By A Correspondent- Former Bikita West legislator Munyaradzi Kereke’s chamber application for leave to prosecute his appeal at the Supreme Court in a case in which he is challenging the conviction and 14 years in prison for rape, has been rejected.
Justice Jacob Manzunzu tossed out the application on a technicality that it was defective for non-compliance with the rules of the court.
The judge concurred with lawyer, Mr Charles Warara, representing the guardian of the minor child who was raped by Kereke. It was Mr Warara’s submission that there was no application before the court because the papers were defective as they did not comply with the rules, in particular that the application was not supported by an affidavit.
Further, the judgment of the court that was being appealed against was not made part of the application to be considered by the judge. However, Kereke who was a self- actor in the matter, insisted that his papers were in order as they stood amended in terms of the court rules. But Justice Manzunzu found that a chamber application should be supported by an affidavit.
Even an amended chamber application, which the former legislator filed with the court in an attempt to cure the defect could not help him.
“In casu (present case), the chamber application is incurably bad. With or without an application to amend the fact remains that the application is fatally defective and cannot be cured by whatever means,” said Justice Manzunzu.
The judge also accepted Mr Warara’s argument that there was no application before the court and struck off the application for its non-compliance with the rules.
Kereke was in 2016 jailed for 14 years for raping his then 10-year-old niece at gunpoint.
Four years of his jail time were suspended on condition of good behaviour. He was also acquitted on another charge of indecently assaulting the rape victim’s elder sister.-Statemedia
….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 denied firing four of her senior executives. A rumour went round last week saying she has removed the following from her party WhatsApp group and was preparing to either suspend of fire:
But speaking to ZimEye, Dr Khupe 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 A Correspondent- Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has written through lawyers to his estranged wife, Marry Mubaiwa, demanding a gold ring which he claims she took last year possibly for “safekeeping”.
Chiwenga, who was admitted to a private hospital in Pretoria in April last year, said the ring was taken by his estranged wife when he was incapacitated by ill health.
Chiwenga wrote through his lawyers to Marry demanding a gold ring which he claims she took last year possibly for “safekeeping”.
Chiwenga claims Marry took the ring while he was incapacitated due to ill health in a Pretoria hospital last year.
His lawyer, Wilson Manase, wrote:
“The ring was a gift from his friend and is of sentimental value to him. Would you care to please ask your client to advise us where she placed the ring as our client would like to use same.”
The letter, was addressed to Mubaiwa’s lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa.
The ring is described in the letter as a signet with yellow gold and patterned sides, with a silver coin marked “Alexander The Great”.
Alexander the Great was one of history’s greatest military leaders; as King of Macedonia and Persia he established the largest empire the ancient world had seen.
Chiwenga said his ring could be worth $5,300 and weighs 15.3g although he does not mention which friend gave it to him
Chiwenga attached a photo of said ring on his letter to back his claim
The letter exposes the political elite’s penchant for luxuries.
This follows after Chiwenga also demanded his money back from Marry which he claimed was in her bank account.
He stated that she can take the kitchen crockery including saucepans for all he cares but she should cede his belongings.
By A Correspondent- A villager in Mudzi was recently denied presidential farming inputs because he attended a funeral service of an MDC activist.
Zimbabwe Peace Project reported that on 9 February a villager was denied presidential inputs in Mudzi North in Musau Village Ward 17 under Chief Mukota.
“Zanu PF Ward 17 Chairperson, Makarutse denied the villager his inputs allocation because he had attended a funeral service for an MDC activist.
He was then informed that he would not receive Presidential inputs and any other government aid in future as he was accused of singing MDC songs during the funeral and associating with MDC activists in a Zanu PF territory,” ZPP reported.
By A Correspondent- A Bulilima man has been arrested for allegedly beating his girlfriend’s 86-year-old grandmother to death with a log after accusing her of bewitching him.
Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson Chief Inspector Philisani Ndebele confirmed the incident which occurred last Wednesday at around 7PM in Nsubula Village, Bambadzi area. He said the accused Alfred Gumbo (32) from Gonde area who stays with his girlfriend and her late grandmother at their home, arrived home drunk and started accusing Mrs Lucia Ncube of bewitching him resulting in an altercation.
“I can confirm that we recorded a murder case where the suspect Alfred Gumbo beat up Lucia Ncube to death with a log. Gumbo arrived home drunk and found Ncube and her granddaughter Ms Simephi Ncube who is also his girlfriend seated in the kitchen hut. He started accusing the old woman and his girlfriend of bewitching him,” he said.
“Gumbo and Lucia exchanged harsh words and the old woman picked up a log out of anger and struck Gumbo on the forehead and he sustained a cut. Gumbo retaliated and also picked up a log from the floor and struck the woman several times all over the body until she died and he fled from the scene.”
Chief Insp Ndebele said Simephi rushed to get help from neighbours. He said villagers pursued Gumbo, apprehended him and took him to the police station resulting in his arrest.-Statemedia
By A Correspondent- Police have exhumed the body of a 24-year- old Shurugwi man who was tied to a tree and severely tortured by his boss for allegedly stealing 70 grammes of gold worth US$3 400 at a mine at Bred Farm.
Fabian Mabhugu died on March 1 while admitted to Gweru Provincial Hospital from injuries sustained following his alleged 24-hour torture at the hands of thugs hired by his boss and miner Willard Mugadza.
Mabhugu was exhumed on Saturday allegedly at the instigation of his family who have requested a second postmortem opinion as they are suspicious of the first postmortem report.
Mugadza briefly appeared before Shurugwi resident magistrate Ms Sithabile Zungula on Thursday facing one count of murder and the other of abduction. He was remanded out of custody to March 24 on ZW$1000 bail.
Mabhugu was a part-time driver for Mugadza popularly known as Dread Welly. He was allegedly abducted together with his friend Lenny Hwehwe (25) after their boss claimed they had declared gold with a shortfall of 70 grammes worth US$3 400 at a mine in Shurugwi.
In an interview yesterday, Mabhugu’s elder sister, Theresa said her brother’s body which had been laid to rest at Mount Dore Cemetery at Bonza Farm in Shurugwi last Thursday was exhumed on Saturday by the police for a second postmortem.
Theresa said the postmortem report which was produced before Ms Sithabile Zungula during the brief appearance of Mugadza cited cause of death as undetermined.
“Yes, my brother’s body was exhumed by the police on Saturday and taken to Harare for a second postmortem opinion since we were not happy with the first postmortem result which said that the cause of his death is undeterminable,” she said.
“The postmortem was done by a Bulawayo Pathologist and as a family we felt that it was flawed and as a result allegedly influenced the High Court’s decision to order the lower court to release Mugadza on bail.”
She said her brother who was allegedly tortured while tied to a tree, had visible marks from his head to the toe.
“We therefore wonder why the pathologist will say the cause is undeterminable. So, we lodged a complaint after the release of Mugadza from prison and we were given police officers who guarded the grave from the day it was buried until it was exhumed,” said Theresa.
“We were shocked to see the postmortem report being produced in court on Thursday when as family, we had been told by the police that it was going to be ready for collection the following day.”
It is the State case that Mabhugu and Hwehwe were allegedly driven to Chirumanzu where they were tortured over two days, allegedly on the orders of their boss.-Statemedia
Mr. President, they say the squeaky wheel gets the grease. So my theme is going to be; together we can win the future.
The right policies lead to right results. But let me tell you without being a Jewish prophet or being related to one- that we have lost the future, because masquerading as an experienced surgeon you have been prescribing wrong prescriptions, which have in turn reacted catastrophically, paralyzing the economy and throwing the whole country into economic malaise and disarray.
My letter therefore is meant to express my deepest sorrow and grief over the state of affairs prevailing in the country. Despite promising us a heaven on earth upon seizing power, your little finger has proved to be thicker than Mugabe’s loins, and where he chastised us with whips you have chastised us with scorpions.
The wild lamentations and groaning from the suffering masses have forced me to take pen and paper and write to you.
The Zimbabwe we see today that seems so insane is a result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the country differently you must be willing to change your philosophies and let the past slip away. The country expects you to be effective in your job, not to be a person who is all hat and no cattle.
Mr. President, I know my views and opinions will suffer a barrage of attacks from your praise and worship team masquerading as servants of the masses yet they are wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Your team will lambast, lampoon and ridicule me, but you know what; I DON’T CARE, for I believe any man that’s got the guts to sell his soul for justice has got the power to change the world. Unlike you and your cronies I’m not doing it for greed, but for the right reasons.
At the risk of seeming ridiculous let me say your actions are a total disregard of revolutionary principles, for a true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a revolutionary lacking this quality. Mind you revolutionaries are not selfish but selfless. They have genuine interest in people’s welfare not themselves.
At the pretext of being champions of democracy your party has turned into a deadly organized crime syndicate hence becoming a potent engine by which unscrupulous, cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men have been enabled to subvert the power of the people for themselves and feast undisturbed on the choicest portions of the national cake, whilst the whole nation is languishing in abject poverty.
The opulence, extravagance and lavish lifestyle led by your accomplices against a backdrop of frail, fragile and starving masses is a far cry from what you preach. The second Republic has therefore remained elusive and a pipe dream to say the least.
Mr. President economic development and democracy can’t exist without a true commitment to reform. I know criticism may not be agreeable but it’s necessary, for it calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.
Unfortunately, your problem is that you prefer to be ruined by praise than saved by criticism. I know anarchy is in your blood hence when pushed killing is as easy as breathing because you believe death is the solution to all problems. Being an ardent disciple of Maoist philosophies, you think power comes from the barrel of a gun.
Like Stalin you believe it’s enough for people to know there was an election, but it’s not them who decide the outcome but those who count the votes. Remember whatever possession you gain by the sword cannot last but the love gained by kindness and moderation is certain and durable.
Mr. President, Mugabe was a better evil, at least he had brains; you are dumb. Since taking over the reins the country has been on free fall. You seem to be out of touch with reality, instead of injecting a new lease of life to the economy; you have decided to stick to a bunch of old men out of touch with reality, who are obsessed with past glories and clueless about present day challenges.
Allow me to say you are worse than the colonialists, because you have turned out to be a monster that eats its own children. You have turned daylight into darkest night.
The problems bedeviling the country now are deeply rooted in a bad government system, the lack of free elections, independent courts and freedom of speech.
Mr. President is torturing and murdering opponents your version of the struggle? I believe the struggle was for ending poverty, greed, despair and inequality.
You can’t talk about economy until you talk about poverty, until you talk about greed, until you address all the wrongs only then will we grab each other’s hands and sing in unison ‘ one at last …one at last..’ For the time being stop saying you love us, because you don’t.
Strive to leave Zimbabwe a better place than you found it. Your prime mandate is therefore helping us but if you can’t at least don’t hurt us.
Our country is dying from internal rottenness. Jefferson said, once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles, every other correction is either useless or a new evil.
Zimbabwe is bored and it’s high time you retire from active politics and pave way for young and energetic leaders who have the verve to pull the country out of the quagmire.
I sign off with a heavy, sorrowful and brooding heart because you have failed to live up to our expectations. Your only concern is fattening your pockets and globetrotting ignoring the suffering masses that are languishing in agony.
I know you will take my views for a joke, but remember, ‘Ears that do not listen to advice accompany the head when it is chopped off.’ As you sit in the comfort zone of your artificial paradise just know that in the public eye you are more of a villain than a hero. The masses see you as a perpetrator of injustice and oppressor than a liberator.
Remember whenever man takes the law into their own hands and treat the masses as pawns for sacrifice the loser is the law, and when the law loses freedom languishes.I rest my case.
By Tendai Manika. Zimbabwe Initiative for peace and Reconciliation.
By A Correspondent- A man from Binga who allegedly hired a Zambian hitman to kill his father whom he accused of causing the death of his sister through witchcraft has been arrested.
Fullback Mugande (45) of Nsenga Village has been on the run since the day he allegedly engineered Mr Janika Sibanda’s shooting in October 2017. He was arrested last week following his return from Zambia where he had been a fugitive.
His accomplice, an unidentified Zambian is still at large. Mugande appeared before Binga resident magistrate Mrs Portia Moyo facing a murder charge. He was remanded in custody to March 11 for routine remand.
Mrs Moyo advised Mugande to apply for bail at the High Court. Prosecuting, Mr Quiet Mpofu said Mugande and Mr Sibanda had a long-standing feud which emanated from witchcraft accusations.
“Mugande accused the deceased of bewitching his sister resulting in her death,” said Mr Mpofu.
The court heard that the deceased predicted the death of the accused person’s sister.
The death did not go down well with Mugande who accused his father of witchcraft. On October 10 in 2017, Mugande crossed into neighbouring Zambia where he allegedly hired the services of a hitman to kill the deceased.
“On the same day the accused person and his unidentified accomplice confronted the deceased. They accused him of witchcraft before the Zambian opened fire and shot Mr Sibanda four times at close range and he sustained serious injuries,” said Mr Mpofu.
Soon after the offence, the two accused persons skipped the border to Zambia.
Mr Sibanda was rushed to Binga District Hospital where he succumbed to the gunshot wounds. Mugande, who has been in hiding, was arrested on February 26 after police received a tip off that he had sneaked back into the country. -StateMedia
By A Correspondent- Government is still compiling a database for those who will be given coupons to buy subsidised roller meal.
The Government last month announced plans to introduce mealie-meal coupons for targeted households to enable them to buy subsidised roller meal.
The coupon system for roller meal is expected to ensure that vulnerable community members benefit from the subsidy.
Retailers are selling subsidised roller meal at $70 but there is shortage of the product on the market as some of it is being diverted to the parallel market.
Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza told Senators recently during a Question and Answer session that Government is yet to finalise the coupon system.
“We do not have coupons yet for mealie-meal, we are still compiling a database for people who deserve those coupons and these are the most vulnerable in our society. For those who were already on social welfare database, it is not a problem but there are others who were not who should be included,” said Dr Nzenza.
Government set up a mealie-meal taskforce last month to ensure that there is a steady supply of the subsidised roller meal on the market.
The taksforce is led by Commerce and Industry Deputy Minister Raj Modi.
“The taskforce on mealie-meal is there but it is facing challenges. The challenges are that maize is still in transit. It is only when this maize comes that the taskforce can ensure the vulnerable buy it at the agreed price of $70 for a 10kg bag. The problem is that we have individuals buying the mealie-meal for resale at inflated prices of up to $160 for a 10 kg bag,” said Dr Nzenza.
In Bulawayo, the taskforce recently unearthed some irregularities in the supply of roller meal to shops. Its investigations led to the suspension of Grain Marketing Board Belmont Depot manager Mr Stanley Chimakira together with his subordinates Messrs Buhle Dube, Vincent Gwariro, Tashin Kamangira and Ms Samkeliso Nyathi for allegedly channelling subsidised mealie-meal to the black market.-Statemedia
By Wilbert Mukori- What makes Zimbabwe’s economic and political crisis so, seemingly, intractable is that not even those one would expect to offer solutions are doing so. Everyone, including the country’s leaders across the spectrum, is confused and running around like a headless chicken.
Someone, it is not clear who but that is now irrelevant, has suggested that getting the leader of ruling party, Zanu PF,President Emmerson Mnangagwa, to meet the main opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, would see all the country’s economic and political problem disappear like morning mist. The idea has caught on and the headless chicken brigade has jumped on the bandwagon, there is no stopping them!
Zimbabwe business executives are hosting this year’s CEO Africa Roundtable 2020 Edition in Victoria Falls and they are hoping to succeed where others have, so far, fail – get Mnangagwa and Chamisa to meet and talk!
“We have gone past the stage of trying to find how shallow or deeper our problems are but, to find solutions,” CEO Africa Roundtable chief executive officer Kipson Gundani argued.
“Of which in the solution equation, I think largely Zimbabweans agree that they have got their roots from our politics which are kind of toxic, which has kind of polarised our nation and until or unless we come together as Zimbabweans and start to believe again, then we can start thinking of solutions to this country.”
The 2020 CEO Africa Roundtable edition is taking place in Victoria Falls on 18th to 20th March. The two political leaders have been invited. They have not met since the July 2018 elections and all the stops are being pulled to encourage them to meet.
Just because you have a number of headless chickens agreeing on something that does not mean that is the solution. The majority is not necessarily right, especially when it is composed of the headless chickens!
The best possible outcome of the political dialogue between Mnangagwa and Chamisa will be the two agreeing on some power sharing arrangement. The two parties had a similar power sharing arrangement during the 2008 to 2013 GNU and they failed to implemented even one democratic reform designed to stop Zanu PF rigging elections. There is nothing to suggest the two will do any better this time. Nothing!
The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic and political crisis is the failure to hold free, fair and credible elections. Zanu PF rigged the July 2018 elections just as the party has rigged elections these last 40 years.
Zimbabwe is pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs and as long as the country remains a pariah state there will be no meaningful economic recovery. No one wants to do business with in a pariah state.
The IMF, WB, AfDB and all the other international institutions, from whom Zimbabwe has been hoping to get the financial assistance the nation needs so desperately to kick start the comatose economy, have all confirmed they will not give the country even one dollar. The country’s economic and political reforms are “off-track” said IMF.
The addition of MDC leaders to the illegitimate Mnangagwa government will neither transform the pariah regime into a democratic one nor miraculously get all the reforms on track. The proposed power sharing government will still be a Zanu PF regime in all but name, with or without a few MDC manikins!
What Kipson Gundani and his fellow Roundtable buffoons have failed to comprehend; just as the church leaders, other civic society leaders, etc., have done; is the exact nature of Zimbabwe’s economic and political crisis.
Mnangagwa and Chamisa are no more than two slave masters whose fundamental difference is that slaves cannot be whipped with the same whip used on horses! Getting the two to kiss and make up will resolve the fundamental issue – the abolition of slavery! in which one
Similarly, the fundamental issue here is ending the curse of rigged elections and pariah state. Getting Mnangagwa and Chamisa to kiss and make up will neither change the reality on the ground of the rigged July 2018 elections nor will it give cause to believe Zanu PF will not rig future elections!
Open Letter to Mnangangwa
‘The masses see you as a perpetrator of injustice, a villain and an oppressor than a liberator’
Mr. President, they say the squeaky wheel gets the grease. So my theme is going to be; together we can win the future. The right policies lead to right results. But let me tell you without being a Jewish prophet or being related to one that we have lost the future, because masquerading as an experienced surgeon you have been prescribing wrong prescriptions, which have in turn reacted catastrophically, paralyzing the economy and throwing the whole country into economic malaise and disarray.
My letter therefore is meant to express my deepest sorrow and grief over the state of affairs prevailing in the country. Despite promising us a heaven on earth upon seizing power, your little finger has proved to be thicker than Mugabe’s loins, and where he chastised us with whips you have chastised us with scorpions. The wild lamentations and groaning from the suffering masses have forced me to take pen and paper and write to you.
The Zimbabwe we see today that seems so insane is a result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the country differently you must be willing to change your philosophies and let the past slip away. The country expects you to be effective in your job, not to be a person who is all hat and no cattle.
