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.

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.

— TellZim

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.

Daily News

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.

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.

The honeymoon seems to be over for Highlanders defender Peter Muduhwa after the player was accused of marking the wrong territory with allegations of infidelity threatening to rip apart his marriage.

Social media went into a frenzied overdrive in the last couple of days after a Facebook user accused Muduhwa of playing outside of his marital pitch with another woman.

The player married Vanessa Muduhwa (nee Gasela) in November last year.

Barely four months into the union, Muduhwa is accused of stepping out of marriage with another woman in a no-holds barred series of posts on social media.

So confident is the Facebook user’s claims of infidelity against Muduhwa that he dared the footballer to refute the allegations.

The first post was dropped on social media last Sunday and it read:

“Our new wedded couple it’s less than three months thy (sic) married but they are already planning a divorce. Our player has played hearts, what a world.”

A couple of minutes later the Facebook user who goes by the name Chey Chey tagged the player once again with two pictures and asked: “Who is the wife A or B?”

The pictures are those of Muduhwa with his wife Vanessa and another one where he is cosy with another woman.

Followers of the footie quickly came to the defence of Muduhwa with some questioning the Facebook user’s motives in posting pictures of him with another woman.

“Immaturity so Chey Chey whoever you are what are your motives??? What are you trying to achieve? Had I been you I was going to use my time wisely doing something productive like mastering English,” wrote one of the irritated followers, Matron Mattie D.

The accuser fired back by sending another cozy picture of Muduhwa with his “lady friend” and asked “Is this the same girl he married? Haters deserve to be humiliated.”

Another follower asked the wisdom of making infidelity accusations on social media.

“Chey Chey I know he (Muduhwa) is married to Vanessa but discussing this on Facebook won’t solve any problem, talk to him please,” said Eunice Dube.

Shepherd Rejour Markoo Dube said “Chey Chey is there any need of publishing such a rumour, why not mind your own divorce and leave them with their business.”

Chey Chey showed no chill and went on to draw a comparison between Vanessa and the lady with Muduhwa on the picture saying “A is beautiful, why didn’t he marry her while B (Vanessa) seems older than him (Muduhwa).

Muduhwa’s wife, seemingly unfazed by the allegations, said: “Our silence doesn’t mean that we are afraid of you or what. Uthunywe nguye yin ugal lo oku pic oyisendileyo (were you sent by this lady on the picture).”

“We are not divorcing anytime soon so Ayiii khohlwani (forget). This isn’t breaking us,” said Vanessa.

Efforts to get hold of Muduhwa proved futile after someone that claimed to be his spokesperson told this reporter to phone again at 10pm on Monday.

“Hello, who am I speaking to? Muduhwa is not around, call around 10 or 11 or leave a message.”

Repeated efforts to get hold of the player were unsuccessful and messages sent to his phone were not responded to. 

• B Metro

Correspondent|SOME commuter omnibuses operators are now demanding transport fares in US dollars in what could be seen as open defiance against an unpopular government decision to dump the multi-currency system in place for the local dollar.

The private operators now charge US$1 for a one-way trip from Chitungwiza to Harare with commuters from Harare CBD now asked to fork out US$0.50 for a single trip to the city’s high density suburbs.

“We are buying fuel in US dollars so it is only logical that we charge in the same currency,” said one tout only identified as Sam.

“My kombi plies the Warren Park 1 to town route which is not really strict on US dollar payments but my colleagues plying the Chitungwiza route are already demanding US$1 per person or equivalent for them to buy foreign currency on the black market at the end of their working day.

“Fares to Warren Park 1 and back have been rising everyday hence we have opted to encourage our passengers to pay US$1 per pair.”

The US dollar charges are similar to those charged during the US dollar period.

Government reintroduced subsidised transport through public transporter Zupco whose charges are way less than those charged by private transporters.

However, the few buses plying the routes often find themselves too overwhelmed leaving commuters with no other choice than to depend on private transporters.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube scrapped the multicurrency system in an unpopular policy shift last year.

The move came at the expense of the national economy which had struck relative stability since the introduction of the US dollar, the South African rand and a basket of other major currencies that are easy to use among locals.

The chickens have since come home to roost as the Zim-dollar keeps eroding in terms of value, leaving businesses with no option but to go against government’s directive to charges goods and services in local currency.

Added Sam: “People have the US dollar, we cannot continue to pretend there is no US dollar anymore when we all know goods and services are being charged in that currency.

“Government knows the US dollar is there, that is the reason it has allowed fuel and other companies to sell in foreign currency.

“I am sure even Ncube and John Mangudya (RBZ governor) know the local currency is worthless on the streets.

“They should simply allow all of us to use it instead of forcing us to use their paper.”

Private taxi operators have for long been demanding transport fares in US dollars.

State Media|GOVERNMENT has dismissed findings by the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food that food shortages in the country are man-made saying the situation is a result of a combination of factors including sanctions and climate change.

In her preliminary report at the end of her visit, the Special Rapporteur, Ms Hilal Elve, who was invited into the country by Government last year on a fact-finding mission, concluded that the country was on the verge of a major man-made famine characterised by partisan food distribution and repeated droughts.

Presenting Government’s response to the rapporteur’s findings during the 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland last week, Secretary for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mrs Virginia Mabiza said the report failed to capture the correct picture.

“Madame President, indeed the Special Rapporteur correctly observed that the country faces economic challenges due to the continued imposition of illegal sanctions, which has hampered the realisation of socio-economic rights,” said Mrs Mabiza.

“This is being compounded by successive droughts and the devastating Tropical Cyclone Idai. These factors have negatively impacted on the food security of our citizens particularly the vulnerable.”

Mrs Mabiza accused the Special Rapporteur of exaggerating the scale of food shortages and insisted the shortages were not man-made.

She added that Ms Elve’s field visits were limited to places at the extreme end of the food situation spectrum.

“The Government of Zimbabwe wishes to reiterate that the Special Rapporteur’s view that the majority of the population is suffering from food insecurity is grossly exaggerated.

“Statistics to that effect are clearly illustrated in our submitted response. Furthermore, the assertion that Zimbabwe faces a man-made food crisis is a misrepresentation of our food security situation, which is a direct result of sanctions and the effect of climate change as correctly observed by the Special Rapporteur herself.

“While the Government acknowledges that there is a need for food aid, it is, however, of the view that the population sampled by the Special Rapporteur was limited and less reflective of the broader context of the food and agricultural situation in Zimbabwe.

“Her findings were limited to a few field visits, which at a minimum, are at the extreme end of the food situation spectrum.”

The Special Rapporteur, said Mrs Mabiza, failed to take into account safety nets and measures being implemented by the Government and how they are impacting on the enjoyment of the right to food.

Government is implementing programmes that include the targeted food handout scheme for food insecure households, distribution of subsidised maize meal, providing agricultural finance and inputs and importation of maize.

Mrs Mabiza said Government was importing grain to boost food security.

“Regarding sanctions, it is a historical fact that they were imposed by some Western countries in retaliation to Zimbabwe’s decision to launch the land reform programme in early 2000 to correct the skewed land tenure system inherited from the colonial era,” she said.

“These sanctions are illegal, unjustified and violate Article 41 of the United Nations Charter.

“As a result of these sanctions, in the past two decades, Zimbabwe lost potential revenue which includes: bilateral donor support; loans from multilateral lending institutions; denial of lines of credit; and the regression of infrastructure development.”

She added: “Madame President, the Government also brings to your attention other unfounded assertions by the Special Rapporteur, which include alleged partisan distribution of food aid and diversion of proceeds from mineral sales respectively.

“In respect of food distribution, the Government has put in place a structure for the transparent selection and distribution of food relief composed of public servants and NGOs.

“Regarding proceeds from the sale of minerals, revenue is directly transmitted to Treasury in a well-documented and audited structure.”

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.

-State media

By Dr Ellane Simon
Zimbabwe Online Health Centre

The day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year.

2020 Theme is: An equal world is an enabled world.

It is just a day set aside to recognize social, economic, cultural and political achievements done by women that is an ordinary woman playing an extraordinary role. We do recognize what’s done by the women because back in the 18th and 19th century women were believed not to be able to do something extraordinary than their male counterparts.

Especially in the African culture there work was to get married, bear children, do house chores and farm while men would do all the other work. They were not even given a chance to go to school and attain education.

However as time moves people then realised that women can also do jobs that were labeled to be men’s jobs and actually do them better. A day was then set aside to celebrate those women who have done great works and to encourage women to also do great even those who think women are incapable to give them a chance to prove themselves.

The whole world thought it was a good initiative and on planning for tomorrow’s future kept that in mind.

When Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were formed they included women in their goals for 2030. Goal 5: Gender equality – Ending discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right but crucial for a sustainable future.

Empowering women and girls helps in economic growth and development.

It has been proven that girls who attend school are less susceptible to forced marriage, early pregnancy and gender-based violence. It is vital to give women equal rights to land and property, sexual and reproductive health, and to technology and internet to make the world a better place.

Facts and figures that shows women are treated differently from men as of 2018 showed that:

1. Women earn only 77cents for every dollar that men get for the same job.
2. 35% of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence.
3. Women represent just 13% of agriculture landholders.
4. Approximately 750million women and girls alive today were married before their 18th birthday.
5. 24% of national parliamentarians were women compared with 11.3% in the 90s but is still low.

All these facts still shows there are improvements in gender equality but there is still a gap that needs to be covered. Everyone should encourage the girl child that nothing is impossible, what a men can do a woman can do and what a woman can do a man can do.

In Zimbabwe gender equality is improving significantly and people are accepting it slowly. The girl child have equal access to education with the boy child and to even encourage girls continuing with their education at University level, some requirements are lower for the girls than boys. Early marriages and child marriages are no longer allowed. Women have a say on reproductive health issues.

Women are also allowed to have high positions of power in offices even in the parliament. Let’s empower women and girls in our communities to make a difference, to move from being ordinary to being extraordinary. All this is done to have an equal world which is an enabled world.

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Own Correspondent| Government of Zimbabwe could be hiding the correct country report and situation with regards to the novel coronavirus amid reports that a woman who came from China and got quarantined before being released could have died of the deadly virus.

Government insists she tested negative to the deadly virus.

Another unconfirmed report suggests that a Chinese national died of coronavirus in the country with government decided to conceal the information while hurriedly arranging for an urgent burial.

Just early this morning, an online publication Zimlive also posted related information on its Twitter handle adding to mounting fears that government could be playing hide and seek games with citizens.

“Not saying government is lying, citizens, but earlier today we got a news tip suggesting a Chinese national had died at Wilkins from coronavirus and health ministry had decided on a cover up. I dutifully asked Obadiah Moyo to clear it up. He read and ignored,” said ZimLive.

South Africa has so far recorded two confirmed cases of coronavirus.

The deadly disease has so far killed over 3000 people with close to a 100 000 now affected by the virus.

(Reuters) – A five-storey hotel being used for coronavirus quarantine collapsed in the southeast Chinese port city of Quanzhou on Saturday, trapping about 70 people, state media said.

A video stream posted by the government-backed Beijing News site showed rescue workers in orange overalls clambering over the rubble of the Quanzhou Xinjia Hotel and carrying people toward ambulances.

The hotel collapsed at about 7:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) and 34 people were rescued in the following two hours, the Quanzhou municipality said on its website.

By dawn on Sunday, 47 individuals had been rescued, according to state media outlet People’s Daily.

“I was at a gas station and heard a loud noise. I looked up and the whole building collapsed. Dust was everywhere, and glass fragments were flying around,” a witness said in a video posted on the Miaopai streaming app.

“I was so terrified that my hands and legs were shivering.”

A woman named only by her surname, Chen, told the Beijing News website that relatives including her sister had been under quarantine at the hotel as prescribed by local regulations after returning from Hubei province, where the coronavirus emerged.

She said they had been scheduled to leave soon after completing their 14 days of isolation.

“I can’t contact them, they’re not answering their phones, she said.

