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Zanu PF creating dictator in Mnangagwa

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Zanu PF creating dictator in Mnangagwa
File picture: President Emmerson Mnangagwa

…as
ruling party ignores citizens’ voices, railroads constitutional changes

Veeslee Mhepo

The sailing
through Parliament, of the Zimbabwe Constitutional Amendment Bill Number II,
which among other things, gives President Emmerson Mnangagwa unfettered powers
over the appointment and promotion of judges has been widely viewed as
retrogressive and a way of creating a dictator.

The
Bill, which now awaits the Senate nod, deletes the running mate clause, okays
the promotion of judges without public interviews, extends the women’s quota
system to 2023, introduces the women’s quota in local authorities and also
speaks to the youth quota system.

Political
analyst Dr Takavafira Zhou said the constitutional amendments were
self-defeating for Zanu PF which claims to have ushered in a ‘new dispensation’
saying they were retracing their footsteps back to the Mugabe days where they
made him a dictator and ultimately the country’s worst nightmare.

“The
amendment allows the President to appoint members of the judiciary without
going through interview process as outlined in the current constitution.

“There
is therefore a danger of the President staffing the judiciary with his cronies
that can be used to his advantage in Zanu PF succession wars and to further
amend constitution and entrench Zanu PF hegemonic power and deal with
opposition.

“In
most countries constitutional changes are not restricted to Parliament and Senate
but referendum,” said Dr Zhou.

He said
Zanu PF was abusing its parliamentary majority to stifle democracy and creating
a one centre of power leads to dictatorship.

“Zanu
PF is abusing its dominance of parliament to stifle democracy. The changes are
entrenching the executive powers of the President that will see his dominance
in the judiciary and compromising the separation of powers in the executive,
judiciary and legislature that must safeguard democracy.

“This
is the same behavior which created a dictator in the late former president
Mugabe,” said Dr Zhou.

The
Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum (The Forum), in a statement, said that the passing
of the Bill was a clear sign of democratic deterioration as it did not give
time for people’s opinions and full participation.

“The
procedure adopted in fast-tracking the Bill through Parliament is unlawful and
unconstitutional as it contravenes Subsections 328 (3) and (4) of the
Constitution…passage of the bill marks a clear sign of democratic relapse.

“The Bill
had been amended outside its original form days before the vote was passed
through parliament without the requisite 90-day notice period, to invite
members of the public to express their opinions on the revisions to the
original bill.

 “The Bill wholesomely undermines separation of
powers, checks and balances, citizen participation, parliamentary oversight and
independence of institutions.

“It is
clear that the bill seeks to consolidate and solidify the President’s position
ahead of the 2023 elections and beyond,” said The Forum.

Zanu PF
national Secretary for Legal Affairs Paul Mangwana, who was one of the chief
architects of the 2013 Constitution, once remarked, at a workshop organized by
TellZim News, that the amendments were necessary as Zanu PF was doing away with
some sections which they were against and had to only accept for progress’
sake.

“We
were given the power by the people and we are using that power. There are
sections in that constitution which we were against but we just had to
negotiate at the time.

“Now
that we have the power we are making corrections and it can only be done when
you have majority in parliament. It would be foolish not to use the power given
to us by the people,” said Mangwana.

During
the outreach to consult citizens on the contentious amendments, many people
roundly rejected the changes which they said would reverse the country’s
delicate and young constitutional achievements.

‘No toilets at many Masvingo police stations’

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‘No toilets at many Masvingo police stations’

 Terrence
Ndowora

A recent visit by the minister of Home
Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Kazembe Kazembe and Commissioner General of
Police, Godwin Matanga to Masvingo province revealed an array of shortages of
resources in police departments chief among them being the shortage of toilets
at many camps.

The officer commanding police in
Masvingo province, Commissioner David Mahoya told Kazembe and Comm Gen Matanga
that the province was faced with shortages of toilets, offices, police
vehicles, stationery, fuel and accommodation among others.

