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Senior council officials forced to relinquish political posts

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Senior council officials forced to relinquish political posts
By Itai Muzondo
Masvingo City councilors have instructed the town Clerk Adolf Gusha to inform all municipal officials to immediately resign from their political offices to avoid losing their jobs.
Debating the issue in the full council meeting recently, all the ten councilors unanimously agreed that there was need to follow the country’s constitution section 266 (3) which states that employees of provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities must not be office-bearers of any political party.
 Ward five councilor Daniel Mberikunashe said it is the town clerk’s mandate to write to all employees that they cannot hold political positions and be council workers at the same time though the right to support a political party of their choice is reserved.
“We urge you to write to all council departments that they cannot hold political positions and be council employees at the same time though we do not necessarily mean that they cannot support their respective political parties,” said Mberikunashe.
Ward seven councilor Richard Musekiwa said councilors came to this decision as they saw the implications of not aligning to the constitution saying they were being given politically biased advice which then affected their operations.


Masvingo Town Clerk Adolf Gusha
 
“At first we never saw the importance of implementing such constitutional clauses but with the turn of events at Garikai ‘Chitima’ market, the implications have caught up with us. We reluctantly accepted pseudo advice which was influenced by political ambitions,” Musekiwa said.
Gusha neither denied nor accepted the constitutional clause but argued that he could not do the mandated job by councilors as it has not yet been put in an act of law.
“I cannot do that right away as you are basing your argument on the constitution. What you must also think about is that there is no law upon which I can implement that in Zimbabwe. The best I can promise is to give you feedback of how I can handle that after I make legal consultations,” said Gusha.
Councilors however, threatened to bring their own legal expert to clarify the issue if Gusha takes long to solve the problem.
“The only resolution we can come up with on this issue is that we give the Town Clerk time to make his consultations but if he delays, we will bring in our own legal expert to iron out the issue because there is no compromise on issues of the constitution,” said ward 4 councilor Godfrey Kurauone.
Tell Zimbabwe has been informed that the Chief Health Officer at the council Zvapano Munganasa is also the current Zanu PF provincial secretary for health. Munganasa who is in the Mnangagwa camp is also eyeing Gutu East constituency come 2018.
“The major problem is that instead of giving technical advice to councilors especially on the recent flea market problems, Munganasa was giving party factional advice. He was not able to challenge Zanu PF leadership because he is  also among them.
“The worst situation is when Munganasa acts as a class monitor in chambers making sure that all councilors from his party will not go against him,” said a source who refused to be named.
MDC-T councilors said even those who were holding positions in their party were supposed to make quick decisions on whether they want jobs or politics. Sources say most top council officials have positions at ward levels.
Meanwhile, the public demands that all civil servants must not hold political posts with the ministry of youth topping the most corrupted sector in Masvingo.
A lot of Zanu PF youth executive members are also doubling as youth officers for example losing candidate for ward nine Biggie Kwangwa is the party’s commissar in the ward and  officially works as a youth officer. Other civil servants Mucharevei Chamisa (nurse) who is provincial political commissar and John Chitoro (teacher) who is vice provincial youth chairperson were urged to relinquish their political posts.local

Local TV show re-brands to assume an international ‘feel’

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Local TV show re-brands to assume an international ‘feel’

‘Masvingo Swag’, Wezhira TV’s magazine
show presented by Candice Masimba, has re-branded to ‘Masvingo Glam’.
Season 2 of the show premieres online this Friday the 10th of April
2015. Speaking at the re-branding ceremony held at Wezhira TV studios,
Candice Masimba said she was aiming for an international audience.

Magical Films director Mr Edward Chombe said he welcomed the move which
was spearheaded by the filmmaking company’s research and development
officer Miss Linda Macheka.
‘I am happy that we are gradually moving away from thinking inside the
box and taking a bold step towards making our programmes look appealing
to a wider audience.’

The
season 2 premiere has a special feature on the recently held Masvingo
Music Awards, a show organised by P ‘n’ P Global Marketing. In the new
show Candice carries herself like an international entertainment presenter. The show
only had a large bearing on the youth and the producers of the show are
hoping that the it will now be followed by a mature audience as well
because of its emphasis on glamour instead of the youthful swag.

The executive producer of the show Vimbai Mbire said the second season
will run for 13 episodes and so far, six episodes have already been
produced. Vimbai also added that international and local distributors
will be approached to help in the distribution and marketing of the
show.

Parks starts capturing crocodiles in Mazare area

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Parks starts capturing crocodiles in Mazare area
Lloyd Shunje

The National Parks and Wildlife Management has started the process of capturing crocodiles that were causing havoc in the area for a long time now, Tell Zimbabwe has been informed.
The move came at a time when the community had petitioned the government demanding the removal of crocodiles since they were attacking and killing both people and livestock.
When the community first complained about crocodiles, Parks responded saying the reptiles were only going to be removed when they enter into people’s homes. However, it did not take time before the crocodiles killed a 16-year-old herd-boy Shingirai Mangwengwe leaving the community without option besides petitioning the government.



