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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.

 

 

Four weeks of no water at Nemanwa

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Four weeks of no water at Nemanwa
The dirty open well along Munzviru stream where residents have been fetching water over the last four weeks

Virginia
Njovo

The Zimbabwe National
Water Authority (Zinwa) has for the past three weeks been battling pump
breakdowns, electrical faults and theft of components at its intake tower
installed on Lake Mutirikwi, leaving the people of Nemanwa growth point without
water right into the fourth week.

Distressed residents of
the sprawling growth point told TellZim News they had been fetching water in
the nearby Munzviru stream whose waters are significantly polluted.

“These have been very
difficult weeks for us because we don’t have a better alternative source to the
stream whose water might be suitable for laundry but definitely not for
drinking and cooking. The water has become dirtier in recent weeks due to the
increase in numbers of people going to the stream,” said one resident of the
area.

Due to deep-seated
grievances in services delivery, some residents have organised themselves and
formed the Nemanwa Residents and Ratepayers Association (Nerra) which has since
submitted a letter of grievances to Masvingo Rural District Council (RDC).

The organisation wants Masvingo RDC to drill boreholes for residents as water supplies from Zinwa are hardly reliable.

When contacted for
comment, Zinwa Masvingo regional manager Stanley Nazombe said he understood
residents’ protestations as his organisation had been grappling with many
challenges over the weeks.

“There was a whole
array of problems in our supply system. We had to move our pump to a different
place in the lake in response to declining water levels. We then had a breaking
down in the pumping system, and then an electrical fault. We had also
experienced theft of some components in the pumping system and all this built
up the crisis we had. I am confident though that supplies are most likely to be
restored today (June 22) as everything is now in place,” said Nazombe.

He said Great Zimbabwe
Hotel, which also receives water through the same supply system, had assisted
in the restoration efforts.

However, the following
day (June 23) many residents reported that they still had not received any
water.

 

 

Covid-19: More US funding for Zim

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Covid-19: More US funding for Zim
US ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols with President Emmerson Mnangagwa

Ratidzo
Munembi

The United States has
committed an additional $10 million to help Zimbabwe fight the spreading
coronavirus, and the money will be allocated to the World Food Programme (WFP) which
is feeding nearly 100 000 food-insecure people in the country in eight urban
areas.

In a statement released
on June 16 by the United State embassy public affairs section, the country
reiterates its commitment to help the people of Zimbabwe through their most
difficult times.

The latest funding,
released through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
brings the total amount of money committed by the world’s largest economy to
Zimbabwe to over $18 million.

USAID alone has provided
nearly $15 million while the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
has provided $3 million, with PEPFAR reprograming $150,000 since the virus
reached Zimbabwe.

“Through this $10
million in new funding, USAID will collaborate with WFP to address increasing
food insecurity in urban areas.  In September 2019, the Zimbabwe Vulnerability
Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) determined that more than 2.2 million Zimbabweans
in urban areas face food insecurity as a result of rising food prices.

“In May 2020, WFP
estimated that this number had increased by as much as one million people as a
result of the Covid-19 lockdown, which further constrained the economy and
severely affected Zimbabweans whose livelihoods depend on the informal
sector.  This funding will ensure that nearly 100,000 people in eight
urban districts have access to cash transfers that will ensure adequate food
supplies between July and December 2020,” reads part of the statement, quoting
US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols.

USAID’s emergency
assistance to urban areas complements the more than $110 million that the
agency provided to rural areas in 2019, which reached more than 1.8 million
rural Zimbabweans across 22 districts.

Despite political and
policy differences with Zimbabwe’s leaders since year 2000, the United States
remains the largest donor to the country, providing billions of dollars for the
country’s health and food sectors over the past 20 years.

 

 

Masvingo to have ICU for the first time

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Masvingo to have ICU for the first time

 

Work on the ICU is ongoing


Ratidzo Munembi

Masvingo province will soon have
its first Intensive Care Unit (ICU) when work being done at Masvingo Provincial
Hospital is completed, TellZim News has learnt.

This came out during a tour of
the referral hospital by Vice President Kembo Mohadi who visited today, June
19, to assess the province’s state of preparedness to deal with a possible
upsurge in cases of coronavirus.

