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Popular cattle farmer nabbed for murder

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Popular cattle farmer nabbed for murder

By Staff Reporter

MASVINGO – A popular cattle farmer who runs a thriving cattle farm in Bhuka area and resides at15642, Makuyana Street Runyararo West high-density suburb in Masvingo Robert Makado (49) who is also Masingo Beef Producers Association (MBPA) chairperson was arrested on murder charges after allegedly assaulting his herdboy who died a few days later.
Masvingo Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the incident and said Makado had since been picked by the police.
Sources said on January 16 around 1500hrs at Mudavanhu Bottle store in Chief Bere area, the deceased Misheck Sinyoro from Tarambiwa Village in Bikita and his workmate Ericanos Regi (49) of Autoparks Farm, were drinking beer when the accused appeared and started to assault the now deceased accusing him of leaving cattle unattended and drinking beer.
The accused assaulted Sinyoro with open hands, kicked him all over his body with booted feet and went on to assault Regi before he was restrained by others.
The now-deceased went home complaining of chest pains and the following day around 5am, woke up but failed to do his usual work and the two agreed that he should go to Bhuka Clinic though he had difficulties in walking.
When Regi came back from the farm around 2000hrs, he discovered that Sinyoro was not around and thought maybe he had not returned from the clinic.
On the following day (January 18) in the morning, he went behind one of the houses intending to wash her clothes and saw the deceased’s body in a nearby bush which they used as a bathing area.
he called Makado and informed him about the incident but Makado asked him not to tell people what had transpired but he went on to report to the police leading to the accused’s arrest.

Three Avonmore Farm men in court over illegal settlements

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Three Avonmore Farm men in court over illegal settlements

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Three Masvingo men have appeared before Masvingo Magistrate Court facing charges of settling within prohibited land at Avonmore farm.
Pondiwa Charumbira (54), Ezekiel Mazani (29), and Simbarashe Charumbira (54) appeared before Masvingo Magistrate Tariro Mudzingo on January 22, 2024, and were remanded out of custody to January 30 2023 for continuation of trial.
Appearing before Mudzingo, Pondiwa said he was given the farm by a village headman at Avonmore Farm in 1997 during the land reform programme, producing receipts in court as exhibit, adding that he had been paying tax.
“I was given this farm by the late headman in 1997 and I have been paying tax to Masvingo Rural District Council for my homestead, so I do not know my crime because I was only given the farm,” said Charumbira.
The state led by Tarisai Muvengi alleges that on January 18, 2024 Masvingo Zimbabwe Republic Police were led by Council and Ministry of Lands personnel to Avonmore Farm, Village 31, Masvingo on an ongoing operation called “Operation Order No To Land Barons” and managed to arrest the three before the operation was cut short by rains.
It is alleged that there are nearly 100 illegal settlers at Avonmore Farm, who are on the verge of being displaced as “Operation Order No to Land Barons” is progressing.
Government is working to stop land barons and people who are illegally selling or distributing communal lands and nearly 13,000 illegal settlers in Masvingo Province are said to be left homeless from state’s effort to remove those situated on prohibited lands.
Recently in Mushandike, at least 60 people were taken to court over the same issue, with some of them being traditional leaders facing charges of illegally distributing land.
As of 21 January 2024, a total of 364 illegal settlers had been arrested in the province as confirmed by the Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dehwa.
He went on to warn people who were settling in illegal settlements that the long arm of the law will catch up with them.

Minor sex workers become talk of Jerera

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Minor sex workers become talk of Jerera

