Wednesday, 16 October 2019

President Nelson Chamisa is concerned with the deteriorating situation in the country and recognises the urgent need for the people of Zimbabwe to engage this crisis immediately.

All social and economic stakeholders must plan to end this crisis. Our young people have a lot at stake and must not allow this country to implode.

Over the last few days the President has been preparing an alternative government for our country. To begin this process, he has made appointments and assigned duties to officials in the party, to ensure readiness.

Today the President is announcing two bold steps taken as part of the elaborate and carefully thought process of preparing to serve the people of Zimbabwe and make our country great.

The President is doing this in preparation while the citizens consider the resolution of our national crisis.

In preparing the MDC’s task as a government the President understands that our problems emanate from the lack of integrity and accountability in our public work. The President emphasises that public officials are the human interface between the state and the citizens.

He wants local governments, run by his party to be an exemplary interface that is accountable and of high integrity. President Chamisa has zero tolerance for corruption and any lack of efficacy in public officials.

The President has with immediate effect constituted an Integrity and Accountability Panel (IAP) which shall enforce his zero tolerance to corruption policy. He has provided this team with terms of reference are specific and definitive.

This committee shall perform its duties through a process that includes meeting with all stakeholders such as residents and organised local groups.

The five member strong panel, that has been carefully verted, will be led by a very highly regarded lawyer in this country. One who has to this day served this country with integrity and commitment, Advocate Thabani Mpofu.

The President will require him to execute his duties with continued honour and hard work and has instructed him to remain uncompromising in his commitment to the highest standards.

Secondly the President has assigned duties to his Vice Presidents, as a way of ensuring better efficiency and a smoother operating political party in preparation for an all-star and high calibre government. He wants a machine that is properly oiled with all its nuts and bolts properly positioned and tightened.

Our country cannot take any chances and does not have the luxury of time, and this has informed the President’s assignment of duties to the Vice Presidents.

The President has allocated these responsibilities to ensure the effective execution of his mandate to transform the MDC into a modern 21st century Party of Excellence.

These assignments are put in place in order to ensure the MDC can define a new Zimbabwe and prepare to form the next government and do so very soon. The Vice Presidents shall hold these responsibilities on a rotational basis as shall be determined by the President, from time to time.

In line with the Constitution the President has designated that with immediate effect the Vice President shall resume working on the following areas.

Vice President, Honourable Lynette Karenyi, will be responsible for supervising all party activities relating to two clusters, which are:

1. Parliament, and
2. Party Building

Vice President, Professor Welshman Ncube, will be responsible for supervising all party activities relating to the following clusters:

1. Administration, and
2. International Relations and Diplomacy

Vice President, Honourable Tendai Biti, will be responsible for supervising all party activities relating to:

1. Policy and Ideology, and
2. Local Government

Dr Nkululeko Sibanda – Presidential Spokesperson Movement For Democratic Change

A Harare City Parking marshal yesterday had to be saved from mob justice after he grabbed a steering wheel causing a woman to be hit by the car.

The incident occurred at corner Albion and Cameron streets when the unidentified marshal tussled with one William Mazvimbura while grabbing his steer-ling wheel

During the tussle, the car turned violently and hit a lady who was crossing the road with her groceries.

The woman fell to the ground injuring her leg in the process

The injured woman was taken by parking marshals to their offices before the crowd dispersed

By A Correspondent- A self-proclaimed prophet and his nephew who ganged up and allegedly robbed two shops at Jalukange Business Centre in Beitbridge District after firing 25 bullets, shooting two people leading to the death of one of them appeared in court yesterday.

The prophet, Christopher Chamisa (26) and his nephew, Garikai Siziba (19) both of Village 4 Munyamani, Chief Maranda in Mwenezi District allegedly armed themselves with an AK56 rifle and raided two shops before they went away with cash amounting to $114, US$70 and R11 608.

Chamisa and Siziba appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese facing a murder charge in connection with the death of Mr Dion Muleya (48) of Beitbridge.

Prosecuting, Ms Nokuthaba Ngwenya said on May 27 at around 5PM, the pair went to Jalukange general dealer and found the complainant who is the storekeeper at the store, Ms Sibusisiwe Moyo, attending to a customer, Mr Thulani Ndlovu.

They were armed with the rifle and Chamisa stood at the door demanding cash.

Mr Ndlovu asked Chamisa if he was joking but he fired two shots and missed him.

Mr Ndlovu jumped over and joined Ms Moyo behind the counter.

The court heard that Siziba went to the counter where Mr Ndlovu was hiding and demanded cash.

“Fearing for her life, Ms Moyo surrendered R7 518 and $114, which was in a plastic bag. The accused persons left the shop and while outside they indiscriminately fired shots from the veranda during which some patrons were injured,” said Ms Ngwenya.

From there, they stormed Jalukange Special Bar at the same building and confronted, Ms Perseculiar Singo who was with Mr Muleya.

They allegedly shot Mr Muleya in the abdomen while demanding cash from Ms Singo.

Ms Singo tried to escape through the back door but Chamisa fired one shot that hit her in the back but she managed to flee. They ransacked the bar and took a cashbox containing R4 090 and US$70 and fled from the scene.

Ms Singo was admitted to Beitbridge District Hospital while Mr Muleya, who was in a critical condition, was referred to the United Bulawayo Hospitals where he succumbed to the injuries.

According to the post mortem report, the deceased died due to gunshot wound in abdomen, assault and peritonitis.

A report was made to the police leading to the arrest of the two accused persons and the firearm was recovered in a disused well about 500 metres from the scene of the crime.

They indicated that they had picked up the firearm in a cave at a mountain in Maranda in Mwenezi.

Mr Task Vhiki and Ms Mary Nyika from Liberty Mcijo and Associates are representing Chamisa while Ms Nonhlanhla Moyo of SKM Sibanda and Partners is Siziba’s lawyer.

In their defence, both accused persons tendered a limited plea to a lesser charge of culpable homicide, arguing that it was not their intention to kill Mr Muleya.

The trial continues today.

-StateMedia

Farai Dziva|Former First Lady Grace Mugabe’s is facing eviction from her Mazowe Farm.

A Mazowe gold miner she displaced during her late husband, Robert Mugabe’s reign, is now seeking to evict her and repossess the farm where the mine is located, according to NewsDay.

The miner, Langton Chapungu, approached the High Court seeking the former First Lady’s eviction together with two other individuals who were only identified in court papers as Tongai and Jemwa.

Grace is facing similar threats from Harare property owners who were displaced to pave way for expansion of Mugabe’s Blue Roof mansion in Borrowdale.

“The first and second respondents (Tongai and Jemwa) are doing illegal mining activities in my plot and the third respondent (Grace) is also doing her farming activities in that same plot of mine, to an extent that she had even erected some structures at my place,” Chapungu argued.

