Walter Mswazie, Masvingo Correspondent
A MASVINGO woman and her two sons were burnt beyond recognition when a hut they were sheltering in was struck by lightning, police have confirmed.

Ms Mercy Masvaure (31) and her sons, the Muneno brothers, Anywhere (10) and Tatenda (6) of Village 32 C in Mushandike Resettlement area under Chief Charumbira were in their bedroom hut when a bolt of lightning struck. The hut caught fire and the three were burnt beyond recognition.

Masvingo police spokesperson Inspector Charity Mazula said the incident occurred on Thursday at around 1PM.

“We have received a report of sudden death by lightning involving a mother and her two sons. Their bodies were taken to Masvingo General Hospital mortuary for post-mortem,” said Insp Mazula.

She said on Thursday, Ms  Masvaure and her husband Mr Nomore Muneno (32) left home to fetch water.

Inspector Mazula said the couple had earlier sent Anywhere and Tatenda to round up family  goats from a nearby bush.

She said while Mr Muneno and his wife were on their way to the well, another couple, Mr Elmon Mutinhiri (40) and his wife Ms Tendai Runorapa (36) of the same village joined them.

“When they were at the well, it started raining and the two men told their wives to go back home while they remained behind. Ms Masvaure went back to her homestead and told her sons to abandon rounding up the goats because it had started raining,” she said.

Insp Mazula said Mercy and her sons then went into their bedroom hut. After a while, a bolt of lightning struck torching the hut and the three were burnt beyond recognition.

Insp Mazula said Mr Muneno could not immediately proceed home due to the rains and he decided to seek refuge at Mr Mutinhiri’s homestead.

She said after it stopped raining, Mr Muneno headed home but was surprised to see smoke coming from his homestead from a distance.

“When he got home with Mr Mutinhiri, they discovered that the bedroom hut was on fire.

“After putting out the fire, they discovered the charred remains of Ms Masvaure and her two sons,” she said.

— @walterbmswazie2.

Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter
POLICE have warned people against the illegal use of fire crackers on New Year’s Eve and afterwards saying those who break the law would be arrested.

In a statement, Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango said the use of firecrackers was prohibited as it was a criminal nuisance.

She said those who want to use them must first seek permission from the police, city council and the SPCA.

Insp Simango said some people have previously been injured due to the use of firecrackers.

She said police would be on patrol and anyone found in possession of firecrackers would be arrested.

The police provincial spokesperson urged parents and guardians to warn children against playing with firecrackers.

“We are appealing to members of the public to desist from setting off firecrackers, on, during and after the New Year’s Eve,” said Insp Simango.

“Firecrackers cause confusion, anxiety and fear into the lives of animals, causing many to run away from their homes into the streets, which is dangerous to members of the public as they can get injured due to bites and accidents.”

She appealed to members of the public to be responsible and not cause damage to property as the New Year approaches.

“Police will be out in full force arresting those who will be loitering, drunk and disorderly in the CBD as well as in all suburbs. Parents should take care of their children and ensure that they do not take hazardous substances. Drinking spots are advised to stick to gazetted opening and closing times as they will be closely monitored,” said Insp Simango.

She advised motorists to be cautious on the road and said they must not drink and drive.

“During Christmas we lost lives on our roads mostly due to human error. We are appealing to motorists to exercise extreme caution and drive at safe speeds as roads are slippery due to the rains. Only roadworthy vehicles should be on our roads,” said Insp Simango.

— @andile_tshuma

The Zimra headquarters

Lloyd Gumbo, Harare Bureau
EIGHT more Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) senior managers have been suspended after a forensic audit implicated them in shady dealings that are feared to have cost the national revenue collector millions of dollars.

The suspension of the senior managers, mainly from the Information Communication and Technology department, is with immediate and comes hard on the heels of the suspension of seven managers in May, including Commissioner   General Mr Gershem Pasi, over a litany of allegations, among them, the unprocedural luxury vehicle importation.

Our Harare Bureau yesterday established that more senior managers could be facing the chop.

Zimra instituted yet another audit conducted by Deloitte and Touché chartered accountants, which primarily focused on the revenue collector’s ICT systems and procurement.

The report was presented to the Zimra board this month, instigating the latest suspensions.

Those suspended include, director of infrastructure and ICT development, Mr Tjiyapo Velempini, head of ICT, Mr Allen Saruchera, systems development manager, Mr Can Goredema and two other officials from the loss control department, one of whom is Mr Benjamin Zenda whose employment was fraught with irregularities as he did not have the requisite qualifications.

Other suspended officials are Mr Moses Modongorere (case manager) and Mr Peter Chaparadza (chief loss control officer), Mr Adrian Swarres (head, compliance and risk) and Mr Max Mugari (head, advisory services).

It is alleged that Mr Zenda was handpicked by suspended Commissioner-General Mr Pasi.

“We are responding to the ICT audit, which picked a number of irregularities, so most of those who are affected are from ICT,” said a Zimra board member who declined to be named.

“The audit picked issues to do with procurement procedures and corporate governance that were fraught with irregularities particularly those to do with upgrades of Asycuda World and SAP (Systems Applications Products) as well as the Tax Management System.

“The prices were too high especially for tax management systems through Inspur, with the prices up to three times normal prices.”

Zimra board chairperson, Mrs Willia Bonyongwe, was not reachable for comment.

An earlier forensic audit that was carried out by HLB Zimbabwe Chartered Accountants on the revenue collector’s operations resulted in the suspension of seven managers, among them Mr Pasi, after it revealed endemic corruption, violation of Government laws and poor corporate governance.

The managers were suspended in May this year after it was discovered that they corruptly imported their vehicles.

It emerged that the revenue collector was losing millions of dollars to dealers who processed counterfeit undervalued import documents to smuggle vehicles and other products into the country.

The audit also showed that Mr Pasi and other members of the executive collectively pocketed about $15 million in salaries and allowances in the last three years.

Some of the benefits were unsanctioned.

Tax evasion by members of the executive are some of the ills reported by the auditors.

There are reports of ordinary people who are harassed and forced to pay exorbitant duty on small items, while some business executives, politicians and affluent people use their positions and influence to evade paying duty when importing luxury goods such as vehicles.

Loice Mbano and Tryphine Ndlovu hold their babies who were born on New Year’s Day at Mpilo Hospital’s maternity ward in Bulawayo yesterday

Thandeka Moyo/ Walter Mswazie, Chronicle Reporters
A TOTAL of 30 babies were delivered on New Year’s Day at Bulawayo’s two major public hospitals — Mpilo Central and United Bulawayo Hospitals.

