Monday, 2 September 2013

EMAKHANDENI FIRE VICTIMS TO BE BURIED TODAY

THREE family members who died in a house fire in Emakhandeni suburb on Monday morning will be buried today.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
Family spokesperson, Luckson Mudinzwa, yesterday told Southern Eye burial preparations were now in full motion after well-wishers had chipped in to help the family.
“We are currently making the necessary burial preparations, and if nothing goes amiss, the burial will surely take place tomorrow (Friday),” he said.
Chipo Mudinzwa (58), her 29-year-old daughter Christine and son Cleopas, died in a mysterious fire on Monday.
Mudinzwa said burial proceedings were expected to begin with a church service at 10am at Exodus Funeral Services in Kelvin North before the burial at 11am at West Park Cemetery.
“We are thankful to the well-wishers including Exodus Funeral Services, helping us with preparations needed to give the deceased persons a decent burial. Words alone cannot express how grateful we are,” he said.
Exodus Funeral Services on Wednesday said it would foot all the bills for the burial of the three victims, including coffins, hearses, transport for mourners, a church service and food, all free of charge.
Prior to the gesture from the company, Mudinzwa had expressed fear that the burial of the victims could be postponed due to inadequate resources.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/30/emakhandeni-fire-victims-buried-today/

EXODUS FUNERAL SERVICES PAYS BILLS FOR FIRE VICTIMS

EXODUS Funeral Services in Bulawayo has said it would foot all the bills in the burial of the three people who perished in a fire that gutted an Emakhandeni house on Monday morning.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
The company’s manager Winnie Ndlovu said they had been moved by the tragedy and had decided to address the plight of the family members, who desperately needed help to give the victims a decent burial.
“We went to talk to the bereaved family yesterday and we saw the sad situation there. They had nothing, from food to the coffins,” she said.
“We then assured them that we would take care of each and every burial preparation, including the provision of coffins, three funeral hearses, transport for the mourners, a church service and food. And it will all be free of charge.”
Ndlovu said the company had also embalmed the bodies for the burial, including transferring them from the hospital mortuary to the funeral palour yesterday.
“We were concerned about the state of the bodies at the hospital mortuary and as soon as the family gives us the necessary documentation, we would transfer them to the palour in Kelvin North,” she said.
Exodus sales and marketing manager Liberty Dzimwasha said the gesture was no publicity stunt, but they were doing it for the community.
“We decided to lend a helping hand since we are in this funeral services business. We had to reach out to the bereaved family in their time of need,” he said.
“We hope all organisations would do the same and not shy away from such corporate responsibilities. Developments such as these cannot go unnoticed.”
Prior to the gesture from the company, the family’s spokesperson, Luckson Mudinzwa, had said the burial of the three victims had initially been set for today or tomorrow, but there was a possibility of it being postponed due to inadequate resources.
“After the family discussions concerning the burial, it is now very difficult at the moment to set a definite day for the burial, as we have not yet received enough support in terms of resources for the burial arrangement,” he had said.
Meanwhile, the Bulawayo City Council’s Fire Brigade is yet to ascertain the cause of the fire that killed Chipo Mudinzwa (58), her 29-year-old daughter, Christine and son Cleopas (37) who were sleeping in the house when it caught fire.
According to reletives and neighbours, the cause of the fire is still a mystery to them, although they suspect supernatural causes, with reports that one of the deceased, Cleopas claimed he had seen goblins in the house on several occasions, threatening to burn him.
In an interview with Southern Eye yesterday, the department’s senior divisional officer Edward Mpofu said the cause of the fire was a mystery and they had since recorded it as such.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/29/exodus-funeral-services-pays-bills-fire-victims/

RELATIVES APPEAL FOR HELP TO BURY FIRE VICTIMS

RELATIVES of three Emakhandeni family members who died after fire gutted their house on Monday are appealing for help to bury the victims.
Pamela Mhlanga, Own Correspondent
Chipo Mudinzwa (58), her 29-year-old daughter Christine and son Cleopas (37) were sleeping in the house when it caught fire.
Relatives yesterday said Christina was the only one who was mentally challenged not the entire family, as claimed by neighbours on Monday.
Family spokesperson Luckson Mudinzwa said while relatives were yet to discuss burial arrangements, they needed help to give the three a decent burial.
“We really need help from the whole community and well-wishers who can offer their support in burying the deceased persons. We need help from people who can offer any kind of
assistance, be it monetary, material or help with coffins for the deceased or transport for the mourners,” he said.
Mudinzwa hinted the three could be buried in the city although relatives had not yet set a date for the burial.
“The incident shocked us and we are still trying to come to terms with how all three family members could perish in a fire in such a terrible way,” he said.
Mudinzwa said the cause of the fire was still a mystery, although he hinted they suspected involvement of a supernatural force.
“People have been talking that Cleopas used to complain that he was seeing scary goblins in the house threatening to burn him such that he sometimes used to sleep at the neighbours because of fear. However, we all place everything in the hands of God as he is the only one who knows why this had to happen,” he said.
The Bulawayo City Council’s fire brigade is still investigating the cause of the fire.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/28/relatives-appeal-help-bury-fire-victims/

FIRE KILLS THREE FAMILY MEMBERS

THREE family members died yesterday after the house they were sleeping in caught fire during the early hours of the morning.
Pamela Mhlanga
Bulawayo Council chief fire officer Richard Peterson confirmed the incident saying two of the victims were burnt beyond recognition.
“I confirm that the department received a fire alert call around 0044hrs from Emakhandeni suburb,” Peterson said.
“The inferno which gutted the house left three people dead. Two were burnt beyond recognition and another person is believed to have suffocated to death.”
Peterson said the dead included a 58-year-old woman together with her 29-year-old daughter who were burnt beyond recognition.
Her 37-year-old son is suspected to have died due to suffocation caused by smoke inhalation.
“The perished family is believed to have been mentally challenged and we are yet to establish the cause of the fire,” Peterson said.
“When the fire brigade arrived, there was a lot of junk in the house and two rooms were totally destroyed by the fire.”
He said since there were claims that the whole family was mentally challenged,
one of them could have started the fire while trying to cook, but said investigations were underway.
“We are informed by neighbours that the family was isolated and reclusive, but survived from food brought to them by neighbours, church members and well-wishers,” Peterson said.
The victims were identified as Cleopas, Chipo and Christina Mudinzwa. Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo confirmed the incident.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/27/fire-kills-three-family-members/

ST MARY'S EARNS BASILICA STATUS

MORE than a thousand Roman Catholic Church congregants from the Archdiocese of Bulawayo yesterday thronged St Mary’s Cathedral to attend a colourful church mass, held in honour of the church, which had just been bestowed the Minor Basilica status by Pope Francis I.
REPORT BY PAMELA MHLANGA
The church could not hold the multitudes and several hundreds of them had to follow proceedings from a huge television set fitted for the ceremony.
Pope Francis’ representative from Harare and various priests from different Catholic parishes in and around Bulawayo also took part in the event.
St Mary’s Cathedral becomes the first Roman Catholic Church in Zimbabwe and southern Africa and the 17th on the continent to be bestowed the Minor Basilica status.
A Basilica, according to Catholics, is a designation or status given to a church by the Pope through a proclamation passed by the congregation for Divine Worship and sacraments.
The governing body of the Roman Catholic Church confers this honour to churches of historical significance, as well as the local area, diocese or even region the church is located in.
Addressing congregants at the event, Apostolic Nuncio to Zimbabwe, Archbishop George Kochery, representing Pope Francis, said the status given to the church was a symbol of its loyalty to God and the Roman Catholic Church as a whole.
“I have seen that you love God, you love the church and you love the Pope and I pray that this loyalty increases each day,” he said.
Bulawayo Archbishop Alex Thomas said the special status granted to St Mary’s was a great blessing and a privilege to all the Catholics of Zimbabwe in 2013, which has been designated as the Catholic Church’s year of faith.
“This is a privilege granted by the Pope to a church for its architectural beauty, its history and its role in the formation of faith,” he said.
Bulawayo town clerk Middleton Nyoni said the city was humbled and excited on this distinction that had been accorded to St Mary’s.
“Given that the term basilica comes from a Greek word meaning regal or kingly, it is only befitting that St Mary’s be conferred with Minor Basilica status, a royal recognition coincidental to both the City of Kings and St Mary’s Cathedral,” he said.
Nyoni said Bulawayo appreciated Catholic basilicas were designated Catholic pilgrimage sites, receiving thousands of visitors per year and he had no doubt that the hospitality industry of the city would greatly benefit from this new development.

KING MZILIKAZI CELEBRATIONS ON

COMMEMORATIONS to celebrate the life of King Mzilikazi Khumalo are set to take place on September 7 at Mhlahlandlela, 22km south of Bulawayo along the Old Gwanda Road, organisers said yesterday.

