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Small scale sugarcane farmers lose over 1 000 hactares to poor drainage

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Small scale sugarcane farmers lose over 1 000 hactares to poor drainage





Beatific Gumbwanda


CHIREDZI – Mkwasine sugarcane farmers have lost more than 1000 hactares of land since the withdrawal of Tongat Huletts Zimbabwe in Mkwasine Estates as farmers are failing to clean the Jete drainage system leading to sodicity and salinity of their soils.
On the side lines of a field day hosted by the Zimbabwe Sugarcane Development Association (ZSDA) vice chairperson Elias Nyatowo at farm 27 in Mkwasine, Professor Munashe Shoko of Great Zimbabwe University’s (GZU) Gary Magadzire School of Agriculture and Natural Sciences said farmers are failing to manage sodicity and salinity costing them huge chunks of land.
Sodicity refers specifically to the amount of sodium present in irrigation water. Irrigating with water that has excess amounts of sodium can adversely impact soil structure, making plant growth difficult.
Soil salinity is a term used to describe the salt content within soil. Excess soil salinity causes poor and spotty stands of crops, uneven and stunted growth and poor yields, the extent depending on the degree of salinity.
“Sodicity and salinity is caused by poor water management which is a common problem to small holder farmers especially over irrigation without proper drainage.
“Cane does not require water the way you may think of. When you over apply water, it raises the water table to the extent that when you apply fertilizers they don’t infiltrate through the soil and end up creating a white crystal on the surface,” said Professor Shoko.
Professor Shoko said managing sodicity and salinity at such a stage is costly and takes years.
He said there is need for a complete write off and rehabilitation of the field by bringing in break crops like soya beans then gypsum.
“There is need for a complete write off, so the farmer needs to quickly do what we call rehabilitation and it is very costly.
“You need now to apply bags of gypsum, a lot of them and there is also need to work on the drainage system,” said Professor Shoko.

As ED shuts out Chamisa

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As ED shuts out Chamisa


President Mnangagwa and MDC-A leader Nelson Chamisa

…says dialogue will continue without him 

Upenyu Chaota

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has warned that he will not be arm-twisted to the negotiating table by MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa, saying the national dialogue will continue without him and will work with those interested in building the country.
Addressing thousands of Zanu PF supporters at a rally in Mwenezi last Saturday, President Mnangagwa expressed displeasure that Chamisa snubbed his recent call to all parties to come to State House and discuss issues that he said were aimed at narrowing political differences.
He accused Chamisa as an attention seeker, saying people will soon see him for what he was.
“I called for a meeting with all leaders of the political parties in the country so that we could discuss the future of our country because the election period is now behind us.
“I wanted us to come together and work for the betterment of our country giving them an opportunity to tell us where we make mistakes so we can make amends. Chamisa then said if we meet as leaders who will be chairing the meeting because we are all on the same level.
“I told him there is no problem, you are a president of your own party and I am President of my party so let us find a religious person to mediate but we later discovered that the man of God was a political activist and we dropped him,” said Mnangagwa.
Mnangagwa said that they later roped in the chairperson of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC), Retired Justice Sello Nare.
“Other political party leaders came but Chamisa refused to come showing his true colours. He is a lost person and does not want to work with others. He cannot ask for special treatment because he lost the election just like others.
“We always tell them to come join others but he is adamant and wants to be left outside. We want people to work together peacefully and build our country because we are Zimbabweans. We will continue dialogue with other political parties.
“We will let Chamisa criticise us from outside but when he makes sense we will take that advice and implement it,” said Mnangagwa.

Knowledge is key to development – Murwira

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Knowledge is key to development – Murwira


Professor Amon Murwira

Diana Gondongwe

The Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Professor Amon Murwira has said five senses alone are not what it takes to develop a country, adding that only if a people formulate the best education practices will they stand a better chance of developing .
Speaking at a conference on devolution in Masvingo on Monday, Murwira said for too long, Zimbabwe’s education was not practicals-oriented.
 “As Zimbabweans, our problem is we focus on theories that Europeans came up with and these theories do not apply to our context. We should have an education system which reflects on who we are and be able to create our own industries based on what we have and our cultures thus developing our nation,” said Murwira.
He said students must become creators while tertiary institutions must move away from analysis to innovative and industrial education.
Murwira said the country must use its resources to develop the nation and not focus on exporting raw materials and importing finished goods.
“For devolution to be a success, we must be able to make use of the available resources. We are misusing the raw materials we need for development because we lack knowledge. Resources are not resources unless we know they are resources,” he added.
Murwira said a country cannot develop using imported goods because imported goods entail imported minds and students, therefore, should move from the comfort zone and create goods that do not exist today.
His view was supported by the president of the National Council of Chiefs Fortune Charumbira who said the country could come up with its own developmental model based on its own culture.
“No country can develop by abandoning their own culture, therefore, we must stop the cut and paste practice and we must work to develop our economy,” said Charumbira.

