Businessman challenges Malaba to resign over gross judicial abuses
EnviroPress Reporter A Harare businessman Tendai Mashamhanda has called upon Chief Justice Luke Malaba to resign for his failure to take action against rampant corruption and other abuses in the Judiciary which have seen his businesses incurring huge losses through nonprocedural cancellation of his title deeds allegedly to benefit a member of a powerful cartel. Mashamhanda makes damning allegations against Malaba in a letter dated 09 February, 2024 and addressed to the Chairperson of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC). The letter was copied to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, the Minister of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, the Chairperson of […]
Close to 30% of Zimbabweans have no toilets
Zimbabwe’s government is struggling to reduce open defecation, a practice that poses serious health and environmental risks, despite its efforts to improve sanitation facilities. Minister of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services Jenfan Muswere said Tuesday that open defecation has fallen slightly from 30% in 2020 to 28.6% in 2023, but it remains a challenge. He said access to improved sanitation has also dropped from 65% to 61.1% over the same period. “Cabinet notes that government is putting in place measures to address the low basic hygiene (that is handwashing with soap and safe water) in both rural and urban areas,” […]
Manhize villagers lament displacement as steel company seizes new land
Moses ZiyambiFamilies in the resettlement areas surrounding the iron mines in Manhize where Dinson Iron and Steel Company (Disco) is building a steel manufacturing plant are resisting the slow but systematic evictions being effected by the company.Disco, which is a subsidiary of Chinese steel giant Tsingshan Holdings Group, is extracting iron ore in Manhize Range in Mashonaland East province. The company is also building a steel processing plant and a power plant in Mushenjere and Kwaedza villages of Nyikavanhu area of Chirumhanzu Rural District Council, Ward 15, in the Midlands province.Tapfumanei Nzombe, a resident of Mushenjere village, said Disco public […]
The fight against climate change: Zimbabwe walks long road
Moses Ziyambi Zimbabwe has made significant strides to address the climate change in the country, much of whose effects are more profoundly felt in the droughts and floods that have hit the country more frequently since the turn of the century, evidence on the ground shows. The country is party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) of 1992 which got ratified in September of that same year. The convention sets out a framework for action aimed at sufficiently stabilising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to avoid anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Being […]
Lithium syndicate buster Ass Com Marume faces transfer
Upenyu Chaota Assistant Commissioner Florence Marume, who has been in charge of police operations in Masvingo province, is facing the possibility of getting transferred to Chitungwiza, EnviroPress can report. The transfer follows her recent heroic exploits at work which saw her singlehandedly busting a lithium syndicate in May. Her immediate boss, Masvingo provincial police commander Commissioner David Mahoya has already been transferred to Mashonaland West. During the bust, she arrested 17 male suspects on charges of smuggling 3 700 tonnes of lithium-bearing ore from the Chinese-owned Bikita Minerals though none of the suspects have successfully been prosecuted to date. In […]
Zimra defends stop and searches of cleared cross borders
Moses Ziyambi The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has defended its much-criticized practice of stopping buses that would have crossed from South Africa and cleared by customs officials at Beit Bridge to proceed into the country. Zimra has for long been criticized for the apparent parasitic behaviour of double inconveniencing travellers by stopping their buses, and ordering them to offload their goods for searching when they would have gone through similar processes at the border post. Such follow-up searches often lead to many breakages and long delays that cost time and money on families and the national economy. Responding to questions […]
Ass Com Marume: the female officer who smashed a lithium syndicate
…singlehandedly arrests 17 suspects in one night Upenyu Chaota When her name is mentioned, cold shivers run down the spines of criminals as her reputation of shrewdness and her tough anti-corruption stance are her well-known virtues. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Assistant Commissioner Florence Marume, who is in charge of operations in Masvingo province, was the hero of the moment after revelations that she singlehandedly busted a lithium smuggling syndicate and arrested 17 male suspects in the night of Friday, May 05, 2023. The arrests occurred in the industrial area of Masvingo where an estimated 3 700 tonnes of lithium […]
Parliament pokes holes into proposed new mining law
EnviroPress Reporter The proposed new mining law has suffered a major setback after the parliament poked some holes into the legislative piece flagging some legal provisions as unconstitutional prompting the Mines ministry to go back to the drawing board. Zimbabwe is losing millions of dollars in illicit financial flows and smuggling of minerals and experts blame the country’s weak legislation and porous borders for the scourge. Zimbabwe has for nearly a decade been facing hurdles in the drafting of the Mines Bill, raising concerns over the political will to overhaul the sector’s operating environment. Last month, the Parliamentary Legal Committee […]
Billing system, state of the environment in Masvingo
Moses Ziyambi On Friday, March 24, City of Masvingo convened a stakeholder engagement interface on billing system and environmental issues at the request of the Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (Murra). Here are some of the issues that came out during presentations as well as the question and answer sessions: Follow us on Facebook and like the post here: https://www.facebook.com/EnviroPressZimbabwe City of Masvingo finance director Dunster Jori (pictured) reveals service charges: US$1.30 per kilolitre of water for the first 18 kilolitres after which the charge rises to $1.40. Refuse collection is charged at $9.48, sewer $5.67. The standard charge […]
Bikita Minerals building indecent hostels for employees
EnviroPress Reporter Bikita Minerals is building deplorable hostels reminiscent of the colonial era for its hundreds of employees, EnviroPress has observed. The hostels are shaped in the all too common rural classroom blocks, and are subdivided into very small rooms not fit for habitation by an average family. The rooms are so small and knitted together that genuine privacy is impossible, and so will be the enjoyment of human dignity as espoused in the country’s constitution. Accommodation at the mining company is segregated; with ordinary employees of Chinese origins being accommodated in more decent apartments that their Black counterparts many […]
Parliament receives Mines Bill
EnviroPress Reporter The Mines and Mineral Amendment Bill, which is expected to correct loopholes that had resulted in exploitation of the country’s minerals, has now been tabled before Parliament for crafting. The amendment to the Mines and Minerals Act of 1963 has been failing to make any progress since 2015 when it was proposed. In 2018, President Emmerson Mnangagwa sent the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill back to Parliament saying it still had sticking issues that needed to be addressed before he could sign it into law. Mines minister Winston Chitando said the Bill would repeal sections that have been […]
Proposed mining law amendments to help communities
EnviroPress Reporter Consultations on the long-awaited Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill have started to pave way for the repeal of the existing mining legislation with communities set to benefit from their resources among a host of other proposed changes. With the Bill proposing features like investor conditions, ensuring communities benefit from resources in their areas, facilitating the growth of small-scale miners and focusing on value addition, there are high expectations the country will release more from its resources through the new law. Mines and mineral activities in Zimbabwe are currently being regulated by the Mines and Minerals Act of 1963, […]