National

Victoria Falls mayor wants city fenced off to keep dangerous animals away

Published

2 years ago

May 17, 2022

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Victoria Falls mayor Somvelo Dlamini has appealed to the government to invest in a perimeter fence around the resort city to keep away dangerous animals, especially elephants, which killed two people last week.

A man from Mkhosana high density suburb was last Saturday trampled to death by an elephant in the BC847 residential area.

Four day prior to the tragic incident, another man had been killed by an elephant in the Mfelandawonye area.

Dlamini told VicFallsLive that although Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) moved in quickly to put down the two elephants, killing them was not enough.

“We have lost quite a number of people in this town to these human-wildlife conflicts, but I think it’s not warranted to keep losing souls,” Dlamini said.

“We understand that we are in close proximity with wild animals as we are bordering national parks areas, but I believe that there must be control measures put in place so that we don’t keep experiencing these losses.

“We used to have a perimeter fence just outside town that used to protect people from these wild animals, but it was vandalised.

“I believe with government working with parks and local authorities, the fence can be put back so that we avoid stray elephants and buffalos getting into residential areas.

“I think this should be a quick and long lasting solution as (killing of people by elephants) has left many children broken and fatherless.”

Dlamini said residents should not be blamed for walking at night whenever they encounter dangerous animals’ attacks as they will be moving within residential areas.

In November last year, a bartender was gored to death by an elephant near a police station houses while walking home from work.

A mentally challenged man was killed by an elephant at the National Railways of Zimbabwe compound.

“The killings of people by these elephants cannot be blamed on the residents because the elephants stray from parks into the residential areas,” Dlamini said.

“If you look at the two elephants that killed these residents last week, they got into Mkhosana and killed them there.

“So we cannot say we are blaming the people because it is the duty of Zimparks to keep them away from the people.

“We had a meeting on Saturday with police, Zimparks and other stakeholders and we made it clear that there is no law that stipulates that urban authorities should be in-charge of animals, so it’s solely their duty (to keep the animals away).”

The mayor said it was resolved that council working with Zimparks would start conducting educational campaigns on how to deal with problem animals.

“The outcome of the meeting was that us as the local authority we going to work with Zimparks to sensitise people to avoid walking in secluded areas especially at night and Zimparks will also teach them about how to react during the conflict as we try to minimise loss of life,” Dlamini added.

“They suggested that as council, we must have a department of animal control and they promised to educate our workers on how to control problem animals in case there is a stray animal.”

Zimparks says 35 people have been killed by wild animals across the country this year alone.

Related Topics:elephants Victoria Falls Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority

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National

Water levels dropping at Kariba dam

Published

4 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

5 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

6 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.