Harare News

Our city, our lives Issue 18 February 2015

Touching the light

Head Boy profile

The silent loss

By helping the blind to read.

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What’s that building?

Science and poetry to discuss our birds.

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Can you guess?

Prince Edward’s student leader for 2015 is…

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Public unconvinced at Borrowdale wetlands stakeholder meeting Harry Davies

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Harare News employs two new vendors Staff Writer

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arare News is pleased to announce its partnership with House of Smiles, an organisation that supports children living on the streets of the capital. Starting with the issue that you are holding in your hands, two of the youth supported by House of Smiles will be selling copies of the paper for R2 or 20c, with all proceeds going towards the youth themselves.

Innocent Chishoro and Tinotenda Hufu will be wearing Harare

News t-shirts while they work, and can produce an ID card on request.

This month is a trial run of the partnership, and if all goes well, could be used as a springboard to provide work experience and livelihood to more of the city’s underprivileged and unemployed youth.

Harare News prides itself on being a free publication, but management has decided to put the strong brand name to good use in the community, and hopes that readers like you will show your support. Innocent and Tinotenda are making the

paper available in additional places, but you can still pick up your free copy from your regular outlet.

“We are very happy to be working with Harare News in this way,” says Enias Maramah, Child Protection Officer at House of Smiles.

“When they approached us with the idea, we knew that this could be a win-win partnership.”

Innocent and Tinotenda will have two days to sell their quota of papers at the start of each month.

If you work in the CBD, be sure to find them to get your copy.

ension ran high on 13 January during an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) consultative meeting for the ongoing development of the protected Borrowdale vlei area amid accusations by environmentalists, residents and other concerned parties that the developers have used political pressure to push their project through.

The barring of members of the press from at least three media houses that turned up to what was supposed to be an open public meeting, did little to create an atmosphere of openness or confidence in proceedings. Harare News only managed to remain in the meeting after much arguing and with support from other members of the public.

After more than two hours of discussion – that failed to touch on a wide variety of related issues − the EIA and other presentations were dismissed as technically and procedurally flawed and the developers were accused of being insincere.

Borrowdale Residents and Ratepayers Association (BRRA) Chairman Marek Dergiman would later describe it as “a tightly controlled meeting” during which the developers failed to convince residents and other stakeholders of the socio-economic need for the estimated $500 million project that boasts a luxury high-end mall, multiple housing clusters, offices

and medical centre, altogether called Borrowdale West Multipurpose Millennium Park, to be built on the land in question.

The independent scientists and technical experts present rejected the findings of the developer’s EIA team which stood accused of grossly and intentionally understating the negative effects of the plans to Borrowdale’s wetland.

Wetlands are regarded as crucial to maintaining urban water supplies. They absorb rainfall and hold it as a natural reservoir that constantly feeds water to supply dams.

They also purify the water and hold delicate ecosystems that keep wetlands alive. Scientists warn that the destruction of the Borrowdale Vlei will severely reduce inflow of water to Harare’s dams, already incapable of meeting the City’s needs. The claim at the meeting by the developers that the project would maintain the core area of the wetland and “adequately” preserve wetland system was met with alarm.

Ward 18 Councillor Rusty Markham expressed his disdain for the EIA and the presentation made by the Augur Investments/West Properties team led by Michael van Blerk of West Properties, and backed by Ken Sharpe of the Estonian-based parent company, Augur Investments. “I fully expect the developers to sell us a marketing pitch. That’s their job. I do not expect the EIA to be a marketing pitch. It should be a learned document on our natural resources,” Continued on page 2

2 Harare News

Issue 18 February 2015

General news

Public unconvinced at Borrowdale wetlands stakeholder meeting Continued from page 1 said Markham.

There is concern among environmentalists that the EIA process described in the Environmental Management Act needs reform, in particular Section 98 which makes the developer – and not the Environmental Management Agency − responsible for producing an EIA. This raises questions of objectivity and fairness, with the adjudicators of any negative environmental impacts sitting on the payroll of the investing party.

Augur enlisted a firm called Plan Afrique to carry out their EIA. In later correspondence with Harare News, van Blerk defended their appointment and work saying, “Plan Afrique is we understand the leading consultant registered with EMA and to our knowledge the most experienced with a wide portfolio of clients. We believe the EIA conforms to the requirement of the Act and that Plan Afrique are extremely professional.” Sharpe also wrote to say that they had no previous relationship with the firm before the Borrowdale project in question.

Another cause for concern among residents was that Augur was allowed by EMA to roll out a ‘Partial EIA’ − which meant that the impacts of the development were assessed in two parts, first roads and sewerage,

Ken Sharpe of Augur Investments and Mike van Blerk of West Properties leave the meeting which saw the media barred, and the public still determined to see the Millenium Park development halted. and the second the construction of buildings − one project falling under two distinct EIAs, rather than as a whole.

During a follow up interview, Ward 18 councillor, Rusty Markham

said, “there is no way that a partial EIA could or should have been granted by EMA. Once you give a partial one and you pass the first phase, you can’t stop it (development). Once you put roads and sewerage in, you’ve acknowledged that there are going to be buildings.”

During the January 13 meeting, EMA Director General Mrs Mutsa Chasi alluded to the separation of Housing Developments from Infrastructure in Schedule 1 of the Environmental Management Act that lists projects requiring EIAs, saying

only that “we are guided by the Act.” Retired expert on inland water, Professor Chris Magadza, rejects this. “The notion of a partial EIA is not found anywhere in any act. The roads should be part of the entire assessment, but EMA allowed Augur to separate them,” he said in a follow up interview. Magadza believes it boils down to political pressure.

Addressing the public meeting, Magadza also raised the issue of zoning. The land in question is a gazetted wetland, but was re-zoned to allow for development, which

according to Magadza violates the law.

“Whatever jurisdiction that minister used to rezone a wetland into a commercial area cannot supersede the provision of the environmental management act, because that is superior to whatever act was used,” said Magadza.

The meeting lasted a full two and a half hours, which though long, was far from exhaustive. The social, economic, environmental, financial and legal implications are enormous, far reaching, and, for many, hugely emotive.

In his opening presentation, Van Blerk said crime on the vlei was on the rise, squatters were moving in, fly tipping of waste and illegal cultivation were increasing, and more, and claimed that Millenium Park could mitigate all of these. But this idea was rejected.

“Building the mall of Zimbabwe and other developments is not addressing a solution to the problem.

The solution is to educate people about the negative effects, to involve the police and to involve the city council. I do not accept this argument,” said one concerned resident.

Residents feel that if the project is built on the wetland, it will create more problems than it solves. “No one in his right mind is saying that we do not want foreign investment in this country. Not one person in this room can say that they have enough money to get to the end of the month. What we are saying is that we can develop somewhere else, and not in the wetlands, because we need the water,” said Julia Pierini of Birdlife Zimbabwe.

Black market fuel sales still common on the streets of Harare Lovemore Lubinda

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he fact that fuel is now readily available at most of the city’s service stations has not stopped the illegal selling of the commodity on the black market and dealers are still visible on some street corners.

Traders can be seen waiting for customers, usually kombi drivers, while their product is kept nearby and they seem to have mastered the art of ‘hide and seek’ with the authorities.

One spot is near the service station on the corner of McChlery Avenue and Robert Mugabe Road East.

Harare News visited the area and at first was not welcome as the dealers didn’t want their illegal activities exposed but later, on condition of anonymity, the sources started opening up. “We use coupons to buy the fuel at the service station and resell to kombi drivers who don’t have the patience to queue at the service station,” said one source. He revealed that the coupons he uses are bought from that same station at a price that depends on the amount one requires. This was also confirmed by a fuel attendant at the service station who said that if customers want to buy fuel using coupons or cash, they just sell it to them.

The dealer added that it is not about making a huge profit, because fuel is no longer as scarce as it used to be when he started and that he only gains $0.25/litre.

Tom Masau, who operates near Wedzera Service Station along Chiremba Road, concurs saying fuel selling is no longer that lucrative, however, he added that half a loaf is better than nothing. “The kombi drivers come to us just because they are used to dealing with us,” he said.

Fabion Gwara, a kombi driver who plies the Chiremba Road route, told Harare News that it is not guaranteed that he will buy from the street dealers, but only at times when there are a couple of cars at the service station. “Sometimes you see that there are 3 or 4 cars queued up and because I do not want to be delayed I end up buying from the dealers. Time is money, a few minutes lost waiting in the line can cost you something in monetary terms at the end of the day,” he said.

Motorists expressed dismay in the last quarter of 2014 over fuel prices on the local market that only indicated a paltry two to four cents decline in prices against a 40% decline on the international market price. Before the drop in prices petrol prices ranged from $1.52 to $1.56

while diesel was at $1.40 to $1.44(retail) on the local market. After the drop, prices range from between $1.49 to $1.53 for petrol and $1.38 to $1.43 for diesel.

Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) Chief Executive Officer, Gloria Magombo, told a press meeting late last year that the variation in prices between fuel retailers is mainly due to NOCZIM, which is responsible for fuel purchasing, being non-operational. “The procurement of fuel by small players means that they can get it at different prices, hence the difference in their selling prices,” she said.

Steady Kangata the spokesperson for Environmental Management Authority (EMA) said fuel is a hazardous substance and because of it being highly flammable any sales should be done by registered service stations only. “If a dealer is not a registered service station they must stop selling fuel immediately. There are no negotiations on this issue,” he said. His words were in accord with the Petroleum Act 13;22 section 29, subsection 1 which reads ‘No person, other than a petroleum company licensed under this part shall procure, sell or produce any petroleum product.’

Harare News 3

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General news

More parks planned for Harare suburbs Stephen Tsoroti

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he City of Harare (CoH) is set to increase the number of recreational parks in Harare suburbs, according to Godfrey Munetsi, Curator of Parks and Cemeteries. He said that the department is currently developing the Kuwadzana Park, while additional parks are going to be created in Mbare, Sunningdale, and Eastlea. “Parks have intrinsic values for people in Harare,” said Munetsi. He added, “Through garden parks, we want to provide open spaces for the benefit of townspeople and local residents within areas that have been rapidly built up. We want to develop the concept of ‘the designed landscape’ as a setting for the suburban domicile, an idea pioneered by the early city planners. The city is also looking at developing themes such forest parks

Silent swings: Glen Roy Park is in need of maintenance. and educational parks, where students can come to study and access

internet services.”

He said that

besides

the

introduction of new parks, the city is also looking at rehabilitating existing parks that have been poorly maintained. Some parks, like Ballantyne Park, are being given over to community groups to look after.

CoH has rehabilitated the Swanlake Park in Avonlea, in collaboration with Imagine Avonlea. CoH have put in benches and plan to dredge the dam and fence the park.

Harare currently has 34 parks, owned and maintained by the local authority. The parks range from savannas or open woodlands to areas with exotic plants.

Harare Gardens used to be one of the city’s most attractive landmarks, though has fallen into neglect in recent years. This 65 hectare area of gardens houses a splendid pavilion, the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe, a bird sanctuary, swimming pool and rock garden. City workers

looking to escape the hustle and bustle of town hope that this area can be rejuvenated – especially areas such as the water feature which is mostly filled with rubbish.

Cleveland Dam, another City Council park, is on the outskirts of Harare on the Mutare Road. It is a pleasant place for a walk or a picnic, especially during the week when it is quieter. It is possible to walk along the edge of the very pretty dam and also rent paddle boats. There is also a large woodland area to explore.

Entrance is only a dollar or two (if the gate guard is on duty). Perhaps more worthwhile, although more expensive, is the adjoining Haka Game Park which has a real African plains feel to it with plenty of wildebeest, zebra, kudu and impala and more chance to get away from it all due to the large area it covers.

Council claims progress in water delivery infrastructure Farai Dauramanzi

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he rehabilitation of Harare’s water works using funds from the $144 million China Exim Bank loan and the $9.5 million ZIMFUND Phase 1 grant appears to be progressing well.

Last month the council commissioned three pumps at Morton Jaffray which increased output at the plant by 100 million litres to 500 million litres per day. The plant, which has the capacity to produce 614 million litres per day, was only producing 400 million litres before the installation of the pumps last month.

A report on Harare’s water situation, released by Harare Water Director Engineer Christopher Zvobgo in December 2014, showed a lot of progress in the water and sewer rehabilitation project. The report states that water production at Morton Jaffray had been increased by 72 mega-litres per day as of December 2014. The report went on to say that pumping availability at Morton Jaffray had also been increased by two pumps while the pump reliability at Prince Edward had been improved to 100%

capacity. Eng Zvobgo’s report also pointed out that bulk flow measurement was now available at 100% while water dosing plant availability had been improved by 60%. Water losses through leakages had been reduced by 50 mega litres from 140 mega litres per day, thereby improving water mobility by 25%.

City of Harare Principal Communications Officer Michael Chideme said that these improvements have resulted in better water supply to various areas such as Mabvuku/ Tafara, and all Northern suburbs which now receive water four times a week from the previous twice per week. “Isolation valves have also been installed which allows for maintenance to be done on individual sections without closing down the whole plant,” said Chideme.

