News

By Andile Thebe

Rising temperatures and dried-up water sources haven’t dampened the spirit of Sasha Ndebele, a young entrepreneur in Matabeleland South. Despite El Niño’s effects, Ndebele continues to fight to save her livestock. 

Ndebele, a two-year veteran in animal husbandry raising goats, pigs, and broiler chickens, faces a critical challenge: accessing water for her animals. 

 “The greatest challenge I have is accessing water for my livestock,” she explains. “Most of the nearest water bodies have dried up.” 

The long distances to watering holes expose the goats to dangers like wildlife attacks and diseases.

“Walking long distances to get water exposes my goats to jackal attacks, miscarriages, or catching fatal diseases,” Ndebele worries. 

Speaking to Matobo Youth Development Initiative (MYDI) Matobo RDC ward 9 councillor, Otto Dube, confirms the lack of a reliable water source in the area.

“Most of the water bodies in my ward have dried up,” he says. “We now rely on Semukwe River, where residents have to dig wells to access water.”

This reliance on the river creates a burden for both domestic use and livestock needs.

“Residents have to walk long distances to access water for domestic use and for the animals too,” Dube adds.

 The low rainfall has resulted in poor grazing lands, forcing Ndebele to provide supplementary feed for her goats. However, commercially produced stock feed is out of reach due to high prices.

“Due to the poor rains received this year, the stock feed price has increased and using it will lower my profit,” Ndebele explains. 

Instead, Ndebele demonstrates resourcefulness, utilizing readily available traditional feed sources. She feeds her goats IThetshane leaves (Combretum Hereroense), groundnut shells (amakhasi amazambane), and acacia tortilis (umtshatshatsha). For her pigs, she relies on leftover food from restaurants in the area.

Councillor Dube acknowledges the ongoing search for solutions.

“We are still searching for alternative ways to ensure that people can easily access water in the ward,” he says. 

In April 2024 President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a state of emergency due to the El Niño-induced drought. The government has promised to drill boreholes to address the national water shortage problem. 

With more than 80% of the country receiving below-average rainfall in the last season, Ndebele’s story exemplifies the resilience of Zimbabwe’s farmers in the face of climate challenges.

Izakhamizi zaseMaphisa zitshengisa ukuzinikela ekubhadaleni imali ezaphathisa labo abancedisana lamapholisa ukuvikela umphakathi phecelezi Neighbourhood watch.

Ngokuzinikela kwabo, izakhamizi sezilungise uphawu (logo) lona oluzasetshenziswa ukubona inhlanganiso le esebenzisana lamapholisa ukulwisa ubugebengu emphakathini.

Ngokusebenzisana ndawonye sezibuye njalo zalungisa ugwalo oluzasiza ukuthi kwazakale labo asebebhadele, phecelezi i-receipt book. Lelibhuku lizancedisa ukuthi lalo obhadeleyo akwazi ukuba lobufakazi bokuthi usebhadele indleko zeNeighbourhood Watch.

Lomsebenzi wenziwe ngemva kokuthi izakhamizi ezazisemhlanganweni eJ Mafuyana  zizinikele ukuthi zizabhadala imali engangamadola amabili awemali yaseMelika. Limali izancedisa iNeighbourhood Watch ukuthi ikwazi ukuthola izinto ezizabancedisa ukulwisa ubugebengu eMaphisa Growth Point.

IMaphisa Neighbourhood Watch yona esungulwe ngomnyaka ka2022 ukuthi ilwisane lobugebenga obesebumemetheka esigabeni, ibike ukuthi ihlangana lobunzima bokuswela izinto ezidingekayo ukuze bakwazi ukugcina umpahakathi uvikelekile.

Imali le ikhangelelwe ukuthi izancedisa ukuthi kutholakale okudingwa ngabeNeighbourhood Watch.

Ekhuluma emhlanganweni wezakhamizi emalangeni edluleyo umgcinisihlalo wekomithi yeNeighbourhood Watch umnumzana Misheck Ndlovu uthe badinga ukuncediswa ukuthi bakwazi ukuthola amafutha emota, izankosi, izibane zokukhanyisa ebusuku lokunye okuzakwenza bakwanise ukuqhuba umsebenzi wabo.

