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| ZIMPRIDE- Job vacancy advert |
Mysterious death of inmate causes Covid-19 anxiety at Masvingo Prison
…fellow prisoners made to remove body without
PPEs
Clayton Shereni
MASVINGO
– A male inmate
recently died under unclear circumstances in a prison cell at Masvingo Remand
prison after spending some days battling an undisclosed illness, TellZim News
has learnt.
TellZim News has it on good
authority that the inmate spent some days in the cell after being discharged
from Masvingo Provincial Hospital although he had not fully-recovered.
Information in possession made
available to TellZim News by confidential sources pins the death on an infection
which could not be verified by the time of writing.
Other sources said the
inmate had displayed Covid-19 symptoms although he might have harboured some
underlying conditions.
When contacted for comment
on the cause of death and identity of the deceased, Zimbabwe Prisons and
Correctional Services (ZPCS) Masvingo Public Relations Officer Stanslous Sanike
said he was not in office but promised to look into the matter and provide
finer details after an hour.
“Let me investigate and make
some calls because I am not at work these days so give me an hour so that I can
give you accurate information,” said Sanike.
A follow up on Sanike was
futile as his mobile went unanswered up until the time of publishing the story.
Sources said the now
deceased was a mental illness patient.
They said when the man died,
no proper Covid-19 protocols on dealing with the dead were followed, with
fellow prison inmate being made to carry the body from the cells into a ZPCS
vehicle which waited outside.
The prisoners did not have
Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) when they handled the body, making them
vulnerable to possible infections.
“Other inmates were forced to
carry the body from Cell 16 using a blanket and what was even scarier was that
they didn’t have any protective clothing despite fears of Covid-19,” said a
source.
Zimbabwean prisons have been
ravaged with Covid-19 and over 70 inmates tested positive at Mutimurefu prison
last month.
Some prisoners who have been
detained at Masvingo Remand Prison in the past have said the place was suitable
for animals perhaps; with unkempt toilets and bathroom cubicles that are hardly
scrubbed.
In many instances, up to 30
prisoners are forced into one cell which has one dirty toilet cubicle that is
never washed with disinfectants.
Blankets are filthy and
lice-infested.
Brave Chipinge minor reports father for rape
Livingstone Mtetwa
CHIPINGE- A 36-year-old Chipinge man from of
Makotopeya village under Chief Mutema left many people outraged after it
appeared that he raped his own 12-year-old daughter.
Elias
Gavhumende who charged with rape as defined in Section 65(1) of the Criminal
Law (Codification and Reform Act) Chapter 9.23 when he appeared before Chipinge
magistrate Franklin Mukwananzi on February 18.
He was remanded in custody pending investigations.
Allegations as presented by prosecutor Timothy
Katsande are that on February 15, 2020, the complainant was at home with her
father in the absence of her stepmother who had gone to Chipinge town.
The accused took advantage of absence of others and
lured the complainant into a spare room where he ordered her to sit on the bed
and went on to close the door.
He held the minor complainant by the throat and
ordered her to keep quiet and went on to have unprotected sexual intercourse
with her once without her consent.
After the act, the accused went to the fields and
leaving the complainant who went on and reported the matter to the police
resulting in the arrest of the accused.
Teacher unions demand plan for opening of schools
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| Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Dr Takavafira Zhou |
…
‘schools opening long overdue’
Teachers’
unions under the Federation of Zimbabwe Education Unions (FOZEU) have called
upon government to plan and engage them ahead of the opening of schools for
this year.
FOZEU
demands several measures to be set right by government before schools can be
safe zones for learning.
These
include the restoration of teachers’ salaries to US$520, cooperation among all
stakeholders within the education system, placement of Covid-19 response plan
and initiation of plans to monitor the progress being made in schools in
providing safe learning environment.
This
comes in the wake of the calls by some parents for the unconditional opening of
schools as sentiments grow that pupils risk losing all they have learnt which
will make it difficult to catch up with what they have not yet learnt.
With
regards to vaccination, FOZEU demands that government must vaccinate teachers
on a willing basis.
