By Staff Reporter

ZAKA – Located in one of the remotest districts in Masvingo Province, Zaka, St Joseph Tongoona High School is proving to be a force to reckon as it continues to post impressive results, especially at Advanced Level and has once again scored a clean 100 percent pass-rate in the 2023 Advanced Level Zimsec results released recently.
Apart from the overall 100 percent pass rate, the school recorded a clean 100 percent in five subjects namely Crop Science, Geography, Biology, Business Studies, and Economics.
Seven learners namely Melissa Mukuhudzi, Joshua Mzvuke, Renias Tohochipi, Andrew Mahesu, Peacewell Chitimira, Francisca Marangwanda and Lloyd Mugandani scored 15 points and seven others scored 14 points.
Commenting on the results, the school Head Mapiye Magura said he was thrilled at the performance saying they wish to continue on that track and make the school greater.
“We are happy with our results, our learners did exceptionally well and I believe it’s a result of collective efforts by the teachers, learners, and support from parents through the School Development Committee (SDC).
“I want to thank the team of teachers that we have here, they are all dedicated to their work instilling the same in the learners, and as a result, our learners excel. Our SDC is very supportive and because of that, all our projects thrive,” said Magara.
The SDC chairperson Wellington Pindai Chakona said the results were getting better every year and attributed the positive change to the unity of purpose amongst all stakeholders.
“There is a bigger change compared to the previous years, we are producing better results every year simply because of unity of purpose between parents, the school administration and a team of dedicated teachers who are working tirelessly to produce good results,” said Chakona.
He said the school was also pursuing sciences and recently introduced more science subjects at A Level.
“We introduced Computer science, Chemistry, and Physics to suit 5:0 heritage education anchored on sciences. We are also in the process of procuring a 75-seater bus for the school.
“We have a thriving fish farming, piggery project, poultry project, and horticulture and we have more in store. We are targeting introducing driving lessons and starting a livestock project as well as massive infrastructure development starting with a multi-purpose hall for the school,” said Chakona.
He said the school was advantageous in the sense that it is a peri-urban, being located a few kilometers from Jerera Growth point with an affordable fees structure.

Beatific Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI- Mkwasine sugar cane farmers have been urged to step up and improve sanitation facilities and safe drinking water or people will perish from cholera.
Ward 21 Councilor, Wellington Mudzimiri said farmers should be taken to task to repair and develop Mkwasine Estate as they have been empowered through the land reform program.
“Farmers should be taken to task to make sure that they provide better sanitation for their employees. We can’t think of donors to come and rescue us on something we can do for ourselves. We have been empowered by the government with land and it is up to us to make the best out of it,” said Mudzimiri.
Former Secretary General for Zimbabwe Sugarcane Development Association Royal Trust (ZSDA) Solomon Gavaza said Mkwasine Estates had tapped water infrastructure which was dilapidated years ago and people are now resorting to canals for drinking water and bush toilets.
“Mkwasine has tapped water infrastructure which has dilapidated. Only a few areas if not only three villages out of 32 Mkwasine Villages still have access to clean water. People are now resorting to canals for drinking water and bush toilets,” said Gavaza.
Mkwasine Sugarcane Farmers Association, Obert Maganda said they provided the association’s vehicle for door-to-door campaigns by the outreach team and also provided soap, drugs, and buckets for use at Mkwasine Clinic.
“We have managed to provide soap, drugs, and buckets for use by patients at our local Mkwasine Clinic. We also provided our vehicle for door-to-door campaign by the outreach team,” said Maganda.
Visit by this publication to Mkwasine Estate, particularly in ward 21 and Mapanza on a fact-finding mission discovered that people were still drinking from unprotected wells.
There has been resistance by most sugarcane farmers to contribute towards Mkwasine Management Committee (MMC) a consortium aimed at developing the dilapidated Mkwsine estate to reclaim the lost status, which has also snail-paced development.
Zimbabwe’s oldest sugarcane estate, Mkwasine Estate, which was abandoned by Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe (THZ) in 2006 after the Government took over through its land reform program was left nursing cholera injuries which were necessitated by dilapidated infrastructure and lack of clean drinking water, which was vandalized and never refurbished when black out-grower farmers took over.
The out-grower farmers who grabbed the thriving Mkwasine estate are now struggling to maintain the standards that were left by the settlers and THZ as they are even failing to produce close to 400 000 tonnes of sugarcane per annum, refurbish the compounds and supply clean and fresh water to their employees, which has been a recipe for disaster over the past few months, with cholera leaving a trail of destruction.
They have also been resorting to bush toilets as blair toilets, which were constructed decades ago had filled up and had become a health disaster for many.
Mapanza area, where a makeshift health facility under a tree was established to save lives stirred debate on social media, after the picture was shared.

