Herald

Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
FROM tragedy to humiliation, a banishment that signalled the beginning of the end of a chaotic ZIFA board and to the ignominy of losing to the world’s weakest football nation.

And, there was even that bizarre episode where the career of a thoroughbred radio and television football commentator was briefly put on hold.

The Warriors’ romance with World Cup qualifiers, since the turn of the millennium, has been a very rocky affair.

And, unless they turn around one of their worst defeats tomorrow, by not only beating but eliminating global lightweights Somalia, a very bad situation could even turn worse.

A few months ago, that should have been quite an easy task and the question, really, would have been about the number of goals the Warriors would score in the feast.

But, since the fallout of their AFCON finals appearance, where they arrived with high hopes before the demons of the chaos of their camp squashed those dreams, things have changed.

Their caretaker coach, taking charge of his first World Cup qualifier, and their entire team, playing at this stage for the first time in their careers, received a baptism of fire last Thursday in Djibouti.

A 0-1 loss to Somalia was as bad as things can get at this level of the game because, until then, the homeless Ocean Stars had never won a World Cup qualifier.

After all, this is a troubled country where football has taken a back seat for decades as it dealt with the ravages of civil strife and an Islamic insurgency.

Even its main football stadium was, for years, converted into an operational centre for African troops who arrived to quell the insurgency.

For 29 years, Somalia didn’t even send a representative to the CAF inter-club tournaments until Mogadishu City Club took part in the CAF Confederation Cup in July.

Told to look for an alternative venue to host their home leg of the match, because of security concerns, they chose to play it in Zanzibar.

The irony was that their opponents, Malindi, were also from Zanzibar and that meant they played both matches at home and, as expected, sailed through.

Given Zanzibar were also only admitted into the CAF family, as a member, two years ago, Malindi’s 1-0 aggregate win didn’t raise eyebrows and their elimination, at the next hurdle, was also expected.

Had everything gone according to plan, the battle between the Warriors and the Ocean Stars would have been settled yesterday at Barbourfields.

But, then, nothing goes according to plan when it comes to Somalia and their failure to secure flights into Zimbabwe at the weekend forced the postponement of the decider to tomorrow.

The world will be closely following the events at the National Sports Stadium where, on the grass of the giant facility and not the artificial surface in Djibouti, the Warriors are expected to win.

The challenge, however, is that the Warriors have never won a World Cup qualifier in 11 years since that day at Rufaro when Gilbert Mushangazhike scores twice in a 2-0 win over Namibia.

And, this is a lightweight Warriors side without some of its heavy hitters like Knowledge Musona, who called the team management while they were in Djibouti, to rally the side not to blow this World Cup opportunity.

There also appears to have been a climb down on the hard-line stance that saw some of the team’s regulars, and leaders, being sidelined from the battle in Djibouti.

Ovidy Karuru, one of the three captains of the Warriors at the AFCON finals, was set to arrive in Harare yesterday to join the team for tomorrow’s battle.

ZPC Kariba defender Ian Nekati has also been roped into the squad.

Khama Billiat, who had initially been reported to be available for tomorrow’s game, will not feature as he continues to battle with an injury he sustained in Cape Town.

Italian gaffer Landi Roberto, who once coached Liberia, is also set to watch the match amid reports of negotiations for him to consider taking over as substantive coach.

He is set to arrive in Harare today.

The Warriors simply can’t afford another boob — even though their history with the World Cup qualifiers, in this millennium, doesn’t provide their fans with both comfort and optimism.

For it was in these qualifiers when tragedy struck, at the giant stadium, in 2000, during a World Cup qualifier against Bafana Bafana, leaving 13 fans dead.

It remains the darkest day in the history of Zimbabwe sport.

Then, a few years later Jay Jay Okocha and his Super Eagles came to town and, after toying around with the Warriors, comfortably won that World Cup qualifier 3-0.

Charles Mabika, seduced by the artistry of Okocha while commentating on the match, was deemed to have overdone his lyrical portrayal of the Nigerian superstar.

