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Use social media to fight rights abuses, Maunganidze urges Africans

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Use social media to fight rights abuses, Maunganidze urges Africans


Own Correspondent
BRUSSELS –
TellZim News director and Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) media lecturer,
Golden Maunganidze has urged Africans to take advantage of new media
technologies to fight human rights abuses on the continent.
Addressing a
workshop on the side-lines of an on-going conference on peace and security in
the horn of Africa here in Brussels, Maunganidze who was engaged as a social
media expert, urged participants to look for ways they could leverage the
potential of social media to engage the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU)
to dedicate more time, resources and commitment to the fight against gross
human rights violations happening in many parts of Africa.
“We have heard
sad stories about Eritreans being tortured and abused as they try to flee from
their country going to Europe and other parts of the world. We have heard that
people are being sold for some few hundred dollars in Libya. These are
heart-breaking stories but unfortunately the traditional media both in Africa
and beyond see this as a tired story. I therefore urge you to mobilise each
other and take advantage of new media technologies and tell your own stories in
a manner that you think would be the best for the world to comprehend.
“Gone are the
days when you would wait for traditional media to come and write your stories.
Let’s take a leading role in denouncing human rights abuses using social
media,” said Maunganidze.
He said there
was need for a common platform in Africa where people could deposit their
stories so that large global media organisations would have a consistently reliable
source of credible information on Africa.
“We have to
change the status quo now and take a leading role on all issues that concern
us. I am not dismissing traditional media in any way but I am saying the
ordinary person is now more empowered than ever before. Smart phones allow
people to document cases of human rights abuses and disseminate such information
for wider audiences,” he added.
Conference organiser, Prof Mirjam van Reisen said it was high time Europe found solutions to end the human rights carnage that Eritreans were suffering.
Prof van Reisen has done extensive research on immigration between Africa and Europe, and has published many books on that topic.
Seasoned
investigative journalists who attended the conference said it was high time citizens
become more active in publicising issues that directly affect them.
“There are many
big stories taking place every day and we have no reason to be always focused
on Eritrea alone … you must push for your own stories through social media
until you draw the attention of big media organisations,” said Martin Plaut, a
UK-based investigative journalist.
The conference,
which has drawn some 200 delegates from around the world, aims to initiate
strategies to promote peace and stability in the horn of Africa.

Delta Beverages builds classrooms for poor primary school

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Delta Beverages builds classrooms for poor primary school

Delta has built 2×2 classroms blocks a a 10-hole toilet block at Fairview Primary School

TellZim Reporter

Delta Beverages recently commissioned 2×2 classroom blocks and a 10-hole toilet block that the beverages company built at Fairview Primary School in Bulilima East at a cost of $60 000.
The event was graced by many prominent people including the local Member of Parliament (MP) Mangaliso Nqobizitha Ndlovu, Matabeleland Acting Provincial Education Director (PED) Lifias Masukume, Headman Tokwana and Bulilima Rural District Council (RDC) CEO John Brown Ncube.
Delta provided non- local resources required for construction of the blocks while community partners supplied locally-available resources and labour.  Delta also sponsored the furnishing required for each classroom.
Speaking at the event, Delta Corporation corporate affairs executive, Patricia Murambinda said the company’s role in the building of the piece of infrastructure was part of a wider social responsibility programme targeting the education sector.
“Fairview Primary School counts as one of the schools in Zimbabwe to benefit from this programme in the past fifteen years. Delta runs a vibrant education assistance programme which also includes school bursaries which commands close to $200 000 annually.
“To date 13 schools and over 630 students have benefited from the programme over the years amounting to $3 000 000 investment. We have a total of 63 students benefiting from the programme from ‘A’ level up to university this year and these students have been selected with help of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education,” said Murambinda.
She said she was pleased that the company’s intervention at Fairview Primary School had produced tangible results.
“It therefore, brings us much joy today to officially handover these classrooms and a toilet block as it resembles the passion and team work that was invested in bringing the project to fruition. Thank you for your diligence in dedicating your time and resources to improving the school that serves your community,” Murambinda said.
She said the Delta Corporation schools programme was complimented by the Delta Technical Institute (DTI) whose objective is to develop artisans from ‘A’ level pupils, adding that the DTI had seen over 1150 artisans graduate over the years.
Fairview Primary School head, Billion Moyo said the gesture will forever be remembered by the school.
“We have watched with delight Delta Corporation making a positive intervention at our school which needs help in many other areas. We would never have managed to accomplish all this own our own. We say thank you to Delta for this generosity,” Moyo said.

