HARARE - South Africa’s biggest cement maker, PPC, says it hopes to complete its $80 million plant in Zimbabwe in the next 12 months, in a development that is expected to reduce cement prices in the country.

The company, which already runs two cement manufacturing plants at Cementside in Bulawayo and Colleen Bawn in Matabeleland South, began construction of its new 700 000-tonne per annum mill in Harare in early 2015.

PPC chief executive Darryll Castle yesterday said the company’s African expansion was intact, but it planned in future to “stagger projects” so that only one came into production per year rather than several simultaneously.

“Our projects in Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia are all at advanced stages and will be commissioned in the next 12 months — ensuring we offer shareholders a diversified portfolio of businesses in different geographies,” he said.

The cement maker said it was forced to invest in the Harare plant to meet rising demand from Zimbabwe’s budding construction projects in the northern part of the country.

In addition, the company said then, it was also aiming at supplying more into the northern corridor which includes exports to Zambia and other countries north of Zimbabwe.

This comes as the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed group, which is one of the most successful South African companies operating in Zimbabwe, is also advancing plans to raise about

$227 million to overcome its near-term liquidity constraints.

A syndicate of banks, made up of Standard Bank, Nedbank, Absa and FirstRand’s Rand Merchant Bank, has been mandated to assist with the capital raising.

PPC is being forced to raise funds after its credit rating was cut following investment in new African projects that have yet to contribute to cash flow.

Meanwhile, PPC has scrapped its dividend for the first time in over a century, seeking to conserve capital to repay debt.

Castle said PPC, which paid its first dividend when it was founded in 1908, abandoned the payout for the six months ended March

because it was in the midst of raising cash from shareholders.

“We felt under the conditions it didn’t make sense to be asking investors on the one hand to be putting money into the company and us potentially giving it back to them via a dividend,” he said.

PPC shares, down nearly 40 percent this year, fell one percent to 9,60 rand and are hovering around levels last seen in 2003.

The giant cement manufacture, which has pushed deeper into the rest of Africa as profit has slumped in its domestic market, is grappling to service dollar-denominated debt after the rand lost more than a third of its value over the past year.

HARARE - National Arts Merit Awards Promoter of The Year Daniel Masaiti has donated $500 to City Sports Bar’s popular and weekly event, Jam Session.

Masaiti who is the proprietor of Marondera-based drinking hole, Legends, was moved by City Sports Bar’s consistency in promoting every artiste through the Jam Session event.

“As promoters, we should not operate in isolation but join hands for the benefit of artistes. What I did was just an endorsement of the initiation. I never planned that I was going to give something on that night but I was impressed by the event, which is promotion par excellence.

“I’m not supporting Divine Assignments as a bar but the good works being done by the organisation. I do not wish to see that good initiative crumbling,” Masaiti said.

He said the money should help in paying some of the costs which are incurred on weekly basis, adding that, he had learnt a lot from the event and is planning to introduce it in Marondera.

“I do not mind borrowing such a brilliant idea. I learnt a lot on how to run it and what really impressed me is the fact that the event promotes every artiste from upcoming to established ones. I have a soft spot for upcoming artistes and that is the reason why I pay them a flat fee,” he said.

City Sports Bar proprietor Biggie Chinoperekwei said he was humbled by Masaiti’s act.

“As a bar we are humbled and we are going to make sure that every cent from the donation is going towards the artistes,” Chinoperekwei said.

Jam Session — a weekly event where artistes are offered an opportunity to briefly showcase is credited for reviving fortunes of forgotten artistes in the country.

Since the event was launched late last year, artistes such as Shepherd Kunodziya aka Taso, Somandla Ndebele, Dickson Chingaira aka Cde Chinx, Paradzai Mesi and Elijah Madzikatire among others took turns to showcase at the event.

HARARE - The opening of Private Lounge Bulawayo strip-tease club has awakened the City of Kings’ night life as locals now have a place where they can access adult entertainment.

Already Bev and Zoey, Harare’s most sought-after pole dancers have graced the joint twice and wowed revellers.

For visitors in Bulawayo for the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority’s Sanganai/Hlanganani  Travel Fair, the Private Lounge Bulawayo will be handy to offer adult entertainment.

The club will today and tomorrow hosts an international buyers’ cocktail which will be followed over the days until Saturday with various entertainment activities in line with the on-going Travel Expo.

Club manageress Thelma Zuva said they are happy to be welcoming international and local buyers with a big party so as to show how hospitable the City of Kings is.

She is also happy that people in Bulawayo have accepted their initiative to bring strip-tease to Zimbabwe’s second largest city.

“We are satisfied with the reception that we have received so far from people here in Bulawayo, they have shown us that they are very mature.

“Apart from the club, we also run separate bars that are independent of the strip-tease joint.

“We also offer accommodation, this is after we renovated all the rooms and put in new beds and blankets.”

Zuva said their hotel and club facility is right in the city centre

“We have already brought to our joint various entertainers including popular Djs Judgement Yard, and everyday we have a different set of record spinners catering for all sorts of music genres that cut across ages.”THE opening of Private Lounge Bulawayo strip-tease club has awakened the City of Kings’ night life as locals now have a place where they can access adult entertainment.

Already Bev and Zoey, Harare’s most sought-after pole dancers have graced the joint twice and wowed revellers.

For visitors in Bulawayo for the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority’s Sanganai/Hlanganani  Travel Fair, the Private Lounge Bulawayo will be handy to offer adult entertainment.

