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ILO takes Simuka-Phakama Green enterPrize to Masvingo

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ILO takes Simuka-Phakama Green enterPrize to Masvingo

                   Alice Vozza makes a presentation at the Masvingo leg of the promotional tour 




Clayton Shereni
The
International Labour Organisation (ILO) on November 21 held a promotional tour
in Masvingo; meeting entrepreneurs in the Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
sector to share information on the upcoming Simuka-Phakama Green enterPrize Innovation
Challenge.
The initiative,
which is being supported by the Government of Sweden, is a national event aimed
at helping formal and non-formal businesses in the country to develop.
Alice Vozza, who
was part of the ILO team that visited Masvingo, said the competition was open
to every entrepreneur running even a small business which showed some potential
to grow.
“This excellent
opportunity is open to any innovative idea aimed at sustaining or expanding
businesses. Young women and men above the age of 18, who run an SME with a
focus in the growth of a green economy, are a special area of interest,”
said Vozza.
It was also
heard that many awards that include Best Green Business, Best Agribusiness,
Best Entrepreneur, Best Woman Entrepreneur, Best Entrepreneur With Disability
will be up for grabs.
The promotional
tour has so far been in Mutare and Masvingo while two more are yet to be done
in Gweru and Bulawayo.
Deadline for
submission of applications is December 9, 2018 and those who are willing to
apply can log on to our website, www.greenenterprize.co.zw .
The Awards
ceremony and the adjudication event is slated for February 7 – 8, 2019 at a
venue to be announced in due course.

Masvingo residents reject 2019 budget

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Masvingo residents reject 2019 budget


…‘proposed rate
hike unjustified’

Tiyani Hahlani

Some 70
residents on November 20 filed letters of rejection to the 2019 budget proposed
by the Masvingo City Council, saying proposals to hike water rates by 66 percent
were unjustified.
Masvingo
Residents and Ratepayer Association (Murra) helped the residents to file their
letters of objection with council as provided for by the Urban Councils Act.
In the budget,
council proposes a 66 percent increase in the amount charged for water, meaning
that residents in high density suburbs, who are currently paying around 66 cents
per cubic metre of water, would be paying around $1.26 for the same amount of
water.
Those in low
density suburbs are currently paying around 88 cents per cubic metre of water,
but they would be paying around $1.54 for the same amount.
Most of the
residents rejected the proposed increase on the basis that council was
currently not supplying water reliably, and that the economy was too tough to
merit a rate hike.
One resident,
Sungano Zvarebwanashe said she disagreed with the proposed increase as she already
found the current charges exorbitant, adding that council was not doing enough
for the rates she is currently paying.
 “As a resident of Ward 4, I have gone through
the proposed budget of 2019 and I do not agree with the proposed increment as these
changes are too exorbitant. I cannot afford them as the economy is not
approving and also not getting the good service delivery we are expecting from what
we are paying for,” said Zvarebwanashe.
Murra spokesperson, Godfrey Mtimba told TellZim News
the organisation was fully supportive of residents’ stance as current water
supplies did not correspond with the money being paid by residents.
“As Murra, we
stand with residents in rejecting this planned rip-off. It is many weeks now with
not even a single drop of water for many residents yet we are being asked to
pay more. We are dealing a council that in August and September failed to give
residents water for four weeks and now it’s back to the same thing. Why then
try to increase rates? Can’t they see many people cannot even afford the
current charges,” said Mtimba.
Last week, the
Women Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) presented a petition to council officials,
saying the current water crisis was a threat to the health, safety and security
of women especially.

WCoZ petitions City of Masvingo over water crisis

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WCoZ petitions City of Masvingo over water crisis

                                      Maboke accepts the petition from WCoZ members
Clayton Shereni
The Women
Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) Masvingo Chapter last Tuesday held a workshop at
the Mucheke Hall where it was agreed that a petition will be send to council
over poor service delivery punctuated by recent water shortages.
The petition was
later sent to city council officials as part of efforts to force them to
urgently address a severe water crisis.
Many parts of
the city are now in their fourth weeks without a single drop of water coming
through the taps.
WCoZ Masvingo chapter
chairperson, Joyce Mhungu said it was high time the city took heed of people’s
cries and took urgent corrective action.
“This situation
is a threat especially to us women because we wake up in the wee hours to go
out and fetch water. We are vulnerable to robbers and rapists we cannot
withstand the pressure at the boreholes and water bowsers’ delivery points.
“We are
going to deliver our two petitions covering issues of lack of adequate water
supplies and poor refuse collection schedules to the city council leadership
including the mayor, town clerk, city engineer and director of health.
Participants
also slammed council workers in charge of bowser water distribution for corruption.
“We have
seen some people getting water from bowsers even before the bowser had reached
its destination. They give water to their relatives and friends before anybody
else,” said one female participant.

