Harare News

Servicing clients across Southern Africa

Our city, our lives Issue 14 September 2014

Much better…

Our passport office has improved.

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3

www.hararenews.co.zw

Road safety See this month’s doublepage spread on this important issue.

Pages

5–6

What is a wetland?

It’s nearly that time!

We asked, you answered.

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Get ready for Harare’s fastestgrowing festival.

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9

15

New service machinery for City Farai Dauramanzi

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ouncil last month received part of the equipment that has been purchased using funds from the $144 million loan from China’s Exim Bank, as well as a donation of five fire tenders from a local insurance organisation.

The equipment purchased under the water loan was handed over to council by the China Machinery and Engineering Corporation at a ceremony that was held early last month at Town House. Included in the delivery was a state of the art ambulance, a 35 ton crane, a 30 ton excavator and a 6 ton backhoe.

Speaking at the ceremony, the guest of honour, Minister for Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Dr Ignatius Chombo, said that the equipment will be deployed to do maintenance operations, which include excavations for water and sewer pipe replacements.

“I am advised that the City has been hiring this equipment and spending in excess of $2 million annually.

I therefore expect to see immediate improvements in service delivery,” said Minister Chombo.

Minister Chombo also said that the ambulance and the other equipment will improve council operations. “Some will wonder why part of the loan was used to purchase this equipment. The health of the workers at the water and sewerage works is of paramount importance.

These assets will however, not only service the water and sewerage plants, but the whole of Harare,” said Minister Chombo.

Minister Chombo added that the

Above: Deputy Mayor Thomas Muzuva helps Minister Chombo cut the ribbon off new machinery that is hoped will reduce the City’s $2 million annual rental bill.

Left: The new state-of-the-art ambulance. ambulance comes equipped with state of the art medical equipment and will add to the City’s available ambulance fleet. “The government therefore expects a significant reduction in loss of lives as medical assistance is now expected to reach people faster than before,” he said.

Speaking at the same occasion, the Deputy Mayor of Harare, Thomas Muzuva, who read the Mayor’s speech, said that his council took great pleasure in presiding over the implementation of people-centred projects such as the water and sewer rehabilitation project. Deputy Mayor Muzuva also took time to explain the recently concluded investigations over the alleged abuse of funds from the loan facility by the

council executives. “This loan facility was subjected to heavy scrutiny by my council. The scrutiny was never a witch hunt. It was an exercise done in good faith for the benefit of Harare residents. I am happy to report to you Minister, that council is now getting all the relevant information with regards to the issues surrounding the implementation of the project (water and sewer rehabilitation),” said Muzuva.

Council last month also received a donation of five fire tenders from the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ). Harare’s Fire Department has for years been faced with a variety of challenges which have led the department becoming ineffective. In a press release the City’s

Corporate Communications Manager, Leslie Gwindi, said that ICZ felt the need to help after noting that many insured buildings have been damaged by fire. “We advised the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe that in order to avoid against heavy losses through insurance claims, the council (ICZ) could contribute to the community by equipping the fire brigade,” said Gwindi.

This donation will bring the number of Council’s functional fire tenders to 12. In the past, the Harare fire brigade has failed to attend to fire emergencies due to dilapidated equipment. At some point the fire brigade is alleged to have attended fire scenes without water.

According to the contract signed

between council and ICZ, residents can smile about the fact that Harare is mandated to keep the donated fire trucks in good working order, as the donor has power to repossess them in the event of neglect by the local authority.

“The donor (ICZ) shall have the right to repossess the fire tenders in the event that the donee (City of Harare) abuses or fails properly to maintain them,” reads section eight of the contract.

With the arrival of this new machinery, however, it is all residents’ hope that this will transform into better service delivery. The equipment will also contribute much to the City’s vision of being world class by 2025.

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2 Harare News

Issue 14 September 2014

General news

Residents await 2015 budget consultations Stephen Tsoroti

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arare awaits the start of the budget consultation meetings, with various stakeholders debating the local authority’s future spending plans. The meetings are scheduled to run throughout the city until 28 November, when the budget is finally submitted to government.

With the month of August gone without the launch of the consultative process, residents and ratepayers doubt whether the process will yield any positive results.

“The budget consultative meetings rarely start on time. Year after year they are delayed. By the time we hear about them, it is towards the end of the consultative period,” said Manford Zengeni, a businessman and resident of Marlborough.

“I don’t think management at Town House is keen to hold them.”

The director of the 45,000 member Harare Residents Trust, Precious Shumba, said the organisation is mobilizing its members to participate in the process, especially on the topic of service delivery. He said there is a need to address the issue of the importance of the input of the residents and ratepayers in the consultations process. “Over the years, the city has not been able to adhere to projects proposed by residents,” said Shumba.

Previous Budget consultative meetings have been poorly attended, badly exposing the City’s communication and publicity councillors. Residents’ groups have always blamed the local authority for poor planning and failing to publicise

meeting venues and times. “The process has been neglected by many residents, while management at Town House has been the major let down,” said Allan Markham, former CoH finance chairman. He said confidence building is essential for the process to be successful. “Except for the Chinese water rehabilitation project, which of course is a loan, a number of projects have not been implemented,” added Markham.

Collecting revenue has been the city’s predominant worry. Residents say the city’s glaring inefficiency in suppling water to the suburbs has been a cause of concern and the major reason why they had not been paying rates.

The 2014 budget seeks to finance the following broad programmes: the zero litter campaign,

refurbishment of public toilets, social infrastructure rehabilitation (which includes playgrounds, halls, swimming pools and libraries), completion of polyclinics, construction of wheelchair access ramps on council properties and road maintenance: street lighting, traffic signals and pothole patching.

Council’s top revenue sources have been water charges, property tax, refuse collection and housing as well as health services fees. Most of it has been consumed by salaries, general expenditure, repairs and maintenance.

According to Corporate Communications Manager, Leslie Gwindi, the consultative meetings were supposed to begin on 8 August, when the Mayor of Harare, Bernard Manyenyeni, was to meet stakeholders,

share ideas and input plans into the budget proposals. The proposals would then be on public display from 20 October to 20 November.

From 21 to 26 November the acting finance director should be dealing with objections to the budget and factoring stakeholder input into the revenue and capital estimates.

From 12 August to 10 September heads of departments and councillors will be meeting with stakeholders through ward consultation meetings. “If the timetable is religiously adhered to the estimates would be submitted to Government on November 28th,” said Gwindi.

According to the Local Government circular Number 3 of 2012, all budget estimates should be submitted to the Ministry by 30 November each year.

Dualisation of airport roads impacts plot boundaries Lovemore Lubinda

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he construction of the multimillion dollar Harare Airport Road has resumed, after a break, a move towards the fulfilment of the City’s goal of attaining world-class city status by 2025. Infrastructural development, public accessibility to reliable transportation and excellent communication systems are some of the distinguishing attributes of a world class city.

Airports are vital links between cities, and therefore act as the faces of nations in the global arena.

Harare is no exception; however, any development impacts on the environment and the way people live in the area where it is taking place.

The airport road project will see some residents having their properties trimmed in size to accommodate the expansion of the road.

Harare News spoke to affected residents to gauge their feelings. Most of them were not sure of the current situation concerning this issue as they last got communication from the City of Harare (CoH) sometime in 2013, before the project took a break. “Initially in 2012 we were told that our houses were going to be demolished and we were going to

Work on the airport road has been at full speed in the last few weeks. be either relocated or compensated, but then only last year we were told that no house was going to be demolished but that some portions of our durawalls would be destroyed,” said Tariro Magasa, a resident. She added that since the resumption of work on the road, no communication from CoH has been issued about the latest developments.

Another resident who only identified herself as Madzimai, a tenant on Nymegen Road in Braeside, confirmed receiving two notices in 2012 and 2013 respectively, which she said are in possession of her landlord who resides in another suburb.

She however, expressed concern about how close the major road is going to be to their houses if some parts of their yards are absorbed by the road. “Our houses are going to be too close to the highway if they do it and I think this would be dangerous for us,” she said.

The affected properties have had their walls marked with red paint

East Provincial Road Engineering Department which is under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development. This came after the ministry expressed concern over the delays by Augur Investments, casting doubts on the contractor’s ability to complete it.

This reporter was referred from the Provincial Road Engineer to the Director of Roads and later asked to mail questions to the Permanent Secretary. With the tight time frame, we couldn’t get a comment from the developer (ministry) before going to print.

Meanwhile, Michael Chideme from City of Harare Corporate Communications Department said it is now a different scenario as the project is now being administered by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development. “It is now different a different story my friend, the project is no longer in the hands of the city council,” he said.

Mixed feelings on Coventry bay Garikai Fadzi

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CLEARANCE SALE

showing the sections to be appropriated by the project. Of concern to residents is that some houses are in line with the marked areas, meaning that those houses would need to be knocked down.

Talking to Harare News, Steady Kangata of the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), said that residents can refer to the city’s plans, which predate the demarcation of plot boundaries along the road, to allow for its expansion.

“The 2010 EIA that was carried out in line with the Environmental Management Act chapter 20:27 included a social impact assessment and involved the calling of a scoping meeting. EMA advised on how to mitigate the effects of the development including limiting the hours of construction for noise purposes, but to us this is not a new road, it is a widening,” said Kangata.

This paper is reliably informed that the construction of this road is being done by the Mashonaland

arare residents have expressed mixed feelings about the decision by the Harare City Council to relocate commuter omnibuses carrying passengers from the South Western suburbs from Copa Cabana to the newly constructed holding bays along Coventry Road. The kombis are now supposed to ferry commuters from their locations, drop them off at Copa Cabana and then proceed to the holding bay until it is their turn to come back and collect more passengers.

Harare Residents Trust director, Mr Precious Shumba, said that the space to accommodate the kombis is too inadequate to have cost $500,000. He insisted council should account for the money which it claims to have spent on the project.

“Residents do not view receipts from Council. They cannot tell

residents that they used $500,000 to buy quarry dust, tar and the demarcation barriers. That was a waste of ratepayers’ money. We need them to be accountable,” he said.

The Urban Commuter Operators of Zimbabwe says it supports the latest move taken by the City Council. The organisation’s president Simbarashe Ngarambi told Harare News that the move will assist in decongesting the CBD. “Although this will not solve the problem completely, it will go a long way in ensuring that the city has a new lease on life,” said Ngarambi.

Harare Mayor, Bernard Manyenyeni, said that they feared resistance and council had made no effort to force the kombi operators to use the holding bay. “Nothing has been done so far in terms of telling commuter omnibuses to use the holding bay, so we cannot really blame them.

This whole parking bay issue has to

be properly managed. I think it is still very much work in progress.”

Members of the Parliamentary Committee on Local Government, who recently toured the holding bays, observed that the holding bays were not up to standard. The city says the purpose of the holding bay is to ensure that no kombis park on the streets. Initially temporary mobile toilets would be used while the construction of permanent structures is in progress.

The holding bays are expected to help in decongesting the Central Business District. However, a commuter omnibus driver who spoke to Harare News suggested that Council’s plan could backfire. “We are likely to witness an increase in the picking up and dropping off of passengers at undesignated points as drivers avoid driving to and from Coventry Road with empty seats,” he said.

Harare News 3

www.hararenews.co.zw

General news

Harare Passport Office gets it right Photo: Alex del Turro

Stephen Tsoroti

T

he Harare Passport Office, long dreaded by passport seekers for its chaotic and suffocating environment and crazy waiting times, has been renovated.

Located in the Makombe building on Herbert Chitepo, the office had been characterised by early morning queues that zigzagged many times outside and choked the corridors of the buildings. Recently, however, renovations have seen a lot of improvement to the office’s service delivery.

Writing on the matter for Harare News back in December, I became only too familiar with the ‘nightmares’ that having to get or renew a passport brought with it: the frustrating long hours, hunger pangs and accompanying ill-tempers.

Now, however, a completely new experience is to be had. Cosmetically, the buildings have been given a lick of paint, an exercise with a

practical aim – the colour coding of the different stages of the passport application process. New signs also steer applicants through the processing offices. Corridors that had been impossible to get through are now virtually empty, with a previously unused inner courtyard decked out with benches and shading to provide a proper waiting area.

A computerised queue management system has also been installed and I spotted speakers set up to call applicants when their turn arrives.

Movement into the gates of the passport office complex also feels less hindered; touts are no longer as many nor as clamorous as they used to be, while the number of vendors has also decreased thanks to people needing to spend less time there.

As I entered the offices, I met an officer whose greeting to me was cordial. He asked me what I wanted to do and sent me to the right queue to get a passport application form.

“The conduct of the passport

officials is, to say the least, professional. They are now quite helpful,” said Marjorie Chatambudza, the lady in front of me.

Chatambudza, who hails from Chitungwiza, said she was surprised by the marked improvement,“The last time I was here [2004] it was really bad and chaotic.”

As I moved to the inner courtyard, a number of helpful officers greeted me and asked to see my form before directing me to the next queue. It is all remarkably orderly.

I struck up a conversation with Robert Stally, who was applying for his son’s passport. He concurs with Chatambudza. “So much has improved. Of particular mention is the conduct of the officers. It seems some bit of public relations has been instilled into them,” he tells me. Six years ago he spent a full two days at the office.

On the other hand, ablution facilities are still a cause of concern, as there is a lot of pressure on the two

$3bn debt for Harare?

Residents say no thanks Farai Dauramanzi

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he City of Harare is in the process of negotiating financial support amounting to $3 billion for the resuscitation of its various ventures. However, some stakeholders have expressed dissatisfaction over council’s moves.

In the 1,836th council meeting, the Deputy Mayor Councillor Thomas Muzuva (Ward 14) revealed that council’s executive was currently negotiating with Neoparagon, a Singaporean firm, for a $2.9 billion investment to improve the City’s water provision.

This massive deal, which had been kept away from public scrutiny until the Deputy Mayor’s shock revelations, will see council building Musami, Kunzvi and Muda dams to provide fresh water sources to Harare. At the moment Harare is relying mainly on Lake Chivero which is now heavily polluted.

However, councillors have raised concerns over the deal, which was adopted by the caretaker commission that ran Harare’s affairs after the dissolution of the previous council during last year’s general elections.

Councillors are not happy with the share arrangement, which will see the Singaporean company getting a lion’s share of 70% of the profits over 30 years.

After Deputy Mayor Muzuva’s revelations, councillors resolved that the deal should be revised so that it benefits Harare. Other councillors have also called on council to first exploit all avenues of income before committing to more debt.

Councillors have for some time now been calling for a special council meeting to discuss council’s financial records. Some council revenue bases, such as council properties, are alleged to have been illegally privatised, depriving council of much needed revenue.

