DURBAN  – The ANC said on Tuesday that the sincerity of an apology made by former president FW de Klerk following offensive comments about apartheid would be visible through his actions. 

This as the Nelson Mandela Foundation on Tuesday said it welcomed de Klerk retracting the statements that apartheid was not a crime against humanity. 

De Klerk first made the statements during a television interview two weeks ago, which caused consternation at Thursday’s state of the nation address (SONA), with EFF MPs demanding that he leave parliament, where he was seated as a guest. 

ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe:  “The sincerity of Mr de Klerk’s apology will be tested by his posture to selflessly commit both in words and in deeds towards the advancement of the ongoing reconstruction and development project through nation building in his local community.

“The ANC has consistently maintained, in line with the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, that apartheid was and remains a crime against humanity,” said Mabe. 

He said the convention adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1973 declared that apartheid was a crime against humanity, “and that inhuman acts resulting from the policies and practices of apartheid and similar policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination … are crimes violating the principles of international law, in particular the purposes and principles of the charter of the United Nations, and constituting a serious threat to international peace and security”.

Mabe said that “unfortunate and inconsiderate utterances” went against the spirit of unity that was trying to be fostered in South Africa, and were ” unhealthy for our young democracy”. 

“It is therefore expected of our elders and statesmen to carry the moral duty of helping to unite and reconcile all of South Africa’s people with an unequivocal measure of humility. 

“The callous brutality, oppression, indignity and destruction that apartheid brought to millions of black South Africans should never be trivialised by anyone in our country regardless of their political affiliation, beliefs, skin colour and station in life,” he said.

Any form of denying apartheid was a crime against humanity was an affront “to the lived reality of the majority of South Africans and a complete digression from the noble cause of social cohesion”, said Mabe. 

“Our new democratic society is based on the values of non-racialism, national unity, and acknowledgement of the brutality and injustices of our past”. 

Meanwhile, Sello Hatang, the chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, slammed de Klerk and called for dialogue. 

“We believe that this kind of statement (the retraction and the apology) does not take us anywhere in terms of the nation-building, reconciliation path that Nelson Mandela put us on, but also in tackling the difficult systemic issues the nation is dealing with.” 

“In terms of engaging with the FW de Klerk Foundation, we believe that that is the only way forward. The rise of racism and the rise of the denial of crimes such as apartheid is something that we see progressing. 

“If we are to do anything right, it is to continue to engage those kind of voices with a view to ensuring that we can then transform our nation into one that [sees clearly],” he said.

De Klerk on Monday apologised for his reluctance to fully accept the classification of apartheid as a crime against humanity and said he concurred with the wording of the Statute of Rome, which describes it as such.

The climb-down came amid a furore after his eponymous foundation last Friday likened to “Soviet agitprop” the pressure on De Klerk over recent remarks where he, like in the past, appeared to take issue with the definition of the racial oppression of South Africa’s black majority as crime against humanity.

That statement came a day after the EFF disrupted the opening of parliament with a demand that South Africa’s last white president leave the National Assembly, terming him a “murderer” and apartheid apologist.

“I have taken note of the vehement reaction to our response to the EFF’s attack on me at the State of the Nation address on Thursday night,” De Klerk said.

“I agree with the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation that this is not the time to quibble about the degrees of unacceptability of apartheid.  It was totally unacceptable. The FW de Klerk Foundation has accordingly decided to withdraw its statement of 14 February unconditionally and apologises for the confusion, anger and hurt that it has caused,” De Klerk said on Monday.

He added that while apartheid was dismantled by 1994, when the Statute of Rome was adopted four years later, it was ranked as a crime against humanity and defined it as “inhumane acts …committed in the context of an institutional regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime.”

“The FW de Klerk Foundation supports this provision,” De Klerk said.

African News Agency 

The Bulawayo City Council has the powers to change street names in the city contrary to claims by deputy local government minister Marian Chombo that the local authority cannot effect the name changes.

Two weeks ago, Chombo, reacting to a report that BCC had changed street names, said the local authority had no authority to make the changes.

However, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has clarified that local authorities can change street names.

“The naming of streets name places is in two parts.  There are those that are done by local authorities subject to approval and gazetting,” said Ziyambi in response top a question from MDC-T leader Thokozani Khupe who had asked who has legal powers to change street names.

Added Ziyambi Ziyambi, “Then there are some that are named by central Government subject to the relevant procedures and approval by Cabinet, gazetting and then the names will be changed or named accordingly.”

Some of the effected changes are as follows:

Leopold Takawira Avenue (from Samuel Parirenyatwa Street to Umguza River Bridge along Gwanda Road) which is now King Mzilikazi Road, Nketa Drive is now Queen Lozikheyi Dlodlo Drive, Athlone Avenue is Simon Vengai Muzenda Road and 23rd Avenue is Landa John Nkomo Road.

Lady Stanley Avenue is now Mama Joanna Mafuyana Avenue, Steeldale Road and Anthony Tylor Road is now Albert Nxele Road, Dunde Drive has been renamed Sikhanyiso Duke Ndlovu Drive, Fife Street is now Nikita Mangena Street and Fort Street has been renamed Lookout Masuku Street.

Old Khami Road is Sydney Malunga Road, Basch Street is Dumiso Dabengwa Road, Waverley Road is  Jairos Jiri Road while Fairbridge has been renamed Erick Bloch Way.

Other roads renamed are Hillside Road which is now Sir Garfield Todd Road, Van Riebeck Road is Joseph Msika Drive, Connaught Avenue is Cephas Cele Avenue, Collenbrander Road is Daniel Madzimbamuto Road, Manchester Road is now George Nyandoro Road, Vera Road is now Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu Road, Birkenhead Road has been renamed Sikanjaya Muntanga Road and Doncaster Road is now Maria Msika Road.

Lobengula Street has been corrected to King Lobengula Street, together with Moffat Road in Hillside which has been corrected to Robert Moffat Drive and Leander Road in Hillside which is now Dr Leander Star Jameson.

State Media|MDC-Alliance legislators must be charged with contempt of court for their failure to respect President Mnangagwa during Parliamentary proceedings after the Constitutional Court ruled that he was duly elected as Head of State and Government, Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said.

He said the MDC-Alliance lawmakers were also in violation of the Constitution which they swore to uphold as Members of Parliament.

Advocate Mudenda said this in his affidavit filed at the High Court where he was defending his decision to dock five months sitting allowances for opposition lawmakers for constantly walking out each time President Mnangagwa comes to Parliament.

The legislators have approached the High Court challenging Adv Mudenda’s ruling directing that they forfeit five months allowances.

“The applicants must be charged with contempt of court , in particular the highest court of the land, the Constitutional Court. Their walking out on the President and refusal to rise in respect of the President is contemptuous not only of the Office of the President, but also the Constitutional Court which ruled that the President was duly elected,” said Adv Mudenda in his court papers.

This followed a ruling by the Constitutional Court which dismissed an election petition filed by MDC-Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa challenging the 2018 harmonised election result won by President Mnangagwa.

Adv Mudenda said there was need for the opposition lawmakers to uphold the law.

“The applicants are in violation of the provisions of the Constitution and the oath of office they took before assumption of office as Members of Parliament. In terms of the Constitution, Members of Parliament are required to take the oath of an MP before he or she sits in Parliament. The need to agree under oath, to uphold the Constitution is an unequivocal requirement to holding public office as a Member of Parliament. In simple terms, if you uphold something such as the law, a principle, or a decision you must support and uphold it,” he said.

Adv Mudenda said the opposition legislators remained seated when they should have stood up and walked out when they should have remained in the Chamber in utter contempt of the Head of State.

“The applicants are aware of the procedures that need to be followed in regard to demonstrations and the House was not such a platform,” he said.

Adv Mudenda said at one point the MDC Alliance sent some emissaries led by Ms Tabitha Khumalo, Mr Prosper Mutseyami, Mr Amos Chibaya and Ms Lilian Timveous to apologise for their conduct.

Adv Mudenda said he acted within his powers in terms of Standing Rules and Orders when he stopped payment of their allowances.

“I invoked the provisions of Standing Order 206 in my capacity as the only authority who could do so in the circumstances. The Members of the MDC-Alliance tested my patience beyond reasonable measure and yet I had previously let their actions slide without any immediate censure,” he said.

Five family members were struck to death by lightning in the Muzvezve area of Sanyati district.

Tragedy struck when the family, which was tending their maize field, sought refuge under a tree when it started raining yesterday afternoon in Village 6, Muzvezve 1. A lightning bolt hit the tree. The five who died went under one tree while three other family members who survived went under another nearby tree.

