BY NIZBERT MOYO

BULAWAYO transport operators have snubbed the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco)’s offer to partner them in the urban mass public transport system, citing unworkable conditions that will throw most of their drivers and conductors out of employment.

Tshova Mubaiwa chairperson Atlas Moyo told Southern Eye yesterday that they failed to reach a consensus with Zupco authorities this week as it was a take it or leave offer.

“The conditions are impracticable and tantamount to give employment to other people from outside Bulawayo as we are supposed to surrender our vehicles to Zupco so that they will look for their own drivers who are likely to come from outside the region,” he said.

“We were told that we will have to surrender our kombis from 4am to 10pm and they become Zupco property during that period and they will only give them back to us in the event of a breakdown.

“We have said no to this. Anyone who will agree to this deal will have to cease to be under our association.”

Moyo said they were invited by Zupco authorities on Tuesday to discuss the matter and after failing to reach an agreement, they advised the owners to meet with the officials.

Transport operator Keeper Ndlovu said they were waiting for the finalisation of the meeting with Zupco Government is reportedly trying to rope in commuter omnibus operators under its comprehensive urban public transport system, a situation that will result in reduced fares for city dwellers.

The Zupco franchise has since been reportedly extended to urban commuter omnibus operators in Harare, where passengers are charged $2 for a local trip that is pegged at $4 by operators who are not on the scheme.

Zupco acting chief executive officer Evaristo Madangwa said he was in a meeting and would call back later yesterday.

Divisional operations manager Tineyi Rwasoka had on Wednesday told the media that they had managed to register 18 omnibuses under the Zupco programme.

He said a trip will cost $2 and indicated that the majority of operators were reluctant to join the scheme citing differences over operating conditions.

“We have since registered 18 kombis and we expect them to start this evening (Wednesday). However, we are struggling to engage more operators, especially those from associations as they are not happy with what we are offering,” Rwasoka was quoted as saying.

Moyo, the Tshova Mubaiwa chairperson, said only three kombis out of over 600 joined the scheme.

He said they were required to surrender their vehicles to Zupco on condition that each kombi will be given two drivers on a shift basis and they would be paid by the owner.

BY VANESSA GONYE

The country’s health system has reached alarming levels as major referral hospitals have reached their lowest rate of service delivery.

During a tour of Harare Central Hospital on Wednesday, NewsDay observed that some wards were closed as there were no patients, with the health institution reportedly only admitting serious and urgent cases.

In one of the wards, only five out of 28 beds were occupied, proving the dire situation at hand.

Health minister Obadiah Moyo blamed the worrisome sight to the ongoing and prolonged strike by doctors who are demanding favourable working conditions, before resuming work.

Speaking during the tour, Moyo pleaded with the striking doctors to return to work while a permanent solution was being mapped out.

“What we are seeing today is the effect of withdrawal of labour by doctors, leaving the hospitals to accommodate critical cases. We are not at the optimum regarding the return of doctors, that’s why I keep calling for their return,” he said.

“It is best to be able to work while we negotiate. We are encouraging our doctors to come to work as we negotiate. We will follow the law to the last detail. We shall make sure that we are guided by the law.”

Added Moyo: “I want to encourage the doctors to return to work. NatPharm keeps replenishing drugs in the hospitals, though we are currently having problems with stocking chronic illness drugs as an order has been placed for the restocking. We want people to return to work and see a fully-stocked work station.”

He urged the doctors to steer clear of political influence as they committed themselves to saving lives.

“We don’t want political influences in our professional sphere. We are here to save lives, not to end up doing things that we were not trained for,” he said.

The Labour Court last week declared the strike by doctors as illegal and ordered the health practitioners to return to work within 48 hours, but the doctors refused to budge, citing incapacitation.

BY NUNURAI JENA

Shielded from prosecution for over 10 years now, former Zanu PF legislator for Magunje, Francis Ndambakuwa (52), is finally going to stand trial for attempting to kill two MDC members ahead of the infamous June 2008 presidential election run-off.

Karoi magistrate Godfrey Mavenge has set November 13 as the trial date for Ndambakuwa and his eight co-accused.

It is the State’s case that sometime in June 2008, Ndambakuwa, Peter Banda, Joel and Cherai Zvikonyaswa, Nickson Dzimiri, Onisimo Bandera, Rungano Pangiwa and Chamasi Mhande went to Shungu and Peterson Kwenda’s house and shot the two using firearms.

The complainants were seriously injured and Peterson’s leg had to be amputated following the shooting.

Ndambakuwa is also facing other charges of malicious damage to property after setting Kwenda’s house on fire on the fateful night.