Residents have also raised their concerns over the proposed water deal. Writing on their Facebook wall last month, Harare Residents Trust (HRT) said that they were against the $2.9 billion water deal as this could lead to the privatisation of water supplies. “…Because on completion of the construction of the three dams, the firm will take up 70% of the profits while the City of Harare will get only 30% for 30 years. This is privatising water which is against the constitution

which stipulates that water is a basic human right, and this will cost residents, who are already facing financial difficulties,” read the HRT statement.

One resident who attended the intended Mayor’s State of the City address at Town House in August, which later turned into a demonstration over the issue, asked Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni, who was addressing the residents, if council was borrowing on behalf of residents.

“I have read in the papers that you acquired a loan of $2.9 billion to build dams. I want to know if we as the residents are going to pay for the loan interest considering that rates are already exorbitant,” queried the resident.

These concerns were echoed by Rudo Matema (35) from the Avenues, who said that council should consult with residents on major investments such as the intended $2.9 billion deal.

“Council will be borrowing on behalf of residents who will have the burden of repaying the funds. I believe residents should be given the chance to give input on major council loans,” said Matema.

In an interview with Harare News, Mayor Manyenyeni said that council will ensure that it properly services all debts to avoid mortgaging the City. “It is irresponsible for us as a council to be taking on any additional debts on behalf of the residents unless we are sure that we are using that money correctly and efficiently and we are not mortgaging the future of the City unnecessarily,” he said.

Another resident, Charles Nevanji of Kensington, said that council should fine tune all its financial systems to make sure that loans are used for their intended purpose.

“On paper council’s programs are good, but the problem is implementation. I think there should be monitoring and evaluation systems in place to ensure that the money received is used for its purpose,” said Nevanji.

In related developments, council is in negotiations with a local financial institution for a $3.8 million loan which will go towards rehabilitating council farms, Hillside Nursery, Mabvazuva lodge and pest control services. Council needs $2 million to rehabilitate its farms, $600,000 for the nursery, $1 million for Mabvazuva and $200,000 for pest control.

Colour coding helps an applicant find his way. toilet blocks which cater for both staff and the passport seekers who number several hundred every day.

According to an officer from the Registrar General’s Office, the improvements are for citizens’ convenience. “This will go a long way in decongesting the passport office and offer good service,” she said.

She said the Registrar General’s Office is now working on improving the online passport application system so as to further cut the hours citizens have to spend at the passport offices.

In the past, scores of people lost their hard earned cash to swindlers.

Many people blamed the Registrar General’s office for creating this situation, saying passport seekers were not warned about these illicit activities. Others complained that latecomers were being processed while those who were there from early morning spent more time in queues. Many people believed corruption to be rife due to the haphazard way the office operated.

Will the renovations change this?

That remains to be seen.

College Press to go digital Kundai Marunya

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eading academic publishing house College Press is set to digitise its texts in a bid to capture the growing online market.

The publishers have for decades been one of the leading players in both primary and secondary school hard copy text books. College Press sales director Cletus Ngwaru explains, “We are in the process of putting all of our published works on PDF.” He said all their books should be ready to go online by the end of the year.

Ngwaru said, “Online publication will become the standard practice at College Press publications in the future, so that we don’t lose out on the rapidly growing online market.” The publishers will however not abandon their traditional hard copy format.

Online publishing has grown in popularity over the years, with an increasing number of local writers selling their work on the internet. This has answered the distribution nightmares many local writers were facing, and opened up the global market where anyone in the world can buy their products. In previous years this was difficult as one had to pay shipping costs, making worldwide distribution a major challenge. Ngwaru said, “We hope to retain a lot of money and market our writers to a wider audience.”

Meanwhile, College Press bemoaned the piracy of their hardcopy issues. “We are losing about 50% of our possible sales to piracy,” said Ngwaru. He said they are always reporting piracy to the police but the penalties are not effective. “Pirates sell their products in the open and even after getting arrested they are back on the streets within hours, which is unfair to someone who has spent a lot of time and money publishing their works.”

Piracy of printed work increased sharply in recent years as a result of the cheap cost of photocopying. Students now prefer to photocopy texts at $1 per 50 A4 pages, compared to buying books which costs at least twenty times the price of pirated copies. Some enterprising pirates photocopy text books and sell them at street corners at a very cheap price.

Ngwaru called for all stakeholders to come together with strong legislation and implementation so that writers can profit from their works. “Piracy equals theft and it should not go unpunished. I appeal to schools and government authorities to promote the use of only original copies and to buy books from authentic publishers and book sellers,” he said.

College Press are known for producing educational material that has been incorporated in to the schools syllabus. This year alone they published six new texts.

4 Harare News

Issue 14 September 2014

Road safety

Road safety – a national issue, a personal choice Sam Nyaude

T

he past three years have seen an average of 2,000 Zimbabwean lives lost and more than 15,000 Zimbabweans injured annually as a result of accidents on our roads. It is time for every road user to sit up and take an interest in road safety in our country.

Road safety is a growing global health and development concern, and is among the top killers of people worldwide, particularly adolescents for whom it is the leading cause of death. Developing nations, such as our own, are particularly susceptible to poor traffic safety records.

In March 2010 the United Nations (UN) General Assembly officially initiated a collaborative effort to counter road traffic deaths.

The Decade of Action for Road Safety will run from 2011 to 2020.

The key message outlined in this

campaign is that through collaborative effort, road traffic injuries can be prevented.

Key risk factors such as drink driving, speeding, distracted driving, overloading of public service vehicles, non-roadworthy vehicles and seatbelt use, need to be consistently enforced to reduce the occurrence of road traffic crashes.

Sadly it seems all these don’t seem to matter to most road users and the government of Zimbabwe has not put in place measures that ensure road user safety. The current rate of loss and suffering brought about by road crashes demands urgent action and collaboration between government, media, non-governmental organisations, corporates, and all road users.

Monitored trends in Zimbabwe have indicated that most crashes occur during weekends at night.

This indicates that drink driving and distracted driving are the

biggest follies leading to the end of so many young lives.

Holidays create a rise in long distance travel, and usually a high demand for transport, resulting in overloading and speeding as public service operators try to capitalise on the higher demand. Sadly, victims in this instance are often from the same family.

Safe mobility is a basic human right that needs to be upheld. We are all affected and therefore we all need to play our honest part in ensuring Zimbabwe’s roads are safe for our families and businesses.

Article by Road Safe Zimbabwe; Find us on Facebook – www.facebook.com/ RoadSafeZimbabwe or Twitter – www.twitter.com/RoadSafeZim or website www.roadsafezimbabwe.com

Zimbabwe’s deadly roads Accident every 15 minutes

12th highest cause of death

causing 5 deaths per day and 45 injuries

Tragedy lasts a lifetime My name is Pride, I live Chitungwiza. I am 32 years old.

When I was 17 years old I was travelling with my parents and my two younger sisters to visit my grandparents in Shamva. The kombi we used was in a bad situation, and to make it worse the driver was rushing. Not far from our destination the driver was overtaking on a bend, and a truck appeared. He rushed to avoid it, but we ended up hitting it on one side and the kombi overturned into the ditch.

I remember hearing my sister screaming as we crashed. The sounds of the crash are still in my dreams, I will never forget that.

When it was over there were six people dead and that included both my parents who were sitting by the windows on the right hand side which was destroyed. Their bodies were badly broken. I will never forget seeing my mother and father being moved out of the broken kombi and covered with their clothes on the grass.

My grandparents had to take care of us then. It became so difficult. My sisters and myself had survived but when life became so hard I wished sometimes that I had not.

I was lucky to have finished my school, but neither of my younger sisters ever did. Nowadays I am selling air time, but neither of my sisters are employed.

I beg all drivers, especially the public transport operators to take care on the roads. You are carrying parents and sons and daughters. I beg you to please carry them safely. One decision you make can change their lives forever.

Sincerely, Pride

costing us 5% of our GDP

Please – let’s stop killing and maiming each other on our roads!

“Seven of the dead are male, while nine are female, including a 3-year-old girl and a 5-month-old baby.”

This kind of report is repeated over and over again, year in, year out, as more and more people are killed and injured, sometimes maimed for life – and the horror remains with survivors, families and friends for the rest of their lives.

Surely we can do something to stop all this?

Our ZRP has a Road Traffic section, and they have patrol cars, motor bikes and highly skilled drivers, but all that seems of little help in preventing accidents. It is therefore up to us drivers ourselves to take steps to stop the carnage.

We know what causes accidents: speed; alcohol & drugs; cellphones; tiredness; unroadworthy vehicles; unlicensed drivers; misjudgment when overtaking are the main culprits.

I therefore appeal to every single driver to AVOID all those causes, and to try to caution another driver if you notice him or her driving dangerously. Likewise, if you are a passenger and your driver is driving dangerously, please have the COURAGE to ask him or her to slow down, or stop talking on the phone, or pull over for a rest – for your own sake and the driver’s, as well as everyone else around. If s/he resists, the best solution is to ask the driver to stop and get out of the vehicle.

Trudy Stevenson

Safety Sam – educating kids on road safety C

orrect and cautious road use is something that must be taught from an early age if we are to keep our children safe as they grow up and venture onto our roads. Enter Safety Sam. The Safety Sam Centre was established in the 1970s by the Jaycees who saw a vital need to teach children road sense and road safety. The Centre comprises a mini road network with common road signs and road markings, and even traffic lights. It affords parents and instructors a safe and fun space to teach kids of all ages the basics of road use.

Over the years Safety Sam slid into disrepair and significant disuse.

Fortunately, in 2006, The Rotary Club of Harare Dawn reversed the Centre’s fortunes by fundraising to refurbish the roads, road signs and road markings.

Bicycles were purchased and in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Road Traffic Safety Board, the Centre was revitalized.

The use of advertising billboards has also helped fund the regeneration, and over the years the number of bicycles and tricycles available has increased. There are more storage facilities and sheltered seating areas, and the acquisition of a jumping castle has made Safety Sam a great venue for children’s parties.

Primary schools are encouraged to use the Centre. The Zimbabwe Road Traffic Safety Board run frequent courses for school children on road safety. Rotary has assisted with the production of pamphlets and other publications.

It is hoped that the education of children through the Centre can be expanded to teach them the necessity of properly dealing with litter and various other communityminded activities.

Safety Sam is not out of the woods yet – advertising is slim, and though Rotary work hard to raise funds for maintenance, and the Traffic Safety Board charge a nominal fee, it is an uphill battle. To support this facility by advertising along the Centre’s boundary or by booking a party, or donating money, contact Greg Pozzo on 0772 201 509. Visit Safety Sam on The Chase in Mount Pleasant, adjacent to the Bond Street Shops.

Be smart, be safe DO

DON’T

Check and replace worn tyres Speak out against bad driving Maintain lights and reflectors Wear your seatbelt Dip your lights for fellow road users

Speed Use your phone while driving Drink and drive

Source: Traffic Safety Council Zimbabwe

From Facebook What do you think are the key problems that make our roads unsafe?

How can we save lives on our roads?

Karl-Fredrik Velle Better maintained road are a minimum. The police doing their job correctly and a working and cheap bus shuttle company. And of course safer cars.

Kerry Ferreira Clear road markings, better road conditions, and punishments for those who don’t stick to the rules (*combis*)!!!

Carlos Marques lets start by cleaning our roads.its sad u c council workers sweeping dirt rubble into a drain.2ndly i live in avondale west off sulfolk the past 5yrs im there is fresh clean council water pouring along claire rd and many reports were made,but i think our council got the energy to run after kombis and fruit vendors.

Daniel R. Kembo enforcing effective laws/ penalties against speeding on the roads Alan Fish Unlit and unmarked junctions and broken robots I found a big problem in Harare Kimberly Tapiwa Kujinga THE POLICE...they just set up unofficial road blocks anywhere and everywhere...sometimes too close to intersections which cause congestion. And it seems as long as one has a receipt book they can hv their own roadblock. And the chasing kombis thing is endangering everyone. It has to stop

Tamisa Greening I could write a book on this topic. Driving in Zim is horrendous. I won’t do it again without a huge SUV that can compete with the other huge SUVs that will otherwise run you down as you try and maneuver your mazda 323 around the potholes, down pitch black streets and through malfunctioning intersections! I put my life in great peril every time I got behind a wheel.

Add the kombis and unchecked drunks on the road and you have a real recipe for disaster. And then the police lie in wait because you rolled through an invisible stop sign. . .

Carleigh Chadwick Eliminating corruption during driving tests so people who actually can’t drive won’t pass even if they’re willing to pay the bribe.

Jimmy C Muwodzeri Harare -Beitbridge is a highway to hell . The road is narrow and riddled with potholes. l know the govt does not have the finances to put a dual type of highway but resurfacing the road and just expanding the road on either side will reduce the rate of accidents. In many cities of the country most roads are in dire need of resurfacing.

Shepherd Chakanyuka Roads should be marked, nekuedzera kumativi, kuti mufambike.

Lorraine Shaw Parents who let their kids stand in between the seats or just unrestrained in the front or back seats..... please buckle up! Your kids are precious - save their lives!

Harare News 5

www.hararenews.co.zw

Road safety

Infographic

Holding or operating a handheld cell phone while driving is dangerous and illegal (Statutory Instrument 299 of 2002, section 16B). High Court Judgement HB157/2012 concluded an appropriate penalty is a $20 fine, failing which 5 days imprisonment.

Be safe, be legal

The maximum deposit fine a police officer can legally impose is $20 per offence (a level 3 fine). A fine higher than level 3 can only be imposed by a magistrate after a court appearance.

Being safe on the road starts with obeying traffic laws and keeping your vehicle in good shape.

