The local sporting family yesterday woke up to the heart-breaking news of the death of athletics legend Artwell Mandaza, who died at his rural home in Chiweshe.

By Sports Reporter

The former sprinter died at the age of 73.

His demise comes barely four years after his wife passed away.

The Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) announced the passing on of the former athletics great, who once clocked a world record equalling 9,9 seconds in a 100-metre race at the South African Bantu Championships at Welkom in 1970.

“It is with deep sense of sadness and sorrow that we have received the news of the passing on of one of our greatest ever athlete ever to emerge from our beloved country Artwell Mandaza, who passed on earlier today. Mandaza made an indelible mark during the pre-independence era, where he distinguished himself as a highly talented athlete who went on to become a sprint specialist and champion of that time. Artwell though he was retired, was one of the first inductees of the Zimbabwe National Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, alongside such other athletes like George “The Mastermind” Shaya, Nick Price, Dave Houghton, among others. This was in recognition of his immense contribution to the role he played in athletics and sport in general,” SRC said in a statement.

“The sport sector, in particular athletics, is now poorer without Artwell as it had gained immensely from his experience and exposure over the years. On behalf of the SRC, we would like to convey our deep sympathies to his family, beloved ones and the athletics family at large. May his dear departed soul rest and anchor in eternal peace. We shall forever cherish his contributions to the growth and development of athletics in Zimbabwe.”

The powerful-striding sprinter from then Mangula Mine, now known as Mhangura, rose to stardom before the country’s independence by becoming the fastest man in Rhodesia.

He held national records in 100m (10,3secs), 200m (20,8secs) 400m (46,8secs) and 400m hurdles (52,18secs) from 1969 to 1976.

On the world map, he was ranked among the world’s top 100 on six occasions.

For his dazzling efforts, Mandaza was chosen as the nation’s Sportsman of the Year for 1970 and was also presented with the John Hopley Memorial Trophy to make him the first African to be honoured as the country’s supreme sportsman.

Sadly, he never competed at the Olympic Games.

LOCAL gospel artiste Josh Kawara, popularly known as Psalmist Josh Kays of the Aripano fame, is set to unite gospel artistes at the highly-anticipated Worship Night in Harare next month.

BY CHELSEA MUSAFARE

The Worship Night slated for November 9 at Unveiling Christ Ministries will also feature some of the country’s finest gospel acts of Olinda Marowa-Ziwenga, Wenyasha Chingono and Liberty Mutasa.

Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style recently, Psalmist Josh — who is co-ordinating the event alongside 3Shot Entertainment, Irimayi Mhondera and Nyasha Munenge — said the event was inspired by the desire to unite Christians in worship under one roof.

“We are expecting a full house. Our greatest expectation is to see people coming to spend quality time in the presence of the Lord. We want to inculcate a culture of worship in people and so we expect a full house immersed in the Glory of God,” he said.

“We have not hosted any concert night before this one. This is our first and we are expecting a certain level of uniqueness in terms of everything.”

Marowa, who is currently riding high following the release of her latest offering Yahweh, is also expected to grace the occasion.

“It’s a night where we are looking forward to lift the name of God high and ensure people get blessed through our ministration. Worship romances the heart of God, telling Him who He really is and not asking anything, but glorifying His holy name,” she said.

The event will also be graced by fellow gospel artistes, such as rising artiste Jonah Chivasa and Denzel Malaki.

As the light dipped in the huge hall, the audience went silent, in anticipation of the performance by the hundreds of young pupils lining up three rows in front of Beit Hall at Eaglesvale Junior School in Harare.

BY CHELSEA MUSAFARE

The event, held last Tuesday, was like no other, a music fete to remember the music icon Oliver Mtukudzi who died in January this year, and it was these hundreds of Eaglesvale pupils who were to lead the event in song.

The crowd, largely made up of parents and children, awaited in huge anticipation as the choir conductor made the countdown.

Their first song was a choral version of Tuku’s Tiregererei track and the mass choir effect enhanced by the walls of the hall, permeated through the entire arena, creating an aura of spiritualism so deep that one would have imagined Tuku was listening from the heavens.

The children’s voices were almost like angels, high notes soaring over the clouds, graceful notes dancing on the staves as they sang for Tuku.

There was a deep track that carries a powerful social message about the suffering of the people and the plea for divine intervention and forgiveness from our ancestors, Tiregererei on a choral tip sung by beautiful innocent voices. This sounded so much like a plea at a time when Zimbabwe is facing economic difficulties.

