Neville Mutsvangwa

Fungai Lupande : Court Reporter

THE case in which Neville Mutsvangwa (36) is accused of raping a 43-year-old woman continued yesterday with the court conducting an inspection in loco of the offices where the alleged offence was committed. Neville allegedly raped the woman at his father Christopher Mutsvangwa’s offices at Number 3 San-Fernando along Fife Avenue in Harare.Neville’s lawyer Mr Harrison Nkomo requested for the inspection to prove that the 43-year-old woman had consented to sexual intercourse.

Mr Nkomo insisted that the door to the office when locked can only open from outside.

Read more:

• Mutsvangwa’s son up for rape
• Woman reports unusual sex

“The complainant was able to run away because the door was open. There was no way he could have closed the door because no one was around to open for them.

“Because the pair was engaging in acts of darkness, the accused did not want employees to find them there the following morning.”

The complainant insisted that the door was closed and because it does not open from inside she could not run away.

“The accused locked all the entrance doors and how was I supposed to run way,” she said.

“This particular door he used keys to open it from inside.”

The prosecutor Mr George Manokore closed his case after the inspection in loco. Mr Nkomo applied for discharge. In his application he said the State’s case was full of uncertainties and no court acting carefully can convict.

“The complainant failed to explain the relationship she had with the accused. She said her report was not a direct result of rape but because she was forced to suck her own menstrual blood.

“There are contradictions in her testimony and statements to the police. She is not a reliable witness.”

Mr Nkomo said the complainant is seven years older than the accused and weighs 93 kilograms but did not do anything to resist the abuse. Mr Manokore in his response said it was unbelievable that the door to an office cannot be opened from inside not even with a key. “Is that office a chubb? Was the complainant able to run away under those circumstances?” asked Mr Manokore.

“Even if the complainant moral values are questionable the accused was heartless to make her eat her menstrual blood. He should be put to his defence”

Harare magistrate Mr Hoseah Mujaya will make a ruling to the application for discharge today. Mutsvangwa is facing two counts of rape and aggravated indecent assault charges. It is alleged that on August 8 this year around 1800 hours the complainant met Neville and they played Casino until 4am.

The complainant was offered a lift to town and Neville diverted the route and drove to his father’s office. He allegedly forced her to suck his manhood. Neville allegedly raped the woman and after noticing that she was on her menstrual periods, forced her to suck the blood stained condom. He ejaculated in her mouth, it is alleged. He offered her $20 and she refused and reported the matter to the police.

A rhino has its horns removed during the operation

Sydney Kawadza : Senior Features Writer

Rhinos are popular for their horns which have unfortunately led to their demise. The horns, targeted by poachers, have caused rhinos the world over to face extinction.Protecting rhinos is a mixture of love and cruelty. This threat has led to the introduction of dehorning. Dehorning started in Zimbabwe as an experimental operation in 1991 with 59 white rhinos being dehorned in the Hwange National Park.In 1992, due to the rising poaching crisis, wildlife authorities launched a dehorning programme for both black and white rhinos across Zimbabwe. The programme, in 1993, had seen 212 black and 120 white rhinos being dehorned. This marked the beginning of regular dehorning in Zimbabwe.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is dehorning Zimbabwe’s rhino population to deter poachers. Dehorning has already been completed at Kyle Recreational Park, Chipinge Safari Area, Chivero Recreational Park and Matopos National Park.

Speaking in Matopos National Park recently, Parks senior ecologist Colum Zhuwau, described dehorning as tough love for the rhinos. “We are talking of (having) less than a thousand, for both the black and white rhinos, so these numbers are precarious,” he said.

Dehorning, he said, was a viable alternative for protecting the animals. “There is a school of thought (against dehorning) but we are here for the security of the animals. Remember this is an endangered species and we can’t leave anything to chance.”

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

Poachers, he said, target the rhino horns and dehorning deprives the poachers of their target. Dehorning was not exclusive to Zimbabwe, according to Zhuwau.

“We do not protect the rhinos as Zimbabwe alone, we do it regionally and we also do it internationally,” he said.

The motivation this year, he said, was that South Africa, where poaching is rampant, had upped its game against rhino poachers.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

“There are high chances that the poachers are looking elsewhere and it is most probably they would be turning to Zimbabwe.”

Zimbabwe, however, has other strategies against poachers. Parks authorities work with Zimbabwe’s uniformed forces against poachers. Zhuwau said there was a deliberate rationalising of resources towards flagship animal species under threat especially rhinos and elephants. Community engagement was also effective in wildlife conservation.

“Conservation is not conservation unless we also involve the communities,” he said.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

Engaging communities, he said, added value to Zimbabwe’s natural resources. Villagers in surrounding communities view the animals for free while they are also allowed to harvest thatching grass from the parks. Locals are also targeted for employment as an appreciation for protecting their resources.

There is also a lobby for stiffer penalties against poaching. Zimbabwe has a nine-year mandatory sentence for rhino poaching. “That it is not an easy process so we are engaging the judiciary.”

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

Kenya recently witnessed one of the stiffest punishment meted to a rhino horn trader who was jailed for 25 years.

Dehorning has, however, been shrouded in controversy. Dambari Wildlife Trust director Verity Bowman shot down the controversy. She said the process was expensive but necessary. The Trust is one of the major stakeholders in the programme.

“A recent study by Africa Geo Magazine indicated that people were not concerned with the dehorning but protecting the animals,” she said.

The rhinos, she further argued, should remain specified. “I think that the rhinos are our national treasure and that they should be preserved at all cost,” she said.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

Outlining the procedure, Bowman said the most significant cost was the helicopter pegged at $870 per hour including fuel. It costs about $1 200 to dehorn a single rhino.

The operation includes a helicopter, fixed wing aircraft and a number of skilled personnel including veterinarians, technical assistants and rangers.

Speaking at the dehorning of an immobilised two-year-old female white rhino she said the animal would be somewhat aware of what is going on. “We have the ears plugged so that we diminish the noise and the blindfold to protect her eyes from the sun and dust,” Bowman said.

Blood samples are also collected during the procedure. “Pregnancy tests are run . . . so that the progress of that pregnancy is monitored.”

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

Latent diseases are also checked in the samples. The day begins with rangers, at first light, tracking down the animals and alerting the fixed wing plane. The plane, with a Parks’ spotter, monitors the animals from a high level not disturbing them at all cost. Information about the animals is relayed to the vet on the helicopter who administers an appropriate dosage to tranquillise the rhino. Because of the costs, the helicopter is only used for the darting part of the operation.

“If, for example, we have a group of three, one of the three should be targeted,” Bowman said.

The helicopter crew monitors the animal until its showing signs of slowing down. “The animals tend to run away a little bit but as the drugs take effect they slow down to a walk and then lie on the ground,” she said.

The ground crew, at this point, approaches the animal. Great care is taken in monitoring all the animal’s biological functions – the animal’s respiration, heart rate and percentage oxygen circulating in the blood at one time. “We also administer medicinal oxygen, through a nose, to improve the animal’s chance of recovery,” she said.

Young animals are also assigned individual numbers during the procedure.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

“When they leave the mother we need to know exactly who they are and what their lineage is and so on,” Bowman explained.

Zimbabwe has a national ear notching system. This, Bowman said, allows authorities to recognise the individuals throughout their lives. “When the rangers are monitoring them they can report on specific animals at specific times,” she said.

Ear notching is followed by dehorning by chainsaw.

“The horn is then taken into custody by national parks rangers who weigh and measure the fragments. We collect all the shavings generated by the chainsaw as well and then that is kept in a secure area by national parks,” Bowman said.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

The dehorning procedure is followed by a final check on the animal’s biological signs. “We take a final reading of its body temperature, the oxygen levels and its respiration rate,” she said.