City of Harare also announced in December last year that it will start the ZIMFUND phase 2 programme this month as it had received a $19.5 million grant from African Development Bank. The money will go towards the replacement of water pipes, acquisition of new water meters, and dislodging of sewer ponds.

“Of the amount, $12 million is for water pipe replacements. The City’s

A recent picture of Morton Jaffray treatment plant. water reticulation is antiquated and needs urgent replacement. The bulk of Harare’s 5,500 kms of water pipes was laid over 40 years ago and has naturally gone beyond their permitted lifespan,” said Chideme in the statement.

Council supposed that the replacement of the old pipes will drastically reduce non-revenue water and ensure that more water reaches

the households and said that this will also increase the city’s revenue as residents who are accessing water will be more inclined to pay for the service.

“The program will take up to 10 months to complete. Part of the funds will be used to dislodge ponds in Mabvuku/Tafara and Borrowdale Brook and install new pumps. At least 140,000 new water meters will

be bought using the grant, as well as pressure reducing valves,” said Chideme.

However, some residents have said that they are yet to see any improvement in the water situation.

Sharon Magodyo, the community coordinator for Harare Residents Trust (HRT), said that from the reports coming from residents there has been no change in the supply of water by council. “Residents in Mabvuku, Tafara, Zimre Park and Waterfalls have no water. Harare water should replace underground pipes so that water reaches the communities because 30% of the processed water is being lost through broken pipes. What residents want is to see water coming out of their taps, not to be given updates that there is progress at Morton Jaffray while they do not see any change,” said Magodyo.

Councillor for Mabvuku Ward, an area with perennial water problems, Barnabas Ndira, told Harare News that council was letting down the residents of his area. He said, “Progress yes, but since they finished (installing the pumps) we have not received any water supplies.”

4 Harare News

Issue 18 February 2015

Council talk

Meet your councillor: Ward 39, Dzivarasekwa work experience, Hadebe is specialised in sales acquiring certification in the field in 2002.

The ward 39 councillor said that he was inspired to run for council by his love for the community, “I have always been friendly with the community and it made me understand the problems people were facing in my community. My work in sales also played a major part as it enabled me to easily interact with the community. My main link with the community is moving around meeting people regardless of limitations in resources and discovering what is needed to get the community going. I am always there with them and I listen to them, be it criticism or compliments,” explained Hadebe.

Hadebe said that he has implemented various projects since assuming the office of councillor. These projects include clearing of garbage dumpsites which he said are

Farai Dauramanzi

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ard 39 councillor Gilbert Thamsanqa Hadebe, also known as “Zulu Cowboy” in his area, is probably one of the most popular people in Dzivarasekwa.

Hadebe was born on 9 August 1972 at Gweru General Hospital and grew up with his mother in Chiundura, Midlands province. He attended St Patrick’s Mission School in Chiundura for his Grade One to Four and then moved to Gweru where he attended Sandara Primary School for his Grade Five to Seven studies. After completing primary education Hadebe went to Ascot Secondary School and passed eight subjects at O-level.

In 1995 Hadebe found his way to Harare after staying in Gweru and Bulawayo for a while and he lived in Arcadia until 2003. He then briefly moved to Warren Park 1 en route to Dzivarasekwa 4 where he currently resides. In terms of

now 90% complete and the building of a barricade on the curve of Robert Mugabe Road from the corner of Dzivarasekwa 3 going towards Dzivarasekwa 4. The councillor said he has also managed to rehabilitate two public toilets in his ward.

“Dzivarasekwa pump station is now functional and water is no longer a big problem. Due to good working relations with the local district staff we have also managed to reduce response time for sewer and pipe bursts and I would like to applaud our district office staff because they are really doing a good job,” said Hadebe.

The ward 39 councillor also revealed that, with help from the Red Cross, his community will this year implement a project aimed at disaster risk reduction. The project will involve the resuscitation of all broken boreholes, clearing of blocked water drains as well as replacement of old sewer pipes to suit the current population. “We also have projects where youth are trained in hair dressing as well as candle making. With the help of the community we have also managed to

Know your ward: Ward 39, Dzivarasekwa Farai Dauramanzi

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ard 39, Dzivarasekwa, is one of the oldest high density residential areas in Harare. It is located in the western part of Harare.

The ward stands on 2.15 square kilometres, with a population of 24,507 people. Dzivarasekwa, also commonly known as DZ, was created in pre-independent Zimbabwe to cater mainly for black domestic workers who worked in the northern suburbs as well as others who worked in the industrial sites.

Ward 39 covers Dzivarasekwa 1, part of Dzivarasekwa 3, and Dzivarasekwa 4. The area has three shopping centres, namely Dzivarasekwa 4 Shopping Centre (also known as Pakadada), Dzivarasekwa 3 Bar (called Pazororo), and Dzivarasekwa 1 Shops (called Nyaguhwa).

In terms of health facilities the ward has one council clinic –Rujeko

Poly Clinic – as well as other many private clinics.

The area has three schools which include Gillingham Primary School, Nhamburiko Primary School, and Dzivarasekwa High 1. Recreational facilities available in the ward are found at Chemhanza Stadium which houses a soccer pitch inside as well as netball and basketball fields on the outside. The community is endeavouring to turn an open field between Dzivarasekwa 3 and 4 into a recreational park.

Water is not a problem in Ward 39 since the commissioning of the Dzivarasekwa pump station last year. However, the pump station is not yet fully functional as it is operating only one pump out of the three pumps that are available. Just like other high density areas the ward faces various problems which include social ills like drug abuse, petty crime, prostitution and the

vandalism of public facilities. Ward 39 has seven public toilets of which only two are functional at the moment. Other difficulties in the ward include poor waste collection, bad roads and the lack of street lighting.

Various improvement projects are underway in ward 39 including the removal of garbage dumpsites, drain clearance, rehabilitation of public toilets, livelihood initiatives training for youths and the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) project which is being facilitated by the Red Cross.

Dzivarasekwa is home to some of Harare’s most popular personalities who include musician Somandla Ndebele, footballer Gilbert Mushangazhike, mbira player Sekuru Gweshe as well as the Mambokadzi Dance Group. Dzivarasekwa is also known as Dangerzone in Zimdancehall circles and ward 39 is home to Cashlibs Studios one of the leading record labels in the genre.

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Quick facts Ward 39, Dzivarasekwa Population: 24,507 Females: 12,555 Males: 11,952 Size: 2.15km2 People per km2: 11,399 Number of households: 5,961 Average household size: 4.1

39

Dzivarasekwa

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NGOs, embassies, businesses, schools and community based organisations, grab this chance to get a year’s bulk subscription delivered directly to your doorstep.

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“We are now into the second year of our bulk subscription of Harare News. It gives our staff and visitors to our offices a great view into issues that are relevant to residents of Harare.”

Waltraud Plattner-Freitag, Head of Administration, Delegation of the European Union

To take advantage of this offer contact Sara on 0779 530 748 or email sara@hararenews.co.zw.

lobby for funds in the 2015 budget to resuscitate Chemhanza stadium,” added Hadebe.

However, ward 39 is faced with various problems which include poor waste collection services and the lack of vehicles for council workers at the Dzivarasekwa District Office to attend to faults. The councillor also complained of the lack of support for community initiatives.

“My community also faces the problems of prostitution, drug abuse, petty crime, and the vandalism of council property. I would also like to urge council to issue residents in Dzivarasekwa with the title deeds to their houses. Right now most residents are not willing to participate in service delivery issues saying that they do not own the houses,” explained Hadebe.

Residents who wish to contact Councillor Hadebe can visit him at his offices at Dzivarasekwa Community Hall 1 or visit him at his house Number 3735 5th Street Dzivarasekwa 4 or call him on 0772 924 323 / 0736 679 586 or email him at gilberthadebe@gmail.com.

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Infographic

Keeping the peace N

oise is one of the biggest complaints raised by residents at council meetings and in letters to Harare News. Outdoor events with PA systems, construction machinery, vendors advertising their wares, hooting cars, barking dogs − wouldn’t it be nice to get some peace and quiet from all of this? Well, there are by-laws in place to ensure that it doesn’t get too noisy in your neighbourhood, so check what they are and take action to restore the peace.

Take action 1. Speak politely to the people making the noise and ask them to stop or move elsewhere. Let them know which by-laws they are contravening.

2. Contact your councillor.

Find a list of all Harare’s councillors on our website: www.hararenews.co.zw/councillor-contacts/ 3. Report the matter at your local police station.

According to the City of Harare Noise By-laws Act 12/73 you may not disturb or interfere with the rest, peace or tranquility of the neighbourhood by committing any of the following offences:

Operating a model aeroplane, steam or diesel model locomotive, model car, machinery or other device.

Conducting business, trade or industry (except in an industrial site) before 7am or after 6pm.

Making any noise or disturbance by shouting, yelling, blowing on a wind instrument or beating on a drum or other instrument, article or device.

Keeping any bird or animal that disturbs the peace by continual or repeated crowing, screeching, barking or whining.

Using a power driven lawn mower or hedge cutter before 8am, between 2pm and 4pm or after 6pm.

Graphic: Graham van de Ruit, Dumisani Nyoni, David Chitate

Operating or causing or permitting to be operated a wireless, loudspeaker, gramophone, record player, amplifier, musical instrument or similar device whether for entertainment or advertising without the prior written consent of the council.

Ringing a bell, sounding a horn, blowing a whistle, using a musical or other instrument for hawking, selling or advertising.

Making any noise or disturbance during building, demolition or excavation using any machinery, apparatus or tool whether powered or not.

6 Harare News

Issue 18 February 2015

Community

Ostomy Association calls for participation and support T

he Ostomy Association became dormant about twenty years ago. In November 2013 a number of ostomates formed a new body and wished to assist with the care of ostomates throughout Zimbabwe.

Some people with stomas are stricken with cancer of the colon or bladder and require surgery for the removal of growths – but causes vary and require related surgeries to be performed. Many young women are amongst the poorest in society, and suffer from obstetric fistula, caused by long obstructed labour with no access to medical care.

In Zimbabwe an estimated two thousand to three thousand people have an intestinal stoma. Many of them are permanently afflicted – for others there is a possibility of reversal and restoration of continuity and continence.

Ostomy pouches are plastic,

partially odour- proof and disposable. They are fashioned in a variety of forms. Drainable two-piece or clip-on pouches can be left in place for as long as they remain odourless, leak-proof and comfortable.

Ostomates face many hurdles: the traumatic impact of diagnosis, especially when it is cancer. A host of psychological problems associated with the sighting of the stoma and the general management of pouches, particularly without the aid of family or a devoted friend. The costs of hospital care and life-long supplies of pouches are crippling.

The need for practical adjustment to fitting, cleaning and retaining pouches for as long as possible (“the norm” is for a pouch to last four to five days, but with experience and skill, a pouch can last for about a fortnight greatly reducing costs!)

Every ostomate experiences initial

difficulties, but in Zimbabwe the high cost of appliances prompts many people to use shopping bags – always unsuccessfully – when leaks, odours and insecure bags make it impossible to lead normal lives. The social stigma experienced by ostomates causes them to become recluses avoiding normal social activities and sport. Performing ordinary physical actions, tying shoe laces or using safety belts in cars requires practice. Certain procedures have to be learned to avoid accidents resulting in discharges and the need for all manner of unpleasant cleaning up. Sleeping throughout the night is rare after “trial and error” foods inducing flatus will be avoided. Antidiarrhoea tablets have to be carried at all times.

The Ostomy Association can help sufferers to overcome most hurdles through pre and post operation

counselling, visits to patients’ homes and ultimately, the education of patients and family with practical self care and monitoring.

Important objectives of the OAZ have been written into its constitution. These include the promotion of the health and welfare of ostomates by recognizing and developing the key role of specially qualified nursing and medical personnel. The training of qualified nurses, the improvement of cost-effective, value added services by medical personnel. The provision and development of the role of non-medical pre and post operative stoma management and the support of experienced patients. The adoption of all methods, policies and strategies which will enhance the public standing and perception of ostomy medical, nursing and health care service providers and related personnel.

To become established the association will need a minimum of £15,000 to £20,000 and thereafter financial support for ongoing costs of training nurses and acquiring cost effective durable pouches.

How can you help? If you are an ostomate send your contact details, type of ostomate (Colostomate or Urostomate) and problems being experienced to the address below.

This will assist in the development of an accurate database and allow the Association to arrange meetings and plan strategies. Personal information will be kept confidential.

If you would like to make donations in cash or kind for the Association, please contact us as detailed below.

Ostomy Association of Zimbabwe 1, Costa Do Sol, 23 Beveridge Rd, Avondale Tel: 308178 and 882031/886101

Noise pollution intensifies in Harare Farai Dauramanzi

H

arare has witnessed an increase in noise pollution over the last few months, especially in the CBD. This has been attributed by some to the increased number of vendors now doing business on the streets.

