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Bikita RDC registers over 120 informal traders

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Bikita RDC registers over 120 informal traders

Ratidzo
Munembi

BIKITA
– A
total of 120 informal traders some of whom had been operating illegally prior
to the Covid-19 induced national lockdown have now registered their operation
with the Bikita Rural District Council (RDC), TellZim has learnt.

The local authority is
on a drive to encourage more informal traders to register their operations so
as to avoid future inconveniences should the lockdown be fully lifted.

In an interview with
TellZim News, Bikita RDC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Chibhi said
council wanted orderly and lawful informal trading going forward.

“We are pleased that a
significant number of our people in the informal trade have come forward to
regularise their activities. We encourage others to come forward as this is a
continuous process allowed as per the SI 136 (Public Health [Covid-19
Prevention, Containment and Treatment] [National Lockdown] Amendment Order,
2020, No 10).

“Council is working
hard to improve market stalls at Nyika growth point and other business centres
to make sure that people do their business in dignity and with decreased
chances of contracting the coronavirus and spreading it to others,” said
Chibhi.

He warned that the
future was bleak for those who fail to take advantage of the existing
dispensation to register anybody who wants to get into the informal trade.

“Our desire is to give
our people a chance to fend for their families in a lawful manner since things
will never be the same even if we are to have a post-Covid-19 era. Council
wants to maintain lawful control of informal traders so that we can plan
accordingly and be able to provide optimum service delivery as per our mandate,”
he said.

He also said those that
have already registered were being allowed to do some business at stipulated
timeframes with a requirement that they strictly adhere to maximum hygiene
standards possible and social distancing rules.

In April, the Ministry
of Local Government Public Works and National Housing ordered local authorities
to take advantage of the lockdown to destroy illegal market stalls and build
proper market places.

 

 

New TV licences application deadline lapses

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New TV licences application deadline lapses

 

Monica Mutsvangwa


…new TV stations on airwaves by August?

Ratidzo Munembi

The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ)’s call for television
licences application lapsed today, June 30, with bids expected to be processed
in the next few weeks, TellZim News can report.

The Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica
Mutsvangwa yesterday released a media briefing after a meeting of the national
Covid-19 taskforce in which she wishes the new applicants well.

“Government has embarked on a media
reform programme. This includes legislative reforms, media cultural reform and
registering new players in television.

“I wish to inform the nation that the
deadline for applicants to lodge their applications for television players is
tomorrow, 30 June 2020. We take this opportunity to wish applicants all the
best. The Second Republic means what it says on the media landscape reform,”
she said.

In February, the Broadcasting
Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) made a call for interested parties to make
applications. This was after government promised that the country will have 12 new
national free-to-air television channels by August this year.

A total of six of these channels will
be owned by the state-controlled broadcaster ZBC while the remaining six will
be run by private enterprise.

The application fee stood at a
non-refundable $42 500, with the licence valid for a total of 10 years at a
cost of $306 000 per year.

Meanwhile, government has also called
for application for 10 language-based community radio stations which are
expected to be based in areas perceived to be culturally marginalised.

Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) made history
on June 07 when it because the first university to be awarded a campus radio
licence.

With only one TV station, Zimbabwe’s
broadcasting space is tightly controlled by BAZ which is a statutory body
appointed by government in terms of the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA). This
has seen the country’s broadcasting industry lagging behind its regional peers
despite being one of only two African countries to have a TV station by 1958.

Provisions of the BSA allow
interested players to apply only if and when BAZ has called for applications at
moments it deems necessary.

Government has been accused of
manipulating the authoritarian licensing regime to benefit only private players with deep
political connections to the ruling Zanu PF party.

Rights defenders arrested for ‘insulting’ ED at Zupco queue

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Rights defenders arrested for ‘insulting’ ED at Zupco queue
Ephraem Mthombeni
Clayton Shereni
Police in Masvingo recently arrested freelance journalist and Zimbabwe Union of Journalist (ZUJ) vice president Godfrey Mtimba and activist Ephraim Mtombeni on charges of undermining the authority of President Emmerson Mnangagwa at a Zupco bus queue.
Mtimba and Mtombeni were accused of addressing people at a Zupco queue where they are alleged to have said Mnangagwa and his sons were behind the suffering in the country.
When Mtimba was arrested, the police first charged him of taking pictures of queuing people as Mthombeni allegedly address the commuters.
The charges werelater upgraded to undermining the authority of President Mnangagwa.
Advocate Phillip Shumba, who is representing Mtimba, confirmed the arrest and said his client had been released into his custody awaiting to appear in court.
“We went to CID Law and Order this morning. I can confirm that he (Mtimba) has since been released into my custody pending our appearance in court anytime this week. 
“He is facing criminal allegations of contravening Section 33 (2) (a) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act,” said Shumba. 
Mtombeni, who is the programmes manager for Masvingo Centre for Research and Community Development (Macrad), was picked up by the police yesterday and is remand awaiting trial on June 30.
He is being represented by Martin Mureri on behalf of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).