No deliveries were recorded at Catholic-run Mater Dei Hospital on the same day.

Among the babies born at Mpilo, 13 were male, while eight were female. An official at UBH said a total of nine babies, four boys and five girls, were delivered.

Mpilo Central Hospital’s chief executive officer Mr Leonard Mabandi said all the babies delivered at the institution and their mothers were in good health and awaiting to be discharged.

“Our biggest baby weighed 4,1kg and the smallest weighed 2kg. We did not have twins this time and only two mothers delivered through the Caesarean section,” he said.

One of the mothers who delivered at Mpilo Central Hospital, Ms Loreen Magaya, said she was delighted to be holding her bundle of joy born on the first day of the year.

“We have named my daughter Alvinant Anna and she was born at exactly 3.25 PM,” said Ms Magaya at the hospital yesterday.

Last year on January 1, 22 babies were born at Mpilo while 10 were delivered at UBH.

Meanwhile, in Masvingo, 30 babies were born on New Year’s Day at some of the province’s public and private hospitals.

Morgenster Mission Hospital topped the list with six deliveries.

A senior official at the institution who asked not to be named said the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe-run health centre had five girls and one boy.

At Gutu Mission Hospital three deliveries were recorded, but it could not be ascertained how many were boys or girls.  Silveira Mission Hospital in Bikita recorded four births, all girls.

At Neshuro Hospital in Mwenezi, a nurse said five babies were delivered, two boys and three girls. Ndanga District Hospital in Zaka district had three deliveries, all girls, while Musiso Mission Hospital in the same district had two deliveries, both boys.

Chiredzi District Hospital had four deliveries, two girls and two boys. An official at Chibi District Hospital said they had three deliveries, all boys.

@thamamoe

Dexter Nduna

Walter Nyamukondiwa, Harare Bureau
The country’s roads are set for a major face-lift with feeder and rural roads being progressively tarred following a Government directive that a large chunk of Zinara disbursements be used periodically for maintenance of road infrastructure.

This involves re-grading and resealing of roads, which have in most cases lived beyond their designed lifespan of between 10 and 20 years.

Previous disbursements mostly targeted routine maintenance, which involved pothole patching, drain clearing and grading of roads that eventually developed more potholes.

Zinara board chairman Mr Albert Mugabe recently confirmed the new arrangement, saying it was in its early stages of implementation and needed to be reviewed to gauge its impact.

“It was a recommendation from Central Government, which we are in the process of implementing. We are in the process of reviewing how it impacts on each council to see whether making it a blanket requirement will be achievable and acceptable,” said Mr Mugabe.

Like everything new, he said difficulties arise as some councils argued the template did not dovetail into their priorities hence the need for individual remedies.

He said the template would be reviewed and fine-tuned to ensure the best possible outcome for the well-being of the country’s roads.

Needing a cash injection of around $20 billion to bring the country’s roads into usable state, the framework which stipulates a 30:70 percent disbursement ratio, has emerged as a better solution in the short to medium term.

Under the programme, work is decentralised giving road authorities who are mostly councils, the autonomy to identify roads that need to be worked on, conduct adjudication of contractors and monitor the projects.

Zinara will source materials, pay for labour and equipment hire after councils raise certificates of completion at stipulated stages.

This is done after councils enter into a contract with Zinara and a contractor who will undertake the programme.

The identified priority roads are submitted for consideration in a calendar year and should fit within disbursements budgets for that particular authority.

However, local authorities can also complement the programme through channelling part of their budgets and equipment towards road maintenance.

This will significantly reduce the cost as some of them are absorbed internally.

This means that councils will not handle funds directly thereby eliminating the need for acquittals which some councils were struggling with.
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Development chairman, Cde Dexter Nduna, welcomed the development saying it would have a “definitive” impact on the country’s roads.

“Because of its expanded nature and its elongated focus, it means that it will progressively address the shelf life of our roads, which have been neglected for sometime,” said Cde Nduna.

“This means that we will see resealing, rehabilitation and reconstruction of roads as prioritised by the councils which know the state of their roads.”

With Zinara getting a peak projection of $200 million in revenue annually from tollgates, vehicle licences and road user fees, it will take at least 10 years to fix the roads.

The target has not been met in recent years.

There have been calls for the active involvement of road users such as mines, farmers and conservancies to maintain roads in the areas they operate.

Said Cde Nduna: “There has been laxity in respect of maintenance and upgrading of roads by mining houses and other community businesses like conservancies to give back by tarring roads. This used to happen before.”

He said the companies should construct their conduits citing construction of the 80km Ngezi-Selous road by Zimplats as a positive example which should be replicated and expanded.

The decentralisation of adjudication process ties in with proposals contained in the Procurement Act Bill whose provisions call for decentralised procurement process to local authorities.

Chinhoyi Municipality, which was allocated around $320 000 for 2016, has already started work on reconstruction and resealing of at least six roads in the CBD which has brought relief to motorists.

About $220 000 of that amount is going towards routine maintenance, while the remainder will go towards resealing of roads such as Midway, Park, North and Zesa Connect streets.

Chinhoyi town clerk Mr Maxwell Kaitano hailed the new disbursement criteria as key in rapid improvement of roads in the town.

“We are happy because we are going to see a lot of impact in the shortest period which is good for motorists and the outlook of our town. This means that next year we move to other roads and eventually if it’s maintained all roads will be tarred,” said Mr Kaitano.

Already part of roads such as Plumtree-Tsholotsho, Bindura-Matepatepa and a road in Binga among others have been tarred.

Cde Nduna described the programme as a bold move which will bring accountability and progress in road maintenance as some councils do not have qualified personnel.

“In the long run we will not need to employ a lot of funds in road maintenance. It seems like a drop in the ocean but we will see more of our roads being tarred over time,” he said.

Whinsley Masara, Chronicle Reporter
A SECURITY guard who was attacked by armed robbers after they handcuffed him, tied his legs and throttled him with a wire while he was on duty has died after spending four days in a coma.

The man, identified only as Mr E. Moyo (62) suffered head injuries following the attack that occurred at Engen Fuel Depot at Bulawayo’s Steeldale industrial site and failed to come out of the coma.

He died on Saturday night after battling for his life at the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) since last Tuesday when the armed robbers, who are still on the run, attacked him.

Following the savage assault, the armed robbers broke into the manager’s office and fled with a laptop.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango yesterday said investigations into the matter were in progress.

She appealed to members of the public who may have information that may lead to the arrest of the security guard’s attackers to approach the police.

