…Residents call for improved water supply

Tinaani Nyabereka

Gweru- City Council has outlined its projects for the year 2023 saying they are now waiting for the disbursement of the devolution funds for fiscal year to undertake them.
Presenting a budget summary report on the 2023 ZW$ 1.3 billion devolution appropriation set to be released from Central government, council Finance Committee Chairperson and ward 13 councillor Cathrine Mhondiwa said the whole devolution allocation had been channelled towards the city’s valuation programme.
“Your Worship and fellow councillors, from the extensive devolution consultations held with the residents, it was a mammoth task for my committee to come up with equitable and representative allocations of the ZW$ 1 305 741 300 allocated to the city.
“The whole operational grant of ZW$ 130 574 100 was channelled towards the on-going General Valuation of the City and the rest being the capital grant of the allocation was tabulated as guided by the provisions of Section 301 of the Constitution,” said Mhondiwa.
Gweru City Council Public Relations Officer Vimbai Chingwaramusee said council was ready to receive this year’s funds and start work on the projects earmarked.
“We have a number of projects in pipeline for the year 2023. We plan to rehabilitate water and sewer treatment plants, relocate our dumpsite and to procure standby Gwenhoro water pumps.
“We also have plans to procure one refuse truck; build two classroom blocks at Mupemelelo Primary School as well ensuring we proceed with the general evaluation role,” she said.
Some of the proposed devolution allocations were presented as follows: the rehabilitation of sewer treatment works, water and sanitation.

Rehabilitation of sewer treatment facilities

This area was allocated 12 percent of the total grant which amounts to ZW$ 156 688 956. Areas such as Senga have been experiencing poor liquid waste management owing to bad sewer networks and this has been attributed to dilapidated sewer pipes which are constantly breaking down. Also areas such as Mkoba 11 in village 4 and Mtapa section 6 have been host to raw sewer flowing due to burst pipes a move has left households experiencing serious health hazards.
More so areas such as Mkoba 19, Ascot infill and Woodlands have been struggling to access tap water for some time. This has been initiated by low pumping capacity experienced to reach out to some of these areas.

Water treatment

Standby pumps for Gwenhoro were allocated 11% accounting for the sum of ZW$ 143 631 543.
The standby pumps for Gwenhoro are meant to enable the pumping of water. The objective is to improve the availability and sustainable supply of portable water and sanitation for all. It incorporates the key drivers of service delivery through provision of adequate portable water.
The City of Progress as Gweru is popularly known, experienced acute water shortage over the past years as the dilapidated infrastructure regularly broke down resulting in parts of the city receiving no water at all. Infrastructure at Gwenhoro dam which is the city’s other main water supplier was last upgraded over 50 years ago and the breakdowns has led to perennial water shortages where rationing has sometimes been adopted to lessen the burden. The treatment according to former Mayor’s Josiah Makombe’s remark in 2021 was put in place way back in 1967 catering for a population of about 170 000 but has since ballooned to approximately 350 000 people. Water borne diseases like Typhoid were once reported around the year 2008 while the continued erratic water supplies have continued to pose a ticking health bomb. Dumpsite relocation got 16 percent of the total amount and that is ZW$ 208 918 608.

Roads and traffic lighting

The situation in which roads in Gweru found themselves has not been that pleasant as 60 percent of the roads were reportedly gravelled exposing them to the risks of soil erosion during the rainy season.
In the 2023 devolution funds, roads were allocated a total sum of ZW$ 117 517 717 constituting 9 percent of the total amount of devolution funds.
Roads were allocated 9% which amounts to 117,517,717
Gweru’s traffic lights and roads are in a poor state that is all roads in the Central Business District (CBD), Shurugwi road via Senga, Mkoba road via Mambo are in bad state and full of potholes. More traffic lights in the CBD are now close to eight years while non-functional, since there was a disagreement between Emobuild (the contractor) and Gweru City Council over fully paying for a job half done. The matter of traffic lights is currently before the arbitrator and the whole city has one working traffic light at section Mutapa along Mutapa-Ascot road.
The Midlands province capital has in the past faced challenges in maintaining the road network as equipment like graders used in the maintenance of such roads were broken down making it difficult for the local authority to make the roads trafficable much to the inconvenience of motorists.
As a result of lack of resources and having broken down equipment, Gweru council had to revert to routine maintenance of roads. Potholes also have become common features on most of the city roads.
Public lighting and safety was also given priority after tower and street lights got 7 percent from the cake and that is ZW$ 91 401 891.
Areas such as Mambo and Senga have been affected by poor lighting and the areas have seen residents suffering at the hands of robbers. As such, council under its devolution funding seeks to address these challenges. In town, street lights were vandalized by haulage truck drivers, so plans are in place to replace them.

