Tinaani Nyabereka

Gweru- Church leaders under the ‘Gweru Ministers Fraternity’ group on July 18, 2022 reached out to Jairos Jiri, Naran Centre in Gweru with an assortment of foodstuffs as part of the church’s effort to remember the under privileged groups in society.
The donations which were handed over to the school authorities included cases of sugar, washing soaps, salt, cooking oil, packs of soya chunks, sugar beans and packs of ladies sanitary wear, among other stuffs.
Highlighting the essence of donation, the fraternity gave a reflection of expressing brotherly love as revealed in the bible in the book of 1 John 4:20 which says ‘If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?’
Receiving the donation on behalf of the school, Jairos Jiri Association for the rehabilitation of the disabled and blind Naran Centre Head Ishmael Murowa thanked the religious leaders for the gesture and commended the important role which the church was playing in the upkeep of the vulnerable members of the community.
“I would like to thank you, the Gweru Minister’s Fraternity for the gesture you have shown us here at Naran school.
“As you know the economic hardships are affecting everyone and it only takes a willing heart to remember the less privileged. Indeed we have seen the hand of God through this donation and it is our humble prayer tomorrow you will call again.
“As you can see our school is for the deaf but as of now we are also accommodating the able-bodied who hear so that we help integrate our learners. We want them to be part of the society and to live with the society. So integrating them with others helps them to grow together and tolerate one another despite physical challenges any one of them might have.
“Just to appreciate the work being done at the centre, we house children from all over the ten provinces and our greatest challenge is that some come from very poor backgrounds. Sometimes it’s all about getting to understand the reality because we even have children who came as far as Gokwe. Sometimes the parents cannot even afford to bring the child to school or with proper warm clothing, books and blankets due to poverty. That is where you friends like the Gweru Minister’s Fraternity, donors, the community, individuals and any other well-wishers then come in to help bridge other gaps,” he said.
Currently Naran Centre is housing up to 219 children, with 119 children living with disability while 100 are able bodied, and all combined at primary and secondary education levels.
Gweru Minister’s Fraternity Vice Chairperson Pastor Alfred Hove of The Alliance Church in Zimbabwe said as leaders they were humbled by the decision to donate to children.
He added that the donations came out through a collective effort where by leaders saw the need to help children.
“We feel humbled by giving to our children. We thought of visiting Jairos Jiri Naran centre so that we could give that which we have as men and women of God. This was done as a way of giving and expressing love through actions rather than words only. We cannot love God whom we cannot see, if we can’t love our brother whom we see.
“So all the ministers of God’s word who are here and some who couldn’t make it, we saw it fit to come up with contributions from our own pockets. None of these goods were taken from any church rather we made our own contributions and we believe by doing so, we are leading by example so that the community follow the footsteps.
“We have come here and probably this won’t be our last visit, we will continue to check on our children and their welfare,” Hove said.
Meanwhile some of the Fraternity leaders who were part of the donations include Pastor Dr Artwell Chiangwa (Tabernacle Prayer Churches) who is the Secretary, Pastor Memory Longoni (Church of Christ) the Vice Secretary, Reverend Revai Chinodakufa (African Baptist Church) the Treasurer and three fraternal members namely Overseer Muzanenhamo Mapuranga (AFM of Zimbabwe), Apostle Addmore Ncube (Life Spring Church) and Reverend Dzikamai Tinarwo (Heartfelt ministries).

TellZim reporter

People with Disabilities (PWD) who are informal traders in Masvingo city have received a major boost towards their operations following revelations by City Council that their plight would be considered by ensuring provision of trading areas to cater for their special conditions.
Speaking to TellZim News recently, Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economies Association (ZCIEA) Masvingo territory president and national chairperson for People with Disabilities (PWDs) Tavengwa Mazhambe said they engaged council who promised to address their issues.
“We have faced quite a number of challenges as PWDs informal traders among them not being able to access the market stalls available as they are not user friendly to our conditions. We once raised the issues with the previous council management under Town Clerk Adolf Gusha, but they could not address out issues.
“Recently we approached current administration at Town House who promised to address our issues. When we approached council, the Town Clerk (Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa) advised us to put our issues in writing to the Chamber Secretary’s office and we are looking forward to a favourable solution to the challenges we face,” said Mazhambe.
He went on to say most informal traders with disabilities are preferring the Central Business District (CBD) to the Garikai markets as they feel they cannot compete with their able bodied counterparts.
“If you look at most of those informal traders plying in the CBD you would discover that they suffer from various forms of disability. It is not their wish or intention to leave established markets for CBD where they are vulnerable to law enforcement operations that lead to loss of wares, but they have no option.
“At the legal markets, some would not be able to access facilities while others who can’t talk or hear find it virtually difficult to sell their goods. For example some would engage in marketing their goods by shouting for customers, but would a person who cannot talk do in that case. That kind of stiff competition indirectly relegates them to the CBD where they are vulnerable to goods confiscation as well as other forms of harassment at hands of enforcement agents,” he added.
Mazhambe also bemoaned lack of collateral as the other major challenge informal traders with disabilities are facing in the aftermath of Covid-19 effects on businesses.
“Covid-19 also hit hard on traders in the informal sector. Like any section of the society, PWDs were spared neither. What now boggles our minds is lack of collateral security in case one wants to borrow funds to resuscitate his/her business.
“According to information we had in the recent past PWDs form 15 percent of the national population and of that total around 50 percent was affected by the pandemic. We however continue to call for the decriminalization of informal sector trading since unemployment is on the upward trend,” said Mazhambe.
Informal traders have often been involved in a series of running battles with law enforcement agents namely Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and municipal police where they suffer arrests and loss of goods in case of arrests.

