paid fees announced by ZIMSEC recently (and reversed by the government) should be refunded.
He said:
Initially, the actual examination fee was pegged at $190 per subject (O-level) but we later learnt that some parents could not afford to pay due to current economic challenges which is why the ministry reverted to the 2015 fees of $15 per subject while in the process of coming up with the exact examination fee that will also assist Zimsec board in preparation of the examinations.
No one has exact information or time frame on the outcome but what can be hazarded for now is that pupils that had already paid $190 for June examinations will be refunded their monies. We have asked the Government and various financing models to intervene and see how much they are willing to assist as a means to compensate the Zimsec board.
Meanwhile, ZIMSEC public relations officer Nicky Dlamini refused to comment on the issue of refunds.
She encouraged parents to wait for the new exam fees.-State media
Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister
Edgar Moyo has said his Ministry is working with the
Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) to come up with Ordinary and Advanced Level examination fees agreeable to both the examinations board and parents.
Moyo added that the new exam fees will be announced soon and that parents who had already paid fees announced by ZIMSEC recently (and reversed by the government) should be refunded.
He said:
Initially, the actual examination fee was pegged at $190 per subject (O-level) but we later learnt that some parents could not afford to pay due to current economic challenges which is why the ministry reverted to the 2015 fees of $15 per subject while in the process of coming up with the exact examination fee that will also assist Zimsec board in preparation of the examinations.
No one has exact information or time frame on the outcome but what can be hazarded for now is that pupils that had already paid $190 for June examinations will be refunded their monies. We have asked the Government and various financing models to intervene and see how much they are willing to assist as a means to compensate the Zimsec board.
Meanwhile, ZIMSEC public relations officer Nicky Dlamini refused to comment on the issue of refunds.
She encouraged parents to wait for the new exam fees.-State media
Secretary for Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights Norman Matara has said Zimbabwe’s healthcare system is weak and will not be able to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak.
Speaking in an interview with
NewsDay on Friday night, Matara urged the government to up its game in terms of surveillance.
He said:
We have a very weakened healthcare system; we lack basic equipment and we (will be) taking samples to South Africa.
We don’t have enough resources at the quarantining centre.
We don’t have (equipment for computerised tomography (CT) scan, recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for diagnostic.
We only have two in the public health sector, at
Chitungwiza and Parirenyatwa. We don’t even have an adequate ventilator for a continuous supply of oxygen.
We need to step up our game in terms of surveillance.
South Africa, which shares a porous border with Zimbabwe, has so far recorded two confirmed cases of coronavirus.
Meanwhile, there have been no deaths on the African continent from the virus, with confirmed cases having also been recorded in Senegal, Algeria and Nigeria.-NewsDay
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has said that it has already made a decision that the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match between Zimbabwe and Algeria will not be played in Zimbabwe due to stadia ban.
CAF also revealed that they have since fined the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) for late confirmation of the venue for the game.
Speaking to The Sunday Mail, CAF sources said:
CAF have already fined ZIFA US$4 000 for late confirmation of the venue for their home game.
Although CAF are sending inspectors to Zimbabwe, those are for the possible certification of the National Sports Stadium and Barbourfields to host the World Cup qualifiers in October, and not for this month’s game.
Meanwhile, ZIFA is still working on Barbourfields in Bulawayo, the second-largest City in Zimbabwe, hoping “that something can still happen and we can have that game played in Bulawayo,” as CAF has previously allowed other countries with condemned stadia to host still.
ZIFA says that they have provisionally requested to use South Africa’s Dobsonville stadium.-State media
An ex military general who chose to back @nelsonchamisa against @ZECzim, Chigumba, tells ZimEye his house was today visited by state agents wanting to abduct him. Fortunately he was not at home at the time. He speaks to ZimEye tonight. WATCH ON https://t.co/eY98GsdO0a
We would like to initially commend and applaud the work that is being done by our Members of Parliament in one of the theatres of the struggle, in this instance the Parliament. We have seen our MDC legislators holding to account and exposing massive corruption loosely practised by particularly one of the branches of the State, the Executive, led by Zanu PF President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.
Notwithstanding this apparent set back, MDC MPs have maintained an unparalleled decorum, strongly standing against the threats to recognise Mnangagwa as the people’s elected President. The MDC maintain unequivocally that Mnangagwa’s presidency is a product of the 2018 Constitutional Court ruling not the people’s outright will.
This has been evinced by gross insubordination by many with the factional ridden Zanu pf. Mnangagwa continues to even lose more and more essential-people support on his side, that would allow him to stubbornly hold on to power.
Unmindful to the reality of majority Zimbabwean voters, having put their trust in the youthful MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa, Mnangagwa shamelessly continues to trudge against the tide of a collapsing economy, unemployment and rampant corruption among his rank.
It’s non debatable, as the manifestation that the ‘power’ handed over to him by hugely ‘compromised’ ConCourt judges gives Mnangagwa the conference, despite the country perrenially descending into the abyss, wherever one looks.
But what Chief Justice Luke Malaba and his entire ConCourt did for this country was to set us as a people on the road to a legimacy crisis. But the Zanu PF President thinks the crisis can easily be wished away. Nothing could be further from the truth!
Meanwhile, Zanu PF thinks it has a strategy to bury the illegitimacy crisis it has plunged the country into by refocusing our attention as a country away from the bread and butter issues.
For instance, the recent summoning of MDC Alliance youthful MP, Hon Godfree Sithole, by the Privileges and Parliamentary Committee to investigate him on alleged acts of misconduct vindicates our suspicion of the desperation the Zanu PF government is currently entangled in.
In other jurisdictions like neighbouring South Africa, the Julius Malema-led opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party has done ‘worse’ things in Parliament, but nothing drastic has ever been done against them, an indication of the mature democracy the country is enjoying.
