Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Our stray cattle fed to lions: Villagers

By Thupeyo Muleya

VILLAGERS living in Beitbridge West (Ward 8) along Shashe River, separating Zimbabwe and Botswana, claim their livestock that stray into Botswana are being fed to lions and hyenas by game rangers at Charter Game Reserve.

The border is not clearly defined and villagers who attempt to retrieve their cattle which stray into Botswana are arrested and deported through Plumtree Border Post.

In separate interviews last Friday, the villagers alleged that the game rangers were feeding their stray livestock to wild animals while others were being starved to death.

They said in some instances, the rangers would detain the livestock for two weeks without feeding.

It is understood they then release them to wild animals while others die on their way to Zimbabwe as a result of dehydration and hunger.

One of the disgruntled villagers of Shashe area, Mr Isaac Tlou said: "The situation here is frustrating. When we try to track our livestock to the game park; we are arrested and assaulted as poachers.

"If you are lucky you will be assaulted and released, but in other cases you will be handed over to police at Plumtree Border.

"A number of people have lost their cattle and donkeys, which are being fed to the lions. As villagers, we are appealing to traditional leaders and Government to intervene because this has been going on for some time," he said.

Mr Tlou said one of his cousins was recently assaulted by the game rangers while tracking his herd of 10 beasts that had strayed into Botswana.

He said the worst affected villagers were those from Shashe, Limpopo and Jalukanga areas.

Another villager from Limpopo area, Mr Tambulo Mbedzi, said he lost three beasts early this year when they died of hunger after being detained for a week in the game park.

He said at times the game rangers would slaughter some of the cattle for meat.

A senior official from the Department of Livestock Production in the area confirmed the developments, adding they were still consulting with traditional leaders on the way forward.

There has been an outcry from villagers living on the boundary with both Botswana (in the west) and South Africa (in the east of Beitbridge District) over the conduct of veterinary officers and game rangers in parks on these areas.

In 2008 villagers living in the Madimbo corridor along the Limpopo River teamed up with veterinary officers from their country (South Africa) to shoot hundreds of Zimbabwean cattle that had strayed into that country accusing them of spreading foot and mouth.

However, the Zimbabweans accuse their counterparts of fuelling cases of stock theft in that area.

No comment could be obtained from the Botswana side.
herald 21 september 2010

Monday, September 20, 2010

Beitbridge:On the Border of Real Transformation

By Thupeyo Muleya

Beitbridge— Soon after independence, the Government undertook to develop all areas that were previously viewed as remote by successive settler regimes.

Very few people would remember when the then Beitbridge growth point was granted town status, as most were fast to dismiss it as an underdeveloped rural outpost.

However, in July 2006 the Government through the National Economic Development Priority Programme (NEDPP), then co-ordinated by Vice president Joice Mujuru sought to give this place a new face.

The resultant massive civil works programme seeks to facelift the once neglected growth point into a medium city. It is in this regard that President Mugabe officially launched the Beitbridge redevelopment exercise saying the Government wanted to turn it into a modern medium city.

The ministries of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development and that of Public Works were thus tasked by Cabinet to oversee the implementation of the project.

Under the programme, 16 blocks of flats to house 64 families mainly middle class civil servants, 250 core houses that would be for home ownership, 52 F14 houses for civil servants, road dualisation, upgrading water supply and sewer infrastructure in the town.

Furthermore, there is also the construction of other institutional facilities, namely a hospital, a primary school, a secondary school, civic centre, government composite office block, modern truck inn, shopping complex, a five-star hotel, an aerodrome and the upgrading of the current border post to meet world class standards.

This ambitious project has raised hope among Beitbridge residents and other people across the country and the continent. Two-thirds of these projects are nearing completion, while others have been completed and some are at various stages of construction.

In light of this development, the Government granted the border post town status in April 2006. According to the 2002 population census, the town had a population of 22 387 and an estimated 2 570 houses in formal settlements (primarily for government officials and mid-level private sector staff) and 3 000 in informal settlements.

This number has since increased due to the town's proximity to South Africa and its status as one of the busiest ports of entry in Sub Saharan Africa. Furthermore, the population started increasing following the construction of the Alfred Beit-Bridge in 1929 and the New Limpopo Bridge in 1995. Beitbridge town is frequented by people from many countries, with at least 25 000 of them passing through it daily.

Nearly 4 000 heavy trucks also use the border post every day. In a bid to speed up the redevelopment exercise, the Ministry of Local Government then appointed a six member commission to oversee and run the project on July 6, 2006.

The Commission's mandate included the de-linking of the urban and rural set ups and the sharing of assets, the delimitation of urban and rural boundaries and identifying capital projects for the border town. It was also to come up with an administrative structure and to work with the rural district council in addressing other cross-cutting issues. Their tenure expired in 2008 when a new town council headed by Dr Sipho Singo was put in place.

Former Beitbridge Commission secretary Mr Mandla Donga said the project was progressing at a snail's pace due to the resource constraints, but was quick to point out that the government was still committed to the project.

"The Government has still the zeal to complete the project and you will realise that a lot of strides have been made towards achieving a total uplift of the town from its former being. At the moment we do not have enough money to steer the project, but we have undertaken to implement it until its completion.

"This programme has raised hopes among citizens across the country and to that effect we will not abandon the project.

"A lot of civil works are underway and those are being constructed on priority basis-especially on the housing of civil servants, a state of the art truck inn and a hotel and government composite complex.

