BY RICHARD MUPONDE

A PSYCHIATRIC patient yesterday heaved a sigh of relief after escaping a jail term for hitting his mother with a stone and a log while in a drunken stupor.

Taurai Masedha (36) of Vhumisani village under Chief Ngorima in Chimanimani pleaded not guilty to assault charges, but was convicted by Chipinge magistrate Joshua Nembaware.

He was sentenced to 12 months in prison of which six months were conditionally suspended for five years.

The remainder of the sentence was suspended on condition he completes 210 hours of community service at Hlabiso Primary School starting today.

In his defence, Masedha said he did not know what transpired, but was only advised of the crime by relatives who visited him at Chikurubi Psychiatric Unit
where he was committed after the magistrate suspected he had a metal problem.

“I was ill and I don’t know what was happening,” Masedha said.

His trial commenced after the Prosecutor-General’s Office directed the prosecution to go ahead after his release from the mental institution.

Prosecutor Sesekedzai Mayera told the court that on August 17 last year, Masedha, who was drunk, left his homestead and visited his mother Constance Masedha at
her home.

On arrival, he turned violent, ordering her to vacate the homestead before picking a log which he used to hit her once on the right shoulder. He also picked a
stone and hit her on the head.

A police report was made, leading to his arrest.

BY STEPHEN CHADENGA

A CHIRUMANZU man last week appeared before the courts on allegations of torching huts and destroying property worth thousands of dollars belonging to his seven neighbours in a dispute over payment for goats he sold to them.

Benjamin Chihuri Mhunguri of Rudhuma village under Chief Chirumanzu appeared before Mvuma magistrate Tafadzwa Mhlanga, facing arson charges.

Allegations are that Mhunguri set fire to the huts belonging to his neighbours, to whom he had sold goats, destroying property in the process.

Mhlanga ordered that accused go for psychological examination before trial commences.

The State’s case is that on April 21, at Rudhuma village, accused went to Krefas Geja’s homestead demanding money for goats he had sold to the complainant.

Following a misunderstanding, accused set Geja’s huts on fire, allegedly destroying property, including a bed, blankets, clothes, chairs, a wooden table and
plough.

On the same day, Mhunguri is said to have approached Craig Muroiwa, where he is reported to have set two huts on fire, destroying an assortment of property.

The court further heard that using the same modus operandi, Mhunguri set fire on huts belonging to Melinda Pedzisai, Matilda Madhawu, Engelbert Ruduhuma, Maria
Chenzera and Piason Chabwenya, destroying property in the process.

BY VENERANDA LANGA

HARARE town clerk Hosiah Chisango yesterday said the interbank rate has drastically affected council operations because this year’s budget was based on a 1:1 ratio to the United States dollar.

Chisango told members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government that this has resulted in a US$36 million budget for water chemicals being depleted fast in order to provide clean water.

He also told the committee that the 2013 debt write off which was ordered by government prejudiced the city of US$230 million and council struggling with
indebtedness to statutory bodies such as the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra).

He said the Harare City Council (HCC) was currently servicing around four million people, with the demand for water at 1 200 mega litres. But the design
capacity of the water plant can only provide 704 million litres of water with the City of Harare only able to supply 300 million litres of water per day.

“We cover just 50% of the demand for water and shortages are due to population increase, dilapidated water infrastructure over the years, resulting in water
rationing for high-density areas being 48 hours during the weekend and some suburbs like Mabvuku get water once per week,” Chisango said.

“Our budget was based on a 1:1 exchange rate and our rates are still charged at the 1:1 exchange rate, yet all our expenses are now on the interbank exchange
rate and there is a big gap which now needs a supplementary budget,” he said.

Chisango said the monthly requirements for water treatment chemicals was US$2,8 million to produce 550 to 600 million litres per day.

He noted that water rationing might continue up to 2020 due to siltation unless the country is blessed with enough rains.

Chisango was grilled on how the US$144 million loan from China Eximbank for rehabilitation of water infrastructure was used, with MPs charging that it was used
to purchase luxury vehicles.

He said the council received only US$72 million which was used to complete phase one of Morton Jaffray, computerisation of city district offices. He added
that the other US$72 million was yet to come and the Finance ministry was following it up.

