Prothet Magaya's AIDS Cure Claim

While preaching to his congregation at his church on Sunday ,it is reported that Prothet Magaya claimed to have found a cure for the dreaded AIDS and Cancer.

Prothet Magaya's AIDS Cure Claim

Social media inevitably blew up on Monday after these claims became public knowledge .Quite a few people were excited at the fact that a fellow Zimbabwean had made such a great medical break-through.Very few questioned how genuine the claims were or how  feasible this was.The most worrisome thing was the fact that no clinical trials had been conducted for this wonder herb known as Aguma.Even though the enigmatic prophet did not divulge where the drug had been registered or not most people defended him and praised him for saving the lives of many people who are HIV positive.I do not know whether it is because web are gullible as a nation or the fact over 1,2 million people are on ARV(antiretroviral viral) treatment. But surely such claims are not back3ede by some scientific data to buttress the claims that are being made the harm that these are going to have on the care and treatment of people who are positive and are already on ARVS is going to be profound. For starters some might switch to this “wonder “ drug and end up defaulting on treat with devastating consequences for their health.

Now ,there are indications that even though the Ministry of Health has not yet licensed the herb,it is already being sold for $1000.According to the Secretary for the Ministry Gerald Gwinji ,the government would find it difficult to license the alleged new cure.He claims that Magaya did not follow due process when he unveiled his Aguma herb.

“We do not want to quash any new discoveries or innovations ,but they have to go through the right processes so that issues of safety are assured,”Gwinji said.

“We WILL FIND IT DIFFICULT to license it ,and it will be difficult to authorize it to be sold at pharmacies until these issues are resolved ,and we are only doing our regulatory role in the pharmaceutical industry.”

It is therefore to say that people should not risk their health over this claim as the primary aim might have been to fleece cash from the long suffering people of Zimbabwe.

Love Never Fails

By James E.Kudzala

A farmer went to the field day to cultivate.During the work,he glanced up at the mango tree and saw a big belleberry ripe mango which he picked.

Love Never Fails

He decided not to eat the mango but take it to his wife,whom he loved very much,even though he was starving.When he got home ,he called his wife and gave her the mango to show his affection.Very happy with the precious gift ,the woman though of her child who had gone to school.

She took the mango, thanked her husband sincerely and reassured him that she would eat it later.The woman hid the mango so that she would give the mango to her son as soon as he returned from school to show him her love.As soon as he returned ,the mother gave him the mango with joy in her heart. The child thanked his mother warmly for the precious gift and told her that he would eat to later.

He, too ,resolved to hide the mango and make a surprise gift to his father who paid his school fees ,believing that his Dad knew nothing of the mango.

In the evening while everyone was eating the evening meal,the child said to the his father,”one minute dad,I brought you a present because I love you so much”.He ran to his room and took the mango and gave it to his father.Surprised to see the same mango he had given to his beloved wife return to him,without any comment ,he asked for a knife and shared it equally among the family.All ate the mango with a lot of joy.That is how love works.

The secret of love –when you give love ,it comes back to you in another way,because love is the most extraordinary force that governs all the universe.Lets love genuinely.

These Are The Best Of Times

Charles Dickens in his book A TALE OF TWO CITIES WRITES ,”it was the best of times ,it was the worst of times..”In the Zimbabwean scenario this seems to be a very apt description.

First Tesla Ever To Be Imported Into Zimbabwe

It definitely seems like the best of times to the people who have access to external funds and possess the coveted US  dollar,they certainly are enjoying the deteriorating economic situation where thye surrogate Bond note has been in free fall against the Us dollar.By all accounts fortunes are being made on the parallel market where huge among are changing hands at the drop of a hat and the money changers are laughing all the way to their house safes. Since they crash of the bond note ,most of those with ready cash have been on spending sprees with reports that imports of vehicles have been on an all-time high. There are reports that one one even had the cash to buy and import a Tesla,which is probably the first of its kind in Zimbabwe.The shopselves have been stripped of all the basic essentials as peo[ple stock up fearful of a further crash of the bond note which will render it useless.In most of thye peoples minds this is a precursor of the crash of  2008,when Zimbabwe suffered from hyper inflection and most shops did not have anything to sell.

