BY HENRY MHARA

FC PLATINUM might have disappointed in the Caf Champions League once again this season, but the team has picked a lot of positives which they say will be useful in the future.

The Zimbabwean champions are bottom of Group B with a point from five winless matches going into the last group match against Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia at the Rades Olympic Stadium tonight.

Coach Hendrik Pieter de Jongh, who is taking charge of the team on the continent for the second game, said although their chances of progression to the knockout stage had long since disappeared, the match was important as it was part of their learning process ahead of the new season. FC Platinum will again represent the country in the next Caf Champions League season which begins in August.

“The first thing is that the boys should enjoy the trip, and to learn for the next season of the Champions League. It is important that in every match we learn from mistakes and try to correct them in the next game,” De Jongh said on arrival in Tunis.

FC Platinum lost 1-0 at home to Al Hilal of Sudan last Saturday, conceding a late goal to Mohamed Eid to suffer a fourth defeat from five outings. Their only point came from a 1-1 draw at home to Al Ahly of Egypt early last month.

“Our last game against Al Hilal was a very good game although we didn’t get a good result. On Saturday, we have a big game to play. We will try to make an upset because the opponent is expected to win. It’s a big team. We have nothing to lose, we have everything to win. Let us go for a good result, and a good result is a draw or a win.”

De Jongh’s side has scored just two goals in the campaign, and their attacking department could be their biggest let down.

However, FC Platinum general manager Joseph Mususa believes that their disappointing campaign is due to lack of luck.

“We are making progress and the scoreline sometimes doesn’t do justice to the performance of the boys. We have been playing beautiful soccer, but usually tend to lose when we think we are pressing and we are caught by a counter-attack. By and large we are playing well, it’s just a matter of time before we start posting favourable results,” Mususa said.

Bottom of the group, the match against Etoile is a dead rubber for the Zvishavane side, but for Mususa, there is a lot to play for.

“The motivation is to get our first win in the group. And secondly should we win we will improve our ranking on the continent. It also benefits the nation because Caf might decide to give us an extra slot in terms of team representation in the competition in the 2021 edition.”

The team left Harare on Wednesday evening and endured a 12-hour flight to Dubai before connecting three hours later on another four-hour trip to Tunis. The home side will be looking to win the match and progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament. Kick-off is at 9pm.

The Tunisians are second on the Group B log on nine points – one behind Ahly and level with third-placed Al Hilal (but ranked ahead of the Sudanese side on head-to-head record).

Etoile know that a win guarantees them a place in the final eight of the competition alongside the likes of TP Mazembe, Zamalek, Mamelodi Sundowns, Wydad Casablanca, Esperance de Tunis and Raja Casablanca.

A draw or even a defeat could also be enough to progress, depending on the result of the other Group B game between Hilal and Ahly played simultaneously in Omdurman, but Etoile will be determined to keep their fate in their own hands by winning this match. In the reverse match, Etoile beat FC Platinum 3-0.

Champions League fixtures today

Group A: TP Mazembe v Zesco United, CD Primeiro de Agosto v Zamalek
Group B: Etoile du Sahel v FC Platinum, Al Hilal v Al Ahly
Group C: Mamelodi Sundowns v Wydad Casablanca, USM Alger v Petro de Luanda
Group D: Raja Casablanca v DC Motema Pembe, JS Kabylie v Esperance of Tunisia

BY WINSTONE ANTONIO

NEO-SOUL songbird, Adiona Maboreke-Chidzonga became a household name as she gained fame through the reality television show — Idols East Africa — where she was a 2008 finalist, becoming a darling of hundreds of thousands of viewers, not just in Zimbabwe, but across the continent.

She reached the top five in the show and her career has continued to flourish with her recent stint as host of Zambezi Magic channel’s My Perfect Wedding Zimbabwe series.

Married to popular actor-cum-filmmaker Munya Chidzonga, the duo carries that celebrity couple tag.

Pressure

“The pressure we have as a celebrity couple is the same as every other couple, I feel marriage is marriage, celebrity or not. I think Munya and I decided a long time ago to focus on each other instead of comparing ourselves to other couples and that is what works for us, loving each other our own way and being friends,” she said.

