….Councillors threaten to fire CEO
…Minister appoints commission of enquiry on separation of roles

By Brighton Chiseva

ZAKA – The feud between Zaka Rural District Council (RDC) management and councilors is raging on and has forced Minister of Local Government and Public Works Daniel Garwe to intervene by appointing a Commission of Enquiry to look into the various allegations being raised.
TellZim News is in possession of a document in which Garwe appointed a five member team to investigate a number of issues ranging from separation of roles to compliance.
Garwe appointed Cephas Mudavanhu who is Deputy Director Rural Local Authorities in the ministry as chairperson of the investigating team, with Deputy Director (legal) Kudzai Tshuma, Innocent Matingwina (Chivi District Development Coordinator), C Zhakata (Rural Local Authorities Secretary) and P Mpofu (finance) as other members of the committee.
“The Investigation Committee will be guided by the following terms of reference: To ascertain the relationship between councilors and executives, with regards to separation of roles, to look into compliance of the RDC Act with reference to duties of Finance Executives; to establish compliance with the RDC Act with regards to convening of council meetings and to look into other Corporate Governance matters the committee may consider appropriate to the enquiry,” reads the statement.
The committee was given 10 days to carry out the investigations and reliable sources told TellZim that it will start the investigations on Monday July 1.
Zaka RDC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Majaura denied knowledge of the appointment of such a team and said he was yet to receive communication.
“I haven’t received it, I will inform you when I get the notification,” said Majaura.
However, the Council Chairperson Fungai Maregedze confirmed the development and said the commission of enquiry was appointed after she requested the minister to intervene.
“I am aware of the commission of enquiry which is supposed to come. The team was dispatched following our plea to the Minister for intervention following clashes with management where they accused us of interfering with their work,” said Maregedze.
TellZim News is also in possession of two leaked letters sent to the minister written by Maregedze and signed by fellow councilors which she also acknowledged saying she wrote to the minister to seek his intervention.
“I am aware of the letters, I am the one who wrote them and appealed to the minister to intervene because we are having some challenges at Zaka RDC.
In the first letter dated May 20 2024, the council chair said since her council had assumed office in August last year, they had met several stumbling blocks in the execution of their work and was seeking guidance as the issues were affecting service delivery.
“I am humbly making this submission to you Hon Minister seeking relief and guidance on several issues that are impeding service delivery and having a direct negative bearing on service delivery and my performance contract as chairperson of Zaka RDC,” reads part of the letter.
She also said council management was misinforming the responsible ministry about councillors interference in order to avoid scrutiny and being held to account.
The current crop of councilors are not the first to clash with Majaura as the 2013 to 2018 councilors also threatened to fire him over incompetency.
In 2016 the four MPs in the district then told the councilors that they were supposed to fire Majaura for his gross incompetence.
The investigation committee is expected to complete its work within 10 days and report to Garwe thereafter.

By Meditation Mposi

Masvingo City Council’s housing waiting list has ballooned to 3 355 applicants who are anxiously waiting for land allocation. The waiting list rose from 3 072 in April to 3 355 in June, an increase of 283 people within a space of 3 months.
Speaking at a full council meeting held at the townhouse on recently, ward 9 councilor Bernard Muchokwa said council has been collecting money from residents on the waiting list for years without giving them stands.
“The current waiting list stands at 3 355 applications; council has been selling lodgers’ cards to unsuspecting residents for a plethora of years without selling any stands. Chairman of housing please tell this house when are you planning on selling the next batch of stands, if you are not sure why must council continue selling lodger’s cards. Residents are not registered for free yet Rujeko D is still very far from being completed,” said Muchokwa.
Masvingo Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa said council was not milking residents’ of their money and said the waiting list was important as it guides accordingly on the demand for stands in the city.
“There is nothing amiss about council getting people to register their interests to have stands even when there are no stands available. That is just an expression of interest and no one is forced to be on the waiting list. It guides us in terms of planning, We need to get guidance on how many people would have expressed interest on buying stands so in the absence of a waiting list we cannot have guidance on the numbers of people who require the stands so I find nothing amiss about having a waiting list,” said Engineer Mukaratirwa.
Speaking in an interview with this publication over the matter, Masvingo City Mayor and ward four councilor Alec Tabe said council had plans to service Rujeko D and part of Runyararo West stands, a development that could decrease the number of people on the waiting list.
“We have a plan to service Rujeko D stands and part of Runyararo West stands then if we are able to complete the projects we will be able to reduce the number of people on council’s waiting list,” said Tabe.
He went on to say the local authority had since reduced the lodgers cards prices from US$20 to US$7. According to Council’s First Quarter Budget Performance Review, the local authority has budgeted US$2 million for servicing of the Rujeko D stands.