For most of the long suffering citizenry ,who suffer from unemployment which hovers in the 80% ,the times are the worst of a very bad situation.No sooner had the country gotten rid of the despot Mugabe and fresh hope wafted through the land than 7 of their fellowmen fell at the hands  of the security forces that were supposed to protect them.Now the crash of the bond note against the US dollar has triggered panic among the people as they watch in horror as cooking oil and sugar disappear overnight from supermarkets and the the bond note becomes almost useless since most of the businesses do not want to accept the note.Prices are pegged against the US dollar which is in very short supply and long winding queues of people waiting for a chance to buy bread or fuel become a permanent feature of the body politic in our beautiful land.For most motorists sleeping in the queue for a chance to buy some fuel is now the norm.The public transporters have also jumped on the band wagon and have hiked the fares.Noone  can really blame them as the prices of fuel have gone up twice in the past week alone.

Fortunately sanity seems to be returning as the government authorities have announced that imports on all the basic commodities which are in short supply have been lifted and companies and individuals with spare cash can import these immediately. Maybe the times will change for the better for both those who have the means as well as those who are not so well off.

What I Learnt From Matebese

Around the year 2000,I used to make monthly excursions to Johannesburg to buy goods which I would resale in Maseru,Lesotho.During these trips which I undertook once a month, I would bump into a slightly built ,brash Youngman who was later to learn was called Matebese.

What I Learnt From Matebese

He would travel to joburg to buy socks ,yes socks ,which he would resale in Maseru.This happened over a number of years and around the year 2005 ,He had a big shop known as Durban-Maseru.He no longer go his stuff f from Joburg but from much nearer Durban were the goods were much cheaper .He had grown to the extend that he was the proud owner of some enclosed vans which would ply the Maseru –Durban route and bring back the precious .cargo for his shops.

What was interesting about the Youngman was the fact that he had only gone to school up to grade 4.By the 2010,He had married, constructed a beautiful home in Hamatala and had ten two roomed block of flats near the National University of Lesotho which he would rent out to students and it was common knowledge at the time that he was collecting ten thousand Maluti from these investment .Due to the fact that the rentals  are going  up regularly, the this must be bringing him in  quite a tidy sum of money.

I have read somewhere that that one should not have one income stream, the exploits of this Youngman seems to be the one of the practical ways in which one can ensure that he has a diversified investment portfolio was unfortunately unable to engage him in a conversation as to what other  investments he had,but judging from the little formal education he had had this man certainly has plenty of street smarts.

The biggest tragedy for our Continent is the fact that most educated people are happier getting employment and earning a salary instead of creating employment and employing other preople.Could the cause be the Eduaction syllabi that is employed or is it a dearth of daring entreprenuership among the citizens of Africa   

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

During the past week I was in my rural home carrying out running repairs to the homestead and I met with one of my younger brother who has made a name for himself in the nearby town of Nyazura

A Rolling STONE Gathers No Moss

Fortunately,by the weekend I had had enough of the building operations I was carrying out on the the main house,I just needed a break from it all.I gave my brother a call to confirm that he was at home ,prepared and hit the road. I managed to bump into him as he was driving to the main supermarket  where he was going to look for bread.We then proceeded to his plot and after a sumptuous breakfast prepared by his wife ,we swapped stories .I told them that I had heard a lot of  nice things mentioned about how they used to supply quite a bit of the chickens in Bulawayo and asked why they had just left abruptly, my younger brother chuckled and regaled me with some of their exploits in the city of kings but told me that they had not left of their own volition as they used to rent a full house from one pensioner in Bulawayo.He told me that they used to keep about a 1000 broilers chickens in cages at this rented accommodation and whenever the land lord came to get his rent he would increase the rent until he told them that he wanted to be part of the business.

