CHURCHES have been challenged to join the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) and weed out perpetrators of the vice among congregants.

BY PATRICIA SIBANDA

The calls were made at the launch of Speakout campaign against GBV organised by non-governmental organisation, Emthonjeni Women’s Forum (EWF) in conjunction with various church organisations in Bulawayo on Wednesday.

United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) leader Japhter Sibanda said GBV was rife in places of worship.

“There should be sensitisation of both communities and religious groups, especially the church as GBV is not in the world, but in the church also. GBV should be spoken about in church through Bible studies and sermons. Gone are the days when we used to speak in tongues among people who are survivors of GBV and remain irrelevant to them,” he said.

Sibanda applauded EWF for carrying out awareness campaigns and training church volunteers on GBV.
“A methodology by Sasa Faith was adopted by EWF to reach out to communities where about 60 participants were invited for training to be ambassadors of change. The community activists are trained and sent out to spread awareness against GBV,” he said.

EWF director Skhathele Mathambo said the campaign focuses on educating church goers about violence.

“It’s national because it’s here in Bulawayo, Harare and also has a group that is being trained in Mutare. In Bulawayo, we have 60 community activists from different churches and the good thing about this group is it does not only focus on conventional churches, but we also take into consideration apostolic faith churches,” she said.

Mathambo said some of the community activists were rehabilitated convicts.

Union for the Development of Apostolic and Zionist in Africa co-ordinator Anna Nemapfuti-Ngwenya said: “We no longer want to be the victims; we are here today because we want change. This time we are not going to be quiet, but we will speak out and let the world know. Many people have known us as people who do not engage in activities such as these, but today we are here and we want to be better and be educated people who know more about GBV.”

MIDLANDS Provincial Affairs minister Larry Mavima has warned that machete wars between artisanal miners may degenerate into a national conflict if not nipped in the bud.

BY BRENNA MATENDERE/ SIMBARASHE SITHOLE

Officially opening the Chiefs Council meeting hosted by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) in Gweru on Tuesday, Mavima implored traditional leaders to instil the culture of peace in artisanal miners.

“We often hear that the artisanal miners are now a menace in communities. They are using machetes to injure people. Everyday there now seems to be such cases. We will all perish if these cases of violence persist. We need peace in the country. If these small cases of violence are allowed to go on, they will become a national conflict,” he said.

Recently, the Zimbabwe Peace Project released a report indicating that between August and October this year, 105 people died in machete wars, while hundreds others were injured by Zanu PF-linked terror groups. The report said the gangsters terrorised the country’s gold-rich regions, committing heinous crimes on the back of immunity because of their government and ruling party links. In some instances, the perpetrators have been used by senior politicians to victimise opposition party supporters.

Machete war cases have been reported mainly in Midlands, but lately they have spread to other areas such as Mazowe and Kadoma.

“At the end of the day we are all Zimbabweans. We are one nation. We must find solutions to our differences without killing each other. We might have different political persuasions, but we have one country. Peace is the bedrock of any successful nation,” he said.

Chief Ngungumbani, the head of Midlands Chiefs said the traditional leaders should inculcate the spirit of ubuntu, among their subjects in order to curb the scourge.

“In some countries in the Middle East they have deepened culture. Some of the countries use Sharia law, but that is their culture. Let us develop our own culture of ubuntu to avoid such menaces as machete wars,” he said.

Police officer commanding Midlands operations, Assistant Commissioner Peter Sibanda said: “Anyone who commits a crime must be arrested. We have been doing that, but if there are complaints let them be brought forward and we will act.”

Police in Mashonaland Central province revealed that they arrested 53 artisanal gold miners at Jumbo Mine in Mazowe and Kitsiyatota in Bindura for illegal mining activities last week.

The arrests are being carried out under an ongoing blitz to net those engaged in unlawful mining operations throughout Mashonaland Central province. Twenty-seven vehicles have also been impounded in the operation.

Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Milton Mundembe confirmed the arrests.

“I can confirm the arrests of 53 illegal miners and the impounding of 27 cars at Mazowe Mine and Kitsiyatota in Bindura,” Mundembe said.

At Delta Gold’s Eureka Mine in Guruve, one of the artisanal gold miners was shot on the leg last week when he tried to attack security guards in a gold scuffle.

Chriswell Mushongahande (27) of Muroiwa village under Chief Chipuriro in Guruve is battling for life at Guruve District Hospital after he was reportedly shot by a security guard Paradzai Nyamutsenga (51).

Police officer commanding Guruve district, Robert Torevasei confirmed the incident, saying they are assisting in protecting the mine.

“One of the artisanal miner was shot by the guards after he tried to attack them using an iron bar, last week. The police had to use tear smoke to disperse them as they ran amok at the mine,” Torevasei said.