Comm Mahoya said the case of Rujeko
police station was worrying saying under normal circumstances the station would
be condemned as there were no toilets and a confined office space.

“Literally, there is no police station
here, there are no toilets, place is small, officer in charge shares office and
no vehicles to deliver services,” said Comm Mahoya.

Comm Gen Matanga said the police was
failing to provide accommodation to police officers which was affecting their
security and service delivery.

“The ZRP has only 12 000 housing units
that are accommodating 18 760 police officers. Over 30 000 police officers are
renting private accommodation, a situation which compromises security of
members as well as service delivery,” said Comm Gen Matanga.

Minister Kazembe responded saying the
government was aware of the accommodation plight and efforts to establish proper
accommodation was being considered.

“The shortage of accommodation which
has, unfortunately resulted in some members seeking private rental
accommodation, has always been a cause for concern.

“Concerted efforts are being made to
ensure police officers and members get decent accommodation.

 “I
have noted that the station is facing an acute shortage of transport and fuel. Police
officers need to attend crime scenes in time in order to guard against the loss
of evidence.

“Government remains alive to this
challenge and efforts are being made to improve police agility and
effectiveness through procurement of more operational vehicles,” said Kazembe.

Police suspect drowning on death of missing Bikita girl

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Police suspect drowning on death of missing Bikita girl
The  late Mitchel Musharu

 Terrence
Ndowora

Though post mortem results are yet to
be released, the police suspect the cause of death for the missing 5-year-old
Bikita girl to be drowning.

Masvingo provincial police spokesperson
Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the incident and said Mitchel Musharu’s
body was discovered in a septic tank without any visible injuries.

“The deceased’s body was found floating
in a septic tank by her parents, Pascaline Mhondera (32) and Samuel Musharu
(32) who immediately notified the police.

“Mhondera saw her daughter’s tennis in
a disused open septic tank and alerted his husband who then retrieved the body.

“The deceased’s body was retrieved with
no body injuries so we suspected drowning as the cause of the sudden death.                                                                                                                        

 “The
body has since taken to Ndanga Hospital for post mortem were we are waiting for
results, investigations are still in progress,” said Inspector Dhewa.

 The
deceased, who is from Munikwa Village under chief Mukanga, went missing last
week on April 17 around 1600 hours at Nyika growth point.

She was last seen playing near Chicken
Zone General Dealer shop with Sithembile Simangu’s (31) daughter before she
went missing.

Inspector Dhewa told TellZim news that
Mhondera left her late daughter at her neighbor’s shop who was also a general
dealer at Nyika growth point.

“The deceased’s mother left her for
shopping in the hands of Simangu.

“Simangu’s daughter (5) and the
deceased went outside the shop to play, and later the deceased allegedly said
she wanted to pee, so she left her.

“When Simangu returned, she noticed
that her late child was missing, she alerted the neighbors who helped her in
searching for the deceased.

“They then reported the case at ZRP
Nyika base,” said Inspector Dhewa.

Gweru car dealer kills two after cheating row

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Gweru car dealer kills two after cheating row
The scene of the grissly murders

Tinaani Nyabereka.

A
Gweru-based car dealer and businessman, Peter Dube who reside in Athlone suburb
yesterday, April 22, shot dead his second wife’s suspected lover, identified only
as Shelton, as well as Shelton’s girlfriend Gamuchirai Madungwe.

The
shooting also left Dube’s second wife Nyasha Nharingo (31) and her sister Nyaradzo
Nharingo (34) nursing serious gunshot wounds, and they are now in hospital.

The
incident happened at Bensam Flats along Main Street around 23:00hrs after Dube
suspected his second wife Nyasha of cheating.

Although
Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko said he was yet
to get information regarding the circumstances, sources said the bodies of the
deceased had already been removed from the scene.

The
sources said Dube shot his wife after he learnt about her alleged infidelity
which he had suspected for some time.

