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Freedom for Kurauone after 42 days in remand

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Freedom for Kurauone after 42 days in remand

Godfrey Kurauone

…as court acquits him
on charge of blocking traffic

MASVINGO
– Masvingo
magistrate Patience Madondo today, September 09, acquitted MDC Alliance national organising
secretary Godfrey Kurauone on a charge of obstructing free movement of traffic.

The magistrate declared
Kurauone, who languished in remand prison for 42 days, not guilty after
indicating that the State had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that it
was indeed Kurauone whom they claimed to have seen blocking roads and burning
tyres in Mashava on July 31.

She said evidence of the
two State witnesses was on some instances inconsistent, with one of them failing
to assert categorically the colour of the jacket that he claimed he saw
Kurauone wearing on the alleged crime scene.

She said the State’s
submissions were further complicated by the fact it had neglected to check at
Kurauone’s house in Masvingo the moment they supposedly saw him in Mashava to
help dispel possibilities of mistaken identities.

Before his acquittal,
Kurauone had been denied bail first by the same court and then by the High
Court on August 13.

When Kurauone was arrested, he was out on bail on charges of
undermining the authority of the President and the case is still pending before
the court.

In the evening of July 31, Kurauone, in the company of his
lawyer Martin Mureri, reported to the Law and Order Section of Masvingo Central
Police Station as part of his bail conditions and that is when he was detained.

“We had always known that our client was innocent and was
facing fabricated charges as a way of fixing him for political reasons. The
State had no case and they knew it form the very beginning,” said Mureri, who
worked with instructions from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).

Kurauone, who is also
councillor for Masvingo Urban Ward 4, will go back to court on September 24 for
continuation of his trial on undermining the authority of the President.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New gold rush in Zaka

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New gold rush in Zaka
Zaka district is rich in alluvial and underground gold deposits being exploited by both illegal and registered small-scale miners

Mary Timba
Dozens of illegal small scale miners including school children are now working in the Dzoro area of Zaka West Ward 30 under Chief Bota where gold was recently discovered by a group of prospectors.
The first rush in the area was reported in May 2016 but mining activities did not become as widespread as they now seem to have become.
Many of the people working in the area admitted to TellZim News that they did not have documents allowing them to mine but they nonetheless were doing it for the sake of survival.
They said the area was rich in the precious stone which they say was fetching as much as US$60 per gram on the informal market.
“We are delighted to work on virgin mining land which promises to be very rich in gold. I come from one of the surrounding villages but we now have people travelling from as far away as Chiredzi to try their luck. The police and some people from Zaka Rural District Council do harass us at times but we cannot give up,” said one miner.
Others said they feared the area could soon be crime-ridden as more miners from faraway places flock in to dig.
“We have started well but many other places that were lucrative ended up being hotspots of brutal wars as was recently witnessed by the conduct of MaShurugwi in other parts of the country. We hope people will remain civil and respect each other but that is hard because we are not licenced,” said another miner, adding that he feared the police would launch a serious crackdown if miners began to fight each other.
Zaka district is rich in alluvial and other forms of gold deposits though it remains unclear whether the deposits warrant large scale investment.
There is, however, talk that the underground gold belt emanating from Rio Zim’s Renco Mine in the nearby Masvingo district extends deep into Zaka.

Meanwhile, all the mining being
done in the various areas of the district is being conducted by either
registered or illegal small scale miners use basic tools yet cause severe
environmental degradation.

Masvingo Ward 6 complains over poor service delivery

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Masvingo Ward 6 complains over poor service delivery

 

Masvingo is conducting 2020 budget review meeting in all wards


Colleen Chitsa

MASVINGO – Residents of Masvingo Urban Ward 6 have complained about
poor service delivery in their area, saying council was not doing enough to fulfill
its mandate.

People who attended the budget
review consultative meeting held at council’s Building Brigade warehouses near
Majange shopping centre said they were dissatisfied with council services.

They lamented the deterioration
of the roads which they said were poorly maintained and heavily potholed.

“They will soon be worse because
the rains are coming. We think council must put more money towards road maintenance
because you can no longer drive on some of the roads,” said one senior
resident.

Other residents also said they
were disappointed that council was failing to adhere to its own refuse
collection schedules.