So, how does she manage the pressure?

“I enjoy hanging out with my sisters, having a good red wine and laughing loud. I also enjoy talking to my kids. Kids do really say the funniest things,” Adiona said.

Motherhood

Adiona is mother to three boys – Pfumai (9), Diwai (4) and Yanai (4 months).

“Juggling has not been easy, but I am thankful for a strong support system that includes my husband, my lovely in-laws Gogo and Sekuru Chidzonga, my sisters and my brother-in-law. I am telling you when they say it takes a village to raise a child, they are not lying. If I did not have the support I have, I would have lost my mind ,” she chuckled.

A fully-packed day

“In my daily routine, I wake up and I cuddle my little one, whom I am still breastfeeding. He is an early riser so I am up between 5.30 and 6am. I get the other boys ready for school with help from our aunty, Christine, pack lunch boxes and Munya does the morning school run,” she said.

“I have a 30-minute workout, breakfast then my day begins. I have a million and one things to do during the day, so listing them will take a day or two.

“These include meeting clients, rehearsals, school run, auditions, photo shoots, studio, cooking etc. My day ends exactly as it starts, cuddling Yanai, and I love it.”

And food…

“My favourite dish is curried brown sugar beans mixed with diced beef served with rice. When I make it, my boys literally overeat and that is a huge compliment to any mum,” she said.

Her secret

“The important thing that my fans don’t know about me is I don’t think of them as fans. I think of them as family because they support me, which is what family does. In fact, I dislike the word fan,” she said.

“A silly thing is that I am very sensitive about people who chew with their mouths open. I literally can’t think when someone does that, I am not disgusted by it, but I don’t know what it does to me. It’s silly. Munya says it’s psychotic, but I think it’s silly.”

BY VANESSA GONYE/ Nokuthaba Dlamini

Six suspected poachers were arrested in Harare on Thursday after they were found in possession of two rhino horns.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said Lee Dube (37), Yemurai Ndou (26), Adam Komela (33), Sibindani Silence (age unknown) David Kasere (24) and the other one only identified as Hardlife (23), were also found in possession of two rifles.

“We arrested seven people on Thursday for poaching a rhino and we recovered two riffles and two pieces of rhino horns,” he said.

They are expected to appear in court soon.

Farawo said the arrest came as a result of good stakeholder relations and the public’s commitment to help reduce cases of poaching.

“We are saying ‘no’ to poaching and we are on the ground. It is also a result of good working relationships with stakeholders and communities; the judiciary is doing a great job, most of these cases are thoroughly dealt with,” he said.

Meanwhile, ZimParks has received more than 50 cases of livestock being eaten by hyenas in Makonde district, Mashonaland West, amid resistance by villagers to move from national parks boundaries.

Felix Chimeramombe, who is the Mid Zambezi cluster manager said ZimParks has since deployed rangers in communal settlements to trap the wild animals.

“They are currently coming to raid livestock and recently we received several reports whereby the villagers are claiming that hyenas have pounced on more than 50 goats in that area,” he said.

“Right now we have got our rangers on the ground tracking them and indeed they have confirmed that this problem is very prevalent and they are trying by all means to track and destroy them.

“On human beings, for now we haven’t heard of any case except for one case whereby they killed two young children who were aged between 8 and 10 years in the Mbire district. The children went missing after going out of their homes following their parents who had gone away and they were pounced on. Villagers only managed to recover their clothes, but normally they target sheep, goats and cattle.”

Chimhandara said the resistance by villagers to move from protected areas was the main cause for increased human-wildlife conflicts.

“Lions too move out of the parks to prey because most people have moved from their communal area and settled close to parks boundaries and there is very thin line between protected areas and villagers. We used to have buffer zones, but they have ignored the gap and settled themselves in those restricted areas so cases of such conflicts will always prevail,” he said.

BY CHARLES LAITON

Former Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora’s estranged wife, Mercy Hanyani, has taken the former Rushinga MP to the High Court seeking an order to share the couple’s property following the dissolution of their customary marriage.