Dumpsite relocation

The relocation project got 16% which amounts to ZW$ 208 918 608. Gweru’s new dumpsite is to be located along Gweru-Matobo road near Cambridgeshire sewer system.
The dumpsite is expected to be relocated to a much safe location along Gweru-Matobo road.
Currently it is located in Woodlands where it has posed serious health hazards as it is within the vicinity of residents. Many complaints have been raised over the issue but council has been crying over shortage of resources to relocate the site while council also awaits central government intervention to move the site
Local authorities around the country were last year allocated about ZW$ 195.5 billion towards devolution.
Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) director Conelia Selipiwe on January 16, 2023 said water supply has always been a challenge in the city hence the need to invest towards the area.
“We need much investment on water supply. As a local authority, we want to see prioritization of infrastructure as well,” he said.
Another resident Raviro Matevere said the year 2023 was supposed to see ‘a miracle’ of bringing to an end dry taps in Mkoba 19.
“We have never tasted water in Mkoba 19 for years. This year should be our year as we want to pay for the water we are using. We want to bath using tap water.
“Residents have been deprived of water by council for more than eight years now. We expect to see a change in our ward this year and thus the need for council to prioritize our welfare as residents,” said Matevere.
However, these devolution funds’ disbursement from the central government has been delayed making it difficult for council management to complete their projects as some would be obstructed by adverse weather conditions at times.

…new ZW$ 208 m landfill awaits government approval

Tinaani Nyabereka

Gweru- City Council has revealed that plans are now underway to relocate the Woodlands dumpsite to a new site along Gweru-Matobo road near Cambridgeshire this year (2023).
Speaking to TellZim News on January 18, Gweru Council Public Relations Officer Vimbai Chingwaramusee said modalities are now in place to relocate to the new site.
She added that an estimated ZW$ 208 million is needed for the completion of the new dumpsite and much of the ground work had already been done.
“As council, we are optimistic that relocation of the Woodlands dumpsite is expected to take place this year. The site is moving to along Gweru-Matobo next to our Cambridgeshire Sewer Treatment plant.
“Everything is now ready though we now wait for a few administrative works which are being handled by the Ministry of Lands. It is our prayer that the relocation will be done on time,” she said.
She added that, as a result of the Urban Expansion programme, it was no longer safe to continuously dump waste near residential areas.
“As a local authority we have seen that over the past years, urban expansion has affected the wellbeing of people those in Woodlands and surrounding areas.
“It’s no longer safe for people to continue living near a dumpsite as it poses serious health problems to the community,” she added.
Over the past years, the Woodlands site has posed a lot of health hazards with residents and those in surrounding areas complaining over the disposal and burning of toxic, acidic and harmful chemicals.
Woodlands Phase 2 residential area however came into existence some 7 years ago, while other reports point to the fact that the residential area was constructed when the dumpsite was already functioning.
As a result, the residential area was believed to be illegally established according to council standards despite Gweru city council and Vungu Rural Council later on signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to formalize the area as well as providing services such as water and refuse collection.
However, Gweru Council has maintained that according to its developmental master plan, residential areas are no longer going to be built closer to dumping sites or sewer plants.
Efforts to get a comment from Midlands Provincial Agricultural and Rural Development director Melinda Mangwenzi on this development were fruitless as the director couldn’t be reached on his mobile by time of writing.
City of Gweru in 2021 announced plans to decommission the Woodlands dumping site by 2023 to pave way for Mkoba 21 housing project.
A total of 784 beneficiaries bought residential stands in Mkoba 21 in 2014 and the housing waiting list now stands at more than 40 000 people.
Former Gweru Mayor ward 2 councillor Josiah Makombe pledged that despite inadequate resources, the illegal dumpsite was going to be moved.
Woodlands phase 2 resident Pupurai Makore said patience has grown thin over the issue of the dumpsite.
“If waste is burnt at this place, you won’t like the place trust me. The smell which comes from the site is very toxic. We inhale all sorts of toxics and it takes days to turn the fire off if rubbish is burnt.
“Our greatest fear remains that of children, they don’t choose were to play as they go about picking dangerous objects, tins and needles. It’s just scary,” he said.