“We sometimes spend over a week
with our bins not collected. It would be good if council gives us a new refuse
collection timetable which they can implement in full,” said a resident.

The issue of burst sewer pipes
also took centre stage, with many residents saying council took long to respond
to reports, leading to many sewerage pools on the streets.

 “We notify council as soon as we detect bursts
but the response rate is very low. As a result, we are surrounded by many burst
sewerage pipes that pose a danger to our health,” said a resident.

In response, Mayor Collen Maboke,
who led the council representatives at the meeting, promised that council will
look into all the issues raised.

“We have taken note of all the
complaints raised and we are going to sit down, look into it and take
appropriate measures to deal with these complaints,” Maboke said.

Masvingo City Council has been
facing increased difficulties in meeting its service delivery obligations since
the beginning of the coronavirus-induced national lockdown which has seen a
decline in revenue collection.

A budget review document released
by council shows that the local authority is owed ZWL$131.2 million by
residents and ratepayers.

 

 

UFIC donates food hampers to Mucheke Old Peoples’ Home

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UFIC donates food hampers to Mucheke Old Peoples’ Home

 

Tafadzwa Masunda

MASVINGO – Agape
Family Care last week donated food hampers worth US$3000 to Mucheke Old People’s
Home as a way of celebrating United Family International Church (UFIC) leader
Rev Emmanuel Makandiwa’s wife Ruth’s birthday.

The
charity institution, which houses 14 elderly people, took delivery of such
grocery items as sugar, salt, floor, rice, cooking oil and soap from Agape
Family Care which was formed and is led by Ruth.

Mucheke
Old People’s Home superintendent Rev Matopos Chaka expressed gratitude for the
help which he said will improve welfare at the institution

“I
want to thank Pastor Muzhuzha and wife for coming with this gift which will
help the elderly people that we look after at this place. I would also want to thank
Rev Makandiwa and wife Ruth Makandiwa for remembering us today,” said Rev
Chaka.

Gogo
Chivi, an inmate at the old people’s home, said it was pleasing that church
people were concerned with the welfare of the less privileged people in charity
institutions.

Rev
Chaka also revealed that the institution had recently received a Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE) from the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society.

 

 

 

 

 

ZIFA president Kamambo praises Machawira

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ZIFA president Kamambo praises Machawira

 

Machawira (centre) and his wife (right) receive a cake from Zifa president Fulton Kamambo

Mark Chavunduka

MASVINGO –
The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has praised outgoing Eastern Region administrator
Tedious Machawira who has retired after serving the football mother body for
more than two decade.

Speaking at a farewell
party held at Chevron Hotel last weekend, Zifa president Felton Kamambo praised
Machawira as a man with deep passion for football.

“I can say that
Machawira has a calling on football. He sacrificed much of his time on football
for Zifa to progress and at times, he would spend more than two months without
receiving a salary,” said Kamambo.

He applauded Machawira
for being a dedicated Zimbabwean footballer whose work and determination made
him a recognisable figure nationally and in Africa.

“He took Zimbabwean
football to higher levels. If you do not know about Machawira, then you don’t
know anything about football. This man is a well-known football administrator who
is greatly honoured,” said Kamambo.

Speaking at the same
event, current Eastern Region chairperson Davison Muchena said Machawira helped
him up from provincial politics to the regional post he now held.

“He groomed us all and
we really appreciate his contribution to the development of the game during his
time. Everyone respects him, he is our father figure in the region and we will
surely enlist his services whenever his advice is needed,” said Muchena.

Machawira became the
founding Eastern Region administrator when it was formed in 2001 and he played
a key role in the formation of the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

Machawira served under
former Zifa leaders Cuthbert Dube, Fungai Chihuri, Piraishe Mabhena and Davison
Muchena.

Meanwhile, Kamambo also
announced that PSL training sessions will start on September 14 while matches
will commence on October 20.

 

 

 

 

Chiredzi council offices closed in coronavirus scare

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Chiredzi council offices closed in coronavirus scare

Beatific Gumbwanda

Chiredzi Town Council and Chiredzi Rural District Council today, September 07, closed its offices to enable extensive fumigation after a person who recently visited an employee at the building went on to test positive for coronavirus, TellZim has learnt.

