Gweru-Various districts in the Midlands province on March 7 went to the polls that saw the ushering in of a new Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) leadership structure following the expiry of term of previous committee.
The elections were presided over by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises.
The committee comprising of 11 members from various districts is expected to lead the provincial chamber for the next three years as stipulated by the Zimbabwe’s Chamber of Small to Medium Enterprises constitution.
Speaking to various stakeholders during the Provincial Elections and Capacitation of Zimbabwe Chamber of Small to Medium Enterprises engagement in Gweru, newly elected chairperson Bigboy Murenga thanked delegates for trusting him with the responsibility to lead the province.
Murenga said the new provincial and district committees are expected to design their 2022 calendars of events as work has already begun.
“Let me take this opportunity to say thank you to all for the trust you have bestowed upon me to lead the province. You have much confidence in me and I want to assure you that I will not disappoint. We want to work together and put the sector on the map in line with government’s 2030 vision.
“I usually use servant leadership even from the district and they know that. Starting from today I am at your service. Feel free to approach me as I am now at your disposal. Let us address the various challenges affecting the informal sector as a united front. We all belong to the chamber and let us continue to work with ministry officials towards improvement of SMEs in the province,” said Murenga.
Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises deputy provincial director Mamvura Mabika commended the districts for holding elections in a peaceful manner.
“We are all happy with the process as it went on well. I would like to thank you for the peaceful manner you conducted these elections. This is the kind of leadership we were taught by our officials earlier on,” said Mabika.
The new committee announced by the chamber’s election officers Matthew Tambaoga and Micheal Hanyani is as follows: Bigboy Murenga of Zvishavane district (chairperson), Tafadzwa Mazorodze of Gweru (deputy chairperson), Shurugwi’s Darlington Mambire became secretary while Charity Dick won the treasury post uncontested, Emelda Gwari of Chirumanzu is the public relations officer and Gokwe North’s Runotyiwa Mushonga is the new organizing secretary.
Alton Bvudzijena (Mberengwa), Alfred Mkandla (Kwekwe), Levy Maponya (Chirumanzu), Chenai Mubaiwa (Gokwe South) and Rejoice Chivendera (Shurugwi) were endorsed as provincial committee members.
The sector has of late proved to be the backbone of national economy and one of the fastest growing sectors with close to 90% of the population working as informal traders.
Zimbabwe Human Rights (ZimRights) recently provided a voter registration shuttle service during the mobile registration blitz, where people who wanted to register to vote got free transport to registration centres.
The Non-governmental organisation (NGO) provided the service in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, and Masvingo between February 1 to 28, saying they hope to provide the same service in the next blitz that will run from April 11 – 30 this year.
ZimRights Masvingo regional officer Thomas Mbetu said they hosted the service during the February blitz and are planning to do the same in the upcoming blitz.
“We provided services in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, and Masvingo. We are planning to do the same in April 2022 and also increase the areas we will be assisting in the next blitz,” said Mbetu.
He added that the shuttle service was successful and effective as it saved people’s time while also providing people with awareness on voter registration process.
“It was effective in the sense that it helped save on people’s time in terms of travelling to and from registration centres. People are busy these days considering the hustles to try to put food on the table. It also made people aware of the registration process, because people could call and even ask about location of the registration centre, so in a way it was a double edged knife,” he added.
Mbetu however said they faced challenges in terms of reaching people as there were some people in other places who called for the service but could not get there as they were only covering Masvingo district.
“The challenge we faced was in terms of reaching out. We had people for example who wanted transport from as far as Chilonga, Mwenezi but our reach was Masvingo district only, hence the need for us to increase our reach come the second phase in April 2022,” said Mbetu.
In the first phase of the blitz Masvingo province only recorded 6 440 registrants from February 11 to 28 2022 which CSOs and resident associations said is just a drop in the ocean.
The Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ) has unveiled its five year school development plans as it aims at making its schools the best.