Lockdown: Chiredzi Town Council fails to pay salaries

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Lockdown: Chiredzi Town Council fails to pay salaries
Icod Zim service delivery meeting in Chiredzi

Beatific Gumbwanda

Chiredzi Town Council has
accumulated more than $2.5 million in debt from its various service providers
since the beginning of the Covid-19 induced lockdown, it has been learnt.

The debt is owed to such
stakeholders as Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe (THZ); Zimbabwe Electricity
Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) and Zimbabwe National Water
Authority (Zinwa).

Due to that difficult state of
its finances, the local authority has now gone for two months without paying
salaries.

This was revealed at a recent
service delivery indaba organised by the Institute for Community Development in
Zimbabwe (ICOD Zimbabwe) in collaboration with the Public Rights Forum (PIRF)
and United Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers Association (UCHIRRA).

In his address, Chiredzi Town
Council Chairperson Gibson Hwende said council operations had been severely
affected, with revenue collection having dropped from 56 percent before the
lockdown to five percent currently.

“Our debt ballooned as a result
of a sharp drop in revenue collection and we now have salary arrears for the
months of May and June. Our refuse truck is also currently down, and we are
failing to procure the required spare parts,” said Hwende.

From the council’s $52 million
budget for 2020, $433 333 was supposed to be collected from residents and rate
payers monthly, but only 56 percent ($242 666.48) of that figure was managed in
the first month.

The figure dropped to $21 666.50
during the ensuing months after the lockdown was pronounced.

UCHIRRA advocacy officer, Bernard
Dhachi hailed the local authority for improving water reticulation during the
lockdown.

“There has been a notable
improvement on water supply this lockdown regardless of the challenges being
faced and we appreciate council for that. Most residents are, however, now in a
more difficult financial position as the informal trading sector is closed.
They can’t pay their bills and poverty has increased,” said Dhachi.

Chiredzi West Member of
Parliament (MP) Farai Musikavanhu said it was unfortunate that Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) were the most affected by the lockdown.

 

New market structures take shape in Masvingo

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New market structures take shape in Masvingo
The under re-construction Civic Centre flea market

Ratidzo
Munembi

City of Masvingo is
rapidly building new market stalls in place of some of the old, shoddy structures
that had become a terrible eyesores for the time preceding the Covid-19
national lockdown.

In April, the Ministry
of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing ordered all local
authorities to take advantage of the lockdown to clean up their informal market
places by destroying illegal structures and building proper stalls.

Masvingo responded to
the call by destroying illegal extensions on the shanty Chitima market which is
made up of the fresh produce section and the miscellaneous section, before razing
down much of the main market in town situated adjacent to the Civic Centre.

Part of the vegetable
section of Chitima market is now undergoing reconstruction, with better
materials being used than the makeshift wood and plastic that had covered the
place before.

Part of the veg section of Chitima market under re-construction


Similar work is also
being done on part of the Civic Centre flea market, where some more acceptable
materials are being used in the rebuilding process.

In October 2019, City
of Masvingo Housing and Community Services director, Levison Nzvura had told
TellZim News that council planned to upgrade Chitima market into a better place
of doing business by properly enclosing it and regularizing traders’
operations.

[ read similar story here https://tellzim.com/2019/10/no-more-free-reign-at-chitima-vendors.html ]

“We have been unable to
keep track of the exact number of people doing beusines there because there is
no consolidated database of traders. People come and occupy a stall for a day
or two and then go away. Nobody pay for the bays except for a few so council is
making huge losses there.

“We have done a lot to
make sure conditions there are good but sometimes the people themselves make a
mess of their own market. People use the strangest of objects in the toilets
leading to blockages, and it’s council that has to unblock them despite that
most of the very same people do not pay anything to use the market,” said
Nzvura then.

He also said council
wanted to rationalise operations at the market so that proper services could be
provided.

“There are about 700
bays there and we want to know who owns which bay so that we can make follow
ups in terms of rentals. We will than use the money collected to improve
facilities and put a good shade starting with the vegetable section. We want a
proper market where people can go and shop with confidence,” he said.

