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The agony of Victoria Falls dumpsite scavengers toiling for crumbs

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Twenty-six-year-old Norman Mabhiza is among an army of scavengers foraging through waste at the Victoria Falls City Council’s Masuwe dumpsite.

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Mabhiza and his colleagues pick anything they can salvage for sale to make a living or even food to take back to their families.

They retrieve discarded cardboards, metallic objects, plastic tarps, wood and anything that can be recycled amid the foul smell at the dumpsite.

Among the scavengers are married couples, widows, orphans and young people.

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“We have been injured by broken glasses and other sharp objects while working here and even stumbled on aborted fetuses in the waste,” Mabhiza said.

“We live in hell because we have no choice.”

The scavengers keep a register of everyone operating at the Masuwe dumpsite and at the last count, there were over 100 people.

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They use bare hands to flip over the items and put them into large plastic bags strapped on their heads and shoulders.

After filling up the bags, they empty them into big containers within the dumpsite.

For women at the dumpsite the work is strenuous, but the choices are limited, said Khathazile Ncube, a 44-year-old-widow.

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“Competing with men is difficult,” Ncube said. “So to fill up my containers, it can take up to a month.

“I have been in this industry for a long time and all my eight children, the eldest being 16 were born when I was already doing this.

“They need to be fed, taken to school and be clothed. After the death of my husband some years ago, I started coming here more often.

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“I also use the money I make here to take care of my mother.”

Depending on what material they find, scavengers typically earn US$7 to US14 per month from plastic, metal, wood and electronic waste.

They say even animal bones have value as they are used to make jewelry or as an ingredient in the manufacturing of floor tiles or concrete.

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The scavengers have set up a makeshift shelter where they process and grade the waste that is said to fetch more money from recycling companies from as far as Harare.

They start chasing after the refuse trucks that arrive at Masuwe at dawn as they compete to grab the most valuable garbage. It would mostly be metals for sale, clothes to wear and food to eat.

Valentine Shoko, who has been scavenging at Masuwe for 18 years, said it can take up to a week to process waste they pick in a single day.

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“The money is not enough compared to the risks we take and the effort that we put,” Shoko said.

“Some of our colleagues pick up food items that they take to their families despite the risks of poisoning.

“Everyone is forced to come here by the dire economic situation in the country.”

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He says he has nothing show for the 18 years he has been toiling at the dumpsite.

“I am still renting,” Shoko said resignedly.

“These buyers give us US$7 for these sacks and it takes over a month to refill because we are more than 100 here.

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“So when the refuse truck comes to offload some fail to even pick a single item due to the scramble.

“Our wish is to have a law that governs trading in these items so that we can survive.

Mkhululi Nyathi (34) and his wife Sazini Sibanda (30) say they start work as early as 5 AM but still struggle to make enough money to support their family.

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“We met here and we are raising our three children through this work. The money that the buyers give us is not enough,” Sibanda said.

“We are squatters because we cannot afford rentals and even buying food or clothes for the children is a challenge.

“We inhale dangerous fumes and even during the repackaging and we fear that it could damage our lungs.

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“We also fear contracting the coronavirus.’’

No Covid-19 cases have been reported at the site, but no one has been tested either.

Global researchers, who studied municipal dumpsites elsewhere, found dangerous levels of cancer-causing dioxins in the waste.

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Other common illnesses caused by working in dumpsites included diarrhea, headaches, chest and stomach pains, typhoid and irritation of the skins, nose and eyes.

Nyathi said the economic meltdown caused by the outbreak of Covid-19 has also affected their business.

“Most recycling companies that buy waste from us have closed their doors,” he said.

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“So fewer buyers are working but we just collect what we can and wait for anyone who comes along to buy.

A Victoria Falls City Council supervisor at the Masuwe dumpsite said they use various chemicals to kill flies and other insects, warning those could be harmful to humans.

“We just keep a close eye on how they operate for safety, and we also record their names in case of any casualty at our premises,” the official said.

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In June, the World Bank said 1.3 million Zimbabweans had become extremely over in the last year following the outbreak of Covid-19 and this pushed the number of people living on the margins to 7.9 million.

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National

Coal train in flames: NRZ locomotive damaged in fire incident

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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.

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In the community

Human-wildlife conflict claims 18 lives in Zimbabwe’s first quarter

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has reported a disturbing trend of human-wildlife conflict in the country’s first quarter of 2025. According to the authority, 18 people have lost their lives, and 32 others have been injured in encounters with wildlife.

ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo revealed that the authority received 579 cases of human-wildlife conflict, which they managed to respond to promptly. The incidents have also resulted in significant livestock losses, with at least 53 cattle and 85 goats killed by wildlife.

The districts most affected by these incidents include Binga, Hwange, Kariba, Chiredzi, Hurungwe, Nyaminyami, and Mbire. ZimParks has been working tirelessly to raise awareness about wildlife behaviors and effective preventive measures in these areas.

In response to the crisis, ZimParks has translocated 129 animals back into protected areas and eliminated 158 animals deemed problematic.

“We encourage communities to continue reporting incidents to ZimParks Problem Animal Control numbers and local leadership, such as Councillors, Traditional Leaders, and Rural District Council Authorities, to ensure that we preserve lives,” Farawo urged.

The significant increase in livestock losses, with cattle deaths rising from 18 to 53 and goat deaths from 21 to 85 compared to the same period in 2024, highlights the growing challenge of human-wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe.

ZimParks’ efforts to mitigate the conflict include community initiatives to educate people on managing wildlife encounters effectively.

 

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Tens of Thousands in Zimbabwe Go Hungry as the Rains — and US Aid — Hold Back

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Tanayeishe Musau eats baobab porridge after school at his home in Mudzi, Zimbabwe, where the dish has become a daily staple amid worsening drought and hunger. Once a simple supplement, baobab porridge is now a primary meal for families like his, following widespread food shortages and the suspension of international aid.

BY LINDA MUJURU

This story was originally published by Global Press Journal.

Agnes Tauzeni stands on her parched field. She is a mother to two children, and is expecting another. But now, in a time that might otherwise have been joyful, her hopes wither like the struggling crops before her.

 

Three times she’s gambled on the rains; three times the sky has betrayed her. Her first two plantings failed. The soil was too dry to sustain life. Though her third attempt yielded a few weak shoots, they offered little promise of a meaningful harvest. El Niño-driven droughts have disrupted once-reliable rains, leaving Tauzeni’s family and many like hers struggling to feed themselves.

 

“I am always hungry,” Tauzeni says.

 

She worries about the health of her unborn child, based on how little nutrition she consumes herself.

 

Adding to this, food aid, previously funded by the US Agency for International Development, halted suddenly in January. That transformed what was already a struggle into a desperate battle for survival.

 

The food aid ended when US President Donald Trump, on his first day in office, issued an executive order that paused nearly all US foreign aid, most of which was administered by USAID. That agency is now all but defunct.

 

Food aid in Zimbabwe was an ongoing area of funding for USAID. In November 2024, the agency announced $130 million for two seven-year programs, implemented by CARE and Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture, that would provide food aid and other related support to areas of Zimbabwe most in need. The programs, which stopped, were just part of an ongoing slate of activities designed to help Zimbabwe’s neediest people.

 

About 7.6 million people in Zimbabwe — nearly half the country’s population — need humanitarian assistance, according to a 2025 UNICEF report. Of those, nearly 6 million, like Tauzeni, rely on subsistence farming.

 

Through the support of organizations with funding from USAID, people previously received cereals, edible seeds, oil and food vouchers.

 

“A sudden withdrawal can put the entire community in a dire situation,” says Hilton Mbozi, a seed systems and climate change expert.

 

Tauzeni recalls that her community used to receive food supplies such as beans, cooking oil and peanut butter to help combat malnutrition.

 

When Tauzeni got married in 2017, her fields promised abundance. Her harvests were plentiful, and her family never lacked food. Now, those memories feel like whispers from another world. The past two agricultural seasons, those harvests have been devastatingly poor.

 

With an empty granary and dwindling options, Tauzeni’s family survives on the same food every day: baobab porridge in the morning and sadza with wild okra in the evening. But Tauzeniworries whether even this will be on the table in the coming months.

 

“The little maize I have, I got after weeding someone else’s crops, but that won’t take us far,” she says.

 

Tauzeni says a 20-kilogram (44-pound) bag of maize costs US$13 in her village, an amount out of reach for her. Her only source of income is farming. When that fails, she has no money at all.

 

Hunger like Tauzeni experiences is widespread. Some families now eat just once a day.

 

Headman David Musau, leader of Musau village where Tauzenilives, says some people in his village did not plant any seeds this season, fearing losses due to the low rainfall. The government provides food aid inconsistently, usually 7 kilograms (15 pounds) of wheat per person for three months.

 

“It’s not enough, but it helps,” he says.

 

But without any other food aid, survival is at stake, he says. “People will die in the near future.”

 

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