The church which is the responsible authority for some of the best schools in terms of academics and sport which include Pamushana, Alheit Chingombe 2, Gutu Zimuto and Chibi High Schools, said they are using a group vision approach to develop their schools.
RCZ Education secretary Dr Julius Witmos Mutumburanzou said Covid-19 forced them to reduce enrolment in order to meet the required standards, a development that has affected a number of children who rely on their schools.
He said this has necessitated the need to develop infrastructure to cater for the ever growing need as well as modernising the infrastructure.
In an exclusive interview with TellZim News, Dr Mutumburanzou said their main agenda this year onwards is infrastructure development as they have realised that so many people rely on them.
“Our major aim in our five year plan is infrastructure development. Our enrolment has been reduced as we tried to abide by Covid-19 protocols, so we want to develop all our schools using a group approach where each school is expected to pool resources for its development though it will be centrally managed.
“We have realised that we may not have enough land to do all we want, so we are going to construct multi-storey buildings especially for hostels and classrooms. We want to enrol as many pupils as we can but also being able to maintain the ratio of two pupils per room,” said Mutumburanzou.
He went on to say they want to modernise classrooms and make sure that they meet current “We want all our school to have modern classrooms as well as the equipment. We want to do away with a situation where pupils go out of class and walk to ablution facilities, each class should have its own facilities to minimize chances of mischief.
“We want to build storey buildings for hostels as well as classrooms for us to increase our enrolment as it was reduced as a result of Covid-19 restrictions to maintain social distance. We also want to construct state of the art buildings,” he added.
In terms of learning facilities and time, he said they have devised a programme to minimise loss of time as they have roped in experts from Reformed Church University to train and empower teachers with requisite knowledge in online learning.
He said they have since created a website where all learning materials will be uploaded and all pupils in the RCZ schools will have access to as well as conducting interactive online sessions.
“We formed a RCZ consortium where all RCZ educational institutions are subscribers and we have roped in experts from Reformed Church University and phase one of the programme is already underway. Teachers are being trained and busy uploading material on the website. We will keep on doing more teacher development programmes to enhance our results,” said Dr Mutumburanzou.
He also said in their programme they intend to improve their diet to meet hotel standards and their cook matrons and other relevant staff are also being trained on that.
“We are in the process of improving diet in our schools. We want our diet to meet hotel standards so that we do away with the belief that boarding schools serve cabbages and beans. We have since started training cook matrons and other relevant staff members. We want our pupils to miss school food when they go home for vacations and avoid food riots at school,” he said.
Dr Mutumburanzou further said they are helping the institution come with good budgets as well as training heads on the presentation and formulationof the budget to parents so that it becomes easy to get approval from the parent ministry.
“We have since started doing workshops to capacitate our heads and other staff members and capacitate them in coming up with good budgets which are realistic to parents. This makes it easier to get fees review approval from the ministry,” he added.
The education secretary also said their schools operate mainly within the confines of government and ministry regulations and on this regard, RCZ Schools have no challenges which other schools are facing.
RCZ also owns Morgenster Teachers College, high school and mission hospital. It also have special needs schools including Henry Murray School for the deaf and Copota School for the blind, as well as the Reformed Church University (RCU).
Battle lines have been drawn in ward 4 as the nation heads towards the much awaited by-elections set for March 26. Four candidates were successfully nominated and Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) fielded double candidates.
ZANU PF will be represented by Richard Madyavanhu, MDC-Alliance by Charles Ziki while CCC fielded Aleck Tabe and Thokozile Muchuchuti after they failed to resolve the double candidate impasse.
Richard Madyavanhu – ZANU PF
Richard Madyavanhu
Madyavanhu said that he is a resident of ward 4 and knows all the challenges that residents in the ward are facing and he is willing to fix the problems when elected in the upcoming March 26 by-elections.
