MY BEEF WITH ECONET ZIMBABWE

THE BEEF

I do not know if I am the only person who has a beef with Econet Wireless Zimbabwe. I will admit I have seen similar complaints on Twitter and Facebook and I am wondering if Econet is doing anything about the complaints.People are being charged for a service they have not received!!! Are you a victim too?

MY COMPLAINTS

Here is a blow by blow account of my complaint on twitter which has not been solved as I write. I bought a monthly Facebook bundle on Saturday, 23 August 2014. I could not access Facebook on its application or via phone browser and opera mini.

On the 30^th of August, I bought $2.00 airtime and I was able to access Facebook via its application on the understanding that I was accessing it on the monthly bundle facility only to discover that my $2.00 had been reduced to zero. I then twitted to Econet Zimbabwe.

THEIR RESPONSE

The response I got was not adequate and dismissive.

“Hi Edmore, As long as the bundle is active you will not be charged for accessing Facebook.”

I was surprised because I was charged and that was the reason I raised the complaint in the first place. What has happened to my $2.00 in a space of 2 hours was what I wanted to know and no one Econet Zimbabwe could explain that to me.

MY FURTHER COMPLAINT AND THE RESULT

I then pursued the matter further and I complained to Econet and retwitted my displeasure to my followers. I got various responses from my followers and I know I am NOT alone I feel people are being fleeced of their monies by Econet Zimbabwe to the extent that people are now echoing #Ecofraud on twitter. People are aware of this chicanery and are informing others.

Most of the followers got a message just like the one below when they insisted with the same complaint.

“Downloading the FB app, clicking on links and embedded pictures that takes you outside of FB will attract normal data rates.”

In my case, I am well aware that CLICKING ON LINKS AND EMBEDDED PICTURES would cost me money and I will not do that. I have gone further and explained to Econet Zimbabwe that I will not do such a stupid thing as I value my hard earned dollar.

Now if you are like me, you will have to pursue the matter further. You will get the following explanation from Econet Zimbabwe.

 Econet Zimbabwe: “Which Browser are you using? When using the Facebook bundles please make use of the default device browser or the Facebook application because Opera Mini is down.” I did that and I still have not accessed the Facebook Bundle.

WHO WILL REFUND ME FOR A SERVICE I NEVER GOT

 The month is now over, who will help me recover the money that I have not used? Is it not fraud to sell a thing or service you will not deliver?

ECONET WILL CHARGE YOU FOR SERVICE YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED

I was not convinced by the response I got on twitter so I paid a visit to the Econet Shop in First Street in Harare. Here I came face to face with the truth of the extent of the fraud. The very rude lady who assisted me told me blankly. She told me that so long I have subscribed to the service; money will be deducted even if I do not access the service. She also told me if you do not STOP the service Econet will continue to deduct the money for the service and charge you.

THE STOP TRICK

Econet is continuously spamming our inboxes with messages and advise you to send STOP if you do not want to receive the messages. It is a trick as you get charged for sending the STOP message.This is robbery.

THE FAKE BUNDLES

Do not be tempted to buy the so-called bundles. I exhausted my weekly data bundle in less than two hours. It is a hoax!! I do not know why they are called weekly bundle when I spend less than two hours. That is daylight robbery!!

#ECOFRAUD DO EXIST BE WARNED

 Now if you have been treated the same please tell this to others. Remember to #Ecofraud your complaint if you are on Twitter and Facebook. Good luck

THE MASS GRAVES OF RHODESIA

THE HIDDEN SECRETS OF RHODESIAN WHITES

The bodies of the victims of white Rhodesian forces of the Chimurenga War are still being discovered in mass graves. Hundreds of bodies have recently been discovered in Penhalonga, near Mutare, around former white commercial area.

There are still some white commercial farmers who participated in the war who are still in the area. These and other farmers who are still in the country must be held accountable, not only for the deaths of the victims but for concealment of the mass graves on their farms.

The above, murdering a person, not reporting deaths and concealment of bodies are criminal offences. The State must simply look up who the previous owner of these properties are at the Deeds Office and lay criminal charges against the former commercial farm.

The VICTIMS

The victims in the mass graves includes unarmed women, children and armed liberation combatants. The victims have not been documented and are being identified using traditional spirit mediums.

The government should at least document the events and location of exhumation sites.

 These sites of mass graves must be recorded for the purpose of identifying the killers and the victim. Identifications will also assist if compensations of the victims should arise.

COMPENSATION

The family of these victims I think should be compensated. I propose a Special Parliamentary Committee must be set up to look into ways of funding of the exhumation of mass graves and identifying the victims using DNA technology.

