THREE people died on the spot while 11 others were injured in an accident that happened along the Rutenga-Zvishavane Road last week. Acting Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Ethel Mukwende confirmed the accident which occurred at the 12…
THREE people died on the spot while 11 others were injured in an accident that happened along the Rutenga-Zvishavane Road last week. Acting Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Ethel Mukwende confirmed the accident which occurred at the 128km peg along the Rutenga-Zvishavane highway at around 7pm on Monday. She said the injured were admitted to […]
Source: Minister Shiri clears air on land reform | Herald (Top Stories) Minister Shiri Elita Chikwati Senior Reporter LANDS, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri yesterday cleared the air on Government’s recently gazetted Statutory Instrument 62, which was being interpreted as seeking to reverse land reform. Minister Shiri said SI62 had generated misinterpretations […]
Elita Chikwati Senior Reporter
LANDS, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri yesterday cleared the air on Government’s recently gazetted Statutory Instrument 62, which was being interpreted as seeking to reverse land reform.
Minister Shiri said SI62 had generated misinterpretations with some people concluding that Government was reversing the land reform, which he said was irreversible adding that only indigenous farmers and those under the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPAs) would get the opportunity to have their land back.
By indigenous individuals, Government is referring to people of Zimbabwean origin who were previously marginalised before 1980 and had acquired land either through direct purchase or through Government commercial farm schemes before the land reform.
These farmers will either get their land back or get full compensation for both the agricultural land acquired and improvements that were done on the farms.
Section 295(1) subsection 2 of the Constitution also provides for the full compensation of persons whose agricultural land was acquired yet it was protected.
“The Land Reform Programme is final and irreversible. Any sentiments to the contrary are false and are to be disrespected with the contempt they deserve.
“It is false to say that there is an intention to return land to the previous white commercial farmers and reverse the gains of the land reform. It is equally false to state that the SI62 is designed to evade paying compensation to indigenous farmers; rather it creates an avenue for these farmers to exercise that option to acquire title deeds and continue with farming activities or opt for compensation,” he said.
The minister said some of the outspoken individuals who were suggesting that Government was reversing the land reform were latter day revolutionaries who were trying to be more revolutionary than Zanla and Zipra.
“They are the same people who are shedding crocodile tears. They are not genuine and need to understand the SI62. The ruling Zanu PF and Government never supported that land belonging to indigenous people be acquired,” he said.
He said a total of 440 farms belonging to indigenous people were acquired under the Land Reform Programme and 350 such farmers were still on the acquired land while 90 farms had resettled farmers.
Minister Shiri said the 350 farmers would have their titles re-instituted while Government would consider if the 90 farmers are interested in acquiring their farms.
These will apply to a committee that will consider the pros and cons of handing back the land.
For those farms where A1 farmers were resettled, the indigenous former owners can be given alternative land since it can be costly for Government to remove resettled farms.
Government has identified farms through the land audit, which can be used for resettling the indigenous farmers.
The development of the Statutory Instrument in question was guided by the following constitutional provisions:
“Section 72, which provides for the rights to agricultural land and the vesting of all agriculture land in the State, Section 289, which provides the guiding policy on agricultural land, Section 290 that provides for the continued vesting of agricultural land in the State, Section 293, which provides for the alienation of land by State including the alienation for value, transfer of ownership and lease of agricultural land and Section 295, which provides for the compensation of indigenous Zimbabweans whose agricultural land was acquired and person whose agricultural land was protected by a Government to Government agreement at the time of acquisition,” he said.
A committee will be put in place to deal with all applications for compensation and considerations will be made in line with the SI.
The committee will decide whether or not there are individuals settled by Government on the farms. It will also consider whether or not the applicant is in occupation of the farm or part of it, whether granting the application would be contrary to the interests of defence, public safety public order, public morality, public health, regional and town planning or the general public interests and whether the State in its own discretion prefers to pay monetary compensation.
“The alienation of land in lieu of compensation is not an automatic right and each applicant will be considered on case by case basis. The alienation or disposal will only be recommended in cases where it is reasonable and appropriate to do so. The SI only expands the options open to Government in the compensation of the mentioned two categories. The people of Zimbabwe are empowered by the supreme law of the land to reassert their rights to ownership of their land,” he said.
For BIPPAs, Minister Shiri said Zimbabwe was living in a global village and had to be predictable as a Government.
“When we sign agreements, we should honour the agreements. If we are in the habit of changing goal posts no government will still do business with us,” he said.
