BY RICHARD MUPONDE

The Gwanda Mega 5 water reservoir, which is touted to be the panacea to the mining town’s perennial water problems is now complete and awaits a test run, an official said yesterday.

Gwanda mayor, Jastone Mazhale confirmed the new development to Southern Eye last Friday.

“Our project of solving the perennial water problems which faced Gwanda is complete. The Mega 5 water reservoir is now complete and is waiting a test run to identify whether there are
any leaks, which need to be rectified before being connected to the main water system,” Mazhale said.

He said water problems would be a thing of the past for Gwanda, as the reservoir has the capacity to supply Gwanda town and its peripheries.

“That tank is on the highest point in Gwanda than all other tanks. That means suburbs which faced water problems such as Spitzkop North Extension, Phakama, Senondo and Ultra will have
their water problems solved. The tank has the capacity to supply a radius of 30 kilometres through gradient. As I speak, a pump to that reservoir has been purchased and will be
installed next week,” he said.

Gwanda municipality has set the ball rolling to acquire city status by embarking on a raft of projects, which it says would contribute to the development of the town.

The council has repeatedly faced water challenges because of the recurrent fights between the local authority and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority over control of the resource.

BY Kevin Mapasure

Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya is looking to wring every drop of commitment and fighting spirit from his novices when they face a high-riding ZPC Kariba side in his first match at Rufaro Stadium since his return to the team last week.

The match is likely to attract interest from the DeMbare faithfuls, who are expected to come in their numbers to look at the project that Ndiraya is putting together.

DeMbare has endured a difficult start to the season, and have lost three matches from their first five, which saw the departure of Lloyd Chigowe.

In his first match, Ndiraya presided over a draw against TelOne in Bulawayo last week and wants to see his team show signs of improvement when they take on ZPC Kariba tomorrow.

Ndiraya acknowledges that his side faces a tough task against a team that has put together four wins in as many matches.

“Against ZPC Kariba, it will be a huge challenge. Our team is comprised of inexperienced players; we have mostly players that have come from Division One,” Ndiraya said this week.

“ZPC Kariba have players with loads of experience and have been playing together for a long time. In fact, they have been strengthening with each season. But look, we are Dynamos. We
are a big name and ZPC can underestimate us at their own peril. We have seen a lot of progress and change in attitude as well as commitment. Against ZPC Kariba, we are banking on our
fighting spirit and commitment. We are banking on the renewed confidence that the players and supporters now have. There is renewed optimism among the supporters, so hopefully, we can
ride on that and do well.”

While Ndiraya has bemoaned the low levels of fitness as well as the quality at his disposal, he is encouraged by the signs he has seen so far.

“We saw some encouraging signs when we played TelOne, so we are expecting an improved performance this weekend. But quite frankly, we still have a long way to go because these things require time.”

While a bumper crowd is expected at Rufaro, Ndiraya knows that big numbers could also work against his team.

“Psychologically, we are going back to Rufaro, where all the bad things were happening in the past. I am sure some players were affected psychologically, so we have been working on
their mentality, so that they don’t buckle under pressure. We are expecting supporters to come in numbers. The motivation is coming from the result we got in Bulawayo and the
performance in that match. That adds pressure to the players who are not used to playing under such conditions, so we have been working on psyching up the boys. In the same vein, we are
calling on our supporters to get behind the team. This is the team that we have and they need all the support they can get. The supporters should get behind the team even in difficult
times. We are trying to do new things and sometimes it won’t work the way we want. We have largely players from Division One, but if we work as a unit, we can get something out of these
boys.”

DeMbare will be boosted by the return of their experienced captain, Edward Sadomba, who missed the last match due to suspension.

Sadomba is expected to lead from the front against the power utility side.

BY XOLISANI NCUBE

HARARE City Council has opened talks with a Turkish firm to set up a new water source in Harare South under a USD$3,2 billion deal.

The deal, which would be on a built, operate and transfer basis, will see council engaging Lidwala Specialist Solutions through a special purpose vehicle, Independent Water Provider (IWP).

“The IWP would be responsible for revenue collection from consumers for water services delivered, and would service debts associated with the infrastructure from such revenues, pending
outcome of the bankable feasibility stage, the city and/or government may or may not be required to provide viability gap guarantees in the event that collected revenue falls short of
the levels required to service debt obligations,” read minutes of the environmental management committee tabled at a full council on Tuesday.

According to the minutes, council invited the Lidwala executive led by its general manager, Corneles Groesbeek, to present the project proposal in detail.

Groesbeek told the council that the company was structuring a finance model for the project to ensure commencement of the deal.

The IWP targets to source its raw water from Muda Dam and undertake water purification works as well as establish distribution networks.

“The Government of Zimbabwe would be required to provide standby guarantees for purchase of the infrastructure in the event that the infrastructure was nationalised, lost through
political unrest or other factors within the powers of government to mitigate,” read the minutes.

Harare has been battling to provide enough water to its residents, largely due to polluted and dwindling water sources as well as dilapidated infrastructure.

