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Midlands loses thousands of hectares of vegetation to veld fires

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Midlands loses thousands of hectares of vegetation to veld fires

Tinaani Nyabereka
GWERU – Midlands
province has seen massive destruction of vegetation last year due to veld fires
most of which were caused by human activities.
Most
cases of wild fires happen in resettlement areas where people were given A1 and
A2 pieces of land during the Land Reform Programme.
Most
of the land belongs to absentee landlords who hold it simply for speculative
purposes, while those who live there have little means to fight the fires.
Environmental
Management Agency (Ema) Midlands provincial education and publicity officer,
Oswald Ndlovu said most of the fires could be attributed to human activities.
“Most
veld fires are caused by human activities such as opening up new arable land
using fire, deliberate lighting of fires for hunting purposes, gold panning,
careless throwing away of cigarette stubs and improper ash disposal.
“Of
late, veld fires have resulted in severe environmental degradation which also
translates to diminished livelihoods. In Midlands province, a total of 114 035.04
hectares of land were burnt in 2018. 
This, however, translates to a 0.26 percent reduction from the 2017 record
of 126 652.68 hectares,” said Ndlovu.
He
encouraged people to make fire guards in their areas in order to avoid large scale
destruction of vegetation and land.
“Fire guards are belts of land measuring at least nine metres
in width on either side of a boundary that are cleared of all combustible
material such as grass, shrubs and leaf litter. These can be made using
ox-drawn ploughs or using tractors.
“Engaging
in projects such as beekeeping, hay-baling and thatch grass-harvesting not only
helps in income generation, but in reducing fires as well. Hay-baling and
grass-combing projects help to reduce biomass. In 2018, a total of 368 001
bales were made countrywide with an estimated value of $552 001.
“In
Midlands, a total of 67 770 bales with an estimated value of $101 550 were
produced.  In 2018, thatch grass-harvesting
was done throughout the country at community level as a way of biomass
reduction and improving livelihoods,” he said.
Statutory
Instrument (SI) 7 of 2007 (Environmental Impact Assessment and Ecosystems Protection
Regulations) criminalises the deliberate starting of open fires between 31 July
and 31 October, failure to put in place a standard fireguard of at least 9m and
passing or driving past a fire and failure to report a fire to Ema, police or fire
brigade.

USAID launches farmer-to-farmer program in Zimbabwe

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USAID launches farmer-to-farmer program in Zimbabwe

      Farmers
weed their groundnut field in Chivi. Photo credit: David Nyoni, ENSURE


TellZim
Reporter
HARARE – The United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) yesterday, May 30, launched the five-year
USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer Program for the years 2018-2023 at Africa Synod
House in Harare.
There were representatives
from the), the Government of Zimbabwe, a Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer, and
implementing organization Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA).
The representatives
reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening agriculture and resilience
in Zimbabwe.
The USAID-funded John
Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer Program provides technical
assistance by highly qualified American volunteers to farmers, farmer groups,
agribusinesses, and other agriculture sector institutions in developing and
transitional countries. 
The program aims to
generate sustainable, broad-based economic growth in the agricultural sector
and increase understanding of international development issues and U.S.
development programs through people-to-people diplomacy.
In Zimbabwe, the program
will focus on horticulture, legumes and livestock/dairy value chains due to
their potential to benefit many farmers and earn high returns on investment.
Through 84 volunteer
assignments, the program will catalyze the development of commercially viable
and sustainable businesses along these value chains.
The volunteers will support
the efforts of current US government-funded agricultural programs working with
farmers, aggregators, processors, and marketers. 
The training and support
provided through Farmer-to-Farmer will focus on improved production and
processing technologies, strengthening organizational and marketing capacity of
agribusinesses, and promoting the use of conservation agriculture.
Over the course of the
five-year program, volunteers will train thousands of small-holder farmers to
increase sales and learn how to do farming as a business in order to increase
household incomes, strengthen livelihoods, and build community resilience.
 USAID,
have contributed over $3 billion in assistance to Zimbabwe for a period of over
30 years. 
Current
projects include initiatives to increase food security, support economic
resilience, improve health systems and services, and promote a more democratic
system of governance.

