News – The Zimbabwe Sentinel

October 20, 2023

CCC Member Assaulted Over Post-Election Land Dispute

CCC Member Assaulted Over Post-Election Land Dispute

By Lorraine Ndebele and Marko Shoko

A member of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) recently suffered a broken leg after being heavily assaulted by alleged members of the ruling party (ZANU-PF) following a disagreement over land.

Munorwei Chinyangana from Ward 24 Chiredzi East was rushed to Mashoko Mission Hospital in Bikita, Masvingo Province for medical treatment after being attacked by three ZANU PF members who severely assaulted after he confronted them over the invasion of his farm.

Chinyangana says he has owned a farm in Lavanga Ward 1, Chiredzi East District since 2012. He got the farm through the land reform programme and has been occupying and utilizing it since then. However, following Zimbabwe’s most recent harmonized elections held on 23 August 2023, local land officials are said to have allocated Chinyangana’s farm to another person, Blessing Vheremu. Being concerned about reallocation the farm, Chinyangana approached Vheremu at the latter’s home suggesting that they go to the local Village Development Committee (VDCO) Chairperson to amicably resolve the issue.

Vheremu was not amused by Chinyangana’s visit and he angrily proceeded to his neighbor’s home where he mobilized two men and a woman to attack Chinyangana. As Chinyangana said, it was the woman who started the violent attack on him.

“As they attacked me, I insisted that we go and see the VDCO chairman for a peaceful resolution to the dispute”, Chinyangana said.

“However, they pushed me to the ground and started beating all over my body telling me that they don’t care about CCC people because this land is owned by ZANU-PF”, he said.

When his attackers eventually decided to go to Adam Hama, the VDCO Chairman, Chinyangana said he was already seriously injured and could neither walk nor drive his motorcycle. He said he called members of his family who took him to Mashoko hospital where he said was treated for injuries including…

Although he has been discharged from Mashoko hospital, Chinyangana says he is still unwell and is planning to go to Harare for further treatment.

Reached for comment, Vheremu denied assaulting Chinyangana. “His injuries may have resulted from falling on a motor cycle”, Chidoko said, adding: “It was the lady we were with who simply pushed him down.”

Vheremu also denied dispossessing Chinyangana of his land, saying he was allocated eighty (80) meters of the land by Cephus Marape who, he said, is the actual owner of the farm that Chinyangana claims to be his.

“I was given a piece of that farm by Marape who only gave me 80 metres and told me to farm there together with Chinyangana”, said Vheremu.

He also says that Chinyangana was already injured when he approached him which he suspects was a fall from a motorbike

Efforts to get a comment from the VDCO chairman of Chiredzi East, Adam Hama were fruitless as his phone was unavailable.

June 8, 2022March 20, 2023

Assessing Media Reportage on Liberation War Veterans & Values

Thursday, June 9

1100HRS-1300HRS

Join with Google Meet
meet.google.com/hcj-gapo-bqs
The objectives of the debate are:

● To critically assess the manner in which the cross section of Zimbabwean cover issues to do with liberation war veterans and liberation war values;

● To come up with recommendations on how Zimbabwean media can cover liberation war veterans and liberation war value frameworks in objective, informative and critical ways that promote democracy and development.

Tune in and make your contribution

March 7, 2022

Improve on accountability, government urged

By Panashe Chikonyora

The Poverty Reduction Forum Trust (PRFT) urged government to improve on accountability, transparency and balance as ways of refining the monetary policy, which it says is necessary in further reducing the rate of inflation in the country.
In its assessment of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s monetary policy statement the PRFT said although it acknowledged RBZ’s efforts in reducing Inflation from the peak of 837.5% in July 2020 to 60.7% in December 2021, inflation is still very high. Therefore, PRFT suggested;

“That the RBZ should review the foreign currency auction system taking into consideration stakeholder’s views and conforming to the Dutch Foreign Currency Auction principles which allows for price discovery. This will build confidence in the official foreign exchange market and help bridge the gap between the official and parallel foreign exchange market; Government should allow payment in local currency for all government goods and services to promote the use of the domestic currency; The limit on mobile banking transactions should be increased further in line with the inflation developments; More emphasis should be put on improving access to credit to disadvantaged groups such as women and persons with disabilities; and RBZ and the relevant authorities (Police, Zimbabwe Anticorruption Commission etc.)must deal with abusers of the US$50 facility. On the other hand RBZ must put in place a mechanism for all citizens with genuine foreign currency requirements to be able to access the forex through official channels,” said the Poverty Reduction Forum Trust.

