http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012
10:38
BY NUNURAI JENA
MDC-T secretary-general, Tendai Biti,
yesterday warned that his party
supporters would be forced to retaliate if
attacked by Zanu PF militias in
the run up to next year’s elections, vowing
that time for being “cry-babies”
was now over.
Biti was
addressing an MDC-T rally in a graveyard in Darwendale after
soldiers
blocked supporters from gathering at the local grounds as
scheduled,
occupying the venue for several hours.
Biti said unlike in the past,
this time around the party was not going to
watch its supporters being
clobbered by Zanu PF militias. “Next year they
are not going to beat us
zvokwadi namai Dorothy,” he vowed.
“You have beaten us enough.” Biti
said Zanu PF should not provoke his party
supporters, as they were now
fearless and were in the majority.
In the 2008 Presidential election runoff,
the MDC-T complained that hundreds
of its supporters were killed, maimed or
harassed by Zanu PF militias and
elements in the military who were
campaigning for the re-election of
President Mugabe after he lost the first
round to MDC-T leader, Morgan
Tsvangirai.
As Biti addressed
yesterday’s rally, the atmosphere was tense as 30 soldiers
from the nearby
Inkomo Barracks, refused to leave the Darwendale grounds,
where they were
seemingly conducting drills and later played social soccer.
Some of
the soldiers allegedly lit fires around the Darwendale grounds and
close to
the graveyard where Biti was addressing, a move interpreted by some
MDC-T
officials as intimidating tactics.
The rally was supposed to take
place at 10am, but only started after 3pm as
hundreds of MDC-T supporters
refused to be intimidated by the soldiers,
vowing to go ahead as they had
booked the venue well in advance.
Contacted for comment, Army
spokesperson, Lieutenant-colonel Athanasius
Makotore, demanded questions in
writing, promising that a response would be
ready by tomorrow.
He
however said if the soldiers were indeed playing social soccer, then they
had put the Darwendale grounds to its proper and good use.
But Biti said
soldiers must pay allegiance to the constitution of the
country and not to
individuals.
He said despite pronouncements that securocrats would
not salute MDC-T
president and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, they would
do so at the
appropriate time.
“Soldiers are ours and next year this
time, they will be saluting Tsvangirai
because he will be in office,” said
Biti. “They are just posturing.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012 10:40
BY
NQABA MATSHAZI
MDC-T vice-president, Thokozani Khupe, has reportedly
fallen out with party
leader, Morgan Tsvangirai and is sitting on a
political knife edge, as party
members in Bulawayo are pushing for her
ouster.
Khupe and Tsvangirai are said to have held a crisis
meeting on Tuesday, as
they tried to mend the rift, amid reports that the
deputy prime minister had
her back against the wall.
The recent
defections, mainly from Khupe’s Makokoba constituency, have
triggered a
mini-crisis within the MDC-T, leading to Tsvangirai’s visit to
Bulawayo to
try and calm the storm.
But a source close to Khupe claimed the mass
defections of the past month
were meant to discredit the deputy prime
minister and dislodge her from her
lofty position, both in the party and in
the government.
“The way these people are defecting en masse,
suggests this is coordinated
and you can tell that this is a smear campaign
against her,” the source
said.
He confirmed that things were not well
between Tsvangirai and his deputy,
saying a series of meetings had been held
to heal the rift, although he
would not say what the outcome
was.
A party insider, however, said the defections to the rival MDC
party were
nothing new, blaming the party’s provincial executive for failing
to deal
with the festering wound. “This issue has been there for a long
time, but
(Agnes) MaMloyi was able to deal with the issues. this executive
is failing
and that is leading to the fallout,” the party insider
said.
Agnes Mloyi is the previous MDC-T provincial chairperson and
was succeeded
by Gorden Moyo.
The party insider also confirmed the
fallout between Tsvangirai and Khupe,
saying this was bound to happen, as
the party seemed to be disintegrating in
Bulawayo, an MDC-T stronghold over
the past decade.
“How can they not fall out? With the way things are
going this was bound to
happen and several meetings have been held between
the two,” the source
said.
An MDC-T Bulawayo executive member, however,
said Khupe could be a victim of
the factionalism that gripped the party
ahead of its congress last year.
Khupe backed Moyo ahead of Matson
Hlalo for the party’s provincial
chairmanship, but the latter remains very
popular in Makokoba constituency,
currently being held by the deputy
PM.
“She is paying for supporting Gorden (Moyo). Hlalo is very
popular and has
been the councillor and legislator in Makokoba, so maybe
it’s payback time,”
the provincial executive member
said.
Contacted for comment, Hlalo said he preferred not to speak on
the issue, as
he was not aware what was going on.
Chamisa’s deputy
Organising Secretary, Abednico Bhebhe, has also rubbished
the defections as
stage-managed, vowing elections would not be won by
politicking. “Good luck
about their stage management. I hope they are going
to stage-manage the
elections because elections are not won by this,” he
said after the second
batch of 50 youths claimed to have defected to Ncube’s
MDC.
“Why
is Ncube zeroing in on Makokoba? He is trying to stage-manage winning
Makokoba constituency, where he lost to Khuphe.”
Khupe could not be
reached for comment yesterday as her phone was
unavailable. Tsvangirai’s
spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka also refused to
comment, saying the matter
was purely a party and not government issue.
Outside Bulawayo, Khupe
has remained a very popular figure. She has become a
symbol of hope to many
women with her public fight against breast cancer.
The MDC-T vice-president
has also championed the removal of maternity fees
for pregnant women. in
this way, she has portrayed herself as in touch with
the
grassroots.
But in Bulawayo, where she represents the MDC-T in
Makokoba, she is
sometimes regarded as a divisive character. Khupe has on
numerous occasions
been accused of fanning political violence, tribalism and
hate speech,
although none of those allegations have stuck. She is said to
be looking for
a safe seat in the next elections, as she is reportedly being
hounded out of
Makokoba.
Suggestions are that she covets either
the Bulawayo Central seat or Nkayi.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012
10:43
BY TATENDA CHITAGU AND SILAS NKALA
MASVINGO — Self-exiled MDC-T
treasurer, Roy Bennett has said cases of human
rights abuses which happened
during the 2008 Presidential election run-off
and Gukurahundi massacres in
the 1980s should not be swept under the carpet
for political
expediency.