“I am a resident of ward 4 Masvingo Urban, born in Masvingo and really know the place very well and people in the ward because I interact with them,” said Madyavanhu.
He added that he is an ideal candidate because ward 4 people trusted him to represent them in council when they elected him during primary elections.
“I am an ideal and best candidate because people selected me when we held primary elections. People selected me to be their representative because they have trust in me and I am so confident that I will win the by-elections,” added Madyavanhu.
He also said that he does not only promise ward 4 residents projects, but will fulfil what he would have said and currently have already started some projects.
“I am not only promising but there are projects that we have already started before we are in office. I know the challenges that are in my ward especially water shortages and currently we are drilling boreholes so that people find water close to their homes.
“For now we are fixing the water challenges that people are facing and some of the things we will fix them when elected as they want someone from the inside especially service delivery part,” said Madyavanhu.
He urged the electorate to open their eyes and select the rightful candidate as the opposition have been doing nothing in the ward for the past 20 years.
“I am kindly asking the electorate to open their eyes and see the rightful candidate. It has been 20 years now since the opposition has been in control, but the development that is there does not match the period. They have been in control and comparing with what I have done in a few weeks, it is much more than what they did so if they give me or ZANU PF a chance, we will deliver like what our forefathers did before,” said Madyavanhu.
Charles Ziki – Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-A)
Charles Ziki
Ziki said there are projects that he will fix if he is elected and willing to work with the council for the betterment of the ward.
“As a resident of ward 4, I made some researches and saw what needs to be done in the ward. The roads in ward 4 are in a bad state, residents want a maternity clinic in the ward and there are water challenges that are also affecting ward 4 residents, so I will drill boreholes with the assistance of council and solve all the challenges residents are facing in the ward.
“My message to the electorate is that they vote for me so that I solve their problems and they can also come with their challenges so that we work together in good faith,” said Ziki.
Aleck Tabe
Aleck Tabe
CCC party favourite Tabe has been dodgy to this publication since nomination court day, which was influenced by the double candidature issue that saw Thokozile Muchuchuti also successfully filing her nomination papers on January 26.
Tabe has promised an interview with TellZim News on numerous occasions but always fails to turn up, giving excuses of having to attend court facing various charges emanating from his campaign in the ward.
Few weeks before nomination court on by-elections sat, Tabe was arrested together with other party members for allegedly holding an unauthorised meeting, which has been described as mere victimisation by state apparatus.
By virtue of being endorsed by party structures, Tabe has some leverage over other candidates, as the ward has been known to be a CCC, formerly MDC-Alliance stronghold.
Not much has been availed about his campaign strategy, but since he has support in both provincial and national party structures through endorsement by party president Nelson Chamisa himself, he has a fair chance of bagging the ward.
Thokozile Muchuchuti – Citizens Coalition for Change
Thokozile Muchuchuti
Muchuchuti said she is a resident of ward 4 and she joined MDC now CCC in the year 2000 where she contested twice for a council seat and from 2000 held several positions like committee member for women’s league, secretary, and vice secretary for information and publicity for the district among other posts.
“I joined the party in 2000 while I was a committee member of the women’s league in the ward and through ward work, I was elected to be the ward organiser and also was vice secretary of information and publicity for the district.
“In the past years I contested for a council seat in 2013 were I was number two out of four candidates and again in 2018, I contested again and more than 24 people came with their CVs but after vetting, 11 candidates were selected and thus when I won the primary elections and I was told that the ward should be given to a youth member,” said Muchuchuti.
She added that if she is elected for ward 4 councillor she will fulfil residents needs and restore what the council had stopped to do a long time ago that is giving its stakeholders feedback.
“I want to tell ward 4 residents that I will be their representative and as a leader, I will restore things that council failed or stopped doing a long time ago that is giving residents feedback. I will also fulfil the needs of the people I am representing.
“One big thing I want to say is that I have two eyes and the ward is too big that I cannot see what is happening on each and every corner, so I have planned that each street will have a street giant who will oversee everything and be my eyes in the ward,” said Muchuchuti.
