Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Cape Town – The government was ready to start a serious conversation with faith-based organisations on bogus religious leaders, who are taking advantage of South Africans, African National Congress president Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday. [...]

HARARE – The shocking video of a popular South African pastor, Alph Lukau, ostensibly bringing a “dead” Zimbabwean man back to life during a church service in Johannesburg, has reignited intense debate about the country’s ubiquitous charismatic [...]

Source: Long fuel queues resurface – NewsDay Zimbabwe February 27, 2019

By Farai Matiashe

Fuel queues have resurfaced in Harare with commuter operators taking advantage of the situation to hike fares, while Zupco buses are fast disappearing in many suburbs of Harare, leaving thousands of commuters stranded.

Most filling stations in Harare were closed and displayed “no diesel” signs, while long and winding queues formed at the few with the commodity.

A survey conducted by NewsDay yesterday showed that commuters to suburbs such as Epworth, Waterfalls, Kambuzuma and Kuwadzana were stranded because there were few kombis to ferry them.

Kombis were taking advantage of the stranded passengers to hike fares from $1 to up to $2.

Some passengers were opting for lorries which were charging them cheaper fares, while others spent many hours waiting for the Zupco buses.

Ruby Samupindi from Kambuzuma said she was charged $1,50 to town.

“I had budgeted $1 for transport, but now things have changed. I am wondering how I will get to the month end,” Samupindi said.

Another commuter from Epworth, Johnson Mutore, said commuting had become expensive.

“These commuter omnibus operators just charge us whatever fare they feel like at any given time. From Mbare to Epworth it is now $2 from $1,” he said.

A kombi driver, who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity, said unavailability of fuel was forcing them to hike fares.

“Fuel shortages have worsened the situation. We have no choice, but to hike fares as the $1 we were charging was no longer sustainable. Most kombi operators are getting fuel on the black market whose prices are quite high,” he said.

He said most kombis were spending a lot of time in queues, while a number had grounded due to fuel shortages.

Passengers’ Association of Zimbabwe president, Tafadzwa Goliati said commuter operators should stick to fares they agreed with government.

“We have discussed with our other associations in Harare and they are saying prices have not yet officially been increased,” Goliati said, adding that operators were taking
advantage of unavailability of diesel to hike fares.

“There are shortages of fuel. Kombi operators after spending hours in queues just decide to hike fares. Also even if they discover that there are a number of passengers at a bus stop they just hike fares in a bid to cover up the time they would have spent in a queue.”

But Energy and Power Development minister Joram Gumbo insisted that fuel was available despite the long queues for diesel at the few service stations with the commodity.

“Diesel is there, the queues that you are seeing are a clear sign that there is fuel. Motorists cannot just queue where there is nothing,” he said.

The post Long fuel queues resurface  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: ED out of touch: Chamisa | Newsday (News)

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

OPPOSITION MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has, in a no-holds-barred interview with international media, accused his political nemesis President Emmerson Mnangagwa of being out of touch with reality and misleading the world about the state of the country.

Chamisa on Monday told French broadcaster, France 24, that unless there is sincere, honest political dialogue between the two parties, the country’s crisis would take long to end.

“Clearly, what Mr Mnangagwa is saying is an indication of how out of touch with the reality of what is happening in the country, he has chosen to institutionalise deceiving the world, deceiving the people and deceiving himself,” Chamisa said.

This came after Mnangagwa recently told the same news agency that Chamisa, with backing of some foreign agencies, triggered last month’s countrywide protests as part of their regime change agenda.

But Chamisa dismissed the allegations.

“Those are accusations by misplaced appreciation of the facts in Zimbabwe. We are very clear, we do not subscribe to violence,” he said.

The MDC leader said the crisis in Zimbabwe was caused by poor leadership, theft of elections and increase of fuel prices by over 150%.

“The clarity, when we have looked at this issue, is that the problem in Zimbabwe, which we have seen, is occasioned by the deficits and omissions by government, particularly the price hikes of fuel by 150%, which was instituted by Mr Mnangagwa, is what then triggered action by citizens in a non-violent manner. Of course, we had incidents of violence, which we condemned, which we do not subscribe to,” Chamisa said.

The government has in the past few weeks arrested over 1 000 suspects, among them MDC legislators and civil society leaders in connection with last month’s skirmishes. Chamisa said he was shocked that Mnangagwa’s government was after the MDC when even the State-linked Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission had produced a report condemning government’s heavy handedness in quelling the unrest.

“Why Mr Mnangagwa chooses to look at the MDC and picks on the MDC baffles the mind. We are not working with any foreign power. We are not working with any international organisation. If anything, the struggle for change in Zimbabwe, the struggle of freedom and democracy is underwritten by the people of Zimbabwe without the support of anyone, but of course, we welcome the solidarity of the international community and the people of the world who feel that the people of Zimbabwe need total freedom and total change,” he said.

