Category: Environment and Disasters
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Impassable bridge cuts off minority Tshangaan tribe
By Tatenda Chitagu CHIREDZI-A low-lying, impassable bridge in Zimbabwe’s south-eastern district of Chiredzi in Masvingo province has cut off the minority Tshangaan tribe from essential services. Chilonga Bridge in the Lowveld is the shortest link to Chiredzi town across Runde River with its vast rural Tshangaan speaking communities of Chilonga, Chikombedzi, Boli, Mahlanguleni, Mabalauta and…
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DEMINING: Undoing the land curse for sustainable economic development
Hazvinei Mwanaka Chiredzi/Sango border post One sunny morning in 2010, Hlengani Mudzikiti decided to look for his herd of cattle that had gone for grazing. Navigating his way in the densely filled minefield, he followed his beasts’ hoof prints, carefully stepping where the cattle did. This had been his tactic for many years until this…
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Water shortages sour cane out-growers’ sugar prospects
Tatenda Chitagu/Hazvinei MwanakaCHIREDZI, ZIMBABWE-Zimbabwe’s prospects for a sweet harvest of sugarcane grown mainly in the Lowveld region have been soured by an acute shortage of water spawned by the El Niño induced drought, farmers have said. This has ignited fears of sugar shortages for both domestic and international markets. El Niño is a natural climate…
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Bus accidents, a cause for concern
By Spanyoge Madziwa Zimbabwe has of late been plagued by fatal accidents mainly involving public transporters. A number of lives have been lost involving long distance buses and commuter omnibuses. Statistics from the Traffic Safety Council (TSC) of Zimbabwe show that close to six traffic accidents are recorded every hour. This is not something to…
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How an invasive plant turned away tourists at Zimbabwe’s world heritage site
By Tatenda Chitagu ZIMBABWE-Every school holidays, Peter Nyama, from Zimbabwe’s Midlands province, would not miss a chance to visit the Great Zimbabwe Monuments-a world heritage site located 30 kilometers east of the country’s southern city of Masvingo. The Great Zimbabwe Monuments were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. They are the largest dry-stone…
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How a sacred natural site is helping to conserve Zimbabwe’s rare southern ground hornbills
By Tatenda Chitagu BIKITA, MASVINGO-A flock of clucking southern ground hornbill birds roam freely near an unmistakably pristine hill in Bikita district of Masvingo province in southern Zimbabwe. The hill, named Chiroorwe, stands out from the rest in the mountainous area as its verdancy lies untouched. Other mountains nearby are scarred, with trees having been…
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Malawi in emotional appeal for help as Cyclone Freddy death toll reaches 225
By Tatenda Chitagu MIDRAND, SOUTH AFRICA– “A friend in need is a friend indeed!” This is the emotional appeal for help by Malawi to fellow African countries following the devastation caused by Cyclone Freddy, which has left hundreds dead, thousands injured, missing or displaced without food, shelter, and water. Cyclone Freddy tore through Malawi and…
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Masvingo mad gold rush: the aftermath, one year on
By Tatenda Chitagu WENDEDZO, MASVINGO-Two grubby boys in their mid-twenties are camoufloudged by the red soils while submerged in the massive pits and shafts that go deep down into the belly of the earth. For starters, this is the area where there was a mad gold rush in February last year that drew hundreds of…
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How an old sewage pump station is a threat to Zimbabwe’s second largest inland dam
By Tatenda Chitagu MASVINGO-It is now like the proverbial black sheep in the family. This sums up the Masvingo City Council (MCC)’s old Rujeko sewage pump station, which is now not only a nuisance to the residents or the environment, but to the local authority as well. While the city is lauded in other areas…