Branton Matondo

Gweru– Zimbabwean children continue to be at an alarming risk of becoming obsessed and victimized by online sexual abuse as there has been a sharp rise in sexting and online grooming according to a recent field based study carried out by African Watch Trust (AWF).
The new millennium of digital communication has all of a sudden led to the rise of an unfortunate trend of Online Children Sexual Abuse (OCSA) that has chiefly been propelled by a rise in sexting and online grooming.
AWT Executive Director Clive Makumbe pointed out that urban domains where children easily have access to internet and the World Wide Web (www) are hotspots for this unfortunate trend.
He said Gweru, Harare and Bulawayo are major hotspots.
“80 out of 100 parents from Gweru, Harare, Masvingo, Bulawayo and Chinhoyi shared that children are involved in sexting to the extent that some children consider it normal. Sexting happens between children and their social media friends as well as with strangers met on the various social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram,” said Makumbe.
The watchdog warns of a great rise and risk of online grooming which are exploitative and affecting teens from as early as 12 and 13 years. The virtuality of social media sites and an influx of children on Twitter, Snapchat, WhatsApp and Facebook on a daily basis have caused continued manipulation of more and more teens.
“So sexual grooming is understood as the process by which an offender prepares a child for sexual abuse or exploitation and involves the organization and utilization of various opportunities aimed at gaining the trust of a child. Online grooming in Zimbabwe involves individuals but in some instances, it also involves organized groups that utilize social media platforms to groom children. The members communicate mostly online using social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, Instagram and mostly share stories and photos of socialising, including sexual experiences,” added Makumbe.
An inquiry into the online sexual content traffic indicated that 30 out 250 children in Zimbabwe are currently watching pornographic material with an adult.
The domination of sex appeasing apparatus like sex toys has infiltrated the online domain with children becoming chief customers and users.
In an official report emanating from on-field studies from June to July, the trust highlighted that teens in Zimbabwe have become admirers and addicts of sex appeasing products as confirmed by a recent case study.
“One of the recent confirmed reports is that of a 13 year old child in Harare who bought sex toys via a WhatsApp platform. The minor was supplied with sex toys by a 23 year-old adult. Out of 250 children interviewed all reported of receiving sexual comments to posts on social media, and all had received requests to share more intimate photos and organise face-to-face meetings. Moreover, 176 out of 250 children noted that they are hesitating to confide in their parents because they doubt their level of technical sophistication or fear to lose access to their personal devices,” read the report.
Parental guidance on such cases of sexual manipulation and threats has proven difficult considering high technological illiteracy rates on the side of most parents.
An investigation carried out indicated that children consistently direct their spare time towards sexting and online grooming.
“80 out 100 parents said children access the Internet from their bedrooms and 60 per cent of children use smartphone devices. 40 out of 100 parents noted that online perpetrators are convincing children to share a compromising image and then threaten to send it to them or to upload it to a public website in order to extort more graphic content or in-person meeting,” added the report.
Postal Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) as mandated by statutes of the POTRAZ Chapter 12:05 enacted in 2001 has from 2020 worked closely with Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and Childline Zimbabwe in removing and barring sexually explicit content that is harmful to children but recent reports indicate a surge in cases which is a downside for civil protection units and private entities.
In response to the sky rocket of OCSA Makumbe called for the civil society world in conjunction with children and parents to work in unison to combat online children sexual abuse.
“Parents, guardians, child educators and civil society are a vital component in combating Online Child Sexual Abuse, including supporting children in understanding and handling online risks, the creation of a dedicated hotline for reporting with the need for active involvement of parents or guardians in children’s use of the Internet and other ICTs, supported by adequate access to information, is a key priority identified by such material. In particular, open and frequent dialogue about expectations and actions to take if children encounter something or someone troubling online, is commonly viewed as one of the key
steps towards the prevention of Online Child Sexual Abuse,” he said.
In addition to the aforementioned remedy AWT called for intervention of the private sector, assessment of technology services and the intensification of online campaigns.
“There is need to strengthen the technical capacity of key stakeholders, including government authorities and child rights CSOs, to better prevent and respond to OCSA. Partnering with the private sector to develop and implement industry-led commitments to combating OCSA in Zimbabwe and creation of Internet Hotline in Zimbabwe with dedicated analysts will go a worthwhile in fighting OCSA. Another pertinent recommendation is that of preparing and implementing training programmes and information campaigns to increase awareness of online/digital safety aimed at children, young people, parents, teachers and the public at large,” added Makumbe.