And, his commentating career, was briefly put on hold.

The reverse fixture in Nigeria turned into a humiliation as the Warriors lost that match 1-5.

Six years ago, long before the world had known Mohamed Salah as it does now, the Egyptian forward came to the giant stadium and scored a hat trick in a 4-2 victory for his nation.

Musona and Lloyd Zvasiya replied for the Warriors in that World Cup qualifier on June 9, 2013, during a group phase that saw Zimbabwe fail to win even one of its six matches.

Then, two years later, FIFA barred the Warriors from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers over the Valinhos affair.

That triggered the beginning of the end of Cuthbert Dube and his ZIFA board as they were soon swept away in elections that followed.

The World Cup banishment made headlines around the world, just as their return to the tournament last Thursday did, following their shock loss to Somalia.

Now, should they fail tomorrow, more global negative headlines will follow and their fractured romance with the World Cup qualifiers, which have delivered more pain than joy, will continue.

Tawanda Musarurwa Senior Business Reporter
The country’s trade promotion body, ZimTrade has asked Government to decentralise the issuance of export permits as part of the latest round of Ease of Doing Business reforms.

ZimTrade manager for export development Mr Tatenda Marume said such a move was in tandem with Government’s drive towards devolution.

“A critical issue is the decentralisation of permits. In the spirit of devolution, some of our exports have already been devolved because if you look at it, areas like Chipinge are strong in terms of horticulture.

“But why do they have to come here and get an export permit in Harare when we know that almost all the exports of avocados and macadamia are coming from that region.

“So we are looking at a situation which begs for decentralisation, and probably with time if the permits can be accessed on e-platforms the better,” said Mr Marume.

Devolution essentially refers to the cascading of powers and responsibilities to lower levels of governance by a central Government.

Zimbabwe has made a commitment towards the devolution agenda, with Section 301 of the Constitution providing for Inter-governmental Fiscal Transfers from central to provincial and local tiers of Government to support devolution.

Observers contend that decentralisation of export permits will help boost the country’s horticulture sector, the majority of whose products are typically destined for exports markets, especially the European Union (EU).

Official figures show that Zimbabwe’s horticultural exports recorded significant growth last year, with over US$112 million worth of produce exported, up from $50,9 million previously.

The country’s horticultural products include flowers, passion fruit, fine beans, peas (mange tout and sugar snap, all berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries), baby vegetables such as carrots, baby corn, baby marrow, courgettes, chillies namely the birds eye, serenade among others, broccoli, citrus, avocado and macadamia nuts.

Mr Marume was speaking at the launch of the 2020 to 2021 Ease of Doing Business Reforms Programme last week.

He told the meeting that an uneven operating environment was making Zimbabwe’s exports uncompetitive, even at regional level.

“From a market survey we did of Botswana in 2017, we found that Zimbabwean products are at least 15 percent more expensive than what you would get from our regional competitors.

“Because of that competitiveness gap, our situation is so sensitive so any extra delay or any extra cost no matter how small you think it is, will probably affect our exports to the point where they are going to be non-existent in the future,” said Mr Marume.

As Africa mourns the death of its iconic Pan Africanist Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe last week, its new crop of leaders should learn important lessons derived from his thinking.

One of those lessons is Cde Mugabe’s emphasis on African unity, which he viewed as necessary for the development of the continent.

Throughout his life, especially from the early days of his involvement in the liberation struggle, most of Cde Mugabe’s speeches were centred on African unity.

Internally, this quest was manifested in the way he managed to unite Zimbabweans to focus on a common purpose of developing the country.

On numerous occasions, Cde Mugabe would emphasise that Zimbabwe is a huge entity with different players who are making it tick.

His stance was simply that the country is made up of different tribes which have their own cultures, but these make up one entity called Zimbabwe. He would also use the same talk about Africa, emphasising that with so many countries making the continent, it should not be lost to anyone that they make one entity called Africa.