We would like to put it on record and tell the Zanu PF-led government to stop abusing MDC Alliance MPs but rather focus on nation building.
Ian Sean Hamandishe MDC National Deputy Secretary for constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs
I am honored to receive the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa(ANOCA) order of merit award. This prestigious award was presented to me by ANOCA President Mustapha Berraf at State House Entebbe. pic.twitter.com/a2R0HOw8GN
An ex military general who chose to back @nelsonchamisa against @ZECzim, Chigumba, tells ZimEye his house was today visited by state agents wanting to abduct him. Fortunately he was not at home at the time. He speaks to ZimEye tonight. WATCH ON https://t.co/eY98GsdO0a
THERE is currently a debate in government circles on whether or not to stick with five ordinary level subject passes as the benchmark which makes a student eligible for Advanced Level and tertiary education, acting Primary and Secondary Education permanent secretary Peter Muzawazi said recently.
Currently, for a student to be deemed to have passed, he should have five Ordinary Level passes including english and mathematics.
Muzawazi told stakeholders who attended a recent parliamentary committee workshop on education strategic planning that the government was debating the wisdom of forcing students to retake subjects that they would have failed and not encouraging them to pursue careers in areas they would have excelled.
“We are debating on whether we should maintain the current benchmark of regarding only those who have attained five Ordinary Level passes as having passed and having others re-writing for 10 years even if they would have passed three art subjects and are hoping to take art as their profession,” said Muzawazi.
If adopted, it would be a major shift towards recognising and supporting pupils who are not academically gifted to pursue areas that they excel in.
Contributing at the same event, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda also queried why the country was insistent on ‘‘A’’ Level as a pre-requisite to university entry while other countries with even more advanced tertiary education systems like the United States of America are accepting ordinary level students.
Mudenda said other countries not insisting on ‘‘A’’ Level were still producing competent professionals.
“Is it really that important to use ‘A’ Level as an entry qualification to university when other countries with sound educational systems accept lower level qualifications like ordinary level and matric examinations?,” Mudenda queried.
Zimbabwean students who apply for scholarships and get admission in universities in the United States of America often do so based on the strength of their ordinary level qualifications.
Zimbabwe School Examinations Council director Lazarus Nembaware said the decision to use ‘‘A’’ Levels as the university entry benchmark was primarily influenced system by Zimbabwe’s former coloniser — the United Kingdom — where such a practice was the norm.
He was, however, quick to point out that students who undergo ‘‘A’’ Level education are better prepared for university education than those who don’t.
Nembaware added that even if ‘‘A’’ Level education were to be scrapped, its content would be incorporated into the first year of university study.
Chitungwiza Mayor, MDC Harare Province Youth Secretary for Policy and Reasearch Lovemore Maiko, and Wendy Makaza Harare Province Youth Secretary for Projects, have been arrested by riot Police at Morgan Tsvangirai House after President Advocate Nelson Chamisa’s meeting with Provincial leadership. – More to follow
Today in History (Delayed post): Monday, 7 March 1983, Dr Nkomo was forced into exile. Herewith his narration of how he escaped death from the Fifth Brigade. (Pages are from “Story of My life”)
Multimillionaire trucker businessman Sam “Mshengu” Chabalala has gone missing and has sent his wife and some of his employees a “suicide note”, claiming that his life was in danger.
Sources in the Hawks said the note, which he apparently sent to his wife on March 3, Chabalala said he never wronged anyone and does not know what he has done to “deserve this”.
Chabalala is a wanted man after a warrant of arrest was issued for him on Friday when he failed to appear in the Witbank magistrate’s court in connection with charges of corruption, illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, illegal entry and remaining within the borders of SA, and providing false information to be granted entry into the country.
He was out on R200,000 bail, which was granted in September.
Chabalala is also out on R500,000 bail on a separate matter and faces charges of corruption and bribery after he allegedly attempted to bribe a senior police officer to return his vehicle and make his docket disappear in the initial case.
The matter was being heard in the Middelburg magistrate’s court and was postponed to March 30.
In the note seen by Sowetan, Chabalala wrote to his wife, Lerato Legodi, saying he was scared that he was going to be killed. He sent the same note to some of his employees at Sam Holdings.
Chabalala was last seen by his employees on March 3.
“I am not worried about the court cases but the incident that happened on Sunday its clear that this people are really mean to kill me [sic] ,” Chabalala said.
“My worry is I never wrong anyone, or steal for anyone or this country, what really I have done to deserve this [sic]. Samholdings I started it from nothing with the help of no one, but now its clearly that my business and success is the source of all my current problems I’m facing [sic].”
In the note, Chabalala said he could not continue endangering the lives of those who are close to him and that he intends on saving his business.
“…They failed to keep me in jail now they come straight to kill me. The people I used to call my friends and I did help them are the ones destroying me right now.”
In the note, Chabalala alleges that the Hawks have been paid to hound him.
“I know my wife you wish to barry my boady [sic] but I hope you will be able to find the remaining [sic] of me as I’m going to throw myself in the crocodiles river or game reserve after Pongola as you go to Lwulwuwe [Hluhluwe] N2. I have hiked to come here.”
Hawks spokesperson Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi refused to be drawn into the suicide note saga and said Chabalala failed to show up in court and there was a warrant of arrest that has been issued against his name.
“Investigations to track him are under way and we’ve called on the law-abiding citizens to contact their nearest police stations or Capt Dietlof Meyer on 071 481 2977. All information will be kept confidential,” Mulaudzi said.
Sowetan contacted Hlau Maluleke, Chabalala’s lawyer. and asked him about his client’s whereabouts.
“I do not know where he is because I no longer represent him. I will try to get his wife to come back to you,” Maluleke said.
An employee, who asked not to be named, said they were left shocked after hearing that Chabalala had gone missing.