She also added that if she is elected, she will not select a person or discriminate anyone as people are the same.
“There is no person called ZANU PF, MDC or CCC, as a leader I told myself that every resident is my family member and if it comes that help is needed, I will help as a leader,” added Muchuchuti.
She left a message to the electorate that they should put their trust in her as she will do everything that they want and will work with the residents so as to improve the ward.
“The electorate should put all their trust in me and they know what Mai Muchuchuti want to do for them will be done and I will keep on working with them like what I did before,” said Muchuchuti.
A Masvingo duo has been slapped with 280 hours of community service for stealing electrical cable when they appeared before Masvingo magistrate Retaiswe Silaigwana on March 8, 2022.
Victor Takaendesa (30) of Rhodene low density and Godknows Mangwiro (26) from Runyararo West were slapped with 280 hours of community service which they would perform at Masvingo Provincial Hospital and Makanaka High School respectively.
It is the state’s case as presented by prosecutor Nicky Chamisa that on March 7, 2022 at around 1030 hours, the accused persons together with their employer Stanely Maridzo (who is still at large) connived to steal electrical cables from the complainant Titus Gangata which they were looking after.
At around 1130 hours, Takaendesa stole three electrical cables and put them in a bag and went away. He then went to sell them to Victoria Hardware with the assistance of Maridzo for US$105.
On the same day at around 1530 hours, Mangwiro stole the other three electric cables and gave them to Takaendesa through the window. Takaendesa went on to hide the electric cables in the nearby bush.
One of the complainant’s workers became suspicious and followed Takaendesa to the bush and discovered that he had stolen electrical cables and then alerted his boss Gangata who came and led to the recovery of three electrical cables in the bush.
Gangata reported the case to police who questioned Takaendesa and Mangwiro leading to the recovery of the three cables which had already been sold at Victoria Hardware valued at US$ 450.
Instead of uniting for the sole purpose of securing victory for Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) in the March 26 by-elections, Masvingo Urban ward 4 candidates Thokozile Muchuchuti and Aleck Tabe are on each other’s throat, taking each other to court over removal of campaign posters.
It is known that opponents are the ones often accused of removing posters of other contenders but in this case CCC candidates are reportedly sabotaging each other within their party.
Muchuchuti claims to be certain that Tabe’s people are the ones removing her posters since they at one point caught them in the act and reported the case to Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and police.
“We reported the issue to police when we saw Tabe’s people removing my posters one night because we did not want to place the law into our hands. We are law abiding citizens who respect the law even though there have been no progress of arrests since I filed the report. At ZEC, we were called together with Tabe for disciplinary hearing where they opened a code of conduct for both of us and warned against violating campaign strategies for each other,” said Muchuchuti.
Muchuchuti who claims to have been stripped off party privileges like monetary funds to carry out campaigns and has been getting help from the community as well as well-wishers, said she is now more defiant than ever despite victimization she is enduring because of the support of the community.
“After we were called by ZEC, the situation got even worse, it is like they took an oath just to sabotage the campaign for me but I will not bow down, especially now because of the support which I am receiving from the community. They are my driving force because they are motivating me building my victory,” said Muchuchuti.
Prior to that Muchuchuti dragged Tabe to court over the allegations of physically assaulting her, confiscating her documents and other particulars during the time when they were submitting their names at the nomination court.
Efforts to get comment from Tabe were fruitless as his cellphone went unanswered until the time of publication.
With humankind, Flora and Fauna perishing at the hands of persistent floods, droughts, cyclones and heat waves, it is a clear manifestation that Climate Change is in our midst and it is being felt throughout various sectors including the socio-economic one.
In 2019, cyclone Idai destroyed lives, livelihoods, ecosystems and infrastructure and thus it is high time for everyone to take action against climate change or else mankind will perish.
