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Masvingo vendors get PPE from VISET

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Masvingo vendors get PPE from VISET

TellZim
Reporter

MASVINGO
– The Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (Viset) has
today, June 10, donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to vendors at
Tafara market in Mucheke.

A consignment of hand
sanitisers and hand washing bucket tanks were among some of the donated items.

The Tafara market is located in Ward 1 whose Councilor Selina Maridza expressed gratitude to the donations saying market places pose a serious threat
if they are ignored.

“A lot of people come
to do business at this market and this means that there will be great risks of
spreading coronavirus.

“We want to thank Viset
for handing over this donation so that our market place remains safer. Now we
have to make sure that the donation will be put to good use.

“More donations of this
kind are needed at this market,” said Maridza.

Viset director Samuel
Wadzai Mangoma said the donation was a way of empowering women to continue working for
their families during the economic hardships caused by the Covid-19 national
lockdown which has seen most of the informal sector remain closed.

“We have realized that
our economy is largely informal and vendors are contributing a lot to the growth
of the economy.

“The women are the ones
who are working at the markets to feed their families since most companies are
closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic so they need a place which is safe for them
and their customers,” said Mangoma.

Premier Africa disinfects Masvingo Teachers’ College

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Premier Africa disinfects Masvingo Teachers’ College

Diana Gondongwe

Premier Africa, a new company offering disinfection services,
has donated 40 litres of a water based disinfectant to Masvingo Teachers’
College for the disinfection of six hostel blocks, the clinic, the dining hall
and the surrounding areas which were used by people who were quarantined there
in recent weeks.

The organisation also donated an ultra-sonic
disinfectant automiser to the office of the Minister of State for Masvingo
Provincial Affairs and Devolution.

In his remarks, Chadzamira said the private sector was
critical in complementing government efforts in the fight against this pandemic.

He urged communities to not harbour people who escape
from quarantine centres and those who come home straight from neighbouring countries
without getting into mandatory quarantine.

“As I launch this disinfecting programme, I would
like to thank Premier Africa for the donations. I also want to thank other
private organisations who are working with us to contain the pandemic. Communities
should report returnees who have not gone through quarantine and those who run
away from quarantine centres,” Chadzamira said.

Premier Africa director Viktor Hwakwa said they are
working together with the provincial task force to fight the pandemic.

“As Premier Africa, my co director Esther Hwakwa
and I are offering free disinfecting services to the college as a way of fighting
against the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Hwakwa.

Masvingo Teachers’ College principal Benson Mutambudzi
said many facilities at the institution needed to be disinfected as they had
been used by hundreds of repatriates.

“We are thankful to Premier Africa for the free
disinfection offer because we are preparing to welcome back 600 third-year
students,” said Mutambudzi.

Last month, Masvingo province received 681 returnees,
of which 297 were accommodated at Masvingo Teachers’ College starting on May 06.

 

Sanitizers for all golf clubs as courses reopen

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Sanitizers for all golf clubs as courses reopen

Mudzikisi, Cummings and Ngwenya at the handover of sanitizers for Masvingo Golf Club

Moses
Ziyambi

MASVINGO
–
The Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA) has welcomed government’s cautious decision
to allow a conditional reopening of the sport, and has taken steps to comply
with the conditions by donating sanitizers to all golf courses in the country.

Masvingo province received
its share this week and such courses as Masvingo, Hippo Valley in the Lowveld and
Mutirikwi in Renco have already benefited.

At national level; Royal
Harare, Chapman and Warren Hills are among other courses that have already
received their own share.

ZGA Masvingo provincial
president Pascal Mudzikisi said he was pleased that his organisation took the
safety of players seriously.

“These have been very
difficult moments for us as an association and for the sport in general but I
am glad that government has acknowledged that we are a low risk sport hence the
special dispensation for our conditional reopening.

“We have taken the
initiative to distribute sanitizers to all golf clubs as a way of demonstrating
our willingness to comply with the conditions and as a way of helping our
courses to improve the safety of players and employees,” said Mudzikisi.

Receiving 40 litres of
sanitizers on behalf of Masvingo Golf Club, deputy club captain Ryan Cummings
thanked ZGA for the effort, saying the assistance came at a time of great need
for the club.

“The lockdown has had a
dire impact on our operations so we welcome the donation which has come when we
have recorded almost zero revenue over the past nine weeks,” said Cummings

The Sports and
Recreation Commission (SRC) recently allowed golfing activities to resume under
strict protocols and guidelines.

The guidelines prohibit
group competitions, the use of caddies and ball spotters as well as the opening
of clubhouses and bars.

Sanitizing
material and running water must be readily available to players, staff and
visitors to the club.