The funds must be sourced or set off against the compensation claims of the white commercial farmers on improvements to their farms.

SETTING OFF OR KURIPA NGOZI

It is true that every white commercial farmer around these mass graves must have known of their presence and their contents and they had a moral responsibility to report and acknowledge them. The failure to report these graves is not only criminal but a total rejection of Robert Mugabe call of National Reconciliation of 1980.

These Rhodesian criminals must pay for their collective sin by compensating the families of their victim. Our culture and tradition calls it “kuripa Ngozi”. Let those be tormented soul be compensated.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

The State and media are not doing enough to highlight the Rhodesian atrocities and excesses. Let us talk about it. It is the State’s duty to take care of its citizen ,dead or alive. It is the media duty to report the crimes of yesteryear as they are unearthed in those mass graves.   

#Crimes of the Chimurenga War 

(c) Thornbridge Investments All rights reserved 2014

OPEN LETTER TO SABMILLER TO REDUCE BEER PRICES

Dear Maxen,

I would like to thank you for your response and your concern.

I understand you have reduced the “recommended selling price” of your products by a bigger percentage than the cost reduction on your product. Your reduction translate to $0.40 per crate.

In our Big Brown Bottle Promotion at Magumbe Bottle Store the selling price on quarts is $1.67 which beats your so called “recommended retail price” and we are passing on a discount whooping  $0.33 per bottle to our cash strapped customers. This translate to a total discount of $3.96 per crate as compared to the $0.40 which you are offering me.

My facebook post is a plea to you to wake up to economic realities. We used to have three delivery per week  and as I write we now have one delivery per week and the delivery truck is getting smaller too!!

The price of beer has risen from below $12.00 in 2009 to the current price of $17.40 per crate. Inflation in the same period has fallen from over 17%  to -0.01. The rate of the rand against the dollar has also fallen over the same period. WHY HAVE YOUR PRICE CONTINUED TO RISE?? That is my million dollar question to Delta Beverages.

I am both a consumer and seller of your product and I feel pity on myself and other drinkers. I also happen to understand my market and that is why  I am running the BIG BROWN BOTTLE PROMOTION !!!!

Regards,

Edmore Mbuzana Mlambo

P. S:  A pint of beer cost 4 rands in South Africa I am serious thinking of emigrating there.

©2014 Thornbridge Investments    All rights reserved

Oscar Pistorius and the white fear factor - Features - Al Jazeera English

Oscar Pistorius and the white fear factor - Features - Al Jazeera English

ZIMASSET: Questions without answers?

Following the recent introduction of Zimasset I have so many questions on how the program can help the ordinary person on the street and how we as citizens can facilitate its implementation. No one is selling this program to the common people but I feel the selling points to the ordinary povo are eradication of poverty and corruption.

WHY NOT CARRY OUT A ROADSHOW ON ZIMASSET?

The government should carry out roadshows similar to the sanctions petition where ordinary people are told how Zimasset can be a tool for social and economic change. The roadshows will also highlight and articulate how corruption and poverty can be reduced if the policy is implemented.

People should be told of incentives on whistleblowing on corrupt activities. Government should be able to reward its citizens when they report cases of corruption; this will be an opportunity for government to have permanent checks and control over public funds.

What is the role of government departments like Ministry of Information, Indigenization, and Women Affairs, Education and Youth in sensitizing the people under their respective portfolio on the pro and cons of Zimasset?

WHAT IS ZIMASSET TO THE POOR?

Is Zimasset the answer to poverty and economic development for Zimbabwe or it is just another talking topic in bars and other social gathering like funerals and political rallies? Do we have the political will to tackle issues and implement?

What does it mean to the poor? Will it change their current situation or will it worsen it?

WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE UTILITIES?

How will Zimasset reduce rates to realistic levels?  What policies must be set in place to protect the public from extortionist and over staffed utilities?

Ideal rates and utility charges must be used as points of redistribution of wealth within a given economy. This calls for a fifth cluster on Public Utilities and Rates which will be able to have an oversight of charges being charged by other clusters.

 

 

WHAT WILL ZIMASSET DO FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS AND THEIR JOBS?

There is a need to go to Ministries, departments and sections that generates and collect revenues and take a detailed study of their activities. This will enable us to match and link revenue generating activities and the desired result of a particular utility. This will also allow government to direct savings to targeted areas of need,

The people have another unanswered question; is the current performance appraisal system aligned to Zimasset?

