FORMER MDC legislator for Glen View, Paul Madzore, who sang popular songs used during the opposition party’s campaign trail, risks civil imprisonment after he was taken to court by CBZ Bank Limited over a $22 000 debt.
The financial institution issued summons for civil imprisonment against Madzore at the High Court and the latter is yet to respond to the litigation.
In its declaration, CBZ Bank says Madzore is required to pay $22 087,51 following a judgment which was obtained against him last year.
“You, the defendant (Paul Madzore) are called upon to pay the plaintiff (CBZ Bank) the sum of $22 087,51, with interest thereon at the rate of 26% per annum calculated from March 30, 2017 to the date of payment in full.
“You are required to pay this sum by virtue of a judgment obtained against you in the High Court at Harare on July 10, 2018. You were also ordered to pay cost of suit on the higher scale of legal practitioner and client scale and the relevant collection commission …” the bank said.
CBZ further said in the event that Madzore fails to pay the requested cash, he would be required to appear before the High Court and explain his position.
“If you fail to pay the sum specified above, you must appear before the High court at Harare to explain why you have not paid it and to show cause why an order for your imprisonment should not be made in account of your failure to pay,” the bank said.
“You should bring with you evidence of your financial position, and it will be in your own interest to give the court evidence of your income from wages, salary or other earnings and any other income you may receive from any other source, your expenses for yourself and any dependents and any other liabilities you may be subject.”
Paul Nyathi|President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced that he will be visiting cyclone Idai ravaged Manicaland Province on Tuesday morning to assess the effects of the cyclone first hand.
Speaking on national television in a live broadcast on Monday evening Mnangagwa expressed condolences to families of the 89 people killed by the cyclone.
Mnangagwa’s visit to the area comes immediately after opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa visited the area and donated clothing and food items to the affected families.
Chamisa was however blocked by members of the Manicaland Civil Protection Unit and police from accessing the affected areas and had to be smuggled through on a donkey drawn cart by villagers.
Following Chamisa’s visit and subsequent harassment, social media critics castigated Mnangagwa for spending the day at a swearing in ceremony of Harare Metropolitan Minister of State ignoring the disaster on the ground and blocking Chamisa.
In Zimbabwe, the women’s proportional representation policy, in its current format and nature has failed to politically empower women.
Researches have indicated that there is no direct relationship between increased women participation in politics and democracy, others have also argued further that there is no direct correlation between women’s participation in politics and economic development, at least at a macro level.
Research, however, has proven that increased women’s participation at a micro-level leads to sustained socio-economic development. Thus we can theorise that increased women’s participation if promoted may accelerate development.
The Zimbabwe constitutional women’s quota system was designed to empower women through increasing the number of women in political positions by reserving seats specifically to be occupied by women. This policy has managed to numerically increase women’s representation in parliament from 18% in 2008 to an average of 35% in the 2013/2018 electoral cycles. As an empowerment tool, the quota system has to be looked at and evaluated on various levels apart from just the numerical representativeness in parliament.
The evidence is abundant that in Zimbabwe this guided democracy approach has not yielded much fruit apart from the increase in numerical representation of women in political positions (particularly the National Assembly and Senate). The proportional representation system has been used by elite women in various political parties to retain power and parliamentary positions. Of the female MPs who were in parliament in 2013 on the proportional representation ticket, 75% of them returned to parliament in 2018 on the same ticket.
In real terms then, it can be concluded that the quota system has not increased the number of women entering and or participating in politics. The quota system benefited women who were already in politics and strategically positioned in parties, thus only cemented their hold on power through extending their stay in office.
Scholars and even some parliamentarians agree that women who have been privileged to join politics through quotas have not been afforded equal respect as their other counterparts who are in parliament through the ballot. Proportional representative parliamentarians are viewed as being in the house for tokenism as a favour and not through merit. While the quota system was introduced in 2013 and led to an increase in women in parliament and senate, there however exists no direct relationship between quota system and gender equality in terms of allocation, access and control of political resources.
Participation by the proportional representation parliamentarians and Senators in deliberation in their respective houses is said to be very low and their visibility and participation is close to non-existent at constituency level. On the 12th of March 2019 when the motion for the extension of the proportional representation policy was being debated, only five female legislators excluding the Deputy Speaker officially spoke (debating, raising a point of order, a point of privilege, seconding motions or even seeking clarifications) in the National Assembly compared to 20 male legislators.
