Paul Nyathi|Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda yesterday thwarted attempts by MDC legislator Innocent Gonese, to raise through a point of privilege in the House the matter involving the withdrawal of sitting allowances of members of the opposition party after they walked out on President Mnangagwa during his presentation of the State of the Nation Address early this month.

The opposition legislators had their sitting allowances for the day of the walkout and the preceding five months withdrawn after they refused to acknowledge the President when entered the chamber as a sign of respect.

They subsequently walked out when he was presenting his SONA and official opening the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament.

MPs receive $700 per sitting and Parliament has since docked the allowances ranging from $9 000 to $15 000.

“On Tuesday October 1, 2019 in this august House, the chair exercised certain powers which in my view were punitive and arbitrary in nature,” said Mr Gonese.

He was, however, immediately ruled out of order by Advocate Mudenda who said the matter could not be raised in the House since the MDC-Alliance had already written to his office on the matter.

The MDC-Alliance MPs wrote to the Speaker seeking reversal of the ruling arguing there was no legal provision that empowered him to dock their allowances and said they will sue him after he ignored their demands.

Below is the full text of the discussion in parliament on Tuesday:

HON. GONESE:  Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Sir.  On Tuesday, 1^st October, 2019 in this august House, the Chair exercised certain powers which, in my view, were of a punitive and arbitrary nature – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] – My point of privilege Mr. Speaker is to get an understanding of the principle that was used, particularly bearing in mind that our Constitution Mr. Speaker …

          THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order, order!  Hon. Member, you are out of order – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –

          HON. GONESE:  Mr. Speaker, if you say I am out of order, I think I deserve to be informed on the basis upon which I am being ruled out of order, and I do not actually think because it is a principle…

          THE HON. SPEAKER:  Alright, alright.

          HON. GONESE:  I have not finished my point Mr. Speaker.

          THE HON. SPEAKER:  I follow your argument.

          HON. GONESE:  With due respect Mr. Speaker, I think I am also entitled to articulate my point to a conclusion before you can then rule me out of order. – [HON. MEMBERS: Inaudible interjections.] –

          THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order, order, I needed not to listen to you right up to the end because the Hon. Member, through his party has written a letter to the Chair seeking some explanation and you cannot have your cake and eat it.  Thank you.

State Media|Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando is tomorrow expected to take part in a session to discuss cooperation in the diamond sector between Russia and Africa.

The discussions will be part of the deliberations at the Russia-Africa Summit being held in Sochi City from today to tomorrow.

A statement from the Russian organisers, said Minister Chitando will participate in a session dubbed; “Russian-African Collaboration in the Diamond Industry”, which will discuss trends and problems in the diamond industry.

“The ‘Russian-African Collaboration in the Diamond Industry’ session promises to be a highlight of the Russia-Africa Forum business programme’s Creating Joint Projects track,” reads the statement.

“On 23 October, Russian and international experts will come together to discuss current trends and problems in the diamond mining industry. Diamonds are the stock-in-trade of Russia and Africa alike.

“Their production accounts for a significant part of the export earnings of several African countries and plays a significant role in the continent’s economy.”

Russia is the world’s top producer of diamonds and boasts a wealth of experience in technology, process management, and corporate and financial management.

“A unification of efforts and competencies would allow the industry to reduce risks and increase financial security. The outlook for collaboration in marketing, logistical organisation, improving regulatory affairs, and working together on intra-industry standards is promising.

“Forum experts will discuss the prospects and plot a vector for further developing cooperation,” added the statement.

The session will be moderated by Iris Van der Veken, executive director of the Responsible Jewellery Council.

Zimbabwe will be represented by Minister Chitando and Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) board chairman Mr Killian Ukama.

The diamond industry is expected to contribute significantly to the Government’s goal of a US$12 billion mining industry by 2023.

The diamond sector together with coal, chrome, iron and steel is expected to contribute at least US$1 billion towards the target, according to Government projections.

Russian firm, Alrosa, which is the world’s largest diamond producer has already been awarded diamond concessions in the Chiadzwa area and Zimbabwe is expected to benefit from its experience in the industry.

The company is part sponsor of the session and its CEO and chairman of the executive committee Mr Sergey Ivanov said it was interested in developing the industry in Africa.

“In the course of our work in Africa, we have accumulated a wealth of experience, are well acquainted with features specific to the region, and are adept at finding shared points and mutual interests.

“The company would like to further develop cooperation, which we believe can be of benefit to both parties. A discussion of synergy in the diamond mining industry that involves all interested parties can serve to drive further development and bring African diamond products onto the world market,” said Mr Ivanov.

The USA recently blocked diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange Diamonds Fields from being imported into that country claiming that they were “blood diamonds” on the basis that some people from the Marange community are forced to work on the fields by government deployed soldiers for nothing.

State Media|At least 33 officers were arrested this week over missing receipt-books and embezzlement of thousands of dollars at the Registrar-General’s Office in Harare.

Receipt-books went missing with the officers, mainly cashiers, being accused of stealing money paid by people seeking documents like passports, birth certificates and replacement national identity documents.

Instead of banking the fees in terms of the law, the suspects would pocket the money.

Of the 33 suspects, 18 were picked up on Monday while 15 were arrested yesterday by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Commercial Crimes Division.

The first batch of 18 appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Court yesterday where they were freed on $200 bail each.The remaining 15 suspects were by last night still assisting police with investigations.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrests.

“We can confirm that 18 of the suspects from the RG’s office were arrested yesterday (Monday) while the other 15 were arrested today bringing the total number to 33.

“Their charges range from embezzlement of cash paid by people and under the Banking Act, for pocketing money paid by people,” he said.

Asst Comm Nyathi, who is yet to verify the actual amounts involved, said investigations were still in progress.

The latest developments come after Government recently directed the Registrar-General’s Office to set up a committee that will oversee the vetting of passport applications in a bid to eliminate corruption.

The committee will be responsible for determining the applicants who should get passports, starting from those wanting to travel on an emergency basis.

This was said by the Secretary for Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Mr Melusi Matshiya in a recent interview with State Media.

He said the setting up of the committee followed unconfirmed reports that some applicants were being charged up to US$200 by some unscrupulous officials to have passports quickly processed.

Currently, the RG’s office is producing 800 passports per day, but plans are afoot to ramp up production to about 4 200 following the acquisition of consumables.

In July, the Registrar-General Mr Clemence Masango also issued a stern warning to officials in his department who were capitalising on the challenges in the issuance of passports by demanding kickbacks from desperate citizens intending to acquire emergency travel documents.

Desperate Zimbabweans are parting with huge sums of money to pay bribes in order to obtain passports as the Registrar General’s office is battling an acute shortage of special paper and ink used to make passports, resulting in a huge backlog for travel documents.

Mr Masango said Government officials should desist from taking advantage of the people’s desperate situations through taking bribes.

“Government policy as pronounced by His Excellency President Emmerson Mnangagwa including our Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage (Cde Cain Mathema) reiterates the same point, which is zero tolerance to corruption. We therefore appeal to everyone, our clients, citizens and officials to desist from corruption,” he said.

Mr Masango said those caught engaging in corrupt activities would face the full wrath of the law as they will be dealt with by law enforcement agents and consequences will follow.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube says the 2 percent Intermediated Money Transfer Tax on transactions will continue for much longer as it covers for tax defaulters.

His comments come amid growing calls by business leaders to scrap the tax that they claim is increasing the cost of doing business. Among those disputing the introduction of the tax is Combined Harare Residents’ Association (CHRA) director Mfundo Mlilo who made a court application last month challenging the SI 205-2018.

Industrial lobby groups among them the Confederation of the Zimbabwe Industries and the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, have also voiced their concern on the subject.

However, Minister Ncube has maintained that the tax sought to expand Government’s capacity to bankroll capital projects and retooling of diverse economic sectors.

