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Lithium miners hold fort against Pirates

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Lithium miners hold fort against Pirates

Masvingo Pirates squad

Clayton Shereni

After failing to beat Masvingo Pirates in the first leg match, Bikita Minerals coach John Phiri rued Sunday’s one-all draw at Mucheke Stadium as a missed opportunity to turn a new leaf in his record against the Masvingo giants.
Dzinochekwa Baba played second fiddle to John Phiri’s enterprising Bikita Minerals who dominated the larger part of the game after Michael Tapera’s 37 minute red card.
The Bikita head coach acknowledged the good show his players put on but said they were not confident enough to attack effectively.
“We could have easily won the match, we failed to make our dominance count. We couldn’t bury chances but as we all know 10 men are not easy to defeat. However we played a good game,” said Phiri.
Pirates initially took the lead 10 minutes into the game through a Michael Tapera cracker from an indirect shot in the Bikita 18 yard box.
However, all hell broke loose 27 minutes later when the goal scorer was sent off for a second bookable offense on a Bikita Minerals player leaving the lithium miners with a one man numerical advantage.
Bikita then jumped on to the driving seat to dominate the entire part of the game, mounting pressure on the hosts who have managed to register three draws from their last three encounters.
The visitors kept knocking on the door of the visitors until their efforts were rewarded on 53 minutes as Barnabas Mutuche long range effort found the back of the net with Pirates young goalie, Taurai Madziise, doing nothing to stop the shot.
The numerically hand-capped Pirates regrouped and remained solid with the likes of veteran defender Andrew Tazvivinga and Caleb Masocha commanding the ship from the heart of defense.
Commenting on his team’s performance, Pirates head coach, Billiat Muchenje applauded his team for remaining focused throughout the game.
“It was a tough game playing with one of our top strikers sent off but the guys regrouped and we managed to get a point but overal, my boys were in full form,” said Muchenje.
The game was curtain raised by Yeukai Elders FC who won 5-4 against Bikita Elders who also put up a superb performance.
In other matches played last weekend, log leaders Manica Diamonds continued their record unbeaten run as they drew nil all against Green Fuel while second-placed Tenax FC won 2-1 against relegation-threatened Masvingo United.

Lake October Festival, a great success

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Lake October Festival, a great success

Some of the activities during the Lake October Festival

Bothwell Chabarika

Multitudes from in and around Masvingo had a time of their life during the Lake October Festival, with activities taking place at Masvingo Golf Club, Caravan Park and at Lake Mutirikwi’s Sikato Bay on October 19 and 20
The festival saw many people turning up regardless of the biting fuel crisis and much of the funds raised were channeled towards charity.
Sport, dance and aerobics were some of the public’s favourite activities, while the golf tournament pulled considerable interest among lovers of the game.
At Caravan Park, the Two Legends Concert featuring Oliver Mtukudzi and Winky D excited, with local Panhimbe Crew performing as stage warmers. The following day, DJ Stavo also thrilled fans at the lake shore.
Lake October Festival management committee chairperson, Garikai Garande thanked people and organisations that supported the show.
“This was a deliberate plan to bring out the best that our province has to offer in tourism terms. There are so many areas of interest that need us as the people of Masvingo to explore and develop for the good of our society. I am happy that we made it and each and every person enjoyed,” said Garande.
Lake October Festival public relations manager, Rudo ‘Lulu’ Shoko told TellZim News that the response from stakeholders and participants was overwhelming and was happy with the turn up.
“The response was overwhelming. I was moved by the turn-up and the participation during the festival. The Two Legends Concert was something else as it attracted in excess of 3 000 people. This festival was for charitable purposes meaning most of the funds raised were donated to needy places,” Shoko said.
She also thanked local surgeries that volunteered some of their nursing staff, ambulances and mobile toilets to work for the success of the events.