By Brighton Chiseva

ZAKA – A group of four minor sex workers, popularly known as ‘Zvitokwe Mukosi’ allegedly below 15 years have become the talk of the town in Zaka’s Jerera Growth Point as they are attracting the eyes of male predators who are stampeding to get their services.
The name ‘Zvitokwe Mukosi’ came about after several young children from Chivi area who were affected by the Tokwe Mukosi floods in 2014 went into prostitution in areas like Ngundu, Chiredzi and Jerera.
Zaka ward 19 (Jerera) councilor Albert Mazvanya popularly known as Tabika confirmed the development and said they were worried about the issue saying responsible authorities should intervene.
“I can confirm there is a group of about four girls who frequent the popular night spots in Jerera. They are so young judging from their faces and stature and could be below 15 years. I heard one of them dropped out of school and was supposed to be in form 2 in the resettlement areas. After that she came to stay with her mother who stays in the Mapanje area but left for the growth point.
“I call upon relevant departments to intervene and rescue these young children before they become addicted to the profession because currently, all eyes are on them,” said Mazvanya.
Other sources said the minors were staying at a local house in Jerera and charged from as little as US$2 – US$5 depending on the time of the month.
“They charge from as little as US$2 and if its short time they will have to pay a US$1 for a room behind the bars,” said the source
Another said the quartet are now the centre of attraction in local bars and the elderly sex workers are losing clientele as men compete for the minor girls.
“The old and regular sex workers are losing clients and they are now jealous of the kids and if the situation continues they may get hurt. This is because they don’t have a standard fee, they accept anything making it hard for the older ones who cannot settle for less,” said another source.
One elder sex worker said she felt pity for the young girls whom she said should be in school and urged parents and guardians not to let their children go into the streets.
“I am a sex worker but I have a kid who is older than these so it pains me when we compete for clients. They should be in school because they risk contracting STIs. After all, they do not have the guts to tell clients to use protection,” said the source.
She said because of competition with the younger sex workers, a number of them had resorted to selling different things at these night spots.
Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council Marketing and Communications officer Hebert Chikosi said they were worried about child prostitution and were engaging other stakeholders like law enforcement agencies to intervene as well as make sure that sexual and reproductive health services are available.
“In addressing child sex work, ZNFPC is working closely with government agencies, law enforcement, and social welfare departments to strengthen child protection mechanisms
“ZNFPC’s involvement in comprehensive interventions, including prevention strategies, accessible sexual health services, collaboration with stakeholders, and advocating for policy changes, is crucial in addressing the spike in STIs,” said Chikosi
Other hot spots where underage girls solicite for transactional sex include Mhandamambwe Growth Point in Chivi District, Mpandawana-Gutu town and Nyika Growth Point in Bikita, among others.

75-year-old village head in court for parcelling out land

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75-year-old village head in court for parcelling out land

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A 75-year-old Village head from Mushandike area in Masvingo recently appeared before Masvingo Magistrate Court facing charges of allocating gazetted land.
Tinago Konde who is the village head for Village 15 appeared before Magistrate Elizabeth Hanzie and was remanded out of custody for continuation of trial on January 25.
Konde pleaded guilty to the charges and begged for leniency saying he was not aware that what he was doing was a serious crime which calls for a penalty.
“I admit that I was parcelling out land to people, may the courts have leniency on me since I was not aware that what I was doing was a crime which calls for a serious sentence,” said Konde.
It is the state’s case as presented by Godknows Mugondo that on January 10, 2024 a report was made that Konde was distributing gazetted land to people without authority of government specifically Ministry of Lands.
It is also alleged that Konde started distributing land to people from as early as 2000, within Mushandike Settlement area, of which the land belonged to the government.

Save us from Tshabangu recalls – Mvo councilor begs Min Chitando

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Save us from Tshabangu recalls – Mvo councilor begs Min Chitando