TellZim Reporter

Mutare City Council’s 2023 budget was approved by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works paving way for the local authority to start implementing its projects for the financial year ahead.
Confirming the development to TellZim News, Acting Finance Director Reuben Guni said the earlier approval ZW$ 45 billion (US$ 61 934 015) of the budget would go a long way in enhancing effective and timeous service delivery to the residents.
“The approval would aid us on service delivery since we would collect using the new tariff. This January, we are going to bill using the approved tariffs which would help us to kick start intended projects,” said Guni.
The local authority also highlighted some of the key issues in their budget whose allocations are pegged in US$.

City Wide Street Lighting (US$ 21 200 000)
This project is one of the major beneficiaries from the budget cake. As said by Guni, the project is meant for the whole of Mutare including the Central Business District (CBD) as well as residential areas. The project would follow up solar street lights installed in the previous years.

Roads
A total of US$ 2 499 037 has been budgeted towards roads upgrade and maintenance according to breakdown provided by the Acting Finance Director. Another US$ 250 000 has been set for the roads excavation.

Water
US$ 2 502 981 was budgeted for works on non-revenue water. Also an additional US$ 300 000 is set to be directed towards city water augmentation by council. Mutare has in the past experienced acute water shortages on the part of residents due to dilapidated infrastructure as well as alleged vandalism. Some high density suburbs like Sakubva suffered the brunt prompting residents to seek explanation from the city fathers.

Sewer Infrastructure maintenance
Mutare also budgeted a total of US$ 1 538 318 for the maintenance of sewer infrastructure. The city was at one point accused of polluting river water through emission of raw sewage as well as industrial and institutional waste in to the natural water bodies.

Stands servicing
Turning to provision of accommodation to home seekers, Mutare has set aside a total of US$ 1.2 million for the purpose of servicing stands in the Manicaland capital.

Education
Provision of quality education is another area Mutare has prioritized in their 2023 financial plans. The city budgeted US$ 505 340 for the construction of Gimboki school.

Health
In terms of health services provision, Mutare City Council plans to divert US$ 194 361 towards the construction of Hobhouse clinic.

Fire fighting
Mutare also is set to use a total of US$ 650 000 to upgrade its fire station with the purchase of a fire tender on the cards as one of the major projects.

Solid waste management
A total of US$ 403 040 has been budgeted for the procurement of a land fill dozer to be used in improving solid waste management matters. Failure by council to ensure effective solid waste management by collecting refuse timeously also led to proliferation of undesignated dumpsites.

Social amenities
The city’s other recreational facility Sakubva stadium that has been reportedly in dire state and being overwhelmed by sporting activities is set to account for US$ 200 000 of the budget. Towards the end of 2022, the stadium was banned from hosting Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches by the authorities as it was in bad state mainly due to being over used.

