by Richard Muponde

THERE was drama at the Harare Magistrates Courts yesterday after tempers flared between the State counsel, Nelson Mutsonziwa, and former Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko’s defence lawyer, Zibusiso Ncube over accusations of trial ambush.

The verbal exchange came after Mutsonziwa alleged Mphoko’s lawyer was involved in shenanigans meant to stall the start of trial.

The pair squared off in court before regional magistrate Hosea Mujaya after Ncube had filed an application of exception of the charges shortly after serving the State with the application two minutes before the start of the trial.

Initially, Ncube had indicated that he was going to apply for a postponement of the trial to which the State had advised that it would oppose and had prepared the arguments.

However, Mutsonziwa, who was being assisted by three other State counsels was caught unawares when Ncube served him with the application of exception of the charges.

After the court had adjourned, Mutsonziwa registered his displeasure with Ncube’s conduct while walking in the court gallery.

“What you have done is unethical. You are indirectly trying to postpone the matter after I told you we were going to oppose your application. I don’t do such shenanigans,” Mutsonziwa said.

However, Ncube was not amused and warned Mutsonziwa to take cognisance that besides him being Mphoko’s lawyer he was also an official of the court.

“Don’t talk to me like that. You should not tell me that I am involved in shenanigans. You should understand that I am also an officer of the court, you should not use such language talking to me,” Ncube said as they walked out of the courtroom.

Earlier in court Ncube filed an application of an exception to the charges and Mutsonziwa advised the court that although the State had been “ambushed” they were going to respond at 2pm.
The matter was postponed to today for hearing.

Mphoko faces abuse of office charges after he allegedly instructed junior officers at Avondale
Police Station in Harare to release former Zimbabwe National Road Administration acting chief executive Moses Juma and former board member Davison Norupiri from the cells.

However, both have since been jailed for the offence.

BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA

CAPS United coach Darlington Dodo has demanded a response from his players ahead of the home clash against ZPC Kariba which comes after setbacks in their last three league matches.

The two teams face off at Rufaro Stadium tomorrow in a match that the Green Machine desperately need to win after picking a single point from their last three matches, which has opened up opportunities for FC Platinum and Chicken Inn who are in hot pursuit of the table toppers.

Should the Harare giants win this contest against a tough ZPC Kariba side, it will help boost their morale as the league programmes stagger towards the end.

“This is one of the biggest games we are going to play. We expect an instant reaction after that defeat to TelOne. We need to grind out a good result and we have been presented with the ZPC Kariba game and it is an opportunity for us. From what I have seen at training they (the players) are raring to go. We will definitely go all out in attack and it is only a matter of how many goals we would score in our objective to win the match,” Dodo said.

The Caps United coach said he had a full complement of the squad apart from defender Method Mwanjale, who is unlikely to play again this season and Kudzi Nyamupfukudza.

“Players that were injured have recovered and we are clean in terms of suspensions. One good thing about us is that we have a squad that is almost complete in as much as we don’t have the other two Method Mwanjale and Kudzi Nyamupfukudza,” said Dodo.

Caps United have four players that are facing disciplinary hearing over allegations of assaulting a referee and Dodo said he was doing everything to psyche up the players so that they are not distracted from their objective of winning the championship.

“I think the timing was wrong as we prepare to play against ZPC Kariba but we will do everything we can to psyche up the players.”

The Harare giants are at the top of the log standings with 59 points from 29 matches, two ahead of nearest challengers FC Platinum.

PSL fixtures

Today: Bulawayo Chiefs v Hwange (Luveve), Mushowani Stars v Chicken Inn (Trojan Mine), Harare City v TelOne (Rufaro), Chapungu v Dynamos (Ascot), Manica Diamonds v Fc Platinum (Vengere),
Triangle v Herentals (Gibbo), Black Rhinos v Yadah (NSS), Highlanders v Ngezi Platinum (Barbourfields)

Tomorrow; Caps United v ZPC Kariba (Rufaro)

By SIMBARASHE SITHOLE

ZIMDANCEHALL chanter Arrival 55’s much-awaited seven-track album, Chibharanzi Chinobhadhara, fetched US$300 after music promoter Monica Mabhena bought a copy during its official launch on Sunday.

The album, which was recorded at Mount Zion Records by DJ T Man, found many takers at Guruve Hotel who jostled to buy the disk by one of their own.

Mabhena was the highest bidder after forking out US$300 for the new album which she said was competitive in Zimdancehall.

“As a promoter, I felt I should give value to hard work by buying the disc at US$300, although ordinary discs were selling at ZWL$30. But hard workers should be rewarded. This album is very competitive and, I assure you, the track Chibharanzi will be a hit,” she said.

The artiste has since called on other upcoming musicians in Mashonaland Central to support each other and so far he has partnered with Mvurwi-based Ding who did not disappoint during the album launch.

“I am receiving overwhelming support from Mashonaland Central, Guruve mostly, hence I should also extend that generosity to other upcoming artistes and so far we are conducting shows with Ding from Mvurwi,” Arrival 55 said.

