TOP South Africa-based gospel musician Togarepi Chivaviro (pictured) yesterday said the attainment of three million YouTube views by the collaborative hit-song, Ebenezer-Tirimunyasha last Sunday, was proof of the impact it has had on listeners.

BY TAFADZWA KACHIKO

Ebenezer-Tirimunyasha became the first gospel track to set a YouTube viewership record, pursuing dominant secular tracks Nziyo Yerudo by Yemi Alade, featuring Jah Prayzah (5,8 million), Sendekera by Jah Prayzah, featuring mafikizolo (4,3 million), Jah Prayzah’s Dzamutsana (4,2 million), Oliver Mtukudzi’s Neria and Wasakara tied at 3,1 million and Jah Prayzah’s Mdara Vachauya (3 million).

Chivaviro told NewsDay Life & Style that he was humbled by the achievement, which he said meant a lot to him as a minister of the gospel.

“It’s quite humbling to have these million views. It says a lot about how the music is perhaps touching lives. To have just a thousand views on any track means a lot to a preacher like me. I thank God for entrusting us with his work in that manner,” Chivaviro said.

“Our mission as musicians is to reach a greater audience as we convey particular messages. Social media has proven to be an effective tool in this endeavour. As a preacher and musician, it’s helping me spread the gospel to a wider audience rather than just gaining popularity.”

He said they used current technologies such as social media to reach out to their fans and request them to help push the songs to as many people as possible.

“If, for example, the fans sustain a song on the charts for the whole year, it means the message gets to as many ears as we possibly can. We work in partnership with broadcasters. If they encourage us to ask our music families to vote for songs, we comply,” he said.

“Having more than seven songs with over the 200 thousand views means that we have reached many souls. All you do is upload the song on YouTube and the songs that touch people the most increase viewership on their own. You can easily tell which of your tracks is ministering to more.”

Chivaviro said Ebenezer-Tirimunyasha has proved to be their most popular track and the first gospel song to reach such a milestone, which also proved the power of collaborations.

The song features fellow musicians Charles Charamba, Noel Zembe, Kudzi Nyakudya, Lawrence Haisa, Mechanic Manyeruke, Rumbi Zvirikuzhe and Bethen Pasinawako-Ngolomi.

COOKING oil manufacturer Surface Wilmar says it has the capacity to finance local soya bean out-grower schemes to bolster production of the crop locally and cut reliance on imports for crude oil.

BY FIDELITY MHLANGA/MISHMA CHAKANYUKA

Zimbabwe, which produces less than 50 000 tonnes of soya beans a year, against a demand estimated at between 400 000 to 600 000 tonnes, imports most of its crude oil requirements.

Surface Wilmar executive chairman Narottan Somani told delegates at the tour of the company’s Chitungwiza plant on Tuesday, that locally produced soya beans and cotton seed only covers a month’s production.

In 2017, the country produced 130 000 metric tonnes of seed-cotton.

“If you put 100 000 hectares of proper farming, our requirements will be fulfilled. We will be ripe for exports.
But where are we? What are we doing about it? If someone is not using it, somebody must get it. I cannot be a proud owner of this plant when it is not running, but I am a proud owner of it when it is running,” said Somani.

“Same applies to the farmer who owns land .If he is not using it, somebody should be allowed to use it. He is getting the gross domestic product of the country down. We have the most number of water reservoirs per square kilometre and yet we are the one using it the least.”

“We are there; we can source money internationally. That is not a problem, but where do I put my money into. I cannot put it in someone’s pocket. I need to have a proper agreement to farm on that land for seven years.”

This season, the company secured 20 000 tonnes of soya beans from small-scale farmers.

“We have given proposals that after seven years, then we give back the land to the farmer once we have recovered our money. The farmer can use the inputs for not only seven years, but for about 25 years.”

He said some beneficiaries of presidential input support scheme were selling soya bean seed to the company as they could not incur the cost of producing the crop.

