Week 31
A weekly selection from Zimbabwean newspapers
Bulawayo face a catastrophe as water crisis deepens: Coltart
Bulawayo mayor David Colart has painted a dire picture of the city’s water crisis and appeared for the urgent release of US$14 million for the critical upgrade of the Mtshabezi and Insiza pipelines as an immediate intervention.
Coltart, councillors and members of the water technical committee visited Umzingwane Dam and pump station and Ncema pump stations purification works on Friday where he said the city faces a catastrophe.
“Regrettably, Umzingwane Dam itself is currently 2% full and has been decommissioned. Inyankuni is at 22% and will be decommissioned if we don’t have adequate rains this season,” he posted on X after the visit.
“In essence, although the pumps are being upgraded, which was necessary, they have no water to pump from Umzingwane dam and there is relatively little water to pump from Inyankuni.
“Because of this it is vital that we upgrade as a matter of urgency both the Insiza and Mtshabezi pipelines. These dams are 43% and 53% full respectively at present and are the lifelines.
“But at present we are unable to receive adequate quantities of water from those dams because of deficiencies in their pipelines.”
Kuwadzana residents mount pressure on HCC over water crisis
Harare City Council is under fire for failing to replace outdated pipes in Kuwadzana, which has caused a water crisis in the high-density suburb, a situation which could spark a cholera outbreak, NewsDay has learnt.
Kuwadzana residents have gone for a week without tap water.
NewsDay visited the area, where residents have resorted to unsafe sources as they search for the precious liquid.
Zimbabwe is reeling from a cholera outbreak since February 2023, with 34 550 suspected cases and over 600 deaths having been recorded by yesterday morning.
Pumula South residents face severe water crisis as community borehole breaks down
Ward 27 residents in Pumula South, Bulawayo, are facing severe water challenges, having gone for two months without a regular supply.
The situation, already dire, has been exacerbated by the breakdown of the community borehole yesterday, leaving many households without any access to water.
The residents are enduring dry taps and the strain of buying water at US$1 for six buckets from those with private boreholes.
Malaria cases on the rise
Two people have died, while 476 malaria cases were reported this week, the Health and Child Care ministry has said.
Of the reported cases, 79 were children below five years, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The provinces that reported the highest number of cases were Mashonaland Central (205) and Manicaland (118). The cumulative figures for malaria cases are 31 757 and 57 deaths,” the statement read.
Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike said the cases were worrying given that we are not in a malaria season.
Zimbabwe Has Programs to Retain Medical Students — and That’s Exactly Why They’re Fleeing
More and more Zimbabwean students, like Michael, are pursuing their medical and nursing educations abroad, motivated by better study opportunities, bureaucratic challenges in Zimbabwe, and the rising demand for international health workers in countries like the United Kingdom and United States.
The exodus is likely to worsen Zimbabwe’s ongoing brain drain in the health sector, which has already seen significant workforce migration. According to a 2023 report from Harambee Africa International, a Rome-based nonprofit that supports African health care institutions, “in less than two years, starting in 2021, Zimbabwe has lost more than 4,000 doctors and nurses, and departures are on the rise.” The report also states that in 2021 and 2022, these departures were twice those in 2020 and three times those in 2019.
UK Embassy announces new boost for Zimbabwean farmers
The British Embassy in Harare has unveiled a new initiative aimed at empowering Zimbabwean smallholder farmers to increase their production and export of high-value horticulture crops.
This project forms part of the UK’s broader commitment to fostering economic growth and improving livelihoods through increased trade between Zimbabwe and the UK and EU.
The initiative will provide smallholder farmers with comprehensive training and support to enhance crop yields and quality. A ‘hub and spoke’ model will be implemented, with established farms providing crucial resources and market access to smaller farmers. This approach ensures a reliable market for farmers’ produce while equipping them with the tools to expand their operations.