Arrival 55 and Ding said they were currently on a provincial tour in Mashonaland Central with Mvurwi and Bindura towns being their next targets.

“We have started with Guruve today as partners and we are on a provincial tour before year end, Mvurwi and Bindura are our next targets,” Ding said.

BY GARIKAI TUNHIRA/RUVIMBO MUCHENJE

A ZIMBABWEAN living in the diaspora has castigated government’s move to fire nearly 300 medical doctors from their jobs.

Netsai Makarichi, a Zimbabwean based in the United Kingdom, said the move vindicated their demonstration against Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo in July this year.

“When we demonstrated against SB Moyo, people thought otherwise,” she said.

“The firing of the doctors shows the regime is not for the people. Instead of talking with the life savers, the government is busy firing them from their jobs. The government is worsening the situation in hospitals. What is happening is a soft genocide.”

In July, Moyo, who was in the company of Information permanent secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana and other officials, scurried for cover into their waiting vehicle as protesters, some carrying Zimbabwean flags, hurled insults and pelted them with various items while others, sprayed water.

The visibly-shaken delegation was coming out of Chatham House, where Moyo had just given a presentation.

Makarichi said President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration had committed murder against its citizens and, therefore, should be tried at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

“They shot and killed innocent civilians last year and this year, they have done more. They should be tried at the Hague,” she said.

“We love our country, but when leaders turn against their own people, then there is a problem. I am a victim of Zanu PF, which claims to be democratic. I had to find a new home here in the UK after Zanu PF activists hounded me.”

Doctors have been on strike for more than 60 days citing incapacitation owing to poor salaries and working conditions.

Government last week fired over 200 doctors on allegations that they failed to report for duty.
Zimbabwe has about 1 600 doctors, and at least 516 of them face the axe in a country with a population of 15 million.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association has alleged that student doctors were forced to sit for examinations unprepared as their supervisors have not been reporting for duty for over 60 days after declaring incapacitation.

In a statement, the association accused government of trying to replace the fired and striking doctors with this batch of students.

“We believe this is a well-thought-out move by government to fast-track the release of our juniors into the field,” the striking doctors said.

The doctors argued that this would bring out half-baked graduates with inadequate training to deal with the lives of the people.

“This also affects the credibility of the degree programme, the quality of doctors produced and subsequently the quality of care provided to the patients,” the doctors added.

Student doctors have not had lectures since September when the senior doctors downed tools demanding an increase in salaries.

It is against this background that the association says the student doctors are not ready for the examinations.

“The juniors last week stressed that they had not received enough training due to the ongoing impasse which has resulted in them not having seniors to teach them and patients to learn from,” ZHDA said.

The association urged the Medical and Dental Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe and the University of Zimbabwe to guard against the “terrible” practice.

Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights board spokesperson Fortune Nyamande urged government to reconsider its decision to fire doctors.

“Both parties must be alive to the need for dialogue over escalation, and achieving a functional health delivery system in the shortest time framework possible. The right to health and sanctity of life must be the guiding principles in this dialogue,” he said.

Own Correspondent

EcoCash today announced a major upgrade of its platform scheduled for the weekend, which will result in a 24-hour downtime of all EcoCash services.

Announcing the upgrade – which is set to take place between 9pm on Saturday (November 16) and 9pm on Sunday (November 17) 2019 – the company said the upgrade is meant, among other things, to improve the mobile money platform’s performance by increasing capacity, enhancing security and offering more automated selfcare services for its clients.

“The EcoCash system upgrade, for which critical work has been going on over the past several months, will commence on Saturday evening, and is scheduled to be completed on Sunday evening,” a company spokesman said.

“The upgrade will result in improved platform performance, increased system capacity, enhanced transaction security and many other enhancements to the current system,” the spokesman said.

“We kindly urge our customers to make all their critical transactions before the upgrade, to avoid the inconvenience of falling to transact during the upgrade period on Saturday night and on Sunday. We sincerely regret any inconvenience the upgrade downtime will cause to our valued customers,” the spokesman said.

EcoCash handles millions of transactions per day and is the largest mobile transacting platform in the country.

It is a part of Cassava Smartech Zimbabwe, the fintech and digital smartech company listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

The internet is a pretty impressive thing and through modern technology it has evolved and along with it one of the biggest industries to benefit from this evolutionary forward-thinking movement is casino gaming. Slot games are a massive category within casino gaming so naturally we can see how slot games are evolving and this is everything you need to know about it.

It’s All About Gamification

If you haven’t heard of it yet, there was never any doubt you were bound to at some point as an online casino player. Slot games have recently taken on a new form which has been made possible through development known as ‘gamification’. This brilliantly innovative concept is being adopted by leading gaming software developers and changes the entire gaming experience of enthusiasts. So what is gamification? In essence it is the transformation of slot games into actual games that are available through consoles. Rather than a standard 5 reeled video slot you may be offered a game where there are various levels and you unlock bonuses through each stage. It’s really some innovative stuff!

