"Majega" Given A New Lease On Life

The deteriorating economic situation in the country has given a new lease of life for the beleagued "Mageja".These are the men who drive hand carts to carry all sorts of goods for a fee.

"Majega" at work

These gentlemen have been maligned for the longest time for taking part in menial jobs which a "right"thinking person would not touch with a long pole.The high cost of transportation as a result of the exploding inflation rate has forced a lot of the people to review how they interact with the cart-drivers.They are ever present in most of the high density surburbs of Zimbabwe and help people move their goods from point A to point B.The fact that their fares are much more reasonably priced makes them more attractive to the general public.

A typical day for them starts as early as five in the morning and will end when it is too dark to see.By far the biggest need for these gentlemen nowadays is the carting of water from homes where the owners are fortunate to own borehole to those who donot have that privilege.After paying for the water ,this is normally charged per bucket,the cartdrivers then charge their transport costs per bucket as well.The more established ones have a client base which ensures that they have business on a daily basis.All told this makes for a very tidy sum of money and these gentlemen have been known to take care of their families quite well.Given the fact that ours is a country where job opportunities are scarce,these gentlemen have shown quite an entrepreunal spirit and with the right kind of backup they very likely can start a well oiled transport business since there is a dire need for water in most of our urban communities.

The economic downturn is certainly working for them.

These Are The Best Of Times

Charles Dickens in his book A TALE OF TWO CITIES WRITES ,”it was the best of times ,it was the worst of times..”In the Zimbabwean scenario this seems to be a very apt description.

First Tesla Ever To Be Imported Into Zimbabwe

It definitely seems like the best of times to the people who have access to external funds and possess the coveted US  dollar,they certainly are enjoying the deteriorating economic situation where thye surrogate Bond note has been in free fall against the Us dollar.By all accounts fortunes are being made on the parallel market where huge among are changing hands at the drop of a hat and the money changers are laughing all the way to their house safes. Since they crash of the bond note ,most of those with ready cash have been on spending sprees with reports that imports of vehicles have been on an all-time high. There are reports that one one even had the cash to buy and import a Tesla,which is probably the first of its kind in Zimbabwe.The shopselves have been stripped of all the basic essentials as peo[ple stock up fearful of a further crash of the bond note which will render it useless.In most of thye peoples minds this is a precursor of the crash of  2008,when Zimbabwe suffered from hyper inflection and most shops did not have anything to sell.

For most of the long suffering citizenry ,who suffer from unemployment which hovers in the 80% ,the times are the worst of a very bad situation.No sooner had the country gotten rid of the despot Mugabe and fresh hope wafted through the land than 7 of their fellowmen fell at the hands  of the security forces that were supposed to protect them.Now the crash of the bond note against the US dollar has triggered panic among the people as they watch in horror as cooking oil and sugar disappear overnight from supermarkets and the the bond note becomes almost useless since most of the businesses do not want to accept the note.Prices are pegged against the US dollar which is in very short supply and long winding queues of people waiting for a chance to buy bread or fuel become a permanent feature of the body politic in our beautiful land.For most motorists sleeping in the queue for a chance to buy some fuel is now the norm.The public transporters have also jumped on the band wagon and have hiked the fares.Noone  can really blame them as the prices of fuel have gone up twice in the past week alone.

Fortunately sanity seems to be returning as the government authorities have announced that imports on all the basic commodities which are in short supply have been lifted and companies and individuals with spare cash can import these immediately. Maybe the times will change for the better for both those who have the means as well as those who are not so well off.

Zimbabweans Are Their Worst Enemy

The past weekend has witnessed the Harare rumor mill in overdrive. This drove the masses to panic and go on a panic buying spree.

Zimbabweans Queing For Bread

Some business fundi’s claim this was a result of the statement that was issued by the newly appointed Minister of Finance to the effect that all business transaction conducted electronically would attract a 2 cent per dollar change as way of broadening the tax base due to the fact that most people in Zimbabwe are now unemployed and conduct business on the informal market which largely remains unregistered and therefore very little tax goes to the fiscus.

