…As raw sewer finds its way into the incomplete pipeline

TellZim reporter

It is so near yet so far for the legacy Mucheke Trunk Sewer project, one of the much-talked about project by Masvingo City Council for over a decade now, with completion seemingly out of sight in the foreseeable future.
After the local authority awarded construction tenders to Harare-based Mutual Construction (which later proved to be a bogus as it did not appear on the list of registered engineering firms), progress on the project meant to offer a sigh of relief to the perennial sewer bursts seems to be stalling maybe due to lack of funding or non-effective monitoring mechanisms on the firm doing the work.
Discharge of raw sewer into the incomplete Trunk Sewer

Discharge of raw sewer into Mucheke River through part of the incomplete trunk sewer near the Craft centre has been subject to debate as the local authority could or cannot provide answers as to what could have triggered that health risky move other than attributing the case to vandalism in Masvingo’s Rujeko A suburb.
Masvingo Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa initially attributed the flow of sewer into the river to a vandalism case at House number 3808 Mukute Close in Rujeko A though upon further probe he urged news reporters to act as responsible citizens and report such leakages so that council can act.
“You as a journalist must act as a responsible citizen, take pictures of such areas with burst sewer and report them to our offices so that we can take action,” said Eng Mukaratirwa.
Masvingo Environmental Management Agency (EMA) is also seemingly reluctant to act on the discharge of the raw sewer into the river. The officials insisted that the vandalised deep manhole in Rujeko was the reason behind the flow but would not explain clearly upon further interrogation by this publication which led to a site visit by both EMA and TellZim News crew on May 11 after they had released a statement purporting the issue had been rectified and corrected.
The statement released on May 10 said EMA had advised council to immediately attend to the issue but the flow was temporarily stopped and the following day onwards, the effluent was streaming into Mucheke River.
“Masvingo City Council was ordered to immediately attend to the blocked and vandalised manhole so as to ensure stoppage of discharge into the environment. During the time of inspection on May 10 2022, it was noted that the discharge had stopped. As EMA we strongly advise and urge residents to desist from vandalizing the sewer reticulation infrastructure as the vandalism can lead to environmental pollution as was noted in Rujeko,” read part of the statement.

Funding of the project

The funding of the project after the initial loss of over US$ 4 million to Mutual Construction has been another issue on the project. Though the project started way back before the current administration at Civic Centre, the continued recurrence of MTS on council annual budgets has also irked the emotions of residents who argue the project is now becoming a burden to an already struggling population.
Council has now turned to channelling devolution funds towards the project as they aim to ensure its completion.
Engineer Mukaratirwa confirmed realising ZW$ 120 million in 2021 and ZW$ 100 million this year towards the trunk sewer from Devolution funds.
“In 2021, ZW$ 120 million of devolution funds was allocated towards the trunk sewer but we ended up using only ZW$ 87 million and covered a distance of 1.2 km. This year (2022) ZW$ 100 million was allocated towards works on MTS project and we intend to cover a stretch of 2km,” confirmed Eng Mukaratirwa.
Residents through their resident associations have raised questions as to why the project remains incomplete despite the fact that it continues to chew into the money paid in form of rates. The project is also expected to appear on the local authority’s 2023 budget.
As a result, lack of sufficient funds is likely to derail progress on the project and with this delayed disbursement of devolution funds from Central government coffers, it remains to be seen if the trunk sewer would be ready for use in the near future or there will be delays on completion.
The actual stretch that has been covered is not yet clear and so is the one already covered as the area at the main Masvingo-Beitbridge highway is also yet to be covered.

