A total of 800 farmers from Masvingo province graduated with Master Farmer certificates on April 6, 2023 at an award giving ceremony held at Consen Mutasa’s homestead in Zaka.
Agricultural Rural Development Advisory Services Chief Director Professor Obert Jiri presided over the ceremony which saw 236 farmers 159 from Zaka, 33 from Bikita and 44 from Chiredzi getting their certificates on sight.
Speaking at the ceremony, Jiri said the master farmer graduates should receive first priority when inputs are disbursed as they have the required expertise.
The master farmer training programme started a few years after independence.
“Master farmers must be given certificates and must be given first choice when inputs are distributed because of the zeal they have shown in farming. District Agriculture Extension Officers must prioritize master farmer graduates in all presidential inputs programmes,” said Jiri.
Famers were happy to finally receive as they had long waited for their certificates.
In another event held in Chivi on April 5, 2023 Jiri also handed over prizes to Farmer Field School winners at Farirai Madume’s homestead in ward 12 in Chivi.
Madume, the overall best Farmer Field School Farmer was rewarded with a knapsack sprayer, ripper, tick grease, 50kg bag of Compound D fertilizer and 50kg bag of Ammonium Nitrate fertilizers.
Madume a traditional grains farmer said he has managed to become food secure because of these small grains.
“I am happy for being awarded an overall winner because I have heeded to the call to venture into small grains farming which has made me become food secure,” said Madume.
15 other farmer field school farmers were recognized and received prizes from the seven districts.
The Farmer Field School (FFS) is a community based non-formal education targeting farmers interested in finding solutions to farming constraints brought about by climate change and climate variability.
So far the project has established 234 farmer field schools with 64 in Masvingo and 15 in Chivi.
The FFS has seen more women taking up the programme constituting 66 percent of the total farmer population.
MASVINGO – The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Gutu political violence victims who were brutalized by suspected Zanu PF members last year are crying foul after being allegedly duped of US$6360 donor funds by a CCC activist and aspiring candidate for Masvingo Urban ward 7 council seat, in cahoots with another local activist.
The victims Nhamo Makumbe and his young brother Jevas Makumbe said they only received US$100 each from a combined amount of US$6560 the two activists had solicited on their behalf from donors as relief funds following their assault.
Prosper Tiringindi who was recently nominated for a council seat and fellow human rights activist who is with Masvingo Residents Forum, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in Masvingo, Shingirai Nyahwa are alleged to have sought for donations from unnamed donors based in America for the Makumbes but could not channel the money directly to their pockets so they allegedly devised a smart way of duping the unsuspecting victims.
Contacted for comment, Tiringindi referred questions to Nyahwa saying he was with the victims trying to solve the matter.
“Can you speak to Mr Nyahwa, he is the one dealing with that matter, and he is with them right now trying to solve the matter. They were not dupe but there was a simple miscommunication and that is what they are working to rectify,” said Tiringindi.
Nyahwa’s cell went unanswered several times after which he later returned the call and said it was just a misunderstanding that had since been rectified.
“We didn’t dupe them, it was just a misunderstanding that has since been rectified, they will get in touch with you to explain,” said Nyahwa
When he was pressed hard to give his version of what had transpired, Nyahwa said he would call later to meet with the reporter.
TellZim News however had managed to speak to the victims who were in Masvingo town to meet with Nyahwa and Tiringindi earlier than the scheduled meeting.
“Yes we suspect that we were duped by the duo. We didn’t know until my wife alerted me of a possible fraud when she said donors cannot use personal accounts for such payments. She then called them and they called us here to settle the matter and we are waiting for our lawyer to meet them and hear what they have to say,” said Nhamo Makumbe.
Nyahwa and Tiringindi are alleged to have sent the brothers’ details to the donors but went on to use their numbers so that the money received through forex remittance facility, Western Union, would reflect on their phones.
Jevas received US$3100 and on the purpose section the receipt was written ‘Construction’ and the Address was 10 Rekai, Masvingo GZU, telephone number 0771633029 and the money was collected at 02:43pm yesterday (11 April 2023).