The veterinary doctor dresses the ears and notches while Parks rangers tidy up all the shavings and pieces from the sworn off horn.

“We make sure that the animal is still doing well and then most of the assistants move away from it. Once the vet starts to give the reversal agent the animal could be up in a minute in which case they will start to move around.”

The vet, satisfied that the animal’s vital organs are working well, injects the reversal drug and the rhino is up within a minute or two. The procedure takes no more than 15 minutes. Special care is taken to have the animal back on its feet quickly.

(Pictures by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

“We don’t like them to stay lying down for too long because if they lie on their legs for too long they risk nerve damage.”

Effort is taken to protect the lung capacity from the weight of lying on the rhino’s abdomen and chest.

Bowman also dismissed the perceived dangers associated with dehorning. The vet, using a length of material as a guide, measures the distances for the animal’s growth plates. The rhino horn grows back hence dehorning in two to three years. The horn is made of keratin, the same substance as hair and fingernails. Young animals have good re-growth rates with the horn growing two to three centimetres within a year. This also depends on the nutrition and the area in which they live.

Parks authority spokesperson Caroline Washaya-Moyo said Zimbabwe had a number of strategies to ensure protection of flagship species. “Over the years a number of activities have been performed to protect the rhino which is poached for its horns which scientifically have been proven not to have any medicinal properties. The authority deliberately created intensive protection zones meant for the protection of rhinos. There is also cross border collaboration with our neighbours on issues to do with wildlife.”

On average, life expectancy of a rhinoceros could be as high as 50 years. This has, however, been drastically reduced due mainly to poaching. Matopos National Park, which carries the largest rhino herd, had Swazi, the white rhino, bludgeoned at 24 years. This was marked a sad moment in Zimbabwe’s history of wildlife conservation. There still is 16-year-old Tigere, currently, the largest and oldest rhino in the national park.

Zimbabwe can protect Tigere as was commended by African Wildlife Foundation president Kaddu Sebunya. Sebunya noted Zimbabwe’s efforts to protect its animals, albeit, at a cost.

Rhino horn has been used in Chinese traditional medicine for millennia and now is believed, erroneously, in Vietnam to cure both cancer and hangovers.

Neville Mutsvanga (foreground) arrives at the Harare Magistrate’s Court. Picture by Wilson Kakurira

Fungai Lupande Court Reporter

Neville Mutsvangwa, who was facing allegations of raping a 43-year-old woman at his father’s office in Harare was today acquitted.

Harare magistrate Mr Hoseah Mujaya ruled that the complainant’s evidence was poorly presented and exaggerated.

“To the police the complainant said she was penetrated twice but in court she said once,” said Mr Mujaya.

“I cannot accept that she is illiterate that she cannot count to two. Can we shift the blame to the police? If at all the police wanted to make life easy for the accused then this was a poor attempt.”

He said there were contradictions on whether the accused removed the condom before the complainant was made to perform oral sex.

“The moment the rape victim becomes unreliable, the State case collapses. He is not guilty and hereby acquitted.”

Neville is the son of former cabinet minister and diplomat Mr Christopher Mutsvangwa.

He was facing two counts of rape and aggravated indecent assault.

The prosecutor Mr Gorge Manokore alleged that Neville and the complainant used to play casino together at Borrowdale Race Course.

On August 8 this year around 6 pm, it was alleged that the complainant met Mutsvangwa and they played casino until 4am.

The complainant was offered a lift to town and Neville allegedly diverted the route and went to 3 San Fernando along Fife Avenue.

Neville allegedly told the woman that he had been admiring her for a long time and wanted to have sexual intercourse with her. He allegedly raped the woman and forced to perform oral sex.

He offered her $20 and she refused before proceeding to Harare Central Police Station to report the matter.

Innocent Ruwende Municipal Reporter

Harare City Council has been given the green light to disconnect water for defaulting residents without a court order provided it follows provisions of the Harare (Water) By-laws S.164/1913, which require that council gives 24 hours’ notice to affected parties before disconnections, the High Court has ruled.

The High court, however, said where the bill was genuinely disputed, there should be recourse at the courts before council disconnected the water supply to the consumer.

The court judgment is likely to spur massive domestic and industrial water disconnections to force residents and businesses who collectively owe the city in excess of $500 million to pay up their bills.

The court made the ruling in a case in which Harare lawyer, Mr Tinofara Hove who took Harare City Council to the High Court seeking to interdict the city from disconnecting his water supplies without a court order after accruing an $18 600 water bill.

Details to follow….

Innocent Ruwende Municipal Reporter—
Harare residents and businesses should brace for massive water cuts after the city got the green light to disconnect defaulters without a court order, provided it follows provisions of the Harare (Water) By-laws S.164-1913, the High Court has ruled. The by-law requires that council gives 24 hours notice to affected parties before disconnecting supplies.

The High Court, however, said where the bill was genuinely disputed, there should be recourse at the courts before council disconnected the water supply.

Related stories:

• Water disconnections unconstitutional: Court
• Harare cuts off water defaulters
• ‘Arbitrary water disconnections illegal’
• Council disconnects defaulters’ water supplies
• Defaulting residents get summons
• Byo starts massive disconnections
• Water cuts for defaulters
• Council to contest ruling on water disconnections

The judgment is likely to trigger massive domestic and industrial water disconnections to force residents and businesses — who collectively owe the city in excess of $500 million — to pay up their bills.

The court made the ruling in a case in which Harare lawyer, Mr Tinofara Hove, took Harare City Council to the High Court seeking to interdict the city from disconnecting his water supplies without a court order after accruing an $18 600 water bill.

According to recent minutes of the Environmental Management Committee, acting chamber secretary Mr Charles Kandemiri reported that Mr Hove was the registered owner of a property in Hillside, Harare.

The property is situated in a residential zone. However, Mr Hove used the property as offices as he was operating an illegal practice, Tinofara Kudakwashe Hove Law Chamber from the property without a change of use permit.

“The committee noted that council started to charge him commercial rates even though he did not have a change of use permit since the property was being used for commercial purposes. At the time of the application, Mr Hove’s bills had risen to $18 876.” “Due to the fear of having his water supplies disconnected because of the high bill, he filed an application for an interdict at the High Court.

In the application he sought for an order to interdict City of Harare from disconnecting water supplies to his property without a court order and that the city supplied him with a detailed breakdown of the rates and water bills and also that council be ordered to charge him residential tariffs not commercial tariffs,” reads the minutes. The High Court noted that the Harare (Water) By-laws were still valid and could be applied by council provided it follows the provisions of the by-laws.

“The court’s reasoning in summary was that the court noted that, “in view of the foregoing it is my conclusion that where the bill is genuinely disputed there should be recourse to the courts before council disconnects the water supply to the consumer. In the Mushoriwa case the court was concerned with the unlawful arbitrary disconnection of water on the basis of a disputed water bill.

“I believe that where there is a genuine dispute there should be recourse to the courts for remedies, but in a case where the charges are being disputed for the sake of avoiding payment and buying time no such recourse is necessary,” ruled the court.

Mr Kandemiri said the court noted that council did not need a court order before enforcing its by-laws and that Mr Hove’s property could not be levied using domestic tariffs yet he was using it for commercial purpose.

