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Teachers share dilapidated house with dipping chemicals

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Teachers share dilapidated house with dipping chemicals

 

Teachers’ accommodation at Masangula Primary School


Cephas Shava

MWENEZI – Some
five teachers at Masangula Primary School in Mwenezi East are sharing a
dilapidated farm house in which dipping chemicals for the nearby community dip
tank are kept, TellZim News has learnt.

The
six-roomed ramshackle and other structures were left behind by a white farmer
who was evicted during the Land Reform programme.

Since
the school does not have any single classroom block for the over 300 pupils who
are currently enrolled there, the small teachers’ rooms are also used as storage
facilities for textbooks and all other learning materials.

With
a total of seven teaching staff, two more teachers also share a single room at
a makeshift shelter that the school built.

This
makes the two structures including the decrepit farm house the only available
accommodation for the entire school.

Teacher-in-Charge
(TIC) Gideon Machigere could not be reached over his phone but TellZim News is
informed that conditions at the school, which opened its doors in 2013, are more
than terrible.

Teachers
are using some rooms that the former farmer used as storage facility for farm
implements and dipping chemicals as their bedrooms and kitchens.

“Materials
used during teaching are also stored in the same rooms where teachers sleep. There
are no signs that the situation will improve any time soon. Pupils conduct
lessons under trees and during the rainy season, they rarely attend classes,”
said a source.

Mwenezi
Acting District Schools Inspector (DSI) Philip Gumbo could only say the Ministry
of Primary and Secondary Education was aware that much needed to be done for
satellite schools.

“The
district has some satellite schools that are making some improvements but a lot
of them still need a lot of attention with regards to teachers’ accommodation
and learning facilities for pupils. Those are two most critical areas that need
to be urgently addressed at satellite schools,” said Gumbo.

When contacted for comment, Councilor Takura Mudavose said all stakeholders needed to urgently pull together in ensuring that proper learning structures are put in place.

“Pupils have been learning in the open for too long and there is also no good accommodation for teachers. In the rainy season, pupils rarely attend lessons. 

“We will be mobilising locals so that at least we start the process of molding bricks, taking into consideration the national Covid-19 lockdown. We want to make sure that by the time the school opens, we would have done something tangible,” said Mudavose.

Mwenezi East legislator, Joosbi Omar said he will also be working to mobilise resources for the promary school.

“The welfare of teachers and pupils at Masangula Primary School is not pleasing at all. Teachers’ accommodation is bad. Of late, our focus had been on Masangula Secondary School where we donated some cement and benches. Given that the secondary school is now in a better state, our focus is now on the primary school,” said Omar.

The dilapidated structures which are being used as teacher’s rooms at Masangula Primary School were left behind by a farmer who was evicted during the Land Reform Programme. The structures were then used as storage facility for farm implements and dipping chemicals.

The
entire district has a total of 172 schools, 102 of which are such deplorable satellite
schools as Turf, Bubi, Nyuni, Vezvi and Dembe.

 

  

  

The greatest betrayal

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The greatest betrayal

 

What a
week it has been. We have seen a lot of developments in our country and on a
positive note, we hear that Covid-19 seems to have taken the lite form in our
country. What we have here is Covid-19 lite kkkk. We have to thank God for that
otherwise dai yakauya zvine mutsindo tingadai takapera tese. Ko taipabuda sei
isu vana Mapombi tichirarira maputi nekudya mabanana akaora. Chitima chakavhura
and Mapombi is very excited but rotten bananas are difficult to come by these
days saka zhara irikutonditambisawo chamutengure. Were it not for Zanu PF I
would be leading a better life. Zanu PF ruined my life and now they want to
force Mapombi and other like-minded people to be patriotic kkkk seka hako mwana
wekwa Chirimudombo. Patriotism ndiyo iyoyi yatiri kutoita. We speak truth to
power. Papa JC muriko here uko kkkk. But I don’t quite understand Papa JC. He
always speaks when things are not good but kana vana Mthuli vagonawo basa he decides
not to be patriotic kkkk.

