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THE Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) has reportedly refused to restore water supplies to Binga Rural District Council until the local authority has paid at least $300 000 of its $1,5 million debt. BY PRAISEMORE SITHOLE Zinwa cut off water supplies to Binga in September, forcing residents and business operators to turn to boreholes and other unsafe water sources. Binga Residents Association vice-chairperson Samson Sibanda said Zinwa recently met council officials and indicated that it would restore water supplies after the local authority has paid at least $300 000 towards settling the bill. “We met and agreed on the way forward for water to be reopened. Council is the one that owes Zinwa money and not the residents. For water to be reopened Zinwa said they require at least $300 000 from the council,” Sibanda said. “Residents of Masoja area who are affected by the water cut started to protest and demonstrate saying they had been paying council and the issue has to be resolved immediately.” Binga district development co-ordinator Farai Marinyame confirmed that stakeholders met on Wednesday to try to resolve the crisis. “I was not on the ground, but there was a meeting between Zinwa, residents and the council to solve the ongoing water crisis. For now there is still no water as council is still negotiating with Zinwa so that they take that project,” Marinyame said. “The main problem is that residents are not paying up.” Binga RDC chief executive officer Joshua Muzamba said he was still out of Binga. “I am still out of Binga, just look for those on the ground who can give you information,” he said. Zinwa spokesperson Marjorie Munyonga, who previously pleaded with residents to pay up, yesterday said she was out of office and was yet to be briefed on the latest developments.
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE OPPOSITION MDC Alliance vice-chair Job Sikhala yesterday walked out of the tall walls of Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison after he was granted $50 000 bail by High Court judge Justice Erica Ndewere, who blasted the State for bringing unsubstantiated allegations to court. The opposition leader was arrested last month on allegations of fleeing from justice and plotting to subvert the government. “Sikhala’s arrest was a coincidence as the police stumbled upon him while on another mission not related to him. His fleeing was not that of a fugitive, but was running away from unidentified men he reported to be following him and not the police,” Justice Ndewere ruled. The judge said the police should have called his lawyer if they were seeking him, but they did not and misdirected themselves by relying on a vague Press statement they issued. As part of his bail conditions, Sikhala was ordered to surrender his passport to the clerk of court, report thrice a week at St Mary’s Police Station and was barred from posting political audios and videos on social media. In a related matter, MDC Alliance secretary-general Chalton Hwende, who also faced charges of trying to subvert government, was removed from remand by Justice Webster Chinamhora after the State failed to provide him with a trial date more than a year on. Hwende, who was represented by Harrison Nkomo, had been on remand following his arrest in connection with January 2019 protests over the fuel price hikes. Hwende was one of several MDC Alliance legislators’ activists and supporters arrested in connection with the protests.
By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — The world premiere of a documentary on Pope Francis was supposed to have been a bright spot for a papacy locked down by pandemic and besieged by a corruption scandal, recalling Francis' glory days travelling the world to bless the oppressed. But the red carpet rollout of 'Francesco' has been anything but bright, with evidence that the Vatican censored the pope last year by deleting his endorsement of same-sex civil unions from an interview, only to have the footage resurface in the documentary. Aside from the firestorm the remarks created, the fiasco […]
The post Fiasco over pope's cut civil union quote intensifies impact appeared first on Black News Channel.
Voters in Seychelles are casting their ballots in the presidential and parliamentary elections spanning three days.
Saturday was the main and last day of voting. The exercise had opened on Thursday for voters on fringe islands and essential workers such as hospital staff in the Indian Ocean island country.
74,600 people are eligible to vote.
Most of the Indian Ocean islands making up the Seychelles, a prized honeymoon destination famed for white beaches and lush vegetation, are uninhabited and the archipelago's 98,000 residents mainly live on the islands of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue.
The opposition is hoping to unseat incumbent president Danny Faure, in power since 2016. Faure was not elected but took over after his boss, James Michel, resigned as president.
Faure is running under the United Seychelles party, which has been in power since 1977.
His main rival is the Anglican priest Wavel Ramkalawan, who is taking his sixth shot at the presidency and lost by only 193 votes to Michel in an unprecedented second round of voting in 2015.
Virus and economy
The main concern of voters is the economic situation in the country, which has suffered the loss of vital tourism -- its main earner -- because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Seychelles has recorded only 149 mostly imported cases, but the virus has been a key campaign issue, with the health minister banning election rallies which would have been a barometer of support for various candidates in a country without a polling institute.