But, MPs demanded to see proof of how it was used, saying some luxury vehicles were also purchased resulting in China withholding the other US$72 million.
Chisango claimed the vehicles purchased were part of the project.

He said workers were owed US$27,4 million dating back to 2015 and the outstanding salaries were being paid in stages every month.

Chisango said the salary expenditure was $194 million out of $829 million with 23% going towards salaries and 77% towards service delivery.

The City of Harare owes Zimra $171 million of which the principal debt is $32 million.

Another $83,5 million is owed to the pension fund with $60 000 is forked out to pensioners every month.

Some $17 million is owed to the Harare Municipal Medical Aid Society and $2 million to the National Social Security Authority.

BY RICHARD MUPONDE

KUSILE Rural District Council (KRDC) in Matabeleland North is demanding cash up-front from timber concessions in order to increase its revenue base, with the local authority having previously incurred an increase in the number of defaulters.

In the past, the local authority would allow timber loggers into their concessions without having to pay first, but many defaulted on royalties, leaving the council in financial doldrums.

Last year, the council expanded its timber logging industry and resolved that loggers must pay first before going into logging as a way to increase its revenue
base.

KRDC chief executive Christopher Chuma has confirmed the new development.

“We no longer allow loggers to log timber without paying money upfront. Previously, it was $30 per cubic metre. However, it’s now eight-fold that due to the
inflationary environment. We are now charging $240 per cubic metre,” Chuma said.

He said the local authority was avoiding a situation where they would have to go after the defaulting loggers.

“We have managed to recover what we were owed. After that, we chased away the problematic companies from our concessions. We are no longer running after any
defaulting company,” Chuma said.

The local authority expects to finance its projects from the revenue generated from sale of timber, which is the main economic activity in Lupane.

KRDC has also embarked on a further research of its timber reserves in order to ensure the forests’ sustainability and usefulness to the district.

Timber has proven to be a good source of revenue for the council. It is believed that timber has the capacity to financially sustain the RDC for the next 15
years.

A few months ago, the local authority engaged a Chinese firm, Fazhao Investments, to harvest and process timber in the area.

Fazhao Investments is in the process of setting up a sawmill plant in Jotsholo, near Tshongogwe concession.

KRDC has a monthly quota that entitles it to harvest 400 cubic metres from the Forestry Commission.

In November, KRDC terminated a contract with Rise GateTimber, which was operating at its Shabu-Manase concession.

BY SILAS NKALA

Three police officers based at Fort Rixon Police Station have been implicated in a 160kg gold ore theft at Sheep Skin A mine, a police report shows.

According to a leaked police document dated July 12, the owner of Sheep Skin A mine, Elijah Sithole (38), reported the matter of gold ore theft at Fort Rixon Police, implicating the three police officers.

Sithole alleged that one Assistant Inspector Mandipaza, a sergeant Shumba and one constable Ruwanika stole his gold ore.

“Circumstances are that on July 9, at around 2pm, accused booked out OB reference 3638/19 to a mine owned by Wilson Vimirayi Nyamiwa of Willowash stamp mill,
Mount Royal Zulu 8 mine, Fort Rixon, to attend a scene of theft of gold ore travelling in a private vehicle, registration number unknown,” the police report
read.

“They passed through Sheep Skin A mine, Fort Rixon, where upon arrival they asked Witness Luphahla, an employee at Sheep Skin A mine, who operates the hammer
mill, to produce the documents for the hammer mill.”

The police document stated that Luphahla advised them to enquire from Sithole, as he did not know where the papers were kept. It is alleged they took with them
a hammer mill crank, shovel, sample dish and the blankets used while milling.

“On July 10, at around 12 noon, the accused persons booked out OB ref 3648 using ZRP 230T and arrived at Sheep Skin A mine. When the employees, who were
crushing the gold ore and preparing it for milling saw the police officers, they fled leaving the ore behind,” the report read.

“The accused persons loaded the ore into empty bags that were on the ground and afterwards loaded the gold ore into the police vehicle. They went away with the
ore to an unknown destination. On July 12, at around 8am, the complainant came to Fort Rixon Police Station, making a follow up on his gold ore and could not
find it at the police station.”

