Chiwoniso: Thank you for adding me into the group. My name is Chiwoneso Annie Marcolus and I am standing as an independent candidate for the Zengeza West parliamentary seat (MP).

Chitownews : Welcome Honourable

Chitownews: Give us a brief background of who you are including age education and work history.

Chiwoniso: I was born in Gweru on 4 March 1964. I am the oldest of three sisters. We were raised by a single mother, Susan Muroyiwa who passed on March 20th 2015. I have two sons, Tamuka (30) and Sean Tanaka (24). I did my A levels in 1984 and worked as a computer programmer at Old Mutual, ZISCO steel and UZ. I went to the USA in 2002 and graduated with a BSc in Nursing and have been working as a travel nurse up to May 2018. I don’t have much political experience but am determined to succeed if elected.

Chitownews: Your resume is very impressive as much as an independent candidates you  seem sincere and genuine. However it seems apparent that our society is not yet socialised & schooled to accept & vote for independent candidates. My question is do you really see the electorate voting for you because you are sincere and determined to succeed.

Chiwoniso: Thank you. The electorate has been very supportive and I am confident that I will be elected. An expecting family friend visited Zengeza 3 clinic sometime in May. She was appalled by the state of the toilet at our only healthcare place. She sent me pictures and as a healthcare professional myself I was disgusted. I took it upon myself to work on the place. I bought and supplied the materials needed to revamp the clinic. The lavatory has been painted and the project should be completed anytime soon.

Also a sewage health hazard in Mutsunyarunya street in Zengeza 2 needed attention and with the assistance of youths in the area we worked on opening the drainage system to ease away the threat for the numerous school children who use the road. Now the place is safe and sound.

Chitownews: Why is it that most of the woman in politics are single

Chiwoniso: A very relevant question. I can’t answer for everyone but my view is, ours is a very patriarchal society where men dominate the public sphere. Most married women would have to ask permission from their partners to venture into politics with negative responses but a single woman is unfettered by the marriage institution and can freely join in the treacherous tumble without censure from a concerned partner. Of course there are some married women who have taken up political careers with the assistance of their husbands (eg. Auxilia Mnangagwa).

Chitownews: Why would you want to be a Member of Parliament?

Chiwoniso: My desire to become MP for the Zengeza West constituency has been driven by a number of critical issues affecting residents of Zengeza West among other issues:

1) I want to make a positive difference in people’s lives

2) Help enact legislation that curtails corruption, promotes women and youth development, ensure prosperity and general development in my constituency

3) Nurture a positive mind set in the constituency towards social, environmental and developmental responsibility in all residents

4) Ensure health and sanitation issues are catered for

5) Promote In residents a positive and caring attitude towards the elderly and vulnerable

6) Market the constituency to investors to create employment

7) Help rehabilitate youths in drugs and alcohol abuse due to unemployment frustrations

8) Raise awareness and protect women and the girl child living in domestic violence and abuse

9) Promote transparent and responsive governance in both local and central government departments

10) Work with local police to bring order and sanity on our roads

11) Fight for the resuscitation of the establishment of a local dam and purification plant solely for Chitungwiza municipality.

MP Muroyiwa: In order to implement and effect the above I have to be in parliament so I urge Zengeza West residents to vote for me in the coming harmonized election on July 30^th. The name is Chiwoneso Annie Marcolus for MP. Vote for development in Zengeza West- Turning Problems Into Progress-Kuwonesana chete chete!

ALBERT MASAKA is a born again Christian who has more than 20 years’ experience in the media industry.  “As a result of his faith and profession I have a passion to make the world a better place to live.   Arising out of that passion is to improve the lot of our people in Chitungwiza hence my focus on local governance stories and gospel stories which are a part of my calling” said Masaka.

Chitownews: Welcome councilor Masaka. Can you tell us about your turnaround strategy that you shall go with to municipality so we can have access to water 24/7 and other services?

Masaka : Chitungwiza is the second largest urban area in terms of population size and it needs its own dam. There are already plans by council for a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) with Sesani and other stakeholders to construct Muda Dam. The project needs to be speeded up once I am elected. That should be council’s number one priority.