Rautenbach guards nearly kill Mwenezi man

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Rautenbach guards nearly kill Mwenezi man


Cephas Shava

MWENEZI – A
40 year-old Mwenezi man who resides in Mudzungudzi village, Chingwizi under
Chief Chitanga was recently left nursing a serious head scar after security
guards with the Zimbabwe Bio Energy (ZBE) game ranch hit him with the butt of a
gun.
Samuel
Mudzungudzi Told TellZim News he was attacked by the security guards after a misunderstanding
which arose after his son was accused of trespassing into the game ranch.
“Five
ZBE game ranch security personnel arrived at my homestead and wanted to take
away my son with them. They accused him of getting into their area without
permission when he was trying to gather up his cattle.
“We
had an argument and I was insisting that they could not take him alone as he
was still a minor. I was sure they were going to severely assault him if he was
to go alone. One of the security guards then hit me on the head using the butt
of his gun. I fell down and remained unconscious for some time,” said Mudzungudzi.
Mudzungudzi,
who received treatment at Mwenezi Clinic and was advised to see a doctor for
further treatment, said he was surprised by how the police handled the case.
“When
we arrived at Mwenezi Police Station, I was surprised when I was ordered to pay
a fine of $10 for an offense I didn’t know. I was instructed to pay that fine
before 15 November,” said Mudzungudzi.
Although
repeated efforts to get the side of the story from the police and ZBE Mwenezi
were fruitless, Ward 13 councillor Takura Mudavose also confirmed the incident
and expressed concerns over the increase in cases of abuse of villagers by ZBE game
security personnel.
“We
are receiving complainants almost on a daily basis with regards to the conduct
of ZBE game security. Some villagers could be wrong in their conduct but the
game ranch security are always heavy-handed and are taking the law into their
own hands,” said Mudavose.
ZBE,
which is often in the limelight all for the wrong reasons that include the
abuse of workers, is owned by controversial businessman Billy Rautenbach.
  
  

Three days of Umhandara hwaAmai Art

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Three days of Umhandara hwaAmai Art


Samuel
Njinga

The Umhandara hwaAmai Art exhibition took place over three days at Charles
Austin Theatre after being officially launched by the Youth Cultural Arts
Festival (Yocal) board member Dr Fredrick Kasese on November 08.
The exhibition was the
brainchild of 23-year-old Gracious Joto, an Interior Design and Fabric Art
student at Chinhoyi University of Technology (Cut).
When asked why she opted
for the name Umhandara hwaMai which literally means ‘mother’s virginity’, Joto
said she wanted a name which could aptly capture the unique visual appeal
offered by her work of art.
“In the literal sense,
you can’t see your mother’s virgin days so our work gives you the opportunity
to see something equivalent. It’s a work of art that you would not want to miss
as it is uniquely appealing. That is the message behind it all; something that
no eye has ever seen before,” said Joto.
To make her art, Joto
makes use of such readily available materials as cardboard boxes, rags, shrubs,
leaves, wood and twigs.
The art is made all the
more distinct by Joto’s choice of theme titles; contemporary issues that
revolve around culture including gender stereotypes inherent in conservative
societies.
In one of her pieces
titled ‘Me and my mind’, she presents a woman who is seen to be yelling for
help as she is bound by chains on her throat. Closer examination shows human
footprints dominating the part of her body that should ordinarily contain her
brain, highlighting the African woman’s struggle against a highly patriarchal
society.
    

