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‘Rutenga Housing Cooperative secretary disappears with US$24 000’

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‘Rutenga Housing Cooperative secretary disappears with US$24 000’


Cephas Shava

MWENEZI – Rutenga Housing Cooperative (RHC) secretary, Lackson Nezira has reportedly disappeared with US$24 000 contributed by about 500 Rutenga home seekers, TellZim News has learnt.
Believed to be now hiding in South Africa, Nezira is said to have accessed the money by forging the signatures of two other signatories to the cooperative’s Steward Bank Account.
The money is said to have been transferred to several other accounts, with some reportedly moved out of the account via RTGS on different occasions.
Masvingo police spokesperson Insp Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed that the case was reported in August last year but could not give further details.
Sources privy to the matter, however, said a docket had already been opened against all the signatories.
Repeated efforts by TellZim News to contact Nezira failed as his mobile phone was not reachable.
“There is Nezira, the treasurer and the chairperson but it is Nezira who forged his colleagues’ signatures,” said a source.
Other sources said one of the other two signatories has also fled after learning that the police were now looking into the matter.
Several victims of the alleged loot expressed despair, saying they were not likely to recover their money.
“The cooperative was legally registered and we put our hope in it because we believed in the competency and trustworthiness of Nezira, our own son from Mwenezi. Since the end of 2016, I contributed a total of US$450 hoping that by the end of December this year, I would have finish all the payment and have a stand of my own,” said one victim.crime

Overwhelmed by cash shortages

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Overwhelmed by cash shortages


…ED shifts focus to ‘cashless’ economy

Upenyu Chaota

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s call for people to embrace a more cashless economy while delivering his speech at Mucheke Stadium disappointed many people who are putting up with bank queues every day to get as little as US$30, TellZim News has found.
Delivering his speech before a massive crowd drawn from all corners of Masvingo province last week, Mnangagwa said developed countries have found a way of doing away with cash transactions and adopted a cashless society where plastic money takes centre stage.
“Developed countries have become cashless where there is little use for cash but swiping. We are currently engaging the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to introduce Point of Sale (POS) machines across the country so that all people will be able to swipe.
“We are working on that so that all the people even those in rural areas would be able to swipe. Only 10 percent of transactions would require cash. As the economy improves, the availability of cash will improve as well but at the moment, we must go where developing countries are going and not where they are coming from,” said Mnangagwa.
He, however, failed to acknowledge the fact that though developed countries might be using electronic payment methods a lot, there is no cash shortages in the banks for those who want it.
Earlier this year, Mnangagwa reportedly turned down his salary brought to his offices in a money bag, saying he would rather join the queue like everybody else than be given special treatment.
Surprisingly, Mnangagwa used a crispy US$20 bill when he performed a public stunt by joining a queue at a Chicken Inn outlet in Chegutu, bought some food and tipped the cashier.
Banks no longer dispense US dollar bills but only bond notes and coins.local

DocZine refuses to compromise on cash

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DocZine refuses to compromise on cash

…despite President’s calls for ‘cashless’ economy

Brighton Chiseva

MASVINGO – While President Emmerson Mnangagwa has urged the public to emulate developed countries and adopt electronic payment systems, Masvingo fuel businessman, Phillip Mapfumo has continued with his demands for cash payments at his fuel service station.
Popularly known as ‘Phidza’, Mapfumo runs the DocZine service station that is situated in the industrial areas. He is also believed to be the owner of a chain of other businesses in town under the DocZine stable.
TellZim News reported recently that his fuel business was turning away customers who did not have cash, with Masvingo Provincial Affairs minister, Josaya Hungwe promising to institute an investigation against the business.
There are rumours that DocZine is demanding cash payments for externalisation purposes, with the business having been named as one of the culprits in the President’s list of externalisers which was released in March.
According to the list, the company externalised US$36 778 in the category of funds externalised through payment of goods not received in Zimbabwe.
During his rally at Mucheke Stadium last Friday, Mnangagwa and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga took time to encourage the use of plastic money even for minor transactions, saying conditions in the economy demanded that there be a change of approach.local