Chitownews: What or who was stalling construction of Muda dam, we heard that local government under  Kasukuwere approved project but did not start.

Masaka: Kasukuwere is on record condemning the project. But he did not do enough to offer an alternative. The issue now needs urgent intervention of government. The ministry of Lands should withdraw A2 farmers offer letters. Council together with residents need to put more pressure for that to happen. For some reason there was lack of political will by government to deal with the issue.

Concerning other services, first refuse collection they should be more modern trucks and collection should be done twice a week. The population has grown and once a week is no longer enough. We need to start a waste to energy project with foreign partners. Refuse collected will be turned into electricity which should be sold to bolster the council’s revenue sources and create employment.

Chitownews: Mr Masaka, we have Nyatsime residents who are not sure of their future. The council is silent on the issue. What will you do to resurrect the hope of these dupped residents? The Manyame council confirmed some 3 weeks ago that the 5 farms are now under Chitungwiza and we made to understand that the dispute which was between the  A2 farmer and the council was resolved,how far true is that?

Masaka: This is news to me.

Chitownews : Councilor Masaka what have you done previously for Ward 8 and Chitungwiza?

Masaka : For Chitungwiza which includes ward 8 I have set up a whatsapp group that  comprises stakeholders such as service providers ie. Municipality officials, Zesa officials, Chitungwiza Central hospital officials; residents and their leaders, MPs, councilors and journalists. The group has managed to unite citizens to join hands and resolve service delivery issues through engagement. What one only needs to do when there is a sewerage problem is to type narrating the nature of the problem and the address.

Chitownews: Approximately how much is needed to construct muda dam sir?

Masaka : The dam is estimated to costs $285 million.

Chitownews: Council minutes are difficult to access by residents and what are you going to do.

Masaka: There is need for council minutes to be readily available to all the ratepayers so that they can evaluate the performance of councilors. Transparency breeds accountability and this will help to curb corruption. For instance at one time Councilors were busy passing resolutions allocating themselves vast tracts of land in Nyatsime at the expense of those on the housing waiting list. In the last Council they were busy crying for stands and did little to address issues involving the plight of residents.Council also needs to treat residents associations as partners not as enemies. We need to unite above the social and political barriers to build a better Chitungwiza.

Chitownews : Mr Masaka what are you going to do about sewerage along Rufaro road and the habit of residents putting large stones in roads such as rufaro road, svosve road.

Masaka: I have raised the issue of Rufaro Road to the authorities many times. I have also discovered that one house near Mandaza area was built on top of a sewer pipe. The others causes of the problem is the high growth in population. The pipes were meant for a smaller population. Then there is the issue of residents using newspapers etc causing clogging of pipes. While there is need for urgent but temporary solutions to alleviate the problem such as replacing the pipes etc, the only long term solution is to put in place measures to provide more houses elsewhere to the ever growing population. We also need to create awareness and educate our residents. There are a lot of issues to do with that problem. Bad behavior by some residents who throw unwanted materials into sewers you see a lot of rags, stones, metals, retrieved from sewers by our guys when they do unblocking works. Also to note is that these facilities’ capacity has far been outclassed by contributing population hence the sewers will be filled to overflowing once there is water supply from our taps. Not leaving out the fact that the pipes are as well aged and some are corroded with sewage itself and are no longer in good operationalist.

Masaka: If there are no further questions I would like to thank the founders of this group and community news platform for the great work you are doing to inform our residents in Chitungwiza on various issues affecting our beloved town. I will support such noble efforts that are aimed at bringing development to our beloved town.  I urge you to vote for the best candidates in your wards based on meritocracy. Elections are just a phase. Let them not divide us. They are there to bring out the best leadership in us to take us forward. Thank you Stay blessed.

Chitownews : Thank you elder Masaka wishing you the best on 30 July.

Masaka: Amen. Love you all.

Meet Clara Piki –Aspiring Independent Councillor for Ward 8,  St Mary’s Constituency which encompasses  Zengeza 1, St Marys and Manyame Park suburbs.

