Source: 400 Retailers Prosecuted For “Cheating” Customers The Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) said that more than 400 retailers have been prosecuted, while 100 others have been issued with compliance notices over the past two months for breaking the law in their dealings with consumers. Speaking to State media, CPC research and public affairs manager Kudakwashe Mudereri […]
The Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) said that more than 400 retailers have been prosecuted, while 100 others have been issued with compliance notices over the past two months for breaking the law in their dealings with consumers.
Speaking to State media, CPC research and public affairs manager Kudakwashe Mudereri revealed that some of the culprits are telecommunications companies.
The companies have been accused of engaging in the sale of expired products, non-compliance with product labelling regulations and failure to display prices on goods, among other violations.
Mudereri warned retailers who persistently cheat and default on their obligations that they will have their licences revoked. He said:
So far, over 3 000 inspections have been done. Out of that, over 100 have been issued with compliance notices and over 400 have been successfully prosecuted and over 200 cases have been successfully investigated.
Over 98 per cent of the investigations have resulted in consumers being given their refund or an exchange of the faulty product or good.
Some have even been given their mobile phones back by telecom companies after our interventions.
Mudereri said the most prevalent violations included displaying disclaimer notices such as “No returns”, “No refunds” and “No exchange” and selling expired products.
The other violations include failure to give a warranty on products; failure to display prices for goods and services; failure to provide product labelling; and failure to issue receipts to customers.
CPC has carried out successful inspections in Harare and Bulawayo and has now turned its attention to all small towns across the country. Added Mudereri:
Following the arrests that were made in Harare, Bindura and Chinhoyi, the commission also made some arrests in Manicaland, where over 60 businesses were made to pay fines for violating provisions of the Consumer Protection Act.
In addition, the commission did 291 inspections in Masvingo, and 33 businesses were issued with compliance notices and 88 were prosecuted.
The Consumer Protection Act (Chapter 14:44) confers rights to consumers. Some key features and provisions of the Consumer Protection Act are consumer rights, prohibition of unfair practices, product liabilities and safety, consumer contracts, consumer education and awareness, and dispute resolution.
Source: Zimbabwe Council Churches Expresses Concern Over The Recalling Of 15 Members CCC Party The Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) has expressed deep concern over the sudden recalling of 15 members from the Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) Party. In a statement seen by Pindula News, the ZCC highlighted that this recall process negatively impacts […]
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) has expressed deep concern over the sudden recalling of 15 members from the Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) Party. In a statement seen by Pindula News, the ZCC highlighted that this recall process negatively impacts the nation’s development efforts in the 10th Parliament. Read the statement:
Parliamentary Recalls: A Call for Responsible Leadership
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves Philippians 2:3
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) continues to journey with the nation towards a united, peaceful, just and prosperous nation, where all citizens experience holistic salvation. In the aftermath of the 2023 elections, the Church has been closely monitoring developments in the nation and is deeply concerned with the emerging behaviors’ from Parliament, the random recalling of the 15 members of the Citizen Coalition for Change Party. The process places a serious dent on the nation’s drive for development under the 10th Parliament. The Church is deeply concerned that:
The recalls of the CCC Parliamentarians’ places a wedge between political actors and their supporters, hence further perpetuating the deep polarization and divisions that has characterized our nation before and after the August 2023 elections. The country is still recovering from the disputed 2023 elections processes, outcomes and results. The recalls will relapse the country into partisan discourse instead of healing and uniting the nation towards a common vision.
Whilst the move to recall MPs was initiated by political actors, it disrespects the will of the electorate who sacrificed their time on election day to cast their vote and select the leaders they want. These recalls strongly send signals that political actors are power-focused and do not consider the will of Zimbabweans who vote, thus undermining the significance of elections as a process that portrays the will of the people.
Given the fragile political landscape, the recalls could be interpreted as a deliberate move to silence and dismantle opposition alternative voices leading the country towards a one-party state which is a violation of the 2013 Constitution (Section 3(2)(a) and Section 67 (4)).