“I’m under quarantine too (at another hotel) and I’m very worried, I don’t know what to do. They were healthy, they took their temperatures every day, and the tests showed that everything was normal.”

Quanzhou is a port city on the Taiwan Strait in the province of Fujian with a population of more than 8 million.

The official People’s Daily said the hotel had opened in June 2018 with 80 rooms.

Beijing News’ video stream was viewed by more than 2 million Weibo users on Saturday evening, and the hotel’s collapse was the top trending topic on the Weibo (WB.O) site, China’s close equivalent to Twitter.

Some users demanded a investigation into how the hotel could have collapsed.

Anger has been building up against the authorities in China over their early handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 3,300 people globally, most of them in China.ADVERTISEMENT

The Fujian provincial government said that as of Friday, the province had 296 cases of coronavirus and 10,819 people had been placed under observation after being classified as suspected close contacts.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the committee responsible for working safety under the State Council, China’s cabinet, had sent an emergency working team to the site.

-Reuters

Farai Dziva|The leader of Masvingo based Calvary Prayer Group, Isaac Makomichi has called on Zimbabweans to stop taking alcohol for five days to seek God’s intervention as Coronavirus continues to ravage the world.

Speaking to ZimEye.com on Friday, Makomichi said Coronavirus(COVID-19) can be defeated by earnest prayers.
Makomichi is also the president of Vulnerable Youth Support Network Trust.

“I am calling on Zimbabweans to stop taking alcohol for five days – to pray against Coronavirus(COVID-19).

It(COVID-19) can be defeated by fervent prayers to God Almighty.

I am prepared to lead the national prayers against Coronavirus.

What we need is God’s protection.God is able to protect and save us from perishing,” said Makomichi.

He added:”Just like in the bible when there is a problem people must humble themselves before God and He will provide a solution.

That is what we are supposed to do.”

“She was referred to Wilkins Hospital for COVID-19 tests but died on the way…”

By Simba Chikanza| The Zimbabwean government risks being referred to the United Nations Security council after it failed to report a case of suspected Corona virus in a woman who returned from China in January and just yesterday presented herself to her doctor and died a day later.

The symptoms explained are synonymous with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, and yet the Zimbabwean government has been silent on this amid revelations the state is neither checking people who enter through the RGM airport nor quarantining them.

To date the Zim government has submitted records to the United Nations and other bodies claiming that there are no cases at all of coronavirus in the country. And just today the live satellite map said the country is clear of coronavirus. However just 2 days before Parliament debated that they are several people who are currently current quarantined in Norton.

In the latest development, 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.”

• more follows….

Meanwhile, it was not clear if the ministry of health has done a contact tracing procedure so to ascertain potential viral spread.

By A Correspondent- A man from Zhombe’s Sikabela area shocked all and sundry after he ploughed and planted maize at a school’s assembly point arguing that the school boundary encroached into his yard.

The headmaster and pupils at Sikabela Primary School were left shell shocked when Agent Ncube brought his cattle and started ploughing at the school assembly point with his wife in tow with a bucket of seed maize, claiming it was his farm.

When the school authorities tried to intervene, Ncube threatened them with an axe and to strike whoever dared to stop him with lightning.

Ward 13 Councillor Cafemol Moyo confirmed the incident that has left the whole community shocked.

“It is true, we are having this problem where Ncube is claiming that the school encroached in his yard. We have tried to talk to him but to no avail. He remains adamant that the school was in his backyard and that the school should be moved,” said Cllr Moyo.

He said on the fateful day, he was called to intervene only to find Ncube busy with his cattle with his wife in tow, planting.

“I was called by the school authorities but when we tried to intervene, he threatened us with lightning and to chop us down with an axe,” said the councillor.

 He said authorities including police and the district schools’ inspector, had tried to intervene but to no avail.

“The Dispol has been here several times as well as the education boss in the district, but the man remains adamant. As it is we are hoping that the courts will solve the issue for us because what he is doing is jeopardising the proper learning of children and disobeying the authorities,” said Councillor Moyo.

He said Ncube claimed that the area was given to him by the then village head.

“He claims that he was born in 1978 and the school was pegged in 1981 and it was pegged in his place. We are now hoping that the courts will solve this impasse for us,” said Cllr Moyo.

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Peace Project has reported that police recently banned the MDC’s women assembly rally, which was slated for Harare under unclear circumstances.

“On 21 February, the police banned the MDC Women’s Assembly rally slated for Harare’s Warren Park D Suburb at Pfukwa shops but earlier during the month, the First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa convened a mini rally in Mbare which was escorted by the police,” ZPP reported.

“Reports of some traditional leaders who continued to violate provisions of Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe that prohibits them from getting involved in partisan politics were noted.”

ZPP said such behaviour compromises the administration of their duties which require that they govern in a non-partisan manner.

ZPP said it recorded a total of 195 violations up from 185 in January.

“Food and other aid related violations remained high with a total of 38 such cases being recorded. The aid was largely from the Department of Social Welfare. Mashonaland Central province recorded the highest number of violations at 53, followed by Harare with 33,” reads the ZPP report.

The Zimbabwe Independent’s headline alleging the misappropriation of ZW$ 2 million is false, baseless and appears to be yet another attempt to discredit the #MDC generally and its Party Leader @nelsonchamisa and Secretary-General.

As I have made clear to a variety of journalists in the last few weeks since this false story first emerged I am not aware of any money which has been misappropriated from MDC coffers by any official or party leader.

Since taking office as MDC Treasurer General last May I have implemented a variety of new measures to make the MDC accounting systems as transparent and orderly as possible.

These systems have included a strict banking culture and an agreement that our annual accounts will be subjected to an internal audit. President Chamisa is not even a signatory to our banking account and so it is impossible for him to have misappropriated money.

All of these measures have been wholeheartedly backed by President Chamisa.

Whilst our first audit for the financial year ended 31st December 2019 has not been done yet I have encountered no resistance to it from any quarter within the senior leadership of the MDC.

The attempts by some to portray the audit as some kind of investigation into alleged impropriety are misleading and utterly false.

The audit was agreed to last year and is a routine audit. I should also point out that this is the first time the MDC has conducted an audit of this nature and it is the first time any political party in Zimbabwe has ever subjected itself to an audit.

In all the circumstances the report in the Zimbabwe Independent is clearly designed to impugn the credibility and integrity of MDC President Nelson Chamisa, the Secretary Chalton Hwende and the MDC.

The Zimbabwean public need to be assured that our goal within the MDC is that it meets the highest international standards of accountability and transparency, which in turn will demonstrate that the MDC is competent to govern Zimbabwe as a whole.

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwean government has said that it has recalled one of its diplomats, Mr Mcmillan Moyana who was based in the United States of America over “unbecoming behaviour”.

In a statement, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Mrs Constance Chemwayi confirmed the development saying:

The ministry can confirm that one of our junior officers in Washington was recently involved in unbecoming behaviour that is unacceptable among our diplomats.

The ministry swiftly took action and recalled him. He is currently under disciplinary action in accordance with the Public Service Commission regulations.

Reports suggest that the diplomat barged into a home in the US and was arrested and arrayed in court on charges of home invasion, second-degree assault, third-degree burglary, reckless endangerment, and trespassing which all carry a combined total of up to 50 years in prison.

He was however later released after being granted diplomatic immunity.-Statemedia

By Simba Chikanza| The Zimbabwean government risks being referred to the United Nations Security council after it failed to report a case of suspected Corona virus in a woman who recently returned from China and just yesterday presented herself to her doctor and died a day later.

The symptoms explained are synonymous with the novel coronavirus, and yet the Zimbabwean government has been silent on this amid revelations the state is not checking people who enter through the RGM airport and not quarantining those from affected regions.

To date the Zim government has submitted records to the United Nations and other bodies claiming that there are no cases at all of coronavirus in the country. And just today the live satellite map should the country is clear of coronavirus. However just 2 days before Parliament debated that there are several people who are currently current quarantined in Norton.

In the latest development, 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.”

• more follows….

By Joana Ruvimbo Mamombe MP Harare West Constituency

It’s been exactly 365 days plus two more days since I was arrested last year on the 4th of March and charged with Treason.

Yesterday, I appeared in court and made an application to be removed from remand.

Today, the Magistrate gave a ruling in favour of the state.

She ruled that the Treason case is complex hence state needs more time before setting a trial date at the High Court.

The case has been postponed to Wednesday the 18th of March 2020.

Despite all the persecution I presently face through these needless remands, I stand firm in my belief that even the purest fountain is not so free from mud, as I am innocent of these spurious allegations.

All I am asking for is my day in court, and the State’s failure to provide a trial date vindicates my position that it has no case worth taking to trial and is bent on keeping me on remand to please its political masters. This however will not deter me in my quest for a better Zimbabwe.

Many thanks to fellow Honourable Members of Parliament, Senior party leaders, Harare West MDC Members, Family and Friends for the unwavering support! A big shout out to my wonderful counsel Jeremiah Mutongi Bamu, I appreciate you…

Struggle for a new Zimbabwe is real !!!

By A Correspondent- Jabulani the son of the late renowned traditional healer, Sekuru Ndunge born Charles Makuyana has approached Chipinge magistrate courts seeking to distribute property with his estranged wife, Ethel Loreen Jenhu following their divorce recently.

In his court papers, Makuyana is seeking the return of three vehicles; a Toyota Prado, Toyota Bubble, and Toyota Picnic, which were given to him by his late father, four-car radios and a house in Usunga Suburb in Chipinge.

He also contended that he also helped Jenhu to start a chicken project from which she managed to buy the Honda Fit vehicles which she now uses as taxis and also bought a stand in Glenview suburb in the Eastern Highlands town.

However, Jenhu denied Makuyana’s claims that he gave her financial assistance to start a chicken or transport business adding that Makuyana was actually trying to thwart her efforts.

She also contends that Makuyana’s proposed property distribution format was unfair as it included properties which she acquired alone adding that Makuyana also omitted several properties which should have been included.-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi has warned “unscrupulous” fuel dealers who are in the habit of hoarding fuel and then selling it at inflated prices in foreign currency that they will lose their licenses.

Chasi’s remarks follow reports of fuel service stations in Victoria Falls selling the product in foreign currency at between US$1.50 and US$1.59 per litre for petrol and diesel, respectively.

Speaking at the South Africa-Zambia and Zimbabwe Infrastructure Summit and Expo in the resort town on Friday, Chasi said:

Very soon there will be order in the fuel sector. We can’t have people accessing foreign currency from the Central Bank and then go on to sell fuel anyhow. For those that don’t comply I will simply take their licenses and tear them up because we can’t have our people being punished by unscrupulous dealers.

Government has expressed concern in the past regarding that type of conduct and yesterday the Ministry (Finance) expressed itself in very strong terms in terms of saying to those that are engaging in malpractices that we will de-licence them because we can’t have profiteering people.

Recently the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor John Mangudya said the Central Bank has given the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) approval to register fuel service stations with free funds for direct imports to be sold in foreign currency.

Meanwhile, ZERA has not yet approved any service station to sell fuel in foreign currency but the practice has already become rampant.-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- Former MDC Vice President Morgen Komichi has dismissed as fake reports that he has resigned from the country’s main opposition.

This follows reports circulating on various platforms that he had resigned from the Nelson Chamisa led opposition party.

In a letter purportedly wrote by Komichi, dated 6th March, the politician says he has resigned from the party because of frustration with the direction the MDC has taken in the past nine months since the congress of May 2019 in Gweru.

Komichi mentions lack of accountability to party funds, and says the party has been hijacked for personal benefit, betraying the philosophy of founding President Morgan Tsvangirai.

Komichi expressed ignorance about the origins of the letter.

“People just write stuff, my brother. I’m not even sure where the letter is coming from. No, that’s not me,” said Komichi

Komichi has been in the MDC for over ten years and has been persecuted for the party’s cause and was arrested several times including after the 2018 elections when he announced that results from the Zimbabwe Election Commission were fake.

