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Mwonzora axe hangs over Masvingo councillors

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Mwonzora axe hangs over Masvingo councillors

 

Daniel Mberikunashe

Moses Ziyambi

MDC-T secretary general Douglas
Mwonzora is said to be planning to extend his recall of MDC Alliance councillors
to Masvingo where he reportedly faces immense resistance, TellZim News has
learnt.

Fear of recalls among the seven MDC
Alliance Masvingo Urban councillors increased recently after Mwonzora recalled
11 Harare councillors including the deputy mayor in the wake of a mayoral
by-election which was won by Jacob Mafume ahead of Mwonzora’s preferred
candidate Luckson Mukunguma.

Those fired in Harare are Lovemore
Makuwerere, Gilbert Hadebe Gilbert, Simon Mapanzure, Charles Chidhagu, Keith
Charumbira, Steven Dhliwayo, Munyaradzi Kufahakutizwi, Barnabas Ndira, Runyowa
Chihoma, Charles Nyatsuro and Enoch Mupamawonde.

The Mwonzora faction went on to
capture the Marondera mayoral position with the help of the town’s lone Zanu PF
councillor after recalling some councillors perceived to be loyal to Nelson
Chamisa.

Mwonzora told TellZim News over
the phone that he did not have any immediate reason to recall anybody in
Masvingo.

“Currently, we have not received
any complaints as to the behavior of councillors in Masvingo so they must not
worry. We only go for those that show disloyalty to the party,” said Mwonzora.

He however warned that the
councillors should stay warned that they will be recalled should they step out
of line.

“Many chose to be misled by the
likes of Tendai Biti and they thought it was impossible but I am glad that they
now understand what we are capable of doing,” warned Mwonzora.

Mwonzora is said to be targeting Masvingo
Urban Ward 4 Cllr Godfrey Kurauone, who is MDC Alliance national youth organising
secretary and strong Chamisa ally; Ward 5 Cllr Daniel Mberikunashe, who is
related to Chamisa; and Ward 7 Cllr Richard Musekiwa, who is also said to be
strongly loyal to Chamisa.

Sources said Mwonzora could spare
Mayor Collen Maboke, who had several runs-in with Chamisa prior to the
controversial Supreme Court judgement which sparked the turmoil engulfing the
opposition movement.

Sources say the other two
councillors; Selima Maridza of Ward 1 and Tarusenga Vhembo of Ward 3 could be
threatened into towing the Mwonzora line and spared as well.

When contacted for comment,
Mberikunashe said he did not mind getting a recall.

“I am who I am so bring it on. There
is no sense in losing sleep for fear of being recalled when I am an MDC
Alliance councillor who was voted into office by the people. I remain committed
to the ideals of the party and nothing can shake me,” said Mberikunashe.

Musekiwa also said he was not
worried as he was a committed party member whose power lied in what the people
wanted.

“I have not yet heard about any
threats to recall me but I am not worried at all. Leadership is derived from
the people who vote us into office so it is the same people who matter to me. I
will remain a member of the MDC Alliance,” said Musekiwa.

In his response to questions,
Kurauone said he had been through a lot and could not be shaken by shallow and
vindictive politics.

“I represent the people and have
been through a lot. Being a councillor is good because you have a chance to
represent the people but then, you cannot impose yourself on the people. Nobody
can really recall you from the people so I am not bothered,” said Kurauone, who
recently spent 42 days in remand prison on spurious charges that he says
amounted to political persecution.

On his part, a jittery Vhembo
said it was unfortunate that councillors were made to feel insecure and unsure
about their future.

“We want to be able to deliver on
the mandate give to us by the people without fear. Right now there is a lot of
uncertainty and rumour-mongering and back-stabbing which is not fruitful.
People are maliciously labeling each other pro-this and anti-that, which  is wrong,” said Vhembo.

 

 

 

MyAge in new drive for sexual and reproductive health

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MyAge in new drive for sexual and reproductive health

 

MyAge training of the champions

… ‘awkward’ questions when
seeking treatment removed

Brighton Chiseva

MASVINGO – MyAge Zimbabwe, a youth-focused Non-Governmental
Organisation (NGO), is scaling up sexual reproductive health and rights
education in Masvingo through training peer to peer champions.

A total of 40 youths below the
age of 24 years were trained at a workshop which sought to equip them with
skills needed for them to be able to train their own peers.

Beneficiaries included youths
with disabilities, youths with HIV, youths in business and students in tertiary
institutions.

