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Spike in Covid-19 cases worries Masvingo

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Spike in Covid-19 cases worries Masvingo

 Perpetua Mrungweni

Masvingo residents are fearful of a potential hard lockdown after the province experienced a sharp increase in Cvid-19 cases, all of them being students at Bondolfi Teachers’ College.

Before May 25, the province had only two active Covd-19 cases, but the cases suddenly became 96 after 94 students at Bondolfi Teachers’ College tested positive.

Speaking at a Covid-19 response discussion held at the Civic Centre on May 27, Masvingo Provincial Covid-19 Task Force spokesperson, Rogers Irimayi said frontline workers were now hard at work trying to deal with the alarming cases at the college which is situated a few kilometres south of Masvingo city.

“There has been a rapid increase in the positive Covid-19 cases in Masvingo. We recorded 94 new cases and all these cases are from one institution. The Rapid Response Taskforce, which is made up of frontline health workers, is hard at work and we are pleased with their efforts,” said Irimayi. 

He confirmed that all the 96 active cases at Bondolf Teachers’ College were asymptomatic save for the index case which had since been admitted into Rujeko Isolation Centre in the city.

“The majority the Covid-19 patients are asymptomatic meaning to say they show no signs and symptoms of coronavirus. We are sure that we have managed to contain the spread because all the cases are concentrated at one place,” said Irimayi.

Some residents that spoke to TellZim afterwards said they were worried of a possible spike of case elsewhere in the city and province after reports that some Bondolfi Teachers’ College students had spent some time at Oasis Night Club a day before.

“Some students are said to have spent their time at the club where they mixed and mingled with different other people. And many of those students are said to be among those that have tested positive,” said Yeukai Mamhute of Mucheke.

Mamhute urged the police to do something about the bars that operate illegally without much regard for regulations such as the curfew.

Nyasha Mutengiwa a student at Masvingo Polytechnic, said it would be good if all face to face lectures are suspended at all institutions of tertiary education as a cautionary measure.

 “We all want to get back to serious face-to-face learning formats but if the risk is too high, then it’s not worth it. It would be good if authorities do away with that and permit only online learning,” said Mutengiwa.

Masvingo municipal police seek status upgrade

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Masvingo municipal police seek status upgrade

Moses
Ziyambi

City of Masvingo’s wage
bill is likely to rise after the municipality’s police reportedly applied to be
transformed into a department with its own annual budget, TellZim can report.

The city currently
sustains a roughly $10 million wage bill for its 600 employees, and currently,
the municipal police operate as a unit housed in the office of the chamber
secretary.

Sources said some
council managers as well as councillors were friendly to the suggestions, and a
resolution to that effect was likely to be made should there be consensus.

The sources said there
had been simmering grievances in the police service that officers were poorly-remunerated
due to what they feel is an unfair grading system.

The local authority’s
workforce is graded from 1 to 17; with grade 1 – which comprises such workers
as lawn mower drivers and litter pickers – being the lowest grade, and 17 –
which is the town clerk’s grade, being the highest.

Currently, ordinary
municipal police officers are ranked grade 5, with an average salary of $25
000, far below such barely-skilled employees as drivers who are ranked grade 8
with a reported average salary of $50 000.

“It’s a gross injustice
to rank municipal police officers who are trained, who cannot be easily
substituted and whose work is critical, below mere drivers with class 4
driver’s licenses. The police’s worth has been underestimated for far too long
and it’s about time that is corrected,” said a source with knowledge of the
goings-on.

The sources said should
the proposal be granted, the lowest-ranked municipal police officer will be
moved to grade 8.

The local authority
recently recruited an additional 20 municipal police, with 10 more likely to be
added to the list to give the unit a staff complement of 80 officers.

However, Acting Town
Clerk Edward Mukaratirwa said the proposal was rather for municipal police to
be moved to the office of the Town Clerk.