According to Hanyani, she entered into an unregistered customary law union with Dokora in May 2016 during which time the former minister performed all the cultural rites and paid lobola for her.

Hanyani said pursuant to the customary law union, she relocated from Mutare to Harare and commenced to live with Dokora as husband and wife and the couple was later blessed with a baby in September 2019.

The woman further said during the subsistence of their marriage, she made direct and indirect contributions to the acquisition of both movable and immovable properties through her personal earnings as a teacher.

“When the defendant terminated the parties’ customary union and universal partnership, he retained all of the parties’ acquired assets and forced the plaintiff out with only her and the minor child’s personal effects,” Hanyani said adding that was despite the fact that she gave comfort to Dokora as his wife which enabled him to devote his energies to his work, his political career and managing the couple’s farming and other businesses.

Hanyani said it was therefore, just and equitable, considering the lifestyle she was accustomed to as the wife of a minister, farmer and businessperson, that she should be awarded part of the matrimonial property.

“It would be fair distribution of assets, if plaintiff is to be awarded 50% of the immovable property listed in clause 15 (stand 172 Carrick Creagh of section 4 of Borrowdale Estate) above and the defendant retaining 50% thereof with the defendant having the option to buy-out the plaintiff’s shares….”

Hanyani also said she was demanding that Dokora give her 45% of the value of the general dealer and bottle store business in Rushinga, several household properties, Ford Everest or Mercedes Benz E300 and a Kawasaki motorbike.

The matter is pending.

BY PHILLIP CHIDAVAENZI/ PHYLLIS MBANJE

AN elderly man ambles into a pharmacy in the capital city, Harare, lamely holding a prescription for drugs, which he presents to a pharmacist.

He is told the cost of the medication — a cool US$10 or, alternatively, $245 — and slowly shakes his head.

“What if I buy for just one week?” The man asks, calculating the money he had, but the pharmacist stresses that they can only dispense the full allocation of the drugs.

The man slowly shakes his wizened head and walks out of the pharmacy. It is a heart-breaking sight.

This has become a common sight in the country as the cost of medication — and healthcare in general — continues to spiral out of control, with even those on medical aid forced to downgrade their packages to ensure that the medical cover does not swallow their entire salaries.

The pricing of drugs continues to cause a huge headache for many patients who are forced to pay mostly in US dollars as the bond equivalent is way beyond the reach of many and is often pegged way above the official interbank and parallel market rates to discourage clients from using the local currency.

This is despite the fact that many people earn their salaries in local currency — whose introduction after nearly 10 years of officially using the US dollar — has caused significant instability in the economy and seen prices of both medical consumables and other basic goods shooting through the roof.

Speaking to NewsDay Weekender on the pricing of drugs, Kuda Chapfika of the Pharmaceutical Wholesalers Association said there was too much instability and speculation in the market.

“Currently, there is a lot of instability in terms of pricing due to the fluctuating rates prevailing in the economy,” he said.

Chapfika also noted that the speculation was fuelling the glaring pricing disparities but admitted that wholesalers were forced to price their products in such a way that they would hedge themselves against losses as they were not accessing any foreign currency.

“Some players are being forced to speculate more than others in their pricing, hence the reported price disparities,” he said.

A snap survey by this paper revealed that the prices of the majority of medical drugs on demand were exorbitant, with a week’s supply of simple painkillers ranging from $100 to $120. In some pharmacies, however, the painkillers are going for US$1.

For common cough syrups, one would need to part with an average of US$10, which is an equivalent of $200 in local currency.

Those with chronic afflictions are the worst affected as they have to take their medication everyday, with most having to pay over US$30 for a month’s supply of a single drug, with epileptic drugs like phenobarbitone costing an average of US$9.

Pricing of drugs has remained one of the most contentious and in the absence of a proper regulatory mechanism, some pharmacists have been accused of wantonly putting higher mark-ups on drugs.

There have been reports that businesspeople with exclusive dealership on drugs were making profit margins of over 300% due to the relaxed pricing regulations for medicines in the country.

