National
Low voter registration haunts Victoria Falls as wards are redrawn
BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
A spirited lobby by politicians and activists for an increase in the number of Victoria Falls wards from 11 to 14 ahead of the 2023 elections has been turned down by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, it has emerged.
The development was revealed at a Hwange West constituency stakeholder delimitation consultative meeting held in Victoria Falls on Friday.
ZEC has begun delimitation consultations, which will culminate in the redrawing of ward and constituency boundaries based on the latest voter population.
Hwange West MP Godfrey Dube’s personal assistant Robson Salimu told the meeting that Victoria Falls only had 22 000 registered vote and the majority of them were from Mkhosana high density suburb, which makes up ward 11.
Salimu said ZEC told a recent delimitation stakeholder meeting in Hwange that Mkhosana will be split into four wards, but the city will still remain with 11 wards.
He said the same message had been sent to Victoria Falls town clerk Ronnie Dube.
“What has come out of the delimitation process is that Mkhosana will have four wards (and that means) other wards will have to be scrapped so that we maintain the 11 wards,” Dube said.
“There is a scientific formula that is used to demarcate a ward and the minimum threshold is 1600 registered voters per ward.
“As we speak ward one has about 600 registered voters and this applies to ward two and with the central government’s standards, they can’t form a ward even if they were combined.
“So naturally, such wards will be combined to make one ward
“All these wards like ward seven, eight, and four will be affected.
“There will be a new map because those wards are very small, and they don’t meet the minimum requirements to constitute a ward.”
The announcement was met with indignation from the stakeholders, who included politicians, pastors, education sector representatives and activists.
They argued that ZEC’s decision to dissolve some wards was not justified and was done without consultations.
“Most of the people seated here did not take part in the consultations or give input,” said former ward six councillor Ephia Mambume.
“So yes the horses may have bolted, but is there no way we can get audience (with ZEC) where we can raise our concerns and this is where the MP should come in and help us to try and solve this thing.”
Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association representative Trymore Ndolo urged ZEC to ensure that voters in the city were made aware of the reconfigured wards.
“What is very important now is for people to be told about their new voting centres when the mapping has been done,”Ndolo said.
“We also have some aspiring councillors, who also need to know about this information.”
Dube was of the view that information about the reconfiguration of the wards should have been given to the people before voters’ registration blitz as council had proposed to increase the number of wards to 14, but the lobby failed because of the low number of registered voters.
“Such meetings should, perhaps, be done during the process of registering to vote because Victoria Falls has 22 000 registered voters and that divided gives us 11.
“So our proposal to have at least 14 wards next year will not work without any scientific justification backing our proposal.”
Zanu PF’s Hwange district chairperson Matthew Muleya argued that it was too late to convince ZEC to reverse its decision.
“If you see us from the revolutionary party being quite it means that this was passed long ago and we don’t have the resources to send a delegation to Hwange,” Muleya said.
“(In any case) they will present what has been said by the people and nothing will come out it.
“We tried it as the ruling party, although we could not disclose it because we are sometimes much better than the opposition.
“So this issue of numbers cannot be changed even in rural areas where we have a grip.
“The number of registered voters determines (the number of wards) and even my ward (19) is affected because there are not enough registered voters.”
The meeting agreed that the MPs office will make submissions to ZEC calling for more consultations.
The delimitation exercise is done every 10 years and is informed by the population census and the number of registered voters.
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
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.
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