Clara Piki was born at Harare hospital- attended Pfumo primary school  grade1-7 and later went to Zengeza 1 High for form1- 4. Clara Piki rose to prominence in ward 8 after successfully campaigning for the current sitting councillor in Ward 8 in the 2013 General elections. Mrs. Piki shared her vision and interacted with Chitownews Whatsapp group members in a 24 hour          group interview.

Chitownews : Mrs. Piki Welcome leader to Chitownews Whatsapp group. Sanganai nevanhu vechitown

 Clara: Thank you so much.

Chitownews : To set ball rolling- what have you done previously for the community and what do you promise to do for ward 8 when elected

 Clara: I was the campaign  manager for the current sitting ward 8 councillor  during the 2013 election tikaita ma clean up campaigns mu ward 8 and I want to transform ward 8 into a model ward.

Chitownews: Chamunoti model ward chii? (What is a model ward? )

Clara: I Ward inoratidzika ( It’s a well maintained ward)

Chitownews : What do you do in life?

Clara: Self  employed- I am a Cross boarder trader and chicken farmer (kuchengeta huku)

Chitownews : Oh great- Munotarisira kuzviita nemutoo upi? And have you done any effort towards that besides being a campaign manager?

Clara: To work hand in hand with the council  for good quality  service  delivery in Ward 8.

Chitownews: Give us an example of your intentions

Clara: Kugadzira maRoads, Nemvura kuti iwanikwe everyday, kugadzirisa sewage

Chitownews: With due respect these answers are too brief. Can you please specify on what you intend to do? Exactly in depth! Where are you going to get the funds to do all that!

Clara: Like I said- l said work hand in hand with the council

 Chitownews: We are told our council doesn’t have resources to improve our service delivery Asi muchashandisa mari yenyu kani? With all due respect the council you want to work hand in hand with has failed us the residents of chitungwiza dismally so you need to be approaching that post with a clear cut plan of action to resolve our problems thats what we intend to hear from you.

Clara did not respond to most of the questions raised, the interview ended prematurely as she left the group

Chitungwiza’s most notorious reckless driver and serial killer- Nigel Mabamba, son of ZANU PF Land baron and former Chitungwiza deputy Mayor- Frederick Mabamba on Friday escaped death by a whisker after outraged mourners and members of the public mobbed and heavily assaulted him in Chari street for running over and killing a grade two pupil while street racing in Kubvumbi street.

The flamboyant but mentally unstable Nigel Mabamba turned up at the funeral wake of his fifth fatal pedestrian car accident victim with a police escort to ‘apologise and compensate’ the family for killing their child.

The family received the delegation and accepted the apologies, but on their way out Nigel was overheard by gathered mourners boasting that his rich dad can pay even a million to the family to compensate for the dead child.

This enraged gathered mourners who dragged the homicidal Nigel Mabamba outside the family’s yard and heavily assaulted him in front of perplexed police details. Riot police had to be called to contain the situation which was threatening to get out of control.

The Mabamba delegation made a quick getaway using another car abandoning the Toyota noah vehicle they had used to come to the funeral

Members of the public then turned their wrath on the abandoned Toyota Noah vehicle which was then set alight and burned to ashes at the corner of Kubvumbi and marairanwa crescent in Zengeza 3.

In 2016 Nigel ran over and killed a man in Chitungwiza road near Irvines farm while street racing.

The nomination court will sit on the 14^th of June to receive papers.

The president also fixed 8 September as the date for presidential run-off should there be the need.

Eligible but unregistered voters attending High schools and vocational training colleges in Chitungwiza were the target of Chitungwiza Community Development Network (CCDN)’s #RegisterInspectVote campaign at the Chitungwiza Schools Sports gala held at Unit L Community centre recently. A team of ten recently trained voter educators were deployed by CCDN to the day-long sports tournament which was organized and hosted by Young Africa Skills Centre (YASK).

The tournament was graced by top Chitungwiza based-schools such as Beverly Hills College, Hillview International College, MD College and the hosts- Young Africa Skills Centre (YASK). The participants competed in three sports disciplines namely soccer, netball and volleyball.