“They can’t be a
fully-fledged department as such. The proposal is that the unit be transferred
from the office of the chamber secretary to the office of the town clerk and
management is currently seized with the issue,” said Mukaratirwa.

He acknowledged that the
move would mean an increase in salaries for the municipal police officers.

“It would also cut
bureaucracy as all their issues will be directed straight to the town clerk,”
said Mukaratirwa.

Zx2 is right; the judiciary is captured but…

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Zx2 is right; the judiciary is captured but…


Chava chemutengure
vhiri rengoro hoo hiye hoo hiyee, mukadzi wemutyairi haashaye dovi, hoo hiyee
hoo hiyee. Anotora girisi okungira hoo hiyee hoo hiyee. Anoti kukambura rimwe
ozora, hoo hiye hoo hiyee, chemutenguree! I am back ladies and gentlemen. These
days I am madly in love with Mukanya’s music and I hope the music is in love
with me too. Music is my only love. Who, after all, would love a homeless woman
with ragged clothes, stinky armpits, unkempt hair and cracked heels? Nobody! So
music is the love of my life and these days it’s Mukanya alone who is playing
in my mind. Aka kambo kanonzi Chemutengure ndinokanzwa kachiimbwa kana nguva
yeStudio 7 yava kutanga ndakagara zvangu muma plastic kuno kuChitima uku.
Somebody has a small radio in a shack next to mine and it’s always on high
volume kuitira kuti isuwo tisina radio tihwevo zvinotaurwa. Iwo maradio station
akadai kuuya awa. Tozipigwa zvedu. Kwahi kwava nema community radio? Ichokwadi
here? Kana iwo ma TV station matsva atakahwa kuti ari kuuya? Why has none of
them started broadcasting several months after the licences were awarded? Kkk zviri
kuremera vatenzi. Broadcasting isn’t a joke ladies and gentlemen. It’s a
capital and skills intensive business. It seems very few of the licences
winners will be able to get on air. That is why even isusu vana Mapombi vasina
zvavanoziva tiri kudanidzira kuti we want genuine media reforms to allow our
people resident in the diaspora to invest in broadcasting. We could also allow some
limited foreign direct investment in the media industry. Ko isu hatina zve mari
yacho nezvikwanisiro zvacho. Zvikaramba zvakadai chinenge chichingori
chamutengure vhiri rengoro nekusingaperi amen. Even if those new TV stations
are to start broadcasting today, they would be boring as hell. More boring than
ZBC kkkk. Ko content yacho inonakidza vanoiwanepi? Zvoda mari ka izvi. Mari
chaiyo seya Passion Java kkkk. Kana kuti munenge motopa henyu vana Queen Bee
vema cartels, yes those ones have the money to fund content-creation. Otherwise
you would be watching nothing there but old Rambo films that are free of any
copyright protection.  Vedu vapfana vana
Taivavashe nana Banda nanaMunganasa nana Baba Rah paCharles Austin Theatre apa
are very talented and can make good films but their efforts will be exploited
for no payment. Zvakaoma! By the way what happened to the fight for control of
Charles Austin Theatre? But I think council have some point there, kwahi yava
kuitwa brothel kkk. Doug Hill should be turning in his grave. Ahh handisina
ndadaro, ende handidi kutaura mazita evanhu. Pandaimba Chemutengure ndanga
ndisingatauri zvepa Charles Austin Theatre ini. I meant the drama in the
