NewsDay|THE High Court has given City of Harare the greenlight to demolish illegal housing structures built on its land by members of Events Housing Co-operative in Budiriro.

High Court judge Justice Helena Charewa issued the order on January 29 following an application by town clerk Hosiah Chisango.

In his application, Chisango submitted that the co-operative had parcelled out stands to its members on council land despite the latter having granted the co-operative only a portion of the occupied land.

“… Despite the illegal invasion, the applicant (City of Harare) on March 29, 2017 resolved to regularise the first respondent’s settlement by allocating 185 stands depicted on plan number TYP/WR/01/14 Budiriro … the said regularisation was subject to procedural planning processes and other conditions outlined therein,” Chisango said.

“As per the applicant’s procedure, the allocation was published in NewsDay on June 14 and 21, 2017. There was an objection raised against the allocation, but this was not considered by the applicant because it was being raised by an illegal settler, who was a member of co-operative called Tembwe Housing Co-operative.”

Justice Charewa then ruled in favour of the City of Harare. The court also slapped the co-operative with costs of suit.

“The application for eviction of the first respondent’s (Events Housing Co-operative Society Limited) members be and is, hereby, granted. The first respondent and all those occupying the applicant’s land through the first and second respondents (chairperson, Events Housing Co-operative Society Limited) are, hereby, ordered to vacate the land and demolish the structures erected on site plan TYP/WR/01/14 Budiriro within 10 days of this order being granted,” the court ruled.

Elizabeth, widow of opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)’s founding father, Morgan Tsvangirai says she suffered a huge breakdown in the days following her husband’s death as she immediately fell out with many members of his immediate family.

Elizabeth said she greatly missed her late husband Tsvangirai, who at one time became Prime Minister during the Government of National Unity in 2009. Tsvangirai died at the age of 65 in a South African hospital in 2018 following a long battle against cancer of the colon.

Addressing the media on Sunday, Elizabeth regretted the psychological trauma she went through while her husband was hospitalised in South Africa, including after he died due to the misunderstandings between herself and her husband’s surviving relatives.

Elizabeth cordially retrospected on how her husband’s grieving mother, Gogo Lydia Chibwe, had tried to bar her from attending Tsvangirai’s burial, threatening even to take her own life if Elizabeth dared to.

Elizabeth was, however, quick to say her relationship with the family of the late leader had since been mended. “Words cannot express the pain and sorrow that I went through, but all is well now with her, others and my soul because God is good.

“I do not hold any grudges because as a Christian I am taught to forgive. I have forgiven everyone who attacked me. “Equally, and in the same vein, I pray that if at all I transgressed against anyone, that they have also forgiven me.

“With regards to my relationship with my husband’s family, people must know that I now relate very well with everyone who is able to accommodate me,” Elizabeth said.

“Semunhu akabva kunevanhu (as someone who grew up in a good family), it’s also my duty to look after Gogo Tsvangirai, and I shall continue to do this to the best of my ability. “Culturally and spiritually, I am still a daughter-in-law to the Tsvangirai family. While what happened during the time of Morgan’s death is regrettable, it now belongs to the past.

“Of course, I wish people had respected his wishes and allowed him to be with people close to his heart on his death bed and at his farewell,” Elizabeth added. She also doubted if her late husband would have tolerated her ill-treatment by some of his relatives, also reiterating she had forgiven all.

“I knew my husband very well, and I know for sure that he would not have approved of the treatment that I got during his time of indisposition. “However, I must emphasise that this is in the past, and such things are common in our culture and among many families.

“In my case, people got to know and to hear about what happened to me – and I’m internally grateful for many people’s support and prayers at the time – because my husband was a public figure,” Elizabeth added.

She added that Tsvangirai – who passed away on Valentine’s Day – left an imprint on her heart, particularly as the couple used to share memorable times on this day. “It has been tough living without this wonderful person that I had chosen to spend the rest of my life with. He died before we achieved many of our dreams as a couple.

“It is now two years since my husband, best friend, lover and someone that I always looked up to for support and wise counsel left me. I miss Save (Tsvangirai’s totem) terribly,” Elizabeth said while struggling to bottle her emotions.

“Yes, and like many other couples, Morgan and I would celebrate Valentine’s in a special way. He would spoil me with flowers, gifts and good food – including sumptuous lunches, breakfasts and dinners. “Equally, I would also spoil him with gifts and things I knew he loved in his quiet and unassuming way, like new golf clubs.

“And as this past Valentine’s Day was on a Friday, I would have taken him out of town for a weekend – just for the two of us to have time together, and to allow me to spoil him,” Elizabeth added. Tsvangirai died just a few months before the 2018 harmonised elections.

Elizabeth said the former trade unionist-turned politician was a caring leader. “He was a very good person who pushed for a broad-based, water-tight, progressive and modern Constitution for the people of Zimbabwe – a Constitution which resonates with many modern democracies.

“Save (Tsvangirai’s totem) was not just a politician, he was a great and caring leader. “He did most of his work quietly and with simplicity because he had a great heart and love for the people, and not because he wanted to be seen or to be recognised,” Elizabeth said.

Source: Nehanda Radio

The European Union has suspended sanctions on four individuals including Grace Mugabe the widow of the former president of Zimbabwe Robert Gabriel Mugabe.

The other three individuals are VP Constantino Chiwenga, Agriculture Minister and former Airforce chief Perrance Shiri and ZDF commander Philip Valerio Sibanda.

At the same time, the union has extended the sanctions on Zimbabwe Defense Industries for a further year saying that the union considered the situation in Zimbabwe, including the yet to be investigated alleged role of the armed and security forces in human rights abuses.

EU initially imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe after then-President Robert Mugabe deported its chief election observer in 2002, but has gradually peeled back its measures to leave only sanctions on the ZDI and a travel ban and asset freeze on the late Mugabe and his wife, Grace.

The development could be as a result of Zimbabwe’s re-engagement agenda which started when president Mnangagwa rose to power in 2017.

Talks between Zimbabwe and the EU, however, started in 2019.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says it will use various open market operation tools to deal with uneven distribution of money in the economy amid indications 50 percent of total bank deposits are concentrated in the hands of only 200 corporates.

Critically, the central bank said doing so was important to counter potential hazards such as speculative currency trading, which have potential and risk of upsetting exchange rate stability and consequently, drive inflation.

The bank and Treasury are targeting annual inflation rate of around 50 percent and monthly rate lower than 5 percent by end of this year. The monthly rate for January currently stands at 2,2 percent from 16,55 percent in December 2019.

The planned measures come against the backdrop of speculative currency trading on the parallel market by cash rick firms, largely considered to be the main cause of exchange rate volatility, which has led to sustained increases of exchange rate indexed prices.

Presenting the 2020 Monetary Policy State Statement in Harare yesterday, RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya said the level of liquidity as measured by banking sector deposits stood at $34,5 billion as at December 2019.

State Media|Three family members in the Chaka area of Chirumanzu died while six others are hospitalised after eating supper with a poisonous mushroom on Saturday evening.

Member of Parliament for the area Prosper Machando said one of the deceased family member left behind an infant following the tragedy.

“It’s a tragedy which struck a family here in Chaka, after they consumed poisonous mushroon. I am on the ground as we speak organising funeral and burial arrangements for the deceased, the other six family members are admitted at Driefontein Hospital and we continue to pray for their quick recovery,” said Machando.

More to follow…

Correspondent|Shocking details of how the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) allowed jailed Munyaradzi Kereke to visit his home during weekends and enjoy conjugal rights while in jail emerged in court today.

It is also alleged that ZPCS Commissioner-General Retired Major-General Paradzai Zimondi wrote to the correctional services prison managers to engage Kereke, so that he would provide expertise on projects, finance and economic planning as well as other social welfare support initiatives.

Kereke was jailed 10-years after he was convicted of raping his then 11-year-old niece and is serving his jail term at Chikurubi Maximum Prison. The former legislator is also alleged to have been spared from performing manual duties as part of his jail conditions.

This emerged during the trial of former Chikurubi Maximum Prison officer-in-charge Nobert Chomurenga and his then juniors, Cephas Chiparausha and Tonderai Mutiwaringa.

Chomurenga, Chiparausha and Mutiwaringa are being charged with corruptly concealing a transaction from a principal.

The trio is denying the charges.

Asked to confirm on the allegations and formal complaints raised over Kereke’s bias treatment while serving his prison term by the trios’ lawyers- Simon Chabuka and Oscar Gasva, ZPCS’s Acting director legal services Willie Risiro said all never happened as alleged.

More details to follow

By A Correspondent- Zimbabwean police on Sunday arrested and charged five Masvingo residents for allegedly damaging a police vehicle and destroying some property.

Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers stationed at Masvingo Central Police Station arrested five residents namely Godfrey Kurauone, the Councillor for Ward 4 in Masvingo Central, Daniel Mberikunashe, Kissmaker Mapote, Olivia Tobaiwa and Peter Chigamba and charged them with causing malicious damage to property as defined in section 140 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

ZRP officers alleged that the five residents threw stones at a police vehicle and damaged windows at some retail shops such as Edgars, Chicken Inn and NetOne, a mobile phone operator in Masvingo province on 14 February 2020 during the appearance in court of Zengeza West legislator Job Sikhala, where the law enforcement agents resorted to firing teargas canisters to disperse people who had gathered outside the court house following proceedings.

The five residents, who spent about two hours at Masvingo Central Police Station, where they were represented by Collen Maboke and Martin Mureri of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, were released after ZRP officers told them that they were treating them as suspects in the matter and that they would summon them to return to the police station for further processes.

Watch the video below as ZimEye exclusively covered the Sikhala case which later on turned violent as police officers threw teargas near Masvingo High court….

A journalist from Belarus is probing President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s buses for land deal querying whether it is illegal for the country’s first citizens to sale Zimbabwean land to a foreign government or entity.

Watch the live video loading below for this and more…

By Patrick Guramatunhu: “The influence of the military in Zimbabwean politics is reported to be on the ascendancy in politics, economy and government while the army generals have also been reported to be heavily involved in mining and fuel sectors as they increase their control under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s rule,” reported a local publication.

“This is an assessment contained in a study titled: “Assessing Continuity and Change After Mugabe”, authored by Alexander H. Noyes and released this month by the US-based Rand Corporation.”

This only confirms the reality many of us knew but did not want to admit in the hope it will all go away. 

Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous Zanu PF thugs. All promise by Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe turning over a new page following the November 2017 military coup, promise of holding free and fair elections, promise of a new dispensation, etc. was all hot air. 

As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state there will be no meaningful economic recovery. The worsening economic meltdown is set to continue. 

“Even where limited progress has been made, such steps appear to be largely cosmetic, a mere box-ticking exercise. In other words, Mnangagwa is attempting to have his cake and eat it too, paying lip service to reforms in the hope of securing international support but staunchly refusing to implement any measures that might harm his and his closest supporters’ political and economic interests,” said Noyes in his report.

“To help the country repair from years of mismanagement, corruption, and State violence, international actors – including the United States – would be wise to push the government in a coordinated fashion to implement genuine political, economic, and security,” he advised. 

The international community can help but Zimbabweans themselves must stand up to the demons amongst us!

Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies have always viewed Zimbabwe as their own personal property to exploit and dispose of as they wish. In the 40 years of the country’s independence they have enjoyed absolute power and grown addicted to being the top dogs, have lived in extravagant comfort and luxury and, to establish and retain the de facto one party dictatorship they have had to shed many innocent lives. 

Giving up power now is simply unthinkable for these Zanu PF thugs; there is their addiction to power, they stand to lose the fabulous loot and then there are all the skeletons from the past bound to be uncovered if they lost power.  

The price the nation has paid for Zanu PF rule has been astronomical in terms of looted wealth, lost opportunities and tyrannical oppression. Whatever debt of gratitude the nation owed to Zanu PF leaders for liberating the country from white colonial rule, has been repaid thousands of times over in silver, gold, tears and human lives. 

Enough is enough! The madness of Zanu PF rule must now be brought to an end!

It must be noted that ordinary Zimbabweans have risked life and limb to elect the late Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends into power on the promise they would help implement the democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship. MDC has failed to implement even one reform in 20 years including the 5 years in the GNU. 

When MDC leaders got into power, the promptly forgot all about implementing the reforms. “Takatuma mapete kumukaka!” (MDC leaders are the fabled cockroach who forgot what he had been tasked after tasting milk!) 

If we are ever going to dismantle the Zanu PF autocracy then we must first acknowledge that MDC leaders are not up to the task. Second, we must be more diligent and scrupulous in our selection of leaders in we are to avoid repeating the same mistake of elections thugs and/or sell-out cockroaches! 

Watch live- Belarus journalist have begun interrogating the buses deal between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and their country.

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.

Farai Dziva|Police in Masvingo have launched a massive crackdown on MDC members perceived to be the facilitators of the Job Sikhala Solidarity march.

Police details today visited former Masvingo Central MP Jeffryson Chitando’s house and instructed him to accompany them to Masvingo Central Police station.

“Officers from the Law and Order Section (eight males and one female) have come my house to take me to their office but I refused to board the an unregistered car.

I am on my way to Law and Order Office now.

Advocate Mureri has asked me to come through his place so that he will accompany me to Law and Order offices,” said Chitando.

By A Correspondent- A gang of 8 machete-wielding members robbed 3 different business centres in Lupane and left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The gang robbed people from Matshakayila, Maphanabomvu and Dandanda business centres where they left people seriously injured and left with valuable goods and cash.

Matabeleland North Police spokesperson said they were yet to receive the report but a source that spoke to the publication said:The amount of money and groceries taken could not be ascertained as the victims were unable to talk due to serious injuries sustained during the robbery,” said the source who revealed that the victims are admitted to St Luke’s Hospital in Lupane.

The gang broke into a shop at Matshakayila Business Centre and assaulted the owner of the shop Mr Princess Nyathi leaving him with a fractured leg and multiple injuries all over the body.

They took some money and groceries. After failing to break into nearby shops, they then pounced at Matshakayila veterinary sub-office where they assaulted the vet officer and tied him to a tree.

He also suffered multiple injuries while the gang broke a money safe and fled with an unconfirmed amount. Both victims are unable to talk hence the total value of money and groceries taken could not be ascertained, they are both admitted at St Luke’s Hospital.-statemedia

By A Correspondent- Three family members in the Chaka area of Chirumanzu died while six others are hospitalised after eating supper with a poisonous mushroom on Saturday evening.

Member of Parliament for the area Prosper Machando said one of the deceased family member left behind an infant following the tragedy.

“It’s a tragedy which struck a family here in Chaka, after they consumed poisonous mushroom. I am on the ground as we speak organising funeral and burial arrangements for the deceased, the other six family members are admitted at Driefontein Hospital and we continue to pray for their quick recovery,” said Machando.

More to follow…

By Staff Reporter: The Reserve Bank Governor Dr John Mangudya is presenting the country’s 2020 Monetary Policy Statement at the RBZ.

Dr Mangudya is on record saying that the central bank was working on measures to further entrench stability of the Zimbabwe dollar, through the 2020 Monetary Policy Statement.

ZimEye presents a live blog of the statement:

1148: Dr Mangudya says the central bank is advocating for an Import Substitution strategy so that we stop importing that which can be produced here

1145: The RBZ governor says the country is importing almost everything and this includes potatoes, carrots, maize and cooking oil.

Prince Kudakwashe Musarurwa of the “Ndiro Rudo” fame who died on Saturday is expected to be buried in Musarurwa village in Zvimba this Tuesday.

32-year-old Musarurwa died at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital on Saturday night after succumbing to cancer, according to his uncle veteran Blues and Jazz singer Gift Musarurwa.

National Arts Council of Zimbabwe Deputy Director Josiah Kusena described the death of Musarurwa as a sad loss to the arts industry.

Musarurwa, became a household name after he released the single ‘Runonzi Rudo’ in 2013 on which he featured his niece Pah Chihera.

Kurarama was Prince’s first album composed of six tracks.

In 2012, Prince’s second album, Gara Muberevere was released and songs like MaMoyo and the title track Gara Muberevere became popular hits.

Mourners are gathered at his rural home in Zvimba.

-State Media

By A Correspondent- As the number of smash and grab incidents increase in Harare, ZRP has said they will be deploying more officers on patrol in and around Harare to try and curb such criminal activities.

Speaking to the publication, Officer Commanding Harare province Commissioner Bernard Dumbura said they were deploying more officers to hotspots where some of these incidents have taken place at some point:

“As police, we have been deploying to some of these places which are hotspots. On some days we deploy not less than 400 officers in the CBD and there are also reaction teams that are on the ground. Our patrol teams pass through such hotspots.”-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- The government has downsized individual farm sizes to afford other Zimbabweans a chance to own land.

This was revealed in a letter of notice to farmers from the Ministry of Lands which reads:

Subject to sections 5 and 6, no person shall own a farm in Natural Region One if the size of the farm exceeds 250 hectares or Natural Region Two if the size of the farm exceeds 500 hectares or Natural Region Three if the size of the farm exceeds 700 hectares or Natural Region Four if the size of the farm exceeds 1 000 hectares or Natural Region Five if the size of the farm exceeds 2 000 hectares

The letter further informed farmers to approach the ministry should they have a query. The farms in question were taken from commercial white farmers during the infamous land reform program in the early 2000s.-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- A 50-year-old man reportedly lost his firearm and his money when thieves broke into his parked car at Avondale shops.

The man, according to the publication parked his car and went into a shop, on his return he discovered that his car has been broken into and his money and firearm were missing.

The incident was confirmed by ZRP National spokesperson Ass Comm Paul Nyathi who said:

A 50-year-old man parked his car at Avondale shops and went into one of the supermarkets, On coming back, he discovered that his car had been broken into and a star pistol and US$5 900 had been stolen. The public is warned against leaving firearms and cash in vehicles.-Statemedia

President Emmerson Mnangagwa allegedly gave under-fire Zanu PF youth league leaders the green light to launch a crusade against three businessmen accused of sabotaging the economy, but backtracked after ruling party heavyweights started baying for their blood, it has emerged.

A fortnight ago Zanu PF suspended its deputy secretary for youths Lewis Matutu and Godfrey Tsenengamu, who was the youth’s league commissar, after they claimed the businessmen with links to the ruling party were behind the chaos in the economy.

Zanu PF secretary for youths Pupurai Togarepi was demoted for failing to rein in the two after they claimed businessmen Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Billy Rautenbach and Tafadzwa Musarara were behind Zimbabwe’s economic troubles.

A Zanu PF official close to the developments in the party said the “name and shame” campaign was mooted at Mnangagwa’s rural home in Mapanzure during a party on New Year’s Eve.

The youths led by Matutu are said to have approached Mnangagwa pleading with him to deal with “cartels that are bleeding the economy”.

“Matutu approached Mnangagwa over the deteriorating economy and told him that cartels were sabotaging the economy,” the source disclosed.

“The president then asked the youth league leaders: ‘Are you afraid of shaming them?’

“That gave the youths the impression that he had given them the go-ahead to name and shame the businessmen.”

Togarepi is said to have consulted Mnangagwa when Tsenengamu and Matutu held their press conference. Insiders said Togarepi got the impression that Mnangagwa supported their crusade.

Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba and Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo were not reachable for comment yesterday.

Matutu was not picking calls yesterday.

Tsenengamu refused to comment, insisting his actions were personal.

“This was a personal decision I took,” he said. “I was not at the meeting in Mapanzure, so how can I comment on something that happened when I was not there? I know nothing about that.”

Togarepi also said he did not attend the Mapanzure party and did not consult Mnangagwa over the press conference.

“Firstly, I did not attend the cross-over party. I also never consulted the president when I issued a statement supporting Cdes Matutu and Tsenengamu,” he said.

“I am not aware of any communication with the president, which was done with the youths or myself on this issue,” he said.

“These are just fallacious theories, which should be treated with the contempt they deserve.

“This issue has been concluded and we have accepted the direction given by the party.”

Tsenengamu has vowed to continue with the campaign against business people that are allegedly sabotaging the economy despite the censure by Zanu PF.

-Standard

By A Correspondent- Suspended Zanu-PF Youth League political commissar Godfrey Tsenengamu says he is not apologetic about his anti corruption stance denying Patrick Chinamasa’s statement that he has apologised to the party for his actions.

Tsenengamu said he had neither apologised nor intends to do so, in the wake of State-owned media reports that he has apologized for naming and shaming corrupt businessmen.