Source: Businessman dupes home-seekers | Newsday (News) HARARE businessman Marvelous Shumba, who owns Shongwe Properties, has been accused of duping dozens of home-seekers of thousands of dollars in a scam involving residential stands in a Norton housing project. By Richard Muponde Shumba, who is also the proprietor of the suspended Regal Insurance Company, reportedly sold […]
HARARE businessman Marvelous Shumba, who owns Shongwe Properties, has been accused of duping dozens of home-seekers of thousands of dollars in a scam involving residential stands in a Norton housing project.
By Richard Muponde
Shumba, who is also the proprietor of the suspended Regal Insurance Company, reportedly sold stands in Knowe suburb in Norton to a number of home-seekers who paid varying amounts for the development of the area.
However, despite the lack of development, Shumba allegedly wrote to the residents, who had finished paying for their stands, but stopped paying the development fees due to lack of the agreed development, threatening to repossess stands.
The agreements of sale compelled the home-seekers to complete paying the purchase price of the stands by December 31, 2019 which all had reportedly done.
But to their surprise, Shumba sent them letters last month advising them that he was repossessing the stands because of the outstanding development fees which were not part of the agreements of sale.
The agreement was that outstanding development fees would attract interest.
In a letter of written to one of the paid-up home-seeker dated February 10, 2020, seen by NewsDay Weekender, Shumba advised him that his stand had been repossessed with effect from the day the letter was authored.
“This serves to formally inform you that the seller, Marvellous Shumba of Shongwe Property Developers is repossessing the above plot sold to you in 2018,” part of the letter read.
“This is due to your breach of contractual obligation to pay funds that are due to the seller despite numerous calls to do so. We, therefore, advise you that the stand has been repossessed with effect from February 10. Kindly visit our offices for arrangement of refund for as per agreement of sale.”
However an affected home-seeker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Shumba had duped them because repossession of stands was agreed would be effected if one failed to pay the purchase amount by December 31, 2018.
“In the agreement of sale, he said development fees would not warrant repossession of the stands, but an interest.
What he is now doing is duping us because we paid the full amount for the purchase of the stands,” the home-seeker said.
“We were promised access to our serviced stands once we have paid the deposit, this didn’t happen. We demanded performance on developments and none was forthcoming from Shongwe’s offices. The stand owners demanded audience with Mr Shumba on countless times but he refused to meet with them.”
He added: “We never received calls or letters of demand for these development fees as he was aware he had not met his obligation of delivering the stands to us.”
“A WhatsApp group formed by his office for the stand owners shows that they have been demanding development on the project without response.”
A perusal of the agreement of sale indeed confirmed that non-payment of development fees attracted a 20% interest not repossession of stands.
Repeated efforts to get a comment from Shumba were fruitless as he has not been picking calls since last week.
Shumba is reportedly also the owner of a dubious company, Cattle Ownership Society, which duped civil servants into paying for cattle after being told they would receive the beasts in three years, but the agreement was not met.
His Regal Insurance has been suspended from underwriting any business following its failure to settle policy claims, this paper has established.
Documents seen by this paper show that the insurance firm is under investigation by the Insurance and Pensions Commission (Ipec) after fleecing policy holders.
A communiqué by Ipec acting commissioner, Blessmore Kazengura, to Regal Insurance dated September 20 2019, notified the company that the commission had resolved to institute investigations, commencing September 24 in terms of the Insurance Act.
Source: Africa must brace for the worst: WHO | Newsday (News) …as Zim builds US$26,4m COVID-19 war chest THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged the African continent to brace for the worst in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. BY WINSTONE ANTONIO The warning came as Zimbabwe yesterday launched a US$26,4 million kitty to […]
THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged the African continent to brace for the worst in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
The warning came as Zimbabwe yesterday launched a US$26,4 million kitty to fight the deadly virus.
The southern African country is one of the only 17 countries on the continent yet to record an infection of the deadly novel virus that has grounded most of Europe, Asia and Americas and put the world economy in a spin.
Namibia recorded its third case yesterday, a 61-year-old German who arrived in the country from Amsterdam via Zimbabwe, where he was two days ago.
According to WHO, there were 633 cases and 17 deaths in 33 countries in Africa, but Zimbabwe was yet to record any suspected cases by yesterday in addition to the 15 reported previously.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Ethiopian director-general of WHO, on Wednesday warned Africa to brace for the worst.
“The best advice for Africa is to prepare for the worst and prepare today,” he said.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa launched Zimbabwe’s national preparedness and response plan at State House in the capital yesterday.
A few hours later, however, he addressed a crowd of over 500 people at the launch of policies on energy, breaking his own ban of 100 or more people gatherings in one place for the second day in a row.
Zimbabwe’s development partners among them People’s Republic of China and United Kingdom put up US$26,388 million, while the government contributed $20 million towards preparing of key infrastructure like hospitals, clinics and isolation centres.