Muda Dam is an ambitious $1 billion project outside Chitungwiza town, and envisaged to help ease water pressure on Harare by supplying to the dormitory town, which has been relying on
the capital city.

The project, which is a public private partnership initiative with construction and civil engineering company Sesani, would need Cabinet approval once the feasibility studies are
complete.

Ahead of the 2018 elections, the Zanu PF government said it had prioritised the construction Kunzvi and Muda dams to supply Chitungwiza, Epworth, Harare and Norton with fresh water.

Chitungwiza has been getting its water from Harare through Price Edward treatment works. But the supplies have not been constant due to Harare’s own inability to deliver enough water.

As of yesterday, Harare was pumping not more than 150 megalitres of water per day against a daily demand of 800 megalitres.

Harare supplies between 20 megalitres to 25 megalitres of water per day to Chitungwiza town, depending on availability, resulting in some households getting supplies once per fortnight.
The situation has forced many families in Chitungwiza to rely on water from shallow wells or boreholes, exposing residents to waterborne diseases.

By Sindiso Dube

Highlanders coach Madinda Ndlovu has explained that talented midfielder Denzel Khumalo’s absence from the first team is due to fitness issues.

There has been speculation that Khumalo has been missing from the Bosso line-up due to disciplinary issues.

Khumalo only featured in the first 53 minutes of the team’s opener against Black Rhinos before being replaced by Zambian Peter Nyirenda in a match which ended in a one-all draw.

Khumalo was relegated to the club’s developmental side, Bosso 90 last year on disciplinary grounds and was later recalled in the last half of the season, where his displays won the
hearts of the Bosso fans. Addressing club members on Thursday, Ndlovu said Khumalo was working on his fitness levels and would be expected back soon.

“I am shocked to hear speculations that Denzel (Khumalo) is facing disciplinary actions. Disciplinary actions for what? If it was so, I would have told you. I don’t know where all this
is coming from. Denzel is training with us, he has gained weight. He has admitted that his fitness levels are not where he wants to be, so he is working on that,” the Bosso gaffer said.

Highlanders will still be missing the services of right back Bukhosi Ncube when they take on Hwange at Barbourfields Stadium tomorrow following his knee injury in the match against
Triangle.

This is not the first time Ncube has been lifted off the field. Last year, he went out in similar fashion in their opening matches, which saw the young player sitting out for the rest of the season due to the same knee injury.

BY TERRY MADYAUTA

GWERU-based side Chapungu have promised to inflict more pain on struggling newcomers, Mushowani Stars, when the two sides clash in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League encounter at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane tomorrow.

The airforce side has been enjoying a good run of form, where they have managed two wins and a draw in their opening four assignments.

Last weekend, they accounted for a rare maximum points over Triangle at Gibbo Stadium, courtesy of an Ian Nyoni strike, to leap to seven points.

Chapungu coach Rodwell Dhlakama said they want to maintain their winning momentum and dropping points against Mushowani will not be accepted.

“We have so far been good, but there is still a lot of work to be done before we can say we are at our best.

“We have to keep this form by all means possible to make sure that we collect as much points as possible in the first half of the season,” he said.

“We are in high spirits as we prepare for Mushowani on Sunday. We respect them just like any other team in the league, but we want those three points.

“There is every reason to keep dreaming because so far so good. We have been doing good and because of the background that we have not been very good in the previous seasons, we have to
keep fighting and remain focused.”

Nyoni has been riding high for the airmen with four goals to his name, and so is Brighton Mugoni, who has so far scored three goals.

Mushowani, on the other hand, are still searching for their first top-flight win and will have to be at their penetrative best when they take on Chapungu, a side renowned for its
physicality and steely defence line that is marshalled by Blessed Mbavarira and Collin Kwaramba.

BY RUTENDO MATANHIKE

UNIVERSITY of Cape Town professor Wallace Chuma yesterday said a study he conducted showed that journalists were unable to work to their full capacity during the transition to the new dispensation led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Speaking during the launch of the report Mediating the “Military-assisted” Transition in Zimbabwe: Journalists and Civil Society in Harare, Chuma said he carried out interviews with 25 journalists, most of whom were of the view that the new dispensation was a continuation of the previous regime of Robert Mugabe.

“In interviews, journalists were invited to reflect on their experiences of the post-Mugabe dispensation from a professional standpoint. The overwhelming majority felt that the new
dispensation was largely a continuation of the previous regime and others felt that it was a worse version of it,” he said.

Chuma said during the transition, most journalists were working in a restricted environment, which infringed on their profession.

“We found that journalists were operating in a very vulnerable and restricted environment, where the flow of information was carefully curated and controlled and also many journalists
were embedded in Zanu PF factions,” he said.

The report also showed that social media platform, Twitter, had provided Zimbabweans, locally and abroad, with a platform to express their views freely.

“A finding from the Twitter analysis was that the social media platform, Twitter, provided a space for citizens in Zimbabwe and outside Zimbabwe to vent their sentiments/emotions of endorsement, encouragement and discouragement, pertaining to the ousting of Robert Mugabe,” he said.