According to Wikipedia noise pollution is any disturbing or excessive noise that may harm the activity or balance of human or animal life. The sources of environmental noise worldwide are mainly machines, motor vehicles, aircrafts, and trains.

However, humans in Harare are proving to be a major source of noise pollution. Most of the vendors in town have adopted touting as a major marketing tool creating serious noise pollution in the CBD. Some have even gone to the extent of using loudspeakers and PA systems to tout their wares, which has made the city very noisy.

Pesticide vendors who use loudspeakers have increased in number in the CBD and they can now be found anywhere from pavements to street corners. In an interview with Harare News, Dr Cainos Chingombe, the City’s Human Capital and Public Safety Director, said that the pesticide vendors were not licensed to use loudspeakers. “Municipal bylaws do not allow anything or anyone to make noise that disturbs residents. As council we usually move around advising people not to use gadgets like loudspeakers. For those who refuse to comply, our police will have to enforce the regulations,” said Dr Chingombe.

Some residents in Harare have also complained of noise pollution from churches and wedding venues that are situated in residential areas. Sharon Magodyo, the Community

Coordinator for Harare Residents Trust, discouraged churches that use high powered PA systems in residential areas. “Most suburbs have Pentecostal churches operating in residential areas and at times in very restricted premises with very few people in attendance and yet they have high powered public address systems that definitely pollute the environment. There are other growing churches that have larger attendances which deserve to be allocated stands for their operations. Noise is really a nuisance and it must be controlled in a progressive and democratic manner,” said Magodyo.

Gamuchirai Nyamakura (24) from Braeside said that Harare has become noisy due to touting and urged the City Fathers to work on the enforcement of noise regulations. “The issue of noise is really a problem in Harare and for a start council should ban all forms of touting.

Churches in residential areas should be regulated to use speakers which correspond to the number of worshippers they have because it does not make sense to have a church with 50 people using 10 speakers when one would be sufficiently audible,” explained Nyamakura.

However, one noise polluter, a pesticide vendor who works for a fumigation company and uses a loudspeaker to tout his wares around the CBD, professed ignorance of the City’s noise pollution regulations, saying, “I don’t know anything about the noise pollution regulations. We were only given these loudspeakers at work so that we could increase our presence on the streets.”

Some of the long term and immediate effects of noise pollution include hearing impairment, stress related illnesses, loss of concentration, and speech interference.

Where to get your Harare News Read-only copies are available in numerous waiting areas, coffee spots, restaurants, all the libraries, schools etc.

But for a copy to keep, please visit one of our distribution partners: Avenues: Athienitis Spar Avondale: 40 Cork Road, Avondale Bookshop Ballantyne Park: Ballantyne Spar, Pemcol Bakery Belgravia: UpMarket, Reps Theatre Borrowdale: Village Spar, Folios Bookshop CBD: Book Café, Food World Group Outlets, National Gallery, Plan Printing Services (opp Eastgate) Chisipite: Tool Mart (Lewisham), Bon Marché (Chisi Shops) Dzivarasekwa: DZ Extention Chesa Centre, DZ 4 Shops, EcoCash Booths DZ3 Commuter Rank Greencroft: Civic Pharmacy Greendale: Pick n Pay Kamfinsa, Spar Kamfinsa Kensington: Kenlink Pharmacy, Eskbank Kuwadzana: OK Supermarket (Kuwadzana 5 Shops), Meat Market (Kuwadzana 1 Shops) Mabvuku/Tafara: Net Fuel Service Station (Acturus Rd), OK Supermarket, Spar Mabvuku Mbare: Vendor Mount Pleasant: Veldemeers, Billy’s Meats, Blackstone Book Shop Highlands: Ranchod’s Hardware Rolf Valley: Sorellas, Willowmead Westgate: Pick n Pay For distribution queries or bulk subscriptions, please contact newton@hararenews.co.zw.

Harare News 7

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Community

Touching the light – hope for Zimbabwe’s blind T

he Dorothy Duncan Braille Library and Rehabilitation Centre was founded 25 years ago by the legendary Sister Catherine Jackson. It offers an impressive array of services for the visionally impaired, helping them to re-establish themselves and live normal lives.

The braille library offers literature on tape, on CD, in large print, and of course in braille.

The books include core educational texts at all levels, as well as leisure reading material for all ages and leaflets and other important information for the blind. The latter includes information on HIV and aids as well as copies of the country’s constitution.

Over the past years the Dorothy Duncan Centre has helped rehabilitate blind adults by inviting eight individuals at a time to spend three months intensive training in re-establishing themselves in the world they used to know. The centre receives applications from people all around Zimbabwe – each one needing special personalized help. Sister Catherine has recently retired from full time duties at the centre. Her indominatible spirit, vision and dedication have created a great legacy – a legacy that lives on through the support of generous friendships and the rotary clubs of Zimbabwe and around the world. Sister Catherine will remain on the executive committee,

handing over the torch of directorship to Mrs Charity Johnson. Her vision for the braille library is to assist and rehabilitate increased numbers of blind Zimbabweans and to introduce more outreach programmes that raise the profile of the braille library and its invaluable services.

Mr Andrew Mutambisi is the director responsible for braille transcription services and government and public relations. He is a fully trained teacher, who has specialized in special needs, specifically rehabilitation and training of the blind and partially sighted. In addition to the important task of transcribing the printed word into braille, he is responsible for all aspects of special needs education and examinations. All of the above endeavours and enterprises bring hope and purpose for those who live with blindness and its huge frustrations and limitations.

Fund Raising Cause4concern, a trust that specializes in fund raising for charities in Zimbabwe will be undertaking an aggressive awareness and fund raising initiative on behalf of the Dorothy Duncan braille library and rehabilitation centre. Through these initiatives it is hoped to offer rehabilitation to more Zimbabweans and to offer technical skills to help the blind

Sister Catherine Jackson. get back to work. It is also their vision to empower schools and other centres which deal

with the visionally impaired with both skills and equipment to produce braille material specific to their particular needs.

Keeping in Touch Earlier this year the Dorothy Duncan braille library was able to bring to Zimbabwe from England, Mr George Bell who introduced delegates from around Zimbabwe at a workshop, to the new Unified English braille code. In his introductory remarks, Mr Bell expressed his pleasure to be in Zimbabwe, and his admiration for the work Sister Catherine has done for the blind over the last 25 years. Mr Bell explained the need for the Unified English Braille, to be used throughout the world, and congratulated Zimbabwe for being amongst the first English speaking African countries to realize the importance of introducing this concept into their teaching.

For more information on the Dorothy Duncan braille library and rehabilitation centre and how to make donations from overseas visit www.cause4concernzim.com.

For local donations, banking details are as follows: CABS, Platinum Branch Account Number 901624547 Dorothy Duncan Centre Your generosity can help others see the light!

Heroes recognised on home soil …as Mbare honours its pioneers and legends Lovemore Lubinda

T

Congratulations to the AstraQuality Paints iPad winners Lovemore Lubinda

W

inners of the promotion by Astra in partnership with Quality paints that ran through November and December gladly claimed their prizes in January, during a draw held at Sam Levy’s Village. To enter the draw customers spent US$100 or more on any of the Astra or Plascon products. The three winners were Esnath Dondo of Sally Mugabe Heights, Harlem Construction represented by Mr

Eniwell Chireka, and Dr Tamuka Kaseke of Ruwa. The prizes were presented by Ebenezer Gumbo of Astra paints and Rick Goncalves of Quality paints. Gumbo said the ‘Win 1 of 3 iPads’ draw came at a time when they were celebrating the opening of a Quality Paints branch in Borrowdale. Quality Paints now has three branches in Harare: Angwa Street, Newlands Shopping Centre, and the recently opened one in Sam Levy’s Village.

he history of Mbare has always been intriguing, with some people going as far as saying that if you have never been there then you haven’t been to Harare at all.

The suburb, south of the city, houses noteworthy places like Rufaro Stadium, dubbed the ‘Ceremonial home of Zimbabwean football’, the agricultural produce market, the curio market for traditional artwork and Stodart Hall, the biggest community hall in the area, where today the country’s national heroes lie in state before being taken to the National Heroes’ Acre for burial.

Recently the suburb honoured some of its pioneers and legends by naming streets after them.

Petros Rangeni, (69) who was born and grew up in the area, gave an account of what he remembers of some of the names. He said Vito Street was named after a senior council worker who lived in the location. “Pazarangu was the first black postman who worked at the Post Office here in Mbare and stayed at Beatrice Cottages, also in this suburb” he said. He added that Samuel Sondo was a council

worker and used to sing and entertain people together with Sam Matambo and the City Quads in the early 1960s.All of these people have streets named after them. Rangeni commended the responsible authorities for honouring these leg-

Recently the suburb honoured some of its pioneers and legends by naming streets after them.

endary residents of Mbare saying it is one of the best ways of keeping local history and heritage alive for the future generations. He however, bemoaned the sorry state most of these roads are in.

Pias Chandamale, another resident born and bred in Mbare, said

So who gets to name our streets?

Under the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15), it is the right and duty of the Council to assign names to roads and numbers to houses.

Madzima was the first black person to run football matters. “He was the president of the Rhodesian National Football League, which was the top flight division of the sport at that time,” he said. According to Wikipedia, it was formed in 1962 and is the predecessor to the today’s Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League (PSL) that was created 18 years later, in 1980. “If my memory serves me well, Chihota was a motor mechanic and a saxophonist. He was the first person in the area (National) to own a television, black and white then,” he said. Chandamale also narrated how he and his friends used to go and watch television at Chihota’s house, where they paid a tickey for admission. He stated the most popular television programme was Bonanza.

“Machingura Street was named after Reverend Machingura who was one of the leaders of the African Independent Church in the 1950s,” said an old woman, who identified herself as Ambuya Mavhinga. She said Mwamuka Avenue was named after a notable business person who operated in the area. She added that Barbara Tredgold Circle which joins Mlambo Street and Runyararo Road was named after a missionary who, like Elizabeth Musodzi, spent much of her time trying to better the lives of women in the community. The latter has a building named after her, Mai Musodzi Hall, which is located next to Mbare Musika bus ranks.

Some of the street names such as Samuriwo, Ayema, Hombasha, Sanyanga, Gwatidzo, Phiri, Mbirimi and Zata, among others, were all named after notable people in different and professional fields who lived in the suburb. Many of these people were musicians, sportsmen, politicians, business people, philanthropists, church leaders or council workers.

8 Harare News

Issue 18 February 2015

Environment

The silent loss: birds and development Chris Magadza

I

f you live in highly built up areas you probably see very few birds.

You might see some House sparrows (non-indigenous), crows, feral pigeons and perhaps the odd bulbul. Your dawn noises are likely to be traffic sounds. The world over, built up places have very little nature left.

However if you live in the low density areas, with trees and garden bushes, you are likely to be woken up by the Heuglin’s robin (WhiteBrowed robin-chat), followed by a chorus of other early morning callers. At my place in Bluff Hill I could time myself by the first call of the Kurrichane thrush, plus or minus a couple of minutes at 03:15 in the morning.

However, if you take even a casual interest in the birdlife of your vicinity you may sense that there is something going on: a silent loss of God’s beautiful creatures that “do not sew or reap or store in barns”.

I would like to share with you my experience of this silent loss, like the silent loss of our loved ones over time. When I moved to Gatwick Close, Bluff Hill, I bought a bird book because there were so many different birds in our garden. My family and I installed a bird feeder and birdbath. Just watching the different birds that came to these simple facilities we put out for them gave us enormous pleasure.

Our house is at the end of close, and across the road was

Blackeyed bulbuls (left) and the Miombo Doublecollared sunbird are some common visitors to Harare gardens.

In the name of development, we are killing off fellow creatures.

Do they matter?

commonage with clear signs “No cultivation / haparimwi”. The area is approximately three hectares. It was wooded with Msasa and Acacia trees. There were buck and guinea fowl. In the next block, there was commonage, close to six hectares, also with no cultivation signs.

These commonages were at the upper reaches of wetlands that fed a stream that had its source in Mabelreign.

When then economy took a nosedive, cultivators moved in. On the commonage in our close most of the trees were cut until we reached a truce with the “farmers” to spare a few trees. The bigger commonage in the next bock was taken over by some ‘chef ’ who brought in heavy agricultural equipment to plough and plant. Eventually this bigger block was converted to a school complex. All trees (large Acacias) were brought down.

In the early nineties when we moved in, we recorded close to two hundred different species visiting out property. We planted a few

Common

Frequent

Occasional

Not seen

47

25

11

1*

Early (circa 1990–1996)

Sum 84

Recent (circa 2005–2010)

13

19

26

26

84

Total

60

44

37

27

168

Table 1. Impression frequency of occurrence of the more easily identifiable birds at 6 Gatwick Close. Probability, p, (Chi sq test) that the early citing categories are same as the later ones is less than one in a trillion chances, indicating a very significant change in the citing frequencies.

indigenous trees, aloes and ornamental flowering bushes. Thus, we increased the habitat diversity.