Apart from pushing for African unity, Cde Mugabe would always defend the continent at international gatherings such as the United Nations General Assembly. He would confront the continent’s detractors, telling them openly to leave the continent alone to chart its own developmental path without interference.

It was clear that Cde Mugabe’s desire was to see a totally independent Africa that controls its resources and use them to develop its people.

This is a vital lesson to African leaders who should realise that with neo-colonialism hovering above their heads, they cannot make meaningful progress. To totally defeat imperialism, Cde Mugabe always implored African leaders to be united and speak with one voice against the vice.

In advocating for unity, Cde Mugabe was following the footsteps of African legends like the late Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah.

In fact, he had become a link between his generation of African leaders and that of the likes of Nkurumah.

Apart from speaking about African unity, Cde Mugabe did not hesitate to help fellow Africans in times of need. After independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was actively involved in ensuring that other African countries like South Africa and Namibia were free. He played a big role in ending post-independence conflicts in Mozambique, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Zimbabwe has its armed forces scattered across Africa to help with peace-keeping efforts and avoid recurrence of conflicts. Following Cde Mugabe’s demise, Africa is clearly clamouring for a new crop of leaders who stand for the continent without caring much about the consequences.

Most of the problems that faced Zimbabwe during Cde Mugabe’s time were directly as a result of the respond by Western countries to his stance on African unity.

A united Africa is definitely not in the interest of the imperialists, and this explains why they react ruthlessly to anyone who dare propagated such a stance. We all know that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was eliminated with the aid of Western countries because of his persistent calls for a united Africa.

Analysts have also noted that there was a Western hand in Nkrumah’s death because of his stance on African unity. They failed to eliminate Cde Mugabe for calling for African unity, but they made his country and people suffer through illegal sanctions that retarded economic growth.

Cde Mugabe wanted the plunder of African resources by foreign powers to stop so that the continent can fully benefit. Without unity, Cde Mugabe would always implore the African leaders, the plunder would continue as the foreign powers exploit the weaknesses caused by divisions.

The rousing reactions from African leaders to Cde Mugabe’s death clearly indicate that his principles were at the core of the continent’s survival.  Cde Mugabe’s stance was always in sync with the objectives of the African Union which are:

(a) to achieve greater unity, cohesion and solidarity between African countries.

(b) to defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its member States.

(c) to accelerate the political and social-economic integration of the continent.

Tafadzwa Zimoyo Senior Arts Reporter
POOR coordination marred the Miss Tourism Harare pageant held on Saturday at a local hotel.

Thirty beauties were vying for the crown.

Though a number of people braved the chilly weather to attend the event, signs of poor organisation were first seen when the reigning queen took to the mic, emceeing at the event. 

Her role at the pageant must have been a first in the history of modelling in the country.

Donning a green off-shoulder garment and gold sandals, the 2018 Miss Harare queen Panashe Kimberly Peters took to the ramp much to the amazement of people who attended the finale.

Her appearance as the hostess divided opinions, with many thinking it was all about budgeting, while some said it was an antic meant to warm up for another hostess, Floret Chikomwe, who later took over.

The event saw Peters, Floret Chikomwe and Nyasha Chamakudhengu, affectionately known as Chamaz, as emcees.

Organisers of the pageant later realised their boob and let Peters take her seat waiting to pass the baton to the newly-crowned queen.

As if that was not enough, drama continued when some parents of contesting models seated in the VIP started complaining, not only about time management, but also of hunger, as organisers selectively served food. 

They complained that they had bought tickets that included meals, but were surprised to be turned away when they queued for meals.

The situation was reduced to a cat-and-mouse tale where the models’ parents were looking for meal tickets, which were not availed to them.

“I think they are taking advantage of us because we have daughters whom we are waiting for. Everything started well, but lack of coordination affected everything. We are now bored and it is now late. We are tired. Can they explain to us on what is going on,” said one of the parent.