By-election for Bikita East Ward 31

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By-election for Bikita East Ward 31

                                               Zex Pudurai
Moses Ziyambi

BIKITA – There will soon be a by-election for the Bikita Rural
District Council (RDC) Ward 31 to fill the council seat left vacant following
the death of Zanu PF Councillor Patrick Marozhe on April 15 this year.
The nomination court sits at
Bikita RDC boardroom tomorrow, May 31, with a number of parties including Zanu
PF and MDC expected to participate.
Zimbabwe Election Commission
(Zec) Masvingo provincial head, Zex Pudurai said it was all systems go for the
by-election which will be held on July 13.
“We are happy with our state of
preparedness. We are ready for the nomination court and any other subsequent
processes that need to be followed. We are also pleased with the peaceful
environment that we are seeing ahead of the by-election,” said Pudurai.
The opposition MDC held their
primary elections at Mandadzaka Primary School yesterday, May 29.
Presided over by a national organising team led by Tamsanqa Dangazela and Farai Chinobva, the primary elections were won by Moses
Maposa, who is the party’s district chairperson.
“We are already working hard to
market our candidate to the electorate because he is the best person to
represent the interests of Ward 31 residents in council. We are a party of
excellence so the people of Ward 31 have the best candidate in Maphosa,” said
MDC provincial youth leader Kudakwashe Bhadharai, who is a resident of Bikita
East himself.
Maphosa served as MDC councillor
in the same ward between 2008 and 2013.
Zanu PF is expected to be
represented by Thomas Mataga who last year contested in the party’s
primary elections for Bikita East and lost to current Member of Parliament (MP)
Johnson Madhuku.
“We are ready for the challenge. As
Zanu PF, we will launch our campaign on 09 June at Mandadzaka Primary School
and we will then be hard at work from that day onwards. We are confident that
we will retain our council seat because we are doing many developmental
projects in the communities,” said Madhuku.
Peter Mavenga is expected to
represent the Professor Lovemore Madhuku-led National Constitutional (NCA).
“The people now know that only
the NCA is capable of delivering on their needs because it is a party founded
on constitutionalism and good governance. We take this by-election seriously
because local governance is key to good service delivery,” said Ernest Rambe,
an NCA leader in the district.

Chivi-Mhandamabwe Rd set for resealing

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Chivi-Mhandamabwe Rd set for resealing

Moses
Ziyambi
CHIVI
–
The 47 km stretch of road between Chivi Turnoff along the Masvingo-Beitbridge
highway and Mhandamabwe business centre along the Masvingo-Bulawayo highway is
expected to get a complete overhaul to the tune of RTGS$16 million, TellZim
News has learnt.
The tender was awarded
to renowned civil engineers Bitumen World (Pvt) Ltd, a company that has of late
worked on a number of road projects in the country.
The project is expected
to begin by June 16, with work expected to be completed in three months’ time.
Though Masvingo
provincial roads engineer, Peter Mukome was not immediately available for
comment, it is understood the decision to resurface the road was reached after
strong representations from the Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial
Affairs, Ezra Chadzamira.
Chadzamira has
previously expressed dissatisfaction with the attention given to the road which
acts as an artery providing a link to the Midlands through the communal areas
of Chivi.
Chivi Rural District
Council (RDC) chairperson, Godfrey Mukungunugwa said the overhaul of the road
will be good as it will amount to a substantial investment in the district in
as many years.
“We welcome this
development because it means a lot to us as a district; all the temporary job
opportunities that will be created for local people and the surge in traffic
that will be recorded when the road is improved. Travelling time from
Beitbridge Road to Mhandamabwe via Chivi growth point will be drastically
reduced meaning people will have more hours at work than on the road,” said
Mukungunugwa.
He said council had
confidence in the contractor due to the good record that the company holds in
civil works done in other parts of the country.
“We will be working
together with Bitumen World and we have nothing but the highest confidence in
their capability to deliver. We know they have worked on many roadwork projects
in the country and have delivered quality results. The road serves a great
portion of our population and its upgrade will contribute to our goal of
attaining town status in a few years’ time,” Mukungunugwa said.
He thanked Chadzamira
for leading efforts to get government to improve the road which is currently not
only narrow but is also pothole-ridden and generally user-unfriendly.

Midlands youths urged to stop self-exclusion

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Midlands youths urged to stop self-exclusion

