Special reports

‘Stone-Age’ Donkey-Drawn Carts Ply Zimbabwe’s Abandoned Remote Routes

Published

1 year ago

March 23, 2023

BY JEFFREY MOYO

From the Masvingo-Beitbridge highway in Zimbabwe at a spot popularly known as Turn-P, the road passing through Neshuro Township has been degraded, disused, and derelict for over two decades, with buses avoiding the route. Now donkey-drawn carts that operate alongside jalopy vehicles have become the new alternative for remote travellers around Mwenezi villages.

The scotch carts have become even more common in areas around Maranda and Mazetese in Mwenezi as villagers switch to them for transport to hospitals and clinics.

Such has become a life for 64-year-old Dennis Masukume of the Mazetese area.

The diabetic patient is forced to use alternative means of transport.

“I board a scotch cart every time I want to travel to Neshuro hospital for my medication, which means I use the scotch cart up to somewhere in Gwamatenga where I then get some private cars that ply the route to Neshuro at nominal fares,” Masukume told IPS.

At Tsungirirai Secondary school and Vinga Primary school in the Mwenezi district, the rare availability of public transport means that even teachers have to cope with scotch carts each time they have to travel to Maranda, where they catch jalopies to the Masvingo-Beitbridge highway on paydays.

In fact, with road infrastructure badly damaged in most rural areas in Zimbabwe, villagers are resorting to olden ways of transport-using scotch carts and walking to reach places where they can access essential services like health care.

The unpaved rural roads have become impassable for buses.

Now, some villagers are capitalizing on the crisis, using their scotch carts to earn a living.

Mwenezi district, located in Masvingo Province, south of the country, has become famed for routes plied by scotch carts.

Entrepreneurs have turned to making easy money from scotch carts. Twenty-four-year-old Clive Nhongo, who resides closer to Manyuchi dam in Mwenezi, said the bad roads had meant good business for him.

“I’m charging a dollar per passenger every trip I make with my scotch cart taking people anywhere around my area, and I can tell you I make about 20 USD daily depending on the number of customers I get, considering that villagers rarely travel here,” Nhongo told IPS.While many villagers fume at the damaged roads and lack of a proper modern transport system, many, like Nhongo, have something to smile about.

“I provide the alternative transport, and until roads are rehabilitated and buses return on our routes, I might remain in business, which is fine for me,” said Nhongo.

He (Nhongo) has made wooden seats and installed them on his scotch cart to accommodate passengers.

More and more villagers, cornered with transport woes amid derelict roads in villages, are now having to rely on donkey-drawn scotch carts owned by village entrepreneurs like Nhongo.

Public transport operators like 56-year-old Obed Mhishi, based in Masvingo, Zimbabwe’s oldest town, said there was no way he could endure damaging his omnibuses plying routes with defunct roads.

Donkey-drawn carts have taken over.“It’s not only me shunning the routes the ones in Mwenezi and its villages, but we are many transport operators shunning the routes owing to deplorable roads, and yes, scotch cart operators are capitalizing on that to fill the vacuum. That’s business,” Mhishi told IPS.

Yet even as scotch carts operators cash in on the growing crisis in the Southern African country, local authorities have said donkey-drawn scotch carts have never been regularized to ferry people anywhere in Zimbabwe.

An official working at Mwenezi Rural District Council, who said he was not authorized to speak to the media, said, “scotch carts don’t pay road tax, nor do they have insurance for passengers.”

But for ordinary Zimbabwean villagers in Mwenezi, like 31-year-old Richmore Ndlovhu, with dilapidated roads that have been neglected for years, the scotch carts have become the only way—insurance or not.

Buses that used to reach areas like Mazetese now prefer not to go beyond the Masvingo-Beitbridge highway, where scotch carts and a few jalopy vehicles scramble for passengers alighting from buses. These are the passengers wanting to proceed with their journeys into villages.

Zimbabwe’s rural roads in districts like Mwenezi have remained unpaved for more than four decades after gaining independence from colonial rule.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwean President Emerson Mnangagwa has been on record affirming that his country would become a middle-income state by 2030, just about seven years from now.

Yet for opposition political activists here, like Elvis Mugari of the Citizens Coalition for Change, Mnangagwa may be building castles in the air.

“With corruption in his government and the sustained hatred for the opposition, Mnangagwa won’t achieve a middle-income Zimbabwe. That is impossible,” Mugari told IPS.

Batai Chiwawa, a Zimbabwean development expert, blamed the regime here for taking the whole country backwards.

