National

July Moyo pressures Victoria Falls City Council to give prime land to gold baron

Published

3 years ago

November 29, 2022

BRENNA MATENDERE

LOCAL Government minister July Moyo, who is entangled in Victoria Falls land scandals — with his ally mayor Somveli Dlamini currently out of jail on bail after he was arrested for a fraudulent land deal — is pressuring Zimbabwe’s tourism mecca to give prime land next to the luxurious A’Zambezi River Lodge to a company owned by gold baron Pedzisayi “Scott” Sakupwanya BetterBrands Investments.a

This comes as Moyo, together with Arosume Property Development, have been reported to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) for allegedly corruptly cancelling a title deed belonging to Borrowdale resident Taruvinga Hamura.

The dossier on Moyo’s land activities was also sent to the Office of the President and Cabinet for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s attention, his deputy Constantino Chiwenga, police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga, the National Prosecuting Authority and Judicial Service Commission.

Moyo is pressing Victoria Falls city council to give the 7 000-square metres land to Sakupwanya’s company using political pressure and in violation to good governance tenets.

The pressure borders on corruption as the minister should not be lobbying for land for private companies and individuals for personal gain.

The piece of land at stake borders A’Zambezi River Lodge, the Zambezi River and Victoria Falls Boat Club. A’Zambezi River Lodge is nestled on the banks of Africa’s 4th longest river on the periphery of the Zambezi National Park. It occupies the finest location that gives its guests an ambiance of pristine wildlife, nature, riverine frontage and jetty site.

However, Moyo’s wish has not been granted. Council has told BetterBrands that it is unable to avail the land because it was being leased by another company, Wild Horizons, which has paid its rentals in advance. Investigations show that Moyo travelled to Victoria Falls on 20 September in a bid to bring political pressure to bear on the city council, currently led by town clerk Ronny Dube in Dlamini’s absence, to give the land to Sakupwanya’s company for private development.

Dlamini is out on bail on corruption charges relating to a residential stand which he allegedly bought fraudulently. Sources said Moyo slept at The Palm River Hotel, formerly known as Palm River Lodge, a four-star luxury facility located on the banks of the Zambezi River, when he visited the resort city to make a case for BetterBrands before Dlamini was arrested.

Dlamini, who is close to the minister, was arrested on 6 October. BetterBrands deals in gold and jewellery, but has a diversified portfolio which includes transport, energy, security services and real estate.

What makes the situation more complicated is that the land is currently occupied by tourism operator Wild Horizon, which owns and operates whitewater rafting, Zambezi boat cruises, Chobe day trips, helicopter flights and other adventure activities.

It provides tours, transfers and activities in Victoria Falls, Livingstone and Chobe. Its properties include The Elephant Camp, one of the most luxurious lodges in Victoria Falls, Old Drift Lodge, a new luxury tented lodge on the banks of the Zambezi River not far from the waterfall and Imbabala Zambezi Safari Lodge on the border to Chobe.

“BetterBrands wants that land, so Moyo has been pressuring Victoria Falls city council to give the company the property. Moyo came to town on 20 September to push for the deal,” a Local Government ministry official said.

“He slept at The Palm River Hotel and the following day he had meetings with Dlamini and Dube. After that, Moyo and Dlamini left, claiming to be going for a funeral without Dube. It later transpired that they had gone to mobilise war veterans and thugs to hound Dube out of office. Subsequently, the war veterans came to lock Dube out of his office. They even defied police who had told them that what they were doing was illegal.

“Three days before that, Dlamini had reported Dube to Zacc, accusing him of a number of alleged corrupt ac tivities regarding allocation of land and a deal with council for him to buy a car.

“The same letter was used to illegally suspend Dube for a short while before he was reinstated by councillors.”

In an unexpected turn of events, when Zacc went on to investigate Dube — who was reported by the mayor — they actually found it was Dlamini instead with a case to answer, not the town clerk. On 27 September, Moyo moved to quickly appoint a team from his ministry to investigate Dube who has been a stumbling block to his land deals with Dlamini.

Moyo appointed the team to probe Dube on various charges ranging from unprocedural allocation of land, withdrawing council money without authority, misleading council and incompetence, but a preliminary report did not find the town clerk guilty of any criminal offence.

The probe team was chaired by the director of local authorities Mike Mazai and included director of local governance Tapera Mugoriya, chief financial officer Alpha Nhamo, a legal adviser only identified as C. Tshuma and Land Siansole Kabome, the district development coordinator of Binga.

