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By NQOBANI NDLOVU THE Affirmative Action Group (AAG) has taken the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) to task for failing to authorise a vehicle parking management tender deal, resulting in potential revenue losses. AAG in a statement said the financial challenges faced by council could be eased if it regularised a parking tender deal which was awarded to a local private company in 2019. The parking tender caused divisions among city fathers, a development that saw government probing the tender process. “Nothing has been seen on the ground to show any development. “This is revenue loss to the council yet there is nothing on the side of management to show the urgency to push implementation of the deal,” the AAG statement read. “There is always urgency (by council) in pushing up rates and charges to residents. Who is really benefiting from these tenders? “It must be remembered that this same parking tender was delayed for years in the courts after a legal battle with a company that had links with one of the directors.” Bulawayo town clerk Christopher Dube yesterday said the local authority was still awaiting clearance from the Zimbabwe Development Agency (ZDA) before authorising the vehicle parking management deal. “It was sent back to ZDA for further adjudication and clearance, otherwise before that we can’t do anything. “Normally, clearance has to be sought from a council oversight committee but then this one needs clearance from ZDA,” Dube said. Reports show that one of the companies linked to the parking management system, Harare City Council’s Easypark made an unsolicited bid for the parking management tender. However, questions were raised over engaging Easypark after reports emerged that the company pampered some Bulawayo councillors by booking them into a five-star hotel and provided them with goodies to influence the awarding process. The parking management services tender in Bulawayo was cancelled in 2012 by council despite having been granted to Megalithic Marketing (Private) Limited. In cancelling the tender then, council cited a “shambolic tendering” process. This resulted in a long court battle with the company as it contested the cancellation. In April 2019, BCC shortlisted Ducretion Logistics (Private) Limited and Lauvax Trading (Private) Limited trading as Propark to manage the city’s parking system, but the deal is yet to be finalised.
The post AAG, BCC clash over vehicle parking tender appeared first on NewsDay Zimbabwe.
A Nigeria Railways Corporation official said the train departs Ibadan for Lagos at 8am daily with a return trip scheduled at 4pm.
The Lagos-Ibadan expressway is notorious for heavy trucks and traffic gridlocks that can stretch for several kilometres.
The Lagos-Ibadan line is the first part of a new 2,733km Lagos-Kano standard gauge line. The total cost of the project was valued at $11.117bn.
TWO prisoners at Mutare Remand Prison are in trouble after they were arrested on Tuesday for sodomy. BY KENNETH NYANGANI The pair, Moses Mabhure from Mutare and Carlos Mafuke from Machipanda in Mozambique appeared before regional magistrate Lucie Mungwari facing aggravated indecent assault charges (sodomy). They were not asked to plead and were remanded in custody to December 18. It is the State’s case that sometime in November, Mafuke was bathing at Mutare Remand Prison when he was approached by Mabhure. Mabhure demanded to have sexual intercourse with Mafuke, who refused. Mabhure, however, “forcibly” had sexual intercourse with Mafuke. The matter came to light on November 29 when Mafuke was found caressing Mabhure’s private parts by fellow prisoners who reported the matter to jail guards. Follow Kenneth on Twitter @KennethNyangan1
FRANCE-BASED Zimbabwean Afro-pop sensation Queen Mashie (pictured) said resilience had made it possible her to push Zimbabwean music to crack the international airwaves. BY WINSTONE ANTONIO The songstress, born Tatenda Sandra Mashiringo, started singing at the tender age of four before she turned professional in 2000 when she joined her late brother Andy Brown as a backing vocalist. After about six years under other artistes, Queen Mashie, recorded her debut album titled Higher Heights in 2006 before she moved to Nairobi, Kenya. She now boasts five albums as part of her discography. In an interview with NewsDay Life & Style from her Geneva base yesterday, Queen Mashie said her style was influenced by a number of international musicians and producers and it enabled her to penetrate the international scene. “I started singing at the tender age of four and professionally in 2000 when I joined Andy Brown as a backing vocalist. I later joined the Vintage Band with the veteran guitarist Mudhara Timi Makaya where I became a lead singer,” she said. “To be the musician I am today, I was groomed by Andy, this is why my music reflects his influence. I do that so that his legacy lives on.” She attributes the huge strides she made in her musical career to determination. Since she became the lead singer, Queen Mashie has shown her preference for traditional instruments, particularly mbira which is salient in her compositions usually laden with social commentary messages. “With my productions, I always seek to put together something that will help me sell the Zimbabwean sound all over the world and push a proud legacy of Zimbabwean music and be able to crack the airwaves anywhere in the world,” she said. Meanwhile, Queen Mashie has released a single titled Unbreakable that seeks to celebrate womanhood as an appetiser to her forthcoming sixth album Let The Music Play. The song, that will have an accompanying video, is already available on different digital platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, Google Play and SoundCloud. “With this Unbreakable song, I want to celebrate with every woman who has passed that stage which you say, if I come out of this alive, nothing in this life will ever break me. I am unbreakable,” she said. “I wrote this song Unbreakable because this is what I am, unbreakable, go getter, fear tackler and woman of steel. There are also so many women out there who have gone through the worst moments in their lives, but did not break down, instead they stood strong.” Queen Mashie, who is also a fashion designer, actress and beautician said people should not be afraid to stand up for what they believe in. “As they say, “what does not kill you makes you stronger’’, that moment you felt like there was that dark cloud covering you, which you thought was never going to pass, but you put your foot down and stood firm,” she said. “The reason to live is for one to have courage, determination, confidence, positivity, not to be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, recognising your importance, recognising your mistake
Press Release - While a full picture for 2020 is yet to be established, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, estimates that global forced displacement surpassed 80 million at mid-year, according to a report on trends in global forced displacement released today in Geneva.
