PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa and First lady Auxillia are expected to officiate at the two-day Bulawayo Cultural and Intellectual Property Conference at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe next week.

BY SHARON SIBINDI

The conference — which will be held on November 29 and 30 under the theme: Leveraging Arts, Culture and Heritage for Enhanced Productivity, Job Creation and Economic Growth —is meant to enable participants to explore themes of culture-led urban regeneration, intellectual property rights and expansion of market linkages.

The indaba is also a follow-up to a stakeholders’ consultation workshop held in Harare last month under the auspices of the Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation ministry. One of the organisers, Sarah Mpofu-Sibanda, told a Press briefing yesterday that the conference theme was aligned with the 2020 national budget theme and their hope was that interacting with the President would have a positive impact on the industry.

Mpofu-Sibanda said the conference would engage the presidium for purposes of championing advocacy for meaningful and sustainable reform in the industry. “Aware that engagements have over the years been conducted ad infinitum, this conference seeks to cause the formulation of a time-bound action matrix that compels ministries, departments and (government) agencies to deliver on specific action points,” she said.

Albert Nyathi, one of the event co-ordinators, said the event afforded the creative industry a chance to air their views.

“This event is the first of its kind and is important in ensuring that the creative economy is viable and vibrant. Another one will be held in Harare for coming up with comprehensive solutions to the challenges faced by the creatives. The event will be held at the National Gallery in Harare to cater for the northern region,” he said.

BUSTOP TV co-founder Lucky Aaroni yesterday said the increase in the cost of data by mobile telecommunication companies has negatively impacted their work as the numbers of people visiting their sites were dwindling.

BY PRECIOUS CHIDA

Top comediennes Gonyeti and Maggie — whose hilarious skits have made them household names — are the face of Bustop TV.

Aaroni told NewsDay Life & Style yesterday that they had witnessed a decline in traffic especially on their Facebook and YouTube sites.

He said the cost of data had forced social media fanatics to be more discretionary when surfing.

“The issue of data has affected our online business in a great way. Most people viewed our videos from their mobile phones at any time, either going to work or travelling to any place but data is now too expensive for them to randomly see our videos on a regular basis,” he said.

“The time that most people spend on social media has reduced and only those that get WiFi from their workplaces can stream regularly but unfortunately they are only a few.”

Although he was not keen to disclose the exact figures, Aaroni, however, said they were still getting reasonable numbers on their platforms as most people panic on the first few days that data costs are increased but get used to the prices in due course.

He said the comedy platform, which has managed to monetise their sites, might not be able to do so if data costs continue to escalate.

“With the growth that we have experienced so far, we managed to monetise our social media platforms and generated income from them so if people who visit our sites continue to decrease because people now buy data for messages only, we won’t have anything to monetise, which will definitely cause a problem for us in the long run,” he said.

Aaroni said it would be wise for Zimbabwe to adopt policies used in other countries that allow citizens to pay less for browsing local content.

“It has to be cheaper than browsing international content so that they encourage people to watch and support local projects,” he said.

“If possible, it’s even better when we have something like Busstop TV bundle or music bundle to promote Zimbabwean artistes.”

Meanwhile, music promoter Benjamin Nyandoro said the situation had also affected musicians who have been marketing their music through social media platforms.

“The problem is affecting business across all sectors including musicians. Limited access reduces opportunities provided by the digital world,” he said.

“However, artistes need to continue embracing it as it remains the cheapest and most effective way (to share their work).”

THE government intends to spend US$88 million in scarce foreign currency on the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) platform while the nation starves and the slow genocide in the nation’s hospitals is getting worse every day.

MDC communications

Polad is a talk-show of fringe politicians who agree with President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the broke government will spend some US$88 million in allowances, accommodation and workshops on them.

Meanwhile, the crisis in the country’s health institutions is worsening every day and the government has to date fired 211 doctors for demanding a living wage and better working conditions.

In the hospitals, there are virtually no medicines and other consumables, while only last week, the police violently quelled a peaceful protest march by the country’s civil servants who were demanding better wages and improved working conditions.

Morale among the country’s civil service has hit rock bottom.

The odious US$88 million budget for Polad vindicates the position that we took from the onset. We argued as a matter of principle that there was no wisdom in joining a politically compromised process, which was designed to co-opt the opposition. We refused to be puppets of a regime that is devoid of legitimacy.

We knew Polad was part of the regime’s strategy of co-opting dissenting voices.

The disgraceful US$88 million budget for Polad is the most visible sign of the Zanu PF regime’s plan to buy the opposition and of the compromised former opposition parties’ willingness to sell their voices for a few pieces of silver. These individuals masquerading as the opposition have no mandate from the people of Zimbabwe. Having failed to win the hearts of the people, they have shamelessly sold their souls to Zanu PF.

They are not the first to do so in the history of this country. Back in the late 1970s at the height of the liberation struggle, the Ian Smith regime managed to co-opt a few black leaders.

Those men who sold their souls were duly punished by history as the people emphatically rejected them at the first democratic elections in 1980.

THE owner of Bateluers Peak Farm, popularly known as Masapasi Ranch, has approached Chiredzi Magistrates’ Courts in a bid to evict over 150 families he alleges illegally settled on his property during the fast-track land reform programme.

BY GARIKAI MAFIRAKUREVA

Craig Henning, a South African national, is arguing that his ranch is protected under the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA).

According to Henning, who is being represented by Emmanuel Chibudu of Kwirira and Magwaliba Legal Practitioners, BIPPA is a legal instrument that establishes specific rights and obligations to meet the primary purpose of protecting foreign investments against discriminatory measures like policy inconsistencies by the host State.

He further stated that it ensures reciprocal encouragement, promotion and protection of investments, thus enabling conditions conducive to increase investment.

Zimbabwe has signed and ratified BIPPAs with Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, China, India, Russia, Kuwait, Iran, South Africa, Yugoslavia and the OPEC Fund.

Henning further argued that he previously enjoyed undisturbed occupation of the ranch before locals located near the conservancy started establishing temporary structures, which gradually turned permanent on his property.

In his founding affidavit, Henning named five respondents whom he said were self-imposed village chairpersons of the five new villages in the ranch: Gilbert Chibangwa, Elizabeth Magumbo, Peter Mashava, Tadious Muudzwa and another only identified as Mutsumbe – and Masapa Mbodza whom he alleges claims to have authority over all the five villages as the sixth respondent.

The rancher also cited Agriculture minister Perrance Shiri as the seventh respondent.

Environment minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu is the eighth respondent because he is responsible for the tourism sector and under whose ministry the ranch falls.

Henning’s founding affidavit reads: “The first to fifth respondents with their villagers have exercised massive deforestation clearing land and constructing huts using poles. They also hunt animals in the conservancy for food on a massive scale. Their settling in the conservancy has further caused some animals to run away from most parts of the conservancy where the squatters activities are rampant.”

The matter is set to be heard on December 4.

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.”