By A Correspondent- Explosive minutes of a meeting convened by Local Government, Public Works and National Housing minister July Moyo to resolve a land ownership row between five housing co-operatives and Billy Rautenbach show that the business mogul paid RTGS$60 000 (which was equivalent to US$60 000 at the time) to the Zimbabwe Republic Police for “protection” at the height of the dispute, the Zimbabwe Independent can reveal.

Rautenbach’s vast business interests range from ethanol blending (through his investment vehicle Green Fuel) to real estate and mining.At the centre of the land wrangle, which pits Joshua Nkomo, Leopold Takawira, Wadzanai, Mydek and Dzapasi housing co-operatives against Rautenbach is stand number 48 Aspindale Park Township of subdivision A of Aspindale Park of subdivion A of Lochinvar measuring 100,3134 hectares.

They are also fighting over the remaining extent of Salisbury Park of Lochinvar measuring 80,7875 hectares to which the business magnate holds title through Marimba Properties.

However, in 2010, government allocated the land to the co-operatives for settlement, which was subsequently parcelled out as residential stands to home-seekers by the co-operatives.

According to minutes of the meeting, dated July 25, 2019, Rautenbach intimated that in a bid to stop the illegal settlers from occupying his land, he paid the ZRP’s Support Unit RTGS$60 000, to secure his protection.

The minutes read: “He (Rautenbach) noted that despite having been asked to pay US$60 000 to ZRP Support Unit in order for his staff to have police protection whilst they conducted surveys on the stand. He stated that the ZRP Support Unit only came to the site one day and never came back.”

However, according to a quotation generated by ZRP (Harare South District Southerton) undersigned by Staff Assistant Inspector S. Mangena, the police expressed commitment to render security services to Marimba Residential Properties from May 9 to June 12, for a sum of RTGS$60 588.

The quotation reads:

“Quotation in respect of security to be provided by police during your works on Stand 48 Aspindale Park Township: 09 May to 12 June 2019 from 0630hrs to 1600hrs. Reference is made to the above subject matter. You are required to pay a total amount of RTGS$60 588,00 for police security and insurance.

“You are also informed that payment should be made prior to the event. You are therefore required to pay cash or alternatively deposit the money into our account”.

Marimba Residential Properties deposited the amount into the ZRP Harare South District CBZ account 02323562250015.The quotation was generated on May 8, 2019.

But when quizzed about the RTGS$60 000 payment to the police, Officer Commanding Harare Province Bernard Dumbura professed ignorance over the matter, saying:

“I cannot say it was paid or not, but if it was paid, it was not paid to me.”

He said he only met with Rautenbach’s lawyers to try and obtain a declaratory order, which would assert the business mogul’s rights to the land.

“I remember I was called for a meeting. After that meeting I met Billy’s lawyers to push for a declaratory order to assert his rights,” Dumbura said. “During the meeting, I said we needed to look into the issue with their lawyers and determine if the police was needed. I am not aware of any amount that was paid. As police we have procedures on receiving money. You don’t just receive money.”

The minutes, however, reveal that Rautenbach was promised that he would be refunded his money after making complaints against the police.”He (Rautenbach) was subsequently telephoned and informed that he would get a refund of his money,” the minutes read.

According to the minutes, Rautenbach warned that judging by how the land squabble had been handled by the government, investors would keep away from a country that disregarded property rights.

The minutes also show that to resolve the dispute, Rautenbach proposed that the occupants of the land were supposed to pay Marimba Properties for a period spanning 20 years, failure of which his investment vehicle was willing to buy out the illegal settlers.

“BR (Rautenbach) stated that he was willing to allow current occupants of the stands to pay Marimba Properties over 20 years and if any settler fails to pay for the property, then the company can buy back the property,” the minutes read. “He emphasised he was an investor in Zimbabwe and firmly believed that people will not invest in Zimbabwe unless government can secure property rights.”

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Harare Province Oliver Chidawu, who also attended the meeting, according to the minutes, questioned the approach of the law enforcement agents who seemed to take sides with the illegal settlers.

“Oliver Chidawu noted that in a previous meeting with the ZRP, the ZRP legal department seemed to side with the co-operatives,” the minutes read.

Chidawu also took a swipe at law enforcement agents at Marimba Police Station, whom he accused of receiving bribes to obstruct the course of justice.

The minutes read: “Oliver Chidawu highlighted that the Officer-in-Command of Marimba Police Station had proved to be unhelpful, giving credence to reports that he has been compromised with stands and money. He noted that Waterfalls Police Station is also very corrupt.”   

During the same meeting, Moyo implored law enforcement agents to contain the land ownership feud, which threatened to spiral out of control.

“July Moyo also requested the assistance of the ZRP on the issue of space barons in Harare and stated that in the spirit of devolution, it was incumbent upon provincial authorities to handle their issues before they are escalated to the National Joint Operations Command (Joc). He noted that it was not sufficient to merely remove land barons, but this must be followed up by prosecution in appropriate cases,” the minutes, seen by the Independent this week, read.

At the time of going to print, Moyo had not responded to questions sent to him. His mobile phone was not reachable.

Statement by MDC Treasurer General on the False Zimbabwe Independent Story About the ‘Missing RTGS 2M’

The Zimbabwe Independent’s headline alleging the misappropriation of ZW$2 million is false, baseless and appears to be yet another attempt to discredit the MDC generally and its Party Leader and Secretary General.

As I have made clear to a variety of journalists in the last few weeks since this false story first emerged I am not aware of any money which has been misappropriated from MDC coffers by any official or party leader.

Since taking office as MDC Treasurer General last May I have implemented a variety of new measures to make the MDC accounting systems as transparent and orderly as possible. These systems have included a strict banking culture and an agreement that our annual accounts will be subjected to an internal audit.

President Chamisa is not even a signatory to our banking account and so it is impossible for him to have misappropriated money. All of these measures have been wholeheartedly backed by President Chamisa.

Whilst our first audit for the financial year ended 31st December 2019 has not been done yet I have encountered no resistance to it from any quarter within the senior leadership of the MDC. The attempts by some to portray the audit as some kind of investigation into alleged impropriety are misleading and utterly false.

The audit was agreed to last year and is a routine audit. I should also point out that this is the first time the MDC has conducted an audit of this nature and it is the first time any political party in Zimbabwe has ever subjected itself to an audit.

In all the circumstances the report in the Zimbabwe Independent is clearly designed to impugn the credibility and integrity of MDC President Nelson Chamisa, the Secretary General Chalton Hwende and the MDC.

The Zimbabwean public need to be assured that our goal within the MDC is that it meets the highest international standards of accountability and transparency, which in turn will demonstrate that the MDC is competent to govern Zimbabwe as a whole.

Senator David Coltart

MDC Treasurer General
Movement For Democratic Change

By A Correspondent| The time has come and there is no way out for the ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa who is trapped between the past and the economy.

The development comes as his ZANU PF party imploded amid accusations and counter accusations over issues such as corruption and mal-administration. Since the disputed 2018 polls in which Mnangagwa used soldiers to kill people to change election results, he has been pressuring his opponent Nelson Chamisa to endorse him the winner and join his political actors club, called Polad. It has been his position that joining the club will create miracles in the economy.

But speaking on ZimEye Saturday night, MDC Secretary for Elections, Jacob Mafume said, “Seek ye first the political Kingdom and everything else will follow; our economy will not be right if our political Kingdom is wrong; if we don’t deal with our politics then our economy will always go sour.” –
https://t.co/jeLvm6YSFs

VIDEO LOADING BELOW….

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe’s health facilities are woefully equipped and would be unable to adequately respond to a coronavirus outbreak, at a time neighbouring South Africa has confirmed its second case of a patient who tested positive to the disease.

The authorities in Harare are now depending on donations after China and the United Kingdom pledged to provide equipment and other support.The UK government, through its Department for International Development (DfID), yesterday moved to avert a possible crisis in the country’s response to a coronavirus outbreak by supplying protective clothing and equipment worth £100 000 (US$128 229).

Despite the Zimbabwean government’s claims that the country is ready to deal with the coronavirus (now known internationally as Covid-19) that had by Wednesday midday infected 93 574 and killed 3 204 people worldwide, investigation of the situation on the ground told a different story.

Among the facilities which have been selected as quarantine centres for coronavirus is Wilkins Hospital in Harare, where protective clothing has not been adequate, while the anti-retroviral treatment which Health minister Obadiah Moyo previously said would be used to treat the disease is out of stock.

DfID donated supplies of personal protective equipment, computers, data services and television monitoring equipment to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Public Health Emergency Operations.

WHO then handed over the items to the Ministry of Health and Child Care.Before the donation yesterday, Wilkins Hospital had been relying on space suits, gloves, gumboots and N95 respirators acquired when the country was preparing to fight an ebola outbreak in 2014.

According to hospital sources, the health institution had run out of the protective clothing for health care workers. The hospital is also short-staffed, with health personnel working long hours.

Officials revealed that the government has not procured its own equipment, but has been waiting for assistance from the WHO.Government through the Ministry of Health has previously insisted the country is fully prepared to deal with coronavirus cases, but investigations by the Zimbabwe

Independent revealed that the country lacked the capacity to effectively deal with the disease should it hit home.The Independent established that the procedure for the handling of suspected cases is that when an infected person arrives at the airport, port health, a department at the point of entry, should notify the Harare City ambulance services about the case. The ambulance is manned by trained personnel who, on their way to the patient, inform the team at Wilkins about the case.

The team at Wilkins, comprising three nurses, one doctor, an environmental officer, one general hand and one nurse aid, then starts preparing to receive the patient and putting on the protective clothing which includes latex gloves, spacesuit, goggles, N95 respirators and gumboots.

“The clothing that has been used was stocked during the ebola outbreak and we have run out of spacesuits and other items.  We had been promised, but not yet received anything. We are at critical levels and if we receive a serious case we will not be able to deal with that case,” a source at the hospital said.

“After attending to the patient, the clothing should be burnt, as you cannot wear it again in case it gets infected. Ideally, the clothing should be burnt close to the point of infection because transporting them might result in further infection.

“Another thing is our staffing levels are very low and people will get tired. We have seven teams that work six-hour shifts. Most people have left the country because the environment is not conducive. In treating the patient, we also try and limit access to the patient and visits to the patient will also depend on the type of medicine that is being administered to them.”

Wilkins Hospital has so far admitted three suspected cases that the authorities say have tested negative to coronavirus.This comes as neighbouring South Africa yesterday recorded its first confirmed case of Covid-19, with Health minister Moyo describing it as a warning sign.

“We should be able to be prepared for when Covid-19 comes to Zimbabwe. Yes, it is very frightening that it is around the corner. But I’m sure that the South African authorities would be very thorough and will be able to isolate and be able to pick up the contacts which the Covid-19 positive carrier came into contact with,” Moyo said at the handover of equipment and clothing at Wilkins Hospital yesterday. “Yes, we have to be prepared, all of us.”

Harare City Council Health Services director Dr Prosper Chonzi said although there was a delay in getting the stocks, the WHO had delivered some supplies. He said the material from the WHO was being distributed countrywide.

“We were supposed to have gotten the stuff last week and we have so far received some from WHO and some of the required things are currently being distributed to Bulawayo and Mutare. Adequacy will depend on the number of cases we get. Normally, we start sounding out for more before the stocks run out,” Chonzi said.

He said coronavirus teams would administer antibiotics and other support treatments as the experimental anti-retroviral treatment has not yet been clearly prescribed and is still being researched on.

“In terms of treatment, the kind of treatment we are administering is mostly supportive treatment, where we give antibiotics and where a person is struggling to breathe, we provide oxygen and for dehydration we administer IV (intravenous) fluid and we have that in stock. If we get a case, we are able to isolate and treat,” Chonzi said.

“In terms of staff, we have always been having issues around that. Some of the trained personnel are leaving for greener pastures and at the end of the day we will have people working long hours. The staffing issue does not only apply to nurses but also to doctors and to environmental officers.”