In an interview with Zimpapers Televison Network on Monday, Prof Ncube said the contested tax will be channelled towards improvement of the country’s productive sectors to stimulate economic growth.

Part of the tax has also been used to cushion workers through the provision of the highly subsidised Zupco buses.

“We will not scrap the 2 percent tax because it helps us on the compliance front, in terms of lowering tax. I cannot pre-announce what I will say in the budget, all I can say generally is we want to support growth and productivity. One of the things we have to look at is obviously incentives and tax adjustments,” said Minister
Ncube.State media

The Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) and the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) yesterday indicated that they are ready to ferry people from different parts of the country intending to take part in the main anti-sanctions march in Harare on Friday.

ZUPCO said it was ready to release buses throughout the country, while the NRZ indicated that it will run free special passenger trains from Bulawayo and Mutare to Harare.

ZUPCO acting chief executive Mr Everisto Madangwa said they were committed to distribute the buses to ferry people as required.

“We are ready to release our buses for the anti-sanctions campaign programme,” he said.
“This is a national cause, hence the need to fully support the programme. As you are aware, we have a fleet of buses countrywide. We are just waiting to get the number of buses required by the organisers per province. It’s all systems go on our part.”

In a statement, NRZ public relations manager Mr Nyasha Maravanyika said two passenger trains with a capacity to carry 1 500 and 1 200 passengers have been arranged to ferry people to and from Bulawayo and Mutare to Harare for free.State media

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Farai Dziva|MDC provincial chairperson for Mashonaland Central Province George Gwarada believes Emmerson Mnangagwa has lost the people’s trust in the province.

Gwarada was commenting on the postponement of a Zanu PF rally in the area -due to poor coordination.

“People in the province are tired of the Mnangagwa regime. This is clearly shown by poor attendance at their functions, despite trying to bus people from all the districts. In short, Mash Central is just fed up with Zanu PF,” Gwarada told a daily publication.

He added:“There is only one way to save Mnangagwa from further humiliation, that is dialogue with Chamisa, but he (Mnangagwa) has to be sincere…”

Watch video below. ..

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The late former president Robert Mugabe’s son, Chatunga has said he will not be making any investment in Zimbabwe for the next 5 years in case he suffers financial losses.

The man who removed his father,
Emmerson Mnangagwa has another (about) 5 years left.

Young Mugabe said he is not interested in doing business considering the current financial crises.

By A Correspondent- Workers in the general agriculture sector have been awarded an 84,62% salary increment, which will see the lowest paid employee getting $360 a month.

According to the collective bargaining agreement, the highest paid employee would now get $720 from $390.

Before the adjustment, the least paid employee was earning $195.

However, the new wage adjustment, which became effective on October 1, has been described as too little to cushion workers from the prevailing economic hardships.

Inflationary pressures have seen the cost of living rising beyond the reach of many in the southern African nation as prices of basic commodities have more than quadrupled in recent months, resulting in the poverty datum line for an average family of five skyrocketing to $1 617 in July.

The wage agreement, signed on October 18, was reached by the parties which included Zimbabwe Agricultural Employers Organisation, Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union, Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union, Commercial Farmers’ Union, Zimbabwe Tobacco Association, General and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe and Horticulture General Agriculture and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe as well as Horticulture General Agriculture and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe.All amounts were rounded off to the nearest $1, the agreement reads.

“An establishment or employees may apply to the National Employment Council within 14 days for an exemption of partial exemption or review from paying wages as set up in the above schedule, stating the reasons why that application should be considered,” reads part of the memo.

Progressive Agriculture and Allied Industries Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe general-secretary Raymond Sixpence accused workers’ unions, who took part in the negotiations, of conniving with the employers to impoverish workers.

“It’s still the same wine in a new bottle. There is nothing to cheer or celebrate. We are going to negotiate for a living wage on the farms with each individual employer. These unions are betraying the workers. They are sleeping in bed with employers,” Sixpence said.

“None can survive with this paltry wage. We are allowed to negotiate in terms of the Labour Act chapter 28:01,” he added.

At its peak, Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector used to provide 45% of the country’s exports, 60% of all raw materials used by local industry and 70% employment.

But now the figures have plummeted, due to a combination of challenges such as recurrent droughts that have preceded chaotic land reform programme in the wake of unavailability of cheap agriculture funding, among other constraints.

— NewsDay

By A Correspondent- The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association (ZHDA) yesterday said it had set up a crowd-funding platform through their affiliate associations to ease financial problems faced by its members, particularly those who did not receive their salaries last week.

The doctors, who also claim they are receiving indirect threats to force them to abandon their nearly two months’ strike, said the non-payment of salaries had further impoverished them.

“The most recent assault has been the withholding of October salaries for all doctors who have not been reporting to work due to the very fact that they are financially liquidated,” ZHDA representative Tawanda Zvakada said.

Health Services Board chairperson Paulinus Sikosana has, however, denied reports that government suspended salaries for the striking doctors, claiming that some doctors were omitted by mistake.

“The HSB receives consolidated information from registers compiled by individual hospitals. For senior doctors, this is based on an on-call roster and as such if the doctor on-call was called to attend to patients and did not come, they were considered to be absent from work,” he said.

Addressing the media at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals yesterday, Zvakada, who was flanked by other members of the ZHDA executive, said while they acknowledged attempts by government in addressing their pleas, the offers fell short of their expectations.

Although their employer dragged them to court which ordered them to go back to work, the doctors have said they remain incapacitated to go back to work.

“While the willingness to comply with the ruling is there, we maintain that we remain physically and materially incapacitated,” Zvakada said.

Of concern to doctors is the fact that they have received threats.

“We as the ZHDA leadership, we feel there are indirect threats that have been made towards us. We condemn such actions if indeed they were directed to us or if there is anyone planning to do so,” they said.

The threats come three weeks after ZHDA president Peter Magombeyi was allegedly abducted and tortured by suspected State security agents and had to be flown to South Africa to receive further treatment.

Meanwhile, suspected Zanu PF members took to social media yesterday describing the doctors’ strike as a political move being sponsored by the United States government.

This followed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s remarks last week that there was a third force behind the doctors’ strike. He alleged that his government had discovered that there were four or five leaders who went to meetings at night and came back to influence others not to return to work.

The suspected Zanu PF members went on Twitter, accusing human rights lawyer Doug Coltart of handing over US$19 300 to ZHDA spokesperson Masimba Ndoro at Fishmonger Belgravia to cushion doctors who failed to receive their salaries.

But Coltart refuted the allegations, accusing Zanu PF of making desperate allegations to divert attention from the strike.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- There was chaos at the burial of the late Mugodhi Apostolic sect leader Tandewu Mugodhi’s in Wedza on Saturday after two factions clashed over the burial site and the appointment of his son as heir apparent.

Three police officers, who were at the site, had a torrid time quelling the chaos as sect members exchanged harsh words, while some shouted unprintable words as the leadership wrangle within one of the biggest apostolic sects in the country escalated.

A faction opposed to the elevation of Mugodhi’s son Washington was left seething with anger after he was ordained sect leader against a High Court ruling which recognised vice-bishop Tonnie Sigauke as the bona fide successor.

High Court judge Justice Owen Tagu made the determination on September 4, 2019, after sect members petitioned the court, seeking an order to interdict Tandewu from appointing Washington the acting vice-bishop and to act on his behalf.

Justice Tagu further said Tandewu’s move was a breach of the sect’s constitution.

In his ruling, Justice Tagu said: “The first respondent (Tandewu) be and is hereby interdicted from carrying out his duties until he has been cleansed in terms of the applicant’s constitution.

“The first, second, third and fourth respondents (Tandewu, Washington, Innocent and Enock Mugodhi) together with their families be and are hereby interdicted from interfering in the operations of the applicant (Sigauke).

“The pronouncement by the first respondent that the second respondent is now the acting vice-bishop be and is hereby declared unlawful. The vice-bishop Tonnie Sigauke be and is hereby confirmed as acting bishop.”