…as councillor Muchokwa pleads for more allowances

By Beverly Bizeki

MASVINGO – In an act that probably exposed how self-centered and self-serving some councilors are, Masvingo City Ward 9 councilor Benard Muchokwa begged the Minister of Local Government and Public Works Winston Chitando to increase their allowances as well as to spare Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) councilors, by taking no action, if their party’s self-imposed secretary general Sengezo Tshabango decides to recall them in future.
Speaking during an interaction meeting with Minister Chitando at Masvingo City Hall recently, Muchokwa – who is popularly known as Bennic, pleaded with Minister Chitando to take heed of his two self-serving interests ahead of provision of quality service delivery; that is, for the minister to ignore recall letters from Tshabangu as well as reviewing upwards the councillors’ allowances.
“I am pleading with the minister to consider the welfare of councilors. There is a lot of corruption and the major reason is that councilors do not have a salary, therefore, I plead with you to consider the welfare of councilors and that will go a long way in solving the issue of corruption,” said Muchokwa.
“I am also pleading with you to ignore recall letters. Please do not read or effect the recalls,” he added.
However, in an interview with TellZim News, Masvingo City Mayor Alex Tabe and other opposition councilors distanced themselves from the submissions by Muchokwa saying that was his personal opinion and did not reflect the position of councilors.
“It’s not correct to say councilors are corrupt because of poor allowances because we are not elected to get allowances but to serve the interests of residents, and ensure provision of quality service delivery. I think it was a wrong platform for one to talk about the welfare of councilors,” said Tabe.
“When it comes to recalls, we are not afraid of Tshabangu because we are solidly behind the leadership of Advocate Nelson Chamisa and we are not apologetic about that. We all know that Tshabangu is an imposter so we are not bothered by the decisions he makes,” he added.
Residents however, castigated councilors for being self-centered and said provision of quality service delivery should be their top priority.
Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Association (MURRA) spokesperson Godfrey Mutimba said councilors must consider the interests of residents first before anything else.
“We wish to reiterate that councilors should prioritise service delivery first ahead of self-serving interests, residents are receiving clumsy service delivery and we do not expect leaders to use their stomachs to think. They should plead with the minister to fund water reticulation project to end the water crisis in the city, so we urge elected leaders not to be self-centered,” said Mutimba.
Residents often accuse councilors and legislators for ignoring their issues and pushing their self-serving interests when they get to council and Parliament respectively.
Recently, legislators demanded hefty allowances and other benefits which the Finance Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube has since approved.

So long “Yero naNero”

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So long “Yero naNero”