In an emotional response to reports that MPs from the two
MDC formations
were last week pressured into accepting that all human rights
abuses
committed before February 2009 should not be investigated by the new
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, Bennett said doing so was belittling the
thousands of people murdered or injured in political
violence.
The “amnesty” proposal is included in the Human Rights
Commission Bill, but
Bennett wrote on social networking site, Facebook that
this was legitimising
violence.
“I will never accept an amnesty. I will
pursue justice till the day I die,”
he said.
“We cannot allow
evil to triumph. We cannot allow the broken lives and
broken limbs to mean
nothing. If we do nothing about a killing, we are
saying: your brother or
sister was worth nothing. It will not do.”
But his comments drew
mixed feelings, with some supporting him urging
retribution, while others
believed bygones should be bygones.
The Zimbabwe Victims of Organised
Violence Trust (ZIVOVT) also said GNU
leaders should stop trying sweeping
the Gukurahundi mass killings under
the carpet through closed door
negotiations which leave out victims.
ZIVOVT spokesperson, Percy
Mcijo on Thursday said the killings of innocent
and unarmed people of
Matabeleland and Midlands during Gukurahundi was the
“highest order of
crime” and no one could negotiate such killings.
“The crime of
murder is not negotiable,” said Mcijo. “Who can negotiate
killings without
involving the victims? Politicians must stop claiming to
have negotiated
that such issues must not be investigated. We know they are
the interested
parties who may think of protecting themselves and their
interests.”
He said some politicians have repeatedly claimed that
Gukurahundi was a
closed chapter, warning that unless the issue was handled
“properly” it
would haunt future generations.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012
10:45
By NQOBANI NDLOVU
BULAWAYO — Zanu-PF and Grain Marketing Board
(GMB) officials are allegedly
coercing starving villagers in parts of
Matabeleland to pay them in order to
get aid under the grain loan
scheme.
The government early this year unveiled a grain loan scheme
where villagers
would be given free maize to avert starvation after their
crops were wiped
off by a dry spell during the cropping
season.
The Standard established that some villagers were being
allegedly told to
contribute US$10 per homestead to Zanu-PF and GMB
officials allegedly to buy
fuel to transport the food aid consignment to
their areas in what Deputy
Agriculture minister, Seiso Moyo condemned as
“unbridled daylight robbery”.
Several GMB officials were recently
either fired or transferred after being
nabbed for corrupt practices. Moyo
said he had since engaged the Home
Affairs ministry with the view to have
more culprits arrested.
He said there was no government policy
directing villagers to pay money for
fuel as it had already paid the
contracted truckers. “I have heard such
reports; actually just this morning
(Thursday) I was talking to people from
Zezani in Beitbridge who were
telling me that they are being told to pay
money towards buying fuel yet
this is not the government position,” he said.
“It is sad that we
have some people in our society who are taking advantage
of the desperate
and starving villagers in rural areas.” Moyo said under the
grain loan
scheme, the GMB should distribute maize for free to villagers.
But
Andrew Langa, the Zanu-PF Matabeleland South chairperson, dismissed as
false
reports that the party was demanding money from villagers. “Zanu-PF
members
are principled and cannot be seen stealing money from villagers,” he
said.
Thokozile Mathuthu, the Matabeleland North governor also
professed ignorance
of the scandal.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012 10:46
BY
NUNURAI JENA
Mashonaland West provincial Chairman John Mafa is allegedly
refusing to
co-opt officials into his executive in defiance of orders from
Zanu PF
political commissar Webster Shamu to do so.
Sources say
Mafa, believed to be aligned to Defence minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa, was
insisting that there was no point in co-opting new members
to the current
provincial executive considering that its term of office was
due to expire
in October.
This is in contrast with recommendations made by Shamu
that the vacant
positions be filled by way of district representation. The
position of
Secretary for Administration and provincial political
commissariat currently
being held by Tapera Table and Joseph Chirongoma
respectively were supposed
to be filled using district
representation.
In the proposed new set up, allies of Mujuru such as
Chinhoyi special
councillor Simba Kanzou is supposed to be secretary of
administration with
Isaac Mackenzie as political
commissariat.
Reuben Marumahoko would become Vice-Chairman to replace
businessman Phillip
Chiyangwa, who was barred from the post by the
politburo. But at a meeting
last week, Mafa’s provincial executive
elevated secretary for defence and
Provincial Administrator Christopher
Shumba to the position of
vice-chairman.
When asked about Shamu’s
directive recently, Mafa said Zanu PF’s
constitution should be followed.
“You see, as a provincial executive, we
decide what is good for the province
following what the constitution says
and people are free to say what they
want,” he said.
A joint committee is expected to meet today to either
endorse or reject the
provincial executive co-options.
Shamu could not be
reached for comment.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012 10:47
By NQOBANI
NDLOVU
TSHOLOTSHO — Vice-President Joice Mujuru on Friday sang praises for
President Robert Mugabe, describing him as a “living legend and textbook of
knowledge, guidance and wisdom”.
Speaking during the joint
commissioning of the Landa John Nkomo High School
and Presidential High
Schools e-Learning Programme for Matabeleland region
in Manqe area,
Tsholotsho, Mujuru said Zimbabwe and Africa needed Mugabe
because of his
“unparalleled wisdom”.
Mujuru recently strengthened her position to
succeed Mugabe after her camp
successfully lobbied the 88-year-old leader to
disband the District
Coordinating Committees, dealing a major blow to
Defence minister, Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s faction, which had won most of the
DCC elections throughout the
country.
“Our President remains the
repository of Pan-Africanism, where other African
leaders continue to tap
wisdom and guidance from. All leaders seek advice
from him,” she
said.
“From his early days in detention and out of detention, in the
bush, after
independence and up to today, his capable skills, wisdom and
knowledge of
shedding light to his compatriots will always be
legendary.”
Mujuru said Mugabe was a living “African legend”, much
sought in the country
and the continent as a whole.