The nine accused persons were not represented.

Tanyaradzwa Makamanzi prosecuted.

The late former President Robert Mugabe was the sole candidate in the bloody June 2008 run-off after the late MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, who marginally won the first round, withdrew from the race due to alleged State-sponsored violence.

The opposition said over 200 of its members were killed, while thousands others were maimed and raped.

BY ELINERA MANYONGA

A 28-YEAR-OLD Harare man and six accomplices, still at large, used machetes and iron bars to gain entry into a house and raped a woman before making off with a Mercedes Benz, US$4 100 and various goods.

Honest Mufutumari was yesterday not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa, who remanded him in custody to October 30.

The court heard that on October 6, at around midnight, the accused and his accomplices forced open the complainants’ kitchen door to gain entry into the house.

They approached the complaints, who were asleep, and force-marched them to the lounge where they ordered them to lie facing downwards.

One of the robbers raped a woman once in the bathroom without using protection.

Two other robbers took another woman into the storeroom where they sexually assaulted her before stealing six cellphones, two laptops, a sub-woofer, a Dstv explorer decoder, an Africom WiFi modem, 42 inch Samsung television set, two DvDs, two suitcases with baby clothes, US$4 110 and $600.

They also defecated in a bucket full of mealie meal, loaded the stolen property into a CLK Mercedes Benz vehicle belonging to one of the women and fled from the scene.

The women reported the matter at Southlea Park Police Station and Mufutumari was arrested on October 15. He was found with three cellphones belonging to the women and also led police where he had dumped the stolen vehicle, leading to its recovery.

BY VENERANDA LANGA

Members of the Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZiMA) yesterday asked Parliament to revise the Coroner’s Office Bill as it has some clauses that could impose punitive measures on doctors in the event that a patient dies in their care.

The issue came out during a public hearing at Parliament Building by the Misheck Mataranyika-led Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice on the Coroner’s Office Bill.

If crafted, the Bill provides for establishment of the Coroner’s Office, responsible for investigating all deaths that come about as a result of unnatural causes.

It also seeks to create an independent and fully-fledged office to effectively and impartially investigate unnatural deaths.

Sylvester Nyatsuro, a ZiMA member, said there was need for the legislation to protect the medical profession from any undue prosecution should a patient die in their hands.

“As a profession we deal with death, some patients recover, but on a significant proportion, some may die, and when a Bill like this comes before Parliament, we need to ensure that we protect the medical profession,” Nyatsuro said.

“For example, in the United Kingdom, I actually participated in a number of coroners’ inquests. I was a general practitioner and one of my roles was that if a patient died, I needed to explain to the coroner and then he would take over and investigate. The coroner’s interests are that he wants to know the causes of death.

“The lessons learnt are that if we introduce this Bill with punitive measures, it will be difficult for medical practitioners to practice. We should allow the coroner to gather information and make recommendations because most of us are in the medical field to help patients.”

Another ZiMA member, Christopher Samukange, suggested changes to different clauses in the Coroner’s Bill.

For instance, Samukange said Clause 5 of the Bill, which says that the coroner and the deputy coroner must be appointed by the President, must be changed.

“I would like to suggest that we delete ‘appointed by the President’, and, instead, say that the coroner and deputy coroner will be appointed in the same manner that judges go through public interviews so that the appointments are transparent,” he said.

On qualifications of the coroner, he said for example, in the UK most coroners were medically qualified.

The Bill stipulates that for one to be appointed Coroner-General, they must hold a qualification in forensic medicine, forensic pathology, forensic science or any other relevant qualifications.

Samukange also said that Clause 6 must clearly outline whether the fiscus will create a fund to fund the coroner’s office.

He said the Bill must not give the Home Affairs minister the power to stop an inquest on deaths — whether at hospitals, prisons, and other places.

BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE

FORMER Tourism minister, Priscah Mupfumira and retired labour ministry permanent secretary, Ngoni Masoka were yesterday arrested on fresh charges of abuse of office and money laundering.

The two appeared before Harare magistrate Hosea Mujaya who released them on the same bail conditions they were given at the High court and were remanded to October 22.

It is the State’s case that sometime in 2013, MetBank defaulted in paying back US$25,3 million investment loan maturity to the National Social Security Authority that was secured with properties worth around US$32 million.

As a result of the default, NSSA allegedly classified MetBank as a high risk client that was not worth trading with and in December 2014, Mupfumira was appointed Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare minister.

On December 15, five days after her appointment, she held a meeting with MetBank officials Ozias Bvute, Enoch Kamushinda and Belmont Ndebele at the ministry offices where no minutes were recorded.

