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Skyrocketing fuel prices drain Victoria Falls taxi industry

Published

2 years ago

September 14, 2022

Admin

BY FORTUNE MOYO

Taxi driver Tawanda Gunde recalls the difficult decision he had to make during the coronavirus pandemic to sell one of the three taxis he used to rent out.

While the worry of a reduced income overwhelmed him, he was comforted by the belief that his circumstances would improve again.

But Gunde’s situation didn’t improve, and earlier this year he was forced to sell a second taxi so he could support his family.

Today he tries to make ends meet running his one remaining car, has removed his two sons from private school, and is considering other means of income.

For taxi drivers, making any kind of living has become increasingly difficult when, on the back of a pandemic, the price of fuel keeps rising.

The spiralling situation is forcing many to leave the industry.

In July, Zimbabwe had the second-highest fuel price in Africa, second to Central African Republic, with the price of a litre of petrol in the landlocked country at US$1.88 (over US$7 per gallon).

That’s compared to 46 cents (US$1.74 per gallon) in February, just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which affected oil supplies out of Russia and forced fuel prices up.

In Zimbabwe, the situation is made worse by the country’s use of the United States dollar as well as its local currency.

The Zimbabwean dollar was introduced in 1980 to mark the country’s independence from the United Kingdom and to replace the Rhodesian dollar.

It remained in place until 2009 when it collapsed due to hyperinflation, a devastating and rare financial occurrence which devalues a country’s currency.

Hyperinflation — driven by declines in exports, political corruption and a weak economy — rendered the Zimbabwean dollar so worthless that a 100-trillion-dollar bil l was printed in 2009.

That same year, a multi-currency system was adopted which included the US dollar, Euro, UK pound and South African rand to restore some local currency stability.

In 2019, the country returned to a primarily Zimbabwean dollar system.

But despite treasury moves to enforce the single currency system — at one point outlawing the use of the US dollar and other foreign currencies — the US dollar remained an integral part of the country’s currency, offering stability while the Zimbabwean dollar continued to lose value.

Now, with inflation hitting a staggering 256.9% in July, the normally reliable U.S. dollar also faces inflationary pressures, exacerbating the situation.

“The Russia-Ukraine war has affected global economies and Zimbabwe has not been spared, as the war is also affecting the US dollar in Zimbabwe,” says Felix Chari, a business and economics lecturer at Bindura University of Science Education.

“Inflation continues to increase, and this is affecting the U.S. dollar, which has often been stable over the years. The local currency is bound to continue losing as the year continues.”

While keeping currency relatively stable, Zimbabwe’s multi-currency system has proved a headache for business owners who are expected to offer prices in two currencies for their customers.

Taxi driver Taurai Dube, who some days only earns half of what he used to before the hike in fuel prices, says he has to check the rates of both currencies each morning so he can set his prices before he starts driving his executive taxi, a higher-end mode of transport.

“I allow my clients to pay me in the US dollar and in the local currency at the day’s prevailing exchange rate,” Dube says.

The father of three has had to increase his fare prices after business started to slow in March.

Customers who want to pay in the local currency lose out as a US$10 trip would cost them the equivalent of US$11 to US$13 when paying with Zimbabwean dollars due to its daily drop in value.

If they do pay with local currency, Dube then can’t use the cash to buy fuel as it’s only sold in US dollars.

“Most of my local clients can no longer afford my charges and they opt for the cheaper local shuttle taxis,” Dube says.

“I now survive on tourist clients.”

Some residents have been completely priced out of using taxis and opt to walk to their destinations.

As a small tourist town only recently granted city status, there are no local buses serving Victoria Falls.

Sanelisiwe Mkhwananzi, a supermarket worker, used to get to and from work by taxi at a cost of US$1 each way.

Now the price has doubled, and her monthly pay can’t cover it.

“It takes me about 30 minutes to walk from home to work if I use shortcuts, meaning I cut through bushes and not use the main roads,” Mkhwananzi says.

“But the challenge with the shortcuts is that when it gets dark, they are dangerous as there are wild animals and even thieves at times.”

At the supermarket where Mkhwananzi works and others like it, the hike in fuel prices also means transporting goods has become more expensive.

Oswald Kasi, the owner of a mini supermarket in the township of Mkhosana, in Victoria Falls, gets most of his stock from Bulawayo, a city more than 400 kilometers (249 miles) southeast of his store.

“When fuel prices go up, I am also forced to increase the prices of my goods so that I am able to make a profit,” Kasi says.

Country leaders hope a decision to drop the levy on diesel and reduce the levy on petrol — in a bid to stop the price of fuel from exceeding US$2 per liter (about US$7.50 per gallon) — will help the situation.

Chari, the economics lecturer, agrees with the move, but says despite such attempts “Zimbabwe remains expensive when compared to neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Botswana.”

Meanwhile, the country’s often complicated multi-currency system looks set to stay for a while. Mthuli Ncube, minister of Finance and Economic Development, announced in his latest financial statement released in June that the use of the Zimbabwean dollar alongside the US dollar would remain in place for the next five years. Attempts to reach the ministry for comment were unsuccessful.

For Gunde and taxi drivers like him, change needs to happen fast. He no longer has a backup taxi to sell should the dire economic situation continue.

“It was a hard blow I had to take,” he says of his decision to sell the two taxis.

While he lives in hope that one day he will have a more secure business, his daily thoughts are consumed with worries of whether he has enough money to support his wife and two children.

“I tried buying and selling clothes to supplement my income but I didn’t get the results I needed,” Gunde says.

“Driving a taxi is the only business I know.” – Global Press Journal

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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.”