After checking on EcoCash, the number reflected that it was registered in Fellow Zinyemba’s name and the number was not getting through when the reporter attempted to call.
The details of sender on both receipts were the same, indicating New Horizon INC – Thomas Addison
Nhamo’s receipt had a South African Number 062822005 and 10 Regai, Masvingo as the address and indicated that the money was collected at 02:54 pm.
When they came Nhamo said he had no ID on him and it is alleged that Tiringindi and Nyahwa bribed the cashier with US$100 and used a copy of the ID which had been sent on WhatsApp.
After receiving the alert, Nyahwa and Tiringindi allegedly went on to call the Makumbe brothers to Masvingo town saying they wanted to have a workshop with them together with a USA based donor.
Upon arrival they were told that they had received some money for the workshop but it had been directed to their accounts, a quicker way to receive the money unlike using an organization’s account. The workshop never happened.
They then gave the two $100 each which was said to be for transport.
When the Makumbes got home, Nhamo’s alert wife discovered the fraud after seeing the Western Union collection receipts which showed that they collected more than US$3000 each.
When confronted by the victims later that day, Nyahwa is alleged to have been adamant and demanded that the duo returns the money they had given them but later on discovered that their deal had been discovered after which they allegedly began to negotiate for them to meet and discuss the issue.
On the night of April 10, 2023, social media was awash with messages of appeal to find an eight months old baby boy after he had disappeared with a teenage girl who had been employed as a child minder by the parents a day before.
Every mother’s heart sank, with socialites and celebrities sharing the message on their Facebook pages appealing for the finding of the baby, who almost everyone feared could end up being a victim of child trafficking.
What made the situation worse was that the girl had vanished into thin air, leaving behind a very faint trail of where she could have taken the infant, making it very difficult for the Marenga family to locate their beloved baby, who despite being too young to be out with a stranger, had had an operation the previous week.
The girl (name withheld for ethical reasons), said to be between 15 and 17 years old, left the Marenga house on the pretext of cooing the baby as well as familiarising with the surroundings since she was new, only to vanish into thin air together with the baby.
But who is the girl at the centre of the storm?
Her story runs short of a movie script, as at only 16 she is already a divorcee and has for years been doing sex work in Masvingo, Midlands and Matebeland.
Her paternal uncle Sibanengi Guwa, who is Shereni Village head in Mberengwa said she was orphaned at a very young age and was left in the custody of her paternal aunt until she went truant and ran away from home.
“She is my niece, my elder brother’s child. This girl is of no fixed abode because if you are to have time with her, you will notice that there is something weird about her. Until recently, we had not seen or heard from her for around three to five years because she has been moving from one place to another all this time.
“Recently, she came with the police and reported her aunt to us for mistreating her, but her story was not coherent, which left us all puzzled. I cannot remember exactly where she was born but it should be in Mhandamabwe, Chivi because she came here after her parents passed on,” Guwa said.
More about the girl was dug out by the Marenga family in their pursuit of their baby’s whereabouts, as they had to travel all the way to Beitbridge following leads to where their baby could have been taken to.
The baby’s uncle, Davison Marenga said in Beitbridge, they found out that the girl was a known sex worker who plied business centres along the Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway.
“In Beitbridge that is where we got information that the girl was doing sex work along the Masvingo-Beitbridge highway. If you go to Chibi Turn Off, Rutenga and Mwenezi, you will hear about her.
“We then established that she was from Mberengwa, but had used a different name at Mberengwa Turn Off where she was doing sex work and was being referred to as Noria Dube (not her real name),” Marenga said.
Marenga said they then got a tip off that she had been seen in Mberengwa, where they rushed to and to their luck, found her together with the baby, around 6pm on Wednesday (April 12).
He said the lady who referred the girl for domestic work to the Marengas is from Bhuka, and had to pretend to be her relative to secure the job for her after she had allegedly been left in her custody by another elderly woman, and the Marengas had to send her transport money to go to Zvishavane to work as their child minder.