ABC 7 will present a virtual town hall examining the latest developments in the Covid-19 vaccine, the plan for distribution to high risk communities in Chicago, and efforts to mitigate vaccine safety concerns. ABC 7 Anchor/Reporter Cheryl Burton will moderate this hour-long event, OUR CHICAGO: VOICES OF THE COMMUNITY available on abc7chicago.com Thursday, December 10 … Continued
The post ABC 7 Chicago hosts Virtual Town Hall on COVID-19 Vaccine and Concerns appeared first on Chicago Defender.
Police yesterday nabbed five men suspected of being part of a vehicle theft and smuggling syndicate. BY PRAISEMORE SITHOLE The thieves were caught after they allegedly smuggled a stolen white Toyota Hilux single cab vehicle from South Africa and drove it to Zimbabwe, but they ran out of fuel along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road. National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday confirmed the arrest. “A white Toyota Hilux single cab was stolen in South Africa on December 3 and it was driven to Zimbabwe. Police managed to arrest five suspects in Mazunga area,” Nyathi said without naming them. “The area where they were arrested is 255km along Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road, after the vehicle had run out of fuel. Investigations are still in progress.” Nyathi said they had received a report from the South African side that a hired car had gone missing. “We received a report that a white Hilux which belonged to a car rental company had been hired on December 3 and was supposed to be returned on December 4. The car was not returned and on December 5 a report was made to the Beitbridge Police that a vehicle was missing. “The five were caught when they tried to refuel the car after they had run out of fuel. Investigations are still ongoing.” In 2018, a 63-year-old South African national Willem Schalk Janzen-Root was jailed for seven years in Zimbabwe over vehicle smuggling charges. Janzen-Root was believed to be part of a vehicle trafficking syndicate which uses Zimbabwe as a transit route for luxury cars from South Africa for resale in other countries. Follow Praisemore on Twitter @TPraisemore
1/5 say they are detoxing in preparation for a boozy holiday season. 34% admit they start drinking first thing in the morning on Christmas Day. Infographic included showing America's favorite Christmas drink by state . As temperatures drop, trees go up and fireplaces are aflame, it can only mean one thing… the countdown to Christmas 2020 has […]
The post Eggnog Voted Wisconsin's Favorite Christmas cocktail! appeared first on Milwaukee Community Journal.
An Unfortunate Passing of a Senegalese Boy
Three men were each sentenced to two years in prison — of which 23 months are suspended, by a court in Senegal on Tuesday in a high-profile case that saw three fathers facing charges of \"placing the lives of others in danger,\" after the trio urged their sons to embark upon a risky migration trip to Europe by sea which left one of the boys pronounced dead. The men were acquitted of the charge of abetting migrant trafficking at the insistence of their defence attorney.
An Untimely Death Borne of Desperation
Their sons were with other migrants who boarded a canoe to make the crossing from Senegal to Spain's Canary Islands, the first step in a plan to reach continental Europe. But one of them, a boy aged about 15 nicknamed Doudou, fell ill and died after having problems eating\" during the trip — as per a source close to the investigation.
Further details are unclear, as according to local media his body was tipped overboard after he died.
The children of the two other fathers survived the attempted crossing and have since returned home.
The fathers of the three — who are fishermen in the coastal town of Mbour, were arrested a couple of weeks afterwards.
