Category: zimbabwe

Sikhumbuzo Moyo Bulawayo Bureau

THE Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) has played a critical role in maintaining peace and security in Matabeleland provinces through border control operations, as well as combating stock theft, which were becoming a threat to the cordial bilateral relations with the country’s neighbours.

Commander ZNA Lieutenant General Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe said this yesterday at Headquarters (HQ) 1 Infantry Brigade in Bulawayo while officiating at the handover-takeover ceremony of the outgoing brigade commander, Brigadier General Josphat Kudumba, and incoming Brigadier General George Chitsva, who becomes the 16th brigade commander since 1980.

Lt Gen Sanyatwe said the commitment to duty by Brig Gen Kudumba, especially in dealing with cattle rustling that was rampant in Matabeleland South, particularly in the areas of Shanyaugwe, Guyu and Mlambapele in the year 2022 and beyond, made a significant impact in the reduction of cattle rustling cases.

“Livestock was being rustled from neighbouring Botswana and vice versa, thereby causing some tensions between the neighbouring communities.

“Let me hasten to mention that the timely intervention by Brig Gen Kudumba has seen a drastic reduction in these activities and thus redeemed the Zimbabwe Defence Forces’ image in the eyes of the general citizenry,” he said.

“The formation has also managed to among other achievements maintain peace and stability within Matabeleland provinces through border control operations along the Zimbabwe-Republic of South Africa border, the Zimbabwe-Botswana border, and the Zimbabwe-Zambia border,” said Lt Gen Sanyatwe.

He said ZNA has also actively participated in operations to maintain cleanliness and sanity in the province, a development that saw a reduction in the effects of illegal mining activities by gold panners along river lines, which subsequently resulted in the maintenance of a conducive environment that the business community can operate in an orderly, clean and tranquil environment.

Lt Gen Sanyatwe said in line with the army’s constitutional mandate, troops were to provide military aid to civil communities, and to that end 1 Infantry Brigade has over the years continued to assist disadvantaged communities to implement various projects across the provinces.

These projects include the construction and completion of Mbamba Clinic in Tsholotsho, a classroom block at Zhompembe in Beitbridge, a footbridge across Simukwe River in Makorokoro, and a double-storey classroom at Mpopoma High School while various other projects are awaiting official handover to the school authorities once completed.

“I am particularly impressed by the timely intervention the formation made in the construction of modern accommodation for doctors at Mpilo General Hospital. This came after the whole complex was destroyed by fire,” said Lt Gen Sanyatwe.

“The passion with which Brig Gen Kudumba has been handling these community projects is commendable and is critical in the ZNA’s endeavour to improve the livelihoods of the generality of our people and maintaining cordial relations through corporate social responsibility,” he said.

Brig Gen Kudumba is being transferred to head the army’s mechanization brigade in the capital. Meanwhile, Lt Gen Sanyatwe described Brig Gen Chitsva as an accomplished and decorated soldier with a high sense of loyalty and dedication to duty hence owing to his unquestionable loyalty, he has also served as an aide-de-camp to President Mnangagwa.

“I don’t doubt that 1 Infantry Brigade and the provinces at large will benefit immensely from his experience during his stint. Let me hasten to say that the achievements made by 1 Infantry Brigade so far are a true reflection of the cordial working relations that exist among the security services,” he said.

“I expect the incoming commander to work tirelessly towards the perpetuation of such synergies. I expect the formation to maintain if not surpass the level of proficiency, which has been the hallmark of 1 Infantry Brigade.

“Professional command and administration of a Brigade is an important element in building a disciplined army, which without any iota of doubt guarantees the nation’s total security and stability,” said Lt Gen Sanyatwe.

Brig Gen Chitsva will be in charge of three brigades – 1.1 combat group on the outskirts of Bulawayo, 1.2 battalion in Hwange, and 1.3 battalion based in the border town of Plumtree.

The colourful ceremony was witnessed by other security organs, Chief Ndondo, and senior Government officials.

Herald Correspondent

The trial in which betting company Bezbets allegedly defrauded a punter who placed a bet and won US$5 400 will continue on Wednesday with the presiding magistrate expected to deliver a ruling in an application for discharge at the close of the State’s case.

Last week the investigating officer Detective Walter Muri told the court that indeed the company made a misrepresentation to the complainant.

Detective Muri told the court that indeed there is a ticket showing that the complainant placed a bet and won US$5 400 which Bezbets is refusing to pay.

“The misrepresentation was that the Bezbets system showed that after placing the bet the punter would win US$5400.

Detective Muri told the court he did not see anywhere written that Bezbets does not bet exceeding US$50.

The State closed its case after leading evidence from Detective Muri.

When this trial kicked off the complainant insisted that he was indeed defrauded of his money after winning a bet.

The punter told Mr Kandiero that Bezbets suddenly changed rules after noticing that he had won a bet.

“In order to terminate evidence, Bezbets went on to delete my account. They offered me US$1 800 and I refused to accept it since I had won US$5400,” he said.

The punter further told the court that in another bid to conceal the offence, Bezbets opened a counter charge of fraud against him which was declined prosecution during vetting.

“I have been placing bets of more than US$50 for close to two years and losing large sums of money but when I won a bet on October 26, 2023, Bezbets refused to pay me.

“There is nowhere on their roulette system where it is written that US$50 is the maximum stake per bet, their system allows you to play any amount up to US$10 000,” he said.

The punter also submitted that Bezbets verbally introduced to him the rule that US$50 is the maximum stake per bet upon realising that he had won.

Bezbets is represented by its manager Robson Chinamasa.