The voter educators key message- tailored for the youthful crowd at the sports gala was that anyone born before 29 May 2 000 was now eligible to register as a voter and vote in Zimbabwe’s forthcoming 2018 Harmonized polls and should utilize the opportunity presented by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s (ZEC) current voter inspection and registration exercise which ironically began on the same day- Saturday 19 May and will end on 29 May 2018. ZEC’s voter inspection and registration exercise has brought inspections centres and ward voter registration centres closer to communities across Zimbabwe and in Chitungwiza – ZEC’s green tents are very conspicuous at most Shopping centres.

CCDN’s Voter educators also shared voter education Information Education and Communication (IEC) material in the form of flyers and pamphlets with the school and college going crowd which formed the bulk of jovial spectators at the gala. The voter educators also took their time to interact with small groups of spectators to answer questions and clarify the procedures and requirements of the voter registration and inspection process.

In its day-long interaction with youthful voters- The CCDN team briefly discussed the importance of voting and why young people should register to vote in 2018. The team of voter educators learnt that requirement for proof of registration was the biggest obstacle preventing eligible but unregistered youths from registering as voters with ZEC. Most of the participants had already obtained national identity cards or green Identification card waiting passes which are permissible for identification when registering as voters.

“I turned 18 last year but I am hesitant to approach ZEC tents to register as a voter because I do not have any letter or document which I can use as proof of residence- I was thinking of using my school report card as proof of residence but my friends laughed at my idea”, said one of the soccer players from Hillview.

The idea of using school academic report cards as proof of residence in voting started an animated discussion amongst the group and tested the knowledge of the voter educators who could not provide a definite answer. The team advised the eligible but unregistered school going voters to use the Voter Registration details- VR9- forms which eligible voters without proof-of-residence documents can use as an affidavit of residence for voter registration by completing it and having it commissioned by a commissioner of oaths.

The team concluded the day’s exercise by photocopying and distributing 100 VR9- Affidavit-of Residence forms to eligible but unregistered voters who intended to register as voters with ZEC but lacked proof of residence.

There was chaos in St Mary’s constituency of Friday and Sunday as MDC-Alliance primary elections for Members of the House of Assembly and Councillors failed to take place.

The elections failed to take place because of the absence of Hillary Gwata on ballot paper for House of Assembly.

Gwata supporters came with placards written “NO GWATA NO ELECTIONS”.

Gwata is contesting for with house of assembly seat together with current MP Unganai Dickson Tarusenga and Adam Puzo.

The Gwata camp is claiming that their Candidate was announced to participate in primary elections and started campaigning but started during consensus meetings when the other two candidates said he is not on the list for St Mary’s constituency.

“Our candidate was announced on the initial list that came from the National Directorate and we are surprised that they omitted his name of the list”, said one Gwata supporter.

As the candidates failed to reach an agreement, the Puzo and Tarusenga alliance decided to take the election to Puzo’s house in C.A St Mary’s.

The Gwata team heard of the plot and followed to Puzo’s house and stopped the election again leading to a scuffle that ended with Puzo pulling a gun leading to arrests which are yet to be confirmed.

Yesterday was the third time that the elections failed to take place since the start of the MDC-Alliance primaries.

According to the Zimbabwe 2012 census report, the country’s population is just above 13 million individuals. Extrapolating the 2012 census results with an average annual population growth rate of 2.5 percent and interpolating it with Zimbabwe’s population pyramid whose heavy base shows a predominantly youthful population- one can safely conclude that more than 50% of Zimbabwe’s population is below the age of 18 years.

Basing on the above conclusion- one could expect that around 6.5 million Zimbabweans are above the age of 18 years and therefore eligible to be registered voters for the 2018 elections.

During the 2013 elections a total of nearly 3,5 million individuals managed to cast their votes. An increase of nearly 1 million individuals is commendable and they need to encouraged to exercise their right on the voting day.

This shows that more than 80% of eligible voters managed to register to vote for the 2018 elections. More than 80% is good figure for a country like Zimbabwe where voter apathy levels in previous elections were high. This development is welcome news and shows Zimbabweans are quickly finding their voice in governance and decision-making processes by registering as voters in their numbers.