Every
teacher should keep a Covid-19 score card and ensure a smooth flow of learning
and limit the spread of the corona virus.
The
organisation also demands that all students should be tested first before they are
admitted into the school environment.
In
an interview with TellZim, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ)
president Dr Takavafira Zhou said any failure to plan properly will see grade
seven pupils producing poor results come the 2021 final exam time.
“It
is the failure to plan and prepare for opening of schools during pandemic which
caused disastrous grade 7 results for 2020 and if not dealt with it will happen
again.
“The
education sector is one of the key pillars of our society and every society
globally and its welfare should be a top priority for the responsible governing
authority, teacher incapacitation should be addressed testing of all school
staff and students should be prioritized and vaccination of all will teachers
and government of Zimbabwe should desist from making unilateral and uninformed
decisions as it has become their norm, it is necessary to consider input from
all stakeholders,” said Zhou.
On
his part, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Orbert
Masaraure government has to make sure that schools are opened quickly without
further delays.
“Government
should urgently address the salary crisis and institute safety measure and go
on to open schools so that our learners don’t continue to lose learning time. Schools
have to open under the right conditions. The opening is long due,” said
Musaraure.
Persons with disabilities must be included in vaccine rollout strategy, says ICOD Zim
Colleen Chitsa
MASVINGO – The Institute for Community Development in Zimbabwe
(Icod Zim) has called upon government to prioritize people with disabilities in
its Covid-19 vaccine rollout plan, saying the group represented some of the
most marginalised communities in the country.
The rollout plan which was
released last week by the Ministry of Health and Child Care does not include
PWDs as a priority.
The country received 200 000
doses of SinoPharm vaccine from China on February 15, while 1.8 million more
doses are expected to arrive from Russia.
The organization says any
potential neglect of the disability community in the vaccine rollout exercise
would result in deprivation of the group from realizing the right to health as
enunciated in Section 81 of the Constitution.
In a statement, Icod Zim implores
government to ‘immediately provide on the side effects of Covid-19 vaccines
with emphasis on the possible implications to persons with disabilities
especially those with mental challenges and others already battling other
chronic illnesses.
The organisation says it is
government’s responsibility yet again to promote, protect and facilitate the
realization of constitutionally provided rights for persons with disabilities
in accordance with Cection 83 of the Constitution.
The organisation also calls for
‘an urgent engagement of institutions of, and persons with disabilities to
deliberate on how they can be included in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout plan.’
The organization also expects the
government and other stakeholders in the frontline Cocid-19 responses to timely
disseminate correct and reliable information in disability-accessible
formats like Braille, large print, videos with captions and sign language.
Icod Zim is a non-partisan woman
found and led non-governmental organization for women operating in Masvingo and
Midlands provinces of Zimbabwe. It targets women and girls with disabilities in
rural, commercial farm and mining communities.
Covid-19 vaccines: Chiredzi doctor discredits the jab
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| File Picture |
… ‘we risk being used
as guinea pigs’
… ‘we should use your
our own zumbani’
… ‘rather fight
malaria, bad governance and poverty’
Beatific
Gumbwanda
Former Chiredzi General
Hospital District Medical Officer (DMO), Doctor Tungamirai Rukatya has said
there is no reason to take the Covid-19 vaccines as the benefits of taking them
are outweighed by the attendant risks, TellZim News can report.
Zimbabwe received the
first consignment of 200 000 SinoPharm Vaccine from the People’s Republic of
China on January 15, 2021.
The vaccine doses came
as a donation and the country is also expecting another batch of the same type
of vaccines which it has procured.
While making a review
of the Zimbabwe National lockdown last Monday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa
said they expected more vaccines from Russia, India and the United Kingdom
(AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines).
AstraZeneca’s vaccine
was condemned by South African scientists after trials showed that it was not
effective against a new Covid-19 variant
which now accounts for over 90 percent of new infections in that country.
In an interview, Dr
Rukatya said there was no ample time to scientifically prove the efficacy and
side effects of all the Covid-19 vaccines available.