Ladies and gentlemen, recent happenings in the country have been both giving the citizenry shivers, imi mati kubirana nekuitirana marobbery ndokuita seiko nhaimi? We all know things are not ok in this country economically,, but that is no excuse to brutalize vamweka kunge zviri kuitika pamhiri paLimpopo apa where the sanctity of life is not even taken serious at all. Bva vanogooneswa chamutavanhava neCID Mutorashanga, kkkkk. Unodura nezvakaitwa nematateguru usati wavapo. Well done to our police, chokwadi pamwe tingararawo hope. What saddens me however is the number of former security personnel who become perpetrators of these robberies apa isu tichiti masoja nemapurisa ndoanotichengeta. Wonzwazve kuti rimwe gurusvusvu remaofficer are in court for corruption yematraffic fines wotoshaya kuti zvinhu zvacho zviri kumbofamba sei.
Eheka, maisiirwa Yero yenyuka naNero, kkkk, seka hako Mapombi, kuseka nhamo serugare. Hanzi zveyellow ndezvemudumbu izvi naNero saka sarai henyu nechinhu chenyu chekutoireti ichi. Mapombi once said some people vanoita senge vachatonomumanikidza kuti adzoke vawane wekupomera masanction neeconomic decay because ikozvino kuti vachati pasi neTripo C iyo iri project yavo hazvichaita. Tshabangu must be depressed right now because unenge uchiti wabvuta chinhu wanike muridzi oti take everything plus mbasera. Mapombi however is worried about what will happen to those who remain in parliament under CCC. Eeeh, Honorable Fadzi uko, hanzi mava waTshabangu saka motodzikama nhaika. You know, I feel like those who were recalled have better social capital to the masses and to opposition politics than those who remained in parliament. I say this because unotaura sei uchidya? Unodzipwazve zvikashaya basa because haungati on one hand you are getting allowances and other perks as an MP who got in under CCC and on another hand woda kurasa rasa muswe. Those ones have been neutralized I tell you. Vari kunze have nothing to lose kusara kwekungotya havo kuzoitwa zvaSikhala kuvharirwa mujere for that long. Isu hedu vakaropafadzwa are in for a long haul yekuramba tichinzwa tuchirungu twaOstallos twuya ladies and gentlemen, zvikagoti mabhii akaraviwawo paya stereki, ko tati tadii hedu. Nhaka tichazvimba makumbo nekufambira nyaya dzacho because panenge pava kuda kunakidza. Chokwadi thank you Nero for giving us some excitement in Zim politics. Chero zvazvo aita concede defeat mukomana, we know that he is their nightmare kwese kwese, including kune the so called other opposition political parties vePolad-lite ava veNERA. Mapombi is told vakati Nero bodo, hatimudi ngaagare arega hake kuuya kuno because he will cause chaos. Ivowo baba vaya vane kahumain actor syndrome saka NERA iyoyo inopedzisira yakunzi Nero, yotoita slogan yekunzi NERA naNero, ngaapinde hake mukomana tichingopedzerwa nguva nezvinhu zvisina basa. This should be a lesson to him that some people do not endorse nonsense. What he has been doing over the years mukomana wenyu uyu is to push away people who have the struggle at heart, vakabva kare vachida change, but achidazve kuti vamuite endorse. Ehezve imi munoti zvanagenerational consensus zviya zvaiva zvei? Ndikoko kuda kuitisa vanhu kuti vamuite endorse through an alliance of political parties, MDC-Alliance, ndokuunganidza vose paya pana 2018, wanike dololo. Zvaramba paya akati I will go to the citizens, since he had the charisma and in most cases the right words to convince them, ruzhinji rukati paYeropo. Manatsamukamwa chinawovo chiyazve, do you remember gore riya achiti “Patakasangana naTrump, akati nhai vakomana, munoda marii?….” imika, muchapatisiwa takatarisa, kkkkk. Charisma on its own, iri yega without proper strategies does not get you anywhere near State House. Vanhu vanogona kuridza mhururu vagopfichuka at your rally but if you do not have a good strategy haulumi.Zvino vanga vakatenga MaYero regaria matsva muchaita sei nawo. Kana iwo masharu acho muchaita sei nhaimi. But Nero usadaro sure. Saka Mango strategy yodii nhai. Ko zvino Zanu pamaRally ichati pasi nei? Kkkk asi ED anorotomoka wani in front of you but munenge matozvinzwa, and zviri zvestrategy don’t even go there. November 2017 will tell you kuti Baba Matuwinzi hamuna zera navo. Bhobho did not see it coming audzwa zvake kuti ndiri kudzoka naBaba Matuwi. Ahhh, saka imi munoti strategic ambiguity istrategy here iyo iya yekuti chidhelele chakaita saTshabangu can just come otobvanyangura zvototi pasi ngondongondo?
But you people are not nice people, Tshabangu momuiteikoo,kkkk. News reaching me kuno kuChitima hanzi Tshabangu vakaenda vakarodza bhilo to sign kuti ajoine that NERA thing kwanaMwonzora namabiyangu venyaya dzebhavhu ava Linda vakasvikonzi endai munouya napresident weparty yenyu ndiye bwai bwai, kkkkk. Zvimwe zvacho zvinosetsa chero mbavaha yakavanda. Munoramba henyu when I tell you that Tshabangu and his cronies have some unresolved bitterness issues personally, which have been taken advantage of by some selfish elements within the opposition but ndotozviona ini. Ini ndiri gentleman handivanzi, maface aya anogona akabulliwa kuprimary or kumba pane zvirikuitika.
Zvino manje vasara mumacouncil nemuparamende zvadzava nherera, apa zuro uno Bernic wedu rasta councillor was busy begging Chitando not to sign recall letters nekutozoda kuwedzerwa maallowances, ko mukanzi muende kumba nhai? Murombo haarovi chinenguwo chokwadi. On councillors swearing in day, you promised to fix residents’ service delivery issues, speaking with palpable convictions that all those listening, nesuwo kuno kuChitima we thought nhamo iya yazodzokera kwaChirimudombo, but ndimi zvenyu Councilor Bernic makutoudza minister kuti if you don’t increase allowances toita corruption, as if you were threatening him. Chii ichocho chinenge ngozi yedatya rinojamba pasina gomba? Politics of the stomach ndodzatiurayira this our beloved country. Everyone just wants to fatten his or her pocket wherever they are. Munosvodesa henyu imi. Saka imi, mati regalia yeYellow yoitwa sei zviya kkk. I will ask this question countless times.
But vakomana vekugovernment imimi bhadharai zvikwereti. The masses keep on being burdened nezvikwereti zvezvinhu zvekuzviparira. Border Timbers irikuda mari yayo, and sometimes you need to realize that no amount of politicking will save you from paying what you owe. You breached a law and broke a law, bhadharai. Haasi macivil servants zveaya amunobatirira mozovapa nzungu makuda kuvashandisa. Nyaya dzehondo yeminda dzava kunetsa manje. A lot of mistakes were made, and I am very sure because of some people’s stupid egos and foolishness veiled in selfishness, it was deliberately ignored zvichiita fester semamota, now you have to fork out US$125 million. Apa nekuside you are busy arresting harahwa dzevanhu masabhuku for parcelling out land. Imi maiti zvinopera sei? Gore riya kuChilonga you all heard that all communal land belongs to the president, vanhu vachitonzi ibvai tirime sora remombe, imi vanamusorobhangu busy buying stands kumamisha, hanzi “sabhuku deals”. Sabhuku venyika ino ndiED nevana vake, all of you do not have that power, you do not matter nhaika, ngatitenderane ipapo. If you bought those “sabhuku deals” stands, I am sorry to bring you the bad news that you happily invested in tears. Kana makasiya maroya vamwe muchitama going to a piece of land or stand yamakatengeserwa nasabhuku hameno henyu. Who would have thought kuti those masabhuku ainzi aifanirwa kuwedzerwa maallowances gore rapera naJuly Moyo paya are the same people who are being targeted by the operation iriko iyi, kkkk. Kana mazita atochinja they are now being called land barons. Chisingaperi chinoshura.
Let’s just wait for the new colour yeNero party, Mapombi once said vachatipedzera all the colours dzemureza. One piece of advice to Chamisa that I have however is that zvekuda kushandisa vanhu making yourself a dictator will come back to bite you, ugobaika nekuzvitiza uchinotanga something new time and again. Yes, you are simply running away from your own shadow, you are the architect of your own problems. There is no way you will continue doing the same thing expecting the same results, hakuna zvakadaro. But pachokwadi zvapo Nero akanda joker, not to so many outside CCC but kune team ranga risina kuitwa recalled riya, hanzi ndakukudhonetai kunaTshabangu, kkkk. Apa no one knows what his next move is going to be, talk about kukanda nyoka mubhazi kkkkk.
Let me go ndinokanga maputi angu for lunch, mabanana mazuvano haupedzi. But before I go, nhasi before we sleep tiisirewo VaSikhala munamato, tisakanganwawo vaya vaitengesa regalia yeYellow. Until next week, mboko imboko!