Tinaani Nyabereka

GWERU –
Youths in Lower Gwelo have be urged to stop their apathetic approach to
governance and economic matters as the current dynamics require equitable
distribution of national resources and opportunities.
Speaking
at a Community Engagement Workshop which was hosted by Nkabazwe community radio
in Lower Gwelo last week, participants said young people tend to exclude
themselves from issues of importance.
“Here
in Lower Gwelo, self-exclusion affects youths. People are invited to come and
take part in programmes that affect them but you find many of them choosing to
stay away. You also find that young people in politics lack the active support
of their age-mates and that is really sad. Young people must support each other
in all spheres of life.
 “We also need to have equal resources
distribution in all sectors such as agriculture, mining, entrepreneurship. That
is, however, more feasible if we are in government and in influential
positions,” said Esther Khoza, a young entrepreneur.
She
also called for the liberalisation of media laws, saying the broadcasting
sector needed to be taken to the people through the establishment of community
radios.
Nkabazwe
Radio projects manager, Oswald Chishanga said youth participation was a key
anchor for empowerment.
“Youth
participation in civic engagement processes is important because it helps us to
identify areas where we are lagging behind. Today we came here to engage each
other on political, social and economic issues looking at the constitution of
our country,” said Chishanga.
He
lamented the marginalisation of young people especially in rural areas, saying
more needed to be done to educate communities on rights that are enshrined in
the national constitution.
Nkabazwe
Radio station director, Tobias Saratewo encouraged young people to unite so
that their voices could carry more weight.
“Young
people should unite and claim their rightful space in politics and the economy.
The constitution should be our starting point and we need to know what it
offers us. We want youths to have a say in decision-making processes. It should
not only be a preserve for older generations,” said Saratewo.

State security take Cotrad director to Masvingo for search

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State security take Cotrad director to Masvingo for search

TellZim Reporter

Police
and other State security agencies are reportedly taking Community Tolerance,
Reconciliation and Development (Cotrad) director Gamuchirai Mukura from Harare
to Masvingo for a search at his home and his organisation’s offices.
Mukura
was arrested on Monday last week, May 20, upon touching down at Robert Mugabe International
Airport from an overseas workshop.
He was arrested alongside Citizens Manifesto co-ordinator Tatenda Mombeyarara,
Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe (CCDZ) advocacy officer George
Makoni, Nyasha Frank Mpahlo of Transparency International (TI) Zimbabwe
chapter.
They have been languishing in custody ever since, after being charged with subverting a
constitutionally-elected government, a treasonous offense.
Their
lawyer, Jeremiah Bhamu of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) confirmed that Mukura was being transported to Masvingo for a search of the
properties.
“They
suspect that our clients possess subversive material including guns so they
have already left Harare Central Prison for Masvingo. I understand the others will also be taken to their various places in Harare for similar searches,”
said Bhamu.
He
said Martin Mureri of Matutu and Mureri Legal Practitioners will act as Mukura’s
stand-by lawyer in Masvingo.
Cotrad
programmes officer Zivanai Muzorodzi confirmed receiving communication that the
organisation’s offices will be searched.
“Yes.
We received communications from our lawyers that we will soon be searched. I
can’t say anything more,” said Muzorodzi.

Madzibaba flees shrine after raping minor

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Madzibaba flees shrine after raping minor

Cephas Shava
MWENEZI – A
self-styled prophet of Madzibaba Enguvo Tsvuku church has disappeared after
allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl who had been consulting fo healing, TellZim
News has learnt.
The
prophet, popularly known as Madzibaba Joshua, could not be found at his shrine
at the growth point when people went there looking for him last week.
Ward
18 Councillor Albert Mashiri said women and children must be wary of dubious
churches sprouting everywhere and their so-called prophets.
“There
is a case of rape involving Madzibaba Joshua which is currently being
investigated by the police. When we heard about the matter, we visited the
victim’s place of residence together with a team from the department of social
welfare and the Justice for Children (JCT) and we compiled our own reports,”
said Mashiri.
The
victim, who is from Nyajena, is said to be a form three school dropout who was
employed as a housemaid at Rutenga.
“When
the girl first visited the prophet, she was told that she possessed some mermaid
spirits that required continuous exorcism. When she returned for the second
time, the rape ordeal began and lasted for a long time. The culprit would
always threaten her against divulging the abuse, warning that she would go mad
if she ever did,” said a source.
Other
sources said the matter came to light when prophets at the girl’s own church
asked her to confess the sin of adultery which they accused her of committing.
That is when the minor opened up about the rape ordeal, leading to a police
report being made.
TellZim
News managed to visit the shrine where the self-styled prophet used to conduct
his services and the place was completely deserted.
  