By Zvikomborero Sibanda

Zimbabwe’s Treasury department presented a ZWL4.5 trillion national budget for 2023 on the 24th of November themed: Accelerating Economic Transformation. This budget projects a positive national output growth rate of 3.8% on condition that the nation receives good rainfall patterns, stable electricity supply, favorable global mineral commodity prices, and a tight monetary policy stance among many other assumptions. But given the pending risks to the outlook, it remains to be seen if the Treasury will attain these projections given a track record of huge misses.
The year 2022 presented a bag of mixed economic fortunes as the local currency greatly lost steam in the first half (1HY22) before reversing course, though slightly, for most of the second half (2HY22). The official statistics from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) show that the Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL) lost a staggering 68.9% of its value against the US dollar in 1HY22 as it slid from ZWL/USD 115.42 in January to ZWL/USD 370.96 at the close of June. This was fuelled largely by Treasury’s fiscal indiscipline, limited fiscal space leading to massive quasi-fiscal operations by RBZ, huge forex allocation backlog on the auction market, and command exchange rate policies (deliberate overvaluation of the official rate) as well as the ensuing principle of rationality -speculation and arbitrage activities. Consequently, general prices mounted by a punitive monthly average of 14.3% in the first half relative to 3.2% achieved for the same period in 2021.
Apart from exchange rate pass through to inflation, price growth pressures emanated from food shortages in the formal markets as the nation had experienced a poor 2021/22 summer cropping season. The food category constitutes the biggest weight (about 30.1%) of the all-items consumer basket which ZimStat tracks for purposes of gauging general price level. Yet, statistics show that in 2022 Zimbabwe produced about 1.5 million metric tonnes (MT) of staple maize for both human and livestock consumption against a national requirement of about 2.2 million MT. The foregoing vividly clarifies the statement made by the chairman of the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe in May 2022: “I am pleased to inform the nation that GMAZ will secure 400 000 MT of white maize from Malawi and Zambia. We expect to start receiving the maize from the end of June”. Market food shortages also forced the Treasury to suspend import duty on basics like rice and flour for 6 months through Statutory Instrument 98 of 2022.
Furthermore, the prolonged electricity load-shedding hours implemented by ZESA have increased the cost of doing business which in turn exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis for ordinary citizens. The official ZimStat data shows a continued entrenchment of the majority of the population into poverty as evidenced by a 264.8% jump in the total consumption poverty line (TCPL) per person between December 2021 (ZWL8 009) and December 2022 (ZWL29 219). This is in sync with a July 2022 World Bank report that established that about 40% of Zimbabweans were living in extreme poverty -less than US$1.90 per day.
The deterioration of the ZWL also contributed to increased income inequality as shown by a worsening Gini coefficient which mounted from 42 in 2011 to 50.3 in 2019. This shows that the prevailing economic system requires a relook as it is living so many people behind and many places marginalized. More so, the geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West as a result of the former’s invasion of Ukraine enormously increased imported price inflation for perennial net-importers like Zimbabwe largely through the Triple Fs: Fertilizers, Fuels, and Food prices. For instance, fuel which is Zimbabwe’s top merchandise import category saw domestic pump prices reaching their new highs in line with global crude oil prices which burgeoned reacting to artificial shortages created by the war’s sanctions and countersanctions which disrupted global energy supply chains.
Nevertheless, for the 2HY22, ZWL depreciation moderated relative to 1HY22 registering a 45.79% decline to close the year at ZWL/USD 684.33. This came after a plethora of measures implemented by authorities to boost confidence and restore macroeconomic stability since May 2022. Some of these measures include the entrenchment of the multicurrency regime into law, suspension of import duty on basics, increase in the liberalization of the willing-buyer willing-seller (WBWS) system, the opening of the public transport sector to private players, the introduction of gold coins, lower quarterly reserve money growth targets, clearance of RBZ auction forex backlog and high statutory reserve requirements. Partly due to these measures, the country witnessed a moderation of average monthly price inflation to 8.2% which is about 6.1 percentage points lower than 1HY22 average monthly outturn of 14.3%.
