National

Refugees in Zimbabwe resort to wood poaching to survive

Published

4 years ago

December 10, 2021

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Lack of opportunities for refugees at the Tongogara Camp in Manicaland is forcing some of them to resort to poaching firewood at the Save Conservancy, a top official has said.

Tongogara, the biggest refugee camp, has over 14 000 immigrants and the number keeps growing.

Totamirepi Tirivavi, director of social development in the Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare ministry to a recent regional symposium on the impacts of climate change on humanitarian issues hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Victoria Falls that said there was need to come up with ways to assist the refugees instead of punishing them for poaching firewood.

“There is the issue of lack of employment opportunities so that these people can generate income and the main issue was when we had a cash crisis the government changed from giving them cash to rations yet they have other needs,” Tirivavi said.

“So, they end up selling charcoal so that they can buy other requirements and they cut down trees from Save Conservancy and other surroundings and that is one of the challenges that we are faced with.

“My view is that people should not be harassed for selling firewood or charcoal as they will be trying to survive, but instead, we should try to come up with a sustainable way for them to do that while we are mitigating issues of deforestation and air pollution.”

He said although there have been no reported cases of death due to human-wildlife conflicts, they had begun erecting a fence and solar streetlights to protect the refugees from wild animals.

“We are happy that from the beginning of this month they will be getting a monthly allowance of US$13 per head so that they will be able to buy from markets and this is good for the economy,” Tirivavi added.

“These wild animals have destroyed infrastructure and crops in their fields.

“We are happy that we got support from the Africa Development Bank of US$1.4million and we managed to erect streetlights for even women to freely move at night without fear of any gender-based violence.”

Most of the refugees are from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique.

National

Coal train in flames: NRZ locomotive damaged in fire incident

Published

3 months ago

April 16, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

A National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) locomotive suffered significant damage after catching fire while transporting export coal to Zambi. The incident occurred between Kalala and Matetsi sidings, resulting in the explosion of the locomotive’s fuel tanks.

According to the NRZ press statement on Monday, “A National Railways of Zimbabwe locomotive suffered some damages after it caught fire this afternoon while transporting export coal to Zambia.” Fortunately, the crew members on board managed to escape unharmed.

The NRZ responded swiftly to the incident, dispatching a rescue train with crews to the site. The team successfully extinguished the fire, preventing further damage. However, the locomotive itself sustained considerable damage.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, with investigations currently underway. “Investigations are already underway to establish the cause of the fire and the amount of damage to the locomotive,” the NRZ statement read.

National

Ranger killed by elephant in Kariba

Published

4 months ago

March 14, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

A 62-year-old ranger, Josphat Mandishara, was tragically killed by an elephant in Kariba yesterday.

Mandishara, who worked for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), was on patrol in the Gatche-gatche area with fellow rangers and police officers.

At around 10 pm, Mandishara returned to the harbor where their boat was docked, and that’s when he encountered the elephant. The elephant charged at him, causing fatal injuries. His colleagues were nearby, resupplying at the Gatche-gatche Irrigation Scheme.

Mandishara’s body was taken to Kariba District Hospital for a post-mortem, and the incident was reported to the police.

ZimParks has sent a team to manage the problem elephant and prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Director General of ZimParks, Prof. Edson Gandiwa, and his team have sent condolences to Mandishara’s family, friends, and colleagues. Mandishara will be remembered for his dedication to wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe.

National

ZIMRA customs officer appears in court for criminal abuse of office

Published

5 months ago

February 3, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY STAFF REPORTER

A Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) customs officer, Phillip Kuvenga, has been accused of criminal abuse of office for allegedly assisting in the importation of banned motor vehicles.

Kuvenga, 28, who is stationed at Victoria Falls, allegedly received documents from clients, completed valuation sheets, and carried out the valuation process. However, he is accused of endorsing different chassis numbers to deceive his supervisors during the validation and approval process.

After obtaining approval, Kuvenga would capture the correct chassis numbers in the ASYCUDA World System. He would then alter or replace the documents submitted earlier to his supervisors.

The offense came to light when a motor vehicle that had not yet arrived in Zimbabwe was found to have been already registered. A thorough check by ZIMRA led to Kuvenga’s arrest.

Kuvenga appeared in court on February 1, where he was denied bail by Magistrate Gift Manyka. He is expected to appear in court again today for another bail hearing.