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Residents lament council water bills increase

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Residents lament council water bills increase

Fredrick Moyo

Masvingo residents have cried foul over increases on the current water bills that the city council have pegged for the month of December.
Council is alleged to have increased their water charges with around 290 percent, a charge residents claim could have been drawn from the 2022 proposed budget that is yet to be approved.
Masvingo Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (MURRA) spokesperson Godfrey Mtimba said the move by council is ‘evil and diabolic’ and residents are angry and concerned with the move by council.
“As residents’ representative board, we are actually angry, furious and very much concerned with the way council is handling its affairs.
“A lot of reports have been made at our offices from residents saying they have received huge water bills on their current bills, some ranging between ZW$ 10 00 and 11 000 while some would even rise up to ZW$ 15 000, where they have been paying below ZW$3 000.
“After a bit of analysis we have realised that this might not be a mistake by the council but a deliberate increment in line with their percentage in the 2022 proposed budget, because in the 2022 budget council is proposing to increase service charges by almost 290 percent and so if a resident today receive a ZW$11 000 bill up from ZW$3 000, it means they have effected that proposed percentage without the knowledge of residents and also without even waiting for the government to approve that budget.
“What we know to be normal and procedural is that when they do their budget, they have to send it to the minister and wait for approval in January next year. We are not yet in January, still in 2021 but the rates have skyrocketed and ballooned beyond the reach of many residents,” said Mtimba.
He also said that residents are struggling, facing serious economic challenges in the country hence MURRA is giving council an ultimatum to rectify the current bills so that they come back to the normal rates residents have been paying.
“Remember residents are struggling make ends meet. They are struggling to fend for their families because of the serious economic challenges that our country is facing and we feel that is evil and diabolic for city council to make such a decision without even following the procedure.
“We want to give council an ultimatum to rectify if it is a mistake or a deliberate move they have to rectify and they have to reverse all those bills so that they come back to our normal rates that we have been paying over the past three months.
“This is a serious issue that we are closely following and engaging council from deep down our hearts. It is very serious and we are following this,” said Mtimba.
Contacted for comment Masvingo Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa said that he has no comment on the issue.
Masvingo Town Mayor Cllr Collen Maboke denied the allegation that they increased the bills in-line with the 2022 proposed budget, but however said the current charges are in-line with how residents used their water.
“I received those complaints but it is not correct that we made the increment in-line with the 2022 proposed budget. The budget should be approved by the minister first, that is what we are waiting for. The issue of these charges depends on how the people use their water, if they use more obviously the charges will be high.
“If residents think that they have been overcharged they should go to the offices and get assistance. Their problems or queries will be solved there and if there have been mistakes that can be rectified,” said Maboke.
Stakeholders have raised concerns asking for clarity over council’s proposed ZW$160 million furniture and equipment in the 2022 budget after it was allocated the third highest amount on the budget.

Masvingo City shoulders blame on sewer spillage into water bodies

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Masvingo City shoulders blame on sewer spillage into water bodies

Kimberly Kusauka

Masvingo City Council (MCC) has said it is the one to be blamed for disposal of raw sewage into Mucheke and Shagashe rivers that feed into Lake Mutirikwi, Masvingo’s main water source.
The issue was raised in the 2019 Auditor General Mildred Chiri’s report on local authorities where Masvingo was rapped for contaminating water bodies.
Masvingo Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa said council is to blame for water pollution where raw sewage will spill into water bodies when pipes are not working.
“In terms of pollution, we ourselves as local authority become the chief culprit. We would dispose raw sewage into water bodies whenever our pipes are not working,” said Eng Mukaratirwa.
He said they have attempted to make sure that pipes are in good condition when they bought equipment, which however wears out quickly and require changes every year.
“We bought new equipment but it wears out quickly and we are changing pipes every year. We are trying to find a lasting solution so that we do not continue discharging sewage into water bodies,” he added.
He said the second source of discharge is sewer blockages by people who intentionally block sewer water to irrigate their gardens.
“We have sewer blockages caused by deliberate vandalism and some caused by normal use of the network. We have seen a number of people deliberately blocking the sewer lines in order for them to irrigate their crops and in the process the sewer turns into water bodies,” said Eng Mukaratirwa.
He said the city council has trained people whom they have equipped with expertise to attend to any blockages.
“We have trained personnel with the help of Environment Management Agency (EMA) whom we have equipped and they will be frequently visiting hotspots so as to minimise vandalism.
“For blockages caused by day to day use of the sewage network, we want to increase the number of reaction teams and correspondently equipping them with right tools so that volumes discharged are minimised,” said Eng Mukaratirwa.
Council is going to make sure that pump stations are efficiently operating, frequent patrols on hotspots and increasing number of teams that repair blockages so as to avoid discharge into water bodies.

