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UWPCG takes charity to Masvingo Christian College

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UWPCG takes charity to Masvingo Christian College

By Decide Nhendo

Masvingo Urban Women in Progress Community Group (UWPCG), a savings club that recently donated 110 packs of sanitary wear to Mucheke High is going on with the good work this time taking the charity to Masvingo Christian College.
Earlier, when they handed over the sanitary wear to Mucheke, UWPCG promised to mobilize for more to give to other schools, and true to their word, on June 18, they handed over 142 packs to Masvingo Christian College.
Speaking to TellZim News, UWPCG chairperson Regina Chabhanga said despite facing financial challenges, they were going to continue with the little they afford to make a difference in the communities.
“We do not have enough resources but we are going to do the little we can for our school-going children. Our wish is to extend to the community and address other challenges affecting people,” said Chabhanga.
Masvingo Christian College deputy head Getrude Chengeta said they were happy with the donation especially coming from a community group and urged UWPCG to consider the boy child in their next programmes.
“We are grateful because of what UCWPCG has done, they have remembered the girl child with essentials which will go a long way in enhancing learning and boosting confidence in learners. We, however, advise them not to focus on girls alone as they can include boys in their programming,” said Chengeta.
Chengeta said the donation comes as a lesson to the girl child who is going to be a mother in the future to remember that they have to support others in their communities.
“Another important lesson from the donations is that they are a good example to the girl child in making them realize that when they grow up they need to take responsibilities and fill in gaps within their communities,” said Chengeta.
UWPCG started in 2019 as a savings club and they contributed money which will then be lent to members who would return it with interest. They then started charity work where they help communities in need.

Ratidzo Zimcare School to conduct awareness campaign

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Ratidzo Zimcare School to conduct awareness campaign

By Staff Reporter

MASVINGO – Catholic-run Ratidzo Zimcare Trust School will on June 27 conduct an awareness campaign in Mucheke to increase the school and organization’s visibility.
School head Bernadette Chihava said the campaign was meant to raise awareness in the area that people with intellectual disability could still go to school and learn to become independent people.
She said the campaign was necessitated by the fact that there were members of the community with children with intellectual disabilities who were keeping them away from the public not knowing that they were just human beings like everyone else and deserved the right to education.
“We are going to do an awareness campaign to market the school as well as conscientize people that persons with intellectual disability can still come to school and learn so that they become independent rather than depending on others.
“There are many children with intellectual disabilities yet parents or guardians shy away from exposing them to school. As a result, they remain dependent on caregiving throughout their lives. Our school provides daily living skills as well as survival skills to children with intellectual disabilities,” said Chihava.
She went on to say as a school they were capable of capacitating intellectually disabled people on basic social issues for them to be able to do basics like brushing teeth and wearing clothes properly among other things.
She said they also train them on hands-on skills like gardening, poultry production and other agricultural skills which they can use after leaving the school at the age of 18.
She said after graduating those who afford would advance to adult centers where they would learn more but many were facing financial challenges as they were expected to pay fees.
“We teach them a lot of activities like basic social skills. They have to be able to wash their bodies alone, brush teeth, and do laundry among other things. We also teach them agriculture among others skills and we wean them at the age of 18.
“After that they can advance to adult centers but many fail to proceed because there they will be expected to pay fees unlike here where they do not pay fees as we rely on BEAM,” she said.
The school relies on donations from different organizations and individuals as well since the government is failing to release BEAM funds on time.

Masvingo BSPZ centre the best in province

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Masvingo BSPZ centre the best in province