The club will today and tomorrow hosts an international buyers’ cocktail which will be followed over the days until Saturday with various entertainment activities in line with the on-going Travel Expo.

Club manageress Thelma Zuva said they are happy to be welcoming international and local buyers with a big party so as to show how hospitable the City of Kings is.

She is also happy that people in Bulawayo have accepted their initiative to bring strip-tease to Zimbabwe’s second largest city.

“We are satisfied with the reception that we have received so far from people here in Bulawayo, they have shown us that they are very mature.

“Apart from the club, we also run separate bars that are independent of the strip-tease joint.

“We also offer accommodation, this is after we renovated all the rooms and put in new beds and blankets.”

Zuva said their hotel and club facility is right in the city centre

“We have already brought to our joint various entertainers including popular Djs Judgement Yard, and everyday we have a different set of record spinners catering for all sorts of music genres that cut across ages.”

HARARE - Ex-Chiwoniso Maraire backing vocalist Rumbidzai Tavaziva is set to step out of her cocoon next month as she will be launching a solo musical career.

Tavaziva, who has been operating under the shadow of big artistes in local showbiz including Maraire, Pax Afro, Victor Kunonga, Willom Tight, the late Adam Chisvo and Vibe Culture among others is launching two singles in July ahead of an album expected before year end.

“I have acquired a lot of showbiz experience during Chiwoniso’s days as we used to travel outside the country a lot.

“Apart from that, I served as a backing vocalist in a number of musical groups since 2004 when I joined Pax Afro and I am convinced that this is the perfect time to embark on a solo career and showcase my talent to the world,” the Afro-fusion artiste said.

The two singles to be released are A Mother’s Cry produced by Mokoomba’s Trust Samende and Upenyu which was recorded in South Africa. All songs are of the Afro-fusion genre.

Since Maraire’s death in July 2013, Tavaziva rose to become lead vocalist of the Vibe Culture, an acoustic ensemble that propelled Chisvo and Maraire into international icons.

“I will remain loyal to Vibe Culture, though I will pay much attention to my solo projects since Vibe Culture is made up of individual artistes including mbira maker Jacob Mafumeli,” Tavaziva said.

While performing with the Vibe Culture, Tavaziva who is also part of an all-female group called Shaishai, made up of Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana, Joice Warikandwa and Benita Tarupiwa among others will confine themselves to folk songs.

Shaishai is an all-female group which is into singing and promoting Zimbabwean traditional music.

“Me being the lead vocalist of the Vibe Culture, I am not comfortable with performing Chiwoniso’s compositions but only to sing folk songs such as Nhemamusasa among others,” she said.

Since 2013, Tavaziva performed with the Vibe Culture in different joints and platforms such as

Harare International Festivals of the Arts (Hifa), Book Cafe and City Sports Bar’s weekly Jam Session among others.

HARARE - Half of the group has never sat behind a high school desk but that has not deterred them from believing they can dance their way to stardom.

The teenage street dancers, who go by the moniker Sound Movers, had revellers eating from their palm after illuminating the Starbrite Highfield auditions on Sunday.

The group belied the tatty attire they conjured up with the little funds they had, to put up an electrifying show.

Blessing Chipunza, 15, Tatenda Ngwenya, 16, Denzel Kamwendo, 11 and 15-year-old brothers Simba and Kudakwashe Musona capped their performance  to Soul Jah Luv’s club banger.

The dancers hoped the Starbrite platform will be an opportunity for more.

“The talent is there but exposure is the biggest hurdle,” said Sound Movers trainer Devine Ngoshi.

“Sometimes we approach promoters to give us slots during their shows but we are often turned down.

“Even at Chris Martin’s show they were supposed to perform but that was cancelled on the last minute.”

Ngoshi said the group still had a long way to go in breaking perceptions.

“There is always talk that ghetto kids (sic) are into drugs and hustling but these kids are trying to make a difference.

“Most of them are not in school, one of them lives with their grandmother, it’s not easy for them but through dancing they will make it,” he said.

On the day, they were also other highly-charged performances from Mbare’s Desert Foxes who had the X-Factor of a six-year-old who amazed revellers with his ability to stay in tandem with the crew.

The six-year-old son of dancehall sensation Ricky Fire junior performed his father’s rendition of Ndiratidze Zvaunoita.

Banny Mpariwa who was the lead judge of the event was in awe of some of the talent that exhibited.

“Every year, we have been bringing new elements and each time we go to areas like this we give a platform to less privileged rising artists,” he said.

“We have been to rural areas and prisons doing what we have been doing since 1992. We are not copying anybody and the response is amazing.

“This is an important step to some of these youngsters, they appreciate this platform.”

Although, the talent on display was laudable, there were, however, concerns that the organisers failed to at least provide refreshments for the young performers.

Some were visibly hungry and thirsty after the performances and could be seen begging some of the revellers who were enjoying their braai for food and drinks.

HARARE - Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (Zimura) says Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is prejudicing their members in terms of music royalties because of their manual log-in system.

When a broadcaster plays music, they are supposed to log in the song, internationally it is done through a monitoring system, but the national broadcaster does not have one.

Zimura is an association of composers and publishers of music established to protect copyright and other rights of Zimbabwean musicians.

Only two commercial radio stations (ZiFM and Star FM) are digitalised.

Zimura’s licensing manager Henry Makombe told the Daily News that ZBC’s lack of digitisation was holding them back.

