…Masvingo magistrate laments increase in rape cases

Rutendo Chirume

Masvingo regional magistrate Patience Madondo has lamented the surge in numbers of rape cases in the province and country at large saying penalties of rapists should be extremely stiff, imploring the State not to have any pity on such perpetrators.
She said this on April 20, during court case proceedings for a 56-year-old man who was found guilty for raping his 13-year-old step daughter.
While giving judgment, Madondo referred to the case of another 32-year-old rape convict who was found guilty of raping his two teenage daughters, together with many other cases of rape.
She said cases of rape in the province had become very high especially on minors leaving them exposed to pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and sometimes early marriages.
“You have taken your right to be a father and as such you do not deserve any sympathy from the State because people like you do not have any conscience. Just like the case of (name of another rape convict withheld) who was tried at the High Court and the recent case of a father who raped his own two daughters, you too deserve a stiffer punishment.
“Cases of rape in Masvingo province are becoming very high; cases of children in particular and that leaves them exposed to pregnancy, STIs and sometimes forced child marriages. Your bad deeds far outweigh your good and as such, I am compelled to sentence you to 20 years imprisonment but because you acknowledged your crime and pleaded guilty , you will serve 17 effective years while three years will suspended for five years on condition that you do not repeat the same offense,” said Madondo.
The 13 year-old victim broke into tears before the court as she relived the horror incident of how her step father raped and threatened to kill her if she divulged to anyone that she had been raped.
“I was at home alone on April 1, around 4pm when (step) father arrived. My mother and other brothers were herding cattle while the other one was at school. “He approached me and said he wanted to marry me. I tried to move away and that is when he grabbed me with both hands and dragged me to the bedroom. He locked the door and raped me twice. After that he ordered me to accompany him to our neighbor to collect his radio. Along the way he threatened that he will assault and kill me if I tell my mother or anyone what had happened. I did not get to the neighbor’s homestead because he ordered me to go back home,” she said.
Whilst the accused was of raping his stepdaughter, the victim’s young brother who was at school arrived home and heard the noise.
When he went towards the bedroom he realized that the door was locked before peeping through the window and noticed what was happening after which he left his books and followed his mother and brother to the grazing area but could not find them and returned home.
Around 1900 hours when they came back, the young brother approached his mother and told her what had happened, after which she reported the matter at Nyika police base leading to arrest of the perpetrator.
Statistics from Zimbabwe Gender Commission show that 22 women are raped daily ,one in every 75 minutes and on average 646 women are sexually abused monthly, with one in three girls raped or sexually assaulted before they reach 18.

Melinda Kusemachibi

Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ)-run Zimuto High School continues basking in educational glory after an impressive performance by its 2021 exam classes.
Despite loss of learning time caused by Covid -19 which saw schools being closed for a long time, Zimuto recorded an impressive 92 percent pass rate at Advanced level, which is one of the best in the province.
Apart from that, the school boasts of 51 pupils who scored 10 points and above with nine of them scoring 15 points, two pupils Blessing Mlambo and Tatenda Mafohla 18 points and the best pupil Allen Isheunopa Mganyani having 19 points.
Of the 51, 20 are from arts while sciences and commercials share the remainder. The school recorded 100 percent passes in Literature in English, History, and Literature in Shona, Family and Religious Studies, Mechanical Mathematics, Computer science, Sociology, Crop Science, and TTTD.
In Commercials, six pupils scored 10 points and above while 27 pupils scored more than eight points in Sciences and no subject recorded less than 50 percent.
At Ordinary level, the school produced impressive results with the best pupil Godfrey Mavesere scooping 13As.
The second best pupil Antony Gwatinyanya scored 10As while Nguvayashe Ndava managed to get 9As.
A female trio of Veron Chitumba, Tariro Jakata, and Yvonne Mawadze scored 7As each.
Eight pupils scored 6As while 12 students scored high passes in five subjects and more with an average pass rate of 78.80percent.
The average percentage pass rate of pupils with five subjects or more including English stood at 75.77.
49.48 percent scored five subjects and more including Mathematics and 47.42 percent with five subjects and more including English, Maths and Combined Science.