Great Zimbabwe International Festival, a no show

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Great Zimbabwe International Festival, a no show


Part of the poster that circulated on social networks

…NACZ slams bogus promoters

Bothwell Chabarika

Artists have cried foul while fans have lamented losing money after a disorganised function that was supposed to take place at Masvingo Show Grounds in Masvingo from October 27-28, 2018 proved to be a farce.
The show should have featured over 100 Zimbabwean artists including big names like Albert Nyathi, Chirikure Chirikure, Sulumani Chimbetu, Baba Harare and local entertainer Baba Rah.
Eugene Majuru, who is said to be the promoter based in the United Kingdom, was allegedly organising through phone calls and social media.
Trust Kwabatsha, an artist agent and coordinator from Bulawayo said he was ordered to bring three groups of artists, and he brought 25 artists in total, translating to massive losses.
“I was affected by this mismanagement very much as l had brought 25 artists from Bulawayo and endured heavy losses,” he said.
Artists who travelled from Harare waited hopelessly for the event which was supposed to begin at 08:00hrs. They got to the venue to see the stage not set and equipment lying around on the grass.
When contacted for comment, Majuru blamed sponsors for ‘letting us down the 11th hour.’
“We managed to put up something even though we were let down by some corporates that we had partnered. We had fuel problems and we had to hire the sound system and stage since we could not manage to get funds from our partners who had promised to sponsor.
“The festival began late and the police banned the show saying we needed to apply for a clearance first. We had a challenge with accommodation for artists so we secured rooms somewhere else for some of them since they came in their numbers,” said Majuru.
TellZim News saw a letter which was written by someone who presented himself as the finance officer of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) and addressed to the operations and events manager of Royal Unlimited Expressions Trust, M. R. Hunzvi giving permission to stage the festival stating that it was bound to raise the profile of arts and culture in Masvingo.
The letter’s authenticity was questioned since it was said to have been received from a Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) representative without the knowledge of NACZ Masvingo regional manager, Helen Mudefi.
Mudefi slammed the organizers of the show, calling them dubious, and she advised artists to sign contracts two weeks before the day of the show.
“Artists should consult NACZ to avoid bogus promoters. They should be professional and sign contract forms two weeks before the show. Venue owners need to comply by registering their venues and promoters must comply with the rules and regulations for organising festivals and not tarnish the arts sector,” said Mudefi.

Macheso set to reignite Masvingo

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Macheso set to reignite Masvingo

Alick Macheso

Tiyani Hahlani

Veteran artist and King of Sungura, Alick Macheso will date his Masvingo fans on November 03 with his latest album which he seeks to reintroduce to the city at Caravan Park.
The ‘Tsoka dzerwendo’ hit maker will be back in town for the second time where he is expected to sample songs from his trending album ‘Dzinosvitsa kure’ which was launched in July this year.
The Sungura maestro is expected to put up a well-choreographed act which will be curtain raised by local afro fusion band, Panhimbe Crew, who left music lovers clamouring for more at the recently-held Lake October Festival.
Baba Shero, as Macheso is affectionately known in the music industry, comes back by public demand after his album lived to the billing and has received vast airplay on local radio stations.
Speaking to TellZim News, Macheso’s communications and public relations manager, Tich Makahamadze confirmed the event.
“We are coming back for the second time this year to Masvingo with the album. Masvingo is our second home and we have decided to reunite with our fans. We hope that our fans will come in their numbers to witness Orchestra Mberikwazvo doing what they know best”, said Makahamadze.
Event organiser, Rudo ‘Lulu’ Shoko of Lulu Events said preparations were at an advance stage and called on all Sungura fans from in and around Masvingo to come and support.
“We are almost done with the preparations. Our patrons know that we don’t disappoint so we urge all those who want to witness a great performance by the giant to come and see the King of Sungura doing what he knows best,” said Lulu.

CGCDZ helps new gospel band launch album

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CGCDZ helps new gospel band launch album

                                                                   Morning Stars

Clayton Shereni
RENCO MINE – The Centre for Gender and Community Development in
Zimbabwe (CGCDZ) last weekend helped upcoming Renco Mine-based Morning Stars band
to launch their debut album.
CGCDZ identified
the group during their Go and Vote campaign in the run-up to the July 30
harmonised elections.
The campaign was
funded by the Flexible Fund Grant by Pact World as part of broader efforts to
encourage especially women and the youth to participate in political
activities.
The gospel album,
which is titled Gore Renyasha, has been well-received in the mining community
and is expected to receive good airplay.
Speaking on the
sidelines of the album launch, CGCDZ programs manager, Chida Mudadi said it was
the organisation’s objective to promote talent in communities.
“As
advocates of 50/50 gender balance in all spheres of life, we were encouraged by
the fair representation of both men and women in the band. It is also our responsibility
to identify and promote talent in marginalised communities,” said Mudadi.
The band comprises
three male and four female members with Moses Kabungaidze being the band
leader.
The launch was
attended by high profile people from in and around the small town including
traditional leaders and service chiefs.