VP joins
praise- singing crew
The VP joins several other senior Zanu-PF
officials who have in the past
gone overboard in praise-singing for Mugabe,
one of Africa’s longest serving
rulers alongside Jose Eduardo Dos Santos of
Angola and Teodoro Obiang Nguema
of Equatorial Guinea, who have been in
power for over three decades now.
The late deputy minister of Local
Government, Tony Gara, once described the
veteran ruler as “God’s other
son”, while Mashonaland West governor, Faber
Chidarikire, said he was “our
Biblical Moses”.
Mnangagwa, during the launch of the anti-sanctions
petition in Bulawayo last
year, described Mugabe as “an immovable elephant”
while Youth Development,
Indigenisation and Empowerment minister, Saviour
Kasukuwere went a notch
higher, likening him to “Angel
Gabriel”.
Earlier this year, Media, Information and Publicity
minister Web- ster Shamu
and party chairman Simon Khaya Moyo said the
President was feared the world
over because of his intelligence and was like
a popular milk brand called
Cremora.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012
10:52
BY NQABA MATSHAZI
THE recent ruling by the Supreme Court, that
President Robert Mugabe should
gazette election dates in three
constituencies, could be nothing but an
empty victory, as it does not say
when the polls should actually be held,
analysts said.
The order
compels Mugabe to declare election dates by August 30 in three
constituencies, but lawyer Matshobane Ncube, said it is up to the President
to declare when the elections would be held.
“The court order
says he should declare dates for elections, but the date of
elections could
be six months away,” Ncube, who represented the three
Matabeleland
politicians who won the court order, said.
“The Electoral Act does
not say when elections should be held after the
elections have been
gazetted, so the actual elections may be far away.”
Abednico Bhebhe,
Njabuliso Mguni and Norman Mpofu approached the courts
seeking an order to
compel Mugabe to order fresh elections in their
constituencies after these
had been declared vacant following their ouster
from the MDC, then led by
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara.
Ncube, who represented the
trio, said while the order could be interpreted
to mean that all vacant
constituencies should have by-elections, it only
spoke about the three
constituencies that had been brought to the courts.
“It deals with
the three constituencies, nothing more, nothing less. But in
the context of
the current politics, it could be an excuse to collapse the
GNU and call for
elections under the old constitution,” he explained.
Mugabe has been
angling for elections this year, but has been curtailed by a
Sadc
facilitated roadmap that says polls can only be held after a new
constitution has been drawn up.
However, even if elections are
called, one of the appellants, Bhebhe, may
have no joy, as he may not be
allowed to contest, as the three governing
parties have a gentleman’s
agreement that they will not contest each other.
“The parties
extended the moratorium against competing against each other in
the event of
a by-election and since Bhebhe has joined the MDC-T, he may not
be allowed
to contest, Ncube explained further.
“Again, in the nature of the
gentleman’s agreement, these parties (Zanu PF,
MDC, MDC-T) may decide to
have the election date set further away.”
Human rights lawyer, Lizwe Jamela
concurred that it was the prerogative of
the President to proclaim an
election date and there was nothing in the
order that said when the
elections should be held.
“It is the prerogative of the President to
proclaim the election dates and
there might not be by-elections soon as he
has many things to consider,”
Jamela said.
“He will have to ask himself
if it is feasible to call for elections in only
three constituencies, as the
order deals with only those or whether
elections should be held in all
constituencies.”
The lifespan of this parliament expires next year,
with Jamela quizzing if
it would be any wise to hold an election so close to
another general
election.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012 10:53
BY SILAS
NKALA
BULAWAYO residents have urged the local municipality to stop arresting
and
harassing vendors operating without licences, blaming council on
failure to
speedily issue hawker’s permits.
Speaking during a
2013 budget consultation meeting at Njube Hall last week,
vendors said
council was taking too long to issue licences yet municipal
police continued
to pounce on them confiscating their wares.
“It is known that the
country’s unemployment rate is very high, worse in
Bulawayo where some
industries have closed while some have relocated to
Harare,” said one
vendor.
“People now resort to vending which is now their source of
income to sustain
their families. It is sad that the local authority’s
process of issuing
licences is tedious and slow to a point that it makes the
prospective
vendors trade before they are issued with
licences.”
Another resident said due to delays in the issuing of
licences, most people
ended up selling illegally.
“I witnessed an
incident at Sekusile in Nkulumane where women vendors were
being bundled
into a truck by security officers and their wares thrown on
the floor,” he
said.
“Does it mean vendors must be treated inhumanely like that yet
the same
council delays giving them licences?” The city’s budget
consultation team
leader, Mente Ndlovu said the random arrest and unfair
treatment of illegal
vendors was not allowed.
“Council’s by-laws
call for the licensing of vendors and if they trade
without licences they
can be arrested, but if the manner they are handled is
inhumane, the
security officers are not allowed to do that.
“The council has a
hawkers’ licensing procedure and those who want to trade
must just apply for
such in order to avoid hitches with the local authority’s
security
personnel. But the oppression of illegal vendors is not right,”
said
Ndlovu.
Thousands of vendors are operate in the city, but most of
them are
unlicensed, especially those working in high-density
suburbs.
This year the local authority intends to issue a total of over 1 000
vending
bays in parts of the city in an effort to promote vending at
designated
points.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012 10:55
BY NQABA
MATSHAZI
WHILE focus has been on Obert Mpofu’s gathering of immense wealth
and
mounting speculation of where he could be getting his money from, the
Mines
minister has been quietly building his political stature in
Matabeleland.
Mpofu’s vice-presidential ambitions are the worst kept
secret, as three
years ago, he made a show of challenging John Nkomo for the
top post, but
was dismissed as being too junior.
Now with reports
of Nkomo’s ill-health, Mpofu must fancy his chances against
Zanu PF national
chairman, Simon Khaya Moyo for the top post.
Recently, Mpofu challenged
Kh-aya Moyo head on in the party’s politburo
meeting, accusing the chairman
of using the state media to discredit him.
Khaya Moyo reportedly shot
back, accusing Mpofu of using the private media
to tarnish his image, but
Oppah Muchinguri reportedly interjected, saying it
was known that the two
were positioning themselves for the vice-presidency.
