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Truck driver dies in crash inferno

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Truck driver dies in crash inferno
File picture

Perpetua
Murungweni

MASVINGO— A truck driver last week met his
tragic end in an inferno which engulfed his truck after crashing into the
trailer of another truck which he was trying to overtake.

Tragedy struck when Luckson Zinyakatira,
who was driving a super link truck from Botwest Investments, tried to overtake
another super link truck before facing oncoming traffic.

Zinyakatira tried to get back to his
lane to avoid head on collision with the oncoming traffic and rammed into the
trailer of the truck he was overtaking before his truck overturned and landed
on its side.

Masvingo provincial police spokesperson
Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the death of Zinyakatira who was burnt
beyond recognition when his truck burst into flames upon landing on its side.

Zinyakatira had a passenger in his
truck who managed to escape from the burning truck but sustained leg injuries
and burns on his stomach.

The passenger was later on ferried to
Neshuro District Hospital where he is reported to be in stable condition.

The remains of Zinyakatira were also
ferried to the same hospital.

Youths challenge Chiredzi council on rates defaulters

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Youths challenge Chiredzi council on rates defaulters

 

TellZim
Reporter

CHIREDZI– The youth here have called on the
Chiredzi Town Council (TC) to stop treating rates defaulters with kid gloves saying service delivery has been dealt a huge blow
by non-payment of rates.

During a service delivery feedback
meeting conducted by Tell Zimbabwe (TellZim) last week at Mamak Lodge with
citizen journalists and youths from Ward 3, town council chairperson Gibson
Hwende and his deputy Ropafadzo Makumire were taken to task to explain the
state of service delivery in the sugarcane town.

Chiredzi town’s $400 million budget was
recently approved and the youth called on the council to deal decisively with
rates defaulters so that revenue can be generated.

“We have a budget of $400 million and
much of the funding comes from revenue streams chief among them being rates.
The council is owed a lot of money and there are no mechanisms in place to make
sure that people pay for the services they receive.

“The less people pay, the more service
delivery suffers. We will not go anywhere if we keep this up. There are other
people who religiously pay their bills but are not getting the service because
others are not paying.

“Let us be a responsible citizenry,”
said one youth at the meeting.

During the peak of the Covid-19 induced
lockdown, Chiredzi TC revenue collection dropped to 5 percent from 56 percent.

Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8 have acute water
shortages which have severely affected payment of rates to Chiredzi TC which
one youth Thandeka Tsumele said the council should improve in order to increase
their revenue collection.

“Poor revenue collection by Chiredzi TC
should be blamed upon themselves. The local authority should employ stringent
measures to those who are enjoying services as well as improve on those who are
not getting it in order to justify the need for its stakeholders to pay rates.

“Those who are not getting water might
be the ones willing to pay for the service, so council should improve on that,”
said Tsumele.

Chiredzi TC vice chairperson Makumire
said there was need to improve on water reticulation, which they seek to
improve through employment of technocrats in the field being supported by
devolution funds which will be mainly channelled towards improving water
reticulation and distribution.

“We are very much aware of the water
situation, though some areas like my ward and ward four are better than others.

“Your council sought to employ
technocrats to deal with the problems one and for all and some of our devolution
funds will go towards the upgrade of the water reticulation and distribution,”
said Makumire.

Gweru introduces mobile billing app

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Gweru introduces mobile billing app
GRF Director ,Charles Mazorodze presenting at the G-city app launch.

Tinaani
Nyabereka

Residents and organisations have welcomed the launch of a
new Gweru (G- City) billing application which was designed to enable effective
billing processes.

The android mobile based application was designed by the
Gweru Residents Forum (GRF) in 2019.

Speaking at the application’s appreciation workshop in Gweru
last week, Gweru Residents Forum (GRF) director Charles Mazorodze said the city
council passed a resolution for the Forum to fully implement the use of the new
innovation.

“The G-City innovation was designed by Gweru Residents
Forum as part of efforts to help bridge the gaps within our council billing
systems.

“What made us to come up with this innovation were
complaints by residents on the lack of transparency on their bills as it was
hard to trace records of payments.

“This application came about through an innovation challenge
which we did with our partners GIZ as a call was made for residents
associations and organisations to come up with a solution which could turn
around the challenges affecting residents.

