By A Correspondent- Upon failure to fathom the fact that her ex-husband had moved on, when she deserted him for over a year after he lost his job, an unashamed woman has approached the courts begging for intervention.

The Dangamvura woman, Renia Marange, begged the court that Chaya Chikumu’s new wife be evicted from her matrimonial home and that she be allowed to get back with him..

Mutare magistrate Ms Nyasha Kuture presided over the matter.

Marange also told the court that Chikumu had been a violent husband thus her need for a protection order. She begged that she be let back at her Dangamvura house and that she lives peacefully with him and their children as a family, as they had been before.

“Your Worship, when the child is at fault, Chikumu takes out all the anger on me and assaults me. If an order is granted, I believe that he will be peaceful and I can then be allowed to go back to my matrimonial home.

“I was in Marange when I found that he had married a new wife. I want the court to order him to evict her so that I can go back to my house and live peacefully with my family,” explained Marange.

Chikumu, however, would not hear of Marange’s request as he told the court that it had been a year since she had abandoned him and left her matrimonial home without notice.

He denied the fact that Marange was his wife and told the court that she had since left him earlier last year after he had lost his job, claiming that he was too poor for her.

“I have already moved on, Your Worship. Marange is now my ex-wife not my current wife like she wants the court to believe.

“Your Worship, this woman left me a year ago and I begged her on countless times to come back home yet she refused. I moved on and married a new wife last month. After hearing this, Marange now wants to come back home, this is just pure jealousy,” he said.

“I lost my job and could not pay up the United States dollar debts that she had and that is when she just left without saying anything to me. Aneta nekunakirwa nenyika ochifunga imba yake (She is now tired of enjoying life elsewhere and wants back her husband). I will not have her back,” he said.

Ms Kuture granted the protection order to Marange against Chikumu. She, however, told the former that her application was not an eviction application and so she would not help her in seeking for the eviction of the latter’s wife.

Ms Kuture advised Marange to make an eviction application before the courts if she still wanted the new wife to be evicted.-Manicapost

By A Correspondent- Nkayi district in Matabeleland North is experiencing a severe drought, with over 100 000 villagers facing starvation.

Addressing journalists during a tour, district development co-ordinator Matilda Mlothswa said:

We are one of the poorest districts in the country. Our sandy soils are not good for farming and the dryness makes it difficult to access water. People are just surviving under very difficult conditions.

… The people here are hardworking when NGOs come they are eager to be helped. As a district, we are very grateful for the NGOs. We hope more will come to train us on how to empower ourselves.

Mlotshwa added that 28 out of 30 wards in Nkayi district were affected by drought.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF)-Matabeleland Enhanced Livelihoods Agriculture and Nutrition Adaptation (MELANA) project has been launched to work with communities in Nkayi, Bubi, Umguza and Umzingwane districts.

By A Correspondent- Former Zanu-PF Manicaland youth leader Mubuso Chinguno is facing criminal insult charges for allegedly broadcasting an audio message on social media, which impaired the reputation of Cabinet ministers and some party officials.

Chinguno (40) is being charged for contravening Section 95 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23.

He was not asked to plead to the charges when he appeared before senior Mutare magistrate Mr Tendai Mahwe.

District public prosecutor Mr Tirivanhu Mutyasira said the suspect recorded himself and shared the demeaning message on social media.

He said the message impaired the dignity of officials who include Defence Minister and Zanu PF national chairperson Oppah Muchinguri; Minister of Provincial Affairs for Manicaland Ellen Gwaradzimba; Chipinge South legislator Enock Porusingazi; former Zanu-PF Manicaland Political Commissar Simon Mapfumo and Zanu-PF Manicaland Women’s League chairperson Happiness Nyakuedzwa.

Allegations were that on a date unknown to the State, Chinguno broadcast the audio message which alleged that the quartet was working together with former Zanu-PF political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere to influence the outcome of the district coordinating committee elections.

The suspect also alleged that the complainants were planning to remove the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Mike Madiro, from his post.

“Chinguno also alleged that the complainants were planning to replace Mike Madiro with people aligned to Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.

“His actions portrayed the complainants as factionalists thereby seriously impairing their dignity,” said Mr Mutyasira.

Chinguno was remanded out of custody to March 4.-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- Tocky Vibes has rubbished claims by a Glendale man that he is his father.

Born John Vashico, the self-confessed HIV positive grandpa, has become the talk of the farming community in Glendale and surrounding farms for his miserable lifestyle amid claims that he is Tocky’s father.

Known for hopping from place to place, begging for leftovers in homes, funerals and even public places, Vashico is in serious need of help even psychological help, if Tocky’s story is anything to go by.

A Local publication spoke to the old man to hear the story that he has preached as gospel truth to the whole of Glendale. He claimed to have fathered 10 other children beside Tocky and also confessed to
neglecting them.

Speaking at his compound at Fox Farm, which is on the verge of decimation following the encroaching of East-view suburb, Vashico said misery
was now his middle name.

“I have been living in poverty for the greater part of my life despite being blessed with n biological children who are living large.

Some are in Harare, Mazowe, and Chitungwiza, but they are no longer care for me. I know I neglected them at some point, but I’m really sorry for what happened,” he said.

Asked how he was surviving, the frail-looking Vashico said:

“I move around collecting leftovers at funerals, homes and public places like bars and even at the bus terminus in bins.

“ sell some of the leftovers like sadza to those breeding pigs for ZWL10 a bucket. If I get nice stuff from the leftovers, I also eat some for survival. I have been leading this life for a while and when I heard that you were coming here, I said ‘the Lord has heard my prayers but to be honest, it’s not easy for an old man with 11 children and of course, several grandchildren to be leading such a shameful life.”

CULTURAL EFFECT
Asked why he neglected his children, he blamed it on cultural beliefs which give mothers full control of the children. Originally, I am from Malawi and full responsibility of children used to be given to mothers. We were only there to give them children and provide here and there, but things have
changed now.

During our time when we were very religious, we used to take some of
the beliefs seriously, but it’s no longer the same as compared to the old days when the culture was still culture,” he said.-Statemedia

By A Correspondent- The catfights between former celebrity couple Tytan Skhokho and Olinda Chapel seem far from over after the two yesterday went for each other in a public spat that left social media in meltdown.

Tytan was accusing his former wife of trying to infect him with HIV and abusive behaviour while the latter rebutted the claims.

This was after Tytan lifted the lid on the alleged abuse he suffered at the hands of his estranged wife, whom he accused of physical violence and narrated how he had to put up at a friend’s house after he had been locked out of their home.

Tytan, who filed for divorce at the High Court in Harare early this month, said at first he tolerated the abuse as he thought Olinda was just doing so out of jealous.

In a recorded interview with his lawyer, Rumbidzayi Bvunzawabaya on the Rumbidzai Show, posted on various social media sites yesterday, Tytan shared his experiences while living with Olinda in the United Kingdom, in which he claimed they had arguments during which the latter would push him, provoke fights and lock him out.

“I tried to get back in and she refused to open the door for me and asked me to go away. I didn’t understand that, I couldn’t go to our neighbours because I didn’t want them to know what’s going on so I had to rush to a nearby park to find solace,” he said.

“I was kicked out of the house eight times for different reasons and I got to know that it was, not because of the pregnancy because even before she was, I could get those episodes.”

He said she told him that she wanted him out of the United Kingdom and back in Zimbabwe.

Tytan said he wanted to end the relationship in September 2017, but they agreed to reconcile with the understanding that Olinda would have “to deal with her anger”.

“Initially, it was more of verbal abuse, especially when there are friends and relatives. A lot of people started to withdraw from working with me as I didn’t have financial freedom and didn’t have control,” he recalled.

“When I came here and went to the shops, she would just say what took you so long? I didn’t leave the relationship because I was in love and I thought love made things hard and there was a lot of compromising. We did try to solve the issue and there was a pastor who would help us, but we reached a dead end.”

Tytan said when he first made a police report, the police wanted him to press charges against Olinda, but he discounted that option because he thought her strange behaviour was linked to pregnancy.

He, however, said he suspected Olinda was trying to infect him with HIV after going through her maternity book.

In a Facebook telephone interview with Aunty Jenny’s Lounge, Olinda, however, said Tytan always took her to hospital and made sure she took her medicine.

“He is the one who would drive me to the hospital, he is the one who would be near me but now he is using all that as a weapon against me,” she said.

“There is a time when the people at the hospital said this man is taking advantage. He is the one who used to even take me to hospital and tell me that it is time to take your medication; he has been holding me prisoner all this while and using that as a form of psychological abuse.”

She described Tytan as “a serial cheater”, who bed-hopped with other women while she was in hospital.

“If I wronged him, he must go and report to the police. How come I have not been arrested by the police? He has been using this as a weapon against me, the desperation to seek papers is really shocking,” she said, adding that she would take legal action against both Tytan and Bvunzawabaya.-Newsday

*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. My point of privilege is that in the past two weeks the Minister of Primary and Secondary education announced the hike of 2020 examination fees. As Hon. Members of this august House, we expressed reservations. Yesterday he spoke about one particular group of Zimbabwean people who are expected to be taxed 2%. We asked whether it is the only sector which has an army or the army is a national army. If one sector is taxed then that brings instability. However, if this is generalised, for example AIDS Levy affects everyone. If only civil servants are taxed despite the increment they received …

*THE HON. SPEAKER: How is this affecting the rights of Hon. Members like you?

*HON. CHINOTIMBA: Mr. Speaker Sir, this brings instability and this could lead to unnecessary demonstrations so I would like the Hon. Minister to come and brief this House what this means and to explain why just a portion is being taxed whilst the rest are not taxed. As people who led trade unions at one point, we believe that this might lead to instability. So the Minister should come and explain why only civil servants, yet the military is not only for civil servants but it is a national army. I believe that the nation should be there for the army.

• In silence, onlookers walked past his body sprawled beneath a wanted poster offering $30,000 for him, dead or alive.
• New twist.
• ZIMBABWE, THE WORLD’S FASTEST GROWING CROP ECONOMY SUDDENLY CRASHED FOLLOWING MNANGAGWA’S PRONOUNCEMENTS

By Staff Correspondent| ZIFA’s spokesperson, Xolisani Gwesela has responded to allegations by some quarters in Matebeleland who attack him saying that he is the son of the notorious so called dissident, Ranson or Richard Gwesela.

Gwesela is an infamous “immortal” character who the Zimbabwean military claimed they were after between 1983 and 1987 when they continued to kill civilians until more than 22,000 people were massacred. He was immortal for a whole 4 years and only “killed” when ZANU PF now wanted to sign a unity accord with Joshua Nkomo’s ZAPU party in 1987.

Thousands of people sensationally flocked to a police station in Gweru on the 18th November 1987 for a glimpse of the bullet-riddled corpse of Zimbabwe’s most wanted “fugitive.”

Zimbabwe Republic Police say Richard Gwesela, a former guerrilla fighter, was a gang leader who terrorized the people of two provinces for four years.

Gwesela was alleged to have murdered 20 people in the Midlands and neighbouring Matabeleland provinces. He also was said to have raped women and robbed villagers.

In silence, onlookers walked past his body sprawled beneath a wanted poster offering $30,000 for him, dead or alive.