There’s no love
lost between Khaya Moyo and Mpofu, as they have publicly
clashed,
particularly with the administration of Matabeleland North
Province.
But
on the whole, Mpofu has been working assiduously, laying his path for a
shot
at the country’s second top post.
But Mpofu reckons what he is doing
has been part of his political repertoire
for years.
“That is your view,
I am doing my usual political business. There is nothing
different from what
I have been doing all along,” he said, before hanging up
his
phone.
Recently, he followed President Robert Mugabe’s footsteps,
holding a meeting
with Zanu PF prodigal son, Enos Nkala, whom he visited at
his home in
Bulawayo.
Why Nkala is suddenly popular among Zanu PF
stalwarts remains a mystery, but
the former Finance minister was formerly
very critical of Mpofu, although he
now seems to have toned
down.
While unleashing his charm offensive, Mpofu invited
Vice-President Joice
Mujuru to his Umguza constituency last week, where he
showered her with
praises and also spoke at length about how much support
Zanu PF had in the
constituency, leaving observers to speculate that he was
building key
alliances to cement his place as Nkomo’s
successor.
Defence minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is reportedly
seeking to succeed
Mugabe, was a high-profile figure at Mpofu’s party six
months ago, as senior
Zanu PF politicians continue to beat a path to the
Mines minister’s
constituency.
Mpofu has set Umguza as his base
to launch his bid for the presidium,
claiming he is one of a few senior
members from Zanu PF to have been elected
from Matabeleland, meaning he
should have a better chance of getting the top
post, ahead of Khaya
Moyo.
To prop up his brand, Mpofu has also overseen the launch of a
self-praise
album titled Khulumani elikufunayo (you can say whatever you
like).
Mpofu also has gone the populist route by pouring money into
Highlanders
Football Club. The club is a relic for the people of
Matabeleland, and this
way he hopes to sway the naysayers to his cause and
position himself in the
event of any election.
Mpofu defected to
Zanu PF from Zapu before the 1987 Unity Accord and he is
often treated with
suspicion among his former colleagues.
Political analyst, Effi Ncube also
said it was evident that the former
Matabeleland North governor was trying
to move up the ladder in Zanu PF.
“It is very clear from his
behaviour that he thinks he is mature enough to
climb the ladder in Zanu
PF,” he said.
He concurred with Nkomo that Mpofu’s lucre gave him a slight
upper hand over
his opponents.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012
10:56
BY JENNIFER DUBE
SOME villagers in the drought-prone
Matabeleland North region of Tsholotsho,
say they have been waiting for
grain from government since December to no
avail.
Tsholotsho district
administrator, Nosizi Dube, said due to widespread
hunger in the area,
villagers were promised grain under the government grain
loan scheme
sometime last year.
“The programme was supposed to run from December
to March as it was expected
that people would get something from their
fields, but it was extended
because of poor yields,” Dube
said.
“Many people have benefited and we hope to reach out to more,
as we do not
expect the same people to benefit all the time.” But some
villagers said
they were still waiting in vain for the promised assistance.
“People are
struggling to cope,” Nomusa Ncube of Siyaphambili Village in
Ward 6 said.
“We were promised grain last year but nothing has been
delivered to this
village so far. We are having one meal per day and
children are not going to
school because we cannot pay school fees, while we
do not have food.”
Headman Phillip Mpala, said most people’s harvests
lasted for three months
only. He said villagers now pinned their hopes on
the recently launched
US$50 million rural water, sanitation and hygiene
programme, which they hope
would enable them to start market gardening
projects. “We are very happy
with government’s intention to improve water
supply in this area as we hope
to grow vegetables which we can sell to
sustain ourselves and our families,”
Mpala said.
“We have a
garden constructed for us near Gwayi river by a donor, but we do
not have
the water.” Addressing Tsholotsho villagers at Mkhubazi Primary
School
recently, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Tsholotsho was one of
the
areas facing acute hunger and assured the villagers that government
would
not let anyone die.
Tsvangirai said logistical issues, like the poor
state of rural roads, led
to selective access to food. He also warned
against the politicisation of
food from government.
Beneficiaries of the
grain loan scheme were expected to pay back in the next
season after
realising improved yields.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012
11:05
BY CLAYTON MASEKESA
MUTARE — The family of a Marange diamond
panner who was killed by jailed
former senior police officer, Joseph Chani,
has demanded compensation in
line with tradition to avert avenging spirits
of Tsorosai Kusena from
wreaking havoc on the family of the
ex-cop.
Former chief superintendent Chani, well-known during his
tenure as Officer
Commanding Mutare district for his hardline stance on
illegal panners, was
recently jailed for 18 years by High Court Judge
Justice Hlekhani Mwayera
after she convicted him of murdering Tsorosai and
seriously injuring his
brothers, Pikirai and Onesai and their nephew John
Gwite.
Onesai told The Standard last week that the Kusena family
wanted Chani to
pay compensation for the killing of Tsorosai in line with
traditional
requirements, while the three survivors were each seeking US$10
000 for
serious injuries they sustained at the hands of the
ex-cop.
He was satisfied with the judgement saying the likes of Chani
deserved to
stay behind bars.
“Traditionally, Chani should compensate the
Kusena family for killing our
brother,” said Onesai. “We will do it the
traditional way. We expect that
Chani, together with his family, will
comply. If he refuses then he will
meet the fate of the
spirits.”
He said Tsorosai, who had a wife and two kids going to
school, was a bread
winner and his family was now struggling to
survive.
“As for us who survived, we need him to pay us US$10 000 each
because we now
have permanent injuries and can no longer work to feed our
families,”
said Onesai.
Gwite also echoed the same sentiments saying: “I
earned a living doing jobs
that require physique but now I can no longer do
work due to the back
injuries I sustained from the
beatings.”
Giving oral evidence, another complainant, Pikirai, said
he had lost
virility and was now finding it difficult to have sexual
intercourse with
his wife as a result of injuries he sustained.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012 11:08
BY
MASIMBA NGONDONGA
ABANDONED Harare City Council’s Arcadia swimming pool has
been turned into a
school in an attempt to assist, under privileged and
abandoned children in
the community who were failing to access education due
to their social
backgrounds.