SWIFT ploughs back to communities, donates wheelchairs and food hampers

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SWIFT ploughs back to communities, donates wheelchairs and food hampers

Fredrick Moyo

The country’s leading logistics company SWIFT has donated 75 wheelchairs in 12 towns around the country while celebrating its 75th anniversary campaign under their “Together in Motion” campaign, a corporate social responsibility programme.
The campaign, which started in August 2021 at Swift depot will see 75 people who are in need of wheelchairs benefiting from the programme.
Speaking in an interview, Swift Marketing Manager, Lee Gibson said they started brain-storming about how they will celebrate their 75th anniversary after which they came up with the idea of helping the needy for their big milestone.
“We started brain storming on our 75th celebration last year because obviously it was going to be a whole year of celebrating this milestone,” said Gibson.
She also added that they are so much involved in many social activities around the country and they thought that giving back to the community will be a kind gesture to the disabled communities.
“We are so much involved in Corporate Social Responsibility. It is something that we are engaged in every single day, so the greatest gift that we thought we could give back is the gift of Motion, and that is when we thought about giving back to the disabled communities in Zimbabwe and the need is huge.
“They have evaluated to us that 25 000 disabled people in Zimbabwe are in need of wheelchairs. So our 75 is a very small, small target that we managed to distribute, but it is our part and we wanted, we have managed to reach 12 towns to distribute the 75 wheelchairs we have purchased,” added Gibson.
Chief Executive Officer of Unifreight Africa Limited, Swift’s parent company, Rob Kuipers, said that they looked at how they can be agents of motion and started with donating wheelchairs to the disadvantaged communities and he also encouraged other corporates and individuals to join the initiative.
“As a logistics company, enabling movement from point A to B is our highest priority. We looked at how we can be an agent of motion to some of our most disadvantaged community members and started at wheelchairs. We are rallying individuals and corporates to join this initiative across the nation,” said Kuipers.
Public Relations officer and Marketing Director for Unifreight Africa Limited, Kerne Mackie added that the leading logistics company in the country have been involved for many decades in donations.
“SWIFT Transport has been assisting with the distribution of wheelchairs throughout Zimbabwe for many decades, coming to the aid of numerous charities. Having seen the need first-hand as a company, we wanted to contribute and give back to the communities that have always supported us,” added Mackie.
Grace Kamanga, Jairos Jiri’s Resource Mobilisation Executive said that the life of children living with disabilities has been difficult especially in this period of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The need to assist children with disabilities has been heightened in this difficult Covid-19 pandemic era. We had a specific challenge that some of our Grade 1 and Form 4 students had no wheelchairs and the timing of this donation could not have been more precise,” said Kamanga.
Stella Jongwe, a Jairos Jiri student representative who received a wheelchair thanked SWIFT for the kindly gesture and the support they give them in many activities.
“It is heart-warming that Swift continues to support us through many activities. I am particularly elated with the wheelchair gesture as it really makes a huge difference when you have disability,” said Jongwe.
The transport and freight service provider has ploughed back to the community through donating wheelchairs and food hampers to people living with disabilities.