This follows revelations by Zanu-PF acting Secretary for Administration Patrick Chinamasa, who said Tsenengamu and his colleague Lewis Matutu have demonstrated maturity and loyalty to the party, during the time they have been reduced to ordinary card-carrying members.

The Zanu-PF Politburo censored the two a fortnight ago after they named and shamed three businessmen they said were wreaking havoc in the economy by using their links to top party and Government officials to carry out corrupt activities, plundering and looting of State resources.

Chinamasa issued a statement yesterday saying the two have agreed to undergo ideological training at the ruling party linked Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology, despite Tsenengamu having insisted that he was not going for any training.

“After serving out their suspensions, the comrades will be welcome to contest for any positions in the party,” Chinamasa said.

“The commendable development demonstrates that the disciplinary process is intended to build, not to fracture the party.

“It is pleasing to note that the two have been exemplary in accepting disciplinary measures that will, at the end of the day, make them stronger party cadres.”

But Tsenengamu, in a charged response on Twitter, accused Chinamasa of lying.

“Please don’t misinform the public. I have not apologised to anyone and l am not going to. I have not wronged the party in any way.

“I am not apologetic about fighting corruption. I will not trade off my conscience for neither a position nor 30 pieces of silver.”

Tsenengamu also insisted that he was not going to the compulsory lessons on party ideology at the Chitepo College, saying he is more ideologically sound than most Zanu-PF leaders.-wires

By A Correspondent- A man from Lower Gweru was severely assaulted by his neighbours with an axe handle for refusing to withdraw adul_tery charges before the headman’s traditional court.

The man, Zibonele Mashobelele, of Lower Gweru escaped death by a whisker after he was struck with an axe handle several times by Reuben Gumbo and his son Nkosiyabo Gumbo who demanded that he withdraws adul_tery charges he had laid against Reuben after he allegedly slept with Mashobelele’s wife.

The two appeared before Gweru magistrate Tavengwa Sangster facing two counts of assault and they pleaded guilty to all counts.

Magistrate Sangster sentenced the two to four years in prison. They will, however, spend three years behind bars after magistrate Sangster suspended 12 months on condition the two do not commit a similar offence in the next five years.

In mitigation, the duo told the court that Mashobelele had laid false charges of adul_tery against Reuben claiming that he slept with his wife when he did not.

“Your Worship, we were angered by Mashobelele who lied that Reuben slept with his wife yet he did not. He even went on to lay charges as he wants to be compensated for something that is not even true,” they said.

The State presented that on November 6 last year Reuben and Nkosiyabo Gumbo met complainants David Siziba and Zibonele Mashobelele who were on their way to Siziba’s farm in Vungu.

The Gumbos demanded Mashobelele to withdraw the case of adul_tery against Rueben before the Headman’s court but he refused.

The duo then chased away Siziba and they severely beat up and struck Mashobelele with an axe on the head. Siziba later came back to help Mashobelele but the two also attacked Siziba and struck him with an axe on the head.

The matter was reported to the police leading to their arrest.-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- Tragedy struck a Chirumanzu family after their minor girl, who is a grade three pupil at Chaka Primary School died on Saturday after she was struck by lightning.

Shalom Madiba from Chaka village under Chief Chirumanzu was pronounced dead on arrival at Driefontein hospital after the house she was in with 6 other family members was struck by lightning.

Said a witness:

“It was around 3pm and the weather just changed and it became frighteningly dark before it started raining. Lightning struck and everyone thought that several houses had been affected and that is when we noticed that only one house was burning.

There were seven people in that house, including the deceased and everyone rushed outside. At first, it looked like the minor had just been shocked because she was sticking her tongue out of her mouth and we rendered her first aid while rushing her to the nearest health centre which is Driefontein Hospital. She was unfortunately pronounced dead on arrival.”

The minor is set to be buried tomorrow.

By A Correspondent- Parirenyatwa has taken the initiative to explain the missing 3.5 million US which was supposed to buy a Catheterisation Laboratory but reportedly vanished from the hospital coffers.

The hospital says the money was never missing as it is still in the hospital bank account but was eroded with the interbank market rate which was introduced on 20 February last year, The Herald reports.

This was revealed by the hospital’s CEO, Dr Manyawu, who said:

Government, through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development transferred US$3,5 million for the purchase of the Cathlab on April 24, 2018

However, it is important to note that this was after S.I 33 of February 2019 which established the interbank rate between the US dollar and RTGS dollar.

After this new Monetary Policy Statement, the US$3,5m was converted into RTGS at the bank rate and was no longer adequate to pay for the equipment.-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- An army officer has been arrested on charges of stealing three rolls of electricity overhead copper conductors weighing 16kg in Bulawayo’s Luveve suburb.

Impi Svina (30) and his alleged accomplice, Bakhani Ndlovu (23) were not asked to plead when they appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mafios Moyo on Thursday.

They were remanded in custody to February 17.

Svina is based at 1 Para Inkomo Barracks in Harare.

The court was told that on November 14, 2019 at around midnight, Ndlovu and Svina tampered with electricity overhead copper conductors in New Luveve by cutting 450 metres off the line.

It is alleged that on the same day and time Binzi Tafirenyika (34), a police officer who resides in the area, was awakened by the sudden electricity power cut which produced an awkward sound.

Tafirenyika peeped through the window and discovered that the electricity pole near his place of residence had fallen down and that electricity overhead copper conductors were hanging on that pole.

He then went to investigate and observed three people pulling the electricity overhead copper conductors and making them into small rolls.

He arrested Svina, who was rolling the copper conductors while Ndlovu and another male person only known as Rasta, who is still at large, ran away. Ndlovu was chased down and apprehended.

-Newsday

THE factional fights which have erupted yet again in Zanu PF following the suspension of youth league leaders betrays the ruling party’s pre-occupation with power struggles at the expense of an imploding economy, marked by runaway inflation that has decimated incomes and pensions.

Zanu PF party’s top decision-making organ, politburo, last week demoted its youth secretary Pupurai Togarepi to the central committee, while his deputy Lewis Matutu and national commissar Godfrey Tsenengamu were suspended for convening a press conference where they accused businessmen Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Billy Rautenbach and Tafadzwa Musarara — all allies of President Emmerson Mnangagwa — of high-level corruption and running cartels which they said were destroying the economy.

This is happening at a time the economy continues to nosedive with a debilitating liquidity crunch, capacity utilisation that has tumbled from 57,2% in 2011 to less than 40%this year, prolonged power shortages lasting up to 18 hours, foreign currency and fuel shortages and runaway inflation which has now scaled above the 500% mark.

This makes utter nonsense of Mnangagwa’s declaration that his administration would focus more on the economy than politics. Mnangagwa made the bold declaration upon his initial inauguration, soon after taking over the reins from the late former president Robert Mugabe at the back of a military coup.

He also made the promise several times ahead of the 2018 general elections.“It (the economy) is going up and the projections are that it will continue to grow because of the policies and because of the focus we are having on the economy. It is not anymore politics and politics, we are saying politics and economics,” Mnangawa said while addressing a gathering following a tour of a farm owned by apostolic sect leader, Noah Taguta in the Marange area of Manicaland in April 2018.

However, that promise for a clean break has terribly been miscarried as Mnangagwa now finds himself having to fight tooth and nail — around the clock — to preserve his wobbly throne.

Mnangagwa’s loose-tongued former advisor and politburo member, Christopher Mutsvangwa, virtually laid everything bare when he revealed in an interview with The Standard at the weekend that the latest episode of Zanu PF factional wars were a result of a vicious tussle for control of the country’s lucrative fuel industry.

He said the fight over the control of the fuel sector was behind the 2017 coup, exposing the country’s leadership in the process.

The internecine factional fights are coming at a time when the purchasing power for Zimbabweans has been drastically reduced due to runaway inflation which reached 521,1% in December last year. This has led to disruption of work with civil servants either going on strike or reducing the number of days they report for work during the week.

The rapid depreciation of the Zimbabwean dollar against major currencies which has worsened since government banned the multi-currency regime through Statutory Instrument 142 in June last year, has accelerated inflation and by extension, suffering among the majority of Zimbabweans.

The fights also come at a time when companies are struggling to keep afloat due to power and forex shortages resulting in the scaling down of operations. The Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions revealed that at least 22 companies have failed to reopen after last year’s Christmas holidays, an indication of the crisis affecting companies and exporters.

The fights come at a time the country is facing starvation that could affect up to eight million Zimbabweans due to the current drought. The impact is already being felt with the acute shortage of mealie-meal in the country.

The factional fights in Zanu PF have ensured that there is no focus on stabilising the turbulent economy according to economist Godfrey Kanyenze.

“If you draw lessons from developmental states, what has made the difference is the ability to develop cohesion,” Kanyenze said.

“If you look at the factional fights in Zanu PF, which are persistent and never ending, you can imagine where the energy is going. It is said that if you are in a hole, stop digging, but we have a penchant to continue digging. It helps us to understand the nature of the state. It helps us to understand the nature of the ruling party. It is about the fight for power.

“It is about the fight of resources and not about the people. It is about individual interests. It is about individual egos. It is a cancer that will destroy the fabric of the nation.”

He said the factional fight over resources has drained the drive to address the numerous headwinds buffeting economy.Kanyenze warned that the fight over resources and power could result in the creation of warlords as was the case in countries like Sierra Leone and Liberia.

There is a sense of déjà vu about Zanu PF sacrificing the economy on the altar of political expediency for this was the hallmark of the late president Robert Mugabe’s 37-year reign.

Praise-singing and consolidating Mugabe’s longevity in power clouded bread and butter issues during his tenure. As the power struggles escalated the theme “one centre of power” was coined to ensure that Mugabe retains his grip on power.

This was happening at a time the economy was crippled by company closures with more than 4 600 companies closing shop between 2011 and 2014, resulting in the loss of 55 443 jobs with industry weakened by obsolete equipment and lack of affordable funding.

The focus on factional fights at the expense of economic development is not a new phenomenon according to economist and CEO Africa Roundtable chairperson Oswell Binha.

“Zanu PF as an institution has a tendency to identify a common enemy and they pull all their efforts to destroy that common enemy. Once they have done away with the enemy, they then turn their swords on each other,” Binha pointed out.

He said Zanu PF has failed to be part of the changing global development adding that it is intolerant of criticism no matter how constructive adding that the ruling party has a “clumsy” way of defining who the enemy is. Binha said Zanu PF focusses on individual interests at the expense of the ailing economy.