Here are some common offences to watch for, and their penalties. This is not a complete list, and applies to light vehicles only, unless specified. $20 $15

No rear number plate light No rear number plate Windscreen not providing clear undistorted vision

No windscreen wiper

No horn – fail to use, or abuse horn

$10

$5

$10

No front number plate

Foot brakes not working Hand brakes not working at all – max Unable to keep vehicle steady when brake applied

$10

No headlights or side lights One headlight only and no side lights Headlights causing dazzle No dip switch

Fail to display current vehicle licence Fail to produce documents within 7 days to Police Owner fail to licence registered vehicle – all classes Fail to display registration mark and number OR it is illegible Fail to notify change of ownership – 14 days No front number plate (except motorcycle, trailer) No rear number plate No rear number plate light No drivers licence No insurance No white front reflectors (35mm in diameter) No red rear reflectors (35mm in diameter) No white reflective ‘T’ on trailer front No red reflective ‘T’ on trailer rear No red triangles No serviceable spare wheel / jack / wheel spanner No serviceable fire extinguisher (light vehicles: 0.75kg) No horn – fail to use, or abuse horn Fail to obey regulatory signs: no stopping, no parking, no left turn, no right turn Proceed against red robot Proceed against amber robot Encroach over white line at a robot Fail to stop at flashing lights – railway crossing Overtaking over solid white line 3D car model: archive3d.net; Graphic: Graham van de Ruit

No red rear reflectors

$5

Fail to display current vehicle licence

$20

$20 $15 $15 $10 $5 $10

No exhaust silencer Inefficient exhaust silencer Causing excessive smoke

$20 $10 $15 $10

Leaks of oil and fuel onto road No white front reflectors

$5 $5 $10 $10 $10 $10 $15 $20 $20 $10 $20 $20 $10 $10 $15 $5 $5 $10 $20 $20 $10 $10 $20 $20

$20

$5

Dangerous tyre – less than 1mm tread depth anywhere Dangerous tyre – canvas showing

Double park Stop or park within 7.5m of intersection Fail to give way to right – uncontrolled intersection Overtake when driver cannot see sufficiently far ahead to complete the manoever safely Cut corner when turning right

$10 $15 $15

Fail to signal intention to slow down, stop, turn left or right Fail to stop after minor accident Fail to stop after serious accident

$10

$20 $10

$20 court

No headlights or side lights One headlight only and no side lights Headlights causing dazzle No dip switch

$20 $10 $15 $10

Foot brakes not working Hand brakes not working at all – max Unable to keep vehicle steady when brake applied

$20 $15 $15

No windscreen wiper Windscreen not providing clear undistorted vision No exhaust silencer Inefficient exhaust silencer Causing excessive smoke Leaks of oil and fuel onto road Dangerous tyre – less than 1mm tread depth anywhere Dangerous tyre – canvas showing

$5 $10 $10 $5 $10 $5 $5 $10

$5 $10

Axles loading 1–50kg excess Axles loading 51–200kg excess Axles loading 201–400kg excess Axles loading +400kg excess

$10 $15 $20 court $5

Fail to wear safety belt

$5 $5 $20

Spit in or from vehicle Discard rubbish from vehicle Abusive behaviour Speeding 1–5 kph in excess of speed limit Speeding 6–15 kph in excess of speed limit Speeding 16–25 kph in excess of speed limit Speeding 26–35 kph in excess of speed limit Speeding 36–50 kph in excess of speed limit Speeding 50+ kph in excess of speed limit

CAUTION $5 $10 $15 $20 court

Fail to produce driver’s licence Fail to produce driver’s licence for endorsement within 7 days after conviction Fail to produce insurance Fail to produce registration book to VID Police officers must be able to provide their name, rank and number, and must provide a receipt upon accepting a fine.

Questions?

Call the 24hr national complaints line: 703631

$20 $20 $10 $10

6 Harare News

Issue 14 September 2014

Community

Yes, your baby can swim!

Sara Davies

“E

liya! Ready! Go!” I commanded firmly and she was under.

My 8-week-old baby, who could barely hold her head up, on only her second lesson was being dunked underwater by her very own mother.

It seems a somewhat bizarre and maybe cruel thing to do to a child so small. Yet since I had first heard, years ago, that babies naturally hold their breath underwater and can be ‘thrown’ in the deep end to no ill effect, I was determined that my baby would learn to swim as soon as she could, the number of swimming pools in Harare posing serious danger to those who can’t stay afloat.

Of course, I didn’t actually throw her in at the deep end. I found one of Harare’s few swimming classes with a heated pool. In the very first lesson, Eliya was dipped completely under water. And, what do you

know, she didn’t take in any water, held her breath and was pretty unperturbed. From there she has gone from strength to strength.

At this age, when they can’t even crawl, learning swimming strokes is not the main intention of the lessons. Rather, they are taught to hold their breath underwater – building on their natural gag reflex that is strongest under the age of six months; to roll onto their backs; and to float without any help. “It’s all about knowing that your baby will, in good time, be able to turn around and hold on instinctively,” says Kim Grantham who runs Splish Splash Academy. “They can then make their way to a safe place to climb out.”

The swimming lessons won’t drown proof a child – that is impossible. But, if a baby falls into a pool, then this training will help them to self-rescue. Little ones always need

Kim Grantham helps a baby take its first natural strokes. to have adult supervision when swimming in a pool – and the adult should know how to swim too.

Getting children into the pool when they are very young is something that Dr Harvey Bennett has been pioneering with his Infant

New contract for Step Up 2 HIV Kundai Marunya

F

ollowing a successful run last year, the United States Embassy in Harare, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has renewed its support towards Jibilika Dance Trust’s youth HIV awareness programme Step Up 2 HIV. Launched in 2012, Step Up 2 HIV engages youth in the promotion of an HIV- and AIDS-free generation using popular youth culture including music and dance. Jibilika Dance Trust projects director Plot Mhako explains, “Last year, Step Up to HIV was active in 12 schools and seven communities in the capital raising awareness and engaging with more than 11,400 youths.”

Mhako said the US funds goes a long way towards making it possible to teach young people in a ‘language’ they understand. He

said, “Step Up 2 HIV uses mediums that young people are interested in outside of the classroom, such as elements of hip hop and dancehall, as the bridge to teach them about HIV and AIDS issues.” This empowers them with the knowledge, tools and opportunities to use their own art and ideas to promote an AIDSfree generation.

He said Jibilika realises that without access to the right information and services, young people will continue to be exposed to STIs and HIV. “Our programming has been tailor made for our target audiences for information acquisition, information for empowerment and information for decision making,” said Mhako.

Last year saw Jibilika Dance Trust targeting communities in Glen Norah, Glenview, Budiriro, Kuwadzana, Mufakose, Waterfalls, Ardbennie, Mbare and Southerton.

advertorial

Kennan goes green A

t the start of 2014 Kennan Properties were inspired by Miracle Missions to get involved in the “Keep Harare Clean” campaigns. In this regard, the various branches and the staff of Kennans have been involved in cleaning up the areas where they have offices in Harare. In conjunction with the City of Harare, they have also erected dustbins and adopted areas to maintain. Speaking about the latest clean up at the Chisipite Shopping Centre, the Manageress of Kennans in Chisipite said, “Everyone should be aware of the rubbish and waste we produce in our daily lives and take more responsibility for where it ends up, we all need to start living in a more environmentally friendly way to keep our city clean.”

Also inspired by the “Go Green

Harare” campaign, Kennan properties have introduced the use of the colour coded recycle bags to ensure that all the waste from our workplace is recycled. Marje Kennan says “we use a great deal of paper in our offices, our aim for 2014 was to reuse where possible and then recyle all the paper we used, but our aim for 2015 is to become a ‘paper free office’ so that not only are we recycling, but also drastically reducing! In this way we will be able to say that we have fully adopted the “reduce, reuse and recycle” mantra of the Go Green campaign.

They worked closely with schools in these areas. Mhako said this year they will extend their reach by producing and presenting Step Up 2 HIV dance and music performances in at least 30 schools and 10 communities in Harare, Mutare, Bulawayo, Masvingo and Gweru.

Mhako said, “The performances will be on issues around HIV prevention and sexual reproductive health.” He said school clubs and community peer groups will be established and empowered to replicate awareness campaigns.

“Our performances will stimulate discussions on HIV and AIDS, sex and sexuality issues and encourage young people to step up the fight against the deadly diseases,” he added.

Last year, Jibilika Trust was awarded with the Best Positive Social Impact award at the Zimbabwe Hip-Hop Awards.

Swimming Resource (ISR) programme since 1966. While he believes that fences, nets and supervision are all important elements towards preventing drowning, “ISR’s core conviction is that the child is the most important part of a drowning prevention strategy.”

A swimmer herself since the tender age of three, Kim agrees. “The youngest I will take a baby is from new born,” she says. “It is their natural environment [think of the womb!], so the transition is much calmer. Our babies at a young age are not clingy, which sets toddlers back in the pool environment at a later stage.” She also says that there are other advantages: it’s a great

form of exercise which promotes a good sleep pattern, a healthy appetite, a strong core, promotes good balance in later stages, hand eye coordination and increased rate of brain development due to the programme developing each week teaching the babies something new every time.

There is no legal criteria necessary here in Zimbabwe for the setting up of a swimming school, so if you are thinking of getting your children into the water, you need to be happy that the person training them has the right expertise. For me, I know that Kim has trained in the UK with the highly acclaimed Water Babies Swim School and has first aid training on baby resuscitation, just in case.

And when will Eliya be able to swim? A child going to regular swimming lessons from a very young age of about two months should be swimming by the age of two. But, says Kim, this is all dependent on how much work the parents are doing with their children outside of the lessons and, of course, each child has a different learning ability If you want to find out more on baby swimming, visit www.infantswim. com or www.waterbabies.co.uk. Or go to www.facebook.com/SplishSplashSwimAcademy to sign up.

Shoe dyers duping citizens Kudzayi Zvinavashe

A

s the unemployment rate across our country continues to rise, the number of hustlers on our streets is noticeably higher. An example of this is the appearance of male youths in the Central Business District (CBD) offering shoe dyeing services. Innovative as this may seem at first sight, there are a lot of problems that come along with this “innovation”. One can quickly tell that these shoe dyers are not professionals from their choice of location.

There is no prize for guessing that the dyes these youths use on customers’ shoes are not good quality.

Some customers have complained that the dye washes off easily when the shoes get wet. The service is not inexpensive for the majority citizens who earn below the Poverty Datum Line (PDL), costing around $10, usually squeezed out of an unconvinced customer.

These shoe dyers coerce potential customers by applying a bit of dye on one shoe to show the wonders the dye can do. This makes it impossible for the customer to walk away as their shoes look uneven so acquiring their service becomes an obligation.

While negotiations start off at a mere 50 cents or $1 as one shoe is being dyed, surprisingly the figure miraculously escalates to $10 or even more. Obviously they have figured out that once one shoe is done the customer is not likely to leave.

While some of customers with thick

skins resist the intimidation, some give in to save themselves the embarrassment of causing a scene in public.

One of our own, Harare News journalist Stephen Tsoroti, fell prey to these shoe dyers recently. “They enticed me by trying to demonstrate that they provide a good service, hoping that I would come back with another pair of shoes. Surprisingly they started demanding $12 after finishing my second shoe. When I told them I was going to report them to the police they then reconsidered and demanded $2 for the dye they had used. We finally ended up at $1 but many people would give in to their intimidation and pay the full amount. They ruined my shoes.

I had to wash my shoes as they had used a shade of the dye that I didn’t like. That pair has never been the same. Their business ethics are disgraceful,” said Tsoroti.

Enoch Gwatiringa (not his real name), a shoe dyer in the CBD said, “Shoe dyeing in the streets is not a career of choice. We do anything we can to survive; we even wash cars just to make ends meet. Some people may not agree with the way we operate but it’s a matter of surviving.”

A local vendor who trades near the shoe dyers said, “I have seen their approach to customers and it’s not a good one if you ask me.

Business is all about treating the customer well with the hope of the customers returning. Sadly that does not apply to their way of doing business.”

Harare News 7

www.hararenews.co.zw

Community

Dog breeding business booming in Harare Owen Chirinda

D

og breeding has become popular in many suburbs around Harare including Mbare, Arcadia, Breaside and Hatfield. Greyhounds, German Shepherds, Bulldogs, Boerboels, Poodles, Jack Russells and a wide range of imported breeds that were not previously popular are being bred and sold to pet owners. According to Harare City’s Dog Licencing and Control by-laws of 1993 it

is illegal to breed dogs without a licence and it is a punishable offence.

Some breeders attributed the growing popularity of these dogs to the demand for security and companionship. Former policeman Maxwell Rumhungwe, who buys crossbred Boerboel pups regularly, said that these dogs provide better security and can be easily trained.

Dr Khumbulani Nyathi of the Harare ZNSPCA, however, said that the increase in their numbers is due

Doris Lessing’s parting gift In recognition of the 25 years she spent in Zimbabwe (then Southern Rhodesia), Nobel Prize winning author Doris Lessing has bequeathed her personal collection of 3,000 books to the Harare City Library. The transfer will be overseen by Book Aid International, with handover set to take place at a literary festival in November.

to the importation and smuggling of such breeds.

Brian Maragas of Mbare, who breeds Boerboels, said that although it is hard to get breeding licences from the City of Harare, documentation is essential, since it legalises operations. However, Maragas castigated those who breed dogs for dog fights and those who breed outlawed dogs. He also stressed that it is essential that breeders should take care of dogs properly. “Some breeders do not even know that dogs need water and good food,” he said. He also added that all dogs should be kept in secure and clean environments so that their health is guaranteed.

Another breeder, Chrispen Tatenda Chitongo, who breeds German Shepherds, Jack Russells and Boerboels, said that breeders should first study the breeds they want to focus on, because some breeds react differently in different environments.

He also called on the ZNSPCA and City Council to stop discriminating against breeders and pet owners, so that all could benefit since some people are earning a living from breeding dogs. Dr Nyathi also said that given the fact that people are breeding dogs commercially, they should seek the assistance of specialists when breeding animals. He however castigated puppy vendors and urged pet lovers to adopt dogs rather than breed them. “For now

Photo: Flickr user st0l1

Breeding animals as a business raises the issue of animal cruelty. l think breeding should be stopped for good, since it has become uncontrollable,” he added.

He also bemoaned Harare City Council’s leniency in dealing with vendors and breeders. In March the city fathers vowed to enforce dog licences in residential areas but this has not been followed up yet.

Concerning the issue of licensing, Chitongo said that all dogs should be licensed whatever the breed or size. Buying prices of both pure and cross bred dogs are currently pegged from $300 to $1,000.

Veterinarian specialist, Edwin Chipadza, said that it is hard to predict the temperament of each

individual puppy and how it reacts to its immediate environment, and so breeders should be careful how they raise their dogs. “All dogs are susceptible to congenital health complications, hence breeders should also be wary of this,” he added. Some dogs that are outlawed are the Japanese Tosa Inus, Argentine Dogos and Fila Brasiliero. Dr Nyathi added that buyers should opt for indigenous dog species since they are stronger and more resilient to diseases. He also called on pet owners to abide by city regulations and to neuter and vaccinate their pets.

Dogs are available for adoption at a reasonable fee at the ZNSPCA.

8 Harare News

Issue 14 September 2014

Environment

Residents urge ZINWA to step up inspections Stephen Tsoroti

B

orehole owners in Harare are up in arms over the inefficiency of Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) to regulate the activities of commercial water suppliers.

Residents say that drawing water in considerable bulk, as many of these companies do, is threatening to deplete the ground water tables in their suburbs, causing their boreholes to dry up.

Speaking to Harare News, residents in the northern and eastern suburbs of Harare say ZINWA has allowed commercial water suppliers to get away with extracting more water from boreholes than the amounts mandated by their licenses, though indeed the vast majority operate openly without proper licensing at all.

According to Greendale resident Jackie Wild, abstraction of bulk water from Harare’s underground supply is putting a strain on our already overburdened environment.

She suggested that commercial water supplies should be sourced from outside the city, where water tables are higher. “This is a short term solution and has effects on the already depleted Harare water resources, considering the damage to water courses, pollution and the onslaught on wetlands,” said Wild.

