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CHIREDZI – The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) has told small-scale sugarcane farmers that there is enough water to irrigate cane for the whole 2017 cropping season.
Addressing farmers at the Commercial Sugarcane Famers Association in Zimbabwe (CSFAZ) annual general meeting (AGM) in Hippo Valley last Friday, Zinwa regional manager Peter Shotere said the water utility was in a good position to meet demand.
“This year, we have enough water so we will give you 100 percent of the water you need but you should maintain your canals and utilise the water sparingly so that we do not waste water on nothing,” said Shotere.
He also applauded sugarcane farmers in areas like Mkwasine, Nandi, and Mapanza for timely settling their water bills but admonished small-scale sugarcane farmers in Hippo Valley Estates for failing to settle their water bills in time.
“Farmers in Mkwasine, Nandi and Mapanza have been complying very well in terms of settling their water bills and we do not have problems with them but we have problems with farmers from Hippo Valley. Since the Land Reform Programme, they are not paying their water bills well,” said Shotere.
CSFAZ chairperson Tawanda Mafurutu said they had facilitated an arrangement whereby their affiliate farmers in Hippo Valley pay the outstanding money after an agreed reconciliation.
“We engaged Zinwa on water arrears for the Hippo Valley farmers and resolved that farmers will pay after an agreed reconciliation through a payment plan,” said Mafurutu.
Mafurutu also said the water they harvested in their own dams will see them to the next season as most of the dams are full.local

Cephas Shava

MWENEZI – Lovemore Chuma, a village head who was earlier this year convicted by Chief Chitanga’s court for engaging in an adulterous affair with the wife of his younger cousin brother has appealed his sentence with the Magistrate’s Court
Chuma, who is Mushayavanhu village head, was ordered by the traditional court to pay four beasts as compensation for having an affair with the wife of him namesake cousin, Lovemore Chuma MB.
The judgement was passed after the village head had pleaded guilty to the charges of having an affair with Chuma MB’s wife but he now wants to appeal the judgement which he feels is too harsh for the committed offence.
Since the time to directly appeal has lapsed in light of the time that has passed since Chief Chitanga’s judgement, the village head, through his lawyer Joseph Maweni has applied for condonation in conjunction with an appeal.
Maweni told magistrate Honest Musiiwa that when the Chief’s judgement was made, his client was absent and the fine in the form of four beasts was too high.
However, giving his side of the story in court, Chuma MB said on the day the Chief’s judgement was granted, Chuma CB was present and he admitted to the charges he was convicted of.
Magistrate Musiiwa was due to give ruling on the consideration of condonation and appeal by the time of writing.local

Shumirai Zhou

ZVISHAVANE – A Zvishavane businessman and his four colleagues are in trouble after they were caught by the anti-corruption team and police for violating procedures of buying and transporting cattle.
Tyson Phiri, who owns the BB butchery in Mandava and his colleagues Kenny Matondo, Abisha Msindo, Law Msindo and Admonish Siziba recently spent a night behind bars after being found guilty of buying cattle and transporting them without a clearance from the veterinary and police.
It was heard that they bought three cattle from Akim Mpala and Alfred Kangombe both of New Canaan village from Debia, Insiza on credit and failed to pay.
“On 2 July, 2017 we sold three cattle to Tyson, one from Mpala and two were mine on credit saying he will pay within seven days but he failed to pay.
“We then approached the anti-corruption team in Zvishavane for help. Thus when we discovered that what happened in the buying of our cattle was unlawful, the police in Gwamanyanga base produced a clearance form without visiting the scene where the cattle were bought,” said Kangombe.
Zvishavane anti-corruption member Marxwell Moyo said he phoned the police who cleared the cattle and visited the scene.
“As an anti-corruption team, we made investigations on whether Tyson Phiri and his colleagues had followed required procedures in buying the cattle and when we discovered that they had not, we then approached the police and set a trap for them.
“The team was intercepted at the BB Butchery in Mandava upon delivering five slaughtered cattle but could not produce any clearance from the police and a veterinary permit. It was also discovered that for all the beef in the butchery, no clearance procedures were made,” said Moyo.local

MUTARE – A 50-year-old Sakubva white garment apostolic church self-proclaimed prophet will spend the next seven months behind bars for conning his clients.
Ernest Chabata of NHB Sakubva in Mutare was convicted of theft on his own plea of guilty by Mutare magistrate Lazarus Murendo and was charged with theft as defined in section 113 of Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act, Chapter 9:23.
 Chabata will serve an effective seven months jail term after three months were suspended on condition of good behavior with two more months set to be lifted if he pays back the US$160 he stole.
The court heard that Chabata approached Brian Jani’s wife and told her that he had a bad dream about the couple and it needed special prayers.
The couple agreed and a cleansing ceremony was held after the couple paid US$50 for it. Later on Chabata told the couple that he had seen another vision that threatens to wipe out the couple’s savings.
He then told the couple to bring to him all their money for a yet another cleansing session. Jani gave him US$160 which Chabata was supposed to cleanse overnight and bring it back but he instead went away and did not return.
A police report was made leading to his arrest.local

