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Melisa Chatikobo STAFF WRITER chatikobom@dailynews.co.zw TOBACCO contract sales have raked in US$576.7 million since the closure of the self-funded auction floors. The latest Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) statistics indicated that tobacco worth US$576.7 million was sold in 79 days compared to the US$549.5 million sold last year. Self-funded auction floors closed at US$39.5 million…

GUTSY former leader of liberation war veterans, Jabulani Sibanda, has warned Zanu PF members to ditch tribal and factional politics in the interest of the country and to allow the ruling party to win next year’s crunch national elections. Addressing Zanu PF’s social media activists, known as Varakashi in Bindura at the weekend, Sibanda —…

CONCERNS are growing over the desperate state of the country’s public hospitals, with Parliament imploring the government to urgently address the untenable situation. This comes as United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) — which serves as a referral centre for Matabeleland, the Midlands and Masvingo — has suspended surgeries due to shortages of anaesthetic drugs and agents….

LEGISLATOR Job Sikhala, accused of obstruction of justice, is keeping his fingers crossed hoping a Harare magistrate’s court will grant him bail tomorrow. On Friday, his lawyer Jeremiah Bamu completed his bail application, saying the allegation that he interfered with police investigations was misplaced.Sikhala is alleged to have recorded a video and uploaded it online…

Brighton Muronzereyi STAFF WRITER muronzereyib@dailynews.co.zw NATIONAL Housing minister Daniel Garwe said the government is targeting to end 1.2 million housing backlog by 2030. Speaking in the Senate last week, Garwe said the government is targeting to construct 220 000 housing units by 2025. “We have a backlog of 1.2 million houses nationwide.  We are looking…

Melisa ChatikoboSTAFF WRITERchatikobom@dailynews.co.zw AGRICULTURE minister Anxious Masuka, says the launch of the national Dairy Breeding Strategic Plan (DBSP) will improve milk production in the country, projecting an 18 percent growth this year. This comes as the sector had been performing due to high cost of production, poor genetics and dairy cow diseases.Last year, 80 million…

RAMPANT factionalism and endless bickering will remain a major feature of local political parties, until they improve their internal democratic processes and deal decisively with the thorny issue of succession, analysts say. Speaking to the Daily News On Sunday yesterday, the analysts said it was particularly striking that all local political parties did not seem…

THE minister of Transport, Felix Mhona says a crippling shortage of foreign currency, coupled with obsolete equipment, is making it difficult for authorities to clear the national backlog for metal drivers’ licences — which dates back to 2018. Speaking in the Senate last week, where legislators wanted to know how the government planned to rectify…

NATIONAL Tree ambassador, Never Bonde has raised concerns over the rise in firewood poaching in areas surrounding urban areas mostly triggered by the current power cuts being experienced in the country. In a letter dated July 20, directed to Environment minister Mangaliso Ndlovu, Bonde said there is need for authorities to take action against firewood…

THE Harare City Council (HCC) says it will embark on an exercise to re-evaluate some of the major deals it previously entered into, to ensure that they were benefitting residents. In a statement posted by the HCC’s communication department yesterday, mayor Jacob Mafume and the entire local authority were of the view that some of…