The Chinese embassy also pledged to refurbish Wilkins Hospital to make it comfortable for patients.-ZimIndependent

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Peace Project has reported that police recently banned the MDC’s women assembly rally, which was slatted for Harare under unclear circumstances.

“On 21 February, the police banned the MDC Women’s Assembly rally slated for Harare’s Warren Park D Suburb at Pfukwa shops but earlier during the month, the First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa convened a mini rally in Mbare which was escorted by the police,” ZPP reported.

“Reports of some traditional leaders who continued to violate provisions of Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe that prohibits them from getting involved in partisan politics were noted.”

ZPP said such behaviour compromises the administration of their duties which require that they govern in a non-partisan manner.

ZPP said it recorded a total of 195 violations up from 185 in January.

“Food and other aid related violations remained high with a total of 38 such cases being recorded. The aid was largely from the Department of Social Welfare. Mashonaland Central province recorded the highest number of violations at 53, followed by Harare with 33,” reads the ZPP report.

By A Correspondent- An illegal foreign currency dealer was shot and killed by robbers outside a lodge in Bulawayo’s Kumalo suburb who with reports claiming that they went away with US$20 000.

Madakwa Mapako (48) was gunned down at around 8 PM on Thursday near Continental Lodge where he had gone to make a transaction, his young brother Pardon revealed.

Bulawayo Province Police spokesperson, Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the incident but said the deceased was killed in the company of his girlfriend.

Said Ncube:

Police are investigating a case of murder which occurred outside a hotel in Bulawayo where a male adult, Madakwa Mapako was shot on the chest by armed robbers.

The deceased had gone with a girlfriend to the hotel where he was only booked for 30 minutes. Upon getting out of the hotel, as he was trying to get into the car, a man emerged from the back and grabbed him. Two men joined in and in the ensuing scuffle. Mapako was shot on the chest.

However, Pardon accused the police of inefficiency, saying his brother had been stalked by the robbers since February 21 and a report was made to the police.-Statemedia

The Zimbabwe Peace Project has reported that police recently banned the MDC’s women assembly rally, which was slatted for Harare on unclear circumstances.

“On 21 February, the police banned 1 These are shops with subsidised goods and are located in army barracks the MDC Women’s Assembly rally slated for Harare’s Warren Park D Suburb at Pfukwa shops but earlier during the month, the First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa convened a mini rally in Mbare which was escorted by the police,” ZPP reported.

“Reports of some traditional leaders who continued to violate provisions of Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe that prohibits them from getting involved in partisan politics were noted.”

ZPP said such behaviour compromises the administration of their duties which require that they govern in a non-partisan manner.

ZPP said it recorded a total of 195 violations up from 185 in January.

“Food and other aid related violations remained high with a total of 38 such cases being recorded. The aid was largely from the Department of Social Welfare. Mashonaland Central province recorded the highest number of violations at 53, followed by Harare with 33,” reads the ZPP report.

VIDEO LOADING BELOW….

The Treasurer General of the opposition MDC, David Coltart has said that the party’s impending financial audit is not a witch-hunt exercise as alleged by some publications.

The audit comes amid allegations that party president and secretary-general, in that order, Nelson Chamisa and Chalton Hwende diverted party funds into personal use.

Coltart says that the audit is meant to enhance accountability and transparency in the party. We present his full twitter thread below.

The Zimbabwe Independent’s headline alleging the misappropriation of ZW$ 2 million is false, baseless and appears to be yet another attempt to discredit the #MDC generally and its Party Leader @nelsonchamisa and Secretary-General.

As I have made clear to a variety of journalists in the last few weeks since this false story first emerged I am not aware of any money which has been misappropriated from MDC coffers by any official or party leader.

Since taking office as MDC Treasurer General last May I have implemented a variety of new measures to make the MDC accounting systems as transparent and orderly as possible.

These systems have included a strict banking culture and an agreement that our annual accounts will be subjected to an internal audit. President Chamisa is not even a signatory to our banking account and so it is impossible for him to have misappropriated money.

All of these measures have been wholeheartedly backed by President Chamisa.

Whilst our first audit for the financial year ended 31st December 2019 has not been done yet I have encountered no resistance to it from any quarter within the senior leadership of the MDC.

The attempts by some to portray the audit as some kind of investigation into alleged impropriety are misleading and utterly false.

The audit was agreed to last year and is a routine audit. I should also point out that this is the first time the MDC has conducted an audit of this nature and it is the first time any political party in Zimbabwe has ever subjected itself to an audit.

In all the circumstances the report in the Zimbabwe Independent is clearly designed to impugn the credibility and integrity of MDC President Nelson Chamisa, the Secretary Chalton Hwende and the MDC.

The Zimbabwean public need to be assured that our goal within the MDC is that it meets the highest international standards of accountability and transparency, which in turn will demonstrate that the MDC is competent to govern Zimbabwe as a whole.

The MDC has complained that the police is denying people their constitutional right to demonstrate. In a statement posted on the party’s Facebook page the party said:

The ZRP is brazenly violating the country’s Constitution, repressing citizens, proscribing legitimate political activity and treating the MDC as a terrorist organization in clear violation of the basic tenets of prudent policing as enshrined in the law and in international best practice.

Instead of servicing the Zimbabwean population in accordance with the laws of the land, the police service which clearly behaves like Boko Haram decimating and violating all forms of the rule of law.

We have seen the police service involved in serious human rights violations such as;
-Disregarding court orders
-Selective application of the law
-Unnecessary abductions and assaults on innocent members of the public
-Unlawful detentions
-Denying and disrupting MDC meetings and peaceful demonstrations

It is pertinent to state that when the police are notified of any demonstration or meeting, it is not for them to approve but to deploy their officers to facilitate the exercise of the right to assemble. The police have become the source of all forms of riotous behavior and chaos in the country. They cannot stop any meeting or demonstrations because it is not one of their duties to do so but to deploy their officers to make sure that no crime is committed.

We feel there should be a deliberate retraining programmes for all police officers. There are so many criminal cases committed by the police, many of which go unreported for fear of victimization. Only such cases like armed robbery, rape, extortion and others end up in courts.

We demand that the police should come up with serious reforms to align them with Constitutional behavior and with international best practice. The Constitution and the law are very clear that for the purposes of preserving the internal security and maintaining law and order in Zimbabwe, there shall be a police service and every member of that police service is charged with the general duty of maintaining law and order by taking all steps necessary for:

-Preserving peace
-Protecting property from malicious injury
-Preventing crime
-Detecting crime
-Apprehending offenders
-Suppressing all forms of civil commotion or disturbances that may occur in any part of Zimbabwe
-Upholding the constitution and enforcing the law without fear or favour
-The police service must be non-partisan, national in character, patriotic, professional and surbodinate to the civilian authority as established by the constitution.

Emmanuel Chimwanda
Secretary for Defence and Security
Movement for Democratic Change

LAWYERS representing Otilia Sibanda are up in arms with staff at a Bulawayo court for failing to provide a trial transcription so they could lodge an appeal against the incarceration of a Bulawayo woman’s conviction on public violence.

Sibanda was jailed six months ago for public violence related to the ill-fated January 2019 protests.

Bulawayo magistrate, Tinashe Tashaya on November 14 last year sentenced Sibanda, prominent Bulawayo political activist, Josphat “Mzaca” Ngulube, Fortune Masuku and Melusi Moyo to seven years in prison.

This is after he had found them guilty of burning cars and breaking window panes belonging to Eva Bitu, former Zanu PF Bulawayo provincial women‘s league chairperson during violent protests that engulfed parts of the country.

The magistrate suspended one year on condition that the four will not commit a similar crime within six years.

Following the convictions, lawyers representing the convicts indicated that they intended to apply for bail for their clients at the High Court pending appeal.

But since the day of imprisonment, the lawyers have been struggling to obtain the transcription at the magistrate courts.

Lawyers representing Sibanda, Vundhla-Phulu and Partners have already lodged numerous complaints with the JSC and other relevant authorities over the issue.

“We have tried numerous times to obtain the record of the above-mentioned matter in the four months but to no avail. It is very disappointing that we have received no response at all despite our efforts to communicate with your office.

“Kindly note that this conduct is unconstitutional and infringes a number of our client’s Constitutional rights including that enshrined in section 56 (1) and section 68 of the Constitution just to mention a few,” wrote Sibanda’s lawyers in one of the complaint letters addressed to the Bulawayo Provincial Magistrate, Enias Magate and the JSC.

Responding to Sibanda’s lawyers, Magate attributed the delay in availing the record to broken down printers.

Mugate appeared throwing the Bulawayo Magistrate Clerk under the bus for failing to respond to the lawyers’ correspondence on the issue.

“I acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 4th (March) instant, 2020 the contents of which have been noted. It is unfortunate that the two letters you referred to were never brought to my attention but it was improper for our Clerk of Court to fail to respond to letters directed at him,” he said.

By Joana Ruvimbo Mamombe MP Harare West Constituency

It’s been exactly 365 days plus two more days since I was arrested last year on the 4th of March and charged with Treason.

Yesterday, I appeared in court and made an application to be removed from remand.

Today, the Magistrate gave a ruling in favour of the state.

She ruled that the Treason case is complex hence state needs more time before setting a trial date at the High Court.

The case has been postponed to Wednesday the 18th of March 2020.

Despite all the persecution I presently face through these needless remands, I stand firm in my belief that even the purest fountain is not so free from mud, as I am innocent of these spurious allegations.

All I am asking for is my day in court, and the State’s failure to provide a trial date vindicates my position that it has no case worth taking to trial and is bent on keeping me on remand to please its political masters. This however will not deter me in my quest for a better Zimbabwe.

Many thanks to fellow Honourable Members of Parliament, Senior party leaders, Harare West MDC Members, Family and Friends for the unwavering support! A big shout out to my wonderful counsel Jeremiah Mutongi Bamu, I appreciate you…

Struggle for a new Zimbabwe is real !!!

By Dorrothy Moyo | Per her own admission, the 1 August terrorist Flora (Ruramai) Mashingaidze is a refugee who sought asylum in UK in 2008.

Ruramai is the same person who exactly 10 years later would loudly glorify terrorism in her own country, Zimbabwe, causing over 25 people to be killed from the 1 Aug 2018, when she streamed her first live video.

For a while she has been claiming she is a British citizen who cannot be deported. But on Wednesday night she opened the lid on her background as she unwittingly spilled the beans saying she was once in danger of being sexualised by a well known male activist in London. Ruramai said she would expose this man for what he did to her in 2008.

“How many women did you actually get pregnant and give your diseases to, ZimVigil, yeah? ,” she screamed.

She continued:

“Tell us Zimvigil..because you tried it with me in 2008. And I know I am not the only victim of that [NAME WITHHELD]… pervet. I remember him after he tried to say I want to marry you I stopped going to that ZimVigil *hit.

“What’s his name, [NAME WITHHELD]

“…You Zimvigil, you stupid group that was busy saying you were giving people papers, when women, whenever they came to you for a signature you would ask them to have sex with you first.”

 On the 1^st August 2018, Flora Mashingaidze and the socialite, Edith Chibamu streamed a live video together as they announced as follows

– Edith Chibamu:  Thandi, wachepa [ you are now worthless],  I will kill your mother before you kill a fly, so you are now worthless.

Flora Mashingaidze: I don’t get paid, but I believe in what ED [Emmerson Mnangagwa] was doing. I’ve got a  to 5 job, right?

Edith Chibamu: No, listen, don’t even defend yourself like that. Thandi Ncube, yes we are paid by ZANU PF, so what? Kana wasvotwa haurutse – When you are annoyed, you will not vomit. If you get hurt, you will never recover-get healed [ukarwadziwa haupore.] We are ZANU PF to the core, you hear? Yes we were paid by ZANU PF, so what? We were paid a lot of money, a lot of money. Get annoyed and see if we care, but anyone who goes onto the streets of Harare and provokes violence they should get shot dead. In fact, those who were shot, they were too few, they should have shot them all [ while Flora Mashingaidze shakes hand in celebration]. You do not go and provoke violence to people who are quiet on their own.”