The economy has been deteriorating due serious hyperinflation which has contributed to the increase of poverty in the country.
This has seen the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe implementing various monetary policy measures, including the recent 7 February 2022 monetary policy statement – themed “Stay the Course”, to try and reduce the rate of inflation.
The monetary policy statement is in line with section 46 of the Reserve Bank Act (Chapter 22:15), which requires the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to issue a statement outlining the monetary policy stance for the subsequent six months, the reasons for the policies and an evaluation of the previous period monetary policy measures.

March 7, 2022

Mutoko Residents reject PVO bill

There was a pandemonium at Kapondoro Business Centre this week during public hearing for the PVO Bill hearing with parliamentary team on justice and legal affairs. Women, men and the youths took turns to reject the bill that is regarded as toxic, politically targeting NGOs and a recipe to disaster for communities wallowing in abject poverty due to climate change reduced rainfall patterns. Women testified how NGO’S in Mutoko have increased their knowledge on issues around human rights, gender justice and HIV/AIDS.

Young people added that the PVO Bill if enacted into law would cripple their ability to provide an oversight role in monitoring elections, combating corruption and poor governance jn Zimbabwe.

The jaw breaker prayer left the audience dumfounded as one faith leader fumed in prayer saying we reject the bill seven times.

PVO Bill responses from public hearings

January 21, 2022

Mutoko Priest Brother in Adultery Storm

By correspondent

A Roman Catholic Priest was caught red handed having sexual intercourse with a married woman at Mutoko center. The spiritual father known as brother Ray is stationed at Mutemwa Leprosy Centre was dragged before Mutoko Magistrate’s court facing Adultery charges.

The Catholic brother has been referred by many as a double edged sword when it comes to issues of bedding local women.

It is alleged, after being caught in an uncompromising position with complainant’s wife, the catholic brother went on to assault complainant. It is alleged Brother Ray assaulted the complainant with the help of one Takaiwana who is also a member of the Roman Catholic Church. The so called Takaiwana is said to be on the run and police are looking for him.

The matter will be set down for trial soon before Mutoko Magistrates Court once all investigations are complete and Public Prosecutors are ready for trial.

January 21, 2022January 21, 2022

Residents Associations welcomes the proclamation for by-elections

Members of the Residents Associations Coalition for Electoral Reforms

Christadel Tambandini

The Residents Associations Coalition for Electoral Reforms (RACER) welcomes the proclamation of dates for by-elections which they say is consistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

The by-elections in Zimbabwe were suspended from December 24 2021 to January 26 through the Statutory Instrument 225A of 2020 following the Covid19 outbreak.

Addressing a press at Media Centre Thursday, RACER Spokesperson Marvelous Kumalo announced the coalition’s position regards the proclamation.

“We are still concerned over the continued existence of Statutory Instrument 225A of 2020 which suspended holding of by-elections and call upon Parliament to repeal the Statutory Instrument,’’ said Kumalo

“We view the upcoming local government Election dates as a huge relief to residents across Zimbabwe who suffered from poor representation, deteriorating service delivery and impacted negatively on the practice of good democratic in local authorities,” said Kumalo.

Meanwhile, the Residents Associations Coalition for Electoral Reforms said they are preparing for a massive voter mobilization drive.

“The coalition and its members are in the process of putting in place mechanisms for a massive voter mobilization drive aimed at addressing voter apathy witnessed in past by-elections,” added Kumalo.

The Coalition also raised concern over registration centers which are inaccessible because of distance and failure by the Registrar’s department to issue National Identification documents that would permit citizens to register as voters.

“We note with concern the inaccessibility of voting registration centers in some parts of the country due to long distances involved which resulted in ZEC registering very few people.

RACER said electoral choices will depend on the service provided and representation and hence urges citizens to come in their numbers to choose their representatives.

“We affirm that electoral choices are inseparably connected with the quality of service provision and representation. We urge residents to turn up in their huge numbers to elect their representatives in the local government by-elections,” said Kumalo

“It is incumbent upon the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to fulfil its mandate in an independent and impartial manner as this is a panacea to free and fair elections. The credibility of the upcoming elections largely depends on the conduct of ZEC, state media and the security sector,” added Kumalo.

“We call upon political parties to exercise peace and political tolerance. All contesting parties must be afforded equal access to all electoral events and all candidates must be granted fair media access for campaigning and advertising purposes,” said Kumalo.

January 20, 2022

Mudzi lax in implementation of COVID-19 regulations a ticking time bomb

Panashe Chikonyora

The country’s fight against Covid-19 (coronavirus) is proving to be almost an impossible battle as citizens in most of the country’s rural communities are now becoming resistant with little or no adherence to Government’s COVID-19 regulations.

