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Gweru mayor launches half a million dollar Christmas Cheer Fund

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Gweru mayor launches half a million dollar Christmas Cheer Fund

Tinaani Nyabereka
GWERU—
City mayor Josiah Makombe last week launched the mayor‘s Christmas cheer fund with
a target of raising about $500 000 which will be directed towards the welfare
of the underprivileged in society during the festive season.
Speaking
at the launch, mayor Makombe called on the business community and various
stakeholders to contribute towards the fund which will benefit the needy groups
in the community.
“As
you know, the purpose of the fund is mainly to reach out to those vulnerable
groups in our society so that they get a decent Christmas gift.
“Last
year we managed to raise a sum of $50 000 which was channelled towards
groceries hampers, sanitary wear and school fees for vulnerable children. We
managed to give $300 to children’s homes as part of the social community
responsibility.
“This
year we are aiming higher as we want to raise $500 000 so that at least we put a
smile on someone’s face and expand the charity to more groups,” said Makombe.
He
said they are organising a Christmas cheer fund dinner to raise the $500 000
they require.
“We
will host a Christmas cheer fund fundraising dinner in a few weeks and we hope
to surpass our expectations. Inflation has risen to unprecedented levels
eroding the buying power of our money so we need our loving people to dig
deeper into their pockets for the poor.
“It
is our responsibility as the community to take care of our less privileged. We
know things are hard on almost everyone but we have to sacrifice for our
underprivileged so that they can have something to eat or wear,” said Makombe.
Gweru
city council pledged to donate a sum of $900 towards the fund, while deputy mayor
Cleopas Shiri, in his individual capacity, pledged a sum of $300.
Pinnacle
Grace church led by Pastor Bruce Chitsungo pledged $1 000.
Gweru
city council acting Town Clerk, Vakai Chikwekwe pledged $500 while FBC bank,
Old Mutual Holdings and Midlands State University (MSU) promised to bring
forward contributions at the fundraising dinner.
Redcliff
and Zvishavane Municipality pledged $5 000 each.

Parents attack Bikita RDC for land corruption

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Parents attack Bikita RDC for land corruption

….
parents keep children from school to protest sale of school land
Anymore Magawa
BIKITA – There
was commotion at Nehanda Primary in Bikita East Ward 24 when parents told their
children not to go to school in protest against council’s decision to carve
away large pieces of school land for sale to home-seekers and businesses.
Parents
also gathered at the school on Monday, November 04, waving placards that
denounced what they called rampant corruption at the local authority.
The
parents chanted that they will prepared to face off with council officials and
defend their school from greed and corruption.
A
source that spoke to TellZim News said parents raised issues of corruption in
2012 but nothing changed up until this year.
“Parents
raised these issues seven years ago before shops were built within the school
premises but all complains were in vain. Corruption in the allocation of land
is increasing and all the school’s land is being sold to businesses and people
who want to build houses. A bottle store was recently built in the school yard,”
said the source.
Nehanda
Primary was set up at the height of the Land Reform Programme, with the
Ministry of Lands allocating 40 hectares to the school.
Parents,
however, claim that council has consistently failed to respect the school’s
boundaries and has been pegging off residential and commercial stands from that
same 40ha.
“We
are going to fight for the rights of our children until we find enough land for
our children because even 12 hectares recommended by the Ministry of Education
Policy is no longer available.
“Bikita
RDC is intransigent, corrupt and badly managed. The school has been shrunk to a
mere 7.5ha from the initial 40ha reserved for it during the Land Reform Programme,”
another angry parent told TellZim News by phone.
When
contacted for comment, Bikita RDC CEO Peter Chibi said he had not yet hear
about the issue and promised to get back to TellZim News but had not done so by
the time of going to print.
Bikita
East Member of Parliament (MP) Johnson Madhuku said he had received reports
about problems between parents and the school and had attended a meeting to try
and resolve the dispute.
“Parents
are really angry for what they suspect to be happening in council. It’s sad
that children lost one day of school because of this. We are trying to work
together to address the grievances of our parents and we have just had a
meeting with the ward councilor and other stakeholders,” said Madhuku.