However, by the end of the first decade of this century we realised our bird species count had decreased. The manikins, which use to cost us at least two kilos of birdseed per month, are no longer feeding on our feeder. At the birdbath, we use to count at least three weavers, plus the Red Headed weaver, which came to the feeder.

Therefore, we decided to work out what our impressions of the overall changes were. The table below is an impression of what we saw in the nineties and what we see after the dawn of the century up to end of this first decade. The data include only those species we were confident we could identify.

It records our impressions of the change in frequency of seeing the different birds.

Some highlights of these data are that we no longer see the Red bishop, the Pin-Tailed whydah, Village (Spotted Backed) weaver, the Ground Scraper thrush, or the ubiquitous Bronze manikin.

These are the consequences of habitat destruction. In the name of development, we are killing off

fellow creatures. Do they matter? I will end up with one of my poems, lamenting the loss of a very beloved friend, the Rhino:

SAD REMINDER There: Among the lion and Elephant spoor, Scratched by hornbill talons, And dented by buffalo hoof; Half-gouged by baboon Searching for Beetles in the dung, Was the rhino footprint: Like an old faded photo Of a distant cousin Thrown up among The family trash – A fossil imprint On ancient rock, No more to die – A silent eternal rebuke.

Oh you doomed one.

D.H.D. Magadza Copyright Poetry International This article first appeared in Honeyguide – The Bird Life Journal

Uncontrolled borehole drilling angers residents Patrick Musira

R

ampant borehole drilling within the Harare municipal area has residents and other critics up in arms saying the impact of water abstraction could mean the difference between severe water shortages and reliable water supplies in future. In light of the incessant rains of the last few weeks in and around the capital, debates on water shortages might strike one as rather dry.

But in this case, dry is precisely the problem: The city’s water-table is falling at an alarming rate.

Residents, especially those in the northern and eastern suburbs that ironically are the headwaters of the city’s water supply, have not been impressed by the authorities’ failure to control water mining activities within the capital. Critics claim council’s inaction is either due to lack of consultations with residents or inadequate environmental analysis, saying borehole drilling permits should be withheld until complete

environmental impact assessments are done.

“Borehole drilling is not our baby!” Michael Chideme, a corporate communications officer in the town clerk’s office, categorically declared, explaining to Harare News that the mandate resides with the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA). ZINWA is the statutory body tasked with managing the country’s water resources in a sustainable manner.

The body said there was nothing wrong with people drilling boreholes to fill the gap created by the inability of local authorities to supply adequate water “as long as those boreholes are drilled in terms of the law”. ZINWA’s corporate communications and marketing manager, Marjorie Munyonga said, “As ZINWA, we fully appreciate the current water challenges in Harare and understand the rationale behind people resorting to drilling boreholes. Every borehole owner needs to have a permit and anyone without

the requisite permit is breaking the law,” she said, explaining that in terms of the Water Act and Statutory Instrument 90 of 2013, borehole drilling and the right to licence bulk water dealers falls under ZINWA. She referred follow-up questions on the enforcement of council by-laws back to Town House, “since such enforcement is outside our purview but is the prerogative of the Harare City Council”.

But residents in the affected areas are, however, not impressed with the buck passing. “It is deeply concerning,” said Greendale resident Jackie Wild, of the municipality’s lack of action.“In my area, Greendale – boreholes are now drilled as a matter of course to 60 metres as opposed to 30 metres in the past,” she pointed out, convinced that bulk water sales in her neighbourhood contributed to the drying up of other boreholes.

Although ZINWA agrees that widespread borehole drilling will lead to a drop in the water table resulting

in some boreholes running dry, “we have not yet reached the tipping point”, insisted Munyonga. In October last year (2014) ZINWA took the pro-active measure of banning the abstraction of bulk water from

Last year ZINWA took the pro-active measure of banning the abstraction of bulk water from residential areas.

residential areas, and “this step will have the net effect of keeping the water table at its normal level,” explained Munyonga.

Town House admits there will be impacts beyond the borehole drilling. “We’re not denying there are

cumulative impacts,” said another official in the council, on condition of anonymity, adding that apparently legislation under which highcapacity boreholes and wells are permitted limit the local authority’s power to consider impacts from groundwater withdrawals when deciding on permit requests. “Our groundwater may be plentiful but it is not unlimited. And we are fast reaching the point where we can’t sustain our current rate of water use,” he added.

And Water Alliance activist Israel Mabhoo, says there needs to be an overall monitoring of water supply and of the available underground water. We continually see new housing developments taking place with no idea of where the water will come from,” he said, suggesting that council should call together stakeholders including hydrologists, water engineers and town planners to come up with some realistic scenarios, prior to producing short-, medium- and long-term plans.

Harare News 9

www.hararenews.co.zw

Environment

Climate and environment update Sharon Mazingaizo

T

he climate in Harare is changing.

Research has shown a diminishing rainfall and increasing temperatures. This has implications on human health, infrastructure, and transportation systems, as well as energy, food, and water supplies.

The risk of climate disasters remains real, with implications for urban infrastructure and services as well, especially water, sewerage, solid waste management and electricity which already exist in most of Harare. Housing and urban planning will suffer, poverty and disease will be worse and ecosystems and land use disturbed. For instance, Epworth, which is situated roughly 12km from Harare’s Central Business District, has an estimated population of 161,840, where most live

in makeshift houses in unplanned areas that often lack adequate water, sanitation and waste collection. Such areas face hazards such as flash flooding that may become

Normal to above normal rains are expected for the rest of the current season of 2014/2015 for Harare.

frequent or intense as a result of climate change.

Harare News spoke to John Mupuro, Met Department Principal Meteorological Officer , who gave

a simple analysis of this rainfall season compared with the previous season. Mupuro said “the long term average onset dates of rain and sowing rains occur around 23 November. However, the 2014/2015 season started earlier than normal by about 10 days. When compared with the 2013/2014 season, Harare received sowing rains 20 days earlier. For the October to December season, Harare received more rains this season than the long term average and even the previous season of 2013/2014. No adverse long dry spell was experienced during this current season after the onset onset of rains. Normal to above normal rains are expected for the rest of the current season of 2014/2015 for Harare.”

Harare has also seen a loss of wetlands according to the Conservation

This article is sponsored by…

Society of Monavale (COSMO). COSMO said the “threats to our wetlands involve development, informal agriculture, loss of bio diversity, excessive use of fertilizer, industrial/domestic pollution, and the extensive use of commercial boreholes. Over the past 15 years Harare’s water table has dropped to an average of 15m – 30m, the water flow into Lake Chivero has decreased significantly and the pollution levels have dramatically increased, resulting in greatly increased purification costs.”

Harare News also spoke to Steady Kangata, the Environmental Education and Publicity Manager for the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), who emphasised the need for a green economy for both our economy and environment.

Kangata said “The green economy

is based on the model of sustainable development and the principles of ecological economics. The concept of a green economy does not replace sustainable development, but there is now a growing recognition that achieving sustainability rests almost entirely on getting the economy right. In a green economy, growth in income and employment is driven by public and private investments that reduce carbon emission pollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. A green economy system holds a triple bottom line approach that emphasizes the interdependency between people, the planet, and profit. The green economy aims at meeting the dual goals of high human development and low ecological impact.”

Just Swift It!

Epworth environment damaged by sand mining Lovemore Lubinda

I

llegal sand mining is a cause for grave concern when it damages the environment, but a more worrying development is emerging in Epworth where, due to the scarcity of river sand, a new trend called ‘sand washing’ has appeared.

Tedius Rutsito is an Epworth resident who makes his living through this illegal practice. His day normally begins at 5am and he works up to 5pm, depending on the demand.

After digging up 90 wheelbarrows of sand he heaps up it outside the mine hole and washes it with water to separate the fine particles from the larger grains which are as good as river sand. However, this activity is causing severe siltation as most of the fine powder is deposited into the nearby river.

“We sell 5 cubic metres of the washed sand (sold as river sand), which is equivalent to seventy

wheelbarrows, at the price of $25.

We get this after washing as much as ninety wheelbarrows of pit sand,” said Rutsito, adding that they also sell unwashed pit sand at the price of $15 per 5 cubic metres. “Our job is very demanding which is why we work in pairs or small groups as one man cannot do it alone,” said Heckson Chambachemoto, who works with Rutsito. He went on to say that their work is not very rewarding as the amount of money earned is hardly worth the amount of labour involved.

“Our major difficulty is the Environment Management Agency and the Epworth Local Board who are always after us, saying we are destroying the natural surroundings,” said Chambachemoto. Surprisingly, both miners agree that their actions are detrimental to the environment, but said they don’t have any alternative means of earning a living.

Another miner, who declined to be

named, called for the local government to allocate them space where they can carry out their activities legally, rather than arresting them for trying to earn a living. “We just want to work honestly. The board should give us a place where we can work freely,” he said.

He also said that through this venture he is able to pay his rent, school fees and other expenses. The miners say they earn between $120 and $150 a month, adding that the earnings may fluctuate as sometimes they have to lower their prices as a bargaining tool to lure customers. The area they mine from is approximately 3.5 acres where more than thirty five miners work.

According to Steady Kangata, EMA spokesperson, sand mining is allowed but only under license. “All those who are doing it in Epworth are illegal miners because they do not have licenses. We urge them to work with their local authority to

Sand washing destroys the rivers and the miners exploit these resources acting with no consideration for future generations.

According to EMA, only 4 companies are licensed to extract sand. When you buy from a supplier or broker, make sure that the sand has been sourced from one of these: Butler Sands Sand Sales IM Sands Super Sands

create a comprehensive extraction and rehabilitation plan and then come to us, because we as EMA do not own the land.”

He added that sand washing destroys the rivers and that the miners exploit these resources acting with no consideration for future generations. Kangata urged residents to alert the agency whenever they see people engaged in activities that harm the environment and not to provide ready markets for such products. He added that illegal sand mining attracts a heavy fine, jail term or both.

An official at the Zimbabwe National Environment Trust, who preferred anonymity, said, “The management of the environment should see the local authorities working together with the residents for our common good.” The Epworth Local Board could not be reached for comment and questions sent to them were not responded to.

Air pollution on the increase in Harare Stephen Tsoroti

A

ccording to the City of Harare (CoH) there is a worrying increase in levels of air pollution in the capital which will have negative effects on the health of residents.

Clifford Muzofa, Environmental Manager of the CoH, says, “Air pollution is gradually increasing and needs to be monitored more intensely. The main sources of air pollution are exhaust fumes from vehicles, the burning of wood as a fuel source, veld fires, and the use of coal in factories.” Other sources of air pollution in Harare are smoke from the burning of refuse, emissions from thermal power stations,

metallurgical plants, dust from cement factories, tobacco processing, fumes from battery manufacturing, paint manufacturing, spray painting and odours from abattoirs and municipal solid /liquid waste disposal sites.

Chad Mabika, City of Harare Chief Environmental Technician, explained that vehicle exhaust emissions are a principal source of urban pollution particularly when there is a low level inversion in the atmosphere which causes the gasses to get trapped and steadily build up.

Requirements for maximum emissions from diesel vehicles (black smoke) and petrol vehicles (carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons)

are defined in the European Union (EU) directives 96/96 EC. However, the consensus is that adoption of these limits would not be viable in Zimbabwe because the vehicles in the country are generally older than those in Europe and vehicle imports, particularly used cars, are not up to standard.

Currently there is no systematic national air quality monitoring in Zimbabwe and until recently there was no emissions inventory for the country except that compiled for the country’s reports to the United Nations. The Harare Air Pollution Control Unit has had monitoring stations since 1975. Since 1993 a total of eight monitoring stations

representing different land uses and urban activity areas have been developed. The forty-eight hour concentrations of each pollutant for each sampling site are averaged to give monthly and annual average concentrations and compared with the World Health organization (WHO) guidelines. Mabika noted that studies done earlier in the year revealed that the quality of water reflects the state of atmospheric pollution in the city. “One of the more damaging products of this pollution is acid rain caused by sulphur dioxide set free in the atmosphere where it dissolves in moisture to form sulphuric acid.”

Air pollutants can affect people

directly through breathing contaminated air and indirectly by damaging the environment in which the live. Polluted air can have direct or indirect effects on the environment including significant damage to crops, vegetation and man-made materials, acidification, eutrophication of ecosystems (a process where water bodies receive excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth), degradation of visibility and effects on climate.

Both indoor and outdoor air pollution are associated with a broad range of acute and chronic impacts on health.

10 Harare News

Issue 18 February 2015

Business & tech

Talking Twitter with Sir Nige The issue of our Hwindis/Touts and Morality @moyo_buhle: I don’t believe that hwindis are moral authorities in society. I don’t believe that they shd pretend to be our moral compass The Church’s role in addressing GBV @ZWRCNZimbabwe: Do churches have a role to play in ending GBV? Can priests & pastors include GBV in their sermons? #GBVMissingLink @herzimbabwe: Everyone has a role to play in ending GBV @Just_Midzi: they MUST. The church has to be a safe space to address these issues head on @thevividcloset: yes sadly some churchs promote the notion that women r lesser, exposing them 2 exploitation Introduction of Bond Coins in December 2014 @MgciniNyoni: I thought we were doing just fine with the South African coins. Is this extra expense necessary? @sbsebele: In Hre change is a real problem. I doubt these coins will make it to byo, we don’t hve change problem @MgciniNyoni: Wasn’t using our old coins an option?