The two local authorities, which share a building complex in town, abruptly halted operations to enable fumigation services to take place after a Covid-19 case passed through.

Chiredzi District Covid-19 Taskforce chairperson Lovemore Chisema confirmed that the closure was necessitated by the entry into the building of a person who later tested positive for the virus.

“It’s a temporary shutdown for decontamination because a Covid-19 case passed through,” said Chisema.

The person is a contact of a recent case from ZB Bank Triangle.

Chiredzi district has one Covid-19 death from 14 confirmed cases of coronavirus, one of whom is a ZB Bank Triangle employee who tested positive a few days ago.

Granny hides after throwing child in well

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Granny hides after throwing child in well

                                      



Progress Chaya

MASVINGO –
Police are searching for a 67-year-old woman from Gutu district who allegedly
threw her neighbours’ 11-year-old daughter into a well in which the minor was
fetching water without permission.

Police
told TellZim News that Eunice Shangwa, of village 2 Norhood Farm
Chatsworth, went into hiding after throwing the minor into her 16m-deep well because
the girl was fetching water there without permission.

The
incident happened on August 29 at around 16:00hrs when the juvenile and her
three-year-old cousin sister went to fetch water at Shangwa`s homestead.

When
the accused noticed the two children fetching water, she became angry and threw the victim
into the well before instructing her little sister to go and report the matter
to their parents.

The
many villagers who rushed to the well after learning about the incident then
saved the girl using a rope, with Shangwa herself nowhere to be found.

The
girl was taken to Gutu Mission Hospital where she was admitted.

“We
urge community members to value the sanctity of life and refrain from taking
the law into their hands. We appeal to members of the public to assist us with
information that could lead to the arrest of Shangwa,” said Masvingo provincial
police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa.

Jostle for Chivi South begins

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Jostle for Chivi South begins
Munyaradzi Zizhou in scarf

…as nine Zanu PF
candidates submit CVs

Upenyu
Chaota

The race to replace
Killer Zivhu as Member of Parliament (MP) for Chivi South has begun, with nine
candidates from the ruling Zanu PF party having already expressed interest to
contest.

Zanu PF Masvingo provincial
commissar Jevas Masosota told TellZim News that they had the green light to
conduct primary elections for all vacant seats.

“We were given the
green light to conduct primary elections and we have set the ball rolling in
Chivi South where we have collected CVs of nine candidates.

“The CVs will be vetted
by the security department before they are returned to us to work with those
that would have passed the vetting process. We do not have the date for the
primaries yet but once the CVs are vetted, the candidates will start
campaigning,” said Masosota.

He said candidates will
campaign as a team with each one being accorded time to convince people why
they should vote for them.

“We will gather people
and each candidate will be given time to address the people. No one will go on
the campaign trail alone,” said Masosota.

The parliamentary seat became vacant on June 10 when Zivhu was fired from the party and recalled
from Parliament for allegedly abusing social media to call for dialogue between
President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa.

Munyaradzi Zizhou,
Mafios Vutete, Rikios Hlambelo, Dennis Masomere, Peter Matuka, Enock
Shindi, Naledi Maunganidze, Samson Mutsamba and Abson Madususe will be the
contestants in the Zanu PF primaries.

                                           

Enock Shindi


Zanu PF has already
done primary elections for Bikita’s Ward 21 where Court Zevezayi will represent
the party in the local authority by-elections once the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) proclaims the date.

The Bikita council seat
fell vacant when Alderman Muza Mudyiwa died in April.

 

Zanu PF to recruit social media warriors

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Zanu PF to recruit social media warriors

 

July Moyo addresses the Zanu PF Masvingo PCC at GZU’s Robert Mugabe School of Education on Sept 06, 2020 

Moses
Ziyambi

MASVINGO
– Jittery
about the increasingly influential role of social media in the formation of
public opinion, the ruling Zanu PF party plans to deploy activists in
every district to counter online narratives that are not favourable to it, TellZim News can report.

Speaking at a Zanu
PF Masvingo Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting on September 07,
secretary for transport in the party’s politburo July Moyo said social media
was a new political frontier that could no longer be ignored.