…as they move to improve service delivery

Beatific Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI- The Town Council’s 2021 ZW $90 Million devolution disbursements from central government have brought a relief to the local authority which has managed to make positive strides towards service delivery as they seek to fulfil their vision of becoming a municipality by 2025.
CTC has managed to procure necessary service delivery equipment to help in improving people’s lives in the fast growing sugarcane town.
CTC recently thanked President Emerson Mnangagwa for disbursing ZW$ 90 million devolution funds which was they had applied for in 2021 and managed to purchase high powered equipment meant to improve service delivery.
Speaking during a developmental Indaba organized by Chiredzi West Member of Parliament Farai Musikavanhu at Chitsanga Hall, where Ezra Chadzamira the Minister for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Masvingo province was the guest of honour, Acting CTC Town Secretary, Engineer Wesley Kauma said devolution funds have brought relief to the local authority as they have managed to make a procurement of two crucial service delivery equipment including a refuse truck and fire tender which are yet to be delivered from China.
“In 2021, we bided for and were allocated ZW$ 90 million in devolution funds. Of the ZW$ 90 million, we managed to access and disburse ZW$ 40 million which we used towards the purchase of two equipment which are still in China. These equipment include a refuse compactor which was bought at the tune of ZW$ 16 million. As a local authority, we only have one refuse truck, so most of the time we encounter break downs while we do not have a backup.
“We also have plans to formulate a fire department as a local authority, so we also bought a Fire Tender truck to the tune of ZW$ 13 million. So we are expecting their arrival soon,” said Engineer Kauma.
The local authority also managed to purchase two tractors using another portion of the devolution funds and enhanced water reticulation in ward 7 to ease out water challenges.
“We also managed to buy two tractors, which we will ask minister Chadzamira to hand over to us. Besides this equipment, we have water challenges here in Chiredzi as our population is exponentially growing. We have managed to upgrade water reticulation in ward 7 where we erected another trunk line.
“We have also procured materials to repair one of our tanks which is dysfunctional, which we are partnering with the local government through GIZ towards its repair. We have also used another portion towards the upgrade of sewer reticulation in most areas which were troublesome. We have just finished the one in ward 1 and we are as well wrapping up sewer upgrades in ward 3,” added Engineer Kauma.
CTC also managed to procure four service delivery vehicles using internal funds.

Melinda Kusemachibi

The rains that fell over the past few days may have damaged some crops but farmers throughout the province have highlighted that the late rains are a blessing in disguise to some of their crops.
A farmer in Zaka district identified as Simbarashe Muzenda said that though the rains have come a bit late, with potential to decay some of their harvests, they are a blessing in disguise as they will sustain moisture for crops that desperately needed moisture.
“The showers are expected to benefit some crops but may cause considerable damage to other crops. Crops that will benefit include late-planted maize and cotton that had been destroyed by the drought. The extra moisture will prolong the ripening period and will increase potential yields,” said Muzenda.
Another farmer in Masvingo rural, Tariro Chibato said that groundnuts and roundnuts are most likely going to decay due to excessive moisture.
“Groundnuts face the danger of unseasonal sprouting. The rains may also complicate soya beans harvesting. The showers however are not expected to prolong the growth period for grazing but will certainly slow down the rate of evaporation, which was high in February and March,” added Chibato.
Zaka Agricultural Technical and Extension Services (Agritex) officer Kennedy Pedzisai said the rains received are very much important as some crops will benefit from the rains.
“The rains received are very important since vegetable production will take up very well. Crops such as cowpeas and sugar beans will benefit from the rains. The veld will improve due to the rains received. Winter wheat land preparation will go on well without the need to water the land,” said Pedzisai.
Mwenezi District Agritex Officer Jemitias Denhere said these recent rains are going to improve the green pastures for livestock and also make availability of water to livestock easier.
“These rains are going to improve pastures for livestock, make water easily accessible to livestock and prepare for sugar beans planting. Otherwise, most farmers are going to suffer some yield loss due to post harvest losses especially on mature sorghum and pearl millet already on drying racks,” said Denhere.
Farmers in Masvingo were worried about the persistent dry spell that rocked the province as most crops that have reached maturity stages succumbed to the effects of the searing heat, hence putting expectations of a bumper harvest in jeopardy.
After experiencing a likely normal rainfall pattern in the past months, there has been an uneasy calm in the march of the monsoon. With no rains, moisture in the soil was reduced, upsetting the water budget in the soil.
The early summer maize crops were at critical tussling stage but wilting due to moisture stress has also started.
Although both the veld and livestock in most parts of the country are still in fair condition, grazing pastures generally have lost much of their nutritive value. Cattle are expected to start losing weight earlier this dry season than last year.
Water supplies remain fairly good throughout the country, but there maybe problems of shortages towards the end of the dry season in September and October.

TellZim Reporter

Former TellZim News accountant Edmore Munjeyi recently graduated with a doctoral degree in Accounting from the prestigious Nelson Mandela University in South Africa.

Dr Munjeyi, who hails from Gutu in Masvingo was conferred with the PhD at a colorful ceremony at the university in Gqeberha, South Africa on April 21, 2022.

His thesis, “A Framework For Digitalising Tax Revenue Collection For The Informal Economic Sphere In Zimbabwe” looked at how the Zimbabwean economy can use a digitalized framework to curb revenue leakages in the informal sector, which is now more dominant in the country.

“I have seen that there are many loopholes within the governance and our formal system has collapsed. There are many revenue leakages and in order to curb those loopholes there must be a framework, with this framework being a digitalized framework now.

“As we have seen, the economy of Zimbabwe has shifted from formal to informal; everything is now informal in Zimbabwe. If government wants to pursue money from informal (traders) for example money changers, artisanal miners and so on, how can we deal with those issues? So I proposed a framework which integrated artificial intelligence such that by the end of the day there is an audit trail and no one will have cash in his hands,” Dr Munjeyi said.

Dr Munjeyi said through the framework he was advocating for a ‘cashless’ economy, which curbs corruption, tax evasion and other such ills associated with the informal economy.