Fired Zanu PF Cllrs allege persecution

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Fired Zanu PF Cllrs allege persecution

                                                                        Cllr Ngwenya
                                                           


Upenyu
Chaota
The ruling Zanu PF party has recalled two of its
councillors while one was heavily cautioned for ‘donating’ the Chiredzi Town
Council chairperson and deputy chairperson posts to the opposition while the
ruling party has a majority.
Chiredzi town has a total of eight wards; four of
which went to Zanu PF, three to MDC Alliance and one went to an independent
councillor in the July 30 elections.
The Zanu PF councillors found themselves in the eye of
the storm when they let the MDC Alliance land the chairperson post deputised by
an independent councillor.
After the debacle, the four Zanu PF councillors were
suspended pending investigations by the provincial disciplinary committee which
deliberated and resolved to recall two councillors whom are believed to have
voted for the opposition.
Presenting the resolutions before a Provincial Coordinating
Committee (PCC) last Sunday, provincial secretary for administration, Ailes
Baloyi said investigations from the disciplinary committee found two
councillors guilty.
“The province has resolved to recall Obert Ngwenya and
Josphat Nzombe from the party paving way for by-elections.
“We found out that these two have worked in connivance
with the opposition and as a party that believes in principles, we cannot
tolerate indiscipline. We would rather go for a by-election than keep people
who have double standards in the party,” said Baloyi.
Zanu PF has also cautioned Liberty Macharaga while
Blessing Mazinyani was exonerated of any wrong doing.
When contacted for comment, Ngwenya told TellZim News
that charges against him were baseless because he did everything that he was
told to do by the party.
“I am yet to get formal communication on the matter
but to tell you the truth, I never betrayed the party. I did all I was told. I
wanted to be the council chairperson and they told me to step aside and pave
way for another and I did exactly that.
“They told me to stand for the chairperson post in the
housing committee and I did and won. All those allegations against me are
false. Maybe, there are other reasons behind but not the ones they are telling
people.
“Is it a crime to mobilise people for a vote? Every
vote comes through mobilisation and I don’t see how that is a crime. I think
there are only a few interested people in our party who don’t want me as the
housing committee chairperson because they know I will block all their land
deals.
“I love my party and I will not defy their directives.
I will not join any other party and will never be an independent,” said
Ngwenya.
An equally similar incident happened in Masvingo urban
where MDC Alliance controls seven out of the ten wards but voted for a Zanu PF
councillor as the deputy mayor.
MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has since ordered
mayor Collen Maboke to step down for having defied the party directive and
making a deal with Zanu PF.
Nzombe could not be reached for comment as his phone
could not get through by the time of going to print.

Victorious Triangle ready for the fight ahead

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Victorious Triangle ready for the fight ahead













                                


Beatific Gumbwanda

Triangle United Football Club,
popularly known as the ‘Sugar Sugar Boys’, are now preparing for the hard work
that awaits them in the African Confederations Cup which will be held in August
2019.
The team qualified for the cup
after beating Harare City two nil to lift the Chibuku Super Cup in the final
played at Gibbo Stadium last weekend.
Triangle FC coach, Taurai Mangwiro
became the man of the moment since that was his second time winning the cup;
the first time being back in 2015 when he was still with Harare City FC, the
same team he defeated last week.
“We are pleased with this hard
victory which is a result of tireless work and the support of sponsors and
supporters. We say thank you to everybody and we are now looking forward to the
bigger task that lies ahead,” said Mangiro.
Triangle FC president, Adelaide
Chikunguru, who is also Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe corporate and communications
affairs manager, said she was excited by her team’s display of great
sportsmanship.
“Our players are exhibiting world-class
football and they definitely deserve to play in bigger championships. The likes
of Lameck Nhamo, Ralph Kaondera, Phineas Bhamusi and goal keeper Ronald Mudimu
are amazing.
“The team has benefited a lot from
junior players as well as the more seasoned ones through our Ramangwana Junior
Training Programme. We are excited that the PSL provides national and regional
platforms for our youths to take up soccer professionally.
“Like any other sport, football can
be a lifelong career if taken professionally and this is what we are
encouraging through our sport development programme at Tongaat Hulett,”
Chikunguru said.
She said the company was ready to
meet the needs of then team as it prepares for the continental challenge.
“Our investment into the team is
paying dividends as they will now carry the Huletts sugar brand further afield.
All things being equal, the plan is to get the team playing in the
confederations cup in 2019,” said Chikunguru.
.
 