“Log sheets from ZBC are manual and we have challenges on the handwritings, some of it is not clear. If it cannot be read that means the musician played there will end up being prejudiced.

“The other challenge is that we get carbon copies of the sheets, the originals going to the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe and when it is not clear again, there is a problem. If the DJ forgets to log the song in again, there is a problem.

“You thereby have incidents whereby an artiste will say I heard my song being played several times on radio, how come I am not receiving any money?” he said.

Questioned on why Zimura could not invest in their own monitoring system, Makombe said they had tried to but they faced challenges.

“When you purchase it, you constantly have to update the software and it ends up costing the organisation and artistes a lot of money. It does not really become yours, you still have fees and you cannot tamper with it to suit your local needs.

“When you want to do that, you have to engage the manufacturers, who subsequently charge you,” he said.

Makombe also shed light on the current royalty disbursements taking place.

“So far we have sent out messages of collection to 1 200 members out of  2 876 members. Out of those, about 50 percent have come out to collect,” he said.

HARARE - Former fitness coach of both Zimbabwe men’s and women’s national soccer teams, Gerald Maguranyanga is in hospital for an impending back operation.

Maguranyanga is admitted at a local private hospital for a complex restorative medical procedure to his pain-ridden back.

The trendsetting Maguranyanga was last in the headlines a couple of years ago following a public spat with the then Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze.

The fitness trainer had uncharacteristically snapped and angrily challenged the hugely unpopular Mashingaidze to resign forthwith for poorly treating the Mighty Warriors players in camp at the Zifa Village, where many times, the ladies would go hungry because of inadequate or shoddily prepared food.

The resultant hullabaloo ignited a huge debate in the mainstream and social media with most football fans lambasting Zifa for carelessly abusing the girl child.

The nasty fallout resulted in Maguranyanga promptly getting a dismissal letter from Mashingaidze.

Since then, Maguranyanga has kept a low profile something he attributes to the back problem he is now having corrected.

“I have struggled with major back pain in the past few years, but I have also consulted and been privileged to be managed by rehabilitation experts to ease the pain,” Maguranyanga told the Daily News from the hospital yesterday.

“Lately though, there has been a marked deterioration in the condition. It was time to bite the bullet, so here I am getting ready for the long surgery... I am positive... post-surgery, I will be as right as rain”

Maguranyanga was a focused and determined pacesetter. At 21, he had acquired two rugby coaching badges from the Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU), getting taught and certified by the highly-regarded Collin Osborne.

After the snap interview, Maguranyanga quipped: “I do not want visitors at the hospital, but please ask my rugby mentor... (Temba) Mliswa to come visit me, but only if he is coming to debate the recent rugby Tests between South Africa and Ireland — definitely no politics please!”

HARARE - It is an open secret that in sport, fans are the biggest shareholders.

In any case not only do they part with their resources — money and time — whenever they attend matches, they also part with what I view as the most important thing in life, commitment.

It is that commitment that makes sports fans across the globe, travel, fill and pack stadia, all in support of their teams.

That is what commitment brings to sport and those that follow it. Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), once an envy of many in the world has again hit turbulent times.

Since the ‘‘rebel’’ era when the bulk of white players who made the country’s national teams, walked out of the sport in protest over the administration of the country and the sport, the biggest shareholders of the game have done nothing than support the sport.

The period that immediately followed the ‘‘rebel’’ era, was that of downturn, which the fans understandably took in their stride as the country was “undergoing a rebuilding phase” of the sport.

Young schoolboys, predominantly from the high-density suburbs of the country were given a huge and awesome responsibility of representing the national team.

Tatenda Taibu, and Hamilton Masakadza were among the first in the crop of young blood that was thrown at the deep end of the sport.

As years passed on, the likes of former skipper Elton Chigumbura, Vusi Sibanda, Stuart Matsikenyeri and then later on Prosper Utseya came through the ranks.

Why not, it was a “rebuilding phase” and these lads had exhibited serious talent and potential to carry the sport forward.

These changes on the field of play also gave rise to changes in the stands where the owners of the game — the fans — occupy their space during matches.

This coupled by an aggressive drive by the then Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU), to take the sport to the grassroots in search of the next Andy Flower or Heath Streak among previously marginalised communities in the country, saw a growing number of people taking an active interest and liking in the sport.

More and more school children, especially in high-density areas started taking interest in the sport.

This generation, which benefitted from ZCU’s initiative of taking the sport to the people, is now one of the biggest constituents of cricket fans in the country.

They now not only understand the sport, they own it, and it’s theirs.

Harare Sports Club (HSC) and Bulawayo’s Queens Sports Club, our cricket coliseums, now attract thousands of the sport’s enthusiasts whenever our beloved Chevrons go out to play.

Zimbabwe has over the recent years failed to attract big cricket playing nations for matches.

Countries like Australia and New Zealand only recently resumed playing against us.

Zimbabwe, a Test-playing nation, last donned the all-whites in November 2014 against Bangladesh.

The fans have thus, been starved of cricket, the game that they now so love.

Victories have not been forthcoming either for Zimbabwe and the fans, though committed to the cause are increasingly getting agitated with each loss.

We seem to take one step forward and five backwards. With each passing series, our performances do not show any sign of progression whatsoever, save for the few individual brilliant performances that always seem to be forgotten due to lack of consistency on the part of the players.

Who is to blame for the constant poor showing of the national team is the question on everybody’s lips. Is it the administration, the coaches or the players?