There were also frantic efforts to bar Tandewu from being buried at the sect’s headquarters. The disgruntled sect members tried to use traditional leadership in the area to stop the burial without success.

Tandewu was buried at the sect headquarters where his father Elijah Mugodhi, who died in 1971 is buried.

Giving a speech during the burial ceremony, one of the leaders revealed that all was not well within the sect as some members were jostling for top posts.

A family member, who preferred anonymity, told NewsDay that there had been efforts by the anti-Tandewu faction to take over the leadership long before his death.

“There have been efforts to seize leadership from the Mugodhi family. This is why there was chaos at the funeral wake. They tried to bar him from being buried at the sect headquarters despite other bishops being buried there. Some of the members feel that the family should not be involved in the church leadership, which is wrong.

They are against the elevation of Washington and it is not looking good. When Tandewu was no longer feeling well, some of his enemies changed the constitution without his knowledge as they were trying to stage a coup,” the family member said.

Tandewu died last week after a long battle with cancer.

-Newsday

By A Correspondent- Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu has sued the party’s Youth Affairs deputy secretary Lewis Matutu for $10 million.

The lawsuit emanates from claims made by Matutu during a press conference on June 24 this year against Mpofu, where he claimed that the latter is corrupt. The summons read in part:

The content of the statement was widely disseminated in the local print and electronic media and on various social media platforms.

… That the plaintiff’s corrupt inclinations continue to undermine socio-economic transformation in Zimbabwe and, as a result, defendant’s generation is suffering.

Mpofu argued that his reputation and standing as a businessman, politician has been damaged in the eyes of the public because of the statement.

He further contended that the corruption allegations made by Matutu are false, malicious, scandalous, wrongful and defamatory to him.

-statemedia

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The government has been urged to probe the high cases of continued open defecation in rural areas where in some communities, people are shunning toilets due to cultural beliefs, risking the spread of infectious diseases.

The Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC), in its latest report, said open defecation was prevalent in all provinces with practice high in Matabeleland North.

“Open defecation was reported across all provinces, and is high in the Matabeleland region, requires further in-depth investigations, including identification of social-cultural barriers to the uptake of optimum sanitation facilities and practices,” ZimVAC said.

Open defecation is the disposal of human waste in fields, forests, bushes, open bodies of water or other open spaces or with solid waste.

All the 12 districts in Matabeleland North had more than 50% of households practising open defecation at the time of the ZimVAC assessment with Binga district being the most affected at 74.3%.

“Open defecation was most prevalent in Matabeleland North. Binga had the highest proportion of households at 74.3% practising open defecation. 12 districts had more than 50% practising open defecation at the time of the assessment.

“Elimination of open defecation through availing of resources (both software and hardware) for the construction of latrines is recommended. Customised service standards should reconcile with technology choice and service levels with the economic capacity of user groups,” said ZimVAC.

It also noted the proportion of households without hand-washing facilities at their toilets was more than 80% in all districts in the country and this increased the risk of the spread of infectious diarrhoea related diseases such as cholera.

ZimVAC is a consortium of government, development agencies, UN, NGOs, technical agencies and academia whose mandate is to promote a multi-sectoral response to food insecurity and nutrition problems.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been dubbed a transitional leader whose role is to stabilise the country after the disastrous 37 years of the late former president Robert Mugabe’s reign.

This was said by a political analyst, Rashweat Mukundu, who claimed that the government does not have a solution to the current economic crisis. He said:

Reacting to a situation after it gets out of hand means that Mnangagwa is failing to galvanise the country towards a national vision, but remains trapped in petty politics and power struggles.

Like it or not, Mnangagwa is a transitional leader and his historical role is to stabilise Zimbabwe after the disastrous years of (the later former president Robert) Mugabe and that role necessitates reaching out to all without preconditions so that Zimbabwe can focus on its developmental needs.

Mukundu accused the ruling ZANU PF party of negotiating in bad faith and not interested in the betterment of citizens’ welfare but on wealth accumulation.

Pindula

The Department of Immigration today launched an all-female enforcement and compliance operation dubbed “Good Morning Madam Immigration Officer” which seeks to clamp down on illegal immigrants, touts, child and human smugglers among other criminal vices at Beitbridge Border Post.

The 14 member team led by Assistant Regional Immigration Officer (ARIO), Mrs Memory Mugwagwa took many dealers by surprise. According the ARIO-in-charge Beitbridge Mr Nqobile Ncube, the operation saw hundreds of travellers being turned away from the border for violating various sections of the Immigration Act.

He said most of those turned away had full passports and cited issues at the Passport Office, while some travellers turned themselves away when they took notice of the operation.

“Our officers managed to uplift eight passports for irregular movements and the owners were instructed to pay fines. In addition, 30 arrests were effected on those who contravened various sections of the Immigration Act (e.g. noncompliance, entry by evasion and not possessing travel documents). The arrested were escorted to the police post to pay fines,” said Mr Ncube.

The senior immigration officer also said that 38 cars were turned at away at the port of entry for carrying undocumented passengers.  The drivers, he said, were warned and cautioned.

More to follow…

According to Dr Peter Magombeyi, the salaries of doctors in Zimbabwe have been slashed from $1,800 a month to a mere $80. This left doctors unable to sustain themselves and their families. Many of them cannot even afford to pay for transportation. The drastic salary cut was never communicated to doctors officially: the news came via an SMS notification.

The decrease in salaries is speculated to be a consequence of switching from the US dollar to the RTGS dollar, Zimbabwe’s new currency. With the prices of essential commodities soaring by nearly 1,000%, Zimbabwe’s economy is at an all-time low, leaving most of the population unable to afford basic living expenses.

Resources such as fuel are scarce, and the country is in the throes of rolling power cuts, some lasting up to 18 hours. Many patients have been turned away from their surgical appointments because of the power cuts and those on life support are in a precarious position, to say the least.

In the midst of severe economic unrest, the Zimbabwean healthcare system has collapsed. Just under 2,000 doctors serve a population of 14-million, who are largely unemployed.

“This collective job action is not a strike; we are incapacitated,” said Magombeyi.

Magombeyi, who practises as a doctor at the Harare Central Hospital, said the current working conditions of healthcare practitioners were tantamount to slave labour.

“Imagine being in a hospital that accepts all referrals, and then not having things as simple as gloves or bandages. Patients have to buy and bring their own test tubes,” Magombeyi said.

In some instances, patients are forced to buy medication privately. “We don’t even have Paracetamol,” Magombeyi said. Paracetamol is the most basic pain medication. Millions of Zimbabweans who rely on the public healthcare system bear the brunt of the under-resourced facilities as they are unable to access the private healthcare system.

“The private system is for the rich and politicians, and they often have the option of flying out of the country to access healthcare,” said Magombeyi.

He described the situation in Zimbabwean hospitals as a “silent genocide”.

“Our government is averse to truth-telling. When we speak out about what is happening, we are labelled as a third force trying to destabilise the country; if you tell the truth, you become an enemy of the state. We can no longer subsidise the government, our people must know exactly what is happening.

“The government should have policies that enable us to look after the population, and that is not happening. We subscribe to the codes of health practice that outline that we cannot do harm to our patients. If the government does not create policies that allow us to execute our duties in a safe manner, then our patients’ lives are at risk.”

The public healthcare system in Zimbabwe has become dysfunctional even at the lowest level of care. The primary healthcare system is severely incapacitated, forcing their referrals onto even more incapacitated central hospitals, which are supposed to cater to the needs of patients from all over the country.

“There are very high rates of death linked to HIV/AIDS as well as chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Thousands of people have died,” Magombeyi lamented.

On 21 October, doctors in Zimbabwe had been on an “incapacitated” demonstration for 50 days. None of them has received a salary since they embarked on demonstrations against the government. Magombeyi said the government had refused to respond to the healthcare crisis with any degree of urgency. He criticised the state for skirting around the issue of remuneration of healthcare givers.