The state media said Gwesela was the country’s most wanted man, and was killed in a gunbattle with Zimbabwean security forces near Gweru “on Sunday,” earlier.

His death was reported for the first time three days later, on the Wednesday. There were no independent investigations to confirm the state media report.

His mother and an uncle identified the corpse as Gwesela, and police fingerprints confirmed the identity, according to the state media report.

″Gwesela had killed more than 20 people since he started operating in the area,″ Enos Nkala, home affairs minister in charge of police, told reporters. ″Now he is going to join them, whether in heaven or hell, we don’t know,” he said.

NEW TWIST.

33 years later, some Mthwakazi activists have begun claiming ZIFA’s Gwesela was rewarded the sports job for a sterling role the supposed father played as an insider who staged for Emmerson Mnangagwa during Gukurahundi in order to kill civilians, pursuing Emmerson Mnangagwa’s terror operation to kill people under the guise of flushing out dissidents.

One activist makes the above chilling allegations (pic).

Responding however, ZIFA’s Mr Xolisani Gwesa told ZimEye, the so called Gwesela was not even a real Gwesela.

He said: “This writer is waffling. I am shocked by these ghastly falsehoods.

“I am the son of the late Chief Gwesela whose real name was Cornelius Nobody Gwesela Ndebele who died in 1996.He was never a dissident. The so called “dissident Gwesela” was never a Gwesela and his real name was Zedious Mangena.

“I am holder of a Masters Degree in Media and Society studies, Post grad Diploma in Media , Bsc Honours degree , Diploma in Management and Diploma in Sport Management.

“I have over 15 years experience in media management and sport management and events coordination. I joined Zifa purely on merit.

“The Gweselas are also from Zhombe and not Lower Gweru. The Gweselas are also from Zhombe and not Lower Gweru.”

ZIMBABWE, THE WORLD’S FASTEST GROWING CROP ECONOMY SUDDENLY CRASHED FOLLOWING MNANGAGWA’S PRONOUNCEMENTS

Rhodesia, was once the worst hit African economy by both United Nations sanctions and a debilitating 14 year running civil war from within, and yet by 1976, it had been hailed as the world’s fastest growing crop economy. So what really went wrong? Soon after 1980, it was handed over to Robert Mugabe and his state security minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, who less than 3 years later launched a military crackdown against civilians who he personally described as cockroaches who must be wiped out using DDT. That operation destroyed the economy in ways exactly similar to the recent 1 Aug 2018 military crackdown (which the Finance Ministry has told The Motlanthe Commission has cost the nation USD16 billion.) Zimbabwe’s economy began crumbling following Mnangagwa’s words on the 4th April 1983:

“Blessed are they who will follow the path of the Government laws, for their days on earth will be increased. But woe unto those who will choose the path of collaboration with dissidents for we will certainly shorten their stay on earth.”

As Minister of State Security, Mnangagwa was in charge of the brutal massacre of more than 22 000 Ndebele. He labeled dissidents ‘cockroaches’ and the killers of the Fifth Brigade army unit as ‘DDT,’ an insecticide.

Economy data shows how the country’s GDP crashed down following the operation, and effects were immediately felt from 1983 all the way to 1985.

Fast forward to the period 2004 – 2018 more evidence shows the correlation between economic performance and the rule of law, specifically human rights adherence.

A UK based academic investigates human rights violations and economic decline. In the graphs below revealed by ZimEye.com, it is displayed that for instance in the 14 years since 2004, investor interest has either risen or declined in a direct consequential correlation with Human Rights.   Dr Admore Tshuma from Kent University was asked by SABC: What were you aiming to achieve?, and he answered as follows: “the study is a socio-economic perspective. The study explores how the future in South Africa may unfold if expropriation of land without compensation goes ahead. “The aim is not to take a side in this argument, but to unpack the perspective, of human rights and economic paradigms. This is the first time that such a question has been examined by social science using an objectively collected data. The main aim is not to diminish claims for redistribution of land, but to highlight the detriment of the expropriation of land without compensation. “In this study I am very mindful of the sensitivity of the issue of land and I am also aware that there is little consensus of what benefit expropriation of land will produce for South Africa.

“Hence the basic aim is to suggest an alternative and progressive policy on what could constitute an economically sensible cause of action if South Africa is to pursue.

“In this case Zimbabwe remains an empirical case study, for such a social policy, a public policy. The primary focus in this study is to illustrate the interaction between human rights and the economy, also to highlight the model of retributive Justice in response to growing calls for the land question in South Africa as what happened in Zimbabwe.

“And some of my objectives basically are to raise awareness of the potential long term social economic harm that may result in the expropriation of land, it is also to show the interaction, the inter-twinement … the globalisation of the world, how world nation states have become smaller: how the international law has become supreme…part of what I am looking into, and basically the project in the end, it demonstrates the growing recognition that deep-rooted problems of Human Rights violation… are most likely to affect the economy, it is a very broad subject…”

– AP/ZimEye

The Public Service Commission (PSC) yesterday said Government could increase to $200 million the low interest loan facility for civil servants as the employer commits to improving the welfare of employees.  

Cabinet on Wednesday announced the Government Employees Mutual Savings (GEMS) fund and said it would inject $100 million seed capital for the project. The loan facility is meant to promote savings for Government employees as they would get value for their money once a need arises.

In a statement yesterday, PSC Permanent Secretary Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe said the GEMS initiative would not be forced on employees.  He said those who participate in the loan facility will have 2,5 percent deducted from their salaries.  

Ambassador Wutawunashe also said the PSC was working on modalities for operationalisation of Garrison Shops for the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Zimbabwe Police Service and the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service to ensure they access basic commodities.  

“These Garrison Shops are based on a self-financing model as they entail selling of goods to customers. Logistical arrangements relating to the operationalisation of Garrison Shops are being worked out,” he said.

Ambassador Wutawunashe said while uniformed forces would get cheaper products at Garrison shops, the rest of the civil servants will benefit from Silo shops which will also provide affordable goods.

A private daily has written claiming that the MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has changed political strategies on dialogue. It said he has all but dumped foreign-meditated talks with his nemesis, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, preferring a home-grown solution to the current economic and political crises facing the country.

Former South Africa President Thabo Mbeki was in the country in December to nudge Mnangagwa and Chamisa into an inclusive dialogue and had promised to be back in three weeks, but has not returned to date.

The article however has lumps of completely unrelated comments lifted from an MDC Youth Assembly function and slammed against those of their party leader Nelson Chamisa, the result which appears as if he is now been opposed by his own youth members.

Another observation is that the article has a direct sting towards the condemned Political Actors Dialogue, inferring that Chamisa has finally bowed down to Emmerson Mnangagwa’s “45 Degree Presidency.”

The Newsday piece says:

In his keynote address at the launch of the Principles of Reliable Inclusive and Credible Elections in Zimbabwe symposium organised by local think-tank, Sapes Trust in Harare yesterday, Chamisa said the country could not out-source solutions as local leaders had to sit down and find home-grown solutions.
“We are there to solve our own problems. We have the answers to our problems. We can’t have South Africa solving our problems, it has its own problems to take care of,” said Chamisa, who had earlier warmed up to Mbeki mediation efforts.

“Americans can’t have a solution for this country as it has its own domestic problems to solve. We can’t out-source solutions for this country. I have heard people talking of President Mbeki saying this and that. We should solve our own problems.”

It then rushes to say: but MDC youths yesterday said the time was now ripe to fight Mnangagwa’s government for implementing unpopular policies that were causing untold suffering to the people of Zimbabwe.

Addressing a Press conference in Harare, MDC youth spokesperson Stephen Chuma said the economic decay in the country had reached a crescendo and the youths were mobilising Zimbabweans to act against Mnangagwa.

He said Zimbabwe was now an epicentre of a regional crisis.

“Zimbabwe is in a crisis. The level of the roads and economic decay has reached a new crescendo.

The country has virtually become a jail with every citizen in prison,” Chuma said. – Newsday

.

Zimbabwean economist Eddie Cross has asked why Zimbabweans are complaining so much because as far as he is concerned the country is on the road back to prosperity and growth but this is not going to be quick, easy or without pain.

Writing on his personal blog today, a day after the International Monetary Fund said Zimbabwe’s economic reform programme was now off track, Cross says the turbulence that Zimbabwe is going through is not unique to the country.

“My own feelings are that we have made real progress in the past year or so in the task of setting Zimbabwe on the road back to prosperity and growth. But it is not going to be quick, easy or without pain,” he says.

“When I say this to friends they regard me with that look that basically says – you again, the forever optimist! I counter this with two arguments – please show me anyone who ever really achieved anything without optimism – optimism in their own capacity and in achievement of the task that they had taken on.

“My second illustration comes from our guerrilla war, would my sceptics go into battle with leadership that did not believe they could fight and survive? Of course not, it is an essential feature of leadership that we believe in what we are doing and what we are going to achieve.”

Cross lists some of the things that Zimbabwe has achieved so far as a realistic budget where the country achieved a surplus as opposed to perennial deficits.

He says the government managed to reduce the size of its salary bill from almost 100 percent of government revenue to less than 40 percent.

He says the country is de-dollarising and not re-dollarising as some argue.

“We have formalised the use of the RTGS dollar and our paper currency and today over 90 per cent of all transactions are made in these currencies in domestic markets,” he says.

“The talk of re-dollarisation is simply a lack of understanding, we are de-dollarising our economy but recognising this will take years, not months.

“We have to re-establish confidence in our own currency and our ability to protect and maintain its real value. So long as people think it is not a safe vehicle for savings, people will retreat to the US dollar as a store of value – just like gold in previous centuries.

“The reality is that there is much more US dollar cash in our economy than our own currency. We are trying to remedy that but it takes nearly a year to get a new currency designed and printed and put into circulation. In the meantime, the existing currency actually trades at a 30 per cent premium in local markets over the RTGS dollar.

“It is even widely traded in neighbouring States. So the State has decided to slow down the process of de-dollarisation and to allow people to use their own foreign funds on the domestic market. This will tap into the very considerable volume of hard currency that is being traded in the informal economy and assist us in meeting demand for essential imports.”

He, however, notes that Zimbabwe will not make real progress until people believe that these changes are real and will not be reversed.

“Only then will we start to behave differently and invest in our own future,” he said.

Full Blog:

Just for the Record

Right now most Zimbabweans are deep in a slew of despair. My father who died at the age of 83 said to me once that he could never remember a time when things were what you could call ‘normal’. We were always in some sort of crisis.

He saw the market crash in the 1930’s, then the Second World War, then the Federation and its breakup. Then the liberation war and sanctions and the Robert Mugabe era. Thank goodness he was not around for the collapse here in 2000 to 2008, or the subsequent changes in 2017/18. It just never seems to stop.

But we tend to forget that life on this beautiful, but turbulent planet, has always been like this. Jesus once said ‘In the World, you will have tribulation’, not maybe, ‘will’. So why are we sitting around complaining with our lot? We should expect little else and learn how to thrive despite the conditions around us. The quote above goes on to say ‘but, be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.’

Sceptics would say that there is little evidence of this in our world but in many respects the saying is true, in the middle of all this turbulence, we can know ‘the peace that passes all understanding’ and discover that ‘He’ really does ‘give us our daily bread’.