Operation Order No to Land Barons: 545 arrested in Masvingo

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Operation Order No to Land Barons: 545 arrested in Masvingo

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The Zimbabwe Republic Police has confirmed the arrest of a total of 545 people in connection with illegal settlements in the ongoing Operation Order No To Land Barons.
Masvingo Provincial Spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa said as of Wednesday January 24, 2024, 545 people had been arrested for settling in prohibited areas in Masvingo Province.
The operation which came into effect on January 10 2024 is a joint operation between the Police, local authorities, Environment Management Agency (EMA) and those from Ministry of Lands.
Dhewa said most of the illegal settlers being arrested were from Lake Mutirikwi basin where 65 people were arrested for settling within prohibited dam basin as well as Mushandike Ressetlement Area and in Triangle.
“Lake Mtrikwi Basin, Mushandike Area and Triangle have the highest number of people arrested under the operation,” said Dhewa.
Dhewa warned all those staying at the illegal settlements to vacate before they are arrested.
“Arrested people are being taken to courts and I urge all those staying on prohibited land to vacate such places as settling in such areas is contravening section 56(20) of the Water Act chapter 20:24,” said Dhewa.
The ‘Operation Order No To Land Barons’ is still going on with the aim of bringing sanity to communal lands in Zimbabwe.

Save us from Tshabangu recalls – Mvo councilor begs Min Chitando

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Save us from Tshabangu recalls – Mvo councilor begs Min Chitando