“The defendants have gone further threatening me with unspecified action if I continue disturbing them from their illegal activities in my plot.

In spite of the demand to vacate, the defendants have refused and offered flimsy and fabricated reasons to justify their continued illegal stay at my place, leaving me with no option except to approach this honourable court for relief.”

Farai Dziva| A United Kingdom based think tank has claimed the MDC does not have the capacity to defeat Zanu PF in 2023.

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a member of The Economist Group has also predicted a comfortable win for Zanu-PF in the 2023 harmonised elections.

See part of the report below :
“In the most recent presidential election, in July 2018, President Mnangagwa won 50.8 percent of the votes just enough to avoid a run-off against his nearest rival, Nelson Chamisa of the MDC.”

“Mr Chamisa secured 44,3 percent of the vote, with the remainder spread across the other 21 candidates.

“In the legislative election, which was held at the same time, Zanu-PF secured a two-thirds parliamentary majority, with 179 out of 270 seats. Zanu-PF remains in a dominant position because any group splitting from the ruling party would lose access to the benefits of incumbency.

“The opposition has little political authority or ability to hold the government to account. The next presidential and legislative elections are due to be held in 2023. We expect Zanu-PF to win comfortably given its stranglehold on the political scene.”

“Government revenue will decline in 2020 as the economy contracts by almost 13 percent.”

“However, as economic activity increases steadily in 2021-24, and government capacity to collect taxes improves, we forecast that revenue will pick up steadily.

“In 2021-24, as revenue increases, expenditure will rise steadily, as the government seeks to repair infrastructure following years of underinvestment, support broader economic growth and maintain the substantial public-sector wage bill. We expect the fiscal deficit to narrow slightly in 2020, to 6,3 percent of GDP, before trending down in 2021-24, to 5,9 percent of GDP in 2024, as revenue growth out paces spending growth.”

MDC President Nelson Chamisa has appointed an Accountability and Integrity Committee to be chaired by top lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu.

Addressing the press this morning, Chamisa’s Spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda said his boss believes the country lacks public integrity and accountability and has with immediate effect formed a committee to deal with it.

Thabani Mpofu was Chamisa’s lawyer when he unsuccesfully challenged the outcome of the July 2018 elections and he resurfaces again as the chairperson of this critical committee.

Below is the full statement;

President Nelson Chamisa is concerned with the deteriorating situation in the country and recognises the urgent need for the people of Zimbabwe to engage this crisis immediately. All social and economic stakeholders must plan to end this crisis. Our young people have a lot at stake and must not allow this country to implode.

Over the last few days the President has been preparing an alternative government for our country. To begin this process, he has made appointments and assigned duties to officials in the party, to ensure readiness.

Today the President is announcing two bold steps taken as part of the elaborate and carefully thought process of preparing to serve the people of Zimbabwe and make our country great. The President is doing this in preparation while the citizens consider the resolution of our national crisis.

In preparing the MDC’s task as a government the President understands that our problems emanate from the lack of integrity and accountability in our public work. The President emphasises that public officials are the human interface between the state and the citizens. He wants local governments, run by his party to be an exemplary interface that is accountable and of high integrity. President Chamisa has zero tolerance for corruption and any lack of efficacy in public officials.

The President has with immediate effect constituted an Integrity and Accountability Panel (IAP) which shall enforce his zero tolerance to corruption policy. He has provided this team with terms of reference are specific and definitive.

This committee shall perform its duties through a process that includes meeting with all stakeholders such as residents and organised local groups. The five member strong panel, that has been carefully verted, will be led by a very highly regarded lawyer in this country. One who has to this day served this country with integrity and commitment, Advocate Thabani Mpofu.

The President will require him to execute his duties with continued honour and hard work and has instructed him to remain uncompromising in his commitment to the highest standards.

Secondly the President has assigned duties to his Vice Presidents, as a way of ensuring better efficiency and a smoother operating political party in preparation for an all-star and high calibre government. He wants a machine that is properly oiled with all its nuts and bolts properly positioned and tightened. Our country cannot take any chances and does not have the luxury of time, and this has informed the President’s assignment of duties to the Vice Presidents.

The President has allocated these responsibilities to ensure the effective execution of his mandate to transform the MDC into a modern 21st century Party of Excellence. These assignments are put in place in order to ensure the MDC can define a new Zimbabwe and prepare to form the next government and do so very soon. The Vice Presidents shall hold these responsibilities on a rotational basis as shall be determined by the President, from time to time.

In line with the Constitution the President has designated that with immediate effect the Vice President shall resume working on the following areas.

Vice President, Honourable Lynette Karenyi, will be responsible for supervising all party activities relating to two clusters, which are:

1. Parliament, and
2. Party Building

Vice President, Professor Welshman Ncube, will be responsible for supervising all party activities relating to the following clusters:

1. Administration, and
2. International Relations and Diplomacy

Vice President, Honourable Tendai Biti, will be responsible for supervising all party activities relating to:

1. Policy and Ideology, and
2. Local Government

WATCH VIDEO LOADING BELOW…

ZimEye will be livestreaming a press conference set to be addressed by the presidential spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda at Morgan Tsvangirai House this morning.

Refresh this page for latest updates

A 25-YEAR-OLD female police detective in Marondera died under unclear circumstances at her boyfriend’s house on Monday.

Detective coffinnstable Antonete Silopa, who was stationed at Marondera Central Police Station, was pronounced dead upon arrival at Marondera Provincial Hospital.

Silopa reportedly died at her boyfriend Artwell Mafukidze (38)’s house in Elmswood Park.

Mashonaland East provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza refused to comment on the matter, referring all questions to his superior Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi.

Asked to comment on the issue, Nyathi said he was yet to get the details from Marondera.

According to a police internal report seen by NewsDay, on Monday, at around 2pm, Silopa, who was in the company of Mafukidze, proceeded to Cosco Sports Diner where they drank beer until around 9pm.

The two later left the watering hole with the deceased driving, before she dropped Mafukidze at his place while she proceeded to her own residence.

At around 11pm, Mafukidze heard a crashing sound outside his house and upon checking, he discovered that Silopa had rammed into a water tank with her Honda Fit vehicle.

It is reported that Silopa disembarked and staggered towards Mafukidze before she collapsed. She reportedly told Mafukidze that she had drunk poison. Mafukidze used his own car to ferry his lover to Marondera Hospital where she was pronounced dead upon arrival.

As of yesterday, police were still to establish the cause of the death.

-Newsday

Jane Mlambo| Health and Child care minister Dr Obadiah Moyo has appealed to striking doctors to return to work whilst government finds a lasting solution to their incapacitation.

