BY MOSES MATENGA

RESIDENTS of Mabelreign, Harare, have called on the city council to spruce up Sherwood Golf Course saying its neglect has led to an increase in crimes that includes muggings, rape and murder in its vicinity.

The residents also said the neglected golf course has now been turned into a love nest by youths who also have taken it as a haven for drug abuse among other vices.

Speaking in separate interviews on Thursday last week, residents said there was need to spruce up the golf course and make it user-friendly.

“There are problems. It is a dangerous place at night and over the weekends, you find that this becomes a haven for sex with maids and gardeners who have no other alternative. These are their lodges. On Mondays, there will be rubbish and condoms all over. This mess needs to be sorted.

“There are muggings taking place. Every time you drop off by the corner there, you are mugged and women fear being raped. Last year, a pre-school teacher was murdered raped and dumbed there. It is now like a bush. It is not safe even for motorists, for our children, us as women and even our husbands,” one resident said.

Last week, council housing director Addmore Nhekairo and ward 16 councillor Denford Ngadziore raised concern over the place.

Former Harare mayor and past President of the Zimbabwe Golf Association, Muchadeyi Masunda said it was sad that most clubs in the capital were being neglected.

“What has been a source of bother is that a lot of these clubs have been run down by its membership and there has been a relentless exodus of members from other clubs and a lot of people are gravitating towards Royal Harare Golf Club because that club is well run, it is run as a multi-billion-dollar business,” he said.

BY SIMBARASHE SITHOLE

POLICE in Mashonaland Central province have arrested 1 621 illegal miners in Mazowe and Shamva under the ongoing “Chikorokoza Ngachipere” blitz.

Addressing Bindura residents under a crime awareness campaign last week, officer commanding Mashonaland Central province Commissioner David Mahoya said police have launched several operations to restore sanity in the mining communities following carnage wrought by machete-wielding gold panners.

“In a bid to promote public safety and security, we have launched numerous operations which are producing tangible results, operations Chikorokoza Ngachipere this month we have arrested 1 621 illegal miners,” Mahoya said.

“We also have operation no to dangerous weapons and 30 suspects were arrested, and operation end to touting, 91 touts were arrested; and 189 unregistered taxis were impounded.”
The commissioner said the gold rush in the province had triggered a spike in the crime rate.

“It is sad to note that our province continues to be plagued by persistent crimes such as robberies, murders and assaults by machete gangs, this has been notably in places like Mazowe, Glendale, Bindura and Shamva where a gold rush has attracted thousands of artisanal miners from other provinces.

“As a result of this situation we have seen an increase in the following crimes: Armed and plain robberies, vandalism of Zesa, Zinwa and telecommunications boosters infrastructure, degradation of the environment, and carrying of dangerous weapons, among other crimes,” Mahoya said.

So far 77 people have been jailed two years each for machete-related crimes.

Meanwhile, Concession mortuary is flooded with unidentified dead bodies which are yet to be collected.

“I can confirm that the hospital is overwhelmed. We have a lot of unidentified dead bodies in our mortuary so those who are coming with specific death cases we are referring them to Harare,” Concession district medical officer Rachel Sosera said.

Sosera, however, refused to comment on reports that most of the unclaimed bodies were victims of machete fights.

Develop me :Tapiwa Gomo

We are at a stage in our country where what seems to be a political problem, is not only hindering our ability to develop but decimating any hope of doing so in the foreseeable future. We are in a state of despair and doom. Instead of trying to fix what is not working, we need to start afresh and re-establish a new platform.

The starting point is to shelve or abandon the entire rhetoric about the liberation struggle. It was a struggle that did not liberate anyone. It is apt time that the nation realised that the nation was deceived into joining a battle between two criminal organisations that harboured the same goals of privatising the country, sadly at the expense of thousands of lives. The ceremony on April 18, 1980 was nothing, but a hand over which blinded the nation to think the country was now independent. The country only changed hands and a name.

Continuously giving the liberation struggle credence perpetuates a sense of indebtedness, entitlement and heroism among those who preside over our destitution. It also creates the presumption of legitimacy and the existence of a foundation on which to establish a future.