…as councillor Muchokwa pleads for more allowances

By Beverly Bizeki

MASVINGO – In an act that probably exposed how self-centered and self-serving some councilors are, Masvingo City Ward 9 councilor Benard Muchokwa begged the Minister of Local Government and Public Works Winston Chitando to increase their allowances as well as to spare Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) councilors, by taking no action, if their party’s self-imposed secretary general Sengezo Tshabango decides to recall them in future.
Speaking during an interaction meeting with Minister Chitando at Masvingo City Hall recently, Muchokwa – who is popularly known as Bennic, pleaded with Minister Chitando to take heed of his two self-serving interests ahead of provision of quality service delivery; that is, for the minister to ignore recall letters from Tshabangu as well as reviewing upwards the councillors’ allowances.
“I am pleading with the minister to consider the welfare of councilors. There is a lot of corruption and the major reason is that councilors do not have a salary, therefore, I plead with you to consider the welfare of councilors and that will go a long way in solving the issue of corruption,” said Muchokwa.
“I am also pleading with you to ignore recall letters. Please do not read or effect the recalls,” he added.
However, in an interview with TellZim News, Masvingo City Mayor Alex Tabe and other opposition councilors distanced themselves from the submissions by Muchokwa saying that was his personal opinion and did not reflect the position of councilors.
“It’s not correct to say councilors are corrupt because of poor allowances because we are not elected to get allowances but to serve the interests of residents, and ensure provision of quality service delivery. I think it was a wrong platform for one to talk about the welfare of councilors,” said Tabe.
“When it comes to recalls, we are not afraid of Tshabangu because we are solidly behind the leadership of Advocate Nelson Chamisa and we are not apologetic about that. We all know that Tshabangu is an imposter so we are not bothered by the decisions he makes,” he added.
Residents however, castigated councilors for being self-centered and said provision of quality service delivery should be their top priority.
Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Association (MURRA) spokesperson Godfrey Mutimba said councilors must consider the interests of residents first before anything else.
“We wish to reiterate that councilors should prioritise service delivery first ahead of self-serving interests, residents are receiving clumsy service delivery and we do not expect leaders to use their stomachs to think. They should plead with the minister to fund water reticulation project to end the water crisis in the city, so we urge elected leaders not to be self-centered,” said Mutimba.
Residents often accuse councilors and legislators for ignoring their issues and pushing their self-serving interests when they get to council and Parliament respectively.
Recently, legislators demanded hefty allowances and other benefits which the Finance Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube has since approved.

Comprehensive social protection for children in Zimbabwe

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Comprehensive social protection for children in Zimbabwe