“Is it not taking the country to the stone age era when villagers now have to use scotch carts as ambulances? Is it not a return to the dark ages when people now have to walk long distances because there is no public transport in their villages? This is embarrassing, deeply embarrassing, when people start using scotch carts as public transport in this day and era,” Chiwawa asked when commenting to IPS.IPS UN Bureau Report

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Health ministry urges caution as Mpox cases rise

Published

1 week ago

August 30, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY WANDILE TSHUMA

The Ministry of Health and Childcare has issued a statement urging citizens to take immediate action to protect themselves and others from Mpox, a viral disease that can be transmitted from animals to people.

As cases of Mpox continue to rise, the ministry is advising residents to avoid physical contact with anyone showing signs and symptoms of the disease, including a rash, fever, and swollen lymph nodes.

Additionally, citizens are cautioned against sharing personal items, eating undercooked meat, and having unprotected contact with wild animals.

“Wash your hands regularly with soap under running water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer,” the statement reads.

“Wear a mask if you cannot avoid close contact, and ensure that all foods containing animal meat or parts are thoroughly cooked before consumption.”

The ministry’s guidance comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern about the spread of Mpox in the African context.

According to WHO, the outbreak has resulted in over 15 600 cases and 537 deaths, with the number of cases increasing steadily over the past year.

“Mpox is a significant public health threat,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “

We urge communities to take proactive measures to prevent the spread of the disease.”

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has declared the situation a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

The declaration comes after an Emergency Committee of independent experts met to review data on the outbreak, which has affected several countries in Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.

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Good rains expected for SADC region, bringing hope to Zimbabwe and other countries

Published

1 week ago

August 29, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) region is expected to receive good rainfall in the coming 2024-2025 summer cropping season, bringing hope to countries such as Zimbabwe, Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, and Namibia.

This is according to the 29th Annual Southern Africa Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF) report, which forecasts normal to above-normal rainfall for the bulk of the region.

“The remainder of the region is likely to have normal to below-normal rainfall during this period of the 2024/25 season, including the island states of Comoros and Seychelles,” the report states. This is a welcome relief for countries such as Zimbabwe, which experienced one of the worst El Nino-induced droughts in years.

The report also notes that northern Madagascar is likely to receive above-normal rainfall during this period of the 2023/24 rainfall season, while the temperature outlook for the entire 2024/25 rainfall season is expected to be mostly above long-term averages over the whole SADC region.

“The outlook is broadly consistent with the forecasts generated with the multi-model ensemble of international dynamical climate forecast models presented by the World Meteorological Organisation,” the report says.

Regional experts say there are good chances of normal to below-normal conditions during the October to December (OND) period for south-western Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and north-east South Africa.

Below-normal rainfall is expected to expand to cover northern DRC and northern Tanzania by the December to February (DJF) period.

“The forecast probabilities are broadly consistent with the known influence of La Niña on the regional climate,” the report says.

A national forecast for Zimbabwe is expected to be made in the coming few days as the country steps up efforts to prepare for the summer crop.

Climate experts say La Niña events are also associated with heightened risk of cyclones – tropical storms that bring winds, heavy rains, damage, and destruction to countries in the region.

Tropical storms have caused severe humanitarian impacts in Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, including deaths and injuries, infrastructure damage, and long-lasting socio-economic impacts.

In summary, the SADC region can expect good rainfall in the coming summer cropping season, which is a welcome relief after the devastating El Nino-induced drought.

However, climate experts caution that La Niñas don’t always result in widespread rain, and the region should be prepared for any eventuality.

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WHO declares mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern

Published

3 weeks ago

August 15, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY STAFF REPORTER

In a move to combat the growing mpox outbreak in Africa, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has declared the situation a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

“The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighbouring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”Ghebreyesus said.

According to WHO, the outbreak has resulted in over 15 600 cases and 537 deaths, with the number of cases increasing steadily over the past year.

The emergence of a new virus strain, clade 1b, which appears to be spreading mainly through sexual networks, has particularly concerned experts.

WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti said significant efforts are already underway to curb the outbreak, with country teams working closely with communities and governments to reinforce measures.

The organization is scaling up its response through coordinated international action to support countries in bringing the outbreaks to an end.

Committee Chair Professor Dimie Ogoina emphasized that the current upsurge of mpox in Africa is not only an emergency for the continent but also for the entire globe.

WHO has released $1.45 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support surveillance, preparedness, and response activities and is appealing to donors to fund the full extent of needs for the mpox response.