Bail for Arrested ARTUZ leader Chisirimunhu

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Bail for Arrested ARTUZ leader Chisirimunhu

Progress
Chaya

MASVINGO
– The
Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) Masvingo provincial
secretary for gender and social welfare, Shilla Chisirimunhu, who was arrested
on June 22 after allegedly staging a demonstration at the district education
offices in Mucheke, has been released on $500 bail.

Chisirimunhu was
arrested after police pounced on a group of Artuz members who had submitted a
petition to the Masvingo district education leaders demanding that teachers
receive their salaries in US dollars.

Represented by Martin
Mureri of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), she appeared before Magistrate
Patience Madondo after spending a night detained in cells at Chikato Police
Station in Mucheke.

According to the State
outline, Chisirimunhu participated in a gathering with intent to promote public
violence, breaches of peace or bigotry as defined in Section 37(i) (a) (i) of
the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.

She alternatively faces
a charge of contravening Section 4(a) (i) of Statutory Instrument 83/20 as read
with Section 3(a) of Statutory Instrument 110/20 which prohibits ‘unnecessary
movement during the national lockdown’.

The State represented
by Unice Shoko, alleges that Chisirimunhu, in the company of 50 other
colleagues that were still at large by the time of writing, went to the
education offices chanting songs that denounced the local currency while
raising placards.

Through her defence
lawyer Mureri, Chisirimunhu denies the charges, arguing that she was not part
of the said group and that she was arrested one kilometre away from the venue
of the purported gathering.

Meanwhile, the Artuz
national Executive Committee has condemned Chisirimunhu’s arrest as a case of a
growing pattern of the State trampling on the rights of citizens though
intimidation and victimisation.

The organisation has
also threatened legal action against one female police officer Chabaya who
allegedly assaulted Chisirimunhu severely during the arrest.

 

 

 

 

ED sent by God to fight Covid-19, says Makwarimba

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ED sent by God to fight Covid-19, says Makwarimba
Clemence Makwarimba

Upenyu Chaota

Zanu PF central committee member
and former senator Clemence Makwarimba last week pulled all bootlicking stops
and went on an unhinged praising spree of President Emmerson Mnangagwa,
describing him as God-sent as proven by his ‘remarkable’ response to the Covid-19
pandemic.

Makwarimba said that God knew
that coronavirus will come to Zimbabwe and send President Mnangagwa to fight it
and protect the people.

Makwarimba, who was given a
platform to give a vote of thanks after Vice President Mohadi’s visit to Masvingo,
said Mnangagwa’s government was anointed by God, adding that the coronavirus
will not devastate the country as it did to others.

“God send us President Mnangagwa.
It was God’s will that he is in power and people did as God wanted. If you look
at the number of our Covid-19 cases, they show that President Mnangagwa has
conquered.

“Most cases are imported and we
have only recorded four deaths which were all a result of imported cases. There
are very few local transmissions and that is not by chance but by wisdom from
the man that God sent us.

“We should thank this government
because if it were not for them, we would have all perished,” said Makwarimba.

He said President Mnangagwa will
not campaign for the 2023 elections as his efforts in the fight against
Covid-19 had already earned him clean victory.

Makwarimba once served as
Masvingo Rural District Council (RDC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Zaka teacher warned for conducting classes during lockdown

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Zaka teacher warned for conducting classes during lockdown
Tsiga Secondary School

Ratidzo
Munembi

A science teacher at
Tsiga Secondary in Zaka has been warned by his school head after he reportedly
conducted several classes in contravention of the national lockdown order which
was pronounced to help fight the spread of coronavirus.

Parents in surrounding
villages complained that they were left with no choice but to let their
children attend the classes after being informed some pupils were moving
forward with learning.

They claimed that
Watson Chikati, who teaches ‘O’ level science subjects, conducted many classes
with some children at his house in the teachers cottage to avoid detection by
authorities.

“When I learnt that
some children were making progress with their teacher, I was very worried that
my own child was being left behind. I was apprehensive at first knowing the
dangers of people gathering at a place but I had no choice but to let him join
others,” said the parent on condition his family name is protected.

Others said Chikati was
a hard worker but had made a mistake by violating lockdown restrictions to
conduct classes clandestinely.

“We know him. He is
passionate about his job and wants nothing but the best for his pupils but that
was a mistake on his part. I am glad that he has now been stopped,” said the
parent.

When contacted for
comment, Chikati denied the allegations, saying they were formulated by people
with their own malicious motives.