Mr. President, I know my views and opinions will suffer a barrage of attacks from your praise and worship team masquerading as servants of the masses yet they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Your team will lambast, lampoon and ridicule me, but you know what; I DON’T CARE, for I believe any man that’s got the guts to sell his soul for justice has got the power to change the world. Unlike you and your cronies I’m not doing it for greed, but for the right reasons.
At the risk of seeming ridiculous let me say your actions are a total disregard of revolutionary principles, for a true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a revolutionary lacking this quality. Mind you revolutionaries are not selfish but selfless. They have genuine interest in people’s welfare not themselves.
At the pretext of being champions of democracy your party has turned into a deadly organized crime syndicate hence becoming a potent engine by which unscrupulous, cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men have been enabled to subvert the power of the people for themselves and feast undisturbed on the choicest portions of the national cake, whilst the whole nation is languishing in abject poverty.
The opulence, extravagance and lavish lifestyle led by your accomplices against a backdrop of frail, fragile and starving masses is a far cry from what you preach. The second Republic has therefore remained elusive and a pipe dream to say the least. Mr. President economic development and democracy can’t exist without a true commitment to reform. I know criticism may not be agreeable but it’s necessary, for it calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. Unfortunately, your problem is that you prefer to be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.
I know anarchy is in your blood hence when pushed killing is as easy as breathing because you believe death is the solution to all problems. Being an ardent disciple of Maoist philosophies, you think power comes from the barrel of a gun. Like Stalin you believe it’s enough for people to know there was an election, but it’s not them who decide the outcome but those who count the votes. Remember whatever possession you gain by the sword cannot last but the love gained by kindness and moderation is certain and durable.
Mr. President, Mugabe was a better evil, at least he had brains; you are dumb. Since taking over the reins the country has been on free fall. You seem to be out of touch with reality, instead of injecting a new lease of life to the economy; you have decided to stick to a bunch of old men out of touch with reality, who are obsessed with past glories and clueless about present day challenges.
Allow me to say you are worse than the colonialists, because you have turned out to be a monster that eats its own children. You have turned daylight into darkest night. The problems bedeviling the country now are deeply rooted in a bad government system, the lack of free elections, independent courts and freedom of speech.
Mr. President is torturing and murdering opponents your version of the struggle? I believe the struggle was for ending poverty, greed, despair and inequality. You can’t talk about economy until you talk about poverty, until you talk about greed, until you address all the wrongs only then will we grab each other’s hands and sing in unison ‘ one at last …one at last..’ For the time being stop saying you love us, because you don’t. Strive to leave Zimbabwe a better place than you found it. Your prime mandate is therefore helping us but if you can’t at least don’t hurt us.
Our country is dying from internal rottenness. Jefferson said, once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles, every other correction is either useless or a new evil. Zimbabwe is bored and it’s high time you retire from active politics and pave way for young and energetic leaders who have the verve to pull the country out of the quagmire.
I sign off with a heavy, sorrowful and brooding heart because you have failed to live up to our expectations. Your only concern is fattening your pockets and globetrotting ignoring the suffering masses that are languishing in agony.
I know you will take my views for a joke, but remember, ‘Ears that do not listen to advice accompany the head when it is chopped off.’ As you sit in the comfort zone of your artificial paradise just know that in the public eye you are more of a villain than a hero. The masses see you as a perpetrator of injustice and oppressor than a liberator.
Remember whenever man takes the law into their own hands and treat the masses as pawns for sacrifice the loser is the law, and when the law loses freedom languishes.
I rest my case.
Tendai Manika. Zimbabwe Initiative for peace and Reconciliation.
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said it is a “privilege” to manage his players as they completed the Premier League double over derby rivals Manchester City for the first time in a decade.
This thunderous encounter was a personal nightmare for Manchester City’s normally reliable Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson, who gifted Solskjaer’s side both goals in sharply contrasting fashion.
He allowed Anthony Martial’s routine shot to squirm under his body from a quick Bruno Fernandes free-kick on the half-hour and then, with seconds left, threw a clearance straight to Scott McTominay, who showed great technique to send a long-range finish, struck first time, into the net in front of a delirious Stretford End.
It is a win that leaves Liverpool – who now have a 25-point lead at the top of the table – requiring only two more wins to secure their first league title for 30 years and Manchester United only three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, after their first derby league double since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
City hotly contested the free-kick, given by referee Mike Dean for a foul by Ilkay Gundogan on Fernandes, that led to Martial’s goal – although United also felt they were denied a penalty when Fred was booked for diving after tangling with Nicolas Otamendi.
Sergio Aguero had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR and even though City enjoyed the greater share of possession, United sealed a crucial win with McTominay’s strike to take their unbeaten run to 10 games in all competitions.
“It’s a privilege to be their manager,” Solskjaer told BBC Sport. “They give absolutely everything. They know they are all good players but they want to learn as well.
“We feel we are improving as a squad and a team. We feel the fans want us to do well and they see what we are doing, so it is getting better and better.
“But we are still fifth. We need points to catch Chelsea and Leicester, so need to keep plugging away.”
Solskjaer sensing top-four finish
Man Utd 2-0 Man City: ‘It’s a privilege to be manager of this young squad’ – Solskjaer
The jubilant scenes and the sound of his name echoing around Old Trafford at the final whistle will have been music to the ears of Manchester United manager Solskjaer.
The Norwegian, still to convince many of his suitability for the giant task of turning Manchester United’s fortunes around, has now enjoyed three wins over Pep Guardiola and Manchester City this season – and this was surely the most satisfying day of the season at ‘The Theatre Of Dreams’.
United may still be light years away from the glory days of old but victories such as this sustain hope, and the atmosphere inside Old Trafford as Solskjaer’s side first held on to their advantage and then sealed the win was reminiscent of days gone by.
Manchester City may have enjoyed the greater share of possession but United showed great resilience and always carried a threat on the break.
Fernandes once again confirmed what a shrewd piece of business his signing was from Sporting Lisbon – although why wait so late in the window to sign him? – and why he is already a hero to United’s fans.
The Portuguese has that touch of class and creativity while United had another outstanding performer in defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who won his battle with Raheem Sterling as he hounded the England star for 90 minutes and beyond.
Manchester United, who have looked off the top four for so much of the time this season, are now right in the fight and credit must be given to the manager who has helped fashion this impressive run.
“We feel we are improving all the time. We know we lack one, two, three players to be considered a title contender and some experience,” said Solskjaer. “We are just going to start talking about going up the table, getting more points.
“Chelsea and Leicester are too far ahead for my liking.”
ZIMPLOW Holdings Limited has approached the High Court in Bulawayo seeking an interim order barring opposition Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) and the company’s former employees from holding protests at the firm’s vicinity.
Last year in December, members of MRP joined former Zimplow workers demonstrating at the company’s premises. The ex-workers were demanding their dues following their “unfair” dismissal in 2015.
On 17 February 2020, the workers and the MRP activists also picketed the company.
The demonstrators who were singing and dancing, accused the company of failing to follow Labour Act No 17 of Chapter 28.01 procedures when they dismissed the workers in 2015.
The company last week filed an urgent application at the Bulawayo High Court praying for an order to bar the MRP activists and the former employees from engaging in further demonstrations at the company.
Through its lawyers C/0 Calderwood, Bryce Hendrie and Partners, the company cited 10 respondents who include Parton Xaba, MRP national Organising Secretary, the officer in Charge of Mzilikazi police station, the Sheriff of the High Court of Zimbabwe and Paul Ngwenya, the leader of the former workers.
“Applicant being a legal person has a right to property, privacy, security and the benefit of the rule of the law,” reads the company papers lodged with the courts.
“On the 20th December 2019 and the 17th February 2020, the 3rd (Paul Ngwenya) – 9th (Parton Xaba) respondents overwhelmed the applicant’s security and invaded the aforementioned property with what appears to be the intention of disrupting the applicant’s business activities.
“The demonstrators are neither employee nor are they invitees of applicant. They also do not have any lawful authority to be on the applicant’s private property.
“The 3rd and 9th respondents have threatened to return to the applicant’s premises to cause further disruption and to burn down the applicant’s buildings.”
The company said it feared the group may return and cause damage to its buildings and property.
“The harm therefore to my mind is continuous. Despite having refused entry the protesters overpowered our security personnel and entered applicant’s abovementioned premises,” said the company.
The respondents are still to file their opposing papers.
The workers were fired following the infamous July 17, 2015 Supreme Court ruling in which Zimbabwean employers were granted the right to terminate a permanent employment contract on three months’ notice.
Sometimes @mdczimbabwe or the opposition appear to be very comfortable with the situation in Zimbabwe. Pastor Chiwenga is taking the role which I think the opposition should take. We cannot be a wait and see political party
By Leo Igwe| The seventh anniversary celebration of the Association for Black Humanists (ABH) deserves commendation because embarking on this myth-bursting and stereotype-shattering initiative has not a mean feat. It’s an astounding achievement. So hearty congratulations! Humanism is a universal outlook that speaks to every race, colour and ethnic group. While the term humanism is English, what it represents beats in the heart of every culture, every society, yes, every human being. An association that emphasizes black humanism relates this universal message to the specific but not necessarily exclusive needs and challenges facing black people. History is replete with instances of dehumanization and other forms of violation of humanist principles in the ways that black people treated themselves, or have been treated. Instances abound of how religion and superstitions have been instrumental to the oppression, subjugation and exploitation of blacks by blacks or blacks by others.
Humanists in Nigeria and Africa are enthused over an initiative that speaks to this social and historical reality. They are so delighted by this milestone that the ABH has attained. That despite all odds, this association has continued to weather the storm, and grow in strength, number and reach. ABH remains a beacon of hope to young Africans who are sick and tired of religion. Many young Africans find religious answers to be untrue, mistaken, outdated or unsatisfactory and are earnestly searching for meaning and answers that are compatible with reason, science and critical thinking. These young Africans yearn for the gains of intellectual liberty, rationality and freethought. This is because religion has maintained a stranglehold on the minds and future of individuals across the region. Religion has been used to legimitize exploitation, and to sanctify the abuse of young people.
No incident has better demonstrated this vicious impact than the recent discovery of an Islamic school in Northern Nigeria where hundreds of children have been abused under the pretext of teaching them how to recite the Quran. Northern Nigeria is dominantly muslim and sharia is implemented in most of the states. Quranic indoctrination is often the first mode of instruction that children and young people receive. Images from this islamic school have shown children and teenagers who have been brutalized, inflicted with gaping injuries by their so-called Islamic teachers. These young people are going to live with the scars and traumas of this horrific treatment for the rest of their lives.
Look, the incident in the Islamic school is not an isolated case, in fact it is not peculiar to Islam. Maltreatment and abuse of children at Islamic schools and other religious centres have been widely reported. Incidentally, these abuses happen because Islam has been shielded from critical examination and inquiry. Violence and threat of violence have been used to silence critics. Fear of being fatwa-ed by the Sheikhs, Mullahs and Imams; fear of being accused of Islamophobia or blasphemy, fear of being killed by marauding jihadists for offending religious sensibilities-insulting Allah, Islam or prophet Muhammad- have prevented the foregrounding of the excesses of Islamic religion. And this has to change.
Thus young Africans find themselves in a very difficult situation. They are held hostage, religiously hostage by cultures and societies that coerce them to be religious and do not permit them to think outside the religious box, or to question religious propositions. Young African minds are constrained by indigenous faith and dogmas that are essentially tied to their identity, by western Christianity and Middle eastern Islam that claim to be better religions, the true religions, unquestionable pathways and veritable means to civilize Africans. Embedded in these religious formations are layers of racism, hatred and denigration of black people and other narratives that are not consistent with the canons of black humanity and universal humanism.
From Cape Town to Cairo, From Mauritius to Mauritania, young Africans are largely living in religious prisons constructed and controlled by adults. They cannot freely choose or change their religion. Young Africans are brought up to think that there is no alternative to dogmatic religions, to their family religion. Many of these young persons end up being radicalized and transformed into merchants of death and destruction.
In fact, in many parts of Africa, humanists cannot freely meet or associate without putting their lives at risk. People cannot openly express themselves as atheists or skeptics, as ex muslims or exchristians, they cannot post their ideas and thoughts on their Facebook pages or on twitter without endangering themselves.
However, the situation is changing. There is some hope in the horizon. The African religious landscape is undergoing a slow but significant shift. Humanism and freethought are making inroads in many parts of the region. A new wave of critical awakening is sweeping across the continent thanks to the social media. The social media have liberated Africans from religious monopoly of information, knowledge and truth. The internet has provided young people alternative connections, communities, networks and fellowships. The impact of the social media has rattled the islamic establishment to the point that in September, a Centre for Islamic Civilization and Interfaith Dialogue at Bayero University Kano, organized a seminar on Social Media and the Rise of Atheism Among Muslim Youths in Northern Nigeria.
So, young Africans are fighting back; they are resisting religious tyranny and dictatorship. Even with all the risks involved, African youths are questioning aloud religious dogmas and misconceptions including provisions in the sacred texts such as the Bible and the Quran. African youths are forming humanist and freethought societies online and offline. They are using Facebook, twitter and instagram to express their heretical views, and voice out their blasphemous opinions. Some have started humanist/secular schools, for instance in Uganda. They are taking on the religious establishment, challenging religious orthodoxy and superstitions, and countering the violent campaigns of witch/demon hunters in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. It is important to note that while some progress has been made, a lot of work still lies ahead. But know this ABH, what you do to make humanism happen in the UK inspire Blacks everywhere. It inspires people who suffer religious oppression or persecution. Young Africans look to this association for inspiration; they draw strength from ABH’s resilience and doggedness, from its defiant, assertive and taboo breaking humanism. Congratulations once again, the Association for Black Humanists. I wish you many more years of proactive humanism.
Then Love Birds, Marry Chiwenga and husband Constantino Chiwenga
Vice-president Constantino Chiwenga has written through lawyers to his estranged wife, Mary Mubaiwa, demanding a gold ring which he claims she took last year possibly for “safekeeping”.
Chiwenga, who was admitted to a private hospital in Pretoria in April last year, said the ring was taken by his estranged wife when he was incapacitated by ill health.
Chiwenga wrote through his lawyers to Marry demanding a gold ring which he claims she took last year possibly for “safekeeping”.
Chiwenga claims Marry took the ring while he was incapacitated due to ill health in a Pretoria hospital last year.
His lawyer, Wilson Manase, wrote:
“The ring was a gift from his friend and is of sentimental value to him. Would you care to please ask your client to advise us where she placed the ring as our client would like to use same.”
The letter, was addressed to Mubaiwa’s lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa.
The ring is described in the letter as a signet with yellow gold and patterned sides, with a silver coin marked “Alexander The Great”.
Alexander the Great was one of history’s greatest military leaders; as King of Macedonia and Persia he established the largest empire the ancient world had seen.
Chiwenga said his ring could be worth $5,300 and weighs 15.3g although he does not mention which friend gave it to him
Chiwenga attached a photo of said ring on his letter to back his claim
The letter exposes the political elite’s penchant for luxuries.
This follows after Chiwenga also demanded his money back from Marry which he claimed was in her bank account.
He stated that she can take the kitchen crockery including saucepans for all he cares but she should cede his belongings.
A 43-YEAR-OLD railway line tracker at the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) was killed by a lion in Dete, authorities have confirmed.
Matabeleland North police spokesperson Chief Inspector Siphiwe Makonese identified the deceased as Thomas Mupusa of NRZ staff quarters in Dete.
“Police received a report about a body that was found near the Railway Line at Kennedy Railway Siding and is suspected to have been killed by lions,” said Chief Insp Makonese.
She said police and rangers from the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority found Mupusa’s body with scars all over while the right leg was mauled and intestines protruding.
There were lion spoors and struggle marks around the body while vultures had also eaten some flesh from the body.
Mupusa allegedly left his home on Tuesday night going for duty at Kennedy Railway Siding south-east of Hwange Main Camp in Hwange National Park.
“On March 3 at 2AM Mupusa boarded a train at Dete Station to his workplace at Kennedy Railway Siding. On March 5 Mr Clement Moyo who was manning a boom gate at Kennedy Railway Siding saw vultures circling in the sky about 600 metres away from the gate. He went to the place and found some clothes and a wireless radio used by NRZ operators,” said Chief Insp Makonese.
Mr Moyo alerted police and rangers who attended the scene and found the body. The body was about 50 metres away from the railway line and there was also a pair of shoes next to it.
It was taken to Hwange Colliery Hospital waiting for transfer to Bulawayo for post-mortem.
Zimparks spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo said efforts to address human-wildlife conflict must be intensified.
“It’s true that a person was killed by a lion and we are investigating the circumstances around the issue.
This is one of the issues we always raise that our parks are overpopulated and because of that people are being killed. Last year we lost 40 people who were killed by wildlife because of human-wildlife conflict hence we have to make sure people benefit from wildlife than to lose property and lives,” he said.
Zimparks identified crocodiles, elephants and lions as the major contributors to human deaths last year.
Correspondent|Skirmishes rocked MDC Masvingo office on Saturday, prompting the party leadership to cancel elections to choose the new provincial chairperson.
The confusion started when a member who was against the voting process allegedly grabbed the ballot boxes and tried to run away with them.
He was blocked by other members resulting in some pushing and shoving for the boxes.
Party national executive member Mrs Magie Chakabuda confirmed the cancellation.
She however, said she was not at the party headquarters when the violence erupted.
“I was late for the elections because of other commitments elsewhere and by the time I arrived, party members were already on their way home. So I did not witness anything,’’ she said.
“However, what I know is that the election had to be called off to avoid the situation spiralling out of control. We will wait for guidance from the national leadership on what to do next.
“There is no way the election could continue in such an environment. Maybe by mid this week we will have a way forward,’’ said Mrs Chakabuda.
The chaotic election was stopped with Mr Chanyau leading his rival by 245 votes to 167.
Matutu and Gumbi’s beef stems from the party provincial congress held last year which saw Matutu failing to upstage Gumbi in the provincial chair race.
Gumbi’s political star never shone brighter after his provincial congress win and suffered a serious setback recently after party leader Mr Nelson Chamisa suspended his executive for incompetence.
The suspension of Gumbi and his executive by Chamisa reignited factional fighting in the party.
Chamisa is still to appoint an interim executive after sacking Gumbi’s executive.
Today is the day that the Lord made for me to arrival on planet Earth from his celestial heaven. I believe it is the day that I chose to come and perform his script faithfully.
Today I celebrate triumphs of the past 38 years. Without God’s faithfulness I will not have come this far. There are episodes of my life that I could have simply perished if I did not believe. It is that faith and conviction that gave me a Risk taking attitude which made me to act my script which I chose before the foundations of the world faithfully and with bravery.
Before we come to this earth we make choices. We choose the kind of life we want to live. There are doors that enclose the unknown. God makes us choose. There is an easy life, a lukewarm life and risky life. The choices are ours to make. What we choose we go through it.