“Zanu PF is shooting itself in the very foot that is supposed to be leading the way forward,” Binha observed.

Independent

IN the run-up to this year’s edition of Valentine’s Day — touted internationally as a day set aside for lovers commemorated yesterday — a meme of a 10kg pack of Red Seal roller meal made the rounds on social media with the caption, “spoil your loved one this Valentine’s”.

Beyond the humour and sarcasm, the idea dovetailed into the current maize meal shortage in the country, which this week saw government increasing the subsidised price of the staple from $50 to $70.

This was after grain millers had complained that $50 was unsustainable amid indications that the shortage of the country’s staple on the market was artificial and meant to arm-twist the government into increasing the price.

Earlier this week, Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) chairperson Tafadzwa Musarara appealed to government to review the subsidies to improve viability of millers, while promising that the acute shortage of mealie-meal was set to ease, with trucks already on their way from South Africa with maize supplies.

Finance minister Mthuli Ncube, however, admitted that much of the subsidised mealie-meal was finding its way onto the parallel market, where it was fetching an average of $105 a 10kg bag.

“We are aware that there are people who sell 10kg roller meal at $105 or plus which is increasing panic among people,” he told Parliament on Thursday.

Despite the price-revision, analysts believe the shortage of the staple — real or artificial — was a serious indictment on Command Agriculture, a sector-specific government programme introduced in 2016 as an import substitution-led industrialisation concept to empower local producers of cereal crops and boost capacity for locals and create employment for thousands of people in the sector.

The idea was also to ensure huge savings in foreign currency as pressure to import food would be eased, with the limited financial resources channelled to other critical import essentials such as drugs.

Although the programme was embraced by thousands of farmers at the beginning, it only proved viable for one season, dimming hopes that maize production, which for years had plummeted owing to a variety of factors would improve.

Government, through Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement minster Perrance Shiri, entered into partnerships with Agribank, CBZ, Stanbic and Women’s banks to manage and disburse funds for the programme, which would be guaranteed by the government.

Indications, however, were that although the programme was noble, chances of it being reduced into a feeding trough for corrupt elements within the system were high as it was likely to accord the politically-connected cheap funding for their farming activities.

Over the last decade, deliveries of maize to the GMB have fluctuated. Statistics reveal that in the 2008/9 season about 35 000 metric tonnes were delivered to the GMB while 63 649 metric tonnes were sent by farmers to GMB in the 2009/10 season.

In the 2010/11 season, the parastatal recorded a 500% increase in maize deliveries from the previous year, accounted for by 58 826 metric tonnes, up from the paltry 11 009 tonnes delivered in 2009.

However, since 2011/12 the figures have been dropping drastically with 212 622 metric tonnes having gone to GMB followed by a major slump to about 82 000 metric tonnes in the 2012/13 before tumbling to the current 33 273 metric tonnes in the 2014/15 season.

Following the launch of Command Agriculture, the GMB took delivery of a record 1,5 million tonnes of grain in the 2016/17 marketing season following a bumper harvest.

By September last year, farmers had delivered more over 1 million metric tonnes of maize to the GMB.

Social commentator Robert Mhishi believes if Command Agriculture had stuck to its noble objectives, there would have been an abundant supply of grain, which would have meant availability of mealie meal at very reasonable prices.

In August last year, the Finance ministry came under fire from the Public Accounts Parliamentary Committee over spending US$3,2 billion in six months under Command Agriculture between 2017 and 2018. Acting secretary in the ministry, Zvinechimwe Churu claimed before the Tendai Biti-led committee that the US$3,2 billion — which almost equalled the 2018 national budget amount of US$4,7 billion — was given to the Agriculture ministry for purposes of funding Command Agriculture.

However, the Agriculture secretary Ringson Chitsiko later denied before the same committee that he had received the US$3,2 billion on behalf of his ministry for the programme, leaving question marks over who received the money and how it was spent. Churu and Finance ministry accountant-general Daniel Muchemwa, however, later admitted that they had illegally spent the US$3,2 billion, and that Finance minister Mthuli Ncube will bring the over-expenditure sheet before Parliament for condonation. Such conduct, according to Mhishi, was a demonstration of the murky nature of the national programme that has “gone off the rails” as it can no longer meet its objectives of ensuring food security, particularly the availability of staple maize meal at reasonable prices.

“Quite clearly, our agricultural management is problematic. This is not just about mealie-meal, because this is just a microcosm of the bigger picture that needs to be addressed. There are too many pirates and chancers just out to get some money illegally out of agriculture because this is not a sound business investment,” he said.

“That explains why Command Agriculture was only successful in its first season. So, our image as the bread basket of southern Africa continues to be battered.”

Once reputed as the bread basket of southern Africa, Zimbabwe has in recent years struggled to ensure food security due to a raft of reasons including successive droughts and economic mismanagement.

According to an online report titled Agriculture in Southern Africa by Richard Dale, “the United Nations Food and Agriculture Year Book of 1975 ranked the then Rhodesia second in the world in terms of yields of maize, wheat, soya beans and ground nuts, and third for cotton. In the combined ranking for all these crops, Rhodesia ranked first in the world”.

In October 2018, Command Agriculture benefactor Kudakwashe Tagwirei splashed millions of scarce United States dollars on luxury vehicles for President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputies, Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi, as well as their spouses and several other top government officials, which were brought into the country under the programme and were consequently exempted from paying duty.

The Command Agriculture programme, in its current state, appear to mirror Billy Rautenberg’s ambitious Green Fuel ethanol project, which is 11 cents more expensive than the ethanol being produced by Triangle Limited.

Nearly 10 years later, the project has not eased the expense and availability of cheaper fuel in the country despite the massive investment made.

• NewsDay

All Africa|A MATABELELAND based human rights pressure group, Ibhetshu Likazulu will on Robert Mugabe National Youth Day hold a memorial service at Bhalagwe mass graves in Maphisa, Matabeleland South in honour of victims of the Gukurahundi atrocities.

There was a State-run detention centre in Bhalagwe where an unknown number of detainees were killed and buried in the early 1980s.

The Robert Mugabe National Youth Day is held on February 21, to celebrate the birthday of former President Robert Mugabe who died in September last year.

However, Mugabe and President Emmerson Mnangagwa have been fingered as key Gukurahundi architects, a genocide, which saw over 20 000 people murdered in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces.

“Mugabe National Youth Day is an insult to the people of the Midlands and Matabeleland,” said Ibhetshu Likazulu coordinator, Mbuso Fuzwayo.

“We cannot celebrate Mugabe who ordered his Fifth Brigade to kill innocent people. Till to his death, Mugabe had not publicly apologised on his actions so why should we celebrate the life of an unrepentant person?”

Fuzwayo said instead of celebrating Mugabe‘s life, the pressure group would hold a memorial service at the shrine in remembrance of the killed innocent civilians.

“We have lined up several activities on this day to honour our people who were killed. Our programme will start by touring the graves and maintain them. After that, we will have a memorial service and solidarity messages from different stakeholders,” said Fuzwayo.

Ibetshu Likazulu has also been responsible for the erection of memorial plagues for the victims at the site.
At one point, the plagues were, however, destroyed by unknown people suspected to be State security agents.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s decision to repeal the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act in a bid to woo foreign direct investment into the mining sector has rendered community share ownership schemes across the country dysfunctional, Parliament has heard.

Industry permanent secretary Mavis Sibanda told a joint sitting of the Senate’s thematic and parliamentary portfolio committees on industry on Thursday that owing to the repealing of the law, companies in the extractive industry were no longer legally obliged to support local communities.

“Presently out of the about 61 community share ownership trusts, only 21 are actually functional. The companies are no longer mandated by law to support the trusts. There is no legal framework for communities to benefit so there is need for a subsidiary legislation for the obligations provided for in the Constitution to be implemented and come up with a win-win situation,” Sibanda said.

The committee chaired by Zanu-PF’s Chimanimani East MP Joshua Sacco was gathering evidence on the status of community share ownership trusts after receiving a petition from the Mhondoro-Ngezi Community Share Ownership Trust complaining about lack of support from companies mining platinum in the area.

Sibanda said the government was still consulting on the modalities of coming up with a legal framework to make companies legally obliged to support community share ownership trusts.

In the end, the committee concluded that then Industry minister Mangaliso Ndlovu was better placed to give them the evidence they wanted.

“This committee resolves that we create some time to invite the minister to also give us an update on what progress has been made so far,” Sacco said.

However, MDC senator for Harare Morgan Femai felt that it was prudent to direct all extractive firms to stop operations until such a time the government has come up with the legal framework.

“If we wait for the government to come up with the requisite laws, the minerals will be plundered. In the meantime, while we wait for that, let us just direct them to stop their activities,” Femai said.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government replaced the Indigenisation Act, which required foreign companies to cede 51 percent shares to locals, with a more “business-friendly” Economic Empowerment Act.

The government argued that the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act discouraged much-needed foreign direct investment.

In 2016, when the Indigenisation Act was still operational, Zimplats Mhondoro-Ngezi-Chegutu-Zvimba Community Share Ownership Trust realised more than $1 million return on investment over two years.

It was after part of the $10 million paid out by Zimplats as its pledge to the Trust was invested largely on the money market.

The Trust realised $560 000 in 2014 and a further $886 000, bringing the total to $1,46 million. According to the then National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment board, Mashonaland West regional manager Adrean Dumbu, the Trust was successful largely due to co-operation from Zimplats.

AN eight-member machete-wielding gang on Thursday morning went on a rampage in Lupane, Matabeleland North leaving victims seriously injured before fleeing with undisclosed amounts of cash and groceries.

The gang pounced on Matshakayila, Maphanabomvu and Dandanda business centres where it attacked people and robbed them of cash and other valuables.

Chief Mabhikwa whose constituency covers the named areas yesterday said he heard the reports.

“I heard that there were some attacks that happened in the area but I’m yet to get full details,” he said.

Matabeleland North police spokesperson, Chief Inspector Siphiwe Makonese said they were yet to receive information on the incident.

“I have not received such information but probably it happened at some sub stations and they are yet to send it,” she said.

However, police sources said some victims of the attacks had been hospitalised. “The amount of money and groceries taken could not be ascertained as the victims were unable to talk due to serious injuries sustained during the robbery,” said the source who revealed that the victims are admitted to St Luke’s Hospital in Lupane.