Renco mine musician seeks sponsorship

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Renco mine musician seeks sponsorship

42-year-old Renco mine based gospel musician is looking for a sponsorship package that would enable him to record a new album. Fanuel Masukuse who is visually impaired says lack of funds is hampering his ambition to spread the word of God.
Masukuse said he started composing songs way back in 2004 when he recorded his album titled ‘Vimba NaJehovah’ with Verenga Empire studios in Zvishavane.
“I started composing songs sometime in 2004, but to date have released one album.
“Lack of a sponsorship package is hindering me from recording and releasing more albums, though I have released a single album.
“I have quite a number of songs that I would record if funds permit to do so,” said Masukuse.
He also said he was inspired by spreading the word of God to all generations.
“My main inspiration is spreading the word of God so that people from all walks of life can get to know something about the kingdom of heaven,” he added.
As is synonymous with the economy of the country, his career was not spared by the Covid-19 pandemic as he could not do shows for his 2019 album.
“Covid-19 also affected my album. After its release in 2019, I thought I would do some shows to promote it but that did not work out,” he remarked.
He can also repair doors and radios should he get the tools.
Well-wishers can contact him on 0777 172 803 or 0717820472

Covid-19: Double tragedy for disabled informal traders

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Covid-19: Double tragedy for disabled informal traders

Fredrick Moyo

National Council for Persons with Disabilities Zimbabwe (NCPDZ) Chairperson Tavengwa Mazhambe said Covid-19 induced lockdowns came as a double tragedy for people living with disabilities most of whom earn a living through informal trading as their businesses succumbed to the effects of the restrictions
Speaking at the International Day for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) commemorations held at the Civic Centre in Masvingo on December 10, Mazhambe said the lockdowns severely affected them and many are still struggling to make ends meet.
“During this pandemic, disabled persons who earn a living from informal trading found it difficult to make ends meet. Many are in the informal sector and have been forced to stay at home.
“We have no other source of income and this makes life hard for us as school fees, rental and basic needs are needed,” said Mazhambe.
Speaking at the same event, a representative from Zimbabwe Parents for Handicapped Children (ZPHC), Cecilia Takudzwa Mapfumo thanked the recognition people with disabilities in society are having through such commemorations.
“As the parents of people who live with disabilities, we would like to thank this programme as it recognises our children. We are appealing for the increment for schools which cater for them so that they are able to learn well.
“Our children face many challenges especially when they reach 18 years. They fail to continue with their studies, so we are asking for universities that can accommodate persons with disabilities,” said Mapfumo.
Zimbabwe Albino Association Chairperson Kudakwashe Masvinyangwa said the International Day for Persons with Disabilities is an important event to them where they can air out their grievances.
“This is an important day to persons with disabilities. It is a day in which we make reflections on what people did to us, what should be done while saying out our grievances to our leaders.
“The disability bill should be enacted into an Act as it assists us. We want to have a chance to mingle with other people, pave way for us in time.
“We should also be given land so that we have something productive to assist us, especially in the Lowveld from that land we can have positive self-esteem in the Albino society. This will also help us in generating funds to boost the association from that land,” said Masvinyangwa.
Economic Development Director for Masvingo Province Clever Chingwara who stood in for the Minister of State said the commemorations were very important in creating awareness in various sections of society as well as understanding disability issues.
“The celebration of this day is an important thing to the promotion of rights especially for people with disabilities in all spheres of the society, this increases awareness, understanding disability issues,” said Chingwara
The commemorations ran under the theme: Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities towards an inclusive, accessible and post Covid-19 world’.

Multimedia’s PR manager shines at IPRC awards

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Multimedia’s PR manager shines at IPRC awards

Kimberly Kusauka

Multimedia Public Relations and assistant media executive Elizabeth Mukabeta recently shined in the Institute of Public Relations and Communication Zimbabwe awards (IPRCZ) where the organisation scooped two awards.
Multimedia scooped an award in Best Public Relations and Communications Events and Mukabeta won an award in the category of Young PR and Communication Practitioner of the Year (40 and below) and was also first runner up in the Category of Corporate Communications Personality of the year.
Mukabeta said she was thrilled about winning the award, which she said, was a lifetime opportunity after she had been in the media industry for more than 10 years.
“I am very excited and happy with the award, it is my valued achievement because this is my first award since I have been in the industry for more than 10 years,” said Mukabeta.
She said winning her first award made her realise that she has the potential to do better if she continues working hard.
“I now believe in myself and I will keep on working hard to achieve and get more recognition hence achieve more,” said Mukabeta.
Women have been shying the media industry especially in the newsrooms because of issues related to sexual harassment from male counterparts and in organisations where they seek comments and clarity on stories.
However, there are female journalists who managed to stay in the media fraternity regardless of all the hindrances who include Sunday Mail Editor Victoria Ruzvidzo, Zimbabwe Independent Editor Faith Zaba, ZiFM senior reporter Martha Mamombe and veteran photojournalist Anne Mpalume.