Shabani Mine Primary School teacher leaves after winning senatorial seat

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Shabani Mine Primary School teacher leaves after winning senatorial seat



Miriro Maphosa

ZVISHAVANE – Shabani
Mine Primary on Friday, October 19 held a farewell party for Colleta Mutambisi
who is now a Zanu PF senator in the Midlands province.
Mutambisi, had been working in the education sector for 32
years and she joined Shabani Mine Primary School back in 2011 before
participating in the July 30 elections as one of the party’s senatorial
candidates in the Midlands province.
The farewell party was organised by the school, church
members and the School Development Committee (SDC).
Speaking at the event, school head Ephraim Julius said he
knew Senator Mutambisi as a humble woman who loved politics.
“We are proud of you because God has rewarded you. We
will always support you senator because you have inspired the girl child,”
said Julius.
His sentiments were echoed by Constance Shoko, a school
teacher who said Mutambisi, just like the Biblical Esther, was chosen for
something great.
“You are a star that has been nurtured in difficult
times but just like Esther, we have set a crown on you,” said Shoko.
In her remarks, Mutambisi expressed gratitude to Shabani Mine
Primary for being with her and giving her a chance to serve as a teacher even
though she was also a committed politician.
“I would like to thank the current head and the former
head Zingoni for the unwavering support they rendered me. They always gave me
time to do my political work. When I came to Shabani Primary from Hanawa in 2011,
the teachers here stood with me and comforted me when my husband was ill until
he died.
“It was a long journey and I learnt to be hardworking, supportive
and to be compassionate towards others,” said Mutambisi.
Some parents who attended the function urged Mutambisi to always
remember the school and work for its development in her new political position.
The school needs more toilets, a borehole and a play centre
for children.
Mutambisi took the opportunity to donate a sewing machine
and a full length mirror for the Home Economics department.
 

Angry motorist bites police man at fuel station

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Angry motorist bites police man at fuel station

Clayton Shereni
MASVINGO – A police officer who was deployed to maintain
order at Glow fuel station in town had a bad time recently after an agitated
motorist who had lost patience at the slow-moving queue attacked him.
Owen Dzinodya (30) who resides at House number 1912 Tembwe Street, Aphiri,
appeared before Masvingo magistrate Rufaro Mangwiro facing charges of
assaulting or resisting a peace officer.
Dzinodya pleaded not guilty to the charges and was ordered to come back to
court on November 07 with a witness.
It is the State’s case that on October 20, Alex Mutamburirwa (35) a police
officer stationed at Masvingo Central Police Station was accompanied by support
unit details to maintain order at Glow Petroleum fuel station along Robertson Street.
The court heard that while doing his duties, the complainant approached the
accused who was alleged to be jumping the queue and causing mayhem.
Upon being confronted by the officer who was trying to cool him down, it is
alleged that the emotionally-charged Dzinodya grabbed the cop and dragged him
to the ground before biting him once on the left thigh.
In the scuffle, the police officer was injured and got his trousers’ pocket
torn off. The assailant then got into his vehicle, locked the doors before
other officers finally managed to arrest him.
Andrew Ndaramira represented the State.

Gweru wants Commission of Inquiry to build peace

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Gweru wants Commission of Inquiry to build peace

                                                            Kgalema Motlanthe 

Tinaani
  Nyabereka.


