MASVINGO – National People’s Party (NPP) president Dr Joice Mujuru will visit the province on May 11 at Maungwa business centre in Gutu South to address a party rally.
According to party officials, the visit is meant to commission the newly-elected provincial and national leadership and to update the people on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the party signed with MDC-T.
Speaking to TellZim News, senior NPP member Jeffryson Chitando urged people to attend the rally in their thousands.
“All people are invited to attend the rally. This is the beginning of launching our party in the rural areas and the history of the death of Zanu PF will be marked at Maungwa.
“We also urge the youth to register to vote because it is the first step to break the umbilical cord of the Zanu PF stronghold in rural areas and we believe it is the first step to bury Zanu PF once and for all,” Chitando said.
He also went on to say the rally is meant to give an address on the state economy and to launch the 2018 election campaign.local

Memory Rasa

MASVINGO – A 33-year-old man from Sisk in Mucheke was last week jailed for indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl by forcing her to masturbate him and ejaculating on her hands without her consent.
Although he pleaded not guilty to the charge when he appeared before Masvingo Provincial Margistarte Langton Ndokera on April 27, 2016, Kevin Masabayana (33) was found guilty as charged and sentenced to 12 months of which three months were suspended.
It was the State’s case that on March 24, 2016, around 16:00 hrs, the 15-year-old girl had gone to Musabayana’s place of residence where her friend resides as a tenant but did not find her.
When she was leaving, the accused called her saying he wanted to give her his electricity card so that she could give it to her friend who had gone to the shops so that she could buy electricity.
The accused then dragged her into a room and locked the door before forcing the child to squeeze his already erect manhood and later spilled white substance on her hand.
Masabayana then gave the child a cream jacket to put on as she was shivering and told her to keep it saying it was his daughter’s which no longer fits.
The jacket was produced in court as evidence.
Coster Sesenyani prosecuted.local

Beatific Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI – Students from the Zimbabwe Staff College who are taking part in the Joint Commandant Staff Course number 30 last week toured the best-performing sugarcane farms owned by indigenous farmers where they expressed appreciation of the role being played by the farmers in the development of the local economy.
A hundred and twenty-three army officers from the SADC region and Nigeria who are taking part in the course visited the Incorruptible Sappers Farm which is owned by Major Faster Gono (Rtd).
The farm, located in Hippo Valley, produces more than 140 tons of cane per hectare, making it the best farm in the region.
Commandant Zimbabwe Staff College, Brigadier General Josphat Kudumba said the team was touring various areas that are playing a critical role in the survival of the economy of the country.
“We are on a study tour with students of the Joint Commandant Staff Course which is designed for students to study defence and security issues and as we might be aware, security studies these days are much more diversified.
“We look at various areas of how the economy of Zimbabwe is surviving. We have already visited other industries including the mining sector and this specific trip is for us to know how much the industry contributes to the economy and this is important for our national security studies,” said Brig Gen Kudumba.
Speaking at the same event, former Tongaat Hullet executive Farai Musikavanhu said the sugar industry was key to national economic development.
“We harvest an average yield of 110 tons per hectare and the yield that we get from those tons is around 13.8 tons of raw brown sugar. The revenue per ton is around $540 – 600 and we translate it to around $7 400 per hectare revenue….In a year, we harvest 4.7 million tons of cane which can be processed up to 600 000 tons of raw sugar.
“In addition to that, you get molasses which can be cemented to produce ethanol and livestock feed. About four percent of cane tonnage produces 200 000 tons of molasses per year. We also have fibre or bargas at three percent.
“Bargas is of strategic importance in that we burn it in specialised boilers to produce electricity. During the milling season, the sugar industry does not import electricity from the national grid. In fact, we end up exporting into the national grid. Electricity from bargas can equate to something like 800 megawatts,” said Musikavanhu.local

Beatific Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI – Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Shuvai Ben Mahofa has blamed government for neglecting Chilonga and Mwenezi bridges in Chiredzi district saying the derelict bridges were slowing development in the area.
Speaking at the commissioning of road equipment at Chiredzi Rural District Council by the Minister of Rural Development, Promotion and Preservation of National Culture and Heritage Abednigo Ncube last week, Mahofa said conservancies like Malilangwe Trust can be made to upgrade the bridges.
“We have conservancies here in Chiredzi which are owned by those who refused to leave the country in 1980. We should have forced them to construct those bridges because they have a lot of money,” said Mahofa.
She also blamed the government for misusing the resources in Chiredzi that she said if they had been properly utilised, local authorities would long have been able to build better bridges in place of what is currently there.
“This is one of the biggest councils in Zimbabwe which has many resources although the government takes some through taxes as has been highlighted before. If they were in control of these resources, they could have constructed the bridge themselves,” said Mahofa.
Turning to Ncube, Mahofa said there was need to enable council to create Private/Public Partnerships (PPPs) to solve some of the country’s development challenges.
“Minister I want you to tell President Mugabe that the council can do it through their Public Private Partnerships. We once wrote to him about that. Let’s give responsibility to those with the problem. I think they can solve it faster than anyone else,” she said.
The narrow and low Chilonga Bridge across the wide Runde River easily gets flooded in the rain season forcing villagers to use unsafe makeshift boats. Many lives have also been lost as desperate people tried to cross the bridge while it was flooded.local