Putting our words into ACTion @stanleykwenda: @ an event I attended yesterday evening in someone said “the problem with Zimbabweans is that we pray too much and never act.”

Comments about Zim Cricket after the Bangladesh Games @mikemadoda: Somehow #ZimCricket chairman Wilson Manase thinks an apology and PR pieces in the national press are gonna cut it.. We need REAL solutions @herbibo: Whitewash aganist Bangladesh is unacceptable in all formats. Heads should roll Condoms in Schools? @herzimbabwe: Give Pupils condoms” -Zim National Family Planning Council.Your thoughts?

Economics vs Human Rights & Politics @263Chat: IF Zimbabwe was growing steadily (double digits etc) economically,would we really focus on issues like human rights & political situation? @noblevimbai: We wouldn’t. Even stripping of women in public would be unheard of. A host of social ills would not exist @bekie_79844: yes I think so too. If the economy was booming and everyone was economically active & busy few will hve time 4 such @HazelBako: I think if everyone was busy making business and money there wouldn’t be as many suicides and social ills we hear Food for thought @thevividcloset: Pornography is being displayed & sold openly in downtown Hre @ night. Does legalizing pornography improve monitoring & control? @TichRay: Is it just me or many need to learn about our history/heroes? How many knew about Cde Kotsho Lloyd Dube before a few days ago? @glenmpani: Holding an election with no political will is akin to getting married where there is no love @TrevorNcube: I worry about my people. Where is our pride? Signs of neglect, decay, disrepair , litter abound. Have we given up on living? #Zimbabwe

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

Celebrating women in entrepreneurship Sharon Mazingaizo

Z

imbabwe has seen a rise in the number of women entrepreneurs who have opted to start their own businesses as a way of earning a sustainable living.

One notable woman in business is Tsungi Banga, the Creative Director of GAA Design, Marketing and Advertising Solutions, a company that is involved in interior design and branding. Banda said, “I believe that most women in Zimbabwe are entrepreneurs in one way or another. However, being a successful business woman, especially in Zimbabwe and other developing countries, requires resilience, confidence, determination, discipline and energy. In developing countries very few women have made it to the top as entrepreneurs running businesses that closely compete or exceed the performance of those run by their male counterparts. This results in a playing field where women need to work extra hard to prove their abilities and competence.”

Banga advised aspiring women entrepreneurs to be well informed about any venture they want to go into in order to feel confident to proceed. Banga was the overall winner of the Open Business Category in the Women in Enterprise Conference and Awards (WECA) – Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce ZNCC awards in 2013. In 2014 she was selected for the 2014 United States Department of

ut

cher

y

at cooking then start a restaurant. One’s drive and passion often makes it easier to become a successful entrepreneur. Women are slowly entering into previously male dominated enterprises that are complex, huge operations and at times span countries and regions. This is where women should be and should aim for as we move the women’s economic agenda forward.”

Entrepreneur Deborah Nyasha Peters

How to keep your website secure Dear Aubrey, Harare News suffered a hacking incident in January that disturbed us greatly.

Some time, mid month, whilst trying to access our website dashboard to share some great content with our online readers, we found ourselves locked out. Our usernames and passwords were not being recognised and our reset email requests were not delivering emails to the respective accounts.

Dave, our excellent managed to get us back in. Someone, or something – a nasty piece of code perhaps – had hacked in and changed all our user account names, passwords and control emails.

Thankfully, nothing had been lost or changed... that we know of, yet. It did mean that we had to spend time manually resetting everything, and some technical issues persist.

Like any organisation, especially as a media one, our website is a precious communication tool into which we have poured long hours and lots of money. What could have caused this and what can we do to prevent it in the future?

Thanks, Harry

Dear Harry Thousands of websites are blacklisted daily and many of these include online media, legitimate businesses and academic sites. The blacklisting often occurs when the site gets hacked after malicious code is injected without the permission of the website’s owner.

Hacked websites may also be used to launch spam and phishing campaigns. For example, a compromised site might try to convince internet users to visit a fake banking page and this will end up causing the site to be blacklisted as harmful.

The first question could be: what causes a website to get hacked? Here are some ideas: 1. Poor choice of passwords. A lot of website owners use simple passwords. In a 2011 large-scale password analysis study, “123456” was found to be one of the most common passwords used. Choosing weak passwords leaves webmasters vulnerable to brute force attacks, where criminals try to log in using tools that try every easy-to-guess password.

2. Insecure FTP connections. Many sites are infected after the FTP password and username are sniffed by a silent Trojan/rootkit

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State, Business Entrepreneurship Exchange Programme (Beep).

Deborah Nyasha Peters moved back to Zimbabwe at the beginning of 2014 after 15 years in the Diaspora. She mentioned that it takes guts to leave the security of employment to become an entrepreneur and women generally have to figure things out by themselves through trial and error. Peters said “I would advise women to ask questions, read a lot and share their issues because there is usually someone who can assist. I am in the process of setting up a restaurant and private club in Harare as I feel the service sector presents the best opportunities in Zimbabwe right now.” Peters spent eight years on Wall Street in various senior investment roles including managing investment funds for Depository Trust and Clearing Company and managing hedge funds with companies such as J.P. Morgan and Globeop.

Harare News spoke to Dr Emmie Wade, director of Kunzwana Women’s Association, who explained that the principles for becoming an entrepreneur are the same for all women. Wade said, “Women need to undertake entrepreneurship that can co-exist with their gender roles at home, child care, and an understanding of the limitations brought about by nature’s womanhood. Often women have to juggle their time between home and business.

So if you have a young family why not start a pre-school? If you like food and you are good

Takashinga Ne Mombe

Seke Road 0772 235 070 / 0712 807 634 Willowvale 0772 480 912 / 0712 216 768 Chiremba Road 0779 764 565 / 0772 331 788

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

PANYAMA

that has been installed on the website administrator computer. This malicious actor accesses the website and infects the site with malware.

3. Web application vulnerabilities. A lot of websites use Web 2.0 functionality in order to create a rich experience for users. This functionality takes many forms: posting comments (on blogs or Facebook, for example), signing up for newsletters, filling out support forms, and live chatting with others, to name a few. The applications that make these rich functionalities possible can all be avenues for malicious code injection, especially if they are not kept up to date.

4. Server level vulnerabilities. A large number of web servers on the Internet run vulnerable software, such as easily hackable FTP software. These issues are primarily related to server setup and configuration where permissions settings are not tight enough giving malicious hackers access to files they shouldn’t be able to get to.

Essential tips to protect your website: • Never store credentials, like your FTP password, on your local PC. • Use strong passwords and try to set up difficult-to-guess usernames (such as “av21bx” instead of “Alex”).

• If you use FTP, consider switching to a more secure solution, like SCP/SFTP. • Make sure to check your website frequently for web application vulnerabilities and malicious code.

• Install only reputable plugins. Make a list of all third party plugins you use, and be sure to update them regularly. Both the software you use to run your website and all your plugins should be kept current!

• Set appropriate or tight permissions on your web server • Make sure you regularly scan your local PC with at least one, and preferably more than one, antivirus engine. Antivirus software for your PC won’t detect website infections, but using an infected local machine can cause a website to become infected, so it’s important to protect your PC, too.

Hope this helps!

Aubrey

Harare News 11

www.hararenews.co.zw

About town

What’s that building: It’s the Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences Stephen Tsoroti

T

he year was 1901; Harare (at that time called Salisbury) the capital of a vast unexplored country, was eleven years old and had a population of 1,600 inhabitants.

In that year the idea of creating a national museum was born. Advertisements were issued in Salisbury, Bulawayo, Durban and Cape Town calling for designs for a two storey building to serve as a museum on the ground

floor and a library and reading room on the first floor. Work started in 1902 with an initial fund of £7,000 on a patch of open ground where the hall of Girls High School currently sits.

The development of the museum was a difficult experience noted Godfrey Nyaruwanga, a curator of historic buildings at Zimbabwe National Museums and Monuments. The issue of funding the museum took several years and it was forty-one years later that the

A miracle on Speke Avenue

building materialised as it is today.

By 1960, a new site was allocated at the new civic centre- a flat land piece of land which had been a racecourse. Construction started in 1962 and by January 1963 everything was ready for the move from the old building to the new one, a move that was completed in 28 days. The new look museum was fronted by a panoramic view of the terrazzo sculptures standing in the reflecting pools beside the entrance. There were Display, Antiquities, Ichthyology, Mammals, Otology and Palaeontology departments as well as a Museum library, The arrangement of the new the curator’s exhibits started. K. Oake joined the staff as a Technical Officer and several temporary display artists were employed. An enthralling experience is to view the fossils of dinosaur (syntarsus rhodesiensis) bones found in 1972 in the Zambezi Valley, in the Mana Pools Game Park. This small dinosaur measures only two meters long.

It was officially opened on 17th April 1964. During that first year various temporary displays kept the interest of the public

The museum forms part of the Civic Centre.

alive. Displays included Victoriana antique clocks and edged weapons from all over the world. Exhibits of live snakes at the entrance resulted, according to the curator’s annual report, in one visitor leaving hurriedly through a plate-glass window when the cobra reared up in front of him.

A snake was painted on the repaired window to remind visitors it was not the way out.

The museum has the same architectural materials and complimentary design as the Zimbabwe College of Music and Harare City Library, which all forms part of the current Civic Centre. Architecturally the museum has not changed much since the ‘60s in the display halls, except that unfortunately due to neglect and a lack of funds the aquarium is no longer operational.

ATRAK PAINTS High Prime Quality

look at what i found

Staff Writer

V

isitors to the CBD must be sure to pass by Speke Avenue where it runs along Town House. Your eyes will be opened by a dazzling splash of colour and design on the pavement and the pillars by the pedestrian overpass.

Spearheaded by Urban Space, an organisation looking to improve the utility of our city areas by making them more inviting and inspiring, the Speke Avenue project was made possible with funding from Hivos, Trust Africa, private sponsorship from the nearby Joina City mall, and technical assistance for City of Harare (CoH).

The design was the work of Martin Stewart (pictured, centre), and was chosen from several others by a public vote on Facebook.

“I took motifs from the ancient art found in ruins across the country, and pasted their

deep symbolic meaning onto the modern cityscape. Each pattern you see has meaning... respect of women, strength, good governance and ubuntu,” said Stewart, who was frantically painting a gloopy luminous paste onto the pillars while speaking to Harare News.

“This paint is photoluminescent. It get energised by the sun and then glows at night,” explains Stewart.

The painting was done on a voluntary basis.

Fungai Chiposi of Proudly Zimbabwean acted as Project Coordinator. “We recorded 426 volunteers passing through,” he says.

Joseph, a Speke Street vendor with a colourful rack of caps and hats described the area before the project as ‘unlookable’. “Now it’s nice. Everyone comes to see this place. I can only say that this is a good thing,” he said.

“It’s like a miracle,” said another lady, who declined her name.

USARASIKE

NDIYO PAINT CHAIYO

YEMBERI !

WITH ISO CERTIFICATES

The Paint that not only Decorates but Protects

12 Harare News

Issue 18 February 2015

Lifestyle

Mud Run delights S

unday 18 January saw more than 1,000 runners take part in the annual mud run.

The event, sponsored by Husqvarna, raised more than $12,000 for KidzCan – an NGO that supports children with cancer.

Set in open grounds behind Gateway school, organisers set up a running trail dotted with obstacles, and heavily watered to bring about slushy, squishy, sloppy mud. Kids and adults ran, crawled and slipped their way around the course.

“This was my second year here, and it was

once again so much fun,” said Jessica, a young runner that came with her parents.

Following the event, organiser Sebastian Baumhoff, Innovate High Performance Centre manager expressed his pleasure, saying “We are extremely happy with this year’s event as we had even more attendees than last year as well as some new mud run obstacles. We’re hoping to make the event even better next year.”

Applause goes to Husqvarna and Innovate High Performance Centre for hosting this worthy and enjoyable event.

The Kalabash Kurb with Dikson

You know you’re missing Zimbabwe when…

Coke tastes like sparkling water Maybe you’ve just returned from a sugarboosted holiday to Zim, or maybe you’ve just realised the sick truth behind Coca-Cola, more grave than their support of murder and corruption in Bolivia. Where’s the sugar?

Whereas many other countries, or continents for that matter, regulate sugar intake like parental fascists we proudly pump our sodas full of the good stuff. Crème Soda, Cherry Plum: case in point.

You wish there were more roadblocks I’ve seen it before, Zimbabwean friends driving well over the speed limit in the hope that

Come and enjoy unlimited pizza from 6pm to 8.30pm on Saturday 14th February!

