Chipinge town residents run amok, as they reject increment of water rates

By Allan Murozvi

Residents of Chipinge town have caused a stir  by accusing the local authority of mismanagement and incompetence,  which are responsible in the eventual decision by  ZESA to disconnect the water source for residence.

ZESA was forced to disconnect water for residence over non-payment of a bill amounting to over I million dollars. The local Council is now in a catch 22 situation since the on-going budget consultation to increase the rates are now in limbo.

The budget consultation meetings are scheduled in terms of the Urban Council Act, to prepare the 2020 budget. The exercise which  started on Monday the 21st of October 2019,is now uncertain as residents  are refusing to budge as they demand to understand what led to the bill ballooning to  I million dollars when water had not been efficiently distributed by authority .

 Residents suspect that if the rates are increased, this will continue to give the local authority uninterrupted access to Council funds without accountability. They are not ready to approve the proposals as they view the proposed figures of an interbank equivalent of USD 8 is beyond the reach of the majority. This proposal to increase water rates for Chipinge town residence is failing to find takers and now raising emotions.

 Ward 4 residents have already disrupted a consultation meeting at Gaza Town Hall. The Council management had to call police after the residents became agitated. They are threatening to expose unethical operations of council which might eventually need the Anti-Corruption Commission to intervene.

 The Chipinge district Edition of the Cyclone Idai Sport Tournament, a huge success

Chimanimani and Chipinge districts are in distress following the Cyclone Idai that ravaged their communities in March of this year. Most survivors are still narrating the traumatic horrors of seeing visions of people being swept away in the muddy floods. This is a reflection of a community that is still in deep shock. On 19 October 2019, PYCD in collaboration with Sports for Excellence Trust staged a successful sports tournament in Chipinge District.

The sport tournament brought different walks of life together and it improved the self-esteem of Cyclone Idai survivors and prevented them from physically and mentally disintegrating. It was refreshing to see the community getting closer during the sport tournament, despite the sweltering and blistering heat.

Cyclone Idai survivors and other people who graced the tournament acknowledged the fact that sport has proven to be an extremely beneficial tool in re-establishing normalcy, providing space for people to laugh and interact with others, free of guilt and fear. This has been identified as a crucial factor in rebuilding their lives and communities, and thus sport becomes an effective tool to rebuild dignity and faith in life, to overcome trauma and build resilience.

The sport tournament took place in two venues in Chipinge district. The venues chosen for the tournament were Takwirira High School and Checheche Primary School who were hosting teams from Chipinge South Constituency and Musikavanhu Constituency respectively. The sport tournament was configured around proffering psychosocial support to Cyclone Idai survivors. Therefore, participating teams were drawn from the community and surrounding schools and numbered 16 teams in total.

In Musikavanhu Constituency, Manzvire Secondary School and Manzvire community team emerged together with Rimbi High School and their community counterpart. These four will now progress to the next stage of the tournament. On the other hand, Takwirira High School and Katanga High School made it for school teams while One One FC and Mkukuzi FC community teams managed to progress to the next stage of the tournament. The finals for the tournament will be held on the 1^st and 2^nd of November 2019 at Takwirira High school where more firework is expected. ZIFA has confirmed attendance to come and scout talents through the vice chairperson of the soccer legends Mr Harlington Shereni.

The sport tournament enabled survivors to cope with traumatic experiences and return to their daily activities, helped in restoring and maintaining the social functioning of the affected Chipinge and Chimanimani districts as well as in creating an emotional balance of survivors at the level of their social environment.

According to the sponsors, the 1^st and 2^nd of November 2019 will be big events in Chipinge district where the public is invited to show solidarity with the victims and survivors of the disaster. Mr Claris Madhuku, the Director of Platform for Youth and Community Development has extended his invitation to well-wishers and the corporate world to also play a part.

“As a community based organisation we have been doing so much since March to contain this sad loss both in Chipinge and Chimanimani. We have reconstruction projects in schools where we have been involved in repairing classes, libraries and toilets for schools including paying for school fees to affected kids. We also expect other more serious players to join our plea in the spirit of Ubuntu” Madhuku pleaded.

PYCD Rallies the Community to Denounce Gender Based Violence in Chipinge

Hordes of people converged at Takwirira High School, Chipinge on the 28th of September 2019 to raise their voice against the increased statistics of women who are losing life due to the occurrence of gender based violence targeted at young women and girls.

The more than 200 marchers were coordinated by the Platform for Youth and Community Development together with Vemuganga Community Radio Initiative who were commemorating the International day of Peace in Chisumbanje. The day which was running under the theme "Climate Action for Peace” lived up to expectation.

This theme is a realisation that climate change is an indisputable challenge to human rights, security and socio -economic development in our local communities.

The march was organised in the view that climate change poses far greater challenges especially to vulnerable members of our society, as it has the potential to aggravate existing fragile situations as has become the case in Chipinge and Chimanimani districts due to the impact of Cyclone Idai. The advent of tropical storms like the recent devastating Cyclone Idai is expected to increase further due to climate change.

The socio – economic impact of Cyclone Idai did not discriminate but it was experienced differently by women and girls. Women and girls were affected more significantly than men due to gender inequalities and power imbalances in access to resources and information in the district.  Chipinge is the most climate change vulnerable districts in Zimbabwe which makes women and girls more susceptible to the adversities that result from climate change.

The march against domestic gender based violence took an hour, and raised awareness on the vulnerability of women and girls to climate change. The song s ".....Isu taramba bongozozo…” (We are against violence) punctuated the March and filtered through the community. Stakeholders graced the event whose main purpose was to raise awareness and recommend action against gender based violence in Chipinge and Chimanimani districts. PYCD Gender wellness and advocacy officer addressed the marchers and encouraged them to coexist by involving closer relations and family networks to mediate disputes before they escalate into violence.

The theme for the International Day of Peace for 2019 allowed the organisers of the event to provide statistics on how women suffered due to the effects of climate change that led to many people perishing and houses destroyed as a result of Cyclone Idai that struck Chimanimani and Chipinge district the most. The most affected are women and children who remain vulnerable today 6 months later.

After the March, there was a tournament that featured 8 soccer teams and 6 netball teams as part of the activities for the day. Sport has always been used as the best symbol of working together,  co-existence and peace.