CHIREDZI – A Hippo Valley High School pupil took shelter in a sugarcane plot after her parents chased her away from home but nobody knew that those were to be the girl’s last moments alive as she would, some hours later, die of severe burns.
The incident, which happened on October 23, saw the minor being severely burnt before being airlifted to Harare where she died of her excruciating injuries.
Masvingo acting police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the case and urged parents to be tolerant as all children have their own flaws.
Sources said Martha Hlupeko, who was doing her form one at Hippo Valley High School and residing in Section 7 Hippo Valley Estates with her mother and stepfather, had quarrelled with her mother because she had arrived home late.
The misunderstanding reportedly started with the girl’s mother, who had been away on a visit, calling to request that Martha wait for her on Section 7A bus stop.
The girl complied but upon noticing that it was getting late, shifted to Section 7B where there was some light and she failed to see her mother arrive in the process.
She then gave up on the wait and went home, only to find that her mother was already there and was angry as she suspected that she had been with her boyfriend.
After being chased from home, Martha went to her boyfriend to consult him on what to do but he could not accommodate her so she decided to take shelter in a nearby cane field for the night.
“She went to her boyfriend who is an employee at Hippo Valley Estate but he could not accommodate her so she took shelter in the plot which was then set on fire early the following morning to prepare the cane for harvesting,” said a source.
Martha was discovered the following morning by Hippo Valley employees who reported the case to the police and the girl was taken to Hippo Valley Hospital before being airlifted to Harare where she died.local

Nyasha Marumbi

MASVINGO – Only two percent of households in Masvingo are still using the old electricity meters and are yet to be connected using the recommended prepaid meters, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Commission (ZETDC) says.
At a workshop organised by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) and the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) recently, ZETDC commercial manager for Manicaland and Masvingo provinces, Fabion Mabaya said 98 percent of all households in Masvingo were using prepaid meters.
He said the remaining two percent will have their own prepaid meters before the end of next year.
“Out of 36 000 houses that we have in Masvingo, only 700 have no prepaid meters and I promise you before the end of next year, prepaid meters will have been installed in those houses.
He urged residents to save electricity by using energy server lamps as the country has to raise foreign currency to import supplementary energy from neighbouring countries.
He also said the country had saved 110 megawatts of electricity since the introduction of prepaid electricity meters in 2011.local

MASVINGO – Recommendations contained in the government-sanctioned Information and Media Panel of Inquiry (IMPI) are unlikely to see the light day after the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Tafataona Mahoso questioned the credibility of the document.
Dr Mahoso and his team were recently in Masvingo where they held a discussion with local journalists on matters of mutual interest.
Responding to a question on when government planned to implement recommendations of the inquiry, Dr Mahoso attacked the composition of the panel that conducted the research, indicating that most of the people were brought on board for patronage reasons.
“IMPI makaitangira padumbu (In the case of IMPI, the cart was put before the horse). The process had no legal standing vis-à-vis ZMC. Even the budget that was allocated to IMPI was 10 times bigger than the ZMC budget. Some of them were getting $500 every day. How could that be?” queried Dr Mahoso.
He also claimed that most of the researchers had no sound appreciation of the media industry whatsoever, but were nonetheless given places on the panel so that they too could enjoy the gravy train.
“Kwakatorwawo vamwe vanhu vasingaziviwo zvavo nezve media (people with no background in the media were included). A busload for work that could simply be done by a few people, and they produce a voluminous text whose contents amount to very little. As media, you are free to critique its composition and make up your mind,” said Dr Mahoso.
The 666-page IMPI report, officially presented to authorities in April 2015, was a result of almost one year of extensive outreach work done by media stakeholders at the behest of then Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Professor Jonathan Moyo.
Although the report was generally well-received as critical in improving operations of the media in Zimbabwe, government has sat on it ever since its release.
Among other things, the report notes that corruption has permeated the media industry and journalism standards have declined.
It recommends that repressive laws like the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) be reviewed in line with the new Constitution.
“In the long term, there should be constitutional and legislative shift to allow self-regulation of the media, in line with regional and international standards,” reads part of the report.local

