Every wet season poses enhanced dangers to motorists and pedestrians alike due to increased potholes and reduced vision caused by rain, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TCSZ) has said.
The organisation has encouraged all road users be extra cautious and to be extra alert on the roads to ensure safety on the country’s roads.
TCSZ reports that an average of 1800 people are killed annually while 30 000 are injured in road traffic accidents.
This means that on average, five people die and 38 others are injured daily on the roads, with the highest number being in the rainy season.
Speaking to TellZim News, TSCZ managing director Obia Chinyere said motorists should ensure that their vehicles are in a road worthy condition and basic checks are undertaken to prepare their vehicles for the rainy months.
“Nationally, road casualty rates increase with the arrival of the rainy season which is worsened by festive holidays. As the rains fall, it is important that all road users re-assess their journeys and account for the rains. We are advising all motorists to use their air conditioners and if not available, slightly open their windows to minimise the mist that builds up inside vehicles.
Driving in the rain can be both scary and dangerous. It produces anxiety as well as poor visibility so it is important to take wet weather seriously when you are on the road. One needs to ensure that thye can see properly. Most importantly, one has to drive according to the conditions and adjust a few habits to avoid sliding, skidding or being involved in a collision,” said Chinyere.
He also gave several tips including keeping windows clean, maintaining lights and tyres, turning windshield wipers, slowing down and staying focused.
“Slowing down is very important because it is very difficult to stop when speeding as the road would be slippery. Keeping a distance from other vehicles is also important. Speed kills and we wish all road users a safe season and blessed holidays,” Chinyere said.local

Moses Ziyambi

CHIVI – Dozens of pupils from Jenya High School, led by their teachers and school head, recently paid a visit to a forsaken old widow in Mudyazhezha village under Chief Madyangove where they presented her with gifts before doing some work at her homestead.
Mbuya Revai Mhande was overwhelmed by emotions when the children donated groceries to her and spent some time entertaining her.
The old woman, who estimates her age to be somewhere around 84, stays alone at home and she struggles to see each day through, with nobody available to help her out with the basics of life.
Pupils donated groceries that included cooking oil, sugar, bread and flower. Thereafter, the pupils took hoes and other equipment and cleaned up the yard.
“It is a good experience to have a school and its children remembering people like me. I never expected to receive such an early Christmas present so I thank God for this visit.
“I stay alone and my life is not at all easy. Getting food is a daily struggle and with old age, I also find it difficult to do all the work that is needed to maintain a decent home outlook. This is a gesture that I will never forget for the rest of my life,” said Mbuya Mhande.
Children who were present pointed out that it was their wish to continue with the work of charity, saying they will mobilise resources and return again next year.
Jenya High School head Austin Hakunavanhu said the welfare of the elderly, especially those who struggle to survive in the rural areas, should be a priority for everybody.
“As members of society, we must be more caring. Old age is part of our destiny if we are fortunate enough to live as long as Mbuya Mhande has lived. She represents the needy people we must care for and I am deeply humbled by the efforts of Jenya High School members of staff and pupils,” said Hakunavanhu.local

MASVINGO – Hundreds of Pledge 25 Club members in last week Friday and Saturday thronged the local National Blood Service Zimbabwe (NBSZ) branch where they contributed to efforts to increase blood levels in the country’s reserves.
The club comprises 300 youths ranging 16 to 30 years of age.
The event, which is held annually towards festive season, is part of a drive to collect 750 units of blood from club members and walk in donors.
Speaking to TellZim News last week, NBSZ Masvingo planning and recruitment officer, Michael Chakoma said it is important to donate blood during the festive season which is known for many road traffic accidents.
“We saw it necessary to gather the youths to make donations towards the festive season since demand for blood tends to increase during this period,” said Chakoma.
John Manoah, a Pledge 25 club member said he was very proud to donate blood because it was his way of helping the next person.
Manoah also encouraged other youths to come and join Pledge 25 and donate blood.
“I want to encourage others to come join us and donate blood to assist the next person. It might help you as well,” he said. local

Clever Taperamoyo

MASVINGO – The number of registered voters in the province under the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) system continues to rise with women maintaining their dominance as of December 13, 2017. 
According to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) statistics, the total number of people who registered in the province on that date stood at 496 032.
Females constituted 290 591 of the registrants while males were 205 441. A total number of 10 967 prospective voters were turned away since the beginning of the process.
In an interview with TellZim News, provincial elections officer Zex Pudurai said a meeting was held last week with stakeholders from Masvingo and Manicaland provinces to analyse progress.
“We are engaging with political parties, civil societies, and other stakeholders as a way of understanding their concerns. Political parties and civil society held another meeting in Harare aimed at engaging ZEC on what they consider to be a need to give the process more time,” Pudurai said.
He also said the number of youths who are registering was also steadily increasing probably due to greater voter education and awareness.
The fourth phase of the BVR blitz, which is targeted at Bikita and Zaka districts, ends on December 19.local

Brighton Chiseva

ZAKA – Villagers in the district have said they are worried by an outbreak of foot and mouth cattle diseases in such wards as 18, 19, 20 and 25.
Though Masvingo Provincial Veterinary Officer Dr Enerst Dzimwasha was not immediately available for comment as his phone went unanswered, a villager told TellZim News that cattle movement from Zaka to other areas had been suspended.
“In ward 25, Nyamutake area, a vaccination process was carried out recently after many cattle died of the diseases. We have been told that cattle movement from Zaka to other districts is not allowed because work is being done to contain the spread of the diseases,” said the source.
During the Masvingo Agricultural Show in September, it was reported that the exhibition of cattle could not be done due to restricted livestock movement in some districts that were hit by the diseases.local

