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Berejena High expels pupil over heart condition

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Berejena High expels pupil over heart condition

 

Brighton
Chiseva

A Form One pupil at Berejena High School was reportedly
expelled from school on health grounds a week after schools opened with the
school authorities citing his heart problem as a huge weight for them to carry.

Munashe Madhau was successfully accorded a Form One place at
Berejena High School and having met all the entry requirements, he showed up on
the opening day like any other pupil with his parents registering his heart
condition with the school authorities.

Munashe’s mother, Clara, told TellZim News that she was
summoned to the school and was told to take her son home as the school could no
longer enroll him because of his heart condition.

Munashe was reported to be weak and could not cope with
classroom pressure which prompted the school to ‘kick him out’.

“I applied online and my son got accepted at Berejena High
School. However, knowing his condition, I had to go to the school to explain to
the authorities and they agreed to take him. I went back home only to be called
after a week to be told that there were some challenges with my son.

“I was told that he was weak and could not cope with
classroom pressure and other academic requirements to which I told them that
they should allow him to rest where possible.

“I was told to visit the school to discuss my son’s case,”
said Clara.

She said when she got to the school, she was juggled from
one office to another until she was told that the school could no longer keep
her son and should be taken home.

“They later called for a meeting where I was excused a bit then
was later called back and was told that the school could no longer keep my
child. I tried to reason with them to allow him to finish this term but they
refused.

“I then took my son home and just thought that was the end
of it but was later helped to secure a place for him at St Luke High School in Chivi
where he is now,” said Clara.

She said the school offered to refund her fees but she opted
to replace him with her younger sister’s child who was yet to secure a Form One
place.

“They gave me a transfer letter and offered to refund me the
school fees but I then opted to give them my younger sister’s child who was yet
to get a Form One placement,” said Clara.

Berejena High School head George Gopo scoffed at the allegations
saying he was not discriminatory and would never do that to a pupil.

He said Munashe got sick and they notified her mother
(Clara) who came and took her saying she wanted to take him to the doctor but
never came back.

“I am not discriminatory at all and would never expel a
pupil whom we had accepted knowing that he has a condition. Her mother took her
saying she was sending him to hospital and would return but we were later told
that she had send the pupil to another school,” said Gopo.

Inadequate power supply at root of Masvingo water crisis

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Inadequate power supply at root of Masvingo water crisis

 

Pumps at the abstraction station at Bushmead

Moses Ziyambi

City of Masvingo is pumping water
at half capacity due to insufficient power supplies at the Bushmead Water
Works, and not due to any challenges on the part of council infrastructure,
Mayor Collen Maboke has said.

Addressing a press conference this
afternoon, April 13, Maboke said there was no maintenance problems at the
waterworks, and the below average water supplies are due to a burnt-down Zimbabwe
Electricity Transmission Distribution Company (ZETDC) transformer.

“We have a transformer which got
burnt beyond repair just before Bushmead. In response, Zesa (ZETDC’s parent
company) connected us to an alternative feeder route which passes through
Clipsham. This alternative line, unfortunately, is oversubscribed and this
means not enough power is getting to the waterworks. We are therefore using one
pump instead of two.

“Currently, we have no
maintenance challenges at the water works except for the supply shortfalls we
have always had. If we are to get sufficient power supplies, we would be able
to pump as much as we have been pumping before the power supply problems,” said
Maboke.

The city recently suffered severe
water shortages, with all suburbs not receiving any supplies as authorities battled to liaise with ZETDC so that the power
supplies could be restored urgently.

It is not yet clear when the power
utility would be able to replace the destroyed transformer and reconnect the
water works to the usual feeder.

 

 

Rupike Irrigation Scheme gets new weather station equipment

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Rupike Irrigation Scheme gets new weather station equipment

The new weather station at Rupike irrigation Scheme

 Kimberly Kusauka

The
Meteorological Services Department (MSD) recently donated and installed weather station equipment at Rupike Irrigation Scheme in Masvingo South, Ward 23
which was commissioned by Member of Parliament (MP) Claudios Maronge.

The
automatic weather station has been welcomed by members of the community who
said it will help them to make better use of the agricultural land available to
them.