“It takes at least
5 to 10 years, scientifically, to conclusively say a vaccine works. In Zimbabwe,
coronavirus has been there for some time and the mortality rate has largely
been below 5 percent, meaning that there is no justified reason to risk taking
the vaccine,” said Doctor Rukatya.
Rukatya also said it
was more prudent for Zimbabweans to fight other growing problems like malaria,
poor governance and poverty and also use local remedies like zumbani in
fighting against the virus.
“The benefit of
taking the risk is outweighed by negative effects of the vaccine. This is not
the case in Europe and America where the mortality rate was way above 15
percent which makes their case much different from ours.
“We have climate on our
side. Let’s focus on our problems namely malaria, poor governance and poverty. So
let’s use zumbani for now and prevent being guinea pigs for no benefit,”
said Rukatya.
SinoPharm Covid-19
vaccine is a type of inactivated (verocell) vaccine to protect individuals
against infection from SARS CoV 2 (the virus which causes Covid-19 Disease). It
is given as a dose regimen, 2 to 4 weeks apart, through injections in a muscle
(typically upper arm).
The jab is recommended
for adults aged 18-60 years including those with chronic illnesses that are
well controlled and is not recommended to those below 18 years of age.
The vaccine is not
advisable to women who are presently pregnant or breastfeeding or planning a
pregnancy within the next six weeks and to anyone with a history of serious
allergy (anaphylaxis) requiring emergency care.
The jab is also said be
not good for people with conditions that suppresses their immune systems for
example those that are HIV positive, persons on steroid medications or
receiving chemotherapy as well as people with uncontrolled epilepsy or other
neurologic conditions.
It is also not
recommended for people with uncontrolled chronic conditions for example
uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension, uncontrolled heart failure, late-stage
kidney disease and uncontrolled asthma.
Government says the vaccine will be administered
to those who want them and nobody will be forced to take it.
Excessive rainfall: Tips for serious farmers
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| Vengai Defu |
By
Vengai Defu
The 2020 -201 season
has seen the country receiving more rainfall which is normal to above normal in
many areas and this has seen some places
being affected by flooding.
In low lying areas,
famers were affected by too much rainfall and are likely not going to harvest
enough even to eat with their families.
However, there is still
time for farmers to act and make sure that plants being affected by the rains
survive the worst of the problems.
When there is excessive
rainfall, the soil becomes over-saturated and this results in roots of plants
rotting away.
Fertilisers
to use
Maize plants turn yellow
and top dressing fertilizers like Ammonium Nitrate (AN) and Urea are recommended
in such a situation.
Crops like beans do not
like too much rainfall and farmers are urged to start preparing to plant beans
as there is a possibility that the rains will start decreasing.
Farmers are urged to
use herbicides to control weeds as it is difficult for to weed using hoes in
most areas because of too much rainfall.
Farmers can use
herbicides like Glyphosate, Atrazine, Ascort 40, and Stella star.
Common
pests
A number of pests are
attacking the little that most famers have and pesticides like Ambligo, Lambda,
Ecoterex, Carbaryl 85, Amamectin-benzoate among others.
Since the soils are
saturated due to excessive rains, these chemicals need to be mixed with stickers like Agriwett so that they will not be washed away
when it’s raining.
Again it is this is the
right time to start preparing and plant onions because the rainy season is
going to an end and excessive rains will decline
Cattle farmers are
urged to make sure that cattle are dipped more often during these rainy days
because of tick and other parasites thrive in the long grasses that are
associated with plentiful rains.
Cattle are dying in
most parts of the country with diseases like January disease, lumpy skin among
others. If they are affected by any of the diseases, farmers are urged to consult
the vet and use anti-biotics.
For
more information on farming contact Mr Vengai Defu on 039-226424 0r 0772137202
or visit him at Masvingo Farm and City Centre.
Widow, two sons with disabilities, three others share leaky hut
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| Pamela Jiri outside the hut with the two children |
…16-year-old daughter impregnated
for piece jobs, gets dumped
…Pamela Jiri initiative mobilizes
for vulnerable family
Clayton Shereni
CHIVI –
With rains pounding daily in the mountainous area of Dimbiti, under Chief
Shindi, a family of six crowds every day and night in a leaky grass-thatched
hut which they call home and the only place they have known for the better part
of their lives.
