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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV Zimbabwe Water
HEADLINE: Feeling Water Pressure in Zimbabwe’s Capital Region
PUBLISHED AT: 10/19/2022 at 8:15am
BYLINE: Keith Baptist
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: HARARE, Zimbabwe
VIDEOGRAPHER: Keith Baptist, Kumbulani Zamuchiya
VIDEO EDITOR: Keith Baptist
POST-PRODUCTION PRODUCER: Betty Ayoub
SCRIPT EDITOR(S): Kenochs; MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA original, ________
PLATFORMS: Web __ TV _x_ Radio _x_
TRT: 3:19
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO))
[[In Zimbabwe’s capital region, a swelling population is taxing the water supply. That supply is further strained by a failing infrastructure vulnerable to contamination and by political infighting that blocks improvements. The burden of finding clean water often falls to women, as Keith Baptist reports from Harare.]]
((Narrator))
Marjorie Sande manages this public borehole in Mbare, a poor and crowded suburb of Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare.
Such sites shorten the distance to clean water – a blessing in a metropolitan area cursed with access problems for years.
((Marjorie Sande, Mbare Pump Manager)) (female, in Shona)
“A lot of people actually prefer to use bush pumps, as opposed to the tap water from the city council.”
((NARRATION))
Poor neighborhoods bear the brunt of water shortages as residents often turn to public water points for free or low-cost access.
Harare’s mayor, Jacob Mafume, says the local reservoir, built in the 1950’s isn’t big enough to serve the community.
((Jacob Mafume, Mayor of Harare)) (male, in English)
“The lake was designed for a population of 500,000 people and the greater Harare population has got 3 million people. So, demand has outstripped supply.”
((NARRRATION))
((Courtesy: Open Party))
President Emmerson Mnangagwa introduced a borehole plan in early 2022 to improve ((End of Courtesy)) water access in Zimbabwe. It builds on long-running efforts by local and international aid groups to provide public water sites. UNICEF set up the bush pump that Sande manages.
But the women who come here say they are being harassed and sometimes physically attacked.
Some men jump the water line. Others – so-called “borehole marshals” – illegally take charge of waterpoints and demand obedience, cash or sexual favors in exchange for water access.
((Marjorie Sande, Manager)) (female, in Shona)
“As women, we usually queue early for water so that we can get enough time to prepare our kids for school. But when these men arrive, they disregard the queues and go straight to the front and fetch water.”
((Narrator))
A rape clinic official at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare says there have been many reports of people being harassed or assaulted while fetching water.
((FOR RADIO: Trevor Nyakudya is a sexual health rights officer at the Adult Rape Clinic.]]
((Trevor Nyakudya, Adult Rape Clinic Officer)) (male, in English)
“This sexual assault that takes place is complex. … It can be as subtle as ‘If you want water, you need to give me some form of sexual service.’”
((Narrator))
Many victims do not come forward due to shame, fear, stigma or simply because they do not know what action to take, says Rutendo Mudavanhu.
She works with a female empowerment program - Shamwari Yemwanasikana - which in Shona means “Friends of the Girl Child.”
To help, the NGO also has recruited male volunteers to aid at water points.
((Tapiwa Mujeni, Aids Residents Fetching Water)
(male, in Shona?)
“Our main aim is to fight gender-based violence, so we are already helping people at most of the water points.”
((Narrator))
Advocates say women should have more of a say in the design, management and location of water points and sanitation facilities.
((Febie Shoko, Community Worker For Water Alliance)) (female, in English])
“We really want a permanent solution where we can access water from our own taps, from the comfort of our homes”
((For Keith Baptist, Harare Zimbabwe, Carol Guensburg, VOA News ))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)HARARE, Zimbabwe
BylineKeith Baptist
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