Report by Pamela Mhlanga

In a statement yesterday, Mthwakazi KaMzilikazi Cultural Association spokesperson, Rodgers Mthethwa, said the commemorations, which have been held annually since the year 2000, were an important event to celebrate the life of one of Africa’s greatest icons in living memory.
“King Mzilikazi left the then Zululand in the 1820s with less than 500 people and fought his way up to present day western Zimbabwe,” he said.
“He was able to persuade some tribes in the Transvaal to join his crusade.”
Mthethwa said Mzilikazi crossed the Limpopo River and finally settled in Matabeleland, establishing his capital at Mhlahlandlela, which was now a recognised historical site and this was the place where they had been hosting such celebrations since the year 2000.
“This year we have invited two traditional chiefs from Swaziland and Mpumalanga province of South Africa and these are Chief Makhosikhosi Khumalo and Chief Mthayiza Khumalo, respectively.”
He said transport to Mhlahlandlela would be available from the City Hall car park from 8.30am at a charge of $2 including the return fee. Efforts were being made to provide free transport to the elderly.
“Any cultural group or individual praise singers wishing to participate, including well-wishers wanting to support this noble cause are most welcome,” Mthwethwa said.
“They should contact me or the organisation’s public relations officer, Nhlanhla Khumalo on mobile numbers 0712 508 870 or 0775 184 390.”
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/09/01/king-mzilikazi-celebrations/

Monday, 26 August 2013

OUTRAGE AS MAN DIES IN CUSTODY

A 53-YEAR-old Pumula man died last week while under police custody for allegedly buying a stolen television set.
REPORT BY PAMELA MHLANGA
Sifelani Dube’s death has angered his family and the Pumula community who claim he was tortured.
Sifelani was detained at Pumula Police Station and his family says he was tortured by the police trying to extract information from him about the alleged theft of the television set. Apparently, he had bought the set.
Sifelani, a popular figure in the suburb, was buried during a moving ceremony at West Park Cemetery on Saturday.
Yesterday family members were still gathered at the deceased’s residence in Old Pumula where they described his arrest on August 16 and the alleged torture.
“Three police officers, two in uniform and the other in plainclothes, came to the house in a silver BMW vehicle on Friday around 12pm. They demanded to see Sifelani who was indoors at the time,” Sifelani’s brother Thabani Ndlovu told Southern Eye.
“We did not know why the police wanted to see him, but we directed them to a room in the house where Sifelani was.
“Sifelani emerged from the room handcuffed.
“I asked the police what the problem was and they said that they wanted Sifelani to help them identify a criminal they were looking for.”
Ndlovu said Sifelani asked for permission to relieve himself, a request which was granted, but the police details did not release the handcuffs.
“After Sifelani was done, he struggled to fix his pair of trousers which were down his legs as he was still in handcuffs,” he said. “This did not go down well with the police who insulted him and attacked him.”
He said one police officer, identified as Mudzingwa, then used a thick dry tree branch to viciously strike Sifelani all over the body in full view of relatives and passers-by.
“Mudzingwa beat Sifelani using the branch until he fell to the ground after which he plucked another branch and continued to beat him instructing him to get up,” Ndlovu said.
Another man who said he was the deceased’s brother, but only identified himself as Dube, said police called him last Tuesday morning informing him that his brother was not feeling well and had to be rushed to the hospital.
“When I saw him at Mpilo Hospital under police guard, he was oxygenated and the nurses told me that he could only manage to take liquid foods,” Dube added.
He said he was later informed on the same day that his brother had died.
“I am still shocked about his death up to now,” Dube said. “He was a healthy, strong man who had never been hospitalised. I believe he finally succumbed to the injuries he got from the beatings.”
Residents said the police officer identified as Mudzingwa was known for his “brutality when dealing with suspects”.
Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo said he had not received a report about Sifelani’s death and expressed skepticism about the family’s account of what had transpired.
“I am not aware of that and have not received a report, but I will try to find out,” he said.
“But anyway I doubt if the police brutality thing is true. Do you think it is possible?” he questioned.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/26/outrage-man-dies-custody/

Saturday, 17 August 2013

DRAFT CONSTITUTION PERPETUATES RACISM-COLTART

EDUCATION minister David Coltart has dismissed the Copac-led draft constitution as racist, arguing the clause on land perpetuated racial discrimination.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
Addressing residents during the MDC referendum publicity campaign meeting at Barham Green Hall in Bulawayo on Saturday, Coltart said the land provision discouraged foreign investors from doing business in Zimbabwe due to its “racist connotations”.
“According to the draft constitution, the clause on agricultural land in Section 288 that says all citizens, regardless of race, have a right to hold, occupy, use or dispose of agricultural land is well put and good, but the problem comes in Section 72 of the constitution,” he said.
Section 72 of the draft on the rights to agricultural land states that no compensation was payable in respect of the acquisition of land except for improvements, unless the agricultural land was acquired from an indigenous Zimbabwean.
It also states that with regard to the compulsory acquisition of agricultural land for resettlement, Zimbabweans were unjustifiably dispossessed of their land during colonialism, that they took up arms in order to regain their land and thus they must be enabled to reassert their rights and regain ownership of their land.
“The former colonial power, not the government of Zimbabwe, has an obligation to pay compensation for agricultural land compulsorily acquired for resettlement of people. This is a very unfortunate provision because any person of any race who wants to invest in the country is not given an opportunity to do so. It affects our ability for farming investment and deters foreign investors from investing in the country,” Coltart said.
He said the land tenure system was “unjust and unsustainable” as it was going to create a huge burden to Zimbabwe’s economy.
The Zanu PF-led government launched the fast track resettlement programme in 2000 ostensibly to address land ownership imbalances that were skewed in favour of minority whites.
At the time the resettlement programme was introduced, an estimated 4 500 white commercial farmers held 75% of prime agricultural land.
But some critics have disputed benefits derived from the land reform arguing that it had reduced the country from the region’s breadbasket to a basket case.
http://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/03/05/draft-constitution-perpetuates-racism-coltart/

ATTACK ON SIWELA DRAWS MTHWAKAZI FIRE

THE Mthwakazi Youth Joint Resolution (MYJR) on Tuesday defended Matabeleland Liberation Organisation leader Paul Siwela from the two MDCs who attacked him for saying the region’s political leaders in the government of national unity were traitors.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
The organisation concurred with Siwela that Matabeleland was in shambles because it lacked competent political leaders.
On Monday, MDC and MDC-T parties attacked Siwela for calling Matabeleland politicians “traitors” who misled the electorate into accepting a half-baked draft constitution at the just ended referendum.
MYJR spokesperson Mqondisi Moyo yesterday said it was unfair for the MDCs to attack Siwela, whose statements they agreed with.
“We are disturbed by the political party leaders from Matabeleland who are not consistent when it comes to politics and the Matabeleland region at large. These are the kind of people who are only good at singing for their supper,” Moyo said.
Moyo added that allegations that Siwela was a confused politician who jumped from one political party to another in search of positions was meaningless as he was not the only one who had crossed floors in his political carrier.
MDC-T deputy national organising secretary Abednicho Bhebhe on Monday said Siwela was ignorant of constitutional matters and should thus shut up if he did not know what he was talking about.
MDC Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Edwin Ndlovu said Siwela was a confused politician who jumped from one political party to the other in search of positions to no avail.
“Matabeleland needs leaders who will come together and work together for a worthy cause instead of attacking each other as they are doing now,” Moyo said.
http://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/04/04/attack-on-siwela-draws-mthwakazi-fire/

BOGUS ZIPRA TAINTING OUR NAME

A FORMER Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZPRA) official on Saturday accused the suspected National Youth Service, popularly known as the Border Gezi youths, of allegedly masquerading as members of  ZPRA war veterans.
Pamela Mhlanga
The youths are reportedly harassing villagers ahead of harmonised elections.
The organisation said the youth strategy was discrediting and tainting the former liberation fighters in the eyes of the public.
Addressing Siyezi and Makoronga communities of Ward 33 during a meeting hosted by Friends of Zapu in Silobela in the Midlands yesterday, former ZPRA official Tonderayi Sithole alleged some members of Border Gezi youths were masquerading as ZPRA war veterans and harassing villagers.
“It is frustrating that after all the efforts by ZPRA war veterans to remove the fear factor that the public has regarding war veterans, there are some individuals, most of them from Border Gezi, who go about perpetrating violence and pretending they are us,” Sithole said.
Sithole added that ZPRA had principles that required members to co-operate with the masses and desist from any forms of violence on members of the public.
“We are striving to show the society that we are peace loving and that is what we have been advocating for, so that people integrate us back into the society,” Sithole added.
He urged the community to report to the police any individuals who harassed them using ex-ZPRA tags, especially towards elections, saying ZPRA war veterans did not believe in violence.
http://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/04/15/bogus-zpra-tainting-our-name-sithole/