Money
changers how are you doing. I never thought I would say this but allow me to
say good going to the useless Prof Mthuli. Chimuchinda ichi chinomboonera hacho
though chiri slow most of the times. Mapombi always gives credit where it is
due. This time around Mthuli and his goons at the RBZ have tried to stabilize
our currency and money changers are crying. Money changers were causing serious
inflation but Mthuli chazviramba. Hanzi Stop it kkkk. Dr Gire varipiko these
days. I just hope she is well wherever she is. Now Prof Mthuli, I know you have
given a false value to our useless bond notes, RTGS or whatever you call them
and it is working. You have managed to control the rate and it is working.
Prices have stabilized yes but they are too high. Stabilizing beyond our reach
does not help anyone. You forced the rate down but you left us at the mercy of
price madness. Mitengo yakachakwira and you need to address that and force them
down. Force is the only thing that Zanu PF understands saka force the prices down.
Command pricing kkkk. What happened to those silo shops, garrison shops and
subsidized nonsense kkkk. That’s Zanu PF for you.

Mapombi
cannot talk good about Prof Mthuli without being overwhelmed by the negatives.
This stupid professor always talks about surplus what what. I thought Covid-19
would rid us of Mthuli but I don’t see that happening because the man is very
cautious. He wears a face shield, face mask, glasses and gloves to protect
himself yet our people vanopihwa micheka nemadhende eZanu PF hanzi pfekai
izvozvo. Mthuli I want you to know that you cannot talk of budget surplus when
you are not giving people their dues. It’s like a father buys a loaf of bread
for his family of ten then gives each member a single slice then he says the
remaining slices are surplus kkkk. You cannot say chingwa chiri kusara iyo
mhuri ichifa nenzara. You cannot talk of surplus when our civil servants are earning
peanuts, money which cannot even sustain them for two weeks. Ndinobviro taura
chokwadi nevakomana vekwamudzviti kkkk but Van Choga ndiye mumwe mupengo
chaiye. Inhamo inoita kuti mayouth edu aite sana Van Choga. Hanzi baba vari
kubasa ipo paya. Hello Mwari, Zanu PF yatinetsa Mwari.

Mapombi
is very angry at Zimbabweans. We are not yet ready for change. Ask Hopewell and
Jacob. These guys decided to go against the system and look what happened to
them. They thought they had the backing of all Zimbos little did they know that
we are all cowards. Don’t say Mapombi arikuda kuita dampen people spirits but
someone has to tell the truth. If you were to ask me I would say regai Zanu PF
itonge iyi kkkk. Izwi ravanhu izwi raYahwe rinoreva utongi hwejekerere, baba
Mnangagwa tongai Shumba tongai Murambwi kkkkk. Machinja muriko here uko. I know
pane arikuvira nehasha izvozvi but Mapombi says it without fear or favour. MDC
will never rule this country until they all join Zanu PF and change it from
within. Musangangano unotonga weZanu PF will arrest, torture and kill anyone
anoda kukura musoro. Kurauone ikozvino ayuwira arimo muRemand and yet haana
mhosva. This is the Zanu PF you have to face head on kwete zvekurova shumba
nembama zvamunoda kuita izvi. Mapombi will never rise up against Zanu PF. I
will vote for Chamisa and if Zanu PF decides to take my vote and make it theirs
then so be it. We will have to wait another five years until taziva kuti nyika
ine nhoroondo. Our time will come but regai ava vanozviti vakarwa hondo vambopedza
shungu vozotipawo.

If you
are in any way close to Hopewell Chin’ono and Jacob Ngarivhume and you love
them, please tell them that they stand no chance against Zanu PF. Two men or
ten or a hundred men fighting Zanu PF stand absolutely no chance. They are
wasting their time. Their hearts are in the right place but nothing will come
out of it except pain for their families and loved ones. There is being brave
and then there is being stupid. You can’t let down a few drops of water in an
empty pool and then dive into it when thousands of liters are required to make
it full. Where millions are needed, less than 10 show up. Hopewell, Jacob and
the few people fighting Zanu PF are better off investing their efforts in what
will benefit their families, like everyone else is doing. In Zimbabwe its one
man for himself. That is the truth. Unonzwa vanhu vachiti ndife zvangu, anosara
achichengeta vana vangu ndiani. It’s not fair. Its better tingosiya Zanu yacho
ichitonga pane kuti vanhu vatatu ndovoirwisa vokuvadzwa while we cheer from the
Twitter streets. The crocodile is not as soft as wool. The most difficult thing
for ED is being humble and now he has blown the gasket kkkk. Zimbos believe
that it is better to be a coward than to be a dead hero. Hopewell, Jacob,
Kurauone and a handful of others please go back to your families and look after
them. This fight is not worth it. Mapombi is very disappointed in Zimbos. Let
us suffer from hunger, Covid-19 and Zanu PF.