The constitutional quota system is the panacea to increased women’s involvement in politics. The quota system in the Zimbabwean Constitution has a sunset clause, with the 2018 election cycle being the last cycle for the proportional representation clause. The Parliament is currently seized with deliberations aimed at extending the quota system. The quota system in its current format even if extended will not contribute to increasing meaningful involvement and participation of women in politics.
An alternative approach, still upholding the principle of allocating a women’s quota may be needed to create a rotational system of reserved women’s seats from amongst the total number of existent constituencies, senatorial and local authorities. This approach will mean Zimbabwe completely abandons the additional non-constituency quota seats.
Through the aabove-proposed approach for every electoral cycle, a minimum of 30% of the constituencies (parliamentary, senatorial and or local authority seats) will be reserved for women. ZEC as the independent electoral management body must be mandated and capacitated to rotationally allocate proportional quota seats every electoral cycle for at least the next three electoral cycles.
This approach will in one sweeping move address the following issues noted as weaknesses of the current quota system:
Lead to a leaner parliament and senate in line with the austerity for prosperity policy;
All parliamentarians/ senators will be elected and representing a constituency hence of equal footing in the respective houses;
Women benefiting from this quota system shall have more and better direct contact with their constituencies to build their political capital;
This approach will afford more women (numerically) from across the country (geographically) an equal opportunity to enter and participate in politics.
Nhlanhla Mlilo is the Regional Coordinator for NANGO Western Region.
Farai Dziva|The Premier Soccer League has agreed to raise gate entry charges for all league matches in the upcoming season, triggering an outcry from football fans.
The charges were pegged at $3 for the cheapest ticket in the past campaigns but will now cost $5 (RTGS dollars). Big games will attract a charge of up to $10 for the rest of the ground.
The increment is due to the economic changes being experienced in the country. Zifa has also increased the fees, putting the cheapest ticket for the upcoming Warriors match against Congo at $10.
The 2019 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season is set to start on Saturday, 30 March.
Farai Dziva| Opposition leader Noah Manyika has said Emmerson Mnangagwa is a hardhearted and uncaring leader.
The Build Zimbabwe leader has further argued that Mnangagwa is living up to his reputation of being a hardhearted man.
Manyika was commenting on Mnangagwa’s response to disasters affecting ordinary Zimbabweans in the past three months. He also has als said Mnangagwa is not proactive as evidenced by his failure to give warnings from his office prior to the effects of the Cyclone Idai.
“Those cases include the shootings, the Battlefields mining disaster, the situation in our hospitals, and now Cyclone Idai. When the President left the country to go to the UAE, he was aware of the effects of cyclone Idai. There were no warnings from his office, no plans for people in the direct path of the storm to be evacuated, cutting short a trip he should have had the decency to postpone or cancel is meaningless.
What we see is a President living up to his reputation of being a hardhearted man in spite of his claims that he is as soft as wool.”
The Zimbabwe Revenue And Allied Workers Trade Union ZIMRATU
is appalled by the conduct of the newly appointed Zimbabwe Revenue Authority
board chairperson Callisto Jokonya and his failure to provide leadership on
critical issues affecting the revenue authority.
ZIMRATU is also worried by Jokonya’s wanton attacks on
collective bargaining processes whereby he threatened not to review workers’
salaries until they rid themselves of corruption and direct attacks on individuals
for being members of the union and leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions.
His displays of arrogance by refusing to entertain questions
from employees and unsubstantiated allegations of corruption against employees
boarders on victimization to silence workers against raising grievances.
ZIMRATU would like to make it clear to Jokonya that collective bargaining
processes cannot be dictated but are a product of mutual negotiations.
We do not take such attacks lightly as they are meant to instil
fear among workers leaders and eventually the membership in general. Any attack
on trade union leaders is an attack on our stomachs and livelihoods as workers.
His utterances that fighting corruption, reviewing workers conditions
of service in light of the prevailing economic challenges and that educating
taxpayers to be tax compliant lacked substance, are worrisome.
