HOOKERS TAKE OVER HOSTEL, RUN SHEBEEN
Hookers have taken over a hostel and are now operating a shebeen at the same time.
Business has never been better.
The Daily Sun visited Block H of the Thokoza Hostel, Germiston where they found the prostitutes operating a place like a shebeen – and the men are happy to buy their hookers and their booze from the same place.
Business has never been better.
The Daily Sun visited Block H of the Thokoza Hostel, Germiston where they found the prostitutes operating a place like a shebeen – and the men are happy to buy their hookers and their booze from the same place.
When the paper spoke to some of the men who buy hookers at the hostel, they said they didn’t feel any shame. “The price is reasonable. On one night, I can sleep with three different magoshas for only R100,” said one man.
Prices range from R30 to R40 per round. “I used to buy magoshas in Germiston and Joburg. Now I’m happy we have our own place to go ekasi,” he said. A young woman told Daily Sun she came to South Africa looking for work and ended up being a prostitute.
“The money I make is sufficient to support my parents and myself,” she said. But not all the hostel residents are happy with the magosha invasion.
“This is immoral! We don’t have a problem with them doing their thing – but not here!” said another resident Thokoza Police Captain Godfrey Maditsi said the shebeen is operating illegally.
“We warn people not to go there because there is a lot of crime happening. Cars are stolen outside the hostel while the owners are doing their business inside,” he said
CHRISTIAN PARTY LEADER ARRESTED
Jacob Ngarivhume, the interim leader of Transform Zimbabwe, the opposition political party formed last December, has been arrested and is currently detained at Gweru Central Police station.
Ngarivhume who was arrested on Saturday, was yesterday charged for violating the controversial Public Order and Security Act law which requires that organisations intending to hold public gatherings must first seek authority from the police. He was supposssed to appear in court today but his name is not on the court roll amid reports police have said they are still compiling the docket.
Allegations being leveled against the latest party’s interim leader are that he convened a public meeting on Sartuday in the afternoon at a hall in Gweru’s Mkoba stadium without fulfilling requirements of POSA.However, the party’s spokesperson, Sungai Mazando, told The Zimbabwean that the meeting was not a public one but was actually a closed door event where even members of the press were not allowed entry.
“We were having a closed door meeting in Mkoba where we wanted to come up with mechanisms to set up structures in Gweru ahead of our planned congress to scheduled for end year. It was a meeting of only top leaders that is why no one was even clothed in party regalia.
“However, armed police stormed the meeting just when we had just started and arrested the party leader thereby disturbing all the proceedings. The incident is unfortunate especially in this era of a new constitution which gurantees freedom of assembly and association, themselves key factors in a democratic nation,” he said.
TZ which is set to take part in the 2018 election with an aim of dislodging Zanu (PF) and its leader President Robert Mugabe, was formed by 2,400 delegates who attended the Convention of Prayer Network on December 8. Some of the party’s founding principles include good governance, a democratic society, building a competitive economy and empowerment of citizens.
ZIMBABWEAN ASYLUM SEEKER UP FOR ARMED ROBBERY
Kimberley - A 26-year-old Zimbabwean asylum-seeker is facing a charge of armed robbery with aggravating circumstances after two suspects robbed Hudaj Supermarket at the old Lyric Cinema last month.
Poslet Mapuranga, who owns a car mechanic business in Barkly Road, appeared in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to apply for bail after he was arrested on June 28.
Poslet Mapuranga, who owns a car mechanic business in Barkly Road, appeared in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to apply for bail after he was arrested on June 28.
His bakkie was allegedly used as a getaway vehicle in the execution of the robbery.
The investigating officer in the case, Patrick Dibaba, testified in court on Tuesday that the incident happened at around 12.30pm on Saturday, June 28.
“The owner of the business was inside with his wife and other employees when a male, wearing a balaclava and carrying a gun, entered the premises and robbed the employees of their cellphones at gunpoint.”
According to Dibaba, while the suspect was in the building, another suspect, carrying a black bag, entered and jumped over the counter. Both men spoke in broken English.
“The second suspect stole an undisclosed amount of cash, which was behind the counter, and both suspects then fled on foot, running through the veld in the direction of Utility.”
Dibaba testified that a driver at the Hudaj Supermarket took the bakkie and drove down Recreation Road.
“He could see the suspects, who were still running. He drove around until he reached Loop Street in Utility, where he saw a bakkie standing next to a footpath which led through the veld to the business that had been robbed. The driver and three passengers were inside.”
According to Dibaba, the two suspects involved in the robbery were inside in the bakkie.
“In order to prevent the vehicle from getting away, the driver bumped into the bakkie twice. The suspects jumped out of the bakkie, the one still carrying the gun, although he had pulled the balaclava off. Both ran back into the veld.”
The driver apparently chased the two men. “One of the suspects stopped and threatened to shoot the witness before running deeper into the veld. They threw the money into a ditch and the driver took the money and went back to the getaway car.”
Dibaba said a passerby contacted the police and ADT Security also arrived.
“When I arrived on the scene, the accused, Mapuranga, had already been handcuffed by one of the security officers and was handed over to the police and arrested.”
He added that when Mapuranga was questioned about what he was doing there, he said that he had gone to collect spares and was on his way home. “He said he knew the suspects and they had phoned him to give them a lift.”
Dibaba added that the fact that Mapuranga knew both suspects by name, that this was a planned robbery and that Mapuranga’s car was being used as a getaway vehicle. “He said they were all ‘homeboys’ from Zimbabwe.”
When the police searched the veld, they found four cellphones under a tree, as well as a black and orange jacket which one of the suspects had worn during the robbery. They also found a toy gun.
“The two suspects are still at large.”
Dibaba added that he had gone to Mapuranga’s home, which he was renting with his wife and three children, on several occasions but found no-one there. “I was told by neighbours that the accused’s wife had left for Zimbabwe.”
He also found application for asylum which had been denied by Home Affairs. “The asylum application, which gave the accused 30 days to leave the country, was dated June 24 – four days before the robbery was committed”.