KIDS in Maphisa Growth Point have been provided an opportunity to learn basic cooking skills at a restaurant popularly known as MaBee’s Kitchen.

Beatrice Malaba, the owner of a restaurant, has started providing cooking lessons for kids between the ages of 7 to 15 years during school holidays.

She said the idea of providing cooking lessons for kids is because her passion for being a chef started at an early age.

“When I was growing up, it was something out of the ordinary to aspire to be a chef, my parents could not understand, but I was determined to succeed.”

I want these kids to explore something different, especially in a professional kitchen so that they see how we make some of our dishes.

The cooking lessons usually take three hours, and the kids learn how to make pizza, cupcakes, burgers, and sandwiches.

This is good for the kids especially during the school holidays so that they can be preoccupied with doing something productive.

Beatrice says she has hopes that the kids can also be motivated to become entrepreneurs in the future.

“I want them to make their own pizzas and cupcakes and then they sell them, that way, they can have a motivation of being our future entrepreneurs” she said.

She says she has received feedback from one of the parents who suggested that she should give the kids certificates for cooking lessons.

“I like the idea and I think by next holidays I will have created a learning tool so that the kids can learn basic cooking skills, cooking equipment and the general safety in the kitchen” Malaba said.

Most rural schools lack the platforms for practical learning because of lack of resources to acquire the equipment and tools that are needed for learners to utilize. The school curriculum offers a wide range of learning areas but because of lack of resources particularly in rural schools, they fail to get the practical experience.

By Constentine Mpofu

Concerns have been raised over the poor household waste in J Mafuyana township as residents are not disposing their waste to Matobo Rural District Council garbage collectors.

This was raised during a meeting of residents organized by the Maphisa Residents Association where people were raising their concerns on different issues affecting them.

The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Khulekani Tshuma, said there are illegal dumpsite that they had cleared during a clean-up campaign.

“We cleared all dumpsites during the ‘Keep Maphisa Clean’ Campaign, but we are back where we started because people just throw their waste in undesignated areas,” Tshuma said.

The campaign was also meant to compliment and take part in the National Clean Up Day that is conducted on the first Friday of every month.

One of the residents said there is a need to promote awareness and educate the people as well as engage them to take part in the clean-up campaigns.

Other concerns raised by residents was the call for the construction of water drainages in J Mafuyana township as some houses become inundated in water during the rainy season.

Matobo RDC constructed drainages in parts of the township, however, there are areas that are still being affected by poor drainage of rainwater.

The residents also suggested that there should be a borehole committee that will ensure that it is responsibly managed and kept clean since it is situated in a playground it was prone to be abused by kids.

Residents also requested the installation of streetlights in J Mafuyane township, as it is still in darkness since its commissioning, the residents also highlighted the need for electricity in the small town.

During the formulation of the Matobo RDC strategic plan, these issues were highlighted by stakeholders, and the local authority said their plan was to install tower lights in J Mafuyana which would cover a wider area.

Concern was also raised on the issue of mining companies whose gold processing activities were risking the lives of people using the Antelope Dam. The residents committee said they sent a petition to relevant authorities and are waiting for feedback.

Lingwe villagers of Matobo ward 8 recently celebrated the commissioning of the Lingwe piped water scheme that will help resolve the water challenges faced in the area.

The water will benefit over 1 300 people in the ward, that is over 135 households including some from neighbouring wards.

“We have incorporated a school with 230 pupils, a garden with 50 farmers and a dip tank with 201 farmers, whose cattle amount to 1 398. The residents who will benefit are from wards 8,9, 10 as well as villagers from Lingwe village under Chief Bidi,” said a local representative of the scheme, Evis Ndlovu.

The village has gone for 24 years without clean drinking water as attempts to drill a borehole have proved futile.

“We stayed for 24 years drinking dirty water, water with human waste. The efforts made to survey the area for purposes of drilling a borehole would only result in dry waves” said Evis Ndlovu.