 

 

 

 

 

GZU campus radio goes on air

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GZU campus radio goes on air
Golden Maunganidze
TellZim Reporter
The Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) Vice Chancellor Professor Rungano Zvobgo recently earned for himself a page in the history books of local broadcasting after his institution became the first in the country to get a broadcasting license for its campus radio station.
The government has set aside ten radio frequencies for universities across the country but the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) issued the first license to GZU Campus Radio which then went on air on June 07.
In the wake of the developments, other state universities are said to be flocking to Masvingo to appreciate how GZU has managed the feat.
The GZU Campus Radio director Golden Maunganidze said that they were looking foward to the official launch the station.
“We have worked so hard and I am glad that we can finally heave a sigh of relief and say we have done it. It has been a long road which needed a lot of patience and dedication. We received our broadcasting license last week and we have already gone on air. We hope to officially launch the station this month.
“We would like to thank Prof Zvobgo for walking with us through the whole process which was emotionally draining but worthy every effort,” said Maunganidze.
The radio station was awarded three frequencies for their Masvingo, Mashava and Chiredzi campuses.
In Masvingo the radio station can be accessed on 89.5 FM, Chiredzi 90.0 FM and 100.4 FM for Mashava.
In the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic in which institutions of higher learning are devising new teaching methods, GZU will use its radio station to reach out to its students across campuses.

VID won’t open anytime soon: Govt

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VID won’t open anytime soon: Govt

TellZim Reporter

The
public should not expect the immediate reopening of the Vehicle Inspectorate
Department (VID) because it would be difficult to maintain social distancing
rules at the premises, government has said.

In
a telephone interview with TellZim News, permanent secretary in the Ministry of
Transport and Infrastructural Development, Amos Marawa said the set-up at VID depots
was similar to schools hence the sustained ban.

“We
put the VID in the same category as schools therefore just as schools remain shut;
the department will also remain closed. Prospective drivers, for instance, need
to sit down for a test as a group under supervision, and that would make it
very hard to comply with social-distancing rules required by the current level
two lockdown regulations,” said Marawa.

Asked
what would become of those whose learner’s licences expired in the course of
the ongoing lockdown, Marawa said government had not yet considered that.

“It’s
something we have not considered at policy level. Nobody has come forward to
say we have lost out so we cannot solve a problem when there are no complaints
but now that you have brought it up, we will look into it and find a way
forward,” he said.

Marawa
also said those who require any other VID services like retests and defensive
driving certificates will have to wait as every government move was guided by
the existing lockdown regulations.

VID is a government department under the Ministry
of Transport and Infrastructural Development, operating under the auspices
of the Public Service Commission (PSC).

The closure of its 23 depots countrywide since
the beginning of the lockdown at the end of March means people cannot get
driver’s licences and driving schools have been hit hard.

 

Masvingo quarantine centres now empty

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Masvingo quarantine centres now empty


...as Covid-19 positive cases are released into self-isolation

Moses
Ziyambi

The five quarantine
centres in Masvingo province are now largely empty due to low numbers of new
arrivals from neighbouring countries, TellZim News can reveal.

The province set aside
Masvingo Teachers’ College, Masvingo Polytechnic, Rupagwana in Chiredzi, Bikita
Training Centre and Alvord Training Centre in Masvingo Rural as quarantine
centres to accommodate people repatriated from neighbouring countries.

With a capacity of 300
inmates, Masvingo Teachers’ College is the largest, followed by Masvingo
Polytechnic which can hold 200 inmates at a time. Bikita Training Centre and Alvord
can take just under 50 people each while Rupangwana can take only 26.

Speaking at a meeting
of the risk communication subcommittee of the provincial Covid-19 taskforce over
the weekend, Masvingo provincial information officer Rogers Irimayi said there
were only 42 inmates at Masvingo Poly as on June 06, while all the other
centres were now cleared.

“This is due to
declining numbers of new arrivals being repatriated lawfully through the regular
border points. It is worrisome; however, that many more people are coming back
into the country through illegal crossing points in order to avoid mandatory
quarantine. We urge members of the public to work with law enforcement and
report such people who put everybody else at risk,” said Irimayi.

It was also revealed that the vast majority of the 37 people who tested Covid-19 postive in the province, had been released into self-isolation at home where the Ministry of Health makes follow-up checks on them.

Government last week
published names of people who escaped from quarantine and urged the public to
help efforts to apprehend them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chiredzi Town Council on Zacc radar

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Chiredzi Town Council on Zacc radar

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Covid-19 aid: US urges World Bank to closely monitor Zim

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Covid-19 aid: US urges World Bank to closely monitor Zim

Upenyu Chaota

The United States government has
written to the World Bank (WB) calling for strict conditions to be attached to any Covid-19
relief funding for Zimbabwe in light of the country’s shoddy record in
administering such resources.

In a letter dated June 03 to
World Bank Group president David Malpass, chairperson of the foreign relations
committee in the US senate, James Risch says that strict accountability and
transparency measures are needed given Zimbabwe’s corruption record.

Citing the controversial command
agriculture programme as an example of government corruption, Risch says any
package mobilised for Zimbabwe must ‘incorporate independent Zimbabwean civil
society and community voices.’

“These are needed given the need
for significant reform of most state institutions in Zimbabwe, pervasive
corruption and impunity, and the demonstrated disinterest of the Government of
Zimbabwe in the wellbeing of its citizens,” reads part of the letter which was
copied to secretary of state Michael Pompeo and secretary of the treasury
Steven Mnuchin.

He claimed that the government had
a sordid history of abusing aid money for patronage and self-enrichment.