Dibaba requested that bail not be granted on the grounds that the accused might jeopardise the investigation by influencing the outstanding suspects, he was a flight risk and it would be very difficult to extradite him from Zimbabwe. “I believe this is a strong case because the accused knows the outstanding suspects and his car was used in the getaway.”
Mapuranga’s legal defence attorney, Pierre Visagie, pointed out that according to his client he only knew one of suspects and that he would be prepared to assist the police in his arrest. “If it was a case of him wanting to cover for his mates, he would not have given the name to the police.”
Dibaba responded that he went to three places in Galeshewe to look for the suspects but he could not find them. “All three places were the residences of Zimbabwean nationals.”
Visagie said Mapuranga had also called the police himself after the driver bumped into his vehicle. This could not be disputed by Dibaba. “It is my instruction that my client was on the scene and these guys came to him. After his bakkie was bumped, he phoned the police.”
Dibaba, however, pointed out that Mapuranga’s vehicle was not far from the scene of the crime and the two suspects were seen in his vehicle before they fled.
“I think this was a planned robbery. The route the accused took after buying the spare parts is not the standard route. I believe that he planned and executed the robbery with the other suspects.”
He added that he was not sure if the other suspects had fled the country.
Visagie stated that Mapuranga’s application for asylum had been sent to the high court for review.
“He has assets in South Africa, including a bakkie and a business which is worth R15 000, which he needs to run. He doesn’t have anything in Zimbabwe. His wife is also in court today. They are not planning to leave the country. The suspects also did not get away with any money, so there is no financial benefit waiting for Mapuranga,” Visagie stated.
The bail application was postponed in order to allow the immigration officer, who was off sick, to testify.
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ZUMA : I'M HEALTHY
"There is no problem. I am as healthy as anything," Zuma said in an interview clip on the "My ANC" channel on YouTube posted earlier in July.
"In fact my doctors have been saying young people are going to envy you if they knew how healthy you are...I am healthy, and I am working."
He said people were speculating about his health.
"I read in newspapers about how sick I am and what diseases are in me. I was shocked that that may be another Jacob Zuma, not this one."
After the May general elections, Zuma was exhausted and doctors had ordered him to take some rest, he said.
"Doctors took a very good decision that I should take it easy, and that is what I have done."
Last month, Zuma spent a weekend in hospital.
MUGABE OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY
This came after Mugabe last Thursday publicly admitted that he was unaware that local medical personnel had the capacity to conduct so-called “complicated medical conditions” given their limited resources and poor working environment.
n separate interviews with NewsDay, the politicians and analysts said Mugabe, as Head of State and government, should have been the first to entrust his health to local medical doctors instead of blowing millions of taxpayers’ finances seeking medication in far-flung countries such as Singapore.
Mugabe, who has been to Singapore a record three times this year for routine medical check-ups last week visited the twins — Kupakwashe and Tapiwanaishe Chitiyo — who were successfully separated by local doctors early this month.
After the visit, Mugabe remarked: “I am so overwhelmed that really I cannot express the sensitivity of it all.
“Our doctors are doing wonders in other countries such as South Africa, Australia and in Europe. Our people distinguish themselves, but this distinction now, separation of Siamese twins right here in the heart of Zimbabwe, in this hospital, is God-given I must say. It’s something unbelievable that’s why I call it a mystery.”
Mugabe’s trusted lieutenant and Zanu PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa has been to India twice this year seeking treatment for an undisclosed ailment.
In contrast, the late South African President Nelson Mandela sought medical treatment in his native country until he passed on last December.
Social commentator Maxwell Saungweme said: “Mugabe’s remarks should be understood in the context of a government and a President who has lost touch of reality and says things that are inconsistent with what he does”.
“This is typical of the whole Zanu PF government. They indicate left and turn right and don’t even bother to check whether what they say conforms to what they do,” Saungweme said.
“Just look at what (Transport minister) Obert Mpofu is doing with toll fees, when [Finance minister] Patrick Chinamasa is trying to solve the liquidity crunch, or what [Primary and Secondary Education minister] Lazarus Dokora is doing with teachers yet the education system is in the ICU [intensive care unit] due to the flight of teachers.”
MDC-T spokesperson for Harare province Obert Gutu said it was a paradox that Mugabe showered praises on local medical practitioners when he himself never considered it fit and proper to be treated locally.
“Don’t they say charity begins at home? Next time President Mugabe is due for medical attention for whatever reasons, we expect him to be treated locally and not in Singapore or some other such faraway place,” Gutu said.
He said as public figures and role models, leaders should lead by example and also always walk the talk.
“Until such a time that President Mugabe starts obtaining his medical attention locally, I will remain circumspect and unconvinced about the genuineness of the platitudes that he showered on the all-Zimbabwean medical team that performed the historic and ground-breaking surgery of successfully separating Siamese twins,” Gutu said.
Fired MDC-T secretary-general Tendai Biti’s Renewal Team spokesperson Jacob Mafume said it was hypocritical and an insult to the well-meaning workers in the health services sector for government to act “surprised” at their capacity to deliver.
“Their neglect by government borders on being criminal,” he said. Mafume applauded the surgeons saying their efforts “embody the spirit of renewal that we seek in all sectors”.
“The health sector needs government so that its corridors are filled with the celebrations and not the tears and screams of the dying as is the case at moment,” he said, adding that such miracles should be the norm rather than an exception.
“The words from the President are hard to believe as he and his confidants do not routinely use local health services. They use expensive and foreign hospitals at the expense of local ones. If properly used, the money spent on foreign medical check-ups can easily fund the health sector in the country,” Mafume said. newsday
CONDUCTOR ATTEMPTS TO BRIBE TOP COP
Gift Murowa (23), who is employed by Gumbo Transport was arrested on July 10 after he allegedly attempted to bribe Chief Superintendent Fiona Thlomani with a $5 note to buy his way past the roadblock.
He was remanded in custody to July 23 after he briefly appeared before Kwekwe magistrate Taurai Manwere last Friday. Murowa denied the charge.
The State represented by Tinashe Mhonda alleges that Murowa was stopped at the roadblock and asked by Thlomani to produce his operator’s permit, among other documents for inspection.