It is the risky and adventurous episodes, the vicissitudes of life, the heart breaks, betrayals etc that when we choose before birth, the angels of heaven say to the Almighty, ” Lord the life of that man shall be an exciting movie to watch. Give him his choice.”
Today I celebrate such a life. I thank God almighty that I have had the courage to confront all my challenges with his strength and wisdom. I have been down but I am up. I been through hell but I am still standing. I am with my family, and the support they gave me is very special. They have been my first aid when I was knocked down.
I am 38 today and the greatest gift I have before me is my queen and the fruits of her womb. Thieves had come in various forms to steal , kill and destroy our peace and happiness but they could not destroy me. I was made the risky taker and main actor. Surely main actors don’t die. I thank God once more that in time of need I obtained from his throne of grace mercy and grace that was sufficient to make me rise.
May all my true friends join me in expressing gratitude to the goddess in my house who has stood with me. I salute my true friends that supported me in all kind to be where I am to day.
A real life story has reached a Happy 38th Birthday.
Durban South Africa – The country’s first person to test positive for coronavirus is ready to go home.
According to National Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, the Hilton resident still needed to be given official medical clearance before he can head home.
“On Sunday, I had an opportunity to speak to the first confirmed patient. He was upbeat and jovial. I also spoke to the doctor who is treating him. She confirmed that this patient is responding well and is now asymptomatic. At the right time, as determined by the treating doctors, the patient will be retested to check his recovery progress,” Mkhize said.
He said the man will still undergo clinical observations and guidelines that are recommended to be followed in instances of asymptomatic patients.
“These will be based on the World Health Organisations guidelines and treatment methodology and disease management approaches that countries like China -which have presented a very high recovery rate- have used in dealing with asymptomatic patients,” Mkhize said.
On Sunday, the Health Ministry confirmed that the man’s wife was the third person to test positive for the virus. The second person, a Gauteng resident, tested positive on Saturday. The three were part of a group of 10 people who travelled to Italy.
Mkhize said they are awaiting results of six more people who travelled to Italy within the next 48 hours. The tenth person did not land in SA, Mkhize said.
He further said the couple’s children were tested and their results were negative.
“However, as part of taking extra precautions, these children will remain in self quarantine until their parents have tested negative. At that point, they will also be tested to ensure that they remain negative. Until then they will be regarded as potentially infected. This means they will continue not attend school. This is in an effort to curb the risk of spread to other children and teachers,” Mkhize said.
Meanwhile, Dr Robyn Reed, the doctor who first treated the Hilton man, said she was also in good health.
In an interview with Rapport, Reed said she found all the fuss to be “irritating”.
“But I feel absolutely fine and my nurse and I are not ill. I am doing some gardening and find all the fuss quite irritating,” she said.
By Nomusa Garikai| “After swimming around in Alice’s pool of tears, the animals need to dry off, and the Dodo recommends a caucus race. There are no rules; all of the participants run haphazardly around in no particular direction, and everyone wins.”
Lewis Carroll: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Ever since Zimbabwe’s rigged July 2018 elections (why MDC has disputed the result beggars belief since they knew Zanu PF rigging the elections and they, like all the other opposition parties participated regardless) the country has grappled the challenge of the economic meltdown. (MDC leaders like Tendai Biti insisted the economic meltdown was worse under Mnangagwa than it was under Mugabe, a bit of self-indulgence nonsense as futile as comparing cobra to a black mamba – they are both deadly snakes.)
How to revive the nation’s economy has therefore become the country’s primary concern – the equivalent of getting wet animals to dry off.
Alice questioned the logic of a race in which there is no starting line, no finish line, no rules. But even the Dodo would question Zimbabwe’s caucus race for not only are there no rules but worse still, after one and half years of running around like headless chickens the economic is sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss.
Someone has seeded the idea that getting Zimbabwe’s main political leaders, Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa to meet will solve all the nation’s political and economic problems. There is nothing to support this, indeed all the evidence show this is a waste of time but that is exactly why it is a caucus race. The race has been gathering momentum as more and more people joined in.
“Like SADC, the church also tried to cajole the main political protagonists to put the people first and their interests behind, but met a brick-wall from the politicians who now stand accused by political observers of being selfish and myopic,” reported one of Zimbabwe’s leading papers, Daily News.
“A deadly cocktail of high unemployment that stands at over 90 percent, the devastating effects of a drought that has left more than 5,7 million people exposed to extreme poverty and inflation that stands over 500 percent only means that for nostalgic Zimbabweans the past where a unity governance brought some stability to the economy is more ideal.”
Zimbabweans have had two national elections post the 2008 to 2013 GNU in which to reflect over the events of that period. The primary purpose of the GNU was to implement the raft of democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 Global Political Agreement.
Lest we forget, the GNU was necessary because not even SADC and the AU, known for endorsing dodgy elections, would accept Zanu PF’s claim of electoral victory of the 2008 given the blatant cheating in the March vote count and the wanton violence in the run-off that followed. The raft of reforms were designed to ensure there will be no repeat of the same cheating and violence.
The 2008 GNU failed to get even one reform implemented and hence the reason Zanu PF was able to blatantly rig the 2013 and then 2018 elections.
The economic “stability” the 2008 GNU brought was transient, as we can now see with the economic meltdown. There was no significant inward investment because investors and lenders were disappointed with the failure to implement the political reforms.
“According to the World Bank, Zimbabwe’s economy is expected to have contracted by 7,6 percent this year with prospects for growth dim due to a number of factors, such as endemic corruption and failure to attract foreign direct investment,” the Daily News acknowledged.
The WB, IMF and all the other international financial institutions have just told the Zanu PF regime that they will not give it any financial assistance because the regime’s reform programme is “off-track”. We can be 100% certain that the WB and investors will not be trouping back into Zimbabwe just because Mnangagwa and Chamisa shook hands and formed a new GNU, especially when they know it will not implement any democratic reforms, just as the 2008 GNU failed to do.
There is no cause for all this “nostalgic” hysteria over a new GNU; just a continuum of the pointless caucus race of the last 40 years.
What Zimbabwe needs is to finally stop wasting time and treasure and implement the all important democratic reforms and end this curse of rigged elections and bad governance. Zanu PF and MDC will never ever implement the reforms, a new GNU will not change that. We need to get a new body that will.
POLICE are appealing to people with information on officers living larger than their professional earnings, to come forward and assist in ongoing lifestyle audits meant to flush out and prosecute corrupt officers.
The audits were launched in 2017, following allegations that most police officers were driving around in expensive vehicles, while some owned a fleet of commuter omnibuses and pirate taxis, a lifestyle which maybe questionable considering their earnings.
A lifestyle audit involves verification of an individual’s personal expenditure patterns to determine if they are consistent with their sources of income that include salary.
Those who fail the audit will be charged in terms of the law, with a possibility of being dismissed from the police service.
In an interview, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the audits were ongoing and extended a call to those with information on officers with wealth that is not commensurate with their earnings, to assist the audit teams.
“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.
“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,” Asst Comm Nyathi said.
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.
Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda has urged political parties to take action against members who abscond parliamentary sessions. Adv Mudenda made the ruling in the National Assembly last Thursday as he expressed concern over “apparent dereliction of duty” by legislators.
Zanu PF has two thirds majority in Parliament, while MDC-Alliance has 61 seats with National Patriotic Front (NPF) and an Independent candidate, Temba Mliswa, having a seat each.
Adv Mudenda said on three occasions since last year, Parliament was been forced to adjourn due to lack of a quorum.
“The chair is deeply concerned about the apparent dereliction of duty by the Honourable Members who absent themselves after registering their names on that day’s register resulting in the adjournment of the House due to lack of quorum.
“Consequently, the chair rules that with immediate effect, all Honourable Members who are absent when the House adjourns due to lack of quorum will not be paid their sitting allowances for that day,” he said.
“To that end, the chair is directing the Clerk of Parliament to compile a list of those Honourable Members who will have been absent with the view of disallowing their allowance in future. Further, I am also directing the Clerk of Parliament to prepare a list of members who are consistently absent when there is no quorum in the House for sharing with their respective political parties who must take corrective action accordingly.”
He said his decision is in line with Section 137 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and Parliamentary Standing Orders.
According to standing orders a quorum consists of 75 National Assembly members.
Nursing staff at Masvingo Provincial Hospital on Saturday reportedly panicked unnecessarily after a woman, who had just arrived from Dubai, visited the institution with mild flu.
Some rushed to conclude she had coronavirus (COVID-19), considering she had recently been out of the country.
The news spread through social media with others stating, as a fact, that the woman had the virus. However, upon closer observation by senior health personnel at the institution, the woman was found to be asymptomatic to coronavirus as she neither had high temperatures nor fever among other symptoms. She was sent home after being attended to.
Dismissing the social media reports, Masvingo Hospital medical superintendent, Dr Julius Chirengwa said the woman referred to, had no symptoms of the virus and was only suffering from ordinary flu.
“The woman who is being talked about came to hospital on Saturday, having returned from a recent visit to Dubai and she did not even show symptoms of coronavirus.
“She was suffering from ordinary flu and there was nothing to suggest that she had coronavirus. She only visited the hospital as a precautionary measure,’’ said Dr Chirengwa.
“She was immediately released and went home and we just recommended self-quarantine as a precautionary measure but she never showed symptoms of coronavirus, its just the usual rumours on social media.’’
Recently, about 22 people went into self quarantine in Masvingo city as a precautionary measure having returned into the country from outside coronavirus hot spots around the world.
Former Bikita West legislator Munyaradzi Kereke’s chamber application for leave to prosecute his appeal at the Supreme Court in a case in which he is challenging the conviction and 14 years in prison for rape, has been rejected.
Justice Jacob Manzunzu tossed out the application on a technicality that it was defective for non-compliance with the rules of the court.
The judge concurred with lawyer, Mr Charles Warara, representing the guardian of the minor child who was raped by Kereke.
It was Mr Warara’s submission that there was no application before the court because the papers were defective as they did not comply with the rules, in particular that the application was not supported by an affidavit.
Further, the judgment of the court that was being appealed against was not made part of the application to be considered by the judge.
However, Kereke who was a self- actor in the matter, insisted that his papers were in order as they stood amended in terms of the court rules.
But Justice Manzunzu found that a chamber application should be supported by an affidavit.
Even an amended chamber application, which the former legislator filed with the court in an attempt to cure the defect could not help him.
“In casu (present case), the chamber application is incurably bad. With or without an application to amend the fact remains that the application is fatally defective and cannot be cured by whatever means,” said Justice Manzunzu.
The judge also accepted Mr Warara’s argument that there was no application before the court and struck off the application for its non-compliance with the rules.
Kereke was in 2016 jailed for 14 years for raping his then 10-year-old niece at gunpoint.
Four years of his jail time were suspended on condition of good behaviour. He was also acquitted on another charge of indecently assaulting the rape victim’s elder sister.
POLICE have exhumed the body of a 24- year-old Shurugwi man who was tied to a tree and tortured for allegedly stealing 70 grammes of gold worth US$3 400 at Bred Farm.
Fabian Mabhugu died on March 1 while admitted to Gweru Provincial Hospital from injuries sustained following his alleged 24-hour torture at the hands of thugs hired by miner Willard Mugadza.
Mabhugu was exhumed on Saturday at the instigation of his family who have requested a second post-mortem to validate the first report.
Mugadza briefly appeared before Shurugwi resident magistrate Ms Sithabile Zungula on Thursday facing one count each of murder and abduction.
He was remanded out of custody to March 24 on $1 000 bail.
Mabhugu was a part-time driver for Mugadza popularly known as Dread Welly.
He was allegedly abducted together with his friend Lenny Hwehwe (25) after their boss claimed they had under-declared gold by 70 grammes
Mabhugu’s elder sister, Theresa, said her brother’s body which had been laid to rest at Mount Dore Cemetery at Bonza Farm in Shurugwi last Thursday was exhumed on Saturday by the police.
Theresa said the post-mortem report which was produced before Ms Sithabile Zungula during the brief appearance of Mugadza cited the cause of death as undetermined.
“Yes, my brother’s body was exhumed by the police on Saturday and taken to Harare for a second post-mortem opinion since we were not happy with the first post-mortem result which said that the cause of his death is indeterminable,” she said.
“The post-mortem was done by a Bulawayo pathologist and as a family we felt that it was flawed and as a result allegedly influenced the High Court’s decision to order the lower court to release Mugadza on bail.”
She said her brother, who was allegedly tortured while tied to a tree, had visible marks from his head to the toe.
“We therefore wonder why the pathologist would say the cause is indeterminable. So, we lodged a complaint after the release of Mugadza from prison and we were given police officers who guarded the grave from the day it was buried until it was exhumed,” said Theresa.
“We were shocked to see the post-mortem report being produced in court on Thursday when as family, we had been told by the police that it was going to be ready for collection the following day.”
It is the State case that Mabhugu and Hwehwe were allegedly driven to Chirumanzu where they were tortured over two days.
Mabhugu was allegedly stripped naked and tied to a tree.
Acting Midlands Provincial spokesperson Assistant Inspector Ethel Mukwende said police are investigating several individuals who participated in abducting Mabhugu and Hwehwe.
Secretary for Health and Child Care, Dr Agnes Mahomva
This information is for travellers who have been to countries or territories with confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19).
As part of its efforts to strengthen Zimbabwe’s fight against the spread of COVID-19 from affected countries, the Government advises that as a country we continue to be guided by, and follow World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines and advice on travel requirements.
As such all travellers from countries with confirmed COVID-19 cases are screened at ports of entry on arrival.
Please note that travellers arriving from countries with local transmission of Covid-19 are in addition to being screened, advised to self-quarantine for 21-days.
Self-quarantine means staying at home and avoiding situations that could facilitate the transmission of the coronavirus such as;
Going to school or other crowded places
Social gatherings and events where you may meet many people
On arrival, travellers with signs and symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath) are immediately ferried to designated isolation centres (such as Wilkins Hospital) for further clinical management and assistance.
Recommendations for travellers Travellers from affected areas intending to come to Zimbabwe should delay or avoid travel if they have a febrile illness. We advise that travellers from countries with local transmission should subject themselves to clinical screening by their medical practitioner before they travel in order to get a medical certificate that indicates that they are clear of signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
Equally, it is critical for ALL travellers to avoid unnecessary travels to and from countries with confirmed cases.
All travellers are also advised to practice good personal hygiene including washing hands with soap and water frequently, covering the nose and mouth with tissue paper or flexed elbow when coughing and sneezing as well as follow proper food hygiene practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
Inserted by Secretary for Health and Child Care, Dr Agnes Mahomva
BULAWAYO mayor Councillor Solomon Mguni yesterday called on the people of Matabeleland region to rise above political differences and come in their numbers for the main programme of the Independence Day celebrations held in the city for the first time since 1980.
Harare province has hosted the past 39 Independence Day celebrations and the Government last year, in line with its devolution thrust, resolved to decentralise the main programme of national events.
Bulawayo province was since been selected to host this year’s main Independence Day at the iconic Barbourfields Stadium.
In an interview yesterday, Clr Mguni lauded the Government for taking national events to other provinces in the country.
“This is a good development for the city and the region. Therefore, residents must rise above politics and participate in this as it’s for a national cause. These national events should be devolved to other centres and communities so that people in those areas feel that they are part of the country. It was not good that all national events were being held in Harare, the country is bigger than Harare,” said Clr Mguni.
He said the City of Bulawayo is also looking forward to economically benefitting through hosting the national event.
Clr Mguni said he is hoping Government would also provide necessary resources towards hosting of Independence Day celebrations.
“We also want to encourage Government to assist us in sprucing up infrastructure that is going to be used during the day. We need assistance in rehabilitating our roads. Some of our roads are in bad shape because of the rains so we want assistance in rehabilitating them as we are anticipating increased traffic flows. We also have water problems that we hope Government would chip in to address as the city host the momentous event,” said Clr Mguni.
He said as Bulawayo hosts Independence Day, the city is also cognisant of the coronavirus (COVID-19) that is causing havoc globally and has been confirmed in the neighbouring South Africa.
Clr Mguni said Government should provide adequate health care materials to the city to improve the city’s health preparedness in anticipation of increased volumes of people visiting the city.
Acting Bulawayo provincial development coordinator Mrs Khonzani Ncube said the province has started to mobilise resources and people to attend the national event.
“This is a national event and we don’t want it to be politicised. Already our teams are on the ground mobilising people to attend the event. There is no excuse for members of the public not to attend. Buses are going to pick up residents to and from Barbourfields,” said Mrs Ncube.
She said Government was working with business community, sports, art sector, civic society, the church among other societal institutions to make the event a success.
State Media|Government will not hide any case or death related to coronavirus in the country and should there be any confirmed case, information will immediately be available and recourse taken.
Only laboratory tests can confirm Covid-19 and these are done locally and other specimen are also sent to South Africa for confirmatory purposes.
To date, three of the five suspected cases sent for isolation at Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital, have since tested negative.
One of the suspected cases is under isolation and health workers are running all necessary tests. Another male adult has also been quarantined and was being monitored after travelling from Italy.
He has no COVID-19 symptoms and test results were negative.
In an interview yesterday following the death of a Mutare-based Chinese woman, Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Obadiah Moyo said subsequent laboratory tests were negative of the virus.
The woman had returned from China on January 24, but presented to her doctor on March 6 complaining of shortness of breath.
She was referred to Wilkins Hospital for Covid-19 tests, but died on her way.
“There is no reason why we should hide such a condition of international importance. Once we get confirmation, we will immediately circulate to everyone because there are also precautionary measures to be taken at individual level, so there is no reason for us to hide any confirmed case,” said Dr Moyo.
He said after all, Zimbabwe was not the only country at risk of the disease adding that many other countries, including neighbouring South Africa have since confirmed cases.
In a statement yesterday, the Health and Child Care Ministry says preparedness measures have been stepped up through heightened surveillance at national, provincial and district level with special focus on all ports of entry.
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The statement advises the public to be guided by its COVID-19 Situation Reports (SitReps) that are issued frequently.
South Africa yesterday confirmed a third case of coronavirus involving the wife of the first patient.
All the three confirmed cases were part of a group of 10 people who had travelled to Italy, nine of whom returned to South Africa.
South Africa’s Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize said results of the other six travellers were expected by tomorrow.
“This morning we received results of the direct contact of the first patient, his wife. She had also travelled with him to Italy as part of the group of 10. I now wish to advise the public that she has tested positive for Covid-19 and is therefore the third confirmed case in South Africa.
“We expected the results of the other six group members who had travelled to Italy within the next 48 hours,” said Dr Mkhize.
He also noted that the first patient’s children tested negative, but were still under surveillance.
Meanwhile, SADC is convening an emergency meeting of all SADC Health Ministers, scheduled to take place today in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Government through the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services tweeted that Health ministers are expected to come up with a position regarding member States’ preparedness.
“An emergency meeting of all SADC Health ministers is being convened to take place on Monday 9 March in Dar es Salaam, where a position will be taken on the preparedness of the member countries as they pave the way forward on how to tackle Coronavirus in the region,” reads the post.
