Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital medical superintendent Collet Mawire has allayed fears among patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) that they are being given expired drugs.
Following concerns by some patients that the tablets distributed had a June 2018 expiry date, Mawire said the Medicine Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) tested the drugs and gave them another year.
“On the issue of ART tablets, we were given the go-ahead to distribute them following some tests after the expiry date. So it is above board, it is in order,” he said.
Provincial medical director Wensilus Nyamayaro said the procedure was that they should stop distributing either tablets or medicine on the day of expiry and send samples to MCAZ, which will advise whether to remove them from the shelf or to continue for a subscribed time. Some people on the ART programme had raised concerns about the tablets distributed last week which had a June 2018 expiry date.
Getrude Shoniwa, who realised this anomaly when already at home, said the trust one has on the drugs has been eroded.
“Yes, they might say the drugs are still working, but the mere fact that I know that the date is way past what is written might not augur well with some of us since healing, be it spiritual or medical, is based on trust,” Shoniwa said. Another patient who requested anonymity said it was better to take expired tablets that nothing at all.
Zimbabwe is targeting to attract tourists from the Middle East by participating in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) Fair in the United Arab Emirates.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority acting chief executive Rita Likukuma said participating at the ATM would help market Zimbabwe in the Middle East, which has some of the leading tourism operators in the world.
“The Arabian market gives us an opportunity to rebuild the confidence in destination Zimbabwe and establishing strategic partnership with leading tourism operators, promoting packages to southern Africa and the continent at large,” she said.
Dubai Tourism director general Helal Saeed Almarri said Zimbabwe can further enhance travel experience through the use of emerging technologies.
“The theme of the 26th edition highlights the role that technology and innovation are playing in revolutionising the travel landscape,” Almarri said.
“Dubai has already embraced a ‘digital, mobile and social first’ agenda, placing future readiness at its core and promoting the adoption of the disruptive technology to evolve its destination offering.”
Arabian Travel Market exhibition director Danielle Curtis said the travel show provides the platform for tourism players to engage while driving the development of sustainable tourism.
“The question remains, in a world of accelerating technology disruption, how can the hospitality industry continue to keep up with the rapidly evolving innovations surrounding it?
“In our effort to address this question, cutting-edge technology and innovation has been adopted as our spotlight theme for 2019 and will be integrated across all shows vertical and planned activities…identifying the top tourism trends that have the greatest growth potential is one of the most valuable insights ATM has to offer,” she said.
ZTA head of corporate affairs Godfrey Koti said: “It is our hope that we embrace the advent of technology. We have already started embarking on the journey of the digitisation of the tourism industry,” Koti said.
He added that the nation was slowly driving its strategic position towards technology because there were players who had done their best to align their strategic goals with technology adoption and encouraged those that have not started to begin to focus on such.
The ATM, which is the most established travel trade exhibition in the Middle East market, annually brings in more than 39 000 travel professionals from the region and the world source markets.
Statistics show that US$2,5 billion worth of business was generated at last year’s edition of the fair.
TWO Transport ministry casual workers have been jailed for 35 months each after they were convicted of stealing diesel and vehicle parts meant for the construction of a 10km detour of the Beitbridge-Chirundu Highway in Chivhu.
Webster Wara (29) and Alfred Mafusire (21), pleaded guilty to siphoning 200 litres of diesel from roadwork vehicles at the Chivhu campsite when they appeared before resident magistrate Ngoni Nduna.
In a separate case, Mafusire was ordered to pay ZWL$400 fine or serve six months in jail at his own plea of guilty for stealing 10 batteries from roadworks vehicles at the Chivhu campsite. All the batteries were recovered.
The court heard that between January 22 and April 27 this year, Chida Muzondo, a security guard at the Chivhu roadworks site camp reported several cases of stolen batteries and diesel from roadworks vehicles to the police.
On April 27, police received a tip-off that Wara was selling car batteries in Chivhu town. He was arrested and implicated Mafusire.
Wara led detectives to his residence where the police recovered three heavy-duty car batteries hidden under a bed and 125 litres of diesel which was in a drum in his dining room. Police also recovered seven more batteries from several individuals who had bought the loot from Mafusire.