Despite the ZWL deterioration and price inflation cooling down in the 2HY22, numerous endogenous and exogenous economic headwinds faced throughout 2022 as expounded in preceding paragraphs greatly constrained business activity and reduced aggregate consumer demand. As a result, the Treasury was forced to cut its 2022 national output (GDP) projections twice from the initial 5.5% to 4.6% before a further downward revision to 4%. For 2023, the Treasury is expecting positive GDP growth although it will be a further slowdown from the estimated 2022 outturn of 4% to 3.8%. According to the 2023 budget statement, this growth will be supported by a sustainable fiscal deficit of about 1.5% of GDP, favorable rainfall patterns, high global commodity prices, a stable ZWL, and low monthly inflation averaging 1-3%, among others.
However, a granular analysis of the likely risks to the 2023 economic outlook shows that the government will likely miss its growth and price projections. The major risk to the government’s projections is posed by the upcoming harmonized elections. Zimbabwe’s elections are usually characterized by political violence, police brutality, and violations of human and property rights. This increases the country’s investment risk premium thus constraining business investment, employment creation, output growth, and wealth creation. The election year has also forced Treasury to table an unsustainable expansionary fiscal policy as evidenced by an approved budget with a staggering deficit of about ZWL575 billion which will be financed by borrowing and money printing. Hence, the injection of excessive ZWL liquidity through election-linked government spending will likely destabilize the exchange rate, particularly in the parallel market. Also, the continued piling of highly regressive taxes by the Treasury in a bid to improve the gravely limited fiscal space will also increase transaction costs thus choking economic agents.
In addition, the nation is already under the grip of a crippling debt crisis yet the globe continues to experience increased financial tightening (rising interest rates) as major central banks intensify the fight against out-of-control inflation. This ongoing global financial tightening will increase the cost of accessing new borrowing lines as well as the cost of servicing existing debts. Thus, it increases the risk of social unrest as social service delivery is crowded out amid unbearable inflation and inequality levels. If uncontrolled through a robust reform program and capacitation of oversight institutions, the prevailing structural rigidities posed by public corruption, impunity, and illicit transactions will continue to exert massive pricing distortions.
Also, power challenges will likely persist at least through the first half of 2023 (1HY23) despite the expected coming on board of two (2) new Hwange thermal units with a combined installed capacity of 600MW. I am of the view that 1HY23 electricity generation challenges will emanate from low live water storage at Kariba dam, fluctuating output from existing old thermal units, and domestic forex shortages as well as constrained regional production that will limit imports to supplement dwindling domestic production. More so, the lack of adequate national reserves exposes the ZWL to speculative attacks and the nation to unforeseen adverse events like climate change-induced droughts, floods, and disease outbreaks. The indeterministic path of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war will continue subduing international trade, cooperation, and conflict resolution.
Nevertheless, I am expecting a slight upside in the agriculture sector as most parts across the nation received normal rainfall patterns between October and December 2022, and the same is expected for Jan-March 2023 period. Although mineral prices are expected to be subdued in 2023 due to a likely waning global demand, the mining sector is expected to anchor economic activity. This sector is crucial as it contributes about 70%, on average, to annual export earnings and at least 15% to national GDP. Apart from the projected moderation of global mineral prices, prevailing unsustainable fiscal mining regimes will continue bedevilling the sector as they facilitate revenue leakages at the expense of national growth and development. Again, the government ban on the exportation of unprocessed lithium and other base metals without deep consultations with all stakeholders will likely generate mixed policy interpretations from potential investors. This has the potential to subdue the subsector’s output thus aiding GDP slowdown in 2023.

