Connect with us

Slider

Golf tournament raises thousands for Victoria Falls conservation initiative

Published

on

BY SPORTS REPORTER

A record US$44 000 has been raised to boost anti-poaching efforts in Zimbabwe’s top tourist destination through an annual fundraising golf tournament, coordinated and hosted by hospitality group Africa Albida Tourism.

Advertisement

The money was raised at the 20th annual Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit (VFAPU) Golf Day at Borrowdale Brooke Golf Club in Harare on September 16 where 128 golfers, made up of 32 teams, teed off for conservation by playing a four-ball alliance format.

The tournament was won by the Bushloverz team, made up of Zane Acutt, Nina Geyser, Brendon Evans and Jenny Evans, who finished on 104 points, while Taylor Made and Recycling Solutions took second and third places respectively.

The lucky winners each took home an accommodation voucher for two nights for two people at the premium Victoria Falls Safari Club with breakfast included, and a dinner at The Boma – Dinner & Drum Show.

Advertisement

Africa Albida Tourism (AAT) chief executive Ross Kennedy said the fundraiser received amazing support from an incredible community.

“The collective energy and genuine care and concern for conservation and wildlife is so alive and well in Zimbabwe,” Kennedy said.

“We are immensely grateful to all those who support VFAPU in so many ways, year after year.

Advertisement

“This year after a two-year break due to Covid-19, the golf day raised a record amount in donations, sponsorship and revenue generated through the event.”

Previously the record had been US$30 000 raised at the VFAPU Golf Day in 2015.

An auction of Zimbabwean Olympic golfer Scott Vincent’s signed shirt worn in the British Open this year fetched US$1 450 and it was donated back to be re-auctioned in an act of immense generosity, Kennedy added.

Advertisement

“Getting the Victoria Falls tourism community on board to support VFAPU is a key source of funding, and it was a privilege to see leading industry colleagues supporting by entering teams, donating and contributing so much, ” he said.

“AAT covered the US$5,000 cost of the event, ensuring that every dollar raised went directly into VFAPU coffers to enable the unit to perform its valuable work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”

VFAPU head of operations Charles Brightman thanked everyone involved, saying the funds raised at this tournament were vital for VFAPU’s survival, and would go a long way towards covering the unit’s operational costs.

Advertisement

Since VFAPU was established in 1999, the unit has arrested over 900 serious poachers, removed more than 30,000 wire snares from their area of patrol and rescued over 400 mammals injured in snares, treating and releasing them back into the wild.

VFAPU, which works closely with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, the Zimbabwe Republic Police and Victoria Falls City Council, has 16 scouts patrolling in a 50kmsq area around Victoria Falls.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Slider

Zimbabwe’s new mothers face extortion for ‘free’ child health cards

Published

on

Photo credit: Gamuchirai Masiyiwa, GPJ Zimbabwe

BY GAMUCHIRAI MASIYIWA

Summary: The quiet return of maternity fees and the black-market sale of essential documents put extra burdens on mothers as they struggle to navigate a broken system.

Advertisement

First-time mother Connie Jowastands with her 3-month-old baby nestled against her back, chatting with other mothers in line. Like many women at this crowded clinic in Harare’s Mabvuku suburb, Jowa is trying to get a Child Health Card, which was unavailable when she gave birth at a public hospital, and was still out of reach at her local clinic. Health cards are mysteriously out of stock.

 

But they can be bought under the table, if you know who to ask and are willing to pay.

Advertisement

 

Zimbabwe’s Child Health Cards, meant to be free to new mothers, are crucial documents that track babies’ growth, vaccinations and medical histories. Without them, each clinic visit becomes a reset button. Inquiry into the child’s medical history starts from scratch. Since July 2024, the cards have disappeared from health facilities across Harare’s central hospitals and 42 council clinics — even though the card’s producers say they’re making enough to meet demand. This artificial shortage has birthed a shadow market where clinic staff quietly sell this essential document to desperate mothers. This sort of nickel-and-dime bribery exposes deep cracks in a health care system that’s already failing the most vulnerable people.

 

Advertisement

What started as a clandestine operation has become an open secret.

 

“When cards arrive at a clinic, they’re kept by the sister in charge. But it’s usually nurse aides or junior staff who sell them, working in cahoots with other staff members,” says Simbarashe James Tafirenyika, who leads the Zimbabwe Municipality’s Nurses and Allied Workers Union.

Advertisement

 

Someone who sells 100 cards can pocket around US$500, she says, and none of that money goes to the government of the council.

 

Advertisement

The going rate for the Child Health Card is US$5, say several mothers who spoke to Global Press Journal.

 

Medical Histories on Scraps of Paper

Advertisement

 

When the system works as designed, every mother receives a Child Health Card when her baby is born. Now, most mothers must track their infants’ medical histories on scraps of paper.

 

Advertisement

Harare’s council clinics alone deliver more than 3,000 babies every month, with each mother left scrambling for documentation.

 

“I feel hurt,” Jowa says. “I want to know what vaccines my child has received and their purposes, but I just can’t get that information.”

Advertisement

 

A nurse aide assistant at one of the council clinics has witnessed this shadow market.

 

Advertisement

“If a nurse is selling, they ask the mother to be ‘skillful’ if they need the card,” says the assistant, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution. In Zimbabwe, “skillful” is a common euphemism for paying small bribes.

 

While the Ministry of Health and Child Care is supposed to supply the cards for free, Prosper Chonzi, the City of Harare’s director of health, admits supplies have been erratic for six months and that people have complained about being forced to purchase these cards. Clinic workers may be exploiting the known shortage and coordinating among themselves to sell the cards rather than providing them for free, he says.