Sanyati district civil protection unit Mr Amigo Mhlanga confirmed the development saying the unit has since been activated to offer assistance.

“Five members of the same family have died after being struck by lightning while being sheltered under a tree. The district CPU has been activated and we are going to the area to assess the situation while also looking at how the family can be assisted because of the magnitude of the tragedy,” said Mr Mhlanga.

More to follow…

Own Correspondent|President Emmerson Mnangagwa linked ZUVA Petroleum on Tuesday announced that eight service stations will be accepting foreign currency payments across the country.

The arrangement was made under the Direct Fuel Import scheme which means these sites are likely to have guaranteed fuel supplies.

Here are the USD fuel prices:

• Harare: $1.25 Diesel – $1.22 Blend
• Mutare: $1.23 Diesel – $1.20 Blend
• Bulawayo: $1.25 Diesel – $1.24 blend
• Beitbridge: $1.26 Diesel – $1.25 Blend
• Victoria Falls: $1.29 Diesel – $1.28 Blend

Posting on Twitter earlier in the day, the company said:

We are excited to announce 8 Zuva DFI Service Stations that will be accepting foreign currency payments across the country as follows:

• Harare: Lorraine, Groombridge, Pendennis, & Valley
• Bulawayo: Macs Garage
• Beitbridge: Oasis
• Mutare: Palmerstone
• Victoria Falls: Zambezi

OPPOSITION MDC president Nelson Chamisa yesterday conceded that he was under “immense pressure” from restless party supporters who want to confront President Emmerson Mnangagwa over his handling of the country’s economy.

Zimbabwe is facing its worst economic crisis in a decade, with prices of basic goods soaring and shortages of medicines, fuel and electricity, while rising inflation has wiped out wages.

Chamisa said supporters wanted to take to the streets, a sentiment he said was popular with the party faithful during his whirlwind tour of provinces that began two weeks ago.

The opposition leader told NewsDay yesterday that in all places he had been, which include Bulawayo, Masvingo, Midlands, Mashonaland Central and others, there were overwhelming calls for action to deal with the crisis in Zimbabwe.

“I have been to Gweru, Bulawayo and Masvingo, the sentiment I got is that there is pressure among people to go on the streets,” Chamisa said.

“People want to be on the street as early as yesterday to protest against government. Considering that people are suffering and dying while crossing the flooded Limpopo to South Africa looking for opportunities that are deprived back home, the pressure is unbearable. People want to be in the street as early as yesterday to have the situation resolved.

“They look forward to the political leadership to resolve the crisis, which is not happening. But what I want to assure people is that change will come and it is not far. This situation is not sustainable, it cannot subsist for a long time.”

Efforts to have Mnangagwa and Chamisa dialogue to end the Zimbabwean crisis, characterised by fuel shortages, cash crisis, mealie-meal shortages, hyperinflation, power cuts among other issues, have hit a brickwall.

This is despite the intervention by former South African President Thabo Mbeki to try and bring the warring parties to the table.

Mnangagwa has been accused of failing to deal with the deepening economic crisis, with observers saying dialogue was the only way out.

Chamisa has insisted on talks, but hinted he was giving up on any prospect for dialogue as Mnangagwa has not been forthcoming, to the extent of ignoring moves by Mbeki.

While Mnangagwa remains adamant that dialogue will only happen under the Political Actors’ Dialogue banner, Chamisa has said he will not join a captured project.

There have been calls from within the MDC for a more combative approach to the current situation with mainly protests being one of the key points.

Said Chamisa: “Mnangagwa has not been taking an olive branch we extended to him on dialogue, and now we don’t have a choice, but take action.

“It is foolhardy to continue talking about elections that are not elections, elections whose outcome is predetermined. We have been down this road since 2000, people voting and being cheated and their vote being disregarded as was the situation in 2008.

“We cannot continue with this national deception and global deceit. The people have the total sovereign power to resolve their problems; it is through elections that executive authority is driven, legislative as well as judicial.”

Job Sikhala, the MDC deputy national chair, said time was fast ripening to bring down the Mnangagwa dictatorship.

“Zimbabwe cannot survive further with these people (Mnangagwa and Zanu PF). Their time is up and a thunderstorm of anger is gathering. Let me make this promise. Very soon, from the forefront, we are going to liberate our country,” Sikhala said in his message thanking the MDC family and people for their support during his treason trial.

Meanwhile, fresh details have emerged on why Chamisa suspended the James Gumbi-chaired Masvingo executive last week as it was revealed that the leadership was not in touch with reality on the ground, neglecting some districts, leading to a paltry 27 votes in the Mwenezi by-election held recently.

Zanu PF garnered 1 811 votes, while the MDC got only 27 in the by-election as the top leaders of the Masvingo executive are all based in Harare, with the chairman working full time in the capital together with the secretary, who is a lawyer in Harare.

“They are visitors in Masvingo and we got complaints from the districts on the matter, so we had to act,” a senior MDC official said.

“Senior members in the executive stay in Harare and they never set their feet in Mwenezi to campaign, yet Zanu PF was visible and well represented. The people ended up voting for Zanu PF because they had no protection from their leaders in the province,” the insider said.

“If they decide to go to Masvingo, before they reach Mbudzi roundabout, Zanu PF officials would have arrived for meetings in the province and we can’t have that kind of leadership now. People were used to impunity and we said now, we are drawing a line in the sand.”

NewsDay

Correspondent|FIVE people, including an opposition MDC councillor, are under police custody following the skirmishes that marred the acquittal of opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) vice-chairman, Job Sikhala, on treason charges.

Law enforcers allege the individuals damaged a police vehicle and destroyed property when Sikhala appeared at the High Court in the ancient town of Masvingo last Friday.

Police arrested the suspects, including Godfrey Kurauone, the MDC councillor for Masvingo Central, on Sunday.

His co-accused are Peter Chigamba, Kissmaker Mapote, Daniel Mberikunashe and Olivia Tobaiwa.

They have been charged with malicious damage to property under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers alleged that they threw stones at a police vehicle and damaged windows at some retail shops during the court appearance of Sikhala, who is also a legislator of Zengeza West in the capital Harare.

The appearance was marred by tensions with law enforcement agents firing teargas canisters to disperse people who had gathered outside the courthouse to follow proceedings.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights has secured the release of the suspects.

They are to appear in court by way of summons.

Meanwhile, High Court Judge, Justice Garainesu Mawadze, last Friday acquitted Sikhala on charges of plotting to overthrow President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.

The outspoken Sikhala was arrested in July last year following a political rally he addressed in the mining town of Bikita in Masvingo Province.

He was alleged to have declared MDC would have removed Mnangagwa from power before the next elections.

Own Correspondent|Cabinet recently declared that it was beginning its 2020 business paperless following the launch of the e-Cabinet project by President Mnangagwa.

The President said the e-Cabinet project will also speed up decision-making in Cabinet.

“Today’s event marks the completion of phase one of the e-Cabinet project which will see the Cabinet secretariat carry out paperless administrative and secretarial functions,” he said.

“This is indeed part of the contemporary ways of conducting meetings and storage of information. Through this system, members of Cabinet will now be able to conduct all their work within the Cabinet room on an electronic platform that should expedite decision-making, information analyses and the execution of action plans.

“Furthermore, the e-Cabinet system will result in a robust database which facilitates easy access to stored records of Government.”

However, in a surprise turn of events, cabinet Ministers appeared in Tuesday’s cabinet briefing with hoards of papers which Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube battled to surf through.

Watch full briefing in video downloading below:

The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) representative to the European Union (EU), Grace Kwinjeh, has resigned from her post to focus on her studies in South America.

Nehanda Radio understands the veteran journalist turned human rights activist and politician has secured a scholarship to study global politics for the next two years. Kwinjeh has over 20 years experience in communications, lobbying and advocacy, at national, regional and international levels.

She rose to fame in the late 90s as one of the young Zimbabweans, led by the late founding MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who challenged ZANU PF’s political hegemony.

Kwinjeh became a vocal champion for human rights, suffering long periods of persecution under regime of the late Robert Mugabe. Pictures of her badly beaten body along with that of Sekai Holland went viral in 2007 cementing her legacy as one of the brave fighters of her generation.

Kwinjeh is also an experienced editor who has studied theology and International Relations and has worked with news agencies and national newspapers, in Africa and Europe. 