The girl (left) holding the baby after they had been found
At Bhuka, the girl was allegedly doing sex work, and the lady probably wanted to help her out of sex work out of pity.
It also emerged that the girl’s rural home is in Mberengwa, had previously eloped with a man in Sovelele but left the ‘marriage’ last year and had planned to go back to her former in-laws claiming that when she left she was pregnant and had returned to leave their grandson, the Marenga baby.
“When she was questioned why she took the baby, she said she went out to coo the baby as well as familiarising with the place, after which she met a man with a car who proposed love to her and she ended up getting into the car with the baby.
“She said she then went with the man to his house but it got late before she returned home so she got scared and decided to go to Mberengwa. The guy allegedly escorted her to Mberengwa Office where he left her and she stayed overnight doing sex work and the following morning walked to York where her sister stayed and stayed overnight.
“She then said she proceeded to Jeka where a well-wisher helped her, and she allegedly left the baby for most of the day soliciting for clients, then proceeded to Sovelele where she wanted to leave the baby at her ex-inlaws’ place,” Marenga narrated.
Marenga said the girl told them that she was feeding the baby maheu all the time she was with him, to keep him hydrated as she had no access to milk.
It also emerged that her paternal aunt confirmed that she started sex work at a very young age, around Grade 5, and left home when she was Grade 6, moving from place to place.
The girl is reportedly in police custody, and when contacted for comment, Midlands Police Spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko said he was going to release details before end of day on Thursday (April 13).
“We will publish the details in due course after we have finished compiling. We will let you know of the details, Mahoko said.
Gweru- Residents in the Midlands province capital have called upon council to consider a reduction in the water charges following the on-going water crisis which continues to haunt the city.
Resident group Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) have since written a letter titled ‘WATER CRISIS IN GWERU’ addressed to Gweru Mayor Hamutendi Kombayi on March 29, 2023 urging the local authority to consider slashing the bills.
“The water crisis is causing widespread discontent among residents of Gweru since most residents fear the spread of water borne diseases (cholera and typhoid) whilst, women and children are forced to walk miles to the nearest water sources for clean water.
“Moreover, with the increase in crime rate in the city, it poses too much risk for women and children to be fetching water early in the morning or late at night.
“As GRRA, we request: That every household in the city of Gweru be provided a 50% deduction on water charges for the month of March this year. What measures has your office put in place to ensure that residents access clean water?” read part of the letter.
Gweru City Council Public Relations Officer Vimbai Chingwaramusee said council was facing serious power cuts at Gwenhoro water treatment plant and Range booster.
“We are currently experiencing prolonged power cuts at Gwenhoro and Range booster and this is affecting our pumping capacity.
“Normally we require about 6-7 hours for us to pump enough water to high areas. As of now, low areas are the ones getting water because of the shortened time we are getting electricity. Efforts are being made to get around the problem as we have engaged the power utility and we hope things will improve,” said Chigwaramusee.
Gweru City Council has gone for close to a month with erratic water supply due continuous power cuts bedevilling the country.
Meanwhile government, local authorities in Midlands, ZESA and Civic Society Organisation recently converged at the Midlands State University to proffer solutions on the on-going water challenges.
The engagement was meant to look for other alternatives to provide power for local authorities to pump water to the community.
The acute water shortages come at a time the country is sitting on a ticking Cholera health bomb with several cases having been reported in various provinces while government has reiterated their preparedness to contain the looming epidemic.
As part of the initiatives by Zimbabwe of climate change and the need for nutritious foods with 2023 being celebrated as the International Year of Millets, women from drought stricken areas in region 5 (Chivi) have embraced traditional grains farming with innovations sprouting up in their communities.
Chivi district in the southern region of Masvingo is well known for receiving very little rains as compared to other regions as well as experiencing high temperatures while experts regarding the soil in the area as ‘exhausted’.