Cultural tourism in Chipinge: Paiyapo Arts and Heritage Training Centre

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Cultural tourism in Chipinge: Paiyapo Arts and Heritage Training Centre
A granary hut at the cultural centre
Knowledge Mhlanga
CHIPINGE – There is an agreement among scholars and all people that culture is a very important component of every society, and that a people’s values, customs and language should be preserved, relayed and documented so that posterior generations will know who they are and where they originated.
Cultural preservation is also critical in nurturing fully conscious future generations without an identity crisis. Culture means a whole way of life of any particular nation, organisation, tribe or group of people.
This includes way of dress, art, beliefs, social life, symbols, food and several common aspects that unify a group of people with common characteristics.
Manicaland has several tourist attractions that include the famous Nyanga Mountains, The Devuli Range, the Ngungunyani Forest, Hot Springs and Musirizwi Falls.
Last month, government launched its National Tourism Master Plan as well as a Community Based Tourism Enterprise (CBTE) Manual and Handbook that were developed with the help of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) to help develop tourism at local level.
For a special feel of Ndau culture, however, one should visit the Paiyapo Arts and Heritage Training Centre in the Bangira area under Chief Musikavanhu in Ward 17.
Founded by Phillip Kusasa Bangira, the place celebrates and explores Ndau culture while offering a platform for the exhibition of different other cultures.
The centre hosts the annual Ndau Festival of the Arts, an event which pulls hundreds of people and many institutions every September.
It is located in a woody thicket to depict a typical African village homestead setup, with different types of thatched huts and grain storage structures.
In the huts are different types of Ndau artistic and cultural artefacts superbly crafted for different purposes.
These include clay pots for traditional beer brewing and storage, other clay pots for cooking and decorative purposes as well as special crafts and home utensils traditionally used by the Ndau people.
There are also different kinds of traditional home property and tools that would form a Ndau home of a traditional make-up.
There is also a setting for a court of elders (dare) as well as a meandering stream of flowing water and traditional Ndau fishing nets.
Water to drink can be fetched at a weir close by while a spacious gallery awaits those who wish to get an appreciation of a wide collection of Ndau artefacts that depict a rich cultural background of local people. These include drawings, sculptures and rock art.
If anything, the gallery can be seen as a collection of tangible evidence of local sophistication which helps to debunk stereotypes about Ndau people and their way of life.
There is also the Women’s Museum which is another interesting feature at Paiyapo Arts and Training Centre. The museum honours the importance which Ndau culture attaches to the role of women in society.
Of interest too is a natural Africa map-shaped rock which amazes all visitors to the centre due to its almost accurate depiction of the shape of the continent.
There is also a collection of indigenous plants and herbs, including the rarest of plants that are being preserved from extinction.
In an interview, Bangira said the centre was established as a response to cultural erosion which threatens to leave Ndau people without knowledge of who they are and their place in society.
“We have done this for the sake of the many generations that will come. We want people to be proud of their heritage and their past. The Ndau language is a good language that defines our identity as a people. We invite people from all over the country to come and see the work we are doing here,” said Bangira.
He said he was pleased that the centre had helped improve business activities in the Bangira area through a steady flow of tourists.
He also said he was working hard to increase the popularity of the Ndau Festival of the Arts so that more people can appreciate their identity.
The festival has so far proved to be the district’s most innovative way of celebrating local culture through exhibitions, poetry, dance, exchanges and other activities.business


Dejected Rushinga farmers ponder future without cotton

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Dejected Rushinga farmers ponder future without cotton
Chiundidzi works on his bale of cotton

Alexio Rashirai
RUSHINGA – Low international lint prices have affected cotton growers globally and even worse for Zimbabwe whose farmers’ competitiveness in the field has been declining over the years.
Due to even lower cotton prices, most people in Rushinga have now resorted to growing groundnuts and some have tried tobacco.
Insing Company, which used to quote fairly reasonable rates, closed its ginnery in Rushinga owing to low cotton deliveries, dealing a devastating blow to the hundreds of people that the company used to employ.
The effects were also felt by such farmers as 52-year-old Givemore Chiundudzi.
Wearing a blue work suit jacket, with a cap sitting in a slanting position over his grizzled head and his hands clutching a log which he uses to ram his cotton bags, Chiundudzi is trying to imagine a ‘cottonless’ future now that conditions are deteriorating.
He sits on a curved wooden tree trunk, half the size of a drum, with several bags of packed cotton lined in front of him.
“All the cotton in these plastics must go into this bale. The more the bale weighs, the more it fetches. If it were long ago, I could be rich with this one bale,” he says as he sticks more cotton from the plastics into the bale lying on the ground.
This is his only bale for the year, from which he hopes to get money to meet all his family needs until the next harvest, though he is not even sure how much the bale will fetch.
“I do not know. It depends on how much it will weigh. They are buying at 47 cents per kg and this bale weighs probably 200 kg. In the past, you could buy a cow, build a three-bedroomed house and do anything else after selling a bale like this. Now one bale cannot give you anything,” Chiundudzi complaints.
He says even though most of the cotton farmers have entered into contract farming with Cottco, which provides them with inputs that is seeds, fertilisers and spray pumps for free, all of them were not happy with the 47 cents/kg buying prize.
“Upon delivery, we are given $20 cash and the rest is put into our EcoCash wallets. To get the money out the phone is very expensive; you pay $28 or $30 for every $100 you want in cash. They are ripping us off and leaving us poorer.
“Cotton is our cash crop here but many people have since diverted to tobacco farming due to the unfavourable conditions. It is also not easy to grow tobacco here because our soils are better suited for cotton,” he says.business

