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Zimbabwe counts costs of rise in illicit alcohol use driven by economic hardships

Published

3 years ago

September 27, 2021

Admin

BY NYASHA CHINGONO

It is 7pm and inside the shebeen, or unlicensed bar, in Harare, men and women clutch small bottles of “whisky” and talk animatedly as they dance to loud music.

One man staggers and falls over, to the amusement of other drinkers.

He mumbles inaudible words as he drifts into sleep.

Nearby, two other men doze after spending hours in the bar on a sweltering September day.

A group of drinkers erupt into laughter as their young friend soils himself.

“He does this all this time. The young boy is a bad drinker,” one says.

This popular shebeen in Mabvuku, east of central Harare, serves up cheap booze and big profits for the manager, Wellington Musema*.

“I sell close to 12 cartons [144 bottles] of whisky every day,” he says. “I make a lot of money.”

But most of the alcohol on sale is illegal.

Bottles of potent moonshine brews, sold under the guise of whisky, gin and vodka, have flooded Zimbabwe over the past few years.

Known by street names such as musombodia, kachasu or tumbwa, the drinks are made by mixing ethanol or methanol with a brownish colouring.

Illegal distillers dilute it with water to reduce the alcohol content.

The liquid is then packaged as a legitimate bottle of spirits, complete with imitation labels for brands such as Jameson Irish whiskey, Two Keys and Four Cousins.

Even more illicit whisky known as Soldier is sold in plastic sachets.

For 50 US cents (36p), drinkers can buy a 200ml bottle of very strong fake whisky. For US$5 (£3.60), they can buy 12 bottles.

But while the packaging may claim the drink is 40 percent alcohol, in reality the content could be much higher, making it dangerously intoxicating and addictive.

“Whenever you see someone sleeping by the roadside, either in the heat or in rain, know that these are the effects of this [drink]. It is highly intoxicating and has become highly addictive,” says Samuel Munetsi*, 43, at the shebeen.

While some of the fake spirits are smuggled into the country through the porous borders, others are made locally in backyard stills.

In Harare’s Graniteside industrial estate, several backyard stills have emerged, taking advantage of the increased demand for the illicit drinks after the government closed the beerhalls in March last year at the start of Covid lockdowns.

At Musema’s shebeen in Mabvuku, bottles and red bottle tops are strewn all over the floor.

“My suppliers are in Mbare and always give me good deals because of the volumes I push daily,” says Musema, whose shebeen is often raided by police.

“I have a special supply from people who make this whisky. They give me discounted rates.”

The 35-year-old makes US$150 on a good day. Business is picking up as the government relaxes its lockdown rules.

Gladmore Muyambo*, 35, says she drinks five bottles of the fake whisky a day, as well as lagers and traditional sorghum beer.

Muyambo goes from shebeen to shebeen in the hope that someone will buy her a drink.

Her two young daughters are now cared for by her mother.

“I am divorced, and life has been very tough,” she says.

“There is nothing else to do but to drink.

“This is how I drown my sorrows. But I fear that this could kill me one day.”

Although illicit alcohol is not new to Zimbabwe, sales have grown in the townships – along with the use of crystal meth us – in recent years amid the country’s economic crisis. Zimbabwe has nearly 90 percent unemployment, with young people most affected.

In Mbare, one of Zimbabwe’s oldest townships, whisky hawkers display their wares.

“Give me US$5, I’ll give you the whole pack, this is good quality,” shouts one seller.

Abigail Chifamba*, 26, sits in the sun cleaning red bottle tops with a toothbrush to prepare packaging for her merchandise.

She spends part of her day looking for old whisky bottles she can recycle.

“Packaging is expensive, so I go around looking for used bottles, clean them and repackage the whisky. It is cheaper because they already have labels,” Chifamba says.

She pours brown liquid from a 20-litre container into each bottle, before displaying them on her makeshift stall.

Last month, her neighbour died after a drinking binge.

A postmortem examination showed he had a damaged liver, she says.

“We were shocked at his sudden death and the doctors said most of his internal organs had been seriously damaged.

“I think this is from the heavy drinking of musombodia,” Chifamba says.

Authorities are trying to flush out the illicit alcohol business in Zimbabwe, but it has proved difficult.

Paul Nyathi, a police spokesman, said officers had conducted raids and arrests around the country.

“We are aware that there are people selling fake wines and whiskies made in backyard premises.

“We have conducted raids in Mbare, Highfields and other parts of Zimbabwe apprehending those selling such substances.

“We are working with beverages companies and other relevant authorities.

“We urge members of the public to prioritise their health.”

Wilson Box, director of the Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network, said the sale and consumption of illicit alcohol had become a national problem.

“The situation is so bad in high-density areas [and] rural areas. In most ghettoes, this is a substitute for the local lagers.

“The worst-case scenario is that drinkers go into a coma and never recover from it. They die silently but painfully,” Box said.

He urged the government to prioritise cleaning up the streets and closing down the backyard stills.

