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Order and sanity should prevail in the city

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Order and sanity should prevail in the city

Recent events in town where aspiring candidates from the ruling Zanu PF government went on a borehole drilling exercise around Masvingo city in the urban constituency’s four vacant wards as a way believed to be aimed at drumming up support for the forthcoming by-elections set for March 26 has shown how much disorder is taking toll in the country.
There have been allegations that the boreholes were drilled without the blessing of the local authority Masvingo City Council in terms of the citing of the proper area to place the boreholes so as to safeguard the town’s sewerage system as lain pipes become vulnerable to damage by the water rigs.
The powers that usurp the local authority tantamount to abuse of office from whoever disrespected the channel of consulting council and the engineer responsible for such works in the authority and will only result in disorder. Quite a number of individuals have the capacity to drill boreholes at respective places of residence, but they always respect the by-laws by seeking approval of council before embarking on such kinds of projects. Being in the ruling party should not be abused as a tool of disrespect of set structures and thus the relevant channels need to be strictly followed whenever such developments take place.
In as much as easing the burden of erratic water supplies on residents is appreciated, the respect for existence of other equally important infrastructure should be considered before any drilling is undertaken so that safety of such facilities like sewer pipes is guaranteed altogether.
Setting precedence for lawlessness has never been good for a nation especially deliberately by-passing an authority because of relegating to lower levels of superiority along political affiliation hence no need for respect.
Apart from that, there is need for clarification on the funds being used to undertake such programmes after information doing rounds pointed to the ‘abuse’ of devolution funds to garner support for ruling party candidates. There is need for strong accountability mechanisms and checks as well as balances to be put in place to safeguard the siphoning of public funds towards political party projects and thus protection from abuse of state establishments like the District Development Fund (DDF) to gain political mileage.
Transparency should prevail if ever the aim of devolution is to be realized that is decentralizing power from central government to lower tiers of governance and avoid a scenario in which the theoretical model talks about devolution while in practice central government calls the shots from determining which projects should be undertaken at the expense of the community as abeneficiary.
If the projects of boreholes are meant for the benefit of residents or even communities, why would government prioritize areas where there are by-elections like Masvingo Urban wards 3, 4, 5 and 7, then Chivi South and Mwenezi East where two parliamentary seats lie vacant.

ZIMCODD launches HowFar 2.0 After4 Campaign

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ZIMCODD launches HowFar 2.0 After4 Campaign

TellZim Reporter

Following a viral campaign, HowFar that saw powerful government officials responding to citizens’ pertinent questions regarding public funds management as well as accountability on 2018 election promises, the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) has launched HowFar 2.0 After4.

The HowFar 2.0 After4 campaign, launched on March 17 2022, like its first phase will take the engagement of public office holders to another level as citizens continue to ask questions, four years after 2018 elections were made.

Giving a key note address during the launch in Harare today (March 17), ZIMCODD Executive Director Janet Zhou said government has a mandate to be accountable to citizens on how public resources must be managed.

“The launch of the HowFar 2.0 After4 is not just for nostalgic purposes where we reminisce on the problems of Zimbabwe, talk about initial HowFar campaign launched on 3 September 2021 and then we go home.

“We want to reflect, contribute and pass on more building blocks of rebuilding this beautiful country. We have heard before, ‘nyika inovakwa nevene vayo. Ilizwe liyakwa ngabantu bayo’. This should give everyone a sense of duty, belonging, ownership and responsibility to make Zimbabwe a great, prosperous and a resilient nation positioned to tackle the disruptions caused by modernity, by pandemics, by climate change and the different policy disruptions that may come,” Zhou said.

Various Civil Society actors who participated in the first phase of the HowFar campaign also spoke at the launch highlighting the importance of having platforms of engagement between public office bearers and citizens to track progress and action on people’s rights.

ZimRights Director Dzikamai Bere buttressed that going into the HowFar 2.0 After4, they are not only demanding answers but also actions towards remedying issues that bedevil the country.

“The promises that have been made, coupled with the constitutional obligations for public leadership demand not only answers but also action. We used to demand more than action, for we have seen a tendency for non-progressive action. We must demand for progressive action,” Bere said.

Since its launch in September last year, the HowFar campaign has seen powerful actors in civil society demanding for public funds accountability, which saw Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana being drawn into answering some of the questions raised during the campaign on 2018 election promises.

Government also responded by launching its own campaigns, the ‘#SoFar’, ‘#Nyikainovakwanevenevayo’ and ‘#TrustED’ campaigns among others.