GWERU – Residents here
have called upon the Commission of Inquiry into the August 01 killings in
Harare to set out clear recommendations that can help strengthen the country’s
capacity to build greater peace.
The
Kgalema Motlanthe-led commission of enquiry was in Gweru last week where some
vendors and other members of the public blamed the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC
Alliance for provoking the army killings.
Joseph
Madyagwai, a resident, complained that perpetrators were ‘walking freely’ as if
nothing happened.
“What
pains me today is that the perpetrators haven’t been held accountable. We need
the people who were engaged in the violence to be brought forward and let the
law take its course. We want you as commissioners to make strong
recommendations to strengthen peace in the country,” he said.
Shephard
Sungai, a member of the Gweru Vendors Association (GVA) blamed the opposition
coalition for allegedly spreading messages of violence.
“In
Gweru here we saw a group of youths who belonged to the MDC Alliance party seeking
to cause violence in the Central Business District (CBD). They destroyed the
vendors’ selling tables and valuables on the same day the Harare incident
occurred.
“So
I link that demo to what was happening in Harare because the same message they
pushed on the social media was now the agenda. They said they will resort to
the use of force if they lost the elections.
“This
message was first preached by MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa during his
rallies when he came to Gweru,” said Sungai.
In
his comments, Motlanthe said the establishment of the commission and its
engagement with the public was to determine the cause of the incident in order
to deal with the root causes so that nothing similar happens in the future.
“The
commission of inquiry seek to establish the happenings of the 01 August
shooting and our coming here gives everyone the opportunity to open up and
testify on what you have so that as a commission, we can come up with measures
to rectify the issue and make sure it won’t happen again,” he said. 
                                                                                                                                       

Masvingo MP Nyokanhete forks out $2000 to pay agents

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Masvingo MP Nyokanhete forks out $2000 to pay agents



Derrick
Shava

Masvingo Urban Member of
Parliament (MP), Jacob Nyokanhete has used his own personal resources amounting
to $2 000 to pay 220 election agents who worked for the MDC Alliance in the
July 30 harmonised election.
Each ward in the
constituency had 22 election agents protecting the presidential, parliamentary
and local government votes.
The youthful MP said at a
time when other parties were letting down their election agents, he deemed it fit
to reward the people who worked hard to protect the party’s vote against
possible rigging.
“I appreciate our
hardworking election agents. They guarded our votes and Zanu PF failed to steal
Masvingo Urban votes. If l afforded, I would have paid them even more,”
said Nyokanhete.
In Masvingo Urban, Nelson
Chamisa got over 23 000 votes against Emmerson Mnangagwa’s 11 000, with
Nyokanhete getting 17 000 votes against closest rival; Zanu PF candidate
Benjaman Mazarire’s 12 500.
In the run up to the
elections, Nyokanhete slaughtered a beast to feed the election agents and also
gave each ward 20kg mealie meal, cooking oil, vegetables and other food stuffs.
The party’s then sitting
councillors and council candidates also contributed different foodstuffs to
feed election agents.
“I am pleased by the hard
work done by our election agents and all our council candidates. We all have a
close working relationship and that helped us to increase our councillors from
six in the previous council to the current seven,” said Nyokanhete.
He said he will continue
to work closely with councillors to make sure the city continues to improve
service delivery.
“We won in Masvingo Urban
and we must therefore deliver. We thank the previous council led by Cllr Hubert
Fidze for being named the best-run municipality at our party’s 19th
anniversary at Gwanzura,” said Nyokanhete.
He said the party’s
Masvingo Urban district was embarking on ward-based ‘Thank You’ meetings to
thank the people for entrusting their votes with the MDC Alliance.
“Our district chairperson
Murangamwa Chanyau is leading the meetings for the purposes of showing our
supporters that we are still together. We appreciate the support that they gave
the party in the elections. The party district also won an award as the best
performing district in the province,” he said.
Nyokanhete, who is a
chartered accountant by profession, now sits on two parliamentary portfolio
committees; Public Accounts as well as Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs).
Commenting on the
appointments, Masvingo provincial chairperson James Gumbi said it was
remarkable that the party’s only MP in the province had some skills to offer.
“We appreciate the
commitment that Honourable Jacob Nyokanhete has shown and we also thank our
president Nelson Chamisa for appointing him to two parliamentary portfolio
committees,” said Gumbi.
The ‘Thank You’ meetings
started in wards 1 and 2 and they will soon proceed to ward 3 and 4 going
forward.
In his remarks, Chanyau
said the meetings were important in that they helped the leadership to remain
in touch with the community.
“The meetings will
be held in all the 10 wards and we want the people to see that they have
hands-on leaders. The meetings are also a build up to a big ‘Thank You’ rally
that will be addressed by president Nelson Chamisa in Mucheke Stadium on a date
to be announced,” said Chanyau.

