National

Zimbabwean teachers boycott classes as schools re-open

Published

4 years ago

September 2, 2021

BY COLUMBUS MAVHUNGA

Zimbabwe resumed in-classroom teaching this week, but thousands of teachers are protesting salaries that are below the poverty level and a lack of personal protective equipment against Covid-19.

Zimbabwe’s Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union says it will only call off the strike when the government addresses the concerns.

“And there is negligence on the part of the authorities to make sure that there is enough safety to guarantee our teachers and learners from the pandemic,” said Robson Chere, secretary general of the teachers union.

“They should have been providing adequate water supply, enough PPEs.

Arcturus Primary School, which is down here, hasn’t even water. It’s messy. It’s a disaster. “

“We are sitting on a time bomb for both learners and teachers.”

Authorities did not allow VOA into Arcturus Primary School, which is about 40 kilometers east of Harare.

Some students around Harare have been going to school since Monday to try to learn among themselves, as there are no teachers.

The teachers union warns that classrooms may turn into COVID-19 super spreaders.

But Taungana Ndoro, director of communications and advocacy at Zimbabwe’s Education Ministry, says the government has been working to ensure classrooms are safe.

“We have been putting in new infrastructure to ensure that we decongest the existing infrastructure to ensure that there is social and physical distancing for the prevention and management of Covid-19,” Ndoro said.

“We have also made sure that our schools have adequate supplies of sanitizers and water.

“So, it is looking good. We have got single-seated desks now, instead of two- or three-seated desks.

“This is to encourage social distancing. We do not have bunk beds anymore in our boarding schools.

“We have got single beds and spacing of at least one-and-half to two meters. So, it is encouraging.”

Unicef Zimbabwe has been helping students and the government during the Covid-19 lockdown.

“The two-key approaches were, one: How we can support the loss of learning as a result of school closure. The second one was: How to keep the school safe and ready for children to return to school,” said Niki Abrishamian, Unicef Zimbabwe’s education manager.

“We managed to produce more than 1,600 radio lessons as part of alternative learning approaches.

“We had to look at how to take learning to the children, especially when they were at home and did not have access to schooling.”

Zimbabwe’s teachers hope such organisations can assist the government and supply the resources they require — adequate PPEs against Covid-19 and salaries that allow them to live above the poverty line.

Zimbabwe currently has 124,773 confirmed coronavirus infections and 4,419 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the global outbreak. – VOA

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.