MAKANDIWA FRENZY HITS CITY

MORE than 3 000 people packed the United Family International Church (UFIC) Centre in Bulawayo yesterday morning where the church’s founder Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa was expected to lead the Sunday service.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
There were winding queues outside the centre along 15th Avenue as people jostled to enter the giant venue.
However, the thousands of people who had packed the centre that reportedly has a capacity of 3 000 people, were told by UFIC overseer Tinashe Zuva that the charismatic preacher had failed to make it for the service.
Zuva could not give reasons for Makandiwa’s no-show despite the fact he had held crusades at White City Stadium in the city on Friday and Saturday.
“Although father (Makandiwa) is not here in body, he is here in spirit and he is the one who will perform all these miracles through me,” the overseer said.
Zuva told the service that he had sat next to Makandiwa during the Friday and Saturday crusades and would perform miracles using the “anointing”.
“It is such an honour that I sat next to the man of God and I also had the privilege to receive his anointing, which is at work today,” he said.
When the NewsDay crew got to the centre at 9am, some people who said they had arrived an hour earlier were still struggling to make their way into the church.
One of the church leaders was instructing UFIC members who were already seated to give seats to visitors.
“I understand that he (Makandiwa) came on Thursday and has already conducted two of his crusades at White City Stadium on Friday and Saturday,” said a woman who preferred to remain anonymous.
“I came here at 08:30, but there are so many people in front of me such that I doubt if I will even get a chance to get inside the church as it would be already full.”
Zuva said Makandiwa was anointed by God to end poverty in Zimbabwe.
“Today you shall cross over from rags to riches, from poverty to riches, from pedestrians to motorists with the anointing of Makandiwa, which is in me today,” he said.
“Poverty is a demon and a curse. Your life must change for the best and you shall begin on a prosperous journey starting today.”
http://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/04/29/makandiwa-frenzy-hits-city/


TB DEATHS WORRY COUNCIL

ONE in 10 tuberculosis (TB) patients die in Bulawayo, a figure which the city council says is too high and a cause for concern.
Pamela Mhlanga, Own Correspondent
Addressing stakeholders during the Bulawayo World TB Day at the Barbourfields Training Grounds on Friday, the city council’s director of Health Services, Zanele Hwalima, said there was a constant need to create TB awareness in the province as it also contributed to several deaths.
“In 2011, 84% of our patients were treated successfully for TB, but there is always a need to reach the national target of 87%. So the 10% death rate in the city is disappointing,” she said.
Hwalima said it was disappointing that a number of people in the city were still succumbing to TB, which had led to the 10% death rate and the 2% rate of TB treatment failure in patients.
She, however, said there was hope as the 10% rate was a reduction from 13% death rate that was recorded in 2008.
Speaking during the same event, the Bulawayo provincial education director Dan Moyo said TB was a major health issue in Bulawayo city clinics, but despite all efforts to ensure patients completed their course of treatment, there has been the emergence of drug resistant TB that was extremely difficult and costly to treat.
“Drug resistant TB is the presence of bacilli resistant to one or more anti-Tuberculosis drugs and includes multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB,” he said.
“Drug-resistant TB is extremely difficult and costly to treat. The costs of treating MDR-TB can be several hundred times higher than costs for treating drug-susceptible TB.”
Moyo said although the cure of DR-TB was possible, it took 24 months of treatment with toxic drugs, some of which needed to be administered by injection.
“It is, therefore, important to ensure that all patients are diagnosed early and adhere to treatment the first time they are diagnosed with TB, to prevent development of DR-TB,” he added.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/06/03/tb-deaths-worry-council/

BULAWAYO COUNCIL SNUBS INVESTOR

THE Bulawayo City Council has turned down an organisation’s request to lease two factory shells at Kelvin North industrial area for purposes of wood furniture manufacturing.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga

According to the latest council minutes, Bright Hopes Co-operative had applied to the local authority requesting to lease two factory shells to set up a common facility centre with assistance from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), for all wood workers in Bulawayo.
The organisation said the move was expected to create employment opportunities for residents in the city.
“Bright Hopes Co-operative Society is kindly requesting for a workshop facility from the city council to assist its members in their operations,” the application read.
“The co-operative, with the assistance of the International Labour Organisation, wishes to set up a common facility centre for all wood workers in Bulawayo.”
The organisation said ILO would supply machinery, while the local authority will be expected to assist in providing workshops.
“The co-operative will be responsible for the payment of rentals,” the organisation said.
“We have identified two shops, number 40 and 42 from Phase I Kelvin North. These shops are ideal for such activities and are currently not allocated to anyone.”
However, the city council resolved that the application by Bright Hopes Co-operative must not be acceded to and recommended that the factory shells should be put to tender instead.
This was resolved after a council discussion where mixed feelings over the application had earlier on been reflected with the financial director Kempton Ndimande having no objections to the organisation’s request, as long as appropriate charges were levied on the factory shells.
Ward 14 councillor Phenias Ndlovu observed that the two factory shells at Kelvin North were vacant and council urgently required revenue.
Chamber secretary Sikhangele Zhou advised that factory shells were allocated through a tender system and as such this application could not be supported.
Deputy mayor Amen Mpofu noted that there was a directive on allocation of council premises.
“The recent announcement by the relevant ministry that the local authority could allocate vacant premises was not clear as no official letter had been received from the government,” he said.
In response to issues raised, a senior housing official explained that the applicant was seeking premises to operate from and had a willing donor that had already donated equipment.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/06/12/bulawayo-council-snubs-investor/

OBERT MPOFU UNDER FIRE

A ZAPU aspiring candidate for Umguza constituency has attacked Zanu PF politburo member Obert Mpofu, also MP for the area, accusing him of vote buying.
Pamela Mhlanga
Zapu southern regional co-ordinator Mark Mbayiwa alleged that Mpofu was not fit to be MP for Umguza constituency, claiming the Zanu PF legislator was out of touch with reality.
Mbayiwa charged that Mpofu, who has been holding rallies in and around Matabeleland North drumming up support for President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF, was flaunting his riches in a desperate measure to woo voters. He said Mpofu was using his money and maize to lure supporters to vote for him.
“I agree that Obert Mpofu receives scores of people in his rallies, with some rallies having as many as 3 000 people attending, but who are those people? But that does not mean that thousands of people who attend his rallies actually support him,” Mbayiwa told Southern Eye yesterday.
“The majority would be coming for the maize only and the money that he always dishes out at his rallies.”
He added that Mpofu had a tendency of pretending to develop his area only towards election time so that people would support and vote for him.
“The state and general appearance of the area he is representing is worse with potholed roads and dilapidated infrastructure despite his presence as an MP,” Mbayiwa said. “The clinic where I was born in the area is in a terrible state with Mpofu always pretending to rehabilitate the mortuary only towards elections.”
Mbayiwa said the only thing that Mpofu had done, as far as development was concerned, was developing his “fancy” house.Contacted for comment yesterday, Mpofu told Southern Eye he was not moved by allegations raised by a “small party”.
“Vote-buying; what is wrong with that? I don’t think there is anything wrong with vote-buying as far as I am concerned, but how does one buy as many people as 3 000?” Mpofu quipped.
He said he was not worried about Mbayiwa’s accusations because they came from a “small party”.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/06/17/obert-mpofu-under-fire/

BULAWAYO JOB SEEKERS TO LOSE STAND

THE Bulawayo City Council is set to repossess a stand in Thorngrove suburb that was designated for use as an employment creation project by the Zimbabwe Unemployed Self-Reliant Solidarity Organisation (Zusso) after the organisation failed to develop the land since 1993.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
According to the latest council minutes, the Housing and Community Services director Isaiah Magagula had reported that according to the council on November 17 1993, an agreement of lease had been entered into between Zusso and the city council.
“Construction should have commenced six months from the date of the agreement of lease and completed 24 months later,” the minutes read. “The stand was designated for use as an employment creation project.”
The local authority revealed that a site inspection of the stand, however, had shown that to date no development had taken place on the stand and there was no sign that work would commence soon. The minutes also stated that a non-compliance notice by the council had been written to the organisation on October 19 2012 and there had been no response.
The Housing and Community Services Department had circulated the intention to repossess the stand to other council’s departments asking for comments.
According to the minutes, of Engineering Services director Simela Dube had written that there were no town planning objections to the proposed repossession of stand 15516 BT from Zusso due to failure to adhere to conditions of the lease agreement.
“Please note that the stand in question measures 18545ha in extent, as such it cannot be allocated as a whole to a single applicant,” he said. “My department is working on the subdivision of stand 15516 Thorngrove and the resultant stands will be handed over to you for allocation as soon as they are ready.”
Health Services director Zanele Hwalima said there were no objections to the stand being repossessed considering the time the applicant has been given to develop it.
“However, on the establishment of a church thereafter, the Town Planning Section will be better placed to advice on the compatibility of church activities with the local plan if the stand is at Thorngrove Industrial sites,” she said.
The Housing and Community Services Department had no objection to the stand being repossessed as the account was not billing.
According to the minutes, it was resolved to recommend to the finance and development committees that the land be repossessed.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/06/19/bulawayo-job-seekers-to-lose-stand/