Chinamasa pleaded not guilty on behalf of the company to fraud charges when he initially appeared before Mr Simon Kandiyero.

Prosecuting, Mr Thomas Chanakira alleged that on October 26, on the Bezbets online platform, the complainant placed a bet on the roulette with a stake of US$394.

The platform gave had a potential win of US$5 400, provided the bet was won. But after winning, the company refused to pay the complainant and engaged him intending to pay him US$1 800.

Bezbets is being represented by Brighton Pabwe from Venturas and Samkange Legal Practitioners.

Business Reporter

The Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) has directed all insurance companies to timely settle claims after an increasing number of policyholders sought the Commissioner’s intervention due to protracted claims settlement.

Ipec, in a circular, said the situation necessitated urgent attention and action from all insurers.

“In view of the foregoing, from the date of receipt of all the required submissions, a decision shall be made and communicated to the policyholder. Further, once the claims authorisation process has been finalised, the claim shall be settled within three working days,” said Dr Grace Muradzikwa, the IPEC Commissioner, in a circular.

She said that while the commission was aware that additional investigations may be required in claims involving complex circumstances and claims recoveries from other insurers or reinsurers, insurers were advised to inform policyholders of potential delays and to provide lean explanations for the extended processing time.

“To meet the above, there is a need for insurers to review claims processes by streamlining and optimising claims handling procedures,”  the Ipec commissioner said.

Ipec said failure to adhere to the directive attracted a level 4 penalty for each day the insurer is in default in terms of Section 5 of the Insurance and Pensions (Issuance of General Guidelines and Standards) Regulations 2020.

“Furthermore, each insurer is required to maintain a complaints register, clearly indicating the name of the complainant, date of receipt, nature of the complaint, and date of resolution.”

According to Ipec, timely settlement is critical, as this directly impacts policyholder satisfaction, market penetration, and confidence in the insurance sector.

In another circular, Ipec also expects insurers to conduct thorough evaluations and process claims promptly while ensuring the clarity and transparency of their claims after noting inadequate disclosures in actuarial reports submitted as part of the 2009 compensation schemes.

Ipec said the inadequate disclosures were inhibiting the commission from making an informed decision on the compensation schemes.

“Following the submission of 2009 compensation schemes as required in terms of Statutory Instrument 162 of 2023, we have noted instances where the disclosures in the actuarial reports are not adequate to enable the Commission to make an informed decision on the compensation schemes.

“It is against this background that the commission requires that resubmissions or outstanding submissions make sufficient disclosures in the actuarial report as outlined in the Actuarial Society of Zimbabwe (ASZ) Guidance Note on S1 162 of 2023, released on January 25, 2024,” Dr Muradzikwa said.

In October 2023, the government published Statutory Instrument 162 of 2023 (SI162,2023), which focused on pensions and provident funds’ compensation for the loss of the pre-2009 value of pension benefits.

The implementation of this Statutory Instrument proposed that Actuaries, who are mostly members of the Actuarial Society of Zimbabwe, assist in its implementation.

Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Senior Health Reporter

As Zimbabwe yesterday marked one year since the beginning of the cholera outbreak, significant strides have been made in containing the disease including the rollout of the oral cholera vaccine (OCV).

To date, over 1,4 million people have received the oral vaccine since the beginning of the campaign two weeks ago.

The OCV is among the recommended and effective interventions for cholera control that complements other water and sanitation measures.

Giving the weekly cholera update, Ministry of Health and Child Care deputy cholera incident manager Dr Stephen Karimu said the vaccine had brought relief to the country.

“The OCV gave us a breathing space; when one gets one shot, that person is protected for six months. In an ideal environment, you are supposed to get two shots in a space of two to six weeks apart and if you get a full complement of two shots, protection goes up to three years.

“So this gives us breathing space to organise the drivers of cholera,” he said.

The vaccine has been deployed to the most at-risk districts in six provinces and according to Dr Karimu, some provinces had already recorded 100 percent vaccination coverage.

For areas that have not reached their targets, Dr Karimu said one of the contributing factors to the slow rollout was the staggered delivery of the vaccine doses to the country.

The vaccination campaign, which is being carried out on a house-to-house and cluster-to-cluster basis, will reach 2,3 million people living in 160 wards within 26 districts high risk districts in Harare, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central, Manicaland, Masvingo and Midlands. These districts are considered the main drivers for the outbreak.

As at February 11, the country has recorded 23 905 suspected cholera cases, 2 511 confirmed cases, 23 147 recoveries, 71 confirmed deaths and 454 suspected deaths.

“You might remember that the first case of cholera was recorded on February 12, 2023 in Chegutu. It has taken us a full year. Ideally an outbreak should be able to be controlled within two weeks so 12 months on we still have cholera.”

“Our case fatality rate has gone down to 2,2 percent from 1,9 percent, which reflects an improvement in case management. That is not the ideal environment, we want it to be less than 1 percent,” said Dr Karimu.

He said the majority of cases had been reported in Harare which had contributed 8 042 cases, while Manicaland and Masvingo were the second worst hit provinces with 5 981 and 2 665 respectively. Bulawayo has been the least hit with 29 cumulative cases since last year.

“In terms of the current raging hotspots in Harare, we are now seeing cases in Mbare over and above the traditional hotspots of Kuwadzana, Glen View and Budiriro. We are also seeing cases in Mashonaland Central, particularly Centenary, Bindura and Shamva. In Chitungwiza, Seke is a contributing hotspot. In terms of care, we have a network plus or minus 153 cholera treatment camps across the country,” added Dr Karimu.