The fact of the matter is that everything government-related “our comrades” have touched has gone wrong, but their personal economies have continued to grow. It is for this reason that them and their claimed role in the struggle needs to be obliterated without hesitation. Once that is out of the way, the nation will awaken to the urgent realisation of the need to unite and mount a new and genuine struggle to liberate itself.

What currently looks like a struggle against the establishment are mere and profoundly fragmented ideas and concepts; some of whose polarised and competing drivers derive lifelines from and in complicity with the establishment. They have called themselves opposition when they are doing business with the establishment. Conflicted interests produce flawed parties, candidates and outcomes. If we choose to call it one, ours is an exhausted and futile struggle.

Take for instance, religious groups, masters of human salvation, tell their congregants to leave everything in the hands of God, as criminals pillage the country. There are numerous political groups involved in discordant calls for political reforms. The business community meanwhile continues to shy away from confronting the establishment.

Civil society organisations have long lost their bite. Protests have less impact other than aggravating potholes in towns and cities. The media too have been complicity in this docility. Instead of challenging the status quo and being more provocative, they are content with political alignment. One does not need to be a political scientist to see that the electoral process in Zimbabwe is not only an impediment to democracy, but is designed to perpetually legitimise the establishment.

Just like wise, criminals have devised effective off-the-shelf prescriptions for each of these. Churches were told to stay away from politics and they parochially comply.

Calls for political reforms by political groupings die upon hitting deaf ears. The business community has a choice to shut down or lose their investment, so they have long chosen the latter. Protesters and civil society organisations are handled at junior police level with spasmodic army deployments to scare them away.

And as it stands, the media are not a threat to the establishment or opposition. Elections are regularly rigged and opposition parties sent to petition in the courts controlled by the establishment. With all these social agents of political change under control, the establishment is as comfortable as ever and in no urgent need to reform even as the nation languishes in destitution. They can plunder in comfort.

The rise of what they have called the new dispensation is the biggest deception and political fraud of our generation. But again, it demonstrated our profound gullibility and inextricability from our abyss. We rejoiced in a coup and believed it was not one. We joined the establishment’s internal cleansing ritual. Once they were on the driving seat, they were back to their usual true selves: The private owners of the country. The police defend and protect their interests. Since the dispensation’s judicial power grab of the 2017 coup, courts have become political organs or where the corrupt are acquitted and become untouchable and filthy rich.

The opposition, now either resigned to the fringe business interests from the establishment or simply recoiled in their slumber. The political struggle is abandoned and the worsening destitution of ordinary Zimbabweans is neglected. With all options on the political market looking frail and void, some have turned to the internal politics within the establishment to trigger a self-destruct button which would send it tumbling.

That too would not be a politically bankable opportunity because successionists in the same establishment will reassert themselves to power. Some have suggested that the convergence of the disgruntled within the establishment and those ejected from it after the 2017 coup is what is required to kickstart a new wave of struggle. So much for hope.

History tells us that political change in the face of an arrogant autocracy requires sacrifice and non-violent disobedience to the rules of oppression. No oppressor will reform themselves out of power without being pressured to do so. Our best shot at achieving change lies in a new progressive and all-encompassing political movement – one whose goal is none other than liberating the country from its current bondage.

By Phyllis Mbanje

The Higher Life Foundation fellowship for doctors, which was re-opened last week, is reportedly oversubscribed, with more than 900 doctors having applied barely a day after the fellowship was announced.

The fellowship, which was first flighted last year in November, was re-announced on Tuesday last week with doctors indicating that they would apply, unlike the previous one in which many snubbed.

Announcing the fellowship, Econet Wireless founder Strive Masiyiwa’s Higher Life Foundation (HLF) said its focus was on ensuring that healthy and resilient communities was achievable through the availability of doctors to offer quality healthcare to patients.

“We are furthering our commitment to supporting our healthcare system and enabling more people to receive the critical care they need and deserve, by announcing, the reopening of the Higher Life Foundation Fellowship for all doctors employed at public healthcare institutions in the country with immediate effect,” HLF said.

There are 1 759 doctors employed in the public sector, according to the Health Services Board (HSB)

The Zimbabwe Hospitals Doctors Association urged all its members to apply.