Writing about the Witwatersrand panics,Charles van Onselen suggested that they typically played out within periods marked by recession and political uncertainty and industrial action.

With a reported 80% unemployment rate and a thriving black market ,little wonder then there is this “feeding frenzy” as echoes of the debilitating food shortages are still fresh in peoples minds.The surrogate bond note which is supposed to be at 1 to 1 with the USA dollar has been in free fall since the 2018 elections.

I went to one major supermarket in the suburb where I live and was pleasantly surprised to see most of the basic supplies in abundance ,whilst waiting in the queue to pass I noticed that sugar which had been sold out was being unloaded and people were free to get as many as they wanted.

Which begs the question ,who is fooling who.As for me I  am not going to run with the herd.I will keep my own counsel and buy what I NEED when I want and not be sucked into this wild goose chase.I refuse to be a pawn in the black marketeers sick game.i will survive a few days without sugar or cooking oil which are the most sort after items.

The Pain Of Losing A Parent

I remember it as if was yesterday. It does not matter that it happened way back in 1994,there are times the wound is so fresh I could swear it happened yesterday.

The Pain Of Losing A Parent

My mother had been on high blood pressure for a very long time , I was only able to piece together the bits and pieces of the puzzle slowly over a long period of time.This was the result of an accident which left my eldest sister burnt and she was hospitalized .For a time it was touch and go ,I gathered later ,the accident having happened well before I was even conceived so no one in the family really talked about it .I supposed this was because of the trauma that she  had gone through.During that ordeal ,my mother was to be diagnosed with high blood pressure and she started taking medication.

When I was born ,I understand she had already been on the meds for sometime.I was her last born son and I must say she loved me dearly and I believe now she spoiled me a little bit although I am not your typical mama’s boy. being the youngest ,I remember growing up and going to school and the only constant in my life was my mother.My siblings are all much older than me ,so they had completed school at the local primary school and had gone on to secondary schools far from home and my father could only come to visit during public holidays from his work in Harare.

In time,I was also able to outgrow the primary school and trekked to Harare for further education.I would just bear the idea of staying away from my mother  for the three months which constituted the school term,the day immediately after schools closed without fail, I would be on the first available bus for the rural home where my mother would be .

Whilst in college,I realized that my mother was no longer as strong as she used to be and I discovered that she was taking these medicines .It wasn’t a secret but I guess I had previously been too young to comprehend all that was happening around me.I would try and do my best to cover as much work as I could during the three or four weeks of the school vacation but I guess is was never enough now was it ?

I remember in 1993 ,when she was taken ill and my father , who was a pensioner then brought her to the family home ion then town of Chitungwiza(a dormitory town 20 kilometers from Harare)so that we could seek medical attention from a private doctor who operated a surgery quite close to our house.After many tests were conducted and much going to and fro ,it was later discovered that she had cancer of the eosophagus.She could not hold down any food let alone liquids like water.She was refered to one of  the main referral hospital at Harare Hospital.After undergoing several chemotherapy treatments she was discharged and we were told to bring her to hospital for check-up and to have her medication replenished.

Watching her struggling and waste away a on a daily basis from the lack of nourishment was heartbreaking, nothing seed to make sense then.Life was a slog .Whenever I had to leave home and go into town , my thoughts would be troubled ,I always feared that I could come back to find her gone.We were blessed as a family that her sisters would take turns to come and help look after her but the dreadful thoughts that one had especially at night was one which hardly made it possible for one to sleep.This was reduced to cat naps with one ear turned to the next room to try and find out if all was still alright.After a few months of this existence ,her sister finally arranged to take her home and we hired a station wagon were she could lie at the back with the back seat folded as at the time she could no longer walk nor sit.Little did I know that this would be the last time I would ever see her alive because two weeks after her departure I got a call that she had passed away and we had to start arrangements to lay her remains  to rest at the family grave yard in the rural area of Makoni South in Manicaland province.