By Beverly Bizeki

Water woes hounding Masvingo City Council might take three years to end, upon financial closure as hinted by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works Winston Chitando at an interaction meeting held at Masvingo City Council on January 22, 2024.
Speaking at the meeting held to review the state of affairs for both Masvingo City Council and Masvingo Rural District Council, in line with a local authority blueprint launched by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Chitando said one of the gaps that had been identified on the budget review for Masvingo City is the one-third deficit available in terms of water provision.
“Currently Masvingo city is producing two-thirds of the required water in the city but what is important is that the city has come up with a roadmap to close that gap and upon financial closure it will take three years to close that gap and residents will be able to get water 365 days of the year.
“In terms of service delivery there is a gap in waste removal but there is a plan to increase the fleet for waste removal so I would like to complement the city for identifying gaps and coming up with plans for the gaps,” said Chitando.
Chitando also commented on Masvingo City’s compliance with the blueprint launched by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in November last year under the theme ‘A call to action, No compromise on service delivery’ and said Masvingo had its budget reviewed.
“The government would want to see every local authority providing water to residents 365 days a year and would like to see all local authorities providing the correct level of sewer and waste removal services so the meeting with City of Masvingo and Masvingo RDC was to review their state of affairs and how far they have progressed in terms of the implementation of the blueprint,” Chitando said.
Commenting on the water issue, Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance Board Chairperson Thomas Mbetu called upon council to look for funding urgently to avoid the challenge escalating as the city is continuously expanding.
“MURRA notes that if we fail to deal with our water challenge in the shortest possible time we will run the risk of having a serious water crisis shortly. This therefore means that there is urgent need to upgrade the water system.
“Our worry as residents is there is a delay in attending to the water problem in the city because Masvingo City Council said it may take up to three years to resolve the water challenge again on condition that they get funding for the project.
“We call upon Masvingo City Council to prioritize looking for funding in the shortly possible time to resolve this water challenge because the more we delay the more the challenge will get bigger due to the growing city population and the expansion of housing construction in the city,” said Mbetu.
Chitando also commended both councils for having both their accounts audited.
Masvingo’s water challenges are a result of the need to complete the water augmentation phase two project which will also pump another 30 megalitres to give a total of 60 megalitres to be able to meet the city’s water requirements.
Masvingo Ward 8 councilor Richard Musekiwa also pleaded with the parent ministry to ensure that councils get funding for road rehabilitation on time so they can be able to plan accordingly.

By Brighton Chiseva

ZAKA – A group of four minor sex workers, popularly known as ‘Zvitokwe Mukosi’ allegedly below 15 years have become the talk of the town in Zaka’s Jerera Growth Point as they are attracting the eyes of male predators who are stampeding to get their services.
The name ‘Zvitokwe Mukosi’ came about after several young children from Chivi area who were affected by the Tokwe Mukosi floods in 2014 went into prostitution in areas like Ngundu, Chiredzi and Jerera.
Zaka ward 19 (Jerera) councilor Albert Mazvanya popularly known as Tabika confirmed the development and said they were worried about the issue saying responsible authorities should intervene.
“I can confirm there is a group of about four girls who frequent the popular night spots in Jerera. They are so young judging from their faces and stature and could be below 15 years. I heard one of them dropped out of school and was supposed to be in form 2 in the resettlement areas. After that she came to stay with her mother who stays in the Mapanje area but left for the growth point.
“I call upon relevant departments to intervene and rescue these young children before they become addicted to the profession because currently, all eyes are on them,” said Mazvanya.
Other sources said the minors were staying at a local house in Jerera and charged from as little as US$2 – US$5 depending on the time of the month.
“They charge from as little as US$2 and if its short time they will have to pay a US$1 for a room behind the bars,” said the source
Another said the quartet are now the centre of attraction in local bars and the elderly sex workers are losing clientele as men compete for the minor girls.
“The old and regular sex workers are losing clients and they are now jealous of the kids and if the situation continues they may get hurt. This is because they don’t have a standard fee, they accept anything making it hard for the older ones who cannot settle for less,” said another source.
One elder sex worker said she felt pity for the young girls whom she said should be in school and urged parents and guardians not to let their children go into the streets.
“I am a sex worker but I have a kid who is older than these so it pains me when we compete for clients. They should be in school because they risk contracting STIs. After all, they do not have the guts to tell clients to use protection,” said the source.
She said because of competition with the younger sex workers, a number of them had resorted to selling different things at these night spots.
Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council Marketing and Communications officer Hebert Chikosi said they were worried about child prostitution and were engaging other stakeholders like law enforcement agencies to intervene as well as make sure that sexual and reproductive health services are available.
“In addressing child sex work, ZNFPC is working closely with government agencies, law enforcement, and social welfare departments to strengthen child protection mechanisms
“ZNFPC’s involvement in comprehensive interventions, including prevention strategies, accessible sexual health services, collaboration with stakeholders, and advocating for policy changes, is crucial in addressing the spike in STIs,” said Chikosi
Other hot spots where underage girls solicite for transactional sex include Mhandamambwe Growth Point in Chivi District, Mpandawana-Gutu town and Nyika Growth Point in Bikita, among others.