Farai Dziva|Goods confiscated by ZIMRA will be donated to survivors of Tropical Cyclone Idai.
This was disclosed by Finance and Economic Development Ministry Permanent Secretary, George Guvamatanga.
Guvamatanga said blankets, clothing and food seized by ZIMRA will be distributed to the survivors of Tropical Cyclone Idai.
“With regards to basic necessities, such as blankets, clothing and food, the Accountant-General and Zimra are working out modalities of ensuring that current stocks of forfeited goods become available to the families in need.
Your officials will need to liaise with the Accountant-General on the requirements and modalities of distribution.
Our team of officials led by Mr B. Mupuriri, the director implementation and monitoring department, will be in Manicaland to provide immediate assistance in the recovery efforts,” said Guvamatanga.
Opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa helps clear a bridge affected by the cyclone in Chipinge.
Own Correspondent|Following a tropical cyclone that tore through the eastern parts of Zimbabwe, the southern African country is weighing up the loss of life as well as the impact of the damage to infrastructure such as roads, bridges and business.
According to a member of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industry, Henry Nemaire, who is based in the affected Manicaland region, there has been extensive damage in terms of road infrastructure which has made some business operations such as plantations inaccessible. Most of Zimbabwe’s plantations are in the Eastern Highlands region.
“There is extensive damage in terms of roads, bridges and power lines …
“The main focus is to make sure that power is restored in the Chimanimani and Chipinge district where most of the export oriented farms are located.
Nemaire said the farms might have to power factories for the next four weeks.
“But for us to be producing export goods, using diesel, it will be too expensive for the export market, so we need power to be restored urgently.”
He also called on Government to waiver duty on fuel for the affected companies ranging from timber, tea, coffee, macadamia and avocado plantations.
Listed entity, Ariston Holdings, which counts South Africa’s Origin Global Holdings Limited as its major shareholder, has macadamia and avocado plantations in one of the ravaged areas, Chipinge.
Reports from the company say in addition to the damage on buildings, warehouses and other facilities at the farms, the macadamia and avocado plantations were also heavily damaged.
While the extent of the damage is still to be ascertained, Ariston is heavily invested in macadamia having invested in a world class nuts processing plant and irrigation facilities as well as doubling of production to 1 351 tonnes. Last year, its avocado exports stood at 160 tonnes.
Tanganda, owned by Pick n Pay partner Meikles, has 458 hectares of avocado and 779 hectares of macadamia nuts.
“We also hope that the national engineering team will also help in restoring access to affected areas,” said Nemaire.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has already implemented an Emergency Response Plan, that is aimed at opening up washed away roads and repairing bridges to enable accessibility in Chimanimani in the shortest time possible, according to Transport Minister Joel Matiza.
Some roads and bridges in Chimanimani are currently cordoned off to make way for engineers to work on the damaged roads in the shortest possible time.
Community Report on the day’s activities in Chimanimani, with thanks to Doug van der Ruit.
First of all, a huge thank you to all, for unbelievable support. It brings tears to my eyes.
The plan on Monday was:
1. Get doctors to Mashonjowa
2. Air force to casavac serious patients to Mutambara Hospital.
3. Air Force to collect doctors from Mashonjowa and take to places of need. With meds.
3. Fly Bob Henson’s helicopter along roads to establish which is best route to tackle.
Unfortunately this is actually what happened.
Really disappointing and very, very frustrating.
1. Met with Air force, discussed plan of action, everyone happy.
2. Bob Henson arrived in his Robinson, with doctor and meds. Much relief.
3. Weather was a little dodgy, but decided to go anyway. Plan to fly in formation with Air Force with casavac patients to Mutambara at their request then see if any doctors arrived to take them to where they are needed. Sadly, this didn’t happen because of a fault with their helicopter, so we flew off without patients deciding to go ahead with recce roads. Air Force later flew off to Chipinge, without any patients.
4. Flew road to Chipinge then to Mashonjowa. Nobody there yet, flew on to Mutambara to collect more meds from them for doctor in Chimanimani. Checked out Wengezi to Skyline road…pretty stuffed, especially near the top. Several bridges down. Picked more meds from guys at Skyline and flew home.
