• Why Cultural Symbols Matter — Lessons From The Removal Of The Nguni Shield At The Bulawayo Airport

    Central government's removal of the signage with the Nguni shield at the JMN International airport is perceived as an attack on a people's culture.

    BY THABANI H. MOYO | @thabanih | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | MAY 24, 2022

    The Nguni shield is a priceless emblem for the people of Matabeleland having been inherited down generations from the days of the last paramount king, Lobengula.

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  • Poor Telecommunications Coverage Continues To Haunt Umzingwane

    Umzingwane villagers are cut out from the rest of the world due to poor telecommunications coverage.

    BY VUSINDLU MAPHOSA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | MAY 24, 2022  

    As the world migrates to e-technologies with most of the country's urban areas having access to mobile communication networks, it is a different story in most remote parts of Umzingwane, Matabeleland South.

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  • In Matabeleland North, Access To Healthcare Remains A Pipe Dream

    Villagers believe government's failure to complete Lupane provincial hospital is to politicise it towards elections. Image by Min. Info

    BY CALVIN MANIKA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | MAY 24, 2022

    Poorly equipped, shortage of vital drugs and lack of specialists characterise most of the hospitals in Matabeleland North with the provincial hospital remaining a pie in the sky.

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  • No Water, No Power — A Daily Struggle Of A Gwanda Resident

    Water challenges continue to haunt Spitzkop North suburb in Gwanda, despite having a five megalitre reservoir.

    BY AMANDA NCUBE | @TheCB_News | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | MAY 24, 2022  

    The town’s perennial water and electricity crisis is linked to a ballooning population, obsolete infrastructure and underfunding of critical infrastructure to ensure access to the services.

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  • Filthy And Dilapidated Public Toilets Expose Residents To Poor Health

    Hwange villagers bemoan the state of their ablution facilities arguing that they are colonial and dehumanising. Image by The Explorer

    BY LETHOKUHLE NKOMO | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | MAY 22, 2022

    Villagers in Hwange are sitting on a health time bomb as most of their public toilets, shared by up to 20 households each, are in a bad shape and no longer fit for use—42years after Zimbabwe gained independence. But who is to blame — officials or villagers not willing to take the responsibility to clean their facilities?

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  • Gold Rush Exposes Communities To Health And Environmental Hazards

    Artisanal miners are causing environmental degradation at the same time exposing communities to health hazards in Gwanda.

    BY VUSINDLU MAPHOSA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | MAY 24

    Artisanal mining might sound quaint, but most gold panners know little about the environmental impacts of gold mining, especially the use of mercury, and its dangers.

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  • Locals Employed By Chinese Mine Owners Bemoan Poor Working Conditions

    Workers in Chinese run companies are complaining over poor working conditions in Hwange. Image by allAfrica

    BY LETHOKUHLE NKOMO | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | MAY 22, 2022

    In most Chinese run companies in Hwange, there is no job security, while working conditions are deplorable and not in sync with what mining regulations provide for.

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  • For Undereducated Communities, Lack Of Mental Health Information Has Dire Consequences

    Villagers believe the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how there is a need to invest in mental health care and institutions. Image by Marc Schlossman

    BY GEORGINA SOKO | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | MAY 22, 2022

    For highly traditional communities, mental health is a bad omen and is often attributed to witchcraft. But the lack of correct information about the challenge has dire consequences.

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  • COVID-19 Leaves A Legacy Of Rising Poverty, Widening Child Labour

    COVID-19 has exacerbated child labor in Matabeleland. Image by Unsplash

    BY GEORGINA SOKO | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | MAY 22, 2022

    The long-lasting effects of COVID-19 have left children in Matabeleland North contending with deeper poverty and recent trends of child labour as more families struggle to make ends meet in a failing economy.

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Written by The Citizen Bulletin on .

Poor Telecommunications Coverage Continues To Haunt Umzingwane

Umzingwane villagers are cut out from the rest of the world due to poor telecommunications coverage.

BY VUSINDLU MAPHOSA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | MAY 24, 2022  

As the world migrates to e-technologies with most of the country's urban areas having access to mobile communication networks, it is a different story in most remote parts of Umzingwane, Matabeleland South.

UMZINGWANE (The Citizen Bulletin) — In Umzingwane, it is still a nightmare to make a simple phone call. For learners, it is devastating as they miss out on e-learning, narrates Star Mbane, one villager from Longridge farm.

Mbane fears that learners like her current form 4 child in the district will continue getting poor O' Level results.

“We have been living in an information blackout status for many years. With the advent of e-learning having been introduced in schools, our children are the worst affected,” says Dingani Ndlovu, another concerned parent.

“It's almost two years now and our children are not seriously learning…We all know that Matabeleland has always been leading in the low pass rate. There is a need to come up with strategies and installation of boosters to improve networks and help children to be able to attend e-learning lessons.”
Dingani Ndlovu, a parent

“We have raised the issue of network problems several times. There were promises that the boosters would be installed a long time ago. But to date, we still face the same network challenges,” Ward 12 councilor Elliot Dube says.