It is the State case that Murowa then gave Thlomani the road permit and a $5 note which was meant as a bribe. When Thlomani asked why there was money inside the permit, Murowa allegedly claimed the money was for a bribe.
In a bid to cleanse its “bad boy” image, the police force has lately introduced tough measures to curb incidents of bribery at roadblocks. This follows reports that police officers were contributing to the road carnage by letting defective public service vehicles pass unchecked after being bribed. newsday
ZIMBA DETAINED OVER SA PERMIT VIOLATION
CAPE TOWN — A Zimbabwean father was arrested last week and is at risk of being deported as an illegal immigrant — all because he took a job at a petrol station, contrary to the terms of his permit that he works as a domestic worker instead.
Immigration officials believe that Trust Chepesani lied and never intended to be a domestic worker at all. They say the fact that he works at a petrol station amounts to a breach of the terms of his work permit.
Police arrested him on Tuesday and detained him at the Ravensmead Police Station holding cells for the purpose of deportation. For days he couldn’t work or see his two-week-old baby.
By sunset on Friday he had still not been released, prompting his lawyers to take action.
They lodged an urgent application in the Western Cape High Court asking for his immediate release on the basis that the Immigration Act states that detention for deportation must be confirmed by a warrant of court within 48 hours.
Chepesani did not appear before a magistrate and the lawyers argued that to detain him further was unlawful.
In an affidavit, Munyaradzi Nkomo, a candidate attorney at immigration firm Craig Smith and Associates, said he was told a magistrate at the Bellville Magistrate’s Court was only available to hear the matter today, which meant Chepesani would remain behind bars for the weekend.
This, Nkomo said, amounted to an infringement of Chepesani’s rights to freedom and security.
He added that Chepesani’s baby’s rights were also violated by his continued detention, saying the Constitution provided that a child’s rights in any matter were paramount.
The matter went to court at 8pm on Friday, but by then lawyers for the Home Affairs department had agreed to release him. Judge Siraj Desai made the agreement an order of court.
However, the department refused to return Chepesani’s passport.
Chepesani’s counsel, Adam Brink, pointed out in court that the passport was the property of the Zimbabwean government and was Chepesani’s primary source of identification which he needed to register his newborn child.
However, arguing for the department, Hayley Slingers submitted that Chepesani had a chequered history, saying he had come to South Africa previously — in 2007 — via Musina, Limpopo, without a permit or passport.
He was later granted amnesty and, when he next entered the country, he obtained his current permit which validates him to work as a domestic worker — a job he doesn’t hold today.
Slingers alleged that Chepesani obtained the work permit through “fraudulent misrepresentation” —words which judge Desai described as “harsh”.
She offered to provide Chepesani with a certified copy of his passport, saying: “He is going to do whatever he can to stay, whether legal or illegal.”
The judge said the case involved fundamental liberties. “It’s a serious matter to detain a man for even an hour more than he should,” he said.
He added he was unable to apportion blame because, on the one hand, the immigration officials claimed a magistrate was not available, while, on the other, the magistrates claimed they were not told that the 48-hour period had expired.
“But whoever is to blame, it is a totally unsatisfactory state of affairs,” judge Desai said.
He directed the Home Affairs department to provide Chepesani with documents to prevent his rearrest and protect him during his release. The Home Affairs minister was ordered to pay costs.
— Weekend Argus
Immigration officials believe that Trust Chepesani lied and never intended to be a domestic worker at all. They say the fact that he works at a petrol station amounts to a breach of the terms of his work permit.
Police arrested him on Tuesday and detained him at the Ravensmead Police Station holding cells for the purpose of deportation. For days he couldn’t work or see his two-week-old baby.
By sunset on Friday he had still not been released, prompting his lawyers to take action.
They lodged an urgent application in the Western Cape High Court asking for his immediate release on the basis that the Immigration Act states that detention for deportation must be confirmed by a warrant of court within 48 hours.
Chepesani did not appear before a magistrate and the lawyers argued that to detain him further was unlawful.
In an affidavit, Munyaradzi Nkomo, a candidate attorney at immigration firm Craig Smith and Associates, said he was told a magistrate at the Bellville Magistrate’s Court was only available to hear the matter today, which meant Chepesani would remain behind bars for the weekend.
This, Nkomo said, amounted to an infringement of Chepesani’s rights to freedom and security.
He added that Chepesani’s baby’s rights were also violated by his continued detention, saying the Constitution provided that a child’s rights in any matter were paramount.
The matter went to court at 8pm on Friday, but by then lawyers for the Home Affairs department had agreed to release him. Judge Siraj Desai made the agreement an order of court.
However, the department refused to return Chepesani’s passport.
Chepesani’s counsel, Adam Brink, pointed out in court that the passport was the property of the Zimbabwean government and was Chepesani’s primary source of identification which he needed to register his newborn child.
However, arguing for the department, Hayley Slingers submitted that Chepesani had a chequered history, saying he had come to South Africa previously — in 2007 — via Musina, Limpopo, without a permit or passport.
He was later granted amnesty and, when he next entered the country, he obtained his current permit which validates him to work as a domestic worker — a job he doesn’t hold today.
Slingers alleged that Chepesani obtained the work permit through “fraudulent misrepresentation” —words which judge Desai described as “harsh”.
She offered to provide Chepesani with a certified copy of his passport, saying: “He is going to do whatever he can to stay, whether legal or illegal.”
The judge said the case involved fundamental liberties. “It’s a serious matter to detain a man for even an hour more than he should,” he said.
He added he was unable to apportion blame because, on the one hand, the immigration officials claimed a magistrate was not available, while, on the other, the magistrates claimed they were not told that the 48-hour period had expired.
“But whoever is to blame, it is a totally unsatisfactory state of affairs,” judge Desai said.
He directed the Home Affairs department to provide Chepesani with documents to prevent his rearrest and protect him during his release. The Home Affairs minister was ordered to pay costs.
— Weekend Argus
TWO TEACHERS HIT FIVE SCHOOL GIRLS WITH STICK
TWO Nhlambabaloyi Secondary School teachers in Ntabazinduna who last week appeared in court for meting out corporal punishment on five schoolgirls are now free men after the students withdrew the charges saying the teachers had apologised to them.