5. Went to Command Center and informed authorities what we did, and what we plan to do.
Tomorrow’s (today) plan is:
1. Presuming Air Force is not around, collect doctors from top of Skyline and take them to where they are needed along with meds.
2. Do more road flying, especially old Chipinge road. I didn’t think about this earlier, but it is a good option, because it bypasses Skyline, but will need lots of work.
3. If Air Force is back, try to get them to move doctors and casavac work. Actually they have been a disappointment.
For the other teams, I would like to suggest carry on as planned. Before work starts on Skyline, we need to fly old Chipinge Road.
The cyclists, please recce the following roads into the Biriwiri area, Chikwizi, Mhakwe, Shinga. Any road that comes from Nyanyadzi side into Biriwiri area. The people there need help, and we cannot access from Chimanimani side.
Brett and his team to establish base camp at top of Skyline.
That’s about all.
Just heard fantistic news from Ed Mordt at Air Exec. Strive is paying for big helicopter, with one tonne capacity. I cannot tell how much difference this will make. If it happens, it will be exactly what we need and will save lives.
I am sorry for not replying to many WhatsApps, but I am snowed under and I know there is so much capability out there. Thank you so much again.
Logistics challenges stand in the way of Zimbabwe’s wheat and fuel supplies which are held up at the Beira Port in Mozambique in the aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Idai occurrence.
According to the Grain Millers Association Zimbabwe, 100 truckloads of wheat are held at Mozambique’s Beira port which is inaccessible at the moment because of damages to the road network and some of the port’s facilities.
At a parliamentary hearing in the capital on Tuesday, the association’s President Tafadzwa Musarara (pictured) said the lack of access to the grain could worsen an already precarious position.
He said some of the grains received over the last few days from Beira was wet, also impacted by the cyclone.
Zimbabwe has grappled with a lack of adequate of wheat supplies for a couple of years now and the situation had been compounded since 2016 as forex challenges worsened amidst demand growth.
RBZ and the Grain Millers Association has been working closely to facilitate supplies. Although the efforts have been commendable a huge market gap remains in place.
Over the last few months bakers have sought to increase the price of bread to address the challenges but government’s hand has been visible in controlling the price, thus hampering supply.
Elsewhere the Minister of Transport and Energy also announced on Monday that fuel supplies are held up at Beira as the Feruka pipeline has been affected by the Cyclone. He however allayed shortages, charging that the country had adequate reserves.
Cyclone Idai is an intense tropical cyclone which is the strongest tropical cyclone to strike Southern Africa in a decade. The tenth named storm and record-breaking seventh intense tropical cyclone of the 2018–19 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, Idai originated from a tropical depression that formed off the eastern coast of Mozambique on 4 March.
The depression made landfall later in the day and remained a tropical cyclone throughout the entirety of its trek over land. On 9 March, the depression re-emerged into the Mozambique channel and was upgraded into Moderate Tropical Storm Idai next day.
The system then began a stint of rapid intensification, reaching an initial peak intensity as an intense tropical cyclone with winds of 175 km/h (110 mph) on 11 March. Idai then began to weaken due to ongoing structural changes within its inner core, falling to tropical cyclone intensity. Idai’s intensity remained stagnant for about a day or so before it began to re-intensify.
On 14 March, Idai reached peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h (120mph) and a minimum central pressure of 940 hPa (27.76 inHg). Idai then began to weaken as it approached the coast of Mozambique due to less favorable conditions.
On 15 March, Idai made landfall near Beira, Mozambique, as an intense tropical cyclone moving into the eastern parts of Zimbabwe.
Own Correspondent|MDC leader Nelson Chamisa says the disaster preparedness of Zimbabwe is a disaster on its own. Speaking from a tour of the cyclone-hit parts of Manicaland, Chamisa says he had gone to give a :”listening-interface” as well as interact with affected communities.
Here is his statement in full:
“My visit to the Manicaland cyclone affected areas was more of a listening-interface and interaction with the communities platform. The affected spoke about their ordeals and shared their harrowing experiences,” Chamisa said.
“I went to Mhandarume, Wengezi, Nyanyadzi,Tanganda halt, Devuli primary school and Birchnough bridge but couldn’t make it to Nedziwa, Ngangu,Kopa, Skyline and other areas in Chipinge most affected by this catastrophic disaster as the roads were impassable.