He further refuted government claims that there were only five doctors who were disgruntled with the state of affairs and influencing other doctors to take part in the demonstrations.

“How can 1,600 doctors be influenced by five people? Our requests are not a matter of greed, we are not being unreasonable either, our patients are dying. Thousands have already died. If we don’t advocate for them, who will?” asked Magombeyi.

Despite the doctors’ continued action of incapacitation, Magombeyi clarified that the collective job action was structured so that emergency cases were still attended to.

“It’s not that we are all on leave at once. We have doctors on call to attend to life-threatening cases. If a patient is identified as baton red, they are attended to. We are an essential service and we honour those ethical engagements.”

Doctors and the government are at a stalemate, as doctors continue their collective job action awaiting a favourable resolution to address their dire situation.

– Maverick Citizen

Farai Dziva|MDC provincial chairperson for Mashonaland Central Province George Gwarada believes Emmerson Mnangagwa has lost the people’s trust in the province.

Gwarada was commenting on the postponement of a Zanu PF rally in the area -due to poor coordination.

“People in the province are tired of the Mnangagwa regime. This is clearly shown by poor attendance at their functions, despite trying to bus people from all the districts. In short, Mash Central is just fed up with Zanu PF,” Gwarada told a daily publication.

He added:“There is only one way to save Mnangagwa from further humiliation, that is dialogue with Chamisa, but he (Mnangagwa) has to be sincere…”

The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association has issued a statement on their 51 days strike action.

We present the statement in full below.

Second Part

Third part

Farai Dziva|The Meteorological Services Department (MSD) has urged Zimbabweans to take a lot of fluids to avoid dehydration.

The department has also warned that the exceedingly high temperatures being experienced in most parts of the country will persist.

“In light of the expected hot conditions, the public is urged to carry sunhats for outdoor activities and plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration particularly water, avoiding a prolonged stay in the sun, avoiding outdoor activities protecting yourselves from the sun by using umbrellas and wide-brimmed hats …,” said the department in a statement.

Paul Nyathi|Government has declared Friday, October 25, a public holiday to allow people to attend the ZANU PF led march against so called sanctions on Zimbabwe, whose main event is slated for the National Sports Stadium in Harare.

The public holiday was announced last night by Acting Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Professor Amon Murwira who happens to be the Minister of Higher Education but could not realise the problematic clash of dates.

Below are the Zimsec examination likely to be affected by the hurriedly arranged holiday.

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Farai Dziva|ZANU PF supporters in Bindura snubbed Emmerson Mnangagwa’s rally in Bindura, party sources have claimed.

Mnangagwa reportedly cancelled the rally as a result of poor coordination.

Zanu PF supporters Bindura vowed not go to the rally on empty stomachs.

Mnangagwa was supposed to address a rally in Bindura before officiating at a graduation ceremony at Bindura University of Science Education.

“Things are very difficult these days so we will be busy hustling to have food on the table, we cannot go to rallies on empty bellies,” a party supporter told a daily publication.

Farai Dziva| A senior MDC official has said Zanu PF is deeply reluctant to facilitate the national healing process.

Below is MDC Secretary for National Healing, Peace, Reconciliation and Integration, Blessing Chebundo’s statement:

Zimbabwe national healing; reconciliation; integration and peace building agenda, requires leadership with clear conscience, with political will; who are sincere, and not the type of leadership who are part of perpetrators of human rights violations.

The nation and its citizens continue to witness human rights violations; democratic suppression; the unabated grand state assets stripping/corruption; the abductions of innocent people, and poor economic policies which are all a threat to the emancipation and safety of the citizens. All these breeds discontent among the citizens and are a proof of the level of the regime’s insincerity to heal the wounds of the past atrocities and to prevent recurrences.

What is worrying the MDC, the people’s party, is that the violence and torture in the country is perpetrated mainly by state agents and their ancillaries. Yet state authorities have a duty to ensure people’s safety, and rights to freedom of expression. It is the state’s obligation to facilitate and protect the right of the citizens. Zimbabwe’s problem is however further compounded by what has been seen by many as the government’s unwillingness to engage honestly and genuinely with the past, possibly because a good number of past and current serving senior government officials fear implication.

Indeed it is a hurdle to ensure effective national healing agenda when the perpetrators are the ones in the driving of the healing policies and programmes…
We ought to build confidence, through demonstrated practical political will, and sincerity. The constitutional institutions for healing and human rights’ independence should be strengthened and adequately resourced. You cannot give people confidence, or expect concerted efforts in implementation when the successive political appointed heads of organs for national healing have serious negative human rights records of human rights violations, and abused of their high offices and are implicated in past political violence, such as the case of the immediate past Vice President Mpoko, and the current incumbent, as heads of the institutions for healing and peace. The former’s efforts to convince the nation that events of the Matabeleland and the Midlands massacre was a product of Western conspiracy and nothing that could be blamed on anyone in our own country was a mockery of the people, while the latter’s alleged involvement in cases of political assaults and violence compromise their appointment and trust as heads of organ for healing and peace. It amounts to an attempt to forge national unity and reconciliation through the suppression of truth and constant denial and victim blaming on the part of perpetrators.

Hence the whole agenda lacks political will, and makes people angry and stakeholders, including victims of violence and interested organisations, would not agree to have alleged perpetrators of violence lead the process of healing. True to that, this position is logical and clear as accepting these people is tantamount to expect a criminal to preside over his own trial.
Thus for four decades since independence, Peace continues to elude the nation. And the so called new dispensation Just like its predecessor, have failed the nation and citizens as regards implementation of the Agenda meant to heal the wounds from the past atrocities, and the prevention of further human rights violations, prevention of the state instigated violence, prevention of grand corruption by cartels made up of the ruling elite, and the need to ensure of enabling environment for citizens to choose national leadership freely. All these are major sources of discontent, disharmony among the citizens, and breeds leadership legitimacy crisis that affect peace and national development. Regarding ‘Corruption’ it is both a source of, and consequence of instability and conflict and a factor in exacerbating them
ZIMBABWE needs a meaningful culture of peace.”

Investing in National peace gives the impetus of development. A nation at war with itself/citizens will never enjoy meaningful development
Concerted collective efforts are needed to continue to engage issues around past human rights violations, including the liberation war period. The starting point would be to address the past atrocities in Ernest, with sufficient political will, and in a manner that permanently heals the wounds from past atrocities: reconcile differences; Integrates communities: and prevent future recurrences.
Because, of both the pre and post-colonial state’s failure to uphold the rule of law and guarantee civil and political liberties, Zimbabwe has experienced nine distinct periods of gross human rights violations in pre and post-colonial period 1970 to 2019.

These includes:-
The 1970s gross injustices during the Liberation Struggle
The Gukurahundi campaign between 1983 and 1987 that left more than 20 000 people dead, dislocated the lives of millions and was associated with the deliberate denial of identity documents: humanitarian services: and the general destruction of livelihoods, and instilled perpetual fear.

Violent farm invasions in year 2000. The invasions resulted in the displacement of 400 000 farm workers and displacement of 1.8 million members of farm worker families and the deaths of many farm workers. The violent invasions also resulted in the displacement of over 4000 white farmers of which several were killed.
State-sponsored violence during successive campaigns for national elections beginning 1985 resulting in the death of hundreds of people mainly opposition supporters. Injuries, loss of property, loss of livelihoods, and internally displaced people.