To date, about 3 700 people have died of coronavirus in different parts of the world and over 102 000 others have been tested positive.
State Media|It is now compulsory for all children to attend school from early childhood development (ECD) level before Grade One all the way to Form Four and parents who deprive their children of those 12 years of education can be fined or jailed for up to two years.
The Education Amendment Act gazetted on Friday states in two clauses that “every child shall be entitled to compulsory basic State-funded education” and that “any parent who deprives their child of the right to basic State-funded education shall be guilty of an offence”.
The maximum fine for parents found guilty is level 6, now set at $4 800, or to a maximum of two years’ imprisonment. Magistrates have discretion to impose lighter fines or lower jail terms, depending on mitigating and aggravating features. Thus a well-off person next door to a suitable school is more likely to be hammered with a steep fine or jail term than a poor parent far from a school, but who promises to reform instantly.
The clauses replace a non-mandatory clause that stated compulsory primary education was an objective and parents had a duty to send their children to primary school.
The same amendment Act defines basic State-funded education as education from ECD up to Form Four, adult education up to Form Four, and any other category declared by the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education in a gazetted notice.
The same definition states that pupils shall not be required to pay fees or levies and that the State shall provide them with learning and teaching material, facilities, infrastructure and resources.
However the amendment Act does not abolish school fees and in fact in another amended clause states that the Education Minister shall continue to set school fees at State schools and when doing so shall take into account the “location and status” of the schools.
No administrative details have been announced yet on how the compulsory clauses will be implemented, but the ministry policy in the past has been that parents who can afford to pay fees should pay, and that schools should sue parents who can but do not. At the same time the Government has introduced funds to pay fees of children whose parents cannot afford them and the budget for this was increased this year.
The amendment Act also brings into law administrative policies already followed by the Ministry. First no pupil can be excluded from school for non-payment of school fees; and secondly every child of school-going age is entitled to be enrolled at the primary or secondary Government school nearest to their home unless that school is already full, when the head of the school must issue a written certificate stating this. This second clause significantly strengthens a previous clause now repealed.
These two clauses should help to create the necessary administrative climate to enforce compulsory education.
While most Zimbabwean families do send their children to school until form four, there is a significant minority who do not, with teenage girls particularly in danger of early withdrawal from the school system either through parental poverty or because of serious ultra-traditionalist views of the place of women in society, usually by parents who also believe in early marriage of girls.
Girls get further support in the amendment Act. The State now has to ensure the provision of sanitary ware and other menstrual health facilities to girls in all schools and “no pupil can be excluded from school … on the basis of pregnancy”.
The rights of all in education are enhanced.
No one can now “be discriminated against by the imposition of onerous terms and conditions in regard to his or her admission to, suspended, excluded or expelled from any school on the grounds of his or her nationality, race, colour, tribe, place of birth, ethnic or social origin, language, class, religious belief, political affiliation, opinion, custom, culture, sex, gender, marital status, age, pregnancy, disability or economic or social status, or whether they were born in or out of wedlock.”
Local authorities have to provide land for school infrastructure.
Non-Government schools are now placed in two categories for the required registration. Government, local authority and “non-profit faith-based schools” do not have to pay registration or annual fees. Non-Government schools not falling in to the non-profit faith-based category must pay the prescribed fees. There has been a growing number of private schools run as businesses in recent years.
The long debate over language teaching has been resolved in the amended Act in a single clause.
In the first sub-clause, every school shall endeavour to teach every officially recognised language, a declaration of desire rather than compulsion, but must ensure that the language of instruction is the language of examination and ensure that the mother tongue id the language of instruction at early childhood education, two declarations of compulsion.
The Minister’s power op regulation have been extended to include the use of emerging technologies, the manner of conducting feeding schemes and how to manage cases if sexual abuse.
Pupil discipline is now moved into law from the previous position of administrative policy.
Responsible authorities have to draw up a disciplinary policy for all schools, meeting standards set out in the Minister’s regulations.
Neither the Minister’s regulations nor the school policies shall permit treatment that does not respect the dignity of the pupil, or that amounts to physical or psychological torture, or to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
Disciplinary measures must be moderate, reasonable and proportionate in light of conduct, age, sex health and circumstances of the pupil and must be in the best interests of the child. No pupil can be suspended without first being granted, with their parents, to make representations. Caning is totally banned.
Disabled pupils get a break. All registered schools shall provide infrastructure, s”subject to availability of resources” suitable for use by pupils with disabilities and the Secretary of the Ministry shall monitor and enter the premises of all registered schools to ensure the rights of pupils with disabilities are taken into account during teaching and learning. All schools have to submit a plan when setting fees explaining how they shall advance the rights of pupils with disabilities.
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
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
MDC youth assembly would like to state categorically, without fear of contradictions, that we will not fold hands while the regime attempts to use every platform necessary and unnecessary to destabilize the movement.
The regime wants to use all the avenues including the Supreme Court judgement to destabilize the party by parroting an idea that a judgement will be issued to choose new leadership for the MDC.
There are those, for reasons best known to themselves, who believe that such a time will come when Zanu PF will foist a leadership on us. Never.
On cheap corruption allegations against the party, this is a fabricated narrative to divert us from the real crisis affecting the people of Zimbabwe.
Their intention is to equalize our party with Zanu, whose corrupt oligarchy have stashed loot worth a whopping US$7 billion outside the country, according to ZACC.
We, therefore, state as follows:
The Movement for Democratic Change gathered in Gweru on the 26th of May 2019 at our 5th national congress elected a leadership whose outcome is a matter and fact of public knowledge.
No leader of this great movement will emerge from Zanu PF.
The President is not a signatory to any party account.
This is a task constitutionally mandated to the Secretary-General and the Treasurer General who are signatories and anything related to party funds shall be unveiled in the audit report.
The people must know that this is a hatchet job to malign and besmirch the character and image of our leadership.
Those who in their infinite wisdom, or lack of it thereof, are made to believe that there is or they can be another leadership outside that of President Chamisa and his team are day-dreaming.
As the vanguard of the party, whose key values are justice, freedom and solidarity, we respect anyone’s freedom to lead the movement, but only through a democratic process as the one we conducted in Gweru. Those imagining themselves at 44 Nelson Mandela without the popular mandate of the people must wake up from their slumber.
We will not allow such shenanigans.
Our focus is and shall be on taking the fight to the doorstep of this callous, brutal and ruthless regime.
Our sole intention is to transform the concrete realities of our people.
Wamba is in charge!
Until victory
Aluta continua
Comrade Ostallos
Secretary-General
MDC Youth assembly
MDC youth assembly would like to state categorically, without fear of contradictions, that we will not fold hands while the regime attempts to use every platform necessary and unnecessary to destabilize the movement.
The regime wants to use all the avenues including the Supreme Court judgement to destabilize the party by parroting an idea that a judgement will be issued to choose new leadership for the MDC.
There are those, for reasons best known to themselves, who believe that such a time will come when Zanu PF will foist a leadership on us. Never.
On cheap corruption allegations against the party, this is a fabricated narrative to divert us from the real crisis affecting the people of Zimbabwe.
Their intention is to equalize our party with Zanu, whose corrupt oligarchy have stashed loot worth a whopping US$7 billion outside the country, according to ZACC.
We, therefore, state as follows:
The Movement for Democratic Change gathered in Gweru on the 26th of May 2019 at our 5th national congress elected a leadership whose outcome is a matter and fact of public knowledge.
No leader of this great movement will emerge from Zanu PF.
The President is not a signatory to any party account.
This is a task constitutionally mandated to the Secretary-General and the Treasurer General who are signatories and anything related to party funds shall be unveiled in the audit report.
The people must know that this is a hatchet job to malign and besmirch the character and image of our leadership.
Those who in their infinite wisdom, or lack of it thereof, are made to believe that there is or they can be another leadership outside that of President Chamisa and his team are day-dreaming.
As the vanguard of the party, whose key values are justice, freedom and solidarity, we respect anyone’s freedom to lead the movement, but only through a democratic process as the one we conducted in Gweru. Those imagining themselves at 44 Nelson Mandela without the popular mandate of the people must wake up from their slumber.
We will not allow such shenanigans.
Our focus is and shall be on taking the fight to the doorstep of this callous, brutal and ruthless regime.
Our sole intention is to transform the concrete realities of our people.
Wamba is in charge!
Until victory
Aluta continua
Comrade Ostallos
Secretary-General
MDC Youth assembly
On the 8th of March, we celebrate International Women’s Day.
A day set aside to recognize the achievements of women from political, economic to social, whilst calling for women’s rights.
This presents a perfect opportunity for ARTUZ to not only recognize the contribution of female comrades to the work of the union but to also celebrate female rural teachers.
ARTUZ will set aside the month of March to cast the spotlight on the strong women who have remained resolute in the face of oppression, difficult working conditions and a collapsing education system.
In line with the 2020 IWD theme, I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights the women’s March campaign will bring to light the lived realities of the female rural teacher highlighting the inequalities she endures.
Through their own stories, ARTUZ members will show the world their struggles, their dedication to their profession as well as their fearless fight for labour justice.
This women’s day is a special one as it marks 25 years after the Beijing Platform for action.
As we reflect on the state of women’s rights it is important to leave no woman behind.
Equality will remain out of our reach if the struggles of some women remain invisible.
ARTUZ will use this opportunity to give visibility women teaching in rural areas so that as agendas are shaped their struggles are not forgotten.
Women’s labour issues need to be at the centre of the equality discourse. It is imperative to highlight these issues and ensure that we all work together to address them.
Zimbabweans from all walks of life have that female teacher who shaped they are today. So we call on all of you to join us in celebrating female teachers as well as to support their struggles.
ARTUZ Gender and social welfare office
+263772868836
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
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
By A Correspondent| Primary and Secondary Education ministry permanent secretary Tumisang Thabela has urged teachers to sacrifice more time with struggling examination class pupils to catch up, but warned against charging parents money for the tutorials.
Speaking to the media in Shurugwi on Thursday on the sidelines of a handover ceremony of a bus to Impali Primary School and new laboratory block for Selukwe Chrome Secondary School – both projects funded by Unki Mine to the tune of US$300 000, Thabela said she used to dedicate more time for pupils herself when she was still a teacher.
“I am a teacher, I used to hold extra lessons in the evening for boarding learners and even during the weekends, but it was just to catch up, it had nothing to do with money,” she said.
“If the teacher says I think we are behind and arranges with the parents and the pupils to come for extra lessons and there is no cost passed on to parents, I think that will be good also. As government, we would want such arrangements. However, there should be no charge for such extra-lessons.”
The permanent secretary’s statements come at a time teachers in Midlands schools are charging between US$5 and US$10 per subject for extra lessons, to augment their meagre salaries.
However, Thabela said government policy is that no parent must be charged to have their children taught by teachers outside normal hours or on weekends.
She said government would crack the whip on any teacher found charging money for extra lessons.
“Holding extra lessons at a cost is not allowed and those found doing the opposite will be disciplined,” she warned.-Newsday
By Own Correspondent| Four members of the police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) here have found themselves in trouble after a man from whom they extorted US$400 after accusing him of engaging in illegal activities, wrote to the police boss demanding his money back.
Tafirei Mark Mandizha alleges that sometime in January this year, police detectives approached his place of residence Northwood looking for him but he was away in Harare.
Mandizha’s maid informed the detectives that her boss was not home and would return the following day.
The four detectives only identified as Mazhambe, Dondo, Mupazviripo and Nezanyuta returned the following morning and found Mandizha back and allegedly searched his premises without a search warrant accusing him of engaging in illicit deals.
Mandizha alleges that the search was characterized by threats and harassments and was called outside his house by Mazhambe and Dondo who demanded US$1 000 cash for them to stop investigating him.
Mandizha alleges that he told the detectives that he only had US$100 but that offer was rejected before the detectives settled for US$400.
In a complaint letter dated February 04, 2020, and addressed to the Officer in Charge Chivhu Police, Mandizha claims that after paying the money, he was threatened with unspecified actions if the matter ever came to light.
“My wife and I were harassed in front of our maid and kids as one of the detectives was holding a gun. They searched everywhere even in my cars saying that I was partaking in deals that give me a lot of money and that their bosses had instructed them to launch the raid.
“Dondo and Mazhambe, on behalf of others, demanded US$1 000 so they could leave me alone but I told them I did not have that money. After more threats, I was terrified and told them that I only had US$100 but they rejected it and pushed the figure to US$400. We had to go to town to my nephew where I borrowed another US$300,” alleges Mandizha.
Contacted for comment, Mashonaland East provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza said he had not received the letter but will make inquiries.
By Nomusa Garikai| “After swimming around in Alice’s pool of tears, the animals need to dry off, and the Dodo recommends a caucus race. There are no rules; all of the participants run haphazardly around in no particular direction, and everyone wins.”
Lewis Carroll: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Ever since Zimbabwe’s rigged July 2018 elections (why MDC has disputed the result beggars belief since they knew Zanu PF rigging the elections and they, like all the other opposition parties participated regardless) the country has grappled the challenge of the economic meltdown.
(MDC leaders like Tendai Biti insisted the economic meltdown was worse under Mnangagwa than it was under Mugabe, a bit of self-indulgence nonsense as futile as comparing cobra to a black mamba – they are both deadly snakes.)
How to revive the nation’s economy has therefore become the country’s primary concern – the equivalent of getting wet animals to dry off.
Alice questioned the logic of a race in which there is no starting line, no finish line, no rules. But even the Dodo would question Zimbabwe’s caucus race for not only are there no rules but worse still, after one and half years of running around like headless chickens the economic is sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss.
Someone has seeded the idea that getting Zimbabwe’s main political leaders, Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa to meet will solve all the nation’s political and economic problems. There is nothing to support this, indeed all the evidence show this is a waste of time but that is exactly why it is a caucus race. The race has been gathering momentum as more and more people joined in.
“Like SADC, the church also tried to cajole the main political protagonists to put the people first and their interests behind, but met a brick-wall from the politicians who now stand accused by political observers of being selfish and myopic,” reported one of Zimbabwe’s leading papers, Daily News.
“A deadly cocktail of high unemployment that stands at over 90 percent, the devastating effects of a drought that has left more than 5,7 million people exposed to extreme poverty and inflation that stands over 500 percent only means that for nostalgic Zimbabweans the past where a unity governance brought some stability to the economy is more ideal.”
Zimbabweans have had two national elections post the 2008 to 2013 GNU in which to reflect over the events of that period. The primary purpose of the GNU was to implement the raft of democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 Global Political Agreement.
Lest we forget, the GNU was necessary because not even SADC and the AU, known for endorsing dodgy elections, would accept Zanu PF’s claim of electoral victory of the 2008 given the blatant cheating in the March vote count and the wanton violence in the run-off that followed. The raft of reforms were designed to ensure there will be no repeat of the same cheating and violence.
The 2008 GNU failed to get even one reform implemented and hence the reason Zanu PF was able to blatantly rig the 2013 and then 2018 elections.
The economic “stability” the 2008 GNU brought was transient, as we can now see with the economic meltdown. There was no significant inward investment because investors and lenders were disappointed with the failure to implement the political reforms.
“According to the World Bank, Zimbabwe’s economy is expected to have contracted by 7,6 percent this year with prospects for growth dim due to a number of factors, such as endemic corruption and failure to attract foreign direct investment,” the Daily News acknowledged.
The WB, IMF and all the other international financial institutions have just told the Zanu PF regime that they will not give it any financial assistance because the regime’s reform programme is “off-track”.
We can be 100% certain that the WB and investors will not be trouping back into Zimbabwe just because Mnangagwa and Chamisa shook hands and formed a new GNU, especially when they know it will not implement any democratic reforms, just as the 2008 GNU failed to do.
There is no cause for all this “nostalgic” hysteria over a new GNU; just a continuum of the pointless caucus race of the last 40 years.
What Zimbabwe needs is to finally stop wasting time and treasure and implement the all important democratic reforms and end this curse of rigged elections and bad governance. Zanu PF and MDC will never ever implement the reforms, a new GNU will not change that. We need to get a new body that will.
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has appealed to Zanu PF supporters to stick with the ruling party despite the deepening economic problems in the country.
Mnangagwa was speaking at a rally at the Matizha business centre in Serima, Gutu on Friday where thousands of Zanu PF supporters were bussed to the venue.
He said the multifaceted crisis facing the country should not drive ruling party supporters away from Zanu PF.
“You know where we are coming from and where we are going,” Mnangagwa said.
“We got problems as a country. But these are not problems that can force you to leave the party. These are problems that unite us to build our country.
“Yes, we have economic challenges, but they will pass.
“We shall come to a time when we shall say we went through hardships and hunger, but the period of plenty is coming.
“I do not think next year is a drought period…..In the night, defend your party, during the day defend your party, whether you went to bed without eating or not.”
Zimbabwe is in the grip of hyperinflation and is struggling with shortages of foreign currency, fuel, medicines, mealie meal and rolling power cuts, among others.
The International Monetary Fund recently warned that without genuine political dialogue in Zimbabwe, chances of an economic turnaround were dim.
Mnangagwa has refused to engage in direct talks with his main rival Nelson Chamisa, who is challenging his legitimacy following the controversial 2018 elections.
On Friday the Zanu PF leader described Masvingo as a “one-party state” after the ruling party won 25 seats out of 26 seats in the 2018 general elections.
“Masvingo is a one-party state,” he said.
“The leadership and structures are strong from the grassroots to the top.
“Your coming here in your thousands shows that the structures are working.
“Of course, there may be one or two who are not party members, it is there and understandable.”
Mnangagwa poured scorn on Chamisa for continuing to challenge his election victory, saying the stance would not change anything.
“We want peace and harmony in our country. We want a relationship and interaction based on non-violence,” he said.
“We do not want violence, burning of property and blocking roads. We want unity.
“Of course, we have to disagree, but whatever we do, we must debate, not to say if I don’t get my way, nothing will go ahead.
“The sun will rise and set, January will come and go till December, while you are saying I won the elections, and we rule and rule while you are still stuck in the 2018 elections.
GOVERNMENT’S decision to licence a number of service stations to sell fuel in foreign currency as the Emmerson Mnangagwa administration battles to rein in recalcitrant economic problems has irked public transport operators and motorists with no access to the foreign currency.
The development comes after the government also authorised Zimra to collect revenue in United States (US) dollars.
This week, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) invited more fuel companies to sell fuel in foreign currency following a similar nod to Zuva Petroleum last month after the government had banned the use of US dollar in the market last year.
Motorists who spoke to NewsDay Weekender said it was now more difficult to find fuel at service stations selling in local currency amid fears that much of the fuel was now being channelled to the black market where it fetched more.
A furious Harare-based commuter omnibus operator, Jason Mandizha, said it was problematic to sell fuel in US dollars to operators charging for their services in the local currency.
“Quite honestly, the economics do not make sense. It may seem cruel to charge $12 or $15 a trip, but if you can only get the fuel when you pay forex, or on the black market, where it is very expensive, what can you do? Such an economic model is designed to push small players out of business, simple,” Mandizha said.
