YOUR FEEDBACK

THE arrest of sitting Ministers demonstrates that the Government committed to fighting corruption, an economic and social destructive practice that had taken root in the country. Over the years some ministers and senior Government officials have been exposed for engaging in high level corruption but none of them were arrested and arraigned before the courts.

The vice was also prevalent at lower levels of society with police officers openly soliciting and accepting bribes at roadblocks, while officers at the Registrar- General’s Office demanded inducements to issue passports and birth certificates.

Zimbabwe Revenue Authority ( Zimra) officials sneaked into official servers to clear imported vehicles while pocketing hefty sums of money from the public.

Four Zimra officials were arrested recently and charged. It had become a free- for- all kind of system in the country as people were apparently encouraged to engage in corruption due to the inaction by law enforcement agencies to combat the vice. Keep it up government. — Concerned Citizen.

***

Doctors across the country have been on strike since September 3, pressing for an upward review of their salaries and an improvement to their working conditions. However, a special breed of medical practitioners at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo has been reporting for duty despite the industrial action by their colleagues.

Doctors are bound by the Hippocratic Oath which enjoins them to put their patients first and the group of doctors at Mpilo is staying true to the covenant they made when they embarked on their medical journey. We salute their compassion and professionalism which has saved thousands of lives which might otherwise have been lost due to the ongoing strike.

We are also proud of the doctors at Mpilo and urge them to continue exhibiting a strong commitment to duty and service to their community — Sithabile Byo.

*** Nepotism and tribalism have suffocated parastatals and private companies. These twin evils are so prevalent that you don’t need a sniffer to detect them. We can do better for Zimbabwe.

Opportunities should be open to everyone, not cousins, nephews, nieces and girlfriends. — Richard Mahuhushe Chauke.

***

I would like to thank members of the community around the Chiadzwa mining area for assisting in curbing illegal ZCDC mining activities. We would like to applaud the community for their continued support which has helped us to thwart illegal panner intrusions through reliable and accurate information. — Kutaka T. *** Thank you The Weekender for improving on the picture quality of the Weekender Guy and Weekender Girl. I also love the News in Pictures in your main paper. Keep up the good work. — Thabiso Mazh.

***

There have been disturbing grapevine reports that Mutare residents are at the peril of water poisoning from the main supply dam, Odzani. The Odzani Dam is situated east of the city of Mutare where a lot of legal and illegal gold panning activities are taking place.

The gold panners use mercury as they trap the precious mineral during the process. Mercury is used in gold mining and at the same time it is an extremely dangerous and poisonous chemical to human beings and animals.

A milligram of mercury can cause lots of deaths to the fauna if it enters into a body of drinking water.

This has posed danger to the Mutare residents who get drinking water from Odzani Dam as the rainy season approaches. The mercury can be swept by the oncoming rains into the Odzani Dam which supplies Mutare.

After hearing the information about these Odzani panners, I decided to investigate on these potential danger- posing activities. I learnt that it was true that a number of panners within the proximity of Odzani Dam are washing their ore using mercury which confirms a hazard to the entire City of Mutare.

We would therefore like to recommend the responsible authorities like the Environmental Management Agency ( and the Mutare City Council to look into these allegations before it becomes a worldwide Breaking News disaster. Residents also need to be assured of the quality of water they drink —