Own Correspondent|Italian International Footballer, Mario Balotelli Bawuah has called out world leaders for sabotaging the growth of Africa.
The Olympique Marseille striker says world leaders know the reason why Africa continues to be lagging behind in development but are silent because they benefit from it.
In a lengthy write up, he blamed them for stealing African riches for centuries only to frown on Africans when they travel to the western world for greener pastures.
According to Balotelli the western world wouldn’t face any immigration challenges from Africans had they not been stealing African riches.
“How can Africa be poor if it’s the richest continent” – Balotelli blames World Leaders for sabotaging Africa, “How can Africa be poor if it’s the richest continent” – Balotelli blames World Leaders for sabotaging Africa.
To conclude a long piece, the Italian footballer with Ghanaian heritage said Africa is for Africans so the West should stop putting their hand in the continent’s riches.
Independent|A SHAKE-UP is imminent in the Zimbabwe Republic Police, with Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga set to be replaced, as President Emmerson Mnangagwa continues to ring changes within the security sector, in a systematic bid to consolidate his grip on power, while whittling down the influence of his deputy Constantino Chiwenga, the Zimbabwe Independent can report.
The impending changes, government officials said, follow hard on the heels of significant alterations Mnangagwa has instituted within the security sector and government since ascending to power in 2017 through a military coup that toppled former president Robert Mugabe.
Mnangagwa has made some key changes within the military, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and government circles as he seeks to strengthen his grip on power, while emasculating Chiwenga’s influence.
Chiwenga returned from China last week where he was receiving medical treatment, only to find that Mnangagwa had reshuffled cabinet and appointed his loyalists.
Through the reshuffle, Mnangagwa also took into consideration complaints from Zezurus that the President’s Karanga tribe is dominating cabinet and the security sector. He appointed some Zezurus loyal to him, in a move seen as part of an ethnic balancing act.
Sources in the Home Affairs ministry told the Independent this week that Matanga, who was appointed to head the police in the aftermath of the November 2017 putsch, is set to be replaced.
The current Deputy Commissioners-General, Stephen Mutamba, Mind Elliot Ngirandi, Learn Ncube and Lorraine Chipato are being considered for the position while Registrar-General Clemence Masango, a former high-ranking police officer, is also in the running.
Masango, a Mnangagwa loyalist, served as immigration boss after moving from the police, before being appointed RG.Matanga replaced Augustine Chihuri, a perceived Mugabe loyalist who fled the country in the aftermath of the military coup. “Changes are looming in the police. On paper they are meant to improve the efficiency and operations of the police. But in real terms, these changes must be seen in the broader context of the ongoing changes Mnangagwa has been introducing in the security sector as he consolidates his grip, while weakening his ambitious deputy’s influence. The President wants trusted lieutenants in key positions,” a senior government official told the Independent this week.
After narrowly winning last year’s disputed polls, Mnangagwa embarked on a purging spree, removing some influential generals within the military perceived to be loyal to Chiwenga. The initial security changes and reconfiguration in the aftermath of the 2017 coup are widely read as Mnangagwa’s drive to flush out the residual elements of the Mugabe regime within the command structure of the army, while diminishing Chiwenga’s influence.
As reported by this newspaper in February, as a result of the volatile political and military dynamics in the current state of flux, Mnangagwa has swiftly manoeuvred to neutralise Chiwenga, coup proof his regime and consolidate power.
Early this year, Mnangagwa redeployed personnel in the Presidential Guard and Mechanised Brigade, where senior commanders and troops, who played critical roles in the coup, were shifted or removed.
Senior commanders who have since been retired and posted to diplomatic missions include Major-General Anselem Sanyatwe, who was commander of the Presidential Guard; former Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) chief-of-staff (administration) Douglas Nyikayaramba, chief-of-staff responsible for service personnel and logistics, Major-General Martin Chedondo, and Air Vice-Marshal Sheba Shumbayawonda.
Media Statement|Setting Up Of A Privileges Committee to Investigate the Conduct of MDC Members of Parliament Fundamentally and Procedurally flawed.
The purported setting up of a Privileges Committee ostensibly to investigate the conduct of Members of Parliament who did not attend the Budget Presentation on the 14th of November 2019 is fundamentally and procedurally flawed and against the tenets of democracy justice and fairness. Apart from the fact that the Opposition Chief Whip Honourable Prosper Mutseyami officially notified the Speaker of the unavailability of the MDC Members of Parliament, there is no provision or rule which compels backbenchers to attend any particular session.
What we find disconcerting is that on the day that Pupurai Togarepi the ZanuPf Chief Whip moved the motion for the setting up of Privileges Committee the Speaker did not even reflect on the matter but immediately made a Ruling to refer the matter to the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders and he had already shown that this matter had been predetermined when he responded to Honourable Temba Mliswa that the MDC Members of Parliament would be “punished” and in this regard whatever is going to happen is a charade.
There are breaches of the letter and spirit of the Constitution which in its preamble recognizes our diversity and the Founding Values and Principles in Section 3(2) d include the respect of the the Rights of all Political parties. The Speaker of the National Assembly has failed to show leadership and has dismally failed to discharge his responsibilities as an impartial arbiter and presiding officer.
The MDC Members of Parliament articulated the issues but the Speaker went on to unilaterally make a decision without following due process in terms of which it was the Committee of which he is only a chair which was supposed to make the determination.
Furthermore once the Speaker had unilaterally stated that members of the MDC who are supposed to be investigated could not be part of the Committee it equally meant that Members of ZanuPf could equally not be complainant prosecutor judge and jury rolled into one
The Speaker and his fellow ZanuPf Members also failed to appreciate that the discord in Parliament emanating from the disruptive behavior of members who are refusing to accept the chairing of Committees by MDC members who are appointed by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders is a symptom of the bigger political question of legitimacy.
The critical issue is the the MDC members of the Committee dissociated themselves from the drama which violated all the principles of fairness . It’s unfortunate that ZanuPf Members failed to see reason and appreciate that as a country the issue of the illegitimacy of Emmerson Mnangagwa cannot be resolved by viciousness but through sincere and genuine dialogue.
We feel vindicated because when Honourable Chikwinya raised the issue of the Members who are causing pandemonium and mayhem and disrupting Parliament Business the same Speaker did not respond with the same vigour and urgency but instead decided to evade the issue by declaring that the matter was under consideration by the CSRO when the issues are different.
The bottom line is that the Jacob Mudenda has dismally failed the test and will probably go down as the worst Speaker in our country. Autocracy and partisanship can only result in the dysfunctionality of the Institution when all that is required is to take off the political party lenses when Presiding over Parliament and being in charge of its Administration.
Innocent Gonese
MDC Secretary for Justice and Legal Affairs
B-METRO|NOBHEKIMPILO Mbovora, affectionately known as Vivica, has opened up on her dressing which sparked a social media frenzy recently after she turned up in Zodwa Wabantu fashion fora lecture at the National University of Science and Technology (Nust).
Vivica said at the same time of seeking attention which she achieved, part of her goal was to fight for women’s rights.
“Women in my hood are raped and abused by men but in the name of umendo (marriage), they’d rather suffer in pain and I’m here to speak out against such abuse.
“More so there are A-level students who cannot afford to go to varsity due to the economy and I’m hoping that one day when I’m famous, I will be able to be of help,” said Vivica.
Statistics have it that in Zimbabwe, about one in three women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence and about one in four women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.
Clearing the air, Vivica revealed that she was a feminist, determined to stand for all women who are deprived of their rights and she was determined to achieve her dream through modelling.
“Men shouldn’t be affected by how we dress, if it was a man half-naked, it wouldn’t be an issue but just because I am a woman, it becomes an issue, it’s high time the society stops treating women as possessions,” said Vivica, who was dressed in a bum short.
Vivica’s pictures and videos which went viral on social media made her a target of verbal abuse as people in her class called her names.
Some of the comments in the class’ WhatsApp group which B-Metro Entertainment is in possession of read: “We should gang bang on her, she really needs to be transformed.” “She should be f****d by uhlanya (mad person).” “She really needs to be infected with STIs and HIV.”
This did not go down well with the young lady who visited the publication’s offices on Tuesday to clear the air on her dressing and the agenda of fighting for women’s rights.
Vivica said many people had adopted western dressing and wondered why some people would want to prescribe what she should wear.
“Zimbabwe is a multicultural society, choice of dressing should be respected,” she added.
Vivica is a first year student at Nust studying Computer Science, ambitious to invent something new as a girl child. She has made a name for herself by being the first student to wear a transparent highly revealing gear.
“Dressing doesn’t define character,” she said.
One on one with Vivica.
Q: What did your parents say about your outfit?
A: My mum is very open and somehow she has no problem with that.
Q: How about your boyfriend?
A: Well, I have never dated, and I’m not interested in that kind of stuff yet.
Q: Have you ever been to a bar?
A: I don’t take alcohol and I’ve never been into a club, my religion doesn’t approve of such, I am a Seventh Day Adventist.
Efforts to get a comment from Vivica’s mother to hear her side of the story were fruitless as she said, “She can’t talk to the media”.
Minister lures doctors with free ZUPCO bus transport. "ZUPCO buses, transport to and from work has been put in place," health minister Obadiah Moyo says pic.twitter.com/M4zIv2npKv
File Picture of Villagers matching to attend a traditional court hearing
A Gokwe man was fined three cows after he bedded his stepmother before confessing that he had bedded half the married women in his area due to his insatiable se_xual appetite.
Albert Musokeri (25) of Gokwe under Chief Chireya slept with his father’s second wife Ketina Musokeri (35) who is 10 years his senior.
A source close to the family said Albert and his stepmother had an affair close to two years behind Albert’s father, Joshua Musokeri. “Albert and his stepmother have been seeing each other for close to two years now but Albert’s father did not know about it.
“At some point he started suspecting that his wife was having an extra marital relationship with someone but not knowing it was his own son. He then hatched a plan to follow Ketina everywhere she went,” said the source.
On the fateful day, Musokeri followed his wife who had gone to fetch water but did not find her. He traced her shoeprint and caught the pair red handed having se_x in the bush. He then reported the awkward incident to the village head who forwarded the matter to Chief Chireya.
Chief Chireya confirmed presiding over the case.
“I can confirm that l presided over a case where a man slept with his father’s wife. I ordered the man to pay three cows, and the woman to pay three goats,” said Chief Chireya.
“The young man also confessed that he had slept with over half of the married women from his area because his father had given him juju which resulted in him having a huge se_xual appetite,” added Chief Chireya.
A protester captured leading a lion against police dogs in Iraqi protests.
Paul Nyathi|Iraqi citizens have been launching a series of relentless protests against the ruling political elite since 1 October 2019.
They are accused of systemic corruption and inability to rule the country.
Police recently threatened the protesters with trained dogs. However, what stunned people is one of the protesters who brought out a lion to the protests as a way to defend himself from the angry police dogs.
BBC reports that at least 13 people have been killed in in a fresh wave of protests in the southern city of Nasiriya on Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, the violent protests are still on going as the police keep clashing with demonstrators.
Correspondent|Officials in Namibia say preliminary results from this week’s presidential election will be reported instead on Saturday because of delays in counting results that “could not be finalized as expected.”
“The ECN experienced unexpected connectivity challenges in certain constituencies relating to the transmission of election results,” said the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) in a statement.
Those affected came from parts of Windhoek and six other regions, with an analysis from The Namibian suggesting results may indicate loss of support for incumbent President Hage Geingob in urban areas.
Yet Geingob was holding a strong lead late Friday with roughly 80 percent of the southern African nation’s constituencies counted. Geingob and his ruling South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) party held 66.4 percent of the vote. His strongest challenger, independent Panduleni Itula, had 15.7 percent of votes cast while the third-place candidate, Bernardus Swartbooi of the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) was at 5.2 percent.
Geingob has pressed advantage as the candidate to whom SWAPO remains loyal, while fending off concerns over Namibia’s struggling economy and a major corruption scandal that blew up days before the election. Itula, a dentist and longtime SWAPO member, emerged from internal party clashes as a challenger with a progressive, youth-oriented vision for Namibia’s stagnant economy.
The incumbent received 92.5 percent of the vote during 2014 elections, but Namibians are turning to alternatives in this election, which featured 11 candidates. Most of them have attracted less than 2 percent of the tally each.
The process has been mostly peaceful, with a number of African Union and Southern African Development Community observers on hand.
The SADC, which said it sent 53 observers from eight member nations led by Zimbabwe’s Oppah Muchinguri, said during a press conference Friday that at least one demonstration was shut down by police using tear gas.
Harare, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe’s food security situation poses a potential threat to national security and can cause civil unrest and general insecurity in the country, a top United Nations envoy warned.
The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, who was in the troubled Southern African country from November 18-28, said the food security situation could potentially worsen by the end of the year.
In her preliminary findings, she said the international community should scale up humanitarian aid to eliminate hunger and malnutrition in the country.
“Finally, let me echo the words of a government official I met in Harare: ‘food security is national security’. Never has this been truer than in today’s Zimbabwe. Food insecurity and land conflict increase the risks of civil unrest and insecurity,” Elver said in her report.
“The international community must scale up its humanitarian assistance and provide for most of the resources needed to eliminate hunger and malnutrition in times of food emergency.
“I urgently call on the government and the international community to come together to put an end to this spiralling crisis before it morphs into a full-blown social unrest.”
She said early warning mechanisms to monitor the economic and social rights of the citizens should be put in place to prevent further suffering.
Elver said the food security situation in urban areas was a cause for concern, saying the currency crisis, a heavy tax system, unpredictable inflation rates, high levels of unemployment and low wages had worsened the food crisis affecting urban households.
Zimbabwe adopted the use of the US dollar in 2009 after hyperinflation drastically reduced the value of the local currency.
But “dollarising” the economy hit a major bump in 2015 when greenbacks started vanishing from the formal banking system.
In a bid to end the US dollar shortage, Zimbabwe’s central bank introduced bond notes – a form of surrogate currency – that was backed by a $200m bond facility from the Africa Export-Import Bank.
But black market speculation quickly eroded the bond note’s value, triggering a shortage that the central bank tried to offset by creating electronic notes.
Then this past February, bond notes – both physical and electronic – were merged into the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) dollar, also known as the Zimdollar.
In June, the government moved to defend the Zimdollar against speculators by banning all foreign currencies in local transactions. But the effort has largely failed after the Zimdollar quickly fell prey to black market speculation that sent its value plummeting.
The Zimbabwe dollar is currently trading at 1:20 against the US dollar on the black market.
“As economic inequalities are on the rise, the once thriving middle-class of Zimbabwe is severely impacted by the crisis. Civil servants, doctors, nurses, and teachers are no longer able to feed their families without alternative sources of livelihood,” she said.
The situation, according to Elver, is so bad in the urban areas that several people are surviving on just one meal.
“Many of the people I spoke to in Harare, told me that they could only afford one meal a day,” she said.
“I witnessed the consequences of the disastrous economic crisis on the streets of Harare, with people spending long hours queuing for fuel, as well in front of banks to get cash, and in shops to obtain cooking gas or water.”
Elver said several Zimbabweans she spoke to in Harare, the capital of the Southern African country, told her while food was readily available in supermarkets, inflation of up to 490 percent had made them “food insecure”.
According to Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC), urban food insecurity is now affecting 2.2 million people.
She also raised concern that some of the country’s citizens were living under what she described as inhumane conditions.
Scores of people who escaped from poor rural areas and moved to the cities in search of job opportunities to improve their access to sufficient and adequate food and other public services had ended up living in informal settlements that are multiplying in the suburbs of Harare, the report said.
Among other things, spreadable diseases are seen increasing because of the use of unsafe and inefficient water and open sewage.
“I visited one of the settlements located south of Harare. Approximately 5,000 people were living in inhuman conditions without any infrastructure, without jobs, without hope, and help,” said Elver.
“One resident of Chikos, told me that ‘I do not think they even know we exist’. Most of the public schools in Harare are no longer able to continue their school feeding programmes. At best, some schools are able to offer one meal a week per classroom.”
The report paints a desperately gloomy picture of the humanitarian situation in the country.
“The most vulnerable segments of society, including the elderly, children and women, are forced to rely upon coping mechanisms such as, school dropout, early marriage, and sex trade to obtain food, behavioural patterns that often are accompanied by domestic violence,” she said.