‘Rural girls need nurturing to rise above gender barriers’

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‘Rural girls need nurturing to rise above gender barriers’


The event provided a platform for engargement on how best to uplift young women and girls

Clayton Shereni

Women advocacy group, Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) has urged women of Zimuto community to help young girls discover and shape their talents.
This came up during the belated International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations in Masvingo Rural Ward 2 on Monday, March 11.
The celebrations were held under the theme #BalanceforBetter, and they drew women and a few men from all walks of life who gathered at the Ministry of Women Affairs community hall where they discussed various gender related issues affecting women in their area.
Speaking at the interactive celebrations which was attended both by elderly and young women, WCoZ provincial coordinator, Belinda Mwale challenged older women to take it upon themselves to guide girls and younger women.
“Our young women and girl children must enjoy freedom and their rights but let us help them to discover their talents so that they don’t stay below boys forever. We should give financial and moral support to our young women and girls.
“Young women should stand toe to toe with young men and do the same work that everybody else does. We don’t want girls to always be at a disadvantage,” said Mwale.
Some participants applauded WCoZ for taking its programmes to their own area, saying the information that was being shared was critical for gender mainstreaming at family and community level.
“We really appreciate these engagements that we know do make a difference in the way we perceive gender matters,” said a participant.
WCoZ initially held the IWD celebrations last week in Masvingo Urban where they did a Young Women’s Forum for women aged between 18 and 35.

Zaka district’s marula relief

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Zaka district’s marula relief


Zaka West Member of Parliament (MP) Ophias Murambiwa (in yellow) tasting the brew

Brighton Chiseva

When the uninitiated look at marula fruits (mapfura), it is hard to imagine their value beyond the sweetness of their strongly scented sap which is ordinarily sucked before the soft skin and the jellish seed is chucked away.
But for hundreds of families in Zaka, the fruits are more than just that as they are providing a substantial income stream through the marula brew known as mukumbi.
Like every other indigenous fruits, marula are seasonal; lasting for not more than three months per year on average when they blanket rocky areas and fields from March to May.
Along the Chivamba – Bangala Road in Zaka West, people ply their mukumbi business every year thereby increasing the popularity of the age-old traditional brew.
In areas under chiefs Nyakunhuwa, Bota and Nhema, custom has it that the first brew from the first fruits of the season has to be dedicated to traditional leaders and must be consumed communally before villagers can then sell subsequent brews.
This is a traditional rite known as ‘matasutsa’; a form of celebration of the first fruits and a thanksgiving to ancestral owners of the land.
The marula tree is a revered tree which has sent many children to school and has helped preserve an important custom in communities where modernity continues to wipe off traditional practices.
For Estere Mudzingwa (63) of Guyo village under Chief Bota, mukumbi is a reliable source of income every year especially if the rains have been good in the preceding months.
“We sell our brew on Wednesdays and Saturdays for 50 cents a cup. We do it in groups and one can have 40 to 60 litres of mukumbi to give us $20 or better on a good day,” said Mudzingwa.
Acting Chief Bota and Charuka village head, Kamurai Zezai said marula, just like other natural resources, were a gift from ancestors hence the rule that the product of the first fruits must be shared through the traditional leadership.
“When the fruits ripen, those with marula trees in their fields have to bring at least 10 litres to the village head. He, in turn, would call his aides and they then drink together with the family of the brewer.
“This way, we would be thanking our ancestors because we believe that they give us the fruits. Long ago, people were not allowed to sell the brew for it was regarded as a free gift from the ancestors but things have evolved partly due to economic factors that have come into play,” said Zezai.
Incumbent Chief Nhema, Rangarirai Bwawanda said mukumbi was a product of a sacred fruit hence the need to observe customary practices when commercialising it.
“The system of presenting the first brew to the traditional leadership is done as a way of thanking the ancestors. It also brings the village head or the chief closer to his subjects.
It also preserves the leader’s authority over his subjects and allows the leadership to be able to monitor the conservation of natural resources like trees,” said Bwawanda.
In Matembudze area and most parts of Chief Nyakunhuwa’s area, cutting down a marula tree is a serious offence which is punishable by a fine in the form of a goat and traditional beer for the chief and his court.
Matigimu village head, Joseph Mutubuki said when there is genuine need to cut down a marula tree, one has to consult the village head who then gives permission.
“When one has a convincing reason to cut the tree down, we assess the reason and if there is a real need, we then give the go ahead. If the tree is barren, for example, or it affects the growth of crops or if it poses a threat to humans, we allow it to be cut down,” said Mutubuki.
He said besides selling the brew, villagers were also using it as payment for work done especially when people have been given piece jobs like weeding and clearing new land for crops.
For Hamon Chigevenga, a mukumbi connoisseur from Kuvenga village, Headman Chidembo, under Chief Nhema, mukumbi brings families together.
“I brew mukumbi for my family. I call my sons and sons’ in-law who stay and work in other areas to come and have quality time drinking mukumbi. It unites me and my relatives and I do it every year. I don’t wait for Christmas holidays to come together with my extended family and be happy. I am lucky to have plenty of trees in my fields so I brew at least two 20 litre buckets every weekend,” said Chigevenga.
However, the brew’s taste and strength varies from one brewer to another, and from one area to another, with brewers in other areas bordering Zaka district adding millet malt to catalyse fermentation.