“His wife held a meeting with us on Thursday [March 5] and said we should not come back to work until March 16. She said she had an SMS from Sam but did not get into detail about it. She said we must not worry but said she did not know where he was. We are worried because we might lose our jobs,” the employee said.
Provincial police spokesperson Brig Leonard Hlathi said there was no missing person case opened.
UNICEF says it is concerned about the amount of fake news and misinformation on coronavirus (COVID-19) saying if left unchecked it will cause unnecessary panic around the world.
110,090 have so far been infected by the coronavirus worldwide while 3831 have succumbed to the deadly disease.
In a statement, Unicef said misinformation on coronavirus is causing a lot of paranoia, fear and stigma while leaving millions vulnerable to the virus.
“All around the world, people are taking the necessary precautions to protect themselves and their families from coronavirus. Sound preparation, based on scientific evidence, is what is needed at this time.
“However, while many people are sharing information about the virus and how to protect against it, only some of that information is useful or reliable, said the UN Agency.
The coronavirus outbreak has sparked what the World Health Organization is calling an “infodemic” — an overwhelming amount of information on social media and websites. Some of it’s accurate. And some is downright untrue.
“We need a vaccine against misinformation,” said Dr Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s health emergencies program, at a WHO briefing on the virus last month.
Fake news can spread quickly online. A 2018 study from Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that “false news spreads more rapidly on the social network Twitter than real news does.”
In Zimbabwe, there has been growing frustration form the citizens over government’s lack of clarity on the virus.
There are fears that the Ministry of Information, which is mandated to deliver any government communications, is withholding critical information on the virus while spreading falsehoods on the true nature of the COVID-19.
According to government, Zimbabwe is yet to record any confirmed case of the virus although there have been five (5) suspected cases, which are also said to have tested negative.
There have been several reports on twitter from various twitter handles, some from well-known personalities who claim that Zimbabwe, has, in fact, had two coronavirus related deaths, claims which the government declined.
Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Professor Amon Murwira has defended the recently announced tuition fees for universities saying they were reasonable and commensurate with newly adjusted salaries for civil servants.
Prof Murwira said it was critical for Government not compromise the quality of education by making populist decisions that would in the long run destroy the education system in the country renowned for higher standards.
The minister said this today while giving oral evidence before Parliament’s portfolio committee on Higher and Tertiary education who wanted to know the impact of the recently announced tuition fees pegged at between $3 500 and $5 000.
The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency requires US$85,5 million for the 2022 Population and Housing Census project, Minister of Finance and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube has said.
He was speaking at the 2022 Population and Housing Census Advocacy and Resource mobilisation breakfast meeting in Harare today. The meeting was attended by representatives from United Nations, United Nations Population Fund, African Development Bank, World Bank and International Monetary Fund, Zimstat among others.
“The cost of the 2022 Population and Housing Census is expected to be covered by the Government of Zimbabwe. However, it is likely that there will be a shortfall over the lifespan of this project, hence the need to mobilise the additional resources required, for the 2022 Population Census project with an estimated cost of about US$85,5 m.
The immediate objectives of the census, Minister Ncube said are to measure the present size of the population of Zimbabwe, its partial distribution among rural and urban areas as well as the provinces, districts and wards.
“It also determines the present demographic, social, economic and cultural characteristics of the population of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Minister Zweli Mkhize has briefed the media about the status of coronavirus cases in South Africa.
The number of South Africans who have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Africa has now increased to seven with four additional cases confirmed.
More than 3 800 people have died globally since the outbreak was first reported in China in December. There have been more than 110 thousand infections worldwide.
Speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria, on Monday, Mkhize says the new four cases were among the group of people who were travelling from Italy.
“They have been put on quarantine; they had not been admitted to the hospital at the point when we received the results. The lady had had symptoms when she arrived but the gentleman did not have symptoms but the test had come out positive. So we are going to have our team to round up all the contacts and also follow-up to see who else needs to be approached. They were all travelling together. Another person is a 45-year-old man again in the area of Pietermaritzburg, among those contacts we took the tests at that time and after the tests came out positive, that one had symptoms and was quarantined. The next one is another male in the area of Pietermaritzburg, a 38-year-old who has also been found to be positive.”
Mkhize says there was also a concerning case in Vryburg, North West, however, the person later tested negative.
“Initially she was admitted with symptoms, in the context when the first test was done, it created an impression that it was a very unclear weak positive, but in fact, we have now gotten confirmation that this was is negative. It was a weak positive and I don’t want to get into that, but sometimes week positive could mean that there could have been a cross-reaction with some other virus.”
In the video below Minister Zweli Mkhize addressed the media in Pretoria:
Some South African students trapped in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the corona virus outbreak, have now opted to stay behind.
Some of the 16 Capricorn TVET students who returned from China on Friday, have denied being tested for the coronavirus and quarantined prior to flying back to South Africa.
The Limpopo Health Department earlier said the students had tested negative for COVID-19 and that there was no need to quarantine them in a state facility.
The 16 are among the 29 students from three colleges across the country, who have completed a two-year construction internship in China.
One of them, who has opted to remain anonymous, however says she’s worried that they might have been exposed to the virus while they were travelling through three busy airports.
“When I woke up I saw news that we were quarantined and tested in China and they will further assist us with the self-quarantine, those kind of things they really upset me. Because the truth is not only did the students from Capricorn College fly down, no. We were 29 students, there were other colleges who also did not get the same treatment that we got, so what about those students from another college and the other 10 from another, what about them?”
The mother of two other students says she is concerned about the health of her family members.
“My question; what about my family? We only have one house in my home and remember when I touch something; I have to go to the toilet. We don’t have a backroom whereby they can keep me there and lock me up. I’m not saying I have the virus; I am not sure because coronavirus can incubate for 14 days without showing symptoms. I’ve suggested that my preference when we held a meeting with the department of health whether they can create something like a camp or they can keep us for this period of 14 days but they said they cannot do that, so who am I to question them further, who am I.”