The scenario has been worsened by the situation in public hospitals which previously catered for many people at a lower price.

Patients have been accessing private medical care including pharmacies during the standoff between government and the doctors who are now slowly going back to work.

Many pensioners, who constitute the majority of patients stalked by terminal illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes, and in some cases HIV, have been hit the hardest by the increased cost of medical care and health products and consumables.

A Harare-based doctor who declined to be named citing professional reasons, said once the cost of medicines shot up, the next thing was default for those whose pockets are not deep enough to continue pumping out money for drugs.

“If people cannot afford medication, the next thing is default. If they default, then there are complications, especially from hypertension and diabetes, which lead to things like strokes, kidney failure, heart failure and blindness,” he said.

Social commentator, Robert Mhishi, said it was possible that many such patients could end up dying quietly as there had no recourse anywhere, and there could be a silent genocide going on in the country.

“Quite clearly, medical care has become a preserve for the rich,” he observed. “But the majority of those requiring constant healthcare are the elderly, many of whose pensions are nothing to write home about.”

He said those under medical cover were not safe given the spiralling cost of medical care and drugs, which has seen a number of clients downgrading their packages.

Earlier this month, one of the biggest healthcare funders in the country, CIMAS Medical Aid, increased its tariffs and introduced new inflation-proof packages to hedge well-heeled clients against the shocks of high medical costs.

In a statement issued in November last year, CIMAS managing director Martin Mushambadope indicated that their standard packages of private hospital, general and basicare would require co-payments.

“We have maintained three standard packages as part of our product offering. Please note that these packages will require co-payments at most healthcare facilities and these co-payments could be significant in some cases,” he said.

For those under the new packages — Healthguard Deluxe, Healthguard Essential and Healthguard Classic — will have wider treatment options without fretting too much.

Specialist physicians are now charging between US$30 and US$50 for consultation as top up for clients on medical aid.

Prohibitive costs of pharmaceutical products in Zimbabwe are pushing many individuals to source their medications from neighbouring countries such as South Africa where they are cheaper.

Although the government has been courting India for the provision of affordable drugs, medical doctors who spoke to NewsDay Weekender said it was imperative for the authorities to invest in its own public health system.

“We get most of our medication from India. So it is a good move to engage Indian companies. However, there is need for foreign currency to buy medicines from India. I am not sure if the government has enough foreign currency to meet that demand. We have our local companies that are struggling. Maybe government should also try to resuscitate these local pharmaceutical manufacturers,” said one local doctor.

“The government should also make sure that public hospitals are well-funded and equipped. Health services can then be offered to everyone at subsidised prices.”

For now, however, the majority of those battling chronic illnesses in particular, would be scratching their heads on how to ensure that they would not be forced to default by circumstances beyond their control.

By Tatenda Chitagu

THOUSANDS of villagers who were evacuated from the flooding Tugwi-Mukosi Dam in Chivi district and were resettled at Chingwizi in the vast Nuanetsi Ranch, have deserted the area due to lack of social amenities, Southern Eye has learnt.

The villagers were evacuated when floods flattened the basin in February 2014.

They were initially housed at Chingwizi transit camp in Nuanetsi Ranch for six months before they were forcibly moved further down and allocated one-hectare plots.

Today, seven years down the line, the area still does not have basic social amenities such as water, modern schools and health facilities.

Some villagers are still living in makeshift shelters – a factor which has forced many to return to their original villages in Chivi and Chiredzi.

“They could not continue like this. Some of us are still there because we do not have an option, otherwise, we could also have joined them,” one of the villagers said.

Local legislator, Joosby Omar (Zanu PF) confirmed the development, but said the villagers that left would return once the government allocated them sugarcane out-grower plots that would be irrigated by water from the dam when the masterplan is complete.

“When they got their compensation money, some relocated and built homesteads elsewhere. There are gaps created by those that left and the remaining villagers are capitalising on that.

“The people cannot survive on one-hectare plots because they have been urbanised. Some lost cattle because of lack of grazing land, yet livestock is their means of survival. But government is working on allocating them 35-hectare irrigation plots each so that they can be sugarcane out-growers,” Omar said.