By Perpetua Murungweni

Masvingo District Better Schools Programme Zimbabwe Centre (BSPZ) in Mucheke which houses the district’s education offices has been described as the best in terms of architectural design.
Speaking at the official opening of the centre on June 14, 2024 Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Permanent Secretary Moses Mhike said the centre was beautiful and said others should have copied from it.
“We were in Zaka on Tuesday and Chivi on Thursday before we came here and we have witnessed excellent work in the two districts but Masvingo District has proven to be exceptional, we are very proud,” said Mhike.
Mhike said the BSPZ complex was a cornerstone of the National Development Strategy 1 and 2 and is poised to redefine the education landscape.
“BSPZ centres represent a strategic investment in human capital development which is a cornerstone of National Development Strategy 1 and 2. As a ministry, we envision this space to be a hub of creativity, with its state-of-the-art structure, the designed BSPZ centre embodies excellence in every facet from its innovative architectural design to its cutting edge facilities. This complex is poised to redefine the education landscape of the district,” said Mhike.
He said if the complex was effectively used, it would greatly impact Masvingo Province.
“The complex has the potential to impact on people’s outcomes across Masvingo Province especially when we effectively use it for teacher capacity development,” said Mhike.
Masvingo Provincial Education Director (PED) Shyllate Mhike applauded the District for its work and said the province was proud.
“I applaud teachers, district personnel and school heads who worked together in achieving this goal and as the province, we are proud of you Masvingo District,” she said.
The complex comprises a wellness centre, library, computer laboratory, a lecture room and kitchens, facets that represent the ministry strategic priorities.
The Ministry commissioned similar projects in Chivi and Zaka Districts and is set to commission another one in Gutu.

Livestock farmers urged to form cooperatives as drought bites

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Livestock farmers urged to form cooperatives as drought bites

By Decide Nhendo

Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development (MoLAFWRD) in partnership with various private livestock players has encouraged livestock farmers to form cooperatives for sustenance as the impact of the El Nino-induced drought hits hard on livestock.
The ministry organized a dialogue meeting for farmers, private sector and stock feed providers at Chevron Hotel on June 20 to discuss solutions on reducing drought effects imposed on livestock.
Speaking at the meeting, MoLAFWRD Livestock Production Deputy Director Rutendo Nyahunda said farmers were supposed to form cooperatives and register them, as working in groups was less expensive than as individuals.
“Because of poor rains received this year, there is little feed for livestock, of which the little available feed is of poor quality.
“Farmers are encouraged to form farmer associations within the small-scale producers as they can achieve more with collective action, as it will be less expensive for them,” said Nyahunda.
Bikita Livestock Business Association chairperson Alex Makaye from Bikita South, Ward 3 said the effects of the drought were dire and were making it difficult for them to find feeds for their livestock.
He applauded the move by the ministry and stakeholders on drought mitigation measures, promising that farmers would form cooperatives and legalize them to get access to stock feed providers at a lesser cost.
“Drought has imposed a great threat to our animals because there is shortage of feed. We are grateful to the ministry for the dialogue meeting between various livestock production stakeholders. We have learnt that if we work in cooperatives it will be less costly. A truck can deliver feed in large quantities to our various destinations at a lesser cost,” said Makaye.
Makaye said the number of livestock farmers in Bikita was decreasing because of low prices of livestock as they were not able to produce quality livestock for competitive markets.
“In Bikita we have around 60 farmers who do commercial livestock farming. The number of farmers is decreasing because of the quality of cattle which fails to meet standards at abattoirs hence the low prices,” said Makaye.

Nonagenarian dies from witch craft-related arson

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Nonagenarian dies from witch craft-related arson

By Staff Reporter

ZAKA – A 96-year-old Zaka granny died at Masvingo Provincial Hospital recently from burns sustained after the house she was sharing with her 68-year-old daughter was set ablaze by a male relative who accused the two of witchcraft.
Police sources said the suspect was arrested after the community apprehended and handed him over to the police.
Circumstances are that on June 6, the accused Assel Mukurungi from Maoneke Village under Chief Nyakunhuwa area went to Laiza Mukawu’s homestead around 10pm and found her asleep with the now deceased.
The accused is Mukawu’s nephew.
He asked Mukawu to open the door and threatened to break in accusing the two of witchcraft of which he went on to force open the door after the two refused to open.
He got into the house holding a small axe and threatened to kill both before setting property including a bed, fridge, wardrobe, a solar battery and some clothes on fire.
He struck Mukawu three times on the buttocks and once on the left arm with the axe handle as the fire spread inside the house, but Mukawu managed to escape calling for help from neighbors.
One villager came to their rescue but the accused managed to escaped and they managed to rescue Mapendere who had failed to escape from the raging fire, getting severely burnt in the process.
The villagers tracked down the accused whom they apprehended and handed over to the police while his two victims were rushed to hospital and were transferred to Masvingo where Mapendere later died.

Are Trade Unions doing good or harm the efficient running of business in Zimbabwe?

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Are Trade Unions doing good or harm the efficient running of business in Zimbabwe?