“Last week we got a resolution from the council
allowing us to fully implement the application for the benefit of residents and
Gweru community,” said Mazorodze.

He said their expectations were to see an improved
transparency in the payment of bills which will in turn impact on service
delivery.

Women in Communities (WICo) monitoring and evaluation officer,
Clemence Mutegeri said the Gweru city app was a digital technology breakthrough
for ease of payments.

“The Gweru City App is a digital technology
breakthrough for ease of payments and improved complaints handling and service
delivery.

“The application will contribute to increased claiming
of rights including water rights, improved accountability and service delivery on
the part of council workers.

“Finally, this breakthrough will contribute to the
United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 11 of Sustainable Cities and
Communities,” said Mutegeri.

Ward 9 resident, Sidiniwe Muromo said the establishment of
the app was a good initiative which residents welcomed.

“The new application brings convenience to payment of bills
and one only needs to transact from the comfort of their homes.

“There is no longer any hustles of going to council offices
and pay your bills. The app does it all and it is a very welcome development,”
said Muromo.

Pfumvudza: Vengesa family shares success notes, encourages women in farming

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Pfumvudza: Vengesa family shares success notes, encourages women in farming

Veeslee Mhepo

The government initiated pfumvudza
programme coupled with good rains received this season have become a blessing
for the Vengesa family who recorded high yields on a 2 hectare piece of land.

A recently held field day at Vengesa
homestead in Sale Camp, Ward 7, Masvingo West exhibits results of taking the pfumvudza
programme seriously.

The ‘pfumvudza power couple’ Elliot and
Tendai Vengesa, who practise subsistence farming, said they have managed to get
a yield adequate to carry them through to the next farming season.

“We are here to celebrate the results
of hard work, we took the pfumvudza programme seriously, we executed it on a 2 hectares
piece of land  and it has landed us into
a bumper harvest with  a harvest twice as
we expected,” said Elliot.

Elliot took the field day as a platform
to give credit to his wife Tendai and encouraged women who were into farming to
take the farming business seriously in order to empower themselves and develop
the nation.

He said women were capable of
delivering and it was high time they get support to work on the land.

“Women should be given a chance to lead
as they are capable of delivering. When we started implementing the pfumvudza
project, my wife was in charge and this has resulted in a splendid harvest.

“I am really impressed and I call upon
all women into the farming business to take it seriously in order to help
develop the nation and self-empowerment,” said Elliot.

Ward 7 councillor Benengina Mudambiranwa
commented the good work done by the Vengesa family saying all land owners
should put it to good use.

“This is what we want as a country. The
future of this country is in its land and we happy when people like the Vengesa
family rise up and complement the government’s efforts to create a food secure
nation.

“The government launched the pfumvudza
programme to help farmers maximise yields and it has rewarded those who took it
up,” said Mudambiranwa.

Police rescue goat thief from mob justice

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Police rescue goat thief from mob justice
Brendon Bundo

Heather Buzuzi

MUTARE- A Marange man was severely attacked
by a mob at Chindoti Business Centre after being caught with stolen goat meat
and other farm produce.

Brendon
Bundo is lucky to be alive and has the police to thank after they rescued him
from the fists of an angry mob which had ganged on him after it was discovered
that he had helped himself with the Mufumira family’s goat and farm produce
from the community.

Noah
Mufumira and his wife Evidence Zembe realized that their goats were missing and
went out to look for them.

They
found some of their goats at the business centre but one was missing and they
kept looking.

Their
search led them to an abandoned building close to the business centre where
they were welcomed by a trail of blood and goat skin and all signs that their
goat had been slaughtered in the building.

The
couple went out and gathered some villagers who waited for Bundo to return and
answer to his transgressions.

Unaware
that net had already closed in on him, Bundo returned and was ambushed at the
business centre.

He
was savagely assaulted until the police were called in to the rescue.

Bundo
confessed to the crime and took the police to his loot before being arrested.

Southern Rocks in rock solid Logan cup victory

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Southern Rocks in rock solid Logan cup victory

 Blessed
Chauke

MASVINGO- Since their return to domestic cricket
after a long sabbatical, Masvingo’s representative in the cricket league,
Southern Rocks, have announced their presence with a bang after bagging the prestigious
Logan Cup with a game to spare.