MyAge Zimbabwe’s Girls Choose
programmes officer Chengetai Zumbika said the initiative had so far brought
together 75 young people who now have skills to share their knowledge with
others.

“We have discovered that most
youths shy away from seeking sexual and reproductive health-related services
due to the many ‘awkward’ questions they are asked at clinics and hospitals.
Therefore, our champions will identify cases and persuade them to go and seek
attention as well as refer them to the right places,” said Zumbika

Each champion will get a monetary
token depending on the number of people he or she would have referred.

“A person who needs services will
simply go to the referral point and produce the slip with his or her details already
written on them. The service provider will not ask any questions because all
the details are already written on the slip,” said Zumbika

The training workshop was done in
collaboration with service providers including Population Services International
(PSI), Centre for Sexual Health and HIV and Aids Research (CeHHAR), Hands of
Hope, Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) among others.

The champions will be referring
people to local council clinics, Masvingo Provincial Hospital, New Start Centre
and other places for services like cancer screening, Sexually Transmitted
Infections (STI) treatment; HIV related services as well as to access condoms.

 

 

 

Zanu PF sets date for Chivi South primaries

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Zanu PF sets date for Chivi South primaries

Munyaradzi Zizhou

 

 …nine candidates hit campaign trail

…Zizhou pledges to pay registration fees
for Grade 7 pupils

TellZim Reporter

A total
of nine Zanu PF candidates have hit the campaign trail ahead of the Chivi South
primary elections slated for this Wednesday (September 30).

The
aspiring candidates have made various promises in efforts to gain competitive
advantages in a constituency which had seen numerous developments under the
former Member of Parliament (MP) Killer Zivhu who was recalled from Parliament
and fired from Zanu PF for ‘abusing’ social media calling for dialogue between
President Mnangagwa and MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa’s wives.

Zivhu
was of the view that since President Mnangagwa and Chamisa’s egos were getting
in the way of proper dialogue and negotiations, their wives should engage in
talks on behalf of their husbands to save the country.

Zanu PF
Masvingo provincial political commissar Jevas Masosota told TellZim News that
the primaries are going to be held this Wednesday, September 30.

“We
have realized that the nomination court will sit on October 9 and there is no
time hence the reason why we are doing our primaries as early as possible.

“We
have nine candidates who have been approved and they are already campaigning.
This Wednesday the primary election for Chivi South will be conducted and we
are currently busy ensuring that our people will vote in line with the Covid-19
regulations.

“We are
working with district leadership to come up with the polling centres,” said
Masosota.

Munyaradzi
Zizhou, Mafios Vutete, Rikios Hlambelo, Dennis Masomere, Peter Matuka, Enock
Shindi, Naledi Maunganidze, Samson Mutsamba and Abson Madususe will battle it
out in the primaries.

Zizhou
has brought cheer into the lives of parents with children sitting for their
Grade 7 examinations this year by removing the burden of paying registration
fees from their shoulders and taking up the responsibility.

Zizhou
has pledged to pay registration fees for all grade seven pupils at Runesu,
Masogwe, Chitanga, Chihaya, St Mary, Chesvingo and Chasiyatende primary
schools.

“Education
is the key for a better people and country. We need to educate our children so
that they will be empowered in a highly demanding world.

“It is
our duty to invest in the education of our children. President Mnangagwa says
every child must be afforded proper education and I have taken it upon myself
to pay the registration fees for our Grade 7 pupils.

“No
child should fail to write their exams because of money. That will never happen
in Chivi South. Our children will go to school and we will make sure of its
together. We are going to work with parents and chip in where possible,” said
Zizhou.

 

 

Missing child: Zaka police retrieve remains from cave after 2 years

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Missing child: Zaka police retrieve remains from cave after 2 years

 

Colleen Chitsa

Zaka police recently recovered from
a mountain cave the skeletal remains of a three-year-old female child who went
missing in 2018, bringing some closure to the deceased minor’s grieving family.

Miriam Jenjere, of Munanga
village under Chief Nhema, went missing on May 26, 2018, and nothing was to be
heard of her for over two years.

The juvenile’s mother, Agnela
Chiurikira (25) had left Miriam at home playing with her eight-year-old brother
to attend a funeral in the neighborhood when she later came back to find that her
daughter was missing.

A report was made to the police
and a search was conducted but to no avail.

Jacob Pedzisirai (47), a resident
of Mujetekwa village under Chief Nhema saw human remains in a cave on top of a
mountain on August 26, 2020, but did not report anything until September 22,
2020.