Curfews, observing social distancing, wearing face masks, hand sanitizing Covid-19 testing and screening are some of the regulations which government has implemented as part of its efforts to prevent the coronavirus from spreading in the country. The regulations are in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s protocols (masking, social distancing and sanitizing) – which many countries have been observing since 2019 when the virus broke out.

However, people living in the country’s rural communities like in Mudzi seem not to be taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously due to various misconceptions they have about the virus.

“Many people are testing positive for COVID-19 because a lot of people do not appreciate the need for adhering to the preventive measures, especially of the new Omicron variant mainly due to ignorance. They are not taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously despite the educational campaigns we conduct and they do not value their health as a result they may at times come to the clinic for treatment without wearing face masks and even at times refusing to get tested for Covid. However, we will continue educating them and we hope to engage influential leaders in the process, so that we try and make people see the importance of following the COVID-19 regulations in reducing the spread of the virus in the area and country at large,” said a nurse in one of the local clinics in Mudzi.

In Makaha, a rural community under Mudzi district, traveling or walking without wearing a face mask has become a normalcy. Most people move around unhesitant without wearing face masks, while some even gather without maintaining social distance. People have become ignorant and are turning a blind eye to the health risks posed by such negligence. This is worrying as it is contributing in the surge in number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country.

According to the Health and Child Care Ministry, as of 13 January 2022, Mashonaland East province, where Mudzi district is located, had the highest number of 3 783 Covid-19 active cases out of the ten provinces (Bulawayo, Harare, Manicaland, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central, Midlands, Masvingo, Matebeleland North and Matebeleland South). The province was also the third lowest to record few PCR Covid-19 tests with only 310 tests having been done. Overally the country recorded 225 084 cumulative cases with 651 of the cases being new, while the total number of deaths was 5 222.

A diagram showing current covid-19 statistics taken from the Ministry of Health and Child Care Twitter handle.

From the above snapshot it is evident that the Omicron variant is not taken seriously and is not being treated as an issue of great concern in Mudzi, despite reports by health experts and health organisations which point to it becoming even more deadly than other previous variants.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS-CoV-2_Omicron_variant

The Omicron variant was first detected on 22 November last year, in laboratories in Botswana and South Africa and the variant is believed to be far more contagious (spreading much more quickly and multiplying faster than the Delta variant. As of 7 January 2022, the variant has been confirmed in 135 countries, including Zimbabwe. In order to strengthen its response to the threat posed by the new Omicron variant, government reviewed Covid-19 regulations in December last year.

January 20, 2022

Hands off Second Republic, G40 told

Ephraim Chizola in T-shirt flanked by fellow members of Mjunhumutapa Royal Charter

By correspondent

Former Zanu-Pf politician, Savior Kasukuwere who is currently exiled in South Africa since the 2017 change of Zimbabwean government has been castigated for attempting to taint the reputation of President Mnangagwa.

Ephraim Chizola, national leader of Munhumutapa Royal Charter, a grouping of likeminded business persons aligned to the ruling party told journalists at a press conference in Harare Thursday afternoon that no amount of mudslinging by the G40 will discredit the progress achieved by President Mnangagwa and his government as witnessed by major projects currently being undertaken countrywide.

“As you are aware, within all the country’s ten provinces there are numerous developmental projects that have since taken shape as a result of the Second Republic. These have since started to transform our economy towards the attainment of VISION 2030. The projects include but not limited to the following; the mighty RGM International Airport expansion, the world Class New City and Parliament Building, the Magnificent New Road Infrastructural projects and, the Giant Tugwi Murkosi Dam. It is also through the Second Republic that the country honored long and forgotten fallen heroes of our struggles, the likes of the Mbuya Nehanda, whose face has been inscribed on the country’s currency and the subsequent erection of a life sized monumental statue of the same Mbuya Nehanda in the city of Harare,” said Chizola.

“However, it is disheartening to note that regardless of these historic achievements, our various media houses and Government information and publicity agencies remains low key in their roles of apprising the general populace of these achievements. This has left our own Munhumutapa, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Cde ED MNANGAGWA to run a lone race towards the heralding of the great works by the Second Republic,” he added.

MRC seeks to contribute towards the mobilization of 5 million votes targeted for Mnangagwa through what they have dubbed 14 Million Smiles campaign.

Zanu-Pf is currently embroiled in factional fights which saw their recently held provincial elections largely characterized by violent contestations and disputes. It is suspected there is a bigger chunk of current Zanu-Pf members who still sympathize with those who were expelled at the inception of the second republic. Savior Kasukuwere is reported to be considering a return to Zanu-Pf to challenge the re-election of President Mnangagwa in the 2023 harmonized elections.