Although I was a full-grown man with a wife and family at the time ,the loss was mind blowing .It took time for me to take it into my stride.One of the reason why I seemed to struggle with the loss was the fact that I was unable to grieve ,I shut all the emotions inside where no one could see them and tried as hard as I could to function like a normal being .I grew up at a time when most males were taught that one never showed their emotions in public,you would have to bottle these up lest you be known as someone less of a man and would be ridiculed. The truth is that I was cut up. Whilst my mind rationalized that maybe this was better for her because no human being is supposed to suffer as she had .To make the matter worse she would always put on a brave face and would ask me whether I was eating and sleeping well and I would lie to her that all was well do not think for a moment that I was able to fool her though,she was my mother after all.

Twenty-four years later the loss of my father to rob me of the remaining parent made me relive these emotions once more and to tell the truth it is as bitter as the first time I experienced it.

Where Is Our Moral Compass?

When the leader of the most powerful country in the world is caught on camera bragging about the fact that he can grab women’s bottoms or worse their privates and he can get away with it because of the fact that he is a billionaire, it begs the question WHERE IS OUR MORAL COMPASS?

Where Is Our Moral Compass?

For most of the people in the said country go on to vote and make the same person President of the country ,does it mean that if one has a lot of money they can get away with Murder? Subsequent to those despicable events being splashed all over the newspapers  across the globe, the man is still ruling the country as if nothing untoward has happened .It pains me to try and understand the kind of trauma the ladies who were attacked by this Neanderthal must have gone through then and are going through as I write.Why has it been business as usual? Why have there been no consequences? Is it because the guy is a billionare?or is it because this is a men’s world and men will get away with anything ?

Closer to home, a so called leader pockets millions of  rands as backhanders  from companies bidding to supply his country with weapons ,then he spends more than FIFTEEN MILLION RANDS from the country trying to defend the indefensible. This is obliviously money which could have been used to expand businesses in the country or better still start new ones so that the high number of unemployed people would have been lessened. For some people then to go on to defend this person and even go to the extent of vowing that they would kill for and even die for such a person begs the question What has gone wrong ?Why is it so difficult for people to do the right thing and resign from their lofty positions once there is a whiff of scandal in their dealings or conduct.

Has our moral compasses gone so off the mark that people can act so offensively to the general populace with impunity. What makes it okay for the “small fry” who pilfers the office stationery to be sentenced to months in prison and yet the C.E.O who misappropriates millions goes scotch free?

Be Aware Of Whom You Are Dealing With

During 2015, I hooked up with some guys in a venture which I thought  was a surefire means of making money,the money gurus always advise that  we have multiple streams of income in order to create wealth.

Be Aware Of You Are Dealing With

We used to go and buy anytime gift cards from South Africa for resale in Zimbabwe.One of the guys who was involved in the venture was a former student of mine ,so in my mind I was thinking what could go wrong right ?. I  Used my contacts to put  together some cash so that I could buy into the business.We hard a fruitful two or three months in  which we really worked very hard and the returns were quite pleasing. I never took the time to really investigate my partners.

The first signs of trouble was when the guy who ha d all the contacts and knew where the gift cards were bought in the Republic of South Africa went to buy cards and he came back having misused some of the proceeds to pay for his own expenses .We just verbally reprimanded him and proceeded to sell the cards that he had brought  with him.About two  months later the younger brother of my former student  ,who works and lives in South Africa came home and since we were planning to send someone down there to buy some more stock we thought it prudent to ask him to go and buy the stock for us then he would put it on one of the buses that ply the Joburg,Harare route.He never did what we asked for and holding him to account proved to be difficult as he changed his contact number and it was like money thrown down the drain.