After the police attended, they
invited Agnela and her husband Saino Jenjere (31) and who positively identified
the clothes at the remains to be their daughter’s.

By the time of writing, the child’s
remains were in the hands of the police awaiting a postmortem.

Masvingo police assistant spokesperson,
Assistant Inspector Kudakwashe Dhehwa said the police were still conducting investigations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Softer lockdown: Women warn against complacency

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Softer lockdown: Women warn against complacency

 

Triader Chipunza

MASVINGO – Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) Masvingo chapter recently conducted an awareness
campaign encouraging citizens to continue exercising caution despite that the national
coronavirus infection rate has declined and the lockdown has been loosened.

The organization moved
in some wards in Masvingo Urban encouraging people to keep practising the
highest levels of hygiene and social distancing.

In Rujeko, CWGH chairperson Entrance Takaidza said the relaxation of the lockdown should not be
misconstrued as a licence for reckless behavior as the virus had not yet been fully
defeated.

“We are encouraging all
people to wear masks as some seem to now assume the pandemic has come to an end.
The opening of schools and beerhalls is good but if we are not careful these areas
will become hotspots of new infections.

“Always sanitize, wash
hands with soap under running water and always maintain social distancing
because coronavirus is still there,” said Takaidza.

She also lamented what
she said was becoming a common omission by many business premises that are now
ignoring some Covid-19 regulations.

“At most business
sectors, we have noticed that social distancing is not being maintained and due
to ignorance, negligence or both, some businesses are no longer sanitizing
their customers’ hands at the entrances,” she said.


She said CWGH understood that women bore the harshest brunt of the pandemic due to such factors
as increased cases of domestic violence in lockdowns and due to their
conventional role as primary caregivers at home.

“Coronavirus is real
and it kills so it is up to you to be safe. It is your right to have good
health as a citizen of Zimbabwe therefore I urge everyone to continue fighting
against the spread of the virus,” Takaidza said.

 

 

Sweden in Zim launches gender journal

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Sweden in Zim launches gender journal

 

Swedish Head of Mission to Zimbabwe, Ambassador Åser Pehrson

Moses
Ziyambi

The Swedish Embassy has
announced the launch of the first two volumes of the Gender Lens, a journal
initiative aimed at advancing the greater inclusion of women in governance
issues.

The publications will
be launched today, September 24 2020, through virtual platforms.

“Volume One examines,
in four articles, the issues of representation, and the best methods of
increasing female representation in Parliament. The particular focus is on
proportional representation and the value of quotas.

“Volume Two, in three articles,
focuses on the related issue of Gender-Based Violence, both generally and as it
affects women in elections,” the Embassy says in a press release.

Together with the
Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU), Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) and Gender
Media Connect (GMC), the Embassy formed a partnership called Strengthening
Women’s Advocacy for Inclusive Governance (SWAG).

The advocacy seeks to explore
means by which gendered dynamics play a role in influencing the marginalisation
of women in decision-making platforms and how these can be rectified.

The Swedish government
is one of the largest supporters of gender-related work as well as anti-discrimination efforts in Zimbabwe and the whole world.

 

 

 

Not enough that Sign Language is official, says DACT

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Not enough that Sign Language is official, says DACT

 

Dact to improve Sign Language usage in Masvingo

Nyashadzashe
Mambure

MASVINGO
– Disability Amalgamated Community Trust
(DACT) is this week celebrating the international week of the deaf in by advocating
for greater use of Sign Language in communities especially at public
institutions.

Speaking
to TellZim News, DACT executive director Henry Chivhanga said it was not enough
that Sign Language was one of the 16 official languages recognised by the national
constitution.

“We
want Sign Language to be well-recognised in communities so that we can have a
society that is more integrated and that takes the needs of people with
disabilities seriously.

“Currently,
should a deaf person have a case to report to the police, he/she would most
likely face communication challenges because people who are conversant with the
language are very few in public institutions,” said Chivhanga.

He
said he was encouraged that more community members were beginning to appreciate
the importance of mainstreaming disability issues into the everyday discourse.

“The
Presbyterian Church  at Yeukai business
centre in Mucheke, for instance, has granted us space in their yard where we
can conduct Sign Language classes to members of the community who are willing
to learn.

“We
encourage residents of Masvingo to take advantage of this opportunity to come
and join our efforts to improve the integration of disabled people in
communities by learning Sign Language,” said Chivhanga.

Presbyterian
Church pastor, Rev Kurauone Mutimwii said he was delighted that his institution
was contributing towards the improvement of conditions of people with
disabilities in Masvingo.