Turning to the socio-economic problems, which the MDC has said are underpinned by the contestation around the July 30 2018 general elections, Chamisa called on Mnangagwa to stop blaming him and instead solve the crisis.

“Great leaders are supposed to solve problems not explain problems. Mr Mnangagwa is explaining the problems, he is not solving the problems. This is why we have said come to
your senses, come to the party and let us reason together and let us resolve the problem affecting Zimbabwe, instead of finger-pointing,” he said.

The opposition leader also demanded an investigation into the extrajudicial killings of 17 people last month to ensure that those who pulled the trigger are brought to book.

Mnangagwa has since demanded evidence, including names of the 17 people killed during the violent protests accusing instead, non-governmental organisations and the MDC of stage-managing the deaths, torture and allegations of rape against the police and army.

Chamisa said Mnangagwa had unwittingly let the cat out of the bag when, in Mwenezi, he publicly acknowledged that he had unleased the military on the people and demanded that he takes responsibility for the killings and violence against unarmed civilians.

“If he is claiming to be in charge of the affairs of the State, he must also account for the affairs, developments and actions of the State. We have 17 people whose names are known, if there is a genuine desire to get to the bottom of this matter, let there be an investigation. That investigation has not be called for … to hold the people to account, including himself, because what happened was extra constitutional, it’s not allowed – the taking away of life, even if people turn violent, there are ways of dealing with violent people,” he said.

Chamisa noted that even former President Robert Mugabe, who himself was accused of severe repression during his time in power, has strongly criticised Mnangagwa’s crackdown. The opposition leader called Mugabe’s remarks “confirmation” that the current president had “crossed the line”.

Chamisa said he was ready “anytime” for “a credible and genuine” dialogue with Mnangagwa, but insisted that it should be done through international mediation, citing South
Africa, the inter-governmental Sadc or the African Union as “ideal” go-betweens.

This comes as State media yesterday reported that Zimbabwe had, alongside Kenya, Liberia and Rwanda, been considered as “largest improvers” on the continent in the last 10 years despite a worsening social and political fabric in the country.

On Saturday last week, Mnangagwa vowed to track down human rights doctors and lawyers, who treated the injured and represented them in courts respectively.

The post ED out of touch: Chamisa appeared first on NewsDay Zimbabwe.

The post ED out of touch: Chamisa appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Scramble for Zanu PF Byo chair | Daily News

BULAWAYO  – Bulawayo province has been hit by another round of divisions over who should lead the metropolis following the death of Callistus Ndlovu last week.

Ndlovu collapsed and died at the age of 83 in South Africa, where he was being treated for pancreatic cancer. He was buried at the National Heroes Acre in Harare on Saturday.

Provincial Affairs minister Judith Ncube is among those tipped for the post.

Other names being bandied around include that of Industry deputy minister and Bulawayo South legislator Raji Modi and former war veterans’ leader Jabulani Sibanda.

Dark horses for the positions include Elifas Mashaba, who is the provincial administrator; Caleb Sengu, a committee member and Mlungisi Moyo, treasurer.

Before Ndlovu was laid to rest, ambitious party officials in the second city had already started gunning for the position.

This irked the party’s secretary for administration Obert Mpofu, who immediately called fellow party members to order.

While addressing Ndlovu’s funeral service at the City Hall in Bulawayo last Friday, Mpofu threatened to expose those who were behind the surreptitious campaigns.

“In fact there are a lot of issues that need to be resolved in this province and the national party leadership has assigned me to come here and look into these issues and I promise you we’ll fix the problems,” Mpofu told the mourners.

“You find people buying party members, telling lies about others and creating confusion in the party just because they want a position. Let’s not concentrate on the wrong things.”

On Saturday, Mpofu led a delegation comprising senior party officials to restructure the province and come up “with strategies to address the political challenges affecting the province”.

According to Zanu PF insiders, the knee-jerk response from the ruling party’s leadership showed that the death of Ndlovu left the province divided.

Not many people elected to the provincial chair in Bulawayo have lasted a full term owing to factionalism and infighting.

There is talk in Zanu PF that the campaign for the Bulawayo chairman actually started ahead of the party’s annual congress held in Esigodini late last year.

“For those who attended the annual party conference in Esigodini will testify that there are known members who were campaigning for the provincial chair post when Ndlovu was bedridden, so we know who Mpofu referred to when he recently warned some party members against jostling when the body was still to be buried,” said a party insider.

Contacted for comment, Mpofu referred questions to party spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo who preferred to play his cards close to his chest saying he was not aware of any jostling for positions in the city.

“I have not been briefed of this jostling. But we have a constitution, people must read the constitution, that’s the one we follow as a party, we cannot be guided by instincts,” Moyo told the Daily News.

The post Scramble for Zanu PF Byo chair appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.