“The gang broke into a shop at Matshakayila Business Centre and assaulted the owner of the shop Mr Princess Nyathi leaving him with a fractured leg and multiple injuries all over the body. They took some money and groceries. After failing to break into nearby shops, they then pounced at Matshakayila veterinary sub-office where they assaulted the vet officer and tied him to a tree.

“He also suffered multiple injuries while the gang broke a money safe and fled with an unconfirmed amount. Both victims are unable to talk hence the total value of money and groceries taken could not be ascertained, they are both admitted at St Luke’s Hospital,” the police source said.

Details of crimes committed in those areas are yet to be ascertained as investigations are still underway.

“Using the same modus operandi, the gang pounced on Maphanabomvu and Dandanda business centres. We are however yet to receive details of what happened at these two business centres,” said a police source.

Efforts to get a comment from St Luke’s Hospital were futile as the hospital is reported to have no telephone line. Last month a mine worker was shot dead while several others were injured when about 10 robbers armed with a gun and machetes went on the rampage attacking people in Maphisa, Matobo District.

The armed robbers who targeted a mining compound and shops, randomly fired shots.

Corgen Moyo (42) who was employed at Antelope Milling Stamp, died on the spot after the armed robbers shot him while forcing their way into his room at the mine compound.

After raiding and shooting Moyo dead, the robbers moved to Falcon Complex, about a kilometre away, where Zanu-PF district offices are also housed and attacked workers at the shops.

There, the armed robbers also randomly fired shots and got away with R4 000 and US$80.

The police have however declared war on machete gangs and 2 323 have been arrested so far in the ongoing operation against the gangs.

The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has further reduced the allocation of water for power generation at Kariba hydro-power station for 2020, which will result in suppressed electricity supplies from the power station.

At least 22 billion cubic metres have been allocated for power generation at the Kariba South and North power stations, which are currently providing over 50 percent of power needs in Zimbabwe and Zambia, respectively.

Lake Kariba has a capacity of 180,6 billion cubic metres of water and of that, 65 billion cubic metres can be used for power generation.

Average yearly inflows are around 40 billion cubic metres, but only 18,84 billion cubic metres of water flowed into Lake Kariba in 2019.

The 2020 allocation is in response to reduced inflows into the lake owing to successive droughts.

According to ZRA, reduction of water allocation means reduced outflow from the turbines during power generation, while allowing the lake to fill up.

Permutations are that with average power generation of around 550MW at a volume cap of 22 billion cubic metres of water, it would take three years for the lake to fill up to maximum retention levels with average inflows.

Speaking at a media briefing in Zambia over the weekend, ZRA chief executive Engineer Munyaradzi Munodawafa said the move was based on the Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum of the SADC Climate Services Centre.

“Based on this forecast, the authority (ZRA) allocated 22 billion cubic metres for power generation at Kariba for the period January to December 2020,” he said.

To date, the lake has received inflows of 3,15 billion cubic metres, which compares favourably against inflows of 1,7 billion cubic metres received during the same period in 2019.

Water is flowing into the lake at an average of 663 cubic metres per second compared to the long term average of 931 cubic metres per second.

Eng Munodawafa said lake levels dropped by one centimetre following increased turbine outflows in the last three days.

He said ZRA would be giving out status updates fortnightly to ensure that people have an appreciation of the impact of depressed rainfall on power generation.

The authority, he said, relied on data gathered at 13 stations in the Kariba catchment area, with Victoria Falls and Chavuma stations providing key performance indicators of the Zambezi River which contributes 75 percent of flows into the lake.

Flows at Victoria Falls have continued to rise by about 25 percent since last year’s readings.

“The flows in the Zambezi River at Chavuma shot up by 73 cubic metres per second between the 5th and 6th February, indicating intense run-off on the Zambezi headwaters,” said Eng Munodawafa.

“The flow is still soaring above the long term average by 41 percent and last year’s flows by 189 percent. The flows have also far exceeded those of 2014/15 at this time, giving a ray of hope for better run-off at this station this year than both last year and 2014/15.”

Flows at Victoria Falls are expected to also rise by the end of this month because of a four-week time lag between upstream Chavuma station and Victoria Falls.

Although inflows are comparatively increasing, they are still within the range of the third worst year on record.

Eng Munodawafa said improved power generation was tied to improved water inflows and consequently lake levels.

The total outflow for 2019, including turbine discharge (36,02 billion cubic metres) and evaporation (9,79 billion cubic metres), was 45,81 billion cubic metres.

Eng Munodawafa said the relatively high inflows upstream of the Zambezi River could not result in high lake levels because it is absorbed by the Barotse and Chobe flood plains.

“With the lower catchment continuing to be practically dry since mid-January 2020, and Victoria Falls flows marking up rather sluggishly, turbine outflows continue to command the Lake level situation at Kariba,” he said.

“The relatively high flows monitored on the Upper Zambezi Catchment remain heavily weakened by the rather thirsty Barotse and Chobe flood plains, resulting in the paltry daily increments of about 6 to 12 billion cubic metres per second per day at Victoria Falls.”

Zimbabwe and Zambia have had to introduce load shedding and rely on imports to meet electricity demand.

Kariba South Power station was recently upgraded to churn out 1 050MW of electricity, which makes up about half of the country’s daily electricity needs.

Farai Dziva|Controversial Deputy Information Minister Energy Mutodi has sparked social media war after describing the late legendary MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai as a “sellout who reversed the gains of the liberation struggle.”

Mutodi stunned all and sundry when he claimed in a tweet on Saturday “Tsvangirai invited sanctions.”

The late MDC leader is regarded by many as a doyen of democracy and a veteran of the struggle for democratic change.

“As we reflect on the life of Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, we believe he was a sell-out who fought to reverse the gains of the liberation struggle. For inviting sanctions, we view him as really a sell-out and a coward who believed whites are a better race than blacks,”claimed Mutodi.

Mutodi’ s remarks have attracted the wrath of hundreds of social media users who described the former rhumba musician as a man who has gone out of his way in a desperate bid to please his handlers.

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!!”

Own Correspondent|Police have issued a warning on Twitter saying motorists should not buy fish in Chikuti along the Harare-Chirundu highway as they are suspected to have died because of cyanide poisoning.

ZRP Tweeted:

There are reports that unscrupulous people at or near Chikuti along Harare – Chirundu road are selling fish that died as a result of cyanide poisoning from a nearby river. We are warning the public against buying fish from the area or any other unknown source.

— Zimbabwe Republic Police (@PoliceZimbabwe) February 14, 2020

By A Correspondent| Africa University’s founding chancellor Professor John Wesley Zvamunondiita Kurewa has died.

The news of his death was posted on the university’s Facebook Page.

Prof Kurewa died in Harare yesterday according to the university. He was still teaching at the University at the time of his death.

Africa University posted:

THE MOUNTAIN HAS FALLEN:
The Africa University community has learnt with great shock and sadness the passing on of the university’s Founding Father Professor John Wesley Zvamunondiita Kurewa who passed on in Harare this morning.

Professor Kurewa is credited for having worked tirelessly to obtain the Africa University Charter which led to the establishment of the first private university in Zimbabwe at a time when the idea of private universities was not readily acceptable.

He served as the first Vice Chancellor of the university and then continued to serve as a lecturer in the Institute of Theology and Religious Studies until his untimely death. Professor Kurewa will be greatly missed by those across the continent and the world whose lives were impacted in many ways by his selfless service and sacrifice. May his dear soul rest in eternal peace!

Burial arrangements are still to be published

By A Correspondent| Deputy Information Minister Energy Mutodi has torched a social media storm over his statements describing the late legendary MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai as a “sellout who reversed the gains of the liberation struggle.”

Mutodi stunned all and sundry when he claimed in a tweet on Saturday “Tsvangirai invited sanctions.”

The late MDC leader is regarded by many as a doyen of democracy and a veteran of the struggle for democratic change.

“As we reflect on the life of Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, we believe he was a sell-out who fought to reverse the gains of the liberation struggle. For inviting sanctions, we view him as really a sell-out and a coward who believed whites are a better race than blacks,”claimed Mutodi.

Mutodi’ s remarks have attracted the wrath of hundreds of social media users who described the former rhumba musician as a man who has gone out of his way in a desperate bid to please his handlers.

VIDEO LOADING BELOW….

By Own Correspondent Matabeleland North Zanu-PF youth chairman Tamuka Nyoni escaped death by a whisker in Lupane after a fuming resident chased after him with an axe for allegedly having an affair with his wife.

A source said Lizwe Clinton Mpofu, a former police officer, stumbled on nudes of Tamuka and of his wife Virginia Moyo (36) on her phone.

As if that was not enough he also got shocked after he saw sexually explicit messages that the pair exchanged.

The message that seemed to have irked Mpofu was the one where his wife commented on Tamuka’s manhood.

“The two were in the habit of exchanging raunchy pictures. Through WhatsApp Tamuka sent Moyo an image of his manhood and she commented saying it’s big and that angered Mpofu,” said the source.

The source said the issue tormented Mpofu and he wanted to mete instant justice on Tamuka.

“He did not know him (Tamuka) so he inquired around and was told  the guy who pokes his wife is a Zanu-PF  youth chairperson. He was waiting for an opportunity to meet up with Tamuka and by coincidence he met him at a burial of a child of a fellow villager at King Lobengula township cemetery in Lupane,” said the source.

Speaking on condition of anonymity a resident said drama ensued after a vote of thanks.

“So it happened that when Monica Ngwenya who is a member of the  Lupane Local Board was giving a vote of thanks she mentioned all  the important people who were in attendance,” said the reliable source.

 The source added: “Before she sat down we were shocked to see Mpofu manhandling Tamuka while wanting to axe him. He managed to break free and took to his heels. Mpofu followed in hot pursuit wielding an axe and vowing to finish him off.”

The resident said it was a scary sight that took the intervention of men who were in attendance that included  Matshiya Ward 15 Councillor June Mpofu and Member of the House of Assembly for Lupane East Mbongeni Dube and other men who swiftly intervened and grabbed Mpofu.

“He was fuming, declaring that he wants to axe him. They grabbed him while others escorted the terrified Tamuka to his car and drove away.

“If it was not for the swift intervention of those men we could be talking of something bad because Mpofu was fuming while accusing Tamuka of bedding his wife,” said the source.