“While ZINWA is the custodian of our water, they should share their management plan with the residents to allow better supervision of this finite resource,” she added.

Mandara resident Grimwood Cooke also explained his situation to Harare News: “My once prolific borehole is on the brink of drying up. The issuing of commercial licences is in direct conflict with City of Harare by-Laws which has forbidden that.” He added that the monitoring of businesses drawing water for commercial purposes by the Manyame Catchment Council is sorely inadequate and that the lack of enforcement has raised some suspicion about the greasing of inspectors’ hands.

In April this year, residents in Greendale along Metcalf Road, claimed that their boreholes started running dry at the end of 2012 and that even after the heavy rains of the 2013-2014 season, boreholes were showing signs of depletion as early as April.

“How can an organisation, whose very duty it is to protect a precious resource, allow it to be abused at will without any apparent fear of the consequences?” asked another resident of Greendale, McLeod Mashaya, referring to commercial water trader LS Waters’ continued abstraction of water in the area.

The Upper Manyame Sub-Catchment Council, the water regulatory authority for Harare north, notes that LS Waters, run by Josh Laubscher, was pumping out between 180,000 and 300,000 litres

On average we used to find water at 35 metres and then it went to 40 meters. Now we are in the region of 50–60 metres for boreholes in Harare.

per day, more than four times the allocated volume and they halted their operations. The company was said to have been suspended pending satisfactory demonstration that they were not overstepping their

allocation, but investigation carried out by Harare News found that the company in question was still operating; confirming residents’ claims that the sub-catchment council has not have been adequately performing the watchdog role it was set up to do.

In an interview with Harare News, Manyame Sub-catchment Council, which is responsible for issuing and supervising the borehole permits to residents in the northern suburbs, defended their position saying they have met their mandates. “Measures have been taken to control those companies that have abused their licences,” said the Council’s water manager Donald Rwasoka.

“We have been doing regular checks since our inception. In our last 2013 assessment the inspectorate canvassed 2,702 households from various neighbourhoods, of which 2,108 were found to have boreholes. Of these, 36% [759] were not on our books.”

All in all, Rwasoka estimates that there are upwards of 16,000 boreholes in greater Harare, with the vast majority of these being concentrated in the northern suburbs.

Rwasoka added that water is a public resource and as such every citizen has a right to use it but the conduct of the permit holder has to be monitored to safeguard the

continued supply. “Commercial water licence holders should declare their proper names, the amount of water they abstract, its intended use and positions of their borehole,” he said. He agreed that the water level in the catchment area is falling. “On average we used to find water at 35 metres and then it went to 40 meters. Now we are in the region of 50–60 metres for boreholes in Harare,” said Rwasoka.

Essential services like schools are at risk of closure owing to lack of water. Chisipite Junior School at one point considered closing down unless they found a reliable water supply, which they did a few years back. However there is evidence that these boreholes are now showing signs of considerable diminished productivity earlier each year. The situation is similar at the Grange Christian College, situated opposite Beeston Avenue, in Chisipite.

Professor Chris Magadza, who has conducted wide research on Harare water sources, says the preservation of underground water is critical. “Our rainy seasons are shrinking. We need to protect every water source. The environment depends on this water, so ground water is critical to balance human uses and in our environment,” said Magadza.

What happens to Harare’s electronic waste?

Photo: Farai Dauramanzi

Patrick Musira

H

ave you ever wondered what happens to your old television set when you throw it away? Or to your old laptop or cellphone?

Chances are some of your old electronic junk will end up dumped in the Mukuvisi River! According to the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), “the Mukuvisi river now appears to be the largest ewaste reception site in the city.”

Electronic gadgets are meant to improve life, but they contain toxic substances and their disposal could become a health nightmare. Technology has penetrated every aspect of our lives yet most of us do not think about what happens to our old gadgets when we discard or upgrade.

Electronic waste or e-waste as it is commonly called, consists of everything from scrapped TV sets, discarded refrigerators and air-conditioners to that old desktop computer that may be collecting dust in your closet.

The rate of e-waste generation is increasing sharply. The global market for personal computers is far from saturated, and the average PC lifespan has dropped from four to six years in 1997, to two years in 2005.

For the past decade, Zimbabwe has been a major hub for the disposal of e-waste, with gadgets from

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Disgusting and dangerous: computers burn in a downtown skip. as far afield as Singapore and the USA being shipped over here to ‘die’.

Several groups of young people here have become experts at dismantling the electronic junk.

On seemingly every road, in every nook and cranny in the industrial sites, street electronic technicians sit on pavements and outside workshops ripping out the guts of household appliances with screw drivers, pliers and drills.

On one street sits a pile of green and gold circuit boards. On another, the metal cases of desktop computers.

“We sell these in the Graniteside area,” one of the workers said,

referring to the light industrial sites in the southern side of the capital.

“Most of the products people use in this day and age, are made from recycled material – so we take all these things thrown away and resell.”

But recycling along the Mukuvisi’s banks is dirty, dangerous work.

“When recycling is done properly, it’s a good thing for the environment,” says a University of Zimbabwe’s Institute of Environmental Studies spokesperson, “but when recycling is done in primitive ways like we have seen along the river with the electronic waste, it is hugely devastating for the local

environment.”

Much of the toxic pollution comes from burning circuit boards, plastic and copper wires, or washing them with hydrochloric acid to recover valuable metals like copper and steel.

“In doing so, workshops contaminate workers and the environment with toxic heavy metals like lead, beryllium and cadmium, while also releasing hydrocarbon ashes into the air, water and soil,” says a FoE activist.

Piles of technological scrap have been dumped in fields along the river and there, young children can be seen scavenging for broken electronic gadget pieces on heaps of scrap while surrounded by piles of electronic components with labels like Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Epson and Dell.

Most of the youths involved in the e-waste business are residents of poor neighbourhoods. Many of them downplayed the potential damage the industry could cause to their health or to the environment.

“Of course it isn’t healthy,” said Lucas, a young man who was rapidly sorting plastic shards from devices like computer keyboards, remote controls and even computer mice. He and his colleagues burned plastic using lighters to identify different kinds of material.”But there are families that have lived here for generations … and there is little

impact on their health,” explains his colleague.

Several of the youths say that while the work may be dangerous, it allows them at least to put bread on the table “rather than be involved in criminal activities.”

And despite the environmental degradation and toxic fumes permeating the air, many in the group insist that conditions have improved dramatically over the years.

Harare News made several attempts to contact City Council without success, as officials refused to comment on the electronic waste issue and hung up the phone.

To avoid a vicious cycle of pollution, resulting from both the manufacture and disposal of appliances, EMA has lobbied for manufacturers to use fewer toxic chemicals in their products.

The agency also has a message for consumers who seem to swap their phones, tablets and other computer devices with increasing frequency.

“Think about where your mobile phone or where your gadgets go,” says an official at EMA. “When you think about changing [your phone], or buying a new product, always think about the footprint that you leave on this planet.”

To safely recycle your e-waste, contact Clean & Green Zimbabwe at Transtobac Building, Hillside Road, Msasa, or Nyasha on 0774 368 150 or at nyasha.makuyana@gmail.com.

Just Swift It!

Harare News 9

www.hararenews.co.zw

Environment

What is your understanding of

“Wetlands”?

Majorie (23), electrical merchandiser I don’t know anything about wetlands.

Eric (25), musician, Mbare Wetlands are damp areas where people are not supposed to build anything. Structures put up there can have defects because of instability of the ground.

Sifundo, IT technician, Avenues These are places that have plenty of water underground. The water from wetlands is usally discharged into rivers.

Takayaki, lecturer These are very important areas that rivers often begin from.

Altering them may result in disturbing river sources. While in Japan many rivers start from the mountains, here we have noticed that wetlands are the sources of many rivers.

Harare City Nursery springing back to life Lovemore Lubinda

E

ntering the Harare City Nursery from the main gate on Helm Road evidence of the economic hardships and the lack of reliable water supply can be seen. A few metres in, however, a different story is revealed. In sharp contrast to the entrance, the vegetation begins to show signs of life reflecting progress in the right direction.

Situated off Glenara Road/Helm Road in Hillside, the Harare City Nursery is under the department of Cemeteries and Parks, with offices at the Department of Housing and Community Services (DHCS), Remembrance Drive in Mbare. The

When Harare News visited the nursery the situation looked good.

division is also in charge of tree surgery, pruning and greening the city among other responsibilities.

Harare News had a chance to speak to some people relaxing in the park adjoining the nursery.

Most of them were very pleased to have a place in their neighbourhood where they could buy plants and trees to improve their homes.

“Apart from beautifying homes, some of the plants that we grow in our gardens, such as the aloe and mint plants, can be used in aromatherapy and as natural remedies for curing different ailments,” said Tinei Gowere, a Hillside resident.

However, he urged people not to use plants they are not very sure of for medical purposes because some plants are poisonous to

human beings.

“This is a positive development to come from the city fathers who are usually in the news for all the wrong reasons. I am pleased that since 2012 things have begun shaping up at the nursery,” said Lydia Finch, a Hillside resident. She added that as a keen gardener she used to travel as far as Greendale or Kamfinsa to buy plants when the situation at this nursery was dire. As if to confirm her claims she coincidentally happened to be holding a Home & Garden magazine during this interview at her home which overlooks the nursery.

Highly placed sources at the division’s offices said that it was great that the nursery is recuperating.

“I am very grateful that things are improving at the nursery and would like to thank the staff for their commitment and hard work that helped the garden carry on through difficult times,” said one source. He thanked this paper for its developmental and solutionbased reporting saying that without the media, people who last visited the nursery when things were rough would not be aware that the situation has improved.

“I would like to urge people who love plants to visit the nursery. There is more in store for them and our wish is to make sure that our customers get what they want,” said another source, which also declined to be named citing protocol issues. He added that the garden’s vision is to be the place of choice when it comes to the supply of ornamental plants, shrubs, pot plants, lawns and fruit trees and other related products and services.

When Harare News visited the nursery the situation looked good with trees and flowers well kept while the staff was busy with their duties and a pump was drawing water from a reservoir located on the eastern side of the premises.

Rumbidzai (19), student These areas are not fit to dwell in. They are risky when it is flood time. Alternative land should be given to people who settled on wetlands unknowingly, otherwise we will lose our prime sources of water.

Nowel, take-away owner, Avenues My understanding of wetlands is that they are given green spaces usually filled with water. They supply our rivers and dams.

Destroying them means we will have no water flowing into our dams.

Esparanca (21), student, Hatfield Wetlands are areas that have water. It might have water throughout the year or some parts of the year. Usually they flood in the rainy season.

Miss Earth 2014 contestant making a difference

Sandiswe Buhle talks to school children about environmental issues.

Owen Chirinda

M

iss Earth Zimbabwe was started in 2011 by the current director Thandekile Muringa, with the goal of celebrating bio-diversity and preserving the earth’s flora and fauna. For contestant Sandiswe Buhle it is not merely a pageant, it is more about undertaking sustainable initiatives for communities.

“Miss Earth Zimbabwe is not only about looking pretty and waving at the camera, it is also about showing that you can work with the community,” she said.

Speaking on how she got involved with Miss Earth Zimbabwe, Buhle said that she has always had a passionate concern for the environment and has been participating in various cleanup initiatives like the ‘Bin It’ cleanup campaign.

“I have been going into communities and educating people about environmental issues,” she said.

She runs Footprints Community Trust which is involved in projects providing educational, social and networking support and life skills training for young Zimbabweans.

Buhle is currently involved in a project called ‘Environment Matters’ as part of her sixty-day assignment for the pageant, a project that tackles problems facing the Kuwadzana 2 community. Commenting on why her project stands out from the other contestants, she said that the major thrust of her project is sustainability and benefitting the community in the long run.

Kuwadzana 2 is plagued by poor waste management, burst sewer pipes and water shortages. “We are currently focused on how residents can solve these problems themselves, without relying on the authorities who are unable to deal with this crisis,” she said. Together with members of the community they have come up with some viable solutions. “Some of the solutions we have come up with include recycling, waste separation at source and composting,” she added. She highlighted that they invite experts to their meetings, and one such expert is helping out in recycling all forms of waste, including bones, plastic and metal.

They have also asked local

churches to help engage authorities to address the water shortages in that area, through the resuscitation of dysfunctional boreholes, and by allowing residents to access boreholes sunk at churches. Seeing that Kuwadzana’s sewer system is overloaded, Buhle said that residents should look into adopting compost Blair toilets, an initiative which she said is in the pipeline for that community.

Speaking on the problems facing the environment, Buhle said it is essential that Zimbabweans should harness environmentally friendly and sustainable energy policies like bio-gas, as well as expanding plantations for trees that serve specific purposes and do not decimate forests. She also added that people need to prioritise environmental issues so that they can live harmoniously with nature.

This year’s event will see 15 finalists competing for the crown on 30 August in Bulawayo. The winner will travel to the Philippines where they will battle it out for the ultimate Miss Earth crown with contestants from around the globe.

10 Harare News

Issue 14 September 2014

Talking Twitter with Sir Nige Date: 31 July 2014 - 1 year after elections, what’s changed? @FingazLive: This day last year was #ElectionDay. One year on, have things changed for the better? @weirmouth18: nothing but desperate poverty and empty promises. Corruption and impunity rife.

Pointless @Wekwagatsi: tollgate fees have gone up and vendors will be taxed everyday so things are actually getting worse @joeblackzw: #July31 Zimbabwe is worse, my measurements are very simple - more powercuts.

Less water. Clients take longer to pay. So Zimbabwe is worse No Rugby World Cup 2015 for Zimbabwe @pocockdavid: Tough loss for @zimbabwerugby. #RWC2015 dream over but some great play and hopefully the start of journey to qualify for #RWC2019 Thoughts on Heroes Day @Dewamavhinga: #Zimbabwe’s highest honour - national #HERO - is bestowed only on the dead, never the living. Why? @Slimsem1: Happy heroes day to the #twimbos that shun corruption in this corrupt country.Yu r the true heroes @Oldschoolvalue1: 12 hours n counting ....no power! Happy heroes day??? @wellimakombe: Independence is just a small part of Zimbabwean history, what we do with our independence is our true identity.

