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Masvingo’s broken pumps are only 3-years-old

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Masvingo’s broken pumps are only 3-years-old


Picture: The new Indian-made pumps that have since broken down


Moses Ziyambi

The water pumps that broke down on August 22, leading the ongoing severe water shortages in the city are only three years old, TellZim News can reveal.

The pumps were commissioned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was then vice president, on Friday April 24, 2015 after the completion of upgrades at the Bushmead waterworks.

The upgrades, which also extended to the sewerage works in Eastvale as well as the Rujeko sewer pump station, were made possible through money raised by the Zimbabwe Multi-Donor Trust Fund which was being managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The donors were wealthy Western countries that included Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Australia.

At the Rujeko sewer pump station, a massive generator was put in place to make sure that the system is never deprived of power even during load-shedding, thereby ensuring that no untreated effluent flowed into Mucheke River at any given time.

People were also told that efficiency had also been improved at the sewerage works through upgrades and capacity expansion.

At Bushmead, two brand new Indian-made pumps were installed to replace the old Rhodesian pumps that were reportedly put in place way back in 1967, meaning the old pumps had served the city for 48 good years.

A whole new Indian-built electrical system was also installed to power the ‘better’ pumps that had just been installed.

On the day of the commissioning of the new upgraded systems, City of Masvingo engineer Tawanda Gozo led the tour of Bushmead, telling Mnangagwa and his delegation of ministers that the water situation in the city was never going to be the same again.

He said a third reserve pump had also been installed at the intake tower for use only in emergency situations.

It is against this background that many people were outraged to learn that what they had hoped to be a long-term improvement of the water situation in the city was somehow a farce.

Outgoing City of Masvingo town clerk, Adolf Gusha communicated last week that the new pumps had broken down unexpectedly, hinting that the equipment was substandard.

“The broken down pumps are fairly new; less than five years against a design lifespan of 20 years. At the moment, we are focusing on repairs. Getting a new one will take much longer. It’s an option on the horizon. A new pump could cost anything north of $300 000,” Gusha said.local

 

 

 

I’m not moved by tribalism, says Byo’s Cllr Batirai

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I’m not moved by tribalism, says Byo’s Cllr Batirai


Moses Ziyambi

Newly-elected Bulawayo MDC Alliance Ward 24 councillor, Arnold Batirai Dube has claimed that he was threatened by members of the secessionist Mthakazi groupings soon after being sworn in as councillor last week.

He however said he would not be moved by ‘the shenanigans of people who did not vote for me’, but would instead focus to effectively represent the people of Nketa who elected him.

Dube triggered a commotion in council chambers when he recited his oath of office in Shona, in front of an audience presumed to have been predominantly Ndebele.

Videos of the squabbles, in which Dube could be seen citing the country’s 16 official languages to defend his conduct against hordes of agitated activists, were widely circulated on social media.

“I am not at all moved. Those are not the people who voted for me so my focus now is to work for the people of Nketa who chose me to represent them in council,” said Dube, who originally hails from Masvingo South.

He said the incident was staged and blown out of proportion by Gideon Mangena, a fellow MDC Alliance candidate whom he defeated in the July 30 elections. Serious intra-MDC Alliance disagreements in the ward saw the opposition coalition fielding two candidates to contest for the council seat.

“What happened is that Mangena had hoped that I was not going to be sworn in before the conclusion of the two spurious criminal cases he laid against me before the elections. When he heard that I had been invited to the swearing in ceremony at the very last minute, he hired the Mthwakazi guys who booed me and made distasteful tribal remarks as I entered the gallery. They had planned it in advance but I stood my ground.

“After the event, they accosted me outside and threatened to kill me. They even told me the day they would kill me, claiming that they knew I and some councillors wanted to vote for a Shona mayor,” said Dube.

The 32-year-old councillor, who is the Tendai Biti-led People’s Democratic Party (PDP) youth leader, contested for the ward despite the alliance having endorsed Mangena – who belongs to Welshman Ncube’s MDC – four days before election day.

He won by 2 237 against Mangena’s 2 104 and Zanu PF’s Justice Bango who scored 1 752. The other eight candidates scored just below 200 votes each on average.

Dube went to Shonganiso Primary School before proceeding to Berejena Mission for his secondary education. He did his ‘A’ levels at Masvingo Christion College and is currently studying for a marketing degree with a South African institution.politics

 

 

MDC Alliance councillors donate deputy mayoral post to ruling party

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MDC Alliance councillors donate deputy mayoral post to ruling party


New Masvingo mayor Collen Maboke (left) with town clerk Adolf Gusha soon after the mayoral election

…MDC Alliance beds Zanu PF in awful Faustian bargain

Upenyu Chaota

The mayoral and deputy mayoral elections in council chambers on Wednesday evening produced shocking results, with some of the MDC Alliance councillors voting for a Zanu PF councillor to be deputy mayor.