Ward 8 is in one of the 10 dry wards of Matobo district, and this has led to most borehole surveys yielding negative results.

“The district falls into region 4 and 5 which is characterized by poor rainfall patterns, in this regard it is imperative to note that, the southern part of this district comprising of ward 1 to 10 has very little chances of success in terms of drilling boreholes due to a low water table,” highlighted CEO of Matobo Rural District Council, Mr Elvis Sibanda.

Lingwe once had a pipeline system that was operational from 1991 to 1998 running on diesel, the scheme stopped working due to various challenges faced by the elders in the community.

The commissioned scheme was built on this old pipeline, transforming the old diesel engine to a solar powered engine.

The piped water scheme will ensure that community members consume treated water.

By Correspondent

UProvincial environmental officer we Environmental Management Authority (EMA) kwele- Matabeleland South umnumzana Descent Ndlovu ukhuthaze abantu ukuthi baqine ngokubutha lokuqoqa izibi ukuze baziguqule zibanikeze imali.

Ukhulume lokhu embuthanweni wokubutha izibi eMaphisa ngolwesihlanu lokuqala enyangeni kaMbimbitho.
Wazise abantu ukuthi ingcekeza ingabuthwa iqoqwe bese ithengiswa , ingakwanisa ukubanikeza imali.

“Okukhona yikuthi ingcekeza leyi yimali ngoba ingathathwa iguqulwe ikwazi ukunikeza abantu imali, ithengiswe ingcekeza abantu bathole imali. Okutsho ukuthi asibekeni indawo lapho esizaqoqa khona ingcekeza, siyehlukanise ngoluhlu lwengcekeza ukwenzela ukuthi sithathe lokhu okubolayo siyefaka ezingadini kubengumquba,” kutsho umnumzana Ndlovu.

Ubuye waxwayisa abantu ukuthi ukulahlwa kwengcekeza butshapha kubangela imikhuhlane etshiyeneyo esigabeni, ngoba ingcekeza le ingacina isemanzini esiwanathayo.

Kumele siqakathekise ukugcina imvelo yethu ihlanzekile, singekela okwenzakalayo iyahamba emanzini esiwanathayo isibangele imikhuhlane,” kuxwayisa uNdlovu.

Wazise labo abaphathekileyo kuhlelo lokuhlanza iMaphisa ukuthi kulicala ukulahla izibi endaweni yonke.

“Umthetho wona ngokwawo uthi lo olahla ingcekeza ulakho ukuhlawuliswa imali, imali ongasoze wenelise ukuyibhadala encane yakhona yi $20 USD kukhwela kusiyaphezulu. Ungekela ukuthi uyibhadale uyavalelwa esitokisini usukalapho siyakuhambisa ecourt bakugwebe,” kutsho umnumzana uDescent.

Unxuse nxalo abatshayeli bezimota abathwala abantu eRank ukuthi babumbe ikomiti ezakhangela ngokuhlanzeka kwalapho abasebenzela khona.

Ugcizelele kakhulu ukuqakatheka kwelanga elabekwa ngumongameli welizwe laseZimbabwe umnumzana Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa ngomnyaka ka2018 mhlaka 5 Mpalakazi, yona kuyindlela yokukhuthaza abantu ukuthi bahlanze indawo abahlala kizo.

Drug and substance abusers strain the already little resources availed to the ministry of health, the Matobo District Medical Officer highlighted at the recently held anti-drug campaign.

Matobo District Medical Officer (DMO) Dr Mthunzi said that much needed resources at the district hospital must be redirected to drug and substance abusers.

“The health system is already strained, when we add people who are mentally disturbed as a result of drug abuse, transporting them to hospitals such as Mpilo as we have heard from the psychiatrist that psychiatric units are insufficient in the country. We will be wasting resources that could have been used to attend to naturals causes that we encounter,” said Dr Mthunzi.

Dr Mthunzi added that drug and substance abuse has increased the number of health cases that their night shift staff have to attend to.