Rupike
Irrigation Scheme Agritex supervisor Tinashe Chirambadare confirmed the
development and thanked MSD for the assistance which he said will help in
efforts to improve agricultural productivity in the area.

“Since
we are an irrigation scheme, this new equipment will help us to better schedule
our irrigation system. It is not yet computerized but we get feedback from MSD
Harare, which I think should be de-centralised so that we get the weather
update at our offices,” said Chirambadare. 

Installation
was done by MSD between March 24 and 26.

Rupike
Irrigation Scheme is about 90km south of Masvingo city near Renco Mine.The scheme sits on 100ha of land and it comprises 200 plot holders.

The
scheme began operations in 1992 and was established by Anglo Ashanti in the
late 1980s after the construction of Tugwane Dam, from which water for irrigation
is drawn.

Adequate operation
and maintenance of irrigation infrastructure, sustains irrigation scheme
facilities, reduces repair costs, help the system last longer and keeps
irrigation efficiency at designed levels. 

Chamisa’s Chiredzi Cllr released on $5000 bail

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Chamisa’s Chiredzi Cllr released on $5000 bail

TellZim Reporter

MASVINGO-
MDC Alliance’s Chiredzi Rural District Council (RDC) Ward 18 councillor and
provincial youth league secretary general Gilbert Mutubuki, who was arrested
yesterday in connection with an ‘illegal’ gathering in Mandamabwe in February,
has been released on $5 000 bail.

Mutubuki
will be back in court on May 9 together with nine other MDC Alliance activists
who were arrested on the same charges.

Mutubuki
appeared before magistrate Patience Madondo today charged with inciting public
violence when he allegedly addressed a gathering at Mhandamabwe in February.

Mutubuki
reportedly handed himself over to the police yesterday after a manhunt had been
launched by members of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Law and Order.

His
lawyer, Advocate Martin Mureri of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) told
TellZim News that his client had been charged for addressing a gathering with
the intention of causing public violence.

“My
client is being charged for participating in a gathering with intend to promote
public violence. He was given $5 000 bail and will come back in court to court
in May for his remand,” said Mureri.

Gweru, Vungu RDC solve their differences

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Gweru, Vungu RDC solve their differences

 Ian Kadziya

Gweru
City Council (GCC) and Vungu Rural District Council (VRDC) have moved a step towards
a stronger partnership by signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) which will
see sitting of joint committees to manage intertwined interests and challenges.

Speaking
at the ceremony, Gweru District Development Coordinator (DDC) Jorum Chimedza said
the two authorities ought to work closely together for the mutual benefit of
their residents.

“Many
of you who are here; you are chosen by people to represent residents on matters
of governance. Today is a day necessitated by certain sections of both the
Urban Councils Act and Rural Councils Act. We recall that some time towards the
end of 2017, the issue of dysfunctional settlements affected us, and those
needed clear administrative structures to run.

“In
2018, we were directed by the Minister of Local Government that these two local
authorities should come together to form joint committees regarding issues of
boundaries that often needed government to decide,” said Gumbo.

He
also said it was good that the two local authorities had found each other; with
residents now able to report issues regarding their roads, water and sewerages
to either of the two sides.

City
of Gweru Mayor Josiah Makombe said the signing ceremony was going to strengthen
operations between the two authorities.

“As
a team, we managed to convince each other to sit down together with our counterpart
Vungu Rural District Council (VRDC) so that we come up with a joint committee.
The journey was long as we all know any two parties that come up with an
agreement are bound to encounter some disagreements along the way.

“I
am therefore happy today that we have this agreement. We thank the DDC for witnessing
our coming together. Beginning now, we will walk together as sister institutions,
making sure that we provide quality services to our people,” added Makombe

 Vungu Rural District Council CEO, Morgan Zimvu
said the signing ceremony was for the betterment of service delivery for residents.

“This
is not only good for us as authorities. Rather, it it is also good for
residents living in the urban and rural areas we should respect this day because
it marks the end of all our problems as we now operate as a team,” said Zimvu.    

The Magwa Professors publish another research book

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The Magwa Professors publish another research book

 Brighton
Chiseva

Professor Wiseman Magwa and his wife Professor
Simuforosa Magwa have co-authored another book on research supervision which is
a must-read textbook on research supervision for  students in Higher Education Institutions.