The
two deceased persons, together with Nyasha and Nyaradzo, had traveled to
Masvingo to collect Nyaradzo’s passport without Dube’s knowledge and this did
not go well with him as they reportedly came back home drunk.

At
around 2300hrs, Dube, armed with an undisclosed firearm, got into his second
wife’s bedroom where an argument started after he accused her of having a love
affair with Shelton, who is also said to be a car dealer based in Kwekwe.

He
then went outside where Shelton sat in his car and shot him once on the head.
He then met Madungwe who was coming downstairs after hearing gunshots, and shot
her dead before fleeing.

The
accused’s younger brother Advance Dube and wife Jestina Chawana were then informed
of the incident and they reported the matter to the police.

Meawhile,
Dube is said to have contacted his close relatives warning them that he was
contemplating suicide. 

Zvamahande villagers engage councilor on developmental issues

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Zvamahande villagers engage councilor on developmental issues
Part of the people who attended the meeting, maintaining social distance. 

 …community in dire need of primary school

TellZim Reporter

Villagers in the Zvamahande area in Masvingo West Ward 33
have engaged their local councillor Tawanda Dube on several issues affecting
their community at a feedback meeting facilitated by TellZim and Media Centre
on April 21.

Community members in the Springspruit area
in Zvamahande, Mashava, gathered at a community nutritional garden that Centre
for Gender and Community Development in Zimbabwe (CGCDZ) helped to set up and had
the opportunity to get clarification on accessibility and distribution of
resources in their community from Dube, who gave them feedback on various developmental
projects.

Speaking at the meeting, Dube said engaging with the
community gives him information on what to prioritize, which has helped him
source for resources.

“Today we are gathered here at this garden, which came
as a result of my engagement with community members after they told me of the
dire need of a project that both enhances livelihoods and empowers women and
youth.

“Villagers are happy that when they raise their issues
with me I take them up and engage those who can assist, like this nutritional
garden and irrigation project,” Dube said.

Women who attended the meeting told the councillor about the
need for a primary school in the area as the one available is too far for Early
Childhood Development (ECD) scholars.

“We are appealing for a school nearer to our community because
between here and the closest school there are streams which may be a risk
especially to ECD pupils,” Felistas Moyo, one of the participants said.

Dube said he was going to look into the issues that were
discussed, among them the availability of boreholes, projects for the youth and
women, as well as transparency information regarding aid from the Department of
Social Welfare.

‘Emergency fund to rehabilitate 500km of Masvingo roads’

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‘Emergency fund to rehabilitate 500km of Masvingo roads’
File picture: Damaged Chimusana bridge 

 Wayne Ncube

MASVINGO – The
Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa
has said a total of 500km of roads in Masvingo will be rehabilitated while
drains will be constructed as part of efforts to improve infrastructure much of
which got destroyed by floods earlier this year.

Mutsvangwa
said this while addressing a post-cabinet briefing in Harare last week.

In
response to the damage wrought by the floods, President Emmerson Mngangagwa
declared the country’s roads a state of disaster and created an emergency fund
to pay for reconstruction.

Provincial
Development Coordinator (PDC) Jefta Sakupwanya said reconstruction will be paid
for by money from the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme.

“Roads
are to be reconstructed in Masvingo as part of the Emergency Road
Rehabilitation programme where the government is rehabilitating roads and
reconstructing drainages nation-wide.

“There
are other roads outside of Masvingo urban which are also going to be
reconstructed in Chivi, Zaka Mwenezi, Chiredzi, Bikita and Masvingo Rural. Some
of the work is already under way in these areas,” he said.

City
of Masvingo Acting Town Clerk Edward Mukaratirwa said there were 15 major roads
in Masvingo which were chosen for rehabilitation.

“There
are major roads in Masvingo which were chosen for rehabilitation as they were adopted
for the purpose of maintenance by the Department of Roads and we grouped the
roads into seven groups, and each group has its own contractor,” said
Mukaratirwa.