country’s judiciary system kkkk. Haa drama chairo. Zvichingobvawo naThief
Justice vasingadi kubva pachigaro kkk. Akaoma Marava ohh I mean Malava. Haa
Mugabe nhaka yawakatiparira yekurambira pazvigaro iyi ka! I won’t pity you even
if they dig up your dry bones for rituals or whatever. I salute Chidyausiku for
leaving without any drama. Wise people say a good dancer knows when to leave
the stage. But it’s not Malava who is to blame here; it’s that overzealous yet
incompetent Zx2. How I used to envy that name Ziyambi before Zx2 messed it up.
I used to know of very good lawyers and other prominent people who went by that
name; such people as Justice Vernanda Ziyambi and Florence Ziyambi. More honorable
and intelligent people those ones. Now the name is derided because of a
not-so-sharp minister who pushes illegal amendments to impress ED but without
doing enough groundwork to make sure the foundation is solid. Now it’s all imploding
right in his face and it’s embarrassing his boss big time kkk. Changova
chemutengure vhiri rengoro! Kwahi nevamwe vandakahwa vachishora… kwahi Zx2
munhu wezve regime change and is working with G40 remnants to spoil ED’s
electoral chances in 2023 kkkk. President vakati 2030 vanenge vachipo asi Zx2
is working flat out to throw spanners in the works and sabotage the campaign
using his G40-Gamatox captured judiciary. I think I believe that theory because
Zx2, after his defeat at the High Court, went even as far as plagiarizing
Jonathan Moyo’s legendary words to criticize the judgment: ‘A night court, by
night judges and night lawyers’. Yes the judiciary is captured, but not by the
people alleged by Zx2. The Thief Justice debacle is purely a result of
incompetence on the part of Zx2 & Co and it is time they are shown the exit
door. He failed to do his job and all those outbursts were just an expression
of a man who is embarrassed at his own failure of judgement; a shameful act of
blame shifting. A failed man sees ghosts and conspiracies everywhere kkk kana
nemumvuri wake chaiwo zvenge zvangova zvidhoma zvoga-zvoga. Ko iyo tsvimbo
yandiri kuhwa kuti Mugabe akavigwa nayo naimi vanhu? Kwahi naZivhu yakapiwa
Kasukuwere kkkk. Asi Zivhu so kaa, haa murume ane freedom of speech uya. Zuro
ndizuro kwhai sarai imi makapisa Beiz yangu muchidya sadza nepolony ini
ndomboenda kuEurope kuno vhakacha. Sadza nepolony imagine. Kutuka isu vana
Mapombi vanomwa tii nemaputi ka uku? Bhasopu Zivhu. And he could not even spell
‘Benz’ correctly, hanzi ‘Beiz’. Reminds me of one Donald Trump who once wrote
Covfefe that nobody, including himself, knew what it meant. Is it even true
that the Beiz was burnt or it’s just his usual attention-seeking gimmicks to
tell the world that he has good cars? 
Zivhu and Java same WhatsApp group! Ko former Registrar General Mudede
hanzi vari kupinda mudare nenyaya yeumbavha kkkk. Haaa team yaMugabe so ka,
haina kana integrity. A whole former registrar aitinyima mapassport paMakombe
apo. Kwatonhora uku, regai ndinokanga hangu mauti angu ndizvidhlire. Mabanana
haasi kuora nenyaya yechando chakwidza hamba mumuti ichi. Ndotofunga zvangu dai
former VP Mboko vachiri pachigaro pamwe vaindipawo zvavo incubator dzavaipa
vanhu ndikadziya. Kkkk asi zvimwe zvinhu sooka, a giant VP kupa vanhu mishina
yekuchochonyesa zvitiyo sure. Kkkk  sure,
haa Mboko imboko!