  On the 15th January, while driving, Flora Mashingaidze announced [Facebook port – https://www.facebook.com/ruramai ] a statement on live video:  “the internet is down and we have had a breather online today, no more propaganda from those people who actually doing the right thing, you know. And I feel that Pastor E’ and them lot, them supporters it is just going to stop them from having any access to the internet because they have used everything all the time, and I did want you yesterday that, what I want you. [LOUD LAUGHT] Now you know what a shut down is you got shut down by the government [LOUD LAUGHT]. So who is the winner now? You know. When you have no coordination and you’ve got no direction and then you want to blame everyone for your own failures in life, you know. And you want to blame the shops that provide you with food, and you want to basically ruin the little things you have in the community, what happens? None of you have got access to internet today, not you guys online because you are obviously in other places. But I think the government should keep the internet down until we restore normality in the country, so, by the end of the day even if it takes to the end of the week and those people who feel very large, and they think they are gods on Facebook, and social media, should be taught a lesson, because every time they do their stuff they don’t do them privately, they want to use other people to back them up, and make a point, you know today, I am quite happy that there is no internet in Zimbabwe because we are not hearing anymore propaganda, you know because we are victimised, you know and, we are victimised because it’s the government’s fault, when in fact you were victimising the government because you thought you’ve got the upper hand, you know now start behaving like a citizen of a country, remember countries have got rules, so don’t think that by the end of the day the government is not able to react to your behaviour because somehow you are untouchable, right, everything you do has got consequences on this planet, you know. So, by the end of the day, I don’t feel sorry for any of those people. I feel sorry for the innocent people who most likely did not want to have those people in their community, but somehow they are stranded, you know. But after a while they will be responsible in the information that they bring out, to people online. Don’t worry when they come back they will be proper citizens, they will be proper citizens, you know. They will be dealing with the army now, it’s no longer the police now! And army don’t take shit! Go and ask for an apology jersey, they don’t. Don’t think all those people who were taking part with you were part of the whole charade that you were behaving like. There were intelligence in all those groups of people. So all they have done is to round up the same idiots, who think they are so brave who don’t even know what they are fighting for, who don’t even pay their bills in their houses, what for? You are being told by some nin com poop, who believes he is a pastor to go out and damage your environment. [LAUGH] So today you have your own shut down, shut down day 2, shut down by the government , you didn’t even do your own shutdown, you were shut down, [LAUGH – HAHAHAHAHA]. It’s successful as well, because normal people are able to go about their own businesses and you know do their business in town, because town is so free, and you know, kombis are going around, if you want to call someone, you will call them on the phone, because they can’t call you on whatsapp today, they cannot talk to you on any other communication apart from direct, so there you go, so who’s been shut down then?  HAHAHAHA [LAUGH].”   VIDEO LINK [RESTREAMED] :  https://www.facebook.com/ZimEye/videos/666106120862118

The Terrorism Act 2000 (“TACT”) stipulates as follows: Section 1 provides: “(1) In this Act ‘terrorism’ means the use or threat of action where— (a) the action falls within subsection (2), (b) the use or threat is designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public or a section of the public, and (c) the use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause. (2) Action falls within this subsection if it— (a) involves serious violence against a person, (b) involves serious damage to property.

A self proclaimed Bindura apostolic church prophet is in soup after forcibly holding a congregant’s manhood before masturbating it.

Prince Banda (24) of Chireka village Chief Musana in Bindura left the court in stitches today after pleading guilty to indecent assault before magistrate Maria Msika.

Msika remanded the matter to March 11 for judgement.

Prosecutor Edward Katsvairo told the court that on February 28 the man of cloth Banda forced his congregant Gibson Chiwara to masturbate and spill his sperms on Banda’s stomach.

The shocked Chiwara failed to stomach the demands but Banda took the manhood of the complainant and masturbated him before spilling his sperms on his stomach.

After the act the prophet went outside and took a knife while praying he subsequently ordered Chawawa to have sexual intercourse with another woman who was in the next room and he complied.

Chawawa went and filed a police report the next day leading to the arrest of Banda.

The below is a snap-compilation of controversial statements by ZANU PF president Emmerson Mnangagwa since January this year. They can be summarised as follows: “Mapete, Mapotato, Muriwo, Army Kombai Tirove”

MDC president Nelson Chamisa has said that the opposition movement is a voluntary organization and people are free to sign up or leave, in response to media reports that former MDC Vice President Morgen Komichi was unhappy and wanted out.

Komichi has not been attending MDC events across the country, and was recently reported to have closed ranks with the family of party founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai which he visited without the party leadership’s knowledge.

Asked on social media what the official position was regarding reports that Komichi was unhappy over a number of issues going on in the MDC, Chamisa shot from the hip.

“I’m not aware of any of such. Remember that public entities are voluntary entities. Members sign up and resign. This is normal in all voluntary organizations. Our opposition working 24/7 to portray the people’s party as an entity in turmoil. MDC is a people’s party!” Chamisa said.

A resignation letter circulated on social media yesterday purported to be from Komichi but the Midlands senator said he was part of the MDC.

Speaking to an online news site yesterday, Komichi says he is not sure where the resignation letter originated from, adding that he and other officials in the MDC have been gagged from giving interviews to media.

“People just write stuff. I’m not even sure where the letter is coming from. No, that’s not me,” said Komichi, reputed as the man arrested the most number of times for the MDC cause.

“I won’t say much beyond this, as you know that we are no longer allowed to discuss party issues in the press.”More in Home

Party secretary-general Chalton Hwende recently placed a gag on deputy secretary for international relations, Douglas Mwonzora, warning him that if he further discusses party business in public he could face further action from the party.

Asked whether he was happy with the direction the party is taking since the last congress, having lost a string of by-elections to Zanu-PF including in urban Bulawayo, Senator Komichi was non-committal.

“You can see for yourself where the party is heading, my brother. I cannot speak further beyond that,” Komichi told a local online news site.

By A Correspondent- Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi has warned “unscrupulous” fuel dealers who are in the habit of hoarding fuel and then selling it at inflated prices in foreign currency that they will lose their licenses.

Chasi’s remarks follow reports of fuel service stations in Victoria Falls selling the product in foreign currency at between US$1.50 and US$1.59 per litre for petrol and diesel, respectively.

Speaking at the South Africa-Zambia and Zimbabwe Infrastructure Summit and Expo in the resort town on Friday, Chasi said:

Very soon there will be order in the fuel sector. We can’t have people accessing foreign currency from the Central Bank and then go on to sell fuel anyhow. For those that don’t comply I will simply take their licenses and tear them up because we can’t have our people being punished by unscrupulous dealers.

Government has expressed concern in the past regarding that type of conduct and yesterday the Ministry (Finance) expressed itself in very strong terms in terms of saying to those that are engaging in malpractices that we will de-licence them because we can’t have profiteering people.

Recently the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor John Mangudya said the Central Bank has given the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) approval to register fuel service stations with free funds for direct imports to be sold in foreign currency.

Meanwhile, ZERA has not yet approved any service station to sell fuel in foreign currency but the practice has already become rampant.-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- Former MDC Vice President Morgen Komichi has dismissed as fake reports that he has resigned from the country’s main opposition.

This follows reports circulating on various platforms that he had resigned from the Nelson Chamisa led opposition party.

In a letter purportedly wrote by Komichi, dated 6th March, the politician says he has resigned from the party because of frustration with the direction the MDC has taken in the past nine months since the congress of May 2019 in Gweru.

Komichi mentions lack of accountability to party funds, and says the party has been hijacked for personal benefit, betraying the philosophy of founding President Morgan Tsvangirai.

Komichi expressed ignorance about the origins of the letter.

“People just write stuff, my brother. I’m not even sure where the letter is coming from. No, that’s not me,” said Komichi

Komichi has been in the MDC for over ten years and has been persecuted for the party’s cause and was arrested several times including after the 2018 elections when he announced that results from the Zimbabwe Election Commission were fake.

It’s been exactly 365 days plus two more days since I was arrested last year on the 4th of March & charged for Treason. Yesterday, I appeared in court & made an application to be removed from remand. Today, the Magistrate gave a ruling in favour of the state who opposed the application. She ruled that the Treason case is complex hence state needs more time before setting a trial date at the #HighCourt. The case has been postponed to Wednesday the 18th of March 2020. Despite all the persecution I presently face through these needless remands, I stand firm in my belief that even the purest fountain is not so free from mud, as I am innocent of these spurious allegations. All I am asking for is my day in court, and the State’s failure to provide a trial date vindicates my position that it has no case worth taking to trial and is bent on keeping me on remand to please its political masters. This however will not deter me in my quest for a better Zimbabwe. Many thanks to fellow Honourable Members of Parliament, Senior party leaders, Harare West MDC Members, Family & Friends for the unwavering support! A big shout out to my wonderful counsel Jeremiah Mutongi Bamu, I appreciate you Boss ??????

Struggle for a new Zimbabwe real !!!

By A Correspondent- Explosive minutes of a meeting convened by Local Government, Public Works and National Housing minister July Moyo to resolve a land ownership row between five housing co-operatives and Billy Rautenbach show that the business mogul paid RTGS$60 000 (which was equivalent to US$60 000 at the time) to the Zimbabwe Republic Police for “protection” at the height of the dispute, the Zimbabwe Independent can reveal.

Rautenbach’s vast business interests range from ethanol blending (through his investment vehicle Green Fuel) to real estate and mining.At the centre of the land wrangle, which pits Joshua Nkomo, Leopold Takawira, Wadzanai, Mydek and Dzapasi housing co-operatives against Rautenbach is stand number 48 Aspindale Park Township of subdivision A of Aspindale Park of subdivion A of Lochinvar measuring 100,3134 hectares.

They are also fighting over the remaining extent of Salisbury Park of Lochinvar measuring 80,7875 hectares to which the business magnate holds title through Marimba Properties.

However, in 2010, government allocated the land to the co-operatives for settlement, which was subsequently parcelled out as residential stands to home-seekers by the co-operatives.

According to minutes of the meeting, dated July 25, 2019, Rautenbach intimated that in a bid to stop the illegal settlers from occupying his land, he paid the ZRP’s Support Unit RTGS$60 000, to secure his protection.

The minutes read:

“He (Rautenbach) noted that despite having been asked to pay US$60 000 to ZRP Support Unit in order for his staff to have police protection whilst they conducted surveys on the stand. He stated that the ZRP Support Unit only came to the site one day and never came back.”

However, according to a quotation generated by ZRP (Harare South District Southerton) undersigned by Staff Assistant Inspector S. Mangena, the police expressed commitment to render security services to Marimba Residential Properties from May 9 to June 12, for a sum of RTGS$60 588.

The quotation reads: “Quotation in respect of security to be provided by police during your works on Stand 48 Aspindale Park Township: 09 May to 12 June 2019 from 0630hrs to 1600hrs. Reference is made to the above subject matter. You are required to pay a total amount of RTGS$60 588,00 for police security and insurance.

“You are also informed that payment should be made prior to the event. You are therefore required to pay cash or alternatively deposit the money into our account”.

Marimba Residential Properties deposited the amount into the ZRP Harare South District CBZ account 02323562250015.The quotation was generated on May 8, 2019.

But when quizzed about the RTGS$60 000 payment to the police, Officer Commanding Harare Province Bernard Dumbura professed ignorance over the matter, saying: “I cannot say it was paid or not, but if it was paid, it was not paid to me.”

He said he only met with Rautenbach’s lawyers to try and obtain a declaratory order, which would assert the business mogul’s rights to the land.

“I remember I was called for a meeting. After that meeting I met Billy’s lawyers to push for a declaratory order to assert his rights,” Dumbura said. “During the meeting, I said we needed to look into the issue with their lawyers and determine if the police was needed. I am not aware of any amount that was paid. As police we have procedures on receiving money. You don’t just receive money.”

The minutes, however, reveal that Rautenbach was promised that he would be refunded his money after making complaints against the police.”He (Rautenbach) was subsequently telephoned and informed that he would get a refund of his money,” the minutes read.