However, a visit by Standard
Community showed a pool full of dirt and muddy
water, which might pose a
health hazard to the children.
The school, which accommodates close to 60
children from grade one to seven,
has three teachers, two of whom come from
the local area and the third one
coming from Epworth.
School
initiator, Ron Christian, said the children were previously learning
in two
different garages until council had agreed to a request to use the
abandoned swimming pool as a new school.
He said most of the
children were abandoned by their parents.
“It is not pleasing to see children
whom we regard as the future leaders
growing without proper education. Many
children in this community have been
neglected and have no one taking care
of them,” he said.
Christian said the children were exposed to drug
abuse and most of them
engaged in premarital sex, thereby increasing the
chances of them getting
infected with HIV and Aids.
“The most
painful thing about these children is that they will be involved
in drug
abuse if they have nothing to do and most children are involved in
early
sexual activities, thus they might get infected,” he said.
An
interview with the children showed that most of them come from Arcadia
and
St Martins and their ages did not tally with the level of education at
which
they currently are. Some are aged 18 but are still in Grade Seven,
yet
their peers are already in high school.
One of the teachers,
identified as Njeketa, said the children needed special
attention as they
had not been going to school for a longtime. He, however,
said most of them
were intelligent and had higher ambitions.
“These children cannot
fit in society properly and need special attention as
they come from
painful backgrounds,” he said, adding that shortage of funds
was one of the
major problems facing the children.
City of Harare Council
spokesperson Leslie Gwindi confirmed council had
given permission to use the
swimming pool as a school saying plans were in
place to renovate the
facility.
“We have understood their concern and have given them
permission to utilise
the pool but we are currently planning to renovate
it,” he said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012 11:10
BY
TATENDA CHITAGU
MASVINGO — The Urban Council Association of Zimbabwe (Ucaz),
has warned that
the expansion of cities and towns in the country to cater
for a growing
population, is under threat from invaders who have illegally
occupied most
of the land allocated to local authorities.
Ucaz
president and Masvingo Mayor, Alderman Femius Chakabuda, told the
recent
70th AGM of the association that most farms allocated by the
government for
expansion of urban areas had been illegally occupied.
He said the
farms, which were allocated under the land reform programme, had
not yet
been transferred to the respective local authorities due to
bureaucracy.
“A new problem has also arisen, where the same farms have
been occupied by
new settlers,” said Chakabuda.
“In some
instances, adjacent rural district councils are putting up
residential
stands in those areas, with the hope of handing them over to
urban local
authorities for service provision.”
He said some of the worst
affected towns included Victoria Falls and Kariba,
where it would be
expensive for the local authorities to remove land
invaders, as they were
demanding compensation.
Chakabuda, who was retained as the Ucaz
president at the AGM, also took a
dig at the Zimbabwe National Road
Authority (Zinara) over unfair
distribution of funds.
“The management and
distribution of road funds has been a nightmare,” he
said.
“The
distribution is made on an unknown formula resulting in discrepancies.
Small
RDCs get millions while cities and towns with tarred roads get
little.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012
11:11
Mvuma — Hundreds of schoolchildren in some parts of Mvuma are
walking up to
15 kilometres to school, as shortages of educational
facilities continue to
affect the area.
A recent visit by Standard
Community revealed that most resettlement areas
in Mvuma still do not have
schools, forcing children to walk long distances
to the nearest
facilities.
Some students at Chisukusiku Secondary School said they
were spending more
time walking to and from school, making it difficult for
them to concentrate
on their studies. “I reside at Mwererenje farm, which is
about 15 kilometers
from this school. This is the nearest school for us and
we have no option
but to walk long distances in order to get education,”
said a Form Three
girl, who identified herself only as
Chipo.
some villagers confirmed that many children in the farming
areas had since
stopped going to school because of the long distances they
travelled.
— BY Tawanda MARWIZI
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012 11:12
BY SILAS
NKALA
GWANDA — Suspected bogus herbal doctors are allegedly pouncing on
unsuspecting villagers, who are losing their hard-earned cash in the hope of
getting treatment for their various ailments.
Some villagers from
areas such as Nkashe, Matsholomotshe, Zhu-kwe and
Dambashoko told Standard
Community recently that the suspected bogus
herbalists had swarmed Gwanda,
claiming that they were trained in China and
the United
States.
They said the suspected bogus doctors were claiming to be
capable of
“treating” various ailments using herbal concoctions, which has
resulted in
scores of desperate villagers parting with their
money.
A Matsholomotshe villager who only identified herself as
maNcube, said on
Tuesday the suspicious herbal doctors visited her area,
where they made
villagers gather at one place to advise them of their
presence, operations
and cost of their services.
“These people
told us that they would be operating in our area for the next
six months,”
she said. “They said once a patient takes their medication, he
or she has to
take the full six-month course for it to be effective.”
Another
villager also alleged that the “herbal doctors” started off by
examining the
patients using their machines and later prescribe treatment.
The check-ups
using the machines cost US$5, while the complete treatment for
six months
costs nearly US$1 000.
“The problem is that people are given the same
treatment. This has made us
suspicious of the professional qualifications of
these doctors,” said
another villager.
He said the medication provided
was normally tea leaves which patients are
instructed to boil and drink,
despite having different illnesses.
Matabeleland South acting police
spokesperson, Sergeant Loveness Mangena,
said no reports of the suspected
bogus herbal doctors had been made yet.
Gwanda District Medical Officer, a Dr
P G Chimberengwa, could not be reached
as he was said to be out of his
office.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012 11:13
BY
NQOBANI NDLOVU
BULAWAYO — The Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management
Authority
(ZimParks) has warned that dozens of elephants at Hwange National
Park could
die from thirst due to a shortage of water, as available wells
continue to
dry up.
The authority is now seeking funds to buy at
least 20 000 litres of diesel
to pump water, between now and the rainy
season. The water would be pumped
to elephant drinking points in the park to
avert a repeat of the 2011
scenario when close to 80 animals died of thirst
between June and October,
resulting in a loss of US$4
million.