Are we still in the “rebuilding phase” nearly 12 years after the white cricketers walked away?

If the players who took over from the whites are still playing today (now with well over 100 matches to their name) don’t we have enough talent?

While other countries like Bangladesh have upped their game and are now well above us, what does it say about our game?

Is there not any development in our game? We have hired and fired coaches of repute, who have tasted glory in other countries, so in all earnest what is wrong with us?

It is these questions that remain unanswered that fans want answered.

The protest by fans at HSC on Monday was never a publicity stunt. It was never about lashing individual players, no. It was never anything personal.

What it was is something that they the fans have been bottling in for so many years now — frustration.

Fans like to have their commitment repaid by noticeable effort on the field of play. That is why fans stick to their teams even when things are bad, they will be acknowledging the effort their players would be putting in even if results don’t go their way.

Surely, with all the singing that goes on at Castle Corner, something that has gained global media acclaim — ZC and the players owe it to the loyal young men and women who sing and dance throughout the entire day every time they come out to play.

Right now they are frustrated and angry, India has already taken the ODI series with one game still to play but I will bet my last dollar, today, HSC will not be empty.

They will turn out and they will be singing and cheering if and only if, the effort on the field of play is well worth it.

It is up to ZC as the administrators to answer those pertinent questions and the coaches as well as players to also answer those questions while they do their thing on the field of play.

HARARE - Zimbabwe cricket interim coach Makhaya Ntini was forced to eat humble pie after his declarations of “sweeping India under the carpet” came back to haunt him.

The second-string touring India side easily coasted to victory during the ongoing Killer Cup three-match ODI series after winning the first two matches.

Despite being made up of mostly inexperienced cricketers, the Asians displayed great maturity in all departments and were disciplined with the bat while the locals were simply poor both in approach and execution.

This morning, both teams meet in the dead rubber final ODI at Harare Sports Club with the visitors determined to complete a series whitewash while the hosts are desperate to save face.

Ntini, who was elevated to the hot seat following the sacking of Dav Whatmore last month, said he does not have any regrets about his pre-series rant against India.

“There’s nothing changed to that. This is a process... when was the last time Zimbabwe played? That’s the question you must be asking. We haven’t got to that position whereby we can be able to conquer what we need to conquer,” the South African bowling legend said.

“We haven’t batted well that we have seen that the bowlers are very good, they are in good form, they bowl in the right areas but there was no score that they can be able to defend.

“That statement still stands and every one of them still believes they can still do it and there’s no change to that.

“I can stick my foot out of that and say we will do it. We have experienced players with us, players that can easily read the game. The position that we were, was a perfect position — 25 overs left and all of sudden we lost two wickets within one over.

“For me it tells you straight away that I think we never respect a good over and that on its own changes the game — the good over where we try to force matters that’s when it changes.”

In order to compete with the dynamic India side, Ntini suggests his side must get the basics right and execute all the fundamentals of the game.

“They need to learn that if a guy is bowling very well they should respect that. 50 overs is a lot of time so those are the things that we need to get to them and understand that they need to have that maturity of being able to read the game and being able to understand the situation,” he said.

“... how did the Indian team bat? They read the situation, they know that if there is a good bowler they respect that and they will wait for the bad ball but we didn’t, we wanted to force matters.”

A change in approach for the locals will be what is required by the disgruntled fans, who abandoned the Castle Corner stands in fury on Monday.

HARARE - New boxing academy BoxAfrica is set to host an amateur boxing tournament at St Mary’s Hall in Chitungwiza on June 25 aimed at developing the sport at grassroots level.

The academy which also doubles up as a promotion and management company says more than 30 clubs from around the country are expected to participate in the second edition of the tournament dubbed “Everlasting Ring Engagements.”

The first edition was staged at the same venue in November last year through their partnership with the local town council.

BoxAfrica director Gilbert Munetsi said his organisation derives pride in amateur boxing, a base from which “pugilists transit into professional ranks.”

“Without a firm amateur structure, we cannot entertain the hopes of churning out more champions on the regional and international circuit,” Munetsi said.

“We have thus identified Chitungwiza as a way to spread the sport to other parts of the country that have not been as active and when the local authority embraced our idea for the project. We made a Memorandum of Understanding whereby we do the administrative part and they provide venues and chip in with other requirements needed to make the tournament successful.”

The former Zimbabwe National Boxing Control Board secretary said: “The medium to long-term goal is to have a well-organised academy that is well-resourced tapping into the abundant talent at Chitungwiza’s disposal.”

Chitungwiza Town Clerk George Makunde said their goal is to see his community becoming the hub of boxing in the country.

“Chitungwiza is home to the best musicians and footballers and, yes, it is home to the best boxers too – only that they need support to make it big in their careers,” Makunde said.

HARARE - One of the survivors from Saturday’s minibus accident which claimed the lives of eight Dynamos fans says she tried to warn the driver of the vehicle but was ignored.

The supporters were travelling to Gweru to watch their side take on Chapungu in a Castle Lager Premiership match at Ascot Stadium when disaster struck near Battlefields, a few kilometres from Kwekwe along the Harare-Bulawayo highway.

The minibus burst a rear tyre before veering off the road and crashed killing seven passengers on the spot while another one passed away on Monday at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.

DeMbare proceeded to play the match and collected all three points after goals from Masimba Mambare and King Nasama cancelled out the opener from Chapungu’s Hillary Mugoniwa.

