LATEST: Wishing for a dry spell……Rains are an unwelcome visitor in some sections of Tsholotsho

From Stanford Chiwanga in Tsholotsho
Unlike the rest of country, Tsholotsho district dreads the rains and wishes for more sunshine because the rains do not result in a bumper harvest, but habitually generate floods that leave behind a trail of untold destruction.
Not long ago, the floods, caused by excessive rains which pounded the affected areas – Butabubili, Gariya, Dzokotsi, Mtshina, Sandawana, Sasedza, Kalave in ward eight and Mahlaba, Mapili, Mahlosi, Mbanyana, Matupula, Mbamba and Jimila in ward six – displaced over 200 families, and destroyed houses.
According to a report by the district Civil Protection Unit, one child died, over 10 children were injured and an unaccountable number of livestock was swept away by the immense overflows.
The rains that pound Tsholotsho district are not that abnormal but the soils of the area turn rains that result in a bumper harvest in some areas of Zimbabwe into raging floods that sweep everything in their path. In ward eight, Tsholotsho South, the flooding was caused by the characteristically flat land that dominates the area and the flooding of Gariya Dam. In ward six, Tsholotsho North, muddy soils which get saturated easily and the overflows in Gwayi and Zumbani rivers caused the floods.
Almost every year the people of Tsholotsho are left to pick up the pieces after the rains have gone. It is this sad yearly occurrence that has seen them, unlike the rest of the country, wishing for a dry spell. They are prepared to harvest thorns – to buy crops from fortunate areas than to continue experiencing the horrors brought by floods.
Mr Phineas Ncube of Butabubili, who watched in horror as the walls of his single but big hut being brought down and swept away by the flood, wants the rain to stop so that he can move back to his homestead and rebuild.
Evacuated by the CPU, Mr Ncube, who has been living in tents provided by NGOs, is fearful that the rains will come back and displace him again from the temporary refuge land he was given by the headman.

“We all want the rains because if it doesn’t rain we will not harvest anything and when we don’t harvest anything we will starve. But after what happened I think it’s best if it does not rain anymore. Our crops have been ruined by the floods, we can no longer talk about having a good harvest. If the floods come again they will take away the little crops and livestock we have left,” said Mr Ncube.
Mrs Minor Nkomo, also of Butabubili, had her own horrific tale to retell. Of the four huts she owns, she was left with one undamaged as the other three’s walls collapsed under pressure from the flood.
“I have been here all my life and I had never experienced such a thing. I feared for my life, the water was so strong that it took my goats away. The walls of my huts were brought down and I feared for my life and that of my grandchildren. We survived through the grace of God.
“The flood took away all of my grain, goats and chicken. I am left with nothing, I don’t know how I will feed my family, we are hoping for more divine intervention. As you can see we are left with one hut but we fear that if it rains again, we will be left without a home. I never thought I would say this but I wish it doesn’t rain again,” she said.
The scale of disaster the flood left at Mrs Beliwe Moyo’s (69) is something that she cannot comprehend to this day.
“I had no idea that water can be that destructive. I know that floods are dangerous but I always thought people who were affected by them were crybabies but now I can also testify that water can be an enemy. As you can see one of my huts was destroyed completely and my granary was also extensively damaged by the flood. I have one hut left standing but the water destroyed everything inside, the walls and the floor were damaged.
“I am just grateful that my grandchildren and I are safe, other people were not as lucky as they got injured. I hear that one child died that was unfortunate. I now live in a tent which was donated by an NGO. It’s not stronger than my hut and it is cold at night but at least I have a roof over my head. My only fear is that if it rains heavily again, we will be swept away together with the tents we have so I am praying that it doesn’t rain again,” said Mrs Moyo.
Mr Sinah Sibanda barely escaped the buckling roof and the crumbling walls of his hut as he watched his home being destroyed in a matter of minutes as Gariya Dam burst its banks and left him and other villagers up to three feet under water.

“I woke in panic after I heard my roof falling and the walls cracking. I ran out of my hut before the whole house collapsed on me. If I had no woken up in time I would have been killed by the debris. I am lucky to be alive. I was told by a CPU official that if I had been trapped inside I would have drowned,” said Mr Sibanda.
Mr Sibanda is also wishing for a dry spell but not because he fears the flood will come back to inflict more pain but because he wants to rebuild his homestead.
‘It’s difficult to build a hut when it’s raining because the mortar we use does not dry easily, he said.
To add to his woes, he does not know where he will go next as his parents’ home is full and his in-laws’ house has also been flooded.
But there is hope for him and fellow flood victims as the Government declared a state of emergency and allocated funds for rescue and relief operations. The Government’s immediate concern is to safeguard human life and help those who have lost their homes.
On Wednesday the Government sent no less than eleven ministers to flood-ravaged Tsholotsho. The ministerial team, led by the Senior Minister of State Cde Simon Khaya Moyo, assessed the damage caused by recent floods as well as the needs of the affected families, many of whom were left homeless.
Also on the tour were the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Matabeleland North Cde Cain Mathema, Professor Jonathan Moyo (Information, Media and Broadcasting Services), Cde Sydney Sekeramayi (Defence), Dr Ignatius Chombo (Local Government, Public Works and National Housing), Cde Joseph Made (Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development), Cde Lazarus Dokora (Primary and Secondary Education), Dr David Parirenyatwa (Health and Childcare), Dr Obert Mpofu (Transport and Infrastructural Development), Cde Kembo Mohadi (Home Affairs), Cde Saviour Kasukuwere (Environment, Water and Climate) and Cde Walter Chidhakwa (Mines and Mining Development).
The ministers assessed the food, shelter, education and health needs of flood victims.
As far as the district administrator of Tsholotsho, Ms Nosizi Dube is concerned the clothing needs of the flood victims have been met. What they need are building materials to rebuild their demolished houses.
“Right now we are faced with another possible flood in ward seven and there is a possibility that a whole lot more villagers might have their homesteads washed away therefore we appeal for items like building materials that will assist our villagers reconstruct their houses,” said Ms Dube.
Ms Dube let slip that the CPU teams in the district are advising villagers to move away from the custom of constructing homes using mortar and wood and embrace the use of modern building materials which result in strong houses that can weather floods.
If the Tsholotsho villagers, who are always at the mercy of floods, heed the CPU advice they will surely cease their ant-rain prayers. Dreading the rains will be confined to history as the strong houses will not be susceptible to floods. The floods, which are currently seen as destructive, will be viewed as an inconsequential irritant that does not leave behind a trail of destruction.