As soon as he left they slaughtered all the chickens which were in the cages and sold off all the day old chicks that they had bought, packed only those essentials they could not do without and the rest sold at a garage sale at depressed prices .They then put most of the other stuff on a courier and then packed their blankets into their land rover ,asked a mechanic friend of theirs to accompany them on the 400 kilometer plus journey to their plot in Nyazura ,which fortunately they had bought but never developed.He told that there was no infrustracture at all and the mechanic friend asked where they were going to live and they told him in the vehicle. While they cleared out the place where they planned to later build their house they would sleep in the land rover and wake up at 4 am and fold and put their blankets away so that when visitors came they would not be embarrassed was made to understand at this time very few people would visit them.Now they have  built a beautiful brick under thatch house which is has ceramic tiles throughout. They had to trade their Land rover for bags of cement and other building materials and a $1000 in cash.That was the money which funded their first crops. The  inspiration part of their story is the fact that they are both professionals who quit their jobs at the height of Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation and they decided to work for themselves.The bricks which they used to build the house, they molded the two of them, they started a vegetable garden and planted maize and beans and after two seasons were able to start rearing boiler chickens again.As I WRITE they are the proud owners of their plot ,a completely built electrified house with a borehole ,over 1000 chickens at various stages of growth,17 goats and more than 20 sheep.

I later told them of my own problems with land lords in Lesotho, when I started a school and the owners of these vacant school buildings would offer them to me ,little did I know that all they wanted was for me to revive the schools and the they would come in and squeeze med out after a year of operations. One of the biggest takeaways was the fact that one cannot start an enterprise on a rented premise and not expect trouble from envious owner.

Better Keep Your Dollars Under The Pillow

Better Keep Your Dollars Under The Pillow

by Albert Ndambambi

Let's talk about the ride we are being taken on by our leaders. We were asked to open FCA Nostro accounts by the RBZ. As a law abiding and progressive thinking Zimbabwean, I obliged and opened mine with CBZ. I deposited a sizable amount of cash into this account over the past fortnight. I did this with confidence in the new administration and also with the thinking yekuti surely our government won't take us for a ride for the third time. The tellers were smiling and encouraging. Ndakabva ndaita manyemwe. Ndikati haaa ndiyo new dispensation ka iyi.

😩😩BOY WAS I WRONG😩😩

Yesterday I then decided to make a small TT payment to a colleague in the US. Here is what I was told;

"...you will need to complete a telegraphic transfer form and invoice being paid for. If there is no invoice and you are paying for services provided you need to provide copy of contract or agreement contract or agreement which should have been registered with rbz. If it is a loan repayment you also need to have the copy agreement and loan should have been registered with rbz. As for TTs to other personal accounts, this option is currently not available as per central bank exchange control regulations in place....."

😳 You can wonder what sort of anger and disdain I felt. I deposited my cash in good faith. Personal money they had no idea I had, in the spirit of supporting government initiatives. I was MAAAAD.

Little did I know, this was just the tip of an iceberg. I then asked to make a small withdrawal of usd$2 000.00. The teller went in, consulted and came back telling me, "...Sir you can only withdraw a thousand a day...." WHAAAAAT?

Be that as it was, I obliged and withdrew $1000 which was not enough for my needs anyway but I just accepted. Rules are rules.

Now here comes the juicy part, today I went back to withdraw the balance of the $2 000, which was $1 000. I was told, "....we do not have cash at the moment....leave your withdrawal slip and we will call you when cash is ready." I did, and sure enough 2pm a call came through alerting me of the availability of the cash. My P.A went to pick it and guess what, those notes in the picture were what she got. Ma dollar here vakomana? Ko yangu yakaendepi? I deposited proper clean notes.

Here's what I think. This shit of NOSTRO this NOSTRO that won't work. People deposit money in the bank with the trust that any time they want it they can get it and also with the belief that it's safe in there. Now, according to my experience, if you deposit your cash into the bank, 1) you won't have access to it anytime you want and 2) your pilllow is much safer than a bank.

My word to GOVT,WE DO NOT TRUST YOU.The only way you can gain our trust is by being fair and right.If I deposit cash,let me get it whenever I want.

Corruption Self-examination

By Muranda

This is a corruption checklist I came across from one of member of a motivational group I belong to I and I believe it’s too important not to share it.

Corruption Self-examination

_If you usually put more sugar in your tea when in a hotel than you do at home; then ,you are likely to be corrupt!

_If you use more tissue paper in a public washroom than you do at home; then, you are a potential thief if given opportunity!

_If you serve yourself more food than you can finish just because someone else is footing the bill;then,you are a greedy person!

_If you usually jump queues; then,you have the potential for abusing office if given a powerful position!