President Mugabe addresses the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York yesterday. (Picture by Presidential photographer)

• Demands end to illegal sanctions • Counsels need for global peace, unity
Mabasa Sasa at the United Nations, NEW YORK—
Zimbabwe has laid the foundation to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals through its own national economic blueprint, Zim-Asset, but implementation is being hampered by the evil and illegal Western sanctions regime, President Mugabe has said. Contributing to the UN General Assembly grand debate here yesterday, President Mugabe said Zim-Asset contained objectives in tandem with the SDGs, which are also referred to as Agenda 2030.

Zim-Asset came into force in 2013, a good two years before the global community agreed to adopt the SDGs. However, the continued imposition of illegal economic sanctions on Zimbabwe by the United States and its allies were making it difficult to roll out the programme as envisaged, President Mugabe noted.

While the European Union has relaxed aspects of its embargo, the US has not budged on its sanctions law, the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, which was imposed in response to Harare’s decision to redistribute land held by 6 000 white farmers to 300 000 previously disadvantaged black families.

Zidera bars all international financial institutions in which the US has representation or shareholding from co-operating with Zimbabwe, contrary to claims that the sanctions are “targeted” at a few political elites. Yesterday, President Mugabe again threw down the gauntlet at the international community, highlighting the injustice of the sanctions and demanding an end to the illegal regime.

He told the UN General Assembly, “Our task of domesticating Agenda 2030 has been made relatively less challenging in that the vision and aspirations of our national economic blueprint and the global agenda are basically the same. Our biggest impediment to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda is the burden of the punitive and heinous sanctions imposed against us by some among us here.

“My country, Zimbabwe, is the innocent victim of spiteful sanctions imposed by the United States and other powers and these countries have for some reason maintained these sanctions for some 16 years now.

“As a country, we are being collectively punished for exercising the one primordial principle enshrined in the United Nations Charter, that of sovereign independence. We are being punished for doing what all other nations have done, that is, possessing and owning their natural resources, and listening to and responding to the basic needs of our people.

“Those who have imposed these sanctions would rather have us pander to their interests at the expense of the basic needs of the majority of our people. As long as these economic and financial sanctions remain in place, Zimbabwe’s capacity to fully and effectively implement Agenda 2030 is deeply curtailed.

“I repeat my call to Britain and the United States and their allies to remove the illegal and unjustified sanctions against my country and its people. We must all be bound by our commitments to Agenda 2030, under which we all agreed to eschew sanctions in favour of dialogue.”

While thanking outgoing UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon for his work over the past 10 years, Zimbabwe’s Head of State and Government also challenged the comity of nations to uphold international agreements pertaining to a two-state solution that would end Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory; and for the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara to be recognised.

Western Sahara is Africa’s last colony — ironically under the occupation of a fellow African country, Morocco. Morocco pulled out of the African Union (then the OAU) in 1984 after the continent condemned its colonisation of Western Sahara and the bloc recognised the North African nation as a state. President Mugabe, as he has done before, exhorted the international community to push through reforms of the UN Security Council.

He said, “For over 20 years, many of us have come to this rostrum, pleading and demanding for reforms of the Security Council. Today we are no closer to achieving that goal than we were 20 years ago. This is so in spite of the universal acknowledgement of the injustice, unfairness and inappropriateness of the current composition of the Security Council.

“We now have an opportunity, in the ongoing negotiations, in the intergovernmental negotiations, to redress this unjustifiable and unjust situation in the interests of a strong and more united organisation capable of delivering on its mandates.”

The five permanent members of the Security Council with veto power — as shaped by the immediate post-World War II balance of power — are Britain, China, France, Russia and the US.

Oliver Mtukudzi

Godwin Muzari : Arts Editor

Although a bigger celebration has been saved for Borrowdale Country Manor on September 30 when the legend will also have the Zimbabwean launch of his album “Eheka! Nhai Yahwe”, a private party is on today at Pakare Paye Arts Centre where invited guests will help him celebrate the gift of life. Today’s event will coincide with the official release of “Eheka! Nhai Yahwe”.

However, the release could just be a formality since the album was unveiled in South Africa recently and pirated copies have flooded the local market. Nevertheless, Tuku has every reason to celebrate a life in which he has led by example and inspired many young musicians to admire music as a career.

He is a star who has exhibited that music can be lucrative business while his investments and adorable lifestyle have convincingly crushed the yesteryear notion that nothing good comes out of a musician. Getting into music in the 1970s, a time when most parents would chide their children for mentioning anything related to musicianship, Tuku has grown to be a renowned icon.

True to his totem Nzou Samanyanga (elephant), Tuku has stood as a giant in the music jungle, guiding young artistes through his Pakare Paye Arts Centre and sharing valuable notes with established singers in the terrain. He has been a brand ambassador who has represented the country well at various international platforms and done a lot of humanitarian work beyond the stage.

Elvas Mari

As he celebrates his birthday many stakeholders in the arts industry, his corporate partners and music fans at large will indeed celebrate with him. National Arts Council of Zimbabwe director Elvas Mari said he adores Tuku for being a role model to young artistes and there is so much to celebrate about another year of life.

“He has been a champion for the arts sector and the country at large. He has been a role model for artistes across genres and he is leading by example.

“I admire his social responsibility activities and what he has done through his Pakare Paye Arts Centre. We are happy to have such an artiste in the country and we wish him many more blessed years,” said Mari.

Musician Suluman Chimbetu, who has collaborated with Tuku on some songs and shared the stage with him on several occasions, said he was happy to learn a lot from the man who has seen it all in the music industry.

Suluman Chimbetu

“He is my father in the music industry and I am happy to celebrate with him. We have shared a lot and he always inspires me to work hard. He is a father figure to the whole music industry and you can tell from the number of collaborations he has done. He is willing to work with everyone. I say ‘happy birthday to you Samanyanga’,” said Suluman.

Promoter Thompson Dondo of D&G Promotions that is organising Tuku’s September 30 show at Borrowdale Country Manor said their company is humbled to be part of events to celebrate the musician’s 64th birthday.

“We will be there at Pakare Paye to celebrate with him. It is such an honour have time to celebrate another year in the life of a music superstar. Our show next week comes in this wave of celebrations.

Tariro neGitare

“We say ‘happy birthday’ to a hard working man. We invite many of his fans to come to Borrowdale Country Manor on Friday next week to continue with the celebrations and launch ‘Eheka! Nhai Yahwe.’ It is indeed time for mega celebration. Happy 64th birthday mudhara,” said Dondo.

The September 30 show will feature Jah Prayzah, Sam Dondo and Tariro NeGitare. Tariro NeGitare also said her birthday wishes for her mentor.

Jah Prayzah

“Thank you mudhara for mentoring us. I pray that God bless you with many more years so that you may continue inspiring more young people. Despite his great success, mudhara remains humble and I admire such humility. I will be there to celebrate with him. Happy birthday veteran musician and father to many in the industry,” said Tariro NeGitare.

Tuku’s manager Sam Mataure said a number of invited guests will today celebrate with the musician at an event that begins this afternoon at Pakare Paye Arts Centre where the superstar will share experiences of his life and career.

Tichaona Zindoga: Political Editor

There is a flurry of political activity being undertaken by Zimbabwe’s opposition at the moment. Various personages, acting alone – as in one Evan Mawarire – or in concert with others, such as the so-called National Electoral Reform Agenda (NERA) comprising 18 parties, have been putting up all manner of shows in an effort to “put pressure” on the ruling Zanu-PF party.It’s not just traditional, democratic “pressure”. Attempts have been made to foment anarchy and upend the constitutional order in the country in the hope of regime change.

It is not in question that the various actions, whether by the said individuals and lone star activists or the syndicated actions lately under the name of NERA, have received a generous amount of media coverage both locally and internationally.