Safety first as Mimosa holds 15th awards ceremony

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Safety first as Mimosa holds 15th awards ceremony

Christabel
Shumba
ZVISHAVANE – Mimosa Mining Company recently held this year’s Long
Service and Superior Performance Awards as part of the company’s continuous
efforts to reward loyalty.
The colourful event marked the company’s 15th
awards ceremony which is held annually in recognition of employees who have
served the company for varying periods of time.
Mimosa has been emphasising safety after its face
preparation supervisor died in an accident which happened in June this year.
The organisation also experienced a major breakdown in
the ballot mill which lasted a period of 28 days.
Simon Chauraya, who is 49 years of age, was honoured
for his 15 years of committed service to the company, having joined Mimosa in
2004 as an operator of loading, hauling and dump trucks.
Chauraya is now a driver with an accident-free record.
Each month, Mimosa mine produces between
230 000 tonnes and 270 000 tonnes of platinum concentrate.
Company director Fungai Makoni
said mining
was a capital-intensive and the company was required US$40 million and US$45
million every year as stay-in business
capital for equipment maintenance and replacement.
“Our plant maintenance costs range
between US$15 million and US$20 million depending on what we want to maintain
from year to year. And when we talk of expansion, we are looking at removing
some of the inefficiencies that are within our processes,” said Makoni.
He
said the company recently bought a US$10 million processing plant from South Africa
and the machinery was expected to address production inefficiencies.
“We
want to make sure that we optimise the current production platform and get as
much as we can out of what we are doing hence the decision to buy this plant,”
said Makoni.

Severe storm devastates Chivhu

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Severe storm devastates Chivhu

                                           ZPCS Chivhu complex after the storm

….prisons complex shuttered

Elliot Jinjika
CHIVHU – Several homesteads and institutions
were devastated by heavy rains and strong winds that ravaged Chivhu town late
yesterday (November 15), TellZim News can report.
Liebenberg
High School was left in tatters after six block rooms were destroyed and
asbestos roofs were wiped away.
The
old National Foods depot was destroyed and much of the roof was shattered while
the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) offices
suffered the same fate.
Many
houses in Charuma residential area and surrounding places were also damaged.
Ten
families at the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services (ZPCS) cottages were destituted
and had to seek shelter at the police station after their houses were
destroyed.
 ZPCS officers who spoke to TellZim News were
in grief but they were pleased that no life was lost.
 “We have so far send distress calls to
Marondera and we expect them to come urgently together with the Civil Protection
Unit (CPU). Things are not well as you can see and we need urgent assistance,”
said one ZPCS officer.
“Some
of us had to spend the night here at the police station but had to hire a guard
against thieves that usually take advantage of this kind of a situation. We
need urgent help because we have no shelter. We thank God that no one was
killed or injured,” said another officer.

Unity is our strength— VISET marks International Vendors Day

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Unity is our strength— VISET marks International Vendors Day

VISET director Samuel Wadzai

TellZim Reporter
The
Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) today
(November 14,2019) commemorates the International Vendors Day celebrating the
significant contribution street vendors make towards their local economies.
The
day was first celebrated on the November 12, 2012 under the banner of Street
Net International.
In a statement, VISET said that this year’s
commemorations are taking place against the backdrop of
the declaration of war
on vendors’ livelihoods by the authorities.
“This year, the day is being commemorated under the
theme: ‘Unity Is Our Strength’. Street trading
is thriving and growing in harsh
economic times, so we can no longer overlook that street vendors are
an
integral part of urban economies around the world, offering easy access to a
wide range of goods
and services in public spaces.
“It should be acknowledged that street trading is an
ancient and important occupation found in
virtually every country and major
city around the world.

“Street
vending has been seen as a nuisance by many local municipalities and their
right to earn decent livelihoods is always under threat by unfavorable by-laws
and municipal regulations. Urban policies and local economic development
strategies rarely prioritize livelihood security (social protection) for informal
workers. 
“Urban renewal projects and infrastructure upgrades routinely displace
street vendors from natural markets, leaving the most vulnerable without a
suitable workplace,” reads the statement.

VISET
called on the government to accept that vendors are not the enemy but should
work on policies that accommodate the trade.
“Good
practice documentation shows vendors can help with urban management challenges
like crime and cleaning. Also, basic infrastructure, shelter, toilets,
electricity and water can improve work environments and make public spaces
safer, more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. 
“Some
cities are working with street vendors’ organizations to formulate innovative
policies, programmes and practices that enable vendors to have a voice in making
their cities more inclusive.
“The
year 2019 has not been an easy year for street vendors. It was a year when the
government declared war on the vending enterprise through directives by
Municipalities that all vendors be removed from the Central Business Districts
of major towns and cities.
“We
saw Municipal and Zimbabwe Republic Police using force and arresting thousands
of vendors as a response to the directive. More than 4 500 of our members
reported various forms of human rights abuses. Arrests, imprisonment, and
prosecution of hundreds of street vendors also characterized the year. 
“Our
goods were confiscated and some of us were assaulted. Municipal police officers
solicited bribes from us, which ranged from cash to kind.  Some of our female colleagues reported sexual
harassment and abuse wherein they had to provide sexual favours in return for
their confiscated goods or for places in designated vending sites,” said VISET
in a statement.
VISET
believes that while the government has a responsibility to decongest the cities
and confine vending to designated sites, this has to be done in a manner that
does not infringe on street vendors right to livelihoods.