Contacted for a comment Tamuka said: “He wanted to kill me for something that I did not do. He wanted to tarnish my reputation; that is politics at play. I reported the matter to the police.”

Mpofu would not be drawn into commenting on the incident, choosing to say “I do not discuss my personal issues with the media,” before terminating the call.

Virginia said: “Yes, we were once in love sometime back and we broke up. Tell me who told you about that, if you tell me the person who told you I will disclose a lot of information,” she said and stuck to her words as this reporter refused to reveal his source.

MP Dube confirmed the incident: “What happened is very worrying because a person who wanted to axe Tamuka is someone who is well versed with the law and that unbecoming behaviour is not expected from him! It’s a sign of disrespect to the dead. People should not come to such sacred places while begrudging others because anything bad could happen.”-Statemedia

By A Correspondent| Former Zanu PF  Cabinet Minister Walter Mzembi has opened up that he is working on an article that will expose how Zanu PF has been rigging elections in the country.

Mzembi who denied that rigging is done on voting day said:

“I am doing an article on what happens inside a Zanu PF cell from pre independence to date which keeps our people voting for Zanu PF. There is no rigging on voting day or after. The minds of our people have been rigged for over 40 years, get it?”

Commenting on the move by the Finance Minister to avail coupons for roller meal Mzembi said Zanu PF was implementing a silent election rigging strategy through patronage system.

Said one twimbo:

“Be clear shefu, just tell us exactly how used to rig elections during your time. A thread will be very useful.

Said Mzembi:

I am doing an article on what happens inside a Zanu PF cell from pre independence to date which keeps our people voting for Zanu PF. There is no rigging on voting day or after . The minds of our people have been rigged for over 40 years , get it ?

“Beware of clientelism. This database is an exercise in smart vote-buying and patronage. Vote rigging in Zimbabwe is a process, not an event, this is the real V11 in the making that cannot be presented to the Constitutional Court but very deadly act!”

The agreement between Government through the National Oil Infrastructure Company and Trafigura does not permit the commodities firm to exceed 40% market share. This has resulted in capacity utilization of the pipeline averaging around 65% over the past six years.

It has also emerged that Government owes Trafigura US$174 million for fuel not yet paid for under a US$224 million credit arrangement.

According to statistics obtained from the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, the country has over the past six years failed to fully utilise the Feruka pipeline which has an annual pump capacity of 2.16 billion litres. Yet Trafigura, the global commodities trader, has faced sustained accusations that it used Sakunda Holdings connections to ZANU PF to gain an unfair advantage in the supply of fuel to the country.

Figures indicate that in 2014, Trafigura used 39.44% of the pipeline after pumping 852 million litres of fuel while other players pumped 540 million litres leaving an unutilised gap of 35.56%.  In 2015, the company channelled 924 million litres through the pipeline while other oil companies pumped 605 million litres. This left the pipeline unutilised by 29%.

The trend continued in 2016 and 2017 with Trafigura pumping 717 million and 639 million respectively. Other players pumped 591 million litres and 535 million litres for the two years. In 2018, Trafigura put through 768 million litres while other players pumped 842 million litres. That year the pipeline was not utilized by 25%.

In 2019 Trafigura pumped 889 million litres of fuel through the pipeline while other players pumped 575 million litres of fuel leaving underutilised capacity of 32.22%.

Information obtained shows that in 2017, Trafigura was requested by government to bring fuel into the country under a credit arrangement where Zimbabwe would receive 12 months of fuel, which would be paid over 24 months. This was meant to ease pressure on foreign currency shortages and give Government ample time to rebuild its export receivables over 18 months to cover the loans. Other players in the fuel sector have similar arrangements though structured at small scale.

The deal was fulfilled but by December last year Trafigura was owed US$224 million which was to be paid against future government receivables as there was anticipation of an economic boom. However because the economy failed to take off as anticipated, government agreed to pay Trafigura US$22.5 million monthly while the parties renegotiated the deal to give government breathing space as there were other needs for foreign currency.

“Of the US$224 million, US$50 million was paid in cash by Afreximbank while it was agreed that the balance would be paid in US$3 million instalments over five years such that government would have latitude to use $19 million foreign currency for the importation of maize and paying for imported electricity,” said a source privy to the arrangement.

Own Correspondent|Police have issued a warning on Twitter saying motorists should not buy fish in Chikuti along the Harare-Chirundu highway as they are suspected to have died because of cyanide poisoning.

ZRP Tweeted:

There are reports that unscrupulous people at or near Chikuti along Harare – Chirundu road are selling fish that died as a result of cyanide poisoning from a nearby river. We are warning the public against buying fish from the area or any other unknown source.

— Zimbabwe Republic Police (@PoliceZimbabwe) February 14, 2020

Correspondent|THE Gukurahundi genocide, in which an estimated 20 000 Zimbabwean citizens were killed by a crack parallel army unit, the Fifth Brigade, in the early 1980s, was carefully planned, well before dissident fighters surfaced in the Matabeleland and Midlands regions, investigations have shown.

Former president Robert Mugabe — then prime minister in the newly independent country — was the architect of the atrocities.

His successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa — who at the time served in Mugabe’s office as minister of state for security — was the enforcer-in-chief. There were also executioners in the Fifth Brigade.

Months after taking office in 1980, Mugabe went to Pyongyang in North Korea to meet Kim Il-sung and signed a deal on military training. After that he formed the Fifth Brigade in 1981 following their drills in Nyanga from August 1981 to June 1982. He then deployed the troops in January 1983, which went on to commit mass killings.

However, over the decades, none of the perpetrators have owned up to the atrocities and the little that Mugabe has said since the 1980s has been a mixture of mystification and denial. The closest he has come to admitting official responsibility was after the death of Zapu leader Joshua Nkomo in 1999 when he described the early 1980s as a “moment of madness” — an ambivalent statement not since repeated.

In the wake of the Mnangagwa government’s decision to open the Pandora’s Box over which Mugabe had maintained a tight lid, critics have come out guns blazing, saying unless there is a truth-telling process, justice and personal criminal accountability on the part of perpetrators, his appeasement drive would ultimately fail.

Asked if senior government officials at the time, accused of being architects of the atrocities are ready to speak about what really happened during Gukurahundi in an interview with our sister paper The Standard at the weekend, presidential spokesperson George Charamba said there was no question of liability since the Gukurahundi was a war.

“Guns were shooting from both sides, which is why it was a conflict, you don’t have a one-sided conflict, which means culpability doesn’t just rest on one side. The only difference is that others were in government while others were an insurgency. By its very nature, insurgency dissolves, but governments don’t dissolve, therefore, the issue of culpability, truth or accountability is shared,” he said, blaming apartheid South Africa for fomenting unrest as part of its wide programme to destabilise the southern African region through funding of dissidents and armed bandits.

However, information at hand shows Mugabe signed secret deals with Apartheid leaders to manage their relations and the Gukurahundi project. Details also show that one of the first foreign trips Mugabe made soon after taking the oath of office as prime minister in 1980 was to North Korea, where he signed a military pact with the hermit nation’s founding dictator, Kim Il-sung in the same year as he prepared his killing machine, which was to be unleashed in 1983. This was well before there were dissidents.

Under the pact, Mugabe agreed with Kim Il-sung that Pyongyang would train a wing of Zimbabwe’s army, known as the Fifth Brigade, which would be under the direct control of Mugabe himself as he sought to consolidate and maintain power.

The following year in 1981, a total of 106 Korean military trainers arrived in the country to set up the military wing and were lodged at Jameson Hotel in Harare at government’s expense. This was long before the emergence of either the dissidents or agent provocateurs sponsored by South Africa known as Super Zapu.

This, according to some narratives, implies that the mass killings were systematically planned by Mugabe for the specific purpose of annihilating Nkomo and Zapu.

According to a story by a government-controlled news agency, New Ziana, the North Koreans arrived in the country in August 1981 and had their bills footed by government. The story was published in the Herald issue of September 17, 1981.

“The hotel and entertainment bill for the 106 Korean military advisors who arrived last month to help the Ministry of Defence establish the Fifth Brigade came to $12 983,17,” the Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office told the House of Assembly yesterday.

“The minister was answering Mr Donald Goddard (RF) Lundi during private members’ question time. Mr Goddard noted in his question, asking for details of the Koreans’ stay, that they were accommodated at Salisbury’s Jameson Hotel.
“Mr Mnangagwa did not specify how long the advisors stayed at the hotel. The minister also said he understood a further account for an as yet unspecified amount was expected for the advisors’ transit accommodation during the weekend of September 11 (1981),” the story reads.

Dissidents, who were ill-equipped former Zipra fighters, deserted the new army around 1981-1983 following tensions in the military demobilisation camps and integration, most notably after Entumbane in Bulawayo and Hwedza clashes between former Zanla and Zipra fighters. They also clashed in places like Ntabazinduna, Glenville and Connemara.

Mugabe set up the Dumbutshena Commission to investigate the clashes. He did not make the report public, just the Chihambakwe Commission report on Gukurahundi.

In his 1983 autobiography, Nkomo says he persistently asked Mugabe to explain the purpose of the Fifth Brigade — “a partisan military force” — which he was including in official government meetings and in one such meeting, Mugabe retorted: “(It is being put in place) to deal with people like you!”

After the Entumbane and other clashes, which saw the about 400 people dying, some of the ex-Zipra fighters deserted the camps and began roaming the forests and villages.

Apartheid South Africa then took advantage of the uprisings to sponsor separate groups which morphed into dissidents, according to a report by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe titled Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace: Report on the Disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands 1980 to 1988.

“We had information of South African military assistance to the dissidents (Super Zapu) in Matabeleland, South Africans were not shy about issuing weapons either. They gave former Zipra guerillas (not Zipra, but dissidents) rockets, 60mm mortars, RPD machine guns with thousands of ammunition enough to carry on a small war, which they did,” the report reads.

These started killing white farmers and tourists in the region. During this period, South Africa was involved in many secret operations in southern Africa, including in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, where they sponsored Renamo, as well as in Angola and Namibia.

A TEACHER who allegedly led a strike by students at Njube High School in Bulawayo has broken his silence from Namibia where he is hiding.

Speaking from Namibia after fleeing the country’s law enforcement agents who want him for inciting demonstrations, he said he yearned to return home but could not do so right now.