The book is tittled Supervision of Dissertations, Theses and
Projects: A Guide for Students and their Supervisors (ISBN 979-1-77925-630-0) and was
published and printed in Zimbabwe by Dream Discovery Publishers, Gweru.

It becomes the third book to be
co-authored by the two prolific Professors who teach research methods to both
undergraduate and postgraduate research students.

In 2015, they co-published a research
textbook titled, A Guide to Conducting
Research: A Student Handbook (ISBN 978-1-68181-087-4) which was printed in
the United States of America by Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Company,
New York.

This was followed by another joint
effort in 2017 titled, Writing a Research
Proposal: A Step by Step Student Guide (ISBN 987-0-86922-898-2) that was
printed in Zimbabwe by Mambo Press, Gweru.

Speaking to TellZim News, Professor
Wiseman Magwa said in their several years of supervising research students,
they observed that projects, dissertations and theses were a challenging task
for both students and their supervisors.

“Many supervisors argue that they are
good researchers but  have not received
training in research supervision thus they often lack best practices in managing
the research process. As a result, many students struggle to complete their projects,
dissertations or theses because of the unproductive relationship between the supervisor
and the student,” said Magwa.

He 
said the relationship between supervisor and student can only thrive if
both parties know their roles and responsibilities right from the onset, which
they have to religiously fulfil throughout the research journey.

“The supervisor and the student should
know their roles for them to produce a good product and this is why we decided
to produce this important book to help them both,” said Magwa.

The guide provides basic information
for supervisors of diploma, undergraduate, honours, masters and doctoral
students.

It addresses the gap in the knowledge
base relating to the supervision of research students by university and college
staff.

It is structured to provide information
that supervisors may find useful at various stages of the research process.

Guidelines contained in this book serve
to offer guidance to both research supervisors and students who are engaged in
completing research projects at different levels of study and provides guidance
and practical advice to research students to assist them in maximising their
potential.

It also provides guidance and practical
advice to support supervisors in undertaking their crucial roles. 

The resource book also aims to fill up
the knowledge gap in research supervision by providing a set of best practices
for the supervisor that may help to structure and focus the collaboration
between student and supervisor so that the project, thesis or dissertation runs
smoothly.

With this guiding manual, the authors hope
to initiate discussions and debate on good practices for supervising research
projects, dissertations and theses. This is a handbook that is expected to
assist supervisors of research students to develop quality researches.

Magwa said the book was there to
complement other reseach texts that are there and should not be seen as
prescriptive.

“The roles and responsibilities of
supervisors and students the handbook should not be seen as prescriptive but
indicative and does not intend to replace the research regulations set out in
specific university or college regulations.

Wiseman Magwa is a Full Professor and a
holder of a Doctoral Degree in Language Education with the University of South
Africa (UNISA). He worked as a High School teacher before joining Teacher
Education in 1987 where he rose from Lecturer, Senior Lecturer up to Principal
Lecturer grade.

He then joined University Education and
taught as a Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor and Full Professor for many
years.  Professor Magwa was appointed
Vice-Chancellor of the Reformed Church University (Zimbabwe) from
2011–2017.  He retired as Vice-Chancellor
and was then appointed Executive Director of the Midlands State University
Language Institute from 2018 to date.

He has published extensively in the
area of language, literature, culture and education with more than 100 academic
articles, 29 books and several book chapters.

His wife Simuforosa Magwa is a Full
Professor in the School of Education and Culture at Great Zimbabwe University.

She is a holder of a Doctoral degree in
Educational Psychology with the University of South Africa (UNISA).

She worked as a school teacher for many
years before joining Higher Education as a Lecturer and rose to become Senior
Lecturer and Full Professor in the Faculty of Education at the Zimbabwe Open
University and Great Zimbabwe University respectively.

She has published extensively in the
area of Education with several journal articles, books and book chapters to her
credit.

The impressive profiles of the two
authors reflect a high level of scholarship consciously focused on a
step-by-step journey towards a successful research destination.

Masvingo receives more Covid-19 vaccine

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Masvingo receives more Covid-19 vaccine

TellZim Reporter

Masvingo
province yesterday, April 12, received 65 000 more doses of the vaccine after
the initial 22 000 doses received on February 19 ran out.