…principal vanishes with staff salaries

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CHIREDZI – The principal of a new private college called Tamar Academy is nowhere to be found barely two months after opening the school, leaving his staff in a quandary as he had not paid their salaries.
Tamar Academy is situated at stand number 1189 West Road, Tshovani Township, and it started enrolling pupils in March.
Some teachers told TellZim News that when they were employed in February by Luke Mahlupeko, who was the principal, they signed contract forms which stated that they were going to get between US$200 to US$300 salaries at the end of every month.
They said at the end of March, they did not receive any cash and were told that they should stop coming to work and wait for their salaries to be processed but nothing happened.
They finally decided to go back to the academy and check on progress but were shocked to find that the school was now being run by a different director under a different name.
“We started working from 1 March up to the day we closed schools in April but we were never given anything. He only told us that he was working on paying our salaries,” said the teacher.
Another teacher, Takura Mahlatini said Mahlupeko threatened him with unspecified action when he called him to ask about the money.
“He threatened to deal with anybody who goes against him saying he was a member of the President’s Office (CIO) and since then, I stopped asking for my money,” said Mahlatini.
Former Chiredzi District Education Officer (DEO) Asaniel Chauke, who was left in charge of the academy when Mahlupeko left, told TellZim News the academy will be registered under a different.
“Tamar Academy is now a closed chapter. I was left as teacher-in-charge at the institution because I was also employed there as an English teacher. Mahlupeko left me to take care of the institution when he left in May. He never returned and we are working on starting a new thing and we are organising to register the college under a different name,” said Chauke.
He also told TellZim News that during their time at Tamar Academy, nobody received any salary.
Attempts to get a comment from Mahlupeko were fruitless as his phone continuously went unanswered.local

CHIREDZI – Members of the Commercial Sugarcane Farmers Association of Zimbabwe (CSFAZ) have come out guns blazing against their leaders whom they accuse of mismanaging the organisation and taking wrong investment decision leading to massive losses.
The discontent became apparent in the association’s annual general meeting (AGM) held at Polo Cross in Hippo Valley last week.
The members accused management of detouring from the association’s core business of ensuring the viability of farming ventures while investing funds in lossmaking enterprises.
One of the members, Tungamirai Rukatya, who is former Medical Superintendent at Chiredzi General Hospital, said he was not happy with the executive’s poor management of assets.

“The objective of the association is to make sure that the farmer is viable and that he is being properly represented. The Association should not engage in business where it ends up competing with its members, a situation which leads to all the problems that we have. Our trucks are making huge losses and we can’t afford that,” said Rukatya.
Another member, Veronica Makonese criticised management for allegedly stifling free speech and called for the respect of the principle of accountability.
“We don’t have freedom of speech here and that is very bad. Everyone should be free to express his/her views and our questions should be properly answered,” Makonese said.

… as association guns for Musikavanhu

Beatific Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI – Aspiring Chiredzi West Zanu PF Member of Parliament Farai Musikavanhu, who is former agriculture director at Tongaat Hullet Zimbabwe and a member of the Commercial Sugarcane Farmers Association of Zimbabwe (CSFAZ), was blamed for the problems facing the association.
During the AGM, CSFAZ chairperson Tawanda Mafurutu and incumbent Chiredzi West MP Darlington Chiwa charged that Musikavanhu, who is now also a member of the association, had used his time at Tongaat Hullet to create the dispute between Tongaat Hullet and sugarcane farmers over Division of Proceeds (DOP).
DOP is the monetary ratio which Tongaat Hullet, as the miller of all sugarcane in Chiredzi, charges farmers for processing every tone of sugarcane into raw sugar.
In 2014, the Industry and trade ministry set the provisional DOP at 18 percent for the miller, meaning the farmer walked away with 82 percent.
However, an independent consultant called Ernst & Young was later consulted leading to recommendations that the actual rate should be 23 percent for the miller and 77 percent for the farmer.
This meant that the farmer had been unduly profiting at the expense of the miller, forcing Tongaat Hullet to institute measures to recover that money, much to the chagrin of the farmers.
At the AGM Mafurutu said he had asked Musikavanhu to help resolve the issue by giving a detailed presentation of what really transpired when he was still with the sugar giant to enable the association to seek intervention from Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“…. I told Musikavanhu that you are the architect of these problems we are facing and you need to resolve them before seeking public office. So we invited him to write a detailed report which we presented to the Vice President so he could intervene,” said Mafurutu.
Chiwa, who was also given the podium by public demand, took the opportunity to attack Musikavanhu, urging farmers not to trust him as he was the cause of all their problems.
“My operations are quite different with what aspiring candidates do. I am the centre for information and you should consult me on issues to do with policy making….Musikavanhu calculated these issues when he was still at Tongaat Hullet and the farmer is now being milked dry,” Chiwa alleged.