The former Biology teacher fled Zimbabwe last month after he had led disgruntled students at Njube High School in a march through the streets of Zimbabwe’s second capital city as they registered disquiet over the perilous state of the country’s education sector.

Now ensconced in what he deems to be a safe country, Brian Mutsiba, pictured, recounted how he walked for more than 30km fleeing the country’s feared security personnel.

“I escaped the country after lying low for four days since the police and security agencies had instigated a manhunt for me. I gave the impression that I had headed for Zambia on social circles but moved in the opposite direction and headed for Botswana.

“I walked a total distance of 30km deep into Plumtree before jumping the border then eventually made it to Gaborone. I lay low once again. When security details were close I skipped another border into Namibia and for now I am safe,” he said.

As he fled the authorities who were in hot pursuit, he left behind his wife and three children.

“I am a father of three. My family was left behind in Zimbabwe under the upkeep of relatives. My eldest daughter is a 6th form student at Njube High School and did take part in the demonstration. So she was harassed for a while by the police so as to coerce her into revealing my whereabouts,” he said.

On January 20, Mutsiba led students at Njube in extraordinary protests where they demanded better salaries for their teachers as well as raised concerns with the school fees hike that has resulted in school drop-outs.
Residents of Njube suburb were greeted by the unusual scenes of students from Form 1 to 4 holding a protest over the unavailability of their teachers and the recently hiked school fees.

They marched from the high density suburb to a garage in Entumbane, before they were intercepted by their headmaster who ordered them to go back to school.

The students said they had mounted the protest because they were not happy with the recent school fees increases — which went up from $92 to $492 a term.

During their march, the Njube High learners waved placards in which they asked for help from the representative of the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) in the country.

“Where is Unicef? This is for every Zimbabwean child,” some of their placards read.
Others hoisted the Zimbabwe flag together with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s official portrait — while singing: “We do not like what you are doing”.

At one point, the students knelt down as they sang Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrica (God bless Africa), before shouting the slogan “Amatitsha ngawethu” (Teachers belong to us).

The students claimed that their teachers had deserted classes to harvest amacimbi (mopani worms) on the outskirts of Bulawayo because they could not make ends meet.

“We are protesting because since we opened schools last Tuesday, teachers are not reporting for duty.
“We have not started learning because teachers are not coming to class. They are harvesting amacimbi,” said one Form 3 student.

Hundreds of Bulawayo residents have been flocking to Umguza District on the outskirts of Bulawayo to harvest amacimbi.

Another student said the country’s worsening economic rot was destroying schools and the government needed to act urgently to mitigate the situation.

“We are concerned about what is happening to the education sector. Our teachers are not properly remunerated and are not reporting for duty.

“This will have a bearing on our results when we sit for national examinations,” the student said.
A teacher at the school who refused to be identified applauded the learners for registering their disapproval through a peaceful demonstration.

This comes after the government recently gave public schools the green light to increase their levies and boarding fees.

This was despite its pronouncements that no school would be allowed to hike its fees by more than 20 percent without its approval — in statements that came to be proven as hollow.

“Concerning boarding fees, food fees, those are subject to market forces … Schools have been given guidelines on how to proceed (on this).
“There is a circular that stipulates how parents meet, consider their expenses and agree on a fee they think can feed their children.

“Government does not own grocery shops. So, if 20 percent of the parents meet … and if they agree on what they can pay, who are we to say no?” Acting Primary and Secondary Education minister Amon Murwira said then.
Regarding tuition fees, he warned that public schools that defied the directive not to increase their fees by more than the stipulated amounts would face disciplinary action.

“Provincial education directors, district schools inspectors and heads of public schools should stand guided by the circular which has been dispatched to them,” he said adding that private schools that were charging their fees in foreign currency also risked being deregistered.

Murwira also revealed that the government had little control on private schools that charged exorbitant fees — saying as long as parents agreed on a figure, this would be in order.

“All I said is that it is illegal to charge in foreign currency and the punishment for that is deregistration of the school,” he said.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, many parents and their children were facing a double whammy of sky-high school fees and a severe national shortage of affordable boarding places for students starting Form 1 this year.

This threw preparations for the start of the 2020 learning calendar into disarray, particularly as this came as both schools and families were already reeling from the country’s worst economic crisis in a decade.

Authorities paid civil servants their outstanding cost of living allowances (Cola), although they are still facing difficulties in placating the restive government workers who are mulling a national strike.

This comes as Mnangagwa and his misfiring Cabinet are coming under growing pressure from increasingly despondent citizens, as poverty levels, prices and the cost of living in the country keep shooting up — creating social unrest.

For Mutsiba the call was clarion clear, he had to take the fight to the authorities or a whole generation will be condemned to emptiness and nothingness.

“The current situation in terms of observing children’s rights is dire and at most pathetic. If compared to the situation of 2008, the current scenario has escalated to catastrophic levels.

“Due to meagre salaries teachers are currently incapacitated to attend for duty let alone lessons. The situation is further made grave by the mere fact that most government schools increased their fees by between 300-500 percent, putting the reach of education beyond the ordinary parents.

“The situation is worsened by the high costs of uniforms, books and educational accessories. With the paymasters adamant to maintain the status quo, millions of children in Zimbabwean government schools are continually bound to suffer from the pangs of this education genocide.

“The hardest hit are the rural children who are at the end point of the margin and this also correlates with the situation of the rural teachers who are at the apex of incapacitation. At the end of the day, education is near to nonexistent in government schools.

“Slowly but surely this young generation is being academically slaughtered. This comes as no surprise as the children of politicians opt for educational opportunities abroad,” he said.
Now an outcast in his country, the former prison warder is holed in Namibia and living on the benevolence of well-wishers.

“I am not working but have support of the humanitarian community. To be honest, I did not organise the demonstration, I only supported the children in their quest for a reasonable cause, their right to education,” he said.

A wanted man in Zimbabwe Mutsiba says time always comes where the only option that one have is to put up a fight and fight for what is right.

He believes he has a moral obligation to highlight the suffering of teachers and give a voice to children who are usually the silent victims of underfunding of the critical education sector by the central government.

“There is a famous adage that says ‘Life begins where fear ends’. If the cause is worthy, at times we are compelled to make that sacrifice. The fight for freedoms and rights therefore demands some who are willing to defy the odds and make such sacrifices,” he said.

However, he is not yet ready to come back to Zimbabwe and take the fight to the government that stands accused of destroying the country education sector which was once the region’s envy.

“As long as I still fear for my life I do not see myself coming back. The growing concern is that I may first face a court marshal before I appear a civilian court as I have served under the corrections department before I joined the Ministry of Education.

“A court marshal by any standards is ruthless. However I aim to keep talking on the rights of the voiceless, the children,” he said.

Journalist Edmund Kudzayi has said the struggle to defeat Zanu-PF is “for as many are willing to fight in it” and there are no “super citizens” suitable for that.
On Sunday the fearless investigative journalist, who once linked to the faceless Facebook charater Baba Jukwa twitted:

1/3 These are the people MDC stockholders say are unwelcome in the pro-democracy movement. In 2018 Dr Godfrey Gandawa, who stood as an Independent, told his supporters not to vote for Mnangagwa. Chamisa won the constituency which had gone to Mugabe in 2013. His rebellion… pic.twitter.com/MYD0c8KzFp

— Edmund Kudzayi (@EdmundKudzayi) February 16, 2020

2/3 …was not in a bid to find accommodation. He had rejected an offer to join the MDC Alliance and also resisted Mugabe’s prodding to join NPF, but still helped fight ED as an Independent.

Should Chamisa have phoned him and said don’t support me, I don’t want your votes? pic.twitter.com/pcXjJ3KaXR

— Edmund Kudzayi (@EdmundKudzayi) February 16, 2020

3/3 For his rebellion, the regime attempted to take his life, forcing him to flee to into exile.

The struggle is for as many are willing to fight in it. There are no super citizens who can appropriate. pic.twitter.com/w7QaAji9gY

— Edmund Kudzayi (@EdmundKudzayi) February 16, 2020

Own Correspondent|President Emmerson Mnangagwa has reportedly intervened to stop the eviction of residents from Joshua Nkomo Housing Cooperative.

The development was revealed by Norton legislator, Temba Mliswa who has been fighting in the residents’ corner against local businessman Billy Rautenbach, also known as Muller Conrad Rautenbach.

Posting on Twitter, Mliswa said:

Good news for Joshua Nkomo Housing Cooperative members as @edmnangagwa has reassured them that they will not be evicted from their stands. What's left is for the Ministry of Local Gvt to process the necessary paperwork to regulate& legalise the position. God has his time indeed. pic.twitter.com/AjiGLvtiLi

— Sabhuku Temba P. Mliswa (@TembaMliswa) February 16, 2020

The thousands of residents residing in Lochinvar have been facing displacement after the controversial businessman, Rautenbach through his company Marimba Properties claimed ownership of the area.

The residents occupied the area in 2009 under the Joshua Nkomo and Leopold Takawira Housing Cooperatives.

The area was gazette for settlement by the government in 2010 after which the cooperatives received offer letters for the area.

In December 2015, the then Minister of Local Government, Saviour Kasukuwere toured the area in the company of senior officials from his ministry.

The area in question is Stand Number 48, 49 and the remainder of Salisbury Park of Lochinvar.

Representatives form Marimba Properties, including Rautenbach, who is the company’s Chairperson were in attendance. Other representatives from Marimba Properties who were present include Colonel R. Matonhodze (Rtd) who is the company’s Director and Derrick Elliot, who is also the firm’s legal advisor.

During the 2015 site visit, former Minister Kasukuwere conceded that the area had been fully developed and evictions or demolitions must be stopped and the area should be regularized.

It was agreed that Marimba residential Properties will, therefore, surrender the stands to the government and in return, the government and council would identify suitable of equivalent value to compensate the company.

Documents in CHRA’s possession indicate that Mr Rautenbach accepted the proposal as the Chairman of Marimba Residential Properties.

It was also agreed that council would take over the administration of Stands 48 ad the remainder of Salisbury Park of Lochinvar.

However, in March 2018, the Ministry of Local Government wrote to the Chairpersons of Joshua Nkomo, Leopold Takawira, Wadzanai, Mydek and Dzapasi housing cooperatives informing them of the cancellation of offer letters that had been issued to their members.