Some HowFar billboards that had been erected in various cities across the country were also defaced, with the one in Masvingo being uprooted completely.

The HowFar 2.0 After4 campaign will likely bring momentum in the continuous demand for information by citizens from public officials, information that is normally withheld despite citizens’ entitlement to it.

24 hour ultimatum for ZRP to release CCC members’ Cars

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24 hour ultimatum for ZRP to release CCC members’ Cars

Fredrick Moyo

Citizens Coalitions for Change (CCC) in Masvingo have given Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers a 24-hour grace period to release impounded vehicles belonging to party members.

The ultimatum followed the impounding of three vehicles belonging to CCC party members and that of former Masvingo Mayor Hubert Fidze during a political campaign trail in ward 3 on March 12, 2022.

CCC district chairperson and human rights lawyer Advocate Martin Mureri of Matutu and Mureri legal practitioners said they are giving police officers 24 hours to release the vehicles since the owners have already been fined and released.

“We are giving them a 24-hour ultimatum to release the vehicles tomorrow (March 17) because when they made those arrests, they arrested people not cars and that is the reason why we paid ZW $ 2 000 fine for each person. So the moment people were released, vehicles should also have been released.

“If they do no release those cars, we will write a 24-hour ultimatum letter to release those cars and if the period lapses, we will approach the court and sue individuals in the force who are refusing to release the cars because this is now political persecution,” said Mureri.

He also said the crackdown on his party’s members is just victimisation by some ‘overzealous’ members of the force and what they are doing is unconstitutional.

“The moment the President proclaimed a by-elections date that meant candidates or political parties can have or hold their campaigns. Even the charge they are using to arrest is biased, they ended up charging us with criminal nuisance but can we say we have a way that we should follow when campaigning.

“At the same time of the arrests, ZANU PF activists were also doing the same thing but they were not even arrested because they are aligned to the ruling party. To us, it is just victimisation and it is an issue of making us lose hope because the previous week they had arrested some of our members and we paid ZW $ 36 000 last week and ZW $ 26 000 this week,” said Mureri.

CCC members have been arrested and frequented the courts facing different allegations and the opposition party has accused law enforcement agents of being partisan in executing their duties and applying the law selectively.

Midlands SMEs leadership council elected

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Midlands SMEs leadership council elected

Tinaani Nyabereka

Gweru-Various districts in the Midlands province on March 7 went to the polls that saw the ushering in of a new Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) leadership structure following the expiry of term of previous committee.
The elections were presided over by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises.
The committee comprising of 11 members from various districts is expected to lead the provincial chamber for the next three years as stipulated by the Zimbabwe’s Chamber of Small to Medium Enterprises constitution.
Speaking to various stakeholders during the Provincial Elections and Capacitation of Zimbabwe Chamber of Small to Medium Enterprises engagement in Gweru, newly elected chairperson Bigboy Murenga thanked delegates for trusting him with the responsibility to lead the province.
Murenga said the new provincial and district committees are expected to design their 2022 calendars of events as work has already begun.
“Let me take this opportunity to say thank you to all for the trust you have bestowed upon me to lead the province. You have much confidence in me and I want to assure you that I will not disappoint. We want to work together and put the sector on the map in line with government’s 2030 vision.
“I usually use servant leadership even from the district and they know that. Starting from today I am at your service. Feel free to approach me as I am now at your disposal. Let us address the various challenges affecting the informal sector as a united front. We all belong to the chamber and let us continue to work with ministry officials towards improvement of SMEs in the province,” said Murenga.
Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises deputy provincial director Mamvura Mabika commended the districts for holding elections in a peaceful manner.
“We are all happy with the process as it went on well. I would like to thank you for the peaceful manner you conducted these elections. This is the kind of leadership we were taught by our officials earlier on,” said Mabika.
The new committee announced by the chamber’s election officers Matthew Tambaoga and Micheal Hanyani is as follows: Bigboy Murenga of Zvishavane district (chairperson), Tafadzwa Mazorodze of Gweru (deputy chairperson), Shurugwi’s Darlington Mambire became secretary while Charity Dick won the treasury post uncontested, Emelda Gwari of Chirumanzu is the public relations officer and Gokwe North’s Runotyiwa Mushonga is the new organizing secretary.
Alton Bvudzijena (Mberengwa), Alfred Mkandla (Kwekwe), Levy Maponya (Chirumanzu), Chenai Mubaiwa (Gokwe South) and Rejoice Chivendera (Shurugwi) were endorsed as provincial committee members.
The sector has of late proved to be the backbone of national economy and one of the fastest growing sectors with close to 90% of the population working as informal traders.