This was said to be in complete defiance of a party directive which had reportedly wanted Ward 1 councillor Selina Maridza to deputise Godfrey Kurauone of Ward 4.

In a shocking turn of events however, Maridza ganged up with three other MDC Alliance councillors and the three Zanu PF councillors to vote for MDC Alliance’s Collen Maboke (Ward 2) as mayor and Zanu PF’s Wellington Mahwende as deputy mayor.

This threw into complete quandary the decisions of the opposition coalition with regards to leadership of the city council for the next five years.

After the results went public, angry MDC Alliance supporters thronged the Civic Centre baying for the blood of the councillors suspected of throwing their lots with Zanu PF.

In the chambers, there was some quarrelling over the voting method, with Kurauone moving a motion for a candidate to be first nominated and then have them seconded, while Town Clerk Adolf Gusha suggested a secret ballot which was then thrown out of the window.

The plan was to nominate Kurauone and Maridza and let them sail through unopposed, but Mahwende pulled a shocker by nominating Maboke out of the blue.

Maboke then accepted the offer, much to the shock of Kurauone who had expected an easy sail-through. Kurauone was to be shocked even more when results came out showing Maboke had won by seven votes to his three, confirming his worst fear that Zanu PF’s three councillors had struck a deal with four MDC Alliance councillors rabidly opposed to him.

Musekiwa and Ward 5 councillor Daniel Mberikunashe were fighting from Kurauone’s corner while the other councillors were rallying behind Maboke.

The whole conspiracy came to light when councillors voted for the deputy mayor, with Kurauoke –  despite having already been betrayed – sticking to the original script of nominating Maridza as deputy mayor, with Mberikunashe seconding.

Zanu PF’s Ward 8 councillor Against Chiteme then nominated Mahwende who accepted and won the vote, with Maridza being suspected of having voted against herself.

Rumours are that Mahwende used his vast financial muscle to secretly capture the four MDC Alliance councillors opposed to Kurauone. These are Maridza, Maboke, Tarusenga Vhembo (Ward 3) and Babylon Beta (Ward 9).

Kurauone, Mberikunashe and Musekiwa were reportedly kept completely in the dark and were misled into believing that the original script would succeed.

“How can they do this? We campaigned for our party and the people we voted for are supping with the enemy,” screamed one visibly angry supporter.

Municipal police officers had a torrid task trying to restrain the angry mob from storming the council chambers.

“It is better to be arrested for beating up all of these sell-outs because they seem not to understand our struggle. We are fighting Zanu PF and our councillors are busy voting for them. We will demand an emergency provincial meeting to have all the sell-out councillors recalled. These people have no principles at all and they have given Zanu PF space to infiltrate,” said another irate supporter.

MDC Alliance provincial chairperson James Gumbi could not be reached for comment by the time of going to print.top news

Burglar bars trap burglar

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Burglar bars trap burglar

Darlington Kanyongo

ZVISHAVANE – A Mberengwa man was arraigned before magistrate Shepherd Mjanji facing unlawful entry charges after he broke into Tembani Ndlovu’s house and got trapped between burglar bars as he tried to flee.
Believe Mangena (27) pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment.
It was the State’s case that on July 30 at around 02:00 am, the accused broke into Ndlovu’s house in Madhora village under Chief Mataruse.
Mangena successfully squeezed himself through the burglar bars and gained access into the house. As he was squeezing himself through the burglar bars, his trousers got hooked and he decided to remove it.
When he gained access into the house, and before he could put his trousers back on, Mangena pushed the sitting room door which made a quirking sound and alerted Ndlovu who was sleeping in the next room.
Ndlovu woke up to check on the noise and found Mangena without his trousers and he tried to escape through the same window only to be trapped.
Ndlovu screamed and the neighbours rushed to the scene only to find Mangena, who was also screaming for help, stuck on the window.
The police were called to the scene leading to Mangena’s arrest.local

Man arrested for possession of three hyena legs

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Man arrested for possession of three hyena legs