ROBERT SINYOKA PLUGGED IN,SEES THE LIGHT

WORLD Vision yesterday commissioned an electricity connection at Robert Sinyoka Primary School, 86 years after it was built, in a project worth more than $20 000.
This development came as a relief to parents and teachers. The school has had no electricity since its construction in 1927.
REPORT BY PAMELA MHLANGA
Addressing stakeholders in a speech at the event yesterday, World Vision regional operations manager Shepherd Dlamini described the development as a miracle considering that the school had not had electricity for more than 80 years. Many had long lost hope.
He said World Vision had partnered with Robert Sinyoka Area Development Programme (ADP) which started in 2006 with a vision of contributing towards the sustainable wellbeing of children and their families.
“Robert Sinyoka ADP discussed and agreed that in as much as Robert Sinyoka Primary school has been without electricity ever since its inception, it had something it could contribute towards the electrification of the school,” Dlamini said.
He said World Vision contributed $20 977 towards the project and the school provided the balance of $2 500.
“As World Vision, we want to shape the future of our children by making sure that their well-being is taken care of so that they are successful,” Dlamini said. “This includes providing a desirable environment for their education in the society.”
The school’s head Elicah Ngorima said June 19 was a day worth remembering because the electrification of the school was a huge development.
“I came here in 2010 and I realised that electricity was a real necessity in the school,” he said. “It has been a struggle when the school did not have electricity, especially when computers were being introduced in schools. Robert Sinyoka children were seriously lagging behind.”
The School Development Committee chairperson Christian Nyathi said the electrification of the school had not been easy.
“The issue was discussed in Parliament years ago, but they highlighted that the area could not be engaged in the rural electrification programme because we were peri-urban and the matter went silent after that,” he said. “Parents signed many Zesa forms in an effort to electrify the school.”
Nyathi said other projects in the school had also stalled so that the funds could be diverted to electrifying it. A parent at the school, Lister Mpofu, could not hide her joy as she said the children had been facing challenges in reading when it was dark.
“I am happy as a parent because I also have the best interests of my children at heart,” she said.
World Vision has worked with the school in the provision of textbooks and stationery and paint, among other projects.
It has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Robert Sinyoka ADP this year to make it possible that 83 children from vulnerable families would attend school without paying fees for seven terms.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/06/20/robert-sinyoka-school-plugged-in-sees-the-light/

600 DANGEROUS POACHERS NETTED

THE Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit (VFAPU) has removed 22 000 snares and apprehended more than 600 animal poachers in the resort town since its formation in 1999.
Pamela Mhlanga
Charles Brightman, a local safari operator and conservationist together with the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, established the VFAPU in an effort to fight high levels of destruction that were taking place.
Since then, VFAPU a non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of the country’s local wildlife and natural resources, has been working to rebalance the area in favour of both the people and animals.
The US embassy in Zimbabwe revealed that since the formation of the organisation in 1999, VFAPU had removed 22 000 snares and arrested over 600 poachers.
An official at the embassy, Sharon Hudson-Dean said the organisation had successfully lobbied for more stringent laws against poaching and helped destitute locals, who might otherwise have become poachers, find other means of survival.
She said VFAPU also conducted scout training and reached out to schools and tourists with education programmes.
“Though these efforts have made a great difference, the long-term answers to this problem are sustainable development, education and community involvement,” she said.
“US embassies throughout sub-Saharan Africa are working with African authorities to build effective, integrated approaches to wildlife conservation. Fighting wildlife trafficking which is directly tied to transnational crime is a US Foreign policy priority.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/06/20/600-dangerous-poachers-netted/

MAYOR ATTRIBUTES BABY BOOM TO INJIVA

AUGUST and September are particularly busy months for Nkulumane Clinic as this is when the maternity ward experiences a surge in the number of women giving birth.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
The increase in the number of births during these two months had been puzzling the Bulawayo City Council for a while, as its staff members were struggling to cope, but mayor Thaba Moyo says he has solved the mystery.
Moyo says most of the men in that suburb work in neighbouring South Africa and visit during the festive season. He said when they return to their bases, they leave their women expecting. Come August and September, Nkulumane experiences a baby boom!
Addressing stakeholders during the handover ceremony of medical supplies and stationery donated by the Rotary Path to the clinic yesterday, Moyo said Nkulumane was a relatively new suburb comprising a young population in the active reproductive age group.
“Most of the husbands work in the neighbouring countries and come back during the festive season hence the increase of deliveries during the months of August to September,” he said.
Moyo said while the clinic continued to deliver a high number of babies each month, the city’s maternity units faced challenges in terms of resources.
“In July last year the government directed that fees for maternity services be scrapped in an effort to reduce the maternal mortality ratio quoted at 960 per 100 000 live births,” he said. “Service utilisation in the clinic increased from 1 500 ante-natal care bookings to 2 500 over a 10-month period.”
Nkulumane Clinic is the second busiest maternity clinic in the city after Pelandaba Clinic — delivering about 150 babies every month. Moyo, however, said the noble intervention was unfortunately not matched by injection of requisite resources that would have ensured a positive outcome for the mother and child.
The clinic reportedly had only received funding for two months since the scrapping of maternity user fees.
“The city appeals for donors to assist in the provision of maternity equipment and medicines to ensure that we run our clinics efficiently,” he said.
The mayor said the city also appealed for resource injection in the maternity sector to ensure that patients were not left at a disadvantage. Nkulumane Clinic opened the outpatients department in 1987 and the maternity unit was opened on October 14 1995. The clinic yesterday received medical equipment worth $80 000 including bed linen, wheelchairs, walkers, among others from the rotary club.
The Rotary Bulawayo South president Lesley Williams said the organisation had received a wonderful opportunity to share in the joy of giving and receiving supplies and equipment that would make the clinic function better.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/06/25/mayor-attributes-baby-boom-to-injiva/

JOMIC NOT KNOWN

THE MASS Public Opinion Institute survey has revealed that 62% of people countrywide were not aware and had never heard of the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (Jomic), a body meant to monitor the implementation of the .
Pamela Mhlanga
The research body carried out the study between last October and January this year, with principal researchers saying Jomic was known by the elite and educated people only.
“Out of the people that were aware of Jomic, most were from Harare Province and the least number were from Matabeleland North,” Stephen Ndoma (principal researcher) said at the launch of the report.
He said only 11% of the people without formal education said they had heard of Jomic.
The researcher revealed that when respondents were asked how accessible Jomic was to members of the public, only 12% said it was accessible. A third said it was not accessible at all, while one out of 10 said they did not know.
“Only 9% rated Jomic’s performance good in the community, while 16% rated it as bad and very bad with 13% saying they could not grade it and 62% saying they have never heard of it,” Ndoma added.
Some of the stakeholders at the meeting said the results vindicated claims that Jomic was a paper tiger and was a corrupt organisation.
One of the stakeholders from Intsha.com, a youth organisation, Mgcini Moyo accused the body of being concerned with self-enrichment and using Jomic vehicles for personal use instead of using the vehicles for raising awareness campaigns in communities.
In response, the Bulawayo Jomic provincial co-chairperson Dorcas Sibanda said although criticism was welcome, the monitoring body had done a good job in terms of awareness campaigns and publicity.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/07/03/jomic-not-known/

MDCT YOUTH ARRESTED FOR POLITICAL VIOLENCE

AN MDC-T youth was on Sunday arrested for allegedly assaulting a member of Welshman Ncube’s MDC accusing him of wearing a
T-shirt emblazoned with his party leader’s face.
Pamela Mhlanga
In an interview with Southern Eye, the MDC youth, Justin Ncube (29), said the incident occurred at Pumulani Motel in Gwanda around 9pm.
“I had gone to Pumulani Motel with a group of MDC youths to watch soccer when we met Ralph Dube who was also among a group of MDC-T youths,” he said.
Ncube said the group of MDC-T youths, who were wearing their party regalia, approached him and started questioning him why he was wearing his party’s T-shirt, instead of wearing one of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai-led party. They then allegedly assaulted him.
Ncube alleged that Dube started pushing him around before slapping him several times on the face.
“I later reported the matter to Gwanda police and they came and arrested the MDC-T youth before locking him up for the night,” he said.
MDC youth assembly secretary-general Discent Bajila confirmed the incident, saying he had received a call from Gwanda on Sunday night on the matter.
Contacted for comment yesterday, the Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Philisani Ndebele confirmed the incident, which he said emanated from an argument about why the MDC member was supporting a different political party.
“The accused, Dube, is under police custody and is assisting the police with continuing investigations,” he said.
He warned the public to desist from instigating political violence towards elections, but instead learn to co-exist and tolerate each other.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/07/04/mdc-t-youth-arrested-for-political-violence/

