Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda hands over a certificate to one of the awards recipients

Shingirai Vambe

HARARE – Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Francis Mudenda recently handed over certificates, laptops and cash to 98 employees who have worked for parliament for the past 10 to 25 years.
Mudenda told those who attended the event, which was held on August 09, that the dedication of the long serving employees was immeasurable.
“As I stressed during last year’s event, no service barometer can decipher the depth and degree of the selfless services these officers have rendered to parliament. The question that may be asked is how these officers managed to serve this long? The answer lies in some distinctive character traits, such traits that include loyalty to one’s institution, self-motivation, discipline, tenacity and dedication to duty,” Mudenda said,
Main sponsors of the awards were the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) and fibre optic services provider, Liquid Telecom.
Those who served for 25 years received certificates and laptops donated by Liquid Telecom, with six more laptops being donated to parliament.
Potraz director general, Dr Gift Machengeta told the award recipients that his organisation was happy to be involved in the rewarding of remarkable service.
“As a regulatory authority, we are happy to partner with Parliament of Zimbabwe in honouring its long serving employees,” said Dr Machengeta.
Liquid Telecom managing director, Wellington Makamure said his company was proud to partner parliament in honouring its long serving members of staff.
“As Liquid Telecom, we rise in terms of our mandate given by Potraz by also lifting you. The donation is a challenge to you, that you can do more in your research. We need to continue working together through team work,” said Makamure.
Clerk of Parliament, Kennedy Chokuda was among the long servers and he also received his award.
David Zimunhu, who works for the human resources department, received the worker of the year 2017 award.
The occasion was graced by many dignitaries including President of the Senate, Edna Madzongwe.

Precila Takabvirakare

Barbra Njondaya (42), a former teacher at Muchekayaora Primary School under Chief Munyikwa, was recently asked to pay a fine of $300 or face six months imprisonment for indecently assaulting her then workmate’s 12-year-old son.
Njondaya appeared before magistrate Victor Mahamadi being charged for contravening Section 67 (1) (b) (1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform Act) Chapter 9:23.
It was the State’s case that on June 18, 2017 Njondaya called the boy from where he was and when he came, she grabbed his hand, dragged him into the house and locked the door while holding a knife.
She further dragged the boy into her bedroom and forcibly put him on the bed and started to cares his upper body and kissed him several times on his mouth.
Njondaya threatened to kill the boy with a knife if he told anyone about the incident before opening the door to let him go.
The child then reported the matter to her mother who accompanied him to the police to make a report, leading to Njondaya’s arrest.
She has since lost her job as a teacher.local

Ropafadzo Makumire

Beatific Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI – Recently-elected Ward 3 Cllr, Ropafadzo Makumire has thrown his hat in the ring as the jostling for the vacant post of town chair intensifies.
Chiredzi town has eight wards that are evenly divided between the ruling Zanu PF and the opposition, with MDC Alliance holding three of them.
Makumire told TellZim News he got what it takes to provide good leadership in council and to put the town on course to attain municipal status by year 2023.
The 25-year-old Makumire has an Honours Degree in Rural and Urban Planning from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and he says he is working on his thesis for his Master’s in Urban Design.
“I have vast knowledge of local governance and if given the opportunity to be the leader of all elected officials in council, the town’s fortunes will definitely change for good. I am an independent councillor, meaning I am not beholden to any political party and my decision will therefore not be informed by partisan motives.
“Efficient service delivery has for long been compromised by too much partisan interference in the work of councillors and council management. It is my wish that we act differently this time around so that whatever decisions we take are taken for their merit,” said Makumire.
He said he would work to increase residential, commercial and industrial development as well as to improve service delivery and fight corruption so as to meet the minimum requirements for municipal status.
Meanwhile other Zanu PF councillors like Obert Ngwenya (Ward 2) and Liberty Macharaga (Ward 4), who had been regarded as front runners for the post, seem to have withdrawn from the race most probably due to pressure from their political party which is believed to be favouring somebody else.
“Being a leader is a big sacrifice for the people you serve. Yes, there might be pressure but being a leader means how to deal with every situation for the best interests of the people you serve,” said Macharaga.
MDC Alliance’s Gibson Hwende (Ward 1) seems to also have withdrawn his bid and has said he will only seek an advisory role to help whoever gets elected.
“I will just take an advisory role as a senior councillor because as for now, I have no interests in that post,” he said.
Makumire would need the MDC Alliance’s three votes, his own vote plus at least one from the four Zanu PF councillors to be town chair.local

