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Dismissed ZPCS ‘traitorous’ officer appeals judgment

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Clayton Shereni
A Zimbabwe
Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) officer based in Chiredzi who hogged
the limelight in the run-up to the July 31 elections when he allegedly tweeted
in support of MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa is appealing his dismissal
from work after an internal disciplinary hearing.
The officer,
John Mahlabera, who is being represented by Advocate Collen Maboke, has since
lodged an appeal to the ZPCS commissioner general Paradzai Zimondi, disputing
the fairness of the verdict.
Mahlabera
appeared before the ZPCS disciplinary committee on Thursday, November 08, where
he pleaded not guilty to both charges but was convicted nonetheless.
On count one,
Mahlabera was being accused for contravening Section 3(1) of the Prisons (staff)
(discipline) Regulations of 1984 for using ‘traitorous’ or ‘disloyal’ words
against President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
On the second
count, Mahlabera was accused for contravening Section 3(46) of Prisons
(Staff)(Disciplinary) Regulations of 1984 for being guilty of any other act
conduct disorder or neglect of duty to the prejudice of good conduct or discipline
as read with Section 19(a-g) of Staff General Regulations of 1968.
Maboke told
TellZim News his client was still waiting for a response from Zimondi.
“We have
successfully filed an appeal to Commissioner General Zimondi and we are now
waiting for the response,” said Maboke.
Mahlabera was
dismissed for two counts of using traitorous words against President Emmerson
Mnangagwa and unlawfully participating in active politics.
He was called to
the podium by Nelson Chamisa during his star rally at Tshovani Stadium on June
10, 2018 and promised a job on the Chamisa’s security team if he wanted.
ZPCS argued that
prior to that, Mahlabera had tweeted in a manner that seemed to recognise
Chamisa as the President thereby undermining Mnangagwa.

‘Diabetic motorists behind many accidents’

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Shingirai Vambe

BULAWAYO – People living
with diabetes are more likely to cause road traffic accidents if they are
driving than those who do not live with the chronic condition, the Diabetes
Association of Zimbabwe (DAZ) has said.
Speaking during Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on Health pre-budget deliberations at Mpilo Hospital recently, DAZ’s Violet
Moyo said there was scientific data pointing to diabetic motorists causing
accidents.
“Our police have
not been able to track the extent of road accidents attributable to
hypertension. They also purport that negligent driving, non-roadworthy vehicles
and sheer human error are the main causes of accidents. There is however
evidence elsewhere that diabetic motorists are at a higher risk of being
involved in accidents than any other ordinary drivers,” said Moyo.
She challenged
people to take a keen interest in their health and wellbeing by getting tested regularly
for the chronic illness.
“When you are
driving and your sugar level gets excessively high, you may feel dizzy so much
that you could fail to control the car. You may also suffer a total blackout
and end up in a serious accident that affects you and other road users. It is
advisable to get tested for diabetes regularly and take your medication before
driving,” said Moyo.
The Traffic
Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) the Ministry of Health and Child care, as
well as the Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) have recently been urged to
come up with new mechanisms and strengthen existing ones to ensure that drivers
are physically for the purpose.
     

A country of no progress

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Zimbabwe can be described as a
child that never matures, a child that has been starved of the fundamentals
needed for growth so much that the child is now suffering stunted growth. How
else can one describe the stagnation of the past 38 years? Most painful perhaps
is the fact that the starvation is happening in a house of plenty. The country
has bountiful minerals and rich soils that any other country would use to make
its citizens rich. But that has not happened in Zimbabwe, the country remains
what it has been 40 and more years ago, with the rural areas far much worse.
The major difference between the lives of citizens living in an average rural
area today and those who lived there in 1940 is probably access to mobile
network connectivity. The transport systems, housing and general social
organisation remain very much the same. The country’s rulers since 1980 must
take blame for this sad state of affairs. The country has produced so much
gold, chrome, emeralds, nickel, diamonds and other precious stones since
independence in 1980 that the lives of citizens should be fabulous now. We must
not still be hewers of wood and drawers of water any more. The Marange diamonds
have produced tens of millions of carats of diamonds since 2007; enough wealth
to build a whole new city in that poor land but nothing even remotely close to
that has happened. The diamonds have been looted by top ruling party
politicians and their cronies in the security sector and some foreigners with
close links to the ruling party. People must remember that in South Africa, the
city of Kimberly was built upon a diamond field that most probably was not even
as rich as Marange. Botswana has transformed itself upon diamond wealth that
again may not be as vast as that in Marange. How then is it possible that we remain
a country of beggars and homeless children when God has blessed us with so much
wealth? It is a big indictment of the corrupt liberation generation with a
stockholder mentality. That predatory generation continues to hold the country
to ransom while pillaging and plundering national wealth.