The application closed on Friday and successful applicants will be notified from today until Thursday and assumption of the fellowship is February 1.

Terms of the fellowship, which is six months long, include monthly subsistence allowances ranging from $5 000 for senior resident medical officers and junior resident medical officers to $10 000 for senior consultants.

Public hospital doctors embarked on an industrial action last year in September saying they were incapacitated and could no longer report for duty on their meagre salaries from government.

A stand-off ensued, which saw the government dragging the doctors to court leading to 426 of them being discharged.

Speaking on the fate of the fired doctors, HSB said 305 have since been reappointed into the service.

On whether the doctors under the fellowship would still get their salaries HSB said: “Our primary focus is only on doctors who are employed by the government, ie these are on our payroll. The board is not privy to the detail of the management of the Higher Life Foundation scheme.”

Meanwhile, 53 doctors are said to have resigned between September and December amid speculation that they had been offered better contracts abroad.

“We are not aware of those doctors who left the country, but those who resigned from government are 53,” HSB said.

BY SINDISO DUBE

Of all their well-known hits that made the waves last year, the protest song, Into Oyenzayo Siyayizonda became the theme song of the oversubscribed DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small show at Bulawayo’s BAC Leisure on Saturday night, as patrons protested over continuous power cuts and stoppages that disturbed the flow of the show.

Just after midnight when the most sought-after duo of Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa made their way into the packed venue, they had a torrid time navigating the DJ’s box as dozens of fans mobbed them.

Just after they got into the booth, the unexpected happened. Power was cut off.

The development triggered unrest among fans. Into Oyenzayo Siyayizonda became the “hit song” probably because it was the only Kabza song the fans could recite to register their displeasure.

After 10 minutes, everyone was happy, dancing to Amapiano after the back-up generator was switched on.

During those 10 minutes before partying resumed there was pushing and shoving with fans trying to get closer to the stage so that they could have a closer view of the artistes.

The pushing and shoving continued, prompting DJ Maphorisa to ask fans to relax and enjoy the entertainment.

“We came all the way from South Africa so that we can have a good time with you. We can’t have problems with you. We can’t be asking you to have fun with us. May you stop pushing and shoving so that we can start the party,” begged Maphorisa. After an hour of Kabza De Small taking fans into a journey of deep house, patrons were forced to chant “Into Oyenzayo Siyayizonda” again.

The impatient fans went on to wrestle bouncers who were manning the VVIP section close to the DJ’s box and destroyed the barricade.
After the dust had settled, the Mzansi duo took fans into a journey of music for at least three hours.

BY BURZIL DUBE

HWANGE – The flash floods that recently swept the coal mining town of Hwange, leaving a trail of destruction, might be gone but it served as a wake-up call in terms of preparedness and prevention of such calamities.

The rains of up to 139mm triggered havoc at the colliery’s high-density suburbs of Lwendulu and Sinderella, while Hwange Power Station — the country’s largest thermal power utility was not spared after also being hit by heavy rains. The power station is a subsidiary of Zimbabwe Power Company.

Some houses in Hwange Local Board’s Empumalanga suburb were not spared with household properties damaged by incessant floods.

Despite persistent warnings by the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) concerning the looming heavy downpour in the town, few families, especially in the colliery concession area, heeded and took it upon themselves to clean-up the heavily blocked storm drains in and around their properties. Such houses were least affected by the flash floods.

“Very little was done during the previous floods; and this time around we decided to take it upon ourselves following warnings by weather experts,” said a Lwendulu resident who declined to be named in an interview with NewsDay.

Four years ago, similar flash floods were experienced in Hwange and left a trail of destruction at the colliery and surrounding areas.

When the recent heavy rains hit Hwange, the Department of Civil Protection (DCP) was also caught flat footed, despite periodical meetings on disaster preparedness.

A total of 35 families were displaced from the colliery’s two suburbs and were temporarily sheltered at the company’s guest house and community halls. At the time of writing, some had gone back to their houses, while those whose properties such as beds, wardrobes, stoves and other related gadgets were extensively damaged, are still staying at the guest house in Lwendulu suburb.

Electricity generation was severely affected which resulted in some parts of the country experiencing an increase in load shedding after 400 MW of power was lost due to flooding of the entity.