My own feelings are that we have made real progress in the past year or so in the task of setting Zimbabwe on the road back to prosperity and growth. But it is not going to be quick, easy or without pain.

When I say this to friends they regard me with that look that basically says – you again, the forever optimist! I counter this with two arguments – please show me anyone who ever really achieved anything without optimism – optimism in their own capacity and in achievement of the task that they had taken on.

My second illustration comes from our guerrilla war, would my sceptics go into battle with leadership that did not believe they could fight and survive? Of course not, it is an essential feature of leadership that we believe in what we are doing and what we are going to achieve.

So just what has been achieved in the past year in Zimbabwe? I list the following which in my view constitute real progress and essential building blocks for the future:

In 2019 we adopted a national budget that, for the first time since the GNU provided for a fiscal deficit that was below 3 per cent of the GDP. We then went on the turn the year end with a substantial fiscal surplus. When you cast your mind back to 2018 when we were running a budget with a 40 per cent deficit of expenditure over income. Observers thought Mthuli Ncube was a ‘magic man’. At the same time the Ministry of Finance imposed strict controls on all State expenditure and enforced this new discipline across the board.

We have got our Government salary bill under control, reduced employment in many areas and we are now spending less than 40 per cent of all State revenues on salaries – against nearly 100 per cent in 2018. We have enforced Public Sector management reforms including limiting the tenure of all key staff to two terms, introduced performance targets for all Ministries and State enterprise and limited participation in the Boards of over 100 SOE’s and other State controlled entities.

We have conducted a complete review of all Government liabilities and consolidated these for management purposes. Our total consolidated external debts amount to US$14.3 billion. That might sound like a lot of money but what astounds me is the fact that the original sum borrowed was only US$4,2 billion, the rest is interest and penalties. My own view is that we can handle these debts without difficulty even if we get no assistance from the international community. I was astounded that the World Bank is charging us 10 per cent interest – in USD that is just ridiculous. This is more serious in real terms than sanctions. If China had been subject to such penalty interest rates, their evolution as a major economic player would have been impossible.

In addition to these significant achievements – all of which are recognised by the IMF, we have completely revamped the way in which we are funding Agriculture. Command Agriculture was costing us billions every year and declining in effectiveness and production – it was clearly unsustainable. What is now in place is much more accountable and targeted and will be used this winter to grow the winter irrigated crops. The new systems will then be geared up to handle the much larger summer cropping program. All we now need is to provide greater security for farmers and it is a national calamity that so little progress is being made in this area.

We have formalised the use of the RTGS dollar and our paper currency and today over 90 per cent of all transactions are made in these currencies in domestic markets. The talk of re-dollarisation is simply a lack of understanding, we are de-dollarising our economy but recognising this will take years, not months. We have to re-establish confidence in our own currency and our ability to protect and maintain its real value. So long as people think it is not a safe vehicle for savings, people will retreat to the US dollar as a store of value – just like gold in previous centuries.

The reality is that there is much more US dollar cash in our economy than our own currency. We are trying to remedy that but it takes nearly a year to get a new currency designed and printed and put into circulation. In the meantime, the existing currency actually trades at a 30 per cent premium in local markets over the RTGS dollar.

It is even widely traded in neighbouring States. So the State has decided to slow down the process of de-dollarisation and to allow people to use their own foreign funds on the domestic market. This will tap into the very considerable volume of hard currency that is being traded in the informal economy and assist us in meeting demand for essential imports.

On the exchange rate side, we are working to create a proper formal market for hard currencies but this has proved more difficult as the existing systems are so entrenched. Our Banks have not operated in these markets for many decades and will have to adjust to a market driven, open and competitive system that will be much more challenging to manage.

But gradually it is happening and the fundamentals, as I keep on saying, are sound and do not justify present informal sector levels of 25 to 30 to one. We have a balanced trade account – we are now earning enough hard currency to meet all our needs for imports.

We have now liberalised the current account and you can import what you want, all you have to do is find the local currency to buy the foreign currency to do so. The next step is to make sure you do not have to go to a dealer or trader and make private deals. You will eventually be able to go to your bank and ask them to buy foreign currency for you and then credit your own Foreign Currency Accounts.

The Government has clearly pledged that they will never again allow these private accounts to be raided. Even so many do not trust the new authorities, it will take time to rebuild confidence. I have both types of account with my own bank and for the first time I can travel abroad and pay for everything I need with a card. I have been in business for 60 years and have never been able to do that.

But we cannot make real progress until we all believe that these changes are real and will not be reversed. Only then will we start to behave differently and invest in our own future.

ONE of South Africa’s canned fish brands, Lucky Star, says its products are safe for human consumption as they have not been affected by the recall of tinned pilchards supplied by West Point Processors.

Presently, there are fears that some retail outlets and homes in Zimbabwe have poisoned pilchards following a recall of a batch of the brand from a processing plant in South Africa due to a canning deficiency.

A majority of Zimbabwean consumers and retailers buy their groceries and stock in the neighbouring country.

In a statement yesterday, Luck Star said all its brands including the pilchards were not linked to the recall of pilchard products and were safe for consumption.

“Lucky Star have noted the developments around the recall of tinned pilchards produced by West Point Processors.

“The Lucky Star brand of pilchards and all Lucky Star products are in no way linked to the recall of pilchard products and are safe to eat,” it said.

“As a market leader in its category, Lucky Star is committed to producing safe quality products in processing facilities that conform to regulatory requirements and internationally recognised best manufacturing practices.”

Lucky Star said all its products are verified as safe to eat by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specification (NRCS) in South Africa.

West Point Processors, which supplies the fish, announced the recall last Saturday following a “canning deficiency” that may make the product unfit for human consumption.

The recall was only related to the 400g Pilchards in Tomato Sauce products which have the specific batch codes starting with ZST2 and ZSC2.

On Tuesday, Botswana’s government issued a statement warning its citizens to be on the look out for the condemned fish.

It said all pilchard products with the batch number ZST29 and ZSC29 on top of the can were subject to recall.

MDC Bulawayo province proportional representation Member of Parliament, Ms Dorcas Sibanda, has approached the High Court challenging her eviction from a rented house in Paddonhurst suburb over US$1 800 rental arrears, which accumulated over a period of 11 months.

The house from which Ms Sibanda was evicted belongs to former national police spokesperson Mr Wayne Bvudzijena.

Ms Sibanda was served with an eviction order in July 2018 by the Messenger of Court after Bulawayo magistrate Ms Adelaide Mbeure ruled in favour of Mr Bvudzijena under Case Number 2796/18.

Aggrieved by Ms Mbeure’s ruling, Ms Sibanda, through her lawyers Sansole and Senda Legal Practitioners, filed a notice of appeal at the Bulawayo High Court citing Mr Bvudzijena and the Messenger of Court as respondents.

In her grounds of appeal, Ms Sibanda said the lower court erred by finding that she breached the deed of settlement.

She argued that the document did not include clauses allowing Mr Bvudzijena to evict her.

In her ruling, Ms Mbeure ordered Ms Sibanda to pay Mr Bvudzijena US$1 803,73 being rental arrears and operating costs for a period extending from April 2017 to March 2018.

The magistrate also ordered Ms Sibanda to pay her landlord holdover damages of US$14 per day calculated from April 1, 2018, to the date of eviction including his legal costs.

Ms Sibanda was given up to July 2, 2018, to liquidate or settle the full debt failure of which Mr Bvudzijena was entitled to execute the judgment.

The evictions were, however, blocked following Ms Sibanda’s appeal at the High Court.

In her heads of argument, Ms Sibanda said she advanced payment to Mr Bvudzijena as per agreement.

“However, the sums which the first respondent (Mr Bvudzijena) is claiming as remaining arrears were not in existence when the parties entered into a deed of settlement. It is the appellant’s contention that there is no court order which functions in perpetuity,” argued Ms Sibanda’s lawyers.

Zesa Holdings’ automatic hike of 19,02 percent for all tariffs from Sunday is calculated from a formula that ensures continuation of imports and operation of its stations.

Without the formula, set in October last year when the regulator, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA), went through actual costs when setting the initial tariff, consumers would find themselves even longer in the dark each day.

In a statement yesterday, the acting managing director of Zesa’s distribution arm, Engineer Ralph Katsande, said the tariff adjustment was in accordance with the Tariff Award of October 2 last year, which approved the implementation of a monthly tariff indexation formula which takes into account the movement of macro-economic fundamentals such as the exchange rate and inflation.

However, consumer subsidies remain.

The larger subsidy is on the first 50 kilowatt hours each month, the cost of which rise from 41c/kWh to 49c/kWh. The new price means these first 50kWh now cost $24.50.

The next 150kWh rise in price from 91c a unit to $1,08 a unit, giving a total for a month for this band of $162.

The two subsidies are worked on the basis that a careful family can cope on 200kWh in a month and can survive on the basic 50kWh.

Buying the full 200kWh of subsidised electricity will now cost just under $198, including the 6 percent rural levy, up from the $167 of the last five months.

After the subsidy runs out, from 201kWh the tariff rises to $4,61c/kWh from $3,87c/kWh.

Zesa is relying largely on thermal power from Hwange and imports from South Africa and Mozambique.

Kariba South is generating well below capacity because of low water flows into Lake Kariba.

In Zesa’s energy mix, Kariba South power is normally the cheapest. Hwange power is more expensive because it needs to buy coal, and the cost of imported power is based on exchange rates.

Eskom, the South African utility, has announced it needs large tariff rises as the tariffs it has been charging are the main cause of the lack of maintenance and expansion of the South African system.

It was the same problem facing Zesa that gave rise to tariff rises in October last year.

But Zesa is also under orders to slash administrative costs by uniting the five companies into which it was split into a single entity and to upgrade its management.

Government wants to get as much power as possible to ensure uninterrupted power supplies, particularly to the manufacturing, mining and agriculture sectors.

Farmers want stable electricity supplies at this point to irrigate their crops.

Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union president, Mr Wonder Chabikwa, said the electricity tariff increase would need a further review of producer prices for crops produced under irrigation.

“I hope Government will consider further reviewing the producer price of our crops to meet production costs for farming to remain profitable. If we don’t get an increase on producer price, farmers will be operating at a loss. They need to recover their production costs, electricity included,” said Mr Chabikwa.

His comments come on the back of Government’s Wednesday announcement of a review of the maize producer price from $4 000 to $6 958 per tonne.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) past-president Mr Sifelani Jabangwe said the electricity tariff increase should be in line with inflation.

“If the tariff hike is above inflation, it will erode production levels. We do not want a situation whereby industry will not afford to access power due to high costs,” he said.

The formula used has produced an increase below inflation, largely because the interbank exchange rate has been drifting down more slowly than inflation.

Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) chief executive officer, Mr Christopher Mugaga, said the increment was long-overdue considering the sub-optimal charges ZESA was charging.

“We all know the energy challenges haunting us as the private sector. ZESA is undercapitalised and given this fact, the only way for them to get out of this hole is to charge the right price.

“The 19,2 percent increment is way below the monthly inflation figures. As business, we should be honest to each other and desist from the blame game because consultations or no consultations, the tariffs had to go up. We are always in touch with ZESA and ZERA and we know the prevailing situation in the energy sector,” said Mr Mugaga.