Then in January 2016 ,the former student  indicated that was accompanying a friend of his who had come to Zimbabwe on business and he asked me for the three thousand rands which I was keeping ,this was a fresh injection of funds from my sister who wanted to buy into the card selling business .I had been keeping this money waiting for an opportunity to send one of the guys to go and buy some more stock.Two days after going to South Africa ,he came back without the  cards instead he had bought some stuff for a client of his and a water bottle to display water which had been purified in their water purification  plant.He promised that as soon as money from the water purification plant started coming in he would reimburse me the three thousand rands.

After having been sent from the pillar to the post several times  and finding out that the money was not forthcoming,  I finally resolved to approach the small claims court at Makoni  Magistrates’ court .I was not really sure how the case would pan out but I was convinced that the judiciary officer would be able to cut through the bull and get to the truth.I knew that I did not have to be a drama queen but just present my case as  emotionless as possible and be factual. Fortunately for  me the defendant ended up tripping himself up because he admitted that I had indeed given him the money but he had not misused it ,the clinker was when he asked for continuance of the matter so that he could produce customs declaration forms from home ,this was duly granted for the following week on the 30 th of November.Truth be told it was difficult for me to sleep on the night of the 29^th as my earlier bravado seemed to dissipate. On the morning of the case I woke up bathed and dressed,when I got to court I got some reassurance that the defendant was rattled since he could not come and greet me like the first time and he could not look me in the eye.We appeared before the court sometime before lunch and the matter was postponed for later in the day.We were asked to continue our case well after three pm,  after all the other  cases had been dealt with .Fortunately for me the defendant did not have any prove of having brought back any cards and I was able to pock holes in his defense when given a chance to do so by the magistrate.At the end he told us to come back the following Monday the 4^th of December for the judgement.When I went to the clerk of court’s office on the day there was no judgement,I had to endure two more trips to the court before   I got the judgement on the 12 th of December ,when I learnt that the defendant had been told to pay back the money including the costs of serving him the court papers.

What I ultimately learnt was that in business you cannot trust anyone .one has to do the background checks and any agreements have to be put down on paper and signatures appended. Things need to be above board.Also one needs to take matters up with the relevant authorities in case there are disputes.

Chitungwiza Residents Caught In A Debt Trap

Some of the residents of the dormitory town of Chitungwiza ,which lies twenty odd kilometers  southwest of the the capital city Harare have been severely affected by the dire economic and social hardships prevailing in the country.

Chitungwiza Residents Caught In A Debt Trap

Most of the residents are owing the Town council for  rates for  amounts between one hundred and fifty dollars  whilst others  are owing as much as three thousand dollars.During the past month ,the cash strapped council has had to employ the services of debt collectors who went around giving the residents  in arrears letters of demand.As a result the town council headquarters has been a hive of activity as people went to plead for time to pay off the outstanding amounts .

Obviously, the closure of  most  of the businesses that were operating at the industrial complex has not made the situation any easier. Quite a fair number of residents of Chitungwiza used to employed there .The economic downturn experienced by the whole country since 2000 has affected people all over the country with resultant loss of jobs and levels of unemployment  hovering around 90% of the population. Therefore the average income for most households has been seriously hampered.

The result of the depressed economic activities in the industrial area and the country in general  has ensured a vicious circle that has resulted in the council failing to have enough resources to ensure that services are delivered to the residents satisfaction.

Cry The Lost Generation

Monday, the 19 th of March  2018, was my first encounter with the effects of drug abuse.I had spent a leisurely three hours of the morning with a nephew of mine who had just completed his MSc,after he dropped me off at the main bus stop in Harare,I boarded a bus that was Chitungwiza bound

.

