Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: Mutare City councillors commit to accountability through integrity pledges – herald

Diana Nherera

Mutare City councillors have signed integrity pledges and performance contracts in a move aimed at strengthening accountability, transparency and service delivery within the local authority.

The signing ceremony was presided over by Mutare Mayor Councillor Simon Chabuka last week and took place ahead of a full council meeting attended by councillors and senior council management.

Addressing participants, Cllr Chabuka urged councillors to remain focused on serving the interests of residents and to uphold the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and accountability in carrying out their responsibilities.

“As a city, we want to maintain our position as one of the best-performing local authorities in the country,” he said.

“Let us work diligently to ensure that we effectively represent the aspirations and interests of the residents who entrusted us with this responsibility.

“At the end of the year, we will also recognize and reward top-performing councillors for their outstanding service.”

The signing of integrity pledges and performance contracts forms part of broader efforts to strengthen good governance practices within the City of Mutare and improve responsiveness to residents’ needs.

The initiative is designed to promote ethical leadership, enhance transparency in council operations and ensure that service delivery targets are achieved.

Under the framework, all councillors and senior managers are required to commit themselves to integrity, accountability and measurable performance standards as the city seeks to improve efficiency and maintain high governance standards.

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Source: Harare vows to protect recreational spaces from environmental degradation – herald

Stanley Manyenga

Diana Nherera

Harare City Council has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting recreational spaces and environmentally sensitive areas from developments that compromise their intended purpose and ecological value.

The city’s Sports and Culture Committee chairperson, Councillor Stanley Manyenga, said council has a responsibility to safeguard recreational centres and ensure that any developments undertaken on such sites preserve the environment and benefit residents.

His remarks follow concerns raised by residents over developments in an area near Lord Malvern High School in Waterfalls.

“As the Sports and Culture Committee, our duty is to safeguard those recreational centres,” said Cllr Manyenga.

“Of course, people apply for them, but at the same time, when they are allocated by the council, we expect them to maintain the environment in that regard.”

“If it is a wetland and it has been allocated by the council, it should be used in a way that does not affect the environment, such as establishing a park, garden or wedding venue that residents can use without putting up buildings or anything that destroys that kind of environment.”

The City of Harare has, in recent years, intensified efforts to protect wetlands, open spaces and recreational facilities amid increasing pressure from urban expansion and land development.

The post Harare vows to protect recreational spaces from environmental degradation appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Harare vows to protect recreational spaces from environmental degradation – herald

Stanley Manyenga

Diana Nherera

Harare City Council has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting recreational spaces and environmentally sensitive areas from developments that compromise their intended purpose and ecological value.

The city’s Sports and Culture Committee chairperson, Councillor Stanley Manyenga, said council has a responsibility to safeguard recreational centres and ensure that any developments undertaken on such sites preserve the environment and benefit residents.

His remarks follow concerns raised by residents over developments in an area near Lord Malvern High School in Waterfalls.

“As the Sports and Culture Committee, our duty is to safeguard those recreational centres,” said Cllr Manyenga.

“Of course, people apply for them, but at the same time, when they are allocated by the council, we expect them to maintain the environment in that regard.”

“If it is a wetland and it has been allocated by the council, it should be used in a way that does not affect the environment, such as establishing a park, garden or wedding venue that residents can use without putting up buildings or anything that destroys that kind of environment.”

The City of Harare has, in recent years, intensified efforts to protect wetlands, open spaces and recreational facilities amid increasing pressure from urban expansion and land development.

The post Harare vows to protect recreational spaces from environmental degradation appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Ambassador Mutsvangwa pays emotional tribute to National Hero Matemadanda – herald

Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa

Joseph Madzimure

Zimpapers Politics Hub

ZANU PF Secretary for Information and Publicity, Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa, has paid an emotional tribute to his comrade-in-arms, Ambassador Dr Victor Matemadanda, crediting him with saving his life during the darkest days of the liberation struggle.

Ambassador Matemadanda, who was the country’s top diplomat to Mozambique, died on Sunday after a short illness, aged 66.

In a statement on Tuesday, the ZANU PF spokesperson described Ambassador Matemadanda as a “stalwart of the Chimurenga-Umvukelo National Liberation War from the expatriate community of Zimbabwean exiles based in Zambia”.