“I want to appeal to doctors that our doors are always open. We are open to dialogue until we get solutions, but let us dialogue while we are at work,” Dr Moyo said.

Hospital doctors have been away from work for over 42 days and despite a labour court order compelling them to report for duty, they have continued to cite incapacitation to go back to work.

Government has since announced that they will deposit doctors’ salaries including the 60 percent increment into their bank accounts while negotiations for an end to the impasse continues.

By A Correspondent- Government remains open to dialogue with striking doctors to find a lasting solution, but those discussions should be carried out while health workers are at work, Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said yesterday.

Crucially, Government will implement the 60 percent salary adjustment that was agreed with the medical practitioners during recent collective bargaining.

Further, Government was unequivocal that it was unable to pay health workers in United States dollars, nor in local currency at the interbank rate, but would implement the percentage-based increment agreed during the negotiations.

Dr Moyo said all provisions of the law will be pursued in an effort to locate permanent solutions to challenges bedevilling the health sector.

He said this yesterday while fielding questions from journalists during the 36th Cabinet decision matrix in Harare yesterday.

“I want to appeal to doctors that our doors are always open,” said Dr Moyo.

“We are open to dialogue until we get solutions, but let us dialogue while we are at work.”

On the 60 percent salary adjustment agreed during collective bargaining, Dr Moyo said: “That approval stands. Government is guided by the law. That is why we went to the courts. We are following what the law states and we shall follow the law. There is no way we will go against what the law says.”

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Cabinet noted that the strike by doctors disregarded efforts made by Government.

“The strike action disregards the significant efforts demonstrated by Government in its unwavering commitment to address their concerns,” she said.

“Such efforts include the recent upward review of their salaries and allowances, which should be in their accounts before the end of this month.

“The doctors, by continuing with the job action, are also in flagrant defiance of the court order which ruled their strike as illegal and ordered them to return to work forthwith. Doctors should value the sanctity of human life above all else and offer their critical services to patients.”

In an interview with the state media last night, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza said Government was keen to continue engaging the National Joint Negotiation Council (NJNC) to discuss civil servants’ welfare.

“A number of consultations with the Apex Council through the NJNC have to take place,” she said. “Once a figure has been agreed upon, we then seek Treasury concurrence.

“The price hikes continue to affect the purchasing power. I am hoping that the bonuses will help ease the burden of rising costs, especially of basic commodities.”

Minister Nzenza’s intervention followed a statement from the Apex Council yesterday that said “civil servants are severely incapacitated” and may struggle to report for work.

Apex said the 76 percent of cost of living adjustment (COLA) negotiated last month has been eroded by inflation.

Meanwhile, Minister Mutsvangwa said Cabinet had also been briefed by Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo on progress made on the roll-out of the Expanded ZUPCO Mass Transit System.

The strategy by Government was meant to further cushion the commuting public, including civil servants, from the prevailing rising costs of public transport services.

“The expanded ZUPCO Mass Transit System incorporates commuter omnibuses and more significantly, will extend the ZUPCO bus service to rural areas,” she said. “The Minister (Cde Moyo) informed Cabinet that an assessment exercise undertaken by ZUPCO indicated that a total of 923 conventional buses are required to fully satisfy demand.

“The current deficit of 415 conventional buses will thus be covered by the 1 000 commuter omnibuses, which are now being incorporated under the ZUPCO Mass Transit System.”

— Herald

By A Correspondent- MDC president Nelson Chamisa has assigned roles to his three deputies, namely, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube and Lynette Karenyi-Kore.

Chamisa was elected president unopposed at the party’s elective congress held in Gweru in May while his trio of deputies shrugged off competition from rivals.

According to NewsDay, Biti was assigned to oversee the shaping of policy and ideology in the party, while also overseeing the arms of local government.

Ncube was put in charge of international relations and general administration of the party.

Meanwhile, Karenyi-Kore will monitor the party’s MPs and how they deliver their roles in the constituencies.

Chamisa reportedly made the move in order to establish order and avoid duplication of roles.

By Wilbert Mukori| Albert Einstein, one of the greatest physicist and innovative thinker to ever walk the earth, explained that psychologically, our beliefs and axioms rest upon our experiences. There exists, however, no logical path from experience to an axiom, but only an intuitive connection based on our interpretation of the experience, which is always subject to revocation. 

These interpretations shape our beliefs and perceptions which determine our theories about the world. Finally, our theories determine what we observe in the world and, paradoxically, we only observe what confirms our theories which further hardens our beliefs and axioms.

Socrates, the great Greek philosopher, had the antidote against one following a course of action based long held and hardened beliefs and axioms which are, nonetheless, erroneous. He argued that beliefs, axioms, everything must be subjected to rigorous examination. 

Socrates was a great proponent of freedom expression, democracy and  the importance of and educated citizen for a healthy, functioning and prosperous society. 

Four decades of Zanu PF dictatorship; in which all debate and democratic competition were stifle, no freedom of expression and free media so the only voice to be heard was that on the dictator and his minions, etc.; has produced highly opinionated individuals. Their opinions have never been subjected to any serious cross-examination and hence are, more often than not erroneous! 

In fact, Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because for the last four decades the nation has plough the same erroneous fallow set by dumb and stupid Zanu PF and MDC leaders. They are so dumb they have repeated the same mistakes again and again whilst considering it beneath them to listen to advice.

Zanu PF leaders’ “Misstra know it all” arrogance, as the great Steve Wonder so aptly put it, is insufferable! 

“Rome can’t continue to burn while we watch,” and something is evidently going very wrong in our country and I apologise upfront if I offend as I attempt to share national experiences that helped similar challenges in the recent past,” wrote Walter Mzembi, Zimbabwe’s former minister of tourism now living in exile in SA.

“Proverbs 1:9 will acquit me: “What has been done will be done again, there is nothing new under the sun.”

“Great 15th century historian Thucydides rhymes the same: “It is the very nature of humans to act in the future as they did in the past.”

“History repeats itself, and humanity learns from past mistakes and recalibrates its decisions and actions based on these past experiences.

“What can we, in pursuit of solutions to the current crisis, learn from the Zanu/PF-Zapu talks of 1987 which resulted in a broad-based unity government; or distil from the Zanu PF/MDC talks that resulted in the Government of National Unity (GNU) of 2009 and how both talks were triggered?”

The article rubbled on and on enumerating the “success” of the 2009 GNU and arguing Nelson Chamisa and Emmerson Mnangagwa to put aside their pride and selfish interests and do the same.

“Contrary to what is happening now, we soon learnt, and this is absolute reality and advice to the Harare administration, that legitimacy is conferred by your political opponents, not by self, your choir, or opportunity and job hunters. It was Tsvangirai’s legitimacy lobby and endorsement that became the lifeblood of the inclusive government as Nelson Chamisa can do for Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government, God-willing and common-sense prevailing,” argued Mzembi.