“I
am delighted that church members understand the importance of disability and
the need to play a part towards improving understanding by people in the wider community.

“Our
premises have been made available to DACT and I am glad because I will also
make use of this opportunity to learn Sign Language. It is an opportunity that
I greatly value as it will increase my ability to communicate with more
sections of the population,” said Mutimwii.

On
Friday, September 25, the group will march from Benjamin Burombo past the High
Court and along the road to Harare, before ending the march at the turn-off to
Bulawayo.

 

 

 

 

A schoolboy’s advice to the youth

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A schoolboy’s advice to the youth


Admire
Mukwengwe

In life, there are ups
and downs that cause many people to become nervous instead of sticking to their
courage in times of such instability. Many young people usually waiver their original
personalities and their true identities because of such circumstances as
financial crisis, poverty and peer pressure.

Financial crisis usually
affect those who have to look after family members; providing needs and wants
but it also affects young people who also look up to their parents and guardians
for their upkeep and wellbeing. In many cases, people become depressed when
they find themselves facing financial challenges, resulting in suicide or anti-social
behaviour.

Similarly, many
teenagers nowadays resort to drug abuse as well as immoral and promiscuous behaviour
thereby exposing themselves to Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

The advice here is that
peer pressure and the inner urge to experiment must not be one’s source of
defilement and destruction.

It is hereby encouraged
that young people have to learn to stick to their principles and not deviate
from them regardless of the difficulties of the moment as all situations do
come and go at the right time.

In times of economic
pressure, some young people engage in prostitution if they are female, and
theft and robbery if they are male. These are some of the surest ways to ruin
and to a life of serious trouble and dissatisfaction.

It is a fact that unfortunate
things do happen in life but it must also be remembered that such circumstances
are not necessarily of one’s own making.

Difficult circumstances
must therefore be handled with solemnity while acceptable ways of getting out
are devised.

The writer is an ‘A’
Level pupil at Corridors of Hope Academy, Dzivarasekwa Extension, Harare.

Masvingo budgets US$120 000 for 2nd-hand vehicles

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Masvingo budgets US$120 000 for 2nd-hand vehicles

 


Clayton
Shereni

City of Masvingo is in
the process of acquiring six pre-owned vehicles and has budgeted US$120 000 for
the deal, TellZim has learnt.

Council has already
flighted a domestic tender advert inviting bidders for the supply and delivery
of the vehicles.

Meanwhile, the council is
struggling to provide optimum service delivery and it recently drew a water
rationing programme which sees suburbs receiving water for only two days per week.

The city has only two
refuse collection trucks which are woefully inadequate for the job at hand.

Acting Town Clerk,
Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa told TellZim the pre-owned vehicles will be
critical in efforts to improve the mobility of council employees.

“We want five sedan
vehicles and one kombi. The vehicles are critical for council operations
including carrying our workers who stay out of town. Some of our workers stay
at Bushmead Water Works so they need transport. We have set aside US$120 000
for that exercise,” said Mukaratirwa.

The local authority is
currently implementing a water rationing exercise and refuse collection has
since been stopped in some areas due to lack of resources.

Residents’
representative organization, Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance
(Murra) information officer Godfrey Mtimba condemned the intended vehicle purchases
as a case of misplaced priorities.

“This is a typical case
of misplaced priorities. We are currently facing severe water shortages and
other service delivery challenges and they are busy budgeting money to buy
vehicles. They are not sensitive to the plight of residents. We demand water
not pre owned-vehicles,” said Mtimba.

 

The Tugwi Mukosi Master Plan mirage that never ends

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The Tugwi Mukosi Master Plan mirage that never ends

 

Virginia
Njovo

Since the commissioning of Tugwi Mukosi Dam in May
2017 by then President Robert Mugabe in May 2017, government has not yet released
its much-vaunted ‘Tugwi-Mukosi Master Plan’ which will ostensibly determine
land use around the lake and spur economic growth.

The master plan is said to encompass diverse forms of downstream
infrastructure including irrigation projects which will spur agricultural
development in the area.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Munesu Munodawafa recently toured
the dam and declared that a national park will be created, but that is one of
the many plans that have not yet materialised.

Governments claims the dam will contribute significantly
to food security and that for this to happen, the master plan has to be made so
that the dam’s capacity of irrigating 26 000 hectares of land can be exploited.

Apart from the agricultural activities, there are
hopes that there will be tourism, reail and transport business opportunities.

 

 

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