By Meditation Mposi

The completion and commissioning of Harava Clinic waiting mother’s shelter has brought cheer and relief to expecting mothers and the community at large who were travelling long distances to Musiso or Ndanga Hospitals for maternity services.
Speaking to TellZim News, Zaka North MP Ophias Murambiwa said before the construction of the shelter, the situation was so dire and when he heard people’s cries he then appealed for assistance from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Lotteries and Gaming Board (A body which is responsible for licensing and regulating all gambling activities) chipped in with funds for construction of the facility.
“I wrote an application letter to the Ministry of Home affairs and they made it possible for us to get funding from Lotteries and Gaming Board.
“Construction of the shelter started in December 2019 and it was completed in 2024,” said Murambiwa.
He said the shelter had 24 beds and two delivery beds which mean 24 waiting mothers could be accommodated at a time.
“The shelter accommodates twenty four expecting mothers and has two delivery beds. There is also a walk way which protects expecting mothers from rain and sun on their way to the main clinic. This waiting shelter is a blessing to our community and we are proud of it,” said Murambiwa.
Ward 22 Councilor Stephen Paradza whose ward the clinic is located said women would walk long distances to Ndanga District Hospital and St Anthony’s and that resulted in some giving birth on their way to the hospital.
“Prior to construction of the waiting shelter, expecting mothers travelled from far places to hospitals including Ndanga and St Anthony’s which resulted in women giving birth on the way which often caused death and other maternal complications.
“The facility serves women from ward 17, 22, 33 and part of ward 16 which is important as the wards are nearer to the clinic ensuring accessibility of maternal services to the mothers,” said Paradza.
Local village head (Chivasa) Alex Poterayi said the facility was important for the community as it helped in reducing deaths at birth as other women would not afford ambulances in cases of emergencies.
“The community is happy about this accomplished project. It is helping in reducing maternal complications related deaths among expecting mothers. We used to have emergencies where people would fail to get transport to referral hospitals like Ndanga and Musiso,” said Poterayi.
The shelter was commissioned by the deputy minister of home affairs and cultural heritage Chipo Sanyatwe on June 20.

By Beverly Bizeki

Health service delivery in Masvingo is expected to improve soon with Discovery Ambulance Services (DAS) set open a branch in Masvingo to provide emergency medical services.

DAS Group Chief Executive Officer David Munowenyu confirmed the development and said the company hopes to bridge the gap in emergency medical services in Masvingo.

He said the province required the service more due to high number of fatalities recorded as it has one of the busiest highways in the country.

“We are excited about the prospect of setting a base in Masvingo. We take pride in our highly experienced staff, well maintained vehicles and advanced medical equipment. We are committed to offer emergency medical services to the best of our abilities

“Due to heavy traffic, the prevalence of accidents in this region is notably high and DAS aims to mitigate this challenge by reducing road carnage through rapid response and medical care,” said Munowenyu.

Munowenyu said the company’s goals was to provide emergency medical services at affordable rates as well as create employment through hiring staff from the region.

“The company will offer subscription packages starting from as little as US$1 per person making emergency medical services more accessible and inclusive. DAS is also committed to creating employment by hiring qualified and experienced paramedics from the region. Beyond emergency response, the company will provide inter-hospital transfers, Intensive Care Unit transfers, sports and event coverage, standby ambulance services for industries, schools and mines as well as other services typically offered by an ambulance service provider,” said Munowenyu.

Munowenyu said the company was open for business and welcome partnerships for collaborations in fighting road accidents fatalities and bridge the ambulance gap in Zimbabwe.

As part of the company’s social responsibility, DAS is set to conduct a series of medical outreaches programmes in Masvingo starting with Mutendi Estates on June 29 where they will be offering free consultations, blood pressure as well as diabetes tests, treatment and public health education after which they will proceed to Masvingo at Civic Centre.

The Masvingo highway serves a vital gateway to Zimbabwe’s largest trade partner South Africa which has access to Indian Ocean acting as Zimbabwe’s window to the world facilitating both imports and exports as Zimbabwe is landlocked.

TellZim Reporter

Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe (THZ) Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Tendai Masawi told journalists during a tour of the company’s operations in Chiredzi recently that they were expecting an increase in sugar output from 375 000 tonnes last year to about 400 000 tonnes this year.
THZ units are made up of wholly-owned Triangle Pvt Ltd and the 50.3% owned Hippo Valley Estates.
Masawi said last year’s output was affected by recurrent mill breakdowns which forced the company to carry over sugarcane to this year’s milling season.
“We are expecting to produce between 395 000 to 400 000 tonnes this year, with a total value of about US$380 million. Our output was slightly lower than last year because we were affected by recurrent mill breakdowns but I am happy that we managed to repair our mills and they are now running smoothly. We are on target, and since our mills are running well, I am very confident that we will get the tonnage we set,” said Masawi.
He added that THZ’s two mills at Hippo Valley and Triangle respectively, had an installed capacity of approximately 640 000 tonnes per year. The company accounts for 60% of the sugarcane whilst 40% is supplied by the 1200 out grower farmers in Mkwasine, Hippo Valley and Triangle. These 1 200 out grower farmers are assisted by THZ with fertilisers, herbicides and technical assistance in order to complement its sugarcane production.
Masawi said Zimbabwe requires 300 000 tonnes of sugar per year for domestic consumption and the surplus is exported to get foreign currency which he said the company needed to buy spares for the Triangle and Hippo Valley mills as well as sustaining other operations.
THZ is also working with government under the Kilimanjaro project to develop about 4 000 hectares that will be distributed by government to out grower farmers. To date, THZ in partnership with various banks managed to develop 2 700 hectares of the targeted 4000 hectares and expects to complete the remainder as soon as possible.