“This kind of struggle for subsistence affects their physical wellbeing and self-respect. It creates behaviour and conditions that violate their most fundamental human rights.”
A total of 60 percent of Zimbabwe’s 14 million population is considered food-insecure and living in a household that is unable to obtain enough food to meet basic needs.
By the end of this year, the food security situation is expected to “worsen” with an estimated eight million people requiring urgent action to reduce food consumptions gaps and save livelihoods.
According to recent data released by the ZimVAC, 5.5 million people, 38 percent of the rural population, is currently facing food insecurity.
Periodic droughts, poor rains and erratic weather patterns have been blamed on last season’s poor agricultural production.
The number of food-insecure people is expected to almost double in early 2020 compared with the same period in the prior year. The peasant community, which produces 70 percent of staple foods (maize, millet and groundnuts), is particularly vulnerable.
It has access to less than 5 percent of irrigation facilities, and is struggling to access productive resources due to cash shortages, Elver said.
She added widespread poverty, limited employment opportunities, liquidity challenges, pervasive corruption, economic instability, mismanagement of funds, natural disasters, recurrent droughts, and economic sanctions and conditionalities by the US and the EU all contributed to Zimbabwe’s current crisis.
Independent|FORMER Finance minister and Harare East legislator Tendai Biti says Zimbabwe needs to reintroduce the multi-currency regime, seek debt cancellation and liberalise the fuel industry, among other interventions, to get the economy ticking again.
In an interview, Biti also said a political solution is key to addressing Zimbabwe’s economic crisis and resolving the crisis of legitimacy emanating from last year’s general elections.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa beat MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa by a wafer thin margin although the MDC insists the elections were rigged.
“We can easily do that (solve the legitimacy crisis) through dialogue between Nelson Chamisa and Mr Mnangagwa,” Biti said.“We need to establish a national transition mechanism as a matter of urgency.”
Biti also said government should repeal Statutory Instrument 142/19 with immediate effect, and the government should go back to the regime of multiple currency even with the local currency working as a medium of exchange and the exchange rate will find equilibrium.
“We need to restore the multiple currency in particular the US dollar and the rand as the legitimate legal tender in Zimbabwe,” he said.The government, Biti said, should amend the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act to stop the RBZ from printing money as the solution to cash crisis.
“We need to protect the economy against the excesses and the rock behaviour of the central bank” Biti said.“We need to ban the export surrender requirements as a matter of urgency to avoid government taking people’s money in the name of export surrender requirements.
“We also need to liberalise the fuel market so that anyone with free funds should be able to import fuel to ensure availability of fuel at a cheap and affordable price.”
Biti said the government should ring-fence pensions and savings in US dollar terms to avoid devaluation of pensions and savings.The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, he said, should be allowed to levy its charges in US dollars. This will enable the parastatal to import the required 400 megawatts of electricity.
Biti believes the government should get rid of command agriculture and introduce incentives to the farming sector.
“Every farmer must have a title deed, the banking sector must mobilise resources to finance agriculture,” Biti said.The MDC vice-president said government should also weed out “the more than 400 thousand ghost workers” from the civil service to reduce the government wage bill.
On the 2% tax on electronic transfers, Biti said it must be lifted with immediate effect while reducing corporate tax. He said government should introduce flat tax across the board of 15% provided the country adopts the use of multi-currency as legitimate legal tender in Zimbabwe.
“We have to invest in our infrastructure and this needs about US$20 billion, but to do this we should first solve the current Zimbabwe debt structure,” Biti said.
“We have to negotiate with the World Bank with the international community and this requires a government that is respected by the international community but Zanu is not respected.”
Biti said the government should find ways to negotiate with the US and the Paris Club of creditors before seeking debt cancellation on the quid pro quo for sound economic behaviour. “Zimbabwe’s debt should be cancelled,” he said.
Samson Murombo, a lieutenant colonel in the Presidential Guard (PG), who was the commanding officer at State House, was last week transferred ‘‘to the pool’’ at the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA)’s headquarters, now known as Josiah Magama Barracks following the shooting that took place at the State House.
Speaking to the Daily News, unnamed sources said that there was no way Murombo could have retained his position considering that he previously clashed with First Lady, Auxillia Mnangagwa who accused him of spying on her.
One of the sources said:
“He (Murombo) was indeed the commander (when last week’s shooting incident happened) and should have been more vigilant … but he slept on the job by keeping a mentally ill person to guard State House.”
“In the process, he compromised the security of the president and as such he has had to be removed from there.”
Murombo has been replaced by Major Regis Mangezi, a few days after former Cabinet minister and respected war veteran, Tshinga Dube, had questioned why the government had up to this day not established who was behind the Bulawayo assassination attempt.
Mnangagwa’s security concerns have been growing with reports that factionalism was taking shape in the ruling party.
Zimbabwe’s representatives in the CAF Champions League FC Platinum suffered a 2-1 defeat in their opening Group B game against Al Hilal in Omdurman, Sudan on Friday night.
The hosts set an early and took the game to the Platinum Boys, forcing two successive saves from Francis Tizayi. They also got a couple of corner-kicks in the opening moments.
FC Platinum, on the other end, never created a chance until the 17th minute when Gift Mbweti sent his effort wide. The Zimbabwe champions came back again a few moments later with Devon Chafa and Never Tigere, but they both missed the target.
Despite making a couple of goal attempts, Al Hilal continued to hold the edge and broke the deadlock in the 26th minute through Mohamed Musa Eldai.
The Sudanese team had the ball in the back of the net again five minutes later but, fortunately for FC Platinum, it was ruled out for an offside.
The away side tried to pick up the momentum in the second half but failed to break beyond the last line. They, however, relied on shooting from a range and Kelvin Madzongwe got the team’s first strike on target just moments after the hour.
Eldai got his second of the day on the 70th minute to give the hosts a two-goal cushion.
FC Platinum fought back and pulled one back through Never Tigere who converted from a free-kick ten minutes from time. However, the goal was a mare consolation as it ended 2-1 in favour of Al Hilal.
In another Group B encounter also played on Friday, Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia edged a ten-man Egyptian side, Al Ahly 1-0 with Yassine Chikhaoui scoring the solitary goal in the second half.
CAF Champions League – Group B Results: Al Hilal 2-1 FC Platinum Etoile du Sahel 1-0 Al Ahly
RESURGENT Bulawayo giants Highlanders will wrestle for the Chibuku Super Cup against Ngezi Platinum Stars at Barbourfields Stadium this afternoon hoping to land their first major silverware in six years.
The Chibuku Super Cup, a tournament that headlined yesteryear football calendars, was reintroduced in 2014, and Highlanders will be aiming to become the first traditional football giant to lift the latest version of the competition.
FC Platinum won the 2014 edition, Harare City were crowned champions in 2015 and 2017, with Ngezi Platinum winning the 2016 edition and Triangle United claiming the 2018 crown.
This year’s edition is being sponsored to the tune of $1.5 million by Delta Beverages and winners of today’s final will pocket $225 000 and earn the right to represent Zimbabwe in the Caf Confederation Cup. The losers will get $150 000.
Highlanders and Ngezi Platinum are facing each other for the second time inside three weeks at the same venue where they drew 1-1 in a league match.
Ngezi Platinum coach Rodwell Dhlakama stoked the flames ahead of today’s encounter by saying they would have beaten Bosso in the league match had they not been awarded a questionable penalty that forced a draw.
Dhlakama, a former Young Warriors, Monomotapa and Chapungu coach, told our Harare Bureau that they are coming to finish off Highlanders in their backyard.
“It’s unfortunate that there are some people who have the kind of thinking that it will be one way. But we fought all the way and got here, which means we also want to win it.
“Obviously, we are aware that we are playing away from home. The environment gives the home team an edge, largely because of the supporters who make up the 12th man,” said Dhlakama.
“That is why we have stressed the importance of psychological preparedness. Of course, you will never get to a point where you say you are 100 percent satisfied, but I believe our guys will be up to the task.
“I am sure they already know what to expect. If you remember earlier this month, we played Highlanders at Barbourfields in a league match and I should say they were very lucky to get a point.
“We had the upper hand and they got a penalty, which I thought wasn’t warranted for the equaliser. I am not a prophet, but I prepare my team well,” he said.
Ngezi Platinum will miss the injured pair of Nielson Ketala and Tichaona Mabvura.
Their hopes will be pinned on goalkeeper Nelson Chadya, experienced defenders Qadr Amini and Polite Moyo, former Ajax Cape Town defensive midfielder Gerald Takwara, Frank Makarati, attackers James Nguluve and Marlon Mushonga.
They also have Donald Teguru, arguably one of their best performers this season.
Bosso, whose preparations for the final were boosted by goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda and striker Prince Dube being voted among the country’s soccer stars, will hope the pair continue with their fine form in the tournament. Sibanda is yet to concede in the tournament, while Dube has scored at every stage.
Sibanda kept a clean sheet in the opening round where they beat Dynamos 1-0, as well as the 3-0 quarter-finals victory over FC Platinum and the 1-0 semi-finals win against ZPC Kariba.
Dube scored in all those matches, with Tinashe Makanda and Denzel Khumalo also on target against FC Platinum.
The quartet as well as defenders Peter Muduhwa, McClive Phiri, Andrew Mbeba and Mbongeni Ndlovu, defensive linkman Nqobizitha Masuku and central midfielder Brian Banda are expected to power Bosso to victory.
“I believe in a good result, but I respect the opponent because it’s a good side. I believe it will be the small details that will matter on Saturday.
“It will not be an easy game, but I believe in a good result. We’re ready for the final,” said Highlanders coach Hendrik Pieter de Jongh.
South African businessman Patrice Motsepe was successful in his bid to prevent a Botswana weekly from publishing negative stories about him relating to a fierce internal political battle in that country.
Almost eight months after it published an article alleging that businessman Patrice Motsepe smuggled R22-million to pay for the political campaign for a rival to Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, Botswana’s Sunday Standard has been muzzled by a court.
In a judgment that was made public on Friday morning, Justice Gabriel Komboni has “interdicted and restrained” the Sunday Standard from “publishing and/or disseminating directly and indirectly false and/or defamatory allegations” about Motsepe.
It also has to “remove any and all false and/or defamatory statements or references relating to or regarding [Motsepe]” published on its website and any other social media platform.
Justice Komboni has also ordered the newspaper to pay the cost of Motsepe’s application, which included two counsel, and he has given Motsepe 30 days to move his defamation application against the paper. Motsepe has claimed damaged of P5-million – or R6.73 million – against Sunday Standard after it published a story stating that Motsepe smuggled money to fund the party presidential campaign of former foreign minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi.
The story was published on 1 April this year, and retracted in the paper the following week, but the allegations were repeated in a story on 10 June without “engaging” Motsepe. The stories were published under a Staff Reporter byline. Justice Komboni agreed with Motsepe’s argument that the paper did this on purpose after he issued his summons for damages. “In my view, the conduct of the Respondent of retracting and then republishing a retracted publication which is deemed defamatory grounds an apprehension of irreparable harm on the part of [Motsepe]. I think that there is a basis for [Motsepe] to apprehend that further defamatory publications may be made by [Sunday Standard].”
Motsepe argued that if the publication of these alleged defamatory statements continued, then “his reputation will continue to suffer and his businesses will be adversely affected”, according to the judgment. Motsepe said “his good name and reputation are important to him and his business partners and other parties that he interacts with and [Sunday Standard] have been made aware of this”. The paper did not file any affidavit to support the facts in its story but said in meetings outside the court that it had this evidence.
Justice Komboni, however, said allegations of a lone person smuggling R22-million “to fund political campaigns in this country [Botswana] is indeed serious. The same allegation shows the perpetrator as someone who breaks the law, possibly several laws of his own country and those of this country. I will say no more”.
Motsepe’s sister, businesswoman Bridgette Motsepe-Radebe, has also threatened the paper with a lawsuit following a series of stories alleging her involvement in a campaign to oust Masisi. Motsepe-Radebe is close to former president Ian Khama, who left the governing Botswana Democratic Party earlier this year to throw his weight behind a new opposition party, the Botswana Patriotic Front, ahead of last month’s elections. The party, however, did not perform as well as Khama might have hoped.
Motsepe-Radebe has been fighting her own battles against negative publicity after her name recently was mentioned in a court case involving an intelligence agent nicknamed “Butterfly”, in which it was alleged that Motsepe-Radebe helped the agent to move billions of dollars into Absa and Nedbank accounts in South Africa. The banks, however, denied that these accounts existed. The Black Business Council (BBC) this week also issued a statement denying that it was pushing for Motsepe-Radebe to resign from the council. On 29 August the Sunday Standard published a story claiming that the BBC requested Motsepe-Radebe to step down “or face a motion of no confidence that will see her dismissed from the association and its 63 business affiliates”. BBC president Sandile Zungu said: “The BBC would like to set the record straight and confirm that Mrs Motsepe-Radebe is in good standing and an office-bearer of the BBC. We would like to reiterate our vote of confidence in Mrs Motsepe-Radebe.”
Sunday Standard editor Outsa Mokone told Daily Maverick the paper will appeal. “Our lawyers have advised us to appeal the judgement in the interest of press freedom in Botswana,” he said in response to a Whatsapp enquiry.
State Media|Exporters will now have to pay Zesa in foreign currency, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) ordered yesterday in a statutory instrument, and Zesa can only use that foreign currency to pay for electricity imports, spare parts or critical equipment, foreign loan repayments and foeign insurance premiums.
Even exporters that export less than 80 percent of their output will still have to pay 35 percent of their electricity bills in foreign currency, although they can pay the whole lot in forex if they want to and the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority and the RBZ have to approve.
Zesa has to keep all these payments in a special foreign currency account, which is strictly limited and used for the four approved purposes, and must in any case have written approval from the RBZ to spend even one US dollar.
The new regulations are contained in Statutory Instrument 249 of 2019, titled Exchange Control (Payment for Electricity and Related Services in Foreign Currency by Exporters and Partial Exporters) Order, 2019.
SI249 was made in terms of the Exchange Control Regulations, 1996, and had the approval of the Minister of Finance and Economic Development.
While the statutory instrument mentions US dollar and Euros by name it says any other foreign currency can be used. All forex payments must be made from the nostro account holding retained export earnings or from a foreign currency account containing free funds. This, in effect, bars companies from using black market funds.
The combined nostro accounts of all exporters have reached very high levels as account holders are reluctant to sell on the interbank market for as long as possible but this statutory instrument should help to ensure more of those retained earnings are used as well as helping Zesa access the foreign currency it needs for legitimate approved payments.
While partial exporters must pay 35 percent of their bills in forex, they can pay the whole bill in forex, but in that case there must be a contract or memorandum of agreement and that has to be submitted to Zera and the RBZ prior to implementation. The same need for advance approval of a contract is required where a customer wants to pay in forex in advance.
The regulations are valid for six months from yesterday unless earlier renewed for another period not exceeding six months.
Paul Nyathi|A popular Holy Bible section warns against speaking to other people’s situations before attending to your own similar issues that may even be of a higher magnitude.
Matthew Chapter 7 Verses 3 to 5 narrates:
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
The above teaching may very well need to be brought to the attention of President Emmerson Mnangagwa who has rushed to condemn attacks on civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo while he fails to say a word when his own soldiers and police brutalise innocent citizens.
Speaking as the SADC Chairman on Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, Mnangagwa is quoted as having expressed “deep concern and strongly condemns” the attacks on civilians and the resultant violent demonstrations against United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) peacekeepers.
“The attacks in Beni have resulted in the death of approximately 80 people, as well as the injury and displacement of many people,” he said.
Shockingly when similar attacks on citizens hit his own country, Mnangagwa is always accusing the western countries for supporting the protests that come as s result of how own failures.
In January this year at least 12 civilians died and hundreds more were injured following a joint police and military crackdown on citizens.
“We regret the loss of life but we needed to protect property as well as other citizens not involved in the protests,” was all that Mnangagwa could say on his own citizens.
“We have told the western countries that they cannot turn around and raise concerns when they are the ones sponsoring the violence,” the privately-owned NewsDay newspaper quoted Mnangagwa as saying.
When he took over from Robert Mugabe in 2017, Mnangagwa pledged to revive the moribund economy and attract foreign investment by ending the country’s international isolation due to its history of violence on citizens.
