.…accuse ‘uncaring’ Govt of extorting stranded citizens

Quarantined people who recently
came back from neighbouring countries under the government’s repatriation
programme accuse government of extorting money from stranded citizens by charging
them exorbitant repatriation fees.

TellZim managed to speak to some
of the repatriates who came through Beitbridge border post a few days ago, and
they complained that government was not taking care of its citizens stranded
abroad, but was instead taking advantage of their desperate situation to milk
them dry.

The repatriates are now housed in
different quarantine venues across the country, with those in Masvingo
accommodated at Masvingo Teachers’ College.

“Our group was based in Western
Cape. We sent email to the consulate telling them we were in distress and they acknowledged
receipt but many days passed before hearing any other word from them.

“We were then informed that buses
were now available but we needed to pay R1200 each as bus fare. We were initially
told that we would be issued with free-of-charge Temporary Travel Documents
(TTDs) whether or not you had a valid passport but it suddenly changed and we had to
pay R500 plus R70 for passport-size photos at the consulate in Cape Town. It
was a robbery,” said one repatriate.

Another one said many people in
South Africa are still desperate to come back home but do not have bus fare.

“There is no help for you if you
don’t have bus fare. Many people are stuck in Johannesburg and Pretoria and
they are hungry. The landlords do not care about the Covid-19 lockdown and they want their rent. I was lucky because a workplace friend helped. I think it’s
unfair for desperate people to be exploited in that way,” he said.

Other sources said people quarantined
at Masvingo Teacher’s College were demanding their money back, saying
government bore a responsibility to cater for its citizens in times of great
distress.

TellZim contacted government
spokesperson Nick Mangwana who said all distressed citizens should contact the
Zimbabwe Consulate which he said would liaise with the International
Organisation for Migration (IOM)for them to be helped to come back home.

He referred further questions to Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa, David Hamadziripi who said it was not
true that people with valid passports were required to pay for TTDs.

“Only people whose stay in South
Africa is not regular are required to pay for TTDs. That allows us to
facilitate their travel in a lawful manner. It’s unfortunate that people have
to pay for their own bus tickets because we don’t have money. We however expect
that by next week, we will be able to pay for those who cannot afford because
we are mobilising money,” said Hamadziripi.

He said authorities will also be
issuing free-of-charge repatriation certificates to allow those without valid
passports to travel back home.

Beatific
Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI
– The
Ministry of Health and Child Care had by May 06 conducted only 50 Covid-19
tests based on their case definition due to resource constraints, TellZim has
learnt.

The district is
Masvingo province’s largest district by area size and is one of the largest by
population size of close to 300 000 people.

Chiredzi borders
Mozambique and South Africa, and there exists many illegal crossings that make
the district particularly vulnerable to possible Covid-19 infections
originating from those neighbouring countries.

This was heard during a
recent collaborative sensitization meeting between the ministry and the United
Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers Association (UCHIRRA.

Chiredzi District
Health Promotion Officer, David Frank Maziva revealed that they had managed to
conduct around 50 Covid-19 tests based on stipulated case definitions.

“Chiredzi district
has carried out about 50 tests from Chikombedzi Mission Hospital, Collin
Saunders, Chiredzi General Hospital and Hippo Valley Medical Centre.

“We are currently not
doing random testing on every visitor at our hospitals but our tests are mainly
based on case definitions. Those with respiratory symptoms and high fever get tested
for Covid-19 after we have exhausted all other tests we know,” said
Maziva.

UCHIRRA advocacy officer,
Bernard Dhachi said their organisation wanted more people to be tested and for
greater awareness campaigns to be held in communities.

“Covid-19 affects
everyone regardless of political affiliation, race, tribe or colour so this is
the time to put our differences aside and work together for the health and
safety of our communities,” said Dhachi.

The sensitisation was
mainly focused on the spread, myths and prevention of the novel coronavirus as
well as demonstrations on the importance and proper use of face masks.

As on May 06, 14 821
people had been tested for coronavirus in the whole country.

…minister Marapira takes lead in Masvingo

TellZim Reporter

With wheat being one of the most imported commodities in the
country drawing the much needed foreign currency from treasury, the government
has moved to cut the expenditure by targeting 80 000 hectares of land across
the country to be put under winter wheat production.

The 80 000 hectares have the capacity to produce in excess
of 415 000 metric tonnes of wheat with the country needing about 400 000 metric
tonnes per year.

Launching the winter wheat programme at Masvingo North legislator
and minister of State in Vice President Kembo Mohadi’s office Davison Marapira’s  Mighty Lamotte Farm, the deputy minister of
Lands Douglas Karoro said that the country has the capacity to produce enough
wheat and stop imports.

“We are encouraging wheat production in the country. The government
is targeting 80 000 hectares across the country to be put under wheat this
winter.

“The 80 000 hectares can produce about 415 000 metric tonnes
of wheat which will be more than enough to sustain the whole country which
needs about 400 000 metric tonnes a year.

“If we are successful it means we will not import wheat
again and the money can be used on other developmental initiatives,” said
Karoro.

He said that farmers must make sure that they put their and
to good use and emphasised that the government will not hesitate to repossess
idle land.

Marapira said that he is only limiting himself to 60
hectares of winter wheat due to water challenges but has the potential to do
more.

“Wheat is one of the things this country is importing and as
farmers we are encouraged to step up and make sure that we provide enough wheat
for the country.