In 2015 Kwinjeh co-authored a book with Liberia’s former President Sirleaf Johnson and other female leaders representing the African continent titled, Women’s Leadership in Peace Building: Conflict, Community and Care. She is also published in leading academic journals. 

• Nehanda Radio

The lefthand just doesn’t seem to know what the right hand is doing in Zimbabwe as senior government officials practise opposing polices.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa linked Zuva Petroleum has announced 8 service stations that will be selling fuel in foreign currency across the country.

The arrangement was made under the Direct Fuel Import scheme which means these sites are likely to have guaranteed fuel supplies.

Posting on Twitter Zuva Petroleum said:

We are excited to announce 8 Zuva DFI Service Stations that will be accepting foreign currency payments across the country as follows:

• Harare: Lorraine, Groombridge, Pendennis, & Valley
• Bulawayo: Macs Garage
• Beitbridge: Oasis
• Mutare: Palmerstone
• Victoria Falls: Zambezi

ZANU PF National Chairperson Oppah Muchinguri is reportedly mobilizing members of the Central Committee to back her in a bid to confront President Emmerson Mnangagwa on the party’s decision to suspend two ZANU PF Youth leaders Godfrey Tsenengamu and Lewis Matutu.

A highly placed ZANU PF source who spoke to this reporter revealed that ZANU PF Commissar  Victor Matemadanda had assurd the embattled pair  that the National Chairperson was mobilising Central Committee members to stand with Matutu and Tsenengamu in their anti corruption fight.

Said the source, “Oppah Muchinguri is using her position as National Chairperson to whip central committee members into supporting Matutu and Godfrey Tsenengamu, while Pupurai Togarepi uses his influence on ZANU PF MPs who are also members of Central Committee by virtue of being MPs.

“The game plan is to out number politburo members and out veto  their decision in a bid to bring back Matutu and Godfrey Tsenengamu who are useful foot soldiers of the Muchinguri bid for Vice Presidency. The group also wants the positions of vice president and Chairperson to be contested positions and not appointees and they seek to propose an ammendment to that effect.”

Chris Mutsvangwa is rumoured to be angling for the National Chairman’s position hence his support towards an Oppah Muchinguri promotion so that she creates space for him in the Presidium.

“The group has already gathered ammunition to use against former Army General Constantine Chiwenga who they say is physically unfit, morally unfit and lacks Probity to hold the second highest office in the ruling party. Marry Chiwenga and her affidavit against Chiwenga will be the cornerstone of their final push against Chiwenga.” The source added

Byo 24

The Officer Commanding
Harare Suburban
Harare Central Police
HARARE

Dear Sir/Madam
NOTICE OF PROTEST MARCH TO PARLIAMENT TO HAND OVER PETITION ON GRADE 7 AND ‘O’ AND ‘A’ LEVEL EXAMINATION FEES HIKES BY ZIMSEC

We write to give notice that The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe shall be marching to Parliament to handover a Petition to seek urgent Parliamentary intervention to reverse/reduce the recent astronomic Grade 7 and ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level examination fees hikes by ZIMSEC.

It is our belief that the duty and obligation to defend and protect the rights of children squarely rests on us as teachers and parents.
The march shall be on Thursday 27 February 2020.

We shall proceed from Harare gardens via Julius Nyerere, through 2nd street to Nelson Mandela and then to Parliament, Building.

The march shall happen between 1 pm – 2 pm.
Expected number of marchers is plus or minus 500.

You may attend if you so wish
Yours Sincerely
Raymond Majongwe
PTUZ SECRETARY GENERAL

The people of Kuwadzana, Harare were the worst brutalised by soldiers in August 2018 when Emmerson Mnangagwa deployed the army to kill many while changing election results, and on the 4th August local clinics told ZimEye.com of how military trucks would arrive at night and officers begin assaulting residents. Being reminded of these atrocities could not be any more hurting.

VOICE 1 (Talent Chiwenga)- Izvozvi ndichitaura zvandirikuita izvi, havasirivo vaMnangagwa vakatuma ma soldier kupfura vanhu. Nyaya iyoyo irikutovanetsawo but havasikuziva kuti voita sei nayo. … Asi izvozvi zvandirikutaura izvi Mwari vakandiudza kuti havana kumbotuma vanhu.

VOICE 2 (ED) – Asiyo Ka. Deno taiziva kuti vanhu vekuKuwadzana vasingadi kuti mvura inaye, aaah, taingoti army kombai tirove.

Wanzwa here kutapira kunoita izwi raApostle Chiwenga achishandisa bhuku dzvene Bible achinyepera ruzhinji, zvekare achitoshandisa zita raMwari? Zvinoreva chii izvi?

Five family members were struck to death by lightning in the Muzvezve area of Sanyati District.

Tragedy struck when the family, which was tending their maize field, sought refuge under a tree when it started raining yesterday afternoon in Village 6, Muzvezve 1.

A lightning bolt hit the tree. The five who died went under one tree while three other family members who survived went under another nearby tree.

Sanyati District civil protection unit officer, Mr Amigo Mhlanga confirmed the development saying the unit has since been activated to offer assistance.

“Five members of the same family have died after being struck by lightning while being sheltered under a tree. The district CPU has been activated and we are going to the area to assess the situation while also looking at how the family can be assisted because of the magnitude of the tragedy,” said Mr Mhlanga.-State media

Opposition MDC president Nelson Chamisa yesterday conceded that he was under “immense pressure” from restless party supporters who want to confront President Emmerson Mnangagwa over his handling of the country’s economy.

Zimbabwe is facing its worst economic crisis in a decade, with prices of basic goods soaring and shortages of medicines, fuel and electricity, while rising inflation has wiped out wages.

Chamisa said supporters wanted to take to the streets, a sentiment he said was popular with the party faithful during his whirlwind tour of provinces that began two weeks ago.

The opposition leader told NewsDay yesterday that in all places he had been, which include Bulawayo, Masvingo, Midlands, Mashonaland Central and others, there were overwhelming calls for action to deal with the crisis in Zimbabwe.

“I have been to Gweru, Bulawayo and Masvingo, the sentiment I got is that there is pressure among people to go on the streets,” Chamisa said.

“People want to be on the street as early as yesterday to protest against government. Considering that people are suffering and dying while crossing the flooded Limpopo to South Africa looking for opportunities that are deprived back home, the pressure is unbearable. People want to be in the street as early as yesterday to have the situation resolved.

“They look forward to the political leadership to resolve the crisis, which is not happening. But what I want to assure people is that change will come and it is not far. This situation is not sustainable, it cannot subsist for a long time.”

Efforts to have Mnangagwa and Chamisa dialogue to end the Zimbabwean crisis, characterised by fuel shortages, cash crisis, mealie-meal shortages, hyperinflation, power cuts among other issues, have hit a brickwall.

This is despite the intervention by former South African President Thabo Mbeki to try and bring the warring parties to the table.

Mnangagwa has been accused of failing to deal with the deepening economic crisis, with observers saying dialogue was the only way out.

Chamisa has insisted on talks, but hinted he was giving up on any prospect for dialogue as Mnangagwa has not been forthcoming, to the extent of ignoring moves by Mbeki.

While Mnangagwa remains adamant that dialogue will only happen under the Political Actors’ Dialogue banner, Chamisa has said he will not join a captured project.

There have been calls from within the MDC for a more combative approach to the current situation with mainly protests being one of the key points.

Said Chamisa: “Mnangagwa has not been taking an olive branch we extended to him on dialogue, and now we don’t have a choice, but take action.

“It is foolhardy to continue talking about elections that are not elections, elections whose outcome is predetermined. We have been down this road since 2000, people voting and being cheated and their vote being disregarded as was the situation in 2008.

“We cannot continue with this national deception and global deceit. The people have the total sovereign power to resolve their problems; it is through elections that executive authority is driven, legislative as well as judicial.”

Job Sikhala, the MDC deputy national chair, said time was fast ripening to bring down the Mnangagwa dictatorship.

“Zimbabwe cannot survive further with these people (Mnangagwa and Zanu PF). Their time is up and a thunderstorm of anger is gathering. Let me make this promise. Very soon, from the forefront, we are going to liberate our country,” Sikhala said in his message thanking the MDC family and people for their support during his treason trial.

Meanwhile, fresh details have emerged on why Chamisa suspended the James Gumbi-chaired Masvingo executive last week as it was revealed that the leadership was not in touch with reality on the ground, neglecting some districts, leading to a paltry 27 votes in the Mwenezi by-election held recently.

Zanu PF garnered 1 811 votes, while the MDC got only 27 in the by-election as the top leaders of the Masvingo executive are all based in Harare, with the chairman working full time in the capital together with the secretary, who is a lawyer in Harare.