By Shadreck Zangairai

In one of my previous publications, I mentioned about decline in strike activity in Zimbabwe and the disjointment/fragmentation of trade unions. One of the avid followers of the column, after reading the presentation posed a question to me; if what I explained was the position, so can we say that trade unions are doing good or are harming the efficient running of business in Zimbabwe. Despite the fact that I answered him, but I promised to put the response on this platform for the sake of others who might be having the same question. The presence and rise of trade unions in Zimbabwe has had drastic effects on organisations’ relationships with employees, thereby affecting the effectiveness of business in Zimbabwe. While some say labour unions have many positive effects on work life and employment others maintain distinctly negative effects caused by unions that hinder the progress and effective running of business in Zimbabwe. From my analysis, it will be up to the reader to conclude whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, or vice versa.
Trade unions are one of the most important social movements underpinning democracy. They advocate for workers’ right to freedom of association and also creates the means by which all other rights are asserted and defended. Historically, trade unions have fought for the right to decent pay and conditions employment for both men and women at the workplace and for improved social welfare through, for example, health care, education and social security. The world in which we and our members work is rapidly changing. Competition is global and intensifying, bringing a new level of insecurity to workers. And we must never forget that many of the world’s citizens are still oppressed by dictatorial and authoritarian regimes that continue to deny, often by violent means, freedom of association and other basic human and workers’ rights. It is now the mandate and determination of trade unionism to fight again to defend the principles that have won so much for working people. These principles are as relevant in today’s world of global competition as they were at any stage of our history. Trade unions were founded to fight injustice and to ensure basic human and economic rights of working men and women and their families.
Labour unions in Zimbabwe have not always been met with a warm welcome from the government or from development economists. The reason being that they are viewed as a threat to both rapid economic growth and political stability. Unions pressure for higher real wages and more advanced social services than the economy can afford, even at a time when investment is the critical need. At worst, they may be led by political radicals dissatisfied with the existing system of governments. So trade unions benefit their members in the short run and harm the organisations in the long run and later the economy itself. There is also a possibility of a decline in the value of merit. In many union settings, workers cannot advance much at all on their merits but must generally progress within the limits defined by the unions. In theory, at least, unionised workers might become so comfortable and protected that they lose the incentive to work hard for the employer. This may lead outstanding employees to lose their hearts if there is no incentive to excel or worse, if they are pressured by the union not to go an extra mile.
On the other hand, too much power vested in on trade unions scares away investors to other countries with less powerful trade unions. For example, in the Zimbabwean context, the initiation of union formation by the government gave more power to unions in anticipation of their leadership’s compliance to the government demands. This however turned political and backfired the government. This impacted negatively the running of businesses in Zimbabwe which led to national strikes, stay away and go-slows which was taking place in almost every three month. In addition, trade unions such as the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU), would impose their demands on companies. At one point ZFTU invaded factories which forced many companies to close. At the same time, there was vandalism of property as people took advantage of the disorders due to the demonstrations. Thus instead of addressing issues on the ground, the unions would fight for members and popularity while crippling the economy.

Disclaimer: The information contained herein does not serve as alternative to legal advice. The author do not accept any liability for any damages or losses suffered as a result of actions taken based on information contained herein.

Shadreck Zangairai is a Human Resources Practitioner and for feedback, email: shadreckzanga@gmail.com

To be continued..

Care groups bring ray of hope to children’s health

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Care groups bring ray of hope to children’s health