Expansion work for the power station being done by Sino Hydro was also temporarily suspended after most structures were submerged in water.

After-effects of the floods are still being felt across the country as intermittent power cuts are now the order of the day as power utility Zesa tries to reboot Hwange Power Station which has beeen on and off the national grid.

Donations such as mealie-meal and other groceries have been trickling in to the affected families while those who lost household properties are still counting their losses.

“My double bed and fridge are beyond repair as well as stationery for my three kids and I really don’t know where to start,” said another resident who identified herself as Muleya.

Senior politicians from both Zanu PF and MDC visited the area and pledged to assist the displaced families.

Zanu PF chairman for Lwendulu branch, Reeds Dube, said his party will continue to assist affected families even if they are moved from temporary shelters to their permanent homes.

“The Speaker of Parliament (Jacob Mudenda) spent close to four days in Hwange assessing the needs of the affected families so that the party comes up with more ways of assisting the flood victims.

“We were among the first to come to the aid of the Department of Civil Protection with our donations which included hundreds of kilogrammes of meat among other necessities,” said Dube.

He added that the Speaker was also appraised on the pollution of the nearby Deka River following flooding in the mining town.

Communities living along the Deka River have in the past complained about the contamination of the river through acid from the mine. The situation was recently made worse by the flash floods. Deka River is among the several rivers which flow directly into the Zambesi River.

Thulani Moyo, spokesperson for Hwange Central legislator — Fortune Daniel Molokeli, said the MDC had sourced groceries and other related material which were, however, yet to be delivered.

“Most of the sourced material is currently in Bulawayo and we are in the process of mobilising transport so that we hand them over to over the Department of Civil Protection for disbursement,” he said.

He added that the local party leadership was also seized with the matter so that they come up with a comprehensive report that will in future assist the DCP whenever a disaster of such magnitude happens.

While the flash floods have gone; it remains to be seen whether Hwange and the nation at large will again not be caught napping if such type of disaster was to recur. As for Hwange, lessons should have been learnt in 2016 when similar floods wrought severe disaster in the same high-density suburbs.

BY PRECIOUS CHIDA

BUDDING Afro-pop artiste, Isheanesu “Ishan” Chigagura was the toast of the night at Saturday’s Zimbabwe Music Awards (Zima) ceremony held at the Country Club in Newlands, Harare, after walking away with three prizes.

Ishan, who hogged the limelight with his hit song Kure last year, scooped the Best Male Artiste of the Year, the Best Newcomer and the Best Afro-pop Musician awards.

“This is my first time receiving an award and I am so grateful to my family who have been supportive since day one. I’m really happy and grateful to Zima for giving me this recognition and to my fans, thank you for the support,” said the ecstatic artiste.

Zima chief executive officer, Reason Sibanda, urged people and corporates to help develop music in the country.

“As we try to improve the Zima, we are open to criticism. I urge all corporates and people to come on board and let’s build Zimbabwean music together and grow in music,” he said.

Dancehall musician Freeman scooped the Best Video (Ngaibake), Album of the Year (Gango) and Best Zimdancehall Artiste gongs.

Freeman and Ishan also went head-to-head in the tussle for the Song of the Year award as their tracks Ngaibake and Kure battled for honours with Winky D’s Mugarden.

Although all the songs dominated throughout the year, Winky D scooped the gold after getting the highest number of public votes. The award came with a prize money of $10 000 which was sponsored by Cash Box.

Artistes who picked up awards included Gemma Griffiths, Mambo Dhuterere, DJ Stavo, Janet Manyowa, Takura, Blaqs and Andy Muridzo.

The late Chiwoniso Maraire and Simon Chimbetu posthumously won the Zimbabwe Icon Retro Artiste Award while Andy Brown clinched the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Several other artistes won awards in absentia.

It was a night of glitz and glamour as celebrities and music enthusiasts set fashion trends with their styles.

Jah Signal, Sulumani Chimbetu and Chengeto Brown were among those who provided entertainment. The awards bounced back this year after a four-year-long sabbatical.

