One Of Zimbabwe’s Top Schools In Modern Day Slavery Allegations

The school which constantly produces some pupils who feature in the top ten best achievers in the primary school leavers examinations is accused of modern day slavery.

One Of Zimbabwe’s Top Schools In Modern Day Slavery Allegations

A friend’s wife, who used to be an employee at the renown school tells of harrowing tales of harassment,intimidation and down right slavery practised by the  wife of the owner of the school.Among the various grievences are;members of staff being denied permission to leave the school campus during the weekend as they are required to supervise pupils’ homework.Married women are denied a chance to go home during the weekends to be with their spouses and children which results in strained relationships.A lot of pressure is also exerted on the staff members for them to maintain the high educational standards in order to justify the three thousand dollars a term schools fees charged by the school institution.

The worst cases of labour malpractise was reported last year when the owner of the school decided to build a high school a short distance away from the present primary school campus,one of the builders who were responsible for the construction of the school talks about the fact that they would work in shifts ,twenty four hours a day,seven days a week .This was because the owner wanted the school to be ready for opening on the first day of the 2017 school year.Bricks were moulded on site and after being allowed a few hours to dry they were immediately moved to the building site were used for the construction.Workers went for months without being paid for their labours .One disgruntled worker ended up going to the Employment Council Of The Construction Industry ,not much came out of it however since the school was already ninety percent complete.As I write this article former employees are still being owned thousands of dollars in unpaid salaries.

Those in the know claim that the owner of the school was advanced twenty million dollars for the construction of the school by one  of the local commercial banks,the question on most peoples’ lips is where all the money went to if at this late date former employees are still wallowing in poverty after having worked for nothing.

                                                 

Selflessness Among Zimbos

It is an open secret that Zimbabwe is going through tough economic times, if one gives at a time like this then that only shows their selfless nature.

Selflessness Among Zimbos

I have had to go back to ‘school’ albeit for a short technical course which required in excess of $250.A fortune for someone who is not gainfully employed like I. The fact that two people stood by me and funded me speaks volumes of the giving nature of Zimbabweans.

Nyati was the one who suggested the short course and he generously funded it to the tune of $400 to cover all expenses from start to finish. I will forever be indebted to this Gentleman, and I use the term unreservedly because only a gentleman behaves the way he does. After two weeks of daily lessons ,I finally went and took the test, only to fail at the first hurdle. Imagine my disappointment and frustration at the feeling that I had let my benefactor down. Immediately ,I  booked another day with the examiner only to fail again at the first hurdle .Friends and family commiserated with me ,after a week I informed my benefactor who generously made some money available for me to resit the test.

It is my honest opinion that through these selfless acts;Nyati and Dziva have demonstrated the extend to which Zimbabweans care and look out for each other despite the tough economic times we are experiencing. 

How I Got To Love Caps United Football Club

In the year 1977,I was fortunate to move  to the capital city ,Harare, in search of better educational facilities .The rural area where I had grown up to that stage did not have a secondary school combined with the fact that the liberation war was at its fiercest.

How I Got To Love Caps United FC

I was fortunate that I had a cousin brother who was much older than me who was already working and living in the city, naturally he took me under his wing but he was very reluctant to have me accompany me to go and watch him play at football games ,I had by chance learnt that he played for Caps Rovers ,the football team for the company he worked for at the time called Caps Pharmaceuticals. At the time the team campaigned in the first division ,which was one tier below than the premier league in the land .One can just imagine my excitement when he invited me to go watch football matches as his guest. What used to surprise me in the first weeks following the invitation was the fact that almost every time I when to his lodgings in-order to accompany him to his matches ,I would find the place vacant. In subsequent weeks  I would wake up very early and prepare before going to his place where I would wait patiently whilst he prepared. I was later to find out that the reason why he would leave me behind was because of the fact that he had several girlfriends he constantly took to these matches.

Like any boy my age I had developed a keen interest in football and had horned my skill in the village’s dusty football pitch, I was awe-struck when I had the opportunity to sit with these ‘Legends’ at the stadium whilst waiting for the B team to complete their fixtures,then they would come on to warm up to the roar of approval from the expectant crowd. My excitement was palpable since I had the fortune of seeing my elder brother parading in the team regalia, I believe I was the first one from my family to have witnessed him exhibiting his skills at such a level, very few people back home actually knew that he played football semi-professionally.