But
Zanu PF inombopererwa so. For long, they said MDC wants to reverse the gains of
the liberation struggle by giving back land to the whites. Mapombi, being patriotic,
saw nothing wrong with that move because isu hatina chatinogona. Varungu vaiva
nefocus and we were the bread basket of Africa but look what happened when we
took the farms. We destroyed everything turning the bread basket into a begging
basket. All the farms have become unproductive and most people are too smart to
work on the land they grabbed. Some have more than ten farms but chinorimwa
hapana. Kurima bundo chete as if tinodya bundo. I do not know what ED is up to
by his recent move to give back land to the whites. They are trying to make
some clarifications trying to sanitise the whole issue but the truth is ED
arikuda kutengesa nyika. Mugabe should be turning from his grave. This is not
what we died for. Why is ED so eager to make peace with strangers while
ignoring his own? Wambopedza kutaurirana naChamisa here nhai ED zvawakuda kupa
varungu ivhu? I bet Shiri would not have agreed to this. Shiri would have
fought this move but what do we know, he is dead. ED stop betraying your
people. Take farms from those who are unproductive and give them kunesu vana
Mapombi. We have the potential but hatina pekushandira. No one should hold land
for speculative purposes. Give land to your people and support them kwete
kungofunga kuba chete. I have said enough regai ndinokanga zvangu maputi for
lunch. Mboko imboko.

 

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Untitled Post

 

Masvingo resumes interest on unpaid bills

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Masvingo resumes interest on unpaid bills

 

Clayton
Shereni

Masvingo City Council
is reintroducing interest on all unpaid bills starting this month in an effort
to force residents and ratepayers to settle their dues, TellZim can report.

This was said at a 2020
mid-year budget review meeting today, September 02, where the local authority engaged residents,
residents’ associations and the business community.

Responding to concerns
by the business community on council’s failure to implement strict revenue and
debt collection measures, deputy city treasurer Danister Jori said council was
adding interest on all unpaid bills.

“As council, we will
embark on a promotional campaign to encourage our residents to pay their bills.
We are going to charge interest on overdue accounts starting this month.
Probably we will face challenges but we will do so according to the prevailing
market rate,” said Jori.

Council had scrapped
interests on all bills after the coronavirus-induced national lockdown.

Masvingo United
Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (Murra) information officer Godfrey Mtimba
said the move was counterproductive as it will result on more defaulting in the
timely payment of bills.

 “This will worsen the situation because
residents are already struggling to pay their debts due to the effects of the
lockdown on their sources of income.

“In this current
situation, we expect them to introduce incentives as a way of encouraging those
who make a sincere effort to clear their arrears,” said Mtimba.

Masvingo Service
Delivery Residents and Ratepayers Association (Masdrra) secretary general Moses
Mavhusa rubbished the plans and called upon council and notify residents first.

“We feel residents were
not notified and this is being rushed. Council should have given people a notification
period of at least two months. We need to sit down and plan on how we could notify
our residents. As Masdrra, we are going to fight this, we will not fold our
hands,” said Mavhusa.

Council is owed a total
of $131.2 million mostly by government departments that include the security
services and the ministries that hardly pay their bills.

Zvishavane’s Bilashaba area gets drier

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Zvishavane’s Bilashaba area gets drier

 

Getting enough water is becoming more difficult for residents of Bilashaba 

Exsto
Makunzva

ZVISHAVANE
– Teachers
at Bilashaba Primary School as well as residents of 12 surrounding villages
have said they are in serious trouble of water shortages since a nearby dam is
fast drying up.

The dam is the only
source of water for many villagers who make up over 600 households as well as
school teachers who use it for gardening and for domestic purposes.

More than 600 families
use the dam in a normal year but due to erratic rains received in the 2019-2020
cropping season, very little water made it into the dam.

To
compound the situation, teachers at the school travel for 3km to and from a
borehole which provides some potable water because closer boreholes have completely
dried up.

This
has also forced some villagers to dig shallow wells along the river bank.

Platinum
mining company Mimosa recently sent a rig to drill a new borehole but it hit a
dry hole and work is still being done to find a better drilling site.