Poor Mzembi he had the presence of mind to quote Proverbs and Thucydides but clearly lacked the intellect to digest and understand the wisdom behind the quotations. Having accomplished the initial challenge of correctly identifying past mistakes no one would knowing repeat the same mistake. What Mzembi had failed to grasp is that the “recalibration” based on the same erroneous data will lead to the same wrong destination or be it by another circuitous route. 

In this case Mzembi saw the both the 1987 Unity Accord and the 2009 GNU as great success when they were in fact failures. It is no secret that from the time they took power in 1980, Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies had worked feverish to create a de facto one-party state. Whilst they felt the legal and political constrains slowing them from achieving their objective the signing of the Unity Accord removed most of these constrains!  

Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because the country has been stuck with a corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and tyrannical one-party dictatorship for the last four decades. It was the 1987 Unity Accord that made it possible for Zanu PF to impose the dictatorship.

The primary objective of the 2009 GNU was to implement the raft of democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 Global Political Agreement so that the blatant vote rigging and wanton violence of the 2008 elections will not be repeated ever again. The GNU failed to get even one reform implemented and so Zanu PF rigged the 2013 elections and last year’s elections. 

Mzembi acknowledges Mnangagwa’s regime has the same legitimacy problems because he rigged last year’s elections just as Mugabe had the same legitimacy problems after he rigged 2008 elections. However he is once again woefully wrong in believing “legitimacy is conferred by your political opponents”. Legitimacy is conferred by winning the majority vote of the people of Zimbabwe in a free, fair and credible elections. 

The 2009 GNU was an interim administration appointed to implement the reforms and hold fresh elections. Whilst we need to appoint a similar body again this time, it would be foolish, to say the least, to entrust the same individuals, Zanu PF and MDC leaders, to implement the reforms when they failed to get even one token reform implemented last time.

Mzembi knows that implementing reforms will end Zanu PF’s carte blanche dictatorial power to rig elections and to use wanton violence. Need to implement the reforms to end the culture of rigged elections, the root cause of bad governance. Mzembi’s primary concerned is to make sure Zanu PF remains in power at all cost; even if that means the economic and political mess and the tragic human suffering and deaths get even worse; hence the reason he does not want any reforms mentioned. 

“If we had less of him

Don’t you know we’d have a better land!

He’s Misstra Know-It-All

Hey you talk too much you worry me to death”

Sound advice from Master Blaster, Steve Wonder!

By A Correspondent- The managing director of Fertiliser, Seed Grain (FSG) Steve Morland denounced officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development for lying to Parliament that they advanced more US$400 million for Command Agriculture fertiliser to his company.

Morland appeared before the parliamentary portfolio committee on Agriculture chaired by Gokwe Nembudziya MP Justice Mayor Wadyajena on Tuesday.

He said:

The funding we received is a total of just over 400 million in RTGS and Treasury Bills. I can categorically state that we never received even US$1 from government and we can prove that because we have all the documentation.

A few months ago Ministry of Finance principal director Zvinechimwe Churu and director of budgets and capital expenditure Fidelis Ngorora told the Tendai Biti-led portfolio committee on Public Accounts that FSG had been advanced the amount. They also said the firm had no known address or contact person.

-DailyNews

By A Correspondent- Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals has dismissed as fake a Laboratory Technician training advertisement circulating on social media platforms. In a statement, the hospital said:

Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals wishes to advise the public that there is a fake laboratory technician training intake circulating on social media platforms.

The advert is purporting to end on 31 October 2019. Members of the public are hereby informed to disregard the fake advert.

Below is the fake advert in question:

PARIRENYATWA GROUP OF HOSPITALS

LABORATORY TECHNICIAN TRAINING– JANUARY 2020 INTAKE

Applications are invited from interested candidates for a 3yr Laboratory technician Training programme

QUALIFICATIONS

*A minimum of 5 O Levels at Grade C or better including English Language, a Science subject and Mathematics (IN NOT MORE THAN TWO SITTINGS) (Fashion and Fabrics, Woodwork, Metal Work, Building and Technical Graphics are not acceptable

*Applications to be accompanied by certified copies of birth, O Level, A-Level and National Identity certificates

Age 18-40 yrs

No Hand post Applicants to submit 2 contact telephone numbers Applications should be addressed to The Group Chief Executive Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals PO Box CY198 Causeway Harare Attention: Principal Tutor -Courses applied for should be clearly indicated on the envelope

Closing Date: 31 October 2019

Paul Nyathi|An entire Zimbabwean family and members of a Kwazulu Natal family were all killed in horrific head-on collision shortly after 10pm on Saturday night (October 12) just outside Ladysmith, KZN in South Africa.

The collision, between a Porsche SUV and a Fortuner SUV, took place on a bend and caused one of the vehicles (the Porsche) to burst into flames.

All four occupants in the Porsche were burnt beyond recognition, causing delays in removing the bodies.

Emergency services responding to the scene included Ladysmith Public Safety, Ladysmith Fire Brigade, SAPS, RTI, KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Services (KZN EMS) and mortuary services.

The occupants of the Fortuner included two young children as young as five years old.

The bodies were cut free using the jaws-of-life.

The names of the Zimbabwean family and the South Africans have since been released.

South African police released a media statement on Tuesday saying that the Zimbabwean family had been identified as: Tonderai Godfrey Sithole (38) – Driver, Faith Sithole – Wife (36), Shalom Sithole – Female (10), Shekinah Sithole – Female (5).

The names of the South Africans were: Dheeraj Sureshchand Singh – Driver (41), Ronithah Singh – Wife (40), Suman Singh – Male (21) and Sanjana Singh – Female (16)

Ward councillor Zakhele Myende said the area where the accident occurred was notorious for speeding vehicles.

They had had roadblocks to try to address the issue. “We don’t often have such accidents, but are aware of the issue of cars speeding at the spot where the accident happened.

“There are a lot of trucks going in and out of Ladysmith towards Newcastle, and motorists often speed to try to overtake these trucks. We have reports that there are lots of speeding tickets issued on that part of the road,” he said.

Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Bheki Ntuli said he was saddened at the continued loss of life and extended his condolences to the families of the dead. He pledged the support of the department.

“I’m deeply saddened at the continued loss of lives, particularly as we just laid to rest six people who died in another accident last week in Peacevale.

“What is most worrying is that it seems as though motorists are not adhering to our road rules and speed limits, which in the main is leading to these accidents.

“I’ll be meeting Road Traffic Inspectorate officials to see how we can increase our visibility particularly in the hot spots over the weekend. We’ll also continue using our October Transport Month programmes to preach road safety ,” said Ntuli.