“I love the people of Manicaland. Chimanimani and Chipinge are great places. I marvel the beauty of our country. We met wonderful people. Though marginalized and tormented, the people have the zeal to better themselves. It really breaks my heart.
“The most affected places are most likely going to remain inaccessible by road.The humanitarian challenge will remain for some time as the cyclone has destroyed sources of livelihoods, it is important for human assistance to remain active beyond Cyclone Idai news headlines.
“We have assembled local teams and leadership on the ground aimed at identifying victims that need further help or medical attention and to enable those victims to be transported to a facility capable of giving them the care they need.
“I salute the brave ordinary people whose personal sacrifices saved lives. The spirit of ubuntu extended by Zimbabweans from all the corners of the country and from the Zimbabwe Diaspora has been unprecedented, exemplary and legendary.
“The lesson to draw from this is that THE PEOPLE UNITED are best able to respond to any emergency. I urge the nation to harness this ubuntu spirit and to use it to build capacity for responding to similar emergencies in the future.
” I acknowledge the intervention of various local, provincial, national and international humanitarian organizations that responded swiftly and continue to respond to save and protect lives.
“The response of the people was better than the response of the State which came like an afterthought when cyclones are a scientific phenomena whose formation and trajectory can be detected and forecast. We saw the Cyclone coming but state did little to warn and remove people from harm’s way.
“With the advent of Climate Change, cyclones have become regular in our part of the world. Citizens would have thought by now the State has learnt something about how to save lives and to protect the people during these deadly cyclones.
“The sad reality is that the the disaster preparedness of the entire infrastructure of the State is itself a disaster. Indeed, devastation caused by Idai,especially the tragic loss of life, has exposed the clear and present danger that the State itself is a disaster.
“Most of our road infrastructure and bridges are substandard and of poor workmanship.What we want here is a National Infrastructure plan for the whole country spanning into 20 to 50 years that speaks to national focus on … roads and rail networks, bridges and bullet trains.
“Haphazard settlement in the countryside is a ticking time bomb.We need integrated national settlement planning upon accelerated rural upliftment program.Have standards even models for structures and houses certified for human habitation thru a district planning commission.
“We must put in place effective disaster preparedness and early warning systems to be put in place through a revamp of the current inadequate mechanisms.
“We need an accelerated industrialization and urbanization upon an integrated upgrade of rural facilities to state-of-the-art level in health, energy, communication and housing. We must think and act SMART. Let’s do it. We will do it!”
By Own Correspondent- Deputy Minister for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Energy Mutodi said people in areas worst affected by Tropical Cyclone Idai should have vacated following advance warnings of impeding disaster.
Government did not have capacity to evacuate everyone before Cyclone Idai struck.
Said Mutodi:
“Warnings were issued to people through the meteorological services department and those residing in affected areas were supposed to seek shelter in safer zones, but you know people normally do not want to leave their homes. Government did not have enough to vacate everyone.”
However, civil society and politicians have blamed Government for its slow response to Tropical Cyclone Idai.
Election Resource Centre (ERC) boss Tawanda Chimhini said government should have been proactive considering the country has experienced similar disasters before.
Spokesperson for the MDC leader Nelson Chamisa Dr Nkululeko Sibanda said government should have done more to warn citizens and encourage citizens to vacate lower ground.
Sibanda said this could have saved a lot of lives.
Farai Dziva|Emmerson Mnangagwa has responded to widespread criticism from angry Zimbabweans- following his controversial trip to the United Arab Emirates.
Addressing villagers in Ngangu in Manicaland Province today Mnangagwa explained the purpose of his trip to the United Arab Emirates.
“I received the sad news about the disaster while I was in the United Arab Emirates.
I briefed the President of that country who promised to assist with food items and blankets.
Having received the information about the natural disaster, I had to rush back home,” said Mnangagwa.
Mnangagwa is currently in Manicaland Province where he is assessing the extent of the destruction caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai.Cyclone Idai has left more than 100 people dead while hundreds others are still missing.
According to the latest government update on the effects of Tropical Cyclone Idai, 300 people are feared dead.