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OVER 70% : THINK-TANK


THE youth unemployment rate has soared to above 70% contrary to government statements that only a minority were without jobs, a survey carried by the Mass Public Opinion Institute (Mpoi) has shown.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
According to a survey conducted by Mpoi between October 2012 and January this year, 73% of youths aged between 18 and 30 are not formally employed, while the remaining 27% of the population were employed either part-time or full-time.
Mpoi is a non-governmental research organisation established in 1997 with the main objective of gauging public opinion with regards to topical issues of
governance and public concern.
Finance minister Tendai Biti last month said the unemployment rate was 9% and not 85%.
According to Biti, at least 22% of the population was employed in the formal sector, while 57% worked in the agriculture and small-to -medium enterprises sectors.
However, Mpoi researcher Richman Kokera said the majority of the youths were not employed and most were in Mashonaland West, Matabeleland North and South, while the highest employment was in Masvingo, Mashonaland East and Central.
“When asked how they rated their own living conditions versus others by province, most youths in Matabeleland South, North and Mashonaland Central said they were the worst” Kokera said.
“From the survey conducted, the issue of employment was the major problem that cut across all provinces with the youths calling upon the inclusive government to address unemployment more than other problems affecting them,” he added.
Kokera added that most of the unemployed youths were extremely impoverished with some spending months without any cash inflows. The country’s poverty datum line for an average family of five persons per household stood at $541 in March.
The poverty line is the threshold below which families or individuals are considered to be lacking the resources to meet the basic needs for healthy living; in other words, having insufficient income to provide food, shelter and clothing needed to preserve health.
However, the majority of Zimbabweans are earning salaries far below the poverty datum line.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/07/05/youth-unemployment-rate-over-70-think-tank/

INGUTSHENI IN NEED OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

AN OFFICIAL from Bulawayo’s Ingutsheni Central Hospital has revealed that the hospital is struggling to cope and in dire need of financial assistance.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
Ingutsheni operations director Nyasha Chibvongozde said the institution was facing serious financial problems, which had left it stranded and had led to the hospital running around the past year looking for donors to lend a helping hand.
“We are struggling as an institution and we have only been relying on the meagre central government budget and donations from organisations that sometimes chip in to help,” he told stakeholders while receiving a donation from Bellevue Spar on Saturday.
Chibvongodze said the 720-bed mental asylum, established in 1908, had huge patient wards and a high number of in-patients, which were difficult to maintain due to financial constraints.
“So far we have a high number of 500 to 550 in-patients compared to other government hospitals like Mpilo Central Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals,” he said. “Our number of patients is higher and all patients do not pay anything for our services.”
The hospital official said some patients stayed in the hospital until they aged and died.
“All these patients require resources such as adequate food, medical treatment, clothing and our dilemma is that the money from the government is just not enough,” he said.
Chibvongodze also said the hospital buildings were very old and were in a dilapidated state, since the institution was more than 100 years old, but there were no resources to rehabilitate it.
“The hospital structures have lacked maintenance all these years due to lack of resource although, we have a wish to spruce up the place,” he said.
Chibvongodze said the donation from Bellevue Spar came as a relief to the hospital.
The supermarket’s owner, Raj Modi, donated groceries worth $15 000 and 300 blankets to the hospital. Modi said Spar, which was one of the hospital’s suppliers, had been touched by the institution’s financial plight.
“The hospital had been struggling to pay for our services and had explained the financial problem it was going through, so we saw it fit to help in any possible way we could,” he added.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/07/08/ingutsheni-in-need-of-financial-assistance/

TV STATION ENDS ZBC MONOPOLY

INDEPENDENT channel 1st TV was launched yesterday amid complaints by residents of Bulawayo, who said they had failed to access the channel.
Pamela Mhlanga
OWN CORRESPONDENT

The channel is being broadcast via a free-to-air signal, accessed using Wiztech and Philibao decoders.
The Southern Eye switchboard was inundated by hundreds of callers who wanted to know how they could access the channel.
1st TV was launched on Friday evening seeking to fill the vacuum created by the encryption of SABC signal by Sentech, which has seen viewers losing access to South African channels.
In separate interviews, disgruntled viewers said they had failed to view the new channel, as they did not know the settings.
“I have no idea and I am confused about the settings needed to tune to 1st TV. I failed to view it yesterday (Friday),” Joseph Ncube said.
Another resident, who owns a Wiztech decoder, said he had read in the newspapers about 1st TV, but had no idea how to access it, as his friends had given him different settings and codes.
A non-governmental organisation, Free and Fair Zimbabwe published the satellite frequencies for the TV station on their Facebook page, leading to a number of people commenting that they were still failing to access the station while others said they were seeing pictures only without any sound.
“I have gone through with all steps and have seen 1st TV, but there are pictures and no sound,” Mbuso Ncube commented.
Meanwhile, other reports said 1st TV failed to launch last night after the South African parastatal, Sentech that carries the SABC signal, refused to host the station’s transmission.
The station has since dimissed those reports, describing them as fictitious.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/07/21/tv-station-ends-zbc-monopoly/

SK MOYO UNDER FIRE

AN aspiring Zapu candidate has attacked Zanu PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo describing him as a politician who behaved like an uneducated person over recent remarks about Dumiso Dabengwa.

Pamela Mhlanga
Own Correspondent
In an interview yesterday, Mark Mbayiwa, Zapu’s southern region co-ordinator, said some Zapu members initially had respect for Khaya Moyo, but all that was now lost because he was behaving like an uneducated person.
“The late VP (Vice-President Joshua) Nkomo never owned Zapu, but was invited by those who formed Zapu so that he could lead the party,” he said.
“There is nothing of the sort, to think that because Nkomo left him (Khaya Moyo) in Zanu PF then we should all stay in Zanu PF.
“We are sensible people who cannot force ourselves to stay in a party such as Zanu PF.”
At a rally during the weekend, Khaya Moyo urged voters not to be confused by the Dabengwa-led Zapu, which he described as a party led by demon-possessed people.
Khaya Moyo had also claimed that Nkomo urged party members to remain in Zanu PF where he left them, but there were some people embarrassing themselves by seeking to nullify the 1987 Unity Accord signed between President Robert Mugabe and Nkomo.
Mbayiwa, eyeing the Umguza seat, said Zapu leaders were mature people who fought in the liberation struggle and had to be treated with respect.
“If Khaya Moyo is happy in Zanu PF without the support of people in his home area who are supposed to vote for him, then he can stay put and leave us alone,” he said.
Mbayiwa said Khaya Moyo had no right to talk about issues he was not knowledgeable about.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/07/23/sk-moyo-under-fire/

FREE TREATMENT AT UBH

Apollo Hospitals Group of India has partnered with the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) to provide free patient care, management and training of medical practitioners from UBH.

Pamela Mhlanga
Own Correspondent
With more than 8 500 beds across 50 hospitals, Apollo Hospitals is the second largest healthcare group in the world.
It is an integrated healthcare organisation with owned and managed hospitals, diagnostic clinics, dispensing pharmacies and consultancy services.
In an interview with Southern Eye yesterday, UBH chief executive officer Nonhlanhla Ndlovu said the partnership with the medical group from India was agreed on in February and came at a time when the hospital and the country were facing severe shortages of standard medical equipment and specialists.
“We realised that India has much expertise in the medical field, especially in the treatment of medical conditions that require specialists,” she said.
“This partnership also makes it possible that our patients who have medical conditions that require specialist treatment not available in the country to go to India’s Apollo hospitals to access the treatment needed at a cheaper fee as compared to when they go to countries such as South Africa.”
Ndlovu said the partnership that reflected a close relationship between the two organisations would go a long way and doctors from India will frequently visit the hospital.
Addressing stakeholders at a Press conference held at UBH yesterday, the group’s senior general manager Harinder Singh Sidhu said the medical team from India was looking forward to spend more time at the hospital so that patients would benefit and the relationship between the two countries could be strengthened.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/07/24/free-treatment-at-ubh/

HOUSE OF HORROR

A DARK cloud gathered over Pumula South yesterday as residents of the suburb were still coming to grips with the death of four children who died when the house in which they were sleeping caught fire on Tuesday morning.

Pamela Mhlanga
Own Correspondent
When Southern Eye  visited the house the mood was sombre, with people speaking in hushed tones as they all sought answers to why the children met such a painful death.
Mourners and concerned neighbours gathered outside the house, still under construction, while charred furniture had been removed from the room where the now dead children had slept.
The bereaved family said they were still coming to terms with the death, expressing shock and disbelief.
In an interview, the family spokesperson, Hloniphani Moyo — an uncle to the deceased children — said the incident was disturbing in that it occurred at a period when the family was gathered at the house mourning the loss of one of his sisters who recently passed away.
Moyo said the incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday around 1am, when one of his sisters, sleeping in the same room with the children fell asleep after she had lit a candle.
“The room they were sleeping in caught fire. My sister managed to escape and called for help, but the children were not lucky,” he said.
At the time of the interview, Moyo was purchasing medical material at a local pharmacy for his injured sister, whom he said had been admitted at Mpilo Central Hospital.
“My sister is admitted at Mpilo and I am yet to visit her at the hospital today to see her condition, but others who have seen her said she was still in a state of shock and was unable to speak,” he said.
“She only spoke once when she asked to drink water.”
One of the mourners, a neighbour, said locals responded swiftly to the SOS by running with buckets of water and sand in an effort to douse the flames before the fire brigade arrived at the scene about an hour later.
With the winter season, there have been an increase in the number of cases where houses have caught fire.
One of the latest cases has been where a mattress caught fire. However, no one was injured.
Incessant power cuts also mean people have to resort to using candles for lighting, posing risks.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/07/25/house-of-horror/

CHOMBO BILLS POLITICKING: SIPEPA NKOMO

WATER Resources Development and Management minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo yesterday dismissed as “suicidal politicking” moves by his Local Government Rural and Urban Development counterpart Ignatius Chombo to scrap debt owed to local authorities.

