Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: Latest: Funeral parlour to sue resurrection stunt pastor – NewsDay Zimbabwe

South African company, Kings and Queens Funeral Services, says it will will take legal action over the ‘damage to its reputation’ after a South African pastor Alpha Lukau used its hearse while performing a stunt in which he claimed to have resurrected a dead person.

ONLINE REPORTER

“We would like to distance ourselves from the supposed resurrection of a deceased man by Hallelujah Ministries who allegedly was at our mortuary. We were approached by alleged family members of the deceased who informed us they had encountered a dispute with a different funeral service provider and would like to use our transport services which we offered them.We did not supply the coffin neither did we store the deceased at our mortuary and no paper work was processed by Kings and Queens Funerals. As a Funeral Services Provider we do not offer services without documentation neither do we repatriate bodies without any paper work. We are in the process of taking legal action for this malicious damage to our image,”wrote Kings and Queens on their Facebook page.

During a Sunday service, the high-flying minister known for his lavish lifestyle, encouraged congregants to keep praying for their miracles.

A woman then shouted that a family outside the church was about to repatriate a corpse to Zimbabwe and pleaded with the church leader to go out and see.

The pastor went outside, then asked the workers to take the coffin out of the hearse.

He asked the workers to open the coffin then made some prayerful gestures and seconds later, the man in the coffin rose.

The incident has invited various responses, with many on social media dismissing it as an attention seeking stunt.

Others have come up with information that seems to corroborate the Kings and Queens version.

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Source: National land policy formulation process launched | The Herald February 25, 2019

Minister Shiri

Elita Chikwati and Ellen Chasokela
Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri last week launched the formulation process of a comprehensive land policy which is expected to enhance access to land, land use planning and management, productivity and sustainable utilisation of land.

The process would be guided by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Voluntary Guidelines for responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) and would be aligned with the African Union (AU) Framework Agenda 2063 and guidelines on land policy in Africa. The process is expected to take up to 18 months.

There will be two other launches in Bulawayo covering Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and Midlands provinces and in Mutare covering Manicaland and Masvingo. Minister Shiri said a comprehensive gender sensitive land policy was critical for the achievement of Government’s vision 2030 which entails the nation becoming an upper middle income society.

He said the land policy should be home grown, with contributions from all stakeholders. Minister Shiri said the land reform had brought changes through addressing the land imbalances where 6 000 white farmers occupied 15,5 million hectares of agricultural land, while 8 500 indigenous farmers owned 1,4 million hectares.

“A gloomier situation prevailed in the communal areas where communal farmers remained squashed in drier areas of ecological regions, he said. The land reform was, therefore, unavoidable. A record 300 000 families have been resettled countrywide, drastically changing the country’s land ownership structure, increasing small holder participation in agriculture.”

Minister Shiri said the greater percentage of Zimbabwe’s population depended on agriculture and other land-based livelihoods.

“With land being a finite resource, it is impressive that a comprehensive and gender sensitive land policy be put in place, he said. I envisage the policy document will not only enhance equal access to land, productivity and sustainable utilisation of land, but will also take into cognisance various global discourse and benchmarks.

“In light of the significant changes to the land ownership structure and production patterns ensuing principally from the Fast Track Land Reform programme, the needs to mitigate the effects of climate change, technological advances, and international best practices among others, Government is compelled to adopt a comprehensive gender sensitive national land policy.”

Minister Shiri said the policy should integrate land administration in a holistic manner, with aspects that include land tenure, access to land, land use planning, land information management, land disputes resolution, environmental sustainability, management of wildlife, forestry and water.

He applauded FAO and other developmental partners for offering technical support in the review of the land policy.

“Over the years, my ministry has received support from other development partners on aspects related to the land policy review, said Minister Shiri.

UNDP, with the assistance of the European Union, has assisted my ministry in updating the land registry, developing a land audit methodology, while the World Bank through the Comprehensive Land and Agrarian Reform programme (CLARP) supported the preparation of technical papers on land tenure, valuation and compensation among others.”

FAO sub-regional coordinator for Southern Africa, Dr Alain Onibon, said the country should now focus on putting land to optimum production and include women and the new generation.

“FAO will use its convening powers and play its role as honest broker for the land policy dialogue, as well as assist Government to bring together all interested stakeholders to ensure an evidence-based policy formulation process, he said.

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Source: Ginimbi case deffered to March 21 | The Herald 25 FEB, 2019

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Source: NOIC to upgrade Feruka pipeline | The Herald 25 FEB, 2019

Kudakwashe Mhundwa Business Reporter
The National Oil and Infrastructure Company (NOIC) intends to start work on upgrading the Feruka Oil Pipeline in the second half of this year to increase fuel transportation capacity into the country.