Speaking on the violence that has erupted in the DRC, Mnangagwa called on the government there to protect citizens something which his own government has failed to uphold back home.
“SADC calls upon the Government of the DRC to take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of civilians, and end the violence perpetrated on peacekeepers,” he said.
He said SADC reaffirms its continued commitment to support the DRC to restore peace and tranquillity and enable the country to return to political normalcy
A Grade 7 pupil was killed, while at least two others and two adults were critically injured after being hit by a speeding Mercedes-Benz at Shawasha Grounds in Mbare yesterday morning.
The deceased, who was identified as Kudakwashe Mabhande, was pushing a cart and was dragged under the wheels of the Benz.
He had just passed his Grade 7 examinations with eight units.
When The Herald arrived at the scene, his father was seated a few metres away from his son’s body and in shock.
After hitting the boy, the car swerved to avoid a parked lorry, but hit the driver standing by the vehicle, before swinging to the other side of the road and ploughing into a group of vendors, injuring at least two children and one more adult.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, giving details, said the Benz, which was being driven by a woman, was heading towards the central business district and had just passed Rufaro Stadium when the multiple accidents occurred.
Asst Comm Nyathi said the driver could have accelerated accidentally instead of the braking, losing control of the vehicle, resulting in it running over several people, including vendors who were selling their wares by the roadside.
One of the witnesses, Mr Tendai Linde, said: “I was parked on the side of the road and when I was about to start off , I checked my rear view mirror and noticed that there was a speeding car coming behind me.
“So I decided to stay put and let it pass. When I was about to check my mirror again, I heard a loud bang at the back of my car. I then saw a boy who had been pushing a cart behind me being dragged for a few metres under the speeding car. When we got to him, he was already dead,” he said.
Mr Linde said the driver then swerved to avoid hitting a lorry that was parked on the side of the road and hit the driver instead.
The driver was tossed into the air and he fell head first on to the tarmac.State media
President Mnangagwa yesterday capped 2 897 graduates at Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) and installed Professor Paul Henry Gundani as the institution’s substantive Vice Chancellor.
A distinguished academic, Prof Gundani took over from Professor Francis Mugabe who had been acting since the death of founding Vice Chancellor Professor Primrose Kurasha in 2017.
At a colourful ceremony held in the capital, President Mnangagwa conferred 1 598 undergraduate degrees, 280 Masters degrees and 15 Doctor of Philosophy degrees.
Women constituted the bulk of graduates at 1 630 which was about 56,2 percent against 1 267 men who constituted 43,8 percent.
The Faculty of Education had the highest number of graduates at 1 432, which constituted about 49,4 percent.
Notable graduates included South Sudanese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Deng Boutros Thok who was conferred with a Doctor of Philosophy in Conflict Management and Econet Wireless chief executive Mr Douglas Mboweni who was conferred with a Doctor of Philosophy in Business Leadership.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira said it was high time the country’s education system responded to the needs of industry.
“Remember that as the Second Republic, we are involved in constructing a house. We are involved in building a nation, we are not superficial, we are transforming, we walk the talk,”said Prof Murwira.
“Our problem as a country has never been lack of intelligent people.
To the contrary, our problem has been using systems that are not designed to deliver the output that we desire as a nation, our problem has been a configuration problem, so we have fixed it, move with us.”State media
In a drama-filled incident a 28-year-old man was beaten up before he was arrested for stealing biltong from a retail shop in the city centre and stuffing it in his underwear.
The incident which attracted the attention of the shoppers happened at around 4pm last week on Friday at OK Jason Moyo Street.
Eugen Moyo (24) who was in the company of his two friends were buying alcohol at the supermarket.
While they were in the process of buying Moyo snatched a packet of biltong and stuffed it in his underwear.
Unbeknown to him he was captured on closed circuit television (CCTV). When he was making his way out of the shop a security guard arrested him.
“I was alerted by my boss in the control room that Moyo had taken a packet with two biltong pieces.
We searched him and found the pack in his underwear,” said a security officer who requested anonymity.
The security guard went on to say Moyo tried to flee but onlookers effected a citizen’s arrest and pummelled him for his misdemeanour.
“They beat him and tore his shirt and three-quarter short. We took him to Bulawayo Central Police Station where a docket of theft was opened,” he said.
He appeared on Monday at Bulawayo magistrates’ court before magistrate Jeckonia Ncube facing a theft charge.B-Metro
RESURGENT Bulawayo giants Highlanders will wrestle for the Chibuku Super Cup against Ngezi Platinum Stars at Barbourfields Stadium today hoping to land their first major silverware in six years.
The Chibuku Super Cup, a tournament that headlined yesteryear football calendars, was reintroduced in 2014, and Highlanders will be aiming to become the first traditional football giant to lift the latest version of the competition.
FC Platinum won the 2014 edition, Harare City were crowned champions in 2015 and 2017, with Ngezi Platinum winning the 2016 edition and Triangle United claiming the 2018 crown.
This year’s edition is being sponsored to the tune of $1.5 million by Delta Beverages and winners of today’s final will pocket $225 000 and earn the right to represent Zimbabwe in the Caf Confederation Cup.
The losers will get $150 000.
Highlanders and Ngezi Platinum are facing each other for the second time inside three weeks at the same venue where they drew 1-1 in a league match.
Ngezi Platinum coach Rodwell Dhlakama stoked the flames ahead of today’s encounter by saying they would have beaten Bosso in the league match had they not been awarded a questionable penalty that forced a draw.
Dhlakama, a former Young Warriors, Monomotapa and Chapungu coach, told our Harare Bureau that they are coming to finish off Highlanders in their backyard.
“It’s unfortunate that there are some people who have the kind of thinking that it will be one way. But we fought all the way and got here, which means we also want to win it.
“Obviously, we are aware that we are playing away from home.
The environment gives the home team an edge, largely because of the supporters who make up the 12th man,” said Dhlakama.State media
FORMER CAPS United forward Nyasha Mushekwi yesterday completed the clearance of the luxurious bus he bought for his old club.
He brought in the outstanding documents which were required by Zimbabwe Revenue Authority officials to finalise the transaction.
The Zimbabwe international bought the US$120 000 bus for his former team as a token of appreciation for the part they played in his development as a footballer. Yesterday, Zimra officials completed the clearing process after Mushekwi brought in the last documents. The bus left Beitbridge yesterday evening and was expected to arrive in Harare today.
The tour will see the bus travelling to Bulawayo before arriving in the capital today. Speculation was rife that customs officials were demanding that CAPS United should pay an undisclosed amount.
But it has since emerged that customs officials only wanted some original paperwork which was missing from papers that were lodged to Zimra at the Beitbridge Border Post. The specially-customised 45-seater passenger bus has excited the Green Machine fans.
The gesture has also been applauded by other clubs. The bus came through South Africa, where it was branded after it was shipped from China. “It’s God’s work, CAPS United put me on the map. I’m thankful to God for this opportunity and I know the situation back home and it’s like, as and when I can help, I should be able to do so,’’ Mushekwi said.
‘‘God is always doing amazing things, we give praise to Him. I love my team, they are my team and they gave me an opportunity to be who I am. “I can never forget what they did to me and it’s important that the new generation of players should also be inspired that, if they work hard, they can go places and, maybe, one day they can also give back to the team.
‘‘CAPS United is a big brand and it’s a huge family and we are all part of it, including those fans who cheer the team week in and week out, and it’s important that we keep the team moving forward because, before us, there were some people who were playing for this team and helped it to be what it is.’’State media
Justice Loice Matanda Moyo with President Emmerson Mnangagwa
State Media|THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has assured the nation that it will continue investigating corruption until the nation is free from the vice.
Commissioning the specialised anti-corruption courts in Marondera, ZACC chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo implored the nation to be patient with the anti-graft body as it intensifies its clampdown on corruption.
The Mashonaland East launch ran concurrently with a similar event in Bindura, Mashonaland Central. The launch brings the total number of specialised anti-corruption courts operating in different provinces to seven.
“It takes tireless effort, perseverance and unhesitant deployment of resources for a country to weed out corruption. I assure you that ZACC and its partners are built with these characteristics,” she said.
“ZACC and the ZRP will not tire in investigating corruption and making arrests where those are called for, the National Prosecuting Authority on its part must always stand ready to diligently prosecute cases and the courts to play their adjudicative role without fear or favour until the whole of Zimbabwe is rid of corruption.
“All I wish to do is to implore the public to remain patient because legal investigations and legal processes are intricate. Hurried investigations usually result in weak evidence being placed before the courts, leading to the discharge of persons who may otherwise be guilty. ZACC does not believe in rushed investigations aimed at pacifying members of the public in the short-term, but achieving very little if anything in the long-term,” she said.
She said the advantage of the corruption courts is that corruption cases are prioritised.
“They no longer need to join the routinely long queues which the ordinary cases go through to be heard in court. That results in expeditious resolution of the cases, which in turn gives the public confidence in Government’s efforts of dealing with corruption.”
She said the New Dispensation had made it clear that economic recovery can only be achieved if corruption is wiped out.
She commended organisations for partnering ZACC in the fight against corruption by assisting in the setting up of the specialised anti-corruption courts.
“As you may all be aware, the Second Republic has made it clear that the country’s economic recovery is heavily anchored on the eradication of corruption.
“All players in the administration of justice therefore have no alternative but to coalesce around the scourge,” she said.
“I must acknowledge from the onset that the ongoing establishment of specialised anti-corruption courts across the country is an attractive initiative adopted not only by the Zimbabwean Judicial Service Commission, but also by other jurisdictions which are serious about tackling corruption cases head-on.
“It, therefore, requires no emphasis that specialised treatment of corruption cases provides for close attention to be accorded to the challenge of corruption. This fits well into the national anti-corruption strategy set up by Government. We must all come together and find ways of implementing the national strategy,” she said.
Justice Matanda-Moyo said corruption is a global complex war, which requires joint and coordinated efforts.
“Fighting corruption is never a stroll in the park, it requires joint and coordinated efforts at local and international levels. One of the worst effects of corruption is the plunder of national resources by those engaging in the vice, even acts of economic crime that occur cross-border still have local effect.
“For this reason, the commission is making concerted efforts to recover proceeds of corruption laundered in regional and offshore hide- outs.
In pursuit of this, the commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Anti-Corruption Commission of Zambia on October 17.
The agreement entails collaboration with our Zambian counterparts in joint investigations, mutual assistance, the exchange of crime intelligence, the recovery of proceeds of crime and exchange of skilled personnel among other issues.”
A self-styled prophet from Jahana village in Gokwe under Chief Njelele was dragged to the chief’s traditional court after it was discovered that he was having sexual relations with three of his female congregants who are all married.
The man of cloth, Madzibaba Nathaniel Shumba, confessed to having illicit relationships with Tabeth Moyo, Getrude Shangani and Tambirai Mashoko saying he proposed to them.
The matter came to light when the three women’s husbands reported the matter to Chief Njelele after discovering that the man of cloth was having illicit affairs with their wives.
Chief Njelele in whose jurisdiction the area falls under confirmed the incident.
“Last week l presided over a matter of a prophet known as Madzibaba Shumba who slept with three married women who are his congregants. He confessed before a fully packed court to having extra marital affairs with the women saying he simply proposed love to them and they agreed,” he said.
Chief Njelele said the husbands to the three women reported the matter to him after they stumbled upon various love messages from Madzibaba in their wives’ phones.
“The men came to report the matter after they saw love messages that were from Madzibaba Shumba. The women would tell their husbands that they were going to church, each time they had an appointment with the man of cloth where they would have sex with the prophet in church and sometimes in the bush.”
Chief Njelele said he ordered Prophet Shumba to pay three head of cattle to each of the women’s husbands.
“I ordered him to pay three cows to each man for disrespecting them in such a manner. That means all in all he will part with nine cows.
“I also warned the three women to respect themselves and their husbands by not engaging in extra marital affairs.
If they feel that they are not happy with their husbands they should leave instead of engaging in sexual relationships with other men yet they are married,” he said.B-Metro
Ordinary Zimbabweans say ” THE” Government rather than ” OUR”
Zimbabwe is buffeted by lack of cohesion, it is buffeted by incapacitation, it is buffeted by intra-party politics, indecisiveness and inconsistencies.
Political & Economic Indicators
1. The soldier who fired gunshots around State House
2. The woman who caused an ordeal around Munhumutapa
3. People running away from ED rallies during 2018 elections
4. Mps walking out of Parliament in defiance of ED
5. Mugabe’s snub
Eric Muzamhindo
Complexities have forced 99% of the population to label ” the” Government, the regime, rather than our Government. The general consensus is that Mnangagwa’s administration have failed and the conclusion is that it’s now a failed state. A regime is described as authoritarian, and it is derived from a Latin word, regimen which means to rule.
My comprehensive analysis is that there is a gap between the Government and the people. There is no citizen engagement, decisions are made out of emotions and there is no tolerance, passion and love, these are based on gossip, lies and deception. One of the key aspects which has led us to be where we are today is the concept of ” arrogance” and ” force”.
Let’s come close home. Let’s analyze the phrase ” Command Agriculture”. Look at the word ” Command”, and how do you attract investors or development partners on the basis of ” Command” or ” force”. For all these years when this facility was established, honestly you tell me we don’t have technocrats in the Government who could easily tell that the brand for this exercise reflected hostility? How do you appeal to donors and potential investors with the command type of mentality? How do you define fairness, or can one negotiate when command is applied on any business model?
Success of any nation thrives on fairness, competence, best practise, good business model, sense of humour, soberness, level headed and high level of maturity, and the above mentioned factors feed into success matrix of any given economy.
How do you define Command type of Governance? Command narrative given birth to the following :
1. Looting 2. No negotiations 3. No fairness 4. No consultations 5. Don’t look back 6. Lack of cohesion 7. Inconsistencies 8. No trust 9. No love 10. Arrogance
The bottom line is the gap between Government and it’s own citizens is created by lack of understanding the real situation on the ground. Demonstrations are a simple way of communicating to those who hold the instruments of power that we are grieved and frustrated. From the time Mnangagwa took over the reigns of power in Zimbabwe, barely have you seen people demonstrating peacefully, it is either the demos are disrupted, banned or there is violence. ED has never uttered a word concerning the state of our situation, and people are living from hand to mouth and life goes on like that. His silence may be concluded in three ways ;
1. That’s none of my business
2. Who cares?
3. He is detached
4. He doesn’t have any solutions
5. Dare it and you will see
It is so sad to see people hating their own Government. It is no longer ” our” own Government, it is the Government. Is it necessary to have such kind of situation? Decisions can lead to such conclusions. Decisions can be based on frustration, anger, emotions and love. Do you have any feedback system in Zanu led administration? The question is do they really care about people? Or is it arrogance? Do they appreciate that they are living beings out there? Who cares?
Decision 1 – dismissing medical doctors plunging the whole country into serious crisis
Decision 6 – killing of civilians on August 1 ( case closed)
Apparently there is a disconnection between Government and civilians and it’s detrimental. With the growing frustration amongst citizens, a bad precedence is likely to be set when citizens are aggrieved.
Hameno ikoko
Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo – Doctor of Philosophy Candidate ( Women’s University in Africa)
Farai Dziva|A Zimbabwe Council of
Churches (ZCC) official has said Zimbabwe does not need foreign intervention as the solution to the crisis is within the country.
ZCC secretary-general Kenneth Mtata said Chamisa should swallow his pride and accept that Mnangagwa is the legitimate Head of State.
Mtata made the remarks during an interview with state media where he also called for inclusive political dialogue.
“Dialogue is imminent, but it is just a matter of time. President Mnangagwa is the Head of State and Government. He is our statesman.
He has the keys for dialogue, (the) MDC-A leader should swallow his pride and engage and consider President Mnangagwa as the President of Zimbabwe.
Dialogue is coming, we need to prepare for it, but it might take time. We do not need foreign intervention.”
Chamisa has flatly rejected the outcome of the 2018 presidential election in which Mnangagwa was declared the winner amid controversial circumstances.
Farai Dziva|MDC councillor for ward 4, Masvingo Urban Constituency, Godfrey Kurauone has said no form of intimidation will stop him from taking on Emmerson Mnangagwa’s “oppressive regime.”
Kurauone’s car was burnt by suspected Zanu PF hooligans last night.