“People are not using the presidential inputs that are given to them. Instead, they are selling it. How can they plant it when the cost of planting those inputs is higher than the cost of buying those seeds? At least 90% (of planting costs) is coming from the farmer’s pocket and if they are not getting enough output, then what happens?” Somani asked.

Surface Wilmar produces the Pure Drop cooking oil brand and owns a 65% stake in Olivine Industries, which also makes cooking oil, soaps and margarine, among other products.

Liverpool — From the moment that the Zimbabwe Gems entered the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, they have been the talk of the town.

— SkySports

Lloyd Makunde and his side have the netball world enraptured and have made a World Cup debut to remember.

On the first day of the tournament, vibrant singing and clapping could be heard echoing through the bowels of the M&S Bank Arena. With it came a wave of energy and effervescence as the Gems made their way to court.

Makunde’s side made an entrance like no other and it was not to be a one-off as the singing and dancing of the players has been matched by their fans in the stands and fan parks.

Throughout this competition, the Gems have gone about their business with a vivacity that has been matched by no other nation.

They are the only debutants in the tournament and have shown what a joy it is to represent your country on the greatest of stages. They have drawn everyone in with their conduct, on and off the court and they face the realistic prospect of a top-eight finish as they prepare to face Malawi today.

An opening 79-49 victory over Sri Lanka set their tone as they managed to keep calm in the face of taking their first steps on netball’s biggest stage.

They introduced their passionate fans to the world audience, played their own distinctive style of netball and even contained the 6’10” shooter, Tharjini Sivalingam. In short, it was a debut to build from and build from it they did.

After that the Australian Diamonds proved to be too much, but in prevailing over Northern Ireland they made yet another statement.

“You look at Zimbabwe and they had trust between every single player on that court,” noted Northern Ireland coach Dan Ryan after his side were overhauled by the Gems in the final minutes.
“They backed themselves and they won, full credit to them, they were amazing.”

The Gems’ only losses to date have come at the hands of the Aussies and the Silver Ferns, and both are already assured of their semi-final place. Ask any player, fan, coach or pundit at this World Cup about Makunde’s team only losing to those two sides and none will think any less of them for it.

Instead, they will tell you how they asked questions of them, they will talk to you about Zimbabwe’s passionate fans and they will talk of the confidence with which they attacked their last match against Barbados to secure a 25-goal victory.

Afterwards, Makunde said that he expected his team to win and his players highlighted that too with their calm acknowledgement of the 66-41 result.

Makunde has coached the Gems for the past two decades and although he has an incredibly relaxed presence his passion for the sport, and his belief in his team runs deep.

“I knew that we were going to win this, it was ours to lose,” he said.

“I know what my players are capable of doing so I was so confident that we were going to win. I can say that we are raising our game and we are going to be one of the big guns in a few years to come. We want fifth/sixth/seven, somewhere there. That’s our goal now. We know that everyone is beatable. It’s sport, anything can happen especially during a World Cup.”

Wherever the Zimbabwe Gems end up finishing in terms of the final standings at this Netball World Cup, their campaign should be regarded as an unmitigated success.

It’s a campaign that not only brought jubilation to this competition, but is one that has set a platform from which netball may well grow from in Zimbabwe, something that Sky Sports’ Tamsin Greenway is keen to see happen.

“There’s no reason why they can’t be [a big gun] and why some of these African nations can’t rise to the top,” said Greenway on court at the M&S Bank Arena.

“We’ve seen the talent and for me it’s about how they nurture that over the next four years. That’s the big thing. We saw the Malawi Queens burst onto the scene, we saw the Uganda She Cranes and now we’re seeing it from Zimbabwe.
“There’s no doubt that there are so many athletic and smart players in those groups, it’s how they can continue to do that and how they can come to competitions.”

When the tournament started on July 12, the Zimbabwe Gems were ranked 13th in the International Netball Federation standings. When the next rankings are announced on July 30 shortly after the tournament’s denouement, that position will change.