Only $15 per person, tickets to be bought by Friday 13th at Sorellas.

No ticket, no entry!

Spread the love!

they may come across a dent beaten black and white barrel manned by cops in grey jumpers with overly ‘nuggeted’ brown boots. The ZRP has a way of getting under your skin and into your wallet. Whilst living in the country people curse them, invariably, once faced with a pedestrian crossing as a paltry substitute, exZimbabwean citizens lose their shit.

You’re talking about Zimbabwean adverts… again “Put the Diana over there, just be careful, just take care…Luxaire.”

“Do you close the door on people just because they have a mental illness?”

“We are, we are can’t you see…”

“Ngwereweresadza, everybody sadza.”

Stop it, your new friends don’t know what you’re on about.

ZESA withdrawal Local psychiatrists call it the Edison syndrome, however it is most commonly referred to as ‘ZESA withdrawal’. It’s usually brought about by over exposure to well-lit cities.

Symptoms include: waiting at robots cursing the little flashing green man, switching off the lights before dinner and buying an excess of cheap candles.

You’re constantly on WhatsApp You may physically be somewhere else, but the frequency of WhatsApp conversations you initiate with friends in Zim is becoming embarrassing.

You’ve grown tired of the gas BBQ After years of putting up with having to clean the grizzly coals and spark up the fraud of a braai you’ve had it. You want raging flames, burnt meat and a cold beer, not quinoa, a glass of rose and undercooked chicken.

Dikson is the editor of kalabashmedia.com

Harare News 13

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Restaurants & food

Average: $12

Belcantos – Take II Mystery Eater

L

ast year’s series of reviews ended on a lamentable and dismal note, so we have to ponder, contemplating the New Year – what the average Harare diner would like to see?

All the complaints (like high prices, indifferent food and inconsistent quality of food and service which we spent so much of last year moaning about) instantly rectified? Apparently some of the restaurants we have given reasonable star ratings to have been disappointing in the extreme when subsequently visited by our readers. Another reader pointed out that the star system is unsatisfactory and that if we were awarding ratings according to regional standards the results would be far more punitive. Should we have a choice of different star ratings? Zimbabwe, South Africa, Michelin? All suggestions welcome. And anyway, do the restaurants read the reviews?

Do they care?

Well, it would appear that at least one does.

In the December issue we reviewed Belcantos (Pomona) in a less than favourable light.

There was an immediate response from the director, Tawanda, who gave his apologies for our poor experience and offered a voucher for us to return and give them another try.

This we did (anonymously) in mid-January.

We went on a Friday – and this time we were not dining in splendid solitude. There was one other table of diners – only. Our comment on the lack of customers was met with a wry shrug and “January disease.”

As a complimentary starter we were given some very salty brown soup and bread which was – well, salty and brown. On our last visit we were served complimentary giblets and not knowing this had already ordered something similar from the starter menu. This time we had ordered Portuguese soup as a starter before the complimentary soup arrived. Hey ho. The Portuguese soup was billed as “kale, potato and chorizo” and to my palate the chorizo had been substituted with ham hock. Our other starter was garlic chilli mushrooms. The mushrooms were drowning in oil (see pic) and the chilli/garlic component seemed to have been forgotten and replaced by lemon.

To my disappointment my first choice main

course was not available. After the Christmas meat overdose I was looking forward to kingclip on a casserole of mushroom, onion, red peppers, green olives and served with mashed potatoes. My luck was out and I opted for lemon garlic prawns instead. They were a little overcooked – but came with a great periperi sauce and chips. My partner had spatchcocked chicken peri-peri. The chicken was beautifully moist and was accompanied by a very good salad of tomato, cucumber, peppers and red onion. The peri-peri sauce was on the side, as was a strange addition of crushed pineapple. It was only after eating – and enjoying – it that we agreed that it is in fact foolish to order this dish in any other restaurant than the Coimbra. They serve little else and therefore have perfected their secret recipe to be the best in the region.

We weren’t in the mood for dessert – again suffering from a surfeit of Christmas sweets – but had an Irish coffee apiece instead. The bill, which included two glasses of house white wine and two beers, came to $65. At which juncture we confessed to being who we are and had $50 deducted. Thank you, Belcantos.

The service was very polite and friendly but a bit slow considering they were hardly rushed off their feet.

So, now on to the difficult problem of ratings. The starters were disappointing, the mains were acceptably palatable, the service pleasant, the ambience lonely. We are grateful to the management for engaging with us but feel strongly that we must remain honest in our evaluation. I have decided to scrap all the stars handed out last year and start with a new and rigorous system in the pursuit of culinary excellence.

No stars = not recommended. Should shut down.

1 star = mediocre. No good points but probably won’t kill you if everything else is closed.

2 stars = some good points. Some dishes good, service not bad.

3 stars = mainly good points. Most dishes good. Service good. Ambience good.

4 stars = good food, good service, good atmosphere.

On this new scale Belcantos earns 2 stars.

Above left to right: Complimentary soup; Chicken periperi; The dining area; Mushrooms drowning in oil

19 Fernleigh Rd, Vainona 0783 837 916 Open Tuesday–Saturday: Lunch: 12:30pm–2:30pm Dinner: 6:30pm–9:30pm

14 Harare News

Issue 18 February 2015

Arts & culture

Njelele presents the restless contemporary experiments of Kombo Chapfika Harry Davies

N

jelele Gallery is a small, tidy space in a chaotic and gritty part of town. Visitors in December and January would have walked through the rainy or sun-beaten streets, oily puddles, litter piles, shunting traffic and crowded pavements; battled to find parking on a busy day, or wrangled with street kids along the way. But it would have been a journey well made.

The pieces hanging, the three dimensional projected offerings, the wide mix of styles and mediums seem to be the work of several artists, but instead comprise the work of one frenetic mind, one pair of busy hands – those of Kombo Chapfika.

In both theme and form, Chapfika shows a compulsion to experiment and to shrug off single mindedness, and the results he has achieved in several mediums – ink, pencil, paint, collage, digital printing, spray painted graffiti, three dimensional projection, and even a papier-mâché mask – are exciting.

“I don’t want to limit myself to one medium only just because that’s what institutions say you should

do,” says Chapfika, who graduated from Emory University, Michigan in 2006 with an economics degree. He explains how apart from the compulsory art at St John’s College, and two foundation courses at uni, he is primarily self-taught.

Thematically Chapfika’s work is about the human form and the human condition, though his thoughts on these matters are very difficult to pin down. Images of our President done in the style of the hugely famous Barack Obama ‘Hope’ poster designed by Shepard Fairey who was in turn inspired by Andy Warhol, might come across as mocking or celebratory, depending on your own political stance.

“It’s about appropriation and recontextualising. People can come up with their own opinions. I think that good art should be stuff that leaves itself open to interpretation, otherwise it just becomes propaganda, and is completely not art at all and you may as well just write something on the wall at that point,” suggests Chapfika. He tells of how polar people’s reactions have been, and perhaps this is what it’s all about – the ‘ire’ of the beholder.

What do your reactions to his work

february

events Zambezi News Season 3 Launch 6 February Ster-Kinekor Ba Shupi and B’Kay + Kazz and A Team 6 February 8pm Book Cafe

tell you about yourself?

It’s not all a learning experience however – there is some reflection too. Take for instance the piece titled “Business Woman” – a depiction of the modern woman. His figurine is material stretched over canvas. The background is a barrage of media headlines and information, and the subject is doing lots of things at once. “Is she completely out of control?” asks a visitor.

“She’s got some control, but she’s gotta fight to keep it together. The natural energy is for things to fly apart, but although she is doing so many things at once, the circular form visually holds it together. It seems to me that the people who can cope in the modern world are people that can go crazy doing lots of things at once, but can get centred again quickly,” explains Chapfika.

Chapfika’s commercial work, the stuff that puts bread on the table, is animated video shorts in advertisements or instructional videos. This has unshackled him from working just locally, and his best clients are overseas. He has an affinity for digital tools and programming, and as a modern artist is fully embroiled in

the online world, the media, and the global economy. This reflects in his work through detail everywhere, infrequent white space, and, as scrutiny reveals, very little silence on his canvasses. And of course his spinning, dancing, electric and eclectic 3D projections, that use modern software tools to beam his digital animations onto several opposing surfaces – these are the most busy of all.

Leaving the gallery, one might wonder where Chapfika’s art will be in ten years, or twenty. Is it possible to juggle so many styles and techniques and build a name? Currently, it would seem to me that Chapfika is enjoying a love affair with the creative process not necessarily with an art form, and spreading his energy widely. Luckily for him, he is technically talented, and can carry the multitude for now. He hopes to take up a residency in Europe or America soon – and might find himself becoming ‘institutionalised’ after all. Whether this hones him into something brilliant and acclaimed, or takes the wind out of his sails – only time will tell.

Some of Chapfika’s outstanding works on display at the exhibition.

The Kwamurongo Cook Out 7 February 11am–8pm Galleria Kwamurongo Harare’s Got Talent 8 7 February 7pm Reps Theatre Jeanette Micklem (piano) 8 February 4pm Harare International School Theatre Artists in the Stream VI 10 February 5.30pm Gallery Delta Sulu Chimbetu & Orchestra Dendera Kings 13 February 8pm Book Cafe M.A.D Love Af’Fayre 13 February 2pm–10pm Rambavu Park, Enterprise rd Diana Smakange and Carl Joshua Ncube Valentine’s Dinner 14 February Rainbow Towers James Blunt 17 February (info: www.daviesevents.com/live) Prayer Soul and Tehn Diamond present An Evening With Mr Soul & Mr Diamond 19 February 7pm Alliance Francaise Victor Kunonga & Peace 20 February 8pm Book Cafe Watershed Music Department Fundraising Concert 21 February 6.30pm Alliance Francaise Murder Mystery (Charity) Dinner 21 February 7pm (info: nancy.benham@fco.gov.uk) The Venue, Avondale Magitare with Tariro feat Bob Nyabinde 25 February 7pm Alliance Francaise Bang Bang Comedy Club 26 February 7.30pm Alliance Francaise Mokoomba 27 February 8pm Book Cafe FAB Fusion Album Launch 27 February 7.30pm Alliance Francaise Mai Josh Fresh Farmers Market 28 February 3 Bay Noakes rd, Chisipite Blessing ‘Bled Chimanga’ Album Launch 28 February 6.30pm Alliance Francaise Disclaimer: This list is based on the information available at the time of going to print Get your event here: Email editor@ hararenews.co.zw

Harare News 15

www.hararenews.co.zw

Arts & culture

Backstage with Asa Jogi I

f you’ve been to HIFA, you’ve probably been jolted out of more than one conversation, daydream, or sip of box wine by this man. It is the sonorous eruption of Asa Jogi’s voice that signals kick off time for HIFA’s Main Stage shows. Nothing else. “HELLO HIFA!”. It means that things are happening so gather round and tune in. Dressed to the nines and bursting with life, Jogi gets the biggest crowds hot for the performers, and the performers buzzing back stage.

Briefly describe how you feel at the beginning of HIFA. Energised. Excited. Ready to feed off the incredibly positive vibe that comes from the audience and give back to them as much as possible.

Strangely I get nervous usually when I leave the stage…not before.

What about at the end?

Tired. No, exhausted! It’s a long run and takes a great deal of hard work to be at every Main Stage show and be positive and motivational the whole time – I often go away completely alone for a few days afterwards, usually into the beautiful Zimbabwean bush.

What do you do outside of HIFA time?

What don’t I do is a better question? I don’t manufacture furniture. Ok sometimes I do. Seriously though, I run a company called T3 that provides expert solutions in various fields – we supply what we call ‘Knowledge Capital’. In 2015

Ozzie, sax master Robert Mukondiwa

H

Asa Jogi owns the mic at HIFA 2014. we are focused heavily on the Arts and trying to help arts organization achieve their goals. Like all Zimbabweans I have the required ‘business on the side’ in my case I run a Bar Service company called ProBar – drinks anyone?

What do you drink when you’re back stage?

Indecent amounts of bottled water…and I won’t pretend the occasional glass of wine doesn’t pass my lips. White, dry, chilled.

Where does your exuberance come from?

I truly believe in the importance of music, dance, theatre and visual arts. Being a tiny part of an event that brings these things to the Zimbabwean public excites me hugely

and this comes out in happy, loud, exuberance! I want people to catch my enthusiasm for the Arts in Zimbabwe and the best way I know to do that is SHOUT IT OUT LOUD! How can punters get back stage?

Hmm. Well the quickest way would be to jump the barriers. This may be the quickest but NOT the wisest – you will quickly discover a part of the HIFA team that misses nothing – big brave bouncers.

SO perhaps a better move is to become a HIFAmigo. HIFAmigos have unprecedented access to artists through welcome parties, annual events and of course The Green Room!

Thank you, and good luck for HIFA 2015!

JUST SWIFT IT

e struts onto the stage holding his one true love as she clings helplessly onto his shoulders and neck, staring back into his eyes.