TellZim
reported last week that the 22 000 Sinopharm doses allocated to Masvingo for
the first phase of the vaccination rollout had run out.

In
an interview with TellZim, Masvingo Provincial Information Officer Rogers
Irimayi said the new doses will support the provincial second phase of the
vaccination programme launched in Victoria Falls on March 24.

“We
now have new vaccine doses thanks to our government. We expect the new to
anchor the second phase of the rollout which was launched at national level by
President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“As
has already been communicated, the second phase targets teachers, the elderly,
the chronically ill, people in the hospitality industry and others. We look
forward to a very successful second phase,” he said.

Chiwenga visit to Chiredzi: details emerge

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Chiwenga visit to Chiredzi: details emerge
VP chiwenga chatting with Chief Sengwe in Gibbo Stadium recently

Beatific
Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI
–
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s visit to Chiredzi last weekend was linked
to intelligence reports received by government that villagers and their leaders
were threatening to vote for the opposition in the 2023 general elections,
TellZim News can report.

Chiwenga spoke at Gibbo
Stadium after meeting traditional leaders of the predominantly Xangani speaking
communities of Chiredzi South, North and East some of whom were bound to be
affected by the controversial lucerne project which recently caused national
uproar.

Though government
appears to have withdrawn plans to forcibly relocate thousands of villagers
from their ancestral land to pave way for Dendairy to implement the project,
grievances continue to simmer in those marginalised communities.

The grievances also
include the procedure being used to allocate plots at the massive Kilimanjaro
smallholder sugarcane project which local communities fear would exclude them
once more.

“Chiwenga came to douse
the fires after the aggrieved communities threatened to vote for the opposition
come 2023. The threat unruffled feathers at the highest ranks of government
hence the decision to send Chiwenga to reassure the communities. Remember,
these are communities that have been victims of forced relocations in the past,
and there are also simmering perceptions that they have been marginalised and
discriminated of by the government since independence.

“Traditional leaders
were assured that nobody will be removed from their ancestral land and that any
project that will be launched on their land will be owned by them. They were
also promised that local communities will be given priority in the allocation
of plots at Kilimanjaro,” said a source.

Speaking at Gibbo
Stadium after canvassing the traditional leaders, Chiwenga said President
Emmerson Mnangagwa had decided that nobody will be removed from their land.

“This area is known for
sugarcane production and I know of some areas which are underutilised. We need
those areas to be identified by the Department of Lands and be distributed to
the local Xanganis and the Kilimanjaro project too should benefit the locals.

Chiwenga assured chiefs
and headmen from Sengwe communal lands that their people will no longer be
removed from their ancestral land.

He also said the
communities needed to discuss on the advantages of growing lucerne and other
cattle feeds with a vision for development.

“Last year, we
resuscitated Chilonga Irrigation Scheme which had been defunct for decades and
that was just an introduction of what we intend to do for this community. We
shall have Chilonga 2 and 3 coming our way. 

“I want to make this
clear that no one is going to be evicted from their ancestral land in Chilonga
but we need to come up with empowerment projects from what they have been
doing.

“Lucerne brings
development here and I came with these ministers to discuss the advantages of
this project and we should have a vision of this project and we are all obliged
to take it as our development,” said Chiwenga.

 

Minister Mthuli Ncube vouches for Chinese vaccine

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Minister Mthuli Ncube vouches for Chinese vaccine

 Veeslee Mhepo

While the government is at pains to
explain the efficacy and effectiveness of the Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac
Covid-19 vaccines, the minister of Finance and Economic Development Mthuli Ncube
has joined a band wagon of government officials in trying to convince the
nation to get vaccinated.

Speaking at the Chombwe pfumvudza
demonstration field day programme on Saturday in Chivi, Ncube said the Covid-19
vaccines were very safe saying he actually got his second dose of the vaccine
and was still lucid.

Though Ncube could not disclose which
jab he took, he said Zimbabweans should embrace vaccination to save themselves
from Covid-19.

“Covid-19 is real and it kills. We are
lucky as a country that we have begun a vaccination rollout programme and it is
my plea to the nation that you get vaccinated.

“The vaccines we are getting from China
are very safe and people should take them without any hesitation.