And this is what Tuku was all about, an artiste whose music always carried deep and sometimes hidden messages of the social, economic and sometimes political issues of the time.

To perfect the line-up, the children sang Pindurai Mambo next, another powerful prayer in times of trouble, and befittingly followed it up with Help Me Lord.

It did not end there as the children went to sing cover versions of Tuku’s songs in different styles and by the end of the concert, there was no doubt, Tuku’s spirit lives on. The commemoration by Eaglesvale just managed to reaffirm the immortality of Tuku music and its effect in Zimbabwe and outside.

The mesmerised audience, who included Tuku’s daughter, Sandra, sang along and applauded throughout the concert.

Far from the music, a painting of Tuku was auctioned for ZWL$6000, also affirming Tuku’s influence in all forms of art.

BY RUTENDO MATANHIKE

INDIAN ambassador to Zimbabwe, Rungsung Masakui has urged Zimbabwean politicians to set aside their long-running political and ethnic differences and pursue a common developmental agenda for the country.

Speaking to NewsDay on the sidelines of a unity walk in honour of Indian icon, Sardar Patel, who was instrumental in the integration of the 500 princely States into the Indian country it is today, Masakui said Patel promoted unity among the Indians.

“This unity walk is remembering the work done by Sardar Patel who was instrumental in the joining of India as a country that it is today. He emphasised the advantages of the States joining into India and from then, we have been celebrating Patel’s agenda in promoting that we stand together in unity despite our differences as a people,” he said.

“India has a lot of people from different ethical backgrounds, but this walk signifies that we are a united people who are pushing for the same result, which is to see India develop as a nation and at the same time strengthen its relations with other countries.”

Masakui emphasised that politicians in Zimbabwe ought to unite in the face of adversity as they shared the same goal which was to see the country prosper.

“In India, we have many political parties which contest during elections. However, when the elections are done, the goal is to make sure that the country’s leadership proves to be united despite their many differences,” the Indian envoy said.

“Politicians in Zimbabwe must work together as they share a desired goal which is to see Zimbabwe developing.”

Zimbabwe’s two main political parties, Zanu PF and the MDC, have failed to put their heads together to solve political and economic problems faced by the southern African country.
The Indian Patel remembrance day falls on October 31.

BY KENNETH NYANGANI

Mutare City Council’s finance director Blessing Kapuya’s office was on Thursday last week allegedly broken into and there are fears that important council documents might have been stolen, NewsDay can reveal.

Council spokesperson Spren Mutiwi yesterday confirmed the alleged break-in, saying police were now investigating the matter.

“Yes, there was a break-in at the finance director’s office, but at the moment, we don’t have finer details. We need to find out what was stolen or not stolen because the finance director was not around on Friday, so he is the one who is going to see what was stolen, so the best day to get full details is on Monday (today),” he said. “The Criminal Investigation Department CID) department visited the scene on Friday to carry out their investigations.”

But council sources said the so-called break-in could be an inside job to conceal abuse of council resources.

“This is a white collar crime by management and the theft of crucial documents was pre-planned to coincide with the absence from duty of the finance director,” a source who refused to be named said.

“Cases of management making double fuel claims are so rampant and this purported break-in is a way of destroying incriminating evidence.

“Recently, all councillors and town clerk Joshua Maligwa received allowances to attend the late former President Robert Mugabe’s funeral in Harare, but there are reports that some councillors did not travel even after receiving fuel and money for the trip.”

Maligwa could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone went unanswered.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

OPPOSITION MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has called on all Zimbabweans reeling under the yoke of Zanu PF’s maladministration to rally behind his party’s call for wholesale political, electoral and economic reforms, saying he had decided to lead the campaign for the good of the nation and not for his personal gratification.

Addressing belated MDC commemorations of the International Day of the Girl Child at the party’s headquarters in Harare on Saturday, Chamisa said the struggle for change was not about him alone.

“The issue is about the people of Zimbabwe. It’s about the women of this country, it’s about the citizens of Zimbabwe. Even if they remove me or eliminate me from the matrix, they will not have eliminated the will of the people, it is the will of the people that matters,” he said.

The MDC accused the Zanu PF-led government of getting into power through a stolen vote and refusing to reform critical laws for fear of reforming itself out of power.

Often accused of failing to respect women, Chamisa said he viewed the girl child and women in particular, as the backbone of his party and the economy.

“The backbone of this party is women. They are the drivers and the engine. The party has met and it’s stronger because of them,” he said.