Elections are a process not a one-day event with voters going through the first stage of registering as voters then inspection of the voters roll before the actual voting or casting of the ballot. Elections are also a game of numbers and voter turnout underlines the success or failure of elections which will also impact on the legitimacy of the leaders who emerge victorious.

Zimbabwe has a history of elections whose outcomes were contested or inconclusive- triggering bouts of political violence and instability that has weighed down the nation for the past 20 years. The coming 2018 elections present us as citizens of Zimbabwe with a new electoral slate to vote in new leaders and set the nation on a trajectory of growth, stability and prosperity. A free-fair and inclusive election will confer legitimacy on the winners who will then lead Zimbabwe as it returns as a respectable member to the international community of nations

Elton  Mangoma and the Renewal Democrats Zimbabwe were cited as the Applicants. Fortune Charumbira, NCC and the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing were cited as the Respondents in the Court Ruling.

Charumbira during the National Annual Conference of Chiefs had made the remarks that traditional leaders have been supporting and must continue to support Zanu PF and its presidential candidate at the forthcoming 2018 elections.

The court declared that the announcement made by Chief Charumbira on 28 October 2017 on the occasion of the annual Conference of the Council of Chiefs and on 13  January 2018 to the effect that traditional leaders must continue supporting Zanu (PF) is “in contravention of the Constitution of Zimbabwe”.

According to the statement made by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), the ruling apply to all traditional leaders that include “Chiefs, head persons or village heads”.

“Conducting of campaigns on behalf of the ruling party by traditional leaders (Chiefs, head persons or village heads) was declared unconstitutional and a violation of the right not to be treated unfairly in a discriminatory manner on the basis of political affiliation” said the Statement for ZLHR.

The judgement was issued by Justice Garainesu Mawadze.

Chitungwiza Community Development Network (CCDN) trained forty (40) youth on voter mobilization, meaning and importance of elections, voters roll inspection, voting, election observation and monitoring in Chitungwiza recently.

The training workshop which trained forty youth from different wards of Chitungwiza was convened in preparation of the 2018 elections. Chitungwiza youth were encouraged by CCDN to pass the message to the people at home and in the surrounding societies.

The training workshop equipped the youth with skills and knowledge on voter education, legal frameworks on elections in Zimbabwe, meaning and importance of elections, the electoral processes in Zimbabwe, BVR/Voters roll inspection and voting, election observation and monitoring for the upcoming election.

“Voter education is very important and as we have trained you, we expect you to educate others about the electoral process and we will be doing community outreaches with you”, said Margret Chogugudza one of the facilitators. She also took the participants through the legal framework of elections in Zimbabwe.

The youth were told about the days of voters roll inspection which are from 19 May to 29 May, a period of 11 days.

“The process of displaying the voters roll for public scrutiny with a view to verify the correctness of the details on the voters roll is form 19 to 29 May 2018”, said Admire Mutize who was also the co-facilitator.

He said that voter registration is still progressing and people can register to vote in their wards during the inspection period and all inspection centres.

Kudzai (26) asked if it is possible to transfer your details from one polling station to another one due to different reasons and he was told that it is very possible and people were encouraged to transfer their details and change their wards if there is need.

Helliet Nyamunda the other facilitator talked about the principles of a good election include periodic, integrity, inclusive, comprehensive, accessibility, accuracy, stakeholder participation, informed public and security. She urged the youth and other citizens to observe the conduct of state officials and civil society, observe the reasons why people are turned away from registering and from voting, the environment before, during and after the elections and report any cases that can lead to the unfairness of the election.

The participants were encouraged to set aside their political affiliations and serve their communities during mobilisation and election observation. They were told to report any cases that disturbs the free, fair and credible election everyone is aspiring for.

“As election observers you should be aware of your political bias as it might affect your judgement in your documentation of events” said Helliet.

“The trained individuals are expected to make use of digital technologies in documenting political violence and human rights abuses” said the director of CCDN.

He also said that together with the trained participants will reach out to the communities providing voter education and raising awareness about the days and period of voters roll inspection to the public and Chitungwiza residents.