Faith Duri

Masvingo City Council efforts to track Podilla Ventures Private Limited company a bogus entity that vanished in thin air with US$ 137 713 after being awarded a tender to supply 545 drums of bitumen to the local authority keep falling through as they are failing to locate it.
In an interview with TellZim News Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa said they are still in search of the company though initial efforts have yielded no meaningful result.
“We haven’t got them yet and we are still in search of the company but we have gone to the company registrar’s office to try and locate them and if they are registered under a new name we can be able to find them as well as getting compensation. They have all the records there,” said Eng Mukaratirwa.
Seemingly it looks like council has failed to locate the company because this is exactly the same statement Mukaratirwa gave in April after being asked about the update on the bitumen supplier company.
In 2016 council purchased 545 drums of bitumen from Podilla Ventures Private Limited at US$ 137 713, but to date the consignment has not been delivered and money paid has not been recovered by the time of audit in August 2021.
Podilla Ventures Private Limited is a mining and construction equipment company that specializes on pothole patching and machines, earth moving equipment, surveying and geo testing equipment, bituminous products, thermoplastic and cold plastic road marking paint and line marking machines.
This is not the first time council has been put to question about contractors, in 2019 they were questioned after Mutual Construction Company which benefitted from a confirmed US$ 4 million from council coffers failed to construct the prolonged Mucheke Trunk Sewer project.
The consultant’s contract involved two tasks which were project design and costing and project supervision.

Faith Duri

Financial constraints faced by Masvingo City Council have been cited as the major reason behind lack of speedy progress at Cambria Farm landfill project works as the new dumpsite that was scheduled to be operational last year in November is yet to be finished though it has already passed the May 2022 set deadline.
The new dumpsite is set to signal a marked shift from the use of old Runyararo West dumpsite which is posing a great health hazard to residents as waste is spilling to the residential area.
Speaking to TellZim News Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa said the project is not yet done since most of the money is coming from yet-to-be disbursed devolution funds.
“We couldn’t finish the Cambria Farm landfill project by end of May as we promised because most of the money that is supposed to be used on the project comes from devolution funding.
“We are expecting to receive the money as soon as possible since we have sent our budget. However, using internal council funds, we managed to buy some lining material and engage manpower that will be working there for the next two weeks,” said Mukaratirwa.
Speaking during a Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee tour in Masvingo held on March 30 2022, Eng Mukaratirwa said the first cell at the landfill was 60 percent complete and that financial constraints were the reasons behind slow progress on the project that was set to be completed in November 2021.
“The landfill project is subsiding on progress but we are now on 60 percent towards completing the first cell.
“Funding is our biggest challenge as we are currently using internal council resources. We are projecting our landfill to have a 30 year-life span and have decided to adopt the Victoria Falls standards,” said Eng Mukaratirwa.
The new landfill is expected to improve solid waste management in Masvingo, thereby safeguarding human and environment health hence appeasing residents who have been complaining over bad state of the dumpsite in Runyararo West Suburb.
Residents from Runyararo and Victoria Ranch suburbs have been affected by bad smell, flies and black smoke from burning tyres and garbage coming from the old dumpsite hence fearing they might cause diseases.
The old dumpsite has been in use since independence and is now a major source of population hence becoming a ticking health bomb.