On top of that, their work in Liverpool may see some more of their players being given opportunities to ply their trade overseas and that is another factor that could accelerate their development leading towards South Africa 2023.

Players like defender Felisitus Kwangwa have made a huge impression and there is already talk of interest from the Vitality Netball Superleague.

Aside from the rules which only permit players from the top 12 to be recruiting by Superleague franchises, there are further questions on how can the sport be supported and funded at home? Will it be given the resources it needs and what is the true depth of talent like back in Zimbabwe?

“In terms of the 12 that the Gems brought [to Liverpool], they’re strong,” former England Rose Pamela Cookey notes.
“I don’t know what it’s like back home coming through the development so it’s how those systems are put in place, how are they growing their young players coming through?

“We know that they have done a great job so far in getting to this point, can they now push on with that momentum and keep improving and bringing players through their ranks?”

Only time will tell when it comes to the support for the sport in Zimbabwe, its funding and whether the infrastructure in Zimbabwe can be nurtured to drive this clearly extremely talented and passionate nation forwards?
The Gems secured their place in Liverpool last August through the Regional Qualifier — Africa and the only side that they lost to was the She Cranes.

With a wave of energy behind them and their inspirational passion, you would not be far wrong in believing Makunde’s side could continue this dream Netball World Cup debut with further victories and at the moment could still finish in an unbelievable fifth place.

If that happens then prepare for the foundations of the arena to shake because the Zimbabwe Gems’ fans are loud and incredibly proud of the netballing nation that everyone else has fallen in love with too.

Pregnant women in Harare will soon find it very difficult to give birth in proper health facilities after the city fathers hiked maternity fees to ZW$120, while consultation fees will now be pegged at ZW$50.

BY Phyllis Mbanje

The prohibitive costs fly in the face of pledges by the government and partners to reduce maternal deaths which are largely caused by delays in seeking medical care as well as women giving birth at home.

In a recently approved ZW$483 million supplementary budget, Harare city council announced a raft of measures in service delivery which included maternity fees, among others.

Harare city which is aiming to raise ZW$14,6 million from health has pegged consultation fees at ZW$50 for adults and ZW$25 for children. Maternity fees will now be ZW$120 up from ZW$25.

Although the government has put in place a user free maternity policy, local authorities have not been able to give that service because of lack of resources to back it up.

Government hospitals, which have implemented the user free policy have been bulking under an overwhelming number of women who were avoiding paying at council clinics.

Following the increase, health stakeholders have expressed reservations at the move which they say will reverse gains made so far in stemming maternal deaths.

“I think the price increase goes against the spirit of reducing maternal mortality and we run the risk of frustrating the gains made this far in fighting maternal mortality. Cost remains a major deterrent in accessing health services, especially maternal health services,” said Fungisayi Dube of the Citizens Health Watch.

She added that Zimbabwe’s target of reducing maternal mortality rate (MMR) to 300/100 000 live births is off track now as the health system continues to deteriorate and the fee increases exacerbate the challenges around accessing health. Currently the MMR is at 651 per 100 000 live deaths.

“It is definitely beyond the reach of many women seeking health services,” Dube said.

According to the World Health Organisation, many of the deaths and suffering could be avoided if all women had the assistance of a skilled health worker during pregnancy and delivery, and access to emergency medical care when complications arise.

Recently, President Emmerson Mnangagwa publicly expressed concern over the high mortality rate and committed to ensuring his government would stem the trend.

“We are concerned with the high mortality rate in Zimbabwe and as government we take note of this and are committed to ensuring safe motherhood through a number of ways which include skills training for midwives and doctors as well as supply of essential medical equipment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Harare spokesperson Michael Chideme said it was not an increase, but an adjustment to the interbank rate.