Masvingo City happy with 2021 progress

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Masvingo City happy with 2021 progress

Kimberly Kusauka

Masvingo City Council (MCC) unpacked its 2021 projects, success stories and their failures as they begin to prepare for year 2022 where they promised residents and ratepayers that they would improve on service delivery.
As the year began the city was struggling with major service delivery in terms of water, roads and refuse collection.
Masvingo Town Clerk (TC) Engineer (Eng) Edward Mukaratirwa said the major highlights of 2021 were successes but had challenges also.
He said the priorities for year 2021 were water and sanitation as we as road maintenance.
“The major highlights in terms of service delivery like we indicated at the beginning of year, our number priorities were water and sanitation.
“In terms of sanitation we managed to collect most of the refuse within scheduled time, we will commission a new landfill at Cambria farm,” said Eng Mukaratirwa.
He said council managed to construct Rujeko secondary school and Runyararo west clinic, rehabilitating roads with funding from Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP) 2.
“We managed to construct Rujeko Secondary School, two classroom blocks and one toilet block are almost complete and intend to open when schools open in 2022.
“We also finished the construction of Runyararo West Clinic which is now waiting for equipment and staff to start operating. The clinic, will serve residents from Victoria Range, Runyararo West and parts of Mucheke,” said Eng Mukaratirwa.
He said the new land fill’s first cell is now at 60-70 percent and they will decommission the old dumpsite soon.
“The first cell is between 60 and 70 percent complete. We wanted to start using it by end of this year but we failed because of low cash flows caused by Covid 19 induced lockdown and we hope in the first quarter of 2022 we will be using It.,” said Eng Mukaratirwa.
However, Masvingo Residents associations said there were no success stories in the year 2021 from council as they failed on a number of issues.
Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (MURRA) spokesperson Godfrey Mtimba said 2021 was characterised by water woes, poor health services, poor refuse collection and increased rates.
“Service delivery was generally poor, we had water crisis in the first three quarters of the year and residents have been using the few boreholes in their locations,” said Mtimba.
He said council should improve on water provision, health services, affordable rates and finishing ongoing projects in 2022.
Masvingo Residents Forum (MRF) Coordinator Samuel Parwaringira said they rate council at 50 percent saying they managed to improve on water supply and refuse collection.
“Council has improved in terms of refuse collection where they only skip one or two days, and managed to construct drainage systems and road maintenance.
“There was a slight improvement in water supply from 2019 so moving into 2022 as MRF we want council to improve on the time they take to respond after reports on sewer and water pipe bursts. They should also spray at all homes after sewer flow not only spraying at houses of people they know,” said Parwaringira.
He urged council to improve on the issue of information dissemination which was lacking during the year 2021 so as to improve on service delivery.
“There is poor information dissemination to residents concerning matters to do with service delivery,” said Parwaringira.
Ward 6 Zanu PF Secretary for information Trust Muzozviona said council managed to fight Covid-19 through council clinics but there was poor refuse collection and erratic water provision.
“Council has over the years had its own share of problems ups and downs and 2021 is no exception. We commend the health facilities which stood brave and fought a fierce battle against the Covid-19 pandemic through our council clinics,” said Muzozviona.
He urged council to prioritise refuse collection, water provision, repairing street lighting and refurbishing Mucheke Rank.
“Council should work on street lighting and refurbish Mucheke bus terminus to meet modern standards,” said Muzozviona.

