InfocusNews 08-12 November 2021
Bulawayo Deputy Mayor Councillor Mlandu Ncube said the levy will be solely used to improve services. “Fire and ambulance services are a priority in terms of our services and council as they are closely connected to saving lives. We are proposing this levy which will be paid monthly to improve the services as we are currently struggling to keep up with demand. This levy will not be used for anything else except ensuring that our residents have access to reliable and quality service provision from this crucial department,” said Ncube. According to the department’s 2020 annual report, the COVID-19 induced lockdown had seen the department facing a number of challenges which have negatively affected operations, among them failure to procure requisite equipment.
Concern over proposed fire and ambulance levy in Bulawayo
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ulawayo residents have raised concern over the proposed monthly fire and ambulance levy saying they are already struggling to offset council arrears which may be worsened by additional bills. The local authority is proposing that the levy be paid as insurance facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
as the fire and ambulance services department is facing a lot of challenges. Speaking during budget presentations, councillors said the levy will help improve fire and ambulance services which of late have been unreliable.
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In previous years, the local authority has been a major beneficiary of the Operation Florian initiative which saw council getting fire equipment from the United Kingdom firefighting team. So lucrative was the partnership that the department could also afford donating the received equipment to neighbouring fire departments. However, with the lockdown, the initiative was put on hold and according to records, the fire and ambulance department only got a
InfocusNews television set, face masks and pre mixed tea from well-wishers the whole of last year. So far the department only has one water carrier to service the entire city and a number of ambulances are down which may put the lives of members of the public at risk in cases of emergency. Anna Khumalo an elderly resident from Magwegwe said the idea was noble but a majority of residents may not be able to pay the levy as council had already indicated that rates will go up by more than 200%. “We wish to see our council improving service delivery but this proposed levy will be a burden for us especially the elderly who are struggling to keep up with rate ar-
rears. I think council should consider using some of the revenue to address challenges in the fire and ambulance department as this proposed levy will leave thousands of us accumulating interests after failing to pay monthly,” she said. Thobekile Msipa from Cowdray Park said as long as the levy will be minimal, residents could consider paying so that they access improved services. “For us in Cowdray Park issues to do with service delivery are crucial because for the longest time we have lagged behind. Our roads are so bad an ambulance may struggle to get here on time hence we need to support council in every possible way so that we benefit. I think the levy should not be more than US$1 and that way we can sacrifice
Women in Pumula meet to discuss economic GBV mitigation strategies
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iverse stakeholders are making preparations ahead of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) under this year’s theme “Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!” In order to build momentum facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
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so that we benefit,” said Msipa. For Confidence Sibanda from Waterford which is part of Ward 4, with the highest prevalence of fire incidents in Bulawayo, the levy should not abused if council decides to implement it. “In the past we had other levies that we paid and to date nothing has been done to improve service delivery for example the water levy. Yes we know the department needs help but the additional cost will cripple many of us financially as we can hardly bear with the economic challenges,” said Sibanda. Residents noted that they were concerned because in the past, the city council proposed levies failed to account for these.
InfocusNews around Gender-Based Violence prior to the 16 days of activism against GBV, Thembelihle Ndhlovu and Catherine Siamuliye, who are Ward Coordinators in Old Pumula, organised an outreach program to disseminate information on GBV. The meeting created a platform for women to share ways to address GBV and where they can get help. Speaking during the meeting, Thembelihle Ndhlovu said women are often subjected to GBV and sometimes they may not know they are experiencing GBV due to ignorance of the different forms it takes. “Women are mostly the victims of Gender Based Violence and due to ignorance on the difference forms of GBV, they are most prone to abuse and most cases are not reported due to limited knowledge on the available remedies,” said Thembelihle Ndhlovu. Ndhlovu went on to explain
the four common types of Gender-Based Violence and highlighted that these are economic, physical, sexual, and emotional violence. She explained in length on economic Gender-Based Violence as it seemed women were less knowledgeable on this type of violence. “I am going to talk about four types of Gender-Based Violence: sexual, physical, emotional, and economic. Most of you are familiar with the first three, but economic Gender-Based Violence is also rampant, and due to ignorance of this form, people are victims and the cases go unreported,” said Thembelihle Ndhlovu Commenting on the heated debate as to what women can do to mitigate the economic form of Gender-Based Violence, Stella Lunga a woman in attendance alluded to the fact that there is a lot of dependence on men, which subjects women to this form of violence. Being financially empowered will
guard against this type of abuse. “As women, we should take a stand and undertake different economic activities to generate our own income because if we do not do that and only depend on men for everything, we will become victims of economic gender-based violence and other forms,” said Stella Lunga. These community engagements with women have shown that women now have knowledge of Gender-Based Violence and the various forms it can takes, laying the groundwork for increased awareness raising ahead of the 16 days of activism against GBV annual campaign. The outreach program also created a platform for awareness raising on voter registration where women were encouraged to register to vote and exercise their constitutional right to elect leaders of their choice.