Insp Simango urged companies to deploy more than one security guard at their premises.

“We want to encourage companies to deploy more than one security guard to their premises. This is for the protection of both the company’s property as well as the security of the employees,” said Insp Simango.

Employees at the depot told The Chronicle that they suspect the stolen laptop contained information sought by some insiders. “We suspect the armed robbery could be an inside job as someone wants to destroy some evidence in the manager’s computer. Nothing else was taken from the offices, even from Mr Moyo himself,” they said.

A security guard who spoke on condition of anonymity said they found Moyo unconscious, handcuffed, with his neck and legs tied using a wire.

“Moyo was badly attacked because the room we found him in was all bloody. They tied his legs and neck with a wire, handcuffed him and even went on to spray his eyes with a fire extinguisher.

“As security guards at the depot, we are supposed to communicate with each other at hourly intervals. When we tried to communicate with him and got no response, we were prompted to check, only to find him in a pool of blood at his workstation. He had deep cuts on the head,” said the security guard.

He said it seems the armed robbers had planned to kill Moyo as there were indications that his head was slammed against the wall which had blood stains.

“The handcuffs were too tight, cutting deep into his hands. The scene was horrific as the room was all bloody. Moyo was not able to tell what happened and who did it until he passed on,” he said.

@winnie_masara

Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi

Pamela Shumba, Senior Reporter
THREE family members died while three others were injured yesterday when a vehicle they were travelling in burst a front tyre and overturned at Insuza along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway.

The accident occurred at the 71km peg at about 3.30PM.

Bulawayo Fire Brigade senior divisional officer Mr Linos Phiri yesterday said the car which was involved in the accident had six members of a Harare family on board who were travelling to Victoria Falls on holiday.

“Six family members from Borrowdale in Harare were on board the Toyota Hilux when its front tyre burst resulting in the car overturning at the 71km peg in Insuza along the Bulawayo- Victoria Falls highway.

“Three people died on the spot while three others were injured. One of the injured was trapped in the car and extricated by the Fire Brigade crew at about 4.30 PM,” said Mr Phiri.

He said those who died were aged 10, 12 and 30 years.

The injured were rushed to Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo.

The Insuza accident puts the road accident death toll to seven since New Year’s Day and 35 since Christmas Day.  Police had earlier yesterday said four people died in road traffic accidents on New Year’s Day. One hundred and eighty five crashes have occurred since December 25.

National Police spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi, yesterday said although fewer deaths and accidents were recorded on January 1 this year compared to the same date last year, motorists should continue driving with caution.

“We recorded a total number of 67 accidents on New Year’s Day as compared to 81 on the same day last year. Four people died this year as compared to eight last year.

“The number of people injured on New Year’s Day were 23 as compared to 55 last year, while the number of vehicles impounded for defects and being unroadworthy also decreased from 125 to 94,” said Chief Supt Nyathi.

He said three road traffic accidents occurred in Harare on the first day of 2017, claiming the four lives.

Chief Supt Nyathi emphasised the need for motorists to observe traffic rules and regulations and to be cautious on the country’s roads.

“Most accidents occurred between 12AM and 6AM. We reiterate that motorists should be careful when driving at night, avoid speeding and stop going through red robots,” said Chief Supt Nyathi.

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development is on record saying 85 percent of accidents in the country were due to human error.

MPs listed 12 other causes of accidents in the country that include bad state of roads, speeding, drunken driving, fatigue, use of cellphones when driving and going through red robots.

The use of second hand tyres, stationary and defective vehicles as well as stray animals on the roads, inadequate road signage and markings as well as lack of traffic enforcement were also cited.

The committee said the government should increase fines charged for traffic offences so that they are deterrent and introduce traffic courts where routine offenders are charged and licences are endorsed or cancelled.

@pamelashumba1

Tanaka Mrewa, Court Reporter
AN Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) church pastor based in Bulawayo’s Emakhandeni suburb has been arrested for allegedly raping a congregant (16) after a church service held in the evening in the suburb.

A court heard that the pastor offered the minor a lift after the service held on December 30 and ended up raping her. She lives in the same suburb while the pastor stays at Ross Camp in the city.

The incident occurred as the pastor was heading home after the two had agreed that he would first drop the girl off at home.

The pastor, Isheanesu Muposhi (27), ended up pouncing on the girl before they reached her home.

Muposhi was not asked to plead to rape charges when he appeared in court following his arrest on December 31.

Western Commonage magistrate Miss Tancy Dube remanded him in custody to January 13.

It is the State’s case that Muposhi offered a lift to the girl at around 9PM as soon as the service ended.

Prosecuting, Mr Claude Fombe said Muposhi was arrested the following day after committing the crime.

He said congregants confirmed having seen him leave the church with the minor after the service.

“Accused person offered a lift to the complainant. Along the way he proposed love to her but she turned him down. Accused parked his car at a secluded area at a ZAOGA stand near Easy Pick shops in Emakhandeni and allegedly raped her once,” said Mr Fombe.

@tannytkay

Cde Peter Chanetsa

Felex Share, Harare Bureau
The Zanu-PF Mashonaland West province has recommended that veteran politician and nationalist Cde Peter Chanetsa who died on Monday morning be declared a national hero.

Cde Chanetsa was the first black Government chief of protocol and former Mashonaland West Resident Minister and Governor. The Zanu-PF Central Committee member succumbed to heart failure at Parirenyatwa Hospital.

He was 70.

The Zanu-PF Mashonaland West provincial chairperson, Cde Ephraim Chengeta, yesterday said the province had written to the Politburo requesting that Cde Chanetsa be accorded national hero status.

“We have consulted the provincial leadership, and we have seen it fit that he deserves to be declared a national hero considering the work he did for the party,” he said.

“As per procedure, we have written to the Politburo recommending that he be honoured that way. His works speak volumes of how dedicated he was in serving the party and the nation at large.”

In a letter to Zanu-PF secretary for administration Cde Ignatius Chombo, Mashonaland West province said in part: “Mashonaland West provincial executive do hereby request you to accord him national liberation war hero status considering his immense contribution during and after the liberation struggle.”

The province attached Cde Chanetsa’s curriculum vitae detailing his work in the party and Government.

Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa, yesterday visited the Chanetsa family’s Borrowdale home to pay his condolences.

He was accompanied by service chiefs led by the Commander Defence Forces General Constantino Chiwenga.

Acting President Mnangagwa said the party leadership led by President Mugabe would be consulted before a decision is taken on Cde Chanetsa’s hero status.

“I tried talking to the President this morning and will talk to him again later today,” he said.