“Because of water challenges we are only going to do 60
hectares of winter wheat on this farm but we have the potential to do more. Farmers
must make sure that they put their land to good use and if they do not have the
capacity they must excuse themselves for producers.

“We must not import wheat when we have huge tracts of land
which we can put to good use,” said Marapira.

Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Ezra
Chadzamira said that Masvingo has the potential to feed the whole country if
farmers step up and fully utilise their land.

….anxiety as province
grapples with testing kits, PPE shortages

Many people from
Masvingo expressed disquietude after their province registered a prolonged
absence from the daily Covid-19 test results table that is released by the
Ministry of Health and Child Care, a situation which was later blamed on a shortage
of test kits.

Masvingo last appeared
on the national test results diagram on April 23 when 10 of the 460 national
specimens tested that day were from the province.

Apparently, specimens
that are sent to the country’s two testing centres; the National Microbiology
Reference Laboratory in Harare and the National TB Reference Laboratory in Bulawayo are first tested at local isolation centres using Rapid
Test Kits.

Currently, the province
has 10 isolation centres across the seven districts but work is being done to
establish the 11^th one at Mashava Mine Hospital.

Specimens are then sent
either to Bulawayo or Harare where confirmatory tests are done using a
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) system whose results are more reliable. This
test uses sample mucus often drawn from a person’s nose or throat to trace the
genetic material of coronavirus.

The first batch of
Rapid Test Kits that provincial authorities received in mid-April got finished,
and tests could no longer continue.

“We had run short of
tests kits but we have now received another batch so we will resume testing
today (May 02). Our specimens are now being sent to Bulawayo for confirmatory
tests because Harare is congested,” said Provincial Medical Director (PMD)
Amadeus Shamu.

There is, however,
another nagging problem: the acute shortage of personal protective equipment
(PPE) at all hospitals and clinics, a situation which puts nurses, doctors and
other staff members at great risk.

Early last month, the
body of a woman who died after exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms at Chiredzi General
Hospital spent almost two days on the deathbed after nurses refused to take it
to the mortuary as they were not sufficiently protected.

The woman, however,
posthumously tested negative for coronavirus.

In mid-April,
government pledged a ‘mass testing’ programme for citizens, promising to
conduct 40 000 tests every month but that seems too hard a target considering
that the daily averages of recent days have been far off the mark.

Shamu said only
frontline health staff and those that met the criteria of clear suspected cases
were getting tested, and the service is not yet available for random walk-ins.

                                                             File image

Cephas Shava

MWENEZI– Scores of
desperate people from rural communities in the southern parts of the country
are defying the lockdown by flocking to the forests of Gwanda district to harvest mopani worms, TellZim can report

People
from Lutumba in Beitbridge as well as some parts of Mberengwa, Chikombedzi,
Mwenezi, West Nicolson and Gwanda district find their way into the
forests in search of the treasured worms despite the national lockdown which has since been extended twice.

Private
transport operators use illicit dusty tracks to ferry the worm hunters
and avoid the obvious routes for fear of police roadblocks, sources say.

“We
go to Gwanda between every December and April to harvest madora and this
year should not be different. If we are to think about the lockdown, how do we
survive?

“They
have extended to lockdown without giving as social grants so we cannot help it.
You can’t expect us to remain indoors hoping that someone will bring us some
food to eat,” said one woman who had just returned from one of her numerous
Gwanda trips.

Other
sources said the deployment of police and soldiers to stop unsanctioned
movement in the areas was not helping much.

“There
are many people who are working all the time in the forests of Gwanda. Some go as traders selling food and drinks to the worm catchers so there is a lot of
activity in the bush. Our main problem is that water is scarce and we often drink
from unprotected sources,” said the source.

With
a bucket full of Mopani worms now trading between 350 to 500 South African
rands, the Mopani catchers say they cannot let go of their only opportunity to
make money in a troubled economy.

       

      

      

TellZim
Reporter

Youthful clergyman,
philanthropist and gender equality campaigner, Onward Gibson yesterday moved
around some suburbs of Masvingo distributing food items and other basic
commodities to people identified as hardest hit by the national lockdown.

Prophet O, as he is
widely known, recently travelled from Harare, where he is now based, for the
sole purpose of lending a hand to vulnerable people in the city where he was
born and bred.

The benevolence gesture was carried out under the newly-formed Onward Gibson Foundation.

Child-headed families,
widows, the disabled were among the beneficiaries of the philanthropic effort.

Each beneficiary
received a package comprising 20kg Red Seal maize meal, 2 litres cooking oil,
beans, kapenta fish, sugar and salt.

Non-food items included
bars of washing soaps, sanitary pads, petroleum jelly and candles.

Speaking in Mucheke
where the distribution exercise began, Prophet O said it was in times of severe need
as this that people should prove their humanity.

“In our communities, we
have people who have every material thing they need and those who can barely
afford anything. This is a most appropriate time to serve the Lord because we
are in a crisis of epic proportions. My team and I do not have everything that
we need, but here we are, doing the little we can to help the next person,” he
said.

He also said he will
continue to mobilise other people to contribute whatever they can towards
further relief efforts for the duration of the lockdown and beyond.

“Giving should help to
inspire others to follow suit. It should also be a way of spreading the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he said.

He said the Onward Gibson Foundation has  set aside a $700 000 fund to fight coronavirus.