Said Kurauone:”They burnt my car last night but I will not backtrack.
I believe in Nelson Chamisa and no amount of intimidation can distract me from focusing on removing ED and his satanic cabal.”
The purported setting up of a Privileges Committee ostensibly to investigate the conduct of Members of Parliament who did not attend the Budget Presentation on the 14th of November 2019 is fundamentally and procedurally flawed and against the tenets of democracy justice and fairness.
Apart from the fact that the Opposition Chief Whip Honourable Prosper Mutseyami officially notified the Speaker of the unavailability of the MDC Members of Parliament, there is no provision or rule which compels backbenchers to attend any particular session.
What we find disconcerting is that on the day that
Pupurai Togarepi the ZanuPf Chief Whip moved the motion for the setting up of Privileges Committee the Speaker did not even reflect on the matter but immediately made a Ruling to refer the matter to the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders and he had already shown that this matter had been predetermined when he responded to Honourable Temba Mliswa that the MDC Members of Parliament would be “punished” and in this regard whatever is going to happen is a charade.
There are breaches of the letter and spirit of the Constitution which in its preamble recognizes our diversity and the Founding Values and Principles in Section 3(2) d include the respect of the Rights of all Political parties.
The Speaker of the National Assembly has failed to show leadership and has dismally failed to discharge his responsibilities as an impartial arbiter and presiding officer.
The MDC Members of Parliament articulated the issues but the Speaker went on to unilaterally make a decision without following due process in terms of which it was the Committee of which he is only a chair which was supposed to make the determination.
Furthermore, once the Speaker had unilaterally stated that members of the MDC who are supposed to be investigated could not be part of the Committee it equally meant that Members of ZanuPf could equally not be complainant prosecutor judge and jury rolled into one
The Speaker and his fellow ZanuPF Members also failed to appreciate that the discord in Parliament emanating from the disruptive behaviour of members who are refusing to accept the chairing of Committees by MDC members who are appointed by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders is a symptom of the bigger political question of legitimacy.
The critical issue is the MDC members of the Committee dissociated themselves from the drama which violated all the principles of fairness.
It’s unfortunate that ZanuPf Members failed to see reason and appreciate that as a country the issue of the illegitimacy of Emmerson Mnangagwa cannot be resolved by viciousness but through sincere and genuine dialogue.
We feel vindicated because when Honourable Chikwinya raised the issue of the Members who are causing pandemonium and mayhem and disrupting Parliament Business the same Speaker did not respond with the same vigour and urgency but instead decided to evade the issue by declaring that the matter was under consideration by the CSRO when the issues are different.
The bottom line is that
Jacob Mudenda has dismally failed the test and will probably go down as the worst Speaker in our country.
Autocracy and partisanship can only result in the dysfunctionality of the Institution when all that is required is to take off the political party lenses when Presiding over Parliament and being in charge of its Administration.
Innocent Gonese
MDC Secretary for Justice and Legal Affairs
Today marks Day 3 as the world and nation commemorate 16 days against gender based violence.
This year’s commemorations runs from 25 November to 10 December under the theme, “Generation Equality Stands Against Rape”.
As the MDC Youth Assembly joins the rest of the world and other progressive organizations in commemorating these important calendar days, it is our underlining that our society need to eradicate and eliminate all forms of gender based violence hence our localized theme, Let’s Go 365, Not 16.
The Assembly has lined up a number of programs and events to raise awareness against gender based violence starting with a roadshow program to be held in Gwanda on 30 November.
Generally women and young women in particular are often victims of gender based violence.
We have noted with concern that some very senior politicians are chief culprits when it comes to perpetrating violence against women, especially their spouses.
From Kembo Mohadi to General Constantine Chiwenga, the media is awash with stories about how the two ZANU PF Vice Presidents ill treat their spouses and sometimes with the help of law enforcement agents as in the case of the former against Tambudzani, his wife.
The most saddening part is that even in Universities which ideally should be paragons against gender violence, female students’ rights are often violated in what is infamously referred to as “Thigh for A Mark” practice by male lecturers.
Despite Zimbabwe outlawing child marriages, this social ill is still rampant in the periphery of the periphery of our countryside.
It is also clear that not enough has been done by this military government to support provision of basics like monthly cycle pads to young girls especially those in primary schools.
The shrinking democratic space has also not helped the fight against gender based violence as oftentimes civic groups and organizations are branded enemies of state for carrying civic work for such purposes.
State agents have also catapulted cases of women abuses as was the case on 01 August 2018 and January 2019 when women were raped and murdered.
Stephen Sarkozy Chuma- MDCYouthAssemblyNationalSpokesperson
His Excellency President ED Mnangagwa has issued a moratorium enabling fired doctors to return to work. He has done this out of compassion as well as to satisfy his fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of Zimbabwe. pic.twitter.com/DUmnNz3vVC
His Excellency President ED Mnangagwa has issued a moratorium enabling fired doctors to return to work. He has done this out of compassion as well as to satisfy his fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of Zimbabwe. pic.twitter.com/DUmnNz3vVC
By A Correspondent| Zimbabwe Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s wife, Mary has made a stunning revelation that Chiwenga banned her from social media.
When asked during an interview with a local publication whether she uses social media she said:
”I don’t go on social media, I’m not on Facebook, I used to be on Instagram my husband told me to close it and I did.
I’m not on Twitter, I’m not on anything, my husband said to me “If you want to be happy, stay away from searching yourself on the Internet, don’t go on social media you will live a happy life. So I am living a happy life with none of those things.”
By Own Correspondent| A grade seven pupil, Kudakwashe Mabhande has died, four feared dead among them minors whilst 10 others were badly injured after a speeding vehicle ploughed through people in Mbare this morning around the Mupedzanhamo flea market area.
The Herald reports that the deceased attained eight units at the most recent grade seven examinations.
The publication was told by eyewitnesses that a speeding driver hit the boy and proceeded to hit another driver who was standing beside his vehicle before crossing the road where the vehicle ploughed through at least 13 people among them vendors, buyers and minors at a flea market
By A Correspondent| The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission have jointly impounded over 100 vehicles which were allegedly smuggled into the country reportedly with the help of ZIMRA officials.
ZIMRA Loss Control Manager, Selleck Mapfeka told the state media in an interview that the blitz aimed at impounding smuggled cars will extend to other provinces.
Mapfeka added that there is a mismatch between the number of vehicles imported into the country and the revenue the taxman registered.
Doctors, nurses & all the staff at Karanda Mission Hospital in Mt.Darwin deserve national recognition as well as an award for their sterling & selfless dedication to duty. They're the unsung heroes & heroines of our time.
Presidential Spokesman, George Charamba | DEBATING IN PERSPECTIVE: The issue of striking & dismissed junior doctors and senior doctors awaiting disciplinary outcome needs debating in proper, factual perspective. So far, lots of heat and very little light on the matter whose importance and impact can hardly be overstated.
And precisely why facts, figures and sequence of developments have to be honoured for knowledgeable discussion, evaluation and possible solutions. First, the issues raised by doctors relate to:
~salaries;
~housing;
~transport/vehicles;
~Food.
For remuneration, doctors initially demanded payment in US Dollars, suggesting USD$5 000. They shifted to payment in local currency of Z$18 000; later they came down to Z$10 000, demanding that the figure follow and adjust to reigning interbank rates. Should that have been conceded, doctors would have been the most highly paid professionals in the Public Sector, earning well above Cabinet Ministers. Of course that would most certainly be followed by similar demands within and beyond the medical field, principally nursing and related staff in the medical sector, teachers and rest of civil servants in the rest of the Public Service.
This is key in debating the issue lest an incorrect impression is created that wage demands by doctors could be isolated and immunized from the rest of the Service. There is an inevitable domino effect sure to reverberate across the whole Public Service Sector, with obvious budgetary implications, principally the Staff Monitored Programme agreed to between government and the IMF in the context of broader macroeconomic Reforms for recovery.
Government responded by an initial counter-offer of 30% remuneration review. The doctors rejected it. Government came back with a revised counter-offer of 60%. Again that was rejected. Finally Government acceded to a 100% wage rise. That, too, was rejected.
On housing, Government responded by securing accommodation for Junior Doctors at Russell Hotel & at a block of Flats closer to the Catholic Cathedral, promising to look for more blocks of flats in order to accommodate Doctors. Apparently that made no impression on the doctors.
All that was in the immediate. In the medium to long term, Government undertook to put up more hostels and apartments to boost institutional accommodation already available to doctors. It should be noted that a good number of striking doctors are already accommodated in apartments within major hospitals, themselves doctors’ workplaces. This factor has a direct bearing on the whole argument to do with claims of “incapacitation”. On transport, Government agreed to source start-up vehicles for junior doctors, as well as buses dedicated to them.
The upshot is that the principle of transport facilitation as an aspect of composite conditions of service, was acceded to by Government. The issue of food was accepted by Government. I need to stress that the doctors did not want truncated concessions, pressing for a full package of all that they demanded. Alongside what Government acceded to, there was also a parallel initiative involving a private corporate player, and the Global Fund which Government engaged with a view to doubling retention allowances for doctors. Even the World Bank has
been engaged, alongside other donor players whose delivery portfolios are dependent on an fully functional national health delivery service. All these contacts have either already translated into concrete offers or are on the verge of becoming so, thus boosting what Government has already put on the table. To complete the demand and offer, mention should be made of equipment, medicines and accessories needed as stock-in-trade by doctors. Lots of these came into the country by way of out-Of-Budget purchases done at the instance of the President, by way of donations from friendly Governments, notably United Arab Emirates, and by way of direct Government purchases. In fact, the industrial action broke out when Government was in the middle of this major re-investment and retooling of the Health Sector.
Faced by growing obduracy by the junior doctors, and detecting both unprofessional influence from senior doctors and political instigation and interference from political parties and at least one foreign government and several organizations, Government turned to the Labour law as another level of tackling this problem which, anyway, was affecting an area regarded at law as an ESSENTIAL SERVICE. The courts were approached, which found against the doctors, thus making the industrial action ILLEGAL!!! At that stage, doctors renounced their institutional mechanism of negotiations, while changing their whole argument to one of INCAPACITATION. The notion of incapacitation must be tested by institutional accommodation arrangements available to striking doctors, and offers already made to them, all detailed above.
Still doctors would not relent, during which disposition the situation in hospitals continued to take a turn for the worse, and worst as lives continued to be lost, patients continuing to suffer. As required by law, after 14 days of judgment and non-compliance with court order,Government started disciplinary proceedings against doctors whose services had long been withdrawn. This is an important point worth keeping in mind in view of a false argument that disciplinary action by Government in terms of the law exacerbated the situation in hospitals and for patients. Simply, THINGS CAN’T GET WORSE FOR PATIENTS FROM DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST WORKERS WHO HAVE ALREADY WITHDRAWN THEIR SERVICES!!! Additionally, laws of the country apply to all, regardless of what skills one wields and how critical these may be to human life.
In fact this last fact makes enforcement of the law even more dire!! Also noteworthy is that Government continued to engage striking doctors even as disciplinary action was being pursued, interlarding this with plaintive appeals to doctors to go back to posts.
As I tweet, Government has granted a 48-hr moratorium during which striking doctors may rejoin the service without having to reapply or to answer questions about their past conduct. This concession followed an approach and appeal from Catholic Bishop’s Conference, led by Archbishop Ndlovu. The latest is that mediators from the Catholic Church who have met with doctors have reported that the striking doctors have asked for the moratorium in writing. Again Government, through HSB, has agreed to this request, with a written undertaking likely to be delivered to striking doctors either this evening or tomorrow morning at the latest. I made reference to foreign meddling through a foreign embassy & some foreign sponsored organizations, both already known to Government. I should also indicate monies – USD-denominated – allowances given to sections of the striking doctors through a well-known so-called human rights lawyer, to stiffen the back of striking doctors. The payments to the few who have received them amount to a princely sum of USD$5 000/person!!
The projection is for an escalation in the health sector, and a snowballing of the industrial action across sectors in the Service to trigger generalized instability. To date, 448 doctors have been dismissed, with 57 senior doctors allegedly associated with the strike at various stages of disciplinary hearings. To appreciate and support church-related health institutions which have been saving the situation, Government has now decided to incorporate all Church-run District Hospitals into its overall health budget. This support will cover…
Government started disciplinary proceedings against doctors whose services had long been withdrawn. This is an important point worth keeping in mind in view of a false argument that disciplinary action by Government in terms of the law exacerbated the situation in hospitals and equipment, medicines, accessories and utilities such as water and electricity bills which have been weighing down these institutions. Tellingly, Church-run Hospitals like Silveira in Bikita, Msiso in Zaka, Mt St Mary’s in Hwedza, have been playing role of District Hospitals, as no such facilities exist in those Districts. The decision by Government to recognize these strictly on basis of service, as opposed to ownership, is a major policy milestone which the Catholic Church secured after yesterday’s meeting with the Presidency.
London (CNN)A man with a hoax device strapped to him has been shot dead in central London by police officers in a terrorist incident that’s left a number of people injured, some seriously.
Officers have not commented further on the motive for the attack near London Bridge, but Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu told a press conference on Friday afternoon that they were enhancing patrols in the area and across the city in response.
Video filmed at the scene by an eyewitness showed a man being wrestled to the ground by members of the public. The incident comes more than two years after eight people were killed and dozens more wounded in a terror attack at London Bridge.
London Bridge.
Lloyd Griffiths, 35, was on a bus on the bridge on Friday as the attack unfolded. He told CNN he saw an altercation as several people tried to wrestle a man with a knife before police intervened.
“I saw a shine on a knife or metal blade, it was startling. It was large blade, it wasn’t small, and then I was locked on the bus, people tried to tackle to man trying to fight him, ordinary people jumping out of the car, trying to fight him,” Griffiths told CNN.
“Then police ran over with guns, screaming,” before shooting the man, Griffiths added. A large number of emergency vehicles quickly arrived on the scene, with many people evacuated from the area.
London mayor Sadiq Khan praised the “breathtaking heroism” of “ordinary Londoners” who risked their lives to intervene in the incident.
“We are resolute, we stand united in the face of terrorism and we will not allow anybody to divide us,” Khan said in a press conference.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “being kept updated on the incident at London Bridge and want to thank the police and all emergency services for their immediate response.”
Farai Dziva| Outspoken Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp has once again openly attacked the Warriors technical team over talismanic winger Khama Billiat.
Billiat took part in Zimbabwe’s two AFCON 2021 qualfiers against Botswana (at home) and Zambia (away) scoring a brace in the latter but reportedly returned to Naturena with a tight harmstring after the international break, forcing him out of Amakhosi’s Telknom Knockout defeat to Maritzburg United.
After the Maritzburg defeat, the German coach criticised the Joey Antipas-led technical team over the maner in which Billiat was used and yesterday, Middendorp complained once more in that regard.
No, no,” Middendorp said in an interview with Soccer Laduma, when asked if there is an any sort of communication between him and the Warriors technical team.
“Serving the country is important, serving the country in Zambia, in Zimbabwe, in South Africa is important and that’s fine, it is a given situation so I have to send (the players), FIFA rules are there, even if he has a broken arm or leg, we have to send them,” he said.
Middendorp also made made some comparisons between the Zimbabwe technical team and their South African counterparts.
He said: “I don’t even know who is the one to talk to in Zimbabwe or Zambia, meanwhile there is a good communication with Molefi (Ntseki), the Bafana coach and with David Notoane at U23 and I think that it should be that the initiative should come out of the camp of the national team, to look in to who is injured and who has an issue.”
Weduwee ndarwadziwa. Hama yangu akanorapwa ku Karanda last week. Hanzi Zanu iya yauya ku Karanda hospital vachiti vanhu vakuwandisa munokonzeresa Cholera plus ma charges enyu ari pasi pasi. Nhai weduwee chiiko ne Zanu. Vese ana Mai Mnangagwa vakaenda nana Mutsvanga…
Weduwee ndarwadziwa. Hama yangu akanorapwa ku Karanda last week. Hanzi Zanu iya yaka ku Karanda hospital vachiti vanhu vakuwandisa munokonzeresa Cholera plus ma charges enyu ari pasi pasi. Nhai weduwee chiiko ne Zanu. Vese ana Mai Munangagwa vakaenda nana Mutsvanga… @InfoMinZWpic.twitter.com/J4rmlQf70C
Farai Dziva|The Zimbabwe Warriors made a giant leap on the latest FIFA Rankings released on Thursday.