_If you are more concerned about knowing someone’s surname rather than rather first name ;then,you are likely to be a tribal bigot.It is even worse when someone tells you their name and you ask “which tribe is that ?”

_If you usually overlap while in a traffic jam or have no regard for traffic lights ;then, you would easily embezzle public funds if you are given a position at a public office since you hate regulation!

_If you look at this post and wonder whether it was really necessary to talk about these issues ;then, you are very dishonest and you would easily cover up ills society for your own benefit!

Lets us try to be people of character and integrity wherever we find ourselves!

Zimbabweans Are Their Worst Enemy

The past weekend has witnessed the Harare rumor mill in overdrive. This drove the masses to panic and go on a panic buying spree.

Zimbabweans Queing For Bread

Some business fundi’s claim this was a result of the statement that was issued by the newly appointed Minister of Finance to the effect that all business transaction conducted electronically would attract a 2 cent per dollar change as way of broadening the tax base due to the fact that most people in Zimbabwe are now unemployed and conduct business on the informal market which largely remains unregistered and therefore very little tax goes to the fiscus.

Writing about the Witwatersrand panics,Charles van Onselen suggested that they typically played out within periods marked by recession and political uncertainty and industrial action.

With a reported 80% unemployment rate and a thriving black market ,little wonder then there is this “feeding frenzy” as echoes of the debilitating food shortages are still fresh in peoples minds.The surrogate bond note which is supposed to be at 1 to 1 with the USA dollar has been in free fall since the 2018 elections.

I went to one major supermarket in the suburb where I live and was pleasantly surprised to see most of the basic supplies in abundance ,whilst waiting in the queue to pass I noticed that sugar which had been sold out was being unloaded and people were free to get as many as they wanted.

Which begs the question ,who is fooling who.As for me I  am not going to run with the herd.I will keep my own counsel and buy what I NEED when I want and not be sucked into this wild goose chase.I refuse to be a pawn in the black marketeers sick game.i will survive a few days without sugar or cooking oil which are the most sort after items.

Charity Wrapped With Dignity

She asked him,”How much are you selling the eggs for?”

By Tilaz

Charity Wrapped With Dignity

The older seller replied,”$,25 an egg,Madam.”

She said to him,”I will take 6 eggs for $1,25 or I will leave.”

The old seller replied,Come take them at the price you want .Maybe, this is a good beginning because I have not been able to sell even a single egg today.”

She took the eggs and walked away feeling she has won. She got into her fancy car and went to the posh restaurant with her friend. There, she and her friend ordered whatever they liked.They ate a little and left a lot of what they ordered.Then she went to pay the bill. The bill was $45.00.She handed over $50.00 and asked the owner of the restaurant to keep the change.

This incident might have seemed quite normal to the owner but, very painful to the egg seller.

The point is ;

Why do we always show e have the power when we buy from the needy ones? And why do we get generous to those who do not even need our generosity?

Someone once wrote;

“My father used to buy simple goods from poor people at high prices, even used to pay extra for them.I got concerned by this act and asked him why he did this ?

My father replied, “It is a charity wrapped with dignity, my child.”

A form of paying it forward I guess.Which category are you?

Women's Unending War With Dust

I always watch with bemusement the lengths some women go in order to combat dust and dirt so as to fit in with their peers.

Women's Unending War With Dust

Early in the morning, as soon as their children go to school, these housewives take to their brooms and scrubbing brushes and floor polish. Their quest is to make their floors as shiny as they can. They will toil and scrub and rub and clean until the floors are like mirrors. Only then are they happy and can then proceed to do other household chores I am not in any way belittling the wonderful work they do but just cannot reconcile their reasons for doing what they do.Half the time this is done because they don’t want the Mother of so and so to find their house dirty.So the reason is not really cleanliness but the need to conform or the fear of failing to conform ;then being turned into the laughingstock of the neighborhood.I have always maintained that even grownups suffer from peer pressure because this is definitely a form of peer pressure. Woe betide  the young ones should they come back from school and then absentmindedly wander into the house wearing their shoes. The mother will shout at the top of their voices for the offending shoes to be removed lest the wearer has his/her back tanned.The shoes are supposed to be removed and left outside the door or held and taken to the place where they are normally placed.