“This extraordinary crisis
requires an exceptional response, but it is important not to lose sight of the
historical behavior of countries like Zimbabwe where government has used, and
continues to use, state resources and international aid to suppress its
population and enrich the country’s ruling elite,” the letter reads.

The World Bank recently refused to extend, through regular funding channels, new assistance to such countries which are in arrears as Zimbabwe and Sudan, but availed US$5 million through a trust
fund called the Global Financing Facility.

An additional US$2 million was redirected
from the existing Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project (ZIRP), a displeasing development
for the US which feels that communities affected by Cyclone Idai need the money
more than anybody else.

“Finally, I am concerned that
some of the funds were redirected from the ZIRP’s Idai response. Areas affected
by Cyclone Idai, including Mutare and Chimanimani, still suffer total devastation
and significant need.

“We must continue to support
those communities as they rebuild, and it is my hope that the redirected funds
will continue to support communities affected by the cyclone. In fact, the
devastating conditions in which communities affected by Cyclone Idai live, make
them all the more vulnerable to coronavirus infection, acute food insecurity
and displacement,” further reads the letter.

 

 

Soldiers, police set camp at restive quarantine centre

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Soldiers, police set camp at restive quarantine centre
Securitu forces a keeping a close eye on the quarantine centre

…as tensions rise over
delayed results, corruption

TellZim Reporter

MASVINGO
–
Soldiers and riot police are now a constant sight at Masvingo Teachers’ College
quarantine centre as a response to the increasing restlessness among people who
are being kept there.

On May 29, tensions
boiled over and a nurse was held hostage for several hours after authorities
had released only 33 people whose Covid-19 test results had come out negative.

The rest of the people
demanded their own results and blocked the nurse who had been sent to call the
names from leaving.

The previous day,
inmates had blocked a Health ministry vehicle from leaving, alleging that
authorities were corruptly facilitating the release of results of people who
came to the centre later while sidelining those who have spent over 21 days
there.

They complain their
continued detention exposes them to even greater risk of catching coronavirus,
saying the centre is the source of at least 12 of the 25 new cases recorded in
Masvingo province last week.

They say there are good
grounds to believe most of those who tested positive were negative when they
got admitted, but contracted the virus at the centre.

“The place is
poorly-managed; almost 300 of us go to the dining hall at the same time and up
to 15 people share a bucket in the bathroom. Meanwhile police officers are
making money here by selling food items and cigarettes to some inmates,” said a
source.

Many people who are
kept there have spent more than the mandatory 21 days of quarantine as they
have not yet received test results.

No official comment
could be obtained because Provincial Medical Director (PMD) Amadeus Shamu
hardly answers calls from journalists nowadays and if he does, he gives the
same lame excuse of being ‘in a meeting’ over and over again.

Chiredzi grass project: Villagers demonstrate at VP Chiwenga

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Chiredzi grass project: Villagers demonstrate at VP Chiwenga

Beatific Gumbwanda

Chiredzi South villagers on
Wednesday raised placards in the presence of vice president Constantino
Chiwenga to protest a lucerne grass farming project which is bound to displace
over 1 000 families from their ancestral land.

Chiwenga visited the Chilonga communal
lands with ministers Perence Shiri (Agriculture), Fortune Chasi (Energy), Ezra
Chadzamira (State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs), July Moyo (Local
Government), John Mangwiro (Health deputy) and Clemence Chiduwa (Finance
deputy).

However, after Chiwenga’s
address, some villagers peacefully protested by raising placards
inscribed with such messages as ‘consult us on lucerne’ and ‘takaramba
investor’.

Members of Chiwenga’s security team
quickly moved to reign in the protesters so that the vice president could not
notice what was happening.

Dendairy, a private milk
producer, wants more than 10 000 hectares of arable land for the grass farming
project in the area which lies south of Runde River in Chiredzi East and South
constituencies.

In his 10-minute address, Chiwenga
promised to resuscitate Chilonga Irrigation Scheme and vowed to push through
the grass project which he said was important for the future.

“We need to create a better
future for our grandchildren as we are not going to live forever. I heard Chilonga
Irrigation Scheme last functioned in 2016, so we suggested it should be
operational by August. We need to open up a huge piece of land to an investor
who is coming but that will be done in consultation with our community leaders.

Without elaborating, he warned
that rural people should expect a new form of societal organisation
post-pandemic, arguing that the current arrangement was not sustainable.

“We need to work together
now. We need you to work together with the team we are going to send back (from
Harare) in order to speed up the process. Because of the coronavirus pandemic,
we will never get back to our traditional arrangement of living. We are going
to start a new living arrangement. Are we together?” said Chiwenga.

Villagers are resisting government
plans to remove them, fearing a repeat of the fate thousands of villagers who dumped
in the semi-arid Chingwizi area of Mwenezi East with no basic amenities during construction
of Tungwi-Mukosi Dam.

A few years ago, hundreds of
families were displaced to pave way for bio-energy company Green Fuel to grow
sugarcane and set-up an ethanol plant in the Chisumbanje area of the
neighbouring Chipinge district.

 

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