Hwange National Park has no year-round rivers and little
natural surface
water and therefore depends on wells that pump water to
artificial watering
holes, known as pans.
Caroline Washaya-Moyo, the
ZimParks public relations manager, said the
authority was sourcing for funds
and engaging interested stakeholders in a
bid to ensure that wildlife would
not be lost due to shortages of water.
“The ever-increasing
temperatures last year left wildlife succumbing to
heat,” Washaya-Moyo
said.
“In terms of the value of elephants that we lost in 2011, it is
calculated
using the compensation value of an elephant, pegged at US$20 000
in 2011 and
has since been reviewed upwards in 2012 to US$50
000.
“This applies to all categories, be it a calf, adult or
sub-adult.”
Watering holes and other sources of water that are fed through
pumping,
dried up last year, resulting in the alarming rate of deaths of
elephants.
Currently, Hwange National park has an elephant population of over
45 000
against its carrying capacity of 30 000, putting a severe strain on
available resources, especially water.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012 10:49
BY
NDAMU SANDU
TROUBLED Air Zimbabwe is in a crisis after the airline recently
flew more
passengers than its seating capacity on one of its planes. The
decision to
fly more passengers than the maximum capacity of 105 on the
Boeing 737 has
claimed the scalp of two employees who are currently on
suspension.
The 737 has 12 seats in business and 93 in the
economy class. The Standard
heard last week that a captain and a senior
flight attendant had their
licences suspended by the Civil Aviation
Authority of Zimbabwe (Caaz)
pending investigations.
Caaz
licences captains and attendants and one can hold the licence as long
as he
or she is compliant with the requirements of that licence, competent
and in
good health.
Innocent Mavhunga, the airline’s acting group CEO said on
Thursday: “I will
not comment on that. We don’t deal with internal issues in
the (news)
papers.”
When further probed on Friday, Mavhunga said
he was on leave and referred
all questions to the airline’s spokesperson
Shingai Taruvinga.
In written responses, Taru-vinga told The Standard: “We
have received your
questions and unfortunately the questions you have asked
are of internal
nature, under sub judice and thus we cannot comment on the
allegations
stated.”
Caaz CEO, David Chawota only said: “The
matter is under investigation.”
Insiders said last week Caaz would only take
action after getting a report
from the airline from its own
investigations.
Air Zimbabwe compromised the safety of
passengers
Air Zim’s efforts to reduce the number of passengers
to the normal levels
failed with only a handful of passengers voluntarily
stepping down. To
accommodate the extra passengers, the crew allowed
schoolchildren to double
up in one seat.
However, each passenger
seat is equipped with one seat belt and putting more
than one passenger in
one seat goes against the aviation safety regulations
since the passengers
would be forced to share one seat belt.
Sources told The Standard
that due to the doubling up, a row of seats which
normally takes three
passengers had more than four passengers on the day in
question.
This
situation is potentially dangerous in that a row of seats is serviced
by a
maximum of four oxygen masks required to save lives in the event of
cabin
pressure loss.
The masks are for the three passengers in that row and one
more, in case
there is a mother with an infant on her lap.
The
suspended captain is not new to controversy. In 2007, he was demoted by
Air
Zimbabwe after flying into a thunderstorm despite having functional
weather
radar in Zambia, causing extensive damage to the Boeing 737
aircraft.
Sources told The Standard that this incident was a tip
of the iceberg.
Systems have completely collapsed. Experienced workers
including technicians
and pilots have either left or were intending to do
so, while morale of
those still at the airline has hit rock
bottom.
The airline is no longer able to meet basic safety standards
as underscored
by this incident and its failure to undergo the IATA
Operational Safety
Audit.
“Much as we would like to continue flying the
national flag, the reality is
we may be flying a potential national
disaster,” said one engineer still
with the airline.
The troubled
airline has been breaking aviation records for the wrong
reasons. In
September last year, Air Zim flew one passenger from Victoria
Falls while it
flew one passenger from Dubai in 2006.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012 10:31
BY NQOBANI
NDLOVU
BULAWAYO — A Zambian company has sued Finance minister, Tendai Biti
and the
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) commissioner-general, Gershem
Pasi, after
the revenue collector’s employees destroyed its 30-tonne
consignment of
potatoes under unclear circumstances.
The Bulawayo
High Court deputy registrar has given the respondents 10 days
to respond.
Failure to do so will see the case going before a judge as
undefended.
According to court papers filed at the Bulawayo High Court on
Friday, the
Zambian company, Jamist Company Limited, is demanding US$50 000
from Biti
and Pasi as compensation for the destroyed
consignment.
This was after a Zimra employee, identified as Tafadzwa
Charamba, stationed
at Beitbridge Border Post, allegedly confiscated and
ordered 30 tonnes of
the firm’s potatoes imported from South
Africa.
The potato consignment, which was in a hired South African
truck,
registration number ZKT71 GP, was destroyed in January this year at
Beitbridge Border Post despite that Jamist Company Limited, who were
transporting the consignment to Livingstone via Zimbabwe, produced all the
documents required.
The Zambian company, which is based in Kitwe,
Zambia, cited Charamba as the
first respondent while Zimra Beitbridge Border
Post station manager is cited
as the second respondent. Zimra regional
manager, a Mr Swarres, is the third
respondent.
Pasi, Zimra as an
entity and Biti are cited as fourth, fifth and sixth
respondents
respectively.
“Due to the 1st respondent’s failure to act expediently, the
plaintiff’s
potatoes, which are highly perishable, all went bad and could no
longer be
sold and were as a result, destroyed.
“The plaintiff
has suffered unnecessary financial loss due to 1st respondent’s
negligence
and inefficiency,” said Jamist Company through their lawyers in
the court
papers.
The Zambian company, which is involved in import and export business,
is
represented by advocate SKM Sibanda and partners legal practitioners of
Bulawayo.
Lawyers representing the Zambian company added that:
“The respondents are
jointly or ordered to pay loss of anticipated profits
plus costs of
transport, storage fees and cost of the potatoes”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012
11:02
The debate on devolution in the Copac Draft Constitution should not
be
resigned to the political parties and civil society. Devolution, a form
of
decentralisation, will impact on all citizens hence it should be openly
discussed by all. It can be used to stimulate development.