Operation Murambatsvina in May, June and July 2005 that displaced more than 700 000 people, loss of livelihoods and destruction of property.
The brutal 27 June, 2008 Presidential run-off campaign in which more than 300 people were killed, more than 10 000 injured, 20 000 homes were destroyed and more than 200 000 people were displaced.
The 1st August 2018 Harare shooting and killing of civilians by armed soldiers during protest on perceived delay and rigging of Presidential elections, now the source of leadership legitimacy crisis.
The 14 January 2019 shooting and killing of civilians by armed soldiers during protests on fuel and other commodity skyrocketing price.
The wave of unprecedented abductions during 2019

There is therefore need for ‘Case Specific Taskforce/teams’ to be established for each of the Past atrocity, with clear Terms of References, and timelines, and working within the constitutional framework and with the institutions for peace as enshrined under Section 251 to 253 of the constitution, and supported with clear, sincere state funding. Reports of the previous but concealed reports of inquiries by state established commissions of inquiry, such as the Chihambwakwe, Chidyausiku, Dumbujena etc commissions, as well as those of independent commissions of inquiry, such as the CCJP, the ZimRights etc should be made available for the Task Teams, whose mandates; inter-alia will be to bring closure to the issues.

That said, the MDC’s ideal, realistic and sincere position on national peace are clearly enunciated in its policy documents, the Sustainable and Modernisation Agenda for Real Transformation Partnership (SMART), and the Zimbabwe’s Roadmap to Economic Recovery, Legitimacy, Openness and Democracy (RELOAD) www.mdc.co.zw, and backed by a leadership that is God fearing, and unlike the 4 decade regime, the MDC leadership have no human blood on its hands.
Thus the MDC’s position is to prioritise the importance of national peace and stability to sustainable development and is committed to facilitating and instituting a national healing, reconciliation, integration and due care program for the victims as a pre-requisite for nation building and sustainable democracy and development.
As a people’s party, with a visionary leadership, the vision for peace based agenda is to create a just, free, peaceful, transparent, integrative, transformative, developmental nation at peace with itself, with every citizen, and with all other nations and peoples.

The party mission is to champion the process of national healing, through correcting past injustices, healing the wounds, preventing recurrences; ushering comprehensive, inclusive, consultative participation of all stakeholders, particularly survivors victims, religious and traditional and cultural leadership: ensuring just, non-vindictive, nation building and integration.

The party is cognisant that, conflict, attrition and intolerance have contributed to the erosion of the Zimbabwean economy.

To reclaim Zimbabwe, mechanisms must be created that eradicate political violence. The wounds of the so many injustices over the years have never healed. The ‘top-down approaches’ have suppressed the voices of survivors and victims. In order to move forward, wrongs of the past must be corrected, but in an inclusive, just and non-vindictive way. The future must not be a prisoner of the past, but equally so, past grievances must not be sacrificed at the altar of future dreams
The legacy of impunity must be addressed, with the view to ensure the non-recurrence of violations of human rights. A comprehensive programme of transitional justice will have to be formulated and implemented. Under this programme, the following principles will apply:
Victim-centred approach.
Comprehensive, inclusive, consultative participation of all stakeholders, particularly survivors, victims, religious and traditional and community leaders.

The duty and obligation on the State to apologise for all atrocities.
The establishment of confessions, truth telling and truth seeking.
Acknowledgement of wrong doing.
Justice, compensation and reparations.
National healing and reconciliation.
Non-repetition (NEVER AGAIN).
Gender equity and gender sensitivities.
Transparency and accountability.
Nation building and reintegration.

As can be seen, the programme combines elements of restorative justice to balance the delicate attainment of both reconciliation and justice in line with transformative agenda. An integral vehicle of the transitional justice programme will be to strengthen the independence of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission as enshrined under Section 251 to 253 of the constitution.
It would be suffice to cap the effective Policy Interventions and Peace Initiatives with the following committees operating under the umbrella of an adequately equiped National Peace and Reconciliation Commission:

Truth Committee : to conduct individual hearings from perpetrators and victims. Victims of human rights violations will be entitled to give their individual testimonies. A comprehensive process of truth telling by perpetrators as an incentive to amnesty should complement this. It should also be the duty of the Truth Committee to provide legal assistance to victims. Individual testimonies, truth-telling sessions and event-specific hearings should be open to the public except in exceptional circumstances as determined by the Commission

Justice and Amnesty Committee (JAC): responsible for recommending whether or not to grant amnesty to perpetrators of human rights violations on a case-by-case basis. A criterion should be set to determine the legibility for amnesty such as the context and circumstances of the offense and the nature of the act. The hybrid system recognizes that to facilitate a new, stable and democratic Zimbabwe some amnesty is necessary but the people’s party led administration will not support a blanket amnesty.

The Commission should determine which human rights atrocities are capable of receiving amnesty. The position is that perpetrators should be categorized depending on the gravity and circumstances of human rights crimes committed. JAC should then refer what it considers unpardonable cases to be transferred to the state’s criminal justice department.
Compensation and Healing Committee (CACH) : to determine the need for compensation, the nature of compensation and implementation measures to facilitate access to government services. The position is adoption of three broad modes of compensation outlined below:

Individual Compensation Grants : entail financial compensation to individuals. Although one cannot put monetary value to suffering and pain experienced, this is a way of acknowledging the suffering endured. This compensation will also cover loss of property.

Symbolic Compensation : include helping families to exhume and provide decent burials for loved ones; erection of tombstones; cleansing rituals and ceremonies; expedition in provision of civil documents such as death certificates; legal, medical and psycho-social support for trauma and grief stricken families.

Economic Compensation : The livelihoods of the affected victims potentially suffered significant decline. In addition to politically motivated human rights violations, the administration will be equally committed to redress socio-economic and property rights violations during the identified times. Broadly this will be anchored on macro-economic stabilization and growth in ways that allow equal opportunities to participate in the economic activity as substantiated in the economic blueprints.

Underlying philosophy is that peace will not be durable without economic stability and rebuilding of people’s livelihoods.

Conflict Prevention Committee (CPC) : The role of the CPC is to put in place post-conflict mechanisms that will prevent the recurrence of hostilities and encourage peaceful co-existence. The CPC would seek to make the gains irreversible and ensure that future grievances are solved through institutional and peaceful means.

It will come up with comprehensive programs for government and community interventions to foster a civic political culture. This might be through memorialisation and ritualisation among other initiatives.

Stakeholder Involvement
As already enunciated, the national healing and peace agenda will entail the Commission working in collaboration with civil society, churches, police, army, courts, churches, traditional leaders and other commissions for rights. This is to ensure that people affected at the grassroots level will effectively participate. Citizen participation will be crucial to lend legitimacy to the national healing, reconciliation and integration programme. National consensus and legitimacy are nurtured when all stakeholders’ work together.

National Peace as Tool for Development: as a recognized key component in ensuring lasting peace will be mainstreamed in the national peace agenda in the various reform platform undertaken to rebuilt the nation, includes on: legal reforms, land rationalization, institutional reforms: security reforms: political reforms: social and cultural agenda: economic agenda.

Conclusion
Overally, and centrally to lasting peace is reconciliation, which involves dealing with the past, taking responsibility and acknowledging wrong doing, and the critical first step in reconciliation is this recognition of guilt, with the acceptance of responsibility for atrocities or other events symbolising inter communal and interpersonal relations Hence the people’s administration’s commitment to programme that promote healing, reconciliation and integration of Zimbabwe polarized for more than 4 decades by gross human rights violations. The MDC administration is committed that the approach will encapsulate both justice and reconciliation ends.

Preservation of peace is a foundation to build a stable and democratic society bonded by the common spirit of national belonging. Ultimately the State will foster a culture of social dialogue as a means to resolve differences and conflict.

Hon Blessing Chebundo
National Secretary : MDC Policy Organ for National Healing: Peace: Reconciliation and Integration (NHPRI)

By A Correspondent- There was chaos at the late Mugodhi Apostolic sect leader Tandewu Mugodhi’s burial in Wedza on Saturday after two factions clashed over the burial site and the appointment of his son as heir apparent.

Three police officers, who were at the site, had a torrid time quelling the chaos as sect members exchanged harsh words, while some shouted unprintable words as the leadership wrangle within one of the biggest apostolic sects in the country escalated.

