InfocusNews 30 Aug - 03 Sept 2021
All set for Covid-19 vaccine roll out in schools
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LL is set to roll the vaccines in schools as learners will be receiving the same that have been administered in Zimbabwe, said Bulawayo Provincial Medical Director, Welcome Mlilo. The move is set to help the country achieve herd immunity and avert the spread of COVID-19 in schools which so far killed one learner during the last school term. “We are just waiting for a go ahead from the Ministry of Health and Child Care to start vaccinating learners, but all is set. We are ready to include learners in the drive so facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
that we achieve herd immunity faster and people can get back to their normal lives,” said Mlilo. According to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, about 80 schools recorded COVID-19 cases countrywide hence the need to add the younger age group to those who are eligible to be vaccinated. Cabinet also resolved that all athletes or children aged 14 to 18 years be vaccinated for them to be able to access outdoor activities as schools open for the third term. So far, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recom-
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mends everyone 12 years and older should get a COVID-19 vaccination to help protect against its spread. Children 12 years and older are able to get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine which is currently not available in Zimbabwe. A concerned parent, Menelisi Ncube the Government was supposed to raise awareness first before announcing that learners should be vaccinated. “We still have our own fears and doubts as adults and now our children will have to be vaccinat-
InfocusNews ed when our worries have not yet been addressed. Before embarking on this I think scientists should do thorough research and then guide us,” she said.
come earlier than projected as the Government had not yet availed enough vaccines for the older residents.
“There are so many unconfirmed claims of side effects on the readily available vaccines and yes we want COVID-19 gone although we are not yet ready to put our children at risk of developing conditions related to the vaccine,” she said.
“It is a great move to have our children vaccinated because once schools open their level of risk will be so much higher than now. Will the Government be able to sustain their vaccination and do we have enough evidence to prove that the available vaccines are safe?”
Anenyasha Dziva said the decision to get learners vaccinated had
To this Zimbabwe Chief COVID-19 Coordinator Dr Agnes
Mahomva said the decision to vaccinate learners came after deliberations from experts. “We are just waiting for the Ministry of Health and Child Care to finalize on dates and logistics but everything is set. Our decision is purely based on Science and we know that vaccinating learners will help us reduce the number of infections and deaths in our schools as we continue aiming for herd immunity,” said Dr Mahomva.
Never ending Cycle of GBV: A story on how we can conquer
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ow can things just go south when you thought you had everything planned out? Despite coming from a humble background, I completed my Undergraduate Degree and went on to complete my Master’s Degree. My parents were overjoyed and proud of their baby girl, who had become the tribe’s first female to reach that stage. Life after College was not any better for the girl child considering the economic meltdown the country is experiencing and the high levels of unemployment that are rife.
By Echoes Of a Woman I was down and out looking for facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
employment, all to no avail. At some point, however, I went through the demise most girls go through when looking for employment. I got a job offer which came with a disgusting condition from a “shameless man”, as I would refer to him, who wanted me to go to bed with him before offering me the job. I had no intentions of going down that road as I knew I reflected on the hard-earned sweat and sleepless nights trying to acquire those qualifications. And
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I was not going to spend my time with some man al in the name of pleasing him so as to acquire that job. I told some old friend of mine about the dilemma and her response was, “These things are now common. Before I got my job at this firm I’m currently working for, I was a victim, but I was so desperate and the man had suggested we become lovers. This did not last for a month as he had recruited
InfocusNews another young lady and dumped me and I eventually lost my job.” l did not know my friend had gone through this at some point in her life. Just yesterday, I came across a thread on Twitter where women were sharing their experiences and how this has become the norm in a lot of work spaces. It is a shame and so disheartening how women
and young girls continue being abused and taken advantage of by men in positions of power. Such leaves me thinking that more has to be done to ensure this does not happen. I may have taken a rather different route but what about someone younger than I am who won’t think twice about losing a chance of being employed.
Institutions in Zimbabwe should ensure that such abuses are mitigated by having a transparent recruitment process and stiffer penalties for those who abuse power. Government should make the necessary efforts to speed up the amendment of the Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill to punish online trolls for the abuse of women online. To-date, less than US$ 25 Million capital has been secured in rehabilitating and upgrading the sewer network, leaving a deficit of about US$ 44 Million up until end of year 2021. Residents have raised concern that due to poor water and sewer services they have been exposed to deadly diseases and some have endured raw effluent in their homes for weeks now. Recent Council minutes show that Dysentery cases increased by more than 100 percent in July compared to the June figures.
Residents at risk of Water borne diseases
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ULAWAYO residents are at risk of developing water borne diseases like dysentery and cholera following failure by the Local Authority to provide quality water and sewer services. Hundreds of residents from Makokoba, Old Magwegwe, Mzilikazi, Emakhandeni, Cowdray
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Park, Emganwini, Mpopoma, Nkulumane and Luveve have had to endure perennial sewer bursts which the Local Authority has failed to attend to timeously. The Local Authority needs about US$ 71 million to address all its emerging Wastewater Infrastructure requirements projected by the Master Plan strategy.