“I have actually taken my second dose
of the vaccine and I am feeling ok. We have to get our people vaccinated,” said
Ncube.

He dismissed speculations and
misinformation surrounding the Chinese vaccine saying the government would
never expose its people to risk and danger by passing an unverified product.

“There has been a lot of negative
information on the vaccine from different social  media platforms and its time people understand
that we can never do anything unprofessional to risk people’s lives, the
vaccine is safe and I assure 
everyone  that it is the only way
to fight this pandemic,’’ said Ncube.

He said Zimbabwe would be receiving
about a million doses of Covid-19 vaccines monthly to ensure that a huge
population gets vaccinated.

Speaking at the same event, Minister of
State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira said
Masvingo expects to receive another consignment of Covid-19 vaccines after
using up the first batch of 22 000 which was enough to vaccinate 11 000 people.

Quorum headache at Masvingo City Council

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Quorum headache at Masvingo City Council

 …audit committee suspended

Upenyu Chaota

The axe
wielded by MDC-T president Douglas Mwonzora claiming the scalp of four City of
Masvingo councillors has affected operations at the local authority with
council struggling to constitute standing committees resulting in the
suspension of the audit committee.

Mwonzora
expelled Tarusenga Vhembo, Godfrey Kurauone, Daniel Mberikunashe and Richard
Musekiwa as councillors for Wards 3, 4, 5 and 7 respectively among many others
across the country.

Special
council meeting minutes of January 14, 2021 said that the recall of the four
councillors has left standing committees without enough members to constitute
membership and quorums.

Following
the recalls, all the committees with the exception of Health, Housing and Environmental
Services Committee remained with two members instead of three as prescribed by
the Urban Councils Act.

Section
96 (9) of the Urban Councils Act reads ‘…a standing committee shall consist of
such number of members being not less than three as the council may determine.’

Traditionally,
City of Masvingo committees had a membership of four in all committees with a
quorum of three.

“Having
remained with six councillors including the Mayor and deputy Mayor, it was
impossible to maintain the current committees with four members and a quorum of
three.

“In
light of the reduced number of councillors, it was suggested and agreed that
the membership of the committees be reduced to three with a quorum of two
councillors,” reads the minutes.

Masvingo
is now left with six councillors out of the ten voted for in the 2018
harmonised elections.

City of
Masvingo has five standing committees namely Health, Housing and Environmental
Services committee, Public Works and Planning committee, Human Resources and
Gender committee, Finance and General Purposes committee and the Audit
committee.

After
the reconstitution of the standing committees, the Health, Housing and
Environmental Services committee will remain with Ward 1 councillor Alderman
Sellina Maridza, Ward 9 councillor Babylon Beta and Ward 8 councillor Against
Chiteme.

The
Public Works and Planning committee will see cllr Maridza joining Ward 10
councillor Sengerayi Manyanga and Ward 6 councillor and deputy mayor Wellington
Mawende.

“It was
suggested and agreed that council maintains the tradition in which the Finance
and General Purposes committee would consist of chairmen of other committees
excluding the chairman of the Audit committee.

“The
membership of the Finance and General Purposes committee will consist of councillor
Beta as the chairperson, councillor Maridza and two members elected to chair
the Public Works and Planning committee and Health, Housing and Environmental
Services committee,” reads the minutes.

Councillors
Maridza, Manyanga and Chiteme will chair the Human Resources and Gender
committee.

After
the recall of the four councillors, there were no adequate councillors to
constitute the audit committee and council agreed to suspend its operations and
engage with the minister of Local government on the way forward.

“In
terms of Section 97 (2) of the Urban Councils Act Chapter 29.15, the mayor,
deputy mayor and chairpersons of every committee of council shall not be a
member of the audit committee.

“After
the recall of the four councillors, there were no adequate councillors to
constitute the Audit committee. It was suggested and agreed to suspend
operations of the Audit committee in the meantime whilst the Acting Town Clerk
(Edward Mukaratirwa) would engage the minister of Local Government and Public
Works on the same.

“In the
interim period, the Chief Internal Auditor would report to the Acting Town
Clerk who will in turn report to council where necessary,” reads the minutes.

Masvingo
is faced with a myriad of service delivery problems with residents up in arms
with the local authority over the recent 500 percent rates hike which the
council says will improve services.

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