In Zimbabwe, with Masvingo province not being spared, the impacts of climate change are being observed in the agricultural sector which is mainly rain-fed.
The agriculture sector is one of the critical climate-sensitive sectors.
The 2021-2022 farming season started on a promising note with crops showing a brighter future before they gave in to a prolonged moisture stress that stretched from the last two weeks of February 2022 to date (March 11, 2022).
Moses Mutoko a farmer in Wondedzo area said 80 per cent of crops in his field are now at write-off stage.
“Things are no longer looking good here; it is a total disaster, Due to the prolonged dry spell, crops are now at 80 per cent damage in my field,” he said.
Mutoko who had planted four hectares of maize said he is now expecting to yield a maximum of 200 kilograms from each hectare instead of three tonnes per hectare.
“90 percent of the crops are at tussling stage. My dreams have been diminished. I had planted four hectares of maize crop and was expecting three tonnes from each hectare but because of this persistent dry spell, I am now targeting 200 kilograms per hectare.
“In this era, it is no longer viable to rely on rain-fed agriculture. Shifting towards the use of irrigation systems can help to solve this problem,” said Mutoko.
The global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim at creating a sustainable living world for everyone by 2030, however, if action is not taken against climate change the attainment of SDGs will be hindered.
Goal 2 seeks sustainable solutions to end hunger in all its forms and to achieve food security. The aim is to ensure that everyone, everywhere has enough good-quality food to lead a healthy life. Achieving this goal will require better access to food and widespread promotion of sustainable agriculture and new ways of farming.
In the southern region of Zimbabwe, the goal cannot be easily achieved without the establishment of green belts.
The province boasts being home to the largest inland dams. With the huge number of dams that the province has, it will go a long way if an inter-agency cooperation finances the establishment of new irrigation schemes that will act as mitigation and adaptation measures to climate crisis such as droughts.
The government of Zimbabwe in its national climate change policy document of 2016 promised that on issues to do with the agriculture sector, it shall promote the development and adequate assessment of irrigation potential under climate change.
“The government shall ensure irrigation development and management master plan integrate climate change.
“It shall also promote irrigation and water use efficiency in agriculture including adequate assessment of irrigation potential and irrigation demand under climate change,” reads part of the climate change policy document.
Connecting major dams for example Tugwi-Mkosi with other small dams so that when they spill, the water is harvested into other small dams where it can be used for irrigation and livestock purposes in areas that receive low rainfalls.
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa in her 4th post cabinet press statement acknowledged the impacts of climate change in the agricultural sector.
“Cabinet wishes to advise the nation that overall, the First Round Crop and Livestock Survey confirmed that climate change is upon us and affecting agricultural production,” read the press statement.
Petros Runameso Madzingo of Youth Farmers Association said the construction of dams for irrigation systems and planting of trees is a way to adapt to the climate crisis.
“Government and other responsible stakeholders should assist by constructing irrigation schemes and new dams. Another method to counter climate crisis is through planting trees in the Lowveld region,” said Madzingo.
Forestry Commission Masvingo Provincial Extension Manager Cheneso Mbambo said they are targeting to plant more than six hundred thousand trees in each district in the province.
“We have officers in each district who oversee the planting of trees. We are targeting to plant more than six hundred thousand trees in each district but there are not all going to be planted by the forestry commission alone, some are going to be planted by people in the communities and other stakeholders.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to plant trees and to conserve forests,” said Mbambo.
The establishment of clubs in rural areas where village heads act as club leaders working with the responsible authorities to facilitate a reforestation programme can also be a way to conserve forests and mitigate climate change.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) is conducting free obstetric fistula repairs in Masvingo province at Mashoko and Morgenster hospitals throughout the month of March.
Obstetric fistula is a physical damage experienced by some women during child birth and is attributed to prolonged labor and poor antenatal care.