Vending in Zimbabwe @sentinelzim: National Vendors Union Zimbabwe,vending has become not only an alternative eco venture but an unavoidable reality @richard_kawazi: i’ve been on my hustle. vending be the god of my finances. the biggest employer true that @Mukoma9: In other words vending has become the biggest employer ahead of the civil service Banning Kombis in Harare CBD @nyariemarcySA: seems to me like instead of rectifying the traffic situation in CBD, they’ve just made it worse Govt extends Zim Permits @zim_face: The RSA govt is extending Zim permits. What does this mean to Zimbabwe (political,social,economical)? @teldah: it means your govt is being given three years to put its house in order. @SueNyathi: It means that in the next 3 years the Zim economy needs to grow sufficiently to absorb the influx of returnees Where do we stand on Abortion? @pearlNATASHA: I’m pro choice. Why? cause I don’t have/want the power to control how a woman uses HER body, but I have the power to respect HER @Algee88: abortions and same sex marriages are the same can’t legalize both Nomatter how innocent u make it sound @Nge2013: Methinks challenge is that people tend to look at issue(abortion) only and not the thought process before decision Our hero this month is Angela Jimu, a photo journalist who was arrested for covering a demo @millzdzenga: So covering a demonstration is a detainable offense? @mastonmbewe: We attack Journalists who are just doing their job and expect the image of Zimbabwe to be transformed @DearHubert: I hear the journo was released but we are yet to hear any1 condemn the use of force on unarmed demonstrators. Are we saying its ok? @PrinceTseisi: Journalism is not a crime #FreeAngelaJimu @AngJimu: Thank you all for your support much appreciated, I have been released #twimbos #BringbackourAngela God bless Food for thought: @AngJimu: A week after being beaten up and arrested I’m back at it taking pics of demonstrating Stanbic workers

Sign up to Twitter and join the #263chat conversation online.

financial view

Business & tech

$144 million facility: the brighter side

Omen Muza

W

henever the $144 million Chinese facility is mentioned, what quickly comes to mind is the widely reported, alleged abuse of part of the facility. Given the negative publicity around the deal, it is no longer easy to imagine that anything positive can come out of it. Even though there is much talk about the water supply situation improving, not many are actually aware of the material statistic that once the project is fully implemented by June 2015, water supply is expected to increase from the current 450 megalitres per day to 670 megalitres per day. This means that the number of people receiving regular water supply will increase from 40% to 80%.

Few people are aware of the other areas in which the deal is expected to have a positive impact. This instalment focuses on this brighter side, based on what the City itself has said. These are issues which ratepayers should be aware of so they can hold the City accountable.

Improvement in Water Quality Harare’s water quality is a longstanding cause of concern for many. While the City maintains that it’s safe for human consumption, the water certainly doesn’t “look the

part”. Under this loan deal, water quality testing equipment is being installed in order to help Harare Water increase its surveillance of water quality from treatment through to distribution. When the chemical dosing plant and equipment is finally installed, dosage efficiency is expected to improve significantly.

So the deal seeks to address not only the quantitative, but the qualitative aspects of water as well.

Reduction in Pipe Bursts About 30% of Harare’s treated water is lost through pipe bursts and leakages, hence the loan deal’s procurement of pressure reducing valves to replace malfunctioning ones.

By mid-June 2014, the city had reportedly installed two such valves in Warren Park D and Ardbennie, and the immediate impact was a reduction in pipe bursts from six to one per week in Ardbennie, and from twenty to six per week in Warren Park.

Saving on Hiring Costs The city has for some time been hiring equipment for day-to-day maintenance purposes, at unsustainably high costs. The purchase of two seven-ton crane trucks, high velocity machines to de-choke blocked sewers, two excavators, and a 35 ton crane under the loan deal, is expected to result in a saving of over

$2 million per year. The city also confirms acquiring four water bowsers for use in emergency situations, especially in areas which currently don’t have access to reticulated water.

Enhancement of Service Delivery As part of this water and sanitation rehabilitation project, a provision of $8 million was made for the purchase of various pieces of equipment meant to improve the efficiency of the City’s service delivery departments. The equipment includes tractors, motor vehicles for project staff, utility vehicles, mechanical sweepers, as well as waste management and construction equipment. It is this area of the project that has torched a firestorm of protest particularly over the procurement of vehicles for project staff. Here, the city has a difficult task ahead to convince the public that no abuse of the facility was intended.

Improved Billing, Record Keeping and Decision Making The project has provision for procurement of ICT equipment, required to network the City’s district offices to allow for real-time transactions, improving billing, record keeping and decision making processes. By mid-June 2014, half of the ICT equipment had been received and installation was in progress.

Benefits of outsourced IT Neil Padmore

E

very firm needs convenience, reliability and efficiency to function well. Your computers and ICT (Information Communication Technology) systems are similar: you don’t think about it when you need to access your customer database or accounting system, but if it’s not working properly, efficiency suffers.

As with most things, ICT systems require maintenance, be it proactive or reactive.

One option for getting the job done is outsourcing. Contract a third party company to handle all your IT requirements and let them focus on your ICT systems while you focus on your core business.

Reasons why outsourced IT might be the best choice for you: 1. Control capital costs by moving to the cloud – www.frampolcloud.co.zw Cost-cutting is the most common reason many firms choose to outsource. Outsourcing providers can cut your costs by reducing the amount of internal equipment (servers, software, desktops, etc.) required to keep your information systems running smoothly.

2. Increase efficiency IT administration is probably not your core competency, and therefore not your most efficient use of time. But it should be the core focus of your IT provider, whose cost structure and economies of scale can give your

Internet Service Provision Cloud Computing Computer Hardware & Software Supplies 80 Mutare Road, Msasa, Harare +263 4, 447710/9, 487100, 485540/1 sales@frampolafrica.com

firm an important competitive advantage.

An outsourcing partner should be able to provide a team of proficient IT professionals with extensive technical expertise at a lower cost than an employee.

3. Reduce labour costs Training your own IT staff will cost you money. IT service providers are responsible for staffing the right people and keeping them trained on the latest technology. Professional IT companies invest a significant amount of time and money to make sure their technical knowledge is thorough and up-to-date.

4. Start new projects quickly IT service providers have the knowledge, experience, and resources to start new projects immediately, saving you the money that hiring, procurement and training would cost.

5. Focus on your core business Allocating resources to non-revenue generating tasks like fixing computers or installing new software, will draw you away from your core competencies. Outsourcing your IT function will help your firm retain focus on the main mission, ensuring better output.

6. Level the playing field Larger firms have a big advantage when it comes to resources, and sometimes it can be difficult for smaller firms to match their in-house support and IT infrastructure. Outsourcing the IT function means small firms can have the same level of efficiency, expertise and dependability that large firms enjoy.

Application outsourcing also provides the ability to access your core information from any computer that is connected to the Internet. This type of ubiquitous access helps smaller firms project a much larger presence, by allowing everyone to be more efficient and responsive to client needs.

7. Reduce risk Today’s technology changes quickly. Unless technology is your area of expertise, outsourcing providers are better equipped to adapt to these rapid changes and can assume and manage the risk that comes with them.

Outsourced IT providers have the infrastructure and service level agreements that allow smaller firms to realise the uptimes and system resiliency that larger firms enjoy.

Frampol is a Managed Service Provider based in Harare, Zimbabwe. We are an ideal solutions provider for outsourcing your IT, offer product trials and “ready to assist” customer care.

Harare News 11

www.hararenews.co.zw

Consumer advertorial

Floors & Cladding – the best in the business

Get involved and ‘Clean up the World’ O

The floors and surfaces in your building are the first things that visitors notice, and first impressions are important.

H

omeowners, contractors, retail outlets and countless businesses in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia have relied on Floors & Cladding for bespoke, customerfocused and professional service.

This proudly Zimbabwean company supplies, fits, and restores natural stone tiling and cladding, cemcrete coloured cement finishes, and waterproofing solutions for concrete and plaster structures.

Holding pride of place in the Floors & Cladding offerings is

Polishcrete, which gives decorators the option of an extremely hardwearing and beautiful finish, suitable for flooring and even as kitchen counter tops. With an array of colours and finishes to choose from, this product will transform your home or workplace into exactly what you want it to be.

Other finishes available are vinyl, tiling, and natural cladding including sandstone, marble and granite.

Floors & Cladding will deliver any finish to meet your needs.

The managing director personally oversees all projects to ensure excellent customer service – one of the reasons this business has grown to have an international footprint. What’s more, the Floors & Cladding team take pride in keeping abreast of their technology, through constant research and training.

If you are building, renovating or decorating, contact Floors & Cladding to get the best in the business.

ver the weekend of 19–21 September, Zimbabweans will have the chance to take part in the Clean up the World Campaign – a community-based environmental campaign that motivates and empowers communities from across the globe to “clean up, fix up and conserve their environment.”

The event has been running for 22 years, and has grown in that time to include an astonishing 35 million volunteers from 130 countries.

Complete a simple online registration form, and your effort will be visible to the world on the campaign’s interactive online map.

Let’s cover Harare with dots, put our city on the global map, and clear the streets of rubbish. See www.cleanuptheworld.org to do so.

Alternatively, Miracle Missions are inviting residents to register under their name, which has the advantage of participants being given Clean-Up Packs, and the Miracle Missions team logging your effort online on your behalf. Contact Miracle Missions to do so: 0772 240 442; hooknook@yoafrica.com Remember to send pictures of your cleanup to editor@hararenews.co.zw.

This initiative is proudly supported by the following partners:

Transform your home or workplace into exactly what you want it to be.

Pomona Quarries, Alpes Road, Pomona (04) 851996 / 851983 • 0772 232054 sales@hsbricks.co.zw • www.hsbricks.co.zw

12 Harare News

Issue 14 September 2014

Lifestyle advertorial

Amanzi Fresh Food Market

Get ready for the next Food Fest A

fter just 3 months of preparation, the 1st Zimbabwe Traditional and Organic Food Festival was successfully held at Harare’s Botanic Gardens last December.

Farmers (organisations), NGOs, food outlets and nutrition specialists came from all over the country to celebrate Zimbabwean food, and the public flocked to buy their products and taste their wares. Over 30 stalls were on display; there were also seven stalls from which to buy prepared food for lunch, talks and demonstrations throughout the day and a stage with live music.

Some of the fresh produce available at Amanzi’s Friday morning market.

Ian Wiggins

C

lean living is the name of the game at the recently launched weekly Amanzi Fresh Food Market.

Held every Friday in the stunning gardens of Amanzi restaurant on Enterprise Road, the market runs from ten in the morning till two.

With an emphasis on quality over quantity, there are around twenty stalls providing high quality and mostly locally produced goods.

In a brief conversation with Andrew Mama, the owner of Amanzi and the driving force behind the market, he indicated his desire to strengthen Amanzi’s reputation as an establishment that prides itself on freshness and excellence by gathering together the best Harare has to offer in culinary delights.

Since its inception in early July, the market has been an opportunity for top local producers to showcase their goods tying in with Amanzi’s focus on high quality service.

The market is not a profit driven activity for Amanzi. Rather, it has a strong community slant with half of table fees going to the next door ZNSPCA. Jonathan Baker, a manager at Amanzi, says there are plans to arrange a shuttle from Dandaro to Amanzi to further involve the community and allow those people without access to vehicles to make regular visits to the market.

Many of the items available at the market are not sold in supermarkets and exploring the various stalls exposes customers to a great variety of goods. From Peter Piper’s range of excellent preserves, as well as his cheese and fresh baked goods, to the homemade

labneh (strained yoghurt cheese) and quail eggs sold on the other end of the market, the quality of the produce on offer is excellent and worth investigation.

Other stalls offer a wide range of delicious produce including nuts, cold meats, meringues, fudge, fresh vegetables grown just out of town, cakes and fresh baked bread.

Where possible the items are locally sourced or grown by the stallholders themselves and they know their products extremely well.

Stallholders are focused on providing food and not crafts or other wares. Rather than trying to squeeze in as many stalls as possible the organisers have endeavoured to provide only the best quality items by selecting and inviting those producers they felt made the best version of their particular product.

Many sellers also have stalls at UpMarket on Maasdorp Avenue in Belgravia. Although not set up to be direct competition to UpMarket, with its excellent location and setting the new Amanzi market is sure to draw customers away from UpMarket and attract many Harare residents new to the market scene.

At present though, Wednesday’s UpMarket still draws the bigger crowds.

Both stallholders and organisers are positive about the market’s future. Although not as established as UpMarket, the number of customers is increasing. With summer almost here and the word getting out, this new venue on Harare’s market scene is sure to draw a strong gathering in the coming months.

There was a steady flow of visitors throughout the day, coming to feast on the healthy foods, learn about organic farming, find out how to cook the foods on offer and listen to talks from different specialists.

The second Zimbabwe Traditional and Organic Food Festival is set to take place in the Botanic Gardens on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September from 9am to 4pm. Come and have fun and eat and stock up on good, wholesome food and perhaps learn a thing or two about such food!

This food festival is a growing

movement that celebrates healthy, sustainably produced, local food.

The second edition will again see a variety of stalls run by farmer groups, NGOs, government institutes and private companies.

We have a dedicated space for food demonstrations. There will be lots of live music, dance and theatre, activities for kids (around food and healthy living), and a food court area selling Zimbabwean and other African snacks and lunches.

For more information, write to hararefoodfestival@gmail.com.

Traditional & Organic

Food Festival HARARE BOTANICAL GARDENS 27 & 28 SEPT. 2014 - 9am > 4pm

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19/08/2014 15:40

advertorial

Mbizi Game Park A wilderness on your doorstep

M

bizi Game Park and Lodges lies just 22km from Harare’s CBD, and offers residents and visitors a convenient and beautiful escape from the city.

Set on 1,000 acres of mature msasa forest dotted with kopjes, Mbizi is home to an abundance of Zimbabwe’s most beautiful plains game and more than 200 species of birds.

The professional and dedicated Mbizi staff will take you on game drives and walks to see animals,

Booking Office : 164 Samora Machel Ave cnr 7th Street Tel: 700676—8 Park: 2935031 Cell: 0773 339 298 / 0773 339 310 Email: mbizigamepark@gmail.com or info@mbizi.co.zw

Weddings Picnics 10km from

Day Trips

Harare

Conference

International

Workshops

Airport

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Coming?? Or going??

Mbizi is the place to be Horse riding, canoeing, pony rides, game drives, game walks, volleyball, fishing, caveman painting walks, and boat cruise.

some beautiful rock paintings, and even some ancient ruins. The best means of getting cosy with the animals is, however, on horseback.

Mbizi has six horses for visitors to ride, an option which guarantees close up encounters with game.

There is water around every corner, as Mbizi overlooks the confluence of the Ruwa and Manyame rivers. Guests to the Park can take in the rivers and the Harava Dam from the comfort of a boat cruise, or for the more intrepid, during a canoe trip. There is also fishing to be done, with plenty of bass and bream feeding in the deep, clean waters.

There are numerous facilities for day trippers – braai and picnic areas, a restaurant and tea garden, and a must-see swimming pool set 25m high atop a kopje, with 360 degree views of the msasa trees – a feast for the eyes at this time of year as you sun yourself on warm granite alongside the resident lizards and dassies.

For a proper escape, take advantage of the accommodation on offer – with hotel-style rooms in the main lodge – a building more than 100 years old. There are 16 rooms available, ranging from the honeymoon suite through to family rooms.