ZimRights shuttle exercise assist voter registrants

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ZimRights shuttle exercise assist voter registrants

Fredrick Moyo

Zimbabwe Human Rights (ZimRights) recently provided a voter registration shuttle service during the mobile registration blitz, where people who wanted to register to vote got free transport to registration centres.
The Non-governmental organisation (NGO) provided the service in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, and Masvingo between February 1 to 28, saying they hope to provide the same service in the next blitz that will run from April 11 – 30 this year.
ZimRights Masvingo regional officer Thomas Mbetu said they hosted the service during the February blitz and are planning to do the same in the upcoming blitz.
“We provided services in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, and Masvingo. We are planning to do the same in April 2022 and also increase the areas we will be assisting in the next blitz,” said Mbetu.
He added that the shuttle service was successful and effective as it saved people’s time while also providing people with awareness on voter registration process.
“It was effective in the sense that it helped save on people’s time in terms of travelling to and from registration centres. People are busy these days considering the hustles to try to put food on the table. It also made people aware of the registration process, because people could call and even ask about location of the registration centre, so in a way it was a double edged knife,” he added.
Mbetu however said they faced challenges in terms of reaching people as there were some people in other places who called for the service but could not get there as they were only covering Masvingo district.
“The challenge we faced was in terms of reaching out. We had people for example who wanted transport from as far as Chilonga, Mwenezi but our reach was Masvingo district only, hence the need for us to increase our reach come the second phase in April 2022,” said Mbetu.
In the first phase of the blitz Masvingo province only recorded 6 440 registrants from February 11 to 28 2022 which CSOs and resident associations said is just a drop in the ocean.

RCZ reveals five year school development plan

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RCZ reveals five year school development plan

… Using group vision approach to develop schools

Tendai Charumbira

The Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ) has unveiled its five year school development plans as it aims at making its schools the best.
The church which is the responsible authority for some of the best schools in terms of academics and sport which include Pamushana, Alheit Chingombe 2, Gutu Zimuto and Chibi High Schools, said they are using a group vision approach to develop their schools.
RCZ Education secretary Dr Julius Witmos Mutumburanzou said Covid-19 forced them to reduce enrolment in order to meet the required standards, a development that has affected a number of children who rely on their schools.
He said this has necessitated the need to develop infrastructure to cater for the ever growing need as well as modernising the infrastructure.
In an exclusive interview with TellZim News, Dr Mutumburanzou said their main agenda this year onwards is infrastructure development as they have realised that so many people rely on them.
“Our major aim in our five year plan is infrastructure development. Our enrolment has been reduced as we tried to abide by Covid-19 protocols, so we want to develop all our schools using a group approach where each school is expected to pool resources for its development though it will be centrally managed.
“We have realised that we may not have enough land to do all we want, so we are going to construct multi-storey buildings especially for hostels and classrooms. We want to enrol as many pupils as we can but also being able to maintain the ratio of two pupils per room,” said Mutumburanzou.
He went on to say they want to modernise classrooms and make sure that they meet current “We want all our school to have modern classrooms as well as the equipment. We want to do away with a situation where pupils go out of class and walk to ablution facilities, each class should have its own facilities to minimize chances of mischief.
“We want to build storey buildings for hostels as well as classrooms for us to increase our enrolment as it was reduced as a result of Covid-19 restrictions to maintain social distance. We also want to construct state of the art buildings,” he added.
In terms of learning facilities and time, he said they have devised a programme to minimise loss of time as they have roped in experts from Reformed Church University to train and empower teachers with requisite knowledge in online learning.
He said they have since created a website where all learning materials will be uploaded and all pupils in the RCZ schools will have access to as well as conducting interactive online sessions.
“We formed a RCZ consortium where all RCZ educational institutions are subscribers and we have roped in experts from Reformed Church University and phase one of the programme is already underway. Teachers are being trained and busy uploading material on the website. We will keep on doing more teacher development programmes to enhance our results,” said Dr Mutumburanzou.
He also said in their programme they intend to improve their diet to meet hotel standards and their cook matrons and other relevant staff are also being trained on that.
“We are in the process of improving diet in our schools. We want our diet to meet hotel standards so that we do away with the belief that boarding schools serve cabbages and beans. We have since started training cook matrons and other relevant staff members. We want our pupils to miss school food when they go home for vacations and avoid food riots at school,” he said.
Dr Mutumburanzou further said they are helping the institution come with good budgets as well as training heads on the presentation and formulationof the budget to parents so that it becomes easy to get approval from the parent ministry.
“We have since started doing workshops to capacitate our heads and other staff members and capacitate them in coming up with good budgets which are realistic to parents. This makes it easier to get fees review approval from the ministry,” he added.
The education secretary also said their schools operate mainly within the confines of government and ministry regulations and on this regard, RCZ Schools have no challenges which other schools are facing.
RCZ also owns Morgenster Teachers College, high school and mission hospital. It also have special needs schools including Henry Murray School for the deaf and Copota School for the blind, as well as the Reformed Church University (RCU).