INTERVIEW: Veneranda Langa

Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines, Edmond Mkaratigwa (Shurugwi South MP, Zanu PF), says it is the prerogative of the security services to curb the lawlessness that has become a menace in Zimbabwe’s gold mining areas, where there have been several killings by machete-wielding gangsters known as MaShurugwi.

The machete gangs have been linked to ruling Zanu PF leaders, who are alleged to be sponsoring the violence while looting the country’s gold reserves, but Mkaratigwa alleged that this was strategic lawlessness bent on disturbing President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s vision of achieving a US$12 billion mining target by 2023. Below are excerpts from an interview between NewsDay (ND) senior Parliamentary reporter Veneranda Langa and Mkaratigwa (EM) on legislative interventions that can help curb the violence:

ND: Do you think provisions in the current Mines and Minerals Act are sufficient to curb the MaShurugwi violence at mines?

EM: Your question is very difficult to answer because it is not the prerogative of the Mines and Mining Development ministry to curb violence in the mining sector. It remains the role of the security services to quell lawlessness in the country, especially at the level to which it has escalated.

The Mines and Mining Development ministry recommends action, but the security forces enforce the directive. In the Mines and Minerals Act, there are gaps that provide room for conflict, which is why we have been pushing for implementation of the Computerised Cadastre System that is currently still being piloted.

ND: So what do you think is the cause of violence in mining?

EM: Unfortunately, … the violence experienced in the country appears to be strategic lawlessness that is targeted at tarnishing the country’s image, to destabilise markets of its strategic resource (gold) and ultimately, the US$12 billion target.

ND: What are the legal gaps that your committee has noted?

EM: In fact, relative to violence that I have termed low level, there is limited protection of the marginalised or vulnerable groups such as women and youths and, there has been no respect of other property rights. Mining laws appeared to be superior to other investment interests, yet land as a factor of production is vitally multi-purpose; for example, it is key to our agricultural sector too. There is also limited recognition of small-scale miners to the extent that only established companies are, to a large extent, viewed as legal against the government thrust to also nurture small-scale businesses hence the need for their formalisation.

All those factors can lead to violence in a country, but let me reiterate that this nature of violence is high level and not a result of any of the sanity issues I have noted above. The violence being perpetrated at the moment can be adequately addressed through revocation of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, implementation of which should be sufficient to put order in the mining sector and country at large.

ND: What new laws do you propose to curb mining violence?

EM: The Committee on Mines and Mining Development is pushing for amendment of the Mines and Minerals Act and there are other views that this Act needs a complete revamp than the endless patchwork.

However, with regards to violence as stated earlier, it is about our security forces tactically upping the game. This is a threat to national security, national vision as well as a resurgence of lawlessness by the enemies of the State whose agenda is yet undying. What the committee currently views as the solution to this, is to raise the level of sentencing so that it becomes more deterrent like what is prevailing to cattle rustlers that has seen cases going down drastically.

ND: As the Legislature, what is your role in curbing the MaShurugwi violence?

EM: We have a number of roles that we perform as legislators. One, we are part of the communities and we are community leaders. In that regard, we support and work with communities against these terrorists and whenever these lawless people are caught or seen, we can help to ensure justice is transparently executed on them.

I am saying that from the background that these people have been working in cahoots with some of the members of the security forces and judiciary services to the extent that corruption can save them from facing the full wrath of the law.

We are, therefore, conscientising communities to always remain alert and shun crime, as well as to always report such people to the police or nearby leadership where police posts are far away. We oversee the different ministries in which all those government departments are supposed to ensure State efficiency.

We have, therefore, always fought for the ministries to get enough budgets for their tasks and we would require from them the reasons why they are failing to fulfil their mandate both through Parliament question time, in committees and through calling for a ministerial statement from government.

We are in the process of supervising the amendment of various Acts and we consider the Bills before they are passed into law. This is a new challenge and we will consider this lesson in dealing with Bills that are on their way to Parliament with a view to avoid such eventualities in future.

The fourth point is that the inquiry, whose processes are ongoing, should come up with a report that must help today and in the future, towards eradicating seedbeds of such lawlessness on time.

ND: Are there any other witnesses to be grilled by the Mines Committee on MaShurugwi?