"The progress might be slow, but we are still in line with towards its completion. Since we kick-started in 2006 a lot of face-lifting of the town have been done people can see for themselves.

"Most roads have been tarred while others were resurfaced and furthermore the local authority is also working under that same town redevelopment framework crafted under the NEDPP", he said.

Mr Donga added that the expansion and re-organisation of Beitbridge will help boost tourism and the country's image saying that the town was a preface of the Zimbabwe to people coming in through South Africa. He said, had resources been readily available most of the civil works could have been completed by the end of last year.

It is understood the government would need US$10 732 200 to complete the out-standing civil works. In a recent interview, Mrs Theresa Makone who had been overseeing the programme early this year before being moved from the Ministry of Public Works to that of Home Affairs, said the money would be used to cover civil works such as roads, water and sewer reticulation.

"A financial allocation of US$175 000,00 was made by the treasury in October 2009 and was used to make the 52 F14 houses habitable. "To date we have managed to complete 24 by F14 houses, which are connected to temporary septic tanks and are now ready for occupation.

"A further 28 by F14 houses are between 70 percent and 90 percent complete and all the necessary items such as plumbing, sewer, painting and water reticulation are in progress," she said.

She added that the ministry of public works was also allocated US$450 000 in the fiscal budget last year and they expected the bulk of it to be used on housing projects

Beitbridge Town Secretary, Dr Sipho Singo said the local authority was incapacitated in terms of implementing some of its capital projects hence the need to bring other players on board.

He said they were facing a host of challenges in areas of water sanitation, sewer reticulation, solid waste management and providing adequate accommodation.

"We are just a small town council which is incapacitated -- the only way we can succeed in improving service delivery is through public private partnership. We want to adopt a multi-stakeholders approach in developing the town into a medium modern city.

"You will realise that we have luminaries in the cities, towns and foreign land and we want them to realise that Beitbridge is their home and that is where they need to put their money.

"At the moment we have struck a deal with Zimre who are going to put up flats around the town as we move in to ease accommodation problems. So far we have completed surveying over 8 000 residential stands and are still negotiating with other companies to service the land. We expect work to commence early next year" he said.

Dr Singo added that the local authority had completed the survey of 600 high density and 2 000 low density residential stands saying they would need investors to service that land. He said the newly formed Beitbridge Town Council was still finding its feet since the border post was granted town status in April 2006.

Hew added that there were a lot of opportunities in the fields of provision of accommodation, light industries, manufacturing, warehousing, and the upgrading of the sewer and water reticulation facilities among other things.

Dr Singo said some investors could also take advantage of the availability of the Export Processing Zone in the town and establish their industries.

"As the town council we have a public private partnership concept which has since been embraced by the Government and we are committed to fostering development in our area," he said.

He also called on private players and the business communities to join hands with the local authority in championing development in areas such as the road network, refuse collection, street lighting and the construction of a fire station. Beitbridge town has no fire station and relies on the service of the one in Musina, South Africa in cases of emergency.

He said they were still negotiating with two other NGOs which wanted to construct the new main bus terminus (Dulibadzimu). The current rank is in a low lying area which is water logged during much of the rainy season. Dr Singo said plans to move out truck ports from the CBD area were at an advanced stage

"We are still negotiating with other investors who want to establish a massive brick moulding plant and others who want to venture into other sectors," he said.

Beitbridge East House of Assembly Member Cde Kembo Mohadi who is also the Home Affairs co-Minister is on record saying the Redevelopment programme was still on the right track as the Government was in the midst of mobilising resources to fulfil their mission.

Only time will tell when this project will be fully implemented though many people feel it is the only way the town can be face-lifted.

Published by The Herald 7 September 2010


Saturday, September 11, 2010

Two Countries Marathon called off

From Thupeyo Muleya in Beitbridge

WHAT was supposed to be the fifth edition of the Two Countries Marathon, featuring athletes from Zimbabwe and South Africa, has been called off after the organisers failed to get a sponsor for the event.

The event, which is a culmination of a 1996 twinning agreement between Beitbridge and Musina Municipality of South Africa, has traditionally been held in September every year.
Over 300 athletes from both countries used to take part in this event annually.
Zimbabwean athletes have dominated the event in both men and the women’s sections.
The race was probably the only one in the world in which athletes crossed frontiers.
Athletes would register for the race and clear immigration formalities before the race.
Limpopo’s athletes’ promoter Southpasernburg had been sponsoring the event for the past season, but could not commit their sponsorship this year.
A source within the organising committee in South Africa said they were still negotiating with other potential sponsors to hold the event next year.
“We failed to get enough money for co-ordinating the event this year and we are looking forward to holding a successful event next year,” he said.
Both municipalities and Limpopo’s Phalaphala FM have also been instrumental in organising the race.
Beitbridge Town Council acting director of housing and social services Mbongeleni Muleya confirmed the sad development.
“We have failed to get enough sponsorship and therefore we cannot hold the race this year,” said Muleya.
Under normal circumstances the marathon involves a 42-km race which starts at Nottingham Turn Off, 10-km out ofBeitbridge Town, and finishes at either at Freedom Park Stadium or Eric Louw High School on the South African side. There is also a 21km and 10km race.
Last year’s winners won floating trophies and cash prizes ranging between R1 500 and R3 600.

published by The Herald 11 September 2010