Speaking at her Hopley home Nasama’s mother Shylet Tinonetsana, who survived the horror crash, narrated how the accident occurred.

“I think the problem which caused the accident is the fact the minibus’ rear axle had only one wheel on each side instead of two,” Tinonetsana said.

“Since I was seated in the back I could smell some burning rubber which meant that there was a problem with the tyres.

“I called out to the driver and the other passengers to stop singing so we could get to the bottom of the problem about the smell but I think only three minutes later that’s when the tyre burst.

“Of the five people who were seated at the back; myself and my friend survived the crash. Three others died on the spot.”

After the accident, injured survivors were rushed to Kwekwe and Kadoma general hospitals before they were transferred to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare after the intervention of National Football Association President (Nafaz) Philip Chiyangwa and Dynamos officials, who rushed to the scene.

Yesterday, Chiyangwa and Sports minister Makhosini Hlongwane visited Parirenyetwa where only one survivor Patience Marufu is still admitted.

The duo proceeded to Hopley where they also visited Tinonetsana.

Nasama’s mother praised Chiyangwa’s intervention as they had received limited assistance in Kwekwe.

“I’m very grateful to you president for being alive today,” Tinonetsana told Chiyangwa.

“We really appreciate the love you showed us during this difficult time. If you had not intervened and we had remained in Kwekwe; many more people would have passed away.”

The Nafaz president said he swiftly made the decision to have the survivors transferred to Parirenyatwa when he realised they were not getting any assistance in Kwekwe.  

“I arrived in Kadoma in the company of Dynamos officials; Kenni Mubaiwa and Bernard Marriot. We went to the mortuary where we saw the seven bodies of those who had passed away,” he said.

“We then proceeded to Kwekwe General Hospital and found out that doctors had not even attended to the injured survivors.

“That’s when I said ‘what’s the point of keeping patients at Kwekwe hospital where they are not being attended and their relatives are far away in Harare?’”

Hlongwane was disappointed with how survivors were neglected by the emergency service providers and will now engage his Cabinet colleagues to improve the response in this critical sector.

“If this is true, it should not have happened in the first place. I am going to be discussing with my colleague who is the Home Affairs minister (Ignatius) Chombo and president of Nafaz so that we design a template for sector-wide implementation,” Hlongwane said.

BUJUMBURA - Nine schools are being investigated in eastern Burundi after photos of the president were defaced in text books.

More than 230 pupils were suspended on Monday for refusing to own up to the defacement of 27 books at their school.

Eleven students in other provinces are already being prosecuted for insulting the president by defacing his photo, punishable by five to 10 years in jail.

Burundi has experienced unrest over the last year triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's third term in office.

His decision to stand for another five-year term and his subsequent re-election sparked protests from opposition supporters who said the move was unconstitutional.

The BBC's Prime Ndikumagenge in the capital, Bujumbura, says the 234 pupils at Gahinga Secondary School in Ruyigi province were also prevented from sitting their end-of-year exams on Tuesday because they would not tell the authorities who had scrawled on the President Nkurunziza's photo.

The students were asked to write down the names of those who had defaced the books and the names of those who had encouraged them to do it.

"But they gave us blank sheets," local government official Aloys Ngenzirabona told the AFP news agency.

The picture of Burundi's president is alongside those of two former monarchs in books on human sciences for grades eight and nine, our reporter says.

Defaced pictures of the president were first reported in a school south of the capital last month.

Guillaume Kwizera, head of education in Ruyigi province, told the BBC the students would remain at home until the investigation into all nine schools was complete.

The authorities want to know if there a political motive behind the pupils' conduct.

More than 400 people have been killed in unrest since April 2015.

CAIRO - Wreckage of the EgyptAir flight that went missing over the Mediterranean last month has been found, Egyptian investigators say.

A statement said "several main locations of the wreckage" had been identified.

A deep sea search vessel had also sent back the first images of the wreckage, the statement added.

There were 66 people on board flight MS804 when it crashed on 19 May while flying from Paris to Cairo.

The Airbus A320 plane vanished from Greek and Egyptian radar screens, apparently without having sent a distress call.

The Egyptian investigation committee said that investigators on board the John Lethbridge search vessel, which has been contracted by the Egyptian government, would now draw up a map of the wreckage distribution.

Earlier this month, search teams said signals from one of the "black box" flight recorders had been detected.

Signals emitted by the recorders are expected to expire by 24 June, experts have warned.

The cause of the crash remains a mystery.

A terror attack has not been ruled out but no extremist group has claimed the downing of the plane.

Analysts say human or technical error is also a possibility. Electronic messages sent by the plane revealed that smoke detectors went off in the toilet and the aircraft's electrics, minutes before the plane's signal was lost.

According to Greek investigators, the plane turned 90 degrees left and then 360 degrees to the right, dropping from 11,300m (37,000ft) to 4,600m (15,000ft) and then 3,000m (10,000ft) before it was lost from radar.

HARARE - Zanu PF officials, led by deputy Industry and Commerce minister Chiratidzo Iris Mabuwa, have embarked on an ambitious business deal that could see the country receiving cars, trucks, agricultural and farming equipment from Japan.

Mabuwa led a delegation of Zanu PF officials who included businesswoman Smelly Dube and Harare South legislator Shadreck Mashayamombe on a trip to Japan last week.

In interview with the Daily News yesterday, Mashayamombe said the purpose of the trip was to demonstrate that they have the country at heart and also to follow up on President Robert Mugabe’s recent trip to Tokyo.