Police spokesperson Nqobile Gwala said circumstances surrounding the incident were being investigated.

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport is assisting the relatives of two families with the bereavement. Traffic officials worked around the clock with the assistance of SAPS to find out who the owner of the Porsche is as the car had no registration.

“Losing an entire family in just one accident is such a great tragedy. In this particular accident we have lost two families. We once again extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and our officials will continue supporting the families as the make arrangements to bury their loved ones,” said Ntuli.

Watch video downloading below:

Paul Nyathi|Zimbabweans were this morning caught by a huge surprise with the price of bread hiked to RTGS$15.75 from $9.50.

Though the new bread price is slightly above US$1.00 at the interbank market rate, in real terms it is staggering considering that less than a year ago a loaf of bread was priced at less than RTGS$0.90.

The new price officially declares bread as a luxury in the country as the salaries of the majority of workers does not come close to matching the new price.

Paul Nyathi|ZBC allegedly banned Leonard Dembo’s Dambudzo Watinetsa song and Zimbabweans have responded with fury to the banning but incidentally reviving the old song’s popularity.

The song talks about a problem that has caused severe pain to the people. So we think the song has been banned due to the critical conditions we are facing in the country and being given that our president goes by the same name which was used in the song some decades back.

If you don’t know about the song well, here is the song below

Paul Nyathi|Yet to be confirmed reports just received from MDC sources in Bulawayo indicate that party spokesperson Daniel Molokele has resigned from his position.

The sources indicated that Molokele tendered his resignation to MDC Secretary General Charlton Hwende after he got frustrated of being side-lined as prominence is being given to his deputy, Luke Tamborinyoka.

The resignation by Molokele is said to have been acknowledged and accepted by Hwende who is said to have already made some moves to appoint Tamborinyoka as the new national spokesperson.

Vice president, Professor Welshman Ncube is reported to be against the resignation as he wants Molokele to retain the position for regional balance. Professor Ncube persuaded Molokele to withdraw the resignation

The sources revealed that Hwende has strongly refused to reverse the resignation despite a directive to do so by party leader Nelson Chamisa.

Efforts to get a comment from both Hwende and Molokele were not successful at the time of writing.

Paul Nyathi|President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson, George Charamba, is the talk of social media after he shared graphic pornographic stuff on his exposed Twitter account before deleting the account in disgrace.

Charamba was using the Twitter handle @jamwanda2 which he confirmed to be his last week when he posted pictures of President Mnangagwa eating sadza and mazondo during a flight from France.

The tweet that stirred controversy was, “Mouth-Watering MILF Org_sms” and was accompanied by a video of a naked white woman touching her g_nitals.

The controversial tweet was posted around 11 PM on Tuesday and soon after, Charamba posted again:

“Whoever does this is despicable, and I suggest it stops immediately. I am disgusted.”

His followers, however, would have none of that and continued to bombard him accusing him of having shared the pornographic material he had been drooling on, to the site without realising.

“… zvaiwana ngwarati!! Of course, my good friends will enjoy this intrusion and milk it to the last ounce!! Meanwhile, Aluta Continua!!!, one of his followers said.

After several of his followers poked fun at him, Charamba eventually deleted the account.

State Media|Government on Tuesday fired a salvo on the local NGO report questioning the independence of the Judiciary and described it as “tired and old rhetoric” that should be smoked for its inequity.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi was reacting to the report; “State of Human Rights Report Zimbabwe 2018”, prepared by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum launched in the capital yesterday.

The report claimed widespread misgivings over the independence of judges, magistrates and prosecutors.

Minister Ziyambi picked holes in the report and dismissed it as biased in light of the progress so far made in the reforms which President Mnangagwa’s administration has undertaken since July 2018.

“I think it’s a tired and old rhetoric that the Judiciary is captured,” he said.

“We have several judgments against the State and who had captured them when they ruled against the State?

“I as Minister of Justice have never issued any directive pertaining to any case before our courts and as Government we strictly respect our Constitution and the separation of powers principle.”

According to the report, judges and magistrates were not free from the tentacles of the Executive, especially on matters with a political bearing.

It also claims that the members of the Judiciary and prosecution are beholden to the Government for receiving farms and other lucrative benefits and outright corruption.

Further the report claims that the courts and National Prosecuting Authority seemed to operate under third party instructions in certain cases, particularly those viewed as politically-sensitive or involving certain individuals.

But Minister Ziyambi said both the Judicial Service Commission and National Prosecuting Authority derive their independence from the Constitution.

As the Executive, he said, they uphold the Constitution.

“Every Zimbabwean who wanted a farm benefited from the agrarian reform programme and magistrates and judges also have ancestors who had their land stolen so were entitled to get what was rightly theirs,” he said.

The minister said election petitions are disposed according to the dictates of the Electoral Act and the question of Executive capture does not arise.

Paul Nyathi|Following the collapse of the government Public Sector Investment Programme, PSIP, where government was seconding funding for capital development to local authorities, the MDC run Harare City Council has decided to go it alone to raise funds for the projects through its business community.

The city is mulling a new tax under which all registered businesses in the capital will contribute a certain percentage for capital development.

This came out yesterday when Harare Mayor Councillor Herbert Gomba, town clerk Engineer Hosiah Chisango and acting finance director Mr Stanley Ndemera, appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development on Financial Devolution.

The committee is chaired by Chikomba Central legislator Felix Mhona.

“We are also looking at other taxes that are charged by business which we don’t have access to. We are expecting to say if some reforms can be made to say that a percentage of the actual business that is done by businesspeople in Harare, there is a tax that automatically comes to the city so that we can then develop infrastructure and also other services so that we can build our city,” said Eng Chisango.

It was not immediately ascertained what percentage the council was aiming to collect.

Eng Chisango further said the current property tax they were collecting was way too low for them to engage in meaningful development.

He pleaded for the city to be permitted to follow the United States model where central government collects revenue and allocates a certain percentage to the provincial local authority.

Eng Chisango requested that central Government should fund council’s capital projects.

“We are looking at issues of infrastructure and issues of investment where we are saying we are behind on water and roads infrastructure,” he said.

As City of Harare moves into the budget process for this year, he said, it had restricted itself to looking at essential issues.

“We are just looking at water, sanitation and roads issues to work on the infrastructure, to see if we can catch up, but we also need assistance at national level in terms of these budgets.

“We are looking here at sources of water, new water sources that we have been talking about, Kunzvi and Musami dams, which can bring relief to Harare and sister local authorities of Chitungwiza, Ruwa and Norton.”

Source: State Media

Paul Nyathi|Government has indicated that public workers who claim to be failing to report for work on claims that transport costs have shot beyond their capacity should instead use the government subsidised ZUPCO buses and report for duty.