MPs demand ministerial statement over ‘unfair’ distribution of food aid; deserving households starving
Members of Parliament (MPs) have demanded a fair distribution of food aid in their respective constituencies as some deserving households are reportedly being sidelined.
Hunger has been caused by a poor harvest in most parts of the country due to the El Nino induced drought that hit the region especially Zimbabwe, where over 9 million people need food aid to survive until the next season.
“One family can take up to six bags whilst another does not. What measures are you taking to ensure that everyone gets the maize grain because everyone is facing starvation?” Mananzva said.
The Labour and Social Welfare deputy minister Mercy Dinha said 6 100 000 in rural areas were in need of grain.
The Prisoners and the Full Moon – Cathy Buckle
In three weeks time the SADC Summit is taking place in Harare and our government is on a massive spending spree to paper over the visible, palpable crisis in our country. A huge eight lane highway has been constructed out to Zimbabwe’s new parliament in Mount Hampden. A pristine highway with palm trees planted down the centre like some exotic tropical resort which belies the disastrous, treacherous state of internal roads all over Zimbabwe which are covered with potholes, gullies and steep cut-away verges. Media reports say the government of Zimbabwe has spent over US$200 million in preparations for the SADC Summit which takes place on the 17th and 18th of August. It is tragically ironic that our government has spent 200 million dollars on just preparing for a two-day Summit at a time when more than half of our population is going to bed hungry and lining up for international food aid. Will SADC leaders see through this window dressing?
Will Zimbabwe’s Gukurahundi genocide survivors get justice?
For decades, justice has eluded the thousands of people who were killed by a feared army unit in Zimbabwe’s southwestern and central provinces in the 1980s.
Between 1982 and 1987, the Fifth Brigade, a North Korean-trained unit of the Zimbabwean army, cracked down on mostly Ndebele-speaking communities in the southwestern provinces of North and South Matabeleland, as well as the Midlands province located in the central area.
Codenamed Gukurahundi, meaning “the rain that washes away the chaff” in Shona, the operation was meant to target dissident fighters of the political party, Zimbabwe Africa People’s Union (ZAPU).
Pay Up! BCC owed US$31m in unpaid rates
The Bulawayo City Council is owed ZWG 430,682,618 (US$31,254,181) in unpaid rates as it struggles to provide quality services.
This is contained in the city’s 2024 budget review document.
The bulk of the debt is from residents, who owe the local authority ZWG 309,023,169 (US$22,425,484). The government owes ZWG 35,039,998, while industrial and commercial entities owe ZWG 121,659,449.
Responding to the performance of the budget for the first six months of the year at Mpopoma Hall on Friday, Ward 9 residents implored the city council to deploy designated meter readers at their local revenue office who will be in charge of ensuring that readings are collected from all households in their area to avoid estimates.
CCC activists’ continued detention sparks debate in UK Parliament
British liberal democrats peer, Lord John Oates, Thursday brought the ongoing human rights violations in Zimbabwe to the attention of the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament.
While fielding questions in the House of Lords, Oates urged the UK government to firmly convey to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government its solidarity with the 77 incarcerated Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activists and to pressure the octagenarian for their release.
“My Lords, does the Minister agree that respect for human rights and the rule of law are key pillars of any free society, both at home and abroad?
In Zimbabwe, Free Cancer Screenings Are Widely Available. Treatment Isn’t.
In the past several years, Zimbabwe has launched various initiatives to screen women for cervical and breast cancer, but these efforts rarely include treatment options. Public hospital treatment facilities are scarce — only two hospitals in the country offer radiotherapy — and they’re often in disrepair or lack staff. Meanwhile, private care remains out of reach for most women.
In 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, a separate program by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a 110 billion-dollar US government initiative to address AIDS worldwide, screened 100,000 women for cervical cancer in Zimbabwe. Of those who received a positive diagnosis, only 57% received treatment, falling short of the program’s 80% target for that year.
