Civil servants ordered to contribute towards Heroes celebrations

Zimbabwe Peace Project has reported that Civil servants in Mutasa South were ordered by the Mutasa District Administrator, Tendai Kapenzi, to contribute money towards the Heroes Day celebrations.

ZPP said according to the Manicaland Amalgamated Teachers Union leader Obert Masaraure, the District Administrator for Mutasa District wrote a letter requesting contributions towards the Heroes Day commemorations.

"It was alleged that according to the letter from Kapenzi schoolheads are to pay $3, teachers and other officers pay $2, office orderlies pay $1, villagers pay 50 cents, A1 farmers pay $3, A2 farmers pay $10 and small holder farmers also pay $10," said ZPP.

"In Mutare West, Chiadzwa mining area, it was reported that ten diamond panners were murdered in July. One of the deaths was recorded after a group of over 200 panners were shot at by police and Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) security officers. It is alleged that police and ZCDC security officers at Chiadzwa diamond fields tried to intercept a group of artisanal miners during an operation by the security personnel, which was clamping down on what they termed illegal miners at the site."

ZPP said Farai Maguwu, Director of Centre for Natural Resource Governance confirmed the incidents to ZPP.