“I did not conduct any
classes as being alleged by those people. I only had a discussion with two
children who had come to collect some past exam papers for revision. One is a
child to a fellow teacher, so to claim that I gathered pupils for classes is
not correct,” said Chikati.

However, Tsiga Secondary
School head John Museba admitted that Chikati had indeed conducted some classes
but had now been warned to stop.

“I have been in
Masvingo town for some time and had not learnt about it. I however carried out
some investigations and found that he had been conducting some lessons with
pupils. I have ordered him to stop and I have also sent the School Development
Committee (SDC) chairperson to go and have a word with him,” said Museba.

Schools have been shut
since the end of March but government now plans a phased reopening starting
next month (July) though teachers’ unions are vehemently opposed to the move.

 

Masvingo Provincial Hospital shuts doors to public

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Masvingo Provincial Hospital shuts doors to public
Entrance to Masvingo Provincial Hospital


…as doctors, nurses go
on ‘indefinite’ strike

…all patients
discharged, no more new admissions


Moses
Ziyambi

Masvingo Provincial
Hospital is no longer admitting or treating any patients after virtually all
nurses and doctors went on strike late last week to protest deteriorating
working conditions underlined by poor pay, shortage of medicines and lack of
personal protective equipment, TellZim News has can report.

The strike reportedly started
on Friday, June 19, coinciding with Vice President Kembo Mohadi’s visit.

Chances are, however, that the vice president did not notice it after local officials reportedly choreographed his tour of
the hospital carefully to make everything look normal.

During Mohadi’s address
after the tour, there was a thin sprinkling of nurses and other hospital staff
members at the gathering.

TellZim News, however,
spoke to many people who said their relatives had been discharged after
hospital authorities said they will no longer be caring for anybody.

A man whose aunt
required surgery and had been asked by doctors to buy some consumables at the
pharmacies had to carry her home after doctors suddenly told him they were no
longer going to operate on her.

A girl who fell ill in
town on June 23 and was taken to a local private clinic where she was denied
admission on the basis that she had to be tested for coronavirus first.
Attempts to get her tested failed as she did not meet the criteria of suspected
cases, having no recent travel history outside the country.

However, Masvingo Provincial
Hospital also turned away, with staff telling her that every patient had been discharged
and no new arrivals were being attended to.

A nurse who spoke to
TellZim News on condition of anonymity said the hospital was as good as closed
down because all health personnel were united in their demands for a complete
overhaul of their working conditions.

When contacted for
comment, Provincial Medical Director (PMD) Dr Amadeus Shamu said operations at
the hospital had been drastically scaled back in response to the strike.

“They are operating
with a very thin staff complement as most nurses have gone on strike. The few
available nurses are only attending to the most critical sections like the maternity
ward where some care has to be given to expectant mothers at all cost,” said
Shamu.

He said only senior
nurses were manning the maternity ward and other critical areas where, however,
no new patients were getting admitted.

He also said some
doctors were available to work but they could only attend to cases that have
been referred to them by nurses.

Two doctors who spoke
to TellZim News, however, said it was not correct that some of them were
available to attend to cases.

“Don’t be fooled. As
far as I know, we are all on strike and the sooner authorities attend to our
grievances, the better in terms of welfare of patients,” said one doctor.

 

Masvingo education inspector Mutonono dies

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Masvingo education inspector Mutonono dies
The late Jemias Mutonono

TellZim
Reporter

A non-formal education
inspector with the Masvingo provincial education office, Jemias Mutonono has
died.

A close relative who confirmed
his demise said Mutonono had been unwell for quite a long time but his
condition deteriorated recently leading to his death today, June 23.

He is said to have died
at his home in the high density suburb of Mucheke F in Masvingo city.

Masvingo Provincial Education
Director (PED) Zedius Chitiga said the education office was robbed of a dedicated
leader.

“We are saddened by the
loss. He was a hard and dedicated worker who has now left poorer as a province.
The void he left will be difficult to properly fill,” said Chitiga.  

Burial arrangements
were yet to be announced by the time of writing but it was hinted that he could
be buried at his rural home in Chiponda village, Renco Mine.

Mutonono was once
stationed at Zaka district education offices as district literacy coordinator
before he was transferred to the provincial office in Masvingo city.

A devoted Zanu PF
member, Mutonono contested in the party’s Masvingo South constituency primary
elections in 2018 but lost to Claudius Maronge who went on to win the
parliamentary seat in the July 30, 2018 harmonised elections.

During his time in Zaka,
Mutonono was in Zanu PF district leadership which campaigned vigorously for
then President Robert Mugabe in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election
run-off during which some opposition members were killed and maimed.

 

 

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