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize meanwhile says some South African students trapped in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epi-centre of the corona virus outbreak, have now opted to stay instead of joining the team that will be repatriated soon.
The students are virus free, but are in self-quarantine.
The South African National Defence Force has been tasked with repatriating the 184 South Africans from Wuhan.
Originally, 150 people indicated that they wanted to return home but this number increased to 184.
It’s not clear how many South African students have changed their minds about being repatriated.
Addressing the media in Pietermaritzburg, Mkhize said they would only repatriate those who wanted to return home.
Zimbabwe’s former finance minister and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) politician Tendai Biti is greeted by party leader Nelson Chamisa.
MDC leader Nelson Chamisa is reportedly under pressure from his loyalists to ditch some top party executives accused of hobnobbing with ruling Zanu PF officials and State security agents to destabilise the country’s main opposition party.
Dr Nkululeko Sibanda (left) seen here with opposition leader Nelson Chamisa (right)
The “sell-outs”, according to party insiders, were working with ruling Zanu PF party and military intelligence operatives in monitoring top opposition leaders’ movements in the wake of flash protests across the country.
Chamisa’s spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda confirmed efforts to destabilise the party, adding the MDC leadership had identified the alleged “sell-outs”.
“The issue of infiltration is a public secret. Obviously, Zanu PF always has paid some people some money to destabilise the organisation. They have always done that and there is nothing new,” he said.
“They want us to think about that, but we have issues to think about that and regardless of Zanu PF shenanigans, president Chamisa is moving forward with the ship.”
Sibanda said it was an issue to divert attention by Zanu PF and those within the party who were desperate to find a “soft landing”.
But Zanu PF secretary for administration, Obert Mpofu, denied reports that his party was sponsoring chaos in the MDC.
“It is them making allegations. If they are so gullible to be sponsored by other parties, then it is just an admission that they are actually not a people’s party. If they were, indeed, a people’s project, they wouldn’t be worried about all those things.”
MDC sources said they were aware of who was behind the chaos, naming some senior members who were reportedly working with some within Zanu PF and the military intelligence to destabilise the party.
A senior MDC official yesterday said: “It is known that there is a person in the organisation who invokes Chamisa’s name each time he runs into problems within the organisation.
“His attitude is that he should go down with Chamisa and the party and hold the organisation to ransom to say if you do this, I will act that way, but that is now known.”
Observers said a letter written by the party’s secretary-general Chalton Hwende last week giving the party’s deputy secretary for international relations, Douglas Mwonzora, a final warning over his alleged taking of party issues to social media was clear indication of a serious rift within the MDC.
There were also reports that the party’s secretary for strategy and implementation in Chamisa’s office, Morgen Komichi, had resigned citing frustration and being overlooked by the youthful leader despite vigorously campaigning for him ahead of the party’s congress last year.
Komichi, however, denied that he had resigned or was being frustrated, saying his absence from some of the meetings was because of other commitments.
“People are lying, it is just a lie. Everything is a lie and I even attend party programmes, unless when I am tied up somewhere, but those are all lies,” he said.
Responding on micro-blogging site Twitter on Komichi’s alleged resignation, Chamisa said: “I am not aware of any of such. Remember that public entities are voluntary entities.
“Members sign up and resign. This is normal in all voluntary organisations. Our opposition is working 24/7 to portray the people’s party as an entity in turmoil. MDC is a people’s party.”
By Business Reporter| The regulatory authority for the postal and telecommunications industry, Potraz, has ordered all phone networks to start the rollover of unused data to the following day.
This was revealed during the parliamentary committee today.
It could not be established at the time of writing when the new product setup will commence.
Said the chairperson:
Potraz Director has just confirmed before our Portfolio Committee on ICT today that a regulatory notice has been issued to @econetzimbabwe@NetOneCellular@TelOneZW to start Roll over of unused Data and Data Transfer within a Network. #datapricemustfall
— Chalton Hwende MP Chairperson Public Accounts (@hwendec) March 9, 2020
This is a developing story, refresh this page for the updates.
THE Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has a tough task on its hands to convince Aston Villa to release midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, pictured, for the back-to-back 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers against Algeria.
The Warriors are scheduled to take on the desert Foxes in Blida on March 26, while the reverse fixture’s match venue on March 29 is yet to be confirmed.
Caf has banned all stadia in Zimbabwe from hosting international matches but Zifa is hopeful inspectors arriving in the country this week will give Barbourfields Stadium the green light to host the reigning African champions.
However, the outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) on the continent, particularly in Algeria has got the Aston Villa front office reluctant to release Nakamba for the two fixtures.
As of yesterday, the North African country had at least 19 confirmed cases of the disease which has killed 3 600 and infected over 120 000 worldwide.
The Daily News understands that Villa, who will take on Leicester City this evening, are unwilling to release Nakamba as a precaution against the deadly coronavirus.
Nakamba, who signed for Villa from Belgian side Club Brugge for a fee of €12 million, has been a mainstay in the Warriors midfield in recent years.
Villa are looking for concrete assurances and the preventive measures that Zifa is going to take in order to protect their player from contracting the disease while on national duty. The situation has been made worse by the fact that the first game is going to be staged in Blida which is at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in Algeria.
Villa’s concerns are understandable considering that the disease is very contagious with symptoms taking up to at least 14 days before they are visible.
In the English Premier League (EPL), players have been blocked from shaking hands before and after matches. They have also been asked to have very minimal contact with fans. EPL clubs last week agreed that they would play their remaining games behind closed doors in the event that the disease had spread in the United Kingdom.
So far, 211 people have tested positive of the disease in England while two people have lost their lives. With the disease spreading worldwide and a vaccine nowhere to be found, Villa and other EPL clubs are now apprehensive when it comes to releasing their stars for international duty.