He reiterated that the illegal miners were slowly giving up on the mine after police intervention although the force was slowly moving away to focus on their core business.

“Illegal miners are now coming in small numbers since our intervention and most of the crashing machines were removed, but we are also slowly withdrawing our services because it not our core business.”

The mine is currently under care and maintenance hence a lot of local illegal miners are flocking to the place to prospect for gold.

AGRO-SEED firm, Syngenta, is rolling out a nation-wide training programme aimed at equipping Agritex workers with expertise on modern smart agriculture practices to improve production and yields.

By Everson Mushava

The company, as part of its corporate social responsibility programme, is providing free training to Agritex officers on emerging trends on chemical handling and application as well as new, drought-tolerant seed varieties.

One of the country’s major producers and suppliers of crop seed, insecticides and herbicides, Syngenta recently launched a new insecticide used in seed treatment and is especially potent in fighting fall armyworm, which had been wreaking havoc on the farms for the past three years.
The tissue-eating pest is very difficult to control as it is highly resistant to other chemicals and, so far, the only most effective way of controlling it has been biological.

In an interview on the sidelines of one such workshop in Bindura on Tuesday, Syngenta training officer Moses Kudanga said the programme was meant to equip farmers with requisite knowledge on chemicals use and seed varieties.

“The trainings that Syngenta organises with Agritex are for the purposes of equipping farmers with knowledge on the use of chemicals and seed varieties,” Kudanga said.

He said each extension worker would have to deal with between 200 and 300 farmers, who will then pass the information to other farmers.

Joe Mukanda, an agriculture training consultant working with Syngenta said the significance of the training workshop was that they would bring technology to the farmers through empowering Agritex officers who deal with farmers on a daily basis.

“We are trying to train farmers through extension workers so that we equip them with knowledge, because we have had problems where farmers buy products from suppliers they don’t know and they will come back to say they are not working,” Mukanda said.

Mashonaland Central provincial agronomist Jaidi Izah said: “As Agritex, our officers have been lacking. This in-house training which we always encourage and with the movement of technology, our farmers need to be equipped with advanced knowledge. So when we see our farmers receiving this sort of training, we know it is going to help them to have some agronomic knowledge.”

Government is working on policies that will ensure improvement in the use of technology in service delivery, particularly in the health sector and government departments, a senior official in the Information Communication Technology and Cyber Security ministry has said.

BY PRECIOUS CHIDA

Speaking on the sidelines of the telecommunication symposium at the University of Zimbabwe on Wednesday, deputy director in the ministry, James Madya said there was need to develop flexible policies that respond to the technological changes on a regular basis.

He said the ministry was already working on new policies among them, the child online protection policy, e-west government and handling policy and the e-health strategy policy.

“The implementation of e-government, e-health, e-commerce and other online transactions will improve service delivery and, therefore, a co-ordinated roll out of ICTs promises a realistic opportunity to bridge the digital divide and help deal with the inequalities and unequal services in the country,” Madya said.

He said government should review policies that hinder convergence to enable and drive the uptake of new technologies.

“Further disruptive technological changes also known as emerging technologies, are in the horizon, review timelines on approval of policies needs to be shorter so that we can have flexible policies that respond to these technological changes,” Madya said.

Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), director of legal services, Cecilia Nyamutswa said the dynamic nature of the telecommunications sector required regulators to work together

“Convergence makes it difficult for Potraz alone to handle regulatory issues in the sector, therefore, the telecommunications sector cannot be regulated only by one regulator due to the dynamic nature of the sector,” she said.

“Stakeholders should, therefore, do more than criticise our laws, but help Potraz build and streamline the laws to make our sector efficient and inclusive.”

Meikles Limited says it has agreed to sell-off its flagship Meikles Hotel to ASB Hospitality Zimbabwe, a subsidiary of the Dubai based Albwardy Investment for US$20 million.

BY BUSINESS REPORTER

The 312-bed five-star hotel has been impacted by low occupancy rates and lack of investment in refurbishment and back of house services. Albwardy Investment is a firm involved in a range of business sectors from food distribution and retail, construction, shipyards, and hospitality.

“The consideration for the Transaction will be US$20 million. The Transaction qualifies as a Category 1 classification and requires shareholder approval in a General Meeting scheduled to take place on 13 December 2019 in Harare, Zimbabwe,” Meikles Limited, in statement on Friday announced.

“The Meikles Hotel has over the past two decades been impacted by relatively low occupancy rates and a subsequent lack of investment in refurbishment and back of house services. In order for the Hotel to compete with other leading hotels in southern Africa, foreign currency denominated long-term capital, the scale of which cannot be provided by Meikles is needed.”