Speaking at a post cabinet meeting briefing on Tuesday, Minister Mutsvangwa said Cabinet had been briefed by Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo on progress made on the roll-out of the Expanded ZUPCO Mass Transit System which was set up to cushion cushion the commuting public, including civil servants, from the prevailing rising costs of public transport services.

Civil Servants including health workers have warned government that they will be failing to report for duty because of the high transport and other costs that their income can not sustain.

Mutsvangwa explained that the government run rapid transport system under ZUPCO is undergoing major expansions to help cushion the civil servants.

“The expanded ZUPCO Mass Transit System incorporates commuter omnibuses and more significantly, will extend the ZUPCO bus service to rural areas,” she said. “The Minister (Cde Moyo) informed Cabinet that an assessment exercise undertaken by ZUPCO indicated that a total of 923 conventional buses are required to fully satisfy demand.

“The current deficit of 415 conventional buses will thus be covered by the 1 000 commuter omnibuses, which are now being incorporated under the ZUPCO Mass Transit System.”

In an interview with State Media on the sidelines of the briefing, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza said Government was keen to continue engaging the National Joint Negotiation Council (NJNC) to discuss civil servants’ welfare.

“A number of consultations with the Apex Council through the NJNC have to take place,” she said. “Once a figure has been agreed upon, we then seek Treasury concurrence.

“The price hikes continue to affect the purchasing power. I am hoping that the bonuses will help ease the burden of rising costs, especially of basic commodities.”

Minister Nzenza’s intervention followed a statement from the Apex Council yesterday that said “civil servants are severely incapacitated” and may struggle to report for work.

Apex said the 76 percent of cost of living adjustment (COLA) negotiated last month has been eroded by inflation.

Paul Nyathi|Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo has gone down on his knees begging striking doctors and other health workers to return to work while negotiations on their demands are on going with government.

He said this yesterday while fielding questions from journalists during the 36th Cabinet decision matrix in Harare on Tuesday.

“I want to appeal to doctors that our doors are always open,” said Dr Moyo.

“We are open to dialogue until we get solutions, but let us dialogue while we are at work.”

On the 60 percent salary adjustment offered by government during collective bargaining on which the doctors demanded more, Dr Moyo said: “That approval stands. Government is guided by the law. That is why we went to the courts. We are following what the law states and we shall follow the law. There is no way we will go against what the law says.”

Further, Government was unequivocal that it was unable to pay health workers in United States dollars, nor in local currency at the interbank rate, but would implement the percentage-based increment agreed during the negotiations.

Dr Moyo said all provisions of the law will be pursued in an effort to locate permanent solutions to challenges bedevilling the health sector.

While Moyo was pleading with the doctors, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa was not in the mood to plead claiming that the doctors have not been fair by disregarding efforts made by Government this far.

“The strike action disregards the significant efforts demonstrated by Government in its unwavering commitment to address their concerns,” she said.

“Such efforts include the recent upward review of their salaries and allowances, which should be in their accounts before the end of this month.

“The doctors, by continuing with the job action, are also in flagrant defiance of the court order which ruled their strike as illegal and ordered them to return to work forthwith. Doctors should value the sanctity of human life above all else and offer their critical services to patients.”

Farai Dziva|Outspoken Buhera South MP Joseph Chinotimba has accused Zanu PF honchos of blocking dialogue between Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa.

According to Chinotimba dialogue between the two politicians will save the country from further chaos.

“I see nothing wrong with a dialogue between @edmnangagwa
and @nelsonchamisa
to save the country.

Imi regai vakuru vataurirane makutoshatisa zviro worse. Thank you,” tweeted Chinotimba.

By A Correspondent| Simon Khaya Moyo, the spokesperson of the ruling ZANU PF has notified members of the politburo of an extra-ordinary meeting scheduled for Wednesday 16 October at the party’s headquarters in Harare.

The Meeting is being held when government workers have declared incapacitation and intentions to “withdraw services until their situation has been adequately dealt with”.

Public health institutions are without medicines, equipment and personnel as both doctors and nurses are on industrial action over unsustained remuneration and poor working conditions.

The country is also facing a huge power deficit, water shortages, cash crisis, and food shortages which demand the government’s undivided attention.

The meeting is also held when there are incs=reasing calls, even from the ruling ZANU PF for president Emmerson Mnangagwa and opposition MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa to have a dialogue over the deteriorating state of affairs.

The issues above are expected to top the agenda of the meeting.

CITE|Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has called for the reinstatement of former ward 3 councillor Tinashe Kambarami as the city`s deputy mayor pending his Supreme Court appeal.

In August, the Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Thompson Mabhikwa, nullified Kambarami’s election as councillor for Ward 3 and the city’s Deputy Mayor following an application by political pressure group, 1893 Mthwakazi Restoration Movement Trust.

In a letter addressed to Bulawayo Mayor, Solomon Mguni, dated 14 October 2019, MDC Alliance Bulawayo Provincial Secretary, Ernest Rafamoyo said Kambarami must be reinstated as deputy mayor with the same conditions, privileges and benefits until the appeal is finalised by the Supreme Court.

“After taking into consideration all the developments around the above specifically the High Court ruling, the Supreme Court appeal, communication and interpretation from Councillor Kambarami’s lawyers, the challenge from Umthwakazi Republic Restoration Movement and the opinion from the Council Lawyers.

“The position of the party in consultation with National Leadership is that Councillor Kambarami remains the Deputy Mayor with the same conditions, privileges and benefits until the appeal is finalized by the Supreme Court,” said Rafamoyo.

1893MRM had argued that Kambarami was unfit for public office due to his criminal record.

Kambarami was in July 2018 convicted of theft by Bulawayo Provincial Magistrate, Sharon Rosemani for stealing an extension cord from an electrician he had hired to work at his office.

However, Kambarami’s lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court arguing that the High Court had no jurisdiction over the matter since the application was an election petition which was supposed to be heard by the electrical Court.

Councillor Kambarami’s lawyers had also written to the City Council’s attorneys saying it cannot prohibit their client from reporting for duty.

DESPITE vigorous denials at the time – which even resulted in journalists at The Financial Gazette being charged and incarcerated for criminal defamation for reporting the fact – it has now been confirmed that the late former president Robert Mugabe married Grace in 1992 and not in 1996, the Daily News on Sunday can reveal.

Close family members corroborated this yesterday – in the wake of the recent death of the nonagenarian – revealing further that Mugabe used his nephew Leo to cover up the marriage at the time, after his first wife Sally had died earlier in the year after battling a serious kidney ailment.

After the 1992 traditional marriage, Mugabe later had a white wedding with Grace on August 17, 1996 – about four-and-a-half years after Sally died. The much-loved Ghanaian was interred at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.