Sithole made a report to the police and investigations are said to be in progress under ZRP Fort Rixon, RRB number 3860778.

About 160kg of gold ore were stolen, whose value is unknown and nothing was recovered.

Contacted for comment, Matabeleland South police spokesperson Chief Inspector Philisani Ndebele referred Southern Eye to national police spokesperson Assistant
Commissioner Paul Nyathi.

THE mining, engineering and transport (Mine Entra) 2019 expo begins today in Bulawayo, with more than 200 exhibitors occupying 5 670 square metres of the available space.

NewsDay (ND) business reporter Mthandazo Nyoni speaks to the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair company’s acting general manager, Nicholas Ndebele (NN), who reveals that this year’s fair is big and better. Below are excerpts from the interview:

ND: How are the preparations for the Mine Entra going?

NN: There is palpable excitement as exhibitors are arriving and putting final touches on their exhibition stands, getting ready for the show that begins from
July 17-19, 2019. The ZITF Company once again welcomes local and international mining, engineering, transport, building and construction industries’
stakeholders to the 24th edition of the exhibition.

ND: How much exhibition space has been sold compared to last year?

NN: We have 202 local and foreign exhibitors occupying 5 670 square metres of space. This represents 80% of the space made available for sale, compared with
last year’s closing total of 225 direct exhibitors occupying 7 750 square metres of space. Enquiries are still coming through, so we hope that we will close at par with last year.

In terms of local participation, 64% of the confirmed exhibitors are coming from Harare, while 29% will come from Bulawayo and the remainder from other cities.
We have six foreign exhibitors coming from China, Kenya, South Africa, South Korea and Zambia, compared with five countries last year.

ND: What is the main focus of this year’s show?

NN: Mine Entra 2019 runs under the theme Resourcing the future: Exploring and leveraging mining potential. The primary objective of this business, only specialised in mining expo, is to provide a forum for the interchange of ideas among high-level decision-making delegates as well as for firms to spotlight relevant products, including latest technologies to this fast-growing industry.

In addition to a very rich profile of exhibits, the show will feature several knowledge-sharing and networking platforms designed to inspire a diverse set of exhibitors, visitors – especially women and young professionals – to tap into the latent opportunities within the mining industry.

We have women attending the mining conference on July 17, 2019. Over 200 delegates are expected to take part as new industry players and seasoned veterans present studies and stories about how they opened doors, overcame challenges and created opportunities for themselves and others in the mining industry. On July 17, we have a young professionals forum.

Approximately 150 youths in mining also have an opportunity to be inspired, self-reflect and goal-set at the YPF. The forum will seek to highlight how others have progressed through their careers and/or business paths; the challenges, lessons learnt and highlights along the way.

Then Mine Entra conference will be held on July 18. The highlight of this year’s conferences in the inter-ministerial round table is aimed at prompting discussions on harnessing the country’s mining potential, identifying and kick-starting the catalytic actions necessary to open investment flows, and spur sector production. About 300 high-level delegates are expected to take part.

ND: What are some of the products that will be on display?

NN: The exhibiting companies have a varied product mix which includes engineering, equipment, fittings and accessories, building and construction, chemicals, education and training, hydraulic and lifting equipment, mining seismology, transport, signage and labelling equipment, insurance and banking services as well as protective wear, among others.

ND: What are your major expectations from this show?

NN: The show will offer a rich gamut of networking and engagement opportunities as well as face-to-face engagement with stakeholders in the entire value chain
as, including learning opportunities provided by the high-level industry-driven conferences. Being a focused, business-only and sector specific expo, the show
undoubtedly offers numerous benefits and opportunities to participants to identify and exploit their potential.

ND: Last year, many exhibitors were complaining about the high cost of exhibiting space. What have you done to address their concerns?

NN: I am not quite aware of last year’s complaints. Nonetheless, the issue of cost is an issue that has become quite topical, particularly during this time
when the economy is going through a transition from a multi-currency regime to a mono-currency one.