Popular with bigger groups are the self-contained and fully kitted

out bush lodges. Bring your own food, and enjoy the nightly visits by a cacophony of bush babies that thrive in the unspoiled bush.

The natural beauty and excellent facilities, including a chapel built into the granite of a kopje, make Mbizi a popular wedding venue. A 100-year-old wedding carriage will bring the bride and groom to their reception.

Conference facilities and a treetop obstacle course make Mbizi ideal for group outings, team building, conferences, workshops, launches, and more. There really is something for everybody at this wilderness on your doorstep.

Swim on top of a kopje at Mbizi.

Harare News 13

www.hararenews.co.zw

Restaurants & food

Get your goat at Gava’s Mystery Eater

G

ava’s restaurant in Belgravia Sports Club at the top end of Upper East Road, has become so popular that at lunchtime tents are erected over large numbers of outside tables in the garden to accommodate the vast numbers of hungry clientele. Forewarned about the crowds and unable to take an early lunch break, we arrived at 1.45 pm on a Thursday hoping that the crowds would have subsided. Mistake! The garden was still packed, likewise the verandah tables and the inside dining room. We managed to find a table in the bar – not ideal as any attempt at conversation was made impossible by a television thumping out dance music. But we were able to escape to another part of the restaurant before the food arrived – and nobody else in the bar seemed disturbed out of their fixed gazes at the gyrating pelvic thrusts on the screen.

The main part of the menu is stews and they are simple, honest, tasty and reasonably priced from $3 for a veggie stew to $9 for oxtail or $10 for a sampler of three of your choice. I chose roadrunner chicken and my partner went for the beef. It took some time for our waitress to let us know that the roadrunner had lived up to its name and run out. Oxtail was my next choice – which had also finished. Hanga I ventured?

Not available today. Scrolling down the options I arrived at goat. I have

This was tasty soft tender meat falling off the bone in a delicious gravy. Highly recommended.

in the past struggled with tough and unpleasantly overpowering goat meat. What was served at Gava’s has restored my faith in the animal.

This was tasty soft tender meat falling off the bone in a delicious gravy.

Highly recommended. The beef was good if not outstanding – made

special by the accompanying peanut butter rice. All stews are served with sadza, beans and greens – and for $1 extra you can have peanut butter rice or sorghum instead of sadza. The greens were cooked to perfection. I cannot blame the restaurant for running out of my first choices. We were late and the place is so popular that various dishes are bound to run out. So if you fancy a plate of oxtail or chicken stew, be sure to arrive early.

There are also grills available – boring old chicken and chips, chicken a bit on the dry side but decent chips. There are also a number of daily specials. We tried the deep fried bream ($10) which was cooked to within an inch of its endurance and was dry, chewy and

disappointing. On return visits I’ll be sticking to the stews.

Gava’s is licensed and offers the usual selection of beers, spirits and soft drinks. We didn’t ask for the wine list as it is not that sort of dining experience, but we washed our hearty lunch down with a pleasant home-made lemonade.

There are no starters and no puds on offer. This is a one-good-plateof-food experience with no frills, no pretensions and no absurd price tags. Four people eating the most expensive dishes might pay $50 – but sticking to the chicken, beef or goat stews the bill will be nearer to $30. The service was a bit slow on the day we were there, but we were told that there has recently been a massive staff change and some

were inexperienced. Nevertheless everyone was very friendly and welcoming.

Gava’s is open in the evening, but its main service is lunchtime. Well worth a visit.

Service Ambience Food Value

Overall Average: $8 Belgravia Sports Club, 2nd St Ext 077 238 1863 Open every day:

11am–10pm

THE

KITCHEN

TRAINING CENTRE

Colcom Complex Coventry Rd A variety of cookery classes to suit your every need will be conducted by our Cordon Bleu Chef, Shelly Miller.

Domestic worker cookery classes also available.

To enquire or make a booking, send an e-mail to heather@colcom.co.zw or SMS the word TRAINING to 0776 617 750 and we’ll we ll call you back! www.facebook.com/ColcomFoods

14 Harare News

Issue 14 September 2014

Film

International Images Film Festival for Women Batsirai Chigama performing “Because I am Woman” at the IIFF Opening ceremony.

Sharon Mazingaizo

“W

omen Alive, Women of Heart” was the theme for this year’s International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF) which ran from 15 to 23 August. This year’s festival line up included local, regional and international films.

IIFF Director Yvonne Jira said, “the theme for this year celebrates daring women, women who despite daily challenges emerge stronger than before. These women are tough, yet they possess a rare gift of loving unconditionally.

They are emotionally strong and brave. The festival program speaks to women’s challenges in a way that is gripping and engaging to both male and female audience alike, young and old.”

Zimbabwe had ten short films featured, five feature length offerings and five documentaries. The IIFF opening ceremony was marked by a beautiful poetry performance as Batsirai Chigama, a poet and spoken word artist recited her poem “Because I am Woman.” The Festival opening film was Imbabazi The Pardon, a film set in Rwanda during the Rwanda ethnic civil war.

Mother of George and Half Of A Yellow Sun were two films which set the tone for this year’s festival. Mother of George is a film directed by Andrew Dosunmu, the leading role is played by Zimbabwean-American actress

This year celebrates daring women, women who despite daily challenges emerge stronger than before.

Photo courtesy of ZimboJam

Danai Gurira. Gurira plays Adenike, the wife of a newly married Nigerian couple in Brooklyn, USA who own and manage a small restaurant while struggling with fertility issues.

Half Of A Yellow Sun is a novel written by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the movie adaption is a powerful portrayal of the novel, a love story that follows two sisters who are caught up in the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War. Speaking to Harare News, festival goer and blogger Larry Kwirirayi of 3-mob.com said, “IIFF is at a point where it needs to start having real conversations and it is attempting to do so using films that look at a contemporary world. It is up to the viewer to connect the dots but I am excited about the fact that they are hosting it at various places around Harare, and three towns later in the year.”

This year IIFF also partnered with the Chimanimani Arts Festival (CAFT). Harare News spoke to IIFF jury member, Dr Winston Mano, director of the Africa Media Centre and he

said, “for Zimbabwe and the African region film is an important medium for communicating social change. It’s also a good platform for filmmakers to engage with the audience who can question how the film is made.”

In the documentary section, festival goers

enjoyed Water and Urbanisation, a documentary produced and directed by Dr Praise Tapiwa Magama. Water and Urbanisation is a documentary that was set in Bulawayo focusing on the importance of water. Speaking during the screening of Water and Urbanisation Dr Praise Tapiwa Magama said “I looked at the challenges which were or which are still in Bulawayo, the economic challenges and tried to understand why they there and how they can be averted.”

Other notable films included Noah’s Flood, a film adaptation of an opera act sung in Xhosa. The film followed the traditional story of Noah’s ark but set in South Africa, with Noah recast as a woman.

Apart from the showing films, IIFF also conducted workshops; the Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa (ICAPA) Trust invited writers to participate in the Film Adaptation Workshop. This year will see IIFF rerunning the festival in Bulawayo, Gwanda and Binga between November and December.

Yesteryear’s big screen actors suffering silently Farai Dauramanzi

I

t is sad to note that some professional actors who once appeared on the country’s film and television screens are now living in abject poverty as the industry has been hit hard by the economic crunch.

One especially sad script is the story of Stephen Muti (38)*, who made his big screen debut with a role in More Time, a local movie that was filmed in the 90s. Muti also featured in various local films such as Ndezvemeso, To my nephew Moses and Diamonda, a film which was made in 2004 by South African producers, which unfortunately Muti has not had the chance to see.

However, Muti revealed to Harare News that his life has become extremely hard as he is now struggling to afford basic needs such as food and accommodation. His present life does not reflect his past glory as a television superstar.

“I am really struggling to make ends meet.

Right now I should be living in Epworth but I am staying with a friend in town because I cannot go to my lodgings due to unpaid rentals,” narrated Muti.

Muti, who is a father of three, now works as an informal parking tout in the Central Business District (CBD). He reminisced that life was much better for actors like himself during the days when the local film industry was still vibrant.

“Life is no longer rosy for me and many other actors. In the 90s before the economic crunch, acting was still a decent job. I could pay my bills through acting but right now I cannot even take care of my children,” said Muti.

During his acting days Muti had the chance to rub shoulders with some of the country’s arts gurus, like Oliver Mtukudzi, who once tried his hand at acting. Muti, who has now become an actor from days gone by, due to limited activity in the local film industry, said that he started his career in the late 80’s at Tsungai Primary School in Highfield before he was discovered by Ely Picket.

“I hope my faith in God will see me through these hard times. Each day I hope

to find a producer who might be interested in working with me and maybe things will improve in the near future,” said Muti, putting on a brave face.

Muti is not the only former actor who is facing hard times. Another sad story is that of Lawrence Simbarashe popularly known as Bonzo of Timmy naBonzo fame. Bonzo has also seen his fortunes taking a downturn and he is now a pale shadow from his former self, a popular television personality.

Speaking to Harare News, a senior crew member of the former television soap Legacies, which was produced in the new millennium, said that life was no longer so good for most big screen actors.

Things are hard in the film industry and we are just waiting for a miracle to happen.

“All I can say is that as members of the country’s film industry we are suffering silently. Things are hard in the film industry and we are just waiting for a miracle to happen,” said the Legacies crew member who refused to be named.

Cathrine Mthombeni the communications and marketing officer for the National Arts Council (NAC) urged artists to register with various arts associations so that they could receive help in their careers.

“Artists should come to us and we can give them contacts for organisations in their specific arts fields that can be able to help them. We can also facilitate the artists’ engagement with production companies who approach us looking for artists,” said Mthombeni. *Not his real name.

Harare News 15

www.hararenews.co.zw

Arts & culture

Gwanza Arts: busting Afro-pessimism Tawanda Mudzonga

G

wanza Arts was founded in 2000 by eminent photographers Calvin Dondo and Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, in an effort to encourage an appreciation of photography in Zimbabwe. Every year, Gwanza hosts Zimbabwe’s pre-eminent photographic showcase which for its thirteenth edition is being held in multiple venues across the city of Harare. Put together in collaboration with new gallery Njelele Arts Station, the exhibition runs from 19 August to 19 September under the theme “Moonwalking”.

We spoke with Njelele Arts Station Creative Director and Curator of the exhibition, Dana Whabira about this collaboration with Gwanza Arts.

Tell us about Gwanza.

Artists were invited to submit an alternative reality through lens-based media that moves beyond ‘afro-pessimistic’ or clichéd images which perpetuate a onedimensional view of Africa, and instead capture images that shift the perspective of the viewer by transforming the mundane into something magical.

Where does the name Gwanza come from?

Gwanza means ‘gap’, and alludes to the gap or aperture of the camera lens as it closes. It is also speaks to the gap or void in the industry.

This is a Zimbabwean showcase, but this year you decided to invite photographers from all over Africa to participate?

LebohangMojapelo (27), a Zimbabwean feminist and writer, a photograph taken by Cynthia Matonhodze, Zimbabwe.

It initially was just a local festival that involved the participation of Zimbabwean photographers. It extended regionally a few years ago with South Africa and neighbouring countries and it’s been growing steadily ever since.

What is new and exciting for Gwanza this year?

Well, for me what’s new is the collaboration with Njelele Arts Station and taking Gwanza into publicly accessible spaces rather than exhibiting in traditional arts venues.

We wanted to take photography into internal areas in the public arena where the public finds themselves waiting. We believe that this could be the best and most effective point for communication. It was

important to engage the general public in the powerful medium of photography. Rather than waiting for the public to come to the gallery or arts space, it was an exciting prospect to have photography in these spaces that they normally find themselves in their daily experience.

Can you tell us where the public can see the Gwanza Arts exhibition?

This exhibition is going to roll out slowly just because of the scale of it. But it will be showing at the Harare City Main Library, The Ministry of Education, Meikles Hotel, Meikles Mega Mart, Dr Gurumatunhu’s Surgery, Amersdam Internet Café, Mekon Hardware, Hammer and Tongues,

September is Shoko month Tawanda Mudzonga

S

hoko Festival returns this September to kick off summer with a bang. This popular festival is a unique blend of powerful spoken word, poetry, hip-hop, comedy and music that has fast gained a reputation for being one of Zimbabwe’s best festivals. Since its inception in 2011, the popular Shoko Festival has been building steam, getting better and better every year.

The 2014 edition will run from 25 to 28 September under the theme, “Re-Inspire, Re-Imagine”. With a fresh line-up and a new, bigger venue, the festival is aiming to draw in new audiences.

Shoko Festival Director Samm Monro says, “This year the Festival asks the public to rethink creatively, to look at the way we see ourselves, the country and the future, to breathe life into our world, to ‘Re-Inspire, to Re-Imagine’. Expect a transformed festival site including funky installations that will range from wild to wilder, an up-cycling contest between local designers and engineers, a fun day for the young and families: new elements added to our tried and tested formula.”

The festival started off at the Alliance Française venue in 2011 and ran at the venue for its first two years. Waterwhirld was chosen to cope with bigger audiences in 2013.

This year’s Shoko Festival will be in the heart of the city at new venue

Shoko ambassadors and team members at the first Shoko press conference.

Alex Sports Club, straddling the Avenues area and Milton Park.

As usual, a stellar line-up of artists are set to perform, featuring a dynamic mix of local and international artists at the top of their game. These include, critically acclaimed World music talent Nneka (Germany/Nigeria), standup comedians Loyiso Gola and Chester Missing (South Africa), Spoken word luminary Buddy Wakefield (USA), hip-hop artists Fallacy, Rodney P and the Layabouts (United Kingdom) alongside local artists who have risen to national acclaim such as rapper Tehn Diamond, mbira divas Ammara Brown and Hope Masike, DJ Jason LeRoux, Bulawayo tribal house collective The Djembe Monks, ‘Prince of Faya’, reigning dancehall phenomenon Dhadza D, and popular musician Ba Shupi.

There will be something for everyone at Shoko 2014, including a new focus to include kids, and the ‘Peace in the Hood’ concert – a day of free performances in Chitungwiza on Sunday 28 September. As always, there will be skills development and networking opportunities for journalists, technologists, and activists at the HUB UnConferences, where participants can catch talks and workshops on alternative media, technology, freedom of expression and citizen journalism.

Tickets are very affordable, with several free options, all the way up to $30 for an all-inclusive 4-day pass. Shoko 2014 is the perfect way to celebrate being outdoors again after the long winter chill. Check out the festival website www. shokofestival.com for details on how and where to purchase tickets.

Money Transfer Service, Joina City, to name a few [the full list of participating venues is available on the GwanzaArts website: www. gwanzaarts.wordpress.com] How many photographers are exhibiting this year?

Just over sixty photographers’ work will be displayed, of which about thirty are Zimbabwean.

