Staff Reporter

MASVINGO – Harvest House International Church pastor, Reverend Tichavaka Hlomayi recently launched two books titled The Power of Agreement and Surviving the Perils of Leadership.
The Power of Agreement was published in 2019 and Surviving the Perils of Leadership in 2022 but the former’s launch was affected by Covid-19 restrictions prompting the pastor to write the latter and decided to launch the two books the same day.
The launch was held at the local church in Masvingo town and the books are being sold at US$ 10 each.
In the first book, Rev Hlomayi talks about how important it is for leaders and their subordinates to be in agreement and highlight ways in which they can work in unison for the benefit of the church or any other organization.
The book helps leaders to build teams, teaching how important it is for each person to know his or her jurisdiction to allow moving together giving practical and biblical examples of conflicts and how they were resolved.
In the second book, he talks about how challenging leadership is; it warns and prepares would-be-leaders to build the stamina needed in every leader and master the art of survival.
“Leadership is like a jungle and one needs to be prepared before taking any leadership role, so from my life experiences as a leader and lessons learnt along the way, I saw it fit to prepare others,” said Rev Hlomayi.
He said the idea to write books was inspired by a number of reasons informed by the need to reach a wide number of audiences which cannot be reached through preaching in church.
“I have discovered that a year has only 52 weeks and we mainly preach in churches on Sundays and that time is not enough. I was also driven by the need to reach to other audiences who are not our congregants, so books are accessible to anyone,” said Rev Hlomayi.
He also said he was a reader and listener who discovered that people have a reading culture hence he could use books to teach.
“I am a reader and also a listener and with a number of pastors including our Bishop being writers, I decided also to put my teachings into books,” he added.
Rev Hlomayi also said his two books teach about leadership which was informed by his own life experiences and lessons which he said he wanted to share with other leaders and those who aspire to be leaders.
Rev Hlomayi went on to say he was working on two more books which he intend to finish by year end for publishing early next year.
He said he started writing in 2015 but the book he started working on then is yet to be finished and is almost halfway.
“I started writing in 2015 but my first publication was in 2019. I am yet to finish the book I started in 2015 and it’s almost halfway now,” he said.
He added that he has a supportive family and the church was always behind him so it was not hard for him to write and publish books since the church had its own publishing house.
“I have a very supportive family and my second book’s cover was done by my son that is a clear testimony that they support my work.
“The church is behind me since most of our pastors and the Bishop are writers. I used the church publishing house and it was so cheap for me because publishing costs are high out there and it’s not easy to publish,” said Rev Hlomayi.

Lydia Koto

Vanobva KwaMunyikwa Development Trust (VAMDET) a charity organization donated two wheelchairs to Moreblessing Matoto (9) and Shumo Mutukwa (72) on November 6, 2020 in Munyikwa area of Gutu.
VAMDET is a registered community development trust and non-profit making organization operating in the Munyikwa and surrounding areas, funded through membership contributions as well as well-wishers.
Watson Chatiza, the founder of VAMDET said the organization gave Mutukwa and Matoto wheelchairs because they had been facing challenges when they want to move around.
“We decided to give wheelchairs to Mutukwa, who had been using crutches and Mutoto who could not walk as she spends the whole day lying down. We gave them these wheelchairs because we noticed that it was difficult for them to move around.
“I want to thank all those who partner with us to look after the vulnerable. May the Lord bless you and l hope you will continue to support us,” said Chatiza.
Mutukwa was grateful for the wheelchair that he got from VAMDET saying he used to face challenges whenever he wanted to move around.
“I am the happiest person today. Thank you so much for the wheelchair that you gave me. It was difficult for me to travel long distances using crutches but since I have a wheelchair now, it’s now easy,” Mutukwa said.
Mutukwa was using crutches and it was difficult for him to travel long distances.
Matoto, who is paralyzed cannot do anything on her own and will be lying down most of the time.
Chatiza said she will now be able to play with others and move around.
VAMDET is also looking for financial assistance to help Tsitsi Mutambi who has albinism while at the same time suffering from cancer.
He said they want to go with her to private doctors since they tried Karanda Hospital but nothing materialized.
They also tried Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and they were given December 6 as visiting day.