The following season the team was promoted to the premier division in the land, my brother and I were inseparable at the home games, the only games which I did not attend were those that were placed out of the Capital city because of my school commitments. This was also the year the team changed its name to Caps United Football Club so one would say I was there at the inception of the great club that has gone to became known as ‘Cup Kings’ the country’s cup specialists as they rarely lost in the many cup finals that they took part in.

Later the club was to acquire the services of the late Joel ‘Jubblie’ Shambo also known by his many followers as ‘The Headmaster’,the late Stanley ‘Sinyo’ Ndunduma ,Stanford ‘Stix’ Mtizwa and the indisputable ‘Mr Goals’ Shakeman Tauro.This was the core of the team which lead them to sweep all before them and propel the team to campaign in Africa against teams from Nigeria and elsewhere on the continent. One hapless team from Mauritius was hammered  seven nil, those were the heady years when the team was at its very best.

Men Get Drenched For Poking Fun At A Mountain

During the Easter holidays I accompanied a good friend of mine to his rural home in Mutasa District near Mutare in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe.He wanted to use his vacation to dig the foundation of his home at the Mutasa Growth Point.

Men Get Drenched For Poking Fun At Mountain

Growth points are designated areas in Rural areas which have been ear-marked for development into to service centers ,where most pof the services people require for example Courts and Registration offices for Births and Dates.Inevitably these have to have residential stands for the people who work in the various government offices as well as people from the surrounding areas who can afford the cost of the stands.

My friend had a couple of guys from the community whom he hired to do the excavation work on the building foundation.Whilst we worked,we are the types to put hands in our pockets whilst other men work,a lot of tales and general buntering ensured.One such tale was told by one of the guys who related how they were sent to fetch a heifer that had to be slaughtered at one funeral in the area.

The guys proceeded to a mountain where the cattle where being herded,being young men ,they were buntering along the way.We were told that one of the guys who was a motor-mouth started to laugh at the shape of the mountain alluding to the fact that it looked like someone’s  bold-head.The youngmen in the group burst out laughing,one who was familiar with the local taboos and customs cautioned them against such behavior but they did not pay heed.Next they saw a baboon and started laughing at it upon which a deluge of rains started falling around them.When the people who had remained behind saw thus happening they immediately knew that someone had talked out of turn.They guys spent a miserable afternoon going round in circles.One of the saner guys finally knelt down and talked to the ancestors for forgiveness,soon after the rains stopped and the guys were able to go back home.

One would assume that these things are just jest but in most places where there mountains or thick forests there are some areas where you just have to watch what you say or do,transgressing leads to people either losing their way of worse disappearing for good.Such tales are abound and for most people who live in towns like me they sound like tall-tales but they are real.

Water Woes Bedevil Chitungwiza

It is a fact that Water is life and its absence results in a lot of anguish and heartache especially among the women and children in our patriarchal society.

Water Woes Bedevil Chitungwiza

Our society dictates that women and girls are solely responsible for the upkeep of the family kitchens and the chores which go with the maintenance of the same.Recent events which have seen erratic and intermittent supply of the precious liquid which is responsible for the smooth running of our bodies,homes and gardens to mention just to mention a few important aspects.Nowadays, the few boreholes that were sunk by some well meaning donor organisations have become a hive of activities as most mothers and girls try to get a few buckects of the precious liquid for their families.So dire is the need that one such borehole close to my residence is always packed full of human beings; some standing others sitting on buckets ,patiently waiting for their turn at the heavy metal handle,  so that they can drew their buckets full.Gone are the days where people could sleep peacefully in their homes ,quite a few actually spend nights at the boreholes.