“He is in China. I saw in the papers that the province is requesting something and we will pass on the message to our leader who will give us guidance.

“But, we know that he is someone we have worked with and I hope the province has given a detailed history of how it was working with Cde Chanetsa. (Home Affairs Minister) Cde Ignatius Chombo who handles these issues is away in the Middle East and he will be represented by Cde Joseph Made. We will notify you of what we would have agreed on.”

Acting President Mnangagwa said he worked with Cde Chanetsa for a long time, having first met him in Tanzania in 1977.

“I heard about his death on television last night (Monday night), and was surprised because during the last Central Committee meeting last month, he was present,” he said.

“After the meeting, he held me by the hand and said he was not well and wanted to see me. I told him to see me after the holidays.

“I met him in 1977 in Tanzania. When we went for political meetings with Cde Julius Nyerere (Tanzania’s founding President) he was the one who welcomed us, as our protocol officer there. When we went for the Lancaster House talks he was also our protocol officer and at Independence, he was the first protocol officer in the then Prime Minister’s Office,” said Acting President Mnangagwa.

He added: “I also worked in that office and we worked together for a long time. He then left and became Governor in Mashonaland West. He has a long history as we worked together in the party and Government. He once went to Namibia and when he came back, I took his wife, a lawyer by profession, and made her our ombudswoman. She retired when we changed our Constitution and now the work she used to do is now being done by the Human Rights Commission.”

“There is no single day when Peter left the party. He was there always and at the time of his death, he was a Central Committee member. On death, everyone has his time and I am regretting that I should have talked to him during the Central Committee meeting. Maybe, he had something to say. Just because he had become a father and brother to everyone, we will support the wife and the family,” Acting President Mnangagwa said.

Cde Chanetsa’s wife, Beatrice said Cde Chanetsa’s health deteriorated towards the Christmas holidays.

She said although her husband was under diabetes and high blood pressure treatment, they never foresaw death.

Mrs Chanetsa said he was discharged from hospital on Saturday night but was readmitted the following day after his health worsened.

“It happened so suddenly. As a family, we did not see death coming,” she said. “We saw it as an illness that would be managed. The nurses had also told us that his kidneys were not functioning well and further tests were supposed to be done today (yesterday). My child had suggested that after the doctors had done the tests, he would take him to South Africa for dialysis. He came from South Africa not knowing he was coming to bury his father.”

Cde Chanetsa was the first black chief of protocol at Independence before being appointed Mashonaland West Resident Minister and Governor in 1996.

During his tenure as Governor, Cde Chanetsa oversaw the crunch phase of the land reform programme in his province in the early 2000s.

He retired from that post in 2003.

Apart from being a politician and farmer, Cde Chanetsa had interests in safari and fishing businesses.

Born on July 15, 1946, in Chinhoyi, Cde Chanetsa first had his education in that area before proceeding to Mabvuku in the then Salisbury.

He then went to Mwanza, Tanzania, where he later hooked up with other locals and received military training in that country. He came back to Zimbabwe at Independence in 1980. He is survived by wife Beatrice and three children.

Mourners are gathered at Number 6 Iona Close Borrowdale.

Meanwhile the Zanu-PF Mashonaland West leadership has described Cde Chanetsa as a principled man whose passion was to ensure continued Zanu-PF rule.

Mashonaland West Provincial Minister of State Cde Faber Chidarikire, said the province had been robbed of a hard working man.

“We worked together right from the 80s in the party (Zanu-PF) where he would always strive to strengthen the party,” said Cde Chidarikire.

“As governor, he contributed a lot in the building of schools in remote areas which never had any schools. He was always ready to help with ideas.”
Kadoma businessman and Zanu-PF National Consultative Assembly member Cde Jimayi Muduvuri said Cde Chanetsa had the history of the party and country at his fingertips. “We worked together well in the Central Committee when he was governor. He had a passion to see the province develop and to see the party united. One thing he was unequivocal about was the need for the province to lead by example as the cradle which nestled President Mugabe,” he said.

Firefighters extinguish the burning kombi along Khami Road in Bulawayo yesterday

Thandeka Moyo, Chronicle Reporter
A WOMAN sustained serious head injuries after she jumped through a window of a moving commuter omnibus and fell headlong on the tarmac in Bulawayo yesterday.

Five others, including the driver, also escaped with varying degrees of injuries from the vehicle that had caught fire along Khami Road opposite Bulawayo City Council stores at around 9AM as it was heading towards New Magwegwe.

The woman panicked when she noticed the fire and jumped through the window with her baby. She sustained serious head injuries while the baby was not injured.

The cause of the fire could not be established immediately, but there are suspicions that petrol was leaking from the vehicle.

Bulawayo chief fire officer Mr Richard Peterson said they rescued six people including an 11-year-old boy.

All the injured people were rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital.

“I can confirm that we received a report of a kombi which caught fire along Khami Road. Six people including the driver sustained injuries and were taken to Mpilo Central Hospital,” he said.

“One of the passengers, a woman who was carrying a baby, jumped headlong through the window while trying to evacuate herself and sustained serious head injuries.

“We are happy no one died and hope that the woman will make it. Her baby survived the incident with no injuries and that’s a plus,” said Mr Peterson.

“I would like to urge kombi operators to take people’s lives seriously by ensuring that they service their vehicles consistently. I suspect that there was a petrol leakage somewhere in the vehicle which could have been avoided.”

A kombi driver who spoke on condition of anonymity said smoke started coming from the vehicle when it was in motion.

“I was driving and noticed smoke coming out of the kombi. Within a few minutes the smoke was distracting my vision and I had to park my vehicle by the roadside. By the time I got out of my kombi, the other kombi was in flames though the driver managed to escape with some injuries,” he said.

“The Fire and Ambulance Services crew made it on time and they managed to extinguish the fire.”

@thamamoe

Vusumuzi Dube, Municipal Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has resolved to hand over its 30 schools to parents in a bid to “cut costs”.

According to the latest council report, the local authority will hand over 29 primary and one secondary school to their respective school development committees (SDCs).

The committees will have the autonomy to collect fees and levies, make crucial decisions that include employing and paying their respective staff members.

Total enrolment at all the 30 schools stands at 39 341.  About 160 non-teaching staff work at the schools.

The move, according to the report, was necessitated by the Government’s insistence that BCC maintains a 70:30 percent service delivery to salaries ratio. With the handing over of the schools, the local authority thus gets rid of all the employees working at the respective schools including the education officer post, who monitors the schools and collects fees on behalf of council.