However, the Warriors could not finish the year in the year in the Top 100.
Zimbabwe were in action during the November international break, playing back-to-back Afcon qualifiers against Botswana and Zambia. They drew goalless in their first match against the Zebras while in their second encounter, they beat Zambia 2-1 in Lusaka.
The national team gained 13 points and moved six places up to number 111 in the world. They also climbed up on the African standings to number 27.
Belgium will end the year as the best-ranked team in the world while Senegal retained the top spot on the continent.
FC Platinum returns to CAF Champions League action tonight when they play Al Hilal in Sudan.
The match will be played at Al-Hilal Stadium in Omdurman and kick-off is at 9 pm Zimbabwean time.
Coach Lizwe Sweswe travelled with a twenty-one member squad for the encounter that includes their star players such as Petros Mhari, Lawrence Mhlanga, Rodwell Chinyengetere, Never Tigere, Devon Chafa and Rahman Kutsanzira.
The team visited the Zimbabwean embassy on Thursday and met ambassador Emmanuel Gumbo who promised to mobilise some fans who will cheer them at the stadium.
Gumbo also warned the players to remain calm even when provoked by the hosts.
“We will be with you at the stadium, though it will be a few of us,” he said. “You will certainly hear our voices and indeed you shall see our national flag.
“Put on your best behaviour. You are likely to be provoked and disappointed by certain decisions or actions from the hosts, but never lose sight of your ambassadorial role.”
The Zimbabwe champions, who reached the group stages for the second successive season, arrived in Sudan on Tuesday. However, their preparations there were disrupted after they lost their luggage while in transit to North Africa.
The bags, which included the team’s playing and training kit as well as other clothing items, had been left behind at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where the team caught a connecting flight.
The luggage only arrived in Sudan on Thursday, a day before the match.
FC Platinum Squad:
Goalkeepers: Petros Mhari, Francis Tizayi, Wallace Magalane.
Defenders: Raphael Muduviwa, Tawana Chikore, Lawrence Mhlanga, Gift Bello, William Stima.
Today (Wednesday ) marks Day 3 as the world and nation commemorate 16 days against gender based violence.
This year’s commemorations run from 25 November to 10 December under the theme, “Generation Equality Stands Against Rape”.
As the MDC Youth Assembly joins the rest of the world and other progressive organizations in commemorating these important calendar days, it is our underlining that our society need to eradicate and eliminate all forms of gender based violence hence our localized theme, Let’s Go 365, Not 16.
The Assembly has lined up a number of programs and events to raise awareness against gender based violence starting with a roadshow program to be held in Gwanda on 30 November.
Generally women and young women in particular are often victims of gender based violence.
We have noted with concern that some very senior politicians are chief culprits when it comes to perpetrating violence against women, especially their spouses.
From Kembo Mohadi to General Constantine Chiwenga, the media is awash with stories about how the two ZANU PF Vice Presidents ill treat their spouses and sometimes with the help of law enforcement agents as in the case of the former against Tambudzani, his wife.
The most saddening part is that even in Universities which ideally should be paragons against gender violence, female students’ rights are often violated in what is infamously referred to as “Thigh for A Mark” practice by male lecturers.
Despite Zimbabwe outlawing child marriages, this social ill is still rampant in the periphery of the periphery of our countryside.
It is also clear that not enough has been done by this military government to support provision of basics like monthly cycle pads to young girls especially those in primary schools.
The shrinking democratic space has also not helped the fight against gender based violence as oftentimes civic groups and organizations are branded enemies of state for carrying civic work for such purposes.
State agents have also catapulted cases of women abuses as was the case on 01 August 2018 and January 2019 when women were raped and murdered.
Stephen Sarkozy Chuma- MDCYouthAssemblyNationalSpokesperson
VETERAN FC Platinum striker Mkhokheli Dube believes the luggage incident was a blessing in disguise as it actually hardened them to be prepared to grind a result tonight against hosts Al Hilal.
The two teams open their Group B encounter at the Ali Hilaly Stadium at 9pm tonight and Dube said this while addressing members of the media at the final press conference at the 65000 seater facility last night.
“While we may be making assumptions about the reasons behind the disappearance of our luggage, this uncertainty on it being found has actually hardened us. If it was meant to distract us then tough luck, we are more than focused,” said Dube who was in the company of coach Lizwe Sweswe.
He said African football has been known to provide dramatic anti-football antics before and during the match by the hosts and as players, they were now ever ready and immune to the objectives of such archaic acts.
“Our job here is to play football and we shall do that, of course we have respect for our opponents but that is only outside the pitch,” said Dube.State media
The purported setting up of a Privileges Committee ostensibly to investigate the conduct of Members of Parliament who did not attend the Budget Presentation on the 14th of November 2019 is fundamentally and procedurally flawed and against the tenets of democracy justice and fairness.
Apart from the fact that the Opposition Chief Whip Honourable Prosper Mutseyami officially notified the Speaker of the unavailability of the MDC Members of Parliament, there is no provision or rule which compels backbenchers to attend any particular session.
What we find disconcerting is that on the day that
Pupurai Togarepi the ZanuPf Chief Whip moved the motion for the setting up of Privileges Committee the Speaker did not even reflect on the matter but immediately made a Ruling to refer the matter to the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders and he had already shown that this matter had been predetermined when he responded to Honourable Temba Mliswa that the MDC Members of Parliament would be “punished” and in this regard whatever is going to happen is a charade.
There are breaches of the letter and spirit of the Constitution which in its preamble recognizes our diversity and the Founding Values and Principles in Section 3(2) d include the respect of the Rights of all Political parties.
The Speaker of the National Assembly has failed to show leadership and has dismally failed to discharge his responsibilities as an impartial arbiter and presiding officer.
The MDC Members of Parliament articulated the issues but the Speaker went on to unilaterally make a decision without following due process in terms of which it was the Committee of which he is only a chair which was supposed to make the determination.
Furthermore, once the Speaker had unilaterally stated that members of the MDC who are supposed to be investigated could not be part of the Committee it equally meant that Members of ZanuPf could equally not be complainant prosecutor judge and jury rolled into one
The Speaker and his fellow ZanuPF Members also failed to appreciate that the discord in Parliament emanating from the disruptive behaviour of members who are refusing to accept the chairing of Committees by MDC members who are appointed by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders is a symptom of the bigger political question of legitimacy.
The critical issue is the MDC members of the Committee dissociated themselves from the drama which violated all the principles of fairness.
It’s unfortunate that ZanuPf Members failed to see reason and appreciate that as a country the issue of the illegitimacy of Emmerson Mnangagwa cannot be resolved by viciousness but through sincere and genuine dialogue.
We feel vindicated because when Honourable Chikwinya raised the issue of the Members who are causing pandemonium and mayhem and disrupting Parliament Business the same Speaker did not respond with the same vigour and urgency but instead decided to evade the issue by declaring that the matter was under consideration by the CSRO when the issues are different.
The bottom line is that
Jacob Mudenda has dismally failed the test and will probably go down as the worst Speaker in our country.
Autocracy and partisanship can only result in the dysfunctionality of the Institution when all that is required is to take off the political party lenses when Presiding over Parliament and being in charge of its Administration.
Innocent Gonese
MDC Secretary for Justice and Legal Affairs
His Excellency President ED Mnangagwa has issued a moratorium enabling fired doctors to return to work. He has done this out of compassion as well as to satisfy his fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of Zimbabwe. pic.twitter.com/DUmnNz3vVC
His Excellency President ED Mnangagwa has issued a moratorium enabling fired doctors to return to work. He has done this out of compassion as well as to satisfy his fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of Zimbabwe. pic.twitter.com/DUmnNz3vVC
Farai Dziva|A Zimbabwe Council of
Churches (ZCC) official has urged MDC leader Nelson Chamisa to recognise Emmerson Mnangagwa as the legitimate President of Zimbabwe.
ZCC secretary-general Kenneth Mtata said Chamisa should swallow his pride and accept that Mnangagwa is the legitimate Head of State.
Mtata made the remarks during an interview with state media where he also called for inclusive political dialogue.
“Dialogue is imminent, but it is just a matter of time. President Mnangagwa is the Head of State and Government. He is our statesman.
He has the keys for dialogue, (the) MDC-A leader should swallow his pride and engage and consider President Mnangagwa as the President of Zimbabwe.
Dialogue is coming, we need to prepare for it, but it might take time. We do not need foreign intervention.”
Chamisa has flatly rejected the outcome of the 2018 presidential election in which Mnangagwa was declared the winner amid controversial circumstances.
Farai Dziva|A Zimbabwe Council of
Churches (ZCC) official has said Zimbabwe does not need foreign intervention as the solution to the crisis is within the country.
ZCC secretary-general Kenneth Mtata said Chamisa should swallow his pride and accept that Mnangagwa is the legitimate Head of State.
Mtata made the remarks during an interview with state media where he also called for inclusive political dialogue.
“Dialogue is imminent, but it is just a matter of time. President Mnangagwa is the Head of State and Government. He is our statesman.
He has the keys for dialogue, (the) MDC-A leader should swallow his pride and engage and consider President Mnangagwa as the President of Zimbabwe.
Dialogue is coming, we need to prepare for it, but it might take time. We do not need foreign intervention.”
Chamisa has flatly rejected the outcome of the 2018 presidential election in which Mnangagwa was declared the winner amid controversial circumstances.
Farai Dziva|MDC councillor for ward 4, Masvingo Urban Constituency, Godfrey Kurauone has said no form of intimidation will stop him from taking on Emmerson Mnangagwa’s “oppressive regime.”
Kurauone’s car was burnt by suspected Zanu PF hooligans last night.
Said Kurauone:”They burnt my car last night but I will not backtrack.
I believe in Nelson Chamisa and no amount of intimidation can distract me from focusing on removing ED and his satanic cabal.”
Farai Dziva|A Zimbabwe Council of
Churches (ZCC) official has said Zimbabwe does not need foreign intervention as the solution to the crisis is within the country.
ZCC secretary-general Kenneth Mtata said Chamisa should swallow his pride and accept that Mnangagwa is the legitimate Head of State.
Mtata made the remarks during an interview with state media where he also called for inclusive political dialogue.
“Dialogue is imminent, but it is just a matter of time. President Mnangagwa is the Head of State and Government. He is our statesman.
He has the keys for dialogue, (the) MDC-A leader should swallow his pride and engage and consider President Mnangagwa as the President of Zimbabwe.
Dialogue is coming, we need to prepare for it, but it might take time. We do not need foreign intervention.”
Chamisa has flatly rejected the outcome of the 2018 presidential election in which Mnangagwa was declared the winner amid controversial circumstances.
Own Correspondent | As the power struggles within Zanu PF continue, pitting party leader Emmerson Mnangagwa against his deputy General Constantino Chiwenga, more scalps in the security sector are going to be claimed, a local weekly reports.
The Independent newspaper reports that top of the firing line list is Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga who is set to be replaced, as Mnangagwa consolidates his grip on power.
Quoting unnamed sources the publication, also writes that Mnangagwa has made some key changes within the military, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and government circles as he seeks to strengthen his grip on power, while emasculating Chiwenga’s influence.
Chiwenga returned from China last week where he was receiving medical treatment, only to find that Mnangagwa had reshuffled cabinet and appointed his loyalists.
Through the reshuffle, Mnangagwa also took into consideration complaints from Zezurus that the President’s Karanga tribe is dominating cabinet and the security sector. He appointed some Zezurus loyal to him, in a move seen as part of an ethnic balancing act.
Sources in the Home Affairs ministry told the Independent this week that Matanga, who was appointed to head the police in the aftermath of the November 2017 putsch, is set to be replaced.
The current Deputy Commissioners-General, Stephen Mutamba, Mind Elliot Ngirandi, Learn Ncube and Lorraine Chipato are being considered for the position while Registrar-General Clemence Masango, a former high-ranking police officer, is also in the running.
Masango, a Mnangagwa loyalist, served as immigration boss after moving from the police, before being appointed RG.Matanga replaced Augustine Chihuri, a perceived Mugabe loyalist who fled the country in the aftermath of the military coup. “Changes are looming in the police. On paper they are meant to improve the efficiency and operations of the police. But in real terms, these changes must be seen in the broader context of the ongoing changes Mnangagwa has been introducing in the security sector as he consolidates his grip, while weakening his ambitious deputy’s influence.
The President wants trusted lieutenants in key positions,” a senior government official told the Independent this week.
After narrowly winning last year’s disputed polls, Mnangagwa embarked on a purging spree, removing some influential generals within the military perceived to be loyal to Chiwenga. The initial security changes and reconfiguration in the aftermath of the 2017 coup are widely read as Mnangagwa’s drive to flush out the residual elements of the Mugabe regime within the command structure of the army, while diminishing Chiwenga’s influence.
Own Correspondent | Former War Vets Minister, Retired Colonel Tshinga Dube, has warned the country’s leaders against toxic power.
Dube said in an interview on local radio, “For instance, now we have all these problems. I am certain that our leaders can find a solution instead of thinking about power because power intoxicates. Absolute power intoxicates absolutely.”
Dube recently published a book, ‘Quite flows the Zambezi’, which documents his early life and his participation in the armed struggle, up to the time of the ceasefire.
The book also covers the Gukurahundi era, including untold stories of the tensions that characterised the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) in its formative years because of deep- seated suspicions between Zipra, Zanla and Rhodesian forces.
“We have to realise that we have no other country except Zimbabwe and if we are going to make Zimbabwe a country that we are proud of, we have to think seriously and forget selfish tendencies.”
LOCAL directors of Power Sales, one of Zimbabwe’s largest clothing retail chains, are in talks to buy out South Africa’s Pepkor.
Pepkor, which controls about 20 local Power Sales retail branches, announced this week that it had decided to exit Zimbabwe after the local operation posted a R70 million loss.
However, in a statement yesterday, Power Sales said the decision by Pepkor would not affect its operations in Zimbabwe.
“Power Sales would like assure our valued customers and business partners that Power Sales is not closing,” the company said.
“Please be assured that while it is a fact that Pepkor is exiting Zimbabwe, Power Sales is not closing. Final negotiations are in place with the relevant parties to conclude terms of sale between Power Sales’ resident directors and Pepkor,” it said.
Power Sales said since July 2019, it had changed its business model by supporting local manufactures.
“This has been a great success. We know our business and we look forward to many years of partnership together,” it said.
Power Sales is one of the oldest clothing retail chains in Zimbabwe, having opened its shop in the country 40 years ago.
Defence deputy minister Victor Matemadanda has been taken to court by fellow war veteran, Amos Sigauke who is claiming $400 000 damages for criminal defamation.
Sigauke recently issued summons against Matemadanda, accusing him of soiling his character through a newspaper article published in a local daily in July this year.
He claimed Matemadanda accused him and his pressure group, War Veterans Pressure Group (WVPG) of being sponsored to destabilise President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.
“The statements were made with the intention to defame plaintiffs and to injure their respective reputations. As a result of the defamation, plaintiffs have jointly and severally the one being injured the other to suffer, been damaged in their reputation and they have suffered damages in the sum of $400 000.”
“The statements by the defendant are wrongful and defamatory to the plaintiffs. The statements were understood by the addressees and were intended by the defendant to mean that plaintiffs are dishonest and without morale fibre in that they associate themselves with rapists. Additionally, the statements by the defendant were understood by the ordinary reader to depict that plaintiffs are engaging in acts to subvert a constitutionally elected government through unconstitutional means,” Sigauke said.
In the same summons, Sigauke is also claiming interest at the prescribed rate from the date of judgement to the date of full and final payment, as well as 10% collection commission in terms of the Law Society of Zimbabwe.
REGISTRAR-GENERAL Clemence Masango is claiming $3,5 million in defamation damages from a Harare man who allegedly called him a corrupt government official.
Masango recently issued summons against Godwin Gumisai Mureriwa accusing him of having defamed him on September 19 this year in front of staff at Harare Central Registry.
In his declaration, quoting Mureriwa, Masango said: “Plaintiff (Masango) is corrupt and habitually abuses his office by allocating emergency passports to his relatives while prejudicing deserving applicants of a timely service and such conduct is deliberately calculated by plaintiff to sabotage the government’s economic turnaround effort and that applicant has and continues to have illegal and unfettered access to the confidential records lodged in the national registry”.