It is alleged that on December 16, 2014, Mupfumira and Masoka held another meeting with then NSSA general manager James Matiza and the MetBank officials at the ministry offices.

Mupfumira allegedly instructed NSSA to financially bail out MetBank to the tune of $15 million as it was facing liquidity challenges.

NSSA, however, declined the proposal since MetBank had previously defaulted in a US$25,3 million loan advance. Mupfumira then disregarded all that and went to give Matiza instructions to seriously consider MetBank’s loan request and process a loan of US$15 million to settle the bank’s US$5 million depositors credit and US$10 million for use in housing projects and bring feedback the following day.

It is alleged that no minutes of the meeting were recorded. NSSA resolved to decline the US$15 million loan request after considering MetBank’s risk status.

However, Mupfumira and Masoka forced NSSA to purchase MetBank properties worth US$4 908 050 that they had not intended to purchase and after purchase of the properties and NSSA had transferred the money into MetBank account Mupfumira then received $44 600 from MetBank through her company Beautyview Investments (Pvt) Ltd, where she is a director and her children.

When Mupfumira received the US$44 600, she was aware that the deposits were proceeds of crime and that they were meant to disguise the true nature, source and location and disposition or ownership with respect to the money.

All the money was used to offset a negative balance on her company account of US$39 777,14.

The State further alleges that sometime in July 2015, Mupfumira and Masoka unlawfully caused purchase of a Toyota Land Cruiser VX-L 200 series from Croco Motors using US$90 000 corruptly obtained from NSSA on June 2, 2017.

She directed her ministry’s finance director Memory Mukondomi to write a letter to CMED misrepresenting that the vehicle bought using NSSA funds was a NSSA vehicle inferring that it would be taken back as it was appearing in NSSA audited financial statements.

As a result of the misrepresentation, CMED issued Mupfumira with a Jaguar and Masoka accepted the vehicle into the ministry and wilfully neglected to inform President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the appointing authority. Mupfumira effectively ended having three personal cars instead of two according to the condition of service.

Sometime in October 2017 after she left the ministry, she requested to purchase the three vehicles and was given permission to buy them knowing they were proceeds of crime.

It is further alleged that in 2016 she instructed Mukondomi to pay tickets for her aides Kutyamadzo Shumbayaonda, Sphiwe Dhliwayo, and Alexandria Bwerinofa using ministry funds.

The three were to attend her daughter’s wedding in Cape Town, South Africa.

It is alleged they booked hotel accommodation for the seven officials at Cape Town Hotel, and Mupfumira’s relatives booked at Lord Charles and Southern Sun hotels using National Drought Account funds.

Mupfumira and Masoka further incurred an unlawful R16 427 expenditure payment of taxi services using ministry funds.

BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA/DESMOND CHINGARANDE

NEARLY 2,4 million people living in urban areas in Zimbabwe are facing severe hunger in the forthcoming January to March lean season.

Speaking yesterday during World Food Day celebrations at Insukamini Irrigation Scheme in Vungu, Lower Gweru, World Food Programme (WFP) country director Eddie Rowe said there was need for unity to alleviate hunger in the country.

“According to ZIMVAC (Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee), more than 5,5 million rural people are expected to be food insecure during the peak of this year’s lean season.

Additionally, early projections suggested that 2,2 million more living in high-density urban areas, will also be affected,” he said.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Sekai Nzenza (pictured) told a meeting of rural district councillors yesterday in Harare that Matabeleland North and Masvingo provinces had the greatest need for food aid, with 36% and 34% of population facing starvation due to drought.

“This year we are seeking more food for the people, there is an increase of 11% to 2,4 million people seeking assistance. My ministry’s mandate is for people to get food,” Nzenza said.

Government recently announced that food aid distribution would be rolled out in urban areas in a bid to alleviate hunger that has been worsened by climate change effects as well as the economic meltdown currently bedevilling the country.

To date, WFP is expected to assist about two million people in rural areas between October and December with the number expected to rise to 2,7 million by January.
Rowe said there was need for long term investment to alleviate hunger.

“Zero hunger cannot be achieved by providing emergency food aid alone. More investment is needed on building the resilience of at-risk communities towards the threat of future climate shocks,” he said.

“The destruction caused by Cyclone Idai, on top of this year’s severe drought, and coupled with the current economic crisis, should act as a wake-up call. Investment in long-term projects that promote both economic and environmental sustainability are no longer a suggestion, but a necessity.”

This year’s celebrations were held under the theme Healthy Diets for a Zero Hunger World and were attended by various stakeholders, among them senior government officials.