“They are visitors in Masvingo and we got complaints from the districts on the matter, so we had to act,” a senior MDC official said.

“Senior members in the executive stay in Harare and they never set their feet in Mwenezi to campaign, yet Zanu PF was visible and well represented. The people ended up voting for Zanu PF because they had no protection from their leaders in the province,” the insider said.

“If they decide to go to Masvingo, before they reach Mbudzi roundabout, Zanu PF officials would have arrived for meetings in the province and we can’t have that kind of leadership now. People were used to impunity and we said now, we are drawing a line in the sand.”

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Microsoft founder, Bill Gates has said that a spread of the COVID- 19 which was once known as novel coronavirus into Africa may result in chaos since most of the countries do not have strong health systems that could withstand the virus.

Speaking at the AAAS meeting in Seattle just hours before the first case was confirmed in Cairo, Egypt, Gates said that the virus could disrupt health systems and economies and cause more than 10 million excess deaths. He said:

This disease, if it’s in Africa it’s more dramatic than if it’s in China, even though I’m not trying to minimise what’s going on in China in any way.

He gave reference to Ebola saying that most of the excess deaths were caused because the health service shut down.

Gates added that the health systems in Africa already were in bad shape therefore they could not contain the epidemic effectively and timeously.Coronavirus was first reported to the World Health Organisation in December last year when it was discovered in China.

It has now since spread to more than 20 other countries and the death toll is now beyond 1600.-Telegraph

By A Correspondent- The governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Dr John Mangudya on Monday projected that Zimbabwe’s de-dollarisation process would be completed in five years.

He said the remarks while presenting the country’s 2020 first half Monetary Policy Statement during which he also claimed that the use of the local currency for domestic transactions had improved.

The bank believes that the macro-economic signals that include fiscal and monetary discipline, prospects of positive economic growth and lower inflation are improving to support a gradual de-dollarisation process within a time-frame of five years.

In June 2019, Zimbabwe through Statutory Instrument (SI) 142 of 2019, banned the use of all foreign currencies on domestic transactions. The SI also reintroduced the local currency which had been ditched in 2009 following hyperinflation that reached a 231 million per cent record high.

Businesses have however not welcomed the transition as they are still charging their commodities in foreign currencies particularly the United States dollar and the South African Rand.

They assert that the local currency which is constantly shedding value against other currencies is not sustainable for business.

-TheInsider

By A Correspondent- Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi was in Shurugwi last week where he officially opened and blessed a service station owned by a young church member who started off as a vegetable vendor working together with his mother.

Bishop Mutendi who heads Zion Christian Church (ZCC), one of Zimbabwe’s biggest locally found churches hailed Moses Zuva for opening Mondi Filling Station in the small mining town of Shurugwi. He said it was impressive that he opened a service station at a time when the economy is facing difficult times.

Bishop Mutendi became the first customer at the service station when he bought fuel for US$1 000.

The official opening was attended by heads of Government departments, church members and members of the public.

“I am really pleased with what this young man is doing in Shurugwi even in the face of these economic difficulties. I am here to bless his work and may God continue to bless this young man. I will be the first customer by buying fuel for US$1 000,” said Bishop Mutendi.

Zuva said he was overjoyed by the blessings that he gets from God through the church. He said that his hard work is being rewarded and told a local publication that everything comes through hard work and the blessings of God.

“I am from a very poor back ground. My mother and I used to be vendors selling vegetables, tomatoes and sugar. I then graduated into an illegal gold panner and raised fees for a diploma from in Business Management. I have now just started a degree at MSU in Business Management.

“God is everything. I have experienced all highs and lows of business. I have flourished, I got broke to the extent that I sold everything that I had and I am up again.

“The best thing in my life is when my wife invited me to her church. That is when business started growing firmly and an now a proud owner of one of the biggest crèches in Shurugwi called Sunshine, I have business stands, I own a mine and a mill and today I have opened a filling station,” said Zuva.

– Mirror

By A Correspondent- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been told to tell the truth about what transpired during the Matebeleland massacres known as Gukurahundi on the aftermath of independence.

The warning was issued by activists at talks that were held in Bulawayo, three days after Sudan’s new rulers agreed to send ousted President Omar al-Bashir to be tried at the ICC for alleged war crimes.

Mnangagwa is implicated in the massacres as he was the minister of Defence at the time when the North Korean trained 5th brigade raided Midlands and Matebeleland and killed villagers and ‘dissidents’.

The tragedy is unfortunately engraved in the history of Zimbabwe and some of the victims are still suffering the consequences of to date.

Reports suggest that some of the victims are still in the diaspora while some are unable to access essential identity documents including birth certificates.

Mnangagwa has however allowed for a free and impartial discourse on the matter which has been kept a ‘danger zone’ during former president Mugabe’s era.

This saw some of the remains of Gukurahundi victims repatriated and reburied last year.

Some of the victims are however saying that the gesture is not enough and they are demanding that those who were responsible be brought to book and they are also demanding compensation.-TimesLives

Milling companies operating in Zimbabwe are currently appearing before the Justice Mayor Wadyajena led parliamentary committee on lands and agriculture to explain on the challenges they are facing as well as on how they used wheat they received from their association the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ).

Watch video loading below…

By A Correspondent- The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and captains of industry on Friday sharply differed on the  currency in use in local trading.

Government mid-last year outlawed use of multi currencies in the economy, marking a return of the Zimbabwean dollar as the official  mono-currency.

But since then several institutions and sectors such as tourism have  been given special dispensations to charge for their goods and  services in foreign currency, notably the US dollar.

And while in formal trade, the currency used is generally the local  dollar,  the situation is largely the opposite in the informal market.

But even some formal businesses are demanding payment in foreign currency  though receipting in local currency.

Presenting a paper on “De-dollarisation or re-dollarisation,” RBZ’s  deputy director economic research, Dr Nebson Mupunga said Zimbabwe had  “successfully de-dollarised” after Government banned use of  multi-currencies.

But admittedly, this had not been easy, he said.

“We have done it (de-dollarise) in a very short space of time, which  has not been done anywhere else in the world,” Dr Mupunga said,  speaking on behalf of his principal, Dr John Mangudya at the launch of  the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries manufacturing sector survey  report for 2019.

The central bank, he said, was now focusing on “strengthening the  demand for the Zimbabwean dollar,” which was slowly being pumped into  the market.

Dr Mupunga said it was, however, not easy to “de-dollarise people’s  minds.”

“Someone who has held a (US) dollar still wants to hold the dollar but  as policy makers we want to strengthen the demand for the Zimbabwean  dollar,” he said.

Captains of industry who attended the event were, however, at odds with  the central bank’s sentiments, instead boldly declaring that it was  Government that had de-dollarised on paper but not the people.

Dairibord Holdings chief executive, Anthony Mandiwanza said, “Zimbabwe  has not de-dollarised, there is a dysfunction between what is on the  ground and what is there at policy level.”

“If the central bank truly believes we have de-dollarised then we have a very serious problem.”

Another participant said there was a difference between dollarisation  that happened in 2009 and the de-dollarisation announced last year.

“In 2009, Government just formalised what was already the norm, but in  2019, it is Government that de-dollarised but the people did not,” the  participant said.

The issue of lack of confidence in the local currency stemmed from  mistrust from previous experiences that the population had in policy  makers, participants said.

“No one wants dollarisation but it is forced upon us because no one  trusts the RBZ,” said economist Farai Mutambanengwe.

The lack of confidence in the local currency has resulted in the  existence of multi-exchange rates in the economy distorting prices,  argued economist Joseph Mverecha.

He said it would be impossible for the economy to stabilise as long as  people continued to speculate due to exchange rate instabilities,  which fuelled inflation.

This week, Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube told a local paper Government would come up with stiff penalties for local businesses  that insist on charging people in foreign currency.

-Statemedia

The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) has clarified some ‘misconceptions surrounding the US$27 million fund meant for the rehabilitation of national silos saying the money did not come from either government or Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe as widely shared by the portfolio committee on lands and agriculture.

In a statement released late Monday by GMAZ spokesperson, Garikai Chaunza said;

“We learnt with shock and disbelief of a statement by the Portfolio Committee Chair, on his personal twitter account, that GMAZ is snubbing Parliament with regards to accounting for US$27M. For the record GMAZ has never received loan, grant or any financial assistance from Government or Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe,” said Chaunza

He said the money in question was sourced by the millers and subsequently paid to the respective supplier with proof of payments submitted to parliament.