Meet your candidate: Masvingo Urban Ward 4

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Meet your candidate: Masvingo Urban Ward 4

Fredrick Moyo

Battle lines have been drawn in ward 4 as the nation heads towards the much awaited by-elections set for March 26. Four candidates were successfully nominated and Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) fielded double candidates.
ZANU PF will be represented by Richard Madyavanhu, MDC-Alliance by Charles Ziki while CCC fielded Aleck Tabe and Thokozile Muchuchuti after they failed to resolve the double candidate impasse.

Richard Madyavanhu – ZANU PF

Richard Madyavanhu

Madyavanhu said that he is a resident of ward 4 and knows all the challenges that residents in the ward are facing and he is willing to fix the problems when elected in the upcoming March 26 by-elections.
“I am a resident of ward 4 Masvingo Urban, born in Masvingo and really know the place very well and people in the ward because I interact with them,” said Madyavanhu.
He added that he is an ideal candidate because ward 4 people trusted him to represent them in council when they elected him during primary elections.
“I am an ideal and best candidate because people selected me when we held primary elections. People selected me to be their representative because they have trust in me and I am so confident that I will win the by-elections,” added Madyavanhu.
He also said that he does not only promise ward 4 residents projects, but will fulfil what he would have said and currently have already started some projects.
“I am not only promising but there are projects that we have already started before we are in office. I know the challenges that are in my ward especially water shortages and currently we are drilling boreholes so that people find water close to their homes.
“For now we are fixing the water challenges that people are facing and some of the things we will fix them when elected as they want someone from the inside especially service delivery part,” said Madyavanhu.
He urged the electorate to open their eyes and select the rightful candidate as the opposition have been doing nothing in the ward for the past 20 years.
“I am kindly asking the electorate to open their eyes and see the rightful candidate. It has been 20 years now since the opposition has been in control, but the development that is there does not match the period. They have been in control and comparing with what I have done in a few weeks, it is much more than what they did so if they give me or ZANU PF a chance, we will deliver like what our forefathers did before,” said Madyavanhu.

Charles Ziki – Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-A)

Charles Ziki

Ziki said there are projects that he will fix if he is elected and willing to work with the council for the betterment of the ward.
“As a resident of ward 4, I made some researches and saw what needs to be done in the ward. The roads in ward 4 are in a bad state, residents want a maternity clinic in the ward and there are water challenges that are also affecting ward 4 residents, so I will drill boreholes with the assistance of council and solve all the challenges residents are facing in the ward.
“My message to the electorate is that they vote for me so that I solve their problems and they can also come with their challenges so that we work together in good faith,” said Ziki.

Aleck Tabe

Aleck Tabe

CCC party favourite Tabe has been dodgy to this publication since nomination court day, which was influenced by the double candidature issue that saw Thokozile Muchuchuti also successfully filing her nomination papers on January 26.
Tabe has promised an interview with TellZim News on numerous occasions but always fails to turn up, giving excuses of having to attend court facing various charges emanating from his campaign in the ward.
Few weeks before nomination court on by-elections sat, Tabe was arrested together with other party members for allegedly holding an unauthorised meeting, which has been described as mere victimisation by state apparatus.
By virtue of being endorsed by party structures, Tabe has some leverage over other candidates, as the ward has been known to be a CCC, formerly MDC-Alliance stronghold.
Not much has been availed about his campaign strategy, but since he has support in both provincial and national party structures through endorsement by party president Nelson Chamisa himself, he has a fair chance of bagging the ward.