Meanwhile, police are investigating a case in which 23 000 litres of bitumen tar meant for the Beitbridge-Chirundu Highway construction disappeared in Chivhu.
A 20-YEAR-OLD Kwekwe man involved in a love triangle was slapped with a one-year sentence on Tuesday for stabbing his colleague three times on his back before stoning him.
Evans Banda (20) of house number 90/1 Old Mbizo, Kwekwe, pleaded guilty to an assault charge before Kwekwe magistrate Story Rushambwa.
The court heard that on April 9 around 7am at Musopero bar in Kwekwe, Banda met his friend Bongani Mpofu and accused him of snatching his girlfriend and stabbed him three times. The defenceless Mpofu fell down, and using a catapult, Banda shot a stone at him before walking away.
In passing sentence , the magistrate took into consideration that Banda was a first offender.
He suspended four months on condition that Banda does not commit a similar offence in the next five years, while the remaining eight months were commuted to 280 hours of community service at Mbizo Clinic.
Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (Zimcodd) has called on government to facilitate the transition of workers and economic units from informal to formal, while respecting workers’ rights and ensuring opportunities for income security, livelihoods and entrepreneurship.
In a statement yesterday, Zimcodd said government should implement policies that ensure workers live descent lives.
“Zimcodd calls for an alternative pro-poor economic system that value workers, cognisant of the fact that workers create society’s wealth, but have no control over its production and distribution. Promote the creation, preservation and sustainability of enterprises and decent jobs in the formal economy and the coherence of macroeconomic, employment, social protection and other social policies,” the organisation said.
The coalition blamed government for worsening the economic situation in the country by introducing policies such as the Transitional Stabilisation Programme.
“It is worrying that this year, Workers’ Day is being commemorated in the midst of a deep socio-economic crisis, worsened by neo-liberal policies being implemented under the ‘austerity for prosperity’ mantra. This has caused untold suffering to workers due to continual rising cost of living, further eroding wages and salaries.
“Already, the first days of the implementation of austerity for prosperity (measures) has seen massive macro-economic recession manifesting through many tax heads being introduced targeting the citizens and the worker, skyrocketing prices of basic commodities, macroeconomic distortions and foreign exchange shortages,” the statement read.
Zimcodd said historical evidence, locally, regionally and internationally has proved that austerity measures were not a solution to the material conditions of the working class, but instead entrenches poverty and other forms of inequality.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) expressed concern at the alarming and escalating disrespect for workers by both the government and the private sector in recent months.
“While the Constitution of Zimbabwe now guarantees labour rights, including the right to collective job action and collective bargaining, freedom to demonstrate and petition, it is saddening to note that Zimbabwean authorities such as the Zimbabwe Republic Police continue to disregard workers’ rights by arbitrarily suppressing their legitimate activities,” ZLHR said.
“In recent months, Zimbabwe’s disrespect for labour rights reached a new low when authorities used force to break up demonstrations called for by aggrieved workers, who were demanding an end to the economic crisis … and a reversal of the steep hike in fuel prices by government.”
The organisation said the police’s vicious reaction to the workers’ protest over genuine grievances afflicting their daily livelihoods was a blatant abuse of its power and is in violation of the Constitution and the International Labour Organisation standards, including the right to strike.
Cigarette manufacturer, British American Tobacco (BAT) posted a 18% increase in after tax profit to US$31,4 million in the year ended December 31, 2018 from US$26,7 million in the previous year driven by an increase in sales of 16% and improved operational efficiencies.
The group’s revenue was up 16% to US$42,7 million from US$36,8 million in 2017 backed by strong sales performance and an improvement in the sales mix.
“The company’s Low Value for Money Brand, Ascot, grew by 171% driven by robust trade activation, with the Value for Money Segment (Madison and Everest) recording a 10% growth driven by Everest, which grew by 35%,” group chairman, Lovemore Manatsa said in a statement accompanying the financials.
Other income increased by 19% from US$2,5 million to US$2,94 million due to foreign exchange gains on liabilities.
The group’s administrative expenses fell 5% to US$6,95 million due to saving initiatives coupled with the benefits of restructuring activities implemented in previous years, which offset the impact of increasing inflation in the last quarter of the year.
Selling and marketing costs increased 3% to US$4,99 million from US$4,86 million in the prior year.