While the government has set up a national taskforce to deal with endemic drug use, it has yet to do so for alcohol abuse.

“There is no official data on illicit whisky,” he says.

“Illicit whisky should be placed as a priority area, just like drugs, because there is no data on it but the effects are just as alarming.”

Fabian Musoro, national programme manager for the government’s mental health services department, says alcohol addiction is behind an increase in mental health problems in Zimbabwe.

“It is unfortunate that the authorities and experts do not have figures because there are no official studies,” Musoro says.

“We hope that now that government has set a taskforce to look into drugs, studies would be done on alcohol. Evidence is there right in the street.” – The Guardian

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Victoria Falls based lawfirm donates football kits to Division Two teams

Published

1 year ago

March 28, 2023

Admin

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

A Victoria Falls based law firm has donated football kits to twelve Division Two soccer players in Hwange West district in an effort to fight drugs and substance abuse among youths in the communities.

According to the law firm’s director Thulani Nkala, of Dube Nkala & Company Legal Practitioners, the donation aims to promote a healthy society where teenagers can engage in sports even after school.

Division Two falls under the Zimbabwe Football Association and it comes after Division One which is also below the premier league.

“As you are all aware that drugs are causing problems in our town, we felt that we can make a difference to counter this by donating some football kits and other equipment for our youths to use as they play,” Nkala said.

“We hope that this will be an ongoing partnership, but for now we will only be sponsoring for this upcoming season which is about to start and we shall renew as the next seasons approach on condition that we have mutual understanding which is based on respect because we will not want a situation where teams fight each one another.”

He said apart from the kits and trophy, the teams will play for a prize money at the end of the season.

Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) Matabeleland North provincial acting chairman Clevious Ncube said the gesture will go a long way in nurturing young talents in the Division Two league, whom most of them are school going children and teenagers.

Prosper Neshavi, provincial ZIFA board member, lamented lack of interest in football sponsorship even at national level.

He said this has been part of the reasons why the country has been kicked out of the Federation Internationale Football Association (FIFA).

FIFA President Giovanni Infantino last year said the association had to suspend Zimbabwe and Kenya for government interference in the activities of the football associations.

“They know what needs to be done for them to be readmitted or for the suspension to be lifted. “Infantino said last year.

Meanwhile, as part of efforts to introduce sports tourism in Victoria Falls, tourism operators and other sports officials have joined hands to form a committee that will spearhead the allocation of land by the Victoria Falls City Council for sporting activities such as the football, tennis, boxing and rugby among other sporting disciples.

This was revealed by the committee chairperson Mthabisi Ncube who lamented lack of sporting facilities in the city.

He revealed that through their negotiations with the council, a certain portion of land has been set aside for the project.

Their end goal is to see the town hosting local and international teams, which will inturn boost the country’s tourism GDP.

“As we say that we are the tourism capital of Zimbabwe and possibly the better capital of Africa and we fail to have a 10 000 seater stadium,” he said.

“We can not fail to host training matches such as the rugby, football where teams such as the Kaizer Chiefs Football Club can decide to come to Victoria Falls as they prepare ahead of the season, so their coming will help us a lot because all the businesses from accomodation to the salons and vegetable vendors will benefit from their presence, but it cannot happen when we do not have the facilities.

“Our vision is to have a complex where we can host international games, international meetings for cricket, rugby, tennis. We want to be like what Capetown (South Africa) does where they have no free weekend in arts and sporting activities.”

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Gaseous coal substances exposes Hwange residents to TB

Published

1 year ago

March 21, 2023

Admin

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

In the scorching sun, Litha Ncube and her nine-year-old daughter are armed with hoes and shovels as they make way to a dumpsite to scavenge for a precious by-product of coal, coke.

The poverty-stricken widow from Hwange’s Madumabisa Village says she has no option but to scrounge for the product in a life-threatening environment that has claimed the lives of many. This is her only means of survival.

As she digs the dumpsite without any Personal Protective Clothing (PPE) such as the surgical mask, her daughter’s task is to pick and separate the coke from the chaff and fill a 50-kilogramme sack. This quantity of coke fetches US$5, which she says helps to sustain her family.

Her husband died at the height of Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 after he was diagnosed with Tubercolosis (TB) which he contracted due to inhaling of coal dust at the same dumpsite.

Ncube was also diagnosed and it took her over 12 months to fully recover.

“If I stop, who will support my children?” Ncube quizzes as she continues to dig.

Ncube is among the many women in Hwange who have resorted to trespassing into the Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) dumpsite in search of coke, which they resell to make ends meet.

TB is one of the leading causes of death in Zimbabwe.

According to Community Working Group on Health, about 6 300 Zimbabweans die of TB each year despite it being preventable and curable.

The African region has the second-highest tuberculosis burden worldwide, after Southeast Asia. under the World Health Organisation End Tuberculosis Strategy, countries should aim to reduce TB cases by 80% and cut deaths by 90% by 2030 compared with 2015.

