Branton Matondo

Manicaland arts sector has lamented on impending isolation by government, a plight made worse by centralization of programmes in Harare and Bulawayo.
This came at a recently held artist’s status meeting held at Chancellor Primary School in Mutare graced by member associations from Nyanga, Mutare and various parts of Manicaland.
Seasoned artist and administrator Kiven Simomondo said decisions and activities to do with the arts sector are always made in Harare and Bulawayo, a disheartening feat that has led to other provinces feeling left out.
“The recognition of artists should benefit everyone, not only those in Harare and Bulawayo. We want equal opportunities because we all operate in the same country.” said Simomondo
He said government is failing to appreciate art’s welfare as competition rewards always come late and in most cases end up depleted by the ever rising inflation.
“Last year we went to Herbert Chitepo festival on the 18th of December. The parent Ministry, Ministry of Sport, arts and recreation was hosting the event. We were confident that payment was going to be given on the day of or maybe 3 days later but after winning the competition we had to wait for 6 months for payment of US$1,500. The money appeared last week in my account with December last year’s bankrate which was at RTGS$500 for US$1”,” said Simomondo
Adding to his grievances Simomondo said the ministry is abusing artists who invest and survive on arts.
Seasoned music artist Tendai Chari said the Ministry and the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) were sleeping on duty as there is no vibrant response to cases and grievances.
“It’s difficult for me to report issues of nonpayment by promoters to NACZ which is under the Ministry but it’s even more difficult when the Ministry which we are supposed to be reporting to is doing the same. I played at one of the biggest hotels in Zimbabwe and l went for a year without payment and I had nowhere to report because if you go and report you will be tossed from office to office.”
On the issue of centralization of programmes in Harare Chari said dissemination of information was the main challenge and the relationship between artists and NACZ was poor.
“There is a problem of poor communication, I was in for the longest time, you miss programmes and you only know of them when they are already past, the information does not get to the right people at the right time. The NACZ is there to oversee and promote the practice of arts in Zimbabwe. It’s like a parent to us as artists but the relationship between us and NACZ is not solid, there is a gap and it makes it difficult for the parent to know what is really going on.”
The meeting which was graced by members of NACZ board was a call out for artists to air out issues affecting their line of work.
Responding to issues raised by artist, NACZ Legal and Compliance Officer Alex Majachani said there were areas that needed attention to solve the challenges
“From the responses we got today it appears that there are two areas that need attention. The first one is the issue of contracts, maybe artists don’t appreciate what is needed to come up with contracts. The second one is the running of arts businesses because there are a lot of legalities that have to be done. Even if we are crafting our laws we have to take that into consideration.”
He said such status meetings were a deliberate effort by NACZ for the new board to meet and engage artists and understand what they are doing and where they are going.
“On our part, this is a deliberate arrangement because we are saying as a new body which is coming on board we have to meet the artist’s to understand the challenges they are facing. This will help in service delivery. As you are aware the role of NACZ in relation with NACZ Act is to foster and promote arts development. You cannot develop when you don’t know the problem.”

Brighton Chiseva

MASVINGO – Masvingo Association of Residential Care Facilities in partnership with the Reformed Church University (RCU) recently donated a special wheel chair to 17 year old Tinashe Mabika.
The donation came as a life saver to Mabika’s mother Edith Mugabe who endured the brunt of carrying his son for the past 17 years as the boy cannot do anything himself alone.
Speaking at the handover ceremony held at the university’s main campus, MARCFT, Director Zendakwaye Zendakwaye said as an organization, they heard about the boy’s plight, sought for help since he required a special wheelchair that resonates with his physical wellbeing.
“We appealed for help since Tinashe needed a special wheelchair which suit his stature, he had never had a wheelchair in his life and that limited his mother’s movement since he had to carry him and could not leave him for a long time,”
RCU provided the money needed for the special wheel chair. However, when we were looking for help, we managed to get another ordinary wheelchair and we are giving it to him to use as a spare,” said Zendakwaye
He went on to say they also got crutches from another organization and they were going to hand them to the needy members.
“Another organization which specializes on crutches s gave us 20 pairs, so we have a list of beneficiaries and some of them are here and some could not make it due to logistical challenges,” said Zendakwaye
Speaking at the same event, RCU Vice Chancellor Professor Emmanuel Dumbu said as an institution they felt urged by the old adage which says it takes a village to raise a child and saw it fit to donate.
“There is an old adage which says IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD’, and the question now is, what is that village? It’s simply the community, our community and yours. It’s me and you. As Reformed Church University, we contemplated and felt the urge to donate towards the physio-prescribed wheelchair for Tinashe Mabika.
The RCU is actively working hard to address issues that the people living with disabilities may face. As a university, we have various initiatives and support structures in place to ensure that those people living with disabilities get help for them to fit into the society,”
This is not the first time RCU doing such a philanthropic gesture. In 2021, one of the ECD students deployed at Chimedza Primary School sourced two wheelchairs with the help of the Inclusivity Directorate of the RCU. The wheelchairs were donated to the learners with disabilities at Chimedza School in Zaka,” said Professor Dumbu
He said the wheelchair allows for mobility and hence brings relief to the boy’s mother who had to carry him everywhere limiting her chances of working to provide for his family.
“The wheelchair is one of the most commonly used assistive devices to promote mobility and enhance quality of life for people who have difficulties in walking. Wheelchair mobility opens up opportunities for wheelchair users to study, work, and engage in social activities and access services such as healthcare. We saw the need, so we are here to hand over this wheelchair and help relieve Mrs. Mabika from carrying Tinashe everywhere,” he said
After being handed over the wheelchair, Mugabe failed to hold her tears back, she said she had been relieved a lot because she is now able to easily go around and do her menial jobs with his son whom he could not leave at home for a long time.
“I am happy now that I cannot endure the trouble of carrying my son as I have been doing from the past 17 years. I can now go anywhere I need with him and I can now easily do my work to feed him and his siblings,” said Mugabe
She went on to say her wish was to get some money to boost her poultry project so that she can put food on the table for her family and pay fees for other children.
“I need money so that I boost my small poultry project and stop looking for menial jobs because my son’s situation requires me to be close to him every time,” she said.
Tinashe has a rare condition which makes her look like a six or seven year old despite his age. He cannot talk, walk or feed on his own. He requires diapers despite his age, a situation that makes it hard for his mother to leave him for some time alone.
Mugabe can be contacted on 0771338140.