He said government needed to find better ways to resolve the fuel crisis and ensure that sanity returned to the sector.
The authorisation of fuel companies to sell in hard currency is a testament of policy inconsistency and a clear message that the economy was redollarising.
His sentiments confirmed former Finance minister Tendai Biti’s assertions in an earlier interview with NewsDay Weekender that the current challenges in the economy were associated with government’s reluctance to fully redollarise.
“Look at the huge queues for fuel, the massive shortage of power, the massive shortage of basic commodities; look at the social crisis, the closure of hospitals and schools, inflation, growth in money supply over 300% from January to October 2019, so the government is already feeling the effects of the mad decision of introducing a currency when conditions did not exist that can sustain a local currency,” Biti said.
Social commentator Robert Mhishi said as long as they were sectors that were allowed to trade in foreign currency, it was going to be difficult to rationalise trade in the country as every other entrepreneur would peg their prices in US dollars.
“This accounts for the serious price fluctuations that we are seeing now simply because the prices in local currency are just chasing the dollar,” he said.
“It is going to be difficult to tell traders to sell in bond notes because they will tell you that they are buying their fuel, which is a key cost driver, either in foreign currency or on the parallel market were prices are very high.”
He said it was in the best interests of both the government and the population to officially re-dollarise.
“I foresee a situation whereby we will be back to the US dollar because the market sets the pace. And from what we see now, it’s the same thing that happened back in 2009. By the time the government officially adopted the multi-currency regime, the market had already dollarised.”
The current situation, according to Biti, seemed designed to reduce a section of the population into paupers, while others smiled all the way to the bank.
He said there was a lot of confusion in the market because of the different currencies in official circulation.
“If you look at the Financial Bill number 3 of 2019 or the 2020 budget statement, three quarters of the revenue measures that were passed in the Finance Bill, government legalised and authorised itself to collect tax in US dollars, whether VAT (value-added tax), capital goods and levies and duty or any form of tax. It’s madness that you pauperise others, but you are trying to protect yourselves by continuing to collect and legalise the US dollar, that’s the madness of this regime,” the former Finance minister charged.
“So, we effectively have four currencies, the US dollar which is legal in certain sectors and multi-currencies which are not illegal for all of us, then we have EcoCash, then you have the bond note, then we have the RTGS. What kind of country is that?”
Several economists have also indicated that licensing more fuel dealers to trade in foreign currency could send conflicting signals following the government’s drive to de-dollarise.
Last month, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe instructed Zera to register all fuel service stations with free funds that could be used to import fuel for sale in foreign currency.
Charging goods and services in foreign currency was outlawed last year through statutory instrument 142 of 2019, which restored the Zimbabwe dollar after a 10-year hiatus, following the scrapping of the local unit, which had been ravaged by hyper inflation.
Zimbabwe has six major oil-importing entities that include the Indigenous Petroleum Association of Zimbabwe Ipaz, Zuva Petroleum, Puma Energy, Total Zimbabwe, Petrotrade (Pvt) Ltd and Engen Petroleum Zimbabwe.
Sakunda and Redan were some of the key members of Ipaz until they were taken over by related companies, Puma Energy and the Singaporean-based Trafigura group, one of the world’s leading commodity trading companies.
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu-PF fear a popular uprising by ordinary Zimbabweans who are enduring the worst economic crisis in the country for a decade, expelled former Zanu-PF youth leader Godfrey Tsenengamu has revealed.
This comes as the church, regional peers and Western powers are stepping up their pressure on Mnangagwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa to get to the negotiating table, in a bid to turn around the country’s sagging fortunes.
To make matters worse for the country, the ruling party is struggling to contain growing fissures within its ranks — which are approximating the ugly levels that led to the dramatic ouster from power of former president Robert Mugabe via a military coup in November 2017.
Speaking to the Daily News On Sunday yesterday in an exclusive interview, Tsenengamu – who says he now feels “free” to express his views openly, claimed that the centre no longer held in Zanu-PF which expelled him last Wednesday, for allegedly denigrating the party’s top leadership, including Mnangagwa.
“These people are very much aware that they are underperforming in government, but are putting on brave faces.
“They know that things are not well in the country. So, they will not allow anyone in the party to say the truth because that would cause trouble for them.
“They will chase away anyone who reasons. That is why you see them choosing words like anarchy, negative shows, sideshows. You can literally touch the desperation in them,” Tsenengamu let rip.
The fearless former youth leaguer, who has now been expelled from Zanu-PF for the second time, also confirmed that there was serious discord in the ruling party, which he claimed was affecting progress and delivery in government.
This comes as there has been widespread but unconfirmed talk that Mnangagwa is allegedly at odds with his deputy and former army general Constantino Chiwenga — the man who catapulted him into the presidency in 2017 through the coup that felled Mugabe.
“If you look at the party, it is not only the leadership, but also … the grassroots that is in flux. We have a problem within the top leadership because they are not sincere and true to their words.
“They are always playing games, playing hide and seek with each other. There is a lot of mistrust among the leadership. It is saddening that we might witness the same scenarios that we witnessed during the G40 (Generation 40) era.
“This is the beginning of chaos in the party that has so many lawyers who chose to ignore their own constitution and ignore corruption,” the unleashed Tsenengamu told the Daily News On Sunday.
“There is a lot that is happening in the party that shows clearly that the centre can longer hold,” he said further .
The former youth league national political commissar was cut loose last Wednesday by Zanu-PF’s politburo, days after he also let rip at Mnangagwa for allegedly “reneging on his earlier promises” made before he ascended to power.
Then, Tsenengamu had been on suspension, together with former youth league secretary Pupurai Togarepi and his deputy Lewis Matutu, after the trio accused some prominent businesspeople with links to the ruling party of corruption.
Although Togarepi did not take part in the infamous press conference that caused the ensuing ruckus, he also paid the price for allegedly failing to rein-in Tsenengamu and Matutu.
And while Matutu appeared to have heeded the party’s directive to go for ideological re-orientation, Tsenengamu remained defiant — raising temperatures last week when he accused Mnangagwa of mimicking Mugabe’s ways.
Speaking exclusively to our sister paper the Daily News then, Tsenengamu — who was already facing expulsion from Zanu-PF after his home province of Mashonaland East called for his ouster — threw barbs at Mnangagwa for having allegedly failed to “live up to his promises”.
“I was looking at what the president wrote in November 2017 after he had been expelled. He spoke against party capture, vindictiveness … about ideas of making Zimbabwe great again … and against corruption.
“Where has he gone wrong? Maybe it is premature to judge him because he has been in power for a short period of time.
“But I am worried because he has not delivered on his vision. I am hoping that he will deliver,” Tsenengamu said.
He also said that his suspension from Zanu-PF, as well as that of Matutu, was also contrary to the promises Mnangagwa had made in his 2017 speech while he was in short-lived exile in South Africa, after fleeing from Mugabe and his goons.
“In 2017, we said expulsions were wrong and this is exactly what they (Zanu-PF and the ‘new dispensation’) are doing.
“I have been suspended for a year without a hearing and now they are threatening to expel me, again with no reason.
“If you look at the letter that was written by the president when he was in exile, he spoke against corruption and blasted the former president for pursuing his family interests,” Tsenengamu added.
He told the Daily News On Sunday yesterday that things were “falling apart” in Zanu-PF, while claiming further that the leadership was “just putting a show of unity” in public — “masking deeper faulty lines” in the party.
“But they will always avoid discussing issues affecting the party or the country at large. They are in denial. They know we have a crisis in the country, but will always pretend that all is well.
“You see them taking pictures together and having programmes together, but deep down the mistrust runs deep because they are just trying to manage public perception.
“The leadership is not in agreement in terms of how to deal with issues like corruption. There is also no sincerity to unite the party and that is why there was never an attempt to unite the party following the demise of the G40,” Tsenegmau said.
“Those people were Zanu-PF, but only belonging to a different faction. It was a political contestation, but now you see them going after former G40 ministers, taking their farms.
“This raises questions about the quality of our leadership. As long as our leaders are vindictive and survive on toxic politics, we will never have genuine peace and unity in the country.
“I don’t know what they are afraid of. What I discovered while in Zanu-PF is that they are always afraid,” Tsenengamu bellowed further.
“If you look at what they said before they got in power and what they are doing now, it is worlds apart. The crackdown on the opposition and civil society exposes their fears.
“The leaders whom we thought we knew before the new dispensation and those that are leading now are different. “Because they know that people are disgruntled they are always finding ways of silencing dissenting voices,” Tsenengamu said further.
“If you could have them expel me for speaking against corruption, what about those who threaten their power? They will unite on the surface … but remain divided inside,” he added.
Correspondent|ASTON VILLA manager Dean Smith has backed Zimbabwe international Marvelous Nakamba to play an important role in the English Premier League side’s relegation fight after being impressed by his solid performance in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City last Sunday.
The 26-year-old Warriors midfielder was one of Aston Villa’s stand-out performers in his maiden cup final at the iconic Wembley Stadium as he continues to regain his form after a tough spell, but his efforts were in vain as the Birmingham side lost 2-1 to Manchester City.
One of the highlights of the match for Nakamba was undoubtedly his crunching tackle on City’s striker Sergio Aguero in the 72nd minute, which earned him a yellow card although replays suggested he won the ball first while making very little contact with the Argentine forward.
“Villa’s best midfielder in that central (midfield) area, looked bang up for it and put in crucial blocks and made interceptions for fun. “Had a classy look about him, picking apart some of City’s slack passes while, in the second half, put in a crunching tackle on Aguero to get the Villa faithful fired up. He was one of the stand-out performers for Villa at Wembley…needs to find that consistency now,” The Birmingham Mail wrote in their player ratings after the match.
The manner in which Nakamba rose to the occasion on the big stage during the cup final also impressed Villa boss Smith, who on Friday named the Zimbabwean among the players he expects to play a crucial role in his battle against relegation from the top flight.
Villa are facing a quick return to the Championship after just one season back in the Premier League as they are second from bottom on the log and two points from safety ahead of their tough trip to Leicester City tomorrow.
Speaking during Friday’s press conference, Smith said his team’s chances of survival would depend on his high-profile players, who include Nakamba, club skipper Tyrone Mings, highly-rated forward Jack Grealish and Tanzanian striker Mbwana Ally Samatta.
“I thought Marvelous Nakamba against Manchester City was excellent,” Smith said.
“If we’ve got these kind of players on form and performing well, we’ve certainly got a chance (of surviving relegation). The likes of Jack, Tyrone, Ally Samatta’s come in and been a bright sparks for us. They can be really important from now until the end of the season,” he said.
Nakamba’s return to good form after a difficult spell in his debut Premier League campaign comes at a time Villa are facing a tough run of matches, which could determine their survival chances.
After tomorrow’s clash against Leicester at the King Power Stadium, Villa, who have a game in hand after their match with Sheffield United was postponed because of the Carabao Cup final, next face Chelsea at Villa Park next Saturday before matches against Wolves, Liverpool and Manchester United in April.
Smith, however, insists that his charges are up to the task.
“It’s tough but we need to make sure we get the performances from the Tottenham and Manchester City games and not the Southampton game,” he said.
“The consistency in performances is what will get us the points in the bag. There are big games but we’re not fearing them at all. We’re full of respect for them because we know, on our day, we can beat any of them.”
The Mirror|An experiment will see brave volunteers being paid £3,500 to be infected with a form of coronavirus in a bid to find a vaccine.
A willing and able few will have to live in quarantine in a laboratory in east London where they will be infected with two common – but much less serious – strains of the virus that has killed over 3,500 people worldwide so far.
Hvivo, the company which owns the laboratory at Queen Mary BioEnterprises Innovation Centre at Whitechapel in east London, will infect batches of 24 volunteers with the 0C43 and 229E strains of the virus.
These are thought to cause very mild respiratory symptoms and are far less serious than the killer Covid-19 rampaging through the world currently.
However, it is thought a vaccine that can combat these smaller bigs, could take on the killer coronavirus bringing an end to the global panic.
Volunteers will be held in isolation for two weeks, and will not be able to exercise or have physical contact with other people. Their diet will also be restricted. The most effective drugs and vaccines will then be used on real patients.
Nurses and doctors involved will need to wear protective clothing and ventilators while working in the lab and taking nasal swabs, doing blood tests and collecting any dirty tissues infected with the virus.
Hvivo’s plans will have to be agreed by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency before testing can begin, which is aimed at finding effective new viruses and antiviral medications in a contained environment.
The experiment is part of a $2bn (£1.53bn) worldwide race to find a vaccine for the deadly virus, particularly for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.
The reward for finding the vaccine is particularly appealing, and likely to be much higher than the €1.9bn (£1.6bn) French drugmaker Sanofi made from selling huge numbers of flu vaccine last year.
Hvivo’s experiment has attracted the attention of Chinese pharmaceuticals firms, who will be ploughing money into the study.
Cathal Friel, executive chairman of Hvivo’s parent company, Open Orphan, said it placed the company at the “forefront of the fight against the outbreak”.
State Media|INDIGENOUS farmers whose farms were appropriated by Government under the Fast-Track Land Reform Programme can now apply to repossess their land under new regulations gazetted on Friday.
Farms which were protected under Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements (BIPPAs) and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), including those owned by indigenous corporates, could also be returned to their previous owners upon application for repossession.
In terms of Statutory Instrument 62 of 2020 — Land Commission (Gazetted Land) (Disposal in Lieu of Compensation) Regulations, 2020 — former landowners under these categories can either opt for repossession or monetary compensation.
An amendment to the Constitution in 2005 provided for the acquisition by, and vesting of full title in the State, of agricultural land for resettlement purposes.
As a result, all land that had been gazetted for acquisition under the Land Acquisition Act, including that which was owned by indigenous farmers or protected by bilateral treaties, was summarily acquired by the State.
Effectively, this deprived indigenous farmers of land they had duly acquired through purchase, thereby disempowering them in the name of empowering their fellow indigenes.
In addition, the compulsory acquisition of farms protected by international treaties resulted in diplomatic complications for the State, which was accused of failing to respect property rights and international accords.
A senior official in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement, who requested anonymity, told The Sunday Mail that the new regulations are designed to address the wrongful disempowerment of indigenous farmers.
“The way agriculture land was acquired, in a way, disempowered black farmers in the name of empowering landless blacks,” said the official, who is not authorised to talk to the press.
“Also, the way farms which were protected by BIPPAs were acquired was not the way they were supposed to be taken. These are the wrongs that the SI (Statutory Instrument) is trying to address. In essence, these former land owners can opt for either compensation or apply to get their land back.
“Getting the land back is, however, not automatic. There is a process that has to be followed, which includes application and an assessment of the application on a case-by-case basis.”
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi referred questions to the Lands Ministry.
Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Permanent Dr John Basera said he could not comment.
Procedure
Reads the regulations in part: “The object of these regulations is to provide for the disposal of land to persons referred to in Section 4, who are, in terms of Section 295 of the Constitution, entitled to compensation for acquisition of previously compulsorily acquired agricultural land. Identification of persons to whom these regulations apply.
“These regulations apply to the following persons who, before agricultural land owned by them was compulsorily acquired under the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme (hereinafter in these regulations referred to as “acquired agricultural land”), were the owners thereof under a deed of grant or title deed or had completed the purchase of their farms from the State in terms of a lease with an option to purchase — (a) indigenous individual persons (or where such persons are deceased, their legally recognised heirs); (b) individuals who were citizens of a BIPPA or BIT country at the time their investments in agricultural land were compulsorily acquired under the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme (or where such persons are deceased, their legally recognised heirs); (c) partnerships, if the partners who held any farm jointly were — (i) indigenous individuals; or (ii) citizens of a BIPPA or BIT country; (d) private companies whose shareholding is wholly or predominantly owned by — (i) indigenous individuals; or (ii) individuals who were citizens of a BIPPA or BIT country.”
The regulations invite the categorised former land owners to apply to the Lands Minister (Perrance Shiri), who then refers all such applications to a committee chaired by the director of the Department of Lands Management.
The committee then reviews the application before recommending to the Minister whether or not to allot the land in question to the applicant.
The applicant must submit a copy of the deed of grant or title deed or lease and identity documents.
In the case of an applicant who is a citizen of a BIPPA or BIT country, they are required to submit a copy of the relevant BIPPA and a passport showing that the applicant was a citizen of the BIPPA or BIT country when the farm was acquired.
“If in the opinion of the committee — (a) an applicant qualifies to obtain title to a farm in part or in full, the committee shall make the appropriate recommendation to the Minister; (b) an applicant does not qualify to obtain title to a farm in part or in full, the committee shall inform the applicant in writing accordingly and give him or her reasons why he or she does not qualify.
“In considering a recommendation of the committee, the Minister shall invite the Land Commission to make representations, if any, on the recommendation within a period (not being less than seven days) specified by the Minister.
“The Minister may reject any application on the basis that granting it would be contrary to the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, regional or town planning or the general public interest.
“The Minister shall notify every applicant in writing of the outcome of his or her application and, where the application is rejected, the reasons for the rejection.
“The Minister’s decision upon an application shall be final.”
The Sunday Mail has gathered that in cases where a farm has been subdivided to a lot of people who would have settled and are productive, the applicant will be given the option of being reallocated another farm.
Some of the countries covered by BIPPA include Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Malaysia and Switzerland.
A BIPPA is a legal instrument that establishes specific rights and obligations to meet the primary purpose of protecting foreign investments against discriminatory measures like policy inconsistencies by the host state.
In principle, it ensures reciprocal encouragement, promotion and protection of investments, thus enabling conditions conducive to increase investment.
Following acquisition of BIPPA-protected farms by Government, some former owners took Government to the International Court for the Settlement of International Investment Disputes where a group of 40 Dutch farmers won a US$25 million settlement.
Agreements under BIPPA require that Government pay fair compensation in currency of the former owner’s choice for both land and improvements. Official figures show that 197 out of 258 farms measuring 977 000 hectares under BIPPA were acquired for resettlement under both A1 and A2.
During the land reform, Government acquired around 14 million hectares of large scale commercial farms out of the 15,5 million hectares that were previously owned by white commercial farmers.
By Mathew Takaona|I have searched deep and wide for reasons why President Mnangagwa is seemingly unperturbed by the accelerated plunge of this country.
I found no plausible reason except that he can only be unwell. Genuinely concerned patriots can only suspect that President Mnangagwa must be so unwell that he is by now incapacitated.
Otherwise how can the country’s major hospitals remain closed for so long without the President raising a finger? How can the threat of the perilous Coronavirus get so near home without the President getting into some visible national action?
How can the economy continue to slide at this rate without some sort of emergency being declared? How can corruption happen so openly with high profile thugs knitting their way into and out of Government circles at will without the President uttering a word?
The President must surely be unwell.
There are so many other how and whys; the list is endless. Seriously the President must be unwell!
Remember here is a President who on getting into power in November 2017 got civil servants on their toes by declaring 100 day targets and things seemed to start working again. Here is a President who saved the nation from an inevitable Mugabe dynasty where the mercurical Grace was bound to become the country’s next President.