…poor hygiene continues to rock market place

Rutendo Chirume

Vendors from Garikai ‘Chitima’ Market are living in fear of contracting hygiene related illnesses due to the state of waste management at Masvingo’s biggest marketplace.
The market place situated near Chimusana bridge where raw sewer sometimes gets disposed into, accommodates over 1000 vendors who are being exposed to health hazards like cholera and malaria since council is failing to collect garbage and maintain the old latrine toilet system which has four holes each for the two toilets of women and men, one at the fruits and vegetable market and the other at the flea market.
Speaking to TellZim News Chitima Vendors Secretary Lovemore Chaguma said they have tried for long to approach the council to take heed to the impending health and environmental threatening hazards but it has been to no avail.
“This is a busy market with many people including vendors and customers who visit this place. We are more than 1200 vendors coupled with the customers who come here daily so we surpass that number twice.
“But as you can see the toilets we have are old, few and incapacitated which is the reason why we do not go more than five days without a blockage. Secondly council does not come to this part of the area to collect garbage regularly and when they do, they just burn some plastic and pretend to have collected the garbage and as a result we have those heaps. At one point we tried by ourselves to manage the garbage by maintaining the dumping site but it’s impossible because we do not have bins which would have been an advantage to them because they would be coming here to collect garbage in the recycle bin.
“We have approached council on several times and recently we have wrote to them about this but there have been no responses from them. Our plight is is still the same and we implore the council to draw their attention to us,” said Chaguma.
Another vendor Tichaona Mangwanya also emphasised poor service delivery and said bad hygiene at the market place sometimes chases customers away.
“The first thing that draws one’s attention when they come here is the bad smell. That sink with blocked drainage filled with dirty water is where we fetch our drinking water. If you go inside you will notice some blocked toilet pits filled with dirty water the smell is horrible and the sight is horrific. Most of the vendors no longer use these toilets but go to the near bush if they need to relief themselves which is not commendable.
“The stench chases away our customers because they will be hurrying through their shopping as a way to get away from this place and at the same time, service delivery here is so bad and we exposed to diseases. It is something council should take immediate action on,” said Mangwanya.
In response to why there have been poor service delivery at Garikai , Masvingo Town Clerk Edward Mukaratirwa told this publication that vendors at Garikai are not being responsible whilst the toilets are incapacitated due to many people who go there.
“We have had several meetings with vendors at Chitima on how we can manage garbage. It is not the council’s duty alone to manage the waste but vendors too and if they are not responsible we will continue to have such problems. As it is we have agreed with the chief environment officer that we will do refuse collection every day unless we are out of refuse trucks on that day. The toilets are not old but they are just incapacitated since lot of people will be using them and considering they are over 1000 vendors so it becomes difficult to maintain the toilet system.
“However we have noticed the need for another toilet and as we speak the building is almost complete. Also we will have a meeting soon with them vendors and see how we can manage the issue of refuse collection,” Eng Mukaratirwa said.

…as contractors demand fuel in ZW$

…monitoring tour by ERRP administrative team opens can of worms

Beatific Gumbwanda

CHIREDZI– The government’s poor planning on Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme is manifesting and seemingly haunting the government as contractors are now demanding that they be given access to fuel in local currency.
The recent visit by Major General (Rtd) Godfrey Chanakira who is the Permanent Secretary in Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s office on a week-long tour of ERRP roads in Masvingo province opened a can of worms on how poor planning is seemingly evident as contractors working on such projects are struggling to purchase enough fuel from the budgets funded by government.
Contractors cried foul that all fuel dealers demand foreign currency which is in contrast as government pays them in local currency.
In Masvingo District, journalists were not allowed to go on the tour, with Major General (Rtd) Chanakira who said he was only a technocrat hence taking the media on the tour was pointless, but in Chiredzi members of the media participated in the tour.
Addressing stakeholders at Chiredzi Town Council (CTC) boardroom, Major General (Rtd) Chanakira however promised them that government will engage the Central Mechanical Equipment Department (CMED) in a move meant to ensure the parastatal bails out contractors through providing fuel in ZW$.
“The issues of fuel have been aired several times. The fuel uptake was very low during the first phase though it was later exhausted. We are in the process of resuscitating the programme and from your reports; I am seeing that both local authorities have requested 4341 litres each.
“We are going to avail it any time soon through CMED and I encourage you to purchase the requested fuel at once and find means for your own storage,” said Major General (Rtd) Chanakira.
Chiredzi Town Council (CTC) as well as Chiredzi Rural District Council (CRDC) pleaded with government to provide them with fuel in Zimbabwean dollar as they do not have access to the US dollar required in the fuel market, which is giving a major blow to ERRP funds which are quickly eroded by inflation before their disposal.
CRDC’s Executive Officer for Technical Services Takudzwa Chimanya said local authorities do not have access to foreign currency to buy fuel for the ERRP programmes a factor that is heavily affecting their ERRP allocations from Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA) as they are almost using half of the funds on fuel purchases.
“For 2022, we were allocated ZW$ 44 million ERRP funds from ZINARA, with ten percent of the amount having been disbursed to the local authority. With this inflationary environment, where fuel prices are only calling for foreign currency, it seems crazy to indicate that we have used half of the amount towards fuel purchases as a litter of fuel is pegged at around ZW$ 750,” said Chimanya.
Acting Town Secretary for Chiredzi Town, Engineer Wesley Kauma also expressed the same sentiments that fuel was dragging down the smooth flow of the ERRP as they do have access to United States dollars to purchase fuel to use in the equipment they are hiring to carry out their duties.
“I am also appealing to government to reintroduce the fuel system which was used in the first phase of ERRP which was made available in ZW dollars. We are having a lot of challenges towards fuel purchases which require foreign currency,” said Eng Kauma.
Ngomla Investments Director Zivisai Paddington Sithole who spoke on behalf of contractors expressed concern over the payments which are being done in Zimbabwean dollars vis-a-viz fuel which is being sold in United States dollars saying it is dragging behind progress of the ERRP programmes.
“We thank you for honouring upcoming contractors in the ERRP programme. However, the market forces are making it difficult for the contractors to operate at full throttle as we are being paid using the Zimbabwean dollar while fuel on the market is being sold in United States dollars. This will heavily affect quality of work by contractors,” said Sithole.
The delayed completion of ERRP projects has been attributed to delayed disbursement of funds which will come after they had already been chewed by inflation as government will not revise budgets that would have been approved at time of tender offers.
In some cases government has been accused of awarding tenders to dodgy contractors some of whom are constructing poor roads that developed potholes and showed signs of deterioration only weeks after being constructed.
Masvingo Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Dr Jefta Sakupwanya once acknowledged the lack of adequate capacity on part of government to monitor and supervise contractors which he said might drive poor work though he promised such incompetent companies would be blacklisted.
“There was inadequate capacity for supervision and monitoring of contractors of these roads which could have led to the compromise in the quality of the roads,” said Dr Sakupwanya.
The desperate move by contractors to go to the parallel market to purchase fuel has been labelled by some sections of society as behind fuelling the parallel market rates of foreign currency trading so the contractors end up off-loading huge sums of the local currency in favour of the green back so that they can purchase fuel for their equipment.

