Beverly Bizeki

Masvingo City Council is set to establish a housing satellite office in Victoria Ranch at Vashandi Housing Cooperative, it has been established.
Minutes from the Health Housing and Environmental Services held on September 6, 2022 shows the request for establishing the office at Vashandi Housing Cooperative, a satellite office of Chesvingo Office was approved.
“Consideration was given to the report of the Acting Director of Housing and Social Services on the proposal to introduce a Housing Satellite office in Victoria Ranch at Vashandi Housing Cooperative to cater for records management for Victoria Ranch housing stock in preparation for incorporation into the Municipal Commonage in due course,” read the minutes.
Council also considered the need to computerize and decentralize the wait list registration process, a development that will ease travelling expenses as they are required to do some paperwork at Masvingo City Council.
Victoria Ranch, a sprawling suburb west of Masvingo, is set to be incorporated to the main city with sewerage reticulation services set to be offered by Masvingo city as plans are already underway to join the former to Mucheke Trunk Sewer, a project yet to be completed.
At one point the suburb was labeled ‘a baby with no parents’ after Masvingo city council and Masvingo Rural District Council (RDC) declined administrative responsibilities over the suburb that was built by private land barons connected to Zanu PF without proper procedures being followed.
Residents in the suburb faced a host of challenges among them no refuse collection, no proper sewerage infrastructure and poor road network with the dusty roads rarely maintained.
The barons were expected to pay a greater chunk of their proceeds from stand sales to desperate home seekers so that the city fathers could connect them to the sewer system.

Emmanuel Chitsika

Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (MURRA) has said budgets that local authorities use in running their affairs should reflect the will of residents who are the chief financiers.

In an interview with TellZim News, MURRA director Anoziva Muguti urged council management to make sure that budget consultations are done in good faith and incorporate their views.

“Budget consultations, if done properly and in good manner would ensure the input of residents. Since a budget is a plan on how to spend/utilize given resources by the local authority, there is need to ensure it captures development projects proposed by the people.

“Residents are the ones who fund these budgets to a greater extent hence the need for them to have a say in the distribution of such resources. It is important that if residents participate and have their ideas captured in such consultative processes,” said Muguti.

He went on to express his view on how residents have lost faith in the consultations with frustration emanating from the fact that their views are excluded while they accuse council of working with their own budgets that are exclusive of their input.

“Unfortunately, residents have lost confidence in these budget consultation processes because over the years, council has not been taking on board their contributions. Council management would just consult as a fulfilment of law requirements but the truth will turn out that they are just imposing the budgets.

“Consultations are done so that residents rubberstamp what would have been already concluded by the management. That is why the consultative meetings were poorly attended in the past,” he said.

Muguti however said MURRA has held several workshops conscentizing residents on importance of participating in the upcoming meetings.

“As an organization, we have held several workshops and meetings with residents raising awareness on budget processes and importance of their participation. We have also held pre-budget consultative meetings where we gathered the views of residents and are currently in the process of compiling a document that we are going to submit to council for consideration in preparation for the 2023 budget,” added Muguti.

In the past, Masvingo budget consultations have been marred by poor attendance amid allegations by residents towards councils’ management of neglecting their input during consultations and present a budget of their own making.

TellZim reporter

The much-awaited new land fill at Masvingo City Council’s Cambria Farm is set to begin operating in October as revealed by Acting City Engineer Kudzaishe Mbetu.
Responding to questions on the new dumpsite works’ progress raised by Masvingo Mayor Cllr Collen Maboke, Eng Mbetu said the project was now at an advanced stage though they were yet to complete roofing shelter for staff manning the landfill.
“Maybe, if I can ask on progress at Cambria Farm, when is it going to start operating because we have received a number of complaints from residents in Runyararo West and Victoria Ranch concerning pollution emanating from the continued use of the old dumpsite?
“As of now, I don’t know how best we can help residents from the likely health hazard as council while we await the opening of the new site,” said Maboke.
Eng. Mbetu promised that the landfill will start working in October as the project is almost finished except the roofing of the shelter.
“We are moving to the new site this year. Before the end of this coming month, the site would be functional. Right now we are left with roofing the offices for personnel that would mann the site,” said Mbetu.
He said during the next full council meeting scheduled for the end of October, the city’s engineering department would make a presentation that would likely announce that the landfill is operating.
Cambria Farm landfill has missed its September 2021 completion deadline leading to councillors led by Mayor Maboke taking the engineering department to task accusing the latter of misleading policy makers on progress of the project.
The project seems to be stuck at 80 percent which was reported last year up to now.