Kudakwashe Mlambo (30) and Collen Muzembe (29) had appeared separately before Bulawayo magistrate Takundwa Witness Mtetwa at a court circuit in Mbembesi where the charges were withdrawn before plea.
The five schoolgirls each submitted an affidavit withdrawing the charges against Mlambo and Muzembe.
“On June 24 2014, I filed a report to the police to the effect that I was assaulted by my schoolteacher who is the accused. Accused has apologised and I accepted the apology. I see it fit to be in good books with the accused to succeed in my education. I sustained minor injuries. I wish to withdraw charges against the accused due to the stated reasons,” read one of the girls’ affidavits.
The magistrate upheld the withdrawal of charges and discharged the two teachers.
The State had said on March 26 between 11am and 2pm, Mlambo and Muzembe called the five girls to the staff room and accused them of being involved in love affairs with some schoolboys.
It was alleged that the two teachers then used a stick to hit the girls several times on their shoulders where they sustained some bruises. The girls reported the matter to the police, leading to the teachers being taken to court.
The government has outlawed corporal punishment in schools saying it is a human rights violation
Kudakwashe Mlambo (30) and Collen Muzembe (29) had appeared separately before Bulawayo magistrate Takundwa Witness Mtetwa at a court circuit in Mbembesi where the charges were withdrawn before plea.
The five schoolgirls each submitted an affidavit withdrawing the charges against Mlambo and Muzembe.
“On June 24 2014, I filed a report to the police to the effect that I was assaulted by my schoolteacher who is the accused. Accused has apologised and I accepted the apology. I see it fit to be in good books with the accused to succeed in my education. I sustained minor injuries. I wish to withdraw charges against the accused due to the stated reasons,” read one of the girls’ affidavits.
The magistrate upheld the withdrawal of charges and discharged the two teachers.
The State had said on March 26 between 11am and 2pm, Mlambo and Muzembe called the five girls to the staff room and accused them of being involved in love affairs with some schoolboys.
It was alleged that the two teachers then used a stick to hit the girls several times on their shoulders where they sustained some bruises. The girls reported the matter to the police, leading to the teachers being taken to court.
The government has outlawed corporal punishment in schools saying it is a human rights violation
MOST LOCAL AUTHORITIES USING RHODESIAN LAWS
One such obsolete law is the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act which is the core planning law in Zimbabwe and has been widely criticised for being rigid.The High Court recently stopped all municipalities from disconnecting water supplies for defaulting residents without seeking recourse to the courts of law, describing as illegal Section 8 of the Water By-Law Statutory Instrument 164 of 1913.
The Urban Councils’ Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ) president Clr Martin Moyo said yesterday that urgent action was needed to amend or repeal the offending laws which were serving no purpose.
“The onus is on respective councils to look at their statutes and revise them accordingly,” said the Bulawayo mayor. “Laws which have colonial and derogatory language have no place in the prevailing environment.
“The problem is some of these laws are not known, but are only discovered when something happens. They are not uniform because every council has different by-laws.”
Harare is the worst affected and still has such laws as the Salisbury (Protection of Lands) 1972 By-Laws, which it is seeking to amend and change its name to Harare (Protection of Marginalised Land) By-Laws 2014.
The city’s acting Town Clerk Josephine Ncube told the Environmental Management Committee that her office was in the process of updating various council by-laws to put them in line with current trends. She said the Salisbury (Protection of Lands) 1972 By-Laws was one such law.
“The first problem with the by-laws she was seeking to repeal was its title,” read part of the committee’s minutes of June 24. “The by-laws were cited as the Salisbury (Protection of Lands) By-Laws 1973.
“Salisbury was the capital of the then Rhodesia. Since we are now in an independent Zimbabwe, there was no longer Salisbury, but Harare. The citation of the by-laws had to, therefore, reflect the new political dispensation.”
Ncube said another area of major concern was the fact that the 1973 by-laws still derived from the long repealed Urban Councils Act (Chapter 2:14) and this created serious legal hurdles.
She said the law had some colonial connotations as it defined the title “director” as the person holding the office under the council as director of African administration.
“This form of apartheid no longer obtained in the current political and local government set-up,” said Ncube. “Again, the by-laws made reference to a ‘shanty’. This again was a colonially derogatory word and such words are no longer referred to.
“Apart from the by-laws being barely two pages, there was no provision that dealt with offences and penalties. This anomaly made the by-laws difficult if not impossible to enforce.”
Ncube said the laws were too general as they merely referred to land when in actual fact the land they sought to protect was marginalised land, adding that the new laws would seek to address the shortfall.
The new laws will cover the prohibition of certain activities on marginalised land such as building, dredging and excavating.
The marginalised land will include wetlands, sloppy area, hills, land within 30 metres of naturally defined banks of a stream and land within 30 metres of the high flood level of any body of water conserved in artificially constructed water stage beds, banks of any river or stream.
The city’s committee expressed concern that most of the fines were not deterrent as they were too low and reiterated the need for the legal division to recommend to the relevant ministry to have them reviewed upwards. herald
SEVEN SHONA SPEAKING TEACHERS REJECTED IN MATABELELAND
MINISTER of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Lazarus Dokora said the general shortage of teachers countrywide emanating from a training gap is worsening the plight of schools in Matabeleland.
In recent weeks there has been an outcry over the deployment of non-Ndebele speaking teachers in the provinces. A Civil Service Commission officer who declined to be named said:
“The province recently received seven names of qualified early childhood development (ECD) teachers from Bondolfi Teachers’ College in Masvingo who were referred here for deployment but were referred back because of the language barrier.
“We would have gladly absorbed them but these are the formative years of the young children who need careful handling. It would be impossible for them to be taught by someone who speaks a different language.”
Responding to questions during a Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial education workshop in the city yesterday, Dr Dokora, while acknowledging the shortage said government would not disrupt lessons in schools because there is a shortage of teachers for a certain subject in the country.
The workshop was organised by Zanu-PF secretary for education Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu in a bid to tackle different issues affecting the region, including the deployment of non-Ndebele speaking teachers in Matabeleland.