ABUJA – A new malaria vaccine now being piloted in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 90% of malaria cases occur, could be a game changer in global health. But, if the new vaccine is to fulfil its potential, health ministries will need to make some important changes.

Each year, malaria kills one million people worldwide, the majority of who are children under five years of age.
The economic costs of the disease in Africa — treatment expenses, absenteeism from work, foregone education, decreased productivity, and loss of investment and tourism — are estimated to reach $12 billion annually.

The new RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) vaccine, developed by GlaxoSmithKline over 32 years at a cost of more than $700 million, could go a long way toward changing that. In clinical trials among children aged 5-17 months, who received four doses, the vaccine prevented approximately four in ten (39%) cases of malaria over four years of follow-up, and about three in ten (29%) cases of severe malaria, with significant reductions in hospital admissions. The need for blood transfusions in severe cases was cut by 29%.

The first vaccine shown to provide partial protection against malaria in young children, RTS,S is now being made available through routine immunisation programs in selected areas in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. But while an estimated 360 000 children are expected to receive RTS,S each year, those programmes — and the health systems in which they operate — have serious weaknesses.

One weakness lies in the storage and delivery of vaccines. The potency of a vaccine dose depends on whether it has remained in a well-functioning “cold chain” — a system for storing and transporting vaccines at recommended temperatures — from the point of manufacture to the point of use. To fulfil the purpose of childhood vaccinations, the cold chains leading to children everywhere — including in remote areas — must be safeguarded and, where necessary, strengthened.

This means investing in reliable equipment for vaccine storage and transport, adequate maintenance of that equipment, personnel to manage vaccine distribution, and effective monitoring of the whole system. It also means investing in infrastructure (such as roads) and, where conflict and insecurity drive up the costs of such investment, in innovative delivery mechanisms.

Zipline, a Rwandan tech firm, has pioneered the use of drones to deliver blood, vaccines, medications, and other essential healthcare goods. The company, which has so far given 13 million people access to urgent treatments, recently expanded its drone delivery services to Ghana. Another tech-based solution that should be considered is the use of mobile phones to manage vaccine stocks and prevent shortages at primary healthcare facilities.

Yet another imperative for countries across Asia and Africa is to reduce their dependence on Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for funding vaccination programmes. Since 2001, Gavi has disbursed $893 million to Pakistan, $565 million to Nigeria, and $222 million to Afghanistan, to name three examples.

Rather than continue to depend on external donors — and risk suffering the consequences of donor fatigue — countries need to take control of their vaccination programmes. One way to do that is by introducing publicly funded universal health coverage.

As it stands, millions of people in Asia and Africa lack access to adequate, affordable, and reliable healthcare. Many are forced to forego life-saving health interventions, simply because they cannot cover the astronomical out-of-pocket costs.

In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, countries should be working to change this, by ensuring health coverage — including financial-risk protection and access to essential healthcare services, medicines, and vaccines — for all. Instead of perpetuating vertical health programmes that focus on specific diseases, international partners should be supporting this process in the countries where they work.

Of course, even if countries fulfil all of these imperatives, the RTS,S vaccine’s efficacy is only partial. Other proven methods for preventing malaria — such as long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLIN), intermittent preventive therapy for pregnant women, proper sanitation, and the application of residual insecticide — must be sustained and improved. For example, LLINs that are distributed to protect against malaria are often repurposed as fishing nets in Kenya, household curtains in Madagascar, and protection for plant seedlings in Nigeria.

Immunisation is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions. The RTS,S vaccine is no different, especially because it can be deployed through existing immunisation programmes. But delivering them remains a challenge in some areas.

If leaders fail to meet that challenge, millions more children may not make it to their fifth birthdays.

 Ifeanyi M Nsofor, a medical doctor, is CEO of EpiAFRIC, Director of Policy and Advocacy for Nigeria Health Watch, and 2019 Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity at George Washington University.

Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) has rejected Zifa’s bid to recall Philip Chiyangwa from his position as the president of the regional football body.