Cephas Shava

MWENEZI – A 65 year old Beitbridge man who trapped a hyena and was found in possession of the animal’s three legs was recently arrested and arraigned before the Mwenezi Magistrates Court.
Kaison Meke pleaded guilty to the offence and was charged for contravening Section 5 of the Trapping of Animals Control Act Chapter 20:21.
Magistrate Honest Musiiwa sentenced him to 10 months imprisonment of which four months were conditionally suspended.
The remaining six months were set aside on condition he performs 210 hours of community service at Makombe Primary School.
Presented by prosecutor Willard Chasi, the State’s case was that sometime in February this year, Meke went to Zimbabwe Bio Energy (ZBE) game section where he set a wire snare.
He caught and killed one male hyena.
Upon discovering some of the hyena’s remains, ZBE game scouts traced the footprints which led to Meke’s homestead.
Upon arriving and searching at Meke’s homestead, the game scouts found Meke in possession of three hyena legs. The value of the killed hyena was put at US$1000. 
A police report was made leading to Meke’s arrest.local

Daniel Shumba fails to pay polling agents

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Daniel Shumba fails to pay polling agents

Daniel Shumba

Clayton Shereni

United Democratic Alliance (UDA) polling agents are up in arms against party president, Daniel Shumba whom they accuse of failing to pay the allowances owed to them for representing him at various polling stations during the July 30 harmonised elections, TellZim News has learnt.
Some of the affected agents who spoke to TellZim News said Shumba just went stone silent after the announcement of election results, and he avoided them each time they tried to engage him over the matter.
One of the agents who declined to be named for fear of victimisation said Shumba failed to honour his promise to pay them their allowances and has since removed them from the party’s WhatsApp group.
“We have tried to confront him over our money but he is ignoring our complaints. He has removed us from the WhatsApp group called UDA Orientation which was created for us agents. He doesn’t pick our calls when we try to reach out to him,” said the agent.
When contacted for comment, Shumba dismissed the matter saying the people could be bogus, daring them to produce V11 forms to prove that they were genuinely his agents.
“How do you know that they are not fraudsters? Did they show you the V11 forms to prove that they were my agents?  All agents were given those forms. You should not have called me, you should have called the council or parliamentary candidate of their area, not me,” said Shumba.
Efforts to get a comment from Fadzai Chaderopa, who was in charge of compiling the list of agents before the elections, were fruitless as her mobile went unanswered. 
Prince Nota who ran for the Masvingo Urban Ward 7 council seat on a UDA ticket, could neither confirm nor deny the allegations saying the money was supposed to be sent to the agents directly.
“The money was supposed to be sent to the agents directly not through me so you can call the president and hear from him,” said Nota.
Shumba’s party is one of the losing parties that have reportedly failed to pay the polling agents it employed.
Joyce Mujuru’s People’s Rainbow Coalition (PRC) was recently involved in a dispute with its 87 polling agents in Shamva South constituency after failing to pay them for services rendered.
Linda Masarira of MDC-T (Khupe faction) recently admitted on Twitter that she was in debt after losing the race for the Harare Central parliamentary seat.

Murra drags Masvingo to High Court over water woes

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Image result for Masvingo water problems pic


Moses Ziyambi

The Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (Murra) has made an urgent High Court application for an order compelling Masvingo City Council to quickly restore water to all areas that have not had the service or have had erratic supplies since Thursday last week.

City of Masvingo had not filed its response by the time of writing but the matter is expected to be heard in the Masvingo High Court on Tuesday.

The application lists Murra and Anoziva Muguti as first and second applicants respectively while Masvingo City Council is listed as the sole respondent. The residents’ rights organisation is being represented by Phillip Shumba of Mutendi, Midisi and Shumba Legal Practitioners.

“The Constitutional rights of the Applicants and all those on whose behalf they bring the Application are under imminent threat as a direct result of the actions and inactions of the Respondent. Specifically in that the Respondent threatened and continues to threaten not to supply water to the residents for it is now seven days without a supply of running water to the residents of Masvingo.

“The Respondent has failed to take action for the past seven days to restore water supply to the residents of Masvingo.

“The Applicants aver that the continuation of the above actions and inactions will likely cause irreparable harm to the Applicants and all those they represent and therefore seek an interim Mandatory interdict compelling the Respondent to supply water to the residents,” reads part of the application.

On Sunday, August 26, City of Masvingo released a statement, signed by outgoing town clerk Adolf Gusha, attributing faults on its pumping equipment at Bushmead waterworks as the cause for the crisis.

“The City is seized with carrying out repairs to the equipment that has been taken to Harare. While every effort is being made to expedite the repairs, we are unable to give a date when supplies will resume at full capacity,” part of the stament reads.

