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SCORES of scotch-cart owners have withdrawn their services of evacuating families from the flooded Tokwe-Mukosi Dam basin in Chivi in protest over government delays in paying them.
The move has worsened an already precarious transport situation in the area as the Civil Protection Unit is battling to secure more vehicles to speed up the relocation of families from the basin.
Government said it required more than 40 trucks and lorries to move the families from three transit camps in Chivi to Chingwizi in Nuanetsi Ranch.
Tractors and scotch-carts moved villagers and their property from inaccessible places in the basin to transit camps. The scotch-cart operators and other transporters were offered US$10 per trip for a distance of between 7 km and 10km.
However, most operators around the basin said they had since withdrawn their services because of non-payment.
‘’Most families here are now physically carrying their property to the transit camps because those who have scotch-carts are demanding payment upfront and people have no money. We are now using wheelbarrows because most scotch-carts were withdrawn by their owners,’’ said Lameck Zimhunga of Jahwa village in Nemauzhe.
Chivi district administrator and chairperson of the district Civil Protection Unit Bernard Hadzirabwi said government was yet to pay for hired scotch-carts.
“They have not yet been paid for the scotch-carts and we are still waiting for the money from government. We cannot really say that scotch-cart operators have withdrawn them because most villagers were using their own.’’
“The exact figure owed to scotch-cart owners has not yet been worked out. What I want to point out is that we still have a serious shortage of transport especially trucks and lorries to move people and their property from the transit camps.’’
When our correspondent visited the basin yesterday there were few scotch-carts moving property with most villagers carrying their belongings on their heads.
“We are grateful to Cde Killer Zivhu, the Chivi RDC chairperson and councillor for Zunga who forked out money from his own pocket to pay people whose scotch-carts were hired but never got anything,’’ added Mr Hadzirabwi.
Shortage of food has also hit the three transit camps at Zunga, Kushinga and Zifunze where over 260 families await being moved to Chingwizi.
Hadzirabwi said the problem could be eased with improved transport availability.
“Food is inadequate in the camps because whenever some families are transported from the camps to Chingwizi a new group of families will come in and they all need food and at the moment there is not enough.’’
Various companies and NGOs have been assisting Tokwe-Mukosi families with food but the quantities are barely enough as a total of over 2,500 people are being moved from the basin to the Nuanetsi Ranch.
Online Reporter