A faction opposed to the elevation of Mugodhi’s son Washington was left seething with anger after he was ordained sect leader against a High Court ruling which recognised vice-bishop Tonnie Sigauke as the bona fide successor.

High Court judge Justice Owen Tagu made the determination on September 4, 2019, after sect members petitioned the court, seeking an order to interdict Tandewu from appointing Washington the acting vice-bishop and to act on his behalf.

Justice Tagu further said Tandewu’s move was a breach of the sect’s constitution.

In his ruling, Justice Tagu said: “The first respondent (Tandewu) be and is hereby interdicted from carrying out his duties until he has been cleansed in terms of the applicant’s constitution.

“The first, second, third and fourth respondents (Tandewu, Washington, Innocent and Enock Mugodhi) together with their families be and are hereby interdicted from interfering in the operations of the applicant (Sigauke).

“The pronouncement by the first respondent that the second respondent is now the acting vice-bishop be and is hereby declared unlawful. The vice-bishop Tonnie Sigauke be and is hereby confirmed as acting bishop.”

There were also frantic efforts to bar Tandewu from being buried at the sect’s headquarters. The disgruntled sect members tried to use traditional leadership in the area to stop the burial without success.

Tandewu was buried at the sect headquarters where his father Elijah Mugodhi, who died in 1971 is buried.

Giving a speech during the burial ceremony, one of the leaders revealed that all was not well within the sect as some members were jostling for top posts.

A family member, who preferred anonymity, told a local publication that there had been efforts by the anti-Tandewu faction to take over the leadership long before his death.

“There have been efforts to seize leadership from the Mugodhi family. This is why there was chaos at the funeral wake. They tried to bar him from being buried at the sect headquarters despite other bishops being buried there. Some of the members feel that the family should not be involved in the church leadership, which is wrong.

They are against the elevation of Washington and it is not looking good. When Tandewu was no longer feeling well, some of his enemies changed the constitution without his knowledge as they were trying to stage a coup,” the family member said.

Tandewu died last week after a long battle with cancer.

–Newsday

By A Correspondent| Zanu PF supporters who snubbed President Emmerson Mnangagwa and First Lady Auxillia separate rallies in Bindura recently said they could not go to rallies on empty stomachs.

Mnangagwa was supposed to address a rally in Bindura before officiating at a graduation ceremony at Bindura University of Science Education while the First Lady was hosting a family fun day at Chipadze Stadium, which residents snubbed.

“Things are very difficult these days so we will be busy hustling to have food on the table, we cannot go to rallies on empty bellies,” a party supporter who preferred anonymity said.

According to provincial social welfare offices, 70 080 people in all the Mashonaland Central’s eight districts are in need of food aid following last season’s poor harvests.

The opposition MDC claimed that the snub was a sign people in the Zanu PF stronghold were fed up with the ruling party, which has presided over a failing economy.

Zanu PF scooped all the 18 parliamentary seats in the province in the 2018 polls.

MDC provincial chairperson George Gwarada said the snub on Mnangagwa and First Lady was telling.

“People in the province are tired of the Mnangagwa regime. This is clearly shown by poor attendance at their functions, despite trying to bus people from all the districts. In short, Mash Central is just fed up with Zanu PF,” he said.

Gwarada implored Mnangagwa to save himself further humiliation by accepting dialogue with MDC leader Nelson Chamisa.

“There is only one way to save Mnangagwa from further humiliation, that is dialogue with Chamisa, but he (Mnangagwa) has to be sincere in saving the people of Zimbabwe, not selfish gains.”

The First Family’s programmes allegedly flopped because of factionalism rocking the Zanu PF provincial leadership ahead of the district co-ordinating committee elections.

Zanu PF politburo member and Bindura North legislator Kenneth Musanhi, who had organised the flopped rally, said Zanu PF was still solid and people were just trying to portray a picture of a divided provincial leadership, but on the ground, the leadership wasunited.

“The province is solidly behind President Mnangagwa and the reports of factionalism are just being spread to tarnish the provincial leadership,” Musanhi said.

-Newsday

Government has declared Friday, October 25, a public holiday to allow people to attend the Sadc-initiated regional day of solidarity against sanctions on Zimbabwe, whose main event is slated for the National Sports Stadium in Harare.

The public holiday was announced last night by Acting Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Professor Amon Murwira while addressing journalists on the 37th Cabinet decision matrix yesterday.

“Cabinet received an update on the Friday October 25, 2019 SADC Anti-Sanctions Day from Honourable Vice President Kembo Mohadi. The marchers are expected to assemble at Robert Mugabe Square by 6am, from where they will proceed to the National Sports Stadium at 8am. Highlights of events scheduled to take place at the National Sports Stadium will include entertainment; solidarity messages by various national and international presenters; presentation of research findings on the background and impact of the illegal sanctions; a soccer match between Dynamos and Highlanders football clubs; and the anti-sanctions gala to run from 6pm on the same day till the following morning,” said Minister Murwira, who is also Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister.

“Similar activities are expected to take place in various provincial and district centres throughout the country. To further amplify the importance of this day to the economic emancipation and well-being of Zimbabwe, Friday October 25, 2019 shall be declared an official public holiday.

“The general public will be advised of more details of logistical arrangements in the build-up to the occasion. We, therefore, wish to appeal to all Zimbabweans across the board to come in their numbers and to actively participate towards the success of this grand and noble initiative.”

State Media|Cabinet yesterday approved constitutional amendments that will result in the scrapping of the concept of running mates in Presidential elections and extend the women’s quota system by another 10 years to 2023.

The envisaged changes will also create 10 parliamentary seats for the youths, among other issues.

This was disclosed by Acting Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Professor Amon Murwira while addressing journalists on the 37th Cabinet decision matrix.

“Cabinet considered and approved Principles for the Amendment of the Constitution of Zimbabwe (No. 20 Act, 2013) which was presented by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. The principles have been prompted by the need to amend provisions that are perceived to be contradictory or conflicting, thereby rendering implementation of the Constitution inherently problematic.

“The principles will also add entirely new provisions as well as amend the Constitution as follows: to amend the constitutional provision for Provincial Councils in order to exclude Members of Parliament in light of the oversight role of Parliament,” said Prof Murwira, who is Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister.

“The proposals will extend by another 10 years the provision for the election of the 60 women members in Parliament under proportional representation following which a further review shall be conducted, remove provisions of Section 92 of the Constitution relating to the issue of running mates in accordance with the practice prevailing in the SADC region; provide for the setting aside of one constituency per province, to be contested for by the youth on the basis of proportional representation.”

Explaining the rationale of removing running mates, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the concept had the effect of creating parallel centres of power.

“You all remember that it was one of the contentious issues when we had our Constitution and it was deferred for 10 years because it is a borrowed concept from America. It is not even an international best practice where you have a President given executive authority, we do not ordinarily want to create a parallel centre of power.

“We believe it is not desirable in our constitutional dispensation to create separate centres of power. We would rather have a President elected by the people and then appoints his team, Vice President and Cabinet; that is the thinking, that is what is practised in Southern Africa and several countries,” said Minister Ziyambi.

“On the youth quota, the proposal is to increase our seats by 10 and have each province get one youth representative, so parties will submit their names of candidates and depending on the votes in the province the party with the majority will have its candidate in Parliament, so we are not cutting down on anything.”

Earlier on Prof Murwira said the Government sought to amend Section 161 of the Constitution to de-link the delimitation of electoral boundaries from population censuses, provide for the inclusion of the office of the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet in the Constitution, provide for the appointment of the Prosecutor-General by the President, and for the establishment of the Office of the Public Protector; and amend the heading of Section 271 of the Constitution by the inclusion of “and Metropolitan Councils.”

Prof Murwira said Cabinet considered and approved the Principles of the Proposed Judicial Laws Amendment Bill which was presented Minister Ziyambi.