“...women are often subjected to GBV and sometimes they may not know they are experiencing GBV...” “As women, we should take a stand and undertake different economic activities...” facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
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2022 devolution funds to benefit poverty stricken wards
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ulawayo City Council (BCC) has said it envisages to use 50 percent of the devolution funds for 2022 towards poverty alleviation while 30 percent is set to ensure infrastructure development in underserved wards and the remaining 20% towards wards with a high population density. Wards with a high number of elderly persons and pensioners will benefit from these funds in the coming year as most residents are living below the poverty datum line. The funds will assist residents in setting up income generating projects and ensure they are able to pay their council bills. From 2019 Bulawayo City council has received over ZW$245 million from Government which has been used to rehabilitate Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital, rehabilitate Barbourfields Stadium and also cater for allowances for frontline workers who contributed a lot in ensuring that Bulawayo is kept safe from the deadly Covid-19. So Bulawayo has also used these funds to address public infrastructure challenges including
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roads, sewerage, water, sanitation and buildings using the devolution funds received from the Government. Council also received $62 million through a special grant, from Central Government, that has been channelled towards the city’s health sector, mainly the city’s Covid-19 response plan. Part of completed projects which were funded by devolution funds include the rehabilitation of two Aisleby sewer treatment plants, sewer outfall rehabilitation project in Matshobana, construction of two blocks of classrooms, caretaker’s house, toilets, septic tank and boundary fencing and some furniture at Vulindlela Primary School in Pumula North suburb. “Council is grateful of the Central Government’s provision of devolution funding to ensure the city responds to the issues affecting residents. Council was aware of the state of the public infrastructure such as roads, sewerage water, sanitation etc. and efforts would be made for improvements as adequate budget provisions had been
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According to a council devolution fund report $12,839,637 was used at Vulindlela Primary School, $429,538 went towards the purchase of council computer equipment while $3 946 598 was used for Aisleby 1 & 2 treatment pumps. Part of the funds also saw the construction of a 40mm road in Cowdray Park which cost $14 331 046 and the report also shows that council used $169,549 for a water kiosk to mitigate water challenges which were experienced in the city since last year. Fernhill Sulzer pumps and vacuum contactors cost a total of 2 739 981 and council used $3 510 553 for Covid-19 expenses.
“From 2019 Bulawayo City Council has recieved over ZW$245M from Government which has been used to rehabilitate Thorngrove Infectious Disease Hospital...”
Community Voices rural communities as most of the offices are far. As a young woman, I feel that the slow process in obtaining national documentation hinders young women from exercising their constitutional right to register to vote and elect leaders of their choice.
Access to documentation a major hinderance for young women who want to register to vote
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hroughout the information dissemination we have been carrying out in our communities, we have noted that the biggest challenge faced by young women is the lack of National Identity Documents which are required to enable one to register to vote. Therefore, it is important for
the Government to address this issue as a matter of urgency so that young women can obtain the required documents while voter registration is still ongoing. By Debra Dlamini The impact of failure to obtain documentation is largely felt by
During the month of October, my peers and I carried out a voter registration drive where we managed to mobilise around 130 youths from Magwegwe and Lobengula in Bulawayo to go and register to vote. We provided them with transport to make it easy for them to get to the registration centre. This initiative that we are carrying out as youths is meant to encourage and inspire other youths to become responsible leaders in decision making processes in their respective constituencies. We want to see improved participation of youth in leadership because I believe that young people are the leaders of today.
“During the month of October, my peers and I carried out a voter registration drive where we managed to mobilise around 130 youths...”
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Electoral Information Blitz which is part of its obligations. “In the past we have had dead people making it into the voter’s roll under unclear circumstances which made people doubt the free and fairness of elections. We applaud ZEC for the step and urge members of the public to take an active part and forward all names of f deceased relatives so that the whole process is thorough,” said Mahlangu.
ZEC begins gazetting of deceased voters
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he Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has started the process of removing names of deceased voters from the voters’ roll as part of electoral activities towards 2023 elections.
have been issued with death certificates as is required by the law,” said ZEC in a statement.
In the past, politicians have argued that deceased voters were used to inflate figures which they said was unconstitutional and proof that ZEC manipulated the whole voting process.
“The first batch comprises of 22 657 records consisting of deceased records received from the RG for the period 01 September 2017 to 26 September 2019. Thereafter, the deceased names from 27 September 2019 to 30 September 2020 and 01 October 2020 to 30 September 2021 will be gazetted separately.”
“In compliance with legislative provisions, the Commission will this month Gazette the first batch of Deceased voters who have been removed from the Voters Roll. These names are received from the Registrar General (RG) and are composed of people who would
Pumula legislator Sichelesile Mahlangu said members of the public should complement ZEC’s efforts by forwarding names of deceased relatives to the electoral body. She said in addition to deregistering the deceased, ZEC should also be transparent in all its activities
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“Candidates also deserve to have a look at the voter’s roll out cross check if indeed all deceased people are removed so that we root out all possible manipulation of statistics by ZEC. Now that we all heading to 2023, ZEC must be transparent, we cannot have surprise announcements on its activities and we deserve clarity on when t by-elections will be held and the issues around voter registration.” Nkayi West legislator Stars Mathe said the move by ZEC was essential in boosting people’s confidence in the electoral system. She said deregistering the deceased will be a step closer to democracy as there had been claims that in the past ZEC has manipulated the voter’s roll. “I think is a step in the right direction, ZEC should ensure that no one who is dead appears in the voters roll as that often leads to confusion. We need people to be
Electoral Information Blitz confident in our system so that they rally behind and support ZEC in all its activities knowing that our statistics are a true reflection of what is on the ground.” “We are also struggling to motivate people to go and register to
vote so this step will help them realise that indeed the process is authentic. Now that ZEC is doing something, we urge members of the public to do their part and register as they cannot expect to benefit in numbers when only a few are registered as voters,” said
Mathe. Mathe highlighted that the delimitation exercise is important and citizens cannot afford to lose constituencies because people are reluctant to register as voters.
Lack of voter education on registration has led to widespread political lethargy which ultimately results in low voter turnout. It is against this background that @wildtrustzim mobilised women from Emganwini to go @ ZECzim and register to vote. If women do not register to vote and participate in elections, their distinct interests are more likely to be ignored or neglected by policy-makers #registertovote #myvotespeaks #hervotespeaks
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Electoral Information Blitz
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Electoral Information Blitz
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