A
report recently presented by Dr Sakupwanya shows that in Chiredzi, roads that
are going to be repaired are Hippo Valley Old Mill – Show Grounds, Matedzi – Mukadzi,
and Triangle-Samba-Nyabongwe.

In
Zaka, the Rudhanda – Chipfunde – Svuure Road is going to be re-gravelled while
in  Mwenenzi, Rutenga Access Road
totalling 31km will undergo pothole-patching. Mateke Road, which is 74km-long
and is also in Mwenezi, will undergo similar repairs.

 In Gutu the Chipange Road will have its
drainage cleared while the Simbanegavi-Magadzire Road will be graded.

In
Bikita, the Silveria-Bikita Road which 26km will be cleared of bush whereas the
Lundi-Runesu Road in Chivi will be reconstructed.

In
Masvingo Urban, roads in Target Kopje, Zimre Park as well as Manhede St Manhede,
Hillside St and Tendai Kubatana will undergo repairs.

Government
has taken over the rehabilitation of over 170 roads in urban centres in the
country and has launched a deliberate resource-mobilisation strategy meant to urgently address the dilapidated road network.

The
District Development Fund (DDF) has already embarked on road rehabilitation
across the country and has set aside nearly $238 million for works in Masvingo,
Midlands, Manicaland, Mashonaland West, and Matebeleland South.

Over 10 000 farmers to be enrolled for presidential wheat scheme

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Over 10 000 farmers to be enrolled for presidential wheat scheme
Ezra Chadzamira

 Perpetua Murungweni

MASVINGO – Over 10 000 farmers are set
to benefit from the Presidential Winter Wheat Input Scheme which is expected to
begin in May, the Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution
has said.

Through
the programme, government will distribute wheat to farmers especially those
with irrigation facilities as well as those on wetlands.

“The
government is handing out wheat to those farmers in
irrigation schemes, those who are in communal gardens and also individuals who
have access to water. The idea is to increase our wheat output this year
because government is determined to reduce our wheat import bill while
empowering local farmers,” said Chadzamira.

He said
some 10 000 farmers in A1 and A2 plots are expected to benefit from the scheme
which would require farmers to deliver their grain to the Grain Marketing Board
after harvest.

“Over 10
000 farmers are expected to benefit from this winter wheat programme and we are
targeting capable farmers in A1 and A2 farms,” said Chadzamira.

Each
farmer is expected to receive 60kg of wheat crop per hectare of land they can
till depending with the size of the farm.

“Each
farmer is expected to receive 60kg of wheat per hectare depending on the size
of the farm each farmer has. The bigger the size of the farm each farmer has
the more wheat each farmer will get,” said Chadzamira.

Zimbabwe
has a serious wheat shortage as local farmers cannot satisfy demand the
domestic market.

Every
year, big confectioners have to import thousands of tonnes of wheat from such
countries as Brazil to plug the gap, costing the country millions of dollars in
foreign currency.

 

A sad day for democracy

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A sad day for democracy

Mapombi
is back again and I write to you today with a heavy heart. I am sure most of
you are aware that yesterday was indeed a sad day for democracy. The people’s
will was once again been subverted by baboons in Parliament. But why Zimbabwe?
What have we done wrong to deserve this kind of madness? Why give so much power
to one paranoid man? Yes, I will say it without fear or favour, ED is a
paranoid man, a true Dambudziko and unfortunately we are stuck with this man
until 2030.  Ana Wasu kumakomoyo muriwadi
here. PaGweru apo Mapombi anoti mufaro kwamuri. Chiredzi, Chivi, Bikita, Gutu,
Mwenezi and paZaka rinopisa I hope I find you well. Masvingo and Midlands I
hear ndimi makatizvarira Dambudzo but rest easy because Mapombi forgives you.
Hakuna musha usina benzi kkkkk.