Here is a President who upon getting into office declared zero tolerance to corruption but now watches haplessly as cartels and foreign currency black market monsters run the country’s economy with impunity. Here is the President who promised to act on land barons and six months after the Land Commission report, its life as usual. Here is the man who declared jobs to the people but is content to see his party apparatchiks dishing out cups of rice from China to a starving populace.
Here is a President who promised power, good roads, quality education, clean water but disappears into a cocoon as the little that exists of these things dries up.
Here is the man who did not only give Zimbabweans but the whole international community great hope that the jewel of Africa will be picked up from the dustbin spruced up and put back on its high place. Technocrats believed and had immense confidence in him. Never mind the way he got into power, the Diaspora ululated to high heavens, many were packing their bags, ready to come back home on the next flight.
I must admit that I also saw hope in him. Pragmatically, Mnangagwa was the best candidate.
Here is the man who toured some of the world’s biggest asbestos mines in Mashava and Zvishavane in 2018 and told desperate job seekers that in weeks dynamite would be exploding underground again and drilling machines cracking their way into hard rock. He never returned to tell such tales.
He visited the defunct Cold Storage Commission in the Ancient City and brought with him an investor who would revive the company and ensure Zimbabwe is once again the supplier of the best meat in the World. Alas CSC is more defunct with all workers retrenched and the stage set for epic court battles between the new employer and labour.
Zimbabwe is an agricultural country and thousands of herds of cattle in Mash West, Mash East, Manicaland and Masvingo have been decimated by mysterious illness and not for a day has the President issued a policy statement on the matter.
Surely such rapid disintegration of things can only happen when the President is so unwell.
Here is the man who promised heaven to Zimbabweans in 2017 but now sits back and watches unmoved as people kick and scream on their way to hell.
Surely this can only happen when the President is unwell.
Here is a man who in Mugabe’s own words is a hard worker but is now not doing any work. Mnangagwa has become indifferent, detached and so ordinary you wouldn’t think he is the man at the helm of a country.
There is no better evidence to advance the theory of his incapacitation than what we see on the ground. Incapacitation should not be limited to being bed-ridden, mental instability or physical inability but must also refer to the state of inaction, the lack of pro-activeness or the placidness.
Zanu PF, Parliament and the people of Zimbabwe must take seriously this evident incapacitation of the President and map the way forward together with Mnangagwa himself before this nation reaches a point of no return. There may be no statics on the current death rates in Zimbabwe but it wouldn’t be surprising that the rate has doubled or trebled since President Mnangagwa took over the country.
The Coronavirus is there, it is really and Zimbabwe has been declared one of the most unprepared countries for the epidemic on the continent yet the President continues to act and see no urgency in problems staring the nation in the face.
Speaking up to power is not a crime but a form of patriotism. President Mnangagwa has played many crucial roles for his country. We are all mortals and when time comes to say goodbye we must take it.
Mamelodi Sundowns are out of the CAF Champions League after losing 3-1 on aggregate to Al Ahly.
The Southern Africans drew 1-1 in the second leg of the quarterfinal clash played in Pretoria on Saturday. The side had lost 2-0 in the return fixture which took place in Egypt last week.
Sundowns got their goal from Gastino Sirino in the 27th minute to cancel on an own-goal which had been scored by Lebohang Maboe a few moments earlier.
Elsewhere, Raja Casablanca progressed through despite losing 1-0 to TP Mazembe. The Moroccan side won 2-1 on aggregate, having secured an advantage in the first leg.
Isaac Tshibangu scored the solitary goal of the match in the 50th minute.
On Friday, Zamalek also secured their passage to the semis after winning their tie against champions Esperance 3-2.
The semifinal list will be completed this evening when Etoile du Sahel play Wydad Casablanca in Sudan.
Wydad go into the match with a 2-0 lead secured in the first leg.-Soccer 24
As Zimbabwe continues to report that there are no coronavirus cases inside its borders, 16 people were reported killed over in France; This came as it was reported that the latter’s neighbour, UK now has 273 people with confirmed coronavirus infections in the UK.
It is the largest single increase so far, up 64 from 209 on Saturday.
Ministers are now set for a meeting of the government’s disaster emergency committee tomorrow where they could sign-off plans to move the UK into the “delay” phase of efforts to fight the virus. This would be an acknowledgement there is now no chance of containing the virus.
Meanwhile, a scientist in Newcastle, UK is developing a breath test to diagnose coronavirus
Northumbria University associate professor Sterghios Moschos was quoted by the BBC saying he is not able to trial it in the UK.
Dr Moschos is leading research into a device to collect breath samples which could be tested in minutes.
If trials show it can detect the virus its results could be quicker and more reliable than current tests, he says.
The government agency responsible has been approached for comment.
Dr Moschos said UK infectious diseases units had “elected not to carry out testing” of his kit.
He accepted infection control processes were so stringent that even “the simple thing of ‘Can you please breathe into this’ might be a lot more complicated in practice than it might seem”.
However, clinicians in Europe are prepared to test the kits and will receive them within the next week, he said. -. BBC / Telegraph
AmaZulu and Zimbabwe international midfielder Talent Chawapihwa had to be replaced early in the second half in his AmaZulu’s stunning 1-0 over ABSA Premiership log leaders Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.
The former Baroka man left the field of play on a stretcher but we could not determine the type and extent of his injury.
Bongi Ntuli’s solitary strkike on the stroke of half time made all the difference as bottom-placed Usuthu shocked their much fancied opponents to blow the title race wide open.
Amakhosi are now 7 points adrift of Sundowns but crucially, Masandawana have played two games less.-Soccer 24
Zimbabwean star Khama Billiat was dropped to the bench again for Kaizer Chiefs after he was not named in the starting eleven for the clash against struggling AmaZulu on Saturday.
The 29-year-old also started on the bench in last week’s crucial 1-0 win over arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the Soweto derby.
Interestingly, the last time Billiat scored a goal for Amakhosi was in the reverse fixture back in September.-Soccer 24
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
MDC youth assembly would like to state categorically, without fear of contradictions, that we will not fold hands while the regime attempts to use every platform necessary and unnecessary to destabilize the movement.
The regime wants to use all the avenues including the Supreme Court judgement to destabilize the party by parroting an idea that a judgement will be issued to choose new leadership for the MDC.
There are those, for reasons best known to themselves, who believe that such a time will come when Zanu PF will foist a leadership on us. Never.
On cheap corruption allegations against the party, this is a fabricated narrative to divert us from the real crisis affecting the people of Zimbabwe.
Their intention is to equalize our party with Zanu, whose corrupt oligarchy have stashed loot worth a whopping US$7 billion outside the country, according to ZACC.
We, therefore, state as follows:
The Movement for Democratic Change gathered in Gweru on the 26th of May 2019 at our 5th national congress elected a leadership whose outcome is a matter and fact of public knowledge.
No leader of this great movement will emerge from Zanu PF.
The President is not a signatory to any party account.
This is a task constitutionally mandated to the Secretary-General and the Treasurer General who are signatories and anything related to party funds shall be unveiled in the audit report.
The people must know that this is a hatchet job to malign and besmirch the character and image of our leadership.
Those who in their infinite wisdom, or lack of it thereof, are made to believe that there is or they can be another leadership outside that of President Chamisa and his team are day-dreaming.
As the vanguard of the party, whose key values are justice, freedom and solidarity, we respect anyone’s freedom to lead the movement, but only through a democratic process as the one we conducted in Gweru. Those imagining themselves at 44 Nelson Mandela without the popular mandate of the people must wake up from their slumber.
We will not allow such shenanigans.
Our focus is and shall be on taking the fight to the doorstep of this callous, brutal and ruthless regime.
Our sole intention is to transform the concrete realities of our people.
Wamba is in charge!
Until victory
Aluta continua
Comrade Ostallos
Secretary-General
MDC Youth assembly
On the 8th of March, we celebrate International Women’s Day.
A day set aside to recognize the achievements of women from political, economic to social, whilst calling for women’s rights.
This presents a perfect opportunity for ARTUZ to not only recognize the contribution of female comrades to the work of the union but to also celebrate female rural teachers.
ARTUZ will set aside the month of March to cast the spotlight on the strong women who have remained resolute in the face of oppression, difficult working conditions and a collapsing education system.
In line with the 2020 IWD theme, I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights the women’s March campaign will bring to light the lived realities of the female rural teacher highlighting the inequalities she endures.
Through their own stories, ARTUZ members will show the world their struggles, their dedication to their profession as well as their fearless fight for labour justice.
This women’s day is a special one as it marks 25 years after the Beijing Platform for action.
As we reflect on the state of women’s rights it is important to leave no woman behind.
Equality will remain out of our reach if the struggles of some women remain invisible.
ARTUZ will use this opportunity to give visibility women teaching in rural areas so that as agendas are shaped their struggles are not forgotten.
Women’s labour issues need to be at the centre of the equality discourse. It is imperative to highlight these issues and ensure that we all work together to address them.
Zimbabweans from all walks of life have that female teacher who shaped they are today. So we call on all of you to join us in celebrating female teachers as well as to support their struggles.
ARTUZ Gender and social welfare office
+263772868836
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 number of people suffering from mental health related illnesses and seeking medication at Ingutsheni Central Hospital in Bulawayo has more than doubled in the past five months, an official has said.
The hospital’s clinical director, Dr Wellington Ranga, revealed in an interview that from November, instead of giving drugs to the “usual figure” of between 1 500 to 2 000 outpatients, as many as 5 000 people were flocking through Ingutsheni’s doors every month. This has resulted in drug stocks at the hospital depleting. Unlike other hospitals which charge for their services, Ingutsheni does not demand a fee for both drugs and services.
In the past, there had been stigma attached to getting one’s medication at the institution but as prices at local pharmacies skyrocket, many are now turning to Ingutsheni.
“That comes with its own problems. I say that because here medication is not paid for by the patients. So, people in town now know that we have sodium valproate and so things have now changed.
“From around November or December our numbers from pharmacies almost doubled. This is because there are some people who don’t like coming to Ingutsheni but buying some medication in town will cost you $300. Then that person hears that they only have to go to Ingutsheni outpatients and they’ll get it for free,” said Dr Ranga.
He said NatPharm, that supplies the drugs had also raised questions on the sudden increase in drug demand at the hospital.
“The number of outpatients we served used to be between 1 500 to 2 000 but now we’re going to as many as 5 000 people which is a significant increase. We are actually saying we are becoming victims of our own strategies because we were saying let’s keep these drugs but people have realised that getting them from Ingutsheni works. Even NatPharm has been asking how come our consumption rate has gone up all of a sudden. This is a dicey situation that we are trying to play around with. Do we deny some people and say go back and get your drugs where you used to get them? You can’t do that in mental health,” he said.
Dr Ranga said the institution had never experienced such a situation in its history.
“We have discussed it and it is something that we are seeing really as a phenomenon for the first time and so there’s no case study that we can turn to on how to respond to a situation like this. We are not sure because of the nature of mental health because if someone says they have epilepsy and they have been on phenobarbitone for the past 20 years then you can’t deny them that medication. We will continue giving them, but that will put constraints on us because we had worked out our budget, we thought the drugs would last for a certain time but with these ones we’re not so sure. They might run out,” he said.
Ingutsheni chief executive officer Mr Nyasha Chibvongodze, said although the economic pressures had made the acquisition of foodstuffs difficult, the hospital was still in a good state compared to other health institutions.
“As a country we did not have a good harvest last year and so the Grain Marketing Board is constrained in terms of maize availability. If we place an order of 250 bags of 50kg maize they can say we cannot do that at the moment, we can only supply you with 100 bags.
“The danger also comes in when you want to pay for the 250 bags upfront as they also can’t assure you of locking in that price until delivery. So, that’s where we stand. In terms of protein we are well stocked,” he said.
Former Zanu-PF national political commissar and member of the once-powerful G40 faction Saviour Kasukuwere attacked President Emmerson Mnangagwa for allegedly dividing citizens by his government’s decision to create subsidised basic commodities shops for the army.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube recently announced that soldiers will soon be buying subsidised goods from garrison shops that will be funded by a special tax levied on every other civil servant.
In a telephone interview with TellZim News, Kasukuwere, who is in self-imposed exile, warned that the plan will back-fire.
“What is the rationale really? All civil servants are equal and they should be treated as such. They are working for the country and no one is more special than the other.
“Zimbabweans have suffered enough and they should be rewarded for their toil. Civil servants are yearning for salary increments but their government is busy deducting their salaries.
“Mnangagwa has no decency at all and he lives large while his people suffer. He was presented with a golden opportunity to unite the country but he plundered it and killed those that challenged him,” said Kasukuwere.
In his announcement, Ncube said all civil servants except members of the military will be levied a 2.5 percent ‘garrison shop’ tax which will be channeled towards the revival grocery shops for the defense forces.
Many people have, however, criticised the move as part of desperate efforts by a failed government to pacify a restive military.
“This is what happens when the country is in the hands of a mafia. The mafia does not care about anyone else but themselves.
“They are very selfish and they would rather watch everyone die than let their interest get threatened. To them, Zimbabwe can burn just as long as they are enjoying. No one cares, this is the unfortunate situation that we find ourselves in,” said Kasukuwere.
He said President Mnangagwa was desperate to find ways of pacifying the army which he knew very well could show him the exit door anytime.
“The army is running the country. Mnangagwa is trying to save himself from sleeping with one eye open at night. We all know the role played by the army to propel Mnangagwa to where he is today so if he forgets the same people will kick him out.
“You have seen Mnangagwa using the army to crush dissent so it is only logical for him to make sure that his boys are happy,” said Kasukuwere.
The 2.5 percent ‘garrison tax’ will add to the two percent transactional tax and bank charges which already are a heavy burden on the poorly-remunerated government workers.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Dr Takavafira Zhou lashed out at Ncube’s latest policy announcement which he said was designed to worsen poverty in the country.
“For the Finance minister and the rest of cabinet to agree to tax civil servants 2.5 percent to set up shops that will sell subsidised commodities to members of the army is lunacy.
“The cabinet must be reminded that if they are so much interested in uplifting the image of the army, they must pay the army well so that they can buy from shops of their choice.
“Reducing soldiers to ridicule and subsidisation by civil servants is dangerous and a national security threat as it compromises the civilian-military relations,” said Zhou.
By Own Correspondent| Zimbabwe won the David Cup World Group II first round play-off against Syria on a score of 3-1 at Harare Sports Club.
The first day of play had finished with the scores level at 1-1 after Mehluli Sibanda had lost to Hazem Naw 6-3, 6-3.
Benjamin Lock levelled the scores with a 6-3-6-3 win over Amer Naow on the second rubber setting up a potential moving second day.
Zimbabwe began yesterday’s play with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 win in the doubles match after the Lock brothers, Benjamin and Courtney combined to defeat the Syria pair of Naw and Yacoub Makzoume.
Syria needed to win the fourth rubber to take the tie into the final game but Benjamin Lock defeated Naw 6-4, 6-4 to an unassailable 3-1 lead for the hosts.
The fifth rubber which should have seen Sibanda taking on Makzoume was forfeited since it would not have changed the result of the tie.-DailyNews
Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga’s estranged wife says she fears for her life as unknown people are allegedly stalking her.
Marry told a British newspaper The Times that her life had been turned upside down since her initial arrest in December last year on allegations of trying to kill her husband and money laundering.
A divorce battle involving Chiwenga and the former model transfixed the country with murky allegations of attempted murder, voodoo and drug addiction.
According to Marry (39), however, the reality of her estrangement from Chiwenga, the former general who toppled Robert Mugabe, is even darker.
In an interview with The Times, the former model described “feeling thrown to the wolves”, her terror following late-night car chases and fears that her calls are being monitored since her 62-year-old husband demanded a divorce three months ago.
Her comments have shed rare light on the upper echelons of power in Zimbabwe and painted a picture of lavish wealth enjoyed by an unaccountable few, while millions lurch towards starvation as the economy withers.
“I will never be left to live in peace. It will be a life in and out of jail, or no life at all,” she said following her recent spell in prison.
Marry is accused of trying to murder her husband and other charges including money laundering. She insists that she is innocent.
“My protection has been taken away and if anything happened to me, there would be no witnesses. It could easily be explained away,” she said.
In papers filed in court, the couple’s wrangling over cash, a contentious 600-acre farm and luxury cars have been laid bare.
This month she is appealing to the Supreme Court for custody of the three children she shares with the former army chief: two boys and a girl aged nine, eight and six.
She said that being refused access to them since her arrest in December “has broken my heart open”, adding that she fears “command justice” directed from higher powers will ultimately thwart her efforts.
“It feels like David and Goliath with the state machinery being used against one woman,” she added.
Born into a wealthy family, Marry met her husband a decade ago when they were neighbours in an upmarket suburb of Harare.
“I knew nothing of politics and now probably know too much,” she said in a call from Harare, where she has been staying with her mother since losing access to the family mansion.
She described her relationship with President Emmerson Mnangagwa (77) as “very good”, but she is reluctant to draw him into the turmoil.
“I’ve been involved at the highest level of the ruling party for a decade and lived through Operation Restore Legacy [the Mugabe ousting].
“My husband has many enemies — within his own party, the opposition party and Zimbabweans generally who are facing many challenges now.
“That makes me feel very vulnerable.”
Marry remains a divisive figure. The designer wardrobe and extravagant lifestyle that she lost in her separation drew comparisons with Grace Mugabe, the unpopular widow of the late president.
Yet her arrest and willingness to stand up to the feared Chiwenga, who has been blamed for a string of violent crackdowns, has seen the public mood soften towards her.
She dismissed the allegations that she disconnected her husband from life-support equipment at a South African hospital last July, and questioned why no allegation was made against her until five months later when Chiwenga demanded a divorce.
“Too much of a coincidence,” she concluded.
She is also accused of illegally transferring almost US$1million out of Zimbabwe to buy cars and property in neighbouring South Africa without her husband’s knowledge.
Marry denies laundering money and said that any cash she had access to was no secret, claiming it had come from cash allowances given to Zimbabwe’s elite.
“We all got that and if you save it all, it’s enough to buy you a property outside the country. Everybody has one,” she said.
By A Correspondent| The Zimbabwean government has obfuscated the identity of a Coronavirus suspect who died last night, who according to sources privy to developments is a Chinese national. The state has however revealed that the fourth (4th) victim is a mere “suspected” covid-19 case.
The fourth victim, a female, was Sunday morning reportedly isolated after presenting herself first at a general practitioner before being referred to Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said the latest person was taken for isolation at Wilkins but could not provide further details saying health workers were still running the necessary tests.
The development comes after South Africa confirmed a third case of the disease also known as Covid-19.
“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,” Moyo told the state media.
The government has continued to say a Mutare woman, a third victim, died before arrival at Wilkins having tested negative. But other reports said she is a Chinese national.
ZimEye was at pains last night to establish the victim’s identity following fears the government has not done its duty to perform a travel history search and to publish it so that possible infections can be controlled.