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“There was an increase in diarrhea (187) and dysentery (7) cases reported in the month of July 2021 compared to the previous month (162) and 3 respectively. Water quality in areas such as Emganwini suburb remains unsatisfactory as the Council was only providing temporary relief to residents,” read the minutes. Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BUPRA) Gender Officer, Abigail Siziba said sewer bursts are now one of the major service delivery challenges that the
InfocusNews City is faced with. “Sewer bursts are occurring even inside residential yards with residents having to put up with the flowing sewer and the bad stench. One resident in Sizinda had sewer flowing in the inside toilet and another in Nkulumane just to name a few, the families were struggling at meal times and the prolonged inhaling of the sewer stench put them at risk of infections,” said Siziba. “Upon reporting, BCC is not always responsive and many times the sewer bursts are recurrent bringing residents to an understanding that there are deep seated challenges with the sewer infrastructure. During one of our
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engagements, women highlighted how it is difficult to ensure their children are kept away from the ever-flowing sewer water which is adding to the many responsibilities that women have. With COVID-19 surging, it is important that the Local Authority avoids the outbreak of any diseases as the health system is already overwhelmed,” added Siziba. Contacted for comment, Bulawayo City Council Corporate Communications Manager, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said the Council was aware of the sewer challenges being faced almost citywide due to dilapidated infrastructure, vandalism, increase in the population and misuse of the sewer system.
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“The delays in addressing the sewer challenges are due to the high number of reports received per day vis a vis the staff on the ground. Council has proposed the engagement of contract plumbers to assist our lean staff in a bid to increase the time taken in responding to faults. The City also has an ongoing as and when contract to assist clear sewer hotspots across Bulawayo,” said Mpofu. “The City of Bulawayo is committed to addressing the service delivery challenges. Our teams are on the ground to try and address the sewer reports. As indicated, the City needs an investment of USD$31 748 063 for the sewer reticulation system.”
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Community-based organisations encouraged to appoint gender focal persons
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omen’s Institute for Leadership Development has been working to capacitate different Community Based Organisations from Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and Bulawayo. The CBOs include Youth Invest, Sibanye Animal Welfare Trust, Esigodini Residents Association, and Gwanda Community Economic Justice Development Trust. Diverse strategies and strides have been taken by the organisation to see to the growth of these community-based organisations. As part of the initiative to build capacity for Youth Invest, WILD facilitated a gender policy sensitisation meeting for the Youth Invest secretariat with the help of a consultant. Dr Keith Phiri who was facilitat-
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ing the gender policy sensitisation meeting, highlighted some of the key issues that are pertinent when an organisation wishes to adopt a gender policy. “There is a need to identify key stakeholders that need to be aware of the content of the gender policy. For instance, these can be board members, staff members and beneficiaries of the project and partners. There is need to explain the goals of the gender policy to all key stakeholders in a manner or language that they understand. There is also need for an organisation to have a gender department or gender focal person to conduct training for gender awareness, ” said Dr Phiri. He went on to emphasise the importance of community-based organisations having a gender department to ensure gender issues
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“The reason we want to emphasise that there be a gender focal person is that we want to avoid what we call “where everyone is responsible, no one is responsible,” which entails that if we do not have a specific person dealing with gender issues, they may die a natural death (sic), so there has to be someone solely responsible for the gender desk. The implementation of the draft policy would come to realisation with that gender department or gender focal person ” Youth Invest highlighted that the meeting was very informative and brought out a lot of important issues which the organisation will implement.
“There is a need to identify key stakeholders that need to be aware of the content of the gender policy...”
Community Voices
basebenze ngesikhathi sokulwisana legcikwane le COVID-19. Njengoba izikolo sezivuliwe sekusiba ngumthwalo onzima kubomama ukuthi benelise ukuthi baqoqe imali ezifunakalayo ezikolo. Kuyabe kumele sikhangele abantwana bethu abazaloba imihloliso yabo ekuphetheni komnyaka.
Ukuvulwa kwezikolo: Omama bayajabula
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mpilo yabomama isiguqukile ikakhulu ngesikhathi esikuso lapho okumele senqabele ukumemetheka kwegcikwane le COVID-19. Ukuvulwa kwezikolo kuvele ngendlela ejabulise abanengi, ikakhulu abazali labantwana besikolo. Ngesikhathi lapho abantu bengenelisi ukuthi baphume ezindlini ngenxa yaleli gcikwane abanengi bebengelakho ukuthi bathole imali njengoba bezisebenza. Abanye
abantu balahlekelwe yimisebenzi ngesizatho se COVID-19. By Priscilla Tendawafa Omama abanengi baphila ngokuthengisa ukuthi labo benelise ukuthi baziphilise ngesikhathi lapho ngesikhathi ilizwe libhekane lobunzima kwezomnotho welizwe. Omama bebejwayele ukuthi bathenge impahla zabo ngaphandle kwelizwe, kodwa ukuvalwa kwamabhoda kwenqabele ukuthi
Abanye abantwana bethu abenelisanga ukuthi bafunde, ikakhulu kumfundiso eyebulenjini “online learning” njengoba abazali bebengalazo izigxingi zokuba bathole abantwababo bethapha ulwazi ngesikhathi izikolo zivaliwe. Inengi labantwana abaphila labogogo ngabanye abazithole bephakathi kwelitshe lembokodo kwezemfundiso etholakala ebulenjini. Ugogo uyathola ukuthi akalaye umakhalekhukhwini ongamvumela ukuthi angene ebulenjini, ngakho umntwana uyavele asalele emuva ezifundweni zakhe. Siyakujabulela ukuthi izikolo sezivuliwe ngoba inengi labantwana belisilela emuva ezifundweni.