Parliamentary portfolio committee hears sad tales of health delivery collapse

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Parliamentary portfolio committee hears sad tales of health delivery collapse

                                             The long-abandoned Lupane Hospital project
                                              
Shingirai Vambe

BULAWAYO – The people of
Eskhoveni in Umzingwani district last week spoke at the Health and Child Care
2019 consultative meeting saying their hospital building was just an old farmhouse
built in 1925 and now converted to a medical facility in response to the dire
need.
They made it
clear they were not impressed by the service delivery levels in the area,
saying like most parts of Matabeleland province, their area was marginalised.
They said they
had been making calls for a decent hospital and ambulances but nothing had been
done for them.
Others said the
amenities in the district were inadequate for a population of over 65 000
people, most of them being 45km from the nearest health centre.
District Medical
Officer (DMO) Dr Simbarashe Sanyamandwe, told the 10-member parliamentary portfolio
committee on health that much of the few available ambulances in the district
were donated by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). He also said the types
of the vehicles were expensive to maintain.
“During holidays
and festive seasons we get so busy that even the available staff become overwhelmed.
The hospital mortuary is not in the best of conditions and many people cannot
afford the services of private funeral services providers like Nyaradzo.
“The district’s
health amenities are short-staffed so we appeal that the training and
recruitment of nurses and nurse aides be done at local level. Locally-recruited
staff would be better positioned to care for their own people and the
understanding would be greater. The general feeling for now is that many of the
staff members are from Mashonaland provinces, and they are not well-conversant
with local languages,” he said.
The parliamentary
portfolio committee proceeded to Lupane where similar grievances were heard. Blame
for most of the service delivery shortcomings was laid on the government
doorstep, with many participants saying election promises were never fulfilled.
The Lupane
General Hospital project, which was initiated back in 2006, still remains
incomplete at foundation level, with other structures that are at an advanced
state of completion already showing signs of decay.
“The situation
of the hospital is similar to that of Ekusileni Hospital which was built by our
father Dr Joshua Nkomo. It was completed more than 15 years ago but up to now,
it is still closed because of selfish political reasons,” one Lupane resident
said.
It was also
revealed that St Luke’s Hospital was not only serving people of Lupane but
others from such malaria-prone areas as Inyati and Tsholotsho and Binga.
In all six
centres visited by the portfolio committee, local authority executives
complained that government had largely neglected the health sector, with
council clinics having to sustain themselves on the meagre Result Based Fund
(RBF)
Umzingwani Rural
District Council (RDC) Chief Executive Officer, Ndumiso Mpofu said much needed
to be done to fight diseases in light of the proliferation of septic tanks in
highly populated areas.
It was clear,
however, that most people were worried by the unavailability of medicines, inadequate
manpower in hospitals and lack of proper equipment in hospitals.
Others also
lamented the new US dollar payment demands being made by pharmacies, saying many
people could no longer afford critical medication as a result.
At Mpilo
Hospital, a participant said the 2019 budget should channel as much resources
towards the fight against diabetes as towards the fight against HIV and Aids.
It was also
noted that the government directive for free maternal health services was
putting severe strain on the hospital, with many pregnant mothers running the
risk of infections as they have to sleep on the floor due to shortages of space
and beds.
People said insufficient
staff also meant more strain on the available nurses and doctors, with patients
receiving below optimum care as a result.
The portfolio
committee’s acting chairperson, Dingilizwe Tshuma later told this publication
that government ought to meet the 15 percent budgetary allocation target for
the health sector as espoused by the Abuja Declaration of 2001.
Government has
been giving an average of between six and seven percent of the country’s money
to the health sector. Many of the country’s public health facilities are
rundown as a result, with overburdened nurses and doctors having to do with
little or no medicines.
Government
officials and other rich people do not use the country’s hospitals, choosing to
fly to South Africa, Asia and Europe for their treatment.

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