The plan, guided by the eight pillars of WHO’s strategic preparedness and response plan, includes prevention, containment and mitigation strategies in line with the different COVID-19 transmission scenarios.
According to the plan’s annual budget summary starting this month, US$12 144 606 has been set aside for logistics, procurement and supply management, US$1 424 100 for co-ordination, planning and monitoring, US$1 098 500 will be for risk communication and community engagement and US$4 159 890 for surveillance, rapid response and case investigation including points of entry (POE).
About US$112 440 will be channelled towards POE, US$3 119 454 set aside for national laboratory system, US$238 850 to be channelled towards infection prevention and control with US$4 090 540 set aside for case management.
In his address at the launch, Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe could not continue with business as usual as it was no longer a matter of if, but when the country will record confirmed COVID-19 cases.
“The dynamics of this pandemic have changed. Considering the scale and magnitude of the spread of this virus, it is very clear that no country is immune from the disease or will be spared from its impact,” Mnangagwa said.
“This plan will enable us to have an integrated and co-ordinated management strategy that will focus on preventing COVID-19 outbreak in Zimbabwe and mitigating the severity of its impact.”
He added: “Closer to home, around 30 or more African countries have reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 and in our region seven out of our 16 Sadc countries have confirmed cases. Therefore, as Zimbabwe, we cannot continue with business as usual as it is no longer a matter of if, but when our country will have these cases.”
He said a coronavirus outbreak in a country pummelled by a high HIV perseverance of 14%, malnutrition and other non-communicable diseases, especially among children, and a collapsed public health delivery system, would be catastrophic.
“Our preparedness has been stepped up through heightened surveillance systems at national, provincial and district levels with special focus on all ports of entry throughout the country, mandatory screening of all visitors entering the country at our ports of entry has started, and all our government buildings and infrastructure should be screening with immediate effect,” he said.
He said active surveillance and follow-ups will continue in order to minimise the spread of the virus that has so far claimed over 8 000 lives globally.
Mnangagwa said the government through the Health and Child Care ministry had put in place and continues to enhance measures to minimise the import of COVID-19 into the country and ensure safety of all citizens.
“Work is in progress to strengthen the capacity of identified isolation centres to be able to manage severe cases throughout the country.
“Of course, there is no confirmed case yet in Zimbabwe, but considering the volume of traffic between Zimbabwe and other countries in our region and internationally, we need to step up and enhance our preparedness and response to the scourge,” he said.
lAdditional reporting by Lorraine Muromo, Al-Jazeera
Source: ‘People still hurt’: the forgotten survivors of Cyclone Idai | Global development | The Guardian A year after eastern Zimbabwe was devastated by one of the worst storms on record, many people remain amid the wreckage living in makeshift shelters A man in Ngangu, Chimanimani, walks past debris from homes destroyed by Cyclone Idai. […]
A year after eastern Zimbabwe was devastated by one of the worst storms on record, many people remain amid the wreckage living in makeshift shelters
A man in Ngangu, Chimanimani, walks past debris from homes destroyed by Cyclone Idai. Photograph: Aaron Ufumeli/EPA
The sound of the rising wind and the heavy rain trigger fear at Garikai camp in Ngangu, Chimanimani, eastern Zimbabwe.
Villagers here are haunted by traumatic memories of the aftermath of the cyclone that swept over this region last March, when they were forced to bury the dead in makeshift coffins. Some people have never found their loved ones.
A man stands near the wreckage of vehicles washed away by Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani, eastern Zimbabwe, in March 2019. Photograph: Zinyange Auntony/AFP/Getty Images
Driving towards Ngangu village one is greeted by a vision of the storm’s path of destruction, dotted along the red mud roads and gullies. Broken bridges, rubble from smashed homes and stone boulders strewn across fields are a constant reminder of Cyclone Idai.
Thousands are still living in tents brought in by the UN refugee agency after the government of Zimbabwe failed to resettle its citizens or build replacement accommodation.
Makeshift shelters at Garikai, the largest of three displacement camps in Chimanimani, are ageing. Soon the families attempting to live in them will be left homeless again.
Water supplies and food are scarce. Exactly a year ago, the marooned villagers were showered with medical attention and international sympathy, with donors stampeding to offer assistance, food and temporary shelters.
But those donors are disappearing, and the villagers at Garikai feel abandoned.
Women in Ngangu, Chimanimani, walk past tent shelters. Supposedly a temporary measure, the shelters remain in place a year after Cyclone Idai struck. Photograph: Aaron Ufumeli/EPA
Kesima Ndlovu, 61, suffered back injuries in the cyclone. “The tents are getting old and we fear that if another storm comes, we will be swept away,” she says. “I cannot afford medical supplies. I can only afford medical attention if I do menial jobs, but I cannot because my back still hurts from the injuries I sustained when I was marooned.”