…first in town to offer Cambridge syllabus at primary level

TellZim reporter

The prominent Junior brand which consist of a driving school, security services company a private high school among others continues to expand with the latest development being the establishment of Junior Primary School which will open doors to learners in January 2023.
The school Director Noah Marima said enrolment is already in progress for learners from Early Childhood Development (ECD) A to grade 5 with prospective parents being advised to visit the school or Junior Complex in town.
“We are looking forward to enrol 200 learners from ECD A to grade 5. We are going to be offering day school facilities when we start while boarding facilities are being put in place,” said Marima.
The school, with state of the art facilities and located in Masvingo’s leafy suburb of Rhodene will be the first school in town to offer Cambridge syllabus at Primary level according to Marima.
He said the idea to offer Cambridge syllabus at primary level was not only inspired by the fact that they have a similar syllabus at Secondary level but by the need to bridge the gap that is in town since no school is offering it at the moment.
“We have realised that there is a gap since there is no single school offering Cambridge at primary level in Masvingo town. Parents who wished to have their kids do Cambridge had to part ways with a lot of money to secure boarding fees elsewhere.That inspired us into taking up the challenge and the decision to offer it at our new school,” said Marima.
He also said the school resolved to cope up with the ever growing demand for French as a language while teacher-pupil ratio is another factor that makes the school a cut above the rest.

“Junior Primary will also make sure the learners are offered French lessons as a second language as a way of preparing them strategically to meet demands of the ever-growing trend in demand for the language internationally.
“We are offering a good teacher-pupil ratio at Junior Primary. Coming to issues of homework, parents of learners at the new school won’t have to scratch their heads because we have mechanisms in place that will ensure it is not a burden to them, though homework will be given to learners,” added Marima.
On part of co-curricular activities, Marima said the school intends to make sure all learners get the much-needed exposure to elite sports.
“We are going to offer modern sporting activities apart from the traditionally-played games, sporting disciplines like cricket, tennis, swimming, basketball to mention but a few,” Marima said.
He also said the school will have a school bus on offer to take learners to and from school though he stressed the arrangement is optional as parents can use own means to get their children to school.
The school is located adjacent to Junior High School along Lundi Drive in Rhodene.

Lydia Koto

Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) Herbert Chitepo Law school team flew the Masvingo-based tertiary institution’s flag higher when they fared well at the recently held Inter-varsity debate competitions on November 5 in Harare.
The duo of Tariro Chimusoro and Vuyani Chikasha walked away with gold medals, participating certificates and a trophy after coming out victorious at the competitions held at Arrupe University in Harare under the theme “Technology in the higher institution of learning”.
Chimusoro who emerged as the best speaker said she was happy to represent the Great Zimbabwe University and they had a wonderful experience through learning and socializing.
“We are glad to have represented the university well. It was a wonderful experience of learning and socializing,” said Chimusoro.
Chimusoro was grateful with the university’s support and said she hopes the university will continue to support them.
“We are also grateful for the support we got from those who accompanied us. We look forward to more support from the school moving forward,” she added.
GZU was among the 6 teams which were competing at the event.
Some institutes which competed include Arrupe Jesuit University, Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU), Harare polytechnic, Belvedere Teachers College, Chishawasha Seminary and Morgan ZINTEC Teachers Training institute.
Each team had to have two teams made up of two participants.
The other GZU team had Dylan Vudzi and Royce Malethe.
Chimusoro and Chikasha made it to the final as the third best team to qualify in the final round.
The victorious duo fought hard to oppose the notion that “The use of technology in higher learning institution produces graduates with less skill to offer in the industry.
Enroute to the crowning, GZU brushed away the competition of two Arrupe University teams.