Nduduzo Tshuma/Pamela MHLANGA
Sipepa Nkomo said Chombo’s announcement was illegal, as he had not consulted Cabinet and the Water ministry on his move.
“You cannot announce that you are cancelling debt without consulting,” he explained.
“He should have consulted me because Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) supplies water to councils and in other areas directly to the people. So he cannot just wake up and say people should not pay rates.”
Sipepa Nkomo said Zinwa will still require payments for its water supplies to the local authorities and wondered where Chombo thought they would get the revenue.
“This is the height of recklessness,” he said. “This move will lead to local authorities collapsing because if they do not generate revenue, how are they going to buy water treatment chemicals?”
Sipepa Nkomo questioned how local authorities will pay Zinwa and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority if they did not receive money for water supplies.
“He cannot order Zinwa not to collect revenue from either council or individuals because the institution falls under my ministry,” he said.
Sipepa Nkomo said it was too late for Chombo and his Zanu PF party to campaign using the writing off of bills.
“People are not stupid. Come July 31, they will vote Zanu PF out of power,” he charged.
Meanwhile, the Coalition Against Corruption (CAC) has advised ratepayers to pay their bills to avoid crippling councils.
“By urging debt cancellation, Chombo is actually missing the point and misleading the people to actually worsen their plight,” a statement the organisation issued read.
“The councils will be further cash-strapped and would dismally fail to offer any service at all.”
CAC said councils were struggling to provide better service delivery to ratepayers as a result of inadequate funds and Chombo’s calls were suicidal.
“As CAC, we greatly view such a move by Chombo as an election campaign gimmick that is meant to garner votes from the electorate while digging a grave disaster at their doorsteps.”
The organisation urged ratepayers to pay their bills even in small amounts, so that they do not cripple the already financially strained local authorities.
“Politicians are well covered from all these social ills since they have the best service delivery,” the organisation said.
In November last year, ratepayers owed the Bulawayo City Council $80 million with the local authority saying this was hindering it from delivering key services.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/07/26/chombo-bills-politicking-suicidal-sipepa-nkomo/

MOTHER REUNITED WITH STOLEN BABY

“All is well that ends well” — an old adage says — and this can never be more appropriate than for a Mzilikazi family that has been reunited with its baby that was stolen about three months ago.
Pamela Mhlanga/Richard Muponde
The world came crashing around Nqotshiwe Sibanda after her newly born baby had been grabbed by a baby snatcher.
Sibanda consulted everyone, the police, traditional healers and prophets, with the hope that she could find her seven-day-old baby, but her faith was tested, as the search drew a blank.
In an interview yesterday, a visibly elated Sibanda could not stop talking as she gushed about being reunited with her baby, strapped tightly on her back.
“I am so happy that I have finally found my baby after a three-month long search, not knowing where my baby was and sometimes fearing for the worst,” she said. Sibanda said the search ended after Nyamandlovu police told her to report immediately at the station.
“When the police called on Monday, they did not reveal anything to me, but just said I should travel to the police station for a statement,” she said.
“Then, I was blank about the developments and did not suspect anything, as I thought it was one of the usual statements I was supposed to give the police so they continue with the search for my baby,” she said.
Sibanda said she travelled to Nyamandlovu Police Station together with her husband, Johanne Maphosa, on Thursday and the cops brought her baby to her.
“The police brought my baby on Friday and they told me that Sihle Mhlanga had been staying with my baby at Dlula area, 20km from St James High School turn-off,” she said.
She wept with joy, but this was short-lived. As soon she was brought face-to-face with the alleged baby snatcher, Sibanda the anger and resentment towards the 37-year-old accused and she attacked her.
“I was so angry at that moment and I could not hold my feelings,” she said. “I hit her hard on the face by throwing my Nokia phone at her.
She kept on insisting she had never set her eyes on me throughout her life and the baby was hers, as she gave birth to it at Gwanda Hospital.
“What also greatly angered me was that she never took good care of my baby, I realised it the moment I set my eyes on him.”
Sibanda said the baby looked malnourished and had a raspy cough to reflect that she was not taken good care of. As she spoke, she soon lit up and told Southern Eye she had since named her baby Pinky Sibonginkosi Maphosa and the family would celebrate her “birthday” today.
“Somehow, I could not give up, I had placed all my faith and trust in God’s hands,” Sibanda said.
Meanwhile, Mhlanga was yesterday convicted of stealing the baby from Sibanda who had given her overnight accommodation.
Mhlanga had pleaded not guilty to the charge, but was convicted by Bulawayo acting regional magistrate Crispen Mberewere.
She was remanded in custody to today for sentence.
Prosecutor Tinashe Dzipe told the court that sometime in May, Mhlanga went to house number U17 in Mzilikazi suburb and met the complainant.
On arrival at the house she told the complainant that she did not have a place to sleep for the night and asked for accommodation.
The complainant offered her accommodation with an understanding that she would leave the following morning to her destination, which she had not disclosed.
However, when the rest of the family members at the house were asleep, Mhlanga woke up at midnight. She stole the complainant’s baby and disappeared.
A police report was made, but they could not find her. After stealing the baby, Mhlanga smuggled it to Botswana and stayed there for two months. However, she arrived back in the country recently and was arrested.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/02/mother-reunited-with-stolen-baby/

ZAPU TO CHALLENGE ELECTION OUTCOME

ZAPU says its leadership and legal advisers are working on challenging the outcome of elections, which the party dismissed as characterised by anomalies.
Pamela Mhlanga
In a Press statement yesterday, Zapu Information, publicity and marketing secretary Mjobisa Noko said although the just-ended elections in the country were peaceful, the party had noted that the elections were neither free, fair nor credible.
“Zapu has noted some irregularities and illegalities in the way these elections were held,” he said. “It has also noted that the whole electoral process was flawed and as such the leadership and its legal advisers are working on challenging this outcome.”
Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa came fourth in the presidential poll, behind President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and MDC leader Welshman Ncube, garnering just 0,74% of the total tally.
Tsvangirai has already dismissed the polls as fraught with irregularities, declaring them as “null and void”. Noko said the party was in the process of compiling reports from provinces and a full Press statement was yet to be released.
“In this respect Zapu encourages its members to exercise restraint as we go through this legal process,” he said.
Zapu last week submitted complaints to the African Union over numerous discrepancies in the voters’ roll, claiming there were more than 21 000 names of people more than 100 years old and over 300 000 duplicated names.
Five people, the party said, had gender that was not stated on the electoral register.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/06/zapu-to-challenge-election-outcome/

MDC REJECTS POLL RESULTS, BUT......

THE MDC led by Welshman Ncube has rejected the outcome of last week’s harmonised elections, but says challenging the results would be pointless.
Nqobile Bhebhe/ PAMELA Mhlanga
MDC stated its position following a meeting Ncube convened for losing candidates in Bulawayo on Wednesday night for a post mortem of the July 31 polls in which President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF secured a landslide victory.
The party did not win a single seat in the elections while Ncube came a distant third in the presidential elections behind Mugabe and outgoing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
“The MDC is aware that the just-ended elections were neither fair nor free in the strictest definition of the terms and as such the outcome is not a legitimate one,” MDC said.
“That the elections were rigged is not debatable, it is a fact.
“The glaring inconsistencies in the process leading up to and during the election make it impossible to absolve ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) or to refrain from calling the credibility of the election outcome to question.”
MDC’s position dovetails with that of MDC-T, which has accused Mugabe and Zanu PF of stealing the elections with the aid of a flawed voters’ roll. Tsvangirai has vowed to challenge the results in the courts and also take their case to the Sadc and the African Union (AU).
But MDC said taking that route would be a waste of time as Sadc and the AU had already declared the polls free and fair.
Approaching the courts would also be futile as demonstrated by cases handled by the Constitutional Court in the run-up to the polls, the party says.
“The futility of going to the courts must be read with the Jealousy Mawarire Constitutional Court (Concourt) ruling, which led to the frog-marching of Zimbabweans into an election for which ZEC was ill-prepared,” MDC said.
“It is, therefore, our well-considered view that taking this matter to court will be akin to going to Robert Mugabe and asking him to reverse his ‘victory’.
“The party has further discounted the option of taking the dispute to the regional and continental organs — principally Sadc and AU. These institutions have already made known their views about the process and outcome of the election.”
Mawarire forced Mugabe to declare the July 31 elections after he approached the Concourt.
Attempts by Sadc to convince Mugabe to seek a postponement of the polls through the
same court were ridiculed by Zanu PF.
Sources who attended the MDC meeting said there was a unanimous agreement that the party must now focus on the 2018 harmonised elections.
Edwin Ndlovu, the provincial spokesperson, said the party was regrouping and working towards the 2018 elections.
“Everyone agreed that we have to move forward and start preparing for 2018,” he said.
“It seems candidates had recovered from the loss and accepted that although the elections were stolen, we had to move on and start planning for 2018.”
Sources within the party that anchored its campaign on devolution said they entered the polls as a “dry run to 2018 elections”.
“As a party we have accepted the results, but for us it was a dry run in preparation for the next elections in 2018,” the source said.
“We are now back to the ground with more vigour and devolution will be better refined. People will hear more of Project 2018.”
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/09/mdc-rejects-poll-results-but/