The civil servants who have been grossly underpaid or overcharged by utilities must get his or her just compensation through realistic performance management systems that cascade to utilities under their departments.

Civil servants have carried the burden of utilities and the government must take bold steps to reward them for their diligence and resilience since the year 2000.Has Zimasset addressed the concerns of the civil servants?

HOW WILL ZIMASSET REDUCE CORRUPTION?

The above approach will be able to identify areas where resources have been diverted and are being mishandled. It is known that poverty is the principle cause of corruption, not vice versa as a nation we have accepted this and corruption in turn drives poverty levels up.

Can we as a nation break this cycle by implementing Zimasset, and take decisive action?

 The top two priorities for Zimasset should be to tackle corruption followed by poverty reduction. Corruption and poverty reduction should both be targeted and be treated as a security issue.

WHAT ARE ZIMASSET DELIVERABLES?

Zimasset is being implemented by the highest office in the country the Office of the President and Cabinet that means the government has prioritized Zimasset. My questions are (1) What are the OPC deliverables?( 2) Is it how many corrupt people are arrested,or a sharp drop in poverty level or double digit economic growth rate?

The above questions must have answers from the authors and architects of Zimasset. When the people know the deliverables and answers, then the government will be able to sell this noble program. Yes we have it on paper now let us as a nation walk the talk.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Edmore Mbuzana Mlambo is not a professional writer but just a blogger. You can follow him on twitter.com/mbuzana1 or read his common nonsense on his blog www.edmorembuzanamlambo.blogspot.com or meet him on www.facebook.com/edmore.mbuzanamlambo.  

© Thornbridge Investments 2014

A LAYMAN'S LOOK AT ROBERT MUGABE'S LAND REFORM PROGRAM

This is not a praise piece to Robert Mugabe but an expression of my personal experience of the impact of his policies on my life and my immediate community. I would like to highlight the positive aspects and effects of the land issue and land reform.

I am deliberately leaving out the negatives which the so called independent media have by now discussed, twisted, distorted and exhausted the propaganda rhetoric on behalf of those the land was taken from. This is the propaganda that has resulted in sanctions being slapped on Zimbabwe.

My story, and this is the story of our people, began when I started renting a bottle store at Tambawaguta Business Centre in 2005 and I am still operating up to this day. This was in the midst and the height of the land revolution and I could hardly sell a crate of beer of the low incomes of the community around the business centre.

IMPACT OF THE LAND REFORM ON INCOME LEVEL

My sales were low in the beginning as most of my customers were urban workers and few commuters who passed through the highway.Farm workers from Burma Valley and the Vumba made up part of my customers but their incomes were very low but as the land reform progressed some of the farm workers and members of the local community became land owners. There has been a gradual increase in the income level of the people around the business centre as reflected by increase in business.

The new farmers are into timber harvesting, tobacco, maize and other cash crops and they can afford to stop and buy as they pass through on their way to and from town.

The land revolution has had a positive aspect on the income level on local households. Initially the people who were allocated land in the Vumba began harvesting timber and sawmills were established at our business centre. This development created employment for the locals especially the youths, the income had a ripple effect on the immediate micro-economy.

The increase of income levels had an amazing impact as  the locals were now employed as workers in the  timber processing industry. Those who had land could afford to hire labour to attend to their fields and this had a ripple effect on the immediate micro economy.

The locals would now afford to by basic farming implements, fund electrification of their homes and improve their lives. Cellphones and satellite televisions could now be afforded and the local shops were electrified .The local shops could now be able to stock perishable goods as electric  freezers  and microwave stoves were now able to function.

CREATION OF MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT

The land reform program has created work and meaningful employment for the locals as the

skills which the youth acquired in the Vumba on timber processing are now being transferred elsewhere. Skills like machine operating, logging, mechanics, welding and management and marketing  which the locals have acquired have seen locals working in timber estates in Nyanga,Penhalonga and Chimanimani.

The local economy is benefiting directly and indirectly from the land reform program even though the timber in the Vumba has been depleted. Income earned elsewhere is being ploughed back into the local community.

It is my hope that the new farmers in Vumba start replacing the pine trees and create further continuous employment and income for the local community.

THE LAND REFORM AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE

In 2005 the business centre had nine shops and of these only one had electricity and four were operating. The local joke was that if you want to see electricity you must go to Burma. The Burma electricity line was for the white farmers and it passed overhead of the community.

Today as I write only three shops out of the nine do not have electricity and eight shops are operating. The avaliabilty of electricity is a direct result of the land reform program and Rural Electrification program.Locals are now engaged in meaningful income generating activities such as welding ,hairdressing and other activities that need electricity.