“I am surprised today that my VVIP ticket does not include the meal as said before. It is now a different story.

“Imagine, the stage would sometimes go for minutes without any activity and when action returns it would appear as a talent show.”

The event started two hours late and ended in the wee hours of Sunday despite the fact that they had everything they needed including quality sound, lighting and a well-decorated stage.

Most of the people who had bought VVIP tables, including Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure and his friends, were forced to leave the event hours before the queen was crowned.

When all and sundry thought the drama was over, judges and auditors pulled another shocker when the emcee read only 14 names when the list had 15.

The emcee pulled a Steve Harvey scenario saying; “…it was just a number.”

Organisers promised to give a reason why there were 14 girls after the crowd queried wanting to know what had happened.

However, the glitz and glamour of the event came out as celebrities, stakeholders’ representatives and fashion designers posed for the red carpet before taking to their labelled tables, a world class standard that was set by organisers.

The models put up a well-choreographed act each time they strutted their stuff on the ramp. 

A second year University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Biological Sciences student Hillary Mandibaya (21) scooped the coveted crown and booked a ticket to represent Harare Province at the Miss Tourism Zimbabwe finale in November.

Mandibaya, also a karateka, impressed judges with her natural looks, smile and walk.

The model is not new to the ramp as she once participated in the Face of Black Opal and was voted First Princess and also face of Mount Pleasant.   

Mandibaya beat other 29 girls while Alexis Thutani was crowned second princess.

The First Runner-up and Best Talent title went to Nicole Madimutsa while Blessing Mutyasira scooped the Best Project title.

Miss Tourism Mashonaland Central went to Maureen Gondwe, Miss Tourism Mashonaland East was scooped by Wendy Maturi and Mashonaland East queen was Samantha Makufa.

All the winners got cash prizes on stage from Harare businessman Innocent Shito, affectionately known as Mhofela.

Contacted for comment, one of the organisers, Mercy Mushaninga said all went according to plan and dismissed allegations levelled against them.

“First and foremost, people need to understand and accept change on such pageantry. Yes, we had Panashe hosting the show at first because she is well-spoken and had time with the girls. We wanted someone to tell our own story, thus someone who knows the situation.

“Sometimes we fail as we have an emcee who is not well versed about the event. I see nothing wrong having a queen as host.

“On to the issue of food, initially people were supposed to buy their own food. The ticket was only to watch the show. We only had a few complimentary tickets but we had branded tables,” she said.

Mushaninga said they delayed announcing the winners because they introduced the new system of auditors who took time verifying.

“I know we finished late, but it was beyond our control as we had auditors who needed time to clear and verifying numbers and details. But all the same everything went according to plan; we had a world-class standard event,” she said.   

Diana Samkange, rhumba outfit Bv Labian and Spinalong bands, performed at the event.

Yeukai Tazira Herald Reporter
The nation has lost a giant of the liberation struggle and a colossus that stood against imperialism in former President Robert Mugabe, Zanu-PF secretary for Youth Affairs Cde Pupurai Togarepi has said.

Cde Togarepi said Cde Mugabe was a fountain of wisdom.

“In this instance, death has been very unkind and unjust, snatching from us a fatherly figure before we had the opportunity to tap all the wisdom from his encyclopaedic memory,” he said.

“Baba Mugabe was the pacesetter, a trailblazer and the first leader of independent Zimbabwe, we owe our freedoms to him, the schools, hospitals and an informed citizenry we have today are all a result of that liberation war icon.”

Cde Togarepi described the late Cde Mugabe as a good fighter and leader.

“He ran his race, fought the good fight, just as the Bible says, maybe as fellow revolutionaries we let him down, yes we probably let him down when we allowed an overambitious clique to abuse his old age, but then we all make mistakes and that is the mistake we corrected rather belatedly,” he said.

“A true Pan Africanist, he was one of the last men standing from that glorious and selfless generation that took initiative to fight colonialism and its ills.”