“Maphisa has a lot of assault cases and most of them are related to substance abuse. At night we will be hoping to only attend to delivering mothers, however, we find ourselves attending to cases of injured individuals,”

He added that drugs are destroying the future of the youth, as those who would have loved to assume different leadership positions will be addicts.

“We expect them to be doctors, ministers, lawyers of tomorrow and people who will lead us tomorrow,” added DMO.

These sentiments were shared at the recently held campaign against drug and substance abuse in Maphisa, under the theme; Say NO to drugs and substance abuse: Lets protect our future.

The event which was organised by the Seventh Day Adventist Church together with government stakeholders and non-governmental organisations in Matobo district sought to highlight the implications of drug and substance abuse on an individual and the community at large.

UWard 4 eMatabo useqale uhlelo lokwakhela abaswelayo abangamatshumi amabili lambili izindlu zokuhlala.

Uhlelo lolu soluncedise lentsha ukuthi ikwazi ukuthola imfundiso yemisebenzi yezandla.

Ukhansila kaward 4, uMxolisi Ncube, uthi basebenza labobhilida abawaziyo umsebenzi, laba abakhayo kukhangelelwe ukuthi bazatshiya befundise intsha ehlala emakhaya lumsebenzi ukuze bakwazi ukuzithuthukisa.

“Obhilida basebenza lentsha ukuze bayifundise lumsebenzi ngoba silentsha ehleliyo engenzilutho, ngakho loluhlelo lungabe lusiza abaswelayo njalo luyasiza nxa sikhangele ukufundiswa kwentsha imisebenzi yezandla,” kutsho uKhansila Ncube.

Loluhlelo lukhangelelwe ukuthi luzasiza abantu abangamatshumi amabili lambili kuward 4, abakhethiweyo bahlanganisela ogogo, kubelemuli eziphethwe ngabantwana besekusiba labantu abakhubazekileyo.

“Sathi sisenza iward development plan, loluhlelo belungolunye lwendingeko ezakhulunywa yizakhamizi lapho esasibonisana ngokumele kwenziwe kuWard,” kubika uKhansila.

Umsebenzi lo uqaliswe ekuqaleni kukambimbitho kumnyaka ka2024, sekuqale ukwakhiwa izindlu ezintathu, lezambuzi ezimbili ezigabeni ezehlukeneyo kuward 4.

Abanye abaphathekileyo kuloluhlelo ngabahlala ngaphandle kwelizwe (diaspora community) osomabhizimisi, labagebha igolide kuleyo indawo.

Lolu ngolunye lwezinhlelo ezikhangele ezezakhiwo, amanzi lokuhlanzeka endaweni kaward 4 eMatobo.

Matobo stakeholders have called for the masterplan being drafted for Matobo District to ensure that the natural resources in the area benefits the locals.

Speaking at a meeting recently held in Maphisa, land governance specialist Dr Kudzai Chatiza highlighted that the masterplan covers the whole district excluding parks and went on to explain what a masterplan is.

“It is a vision of how we want to use our land, what uses we want to put it to and the services that we need so that we can make the best use of our land” he said.

The participants expressed the desire to see the people benefitting from the minerals extracted in the district.

“We looked at Maphisa as a mining site as well as other areas, that Matobo is producing gold but the district is not benefiting much on all the resources being extracted, so we would want mining to be legally enforced so that everyone can benefit,” highlighted one of the participants.

Mining is one of the economic activities in the district, with gold being the main mineral extracted by both registered mining companies and artisanal miners.

The major mining companies operational in the area are Inyamazane Gold and Navada 24 CIP plants as documented by Matobo Rural District Council.

The council has also highlighted that there are challenges in the sector, such as the lack of equipment for small scale miners to increase production and develop their mines.

Poor road networks also make the transportation of the ore difficult and these are believed to have contributed to poor “turnout by miners in honouring their legal obligation towards the local authority”

The Planning technician for Matobo District, Mr Brighton Sibanda added that the masterplan document compilation was to be completed in the first 6 months of 2024.