Then he brazenly brandishes her before all the ‘pilgrims’ as they take in this breathtaking couple. Like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers or if their trade were a crime, they would be the Bonnie and Clyde of our time. Except that one of the pair is inanimate and the other is a master of his trade.

This is the story of Osborne Matenganzara and his saxophone, a marriage made in heaven. They set the Mecca of the arts in Harare, the Book Café, alight every Tuesday night as he plays classics and modern ballads alongside his celebrated Jam Signal band.

Osborne is indeed a god of the wind instrument but the slight musician says he cannot claim that music runs in his blood. In fact he is the accidental god of the wind instrument, a master of the sax through nurture not nature.

“I only decided to start studying music at Prince Edward as a form one student because we were all expected to do some extra curricula activity. Since I was small and skinny I decided perhaps I should join the music class,” he confesses.

There he tried to blend in so he would not be bothered and could

avoid focussing too much attention on himself. And yet from the little man looking for social camouflage, he burst into a Colossus and today is now one of the biggest names in local music.

“I have travelled around the world a lot because of my music and I feel blessed to have grown this celebrated. It’s really an honour that I have managed to earn a living from something I just genuinely enjoy doing,” says the modest Osborne. The trio in the band play some all-time classics and regional gems and ballads which they season and spice and continually change around time. Any vocals on the tangy instrumental dish they serve would only be overkill.

And true to his modesty, Osborne attributes the glory to team work. “Without Jam Signal I would not amount to much. We are a great team and I love the music we play together,” he says. Then he gets onto the stage, serenades, ravishes, molests and soothes his saxophone, his lover, in equal measures. And while he is in his creative trance, one looks at that saxophone and could swear that his breath on the brass makes if glisten. Or is it the saxophone sweating after such a passionate affair at music making?

Either way, Osborne has become the master of his trade!

16 Harare News

Issue 18 February 2015

Readers’ page

Snapped anything cool around town?

Send your pictures to editor@hararenews.co.zw

The new kings of Scotland

Letter from the editor I hope that this February marks the happy end to January disease. It’s a real thing! Just as there is excitement and frenetic activity in the build up to the holiday period, so January sees the city in hangover mode, heavy with mud, shoulders slumped, hands pushed into empty pockets.

We felt it too at Harare News. My January disease was even more literal – appendicitis during our busiest week.

Obviously at the time it was hell, but looking back, it did test our team and network, and we’re out despite it all.

Thanks go to the Harare News staff for jumping around, being adaptable and getting it done. Mike Nott helped hugely with this issue. From outside, we had help from experienced editors Bob Challiss and Libby Garnett, thanks for your time.

Once again, we are talking wetlands in this issue. It’s the most important news that residents MUST try and understand and engage with at the moment (p1). Short sightedness is a scourge that has had a good long run in Zimbabwe, but we need to change this. Nowhere can shortsightendess cost us more than on environmental issues.

The other news on our front page is good news – we have teamed up with House of Smiles. We’re not sure where this partnership will end up – it’s trial run, but we’re excited. If you have any ideas of your own as to how we can build community through partnerships, innovative content or anything, please get in touch. This is paper is for you, and for the future of Our City, Our Lives.

As always, email editor@hararenews.co.zw

Who’s who Editor:

Harry Davies 0776 729 326/442866 editor@hararenews.co.zw

General Manager:

Sara Davies sara@hararenews.co.zw

Copy Editor:

Michael Nott

Layout:

Graham van de Ruit

Graphics Intern:

Dumisani Nyoni

Ad Sales & Distribution: Newton Musara 0772 233 086/442866

newton@hararenews.co.zw Ad Sales:

Nikita Little 0772 598 156 advertising@hararenews.co.zw

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Muthandani Zaba 443498 accounts@hararenews.co.zw

Harare News is published monthly by: Harare News (Pvt) Ltd.

www.hararenews.co.zw www.twitter.com/hararenews www.facebook.com/hararenews Editorial submissions: Harare News welcomes editorial submissions but reserves the right to publish. All editorial must be submitted via email. Opinions expressed in the editorial are not necessarily the opinions of Harare News.

Tinashe Mushakavanhu

I

first went to Edinburgh, Scotland to visit Tendai Huchu, with whom I had been buddies on social media in 2012.

He came to pick me at Waverley rail station situated in a steep, narrow valley between the medieval Old Town and the 18th century New Town and we would traverse between the two.

Scotland’s capital city is a place of culture and literature. The heart of the city, a World Heritage Site, is packed with fascinating buildings and a remarkable history. The famous castle sits proud on its rock at the top of the Old Town, a warren of medieval streets and alleyways sweeping down to Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament at the foot of the Royal Mile. And there is Holyrood Park, surely one of the most dramatic city parks I have seen, with the minimountain of Arthur’s Seat at its heart.

The opening of Huchu’s new book, The Maestro, The Magistrate & The Mathematician, vividly reminds me of this visit.

In hindsight, it is as if when we walked we were rehearsing some of the scenes in the book. With the turn of every page Edinburgh becomes real.

The story is told in three voices which are emotionally distant, ruminative, and sometimes intellectual. Its principal characters are known by the titles of their current pursuits or former professions. Collectively the trio has some absences to fill, personal histories to recover.

Set during the decade of crisis, the novel zooms into the too often agonising

Sudoku Fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3 × 3 box contains all nine digits, with no number repeated.

life of Zimbabwean emigrants and also provides some valuable insight into the political and economic issues currently afflicting Zimbabwe.

Bindura and Edinburgh simultaneously move in the magistrate’s mind.

Like many emigrants, he becomes an “in-between” person who does not belong here nor there. He remembers the man he was before Edinburgh took away his dignity.

Somehow it is the magistrate’s wanderings and their connections to personal histories — both his own and those of the people he meets that form the driving narrative, allowing him to reflect on his adopted country of Scotland and the Zimbabwe of his youth.

He is the character around which the whole narrative revolves – his dysfunctional family, his dalliance with opposition politics and his emasculation dominate most of the story. Indirectly he connects the other characters in the book by association.

Also embedded in the narrative are references to old Zimbabwean music.

Music is used to map memories of identity and being. After all nostalgia has a playlist. In fact, Zimbabwean music is used to connect the narrator’s past with his present.

Immigration and exile are not new literary subjects, but Huchu’s treatment of them has a quiet clarity and surprising force. In fact, the book reads so much like a sequel to Brian Chikwava’s Harare North – the overseas territory of Zimbabwe is not limited to London but also extended to Edinburgh.

Edinburgh has a sinister side. Political turncoats and opportunists befriend the Zimbabweans, pretend to be a political agitators yet spy for the Zimbabwe government. In the Zimbabwean political discourse there is currently a rhetoric war between zvipfukuto, corrosive

Immigration and exile are not new literary subjects, but Huchu’s treatment of them has a quiet clarity and surprising force.

insects known as weevils, and gamatox, a poisonous pesticide.

After the walk about we stopped at a bookshop, I don’t recall its name, but it was a bargain bookshop that Huchu frequented. He bought me a copy of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Brave New World is an unsettling, loveless and even sinister place. In its patient, cumulative way, The Maestro, The Magistrate & The Mathematician paints a startlingly dim picture of Zimbabwe’s present moment.

And the past is no refuge.

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Disclaimer: All information and points of view are those of the people who submitted them and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor.

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Letters to the editor PPPs can work

Thanks to good samaritans

Let us be proud of our African attire

Dear Editor, Did you see the new lights on the corner of the Chase and Quorn Av.? They have made the traffic safety much better in the area.

Let’s applaud Arundel Shops for this positive step. Public-private partnerships have potential to be effective.

Gerald M. in Mount Pleasant

Editor, Thanks for a great read every month. Nice to know what’s happening in my city. We try to get it every month, though we sometimes miss it. We live in Marlborough.

When I read the Harare News, it seems to me that all the good things in our city are being done by residents, not council. Council seems to have no interest in respecting the law, the environment and the citizens that put them in place. At least there are good samaritans in Harare doing good work, which will never be enough to restore us to Sunshine, but at least gives us some hope for a better future.

Best wishes, T.M.

Editor We all know that our dressing in Africa is African attire. All tourists who in Africa always praise our Africa attire because it is beautiful. These days people are buying zambias so that they would give the tailors their designs so that the tailor would design.Examples of countries which are promoting the culture of dressing in Africa are Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe just to mention a few . Each time I go in town I always see girls wearing skirks made of Zambia’s cloth.It is nice and it promotes our culture. I have got my friend who is schooling in Australia each time when he uploads his pictures on Facebook he will be

Open letter to Upper Manyame Sub Catchment Council, Manyame Catchment Council, zinwa 24 January 2015 Re: LS Waters In June 2014, after protracted meetings with Upper Manyame Sub Catchment Council and related parties, the Upper Manyame Catchment Council notifed LS Waters that they had received LS Waters’ appeal against the suspension (in March 2014) of operations by the UMSCC and resolved the following: 1. That LS Waters keeps to permitted allocation of 15 megaliters per annum (translating into 41,000 per day) 2. That LS Waters advise the MCC through the UMSCC on the intended use of a permitted 41,000litres per day – and that the suspension remains in force until there is satisfactory information given.

3. That the request for an upward review of the permitted allocation is not considered 4. That a charge for the over-abstraction over the past years will be raised.

5. That abstraction above the permitted allocation is a criminal offence.

6. That the UMSCC intensifies monitoring activities which cost should be borne by LS Waters.

LS Waters continued to operate way above these imposed limits until early October when ZINWA banned bulk water abstraction outside designated areas. The operation remained closed until late December but now LS Waters is back to abstracting in bulk.

It is very difficult for the general public to work out who is the responsible authority here and how LS Waters continues to operate. ZINWA states that the case was between LS Waters and the UMSCC so they don’t have authority to close him down. I understood ZINWA was the ultimate water authority. The ZINWA statement at the time said “Bulk water suppliers are advised to fully comply with this requirement (to register and to only take water from designated areas) as failure to comply is a punishable offense in terms of section 118 of the Water Act,”. How does it suddenly become someone else’s problem?

Could we have clarity?

UMSCC took LS Waters to court over the violations of the permits issued by themselves – which case was apparently thrown out of court because of lack of prosecutorial preparation. They claim that only one permit is still valid and that the other will expire at the end of 2015. In the meantime they can do nothing though they claim to have someone on site monitoring the abstraction rates.

LS Waters had two permits – one for 5 megalitres per year, the other for 10 megalitres per year. We don’t know which one is still valid. But if it is the higher one – he is still only ‘allowed’ to abstract 28,000 litres per day.

An observer noted that on Thursday 15 January and Friday 16 January at least 13 Trucks left the premises each day – carrying an estimated total volume of between 80,000 litres and 90,000 litres each day. (Licence plates and times recroded).

Comments and clarification from the relevant authorities are needed. This continuing confusion does not bode well for the future of our water supply.

Yours sincerely Jackie Wild

wearing African attire. I want to thank our President Mugabe for encouraging us to wear our Africa attire because some countries such as South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, people walk around naked which means that they are adopting foreign cultures from the West yet the West is also copying our African dressing. For example young girls in Zimbabwe are wearing mini-skirts and tube legggings pants and when the touts see these girls they will start whistling or sing songs such as “honamwanawako” because if they wear descent clothes no-one would mock them. I am proud to wear an Africa attire.

Blessing KaeMuzvimwe

18 Harare News

Issue 18 February 2015

Youth

One-on-one with the PE Head Boy Lovemore Lubinda

P

rince Edward School is the oldest boys high school in Harare and the second oldest in Zimbabwe.

The school is known for producing top notch academic and sporting personalities, and is by far the most reputable government school in the country.

The role of head boy therefore is a prestigious one. Harare News caught up with the recently appointed head boy to find out what the student body can expect for 2015.

Greetings Mr Head-boy! Can you please briefly identify yourself for our readers?

My name is Nixon Margolis, I am in form 6 and I was appointed Headboy in October last year (2014).

Are you happy with the pass rate at this school of late? Why and why not?

It’s not pleasing at the moment, but there is great potential for improvement, everybody just needs to work harder.

Corporal punishment was recently ruled against in Zimbabwe. What is your own view of the practice?

It wasn’t a good corrective measure.

Then what is the better way?

I will give a scenario, sometime last year a student came to school drunk and started causing problems. As Head-boy, I took him to the Headmaster, his parents were called, had a meeting with them and the guy was suspended for a while. This brings both the school authorities and the parents together in trying to solve deviant behaviours rather than just caning.

How do you deal with bullying at school?

Though in my tenure as Head-boy I haven’t encountered it yet, I will not tolerate that and such acts are not necessary after all. I was once a victim of it during my early years it is not good.

Tell us about the relationship between students and teachers at this school.

It is a mixed thing, students hate some teachers and love others, and this is at their own peril. I encourage them to look at the bigger picture because teachers are there to shape our future. No sane teacher would want to ruin his students.

Which subjects are you taking?

History, Literature and Geography.

How would you describe your academic performance?

I am above average.