This is the first time that Njelele Arts Station has been involved with Gwanza Arts. What is your hope for this partnership?

We collaborated together to bring the photographers from all over the region, supported by Pro Helvetia and the Swiss Arts Council and it was important for Njelele and mostly for Gwanza that photographers – particularly within the region – were able to interact and

exchange and share knowledge and that there’s the possibility for future collaborations between the artists themselves. So, we are looking at educational and professional development of photography.

What do you think the future holds for photography in Zimbabwe?

There’s a wealth of talent and this exhibition so far has already inspired certain spaces to go further with photography exhibitions. I think in the near future, there will be another photography exhibition since some of the spaces have asked us to continue with photography exhibitions after this one.

I think that’s quite exciting and speaking on behalf of Njelele, we are very keen to continue engaging the public and working with the city spaces.

September is Mbira Month: Let’s Celebrate!

Freelance Contributor

T

he mbira is a sacred Zimbabwean instrument with an 800-year old history. This mystical instrument is an important part of Zimbabwean culture and music, with many current artists incorporating it into their music. Popular musicians like the late Chiwoniso Maraire, Victor Kunonga, Hope Masike and Jah Prayzah have all managed to skilfully blend the mbira into modern day compositions.

Although the popularity and recognition of the mbira has increased in recent times, in 2012 The Mbira Center founder Albert Chimedza decided to declare September of every year Mbira Month – a celebration of mbira.

Mbira Month is a month-long Mbira Centre initiative aimed at raising mbira awareness and appreciation in Zimbabwe and abroad during the month of September. Now in its third year, Mbira Month has expanded its scope and activities under Chimedza who has single-handedly lead the crusade to give the mbira the recognition it deserves. Chimedza is the Founder and Director of The Mbira Centre on Glenara Ave in Highlands. He also manufactures high quality mbiras, is an mbira player and teacher and one of the foremost proponents of the instrument. On August 14, Chimedza presented fifty custom-made mbiras to the Head of the EU Delegation to Zimbabwe, Ambassador Aldo Dell’Ariccia at a handover ceremony as part of a joint initiative with the Culture Fund for the “Mbira in Schools Project” at The Mbira Centre. The “Mbira in Schools Project” is aimed at distributing mbiras in local schools to encourage mbira music and playing in young Zimbabweans.

Chimedza says, “In the interests of fairness and transparency, the mbiras will be given out in batches

of five or ten to schools with the most convincing argument for being given the mbiras. We are looking for schools that will follow through and show realistic promise for planting sustainable mbira projects in their schools.” Chimedza added that the open call and selection of schools to be awarded will be made this September during Mbira Month.

Also speaking at the handover ceremony, Director of the Culture Fund Farai Mupfunya said that their goal is to inject the mbira into schools, adding that it should be normal to have children exposed to the mbira in an environment that naturally inspires curiosity. Also in attendance at the handover ceremony was a representative from the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture who expressed the Ministry’s approval of incorporating this project into Zimbabwean Primary and Secondary schools.

Chimedza says, “Mbira month is a month of celebration, recognising mbira, trying to create awareness among people and to do that we are going to host various events.

The theme this year is: ‘Education, Culture and Economy’ – and how mbira can interact with these three. Last year we reached digitally at least 40,000 people worldwide and this year we hope to up the numbers and up the activities.”

Activities planned for this year include: the presentation of a series of academic papers, the launch of The Mbira Centre website, a seminar on IT and mbira (incorporating software being designed in Zimbabwe and South Africa), workshops, performances, internet galleries as well as a kid’s exhibition being presented by the Harare National Gallery. The schedule of events for Mbira Month was not available at the time of going to press, but to find out about when all of this will take place, check out the Mbira Month page on Facebook.

16 Harare News

Issue 14 September 2014

Readers’ page

Snapped anything cool around town?

Send your pictures to editor@hararenews.co.zw book review

Letter from the editor Dear reader, We are glad to bring you a fair bit of good news in this issue. The installation of new equipment at Morton Jaffray water works (see pages 1 & 10), plus the addition of fire trucks and an ambulance to our City’s fleet should bring about some tangible improvement in services. It is important, however, to recognise that as Zimbabweans we have severely eroded expectations in terms of service delivery.

Not just from our civil service, but from the private sector too. Whilst we should praise progress, let us not lose sight of the potential this city has and keep pushing each other and our leadership to steer us in a better direction.

We also have a double-page spread on road safety this month. Given the extent of the recent tragedies, it feels appropriate to dwell on the importance of sensible driving and vehicle maintenance. There are few people who can’t speak the name of a friend or relative who has lost their life on our roads – a situation made all the more tragic by the total needlessness of bad driving and poorly kept vehicles.

As the social media feedback on page 4 shows, residents also hold our city leadership responsible, citing their duty to maintain our roads, road markings, street lights, and not least of all their role in enforcing the law with regards to traffic safety.

On the arts front – September is a great month – don’t miss the Gwanza Arts photo exhibition (page 15), and be sure to get to Shoko at month end, when laughter, music and poetry will fill the air (also on page 15).

I hope you enjoy this issue. Read it, share it, recycle it!

And as always – get in touch with any burning questions or comments. editor@hararenews.co.zw.

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The Non-Believers Journey,

by Stanley Nyamfukudza Diana Rodrigues

I

n 1973, at the height of the liberation struggle, Stanley Nyamfukudza was thrown out of the University of Rhodesia, imprisoned, and later deported. In Britain he was given a scholarship to read English at Lincoln College, Oxford, and graduated in 1977. Nyamfukudza’s novel, The Non-Believer’s Journey, was published in 1980, the year marking Zimbabwe’s independence and Nyamfukudza’s return home from Britain.

For anyone living in Salisbury (now Harare) during the 70s, the story of Sam, a teacher in Highfield, who travels by bus to Mutoko to visit his family, will evoke vivid memories of a country at war, when random road blocks and curfews after 6pm were common. For Born Frees (those born after 1980), Sam’s journey describes a time when a war that could never be won changed forever the lives of both those living in the rural areas and in the towns.

When Sam receives a hand-delivered letter from his village with the devastating news that his uncle has been accused of being a sell-out to the security forces and clubbed to death, he decides to travel home, not only to see his family, who he hasn’t visited for a year, but also to give his father some money for his two brothers’ school fees. But not before a night out at the pub, since ‘the people back home in Mutoko with their problem-filled lives seemed to be on the other side of the world; one could forget them for an evening at least and concentrate on having a bit of fun.’

Street lights (no such luxury in 2014) cast their ‘sickly yellowish glow’ as he makes his way to Mushandira night club, avoiding contact with his students seated at the door, as he knew they would want to buy him a drink, and he ‘hated camaraderie with pupils’. Later, on the way home, he wanders into sections of

the township that had been the scene of much political violence in the 60s. Recalling the shouts of ‘Freedom! Kwacha!

Uhuru!’ he wonders whether in the future they will be ‘plagued again with violence and intimidation by thugs, all in the name of liberty.’

The next morning Sam boards the bus to Mutoko, and as they pass ‘mile after mile of green maize fields’ and ‘curling sprays of irrigation pipes’ an elderly gentleman introduces himself to Sam as a ‘Master Farmer’. He says that ‘The Boys’ are ‘fighting hard out there where we are going’ and that ‘very soon we shall have the prime land.’

After a brief stop at Bora where passengers’ Registration Situpas are checked by two soldiers from the military camp, and passengers buy cold beers, the bus roars off, anxious to beat the 6pm curfew. Just outside the township of Murewa they encounter a road block, and black and white soldiers in camouflage uniforms, rifles held at the ready, conduct a search of passengers and the bus. Sam falls foul of a young white soldier who mock’s Sam’s command of the English language and asks how much he earns as a teacher. He insults Sam and stands on his ID card, grinding it into the dust. The bus driver accuses Sam of smart talking the solder, and Sam decides to break his journey in Murewa and continue the next day.

Ordering a 10c cup of coffee at the local tearoom, Sam recognises the waitress to be Raina, a quiet girl from the village next to his in Mutoko. Since he last saw her she has ‘blossomed into a tall, generously bodied woman’. Sam invites Raina to meet him after work and they go out for a meal. An evening of heavy drinking follows, and Sam persuades Raina to consume quantities of beer laced with gin and in spite of swearing he would never ‘dream of taking advantage’ of her, they spend the rest of the

The book review is sponsored by Blackstone Bookshop, branches at Mount Pleasant Shopping Centre and Sam Levy’s Village in Borrowdale.

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Correction: In an article titled ‘City library to renovate children’s wing’ (August 2014), we incorrectly called Harare City Library, “City of Harare Library”, which incorrectly implies an administrative connection to City of Harare. We are informed by a library director that Harare City Library is a trust library with no administrative relationship with CoH.

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night and the next day in bed.

Sam is obliged to walk the remaining miles to his village after dusk, arriving in time to offer his sympathies to his cousins and to greet the other mourners seated around a fire. He hears the horrifying details of Uncle Mahachi’s death and later the talk ‘ranged over women, politics, gossip, witchcraft, everything but the reason they were gathered there that night.’

Late the following night, Sam is called upon by ‘The Boys’ and marches with them and other villagers through the forest to an open space, where they sing revolutionary songs and invoke the spirit mediums and religious leaders who ‘led the first insurrection… eighty years gone’.

The leader of the guerillas takes Sam aside and asks him to become involved with the cause. Sam the teacher, who has not quite turned his back on his rural home, but is happy to work in the city and enjoy the night clubs and shebeens of Highfield at the weekends, is suddenly faced with the most important decision of his life. The shocking outcome of this meeting and the result of Sam’s journey home to Mutoko represent the tragedies that affected thousands of lives during Zimbabwe’s decade-long struggle for independence.

Today a new generation of Zimbabwean writers growing up in an independent Zimbabwe inhabit another world.

They are involved in a different struggle, and many of them live abroad in Britain, Europe or America. The cultural differences they encounter away from home form part of their narrative, but they remain forever Zimbabwean, exotic transplants in London, Edinburgh, Geneva and New York. They owe much to writers like Stanley Nyamfukudza, who uses the English language to such great effect as loss and change continue to transform all our lives.

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Conserving water in your garden Dear Editor, Water, Water, water! Many have heard this song before, but it is a song that we must continue to sing until we have tackled the shortage of this precious resource. As City Fathers grapple with the challenge of meeting the needs of an ever growing city, citizens must find ways to help conserve water. Gardeners must adopt drastic ways to minimize water wastage.

The water we use in the home can be passed through sieves made from riversand and stones. This water can be redirected to flush the toilet or water the garden. Dripping taps and leaks both in the house and garden contribute significantly to water loss. We must learn to recycle, recycle and recycle.

Few households take the opportunity to collect rain water from the gutters, during the rainy season. Investing in a storage tank for this purpose is very beneficial and this water is of good quality.

Mulching or using materials like grass, pinebark or ordinary compost to cover the soil where plants are growing reduces the need for regular watering. Mulching has the added benefit of controlling weeds. A couple of layers can be used to mulch the ground.

Planting groundcovers and trees in one’s garden helps cool the garden, providing shade reducing evaporation. The use of indigenous plants as opposed to exotics is better as they are more adapted to our climate surviving for long periods without watering.

The high water consumption of some exotics like Eucalyptus is a well documented fact.

The use of cacti and succulents in beautifying gardens is to be encouraged, in an art referred to as xeriscaping, as these plants require less watering whilst maintaining a pleasing aesthetic appearance. The emphasis is on the selection of plants for water conservation. There are no lawns required in xeriscaping but natural elements such as rocks are used.

Container gardening is another method which conserves water compared to planting

in the ground. Many plants fom vegetables, fruits, ornamental shrubs and herbs can be grown in containers.

Adopt water wise irrigation systems such as drip irrigation to deliver water to the roots rather than using sprinklers which waste water.

A technique called hydrozoning is another great way to achieve water conservation. This is when you group plants according to their water requirements in the garden. Water loving plants together, drought tolerant plants in another corner, this way you will only need to water a smaller area with lots of water as opposed to the whole garden.

Change your lawn and build a rockery, yes! You will be amazed, at how much work it takes off your hands and the amount of water saved. The keeping of lawns is fast becoming an unpopular activity both on time and cost wise. Or else opt for your lawn to go dormant during the dry season; it will be revived with the first rains. It is important to water your garden in the morning or late afternoon and not mid afternoon when it is hottest.

Add organic matter to your soil this improves the water holding capacity of the soil giving more mileage to the single watering you do per week. Sandy soils will hold more water as a result whilst clay soils will become more penetrable. Practise deep watering in your gardening, rather than just splashing a few drops on the surface. Plants which are deep watered survive longer for dry periods as they have a deeper root system that is able to utilise water locked deeper in the soil.

The days of lavish watering of our gardens is soon coming to an end. We must as citizens, be sensitive to the crisis we face as a nation and become more responsible with this precious resource, water.

Andrew T Mangwarara Garden Affair

No water, no choice – two letters in support of LS Waters Dear Editor, I have noticed in your previous two issues letters/articles complaining about a water delivery company operating in Meyrick Park, and LS Waters. They raise some valid points but I wonder if they know what it is like to have to rely solely on such companies for water, as I and thousands of other Harare residents have to? I suspect not.

Many of us have no boreholes, and no municipal water supply at all, so these companies that some are trying to shut down are providing a vital service, whether we like it or not. Without them we would not be able to perform the most basic of tasks, such as flushing a loo. Obviously these companies are running a business for profit, but that does not detract from the fact that so many Harare households need them in the absence of any alternative. Shutting them down or forcing them to draw water from far outside the city limits will only make our situation worse by making the water prohibitively expensive to the average person.

Next time you bemoan that water delivery truck rumbling down your road, spare a thought for us who have no water, and rather spend your efforts lobbying the City to sort out their water suppy to Harare, instead of targeting those that so many of us need.

Justine Carrie-Wison

Dear Editor, I would like to reply to the letter in your August Issue regarding LS Waters.

We were without water for nearly two years with no municipal water. Thank goodness for LS Waters who kept us in water for that time. Our Complex had water and so did many other residents around us. We could bath, flush loos, wash our dishes and do washing of our clothes etc, if they did not help us we would have been in a mess.

Some boreholes do ‘dry up’ before the rains. LS Waters are in a vlei so maybe it is not them that is causing the boreholes to run dry in the area.

When we lived in Greendale Avenue, our borehole struggled to draw water as people living higher up had sprays going all day on their gardens and because we were lower we had no pressure in our pipes.

We have now been waiting for two weeks for the water to come from the Municipality, but no luck, but I am grateful that I can phone LS Waters and order some water to keep us going.

There are many vehicles on the roads not just LS Waters creating dust and pollution.

Regards, Mrs S Sherwood The Palms, Greendale.