NRZ losing thousands litres of diesel to Rutenga syndicate

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NRZ losing thousands litres of diesel to Rutenga syndicate

                                    File picture

Cephas Shava

MWENEZI – A
syndicate comprising Rutenga-based illegal fuel dealers and some goods train
drivers is involved in organised theft whereby large quantities of diesel is
drained from goods trains and later on sold on the black market, TellZim News
has learnt.
Sources
say the syndicate, which also includes dishonest police officers, has profited
immensely at the expense of the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ).
It
is said the theft involves several goods train drivers travelling from Mozambique
and South Africa stopping some kilometres before Rutenga Station where they drain
diesel for sale to illegal fuel dealers.
“These
incidents are occurring in the dead of the night. The illegal fuel dealers
would always be communicating with goods train drivers and they have a place
deep in the bush where they strike their deals. Dealers drive into the forest
in pick-up trucks and lorries loaded with empty drums which are then filled
with diesel,” said a source.
One
illegal fuel dealer said the deal now involved some police officers who are
conspiring with train drivers to drain the fuel.
“You
find that most of the diesel we sell on the black market is too dark, being
that we get from the trains. When the police conduct raids on us, they always
find nothing at our selling points because we work with some of them and they
alert us,” said an illegal fuel dealer.
TellZim
News heard that a recent raid involving the police’s Criminal Investigation
Department (CID) and military intelligence yielded nothing as the syndicate
already knew about it well in advance.
The
illegal fuel trade is also rampant among cross-border truck drivers coming from
South Africa as well as among earth-moving equipment drivers working on the
Rutenga – Sarahuru Road.
   

Zaka woman plants rapoko on grave

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Zaka woman plants rapoko on grave

                                              Headman Nyamutaki


….caught watering the
plants at night

Brighton
Chiseva

ZAKA
– A
woman from Munyaradzi village under Headman Nyamutaki under Chief Bota recently
shocked the community after she was caught by a family member in the night
watering rapoko planted around a grave.
Pellagia Makocha, a
single mother of two, is alleged to have planted the crop around the grave of
his late brother Jacob Makocha who was murdered in South Africa back in 2016.
Headman Nyamutaki, born
Marxell Chaminuka, confirmed the incident and said his council tried to force her
to uproot the plants but she refused and they sought police intervention.
“I received the report from
the village head who had failed to persuade her to uproot the plants. My
council decided that she be accompanied to the grave to remove the plants but
she still refused. She also ignored pleas from her own family members saying
there was nothing wrong in planting flowers in the graveyard so we engaged the
police,” said Headman Nyamutaki
He said the woman told
the police her strange act was meant to provoke the spirit of her dead brother
to fight his killers.
Other sources said the family
member had earlier saw a nail wrapped with red knitting wool plugged onto a
Marula tree near Makocha’s homestead where she lives with his father.
“A family member saw a
nail with red cloth and wool on a tree near the homestead and reported the matter
to the village head who is also a member of the family. He was told to make a
formal report but before he could do it, he saw something worse happening in
the graveyard.

Zanu PF, MDC fight for Bikita clinic project

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Zanu PF, MDC fight for Bikita clinic project

The late Kennedy Matimba
Diana
Gondongwe
Zanu PF Bikita East constituency is accusing MDC
Alliance Ward 15 Councillor Samson Dzinodya of hijacking the Nerumedzo Clinic
project.
The ruling party has since prepared a report to
counter Dzinodya’s own version of the story which implicates the area’s Member
of Parliament (MP) Johnson Madhuku.
Dzinodya was recently quoted in the media accusing
Madhuku of sending three ruling party youths and two police officers to stop
the construction of a toilet at the project site.
In their report dated April 29, the Zanu PF
leadership in the area, however, accuses Dzinodya of hijacking the project
which they claim was initiated by the ruling party’s former MP, the late
Kennedy Matimba in his personal capacity.
“Mr Dzinodya came in as the new ward 15 councillor
after the 2018 harmonised elections and hijacked the project which was not a
project by his predecessor, the Zanu PF councillor Cde Ishmael Kanjera.
Dzinodya stole our bricks and used them to build a toilet at the site. This is
a parallel and impermissible project,” reads part of the report, which also
makes it clear that they want Dzinodya to pay for the bricks.
Dzinodya, however, said the cement was bought using
money from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) that was availed by
parliament by Matimba.
“The bricks were moulded using CDF and I am
surprised by Zanu PF’s actions because this has nothing to do with politics or
personal gains but this is the development that the people of Zimbabwe need.
People of Nerumedzo village walk for 11km to Silveira Hospital or Negovana
Clinic for treatment,” said Dzinodya.
TellZim News has also learnt that Matimba had made an
agreement with Chief Nerumedzo and his local traditional leaders to build Nerumedzo
Clinic.
Matimba made an internal agreement with Zanu PF
youths to mould concrete bricks and provide free labour so as to construct the
clinic as a way of campaigning for the ruling party.
The late MP promised to provide $1300 towards the
training of the 26 youths who had volunteered to do the job.
Matimba later died before releasing the money and
current MP Johnson Madhuku took over and promised to pay the money in full
thereby making the project a Zanu PF property.

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