Shingirai Vambe

CHIPINGE – Many people in the south-eastern district of Chipinge are living in fear after many reported incidences of politically motivated violence, it has been learnt.
All the incidences of violence and intimidation of recent days were perpetrated allegedly by members and supporters of Zanu PF against members and supporters of the opposition MDC Alliance; real or perceived.
MDC Alliance won two out of the five parliamentary seats for Chipinge district; Chipinge West (Sibonile Nyamudeza) and Chipinge East (Mathias Mlambo). Before the elections, the party only held Musikavanhu constituency, which it however lost to Zanu PF this time around.
Zanu PF also won Chipinge South and Chipinge Central.
Elsewhere, a member of the opposition coalition reportedly had his house razed down by suspected Zanu PF supporters in Bikita South. However, no confirmation could be obtained on this incident by the time of going to print.
In Chipinge Central Ward 8, cases of intimidation and violence are reportedly on the rise, with members of the ruling Zanu PF party said to be moving from one house to another either beating or threatening those perceived to be sympathetic to the opposition.
Arnold Chipezano, who works at a farm as a tractor driver, said he was being threatened by ruling party supporters who accused him of being an MDC Alliance supporter.
“At work and in the residential compound, I am being threatened with unspecified action. They warned me to pack my bags and leave, but I don’t have anywhere to go. Besides, how would I earn a living if I just leave my job?
“They are saying they are only waiting for the MDC Alliance’s court application against the election results to be decided after which they will deal with me,” he said.
In Ward 4, many opposition members and supporters have reportedly fled the country to Mozambique fearing reprisals.
Many people said despite some foreign observer groups claiming they deployed teams across the country, Chipinge seemed left out, thereby contributing to what they considered to be disproportionate incidents of violence as compared to what is happening in the rest of the country.
Another opposition supporter who preferred not to be named said there was a known Zanu PF members who was openly intimidating opposition supporters.
“You report him to the police and he is picked up, but he would be back the following day. He was once arrested for tearing down Chamisa’ poster but nothing happened to him,” he said.
However, a nurse at Junction Gate Clinic in Ward 8 said she had not treated any injuries from the alleged political violence cases.
The Human Rights NGO Forum has released its ‘2018 Post-Election Violence Monitoring Report’, a documentation of alleged cases of politically-motivated violence perpetrated against the opposition after the July 30 elections.
Government has however trashed the report, with presidential press secretary George Charamba saying the report was designed to dupe the ‘gullible’ donor community.
“It is not about the state of human rights, in the country as it is for donor funding. In short, if blood is not produced on the streets, it must be produced on paper,” Charamba was quoted by State media as saying.local

Tariro Bwerinofa

Clever Taperamoyo

The Zimbabwe National Youth Service Graduates Association (ZNYSGA) last week lashed out at ‘unwarranted attacks’ on the country’s institutions of governance by various faith-based organisations.
In a strongly-worded statement released by its national public relations officer, Tariro Bwerinofa, ZNYSGA attacks the church groups for being insincere in their work.
“The Zimbabwe National Youth Service Graduates Association would like to express its deep concern over the unwarranted attack on our institutions of governance by the so called Ecumenical Church groups and the so called Civil Society of Zimbabwe on their released statement on Thursday 16th of August 2018,” the statement reads.
Various ecumenical groups recently released a statement demanding judiciary independence in the MDC Alliance’s Constitutional Court application against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s presidential election victory.
Addressing members of the media at Media Centre in Harare, delegates from the Zimbabwe Divine Destiny (ZDD), United Citizens Alliance, War Veterans Peace Initiative Forum (WVPIF) and Zimbabwe Prayer Network (ZPN) blamed Zec chairperson, Priscilla Chigumba for provoking the post-election instability that saw the killing of civilians by soldiers in Harare, saying she was arrogant and unaccommodating to very pertinent concerns.
However, ZNYSGA labelled the church groups as agents of darkness that purport to be agents of light.
“As patriotic members of our society we are forced to issue this statement after realising that we are surrounded by these dubious organisations who dwell in pretence by siding and praising hooliganism. They seem not to see the spirit of unity, peace and progress which was and is being inculcated by the leadership of President Mnangagwa. They seem to enjoy the perpetuation of negativity by their barbarian sectorial membership in our society who are the supporters of the opposition,” the statement reads.
The group also made a veiled attack on the MDC Alliance, saying it was the only party that was stoking tensions in the country when everybody else was preaching peace and unity.
“Zimbabweans on the period starting 1st of July 2018 were afforded an opportunity to exercise their right to choose the leadership which they so wish to guide them for the next five years be it a councillor, MP up to the President. The environment was very conducive and afforded everyone an opportunity to exercise his or her right in a peaceful manner. During this period, we witnessed only one party which was so arrogant and was propagating hate speech and violence throughout the campaign. This party was never condemned by these so called pretenders who today appear to be preaching the voice of reason,” the statement further reads.
The statement also calls for peace, saying people of the country had suffered enough they could not afford to be divided further.
“As Zimbabweans we appreciate a culture of tolerance, respect, selflessness, over and above party affiliations,” it reads.local

Norbert Pithias Tshetu

TellZim Reporter

AB Communications has appointed Norbert Pithias Tshetu as the area manager in charge of Hevoi FM; overseeing all operations under the business unit.
Before his latest appointment, Tshetu was a key accounts manager based at ZiFM Stereo, another AB Communications subsidiary.
He was responsible for managing and overseeing non-corporate accounts and portfolios, for both direct and agency clients, with a mandate of developing and maintaining customer relations with key clients under the portfolio.
Tshetu was also responsible for creating customised solutions for clients with the goal of shifting advertising budgets to the entity so as to increase shareholder value.
He played a pivotal role in creating and managing non-traditional radio initiatives to enhance operational efficiency.
A product of the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and the British College of Professional Management, Tshetu brings a wealth of experience to the Masvingo-based radio station, having previously worked for many companies including Alpha Media Holdings; publishers of the NewsDay, The Standard and The Zimbabwe Independent as a classifieds supervisor as well as a sales and marketing executive.
He also holds a National Certificate in Print Finishing and Converting from Harare Polytechnic.local