In the event that the Villains block Nakamba from travelling for the two games, it will be a huge challenge for the Warriors’ new coach Zdravko “Loga” Logarusic.
These two games against the Desert Foxes will be the first time he takes charge of the team in competitive matches
since his appointment in January.
Ordinarily, Logarusic would have wanted his best side to take on the reigning African champions in two matches that have a huge bearing on the team’s chances of qualifying for the tournament to be held in Cameroon next January and February.
Algeria currently lead Group H with six points after two wins over Zambia and Botswana. The Warriors are in second place with four points after drawing 0-0 at home with Botswana before going to Lusaka where they beat Chipolopolo 1-2.
Meanwhile, the locally-based Warriors squad is expected to go into camp today as they begin their preparations for the 2020 Chan finals to be held in Cameroon. Logarusic finally bowed down to pressure and included FC Platinum utility player Ralph Kawondera to the provisional roster.
Kawondera, who was the 2019 Soccer Star of the Year first runner-up, was a surprise omission from the initial roster announced last week on Monday.
A suspected coronavirus patient escapes from Wilkins Hospital isolation center. Health authorities are now looking for the Thai national who disappeared before tests could be conducted.
Farai Dziva|
Runaway EPL leaders Liverpool are now two wins from clinching their first league title in three decades after Manchester United beat Manchester City on Sunday.
Second-placed City lost the derby 2-0 to move 25 points behind leaders Liverpool who are on 82 points.
Anthony Martial’s first-half strike and Scott McTominay’s injury-time goal sealed the victory for United in the Derby.
The gap could be reduced on Wednesday when Pep Guardiola’s charges face Arsenal in a rescheduled fixture. However, if they lose to the Gunners, it means the Reds will be just three points within the reach for the title.
Liverpool’s next match is on the 16th of March against city rivals Everton at Goodison Park.
Farai Dziva|
Runaway EPL leaders Liverpool are now two wins from clinching their first league title in three decades after Manchester United beat Manchester City on Sunday.
Second-placed City lost the derby 2-0 to move 25 points behind leaders Liverpool who are on 82 points.
Anthony Martial’s first-half strike and Scott McTominay’s injury-time goal sealed the victory for United in the Derby.
The gap could be reduced on Wednesday when Pep Guardiola’s charges face Arsenal in a rescheduled fixture. However, if they lose to the Gunners, it means the Reds will be just three points within the reach for the title.
Liverpool’s next match is on the 16th of March against city rivals Everton at Goodison Park.
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane says he is now waiting for the club to seal the deal after the two parties reached an agreement for a new contract.
Negotiations had stalled in the past weeks after the gaffer and the club failed to reach common ground on some clauses.
But after ironing out their differences, Mosimane is now committed to staying at the Pretoria-based side.
“Earlier I said 80% of the clauses on the contract have been agreed, so now I have complied with 100% of what Sundowns want,” he said, according to The Citizen.
“I am waiting for Sundowns now. I have long complied, the ball is now in Sundowns’ court, not in my court. There is no more ‘what’s left’ … you must ask Sundowns. I am here and I want to be here. I have complied with everything, so it is on the other side.”
The coach has been at the helm of Sundowns since 2012 has five months left on his current deal.-Soccer 24
The South African top-flight is reaching the bussiness end and here is how Zimbabwean players plying their trade in the Rainbow Nation fared for their respective sides over the weekend.
Talent Chawapihwa was a thorn in the flesh for the Kaizer Chiefs defence as AmaZulu shocked the log leaders 1-0 at the FNB Stadium. He set up Bongi Ntuli for the only goal of the game before being stretched off because of an injury.
Chawapihwa was not the only Zimbabwean player to be injured in the clash, Butholezwe Ncube had to be replaced late in the second half as well.
In that same game, Khama Billiat came off the bench in the second half for Amakhosi. Billiat has now started on the bench for the second consecutive game.
Gabriel Nyoni came off the bench in Maritzburg United’s 1-0 win over Polokwane City. In that same encounter, George Chigova also came off the bench to replace the injured Cyril Chibwe for Rise and Shine while Charlton Mashumba was in the starting line up.
Elvis Chipezeze was between the sticks for Baroka when they eased their relegation fears with a comfortable 2-0 win over Black Leopards.
The trio of Knox Mutizwa, Devine Lunga and Danny Phiri all played for 90 minutes in Golden Arrows’ goalless draw with Orlando Pirates.
Kuda Mahachi came off the bench late in the second half as SuperSport United dispatched Highlands Park 2-0.
Kelvin Moyo played the entire game as Chippa United began life without Norman Mapeza with a goalless draw at Bidvest Wits.-Soccer 24
Nurses at the government-run Mpilo Central Hospital held a demonstration at the institution on Monday morning.
The nurses were protesting against hospital Chief Executive Officer Mr Mabandi who is reportedly making the nurses work 4 days of 12-hour shifts.
Meanwhile, the nurses are waiting for the outcome of negotiations between the government and the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA). The nurses want to work for two days.
Another grievance raised by the protesting nurses has to do wit the misuse of the hospital’s ambulances.
They were complaining that matrons use the hospital ambulance to go for worship while the hospital cannot take care of its patients.
Some nurses were saying that they are forced to come to work but there is no medication for patients. An unnamed nurse said there is only one thermometer in the whole hospital.-
By A Correspondent- Government has isolated another suspected case of Coronavirus who presented herself first at a general practitioner before being referred to Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital.
Health workers are currently running all necessary tests on this latest case amid revelations that South Africa has confirmed a third case of the disease also known as Covid-19.Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo confirmed that an individual was taken for isolation at Wilkins but could not provide further details saying health workers were still running the necessary tests.
“Yes, I can confirm that there has been another case taken in at Wilkins, but we still do not have results pertaining her status.