This
intervention followed Mimosa general manager Alex Mushonhiwa’s promise to drill
a borehole after learning of the community’s plight during a prize giving
ceremony at the school in 2019.

“People
and their livestock are suffering because the water is disappearing very fast
and we know it will be a long time before we receive new rains. Gardening is
now difficult to do because we cannot even get enough water for use at home,”
said Zvidzai Mpofu from Jonyo Village under Chief Masunda

Bilashaba
Primary School Development Association (SDC) chairperson Felistas Tahla said
they no longer know what to do to prevent a full-blown crisis except to put
their hopes in Mimosa’s own efforts.

“Our
hopes are now pinned on the work that Mimosa is doing. After hitting a dry
hole, they went away but later came back to carry out another survey. We hope
they will do more drilling work sooner than later. We have also communicated
our problems to the local authority but they haven’t done anything about it
yet,” Tahla.   

 

Pay in forex, Chiredzi begs residents

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Pay in forex, Chiredzi begs residents

 

Chiredzi town


Beatific Gumbwanda

Chiredzi Town Council has begun
be followed other local authorities that are now accepting payment of bills in
both the US dollar and the Zimbabwe dollar.

In March, government promulgated
Statutory Instrument (SI) 85 of 20 known as the Exchange Control (Exclusive Use
of the Zimbabwe Dollar for Domestic Transactions) (Amendment) Regulations,
(2020) (Number 2).

The regulations allowed payment
of goods and services in either foreign currency or the local currency (also
known as RTGS dollar), barely one year after the government had banned the use
of foreign currency for domestic transactions.

Addressing stakeholders at council
offices recently, Chiredzi Town Council secretary Charles Muchatukwa said the local
authority needed to adjust its billing procedure accordingly in response to the
inflationary environment.

“Inflation is shooting up and local
currency prices are going up on a daily basis. Government has issued SI 85 of
2020 which makes it legal to dollarize using the weekly auction rates from the
central bank.

“We had challenges in the
procurement of fuel and parts for our refuse truck and other service vehicles.
Those things are now being charged in US dollars,” said Muchatukwa.

Council initially released a RTGS$55
million budget for 2020 but that was later adjusted to US$2.2 million when the
official rate stood at 1:25 in favour of the US dollar.

In his contribution, United
Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers Association (UCHIRRA) advocacy officer Bernard
Dhachi said the US$18 per unit water charge in residential areas was exorbitant
and needed to be revised.

“Most residents are earning an equivalent
of US$18 and they can’t spend all that on water bills alone. You have to review
your fixed water estimates so that people can pay between eight and $12 per
month,” said Dhachi.

Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers
Association (CHIRRA) chairperson Jonathan Muusha agreed with Dhachi, saying
people’s earning power was continuously getting weakened by inflations hence
the need to revise the charges downwards.

“The USD$18.00 you have proposed
is not feasible. I suggest you peg it at around US$10 per month so that residents
will be in a better position to manage,” said Muusha.

The local authority is owed more
than RTGS$12 million in unpaid rates.

 

 

 

Lawfare: Kurauone’s docket not yet ready after 33 days

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Lawfare: Kurauone’s docket not yet ready after 33 days

 

Godfrey Kurauone

Moses Ziyambi

Updated…..

MASVINGO – MDC
Alliance national organising secretary Godfrey Kurauone has today, September
01, cloaked 33 days in remand prison but the State is not yet ready with his
docket, TellZim can report.

Kurauone was arrested on July 31, the day that was scheduled for
the national demonstrations which were, however, foiled after government
heavily deployed security forces in all towns and cities.

He was accused of endangering public safety by burning tyres, and
of obstructing the free movement of traffic by blocking the Mashava –
Zvamahande Road as part of his own participation in the stalled demonstrations.

When Kurauone was arrested, he was out on bail on charges of
undermining the authority of the President and criminal nuisance. In the
evening of July 31, Kurauone, in the company of his lawyer Martin Mureri,
reported to the Law and Order Section of Masvingo Central Police Station as
part of his bail conditions and that is when he was detained.

The two separate cases are now before the courts after Magistrate
Patience Madondo denied him bail on August 03 on the second case and ordered
him to return to court on August 18.

Kurauone’s lawyer Mureri, instructed by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights (ZLHR), then applied for bail at the High Court.

On August 12, High Court Judge Justice Neville Wamambo postponed
the bail hearing by 24 hours to August 13 and Kurauone was sent back to remand
prison.