Tendai Charumbira

Poverty in the country is continuously exposing children to nutritional vulnerabilities as the minors suffer due to poor income their parents and guardians have, as funding in child protection systems by government continues to dwindle.
In the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) April 2022 Policy Digest, they reported that a percentage total of 23.5 of children suffer from stunted growth while 12.6 percent are born with a low birth weight while they also experience poor dietary diversity resulting in three quarters of them suffering from malnutrition.
“UNICEF 2021 Zimbabwe Annual Report propounded that Zimbabwe has weak child protection systems that have failed to ensure safety and well-being of children. UNICEF reported that 4.8 million Zimbabwean children live in poverty and 1.6 million live in extreme poverty.
“The most prevalent issues of impoverished children in Zimbabwe include malnutrition, education, sanitation and access to portable water. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) reported that less than 10 percent of the children between 6-24 months of age consume a minimally acceptable diet,” read part of the report.
In an interview District Medical Officer (DMO) for Chiredzi Dr Brian Dhlandhlara said the increasing nutritional vulnerability among children is a result of poor dietary diversity is being caused by low income as people no longer have enough money for their children to have a balanced diet.
“The increasing nutritional vulnerability among children as a result of poor dietary diversity is being caused by poverty as people are failing to give their children a balance diet,”said Dr Dhlandhlara.
According to medical practitioner Dr Calvin Maimba stunted growth is when a child fails to grow to the proper height commensurate with his or her age.
“The main cause of stunted growth is when there is poor nutrition in pregnant women or children. It can also be described as under nutrition,” said Dr Maimba.
In an interview with TellZim News, the director of Philadephia Medical Corridor Dr Doutie Chiwororo said that there is an increase in nutrition vulnerabilities as a result of poor diets because of civilization; literacy and internet where people now rely on the internet no longer seek medical advice on their children’s health.
The cost of living in Zimbabwe has been deteriorating, which has resulted in many people shunning from seeking for medical advice in deteriorating public health centres, coupled with expensive consultation fees in private health institutions.
This has led many parents to discover their children’s nutritional deficiencies late, when it has become hardly reversible.