Farai Dziva| Warriors captain Knowledge Musona says his injury is not complicated.
Musona arrived in the country yesterday for camp ahead of the crucial Afcon qualifier against Congo Brazzaville on Sunday.
The winger’s arrival is a boost to the national team following concerns that the player could miss the game due to an injury.
Musona did not play over the weekend after picking a minor tear on his groin last week, but he is hopeful he would be fine by the time the Warriors plunge into the defining battle.
“I went for a scan and they saw a small rupture on my groin, so they said it’s nothing big, so I will see in the next coming days how I will recover,” Musona told The Herald.
“I am feeling okay at this moment, but I think I have to go to the field and try to do the things that I was doing before I was feeling the pain and see how I am feeling.”
“But, at this moment, I can run normally, I have no pain, so I just have to go and try to kick the ball and see.”
Farai Dziva|Tonderai Ndiraya has announced his final 18-man squad for the trip to Mozambique.
The Young Warriors are set to leave the country tomorrow for their qualifying encounter of the Afcon U23 tournament scheduled for the 22nd of March before hosting their neighbours in Harare four days later.
Harare City duo of Wilfred Muvirimi and Colin Mujuru, and Herentals’ Tinotenda Benza are some of the notable players that have been dropped along with Farai Mutatu who plays in USA.
Here is the final 18-man squad for the trip to Mozambique:
Goalkeepers: Martin Mapisa (Velez CF, Spain),Nelson Chadya (Ngez Platinum).
Farai Dziva|Respected political analyst Dr Pedzisai Ruhanya has pointed out four factors that influence election results in Zimbabwe.
“Elections in Zim are never determined or won by votes. To win elections one needs FOUR THINGS 1. Money 2. Security apparatus 3.ZEC 4.Judiciary. This is the view of the Zaka villager after analysing electoral outcomes in Zim especially after 2000,” argued Dr Ruhanya.
“There4 MONEY, SECURITY APPARATUS, ZEC and JUDICIARY are the four centres of ZANU PF electoral gravity that the opposition led by @nelsonchamisa need to work on apart from controlling the VOTE/VOTERS in order to defeat ZANU PF in 2023. Centres of manipulation must FALL.”
OPPOSITION leader Nelson Chamisa wants his legislators to push for capacitation and reform of the Department of Civil Protection (DCP) in the aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Idai.
Speaking in Chimanimani, where the opposition leader has been lending weight to ongoing rescue operations by volunteers, army and government arms, Chamisa said there was need for a legislative agenda to reform institutions.
“We have to ensure that our MPs push an agenda to reform the DCP into a proactive, well-resourced and funded unit than a reactive arm, that is being caught flat-footed when disaster strikes,” he said.
Chamisa said DCP had been caught flat-footed at the Battlefields mine disaster which left nearly 40 dead and was napping in Manicaland were school children were not evacuated ahead of the cyclone.
He said there was need to ensure that the DCP had sufficient funds to procure its own reaction equipment and improve its disaster awareness and response ability.
“Legislators should come to the party, one life lost is one too many, we have to ensure there are laws that ensure the DCP has its own air rescue capacity, its own vehicles not this thing that they have to wait for help from other arms of the State who are slow in reacting,” he said.
Build Alliance Zimbabwe, leader Noah Manyika said the lack of preparedness by DCP and government was alarming and should be redressed.
“The tragedy of lack of preparedness is that the victims will simply be unaccounted for and, therefore, forgotten, without living witnesses from such communities the authorities who, but for their deadly negligence, could have saved many lives will only be too glad to pretend that the tragedy never happened,” he said.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has however committed that no effort or resources under his command will be spared to reach the affected and save lives.
Rm104, Calverley building, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds LS1 3HE MEETING TIME 6pm to 8pm
Find the only Morrisons Supermarket in Leeds city. Find Portland Building which is opposite Rose Bowl Building; Calverley building is inside Portland building; It is also connected to the library.
STATEMENT: In the wake of Cyclone Idai, our customers’ friends, families and loved ones in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe need our support now more than ever. Many of our customers have contributed to relief efforts on the ground, and we’re supporting their generosity by donating $25,000 to the International Red Cross in the three affected countries. – WorldRemit