The Rocks registered three straight
wins which took them to pole position in the five team league and ensured
silverware for their side.

Rocks, who are surely on a rollercoaster,
are now on 30 points, 15 points clear of second placed Eagles.

 In their run to victory, they defeated Eagles,
Rhinos and Tuskers who have also played the same number of games (3).

Southern Rocks head coach Shephard
Makunura lauded the performance of his players since their return to domestic cricket
after 5 years.

“It is definitely a five star
performance considering that we only came back into domestic cricket this
season after a long absence. The team has done extremely well and it is pleasing
that it shows how dominant we have been,” said Makunura.

 Makunura said his team was not in the league
for the sake of fulfilling fixtures only but to win trophies.

“Very exciting and this foretells a
bright future for cricket in Masvingo. It is a big statement, we are not here
just to make up numbers but to also win trophies’’, said Makunura.

Makunura mentioned that the youngsters
contributed a lot since they were putting in solid performances and showing off
good skills in the field of play.

“Youngsters have shown some good
promise, Gabriel Jaya did well in his debut game scoring 40 odd runs.

“Nkosikathi Nungu did well although he
has not featured for us at the moment, but he has shown us that the future is
bright and these are just but a few exciting prospects for the Rocks,” said Makunura.

He also said that due to dangers posed
by Covid-19, they had to adjust to the abnormal and move away from the norm
where the environment was conducive for the players and officials.

“We had to move away from the norm and
adapt to the prevailing environment because of the pandemic. All our previous
matches have had to be played in a bio secure bubble and that means players and
officials have had to move away from their families for extended periods of
time,” said Makunura.

Last games will be played from March 30
to April 2 and Rocks will take on Eagles and Mountaineers
against Tuskers.

Masvingo claims second spot in maize production report for 2021

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Masvingo claims second spot in maize production report for 2021

 Wayne Ncube

The
first round of the Crop and Livestock Assessment report presented in Parliament
last week which was presented by President Emmerson Mnangagwa placed Masvingo
province on second place on the maize production scale in the 2020/21 cropping
season.

Masvingo
recorded a 43 percent increase in maize production with 226 574 hectares
of cultivated land up from last season’s 158 620 hectares.

On
percentage increase in the hectares put under maize production Matebeleland
South tops the list having recorded 62 percent increase with 128 715
hectares up from 79 333 while third placed Matebeleland North recorded a
40 percent increase to 125 196 hectares up from 89 183 hectares.

“Matebeleland
South recorded a 62 percent increase in the hectares put under maize production
with 128 715 hectares up from 79 333 recorded last season, while Matebeleland
North recorded a 40 percent increase to 125 196 hectares from 89 123 hectares
and Masvingo recorded a 43 percent increase to 226 574 hectares from 158 620
hectares,” reads the report.

Masvingo
Provincial Development Coordinator (PDC) Jefta Sakupwanya told TellZim News
that the surge of maize production this season was a result of substantial rains
which were received.

“The
heavy rains we received during the rainy season resulted to the increase of
maize production and as Masvingo we are expecting a bumper harvest this season,”
said Sakupwanya.

Sakupwanya
said the province now has to focus on post-harvest management issues which may
affect the yield and how farmers can protect their crops.

“Now
we have to look at issues relating to post-harvest management because we may
not get the yields we are expecting due to various pests, therefore we need
supply of pesticides such as Chirindamatura to be made available to farmers so
we can protect and preserve what we have harvested,” said Sakupwanya.

The
country’s total number of maize production rose by 24 percent to
1 920 541 hectares from 1 549 324 hectares planted last
season.

Neighbour murdered for accommodating domestic violence victim

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Neighbour murdered for accommodating domestic violence victim

 Terrence
Ndowora

Gift Munhenga (53) from Wimpy was last
week murdered in cold blood by his neighbour Wellington Masikati (24), after
Masikati’s wife had sought refuge at Munhenga’s homestead over domestic issues
with her husband.

Masvingo provincial police
spokesperson, Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the case and urged members
of the public to desist from using violence to solve
domestic issues.

“The accused Wellington Masikati has
since been arrested and is facing murder and assault charges. The deceased’s body
was taken to Masvingo Provincial Hospital where a post mortem was done. We urge
members of the public to amicably solve domestic issues so as to avoid these
kinds of scenarios where human life is lost,” said Inspector Dhewa.