What went wrong? Rusape man explores Zim crisis in new book

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What went wrong? Rusape man explores Zim crisis in new book

Shingirai Vambe
RUSAPE – Lawrence Khupe, a Rusape youth who graduated from the Midlands State University (MSU) in Gweru last year, has launched a book titled What Went Wrong? Zimbabwe Since 2000.
The book, which explores the country’s most tumultuous period which began with Hondo Yeminda in 2000, was launched on June 16 at Khupe Law Chambers in Rusape.
It revisits the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change in 1999, the 2005 Land Redistribution Act, the political horrors of 2008, Robert Mugabe’s increasing authoritarianism, the Look East policy and the ‘New Dispensation’.
In an interview, Khupe revealed it took him two years to complete the book, saying he was motivated by a strong passion for the documentation of the social, economic and political crisis that have plagued the country for so long.
“I am a historian and a holder of a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and International Studies. This is really my passion and I would like to do my part in highlighting our past for the sake of future generations,” said Khupe.
The guest of honour at the launch was Treasure Basopo, the Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) chairperson at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) who last year led thousands of students in a demonstration against the awarding of a controversial PhD to Grace Mugabe.
“Few Zimbabwean experiences are documented by Zimbabweans and others are not documented at all. I take this opportunity to acknowledge Khupe’s hard work in publishing a book as we stand closer to a new dawn than ever before. We have so much to deliver and much is expected from us the younger generation in the future of Zimbabwe,” Basopo said.
The book was published by Pfumojena Printing and Stationary company.entertainment

Primary elections were rigged but let’s move on: ED

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Image result for ed mnangagwa


Upenyu Chaota

After a chaotic primary election which left many Zanu PF members dejected and crying foul, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has warned disgruntled members from contesting in the July 30 harmonised polls as independent parliamentary candidates.

Masvingo North, Chiredzi West and Masvingo South have seen Zanu PF candidates who lost the irregularity-marred primaries filing for nomination as independent candidates.

“Yes we had our primaries. Some candidates won but some were rigged. Some failed in their rigging strategies but we denounce rigging. Leadership should come from the people, no imposition.

“But when we have arrived at this stage, whether you won or lost, Zanu won. If you know you are a true party cadre, you will rally behind the winning candidate.

“I will not take lightly those who contest as independent candidates because they have lost the primaries. I heard there are two or three people here who have been possessed by the spirit of Legion,” said Mnangagwa.

Mnangagwa said Zanu was bigger than any individual and if one tries to put the party into his/her pocket they will fail.

Chiredzi West incumbent legislator, Darlington Chiwa showed up at the nomination court last week in high spirits and announced his intention to contest as an independent candidate saying he will retain the seat for Zanu PF regardless of him being independent.

Chiwa stands a better chance of winning against Zanu PF’s Farai Musikavanhu and MDC Alliance’s Stanley Temba. The constituency has a total of eight candidates.

“I am standing as an independent because I have seen that the constituency cannot be snatched from me like that. If I do not contest, there will be no challenge at all and we will be donating the seat to opposition. I will win the seat and move forward with development,” said Chiwa.

In Masvingo South, Victor Vengei will contest as an independent candidate while Pascal Mudzikisi will also go it alone in Masvingo North.

All the three independent candidates have vowed to support President Mnangagwa and take their seats to Zanu PF if they win the elections.politics

  

MDC fields double candidates in five constituencies

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Lovemore Matongo


Brighton Chiseva

MASVINGO – The MDC alliance has fielded more than two candidates in five constituencies of Masvingo province, a situation which can reduce the opposition coalition’s chances of winning.