Some beef producers were already considering relocating saying crocodiles killed more than 40 cattle so far.
Masvingo Beef Producers Association chairperson Robert Makado, however, said they acknowledged efforts to remove crocodiles but the community would be grateful once all the crocodiles are captured.
 “We are living in fear because until the remaining crocodiles are captured people and our are still at risk”, said Makado.
National Parks spokesperson Caroline Washaya-Moyo could neither confirm nor deny the development saying she was yet to receive the report from the provincial office.local

Councillor Chiteme in solo clean-up campaign at Chitima

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Councillor Chiteme in solo clean-up campaign at Chitima
By Itai Muzondo
In a move dubbed by some as sardonic, ward eight Councillor, Against Chiteme on Easter Monday staged a clean – up campaign at Garikai flea market popularly known as Chitima  saying as the market had gone for weeks without garbage collection.
In an interview, Chiteme said the lack of Masvingo City Council’s attention to the looming health disaster at Chitima required the need for a clean-up campaign at the city’s largest fruit and vegetables market.
“This is a real health time bomb as referred to by the media in many occasions and is set upon my ward. I am forced to do this using my own resources because if for example a cholera outbreak explodes, it is my ward which is at risk,” said Chiteme.


Chiteme said the reaction from fellow councillors would not deter him, adding that his major concern was  to maintain a clean working environment for the vendors.
“Even if management blasts me over the clean-up campaign I do not mind because I have helped them in what they have failed to do. I also look forward to do this as long as council does not collect garbage in this ward,” said Chiteme.
The Chitima committee Vice – Chairperson, Shepherd Mungwaru  said despite the clean – up campaign being somewhat sardonic, vendors recognise and applaud the councillor’s effort which shows that he is geared to help the people where the council fails.
“This clean-up campaign is ironic as council has failed to clean up the market for quite a while. We are however happy about what Chiteme did for us today because it shows that he is there to represent the people though in most cases council fail to deliver to the plights of the people he presents to them,” said Mungwaru.
A vendor, Charles Madhuura welcomed Chiteme’s campaign and said they are however operating in fear as they do not know what the council has in store for them since the March 16 demonstrations which saw council not collecting a single cent to date.
“I am grateful to what Chiteme has done though vendors are operating in fear as they do not know what the council has in store for them since the demonstrations. This is because they have not collected garbage or revenue as usual from the stalls which makes us think they are neglecting us,” said Madhuura.local

JCI Zimbabwe, Ras Caleb on US$370 000 Tokwe – Mkosi project

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JCI Zimbabwe, Ras Caleb on US$370 000 Tokwe – Mkosi project
By Itai Muzondo
The Tokwe – Mkosi hit maker, Caleb ‘Ras Caleb’ Tareka in collaboration with Junior Chambers International Zimbabwe (JCI) have launched a US$370 000 project which will see the construction of a primary school for Tokwe-Murkosi flood victims.
JCI Public Relations Officer, Paidamoyo Mafunda confirmed the development saying the project is already in course and they have also engaged government in the development activities at Tokwe-Murkosi.
“I can confirm that we are working on the project and it is in full swing. We approached government on how we could help and a range of problems including food, healthcare and education arose for which we decided to chip in with providing an educational facility,” Mafunda said.
“Minister Shuvai Mahofa has given us land at Chiwumburu farm where the flood victims are being moved to for the construction of the school. The US$370 000 project will definitely be a success and it will be a state of the art facility,” she said.
“The former Reserve Bank Governor , Gideon Gono also donated a brick moulding machine worth ZAR25 000 for the project to move on so I can safely say we are up to achieving the  project,” said Mafunda.
Ras Caleb said he was happy to be involved in the project and said he never expected that the message he was bringing across through music would gain such attention.
“I am pleased to be involved in such a striking and helpful project at a time I least expected that my message about the Tokwe – Mkosi disaster through music would have such an impact for the nation as whole.
“The other interesting thing about the project I was engaged in with JCI is that it is not spoon feeding the victims but employing them as they are involved in the school construction for available payments. Through the project we also wish that by the completion of the project that the general populace would have acquired different skills which will help them to make an income for living in life,” said Ras Caleb.
Masvingo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Shuvai Mahofa said she is proud to be working with such innovative and productive young minds and promised to help them in any way possible.