The
rooftop which has been rethatched countless times is giving the family all
sorts of problems during this rainy season and they have given up on mending
it. The last time they tried to do so, other villagers’ cattle feasted on the
thatch while they were out looking for piece jobs.
The hut,
which is used as both kitchen and bedroom for Senzeni Makuleke and her four
children and one granddaughter, is cracking and can give in at any moment given
the adverse weather conditions.
On
approaching the home, one begins to sense grinding poverty all over.
The
crops on their small piece of land which they till for subsistence is this year
a write off due to excessive rains and, more often than not, the family has to
go out to find piece jobs for survival.
On
one such piece job search in 2020, Makuleke’s daughter Sharai Matowe was taken
advantage of by a village delinquent who impregnated the then 16-year-old girl
and disappeared soon afterwards, leaving her to face more
hardship as a teenage mother.
“I
don’t know where he went but some people tell me he is now in South Africa. He
has never contacted me with regards to my welfare when I was pregnant. He has
also not supported the child in any way,” Sharai told TellZim.
In
2018, Makuleke became widowed when her husband Jimson Matowe drowned while
fishing in a flooded Musaverema River.
This
left her with all the responsibility over the four children including two sons
with serious physical disabilities.
The
disabled children cannot walk, talk or do anything for themselves without help.
The
two sons; firstborn Maxwell (21) and Laiton Matowe (8) are living with a rare
condition which makes them unable to speak and walk.
They
have to crawl if they want to move around; and they cannot go to the toilet on
their own, meaning they need constant care and cleaning whenever they soil
themselves.
However,
the children often lack such care and cleaning because the able-bodied adult
members of the family are often out looking for means to survive, leaving the
disabled children under the care of minor sister who is 10-year-old.
“I often have to leave my two physically-challenged
sons here alone when I go to find some menial jobs to help us survive. We are
suffering a lot and this has always been our life although things got worse
when my husband died in 2018.
“We
hope that we will one day be able to find help to build a proper house and that
my two sons will live under better conditions,” said Makuleke.
Traditional
leaders in the area are aware of this family’s problems and are pinning their
hopes on the government and well-wishers for assistance.
Chief
Shindi, born Mudumbwi Muperi, said the family faced more misery this year going
forward because their crops were largely a write-off due to excessive rainfall.
“There are many problems in my area and due to
incessant rains, it is going to be difficult for many families including the
Matowe family whose crops were affected. I am not happy with what I see at this
homestead and I appeal to government and well-wishers to help this family have
a proper home and sustainable livelihood,” said Chief Shindi.
The
family recently got a small reprieve when Pamela Jiri of the Pamela Jiri
Initiative, visited the family and donated some food stuffs, clothes and a
blanket.
The
last born daughter to the late renowned philanthropist Jairos Jiri, Pamela had
come to know about Makuleke’s family through people who knew their misery.
Jiri,
who is following her late iconic father’s footsteps in charity work, said she
was moved by the sad situation at the homestead and called upon the
corporate world to help this family.
“I
heard of this family and I thought about what my father would have done to help
this family whose living conditions are dire. Their living conditions make them
more vulnerable to Covid-19 as well as any other infectious disease you can
come to think of than any other average family.
“This
is a critical situation and I had to find a few stuff for them but it is not
enough. We hope even the corporate world will come aboard to help the Matowe
family,” said Jiri.
Jiri
also donated food hampers and clothes to six other People with Disabilities
(PWDs) in the area.
Mutare in rates climbdown after pressure from youths
 |
| Mayor Tandi |
… ‘council has taken a good first step, but that musn’t be the end’
Felix Matasva
MUTARE –
City of Mutare has given in to mounting pressure from the youth-led
#RatesMustFall online campaign which challenged the 500 percent rates hike
which the local authority had proposed for 2021, TellZim can report.
The
local authority had hiked rates citing economic meltdown and Covid-19 as the major
influence behind the hike.