Plans for Rujeko Secondary School ready— Cllr Musekiwa

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Plans for Rujeko Secondary School ready— Cllr Musekiwa




Diana Gondongwe

Ward 7 councillor Richard Musekiwa last week said the plans for a secondary school in Rujeko are now ready and the school will be built on the open space opposite Rujeko Primary School.
During a Ward 7 feedback dialogue meeting organised by TellZim News, Musekiwa told hundreds of Rujeko residents that the plan for Rujeko Secondary School were now ready and waiting logistical issues to begin construction.
“We are aware of the secondary school challenge and the plan is already there. We are working on starting the constructions and the school will be located opposite Rujeko Primary School,” said Musekiwa.
Residents complained about the trouble they go through looking for Form 1 places for their children either at Ndarama High School, Mucheke High School or Masvingo Christian College which are far away.
Rujeko residents believe that they deserve their own secondary school which will see pupils from Shakashe Primary School and Rujeko Primary School obtaining secondary education within their vicinity area.
“Every year we go through a lot of troubles looking Form 1 places for our children. We are forced to send our children to boarding schools because we don’t have a secondary here.
“Those who cannot afford to send their children to boarding schools have no choice but to send their children to schools in other locations which is expensive because the students will have to travel to and from schools everyday which requires a lot of money,” said one resident Webster Makore.
 Another resident weighed in saying Rujeko Secondary School is an idea whose time has come and the authorities must expedite the construction process.
“We have been discussing this issue for a long time now and it is time we put our words into action. A secondary school for Rujeko is an idea whose time has come. We cannot be sending our children to Mucheke when we can have our own secondary school. We have two primary schools which can feed into the secondary school,” said another resident Idah Hokonya.

Waiting mothers’ home for Rujeko Clinic

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Waiting mothers’ home for Rujeko Clinic

Courage Dutiro

Masvingo Urban legislator Jacob Nyokanhete has promised to build a waiting mothers’ home at Rujeko Clinic using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) which will see many expecting mothers staying at the clinic before delivering.
At present, expecting mothers can only be attended to when they are due but there is no space to keep them if they encounter any delays.
Nyokanhete’s promise comes as a relief to expecting mothers who travel long distances to deliver their babies at Rujeko Clinic only to be told to go back home because they will be a day or two early.
Speaking to Rujeko residents at a feedback dialogue meeting last week, Nyokanhete said once the CDF is released, it will be channelled towards the development of a waiting mothers’ home at the clinic.
“Rujeko is a big location now and you also deserve bigger services. Our clinic here is at times overwhelmed by the number of people who visit it and we want to capacitate to cope with the demand.
“We know they do not have any shelter for waiting mothers and we say we are going to build it for them. The money is not much but we will do what we can with the resources we have.
“No expecting mother should be send back home when their due dates are delayed. They should stay at the waiting shelter until their time has come,” said Nyokanhete.
 Rujeko Clinic only operates for eight hours a day and residents called for a 24 hour service to cater for emergencies.
This year the government has raised the CDF from $50 000 to $80 000, money which is not enough to develop anything in any constituency.

