National

Hwange to host regional summit on ivory trade ban

Published

2 years ago

May 10, 2022

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Zimbabwe will this month hold a regional summit to discuss a common position on the global ban on ivory trade as the countries battle to fund conservation activities and rising poaching activities.

The summit to be held in Hwange between May 23 and 26 will be attended by environment and tourism ministers from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).

Ministers from Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Angola will attend the summit.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said the region wanted to speak with one voice on the ivory trade ban by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which has been in place since 1998.

“We want to build consensus around African countries to speak with one voice when it comes to conservation and safeguarding of our animals and the communities,” Farawo told VicFallsLive.

“We also want to find out on what is it that we can do in terms of dealing with our stockpile because as Zimbabwe, we are sitting on more than half a billion dollars of ivory.

“Issues around the lifting of the CITES ban will be extensively discussed so that at least our people can benefit as we try to also fight wildlife related crimes around the southern Africa region.”

He said African countries have failed to lobby against the ivory trade ban because of lack of a platform where there can speak with one voice at CITES gatherings.

“If we build consensus as Africans, when we go on an international wildlife forum undivided and our voices can outweigh the decision,” Farawo said.

“We also want to take stock of our failures and successes over the years as neighbouring countries and to also come up with strategies and methods of how-to carry out conservation, to deal with climate change and poaching”

In 2019, Zimparks reported that more than 200 elephants and other wildlife species at the country’s game parks died due to drought.

The authority says its failure to dispose of its huge ivory stockpiles has left it unable to fund conservation activities and also to mitigate against the effects of climate change.

“Almost every animal is being affected by this ban,” Farawo said.

He said an increasing number of animals were straying from game reserves into nearby communities in search of food and water leading to cases of human-wildlife conflicts that resulted in the death of 71 people last year alone.

Stevenson Dhlamini, an economic analyst from the National University of Science and Technology, said the forthcoming summit could unlock opportunities for the country’s economy.

“Also, this move will go a long way in ensuring that the population growth of elephants is manageable,” Dhlamini said.

“The communities will also benefit from the influx of tourists into their communities, which results in economic empowerment.

“Again, the lifting of the ban will ensure that the blanket approach to environmental protection does not result in an unfair effect on the communities who do not have the capacity to sustain larger elephant populations which then strains the ecosystem.”

Zimbabwe has an estimated elephant population of 85 000, which is the second largest in Africa after second only to neighbouring Botswana with more than 130 000.

The southern African country has been exporting live elephants to countries such as China and authorities say this is one of the ways of controlling their population and also to raise money for conservation.

Between 2016 and this year Zimbabwe exported about 100 elephants, mainly to China and the United Arab Emirates and raised more than US$3 million.

There have also been suggestions that the country must start culling elephants.

The country last culled elephants in 1988 and continues to have stockpiles of ivory which it cannot sell because of restrictions.

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National

Water levels dropping at Kariba dam

Published

5 days ago

November 1, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY STAFF REPORTER

1 November 2024

The Zambezi River Authority has issued an update on the water levels at the Kariba lake, revealing a sharp decrease due to low inflow.

The current lake level stands at 476.14m, a significant drop from last year’s level of 478.07m.

The usable live storage volume has also decreased dramatically, from 17.90% in 2023 to just 4.46%.

This translates to a reduction from 11.59 billion cubic meters (BCM) to 2.89 BCM, a worrying trend for power generation and water supply between Zimbabwe and Zambia

National

ZIMTA calls for quarterly salary reviews to address inflation

Published

6 days ago

October 31, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY NOTHANDO DUBE & NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Educators in Zimbabwe have been crying out for decent salaries for over five years, with their salaries eroded by the high cost of living and harsh economic conditions.

We recently had a one-on-one interview with the ZIMTA president, Akuneni Maphosa, who shared his insights on the issue.

“Allow me to explain briefly about salaries for heads and teachers generally. Our issue is that, in October 2018, teachers were generally getting a US$540 salary. Such that, we put it across to the government that they stole from us, because, with the mix-up that came with the RTGS currency, whereby 1 US dollar was said to be equivalent to 1 RTGS, that is where we lost our value for money.”

Maphosa emphasized that ZIMTA has a research department that tracks the market and determines the minimum salary required for teachers to survive.

“We found out that a teacher must earn US$1 200, but what we wrote to the government, looking at the average figure, considering that we still have not reached US$540 of 2018, we submitted US$840 to National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC), where we negotiate with the government on salaries.”

He highlighted the shortfall in the recent US$40 increment offered by the government.

“When you look at the amount of the US$40, we were given recently, as we know that our salaries have a component of US dollars and Zim dollars, but when we look at it from the US dollar value, our entry grade is US$479, such that there is a shortfall of US$361 for us to get to the US$840, that is for grade D1.”

Maphosa stressed that ZIMTA is pushing for quarterly reviews to reach the desired salary.

“We are saying the government should have quarterly reviews of these salaries.”

He outlined ZIMTA’s three-pronged approach to address the issue: negotiating at NJNC level, pursuing job evaluation, and professionalizing the teaching service.

“We believe that this is the route that will enhance the earnings for the educators in the country.”

Additionally, Maphosa mentioned that ZIMTA is also pushing for the establishment of a Civil Service Bargaining Council, which would allow for collective bargaining and binding agreements with the government.

“We are currently working with the government and Public Service Commission to ensure that this is put in place.”

Maphosa concluded by emphasizing ZIMTA’s commitment to engaging with the government.

National

Enhancing heritage-based curriculum: A call to action for school heads

Published

7 days ago

October 30, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The National Association of Primary Heads (NAPH) National Conference for 2024 rounded off with a resounding call to action for school heads to take leadership roles in implementing the Heritage-Based Curriculum.

(MINI DOCUMENTARY ON THE LINK BELOW| New heritage-based curriculum under discussion. 2 700 primary school heads meet in Victoria Falls to discuss implementation. Zimta president calls for decent salaries & policies to support teachers. Minister emphasizes leadership roles in schools)

https://x.com/vic_falls_live/status/1851544275416236323?s=46

Minister of State and Provincial Affairs, Richard Moyo, his speech read on his behalf by provincial coordinating director Tapera Mugoriya, emphasized the importance of this curriculum in promoting a holistic approach to learning, focusing on Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage, history, and values.

“The nation looks upon all heads of schools to take noticeably leadership roles in the implementation of the Heritage-Based Curriculum in schools,” Moyo stressed, addressing a gathering of over 2 700 primary school heads from across the country.

Moyo also highlighted the need for school heads to understand the socio-economic contexts of their communities and how local heritage can be leveraged to enhance learning outcomes.

“Your aptly coined theme, ‘The Role Of The School Head In Enhancing The Heritage Based Curriculum Under The Current Socio– Economic Situation,’ is befitting as it challenges us all not to offer education for its own sake, but to utilize the many years that pupils invest in school to prepare them well for their lives and for the sustenance of communities and the country.”

The Minister also expressed appreciation for NAPH’s efforts in championing curriculum reform and implementation, noting that the Heritage-Based Curriculum subsumes all Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets and indicators related to education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Furthermore, Moyo addressed the issue of the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), acknowledging concerns raised by school heads.

The delegates

“The Government is already seized with addressing the matter, and indeed those that are meant to benefit from the safety net will definitely do so,” he assured.

Additionally, Moyo highlighted the Ministry’s commitment to pupil welfare, citing the distribution of tonnes of mealie-mealie to all P3, P2, and satellite primary schools nationally to support the Emergency School Feeding Programme.