“My ministry is ready to provide non-formal education for young pupils who aspire to be teachers so that they qualify to teach pupils in any part of the country with no problems. But it’s a long process that also requires other partners,” said Dr Dokora.
Dr Dokora added that the new Constitution acknowledged 16 languages, which must be fed into the education system.
“We must remain focused on our professional mandate. I believe the harmonisation of the new Constitution and the Education Act will take us to a certain level as far as such issues are concerned,” he added.
“There are quite a number of concerns that have to be addressed and our focus areas include infrastructural development in schools and the establishment of a new education curriculum.”
He said the new education curriculum would be implemented as soon as it was approved by cabinet.
In recent weeks there has been an outcry over the deployment of non-Ndebele speaking teachers in the provinces. A Civil Service Commission officer who declined to be named said:
“The province recently received seven names of qualified early childhood development (ECD) teachers from Bondolfi Teachers’ College in Masvingo who were referred here for deployment but were referred back because of the language barrier.
“We would have gladly absorbed them but these are the formative years of the young children who need careful handling. It would be impossible for them to be taught by someone who speaks a different language.”
Responding to questions during a Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial education workshop in the city yesterday, Dr Dokora, while acknowledging the shortage said government would not disrupt lessons in schools because there is a shortage of teachers for a certain subject in the country.
The workshop was organised by Zanu-PF secretary for education Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu in a bid to tackle different issues affecting the region, including the deployment of non-Ndebele speaking teachers in Matabeleland.
“My ministry is ready to provide non-formal education for young pupils who aspire to be teachers so that they qualify to teach pupils in any part of the country with no problems. But it’s a long process that also requires other partners,” said Dr Dokora.
Dr Dokora added that the new Constitution acknowledged 16 languages, which must be fed into the education system.
“We must remain focused on our professional mandate. I believe the harmonisation of the new Constitution and the Education Act will take us to a certain level as far as such issues are concerned,” he added.
“There are quite a number of concerns that have to be addressed and our focus areas include infrastructural development in schools and the establishment of a new education curriculum.”
He said the new education curriculum would be implemented as soon as it was approved by cabinet.
ZIMBABWE REDUCED TO A NATION OF TRADERS
The current economic climate characterised by a weak manufacturing sector, lack of cheap funding and low foreign direct investment has resulted in a burgeoning micro-enterprise economy in Zimbabwe’s major cities, a development that economists say shows how the environment has shifted into trading.
The proliferation of small enterprises, particularly in the retail sector, is also thriving on the demand profile of households with limited disposable income. Their needs for commodities such as clothing, food and motoring can appropriately be supplied by the informal sector in terms of affordability, type and quality.
Property companies acknowledge that cranes on Harare’s skyline could be a long way in coming back but are also cognisant of the rise of the trading economy which has caused an upsurge in construction activity in the CBD’s shy-town. Cranes on the skyline have long been viewed as an indicator of economic recovery. The last crane was for the Joina City building.
Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa in his 2014 National Budget pointed out that the old formal economy was “dead” and a new one spurred by the informal sector was emerging.
A snap survey by The Herald Business last Friday showed that motor vehicle parts shops, hair products shops and fast foods restaurants headline the new phenomenon in the areas on the other side of Leopold Takawira Street going west. Retail occupancies for most property companies are currently above average.
Mobile phone and accessories sales shops have also mushroomed in the same areas, with informal dealers setting up “tables” on the pavements to attract customers. Clothing shops and flea markets have also dominated development in the areas.
For revenue authorities, the new businesses present a cash cow with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authorities intimating setting up formal markets to ensure that revenue collection is improved.
“What we need with respect to the informal sector is a paradigm shift, starting with the quantification of their economic contribution, which is undeniably significant. Researchers say that for every job created formally, a thousand crop up in the informal sector.
Similarly for every job lost, the informal sector gains. Significant as that is, authorities should nurture these enterprises, regularising revenue collection and the sector at large. Policy makers should recognise that despite advances in the retailing sector, some significant population partly or wholly depend on informal retailing as a means of sustenance,” markets analyst Miss Fiona Chigwida said.
The sight of old buildings in the Harare’s downtown area being gradually replaced by modern structures where retail business such as fast food outlets, supermarkets, clothing shops and night clubs has grown.
The use of a multi-currency system dominated by the greenback has made trade business in Zimbabwe attractive resulting in growing demand for retail space.
Current trends in the construction of buildings in the downtown area of Harare shows the shift from the old economic order which was denominated by spacious offices in the prime streets in the CBD to small shops and stalls in one mall.
Small business sector has spearheaded the growth of the new economic order. The growth of the motor vehicles sales business is spurred on by the increase in the importation of second hand vehicles, mostly from Japan.
Some 62 000 second hand cars are imported annually compared with only 5 800 new cars imported in the 1980s. Statistics from the Industrial Development Corporation show that in 1997, the market would have 25 000 new cars, 18 000 of which were assembled locally.
For this reason, the IDC says Zimbabwe must make a strategic choice to make the motor sector an integral part of the industrialisation and employment creating strategy. A new motor industry policy, which will address issues of importation, assembling and value addition, is being developed.
The current situation represents a highly differentiated scene with room for the growth of diverse enterprises for different markets.
“The hair, motor spares and fast foods trading continue to move volumes currently in the CBD. Most buildings have since been turned into retail outlets,” said one trader who requested anonymity.
Economic analyst Mr Joseph Sagwati said the sudden construction activity in the CBD is a sign of the rise of a new and strong economy.
“The evident expansive construction of new structures in the CBD describes the collapse of illegal trade and the collapse of the mainstream retail sector paving way for more organized set up. Policy and consumer choice will mean that the more diverse pattern that has arisen will continue to thrive,” he said.
In business the retail arm is the main driver for economic productivity as such its expansion leads to the boost of the construction segment of the economy. “Stunted growth in the retail sector results in weak construction demand and related downstream industries such as cement and steel manufacturing,” said Mr Sagwati.