Recounting the role of the exile community during the war, Ambassador Mutsvangwa said: “This patriotic exile community played a crucial role in supporting the fledgling ZANLA and ZIPRA Guerrilla armies at the incipient stage of the armed struggle.”

“Training principally in Tanzania, and deploying from Zambia, the two intrepid guerrilla armies sought to implant a permanent foothold on the soil of Zimbabwe as they militarily confronted the army of Rhodesia, the settler racist colonial outpost of the increasingly expanding British Empire.”

“This exile community was a ready reservoir of recruits as they concurrently organised material support to the patriotic cause of the People’s War inside Rhodesia.”

Explaining Ambassador Matemadanda’s role in saving his life, he said:

“Word of the hunger plight stalking Tembwe reached the exile community in Zambia. Comrade Matemadanda, together with the late Comrade Kombayi the post independent Mayor of Gweru organised a hunger rescue convoy of food trucks from Zambia to Tembwe. I still vividly remember that life-saving convoy to this day, five decades later.”

Ambassador Mutsvangwa lauded Ambassador Matemadanda for bravely defying the late former President Robert Mugabe.

“The dying years of the First Republic witnessed a senile and ailing Mugabe errantly lapsing into dynastic inclination. His youthful spouse and her cohorts saw an opportunity for a palace coup against the state so as to up end the permanent Zimbabwe Revolution.”

“Cde Matemadanda as the Secretary of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association- ZNLWA was in my leadership team with me as Chairman. We flatly refused to let the patriotic slide into a family dynasty.”

He described Ambassador Matemadanda “as bold courageous, daring as he was outspoken in challenging Mugabe’s perfidious assault of the Permanent Zimbabwe Revolution.”

He added:

“He would be imprisoned for his acts of open defiance to the wayward aging Mugabe.”

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Source: ZINARA, TSCZ intensify road safety campaign around Bulawayo schools – herald

Freeman Razemba

Senior Reporter

The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) and the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) last week conducted a pedestrian crossing points campaign and repainting programme in Bulawayo aimed at improving road safety around schools and protecting vulnerable road users.

The initiative comes amid growing concern over the increasing number of pedestrians being killed or injured in hit-and-run accidents across the country.

The Government recently urged motorists to exercise greater caution when approaching pedestrian crossing points and has acquired specialised equipment to repaint zebra crossings nationwide as part of efforts to reduce road traffic fatalities.

According to police statistics, 2 081 pedestrians were killed or injured in hit-and-run accidents between January and March this year, up from 1 905 cases recorded during the same period last year.

Schoolchildren, pedestrians crossing traffic-controlled intersections, as well as people walking along roadsides and pavements, account for the majority of victims.

The increase in casualties has prompted authorities to intensify road safety interventions, including the refurbishment and repainting of pedestrian crossing points across the country’s 10 provinces.

In Bulawayo, the campaign focused on schools and high pedestrian traffic areas, where road markings were refreshed to improve visibility for motorists and enhance pedestrian safety.

The programme involved the marking and rehabilitation of pedestrian crossing lines near schools to promote safer road user behaviour and provide secure crossing points for learners and other members of the public.

Authorities said clear and visible road markings play a critical role in reducing accidents by alerting motorists to pedestrian zones and encouraging compliance with traffic regulations.

The nationwide initiative forms part of broader efforts to improve road safety infrastructure and reduce the number of pedestrian-related accidents on Zimbabwe’s roads.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona recently launched the initiative to repaint pedestrian crossing points.

In an interview, Minister Mhona said the Government would continue prioritising safety by curbing road traffic accidents across the country.

“What we have done here is to make sure that we address issues of safety,” he said. “Working closely with the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe and Zinara, we have procured paint to attend to all our pedestrian crossings and also continue to mark our roads in all ten provinces. Above that, we have also procured road marking machines for the 10 provinces.

“We want to move with speed and also continue educating our people that we cannot just cross willy-nilly on a road. There are designated points where you are supposed to be crossing, and this is one of the examples we have demonstrated — that we need to cross on a zebra crossing or designated crossing points.”

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