Beverly Bizeki

MASVINGO City Council run Rujeko Secondary School has been given a lifeline by the local authority following exemptions from paying water bills accrued at the learning institution.
The exemption was outlined in the minutes of Finance and General Purposes Committee meeting of September 23, 2022.
The resolution came after it was considered that the current enrolment could not support the average monthly bill of One Million dollars in local currency
“The Committee considered the report of the Acting Director of Housing and Social Services for exemption from paying water bills by Rujeko Secondary School. It was reported that the average monthly bill was ZW$ 1 000 000 which could not be supported by the current enrolment.
“Council waives payment of water bills for Rujeko Secondary School in line with Council policy granting free use of water during construction of superstructures at council schools and pending increase of enrolment to support payment of bills,” read the minutes.
Recently, council exempted Alfred Walter Hostel which caters for about 150 mentally challenged children from paying water bills since it is a non-profitable organization.
Masvingo United FC was also exempted from paying Mucheke Stadium booking fees as the community owned team suffers from financial challenges owing to lack of sponsorship.

Lydia Koto

A 27 year-old Masvingo Polytechnic student Werb Tasara was acquitted by Masvingo magistrate Phillip Makodo on September 27, 2022 after being charged with unlawful entry and theft of a cellphone which belonged to Lovemore Dube of Mucheke D suburb.
The state represented by Prosecutor Tatenda Dzitiro alleged that on December 25, 2018 at around 2350 hours, Dube left his silver-black tablet on the table to charge in the dining room as he went to sleep.
Tasara reportedly went to the complainant’s house and used unknown means to open the dining window, took the cellphone and went away unnoticed.
The phone was recovered at Tsungai complex after Dube saw it where Tasara was working.
However, Tasara denied the allegations saying he did not steal the phone but a man called Arnold Musariri came to Tsungai complex where he was doing his part time job of repairing cellphones asking for repairing of his malfunctioning phone.
After the repairing service, Musariri then refused to pay the money which Tasara had charged saying he did not have money and that is when the former decided to give Tasara a non-working phone and little money.
“I did not steal the phone but l was given by Arnold Musariri after repairing his cellphone since he said he did not have enough money to pay for my service,” Tasara said.
Makondo asked the accused on the whereabouts of Musariri but Tasara said that he do not know where he was since his number was no longer reachable.
Tasara was found not guilty as there was no tangible evidence.

Lydia Koto

Villagers in ward 3 of Chivi North constituency will have to shelve their health access worries following the September 28, 2022 official commissioning of Bwanya clinic that was constructed using devolution funds.
The construction led by Chivi Rural District Council (RDC) started in 2019.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira who was the guest of honour said around 5 500 people were going to benefit from the clinic.
“Since 2019, through the devolution funds, council managed to satisfactorily complete the clinic block, three clinic staff rooms, expecting mothers’ shelter, public toilets, water reticulation, solar installation, fencing and supply of equipment and furniture. About 5 500 people are set to benefit from the clinic,” said Chadzamira.
He went on to say the health sector is one of the areas that the New Dispensation has made part of their commitment as enshrined in the NDS 1 (National Development Strategy 1).
“It is one of the areas where the New Dispensation has made commitment towards and enormous amount of progress is in health sector. No one and no place is left behind. NDS 1 points out that good health is central to human happiness and well-being,” he added.
Chivi RDC chairperson Godfrey Mukungunugwa was happy with the construction of the clinic since people from the area would walk a distance of about 15 to 20 km to nearest Danhamombe or Mashava clinic.
Mukungunugwa also thanked the government for its support in Chivi district and appreciated the roles ward 3 community and Chivi council played with support and commitment during the construction works.
“We are happy as Chivi district because we are now having a clinic in ward 3. People from this area used to walk a distance of about 15 to 20 km to the nearest medical center. We are happy today because this problem has been solved. I want to thank government, Chivi council and the community for their support towards the construction of Bwanya clinic,” said Mukungunugwa
Member of Parliament for Chivi North constituency Mathius Tongofa was also grateful with the support they got from Chivi council as it managed to sink a borehole at Bwanya clinic.
He also thanked the traditional leaders and community for their contribution towards the construction of Bwanya clinic and asked for medicines to be supplied as soon as possible so that people can start accessing services.
“I want to thank council for drilling a borehole here. This borehole was used during the construction of the clinic. It made our lives easy .
l also want to thank local leaders and community for their support and commitment towards building of the clinic .However, we need medicines so that people start to get services here as soon as possible and also the clinic needs electricity in case the solar system breaks down,” said Tongofa.
Chief Madamombe thanked the government and Chivi ward 3 community for their support towards building the clinic.
He said there was now need for nurses and drugs for the clinic to open doors.
Every staff house has cooking facility, Blair toilet outside, flash toilet and kitchen inside. Bwanya clinic also has waste management area with secured perimeter fence, waste management house, incinerator, placenta pit and bottle crush.
The water reticulation system at the clinic is solar powered and water is also from a borehole. There is also water back up in form of 10 000 liter tank with water being pumped for 24 hours.