First lady donates 1 000 goats to Masvingo schools

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First lady donates 1 000 goats to Masvingo schools

Tiyani Hahlani

First lady Auxillia Mnangagwa last week donated 1 000 goats to kick-start a massive goat-rearing project for schools and children’s homes in the province.
The project was unveiled at Helen McGhie Primary School where Mnangagwa interacted with children from various schools; teaching them on tradition, storytelling and other cultural practices.
Through her Angel of Hope Foundation, she also handed over groceries and blankest to a children’s home and two special needs schools namely Alpha Cottages, Alfred Walter Hostels and Henry Murray.
 “As a way of ensuring sustainable forces of assistance for the homes in this province, I have launched a provincial project which will help generate income and other resources for the sustenance of these institutions.
“The Angel of Hope Foundation was formed upon realisation that there are so many children in need of assistance and support in shaping up a good child regardless of one’s background, hence we are gathered here in that same spirit.
“Children are at the centre of my heart and it is also my desire that you grow up well and be empowered in all spheres of life. Storytelling (ngano) was a very important part of our lives as we were growing up. It provided an opportunity for families to gather together during the evening after a day’s work and instil discipline in children,” said Mnangagwa.

Runyararo West father, stepmother jailed for child abuse

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Runyararo West father, stepmother jailed for child abuse

Tiyani Hahlani


MASVINGO – A Runyararo West couple has been sentenced to six months in jail after being convicted on charges of severely assaulting their child who is doing grade five at Don Bosco Primary School.
Ruvarashe Chiwera (33) and Davison Mazadza (35), of 24941 Sister Pelley St, pleaded guilty to physical abuse, as defined in Section 7(1) as read with Section 7(5) of Children Act Chapter 05:06, when they appeared before Masvingo magistrate Candice Kasere.
It was the State’s case that on October 30 at around 17:00hrs this year, Chiwera who is Mazadza’s wife and stepmother to the victim, accused the child of stealing $7 before assaulting him with open hands on the face several times.
The following morning, Mazadza assaulted the child and forced him to admit the offence before letting him go to school.
When the child came back to school, Mazadza further assaulted him with a hose pipe.
On November 03, Chiwera and Mazadza took the child to the school garden where they suspected he had hidden the money.
Chiwera then clapped the child twice and went on to assault him with the stick several times all over the body and Mazadza joined him, but they were later restrained by Ishmael Temba a security guard at the school.
When they returned home, Mazadza took a whip and further assaulted the child several times all over the body until the whip became torn. She then took a hose pipe and assaulted him again, only to stop after he started bleeding.
The child was taken to Masvingo Provincial Hospital where he was medically examined and a medical report was produced in court. Teachers at the school reported the matter to the police after noticing the abuse.
Andrew Ndaramira appeared for the State.

Pupil drowns at Flamboyant swimming pool

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Pupil drowns at Flamboyant swimming pool


Clayton Shereni

An 18-year-old pupil from a Bulawayo school last Saturday drowned in the Flamboyant Hotel swimming pool where he had gone to swim in the night in the company of two school mates.
Samuel Zingoni was part of a group of pupils from Sizane High School who were in Masvingo for an educational tour.
Masvingo provincial spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the incident and urged the public not to swim in the absence of life savers.
“I can confirm that Samuel Zingoni drowned while swimming at Flamboyant Hotel together with two other colleagues and we urge people not to swim in the absence of life savers to avoid the needless loss of life,” said Dhewa.
The group checked in at the hotel but Zingoni and his friends, one 16 years of age and the other 17, decided to go swimming in the night without the knowledge of their authorities, leading to the tragic drowning accident.
It is said while enjoying themselves in the pool, the 17-year-old colleague noticed that Zingoni and the other colleague could not swim and were drowning.
The 17-year-old then successfully rescued the 16-year-old but failed to save Zingoni.
The boy then approached Lameck Masihoro, a hotel gardener and they retrieved the body from the swimming pool.
A report was then made at Rujeko Police Station before the body was taken to Masvingo Provincial Hospital where it was confirmed dead.

OK Mart opens

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OK Mart opens

TellZim Reporter

OK Zimbabwe is on Thursday, December 06, expected to open OK Mart Masvingo in an investment move which affirms the giant retail group’s faith in the city’s market.
The new shop was built over a short period relative to the amount of time that similar projects take in a depressed economic environment.
The project becomes most probably the most significant single investment in the city for the year 2018, with dozens of people having already secured jobs in the shop.
Ok Mart Masvingo is also the company’s second business in town after OK Supermarket which has been here for many years.
By the time of writing, touch ups were being done in preparation for the opening ceremony which was expected to be graced by the group’s top management including Chief Executive Officer Alex Siyavora.
OK Mart Masvingo joins a growing list of other wholesale shops like N. Richards, Gain Cash & Carry and Metro Peach that have established their names locally.