“The US$27M in question relates to foreign currency that GMAZ bought at the prevalent exchange rate at the time with the funds remitted to respective supplier. The necessary acquittals proving that the wheat came into the country were done through our bankers,” he said.

He said proof of foreign payments to wheat suppliers and allocation were submitted to the Portfolio Committee on 19 March 2019 and video footage was available as supporting evidence.

Chaunza said they had through the media publicly published statistics showing the quantum and distribution of the wheat and that the source documents were available for inspection.

He added that Parliament affairs must not be communicated through twitter accounts since the institution has its official communication platforms.

By A Correspondent- Two people died – one on the spot and the others upon arrival at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital – when a haulage truck hit a pothole, veered off the road and ploughed into pedestrians at the 255km peg along the Harare-Chirundu Highway near Vuti Secondary School.

Mashonaland West provincial police spokesperson Inspector Ian Kohwera confirmed the accident yesterday.

“The truck driver tried to avoid one of the two potholes on the highway when the accident occurred. The truck veered off the road before hitting two pedestrians which saw one passing on on the spot. The truck went on to hit a tree and rolled once before landing on its roof. One of the accident victims was affected when the tree was uprooted,” he told NewsDay.

Four passengers, who were aboard the truck, were injured and ferried to Karoi District Hospital for treatment and were discharged, police added.

The deceased were identified as Dickson Chatewe, who left behind a one-month-old baby and Eliphias Nyanyiwa, a youth.

Meanwhile, Nyanyiwa’s burial was snubbed by members of Johannes Marange apostolic sect amid allegations that he had sought hospital treatment after the accident.

“We witnessed the burial of Nyanyiwa on Saturday, but members of the Johanne Marange sect snubbed his burial, claiming that he had sought medical treatment, hence he was no longer abiding by the church doctrine of not seeking medical attention even when they are sick,” revealed another villager, Thomas Matera.

-Newsday

Convicted rap_ist Munyaradzi Kereke, serving a 10-year term for rap_ing an 11-year-old girl, was receiving unusually favourable treatment in prison, being allowed home visits and enjoying c0njugal rights, three former top officers from Chikurubi Maximum Prison said in court yesterday.

The three said this in their defence on charges of concealing transactions from a prison chicken project, partially set up by Kereke.

The three, former Chikurubi Maximum Prison officer-in-charge Nobert Chomurenga and his then top juniors, Cephas Chiparausha and Tonderai Mutiwaringa, are on trial at Harare Magistrates Court for receiving more than $10 500 from the chicken project without telling their superior.

Chomurenga was the officer-in-charge at Chikurubi Maximum Prison being deputised by Mutiwaringa, while Chiparausha was the head of security at the time of the alleged offences.

After Kereke was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in July 2016, he was committed to Chikurubi Maximum Prison where he then met the three top prison officers.

On September 25, 2017, it is alleged Chomurenga and Chiparausha, who were acting in connivance with Mutiwaringa, in their personal capacities, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Humanity Earth Trust, which has links with Kereke.

It is alleged that from September 25, 2017 to August 2018, Humanity Earth Trust provided a total of 3 000 birds, feed, medicines and other sanitary requirements for the chicken-rearing project.

Further allegations are that the trio, as part of the agreement, provided space and labour in the form of prisoners, but for their personal benefit.

When the chickens were being sold, the customers paid money into Chiparausha’s EcoCash account and he received a total of $8 282. In December 2017, Mutiwaringa, who took over as officer-in-charge after the promotion and transfer of Chomurenga, received $2 252 from Chiparausha through his EcoCash account being proceeds of the project.

In their defence, Chomurenga, Chiparausha and Mutiwaringa told the court that all their actions were with the ZPCS Commissioner General Paradzai Zimondi’s blessings and they were only arrested after his fall-out with Kereke.

State media

By A Correspondent- The late Mugodhi Apostolic Faith Church (Mugodhi) leader Tandewu Mugodhi’s three children are facing jail after they locked out their father’s successor Tonnie Sigauke from the church’s headquarters in Wedza, in defiance of a court order.

The church has since filed a contempt of court application before the High Court.

Washington Mugodhi, the son of the late Mugodhi Apostolic church leader Tadewu, who was appointed as the new church leader after being anointed by his late father, has been taken to court for contempt of court after the High Court barred him from leading the church until a matter challenging his selection as unconstitutional is finalised. Washington was appointed as the substantive church leader at his father’s memorial service last week.

According to a High Court order dated December 18, 2019 the applicant, Mugodhi Apostolic Faith Church, was granted a final order to access the church premises particularly the church’s shrine in Wedza, while Tadewu’s children – Washington, Innocent and Enock Mugodhi – who were cited in the application were ordered to pay the costs of court.

“Pending finalisation of this matter, an interim order is hereby granted on condition that the interim order shall remain operational despite noting of an appeal by the respondents,” read the High Court order.

Reports indicate that Tony Sigauke, who was the vice bishop of the church, was supposed to succeed Tadewu as the church leader, according to its constitution, but the late leader allegedly violated it and reserved the position for his son and this did not go down well with other con- gregants. Medical attention

According to the church’s constitution, Sigauke is now the rightful church leader as per the High Court judgment and was expected to succeed Tadewu.

According to the High Court, Tadewu was not supposed to anoint his son, who was not in the church leadership hierarchy, as his successor before he had been cleansed by Sigauke after he allegedly went to South Africa to seek medical attention, which is against the church’s tenets.

Washington is yet to respond to the High Court application.

The current bank exchange rates for the ZWL$ today are as follows:

USD = ZWL$17.7474
ZWL$ = RAND0.8465

Data according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

Black Market Rates:

USD = ZWL$28.30 bluemari
USD = BOND21.00 bluemari

– Marketwatch

By A Correspondent- Former Zanu Pf Bikita West legislator Munyaradzi Kereke who was convicted of rape after he sexually abused an eleven-year-old girl is reportedly getting preferential treatment while serving jail time.

Kereke was in 2016 sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was convicted on sexual abuse charges.

Three former Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) officers alleged in court this Monday that Kereke was enjoying home visits and conjugal rights.

The three, former Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison officer-in-charge Nobert Chomurenga and his then lieutenants, Cephas Chiparausha and Tonderai Mutiwaringa, are on trial at the Harare Magistrates Courts for receiving over $10 500 from the prison chicken project partially set up by Kereke without informing their superior.

However, ZPCS has denied the allegations that Kereke received preferential treatment adding that the former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor was never a candidate for transfer to an open prison

By A Correspondent- Prominent socialite and a veteran of the war of liberation Frank Takavarasha aka TK has died.

Takavarasha who was a long serving technician with the state broadcaster and later Transmedia Corporation died at Masvingo Provincial Hospital after a short illness.

TK whose Chimurenga name was Shingirai Chimurenga was 62 at the time of his death.

He was declared a liberation war hero upon the request of his fellow war veterans from Masvingo Province although his family requested that his remains be interred at his rural home in Chivi.

TK was buried at his homestead in Takavarasha Village under Chief Chivi last Sunday where hundreds of people from all walks of life including his close friends who used to socialise with him in the popular Room 7 Senior Officer’s Mess at Masvingo Provincial Police HQ converged to pay their last respects.

“TK our muzukuru was a humble person who had no ill feelings with anyone. He was always cheerful and lovely. We miss him greatly,” said Cassian Mtsambiwa a prominent Masvingo based architect who is the deceased’s uncle.

After the war of liberation, TK was sent to Germany by the Government for an advanced training course in radio and television transmission and came back in 1983 and went on to work in different parts of the country although he spent most of his working years stationed in Masvingo his home town.

Takavarasha had a passion to serve his people said his uncle former Tongaat CEO Sydney Mtsambiwa at the funeral.

“Transmedia and the whole nation benefited a lot from his vast experience and knowledge of the broadcasting infrastructure. Popularly known as TK, he was a jovial character who enjoyed his work. He could easily interact with all people across economic classes. He will be sadly missed by many,’’ said Rufaro Zaranyika, Transmedia Corporation chief operations officer at the burial site.

TK is survived by one daughter Tatenda.

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwe Republic Police have said that they are investigating the disappearance of a Chinese couple on Valentine’s Day after visiting a friend in Eastlea, Harare.

The investigations were confirmed by police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday. He said that Lei Ding (35) and his wife Chi Lifen (30), went missing after visiting a friend, but their vehicle was later found dumped along Arcturus Road, with keys in the ignition. He said:

The Zimbabwe Republic Police is investigating a case involving the missing of two Chinese nationals who were last seen on February 14, 2020 in Eastlea after visiting a friend.