Chiyadzwa diamonds must do more for Manicaland, says Gwaradzimba

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…as ZCDC ropes in
artisanal miners
Shingirai Vambe
The Minister of
State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs, Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba has said the
Chiyadzwa diamond fields in Marange could do more for communities if better
managed.
Speaking during a
tour of the famed yet notorious mines recently, Gwaradzimba said although she
was a bit pleased with the progress that the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond
Company (ZCDC) was making to contribute to the development of local
communities, there was still a long way to go.
“I am impressed
with

what is happening at this mine and all the measures they are putting for
the safety of the public. What I see here, however, doesn’t tally with the kind
of development in the area. The province of Manicaland as a whole deserves more
from the mining activities happening here,” Dr Gwaradzimba said.

She urged the
company to make sure that the people displaced by the mines and relocated to
Arda Transau Farm are well looked after.
“Those people
have been neglected for too long and the company must now provide them with
vital social amenities. Local resources should help to improve the lives of
local people,” she said.
She said she was
particularly optimistic because of ZCDC’s drive towards improved transparency.
“The company’s
move to bring about more transparency in its operations shows we are now in the
right direction for development in the country where the President is leading
calls against corruption,” Gwaradzimba said.
The tour came a
day after a security indaba was held by the Chiyadzwa community, ZCDC
management and other stakeholders.
The Minister was
taken through a new security checkpoint at the entrance to the mining area
before attending a security induction which preceded the tour.
ZCDC Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Morris Mpofu gave a detailed profile of the company
and highlighted its interests in other areas like Chimanimani.
“We had a target
of three million carats by the end of 2018 but due to foreign currency
constrains, we have managed to produce 2.5 million carats. We are moving with
speed to reach the expected target,” Mpofu said.
The company has
since announced that it intends to register artisanal miners and allow them to
do alluvial diamond mining on some of its claims so that they would sell their
mineral to government rather than on the black market.
 

Vharazipi off the hook

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Brighton Chiseva
David Dzatsunga, one of the Ziya Arts Cultural
Trust, trustees who had been suing the other three trustees that included David
Mubaiwa popularly known as Vharazipi has withdrawn his case.
The other two trusts whom Dzatsunga was suing
are Wellington Chindara and Kumbirai Chikonye.
Vharazipi and his colleagues were facing a
$218 000 lawsuit for compact discs (CDs) that he allegedly sold on behalf of
Ziya Cultural Arts Trust but converted the money to his own personal use.
According to the notice of
withdrawal, Ziya Cultural Arts Trust, as the plaintiff, withdrew all the
charges at the end of last month.
“Take notice that the plaintiff
on this 30th day of October 2018 withdraws all the five claims filed
against the defendants in this matter,” reads the notice.
Dzatsunga had, at one point, obtained
a default judgement where several goods belonging to Vharazipi were attached
but the comedian later managed to obtain an interdict through his lawyer
Yolanda Chandata.
On the latest developments, Chandata
said they had managed to convince the pretrial conference that Dzatsunga had no
case.
In his defence, Vharazipi and his
fellow defendants pointed out that Dzatsuga was a mere trustee who could therefore
not sue the other three in the name of the trust.
They also argued that they had
not produced the number of copies which Dzatsunga claimed and there was no way
they could have sold all the copies produced.
It is in this light that
Dzatsunga saw that he had no case and decided to withdraw all the charges.

Delta Beverages supervisor fails to pay sexual worker

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Tiyani Hahlani

A
28-year-old Mashava sex worker recently appeared before Masvingo provincial
magistrate Langton Ndokera after she was dragged to court by a Delta Beverages supervisor
for seizing his cell phone and two-plate stove after he allegedly failed to pay
for the night they had spent together.
Sarah
Buruvuru popularly known in her circles as Lynn, pleaded guilty to unauthorised
borrowing or use of property when she unlawfully took a two plate stove Chinese
model and Cell C Android cell phone that belonged to Andrew Kutekwa.
Buruvuru
was warned by the magistrate against unlawfully taking other people’s property
and was let go as the magistrate considered that she had two little children to
take care of.
It
was the State’s case that on July 30, at around 02:00hrs at Liquids Bar, Kutekwa
approached Buruvuru who was standing at a corner near Club Lagoon and asked to
take her to his place in Rhodene.
At
around 06:00 hrs in the morning, Buruvuru rose and demanded her payment but Kutekwa
told her he did not have cash handy and asked her to wait until she could go to
the bank and withdraw some money.
Buruvuru
would, however, have none of it and she seized a two-plate stove and a black
Cell C Android cell phone from Kutekwa’s house, telling him he could follow her
and get his property back when he settled the debt.
As
days passed Kutekwa met again with Buruvuru at Liquids Bar on November 1, and
the police were alerted leading to the arrest of Buruvuru.
On
November 5, the two plate stove was recovered.