It is also not in question that the countries in the West that have traditionally supported and funded the opposition have lately been roused (or is it a case of the tail wagging the dog?)

Now, in all this, it remains to be seen whether the opposition can be able to attain regime change via the current efforts.

A good answer to this is that, for all the little dramas and histrionics, nothing will come out of it.

It’s just a silly season with a lot of actors who are following a shallow script.

If the showdown that Evan Mawarire wanted to stage at the United Nations General Assembly a couple of days ago to embarrass President Mugabe and bring Zimbabwe into global spotlight was supposed to be the climax of these recent histrionics, then one cannot help a sense of disappointment.

Mawarire, joined by another social media warrior Patson Dzamara all on the ticket of the good Americans, to rally 5 000 people for a mega demonstration dubbed #ShutDownUN, ended up gathering a measly 19 people.

Not only that, he had to leave the venue of his planned protest with his tail stuck between his legs as he was confronted by hundreds of pro-Zimbabwe, pro-Mugabe activists.

It was all so comically anti-climactic.

But that it is also symbolic.

It will be instructive to note that all the hullaballoo around Zimbabwe over the past couple of months has its origins and agency on social media, standing on the clay feet of hashtags.

The spectacular collapse of #ShutDownUN – or non-vent thereof – is something that has played over as before as Mawarire, who sought to pilfer the glory of a civil servants’ strike in July, has had his own calls ignored.

It’s something that his fans find hard to swallow but the fact is Mawarire is nothing on his own.

Moreso, social media which some quarters appear to believe is so critical is not as powerful as its self-deluded proponents are wont to believe.

But a pattern begins to emerge.

While on one hand Mawarire represents a particular social media-driven demography and political phenomenon, those behind regime change still have the traditional political organisations now to be convened under NERA as a tentative coalition and dry run for a formal convention before 2018.

The aim and strategy for now is to gather all outfits of the opposition under the banner of campaigning for the reform of electoral laws.

The people are essentially united in the belief – and reality – that the opposition cannot defeat Zanu-PF in an election and the excuse is that it is the laws that have the problem.

The tacit admission, though, is that Zanu-PF will have numbers to muster come 2018.

There is one story in a recent NewsDay issue that speaks to this fear, albeit hiding behind the finger.

The story is titled, “Zanu-PF ‘tinkers’ with 2018 voters’ roll”.

The story charges the ruling party “has reportedly set in motion an elaborate plot to influence the structure of the 2018 national voters’ roll and eventually rig the polls”.

The paper then cites a source as saying: “(Political Commissar Saviour) Kasukuwere and (Secretary for Technology Jonathan) Moyo presented a plan that will see Zanu-PF go on a massive membership registration exercise to create an electronic database.

This database will then be used as a template for the national voters’ roll that is to be used in the 2018 elections. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) will structure its roll around the party’s membership register. The Politburo agreed to this and that is why the President was happy with Kasu- kuwere.”

The claim that a party going on a massive voter registration of its members ahead of a watershed election is in the process of rigging that election is pure nonsense.

Significantly though, it reveals a fear in the opposition that it will not match the mobilising power of Zanu-PF.

There have been other fatuous claims.

In February, Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe (RDZ) president Elton Mangoma reportedly said his party would not tolerate the Biometric Voting System (BVS) saying it “will pave way for Zanu- PF and the Rita Makarau-led Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to rig the 2018 elections”.

The opposition has, in fact, been calling for that very same system and some civic society groups actually welcomed the technology.

However, in the wisdom, or lack thereof, of Mangoma, the new system is unwelcome.

“A computer system can be manipulated and we have very few people with the skills to detect such manipulation. This will be giving Zanu-PF and ZEC a free hand to rig with the permission of the political parties.

“ZANU-PF and ZEC control the passwords and they can alter that at any time. These are the very people whom Zimbabweans do not trust. Remember whoever has the authority to add a voter’s data, can change or delete it and none of us can ever detect it.”

The opposition has also made incredible claims about how this new technology can be used to track and intimidate people based on how they would have voted.

They are the same people who once talked about mutating ballots, of course.

In January one newspaper quoted Obert Gutu complaining about voter registration that had been conducted in 2015, especially where there had been by-elections.

He said: “… the MDC strongly suspects that the afore-mentioned voter registration was conducted in a very sinister and shadowy manner that betrays the intention of the Zanu-PF regime to rig the 2018 general election”.

The self-evident truth is that the opposition not only fears the mobilisation capacity of the ruling party, especially in the event of elections, but is also afraid of being dumped, for the umpteenth time by the same machine.

Understandably, the opposition has two ways to deal with this unpleasant prospect: they seek to run away from the elections or if they participate and blame the results on alleged rigging, which miraculously takes place before the actual polls.

Baby Manqoba with mum Shamiso Yikoniko

#Digital Dialogue with Delta Milayo Ndou

One of the most embarrassing moments of my adult life was when I had to ask for help on a very personal matter from a stranger because I had exhausted all other avenues and had to face up to the reality that I was in a total bind. This was several years ago, and very few people knew that I was in dire straits because we are generally not built to show pain, to reveal our struggles or to publicise our personal problems – we paste smiles on our faces and brave each day as it comes hoping the storm passes.

But there are some storms that do not pass and in the end we have to take shelter by calling out for help, we bare our souls and hope that our pleas fall upon empathetic ears and are met with compassionate hearts.

In the digital age, calls for help can take on the form of crowd-funding platforms such as GoFundMe that allows people to raise money for events ranging from celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illness.

Asking people to raise money towards your cause is not a new social phenomenon; for instance, in families they create committees and contribute towards funding a wedding or towards meeting burial expenses.

In the digital age, however, the tools at our disposal enable our pleas for help to transcend our immediate family and friends, they echo globally, reaching wider audiences than ever before and enabling strangers to lend real and meaningful support to distant sufferers.

It takes a lot to share personal pain, but for many of us, if the stakes were high enough, we would rather ask for help than suffer in silence.

I believe the stakes do not come any higher than when the life of your baby is on the line as is the case with #BabyManqoba’s parents.

Having exhausted all avenues to raise the funds necessary to have their baby undergo liver transplant in India within a month, the mother, Shamiso Yikoniko – who happens to be a fine journalist – made a plea for help earlier this week and provided her account details as follows – Bank: FBC Bank (FBC Centre Branch) Account Number: 3070070770125.

I do not think it was an easy decision to make and so I write this article to amplify her plea for help, as has already been done and is being done by many other well-wishers, within and beyond the journalism fraternity.

Saving #BabyManqoba – Every dollar counts

The sum of money required to save Baby Manqoba is quite large but if, by amplifying the mother’s plea, it happens that someone somewhere can make a contribution, no matter how small, writing this article will have been worthwhile. Baby Manqoba Mabhena (whose name means “conqueror”) has an infectious toothless smile and a captivating giggle – but that’s now what most people first notice when they meet her.

Her distinctive yellow eyes draw strangers to often ask the question, “What’s wrong with her eyes?”

Now nine-months-old, Manqoba was born with a condition called biliary atresia, which was diagnosed when she was five-months-old. Currently a GoFundMe (www.gofundme.com) campaign running headlined “New Liver for baby Manqoba” has been set up to carry the plea for help forward while artistes in Bulawayo have mobilised to do a small concert following a sponsored walk to raise funds.

Bulawayo journalists who have approached corporates in the city to pledge towards this fundraising initiative will be participating in the sponsored walk. The response from Bulawayo largely stems from the fact that Baby Manqoba’s father is a greatly admired journalist who, until very recently, worked at The Sunday News publication where he diligently mentored many cub reporters including myself.