The act of sleeping at boreholes have in-turn spawned some unwelcome social ills such as rapes and sexual favours demanded in exchange for a chance to jump the queue and draw water.Tales are going around of gangs of young males who are terrorizing the women and girls at these boreholes as they unlawfully monopolise these for their own benefit which involve the demand for sexual favours in exchange for water. Other unscrupulous young thugs are known to propose love to innocent young girls and they indecently assault them by grabbing their breasts or butts. They are doing all this with impunity since most men are not involved in the fetching of water.

Apart from these social ills, there is also the ever present danger of water-borne diseases since some people cannot stomach the thought of spending endless hours in queues in order to get a few days worth of water supplies. A lot of shallow unprotected water bodies have been dug and a lot of people are resorting to these for their daily supplies of water. One shudders to think of the consequence of an outbreak of cholera of dysentery. Already health facilities are struggling to cope with the demand for services now, in the event of an epidemic, there could be a disaster of epic proportions.

Sports Betting And The Unemployed Urban Zimbo Male

In a country where it is reported that there is a ninety percent unemployment rate , the scarcity of jobs has led to most urban males flocking to sports betting  houses to try their luck.

Sports Betting And The Unemployed Zimbo Male

They wait patiently outside the locked doors of the sports betting lounges for the doors to open and   rush to grab choice seats at the vantage positions to be able to best watch the repeat of games played the previous day.Whilst some will be busy scratching their heads and placing bets on teams scheduled to play later in the day,for the rest of the mostly male viewers it is a safe environment ; with clean free ablution facilities and entertainment galore.For a few hours they can forget the fact that they unemployed and don’t have any lunch money.The few with a few cents to spare diligently study,discuss and place bets  on teams of their choice hoping for an elusive payday with stakes placed heavily in favour of the betting house, a very few come away with any payouts.Desparation has left many clutching at straws in the hope of scoring a few dollars for their daily sustaince.

The only women found in the packed sports betting lounges are the cashiers behind the counters and the others on cleaning and sweeping duties throughout the day.This is a male dominated society after all.

The queues of people waiting to place their bets are endless throughout the day save only for the days when there are live matches,then the tension is palpable as supporters of the different clubs try to out-shout each other as they egg their different teams to victory.In the pace of ninety odd minutes, money is made and lost and the person who benefits the most is the owner of the betting house,who stand to rake in thousands of dollars every single day of the week.

The sports betting phenomena is so popular that even those who are employed spare a few minutes during lunch break to come and place bets or catch repeats of matches played earlier.

With the failed economy adding more and more numbers to the growing numbers of punters hoping to score big at sports betting ,this is a scourge that is here to stay.

Gratitude part 2

The late Mother Theresa, the world renowned humanitarian, said ‘We shall pass through this world, but once if, therefore, there be any kindness that we can show or any good thing that we can do, let us do it now. Let us not defer nor neglect it for once we leave the world, we will never pass this way again.

Wicknell Chivayo

I write the above quote to enlighten my fellow Zimbabwean, a certain  Wickell Chivayo.The fact that he has done wonders of The Warriors is there for all to see. Much of the hype was created by the same journalists that he is now bashing at every opportunity he gets. It is most unfortunate that the Youngman was so offended because a journalist had done his job and had got the scoop of the week by informing the nation of the fact that the beloved Warriors coach had gone for quite some time without being paid. Facts are stubborn; it is very difficult for a father who sees his families’ dreams go up in smoke, to expect him to be tactful and remain stoical whilst people hog the spotlight for his endeavors on the sports field but his family goes hungry. I believe Pasuwa had reached the end of his tether that is why he let the nation know of the shoddy way in which he was being treated. In my honest opinion, we need a lot more people like Pasuwa.

Wicknell has been very fortunate to be well endowed with cash, but The Good Lord, in his wisdom ensured that he isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. We are created with two ears and one mouth for a reason; that we talk less and listen more. The ‘selfless’ act of sponsoring The Warriors in this hostile economic environment certainly does not warrant the temper tantrums that the nation has had to bear witness to these past few days. It seems as if the nations being held to ransom by a tin can despot who wants everything to be down his own way

We are not ungrateful BUT if someone helps one out and brags about the act at every turn, is it not better to throw off the york and live an honest poverty-stricken life. Enough with these childish tantrums already, sport especially football is supposed to bring the country together not tears us apart.