National

Victoria Falls mayor wants city fenced off to keep dangerous animals away

Published

3 years ago

May 17, 2022

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Victoria Falls mayor Somvelo Dlamini has appealed to the government to invest in a perimeter fence around the resort city to keep away dangerous animals, especially elephants, which killed two people last week.

A man from Mkhosana high density suburb was last Saturday trampled to death by an elephant in the BC847 residential area.

Four day prior to the tragic incident, another man had been killed by an elephant in the Mfelandawonye area.

Dlamini told VicFallsLive that although Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) moved in quickly to put down the two elephants, killing them was not enough.

“We have lost quite a number of people in this town to these human-wildlife conflicts, but I think it’s not warranted to keep losing souls,” Dlamini said.

“We understand that we are in close proximity with wild animals as we are bordering national parks areas, but I believe that there must be control measures put in place so that we don’t keep experiencing these losses.

“We used to have a perimeter fence just outside town that used to protect people from these wild animals, but it was vandalised.

“I believe with government working with parks and local authorities, the fence can be put back so that we avoid stray elephants and buffalos getting into residential areas.

“I think this should be a quick and long lasting solution as (killing of people by elephants) has left many children broken and fatherless.”

Dlamini said residents should not be blamed for walking at night whenever they encounter dangerous animals’ attacks as they will be moving within residential areas.

In November last year, a bartender was gored to death by an elephant near a police station houses while walking home from work.

A mentally challenged man was killed by an elephant at the National Railways of Zimbabwe compound.

“The killings of people by these elephants cannot be blamed on the residents because the elephants stray from parks into the residential areas,” Dlamini said.

“If you look at the two elephants that killed these residents last week, they got into Mkhosana and killed them there.

“So we cannot say we are blaming the people because it is the duty of Zimparks to keep them away from the people.

“We had a meeting on Saturday with police, Zimparks and other stakeholders and we made it clear that there is no law that stipulates that urban authorities should be in-charge of animals, so it’s solely their duty (to keep the animals away).”

The mayor said it was resolved that council working with Zimparks would start conducting educational campaigns on how to deal with problem animals.

“The outcome of the meeting was that us as the local authority we going to work with Zimparks to sensitise people to avoid walking in secluded areas especially at night and Zimparks will also teach them about how to react during the conflict as we try to minimise loss of life,” Dlamini added.

“They suggested that as council, we must have a department of animal control and they promised to educate our workers on how to control problem animals in case there is a stray animal.”

Zimparks says 35 people have been killed by wild animals across the country this year alone.

Related Topics:elephants Victoria Falls Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority

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National

Ranger killed by elephant in Kariba

Published

3 weeks 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

2 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.

National

Retailers send Mnangagwa SOS as shops continue shutting down over operational woes

Published

2 months ago

January 27, 2025

VicFallsLive

BY ZIMLIVE

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) has implored President Emmerson Mnangagwa to intervene and save the sector which has seen various formal retail and wholesale businesses closing shop countrywide due to operational challenges.

In a statement on Sunday, CZR president Denford Mutashu said the continued closure of formal retail and wholesale businesses is a direct consequence of the tough economic environment that has consistently failed to support formalised sector players who face stiff competition from informal businesses and vendors the majority of whom have no tax obligations to deal with.

Mutashu said his association was concerned that authorities continue to downplay the crisis.

“The recent closure of several outlets under the N. Richards Group, coupled with Spar Zimbabwe’s painful decision to shut down Queensdale Spar, Choppies Zimbabwe’s exit from the market, and Mahommed Mussa’s significant reduction of shop space by 60%, highlights the growing crisis.

“As the representative association for these and other brands, CZR is alarmed that while formal businesses face enormous challenges, the authorities continue to present a different picture of the operating environment,” he said.

Given the situation, Mutashu said, only President Mnangagwa can rescue the troubled sector.

“CZR therefore calls for urgent intervention from His Excellency, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, to rescue what remains of the formalized retail and wholesale sector,” said Mutashu.

He said the sector was in urgent need of rescue.

“While CZR acknowledges the continued support from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, it is clear that the root causes of these challenges are fiscal and monetary in nature. These require urgent and decisive action to ensure the survival of formal businesses.

“CZR therefore appeals to the Presidium to prioritize interventions aimed at saving jobs and mitigating the ongoing wave of shop closures and retrenchments,” he said.