…as malnutrition cases rise due to ongoing drought

By Beverly Bizeki

In Bikita District, Masvingo, villagers are starting to feel the heat of an El Nino-induced drought ravaging the country and the climate crisis has not spared children from its biting effects as food scarcity is striking with the district already recorded 56 cases of malnutrition.
Bikita is one of the areas characterized by climate variability including late rains, high temperatures and short rainfall season, issues that are directly affecting children’s health due to food shortages within families.
In response to the crisis, the Ministry of Health and Child Care, with support from United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and its nutrition partners implemented the ‘Care group model’ in the Dewure area of Bikita.
This is a community-based services health information system aimed at preventing children’s malnutrition by providing mothers and other caregivers with information on how to provide a nutritious diet for children as well as screening for malnutrition.
Bikita District Nutritionist Advance Zidya said the situation was already escalating as they have recorded 56 cases so far, which is higher compared to last year, attributing the detection and record of cases to the community care groups as well as the drought.
“The care group approach is welcomed in Bikita as village health workers conduct screening every month and villagers understand the concept because those who would have been found with malnutrition do come to the clinic for treatment. Our burden during this time of the year, in a normal year is usually small.
“It is unfortunate that we have 56 cases at the moment which is a high number and we expect more in the next two to three months because of drought but the good thing is we still have supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF Plumpy Nut) and we expect our partners UNICEF and World Vision to put more resources for the project towards the RUTFs and transport as the clinic does not provide admissions for severe cases,” said Zidya.
The care groups conduct cooking demos where they share notes on how to prepare nutritious meals using locally available resources and the groups came up with traditional recipes familiar to the people in the area.
One of the lead mothers in the care groups Otilia Makara said the demos were useful to the communities as they use locally available foodstuffs that provide at least all the required nutrients for child development.
“We use local ingredients like mufushwa (dried vegetables) beans, peas, sweet potatoes, and mealie-meal to provide nutritious meals for children and we urge fellow mothers from our communities to use foodstuffs available in our villages to provide meals with at least four nutrients for their children.
“This has been effective in lessening malnutrition in children. We are also noting a reduction in Gender Based Violence cases as some cases can be attributed to food shortage in homes,” said Makara.
Village 7B health worker Miriam Dhliwayo commended the program although she lamented the acute food shortages in the district.
“Due to drought most children might have fallen victim to malnutrition had it not been for the lessons shared to lactating women and caregivers on meal preparations in these challenging times.
“The cooking demos have taught us to prepare meals like porridge without sugar although the situation is dire for us as we did not get anything from our fields this year,” Dhliwayo said.
UNICEF Chief Communications Officer Yves Willemot said the climate change crisis was a children’s rights crisis affecting their health, education and protection rights.
“As climate change becomes more frequent and increases in severity, it is affecting children more and impacts their right to health and nutrition as it goes with an increased scarcity of water and food. It also impacts the educational and protection rights of children, some households in Zimbabwe are facing a reduction of income from agricultural activities which affect households’ capacity to pay for children’s school fees,” said Willemot.
Willemot said the care groups were bringing a sense of hope to communities although there was need to scale up the community-based platforms to save more children.
“Here in Bikita, there is a sense of hope because even though the situation might be dire the community is billing its resilience by looking for responses to food scarcity. The care groups’ approach illustrates how in a dire situation, changes in food preparation can be an effective way of dealing with scarcity of food guaranteeing that children continue to get nutritious and diverse food needed for development and to protect themselves from malnutrition.
“The challenge that we have is these community-based platforms that have shown effectiveness need to be scaled up. As UNICEF we are calling upon the donor community to be generous in making funding available so that more of these initiatives can be rolled out and many children can be saved from malnutrition,” said Willemot.
Statistics from UNICEF show that around 181 million children worldwide under 5 years of age which is one in four children are experiencing severe child poverty which makes them prone to 50 percent wasting, a life-threatening form of malnutrition.
“Of the 181 million, 580 000 are Zimbabwean children although the number might increase due to the ongoing drought,” he said.
UNICEF is currently appealing for US$84.9 million to fund its emergency response aimed at assisting children and women affected by the El Nino crisis in Zimbabwe.

New security measures reducing smuggling at Beitbridge

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New security measures reducing smuggling at Beitbridge