Officials in the ministry said Moyo was so unhappy with the findings to an extent that he summoned the team for a meeting on 14 November and ordered them to rewrite the report, implicating Dube as he desperately wants him removed from his position.

Moyo appointed the team following a chain of controversial activities and clashes between the mayor and the town clerk, including a demonstration by war veterans in Matabeleland North and members of the Victoria Falls Combined Residents’ Association against Dube for alleged corruption in the sale of land.

Dlamini, Dube’s opponent, had met war veterans ahead of the demonstration. The war veterans then locked Dube out of his office, demanding an investigation. The demonstration resulted in the police and Zacc descending on council while Moyo assembled a probe team to investigate allegations against the town clerk.

In a spectacular boomerang, Zacc officials, however, arrested Dlamini for corruption after the investigation, while Dube was set free.

The ministry of Local Government however continued its probe, looking into five allegations: allocation of brewery stands to Jackleberry Investment without council authority; allocation of land in the dumpsite/landfill site and sewage pond area without council resolution; withdrawal of US$84 000 from a council account; misleading council in awarding the tender for sale of stand number 8300 to Zambezi Properties; and incompetence, dereliction of duty and failure to supervise staff.

The minister’s investigation team produced a preliminary report which did not find Dube guilty, although it highlighted administrative lapses.

The report was submitted to the minister, but he was unhappy as it did not nail Dube. As a result, the minister ordered his investigation team to doctor the report to suit his design — finding Dube guilty — to remove him and pave way for his land deals-The Newshawks

National

Econet unveils new home and business data packages

Published

3 days ago

September 11, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has launched new ‘Smart-Suite’ Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) data packages consisting of six plans tailored to address the data needs of different customers – from the ‘SmartLite’ plan, offering 50GB of data (best for light users) and retailing for $30, to ‘SmartPro’, offering 800GB of data (ideal for established SMEs) and retailing at $170.

In between are ‘SmartPlus’, offering 75GB at $40 (targeting families); ‘SmartMax’, offering 100GB at $50 (ideal for bigger homes and freelancers); ‘SmartFlex’, offering 200GB at $70 (tailored for flexible scaling and small offices) and ‘SmartUltra’, offering 400GB at $99 (suitable for heavy, multi-users and SMEs).

Introducing the SmartSuite packages on multiple media channels, Econet said the new data packages will be easy to upgrade and will offer flexible plans “that grow with your needs”.

To ensure optimized and stable performance within a customer’s premise and network coverage area, the new packages will be geo-locked to a customer’s location, and accessible using a 4G or 5G CPE (customer premises equipment) router.

Geo-locking – a term used to describe the restriction of access to a product or service to a specific geographical location – ensures customers get the best possible usage experience while enabling service providers like telcos and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to ringfence critical resources such as bandwidth, making certain they are utilized by the intended users.

Econet said the SmartSuite packages will be available through its Econet Shops across the country where the company enjoys the largest network coverage, adding that CPE routers will also be available for sale in its shops – starting from US$48 per unit. The company noted though that customers will be free to use their existing CPEs, or to purchase CPEs anywhere elsewhere, as long as they were compatible with Econet’s SmartSuite product specifications.

Econet, which is the largest mobile network operator in Zimbabwe, enjoys the widest 4G (LTE) network coverage in the country. With 300 5G base stations deployed in the country’s major cities and towns, it is by far the market leader in 5G technology in Zimbabwe.

The launch of the new SmartSuite packages follows a notice to customers of the former SmartBiz packages from Econet a month ago, notifying them that it would soon launch new data packages offering more choice and flexibility, and tailored to different customer needs.

Customers registered to the old SmartBiz service and who already have a CPE, can simply dial *143, choose a package of their choice and credit their new SmartSuite package. New subscribers to the SmartSuite packages will however need to buy a new SmartSuite SIM from an Econet Shop, as well as a CPE, for them to be able to connect to the new packages. If they own a CPE that meets Econet’s specifications, they will be able to use it for their SmartSuite package.

Along with the new SmartSuite data packages, Econet continues to offer its all its customers the choice of a wide range of mobile data products, accessible ‘on the go’ throughout the country via the customer’s mobile device or smartphone.

National

Parliament advocates for youth employment quota amidst growing crisis

Published

3 days ago

September 11, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The Parliament convened on Tuesday to discuss a crucial motion demanding the establishment of a quota system for youth employment in the public sector.

This motion is in response to alarming statistics revealing that over 62% of Zimbabwe’s population is under the age of 35, yet these young people face significant challenges in accessing job opportunities.