According to the minutes, Rautenbach warned that judging by how the land squabble had been handled by the government, investors would keep away from a country that disregarded property rights.

The minutes also show that to resolve the dispute, Rautenbach proposed that the occupants of the land were supposed to pay Marimba Properties for a period spanning 20 years, failure of which his investment vehicle was willing to buy out the illegal settlers.

“BR (Rautenbach) stated that he was willing to allow current occupants of the stands to pay Marimba Properties over 20 years and if any settler fails to pay for the property, then the company can buy back the property,” the minutes read. “He emphasised he was an investor in Zimbabwe and firmly believed that people will not invest in Zimbabwe unless government can secure property rights.”

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Harare Province Oliver Chidawu, who also attended the meeting, according to the minutes, questioned the approach of the law enforcement agents who seemed to take sides with the illegal settlers.

“Oliver Chidawu noted that in a previous meeting with the ZRP, the ZRP legal department seemed to side with the co-operatives,” the minutes read.

Chidawu also took a swipe at law enforcement agents at Marimba Police Station, whom he accused of receiving bribes to obstruct the course of justice.

The minutes read: “Oliver Chidawu highlighted that the Officer-in-Command of Marimba Police Station had proved to be unhelpful, giving credence to reports that he has been compromised with stands and money. He noted that Waterfalls Police Station is also very corrupt.”   

During the same meeting, Moyo implored law enforcement agents to contain the land ownership feud, which threatened to spiral out of control.

“July Moyo also requested the assistance of the ZRP on the issue of space barons in Harare and stated that in the spirit of devolution, it was incumbent upon provincial authorities to handle their issues before they are escalated to the National Joint Operations Command (Joc).

He noted that it was not sufficient to merely remove land barons, but this must be followed up by prosecution in appropriate cases,” the minutes, seen by the Independent this week, read.

At the time of going to print, Moyo had not responded to questions sent to him. His mobile phone was not reachable.

MDC Treasurer General David Coltart has cleared the air on claims that there is tension in the opposition party over abuse of party funds by leader Nelson Chamisa and Secretary General Charlton Hwende.

In a statement today, Coltart said Chamisa was not part of signatories to party accounts hence he has not say in how finances are handled.

Below is Coltart’s full statement;

Statement by MDC Treasurer General on the False Zimbabwe Independent Story About the ‘Missing RTGS 2M’

The Zimbabwe Independent’s headline alleging the misappropriation of ZW$ 2 million is false, baseless and appears to be yet another attempt to discredit the MDC generally and its Party Leader and Secretary General.

As I have made clear to a variety of journalists in the last few weeks since this false story first emerged I am not aware of any money which has been misappropriated from MDC coffers by any official or party leader.

Since taking office as MDC Treasurer General last May I have implemented a variety of new measures to make the MDC accounting systems as transparent and orderly as possible.

These systems have included a strict banking culture and an agreement that our annual accounts will be subjected to an internal audit.

President Chamisa is not even a signatory to our banking account and so it is impossible for him to have misappropriated money. All of these measures have been wholeheartedly backed by President Chamisa.

Whilst our first audit for the financial year ended 31st December 2019 has not been done yet I have encountered no resistance to it from any quarter within the senior leadership of the MDC. The attempts by some to portray the audit as some kind of investigation into alleged impropriety are misleading and utterly false.

The audit was agreed to last year and is a routine audit. I should also point out that this is the first time the MDC has conducted an audit of this nature and it is the first time any political party in Zimbabwe has ever subjected itself to an audit.

In all the circumstances the report in the Zimbabwe Independent is clearly designed to impugn the credibility and integrity of MDC President Nelson Chamisa, the Secretary General Chalton Hwende and the MDC.

The Zimbabwean public need to be assured that our goal within the MDC is that it meets the highest international standards of accountability and transparency, which in turn will demonstrate that the MDC is competent to govern Zimbabwe as a whole.

Senator David Coltart
MDC Treasurer General

7th March 2020

By A Correspondent- Bulawayo residents have expressed concerns over the increase in  criminal cases such as robbery, house breaking and theft among others.

The concerned residents urged more community members to join the Neighbourhood Watch Committee to assist the police in fighting crime.

 Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association said residents live in fear due to escalation of crime.

Ward 17 BPRA Organiser Nqobizitha Moyo said criminals were renting houses among the residents and take that opportunity to committee crimes.

Ward 17 councillor Sikhululekile Moyo said many youth in the city are unemployed and resort to crime.

Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize has announced that a second case of COVID-19 has now been confirmed in South Africa.

On Thursday it was announced that a KwaZulu-Natal man who had travelled back from Italy on Sunday was the first confirmed case in South Africa.

The second patient is a 39-year-old lady from Gauteng who is a direct contact to the first case from KwaZulu-Natal. She was part of the group of 10 that had travelled to Italy.

“The public must be notified that we have information and know the whereabouts of all the other 10 people who were part of the group that had travelled to Italy. All those who came back to South Africa, are currently being tested. We are now awaiting their test results to come out. Since being traced, they have remained in isolation to avoid any further contact with third parties,” said the Health Ministry in a statement released on Saturday.

“The second patient who has now tested positive for COV-19 will now be immediately admitted to a public health facility in Gauteng that government has identified as one of the hospitals that are ready to receive COVID-19 positive patients.

“We are now following all the protocols that we have already publicly announced to the public in dealing with this case. We will keep the public fully informed on all relevant developments.

“We also wish to notify the public that our embassy has advised us that a 39-year-old male South African who works in Daegu, South Korea, has also tested positive for COVID-19. He was due to return to South Africa and has since remained in South Korea. We are now following up with the South Korean authorities firstly to obtain formal confirmation of this case and also the details of where our citizen is being treated.

“We continue to call for calm and cooperation from the public and the media during this period. We also request that the privacy of the patients, the affected individuals and families be respected.

“Our commitment to do everything in our power to mitigate against the uncontrollable spread of COVID-19 in our country, remains.”

– EWN

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe’s health facilities are woefully equipped and would be unable to adequately respond to a coronavirus outbreak, at a time neighbouring South Africa has confirmed its second case of a patient who tested positive to the disease, a local publication has reported.

The authorities in Harare are now depending on donations after China and the United Kingdom pledged to provide equipment and other support.

The UK government, through its Department for International Development (DfID), yesterday moved to avert a possible crisis in the country’s response to a coronavirus outbreak by supplying protective clothing and equipment worth £100 000 (US$128 229).

Despite the Zimbabwean government’s claims that the country is ready to deal with the coronavirus (now known internationally as Covid-19) that had by Wednesday midday infected 93 574 and killed 3 204 people worldwide, investigation of the situation on the ground told a different story.

Among the facilities which have been selected as quarantine centres for coronavirus is Wilkins Hospital in Harare, where protective clothing has not been adequate, while the anti-retroviral treatment which Health minister Obadiah Moyo previously said would be used to treat the disease is out of stock.

DfID donated supplies of personal protective equipment, computers, data services and television monitoring equipment to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Public Health Emergency Operations.

WHO then handed over the items to the Ministry of Health and Child Care.Before the donation yesterday, Wilkins Hospital had been relying on space suits, gloves, gumboots and N95 respirators acquired when the country was preparing to fight an ebola outbreak in 2014.

According to hospital sources, the health institution had run out of the protective clothing for health care workers. The hospital is also short-staffed, with health personnel working long hours.

Officials revealed that the government has not procured its own equipment, but has been waiting for assistance from the WHO.Government through the Ministry of Health has previously insisted the country is fully prepared to deal with coronavirus cases, but investigations by the Zimbabwe

Independent revealed that the country lacked the capacity to effectively deal with the disease should it hit home.The Independent established that the procedure for the handling of suspected cases is that when an infected person arrives at the airport, port health, a department at the point of entry, should notify the Harare City ambulance services about the case. The ambulance is manned by trained personnel who, on their way to the patient, inform the team at Wilkins about the case.

The team at Wilkins, comprising three nurses, one doctor, an environmental officer, one general hand and one nurse aid, then starts preparing to receive the patient and putting on the protective clothing which includes latex gloves, spacesuit, goggles, N95 respirators and gumboots.

“The clothing that has been used was stocked during the ebola outbreak and we have run out of spacesuits and other items.  We had been promised, but not yet received anything. We are at critical levels and if we receive a serious case we will not be able to deal with that case,” a source at the hospital said.

“After attending to the patient, the clothing should be burnt, as you cannot wear it again in case it gets infected. Ideally, the clothing should be burnt close to the point of infection because transporting them might result in further infection.

“Another thing is our staffing levels are very low and people will get tired. We have seven teams that work six-hour shifts. Most people have left the country because the environment is not conducive. In treating the patient, we also try and limit access to the patient and visits to the patient will also depend on the type of medicine that is being administered to them.”

Wilkins Hospital has so far admitted three suspected cases that the authorities say have tested negative to coronavirus.This comes as neighbouring South Africa yesterday recorded its first confirmed case of Covid-19, with Health minister Moyo describing it as a warning sign.

“We should be able to be prepared for when Covid-19 comes to Zimbabwe. Yes, it is very frightening that it is around the corner. But I’m sure that the South African authorities would be very thorough and will be able to isolate and be able to pick up the contacts which the Covid-19 positive carrier came into contact with,” Moyo said at the handover of equipment and clothing at Wilkins Hospital yesterday. “Yes, we have to be prepared, all of us.”

Harare City Council Health Services director Dr Prosper Chonzi said although there was a delay in getting the stocks, the WHO had delivered some supplies. He said the material from the WHO was being distributed countrywide.

“We were supposed to have gotten the stuff last week and we have so far received some from WHO and some of the required things are currently being distributed to Bulawayo and Mutare. Adequacy will depend on the number of cases we get. Normally, we start sounding out for more before the stocks run out,” Chonzi said.

He said coronavirus teams would administer antibiotics and other support treatments as the experimental anti-retroviral treatment has not yet been clearly prescribed and is still being researched on.

“In terms of treatment, the kind of treatment we are administering is mostly supportive treatment, where we give antibiotics and where a person is struggling to breathe, we provide oxygen and for dehydration we administer IV (intravenous) fluid and we have that in stock. If we get a case, we are able to isolate and treat,” Chonzi said.

“In terms of staff, we have always been having issues around that. Some of the trained personnel are leaving for greener pastures and at the end of the day we will have people working long hours. The staffing issue does not only apply to nurses but also to doctors and to environmental officers.”

The Chinese embassy also pledged to refurbish Wilkins Hospital to make it comfortable for patients.-ZimIndependent

The Zimbabwe Independent’s headline alleging the misappropriation of ZW$2 million is false, baseless and appears to be yet another attempt to discredit the MDC generally and its Party Leader and Secretary General.

As I have made clear to a variety of journalists in the last few weeks since this false story first emerged I am not aware of any money which has been misappropriated from MDC coffers by any official or party leader.

Since taking office as MDC Treasurer General last May I have implemented a variety of new measures to make the MDC accounting systems as transparent and orderly as possible. These systems have included a strict banking culture and an agreement that our annual accounts will be subjected to an internal audit.

President Chamisa is not even a signatory to our banking account and so it is impossible for him to have misappropriated money. All of these measures have been wholeheartedly backed by President Chamisa.

Whilst our first audit for the financial year ended 31st December 2019 has not been done yet I have encountered no resistance to it from any quarter within the senior leadership of the MDC. The attempts by some to portray the audit as some kind of investigation into alleged impropriety are misleading and utterly false.

The audit was agreed to last year and is a routine audit. I should also point out that this is the first time the MDC has conducted an audit of this nature and it is the first time any political party in Zimbabwe has ever subjected itself to an audit.

In all the circumstances the report in the Zimbabwe Independent is clearly designed to impugn the credibility and integrity of MDC President Nelson Chamisa, the Secretary General Chalton Hwende and the MDC.

The Zimbabwean public need to be assured that our goal within the MDC is that it meets the highest international standards of accountability and transparency, which in turn will demonstrate that the MDC is competent to govern Zimbabwe as a whole.