Consumers are, as always, worried and for some on fixed incomes it may well mean learning to live with less electricity each month.

A consumer, Ms Stella Jongwe, pointed out that along with other price rises, the new Zesa tariff did require employers to review salaries.

“While we appreciate that things are going up everyday, but having another tariff hike will affect us. We are grappling with the increase of bread and other basic commodities. Our employers should also come on board and review our salaries accordingly. They are no longer sufficient to take us through the whole month,” she said.

Zesa Holdings’ automatic hike of 19,02 percent for all tariffs from Sunday is calculated from a formula that ensures continuation of imports and operation of its stations.

Without the formula, set in October last year when the regulator, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA), went through actual costs when setting the initial tariff, consumers would find themselves even longer in the dark each day.

In a statement yesterday, the acting managing director of Zesa’s distribution arm, Engineer Ralph Katsande, said the tariff adjustment was in accordance with the Tariff Award of October 2 last year, which approved the implementation of a monthly tariff indexation formula which takes into account the movement of macro-economic fundamentals such as the exchange rate and inflation.
However, consumer subsidies remain.

The larger subsidy is on the first 50 kilowatt hours each month, the cost of which rise from 41c/kWh to 49c/kWh. The new price means these first 50kWh now cost $24.50.

The next 150kWh rise in price from 91c a unit to $1,08 a unit, giving a total for a month for this band of $162.

The two subsidies are worked on the basis that a careful family can cope on 200kWh in a month and can survive on the basic 50kWh.

Buying the full 200kWh of subsidised electricity will now cost just under $198, including the 6 percent rural levy, up from the $167 of the last five months.

After the subsidy runs out, from 201kWh the tariff rises to $4,61c/kWh from $3,87c/kWh.

Zesa is relying largely on thermal power from Hwange and imports from South Africa and Mozambique.

Kariba South is generating well below capacity because of low water flows into Lake Kariba.-state media

TWO boys were struck and killed by lightning in Hwange while collecting wild fruits.

Matabeleland North acting police spokesperson Sergeant Namatirai Mashona confirmed the incident which occurred in Kamativi, Gale 4 village, under Chief Pashu on Monday at about 3PM.

She identified the deceased as Ponoza Muleya (8) and Shibbo Muleya (4).

Sgt Mashona said the two were with another juvenile, Vigilant Muleya (6), who was also struck but only sustained minor injuries.-state media

Farai Dziva|MDC Youth Assembly chairperson, Tererai Obey Sithole has said party members and Zimbabweans are prepared to fight for freedom from Zanu PF oppression.

“‪We had a successful Youth Assembly National Executive Meeting at the party HQ.

We deliberated and agreed on a number of issues.

The way forward is clear, the young people are prepared to pay the ultimate price for the purpose of people’s freedom.‬
‪Kicking and screaming, we will send Emmerson Mnangagwa packing,”said Sithole.

By A Correspondent- The Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs has equated President Emmerson Mnangagwa to the Biblical Joshua who will lead Zimbabwe through the final stretch to the ‘Promised Land’.

Speaking at the integrated schools and communities environment programme held at Chemvuu Dam site where First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa was guest of honour, Chadzamira related Mnangagwa’s leadership qualities to those of Joshua.

He said Mnangagwa’s predecessor, Robert Mugabe had started the work but could not complete it thus the need to follow the current President just as the children of Israel followed Joshua after the death of Moses.

“President Mnangagwa is a visionary leader. In Zimbabwe, we haven’t had a President with leadership qualities like his as many economic development programmes are being done.

“We have Zupco buses, the Smart Agriculture programme, Silo shops and other initiatives. All these developments are coming through him with the help of the First Lady in line with Vision 2030,” said Chadzamira.

He praised the first lady’s work saying she was making a positive difference on the lives of people in needy communities.

“We have been praying for a mother of nation who has people at heart. The first lady is inspiring as she is not selective and does not consider political parties when it comes to development. She helped Bopoma Children’s Home in Zaka among others around Masvingo province.

“As Masvingo province, let’s remain united and fight the enemy from the left, right and centre to support our President,” he said.

Speaking to the same event, Zaka Central Member of Parliament Davison Svuure described the first lady as a humble woman of substance.

“We have never had this kind of a mother before. She has time for everyone and she is not selective of who she mixes with,” said Svuure.

Through the integrated schools and community environment, the first lady commissioned Chemvuu Dam and an orchard where 1500 trees were planted in partnership with Environment Management Agency (Ema), Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa), Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) and the Forestry Commission.

Farai Dziva|
Shurugwi South legislator Edmond Mkaratigwa has challenged Reserve Bank Governor John Mangudya to spell out strategies to combat inflation instead of presenting a Monetary Statement full of high sounding words.

“With all due respect l hear wishes, dreams and prayer from our Governor, am expecting an air of authority and perhaps a better level of confidence from his responses. For example, just like me he is parrying and wishing for production to go up.

But my question is are there any mechanisms that he has put in place to stimulate that production that’s what l want to hear.

I want to hear what you are going to do to control inflation because you cannot continue to dream and pray like the rest of us.

As the governor, you can’t just wish that a change will happen as the ordinary people do,” said Mkaratigwa.

MDC president Nelson Chamisa has said Robert Mugabe was right when he said he did not have a successor. ..watch video below :

An illegal fuel dealer was Monday burnt to death at his Chitungwiza home and his wife escaped the explosion.

The deceased was identified as Itai Chingwena and he kept drums of petrol at his house in Seke Unit L.

At the time of the explosion, the couple was asleep and the wife sustained first degree burn wounds.

She is admitted at Chitungwiza Central Hospital.

People who arrived at the scene first suspected that there was a gas leak from the couple’s stove and the fuel drums exacerbated the explosion.

Chitungwiza South MP Maxwell Mavhunga, told Zim Morning Post on Wednesday that the development exposed the lack of preparedness by the municipality’s fire department.

“The rescuers had to use sand to douse the fire because the municipality’s fire department lacks preparedness.

“What got me extremely distressed was that the municipality had no fire tenders and we had to make a very desperate effort to get one all the way from Belvedere,” Mavhunga said.

Mavhunga applauded the Belvedere fire department for their quick response to the situation.

“Harare fire brigade team reacted swiftly and in about 15 minutes they had arrived, but damage had been done since our initial efforts were to get assistance from the local authorities proved futile,” he noted.

Chingwena was buried on Tuesday in Mudzi. Zim Morning Post

DUBAI based Albwardy Investments will assume control of Meikles Hotel by the first of next month following regulatory approval for the sale of the country’s oldest hospitality institution.

A landmark deal that will see the Moxon family through the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed entity Meikles limited eventually ending their ownership and control of Meikles hotel by the 29th of this month has been finalised.

The move will now pave way for a Dubai based group, Albwardy investments to own the hotel after getting all relevant regulatory approvals.

A circular to shareholders for the entity released this Wednesday showed that the transaction worth 20 million united states dollars has been finalised.

According to the circular, the new company is expected to take over hotel assets and employees.

Meikles Hotel is an iconic feature in Harare, which has gracefully evolved from the colonial era into modern-day Zimbabwe.

Investments by the Dubai based firm are being made at a time government is calling on the hotel industry to focus on new projects to solve a projected 2 000 rooms deficit by end of this year.

MASVINGO: The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) here have suspended the use of prisoners as external hired labour after two inmates last week escaped from lawful custody while carrying out menial work outside prison.

The ZPCS occasionally hires out inmates as cheap labour to companies and individuals in farming and construction sectors as a way of raising extra revenue for its operations and to help incarcerated convicts acquire technical skills.

However, according the ZPCS Masvingo provincial spokesperson Assistant Principal Correctional Officer, Stanslous Sanike, two serving inmates last week escaped on separate occasions while performing duties outside the prison, forcing it to ban the operations.

One of the prisoners was serving time at Mutimurefu Prison and the other at Masvingo Prison.The Masvingo inmate has since been recaptured while the other from Mutimurefu is still on the run.

“Two inmates escaped from lawful custody. The one who escaped from Masvingo Prison was recaptured within two hours of his escape while the one who escaped from Mutimurefu is still at large,” Sanike said.

He identified the recaptured escapee as Tinotenda Maturure who was serving time for theft while Regis Simiyawo, who is still at large, escaped while serving prison term for rape.

“We are yet to get the full details around the circumstances leading to their escape, but all escaped while on prison business outside the premises.

“Our job as an organisation is to prevent escapes and in this case we would have failed. We have instituted a board of enquiry to look into the matter and investigations are still going on,”Sanike said adding the ZPCS in Masvingo was no longer allowing prisoners to be contracted for outside work.

The Zimbabwe Army has reportedly snubbed an initiative by the Emmerson Mnangagwa-led government to impose a 2.5% tax on civil servants so as to generate funds to subsidize garrison shops for the uniformed forces.

The revelations were made by the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe in a statement made on Thursday.

Said ARTUZ, “The divisive 2,5% tax imposed on civil servants to feed our military is a sick attempt to set civil servants against each other. We are aware that members of the military have already turned down this scheme and labelled it as unrealistic and divisive. Whoever is pushing this agenda is an enemy of the state determined to destabilise our public service.”

On Wednesday, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said to help ease conditions for the security forces, the government would establish garrison shops to enable service personnel to buy cheaper goods.

Mutsvangwa said all government workers would from next month start contributing 2.5% of their monthly salaries to a state savings fund. Security force members who make the contributions would be able to buy goods cheaply from the new shops.

The minister said consultations were still being held with the public service commission, which employs all government workers.

Speaking alongside Mutsvangwa Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said, “Garrison shops in terms of physical structures already exist in the cantonment areas but there is no subsidy, that is what we want to try to cure with this proposal.”

President Mnangagwa has left Harare for Gaborone, Botswana to attend the Bi-National commission to be held in that country tomorrow.

He was accompanied by Minister and Economic Development Prof Mthuli Ncube, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa as well as Health and Childcare Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo.

The International Monetary Fund says that the Staff Monitored Programme is now off track and that Zimbabwe is experiencing an economic and humanitarian crisis, which requires difficult policy choices and international support.

As was moved on this service this week, the IMF Board forecast a near zero growth for the country this year and said the SMP which had been adopted in May 2019 was now off track as policy implementation has been mixed.

Previous successes with the SMP were achieved under Finance Ministers; Tendai Biti and Patrick Chinamasa who got to successor programme stages. Current Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube adopted the SMP in May 2019 but it was dependent on the implementation of significant reforms and sustainable policies backed by political will.

Over the past year, there have been policy missteps and unfortunately climate-related shocks which led to an estimated contraction of -8.3% (initial estimates at -5.2%).  “Macroeconomic stability remains a challenge: the economy contracted sharply in 2019, amplified by climate shocks that have crippled agriculture and electricity generation; the newly introduced ZWL$ has lost most of its value; inflation is very high; and international reserves are very low,” said the IMF at the conclusion of its 2020 Article IV Consultation with Zimbabwe.

Some reforms had been done, notably a  significant fiscal consolidation that has helped reduce the monetary financing of the deficit, the introduction of the new domestic currency in February 2019, the creation of an interbank FX market, and the restructuring of the command agriculture financing model to a public-private partnership with commercial banks.