MP Ropafadzo Makumire, who moved the motion, stated, “I rise today to move this motion in my name with respect for this House and with deep concern for the future of young people.” He articulated the urgency of addressing youth unemployment, citing Section 20 (1) (c) of the Constitution, which mandates that the Government “at every level must take reasonable measures to ensure that the youths are given opportunities for employment and economic development.”

Makumire expressed his concern regarding Statutory Instrument 201 of 2024, which raised the pensionable retirement age for civil servants from 65 to 70 years, declaring, “This unintentionally reduced opportunities for young Zimbabweans entering the workforce.” He emphasized the struggle of the youth, stating, “Every year, over 30 000 graduates leave our universities and colleges. Many struggle to find meaningful jobs… the majority are struggling to meet even basic needs.” He also pointed out that many graduates resort to street vending: “If we can take a sample of street vendors in the streets eof Harare… you are going to realise that the majority of them are graduates. This is a sign that this country is in jeopardy.”

Mutsa Murombedzi seconded the motion and echoed the urgency for action. He remarked, “Our Constitution is clear. Section 20 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe obligates the State to take measures to ensure that youth are afforded opportunities for employment… The Government raised the retirement age for civil servants… it acted in a manner that is inconsistent with this constitutional principle.” He expressed deep concern: “If we do not give the youth jobs, we bury them either in graves of addiction or in airports as they flee this country.”

During the debate, another legislator acknowledged the global unemployment issue, stating, “The issue of unemployment is a global phenomenon… inasmuch as I acknowledge that we have over 62% of youths between the ages of 15 to 35… there are a number of initiatives that have been put forward by our Government to make sure that our youths participate in the mainstream economy.” He mentioned vocational training efforts as critical steps forward: “We have localised some of these programmes that have been implemented… with young people who are taking up vocational training courses.”

Joseph Mapiki raised concerns about the context of employment: “What is happening in the country is totally different from what is happening in other countries… we came up with the law that someone must be able to employ someone, not waiting for someone to employ you.” He highlighted initiatives to empower young entrepreneurs, stating, “We are happy that the Government managed to sign an MoU called India Zimbabwe… where they are purchasing low-priced machines.”

Dexter Malinganiso partially supported the motion, recognizing the demographic dividend of the youth. “It is evident that we have in Zimbabwe a very good demographic dividend that is still energetic, agile, educated and willing to partake in nation building,” he said, while also acknowledging government efforts to create opportunities for youth.

Finally, Tanatsva Mukomberi emphasized the need for progressive solutions. He stated, “It is key to note that solutions come from proper cause and effect analysis. To analyse what actually causes high rates of youth graduates’ unemployment, not just focusing on unemployment per se.” He highlighted the importance of exploring sustainable solutions that enable young people to thrive rather than simply identifying the problem.

National

Government rolls out business reforms to boost agriculture sector

Published

3 days ago

September 10, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The government has undertook reforms to ease doing business in the country, starting with the agriculture sector, specifically targeting livestock, dairy farming, and stockfeed sub-sectors.

Quoting from the press statement by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion on Wednesday: “The initiative seeks to enhance the investment climate, encourage domestic production, and attract foreign direct investment.”

Minister of Finance, Mthuli Ncube, announced these reforms which are “a product of a multi-stakeholder process led by the Office of the President and Cabinet, with support from the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, and technical assistance from the World Bank.”

The reforms aim to cut through “excessive regulations, high compliance costs, and duplication of responsibilities across institutions” that have constrained the agriculture sector. For instance:
– “Dairy farmers previously required up to 25 permits across 12 agencies.”
– “Feed manufacturers needed 23 permits from 10 departments.”
– “Beef cattle farmers faced 18 requirements, while abattoirs required 20, dairy processors 21, and feed processors 23.”

Key reforms introduced include:
– “Agriculture Marketing Authority (AMA) farm registration fees cut to $1 flat fee.”
– “Dairy processor registration reduced from $350 annually to a one-time $50 fee.”
– “Feed manufacturing registration cut from $150-$250 to $20 flat fee.”
– “Livestock movement clearance reduced to $5 per herd (down from $10 per beast).”
– “Import permit for livestock genetics (heifers, bulls, semen) reduced from $100 to $20.”

Ncube emphasized the government’s commitment “to creating a modern, efficient, and business-friendly regulatory system that drives inclusive economic growth and positions Zimbabwe as an Upper Middle-Income Society by 2030.”