Herald Reporter
Media, Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu has challenged Government to safeguard musicians against piracy saying the practice was affecting the livelihoods of thousands of people in the music industry.
Minister Shamu, who is the Zimbabwe Union of Musicians patron, called on lawmakers to impose deterrent sentences on those caught pirating music.
This comes amid reports that thousands of CDs containing sungura artist, First Farai's latest album "Pahasha" had flooded the market.

The album was released last week and has not been distributed to most parts of the country.
"I was pained to see him (First Farai) coming with such sad news. It means he has got nothing from the project.
"Consider the costs, time and effort put to come up with a single piece of work then we have someone making hundreds of copies within an hour.

"Government should impose severe jail terms on such culprits because this has destroyed the musicians and the music industry in general," he said.
Minister Shamu said musicians are accused of being irresponsible with their earnings yet piracy was hitting them in the pocket.

Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
ATTORNEY-General Mr Johannes Tomana has assured his officers of better working conditions once the Attorney General's Office Act becomes operational.

The Act was passed in Parliament and awaits operationalisation. Mr Tomana was speaking at an awards ceremony for the best law officers and prosecutors for 2011 held at a Harare hotel recently.
The AG also commended the officers for steadfastly remaining at work at a time most professionals in other offices were leaving for greener pastures.

"Over the past two years, the staff turnover rate has significantly reduced. Officers (in AG's Office) have been long suffering as they hope the operationalisation of the Attorney General's Office Act will come with better conditions of service. I want to assure you . . . that hope shall not fail," he said.

Mr Tomana hailed the prosecutors and law officers for lifting the office's flag high.
"I would like to appreciate the work done in the AG's Office over the years in professionalism, hard work, commitment, loyalty and steadfastness . . . " he said.

Herald Reporter
THE Registrar-General's Office resumed processing passports

Lloyd Gumbo Herald Reporter
CONSTITUTION-making is back on track after the Copac Select Committee yesterday agreed that the drafters resume their work next week.

Paidamoyo Chipunza Health Reporter
Warren Park 1 has been hit by a diarrhoea outbreak with over 200 people from the suburb treated in the past four days.
No fatalities were reported.

It is suspected that a contaminated borehole from which the residents draw drinking water was to blame.
Harare City Council director of Health Services Dr Prosper Chonzi confirmed the outbreak and said water samples from both the borehole and municipal supplied taps have since been taken to the laboratory for tests.
"We have taken several samples from the sources of water to the laboratory for tests but we suspect that these people drank contaminated water," Dr Chonzi said.

Dr Chonzi said since December 31, 2011 a total of 210 people across all age groups have been treated for diarrhoea at Warren Park 1 Polyclinic - a figure he described as well above the normal cases expected during the rainy season. Residents interviewed said on Christmas day they went to fetch water from the borehole on the premises of the same polyclinic, they noticed something amiss, but went on to drink it anyway.
"It looked completely different from all the other days. It was reddish-brown in colour as if it was rusty and had some particles at the bottom," said a vegetable vendor who identified herself as Amai Dumba.

Lloyd Gumbo Herald Reporter
LEGISLATORS have started receiving their outstanding US$15 000 sitting allowances at a time Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga says the money cannot cover their car loan schemes.

The allowances are backdated to 2008 at the rate of US$75 per sitting but the executive pegged a flat figure of US$15 000. Only 14 out of 211 MPs have not yet received their money after Treasury ran short of funds.
The legislators indicated last year that they would repay the car loans when they get the outstanding allowances. MPs welfare committee deputy chairperson Mr Ward Nezi (MDC-T) yesterday members who hold CBZ accounts had started receiving the allowances.

"As I am speaking to you an MP who has an account with CBZ has confirmed that the money has reflected in his account," Mr Nezi said. "However, there seems to be some bottlenecks at the CBZ because they were supposed to transfer the money to other banks but up to now there is nothing."

He said an MP with a bank in Mutare had not seen the money. "The MPs are now anxious because they had been promised that the money would be accessible by Christmas."
Welfare committee secretary Cde Kudakwashe Bhasikiti (Zanu-PF) concurred with Mr Nezi that some legislators had received the money.

Michael Chideme Municipal Reporter
HARARE City Council has terminated three joint ventures

Peter Matambanadzo Senior Reporter
WOMEN using hormone-based contraceptives have been urged to be properly assessed

Lloyd Gumbo Herald Reporter
LEADERS of the three political parties in the inclusive Government will next month hold joint rallies to urge their supporters to refrain from violence.

The leaders will use the rallies, to be held in all the country's provinces, to preach co-existence and tolerance ahead of elections.
The rallies are a follow-up to the indaba on violence that was held in Harare in November last year. It drew the top leadership of the three parties and was jointly addressed by President Mugabe (Zanu-PF), Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC-T) and Professor Welshman Ncube (MDC).

Zanu-PF secretary for administration Cde Didymus Mutasa and MDC secretary-general Mrs Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga confi-rmed the party leaders will jointly address the rallies.

"The dates haven't been given to us by the President as you know there are three principals, but there is one main one who is President Mugabe, so we are guided by him," Cde Mutasa said.

Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
CONGESTION, which had eased at the Beitbridge Border Post in the last few days, returned yesterday as Zimbabweans based in South Africa started trooping back.
Long and winding queues were the order of the day at the border post for both human and vehicular traffic.

Vehicles formed double queues that stretched for over two kilometres from the clearing offices, while people jostled to have their passports stamped.
The slow movement of traffic was blamed on the introduction of exit forms on Sunday morning that are supposed to be filled in by travellers leaving the country.
Some of the travellers said the forms, which are meant to establish the exact number of people leaving the country, are not user friendly.

Many people could be seen struggling to fill in the forms, while others were reluctant to comply with the new arrangement which they viewed as time consuming.
For visitors leaving the country, the forms demand that they state the approximate amount of money they used while in Zimbabwe.
They have to state how much they spent on accommodation, food, entertainment, fares, petrol and all other purchases of a business nature.