He said the Bill seek to amend the Magistrates Court, Labour and High Court Acts.

Some of the issues related to increasing the jurisdiction of Magistrates in civil cases to those involving monetary values of $300 000 in the first instance.

Other issues are to amend the Labour Act to afford Judges of the Labour Court powers to execute their own judgements, amendment of Section 93(5)(a) of the Labour Act to include a proviso requiring the joinder of an employee to an application for the confirmation of a Labour Officer’s ruling; and amendment of the Magistrates Court Act to increase the power of review of Regional Magistrates.

By A Correspondent| MDC politician and prominent Zimbabwean lawyer Fadzayi Mahere has scoffed at first lady Auxilia Mnangagwa’s crocodile tears over sanctions who reportedly broke down last weekend at an anti sanctions prayer meeting at State house.

Mahere said it was baffling to note that the first lady never shed a tear when police murder vendors, army shoot innocent civilians, people suffer from hunger, pupils cannot afford to pay fees and hospitals lack medication.

Mahere’s sentiments comes amid revelations that the first lady cried at a churches’ anti sanctions prayer meeting last weekend at State House in Harare.

She said:

By Own Correspondent| Spokesperson of the National Patriotic Front (NPF), Jealousy Mawarire, said that the anti-sanctions march will not change anything as long as the Zanu PF-led government continues to violate the constitution.

Speaking to a local publication ahead of the anti-sanctions march to be conducted on 25 October this year, Mawarire said:

For sanctions to go, the government has to respect the Constitution. They have to stop abducting their own people and allow freedom of expression, freedom to demonstrate and to stop this rule by the gun. The marches will not help change anything.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has thrown its weight behind the government of Zimbabwe for the Anti-sanctions march.

-Newsday

However, political commentators have argued that the sanctions will not be revoked since the people targeted have continued to violate citizens’ fundamental human rights with impunity.

The current bank exchange rates for the ZWL$ today are as follows:

• USD to ZWL$: 15.4830
• ZWL$ to RAND: 0.9539

Data according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

Black Market Rates:

• USD to ZWL$ zimrates.com 20.30
• USD to ZWL$  zwl365.com 20.30
• USD to ZWL$ bluemari.info 20.30
• USD to BOND: zimrates.com 13.1

More: marketwatch.co.zw

By Own Correspondent| Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs, Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana’s claim to a Glen Lorne property, which he had bought through the Sheriff of the High Court, has now come under scrutiny after Justice Clement Phiri cancelled the sale and allowed the property owners to lodge their objection to the sale in terms of the law.

According to court papers, Mangwana and his wife Pauline bought stand number 2157 Glen Lorne Township 30 of Lot 30 of Glen Lorne held under deed of transfer number 2280/2016 following a private treaty sale that was conducted by the Sheriff and paid US$260 000.

“The fourth respondent’s (sheriff) decision to declare first and second respondents (Munyaradzi and Pauline Mangwana) as purchasers and subsequent confirmation of the sale for stand number 2157 Glen Lorne Township 30 of Lot 30 of Glen Lorne is hereby set aside,” Justice Phiri ruled before cancelling the deed of transfer.

Prior to the sale, the house belonged to David and Kumbula Chiweza whose company, Watson Investments (Pvt) Ltd, had loan issues with CBZ Bank Limited amounting to US$207 203. However, when the bank took the Chiwezas to court, judgment was entered against the couple leading to the property being surrendered to the Sheriff for sale.

However, when the sheriff conducted the sale, Chiweza and his wife were not informed that their house was being put under the hammer and the couple did not have the chance to lodge an objection to it. It was only after the house had been sold that the couple became aware of what had transpired.

“The fourth respondent once again purported to notify and serve the applicants (David and Kumbula Chiweza) through Watson Investments to another different non-existent address being 13 Bargate Close Glen Lorne, Harare.

Consequently, the applicants were never made aware of all these developments and they remained in the dark and helpless as events unfolded,” the Chiweza couple said.

“Also, of importance is that the property was sold by private treaty and not by way of forced public auction and the reason was for it to fetch a higher price… according to third respondent (CBZ Bank) valuation, the market value of the property was pegged at US$470 000 and forced sale value was US$307 000.

In light of these valuation reports, the price of US$260 000 which was the price confirmed by the fourth respondent is not nearer to any of the above figures of actual valuations.”

The Chiwezas said it was clear there was a glaring irregularity in the way the sale was conducted.

–

By A Correspondent- Addressing delegates at the International Day of the Girl Child in Harare recently, Women’s Advocacy Project Director Constance Mugari called for greater investments aimed at improving girls’ education, skills, and job prospects.

Mugari said this at an event attended by hundreds of girls from Harare held under the theme ” GirlForce: Unscripted and Unstoppable.”

She said:

“We stress the importance of creating opportunities and safe spaces for girls’ voices to be heard and listened to in decisions that affect them.

More attention should be given to girls’ education and providing them with the relevant job skills and training. :

According to UNICEF, UNFPA and the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) one third of all girls in Zimbabwe marry before the age of 18.

Statistics show that approximately 500,000 teenagers fall pregnant every year in Zimbabwe, with 19 percent of the pregnancies in this group a result of child marriages. 48 percent of adolescents confirmed that the pregnancies were unplanned.”

Mugari said adolescent pregnancy remained a major challenge and contributor to maternal and child mortality and the vicious circle of ill-health and poverty particularly in Zimbabwe.

She said:

“Poverty remains a key driver of child marriage, and girls from poor families are more likely to become child brides than those from wealthier households.

If we really want to tackle poverty and end child marriage we must give all girls the tools they need to invest in themselves.

That means providing them with the quality education and training they need to earn an income and create a better future for themselves and their family.”

She said evidence showed that girls who attend secondary school are three times less likely to be child brides.

“They also have better economic prospects, fewer and healthier children, and are more likely to ensure that their own children are not married before 18,” added Mugari.

Speaking at the same event, the Provincial head in the ministry of women affairs, Ernest Chimboza said government prioritised the elimination of all forms of gender based violence against women and girls as a way of ensuring the realisation of sustainable development goals 3 and 5.

He said;

“Violence against women and girls is one of the most pervasive and hidden human rights violation in Zimbabwe. It has hindered them from realising their full potential and to have a voice, choice and control over their lives.

The elimination of all forms of GBV is essential for Zimbabwe to achieve two of its prioritised SDGs 3 and 5 which speak to achieving gender equality, empowerment and the promotion of a health life and their well being.

The ministry and its partners believe that promoting girls access to education, primary health care and basic human needs is critical for their empowerment and for the achievement of gender equality and eduity.. Promoting girls access to education is vital because they have been sidelined with preference being given to boys in some families.”

WAP is a non governmental not for profit making trust which was established by a group of women from different communities in Harare.

The organisation aims at promoting and projecting the rights of vulnerable and marginalised women and girls from communities in and around Harare.

Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University pro-vice chancellor Gift Mugano has said Zimbabwe risks going back to dollarisation in the first quarter of 2020 due to failure by the local currency to boost public confidence.

Presenting at a pre-budget briefing seminar in Harare yesterday, Mugano blamed government for putting in place reactionary policies to deal with the high levels of inflation without looking at their impact on the people, which he said had further plummeted public confidence in the local currency.

“Statutory instruments (SI) are a reactionary way of dealing with the situation; it just lessens the confidence in the currency by local people,” Mugano said.

“We cannot burn the house to deal with a rat, but we have to set traps to deal with it. In order to stop the black market, there is need to set traps to deal with them without necessarily affecting everyone else.”

He added: “We end up having an economy that is speculative than productive because of this form of reactionary policies that want to deal with problems. The policies are formed from a good basis, but they are affecting everyone even those who are not trading in foreign currency on the black market. We run the risk of going full dollarisation in the first quarter of 2020, which is not a good thing for Zimbabwe.”