We are appealing to (anyone) who may have information on their disappearance or possible location to contact their nearest police station or the national complaints desk.

Their whereabouts are still unknown.

-Newsday

GWERU residents have implored the local authority to come up with a by-law effectively banning the rearing of donkeys in the city following an upsurge in their numbers as they are used as draught power by firewood dealers.

Speaking at a feedback meeting held at Mkoba 10 hall by former mayor and ward 10 councillor Charles Chikozho, the residents said the donkeys were now a menace as their handlers have a tendency of letting them stray, thereby roaming into private properties and messing up the streets.

“The problem of donkeys, if left unchecked, will see the city’s suburbs becoming peri-urban villages. Right now, the problem has reached a stage where even some of our bus stops, like in Mkoba 5, are now known as Pamadhongi due to the high population of the beasts in the area. These animals are abused by people who travel to rural areas to ferry firewood so as to cash in on desperate residents affected by rolling power outages,” a resident Nomore Matarirano (48) said during the meeting.

Pardington Manyika (33), another Mkoba resident, said several donkeys die on the roadside and the owners do not remove the rotting carcasses, which pose a health hazard.

“If you walk on our roads, you see bodies of donkeys that are just decomposing, yet it is in the heart of the suburb where there are homes. The putrid smell is a cause for concern. We no longer live comfortably in our homes as we cannot afford to open windows no-matter how hot the weather could be,” another resident, Mercy Murisa (43) said.

Motorists also said the donkeys can cause accidents, particularly at night, since they are left to roam the streets.

Chikozho told Southern Eye yesterday that when he was Gweru mayor, the proposal to come up with a by-law that outlawed keeping of donkeys was made, but did not get to a stage of becoming a resolution.

“We will have to sit down again as city fathers and say this is what our residents are saying. I am sure a position leading to the drafting of a by-law banning the keeping of donkeys in our suburbs should be made. The problem is affecting our people greatly and I am making a commitment to help find a lasting solution,” he said.

Last year, the city council embarked on an operation to round up the stray donkeys, but it seems the operation died a natural death.

The government on Monday welcomed the easing of European Union (EU) sanctions on the country, but reiterated its call for the total scrapping of the the penalties.

The bloc on Monday suspended sanctions against Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and three other top officials, but kept in place an arms embargo and penalties on a state-owned defence firm.

The other officials taken off the sanctions list, albeit temporarily, are Agriculture Minister Perrence Shiri,Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander, General Phillip Valerio Sibanda and former First Lady Grace Mugabe.

Reacting to the move, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Sibusiso Moyo said though welcome, the EU sanctions belonged to the past, and should be totally scrapped.

The country estimates the sanctions, imposed two decades ago to force the government to re-think its land reform policy, had cost the economy nearly US$100 billion.

The land reforms involved compulsory acquisition of excess farmland from white farmers to resettle landless peasants.

Moyo said the EU’s partial lifting of its sanctions was an acknowledgment of progress the government was making in its multi-pronged reform agenda, as well as its re-engagement efforts.

Since taking office in 2017, the new government has sought to re-engage friends and foes alike to open a new page in relations, and end nearly two decades of isolation.

“We view this development as an acknowledgement of progress made in terms of the broad reform agenda we have set ourselves and to which we are fully committed. The reform agenda is a process rather than an event and it will take time to complete,” Moyo said.

“We maintain that these and other sanctions measures imposed against Zimbabwe are unjustified and outdated: that they actually hinder our reform trajectory, and that all such measures should be removed, especially at a time government is confronted by the daunting consequences of natural disaster and devastating drought.”

He lauded the EU for its continued humanitarian support for Zimbabwe in spite of the existence of sanctions.

Zimbabwe and the EU have since entered into formal dialogue to narrow their differences on a range of issues, with a view to normalising relations.

Moyo said Zimbabwe wanted to restore its previously cordial relations with the EU “free from all such historical impediments and baggage,” referring to the key role Zimbabwe’s former colonial master, Britain played in the imposition of the bloc’s sanctions.

– New Ziana

THE European Union (EU) has indicated that it does not recognise President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s pet project, the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) as adequate to resolve the problems in Zimbabwe and said it would engage Sadc and the African Union (AU) to put pressure on his administration to have more inclusive talks.

Yesterday, the bloc said the failure by the Mnangagwa administration to implement reforms was behind the country’s deepening economic crisis.

It extended sanctions on the Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI), but suspended restrictions on former First Lady Grace Mugabe.

“The lack of substantial reforms, the further shrinking of democratic space and corruption, have, however, contributed to the current deteriorating humanitarian crisis and to the economic and social situation,” the EU said following its council meeting.

The EU imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe after then President Robert Mugabe deported its chief elections observer in 2002, but has gradually loosened the measures, while Harare sought to resume relations after Mugabe was deposed in November 2017 through a coup.

“The recommendations of the (former South African President Kgalema) Motlanthe Commission of Inquiry should be implemented without further delay. In addition, an inclusive national dialogue is key to finding structural and durable solutions to the challenges faced by Zimbabwe,” the statement read.

Mnangagwa has insisted that he will have no other talks outside Polad, which has been snubbed by main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the MDC.

The EU said it would soon turn to Zimbabwe’s friends, the Sadc and AU, to ensure that the inclusive dialogue happens and help stem what the council said was further shrinkage of democratic space.

“The EU will seek increased collaboration with international partners, most importantly the African Union, Sadc and its member countries, and international financial institutions, which can play a key role by supporting Zimbabwe in enabling an inclusive dialogue and in accelerating progress in reforms,” the statement read.

Two weeks ago, Mnangagwa told diplomats at a luncheon that his government had implemented major reforms and a large part of the Motlanthe recommendations was in play, particularly as expressed in Polad.

Despite his charm offensive, the EU said Mnangagwa needed to start reforms by bringing to justice those who shot and killed civilians on the streets during the post-election demonstrations on August 1, 2018.

“The lack of substantial reforms, the further shrinking of democratic space and corruption, has, however, contributed to the current deteriorating humanitarian crisis and to the economic and social situation. The EU calls on the government to accelerate the political and economic reform process as a matter of urgency, for the benefit of its population.

Perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses should swiftly be brought to justice,” the EU said.

The EU last year suspended sanctions against Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, Lands minister Perrance Shiri and the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander Philip Valerio Sibanda.

“The EU has decided to renew its arms embargo and to maintain a targeted assets freeze against one company, Zimbabwe Defence Industries, for one year, taking into account the situation in Zimbabwe, including the yet to be investigated alleged role of the armed and security forces in human rights abuses. The restrictive measures against four individuals are suspended.

The arms embargo, as well as the asset freeze against Zimbabwe Defence Industries, do not affect the Zimbabwean economy, foreign direct investment or trade,” the EU said.
Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo immediately responded to the EU council recommendations, saying the move by EU was acknowledgment of progress on the work being done by Mnangagwa’s government.

“We view this development as an acknowledgement of progress made in terms of the broad reforms agenda we have set ourselves and to which we are fully committed. The reform agenda is a process rather than an event and it will take time to complete,” He said.

Moyo said it was important for the EU to totally remove the sanctions because they were outdated and unjustified.

“We maintain that these and other sanctions, measures imposed against Zimbabwe, are unjustified and outdated, that they actually hinder our reform trajectory and that all such measures should be removed, especially when government is faced by daunting consequences of natural disaster and devastating drought,” he said.

Sadc executive secretary Stergomena Tax said: “Sadc welcomes suspension of restrictive measures against individuals in Zimbabwe and the continued EU support. This is a positive gesture to continued engagement and co-operation for Zim’s prosperity. Sadc calls for total uplifting of embargo.”

State Media|The Attorney-General’s Office has come under fire for incompetence, with High Court Judge Justice Priscillah Munangati-Manongwa chiding law officers for failing to protect Government interests in litigation against the State.

Apart from being the chief Government’s legal advisers, the AG’s officers are tasked to represent the State and all its arms in court.

Justice Munangati-Manongwa made it clear that they should act for the Government with the same degree of competence as private practitioners do for their clients.

She made the remarks in last week’s civil case ruling involving former Police Assistant Commissioner Fortunate Chirara and former police inspector John Madhuku on one side against the Commissioner-General of Police Godwin Matanga and the Public Service Commission on the other side.

The pair are suing over alleged forced resignation.