The recalls pose a threat to democracy as this could lead to consolidation of power which contradicts the key democratic tenets,
The recalling of MPs creates a vacuum in the lower house which ultimately affects the legislative quality and capacity. The legal agenda presented in the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency, President E.D Mnangagwa, revealed that there will be critical bills to be reviewed hence the recalls weakens the quality of laws that will be passed during the period, By law, the recalled MPs and councilors require replacements through by- elections. This implies that the country will continue to be gripped and fixated on election mode. Instead of focusing on nation-building and economic development in the post-2023 elections, Zimbabwe’s development will remain stunted affecting country’s capacity to support the poor and vulnerable.
Elections have a heavy fiscal strain on the limited resources that can be directed towards developmental programs. The 2023 elections revealed that the limited fiscal resources have a huge bearing on the logistical capacity of the Electoral Management Board, ZEC, to conduct elections. The possibility of holding by-elections against the background of constrained fiscal resources raises the questions on the capacity of ZEC to conduct such elections in a credible, free and fair manner, especially as we are a few months if not weeks away from our harmonised elections.
The Church has noted the alleged manner to which the Speaker of Parliament has handled the recall process, that is, the recognition of a letter from the interim CCC spokesperson yet disregarding the communique from CCC President. This allegation taints and validates the long-standing assertion of unfair practices in our strategic state institutions.
The country is hurting and trying to recover from allegations of use of loopholes and application of law to shrink the democratic space. Thus, this unfolding incident will buttress the assertions of captured institutions. This is a serious dent on the drive for re-engagement which His Excellency is leading and will undoubtedly distract the country from focusing on national development as all efforts are redirected to politics and by-elections.
Reiterates the prophetic call for dialogue towards disentangling the country from the election mode and finding a path to a collectively defined future; building unity, shared national values and vision; inclusive and shared economic prosperity; healing, justice and peace; and entrenchment of constitutional democracy, Calls for the review and repeal of section 129 (1)(k) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which has been widely abused to disempower the electorate and resulted in significant waste of resources through by-elections, Calls its Member Churches and the broader Christian community in the nation and beyond to continue preaching the message of love, hope and compassion that was demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ which surpasses all the prevailing challenges that the country is going through, Appeal to all Zimbabweans in the country and beyond to remain calm and to offer prayers and supplication, Political leaders to be guided by the biblical teaching on Philippians 2 vs 3 which calls on people to do nothing out of strife and vainglory but to be humble and to esteem others better than themselves.
This is what characterizes responsible leadership.
Ingutsheni Central Hospital, located in Bulawayo, is facing a significant challenge as it admits more patients than its carrying capacity can accommodate. Dr. Nemache Mawere, the hospital’s CEO, highlighted this issue during the World Mental Heal…
Ingutsheni Central Hospital, located in Bulawayo, is facing a significant challenge as it admits more patients than its carrying capacity can accommodate. Dr. Nemache Mawere, the hospital’s CEO, highlighted this issue during the World Mental Health Day commemorations held at the facility. He revealed that the number of patients currently exceeds the hospital’s capacity. Dr. […]
South African Tourism says Zimbabwe is not just the country’s northern neighbour it’s also the biggest contributor of African tourists who visited the country this year. eNCA’s Pindai Dube has more details. #DStv403
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South African Tourism says Zimbabwe is not just the country’s northern neighbour it’s also the biggest contributor of African tourists who visited the country this year. eNCA’s Pindai Dube has more details. #DStv403
Source: Zimbabwe Worker Exodus Intensifies With Economy in Meltdown Years of mass migration from Zimbabwe has gained fresh impetus as an economic meltdown continues unabated, further denuding the country of the scarce skills it needs to engineer a turnaround. Census data released by neighboring South Africa this week showed the country was home to 1.01 […]
Years of mass migration from Zimbabwe has gained fresh impetus as an economic meltdown continues unabated, further denuding the country of the scarce skills it needs to engineer a turnaround.
Census data released by neighboring South Africa this week showed the country was home to 1.01 million Zimbabwean immigrants last year, up from 672,308 at the last count in 2011 and an average annual increase of almost 31,000. Emigration data released for the first time by Zimbabwe’s statistics agency in September last year showed 908,913 of the country’s estimated 16 million nationals were living abroad, and 85% of them were in South Africa.
Those numbers are likely an undercount, with frequent migration between neighboring countries making an accurate assessment tricky and undocumented foreigners unlikely to participate in population surveys.