Cde Togarepi said as the Zanu-PF Youth League, they were proud to be products of his vision.

“For us as Zanu-PF Youth League, we are proud that we are products of his vision, we honour him, and to express our love, we have his birthday February 21 as a youth holiday, we have Robert Mugabe International Airport; writing his name in stone,” he said.

“Indeed, heroes don’t die, they just turn into legends and the legend of Cde Mugabe is the one that will live in Zimbabwe, Africa and the world memories forever.

“He was an illustrious son of the soul, the father of the nation, a true nationalist who was also a good mentor, a shepherd and symbol of our black consciousness. Now he is gone, snapped by inescapable death, all we have are sad memories, we remember him because it is only natural to remember him and we shall try to follow in his giant footprints although that will be a tall order.”

Cde Togarepi said there was no doubt that some may not have fond memories of Cde Mugabe as he was no saint.

“His good and bad decisions sum all our hopes and failures, we have to learn from his history and engrave his good deeds in our hearts,” he said.

Herald Correspondent
ZANU-PF provincial chairpersons have described the death of former President Robert Mugabe as a loss of a unifier, saying the country’s history cannot be written correctly without his immense contribution.

Mashonaland West’s Zanu-PF provincial chairman Cde Ziyambi Ziyambi said they were proud to have a son like Cde Mugabe who represented them and the country well.

‘‘It is with great sadness that as a province we received the news of the passing on of the founding father of our nation Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe. He is one of our great revolutionaries who championed the land reform programme and empowered so many families in Mashonaland West through the agrarian reform programme.

“As we mourn, we take heart that we celebrate your life worth lived. The history of this country cannot be said without your name popping up. Indeed, we are proud as Mashonaland West that we were privileged to have a son like you. Go well son of the soul, go well father of our nation, and go well a true African statesman. May your dear soul rest in eternal peace,’’ he said.

Cde Ziyambi further said: “Affectionately called Gushungo after his totem, the late founding father taught us self-worth, daring to stand up and challenge the West when it came to the birthright of Zimbabweans. Of note is his immense contribution in the education sector where from having just one university at independence, we now have at least a university in every province.

“Sadly, for his passion to give land to Zimbabweans he and the country were slapped with sanctions that have to date caused a lot of suffering to the ordinary Zimbabweans. But even in the suffering, we say thank you Uncle Bob for restoring our dignity, for not selling out and for believing in the human worth of the Zimbabwean people.”

Matabeleland South provincial chairman Cde Rabelani Choeni said not only the province had lost, but the world at large.

“We have lost a father, a guardian, teacher, leader, an icon truly speaking the world has seen it that we lost a father. Just like yesterday we lost Father Zimbabwe Cde Joshua Nkomo.

“What we have including independence, the successful land reform programme and now we are fighting an economic war. That is where he is living us today, we are in the struggle for economic emancipation we will miss him and his ideas,” he said.

Manicaland chairperson Cde Mike Madiro said the country had been robbed of a mentor.

“History of Zimbabwe from the Second Chimurenga up to the attainment of independence in 1980, the land acquisition, there is no history with integrity worth mentioning without Cde Mugabe. He was so defining, he worked for so many years with President Mnangagwa .

“He was principled and did not waiver principles for convenience, a rare quality because these days we have opportunists. There is so much that young people should learn in the leadership of the late principled leader Cde Mugabe including his stance towards homosexuality.

“Some may want to rubbish part of his later life, but we cannot be blinded to say his days were tainted by a few criminals who took advantage of his old age,” he said.

Mashonaland East provincial chairman Cde Joel Biggie Matiza said: “As a province we are joining the rest of the nation in mourning the passing on of our iconic leader who fought tirelessly for everyone’s freedom.

“His impact was and is felt on various sectors like education, agriculture and even politics.

“We have many schools and as an agro-based province we benefited much from the land re-distribution programme which he spearheaded. On the political side, Cde Mugabe made Mash East Zanu-PF strongest hub, you cannot talk of Mashonaland East without talking of Zanu-PF. We also remember him by his stance of sticking by the party constitution,” he said.