“When earlier this year council was instructed by the Government to attain the 70 percent service delivery to 30 percent salaries ratio in its expenditure, management sat down and tried to work to achieve this ratio by seeing where it could shed some of its activities to other entities within its body politic.

“With the situation as it is now, the management thought it would be prudent for council to form school development committees in its schools who would have some autonomy and run the schools on behalf of council. This, it is hoped, may lessen the financial burden on council.

“In effect, this means council will cede the collection of all fees to the school development committees and let the schools employ their own personnel. The current non-teaching staff at schools are as follows; bursar (responsible for three schools each), one senior clerical assistant per school, one caretaker, one messenger and two grounds staff per school,” reads part of the report.

Without highlighting the saving to be achieved through the decision, the local authority further noted that by handing over the schools to SDCs, this could ensure better collection of fees.

It noted that with the current set-up most children left their respective primary schools still owing fees.

“The advantage of such an arrangement would be the monitoring of fees payments. Under the present system, most pupils now complete their Grade Seven studies without paying anything and council has found its hands tied because of Government policies. Parents would be able to deal with each other at local levels in their respective communities.

“Council will however continue to construct schools in new and deserving residential areas as mandated by the Government and then hand them over to these committees for administration. Prior to that, council would construct and therefore hand over the schools to Government,” reads the report.

A few months ago, the local authority reported that it was owed over $2 million in unpaid school fees. It said Government had for over a year also struggled to pay fees for children under the Basic Education Assistance Module scheme.— @vusadb.

Felex Share, Harare Bureau
Cabinet has approved the principles of the Bill seeking further amendments to the Labour Act to remove inconsistencies that have seen workers’ rights being violated by some employers.

The proposed amendments tackle contentious issues such as termination of contracts on notice, retrenchments, maternity leave and disciplinary procedures.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Prisca Mupfumira, yesterday said the proposed changes were a product of all the parties to the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) and were meant to bring sanity on the labour market.

TNF parties include Government, labour and employers.

“Cabinet in its last sitting of December 2016, approved the drafting of the Labour Amendment Bill,” Minister Mupfumira said.

“This is because labour laws are dynamic and it is impossible to separate the economy and labour. The current fluctuating economy requires constant adjustment of labour laws with the view to striking a balance ultimately.

“The approved labour law principles were necessitated by a number of challenges and they took into consideration the Constitution and ratified International Labour Conventions, inspired by international best practices. The amendments we last made in 2015 were fuelled by the massive terminations emanating from the Supreme Court ruling of 17 July 2015, which gave employers the green light to terminate employment on notice. After that experience, the social partners showed a great spirit of unity and maturity, which contributed to the finalisation of approved principles.”
Government last year amended the Labour Act—albeit without wide consultations — in a bid to stem the arbitrary dismissal of workers on the strength of a legal technicality that gave employers authority to dismiss employees on three months’ notice.

Thousands were fired after the Supreme Court ruling.

The arbitrary action saw employers’ representatives taking Government to court challenging various sections of the amended legislation including that which compels them to compensate workers dismissed on three months’ notice without a retrenchment package as permitted by a July 2015 Supreme Court ruling.

Business was also accusing Government of ignoring the concept of equality when the Labour Act was amended last year.

Minister Mupfumira said the amendments made in 2015 posed challenges to the administration of the retrenchment process.

She said: “The Labour Amendment Act section 5 (3) (b) currently provides for automatic granting of exemption to an employer from paying the minimum retrenchment package, if the application for exemptions to the retrenchment Board is not heard within 14 days. This section is unfair to the employee(s) concerned as the exemption is granted without a fair hearing. Secondly, Labour Amendment No. 5 of 2015 resulted in two parallel dispute settlement systems posing serious bottlenecks to the extent that labour cases are piling up without resolution. The approved labour principles will rectify this anomaly through an efficient dispute settlement agreed to by both employers and employees.”

VP Mnangagwa

From George Maponga in BIKITA
Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa (top left) yesterday slammed a clique of war veterans for trying to “stoke unnecessary succession fires” within Zanu-PF ahead of the 2018 harmonised elections.

The rogue elements among the ex-freedom fighters are fuelling the debate despite the fact that all ruling party provinces throughout the country and organs have already overwhelmingly endorsed President Mugabe as its sole candidate for the polls.

The Acting President said all genuine war veterans were supposed to abide by the “sacred and long standing code’’ that politics led the gun not the other way round.

His rebuke was in reference to a group of leaders within the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association led by expelled Mr Christopher Mutsvangwa who have been pushing a secessionist agenda in Zanu-PF ahead of next year’s polls.

Five ZNLWVA executive members accused of denigrating President Mugabe were recently removed from remand by a Harare magistrate in their case where they are being accused of undermining the authority of the President. The five are Messers Douglas Mahiya, Francis Nhando, Victor Matemadanda, Headman Moyo and Hoyini Samuel Bhila.

Zanu-PF provinces passed a resolution at last year’s 16th ruling party National Annual People’s conference held in Masvingo endorsing President Mugabe as the ruling party’s presidential candidate in next year’s harmonised elections.

Mr Mutsvangwa and his group have since been expelled from the ruling party but still continue to try and influence developments in the revolutionary party.

Addressing thousands of ruling party supporters at Gwindingwi High School grounds at Nyika Growth in Bikita where he was officially unveiling Cde Beauty Chabaya as the ruling party candidate for the January 21 Bikita West parliamentary by-election, Acting President Mnangagwa warned ruling party supporters against following wayward war veterans.

“As we go for the 2018 elections let me make it very clear that all the 10 Zanu PF provinces in this country have endorsed President Mugabe as our presidential candidate. However, there are some five or six war veterans who have lost the way. They are rushing to the Press saying what ever they want but they were expelled from the party,’’ he said.

“Some of us joined the liberation struggle in the early 1960s and we know that the code has always been that the party is supreme, the party commands the gun, it’s not the gun that commands the party,’’ he added.

The Acting President said all genuine war veterans were members of Zanu-PF save for a few rotten apples.

“It’s not all the war veterans who are wayward and rogue so do not run away when you come across them, the party of all genuine war veterans is Zanu-PF [but] of course there are a few ones who are lost. So if you hear a war veteran saying the gun commands the party ignore them,’’ added the Acting President.

He hailed the people of Bikita West for coming out in large numbers for the star rally, saying the capacity crowd was affirmation that Zanu-PF was the dominant political force in Zimbabwe.

Acting President Mnangagwa mocked local opposition parties describing them as perennial election losers and Zanu-PF bridesmaids who would continue to watch from the sidelines with the ruling party in the driving seat of power.