Safety should always be a priority

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Safety should always be a priority

The subject of safety has been one of the most overlooked and underestimated area of concern for most people whether deliberate or as a result of complacency altogether.
The festive season should be reminding everyone to take heed to calls to adhere to the practice of safety measures be it on the roads or the home as well as the public arena where people from all walks of life mix and mingle
Precious lives have been lost through road carnage during the festive seasons in the past as a result of human error in most cases and the onus is upon each and every human being to stop such a loss of precious lives by assuming responsibility to that effect.
Celebrating the holiday with no tears on the cheeks would only be a result of practicing safety and precautionary measures on the roads to some extent.
With cases of armed robbery on the increase in different as a result of some ‘morons’ invading this peaceful society, travelling parties should ensure that they at all cost use public transport other than these private vehicles ,some of which have become a safe haven for criminals ready to pounce for cash and other valuables.
Then there is the issue of this fourth wave of the deadly Covid-19 disease in form of Omicron which the general citizenry needs to safeguard themselves against.
The fact that most people travel to different destinations raises the need for people to adhere to World Health Organisation (WHO) and government safety protocols and thus the need to conform to sanitizing, social distancing as well as masking up so that the risk of spreading the disease is kept under check.
The youthful generation also needs to jealously guard against poor practices on the social arena that may risk their health and physical wellbeing during the schools holidays.
Such results like unwanted pregnancies and other effects of drug abuses could only cease to be a thing of the past only if responsible youths take charge and ensure safety prevails.

Alouis Bunjira ready for ZIFA presidency

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Alouis Bunjira ready for ZIFA presidency

Russel Mapuvire

Former warriors and CAPS united legend, now soccer coach at Parliament Sports Club Alouis Bunjira says he is willing to lead ZIFA and if given the chance would bring positive improvements to the troubled soccer governing body.
In an interview with TellZim News, Bunjira said soccer and other sports are not being taken seriously because the ones who lead sport entities are not passionate.
“These leaders are failing to support the young people with talents with training facilities, talent identification and grooming. For these talented youths to prosper they need leaders who have been in sport, who have passion and see the importance of sports like football,” said Bunjira.
He said the talent identification methods that were used in yester years have been abandoned and this is greatly affecting sport especially football.
“Our football is dying because there is lack of development like what was there before. When we were growing up, national team for under 15, 17 and 20 used to be selected, there were stages which school teams would follow then the best players will be selected. Now those in leadership just ask provinces to provide pupils whom they think are good and many talented players are left unnoticed,” said Bunjira.
He said Zifa was failing to scout for talent in schools not just to manage the national team.
“ZIFA’s main duty is to organise and to develop football in Zimbabwe from schools to professional football not to just to manage the national team.
“They fail to support under 15, 17, 20 and 23. They just lift their heads on the selection of the senior nation team, says Bunjira.
On the issue of ZIFA suspension by the Sports and Recreation Commission, he said it was not supposed to go to that extent but the complaints were now many so the SRC had to do their work.
Bunjira continued saying that he already harboured ambitions to stand for 2022 Zifa elections before the SRC and Zifa conflicts and he really wants to help the football prosper. He is also happy to compete because some of the big names in country are in support of him such as Themba Mliswa and also the chairman of SRC Jerald Mlotshwa. He promised to help the system to be what it was before or to be better.
Zimbabwean football has gone through a lot of shambles as the nation dismally performed in the 2022 world cup qualifiers leaving fans heart-broken as the team got two points from six outings thereby sinking down the ladder on Federation of International Football Federations (Fifa) rankings.

Chivi women arrested for stashing dried kapenta in armpits

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Chivi women arrested for stashing dried kapenta in armpits

Russell Mapuvire

Two women from Chivi were fined ZW$5000 each for stealing 2kgs of dried kapenta, known as matemba from Zvishavane OK Supermarket.
The two, Elizabeth Madenya (38) from Mutikizizi and Tendai Murinye (42) Madunhu village in Chivi appeared before Zvishavane Magistrate Archie Wochiunga on December 14 who sentenced them to two months in prison each or alternatively pay a fine.
It was the state case that on October 11, 2021 the duo were caught at the door by Yvone Shava, a Safeguard Security while trying to get out with four 500g of Matemba stashed in each of their armpits.
Shava told the court that she was on duty on that day in the afternoon when the two came to the exit door looking suspicious. She searched them and found 1.5kg of Meso dried Kapenta and one 500g of Jumbo dried fish valued at ZW$7179, 96.
They both confessed in the court that they were widows with kids and had no relish to feed them.

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