Masvingo man dies in Russia-Ukraine war

A 21-year-old man from Nyajena in Masvingo province has lost his life in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Blessing, the deceased, was recruited by Tshaka Zulu and reportedly died on February 27, though his family only received the news last Saturday. The family is now seeking assistance to repatriate his remains for burial in Zimbabwe.

The family is appealing for help to bring Blessing back home, as they struggle to cope with the loss of their loved one. The circumstances surrounding his recruitment and deployment to the war zone are unclear, but his family is desperate for closure and a chance to lay him to rest in Zimbabwe. Anyone with information or willing to assist can reach out to the relevant authorities or the family ditectly.

8. *Political interference hampering enforcement of strict regulations on trucks says Transport Minister*

Political connections are hindering government’s efforts to implement and enforce tighter regulations on overloaded trucks that use Zimbabwe’s main roads, Minister of Transport, Felix Mhona has said.

Mhona was speaking in the National Assembly when legislators questioned him on measures being taken to address the issue of overloaded lorries plying the country’s routes.

Mhona hinted on political interference when enforcement is taken on overloaded trucks.

“It is very true that our roads are mainly used by trucks that are overloaded. The challenge that we have is with Members of Parliament.

“When we prosecute those tracks, we receive many phone calls from Members of Parliament to release them. If we agree to that, I think we will have less phone calls,” said Mhona.

Overloaded trucks have been identified as contributing to the deterioration of road refurbishment work that the government has undetaken on some major highways.

Hauliers are reportedly taking advantage of lack of weighbridges and inadequate enforcement of regulations in the country to overload trucks when entering Zimbabwe.

Mhona said his ministry is working with the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) to construct weighbridges.

“This will help us preserve our roads so that they will not be overloaded with trucks. I agree with him that yes, when we looked at the issue of our weigh bridges, we have called for tenders so that together with ZINARA, we can construct weigh bridges.

“We are planning to erect them on strategic sites and we aim to increase the number of weighbridges that we have as a country. It is not a question of weighbridges but as business people, we should operate within the confines of the law,” said Mhona.

Zimbabwe connects several countries through its road networks and is used as a gateway by foreign trucks transporting goods. *_-NewZimbabwe_*