The campaign has mainly happened over social media, where the opposition and its supporters are the most active, and on television where the country held its first ever debates between the candidates, which proved extremely popular.
Since the start of the pandemic, the economy has slowed significantly, with some 700 Seychellois losing their jobs, according to government figures.
And while average income is among the highest in Africa, the national statistics agency says that about 40 percent of Seychellois live in poverty because of the high cost of living.
Another key theme of the campaign has been corruption, a largely taboo topic in the tiny country where business and politics are often intertwined.
By CALVIN WOODWARD and HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A more measured President Donald Trump does not necessarily mean a more truthful one. In the final debate of the presidential campaign, he was loose with facts on the crisis of the time — the pandemic — and much else. Trump did, though, exploit confusion sowed by Joe Biden during the primaries, when the Democrat occasionally made his position on energy sound more to the left than it actually is. Trump accurately called out Biden when Biden denied he had ever vowed to ban fracking. That was never Biden's […]
The post AP FACT CHECK: Trump and Biden in their last clash on stage appeared first on Black News Channel.
Even though early voting has been an option in New York elections only since last year, it was rarely used. Stats show that only about 6% of voters used the option in September's primary.
AN internal audit has exposed over 180 “voluntary workers” who were bleeding Marondera Municipality amid reports that they were each claiming $60 per day for doing menial jobs such as guarding communal boreholes and digging trenches. BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA This was revealed in a recent council audit committee report. The auditors noted several discrepancies where at some sites five people were said to be guarding a single borehole, amid reports that the “guards” were seconded by mostly MDC Alliance councillors. Marondera town has 11 MDC Alliance councillors and one for Zanu PF. It has emerged that each of the councillors seconded at least 15 workers to perform paid voluntary work. “Audit was concerned with the number of voluntary workers which was sky rocketing,” read part of the report. “The concern was that a single borehole was being manned by five people and to some extent people were attending malfunctioning boreholes. Audit cited loss of revenue.” Council early this year drilled 16 boreholes using devolution funds to ease water challenges, with five of them malfunctioning. According to the audit report, a number of voluntary workers were not reporting for duty but claimed daily allowances. “The audit manager said he received reports from the finance committee chairperson that there were some volunteers who were being paid yet they were not at work. The chairperson said internal audit should do the investigations and report accordingly,” read the report. The local authority is currently operating on a shoestring budget after revenue flows were affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in revenue collection falling by 50%.
Comedian Kim Wayans revived one of her most beloved In Living Color characters for a new video to encourage the... View Article
The post Kim Wayans revives 'In Living Color' character Miss Benita in voter PSA appeared first on TheGrio.
HARARE town planner Priscilla Charumbira, arrested on Tuesday for criminal abuse of office after she allegedly unprocedurally approved a change of land use of open spaces, was yesterday remanded in custody to today after she challenged her placement on remand. BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE Through her lawyer Lovemore Madhuku, Charumbira (53) argued that there was no legal basis for placing her on remand. She argued that the facts and evidence placed before the court did not constitute an offence. Magistrate Bianca Makwande will rule on her application today. The accused, who is wife to Chief’s Council president Fortune Charumbira, said the office she occupied did not directly interact with the Local Government minister, hence could not be charged for failing to seek ministerial approval. She said she signed some of the documents which had been approved by other officers that include one Nyabezi. But the State, represented by George Manokore, said the document before the court showed that Charumbira was an accomplice in the matter. It is alleged that sometime in 2016, Charumbira in her capacity as the city planner unlawfully supervised the approval of change of use for land in Sunningdale and along Samora Machel Avenue without the approval of the Local Government ministry.
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Sierra Leone Telegraph: 24 October 2020: Ghana has recorded total investments of US$869.47 million, with total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) value amounting to US$785.62 million between January to June 2020 as FDI inflow showed rare strength in the final moments of the second quarter of the year, undeterred by the Covid-19 pandemic. The total FDI…
With novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases continuing to rapidly increase in Kwebanna, the Region One community’s Village Council has decided to impose a two-week lockdown in an attempt to curb infections.
The article Kwebanna going into lockdown as COVID-19 cases surge appeared first on Stabroek News.
… -third of the population is African American.
As she speaks to cheering … -third of the population is African American.
