Home Blog Page 407

Chiredzi vendors, council at loggerheads

TellZimNews
-
0
Chiredzi vendors, council at loggerheads

Beatific Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI– An engagement meeting between Chiredzi Town Council and Chiredzi vendors ended in a deadlock after vendors refused to pay sign lease agreement forms that had been approved by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. 

The forms, which obligated the vendors to pay ZW$1920 per year are meant to formalise the informal business sector, TellZim News can report.

Chiredzi Town Council is currently shutting down market stalls as a way of forcing vendors to formalise their operations by signing the 2021 lease agreement forms.

Chiredzi Town Council Chairperson of Finance Committee, Rogers Chikonye said the fees were a result of the approved 2021 budget and cannot be reversed unless the vendors have requested for that permission from the minister.

Chikonye also said markets need renovations to avoid the spread of diseases and there is need to generate funds from markets rather than pumping out money from other utilities to fund the markets.

“These fees were approved after consultations which were made for the 2021 budget and approved by the Minister of Local government and we have no power to reverse such unless if our parent ministry instructs us to do so. Also the markets need renovations and that cannot be done using money from other utilities but rather should be financed by the markets themselves. There are also administration charges for the leases that is why it amounted to such a figure,” said Chikonye.

Chiredzi Town Council Chairperson Gibson Hwende also urged vendors to make the payment plan and spread it over in the period of six months.

“We are left with six months to complete this year and it is better to make a payment plan and spread it over the period of six months. You can later view the figures for the 2022 budget if you are saying this is too much,” said Hwende.

Vendors  association chairperson Solomon Ndarowa said they are in disagreement on the payment of RTGS$1920.00 for lease agreement forms, which, in 2020, were offered for free and also payment of monthly market rates of RTGS$960.00 from the initial RTGS$330.00 which was pegged last year. 

“We met with the council last year and agreed to formulate a lease agreement to formalise our operations, which the government is encouraging. We agreed that it will be free but unfortunately, this year we are being told that we have to pay RTGS$1920.00 to get the lease as well as RTGS$960.00 for monthly fees, which, last year we agreed to be RTGS$330.00,” said Ndarowa

Last year, vendors and Chiredzi Town Council agreed to enter into five year lease agreement which will be renewed on annual basis which the vendors believe is supposed to be free.

Sometime in 2020 Police Internal Security Intelligence (PISI) from Chiredzi Central Police Station reportedly had to intervene and called for vendors to peacefully engage the local authority.

However the resultant meeting yielded nothing as the situation went out of control with councillors shouting at vendors who in turn vowed to carry on with demonstrations.

Minister Marapira targets bumper harvest in winter wheat project

TellZimNews
-
0
Minister Marapira targets bumper harvest in winter wheat project
Davis Marapira at his Lamonte farm with Ezra Chadzamira and Winston Chitando


TellZim Reporter 

MASVINGO– Masvingo North Member of Parliament, Davis Marapira has put 150 hectares at his farm under the winter wheat program which is aimed at boosting the country’s wheat output this year. 

 Marapira who is also a Minister in the office of the President and Cabinet in charge of Monitoring and Implementation of Agriculture and related programs is doing various agricultural projects which include cattle rearing and maize production. 

Speaking during a recent tour of his Lamonte farm, Marapira said the project was in the right direction and that they were expecting a great yield from this year’s cropping. 

“We have finished everything and the program is well on course. This time around we planted 220 kgs of seed per hectare. If you plant less you won’t get the desired harvest. We have also finished putting fertilizer and from our cropping this year, we hope to get 9 to 11 tonnes per hectare,” said Marapira.  

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Ezra Chadzamira who was also part of the delegation which toured the farm said the project was a significant development which would help improve the country’s annual wheat production. 

The tour was also attended by the Minister of Mines and Mining development, Winston Chitando who also had an appreciation of the winter wheat program. 

Last year, Marapira harvested over 500 tonnes of winter wheat and was also adjudged the best 2020 Masvingo provincial producer farmer at the inaugural Zimlife Agriculture Merit Awards (ZAMA).

High demand and low supply of Covid-19 vaccines in Masvingo- Shamhu

TellZimNews
-
0
High demand and low supply of Covid-19 vaccines in Masvingo- Shamhu
Doctor Amadeus Shamhu

Kimberly Kusauka

Masvingo province has recorded a surge in demand yet low supply of Covid-19, vaccines, Provincial Medical Director Doctor Amadeus Shamhu has said.