According to her mother, Manqoba’s illness is emotionally, physically, spiritually and financially draining and the amount required for the liver transplant is US$50 000 to cover hospital fees, airfares, visa fees and eventualities. We would be grateful for anything that you can give to accord Manqoba a new lease of life and you can do so by depositing into Shamiso Yikoniko’s FBC account (shared above) or sending your contribution to her via Eco Cash on 0772935224. Whatever sum you can spare will be most welcome.

Crowdfunding: Leveraging on the power of a crowd

The success of GoFundMe campaigns rests in that it activates the power of a crowd or a digital community in order to achieve a financial target towards accomplishing a shared goal. On their own, Baby Manqoba’s parents cannot raise the $50 000 they need to save their baby’s life but if enough individuals can contribute what they can towards that goal – then Manqoba stands a fighting chance. Apart from the GoFundMe campaign that is online, offline activities to assist in fund-raising include the sponsored walk by journalists and a small concert by artistes in Bulawayo as well as other initiatives being mooted by well wishers.

Success stories on crowdfunding platforms such as GoFundMe are testament to what can be achieved when one leverages on the power of a crowd and asks for help in a time of need. I am persuaded that no amount is too little to give and I hope that those (near or far) who have the means to answer this plea for help will choose to do so via bank transfer to Shamiso’s FBC account, via EcoCash to her mobile or via the GoFundMe campaign online.

I remarked to a friend that $50 000 is a lot of money, someone who only has $5 (for instance) to give might feel there is little point in contributing such an amount because the gesture may seem futile considering the required amount. But no kind gesture is ever futile and no amount that someone manages to contribute is too insignificant in the quest to help Baby Manqoba. Asking for help is really not an easy thing to do but when the stakes are this high – asking for help is the only thing to do. Please donate if you can.

Delta is Head of Digital at Zimpapers. Follow her on Twitter: @deltandou

Evan Mawarire

The so-called cleric-turned-opposition functionary Evan Mawarire should know that investors are not gullible. Mawarire claimed on Twitter to have met with Nigerian billionaire Mr Alhaji Aliko Dangote in the United States. We are not privy to how they met, whether it was a proper meeting or some kind of door-stepping by the activist who skipped the country a few months ago to exile himself in the United States.Also, we are not told how Mr Dangote responded to Mawarire’s overtures. While we hold no brief for Mr Dangote, we are keen to at least educate the misguided Mawarire about how investors and general corporate governance works, otherwise other innocent youngsters may be led down the dangerous path to doom.

Mawarire gloats that he told Mr Dangote that “in Zimbabwe Government ministers loot investors (sic) money”. How shallow and misguided.

If unchecked the world may interpret the Zimbabwean society based on Mawarire’s myopic and ridiculous actions. The world may paint all of us simpletons based on this shocking thinking by someone who does not understand how business works. Before making a decision on an investment opportunity, investors conduct what is known as a due diligence exercise.

In simple terms, the potential investor looks into the environment and specific business he/she intends to buy or invest into to evaluate its commercial potential, among other issues.

In fact investors worth their salt see opportunities where small minds like Mawarire see imagined looting. It follows, therefore, that before Mr Dangote even came to Zimbabwe he had done some significant research and investigation about Zimbabwe, the political environment, economic situation and specifically on the economic areas in which he had interest. We say this because Mr Dangote is no small investor and more importantly, no stranger to investing in other countries other than Nigeria.

His business empire spans across Africa, in Benin, Ethiopia, Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Togo, Tanzania and Zambia. By the way, this is Africa’s richest man. We are very clear that Mr Dangote, like many other investors, knows who to listen to and engage before making any investment decision and therefore elements of regime change such as Mawarire are small fish in his line of business.

Coming from one of the biggest economies on the continent imagine what Mr Dangote gets to hear on a daily basis? Again, Mr Dangote has invested in rougher terrains when compared to peaceful Zimbabwe. Apart from attempting to drag Mr Dangote into his lawlessness, the renegade Mawarire committed a cardinal sin which the people of Zimbabwe must judge him by.

Mawarire claims to have told Mr Dangote that Zimbabwe Government minister loot investors’ money. By extension Mawarire is attempting to drive potential investors away from Zimbabwe.

But what evidence does Mawarire have to prove this? Why is he not sharing the evidence of the looting with the people so that the law may take its course? Again, why is this claim only surfacing from the comfort of the Americas?

Is this not part of an elaborate campaign to mudsling Zimbabwe designed to please his way into the hearts and pockets of his handlers? Could this be just the behaviour of someone singing for his supper?

Critically, does Mawarire even understand the impact of keeping investors away from Zimbabwe? This we ask not because we believe that potential investors such as Mr Dangote would give heed to Mawarire’s malicious claims, but just so he knows what he is calling on Zimbabwe.

In short, Mawarire is calling for sanctions against the people of Zimbabwe. Sanctions against the Zimbabwean youths who are unemployed and against those in colleges who are ready to graduate! He is calling for sanctions against mothers who are toiling day and night to earn an honest living, trying to raise even school fees that Mawarire shed crocodile tears for.

In other words, Mawarire is telling potential investors to take their money elsewhere so that the unemployed may remain unemployed, so that those gainfully employed may lose their jobs because without fresh capital for retooling and expansion, companies may be forced to cut down on staff!

Is this not criminal?

By his actions, Mawarire wants Zimbabwe to dry up in terms of foreign direct investment. But, do we not see the opposition narrative here?

The old adage that birds of the same feather flock together is spot on when describing Zimbabwe’s opposition leaders. Isn’t this the same narrative with MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai when he also called for sanctions against Zimbabwe?

Mawarire has decided to walk the Tsvangirai road and we all know where it leads! We do not want to one day quote the famous saying; “hoist by own petard” in Mawarire’s face. Investors of repute will always come to Zimbabwe despite Mawarire’s campaigns and those of his handlers. We see clearly the hand of Mawarire’s benefactors in all this. We know that investors are smarter than social media campaigns of dwarfish clerics in giant robes.

They are not gullible.

Munyaradzi Kereke

Fidelis Munyoro : Chief Court Reporter

Bikita West legislator Munyaradzi Kereke, who is serving an effective 10 years in jail for raping his then 11-year-old niece, on Wednesday launched an application for bail pending appeal at the High Court. The bail hearing will be heard tomorrow. Kereke’s lawyers, Mutandiro, Chitsanga and Associates, have hired Advocate Thabani Mpofu to argue the matter.In an application filed in the High Court, Kereke wants the court to allow him to deposit with the clerk of court, Harare magistrate’s court, a sum of $2000.

He also proposed to surrender title deeds of a single immovable property and passport to the clerk of court.

In addition, he would be amenable to continue residing at number 12 St Andrews, Hatfield in Harare, until the finalisation of the appeal and other stringent conditions.

“Applicant has very strong prospects which cannot induce abscondment,” said Adv Mpofu.

“The fact that he has been convicted is, accordingly, inconsequential. Applicant is firmly established in Zimbabwe and can make no living outside the country. His huge family and economic interests are all in the country. He would lose everything were he to abscond.”

Details to follow….

Dr Misheck Sibanda

Herald Correspondent—
Government should be “disability inclusive” in policy formulation and implementation as efforts are now under way to domesticate the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda said. In a speech read on his behalf by his deputy Dr Ray Ndhlukula at the National Disability Expo, Dr Sibanda said in order to make the convention meaningful, persons with

disabilities must be viewed as in need of empowerment rather than charity. As such, he said other Constitutional provisions including a host of other rights such as the right to state- funded education, psychological and functional treatment, employment as well as the right to be treated with dignity, must be upheld.