UNHCR hails Zimbabwe for joining global fight against Statelessness

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UNHCR hails Zimbabwe for joining global fight against Statelessness

Leonard Zulu

TellZim Reporter
VUMBA— The United Nations High Commission
for Refugees (UNHCR) has hailed Zimbabwe for taking a bold stance to join a
global fight against Statelessness.
Article
1 (1) of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
defines a stateless person as ‘a person who is not considered as a national by
any State under the operation of its law’.
Addressing
parliamentarians last Friday (November 8) on National and Statelessness
dialogue, UNHCR Deputy Director Regional Bureau for Southern Africa Leonard
Zulu said Zimbabwe’s commitment in fight against Statelessness was commendable.
“Zimbabwe
has already repeatedly demonstrated its capacity and courage by embracing
essential reforms. I have no doubt that, as on many other issues, Zimbabwe will
demonstrate the leadership and vision necessary to make decisive progress of
ensuring that no one is at risk of Statelessness,” said Zulu.
In
2014, the United Nations (UN) with the approval of the General Assembly and the
UN Secretary
General
launched a campaign to end Statelessness by 2024.
According
to UN statistics, there are between 10-12 million people who are Stateless
around the world whilst a child is born Stateless every 10 minutes.
Zulu
reiterated the UNHCR’s commitment to ensure that Zimbabwe succeeds in the
project adding that although it’s ambitious, it’s achievable.
“I
can assure you that UNHCR will do its utmost to support you in this
indispensable effort. I am counting on the strong support of Zimbabwe and other
SADC member states in helping us to reach that goal of ending statelessness by
2024. There is strong momentum that makes this ambitious goal possible,” said
Zulu.
He
said Zimbabwe has the opportunity to develop a comprehensive action plan to
prevent Statelessness in the country.
“Such
a plan is necessary to realize Zimbabwe`s pledge made in October 2019 in Geneva
to contribute to ending Statelessness globally.
“Ultimately,
the concept of ‘belonging’ goes beyond legal texts and identity documents. It requires
the political will to promote tolerance and acceptance of one another and
create a social and human space where all members of the society can be
recognized,” said Zulu.
He
said Statelessness is an essential issue for human and state security,
particularly in a region that is legitimately concerned about protection of its
citizens in face of rising security threats.
“Perhaps
even more serious, depriving persons of a nationality constitutes for the
country a missed opportunity for development and prosperity.
“Ensuring
that everyone can enjoy their right to a State, also allows a State to rely on
the potential and talents of hundreds of thousands of people who would
otherwise be marginalized and excluded,” said Zulu.
Zulu
said UNHCR`s plan of action to end Statelessness is a central element of the ‘I
Belong Campaign’.
“The
first country in the world to have adopted a national action plan on
Statelessness was Benin. Across Africa, there is an increase awareness of the
importance of the right to nationality, with a growing number of adoption of
actions plans to end statelessness, nationality reforms, and increase of birth
registration rate.
“I
trust that soon, similar efforts will be effectively undertaken in Zimbabwe.
For my part, I assure you that UNHCR will do its utmost to support you in the
implementation of national action plan,” said Zulu.

There will be blodshed, warns Sikhala

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There will be blodshed, warns Sikhala