Zimbabwe banned the 10-year multi-currency system in June this year after government workers demanded salaries in United States dollars which government could not afford. Since then, the country has been in a hyperinflation mode; with prices skyrocketing against stagnant salaries, a feat that has forced citizens to the wall.

Mugano said the recently introduced policies, including the SI 142 that introduced the Zimdollar, caused businesses to act in ways that protected their business investments.

Also presenting before MPs, economist Persistence Gwanyanya said: “Our major problem is that Zimbabwe is not producing. We are a consumptive economy which consumes up to 80% of our gross domestic product. We are eating into the country’s future. Currently, people have to buy their own hard-earned money, so we really cannot establish confidence in our local currency.”

-Newsday

Police have warned members of the public to be wary of a syndicate of criminals that is swindling people of their hard-earned cash through card cloning and online banking.

This comes after several people lost their money after either receiving a call or an SMS from people purporting to be employees from their banks.

Most of the victims received a call from phone line number +263864479973.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the increase in such cases.

“There is an increase in the number of fraud cases through card cloning and online banking,” he said.

“Criminals are targeting pensioners or people with large sums of money in their accounts.”

Asst Comm Nyathi said, recently, a Victoria Falls man lost $19 685,05 after he received a call from +263864479973 with the caller claiming to be a bank employee.

“The caller was armed with all information concerning the man and he requested his PIN number and asked him to confirm through SMSs on his cellphone,” he said. “Within a short space of time, the money had been withdrawn from his account.

“We encourage the public not to respond to SMS from unknown bank officials or divulge their passwords over the phone.”

In another case, a man recently received a call from the same number with the unknown caller purporting to be an official from a local bank.

“The caller informed the unsuspecting complainant that he was fixing his account so that he could receive instant messages after every transaction from the bank,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.

“He went on to request the complainant to supply their PIN number and the complainant complied. A few minutes thereafter, the complainant received a message advising him that some money had been withdrawn from his account.

“On checking with the bank, he discovered that the money had been stolen. This is a growing phenomenon. We urge the public not to be lured to change their PIN numbers on the phone, but should personally do so at their banks.”

Last year, police warned members of the public to be wary of such criminals and over 154 cases have been reported countrywide.

Card cloning involves the production of counterfeit bank debit cards by criminals after fraudulently acquiring bank debit/credit card information contained in the magnetic strip of the bank debit card.

The criminals are acquiring bank debit card information through gadgets known as skimmers. The skimmers are able to extract debit card information and the said devices are similar to Point of Sale (POS) machines.

Some criminals also steal POS machines from shops and service stations for the purpose of uploading data which they use to clone debit cards.

-State Media

Cabinet yesterday approved constitutional amendments that will result in the scrapping of the concept of running mates in Presidential elections and extend the women’s quota system by another 10 years to 2023.

The envisaged changes will also create 10 parliamentary seats for the youths, among other issues.

This was disclosed by Acting Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Professor Amon Murwira while addressing journalists on the 37th Cabinet decision matrix.

“Cabinet considered and approved Principles for the Amendment of the Constitution of Zimbabwe (No. 20 Act, 2013) which was presented by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. The principles have been prompted by the need to amend provisions that are perceived to be contradictory or conflicting, thereby rendering implementation of the Constitution inherently problematic.

“The principles will also add entirely new provisions as well as amend the Constitution as follows: to amend the constitutional provision for Provincial Councils in order to exclude Members of Parliament in light of the oversight role of Parliament,” said Prof Murwira, who is Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister.

“The proposals will extend by another 10 years the provision for the election of the 60 women members in Parliament under proportional representation following which a further review shall be conducted, remove provisions of Section 92 of the Constitution relating to the issue of running mates in accordance with the practice prevailing in the SADC region; provide for the setting aside of one constituency per province, to be contested for by the youth on the basis of proportional representation.”

Explaining the rationale of removing running mates, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the concept had the effect of creating parallel centres of power.

“You all remember that it was one of the contentious issues when we had our Constitution and it was deferred for 10 years because it is a borrowed concept from America. It is not even an international best practice where you have a President given executive authority, we do not ordinarily want to create a parallel centre of power.

“We believe it is not desirable in our constitutional dispensation to create separate centres of power. We would rather have a President elected by the people and then appoints his team, Vice President and Cabinet; that is the thinking, that is what is practised in Southern Africa and several countries,” said Minister Ziyambi.

“On the youth quota, the proposal is to increase our seats by 10 and have each province get one youth representative, so parties will submit their names of candidates and depending on the votes in the province the party with the majority will have its candidate in Parliament, so we are not cutting down on anything.”

Earlier on Prof Murwira said the Government sought to amend Section 161 of the Constitution to de-link the delimitation of electoral boundaries from population censuses, provide for the inclusion of the office of the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet in the Constitution, provide for the appointment of the Prosecutor-General by the President, and for the establishment of the Office of the Public Protector; and amend the heading of Section 271 of the Constitution by the inclusion of “and Metropolitan Councils.”

Prof Murwira said Cabinet considered and approved the Principles of the Proposed Judicial Laws Amendment Bill which was presented Minister Ziyambi.

He said the Bill seek to amend the Magistrates Court, Labour and High Court Acts.

Some of the issues related to increasing the jurisdiction of Magistrates in civil cases to those involving monetary values of $300 000 in the first instance.

Other issues are to amend the Labour Act to afford Judges of the Labour Court powers to execute their own judgements, amendment of Section 93(5)(a) of the Labour Act to include a proviso requiring the joinder of an employee to an application for the confirmation of a Labour Officer’s ruling; and amendment of the Magistrates Court Act to increase the power of review of Regional Magistrates.

-State Media

Striking doctors risk losing their monthly salaries should they continue defying calls to return to work as Government is now invoking the Labour Court ruling allowing it to institute disciplinary measures against them.

This was said by Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo while fielding questions from journalists during the 37th Cabinet decision matrix held yesterday.

“As you are aware, we requested the doctors to come back to work. The Labour Court disposal order said Government should take disciplinary action against those not coming to work. Government has taken a decision as recommended by the Health Service Board who are following that disposal order by the Labour Court, the disciplinary action will be done by HSB where doctors not coming to work are disciplined, the first thing is whoever is not coming to work will not be paid, secondly since they are not coming to work action related to those not coming to work will be taken. The HSB has all the statutes and they will follow them,” said Dr Moyo.

Questions had also been raised that some striking doctors who rejected the 100 percent salary increment had indicated that they were not willing to receive the money if it did not meet their expectations.

“That is sacred information you are telling us. From our side we know that if someone is not at work they are not paid, it is that simple,” said Dr Moyo.

Earlier, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Acting Minister Professor Amon Murwira had said Government had taken a decision to take disciplinary action against striking doctors.

“Government has indeed gone out of its way to try and find an amicable solution by addressing the concerns by the medical doctors through constructive dialogue. However, given the uncompromising stance adopted by the medical doctors which seems to be driven by other hidden interests, Government through the Health Service Board remains committed to following the dictates of the country’s laws and has come to the point where it has to commence disciplinary proceedings for the striking doctors as from October 21, 2019,” said Prof Murwira.State media

Popular actor Lazarus Boora of “Gringo” fame has been discharged from hospital and is now recovering at home.

The comedian went under the knife last week after suffering from appendix rapture.

The actor, who had to ask for help to pay medical bills, thanked those who came to his rescue.

Socialites Pokello Nare and Jackie Ngarande were the major contributors to the hospital bill.
Gringo blamed piracy for his financial misfortunes.

“If it wasn’t for piracy, with ‘Gringo Troublemaker’ I would have had made enough to cover my own medical bills,” he said.

Gringo is not the only actor who has struggled with medical expenses with the late Lawrence Simbarashe, popularly known as “Bhonzo” from his role in local comedy “Timmy naBhonzo” having suffered the same predicament.State media