CHIREDZI – Government is eager to dispose of its equity interest in the loss-making Air Zimbabwe after negotiations for Public/Private Partnership (PPP) with Air Malaysia failed due to outstanding debt totalling US$330 million.
Transport and Infrastructural Development minister Joramu Gumbo, who once made a blunt condemnation of national flag carrier as ailing and running noisy aircraft, said privatisation could be the way out of the troubles.
Speaking to TellZim News after the commissioning of the upgraded Nandi Mkwasine railway line recently, Gumbo said Air Zimbabwe, just like National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), was hamstrung by massive debts that repel prospective partnerships.
“We had agreed as government to find a partner for Air Zimbabwe and I was looking at 12 airlines and the first one I was engaging was Air Malaysia because I wanted their planes but later on, I discovered that we had a $330 million debt which could not attract a partnership,” said Gumbo.
He indicated that focus had since shifted to the Zimbabwe Aviation Leasing Company (ZALC) to take over from where negotiations with Air Malaysia have been left.
“I have now shifted the work that I have done to private people like DIDG who are in the diaspora and I gave that opportunity to a company called Zimbabwe Aviation Leasing Company to take over from where I have left in the negotiations with Air Malaysia,” he said.
DIDG stands for Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group which is understood to be a consortium of Zimbabweans living outside the country. The company is expected to facilitate the acquisition of aeroplanes under a lease agreement.
Before the fall Robert Mugabe last month, Gumbo was widely reported to have been at the centre of an alleged plot to liquidate Air Zimbabwe while creating a new airline owned by the former president and his relatives.local

CHIREDZI – The European Union (EU) ambassador to Zimbabwe, Philippe van Damme has called upon government to craft and implement non-partisan policies in the quest for rural development.
The call was made in a speech read on van Damme’s behalf by Thomas Opera, his representative at the commissioning of the upgraded 34.5 kilometre Nandi Mkwasine railway line by Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Joramu Gumbo in Chiredzi.
“In 2006 the EU and Zimbabwe agreed on a national sugar strategy. The industry was facing numerous challenges including decline in yields, deteriorating infrastructure, limited access to inputs just to name a few which all resulted in the overall decline of production.
“In this challenging time, the EU committed a total of US$37 million in support of vulnerable small scale sugar producers with overall objective of improving the channel of livelihoods of sugarcane farming in the Lowveld,” said van Damme.
He further indicated that the EU is still committed to helping the government improve the livelihoods of the Zimbabwean disadvantaged communities.
“Infrastructure alone is insufficient to ensure social, environmental and economically sustainable rural development. Predictable policies in key areas such as indigenisation and access to land should be incredible and non-partisan and based on agro-economic and social criteria which safeguards long done sustainability in managing and conserving natural resources.
“EU and Zimbabwean government are currently working on a comprehensive programme to support communities surrounding the Save Valley Conservancy in developing forward looking solutions to maximise the benefits from agriculture and wildlife,” added van Damme.
THE National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), in partnership with the government and the European Union, refurbished the Nandi-Mkwasine railway line at a cost of more than US$10 million.
According to NRZ, the refurbishment exercise saw the upgrading of the track from 30kg/metre track to a heavier 40kg/metre track and the replacement of steel sleepers with 34 000 concrete sleepers.local

Beatific Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI – Tongaat Hullet Zimbabwe (THZ) managing director, Sydney Mutsambiwa has lamented the sharp decline in sugarcane production in Mkwasine Estates saying farmers there must pull up their socks to improve productivity.
Production in the estates declined from 850 – 900 000 to 500 000 tons, a consequence of what many people say was the impulsive seizure of the land from Tongaat Hullet and its parcelling to inexperienced and poorly equipped indigenous farmers.
 “To those who are fond of mathematics, Mkwasine Estates – over the years – produced an average of 850 – 900 000 tons of sugarcane every year. After some time, the yields began to decline to a maximum of 500 000 tons of cane per year meaning there is a 50 percent gap with regards to the installed capacity we once had.
Mutsambiwa encouraged Mkwasine farmers to make full use of the recently upgraded Nandi-Mkwasine railway line to transport their produce.
“Most of us here are aware that our sugarcane from Mkwasine was once transported through railway line but over the past years, it became a thing of the past.
“Meaning to say that the commissioning of Nandi Mkwasine railway line must take us back to our normal capacity we once had. So as Mkwasine farmers, we have a mammoth task ahead of us in teams of improving productivity,” said Mutsambiwa.
He also indicated that the decline in sugarcane production in Mkwasine was costing farmers huge sums of profits.
“At full production capacity of 800 000 tons of sugarcane, we would be expecting an average of 100 000 tons of raw sugar from Mkwasine with an average cost of US$570 per tonne. The total value of sugar from Mkwasine in a normal year at full production capacity should be around US$57 million. So we have to pull up our socks,” said Mutsambiwa.
After Tongaat Hullet pulled out of Mkwasine, infrastructure has crumbled; with a clinic, sports facilities and other amenities falling into shocking disrepair.local