“In 2013, we ratified the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. This convention, while stressing on the equality of all human beings, is a concise elaboration of the rights of persons with disabilities,” he said.

“The convention also stresses on issues of universal designs and reasonable accomodation. If these principles are embedded in our policies, persons with disabilities will be able to participate at an equal level with their non- disabled counterparts. “It is with this in mind that work is currently under way to domesticate the convention to be part of our law in keeping with article 34 of the Constitution.”

Dr Sibanda said the convention also stresses on non-discrimination as a foundation of a just society, encourages the active and meaningful involvement and participation of persons with disabilities in all spheres of life and that persons with disabilities must be involved in decision making on issues concerning them. Dr Sibanda said this will also greatly improve the situation of those with hearing impairment and have always borne the brunt of exclusion in the dissemination of information.

“In May, 2013, we adopted a new Constitution which introduced disability as a rights issue. In terms of the Constitution, sign language is now an official language. This means that we must quickly ensure that there are sign language interpreters in important places to which the public has access,” he said.

Acting national advisor on disability issues to the President and Cabinet, who is also Health Advisor to the President and Cabinet Dr Timothy Stamps said international conventions and City by- laws must be domesticated and activated for people with disabilities. He castigated council for not implementing its own by-laws which requires it to set aside 3,5 percent employment opportunities for the disabled.

Theme of the expo was: “Urgent Need for the Implementation of the United Nations Convention on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities for Inclusive Policies.” Disability activist Mr Gift Mabhaudhi implored Government to make assessable to people with disabilities land, ablution facilities in the Central Business District as well as the creation of employment opportunities.

Present at the event were permanent secretaries, senators, representatives of different organisations as well as schools for children with disabilities.

Minister Mushohwe

Lloyd Gumbo Senior Reporter—
United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Harry Thomas Jr is a hypocrite who rushes to castigate local law enforcement agents for using minimum force to quell illegal demonstrations, but turns a blind eye when police officers in his country kill his kith and kin, a Cabinet minister has said. Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Christopher Mushohwe said the callous killing of a disabled black American Keith Lamonte Scott in North Carolina, US, on Tuesday was clear testimony of how the American ambassador has no moral ground to criticise Zimbabwe

when police use tear gas and water cannons to crush illegal demonstrations. Dr Mushohwe’s remarks follow a string of shootings of black people by US police that have stoked outrage in most parts of that country. The killing of Scott came a few days after a white police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, again killed another black man Terence Crutcher whom video evidence indicates was raising his hands above his head to show the police that he was not armed.

Said Minister Mushohwe yesterday: “The issue of the wanton killing of African-Americans and the Latinos in the US is a very common feature. In fact, it happens almost every week. “But the African-Americans just like our dear ambassador (Mr Thomas Jr) here do not open their eyes to those callous slaughter of people of colour.”

He said statistics indicated that American police had killed hundreds of African-Americans and Latinos in the last two years alone. Minister Mushohwe said it is therefore disturbing that Ambassador Thomas Jr rushes to castigate the police here when they use water cannons and teargas on illegal demonstrators who loot shops and destroy property.

“When the American ambassador, for example, accredited to this great nation stands up and condemns us because water cannons have been used on some people and not talk about the cold-blooded and callous murder of people of his colour in his own home-backyard then you begin to wonder whether this is not a racist comment. It’s no longer to do with human rights.

“We would expect the American ambassador to make sure that he talks about these evil, brutal slaughter of African-Americans in the United States and condemn his Government. Not to just come here and try to meddle into our internal affairs.

“We know who these people are when they come here, we are compelled to believe that they come here with an agenda to cause regime change. They send a character of the ambassador who is an African-American to come here.

“He has a short nose like ours and one would think that he thinks like an African. But no, when a white police officer shoots a man or woman of colour back in his home country, to him it does not matter. But if you take a bucket of water and throw it at the opposition here then it becomes a criminal offence.

“We want to hear these people if they are really concerned about human rights and democracy condemn what is happening in the United States. What even makes it worse is that those who are complaining by and large are even white but a man of colour who sees his brother being callously shot and a disabled person for that matter does not,” said Minister Mushohwe.

He added that it was strange that some of the most critics of police actions in Zimbabwe did not condemn the destruction of Government property and looting of shops of ordinary people trying to eke a living.

Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa addresses the media after touring the Zimgold plant in Harare yesterday. —(Picture by Tawanda Mudimu)

Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau—
The recently launched Command Agriculture has been oversubscribed by both farmers and funders, with Government setting October 15 as the deadline by which farmers should have received inputs. In an interview on Wednesday after donating an assortment of groceries to the less-privileged in Kwekwe to mark his 70th birthday, Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa said agriculture was the country’s primary economy, hence the need to revive it.

Read more:

• Command agric creates buzz in Kariba
• Manicaland gears for Command Agric
• Govt seeks funds for command agric
• VP Mnangagwa calls for unity on command agric
• Thumbs-up for command agric
• Boost for command agriculture
• Command agric takes course

He said agriculture revival would impact positively on the country’s industry, which had been facing challenges. “The Command Agriculture programme has been oversubscribed and as we speak, Mashonaland East Province is leading with over 117 percent of farmers wanting to be considered under the programme.

“Midlands Province is at about 96 percent. We, however, have a province that is not doing well but I won’t mention it by name. We also have potential funders who are very much willing to provide funding. We are still weighing options to see which funders to take on board, those who are offering reasonable conditions,” said the Acting President.

He said Government was committed and determined to ensuring that Command Agriculture succeeded. The Acting President said people should not compare it with previous initiatives, which failed to yield intended goals.

“We are working flat out on this programme, more than eight hours a day and farmers are being vetted to see what each single farmer needs. “Others will need inputs only while others will need diesel for example and they will sign contracts which will tell them what they are getting and from where,” he said.

Individual farmers will require different things and once they are given, they will be strictly supervised to ensure that it is a success.” Turning to the donation, the Acting President said every Zimbabwean should always remember the needy or less-privileged people in society.

The assortment of groceries he donated included mealie-meal, cooking oil, beans and milk.

Zimbabweans value President Mugabe’s consistency of leadership and vision that have made Zimbabwe a focal point of solid resistance to all forms of colonial subjugation.

BOTSWANA celebrates its Golden Jubilee on September 30 and we wish the Batswana all the best as they reflect on the past and introspect on the future of their country. And we know on that special day, they will pay homage to their founding fathers among them the incumbent president’s father Sir Seretse Khama.We share more than just membership of Sadc and the African Union with our brothers to the South West, but some of our people and communities that were cut-off from each other due to colonial boundaries that our forebears had no role in drawing as they were not party to the Berlin Conference of 1884/5 that partitioned Africa for easy plunder.

Despite the resultant physical barriers, many of our people have maintained and strengthened ties through inter-marriages.

So September 30 is as much a day for the Batswana as it is for Zimbabwe which is why we take issue with anyone trying to spoil it, particularly a story carried by Reuters that purports to quote Batswana leader Retired Lieutenant-General Seretse Khama Ian Khama as calling on President Mugabe to step down ostensibly because he is too old to preside over Zimbabwe.

We would like to believe that Reuters misquoted the Batswana leader and just like the brigands who drew the colonial borders that separate our people and communities, wanted to create a chasm between Zimbabwe and Botswana ahead of Botswana’s Golden Jubilee celebrations to which President Mugabe is invited.

We thus call on our brothers and sisters in Gaborone to set the record straight.

However, should the Reuters story be true and for the avoidance of doubt and the benefit of opposition parties in Zimbabwe that have been quick to laud the Reuters story, which we call a Reuters story till the Office of the Presidency of Botswana confirms otherwise, President Mugabe’s age has never been an issue in Zimbabwe which is why our Constitution has no upper-age restriction for the Presidency.