Zvikomborero Sibanda is an economic analyst and an astute researcher. He writes in his personal capacity. He can be contacted via email:

bravosibanda@gmail.com
Twitter: @bravon96

Beverly Bizeki

GUTU – The Reformed Church run Gutu High School has proved once again to be a force to reckon with in academics after a sterling performance in the 2022 A level exams.
Gutu proved to be a power house after a whopping 99 percent pass rate with the school head Mirirai Mutanda saying the results are a reflection of combined efforts by learners and their teachers.
“We are impressed by the performance of our learners which was a result of working hard by the leaners themselves, teachers as well as the support from parents,” said Mutanda
A total of 93 leaners sat for the examinations with 92 students passing at least two subjects which translated into a 99 percent pass rate.
Of the 93, 11 pupils scooped 15 points with females dominating where 7 are females while 4 are males.
53 out of the 93 candidates scored 10 points and above in all the three leaning area combined.
The school recorded more passes in science subjects as compared to other learning areas where the least subject had 88 percent pass rate.
From the result analysis released by the school, 18 or more learners sat for each sciences subject examinations as compared to other subjects.
The school recorded 100 percent passes in Biology, Physics and Crop Science with 26, 22 and 18 learners respectively sitting for the exams.
Subjects like History, Economics, Shona, Heritage Studies, FRS, T.T.D, Statistics, Computer Science, Mechanical Mathematics, Sociology and Literature In English recorded 100 percent pass rate.

TellZim reporter

Picking up from where the ‘class of 2021’ Advanced Level crop left, Zimuto High School’s ‘class of 2022’ have defied being out-shined by their predecessors as they posted impressive results in the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) examinations.
The RCZ-run educational institution stood up to its expectations among Masvingo’s academic stalwarts by posting an impressive overall 97.78 percent up from 92 percent in 2021.
School Head Harrison Mashava, said they were happy with their leaners’ performances saying they did well even though they were coming out of Covid 19. He said though the pass rate was high, they will continue striving for the highest mark.
“Our pupils and teachers worked well and this is why we produced these results. However, for us they are not enough, we want a clear 100 % pass rate and that’s our target for this year’s,” said Mashava.
The highest performers scored 20 points. Of the three 20 pointers are two girls Fungai Mawire and Mary Fuwayi and a boy Tapiwa Simango.
Mawire scored four As in Accounting, Computer Science, Business Studies and Economics while Fuwayi also got a similar number of As in History, Literature in Shona, Sociology and Family and Religious Studies (FRS). Simango got it in Computer Science, Mechanical Maths, Pure Mathematics and Physics.
One leaner got 18, another has 16 while 9 leaners recorded 15 points, 4 leaners have 14 points, 15 have 13 points and 12 with 12 points
Among the learning areas in which the school attained 100 percent passes are Literature in English, History, Literature in Shona, FRS, Mechanical Mathematics, Statistics, Accounting, Economics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Sociology, Crop Science and TTD.
Geography stood at 92.31 percent, Physics at 96 while Biology is at 94.44.

…all schools register over 90% pass rate

Beverly Bizeki

A force to reckon with, the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ) has proved beyond reasonable doubt that they do not only preach the word of God but also have a mandate to develop the country through offering quality education in their schools dotted around Masvingo Province and the nation at large.
A home of excellence whatever the case may be, RCZ run schools have shown once again that they live to their billing, that of excellence after posting extra ordinary results in the 2022 ‘A’ level ZIMSEC exams.
RCZ Education Secretary Dr Witmos Julius Mutumburanzou has expressed much joy on the exceedingly good results attained by schools run by the church.
“Once again they have put us on the map; the results are exceedingly good because all our schools have registered over 90 percent pass rate with the lowest recording 92 percent which is remarkable,” said an overjoyed Mutumburanzou.
Mutumburanzou added that the authority was pleased with both the qualitative and quantitative results delivered by the schools.
Basing on the quantitative results some of the schools like Chibi High registered 100 percent pass rate.
“From a glance we really are very proud of the performance of our schools; we are schools of choice, we really deliver,” said Dr Mutumburanzou.
On the qualitative aspect, the schools boast of huge numbers of pupils with 15 points and above with academic and sporting powerhouse Pamushana High School registering 103 students with 15 points and above.
“This is a record for us. We are a pride of the nation, a pride for the province and a pride of the church. I want to appreciate all our heads for the great work despite operating in different circumstances. Our teachers have shown a huge commitment despite challenges of Covid 19 which disrupted learning and also a low morale in the teaching fraternity.
“They have proved that they are resilient and have shown a dedication to their calling,” he said.
Other High Schools run by RCZ include Gutu, Zimuto, Morgenster, Jichidza, Henry Murray, Makumbe, Alheit, and Nyashanu High Schools.