Masango said Mureriwa’s statements were wrong, defamatory, false and were intended to be understood by those present, when they were uttered, to mean that he (Masango) was corrupt, unpatriotic, incompetent, a saboteur and not a law abiding citizen who lacks moral fibre.
“The said statements were motivated by malice and were intended to defame plaintiff and injure his reputation, lowering him in the estimation of his subordinates, his employer, his family, ordinary reasonable persons, exposing him to public ridicule and contempt in his professional and personal capacity,” Masango said.
“Plaintiff was subjected to great defamation and embarrassment by the said utterances and was damaged in his reputation inter alia, as the Registrar General, a civil servant and citizen of Zimbabwe. As a result of defendant’s defamation, plaintiff has been damaged in his reputation and has suffered damages in the sum of $3,5 million.”
Mureriwa is yet to file his response to the claim.
The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association has said Strive Masiyiwa’s donation of $5,000 bond, is not enough. They also indicated that the government’s 2 day moratorium will likely lapse without an agreement. They communicated all this in a 29th November update, which read in full:
On Sunday 24th November, the ZHDA and SHDA met with a representative from Higher life Foundation and deliberated on their offer of financial assistance to government doctors. It was agreed that feedback was to be given after consulting the ZHDA Constituency before entering into any memorandum of understanding.
As such, it was concluded that, in as much as the support from HLF is welcome, it does not address completely the demands of the doctors for a salary whose value is preserved despite soaring inflation as well as the provision of adequate and appropriate tools of trade.
It was posited that the offer from Higher life may be reconsidered once the stand-off between the ZHDA and its employer (HSB) has been resolved. This recognises the sincerity of the donor group and its desire not to interfere with the negotiation process.The stipulated timeframes and terms and conditions surrounding the offer doesn’t make it a viable long lasting solution that the doctors are in search of at the moment.
We appreciate the role played by the Catholic bishops which has resulted in the doctors being issued a moratoriurn, valid for the next 48hrs. Sadly the moratorium has come without a new offer on the table having been communicated to us. Should this moratorium lapse without the formal communication of an offer that is reasonable, it would stand as yet another gracious privilege that is lost.
We would appreciate it more if the bishops talk to the doctor, representatives first so that they are in an informed position to represent the doctors real interests.
We appreciate the role played by this latest intervention in a labour dispute that has gone past the 88th day and we reiterate that we remain open to dialogue, hoping that a lasting solution will be found without further delay.
All the fired doctors have 48-hours to return to work without re-applying or being asked many questions, President Mnangagwa has promised after this was requested by the Catholic bishops.
The doctors were dismissed after they were found guilty of absenteeism following a court ruling declaring their strike illegal.
Disciplinary hearings were then instituted by the Health Service Board against those doctors who failed to report for duty after the ruling, leading to the dismissal of 448 doctors as of November 26.
Government yesterday gave the doctors a reprieve following a long meeting between President Mnangagwa and his deputies Dr Constantino Chiwenga and Cde Kembo Mohadi, and the Catholic bishops led by the head of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference Archbishop of Harare, Robert Ndlovu at State House.
President Mnangagwa told journalists after the meeting that they had a fruitful engagement with the bishops and agreed to their request regarding the sacked doctors.
“The bishops sent us a pastoral letter of issues they were raising across the board and asking to meet us as leadership. We acceded to their request and we have discussed these issues,” he said.State media
Setting Up Of A Privileges Committee to Investigate the Conduct of MDC Members of Parliament Fundamentally and Procedurally flawed
The purported setting up of a Privileges Committee ostensibly to investigate the conduct of Members of Parliament who did not attend the Budget Presentation on the 14th of November 2019 is fundamentally and procedurally flawed and against the tenets of democracy justice and fairness. Apart from the fact that the Opposition Chief Whip Honourable Prosper Mutseyami officially notified the Speaker of the unavailability of the MDC Members of Parliament, there is no provision or rule which compels backbenchers to attend any particular session.
What we find disconcerting is that on the day that Pupurai Togarepi the ZanuPf Chief Whip moved the motion for the setting up of Privileges Committee the Speaker did not even reflect on the matter but immediately made a Ruling to refer the matter to the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders and he had already shown that this matter had been predetermined when he responded to Honourable Temba Mliswa that the MDC Members of Parliament would be “punished” and in this regard whatever is going to happen is a charade.
There are breaches of the letter and spirit of the Constitution which in its preamble recognizes our diversity and the Founding Values and Principles in Section 3(2) d include the respect of the the Rights of all Political parties. The Speaker of the National Assembly has failed to show leadership and has dismally failed to discharge his responsibilities as an impartial arbiter and presiding officer.
The MDC Members of Parliament articulated the issues but the Speaker went on to unilaterally make a decision without following due process in terms of which it was the Committee of which he is only a chair which was supposed to make the determination.
Furthermore once the Speaker had unilaterally stated that members of the MDC who are supposed to be investigated could not be part of the Committee it equally meant that Members of ZanuPf could equally not be complainant prosecutor judge and jury rolled into one
The Speaker and his fellow ZanuPf Members also failed to appreciate that the discord in Parliament emanating from the disruptive behavior of members who are refusing to accept the chairing of Committees by MDC members who are appointed by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders is a symptom of the bigger political question of legitimacy.
The critical issue is the the MDC members of the Committee dissociated themselves from the drama which violated all the principles of fairness . It’s unfortunate that ZanuPf Members failed to see reason and appreciate that as a country the issue of the illegitimacy of Emmerson Mnangagwa cannot be resolved by viciousness but through sincere and genuine dialogue.
We feel vindicated because when Honourable Chikwinya raised the issue of the Members who are causing pandemonium and mayhem and disrupting Parliament Business the same Speaker did not respond with the same vigour and urgency but instead decided to evade the issue by declaring that the matter was under consideration by the CSRO when the issues are different.
The bottom line is that the Jacob Mudenda has dismally failed the test and will probably go down as the worst Speaker in our country. Autocracy and partisanship can only result in the dysfunctionality of the Institution when all that is required is to take off the political party lenses when Presiding over Parliament and being in charge of its Administration.
Innocent Gonese
MDC Secretary for Justice and Legal Affairs
ZIMBABWE is on the verge of a major man-made famine characterised by partisan food distribution, repeated droughts and years of economic and financial decay that have left nearly eight million people, half of the population, food insecure, a United Nations official said yesterday.
United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, yesterday said most households in the country were now unable to obtain enough food to meet their basic needs, with the situation set to deteriorate in the coming months.
Elver was presenting her preliminary assessment on the current situation in Zimbabwe after spending 11 days in the country.
The final report will be released in March next year.
At least 60% of the population was now “food-insecure” Elver said, noting that even though shops stocked food items, many people could not afford them.
She said the situation demanded urgent attention from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to “put an end to this spiralling crisis before it morphs into a full-blown conflict”.
“I cannot stress enough the urgency of the situation in Zimbabwe,” Elver said.
“Currently, 60% of Zimbabwe’s population of 14 million is considered food-insecure, living in a household that is unable to obtain enough food to meet basic needs. By the end of this year, in only a few weeks, the food security situation is expected to worsen, with an estimated eight million people requiring urgent action to reduce food consumptions gaps and save lives.”
She added: “Widespread poverty, limited employment opportunities, liquidity challenges, pervasive corruption, economic instability, mismanagement of funds, natural disasters, recurrent droughts, and economic sanctions and conditionalities by the US and the EU, all contribute to Zimbabwe’s current crisis.”
Elver said in rural areas, 5,5 million people were currently facing food insecurity, as poor rains and erratic weather patterns were impacting harvests and livelihoods, while in urban areas, an estimated 2,2 million people were food-insecure and lack access to minimum public services, including health and safe water.
“The currency crisis, a heavy tax system due to the imposition of austerity measures, unpredictable inflation rates, high levels of unemployment and low wages all contribute to the food crisis affecting urban households,” she said.
The UN special rapporteur also said the situation was made worse by allegations of partisan distribution of food by Mnangagwa’s administration.
“Throughout my visit, I received allegations about partisan distribution of food aid, favouring those who support the ruling (Zanu PF) party. Individuals or communities, perceived to belong to the opposition or deemed insufficiently loyal to the ruling party, are reportedly deprived of their right to food in the regions most affected by the food crisis,” part of Elver’s report read.
On women and children, the special rapporteur said they were bearing the brunt of the crisis.
She said the majority of children she had met were malnourished, giving rise to child deaths, with 90% of Zimbabwean children aged between six months and two years exposed to minimum acceptable diet.
“I saw the ravaging effects of malnutrition on infants deprived of breast feeding because of their own mothers’ lack of access to adequate food,” she noted.
The situation, Elver said, has forced many girls to drop out of school, into early marriages, prostitution, and sexual exploitation.
She said the effects of the economic meltdown were visible in both rural and urban areas including the capital Harare.
The report comes three days after Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) also said millions of people in Zimbabwe were on the brink of starvation as the country struggles with relentless droughts and the impact of cyclones, against a backdrop of years of economic decline.
“Within weeks, the country may run out of maize, the staple food,” said Verity Johnson of CAFOD.
“At best, there will be further massive hikes in food prices for an already desperate population, who have seen the price of maize meal increase five-fold since the beginning of the year.
“There are severe bread shortages across the country. Where it can be found, a loaf of bread in Zimbabwe now costs up to 15 times more than it did a year ago. In the struggle to feed their children, parents are going without themselves.”
Independent|THE Joint Operations Command (Joc), which brings together the army, police and intelligence service chiefs, convened an urgent meeting after the country’s aviation traffic control system broke down on Monday, disrupting flights, after Zimbabwean airspace was temporarily closed.
The latest breakdown of the radar and aviation traffic control system, while confirming that the country has become a dangerous flying zone, was also seen as a great security risk, considering that undesirable elements could have flown in and out of the country undetected.
Given Zimbabwe’s strategic position in the Southern African Development Community, the breakdown of the control system was also seen as a threat to the region’s security, in view of the number of flights in and out of the region which pass through Zimbabwe’s airspace.
Aviation and security sources this week told the Zimbabwe Independent that a Joc meeting was urgently convened on Monday to deliberate on the matter which rattled security chiefs, prompting them to task Air Force of Zimbabwe commander Elson Moyo to send technicians to the airport to repair the radar and air traffic control system.
Joc is the supreme organ for the coordination of state security in Zimbabwe.“After the aviation radar system broke down at the Robert Mugabe International Airport on Monday, the Air Force commander was asked to send staff from the Air Force to fix the problem. The situation was made worse because air traffic control staff were practically on strike and were not helping the situation,” a security official said.
“A meeting was called where a decision was made to procure a new radar and traffic control system by mid-December. While this breakdown was only for a few hours, on some occasions the system has
been down for almost 24 hours, meaning air traffic can pass through or land undetected.“This also means mercenaries can fly in and out without being detected. It’s a serious security matter, not just an aviation matter, hence the intervention of Joc. There was also concern that smuggling syndicates were also taking advantage of the constant breakdown of the radar system to fly some minerals, particularly diamonds and gold, out of the country.”
The Air Traffic Controllers Association of Zimbabwe has been urging the government to upgrade the communication system in the country for the past two years, but to no avail. They wrote a letter to Transport minister Joel Biggie Matiza last month expressing concern over the shambolic “Air Traffic Control VHF Communications Systems”.
“Our air safety letter issued in September 2017 and May 2019 refers. We note with concern the continued deterioration in air navigation communication performance. There have been several cases in which there was total loss of Air Traffic Services (ATS) Air Ground communications in the upper airspace. Worst case scenarios include the 25th of September, 2019, 29th September 2019 and 16 October 2019, where there was communication blackout lasting a whole day,” the letter reads.
“This chaotic and dangerous situation persisted on October 18 and continues to be experienced now and then. The Air Traffic Controllers Association of Zimbabwe (ATCAZ) has on several occasions called for the urgent replacement of the obsolete communication system. Air Ground Communications is a fundamental and mandatory requirement for a functional ATS unit without which Air Traffic Controllers are incapacitated to actively prevent collisions.”
On numerous occasions, Zimbabwe has relied on neighbouring South Africa for radar assistance information relating to gauging the altitude of planes flying over Zimbabwean airspace.
The letter, seen by the Independent, was copied to Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (Caaz) acting director-general Margret Mantiziba and director of air navigation and technical services Blessing Ngwarai.
The correspondence also casts light on the dangers that could arise from running an obsolete aviation radar system, including the risks of aircraft collision, failure to promptly identify distressed aircraft, delays and increased operating costs of airlines.
Other risks associated with running a shambolic aviation radar system include “losses of revenue as aircraft avoid the space and portrayal of the country in bad light”.
Importantly, Zimbabwe risked being blacklisted by International Civil Aviation Organisation “due to failure to meet a basic mandatory requirement” the documents warn.
Running and maintaining the aviation radar technology has been a theatre of fierce contestation between Caaz and the country’s security apparatus.As reported by the Independent on December 21, 2018, the country has struggled to find a new radar system after Matiza and Caaz general manager David Chawota allegedly facilitated the awarding of a US$33,3 million tender to Indrastemas & Homt Espana of South Africa for air traffic control equipment without following public procurement procedure.
Although Indrastemas & Homt were initially awarded the tender in 2016, the deal was set aside after a competing Italian firm, Selex ES, won a Supreme Court case challenging the decision on the grounds that the tender did not go through procedures specified by law.
In addition, Indrastemas & Homt did not pass a critical security vetting process by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and the Air Force of Zimbabwe, as well as other security agencies.
Official documents seen by the Independent last year in December show that Chawota played a pivotal role in ensuring Indra was irregularly awarded the deal, while Caaz officials told this newspaper that the minister authorised it after intense lobbying.
In a letter dated May 2, 2018 and seen by the Independent, Chawota wrote to the Procurement Authority of Zimbabwe (Praz) advising the body to cancel yet another deal with South African company AME Aviation, which Caaz had engaged to supply an air traffic communication system and instead award it to Indra.
However, he emphasised that the urgent need to replace the dilapidated aviation control system.In the letter, Chawota argued that a formal tender would cause further delays in implementing the project, adding that this would result in it being completed by the end of this year.
“The authority (Caaz) needs to proceed without further delay and procure a replacement air traffic management system to ensure safety of air traffic control within Zimbabwe. The Indra implementation schedule will result in project completion by the end of 2018,” Chawota wrote.
“There is dire need to address the communications deficiency in the Zimbabwe airspace in order to comply with international standards and stem out the concerns already raised by major airlines such as South African Airways. Praz is requested to approve the authority to cancel the contract with AME and engage Indra Sistemas for the supply of the required equipment.”
The military has now taken over the procurement of the radar and aviation communication system.
ZIMBABWE National Army (ZNA) commander Lieutenant-General Edzai Chimonyo last week convened an emergency staff meeting where he read the riot act over rampant indiscipline, theft of rations and criminal activities involving soldiers as disquiet within the rank and file of the military sparks concern.
The meeting, attended by about 500 soldiers from the rank of corporal upwards, was held at the ZNA Staff College house at the Josiah Magama Tongogara Barracks (formerly KGVI) on Friday last week.
Chimonyo — the only speaker at the meeting — was accompanied by two of his top subordinates: ZNA Chief of Staff (Quartermaster Staff), Major-General Hlanganani Dube and Chief of Staff (General Staff), Major-General David Sigauke.
High-ranking ZNA members said Chimonyo began his two-hour long address to the soldiers by stating that he had called the meeting after receiving incessant reports of rampant indiscipline among the soldiers and sought to put his foot down.
According to sources, the move was also occasioned by the high rate of soldiers, who are being hauled before military tribunals, also known as courts martial.
Sources said there was general concern among ZNA commanders that the level of indiscipline may spiral out of control.
Chimonyo also told the soldiers that being the man in charge, he was not going to tolerate indiscipline in the army and indicated that so rampant has indiscipline become among soldiers that the army’s internal prisons, known as detention barracks, are being overwhelmed.
The developments come at a time the Zimbabwe Independent has documented widespread unease among middle and low-ranking soldiers over the rising cost of living, poor salaries and difficult working conditions since the start of the year.