Cry The Lost Generation

The first part of the twenty kilometers of the journey was kind of eventless. Things turned at the first bus stop after the St Marys Police Station, the bus was supposed to let off passengers whilst others boarded. The conductor ,who was standing just inside the bus on the steps ,asked the Youngman (in his early twenties) to get further into the bus as he was afraid that he would fall off the bus .The young man flatly refused and started to berate the conductor at the top of his voice.Bus and mini-bus taxi conductors are well-known for being brash or outright rude to passengers once they are onboard but this one met his match in the irate young man who told him that he was not going to pay and there was nothing that the conductor could do about it.Try as he would ,the conductor was unable to force the young man off the bus.The young man ,who was wearing some really dark sun glasses proceeded to assault the conductor  whilst calling the conductor all sorts of names  and alluding to the fact that he was a person of loose morals. The conductor did not take kindly to the tirade and tried to punch the Youngman but he proved to be too powerful for him. Efforts by most of the elderly people on the bus to urge the conductor to ignore the irate young man fell on deaf ears.

At the first bus top in Zengeza, the argument nearly spilled over into the bus as the two antagonists continued to trade punches but the young man was winning the fight ,at this stage the conductor retrieved an iron bar used with the wheel spanner ,seeing this the young tyrant quickly jumped off the bus and sauntered away leaving the conductor fuming since the driver was restraining him.

I have heard stories of how the unemployed youths in the townships abuse substances like cough mixture and others in order to have a high and forget about their troubles for some hours but this was my closest  encounter with one who was intoxicated. One’s heart bleeds for this lost generation which cannot seem to shake off the despondence of unemployment and the need for personal fulfillment.

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.

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.

Chitungwiza Residents Up In Arms Over Rate Increase

A meeting called by the Municipal of Chitungwiza bigwigs for the residents of Zengeza 1 degenerated into chaos as they heard that the Council was proposing a rate increase.

Chitungwiza Residents Up In Arms Over Rate Increase

Residents were not happy with the current service delivery in the town.Water is only available two days a week from the household taps.In recent weeks even this has not been the case as residents had to endure a week without supplies.On the days when water is available, the quality leaves a lot to be desired.It is so poor that it is not fit for drinking or cooking but because residents do not have any alternative they have to drink this glorified mud with straight faces.

Apart from this the unavailability of refuse bags, uncollected refuse that gets dumped on roadsides as well as the deplorable state of the town's roads incensed residents to the extend that one gentleman vowed that until there was a marked improvement in the quality of service delivery,then he was not going to pay a cent to the Municipal Council.

Some residents made their ire felt about the fact that  the Council had hired space to hold the meeting at a private church instead of utilizing a Council hall at St Mary's shopping centre.

No resolution was made however as the church owners arrived and indicated that they also wanted to hold their own meeting.Clearly round 1 belonged to the residents as the delegation from Council did not have any answers to various questions asked by the irate residents.

Chitungwiza Residents Fall Prey To Water-meter Thieves,Again

Residents of the Chitungwiza suburb of Zengeza1 in Rusvingo road had their water-meters stolen.This has now become endemic.

Chitungwiza Residents Fall Prey To Water-meter Thieves Again

In an event that looks like a military operation,the thieves alternate the areas they strike and remove the meters at a different location every week.It is alleged that they perform their nefarious deeds very early in the morning around three and four o'clock. The situation is very bad for the residence since they have to replace the stolen meters and the Town council charges them for  re-installing the meters.

Those in the know suggest the trade in stolen water-meters is being fed by the flourishing home industries where cheap coffins are made as the brass from the meters is melted down to form the handles.It is my humble opinion that these acts can be nipped in the bud by forcing the coffin builders to show prove of purchase of any handles they may posses.Regular sweeps by the law enforcement officers will definitely put paid to this scourge.

Alternatively,residents could form neighbourhood watch committees to patrol their streets and stop and question any people acting suspiciously.I once lived in a community where this was implemented,the improvement in safety and security after a very short time was amazing.

Conductor Loses Balance And Sprawls On Tarmac

The tendency by taxi touts of hanging onto the back of speeding taxis had a grave consequence when one such landed on his back in the middle of the main road just outside the Chitungwiza Town Centre.