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OUT OF AFRICA

Letters to the editor

18 Harare News

Issue 14 September 2014

Schools Do you write poetry or prose? Have you got something to say? Send your work to editor@hararenews.co.zw. This month we bring you a story by Rumbi Rutsate from Arundel School

Creative therapy for kids

If life deals lemons, make lemonade

O

nce upon a time, there was a skunk named Tinker who lived on Farmer John’s farm. Tinker was a very depressed fellow as he had no friends and no one liked him nor wanted to be associated with him, because of his terrible smell.

His worst enemy was Cheeky, the Cheshire cat, who made it a point to mock him, always making snide, hurtful remarks about Tinker’s dull and uninteresting look and his stinky odour.

“I really don’t know anyone else who would be content with a grim looking black and white coat, when they could have a warm, lovely golden yellow fur coat like mine.

It’s only losers like him,” she would say, and she and her friends would laugh. This particular day was no different from the rest. “Eeeeeeyyeeewww! What on earth is that disgusting smell?”

“It must be our friend Stinker,” Pam, one of the cats snickered and they all turned to look at Tinker.

“Yes indeed it is, I should have known. Pooh how can such an awful smell even come from a living something. Unbelievable!” Smiley exclaimed, clasping her snowy white paw to her nose. Without a

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word, and tears starting to glisten in his eyes, Tinker crawled away miserably. It really hurt that everyone despised him. Even the other farm animals all avoided him.

Tinker had not gone a long way, when a sudden commotion behind made him jump. Looking back he was startled to see Smiley and her pals make a run for it and in hot pursuit was Grey, the neighbour’s fierce-looking greyhound dog. Momentarily, Tinker had just stood there, paralyzed in shock and fear, as they were headed his direction and were now very close too. Acting swiftly, he slyly ejected his intensely malodorous fluid directly in the enemy’s face. The dog stopped midway in its tracks, as it sharply inhaled the foul air. This was Tinker’s powerful weapon which no one ever challenged. Sniffing away furiously, the dog had scampered away, whimpering.

‘Stinker the loner’, soon became known as ‘Tinker the hero’, for as soon as word for his bravery emerged, he was made the farm’s protector. Everyone was now welcoming and friendly towards him, and all the farm animals lived happily in harmony with each other.

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local NGO, Art Reach Kids, is providing therapy to orphaned and vulnerable children through exploring their creative sides.

Founded in 2010, Art Reach works with various children’s organisations across Harare. Founder Sharon Sevenzo explains, “We work with children in organisations such as Chinyaradzo Children’s Home in Highfields, Catch, which works with children in trouble with the law, and Miracle Mission which works with children with disabilities.” She said they have introduced different forms of art including theatre, visual art and music to help children express themselves.

Sevenzo said, “I discovered that while we focus on children’s immediate needs such as food, clothing, shelter and education we often neglect self-expression which is a very important form of therapy.”

She said there are many things children may find hard to express through words which can easily be channelled through art. “Most of the time when we introduce children to our programmes, they are afraid to talk about themselves, but after different exercises they gain so much confidence that they feel they can face anything,” she added.

Art Reach Kids relies on voluntary work by professionals who want to make a change in children’s lives. Like any other voluntary organisation in Harare, Art Reach is underfunded, so its patrons have

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Make your way to St George’s to see if reigning champions Peterhouse can hold onto the trophy.

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dlife of the wroilnment Defender and envi

Vulnerable children experience art as therapy. to come up with creative solutions to enable their work to continue. “I remember one time when we ran out of material for our visual art programme so we challenged the children to work with the limited resources we had available and the outcome was amazing”, said Sevenzo. She said children collected recycled material to use, resulting in rich creative work.

Sevenzo said, “As much as we want children to express themselves, we want them to appreciate where they come from too, and so some of our programmes include appreciating traditional culture and the environment.” Children are taken for nature walks to help them appreciate their surroundings.

“Art allows you to stimulate every part of your brain,” said Sevenzo. She added that through

art children get to explore the scientific, technological and mathematical parts of their minds. “Art is really important and I would love to see it introduced as a pre-requisite in academic studies in schools.

We believe the curriculum we are developing will make a difference, and we hope it gets to be adopted by different learning institutions.”

Art Reach Kids aims to reach as many children in Harare and other parts of the country as possible. Sevenzo said, “Due to limited resources it is hard to go to every institution that works with children so instead we would love to train primary care givers already in organisations who will help spread our dream.”

Anyone interested in Art Reach Kids can contact Sharon Sevenzo on 0772 311 418 or at artreachkids@gmail.com.

Harare News 19

www.hararenews.co.zw

Schools

MARUSP Golf Initiative chipping in Kudzayi Zvinavashe

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he Mabika Cheche Rural and Urban Sports Promotion (MARUSP) is the brain child of 65 year old Tavenganiswa Elias Mabikacheche, who only started playing golf at the age of 46. He has done exceptionally well having played 10 as his lowest handicap. “I grew up in Chipinge in a rural setup, and never even knew the sport of golf existed. I started playing at 46 and did fairly well and I wonder how it would have turned out had I started playing earlier,” said Mabikacheche.

The MARUSP initiative started in 1999 and targets children from underprivileged communities like rural and high density urban areas, introducing them to the basics of golf. The programme has since came a long way. Biggie Chibvuri is evidence of how successful the programme has been as he turned professional and played well in the recently ended Open Classic at Chapman Golf Club last month. He came in at 11th position on the score board after he shot a total gross of

Elias Mabikacheche practises with a homemade putter.

149 in two days.

MARUSP aims to dispel the notion that golf is an elitist sport and has introduced the sport in all four golf provinces of the country.

Golf provinces in Zimbabwe differ from the actual provinces known on the map – there are only four provinces in golf namely Midlands, Mashonaland, Matabeleland and

Manicaland.

While golf equipment has been a challenge from the onset, this has lead to innovation. Noting that the cost of buying golf clubs can be prohibitive, Mabikacheche compromised, using wooden sticks as clubs and maize cobs as balls. “The children can learn how to hold a golf club, how to swing and the correct posture by using wooden sticks for clubs and maize cobs for balls.

Maize cobs are not hard enough to break windows, so it is much safer,” joked Mabikacheche.

The initiative has grown from strength to strength, with the children who learn golf through the initiative now getting the chance to play against each other at the end of term Schools Tournament that sees promising children competing at Falcon Golf Club (FGC). While corporates and golf clubs have been reluctant to support the initiative, Delta Beverages has been supplying cool drinks for the children, and Falcon Golf Club has hosted the end of term tournament and welcomes all the children who are part of the

programme to play free of charge on any day. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews have taken an interest in the programme and have been funding it through the Zimbabwe Golf Association.

Since these children are from under privileged societies they seldom have the correct attire which most golf clubs demand, so FGC has made an exception for the MARUSP children to play in whatever outfits they manage to come up with.

When asked how the children play without handicaps since they are not members of any club, Mabikacheche said, “We have put in place our own handicapping system and Falcon Golf Club has helped by giving the children membership and a handicap that is required by the Zimbabwe Golf Association” The programme continues to grow and MARUSP is now allowed to teach student teachers to play golf by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education in all teachers colleges. They in turn teach students at schools ensuring the rapid growth of the initiative.

Chess: National Championship and Candidates Tourney Sharon Mazingaizo

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he Zimbabwe Chess Federation annually hosts the National Championship and Candidates Tourney during the August school holidays. The chess tournament is a nine round event held over four days, which this year took place from the 9th to the 12th of August.

The National Championship and Candidates Tourney also serves as a selection process for international tournaments. This year 150 players gathered for the tournament, with various schools and universities represented. The schools included St John’s, Emerald Hill, Pathways Primary School, Avondale Primary School, Mkhitikathebe Primary School, Sunningdale 1 Primary School, Shiriyedenga Primary School, Glen Norah Knights Chess Academy, Young Chess Masters Zimbabwe, Zengeza 1 High School and Kwayedza High School. The universities included University of

Zimbabwe, Midlands State University (MSU) and the National University of Science and Technology (NUST).

The youngest players at the National Championship and Candidates Tourney were seven year old Kuzikwashe Tongowasha from Mkhitikathebe Primary School in Bulawayo, eight year old Rumbidzai Mawire from Avondale Primary School, and eight year old Refiloe Mudodo from Pathways Primary School in Marondera. Both seven year old Rumbidzai Mawire and eight year old Refiloe Mudodo will be representing Zimbabwe in the under-ten section at the World Youth Chess Championship to be held in Durban, South Africa from the 18th to 30th September. Organiser and coach for the National Championship and Candidates Tourney Farirai Gumbe, said it was interesting to see so many young children of primary school age participate in this year’s chess tournament.

Squaring up: Chess is a game for all ages and genders.

Speaking to Harare News, Gumbe said “Unknown to many, chess is a young people’s game and does not discriminate by gender or age. It’s a level playing field; girls are just as good as boys and young players can master the game as well as the older generation. The game has many

positive influences on a growing mind; soon we will have a new generation of thinkers with good morals and in touch with their African heritage.”

One of the major initiatives Zimbabwe Chess Federation is pushing for, is to involve the government

in the introduction of “Chess in Schools”. The aim is to establish a chess club in every primary and high school in Zimbabwe. John Chibvuri, of Glen Norah Knights Chess Academy, spoke to Harare News about his passion to teach chess to underprivileged children in the high-density suburbs, “I wanted to help the children in the ghetto, in the high-density areas, who were not given much support by their schools in the game of chess.” Glen Norah Knights Chess Academy has 30 children who participate in group sessions every Saturday afternoon at Prince Edward School.

At the time of writing Zimbabwe Chess Federation top five players were in Norway participating in the International Chess Olympiad. Among the top five at the International Chess Olympiad was current men’s national champion Emarald Mushore and the current ladies national champion Colleta Wakurawarehwa.

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Clash of giants continues in Harare Liam Brickhill

Photo: Jekesai Njikizana

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he first week of September will see the last few cricket matches of what has been a once-in-a-decade period of action for lovers of the game. With the Australians in town to take on Zimbabwe and South Africa in a tri-series at Harare Sports Club, the closing games of this series are not to be missed.

It’s been ten years since the last time the Australians toured this country, and it’s unclear when they’ll be back again. Even more rare is a the chance to watch Australia and South Africa, two of the world’s best cricket teams, battle it out on Zimbabwean soil. Indeed, that’s never happened before.

Australia and South Africa will have played each other at least twice by series end- and probably three times, with the overwhelming likelihood that they’ll meet again in the final – and if the size of Wednesday’s crowd at their first game is anything to go by, Harare’s cricketwatching public is eager to see as

Australia’s Mitchell Johnson steams in as South Africa’s AB De Villiers looks on. much of them as they can. It helps that tickets for the games are going

for $2 (general admission), $5 (grass banks) and $7 (Centurion Pub),

which is far less than you’d pay to watch these teams in their home countries.

The series is also an important one for all three teams as they prepare for the 2015 World Cup, which will be held in Australia and New Zealand in less than six months.

Australia have just come off a fivemonth international hiatus since the World T20, yet they still hold the number one spot in the ICC’s ODI rankings.

Their potent seam attack is fronted by left-arm quicks Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc, but there’s less clarity to their top order.

In July, unorthodox left-handed batsman Phillip Hughes became the first Australian to score a List A double hundred, and he will be hoping to cement his spot at the top of the order. Australia have also been experimenting with allrounder Mitchell Marsh at first drop and batting allrounder Steve Smith will be floating around the middle order, so Australia have plenty of shuffling to do on this trip.

There’s a far more stable look to the slightly older, more experienced South African side, but they will also use this Zimbabwean series to re-mould their game plans as they attempt to fill the hole left by the international retirement of legendary allrounder Jacques Kallis. Faf du Plessis has moved up into Kallis’ traditional no. 3 slot, and responded with a maiden ODI century that helped South Africa to overcome a hefty Australian total – and will also go some way towards silencing critics of du Plessis’ middling limited overs form. Their bowling attacked, headed by Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, packs just as much firepower as the Australians’.

Predictably, the hosts have struggled to impose themselves upon their vaunted visitors. Zimbabwe have cycled through several different batting and bowling line-ups under new coach Steve Mangongo, and with limited chances for international exposure before the World Cup they’ll need to settle upon their best XI as quickly as possible.

Zonal football bringing communities in Harare together Lovemore Lubinda

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he end of the 2014 World Cup marked the return of Harare’s football fans to the stadiums after a month glued to their TVs. With free entry, area zone football is one activity that continues to keep the lovers of the game entertained for free.

At an exciting match between Mbare and Mabvuku area zones, Harare News caught up with 65-yearold Benson Chitate. He nostalgically narrated how he never used to miss a football match when he was still a young man, and said that zonal football filled the gap left by the World Cup. “As a soccer lover, it is good to

know that every Sunday I can watch a match,” he said.

Affiliated to the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), the nation’s soccer mother-body, zonal football or amateur leagues, are run at community levels with no direct interference from the mother body.

Justice Mubaiwa, a former player who once played for a number of teams which were then in division one and two, including Zimphos, ZUPCO Harare, Unique Select (based in Highfields then) and Gold Print, said that sport brings people together. Area zone football promotes interaction within communities as it is run locally, where people get to know each other personally.

“Amateur leagues provide those who love soccer with some form of recreation and the opportunity to keep fit,” he said.

He added that since soccer development starts at grass roots level, area zones or social soccer, as well as school teams, are the major sources of players for division and top flight leagues.

“If run well with proper structures in place, zonal football can be a place where talent can be identified, improved and nurtured for the big stage,” he said.

Joseph Bero is the founder and sponsor of Muguta FC in Epworth, a team that played zonal football in 2011 and is now in division three. He

agreed with Mubaiwa saying that amateur leagues act as the bridge between social and professional football, but sadly it lacks funding.

“Without incentives for players it is hard for them to commit themselves to a team,” he said.

He urged coaches or scouts from big teams to come and watch area zone teams play where raw talent can be identified. He cited the example of Ronald Chitiyo, now playing for Dynamos, whom he said once played for an area zone team called Red Devils in Overspill. He called for relevant authorities, the city council and the sports ministry, to build infrastructure for use by community teams. Many zonal teams use school

Bulawayo 0774 377 817 Gweru 0773 919 313 Kadoma 0783 083 326 Kwekwe 0773 238 432 Chinoyi 0775 835 002 Bindura 0772 237 887 Kuwadzana 0733 748 595 Boka 0772 542 772 Makoni 0772 550 027

grounds for their matches and this sometimes clashes with school activities. He also urged the communities to support local soccer by encouraging their children to play and by buying sport kits for them.

Sport keeps people away from anti-social behaviour and promotes good discipline, team work and unity. In Harare, there are many area zone teams in places such as Cranborne, Marlborough, Mabvuku, Widdicombe, Mbare, and Highfields to mention only a few.

Usually teams from a certain area zone pick players to create a select team to represent it against squads from different areas, thereby bringing different communities together.

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