BY SPORTS REPORTER

Chiyangwa is Cosafa president.

Zifa last week decided to recall its former boss on allegations that he was part of a cartel that infiltrated and destabilised the Warriors camp at the Africa Cup of Nations and might have been the reason for the team’s poor show in Egypt.

Zimbabwe exited the tournament in the group stages after managing just one draw and two losses.

However, Cosafa on Tuesday said the issues that Zifa were raising were strictly in house and should be dealt with as such.

“Your allegations against the former President of Zifa, whether founded or unfounded, are domestic in nature and should, therefore, be dealt with in Zimbabwe .These issues have nothing to do with Cosafa,” read part of the letter.

“The Zimbabwe Football Association does not have the right to recall Dr Phillip Chiyangwa as Cosafa President despite his nationality. The Zimbabwe Football Association, a Member of COSAFA should not seek to use the office of the Cosafa to resolve domestic disputes and in so doing, bring the Zonal Union and the Presidency into disrepute.
We trust that the Association will act in a responsible manner and seek to resolve any differences so that the focus of the leadership can be on Football development and reaching the full considerable potential which Zimbabwe has.”

Chiyangwa, along with suspended Zifa board member Chamu Chiwanza and journalist Hope Chizuzu were accused of involvement in a match fixing scam that saw the Warriors lose their last Afcon group match 4-0 to Democratic Republic of Congo, to crash out of the tournament.

Chiyangwa was elected the Cosafa President in December 2016, and still has two years in his term.

Zifa even threatened to withdraw their membership from Cosafa if their demands were not met. However, it appears Cosafa could not careless.

“It is prerogative of any Member Association to consider whether or not to participate in the activities of the Zonal Union,” said Cosafa in a letter written by its general secretary Sue Destombes.

A HARARE magistrate yesterday sentenced MDC activist Paddington Japajapa to three years in jail after convicting him of inciting the public to commit political violence when he accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) of rigging the 2018 harmonised elections in favour of Zanu PF.

BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE

Provincial magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti-Guwuriro suspended one year of the sentence, meaning Japajapa will serve an effective two years.

He was denying the allegations, saying the State must prove that he was the one who published the alleged video.
Japajapa also challenged the State to prove through YouTube that it was not an edited video meant to tarnish him.
But Muchuchuti-Guwuriro found him guilty, saying it was not disputed that he was at the crime scene when the alleged offence was committed.

Japajapa, who is out of custody on ZW$100 bail, has been awaiting his sentencing which has been postponed on several occasions.

The court heard that on July 31 2018, Japajapa held a Press conference at a time election results were being announced by Zec and threatened to call for chaos, claiming the elections had been rigged.

Japajapa uttered the words: “If people come to rallies it means they appreciate the candidate, you cannot follow a candidate whom you cannot vote for. Zec must do the right thing by announcing the proper results. Failure to do this, as leader of a civic organisation I am going to call for chaos in the country…”

The court further heard that following the alleged incitement by Japajapa, MDC upporters violently stormed the city’s central business district in protest, leading to the destruction of property whose value is yet to be ascertained.

THE Renewable Energy Association of Zimbabwe (REAZ) has called on government to subsidise renewable fuels to curb the rampant deforestation and land degradation that is driving climate change.

BY SHINGIRAI VAMBE

A majority of citizens have turned to firewood as a cheap source of energy following the 18-hour-long load-shedding regime introduced by Zesa in the face of power generation challenges due to low water levels in Lake Kariba.

Speaking at a Climate Change validation workshop in Harare, REAZ boss Isaiah Nyakusendwa said government should prioritise investment and subsidies in renewable energies particularly at a time when people have resorted into cutting down trees for domestic consumption, processing charcoal, tobacco curing and brick moulding.

“I think government should look into these drivers and prioritise on subsidising such things like LP gas or introduce efficient cooking stoves, while putting in place policies that will save both the affected land and forests,” Nyakusendwa said.