Zimbabweans value President Mugabe’s consistency of leadership and vision that have made Zimbabwe a focal point of stolid resistance to all forms of colonial subjugation.

If age was an issue for leadership, our Constitution would certainly have a proviso and the millions of Zimbabweans who endorsed President Mugabe in the July 31, 2013 harmonised polls would have said otherwise.

President Mugabe is a revered senior statesman in Africa, the last man standing from the venerated class of African nationalists who spearheaded the decolonisation of the continent and is today showing the way to holistic independence for the whole developing world.

This is why his age has not been an issue in Sadc or the African Union, which he both chaired as recent as 2015.

It is certainly not an issue for the ruling Zanu-PF that has endorsed him for the 2018 harmonised elections and the millions of Zimbabweans who continue to value and cherish his leadership.

In fact only this week, we saw Diaspora Africans — under the banner of the December 12 Movement — march through the streets of New York in appreciation of President Mugabe’s visionary leadership.

The fact that detractors harp about President Mugabe’s age as if, like the mythical Benjamin Button, they age backwards themselves, shows that they have precious little to fault him.

Elita Chikwati : Senior Reporter
An earthquake measuring 5,6 on the Richter scale was recorded in Mozambique and felt in Chipinge, Manicaland Province, on Thursday evening.In a statement yesterday, Meteorological Services Department seismologist Mr Kwangwari Marimira said the earthquake occurred at 7:06pm.

“The earthquake was felt in Chipinge and surrounding areas. A number of people in Chipinge felt the earthquake. They felt the movements, heard the rumbling and the shaking and most were frightened. Mozambique and surrounding areas in Manicaland are within the line of weakness of the Great East African Rift System, which extends all the way from the Red Sea in the north to Manicaland and into Mozambique in the south.

“We recorded a number of foreshocks on September 21 thus indicating how susceptible the area is to earthquakes,” he said.

Read more:

• Earthquake rattles Mozambique, Chipinge
• SA earthquake: Zim safe

He said earthquakes were the most destructive natural hazards that occurred in most countries and killed thousands every year.

In 2006 during another Mozambique earthquake of 7.2 which was felt throughout Zimbabwe, some buildings were destroyed in Chipinge.

“In Zimbabwe in 2016 alone we have recorded a number of earthquakes and some were felt in Kariba, Karoi, and Bulawayo and in Chipinge.

“On August 23 2016 an earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale was experienced north of Karoi Town at 1502hrs.

“The main causes of earthquakes in Zimbabwe are largely plate tectonics closely related to the east African rift system, mining and reservoir induced.

“We have recorded a number of mining induced earthquakes in Matabeleland South, especially in Gwanda and also in the Midlands,” he said.

According to Wikipedia, an earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the perceptible shaking of the surface of the earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust that creates seismic waves.

Tendai Mugabe Senior Reporter
Preparations for the 16th Zanu-PF Annual National People’s Conference to be held in Masvingo in December are on course with all the party’s provinces raising resources to ensure that the indaba is a resounding success.

Each province has been tasked to raise at least $50 000 for the conference, where more than 5 000 delegates are expected to attend.

Provincial chairman of the host province Cde Amasa Nhenjana told The Herald on Wednesday that they were working round the clock to ensure that the conference lived to its billing. He said everything was progressing according to plan and senior party members were frequenting the province to assess the venue and other facilities to be used during the conference.

“Everything is on course and progressing well in terms of our preparations,” he said.

“Every province has been asked to raise $50 000 and most of the provinces are just about to reach that target. Cdes Ignatius Chombo (administration) and Saviour Kasukuwere (commissariat) had visited the province to assess the venue.”

Cde Nhenjana said they had secured enough accommodation for the delegates and modalities were also being worked out to ensure that there would be enough food.

Said Cde Nhenjana: “The leadership has written to us requesting that we give them a list of challenges that we are facing as a province in terms of our preparations. There are one or two issues that need to be attended to with regards to the venue and there is a committee working on that. We feel there is need for the provision of more ablution facilities and water at the venue.

“I can safely say that apart from those two issues, everything else is on course and by the time of the conference, we will be ready to host the meeting as a province.”

Dates and theme of the conference were still to be announced.

The theme is usually proposed by the Politburo and then taken to the Central Committee, which is the party’s highest decision making organ outside Congress for approval. As a build up to the annual event, all provinces would come up with their resolutions that would be presented to the conference for possible adoption.

President Mugabe in his official capacity as the Zanu-PF First Secretary and President, is the one who opens the conference.

Masvingo was chosen to host this year’s conference after successfully hosting the 21st February Movement at the Great Zimbabwe monuments.

The 21st February Movement celebrations are held every year after being founded in 1986 to instil President Mugabe’s revolutionary legacy in younger generations.

Last year, the Zanu-PF National People’s Conference was held in Victoria Falls.

Minister Mushohwe

Tendai Mugabe Senior Reporter

Government says it has been shocked by the strange behaviour displayed by Botswana President Mr Ian Khama who this week chose to throw away the tenets of diplomatic engagement and publicly criticised President Mugabe.In an interview with Reuters news agency, Mr Khama provocatively said President Mugabe was now too old and should retire.

This is despite the fact that President Mugabe was constitutionally-elected and has a running term until 2018.

Read More:

• EDITORIAL COMMENT: Come on Reuters spoilsports, stuff it!
• Khama should shut up on Zimbabwe
• Step down, Khama tells Tsvangirai
• Khama urged to emulate father

Responding to Mr Khama’s remarks, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Chris Mushohwe said the sentiments by the Botswana leader were taboo in African etiquette and diplomatic parlance.

“The Government of Zimbabwe is shocked by this uncharacteristic behaviour on the part of President Khama who until last month, was at the helm of Sadc, and should know better that you don’t use the media platform to criticise fellow Sadc leaders as he has just done with President Mugabe,” he said.

“It is a taboo in African etiquette and diplomacy. Cde Mugabe has at all times cautioned African leaders against attacking each other in public as this would serve to strengthen the hand of Western imperialism at the expense of African unity.

“In the case of President Khama, we need not to point out that he should have known better to keep his views about President Mugabe’s age and administration to himself.”

Dr Mushohwe said anyone who applauded Mr Khama for such untoward and unbecoming behaviour, was not only an enemy of Zimbabwe, but the entire region.

“All those patting him on the back for a job well done are hypocrites who have sold their souls to the devil and do not mean well neither for Zimbabwe nor this sub-region,” he said.

“They are agents of regime change driving a foreign political agenda against national and regional interests. President Mugabe is a liberation icon and solid statesman who has fought for democracy and total emancipation not only for Zimbabwe, but even the African continent as a whole.”

Dr Mushohwe continued: “The African position and that of Sadc is that African leaders are elected to lead by the people they seek to lead through the democratic process of an election.

“Similarly, it follows that the same leaders can only be removed from office through the same process. Need we ask, why is Zimbabwe not allowed to choose its leaders and change them using the same democratic process?

“Why should President Mugabe be removed from office unconstitutionally as President Khama’s sentiments seem to suggest? President Mugabe’s term of office runs until 2018 and anybody suggesting that he should leave office now is an enemy of the people of Zimbabwe who continue to rally behind his popular leadership.

“The race to the 2018 harmonised elections has just begun.”

Dr Mushohwe further stressed that if Mr Khama had issues with President Mugabe, he knew the proper channels to engage his counterpart.

Said Dr Mushohwe: “If he felt so passionately that he needed to express those views, engaging his elder stateman and neighbour bilaterally was the appropriate route to take.