I am
sorry to disappoint readers from Masvingo who thought that Mapombi would dwell
much on our incompetent city council which is now majoring on trivial issues
and not giving water and other services to residents. Mapombi thinks that there
is a lot of incompetence at the city council and ipapo I don’t want to hear
anyone achipomera Chamisa kuti ndiye atadza because hapana kana councillor
waChamisa umwe pacouncil. Mwonzora fired all Chamisa councillors and the
remaining are all loyal to Zanu PF. So it is not correct to say that the City
of Masvingo is dominated by Chamisa councillors. I hope ipapo pari clear before
ndapinda muvhangeri ranhasi.

I hear
our dearly beloved President ED has plans to put in place an inter-ministerial
taskforce led by Chiwenga to run all the opposition led local authorities. I am
not sure if ED is aware that there are a lot of councillors who have been fired
and this has had ripple effects on service delivery. How do you expect services
to run smoothly when councillors get fired by someone who just wakes up on the
wrong side of the bed or who would have fought with his wife and decides to
urinate on the electorate. Mr President are you aware that by-elections have
been suspended indefinitely and people are not able to choose replacements for
their expelled representatives? Are you also aware that Zanu PF is doing its
internal elections yet you have banned by-elections under the pretext of
Covid-19? So Covid-19 can only stop by-elections but not primary elections.
When it is convenient to you, you raise the Covid-19 flag. This nonsense must
stop and we need by-elections now so that our people are afforded a chance to
choose their representatives.

I do
not agree with ED when he says the local authorities are run by opposition.
Yes, the opposition may have the numbers but they do not have any power. Power
rests with management and the central government. Management is known to be Zanu
PF and the central government is the minister who is also Zanu PF. These are
the people with real power kwete twuma councillor twusina kana power utwu. If
things go wrong I think the central government should shoulder the blame kwete
kuda kukandirana nyoka mhenyu. The local authorities have failed I agree but
this is a reflection of what the central government is
doing. Imagine here in Masvingo we are failing to get water and we have
literally become a rural city because we are fetching water in the sewage
invested Mucheke River and boreholes. At least kumusha vari nani because their
rivers and boreholes are sewer free. We hear the problem at the moment is a
Zesa transformer so I wonder how a whole city can be held at ransom and go for
months without water all because of a transformer when we have a government
which can splash millions of dollars on a chopper for one paranoid man.

This is
not my story for today but zvinobhowa I tell you. We need to put our people
first in all we do. City council yedu ine madazvananawo futi. We are in a
double tragedy. The central government is a failure zvotiwo the council
management and the remaining councillors are all incompetent. Imagine they paid
over US$2 000 to Auxillia Mnangagwa’s useless traditional cooking competition
yet guta harina mvura. Hooo murikutowana henyu yekupa First Lady muchitadza
kudeliever services we are paying for. And you hear chimayor ichi chinonzi
Maboke kupupa furo trying to defend zvinhu zvavakaita kkkkk. This mayor of ours
mashura chaiwo. You paid the money simple. You have been taught by Zanu PF to
deny everything nxaaah. Maboke please if you have nothing better to say please
shut up. We want you to account for that money. If ED is serious about his
inter-ministerial taskforce I think he should experiment with Masvingo because
I tell you the whole city is sitting on a health time bomb. Tichayeuka bako
mvura yanaya hedu. This council must be dissolved and the entire management
fired kwete kudzinga Gozo ega. I think Gozo is the happiest man now wherever he
is. Things actually went from bad to worse after the suspension of Gozo. Now we
hear pane factionalism and sabotage which has affected service delivery kkkk.
We cannot let these guys continue to lead us down a cliff. They should simply
go. The PR officer onziwo is under investigation for dating Cde Tiringindi
kkkk. The drama just doesn’t end. How can service delivery improve under such
conditions? It is a shame.