“I am proud to be working with such innovative and productive young minds. I was surprised to see that they had already engaged the locals in moulding 160 000 bricks which I will help them ship from where they are to Chiwumburu farm where the flood victims are being resettled. I have also made land available for their project so that the villagers will have an educational facility constructed for them,” said Mahofa.
JCI Zimbabwe is an international based youth based organisation that aims to provide to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change.local

Wezhira’s 2015 Easter prayer

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Wezhira’s 2015 Easter prayer
Wezhira’s 2015 Easter prayer
 …. May our leaders remember that they are not God themselves
By Golden Maunganidze

This is Easter holiday and Wezhira being a God fearing man encourages everyone to close their eyes in order for him to pray. Wezhira, however, is aware that there are some people who will never close their eyes because they believe that they are too big for that. They have no conscience at all. They have no one to respect because to them everything is possible. Dont think they are encouraged by Matthew 17 verse 20  which demonstrates  how faith can make all things possible.
No. It’s not that they dont know that above all there is God. It is because their political power and muscles have allowed them to do anything and they have remained unanswerable to their illegal actions. No police officer or court has the power to reprimand them… they are a law unto themselves. It is therefore against this background that they have persuaded themselves into believing that by some chance they are going to sweet-talk death so that they will not die. I say this because if they knew that one day they will die, surely they were going to revise their ways so that they treat all human beings equally. It is this reason that I dont care whether they close their eyes or not as I pray.


Either ways my prayer continues because I believe, one day God will hear the cries of the people in my beloved Zimbabwe. God, may Zimbabwe be cleansed of corrupt leaders. They are many and they continue to multiply. Even the President of this country knows that they are there. He promised to have them arrested and rot in Zimbabwean jails where they are likely to have soup as their meals seven days per week. We pray that you give our law enforcement agencies power and energy to arrest these corrupt leaders. Of late we have seen Zanu PF bigwigs being fired from the party over corruption but up to now no one of them has been arrested or convicted. We continue to wonder whether the allegations levelled against them are real or imagined because if they are really corrupt, God, we expect to see them in jails.
Again we continue to wonder whether the fisherman has mastered a skill to capture everything from Kapenta fish to the big fish. We are extremely worried as we believe the small fish is captured while the big fish is immune to the fisherman’s hook. However, we continue to pray that our country is cleansed of corrupt leaders.
God, may Zimbabwe be cleansed of leaders who abuse power. We pray for leaders who genuinely address the people’s plight Lord. Just recently, we were praying for sanitation facilities at popular flea markets in our city, Masvingo and the response that we are getting from our leaders is not sweet for our ears. We heard that they accepted to slash daily fees collected from stall owners from $2 to $1 but our joy was short-lived since we now hear that the flea market has been turned into a certain political party’s cooperative. That political party’s membership card is now your gate pass to the market. Forgive me for forgetting the name of the party but listeners can quickly remember the name of that party God. We therefore pray for leaders who respect human rights. We hear a certain man was abducted in Harare and its now more than three weeks and the government has no clue of his whereabouts. Can you give our leaders energy and wisdom to value human life!  
God, may Zimbabwe be cleansed of sycophantic public. We have people among ourselves who have lost conscience. All they want to do is to give undue praise to the leaders and in the process of such dangerous hero-worshipping, they make our leaders believe that they are God. We pray for a responsible government which respects its people through fulfilling its obligations without compromise.
God, may Zimbabwe be cleansed of employers who dont respect labour laws. Due to high unemployment rate in this country, employees are abused and exploited every day. Companies are going for months before paying their employees and as if not to be outdone, the government has also joined in taking ages before paying its workers.
God, may Zimbabwe be cleansed of all deadly diseases. As I pray, I am aware that there is high likelihood of a cholera outbreak as municipalities are not able to collect rubbish. We dont want to be reminded about 2008 cholera outbreak which wiped out a sizable number of our church mates and friends.
Over and above all Lord, may our leaders and their followers fear God. May they always remember they are not God themselves and will die someday.
Amen!!
Until then, we continue to say Wezhira Wati wahwei? Send feedback and comments to editor@tell.co.zw

Former MDC-T councillor rescues Ethiopian national in Masvingo

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Former MDC-T councillor rescues Ethiopian national in Masvingo
Tell Reporter
Former Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) councillor for ward six (6) David Vasivenyu Chingombe has rescued Haile Glselassie – an Ethiopian who had lost his house to a friend in Masvingo recently.
Chingombe who got powers of attorney over Glselassie’s house number 37 Rhus Avenue in Rhodene had to endure a three-year long court battle in order to get back the ownership of the house which had been transferred to  one Norman Chakanyuka through fake court papers.
Speaking to Tell Zimbabwe soon after winning the case last week, Glselassie who is now based in Addis Ababa said the Zimbabwean courts were fair and just.
David Vasivenyu Chingombe
“I am happy to get my house back. There is rule of law in Zimbabwe. Although it took us almost three years, Chingombe fought until we got my house back and I am very grateful,” said Glselassie.
Glselassie bought the house in 2002 when he was based in Masvingo working for World Food Programme (WFP) and when he was transferred to Liberia in 2005, he left the house being manned by Chakanyuka who later used fake documents to get ownership of the property.
“I am happy that we managed to evict people who were staying in the house as we were given the house back to us by the courts,” said Chingombe.Local