Thokozile Muchuchuti – Citizens Coalition for Change

Thokozile Muchuchuti

Muchuchuti said she is a resident of ward 4 and she joined MDC now CCC in the year 2000 where she contested twice for a council seat and from 2000 held several positions like committee member for women’s league, secretary, and vice secretary for information and publicity for the district among other posts.
“I joined the party in 2000 while I was a committee member of the women’s league in the ward and through ward work, I was elected to be the ward organiser and also was vice secretary of information and publicity for the district.
“In the past years I contested for a council seat in 2013 were I was number two out of four candidates and again in 2018, I contested again and more than 24 people came with their CVs but after vetting, 11 candidates were selected and thus when I won the primary elections and I was told that the ward should be given to a youth member,” said Muchuchuti.
She added that if she is elected for ward 4 councillor she will fulfil residents needs and restore what the council had stopped to do a long time ago that is giving its stakeholders feedback.
“I want to tell ward 4 residents that I will be their representative and as a leader, I will restore things that council failed or stopped doing a long time ago that is giving residents feedback. I will also fulfil the needs of the people I am representing.
“One big thing I want to say is that I have two eyes and the ward is too big that I cannot see what is happening on each and every corner, so I have planned that each street will have a street giant who will oversee everything and be my eyes in the ward,” said Muchuchuti.
She also added that if she is elected, she will not select a person or discriminate anyone as people are the same.
“There is no person called ZANU PF, MDC or CCC, as a leader I told myself that every resident is my family member and if it comes that help is needed, I will help as a leader,” added Muchuchuti.
She left a message to the electorate that they should put their trust in her as she will do everything that they want and will work with the residents so as to improve the ward.
“The electorate should put all their trust in me and they know what Mai Muchuchuti want to do for them will be done and I will keep on working with them like what I did before,” said Muchuchuti.

280 hours community service for stealing electrical cables

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280 hours community service for stealing electrical cables

Tendai Charumbira

A Masvingo duo has been slapped with 280 hours of community service for stealing electrical cable when they appeared before Masvingo magistrate Retaiswe Silaigwana on March 8, 2022.
Victor Takaendesa (30) of Rhodene low density and Godknows Mangwiro (26) from Runyararo West were slapped with 280 hours of community service which they would perform at Masvingo Provincial Hospital and Makanaka High School respectively.
It is the state’s case as presented by prosecutor Nicky Chamisa that on March 7, 2022 at around 1030 hours, the accused persons together with their employer Stanely Maridzo (who is still at large) connived to steal electrical cables from the complainant Titus Gangata which they were looking after.
At around 1130 hours, Takaendesa stole three electrical cables and put them in a bag and went away. He then went to sell them to Victoria Hardware with the assistance of Maridzo for US$105.
On the same day at around 1530 hours, Mangwiro stole the other three electric cables and gave them to Takaendesa through the window. Takaendesa went on to hide the electric cables in the nearby bush.
One of the complainant’s workers became suspicious and followed Takaendesa to the bush and discovered that he had stolen electrical cables and then alerted his boss Gangata who came and led to the recovery of three electrical cables in the bush.
Gangata reported the case to police who questioned Takaendesa and Mangwiro leading to the recovery of the three cables which had already been sold at Victoria Hardware valued at US$ 450.

CCC ward 4 double candidate drama escalates

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CCC ward 4 double candidate drama escalates

…rip each other posters off poles

Brighton Chiseva

Instead of uniting for the sole purpose of securing victory for Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) in the March 26 by-elections, Masvingo Urban ward 4 candidates Thokozile Muchuchuti and Aleck Tabe are on each other’s throat, taking each other to court over removal of campaign posters.
It is known that opponents are the ones often accused of removing posters of other contenders but in this case CCC candidates are reportedly sabotaging each other within their party.
Muchuchuti claims to be certain that Tabe’s people are the ones removing her posters since they at one point caught them in the act and reported the case to Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and police.
“We reported the issue to police when we saw Tabe’s people removing my posters one night because we did not want to place the law into our hands. We are law abiding citizens who respect the law even though there have been no progress of arrests since I filed the report. At ZEC, we were called together with Tabe for disciplinary hearing where they opened a code of conduct for both of us and warned against violating campaign strategies for each other,” said Muchuchuti.
Muchuchuti who claims to have been stripped off party privileges like monetary funds to carry out campaigns and has been getting help from the community as well as well-wishers, said she is now more defiant than ever despite victimization she is enduring because of the support of the community.
“After we were called by ZEC, the situation got even worse, it is like they took an oath just to sabotage the campaign for me but I will not bow down, especially now because of the support which I am receiving from the community. They are my driving force because they are motivating me building my victory,” said Muchuchuti.
Prior to that Muchuchuti dragged Tabe to court over the allegations of physically assaulting her, confiscating her documents and other particulars during the time when they were submitting their names at the nomination court.
Efforts to get comment from Tabe were fruitless as his cellphone went unanswered until the time of publication.