January 20, 2022

The other side of Covid 19 the master pandemic of the era as the drive force of the new international trade and worlds diplomacy?

Covid 19 has been seen as an evil one of the most devastating pandemics of all time claiming lives as well as disturbing economies and also the normal functioning of societies around the world. However, this misery brought about changes that the world needed and can be called “benefits” when it comes to international trade as well as international diplomacy which refers to the interaction between states that is both in relations and the exchange of goods. In this writing, I will be looking at the other side of Covid 19 not as misery but rather as a mother of a new form of international diplomacy and also a catalyst in the trade of new and another set of trades between nations.

Covid 19 has brought about improvements in the science and technology sector. In this case, as a result of covid 19 countries and communities have resorted to lockdown measures as a way of curbing the spread of the virus. Thus this resulted in online lessons for schools and we’ll as meetings. For example, the 2020 G20 Riyadh summit held on November 21-22 was supposed to take place in the capital city of Saudi Arabia but however, due to covid 19, this meeting was done virtually. In this regard, we also see an upgrade of the African Union Headquarters by the Chinese whereby they inserted a technology whereby officials can attend their meetings in their respective countries. Thus this is another improvement to the diplomacy due to COVID-19

We also see a boost in the trading center during the COVID-19 era whereby we see the importing of some goods necessary for the pandemic. I’m this case a case study of Zimbabwe comes into light whereby there has been a lot of vehicle imports in the COVID-19 era Speaking during his delivery of the 2021 national budget in parliament on Thursday, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube said about 800million U.S. dollars was spent on importing buses and light commercial and passenger vehicles from 2020 to September 2021. Due to the abolishing of an unregistered transport systems that is the Kombis and mushika Shika system. A lot of people in Zimbabwe had resulted in purchasing of private vehicles from abroad, also due to the taking over of the government transport system Zupco, it has put more pressure on the transport system since those with no private transport now depended on Zupco thus we saw The government of Zimbabwe under Zupco purchase more bases to cater for these needs. This improved trade between Zimbabwe and as well as other countries we traded in

Moreover, this period has brought peace around the nations. In this case, it has improved the living and working together concept as the whole world. Due to a common goal and a common enemy which is Covid 19 all states around the world has become one family and has set all the difference aside so as to focus on the problem at hand. As a result, we see countries joining hands to find a cure for Covid 19 in light of this we see the production of vaccines Where nations wherein a race to produce vaccines, and also the Free distribution of these vaccines. This issue is very critical in the diplomacy and trading corners at an international scale

It will also be unjust if it happens that Improvements in the medical and pharmaceutical arena. In this case, a rise in improvements in the medical arena is also seen during the Covid 19 era whereby nations now began to focus more on the medical field of their nations. For example, Zimbabwe the purchasing of ventilators and also the rise of infrared thermometers as and also surgical masks.

Last but not least the rise of the forgotten and underrated traditional medicines as helpers for Covid 19 as an illness. This has also brought another trading factor to light Which is traditional medicines for Example Madagascar came forward which is their traditional drink which they claimed that it cures Covid 19 though this was never approved. There is also the rise of traditional medicines like the Zumbani in Zimbabwe. This has now been available in supermarkets some pharmacies and well as is also being exported to other countries as far as Europe.

Though we are in agreement and trying to support the pandemic it was misery however, I had to look to the other side of the coin and accept that it is now among us and see what we had gained from its discovery those are some of the positive changes brought about by the Covid 19 era

Brighton B Chingwara

A Masters Student in International Trade and Diplomacy at The University Of Zimbabwe 2022

January 20, 2022January 20, 2022

Residents associations welcome by-elections declaration

Members of the Residents Associations Coalition for Electoral Reforms addressing the press

By correspondent

The Residents Associations Coalition for Electoral Reforms has welcomed the announcement of the by-elections for local councils and house of assembly representatives saying that they were long overdue. They have have accused state institutions allowing to be used to influence electoral processes.
Addressing a presser held in Harare this Thursday, Mr Marvellous Kumalo said;

“The credibility of these elections depends on the cooperation of ZEC, state media and security”

He further said that these entities have historically been used to prejudice the electoral processes and results.
The association called for the immediate repeal of SI 225A (2020) which suspends the running of by-elections.
Residents were also encouraged to utilise the by elections as a chance to correct the gender discrepancies in Parliament by voting in female representatives.
The association also encouraged the electorate to vote competent representatives who are capable to match the demands of the offices.