Residents along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway are enduring severe dust pollution from detours created for a major government rehabilitation project. While the road upgrade is welcomed after years of deterioration, the temporary unpaved routes are generating constant dust clouds that infiltrate homes, harm health, and damage crops. Locals report persistent respiratory issues, ruined vegetation, and dirt-covered properties.
Provincial Minister Richard Moyo acknowledged the complaints, pledging to instruct contractors to increase water spraying on the detours to suppress the dust. A social commentator noted that the sandy soil in Matabeleland North is particularly prone to creating such hazardous conditions, which pose risks to both...
The Bulawayo City Council has issued a flash flood warning to residents, urging property owners to open weep holes in their boundary walls. Town Clerk Christopher Dube stated that this measure is mandatory under the Water Act and helps prevent water accumulation and structural damage during heavy rainfall.
Dube advised that obstructed weep holes can lead to property flooding and foundational harm. He called for neighbors to coordinate on inspecting shared walls to ensure proper drainage across neighborhoods. The city has also augmented its waste management fleet with eight new refuse compactors to address recent collection challenges.
This reinforcement aims to restore regular services, with an immediate focus on the central business...
Mental health experts are advocating for greater public recognition of emotional abuse, identifying it as a significant factor in mental health crises and suicide. Community psychologist Nozipho Mojapelo described this non-physical violence as a silent epidemic, frequently masked as affection within modern dating culture. She explained that such abuse involves persistent criticism, humiliation, and manipulative tactics like gaslighting, which systematically dismantle a person's self-worth.
Mojapelo warned that these behaviors, often rooted in unresolved personal trauma, are mistakenly interpreted as love or discipline. The consequences include severe depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. She urged communities to stop dismissing...
The government announced that infrastructure rehabilitation in Bulawayo's Cowdray Park Hlalani Kuhle suburb will begin in January 2026. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube stated the Kwangu/Ngakwami Presidential Title Deeds Programme would fund the project, focusing on roads, water, and sewer systems. He explained that the government acts as guarantor for the privately financed initiative.
This area, originally a fast-track housing program started in 2005, was developed without essential amenities. The City of Bulawayo inherited over 15,000 households lacking full services, leading to challenges like seasonal flooding. While the council has made progress, including providing most homes with potable water, extensive work remains.
Minister...
A Plumtree woman has been charged with murder following the fatal assault of her three-year-old daughter. Simangele Ncube, 37, appeared in court and was remanded in custody. Prosecutor Sheila Nyathi stated that the accused first assaulted the child, Easy Mpande, with a plastic dish after the girl defecated on herself.
The prosecution further alleged that Ncube subsequently beat the child with an electric cable across her entire body. This second assault resulted in Mpande's immediate death. Neighbors later performed a citizen's arrest on Ncube and took her to a police station. The case was presented before Magistrate Joshua Nembaware.
The Isiziba Youth Centre in Bulawayo's Njube suburb will be renovated into a youth innovation hub through a partnership between the city council and several organizations. This initiative, part of the Urban Futures programme, aims to provide entrepreneurial skills and reduce youth unemployment.
The facility will be transformed into a technology hub equipped with Starlink internet access and artificial intelligence capabilities. Planned upgrades include installing a perimeter fence and a comprehensive security system. The City of Bulawayo will retain ownership of the center, which is intended to foster a green entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Gweru City Council has issued a public notice giving livestock owners a two-week deadline to remove their stray animals from undesignated areas within the municipality. The council stated this action is necessary to protect public safety and uphold urban sanitation standards.
After the deadline passes, the local authority will begin rounding up and impounding all stray donkeys, cattle, and other livestock. The animals will be held at a city pound for a period of 90 days. Owners who fail to reclaim their impounded livestock during this time will see the animals auctioned to recover associated costs. The council cited the Urban Councils Act as the legal basis for this enforcement measure.
A severe water shortage in Bulawayo is causing significant hardship, with residents relying on boreholes and unprotected wells. A political official, Mqondisi Ndebele, described the situation as a catastrophic failure in service delivery, stating that approximately 100,000 households currently lack running water. He attributed the crisis to a lack of leadership and forward planning.
Bulawayo's mayor, David Coltart, has stated that the city requires approximately 14.5 million US dollars for an immediate infrastructure overhaul. The city's aging water system leads to a 46 percent loss of non-revenue water. Proposed long-term solutions include completing the Gwayi-Shangani Dam and creating a separate water utility to manage the resource...
The human rights organization ZimRights has called for an independent commission to address the Gukurahundi conflicts of the 1980s, describing the current process led by traditional chiefs as lacking credibility and legal foundation. In a recently published report, the group stated that the chief-led hearings operate without transparency or a proper policy framework, violating established transitional justice principles.
The process, initiated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has been criticized for its secrecy and is reportedly overseen by the Ministry of Justice. ZimRights noted that the approach has been heavily securitized and has led to the displacement of several critical activists from the Matabeleland region. The organization...