MASVINGO – People who took part in an election debate organised by the Election Resource Centre (ERC) at Flamboyant Hotel last Thursday afternoon expressed displeasure with the requirement for proof of residence for one to be registered as a voter.
Many people who made contributions at the event, which had Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa as host, made it clear they do not see the reason why they should prove their village of origin when that information is already captured on the national identity card.
“Some of us are here in town but we want to be registered as voters back in our rural homes. The problem is that we are still required to produce a letter from the village head confirming that we are resident is his village. There is no logic in that because village of origin is one of the particulars captured on the ID card,” said one participant.
There were also complaints that the proof of residence requirement disenfranchises the youth because the overwhelming majority of them do not have houses of their own.
“It is being said the country needs young people to vote but that is not going to be possible because the youth are the least likely to get those documents. They don’t have houses of their own and they have to do all the pleading with parents and landlords to get that proof,” another participant said.
National People’s Party (NPP) spokesperson Jeffryson Chitando, who was one of the panelists, criticised the Zimbabwe Electoral commission (Zec) for failing to engage political parties on the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR).
“Political parties are major stakeholder but there has never been any meeting with us. That is the reason why there is so much ignorance and a lot of misconceptions about the process,” said Chitando.
MDC-T secretary general Doulas Mwonzora expressed concern over the hassles that people are encountering to get proof of residence but urged people to do all they should do to be on the new voters roll.
“Young people should particularly be encouraged to vote in their numbers. When Rex Nhongo and Josiah Tongogara liberated this country, they were younger than many of us here. As the MDC-T, we say the election should accord the secrecy of the vote, the security of the vote and the security of the voter,” said Mwonzora.
Gutu South Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Paul Chimedza, who was recently appointed Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs, said Zanu PF was hard at work mobilising its supporters to register to vote.
“There are some challenges being talked about for instance the distance some people in rural areas have to walk to get to the registration centres but generally, the exercise is going on very well. As a party, we are busy mobilising our people to register to vote,” said Dr Chimedza.local

MWENEZI – Church leaders and other ordinary Christians who recently gathered at Rutenga growth point under the banner of the newly-formed Zimbabwe Anointed Church Leaders Association (ZACLA) were urged to observe the country’s laws and refrain from marrying underage children.
The congregation, which also witnessed the handover of certificates of recognition to 23 ZACLA affiliate bishops, was attended by ordinary people, councillors, Chief Neshuro and the District Administrator (DA) Rosemary Chingwe who was the guest of honour.
Addressing the gathering, ZACLA president Bishop Obed Shoko urged fellow bishops and Christians to observe the laws of the country by refraining from getting children into abusive marriages.
“To fellow bishops, the certificates we issued are not a passport to steal from worshippers. You should be exemplary in the discharge of God’s duties. We want Bishops who strictly observe the laws of the country as guaranteed as required by the Constitution.
“We do not tolerate bishops who marry young children under the guise of religion. You should urge fellow worshippers to refrain from such unholy behaviour or risk the full wrath of the law,” said Shoko.
In a side interview, Bishop Shoko said his newly formed association – which was launched in the district early September – is expected go on a membership recruitment drive in other parts of the province.
He added that by end of this year, his organisation will have a national footprint.local

Nyasha Marumbi

BIKITA – Bikita Forum, a non-profit organisation put together by local people, last Saturday, October 28, held a free-of-charge medical outreach which saw 400 people receiving free medical treatment at Mtikizizi Clinic as part of the group’s attempts to make a change in the community.
The initiative saw doctors and nurses from hospitals and clinics around the district attending to patients suffering from various ailments.
Notable contributions came from influential people such as Sudden Makuwe who donated US$250 worth of fuel, local Members of Parliament Jeppy Jaboon and Beauty Chabaya as well as Senator Ellen Rungani who made a substantial monetary contribution.
Other notable people present were former Bikita Rural District Council Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Johnson Mupamhadzi, incumbent Chief Marozva Solomon Mudhe and Tongai Wharu, who represented the Minister of Health and Child Welfare.
The response from villagers was so overwhelming that doctors ran out of medicine and some patients had to go back home without full medical attention.
Lucy Chivasa, a legal practitioner who is also a member of Bikita Forum, thanked all members and community leaders for working together to bring relief to the people of the district.
 “As an organisation, we are very much open for donations from all like-minded people and organisations so that we can spread the charity initiative. We want to come up with something bigger and better next time,” said Chivasa.local