The opposition leader said his foes were trying to use the gender card to weaken his party structures in the same way they attacked his predecessor, the late Morgan Tsvangirai.

“They insult me in the same manner they did my boss and/or leader Tsvangirai. For me it’s lessor, but for Tsvangirai it was worse. Maybe they attack me less because I am still young and want me to grow,” he said.

Chamisa has come under attack by former party members, including MDC-T vice-president Obert Gutu, who accuse him of being power hungry and determined to get into office even through the back door.

“They are power hungry, they don’t even have the interests of the people at heart and want to use street demonstrations to get to State House, they must forget. That won’t happen,” Gutu said recently in apparent reference to MDC’s planned mass protests.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s broke government is reportedly expected to blow an unbudgeted $4 million on its anti-sanctions campaign to be rolled out in all the 10 provinces on
Friday.

This comes at a time government is at loggerheads with its restive workers, who have threatened to down tools starting today demanding salary adjustments to cushion them against the runaway inflation.

The event has been planned to be run concurrently in other Sadc member countries after the regional bloc resolved at its last summit in Tanzania in August to campaign in solidarity with Zimbabwe.

Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu yesterday said everything was on course, but could not be drawn into disclosing the budget for the exercise.

“It’s well on course and the stakeholders met Thursday, to deal with the issues of anti-sanctions march, that is the churches, the non-governmental organisations, government and all those who are involved in the process. They have had meetings and they continue to meet in preparation for that great day, a national day,” he said.

Zimbabwe Concerned Citizens Forum (Forum) national co-ordinator Taurai Kandishaya said they had mobilised over 200 000 people to take part in the march in Harare alone, while others will take part in similar activities in various towns and cities.

“At least 200 000 will add their voice in Harare alone, but the march is going to be done across the country and, as you are aware, this is a national crisis that will take every understanding citizen to self-fund,” he said.

Kandishaya pleaded with government to pour in resources to ensure that a solid statement is delivered to Western countries that have maintained frosty relations with the Zanu PF regime.

The anti-sanctions campaign, which has received backing from other Sadc countries, is aimed at piling pressure on the West — particularly the United States (US) and European Union (EU) — to lift sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe nearly two decades ago, and renewed recently.

Donald Trump’s US administration has maintained that the restrictive measures were only targeted at individuals and companies.

In a recent interview with Alpha Media Holdings’ HStv, EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Timo Olkkonen poured cold water on the Sadc anti-sanctions lobby, saying the planned solidarity marches would not help change the EU bloc’s position on Zimbabwe.

“Well, Sadc has the liberty of stating what it wants, that is their political statement that they came out with recently. When you look at the factual assessment about the facts, because in the Sadc communiqué, they were talking about the economic effects and the unfairness of it and from that perspective, we will not be convinced because we were just outlining the limited effect of the economic restrictions that the economic measures would have,” he said.

The bulk of the campaign money, according to government sources, will be channelled towards provision of food, public address systems and transport logistics for the thousands of mainly Zanu PF supporters who would be bussed to various centres throughout the country.

“The event will not consume less than $4 million in transport costs, food and loss of production costs given that no business will happen in most government offices on the day. Ministers, top civil servants and security personnel will be deployed for the event,” a government bureaucrat involved in the logistics committee told NewsDay yesterday.

Government this year hired an American consultancy firm, Ballard Partners, to spruce up its image at $500 000 a year with the contract running from February 13, 2019 to February 13 2021.

The owner of the consultancy firm, Brian Ballard, is a top fundraiser for Trump’s election campaigns.

The cash-strapped Mnangagwa administration has also hired another American consultancy firm, Avenue Strategies Global LLC, for US$1 080 000 to lobby the United States government to drop sanctions against the southern African nation.

The agreement signed on April 5, 2019 by chief executive officer Barry Bennet, will remain in full force and effect until April 5, 2020, but may be extended with written consent of the parties.

Opposition political parties have, however, said they will not join the march, describing it as a waste of taxpayers’ money.

MDC vice-president Lynette Karenyi-Kore called on Mnangagwa to address the human rights issues first before the West could consider lifting the sanctions.

“Who will help this country if we are busy killing our own people, abducting doctors, rights activists and ordinary people in the middle of the night? We need a government that does not impose sanctions on its own people for it to be taken as an equal on the world stage,” she said.

MDC youth deputy chairperson Cecilia Chimbiri said: “The biggest sanctions this country is facing is misgovernace, corruption and oppression all epitomised by the Zanu PF-led Constitutional Court government.”