Lightning kills Village head, aide in Zaka

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Lightning kills Village head, aide in Zaka
Tell Reporter
ZAKA-  What started as a normal rain took deadly turn when a lightning bolt struck  and killed Tapanya village head and his aide under Chief Nhema in Zaka on Sunday afternoon.
The incident took place while the village head together with turns of people were enjoying traditional beer at Denis Mataruse’s homestead.
Sources said while they know that lightning can strike and kill people, what made this incident more shocking was that the village head was inside the house and his aide was in the company of other villagers outside.
According to villagers, how lightning picked the duo from the crowd remains a mystery.
“There were light drizzle and we never thought it would turn violent. We were also shocked at how lightning picked village head and his aide while they were not seated near each other,” said the source.

Chief Nhema confirmed the incident but could not be drawn into giving further comments.
The incident brings the number of people killed by lightning in Masvingo province to 13 since the beginning of the rain season.local

Mahofa 1 – Masvingo City Council 0

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Mahofa 1 – Masvingo City Council 0

By Itai Muzondo

In a sudden turn of events, the newly appointed Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Shuvai Mahofa has won the battle over the reduction of vendors' daily tax charged by the Masvingo City Council at Chitima flea market.

Following demonstrations by Masvingo Residents Trust (MRT) over high tax which was being charged, Mahofa took the opportunity and joined the campaign to lower the charges from $2 to $1 last week. However, her campaign met stiff resistance from councillors who claimed that they were not able to cut the tax over night.

Humbled ….. Masvingo Mayor Hubert Fidze


When it was almost obvious that Mahofa had lost the battle, she engaged Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development, Ignatious Chombo over the issue. Chombo swiftly moved in and gave a directive that they reduce the tax to a dollar with immediate effect.

A source from Masvingo City Council said Chombo demanded that they (council) give in Mahofa’s order which they have since done with effect from March 30 2015.

“Council should obey Mahofa’s instruction because two dollars as levy on a market that houses 1 200 vendors with no considerable development seen to benefit the stallholders,” said the source who refused to be named.

Masvingo Mayor, Hubert Fidze confirmed the development but expressed concern saying it would slow progress at the market because the reduction of revenue affects the annual budget.

"It is true we have reduced vendor levy at Chitima to one dollar. This will, however, not stop our proposed developments as we wish to complete the toilets and add extra stalls to make them 2000 but it will be slowed due to reduced revenue. The condensed revenue simply means our annual budget has been affected," said Fidze.

Fruit and vegetables Chairperson at Chitima market, Tarisai Katini was not available for comment by time of publication.local

Chivi councillor urges Mahofa to speak truth

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Chivi councillor urges Mahofa to speak truth
… minister equates Chingwizi to Sodom and Gomorrah 

By Itai Muzondo
Chivi rural district councillor and Zimbabwe Cross Boarder Traders Association of Zimbabwe president Killer Zivhu has challenged the newly appointed Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Shuvai Ben Mahofa to consistently speak the truth and fulfill her promises so that her term will see considerable development for the province.
In his speech at the welcome celebrations hosted by his association for Mahofa in Chiredzi recently, Zivhu urged the minister to hold on to her promises so as to bring relief and development to the province.
“We as cross boarder traders felt that we should welcome you to our province. Our biggest hope is however that you fulfill the promises you have given to the beloved people of Masvingo Province. We also hope that your contributions will bring development and relief to Masvingo as a whole,” Zivhu said.

              Shuvai Mahofa
However, Mahofa said her task as a minister was very challenging. She said her first mission in the province was to make sure that she puts to rest the issue of Tokwe-Mkosi flood victims. The victims were relocated to Chingwizi last year but Mahofa equated Chingwizi to a biblical Sodom and Gomorrah. She promised to further relocate the people to Chiumburu farm – about 200 km south of Chingwizi.
“I accept the plea from Zivhu that I should speak the truth all the time. I want to promise you that we will be together all the time – I have an open door policy. Soon after my appointment, I immediately addressed the Chingwizi problem and the victims are soon going to Chiumburu farm,” said Mahofa.
However, investigations by Tell Zimbabwe reveal that Chiumburu farm is worse than Chingwizi since there is no source of water.
Some prospective beneficiaries of the development said they were not going to accept the offer since have since managed to build permanent structures.local
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