Cash generated from operations was US$17,1 million, a 22% increase from US$14 million generated in 2017 driven by an increase in profit offset by higher inventories and debtors. The company’s total assets increased to US$51,44 million from a comparative US$37,9 million in 2017.
The company expects trading conditions to remain challenging as the country continues to strive for economic stability, but the group remains confident that its strategies remain appropriate and their brand portfolio is consumer relevant.
BAT’s major shareholders include BAT International Holdings (UK), Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Zimbabwe Limited, BAT Zimbabwe Tobacco Empowerment trust and BAT Zimbabwe Employee Share Ownership Trust.
A NEW wave of price increases has seen hard-pressed Zimbabweans grappling with counting the cost of dying.
Funeral insurance companies, hit by a failing local currency, have joined the bandwagon by increasing premiums by 100% effective next month.
In a notice to its policy holders, Nyaradzo Funeral Assurance Company said it had no choice, but to increase premiums so as to preserve value.
“In order to preserve the value of funeral policy benefits, kindly note with effect (from) June 1, funeral policy premiums shall be increased by 100%. We shall communicate the same to all policy holders through SMS before May 1,” part of the letter sent out to policy holders reads.
Hard-pressed workers face this new hurdle to giving their loved ones decent burial.
Government, despite warning business against price hikes which President Emmerson Mnangagwa has described as “inhuman, unethical and unpatriotic”, has failed to stem the wave of price hikes.
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa said workers continue to be the easy escape route cushioning both government and business.
“Government and business look at the workers as their escape route. Now that business is falling on the sword of austerity and neo-liberal economics, they are cushioning themselves without increasing salaries. Government also just wakes up, increases taxes and forgets about the welfare of the workers, yet we have nowhere to turn to,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Association of Healthcare Funders of Zimbabwe (AHFoZ) says it has been approached by a number of service providers requesting for more tariff increases, barely three months after they were reviewed.
The increases range between 50% and 400%.
Recently, AHFoZ effected an upward review of 40% and 30% on fees payable by its members to medical professionals and private hospitals units, respectively.
In a statement, the association proposed that an urgent meeting of all concerned stakeholders be convened in order to find a workable solution so that patients continue accessing the required healthcare services.
“Medical aid societies have been receiving numerous complaints from their members and employer organisations over the increases in contributions (since) salaries are not going up,” reads the statement.
“At the moment, medical aid societies are still assessing the impact of these increases, as it is barely three months since their recent fees review. Judging from member feedback, another round of contribution increases so soon would be unaffordable for medical aid members, employer groups and health funders.”
AHFoZ said the prevailing economic conditions, characterised by liquidity challenges, among many other negatives, have not spared health funders either.
“The association would like to urge all medical aid members to carefully consider any alternative options that may be available with the assistance of their health funders, when faced with difficulties in accessing services,” it said.
Coal miner, Makomo Resources, says production in the first quarter of the year remained subdued, with output only reaching half of the company’s target due to the unavailability of key raw materials.
“Our target was between 200 000 tonnes and 250 000 tonnes a month and we did almost 50% of that in the quarter. In fact, it was only the latter part, the last month of the quarter, otherwise January and February we were very low. We did about 30% or so on average for the quarter, which is way below our target,” managing director Raymond Mutokonyi said.
“We faced operational challenges, especially the high cost of production versus the price of that commodity and unavailability of key raw materials like diesel and explosives, which are being imported”.
Makomo has an installed capacity of 350 000 tonnes per month which remains underutilised.
“So, first quarter was very subdued. We did not do much, but the situation has slightly improved in the second quarter. But we are still having the same challenges. Fuel is a big challenge as it is still unavailable,” Mutokonyi said.
“We are hoping that somehow, the situation can be improved by availing the fuel at the right price as well as forex for key raw materials”.
“All things being equal, we would want to achieve at least 75% of our total capacity, but I’m not sure whether it’s going to be possible because the first quarter has already gone. But judging from the orders that Zesa wants, we should achieve at least 60% or so in the remaining months, provided the raw materials are available,” he said.
Makomo Resources is the largest privately-owned coal producer in Zimbabwe, and it supplies the country’s thermal power stations, industrial and agricultural sectors.
Zimbabwe can further enhance travel experience through the use of emerging technologies, stakeholders at the on-going Arabian Travel Market have said.