This comes after demand for fuel in Zimbabwe nearly doubled last year on the back of increased business activity in the country, according to Minister of Energy and Power development Dr Joram Gumbo.

Recent data showed that Zimbabwe is now consuming about 4 million litres of diesel from 2,5 million litres per day and 3 million litres of petrol from an average of 1,5 million litres per day previously.

About 90 percent of the fuel consumed in Zimbabwe is transported using the Feruka oil pipeline while the balance is transported by road using tankers, which are often blamed for damaging roads.

This was said by NOIC chief executive officer Wilfred Matukeni said the upgrade is being done to ensure that the country receives efficient fuel supplies.

He was speaking on the side-lines of the NOIC international standards organisation (ISO) 9001:2015 quality systems management certification.

“We are looking at the ways to upgrade the Harare-Feruka pipeline, we are targeting the upgrades to be complete by the mid-term so that more fuel could be carried and the country continues to receive efficient fuel supply.

“In terms of usage we are using an average of 160 million/litres against its total carrying capacity of 180 million litres marking a heavy usage of the pipeline,” Mr Mutuke said in an interview on Friday.

Mr Matuke said the Feruka pipeline upgrade project will be done through NOIC and its development partners who are already working on the necessary budgets for the commencement of the project.

“The upgrade of the pipeline will not be done directly by NOIC, but it will be done through NOIC and its partners who are mainly  (Companhia do Pipeline Mocambique–Zimbabwe) and (Petrozim Line) PZL so the amounts (funding) required by the project are being worked out by the relevant authorities as we speak,” he said

The last upgrade of the pipeline was done three years ago when a drag reducing agent, which allows for quicker movement of fuels, was introduced.

This allowed the Feruka pipeline to pump a maximum of 6 million litres per day, which translates to 180 million litres a month.

The development follows assurance by Government that it was still actively pursuing the construction of a second oil pipeline to ensure fuel destined for the country and beyond is transported via the pipeline.

The planned pipeline was expected to run through Zimbabwe to Harare and Bulawayo. From Bulawayo, it was to run south-west to Botswana and north through Zambia to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A thorough assessment conducted by IHT Markit, a world leader in critical information analytics and financial expertise, on how to increase the capacity of the Feruka fuel pipeline and possibility of a second oil pipeline showed that there was room to lower the cost of moving fuel through  increasing pipeline from Beira to Harare.

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Source: Large scale mining companies culpable in the Battlefield disaster | The Herald 25 FEB, 2019

Columbus Mabika Herald Reporter
Large scale gold mining companies should be held accountable for the Battlefields mine disaster that left over 24 artisanal miners dead because they failed to obtain certificates of abandonment as required by the Minerals and Mines Act after they abandoned their unutilised claims.

Presenting a report titled “Gold Capitalism and Disaster Preparedness in Zimbabwe, A Preliminary Critical on the Battlefields Mines Disaster” in Harare on Friday, People and Earth Solidarity Law Network (PESLawyers) lawyer Mr Lenin Chisaira said the Battlefield accident exposes many hidden malpractices in the mining sector and in environmental integrity as many large scale miners are exploiting the nature of property rights in the gold mining sector.

PESLawyers is a non-profit making organisation of legal and policy researchers, lawyers and activists standing up for environmental, climate and economic justice in Zimbabwe and Sub-Saharan Africa.

“The role of large scale gold miners should be investigated for they are the ones who continue to retain these gold claims where many people have been killed,” he said.

“For instance RioZim owns over 200 claims in Mashonaland West which they cannot mine, at the end when they abandon these claims without applying for certificates of abandonment as required by the Mines and Minerals Act, artisanal miners and small scale minors take unauthorised entry,” he said.

Mr Chisaira called on the Government to provide adequate legal and environmental support systems to deal with the disasters and exploitation of artisanal miners and small scale miners by large scale mining entities. He called on Government to look into the nature of property rights in the gold mining sector and ensure that disaster response systems are evaluated and adequately funded.

The report, Mr Chasaira said, has been forwarded to Government and relevant institutions and stakeholders in the gold mining sector, calling for an inclusive, free and open inquiry into the Battlefields disaster.  He applauded the contribution of artisanal miners and small scale miners to the national gold output.

“Artisanal miners and small scale miners’ contribution to the national gold out should not be taken for granted, statistics show that three quarters of gold delivered to Fidelity is coming from them,”

Mr Chasaira said PESLawyers will continue to work with relevant authorities in making recommendations aimed at improving the welfare of artisanal miners and small scale miners.

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