The generals are worried that during this period of a deteriorating economic situation in the country, underpinned by skyrocketing prices, high cost of living and hyperinflation, which has rendered salaries worthless, the soldiers are in a desperate condition: ill-disciplined, disorganised, poorly fed and poverty stricken, according to insiders.
Media Statement|The MDC Assembly of Women joins the world in commemorating 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), an annual international campaign that kicks off on the 25th of November, being the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until the 10th of December, the Human Rights Day.
This year the Assembly of Women marks the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence under the theme, “Orange the World: MDC standing against all forms of GBV” The theme comes against the background of continued violence against women particularly by State security departments who have a constitutional mandate to protect the same.
The main objective of the 16 Days of Activism against GBV Campaign is to raise awareness to all Zimbabweans and implore them stop violence against women and children.
Women continue to be victims of Gender Based Violence regardless of the international and domestic laws that were promulgated to protect them.
Women are being harassed in homes, communities, churches, workplaces, political spheres and even in buses where they are packed like sardines by people only concerned with making profits at the expense of people’s dignity.
The MDC Assembly of Women is deeply concerned about the lack of seriousness by the government to bring to book the perpetrators of Gender Based Violence especially rape by the men in uniform during the ZCTU led stay-away in January.
The statistics of rape and sexual assaults are difficult to confirm due to impunity of perpetrators, stigma towards survivors, and under reporting.
Though Gender Based Violence affect both sexes, traditional practices and patriarchal tendencies in our society leaves women more vulnerable.
Women continue to be abused in their communities by the government despite it being signatory to regional and international statutes seeking to protect the same. A case in point is the recent police brutality that happened on the 20th of November in Harare where police attacked women with button sticks and sjamboks, an act of barbarism.
The MDC in its SMART document highlights its pro-gender sensitive policies for sustainable development.
The Assembly of Women encourages everyone to speak out against gender based violence particularly, abuse of women and children, as most cases still go unreported.
We challenge men to be ambassadors of peace and help to put a stop to violence against women and children by denouncing all forms of gender based violence.
Let us all Orange the World and stand against all forms of Gender Based Violence.
Jane Mlambo| Former government consultant and renowned lawyer Petina Gappah has disapproved the new parliament building in Mt Hampden saying its size is another ploy by politicians to continue enjoying at the expense of the ordinary people.
Government with the assistance of China is building a 900 seater parliament building in Mt Hampden despite the fact that the current size of both the national assembly and Senate is 350 members.
The current 350 size is still considered bloated by some people who feel it is too big for a country with a population of around 14 million people.
With the new 900 seater, Gappah said politicians will find a way to fill it this increasing the number of legislators, in the process bleeding the economy.
Am a bit worried about the size of the new parly building. Just as with a house – you soon gain enough possessions to fill it, whatever the size – a parliament building bigger than the AU headquarters will mean more MPs. The only winners here will be politicians. Of all stripes. https://t.co/gfdGBocmeG
The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association has said Strive Masiyiwa’s donation of $5,000 bond, is not enough. They also indicated that the government’s 2 day moratorium will likely lapse without an agreement. They communicated all this in a 29th November update, which read in full:
On Sunday 24th November, the ZHDA and SHDA met with a representative from Higher life Foundation and deliberated on their offer of financial assistance to government doctors. It was agreed that feedback was to be given after consulting the ZHDA Constituency before entering into any memorandum of understanding.
As such, it was concluded that, in as much as the support from HLF is welcome, it does not address completely the demands of the doctors for a salary whose value is preserved despite soaring inflation as well as the provision of adequate and appropriate tools of trade.
It was posited that the offer from Higher life may be reconsidered once the stand-off between the ZHDA and its employer (HSB) has been resolved. This recognises the sincerity of the donor group and its desire not to interfere with the negotiation process.The stipulated timeframes and terms and conditions surrounding the offer doesn’t make it a viable long lasting solution that the doctors are in search of at the moment.
We appreciate the role played by the Catholic bishops which has resulted in the doctors being issued a moratoriurn, valid for the next 48hrs. Sadly the moratorium has come without a new offer on the table having been communicated to us. Should this moratorium lapse without the formal communication of an offer that is reasonable, it would stand as yet another gracious privilege that is lost.
We would appreciate it more if the bishops talk to the doctor, representatives first so that they are in an informed position to represent the doctors real interests.
We appreciate the role played by this latest intervention in a labour dispute that has gone past the 88th day and we reiterate that we remain open to dialogue, hoping that a lasting solution will be found without further delay.
Own Correspondent | Popular comedian Samantha Kureya aka Gonyeti has just won a top award in South Africa.
BUSTOP TV made an announcement on social media, saying it was “In recognition of her sterling contribution to the cause of Human Rights at great personal risk ,The Southern Africa Human Rights Network has awarded Gonyeti the grand honour of Human Rights Defender of the year.”
Gonyeti made headlines last August, after she was allegedly taken from her home, beaten and forced to drink sewage before being dumped, her colleagues narrated at the time.
She was found three hours later.
Her colleague Lucky Aaron told the BBC, at the time, that she was dumped in “the bush” in the suburbs of Harare.
He said he picked her up and took her to the hospital for scans which confirmed no bones had been broken.
But he was still concerned for her health because she was forced to drink sewage, he added. We could not establish a police report at the time of writing.
NewsDay|IT can only happen in Africa; and it is, indeed, such a shame that the continent has become world famous and synonymous with leaders who are so crass that they will walk with a swagger while their noses point to the sky when their economies are a shambles.
It is, indeed, only in Africa where failed leaders will kill to defend their blatant failures. And, indeed, it is very sad that amid all this mess there are cheerleaders busy ululating and applauding the disastrous mediocrity.
A case in point is the fact that the Zimbabwe dollar has plunged 85% since it was reintroduced as legal tender exactly a decade after it was shunted out of circulation by brutal hyperinflation which officially topped 500 billion percent by December 2008.
As if eternally cursed, the reintroduced local currency is again being mauled daily and increasingly proving useless against other major currencies.
If this were somewhere else where leaders care much about their personal reputations some would have resigned in the wake of such a disaster. Honestly, how can someone who, some 10 months ago, was so confident about the currency weathering the storm still be in office? Midway through the year those who birthed the Zimdollar suddenly decided to stop telling us the rate of annual inflation, ostensibly to help build confidence in the trouble currency. But everything point to the fact that the attempt was a dismal failure. Period!
A more than 500% loss in value of any currency is simply catastrophic and so shocking that it should send someone’s blood pressure to hyper levels. But this is Zimbabwe, which happens to be in Africa, where the strangest of things have become so commonplace that an economic disaster is now being accepted as the norm. If this is yet another new norm for the southern African nation, then little wonder millions have been fleeing into self-imposed exile.
Under such circumstances it is very difficult for anyone in their senses to continue having hope when all the fundamentals that should be raising confidence are absent.
If the people, who reintroduced the Zimdollar back in February assertively telling us that the currency would hold its own, are still insisting that the currency will rise from the intensive care unit, then God, Allah and all the gods help us. We hope and pray that we will be proved wrong in our lifetime.
President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique issued a warning Saturday for youth living in the country’s Zambezia region, where armed extremists – some claiming Islamic State affiliation – have been recruiting fighters from the population.
“Those who kill can be killed,” said Nyusi, speaking at a rally for Maganja da Costa and Alto Molócuè in the north-central district. He said members of the armed groups, active since 2017 in a region fraught with conflict, are tricking young people into participating in terror attacks in Cabo Delgado, as well as Sofala and Manica provinces.
“They are deceiving you,” he said, urging youth to stay the course with work and positive development activities rather than heed promises from extremist recruiters.
Even as Nyusi spoke, though, Lusa news agency reported another round of violence had come to the Cabo Delgado community of Tingina, where unknown actors destroyed homes and vehicles.
The United States government issued an updated travel warning on Wednesday, urging caution if considering travel in the region because of threats of attack, kidnapping for ransom and other violence. Special concern was noted in the districts of Mocimboa da Praia, Nangade, Palma, Macomia, Ibo, Ancuabe, and Quissanga.
Meanwhile, the European Union ambassador in Mozambique called for a coordinated international approach to dealing with the crisis. António Sánchez-Benetido Gaspar, speaking at a South African security conference Thursday, expressed fear of an extremist spread across borders in the region.
“We do not have forty years at our disposal for actions that do not produce results. We have to find solutions to mitigate this problem in the next five years,” he told Deutsche Welle. “It is necessary to consider new methods to address not only the causes of this phenomenon, but also its possible evolution and the rapid changes that occur due to digitization and technology, among others.”
A MAN from Bulawayo has been arrested for allegedly threatening to burn a woman’s house and a bar where she works after she allegedly directed police officers who wanted to arrest him to his house.
Nigel Matengo (38) from Entumbane suburb allegedly threatened to burn Ms Erica Msindo (38)’s house and the bar using petrol.
It is alleged that Matenga was a serial thief in the suburb and police were looking for him. When Ms Msindo directed police officers to his home, Matenga became angry and threatened to burn the bar.
Matengo pleaded not guilty to two counts of threats of violence before Western Commonage magistrate, Mr Urgent Vundla.
He was remanded to December 4 for continuation of trial on $200 bail.
For the State, Ms Sibekithemba Dube said on November 22 this year, Matengo allegedly threatened to burn Ms Msindo’s house and the bar where she works.
“At around 8AM, the accused person entered Zothile Sports Bar in Entumbane suburb armed with an okapi knife and poured five litres of petrol on the floor,” she said.
“On count two, the accused person proceeded to the complainant’s place of residence and threatened to burn her inside her house accusing her of sending police officers to his place of residence.”
Ms Msindo said Matengo also threatened to stab her with an okapi knife.
“The accused person is dangerous, he threatened me at the bar. He also went to my place looking for me and threatened to set fire to my children who were inside the house.
“When he came to my workplace, he threatened to stab me with an okapi knife and poured petrol on the floor. I panicked and I immediately called the police,” she said.
Correspondent|Zimbabwe Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s wife, Marry has made a stunning revelation that her hubby banned her from social media.
When asked during an interview with Daily News whether she uses social media she said ” I don’t go on social media, I’m not on Facebook, I used to be on Instagram my husband told me to close it and I did. I’m not on Twitter, I’m not on anything, my husband said to me “If you want to be happy, stay away from searching yourself on the Internet, don’t go on social media you will live a happy life.” So I am living a happy life with none of those things”
Prominent Harare lawyer, Farai Chauke has appeared in court facing 22 charges of fraud and forgery.
Chauke appeared before Chiredzi Magistrate, Geraldine Mutsoto this Wednesday accused of duping 21 villagers by forging their signatures on a Deed of Trust in respect of the Nyangambe Wildlife Conservation Project Trust.
Allegations are that on 16 January last year, Chauke forged the signatures on the Nyangambe Wildlife Conservation Project Deed of Trust with the intention of defrauding the complainants, who were representing the Nyangambe community.
It is further alleged that the following month, Chauke allegedly misrepresented to the Registrar of Deeds in Harare by presenting the forged Deed of Trust with signatures of 21 Nyangambe community representatives without their consent.
Chauke, who is denying the allegations, was remanded out of custody to the fifth of next month.
Correspondent|Jehovah’s Witnesses have broken a record for translating Bible material into 1 000 languages, including 100 sign languages, while they have also produced articles, videos and audio content.
A member of the church’s governing body, Mr Geoffrey Jackson, said it took the church a little over a hundred years to reach 508 languages in January 2013.
He said in just under seven years, they had nearly doubled their translation production from 508 languages to 1 000. In addition to offering a wealth of downloadable material in 1 000 languages, Mr Jackson said their Internet home page could be navigated in an unprecedented 821 languages, making it the most widely translated website in the world.
“It’s remarkable that in just under seven years we have nearly doubled our translation production from 508 languages to 1 000,” said Mr Jackson, in a statement.
The spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Zimbabwe Mr John Hunguka said the church was translating the Bible and other related publications into seven local languages which were Shona, Ndebele, Tonga, Shangani, Kalanga, Nambya and the local sign language.
“Our publications are also available in three more local languages that are not translated in Zimbabwe, but from neighbouring countries like Malawi and South Africa, which are Venda, Chichewa and of course English from the United States,” he said.
“All in all, our publications are available in 10 of the 16 official languages of Zimbabwe.” Mr Hunguka said Zimbabwe was privileged to be among the countries with videos translated into sign language. “For most deaf people, videos serve as their publications on which their study of the Bible message is based, hence we have produced a substantial number of these videos for their use covering a wide variety of subjects,” he said.
According to the church, much of the translation is done by well-trained volunteers who work in some 350 remote translation offices (RTOs) around the world.
To ensure the translators are using the clearest and most current vocabulary, where possible, RTOs are located where there is a high concentration of native speakers, allowing the translators to be immersed in the language.
In such an environment, the translators are also able to field-test terms and expressions before using them in publications.
State Media|Gwanda Rural District Council has drafted new environmental and natural resources conservation by-laws which among others provide for permits to harvest, collect or pick for sale mopane worms.
In an interview Gwanda Rural District Council Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ronnie Sibanda, said they had also drafted by-laws to control the buying and selling of livestock. He said the by-laws were approved by council and will soon be submitted to the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works before being submitted to the Attorney General’s office for finalisation.
He said the local authority has been using by laws that were crafted in 1995 which were now outdated.
“We have drafted environmental and natural resources conservation by laws and the control of livestock marketing, buying and selling of livestock by laws for the year 2019. The purpose of the natural resources by laws are to control natural resources management and protect the environment. We want to control among other things cutting of trees and harvesting of mopane worms,” he said. “There is a lot of environmental degradation going on in the district and we want to control it. These by laws were approved by council and then we advertised them in the newspapers inviting any objections. From there we will submit them to our Ministry where they will be scrutinised and assessed. If they are successful they will be submitted to the AG’s office for finalisation and then they will be gazetted.”
Mr Sibanda said the district has natural resources such as mopane worms but locals were not benefiting much from them and these by laws will address this anomaly. He said there was a lot of environmental degradation which was recorded as a result of activities of mopane worm harvesters from other districts who swarmed the district such as the cutting down of trees, premature harvesting of mopane worms, open defecation and littering.
Mr Sibanda said the buying and selling of livestock by laws seeks to fight stock theft cases which were being recorded as a result of illegal cattle sales.
“There has to be organised cattle sales which are conducted with the knowledge of the local authority. Unfortunately some private buyers by pass the local authority and conduct illegal sales and that’s when they are sold stolen animals. The local authority has to organise these sales and invite the police who are responsible for clearing animals to ensure that they are not stolen and the Department of Veterinary Services which is responsible for disease control. These new by laws seek to bring such illegal activities to an end,” he said.
Mr Sibanda said the local authority had environmental management committees at ward level that will be monitoring and ensuring that offenders of environmental laws are brought to book.
According to the livestock by laws no one shall buy or sell livestock for commercial purposes without a permit from council. Buyers are to buy livestock from livestock sales organised by council. No one shall move livestock from one area to another without a council permit. No one shall approach the police for a clearance letter without a permit or supporting letter for such clearance from council. Any person who is guilty of an offence in terms of these by laws shall be liable to a fine imposed by council or imprisoned for a period not exceeding 12 months or both imprisonment and fine.
Under the environmental and natural resources conservation by-laws no one is allowed to harvest, collect or pick for sale or commercial trade in mopane worms, fruits or other forest produce in the council area except in terms of a permit issued in terms of the Communal Forest Produce Act (Chapter 19:04). Any person who does not abide with this law shall be guilty and liable to a fine not exceeding $400.
By Nomusa Garikai | MDC’s refusal to address the party’s serious shortcoming has only frustrated many of those who would have wanted to work with the party, forced many to desert MDC in droves!
“International solidarity is key to any struggle and ours is no different. The MDC has identified international relations as one of its cardinal zones of the struggle for a democratic and developmental Zimbabwe. In line with our Roadmap to Economic Recovery, Legitimacy, Openness and Democracy (Reload) that we launched following our fifth national congress, the party seeks to build international pressure for comprehensive political and economic reforms in Zimbabwe through a credible, legitimate and bankable political dialogue platform that is guaranteed by the international community,” MDC’s secretary for international relations, Gladys Hlatshwayo, told Newsday.
MDC had the golden opportunity to implement democratic reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. The party failed to get even one reform implemented in five years because the leaders had their snouts in the gravy train feeding trough. The party has not only refused to acknowledge it sold-out but even had the chutzpah to blame others including SADC leaders for the GNU’s failures!