The country, through the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, is showcasing its growing portfolio of hospitality offerings at the Arabian Travel Market, and is hoping to build on a record tourism year in which it received 2, 5 million visitors.
This comes as tourism entities around the world continue to rapidly transform their operations and destination offerings in line with the ever evolving needs of today’s travellers.
“The theme of the 26th edition highlights the role that technology and innovation is playing in revolutionising the travel landscape,” Dubai Tourism director general Helal Saeed Almarri said.
“Dubai has already embraced a ‘digital, mobile and social first’ agenda, placing future readiness at its core and promoting the adoption of the disruptive technology to evolve its destination offering.”
Arabian Travel Market exhibition director Danielle Curtis concurred, adding the power of data was redefining the customer journey.
Curtis believes that travel shows provide the platform on which tourism players can engage, whereas driving the development of sustainable tourism
“The question remains: In a world of accelerating technology disruption, how can the hospitality industry continue to keep abreast with the rapidly evolving innovations surrounding it?
“In our effort to address this question, cutting-edge technology and innovation has been adopted as our spotlight theme for 2019 and will be integrated across all shows, vertical and planned activities… and identifying the top tourism trends that have the greatest growth potential is one of the most valuable insights ATM has to offer,” she said
ZTA head of co-operate affairs Godfrey Koti said Zimbabwe was not too far off the mark, although there was room for improvement.
“We are growing awareness among our operators and the entire industry in the country. It is our hope that we embrace the advent of technology. We have already embarked on the journey to digitasation of the tourism industry,” Koti said.
“We are slowly, but surely driving our strategic position in this regard. We have players who have done their best to align their strategic goals with technology adoption. We are proud of those that have done so and we encourage those that have not started to begin to focus on it.”
“Digital tools are a must for destination Zimbabwe to adopt to, considering that it has been named the third-must visit destination in the world. It is, therefore, imperative for us in authority and government to facilitate the smooth flow of technological advancement, Koti added”
Meanwhile, ZTA met with Saudi Arabia director of tourism Majed Alghanim on possible areas of co-operation and strategic partnerships between the two destinations.
Saudi Arabia is the third-ranked most popular international destination of travellers from the Middle East region, with Egyptian capital of Cairo leading the way as the most searched city destination overall.
Higher and Tertiary Education minister Amon Murwira has challenged educationists to embrace the Education 5.0 model aimed at producing students who are innovative to transform the economy towards the achievement of Agenda 2030.
Traditionally, Zimbabwe’s education system had three missions of teaching, research and community outreach.
The purpose of its design focused on producing a worker and not an industrialist.
The new model embraces innovation and industrialisation, which could enable education institutions in the country to produce students who can create jobs for themselves as well as for others.
“We have now conceptualised a new augmented model that allows us to move from the idea-to-product by adding innovation and industrialisation to the traditional tripartite mission of teaching, research and community outreach,” Murwira said at a Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) annual conference in Harare yesterday.
“What we have found out is that no matter how much we are able to calculate the most complicated equation, as long as we are in a wrong design (Education 3.0), we will and cannot industrialise and modernise,” Murwira said.
“But when we calculate within the right framework (Education 5.0), industrialisation will happen.”
Primary and Secondary Education minister Paul Mavima said Education 5.0 was the key to transforming Zimbabwe’s economy.
“Our teachers are the fundamental factors to ensure the human capital that is needed to take us towards the Agenda 2030. We must act fast. (Much) of our problem is productivity-centred,” he said.
“We want innovations. We want people who can come up with businesses to help solve these problems. Teachers are critical. Our teachers need to be capacitated.”
He said his ministry was in solidarity with the teachers in their endeavour to negotiate for better salaries from their employer.
“We should motivate and also bring confidence in them to help us achieve Agenda 2030. We are advancing together with them to the Public Service Commission to improve their standard of living,” Mavima said.
In an interview on the sidelines of the conference, Zimta chief executive Sifiso Ndlovu said the annual indaba was meant to discuss issues affecting teachers that are acting as barriers to the transformation of the economy.
“We are discussing if the teachers’ condition in the classroom is favourable? The size of the classroom and the teacher-students ratio. These are issues which we will take to government to say let us address,” he said.