Yeukai Munetsi

Zhombe – Police are appealing for assistance from the public to identify a dead body of a man (name unknown) who was killed while stealing.
The incident occurred at Zhombe Shopping Centre, Kwekwe on October 29, 2022 at around 0100 hours.
Midlands Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko confirmed the incident and is appealing to relatives missing their loved one to come forward and engage the police.
“Members of the public missing a relative may approach Zhombe police or any nearest police station. The body is being held at Kwekwe General Hospital Mortuary.
“The deceased had no particulars on his person making the identification of the body very difficult. Members of the public must appreciate that it is always important to have identification particulars at all times and where possible have a trusted person know your movements,” Mahoko said.
According to a police report, the now deceased (a man who is around 33 years old) was found stealing groceries at a shop.
He was assaulted several times all over the body with unknown objects and sustained severe injuries.
Meanwhile police attended the scene and found deceased’s body on the ground.
The deceased was putting on a pair of blue work-suit trousers with a black belt, blue jacket with a zip and a blue T-shirt.

Tinaani Nyabereka

Gweru- businesswoman aged 43 reportedly died on November 7 under unclear circumstances in her car while parking at a police base in Gweru.
The incident occurred at Monomutapa Police Station in Mtapa suburb.
Information obtained by this publication revealed that on Monday morning the deceased person Sheila Shoshore of Mkoba 13 who was involved in transport business with two kombis and a taxi that operates in Senga and Mkoba died from causes yet to be known.
It is reported that Soshore parted ways with her daughter Hazel Mawere (19) at TM taxi rank in Gweru city centre at around 5 pm on Sunday as her daughter proceeded to Midlands State University.
On Sunday evening, Shoshore proceeded to ZRP Mtapa where she used to park her motor vehicle before going to her place of residence.
The following day on November 7, the deceased went to Monomutapa Police Station where she entered the main gate and told a police officer at the manning the gate that she was taking out her car.
The night of the same day around 8.45 am, police officers who were from a routine operation reportedly observed a white Honda fit parked at the parking space.
One of the police officers observed the now deceased occupying the driver’s seat with her head tilted towards the steering, lying lifeless.
The officer-in-charge at the police station was advised and an ambulance was called.
The body of the deceased was then conveyed to Gweru Provincial Hospital mortuary pending investigations.

TellZim reporter

MINISTER of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Kazembe Kazembe has challenged heads of department and senior management staff in the ministry to prioritize efficient service delivery towards the general citizenry if ever the National Development Strategy 1 is to bear meaningful fruit.
Addressing staff at Clevers Hotel in Masvingo during the official launch of the ministry’s Enterprise Risk Management Policy, Kazembe outlined the need for value addition on everything the ministry offers if ever development was to be realized by ordinary people.
“In whatever we are doing as a ministry, let us ensure there is value addition and that will lead us to efficiency. This ministry is critical and central and thus the need to focus more on improved service provision as part of our mandate. Basically, how best can we achieve that? By adding value to the services we offer the population.
“Let us put our hands on the deck and ensure the successful implementation of this key management tool for the realization of the ministry’s mandate. Let’s improve the service and desist from dwelling on what does not matter most bearing in mind that whatever we do as departments should impact positively on the generality of Zimbabweans.
“How can people realize meaningful results if we work towards unrealistic targets and goals in the way we operate? Let us work with scientific information and move away from only using historically available information,” said Kazembe.
One of the participants however lamented what he termed ‘fail and proceed’ syndrome in line departments and the need to do away with such mentality.
“So far what I have realized is that we are having more of these ‘fail and proceed’ scenarios in our departments. We have a lot of challenges being mentioned during these reviews, but so far no meaningful solution has been offered and all we have done is ‘go ahead’.
“We have maintained this ‘fail and proceed’ over the past years and we are now nearing 2025 which is the last year of the NDS 1 but without any meaningful achievement. Review workshops are supposed to be having us introspect and unpack the challenges that we have, find common ground and possible solutions so that we score more,” said the participant.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Aaron Nhepera also weighed in saying risk management is not optional but rather a requirement for the ministry.
“It is critical to note that risk management is not optional but a requirement in terms of the law specifically the Public Finance Management Act Chapter 22 section 19 and Public Finance Management General Regulations Statutory Instrument 135 of 2019 provides that all ministries should adopt a concept of risk management.
“Therefore, this policy is not only in compliance with the above pieces of legislation but also ISO 3100 which is the anchor guideline as enshrined in the Zimbabwean Risk Management Policy guidelines for the public sector,” said Nhepera.