Homes which are supposed to be enjoyed by all who live in them are turned into no go areas for the young ones, they only get some respite when the father comes back from work ;if he is lucky enough to be formally employed. More often than not nowadays, he would be coming from a weird case of cat and mouse with the Riot Police for a space on the city streets. As vending has now become the biggest “employer” in the country. If however the father is also a serial shouter then the young kids do not have anywhere to seek refuge.These places of human habitat are turned into showrooms for the mothers friends to admire and coo over.In the process these ladies turn the floor polish vendors into fully employed individuals as they are assured of a constant stream of customers who buy their ware.

Surely if one cleans the house in the morning and the children then come and mess it up ,it should be alright.The well being of the family should weigh much more than the mother’s need for reassurance from her friends and extended family.

Bitterness

By Thembie

Bitterness is a spirit that disturbs many believers besides being a sin, bitterness is a mixture of disappointment ,anger and fear.Remember, anger graduates to bitterness if you don’t deal with it accordingly by forgiving and letting go.

In fact ,Ephesians 4:26 states that; “in your anger do not sin.”” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry”.As believers ,we must bear in mind that anger has a timeline ; your anger shouldn’t exceed 12 hours.

 Futhermore, bitterness makes you bitter instead of better and eventually leads to unforgiveness.What most of us are unaware of is that bitterness blocks breakthrough to your destiny.Before you allow bitterness to control you,here’s what you need to keep in mind.

.Bitterness is sin

.When you deliberately fail to talk to someone you have no part in God’s kingdom

.Bitterness is unforgiveness fermented

.The more you hold onto past hurts, the more you become “drunk” on your own pain

.The devil uses anger to Attack m any

.God can’t draw near a bitter person

.To overcome bitterness, you must ;forgive ,stop dwelling there and stop retelling

. Bitterness blocks your physical and spiritual life;you’ll stagnate physically and spiritually.It’s no wonder many are worsening physically and spiritually

.When you’re bitter,you can’t have a breakthrough even in prayer

.Bitterness creates space for the enemy

.Bitterness is satan’s altar in your life –an altar is a point of contact.Therefore,when you’re about to rise financially ,the enemy stands against you

.This sin entangles easily similar to sins like lies and gossip

.When you allow bitterness to take root in your life,you won’t succeed at any time because you’re limited

.Bitterness is what’s “eating” many up

.Bitterness holds you back

.It’s like an acid that destroys its container; whatever you try fails

.A bitter person holds grudges

Inept Man Utd Fail Again

United who have now gone for four games without any wins in all competitions following the Champions league draw against Valencia are a pail shadow of the side they were during Feggies reign.

Inept Man Utd Fail Again

After exiting the EPL Cup to lowly Derby County and the 3-1 loss to West Ham in the Premier League,Mourinho’s lads produced another impotent show in their second European game of the season.

Both teams could only manage five attempts at the goal over the 90 + minutes,a very weak display for a side which was boosted by the inclusion of Sanchez who did not participate during the weekend.

This leaves United second in the group,two points behind Juventus and only three above Valencia.This latest failure will not do much to improve the angst felt by their suopporters worldwide.

One of Man U’s legends Scholes has slammed Mou,saying the gaffa is ‘embarrassing the club’.

Aside from the club’s struggles on the field, Mourinho has made plenty of headlines for ongoing feuds with his charges,one with a certain Paul Pogba comes to mind, and the club bosses.

There are suggestions of a full scale team mutiny ,such is the state of affairs at Old Trafford currently.

“I’m actually slightly surprised that he survived after Saturday,the performance was that bad,”Scholes told BT Sport.

“He’s coming out in press conferences and he’s constantly having a go at players,he’s constantly having a go at people above him because he’s not getting what he wants,” the 43-year old said.

“I think his mouth is probably out of control and I think he’s embarrassing the club”

The smart money is on him not being ablr to see out his contgract if he cannot bring harmony to he dressing room sooner rather later.

It Is An Election Year Again

It is the silly season again in Zimbabwe,most trees rocks ,durawalls or any flat surface is adorned with Banting belonging to the multitude of parties. These have mushroomed since the dramatic events last November which saw the forcible removal of the nonagenarian Mugabe, in order to save him from the abuse he was purportedly suffering at the hands of people who were taking advantage of his advanced age.