Corporates are seized with the question: How do we price our products or services in the mono-currency regime? That having been said, our pricing really is
benchmarked against the pricing in the region and is commensurate with our desire to maintain high international exhibition quality standards.

We find ourselves in an unenviable position of balancing those competing needs with our customers’ ability to pay. We, nevertheless, stay engaged with our
customers on such matters.

ND: There were complaints about marathon conferences that were taking away their potential clients. As organisers of this event, what have you done to address
this?

NN: As an ISO certified service provider that is a stickler for customer focus and quality service, we always seek to provide valuable networking platforms for
our different segments of our exhibitors and business visitors.

Other than the Mine Entra conference on Thursday, the other two – Women in Mining and The Young Professional Forum — are specific to certain groups and we
really target relevant groups to attend to those.

We, nevertheless, value the feedback from our customers to inform us on how we can better design our programmes in the future.

ND: What growth prospects do you see for Mine Entra in the short to medium term?

NN: Going into the future, we will always strive to uphold and leverage the solid reputation that the show has garnered over the last two decades. This
confirms that the brand is still relevant and is serving its purpose to drive the mining industry.

Equally, we are aware that the mining sector continues to retain its space as one of the pillars of economic revival and growth towards Vision 2030. Thus, we
will continue to position Mine Entra in a manner that it consistently serves the evolving marketing needs of its participants.

Consistent with the government’s re-engagement policy, Mine Entra will complement these efforts by striving to grow the show through attracting exhibitors and

business visitors from the region and beyond. We envisage a Mine Entra expo that is as big as the annual multi-sectoral ZITF exhibition.

Remember, mining has been identified as one of the lead sectors, alongside agriculture and tourism, that will spur economic growth towards Vision 2030.

However, a lot of the sector’s potential is still largely untapped, hence the need, as our theme for this year suggests, to explore and leverage mining
potential. It is interesting to note that the mining industry contributes around 13% of the gross domestic product and 68% of Zimbabwe’s total export receipts
and has set to achieve the objective of a US$12 billion industry by 2022.

That speaks to immense potential. Where then do we locate Mine Entra in tapping into that potential? A specialised exhibition like Mine Entra showcases and discusses topical issues in the sector and as these issues are interrogated, measurable steps can then be taken to accelerate exploitation of the mineral wealth to contribute to economic growth. Hence, we are undoubtedly excited about the future and our part in contributing to these conversations as an exhibitions organiser.

ND: There were plans to construct a 300-bed hotel and conventional centre in Bulawayo, in a bid to ease accommodation problems for exhibitors. How far have you
gone in implementing this project?

NN: The cost of accommodation for our exhibitors and business visitors is a perennial challenge. This increases the cost of participating in our shows for both
big and small potential exhibitors.

To that end, the issue of enhancing our capacity to effectively compete in the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions space is a vital strategic
objective.

We also want to play hard in the business tourism space. We are, therefore, seized with the matter relating to the project and we are working with the
Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe to ensure that our processes are consistent with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act.

Once that is settled, we will seek advice from experts on the best model that we can adopt to realise that objective.

BY OBEY MANAYITI

CHIPINGE farmer Richard Le Vieux yesterday accused Manicaland Provincial Affairs minister Ellen Gwaradzimba of attempting to grab his multi-million export enterprising farm and was only blocked from doing so by Cabinet.

Le Vieux told the Justice Mayor Wadyajena led Parliamentary committee on Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement that Gwaradzimba, whose son,
Remembrance Mbudzana, had been allocated his Farfell Estates, was trying to force partnerships with lucrative farms by threatening to grab all their land if they refused.

At one point, Gwaradzimba allegedly summoned four commercial farmers and threatened to take their land if they refused her preferred partnership.

At that particular meeting, Agriculture minister Perrance Shiri reportedly also repeatedly threatened to kick out the farmers if they continuously defied the
orders.

Le Vieux, who at one point was invited to farm in Mozambique by the leadership in that country, also narrated how he was bundled into a police truck at night
for refusing to pave way for the minister’s son.

He also told the committee how he was made to appear before the courts on numerous occasions before Cabinet’s intervention to save his land.