This
country is truly cursed and if anyone ever doubted I am sure you can clearly
see with what those guys did in parliament yesterday. What is wrong with the
people driven constitution which is literally still new and has not been fully
implemented? The people said no to constitutional amendments but those fools
still voted for the amendments. This is a sad day for our democracy. A day that
will forever live in infamy. We know some may argue that Zanu PF has the
parliamentary majority and can pretty much do whatever it wants but is that how
it is supposed to work? Why should we amend something which we haven’t even
implemented? Why should we give so much power to one man? This is how we create
dictators. We all said Mugabe was bad because we created the animal in him but
we are doing the same again with ED. People are struggling and you are busy
amending the constitution. If in the end you end up doing what you want then
why do you waste resources coming to the people asking for our input if you
know you don’t listen to our views at all.

My
heart bleeds because of what was done by our parliamentarians. Why create a one
centre of power? These are the same guys who told us they were the new
dispensation when they are actually new wine in the same old bottles. To be
very honest what is wrong with the running mate clause? Tongoramba tiripo
pasuccession disputes here varume. What does the country have to lose if we put
our judges through public interviews? You take all that and put it in the hands
of one man mune shuwa here vanhu imi. Why did we even bother to write the new
constitution if no one cares about it? Very soon these guys will advocate for
the removal of the presidential term limit. They will call for a referendum to
have it scrapped and will campaign for it to pass. Unfortunately our people
have become so extreme and see everything with political lenses and very few if
any see the voice of reason. This has nothing to do with Zanu PF or MDC, it has
everything to do with our democracy. Can we really standby and watch why while
these goons trample on our constitution? Constitutions are legal chains we make
in our moments of sobriety to bind us in our moments of madness. We are getting
rid of the chains so what will bind these leaders now? Toitasei nevanhu
vanochinja constitution. Toitaseiko kkkkk. Think about it Zimbabweans, think
about it. I have said enough regai ndinokanga maputi angu for lunch. Mboko
imboko.

Media freedom under severe strain in Southern Africa

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Media freedom under severe strain in Southern Africa

 

…as Zimbabwe uses
spyware to monitor telecoms


Moses
Ziyambi

There seem to be
consensus among countries in Southern Africa to stifle free speech and media
freedom, making the need for vigilance all the more critical, the Media
Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Zimbabwe director Tabani Moyo has said.

Speaking at a virtual
meeting with members of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights
(ACHPR) recently, Moyo said there was a move towards repression of the media in
the region.

“There is a regional
consensus to throttle online expression as per the Maputo Resolution of Sadc
Heads of State which saw the proliferation of fake news regulation in Zimbabwe,
Zambia, Malawi, South Africa, Eswatini and Namibia.

He said there were
several instances of violation of free expression and media freedom in many
members of the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc).

“As we commemorate 30
years of the enactment of the Windhoek Declaration on a free press, we note an
increased attack on journalists while they are doing their job. I bring to your
attention the situation in Mozambique is quite fragile, and journalists that
went to cover a certain province having been flown by government were attacked
by insurgents, firing live ammunition thereby exposing them to great danger.

“Secondly, the
Mozambique as a government must be brought to account for a journalist who has
gone missing for more than a year now; Ibrahim Braco. The last text message he
sent was that he had been surrounded by soldiers. As we speak, he is yet to
return,” Moyo said.

He said in the year
2020, a total of 52 cases attacks and imprisonment of journalists had been
recorded in Zimbabwe.

“Journalists like
Hopewell Chin’ono have been arrested twice for investigative work while Mduduzi
Mathuthu is undercover after having exposed the challenges pertaining to
corruption including (by) the members of the first family,” Moyo said.

He also said privacy
rights were getting increasingly under attack as governments increased their
attempts to control what people do and say on the cyberspace.

 “The right to privacy is under attack in
Southern Africa specifically Zambia has enacted the Cyber Security and Cyber
Crimes Act which ha chilling effects of expression, media and access to
information. Zimbabwe is in the process of doing the same; the bill is
currently in parliament and both the bill (in Zimbabwe) and the act in Zambia
fall below the bar defined by the principles of the declaration as per revisions
of freedom of expression and access to information of the ACHPR.