The 21-bed ICU is being built at
the hospital by Mimosa mining company as part of its contribution to the fight
against the spread of coronavirus.

Accompanied by the Minister of
State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Ezra Chadzamira, Minister of Mines and
Mining Development Winston Chitando and Minister of State in the Vice President’s
Office Davis Marapira, Mohadi was shown around the construction site where men
were hard at work.

An old female medical ward was
partly razed down, with extensive renovations and extension work being underway.

Mohadi was told that Masvingo
Provincial Hospital was established in 1896, and that it will be the first in
the province to host an ICU which will serve severely diseased coronavirus positive
patients.

He was also told that work on the
construction site was being done by artisans from the Zimbabwe National Army
(ZNA) Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional
Services (ZPCS).

In his address after the tour,
Mohadi urged people to remain vigilant in face of rising cases of locally-transmitted
coronavirus cases.

“The best way to deal with this
virus is to prevent it; we must remain vigilant because if we don’t we will all
die. This is not a job for leaders alone but for each and every one of us,”
said Mohadi in reference to the 20 locally-transmitted cases that were part of
the 62 positive cases recorded yesterday, June 18.

Before his tour of the referral centre,
Mohadi had also visited Mashava Hospital which is almost ready to serve as an
isolation centre with a capacity of 300 patients.

 

 

 

 

Masvingo vendors look forward to immediate return

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Masvingo vendors look forward to immediate return

 Ratidzo Munembi

Informal traders in Masvingo say
they are looking forward to a return to business by the beginning of July,
saying further delay will be catastrophic to many families.

Informal traders are amongst the
hardest hit group by the coronavirus-induced national lockdown, and have been
out of work since end of March.

City of Masvingo has also taken
advantage of the lockdown to raze down much of the market stalls for
renovations and new planning, but many informal traders feel the process will
not help them much.

“We want to go back to work
because our families are suffering and there is no respite for us. We had
proposed to council that we be allowed to conduct some trade for a limited
number of hours at the open grounds close to Mucheke Stadium under strict
social-distancing rules but we got no response. How do they expect us to
survive?” said Rutendo Shaisanai who used to do her trade at Chitima Market.

Another trader, Fungai Mashandure
said 2019 had been the most difficult year for her family and she could not
wait for the lockdown to be fully lifted.

“I see they have razed down much
of the structures we had put up. The new arrangements will never accommodate
everybody when they finally allow us to move back and it means most of our
colleagues will not be able to move back. It’s very sad,” she said.

Last month, Masvingo carried out
a re-registration exercise for all vendors, and there were many scenes of commotion at Mucheke
admistration offices where the exercise was taking place.

 

 

 

‘Do not ignore constitutional amendments consultations’

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‘Do not ignore constitutional amendments consultations’
Many people turned up at Chivi RDC Hall for the consultative process

Ratidzo Munembi

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee
on Justice legal and Parliamentary Affairs’ country-wide consultations on the controversial
Constitutional Amendment II has today, June 07, reached Masvingo province with
the first gathering at Chivi growth point.

Many people gathered at the Chivi RDC hall where strict social distancing rules were observed with the help of health
workers and members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).

Representatives of civil society
organisations Heal Zimbabwe and the Women Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) were
also present as key stakeholders.

Tomorrow, June 18, the committee
will be in Masvingo for yet another consultative programme which is also
expected to attract a sizeable crowd.

In an interview, WCoZ Masvingo
chapter coordinator, Belinda Mwale said it was important that members of the
public turn up for the meetings which are critical in gathering citizen input
on the envisaged amendments.

“This is a critical phase in our
democracy because government is proposing to make far-reaching changes to our
young constitution which came into effect only seven years ago. It is critical,
therefore, that citizens take this seriously and get their voices heard,” said
Mwale.

She said many women were against
the proposed extension of the women’s quota parliamentary system which they
criticise as mere tokenism which relegates women’s participation in politics to
the whims of men.

“Many of us prefer a level
playing field where women will be able to assert themselves with equal measure.
The women’s quota is open to exploitation by male politicians who can use the
system to advance abusive patronage whereby only women who give in to perverted
sexual advances are put on the list,” said Mwale.