People
need more autonomy on decision-making, on issues that impact directly
on
their lives and local communities.
Direct elections for leaders like
governors will assist in refocusing
development planning. It will create
local accountability. Our systems
should allow effective provincial
legislatures. Current development planning
meetings do not guarantee local
priorities inclusion as central government
structures are heavily
present.
According to some specialists, development is a
multi-dimensional concept
which includes the economic, social, cultural and
political aspects within
the economy. Re-organisation implied under
devolution therefore means that
we should enter a new growth mode in tune
with global trends.
Decentralisation has subsidiary concepts such as
devolution, delegation,
de-concentration, privatisation, and
commercialisation. Devolution involves
heaving-off administrative power from
the centre to the periphery. Functions
will therefore be most effectively
executed at the grassroots levels.
Central government will then concentrate
on key issues such as
policy-making. In most countries, fiscal authority is
retained by central
government.
Recent media coverage on
Tsholotsho’s and Binga’s water and sanitation
situation is telling on our
form of decentralisation. It points to
marginalisation and under-development
in some parts of Zimbabwe.
Devolution is not restricted to
Matabeleland and Midlands provinces. It was
advocated by most provinces
during the Copac outreach programme. It has
benefits as seen in South Africa
and other jurisdictions. Resisting the
democratic wave of devolution is an
exercise in futility.
Decentralisation was highlighted as early as
1984 when development-focused
local go-vernment system was set up. It
established structures like village
and ward development committees. Other
policy and legal changes like the
Rural District Council amalgamation
exercise later followed. Similarly, the
Urban Councils Act, among other laws
was amended severally. In all these
processes beneficiary participation was
anticipated.
Amendments to the local government laws reveal that
decentralisation is a
process. It has also exhibited inconsistencies on
whether decentralisation
was being dumped for centralisation, in view of
line ministerial powers over
local authorities. Decentralisation should
stimulate growth with equity,
providing services efficiently and
effectively. Decentralised entities
should enjoy autonomy, to achieve their
set mandates.
The new constitution should usher Zimbabwe into a new
era of governance.
Development means a change that takes place gradually,
progressing through a
series of stages towards some state of expansion and
improvement. Zimbabwe
has a perfect opportunity to re-organise itself and
stimulate development
through devolution of power.
Devolution has
been wrongly associated with concepts such as secessionism
and federalism.
It is however, not separatism.
Zimbabwe is a unitary state, according to the
current Constitution and
prevailing debate. While it prevents federalism, it
does not stop
devolution.
Despite separatist tendencies elsewhere in
Africa, devolution should be
included in the new
constitution.
BY CHRISTOPHER MAKUVAZA
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012
10:59
Do you still remember what the current crop of politicians used to
say then,
when we were fighting the liberation struggle? For those who were
old enough
you will remember how our politicians used to preach how we were
going to
enjoy freedom after the white man has been
defeated.
We were told of how we were going to have unlimited
political freedoms in
the form of freedom of association and freedom of
expression, which of
course, we were denied by the colonial regime. All
sorts of niceties and
sweet talk were employed to rally people behind the
treacherous ground — the
liberation war. It even made sense then, for people
to believe this
especially after experiencing the brutality of the white
minority regime.
However, it did not take long for people to realise
that it was just cheap
political talk and that the devil was not in the skin
colour but in the
governance style, since the only freedoms that they
enjoyed was walking in
first street as well as drinking in those bars that
were reserved for
whites. But would you call this “the freedom that we
fought for?”
In fact the freedom of association and freedom of
expression among other
freedoms became a mirage after the introduction and
also maintenance of a
cocktail of laws (some of which date back to the
colonial era) which include
Posa and Aippa, among many. The freedoms became
sectionalised and a preserve
for those individuals who can utter anything
considered “politically
correct” and to those who gather in the name of
preaching a “politically
correct gospel” of voting for Zanu PF. There is no
need to hammer on this
point because the realities are there for all to
see.
Fast forward this to our current situation, the same characters
who used to
tell us of political freedoms are now back in the fold telling
us that they
will embark on or they have embarked on an indigenisation
programme that is
going to guarantee us more freedoms — this time in the
form of economic
freedoms. Sounds so sweet to the desperately poor
population, doesn’t it?
They even pluck and preach verses of economic
prosperity and wellbeing
within this gospel of
indigenisation.
The proponents of indigenisation as envisaged by Zanu
PF kleptomaniacs have
gone a gear up in their propaganda, hoodwinking the
populace that
indigenisation is the panacea to their hunger for control of
the levers of
economic power. In short, they have argued that they want to
run away from
the capitalist West’s way of doing things, that is doing away
with the free
market concept which leads to the concentration of wealth in
the hands of
very few people.
But a closer analysis has forced
critics to ask these questions: what model
are they using in the
indigenisation programme which will not lead to the
concentration of wealth
in the hands of the few well-connected fat cats?
Secondly, how possible is
it to indigenise an economy where the majority of
the people are unemployed
and the generality of the population is living
below the poverty datum line?
Practically speaking, who will be in a
position to buy the shares when the
general public is still striving to put
basic meals of sadza and stew on the
table?
Even if the shares are going to be donated, like what this
indigenisation
project seems to be turning out, how viable will be the
companies or it will
be another total disaster like what happened with the
land reform programme?
In fact, aren’t politicians taking us for a wild
goose chase once again, the
way they did just before
independence?
Reality shows that you cannot make a frog pretty even
if you put French
lipstick on it, because even if you use colourful terms
like “Community
Share Ownership Scheme” or “Employee Share Ownership Scheme”
to tactfully
camouflage the whole scheme, which is otherwise a
self-enrichment exercise,
it won’t work.
We know that it is
practically impossible to indigenise an economy where 80%
of the population
is unemployed and where the majority of the work force are
earning salaries
that are far below the poverty datum line. In fact, all
these facts expose
the indigenisation project as any other populist exercise
meant to garner
votes for Zanu PF, just like any other chaotic projects like
input schemes
or the land reform programme.