By Nicholas Aribino and Mrs Jenneth Musiyiwa

Children by nature are vulnerable. The vulnerability of children comes as a function of intersecting variables such as age, limited social experiences and exposure to life circumstances, gender, child poverty and lack of tangible and intangible resources that would be critical for creating a fertile ground for expanded capabilities and opportunities that would enable them to enjoy life to the hilt. The definition of a child as given by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), 1989 classifies every person under the age of 18 as a child. The Constitution of Zimbabwe has since adopted this understanding of a child and is using it as a measuring scoop for targeting purposes where social protection for children is concerned. The definition of a child as given above is indicative of the assertion of the vulnerability of children. It is the intent of this opinion piece to talk about the need for social protection that is comprehensive for Zimbabwean children.
Social protection by definition implies a set of public and private policies and programmes that focus towards reducing and eliminating economic and social vulnerabilities related to poverty and deprivation. Arguably, comprehensive social protection would entail programmes, projects, public and private policies that are bent on addressing the multidimensional rights and needs of children. Comprehensive social protection realizes that children do not live in a social vacuum and to that effect they can be implemented only after a tooth-pick assessment of the child ‘s social and economic circumstances has been done. For example, a school feeding programme for Early Childhood Education (ECD) children would not make sense for a child who is coming from an indigent (poor) family because all the efforts to ensure the nutritional needs of the child are met will be frustrated when the child goes back to his or her family of no means where he or she will be met with hungry and angry guardians / parents who can easily turn him or her into a unit of labour in order to improve the household economy. A comprehensive social protection programme for children should ensure that the global needs (emotional, physical, intellectual, moral, social, spiritual) of children that intersect to develop a full being are universally met.
Pursuant to the above, it can be intimated that comprehensive social protection systems are out and out child sensitive in outlook. To that effect, comprehensive social protection programmes cannot tell the entire story about safeguarding and protecting children if they can neither mitigate the ramifications of poverty on families, strengthen families in their child safeguarding and protection role, enhance access to basic services for the poorest and most marginalized nor provide special services to children who live outside of a family environment. Zimbabwe has put in place the Assisted Medical Assistance Order (AMTO) as a social protection measure where it pays health fees for very poor households through the hospital referral system. The beneficiary populations of AMTO are only treated at public hospitals and are given bus warrants which are only accepted by the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO). For example, a child with a disability from Nembudziya, Gokwe North may be in need of medical services that are only on tap at the Parirenyatwa hospital in Harare, the said child will need to travel to Harare with his parent or guardian who has no economic resources to meet the access costs (bus fare) for private transporters. ZUPCO has no capacity to cover all corners of Zimbabwe. Inability of the government to help beneficiary populations of AMTO with access costs to access any form of available mode of transport would further complexify the situation of beneficiaries of AMTO. Comprehensive social protection measures in the above scenario would entail the government providing bus fare, food, and accommodation for beneficiaries of AMTO where and when necessary, that is depending on where the services are being provided.
Another social protection programme that falls short of being comprehensive in outlook, is the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM). While this programme is gendered in that 50% of BEAM funding should go towards the education of vulnerable girl children, it does not cover ECD children. 100% of BEAM also covers children with disabilities for fees and boarding facilities in special schools. A close analysis of this safety net for orphans and vulnerable children shows that it caters only for school and examination fees. A poor child will not only need school fees or examination fees, he or she will need a gamut of things like clothing, uniforms, shoes, food, water and stationery, among other things. Abraham Maslow’s Theory of the Hierarchy of Needs says that a child will not be motivated to learn if he or she is hungry and may also not have a sense of belonging if he or she has a poor self-esteem as a result of lack of basics like clothing. BEAM funds are also not disbursed timeously and this is at tangent with the principles of regularity and predictability which are associated with social protection. At one time BEAM funds were abused by way of diversion by the Social Welfare Ministry as it used $500 000 to buy food hampers for its officials (Auditor General’s Report, 2015). Paying only school fees for children who are coming from indigent families without also considering social transfers for them is like expecting a goose to lay golden eggs in the absence of quality food. It is the duty and obligation of the government of Zimbabwe to observe the best interest of the child as enshrined under Article 3 of the UNCRC and also to ensure the growth, survival and development of the child as stipulated under Article 6 of the UNCRC. Above all, the government of Zimbabwe should not lose focus of its three key duties which are to respect, promote and fulfil the rights of children. Above all, Article 26 of the UNCRC is quite instructive, as it lays out the children’s right to social security, when it says;
States Parties shall recognize for every child the right to benefit from social security, including social insurance and shall take the necessary measures to achieve the realization of this right in accordance with their national law.
An investment in social protection for children that is comprehensive is critical from a human- rights as well as a sustainable human and economic development worldview. In-toto, a comprehensive social protection system would require four broad sets of interventions which are transformative, promotive, protective and preventive so as to guarantee a future for children that is awash with expanded capabilities and opportunities.

Dr Aribino Nicholas (Gender and Policy Studies Student-GZU). Writing in own capacity.
Contact : +263715617095

Mrs Jenneth Musiyiwa (ECD Coordinator at the Women’s University in Africa, WUA)

Man in court for selling loaned heifer to cover debts

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Man in court for selling loaned heifer to cover debts

Decide Nhendo

A 36-year-old man from Sonamizi Village under Chief Nyajena appeared at Masvingo Magistrates Court on January 15 2023 facing stock theft allegations.
Wireless Chimeura appeared before Masvingo Magistrate Elizabeth Hanzie being charged with stock theft after he sold Marakia Muvenge of Mamhazha Village’s cow and was remanded in custody waiting for continuation of trial set to take place on January 29.
Appearing before Hanzie, Chimeura pleaded guilty and said he had sold the cow to cover some debts that were mounting on him and it was with Muvenge’s consent, but Muvenge disagreed that he had given Chimeura the green light to do so.
“I agree that I sold the cow but it was because of the pressure on me as I was owing some people a sum of money that was due to be paid and Muvenge had also given me the power to sell the cow,” said Chimera.
The state represented by prosecutor Godknows Mugondo alleged that on February 26, 2023, Chimeura approached Muvenge and asked to rent his cattle for ploughing after which Muvenge agreed and gave Chimeura five cattle.
The state also alleges that after two months Chimeura again asked for other cattle and was given an additional four to make them nine.
It is reported that in September 2023 Chimeura took one of the complainant’s heifers and sold it to Raymond Chisveto without the consent of Muvenge.
Upon realizing what Chimeura had done Muvenge reported the matter to Masvingo rural police station leading to the arrest of Chimeura and the recovery of the stolen cow as well as the other remaining cattle at his homestead.

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