…says party is coming for ED
Upenyu
Chaota
MDC national vice chairperson Job Sikhala, who is
battling subversion charges and last week had his case moved from the Bikita
Magistrates’ Court to Masvingo High Court, has said he will not be cowed into
silence by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.
The fiery opposition leader said his party will take
the offensive to Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa’s doorstep.
Sikhala, who addressed an impromptu rally outside the
Bikita Magistrates’ Court after his court appearance last week, said he knew the
law very well and was convinced he did not commit any crime.
He claimed that what he is alleged to have said about
removing Mnangagwa from power was within his rights.
“I am not just the accused person but I am one of the
best and most brilliant lawyers in this country. I am not bothered at all about
this process. In authoritarian and tyrannical systems that are founded on abuse
of the rule of law and constitutionalism, this is very common.
“There is nothing to be surprised about because our
regime, like its sister regimes of the past, try to survive on the use of
various institutions of the State to thwart any form of perceived or real
threat to their grip on power,” said Sikhala.
Sikhala declared that Zanu PF could silence any other
person but not him, saying he was prepared to die fighting for the freedom of
the people of Zimbabwe.
“You can silence other people but not Job Sikhala. A
person like me will never be silenced, there will be blood. We are prepared to
die for the freedom of the people of Zimbabwe.
“Just like the great military commander Josiah
Tongogara, who died fighting for the freedom of our people, Job Sikhala is
prepared to die. This generation of today has its own liberation fighters in
the form of Advocate Nelson Chamisa and Job Sikhala.
“If they think they will cow us into submission, they
are mistaken because this is the beginning and we are now coming for them.
Hokoyo Mnangagwa! We will never be afraid. We shall keep demanding the freedom
of our people. As long as our people are suffering we will never be silenced,”
said Sikhala.
He said Mnangagwa did not care about the suffering
masses as he lives an extravagant lifestyle hiring private jets from Dubai to
fly him even on local trips to the tune of millions of dollars.
“We have relatives who are teachers whose salaries
cannot even buy underwear but we have a President who spends millions hiring
private jets. People have no jobs and we will not be silent about it.
“The use of the judiciary for purposes of settling
political scores has never been a sustainable strategy in several jurisdictions
including our own during the period of Ian Smith. Command justice is only
applied by people who lack confidence on how to manage the state of affairs.
“Since the coup in November 2017, we noticed excessive
use of military and police power to abuse citizens of our country. We will keep
fighting for our people. Even Smith never thought one day he would be removed
from power but it happened,” said Sikhala.
Sikhala rallied people to throng the Masvingo High
Court on January 27 to send a message to President Mnangagwa that he will not
subvert the will of the people.
“We need to flood the High Court on January 27. We
need thousands of our supporters to come and make a statement that we stand
with our leaders when they are demanding our freedom and our liberation. Musi
wa27 hakudyiwi kuMasvingo,” said Sikhala.
Sikhala found himself in trouble with the law in July
while campaigning for the Bikita East Ward 30 local authority by-election when
he allegedly said that he would remove President Mnangagwa from power.
MDC national youth secretary for information and
publicity Steven ‘Sakorzy’ Chuma said the Zanu PF government needed to be
removed from power ‘because it has caused immense suffering in the country’. 

17 years of 0% pass rate for Mwenezi school

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17 years of 0% pass rate for Mwenezi school

Cephas Shava

MWENEZI – Pupils
at Turf Primary School in Ward 15 has over the past 17 years ran without even a
single classroom block and has recorded a zero percent pass rate in grade seven
examinations ever since.
During
lessons, many pupils sit on the ground under makeshift structures built of
wooden poles and dagga with thatched roof.
Turf
Primary School Teacher-in-Charge (TIC) Bernard Mahutse said the school was
facing some of the worst conditions a school could ever face in the country.
“Grade
seven classes use these facilities during their final examinations. We have a
total enrolment of 368 pupils and we have few pieces of furniture such that
some of our pupils learn seated on the ground,” said Mahutse.
Teachers
do not stay longer at the school as there are no houses for them, and none of
them is motivated to stay at the school for a long time.
“There
are five teachers here and that shows you how understaffed we are. Different
grades are combined into one single class to make it easier for teachers to
cope. Teachers do not stay for long and pupils are taught by new faces all the
time,” said Mahutse.
Local
parents also lamented the conditions at the school which they described as good
as a play centre for their children to pass their time.
“Nothing
is learnt at Turf as our children just go there to grow up and socialise with
their age-mates. During the rainy season, many parents would rather have their
children herding cattle and goats than to going to school where they benefit
nothing except to come back home with dirt uniforms,” said female parent.
Ward
15 Cllr Edson Chauke said the school faced a serious predicament as the
Ministry of Lands was yet to officially authorise the school’s location.
“Conditions
there are really bad and that is tragic to the future of our children there.
The Ministry of Land is backtracking on pegging the school to make its siting
permanent.
“We
briefed our MP (Priscilla Moyo) about the state of affairs at the school and she
promised to assist in that regard. We will keep pushing to ensure that a way
out is found and conditions there are improved,” said Chauke.
Mwenezi
Rural District Council (RDC), which is the responsible authority, through the
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Albert Chivanga acknowledged the state of affairs
at the school.
Chivanga
told TellZim News in a telephone interview that schools which were unpegged and
are on private properties are difficult to develop until certain issues got clarified.
The
entire Mwenezi district has a total of 172 schools, 102 of which are satellites,
having been born out of the often chaotic Land Reform Programme.
Most
satellite schools in the district are in a sorry state, with Turf Primary being
just but an epitome of worse things going on.