That has given Democrats hope … in a round-table with African American men. As always, she wears …
Animals in the wild are at risk of going extinct due to illicit poaching, and a new breed of rangers is not having any of it. An armed all-female ranger unit in Zimbabwe, the women have made it their job to save the wildlife for future generations while making a new life for themselves as...
The post Meet the 'Brave Ones': The first armed, all-female ranger unit in Africa hunting poachers appeared first on Face2Face Africa.
[DW] Washington plans to lift sanctions on Sudan in return for compensation for terror victims, making the African country a pawn in the US election campaign. Experts say this approach to sanctions in Africa needs to change.
By Staff Reporter THREE police officers who were actively involved in the arrest of Delish Nguwaya, the Zimbabwean representative of Drax International, a company implicated in the US$60 million COVID-19 equipment procurement scam, have been arrested. National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrests but referred further questions to the Special Anti-Corruption Unit (Sacu), which also refused to comment on the matter, throwing back the questions to police. “You can check with Sacu, is the one handling the case,” Nyathi said. Sacu head Tabani Mpofu said his organisation had no arresting powers. “I don’t have the full details now; I cannot assist you beyond this. I am yet to receive the full details.” But NewsDay is reliably informed that Sacu investigators arrested Criminal Investigations Department head Chrispen Charumbira and his two subordinates Superintendent Naboth Nyachega and Obeylaw Moyo. It is understood that on May 14, Nyachenga wrote to Finance secretary George Guvamatanga raising a red flag over suspected money laundering in the Drax saga. Nyachenga was the investigating officer in the Drax case where Nguwaya was arrested by Moyo. Charumbira sanctioned the arrest. Charumbira was last night detained at Rhodesville Police Station while the whereabouts of Moyo and Nyachenga could not be established.
Following recent social upheavals across the U.S over racism and police killings of unarmed African-Americans, several big corporations are reflecting on ways to invest in black communities and black-owned businesses. In this regard, Google recently announced that it was committing $2.3 million to fund black-owned tech companies in Atlanta, Georgia. The donation forms part of...
The post Google commits $2.3 million to support black-owned tech firms appeared first on Face2Face Africa.
Nigeria's top police official on Saturday ordered the immediate mobilization of all officers to ``reclaim the public space from criminal elements masquerading as protesters'' after days of peaceful demonstrations over police abuses and then violent unrest that left at least 69 people dead.
\t The police order could further heighten tensions in Africa's most populous country after its worst turmoil in years. Nigeria's inspector general of police, M.A. Adamu, ordered colleagues to ``dominate the public space'' while announcing that enough is enough, a statement said.
\t Nigerians on Tuesday evening watched in horror as soldiers fired on a peaceful crowd of mostly youthful demonstrators singing the national anthem in the country's largest city, Lagos, with Amnesty International reporting at least 12 killed.
\t Some dismayed Nigerians then criticized President Muhammadu Buhari for not mentioning the killings and instead warning citizens against ``undermining national security.''
On Saturday, Nigerians living in the United Kingdom marched through London to condemn the shooting of people protesting police brutality. Demonstrations have also been in the US and South Africa.
The government has insisted that the protests, while well-intentioned, were hijacked by thugs who looted and burned vehicles and businesses in the two days after the soldiers opened fire.
\t Buhari has said 51 civilians were killed, along with 11 police officers and seven soldiers.
\t The scenes in Nigeria have struck a chord with the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, and the shootings by soldiers sparked immediate international condemnation.
\t By not taking action against security forces, some Nigerians have warned, the president could inspire further abuses.
Some business owners took advantage of the relative calm to open. Others were out to inspect the damage to their premises.
\t The new police order came even as a 24-hour curfew loosened for the first time Saturday in Lagos, a city of some 20 million where glittering wealth and grinding poverty are in sharp contrast, inflaming grievances over inequality and corruption.
\t The police inspector general ``enjoins law-abiding citizens not to panic but rather join forces with police ... to protect their communities from the criminal elements,'' the statement said.
\t Elsewhere in Lagos, some youth took to the streets again Saturday, but this time to clean up some of the debris after the turmoil. Charred vehicles remained in some parts of the city.
\t ``Alot of harm has happened to people's business and our heart goes out to them,'' said one volunteer, Monica Dede.
\t As for the way forward in Nigeria, she said, ``we will still be heard, we will not be shut up, we will definitely push for what we believe in as the youths of Nigeria. We are part of the system, we are part of this governance.''