 Dr Shamhu said of late, most people who hesitated to take the jabs since the introduction of the vaccination programme in February this year because they were misinformed are now scrambling for it.

 The rush has since led to the majority of the vaccination centers running out of first doses and they are only left with second doses said Shamhu.

“At this moment in time people are now well informed about the vaccine and they are rushing to the nearby centers to get vaccinated.

“This has resulted in the exhaustion of first doses and centers are only left with second doses. However we are waiting for more vaccines which we were promised but we do not know the quantity and the date we are going to receive the vaccines,” said Shamhu.

The Covid-19 taskforce spokesperson Rogers Irimayi said people are eager to get vaccinated as evidenced by the increased uptake in vaccines leading to exhaustion in other centers. He said they are expecting more vaccines soon which will be dispatched to districts as soon as they are received.

“People are now eager to get vaccinated. This is evidenced by the increased number of people who are getting vaccinated leading to exhaustion of vaccines in most centers.

“We are expecting more vaccines since the demand is high and they will be dispatched to districts as soon as we receive them,” said Irimayi.

Covid-19 vaccines are running out in most parts of the country and Bulawayo (the second largest City) recently suspended the vaccination programme for a week but has since resumed after receiving around 3 600 doses of Sinopharm.

The country is yet to receive 25 000 doses of Sputnik-V Covid-19 vaccines from Russia probably by the end of June which help the country curb the new infections.

As at June 16 a total number of 697 399 people had been vaccinated against Covid-19 in Zimbabwe.

Blue Gold condom well received – ZNFPC

TellZimNews
-
0
Blue Gold condom well received – ZNFPC

Blue Gold condoms

Leslie Karumbidza

Masvingo – The Blue Gold condom which replaced the Panther condom popularly known as ‘Madembare’ has been received well in Masvingo.

The Madembare condom were phased out last year following numerous calls by different organizations especially sex worker groups who were saying their clients were despising it.

The new brand was launched and started distribution last year in November and has now been distributed to all the corners of the province.

Speaking to TellZim News, Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) Provincial Marketing and Communications Officer Herbert Chikosi said the reception of the new condom is satisfactory.

“Statistically volumes are up and through interaction with the sex workers they have indicated that they want the new product.

They are happy with the vanilla scent on the new condom which they say is appealing just like the other brands that are sold in shops unlike the panther,” said Chikosi.

Chikosi said the condom is now accessible in all areas of the province and a very few areas still have the panther which is slowly disappearing.

He went on to say the youths and other members of the society have also embraced the new brand and have since nicknamed it the ‘bonde radirwa sugar’ condom. 

 The Madembare condom became unpopular among the public and was often criticized by sex workers as unappealing and not to have the comfort accorded by other condom brands as they had no lubricants.

However, gender champions have complained that only male condoms are being distributed first at the expense of the female ones.

Centre for Gender and Community Development in Zimbabwe (CDCGZ) programs manager Chidaushe Mudadi said women should be given an equal choice as men in terms of sexual issues since they are prone to abuse if they do not have their own condoms.

“While we appreciate the rebranding and the availability of the new condom, female condoms should be made available the same way male condoms are. Women are often left without a choice and this result in some being abused. So we call for the responsible authority to make sure that they make female condoms available so that women have a choice,” said Mudadi

Pensioners demand benefits increment

TellZimNews
-
0
Pensioners demand benefits increment
Paul Mavima


Blessed Chauke

Pensioners in Masvingo have challenged the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) to improve their pension payments at an event recently hosted by NSSA at Great Zimbabwe hotel.

Masvingo Pensioners’ Forum chairperson Oliver Dube said NSSA needs to improve their benefits since inflation is chewing much into the pension funds.

“NSSA need to improve our pay outs because the money is now affected by inflation and since January 2019 some of the pensioners have not received their full benefits. Our payments need to be reviewed either on a monthly or quarterly basis.

“We pay rentals and medical bills just like other citizens but we no longer afford to do so because of the poor earnings we are getting which are also affected by the ever-rising inflation,” said Dube.

Dube said the government needs to prioritise the health of the pensioners even if it means allowing them free access to health facilities. 

“NSSA should review our medical aid earnings or provide us with free access to medical facilities. As old people we are vulnerable to various diseases and even some of us who got injured during the tenure of their employment find it difficult to cater for their health needs,” added the chairperson.

Dube further proposed that NSSA addresses the lost pension policies of the 2008-09 era by providing pensioners with soft loans which would help them to engage in income-generating projects.  