Dr Munjeyi is now one of the few people with a PhD in Accounting in Masvingo Province and said his motivation was the uniqueness of the qualification, which gives him a vertical alignment regarding his academic path.

“My first degree was Bcom Honors in Accounting followed by Master of Commerce Degree in Accounting and I proceeded to a PhD in Accounting. I wanted that vertical alignment to an extent that I will be a guru in that particular field.

“I wanted also to add my voice in issues that have to do with economic, corporate governance and so on,” said Dr Munjeyi.

Dr Munjeyi said  he wanted to encourage others who would want to take the same route to be determined and to leverage on their networks in order for their academic journeys to be easier.

“What I have discovered is that networking is key. I have been with my former director Golden Maunganidze who helped me when I wanted people to interview for data collection. My encouragement is that you listen to your heart; take that which you really want and again align yourself in terms of vertical articulation,” Dr Munjeyi added.

He said as someone coming from humble beginnings, he has a heart to support the underprivileged in order for them to access the same opportunities he did, which prompted him to register Donhodzo Revana Trust to empower the underprivileged, especially the academically gifted children.

“The founders of that Trust include myself, Dr Tado and Svitsai Mujuru. We are together in trying to empower starting from the primary level. We are trying to uplift the broken spirit. Without preempting my plans, for my celebrations I will be with children from Alpha Cottages,” Dr Munjeyi added.

TellZim Reporter

The director of Junior Driving School, Junior Security Services, and Junior High School Noah Marima was crowned the businessman of the year at the MEGAFEST awards held in the Masvingo last Friday.

Marima who won an almost similar accolade last year (2021) when he was named the Outstanding Business Personality of the year for 2020 is a young entrepreneur whose business empire is rapidly growing in the province and beyond.

Speaking to TellZim News Marima said he was happy with the recognition saying it shows that the Junior brand is steadfastly growing.

“I am happy with the recognition. It shows that we are a force to reckon with in the province and it encourages us to continue working hard and make a difference in the communities we serve,” said Marima

He went on to say the recognition was however not only for his organisation but also the people of Masvingo.

“Special mention should go to the people of Masvingo. They are the ones who keep us on our toes so that we deliver the best services to them. If they were not there, we couldn’t be where we are today,” he added.

He recently commissioned Junior High School which opened doors earlier this year and Junior Complex in town which houses his driving school and several other organisations. Recently the driving school was given the nod by the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) to offer Defensive Driving Course.

Other notable winners include Great Zimbawe University (GZU) Campus Radio Director Golden Maunganidze who was crowned Director of The Year Award while his counterpart Anderson Chipatiso who is GZU public relations officer won the Public Relations Officer of the year award.

The MEGA FEST awards are an annual event run by MEGA FEST Holdings which is based in Bulawayo.

…as the world commemorates World Malaria Day on April 25

Melinda Kusemachibi

Chiredzi District, one of the most malaria prone areas in Zimbabwe is geared up for the fight against the spread of the vector-born disease, District Medical Officer Dr Brian Dhlandlara has confirmed.
Dr Dhlandlara said the district has enough infrastructure in place to fend off the spread of malaria.
“We are using innovations approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) to fight malaria for example the use of long lasting insecticide treatment mosquito nets, indoor residual spraying, larviciding, house screening which we are currently implementing,” added Dr Dhlandlara.
He said that current statistics shows a steady decline in number of malaria cases being recorded.
“Figures show a steady decline though more work still needs to be done for us to achieve zero malaria deaths. There is community engagement to increase and enhance community participation in malaria prevention through community leaders and health workers in our district,” Dr Dhlandlara said.
He also said malaria has been a burden to the whole district and fight against the disease should start at community level.
“The whole district has a high burden of malaria but mostly people who stay along water bodies and close to irrigated sugar cane farms are on high risk. Fight against malaria starts at community level where we have community health workers who are trained to test and treat malaria. All our primary health facilities (rural clinics) also test and treat malaria. Complicated cases are referred and treated at our secondary facilities in the district and our infrastructure is adequate,” he added.
2022 World Malaria Day is to be commemorated on April 25, 2022 under the theme ‘harness innovation to reduce the malaria disease burden and save lives’ as WHO wants to draw attention to the critical role innovation plays in helping achieve global malaria elimination goals.
In recent years cases of malaria have been high especially in the low veld areas such as Chiredzi.
Malaria one of the world’s oldest killer diseases continues to plague large parts of the globe despite decades of efforts to wipe it out.
This is a disease that still result in the death of a child every two minutes, despite effective treatment costs.
Worldwide, 219 million people get malaria each year and 435,000 people die of the disease. More than 90 percent of those deaths are in Africa, according to WHO.
The tiny mosquito-borne parasites that cause malaria may also change the body odor of those they infect, making people more attractive to mosquitoes that spread it.
Mosquito nets are being widely used for fishing in poor countries around the world.
Handing out free or subsidized mosquito nets is one of the most effective ways to tackle malaria. However, there have been anecdotal reports of people using the nets for fishing, rather than for protection while asleep.