Meikles Limited said the investment would finance the modernisation of the whole operation, as well as general infrastructure improvements, which they hoped would restore it to international Five-Star standards.

“Meikles will seek to generate further value in its remaining assets through the re-investment of the proceeds from the Transaction in the agriculture and hospitality segments of the Group’s other businesses,” part of the Meikles Limited statement read.

The low occupancy rates and a subsequent lack of investment in refurbishment and back of house services are largely due to the continued downturn of the economy.

In regards, to its low occupancy rates, rising hotel charges against shrinking disposable income have left many unable to afford staying at the iconic hotel that was established in 1915.

Concerning the lack of investment, the current political climate in the country has increased the risk of doing business in Zimbabwe which continues to deter investors.

Commenting on the disposal, executive chairman of Meikles, John Moxon said the acquisition of the Meikles Hotel by Albwardy Investment was a win-win for all stakeholders.

“The Group’s financial position is further strengthened and allows Meikles to invest in its broader business portfolio, whilst the entrance of a leading global hotel and hospitality group of the calibre of Albwardy Investment provides security and long-term sustainability for Zimbabwe as a growing regional hub for tourism and business,” he said.

Albwardy Investment’s hospitality portfolio Director, Laurie Ward added the Meikles Hotel provided a unique opportunity to invest in Zimbabwe’s leisure and business markets as a first mover.

“The refurbishment of this strategic asset will bring much needed investment into Harare and profile both the city and country on the international stag,” he said.

ZIMBABWE Urban and Rural Council Nurses Workers Union secretary-general Tedious Chisango yesterday said increased reliance on backyard midwives in the face of a three-month industrial action by doctors at public hospitals had exposed mothers and infants to infection.

BY RUVIMBO MUCHENJE

Chisango said often after giving birth, mothers can experience complications that backyard midwives have no capacity to handle.

“After delivery, a mother loses blood and may develop post-partum haemorrhage and those backyard midwives cannot solve that,” he said. “We are very much against those backyard deliveries.”

Chisango’s remarks came in the wake of reports that a backyard midwife, Esther Zinyoro, has helped deliver over 100 babies in her makeshift midwifery.

Desperation has driven hundreds of women to her backyard labour ward where about 13 women are assisted daily.

The cessation of operations at public hospitals and council clinics and the steep fees charged by private health facilities has seen many women considering other cheaper and easily available maternal health options such as backyard deliveries.

The Zimbabwe Hospitals Doctors’ Association (ZHDA) striking doctors have urged government to urgently address their plight so that they return to work and avoid the ticking health time bomb in Mbare.

“The ZHDA is deeply worried on how other emergencies that require urgent surgical and specialist expertise like uterine rupture, obstructed labour, breech presentation and pre-term deliveries, among others are being manage,” the statement read in part.

“We maintain that a speedy resolution of the labour dispute stand-off with medical doctors can avert these catastrophic experiences among the populace.”

The 72-year-old midwife’s labour ward has been condemned by health practitioners as not meeting the standards set for an expecting mother.

“The basic obstetric package as set by the World Health Organisation is an irreplaceable and minimum required in running a maternity care centre as far as skills, equipment and drugs are concerned,” the doctors’ statement added.

“Maternal and neonatal complications that may rise from home deliveries may include, but are not limited to cerebral palsy, eclampsia, post-partum haemorrhage, neonatal sepsis, tetanus and HIV transmission.”

Harare City Council has given its struggling workers a cushioning allowance and increased their salaries to see them through the economic challenges and avert a potential strike.

BY LORRAINE MUROMO

Council human resources committee chairperson Jacob Mafume confirmed the development yesterday, saying as a result, the lowest-paid worker will be getting $1 108 a month effective November 1.

“We have agreed to give a cushioning allowance of $300 per employee across the board effective from November 1 and to award $200 per employee to clear arrears from previous collective bargainings,” he said.

Mafume said the cushioning allowances will be part of the workers’ salaries even if the economic crisis is resolved.

“Once the hardship ends, we will not take back the cushioning allowances. They will be put into the salaries and depending on the finalisation of the collective bargaining process,” Mafume said.

The least-paid employee is expected to get at least $1 100 up from $300.

Council has also promised to give its workers bonuses.

“We endeavour to pay bonuses when they are due and we will instruct management to avail the money for bonuses. We are working flat out to shake every possible tree to ensure that money is found,” Mafume said

He said they will engage in continuous discussions with the workers.

“We are in continuous engagement with the unions under the platforms that we have together to produce the collective bargaining agreements,” Mafume said.

We are all aware of the inflationary environment and the hard economic times as a result of austerity measures introduced at central government level. We have been trying to catch up and find ways to alleviate the (suffering) of employees.