Realities of Climate change: Time to change or we all perish

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Realities of Climate change: Time to change or we all perish

Courage Dutiro

With humankind, Flora and Fauna perishing at the hands of persistent floods, droughts, cyclones and heat waves, it is a clear manifestation that Climate Change is in our midst and it is being felt throughout various sectors including the socio-economic one.
In 2019, cyclone Idai destroyed lives, livelihoods, ecosystems and infrastructure and thus it is high time for everyone to take action against climate change or else mankind will perish.
In Zimbabwe, with Masvingo province not being spared, the impacts of climate change are being observed in the agricultural sector which is mainly rain-fed.
The agriculture sector is one of the critical climate-sensitive sectors.
The 2021-2022 farming season started on a promising note with crops showing a brighter future before they gave in to a prolonged moisture stress that stretched from the last two weeks of February 2022 to date (March 11, 2022).
Moses Mutoko a farmer in Wondedzo area said 80 per cent of crops in his field are now at write-off stage.
“Things are no longer looking good here; it is a total disaster, Due to the prolonged dry spell, crops are now at 80 per cent damage in my field,” he said.
Mutoko who had planted four hectares of maize said he is now expecting to yield a maximum of 200 kilograms from each hectare instead of three tonnes per hectare.
“90 percent of the crops are at tussling stage. My dreams have been diminished. I had planted four hectares of maize crop and was expecting three tonnes from each hectare but because of this persistent dry spell, I am now targeting 200 kilograms per hectare.
“In this era, it is no longer viable to rely on rain-fed agriculture. Shifting towards the use of irrigation systems can help to solve this problem,” said Mutoko.
The global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim at creating a sustainable living world for everyone by 2030, however, if action is not taken against climate change the attainment of SDGs will be hindered.
Goal 2 seeks sustainable solutions to end hunger in all its forms and to achieve food security. The aim is to ensure that everyone, everywhere has enough good-quality food to lead a healthy life. Achieving this goal will require better access to food and widespread promotion of sustainable agriculture and new ways of farming.
In the southern region of Zimbabwe, the goal cannot be easily achieved without the establishment of green belts.
The province boasts being home to the largest inland dams. With the huge number of dams that the province has, it will go a long way if an inter-agency cooperation finances the establishment of new irrigation schemes that will act as mitigation and adaptation measures to climate crisis such as droughts.
The government of Zimbabwe in its national climate change policy document of 2016 promised that on issues to do with the agriculture sector, it shall promote the development and adequate assessment of irrigation potential under climate change.
“The government shall ensure irrigation development and management master plan integrate climate change.
“It shall also promote irrigation and water use efficiency in agriculture including adequate assessment of irrigation potential and irrigation demand under climate change,” reads part of the climate change policy document.
Connecting major dams for example Tugwi-Mkosi with other small dams so that when they spill, the water is harvested into other small dams where it can be used for irrigation and livestock purposes in areas that receive low rainfalls.
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa in her 4th post cabinet press statement acknowledged the impacts of climate change in the agricultural sector.
“Cabinet wishes to advise the nation that overall, the First Round Crop and Livestock Survey confirmed that climate change is upon us and affecting agricultural production,” read the press statement.
Petros Runameso Madzingo of Youth Farmers Association said the construction of dams for irrigation systems and planting of trees is a way to adapt to the climate crisis.
“Government and other responsible stakeholders should assist by constructing irrigation schemes and new dams. Another method to counter climate crisis is through planting trees in the Lowveld region,” said Madzingo.
Forestry Commission Masvingo Provincial Extension Manager Cheneso Mbambo said they are targeting to plant more than six hundred thousand trees in each district in the province.
“We have officers in each district who oversee the planting of trees. We are targeting to plant more than six hundred thousand trees in each district but there are not all going to be planted by the forestry commission alone, some are going to be planted by people in the communities and other stakeholders.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to plant trees and to conserve forests,” said Mbambo.
The establishment of clubs in rural areas where village heads act as club leaders working with the responsible authorities to facilitate a reforestation programme can also be a way to conserve forests and mitigate climate change.

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