Councillors in near fist fight over audit department

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Councillors in near fist fight over audit department


Godfrey Kurauone

Brighton Chiseva


Masvingo – A fist fight nearly ensued in the Masvingo City Council chambers when ward 4 and 10 Councilors Godfrey Kurauone and Sengerayi Manyanga engaged into a heated argument over a resolution that council is supposed to create an audit department.
Mayor Collen Maboke had a difficult time trying to quell the two who were sitting next to each other.
The matter arose after Kurauone proposed to rescind a resolution which was made by the last full council, stating that the council was wasting resources and time going to see the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing with a proposal to have a stand-alone audit department.
A heated debate ensued over the issue with the majority of councillors against Kurauone until Manyanga challenged Kurauone to move a motion which could be seconded.
Manyanga started accusing Kurauone of wasting the full council’s time by not making it clear from the start that his question was just a motion.
“Kurauone was supposed to ask his question, like he has done now. He is wasting council’s time and taking us for fools. Your Worship, whenever you give him a chance to speak, give me also,” Manyanga said, seething with anger.
“He thinks he is clever and we are foolish, taking this whole house for a ride,” a charged Manyanga said.
Kurauone then stood up and told the mayor that Manyanga was on his phone during the debate, at which Manyanga interjected saying Kurauone was in South Africa when the issue was resolved and can cannot rescind something that was resolved in his absence.
“We are not fools here, we are councilors. You are the thief that is why you are opposed to a stand-alone audit department,” Manyanga charged.
The two councilors then stood up and started exchanging insults, during which Kurauone told Manyanga that the full council was not a Border Gezi camp.
“This is not a Border Gezi camp. You cannot bully everyone here,” an angry Kurauone said.
It took the intervention of Ward 1 councillor Selina Maridza to stop the two councilors from bickering, after which Mayor Maboke gave an order that the council will stand with the resolution to go see the minister of local government.

Like a diamond in the sky

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Like a diamond in the sky

…Masvingo Christian College’s glitter is unmistakable 

Theresa Takafuma

For Masvingo Christian College head Edison Muresherwa, every child has potential to achieve something in life if given the chance to explore what he or she is good at especially at secondary school level.
Muresherwa believes in a holistic approach to education, with pupils being exposed to the many different options available, but without the rigid expectation that pupils must be identical in performance.
Masvingo Christian College is now known for its non-discriminatory enrolment approach whereby getting form one placement is not determined by strict cut-off units obtained at grade seven.
Muresherwa has always said every child should be given a chance to prove themselves.
“Masvingo Christian College philosophy is clear; we look at what the school can do for the pupil, not only at what the pupil can do for the school. Once a pupil comes here, we make sure that we give him or her education that will lead to the acquisition of skills that are requisite for good livelihoods. We deliberately choose not to focus solely on the grades they would have started with,” Muresherwa said.
He said the school valued the practical side of education as much as it does every other aspect, hence the many income-generating projects being undertaken.
“We do many projects and we take them seriously because when pupils finally leave Masvingo Christian College, their minds will be liberated, and they will understand that there is dignity and wealth in labour. They will also know that there is something out there for each and every one of them, regardless of the dimension of their abilities,” he said.
The school now has a successful piggery boasting over 150 pigs, and has become one of the biggest suppliers of pork to local butcheries and supermarkets.
“The sows (female pigs) produce an average of 10 piglets at a time, and they can give birth at least three times a year which is what makes this project a profitable one. Last year, we had over 200 pigs and we sell them from time to time,” Muresherwa said.
The school uses the pig dung to produce biogas, and it plans to eliminate the use of electricity for heating purposes, the hope being that only gas appliances will soon be used in all departments.
“We are looking at producing enough gas for the whole school departments that need heating and at the moment we are producing 7m3 of gas at any given time.
“The Home Economics department is no longer using electricity as it is now using the biogas that we produce. We want to do something similar in all our departments so that we totally eliminate the use of electricity for heating,” he said.
The school also has five fish ponds and each has over 8 000 fishes, with some having been harvested for sale.
“We have already harvested the first batch and we have plans to start harvesting from other ponds soon because they are almost ready for harvesting,” Muresherwa said.
The school has a solar-powered borehole from which it pumps water for all its projects, including the fishery project.
“When I joined Masvingo Christian College, the monthly water bill was $6000, but with the drilling of the borehole it has been reduced to less than $400 per month.
“We use borehole water for all our projects, and we have three Jojo tanks for domestic use. We also do drip irrigation all year round on the 50x50m plot where we farm maize and other crops,” Muresherwa said.
The school has also embarked on a poultry project with bochsveld and broiler chickens.
Through all these projects, the school is engaging even pupils who may not necessarily be straight A learners.