Opposition National Patriotic Front spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire said the money being blown on anti-sanctions campaigns could better be used to fund social services.

“For sanctions to go, the government has to respect the Constitution. They have to stop abducting their own people and allow freedom of expression, freedom to demonstrate and to stop this rule by the gun. The marches will not help change anything,” he said.

Newsady

JOHANNESBURG — Rapper AKA took to Twitter on Thursday evening to complain about having to listen to Michael Bublé following a flight as opposed to South African music.
The rapper wants only local music played as passengers disembark, and the airline says it’s among “many other things” they need to fix.

“Dear @flysaa why do you play ANYTHING that is NOT SOUTH AFRICAN in our planes. You are the FLAG carrier airline of our country, furthermore, you are a STATE-OWNED entity. Please explain to us why I am listening to Michael Bublé as I disembark? Disgraceful,” he tweeted.The airline responded on Friday morning, agreeing with the rapper that this was not ideal.

“We hear you. We know that this — amongst many other things, is something we need to fix,” said South African Airways (SAA) on its official account.

“We are working on making flying SAA truly flying RSA and by making one little change at a time, we want to make you proud to #flysaa. Izandla ziyagezana, your criticism is our motivation.”

When SAA said it had “many other things” to fix, it was not exaggerating.Moneyweb has reported that the airline has been in decline since 2012, suffering total losses of nearly R18 billion between then and 2017. By the end of the 2017 financial year, the airline reported that its liabilities exceeded its assets and equity by R17,8 billion.

June saw the dramatic departure of chief executive Vuyani Jarana. His resignation letter, which was leaked to the media, painted a picture of a sorry state of affairs at the airline.

He bemoaned the lack of support from government in tackling mounting debt, bureaucratic hurdles getting in the way of key decisions and a lack of trust between the State and the executive as some of the chief reasons responsible for government “systematically undermining” the successful implementation of the strategy.

The airline was in talks at the time with international and domestic lenders to obtain R4 billion in funding to run its operations for the current financial year.
— The Citizen

NewsDAY

JOHANNESBURG — DJ Zinhle (pictured) caused a traffic jam like the ones you find at Noord taxi rank with her mind-blowing Cosmopolitan magazine cover.
Sis posted a picture of the cover on Instagram, where she wrote: “Own the summer!!!”

Minister of Transport Mbaweezy would have needed to leave everything and come to Jozi to control the traffic, because wow beku rough shem.

Jealous down! She looked like a dream and caused umrivithi, a heatwave and load-shedding, siyakuvuma Sis, salute.

Denise Zimba was watching and couldn’t help, but gush over Zinhle. She also praised her work ethic.

“The way this woman deserves everything she gets! Hardest working human, so loving, loyal and humble! Best mommy ever!! Love you too much Sis,” she tweeted.
Some of us are queuing for gym memberships, holding the magazine as motivation.

December is around the corner, we also want to own summer, noma kanjani.

—Times Live

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

TEACHERS have declared that they have become so incapacitated financially that they are now only able to work two days per work starting today until government has heeded their demands for a massive salary hike to match the high cost of living.

In a letter to the chairperson of the Public Service Commission (PSC) Vincent Hungwe, the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) gave notice that its members were now incapacitated and unable to report for duty five days a week, unless salaries are adjusted.

“We give notice of incapacitation and with effect from Monday October 21, 2019, our members will be reporting for duty twice a week at most,” PTUZ secretary-general Raymond Majongwe wrote.

Majongwe said owing to the poor salaries, teachers were unable to buy themselves new clothes to properly meet government’s formal dress code.

“Mr chairman, teachers would also like to advise and notify you that because of their plight they will no longer be able to abide by the strict dress code rules as the little pertinence they are getting is not adequate to feed them and their families, let alone buy formal clothing. It is only logical, therefore, that the dress code be ignored until further notice,” he said.

Teachers are demanding that government pays them the equivalent of their last United States dollar salaries at the prevailing interbank rate.

At the time government banned the US dollar and a basket of other foreign currencies and introduced the exclusive use of the local currency in June, the lowest paid teacher was getting USD$500 after deductions, which would translate to $7 900 at the current interbank rate.

PTUZ joined the Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), who also declared incapacitation last week, dumping the chalk over poor salaries.

The development comes as Grade 7, Form 4 and Upper 6 classes are sitting for their final public examinations.

Efforts to get a comment from Hungwe were fruitless as his phone went unanswered.He also did not respond to questions sent to his WhatsApp number.