Among other changes, the proposed
amendments would remove the running mate clause which requires that a candidate
in all future presidential elections fields a running mate who will
automatically be the vice president in the event of electoral victory. A vice
president elected under such a system cannot be fired by the president.

The amendments also seek to give
the President exclusive powers to appoint and promote judges of superior courts
without going for interviews as is currently the case.

 

 

Driving schools petition Govt as lockdown bites

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Driving schools petition Govt as lockdown bites


…apply for exemptions
and tax holidays, TSCZ advises

Ratidzo Munembi

The Zimbabwe Driving
Schools Owners Association (ZDSOA) has written to the Traffic Safety Council of
Zimbabwe (TSCZ) seeking facilitation for the immediate reopening of the Vehicle
Inspectorate Department (VID).

The association, which
has a membership across the country, contends that the sustained closure of VID
services is driving them to bankruptcy, to the detriment of thousands of
employees.

In the letter, ZDSOA claims
the continued suspension of operations by at both TSCZ and VID was also putting
them at the risk of losing experienced instructors to other sectors thereby
impacting on the quality of future drivers.

“Driving school sector
falls in the category of formal sector and contributes to the fiscus in several
ways. It also benefits other sectors such as the fuel sector, spares shops and
vehicle repairs.

“On the other hand, our
sector is required to meet obligations such City Council shop licences, vehicle
insurance, certificates of fitness, learner’s liability, NSSA and ZIMRA
payments. We also have to pay office rentals, the parked vehicles are also
accumulating day and overnight parking fees.

“Our employees are
suffering due to non-payment of salaries. Instructor’s identity cards or
driving school certificates of registration are expiring and there is no
communication from your institution to inform us of a waiver on late renewals,”
reads part of the letter.

The organisation wants to
know the fate of such documents as provisional driver’s licences, motor vehicle
certificates of fitness, learner’s liability insurance and instructors’
identity cards or penalties, all of which cannot be regularised without the
input of TSCZ and VID.

When contacted for
comment, TSCZ acting managing director Clifford Gobo said it was not within the
ambit of his organisation to reopen VID.

“This is done by the
principal institution which is the Ministry of Transport. We acknowledge receipt
of their later outlining their concerns and we have forwarded them to higher
authorities. We are liaising with the ministry so that an amicable way forward
can be found,” said Gobo.

He also said it was
difficult to expect an immediate reopening of those services when coronavirus
cases are increasing in the country.

“How do you guarantee
that the learner driver you want to bring through the processes is free of the
virus and wouldn’t pass it on to others in the line of duty? We appreciate the
work being done by the government to ensure a cautious reopening of the economy
at the least possible risk. Our door remains open for further consultation,”
said Gobo.

On the issue of
financial obligations to such institutions as local authorities, Zimra and
Nssa, Gobo said the driving schools should look at possibilities of applying
for exemptions, waivers and tax holidays.

 

 

 

 

Traditional brew takes Mwenezi man to his grave

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Traditional brew takes Mwenezi man to his grave


Brighton Chiseva

MWENEZI – A 43-year-old man from Nyika Village under Chief Maranda
recently died after an injury sustained during a fight over traditional beer.

Peter Zarima, was hit on the head
with a stone by Tatenda Stimela at a Nhimbe at Jameson Marozve’s homestead.

Masvingo Provincial Acting Police
Spokesperson Assistant Inspector Kudakwashe Dhehwa confirmed the incident and
said the deceased’s body was still at Masvingo Provincial Hospital awaiting
postmortem.

“Investigations are still
underway and the accused has since disappeared after learning of the deceased’s
death a few days after the incident,” said Dehwa

Sources said on May 24 this year,
a misunderstanding ensued between the two over the sharing of Ndari
(traditional beer) then Sitimela picked a stone and hit the deceased at the
back of his head and he fell on the ground bleeding profusely.

Sitimela’s father who was also at
the event rushed Zarima to Dinhe clinic where they allegedly made a false story
that the now deceased had fallen from a moving scotch cart.

They were referred to Neshuro
Hospital but they decided to take the now deceased home where they hoped they
could treat him only for the now deceased’s condition to worsen after two days.