Masvingo water crisis worry US ambassador

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Clayton Shereni
The new United
States of America (USA) Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Brian Nichols on Monday paid a
courtesy call on City of Masvingo mayor Collen Maboke at the council offices
where they discussed various issues including the prevailing water shortages in
the ancient city.
Addressing the
media after a closed door meeting, Nichols said he had a fruitful meeting with
Maboke, deliberating on various issues including challenges in the water and
sewer.
“We had a
very fruitful discussion; the mayor told me about various issues affecting the
city including lack of consistent water supplies. Everyone knows clean and safe
water are a necessity for everyone and we will continue to support the people
of this country in that regard,” said Nichols.
Responding to
questions after the briefing, Maboke said the latest problem was as a result of
an electrical fault that had affected systems at the pump station.
“As a city,
we are experiencing a problem with our Bushmead water plant due to some
electrical power faults but our engineers are doing their best to try and resolve
the problem and we hope we will soon restore normal water supplies. For now, bowsers
will continue to supply water in the affected areas,” said Maboke.
The current
water deficit is the second in a space of three months.
Nichols also
toured the Masvingo Provincial Hospital before officially announcing a US$475 000
grant to the World Monument Fund for the preservation of Great Zimbabwe.

Hardware business flourishes in Chipinge

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                                                            B&S Hardware, Chipinge

Hardware business flourishes in Chipinge

Stephen Ephraem
Monday
mornings are often chaotic and noisy in Chipinge as pirate taxis speed between
the central business district (CBD) and residential areas mainly high density
Gaza A, Gaza E and Gaza O and the medium density suburbs to ferry school
children, formal workers and vendors.
Among
the workers and vendors are those who trade in hardware either in shops or at
the council-owned market            located
between the town centre and the medium density suburb near the cross border bus
terminus and also at the carpentry-dominated Chikandiwa complex.
A
survey conducted this week by this publication revealed that Chipinge had more
than 30 vendors who trade in partial or full range hardware goods and 12
hardware shops. This brings a tight competitive scenario between existing hardware
traders and those who plan to enter the hardware sector.
Interestingly,
the traders are getting a fair share of the cake as each traders is capitalising
on sales of varied goods categorised under farming, plumbing, electrical,
tools, hardware and building material.
Vendors
are making a killing especially in small farm ware while registered shops are currently
profiting in sales of building materials.
Big
hardware players in Chipinge include N. Richards, Metro Peach & Brown,
Musiwenyu Hardware, B&S Hardware, Gwenzi Hardware and Farm & City.
In an
interview, Gwenzi Hardware shops director, Garikai Gwenzi said he was
optimistic that business will get better and better.
“Once
one sets up competitive prices, hardware business is an all season business. People
are building every day and building materials, especially cement, are fast
moving,” Gwenzi said.
The
business man also owns a construction company as well as Pagomo Primary School
in Chipinge town and Gutika Academy at Checheche.
Chipinge’s
hardware shop of the moment, B&S Hardware, which is a subsidiary of Masvingo-headquartered
Wintok Investment, is making some good business in the town.
“We are
well-stocked and our unique customer service is keeping us well in business,”
said B&S branch manager, Irene Mlambo.
In
essence, hardware traders in Chipinge, be they vendors or registered shops,
have a reason to invest more in the farming town.

72-year old impregnates 14-year-old granddaughter

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Patience Muzhingi

ZVISHAVANE – A 72-year old grandfather raped and impregnated his
14-year-old granddaughter before forcing her to implicate an innocent man.
The elderly man, of Gunyani Village
under Chief Masunda, appeared before resident magistrate Archie Wochiunga
facing charges of rape as defined in Section 65 of the Criminal Law (Codification
and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.
He pleaded not guilty to the
charges and was remanded in custody to a later date for continuation of trial.
It is the State’s case, as presented
by prosecutor Eunice Muderedzwa, that on October 22, police received a report
that in the period extending from January to June this year, the accused was
staying with his 14-year old granddaughter.
It was heard that the accused told
the victim that he could give her food only if she had sexual intercourse with
him. The complainant agreed to the demands and they had sexual intercourse
several times on different occasions.
The court further heard that the
girl fell pregnant and the accused concealed the offense by ordering the
complainant to elope to another person.
The victim later gave birth but the
baby died and was buried at the accused’s homestead before the complainant
divulged the secret to her mother who then made a police report leading to the
arrest.