“We went to Japan and met with four companies to support us with cars, farming equipment and other things that will make Zimbabwe as a nation progress.

“We want our people to drive first hand cars and not second hand vehicles. The cars that we will be bringing are affordable and anyone credit worthy can afford them,” Mashayamombe said.

Zimbabweans are currently dependent on second hand and affordable cars mainly from Japan.

Apart from that, the delegation also negotiated a deal for farmers.

“At least 10 000 tractors are on their way and we will expect the farmer to pay 50 percent first while the other half will be paid on a scheme,” Mashayamombe said.

The Zanu PF officials said instead of concentrating on factional fights as some of their comrades are doing rather viciously, they decided to put shoulder to the wheel and do something that will benefit the economy both in the short and long term.

“...We went to the source where most cars are coming from. It is not only Japan that will bring things here, we will also benefit as a country. They want leather and other materials produced locally.”

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HARARE - The sexually-transmitted disease, gonorrhea, has become a drug-resistant “superbug” and doctors have been struggling to devise new ways of treating it, a leading sexual health expert said.

The disease, which involves inflammatory discharge from the urethra or vagina, has been added on to the list of infections, viruses and bacteria that have become global health threats.

“Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are back to hound us. When you get infected, the doctor now has to juggle around medicines to prescribe to a patient suffering from gonorrhea,” Stanley Midzi from the World Health Organisation told journalists at a training workshop on anti-microbial resistance (AMR) on Tuesday.

“Some of the strains can only be tackled by combination of tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, flouroquinolones, macrolides and cephalosporins. There is no one cure anymore, there is nothing that can treat it and sadly, there is nothing in the pipeline.”

Strains of the Neisseria gonorrhea bacteria were starting to become resistant and could soon become impervious to all current antibiotic treatment options.

Other diseases which are drug resistant, as first line treatments are no longer effective are; malaria, tuberculosis as well as other opportunistic infections of Aids, resulting in increase in the cost of care. This comes as drug resistance also known as anti-microbial resistance has become a major health threat predicted to result in 10 million deaths per year globally by 2050.

Anti-microbial resistance occurs when organisms that cause disease are no longer responsive to drugs that previously were effective in combating them.

Meanwhile, health experts have warned Zimbabweans against buying any medicine from the streets as they put themselves on risk of developing a resistance to drugs.

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HARARE - Opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Tendai Biti has appealed for $8 000 to help free 11 young activists who have been occupying Africa Unity Square on a 16-day protest against President Robert Mugabe’s regime.

The activists are facing two counts of robbery and defeating the course of justice.

Despite having been granted bail last week, the activists remained behind bars at Harare Central Prison and Chikurubi Women’s Prison respectively, after they failed to raise the money.

Patson Dzamara was granted $1 000 bail, Pride Mukono was given $1 000 bail, Oliver Chikumba $1 000 bail, Irvine Takavadii $500 bail, Tatenda Mombeyarara $1 000, Shadreck Dhliwayo $500, Makomborero Haruzivishe $1 000, Brian Kasunzuma $500 bail, Linda Masarira $500, Munezhu Mandova $500 and Pamela Mawire $500.

“I am a concerned Zimbabwean and a human rights lawyer and I know most of the incarcerated people personally,” Biti said, adding that he supports the activists’ cause to protest.

“I brought them food. I was concerned that these activists are fighting on behalf of the people, but they were granted bail last week, yet Zimbabweans couldn’t do anything, that’s horrible,” the former Finance minister said.

He urged Zimbabweans to mobilise funds to ensure the release of the activists.

The State alleges that on June 9, around midnight, two female complainants disembarked from a commuter omnibus at Fourth Street Bus Terminus.

They passed through Africa Unity Square on their way to Copacabana Bus Terminus to get transport to Mufakose.

The State claims Dzamara and his accomplices confronted the complainants and snatched their handbags before searching them.

They allegedly stole the three ladies’ school uniforms, red jersey, pair of trousers, jean skirt and wallet with $30.

The other complainant lost three school jerseys and one floral dress.

When the complainants screamed for help, the court was told, three police officers who were on duty near Parliament rushed to the scene.

It is alleged that the accused persons resisted arrest and took away constable Nhidza’s cap and baton stick while allegedly dragging him into a Honda Fit that was said to be parked along Jason Moyo Avenue.

According to court papers, Dzamara and his accomplices were later arrested and police recovered the stolen property valued $80.

On the June 10 and 11, 2016, the Harare Magistrate’s Courts granted bail to the young activists but have failed to post the bail.

“They, however, remain in solid spirits bar the fact that they feel let down,” Biti said.

The female activists are at Chikurubi with a different set of challenges, he said.

Mandova is nursing a three-month old baby who was snatched away from her when she was picked up from the park on Thursday.

“Thankfully, the girls have a lot of blankets as the place only has 90 prisoners after 285 were released on presidential amnesty.

“However, the reduction in the prison population has meant a shortage of labour. The activists, even though on remand, are being forced to do forced labour which they tell me is as demeaning as it is excruciating. They also complain of horrible food and the absence of sanitary arsenal.

“These activists have been granted bail which remains outstanding. Surely, we owe them this little,” Biti said.

“...I appeal for urgent help for the required bail money which must be paid ...”

HARARE - Economic experts have warned afresh that Zimbabwe’s economy is in dire straits and that authorities need to move with more urgency and vigour to mitigate the country’s plummeting fortunes.