Chipinge Cllrs lament residents’ apathy to consultative processes

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Chipinge Cllrs lament residents’ apathy to consultative processes
Councillor Haruchemwi Nhengu 

 Livingstone
Mtetwa

CHIPINGE
– Chipinge Town Ward 5 Councillor Haruchemwi Nhengu and her Ward 6 counterpart
Lovemore Mutimwiyi have expressed concern over poor participation by residents
in consultative processes meant to democratise decision-making.

This
came out at a feedback meeting organized by TellZim on Saturday May 15, 2021, when
residents found an opportunity to interact with councillors to discuss issues
to do with service delivery and development.

Some
participants complained that council had raised water rates without engaging
them, saying they only came to learn about the new charges on their bills.

“We
are never consulted or even notified when they want to raise charges for water
services. We often just wake up to see changes in the tariff structure,”
claimed one resident.

Nhengu
however disputed the allegation saying council always engaged residents in all
matters of interest, and claimed that residents themselves were apathetic.

“Council
called for a meeting with the residents on the need to raise water charges. Very
few people attended the meetings and their views were considered in the final
resolution that was made. During the budget consultation meetings, we had
representatives from different sectors. When it was completed, it was brought
to every ward but the attendance was very poor,” said Nhengu.

She
said council was doing a great job in terms of service delivery, with water being
supplied to residents for five days a week.

Residents
also complained about corruption which they claimed was rampant in council as
witnessed by the recent dismissal of the town secretary and engineer over
criminal abuse of office.

The
participants also raised concerns over the council’s housing waiting list which
they said was getting longer and longer, with some now using corrupt methods to
jump the queue and to get multiple pieces of residential land.

In
his remarks, Mutimwiyi assured the residents that the council will do whatever
it takes to fight all acts of corruption.

“As
representatives of the town council, we do not condone any acts of corruption.
Councillors and council staff are supposed to help people, and that is why there
have been some dismissals of council employees over issues of corruption. Some
of those cases are now before the courts,” said Mutimwiyi.

On
the issue of the long housing waiting list, Mutimwiyi said council had plans to
service new stands to shorten the queue.

He said
the local authority was worried by the state of roads in its commonage.

“It’s
no secret that our roads are in a sorry state and that it is in our operational
mandate to create roads that befit the status accorded to Chipinge town. This
is why we have already started repairing roads in Ward 5 and Ward 6 and the
residents are happy,” said Mutimwiyi.

Zaka villages sharing one water source with domestic animals

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Zaka villages sharing one water source with domestic animals
File Picture

Terrence Ndowora

ZAKA –
A total of eight villages with over 200 households in Zaka West constituency
are reportedly sharing a water source with domestic animals from a seasonal
Mupiri river, which only flows during the rainy season, TellZim News can
report.

Ward
24 Councilor, Stella Shambira said the area is depending on seasonal river
water, since the borehole which had been installed soon after independence had collapsed.

“There’s
a Vidco here in my ward with around 1000 people which depend on water from
seasonal Mupiri River. The community shares water from that same river with
domestic animals which causes it to collapse,” said Shambira.

Shambira
told TellZim News that people from the area walk a minimum of 7 km to
neighbouring wards in search of clean water.

“During
dry season, most residents walk a distance of 8 km just to fetch water from the
nearest boreholes which is in ward 27 and 28.

She
called upon the government to help the community by installing the borehole
which Minister Ezra Chadzamira drilled soon after 2018 elections.

“The
only borehole we had in the community was drilled in 1980 and it has since
collapsed. Minister Ezra Chadzamira drilled a borehole for us in 2019 after elections
but it is not yet functional.

“We
call upon the government to intervene and assist the affected villagers in any
way they can,” said Cllr Shambira.

In
2014, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) which went
on to collapse due to incessant rains usually experienced in the area.

ChinaAid
reportedly tried to drill a borehole in the community last year but the project
stalled midway after it collapsed.  

Many
villages across Zimbabwe are facing challenges accessing clean and safe water
due to broken down infrastructure, leaving them with no option but to resort to
unprotected water bodies.

Zanu PF Mash East remembers Shiri

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Zanu PF Mash East remembers Shiri

The late Perence Shiri

 Tracy Fuzha

CHIVHU –
The ruling Zanu PF party will this weekend held a memorial service for the late
Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement Perence
Shiri at Mutekedza Village in between Msasa and Sadza.

The
occasion, which was confirmed by the Zanu PF Mash East Provincial chairman Michael
Madanha, will be held on Saturday, May 22 at Mutekedza village in Chikomba
Central.

“Minister
Perrence Shiri’s memorial service is going to be held on Saturday at his home
in Mutekedza Village in Chikomba district. We will all gather there to remember
our here,” he said.