Respect teachers’ rights to save education sector, Zinatu demands

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Respect teachers’ rights to save education sector, Zinatu demands

                                                                 Livison Maunganidze

Moses Ziyambi
The Zimbabwe National Teachers’
Union (Zinatu) has tabled a list of demands that it says must be met by
government as a matter of urgency to prevent potentially destabilising actions
in the education sector.
Among other things, the union
demanded that teachers be paid in US dollars and that the three months’
vacation leave days removed by government in 2016 be restored.
Zinatu secretary general, Livison
Maunganidze told TellZim News that salaries have to be paid in real US dollars
from now going forward.
He said it was perplexing that
government was ignoring the predicament of teachers and choosing to play
politics by insisting that all teachers’ unions engage in collective bargaining
through the ‘discredited’ Apex Council.
The five main teachers’ unions in
the country; Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta), Progressive Teachers Union
of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) and
Zinatu are divided over the Apex Council.
Zimta argues the only viable
option at the moment is to negotiate through the Apex Council, while the others
– especially PTUZ – feel the council has been captured by State interests and
can therefore not be relied on as a platform for effective collective
bargaining.
In April this year, teachers’
unions coalesced and formed an umbrella body called the Federation of Zimbabwe
Educators’ Union (Fozeu) to push for improved working conditions without the
Apex Council, but government has refused to recognise the new body, triggering
divisions between the member unions.
“We are in a crisis. The buying
power of teachers has massively declined due to inflationary pressures that the
bond note and RTGS are failing to withstand. We are, therefore, making a
request to be paid our salaries in real US dollars,” said Maunganidze.
The Progressive Teachers’ Union
of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) was the first to request that educators be paid in US dollars
but government has ignored the request.
On vacation leave, Maunganidze
said the union was not going back on its demand for government to restore normal
vacation leave days for teachers.
“Teachers are allowed to take
only a month’s leave instead of a full term leave and that is unjustifiable.
It’s a grossly unfair labour practice and we urge Minister Mavhima to expedite
the restoration of our rights,” Maunganidze said.
Government deferred the
three-month’s vacation leave ostensibly to cut costs, arguing that it did not
have enough money to pay relief teachers for the three months when the fulltime
teachers would be away.
“The minister must also revisit the
issue of study leave because we used to have a three-quarter salary when on study
leave but all that has been taken away from us. The ministry has destroyed the
spirit of staff development.
“The ministry is also taking too
much time to debunch teachers. We have been sending copies and copies of
certificates hoping they will do something but nothing is forthcoming except empty
promises,” Maunganidze said.
Debunching refers to the
placement of teachers into different salary grades in accordance with the level
of their qualifications as well as work experience.
“Currently, someone fresh from
college assumes the same grade with somebody who has served the ministry for
more than five years. That is very unfair,” Maunganidze said.

Masvingo shuts out Chiwenga

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…as
ED Pfee 2023 campaign begins
Upenyu Chaota
Barely four months after Zanu PF won the disputed July
30 harmonised polls by a wafer-thin margin, fresh fissures have emerged as the
party now looks forward to 2023, with the Provincial Coordinating Committee
(PCC) meeting here last Sunday resolving to endorse the candidature of President
Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The mover has been interpreted as a calculated move to
frustrate Vice President Constantino
Chiwenga who is strongly believed to be highly ambitious and gunning for the top job.
The PCC met to carry their resolutions to the party’s
annual National People’s Conference billed for December in Esigodini,
Matebelaland South.
Over the years, Masvingo has been seen as the ground
that shapes the politics in Zanu PF and this move means the restive province
has already stirred the hornet’s nest.
It was made clear at the PCC that the province will
not tolerate anyone who will try to derail Mnangagwa’s run for a second term of
office in 2023 regardless of his
current performance.
The move has since thrown the revolutionary party into
yet another campaign mode a few months after the Constitutional Court ruled
that Mnangagwa was the legitimate winner of the July 30 harmonised election.
At the PCC, party big wigs took turns to chant ‘2023
ED Pfee’ slogan with politburo member Josaya Hungwe telling the crowd that
Mnangagwa himself said it was Masvingo that rescued him from potential trouble
in the July 30 elections.
“The President himself was full of joy when he grabbed
my hand. I could see he was happy and he told me that it was Masvingo which
rescued him from potential trouble in the just ended election. Let us continue
to rally behind him in 2023,” said Hungwe.
Zanu PF provincial chairperson and Minister of State
for Masvingo Provincial Affairs, Ezra Chadzamira said the party and national
constitutions were clear that a President could serve two terms maximum.
“We hear a lot of reports that there are people who
are working to destabilise the party and we are watching you closely. As
Masvingo, we say that must stop and we want to make it clear
that President Mnangagwa is our candidate for 2023.
“We will not tolerate anyone who tries to derail our
progress. This is our resolution as a province and we have our party
and national constitutions to support us. A President should serve two terms at
most and President Mnangagwa will be our candidate in 2023.
“There are people who will come and tell you sweet
nothings but you should never listen to them. Our resolution is simple and we
will back it,” said Chadzamira who took some punches for the incumbent at the
heat of Zanu PF factional fights between Lacoste and G40.
Another party bigwig, Lovemore Matuke said the party
should remain united under Mnangagwa.
“President Mnangagwa is a man with a vision and we
have to support that vision. The vision is for the year 2030 and that means he
has to be on top until we realise that vision.
“He has proven to be a man of his word that is why as
Masvingo we have seen it only fair to endorse him for 2023,” said Matuke.
Provincial youth league chairperson, Brian Munyoro said the youth were clear on where they stand with regards
to 2023.
“We said and we will always say that President
Mnangagwa is our choice for 2023. We will not move from that position and we
will defend that position with our blood if it comes down to it. Our slogan is
2023 ED Pfee and all the party youths are behind this resolution,” said
Munyoro.
The party also resolved that Chadzamira should
continue as provincial chair, dashing the hopes of those who had wanted him to
resign on account that he was now dangerously powerful as he now had three
positions, the other one being Masvingo West Member of Parliament.