Senator David Coltart

MDC Treasurer General
Movement For Democratic Change

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Peace Project has reported that police recently banned the MDC’s women assembly rally, which was slated for Harare under unclear circumstances.

“On 21 February, the police banned the MDC Women’s Assembly rally slated for Harare’s Warren Park D Suburb at Pfukwa shops but earlier during the month, the First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa convened a mini rally in Mbare which was escorted by the police,” ZPP reported.

“Reports of some traditional leaders who continued to violate provisions of Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe that prohibits them from getting involved in partisan politics were noted.”

ZPP said such behaviour compromises the administration of their duties which require that they govern in a non-partisan manner.

ZPP said it recorded a total of 195 violations up from 185 in January.

“Food and other aid related violations remained high with a total of 38 such cases being recorded. The aid was largely from the Department of Social Welfare. Mashonaland Central province recorded the highest number of violations at 53, followed by Harare with 33,” reads the ZPP report.

By A Correspondent- The government has liberalised the importation of grain, maize meal and wheat flour after being hit by a second successive drought and chaos in the milling sector following attempts by the government to introduce a targeted subsidy.
 
In a statutory instrument 60 of 2020, the government announced that these products could now be imported without the need for an import licence.
 
“Pursuant to listing grain, maize meal and wheat flour on the open general import licence individuals and corporates may import these products without the need for an import licence,” the government said in Statutory Instrument 60 of 2020.
 
The Control of Goods (Open General Import Licence) Notice, 2018, published in Statutory Instrument 237A of 2018 is amended by the insertion of the following products to the General Import Licence; grain, maize meal and wheat flour, the new statutory instrument said.   
 
The government recently introduced a subsidy for roller meal to cushion the vulnerable from spiralling prices. This has however resulted in maize meal shortages due to rent-seeking behaviour and chaos in the maize milling sector.  The Government has also failed to pay for the subsidy with millers saying they were holding 10 000t which would be released to the market if the government pays the $120 million it owed them.
 
Government has also announced, under SI 61 of 2020, that anyone with free funds can now legally pay US$318 for an emergency passport. -finx

By A Correspondent- An illegal foreign currency dealer was shot and killed by robbers outside a lodge in Bulawayo’s Kumalo suburb who with reports claiming that they went away with US$20 000.

Madakwa Mapako (48) was gunned down at around 8 PM on Thursday near Continental Lodge where he had gone to make a transaction, his young brother Pardon revealed.

Bulawayo Province Police spokesperson, Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the incident but said the deceased was killed in the company of his girlfriend.

Said Ncube:

Police are investigating a case of murder which occurred outside a hotel in Bulawayo where a male adult, Madakwa Mapako was shot on the chest by armed robbers.

The deceased had gone with a girlfriend to the hotel where he was only booked for 30 minutes. Upon getting out of the hotel, as he was trying to get into the car, a man emerged from the back and grabbed him. Two men joined in and in the ensuing scuffle. Mapako was shot on the chest.

However, Pardon accused the police of inefficiency, saying his brother had been stalked by the robbers since February 21 and a report was made to the police.-Statemedia

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ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa who labels his torture victims, “cockroaches” who must be wiped out using DDT chemicals, has announced that soon people are going to be arrested for keeping cockroaches, the same cache-phrase he used when he got 22,000 Ndebeles killed during the period the late President Robert Mugabe just before his death apologised saying was a moment of madness. 

Said Mnangagwa, “very soon village inspectors will start going from house to house, if they find cockroaches, you will be given first warning and on the second we will arrest anyone found with cockroaches.”

Continue reading “President WeMapete: Mnangagwa To Deploy Police to Search For Cockroaches”

CONFIRMATION OF SECOND CASE OF COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Minister of Health wishes to advise all South Africans that a second case of COVID-19 has now been confirmed in South Africa.

The 39-year-old lady who is from Gauteng is a direct contact to the first case from KwaZulu-Natal. She was part of the group of 10 that had travelled to Italy.

The public must be notified that we have information and know the whereabouts of all the other 10 people who were part of the group that had travelled to Italy.

All those who came back to South Africa, are currently being tested. We are now awaiting their test results to come out. Since being traced, they have remained in isolation to avoid any further contact with third parties.

The second patient who has now tested positive for COV-19 will now be immediately admitted to a public health facility in Gauteng that government has identified as one of the hospitals that are ready to receive COVID-19 positive patients.

We are now following all the protocols that we have already publicly announced to the public in dealing with this case. We will keep the public fully informed on all relevant developments.

We also wish to notify the public that our embassy has advised us that a 39 year old male South African who works in Daegu, South Korea has also tested positive for COVID-19.

He was due to return to South Africa and has since remained in South Korea. We are now following up with the South Korean authorities firstly to obtain formal confirmation of this case and also the details of where our citizen is being treated.

We continue to call for calm and cooperation from the public and the media during this period. We also request that the privacy of the patients, the affected individuals and families be respected.

Our commitment to doing everything in our power to mitigate against the uncontrollable spread of COVID-19 in our country remains.

Dr Zwelini Mkhize
Minister of Health
Date: 07 March 2020
End…

By A Correspondent| Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Nick Mangwana has been criticised over a tweet in which he highlighted the harmful effects of cockroaches.

Mangwana’s post on the microblogging site Twitter has been considered ill-advised, following President Mnangagwa’s utterances during the national clean up campaign on Friday where he warned that citizens will be arrested if the pests were found in their dwellings.

Mangwana’s post reads:

Cockroaches are pests that have been implicated in the transmission of many diseases. They prefer the night when they come out looking for food. They contaminate utensils & food because they carry a staggering amount of germs which cause diseases such as Typhoid, Dysentery & polio.

Zenzele: Nick do you remember that in 1983 at a rally in Victoria Falls Mnangagwa said “We had a problem of cockroaches and we decided to bring in DDT” ( referring to the 5th brigade? #Asakhe

Fadzayi Mahere: This is a repulsive new low even by your standards, @nickmangwana. Please don’t take Zimbabwe further down the gutter. Understand that you’re the spokesperson for Govt. There are certain things you simply cannot say given our context and history. This is most regrettable.

Dr Gatsheni Zebalon Ndlovu: Defending your Gukurandi boss, who referred to Matebeles as cockroaches who needed DDT to eliminate them. Didn’t say it, Nick!

Mems_Mthoe_: Corruption is the cockroach that has been implicated in poverty. It prefers lucrative deals were it comes looking for bribes. It has contaminated the financial sector and caused joblessness and it drains a staggering amount of money from state coffers…

allcoolnamesaretaken: Zanu pf is the biggest cockroach we have in Zimbabwe. It must go tanetaa isu tavhizuka isu.

By A Correspondent- The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) regional director Julitta Onabanjo is unhappy with the rate at which the number of teenage pregnancies continue to rise in Zimbabwe.

Onabanjo’s comments came in the wake of a recent Unesco report which revealed that 6 159 girls dropped out of school last year due to early unintended pregnancies.

Speaking to the media during a tour of Tariro Clinic in Hopley, Harare on Monday, Onabanjo emphasised the urgent need for the Zimbabwean government to intensify the fight against the problem that is cutting the future of young girls short.

“We always say one teen pregnancy that is unplanned and unwanted is just simply one too many. So, we really have to do more to ensure that young people have the information and ability to access the services that can ensure that they can make the right choices as to when they can have a baby,” she said.

The government last year revealed that Hopley has a population of 200 000 of which 65 000 are youths. Of that number, 21 percent of the girls have had teenage pregnancies, while 18 percent were in child marriages.

Onabanjo said the Hopley youths have to be assisted with more information on how to avoid teenage pregnancies and make the choice to be involved in sexual relationships at the right time.

“This community is brilliant and indeed it is a community of hope, but when I see how many young girls are here with little babies, you can tell that the prevalence of teen pregnancies is far too high.

“These young girls should be in school; they should be waiting to be able to have a real relationship. We can’t have children having children, not only is it a risk in terms of the outcome of the pregnancy, but also the deaths.

“A lot of the maternal deaths that we see are amongst young girls and this we can’t accept,” the UNFPA regional director added.

Meanwhile, the 2019 Multiple Cluster Indicator Survey (Mics) results have shown that over 100 000 women aged between 20 and 24 years fell pregnant before turning 18 in the country in the last five years.

According to the updated 2012 population census projections report, the country has a total of 734 742 women aged between 20 and 24.

The Mics report conducted between 2014 and 2019 said about 176 338 of those women fell pregnant before celebrating their 18th birthday.

“Twenty-four percent of women aged 20 to 24 years have had a live birth before age 18. One in four women aged between 20 and 24 years had a live birth before age 18,” the report said.-DailyNews

By A Correspondent- Scres of citizens, who claim they were assaulted by soldiers during last year’s fuel price hike protests, have taken Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri to the High Court demanding compensation.

In the applications, the “victims”, who are from different parts of the country, cited Muchinguri-Kashiri and Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander Valerio Sibanda as respondents.

Among some of the complainants, who are represented by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, are Richard Simba, Ganizani Mnzinga, Gilbert Mutare, Samson Silocha, Paul Damiano, Stewart Kamunwo, Tinashe Phiri and others. They are demanding $300 000 each.

“The plaintiff’s claim is for damages arising from the unlawful conduct of the defendants’ employees, who, at all material times, were acting within the normal course and scope of employment.

“The plaintiff avers that on the 14th of January 2019 at around 1700hours, he was at his home in Ruwa when three uniformed Zimbabwe National Army officers armed with rifles came to his home and accused him of having blocked the roads and burnt tyres,” Simba said in his court papers.

He said one of the army officers went on to assault him on the buttocks, hand, chest and legs using thick sticks and the butt of a rifle.

“As a result of the assault, plaintiff was injured across his body, particularly his buttocks, hand, chest and legs. The plaintiff avers that the assailants acted unlawfully by assaulting him. As a result of the attack, the plaintiff suffered pain and suffering, humiliation and degradation.

“Further, the assault on plaintiff was a violation of his right to personal security and bodily integrity, including freedom of violence from both public and private sources of the person as protected by the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” he said.

He demanded $300 000 in damages, an amount similar to the one made by each of the other victims.

In Phiri’s case, he said he was assaulted by the soldiers while at Chiwari Shopping Centre in Rusape. He claimed in court papers that he was assaulted while selling his wares.

Mnzinga on the other hand, said he was assaulted while at his home in Kuwadzana, Harare, while Mutare was at a bus terminus in Rusape.

Silocha, who is also suing Chengetai Chapata, a Zimbabwe National Army member, told the court that he was assaulted by soldiers while in Dzivaresekwa, Harare.

Damiano, who also cited Harare mayor Herbert Gomba as a respondent, said he was assaulted while on his way home, while Kamunwo was attacked in Dzivaresekwa.

Muchinguri-Kashiri and Sibanda have since entered their appearance to defend in all the applications. The matters are still pending before the High Court. -DailyNews

By A Correspondent- Grain millers are in the habit of hoarding government’s subsidised maize meal to sell on the black market, a development that has led to serious shortages of the product, Parliament heard yesterday.

This was said by minister of Industry Sekai Nzenza in the Senate while responding to a question by MDC Senator for Bulawayo Gideon Shoko regarding the progress made by the recently established taskforce to ensure transparent and equitable distribution of maize meal in light of the current shortages.

“Our committee is still very much alive and operational, but the challenge we are facing is that we have not been getting enough maize.

“The other challenge is that whenever it is there, we have a problem with millers who are hoarding the maize meal to sell on the black market at prices ranging between $116 and $160 per $10 kg against government’s endeavour to have citizens getting the product at $70 per 10 kg,” Nzenza said.

Her response came despite the fact that the taskforce was set up ostensibly to make follow-ups with retailers to curb diversion of the maize meal to the black market.

When MDC senator for Masvingo Tichinani Mavetera suggested that the government needed to direct the maize meal to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), Nzenza said the option was under consideration.