“It remains that some officers from the Attorney-General’s Office who are tasked with representing the State and in other instances arms of the State are often found wanting in so far as adequately protecting the interest of the State is concerned,” said Justice Munangati-Manongwa.

In most cases, the law officers from the AG’s Office failed to comply with elementary court rules, she said.

Justice Munangati-Manongwa said the realisation of justice was centred on compliance which places all parties at par and enables proper dispute resolution.

“That being so, the lackadaisical approach which some officers assume in handling matters involving the State and its entities must simply stop,” she said.

“This matter is one in many which shows incompetence by some officers. It must never be that the State’s interest as litigants gets compromised because counsel representing it has not adopted a serious approach in safeguarding the legal interest of the State.”

Justice Munangati-Manongwa said all legal practitioners were officers of the court with a duty to the client and the court at large for proper administration of justice.

In this case, Comm-Gen Matanga and the PSC were applying for condonation of late filing of their opposition papers in the case in which Chirara and Madhuku were seeking an order declaring their “forced resignation” unlawful.

It is this application which the AG’s officers failed to oppose timeously.

During the hearing of the application for condonation, the law officer from the civil division of the AG’s Office Mr D. Jaricha explained that opposition papers of Comm-Gen Matanga were misplaced in the office and hence not filed.

After the pair filed its application, Comm-Gen Matanga and PSC were served on July 1 last year.

The notice of opposition for the police chief was not filed within the stipulated 10 days from the date of service of the application.

This effectively barred Comm-Gen Matanga from being heard in court.

His opposition was then filed on September 23, way out of time.

When the matter was brought for hearing early this month, Comm-Gen Matanga’s application for condonation was opposed.

After hearing arguments from both parties’ lawyers, Justice Munangati-Manongwa considered the circumstances of the matter and exercised her discretion and granted the application by Comm-Gen Matanga for condonation.

To express the court’s displeasure in the manner the case was handled by the Civil Division, she slapped the office with an order for costs.

“It will not only defy logic, but would be patently unjust if the first respondent (Comm-Gen Matanga) would be made to pay costs because he acted on time upon receiving the application,” said Justice Munangati-Manongwa.

Chirara and Madhuku resigned after being accused of stealing $4 000 from the police’s Kuyedza Women’s Club.

They were jailed two years each for theft, but were acquitted on appeal at the High Court.

THE Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) has “mistakenly” released the Ordinary Level results for the nine Chiredzi students accused of cheating, although the public examinations body had earlier said the results would be withheld until further investigations.

According to Zimsec spokesperson Nicky Dhlamini, they wrote to Chingele Secondary School head on December 12, 2019, advising him that all candidates had their results for Combined Science withheld, with results for nine candidates cancelled.

“Provisional results for candidates from Chingele were deployed to the school on February 12, 2020. The nine candidates were given their results by an administrator who had not been informed of the situation. As of now, the nine candidates have been asked to return their provisional slips as they await the confirmed result slips which show that their results have been cancelled,” Dhlamini said.

“Results in 2020 were released in record time. All processes and due diligence has been done to make sure that those who were involved in any malpractice are brought to book. This only occurs after investigations have been concluded and judgment has been passed.

“We implore the school administration to remain proactive and co-operative with Zimsec as communication would have been forwarded to them.”

The school was probed after it emerged that four teachers at the school allegedly wrote public examinations for their wives and girlfriends during last November’s public examinations.

Zimsec recommended to the Primary and Secondary Education ministry that the teachers be suspended, but two of them are still at the school.

The district schools inspector Petronella Nyangwe confirmed that two of the suspended teachers – Mike Maluleke and Checkson Tsumele were on suspension, but were allowed to remain at the school although not performing their duties.

NewsDay

A CHEEKY thief, who broke into 10 houses, including the late former Vice-President Simon Muzenda’s Chishawasha house where he stole a 49-inch television set, appeared before a Harare magistrate yesterday.

Paul Kachepa (38) pleaded guilty to all 10 counts of unlawful entry when he appeared before magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa, who remanded him to February 24 for plea recording.

Allegations are that on December 18, 2018, Kachepa broke into Muzenda’s house in Gletwin, Chishawasha.

It is alleged that Kachepa stole a 49-inch Samsung plasma television set, 52-inch Hisense plasma television set and went away.

Police received information that Kachepa was behind the unlawful entry and interviewed him. Kachepa admitted stealing the items.

The State alleges that Kachepa voluntarily led the police to the complainant’s house.

Using the same modus operandi, Kachepa also broke into Richard Rwodzi’s residence and stole a 40-inch plasma screen and several household items valued at $9 350.

The State alleges that Kachepa on February 7, broke into one Magombedze’s residence and stole 26-inch plasma screen and a torch before he went away unnoticed.

On the same day, he also broke into Samson Mawende’s residence and stole 42-inch plasma screen, 3 in 1 canon printer and other valuables worth $17 000.

Kachepa also broke into Gloria Chiparei, Tsitsi Nyaningwe, Calvin Musango, Rutendo Tsoro, Potty Musanokuwa and Edward Tasaranga’s homes and allegedly stole property worth thousands of dollars.

VILLAGERS receiving food aid should not contribute money towards its transportation as that is the responsibility of the local authorities.

In an interview yesterday, the Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Larry Mavima, said it would be a tall order for villagers who survive partly on subsistence farming to contribute money towards the transportation of food aid.

Rather, Minister Mavima said local authorities who collect levies and rentals from businesses operating under their jurisdiction should carry that load.

Villagers in the province’s eight administrative districts have been getting food aid from Government but transport challenges have been reported – a negative development that has seen villagers being asked to contribute as much as $10 towards transport.

“There have been some delays in the distribution of food aid in some parts of the province mainly due to transport logistics. As a result, we have heard of cases where the beneficiaries are being asked to contribute money towards transportation of the food aid. 

“But Government is saying no. We can’t have the vulnerable people parting with the little money they have. So, we have given this responsibility of making sure that the food aid reaches its intended beneficiaries to the local authorities,” said Minister Mavima.

He said all local authorities should be collecting levies, taxes from any businesses operating in their jurisdiction.

“If the area has artisanal miners, they should be paying levies, taxes to that local authority like licenses up to the big mining companies. 

“Local authorities are supposed to benefit so that the people in their areas benefit also. If there are farmers, they should also be paying something to cushion the local authorities to have funds to assist Government in such programmes like taking food aid to the people,” said Minister Mavima.

There are more than 800 000 people in the Midlands Province facing acute food shortages as of December.

This is about 63 percent of the province’s population.

The Government is feeding about 176 000 households with Gokwe North, Gokwe South, Zvishavane and Mberengwa the most affected districts in the province.

Minister Mavima said Government is stepping up food relief programme to ensure there will be food security at household level.

President Mnangagwa has said that no one will die of hunger in this country.

CONVICTED rapist Munyaradzi Kereke, serving a 10-year term for raping an 11-year-old girl, was receiving unusually favourable treatment in prison, being allowed home visits and enjoying conjugal rights, three former top officers from Chikurubi Maximum Prison said in court yesterday.

The three said this in their defence on charges of concealing transactions from a prison chicken project, partially set up by Kereke.

The three, former Chikurubi Maximum Prison officer-in-charge Nobert Chomurenga and his then top juniors, Cephas Chiparausha and Tonderai Mutiwaringa, are on trial at Harare Magistrates Court for receiving more than $10 500 from the chicken project without telling their superior.

Chomurenga was the officer-in-charge at Chikurubi Maximum Prison being deputised by Mutiwaringa, while Chiparausha was the head of security at the time of the alleged offences.

After Kereke was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in July 2016, he was committed to Chikurubi Maximum Prison where he then met the three top prison officers.

On September 25, 2017, it is alleged Chomurenga and Chiparausha, who were acting in connivance with Mutiwaringa, in their personal capacities, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Humanity Earth Trust, which has links with Kereke.

It is alleged that from September 25, 2017 to August 2018, Humanity Earth Trust provided a total of 3 000 birds, feed, medicines and other sanitary requirements for the chicken-rearing project.

Further allegations are that the trio, as part of the agreement, provided space and labour in the form of prisoners, but for their personal benefit.

When the chickens were being sold, the customers paid money into Chiparausha’s EcoCash account and he received a total of $8 282. In December 2017, Mutiwaringa, who took over as officer-in-charge after the promotion and transfer of Chomurenga, received $2 252 from Chiparausha through his EcoCash account being proceeds of the project.

In their defence, Chomurenga, Chiparausha and Mutiwaringa told the court that all their actions were with the ZPCS  Commissioner General Paradzai Zimondi’s blessings and they were only arrested after his fall-out with Kereke.