“We also propose that NSSA provide us with soft loans so that we can start our own projects as a way of recovering our lost policies for the period 2008-09,” suggested Dube.

Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare professor Paul Mavima who was the guest of honour at the event promised pensioners that the ministry is going to look into the problems they are facing.

“NSSA constructed a mobile clinic that will be covering the whole country and will add more mobile clinics in each region for the pensioners.

“Recently NSSA opened an isolation centre for pensioners in Harare. This isolation centre will be turned to a clinic for the pensioners and providing free medical attention to them,” said the minister.

Minister Mavima also assured the pensioners that NSSA has started to reserve funds that will help pensioners to start their own projects.

“NSSA has reserved US$2 million to help pensioners to start projects of their own and also started negotiations with banks so that unnecessary charges on the earnings are removed,” said Mavima.

Mavima also said that NSSA is going to create a board of members with representatives from both the southern and northern regions as a way of de-centralising the operations of the authority. The board will also ensure communication between the authority and pensioners.

Government takes 22 years to complete Roger Howman dormitory

TellZimNews
-
0
Government takes 22 years to complete Roger Howman dormitory

The female dormitory that  took two decades to complete

Blessed Chauke
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works has finally completed a female dormitory at Roger Howman Training Centre, a project it started 22 years ago, TellZim News has learnt.
The matter came to light during the tour of the project at the training centre in Mucheke high density suburb by Minister for Presidential Affairs and Monitoring the Implementation of Government Programmes, Dr Joram Gumbo on June 16.
Minister Gumbo bemoaned lack of resources as the major reason to the delay in completing a number of government projects nationwide.
“It is regrettable that although construction of the project started way back in 1999, progress has been impeded by financial constraints. In order to address these challenges, government has undertaken to ensure the completion of all delayed and unfinished projects.
“I have been advised that the Ministry has received funds for the procurement of materials needed by the Ministry of Local government and Public Works for the completion of the projects,” read part of Dr Gumbo’s speech.
Gumbo further stressed government commitment to empower women by ensuring that they participate meaningfully in national economy.
“The state and all institutions and agencies of government at every level endeavour to facilitate and take measures to empower, through appropriate, transparent, fair and just affirmative action, all marginalised persons, groups and communities,” he added.
Roger Howman Training Centre was established to equip women with life skills like food processing, clothing technology, poultry production, baking, detergents making and business management.
The dormitory will provide accommodation for women who enrol for training programmes at the centre.
“Such deliberate, concrete and targeted initiatives are needed to help increase the participation of women in the economy, reduce poverty rates and stimulate economic development in the country, ”said Dr Gumbo.
The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development.

Jerera water woes persist

TellZimNews
-
0
Jerera water woes persist
Zaka ward 19 Councillor Peter Imbayarwo

Believe Mpofu

Jerera residents have said they continue to cry out to the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) as it is allegedly failing to put to an end the water crisis in some parts of Jerera.

TellZim has learnt that ZINWA is reported to have halfway solved the problem but only few houses are getting the water and the majority of the households are yet to receive the precious liquid. 

This has prompted residents to resort to the use of bush toilets during the night since there is no running water to flash the toilets, a development which can lead to outbreak of diseases.

Speaking to TellZim News, Zaka Ward 19 councilor Peter Imbayarwo confirmed that people are still complaining that there is no water running in their tapes. 

“ZINWA has claimed that they fixed the problem but some low density residents are still complaining that they are not getting water.

“West view A and B in low density are still experiences water challenges. They said that ZINWA has promised them to fix the problem,” said Imbayarwo.

Imbayarwo said that the low density suburbs are using small pipes that cannot pump water well and the extension has increased.

He however attributed the problem to the national water authority instead of the council which should take responsibility in the servicing of residential areas.

“There is too much extension in low density areas and they are using small pipes. They are calling out to ZINWA to come and fix their problem,” said the councillor.

 Contacted for comment ZINWA Masvingo Provincial communication and Marketing Officer Tsungirira Shoriwa told TellZim News that he is supposed to contact his partners in Jerera and hear what they say before commenting.

“I will have to hear my partners in Jerera and confirm why there is an issue like that and get back to you,” said Shoriwa.

A health hazard is looming in some parts of Jerera Growth Point as low density suburbs are reportedly going for long periods without water. 

Covid-19 positive cases continue to rise in Chiredzi

TellZimNews
-
0
Covid-19 positive cases continue to rise in Chiredzi
Masvingo Provincial Medical Director Amadeus Shamhu

 …as Masvingo district closely follows

Blessed Chauke

Covid-19 positive cases in Chiredzi continue to shoot up since June 4 as the district has been declared Covid-19 hotspot.