According to National Mine Workers Union of Zimbabwe president Kurebwa Javangwe Nomboka, gaseous substances from coal dusts have left many Hwange villagers and residents exposed to TB, although many are not documented.

‘The prevalence of TB is very high, but undocumented in the areas we have done programs which are around the mining community of Hwange,” Nomboka told VicFallsLive.

“Coal is the commonly mined mineral in the area and is well known for its combustible nature and the emission of dangerous poisonous gases.”

Nomboka says apart from residents such as Ncube, the scourge is higher in the mining companies, largely Chinese owned.

He says the mostly affected are underground miners and even those involved in the processing of coal to coking coke.

” Examples of areas with a high risk of TB which my team have visited are HC, Hwange Coal Gasification and South Mining,” he revealed.

“The environment in these mines is heavily embroidered or engulfed with coal dust and gaseous substances which causes a high risk of TB and other related diseases like Pneumoconiosis.”

These heavy dusts and gaseous substances, Nomboka says are also evident in the residential areas and thus posing a risk to the families of miners.

” At Hwange Coal Gasification at times the whole complex is engulfed with gaseous substances to an extent that you won’t even be in a position to see buildings or people around you,”

“Besides the dust and gaseous substances there is immense heat that comes out from the furnaces and the personnel working such under environments are spotted with improper and inadequate PPEs and the issue in these mines has become of lesser priority as it is only acquired when we raise a red flag as a union.”

Nomboka said the PPEs being acquired does not meet the standard required under the Mining industry safety regulations leaving workers vulnerable to contracting TB and other related diseases.

” As a trade union we have reigned in on these defaulting companies to comply with the mining safety regulations and those found not to be in compliance with the regulations have had to be litigated against in order for them to comply,” Nomboka revealed.

“The country needs to adopt stern measures on those who fail to comply with mining safety regulations by enacting laws which provide for hefty fines for companies who fail to provide safety nets for their employees and proper and adequate protective clothing.”

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Engage communities in TB planning, Government urged

Published

1 year ago

March 21, 2023

Admin

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) has called on the government to engage communities in planning and implementing of strong, integrated Tubercolosis (TB) mitigation as part of response measure, amid revelations that over 6 000 Zimbabweans succumb to the pulmonary disease every year.

The call was made by CWGH, a health watch organisation executive director Itai Rusike ahead of the World TB Day commemorations.

Rusike said although there has been some efforts made towards ending TB, a killer disease and highlighting further action that is needed to defeat the life-threatening disease, communities should be part of the action.

“TB remains a major obstacle to attaining the SDG vision of health, development, and prosperity for all in Zimbabwe,”Rusike told VicFallsLive.

“Our country has an estimated 21 000 new cases of TB each year, and 3.1% of these are drug resistant.

” 6300 Zimbabweans die of TB each year despite it being preventable and curable.”

According to health activists, most of these are recorded in mining towns and communities where there is no adequate Personal Protective Equipment.

Rusike also called for more scientific research and funding towards eradication of pulmonary disease including the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Funding for research on TB in Zimbabwe is minimal, and new tools to prevent, diagnose, and treat TB are urgently required,” he said.

“There is an opportunity to leverage Covid-19 infrastructure and investments to improve the TB response, integrate TB and Covid-19 testing and tracing, and strengthen efforts to overcome the barriers that people continue to face when accessing TB services.”

According to studies, the advent of Covid-19, three years ago eliminated 12 years of progress in the Global Fight against TB as governments, due to its response to the pandemic pushed aside TB outreach and services, resulting in a 20% drop in diagnosis and treatment worldwide.

“This World TB Day 2023 (March 24) we emphasize that “Yes! We can end TB” – aims to inspire hope and encourage high-level leadership, increased investments, faster uptake of new World Health Organisation recommendations, adoption of innovation, accelerated action and multisectoral collaboration to combat the TB epidemic,”Rusike said.

“It is time for the government to fulfill its commitments towards defeating TB.

“The government should engage communities in planning and implementing strong, integrated TB and Covid-19 mitigation and response measures.”

In addition, he said, there is need to increase financing for TB prevention and care, innovations in care delivery, and research and development, including for new TB vaccines to prevent the development of Drug Resistant TB.

” The theme brings attention to tuberculosis (TB) and our collective power to end TB by 2030 and therefore reach the SDG goals,” he added.

“It brings hope and builds on the amazing work done in 2022 by Zimbabwe as one of the TB High Burden Countries to recover from the impact of Covid -19 while ensuring access to TB treatment and prevention.

” It is time to take urgent action to get back on track and accelerate collective efforts to fulfill the 2022 United Nations targets on TB to defeat the disease and save lives.

“The commitments made, and targets set by Heads of State and other leaders to accelerate action to end TB must be kept even in Covid-19 crisis and should be backed by adequate investments (and) this will help to protect the lives of thousands of peoplesuffering from TB and to prevent further loss of gains made in the fight against TB.

” Not one more person should die from TB because it is a preventable and treatable disease.”