“Cabinet has now determined that Mr Richard Le Vieux is to remain on the estates,” read a letter that was written by Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo
after a Cabinet deliberation to stop Gwaradzimba. “He will be facilitated to acquire the requisite documentation to give him certainty of land tenure according
to his legal entitlement.”

Among other things, the former Swiss banker exports coffee and avocados to Europe.

He also told the committee that the country had immense agricultural potential and it needed to improve infrastructure, especially the road network.

guest column Jonathan Roberts

How many times in the past week did you think your life was affected by a robot?

Unless you have a robot vacuum cleaner, you might say that robots had no real impact on your life.

But you’re wrong. Let’s take a look at some of the ways robots are being used right now, but that you probably have no idea about.

So what is a robot?

Before we start, we need to define what actually is a robot. There is no official definition of what constitutes a robot, but many roboticists (like me)
consider it to be a machine that moves, or has moving parts, and that makes basic decisions while interacting with the world.

Hence, your vacuum cleaner that you leave to do its job while you are away is a robot. It senses the world around it and makes driving decisions as it sucks
and sweeps.

But your washing machine is not a robot. You tell it how to wash when you select the cycle and it gets on with it. There are grey areas and the definition is
debated, but let’s leave it there.

On to your past week.

Food sorting robots

If you eat rice, chances are that every grain you consumed was sorted by a robotic machine with a lightning-fast vision system.

Rice-sorting machines are miracles of automation and most people have no idea they exist. Did you actually think rice grows as uniformly (in colour and shape)
as it appears in the bag you buy at the supermarket? It doesn’t.

Rice sorting by colour

Every grain of rice passes through a robotic machine that uses very high-speed cameras, lights and a computer. The image of each rice grain is analysed by that
computer and a decision is made as to its grade. Jets of air are turned on and off to steer or flick the grain into the correct bin. This happens hundreds of
times per second.

In fact, rice is not the only food that is sorted by robots, and the food-sorting market is growing rapidly. Robotic machines are available to sort wheat,
pulses and seeds.

Robots for medical training

Did you see a health care professional? If you did, you should have noticed if they were human or a robot. Chances are they were a human. But did you know that
many nurses, paramedics and doctors now train on robot patients.

Robot patients for training

These training robots can simulate various conditions and give student health workers the ability to practice diagnosis and treatment of various conditions
before they go near a real person. You can think of these robotic patients as being like the flight simulators that airline pilots use during their flight
training.

Some of these medical training robots are life-sized and look like a real person, but some are more specialised and might be representative of just one part of
a person.

A robot rectum in action.

Robots for police training

Have you been taken hostage in an armed robbery? I hope not. But if you were, and an armed response team from your police service attended, those police
snipers that aimed their red laser dot at the criminals may have been trained using robots.

Sydney-based company Marathon Targets sells a range of highly capable mobile robots that can be shot at by military and police trainees. These robots are
armour-plated (for obvious reasons) and can be used to simulate real people (targets) during live-fire training.

It’s okay to shoot these targets.

Robots for extracting poison

Did you take medication? If it’s medication to prevent malaria or suppress your immune system, those pharmaceuticals may have used scorpion venom as one of the
ingredients.

It is quite obvious the extraction of venom from scorpions is quite hazardous to people, but the perfect job for a robot.

A robot that extracts venom from a scorpion.

Robots down the sewer

You must have used a toilet? Hopefully! We do not often think about our sewers, but when they go wrong, we certainly know about it.

Fatbergs have become a major problem in many cities around the world.

Sewer inspection and maintenance is more important than ever and dome inspection workers now have robots to help them with their difficult business.

Robots can be used to help inspect sewers.

Robots and your shopping

Did you go shopping or order anything online? Did you know that many items you buy are partially moved from where they are made to where you receive them by
robots?

Some container ports are now partially automated. The huge containers are offloaded from ships by human operators controlling cranes.

But from then on, the containers are handled by giant robotic cranes on wheels — known as straddle carriers. They are moved around the port, stacked,
unstacked, re-stacked, and once ready for transport, they are automatically loaded onto container-carrying trucks for road transport.