MPILO HOSPITAL SET FOR MAJOR FACELIFT

MPILO Central Hospital is to undergo a major facelift as authorities attempt to resuscitate the hospital infrastructure in collaboration with local companies and organisations.
Pamela Mhlanga
Addressing stakeholders during a tour of the hospital’s community projects on Tuesday,Mpilo Central Hospital chief executive officer Lawrence Mantiziba said the institution envisaged giving a new-look to the interior and exterior infrastructure of the hospital.
Mantiziba said authorities hoped to come up with a “newer” Mpilo Central Hospital.
“We hope with time, Mpilo will undergo major improvement. We are heading towards that
direction,” he told stakeholders.
Mantiziba revealed that the hospital authorities were working closely with a number of private companies in the renovation of the health facility’s infrastructure and its surroundings.
He said this was meant to provide a conducive environment for patients, that in turn would go a long way in assisting them improve their health while at the institution.
“We are working with a lot of organisations who have adopted the hospital wards and infrastructure in a bid to resuscitate them,” Mantiziba added.
“Holiday Inn that has adopted one of the wards and has for now done 70% in the complete renovation of the ward, the People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB) has resuscitated two of our four boreholes that had broken down, the Everlasting Gospel Church International has adopted another ward, Zimplow had adopted a theatre and casualty room.
“CBZ, Raj Modi’s Spar and a lot of other companies are mobilising resources for the hospital.”
Before the tour, the Bulawayo City Council donated medical consumables including boxes of surgery and renal packs to the hospital in a bid to improve the hospital’s healthcare provision.
Acting council chamber secretary Spekiwa Guta said the donation was a token of appreciation to the hospital as it played a big role in terms of health provision to the city.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/11/mpilo-hospital-set-for-major-facelift/

HOLIDAY DEATH TOLL DECLINES

AT least 11 people died in traffic accidents over the Heroes’ and Defence Forces’ Day holidays, a marked decline compared to the same period last year, police said yesterday.
PAMELA MHLANGA
Last year, 24 people had died over the same period.
Police spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi said the total number of accidents recorded by yesterday was 86 compared to 237 recorded last year.
“The total number of the people injured from this year’s accidents is 40 compared to a total number of 129 injured people recorded last year,” he told the Southern Eye yesterday.
Nyathi attributed the decrease to increased visibility of the police on highways who mounted several roadblocks and blitz awareness programmes prior to the holidays.
He said traffic police had so far impounded 52 vehicles for various traffic offences and issued out 513 tickets.
Nyathi said the police will issue a full report on traffic incidences today.
The most fatal accident so far has been one where six people died on Friday morning when a Kukura Kurerwa bus they were travelling in collided with a two tonne truck along the Bindura-Harare Highway near Mazowe Citrus Estates.
 http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/14/holidays-death-toll-declines/

PARKED CAR ROLLS, CRASHES MAN

A MAN died on the spot yesterday along Jason Moyo Street and 11th Avenue in Bulawayo when he was crashed by a vehicle that suddenly moved after the driver had left it parked outside a local hotel.
Report By Pamela Mhlanga, Own Correspondent
When a Southern Eye news crew visited the accident scene yesterday, a large crowd of visibly shocked eyewitnesses had gathered around the body trying to come to terms with the tragic incident. One eyewitness, Kelvin Ndlovu, said the driver of the Mitsubishi Canter truck left his vehicle parked in the centre parking lot. It moved and hit the unsuspecting man, who was sitting leaning against a pillar across the road.
The driver of the vehicle, Jericho Dube, said the incident shocked him and he could not understand how the vehicle he had left parked with the handbrakes on had suddenly killed someone.
“My colleague and I travelled from Ntabazinduna into town to get the vehicle cleared by (Zimbabwe Revenue Authority) Zimra officials and we did not suspect something as tragic as this would take place,” he said.
Dube said he parked the vehicle at the centre parking section opposite the hotel at about 11am.
“We did not even stay for five minutes in the hotel before we heard a loud crash coming from outside the hotel. We rushed out to investigate,” he said.
“As I got outside, I realised that my vehicle had crushed against a pillar, sandwiching the body of a man. The impact was hard, as you can tell by the bent bumper.”
Janet Nzima, who claimed to be a relative to the now-deceased, tearfully identified him, saying it was her in-law, as he was married to her sister.
“He came to town in the morning to buy some groceries and he was planning to return to Nyamandlovu in the evening by bus,” she said.
“I was just nearby the scene of the incident and I came to investigate. It was then that I realised that the now-deceased was someone I knew. I did not expect to see his lifeless body lying on the ground.”
Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo referred Southern Eye to traffic police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Luckmore Chakanza, whose mobile phone was unreachable.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/16/parked-truck-rolls-crushes-man/

Friday, 16 August 2013

NKOMO COMPLAINED OF ZANU PF ABUSE: MINISTER

VICE- President Joshua Nkomo died a bitter man because the then Zanu PF government refused to return properties seized from Zapu soon after independence, Water Resources minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo said yesterday.
Pamela Mhlanga
Speaking at a “meet the candidates” debate series organised by the Bulawayo Progressive Residents’ Association at Lobengula Hall, Sipepa Nkomo said Zanu PF haunted Nkomo “to his grave”.
“Zanu PF troubled Joshua Nkomo too much such that he used to constantly air out his frustrations to me about the harassment he received from Zanu PF before he died,” Nkomo said.
“I am telling you now as a matter of fact that Joshua Nkomo died with a broken heart because Zanu PF never gave him any peace of mind.” The minister, eyeing the Lobengula seat on an MDC-T ticket, said he frequently received phone calls from the late VP complaining about the poor treatment he got from Zanu PF.
“I received calls from his office in Monomotapa (Harare) and he also told me how frustrated he was that Zanu PF was not giving him back his properties,” Sipepa Nkomo said. Nkomo also documented the ill treatment by Zanu PF on his biography The Story of My Life. He died in 1999 and his family has complained that his party has done little to preserve his legacy. Sipepa Nkomo also claimed that there was no other political party in Zimbabwe that had the ability to dislodge Zanu PF leader President Robert Mugabe other than MDC-T.
“We have no problems with the Welshman Ncube-led MDC and neither do we have any problems with Zapu nor any other party, but we do have a problem with Mugabe and his Zanu PF,” he said.
“Our focus is that he must go together with his party.
“Therefore if other political parties share that wish with us that Mugabe must go, it will be possible to remove him if they use MDC-T as a channel.”
Sipepa Nkomo’s opponents in Lobengula, MDC spokesperson Nhlanhla Dube, Albert Ndimande of Zapu and Witness Jiyane from Alliance Khumbula Ekhaya took part in the debate.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/07/15/nkomo-complained-of-zanu-pf-abuse-minister/

POLICE HIT SNAG IN MAKUZEZE SAGA

Efforts to unravel the mysterious disappearance of funds from Makuzeze Primary School appear to have hit a snag after the law enforcements agents yesterday revealed that they had not found anything amiss in the audit report at the centre of the matter.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
Matabeleland South Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Christopher Ngwenya yesterday told NewsDay their investigations had failed to link the suspected culprit to the crime.
“We received information from our CID Fraud investigation section that investigations are still in progress, but so far no arrests have been made after three weeks of investigations which is a long period,” said Ngwenya.
Police launched investigations into alleged abuse of funds at the school after receiving a damning audit report from Mangwe Rural District Council.
According to the report, the former school head Victoria Pasipanodya had allegedly failed to account for more than R30 000.
Mangwe Rural District Council, which runs the school, ordered an audit after parents demonstrated against Pasipanodya’s management style and alleged misuse of funds.
Parents also accused her of unofficially transferring three teachers from the school, accusing them of undermining her authority.
Pasipanodya has since been transferred from the school to pave way for investigations, while the affected teachers were reinstated at the parents’ behest.
http://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/04/04/police-hit-snag-in-makuzeze-saga/