These revelations come as damaging details are also emerging that Mugabe and Grace had experienced serious marital problems – amid allegations of infidelity, and with former vice president Joice Mujuru apparently intervening on numerous occasions to save the marriage.

Mugabe died on September 6 at a top-notch Singaporean hospital, and was buried at his Zvimba homestead in Mashonaland West on September 29 – at the insistence of Grace and in opposition to the wishes of the larger Mugabe family and traditional chiefs that he be interred at the National Heroes Acre.

Controversially, Grace chased away close family members on the day of Mugabe’s burial in a tamper-proof coffin, while also barring mourners from viewing the body, which raised eyebrows and suspicions at the funeral.

The close family members who spoke to the Daily News On Sunday confirmed that Mugabe had used Leo as a smoke screen to marry Grace towards the end of 1992, after the ex-president had carried out an adulterous relationship with her for years while Sally was battling illness – which resulted in the birth of Bona in 1988.
The family members also confirmed that Grace initially conducted her relationship with Mugabe while she was still married to a soldier, Stanley Goreraza – with the two only divorcing officially in the mid-1990s, after Mugabe had already paid lobola to her family.

“An impression was created that Leo had married Grace for himself … but Sally was not fooled and confronted Leo about this,” one of the relatives said.
Leo is the son of Mugabe’s late sister Sabina, a national heroine who is also buried at the Heroes Acre.

Presented with the irrefutable evidence, a coy Leo confirmed that he had played a key role, along with his late brother Innocent, in paying lobola to Grace’s family – the Marufus.
“The story is that I was sent by sekuru (Mugabe) to go and marry Grace in Chivhu. Indeed, most people believed I had married Grace for myself. I was sent by sekuru to marry her.

“I was accompanied by my late brother Innocent. Sekuru told me to use my cattle to pay the lobola, with the promise that he would replace them.

“Later, sekuru declined to replace my cattle, arguing that my father had not paid lobola fully when he married our mother. Still, I was happy for sekuru when he married Mbuya Grace, as he wanted children,” Leo said.

Mugabe, who was a strict Catholic, admitted years later that he had had an adulterous relationship with Grace – claiming that Sally, who could not bear him children because of health complications, had allegedly approved of the affair.
Speaking to stunned mourners during the funeral of his mother-in-law in September last year, Mugabe confessed: “Yes, we got involved when Sally was still alive. I had to”.

“Grace and I never dated. I was just introduced to her and I said to myself she is a beautiful girl. So she came as a secretary and there were many of them.

“I just looked at them and then it was love at first sight with Grace. Then I said to her one day ‘I love you’ and she didn’t respond.
“I then grabbed her hand and I kissed her. She didn’t protest or refuse, and then I said to myself now that she has accepted to be kissed, it means she loves me,” Mugabe said then.
Talking further about Grace, some of Mugabe’s relatives said they had crossed paths with her many times because of the manner in which she used to treat them and the former president.

“Our problems with her started over stories of abuse … she was said to be abusing him (Mugabe). When the family tried to intervene, that is when relations turned sour,” one of the family members said.

Over the years, another relative said, reports of infidelity started to emerge – with Mugabe, at one point, allegedly pushing to divorce Grace.

“There were marital problems that emanated from infidelity. At some stages, Mai Mujuru had to intervene to stop the collapse of the marriage,” the close relative said.

“A few years later, Mugabe used this wise counsel from Mai Mujuru to stop the marriage between an army general and his wife from breaking up.

“It was public information within the security circles that it was not all roses in the late president’s marriage,” the relative added.

– dailynews

NewsDay|Lawyers have urged Chief Justice Luke Malaba to remove the presidential immunity clause from the country’s statutes to ensure that a sitting President is not insulated from criminal proceedings.

The call was made when Malaba was giving a public lecture at Great Zimbabwe University last Friday when lawyers called for the amendment of section 98 of the Constitution which insulates a sitting President from civil or criminal trials.

But Malaba said the section cannot be scrapped off without a referendum as the supreme law of the land was a product of the people. He said the best Zimbabweans can do about the clause is “to debate about it”.

“The question of immunity, I do not want to interpret it. It is a constitutional question, I hope you understand what I mean. It (the clause) cannot go beyond something, it cannot be taken away when it’s legislated by the Constitution itself,” Malaba said.

“We must accept that the people of Zimbabwe who are the midwives of the Constitution, decided that. They then decided we will have this situation for us as Zimbabweans. Whether it applies in South Africa or somewhere else, they are not interested.”

He added: “So who am I, being under the Constitution and not being above the law, who am I to say no, this is wrong? I cannot. It is an important question, but I think it is a philosophical question. I think the best we can do is to debate it until there is an amendment.”

Section 98 reads: “(i) While in public office, the President is not liable to civil or criminal proceedings in any court for things done or omitted to be done in his personal capacity. (ii) Civil or criminal proceedings may be instituted against a former President for things done or omitted to be done before he or she became President or while he or she was President.”

Paul Nyathi|National Patriotic Front Spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire has urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa  to apologise for the ritual killings happening in the country caused by a group of people called Mashurugwi who are illegal gold panners or resign.

In a Twiiter thread on Tuesday Mawarire said President Mnangagwa must emulate South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa who apologised for xenophobic attacks that recent took place in that country.

Read the full thread below:

Issue of machete armed Mashurugwi who have become a law unto themselves should be tackled now! It’s a fact these murderers have support from high offices and are spilling blood as part of planned, government supported rituals, otherwise why the nonchalant approach to combating this evil?

If ED can’t deal with this menace, he should leave office now! These Mashurugwi have killed more Zimbabweans , in more brutal ways, than the xenophobic attacks in SA, yet

Mnangagwa has done nothing about it, not even apologizing for his ineptitude in dealing with these murderers.

While Cyril Ramaphosa has apologised to Zimbabweans after 6 Zimbabweans were butchered during the last xenophobic attacks in SA, Mnangagwa hasn’t said a word, let alone apologize, for the actions of his fellow Midlanders (Mashurugwi) who have murdered hundreds in the past months.

These ritual killings by Mashurugwi should end. Zimbabweansd should hold Mnangagwa accountable. What kind of a President who doesn’t care when citizens are being butchered in broad daylight? Pamberi nekuzvitonga! Pasi nemhondi dzemabhemba!! Pasi nevanodzituma! Pasi nen’anga dzavo!

Mashurugwi are the worst kind of sanctions imposed upon Zimbabweans by a bloodthirsty, ritualistic, rogue regime that is spilling blood of innocent citizens thru some voodoo practices to wade off growing loss of popularity. Let’s say no! no! no! to these ritual killings.

Paul Nyathi|POLICE yesterday questioned Mitchel Chibwe in connection with the Zimbabwe Republic Police anti-riot and city council helmets which were recovered in the basement of Robinson House on Saturday night.