Robotic warehouse workers.
The robot revolution is now

So that’s just six ways that robots may have affected you in the past week. Of course there are dozens more ways in which robots are likely to have affected
your life; this list is just a taster.

The point is that the so-called upcoming robot revolution that is often talked about in the media is already happening. It’s just that most people don’t
notice.

BY SIMBARASHE SITHOLE

ZIMBABWE Prison and Correctional Services Commission (ZPCS) brand ambassador and dendera musician Sulumani “Sulu” Chimbetu has urged motorists to be vigilant when driving, following several accidents he witnessed during his tour in Mashonaland Central province last week.

Sulu visited Bindura prison last Thursday and was not pleased with the number of road carnages he saw on the day.

Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style before his Mvurwi show in the same province at the weekend, Sulu said drivers should respect the sanctity of human life.
“I was not pleased with the number of fatal road accidents I witnessed in this province last week. Drivers should exercise extreme caution and respect human life. What I saw, especially along the Bindura-Harare Highway, was not pleasing at all,” he said.

Sulu was performing in Mvurwi for the first time in two years and people flocked to the show, where he sampled the track, Ndunge Akafa, from his forthcoming album, much to the delight of the fans.

“This song is meant to celebrate the life of our legendary traditional hero, Sekuru Ndunge. The track is on our forthcoming album, which I am not yet talking about now,” he said.

Music promoter Prince Chipenda was excited about the attendance at the show and praised Sulu for taking his invite to meet his fans after a long time.

“The attendance here shows that people were hungry for dendera music and Sulu’s visit to Mvurwi is greatly welcome as he has managed to meet his fans who have been starved of his live performances for two years,” he said.

Confidentiality is the bedrock principle of capital market ethics.

Client confidentiality is the principle that an institution or individual should not reveal information about their clients to a third party without the consent of the client or a clear legal reason.

As part of C-TRADE’s ongoing efforts to ensure that investor rights are fully respected, C-TRADE has developed policies and procedures aimed at protecting personal information. C-TRADE’s commitment to privacy is an integral part of its Code of Professional Conduct, to which it strictly adheres to.

Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and Know Your Customer (KYC) are key elements that enable C-TRADE and its entire value chain to know its customers and their financial dealings better, which in turn helps C-TRADE identify suspicious transactions and manage risks prudently.

C-TRADE’s Customer Due Diligence includes identifying, verifying and monitoring all aspects of the applicant’s identity, residential address, any temporary address, and includes information on the source of funds and source of wealth. It also includes continuous surveillance and reporting mechanisms.

Except in the most unusual and extraordinary circumstances C-TRADE does not reveal client’s confidential information.

The three circumstances under which C-TRADE can disclose client’s personal information include when compelled to do so by the law in the case of a court proceeding.

C-TRADE is therefore not a vehicle for money laundering schemes and plays a role in combating financial terrorism.

C-TRADE can also divulge confidential information when given the authority by a client.

C-TRADE appreciates the protective function obtainable in the entire value chain of its market stretching from the supervised obligations of the issuers to the universal standard practices of the qualified professionals providing advice and services, as such, C-TRADE can disclose information if it increases transparency and if it is for the good of the market to promote the integrity of its market.

Where a breach of law does occur, investors should be protected through the strong enforcement of the law. In the event of an ultimate dispute, investors should have access to a neutral mechanism (such as courts or other mechanisms of dispute resolution) or means of redress and compensation for improper behavior.

C-TRADE provides a Market Watch that shows price movements and the available Bids and Asks, making the marketplaces more transparent, efficient and investor-friendly.

Moreover, besides prescribing the quantity and quality of information an investor provides, C-TRADE also provides investors with a Newsfeeds section which gives them all the trending capital market news for their decision making.

The platform ensures that the market structures do not unduly favor some market investors over others.

Thus, C-TRADE promotes market practices that guarantee fair treatment of orders and further aims to ensure that investors are given fair access to market facilities, prices and market information.

C-TRADE has investor interface tools such as the Web Portal, Mobile App and a USSD platform which are accessible to retail investors.

The Web Portal offers an advanced interface which allows investors to participate on the exchange in real-time through personal computers and gives them rich stock market information.