“We will announce the results to everyone, once we get them,” said Dr Moyo.
This becomes the forth suspected case that Zimbabwe has so far sent for isolation for definitive Covid-19 tests.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Health and Child Care has urged the nation to stay guided by its COVID19 Situation Reports to avoid being misled by unofficial reports after claims have been circulating on social media alleging that the government is hiding Coronavirus statistics following the death of a Mutare woman who was in China
The deceased reportedly died after Coronavirus referral.
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Health and Child Care said as part of government’s efforts to strengthen Zimbabwe’s fight against the spread of COVID19 it continues to be guided by and follow guidelines and advice on surveillance, follow up and case management, providing accurate and detailed COVID 19 updates for all.
“The Ministry would like to advise the public to be guided by its COVID19 Situation Reports (SitReps) that are issued frequently to avoid being misled by unofficial reports,” reads the statement.
The Health and Child Care Ministry said preparedness measures have been stepped up through heightened surveillance at national, provincial and district level with special focus on all ports of entry.
The Ministry also advised that to date there have not been any confirmed cases of COVID19 in Zimbabwe.
“All identified suspected cases have been appropriately followed up, tested and found to be negative for COVID19. All tests were conducted by well trained local laboratory teams.
Additional samples from all suspects cases are being sent for confirmation testing by the Regional Reference Laboratory. To date, all samples have tested negative for COVID 19,” said the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
The day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year.
2020 Theme is: An equal world is an enabled world.
It is just a day set aside to recognize social, economic, cultural and political achievements done by women that is an ordinary woman playing an extraordinary role. We do recognize what’s done by the women because back in the 18th and 19th century women were believed not to be able to do something extraordinary than their male counterparts.
Especially in the African culture there work was to get married, bear children, do house chores and farm while men would do all the other work. They were not even given a chance to go to school and attain education.
However as time moves people then realised that women can also do jobs that were labeled to be men’s jobs and actually do them better. A day was then set aside to celebrate those women who have done great works and to encourage women to also do great even those who think women are incapable to give them a chance to prove themselves.
The whole world thought it was a good initiative and on planning for tomorrow’s future kept that in mind.
When Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were formed they included women in their goals for 2030. Goal 5: Gender equality – Ending discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right but crucial for a sustainable future.
Empowering women and girls helps in economic growth and development.
It has been proven that girls who attend school are less susceptible to forced marriage, early pregnancy and gender-based violence. It is vital to give women equal rights to land and property, sexual and reproductive health, and to technology and internet to make the world a better place.
Facts and figures that shows women are treated differently from men as of 2018 showed that:
Women earn only 77cents for every dollar that men get for the same job.
35% of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence.
Women represent just 13% of agriculture landholders.
Approximately 750million women and girls alive today were married before their 18th birthday.
24% of national parliamentarians were women compared with 11.3% in the 90s but is still low.
All these facts still shows there are improvements in gender equality but there is still a gap that needs to be covered. Everyone should encourage the girl child that nothing is impossible, what a men can do a woman can do and what a woman can do a man can do.
In Zimbabwe gender equality is improving significantly and people are accepting it slowly. The girl child have equal access to education with the boy child and to even encourage girls continuing with their education at University level, some requirements are lower for the girls than boys. Early marriages and child marriages are no longer allowed. Women have a say on reproductive health issues.
Women are also allowed to have high positions of power in offices even in the parliament. Let’s empower women and girls in our communities to make a difference, to move from being ordinary to being extraordinary. All this is done to have an equal world which is an enabled world.
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Last week ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa who labels his torture victims, “cockroaches” who must be wiped out using DDT chemicals, announced that soon people are going to be arrested for keeping cockroaches, the same cache-phrase he used when he got 22,000 Ndebeles killed during the period the late President Robert Mugabe just before his death apologised saying was a moment of madness.
Mnangagwa was speaking in Gutu, Masvingo Province during his clean up campaign.
He said, “very soon village inspectors will start going from house to house, if they find cockroaches, you will be given first warning and on the second we will arrest anyone found with cockroaches.”
Farai Dziva|The Mayor of the city of Masvingo, Councillor Collen Maboke, has denied claims that he denigrated MDC president Nelson Chamisa.
Party sources accused Maboke of attacking Chamisa during the district elections on Saturday.
The sources claimed Maboke publicly attacked Chamisa.
Speaking to ZimEye.com on Monday, Maboke said he passed through the MDC Provincial offices just for a few minutes to assess what was taking place as he had been informed that there were some skirmishes during the district elections.
Maboke said:
That is false ndakasvika pa office for less than 5 minutes. I wanted to collect something from a certain guy who was at party office -what caused me to disembark from the vehicle ndaida kubetsera mukomana akange arohwa kuenda naye kuchipatara paakanditi ndiri right ndakabva ndatobva ndikaenda kumusha kuBikita kwandaida kundoona Mai vangu vasinganzwi mushe.
I know vanhu vanotaura izvozvo. I regret kuti ndakapfuurirei nepo pamwe vaizoshaya zvokunyora.”
By A Correspondent- Itai dzamara’s wife Sheffra has written a letter to President Emmerson Mnangagwa appealing that he intervenes in the matter of her husband who was allegedly abducted by state agents five years ago.
Sheffra said, “the matter cannot go unaccounted for just like that.”
In a statement Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa said:
“Imagine not being able to tell your children if their father is alive or dead. Someone knows where Itai Dzamara is, but they have chosen to subject his family to five long years of uncertainty.”
The European Union Delegation in Zimbabwe also issued a statement saying:
“Five years after his abduction, Itai Dzamara remains missing. We call on government to shed light on his face and serve justice, and to tackle all human rights violations decisively, in line with Zimbabwe’s repeated commitment to human rights, freedoms & national healing.”