EM: The committee wants a full explanation from the different government ministries whose roles should lead to curbing this menace. From the Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage ministry, the Finance and Economic Development ministry, and Fidelity Printers and Refineries (Pvt) Ltd as well as the Gold Mobilisation Unit.

Dominant groups in mining areas shall also be heard, together with different representative groups such as the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) and the Chamber of Mines. Follow-ups shall be made to other government ministries whenever their participation is also found necessary, even if they have escaped our initial invitation list.

We have already stated that we will invite several stakeholders among them the police, miners themselves through their representative groups like ZMF, civic society organisations, investigative journalists (in camera where necessary), the Mines ministry and many others. However, in the course of gathering evidence, if we see the need to invite anybody who we think will enrich the enquiry, we will do so.

ND: What are the social and economic impacts of the machete violence?

EM: The citizens of Zimbabwe are being physically, psychologically and emotionally harmed, hence need for psycho-social support on affected people.

They are living in fear and many other crimes are now being imputed to this group of people by those who are also taking advantage of the widespread fears, even in urban areas.

Economically, at a personal level, citizens are losing their hard-earned wealth to these unscrupulous people, with other far-reaching consequences.

Families are losing breadwinners and their livelihoods, with downstream effects on the indigent, women and children, among other vulnerable groups and the (possibility of) food insecurity and malnutrition rising in affected areas.

ND: You are Shurugwi South MP, what impact has this violence had on your constituency?

EM: To the people of Shurugwi, this is causing some stereotypes and stigmatisation on them, which is a very dangerous trajectory that has to be reversed through deliberate name cleansing efforts.

Nationally the name of the country is put to disrepute, the government is perceived as condoning the illegality and in support of lawlessness if this continues without full abetment, hence loss of market confidence including protection of investors’ interests, reduced productivity and revenue and finally, failure to meet set international and national objectives and obligations, hence lowering the national credibility rating.

BY VANESSA GONYE

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has said he will take a leaf from guiding principles of Zimbabwe Assemblies of God (ZAOGA) pastors — as read out by church founder and president Ezekiel Guti — to give direction to Cabinet who are “out of line” as he seeks to find ways to redeem the country from the current mess.

He was speaking at the ZAOGA Forward in Faith 49th international pastors deeper life leadership conference at the Ezekiel Guti International Conference Centre in Harare yesterday.
The event was attended by ZAOGA delegates from over 150 countries around the world.

Mnangagwa said he was inspired by the 97-year-old religious leader who imparted leadership values to pastors within his church and that he would do the same to his own Cabinet ministers who have been presenting a wayward behaviour.
“Archbishop Guti, what you have read for your pastors has motivated me; I will read this to my ministers. They have been acting out of line lately and this has taken a toll on development. They should be honest and hardworking, for the scripture says we should eat of our own sweat. They should also seek further knowledge as well as to live humble lives,” he said.

The President, who took the opportunity to showcase his preaching prowess, said people should focus on the goodness of their actions and follow what the Bible says.

“God created us in his own image, not a Zezuru, Ndebele or Kalanga; we should be one; not to be violent towards one another. Let us be peacemakers. I am happy to be talking to a congregation that focuses on preaching peace,” said Mnangagwa, who has been accused of gross human rights abuses.

Addressing the gathering, Mnangagwa said government was committed to upholding freedom of worship as enshrined in the Constitution.

He urged the pastors to be torchbearers in the fight against ills, such as corruption, that have rocked the country plunging it into a banana republic.

“I challenge you to be leaders (good shepherds) for we are in a season where we need God-fearing leaders; those who are visionary and can take the church and nation to another level… The voice of the church must continue to inspire, motivate, guide and harness men, women and the youth as we gird and strengthen ourselves to grow our economy, to rid ourselves of corruption and end poverty,” he said.

The country is facing an economic crisis which has been aided by rampant corruption and exacerbated by poor corporate governance.

Speaking at the same event, Guti pledged his church’s continued support in nation building and development initiatives that uphold economic empowerment.

He urged pastors within his church to be exemplary for the benefit of younger age groups.

“We need to keep learning so as to teach the younger generation, let us practise humility at all costs and drop the ‘I know it all attitude’; take advantage of entrepreneurship initiatives to develop your life and the country at large and above all uphold love and unity,” he said.