“I am very happy with the high attendance at this rally and tomorrow (Thursday) I will be phoning the President from where he is telling him that the Bikita West seat is firmly in Zanu-PF’s bag, thank you the people of Bikita West.’’

He reminded the people of Bikita West about the pain and suffering experienced for Zimbabwe to attain independence from British colonists in 1980 saying Zimbabweans were supposed to stick to the ruling party as a way of paying homage to both living and fallen heroes of the independence war.

Bikita West, added Acting President Mnangagwa, was supposed to remain under Zanu-PF control and help maintain the ruling party’s total dominance of the Masvingo political scene.

Turning to food shortages obtaining from last farming season’s crippling drought, the Acting President reiterated that no one would die of hunger, adding that the country had eight months’ supply of maize.

He said as of the end of last year the country had imported and distributed about 643 000 tonnes of maize to alleviate the effects of the 2015/16 farming season’s El-Nino induced drought that left millions in need of food aid countrywide.

“President Mugabe has always made it a point that he does not want anyone to starve and as chairman of the task-force responsible for importing food, I want to tell you today that we have eight months’ supply of maize, which means without touching anything we have enough food to last us up to August this year.’’

“We have about 322 000 tonnes of grain in our Strategic Grain Reserve right now and together with the maize that is awaiting shipment into the country from ports such as Beira and in countries such as South Africa and Zambia, there are sufficient stocks of food for the nation,’’ added the Acting President.

He said areas currently experiencing food shortages countrywide should lay the blame on the leadership there which was not knocking soon enough on the door of central government for food supplies.

“When distributing food aid people should not be asked to produce membership cards for their political parties. The qualification for one to get food aid is just being a Zimbabwean so please let’s bear in mind that our President wants every Zimbabwean to get food aid irrespective of political affiliation,’’ he said.

The Acting President urged the people of Bikita West to exercise their right to vote in the forthcoming by-election and help preserve the country’s hard-won independence. He said the by-election was a dress rehearsal for next year’s elections, saying leaders were servants of the people.

e urged Cde Chabaya to start seriously looking into the problems of people in Bikita West with particular emphasis on roads, boreholes among other basic infrastructure that impinged on the lives of the common man and woman.

In his address Zanu-PF political commissar Cde Saviour Kasukuwere, said the ruling party was confident of romping to victory in Bikita West saying opposition parties would not withstand the Zanu-PF juggernaut.

He urged Zanu-PF leaders at lower-tier levels to spread the gospel of the ruling party in Bikita West ahead of the last star rally scheduled for January 18. Zanu-PF politburo member Cde Josaya Hungwe, said the record attendance at the rally was testimony that the ruling party was a people’s party.

The Bikita West parliamentary by-election will see Cde Chabaya battling it out for the right to represent the constituency with five other candidates.
Besides Cde Chabaya, others eyeing the Bikita West parliamentary seat are former Zanu-PF youth leader Mr Kudakwashe Gopo who will be representing the Zimbabwe People First led by Dr Joice Mujuru together with Mr Madock Chivasa who is the national spokesperson of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA).

Others are Mr Terence Makumbo of the little-known Progressive Democrats of Zimbabwe (PDZ), an Independent candidate Mr Innocent Muzvimbiri together with former Bikita West legislator Mr Heya Shoko, who is also standing as an independent. The by-election will be held to fill a vacancy left after the incarceration of former Member of Parliament for the constituency Munyaradzi Kereke.

The rally was attended by top ruling party officials in Masvingo among them Politburo member Cde Lovemore Matuke, Masvingo provincial affairs Minister Senator Shuvai Mahofa and Zimbabwe Chiefs Council president Chief Fortune Charumbira.

Tinotenda Kadewere is going to Gabon

Stanford Chiwanga, Online Editor

Callisto Pasuwa has whittled down his provisional squad to confirm the final 23 players who will represent Zimbabwe at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in  Gabon.

Teenage sensation Tinotenda Kadewere has been included after the injured Marshall Mudewe failed a fitness test.

ZIMBABWE SQUAD: CAF AFCON 2017

Goalkeepers

Donovan Bernard (How Mine)
Tatenda Mkuruva (Dynamos)
Takabva Mawaya (Hwange)

Vusumuzi Dube, Municipal Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has lifted water shedding after facing a number of operational challenges which saw the local authority saving little or no water at all.

BCC introduced a 72-hour water shedding schedule in November after water in its supply dams drastically fell to a combined 30 percent.

However, in the latest minutes, the local authority — which had given residents a reprieve during the festive season — said it had decided to totally lift water shedding as it continues to observe the situation and come up with more innovative means to conserve water.

According to a report by council’s department of engineering services, it was noted that water shedding was largely ineffective as the city’s water distribution system is old and faced major breakdowns due to burst pipes within the system because of air accumulating in the system during water shedding periods.

The department further revealed that the management of liquid waste during water shedding was seriously compromised.

“There were additionally power failures on the bulk conveyance pipelines delivering water to the city. These caused major pipe breakdowns in the system. There has further been a tendency of people getting water from the exempted areas such as the Central Business District and industrial areas for domestic use with bowsers and large containers and selling to consumers especially in the western areas.

“Use of bowsers to ferry water to western areas provided logistical challenges. Major works involving servicing of new areas like Luveve 5 had to be scaled down and a lot of overtime was paid for staff working on community boreholes that were now the main source of household water,” reads the report.

According to the latest Bulawayo supply dam statistics, the situation has not changed much as dam levels still remain at just above 30 percent full, the same levels they were when the local authority was forced to adopt the 72-hour water shedding regime in November.

The city is operating with four out of six supply dams, with Upper Ncema which is just 9,35 percent full and Umzingwane which is at 15,26 percent full having been decommissioned.

Insiza Mayfair is 47,37 percent full, Mtshabezi stands at 46,56 percent full while Lower Ncema is 19,02 percent full and Inyankuni Dam is 11,84 percent full.

The city faces a water crisis at the end of almost every year and has been under water rationing since 1984. The Mtshabezi-Umzingwane pipeline project is viewed as a short-term solution to the city’s perennial water problems together with the drilling of more boreholes at Epping Forest.

The Government last year also announced that the city will soon be constructing a new dam at Glassblock in Matabeleland South at an estimated cost of $208 million. No work has commenced on the project due to funding constraints.

Experts say the permanent solution to water shortages in Bulawayo and Matabeleland is the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project that was first mooted in 1912.

@vusadb

Richard Muponde, Gwanda Correspondent
POLICE in Matabeleland South have launched a manhunt for a police officer who allegedly stole and disappeared with over $1 800 from Beitbridge police headquarters where he was stationed in the finance section.

Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Philisani Ndebele yesterday said they were searching for Constable Admire Sibanda in connection with theft of trust funds.

“The Criminal Investigations Department in Beitbridge is seeking assistance in the arrest of Admire Sibanda who is wanted for theft of trust property as defined in section 113 (2) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9.23,” said Insp Ndebele.

At some point, he said, Sibanda was arrested and taken to court.

“However, he skipped trial hence a warrant of arrest was issued against him. Efforts to arrest the accused person using his last known address of 994 Beitbridge Medium Density suburb proved fruitless as he has moved away. We’re kindly appealing to members of the public who might know his whereabouts to come forward with information,” he said.

Insp Ndebele said those with information on Sibanda may contact the nearest police station.

Recently, Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri said police will continue discharging from the force cops who engage in corruption and other nefarious activities that tarnish its image.

He said the ZRP will continue to employ all legal instruments at its disposal to enforce discipline.

“The ZRP shall continue to discharge from its midst all police officers who engage in corrupt activities. Running to the courts will merely serve to delay what is obvious,” he said.

“We cannot afford to be indifferent or to bury our heads in the sand and wish the problems of corruption and indiscipline away. We need to act decisively and acting decisively, indeed we shall do. No amount of litigation by those who are caught on the wrong side of the law will coerce or acquiesce us to their whims or machinations.”

@richardmuponde

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku

Fidelis Munyoro, Harare Bureau
Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku is expected to open the 2017 Legal Year in a week’s time ahead of his retirement next month.

He will be stepping down at the end of February when he will reach the mandatory age of 70.

The opening of the Legal Year is one of the most celebrated events in the legal calendar.

The event reminds all those involved within the judiciary and legal fraternity of the need to uphold the principles that drive the country’s justice delivery system to the benefit of society.

Deputy Chief Justice Luke Malaba is expected to take over in an acting capacity in March pending the amendments of the Constitution to facilitate the appointment of the new Chief Justice.

The amendment seeks to give the President constitutional powers to hand-pick the Chief Justice and Judge president.

The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill (Number 1) meant to change the Constitution has since been gazetted.

Chief Justice Chidyausiku was appointed to his post in July 2001 and during his tenure he presided over a number of reforms within the judiciary.

Two years ago, Chief Justice Chidyausiku courted controversy when he criticised “under-performing” High Court judges during the official opening of the 2015 judicial year.

He claimed that one of the judges had managed to deliver only two judgments during the course of the whole year.

The High Court judges hit back, saying Chief Justice Chidyausiku was out of touch with the modern judiciary delivery trends.

They wrote a petition to him demanding that he withdraw his statement, which they said was made in bad faith.

Last month, Chief Justice Chidyausiku found himself in controversy for conducting public interviews to choose the right judge to replace him in the face of the pending constitutional amendment.

The High Court stopped the public interviews to select the next Chief Justice.

The court granted the interdict that was sought by Romeo Taombera Zibani, a fourth year law student at the University of Zimbabwe.

But the interviews went ahead after the Judicial Service Commission filed a notice of appeal against Justice Charles Hungwe’s decision to stop the interviews.

In his ruling, Justice Hungwe rapped the JSC’s decision to hold interviews for the new Chief Justice when it was aware Government had initiated a process to amend the Constitution and that the selection process was being contested in court.

He said Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who oversees the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, should be allowed to steer the changes to the Constitution.

National Foods chief executive officer Mr Michael Lashbrook leads Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa on a tour of the company while the technical executive, maize milling, Mr William Kapfupi listens in Bulawayo yesterday

Prosper Ndlovu, Business Editor
ACTING President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday described as “absolute nonsense” views that the Government’s command agriculture scheme would fail, saying the local model was unique from what other countries have done.

Addressing business executives during a tour of milling companies in Bulawayo, the Acting President said overwhelming private sector input of up to $500 million and voluntary subscription by farmers to the programme, were sufficient testimony of its success.

“When we started the concept and idea of command agriculture, it is not the same with command agriculture, which the Press talks about. They are talking about command agriculture having failed elsewhere and think it will fail here. That is absolute nonsense. It won’t fail, it will succeed,” he told the gathering.

“The difference is that our command agriculture is constructed on the backdrop of free and voluntary participation. We don’t go around the country and say ‘you must join the command agriculture’. No! Initially we had that idea because we wanted two million metric tonnes produced every season as that is adequate for our food supply in our country.”

The Acting President said the private sector and stakeholders in the food industry — the millers, seed companies, fertiliser and chemical companies, farmers’ unions, the banking sector — have thrown their full weight behind the scheme and provided the required resources to ensure its success.

“We had no cent at all when we conceived the idea and we said now where do we get the money? We got it from that stakeholder conference that we held. So, we are financing it domestically, nothing is coming from outside the country, we are so happy,” said the Acting President.

Zimbabwe consumes about 1,5 million tonnes of maize annually and the Acting President said the country also needs to have half-a-million tonnes in strategic reserves in the silos, which makes two million tonnes.

“So, initially we said how many farmers could we have to produce that and we worked out and said if we had 2 000 farmers, each one producing on 200ha, we would produce what we want if we supported them fully. But we said how do we identify the 2 000 farmers?

“That was going to be discriminatory. Who would come on and who would not? So we cancelled that idea and said how many hectares would produce that (two million target) instead of people and we came to the conclusion of 400 000 ha,” he explained.

It was on this basis that Government invited those keen to participate to do so.

“So people have voluntarily come to this scheme or programme but it remains command because once you come we support you on conditions that it is cost- recovery,” he said.

Acting President Mnangagwa said the milling industry had already agreed to come on board and pledged to buy 800 000 of the targeted two million tonnes .

He said the gesture would reduce the burden on Treasury, which has to source funding to absorb the remainder of the produce.

“So, you can see how our people can come forward to grow our economy if we dialogue,” said the Acting President.

Having seen the success of the programme so far, he said the command agriculture model would be extended to soya bean production where he hoped funding would also come from local sponsors who stand to benefit from the produce.

At the moment Zimbabwe relies on soya bean imports, which drain the scarce foreign exchange resources and increase the import bill.

The Acting President said a similar model would also be rolled out on wheat, tobacco and cotton as well as livestock production.

He said once agriculture takes off it will impact positively on the entire economic spectrum of the country including beneficiation, value addition, employment, downstream industry and technology with other sectors of the economy responding accordingly.