…as ZIMRA records rise in revenue collection

By Beatific Gumbwanda

Government’s developmental initiatives through partnership with Zimborders at Beitbridge Border Post have increased security measures impeding crime in transit, smuggling of goods and dangerous substances as well as flagging of wanted suspects thereby increasing revenue collection by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA).
Zimborders provides a turnkey solution for the infrastructure as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems to modernize and upgrade the border posts in Zimbabwe, with Beitbridge being the pioneer while Forbes in Manicaland is expected to surpass it.
Beitbridge Border Post is manned by twenty-six government departments, with ZIMRA dominating with 425 employees working on four shifts.
Speaking during a media tour of the border Post recently, Beitbridge ZIMRA’s Regional Manager, Lonto Ndlovu said the modernization of the port of entry promoted security.
She said they used Closed Circuit Television Network (CCTV) as well as Facial Recognition Software and drones which helps in identifying flagged criminal suspects, smuggling activity around the border and its peripheries as well as avoidance of transit criminal vehicles.
“Drone Surveillance System helps in the border surveillance on smugglers and is bearing results as 4-5 smugglers are being intercepted daily. We have short-range drones with a 10-kilometer radius which we are currently using as well as long-range drones with a 100-kilometer radius.
“We also have the ground reaction teams comprising of ZIMRA officials, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, and Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) personnel who operate on information obtained from drone surveillance,” she added.
Ndlovu said the Facial Recognition System automatically detects flagged criminals once they set foot on the border, alerting the security forces to act promptly.
“The facial recognition system detects flagged criminals from passing through as the alarm system goes on whenever they set foot on the border prompting security forces to react immediately,” she said.
“We also have commercial truck scanners, which scan over 100 trucks per hour, making it easy to check more than 900 trucks on daily basis,” said Ndlovu.
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority also runs the canine unit at the border post where dogs are used to sniff and detect drugs from all goods that pass through the border.
She went on to say the modernization also resulted in increased revenue collection and reduction in corruption.
“Ever since the modernization of Beitbridge Border post, we are now collecting more revenue and there is now order at the border as we now use the Coordinated Border Management system. Corruption is now kept low.
“During the first year after modernization, we surpassed our collection target by 30 percent and as of last year, we surpassed by 16 percent,” said Ndlovu.

Mwenezi councilor introduces community soccer league

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Mwenezi councilor introduces community soccer league

By Cephas Shava

Mwenezi East’s ward 18 Councillor Tawanda Muza whose ward houses the district’s populous Rutenga Growth Point has introduced a community soccer league named after him called Muza Community League which has 14 soccer teams playing every weekend, with finals expected in August.
The league, which is solely sponsored by Muza himself has seven teams from the host ward 18 while the other seven are from the nearby ward 14.
Speaking to TellZim News, Muza who envisioned making the league much bigger and better said he came up with the idea after realizing that there was a lot of idle talent whose exposure needed collective efforts.
He added that by introducing sporting activities of such caliber, his hope was to contribute towards keeping youths away from notorious societal ills like drug abuse and other crimes.
“The Muza Community League is going to be an annual event and we are working on modalities to make this league go beyond ward level.
“We have a lot of local talented soccer players who lack exposure and we hope that as the teams play during the course of this league, we are going to invite various sports personnel who matter most and can help us in uplifting our talented youths,” said Muza.
Currently at the apex of the Muza Community League table is Rutenga Academy Stars with a total of 24 points trailed by First Touch which has 22 points.
In third place is Mahwindi with 18 points followed by Dragon Bulls in fourth position while Kangaroo is in fifth position.
Other teams that form part of the league includes Hot Chillies, Red Lion, Mangondi Eagles, Chinyu, Chariot Fire, Chiedza, and Tototo.

Keiz Sports Management ventures into cricket

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Keiz Sports Management ventures into cricket

By Sports Reporter

South African-based sport marketer Kudakwashe Garufu who owns Keiz Sports Management has expanded his talent management from soccer to cricket, a feat that will see local talent land in reputable clubs regionally and internationally.
Garufu, who for years has been managing football players recently established a cricket marketing arm following his complete accreditation by South Africa Cricket Association (SACA).
He told TellZim News that the move will see cricket players playing in the National Premier League (NPL) franchise and other untapped cricket fronts within Zimbabwe, get better deals in SA20 Betway as well as other fancied cricket franchises.
“As an agency, we saw it fit to venture into different sporting activities than only focusing on football, as a result of business growth. It gives us the platform to widen our vision and obviously, the whole idea is to represent players in line with the cricket set standards,” said Garufu.
He said it was high time Keiz extended its enrichment hand to other sporting codes since it has been long in the football foil and said his organization was there to make it easier for players who would want to play in South Africa or other countries.
“Keiz makes life easier for players in the scope of representation. Players would only focus on the game while we do all the necessary administrations and outsourcing trials,” Garufu said.
Keiz Sport Management was registered in 2021, focusing on football while managing players in Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Garufu with the help of two other directors also manages Concession-based YOFT Academy. Garufu said his agency managed players like former Warriors goalkeeper Talbert Shumba together with Simba Bhora and former Dynamos goalie Simba Chinani.

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