In Zaka West, The alliance fielded Festus Dumbu and Dr William Zivenge while in Masvingo South, Lovemore Matongo and Justin Makota will both contest on the alliance’s ticket.

In Gutu district, the alliance fielded two candidates in each of the three constituencies namely Gutu North, South and West.

In Gutu North there is Juniel Manyere and Edmore Maramwidze Hamandishe while in Gutu South, Crispa Musoni and Ernest Mandigo will both contest on the alliance’s ticket.

Stanley Manguma and Knowledge Mupini are also alliance buddies who will, however, contest against one another in Gutu West unless one of them withdraws before the ballot paper is printed.

In an interview, Dr Zivenge said the matter was supposed to be addressed by the alliance’s principals whose decision would be final.

“We are currently on the ground and we are waiting for the principals to sit down. Those who will be told to withdraw will do so,” said Zivenge.

On his part Matongo, whose Masvingo South had been reserved for Makota’s Transform Zimbabwe (TZ) as part of the coalition deal, vowed to press on with his campaign.

“Our alliance partner failed to show people of Masvingo South their structures and even few people to prove that they are active in the constituency,” said Matongo.politics

Gweru receives fire tender from Mimosa

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Gweru receives fire tender from Mimosa
Tinaani Nyabereka.
GWERU – Platinum miner, Mimosa has donated a 5 000-litre fire tender to City of Gweru as party of efforts to strengthen the municipality’s capacity to fight fire-related disasters.
Speaking at the official commissioning of the tender, the Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs, Owen Ncube praised Mimosa for its commitment to corporate social responsibility.
“I am glad to officially hand over to City of Gweru this fire tender coming from our all-weather friend Mimosa. I would like to thank them for this wonderful and timely donation as it will boost the available fleet.
“The vision of making the city a sustainable prosperous city of choice by 2030 is in progress. This fire tender is expected to strengthen the city in all its civil protection activities; mitigation against loss of life, destruction of property and even assistance to other local authorities when the need arises,” said Ncube.
He also hailed council for reacting swiftly to cases of disaster saying such competency was key in maintaining a functional city.
“I happy to note the recent fire emergency call in Mkoba 11 where you responded and saved lives and property. Your reaction to disaster is good and I encourage you to do more as Gweru can only attract investors when people are in a safe environment.
“I urge you to prioritise this critical area by allocating it more resources in the coming years,” Ncube said.
City of Gweru mayor, Charles Chikozho said the donation will help improve the city’s service delivery capabilities in terms of saving property and human life during fire emergencies.
“I assure you minister and Gweru residents that we will maintain this life and property-saving vehicle in good condition and we will do even more as we strive to deliver better services to the city and the wider community.
“We are grateful to Mimosa and I would like to thank them for the wonderful and timely donation because our work will be made better,” said Chikozho.local
                                      

Mashava Mine erupts in demo days after ED visit

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Mashava Mine erupts in demo days after ED visit

Clayton Shereni
Five days after President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s visit to the King Mine section of the defunct Mashava Mine, former employees of the company staged a demonstration on Wednesday to protest against many issues including forced removals, outstanding wages and corruption.
Holding placards demanding the resignation of the mine’s top management which is headed by Stephen Nyagura, demonstrators chanted songs and vowed to press on until their demands were met.
They accused the management of deceitfully covering their shortcomings by repairing the road as well as painting the mine bus and some few structures in order to give a false impression of life to the President.
Mine workers committee member and representative, Edmore Munyani told TellZim News the ex-workers had waited for nine years without being paid their outstanding wages and severance packages.
“All we want are our packages and our unpaid salaries which the mine owes us. They no longer bother talking to us but we saw how they painted a few things and repaired the main road in preparation of the President’s visit,” said Munyani.
He said the former employees were being evicted from the very houses in which the courts ruled in January that they must stay, and which the company had given them as surety for the unpaid wages and packages.
“We thought the President would address the eviction issue because it is a public secret that here at Mashava, we are being evicted,” said Munyani.
Company security would not allow TellZim News to get into the premises for an interview with Nyagura whom they said was busy in a meeting.
Other demonstrators who spoke to TellZim News said they were being evicted to pave way for chrome mining by some individuals with powerful political connections.top news

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