Its An Election Year Again

Suddenly ,a thousand flowers have been allowed to bloom,the populace is embracing their new found ‘freedom’ wholeheartedly and the proof is in the number of parties that have since emerged to either challenge for the Presidential seat or just a seat in the public assembly or on the various council chambers across the length and breadth of the country. Whether this is helpful for the country or not is debatable but suffice to say that after a painful period of thirty-seven painful years the nation seems to be able to dream again.It is true for most of the candidates ,their s is an exercise in futility but at least they can dare to hope.Now  anyone who has the money to pay the election commission in order to be put on the ballot box has exercised that right .If ever there was a need to reaffirm the fervent need this country yearned for democracy this is a sure sign. Among the candidates who are in the running are disgruntled members from all the major political parties who will be standing as Independents because they are not happy for the way in which the various primary election s were held in the former parties they belonged to.

Perhaps the precedence was set by the Honourable Temba Muliswa ,the member of parliament representing Norton ,who was kicked out of the ruling party but was able to successfully run as an Independent candidate.So in essence a lot of the Independent candidates are simply running in order to ‘cut the nose in order to spite the face’ so to say.This then begs the question ‘do they really have anything meaningful to offer the populace or are their simply do thus for their own selfish ends .

Sadly our political space is full of people who believe their personality is what should determine whether they are elected or not.

By now almost anybody who watches the news knows that we have another disputed election result again but the lives of the populace does not seem to have improved in anyway to add to our woes is the outbreak of Cholera and dysentery and the needless loss of lives.

Adversity Can Bring Out The Best In People

“I remember very well years ago when I was often bullied and often,the bullying became the norm. Throughout my childhood and adolescent life, because of my unusual height coupled with my timid and soft spoken personality, I would be teased and laughed  sat, and often challenged to fight by other boys in school”-Edgar Mangwende.

Adversity Can Bring Out The Best In People

This paragraph in the book; The Cage Mentality from the Mind to the Mountaintop by Edgar Mangwende made me reminisce to my  own youth and it was eerie the similarities between our lives.I was and born and brought up in the Seventh Day Adventist church, being the only boy from my village who attended this church meant that when I came back from church all my age-mates would have disappeared to God knows where. Eventually I did not even bother to go look for them , I would sit at home and either read comic books which my elder siblings always brought home or listen to the radio. In time I got so used to my own company at times  I would leave my mates to go home so that I could be on my own.This helped to save me from many a scrape remember once going to make sure the cattle were securely closed up in the kraal and rushing home in order to listen to one program  which used to air at six in the evening was surprised to learn the next morning that all the boys in the village had been called to the Village head to be grilled and punished for having burnt out one kraal with the cattle in it ,apparently they had been playing with lighted cow dung and one of this pieces had ended up in the kraal ,those of you who grew up in the rural areas or farms know that once cow dung is lit it does not go out unless someone pours copious amounts of water on it.Fortunately most parents knew that I was well behaved so I was exempted from those proceedings. But the roasting I got from my age mates after that as well as the ostracism really rankled.

When I then left the village to go start my secondary schooling , I was to meet one of the my most trying of times at the hands of one Yoman Thomas.I was very tall and gangly for my age ,the fact that most of my peers picked up that I was not from the hood because of my dialect resulted in a lot of teasing and ridicule at the hands of most of my classmates save for one fellow outcast like me ; a pupil who was born with albinism. Because of the fact that we were both ostracized ,we gravitated towards each other and formed such a strong bond that we were friends until my erstwhile passed away.When I later learnt about his passing, I really felt hurt.(I had migrated for over a decade in search of greener pastures.)Yoman would make it a habit of waiting at one of the gates we normally used when we came to school from lunch and he would either beat us up or poke fun at us.Little did we know that we could have reported this abuse to the form teacher and he could have been disciplined.

Somehow I was able to channel my inner strength and applied myself at my studies,  after the form two results came out and he discovered that I was the best student in the two classes the abuse mercifully stopped.

 When  I was elected as one of the prefects during my third year of secondary school ,he knew I had become untouchable.