Chairperson of the workers council Kenias Chivuzhe applauded the move and said it was different from the previous council which was busy fighting its workers instead of solving their grievances.

When Zimbabwe was on the verge of political and economic collapse in 2007, it took the late former President Robert Mugabe and his long-time nemesis Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC, to dialogue the country’s way out of the mess.

NewsDay Comment

The late protagonists dialogued with the mediation of South African Presidents Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma and later Kgalema Motlanthe, making frequent visits to their neighbouring country to iron out the differences between Zimbabwe’s political players. As a result of South Africa’s mediation, with Sadc and the African Union as guarantors, Mugabe and Tsvangirai buried the hatchet and the results were there for all to see.

The dialogue paved way for the birth of the Government of National Unity, borne out of the Global Political Agreement that ushered in a new government with Tsvangirai as Prime Minister and the five years that followed brought economic and political change. Ten years down the line, Zimbabwe is teetering on the brink of collapse and indications are that as long as President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa continue to shadow box, the downward spiral will continue, and ordinary citizens have already started feeling the pain of the current stalemate. Now that South Africa, through its Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Naledi Pandor, has spoken on the need to end the political “antipathy” between Zimbabwe’s political rivals, Mnangagwa must be sincere, swallow his pride and shrug off hardliners in Zanu PF who are against dialogue and talk to Chamisa. While Mnangagwa and Chamisa have consistently spoken about dialogue — it has a different meaning to both of them. Citizens want them to talk to each other, period! Yet, one wonders why Mnangagwa prefers dialogue with political nonentities. Mnangagwa has not been clear whether he wants dialogue with Chamisa or not. The MDC leader has spoken on the need for a Mnangagwa engagement. Chamisa has called for dialogue with a neutral mediator, not a tough call to Mnangagwa. The President through third parties has insisted there is no need for foreign mediation as the churches and the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission are well equipped to do that.

We believe all players, internal or external, that carry sufficient political weight should be involved. That is what neighbours are there for, anyway. Mnangagwa must demonstrate true leadership in the face of a crisis by putting aside his own personal interests and consider what is good for the generality of the people. Is it not ironic that the President continues to ignore the voice of the people, which according to him is the voice of God.

Yes, he has created the Political Actors’ Dialogue (Polad) platform where he took on board all fringe opposition parties to discuss Zimbabwe’s future. But without the main opposition MDC, Polad remains a grouping of insignificant political actors and for Mnangagwa to claim he is talking to them for a solution to the crisis without Chamisa is illogical. It is meaningless to dialogue with people who have no representation in the population.

If Mugabe, whose anger and disdain of Tsvangirai was known, could take the so called “puppet of the West” as he was fond of saying to the negotiating table, why is Mnangagwa holding the country back by shutting out meaningful dialogue with the main opposition? As the country’s President, the buck stops with him. We wait for the day he picks up that call and open doors for meaningful dialogue.

DYNAMOS coach Tonderai Ndiraya admitted that Caps United have the better squad than his, but believes the Glamour Boys are more than capable of beating their city rivals when the two giants clash in the Harare derby at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday, a feat that will wreck the Green Machine’s title bid.

BY HENRY MHARA

The two teams face off at a time Caps are desperate for maximum points to remain at the top of the log with three matches to go, while Dynamos want to finish the season in the top four.

But Dynamos’ biggest motivation will be to make sure that Makepekepe does not win the title.

Caps are two points clear at the top heading into the weekend, but might finish the campaign on third position if they lose this one.

Ndiraya made no secret of his admiration of what their biggest rival has achieved this season.
“Caps are where they are because they have better quality than us. That is the honest truth,” Ndiraya said.

“We are where we are because we have been rebuilding, we have a new team and naturally we expect to improve with time. So we have seen individual improvement from the players and also as a team.

It is that improvement which is giving us hope. Because of the quality we have we couldn’t fight with the big boys, but credit to the boys for what they have achieved this season. We have gone for almost 20 matches unbeaten, and with the quality that we have, with the youngsters in the team, that is not a mean achievement.”

Dynamos are unbeaten in their last 19 matches and they have vowed to continue with their undefeated streak until the end of the season.

“We want to add this match to our unbeaten run. We want to remain undefeated in the remaining three matches. We want to get to 23 games undefeated. But most importantly we want maximum points in the remaining matches so that we can push to get into the top four. It’s very possible, it’s very achievable.”

Dynamos are fifth on the log standings and two points away from the top four, but could also plummet drastically down the ladder to tenth if they lose this match.

“The derby is going to be a difficult match, but always exciting. We all have something to fight for, so they won’t be any friendship there. The preparations for the match have been good. Caps United are fighting for the championship, and we are pushing to get into the top four. We have done really well to get where we are and we have a great chance now to finish up there.”