On June 4 only two positive cases were recorded, but the number has already shot up to a total of 188 Covid-19 positive cases by June 18.

Masvingo Provincial Medical Director Amadeus Shamhu confirmed to TellZim News last week that investigations have since been launched to ascertain the cause of the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases, but the results are yet to be released as they do not want to speculate.

“I am yet to receive the findings of the investigations we launched in Chiredzi after noticing the rising number of Covi-19 cases there, but if you contact me on Monday (June 21) I should have them by then,” Shamhu said.

Masvingo Provincial Covid-19 taskforce spokesperson Rodgers Irimayi also told TellZim News that the risk communication team is on the ground doing awareness campaigns in Chiredzi, which has increased the number of people being tested.

“We have a risk communication team on the ground doing awareness campaigns and the number of people being tested has definitely increased, which also contributes to the high number of positive cases.

“Increase in number of cases could also mean there is increased testing, which is a good thing,” Irimayi said.

Irimayi however added that it has already been established that those who have been vaccinated are more resistant to Covid-19 than those who are not.

“Vaccination has given those who have been jabbed some immunity against Covi-19, and even when they test positive, the effects are much better for them than those who have not been vaccinated,” Irimayi added.

Meanwhile, together with Chiredzi, Masvingo district Covid-19 cases have lately been dominating provincial statistics after an outbreak at Morgenster Teachers College last week.

The institution has been placed under lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions have been tightened across the two districts, which have been on the national hotspot map for over a week now.

Uncertainty over reopening of schools

TellZimNews
-
0
Uncertainty over reopening of schools

Terrence Ndowora

There is uncertainty over the re-opening of schools which was scheduled to open on June 28, 2021, TellZim News can report.

Jasper Chimedza, Health Ministry Permanent Secretary said there was going to be a review on the decision on whether schools will remain closed or will open.

“We have not made a decision yet, there is going to be a review as usual to see if schools are going to open or will remain closed,” said Chimedza.

These likely changes could be effected after Health Minister Constantino Chiwenga imposed new Covid-19 restrictions last week on Saturday June 12, 2021, which banned all gatherings.

Schools have been recently a covid-19 hotspot evidenced by quite a good number of reported cases of the virus.

Two schools in Matabeleland South reported 106 cases of Covid-19, reigniting fears that schools are hotspots and that authorities were not adequately prepared for their reopening.

Morgenster Teachers College was recently declared a Covid-19 hotspot after a spike of 67 positive cases since Saturday June 12 which led the institution to be locked down in less than a month.

WCoZ calls for increased women participation in politics

TellZimNews
-
0
WCoZ calls for increased women participation in politics
Women in Manyama area socialising after meeting ZEC and WCoZ

Perpetua Murungweni

Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) has called for increased women participation in politics by partnering with Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to teach women about participation in national politics.

On June 11, 2021 WCoZ invited ZEC to deliver voter education to Manyama women teaching them on how best they can improve their participation in politics as well as procedures required in the voting processes. 

“As WCoZ Masvingo, we have seen that there is less participation of women in politics especially in the rural areas because they lack knowledge and information about politics and elections. The move of offering voter education to women is to empower them with political knowledge so that they equally participate with men in politics especially those women in the rural areas who lack such knowledge,” said Belinda Mwale.

ZEC district elections officer, Gertrude Murumbi said they had increased voter education to raise awareness for women who live in the rural areas on how to conduct the voting processes.

“Voter education is a way of informing people on how to vote and the necessary requirements needed to carry out the voting processes, especially women in the rural areas as they lack access to such information,” said Murumbi.

Murumbi also explained the voting system called proportional representation meant for the senatorial elections, in which every first seat in every political party is given to a woman.

“It was discovered that women are left out in politics, so this voting system is meant to uplift women in politics,” she said.

ZEC district elections officer also highlighted that the educational level of an individual does not count in politics.

“Most women are discouraged from participating in politics because of their levels of education, but as ZEC we are saying that does not count when it comes to participation in political activities,” said Murumbi.

One of the participants expressed her gratitude to the voter education they received which will in turn stimulate women participation in politics unlike in the past scenario in which they were restricted. 

“We are grateful for the voter education that we have received, in the past we were left out because of patriarchal society beliefs where we were told that politics is about leadership and leadership is meant for men. Now that we are educated and have a better understanding of politics we are going to participate and we are not going to be left out,” she said.

1...406407408...964Page 407 of 964