Following the introduction of Zim Asset which recognises the role played by micro, small and medium enterprises in fostering sustainable economic recovery and empowerment of livelihoods the construction of business structure especially along Kaguvi Street where trade in motor spare parts has become the mainstay business.herald
The proliferation of small enterprises, particularly in the retail sector, is also thriving on the demand profile of households with limited disposable income. Their needs for commodities such as clothing, food and motoring can appropriately be supplied by the informal sector in terms of affordability, type and quality.
Property companies acknowledge that cranes on Harare’s skyline could be a long way in coming back but are also cognisant of the rise of the trading economy which has caused an upsurge in construction activity in the CBD’s shy-town. Cranes on the skyline have long been viewed as an indicator of economic recovery. The last crane was for the Joina City building.
Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa in his 2014 National Budget pointed out that the old formal economy was “dead” and a new one spurred by the informal sector was emerging.
A snap survey by The Herald Business last Friday showed that motor vehicle parts shops, hair products shops and fast foods restaurants headline the new phenomenon in the areas on the other side of Leopold Takawira Street going west. Retail occupancies for most property companies are currently above average.
Mobile phone and accessories sales shops have also mushroomed in the same areas, with informal dealers setting up “tables” on the pavements to attract customers. Clothing shops and flea markets have also dominated development in the areas.
For revenue authorities, the new businesses present a cash cow with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authorities intimating setting up formal markets to ensure that revenue collection is improved.
“What we need with respect to the informal sector is a paradigm shift, starting with the quantification of their economic contribution, which is undeniably significant. Researchers say that for every job created formally, a thousand crop up in the informal sector.
Similarly for every job lost, the informal sector gains. Significant as that is, authorities should nurture these enterprises, regularising revenue collection and the sector at large. Policy makers should recognise that despite advances in the retailing sector, some significant population partly or wholly depend on informal retailing as a means of sustenance,” markets analyst Miss Fiona Chigwida said.
The sight of old buildings in the Harare’s downtown area being gradually replaced by modern structures where retail business such as fast food outlets, supermarkets, clothing shops and night clubs has grown.
The use of a multi-currency system dominated by the greenback has made trade business in Zimbabwe attractive resulting in growing demand for retail space.
Current trends in the construction of buildings in the downtown area of Harare shows the shift from the old economic order which was denominated by spacious offices in the prime streets in the CBD to small shops and stalls in one mall.
Small business sector has spearheaded the growth of the new economic order. The growth of the motor vehicles sales business is spurred on by the increase in the importation of second hand vehicles, mostly from Japan.
Some 62 000 second hand cars are imported annually compared with only 5 800 new cars imported in the 1980s. Statistics from the Industrial Development Corporation show that in 1997, the market would have 25 000 new cars, 18 000 of which were assembled locally.
For this reason, the IDC says Zimbabwe must make a strategic choice to make the motor sector an integral part of the industrialisation and employment creating strategy. A new motor industry policy, which will address issues of importation, assembling and value addition, is being developed.
The current situation represents a highly differentiated scene with room for the growth of diverse enterprises for different markets.
“The hair, motor spares and fast foods trading continue to move volumes currently in the CBD. Most buildings have since been turned into retail outlets,” said one trader who requested anonymity.
Economic analyst Mr Joseph Sagwati said the sudden construction activity in the CBD is a sign of the rise of a new and strong economy.
“The evident expansive construction of new structures in the CBD describes the collapse of illegal trade and the collapse of the mainstream retail sector paving way for more organized set up. Policy and consumer choice will mean that the more diverse pattern that has arisen will continue to thrive,” he said.
In business the retail arm is the main driver for economic productivity as such its expansion leads to the boost of the construction segment of the economy. “Stunted growth in the retail sector results in weak construction demand and related downstream industries such as cement and steel manufacturing,” said Mr Sagwati.
Following the introduction of Zim Asset which recognises the role played by micro, small and medium enterprises in fostering sustainable economic recovery and empowerment of livelihoods the construction of business structure especially along Kaguvi Street where trade in motor spare parts has become the mainstay business.herald
SHOCKED RAPIST COLLAPSES IN COURT
A Harare man convicted of rape was so shocked last week that he collapsed in the dock and had to be remanded from the holding cells at the Harare Magistrates Courts after he failed to recover. Shame Chiwaya (34) waylaid his victim who had lost her cellphone and money to tricksters in the city centre. He promised to take her to prophets who would assist her recover her belongings. Chiwaya appeared before regional magistrate Mr Hoseah Mujaya.
After the conviction in the morning, Mr Mujaya ordered Chiwaya to return to court in the afternoon for sentencing. Chiwaya, who appeared shocked, walked back to the holding cells and suddenly collapsed.
He was carried by prison guards while unconscious back to the holding cells. By 2.15pm when his name was called out, Chiwaya was in no show as he had not fully recovered.
The court had to follow him down to the holding cells before remanding him to the following day for sentence. When he appeared in court last Friday, Chiwaya was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Four years of the term were set aside on condition of good behaviour, leaving Chiwaya with an effective 16-year-jail term.
In aggravation, prosecutor Ms Svodai Kadivirire called for a lengthy prison term arguing that Chiwaya was an evil man.
“The accused person is an evil man who pretended to help the complainant yet he had his hidden agenda and deserves nothing other than imprisonment,” she said.
Chiwaya has six previous house breaking, robbery, theft and attempted murder convictions.
After his previous convictions were read out in court by the State before sentence, the court asked Chiwaya if he agreed with the State to which he added another conviction in which he spent a month in jail last year for theft.
It is the State’s case that on June 4, the complainant was robbed of her cellphone and some money.
While the 17-year-old girl was crying, Chiwaya approached her and asked her what the problem was.
After she had told him, Chiwaya told the girl that he could help her recover the stolen property after claiming to have knowledge of where stolen phones were sold in Mbare. He took the girl to some “prophets” in Mbare whom he claimed were going to make her “catch” the thieves.
After the alleged search, the girl did not get her property and decided to go back to town on foot and Chiwaya offered to escort her. Along the way while walking along a foot path near Mupedzanhamo flea market, Chiwaya grabbed the woman and raped her. herald
After the conviction in the morning, Mr Mujaya ordered Chiwaya to return to court in the afternoon for sentencing. Chiwaya, who appeared shocked, walked back to the holding cells and suddenly collapsed.