However the reforms were done unevenly and this included notable delays and missteps in FX and monetary reforms, which had failed to restore confidence in the new currency.  The IMF said the drought and floods had magnified the impacts of the fiscal retrenchment, leaving more than half of the population food insecure.

With another poor harvest expected, growth is not projected at 0.8% for this year from initial projection of 3.3%, while a further deterioration of the exchange rate is forecast to a close of 24.5x.

GDP in US dollars is projected to be at US$20.56 billion, which is a marginal decline from last year’s US$20.7 billion and $22.94 billion the previous year. In line with RBZ estimates, inflation is forecast at 52% at year end. The current account balance is expected to remain in deficit at -1% of GDP, exports of goods and services are projected to improve 8.7% while imports are set to grow 17.7%.

Challenges highlighted by the IMF

– Delays in re-engagement with international community due to a lack of plan to clear arrears to the World Bank and other multilateral institutions. Without external support the IMF says the country faces a deep humanitarian crisis and a difficult balance of pursuing tight monetary policy to reduce very high inflation and prudent fiscal policy to address the macroeconomic imbalances and build confidence in the currency, while averting a crisis.

– Pervasive deficits remain and would call for non-essential spending cuts  including decisive reforms to agricultural support programs, to allow for social spending needs.

– Continued recourse to collaterised external borrowing on commercial terms which may potentially complicate any future arrears clearance operation.

Recommendations

– The country needs to eliminate deficit monetization which would not only be crucial for fiscal sustainability, but it would also serve as a precondition for the stabilisation of hyper‑inflation and the preservation of the external value of the currency.

– Need to establish credibility in the new currency. This entails pressing forward with the establishment of a functional foreign exchange market and to remove distortions that could lead to rent‑seeking behaviour in the economy.

– Continue with monetary targeting regime to conduct monetary policy given low reserves and hyper‑inflation, limited credibility, and a lack of access to traditional forms of external financing

– Enhancing central bank independence and transparency, including by timely publication of monetary statistics, would be important.

– The central bank needs to conduct asset quality reviews of the banking sector, develop a new framework for managing weak banks, and increase the effectiveness of the AML/CFT framework, including by effectively implementing FAFT standards.

– Address governance and corruption challenges, entrenched vested interests, and enforcement of the rule of law to improve the business climate and support private‑sector‑led inclusive growth.

SOME schools have defied the Government’s directive to revert to the 2015 Zimbabwe School Examination Council (Zimsec) Ordinary Level fees pegged at $15 per subject insisting that parents should pay $190 per subject.

The Government last week reversed an increase of examination fees, saying it wanted to carry out further consultations with stakeholders before releasing a new fees structure.

Zimsec had increased the exam fees to $190 per subject from $15 for Ordinary Level candidates and $351 per subject from $26 for Advanced Level candidates.

Following Government’s intervention, parents and guardians were advised to continue paying $15 and $26 per subject for O-and A-Level candidates respectively.

In separate interviews yesterday, parents said some schools were still demanding $190 per subject. The parents expressed fear that their children might not be able to sit for the June examinations as they do not have the money schools are demanding.  

They said school heads argued that they had not yet received a circular from Zimsec instructing them to revert to the old fees.

“As parents we heard from news on television and also read from newspapers that Government had annulled the new examination fees. We are now confused when schools insist on payment of the new fees. I am now afraid that my child might not be able to register for June O-Level examination because I do not have the money the school is demanding,” said Mr Tichawona Hamadziripi.  

One of the parents who preferred anonymity said he managed to seek clarity from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education which managed to address the issue and was able to register for $15 per subject.  

In an interview yesterday, Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister, Edgar Moyo said schools cannot defy a Government directive. He said school authorities must allow parents to register for exams based on the old fees as announced by Government.

Matabeleland South Provincial Education Director (PED), Mr Lifias Masukume, said schools in his region had since reverted to the examination fees approved in 2015 following a school heads meeting that was held in Bulawayo on Monday to clear the confusion. He said Zimsec also sent a circular to schools yesterday instructing them to allow O-Level candidates to pay $15 per subject.

“On Monday we held a secondary school heads meeting in Bulawayo where we made it clear to the heads that they should revert to the old fees.  

“During the meeting some of the school head raised concerns that they had not yet received formal communication from Zimsec so we also instructed Zimsec to send the circular,” he said.

Matabeleland North PED Mr Jabulani Mpofu said after receiving a press statement from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education yesterday, the school heads were immediately advised to charge $15 per subject hence there were no cases of schools demanding the new fees.

Harare residents have taken Local Government minister July Moyo to court to stop him from allegedly interfering with operations of the local authority.

The residents under the Harare Metropolitan and Residents Forum have taken Moyo to the High Court, accusing him of interference and micromanaging affairs of Harare City Council (HCC) by issuing directives.

Harare Metropolitan and Residents Forum comprises Greater Harare Ratepayers, Residents and Tenants Association Trust, the Water Alliance Trust from Chitungwiza and Manyame Rural Residents Association Trust.

“The interference in the work of the second respondent (HCC) by the first respondent through unlawful directives means that as the residents of the area within the second respondent, we cannot have our views heard or our input implemented by the second respondent who will always be told what to do by the first respondent,” the application by the residents’ lawyers Maunga Maanda and Associates read in part.

“We have therefore decided to step in so that the second respondent is freed from such interference.”

The application, residents said, was meant to have the court nullify a directive from Moyo to Harare City Council to, among other things, dissolve Harare Quarry, City Parking and other loss-making institutions run by Harare and partners.

“You are directed to make sure that companies formed as income-generating ventures, which previously had been sources for council revenue, are dissolved and the activities be carried out under the appropriate programmes,” Moyo’s December letter reads.

“On that note, City Parking, without any investments, has not been bringing in any meaningful revenue to council and Sunshine Holdings seems to be a conduit to siphon out council resources. Furthermore, Harare Quarry (Pvt) Ltd demands payment upfront for material ordered by council, while it is being subsidised for making losses.”

Moyo also ordered Harare to revisit its organogram “as a matter of urgency assigning programme managers and sub-programme managers in line with the adopted programme-based approach”.
But in their application, the residents said the minister should stop the interference and micro-managing of Harare affairs.

“It is abundantly clear that the first respondent has gone down to the shop floor level to give instructions that should be given by departmental heads and not the minister,” the residents noted. Moyo is yet to respond to the application.

A group of ex-civil servants most of whom are war veterans on Wednesday stormed New Government Complex seeking Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube’s audience to discuss their welfare upon realising their former employer was in contravention of their contracts.

In terms of the contracts, ex-uniformed forces are entitled to two thirds of their exit salary every month as benefits.

In case of reviews, the same applies for them. Information gathered also shows the ex-civil servants were irked by the fact that they were not given cushioning allowances in January.

Anti-riot police swiftly intervened with the coordination of Treasury staff who convened a meeting for dialogue – successfully calming the nerves of the disgruntled grouping.

Protracted civil service wage negotiations are yet to be concluded as workers and government fail to reach an agreement.

Rising inflation and a dwindling national purse, in real terms, have compounded the situation.

Analysts contend wage pressure and inflation are the two major forces to widen the budget deficit for 2020.

With gold and tobacco under-performing in 2019 and indications of similar fate in 2020, Ncube has little room to manoeuvre.

In spite of this, Treasury has given concurrence on review of pensions and benefits of war veterans and ex-civil service workers, apparently giving in to growing pressure from the groups.

Treasury chief of communication, Clive Mphambela told Business Times yesterday an agreement had already been reached prior to the visit.

“The reason they had been here was that when civil servants’ salaries were reviewed, they were left out,” Mphambela said.

He confirmed they were concerned about being excluded from cushioning allowances, which they felt entitled to.

He said the ex-civil servants’ benefits were reviewed recently. Sources say they were yet to benefit as the negotiations which gave rise to the new scenario were yet to be concluded.

“It was backdated to January, but they are to get the money on their next pay run. It was already water under the bridge so it was more of an inquiry,” Mphambela said.

Asked whether or not the review in retirees’ benefits will put pressure on the budget, Mphambela said the demands were provided for in the National Budget.

“Whatever they are being paid is provided for in the budget so there is no stretch on the budget,” he said, adding: “what they were simply asking for is a respect for the standing contractual arrangement which is that a retired civil servant should get two thirds commutation of their exit salary and any subsequent reviews on their grade, the pension will be reviewed accordingly.”

By A Correspondent- Zanu PF legislator for Buhera South, Joseph Chinotimba has claimed that some members of Parliament will be drunk when they attend Parliamentary events.

Chinotimba alleged that Binga North legislator Prince Dubeko Sibanda whom he said was late and disruptive to Parliamentary business was drunk like many other legislators.

He said:

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Honourable Member (Dubeko-Sibanda) just came into the House and he is disrupting the Honourable Member who is debating. That is why I said that the Honourable Member is drunk.

All these people who are not here are in the bar. If you want to see it, Mr Speaker, please go there and you will discover that they are drinking beer.

Sibanda who claimed to be a member of an apostolic sect, hence not alcohol-taker, however, described Chinotimba’s allegations as abusive.

By A Correspondent- Harare Mayor, Cllr Hebert Gomba has refuted claims that Harare City Council did not go through the required tender process when they identified companies to do the General revaluation roll.

Posting on Twitter, Gomba said:

Those that thought we gave tenders to companies to do the General revaluation roll without tender, here are your answers, one thing for sure is we are following all the processes and procedures in our way of doing business.

He attached the picture below which is a 2019 invitation to tender for the above tender.

However, @Napoleon Hove responded to the tweet suggesting that there was nepotism.

Hove said:

Are you aware that the company called Global World Properties belongs to a certain Emmanuel Mutambirwa who is the Manager in the Valuations and Estates Department at City of Harare?

27 February 2020

Ptuz will mobilise teachers across union divide in particular and civil servants in general to resist the introduction of 2.5% to feed the army.

For the Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube, let alone Cabinet to agree to tax civil servants 2.5% to set up shops that will sell subsidised commodities to members of the army is the worst lunacy ever seen in human history.
Mthuli Ncube is a human epidemic bent on entrenching poverty and misery among teachers and the earlier we mobilise, organise rather than agonise, the better.

Such thuggery, thievery and robbery of $10.5 million from starvation wages of teachers per month and $18.750 million per month from civil servants is not only callous, vapid, vague and vacuous but monumental injustice that can never be accepted by any civilised nation 40 years after independence.

That the army has guns is inconsequential, and even if it means picking up arms against Cabinet in order to be respected, so be it. We cannot be treated as if we are of no a count.

We want to make it categorically clear, without any equivocation or ambiguity, that taking up arms against any obnoxious issue and injustice is no vice.

It is even a mockery to a real national army that protects the territorial integrity and security of the nation to be treated in such an insultive manner, baffling common sense and logic.

The Cabinet must be reminded that if they are so much interested in uplifting the image of the army, they must pay the army well so that individuals are able to buy from shops of their choice.

Reducing soldiers to ridicule and subsidisation by civil servants, is dangerous, a security threat and compromises civil-military relations. It is clear that economic bandits masquerading as leaders have integrated soldiers to share their plunder and loot as a safety valve that may all the way trigger a revolution from those marginalised, exploited and disarticulated.