Branton Matondo

Mutare business meeting dubbed “An initiative to see businesses become brands” that was organized by Six Nine Construction for Mutare business community where they engaged for cross pollination of ideas on how to maximize brands amid an ever rising competitive market ended on a high note.
The event attracted members from various business ventures in Mutare and beyond.
Six Nine Construction Managing Director Cosmas Mudekwa told the gathering how his organization managed to fit in the ever changing competitive construction industry and said a number of strategies were periodically applied to compliment what already exists.
“We came up with different strategies that are meant to complement what other construction companies are doing, that is in terms of pricing, efficiency, and technological advancements. This is how we have approached the market. We discovered that we could not re-invent a wheel because it’s already there but what we can do is change the design to make it more suitable to our consumers.”
Award Winning Communication firm Esteem Communications Founder and Director Takemore Mazuruse said maximizing brands speaks to a house for all mantra pushed by government, a feat that has been adopted by the private sector.
“The idea speaks towards, housing for all mantra by government and private players as well. So what Six Nine Construction is doing is they are positioning themselves for more opportunities and the presence of tailor made services approaches to all Zimbabwean customers.”
Mazuruse added that business gatherings are a good platform for business to share ideas and they have proved to be pivotal amid a competitive market where you have to re-invent yourself.
“This allows for experience sharing and ideas exchange. Remember we all have different experiences in business, some are starting up, some are midway, and some have actually achieved. Coming together allows cross pollinating of ideas and we get to learn and inspire each to continue doing more. There are challenges along the way but as you learn from others you get the strength to continue going,” he said
Maximizing brands headlined the day’s proceedings. Life coach and award winning motivational speaker Rudo Nyamoto also graced the event and gave a presentation on” The Power of a Confident Brand”.
Discourse on brand positioning was presented by Tinashe Zinyemba while Rimbidzai Kuipa, an experienced caterer detailed the important part employees play in building a brand.

…causes of fire yet to be established

Perpetua Murungweni

46 vendors were left devastated after they lost their wares at the Chitima Market Inferno that destroyed goods in the evening of June 24.
Of the 46, 39 are women and 7 are men.
The cause of fire is yet to be established but victims suspect that the fire could have been caused by ambers in a charcoal heater that might have been left on within the premises.
A number of vendors use charcoal heaters in the market to warm themselves as well as sealing plastic packs of kapenta fish, maputi and soya chunks.
They also suspect that someone could have thrown a glowing stub of cigarette that might have resulted into the fire that destroyed goods worth thousands of dollars.
Some of the victims are appealing to well-wishers and authorities to help them with something to help them get back on their feet and resume business as they solely depend on it for their families’ survival.
“We are appealing to well-wishers who can help us in cash or kind so that we get back on our feet. As vendors most of us depend on the small profits that we make here and as it stands were left with nothing,”
“I lost three 90 kg bags of mopane worms, five 90 kg bags of dried vegetables soya chunks and some groceries that I was selling which cost around US $600,” said Jenifer Matorore.
Lydia Charambira said she lost 500 packs of snacks, 100 x10kgs of mealie meal and four 50kg bags of Soya Chunks.
“I lost close to US $1200 altogether because I had 500 packs of zappy snacks which cost US $1.30 each and 100 by 10kg mealie meal which cost US $5 each. I lost everything and now I cannot even afford bus fare for my child to school,” said Charambira.
Another victim Wanisai Pamire said the incident was a huge loss because she depended entirely on buying and selling goods, pays all her bills and feed her kids from the business.
“I lost a lot of staff that include bales of second hand clothes, stationery and some food stuff. I survive on vending and I have invested a lot of money on my goods and now that I have lost everything I don’t know how I am going to take care of my family,” said Pamire.
It is a sad situation for one Gibson Tivakudze who said he had recently graduated from push carts to vending in Chitima and lost everything only after three months into the trade.
“I used to make a living from push carts in town and I saved some money from that, managed to start a small business from it, and within three months of establishing here, I now have nothing,” said Tivakudze.
Masvingo City Mayor Collen Maboke, his deputy Wellington Mahwende, and Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira visited the scene on Monday and Mahwende who is eyeing Masvingo Urban constituency in the August 23 elections under Zanu PF ticket promised to construct temporary stalls for the vendors.
Maboke is also eyeing the same seat as an independent candidate.