The
former Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) air chief marshal died of Covid-19 in 2020
and was declared a national hero.

His sudden death
was met with suspicions that he could have been poisoned by rivals in the
faction-riddled ruling party.

Gokwe to host National Culture Commemoration

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Gokwe to host National Culture Commemoration

 Wayne
Ncube

The
National Culture Commemoration this year is set to be held at Chief Njelele
homestead in Gokwe South officiated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on May 21.

The day will be part of
ongoing Culture Week celebrations, which was timed to coincide with the World
Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development which is celebrated on
May 21 every year.

The events are
organized by National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ).

A statement presented
by NACZ states that the event will be held under strict observance of Covid-19
protocols and only invited guests will be allowed entry into the venue.

“The event will be held
under strict observance of Covid-19 protocols and as such only invited guests
will be allowed entry into the venue,” reads the statement.

It also states that
there will be a number of performances and exhibitions comprising artists from the
Midlands to showcase the country’s cultural diversity.

Proceedings will be
broadcasted live on NACZ Facebook pages and other social media platforms.

“A limited number of performances
and exhibitions comprising various artists from the Midlands and other
provinces will be held to showcase the country’s cultural diversity. The proceedings
will be broadcasted live on the NACZ Facebook pages and other social media
platforms,” reads NACZ statement.

Celebrated under the
theme ‘Resilience in safeguarding creativity and cultural diversity’, this
year’s Culture Week, aims to recognize the resilience of the cultural and
creative sector in the face of the devastating impact of Covid-19.

All provinces are
expected to host live cultural commemoration that will be officiated by their ministers
of state for provincial affairs.

Gweru job evaluation exercise sparks retrenchment fears

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Gweru job evaluation exercise sparks retrenchment fears
Josiah Makombe

…as council wage bill balloons to $20 million per month 

Tinaani
Nyabereka

GWERU
–
Residents’ groups have expressed fear that the job evaluation exercise proposed
by City of Gweru will see the local authority retrenching a big chunk of its workforce.

This
follows an announcement by Mayor Josiah Makombe that the initial 2015 job
evaluation report, which was never implemented upon its completion in 2017,
will finally see the light of the day.

In
a statement, Gweru United Progressive Residents and Ratepayers Development
Association (Guprada) director David Chikore said the exercise was meant to
enable council to reduce its workforce from 1 400 to 790.

“The
mayor says no employee will be immediately dismissed but he gives no long-term
job security guarantee, and this leaves some chances that some people will be
affected. The mayor also chooses not to share with us the timeline for this
restructuring exercise, and that seems to be a clever way of avoiding accountability,”
said Chikore.

He
said the fact that council has made it clear that some departments could be
closed with employees being redeployed elsewhere heralded frightening chances
of mass layoffs.

“The
mayor is just making one of his grandstanding and insincere speeches. He is not
bold enough to bite the bullet and tell people the harsh truth that council
wants to retrench. Sometime in 2019, the mayor and the then town clerk Elizabeth
Gwatipedza stated that Town House could not implement the recommendations of
the 2015 GIZ-funded job evaluation exercise as they didn’t have money to
finance retrenchment packages.

“Where
has council suddenly got the funds for retrenchment? One way or the other, they
can’t achieve the 790 figure without retrenching. Could this be a ploy by Town House
to arm twist the restive workforce into abandoning their demands for a wage
increase or it’s a mere coincidence?” said Chikore.

Gweru
Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) executive director Selipiwe Cornelia
said the exercise lacked transparency.

“In
any organisation, job evaluation is important but at the end, there is need to
weigh and see if the results were viable or not. I hope those who came up with
report have seen the environment in which the local authority is operating. As a
resident association, we are yet to be furnished with the report so that we
also understand council’s position.

“Six
hundred people is a big number of workers for council to retrench considering
that some council services are poorly manned due to an insufficient staff complement,”
said Conerlia.

In
his communication, Makombe said council had since realised the importance of
the 2015 report in line with the city’s current financial status.