“Recently, Zimbabwe
also enacted an executive order SI 95 of 2021 called Telecommunication Traffic
Monitoring Systems Regulations that intensifies monitoring of voice calls
without judicial oversight, without any mechanism of ensuring that the right to
privacy by all means is upheld as defined by the ACHPR frameworks,” he said.

On the use of software
to monitor people’s telecommunications, Moyo said this was being done in a
manner which largely ignored fundamental rights.

“The other issue is the
procurement and use of spyware by governments in Southern Africa. A recent
study by the University of Toronto Lab, dictated that there are three Southern
African countries namely Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia that are applying the
Circles spyware that compromises the right to privacy of mobile phones and
telecommunications without any frameworks being in place. And these by the way,
also violate the framework as defined by the declaration as per its revision.

“There is a rise in the
number of laws that are emerging in Southern Africa that violate the framework
of the commission namely Zimbabwe revising broadcasting regulations, Zambia
enacting media practitioners laws; the same with Botswana all these fall far
short of the standards set by the framework,” said Moyo.

He urged the commission
to do more to hold to account member states that trampled rights to free speech
and privacy through unmitigated deployment of spyware and attacks on the media.

“The Commission brings
to account members of the Sadc community that are attacking journalists to
ensure that the safety and security of journalists is paramount at any given
moment.

“The regulation of
cyber security and data protection is in sync with the framework of the
Commission. The media should be considered as a strategic partner in the
development agenda of the Southern Africa region. Take a stand against member states
that are promulgating laws that are in violation of the right to privacy and
rights to expression as defined in the regulations.

“There are five members
states of Sadc that are going for elections; the media will be under attack,
will be under siege in Angola, South Africa, Zambaia, Madagascar and
Mauritius,” Moyo said,

 

 

 

 

 

Water crisis: Provincial Hospital suspends theatre operations

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Water crisis: Provincial Hospital suspends theatre operations
File Picture: Masvingo Provincial Hospital main gate

 Brighton
Chiseva

MASVINGO
– Theatre
operations at Masvingo Provincial Hospital are being intermittently suspended
due to water problems which have plunged the whole city into a crisis with
boreholes and water bowsers being the alternatives.

The situation has worsened in recent days such that patients
often need to bring their own water to the hospital, a situation that is
delaying some clinical processes that require water and putting lives at risk.

Patients who spoke to TellZim News said the situation was so
dire that being at home was better than being admitted at the province’s
biggest referral institution.

“The water situation at the hospital is not good, I have a
patient who is there whose wound has not been cleaned for a number of days
because there is no water. I had to bring water from home where we struggle
again to get it,” said a source

Another source said they have been bringing water to the
hospital for a patient who has been admitted there for the past two weeks.

“I have been going with water to the hospital for the past
two weeks for bathing and other needs.

“Sometimes, the water is found at the Jojo tank which is at
the hospital entrance but how do seriously ill patients travel from the wards
to the gate to get water?

“Patients who cannot bring their water often find it hard to
even take their tablets and have wait for relatives to bring them water. They
end up not taking their medication at prescribed time,” said another source

Masvingo Provincial Medical Doctor (PMD) Dr Amadeus Shamhu
said the hospital has two boreholes which had a capacity to supply the
hospital.

“The hospital has two boreholes which have the capacity to
serve the hospital, however, if there are any complaints, they have not reached
my office but I will look into the matter,” said Shamhu.

The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health and Child
Care Dr Jasper Chimedza said he was in a meeting and referred questions to the
ministry’s public relations manager Donald Mujiri who said the supply of water
at public health institutions fell under the purview of local authorities and
Zinwa.

“As a ministry, we rely on other ministries and responsible
authorities, sometimes our institutions are supplied by ZINWA and the local
councils through their responsible ministries. They get a budget for that and
if there are any water challenges we refer to them,” said Mujiri.

Masvingo City Council has attributed the water problems to
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority’s (ZESA) faulty transformer which powers
the Bushmead Water Works.

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