Speaking during a field tour at Farirai Madume’s homestead on April 5, 2023 in ward 12 in Chivi Central, Agricultural Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) Chief Director Professor Obert Jiri said it is important for farmers to understand the importance of growing traditional grains.
“There is little rainfall in this area, the soil is exhausted and there is climate change which is why we are choosing small grains. It’s important for farmers to understand that small grain crops are climate resilient and can adapt very well on exhausted soils which assures farmers of a yield,” said Prof Jiri.
Jiri also explained to farmers that the small grains are highly nutritious.
“If you look at the rusty colour of these grains, you can tell that they are naturally high fortified with Iron and Zinc which makes them preferable,” added Prof Jiri.
Women in the area have however already heed to the call and tapped into the new norm, that of traditional grains farming with notable innovations and an improvement on their livelihoods.
Mercury Moyo chairperson of Machingauta Farmer Field School in ward 12 said there was a decrease in the cases of gender based violence ever since the programme started.
“As women, we used to walk for long distances going as far as Bhuka to work for our families but things have changed ever since we started growing small grain crops as these crops are drought tolerant. This programme has brought about the reduction of violence in our homes,” said Moyo.
For farmers in the area, the small seeds have enabled them to put a variety on the table which has seen them coming up with new products such as the ‘premixed porridge’.
One of the farmers, said the porridge which is a mixture of a variety of grains including sorghum, round nuts, pumpkin leaves, and pumpkin seeds among others which offers great nutritional value.
“The premixed porridge project has benefitted us in that it requires little capital as most of the ingredients required are from our farm produce.
“This has brought about a positive change in our families as we can now afford to send our children to school, buy groceries and we can now support our husbands financially which has brought about our acceptance in families,” said the farmer.
The premixed porridge offers a well-balanced meal according to indigenous knowledge with great nutritional value to pregnant women and infants below the age of two.
The group of 16 produce 500g packets of the porridge which they sell for US$ 1 and are based at Macheka Village ward 12 Chivi Central.
“We have made and sold about a thousand packets of the premixed porridge but we are not able to supply it in shops as we are still awaiting approval from the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ),” said the farmer.
Miriam Tavengwa another farmer said indigenous knowledge has it that pumpkin seeds as part of the small grains offers great health benefits to men’s health.
“Pumpkins have a great health benefit to women while the seeds too are beneficial to men’s reproductive health,” said Tavengwa.
MWENEZI-A group of 11 self-styled traditional healers led by one Sinibiyo Kakono (50), who had been staying at Kudakwashe Bhasikiti’s Mwenezi orphanage before their fall out with the former Zanu PF heavyweight leading to their eviction, were arrested last Friday over allegedly poaching different wild animals using an unregistered firearm.
Following their eviction from the orphanage, the self-proclaimed healers initially camped just adjacent to Bhasikiti’s orphanage which is a few kilometres from Rutenga Growth Point but were later chased away by the Messenger of Court resulting in them opening a new home in the bush area of Altonburg Range where they ended up committing the offence they are now facing.
After initially appearing before Mwenezi Magistrate Gift Manyika on March 31, the 11 accused who include Kakono, Gracious Muchenje (51), Madzudzo Chikwenya (53), Benjamin Chuma (48), Joshua Muketiwa (29), Phanuel Dembetembe (57), Takunda Chisango (26), Zeb Musandipa (63), Innocent Chakanyuka (18), Norest Mapetere (26) and John Masaiti (48) were all remanded in custody to April 12 pending trial.
Presented by prosecutor Hardlife Machando, it is the State case that between March 17 and to 27, 2023, the accused who had set up a camp in the Altonburg Range bush area began to hunt wild animals using a firearm.
When members of the public heard suspicious incessant gun shots in the bushy area where the accused were camping, they immediately alerted Mwenezi detectives.
Upon instituting a thorough search at the accused’s camp, detectives recovered two Zebra skins hidden underground, three skins of Impala, two Eland horns and two Kudu horns which led to the arrest of accused persons.
According to the State, the firearm which was used in committing the offense was not recovered.