The father of the deceased child had paid 80 euros to a smuggler, who was to take the boy to Spain. His ultimate destination was Italy where he hoped to sign up for a football training academy in the hopes of launching a lucrative professional career to help his family.
The Economic State of Affairs in Senegal
Doudou's untimely and unfortunate passing triggered an uproar in Senegal - prompting anguished debates about poverty, parental pressure and the allure of life in societies abroad that are perceived to have a better standard of living. The pressure to migrate is especially strong among fishing communities as coastal villages in Senegal have been badly hit by dwindling catches that many allege are due to the disruptive presence of foreign factory ships - in addition to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Canary Islands lie more than 100 kilometres from the coast of Africa at their closest point, and many boats —big canoes also called pirogues, are overcrowded, underpowered and in poor shape for such migration trips.
Over 500 people have died this year, mostly in October and November, according to the United Nations’ International Office for Migration (IOM), compared to 210 fatalities for the whole of last year.
According to the Public School Forum of North Carolina, 72 percent of Black and Brown students in the state’s public schools have parents who lack secure employment, compared with 21 percent of white students.
Rapper and mogul Rick Ross has teamed up with the telehealth company Jetdoc to spread awareness about the importance of affordable healthcare.
It’s the news we have all been fearing - if not expecting. Zweli Mkhize has revealed a second wave of COVID-19 is now sweeping across South Africa.
I have read with great consternation and utter dismay that the Government is giving serious consideration to the abolition of August 1st as Emancipation Day and August 6th as our Independence Day.
APPROXIMATELY 450,000 Jamaicans are to be immunised against the novel coronavirus next year, when the first batch of vaccines are expected to be shipped to the island, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has reported.The disclosure was made in the Lower House yesterday, where members were told that the vaccine will be administered to 16 per cent of the population, with health officials and seniors being identified as priority.
Dr. Anthony Fauci wants people who still believe Covid-19 is a hoax to know it's real and that the US needs everyone to get behind public health measures. Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and other health experts have said the next few months will be a challenging time, but Americans can help […]
South Africans tried to make sense of this tumultuous year by asking Google about the coronavirus, the US elections, unemployment grants and how and how to make pizza dough.
A man suspected of being mentally unstable, who allegedly murdered a 12-year-old Gweru girl by stoning her on Tuesday was yesterday remanded in custody at Hwahwa Prison where he will be examined before his re-appearance in court. STEPHEN CHADENGA The man, who was only identified as Derick in court, struck Natasha Manunure, a Grade Seven pupil near her home in Mtapa suburb in Gweru. Gweru magistrate, Beuality Dube, had a tough time trying to make Derick understand why he was appearing in court as the accused started speaking inaudibly. The man even insisted before the court that he was not Derick, but Danisa, adding that Derick was the name of “a donkey at the market.” When he was told that he was going to be mentally examined before coming back to court he exclaimed in surprise, asking if it was going to be in Harare. The State counsel then made an application to have the accused mentally examined by two doctors before the magistrate granted the request and remanded the accused to December 23. Allegations are that Natasha was coming from school when accused struck her with a stone on the left ear leading to her falling down and dying on the spot. Natasha, of section 3, Mtapa, who was preparing for her exams, was walking home reading a question paper when she met her fate. The accused then fled from the scene but was caught by members of the public who handed him to the police. Derick, who usually roams the streets of Gweru is notorious for assaulting girls and women usually with stones and other objects that he picks on the streets.
[The Herald] The provincial data for gross domestic product (GDP) show glaring inequalities in the distribution of the country's wealth with Harare alone accounting for 39,55 percent of the total while the other nine provinces share the remaining 60,44 percent.
[The Herald] INVICTUS Energy, the Australia firm currently exploring for oil and gas in the Muzarabani area, is almost certain to face demands from residents and the local leadership to prioritise employment of locals and investment in community initiatives like road, bridge and dam construction if it makes a commercial discovery.
Deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. have soared to more than 2,200 a day on average, matching the frightening peak reached last April, and cases per day have eclipsed 200,000 on average for the first time on record, with the crisis all but certain to get worse because of the fallout from Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. Virtually every state […]
[Cosafa] Mozambique and Angola have sealed their place in the semifinals of the COSAFA Qualifiers for TOTAL U-20 AFCON, Mauritania 2021 but hosts South Africa are out in a major surprise in Nelson Mandela Bay on Tuesday.
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County chapter of the NAACP has chosen Al Jabbar to become their next president.
The post Jabbar named new president of local NAACP chapter appeared first on WS Chronicle.