“The Commissioner General was fully briefed and was aware of the poultry project between Chikurubi Maximum Prison and Humanity Earth Trust. He was personally aware of the project as he visited and inspected the project when he toured Chikurubi Maximum Prison on several occasions when accused 1 (Chomurenga) was officer-in-charge and officer commanding Harare Metropolitan Province.

“The poultry project was a brain child of the Commissioner General and Humanity Earth Africa Trust and through Munyaradzi Kereke as Kereke assisted Zimbabwe Prisons Service Commission with various projects,” they said in their defence.

At the time of the alleged offences, they say, Comm Gen Zimondi had in fact directed them to use Kereke’s expertise in finance and economic planning along with social welfare support. 

The three said Kereke’s favourable treatment also included exemption from manual labour.

Eventually complaints and allegations over this favourable treatment led to an inquiry that in turn led to the arrest of the three and the charges they now face, they say.

The ZPCS have denied that Kereke received special treatment and was never a candidate for a transfer to an open prison.

VIDEO LOADING BELOW….

Violence broke out at Masvingo High court Friday morning when police began attacking civilians gathered there.

https://youtu.be/upPZfIi4-wA

By A Correspondent| Zengeza MP Job Sikhala has donated a whopping $10,000 to victims of police brutality in Masvingo.

Sikhala is fresh from securing legal victory against the regime on treason charges last week.

He makes this revelation saying it is in the defence of Democracy and the Rule of Law. He says (full text):

Having noticed the brutal harassment and subjugation to persecution of the people of Masvingo for having come to give solidarity during my Treason trial, I am not only enraged but blown to the top that this Satanism must be confronted to the hilt. There is every right for me to come in defence for those who stood with me during the most difficult period of my life when I was taken through trials and tribulations by the evil regime. The hunting down door to door of people who came voluntarily in defence of democracy is intolerable.

Those who are the perpetrators of this evil mission must be warned that no injustice or crime against humanity has ever gone unpunished in the world. History is full of those who enjoyed abuse of human rights when the sun shines. In defence of those colleagues whose crime was giving solidarity to me I have donated $10 000 for the defense fund through legal practitioners of reference. This is to assist those who are under siege from the regime.

We must stand for each other during the times like this. This shows that the democratic project must be completed with the urgency it deserves. The abuse of our people can not continue like this since 1980. Enough is enough.

I thank you.

MDC-Alliance legislators must be charged with contempt of court for their failure to respect ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa during Parliamentary proceedings after the Constitutional Court ruled that he was duly elected as Head of State and Government, Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said.

He said the MDC-Alliance lawmakers were also in violation of the Constitution which they swore to uphold as Members of Parliament.

Advocate Mudenda said this in his affidavit filed at the High Court where he was defending his decision to dock five months sitting allowances for opposition lawmakers for constantly walking out each time President Mnangagwa comes to Parliament.

The legislators have approached the High Court challenging Adv Mudenda’s ruling directing that they forfeit five months allowances.

“The applicants must be charged with contempt of court , in particular the highest court of the land, the Constitutional Court. Their walking out on the President and refusal to rise in respect of the President is contemptuous not only of the Office of the President, but also the Constitutional Court which ruled that the President was duly elected,” said Adv Mudenda in his court papers.

This followed a ruling by the Constitutional Court which dismissed an election petition filed by MDC-Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa challenging the 2018 harmonised election result won by President Mnangagwa.
Adv Mudenda said there was need for the opposition lawmakers to uphold the law.-State media

Farai Dziva|The country’s main opposition party, MDC, has fingered ZRP officer N.E Mubwere as the one who ordered police details to beat up opposition members during Job Sikhala’ s trial in Masvingo on Friday.

In a statement MDC Youth Assembly spokesperson, Stephen Chuma said:

“It is our conviction that Officer N.E Mubwere who was commanding Riot Police should be arrested for his unprofessional, unethical and disorderly conduct that provoked members of the public who were calmly going about their day to day routine in the central business district of Masvingo peacefully.

In one of the incidents, the Mubwere led Riot Police officers who smashed the windscreen of Honourable Happymore Chidziva’s car which was parked just outside Masvingo High Court.

As such the MDC Youth Assembly hereby issues a public arrest warrant for Officer N.E Mubwere for his failure to professionally execute his duties which as a result provoked general members of the public.”

Farai Dziva| Former Health Minister Dr Henry Madzorera has called for “robust preventive interventions in Zimbabwe – to avoid being the centre of the pandemic.”

See Dr Madzorera’s statement :

News that we possibly now have corona virus infection on Zimbabwean soil is extremely worrisome.

We however wish to acknowledge the Ministry of Health and Child Care’s statement dismissing such news as fake news, and stating that as of 15/02/2020, no case or suspected case of COVID-19 has been detected.

We wish to reiterate what we have said in the past, which we believe the government should do. Let me take opportunity to remind the nation that HIV/AIDS was first detected in certain groups in the American population, including homosexuals and intravenous drug users.

The Americans acted on it. Africa, and in particular Zimbabwe, stayed in denial for years and did not act. Today HIV/AIDS is an African problem, and the Americans now come to Africa to study HIV infection!
COVID-19 is once again going to end up an African problem because of the denialist attitude of our government.

We need robust preventive interventions NOW to avoid being the epicenter of the pandemic tomorrow.

To that end we implore the government:

1. To STOP ALL movement of people from China to Zimbabwe. It doesn’t matter what kind or quantum of investment they may purport to be bringing, let them stay in China till the epidemic is over.
2. To QUARANTINE all people from China for a period of three weeks. This so called self-quarantine at home DOES NOT WORK! It shows our government is not attaching any value to the lives of Zimbabweans, but rather is keen on pleasing their Chinese counterparts for whatever scrapes they are getting. Once the virus comes into Zimbabwe it will be extremely difficult to stop its spread.
3. Zimbabweans should stop visiting China for whatever reason they may be going there. Anybody who goes to China should either stay there till the pandemic settles, or be put into mandatory three week institutional quarantine on return.

I took a patient to a public health institution today and what I observed was a pathetic lackadaisical approach to duty by health workers, as if they were on a go slow. We don’t have committed health workers at the moment, and government should stop fooling us. There was no single medicine to give to the patient, and everything, including suture material was to be purchased at a private pharmacy in town by relatives. This gave me insight into the government’s self-proclaimed state of preparedness. If we can’t treat a simple case of assault, can we handle COVID-19?

1. Lastly, we wish to implore the government to quarantine all people who came in from China over the past two weeks in institutions, and prevent the same from using our overcrowded public transport system.

If we don’t invest in prevention today, we’ll pay heavily tomorrow through high mortality and high cost of treatment, both of which we can’t afford.

Dr Henry Madzorera
Secretary For Health
Movement For Democratic Change

Farai Dziva|Another Movement for Democratic Change official, Olivia Mubaiwa has been arrested for allegedly engaging in violent activities during the trial of Job Sikhala.

” Olivia Mubayiwa has been picked by the police (Law and Order).

The police allege that various goods that were allegedly looted have been stashed in her house.

Police detectives are also looking for William Mugunzva.

They have been to his workplace twice,” an MDC official said in a statement.

By Job Wiwa Sikhala
MDC National Vice Chairman :

Having noticed the brutal harassment and subjugation to persecution of the people of Masvingo for having come to give solidarity during my Treason trial, I am not only enraged but blown to the top that this Satanism must be confronted to the hilt. There is every right for me to come in defence for those who stood with me during the most difficult period of my life when I was taken through trials and tribulations by the evil regime. The hunting down door to door of people who came voluntarily in defence of democracy is intolerable.

Those who are the perpetrators of this evil mission must be warned that no injustice or crime against humanity has ever gone unpunished in the world. History is full of those who enjoyed abuse of human rights when the sun shines. In defence of those colleagues whose crime was giving solidarity to me I have donated $10 000 for the defense fund through legal practitioners of reference. This is to assist those who are under siege from the regime.

We must stand for each other during the times like this. This shows that the democratic project must be completed with the urgency it deserves. The abuse of our people can not continue like this since 1980. Enough is enough.

I thank you.

Farai Dziva|Morgan Tsvangirai’s legacy cannot not be taken away by anyone, MDC president Nelson Chamisa has said.

In a tweet Chamisa paid tribute to the late legendary MDC founding president.

“THANK YOU DR MRT OUR ICON.They will criticize us, attack us and even plot attempts on our lives but we are unstoppable.

We keep playing the song until final victory. We keep the fire burning!!”