The State further opposed bail insisting that accused who do not have any identity documents had no fixed residential place.
By the time of writing all the accused were still in remand prison pending trial.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Masvingo has confirmed the arrest of five armed robbers in Mkwasine after the police picked information from a community WhatsApp group and traced the culprits.
The five suspected armed robbers Eriya Gambare (38), Freddy Hlupeko (18), Givemore Sakajero (43), Isaac Tongani (33) and Cosmas Dzamara (age not given).
Four of them are from Harare expect Hlupeko who is from Zaka.
On April 1, 2023 at around 3 pm, the five robbers reportedly arrived at Chehondo tuckshops in Mkwasine with a Toyota Hilux and two of them Gambero and Sakajero went into one shop where they took US$ 10 from Ladywin Bila at gun point.
The two then proceeded to Vongai Chirume’s shop where they took US$ 20 from her at gunpoint and then went to farm number 10 where they took yet to be known amount of money.
Around 6 pm that same day, information circulated around a community WhatsApp group of the robberies that had occurred in the afternoon and police managed to follow the robbers and caught them at Robson Manyika Business Center in Mkwasine and arrested them.
ZRP Masvingo Provincial spokesperson Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the incident and said police recovered a pistol with a magazine of two rounds which was in the glove compart, electric shockers and dagga.
“The five robbers were arrested and taken to CID Chiredzi. Police recovered a pistol with a magazine of two rounds, electric shockers and dagga.
“We also want to thank the community for working with the police and passing on of information on their community WhatsApp groups that led to the arrest of these culprits. We also urge them not to fully rely on the WhatsApp groups but the communities should report to the police,” said Dhewa.
Nomadic football striker Newman Sinchali is now plying his trade with Central region division one outfit TelOne.
Sianchali, who last wore his boots for ZPC Kariba is now an official signing for former PSL side TelOne.
Talking to TellZim News, Sianchali said it’s an honour to take up a new challenge.
“I am happy to be here at TelOne Fc. It’s a team that is composed of both seasoned and young blood eager to make a mark in the league and above. It’s a team with a vision. Proper organization is their motto and the project is to get back to the top flight league,” said Sianchali.
The former Bantu Rovers top man added that it’s good to go towards a new challenge.
“It’s an honour to face new challenge in the league and it’s exciting to fight for the team as a whole. It takes determination, focus, determination, hard work, and self-belief to achieve the goal as a team,” he added.
Commenting on his short stint at the 16th biggest club in Africa, Dynamos, Sinchali said that the experience at the Sakunda branded outfit was worthwhile.
“Playing for Dynamos was wonderful as you know Dynamos is a big institution. You can learn a lot there and it also made me complete. You can only play for such clubs like Dynamos if you have a big heart,” he added.
Sianchali has played for Technosphere Fc, Hwange Fc, Bantu Rovers, Bulawayo City, Highlanders, Caps United, Dynamos, and ZPC Kariba.
Telone Team Manager Zivengwa was not reachable when called for a comment.
Meanwhile Runyararo Funeral Central Division One Soccer League will kick start on the April 15.
TelOne will be clashing with a resurgent Blanket Mine side at Long John stadium in Beitbridge while Gweru Army side Chapungu will be hoping to start the league on a winning mode as they host new boys Amazon Fc at Ascot stadium. Zpc Munyati locks horns with Fc Platinum Under 19 at Munyati stadium. In other matches Tongogara takes on Bishopstone, MSU plays CM Academy at MSU sports field, Loss Control play Shabanie in the Zvishavane derby while Kwekwe United play Dulibadzimu in Beitbridge.
Gweru-Local authorities have been urged to embrace home grown solutions to avert service delivery challenges.
The call was made by President Emmerson Mnangagwa during his Freedom of City status conferment in Gweru last week.
Gweru City Council had been plagued by a number of challenges which include perennial water woes, dilapidated sewer infrastructure, poor roads and broken down traffic lights among other things.