THE LAND REFORM AND ROBERT MUGABE

It is my belief that those who doubt the land reform should look around their communities and see the positive impacts and acknowledge its successes. In my opinion we should applaud the country’s astute leadership and the vision of Robert Gabriel Mugabe.

Let us discount the Rhodesian propaganda which has been used to court sanctions against our country to the dustbin of history.It is my belief that without the illegal economic sanctions and the chicanery of the Rhodesian sponsored opposition  Zimbabwe would be in a better economic position than where it is today.

(c)All rights reserved Thornbridge Investments 2014

GET EXTRA CASH WORK PART TIME FROM HOME

THORNBRIDGE INVESTMENT NETWORK SERVICES

Dear Potential Reseller of Consultancy Services,

Long time ago there was no shortage of employment but things have changed. The plain fact is that you will not find a job easily. Even a business degree does not guarantee you employment.

The fact is that people have to create work and employment for themselves.

This is the reason for this venture. We have a network of consultants that need a last mile contact with its client and you are that link.

 The concept is that our client provides their own funds and finance their own activities. The reseller role is to facilitate and channel services to the client at zero cost and in the process earns a commission.

RESELLER  SERVICE

Ø  You do not need any capital

Ø  No up front fees

Ø  You earn your commission at point of sale

Ø  You do not do any paperwork

Ø  You do not need an office

Ø  No training fees

.

WHAT YOU NEED?

Ø  Cell-phone

Ø  An email address or

Ø   A facebook account

Ø  A receipt book and yourself to do the work.

EARN MONEY BY BECOMING A RESELLER OF OUR

 CONSULTING SERVICES - YOU GET 10%OF THE FEES.

OUR SERVICES ON OFFER

1.      Company registration and sell of shelf company          $300-00

2.      Private business corporation registration                    $150-00

3.      CR 14 CR 6 Annual returns                                       $  60-00

4.      Renewal of liquor licence                                             $450-00

5.      Application for new liquor licence                                   $600-00

6.      Application for shop licences (depends on local authority)

RESELLER STARTER PACK

To get your reseller starter pack, all you need is to send us $1-00. This investment will cover free business consultancy service and make you an associate consultant for the rest of your life.

 I will sent you a list of approved shelf names for you resale at your own convenience .The list is updated on request by email.

.

All you have to do is fill in the application form on this leaflet or email your details to the email provided or join my group on facebook.

The group is called Thornbridge Investments Network or you can subscribe to my facebook account (facebook.com/edmore.mbuzanamlambo).

AGREEMENT FORM

Yes l would like to be a reseller.

Please find herewith my set-up fee of $1-00.

o   Sent me your reseller kit and I will pay on my first sale

.

o   Cheque  please make cheque out to THORNBRIDGE INVESTMENTS

o   Postal order to P.O. Box 630, Mutare, Zimbabwe

o   Cash

o   ECOCASH to 0773 037 230

o   Bank deposit/internet transfer

THORNBRIDGE INVESTMENT ZABG Account

19505403850723

o   Please debit my card

Card Number............................................................

Expiry DATE …………………………………………………………..

Name of card holder ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

I.D Number…………………………………………………………………………………..

Signature……………………………………………………..

CONTACT DETAILS

o   TEL: (00263) 0773 037 230  or email demorconsult@yahoo.com

o   www. edmorembuzanamlambo.blogspot.com

o   facebook.com/edmore.mbuzanamlambo

o   embuzana @ gmail.com

o   twitter#mbuzana 1

o   P O Box 630,

Mutare.

RESELLER POINTS AND CONTACT PERSONS

Mr D Huruwe, 77- 5^th Street, Mutare, Call 0772734469

Mr.J.J Kuripa, Matambo Complex Vengere, Rusape: Call 0778530873

Mr. M. Chirisa, Travel Centre, 1st Floor Cnr 3^rd/Jason Moyo, HARARE. Call 0712778620.

                                                          

Mr. S.Sithole, SMS Accounting, Chipinge , 0774790831

Mr. Thomas Mlambo, TMC , Machongwe  B.C, Chimani  0773119561

Mr. T. Mlambo ,TMC ,12/721 Gaza Township, Chipinge 0773119561

Mr Elijah Mugido,  Votary Distributors ,Chipinge. 0772312744

Mr. Chinheya,Nactus Investments, Ngangu,Chimanimani,0772444932

Mr. T.T.Moyo,Mocc Printers,Chimanimani,0775239972

©2012 All rights reserve Thornbridge Investments