The crisis has sparked fears of a cholera and/or typhoid outbreak similar to that which recently hit Gweru.top news

 

Mr Ibu too confused

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Mr Ibu too confused

Mapombi will not hesitate to say the truth; the so called war vets are destroying our economy. I now understand why Mugabe and ED have continued to ignore the plight of war vets – they are just empty vessels.
Chiefs are better cared for than war vets; Madzimambo takamapa mota dzakanaka because they are more important and critical than the veterans of liberation struggle. Many war vets are living miserable lives; they are struggling to have decent meals and the reason is very simple – they have no value in the eyes of Zanu PF.
Chiefs command a lot of respect within the Zanu PF rank and file, and as a result, they were given brand new Isuzu twin cabs while vana Chinooneka vedu vachingotikida netsoka. Muchatsikwa nemadzimambo fambirai kure nemugwagwa uko.
Mapombi used to respect war vets so much but the respect has since vanished. Two war vets to blame are Mutsvangwa and Matemadanda who is now nicknamed Mr Ibu by the people of Zimbabwe. Kkkkkkk the name Mr Ibu was driven from a popular Nigerian actor, which many people believe is a gifted comedian.
Firstly, Mutsvangwa lost primary elections before accusing the Zanu PF national political commissar, Dr Englebert Rugeje of being a political novice. Yes, he had the guts of attacking the commissar until he was given the mandate to represent Norton but, again, he lost dismally to an independent candidate, Temba Mliswa.
The reason why Mutsvangwa lost is very simple – he thinks he knows everything because of his Student Campanion-powered English diction. I am sure Mutsvangwa will be irrelevant soon together with Mr Ibu if they do not change the narrative of war vets to inclusive economic development and political tolerance.
Personally, I don’t understand Matemadanda – today he is attacking Chamisa, tomorrow is praising him – what kind of a person are you Cde Ibu? Confused war vet who desperately needs to get the attention of ED so that he can get a ministerial post?
One day he was saying Chamisa must be kicked out if MDC is to become a better party saying vana mukoma Doug Mwonzora are far much better leaders, and the next day atopinda muReverse gear hanzi Chamisa should work together with ED because the young politician commands a huge following. Manje toziva zvipi nhai Mr Ibu?
When thinks are not favouring you ndopamunoti Chamisa haana dhiri but kana moda kuti zvikunakirei you say Chamisa ndiye ane yese kkkkkkkk now I understand why Mugabe didn’t want to see these comrades.
Mapombi now understand why Mugabe akadira maWar Vets mvura ine unye gore riye when they tried to engage him kkkkkkk hokoyo nemapurisa. With this kind of leadership which sings for its supper no one can bother to respect our liberation war fighters.
And to show the confusion; they are even fighting one of their own – the one they spent over 37 years praising kuti he was the best leader ever, Robert Mugabe. But now they are fighting petty issues like the change of name of Robert Mugabe International Airport to, of course they will say, ED Ngwena Pfee International Airport. Kkkkkk these comrades. Mukati kuchikoro vakatombodarikawo nako? Only God knows!
We want people who can exercise tolerance. They used to attack Mugabe with all sorts of derogatory words, including kumutukira mukadzi wake Dr Gire, but simply because he refused to vote for ED they now want the national airport name changed again. Zvimwe itai muchiti munotamba varume imi kana musina zvekuita handei Gokwe tindochera mbeva.
Attend to bread and butter issues not trivial issues. Is our economy going to tick because they have changed the airport name? kkkkk baba vangu iwe zvakuri kungoverenga mbeva nemarisezve imi – we cannot have a leadership which can stoop that low.
Anyway, we know there are well-respected war vets who are level-headed, not these comedians. But they are the leaders and whatever they do has a bearing on the once respected organisation.
It’s almost lunch time let me go zvangu ndindokanga zvangu maputi angu for lunch ndizvidyire ndigonwa yemuna Mucheke umu. Yes, I will drink straight from Mucheke River because our city fathers have gone for a week failing to repair some few burst pipes. Kkkkkk ugoona vanhu vacho kusvika nekungwarira kuti ED Pfee, ED Pfee. Itai ED Pfee yenyu iyeyo but we want clean water in the city.
Mapombi is surely going to visit you at the Civic Centre one day mava kujairira guta imi. Ndozokudirai mvura yema Mucheke iyo tema team inodai kunhuwa iyi, kana kuti ndoidira muma office enyu. Or should we start believing that Gusha ndiye waingozvigona and now that he is going tichashaya mvura yakachena forever. Or are these early signs of ED’s leadership?  Ndokutonga kwaro here uku nhaimi vanhu?
Probably this is pure sabotage, Mapombi is allowed to think that way. Anyway, some of us we are used to drinking direct from Mucheke River where they dispose sewer imomo but I am only concerned about my brothers and sisters who can still afford decent lives that they may soon suffer from typhoid.
That is why Mapombi always misses people like Mphoko because when situations are like this, when residents go for a week without water, they chip in and donate bottled water kkkkkkkkk. Koi ye ndakahwa kuti haana kudamwawo ku inoguresheni. It’s bad. How could ED forget to invite his once fellow VP to his inauguration? Zakaoma hazvo. Mboko imboko!mapombi