How do you balance your studies and your demanding work as a leader?

I rarely miss a lesson. Whenever I am not in class, I make sure I get someone who is not a prefect and whom I trust to give me a brief summary of the lesson and also get his notes so that I catch up.

As a link between teachers and students, how do you avoid being one-sided?

I always put myself into both their shoes, know what they want and then strike a balance.

How can one excel in both academics and extra-curricular activities?

Try to maintain equilibrium between the two. However, students must be inclined towards academics because at the end of it all without the certificate you will go nowhere.

How are sports taken up at PE? Are they compulsory or optional?

Both, one just have to be in one of

the three; sports, cultural and music. I am in all, that is I do athletics, drama, and I am in the school choir as well.

How many prefects do you lead?

About 30 and we conduct meetings twice every week to deliberate on a number of issues as leaders.

One of your duties is conflict resolution. How do you do it?

Pay attention, get what is being disputed, analyse and decide.

What do you want to do after school?

I want to be a lawyer and also invest in the properties sector.

What else do you want to tell us?

Every year the Head-boy has a theme mine this year is ‘Take all, leave nothing.’

Meaning?

Put 100% in everything that you do be it sports or academics so that at the end of it you excel.

Illegal schools multiply in the northern suburbs Stephen Tsoroti

T

he northern suburbs of Harare have caught up with the trend in the southern suburbs where illegal schools have sprung up everywhere. In the suburbs of Marlborough, Avonlea, Mabelreign, Greencroft and Belvedere the number of schools that enrol students from Grade One to A Level has increased rapidly. The reasons for the mushrooming of these illegal schools are varied.

“The council has failed to take proposals from councillors seriously,” said Charity Bango, Marlborough Ward 41councillor. “We

have been clamouring for additional public schools in Marlborough but all our calls have not been heeded. There are people who are willing to invest in public schools and besides this a worthy investment for the Harare City Council,” said Bango.

In Marlborough for instance, parents have blamed the City of Harare for not building a public school despite appeals from a number of parents in the area and land which is available. At present parents are forced to send their children to substandard illegal schools or send their children outside of Marlborough because of the lack of school facilities.

“What is most worrying is the state of the ablution facilities at these illegal schools. Imagine more than 100 students crammed into make shift classrooms and all of them using one toilet in the main house,” moaned Marion Jani, a Marlborough resident.

At Star Academy in Upper Mt Hampden Road off the Mazowe Road, the students use a single toilet inside the main house which is accessed through the kitchen. This is in defiance of the Education Act that forbids such squalid facilities for schools. In terms of the Education Act of 2006 individuals should not establish and maintain a school unless it is registered. Any responsible authority wishing to establish and maintain a school should make an application to the Secretary of Education, who will make any inquiries he considers necessary in order to determine the application.

The school premises, including any hostel or other buildings to be used in connection with the instruction or accommodation of the pupils attending the school, must be suitable or adequate for the purpose and efficient and suitable instruction must be provided at the school and the qualifications and experience of the proposed teachers must be adequate.

A Greencroft parent, identified as Tamanda, said she opted for a backyard school because the public school in her area, Avonlea Primary, is full. She said, “People from other areas are given preference. Working as a domestic worker I could not afford the incentives that were demanded by the teacher every day. It meant that I had to pay a substantial amount at the end of every week for my children on top of the US$100 fees per term.”

“In terms of the conditions, Stars Academy is the worst school ever and any sensible parent will think twice before sending their children there,” said a neighbour Mhlangu.

“They are just people who want to make money. Children need an open environment that helps them to learn and they need some extracurricula activities. I wonder if these schools have qualified teachers. The school was being run worse than a school in the rural areas. In one classroom, the dining room of the main house, there were three grades being taught at the same time. The teacher had to shout to each grade to listen attentively while others are quiet as she gives them work. I don’t know why parents send their children to these schools,” Mhlangu said.

New Year, New Queen Phoebe R. Nyashanu

D

ecember saw the Harare City Junior Council host the annual Miss Harare Junior at Eastgate Sterkinekor Cinema.

The event was all glitz and glamour as 16 year old Ashleigh Gonde from Eaglesvale Senior School was crowned queen of the Sunshine City.

Gonde who was competing against 14 other young ladies from around Harare was ecstatic when she was crowned queen. Speaking to Harare News, she said, “It felt good to be crowned Miss Harare Junior and I still feel good about myself knowing that I have responsibilities and I have people looking up to me as queen.”

“The most challenging experience I had was overcoming my fear. I was nervous but once I put my foot on stage I felt at home”, she added.

Gracing the event to crown the new queen was Miss Harare Junior 2013/2014 Yollanda Chimbarami who also spoke to Harare News

saying, “As much as it is painful to give up my seat and crown, it is exciting because I managed to achieve all the goals that I had set for myself for my time as queen and also because I am able to encourage and influence other young girls to work hard towards realising their goals. I always tell them, you are never too young to dream big”.

Miss Harare junior is an annual event that is hosted by the Harare City Junior Council in a bid to raise funds for youth development programs as well as to find and groom talent in young ladies. This year’s theme was “Beauty with Purpose” where contestants had to have the beauty as well as a solid intention of meaningfully developing the city for the benefit of the youth and future generations.

The newly crowned queen said she is going to carry out humanitarian projects helping needy children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, awareness campaigns and school fees assistance through fundraising.

Phoebe Nyashanu was Junior Reporter for the year of 2013, and is a member of Junior Council.

Harare News 19

www.hararenews.co.zw

Youth

Primary learning through distance education Sharon Mazingaizo

T

he Zimbabwe Government Primary Correspondence School was founded in 1930 when it was originally called the Southern Rhodesia Government Primary Correspondence School. It was created to meet the needs of European children living in outlying areas, such as farms, mines, national parks, army posts, construction sites and wherever it was not possible to establish a formal school. Since independence the correspondence school has catered for the educational needs of children of all races. The main objective of the institution is to provide education to children

located in areas too far away from any government school as well as offering primary education to marginalised pupils from remote and disadvantaged areas through facilitators trained to use distance education materials and multi-media approaches both within Zimbabwe and beyond our borders.

Harare News spoke to the principal of the correspondence school, Dr Elisha Chamunorwa Kujeke, who said the school values self reliance, self discipline, critical thinking and transparency from both the pupils and the teachers. Kujeke said, “The correspondence school aims to provide high quality, relevant, non-formal primary level education and to

facilitate access to participation in sport, recreation and culture.”

It is the only government primary correspondence school in Southern and Central Africa and it provides its services to pupils in Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Russia and Nigeria. The school caters for students of a school going age, or disadvantaged adults, and since there are no time limits on the courses, pupils can learn at their own pace.

Tuition takes place in various ways such as print, phone, and computers using CDs and Skype. Previously, tuition was also provided through a daily 15 minute radio

broadcast on National FM entitled “School on the Air”. Sadly the radio programmes ended in 2012, though there is a desire to revive these soon.

Thankfully, not all is lost, as recordings of the shows are still available on cassettes and DVD. The correspondence school supplies teaching and learning resource material, stationery and detailed instructions to the supervisor, who in most cases is the pupil’s parent. The teacher at the correspondence school provides feedback and evaluation of the pupils’ performance and also gives guides to supervisors. Work sent to and from pupils is paid for by the school and the parents through appropriate couriers. The school has a

library providing books to supplement the class readers.

Subjects offered at the correspondence school include English, Mathematics, Shona, Ndebele, Religious Education, Social Studies, Environmental Science, Physical Education, Home Economics, Music, Art and Culture, AIDS Education and Computer Education. The school does evaluations through the in-text assessment tests, revision tests on modules, grade level diagnostic tests, placements tests and reading level tests. The school also offers extra curricula activities in the form sports day, open days, January seminars and May/June seminars.

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Power-lifter Mutero targets Rio 2016 Patrick Musira

H

e may be fairly new to the game but his dreams are huge – a Rio 2016 Games medal for power-lifting and bodybuilding.

“I have been interested in physical exercise since childhood but due to my disability but I was only training in my backyard,” said the bubbly Tinashe Mutero, during the 2014 Paralympics’ Day in the satellite town of Chitungwiza just before Christmas.

“It was a dream come true for me after a chance meeting on Facebook with an Australian guy in 2013 who ended up passing through Harare on a world tour!” he added.

“I started communicating with Mike Rohpy (the Australian) on Facebook and I learnt that he was travelling around the world and so I invited him to pass through Zimbabwe and he agreed,” says the tough-talking 19-year-old from the Engineering section of the hard and rough neighbourhood ghetto of Highfield.

“We met at the Harare International Conference Centre and had a long chat about disability and sport,” Mutero explained, adding, “After the discussion, I was inspired and decided to take my physical exercise to a higher level.”

He joined a proper gym club at the Raylton Sports Club in town where he took on a disciplined training programme. “Fortunately, the owner Nicol Muteiwa, has a policy allowing all those with a disability to train free of

Olympic hopeful Tinashe Mutero pumps iron in the Raylton Gym in down town Harare. charge. I was also assisted in entering competitions. One thing led to another and I entered an exhibition at Danhiko Paralympics Games last year and came third! It was a thrill and only served to inspire me more,” he confessed excitedly. “I then knew I was on my way to greater things!” he declares. Two years on he celebrated winning bronze in front of

hundreds of people at Ochi City Musclemania just outside the capital!

Mutero, born with no physical disability, developed loss of muscle growth on both legs, a condition that necessitated “tendon operations on both legs, but unfortunately the operations were not 100 percent successful and it all ended up with me moving around with the

assistance of crutches”. He says he has no bitterness and thinks he has been fortunate not to incur or be plagued by injuries throughout his short sporting career after getting serious in the gym, a fact he attributes to gym owner Muteiwa. “Working with Nicol has been instrumental in my success so far and I appreciate the advice,” he says. “Now my target is to win the Olympics – the Paralympics in Rio 2016. That is my dream and I am getting close to that although I know it won’t come easily, but I will try my best,” he said.

The athlete, who spends most mornings involved in theatre and drama with a local arts group at the suburb’s iconic venue, Cyril Jennings Hall, told this publication that his target was to win the Games’ ultimate prize in his category in Brazil. “Most of our equipment is quite expensive, even such things as wheel chairs,” he said, adding: “They need to be imported and most people with disabilities do not have the cash.”

But he won’t let that be a barrier in moving towards his objective adding that he had to keep working hard so as to claim a place in the team to the Games because the national team selectors do not consider past glory, but current form to select the athletes. “I want to win as many major medals locally as I possibly can. I am coming into my prime and the next 10 years will be a big time for me,” he declares, smiling.

Zimbabwe lines up for World Cup cricket Liam Brickhill

Z

imbabwe have a reputation as giant-killers on cricket’s world stage. As they head to their ninth World Cup, in Australia and New Zealand in February and March, a squad weighted with experience has a good chance of showing how that reputation was earned.

There are a handful of notable absentees from Zimbabwe’s 15-man World Cup squad, with Vusi Sibanda, Brian Vitori and John Nyumbu all out, but generally the squad has struck a good balance. The average age of the group is 28, suggesting a group at the peak of their powers,

while the team’s batting and allround options are strong.

Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams will all slot seamlessly into the top order, while Hamilton Masakadza will be looking forward to what is, surprisingly, his first World Cup. He debuted in 2001, aged 17, but was away at university in 2003 and didn’t make the final 15 in 2007 or 2011. This time around, he’ll go into the tournament as Zimbabwe’s senior batsman. No-one in the side scored more Test (420 at 52.50) or ODI (532 at 35.46) runs than him this year.

Solomon Mire, who plays most of his cricket in Australia these days,

and captain Elton Chigumbura, who led Zimbabwe’s disappointing World Cup campaign in 2011, will chip in with both bat and ball, offering good balance to the playing XI. Another allrounder, Chamu Chibhabha, is the squad’s bolter: he hasn’t played an international for almost a year, but has struck a rich vein of form in the lead-up to the tournament with three fifties and a century in seven limited-overs matches this year. He’ll probably open the batting with Raza, and offer an emergency seam option with the ball.

Zimbabwe’s weak point could be their bowling, which isn’t lacking

for experience but has a slightly samey feel to it with a preponderance of right-arm seamers. Prosper Utseya, whose offspin bowling action has been declared illegal by the ICC, will instead bowl slow-medium pace off a short run-up: a method which has brought him some success locally, but is untested against opposition of high quality.

Zimbabwe open their campaign against South Africa at Seddon Park in Hamilton on February 15, and their group also includes United Arab Emirates, West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and India. The top four teams from each of the seven-team groups qualify for the

quarter-finals. The matches will be live on DSTV’s Supersport channel, and Zimbabweans hoping to follow their team’s progress should be prepared for some early starts: with the tournament being played on the other side of the world, all of their matches start between midnight and 5.30am, local time.

Zimbabwe World Cup squad: Elton Chigumbura (c), Sikandar Raza Butt, Regis Chakabva, Tendai Chatara, Chamu Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Solomon Mire, Tawanda Mupariwa, Tinashe Panyangara, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams.