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Zimbabwean women breaking barriers as they take up construction jobs

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BY FORTUNE MOYO

Last year, Charity Nyoni walked by a group of men who were painting a house and asked if she could help.

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They laughed.

When she insisted, the team’s leader agreed to let her join them the next time.

“When I arrived at the said place, the men were shocked,” Nyoni says.

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“I held a paintbrush for the first time in my life, I enjoyed it, and I have never looked back.”

In Victoria Falls, a global tourism destination  and one of Zimbabwe’s fastest-growing cities, more women are seeking jobs in the construction industry than ever before.

This generational shift has accelerated due to the pandemic, which led to half a million Zimbabweans having at least one family member losing a job, especially in the travel and hospitality sectors, according to a World Bank analysis.

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Women like Nyoni, a single mother who used to work as a waitress in a hotel, began to take a closer look at construction work to support their families.

It had previously seemed off-limits due to gender-based cultural expectations. But necessity and determination prevailed.

By the end of this year, Nyoni will have completed two journeyman courses, 12-month construction training programmes offered by vocational centers, and hopes to have her own painting company up and running.

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“Not having professional qualifications in the construction field has affected me because I have lost opportunities to work with big companies as I do not yet have the qualification certificates to show I have trained for the job,” she says.

In 2019, the percentage of women working in construction was 2.7 percent in Ghana, four percent in Tanzania and 4.5 percent in Uganda, according to the International Labour Organisation.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s number had reached nine percent, according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency.

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Yet as the pandemic and generational shifts have inspired even more women to break down gender barriers and find work as painters, bricklayers and mechanics, Nyoni says most men still tell them they should be focusing on more traditional household duties.

Taruvinga Dzokamushure, general secretary for the National Employment Council for the Construction Industry, a trade union, says there are “no women joining the industry” and that employment numbers across the country are trending downward.

But local construction officials in Harare, the capital, and Victoria Falls say they see growth, which they predict will be reflected in the next round of census data, based on information collected in May and scheduled for release later this year.

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Crispen Tsavarai, chief executive officer for the Harare-based Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association, says the group has observed a significant increase in women joining the industry.

Out of 500 active members, 38 are women — all except one added just in the past year.

During that same period, only 30 new men joined the association, he adds.

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“In May last year, we set up a women’s desk within our organization as a way of mainstreaming gender in the male-dominated construction industry,” he says. “From having one woman on that desk when it was set, we currently have 38 women.”

Membership in the association is voluntary but comes with access to networking and training benefits, Tsavarai says.

Beyond encouraging women to join, the women’s desk lobbies for government funding for their training and equipment needs and offers programmes to educate teenage girls and college students about construction-related career paths.

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Kuda Hove, a single mother, first entered the field when she decided to build her own home.

Hove works for her family’s medical supply company, which requires traveling outside Zimbabwe to meet with customers.

When the coronavirus hit, she got stuck in Australia for six months.

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Realising she could not cross international borders easily anymore, and with her finances dwindling, she decided to focus on building a home for herself and her two daughters, now aged 12 and 14.

“I was renting a house, but I had already bought a piece of land to build my house,” she says.

“I realised to save rental money I had to start building my house, and that is how I got into the construction industry.”

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Like Nyoni, Hove began learning the trade through hands-on experience: managing workers, identifying and buying building materials, and figuring out the needs of different parts of her house.

“I have to learn fast,” Hove says. “I was cheated several times before finding trustworthy workers and suppliers.”

She began taking online construction courses and pursuing a diploma in construction management.

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While working on her third project in January 2021, she set up her own construction business, Lewa and Company, that employs 17 men and three women.

“Covid-19 made people think of creating ways of survival and unexpectedly created opportunities for women in the construction field,” Hove says.

“However, because of job losses, men are also after the same opportunities, and in most cases construction companies prefer to hire men.”

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Women can also be their own worst enemies, she says. “As women we are perfectionists, and at times that can work against you in such environments as you are likely to be isolated when you raise concerns such as issues of health and safety at the workplace.”

Laura Tofts, who specialises in coating and has a warehouse in Harare, says she has also observed more young women, fresh out of school, seeking employment as electricians, plumbers, painters and bricklayers.

“The facts and stigma about women being less strong are dying, and this power shift will naturally play out with time,” she says.

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Men in the industry have various opinions about more women joining their trades. Reginald Mutsvakiwa, a builder for the last 15 years in the Victoria Falls region, says although more women have joined the construction industry, it remains men’s work.

“Construction in itself needs lots of manpower,” says Mutsvakiwa. “Physically and biologically, it is difficult for women.”

But Blessing Sunday, who has worked in construction since December 2020, says it is admirable that women like Hove, a family friend, are applying their skills.

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“The construction industry is very broad, so I do not see why women cannot join the industry,” he says.

Hove says she is increasing her collaborations with women and expanding her business to include a showroom to display and sell materials.

It’s important for women to help each other grow professionally, she says, whether through taking courses or by learning on the job.

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“There are a lot of women out there who have no skills,” she says, “but have strength and can have a profession in this industry.” – Global Press Journal

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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.

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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“I am always hungry,” Tauzeni says.

 

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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.

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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.

 

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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.

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

 

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“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.

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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.

 

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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.

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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.

 

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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.

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

 

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

 

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