Professor Jonathan Moyo is on record saying Dzamara was abducted by the Military Intelligence 7under the Command of General Mike Sango.
The Home Affairs ministry is on record telling parliament that investigations regarding the disappearance of Dzamara were being conducted but to date, nothing has been revealed.
Farai Dziva|The Mayor of the city of Masvingo, Councillor Collen Maboke, has denied claims that he denigrated MDC president Nelson Chamisa.
Party sources accused Maboke of attacking Chamisa during the district elections on Saturday.
The sources claimed Maboke publicly attacked Chamisa.
Speaking to ZimEye.com on Monday, Maboke said he passed through the MDC Provincial offices just for a few minutes to assess what was taking place as he had been informed that there were some skirmishes during the district elections.
Maboke said:
That is false ndakasvika pa office for less than 5 minutes. I wanted to collect something from a certain guy who was at party office -what caused me to disembark from the vehicle ndaida kubetsera mukomana akange arohwa kuenda naye kuchipatara paakanditi ndiri right ndakabva ndatobva ndikaenda kumusha kuBikita kwandaida kundoona Mai vangu vasinganzwi mushe.
I know vanhu vanotaura izvozvo. I regret kuti ndakapfuurirei nepo pamwe vaizoshaya zvokunyora.”
The MDC mourns the sad passing of a veteran of the struggle James Mushonga who was involved in car accident in Nyanyadzi on Sunday.
Mushonga was in the structures of the party in Harare South at the inception of the party,he later moved to Sunningdale following the delimitation of 2008.
He was the party’s House of Assembly candidate for Harare South in 2005 and Zaka Central in 2013.
Our prayers and thoughts are with the family and fellow Comrades who worked closely with the Mushonga.
Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC has described the death of Masvingo Provincial vice secretary, James Mushonga as a huge blow.
Mushonga died in a car accident in Nyanyadzi on Sunday.
See statement below:
The MDC mourns the sad passing of a veteran of the struggle James Mushonga who was involved in car accident in Nyanyadzi on Sunday.
Mushonga was in the structures of the party in Harare South at the inception of the party,he later moved to Sunningdale following the delimitation of 2008.
He was the party’s House of Assembly candidate for Harare South in 2005 and Zaka Central in 2013.
Our prayers and thoughts are with the family and fellow Comrades who worked closely with the Mushonga.
Farai Dziva|Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has described Real Madrid’s weekend loss as terrible.
Zidane: “It was our worst game of the season.
We lacked everything; energy, play, possession, intensity. It’s a bad day and it can happen. I’m the one responsible.
We can’t go crazy, but we can’t be content with the game that we played, it’s impossible.”
“We made lots of mistakes, we lost the ball a lot. When you’re not at your best, things get difficult. We started the game badly. You can have a bad first half, but then you have 45 minutes to change it and it wasn’t to be. I have no explanation.”
“We lacked a bit of everything, not one thing in particular. There are solutions.
” We’re having a good season and we can take this forward. It was a shame. We didn’t deserve to win. I’m with the players, I’m the one responsible here.”
Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister
Edgar Moyo has said his Ministry is working with the
Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) to come up with Ordinary and Advanced Level examination fees agreeable to both the examinations board and parents.
Moyo added that the new exam fees will be announced soon and that parents who had already paid fees announced by ZIMSEC recently (and reversed by the government) should be refunded.
He said:
Initially, the actual examination fee was pegged at $190 per subject (O-level) but we later learnt that some parents could not afford to pay due to current economic challenges which is why the ministry reverted to the 2015 fees of $15 per subject while in the process of coming up with the exact examination fee that will also assist Zimsec board in preparation of the examinations.
No one has exact information or time frame on the outcome but what can be hazarded for now is that pupils that had already paid $190 for June examinations will be refunded their monies. We have asked the Government and various financing models to intervene and see how much they are willing to assist as a means to compensate the Zimsec board.
Meanwhile, ZIMSEC public relations officer Nicky Dlamini refused to comment on the issue of refunds.
She encouraged parents to wait for the new exam fees.-State media
Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister
Edgar Moyo has said his Ministry is working with the
Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) to come up with Ordinary and Advanced Level examination fees agreeable to both the examinations board and parents.
Moyo added that the new exam fees will be announced soon and that parents who had already paid fees announced by ZIMSEC recently (and reversed by the government) should be refunded.
He said:
Initially, the actual examination fee was pegged at $190 per subject (O-level) but we later learnt that some parents could not afford to pay due to current economic challenges which is why the ministry reverted to the 2015 fees of $15 per subject while in the process of coming up with the exact examination fee that will also assist Zimsec board in preparation of the examinations.
No one has exact information or time frame on the outcome but what can be hazarded for now is that pupils that had already paid $190 for June examinations will be refunded their monies. We have asked the Government and various financing models to intervene and see how much they are willing to assist as a means to compensate the Zimsec board.
Meanwhile, ZIMSEC public relations officer Nicky Dlamini refused to comment on the issue of refunds.
She encouraged parents to wait for the new exam fees.-State media
By Correspondent-War veterans of the 1970s liberation struggle have slammed the government for not fast-tracking the War Veterans Bill aimed at improving their welfare amid reports that the majority of them were living in abject poverty.
Speaking at the burial of the late Robson Chipunza at Mashonaland West Provincial Heroes Acre in Chinhoyi on Saturday, provincial war veterans chairperson Cornelius Muoni said they could not afford standard healthcare from their monthly pensions.
“It has taken too long for the Bill to be passed into law. The process is very slow. While the former freedom fighters are dying daily without enjoying their privileges of being treated, interestingly, some Bills are fast-tracked into law overnight,” Muoni said.
“Like we are saying, our pensions should have been increased in January this year just like civil servants, but up to now nothing has been done,” Muoni said.
Chipunza, who died last week after a long illness, was declared a provincial hero.