Government’s twitter account last night reported that this woman who presented to her general practitioner complaining of shortness of breath tested negative to tests conducted on her copse.
“A Mutare woman who returned from China on 24 January, presented to her GP on 6 March complaining of shortness of breath. She was referred to Wilkins Hospital for Covid-19 tests but died on the way. Subsequent tests at Wilkins indicated negative for Coronavirus,” reads the post.
Government also said a male adult who travelled from Italy has also been quarantined and was being monitored for Covid-19 symptoms.
The government however contradicted itself saying “the man has no COVID-19 symptoms and test results were negative.”
Meanwhile, as an emergency meeting of all SADC Health Ministers is being convened to take place tomorrow, Monday 9 March in Dar es Salaam, Zimbabweans scoffed at the government saying the meeting could easily be held via video conferencing and any physical movement can only be for the purpose of squandering allowance money.
By Own Correspondent-Members of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) have told the labour body’s leadership to organise a mass stay-away to force the government to address the current economic crisis.
This emerged during a recent consultative meeting held in Harare, one of many by the labour body to chart the way forward in the wake of the failure by the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) — a platform which brings labour, business and government together —to resolve serious differences over wages and salaries.
The workers told the ZCTU representatives, led by the labour body’s president Peter Mutasa, that they were tired of all talk and no action.
“What we are seeing is that there is no political will from the government to resolve the current economic hardships we are facing as workers. These challenges started when the government introduced Statutory Instrument (SI) 142 (that outlawed the use of multi-currency and reintroduced the Zimbabwean dollar) which immediately resulted in workers losing their purchasing power.
“We appreciate the ZCTU leadership for engaging in discussion with the government and business through the TNF, but all talk and no action will not solve our problems as workers.
“What we are calling for is another massive stay away, bigger than the January 2019 stay away to shake up the government and trigger the appropriate action from this country’s leadership which has failed the worker,” a member of the ZCTU who identified himself as Kumbirai Moyo said.
The TNF meeting on salaries and wages held early last month reached a deadlock, with the government and labour on one side agreeing that there should be a blanket minimum wage while the business pushed for a sectoral approach to the minimum wage.
Another worker Leo Mukanhenge said workers should team up with other stakeholders in the mooted stay way.
“What we need now is action. This kind of action should not be the usual where we act alone but should include like-minded people who share the same struggle that we have like those in the informal sector and those fighting for human rights and justice,” Mukanhenge said.
Representing women, ZCTU member Sharayi Mutema said the current economic crisis is exposing women to abuse at the hands of water barons and other unscrupulous individuals seeking to take advantage of the transport crisis.
“As women we are saying that we are tired of this situation and we are demanding action. We are encountering all sorts of challenges at work but our struggle is not ending there. After work we struggle to get transport to return home and take care of the family.
“When we get home we are confronted by yet another challenge- lack of water-and we have to spend hours at long borehole queues just to get water for household use. Therefore we are saying as women enough is enough let us take it to the streets,” Mutema said.
Mutasa acknowledged the concerns raised by workers and indicated that the ZCTU leadership would deliberate on the issues raised and announce a way forward soon.
In January 2019, the ZCTU called for a three-day stay away triggered by fuel price increase. The stay away set in motion a protest which government responded to by sending armed forces who cracked down on the protesters resulting in the deaths of 17 civilians and the injury of many others.
“This struggle is not only for those who are employed, but for everyone in Zimbabwe including the unemployed, informal sector and the civil society. The state has failed and this is evidenced by lack of electricity and water, importation of grain, abductions and torture of those who speak out.
“Today as ZCTU leadership we have heard your call for action. Indeed this is the time to act because if we don’t act as the workers the government will not act for us and neither will business,” Mutasa said.-DailyNews
By A Correspondent| Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga’s estranged wife says she fears for her life as unknown people are allegedly stalking her.
Marry told a British newspaper The Times that her life had been turned upside down since her initial arrest in December last year on allegations of trying to kill her husband and money laundering.
A divorce battle involving Chiwenga and the former model transfixed the country with murky allegations of attempted murder, voodoo and drug addiction. According to Marry (39), however, the reality of her estrangement from Chiwenga, the former general who toppled Robert Mugabe, is even darker.
In an interview with The Times, the former model described “feeling thrown to the wolves”, her terror following late-night car chases and fears that her calls are being monitored since her 62-year-old husband demanded a divorce three months ago.
Her comments have shed rare light on the upper echelons of power in Zimbabwe and painted a picture of lavish wealth enjoyed by an unaccountable few, while millions lurch towards starvation and the economy withers.
“I will never be left to live in peace. It will be a life in and out of jail, or no life at all,” she said following her recent spell in prison.
Marry is accused of trying to murder her husband and other charges including money laundering. She insists that she is innocent.
“My protection has been taken away and if anything happened to me, there would be no witnesses. It could easily be explained away,” she said.
In papers filed in court, the couple’s wrangling over cash, a contentious 600-acre farm and luxury cars have been laid bare.
This month she is appealing to the Supreme Court for custody of the three children she shares with the former army chief: two boys and a girl aged nine, eight and six.
She said that being refused access to them since her arrest in December “has broken my heart open”, adding that she fears “command justice” directed from higher powers will ultimately thwart her efforts.
“It feels like David and Goliath with the state machinery being used against one woman,” she added.
Born into a wealthy family, Marry met her husband a decade ago when they were neighbours in an upmarket suburb of Harare.
“I knew nothing of politics and now probably know too much,” she said in a call from Harare, where she has been staying with her mother since losing access to the family mansion.
She described her relationship with President Emmerson Mnangagwa (77) as “very good”, but she is reluctant to draw him into the turmoil.
“I’ve been involved at the highest level of the ruling party for a decade and lived through Operation Restore Legacy [the Mugabe ousting].
“My husband has many enemies — within his own party, the opposition party and Zimbabweans generally who are facing many challenges now.
“That makes me feel very vulnerable.”
Marry remains a divisive figure. The designer wardrobe and extravagant lifestyle that she lost in her separation drew comparisons with Grace Mugabe, the unpopular widow of the late president.
Yet her arrest and willingness to stand up to the feared Chiwenga, who has been blamed for a string of violent crackdowns, has seen the public mood soften towards her.
She dismissed the allegations that she disconnected her husband from life-support equipment at a South African hospital last July, and questioned why no allegation was made against her until five months later when Chiwenga demanded a divorce.
“Too much of a coincidence,” she concluded.
She is also accused of illegally transferring almost US$1million out of Zimbabwe to buy cars and property in neighbouring South Africa without her husband’s knowledge.
Marry denies laundering money and said that any cash she had access to was no secret, claiming it had come from cash allowances given to Zimbabwe’s elite.
“We all got that and if you save it all, it’s enough to buy you a property outside the country. Everybody has one,” she said.
Chiwenga did not respond to a request for comments.-TheTimes
Why are Makandiwa, Magaya, Passion Java not going to Wilkins Hospital and perform their magic powers there like they always do on shiny TV cameras? pic.twitter.com/o9ksRVeFOL
By Own Correspondent| Former Zanu PF Politburo member Jonathan Moyo has clashed with Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information Publicity and Broadcasting services Nick Mangwana over a Chinese national who succumbed to corona virus in Mutare.
Mangwana had twitted that “a Mutare woman who returned from China on 24 January, presented to her GP on 6 March complaining of shortness of breath. She was referred to Wilkins Hospital for COVID-19 tests but died on the way. Subsequent tests at Wilkins indicated negative for Coronavirus.”
Responding to the tweet Moyo said, ” Why do you call a Chinese woman, “a Mutare woman”? Not to upset your Chinese friends? So Mnangagwa would rather put Zimbabweans at risk to appease the Chinese? How reliable are tests at Wilkins? How many Zimbabweans were exposed to the Chinese woman?
...The Zim government had contradicted itself saying “the man has no COVID-19 symptoms” just after saying he was quarantined and being monitored for Covid-19 symptoms… Obadiah Moyo
– ORIGINAL ARTICLE BELOW –
By A Correspondent | As it emerged the Zimbabwe
government obfuscated the identity of a Coronavirus suspect who died last night, a Chinese national, the state has labelled a fourth (4th) case mere “suspected.”
The fourth victim, a female, was Sunday morning reported isolated after presenting herself first at a general practitioner before being referred to Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said the latest person was taken for isolation at Wilkins but could not provide further details saying health workers were still running the necessary tests. Requests by ZimEye to obtain the person’s full identity and travel history had not been replied to at the time of writing.
The development comes after South Africa confirmed a third case of the disease also known as Covid-19.
“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,” Moyo told the state media.
The government has continued to say a Mutare woman, a third victim, died before arrival at Wilkins having tested negative. But other reports said she is a Chinese national. ZimEye was at pains last night to establish the victim’s identity following fears the government has not done its duty to conduct a travel history search and to publish it so that possible infections can be controlled.
Government on its twitter account last night reported that this woman who presented to her general practitioner complaining of shortness of breath tested negative to tests conducted on her copse.
“A Mutare woman who returned from China on 24 January, presented to her GP on 6 March complaining of shortness of breath. She was referred to Wilkins Hospital for Covid-19 tests but died on the way. Subsequent tests at Wilkins indicated negative for Coronavirus,” reads the post.
Government also said a male adult who travelled from Italy has also been quarantined and being monitored for Covid-19 symptoms.
The government however contradicted itself saying “the man has no COVID-19 symptoms and test results were negative.”
The government says “a Mutare woman who returned from China on 24 January, presented to her GP on 6 March complaining of shortness of breath.
“She was referred to Wilkins Hospital for COVID-19 tests but died on the way. Subsequent tests at Wilkins indicated negative for Coronavirus.”
ZimEye asserts that the cause of death can only be Coronavirus.
The main symptoms of coronavirus are:
Meanwhile, it was not clear if the ministry of health has done a contact tracing procedure so to ascertain potential viral spread.
Meanwhile, as an emergency meeting of all SADC Health Ministers is being convened to take place tomorrow, Monday 9 March in Dar es Salaam, Zimbabweans scoffed the government saying the meeting could easily be held via videoconferencing and any physical movement can only be for the purpose of squandering allowance money. Follow the live program below:
By A Correspondent | As it emerged the Zimbabwe
government obfuscated the identity of a Coronavirus suspect who died last night, a Chinese national, the state has labelled a fourth (4th) case mere “suspected.”
The fourth victim, a female, was Sunday morning reported isolated after presenting herself first at a general practitioner before being referred to Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said the latest person was taken for isolation at Wilkins but could not provide further details saying health workers were still running the necessary tests. Requests by ZimEye to obtain the person’s full identity and travel history had not been replied to at the time of writing.
The development comes after South Africa confirmed a third case of the disease also known as Covid-19.
“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,” Moyo told the state media.
The government has continued to say a Mutare woman, a third victim, died before arrival at Wilkins having tested negative. But other reports said she is a Chinese national. ZimEye was at pains last night to establish the victim’s identity following fears the government has not done its duty to conduct a travel history search and to publish it so that possible infections can be controlled.
Government on its twitter account last night reported that this woman who presented to her general practitioner complaining of shortness of breath tested negative to tests conducted on her copse.
“A Mutare woman who returned from China on 24 January, presented to her GP on 6 March complaining of shortness of breath. She was referred to Wilkins Hospital for Covid-19 tests but died on the way. Subsequent tests at Wilkins indicated negative for Coronavirus,” reads the post.
Government also said a male adult who travelled from Italy has also been quarantined and being monitored for Covid-19 symptoms.
The government however contradicted itself saying “the man has no COVID-19 symptoms and test results were negative.”
The government says “a Mutare woman who returned from China on 24 January, presented to her GP on 6 March complaining of shortness of breath.
“She was referred to Wilkins Hospital for COVID-19 tests but died on the way. Subsequent tests at Wilkins indicated negative for Coronavirus.”
ZimEye asserts that the cause of death can only be Coronavirus.
The main symptoms of coronavirus are:
Meanwhile, it was not clear if the ministry of health has done a contact tracing procedure so to ascertain potential viral spread.
Meanwhile, as an emergency meeting of all SADC Health Ministers is being convened to take place tomorrow, Monday 9 March in Dar es Salaam, Zimbabweans scoffed the government saying the meeting could easily be held via videoconferencing and any physical movement can only be for the purpose of squandering allowance money. Follow the live program below:
By Own Correspondent| President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appealed to Zanu-PF supporters to stick with the ruling party despite the deepening economic problems in the country.
Mnangagwa was speaking at a rally at the Matizha business centre in Serima, Gutu on Friday where thousands of Zanu-PF supporters were bussed to the venue.
He said the multifaceted crisis facing the country should not drive ruling party supporters away from Zanu-PF.
“You know where we are coming from and where we are going,” Mnangagwa said.
“We got problems as a country. But these are not problems that can force you to leave the party. These are problems that unite us to build our country.
“Yes, we have economic challenges, but they will pass.
“We shall come to a time when we shall say we went through hardships and hunger, but the period of plenty is coming.
“I do not think next year is a drought period…..In the night, defend your party, during the day defend your party, whether you went to bed without eating or not.”
Zimbabwe is in the grip of hyperinflation and is struggling with shortages of foreign currency, fuel, medicines, mealie meal and rolling power cuts, among others.
The International Monetary Fund recently warned that without genuine political dialogue in Zimbabwe, chances of an economic turnaround were dim.
Mnangagwa has refused to engage in direct talks with his main rival Nelson Chamisa, who is challenging his legitimacy following the controversial 2018 elections.
On Friday the Zanu-PF leader described Masvingo as a “one-party state” after the ruling party won 25 seats out of 26 seats in the 2018 general elections.
“Masvingo is a one-party state,” he said.
“The leadership and structures are strong from the grassroots to the top.-
By A Correspondent| An artisanal miner, Nqobizitha Moyo (29) of Douglasdale in Bulawayo was arrested and has been sentenced to three years in prison for kidnapping and assaulting Rangarirai Chinyota Nyoni (35) the brother of his partner.
The state alleges that Moyo kidnapped and assaulted Nyoni to force Nyoni’s younger brother, Innocent Mapuranga to meet and resolve a gold dispute.
The state further claims that on September 10, 2019, at around 11 pm, Moyo visited Nyoni’s house armed with a knife intending to settle a dispute with Mapuranga but he found his brother at home and kidnapped him.
Moyo reportedly assaulted Nyoni and released him after he promised to give him money the following day.
Moyo pleaded guilty when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mafios Moyo on Monday. The magistrate sentenced him to five years in jail but conditionally suspended two years.-Newsday
Crack South African investigative unit, The Hawks, are on the trail of an alleged fugitive from Zimbabwe identified as Bruce Nyamurima, whom they believe executed, with connivance of a sophisticated crime syndicate, an elaborate scam to defraud a Pretoria company of R5 million.
Bruce Nyamurima
The Hawks and other South African law enforcement agencies have been on the trail of Nyamurima, whom they suspect has been a vital cog in the execution of the scam, since December.
He has been posted on various social media law enforcement agency pages as a person of interest in an ongoing investigation.
The Hawks are South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) which targets organised crime, corruption, economic crimes and other serious crime referred to it by the President or the South African Police Services (SAPS).
The investigation into the fraud allegations was initiated by well-known South African financial crime investigation firm, IRS Forensic Investigations and reported to the SAPS under the case number SAPS CAS 1066/12/2019 at Pretoria Central Police Station.
“We can confirm that Bruce Nyamurima, a Zimbabwean citizen, is the prime suspect in a case in South Africa involving a Pretoria business that was defrauded in excess of R5 million in an elaborate tender scheme involving the fabrication of documents,” forensic investigator Mr Chad Thomas of IRS Forensic Investigations said from South Africa.
Mr Thomas said Nyamurima, who has since gone into hiding but was reportedly spotted around Bulawayo during the festive season, did not deny the crime when IRS contacted him but expressed fear that a shadowy mafia-like organisation might persecute him if he returned to South Africa.
“Nyamurima is suspected to be back in his home country of Zimbabwe. When contacted by investigators from South Africa, Nyamurima did not deny his role in the fraud, instead he alluded to the involvement of an alleged mafia type group and stated that his life would be in danger if he returned to South Africa to give his version of events,” Mr Thomas said.
The forensic investigator revealed that authorities did not believe that Nyamurima had been acting alone, as the crime was too complex to be a one-man job. He said the initial charge of fraud would soon be changed to include other criminal offences.
“This was a very complex fraud. Nyamurima did not act alone when perpetrating this crime. He definitely had help.
“Our investigation has revealed that a joint criminal enterprise existed and we will be making representations to change the charges to racketeering, money laundering and proceeds of crime,” Mr Thomas said.
Arrests by the Hawks, he said, were imminent while they also wanted the International Criminal Police Organisation, Interpol to issue a red notice on Nyamurima.
Red Notices are issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.
“We are expecting the authorities to make several arrests in this matter and are extremely satisfied in the manner in which the Hawks are conducting the investigation.
“Further to this, we will request that the National Prosecuting Authority request the extradition of Nyamurima so that Interpol can issue a Red Notice for his arrest,” said Mr Thomas.
#CoronavirusUpdate A Mutare woman who returned from China on 24 January, presented to her GP on 6 March complaining of shortness of breath. She was referred to Wilkins Hospital for COVID-19 tests but died on the way.Subsequent tests at Wilkins indicated negative for Coronavirus.
— Ministry of Information, Publicity & Broadcasting (@InfoMinZW) March 7, 2020
Johannesburg – One of South Africa’s big four banks has placed several staff members in self-quarantine. This comes after one of the banks employees reported to the bank that he had been in contact with the KZN Midlands man who tested positive for the deadly coronavirus this week.
Nedbank said the staff member was part of a group of 10 people who had travelled to Italy.
The group returned to South Africa via OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday and boarded a connecting flight to Durban’s King Shaka International Airport on the same day. Screeners at both airports did not flag the man.
Nedbank’s potentially affected employee came into contact with several staff members in two meetings in Durban this week, and the bank, in response has placed all those staff members on self-quarantine.
The 38-year-old patient who tested positive for coronavirus this week is currently under self-quarantine at his KZN Midlands home. He experienced flu-like symptoms, malaise and a headache three days after returning to the country. His private doctor took swabs and later confirmed the virus. The doctor has also since been placed on self-quarantine too.
The school attended by the 38-year-old man’s two children – Cowan House Preparatory, was also closed on Friday as a precaution.
Nedbank’s chief risk officer, Trevor Adams, said the employee had been in contact with several staff members after attending meetings at the Pine Walk branch in Pinetown and at the Kingsmead Campus, near the Durban CBD.
“Nedbank can confirm that a Durban-based staff member was part of the group of people who arrived from Italy on 1 March 2020 where one of the members of the group subsequently tested positive for coronavirus or Covid-19,” he said on Friday.
As a precaution, Nedbank has informed the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and placed all employees who had come in contact with the staff member on self-quarantine.
“The Durban-based employee has been self-quarantined and been tested for the coronavirus and is awaiting results in order to determine if the employee is positive or not.