He was carried by prison guards while unconscious back to the holding cells. By 2.15pm when his name was called out, Chiwaya was in no show as he had not fully recovered.
The court had to follow him down to the holding cells before remanding him to the following day for sentence. When he appeared in court last Friday, Chiwaya was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Four years of the term were set aside on condition of good behaviour, leaving Chiwaya with an effective 16-year-jail term.
In aggravation, prosecutor Ms Svodai Kadivirire called for a lengthy prison term arguing that Chiwaya was an evil man.
“The accused person is an evil man who pretended to help the complainant yet he had his hidden agenda and deserves nothing other than imprisonment,” she said.
Chiwaya has six previous house breaking, robbery, theft and attempted murder convictions.
After his previous convictions were read out in court by the State before sentence, the court asked Chiwaya if he agreed with the State to which he added another conviction in which he spent a month in jail last year for theft.
It is the State’s case that on June 4, the complainant was robbed of her cellphone and some money.
While the 17-year-old girl was crying, Chiwaya approached her and asked her what the problem was.
After she had told him, Chiwaya told the girl that he could help her recover the stolen property after claiming to have knowledge of where stolen phones were sold in Mbare. He took the girl to some “prophets” in Mbare whom he claimed were going to make her “catch” the thieves.
After the alleged search, the girl did not get her property and decided to go back to town on foot and Chiwaya offered to escort her. Along the way while walking along a foot path near Mupedzanhamo flea market, Chiwaya grabbed the woman and raped her. herald
PASTOR LOSES $250K IN BOTCHED BORROWDALE HOUSE SALE
A leading cleric with Spoken Word Ministries Pastor Godwin Chitsinde has allegedly lost US$250 000 in a botched property sale. Pastor Chitsinde allegedly bought a house in Borrowdale from Ashley Ezekiel Kucherera, who later fraudulently acquired title deeds and a High Court order and evicted the man of the cloth.
Kucherera (42) appeared in court last Friday before Mr Donald Ndirowei charged with fraud.
He was remanded to August 1 on US$500 bail coupled with conditions, which included residing at his given address and not interfering with witnesses until the matter is finalised.
Prosecutor Miss Sharon Mashavira alleged that sometime in September 2008, Kucherera mandated LPS Real Estate to sell his Borrowdale house. As a result, Pastor Chitsinde got interested in the house and paid the agreed purchase price of US$250 000 in full in the presence of an official from LPS Real Estate.
In February 2009, Pastor Chitsinde’s friend Ringostar Masakwa, who was then an employee of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, stored RBZ mechanisation equipment at the house for safekeeping.
The equipment was later confiscated by the Zimbabwe Anti-corruption Commission which claimed that it had been stolen by Masakwa. During the recovery of the equipment, it is alleged that ZACC also seized various documents from the house, which included the title deeds for the house.
Masakwa, the court heard, fled the country to avoid prosecution and was still on the run.
Sometime this year, Kucherera who was fully aware that Pastor Chitsinde bought the house, approached the registrar of deeds and applied for replacement of the title deeds for the property.
He misrepresented that he had lost the original title deeds and he was given a replacement copy. According to the State, Kucherera used the replacement copy to make an application at the High Court purportedly to evict Masakwa from the property when in actual fact he was aware that he had sold the house to the complainant and also that Masakwa was on the run.
As a result, a default judgment was granted in Kucherera’s favour by the High Court leading to Pastor Chitsinde’s eviction from the property, the court heard. herald
He was remanded to August 1 on US$500 bail coupled with conditions, which included residing at his given address and not interfering with witnesses until the matter is finalised.
Prosecutor Miss Sharon Mashavira alleged that sometime in September 2008, Kucherera mandated LPS Real Estate to sell his Borrowdale house. As a result, Pastor Chitsinde got interested in the house and paid the agreed purchase price of US$250 000 in full in the presence of an official from LPS Real Estate.
In February 2009, Pastor Chitsinde’s friend Ringostar Masakwa, who was then an employee of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, stored RBZ mechanisation equipment at the house for safekeeping.
The equipment was later confiscated by the Zimbabwe Anti-corruption Commission which claimed that it had been stolen by Masakwa. During the recovery of the equipment, it is alleged that ZACC also seized various documents from the house, which included the title deeds for the house.
Masakwa, the court heard, fled the country to avoid prosecution and was still on the run.
Sometime this year, Kucherera who was fully aware that Pastor Chitsinde bought the house, approached the registrar of deeds and applied for replacement of the title deeds for the property.
He misrepresented that he had lost the original title deeds and he was given a replacement copy. According to the State, Kucherera used the replacement copy to make an application at the High Court purportedly to evict Masakwa from the property when in actual fact he was aware that he had sold the house to the complainant and also that Masakwa was on the run.
As a result, a default judgment was granted in Kucherera’s favour by the High Court leading to Pastor Chitsinde’s eviction from the property, the court heard. herald
EX SOLDIER FORMS POLITICAL PARTY IN ZIM
A new political outfit called the Zimbabwe Empowerment Movement (ZEM) has been formed.
Mr Garikai Musanonoka Sithole, who claims to be son to the late Zanu Ndonga leader, Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, with another woman, not Vesta, leads the party.
Mr Sithole (39) of Masvingo’s Rujeko suburb, is a retired solider. He told The Herald last Friday that preparations for ZEM’s inaugural congress were at an advanced. The congress will be held in Bulawayo next month.
Mr Sithole said ZEM sought to fight corruption. He said existing political parties, including the ruling zanu-pf, had failed to tackle corruption. He said the party was going to contest in the 2018 elections.
ZEM has since started distributing fliers in Masvingo with Mr Sithole’s face as the party’s president and presidential candidate for the 2018 elections.
Mr Sithole said his party’s colours were red, yellow and black. “Plans for our congress are now at an advanced stage and certainly it will be held in Bulawayo as a symbolic gesture because the city is the cradle of nationalism in Zimbabwe.
‘‘All major political parties had their roots in Bulawayo. My plan is for the congress to be held next month if all goes according to plan. Thereafter we will launch our party all over the country,” he said.
The ZEM leader said a national executive of his party was already in place, but refused to name the people.