The warning comes in the wake of the country’s worsening liquidity and cash crises, the economy contracting precipitously, thousands of companies shutting down, unemployment hovering at well over 90 percent, and the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange losing more than $2,5 billion of its value as foreign investors flee.

“The cash crisis is a reflection of structural deficiencies and distortions in the economy,” Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe chief economist, Prosper Chitambara, said.

“The insanity of Mugabenomics caused hyperinflation and the well documented destruction of the Zimbabwe dollar.

“Switching the system over to United States dollars provided some respite, but failure to effect urgently required fixes meant this was only ever going to be temporary. That wasted period of ‘extra time’ is over,” South African economic analyst Alec Hogg said.

He said Zimbabwe’s cash shortages highlighted the struggle that the government faced in resuscitating an economy that was now half of the size it was 15 years ago.

The worsening cash crisis has forced the central bank to limit daily cash withdrawals to $1 000, amid further plans to introduce bond notes to be backed by a $200 million Afreximbank loan.

But in reality, daily withdrawal limits have gone done to as low as $50 in some banks, as depositors have rushed to withdraw all their money before the introduction of the bond notes.

The panic withdrawals have seen a leading local safari company warning visiting tourists that “with the recent cash shortage in the country and the possible introduction of bond notes, our guests are advised to travel with cash in small denominations so as to avoid disappointment and unnecessary headaches”.

In addition, long-forgotten foreign currency dealers and cash barons are back in business, “selling” cash for a 10 percent premium, in exchange for electronic cash transfers.

“I get substantial amounts of cash from my businesses and it makes business sense to distribute the money to people in need of it at a premium than to deposit it in the bank,” a local businessman who preferred anonymity said.

FBC Holdings chairperson Herbert Nkala has recommended that Zimbabwe would be better off if it expeditiously shifts to using the South African rand, in the wake of worsening dollar shortages.

“My view is that while the rand is certainly not ideal, as South Africa has its own issues, we import most things from Mzansi. We just need to be realistic and embrace the rand,” he said, adding that “the alternative is not attractive”.

“Almost certainly, the easiest way forward is to move increasingly to the rand. It does not have the desirability of the US dollar, but at least there is relative confidence in the unit.

“The quicker this happens in this country — dual pricing and the like — the softer the landing we are going to have in the months ahead,” Nkala said.

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HARARE - Fit-again opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is back with a bang and will lead from the front in the planned Mutare MDC demonstration next week — the party’s third major such mass action in as many months — against President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF’s misrule.

Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka, confirmed to the Daily News yesterday that the former prime minister in the government of national unity was now in “excellent health” and champing at the bit to lead Zimbabwe’s democratic quests, after undergoing an emergency operation in South Africa last month at the recommendation of his local doctors.

“President Tsvangirai will definitely be in Mutare. He is in high spirits, and as he himself has said, he is actually more worried about the country’s political economy, which is in a dire state, rather than his health,” he said.

Tsvangirai and the MDC, who are credited with steadying the country’s dying economy between 2009 and 2013 when they shared executive responsibilities with Zanu PF then, have mounted two mega demonstrations in Harare and Bulawayo over the past two months.

Despite loud denials by the governing party in public, insiders have said the demonstrations shook Zanu PF to its core, after the main opposition brought both Harare and Bulawayo’s central business district to a halt during the marches.

MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu said the Mutare mass action would target Zanu PF’s continuing misrule, the party’s failure to fulfil its 2013 election promises to create 2,2 million new jobs, as well as agitate for answers following Mugabe’s recent claim that $15 billion had been stolen from the Chiadzwa diamond mining fields among other things.

“Preparations for the Manicaland demo are going on very smoothly and we expect a crowd of not less than 10 000. We expect to see our president, the charismatic and indefatigable freedom fighter, Tsvangirai, leading the demo in Mutare,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gutu also announced yesterday that the MDC Youth Assembly in Mashonaland Central would hold a demonstration in Bindura tomorrow, to commemorate the Day of the African Child.

“This is basically an event for the youths, and we expect no less than 2 000 youths to take part in that march. They will be articulating issues that are pertinent to the lives of young Zimbabweans, such as the scarcity of jobs, business opportunities and the payment of college fees,” he said.

Since Mugabe and Zanu PF won the hotly-disputed 2013 elections, the economy has been on a downward spiral, with thousands of companies shutting down, and hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs — worsening poverty levels in the troubled country.

In recent months, economists have said Zimbabwe has once again hit the depths of humanitarian and economic despair that were last experienced in 2008, when the country’s seemingly unending political crisis precipitated an economic meltdown of monumental proportions — which culminated in the death of the Zimbabwe dollar and mass emigrations out of the country.

There were ample signs when Tsvangirai led the Harare demo that the MDC is getting its mojo back, when thousands of people — most of them party supporters clad in trademark red regalia — brought the capital’s central business district to a temporary halt, as they marched in the peaceful demo that culminated in Tsvangirai calling on Mugabe to leave office now or face the wrath of the people.

Observers told the Daily News then that the demonstration had shown that contrary to Zanu PF propaganda that Tsvangirai and the MDC were now spent forces, the main opposition was very much alive and still the major threat to the ruling party’s thuggish hegemony.

Addressing the crowd, Tsvangirai — who was mercilessly bludgeoned by police and left for dead when he dared participate in a prayer meeting organised by churches in 2007 — said Zimbabweans should ratchet up their demands for their constitutional rights.