MASVINGO – Workers Day celebrations held at Mucheke Stadium on Monday were dominated by loud calls for workers to fight for their rights in a desolate economy where the average employee can no longer afford the basics of life.
Kamurai Moyo, a National Executive member of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) who was representing the national president Peter Mutasa, expressed concern over the rate of unemployment which he said was signified by a demoralised working class.
“We used to fill these places when we do these celebrations but now look, there are few people here, and what does this signify; there are no workers,” said Moyo.
Moyo said the union could not desist from politics while workers were starving as the welfare of workers depended on good political leadership.
 “When people see us, they say ZCTU is now doing politics. We say yes, there is no way we can desist from politics while we are starving,” said Moyo.
In his speech, Moyo said a survey by ZCTU showed that a large number of the people are working suffer wage theft, a situation whereby workers fail to get their dues while their employers enjoy obscene luxury.
“At least 120 000 workers across the country worked without pay between 2015 and 2016 and about 350 000 of the formally employed workers live in poverty.
“We do not want to be misquoted here, the workers are not fighting a single person as some people would want to say, the workers are fighting for their rights,” he said.
The celebrations ran under the national theme: Fighting Unemployment, Poverty and Inequalities.local

Salani

Shumirai Zhou

ZVISHAVANE – The need to mitigate corruption saw the Zvishavane Anti-corruption Community Voluntary Action Group and the anti-corruption team of Kwekwe launching an anti-corruption awareness campaign.
About 172 kraal heads and headmen under Chief Masunda attended the meeting and were educated about forms of corruption and its effects in society.
Maxwell Moyo, an anti-corruption activist with the Zvishavane team was among the presenters.
“Corruption being the misuse of entrusted power, office, authority or resources for private gain appears in form of bribery, embezzlement, nepotism and favoritism among others vices. It results in political, economic, social and environmental effects. Corruption itself is like an armyworm in the maize field and has destroyed our country’s economy. We must unite as a community to end it before our lives are in danger,” said Moyo
Moyo arranged with the kraal heads to form village committees of anti-corruption to curb the scourge in their areas.
“Induction training will be done for those in the committee and these committees should report any corruption case to our group (the anti-corruption group in Zvishavane),” said Moyo.
Obert Chinhamo, coordinator of the anti-corruption team in Kwekwe, urged village heads to unite and report all corruption activities in their areas as soon as it happens.
The whole community agreed to work together in eradicating all forms of corruption within Chief Masunda’s area.
Incumbent Chief Masunda, Aaron Vengesa Nyoni urged kraal heads to be part of the anti-corruption drive in their respective areas.local

Lloyd Shunje in Mutare

MUTARE – In a case that has left Mutumburi villagers under Chief Garahwa in Chipinge shocked, a man believed to be a Mozambican national was found murdered and burnt allegedly by Muchaneta Simango Chigoti who has since been arrested.
Chigoti allegedly murdered and burnt John Manduso after accusing him of stealing his knife.
Manicaland Provincial Spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa confirmed the case saying the suspect was assisting the police with investigations
“We are investigating a case in which Manduso, who is believed to be a Mozambique national, died on 25 April after he was attacked by Simango who accused him of stealing his knife. He was struck several times on the head with a log and his body was covered by a blanket which the suspect later set on fire” said Inspector Kakohwa.
Circumstances surrounding Manduso’s death are that on the day in question, the now deceased visited Simango who stays alone at his parents’ house around 18:00 hrs.
 It is said the two sat beside a fire as they used to do but Simango suddenly pulled a log from the fire and struck Manduso several times on the head accusing him of stealing his knife.
Before the victim fell unconscious, the suspect allegedly took a blanket and covered Manduso and set it on fire.
The matter came to light when Patrick Mahanya who is Manduso’s neighbour, visited the house and saw the burning body before alerting other neighbours Cannias Mahanya and Kasirai Maneneka.
Chisumbanje police attended to the scene leading to the arrest of Chigoti while the deceased’s body was taken to St Peters Hospital for a post mortem.local