On March 25, the accused is said to
have been involved in a serious domestic misunderstanding with his wife Cecilia
Mutongi and severely assaulted her, because she had not cooked Sadza for him.

Cecilia Mutongi managed to escape and
sought refuge at their neighbours (Munhenga) homestead.  

Munhenga who was with his wife Perina
Chareni and their 14-year-old child in the kitchen then accommodated Mutongi.

The accused reportedly ganged up with
his two friends, Takudzwa Chitumba (24) and Lovemore Chisiya (22), followed his
wife and found her sitting in Munhenga’s kitchen.

Masikati started shouting at the
deceased and went on to assault him with a handle of an axe all over the body.

He further grabbed Munhenga, dragged
him outside and hit him on the head and stomach with a brick.

Masikati also assaulted Munhenga’s wife
with a brick on her legs and head as she tried to stop the accused from
assaulting her husband.

Munhenga’s wife managed to flee from
the scene and reported the assault to Masvingo Rural Police.

The police attended the scene and found
Gift’s lifeless body lying on the ground outside his house.

The deceased’s body was taken to Masvingo Provincial Hospital
for post mortem.

Covid-19 mis/disinformation: Misa educates communities on digital literacy

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Covid-19 mis/disinformation: Misa educates communities on digital literacy
Some of the people who attended the workshop in Bikita

 

TellZim Reporter

BIKITA— The Media Institute for
Southern Africa (Misa-Zimbabwe) in partnership with Tell Zimbabwe (TellZim)
have embarked on extensive sensitization training programmes on which
communities would be taught digital literacy skills and how to be safe online
in the face of misinformation and disinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At a
workshop attended by primarily youth and women in Bikita on Saturday (March
27), Misa Zimbabwe advocacy officer Malvern Mkudu said communities must be
taught on digital security and how they can protect themselves from
misinformation and disinformation in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mkudu
said media literacy in communities was lacking and people were being victimized
by misinformation and disinformation online.

“We
live in a digital world where information is now available on the go. This
advancement in technology has brought with it some negatives as people are
being abused and victimized online.

“It is
very important that we educate our people and equip them with requisite skills
on how they can be safe online. We are training our citizens and community
leaders on how to use information and communication technologies safely,” said
Mkudu.

He said
a lot of people have fallen victim to fake news which has had an undermining
effect in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Combating
misinformation and disinformation during Covid-19 is very important. Fake news
through social media is undermining the fight against Covid-19 and it’s
important for citizens to have skills to recognise fake news,” said Mkudu.

CBAP vows to continue helping communities in Masvingo

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CBAP vows to continue helping communities in Masvingo

Some school pupils that benefit from the CBA Programme 

Blessed Chauke

Community
Based Aid Programme (CBAP) has vowed to continue helping vulnerable people and orphans
in communities in Masvingo.

This
comes after CBAP donated stationery and paid school fees to 30 students at Morgenster and  Chirichoga High Schools last week.

CBAP
director Samuel Mhungu said they adopted a number of pupils and students from
various schools and tertiary institutions across the province and would assist
with school fees and stationery.

“Our
organisation plays a diaconal role which reaches to the community helping
orphans and other vulnerable people and we have adopted students and pupils in
over 10 schools.

“This
is like a scholarship programme where we identify students and pupils faced
with financial challenges to pursue their studies.

“We
only need serious students and pupils who are able to maintain good marks as we
will be monitoring them,” said Mhungu.

Mhungu
said they were also helping Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ) members and those
from other churches by giving them start up packages so that they start
projects of their own and various groups have already started chicken projects
which were already viable and the proceeds were being channelled to helping the
poor.

Recently
CBAP was at Nyajena church conducting a training workshop for church leaders
drawn from different denominations on business ideas which they could embark on
for their churches.

“Ours
is a faith based organisation and we want to empower church leaders with knowledge
which they will impart to their congregants so that they will be able to pay
tithes and other monetary requirements in their respective churches,” said
Mhungu

They have another programme where they bring doctors to local
clinics in Masvingo district benefitting Nyajena Rural Hospital, Musvovi, Bere
and Guwa clinics.

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