Chief Chitanga set to lose land

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Chief Chitanga set to lose land

…as Mpapa moves to revive long-lost chieftainship

Cephas Shava


MWENEZI – A wrangle is reportedly brewing between Chief Chitanga and Julius Mpapa as the latter has embarked on a swift drive to revive the Mpapa chieftainship whose restoration would see the former losing vast parts of Ward 13.
Last Saturday, Mpapa convened a meeting in Ward 13, Simukai Township, under Headman Lamula where he appointed his own headmen and village heads.
Although no immediate comment could be obtained from Chief Chitanga as his mobile was not reachable, Nyashadzaishe Chidoni – who is secretary to Mpapa – said last Saturday’s events were part of a bigger programme to revive the chieftaincy.
“I am not sure about how Chief Chitanga will react but on Saturday, Mpapa appointed 11 headmen and several village heads who are set to fully assume their duties as soon as Mpapa is installed.
There are processes that are being followed and Mpapa is still approaching the responsible ministry right from the top. As soon as everything is finalised, Mpapa’s appointees will began to execute their duties,” said Chidoni.
Some sources, however, told TellZim News that Chief Chitanga was very bitter with Mpapa’s latest move.
“Chief Chitanga does not want the revival of the Mpapa chieftainship because it would eat into his own power but it is common knowledge that the area covering Ward 13 traditionally belongs to Mpapa.
“When the Whites invaded the land and established vast farms, they drove away the inhabitants and later on killed the then Chief Mpapa and destroyed the chieftainship altogether,” said a source.
Other sources said Chief Chitanga only gained a foothold in the area in the wake of the Land Reform Programme when hundreds of people were resettled there.
The Mpapa area stretches to as far as some parts of Chiredzi district.

Zanu PF to vet war vets

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Upenyu Chaota


MASVINGO – The claim by MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa (Pictured) to now have a liberation war veterans wing has spooked the ruling Zanu PF party into vetting the credentials of some of the veterans of the liberation struggle.
Zanu PF national chairperson, Oppah Muchinguri, who is also the Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, says there are fake war veterans and has warned she will soon be asking questions on the roles played by those who claim a hand in the liberation war.
“There are benefits that are supposed to be enjoyed by war veterans chief among them is access to the land. After the land audit, we said 25 percent of the land should be given to war veterans.
“We will not just give any war veteran because some of them are fake and they lie about their credentials. We are going to vet them.
“We have cases of people who are below 50 years and claim to be war veterans. We would like to know which comrades you worked with during the liberation struggle because comrades have a sharp memory,” said Muchinguri.
She said those war veterans who have now joined Chamisa were all fake because real war veterans will never join ‘the enemy’.
“Chamisa claims to have liberation war veterans in his party and we wonder which war veterans and which liberation struggle are they talking about. A real war veteran does not abandon ship and join the enemy. Real war veterans are in Zanu PF and anyone else is fake,” said Muchinguri.

Muchinguri pays homage to Mahofa

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Muchinguri pays homage to Mahofa