Read part of the letter signed by E. Mlalazi (Secretary for Local Government, Public Works and National Housing), “The Ministry had issued those offers believing that the land had been acquired for use by the State. Regrettably, the acquisition process was abandoned by the Acquiring Authority after unsuccessful legal contestations on the part of the Ministry.

“The owners of the company, in whose name the land is registered, have nonetheless been engaged by the Ministry to discuss the way forward on the future of your irregular settlement. They have expressed interest to work with your beneficiaries to regularize the scheme on terms agreeable to both parties.”

Following the purported cancellation of the offer letters, legal practitioners representing the housing cooperatives wrote to the Ministry of Local Government arguing that its position was ‘unlawful, unreasonable, disproportionate and substantively and procedurally unfair’.

Zimbabweans do not need to panic as authorities are taking precautionary measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) into the country, while authorities in China have the situation under control, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.

This comes as China’s chief envoy to Zimbabwe, Ambassador Guo Shaochun, made assurances that trade and economic trade between the two countries would only be temporarily affected by the virus, which has killed more than 1 000 people in mainland China.

To date, the virus has not been detected in Zimbabwe and no Zimbabweans living in China have contracted the disease.

Speaking at a press briefing after meeting with Ambassador Guo at his Munhumutapa offices yesterday, President Mnangagwa said the country’s adherence to World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines was likely to be complemented by travel restrictions imposed by China between Harare and Beijing.

“From the time of the breakout, there are conditions by the World Health Organisation, universal conditions which require that we take measures, and we have taken those measures and we have been able to acquire some of the necessary equipment to do the checking; and so far in Zimbabwe, we have not recorded any positive cases and we are happy that this is happening,” he said.

“Also the authorities in China have restricted the travel of people from China to Zimbabwe or Zimbabwe to China.

“So these things, again, have been implemented and they are contributing to the status which is there now, which is positive (for us) and we believe that we are in control of the situation.”

President Mnangagwa said it was encouraging that fatalities and new infections of the disease were declining.

“The current indications are that new cases are declining, as the facts now show. Earlier on, the deaths were rising, but now there is an indication of the deaths declining.

Also, the volume of the number of people leaving the hospital after being cured is also increasing, which is indicative of the success the authorities in China are achieving to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

“Then, of course, worldwide we have very few new cases that come up. The few that have been reported are not increasing.”

Authorities would remain vigilant to prevent the disease from spreading into the country, he said.

President Mnangagwa said Ambassador Guo was also “thankful” for the letter that he had sent to his counterpart, President Xi Jinping, to express solidarity and sympathy over COVID-19.

“The ambassador was thankful that I wrote to my counterpart, the President of the People of China, giving Zimbabwe’s support to the challenges arising from the outbreak of the virus.
“He was conveying to me that gratitude.

“When the coronavirus outbreak happened in China, we were extremely concerned about it and I, as President, sent a letter of support to my brother President Xi Jinping and to the people of China that the people of Zimbabwe sympathise with you and we expect that everything possible would be done and we are happy with what the leadership of China have done so far.”-State media

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!!”

CIVIC society organisations operating under the Matabeleland Collective banner yesterday told President Emmerson Mnangagwa that people in the region did not believe he was sincere about addressing the Gukurahundi issue.

The CSOs made the remarks during a meeting with Mnangagwa at State House in Bulawayo to discuss measures needed to address the emotive issue.

Matabeleland Collective member Maqeda Ngwenya said the government and securocrats involved in Gukurahundi killings should apologise for the atrocities, which left 20 000 civilians dead in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces between 1983 and 1987.

He also said the issue of Zipra properties seized by the government after independence had still not been addressed, despite Mnangagwa’s promise to return them to the rightful owners.

Women of Zimbabwe Arise leader Jenni Williams said Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe had not yet engaged the community since the meeting last year on the issue of birth and death certificates.

She also said Registrar-General Clemence Masango had not met Matabeleland Collective members, claiming they only see him on television.

“Birth and death certificates are rights. People want documents and they are told their parents died in the crossfire. People are demanding that their parents died in Gukurahundi (and) it should be written on their death certificates,” Williams said.

She said special commissioners should be appointed to deal with Gukurahundi.

Zipra Veterans Association Trust spokesperson Buster Magwizi demanded the publication of the Dumbuchena and Chihambakwe Commissions of Inquiry into Gukurahundi which were not made public by the late former President Robert Mugabe.

Mnangagwa said the country had demonstrated before that it was capable of resolving amicably even the most acrimonious disputes among its people through internal dialogue and negotiations.

-Newsday

SOUTH African authorities have intensified measures to curb the illegal movement of goods across the Limpopo River and last week arrested two Zimbabwean women with explosives worth R1,2 million and also recovered smuggled cigarettes worth R800 000.

The arrests were made by the neighbouring country’s serious organised crime unit, the Hawks between Tuesday and Thursday in Thohoyandou and Makhado towns. Hawks spokesperson for Limpopo, Captain Matimba Maluleke said  they arrested two women last Tuesday who were travelling from Thohoyandou to Gauteng with an assortment of explosives.

“The two women were arrested following a tip-off as they were about to board a bus to Thohoyandou. 

“They have since appeared at the local magistrate court where their case was postponed to 9 March and they were remanded in custody pending further investigations,” said Capt Maluleke.

He said on Thursday they made another breakthrough after intercepting cigarettes which were being transported from Zimbabwe to South Africa in a Nissan NP300. Capt Maluleke said the arrest was made in Makhado Town.

“We gathered information about a vehicle that was reportedly transporting illicit cigarettes from Zimbabwe into South Africa. The vehicle was spotted driving along the N1 highway and an attempt by the police to stop it was made but it sped off. The suspects reportedly jumped off the vehicle and evaded arrest, abandoning the vehicle in the process,” he said.

He said they later found the abandoned vehicle, a Nissan NP300 that was reportedly stolen in Honeydew, Gauteng loaded with illicit cigarettes. 

Capt Maluleke said the car was loaded with boxes of Remington Gold cigarettes with an estimated street value of over R800 000 and were seized.

“The Hawks are still hunting down the suspects and appeal to anyone with information that can lead to their arrest to contact the nearest police station,” he said.

 It is understood that almost 30 percent of the cigarettes on the South African market are from Zimbabwe.  

Statistics from the South African Revenue Services (SARS) show that a total 82 689 043kg of tobacco were imported from Zimbabwe between January 2010 and March 2015. 

These include imports of Cigars, Cheroots, Cigarillos and Cigarettes, of Tobacco or of Tobacco Substitutes. Duty charged by South African authorities ranges from R6,21 per 10 cigarettes to R278,82/kg, depending on the type of cigarettes.

-State media

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa says he has given up on dialogue with President Emmerson Mnangagwa over disputed elections and the opposition party is changing tack in its efforts to force concessions from the ruling party.

Chamisa has consistently refused to recognise Mnangagwa’s 2018 poll victory, accusing the Zanu PF leader of rigging the polls with the help of the military.

On the other hand, the president refuses to hold talks with his main rival outside a platform he created with fringe political parties that took part in the controversial polls.

Chamisa said Mnangagwa stood to benefit from the proposed talks, but had spurned his overtures.

“Mnangagwa refused talks,” he said on Friday in Masvingo where he attended a memorial service for MDC founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

“ I tried to bring him to the negotiating table.

“We all know every conflict ends with talking. “We wanted to give peace a chance.

“But we won’t reach the 2023 elections before the 2018 elections deadlock is sorted.

“We are very clear about what we are saying. “He won’t govern this country.”

Last year security forces crushed MDC protests across that country that were meant to force Mnangagwa to the negotiating table.

In January last year, the army was accused of killing over 17 people after protests erupted over a steep increase in the price of fuel.

Chamisa said by calling for dialogue, he was trying to help Mnangagwa stop the country from descending into chaos.

“I am trying to help him to stop the country from burning,” he said.

“We have nothing to lose. Zanu PF has everything — the farms, banks, big stomachs among others. If things come to a head, ED and Zanu PF will lose more.

“We are organising. He refused talks, what should I do with him? We are organising in whispers.”

Chamisa said his supporters must be prepared for “action”.

“We are delayed, but we will not be stopped,” he said. “Others say you should lead from the front. You do not teach me the struggle. I have been in it for too long.

“Revolutionary action is a creature of revolutionary moments.

“We will do anything at the right time, when the time comes and permits. The darkest hour is near dawn. We will get there.”

Chamisa said there was fear in the region that Zimbabwe’s situation was deteriorating.

“Well, generally there is a shared view that a burning Zimbabwe will set ablaze the entire region, there is fear that the situation has reached very dangerous levels and proportions and it has to be resolved,” he said in an interview in Bulawayo.

“What is not clear yet is how to resolve it, but we have given an alternative platform of dialogue because we have to give peace a chance. We have to give an amicable solution an opportunity.

“We believe that in all contestations, in all disputes, disagreements, dialogue becomes the natural entry point.”

Chamisa has refused to join Mnangagwa’s Political Actors Dialogue.

Chamisa insists on a neutral convener. The clergy have also spoken on the need for a broad-based dialogue involving a cross-section of stakeholders and not only political parties.  

The church once suggested that elections be shelved for a period of seven years to allow the country to heal and achieve a common goal.

“If we are to fight whether on the streets, on the ground, in the air, wherever, you have to come to some understanding as Zimbabweans.

“We share a country, a history, a future and we have a common identity as Zimbabwean people, so dialogue is not something that you can wish away,” Chamisa added, noting the 2018 election dispute should also be resolved.

“I know a lot of people have said that. That is what South Africa has also said about dialogue. “That has always been my insistence…You can’t have a 2023, or 2022 or any future election without resolving the disputed elections of the past because elections have been emptied of their meaning.

“They have become rituals. They are just on the calendar but have no significant value in transforming a nation. “

Meawhile, Chamisa’s spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda dismissed speculation that there was friction between the MDC leader and the party’s chairperson Tabitha Khumalo.

“I need to deal with the rumours that seem to suggest that a president’s exercise of powers to appoint individuals to specific roles is or can be subjected to anything other than his own considerations of what is in the best interest of the party, the country and the world,” he said.

“There is no issue at all, the rumours are baseless and external.

“The sources of the rumours are external to the party and they have two objectives — the first one is to divide the party — since Zanu PF is at war.

“The second one is to try and control the president’s appointments through the abuse of the media.”

-State media