Tinaani Nyabereka

GWERU-Midlands Hotel has been temporarily closed by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) after a dead body of an unknown man was found in a dysfunctional vehicle parked in the hotel’s parking area.

Midlands Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko confirmed the development, saying investigations are already underway while operations at the hotel have been suspended.

“We can confirm that a dead body was found at the place mentioned,” said Inspector Mahoko.

The dead man is suspected to have been murdered during Killer T’s show last Friday at the hotel.

More details to follow.

…CHRA says anti-graft watchdog not doing enough on corruption

Emmanuel Chitsika

Months after allegations of corruption were raised against Bikita Rural District Council (RDC) by residents following the purchase of six top-of-the range vehicles for Head of Departments through a loan facility earlier this year, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Corruption (ZACC) is yet to act towards the matter.
ZACC spokesperson John Makamure indicated that there are some formalities that need to be regularized before an investigation is launched and they are yet to deploy a team to do so.
“When it comes to public entities like local authorities in this case, we first carry out what we call a systems and compliance review in a comprehensive manner before any investigation is launched. The compliance review is when we look into an issue for the purpose of determining if ever there are issues of criminal nature before our investigations team steps in.
“The team is yet to be deployed to carry out the review after which if we identify any case that requires investigation, then we would do that,” said Makamure.
However, quizzed on the duration or timeframe after which the review would be completed, Makamure said that depends on a number of factors.
“It depends on a number of issues that is availability of necessary documents, cooperation of concerned parties as well as the nature of the matter we may come across.
“As such, there is no specific timeframe because we need to check on information made available on time and that which we require and check if there are any issues that we come across. Our compliance reviews are based on information supplied usually by whistleblowers like you are doing right now. We have procedures that we follow before deploying our teams,” added Makamure.
Bikita RDC irked residents after purchasing Toyota Hilux GD6 vehicles for HODs before privatizing the registration plates after which resident associations like Bikita Residents and Ratepayers Association (BIRRA) as well as business community wrote petition letters to parent ministry, ministry of provincial affairs and devolution among other stakeholders.
Meanwhile, Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) programmes officer Reuben Akili said they feel ZACC is not doing enough to combat graft in the country as evidenced by the manner in which the Pomona dumpsite (Harare) deal and of late the fire tenders are concerned.
“As CHRA, we envisaged or anticipated ZACC to intervene on the issue of the Pomona deal in which they should have intervened and so is the fire tender purchase issue. The moment tender procedures are flouted, that raises the red flag or indicator that corruption is there.
“What we have seen is that ZACC has been chasing cross border traders when we expected them to shift focus towards high profile corruption cases. While we do not condone cross border corruption, there are other critical cases of corruption taking place in local authorities in relation to public funds and we expect them to act,” said Akili.
He also likened the modus operandi of ZACC to a web that catches small animals while bigger ones are let on the loose.
“However, ZACC seems to be focusing on small fish looking at issues around graft which is so worrying to say the least. As CHRA, we expect ZACC to escalate its campaign and be able to start the attack on big fish behind corruption that is not only prejudicing revenue but also affecting service delivery to residents.
“I t seems their approach is low profile targeting the weaker of the weakest which I think will not provide solution to corruption,” he added.
Harare City Council is embroiled in a bitter wrangle with government following the selling of the city’s dumpsite to a company called Geogenix under unclear circumstances and opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) councillors are fronting calls to have the arrangement reversed as it bleeds the local authority.
The fire tenders issue is on the directive from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works for all local authorities to submit applications for fire tenders (to be bought from Belarus) with payments to be deducted from their devolution fund allocations.
The prices pegged at US$ 400 000 are also alleged to have been inflated by the ministry.