Isn’t it a wake up call for the
citizens, to realise that politicians are
just people who are in government
for personal gain even though they
clandestinely claim to be fighting for
“the people?” So, if you are going to
fall for the cheap trick called
indigenisation, then it means you have not
learnt the lessons from the past
very well.
BY MUSASIYASHE KUFAKUNESU
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012 10:57
President
Robert Mugabe learnt the hard way last week that he could no
longer use the
courts to subvert Zimbabwean citizens’ right to choose their
leaders.
Determined to stop the holding of elections in three of
Matabeleland’s
constituencies, the president fought all the way to the
Supreme Court, only
to get a ruling that favoured democracy instead of
individual whim.
In a landmark decision, the highest court of appeal
ruled that Mugabe was
dead wrong in trying to use lack of resources as an
excuse for failing to
call by-elections in Nkayi South, Lupane East and
Bulilima East.
The seats fell vacant after the expulsion of MPs
Abednico Bhebhe, Njabuliso
Mguni and Norman Mpofu from the Welshman
Ncube-led MDC. The unanimous ruling
is arguably Mugabe’s biggest defeat in
the courts since independence. The
ruling struck at the heart of his
three-year determination to deny thousands
of Matabeleland residents a
chance to have representation in Parliament,
where laws are
made.
Mugabe was keen to avoid the inevitable — an embarrassing Zanu
PF defeat
which could tilt the balance of power in the Global Political
Agreement in
favour of his opponents.
By throwing out Mugabe’s
appeal, the Supreme Court seemed to reclaim its
independence from Mugabe’s
political tentacles and, at the same time, send a
message to the strongman
that courts could no longer side with politicians
bent on subverting the
right of the citizens.
The effect of the Supreme Court ruling was
also to remind Mugabe that
elections were a fundamental part of democracy,
and there could not be any
excuse for not following one of its
tenets.
The president needs to embrace free and fair elections and
stop behaving —
as he has done —like an ancient monarchy that denies
citizens their rights.
What remains to be seen is whether or not Mugabe is
going to comply with the
ruling and ensure that people in the three
constituencies get a chance to
choose their leaders in the shortest possible
time. Not to do so would be
to go against the Constitution of which he is
the custodian.
Quote of the week
"We are agreed
that the rights contained in section 20(3) of the
Constitution, namely the
right of religious and other groups to set up and
run schools, will be fully
respected by Government.” Education minister
David Coltart on calls to
indigenise private schools.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
Sunday, 15 July 2012
10:36
“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” — Franklin D
Roosevelt
On November 14 1997, the Zimbabwe dollar suffered a massive
crash, setting
the country into a long spell of economic decline and
inflation.
Seven months later, amid foreign currency shortages, restrictive
monopoly
legislation in the telecommunications industry and hostile
opposition, one
Strive Masiyiwa launched Econet Wireless.
Last week the
company celebrated its 14th anniversary, proud of the fact
that besides its
competitors having had a two-year head-start, it is
fulfilling the founder’s
vision of connecting every Zimbabwean, boasting of
nearly a 70% share of the
mobile phone subscriber base. Undeniably,
Masiyiwa is by far the most
successful black Zimbabwean entrepreneur.
Thomas Edison is famous for his
quote, “I have not failed, I have just found
ten thousand ways that won’t
work.” In the middle of the panic of 1873 — a
six-year recession, Edison
created one of the best-known inventions of all
time — the incandescent
light bulb. Three years later, he established
General Electric Company.
Today GE is one of the world’s biggest
multinational companies.
What
drives true entrepreneurs?
Usually, business founders recognise a market need
and think of ways to
fulfil it. Identifying that need — whether it’s related
to communication,
entertainment, travel or even streamlining how businesses
operate — is the
key to any thriving enterprise, regardless of the economic
climate in which
it begins.
But not everyone starting a business is a
true entrepreneur. Below are some
traits that, if you develop them, you will
find yourself driven to success
even in tough times.
Accept failure as
part of the picture
A true entrepreneur has to fail at first in order to
succeed. A true
characteristic of an entrepreneur is that you just don’t get
it the first
time! There will always be trials and errors, hits and misses.
This mindset
will shape you to think that there will always be a better way
to do things.
Sacrifices are needed
With the time, you will be
spending working and the new things you will be
learning, everything from
start to finish, can be considered as a
sacrificial offering of yourself,
especially your time.
You may need to shun some social activities that you
have been used to in
order for you to fuel the need for your business to get
going. At times, you
will have to be there 24/7 and lose sleep, especially
in the initial stages
of your business. You may even have to shell out more
money that you would
have expected and couldn’t see profits or rewards
immediately.
You need confidence
Confidence is a hallmark of the
entrepreneur. Not all of us are born with
confidence, but that does not mean
we are not capable of it. Many confident
women and men have gained their
sense of self-esteem and faith in their
ability to greet challenges by
acting — even when they lack the confidence —
and then gaining strength and
belief in themselves by seeing the results and
gaining the praise and
respect of others.
Ability to Communicate
Entrepreneurs recognise that
the most important part of any business is the
human element. Human
resources — whether in the form of clients, employees,
or strategic partners
— are what makes or breaks a business, and
communication is the key to
successful relationships with people.
The entrepreneur works to hone
communication skills, whether written,
spoken, or non-verbal messages
conveyed through body language. And to
support communication, he or she will
take advantage of all available tools
and resources.
Above all, the
entrepreneur develops a keen ability to listen and hear what
others are
trying to say, because the best communicators got that way by
first of all
being the best listeners.
Passionate about Learning
Entrepreneurs are
often “autodidactic” learners, which means that much of
what they know was
learned, not in a formal classroom setting, but instead
on their own by
seeking out information, asking questions, and doing
personal reading and
research.
They are also quick to learn from their own mistakes, making them
less prone
to keep on repeating them. To teach is to learn. Because of their
passion
for education, true entrepreneurs surround themselves with people
who either
know more than they do or know things that are different from
what they
know.
They entertain the views of others. They continue to
enrich themselves with
knowledge while also making a concerted effort to
grow that knowledge by
sharing it with others.
Phillip Chichoni
is a strategic business planning consultant who works with
entrepreneurs and
SMEs. He may be contacted by email on
chichonip@smebusinesslink.com
