Week 36
Een wekelijkse selectie artikelen uit Zimbabwaanse kranten
Come with me to the hand pump – Cathy Buckle
Come along with me to the borehole on the side of the road in urban Zimbabwe, a new part of my everyday life. Up soon after 03:30am I am getting ready to go to the nearest ‘hand pump’ long before dawn. Water hasn’t come out of my taps for many weeks and so I have to go and get it at the ‘hand pump’ on the roadside. It is a manual, human-powered borehole that you have to pump by hand to get water from. This is Zimbabwe’s answer to not providing water in taps to urban residences: sink a borehole on the side of the road and then just leave us to get on with it. The sickening irony is that our taps are dry and yet the bills from the local Municipal authority keep coming, they keep charging us for water that doesn’t exist. This year you can partly blame the drought for the chronic water shortage but in reality, corruption, poor management and decaying water infrastructure is crippling urban residential and business areas.
Over 6.2 million rural Zimbabweans are starving, says government
More than 6.2 million rural Zimbabweans require food aid between now and April next year, as the country battles the worst drought in over 40 years, the government has said.
In a post-cabinet media briefing on Tuesday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Jenfan Muswere said the 6.2 million people in need of food aid in the countryside are a top priority for the government.
“Taking into consideration the rural population requirements to March 2025, and the school feeding programme to April 2025, the maximum amount of grain required is 465,000 metric tonnes.
Mayor Coltart calls on councillors to draw wisdom from experience of former leaders
Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart has urged councillors to recognise the critical importance of drawing on the collective wisdom and experience of past councillors and aldermen when planning the city’s future.
This advice comes amid accusations that some current councillors have exhibited poor leadership, displayed power-hungry tendencies, and failed to measure up to former Bulawayo leaders like Japhet Ndabeni Ncube, the late Abel Siwela, or other respected mayors.
“We need to draw on the wisdom and experience of our former councillors and aldermen, particularly our aldermen. We should organise a meeting at least once a year to gain the benefit of their insight, to frankly discuss what is not being done right and what needs to be improved,” Coltart said.
More dark days ahead…as Kariba faces shutdown
Zimbabwe is set to experience more hours of load-shedding as water levels at Kariba Dam have dropped to crisis level as a result of the El Niño-induced drought being experienced in the southern Africa region, NewsDay has learnt.
Zimbabwe received below normal rainfall in the 2023/24 rain season as a result of theEl Niño phenomenon, a situation that has seen most rivers and water bodies drying up as Zimbabwe enters the peak of the lean season.
This has left the country in a situation whereby it could soon be forced to turn off it power generation turbines at Kariba Hydroelectric Power Station.
Hunger crisis: Govt resumes school feeding programme
Government is set to resume the school feeding programme when schools open for the third term next week in the wake of an El Nino-induced drought that has left millions of households food insecure.
Speaking during the Food Deficit Mitigation Strategy and the Lean Season Assistance Lessons Learnt workshop held in Masvingo last week, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare ministry’s chief director of Social Development Tawanda Zimhunga said government aimed to have grain in schools before learners return to school.
Are we headed for another coup? (Part I)
This season we are living in, it’s not a time for a hairdo. People are perching on the edge of the cliff. There is a loud whisper drifting around, almost like a wish among many. These chaps will burst each other any time; but let them do it, we don’t quite care about it. That’s what you will hear in the dark corners of the dingy pubs.
They are referring to the gory succession politics in Zanu PF, which, on the unwritten rule, also interchanges with the government. Let’s put it more directly. Many people feel and think that there will be another coup in Zimbabwe.
FOCAC Beijing Summit 2024: A historic moment for Zimbabwe, China relations
When we talk about education, I am deeply touched by the motto of the University of Zimbabwe “Educating to Change Lives”.
There are similar sayings in China like “Education changes destiny” and “A powerful education system means a powerful nation”.
We all believe that education is a cornerstone of social progress and a sustainable pathway to a prosperous future.
The Confucius Institute at the University of Zimbabwe is a testimony of China-Zimbabwe education cooperation.
Over the past 17 years, around 3000 students graduated from the Institute and over 16,000 students studied Chinese language and cultures at the Institute and its teaching sites.
Zimbabwe enforces ethanol blending, bans unleaded petrol
The Zimbabwean government has banned the sale of unleaded petrol in a bid to retain the National Oil Infrastructure Company’s (NOIC) monopoly in the fuel industry as the state entity struggles to secure foreign currency.
The ban, effective from September 6, 2024, was announced through Statutory Instrument 150/2024. This move is aimed at strengthening the country’s biofuels policy and encouraging the use of locally produced ethanol.
The government argues that the ban will reduce reliance on imported fuel by promoting ethanol blending, thereby decreasing the need for foreign currency to import unleaded petrol.
The Pros and Cons of Ethanol Fuel
Overall, ethanol is considered to be better for the environment than traditional gasoline. For example, ethanol-fueled vehicles produce lower carbon dioxide emissions.
Though ethanol and other biofuels are often promoted as clean, low-cost alternatives to gasoline, industrial corn and soy farming still have a harmful impact on the environment, just in a different way. This is especially true for industrial corn farmers. Growing corn for ethanol involves large amounts of synthetic fertilizer and herbicide.
In general, corn production is a frequent source of nutrient and sediment pollution.
Additionally, research addressing the energy needed to grow crops and convert them to biofuels and concluded that producing ethanol from corn required 29% more energy than ethanol is capable of generating.
Another debate about corn and soy-based biofuels concerns the amount of land it takes away from food production.
Southern Africa: El Niño Forecast and Impact (As of August 2024)
Several parts of Southern Africa have been affected by the worst mid-season dry spell in over 100 years, marred by the lowest mid-season rainfall in 40 years. This has been exacerbated by El Niño phenomenon. Six countries declared a state of emergency due to El Niño-linked severe drought, including Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
More than 1.1 million children under five are facing severe acute malnutrition. The impact of the dry spell on food security is severe in a region where 70 per cent of smallholder farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihood.
‘Harare face imminent humanitarian crisis’
Residents’ associations have warned of an imminent humanitarian disaster if urgent contingency plans are not put in place following the decommissioning of the Prince Edward Water Treatment Plant in Chitungwiza.
The City of Harare has announced that the water treatment plant will be temporarily decommissioned as water levels are now unbearably low.
The local authority, however, reassured residents that the water works will be recommissioned when the dams fill up, most likely during the coming rainy season.
In a statement, the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) said the decommissioning would see the city and communities facing a variety of challenges.
Zimbabweans struggle with increased power outages due to inadequate supply-Xinhua
Prolonged power outages are forcing some Zimbabweans to work at night, when electricity supply is more reliable than during the day, as power producers struggle to meet peak demand.
Persistent droughts have led to dwindling water levels at Lake Kariba, home to Zimbabwe’s major hydropower plant, the Kariba South Power Station. Moreover, aging equipment at the Hwange Thermal Power Station has exacerbated the shortages. As a result, many areas are experiencing up to 12 hours of power cuts daily, disrupting businesses and daily activities.