“In
2015, council embarked on a job evaluation exercise which was funded by GIZ
(German International Corporation) to relook at the organogram of the city to
make it more effective in terms of service delivery and in tandem with our
revenue collection.

“The
report was shelved but we have realised it was a good project and felt we need
to relook at it and resuscitate it. There are 1 400 employees and with the job
evaluation, we will have about 790. With that number, we will save money as
every employee of council will be efficient in discharging their duties in terms
of service delivery.

“The
city’s current average monthly salary bill is about $20 million in the first
three months of the year 2021; almost half the council’s average monthly
revenue of $47 million during the same period,” Makombe.

He
further said no employees were to be immediately dismissed as it will be a
process.

Regency Group staff now fully vaccinated

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Regency Group staff now fully vaccinated

Terrence Ndowora

All
people employed by the Regency Hotels and Leisure Group in Masvingo and Gweru
received their second doses of the of the Sinovac vaccine
for Covid-19 at Flamboyant Hotel on May 07.

The
group operates Flamboyant Hotel, Chevron Hotel and Panyanda Lodge in Masvingo
as well as Fairmile Hotel in Gweru.

Regency
Hotels and Leisure Group managing director, Edison Zvobgo said the vaccination
of all staff members was a critical step in rebuilding confidence in the
business at a time when many potential customers remain wary of using hotel
facilities.

“This
vaccination programme boosts confidence in our customers who should now know
that they will be safe to come here because we abide by government’s directives
towards the containment of the spread of coronavirus as recommend by WHO
guidelines,” said Zvobgo.

He
further said the vaccination of his staff members had made the group’s business
premises safer for all guests.

“The
President has been encouraging people to get vaccinated and we have to support
him and in the process make our own premises safer for doing business. What we
do today serves to encourage others out there to get vaccinated,” said Zvobgo.

Tinos
Mudashu, who works at Flamboyant Hotel, said he was happy that he got an
opportunity to get vaccinated early as his job entails meeting many people
coming from different people.

“I
am excited that I have just received my second jab of the Sinovac vaccine. I am
confident that we are all now safer at work and the clients with whom we
interact are safer too. Taking part in the vaccination programme is good
because it reduces the spread of Covid-19. We mix and mingle with clients from
different areas so being vaccinated is one of the most effective ways of protecting
ourselves and our clients,” said Mudashu. 

Avuxeni community radio struggles to start operations

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Avuxeni community radio struggles to start operations

Blessed Chauke

Communities
in Chiredzi South that were awarded a community radio license say they are
still learning the art of the ropes and will not be able to start broadcasting
any time soon.

The
communities came together and applied for a community radio licence which was
granted last year but they have so far not been able to set up operations.

Avuxeni
community radio initiative chairperson, Hebert Phikela said they were still
mobilising resources and learning how other community-based radios that are
already up and running have done it.

“For
now we are still learning how it is done; the requirements, the challenges and
what needs to be put in place so that we start broadcasting. Recently, our team
toured radio stations in Masvingo which are Hevoi FM and GZU Campus Radio.

“We
have been awarded a license to broadcast but we had not paid the licence until
recently when we raised the fees. Now we are official Avuxeni FM,” said
Phikela.

He
said since it was their first time implementing such a project, there was a lot
of work to be done.

“Locally,
there are a lot of preparations to be done since it is our first time and we
also have to engage many stakeholders on the work.

“We
are busy working on the requirements that are needed to run the radio station
so that we can be able to determine the budget,” he said.

During
the recent World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) commemorations hosted by Misa Zimbabwe
Masvingo Provincial Chapter at Nemanwa growth point, Chiredzi East Member of
Parliament (MP) Denford Masiya, who was a panellist, said community radios had
a huge role to play in the country.

“Community-owned
radio stations mean that the communities need to contribute a lot for the establishment
of the radio station. Government will not seek to control
any of these stations and they will enjoy their freedom, with authorities only
playing a monitoring role,” said Masiya.

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