National

Zambian cross border rustlers terrorise Binga villagers

Published

2 years ago

November 5, 2022

BY STAFF REPORTER

Binga villagers are losing livestock to cross border thieves from neighbouring Zambia, who take advantage of lack of visibility by the police, the National Assembly has been told.

Binga South MP Gabbuza Gabbuza asked Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe during the National Assembly’s questions with notice session last Wednesday why there have been no arrests of “cattle rustlers from Zambia, who have been stealing livestock in Saba and Lubanda wards.”

Gabbazu also wanted to know measures “the government has instituted to curb commission of such crimes and recover the stolen livestock that have been identified across the border.”

In response, Kazembe said at the recently held Zambia-Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission on Security and Defence (JPC) in Livingstone Zambia it was agreed that police from both countries will work together to curb the ‘scourge.’

“As I speak efforts are underway to address the scourge,” he said.

“On arrests, I would have to find out if there are any known culprits from Zambia that our police officers have failed to arrest after receiving information on stock theft.

“It could be an issue of lack of information resulting in no arrests being done.

“But as a country, whoever is involved in such acts, whether locals or foreigners, the law will take its course.”

Kazembe said his ministry was in the process of resourcing police officers with patrol vehicles and other electronic gadgets like drones “to try and address this scourge.”

“We have started with Matabeleland South where to date we have established police bases in known areas where these livestock rustlers use when crossing into or outside Zimbabwe.” the minister added.

“I would also like to engage you honourable member together with the commissioner general of police to identify strategic places where we can establish police bases to patrol the affected areas of Saba and Lubanda.”

He said the Permanent Commission on Security and Defence with Zambia resolved that police services from both countries should continue holding meetings as well as conducting joint investigations and patrols along the common border “to first curb the scourge and that the livestock authorities should undertake a benchmarking exercise for the animal identification and traceability systems in both countries so that best practices that identify animals to the individual level are adopted and whenever livestock is recovered it is repatriated back to the country of origin.”

National

Ranger killed by elephant in Kariba

Published

2 weeks ago

March 14, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

A 62-year-old ranger, Josphat Mandishara, was tragically killed by an elephant in Kariba yesterday.

Mandishara, who worked for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), was on patrol in the Gatche-gatche area with fellow rangers and police officers.

At around 10 pm, Mandishara returned to the harbor where their boat was docked, and that’s when he encountered the elephant. The elephant charged at him, causing fatal injuries. His colleagues were nearby, resupplying at the Gatche-gatche Irrigation Scheme.

Mandishara’s body was taken to Kariba District Hospital for a post-mortem, and the incident was reported to the police.

ZimParks has sent a team to manage the problem elephant and prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Director General of ZimParks, Prof. Edson Gandiwa, and his team have sent condolences to Mandishara’s family, friends, and colleagues. Mandishara will be remembered for his dedication to wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe.

National

ZIMRA customs officer appears in court for criminal abuse of office

Published

2 months ago

February 3, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY STAFF REPORTER

A Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) customs officer, Phillip Kuvenga, has been accused of criminal abuse of office for allegedly assisting in the importation of banned motor vehicles.

Kuvenga, 28, who is stationed at Victoria Falls, allegedly received documents from clients, completed valuation sheets, and carried out the valuation process. However, he is accused of endorsing different chassis numbers to deceive his supervisors during the validation and approval process.

After obtaining approval, Kuvenga would capture the correct chassis numbers in the ASYCUDA World System. He would then alter or replace the documents submitted earlier to his supervisors.

The offense came to light when a motor vehicle that had not yet arrived in Zimbabwe was found to have been already registered. A thorough check by ZIMRA led to Kuvenga’s arrest.

Kuvenga appeared in court on February 1, where he was denied bail by Magistrate Gift Manyka. He is expected to appear in court again today for another bail hearing.

National

Retailers send Mnangagwa SOS as shops continue shutting down over operational woes

Published

2 months ago

January 27, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY ZIMLIVE

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) has implored President Emmerson Mnangagwa to intervene and save the sector which has seen various formal retail and wholesale businesses closing shop countrywide due to operational challenges.

In a statement on Sunday, CZR president Denford Mutashu said the continued closure of formal retail and wholesale businesses is a direct consequence of the tough economic environment that has consistently failed to support formalised sector players who face stiff competition from informal businesses and vendors the majority of whom have no tax obligations to deal with.

Mutashu said his association was concerned that authorities continue to downplay the crisis.

“The recent closure of several outlets under the N. Richards Group, coupled with Spar Zimbabwe’s painful decision to shut down Queensdale Spar, Choppies Zimbabwe’s exit from the market, and Mahommed Mussa’s significant reduction of shop space by 60%, highlights the growing crisis.

“As the representative association for these and other brands, CZR is alarmed that while formal businesses face enormous challenges, the authorities continue to present a different picture of the operating environment,” he said.

Given the situation, Mutashu said, only President Mnangagwa can rescue the troubled sector.

“CZR therefore calls for urgent intervention from His Excellency, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, to rescue what remains of the formalized retail and wholesale sector,” said Mutashu.

He said the sector was in urgent need of rescue.

“While CZR acknowledges the continued support from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, it is clear that the root causes of these challenges are fiscal and monetary in nature. These require urgent and decisive action to ensure the survival of formal businesses.

“CZR therefore appeals to the Presidium to prioritize interventions aimed at saving jobs and mitigating the ongoing wave of shop closures and retrenchments,” he said.