“Opportunities for him to discuss matters in private with President Mugabe are there. The two leaders met recently at the African Union Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, Sadc Summit in Mbabane, Swaziland and last Tuesday sat side by side at the inauguration of President Edgar Lungu in Lusaka, Zambia where President Mugabe spoke glowingly about his late father, Sir Seretse Khama.

“Why didn’t he raise his concerns with him then? We sincerely hope that this will be the last time that the Botswana leader opened his mouth to bad-mouth President Mugabe and fellow African leaders in the manner that he did.”

Paidamoyo Chipunza Senior Health Reporter
Harare Central Hospital has come under fire for reportedly exposing 12 patients, including a pregnant woman, to the effects of ionising radiation, The Herald can reveal.

Radiation effects can lead to cancer induction, sterility, cataracts as well as manifestation of genetic or hereditary effects that can contribute to children being born with defects.

At high levels of exposure, one can experience blood changes, radiation burns, nausea and even death.

Also read:

• Harare Hospital suspends surgeries

The hospital’s actions contravene sections of the Radiation Protection Act and Medical Licensing Regulations.

Information gathered by The Herald showed that the hospital installed a CT Scanner serial number 9531 sometime in May this year and invited patients through social media requiring CT Scan to come in for free services.

“Harare hospital is doing CT scans for free this week. If you know anyone who needs one, kindly tell them to go with their CT scan request and medical records,” reads the WhatsApp message.

At least 12 patients — including a pregnant woman and four children below the age of 10 years — responded to the call for free CT scan, which were all done at the hospital despite it having no valid licence to install and use radiation in accordance with the law.

The Radiation Protection Act 14 (a) reads: “No practice shall be adopted, introduced, conducted, discontinued or ceased and no radiation source within a practice shall as applicable, be mined, milled, processed, designed, manufactured, constructed, assembled, acquired, imported, exported, distributed, sold, loaned, hired, received, sited, located, commissioned, possessed, used, operated, maintained, repaired, transferred, decommissioned, disassembled, transported, stored or disposed of except in accordance with prescribed requirements.”

Section 15 (c) further reads: “For purposes of this Act, any department of Government, public or statutory body, or board or local authority, which for the purpose of performing its functions, uses or is required to use radiation shall comply with the provisions of this Act and any prescribed requirements in the same manner and to the same extent as any other person using radiation.”

Sources at HCH alleged that apart from having no licence, the hospital failed to notify regulatory authorities of their intention to import, possess or use a CT scanner in line with local requirements.

It is further alleged that the room that housed the machine was also not design-approved by local authorities to conduct such high risk practice.

The equipment was also not assessed locally to ensure safety for patients, workers and the public, fully exposing all those who took part in the free programme to the effects of ionising radiation, which include different types of cancers.

The hospital is also facing allegations of failing to inform physicians and machine operators of the patients’ conditions.

Without dismissing allegations of contravening the law, HCH chief executive officer Ms Peggy Zvavamwe, said no patients were put at risk because quality assurance tests were done by both the manufacturer and the hospital’s own physicists.

“They (manufacturer) only handover such equipment for use when they have done necessary quality checks, including simulations on mannequins (dummies), and are ready to guarantee these.

“Having followed such a process they handed over the CT scanner equipment to HCH for us to begin user orientation under their watchful eye,” said Ms Zvavamwe.

She said locally, counter verification was done by their own nuclear physicist.

“Of importance is the fact that this verification confirmed that configuration had been done to the acceptable parameters by the installation team from the manufacturer and no adjustments were made on the original settings attesting to the assured safety issues.

“We do not say this to justify any procedural omissions that may have been made in terms of existing radiation protection laws but just to give assurance that no client or staff of ours was put at risk,” said Ms Zvavamwe.

She said the procedural oversight in using radiation equipment was acknowledged and the hospital had since presented its evidence to the Radiation Protection Authority of Zimbabwe for verification and possible licencing .

“We await release of our license, which we expect soon so that this much needed technology is availed to our clients,” she said.

RPAZ chief executive officer Mr Reward Severa, yesterday said it was important for all those who deal with radiation, including Government departments to observe the law because it was put in place to keep patients safe from the effects of radiation.

“Medical facilities that do not follow the law are not only putting patients at risk, they are also compromising on the occupational health and safety of medical personnel as well as exposing the public that visits these facilities accompanying patients,” said Mr Severa.

Radiation technologies are useful in a number of applications that contribute to socio-economic development.

In Zimbabwe, radiation technologies are used in industrial process control, diamond sorting, agriculture, baggage screening, veterinary, dental and medical radiology, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy.

However, exposure to ionising radiation is known to have adverse effects on people, both present and future generations and the environment, hence the need to regulate its use.

Fidelis Munyoro Chief Court Reporter
Workers are empowered by the law to apply for sequestration of companies in circumstances where management fails to honour obligations such as retrenchment packages, salary arrears and pensions among others, labour experts said yesterday.

The firing of workers, the lawyers said, was counter-productive as core competences at companies were being forced to migrate to other countries where job security was more guaranteed.

Sequestration is the taking of someone’s property, voluntarily (by deposit) or involuntarily (by seizure), by court agents or into the possession of a third party, awaiting the outcome of a trial in which ownership of that property is at issue.

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Labour law expert Mr Caleb Mucheche said the new law was being abused, especially the retrenchment provision under Section 12 (C) of the Labour (Amendment) Act.

“It takes away the procedural barriers to retrenchment, which previously made retrenchment very cumbersome in terms of steps the employer had to go through and in terms of retrenchment packages,” said Mr Mucheche.

“The legal implication is that the employers’ right to retrench and compensation application is now a statutory position, hence serious abuse by employers.”

Mr Mucheche said to avoid abuse of the law there was need for urgent amendment of the Labour Act to strike a balance between the competing interest of the workers and employers.

“The law should provide for job security, which is a crucial issue for companies to be productive,” he said.

“The absence of job security is counter-productive as it is demotivating to workers and the country is faced with loss of skilled labour force.”

Another labour law expert, Mr Tendai Toto, said company management should be held accountable for wrongful and reckless conduct that plunges corporate entities into illiquid status.

“Corporate law recognised civil liability claims by creditors (workers included) against company management and directors for damages arising from complicit, acts of commission and omission, fraudulent and negligent business trading practices that lead to actual and potential loss of employment by the workforce and losses to creditors,” he said.

“While the burden of proof is onerous in claims of this nature, it will take one determined and astute creditor and shareholders to clean up the mess by taking corporate management to account,” he said.

He said management often refrained from taking responsibility and accountability on many corporate downturns.

“Retrenchments, layoffs and salary cuts for middle and junior workers are sacrificial excuses employed by management as a cover-up of their own complicit, incompetence and intentionally wrong investment priorities and the lack of vision and due diligence,” said Mr Toto

“Employers through the uninformed myopic and selfish thinking by senior management and company executives believe that workers are shelf tools of trade that are disposable without due regard and recognition to the importance of a motivated human capital to productivity and profitability.”

With the prevailing harsh economic climate workers bear the brunt of poor corporate governance by top managers. Top management at some companies have conducted job evaluation without the involvement of employees and went on to downgrade some employees, affecting their salaries and taking away a host of allowances that they have been enjoying.

The July 17, 2015 Supreme Court judgment, which allowed employers to terminate employment contracts on notice, has provided a perfect sanctuary for uninformed top managers to hide their shortcomings.

They are content with a mindset that when things seem to be going in the negative, the obvious and common “witch is the workforce”, who all of a sudden become a liability to the firm.