Takura Zhangazha, a civil society activist, said it was important to look into how Twitter aided the new dispensation and whether or not it was used as a manipulation tool during the
transition period.

“It is important to start analysing the impact social media has on the citizens of Zimbabwe. We need to understand how social media can undermine or expand a situation. As seen during the transition into the new dispensation, social media became a tool that possibly confirmed a pre-determined bias, therefore, it becomes a manipulative tool,” he said.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

OVER 22 families spent the night out in the cold, having been evicted from a subdivision of Glenara Estates along the old Mazowe Road on Thursday, following a High Court order.

The farm was allocated to Mavis Rondozai in 2001 at the height of Zimbabwe’s bloody farm invasions.

Rondozai was reportedly allocated the land illegally, triggering a protracted court battle as farm owner Kelvin James won the right to return to his farm 17 years later.

The farm, which was now being run by Rondozai’s children following her death in 2006, had become home to nearly 100 people who were also forced out of the land. They had their homes
destroyed under the watch of the Deputy Sheriff.

Tambudzai Chikukutu, who was evicted from the farm said they had left their cattle, farm, produce and 17 years of a livelihood following the eviction.

“We had paid fees for our children for the term that opens next week, bought uniforms; we are even yet to harvest our crops, but following this cruel move we are left without hope and
disturbed,” she said.

Another victim, Abigail Mujere, said reports were that their offer letters had been dismissed as fraudulent.

“They argue that the summons in the matter where the former farm owner was filling for eviction were served at the wrong address. They further argued that our offer letters were
fake, but we know they are not fake. Something fishy is going on,” she said.

Mujere said the farm was handed over to her in-laws by Transport deputy minister Fortune Chasi.

“We were given the keys to the house by our MP Chasi in 2001. We have since approached him so that he deals with this matter. He has promised to help us,” she said.

A number of illegal farm invaders have, of late, been evicted from the various farms they grabbed in 2000.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has, however, said the land reform will not be reversed, but the latest evictions are raising anxiety among the new farmers.

BY KENNETH NYANGANI

A POPULAR Mutare socialite, who was this week acquitted of raping his seven-year-old daughter, has blasted parents who use their children to fight their matrimonial disputes, claiming he does not have hard feelings against his former wife.

Rusape regional magistrate Livingstone Chipadze ruled in the accused’s favour after the State failed to prove a prima facie case against him.

Chipadze told the court that the mother of the complainant had fabricated the rape charges and coaxed her daughter into filing the rape charge after the relationship with the
socialite had broken down.

The socialite said there was evidence that the seven-year-old complainant’s parents were going through serious matrimonial problems.

In an interview with NewsDay Weekender, the popular Mutare man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the minor, said he was happy that he had been cleared.

“I am happy that I have been acquitted of these rape charges. I want to thank the justice system for setting me free. I was even struggling to work for my family because of this issue.

I am concerned about parents who use their children to fight their matrimonial challenges,” he said.

“This will obviously affect children in the long run. Parents should find a way of solving their differences without involving their children. I don’t have hard feelings with my former wife and I am not going to sue her. I am leaving it to God. Now I want to focus on the best possible way to raise my child.”

The magistrate said the complainant’s mother tried to manipulate her maid through a pay raise so that she falsely testifies in court against the accused.

“The complainant’s mother showed the court that she is clearly a bitter person against the accused and in court did not dispute that her own sister had, at one time, used or raised false allegations of rape against her husband,” the magistrate said

The complainant’s mother was also discredited by the maid as an alcoholic, who had attempted to manipulate her to falsely testify against her former husband.

BY XOLISANI NCUBE

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has threatened to come hard on civil servants who yesterday snubbed the national clean-up campaign, saying they would find themselves out of jobs.

Addressing Chitungwiza residents, Mnangagwa said some of his staffers did not participate in the national clean-up programme and opted to stay put in their offices.

“As I was leaving office, I saw some civil servants seated in their offices as if they did not know we have this programme. I said, okay, let me go since I want cleanliness and these
people (act as if they) do not know that I had declared this day as a national day. But let me say this; we shall see. They will find themselves in their rural areas. I don’t know how they will live there since they will also find people there busy with the cleanliness programme,” Mnangagwa said.

Government last year announced that every first Friday of the month should be a national clean-up day as a way of promoting clean cities for tourism and economic growth.

Mnangagwa has religiously led the event.

He said since the launch of the programme in November, Harare central business district had changed its outlook and this he attributed to the support being given by residents.

Mnangagwa came face-to-face with the water situation in Chitungwiza.

He was told by the new town mayor Lovemore Maiko that the dormitory town was receiving water supplies from Harare at least twice a week, a feat the President said should be corrected.

He invited the new mayor to his office so they could share the town’s problems and see how government could assist.

“Mayor, when you find time, may you pay a visit to my office so that you tell me all your problems and we find out how we can help each other,” Mnangagwa said.

“If there are problems that we can solve, we solve them and if they are problems that we cannot solve, we will put them aside.”

Maiko said he was prepared to engage Mnangagwa.