Connect with us

Slider

Hwange conservationists tackle poaching through sport

Published

on

BY TICHAONA MATARUSE 

Wildlife conservation organisations, Wild and Free Foundation (WWT) and Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) have partnered to sponsor a social soccer tournament aimed at protecting wildlife through sport and economic opportunities to reduce wildlife crimes. 

Advertisement

Rhino Cup Championship League RCCL-Zim Iganyana Division features both senior and junior teams and its goal is to empower and uplift young people,  creating an environment where endangered species like painted dogs and other wildlife can thrive.

The RCCL Zimbabwe – Iganyana Division supports 20 male and four female community-based teams from communities adjacent to Hwange National Park, directly impacting wildlife and people welfare in the area. 

Teams are drawn from communities adjacent to the Hwange National Park such as Chezhou, Dete, Dingani, Mabale and Makwandara among others.

Advertisement

They have been christened with wildlife names as a sign of appreciation of the importance of wildlife and conservation.

The juniors’ league was introduced in August and teams include Sables Jnrs, Eagle Jnrs, Shumba stars Jnrs, Sparrows, Honey Badgers, Rock Rabbits, Young Sables Academy, Zebras and Wild Warthogs.

Zebras from Chezhou were crowned 2022 after outclassing Mpalanyana 5-1 in the final match to finish the season with 93 points from 38 matches.

Advertisement

In the juniors league, Shumba and Young Stables Academy are favourites to win the title as both are tied on 16 points.

The league ends this weekend.

Zim Iganyana Division chief executive Ndodana Masuku implored clubs to invest in junior policy to nurture talent.

Advertisement

“We have 20 teams in the senior category and our wish is for each team to have juniors within its structures. Every organisation should have a foundation and in this case juniors are a foundation of the club,” Masuku told VicFallsLive 

The league has attracted the attention of the private sector with Sports Zone Pvt Ltd, a Bulawayo based organisation sponsoring the juniors’ league with prizes for the monthly top goal-scorer, goalkeeper of the month award and junior coach of the month accolades.

“We have awards for top goal scorer and goalkeeper of the year courtesy of Sports Zone. Also there are medals and cups for the championship. ” said Masuku.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, Masuku urged communities to play a part in wildlife conservation and serve endangered species.

His sentiments come in the wake of concerns about an increase in illegal hunting in communities near Hwange National Park.

“Together we can give poaching a red card and create an environment where the rhinos, painted dogs and the rest of the wildlife can thrive. 

Advertisement

“To the clubs and our communities, I urge you to reciprocate our wildlife sponsored league by doing more conservation activities within your communities to serve our wildlife especially the endangered species,” said Masuku.

RCCL also has presence in Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania with positive results such as reduced rhino poaching, boredom, idleness, and poverty.

 

Advertisement

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

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

Slider

Jamaica reigns supreme as South Africa and Botswana athletes fall short in dramatic 100m showdown

Published

on

BY TIMES LIVE

Jamaica returned to the top of the 100m podium at the world championships in Tokyo on Sunday, but South Africa — even with two dogs in the fight — missed out yet again.

Advertisement

Gift Leotlela finished fifth in 9.95 sec and veteran Akani Simbine ended seventh in 10.04 while Oblique Seville clocked a 9.77 personal best to become the first Jamaican to win the global 100m crown in 10 years after Usain Bolt at Beijing 2015.

His countryman, Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson, was second in 9.82 and brash American Noah Lyles, the Olympic and defending champion, third in 9.89.

The final featured two Jamaicans, two Americans and two South Africans, but it was the two traditional powerhouses that dominated the podium.

Advertisement

Looked at another way, the final had four men from the Americas against four Africans, and with Kenny Bednarek ending fourth, it was the men from the Americas who took the first four spots.

Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, the Olympic 200m champion and the 100m silver medallist from Budapest 2023, was disqualified for a false start. Nigerian Kayinsola Ajayi was sixth in 10.00.

Yet, had Leotlela repeated the 9.87 he ran in the heats on Saturday he would have taken third. Still, the 27-year-old, who has struggled with injuries for much of the past four years, can be happy with three consecutive sub-10 runs at the showpiece.

Advertisement

But Simbine, who took the 60m bronze at the world indoor championships in March, looked as if he had mistimed his season.

He went on the indoor circuit early in the year in a bid to improve his start, which meant sacrificing an important training block that he subsequently switched to June and July.

The 31-year-old was on fire before the break, but since returning he never looked sharp.

Advertisement

He’s competed in seven major 100m finals — three Olympics and four world championships — and never reached a podium. Having previously finished fourth or fifth, this was also his worst finish in a final.

In the semifinals earlier, just like it happened at the Olympics on the same track four years ago, Simbine had to wait to find out if he had won a spot in the final after finishing third in the first heat in 9.96.

Only the first two of the three heats advanced automatically, with the two fastest losers going through.

Advertisement

Leotlela ended third in the final semifinal in 9.97.

But still, two South Africans in the final should augur well for the 4x100m relay next weekend.

The only other South African in a medal race on the day, Adriaan Wildschutt, didn’t have the kick at the tail end of a slow 10,000m, crossing the line in 28 min 59.47 sec to finish 10th to match his position at last year’s Paris Olympics.

Advertisement

Frenchman Jimmy Gressier won a sprint finish in 28:55.77, ahead of Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha (28:55.83) and Andreas Almgren of Sweden (29:56.02).

Earlier, Zakithi Nene, the fastest man over 400m in the world this year with his 43.76 from May, won his heat in 44.34 to advance to Tuesday’s semifinal.

But American Jacory Patterson, No 2 on the list, threw down the gauntlet by jogging over the final metres of his heat to clock the fastest time of the heats, 43.90.

Advertisement

Khaleb McRae, the second of three American qualifiers, was second quickest in the heats in 44.25.

Then came Nene, and behind him lurk other dangermen, like Botswana’s Bayapo Ndori (44.36) and Rusheen McDonald of Jamaica (44.38), who limped off the track.

Countryman Lythe Pillay delivered a solid performance to advance to the semifinals with a 44.73 season’s best, finishing second in his heat behind Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago, fourth at last year’s Olympics.

Advertisement

But with the US getting four men into the next round and Botswana and Britain three, the South African 4x400m team will have their work cut out next weekend to make the relay podium.

Miranda Coetzee and Shirley Nekhubui failed to advance beyond the women’s 400m heats and Brian Raats was unable to clear the bar in the qualifying round of the men’s high jump.

SOURCE| TIMES LIVE

Advertisement

Continue Reading

National

Econet unveils new home and business data packages

Published

on

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has launched new ‘Smart-Suite’ Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) data packages consisting of six plans tailored to address the data needs of different customers – from the ‘SmartLite’ plan, offering 50GB of data (best for light users) and retailing for $30, to ‘SmartPro’, offering 800GB of data (ideal for established SMEs) and retailing at $170.

Advertisement

In between are ‘SmartPlus’, offering 75GB at $40 (targeting families); ‘SmartMax’, offering 100GB at $50 (ideal for bigger homes and freelancers); ‘SmartFlex’, offering 200GB at $70 (tailored for flexible scaling and small offices) and ‘SmartUltra’, offering 400GB at $99 (suitable for heavy, multi-users and SMEs).

Introducing the SmartSuite packages on multiple media channels, Econet said the new data packages will be easy to upgrade and will offer flexible plans “that grow with your needs”.

To ensure optimized and stable performance within a customer’s premise and network coverage area, the new packages will be geo-locked to a customer’s location, and accessible using a 4G or 5G CPE (customer premises equipment) router.

Advertisement

Geo-locking – a term used to describe the restriction of access to a product or service to a specific geographical location – ensures customers get the best possible usage experience while enabling service providers like telcos and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to ringfence critical resources such as bandwidth, making certain they are utilized by the intended users.

Econet said the SmartSuite packages will be available through its Econet Shops across the country where the company enjoys the largest network coverage, adding that CPE routers will also be available for sale in its shops – starting from US$48 per unit. The company noted though that customers will be free to use their existing CPEs, or to purchase CPEs anywhere elsewhere, as long as they were compatible with Econet’s SmartSuite product specifications.

Econet, which is the largest mobile network operator in Zimbabwe, enjoys the widest 4G (LTE) network coverage in the country. With 300 5G base stations deployed in the country’s major cities and towns, it is by far the market leader in 5G technology in Zimbabwe.

Advertisement

The launch of the new SmartSuite packages follows a notice to customers of the former SmartBiz packages from Econet a month ago, notifying them that it would soon launch new data packages offering more choice and flexibility, and tailored to different customer needs.

Customers registered to the old SmartBiz service and who already have a CPE, can simply dial *143, choose a package of their choice and credit their new SmartSuite package. New subscribers to the SmartSuite packages will however need to buy a new SmartSuite SIM from an Econet Shop, as well as a CPE, for them to be able to connect to the new packages. If they own a CPE that meets Econet’s specifications, they will be able to use it for their SmartSuite package.

Along with the new SmartSuite data packages, Econet continues to offer its all its customers the choice of a wide range of mobile data products, accessible ‘on the go’ throughout the country via the customer’s mobile device or smartphone.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

In the community

Population Services Zimbabwe to offer free family planning services in Nkayi

Published

on

 BY WANDILE TSHUMA 

Population Services Zimbabwe (PSZ) is set to provide free family planning services in Nkayi District from next week

Advertisement

The initiative which will run from 15-18, aims to enhance access to comprehensive reproductive health care and empower individuals and couples to make informed choices regarding family planning.

The outreach will kick off on Monday, September 15, at the Sivalo Rural Health Centre (RHC) and its outreach site. This will be followed by activities at various locations each day:

Tuesday, September 16:
Jabulisa at 9:00 AM
Ngabayide at 2:00 PM
Wednesday, September 17:
Sebhumane at 9:00 AM
Nesigwe RHC at 10:00 AM
Thursday, September 18:
Mateme RHC at 9:00 AM
Sembeule at 10:00 AM

Advertisement

The services offered during this campaign include:

Loop insertion and removal
Implant insertion and removal
Depo Provera injections
Secure and control pills
Emergency contraceptive pills
Counselling on reproductive health issues

 

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Trending

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