He said duties on all solar equipment should be scraped to encourage use of alternative energy sources.

“Government has removed duty on the solar panels yes, but the rest of the material is being charged duty, and as a government these are the things they should be looking at, since we now have home based solar gadgets which are also being charged duty,” Nyakusendwa said.

The workshop was held in collaboration with government, the United Nations Development Programme and the Russian government.

The government has offered civil servants a 50% cushioning allowance for the month of July and salary increments of ZW$116 from August to December, but representatives of the workers rejected the proposal and immediately declared incapacitation.

BY FARAI MATIASHE

The offer was made during a meeting of the National Joint Negotiating Council on Tuesday attended by representatives of government and the Apex Council.

“The government offered 50% of our total earnings as a cushion allowance for July only. From August to December civil servants will then get ZW$180 million translating to ZW$116 per individual. Through the mandate given by the membership, Apex Council rejected the offer as it could not even attempt to address the basic needs of the civil servants to necessitate duty execution,” Apex organising secretary Charles Chinosengwa said.

Chinosengwa said civil servants were now incapacitated as their salaries have been eroded following the recent scrapping of the multi-currency regime.

“The government team, therefore, pleaded to Apex Council leadership to give them a chance to go and consult with their principals,” he said.

“In this regard, civil servants under Apex Council have duly declared incapacitation.”

The National Joint Negotiating Council meeting came a few hours after the Apex Council presented a petition to government where they were demanding civil servants salaries to be restored to at least the equivalent of US$475 using the interbank rate.

At the prevailing rate, the civil servants said they should be paid around ZW$4 750.

THE case of former Police Deputy Commissioner-General Innocent Matibiri being dragged to court for failing to pay back a US$189 000 debt is not only very intriguing, but it is also infuriating in a big way.

NewsDay Comment

In the matter, it is stated that in May 2013, Tian Ze Tobacco contracted Matibiri to grow some tobacco for them during the 2014-15 agricultural season. Tian Ze tells us that: “The contract was a novation of previous similar contracts between the plaintiff (Tian Ze Tobacco) and the defendant (Innocent Matibiri), with an aggregate value of US$189 083,82 made up of inputs and cash advanced to the defendant during the 2014/2015 and previous tobacco farming seasons.”

But for some reasons, probably to be made known during the course of the trial, Matibiri defaulted paying back the loan given to him by Tian Ze. While we are yet to understand why the former police boss failed to pay back the money, we see in this case the crux of why this country has dismally performed as far as agriculture is concerned.

Here was a whole police boss involving himself in farming and we then wonder how he was managing to juggle the two: The intense demands of farming and the equally arduous police work? In our view, the two can only be possible if one is able to work 24/7, which is impossible. But here was a man who thought he could be a jack of all trades. In the end, we are sure it affected both his chosen trades. He failed to farm the tobacco as he had promised and we can wildly guess that his in-tray at Police General Headquarters was always overflowing.

The saddest and most exasperating issue about all this is that Matibiri was not the only one, but many hundreds other bigwigs with unfettered access to money let the nation down by accessing millions of dollars as well as inputs and machinery which they never put to any meaningful use, which has led to Zimbabwe turning from a bread basket nation to a basket case.

This year alone, nearly half the nation is hungry and our main export crop, tobacco, is an embarrassment, thanks to people who have been masquerading as farmers. It is now increasingly becoming apparent why our agriculture has been such a dismal failure.

We shudder when we wonder whether the country has learnt anything from our poor showing in the past. Last week, Agriculture minister Perrance Shiri told us that those with land are now allowed to lease it. This move only tells us one thing: Much of the country’s arable land is idling in the hands of people who haven’t got the slightest idea what they are supposed to do with it. It is also apparent that Shiri and President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration is not keen to repossess that land and give it to those who are able to productively utilise it, which is very sad, indeed, to say the least.