Furious Masvingo woman

MASVINGO – A Mucheke woman who had mixed some scud drink with a high alcohol content spirit called Teku-teku bashed her husband at Chigudu Bar at Sisk before exposing her privates and urinating in front of male imbibers. Wyne Svevera who used to frequent council beer halls until they were closed down last month followed her husband Zigwati to Chigudu Bar and found him drinking. They started drinking together mixing opaque beer with Teke-teku. A while later, the two had a misunderstanding with the wife accusing the husband of mingling with commercial sex workers when she was not there. She ruthlessly bashed her husband who had to make good his escape. Patrons who restrained her cheered her afterwards describing her as a 'real man' but she was not impressed by the flattering and to prove that she was a woman, she removed her undergarment pulled up her skirt and stretching her legs apart showed the men in the bar that she was just a woman. She then urinated on the floor in full view of the patrons. Her friend had to clean the spoiled floor. Asked why she acted that way, Svevera later said she did not remember anything. local news

MASVINGO CITY COUNCIL UNLEASHES DEBT COLLECTORS ON DEFAULTING RESIDENTS

ANGRY Masvingo residents have said the local authority should start by attaching property at government institutions if the local authority moves ahead with its plans to engage debt collectors by end of this month. The local authority has issued a notice to residents that they should settle their bills by end of January or risk having their properties attached by debt collectors. Council has indicated that residents and government institutions now owe the local authority in excess of $30m in unpaid bills, a situation that has heavily affected service delivery in a city with a population of over 100 000 residents. Barely a year after Minister of Local Government Ignatious Chombo ordered local authorities to scrap all bills they were owed by residents the move seems to have worsened the situation as residents are now turning a blind eye on their water bills. Mayor Hubert Fidze said so dire was the situation that council is now left with no option but to engage debt collectors to recover outstanding amounts. "We are heavily affected as we have not been able to carry out some of our intended projects. "We have had to concentrate our efforts on the water issue, which as you know, is problematic but all the progress is being hampered by non-payment of bills," Fidze said. However residents have expressed disappointment at the council move saying if the local authority goes ahead with its intentions, they should first attach government properties. "We are surviving under harsh economic conditions and despite that we have payment plans with council on how we pay our bills, at least we are contributing something to council coffers, yet the government institutions are not forwarding a single cent and they have never had the water supplies cut. "They should start by attaching property at the army barracks, police and other government institutions before coming to residential areas," fumed Gerald Maphosa a resident in the high density of Mucheke. Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Association Programmes Officer Anoziva Muguti blasted the council's decision to unleash debt collectors on residents whom he said were not consulted. "The city council has shown us that they don't believe in dialogue. They never engaged us as residents to air their views concerning the issue of non-payment of bills. From my understanding residents are willing to abide to set payment plans; debt collectors should be directed to government institutions instead, " Muguti said.

WOW!!! OVER 1 000 000 CONDOMS TO BE DISHED OUT IN MASVINGO PROVINCE

MASVINGO – Condom use in Masvingo Province has peaked to a phenomenal 800 658 a year and this figure is likely to surpass 1 million in 2015 as the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council is starting to roll out a reproductive health programme targeting militant religious groups. This means that 2 194 male condoms are being opened in Masvingo for use every day. It also means that 91 people are using condoms in any hour or two persons are using a condom any minute. ZNPC provincial manager, Peter Abyssinia Vhoko told The Mirror that the use of the male condom in the province has ballooned from 600 780 in 2013 to 800 658 in 2014. The development among other things reflects an upsurge in the success of the health sector's HIV and Aids Awareness Campaign. Use of the female condom however, remains still far too low compared to the male condom as the number increased from 39 024 in 2013 to 63 363 last year. "In our 2015 Strategic Plan, we will be targeting traditional chiefs, headmen, Parliamentarians, the Provincial Administrator's office, the public and private sectors, as well as church organisations such as the Ministers' Fraternity, which trains pastors, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) and the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC)," said Vhoko. He reiterated that all those stakeholders would in turn assist ZNFPC in educating apostolic faith sects especially madzibaba whose doctrine militates against family planning practice. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) Provincial Chairman for Masvingo, Rev Themba Swela took a dig at apostolic sects that shun family planning methods. "Apostolic sects especially the so-called 'under-the –tree congregations' have destroyed the country's economy through unplanned child bearing without even taking care of their siblings," Rev Swela indicated. Vhoko said the increase in the use of female condoms has been caused by a number of major campaigns they held into some rural areas. "The sharp increase in female condom use came as result of public campaigns conducted by ZNFPC on the effectiveness of the female condom in Dewure, Bikita, Wendedzo and Maranda areas, where the new female condom received wide acceptance from villagers last year," said Vhoko. Masvingo Mirror

ZIMBO NABBED FOR TAX FRAUD IN AMERICA

UNITED STATES – Flamboyant Harare dealer and socialite Tonderai Sakupwanya, better known as Pound in the upmarket circles was on Wednesday sentenced to more than seven years in prison and ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution by a United States court. He was arrested for creating false identities in order to receive federal tax refunds. Pound was nabbed in the United States in May and had pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public funds. According to Star Telegram, a Dallas based paper, Pound and his partner in crime, Reminico Hangazha, who is better known in Harare’s elite circles as Boss Remmy, defrauded the IRS by obtaining tax refunds that were generated through the electronic filing of false income tax returns. The refunds were sent to private mailboxes the pair rented using aliases. Authorities say they also established bank accounts using the same false names. Boss Remmy, however, is awaiting sentence but he has pleaded guilty to theft of public funds. The two socialites were popular in the capital where they were famous for flaunting their wealth, driving expensive cars and showering up market clubbers with expensive whiskey. The two are ‘hero worshipped’ on several local mix-tapes as dee- jays salute them for their flamboyant lifestyle that easily passed off for a script taken off a Hollywood movie. They are believed to have funded local music through promoting some entertainment firms in the capital. Meanwhile, there has been an increase of young Zimbabwean men being nabbed for tax fraud in the United States of late. Early 2014, another 25 year old flamboyant socialite Tawanda Marimbire was jailed in the US. He was found in possession of several luxury cars and $1m in cash and money orders in a storage locker. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison. In the same year, one Kudzaishe Robert Bungu, aged 28, was also jailed. Star Telegraph/Zimbabwe Mail