Allegations of malpractice rock Vic Jnr

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Moses Ziyambi
Some
parents with children at Victoria Junior have slammed school head, Rameck
Mashuro and the School Development Committee (SDC) of colluding to make
decisions that are neither in the interests of the school nor popular with
parents.
Parents
who spoke to TellZim News complained they will from next term be paying $115
for day scholars after the SDC and the school head allegedly colluded to
mobilise outsiders to rubberstamp their own decision to increase the fees at
the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the beginning of November.
“They
announced the date for the AGM after making sure what they wanted would pass.
Many people with no children at the school were mobilised and they came to the
meeting and voted for the fees increase. Many genuine parents boycotted the
meeting because they knew that nothing that Mashuro and his SDC want ever fails.
It’s a compromised relationship,” said one female parent.
Another
one said it was unfair to raise the fees when the school recorded several
instances of over expenditure in the previous budget.
“The
money used for meetings this year ballooned two fold from the budgeted $3 000.
How do you justify that? The problem is that the headmaster has captured the
SDC which he is now using to do his own bidding. The SDC ignores all that and instead,
chooses to increase the fees.
“The
salary bill for school employees is too high. They say they are spending $150
000 in salaries for less than 30 workers and only a fraction of the boarding
money is being declared,” the parent said.
TellZim
News established that the school budgeted $3 200 for meetings for the year 2018
but by the end of September, $6 078.76 had already been used for meetings.
Moreover, the 2019 budget has now allocated $6 000 to that area, an increase of
almost 100 percent from the previous budget.
Victoria
Jnr School had also spent $114 162.85 on its 26 workers as on September 30,
meaning each employee gets just under $500 per month on average. The school
expects to raise $33 750 boarding levy from over 130 boarding pupils next year,
each paying $535 total fees.
When
contacted for comment, Mashuro refused to talk about the issues, saying he was
not allowed to discuss such issues with the media.
“You
can talk to my superiors because I am not allowed to speak to the press on
those issues. You are free to go and talk to them,” said Mashuro.
SDC
chairperson Thomas Mbetu, however, said those allegations were being peddled by
people who were using dirty tactics to campaign for positions in the next SDC
elections scheduled for February 2019.
“The
SDC and the school head do not determine school fees. Parents themselves vote
for what they want. Every parent was free to come to the AGM and make an input.
The majority of those who came voted for the new fees and those who stayed away
chose to do so own their own accord. Should the school cease to operate because
some parents have boycotted meetings? We understand people are campaigning for
positions but it’s not wise to make unfounded allegations,” said Mbetu.
He
said $115 per term was reasonable for a school with higher standards to sustain
and more facilities to maintain than any other public primary school in the
city.
On
the issue of over expenditure on meetings, he said the committee could not
withhold funds when there were genuine need to release them.
“For
example, we cannot stop the school head from traveling to a meeting called by
the permanent secretary or the minister. It is not the SDC using that money.
The burden of proof lies on those who allege misappropriation of funds. The
books are open for all to see,” Mbetu said.

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