Chibwe’s lawyer Mr Kudzai Rangarirai of Mtisi Law Chambers confirmed that his client was invited to Harare Central Police Station for questioning and later released without any charges.

“He (Chibwe) bought the helmets at ABC Auctions, however by the time we went to the police we did not have the receipts and the police instructed us to bring them as soon as possible.

“The police were satisfied with our clarification and my client was released unconditionally.”

But did it really have to take so much of a fracas for police to deliberately forget that they auctioned their helmets? In the first place how do they get to auction such security equipment? Don’t they see the risk of the equipment being misused against their name?

Police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said investigations into the matter were still in progress.

“Investigations into the helmets which were recovered in the basement of Robinson House are ongoing.”

Police recovered 210 anti-riot and 46 municipal police helmets after they pursued a group of thugs that had attacked a police officer who was reportedly waiting for his sister at the building.

When the hooligans saw that they were now being overpowered, they ran into the basement with the officers in pursuit. It was during the chase that they came across the helmets stashed in one of the rooms in the basement. At least 12 people have since been arrested in connection with the violent incident.

It was during the chase that they came across the helmets stashed in one of the rooms in the basement.

At least 12 people have since been arrested in connection with the violent incident.

Paul Nyathi|Government workers in Zimbabwe can’t afford to go to work and may be forced to stay at home after surging inflation slashed the value of their pay by more than 90%, the main public-sector union said.

Zimbabwe is grappling with galloping price increases and a plunging currency that have spawned shortages of fuel and food. A currency devaluation earlier this year means that state employees who previously earned an average of $500 a month now earn $40, the Apex Council Chairwoman Cecilia Alexander said in a statement on Tuesday.

As a result, some workers have become incapacitated and are having to borrow money for transport to get to work, Alexander told reporters in the capital, Harare.

“The council officially served government with a notification of incapacitation,” which may mean staff won’t be able to get to work, the council said. “We want to keep the system running, but we are urging government to create an enabling environment.”

The government in September offered workers a 76% cost-of-living adjustment to offset the impact of inflation, which has not been eroded by price rises, the council said. It proposed that salaries be adjusted in line with inflation.

Prices climbed 17.7% in September from a month earlier, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency said earlier on Tuesday. While the country has suspended the publication of annual data, that rate is estimated in a range of 230% to 570%.

Paul Nyathi|For the millionth time, the price for data bundles has once again been reviewed upwards.

Here’s what you’ll now pay for daily data bundles:

• $4 – 40MB
• $10 – 150MB
• $13 – 250MB
• $20 – 600MB
• $35 – 1.2GB

Weekly data bundles:

• $$3 – 25MB
• $6 – 60MB
• $14 – 160MB
• $28 – 350MB
• $55 – 700MB

Monthly data bundles:

• $28 – 270MB
• $70 – 700MB
• $110 – 1.15GB
• $180 – 2.1GB
• $230 – 3.1GB

Outside of data bundles with expiry dates SMS bundles have also seen an increase in pricing. For daily SMSs;

• $0.30 – 5 SMS
• $0.50 – 10 SMS
• $1 – 25 SMS
• $1.50 – 35 SMS

Weekly SMSs:

• $3 – 75 SMS
• $4 – 125 SMS
• $5 – 200 SMS
• $9 – 300 SMS

Farai Dziva|Outspoken Buhera South MP Joseph Chinotimba has accused Zanu PF honchos of blocking dialogue between Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa.

According to Chinotimba dialogue between the two politicians will save the country from further chaos.

“I see nothing wrong with a dialogue between @edmnangagwa
and @nelsonchamisa
to save the country.

Imi regai vakuru vataurirane makutoshatisa zviro worse. Thank you,” tweeted Chinotimba.

By A Correspondent- Gweru Town Clerk Ms Elizabeth Gwatipedza has been suspended on allegations of mismanagement as the fight for the control of council affairs continues.

Ms Gwatipedza was served with a suspension letter yesterday afternoon.

In an interview, Ms Gwatipedza confirmed that she has been suspended.

“Yes I have been suspended,” she said.

Mayor Councillor Josiah Makombe said the matter would be made public today during a Press conference which he has called.

“This and other issues will be dealt with during a Press briefing tomorrow (today),” he said.

Sources said Ms Gwatipedza was served with a suspension letter by the mayor at around 4PM when she was chairing a management meeting.

The sources said Clr Makombe accompanied by council police then ordered her to pack her belongings and locked her office.

“She was suspended at around 4PM when she was busy chairing a management meeting which the chamber secretary — Mr Chikwekwe — was also part of.

The mayor then ordered that she removes her belongings from the office before he locked the door and took away the keys. Even Ms Gwatipedza’s secretary was told to leave her office,” said the source.

“The mayor accused her of failure to supervise departments and mismanagement. This is about politics as she is thought to be Zanu-PF working in an MDC Alliance led council.

“Initially it was the chamber secretary who was supposed to be suspended on allegations of abusing a council fuel facility but they decided to go for the town clerk first.”

In July, Bulawayo Town Clerk Christopher Dube was also suspended by the town’s deputy mayor Tinashe Kambarami but the suspension was subsequently lifted by council.

The town clerk later approached the courts which ruled that the suspension had been unlawful. 

-StateMedia

By A Correspondent- Government workers have said that they are now incapacitated to carry out their duties and responsibilities as a result of the erosion of their salaries.

The Apex Council which represents government workers observed that on average, workers used to receive US$500 but now are getting an average of US$40 and the salary is continuously losing value.

They say that the government has been neglecting and or failing to address their grievances for too long and as a result of incapacitation, they are now suspending their services until their situation has been adequately dealt with.

Their declaration of incapacitation comes at a time when health workers in public medical institutions have since the 3rd of September been on industrial action as a result of incapacitation.

The Apex Council said that government workers are the ones carrying the burden of austerity measures which the government introduced alleging that they will quick- start the economy.

Farai Dziva|
In what could be a sign of bad omen, a windstorm hit Bulilima district last week and destroyed solar panels at a San community irrigation project funded by First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa.

According to NewsDay the panels were used to run a water pump to water vegetables tendered by the San people.

The windstorm, which hit Bulilima last Wednesday afternoon, left a trail of destruction in the area, including the solar panels sourced by Mnangagwa’s Angel of Hope Foundation.

A team led by District Development Fund officials went to the scene on Thursday to assess the damage and make repairs.

Bulilima district coordinator (formerly district administrator) Nyasha Majonga yesterday confirmed the damage, but said the problem had since been rectified.

“Yes there was some blowing off of solar panels, but as I speak to you, the problem has been rectified and it is business as usual,” Majonga told NewsdayNewsDay.