In a meeting held on 26 February 2020, Ptuz National Executive members resolved to urgently mobilise teachers to resist the grinding 2.5% tax by any means necessary.

Ptuz NEC also agreed to engage a high gear in clamouring for the restoration of their purchasing power parity.

This call has further been vindicated by unofficial dollarisation of Zimbabwean economy in which rentals, medication, fuel, school fees are paid in US$ or pegged against US$. The only way forward is going forward in advancing the interests of teachers and defending any gains made.

Mthuli Ncube and Cabinet must never underestimate the power of teachers in particular and civil servants in general in their numbers. No amount of brutality and pampering of the army will stop an idea whose time has come. When real winds of discontent blow, no amount of threats can continue to bottle up pent up forces and legitimate demands of a living wage, that resonate with inter-bank rate.

Aluta Continua
Dr Takavafira M. Zhou (PTUZ President)

Jane Mlambo| Controversial rapper, Desmond Chideme better known as Stunner has broken silence on the ongoing battle between his ex-wife Olinda Chapel and Tytan saying he is not moved by the drama as he has disclosed his HIV status after his breakout with the United Kingdom based business woman.

Tytan has dropped a bombshell saying Olinda did not disclose her HIV status when they married.

This resulted in social media users blaming Stunner for Olinda’s HIV positive status but the Godo hitmaker could not have any of it.

Stunner however responded saying he is unmoved by the continued dragging of his name in the Olinda-Tytan drama as his HIV status is on public record.

“Mashark and fans of Stunner. Ndimi mune basa pazvese zvandoita pa social media (mune power rinopfura rangu). My name keeps being dragged mumahumbwe evamwe and for the longest time you and l fought silently, hard and well to be were we are now from that timetime l spiritually fell up to when l found mu happiness. My health status is no secret l have done and posted results years after that ordeal and I’m a frequent blood donor. I’m HIV NEGATIVE. My question to you is toitawo live here or we continue basa redu re music. (It’s been going well).

“The Album Ghetto Chronicles is still doing well and l have more amazing and mature music coming your way. Asia tour with Enzo Ishall this March courtesy of Teemak Promotions #vVvtt#TazoitaCashRecords.”

A parliamentary joint thematic committee fact finding visit to Morton Jaffray water treatment plant in Harare today revealed that the city council is facing a critical shortage of chemicals needed for water treatment due to lack of funding.

Speaking on the sidelines of the tour of the Parliamentary Joint Thematic Committee on Human Rights, Sustainable Development Goals and Gender and Development, Harare’s acting director of Water Works Engineer Mabhena Moyo said that water supply has gone down from about 400 mega litres produced last year to about 160 mega litres per day due to lack of chemicals.

“We have a serious challenge with securing enough chemicals to treat water and that is hampering water supply.

“The plant has a capacity of about 704 mega litres against the 1 200 mega litres needed per day. Out of that, we are only utilising 160 mega litres per day due to lack of chemicals. We import chemicals from various suppliers and sometimes we end up incurring debts.

“The rehabilitation of Morton Jaffray plant is also running on low note as the water tariffs have not been revised.”

-State Media

Farai Dziva|MDC Youth Assembly chairperson, Tererai Obey Sithole has said party members and Zimbabweans are prepared to fight for freedom from Zanu PF oppression.

“‪We had a successful Youth Assembly National Executive Meeting at the party HQ.

We deliberated and agreed on a number of issues.

The way forward is clear, the young people are prepared to pay the ultimate price for the purpose of people’s freedom.‬
‪Kicking and screaming, we will send Emmerson Mnangagwa packing,”said Sithole.

Two artisanal miners are feared dead after a mine shaft they were working in collapsed on Tuesday morning in Shamva.

The accident occurred at Lumbo18 Zuze Syndicate Mine.

National Police Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the accident in a statement.

“Two men Serima Luckson and another one who is yet to be identified are believed to have been trapped and buried in a collapsed mine in Shamva in a mishap that occurred on February 24 at around 0300hrs. The two men were seen entering the mine three hours earlier by a security guard,” Asst Comm Nyathi said.

He said efforts are underway to retrieve the bodies from the 15-metre-deep shaft.

“The shaft which is about 15 meters deep collapsed and the two were trapped. Police and officials from the Ministries of Mines and Mining Development are carrying out efforts to retrieve the bodies of the two.”

Cases of miners being trapped in mine shafts have been on the increase with many of them affecting illegal gold miners. Earlier this month, two illegal miners died and two others were injured, while more than 20 others were trapped underground after a tunnel at Globe and Phoenix Mine in Kwekwe collapsed.

It also emerged that Globe and Phoenix Mine had ceased operations in 2007 following an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which showed the shafts, most of which were right underneath Kwekwe central business district (CBD) were posing danger to the city. Two months ago, about four miners at Esikhoveni Mine in Esigodini, Matabeleland South Province, died after a movable cabin they were working in collapsed and fell into a 62-metre mine shaft.

Earlier last year about twenty-three illegal miners died when interlinked shafts and tunnels at two mines in Battlefields were flooded after the collapse of a dam wall due to heavy rains received in the area. The dam wall reportedly collapsed and flooded shafts at the RioZim-owned Cricket Mine and another one owned by a Mr Baxter.

The two mines have three linked shafts said to be 30 metres deep with 20 metre-wide tunnels. The incident was declared a national disaster.

-State Media

Farai Dziva|
Shurugwi South legislator Edmond Mkaratigwa has challenged Reserve Bank Governor John Mangudya to spell out strategies to combat inflation instead of presenting a Monetary Statement full of high sounding words.

“With all due respect l hear wishes, dreams and prayer from our Governor, am expecting an air of authority and perhaps a better level of confidence from his responses. For example, just like me he is parrying and wishing for production to go up.

But my question is are there any mechanisms that he has put in place to stimulate that production that’s what l want to hear.

I want to hear what you are going to do to control inflation because you cannot continue to dream and pray like the rest of us.

As the governor, you can’t just wish that a change will happen as the ordinary people do,” said Mkaratigwa.

By A Correspondent- The Health Services Board (HSB) has been criticised for blocking nurses at the Midlands Provincial Hospital from implementing the Flexi-hour working schedule at the institution.

Zimbabwe Professional Nurses’ Union (ZPNU) president Robert Chiduku on Wednesday told a local publication that nurses at the Gweru-based hospital are disheartened by HSB’s decision.

He said:

What is disappointing is that the HSB is located at Parirenyatwa Hospital where nurses are working for two days, but they have denied us such an arrangement, saying it is illegal.

As we speak, nurses are now going out of their way to find means of working for more than two days a week. Their salaries do not permit them to report for work for more than two days; that is why we had declared incapacitation.

Chiduku said the decision was discriminatory since nurses at Sally Mugabe Hospital (formerly Harare Central Hospital) and Parirenyatwa Hospital were working for two days per week.

Overview of the 20 Electoral Reform Principles for a Free, Fair and Credible
Election outcome in Zimbabwe

The MDC has identified key principles for electoral reform which should be incorporated into the Alternative Electoral Bill to ensure its effectiveness in delivering a credible election.

Below are the major highlights of the key principles:

1. The Supremacy of the Constitution must be the guiding principle
   in ensuring regular, free, fair and credible Democratic Elections
   depicting separation of powers of the Executive, Judiciary and
   Legislature;
2. An Independent Expert-Based EMB appointed through an open
   and inclusive Parliamentary driven process;
3. Strengthening the Independence of ZEC that is accountable to Parliament characterised by operational and administrative autonomy in the promulgation and operationalisation of electoral laws and the management of its internal affairs;
4. Transparency and accountability of ZEC in the implementation of all electoral processes and the Institutionalisation of permanent Stakeholder Consultative Platforms;
5. Strengthening the principle of Universal odult suffrage and its applicability to all eligible citizens regordless of residence status (Diasporas), physical infirmity, age and, or imprisonment;

6. A fair, transparent and inclusive delimitation process devoid of
political interference and biased persuasions, conducted by a
professional and impartial body with a clearly defined operational
framework;

7. A liberalised, comprehensive, inclusive and continuous voter
education partnership between ZEC, Political Parties, CSOS and
other relevant stakeholders;

8. Voter registration should be characterised by bare minimum
principles of continuity, trust, inclusivity, accuracy, transparency
and automatic registration of first-time voters.

9. An independently auditable Voters Roll that is accurate, verifiable
and readily accessible to all electoral stakeholders in a format
that allows for electoral planning and analysis;

10.A free, fair and even Electoral environment with enforceable
Codes of Conduct, upholding the Citizens’ fundamental Freedoms
and human rights;

11. Gender inclusive electoral processes with increased youth and
women participation and representation;

12. Free Observer Accreditation undertaken by an independent
panel chaired by the EMB, and ensuring full throttle observation
of components of the electoral cycle;

13. Adjudication of Election disputes in a fair and timeous manner,
and strengthening the Complainants right to be heard and to an
appropriate legal remedy;

14.Professional, Impartial and publicly scrutinised Election officials
with no traceable membership to any political party, nor linkage
to any security sector institution;

15.Transparency and auditability of ZEC Procurement systems,
Design, Reproduction, Custody and Distribution of all sensitive
election material;
16. Fairness, Transparency and accessibility in the allocation of Polling Stations, permanently gazetted by law, within a specific radius and reach to the elderly and other voters with physical mobility challenges;

17: Special Voting processes should be transparent, guarantee Universal Suffrage, and must protect the secrecy of the vote of all eligible voters unable to access their polling stations on the day of voting

18: Assisted voting may be sought on account of people with disability, illiteracy and physical infirmities, and must be endorsed on the Voters’ roll and the list availed to Candidates, Polling Agents and Observers to allow for scrutiny;

19.An effective and reliable voter verification system that eliminates electoral fraud, multiple voting, and voter impersonification;

20: A Common, Inclusive, transparent, traceable, and auditable Real-time Results Management and Transmission system of all the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Authority election results.

By A Correspondent- Following the expose by Tytan that his baby mama Olinda Chapel is +HIV, Olinda responded and trashed her former husband’s revelations alleging that he did not know of her status before the duo got married and started living together.

We publish below Olinda’s response:

“I will send you another statement to show you how many times I got admitted in hospital it was more than 50 times and at each point I was being admitted in hospital he was standing right beside me he is the one who would drive me to the hospital he’s the one who would be near me but now he is now using all that as a weapon against me.

There is a time when the people at the hospital said this man is taking advantage. He is the one who used to even tell me to hospital and tell me that it is time to take your medication; he has been holding me a prisoner all this while and using that as a form of psychological abuse. Tytan is a serial cheater. While I am in hospital, I would come back to find out he is now busy sleeping with other women.

You know that someone who is in my shoes right now what he has just done it would destroy them but I will not allow him because that is giving him the power.

Tytan would go and collect medication for me. Tytan would administer that medication for (to) me.

Tytan was very much aware before he had boarded the plane from Zimbabwe and I made sure that I recorded that conversation with him because I knew that this would happen I made sure myself that he knew.

When he left Zimbabwe on the 31st of July I was 5 weeks pregnant after we decided to have another child where did that pregnancy come from? …

This man I wish I could bring my child on the phone… You went to my child to say, your mother has something that she has not been telling.