Midlands provincial chairperson Engineer Daniel McKenzie Ncube said the province salutes the roles played by Cde Mugabe pre and post-independence.

“We recognise him as a founding father despite the fact that his astuteness had been eroded by time, this does not erode his legacy which will remain in of our hearts. We say rest in peace,” he said.

Matabeleland North provincial chairperson Cde Richard Moyo said the country had lost a liberator.

“We have lost a freedom fighter who took the country from whites when they had pledged that not in 1 000 years we will rule Zimbabwe. Cde Mugabe’s policies since 1980 were progressive including free education for all, he also stood by his people.

“As of the land reform programme no other country in Africa will take over the way Cde Mugabe led us. He played his part as a leader even after resigning,” he said.

Mashonaland Central and Masvingo provincial chairpersons Cde Kazembe Kazembe and Ezra Chadzamira could not be reached for comment.

Harare and Bulawayo provinces are still working on new provincial structures following their dissolution in March this year.

Fradreck Gorwe
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed paramount producer of piping material, Proplastics, has finally completed its factory, with the plant expected to start operating by the end of the third quarter after the completion of pending minor electric works.

The firm manufactures a variety of piping products for usage in mining, agriculture and infrastructure development.

“The new factory construction work is largely complete except for a few remaining electrical works. Focus is now shifted on making the plant operational by the end of the third quarter. As envisaged when the Group embarked on this project, we expect operational efficiencies to improve with the migration to the new factory, thus driving down unit costs.

“In this regard, a more stable supply of electricity is vital in order to ensure export competitiveness and we will engage relevant authorities in order to seek a solution to this critical issue,” said company Chairman Gregory Sebborn in a statement accompanying the company’s half-year financials to June 30, 2019.

The new factory project was initially earmarked to be completed by the first quarter of 2018 but foreign currency shortages threw spanners into the works resulting in the about US$5 million project failing to be completed within the targeted timeframe.

The project is designed to boost the company’s production capacity as well as enhancing its export competitiveness through factory efficiencies and economies of scale should electricity supply be stable. Earlier reports had indicated the new factory will see production capacity mounting from about 8000 tonnes to 32 000 tonnes per annum.

Meanwhile Proplastics manoeuvred through an “extremely challenging operating environment to post an 87 percent boost in revenue to $20,1 million compared to $10,7 million posted in the prior year comparative.

The boost, however, has come amidst a decline in production volumes by 28 percent compared to the previous year. The company managed to compensate the volumes decline with cost containment to 16 percent despite inflationary pressures.

Growth in revenues translated to a boost in gross profit to $11,6 million compared to the prior $3,4 million, more as a result of contained cost of sales. Profit after tax at $5,4 million compared to $1,2 million achieved in the prior period was commendable.

The financial positives were highly commendable despite an upsurge in overheads and financing costs.

“Overheads increased by 156 percent due to the inflationary environment and financing costs went up by 144 percent driven by costs in establishing new facilities with the banks and interest on lease liability arising on initial application of International Financial Reporting Standards,” said Mr Sebborn.

Going forward, the piping concern is hopeful the interbank market will grow to meet its foreign currency requirements. However, short-term demand is expected to remain subdued within a challenging economic environment.

Roselyne Sachiti Features, Health & Society Editor
OVER the past months, several residential areas in Harare have been without consistent supplies of tap water.

In areas that include parts of Warren Park, Southlea Park, Budiriro, Highlands, New Malborough, Meyrick Park, Westlea, Sentosa, Hillside, Mabvuku, Glen View 7 and Mbare, to name just a few, water supplies have been erratic.

In some areas, water sometimes trickles at night, giving residents an opportunity to fill up containers for use the following day, yet some are not as lucky. The water never comes.

Those who are lucky to have it complain that the water is usually very dirty and sometimes turns a greenish colour when boiled.