Ndlovu, who stays with her husband and two grandchildren in a small tent, says the government should provide land to allow the people to rebuild their lives themselves.
“We are asking for land to build our own houses. Government should remember us, we are still its citizens. These tents are not safe. The donors came and left us in this predicament. We are suffering in these tents. We are appealing for medical attention, people still hurt,” Ndlovu says.
Joshua Sacco, the member of parliament for Chimanimani, has pleaded for patience. He says the government is in the process of relocating the villagers in Ngangu.
With colder weather approaching, the noisy winter rains already keep families under canvas awake at night.
“There is hunger, because our farmlands got washed away. People need food aid and jobs so that we can survive,” says Timothy Mlalazi, 40, a father of two.
Villagers in Kopa, Chimanimani, search for missing relatives after Cyclone Idai. Photograph: Aaron Ufumeli/EPA
Mlalazi says it remains difficult to find work a year after the cyclone destroyed Ngangu’s economy.
“I lost all my cattle and [my] banana business. I have nothing, I need help to rebuild my business. My children can no longer eat twice a day. Without a home I cannot do anything,” he says.
Doreen Hove, 63, limps towards a makeshift fireplace where she will prepare the day’s meal. When Idai struck, she saw her seven-year-old grandchild crushed to death by rock boulders that the storm tossed around like footballs. She is still traumatised.
“It is painful, I normally do not want to talk about this,” says Hove. “I cannot even sleep at night sometimes because of the trauma. On the day, I even told my grandchildren that they should not go to school.
“After we had dinner, we retired to bed. When we heard people crying, we rushed outside to help. Suddenly we heard a roaring sound, I didn’t know they were rock boulders. Before I could get back into the house to seek refuge, the rock had crushed my grandchild. I cried for help but no one heard me.”
According to the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative, many villagers experience traumatic flashbacks during the rainy season. The organisation says more needs to be done and that villagers in Ngangu require psychological help.
Chipo Ruwo sits on a bed in her tent in a makeshift camp in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe, a year after Cylone Idai made landfall. Photograph: Aaron Ufumeli/EPA
Chipo Ruwo, who lives in one tent with seven other family members, laments the lack of healthcare at the camp. All she has is a stand number; she has been told it could be another year before she is allocated a housing stand by the government.
“This place is not comfortable,” she says. “We don’t have clothes and blankets, we always ask for help from donors. There are seven people staying in my tent, my husband and extended family also stay here.
“We need food and blankets because we are approaching winter, we fear for the children. I was also injured during the cyclone and I still carry the pain, there is no money for tablets. They are asking for US dollars at the nearby clinic but most of us cannot afford.”
The slow pace of road construction is another complaint levelled against the government.
Oxfam says more than 100,000 people are still living in makeshift shelters, while others are in dire need of food after they failed to recover from the cyclone’s impact on farms and livelihoods.
Women are the hardest hit, left without sanitary wear, clean water or medical supplies for children. Girls are being forced into early marriage for survival, according to Plan International.
With donor funding dwindling, children are suffering from malnutrition since food shortages mean they can only eat once a day.
To fight hunger, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has been providing food aid to more than 300 families in the camps.
Cotilda Shupikai Ngwengwe, left, helps her mother Gladys Chiremba to weed her fields in Buhera. Chiremba is among beneficiaries of 36 houses built by the Methodist Development and Relief Agency for people whose homes were destroyed by Cyclone Idai. Photograph: Jekesai Njikizana/AFP via Getty Images
A young boy jumps across a stream in Praia Nova village in Beira, Mozambique, most of which was flooded during Cyclone Idai. One year on, 2.5 million Mozambicans remain in urgent need of assistance. Photograph: Karel Prinsloo/UNCDF/AFP via Getty Images
Cyclone Idai was one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the southern hemisphere, killing more than 1,000 people and leaving a further 3 million without food, water, shelter and critical infrastructure across Zimbabwe, Mozambique and some parts of Malawi.
In Zimbabwe, close to 17,000 households were displaced, while an estimated 1.4m hectares (14.5m acres) of arable land – accounting for one-third of national agricultural production – was destroyed, affecting 50,000 mainly smallholder farmers and exacerbating already high levels of malnutrition.
“We can see that a year on, many people still are without shelter. WFP is continuing to provide essential food assistance to over 300 families who are still without essential food,” says WFP communications officer Claire Nevill.
“Concerned governments, and international partners, should renew their commitment, step up reconstruction and ensure that these efforts are done in a way that truly delivers human rights,” Amnesty said.