That is even illegal to do what he did and even with Rumbidzai …

But I am no longer a prisoner now he can f*** off.

I am HIV that is not Corona virus… but I am free of his hold on me. If I wronged him he must go and report to the police,how come I have not been arrested by the police?

He has been using this as a weapon against me the desperation to seek for papers is really shocking.

QUESTION: HE SAID THAT WHEN HE FOUND OUT HE WENT TO THE DOCTOR AND HE WAS GIVEN PEP. AFTER WHAT PERIOD DO YOU GET PEP TO THOSE WHO KNOW ABOUT PEP AFTER WHAT PERIOD ARE YOU MEANTVTO BE GIVEN PEP?

When you left this place I put a picture of pregnancy test I was 5-weeks pregnant who gave me that pregnancy? …”

Below are some of the reactions on social media:

……Tytan ano nyepa PREP ino nwiwa after 72hrs kana wafungira kuti munhu wandarara naye haasi bhoo. And OC haasi munhu ane hutsinye kuti anga spreader chirwere. If she is HIV positive and taking medication for a long time. Atori pa phase yeundectatable which means even aka rara naanyone haabate or kuzadza chirwere. Tytan get your facts right

Shamaine: But pipo use it against her let’s not discriminate it dsnt matter

Thandi Noku Gee: Iye Olinda aiti HiV yamai Tt yapinda mumusoro wani?Seka urema wafa. Hazvisekese asi kana zviri kwanhingi zviri bhoo

Patience Rufaro Mugabe: Titan ndadzoka ku Zim kunguva yegonzo

Samantha Lizzy Haisoswi: Hugs to OC Tytan you’re very wrong you really messed up

Tsitsi Chiripahorn: Tytan was wrong hake iii status haiiti

Chenybabie Zumba: Tytan messed up big time it’s a nooooooooooooooooooooo

Liesl Q Kim Mpofu: Vanhu vanoita saanalucifer

By A Correspondent- Addressing delegates who attended the launch of the “20 Principles For A Reliable Inclusive and Credible Elections In Zimbabwe (PRICE)” policy document, MDC leader Nelson Chamisa said the late Zanu Pf leader and president of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe was right by not appointing a successor.

Said Chamisa:

“I am now beginning to believe Mugabe was right when he said i don’t have successor, he was right. We used to think that he was not right, until we have seen his successor…”

Watch the live video loading below for this and more……

By A Correspondent- Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa Thursday morning launched the party’s policy document titled “20 Principles For Reliable Inclusive and Credible Elections (PRICE).

Watch the live video loading below for this and more…….

By A Correspondent- Police in Bulawayo were on Tuesday out in full force in anticipation of a flash demonstration planned by the opposition, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Most parts of the city were under heavy police guard with security teams in riot gear deployed at strategic points across the city centre while roadblocks were also mounted in various areas.  

This comes after the MDC warned it would embark on spontaneous demonstrations countrywide against the deteriorating economic situation.

Last week Wednesday, while addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Harare, MDC leader Nelson Chamisa said 2020 was a year of action and his party would stage many public protests.

This was after embarking on a tour of provincial structures across the country.

Chamisa reportedly told party members that they would engage in spontaneous demonstrations and would not notify the police of their intentions as required by the law.

In an interview with CITE, MDC Bulawayo Provincial Spokesperson, Swithern Chiworodza, accused the police for concentrating too much on the opposition and not tackling crime.

“The police are suffering from paranoia and are smelling Chamisa and eating Chamisa,” he said referring to the police’s preoccupation of what the MDC was up to.

As for holding a demonstration, the provincial party spokesperson noted it was “yet to come” but would not be done abruptly.

“The party decided to engage in flash floods as authorities abuse the law by wanting notifications. Besides three weeks ago youth in Bulawayo partook in a successful demonstration along Fort Street protesting over a series of shortages and calling for reforms,” he said.

Chiworodza added that at the appropriate time, people would mobilise themselves as they had genuine concerns over how the country’s socio-economic situation was imploding.

“But for now, the police are showing off their poverty in terms of lack of security intelligence. They lack proper intelligence and are fumbling in the dark. Instead of gathering on streets, they must tackle housebreaking in the suburbs,” said the provincial party spokesperson.

Last year in August, anti-riot police were also prepared to thwart any attempts by MDC members who had planned a series of demonstrations across the country.

Water cannons were on standby at the Large City Hall, while an army helicopter hovered above the city, with police officers on horseback and others on foot continuously patrolling the streets.

The MDC provincial offices were also sealed off, with the police barring anyone who attempted to access the building.

At the Tredgold Magistrates Court, where a court case to hear an MDC appeal against the prohibitive order issued by the police was underway, the police maintained a heavy presence.

Some members of the MDC who wanted to offer support for their national chairperson Thabitha Khumalo and five other party members who were arrested in Tshabalala suburb for distributing fliers urging residents to attend their planned demonstration that time were turned away.-Cite

By A Correspondent- Rural teachers are plotting to hold more “surprise protests” in the countryside as they push the Emmerson Mnangagwa-led government to address the current education crisis.

Last week, parents and teachers in Mutoko caught the police off guard after holding a demonstration at Mutoko Centre before handing over a petition to the district schools inspector demanding fair salaries, among other grievances.

Six women were arrested after the protest and charged with staging demonstrations without police clearance.

NewsDay is reliably informed that some teachers and parents are set to hold a similar protest at one of the growth points in Marondera district as they intensify their call for better working conditions.

Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure yesterday confirmed that they were rolling out protests in every district, especially in the rural areas.

“More (protests) are coming, we are covering all education districts. We do not want to alert the State. We are focusing on rural areas for now. The objective is to build community resilience to protect the right to education in the face of rising inequality and climate change,” he said.

ARTUZ is currently mobilising parents to join teachers in the protests. Parents are currently at loggerheads with government following  recent policy discord over examination fees.

“We are setting up an education board in every education district. The board is composed of teachers and parents, such a board will lead advocacy initiatives on the right to education,” said Masaraure.

Teachers have since declared incapacitation with most of them especially in the rural areas not reporting for duty. The teachers have called on government to increase their salaries in the face of hyper-inflation.-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Industry in Matebeleland has demanded transparency in the allocation of foreign currency to companies in the region at a time when Zimbabwe is facing critical shortages of the hard currency.

In their recent meeting in Bulawayo with Industry and Commerce Minister, Sekai Nzenza, captains of industry and commerce called for openness in the disbursement of foreign currency to companies in the region.

“Matabeleland wants to know how much is being allocated to our companies here in Matabeleland,” said Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Matabeleland chapter president, Shepherd Chawira.

“We all agree that our problem could not be foreign currency shortage with over US$6 billion forex earnings every year. It is how we allocate it and use our foreign currency which is our concern.”

Chawira further elaborated: “That is what is generally agreed at some certain level. Let us sort out our exchange rate to kill the arbitrage and foster competitiveness as well.”

Bulawayo City Council economic development officer, Kholisani Moyo, said it was important for the city to get its fair share of foreign currency whenever the central bank does its allocations.

“For us as Bulawayo we would love a situation where if there is foreign currency at national level, we should be told that Bulawayo you have US$2 million coming and we share that US$2 million as an industry,” said Moyo

“I want to assure you that when money comes to Bulawayo for the industry, we have a strength for accountability, we do not have a phobia of not accounting for resources. We are going to account for every cent, whatever we are going to get.”

Moyo said Bulawayo had always accounted for all the funding the city has received in the past which includes ZINARA and devolution funds.

“We are good at accounting. Give the private sector and the Bulawayo industry, they will account and they will produce,” he emphasised.-Cite

Government asks workers to subsidize other workers

Never in the history of labour has an employer asked some of his employees to subsidize other workers but the Zimbabwe government is ironically asking the rest of the civil servants to subsidize those in the security sector.

The government this week announced it will soon introduce subsidized garrison shops for soldiers that will be financed by a 2,5 percent tax which will now be deducted from the remuneration of every government employee.

Nowhere in the world have workers subsidized other workers but in Zimbabwe anything is possible with this illegitimate government.

Government workers that are not party of the garrison grave train should resist this despicable exploitation by an employer who wants to avoid dealing with the economy by introducing piece meal solutions. The other civil servants are also in the same predicament as soldiers.

Their salaries are grossly inadequate to cover basics such as school fees, medical bills, rentals, water charges and all other expenses like the soldier who will enjoy garrison prices.

Why then burden other government employees with equally inadequate salaries to subsidize the soldiers?

This government should put its house in order and face the truth.

The truth of the matter is no tricks and gymnastics will work until this coup government faces the truth of its illegitimacy and the crooked and corrupt lot that has captured the State.

Civil servants should rightfully refuse exploitation by this illegitimate government by refusing these robbery schemes.

If this coup government wants to introduce these garrison stores they should not venture into other civil servants salaries.

Those fallacious schemes should be financed by any other source of financing that does not prejudice other equally affected workers

Hon. Gideon Shoko
Secretary for Labour and Social Security

By A Correspondent- High Court judge Justice Christopher Dube-Banda has handed a lifeline to over 43 prospective nurses whose 2018 recruitment offer letters for admission to the Harare Central Hospital School of Nursing, had been arbitrarily declared invalid and set aside by Health and Child Care minister Obadiah Moyo.

The students had been asked to reapply.

According to prospective nurses, Moyo had given a directive that all the students who had attended the 2017 interview and passed, were supposed to electronically reapply for the training vacancies because the principal tutor, who had offered them places to attend training, had no authority to sign their offer letters.

However, when the matter was taken before Justice Dube-Banda on February 5, 2020, the judge said the prospective nurses’ constitutional rights had been “violated and trammelled to the core” by Moyo’s directive.

Justice Dube-Banda said it was unlawful for the minister “to arbitrarily as it were, declare the 2017 recruitment process invalid and proceed to set it aside, adding what the minister did “is the function of the court and a court alone”.

“The point I am making is that even if respondents (Harare management board, chief executive and Health minister) were aggrieved by their own process, they had no right to act arbitrarily. They had to apply to court to declare the process invalid and ask that it be set aside. The rule of law demands no less. Therefore, to the extent that respondents acted arbitrarily, the purported setting aside of the recruitment process of the applicants (43 nurses) is unlawful and invalid,” Justice Dube-Banda said.

She also said the alleged principal tutor’s move to issue the students with offer letters “does not give any administrative authority the right to declare its own act unlawful and set it aside”.

“If the respondents are of the view that the recruitment of the applicants was as a result of unlawful conduct, they should have made an application to court to declare the process unlawful and have it set aside. Even faced with this application, respondents did not file a counter application, seeking that the recruitment process of the applicants be declared invalid and be set aside. My humble view is that the conduct of the respondents in purporting to arbitrarily nullify and set aside the recruitment process of the applicants and their offer letters is unlawful and invalid.”

“The first, second and third respondents, each performing its designated statutory obligations and responsibilities are hereby directed to enrol applicants at the Harare Central Hospital School of Nursing for the May 2020 intake.”

The judge also ordered Moyo and his co-defendants to pay costs of suit.-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Top prisons official Senior Assistant Commissioner Phineas Chitekuteku was yesterday exposed in court after he tried to defend his boss Commissioner-General Paradzai Zimondi’s involvement in jailed rapist Munyaradzi Kereke’s preferential treatment in prison.