Each day women and children form beelines as they pace up and down the streets in search of water which they fetch and carry on their heads.

In dire situations, they can do this up to three times a day if they are to fetch enough water to meet their daily requirements like bathing, flushing toilets, cooking, washing dishes and general house cleaning. The process is labour intensive and also comes with negative health outcomes as studies have confirmed.

The latest research from the University of East Anglia associates water fetching with poor health outcomes for women and children, including a higher risk of death.

A study published last week reveals that adults collecting water is associated with increased risk of childhood death, and children collecting water is associated with increased risk of diarrhoreal disease.

“Any household member collecting water is associated with reduced likelihood that a woman will give birth in a health care facility. Women or girls collecting water is associated with reduced uptake of antenatal care and increased odds of leaving young children under five alone for an hour or more,” the research states.

The research, which involved more than 2,7 million people in 41 countries, is the first to analyse the relationships between water carriage, access to clean drinking water, sanitation and maternal and child health using the UNICEF multiple indicator cluster survey data.

Senior author Prof Paul Hunter, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, says until now, little has been known about the health outcomes associated with fetching water.

“We wanted to find out more about the health implications of fetching water, as well as the outcomes of using unsafe water supplies, inadequate access to improved sanitation — particularly in relation to the health of women and children.”

Prof Hunter and Dr Jo Geere, from UEA’s School of Health Sciences, studied data from more than 2,7 million people in 41 low to middle-income countries, looking for associations between access to drinking water, sanitation and health.

They studied health outcomes including the risk of child deaths, diarrhoea in children under five, low child weight and height, the number of women giving birth in a health care facility, the uptake of antenatal care and whether young children were being left alone for long periods.

Prof Hunter said: “We found that having to carry water home and low levels of sanitation are associated with a range of adverse maternal and child health outcomes.

“Adults fetching water is associated with an increased risk of child death, and children collecting water is associated with increased odds of childhood diarrhoea.

According to Dr Geere, water fetching by any household member is associated with reduced odds of a woman giving birth in a health care facility.

“And women or girls collecting water is associated with reduced uptake of antenatal care and increased odds of regularly leaving a child under five alone at home for over an hour. Mothers face a Hobson’s choice when they go out to fetch water. They must either leave their child or children at home alone, or take them along what is often an unsafe route,” he said.

He said a child or children may be left unsupervised for the time it takes to walk to a water source, queue up, collect the water and return.

Unsupervised children, he added, are likely to be at more risk of death from accidental injury or simply from reduced parental care when it is needed — for example during illness or when they are very young.

“Alternatively, if mothers take their young child with them to collect water, the route may be unsafe due to extreme environmental conditions, hazardous traffic, or interpersonal violence.

“Our findings indicate that the amount of time and energy taken for water carriage also means that women don’t have time to attend antenatal clinics and many don’t give birth in a health care facility.

“Fetching water may also exacerbate under-nutrition which may in turn impact pregnancies and breastfeeding — increasing the risk of child mortality. And many of the studies we looked at reported fatigue and tiredness affecting water carriers.”

The research shows that improving access to water and sanitation is associated with better health outcomes for women and children.

“Our findings are consistent with another study from Ethiopia, which showed that when taps were installed closer to home, the monthly risk of child death was 50 percent lower among children of the women with access to the new taps,” said Prof Hunter.

“This really shows the difference that improved access to clean water makes. Living in a household without a flush toilet was associated with a 9-12 percent higher risk of child death than living in a household where members usually used flush toilets.

“But having access to water in homes and having good sanitation is associated with big improvements to the health of women and children.

“Children born into communities with improved sanitation were 12 peretccent less likely to die than those born into communities with poor sanitation,” he added.

Farirai Machivenyika  Senior Reporter
Parliament will take disciplinary measures against Cabinet ministers and their deputies that missed last Wednesday’s Question and Answer session in the National Assembly without seeking leave of absence.