By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe is one of the countries that are used by a syndicate of kidnappers to abduct wealthy people and hold them for ransom, a South African newspaper has reported.
The paper said the syndicate was targeting wealthy South Africans, nationals from Pakistan, Indians and other Asians.
The paper said the gang who operates from South Africa concoct illegal traveling documents for business people who are in Asia to come to do deals in South Africa.
The victims are assisted to travel through Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique. The syndicate has operatives who assist these foreigners to arrive in the three countries and get assisted to travel to South Africa.
Quoting police sources the paper said, ” As soon as they cross the border, they are flagged and stopped by the police. That is how they get kidnapped. The abductors contact their families in Asia, demanding a ransom for their release.”
“More often than not, the kidnappers demand over R1 million, he said, adding that almost always, the kidnappers demand that the ransom be paid in Dubai via the Hawala banking system.”
Hawala, which originated in Asia, is often used to launder money and finance terrorism.
The police source is said to have added that the kidnappers were running a well-knit complicate network that uses international phone numbers.
“I foresee the kidnappings going up because the victims’ families are willing to pay the ransoms. We are really worried that some of these guys could have links to terrorist organizations,” the said.
South Africa has been seeing a rise in the kidnapping crimes targeting rich foreigners.
In 2019 two Zimbabwean brothers who were in the trucking business were abducted and killed after the family paid a ransom to their kidnappers.
By Adv Kennedy Masiye| Today marks 5 years since Itai Dzamara’s abduction. I still remember him calling “where is my lawyer!” whilst laying side by side at the Avenue’s Clinic emergency room. This was after both of us had been tortured by the Zimbabwe Republic Police officers.
A few days before his abduction Itai Dzamara came to my office. In our discussion Itai told me that he feared for his life and he had information that the police led by Assistant Inspector Mutemi (Police Officer- Harare Central) & then Constable Matsikidze(Hre Central) wanted to assassinate him. It was going to be a few days later that I was going to receive a call from Mai Dzamara that her husband had been abducted at a local barbershop.
I was the first person to react to this tragedy. I drove to Itai’s residence, and then to the place he was abducted before helping Mai Dzamara make a police report at Glenorah police station.
What I know today after being part of a police led investigation to find Itai Dzamara is that the Police have information which they have ignored,neglected or simply refused to investigate!
The information regards the suspected abductors of Itai Dzamara who amongst other’s include: �Tichareva Mubaira�Liberty Shamu�Owen Ziwanai Mazarura � Tendai Chinyani �*Watson Marufu (KG6) *Assistant Inspector Mutemi *Constable Matsikidze �One of the two suspected vehicles used in the abduction is a white double cab registration number ABG 2862. This vehicle was located and is owned by the then Zanu pf Youth Chairperson for Mbare. When the police questioned this “youth” he had paper work that showed that he purchased the vehicle from an auction at a local police Station in Harare a few weeks after Itai’s abduction. – ZimEye
Sheffra Dzamara, wife to Itai Dzamara, the missing pro-democracy campaigner and freelance journalist, today submitted a letter to President Emmerson Mnangagwa protesting that her husband “cannot go unaccounted for just like that” and appealed for help to get answers to ascertain Itai’s whereabouts.
….Khupe could end up “winner” of the soon to be announced ConCourt verdict which could announce her the only legitimate leader of the MDC, a controversial conclusion set to, as it were, reverse the clockwatch back to 2014….
Dr Thokozani Khupe
By A Correspondent| MDC T leader Thokozani Khupe has trashed reports alleging that she is mulling firing four of her senior executives.
A rumour went round last week saying she had removed from her party WhatsApp group and was preparing to either suspend or fire the quartet namely:
But speaking to ZimEye, Dr Khupe refuted the claims and said: “There is no such thing.”
She went to the point of saying this was even news to her. “I am also hearing this from you,” she said.
Efforts to get a comment from the four were difficult with only Misihairabwi briefly responding but still not saying anything on the matter.
The development comes as her party’s membership of the Polad group was said to be shaky following disputes between her and other members.
It also comes at a time when Khupe could end up “winner” of the soon to be announced ConCourt verdict which could announce her the only legitimate leader of the MDC, a controversial conclusion set to, as it were, reverse the clockwatch back to 2014.
By Jane Mlambo| The European Union has challenged the government of Zimbabwe to shed light on the fate of missing government critic Itai Dzamara who was abducted by suspected state security agents five years ago.
Dzamara who went missing on the 9th of March 2015 has not been accounted for five years now amid calls for government to institute an inquiry on what befell the journalist come political activist.
“Five years after his abduction, Itai #Dzamara remains missing. We call on Govt to shed light on his fate & serve justice, and to tackle all human rights violations decisively, in line with #Zimbabwe‘s repeated commitment to human rights, freedoms & national healing. #EU4democracy,” the EU tweeted.
By A Correspondent- There are reports that villagers in Muzarabani were recently forced to attend a meeting called by Zanu PF aligned Chief.
Zimbabwe Peace Project reported that on 8 February, Chief Kasekete of Muzarabani South delivered a speech in favour of Zanu PF at Hoya Primary School in ward 17.
“The chief, ordered the village council of elders to call for an urgent developmental meeting. Villagers were forced to attend the meeting by village heads and Zanu PF leadership. Reports indicate that the agenda of the meeting changed when people had gathered,” ZPP reported
“The chief, in his address praised President Mnangagwa and Zanu PF. He mocked the MDC , denouncing its President, Advocate Nelson Chamisa. He also threatened to deal with all opposition aspiring candidates citing that Muzarabani was a no go area for the MDC.”
ZPP reported that MDC ward 17 and 18 Shadow Councillors were advised to leave MDC for Zanu PF to guarantee their safety. In addition, he threatened to introduce tough measures to deal with all village heads that support MDC and allow NGOs to hold meetings in their villages.