BY REX MPHISA

GOVERNMENT says it has set aside $50 million for development of dry ports in Makuti, Mutare and Masvingo as part of efforts to decongest the country’s three major border posts of Chirundu, Forbes and Beitbridge.

Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) commissioner-general Faith Mazani told Southern Eye on Wednesday that under the new arrangement, cross-border haulage will now proceed directly to the dry ports where physical examination of goods will be done.

She said government also planned to upgrade smaller border posts at Sango and Cashel Valley, east of Rutenga and Chimanimani respectively to facilitate ease of doing business.

“One other strategy that we are looking at is to find ways of decongesting border post areas.
Under our ‘ease of doing business’ some of the strategies are, as you know, there is the Beitbridge redevelopment…it is going to bring a lot of automation, but you may be aware that the (Finance) minister (Mthuli Ncube) announced that we are going to have dry ports, we have secured stands in Masvingo, Makuti and Mutare,” Mazani said.

“What we are starting to do to decongest is once those (dry ports) are built, we don’t hold trucks at the borders, they go to the dry ports where inspections will be done so there will be no congestion. It is especially critical now because there will be a lot of activity now that there is going to be a lot of construction activity.”

Developers will be engaged to build the dry ports to expedite the decongestion of the borders.
The Beitbridge Border Post is undergoing a multi-million dollar upgrade to speed up movement of both human and vehicular traffic.

Mazani expressed concern over the slow pace of the modernisation of Beitbridge Border Post.

“I am pleased, yes, but it’s slower than we expected. Ground-breaking was done in July 2018 by the President (Emerson Mnangagwa) and work was expected to last 24 months.”

She said staff accommodation improvement had been affected by inflation, resulting in contractors failing to continue with work.

Zimra is currently re-tendering construction of staff accommodation in compliance with Procuring Authority of Zimbabwe (Praz) regulations.

“Price increases of materials have taken us back. We had started well, but we now have to go back to Praz with new prices because our contractors are quoting in foreign currency which we do not deal with,” she said.

By Garikai Mafirakureva

THE matter involving four Chiredzi South teachers who allegedly wrote public examinations for their wives and girlfriends during last November’s Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) examinations is now shrouded in controversy after two of the suspended teachers remained at the school.

Southern Eye has established that the suspended teachers – Mike Maluleke and Checkson Tsumele’s conditions of suspension include remaining at Chingele Secondary School, but not carrying out their duties. This has raised fear that they might end up interfering with investigations.

Although investigations by a team from Zimsec in Harare found out that the school head Mike Maluleke allegedly connived with his deputy Checkson Tsumele, mathematics teacher Roddington Sithole and English teacher Misheck Mahungu to write the examinations on behalf of their girlfriends at home, and recommended their suspension, the Primary and Secondary Education ministry chose to give them lighter conditions.

Sources alleged that the school head was related to one of Zanu PF’s bigwigs, making it difficult for the ministry to act firmly against him.

Chiredzi district schools inspector (DSI) Petronella Nyangwe confirmed the matter when reached for comment.

“Yes, the four teachers are only suspended but have not been discharged from service so cannot be replaced. However it is possible to make other arrangements to ensure effective management of examinations during exam time.

“All are residing at the school premises as it is also the other condition of their suspension not to leave their station. But they are not at work as far as we know,” Nyangwe said.

Provincial education director Zedious Chitiga only said: “Just leave the matter like that, it will soon be solved.”

Primary and Secondary Education ministry secretary Tamsung Thabela said she was out office for some time.

“I am not in Harare. I am forwarding your questions to the acting secretary. You can make a follow-up through Patrick Zumbo on our communication desk,” she said.

Zumbo, however, continued saying he would come back later with a comment.

Zimsec spokesperson Nicky Dlamini maintained that the examinations body only recommended that the ministry, through the Public Service Commission, suspend the teachers.