“Nedbank can confirm that the potentially affected employee attended two meetings on March 2 at the Pine Walk branch and Nedbank’s Durban Kingsmead Campus conference centre.
“Staff that have come into contact with the potentially affected employee on 2 March 2020 have already been contacted and placed in self-quarantine. They will be tested before they are cleared from self -quarantine to return to work,” said Adams.
Nedbank also communicated the developments with staff around the country on Friday and assured the public that the affected staff member – who has not been confirmed as a positive case – had not come into contact with any clients or third parties.
The bank also said it had attempted to “deep clean” all office spaces where the staff member had been in since returning from Italy.
“The physical areas the potentially affected staff member came into contact with were isolated and have already been deep cleaned as a precautionary measure. The deep clean kills pathogens or bacteria in the air and on surfaces and the building is safe for occupation 15 minutes after it has been applied,” said Adams.
In its communique to staff, the bank urged employees not to panic: “There is no need to panic. Even if someone is infected most people have flu-like symptoms and recover soon”.
A spokesperson for the Health Department could not be reached for comment as their phone was off. IOL
President Cyril Ramaphosa says travel bans are not yet on the cards for South Africa as the country scrambles to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
South Africa reported its second case of the deadly Covid-19 on Saturday.
The 39-year-old woman had travelled to Italy as part of a group with the first confirmed case.
The second patient has since been isolated at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg.
Speaking in Centurion on Saturday, Ramaphosa said he had confidence in the government’s plan of action.
“The Department of Health is handling this extremely well. If we carry on this way we will be able to contain it.”
“A second case of the deadly coronavirus has been confirmed in South Africa. The patient is a 39-year-old woman from Gauteng who had direct contact with the first positive test from KwaZulu-Natal. Mkhize says the woman was part of the group of 10 people that had travelled to Italy with the 38-year- old man.”
Ramaphosa added that the government would remain transparent on the measures taken to deal with the virus.
“I think it is too early, we’ve just got two so let us keep watching how this thing carries on.
“The important thing here is to avoid fake news, spreading of false information. We need to be very careful in the way that we communicate about this matter. We must be responsible because we are dealing with a matter that can cause a lot of panic in society and we don’t want to do that,” Ramaphosa added.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the global number of reported cases of COVID-19 has surpassed 100,000.
Own Correspondent|There are reports that another Coronavirus Patient has been detected in Masvingo, at Masvingo General Hospital.
The patient is reported to be a frequent traveller to Dubai.
The development comes short in the heels of revelations by ZimEye sources who told this news network, there have been more than 200 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Dubai as of late last week. The statistics however have remained unreported in the UAE.
Preparedness? The ZanuPF government is always prepared to beat up people who unhappy with how it runs the country but not for emergencies like the virus. Good morning @nickmangwana. Have a virus free day!
— Yahwe 'Always, all ways' . (@Mukoma59) March 8, 2020
This is a developing story more details to follow.
Former Zanu PF national political commissar and member of the once powerful G40 faction Saviour kasukuwere attacked President Emmerson Mnangagwa for allegedly dividing citizens by his government’s decision to create subsidised basic commodities shops for the army.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube recently announced that soldiers will soon be buying subsidised goods from garrison shops that will be funded by a special tax levied on every other civil servant.
In a telephone interview with TellZim News, Kasukuwere, who is in self-imposed exile, warned that the plan will back-fire.
“What is the rationale really? All civil servants are equal and they should be treated as such. They are working for the country and no one is more special than the other.
“Zimbabweans have suffered enough and they should be rewarded for their toil. Civil servants are yearning for salary increments but their government is busy deducting their salaries.
“Mnangagwa has no decency at all and he lives large while his people suffer. He was presented with a golden opportunity to unite the country but he plundered it and killed those that challenged him,” Kasukuwere thundered.
In his announcement, Ncube said all civil servants except members of the military will be levied a 2.5 percent ‘garrison shop’ tax which will be channeled towards the revival of grocery shops for the defense forces.
Many people have, however, criticised the move as part of desperate efforts by a failed government to pacify a restive military.
“This is what happens when the country is in the hands of a mafia. The mafia does not care about anyone else but themselves.
“They are very selfish and they would rather watch everyone die than let their interest get threatened. To them, Zimbabwe can burn just as long as they are enjoying. No one cares, this is the unfortunate situation that we find ourselves in,” said Kasukuwere.
He said President Mnangagwa was desperate to find ways of pacifying the army which he knew very well could show him the exit door anytime.
“The army is running the country. Mnangagwa is trying to save himself from sleeping with one eye open at night. We all know the role played by the army to propel Mnangagwa to where he is today so if he forgets the same people will kick him out.
“You have seen Mnangagwa using the army to crush dissent so it is only logical for him to make sure that his boys are happy,” said Kasukuwere.
The 2.5 percent ‘garrison tax’ will add to the two percent transactional tax and bank charges which already are a heavy burden on the poorly-remunerated government workers.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Dr Takavafira Zhou lashed out at Ncube’s latest policy announcement which he said was designed to worsen poverty in the country.
“For the Finance minister and the rest of cabinet to agree to tax civil servants 2.5 percent to set up shops that will sell subsidised commodities to members of the army is lunacy.
“The cabinet must be reminded that if they are so much interested in uplifting the image of the army, they must pay the army well so that they can buy from shops of their choice.
“Reducing soldiers to ridicule and subsidisation by civil servants is dangerous and a national security threat as it compromises the civilian-military relations,” said Zhou.
MDC legislator for Harare West Johanna Mamombe’s further remand refusal bid was dismissed yesterday after a court ruled that there is no excessive delay in prosecuting her treason case.
Harare magistrate Rumbidzayi Mugwagwa said Mamombe faced a complex charge which required more time on investigations.
Mamombe is accused of attempting to overthrow President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government by influencing demonstrations which rocked the country in January last year.
The demonstrations followed the announcement of fuel price hikes by Mnangagwa which torched protests by civilians.
“The State has shown that there is progress in the matter and two law officers are said to have informed their opinions to the case,” Mugwagwa said.
“We are aware that the Constitution provides that trial should be dealt with within a reasonable period of time. In my view there has not been an inordinate delay as the nature of the offence committed requires more time.”
Mamombe was represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights’ Jeremiah Bamu who contested Prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti’s request for further postponement of the matter to March 19 on the same reason that has been proffered since mid-last year.
“No valid reason has been given why further remand is sought. The same reason given today has been regurgitated for a long period of time and what comes out clearly is that State does not know whether to prosecute this matter or not,” Bamu said.
“That uncertainty at the level of the prosecutor-general is sufficient cause why this matter should be removed from remand.
“The State has failed since August 22 to process indict papers and have the accused person’s trial commence in the High Court.”
Allegations are that the opposition lawmaker addressed a press conference at Civic Centre in Marlborough, Harare where she called on citizens to engage in acts of civil disobedience with the intention to remove a sitting government through unconstitutional means.
Own Correspondent|Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto were transferred to a prison in Asuncion on Saturday after a judge ordered them to be imprisoned without bail.
The pair were arrested this week after the former Barcelona star entered Paraguay with a false passport.
Ronaldinho is currently without his Brazilian passport due to an environmental fine he received in 2018.
The magistrate, Clara Ruiz Diaz, explained the decision to give Ronaldinho imprisonment without bail to the media after the court session.
“[There are] elements that indicate that [Ronaldinho] used authentic documents with false content,” she said.
Ronaldinho and his brother could remain in prison for up to six months as the investigation is carried out.
Ruiz also explained why the pair weren’t granted house arrest instead of imprisonment without bail.
“There is a danger of escaping, a foreigner who entered the country illegally,” she stated.
“I respect his sporting popularity but the law must also be respected. No matter who you are, the law still applies”, Paraguay’s Interior Minister Euclides Acevedo told local media this week.
The 39-year-old had travelled to Paraguay to promote a book and a campaign for underprivileged children.
Ronaldinho was the 2004 and 2005 World Player of the Year and reached the prime of his career at Spanish giants Barcelona. He won the World Cup for Brazil in 2002 alongside fellow superstar forwards Ronaldo and Rivaldo.
Ronaldinho’s net worth is estimated at £80-100m and he is reported to charge around £150,000 for a single promoted Instagram post.
State Media|THE Confederation of African Football (CAF) has rejected the Zimbabwe Football Association’s plea to have the Warriors clash against Algeria played at Barbourfields Stadium, while the spread of coronavirus in the North African country has also thrown the epic clash up in the air.
The Warriors are supposed to travel to Blida for the first Group H matches on March 26, while ZIFA were hoping to host the Desert Foxes at Barbourfields on March 31.
However, ZIFA have since expressed to CAF their strong reservations of travelling to Blida, which has been the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in Algeria.
CAF’s decision to reject ZIFA’s plea to have the match played at Barbourfields means that the Warriors would have to play their home game in South Africa. However, the Desert Foxes could also find it difficult to secure entry into South Africa amid revelations yesterday that yet another case of the deadly disease had been recorded.
South African health authorities have since heightened screening, especially of travellers originating from countries plagued by Covid-19.
ZIFA have been making a spirited campaign to have the match played at Barbourfields in Bulawayo.
On Monday last week, the association appealed to CAF to rescind its decision to condemn the venue, citing the ongoing refurbishment sponsored by Government.
It, however, emerged that CAF late on Friday told ZIFA in a letter from the acting secretary-general, Abdelmounaim Bah, that they were not in a position to immediately review their ban on Barbourfields for the clash against Algeria.
As a fall-back plan, ZIFA had already engaged the South African Football Association (SAFA) to assist them secure an alternative stadium.
The Sunday Mail can reveal that SAFA have secured Dobsonville Stadium in Johannesburg as the venue for the Warriors match.
Sources at SAFA and CAF also confirmed that the former’s officials were at the 24 000-seater stadium yesterday to make preparations for the match.
“When CAF banned the stadiums in Zimbabwe, ZIFA engaged SAFA to assist and the initial take was on Orlando Stadium, but now they have settled on Dobsonville.
“So, even this morning (yesterday), men have been at work at the stadium in preparation for the game, and they have been in touch with the guys at ZIFA,’’ the sources said.
Acting ZIFA vice president Philemon Machana, however, professed ignorance of CAF’s new decision, insisting that they remained hopeful the game could be played at Barbourfields.
“We are still hopeful that something can still happen and we can have that game played in Bulawayo. But we had told SAFA to provisionally prepare Dobsonville as a fall-back position as we also planned for the worst . . .
“All efforts are still being made by all stakeholders, led by Government, to have the game here and we must all keep working. Elsewhere, CAF have given rights to host where stadiums have not been built and those rights were given based on government guarantees, and in our case, Government is spearheading the refurbishment apart from also having given their guarantees,’’ Machana said. CAF sources, however, revealed that the continental body had told ZIFA that it would be too late for the logistics of the Algeria game to be put in place on time.
“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.
“The letter from the CAF secretary-general outlines the regulations and procedures that have to be followed for another inspection to be undertaken and the timelines that have to be followed,’’ the sources said.
Despite losing the bid to host Algeria in Bulawayo, ZIFA are ratcheting up pressure on CAF by demanding that the continental body switch their showdown with Algeria from Blida following a spike in coronavirus cases in the North African country. Although CAF issued a statement on coronavirus on Friday, it however did not immediately take a stance on the imminent qualifiers.
“CAF is following with great attention the evolution of the situation of this pandemic affecting our continent.
‘‘Eight major African football countries have reported cases to date: Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon and South Africa. CAF has mandated the medical committee to monitor the evolution of this disease and to set up measures to protect the health of players and all actors of the game.
“A team has been set up, under the authority of the CAF president, made up of experts from various fields, particularly medical, who are essentially responsible for the health of the players and the members of the African football family,” said CAF in a statement.
But ZIFA are not keen on taking chances, fearing this could affect the careers of the Warriors.
Algeria has been the focus of attention after nine more cases were confirmed by the Algerian health officials last Wednesday.
Worse, the cases were reported in the same Blida province where the Warriors are scheduled to play, some 30km south of the capital, Algiers.
According to reports from Algeria, the cases involved members of the same family bringing t the number of people affected within the same family to 16.
It is against this background that ZIFA chief executive Joseph Mamutse has upped the ante on CAF to advise them the venue of their first match against Algeria on time.
Mamutse has also sought the guidance of Government through the Sport and Recreation Commission, and wrote to the regulatory body’s director-general Prince Mupazviriho, who, in turn, indicated that they were keen to first know CAF’s response on the matter.
ZIFA, however, noted their genuine concerns, with Mamutse also reportedly following up his letter to acting CAF secretary-general with a telephone call to the Cairo-based institution and another letter yesterday.
“We write to your good office to register our serious and valid concerns regarding the coronavirus scourge.
“We have just recently come across several articles which seem to inform that there have of late been various incidents of the coronavirus infections in Algeria. You will note that our national team is pencilled in to play in Algeria on the 26th of March 2020 and we have genuine fears for our team and citizens should the team go ahead and play in Algeria.
“We, therefore, kindly request and propose that the match be moved to another venue outside Algeria, where they have been no reported cases of the epidemic.
“Should CAF insist that we play the match in Algeria, we seek for written and acceptable commitments from CAF detailing how and what measures are and shall be in place to ensure our team’s safety. We hope, dear secretary-general, that our request to move the venue of the match will receive your positive feedback so as to protect our players, officials and general supporters of football in Zimbabwe and the world at large,’’ Mamutse said.
He said it was also imperative that ZIFA be advised of the CAF position on time in order to finalise the travel logistics for the Warriors, the majority of whom are dotted at different bases around the world.
“For our planning and logistics, we request that this issue receives your urgent attention and we will appreciate your response at the earliest possible time’’.
In his letter to the SRC, Mamutse also reiterated ZIFA’s serious worry over the coronavirus scourge.
“The Zimbabwe Football Association has learnt with concern media reports about coronavirus cases in Algeria. We kindly request your esteemed office to advise us if it is safe to travel to Algeria for the AFCON Qualifier match slated for the 26th of March 2020 in light of these reported cases of the deadly coronavirus . . . ,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, we have also written to CAF on this issue.”
Mupazviriho noted that the commission’s advice could only be made after consultations with the Ministry of Health and Child Care and having observed CAF’s position on the matter.
“Reference is made to your e-mail raising concerns regarding Covid-19 infections in Algeria. Please kindly ask CAF what are the likely implications of travelling to that country.
“Once we have their input together with information from the Ministry of Health that is when an informed decision can be made.
“Please urgently get CAF views,’’ Mupazviriho said.
THE Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) has started the process of compiling more applications from petroleum companies which have expressed interest to sell fuel in foreign currency.
Late last month the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) instructed Zera to register all fuel service stations that have free funds, which they can use to import fuel for sale in foreign currency.
RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya indicated that the central bank had given exchange control approval for Zera to receive applications from fuel companies that have free funds for direct imports to be sold in hard currency.
Zera acting chief executive officer Mr Eddington Muzambani told Sunday News Business that the energy regulator had started the process of compiling applications from petroleum companies to sell in foreign currency.
“Zera requested all interested operators to submit their applications to be considered for licensing to sell fuel in foreign currency. The applications are currently being compiled and the detailed analysis and classification of sites to be licensed by province and town will be availed in due course,” he said.
Previously, only a few designated fuel service stations could sell fuel in forex in terms of Statutory Instrument 212 of 2019, which allowed only guests of State and diplomats to buy petrol, diesel or other petroleum products in foreign currency.
But Zuva Petroleum late last month announced it will be accepting foreign currency for fuel payments at eight of the firm’s service stations across the country, in Harare (four) and one each in Bulawayo, Mutare, Gweru and Victoria Falls.
Mr Muzambani said operators that are found liable to violating the Direct Fuel Import (DFI) facility risk having their licences cancelled.
“There are regulations that will deal with operators who may violate the DFI facility. A combination of civil and criminal procedure will be applied as part of enforcing the regulations. Suffice to say any violation of the DFI facility will result in cancellation of the licence under the provisions of the law,” he said.
Mr Muzambani said Zera has over the past few years charged a number of petroleum companies that had been selling fuel in foreign currency without a license.
“Selling fuel in foreign currency was done under the provision of the law as provided under SI 161 of 2019, SI 212 of 2019 and circular number 8 of 2019 of the RBZ. Other sites that attempted to sell fuel in foreign currency were given compliance orders or charged for violation of their licence condition,” he said.
The place is called Makorokoro and it's in Mangwe Matebeleland South Province. A by-election set for the 14th of March 2020.Anyone who thinks of any other party other than ZANU PF wining this Constituency needs some mental and spiritual examination.@zanupf_patriotspic.twitter.com/OSNUrasqcY
08 March 2020- As we commemorate International Women’s Day running under the theme, “An equal world is an enabled world”, ZESN calls for a multi-stakeholder approach in ensuring gender equality in democratic, electoral and governance processes in Zimbabwe.
International Women’s Day comes at a time when ZESN and other CSOs are lobbying government and political parties to increase women’s representation in the government and participation as political candidates as a way of empowering women to achieve gender parity.
International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on 8 March and offers an opportunity to reflect on progress made with regards to gender equality, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history and development of their countries and communities.
The Zimbabwe Constitution under Section 17 calls on the State to promote full gender balance in Zimbabwean society, and in particular – with regard to promoting the full participation of women in all spheres of Zimbabwean society on the basis of equality with men and to take legislative and other measures to ensure that both genders are equally represented in all institutions and agencies of government at every level; and that women should constitute at least half of members of all Commissions and other elective and appointed governmental bodies established under the Constitution or any Act of Parliament; and that the State must take positive measures to rectify gender discrimination and imbalances resulting from past practices and policies.
ZESN notes with concern that despite this legislative framework to ensure gender equality, Zimbabwe is yet to achieve equal representation in public office and decision making positions.
There are no measures in place to ensure that political parties comply with the provisions of the Constitution for their appointments and candidate selection.
Furthermore, women are subjected to physical, verbal and emotional abuse thereby discouraging political contestation.
While Section 124 (b) of the Constitution provides a quota of 60 seats set aside for women for proportional representation in Parliament and counterpoises the constituency-based electoral system, the quota system does not have clear provisions on how to include young women, does not extend to local government, and expires in 2023.
The Network urges government to ensure that membership of Parliament and membership of any council of a local authority shall at all times reflect gender parity in order to achieve gender equality of representation between men and women pursuant to sections 17, 56(2) and (3) and 80(1) of the Constitution; and (ii) comply with any quotas reserved for the youth and persons with disabilities as may be prescribed by the Commission in consultation with registered political parties.
ZESN thus calls for the development of strong legal mechanisms to encourage and support the adoption of women as candidates so as to ensure gender parity in political and decision-making positions in line with the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, which states that “State parties shall ensure equal and effective representation by women in decision-making in the political, public and private sectors, including the use of special measures,” (Article 12. 1).
Ensuring that gender considerations are mainstreamed in electoral processes will go a long way in enhancing women’s participation in democratic governance processes.