Pirates beg Mazarire to come back

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Benjaman Taguma Mazarire

…as club struggles to pay players

Clayton Shereni

Masvingo Pirates FC are seeking to reconcile with their former main benefactor, Zanu PF politician and businessman Benjaman Taguma Mazarire, with the club currently struggling to pay players their salaries.
Sources claim that the players had expected to get money from Mazarire who had committed himself to paying their winning bonuses and salaries for the whole of the 2018 season.
Some players who spoke to TellZim News on condition of anonymity said they were failing to make ends meet and would not be able pay their children’s school fees this coming term unless there are drastic changes.
"We were told at the beginning of the season that Mazarire was going to pay our salaries but now he has deserted the club. We are struggling to pay rentals and school fees since we are fulltime footballers," said a player.
Contacted for comment, Masvingo Pirates team manager, Isaac Chapura said he could not comment on the issue and referred all questions to club Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Phillip Shumba.
"The way we operate at our club is different from other clubs, I think Mr Shumba can answer that one because I am not fully aware of the contractual obligations of the players," said Chapura.
When contacted for comment, Shumba said the players had not been paid their salaries since Mazarire pulled out some few weeks ago.
"As we all know that the economic environment is not very conducive, we have been having problems paying salaries. The executive has, however, tried to give them their weekly bonuses and we are working tirelessly to make sure our players get their salaries in full," said Shumba.
Contacted for comment, Pirates spokesperson Godfrey Mtimba confirmed the matter saying the club was failing to meet some contractual obligations since the departure of key stakeholders especially Mazarire.
"I can confirm that we are having some challenges with regards to meeting our contractual obligations with players; issues like salaries and allowances for their upkeep. We have experienced some challenges since the departure of some of our executive members and the patron who were playing a critical role in ensuring that the club was financed," said Mtimba
He also expressed optimism concerning the club's re engagement with their ex-patron who also hinted last week that he might come back to bankroll a football team which he however refused to disclose.
"We are optimistic that the patron will make a comeback soon, as he has a strong passion for the beautiful game of football and we applaud him for that," said Mtimba.
Mazarire pulled out of Masvingo Pirates after a controversial political incident when some fans used an MDC Alliance-branded vehicle to travel to Mpandawana for one of the team’s matches.
The car belonged to the team’s lawyer, Collen Maboke who was the opposition alliance’s council candidate for Masvingo Urban Ward 2.
Mazarire was then contesting for the Masvingo Urban parliamentary seat on a Zanu PF ticket; a race he has since lost to the MDC Alliance’s candidate, Jacob Nyokanhete.sport

UK-based Zim DJ organises pool tourney for charity

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UK-based Zim DJ organises pool tourney for charity
Phillip Sibanda

Tiyani Hahlani

MASVINGO – Phillip Sibanda, a Zimbabwean radio presenter at Wythenshawe FM in the United Kingdom (UK), last Saturday arranged a pool tournament aimed at raising funds to help a physically-challenged child in Harare.
Proceeds from the tournament will be channelled towards the purchase of a wheelchair for six-year-old disabled child; Kunashe Gava.
The tournament saw Railton Masvingo hosting Bulawayo-based side, Zimra who won the games and walked away with US$250 and a floating trophy.
The tournament raised US$80 which will be used to buy the much-needed wheel chair in Harare.
In an interview with TellZim News, Sibanda aka Air Marshall Commander, expressed great joy in making a difference in the lives of the less privileged.
"I am happy with the support which we have received from all our donors who participated. They managed to squeeze from the little they have to put smiles on the face of the children who live in this community,” said Sibanda.
The tournament also included the speed category in which the contestants competed to finish and pocket all the balls first.
Sibanda urged the diaspora and other people around the country to help children living on the streets as well as people with disabilities.
“I am appealing to anyone who lives in the diaspora, whether you come from Masvingo or Tsholotsho, to look back where you come from and help your community. If you get one child whose school fees you can pay, the better for humanity. These children need it and they definitely need your help,” he said.sport

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