Chipinge chief accused of stealing food aid

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Chipinge chief accused of stealing food aid

                                            Chief Mupungu


Stephen Ephraem
CHIPINGE – A Chipinge traditional leader,
Chief Mupungu (born Happison Nxumalo) of the Nguni/Ndwandwe people in Chipinge
South is making headlines for the wrong reasons.
Barely
a month after the youthful leader was in the news for selling a very expensive
Isuzu twin cab vehicle that was allocated to him by government for a few
thousand dollars, Chief Mupungu is now accused of selling tonnes of rice that
was meant for his less privileged subjects.
A
source privy to this development revealed that instead of facilitating the
distribution of the grain to poor people, he sold it to some civil servants in
Chipinge South.
“Chief Mupungu is now at war with people in his territory. He
was manhandled last
week during a rain-making ceremony as people were angry at him for various
reasons
but the main issue was that he sold rice that was meant for the people affected
by drought in his land,”
said one source.
“It is our understanding that each chief was allocated five
tonnes of rice under a Presidential programme but Chief Mupungu took the grain
for himself and started selling it to civil servants in the area.
“We only heard that the chief was selling the rice for R300
for a 50kg bag and some of the bags that were delivered at Garahwa business
centre for sale,”
said a source.
Efforts
to get a comment from Chief Mupungu by the time of going to print proved futile
as his phone could not be reached on voice call.
He
had also not responded to questions sent to him via SMS.

Govt insincerity on devolution appalling, says NGO Forum

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Govt insincerity on devolution appalling, says NGO Forum
Wilbert Mandinde

Upenyu
Chaota

MASVINGO— Section 264 of the Zimbabwean constitution provides
for devolution of power from the central government to provinces but the
President Emmerson Mnangagwa led administration has not passed the law to
operationalise the process yet the ministry of finance has already disbursed
millions in devolution funds, a move which experts say shows the ‘new
dispensation’s’ lack of sincerity to devolve power.
Speaking at the Provincial and Metropolitan Council
Shadow Bill consultative meeting last week, Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
senior projects lawyer Wilbert Mandinde said the government should work on the
devolution law first before they start disbursing funds.
“When we are looking at devolution in terms of
Zimbabwe you take it from the context of the Constitution and our starting
point is Section 264 which speaks of devolution of governmental powers and
responsibilities.
“So it deals with both devolution of governmental
powers as well as responsibilities initially of central government. The section
is clear to say that power should be devolved from national to either provincial
or metropolitan council as well as further down to the local authority, which
is the whole idea,” said Mandinde.
Mandinde said the disbursement of devolution funds
without the law means that the money may be used on other things opposite to
the intended purpose.
“In terms of Section 265 (3), it requires an act of
parliament to provide appropriate mechanisms and procedures to facilitate
coordination from central government, provincial, metropolitan and local
councils. So there is need for a law as a starting point but here we see that
the government has already started giving people money for devolution. The law
is supposed to spell out how the money is supposed to be used so by giving out
money without the law I do not know what the government is trying to do.
“The law is not there at the moment. The aspirations
of both the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) and NGO Forum is then to say let us
discuss a model law so that when money is disbursed people are able to handle
the money as per the law.
“Devolution money should be used in a manner that
benefits the community but the issue is on who determines what is good for the
community. We have a situation here in Masvingo City where the council wants to
use devolution money to drill boreholes to alleviate the water crisis but is
that what the community agreed on because the city council is obliged to
provide water even when the devolution money was not there. I see no link
really to say that the money being given to the local authorities is for
devolution when it is being used for service delivery,” said Mandinde.
He said the government should treat devolution
different from decentralisation as the two are not the same.
“Devolution recognises the right of communities to
manage their own affairs to further their development. It is important to note
that devolution is not decentralisation. Decentralisation is a simple issue in
which you simply say you can have something similar to national government
within provincial or local structures.
“Devolution then goes to the power the people have
within each and every area and are able to make decisions on their own based on
the resources they have.
“I do not understand why the government is taking long
to come up with the devolution law but the conclusion any one person can make
is that the government is not being very sincere.  The government realises the importance of the
particular constitution provision.
“The government further realises that it is obliged to
implement and I think is one of the things that they campaigned with saying they
will devolve power,” said Mandinde.
Sources within Zanu PF said their party never wanted
devolution as it would amount to loss of political capital.
“People should know that the constitution is a
negotiated document between MDC and Zanu PF. This section on devolution is
purely MDC and Zanu PF does not want to devolve power. Devolving power means
losing it and we will not devolve ourselves out of power.
“At some point Mwonzora (Douglas) offered to come up
with the devolution law but we shot it down,” said a Zanu PF source.
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