Once a regional grain exporter and one of Africa’s best-educated nations, Zimbabwe went into free-fall in 2000 after then-President backed the seizure of land from White commercial farmers. Export earnings collapsed and hyperinflation ensued, which led to the abolishment of the national currency in 2009.
Mugabe was toppled in 2017 and his successor proclaimed the country “open for business,” yet less than one in 10 workers are formally employed and most of those that are struggle to make ends meet.
While land grabs tapered off a few years after 2000, the government has taken a series of other policy missteps that have hamstrung economic growth and undermined investor confidence. They include a 2019 decision to reintroduce the Zimbabwe dollar, which has distorted the foreign exchange market and caused inflation to spiral once again.
Further confirmation of the ongoing worker exodus comes from the UK, which eased entry rules last year to address skills shortages that followed its 2016 exit from the European Union and the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Visas were issued to 20,152 Zimbabwean health and social care staff in the 12 months through June, an almost five-fold increase from the year before, and the third-most in the category after way-more-populous Nigeria and India, Foreign Office data show. It estimated that more than 112,000 Zimbabweans were living in the UK, almost five times the number authorities in the African nation reported 10 months earlier.
There has been “noticeable increase” in immigration to the UK over the past year, resulting in a brain drain across a range of professions, said Norman Matara, the secretary-general of Zimbabwe Doctors For Human Rights. “It’s mostly because of the state of the economy and the low remuneration that professionals are getting.”
A pick-up in the support that Zimbabweans working abroad provide to their relatives back home is another indicator of the emigration trend. Remittances rose 15% to $919 million in the six months through June from the year-ago period, and accounted for 16% of the country’s foreign currency earnings of $5.5 billion, according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
The likelihood of Zimbabwe’s prospects improving appear slim, with Mnangagwa, 81, pledging policy continuity after winning another five-year term in a disputed election in August. The country has had no access to foreign lines of credit for more than two decades and is seeking to restructure $18 billion of debt.
The Zimbabwe dollar is widely spurned, and US dollars are used to buy everything from food and fuel to medicine. The local unit officially trades at more than 5,000 to the greenback and highest denomination note can’t even buy a single tomato.
A slew of anecdotal evidence suggests migration picked up in the run-up to the election, which extended the ruling party’s 43-year tenure and was marred by allegations of rigging.
The Zimbabwe Red Cross Society, St. John Ambulance Association, state universities and privately-run Cimas Medical Aid, which offer short nursing-aid courses, have been flooded by applicants, including teachers and other professionals, who hope to secure jobs abroad.
Cimas has trained 350 people since it introduced its three-week courses in March last year and plans to increase enrollments due to high demand, said Vulindlela Ndlovu, the company’s chief executive officer. At least three-quarters of graduates relocated to the UK, the former colonial power, he said.
The government has bemoaned the loss of its professionals, with Deputy President Constantino Chiwenga urging lawmakers to draft a law to stop other countries recruiting them from Zimbabwe. It was “a crime” when nations failed to train their own personnel and then hired them in poor countries, where people died in hospitals because there were no nurses and doctors to treat them, he said.
The Zimbabwe Teachers Association estimates that 300 teachers are leaving their jobs each month, and has warned that their exit will take a heavy toll on education standards and the economy. The teachers are paid $200 in basic pay a month on average, less than a tenth of what they can earn as caregivers in the UK.
“The government is putting in money to subsidize the social services of developed countries,” said Sifiso Ndlovu, the CEO of the association, which has 39,000 members.
The Bankers Association of Zimbabwe, which represents the nation’s 19 lenders, estimates that between 2% and 4% of the industry’s workforce is emigrating annually. The bulk of those leaving are cashiers, tellers, clerks and other entry-level staff who manage to raise the about $6,000 that they need to relocate, but there have also been a number of high-level departures, said Lawrence Nyazema, the association’s president.
Accountants and information technology specialists are also emigrating, mainly because their salaries aren’t competitive, and their departures aren’t being accurately recorded, according to Memory Nguwi, the managing consultant at Industrial Psychology Consultants, a Harare-based human resources firm.
“They do their paperwork quietly behind the scenes and just leave,” he said. “Sometimes they just resign once they are already out of the country.”