Advertisement

 

“We can’t rule that out,” he says.

 

Advertisement

The card shortage coincides with the quiet return of maternity fees in public hospitals. Though not officially announced, hospitals have begun billing mothers after delivery — a policy change the government would neither confirm nor deny.

 

High Inflation, More Corruption

Advertisement

 

Between 2011 and 2024, more than 1 million pregnant women in the country delivered babies for free at health care clinics, under a scheme called results-based financing. Maternal mortality rates dropped during that time.

 

Advertisement

But these gains, partly achieved through better access to safe delivery services, face new hurdles as budget constraints and economic pressures reshape the health care landscape.

 

Even in 2021, a study from Transparency International Zimbabwe surveyed over 1,000 people in Zimbabwe and found that 74% had been asked to pay a bribe while trying to access health care services. A feeling of being underpaid amidst a deteriorating economy and high inflation was a key driver among health workers who solicitated bribes, which has been a rising trend, according to the study.

Advertisement

 

“The motivation for earning an extra income is strong especially in countries with a high rate of inflation,” the study states.

 

Advertisement

Zimbabwe’s health care system faces chronic challenges, including an exodus of health workers to other countries, inadequate funding, drug shortages, obsolete infrastructure and more. In 1991, the government introduced user fees across public institutions as part of an economic structural adjustment program. The government abolished the fees in 2011, only to partially reinstate them around 2013.

 

Prudence Hanyani, a community activist in Harare, says the reintroduction of user fees in public hospitals will burden women who already shoulder extra costs, like paying for midwives, so they can get better treatment when giving birth.

Advertisement

 

“Maternal health services should be free,” she says, “because giving birth is a service for the nation that contributes to the country’s population.”

 

Advertisement

Mothers Pay the Price

 

Valerie Shangwa, who gave birth four and a half months ago at a private maternity hospital, still has no card for her daughter.

Advertisement

 

“You know how difficult it is to keep a paper,” she says. “When nurses ask about last month’s weight, you end up guessing, and that distorts the whole record.”

 

Advertisement

Charlton Prickise, technical director at Print Flow, says his company sells Child Health Cards only to government-authorized health facilities and faces no shortages.

 

“The shortages mean health facilities simply aren’t coming to get them,” he says.

Advertisement

 

Though Print Flow hasn’t detected leaks, Prickise recalls finding other versions of this card on the market two years ago, possibly from a nongovernmental organization. Print Flow isn’t the sole supplier of the cards, and they haven’t received any government orders recently.

 

Advertisement

In a written response to Global Press Journal, Donald Mujiri, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Child Care, said the shortage of Child Health Cards is due to supply chain inefficiencies and insufficient donor funding. The cards, he says, are procured with government funding and aid from supporting partners such as the United Nations Children’s Fund. Nevertheless, Mujiri says, the ministry needs to strengthen the supply chain management system at all levels and proactively mobilize resources for procuring the cards.

 

Meanwhile, mothers wait — or pay the price. Faith Musinami, 26, delivered her daughter in July 2024. An orderly told her the clinic only had cards for boys, but if she wanted, they could organize one for US$5. Musinami had not budgeted for the cost. She sacrificed the last penny she had.

Advertisement

This story was originally published by Global Press Journal.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

National

Ranger killed by elephant in Kariba

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

A 62-year-old ranger, Josphat Mandishara, was tragically killed by an elephant in Kariba yesterday.

Advertisement

Mandishara, who worked for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), was on patrol in the Gatche-gatche area with fellow rangers and police officers.

At around 10 pm, Mandishara returned to the harbor where their boat was docked, and that’s when he encountered the elephant. The elephant charged at him, causing fatal injuries. His colleagues were nearby, resupplying at the Gatche-gatche Irrigation Scheme.

Mandishara’s body was taken to Kariba District Hospital for a post-mortem, and the incident was reported to the police.

Advertisement

ZimParks has sent a team to manage the problem elephant and prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Director General of ZimParks, Prof. Edson Gandiwa, and his team have sent condolences to Mandishara’s family, friends, and colleagues. Mandishara will be remembered for his dedication to wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

In the community

Crocodile attacks claim 9 lives, injure 11

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

A surge in crocodile attacks has left a trail of death and destruction in Zimbabwe, with 9 fatalities and 11 injuries reported in the last two months.

Advertisement

According to a statement released by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), 49 human-crocodile conflict cases were recorded during the same period, resulting in the loss of 44 cattle and 60 goats.

The Mid-Zambezi region, which includes Lake Kariba, Angwa River, and Hunyani River, was the hardest hit, with 19 cases reported. The Central region recorded 14 cases, while 16 cases were reported in other areas, including Matopo, Harare, North-West Matabeleland, and South-East Low-veld.

ZimParks has urged communities to exercise extreme caution, especially around water bodies, during the current rain season. The authority has advised communities to ensure that livestock and children are not left unattended near rivers or lakes, and to take precautions when engaging in water activities such as fishing, swimming, and domestic chores.

Advertisement

To mitigate the situation, ZimParks is working closely with local authorities and conservation partners to raise public awareness and promote safety practices. The authority has emphasized its commitment to finding a balance between ensuring public safety and conserving wildlife.

As the situation continues to unfold, ZimParks has appealed to the public to remain vigilant and to report any crocodile sightings or attacks to the authorities.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2022 VicFallsLive. All rights reserved, powered by Advantage