“We want to know that
we have our own people defending the party against distractors. We want to know
that we have capable people doing our social media work in Mwenezi and every
other district. We must leverage the power of ICTs to help make sure our party
retains power in perpetuity,” said Moyo.

He made the remarks
while presenting on the party’s decision to revive District Coordinating
Committees (DCCs) that were disbanded in June 2012 after they became
flashpoints of factionalism.

“ICTs are among the
points we must emphasise as we revive the DCCs. We want to make sure that when
we elect new DCCs leaders, we don’t elect deadwood. Voting should not merely be
on the basis of who can sing the most or chant slogans the loudest, but on who
can bring value to the party. We want our own social media vigilantes to do our
bidding as a party,” said Moyo.

In the past, President
Emmerson Mnangagwa has called upon party supporters to get on to the social
media space and defeat detractors at their own game.

“Isu vadhara, nana Mai
Muchinguri vedu ava hatizvigoni zve social media. Imwi zera renyu iri, tambai
navo musocial media imomo. Musakundwa musocial media. Pindai, movarakasha vanhu
musocial media imomo,” Mnangagwa told the Zanu PF national youth league in March 2018.

Since then, there has
been a steady rise of pro-Zanu PF trolls who, on Twitter, were later derisively
nicknamed Varakashi.

Content which dominates
the social media space in Zimbabwe is largely anti-Zanu PF.

Government has
responded to this by drafting the highly-controversial Cyber Security and Data
Protection Bill which, when passed into law, will punish those deemed to have
abused social media or published falsehoods against the State.

MP Maronge invests CDF in health

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MP Maronge invests CDF in health

 

Mavizhu Clinic

Brighton Chiseva

Masvingo South Member
of Parliament (MP) Claudious Maronge has invested some of the money disbursed
to the constituency through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in the
construction of Mavizhu Clinic.

Plans for the
clinic were finalised in 2016 between the community leaders and Ward 23 Councillor
Tichaona Machingambi who moved the motion in Masvingo Rural District Council
(RDC).

After the motion
was approved, the site plan and pegging was done in the same year, with local
people raising money through contributions but it was not enough to take the
project off the ground.

Machingambi told
TellZim News that he was glad that Maronge had actively taken interest in the
planned project and worked hard to make it happen.

“When MP Maronge
was elected in 2018, we briefed him on this stalled project and he took keen
interest. When the CDF allocations became available, we agree that priority must
be given to to construction of the clinic,” said Machingambi.

He said the CDF
disbursement was used to buy 720 bags of cement, 129 roofing iron sheets, 30
roof trusses, 21 doors and door frames, 27 window frames and window panes and a
6kg packet of nails.

“We had no money
for labour and the community provided pit and river sand as well as stones. Our
MP chipped in by paying the bricklayers and when we got our ‘plough-back’ funds
from council, we bought more materials,” said Machingambi

On his own part,
Maronge said he identified the most critical areas that needed urgent attention
 in all wards, and it was decided that
the clinic was the most pertinent project as it will provide a service to 10
000 households once completed.

“When I came in,
I decided to do work on the project using the CDF after the community indicated
that it was their greatest priority. People travel long distances for basic
health services but that will now be, greatly reduced,” said Maronge.

Construction of
the eight-bed clinic has been completed while registration processes with the
Ministry of Health and Child Care are yet to be done.

Villager head George
Mutombodzi said his community was happy with the project which he said was of
great effect to the improvement of living conditions.

“It will be useful
to all people more especially pregnant women who did not have a place to
undergo regular check-ups close by. This clinic shows what can be achieved if
local people work in harmony with their leadership,” said Mutombodzi.

Some of the CDF
was also used to build a staff house at Guwa Clinic in Ward 24 where Maronge
used his own money to pay skilled labour, with villagers volunteering to
provide water and sand.

At Musvovi Clinic
in Ward 26, Maronge used CDF to repair the clinic’s roof that was blown away by
hailstorm last year.

He also
facilitated for the construction of another clinic at Chisase business centre
in Ward 30. The clinic project was made possible partly through funding from
government’s yearly allocations under the devolution programme.

Chisase Clinic
handles 100 patients per day from some approximately 25 000 households in
Masvingo, Chivi and Chiredzi districts.

 

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