CSFAZ chairperson Tawanda Mafurutu, however, defended the leadership of the association and challenged members to report issues in the proper way without going public.
 “Rukatya you are my nephew and you also have a big farm and you are still borrowing inputs and you are even failing to pay your debts because of the economic challenges we have. You should have approached me and told me how we were supposed to handle the issues, rather than letting them spill out like this,” said Mafurutu.
The chairperson’s annual report indicated that the association’s two trucks failed to generate a single cent in profit last year.
“We have two trucks under our fleet and truck ABQ 6455 had one major breakdown in October 2016 and was repaired in November 2016. A total of 95 loads were ferried in the period under review giving us a total of $63641 and total expenditure of $64 540,” said Mafurutu.local

Exsto Makunzva

ZVISHAVANE – A leading school uniform company, Shear Fashion International (SFI) has boldly entered the Zvishavane business scene after establishing a new shop.
After just a few week operating in the mining town, the school wear business has already proven its mettle, with customers finding its products being of high quality.
SFI director Lovemore Njera said the future looked bright owing to the value for money that customers are guaranteed when they buy from the shop.
“We thank all our customers who have found it worthwhile to buy school wear from us with special credit going to Shabani Primary School. Our main factory is based in Kwekwe where quality school uniforms are made to the specifications of our clients.
It is through the support of our clients in Zvishavane that we have decided to bring our products closer to our local stakeholders,” said Njera.
Njera, who is an auditor by profession, used to work for Zisco Steel but got into the textile industry through his wife Sheila, a school teacher who specialised in fashion and fabrics.
“We started as a home industry in Redcliff and later opened a shop in town. Now, we have-state-of-the-art machinery and we are now competitive on the market with dozens of employees,” said Njera.local

Elliot Jinjika

CHIVHU – A businessman who owns Mukopa Enterprises operating at Vics Tarven complex was left devastated last week after thieves broke into his fully-packed shop in the dead of the night and stole goods with an estimated worth of over US$3 000.
The shop sells different types of goods from electrical appliances, furniture, clothing, jewellery and groceries.
Bags of clothing, electrical gadgets and groceries that had recently been ordered from South Africa were stolen, adding to the worries of growing crime in the small town.
“A number of goods including jewellery, electrical appliances and others with a total value of over $3000 were stolen. I cannot mention all the goods because as you can see, this shop was a jerk of all trades as I sell different goods under one roof,” said Mukopa.
Mukopa criticised the lax security in the town due to what he indicated to be misplaced priorities on the part of the police.
“The police are doing nothing. Countless similar incidences have been reported before but it is still happening every second day. They are doing nothing and nothing at all. The way they dealt with our matter was so pathetic.
“How can a professional policeman write a statement concerning a burglary case at the police camp without even bothering to go to the scene and then spend the nights at night clubs instead of patrolling areas with businesses and properties that bring money to this town,” said a furious Mukopa.
The police were not immediately available to respond to concerns that they are concentrating their energies in non-critical areas.local

ZAKA – The government is set to establish a new irrigation scheme in headman Mushaya’s area under Chief Bota, with the idea of improving agricultural production among the local people.
Last week Zaka West legislator Vincent Mawere and Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Davies Marapira toured the site of the proposed irrigation scheme.
The project, which is known as the Mushaya Irrigation Scheme, would be the second biggest in the district if developed and will draw its water from Bangala Dam.
Mawere said he was happy that government had heeded calls for such a project in the area which is blessed with large water bodies that supply the Lowveld sugarcane plantations.
“Zaka is blessed with water; we have Bangala, Manjirenji and Siya dams and other smaller ones but we have not been benefiting from that water. I’m happy now that the government through the Ministry of Agriculture have noticed that,” said Mawere.
On the same note, Marapira praised Mawere for working hard to bring development to the people he represents.
“I want to assure you that the government will do its best to make this project a success. It has been on cards since 1990 before being raised again in 1997.
It is now time for implementation and the government will do whatever it takes to make it work. People are going to benefit from the Presidential Input Scheme and Command Agriculture once the project kicks off,” Marapira said.
Zaka District Administrator (DA) Victor Zinanga urged people to unite and embrace the project by providing labour when the time comes.
“Avoid gossiping, and simple politics that hinder development. Unite and make this project a success. I urge you to cooperate and provide labour for you will be the beneficiaries of this project,” said Zinanga
The irrigation measures about 100 hectares and lies along Mutirikwi River just a stone throw from the Bangala Dam wall.local

Godhat Dunira