He was then taken to Neshuro
Hospital where he was admitted before being referred to Masvingo Provincial
Hospital on June 02 and passed on two days later.

On June 06, Zarima’s brother
Oliver went on to report the matter to Maranda police base leading to the
investigations.

Mwenezi ZCC bishop dies in funeral car accident

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Mwenezi ZCC bishop dies in funeral car accident
The late Bishop Mapuranga
... car crashes after snake appears from under driver’s seat

Cephas Shava
MWENEZI – A ZCC Wangamurena bishop was recently killed in a funeral service vehicle accident after a mysterious snake is said to have appeared from underneath the driver’s seat causing the car to veer off the road and ram into a tree.
Bishop Ezekiel Mapuranga died on the spot when a South African registered funeral service vehicle he was a passenger in on June 07 lost control along the Rutenga-Chikombedzi Road.
The driver of the vehicle, a South African national, is said to have been rushed to his country for treatment.
The funeral service vehicle was coming from Gutu on its way back to South Africa but had to divert to Chikombedzi to offer assistance to another vehicle which had broken down.
Bishop Mapuranga was buried last week at Mariot Ranch in Ward 13.
A relative to Bishop Mapuranga named Renias Shoko told TellZim News that the circumstances leading to the accident were puzzling.
“I heard that due to concerns over Covid-19, the driver of the vehicle was immediately rushed to his home country where he is being treated. 
“However, when we went to collect the body of our relative for burial, I managed to get the driver’s contact details. He indeed told me that upon seeing that the snake was underneath his legs, he panicked and lost control of the car causing the fatal accident,” said Shoko.
The late Bishop is survived by two wives and 13 children.

NGO Forum rallies citizens to reject constitutional amendments

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NGO Forum rallies citizens to reject constitutional amendments
Forum board chairperson Jestina Mukoko

Upenyu Chaota

The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO
Forum has launched an online petition to rally citizens to stand up and reject
the 27 proposed constitutional amendments.

The Constitution of Zimbabwe
Amendment (No.2) Bill gazetted on January 17, 2020 is made up of 27 sections
that propose to amend not less than 30 sections of the national constitution.

The proposed amendments follow
the first amendment to the 2013 Constitution which came into effect on
September 07, 2017, which gave the President powers to unilaterally appoint the
Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice and Judge President of the High Court. 

In a petition to Parliament,
which is being backed by thousands of signatures online, The Forum says that
the government should not amend the constitution but rather focus of aligning
some of the draconian laws to the constitution.

“The proposed amendments are of a
fundamental and far-reaching nature interfering with the choice of the citizens
who participated in a referendum which birthed the Constitution of 2013 and
discarded the Lancaster House Constitution which came into operation on 18
April 1980.

“The Constitution as the supreme
law of the land must not be unnecessarily amended. As an enduring piece of law,
which reflects the basic values of the society of Zimbabwe as a whole, and
enacted at great public expense, it is self-evident that the Constitution
should be amended only when it is absolutely necessary to do so.

“Absent absolute necessity, the
Constitution should not be changed with munificent abandon. Great care and
consideration should be taken before any decision to amend it is taken.
Consequently, the petitioners pray that you exercise your powers and turn down
any proposals by the Government to amend the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” reads
the petition.

Amongst other changes, the
omnibus Bill proposes sweeping changes to allow the President to unilaterally
appoint and remove the Vice President(s) outside a popular mandate;

It also gives the President more
powers in the appointment and extension of tenure of judges of superior courts
in a way that takes away transparency.

The Bill also proposes the
extension of the women’s quarter system and creating additional 10 seats for
the youths instead of the government fully implementing the equality clause in
section 56 of the Constitution.

The Bill also cuts on
parliamentary oversight over agreements entered into by the executive with
foreign organizations and companies.

“The running theme in the
proposed amendments is cutting back on checks and balances and separation of
powers.

“Furthermore, some of the
proposed amendments are interfering with provisions that have not been tested
yet. The Forum calls for the implementation of the Constitution and not tinker
with it,” reads the petition.

Zanu PF national secretary for
legal affairs Paul Mangwana once remarked that they have sections in the
constitution which they do not agree with and now that they have a two thirds
parliamentary majority, they would use that to amend the constitution to
consolidate their power.

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