The international community knows that the the power sharing arrangement with Zanu PF, the National Transition Authority (NTA), MDC is demanding is nothing but a watered down version of the 2008 to 2013 GNU. In the NTA Zanu PF will have its 2/3 majority in parliament, for example. It is naive, to say the least, to expect that parliament to pass any “comprehensive political reforms”. It is therefore naive to expect anyone in SADC let alone in the international community to support such a hare-brain scheme as NTA!
The solution to Zimbabwe’s political paralysis and economic meltdown is for the country to implement the democratic reforms designed to end this curse of rigged elections and pariah state. This was the solution spelt out by SADC leaders at the on set of the 2008 GNU and it is still the solution today. MDC and Zanu PF leaders failed to implement even one reforms during the GNU and hence the reason the nation is still stuck.
What Zimbabwe needs is to appoint a body that will implement the bloody reforms! To entrust the same Zanu PF and MDC leaders, in this NTA, to implement the reforms is damn since they failed to get even one reform implemented last time.
The only reason why MDC leaders are keen as mustard on the formation of the NTA is obvious – they are desperate to get back on the gravy train. Nelson Chamisa, Tendai Biti, David Coltart and possible a few others are hoping to be appointed ministers in the NTA.
MDC has talked about “comprehensive political reforms” but have failed to give any details of even one such reform! This has become just another empty party slogan no different from the usual “Chinja! Change! Guqula!” Chamisa et all do not have a clue what reforms the country wants because they were never interested in implementing any reforms in the past and that has not changed to this day.
MDC leaders have been running with the hare and hunting with the hounds ever since the 2008 GNU. Many in the international community realised this and deserted MDC in droves. Zimbabweans have been very slow to see it and the nation is paying dearly for this because MDC has given the illegitimate Zanu PF regimes legitimacy by participating in flawed elections. And in turn Zimbabweans have themselves give the discredited MDC legitimacy by attending the party’s rallies.
Zanu PF and MDC are ones who have dragged the nation into this political and economic mess because the two parties’ leaders have proven to be breathtakingly corrupt, incompetent and, especially in Zanu PF’s case, murderous tyrants. Zanu PF and MDC leaders are the ones resisting meaningful political change for selfish reasons and even holding the nation to ransom. They are now the nation’s number one problem and therefore can never be the solution too! – “MDC seeking international pressure to implement reform” sold-out in 2008 and will do so now. – SOURCE: zsdemocrats.blogspot.com
Press Statement|The November 27, 2019 article titled “Govt re-tenders NRZ recapitalisation deal” published by The Herald — where the paper quoted Transport Minister Joel Biggie Matiza, purporting to announce the re-tendering of the NRZ recapitalisation deal — was factually inaccurate.
Unfortunately, the right to respond was not extended to the Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group (DIDG) prior to publication. However, we are grateful for this opportunity to set the record straight.
Quoting the Minister of Transport (Cde Matiza), and other unnamed sources, the article made the following demonstrably false assertions: (a) DIDG failed to provide proof of funding for almost two years, leading to the cancellation;
(b) DIDG was given a six-month grace period to provide the proof of funding which lapsed again, leaving Government with no option except to cancel the tender; and
(c) The exclusion of Transnet complicated the deal raising legal issues.
(d) The Minister claims we avoided Ministry of Transport and Deloitte.
The facts of the matter are as follows: (a) proof of funding was provided timeously. The Herald has been provided with the proof of funding that includes funds from ABSA, Nedbank and other banks, with Afreximbank as the lead arranger. This a matter of fact, not speculation.
(b) No contractual deadlines have been missed; (c) No cancellation has been communicated by the authorised legal body dealing with this matter. It is unprofessional to purport to cancel commercial agreements through newspapers;
(d) The Joint Ventures Act is clear on remedies where equity partner changes arise, no legal issues arise from Transnet;
(e) The only outstanding matter is the signing of the JV Agreement
(f) We have no reason as DIDG to deal directly with the Ministry of Transport as the procurement agent and contracting party is NRZ and not (Minister) JB Matiza, in addition, Deloitte is appointed by NRZ and have direct dealings with NRZ.
(g) It now appears the Minister has taken reign and control of all advisors contracted to NRZ and this goes against governance structures in place to implement the trans- action.
Health Services Board board Chairman Dr Paulinus Sikhosana
State Media|Doctors being dismissed from public health service violated multiple labour provisions, leaving the Government with no option but to institute disciplinary action, the Health Services Board (HSB) has said. The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association (ZHDA) withdrew their labour starting on September 3, 2019 citing incapacitation.
Chronicling events that led to the current disciplinary action, board chairman Dr Paulinus Sikosana said on August 27, 2019, the Government through the Bipartite Negotiating Panel offered to review all health workers’ basic salaries by 50 to 76 percent on a sliding scale, effective August 1, 2019.
All health workers, junior doctors included, agreed to this by signing the collective bargaining agreement on the understanding that negotiations centred on reviewing allowances, those that were health specific, plus those for transport and housing, would continue.
Government also committed to look into the provision of buses for health workers and further review the cost of living adjustment in the fourth quarter of the year.
However, the ZHDA later backtracked and disowned the agreement. The doctors then pulled out of the Health Apex Council, which represented not only them, but the rest of health workers in the Health Service Bipartite Negotiating Panel.
The panel’s establishment and composition is clearly spelt out in Statutory Instrument 111 of 2006 and is a replica of the Public Service Tripartite Negotiating Forum. It only recognises talks with workers through the Health Apex Council.
Dr Sikosana said on September 2, 2019, they met with the ZHDA in an effort to dissuade them from withdrawing their labour as well as advising them that since they had not registered any dissent to the collective barganining agreement, they were automatically bound by its provisions.
“The board reminded the ZHDA that failure to report for duty without official leave or authorisation gives the employer no choice but to invoke the provisions of the Labour Act,” said Dr Sikosana.
However, he said the doctors stuck to their position of incapacitation and refused to report for work.
According to the board, by September 20, 2019, 62 percent of all junior doctors had withdrawn their labour, forcing the board to stop paying their salaries, a standard procedure laid down in the Labour Act.
He said through the Health Service Bipartite Negotiating Panel, Government made another offer of a 30 percent increase on all health sector specific allowances, which the workers rejected, before offering on 4 October to double the allowances.
“Unfortunately, ZHDA did not attend the meeting, having stated that they had lost faith in the Apex Council, demanding that Government must create a separate negotiating platform for doctors only,” said Dr Sikosana.
On October 18, 2019, a meeting with just the junior doctors was held again where Government repeated its offer to double all health sector allowances.
“ZHDA attended the meeting but walked out before it ended. The other health workers signed a collective bargaining agreement, having reluctantly accepted the offer, on condition that the reviewed allowances would be paid in October 2019,” said Dr Sikosana.
The HSB then approached the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare seeking a show cause order against the doctors, which was granted on October 2, 2019.
He said in terms of Section 107 of the Labour Act, the board proceeded to apply for disposal of the order against the doctors at the Labour Court.
“The disposal order hearing was heard before the Labour Court on October 9, 2019 and the Labour Court subsequently issued the disposal order on October 11, 2019, which declared the collective job action unlawful and gave the ZHDA members a 48-hour ultimatum to report for duty and that the dispute be referred for arbitration in terms of Arbitration Act,” said Dr Sikosana.
He said, most of the doctors however defied the 48-hour ultimatum, nullifying the provision for arbitration and thereby forcing the employer to institute disciplinary action for absence from work for 5 or more days after the expiry of the ultimatum.
“Disciplinary proceedings started on October 21, 2019, which led to the dismissal of those found guilty and were still absent from duty by the date of the hearing.
“Those found guilty but had returned to work by the date of the hearing were given written warnings,” said Dr Sikosana.
Most of the doctors also boycotted the disciplinary hearings resulting in dismissals in absentia.
In total, 516 of the 1 601 doctors who work in the public health sector are expected to appear before the hearings.
Although Government has called on all those wishing to continue serving in the public health sector to reapply, the doctors said they will not do so arguing that they were never on strike but “simply incapacitated”.
Some members of the Zimbabwe Senior Doctors’ Association (ZSDA) have since withdrawn their services demanding reinstatement of the fired defiant junior doctors.
In a statement released yesterday, the ZSDA maintained that they were forced to act as the situation in hospitals had deteriorated to the point where there were no bandages, gloves and syringes. It said the action of its members was meant to highlight the dire situation publicly.
“The Ministry of Health and Child Care assured us that the situation was due to shortcomings at hospital management level. The matter also caught the attention of His Excellency, who generously availed hard-earned taxpayers’ money to buy drugs and equipment,” the association said.
The association argued that the intervention was, however, not enough and since then the situation had not changed.
“We are not greedy mercenaries. We deserve proper tools of the trade, a living wage and a safe working environment. The citizens of Zimbabwe deserve a health system they can trust,” read the statement.
Catholic Bishop Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, VPs Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi
State Media|Fired doctors have 48 hours to return to work without reapplying or being asked many questions, President Mnangagwa has said in response to a request by Catholic bishops. The doctors were dismissed after being found guilty of absenteeism following a court ruling declaring their strike illegal.
Disciplinary hearings were then instituted by the Health Services Board (HSB) against those doctors who failed to report for duty after the ruling, leading to the dismissal of 448 doctors as of November 26.
Government yesterday gave the doctors a reprieve following a meeting between President Mnangagwa and Catholic bishops at State House.
The President told journalists after the meeting that they had a fruitful engagement with the bishops and agreed to their request regarding the sacked doctors.
“The bishops sent us a pastoral letter of issues they were raising across the board and asking to meet us as leadership. We acceded to their request and we have discussed these issues,” he said.
“I think the major issue that we have covered is the health sector and national health delivery, economic situation and social conditions of the people in the country, (the) political situation and the role and relations of political parties and national dialogue and last, Government, churches and civil society interaction.
“We covered all those areas. We found it very fruitful, the contribution by the bishops who came to meet us. Then, they requested for a moratorium on the question of doctors for two days.”
They asked that the doctors come back and rejoin without application.
Archbishop Robert Ndlovu echoed, President Mnangagwa’s sentiments saying their discussions covered a wide range of issues.
“We discussed a lot about the issue of striking doctors,” he said.
“What we managed to extract from Government was that they agreed to give (dismissed doctors) a moratorium for two days to report to work without having to reapply. They don’t need to apply as it had been decided by Cabinet. That one, Government has committed to that.
“The second thing is that we are happy to hear the Government say they are going to help us to equip our mission hospitals also provide drugs.
“We discussed, of course, the economic situation, Government explaining the difficulties that are there and the efforts that they are also making and I think that is the main thing.”
On political dialogue, Archbishop Ndlovu said: “I don’t think there is any change.
“The President is still committed to dialogue, and of course he says what is important is that they all come together.
“It is not a question of Zanu-PF and MDC, but all the political players and he is open to that. That is what he said. He said he is still open to anyone including the leader of the MDC-A (Mr Nelson Chamisa).”
All the fired doctors have 48-hours to return to work without re-applying or being asked many questions, President Mnangagwa has promised after this was requested by the Catholic bishops.
The doctors were dismissed after they were found guilty of absenteeism following a court ruling declaring their strike illegal.
Disciplinary hearings were then instituted by the Health Service Board against those doctors who failed to report for duty after the ruling, leading to the dismissal of 448 doctors as of November 26.
Government yesterday gave the doctors a reprieve following a long meeting between President Mnangagwa and his deputies Dr Constantino Chiwenga and Cde Kembo Mohadi, and the Catholic bishops led by the head of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference Archbishop of Harare, Robert Ndlovu at State House.
President Mnangagwa told journalists after the meeting that they had a fruitful engagement with the bishops and agreed to their request regarding the sacked doctors.
“The bishops sent us a pastoral letter of issues they were raising across the board and asking to meet us as leadership. We acceded to their request and we have discussed these issues,” he said.State media
Emmerson Mnangagwa, Kembo Mohadi and Constantino Chiwenga during a meeting with a Catholic Bishop
Cyber criminals have reportedly hacked two accounts belonging to Rusununguko and Anderson high schools on the Electronic Ministry Application Platform (eMAP) and are now taking advantage of desperate parents looking for Form 1 places for their children for next year.
The fraudsters are reportedly sending messages to parents asking them to deposit money into two almost similar ZB Bank account numbers 4112-340606-081 and 4112-340606-080.
Rusununguko High School is in Bromley in Mashonaland East, while Anderson High School is in Gweru, Midlands province.
One of the messages circulating on social media reads: “Congratulations, your child is being offered a Form 1 2020 place. You confirm by paying $9 660 into ZB First Street Acc. No. 4112-340606-081 and $1 645 into ZB First Street Acc No. 4112-340606-080.
“Bring proof of payment and child to school for registration. The offer is valid until Friday 29 November 2019.
Failure to meet the deadline, the offer will be withdrawn and given other learners on Monday 2 December 2019. Rusununguko High School.”
The other one reads: “Congratulations, your child is being offered a Form 1 2020 place. You confirm by paying $19 660 into ZB First Street Acc. No.
4112-340606-081 and $11 645 into ZB First Street Acc 4112-340606-080.
“Bring proof of payment and child to school for registration. The offer is valid until Friday 29 November 2019.
Failure to meet the deadline the offer will be withdrawn and given other learners on Monday 2 December 2019. Anderson High School.”
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said they were still checking if any reports had been made over the issues.
“We would want to find out if any report has been made to police.
Secondly, we urge parents to physically approach the schools so that they verify some of the information in order to deter these criminals who are using messages and the social media to dupe unsuspecting people.
“School authorities should also put in place measures to safeguard their systems so that they are not hacked by criminals,” he said.
Recently, several people lost their cash after receiving a call from a cellphone number—+263864479973—with the caller claiming to be their bank’s employee.
POWER Sales has dispelled reports that it was closing shop in Zimbabwe following the planned exit of current major shareholder Pepkor Holdings of South Africa.
Although the clothing company acknowledged as true that Pepkor was leaving Zimbabwe, it indicated that Power Sales as a brand was going to remain operational.
“Power Sales would like to make an announcement with regards to the recent unofficial announcements in some local press and online social media on November 25, 2019.
“Please be assured that whilst it is a fact that Pepkor is exiting Zimbabwe, Power Sales is not closing,” said the company in a statement which was released to set the record straight.
Power Sales had mid this year revised its business model by moving to a model that encouraged local clothing manufacturers industry digressing from the Pepkor’s model which was hinged on imports particularly from the home country, South Africa.
“Since July 2019, we have changed our business model by supporting our local manufacturers. This has been a great success.
“Final negotiations are in place with the relevant parties to conclude the terms of sale with Power Sales resident directors and Pepkor.”
“We know our business and we look forward to many years of partnerships together,” Power Sales said.
Pepkor chief executive officer Leon Lourens had earlier on indicated that his company exited Zimbabwe owing to the heightened economic headwinds characterised by soaring inflation, power outages and lack of disposable income and had only tried to remain afloat for the sake of the employees.
“A decision was made to exit operations in Zimbabwe as a result of the continued macroeconomic challenges in the country and ongoing devaluation of the local currency.
“The last few years have been tough. We have hung in there mainly for the sake of our loyal employees in that country. But it got too energy sapping for little returns and we have decided to move on,” said Mr Lourens.
Pepkor whose brands include Pep Stores, Ackermans and Shoe City, left Zimbabwe this week bringing to an end its 20-year presence in the country.State media
The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) said that the Total Consumption Poverty Line, commonly referred to as the Poverty Datum Line (PDL), for an average of five persons increased by 44.2 in October.
The TCPL for the month of October stood at $3 160, from $2 192 for the same family in September.
Zimstat said:
The TCPL (Total Consumption Poverty Line)for an average of five persons stood at $3, 159.52 in October 2019.
This means that an average household required that much to purchase both food and non-food items for them not to be deemed poor.
This represents an increase of 44.2 per cent when compared to the September 2019 figure of $2, 191.62.
Zimstat also revealed that the PDL varied by province, with the lowest being $2 904 in
Mashonaland Central and
Matabeleland North being the highest at $3 359.
Runaway inflation has driven the majority of Zimbabweans below the PDL as many of those formally employed are earning less than $1 000 per month.