“Because of what happened in previous years, I know it’s not easy for Zimbabweans to demonstrate . . . We therefore as opposition parties demand, that Mugabe must go and have an early retirement in Zvimba (Mugabe’s rural home),” he said.

“This is the first demonstration . . . we are going to other provinces and we are also going to have a national demonstration here in Harare. As the MDC, we are not afraid. We are prepared to lead the struggle even at its worst time,” Tsvangirai added.

“We are here to tell Mugabe and his regime that they have failed to provide leadership to the national crisis. The two million jobs which were promised to us have turned to be two million vendors.

“Mugabe has no solution to the crisis we are facing because he is tired. We are not demanding an overthrow of the government, we are demanding a dignified exit for the tired Mugabe.

“We are saying to Mugabe this is time for him to listen to the voice of the people. The people shall rule, the people shall liberate themselves,” Tsvangirai also said to thunderous applause.

Ahead of the march, all eyes had been on the MDC president as he plotted the first serious mass action that the opposition was to embark on in a decade — with both friends and foes keen to see the impact, or lack of the protest march as the 2018 national elections beckon.

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HARARE - There is no denying the incredible job our Police Department has done in recent weeks in the apprehension of the fugitive kombi driver behind the death of a 17-year-old Harare Girls’ High School pupil Jocelyn Gomba.

Wadzanayi Mabika, 41, ploughed into the school girl three weeks ago, before fatally dragging her body under his vehicle. He has been sentenced to six years and eight months behind bars; and will never drive a passenger vehicle in his lifetime.

This case highlights why it’s important that, at all costs, we keep our police department well-resourced.

Police investigators easily cracked the high-profile homicide that occurred in Harare’s Central Business District. In a few days, investigators got the name of the suspect and his likely whereabouts and were able to arrest the suspect, who had skipped the border to South Africa, without incident.

That took a lot of extra effort and hours to track down a suspected, cold-blooded killer.

That investigation was the summation of plain-old good police work. The kind of work that requires dedicated employees who care about justice being served swiftly.

Police officers and investigators acted like a well-oiled machine in tracking down and busting this case. It took countless hours and dogged police work to get the bad guy.

As we reflect on these recent successful police efforts and try to open a discussion on how we can preserve what we have, questions inadvertently arise about Itai Dzamara’s cold case.

Over 16 months after five men abducted the political activist and former journalist, the fate of his file tilts more toward limbo than prosecution.

Dzamara was the editor of the News Leader newspaper which he founded in 2008. Prior to that, he worked for various publications, including the Zimbabwe Independent, the Standard and The Zimbabwean.

In October 2014, he suspended the News Leader’s publication in order to focus on his political activism. The same month, he submitted a petition calling for President Robert Mugabe’s resignation.

Since then, Dzamara has led a pro-democracy movement known as Occupy Africa Unity Square, which called for Mugabe’s resignation. In November 2014, he was beaten by police in Africa Unity Square.

Two days before his abduction, he delivered a speech at an opposition rally in Harare, offering solidarity with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party for mass protests against the deteriorating political and economic situation in Zimbabwe.

On March 13, last year, the country’s High Court ordered the police and State intelligence agency to search for Dzamara and work closely with the family’s lawyer. The investigation is thought to be ongoing.

While the Zimbabwean authorities officially deny any involvement in Dzamara’s abduction or knowledge of his whereabouts, Dzamara’s family are less than convinced, given the authorities’ past precedent for the harassment and persecution of supporters of the opposition.

We don’t want the public to forget about Dzamara, and, unfortunately, that’s the way we are seeing it go.

We need somebody to step up, just like in the Girls High case, identify a suspect and be willing to testify. Why has there been no breakthrough on this case, despite dedicated officers working relentlessly on other cases?

Now is not the time for tight lips. Yet silence is mostly all investigators have heard, even though multiple people must have seen his daylight abduction.

One wonders if those with knowledge about what happened have hesitated to come forward.

For that, he will not get to see the spring, and each day leading to warmer weather brings Dzamara’s case closer to a designation without closure: a cold case. Is there no political, economic or moral will to find Dzamara and his abductors, or upholding the law?

Authorities must demonstrate the same zeal they showed in busting the Girls High murder in cracking Dzamara’s abduction. Nothing short of this is acceptable.

EDITOR — The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, John Mangudya and Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa have not been honest to the people of Zimbabwe on the true causes of the current cash crisis and the real motive behind the introduction of the questionable bond notes.

It is shocking that it has taken a few months since assumption of office for Governor Mangudya to expose himself fully to the watching eyes of the Zimbabweans and the international community.

To us it is clear that the primary cause of the cash shortages is that the government has literally been raiding the Real Time Gross Services (RTGS) balances at the central bank to pay for its own recurrent expenditures.

Zimbabwe’s wage bill is clearly unsustainable and is driving a major budget deficit, which we estimate to be 30 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.

It is our belief that the hole in the RTGS balances is as huge as $2 billion and has left Chinamasa and Mangudya with no choice but to commit suicide through the measures announced on May 4, 2016.

Indeed, as our colleague, Eddie Cross has been saying, the government has been issuing Treasury Bills (TBs) like confetti as if there is no tomorrow.  These TBs have been honoured from the RBZ.

In our view, Chinamasa and Mangudya must stop lying to the people of Zimbabwe and the International Monetary Fund.

Vince Musewe

PDP Secretary for Finance and Economic Affairs