After
protracted pressure from the youth movement and other disgruntled residents,
council convened a special meeting on Monday, February 15, 2021, to deliberate
on the concerns which the youths and residents were raising.
Mutare
Mayor Blessing Tandi confirmed to TellZim that the city had decided to find
some common ground with residents after the outcry.
He
said the city had made considerable compromoses as a result, with the proposed water
charges being reduced substantially.
“Yes
we held a meeting on February 15 after residents registered serious misgivings about
the proposed charges. We have reduced our water billing system from 6 bands to
3 bands. Our billing had been set at the rate of $238 so we reduced it to about
$90 from January to March and it will vary quarterly so that residents can get
an understanding of how the system works. We have also reduced shop license
fees by 30 percent,” said Tandi.
However,
Tandi said this might have a negative impact on service delivery as there would
be less money in council coffers to implement proper service delivery
schedules.
“This
has a negative impact on service delivery because council will be strained and
residents and ratepayers may still not fully honour their bills in time. Council’s
budget will definitely be strained and the maintenance of infrastructure will
be difficult,” said Tandi.
When
contacted for comment, Conscious Development and Empowerment Trust (CODET)
programmes coordinator, Pride Mkono said council had done a good first step but
that should not be the end.
“The
good first step has been taken and we must build upon that. It must not be the
end because there are many other areas of concern that council did not address.
We feel that shop licensing is still expensive and the charges must be reduced
because that is an area where many low and middle-income families make a
living. We cannot afford to kill that sector though exorbitant charges.
“Tomorrow
we will be holding an online review meeting and we hope councillors will also
be in attendance. There is much that still needs to be revised,” said Mkono.
Codet
was instrumental in creating and sustaining the online campaign which council
acknowledged had shaken city fathers.
Ministry of Health given ultimatum over Ngomahuru water crisis
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| Inmates at Ngomahuru Psychiatric Hospital have for over a month been bathing in the river. Pic- Hevoi FM |
…as mental patients
bath in the river
Brighton
Chiseva
MASVINGO
–
A Masvingo West villager Tichaona Chiminya has threatened legal action against
the Ministry of Health and Child Care if it fails to solve the water crisis
affecting Ngomahuru Psychiatric Hospital.
In a letter addressed
to the Minister of Health and Child Care, Chiminya, who is being
represented by Martin Mureri of Matutu and Mureri Legal Practitioners, says it
is unacceptable that mental patients are having to bath in the river due to power
failure which makes pumping of water to the institution impossible.
The letter notes that
patients at Ngomahuru are taking a bath in a river which is about a kilometre
from the institution.
“We are reliably advised
that patients at Ngomahuru Hospital have for the past month and a half been
taking a bath at Magwagwadza River which is about a kilometre away from the
institution. The patients are being taken to the river both males and females
at the same time to bath.
“We are further advised
that residents from the area have been raising concerns with the authorities at
the hospital who instead have advised that they have no other option because of
the incessant water challenges and Zinwa is also putting the blame on ZETDC for
not supplying electricity to enable them to pump water to the institution,”
reads the letter
Chiminya says the situation is a untenable and an affront to the dignity of the mental
institution’s inmates who are protected by the constitution of Zimbabwe
“The right to health of
patients and the community is being seriously compromised in light of the
current Covid-19 pandemic and other diseases. More than 200 patients bathing in
one source of water that is also used by the community is deplorable and an emergency
health situation.
“The community is at
great risk as patients who are supposed to be confined in an institution are
being daily released into the community without any safety measures being
taken. The patients themselves are being put to great risk of drowning or being
attacked by crocodiles,” reads the letter, copies of which were sent to power
utility ZETDC and water authority Zinwa.
Chiminya demands that
water be restored immediately and that the Ministry of Health and Childcare must stop Ngomahuru inmates from being taken to the river for bathing.
“We are instructed to
demand as we hereby do that you restore water supply to the institution within
24 hours of sight of this letter and immediately protect the patients by
stopping the institution from taking patients to the river to bath. Failure to
meet the above demand will result in legal action against you without further
notice,” reads the letter.