Tailored Gaming Experiences

Personalized gaming experiences have changed the way slots players choose their games. The best online casino bonuses are what have mainly made the transitional evolution of slots games a most welcome one. Through these bonuses, players are able to simultaneously save money and accumulate winnings in a fun and modern way. In fact, these bonus offers are so unique; some players actively seek them out before choosing to sign with casinos that don’t offer bonus offers. You can see this kind of approach has been critical to the success of gaming evolution and only benefited online casinos as well as their newly signed paying customers. A tailored gaming experience is one of the very many reasons why land based goers choose to explore the online gaming experience and have evolved slot games.

Higher Quality for the Ultimate Gaming Experience

As one can imagine the evolution of slots gaming has to have some kind of face value and slot gaming has certainly been face lifted. The graphics are getting better and better, the sound quality has improved and even been adjusted to suit the gaming preference of the user. With technology evolving and developers competing to win over more players, the benefits are extended to the players and there is nothing better than a perfect gaming experience which is what you can find when gaming as a slot player.

Better Options

It takes a creative genius to understand the complexity of player’s needs but thankfully it is possible thanks to evolutionary technology players are treated to a wide range of themes, paylines, wagers, and bonus rounds. It goes without saying that this is indeed positive for all players.

The ultimate gaming skill can be created through slots gaming but it’s the evolution of these games that have impacted the way players approach online slots. The dynamic evolution of these games is exactly why we can foresee a solid future for the iGaming industry and even look forward to more changes that improve our experiences.

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

NEGOTIATIONS between the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) and international hotel group, Radisson Group, for construction of an upmarket hotel in the second city have started in
earnest.

Radisson Hotel Group, which has more than 1 400 hotels worldwide, recently approached the local authority through Mkhuze Global Investments (Mkhuze), a special purpose vehicle that looks at various investment opportunities in the Sadc region, expressing interest in developing a hotel in Bulawayo.

According to the latest council minutes, negotiations have started with an interdepartmental committee having been set up and negotiations having been held on September 3, 2019.
Several factors were discussed and a formal draft offer was then submitted by the company, part of the minutes say.

According to the mulled offer, the company proposed a minimum of a 50-year lease plus an automatic 30-year renewal as well as a renewal clause that has first right of refusal to the current head-lease owners.

It said BCC would have a revenue or turnover based rental charge levied to the head lease holder and on all the tenants on the development.

“Should the land lease holder change during the lease period, the city will be entitled to renegotiate a nominal percentage of the gross sale price (this fee to be pre-agreed together with this lease). The city agrees to no charges or a nominal charge (for example $1 per annum — to be discussed) to the vacant land lease agreement with Mkhuze Global Investments (Pty) Ltd,” part of the proposal read.

“Mkhuze Global Investments (Pty) Ltd agrees to a minimum of 75% local participation on all skilled and unskilled labour. Mkhuze Global Investments (Pty) Ltd will ensure 100% training of all service staff and engineering services staff locally (for example Nust).”

Mkhuze will allow the city to have one seat on the board and all material development changes will be subject to the city’s approval.

In return, BCC came up with a set of conditions to be fulfilled before the deal is concluded. These include that the stand shall be used for the establishment of a hotel and ancillary uses, non-title survey costs shall be availed upon request and Zesa Holdings’ general servitude covering the property shall be observed.

BCC also said the stand shall not be occupied until approved sanitary and ablution facilities have been installed thereon and any development on the stand should be in accordance with the approved plans and relevant council by-laws.

“The hotel shall be registered with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority prior to its commencement of operations. The city valuer’s recommended monthly rental is $30 000, subject to review at the pleasure of council and the minimum building clause shall be 3 000m2,” the minutes further read.

BCC said the offer was subject to a change of reservation by the ministers of Local Government and Public Works and that of National Housing in terms of section 49(4) of the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act Chapter 29;12 1996.

BCC is facing a serious shortage of hotel accommodation and the successful implementation of the project will go a long way in solving room deficiency in the
city.

BY STEPHEN CHADENGA

A 35-YEAR-OLD Gweru man was last week acquitted on charges of illegally dealing in foreign currency.

Paradzanai Hamanu of Mkoba 11 appeared before magistrate Edwin Marecha facing a charge of illegally dealing in foreign currency.

Allegations were that Hamanu was seen by detectives holding wads of bond notes, United States dollars and South African rand which he was reportedly trading on the streets.

Through his lawyer, Nomore Hlabano, Hamanu denied the charge and said police officers forcibly took the money from his vehicle, which (money) he intended to pay the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority for the house he had bought and that part of the money was paid after his car had been hired.

He told the court that he had CCTV footage which showed the police randomly searching his car before taking the money.

Marecha ruled that the State had failed to prove its case before acquitting Hamanu.

The State’s case was that on August 20 this year at around 3pm, detectives, who were on patrol, saw Hamanu holding a bunch of currencies and saying in vernacular, “tinochinja mari pano (we exchange money)” to passersby.

Police approached and arrested him and recovered $2 000, R5 680, US$161 on his person and a further $2 880 from a satchel stashed in his car.