Residents Association conducts Tree Planting in Umzingwane to promote environmental awareness
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eforestation is a worldwide issue, and it is devastating for many human beings as well as animals that depend on the forest as a natural habitat. By Asan Mhlanga
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Upon the realization that global warming and climate change are issues that do not only have an effect on foreign countries but Zimbabwe too, Esigodini Residents Association facilitated an initiative of planting trees with Umzingwane Ward 16 community at Mvuthu Primary School as a way of pro-
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moting environmental consciousness in Umzingwane District. The initiative also aimed at spreading awareness on the importance of planting trees within communities as a way of preserving the environment. Esigodini Residents Association representatives used
Community Voices
this opportunity to plant fruit trees that had been donated by an organization believes in environmental preservation.
tee (SDC) from Mvuthu Primary School, Habane Ward 16 Councilor, Partson Sibanda and the Council Chairman, Jethro Moyo.
In attendance were representatives from Umzingwane Aids Network, School Development Commit-
The following fruit trees were planted: bananas, mangoes and peaches. While trees can help tack-
le the rising temperatures around the world, initiatives of this nature enable us to play a role in living up to the Sustainable Development Goals such as goal one which focuses on ending poverty and achievinhg zero hunger.
“While trees can help tackle the rising temperatures around the world, initiatives of this nature enable us to play a role in living up to the Sustainable Development Goals...” facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
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Electoral Information Blitz have the resources to conduct mobile voter registration in communities although the idea is being mulled. He said despite re-opening registration sites, members of the public were trickling in slowly as before and the numbers were as low as before.
Low Voter Registration turnout in Matabeland South: Cause for concern
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OW voter registration turnout in Matabeleland South continues to trouble the Province which is likely to lose constituencies if members of the public continue shunning Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) offices. Since the reopening of ZEC offices, only a handful have attempted to go and register to vote a development which may affect them during the delimitation process come 2022. Matabeleland South province has 13 Constituencies. Conducted by the ZEC, delimitation is the process of dividing the country into Constituencies and wards for the purposes of elections of persons to constituency seats in the National Assembly and Councilors to Local Authorities. The facebook.com/wildtrustzim |
process is carried out in terms of Sections 160 and 161 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. Delimitation involves coming up with a minimum threshold of registered voters to make the country’s constituencies, and is conducted using the number of registered voters in an administrative jurisdiction. In the country, the minimum threshold is plus or minus 20 percent of 26 300. According to registered voters countrywide of 5 524 188 divided by the number of 210 Constituencies, a Constituency should be made up of plus or minus 26 306 voters. ZEC Matabeleland South Elections Officer, Rabson Nyoni said the Commission did not readily
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“Nothing seems to be moving in terms of voter registration we have one or two voters coming in daily and this is a worrying trend. I think people are relaxed as they expect ZEC to take the voter registration to them hence the low turnout in our offices,” said Nyoni. “Some are claiming that they cannot reach the offices hence our discussion to try and develop long mobile stations. Members of the public should be aware of the fact that these stations need a lot of resources and truthfully we are not in a position to say when those will be available although we have started discussing about feasibly,” added Nyoni. One resident from Matopo, Gloria Maphenduka said ZEC should consider making the process available online to cut transport costs which are a huge hindrance for many youths. “I stay in Matopo and yes our numbers are few but at least ZEC should meet us halfway and we cannot afford to travel to Kezi just
Electoral Information Blitz to register to vote. We need to easily access ZEC so that we register in numbers because we cannot afford to lose the constituencies,” said Maphenduka. For Constance Mhlanga from Gwanda the other reason why people are not registering is be-
cause they heard that registering is as good as voting. “Such conspiracy theories have been spreading widely especially amongst youths and we are not sure who to trust now. I also think it is time we rise as young women and use our rights because if
we do no register someone else someone will use the same rights to stifle our development. ZEC should raise awareness and instill confidence in its activities so that we register while there is still time,” said Mhlanga.
#hervotespeaks vox pops Are you a Zimbabwean citizen, 18 years and older? Go to your nearest voter registration centre and #registertovote. WILD is assisting young people to register to vote so if you are in Bulawayo, reach out to us. If you have already registered to vote, share your experience with us and help us encourage other young people to register to vote and exercise their rights #registertovote #myvotespeaks #hervotespeaks
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Electoral Information Blitz
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Electoral Information Blitz
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Electoral Information Blitz
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