The next day, Justice Wamabo turned down the bail application on
the grounds that Kurauone had allegedly committed an offence while out on bail
in connection with an offense of a similar nature.

After the High Court denied him bail, all options became closed
and he had to return to the Magistrates’ Court on August 18 as initially
ordered by Magistrate Patience Madondo.

However, Kurauone was to encounter more grief on the day after the
State requested for a postponement, claiming that they had not yet received the
docket from the police.

The magistrate consented to the State’s request and Kurauone was
sent back to remand prison.

The case was due to proceed at the Magistrates’ Court today,
September 01, at 09:00hrs but it failed to kick off after the State yet again
claimed that they had not yet received the docket. The case was, therefore,
postponed by a few hours to 11:15hrs.

At 11:15hrs, however, the State – yet again – claimed they were
not yet ready with the docket so the case was moved forward by a few more hours
to 14:00hrs.

At 14:00hrs, Kurauone’s case was again postponed to tomorrow, Sept
02, after the State claimed that the police needed to first record a witness’
statement. The witness in this instance is a police officer.

Defence lawyer Mureri said he was convinced the State was just
playing games as a way to fix his client.

“They do not have any solid case and they do not have any
evidence. That is why they do not want the case to be tried; it’s a way of
fixing him. We are coming back tomorrow so that we agree on a date when the
case will be heard without further delay,” Mureri told members of the media
outside of the court.

Meanwhile, Kurauone appeared in the same court on August 25 in
connection with the first case of undermining the President and criminal
nuisance.

The case was postponed to September 24 after the State argued that
it did not have authority to prosecute Kurauone.

The State requested that they be given 30 days to request for
permission to prosecute Kurauone from the office of the Prosecutor General (PG)
in Harare.

The court accepted the State’s request and the case was postponed
to September 24, meaning Kurauone would have spent 56 days in remand prison on
that day.

 

 

Minister Marapira targets 540 tonnes winter wheat yield

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Minister Marapira targets 540 tonnes winter wheat yield


 Upenyu Chaota

The
minister of State in Vice President Kembo Mohadi’s Office and Masvingo North
Member of Parliament (MP) Davison Marapira has taken the lead in making sure
that the country saves millions from importing wheat by putting about 60
hectares under winter wheat production.

In May,
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga who chairs the Cabinet Food Security and
Nutrition Cluster, launched the 2020 Command Agriculture winter wheat planting
programme, with a set national target of 416 000 tonnes.

Marapira
said that he has done his part in making sure that Masvingo province
contributes to the set national target but bemoaned water shortage as the
biggest impediment to his farming.

“I have
put 60 hectares of land under wheat production out of my arable irrigable land
of 220 hectares under Valley Centre Pivot.

“I am
expecting yields of 9 tonnes per hectare which gives me a total of plus or minus
540 tonnes of high quality wheat.

“I have
a serious challenge of water to cover the 220 hectares in winter season.  I am harvesting water wherever it is possible
through construction of weirs.

“Of
late, l have drilled 12 high yielding commercial boreholes.  I have constructed an overnight storage or
reservoir which will store 7 megalitres of water. This will help a lot in
providing water to the 220 hectare center pivots,” said Marapira.

Under
the programme, about 80 000 hectares across the country are expected to be put
under winter wheat.

The
targets were set according to each province’s capacity and comparative
advantages.

Masvingo
province alone has a target of 4 160 tonnes of wheat under 800 hectares.

Mashonaland
Central will plant 18 000 hectares and produce 93 600 tonnes; Mashonaland West
35 000ha with a target of 182 000 tonnes; Mashonaland East 12 000 hectares with
a 62 400 tonnes target; Manicaland 7 000 hectares and an expected 36 400 tonnes
yield and Midlands 4 500ha and 23 400 tonnes.

Matabelaland
South is expected to plant 700ha and produce 2 000 tonnes while Matabeleland
North will grow 2 000ha with an estimated harvest of 10 400 tonnes.

Marapira
said the country is blessed with abundant water bodies but bemoaned to poor
management of such a resource saying it is time the precious liquid is put to
good use for the benefit of the people.

“Wheat
is used as raw materials for bread making and a lot of other materials used in
the food industry.  Its byproducts called
wheat brand is used for stock feed. 

“It is
very unfortunate that although we are blessed with abundance of water in
Zimbabwe we are very bad users of water.

