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A country of no progress

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A country of no progress

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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Chiyadzwa diamonds must do more for Manicaland, says Gwaradzimba

…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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Vharazipi off the hook

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.

ZSMIWU Tender

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ZSMIWU Tender

Delta Beverages supervisor fails to pay sexual worker

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Delta Beverages supervisor fails to pay sexual worker



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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Masvingo water crisis worry US ambassador

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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Hardware business flourishes in Chipinge

                                                            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.

RioZim workers put on unpaid leave as mines shut down

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Shingirai
Vambe

Thousands
of workers at Renco Mine in Masvingo, Dalny Mine in Chakari as well as Cam and Motor Mine in Kadoma have been told to stay home until further notice as the company faces a
bleak future due to the unavailability of foreign currency.
The
unpaid leave follows two months of unpaid salaries after the mines’ parent
company, RioZim, said it was finding it difficult to sustain the business due
to failure to acquire money needed to buy chemicals and spares for machinery.
In
a letter to the Dalny Mine Workers’ Committee dated October 28, RioZim chief
operating officer, Manit Shah says the three mines ‘involuntarily stopped
operations after running out of consumables and spare parts’.
He
goes on to blame the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) for failing to release the
company’s foreign currency earnings.
“These
items are not available in RTGS and in any event when so purchased, costs up to
500% of their real price, making it impossible to acquire them either way.
“Over
the past three months, RioZim has received only 14% of its revenue in forex
against a Reserve Bank policy of 50% direct forex retention in our nostro
account with the other 50% being accessed by application to the RBZ. The
company was thus unable to adequately purchase sufficient supplies required to
operate our mines optimally.
This
situation recently further deteriorated to an extent where the company received
almost zero forex in the past 9 weeks preceding the closure of the mines. Our
finance department has estimated that until September 2018, the Company lost up
to $75m as a result of these breaches by RBZ,” part of the letter reads.
Shah
also goes on to say he could not promise when the mines will be reopened as the
situation was now beyond the company’s control.
“We
understand that all of you want to know the exact date when the operations will
restart. We understand and respect for concern and need for certainty (sic). It
is sadly not possible to predict a date as the result of these engagements are
beyond the control of the company,” he says.
RioZim
was one of the biggest producers of gold in Zimbabwe, and the company sold its
mineral to Fidelity Printers which is owned by RBZ.
Prior
to the crisis, the three mines were said to be producing around 70kg of gold per
week, translating to some 280kg of gold monthly.
For
the past two months, however, they have been failing to pay salaries and this
will be the third month.
TellZim
News spoke to the Minister of Mines and Energy, Winston Chitando who admitted
that government, through RBZ had failed to remit all of the gold miner’s
foreign currency earnings.
“Today
I have started talks with RioZim. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe needs to come on
board and see how we can face this challenging situation. I can’t say further
than this but I can assure you that talks are in progress and very soon the
problem will be addressed,” Chitando said.
Ordinary
employees at Renco Mine, however, said they suspected management of misappropriating
funds and engaging in other corrupt activities.
“It
is only this time and this year that we have seen these machines at the plant
shut down. The plant was always up and running but we are now being told that
there are no chemicals like borax and acid,” said one employee.
RioZim
had previously threatened to sue the RBZ over foreign currency allocations,
claiming its mines were productive and earning foreign currency most of which
was not being released to the company.

New multi-purpose recreational park for Nemanwa

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New multi-purpose recreational park for Nemanwa

TellZim Reporter

The Ministry of Youth, Sport,
Arts and Recreation, in line with the provisions of the 100 day quick win
projects, has acquired land for the development of a multi-purpose recreational
park at Nemanwa growth point.
Deputy provincial director in the
Ministry of Youth, Sport and Recreation, June Mbizvo said the project was being
undertaken in partnership with Masvingo Rural District Council (RDC), adding
that the project was informed by the cumulative benefits that such initiatives
could accrue to the host community and the State.
“The main purpose of the project
is to meet community needs by providing an interconnected system of parks,
recreational facilities and natural areas that support environmental
stewardship, diverse recreational opportunities and economic development.
“Nemanwa Recreational Park is a
place earmarked for people to pass their free time and to enjoy the natural
beauty,” said Mbizvo.
He said it was an informal park
where a variety of recreational activities such as parties, weddings, church
meetings, workshops, sport and recreational tournaments will be held.
Mbizvo also said the scope of
work on the first phase of the park – which is expected to be complete by the
end of the year – included bush clearance, fencing, setting up picnic benches
and tables, landscaping as well as park greening.
He said in 2019, work on the Nemanwa
Multi-Purpose Recreational Park will cover the construction of an outdoor play
centre and an outdoor open-air arena, the installation of water, electricity
and sewer systems as well the construction of a multi-purpose recreational
hall.
“With the availability of
resources and community support, we intend to go a step further and construct
sports facilities such as a football field, netball courts, volleyball courts,
basketball courts, tennis courts and handball courts on the western side of the
park. We expect the many visitors who come to tour our national monuments at
Great Zimbabwe to also make use of the park,” said Mbizvo.

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