“I cannot reveal the names of people in my executive, but we have very big names. You might also be interested to know that we have a very solid source of funding, but I will not disclose it. Our funding is coming from local sources, Zimbabwe has a lot of dollars.”
Mr Sithole said Zimbabwe was not doing enough to fight corruption by punishing the offenders.
He praised President Mugabe as a visionary leader with good policies, singling out the expropriation of land to resettle landless blacks and also the drive to indigenise the economy.
“My party will fight corruption. Yes, there are attempts to end the vice at the moment, but people accused of corruption continue to walk freely on the streets. It is very good to expose corruption but what matters is whether the culprits are arrested or not,” said Mr Sithole.
He said corruption, and not sanctions, were to blame for economic problems affecting Zimbabwe.
This was despite revelations that the ruinous sanctions have cost Zimbabwe about US$42 billion since their imposition by the West over a decade ago.
Mr Garikai Musanonoka Sithole, who claims to be son to the late Zanu Ndonga leader, Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, with another woman, not Vesta, leads the party.
Mr Sithole (39) of Masvingo’s Rujeko suburb, is a retired solider. He told The Herald last Friday that preparations for ZEM’s inaugural congress were at an advanced. The congress will be held in Bulawayo next month.
Mr Sithole said ZEM sought to fight corruption. He said existing political parties, including the ruling zanu-pf, had failed to tackle corruption. He said the party was going to contest in the 2018 elections.
ZEM has since started distributing fliers in Masvingo with Mr Sithole’s face as the party’s president and presidential candidate for the 2018 elections.
Mr Sithole said his party’s colours were red, yellow and black. “Plans for our congress are now at an advanced stage and certainly it will be held in Bulawayo as a symbolic gesture because the city is the cradle of nationalism in Zimbabwe.
‘‘All major political parties had their roots in Bulawayo. My plan is for the congress to be held next month if all goes according to plan. Thereafter we will launch our party all over the country,” he said.
The ZEM leader said a national executive of his party was already in place, but refused to name the people.
“I cannot reveal the names of people in my executive, but we have very big names. You might also be interested to know that we have a very solid source of funding, but I will not disclose it. Our funding is coming from local sources, Zimbabwe has a lot of dollars.”
Mr Sithole said Zimbabwe was not doing enough to fight corruption by punishing the offenders.
He praised President Mugabe as a visionary leader with good policies, singling out the expropriation of land to resettle landless blacks and also the drive to indigenise the economy.
“My party will fight corruption. Yes, there are attempts to end the vice at the moment, but people accused of corruption continue to walk freely on the streets. It is very good to expose corruption but what matters is whether the culprits are arrested or not,” said Mr Sithole.
He said corruption, and not sanctions, were to blame for economic problems affecting Zimbabwe.
This was despite revelations that the ruinous sanctions have cost Zimbabwe about US$42 billion since their imposition by the West over a decade ago.
MUGABE MISSES ANNUAL VAPOSITORI PASSOVER
In an election year the Johane Marange Apostolic Church annual passover would have been a top priority for President Robert Mugabe. But this year he gave it a miss. Instead he sent in a minister to represent him as 200 000 followers gathered at the Mafararikwa Shrine.
The Minister of State for Manicaland, Chris Mushohwe, the Minister of Environment, Water and Climate Saviour Kasukuwere, and Zanu PF Manicaland provincial chairman Ambassador John Mvundura joined the congregants led by High Priest Noah Taguta who was given a farm for his part in campaigning for the ruling party.
In his speech read by Mushohwe, Mugabe expressed concern over the increase in moral decadence in the country and called upon religious organisations to stand up for the truth and restore the dignity of the people. He said the government looked up to the church to lead the fight against moral decadence and to restore the dignity of humanity as espoused in the Bible.
He applauded members of the Johane Marange Apostolic Church for voting overwhelmingly for Zanu PF in last year’s harmonised elections, adding that Zanu PF will continue to work with the sect in advancing socio-economic development.
President Mugabe saluted the church for playing a role in the country’s education sector through the establishment of St Noah College and another school set to be built in Nyanga.
He called on the various religious organisations to support the government’s call for peace and unity to prevail in the country and to castigate all forms of violence.
Addressing the same gathering, the Zanu PF Manicaland provincial chairman, Ambassador John Mvundura applauded members of the Johane Marange Apostolic Church for restoring the supremacy of Zanu PF in Manicaland through voting overwhelmingly for the party during the 2013 harmonised elections.
The Johane Marange followers were implored to join the government in transforming the new economic blue print, ZIM ASSET, into a reality.
The followers who were drawn from all corners of the country were joined by their counterparts from the SADC region and beyond.
The Minister of State for Manicaland, Chris Mushohwe, the Minister of Environment, Water and Climate Saviour Kasukuwere, and Zanu PF Manicaland provincial chairman Ambassador John Mvundura joined the congregants led by High Priest Noah Taguta who was given a farm for his part in campaigning for the ruling party.
In his speech read by Mushohwe, Mugabe expressed concern over the increase in moral decadence in the country and called upon religious organisations to stand up for the truth and restore the dignity of the people. He said the government looked up to the church to lead the fight against moral decadence and to restore the dignity of humanity as espoused in the Bible.
He applauded members of the Johane Marange Apostolic Church for voting overwhelmingly for Zanu PF in last year’s harmonised elections, adding that Zanu PF will continue to work with the sect in advancing socio-economic development.
President Mugabe saluted the church for playing a role in the country’s education sector through the establishment of St Noah College and another school set to be built in Nyanga.
He called on the various religious organisations to support the government’s call for peace and unity to prevail in the country and to castigate all forms of violence.
Addressing the same gathering, the Zanu PF Manicaland provincial chairman, Ambassador John Mvundura applauded members of the Johane Marange Apostolic Church for restoring the supremacy of Zanu PF in Manicaland through voting overwhelmingly for the party during the 2013 harmonised elections.
The Johane Marange followers were implored to join the government in transforming the new economic blue print, ZIM ASSET, into a reality.
The followers who were drawn from all corners of the country were joined by their counterparts from the SADC region and beyond.
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