“We
allow water to go to the oceans instead of using that water for irrigation of
wheat to stop the country from importing wheat and save the much needed foreign
currency to import critical essentials which we can’t produce as a
country. 

“The
country uses plus or minus US$300 million in the importation of wheat, flour
and other wheat products which can easily be produced by our industry,” said
Marapira.

He said
that the government must make sure that all people with farms are producing and
not just holding land for speculative purposes.

“All
farmers with good water reservoirs who are not producing should have their
farms recovered and allocated to people with good management and capital to run
these farms. 

“There
should be serious production and productivity on all farms for the country to
realize good foreign currency inflow, employment up to 70 percent, food
security and generation of raw materials for our industries,” said Marapira.

 

Three Gonarezhou lions die in cyanide attack

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Three Gonarezhou lions die in cyanide attack

 

A lion carcass getting destroyed by Gonarezhou park rangers

Beatific Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI
– The
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) recently destroyed three lion
carcases in a bonfire to prevent the cyanide that had killed the lions from
being transferred into the environment, TellZim News can report.

The carcasses were discovered in
the bush by Gonarezhou National Park rangers who then realised that the lions
had died after feeding on a poisoned donkey that was used as bait by poachers.

Clinical tests conducted on the
dead donkey revealed that it had been killed by cyanide poisoning.

In a press statement, Gonarezhou
National Park manager Evious Mpofu said one suspect was arrested in connection
with the illegal killing of the three lions.

“The first incident resulted in
the arrest of a suspected poacher within 48 hours of the three lion carcasses
being found.  The lions had fed on a
poisoned donkey carcass and initial testing showed that the poison used was
cyanide,” said Mpofu.

Mpofu said they engaged members
of the police and army to track the suspected poachers and various items
pointing to the poachers’ involvement in the gruesome crime were found at their
hideout.

“A successful raid was carried
out by a joint operation with ZRP, Gonarezhou National Park Rangers and two
members of the Zimbabwe National Army on the 20th of July 2020. The
kind of poison used in the first incident, two lion skulls, five lion canine
teeth and six crocodile scales were recovered as a result of the raid.

“The second incident was detected
in Gonarezhou National Park by rangers and a poisoned donkey carcass was
removed before any predators and scavengers had fed on it. After finding the
bait, rangers discovered the camp from which the poachers were operating. All
equipment in the camp was confiscated,” said Mpofu.

Gonarezhou National Park
experienced a sharp increase in poaching incidences before it partnered with
the Frankfurt Zoology in 2017 to improve security.

There had not been a lion
poaching incident in Gonarezhou National Park for almost three years due to the
tighter deployment of skilled game rangers.

Lion bones and teeth are said to
be part of a big illegal wild animal products trade in South Africa and China.

 

 

 

Lockdown: New home industry emerges in Mucheke

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Lockdown: New home industry emerges in Mucheke

 

File picture

Colleen Chitsa

MASVINGO – The coronavirus-induced national lockdown has given rise
to a whole new home industry spanning informal trading, gardening, poultry as
well as facemask and sanitizer production in the ‘Kuma R’ section of Mucheke A.

Residents who spoke to TellZim
News said they had realised that the lockdown will not go away any time soon
hence the decision to make the best of the situation.

Many of them have embarked on gardening,
poultry as well as face mask and hand sanitizer production to supplement their
meagre incomes.

Others who had been employed
elsewhere before the lockdown have also started selling basic commodities like
airtime, eggs, bread at makeshift markets erected in front of their homestead.

Hawkers and vendors who used to
sell small items door to door, at Mucheke Bus Terminus and on the streets are
now doing all that at home.

One senior citizen said he had
taken advantage of less frequent water cuts to expand her garden and start a smal market.

“We have seen less water cuts
since the lockdown began and this has allowed me to grow more vegetables here
at home. I have also set-up this small market so that I can sell the vegetables
and other goods,” said the elderly man.

Panashe Tichawana, a young
resident of the suburb, said the lockdown had enabled people to come up with
new ways of gaining skills and making money.

“As youths, we have learnt many
life skills in this lockdown. Such skills as sewing as well as making sanitizers
and facemasks are getting increasingly vital. I think this just shows that even when days are dark, there is always a way out,” she said.

Others also said the lockdown had
made it possible for families to bond and spend more quality time with each other
than ever before

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