She also said the government was still in the process of coming up with a database for extremely vulnerable individuals who are eligible for the subsidized maize meal.

Meanwhile, deputy Energy minister Magna Mudyiwa was taken to task by senators who wanted to know why the government was issuing out licences to sell copper wire which is not produced locally and that Zesa Holdings was grappling with copper cables theft and vandalism of transformers.

“Unfortunately, the issuance of the licence is done by the Home Affairs ministry, not us. We have, however, engaged with the ministry to try and convince them to reconsider their position regarding that,” Mudyiwa said.

She also responded to a barrage of questions from the legislators who demanded to know the rationale of allowing some fuel service stations to sell their product in US dollars in a development that has seen those that are supposed to sell using local currency now selling in hard currency.

Mudyiwa requested that she be furnished with the names of such service stations for the government to take action.

“We only have a few selected ones who supply diplomats and some non-governmental organisations that are allowed to sell in foreign currency. The rest must sell in our own currency. Anyone doing that is violating the law and we will be happy to have their names,” Mudyiwa said.-DailyNews

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwean human rights defender and founder of Female Prisoners Support Trust Rita Nyampinga was on Wednesday recognised as one of 12 International Woman of Courage (IWOC) Award winners for 2020 by the United States of America government ahead of International Women’s Day on Sunday.

The International Women of Courage Award also referred to as the US Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have shown leadership, courage, resourcefulness, and willingness to sacrifice for others, especially in promoting women’s rights.

Nyampinga was honoured by the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in Washington DC where First Lady Melania Trump was guest of honour.

The citation for Nyampinga read out by Kelley Eckels Currie, who oversees the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US Department of State, praised her for her work in defence of women in detention.

“A steadfast human rights defender and activist, Rita is being honoured for her protection of and respect for the rights of prisoners, especially women in detention, and for fighting for a fair and just legal system in Zimbabwe,” read part of the detention.

In a telephone interview with the Daily News from Washington yesterday, Nyampinga said the award was a milestone for Zimbabwe as the honour places the country on the global map as far as human rights are concerned.

“When we speak of human rights it should not only be limited to political rights, but should also stretch to civil, economic and social rights as well. As Zimbabwe we are working towards achieving these rights.

“The award shows that Zimbabwe is in the spotlight and can work as one unit to achieve a common goal,” Nyampinga said.

The Female Prisoners Support Trust founder has been spearheading different rehabilitation programmes for female prisoners and ex-convicts in the country, while pushing for social, gender and economic justice.
She has facilitated rehabilitation of over 300 ex-convicts to date.

Speaking during the awards ceremony, Melania Trump praised Nyampinga and the other winners for often risking their safety to help others, adding that they were the faces of true heroism.

“It is an honour to be here again to celebrate these inspiring women and the incredible impacts they are making through the work they have dedicated themselves to all over the world,” Trump said.

Since the inception of this award in March 2007, the Department of State has recognised 146 women from 77 countries.

The women honoured alongside Nyampinga hail from Malaysia, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijian, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, China, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Syria and Yemen.

By A Correspondent- Vice President Constantino Chiwenga yesterday abandoned a clean-up campaign scheduled for Mvurwi after only a handful of party officials turned up, leading to a bitter meeting of the Zanu-PF provincial officials.

Chiwenga then assigned minister of Agriculture Perrance Shiri to stand in for him after only a few Members of Parliament, councillors, Zanu-PF officials and government workers turned up for the clean-up exercise.

To explain Chiwenga’s absence, Shiri told the officials gathered at Mvurwi High School that Chiwenga had returned to Harare to attend to a “special assignment”.

“Vice-President was called back to Harare on his way here and he has assigned me to deliver his speech on his behalf,” Shiri said.

But the provincial leadership called for an emergency Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting at Umvukwes Primary School soon after Shiri’s address to iron out squabbles between the province’s Zanu-PF MPs and war veterans.

The meeting was so tense that security details and media were ordered out as tempers flared. But that was not before a NewsDay staffer was forced by Zanu-PF chairperson for Mashonaland Central province Kazembe Kazembe to stand before the PCC and explain a story published by the newspaper about the tiff between MPs and war veterans in the province which was affecting the party’s mobilisation efforts.

The story alleged a rift between the liberation war fighters and MPs in the area who they accused of abusing food donated to the province to advance personal interests.
Provincial war veterans leader Sam Parirenyatwa and his executive wrere also chucked out of the meeting.

“Since we are all here, l thought it is wise to meet and address issues coming from the newspaper that we are sabotaging the President, me included,” Kazembe said.

“We should not be emotional about it; let us talk about the issue. I am being advised that the reporter who covered this story is in here. What is happening to our security, Simbarashe Sithole please stand up and tell us if your story is true because you are here by default,” he added.

The disgruntled war veterans accuse Kazembe of failing to mobilise crowds for the party’s rallies.

In 2018, Mnangagwa aborted a rally in Bindura after only a handful of people attended, while his wife had a run-in with party executives after a few people turned up for her family fun day at Chipadze Stadium in October last year.

“This is clear Kazembe is failing to mobilise people, hence the presidium is snubbing us now and again due to poor attendance, people do not want the truth to be told that is why they are chasing us away from their PCC meeting,”  one veteran said.

But the MPs hit back, charging that the war veterans were misguided and accused them instead of sabotaging Mnangagwa.

“We gave the President all the seats and what the war veterans are doing is very wrong to accuse us of sabotaging the President. This rift will not end, we will continue fighting until we die,” said a legislator who refused to be named.-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Minister of State for Mashonaland East Province Apolonia Munzverengwi this week opened a pay toilet and commissioned $2,5 million maintenance equipment at Chikomba Rural District Council offices.

The Chikomba RDC used revenue from rate payers to construct the pay toilet and purchased a grader and a refuse truck using a government devolution grant.

In 2018, former Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa made headlines after he was caught on camera commissioning a garbage bin in Rusape.

Munzverengwi, who was the guest of honour at the event, urged local authorities to consider the needs of the residents before utilising government devolution funds.

“President Mnangagwa initiated the devolution programme to enhance a bottom-up communication process which ensures that the real problems faced by the people are addressed at local level,” Munzverengi said on Wednesday.

“It is important that before utilising the devolution grants from the government, authorities should inquire from the residents how they want the fund to be used. I am happy that Chikomba RDC managed to purchase a refuse truck and a grader, equipment key for efficient service delivery.

“I also applaud the council for being business-minded and construct a pay toilet which will serve the community at the same time generating more revenue for the local authority. I have been informed that the residents are paying their rates very well, a clear indication that they have confidence in the council administration,” she said.

Chikomba RDC council chairman Israel Dhikinya encouraged the residents to contiunue paying their dues for continued efficient service delivery.

After commissioning the toilet and equipment, Munzverengwi also toured the various projects being carried out by the council which include construction of schools and clinics. She also had an interface with councillors, heads of government departments and business people.

Chiefs, local legislators and several Mashonaland East Province council chief executives also attended the ceremony.-Newsday

By A Correspondent- A three-month-old infant died when his mother fell from an ox-drawn Scotch cart and landed on her back where the infant was strapped.

The horrific accident occurred in Nyazura last week.

The mother, Beatrice Bauren, 28, was in the company of Enock Manwei, 14, when they approached a steep slope and one of the oxen got off from the yoke.

The cart overturned resulting in Bauren being thrown overboard where she landed on her back crushing the baby. A report was made to the police who attended the scene.

The body of the baby was taken to Mutare Provincial Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem. Manicaland police spokesperson Tavhiringa Kakohwa confirmed the horrific accident and urged the public to always consider safety in all matters to avoid unnecessary loss of life.

“People should be cautious in everything they do. Security checks should always be a priority before anything you do to avoid the loss of life with things which could have been easily avoided,” said Kakohwa. -DailyNews

By A Correspondent- A snap survey by the state media has revealed that most service stations in Bulawayo which sell fuel in local currency were on Friday without fuel while it was accessible at those which sell in foreign currency.

The publication further reports that only Engen and Total had fuel which unfortunately had run out at 1 pm. Motorists remained in elongated queues hoping that there will be new deliveries.

One motorist who spoke to The Chronicle, Mr Ozias Moyo lamented over the fuel crisis saying that it has adversely affected his business.

He said:

Right now, my tank is empty that is why you are seeing me pushing my vehicle while in the queue. I should have been in Maphisa at 10AM where I have business interests but I’m still here.It’s a great inconvenience… But we are left with no option but to queue as we have no access to foreign currency. In case I get the foreign currency, it would be too little to buy enough fuel.

Only recently, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe gave fuel dealers the green light to sell the commodity in foreign currency.

This comes when there is a huge scarcity of foreign currency in the country. Foreign currency is readily available on the parallel market but the rates are very high as dealers take advantage of its unavailability on the formal market.-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- South Africa has passed a Border Management Authority (BMA) Bill, which is expected to improve security at all the country’s entry points.

This most likely means the number of people who illegally enter the neighbouring country would be reduced, once the bill comes into law.

Zimbabwe is believed to have the highest number of migrants living and working in South Africa with some crossing illegally into that country. Beitbridge border is the biggest inland port in Southern Africa and handles huge volumes of both human and vehicular traffic amid high levels of border jumping.

In a press statement issued by the Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, Advocate Bongani Bongo, the passing of the bill was welcomed as is intended to remedy the fragmented border management model, which is said to have resulted in a variety of challenges in relation to control of the country’s borders.

The BMA Bill is intended to establish a border management authority and a single implementing entity under a single executive authority.

The committee is hopeful that President Cyril Ramaphosa will quickly assent the Bill into law to enable processes for the establishment of the agency to begin swiftly.

Commenting on the move, African Diaspora Forum Chairperson (ADF), Dr Vusumuzi Sibanda described the move as good but said it did not address the reasons behind border jumping.

“It’s a good thing because the BMA is going to make sure the borders and ports of entry are not particularly porous. There are places where for example, others can cross via the bush, which means it will be difficult for people to do so if they have officials deployed to stop that,” he said.

Dr Sibanda noted the BMA would be effective if officials deployed to man the borders also did not force illegal immigrants to pay bribes as means of passage into South Africa.

“Some of the problems that we have are related to corruption where people have to pay at the border just to go across and even if they don’t have papers. Those are the issues that need to be addressed but I doubt the BMA is going to improve on that,” he said.

Dr Sibanda also urged South Africa to lobby neighbouring countries to solve their political and economic challenges to stem the high number of illegal migrants in South Africa.

“I don’t think the solution to illegal immigration lies in a border management agency, it actually lies in solving the political instabilities and poor economic conditions that prevail within Africa. These are factors that are going to continue forcing African people and others from Asia, who are poverty-stricken to find greener pastures,” he said, adding that illegal migrants also included those from Europe.

“There are others who come in thinking there are better investment  opportunities, so it has nothing to do with border management.”

Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Community in South Africa, Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena said they will not condemn their host country for wanting to improve their border systems.

“We will not condemn South Africa when it is putting proper systems to manage its border system because even as Zimbabweans we want to manage our borders effectively, so that every person who visits Zimbabwe uses correct entry points.

“Likewise South Africa is organising themselves in terms of managing their ports of entry so that people use the normal channels to enter and we certainly support such,” he said.

Mabhena added that the BMA Bill seeks to make sure all ports of entry are properly managed.
“We are yet to see how the officials will perform. But as the Zimbabwe community in South Africa, we don’t encourage anyone to use an unofficial entry point to enter the country. We encourage everyone to acquire a Zimbabwean passport and use the correct channels,” said the chairperson.

“Usually what happens is people do come through using legal papers to enter South Africa and are given a number of days but then do not go back, as they take their passports back to zimbabwe through other means so that they are stamped at the border. Since there will be new management systems, we will see how it works out.”

He noted that besides strengthening borders, South Africa must work on implementing the white paper on international migration gazetted in 2017, which looks at improving immigration strategies.

“Since the South African parliament is now amending the Immigration Act, we call on them to incorporate the proposals that are listed in the white paper on international migration,” Mabhena said.-StateMedia