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[East African] The UK has banned people travelling from 33 countries from entering its territory starting February 15 to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 variant originally identified in South Africa.
South Africa is one of the hardest-hit countries in Africa with over 740,000 infections.
The country recorded 60 more virus-related deaths on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 20,011.
THE Zimbabwe consul in South Africa, Melody Chaurura, has announced that only five buses will be cleared daily to transport Zimbabwean returnees from the neighbouring country. BY NQOBANI NDLOVU Chaurura said this in response to reports that there was chaos at the country’s ports of entry with Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) officials refusing to clear buses ferrying returnees. She said all buses to be cleared should have a clearance certificate from the consulate to avoid being denied entry into Zimbabwe. “All buses involved in the repatriation of Zimbabwean nationals from South Africa are with immediate effect required to obtain travel clearance from the consulate of Zimbabwe in Johannesburg two days before the intended departure date,” she said in a notice. “This applies to all except for those travelling from Cape provinces who should approach the Zimbabwe consulate in Cape Town for clearance. To avoid congestion at the port of entry, a minimum of five buses will be cleared to travel per day.” Passengers and bus crew are required to have a COVID-19-free certificate obtained within 48 hours, the notice added. Millions of Zimbabweans are domiciled in South Africa, legally and illegally, in search for a better life due to the deteriorating economic conditions in the country. lFollow Nqobani on Twitter via @NqobaniNdlovu
Former Proteas bowler Morne Morkel has called time on his Surrey county deal, partly due to the Covid-19-enfored travel restrictions.
A warrant of arrest has officially been issued for ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule. Here’s how the next week will most likely play out.
SOUTH AFRICA-BASED Zimbabwean Afro fusion singer Philani “Phitso” Mhlanga has combined his voice with sungura musician Peter “Young Igwe” Moyo to denounce girl child abuse in song. The song, titled Dare Pavarume, was produced by Oscar Chamba of KOM Studios in Harare. BY WINSTONE ANTONIO The project comes amid a surge in cases of abuse of girl children during the coronavirus pandemic. The five-and-a-half minute song, which is available on YouTube, Reverberation, Spotify and iTunes, denounces girl child abuse. In an interview with NewsDay Life & Style yesterday, Phitso said art played an important role in educating the masses, hence the use of music to make sure that people appreciate the dangers associated with abusing the girl child. “Every woman is special, she must be respected. All men must protect the girl child. So through this song, we are saying it’s high time men speak out and educate each other to end this evil behaviour by fellow men in society,” he said. “Some of the situations that our sisters and mothers are in today are a result of us men who are causing their suffering. It’s time, the world started to respect women and those who abuse them in different ways should be punished.” Phitso, who frontlines The Legacy Band said he drew inspiration from the late music icons Oliver Mtukudzi and Tongai Moyo. In a bid to advocate for a better society through his craft, Phitso recently released a single titled Manyanya that has political connotations, which challenge and encourage men to provide for their families. Phitso said he had shelved plans to release his forthcoming album, Chigondora to concentrate on single releases in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. “We have decided to put on hold the release of the album Chigondora and concentrate on singles that will be timely in the midst of this global COVID-19 pandemic that has affected almost every sector of life,” he said. Born in the Checheche area of Chipinge, Phitso released his debut gospel album titled NaJesu Tinosvika Chete in 2013. It was followed by Dream Again Zvinoita the following year, which had hit songs MaZimbabwe, Ibva Muroad and Zvinoita. Follow Winstone on Twitter @widzoanto
EDITORIAL COMMENT THE realisation of “The Africa We Want” or Agenda 2063 will remain a mirage with several African countries, including Zimbabwe dented by reports of human rights abuses, human trafficking, police brutality on citizens, torture and several other vices that will never lead to achievement of Africa’s 50-year development trajectory. There have been so many hashtags calling for sanity and an end to brutality in Africa which include #ZimbabweanLivesMatter, #EndSarsNow, #CongoIsBleeding, #AmINext, #AnglophoneCrisis, #RapeNationalEmergency, and several others that show the deep-seated problems bedevilling Africa and that will retard its economic and human development agenda. Of course, one may argue that even Europe and the United States have their own problems and there are several hashtags pertaining to those, but the difference is that their economies are developed, and besides, it is always good to copy the best practices. For Zimbabwe in particular, what is saddening is that the government seems to be focusing on the wrong priorities. While it is true that sanctions hurt a nation, it is an open secret that the biggest sanction is government itself which has outrightly refused to listen to the complaints of its citizens. The fact that the government does not want to listen to teachers, doctors and other civil servants when they cry about their poor working conditions, means that the government is their biggest sanction from achieving the development they want. What is more disturbing is that while government will lure other African countries to support its October 25 anti-sanctions agenda, and is also counting on citizens to do so, it is the same government that denies civil servants and other dissenting voices in the country the right to air their own grievances. In Parliament last week, Norton MP Temba Mliswa bluntly said if the Zanu PF government wants MPs to join their cause, then they must first sort out the welfare issues of MPs who are earning $18 000 which is far below the poverty datum line of $20 000. It is sad that Zimbabwe and other African countries like Nigeria which are experiencing human rights abuses are signatories to different African Union (AU) charters like the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, the African Continental Free Trade Area, and several other AU and United Nations charters that emphasise democracy and respect for human rights, but none of those provisions are being implemented. The country has come up with economic blueprints, like the Transitional Stabilisation Programme and its successor the National Development Plan which emphasise re-engagement, democracy and achievement of economic development. This can only be possible if there is a buy-in from citizens. After all, those that implement government policies are mostly the underpaid civil servants that have been crying out for living wages. Africa needs to increase peace and reduce conflicts if it is to achieve the objectives of Agenda 2063. All development should be people centred.