The Acting President visited United Milling (Private) Limited, National Foods and Blue Ribbon Foods where he expressed satisfaction with the production capacity and investment directed at improving output.

He commended the contract farming deals that the agro-processing firms had entered into with farmers saying such a model would increase output and yields.

The Acting President assured the industry captains that Government would continue to support their operations through creating an enabling environment and crafting supporting legislation.

Cabinet Ministers — Retired Colonel Tshinga Dube (War Veterans), Dr Joseph Made (Agriculture), who is acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Grain Millers’ Association of Zimbabwe chairman Mr Tafadzwa Musarara and his executive, Bulawayo MPs and business leaders also took part in the tour.

Richard Muponde, Gwanda Correspondent
ZANU-PF’s Matabeleland South provincial chairman, Cde Rabelani Choeni and four other people have been hospitalised after they suffered serious injuries when a vehicle he was driving veered off the road and overturned.

The accident occurred on Wednesday along the Beitbridge-Bulawayo Road when Cde Choeni was on his way to Matopos National Park to identify a site for hosting the 21st February Movement Celebrations next month.

National Traffic police spokesperson Inspector Tigere Chigome confirmed the accident yesterday.

“On 4 January at around 6AM the driver and four passengers were involved in an accident at the 189km peg when the driver lost control of the vehicle. It veered off the road and overturned leaving them with serious injuries,” said Insp Chigome.

He said Cde Choeni and the passengers were taken to Gwanda District Hospital and their condition is reportedly stable.

“They’re currently admitted at Gwanda District Hospital. At the moment we’ve not heard any news of any threat to life as their condition is reported to be stable,” he said.

The Zanu-PF provincial executive through its Secretary for Information and Publicity who is also Umzingwane legislator, Cde William Dewa, wished Cde Choeni a speedy recovery so that he continues with his job.

“As the provincial executive we are very sorry that our chairman was involved in an accident. Actually he was on his way to Matopos National Park to identify the venue as we are going to host the 21st February Movement Celebrations. We wish him a speedy recovery so that he joins others in the preparations,” said Cde Dewa.

A party official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Cde Choeni was driving in his official party Ford Everest vehicle from Beitbridge when the accident occurred.

“The vehicle burst its rear right tyre near Johnsley Resettlement area just before West Nicholson and he lost control before he veered off the road.

He had four passengers he had given a lift. We visited him and observed that he is out of danger although he has visible injuries,” he said. —

@richardmuponde

Lloyd Gumbo, Harare Bureau
President Mugabe yesterday mourned national hero Cde Peter Chanetsa whom he described as a person whose strong character saw Mashonaland West province successfully implementing the land reform programme despite attempts by former white farmers to frustrate the exercise.

Cde Chanetsa who died in Harare on Monday and was declared a national hero on Thursday, was the Governor for Mashonaland West province during the time the fast track land reform programme was implemented.

In his condolence message yesterday, President Mugabe said Cde Chanetsa had remained committed to the values of the party since the days of the liberation struggle until his demise.

He said he learnt with grief and sorrow of Cde Chanetsa’s death.

“My association with the late departed dates back to the days of our war of national liberation when we worked closely with him in Tanzania, which is where he lived at the time,” said President Mugabe who is also the Zanu-PF First Secretary.

“A committed patriot, Cde Chanetsa would give his time and means to the struggle, helping especially with protocol work each time we visited that fraternal country.

“At Independence, it was only natural that I appointed him my first Chief of Protocol, in which capacity he excelled, laying an enduring foundation to Government protocol work as we have it today.”

President Mugabe said he later appointed Cde Chanetsa Governor for Mashonaland West province with his governorship spanning the critical phase of the fast track land reform programme.

“It needed a strong character in the mould of the late to break the stranglehold of belligerent white farmers, mostly of British stock, who were so heavily concentrated and invested in that province and who, through their worldwide tentacles as tobacco barons, were quite determined to hold on to the fertile land we needed for redistribution to our landless people.

“He met countless threats and resisted many blandishments. He remained a staunch member of the party right up to his last days. We will miss him sorely.

“On behalf of the party Zanu-PF, the Government, which he served so well, my family and on my own behalf, I wish to express my heartfelt condolences to the Chanetsa family, especially to Mrs Chanetsa and children, on this their saddest loss.

“In these difficult circumstances, may they find some modicum of comfort in that Zimbabwe, the country he helped liberate and served so wholeheartedly, today mourns and honours him in this very special way. May his dear soul rest in eternal peace,” said President Mugabe.

Cde Chanetsa will be laid to rest at the National Heroes’ Acre today.

In his condolence messages, Zanu-PF secretary for administration Cde Ignatius Chombo said: “Cde Chanetsa is someone I worked with for many years. Before both of us joined mainstream politics, we were members of Mashonaland West Development Committee, spearheading development programmes for the province.

“This was at a time when the late Cde Chivende and Cde Rukarwa were governors. He and the late Dr Swithun Mombeshora started the Biri Dam project that saw Chitomborwizi small scale farmers pay for bringing electricity to the area . . ., which is one of the major achievements of the area. Cde Chanetsa also worked with me and Cde Joseph Made during the early days of land reform.”

Cde Chombo said Cde Chanetsa was quite fearless and was determined to see black people become owners of arable land.

“The Nicolles had many farms in the province and were very arrogant, but Cde Chanetsa never hesitated. On party issues, Cde Chanetsa was fiercely loyal to the party and the President. He never wavered at all. We will greatly miss him.

“I say go well farmer and businessman. May his soul rest in eternal peace. Mash West is grateful to H.E the President Cde R G Mugabe for honouring Cde Chanetsa by bestowing upon him national hero status.”

In a statement, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Cde Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said the Deputy Minister, Cde Edgar Mbwembwe, the Secretary, Ambassador Joey  Bimha, and the entire staff in the ministry learnt with profound shock and sorrow of the untimely passing on of Cde Chanetsa.

“We wish to express our deep and heartfelt condolences to the late Peter Chanetsa’s family on this sad loss. The late Mr Chanetsa will always be remembered in the Ministry and in the nation as the first ever Chief of Protocol in independent Zimbabwe. (In those early years of Independence, the Office of the Chief of Protocol was an integral part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.)

“In that capacity, he contributed, through the training of young officers under his supervision, to the development of diplomatic skills and knowledge to the then incipient diplomatic cadre in the Ministry. The Ministry joins the Chanetsa family and the whole family in mourning his departure. We pray that the Almighty gives Mrs Chanetsa and the entire family the strength to come to terms with the loss of their loved one. May his dear soul rest in eternal peace,” said Cde Mumbengegwi in the statement.