MAGNIFICENT GREAT ZIMBABWE

MAGNIFICENT GREAT ZIMBABWE---Legend has it that this was once a playground for the giants -- and for visitors gazing over this steep hill in southern Zimbabwe it's easy to understand why. Spread around in every direction, great jumbled blocks of granite rise from the ground to create spectacular rock formations, their fantastical shapes fashioned by centuries of wind and rain, of heat and cold. Stacked upon one another, such boulders are scattered haphazardly across the southern African country -- Zimbabwe is indeed home to one of Africa's most breathtaking landscapes. Living here amongst the boulders, in the hills of Masvingo province, the Zimbabwean people are largely Shona. Sometimes known as Bantu, they form three quarters of the country's population. Read this: Will African coins rewrite Australian history? Shona people first settled in the region more than 1,000 years ago and for centuries flourished in the region's lush green savannah plains. Central to their prosperity was the ancient town of Great Zimbabwe, the capital of a booming trading empire that flourished between the 11th and 15th centuries, extending over the gold-rich plateau in southern Africa. Located some 30 kilometers from the modern Zimbabwean town of Masvingo, the stone ruins of Great Zimbabwe are today one of the continent's most impressive monuments, linking the present with the past. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1986, the archeological remains contain the largest ancient structure in sub- Saharan Africa. Read this: Dark history of "slave trade ghost town" According to UNESCO, the method of construction in Great Zimbabwe is unique in the continent's architecture and although there are cases of similar work elsewhere, none are as exceptional and imposing as here. The first thing that draws the visitor's eye is the high level of craftmanship that went into the construction of the site. Skillful stonemasons built massive dry- stone walls, incorporating large natural boulders into some of the structures. Walls extend between rocky outcrops and massive rocks, forming a maze of narrow passageways and the enclosures. The site extends over about 800 hectares and it can be divided into three main architectural zones. The Hill Complex is generally considered a royal site, and the Valley Ruins are a series of living spaces. But most impressive is the Great Enclosure, a spectacular circular monument made of cut granite blocks that was entirely built in curves. Its outer wall extends some 250 meters and it has a maximum height of 11 meters, making it the largest single pre-colonial structure in Africa south of the Sahara. While trade kept the community prosperous, religious life was also rich at Great Zimbabwe, which had an estimated population of about 18,000 people in its heyday. Read this: Rock churches 'built by angels' Although the stone city was largely abandoned around the 1450s, its cultural and historical significance didn't wane with the passing of centuries. In fact, Great Zimbabwe became such an important part of the national identity that the country itself was named for this ancient city -- "Zimbabwe" derives from the Shona name for the historic town -- meaning "big houses of stone." Click through the gallery above to take our tour through the ruins of the stone kingdom of Great Zimbabwe. READ THIS: African roots of the human family tree READ THIS: Tribal beauty of vanishing life Promoted Stories Recommended by Part of complete coverage on Inside Africa 900-year-old stone kingdom: The breathtaking ruins of Great Zimbabwe By Teo Kermeliotis and Stefanie Blendis, CNN updated 6:17 AM EST, Wed January 29, 2014 Part of complete coverage on Inside Africa << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 > >> HIDE CAPTION The ruins of Great Zimbabwe are a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Africa's most important historical monuments. Ruins of Great Zimbabwe STORY HIGHLIGHTS Great Zimbabwe is an ancient city that flourished between 11th and 15th centuries The site contains the largest single pre- colonial structure in sub-Saharan Africa Zimbabwe, which translates to "big houses of stone," was named for the city Map: click to enlarge Safari camp with a conscience Is this really Zimbabwe?

MASVINGO CATHOLIC SEMINARIAN SERVES POPE

Masvingo and indeed Zimbabwe were honoured and blessed when Bikita born Onismor Makova, a seminarian with the Roman Catholic Church was one of the few chosen to assist Pope Francis XVI serve Christmas mass last December. The mass was beamed live on major international satelilite television stations such as CNN and BBC. Makova is an intelligent seminarian who is the first from Zimbabwe to win a scholarship to study theology in the Vatican. Above Makova holds the microphone for the Pope. MASVINGO MIRROR

CHRISTIANO RONALDO A MESSI FAN Cristiano Ronaldo's son Cris junior is a Lionel Messi fan the boy's father said after they met up with the Argentina captain at the Ballon D'Or ceremony in Zurich on Monday. After Ronaldo was named 2014 Ballon D'Or winner, beating four- time winner Messi into second place, the two players had a friendly exchange in the lobby of Zurich's Kongresshaus when Cris pointed at Messi and then stood up to greet him. Real Madrid's Portugal captain Ronaldo told his arch-rival Messi: "He watches a video on the internet of all of us and he talks about you," prompting a coy reaction from his son. Barcelona forward Messi chuckled and asked the young Cristiano how he was doing. "You are embarrassed now!" Ronaldo then laughed to his son. Ronaldo received his third Ballon D'Or on Monday with the Portuguese or Messi having won the award every year since 2008.