SOUTH AFRICANS PROTEST OVER ZIM ELECTION

A GROUP of protestors in South Africa on Wednesday demonstrated against that country and Sadc’s endorsement of the electoral process in Zimbabwe.
Pamela Mhlanga
The group, which was made up of citizens from the Sadc region countries living in South Africa, held a march in Cape Town before proceeding to Parliament and handed over a petition to South Africa’s Speaker of National Assembly, Max Sisulu.
The protestors also launched an online petition on the Facebook page named Zimbabwe Election Protest, calling upon the South African government to reject Zimbabwe’s flawed election.
The online petition on Wednesday reached more than 1 000 signatures of people who had signed supporting the move.
“The recent election in Zimbabwe was flawed on numerous accounts, directly breaching many legal requirements set out in the new Zimbabwean Constitution and the Electoral Act,” the protestors charged.
The protestors said they believed that it was absolutely essential for the legitimacy of Sadc that Zimbabwe’s electoral process be rejected.
“It will set a dangerous precedent for the region if such a flawed election receives regional approval and will only serve to undermine the history and the future of the struggle for democracy, freedom and justice in Southern Africa.”
They said they were not disputing the result of the election, but their contention was with the electoral process and therefore, called on people of all political affiliations to stand with them.
In an interview with Radio France on Wednesday, one of the protestors, Douglas Coltart, son of Zimbabwe’s outgoing Education minister, David, said the protestors felt it was a very dangerous precedent for the region as a whole if elections that did not comply with the electoral law were endorsed because it undermined the right to democracy for the people of the region.
He said the protestors were disappointed that despite the illegal breaches of the electoral law, the South African government and Sadc had indorsed the elections as free and credible.
“We are, therefore, asking for three things, we are asking the South African government to issue out a statement saying that the illegal breaches of the electoral law were not of acceptable standard,” Coltart said.
“We are also asking the South African government to put pressure on Sadc to do the same and reject the election results and we are also asking them to conduct an audit of the electoral process in Zimbabwe.”
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/08/16/south-africans-protest-over-zim-election/

KHUPHE GIVES UP MAKOKOBA

MDC-T deputy president Thokozani Khupe is unlikely to stand in her faction-riddled Makokoba constituency in Bulawayo following indications that the party wants her to take one of the seats reserved for women under the proposed new constitution.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
The speculation has been fuelled by reports that MDC-T provincial chairman Gorden Moyo submitted nomination papers to represent the party in Makokoba.
According to the Copac draft constitution, 60 women — six from each province — will be elected through proportional representation.
According to sources, the MDC-T wants to use Khupe —who is also Deputy Prime Minister — to campaign for the party on a national level and not confine herself to a single constituency.
MDC-T Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Mandla Sibanda on Sunday confirmed that Moyo had submitted his nomination papers to stand in Makokoba.
“Moyo has submitted his application to stand for Makokoba constituency just like everyone else,” he said.
Efforts to get a comment from Khupe were fruitless yesterday as she was said to be in a series of meetings.
The development comes at a time when the MDC-T is plagued by infighting in Makokoba with reports that on Sunday, party
supporters walked out of a meeting on the new constitution addressed by Makokoba-Mzilikazi Senator Matson Hlalo at Mzilikazi’s MacDonald Hall.
Hlalo told NewsDay that members of the party who boycotted the meeting had disrespected him.
“I do not find a reason why they are plotting against me. These are the same people that are killing the party,” he said.
One of the party members who had boycotted the meeting told NewsDay that Moyo was the one who was supposed to address them and not the Senator.
“We were expecting Moyo to address us as he was the rightful person for that, but instead when we got to the meeting we found Hlalo,” she said.
But Sibanda insisted the meeting, which was on the Copac draft constitution, was supposed to be addressed by Hlalo.
“Senator Hlalo was the rightful person to address the meeting and he has gone around engaging residents concerning the feedback on the constitution. So it is an ongoing process,” he said.
Sibanda said the MDC-T members were disgruntled by the fact that the meeting was chaired by ward 8 councillor Mackenzie Sibanda who was suspended from the party because of the factional fights.
He said the members felt Makokoba district chairperson and ward 7 councillor James Sithole should have chaired the meeting.
http://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/02/19/khupe-gives-up-makokoba/

MDC WARNS YOUTHS TO BE WARY OF ABUSE BY POLITICIANS

MDC youths have warned young people to be wary of politicians who use them as pawns during elections, but dump them soon after.
REPORT BY PAMELA MHLANGA OWN CORRESPONDENT
Addressing MDC youths in Bulawayo last Saturday, party youth secretary-general Discent Bajila said youth participation in national issues had been reduced to “tokenism”.
“While as young people we bear the brunt of the collapse of all tributaries to human development in our country, our participation in reversing national ills by whatever definition has been reduced to nothing but tokenism,” Bajila said.
“One election after the other, leaders in Zimbabwe have failed to deliver on their promises, thereby becoming wrong role models or dissuasive forces to would-be voters and would-be leaders.”
He, however, urged youths to dedicate themselves to contributing towards national development.
“As young people, we often argue that because we constitute above 60% of the population, we are therefore entitled to at least 60% of every proverbial cake that exists in our country.
However, we also have to accept that for us to enjoy 60% of the cake, mere demographics are not enough, we also need to do 60% of the total work required in making the cake,” Bajila said.
http://www.newsday.co.zw/2012/11/28/mdc-warns-youths-to-be-wary-of-abuse-by-politicians/

MDC ATTACKS TSVANGIRAI OVER GUKURAHUNDI STANCE

MDC secretary-general Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga has attacked Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T for  allegedly  ignoring  victims of  Gukurahundi by choosing to assist  victims of the 2008 political violence only.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga Own correspondent
But MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora yesterday said Misihairabwi-Mushonga’s remarks were tribal and  needed to be treated with care.
“PM Tsvangirai is going province by province in his programme of helping victims of political violence and if the time for Matabeleland comes, he will be there,” Mwonzora said. “I have also noticed that some of these political parties are like a megaphone for Zanu PF.”
Tsvangirai recently told thousands of party supporters at Zaka growth point that the MDC-T would compensate victims of political violence once the party won the next election.
The party was already paying school fees and providing other basics to the victims or surviving dependants.
He was speaking at the commemoration of political violence victims, a development Misihairabwi-Mushonga at the weekend described as discriminatory given that Gukurahundi victims had not been compensated by the government.
Addressing party supporters at Chefunye business centre in Tsholotsho, Misihairabwi-Mushonga said: “People who were the first to have their houses burnt were here in Tsholotsho. So why did he (Tsvangirai) not bother to come here first?”
Misihairabwi-Mushonga, who is also Regional Intergration and International Cooperation minister, said despite clear indications of violence perpetrated against the people in the Matabeleland region, the government had failed to compensate victims.
http://www.newsday.co.zw/2012/10/17/mdc-attacks-tsvangirai-over-gukurahundi-stance/


MDCT CORRUPT-KHUMALO

The independent candidate for Pelandaba/Mpopoma Samuel Sandla Khumalo has attacked his former party — the MDC-T — saying it did not have control and that it had perfected the Zanu PF art of vote rigging and corruption.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
Khumalo had to brave a barrage of boos and insults from MDC-T youths at a public meeting which almost degenerated into chaos. The legislator later threatened to walk out of the meeting, as he was being heckled.
In an interview on Sunday, Khumalo expressed anger with the way he was treated by the MDC-T youths during the event.
“I am not happy with the way I was disrespected by those youths and there is certainly a lack of respect in that party.
“The behaviour of those youths was utter nonsense,” he charged.
Khumalo said the party was in shambles, as it had perfected the art of vote-rigging and corruption, just like Zanu PF.
“There are no longer controls within that party and even the president of the party Morgan Tsvangirai knows that,” he continued.
Khumalo also said the MDC-T was in chaos and that had forced him to stand as an independent candidate.
He said he was aware that he was hated in the party, as he stood for the truth and he was prepared to be a watchdog of the society, once re-elected.
http://www.southerneye.co.zw/2013/07/16/mdc-t-corrupt-khumalo/

MANGWE PROBES TROUBLED SCHOOL

MANGWE Rural District Council says it will this week carry out an urgent audit at Makuzeze Primary School after parents accused authorities of misappropriation of funds.
Report by Pamela Mhlanga
Parents last week stormed the school accusing the acting headmistress Victoria Pasipanodya of mismanaging the council-run school and transferring three teachers without following procedure.
In an interview yesterday, the council’s chief executive officer Nketha Mangoye Dlamini said the audit followed parents’ concerns that school funds and property were abused.
“We are currently preparing a plan for the audit. We may never know — this audit might also unearth more things that would have been hidden and we are sure to investigate on that,” he said.
Dlamini said the audit would probe issues relating to property, school funds and school operations.  Last Tuesday, parents, council representatives and officials from a Bulawayo pressure group Mthwakazi Youth Leaders’ Joint Resolution met the district education officer for Mangwe, Headman Mpofu, to resolve the matter.
Sources said Mpofu insisted during the meeting that the transfer of the three teachers be upheld despite protests from parents.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Mpofu refused to shed light on the matter referring questions to the Matabeleland South provincial deputy education director John Jamela who is based in Gwanda.
However, Jamela was said to be out office yesterday.
Mthwakazi Youth Leaders’ Joint Resolution spokesperson Mqondisi Moyo said his organisation was contemplating taking the matter to court if authorities did not rescind their decision to transfer the three teachers.
“We are totally against the district education officer (DEO)’s endorsement of the decision to redeploy the three teachers to other stations,” Moyo said.
“As Mthwakazi, we will not change our resolution and it still stands. No teacher out of the three should leave the school.”
“We want the DEO to go and defend his decision in court.”
“We will take the matter to court and if it means that someone be sued let it be, because already the teachers’ CVs have been tainted.”
http://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/01/17/mangwe-probes-troubled-school/