                                         Oppah Muchinguri


Upenyu Chaota

Defence minister and Zanu PF national chairperson, Oppah Muchinguri has paid tribute to the late former Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs, Shuvai Mahofa saying she was part of a unique breed of politicians who never wavered.
Addressing a Zanu PF provincial inter-district conference at Masvingo Polytechnic College on Monday (December 3), Muchinguri said it was impossible to talk about Zanu PF without mentioning Mahofa’s name.
Chikoforo, as Mahofa was widely known, was a staunch supporter of then Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and was allegedly poisoned in 2015 in Victoria Falls at the Zanu PF National People’s Conference leading to her death in August 2017.
“Ndinonzwa kushushikana nekurasikirwa kwatakaitwa nemusikana mukuru Chikoforo, Mahofa. Haingavi nyika, haingavi Zanu PF isina Chikoforo. Ndinonzwa kubatikana nekuti ini ndakashanda zvakanyanya nemusikana anonzi Chikoforo. Ndinorwadziwa nekuti munhu anga akarurama (I feel sadden by the loss of Mahofa. We cannot talk of Zanu PF or Zimbabwe without Mahofa. I feel greatly saddened because I worked closely with her and she was a straightforward person),” said Muchinguri.
She said former first lady Grace Mugabe duped them all into giving her the powerful Women’s League leadership post but Mahofa stood by her conviction.
“Mahofa was poisoned and vilified for refusing to acknowledge Grace Mugabe. This is what led to her untimely death because this woman could have become President. Mahofa said over her dead body would she acknowledge Grace Mugabe and that is what made her a target,” said Muchinguri.
Since the poisoning incident in 2015, Mahofa went in and out of hospital battling a number of ailments.
When Mnangagwa was allegedly poisoned last year in Gwanda and whisked to South Africa for treatment, it is said that Mahofa cried for two hours fearing for the life of her long-time ally.
It is believed that the Mnangagwa poisoning incident took a toll on Mahofa’s frail health as her blood pressure is said to have sharply rose and she collapsed.
She was taken to the hospital and was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Mahofa was buried at the National Heroes’ Acre while her ally, Mnangagwa, was still battling for his life.
Her burial was marred by controversy as G40 and Lacoste factions clashed with the latter not happy that the funeral was being superintended by then Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, a known G40 functionary.
When Mnangagwa returned from hospital, he attended Mahofa’s memorial where he, for the first time, launched a scathing attack on the G40 faction.
“Vekumavhitori (Masvingo) vanoti kumagumo kune nyaya. Tasvika here panyaya? Ukahwa vanhu vachiti kumagumo kune nyaya zvivheneke uone kuti painouya nyaya iyi unenge uri papi maererano nenyaya yacho. (Masvingo you sing ‘kumagumo kune nyaya’, one therefore, should do self-introspection to see where they will be standing once the imminent end comes). There will be gnashing of teeth at the end,” said Mnangagwa then.

Veteran educationist, Renco Primary School head Mashiba calls it a day

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Veteran educationist, Renco Primary School head Mashiba calls it a day

                                                 Mashiba surrounded by his grandchildren

Brighton Chiseva

RENCO MINE – Veteran
educationist and Renco Primary School head, Tirivamwe Kennedy Mashiba,
affectionately known as TK, has decided to call it a day after serving in the
education sector for 43 years.
Parents
and pupils who gathered at Renco Primary School for Mashiba’s farewell ceremony
last week described him as a person they would not want to go.
Mashiba
joined the education sector in January 1975.
He
became a teacher after graduating from Morgenster Teachers’ College and for the
43 years he has been in education, he was a classroom teacher for only six
years at Shumbayaonda and Mutusha primary schools.
He
spent the other 37 years doing administrative work at different levels and in
different schools.
Mashiba
joined Renco Mine Primary School in 1998 after the then head was transferred to
Runyararo Primary in Masvingo Urban. He was recruited from the district education
offices where he was serving as the District Education Officer then known as Area
Schools Inspector at the request of the responsible authority which is Renco
Mine.
Mashiba
is a founding member of the Masvingo Teachers’
Savings and Credit Co-operative Society (MTSACCOS),
founder member and Masvingo’s first secretary general of the National
Association for Primary School Heads (NAPH) and he rose to become the
provincial chairperson in 1996.
He is also among the
veteran members for the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) for Masvingo
district and province.
Under his leadership,
Renco Mine Primary School won several accolades including the Permanent Secretary’s
Merit Award during his third year at the school in 2000.
The school has not scored
less than a 70 percent pass rate in the grade seven final exams.
Renco Primary School has
also built a state-of-the-art computer laboratory block with an auditorium and
a strong room fitted with a Chubb door. The school has also bought a powerful PA
system, a performing arts stage and an overhead projector.
The school, under Mashiba,
produced the highest number of distinctions among students on Teaching Practice
(TP) for the 19 and 20 Morgenster Teacher’s College intakes. A total of 20
distinctions were recorded from among the 23 students, itself a national record.
The school is now in a
process of requesting students from Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) and
Reformed Church University (RCU) to come for work related learning.
At one time, TK became
part of a national taskforce sent to Zambia to do an understudy of the Zambian
initiative known as SHAPE which resulted in the formation of the Better Schools
Programme Zimbabwe (BSPZ) led by the then Chief Education Officer Melania
Rukanda.
Masvingo South District
NASH chairperson, Javan Hore described Mashiba as a very creative, innovative
and a no-nonsense person from whom the district has much to learn.
“No-one wanted him to go when
we held our meetings. He is an exemplary person and you can see that even from
his dress code. He is indeed a true leader,” said Hore.

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