The team carrying out the exercise is currently at Mashoko hospital up to March 10 and will be at Morgenster hospital from March 21 to 31 and women with such conditions are advised to report at the two hospitals for free treatment.
MoHCC reproductive health officer told TellZim News that the programme is ongoing in form of camps that usually last for two weeks at each camp in the province since it started in 2015 and encouraged women not to shy away from treatment after getting those damages.
“Obstetric fistula repair is an ongoing programme and currently we are at Mashoko and Morgenster hospitals but women from other provinces with such a condition are welcome for treatment. Women with such conditions are supposed to do bookings first and then come for treatment.
“Since the programme started in 2015, we have helped about 800 women around the country. Therefore, women are encouraged not to shy away after getting those damages. They should also register pregnancy earlier and adhere to the medical rules given to them by health personnel during pregnancy,” she said.
Obstetric fistula is often caused by prolonged labor and is characterized by urine incontinence, making a lot of women suffer in silence.
Those with queries are advised to contact 0808231 for more details.
Kwekwe- A 38-year-old man was robbed of his motor vehicle by people who purportedly hired him from Kwekwe to Chicago area.
The incident occurred on March 1, 2022 at around 2300 hours.
Midlands Provincial Police spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko confirmed the incident and appealed to members of the public with information regarding the whereabouts of the suspects.
“May anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of the two suspects, approach any nearest police station. Once again we urge motorists to desist from carrying strangers as this put them at risks of losing their vehicles and property,” he said.
The complainant Ayton Chinosengwa of Torwood was hired by an unknown man from Kwekwe Central Business District (CBD) to Chicago.
Upon reaching Chicago the man indicated that he had reached his destination and the driver stopped the vehicle before suddenly another man emerged from the bush and threatened him with a Machete. The one who was in the car jumped to the driver’s seat pushing Chinosengwa to the back seat.
The two drove towards Appleton road and dumped the victim at Makey bus stop before driving away.
The matter was reported to police and the car was later found dumped along Appleton road, Chicago.
Masvingo province scouts team from Dikwindi, Shakashe, ZRP Zimuto, Helen McGhie, and Rujeko primary schools gathered at Mucheke Old Peoples’ Home, Alpha and Pioneer Cottages to plant trees in commemoration of the founder of Scout Movement Baden Powell.
Tinashe Mahachi, a teacher at Shakashe Primary School in Rujeko suburb who is also the scout leader and assistant provincial scout commissioner said the movement teaches children Ubuntu, character building and also helps on building life skills.
“I joined scouting in 2011 as a scout leader and in 2013 I managed to send a boy Liberty Majatami to Germany representing the nation. The scouting movement is very good and relevant especially when we look at the new curriculum as it goes hand in glove with our activities that are mainly focused on Ubuntu, character building and life skills,” said Mahachi.
Provincial scouts commissioner Taruvinga Bingwa, said the scouts team plants trees every year in commemoration of the scouts founder and said that he sourced the 53 trees from the Forestry Commission planted at Mucheke Old Peoples home, Alpha Cottage and Pioneer Cottage and the remaining were distributed to other schools.
“I sourced the 53 trees from forestry commission and distributed 32 trees to schools that do scouting. We managed to plant two trees at Mucheke old peoples home, eight at Alpha Cottage and similar number at Pioneer Cottage.
“Apart from these 53 trees from forestry commission I also added extra 30 which I had nursed. Zimbabwe scouts national had requested us to plant just 22 but we were fortunate enough to get 50 from forestry commission and I added 30,” said Bingwa.
Sheleen Addison the administrator at Pioneer Cottages said that she is so grateful with the great work done by the scouts association as the fruit trees are very beneficial to the environment.
“We are grateful here at Pioneer Cottage as the fruit trees are very beneficial to the environment because they give us food, shelter and bring goodness to the soil,” said Addison.
The scout movement was founded in 1857 in United States America and spread to Zimbabwe by the founder when he visited Matabeleland in 1911.