“I would like to call upon Gweru City Council and all local authorities to partner with academic institutions in their provinces to develop solutions to address service delivery challenges affecting them. Local authorities should leverage on the existing innovation hubs at local institutions to enhance service provision.
“Here in Gweru there are institutions such as Midlands State University, Mkoba Teachers College and Gweru Polytechnic, leverage on the capabilities of these organizations to implement the Smart City Concept and modernize the city.
“Developed countries were developed through science and technology taught at institutions of higher learning. We must therefore give the challenges which we face as local authorities to these institutions to develop solutions. Information Communication Technologies and other contemporary strategies must be effectively deployed to accelerate the modernization of the city,” Mnangagwa said.
In his speech Gweru Mayor Hamutendi Kombayi bemoaned the late disbursement of Zimbabwe National Road Agency (ZINARA) funds saying the development was affecting rehabilitation of key structures such as roads.
The Freedom of the City status is a high civic honour given to prominent people for their contribution towards the development of a city.
The honour is given through a council resolution and allows the individual to enjoy certain liberties and might be exempted from certain by-laws of the city.
For Mnangagwa, the honour comes after the city of Gweru went through massive transformation after getting devolution funds from central government.
The decision to grant Mnangagwa the status once foiled and only sailed through after the recalling of four councillors among them then Mayor Josiah Makombe.
Government has availed funding for the procurement of water pumps at Gwenhoro Pump Station in a move that eventually eased perennial water shortages in the City of Progress.
Also a number of health institutions got a major facelift through devolution funds including Ascot Infectious Disease Centre and Iven beer hall, which was turned into a council clinic.
MUTARE-National Social Security Authority (NSSA) has raised concern over the sorry state of reporting systems on work related accidents and deaths, a feat that has seen national fatality rates rise.
With global work related accidents statistics sitting at 19 percent, the case of Zimbabwe has reached a worse extent as records indicate a 30 percent rise.
Addressing journalists at a recently held Engineers workshop on occupational hazards and safety at Leopards Rock Hotel Acting NSSA Chief Executive Officer Charles Shava said the major cause for such unfortunate statistics is poor reporting systems
“We are not where we want to be when it comes to work place accidents and carnages. There are very high fatalities because majority of them are not reported because our reporting system is not that good,” said Shava.
According to NSSA, the dominance of the informal sector in Zimbabwe’s national economic structure has led to the rise of unreported fatalities.
Shava added that there are even more fatalities that vanish without being reported in the sector.
“To make matters worse, the informal situation of our economy lacks reporting systems. In fact, the actual number of deaths and work place injuries is far much higher than the statistics we are recording,” he added.
For the past three years, lost time injury rates have decreased from 2.8 to 1.8 percent.
Shava however said there is need to improve though resources are scarce.
“Causes for the decrease are because NSSA is working very hard. Lost time injury rates is a measure we use to assess how we are performing in terms of controlling time that has been lost as a result of injuries. But as you can see, we were at 2.8 and that has been reduced to 1.8 percent, it’s not a position we want as NSSA though it’s an improvement. NSSA is doing very well under harsh circumstances, both on resources and Covid-19. We have been working under very difficult conditions under Covid-19 but our aim is to continue pushing it down so that we meet the standard,” he added.
Bulawayo-based engineer Jacob Muguni at the side lines of the event told this publication that there is need to raise awareness across Zimbabwe to cut the national rate from 30 percent.
“One other issue that has been highlighted is combining Zimbabwe Institute of Engineers (ZIE), the Engineering Council of Zimbabwe (ECZ) and NSSA in fighting the rise of these accidents,” said Muguni.
He added that there is need to train all engineers and responsible personnel to improve personal awareness.
Zvimba Rural District Council Engineer Tapiwa Nhemwa also said there is a lot that needs to be done especially in local government sector to evade work related accidents.
“From a local authority point of view, work related accidents are caused by lack of training or lack of due diligence and necessary working environment. There is lot that needs to be done in the local authorities in terms of providing safety through PPE. There is also need to provide Safety and Health Education departments with training to personnel within local authority systems,” he said.