The ruling was made by Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda after several ministers and their deputies absented themselves without notice, despite being directed by Cabinet to attend parliamentary sessions as required by law.

Adv Mudenda said he had decided to take action against absentee ministers and their deputies after informing President Mnangagwa on two occasions about the practice by the officials.

“I want to advise the honourable members that I have written twice to His Excellency about non-attendance of honourable members and I am told the matter was discussed in Cabinet and ministers were told to attend Parliament in terms of Section 107 (2) of the Constitution,” he said.

“I am sure that we all agree that today’s (Wednesday last week) attendance is appalling and pathetic and I have instructed Secretariat that those who have not tendered apologies be charged accordingly.”

The ministers that sought leave of absence included Professor Mthuli Ncube (Finance and Economic Development), Dr Sibusiso Moyo (Foreign Affairs and International Trade) and Perrance Shiri (Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement).

Ministers that were present include the leader of Government business in Parliament and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, Monica Mutsvangwa (Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services), Kazembe Kazembe (Information and Communications Technology and Courier Services), Dr Joram Gumbo (Implementation and Monitoring), Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu (Industry and Commerce) and Fortune Chasi (Energy and Power Development).

Deputy ministers that were present include Polite Kambamura (Mines and Mining Development), Energy Mutodi (Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services), Yeukai Simbanegavi (Sports, Arts and Culture), Magna Mudyiwa (Energy and Power Development), Mike Madiro (Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage) and Health and Child Care Deputy Minister, Dr John Mangwiro.

Backbenchers have on numerous occasions complained against ministers and their deputies’ absence from Parliament, especially during the Wednesday Question and Answer Session, where they are supposed to respond to queries on policy issues and other specific matters they raise.

Old Mutual loses

The High Court in Johannesburg on Friday upheld an earlier ruling allowing axed Old Mutual CEO Peter Moyo to return to work.

Judge Brian Mashile dismissed Old Mutual’s application with costs  and granted the company leave to appeal.

In his ruling, Mashile addressed the “irreparable harm” argued by Moyo.

“Other than the humiliation of being ejected from his office, the irreparable harm is plain for every day that he spends at home without work regardless of whether he has been paid for sitting or not.”

NPS transactions

Zimbabwe’s transactions processed through the National Payment System (NPS) registered an increase of 16,9 percent to $30,16 billion in June 2019, from $25,80 billion in May 2019 on the back of recorded increases across most payment platforms.

Despite the increase in values, volumes were, however, down for the period.

According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s latest monthly report, the volume of NPS transactions processed declined by 1,7 percent to 181,9 million, from 185,1 million during the same period.

Getbucks new board

ZSE-listed Getbucks last week announced the appointment of Mr Paul Soko as deputy managing director of GetBucks Microfinance Bank Limited effective June 5, 2019.

He will deputise the managing director and handle the portfolio of Chief Operations Officer. Mr Soko is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA from the University of Cape Town. He joined the bank in 2015 and was previously the Company’s Chief Finance Officer.

The board has also appointed Mr Patrick Mashinga as  chief finance officer, effective August 19, 2019.

MedTech diversifies

HEALTHCARE products provider, MedTech Holdings says it is considering disposal of some of the firm’s assets to finance a venture into a new undisclosed business that is divorced from the usual health care products.

In a cautionary statement to shareholders the company secretary Muhammad Patel said; “Shareholders are advised that the directors of MedTech Holdings Limited are in discussions to sell certain of the company’s operating assets and also for the acquisition of a business in a different sector.”

Exports down

The central bank has released the monthly economic review for June 2019, indicating a 10 percent decline in merchandise trade to US$697 million from US$780 million recorded in May 2019.

The decline is on the back of a “slump in monthly exports”.

The statistics show that merchandise exports fell by 32,6 percent to US$309,2 million from US$458,6 million achieved in May 2019.

The downward trend was on the back of a fall in export earnings of gold, ferro-chrome and industrial diamonds.