“We only recommended the suspension, but we do not carry out the suspension ourselves. Our recommendations remain that four teachers (head, deputy and two senior teachers) were involved in improper association with schoolchildren and former schoolchildren. These four wrote examinations for the eight candidates while one teacher wrote for his second wife. Combined Science paper 3 (practical paper) examination was written in more than two hours and no proper supervision was in place, and candidates were even discussing answers in the examination,” Dlamini said.

“New teachers must be deployed at the school if Zimsec centre status is to be maintained, otherwise the council will revoke the centre status. A resident monitor should also be deployed during each examination session so as to superintend the smooth running of examinations at the centre.”

Dlamini added that nine candidates would have all their results for the November session nullified according to the Zimsec policy and Combined Science results for the whole school had also been cancelled.

MOTIVATION: Ashley Thaba

As we begin a new year, everywhere I hear of people and churches fasting. I felt God leading me to write today’s article but resisted for fear I might offend people, but in the end, I felt strongly it must be said and prayed God uses the words to lead those well-meaning believers who are fasting into a closer more intimate relationship with Him.

I would like to explain what Biblical fasting is and what it is not.

My desire in writing this is to speak the truth in love so that those who genuinely want to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit more intimately in their lives will understand more fully how exactly to do that.

You see, fasting is so much more than denying the body of food. God’s ultimate desire is for us to deny our body of US — He actually says true joy is found in completely dying to ourself, repenting of our sins, and giving God full control of our fleshly thoughts, actions, and desires. However, many times we still struggle with the battle of listening to His Holy Spirit within and listening to our natural desires. Fasting provides an opportunity to become more in tune with God and more aware that denying our natural desires is possible.

Some might say, “I just can’t seem to stop thinking lustful thoughts or acting in a lustful manner. It comes so naturally to me, or I know I shouldn’t lie but my mouth just says the lie without even thinking.” Fasting gives us a chance to introspect and be aware of those urges to eat and learn how to overcome those in a desire to please God and express our deep desire to deny self to choose Him. As you do that successfully with the urge to eat in response to the natural desire to feel hunger, you realise with God’s Spirit, you can have the power to deny other fleshly urges and victory is possible. You can walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. It isn’t easy but it is possible for a person who has truly given their life to Christ to deliberately and daily choose in both thought and action to be obedient to godly desires over natural fleshly desires.

Scripture is very clear over and over that fasting is so much more than just not eating. In fact, there is a time when David had an affair with Bathsheba and even had her husband killed. He is talking about how he feels so guilty and really wants to come back to a right relationship with God. In Psalms 51:16 and 17, he says I wish it were just as easy as some type of external sacrifice. He could easily do some external ritual – offer a sacrifice, fast, attend church a little more often. But ultimately he says in verse 16 that God doesn’t desire that. What God is really seeking is a broken heart that says, “God! I am a sinner! I have messed up! Create in me a pure heart! Restore joy and peace to my life! Only you can do that!” The fasting is simply a physical way of showing total desperation for you to give your all to come before God as a broken person deeply desiring new life within.

It is not simply a lack of eating if you keep doing and thinking whatever you want. In fact, Isaiah 58 and 59 have a lot to say about people who fast but do not actually listen to God’s Spirit leading them to deny themselves. I highly suggest you go and read these chapters if you are seriously seeking to experience intimacy with God in your life through a fast. I will sum up a few below.

Isaiah 58:3 “We have fasted before you!” they say. “Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!” “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves… Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouths spew corruption. No one cares about being fair and honest. The people’s lawsuits are based on lies. Isaiah 59:1-4
You might be able to fool men. You might even fool yourself into thinking you are holy because you are denying yourself food, but I can guarantee you if you are still speaking lies, walking in corruption, acting unjustly, and not living in love towards your neighbour, God isn’t the least bit impressed with your hunger strike. And sadly, though you may lose weight and feel weak, you are not going to get the answers, blessings, and intimacy with God you seek until you actually humble yourself before God and offer your whole life as a living sacrifice, not just your appetite.

Ashley Thaba is a popular life-coach, team-building facilitator and motivational speaker. She is also the author of Conquering the Giants and Dive In. You can view some of her works on her YouTube channel: Ashley Thaba.