Masvingo Christian absorbs ballooning enrolment 

Staff Reporter

Long-term planning at Masvingo Christian College has seen the Church of Christ-run high school being able to absorb a steadily rising enrolment over the past decade, with learning standards and the pass rate actually improving when it could be expected to decline.
School head Edison Muresherwa told this publication that the current enrolment stood at 2 300, a huge leap from what it was a few years ago.
“Enrolment follows many things including the laid down requirements and we are the most liberal in that regard and parents’ confidence in our ability to manage has grown, hence the rise in the number of children who are coming to us,” said Muresherwa.
The school has just finished building another block and plans are underway for another block which will be used for woodwork.
“After this block, we will work on a woodwork building. We currently have 10 classes for form ones and twos, which is big number for the staff compliment of 80 teachers that we have. We are, however, managing well and producing good results,” he said.
The school can take up to 30 pupils in a sciences class at ‘A’ level at a time when other can accommodate only 10 for science classes.
The school also maintains litter-free outdoors, with a litter-collection point behind classes from where Environmental Management Agency (Ema) personnel would come and collect recyclables.
“Ema used to collect the litter but it is now being done by council. There is, however, limited capacity in council and you sometimes find the places overflowing and we work hard to keep it safe,” Muresherwa said.
Practical subjects at the school include building technology and design, fashion and fabrics, textiles as well as food technology.
“Many pupils who go to polytechnics have to learn the basics of their courses from scratch but our pupils have an advantage when they pursue professional courses in areas that we cover,” said Muresherwa.

Security threat at council water reservoirs

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Security threat at council water reservoirs

Brighton Chiseva /
Theresa Takafuma


MASVINGO – There is a looming security catastrophe at the city council Kopje Hills water reservoirs as they remain unguarded posing a threat from malicious elements who may tamper with the water the whole city consumes, a full council meeting revealed.
The water reservoirs, which store water from Bushmead Water Works have not been guarded since 2013, and the danger to the water reservoirs is further increased by illegal mining activities around the area.
“Your worship, we have that problem at our reservoirs about the security of our water. I do not know, have we deployed municipal police there to guard our water?
“There is no one guarding the water reserves because someone may be attempted to poison the whole city and we will have a major catastrophe in our hands.
“Water is life and if our water is tampered with we will not survive,” said Ward 8 Against Chiteme.
In his response, Town Clerk Adolf Gusha said the issue would be addressed at committee level not in the full council meeting.
“The issue is going to be answered at committee level. Since it was discussed at committee level, those questions should have been asked at committee level as they involve matters of a sensitive security nature.
“The full council deals with legislative issues, while the committees deal with issues of an executive nature,” said Gusha.
Ward 5 councillor Daniel Mberikunashe then said while he agrees with the town clerk on the procedure, the question should have been answered whether municipal police have been deployed to the reservoirs or not as agreed in the previous full council meeting.
“If you see us asking in full council like this, we need the issue to be answered as we had agreed. I think the question councillor Chiteme asked is pertinent, and should have been answered with a yes or no,” Mberikunashe said.
Chiteme further added that as much as he acknowledges that the council is the full body, he was just following up on an issue that was raised at full council because the security of the reservoirs is flawed, and with people coming from various political parties, with different intentions it is imperative for the council to have its own security.
According to the minutes from the Health and Housing Committee meeting held on February 6, the committee raised concerns on the poor performance by the municipal police. It was however explained the municipal police section is operating below capacity.
There are reports that a municipal police officer once deployed at the reservoirs who used to reside near the tanks with his family left after his wife was assaulted while he was downhill, making it impossible for one officer to guard the place singlehandedly without a firearm.
The Public Works and Planning Committee has before reported to council the threat posed by illegal mining activities at Target Kopje hills and the likelihood of damage to council water infrastructure which involve the reservoirs.
Mining activities at the site were discontinued 40 years ago after the realization that the city’s boundaries had expanded and the mining site fell within the surveyed limits of the city, and secondly mining operations would affect the water pumping storage and distribution network.
Gusha told the full council that the issue was under control and once they have dates on which they were going to take action on the matter, they are going to let the full council know.

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