Conductor Loses Balance And Sprawls On Tarmac

Basically these guys entice passengers onto a particular taxi, when it is full they are given fifty cents. Whilst I admire the enterprising young man for at least wanting to earn an honest living, the fact that they risk life and limb had all of us in the taxi transfixed as he took a tumble in the tarred road. He was holding onto the roof language rack,which gave way, resulting in him being dumped unceremoniously on the hard sun backed tarmac. The anxious driver came out to see how his tout was feeling and to his immense relief found that he was okay.Fortunately for him there was no following vehicle and he got minor scratches bumps and a bruising of his ego.

Working for ones dinner is commendable but one has to be safe from injuries and accidents.

Econet Wireless Creates Eyesore In Chitungwiza

Econet Wireless' desire to empower the common man is noble but the shacks from which some of these businesses operate from leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

Econet Wireless Creates Eyesore In Chitungwiza

First and foremost ,the siting of some of the Ecocash booths seems to have been done haphazardly with little regard paid to the outside environment.No effort effort seems to have been made in order to beautify these spots.One can see rubbish strewn right round some of the booths.The material used is o most extends corrugated iron sheets welded together to form structure which can house one person.You could be forgiven should you think that these are old fashioned outhouses used in the rural ares as long drop toilets.A little tiding would go a long way towards sprucing up the surroundings.

Secondly, the manner of the people manning these booths can put one off using them as most of the people may pear to think that one is inconviencing them by visiting the booths.Some change in attitudes,acknowledging the importance of anyone visiting the booth would go a long way towards ensuring the continued utilization of this essential service.

Thirdly,and I believe most contentious of all is the fact that maybe Econet needs to empower its agents more by providing them wit business training especially customer care.These agents are reflection of the Econet brand therefore they need to be at their best; physical surroundings as well as the way they attend to customers.

Chitungwiza Residents Shortchanged By Munucipality

The frequent burst of sewage pipes in Chitungwiza has residents up in arms against the municipality.

Raw Sewage On Streets

Areas around the C.A.A and Rufaro road between St Mary's and Zengeza1 are notorious for bursting pipes and spilling obnoxious ordours on residents.The fact that this has been going on since the turn of the millennium does not make it right.

From Mondays through to Wednesdays ,when the town has its weekly supply of water,the pipes bursts become numerous.An antiquated sewage system coupled with overpopulation,creates an unbearable strain on the pipes.There are certain areas which have become no-go-areas due to the pools of sewage stagnant on City streets.Maybe we need to have a poo-protest of our own.Take a leaf out of the notorious Poo Protesters of Cape Town.

The situation is a ticking time bomb, soon the rains are coming ,one shudders to think as to what horrors we are going to experience then.

Are Chitungwiza Residents Getting The Service Delivery They Deserve At Last?

For the past two weeks ,water supplies have been coming to Chitungwiza residents regularly from Sunday to Wednesday morning,quite a departure from the usual Monday mornings to Wednesday morning.

Are Chitungwiza Residents Getting The Service Delivery They Deserve At Last?

Imagine our surprise then when we saw a caterpillar front-end loader early in the morning piling sand and rubbish that had been dug up from the water drains along Hombarume drive and tipping them into waiting rubbish dump trucks,to be carted away to some distant landfill.

The fact that 624 workers were laid off not more than two months ago seems to have jump-started service delivery in our beloved community.One to think really hard to when last we saw anything similar to this happening here.

However, a lot still needs to be done in regards to the provision of refuse bags.I have personally gone to the office of the man in charge of the issuing of refuse bags and have been assured that i will get one this month.I am going to demand this service since I am paying my rates diligently every month.We do not want the enforced water rationing that we have been forced to endure.Other suburbs in the town have uninterrupted water supplies,what sins have we committed to be singled out for such arbitrary action.

The area of St Mary's township previously known as C.A.A still reeks from the stench of overflowing raw sewerage.This problem has been going on since time immemorial.One question which begs to be asked is if this area has any councillors.If so what are they being doing because one is led to believe that these are supposed to report any poor service delivery to the town manager.Another question is whether the said town manager ever meets with residents to find out any complaints they might have.