Chitekuteku yesterday testified in the matter of three ZPCS  senior officers, Nobert Chomurenga (58) senior assistant commissioner Cephas Chiparausha (43), chief correctional officer and Tonderai Mutiwaringa (56) an assistant commissioner who are facing criminal abuse of office charges.

Chitekuteku told regional magistrate Amos Mbobo during the trial that during his tenure as the officer commanding  Harare Metropolitan from January 2016 and December 2017, Zimondi visited Chikurubi Maximum Prisons only twice in his company.

But the prison records produced in court by the trio’s lawyer Oscar Gasva  showed that Zimondi visited Chikurubi more than seven times.

The trio in their defence had told the court that Zimondi facilitated the appointment of former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe top official Kereke to supervise a prison project and donor coordination.

They further said Zimondi officially appointed Kereke as the advisor at a function which was attended by Chitekuteku, Chomurenga, Elizabert Banda and one deputy commissioner Chihobvu.

“As far as I know Zimondi visited Chikurubi only twice during my tenure as H.Metro (Harare Metropolitan) commanding officer. He visited there when there was a function to launch a gas project which is being mined there and another project which was being sponsored by Lafarge Cement company,” Chitekuteku said.

Chitekuteku said there was no way Zimondi could visit the Chikurubi Prison without him knowing, but Gasva produced a prison report revealing that Zimondi visited more than seven times.

Chitekuteku then backed down saying he meant visiting the Chikurubi Prison in his presence and would not know how many times he visited.

Gasva then told Chitekuteku that in one of those several visits, that is when Zimondi met Kereke. But Chitekuteku responded saying the visit to Chikurubi was not targeted at Kereke only but meeting all prisoners.

Gasva said when Chitekuteku was promoted from officer commanding H-Metro to the post of Senior Assistant Commissioner, he refused to do a handover takeover with Chomurenga.

Chitekuteku admitted that it was an omission which was not supposed to happen, but insisted that it was due to the location he was posted. Gasva then told Chitekuteku that section 25 of the ZPCS Act prohibits such conduct.

But Chitekuteku responded that sometimes they ignored the Act.

The trial is continuing.

Allegations are that the three accused gave preferential treatment to Kereke in the form of allowing unscheduled visits from his relatives, enjoying extra free time compared to other prisoners and not allowing him to carry out any manual work in terms of set-out procedures.-Newsday

ZANU PF Chinhoyi ward 11 councillor, Voster Mashevedzanwa (41) has been sentenced to four years in jail by Chinhoyi magistrate Tapiwa Banda for assault and resisting arrest.

Mashevedzanwa together with eight accomplices, Desire Mwarukira, Felix Gonesi, Njabulo Ndlovu, Greythan Nyarukokora, Simbarashe Tapfumanei, Kudzanai Samuel, Melusi Ndlovu and Blessing Nyango were facing two counts of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.

They were all found guilty on the two counts.

The magistrate suspended six months of the sentence from each count, leaving the convicts to serve an effective three-year jail term each.

It was the State’s case that on May 19, 2019 Mashevedzanwa and accomplices assaulted Danny Badalani stationed at Chinhoyi Army Intelligence and Joseph Kamuremwa stationed at ZRP Chemagamba during an operation to arrest illegal money dealers at 24-hour Complex.

The court heard that Mashevedzanwa and his accomplices assaulted Kamuremwa while he was lying on the ground.

Kamuremwa sustained injuries and was referred to hospital for treatment.

They were also accused of resisting arrest by police officers on the same day.

Tungamirai Chamutsa of Chamutsa and Associates, who was representing some of the convicts said he had been instructed to appeal against the sentence.

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe and Electricity and Distribution Company (ZETDC) will on March 1, 2020, hike electricity tariffs by 19.02 per cent.

In a statement, “Notice of 2020 Electricity Tariff Indexation” published in State media, the power utility said:

The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) has adjusted the electricity tariffs by 19.02 per cent.

This is in accordance with the Tariff Award of 2 October 2019, which approved the implementation of monthly tariff indexation formula, that takes into account the movement of the macroeconomic fundamentals such as exchange rate and inflation, for changes above 10%. Below are the tariffs which will be applicable effective 1 March 2020.

a) Fixed Monthly Charge – ZWL$ 7.24
b) Energy charge per kWh:

• 1st 50 kWh – ZWL$0.49.
• 51 – 200 kWh – ZWL$1.08
• Balance – ZWL$4.61

For more, see screenshot below:

The revelations by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission that US$7 billion worth of cash and property has been stashed outside the country by the political and business elite have exposed unbridled avarice and corruption–and not sanctions—as being at the core of the national crisis.

Now that they know, the challenge for ZACC is to show that it has teeth by prosecuting the well-heeled political and business elite that is at the centre of the national rot that has spawned the unmitigated suffering in the country.

The ZACC chair Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo has stunningly revealed that former and current senior government officials as well as well-heeledbusiness executives have stashed outside the country cash and properties worth over US$7 billion outside the country.

That the value of the massive bounty stashed outside the country by this criminal network is double the country’s national budget vindicates our position that at the centre of the national crisis is corruption and not this empty rhetoric about the so-called sanctions.

The ZACC revelations expose State captureby a close-knit and well-heeled political and business elite that has bled our country dry.

Now that they know, we await ZACC to show its fangs by arresting and prosecuting this crooked lot that has milked our country and brought thismassive suffering on the people. 

That is why the fight against corruption and sleaze is one of the five fights to be waged by the people in 2020, alongside the key fight against illegitimacy that must lead to the reclamation of the people’s government that Zimbabweans voted for in 2018.

This unmitigated corruption is all the more reason why Zimbabweans will sonorously express themselves in the streets and in the valleys againstthis despicable national decay. 
#ThePeoplesGovernment

Luke Tamborinyoka
Deputy National Spokesperson

A job-seeking expedition ended tragically for Uzumba twins after one of them drowned while crossing a flooded Nyaguwe River in a makeshift canoe.

Twenty-six-year-old Lovemore Gunde’s body was retrieved by fellow villagers after the canoe capsized while crossing the river into Mashonaland Central province where they were going to look for jobs in the gold mines.

Mashonaland East provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza confirmed the incident.

“We urge the public never to attempt crossing a flooded river to save lives. During this rainy season, I urge those travelling to be careful and avoid using makeshift boats to cross water bodies,” he said.

According to police, on February 21, Lovemore visited his twin Luckmore in Zvomuya village in Uzumba so that they proceed to Mhondoro Gold Mine in Shamva to look for work. The twin brothers arrived at Nyaguwe River which was flooded and they failed to cross.

It is reported that they met other travellers, Paradzai Buyani and Ruramai Chimutsa, who had also failed to cross the river. Buyani then called Sure Chandavengerwa, who lives about 500 metres from the river, to assist them across.

Chandavengerwa brought his makeshift canoe and successfully ferried Buyani across. He returned for another trip and ferried Chimutsa and Lovemore, leaving Luckmore behind.

It is reported that while in the middle of the river, the makeshift boat capsized.

Chandavengerwa and Chimutsa swam to safety, leaving Lovemore behind.

The deceased’s body was retrieved the following morning by villagers before a waiver for post-mortem was granted by a Mutawatawa magistrate.

-Newsday

27 February 2020

The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe will mobilise teachers across union divide in particular and civil servants in general to resist the introduction of 2.5% to feed the army.

For the Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube, let alone Cabinet to agree to tax civil servants 2.5% to set up shops that will sell subsidised commodities to members of the army is the worst lunacy ever seen in human history.

Mthuli Ncube is a human epidemic bent on entrenching poverty and misery among teachers and the earlier we mobilise, organise rather than agonise, the better.

Such thuggery, thievery and robbery of $10.5 million from starvation wages of teachers per month and $18.750 million per month from civil servants is not only callous, vapid, vague and vacuous, but monumental injustice that can never be accepted by any civilised nation 40 years after independence.

That the army has guns is inconsequential, and even if it means picking up arms against Cabinet in order to be respected, so be it. We cannot be treated as if we are of no a count.

We want to make it categorically clear, without any equivocation or a ambiguity, that taking up arms against any obnoxious issue and injustice is no vice. It is even a mockery to a real national army that protects the territorial integrity and security of the nation to be treated in such insultive manner, baffling common sense and logic.

The Cabinet must be reminded that if they are so much interested in uplifting the image of the army, they must pay the army well so that individuals are able to buy from shops of their choice.

Reducing soldiers to ridicule and subsidisation by civil servants, is dangerous, a security threat and compromises civil military relations.

It is clear that economic bandits masquerading as leaders have integrated soldiers to share their plunder and loot as a safety valve that may all the way trigger a revolution from those marginalised, exploited and disarticulated.

In a meeting held on 26 February 2020, Ptuz National Executive members resolved to urgently mobilise teachers to resist the grinding 2.5% tax by any means necessary. Ptuz NEC also agreed to engage a high gear in clamouring for restoration of their purchasing power parity.

This call has further been vindicated by unofficial redollarisation of Zimbabwean economy in which rentals, medication, fuel, school fees are paid in US$ or pegged against US$. The only way forward is going forward in advancing the interests of teachers and defending any gains made.

Mthuli Ncube and Cabinet must never underestimate the power of teachers in particular and civil servants in general in their numbers. No amount of brutality and pampering of the army will stop an idea whose time has come.

When real winds of discontent blow, no amount threats can continue to bottle up pent up forces and legitimate demands of a living wage, that resonate with inter-bank rate.

Aluta Continua

Dr Takavafira M. Zhou (Ptuz President)

A prominent Councillor for Zanu-PF in Chinhoyi and nine illegal money-changers have been jailed for an effective 36 months imprisonment for beating up a police officer and a Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) officer, who were on duty to flush out illegal currency dealers in Chinhoyi.

The ten accused persons today (26 February) appeared before magistrate Tendai Banda, who said his judgement was motivated by the need to send a strong signal to would-be-offenders, that assaulting law enforcerers was intolerable.

Chinhoyi Ward 11 councillor, Voster Mashevedzanwa and his accomplices, Desire Mwakurudza (28), Felix Makausi Gonese (28), Njabulo Ndhlovu (25), Peter Kampeni (28), Greythan Nyamukokora (25), Simba Tapfumaneyi (30), Kudzanai Samuel (30), Melusi Ndhlovu (28) and Blessing Nyango (26) will spend the next three years in jail after undergoing a long-protracted trial.

Accused persons were facing two counts.

In count one of assaulting a peace officer, the magistrate slapped the accused to 24 months imprisonment of which six months were suspended on condition of good behaviour.

On the second count, the magistrate also adjudged the same, leaving the total effective 18 months to serve.

The State’s case led by prosecutor Partson Chirambwi was that on 16 May 2019, complainants Joseph Kamuremwa, a duly attested member of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and his colleague Danny Badalani, a soldier, were on a sanctioned operation to arrest illegal forex dealers.

The pair identified themselves by producing their work identification cards to the accused who then bundled Kamuremwa, a peace officer, into a car before speeding off to 24-hour area within the CBD.

Badalani, after sending danger, followed his colleague and upon arrival found Kamuremwa being punched with fists and kicked with booted feet by a mob while lying on the ground.

– Zimbabwe Voice