Opinion / Columnist
Zanu-PF breeds Tokwe-Mukosi child prostitutes
01 Apr 2015 at 10:27hrs | Views
Several days have elapsed since some sections of the media reported the upsurge of child prostitution cases in Masvingo and the surrounding growth points.
The situation is worrisome given that the majority of these girls are victims of the Tokwe-Mukosi floods disaster. It is reported the government dumped their parents at Nuanetsi ranch and the girls are now engaging into prostitution to make ends meet.
Weekend Post this week reported that hundreds of girls, including those as young as 13, are swarming beer halls at Ngundu Halt, Lundi, Rutenga, and Chiredzi selling their bodies for as little as $1. We are told these juveniles have assumed a commercial sex trade name "ZviTokwe-Murkosi."
If these stories are not figments of journalists' imaginations, then the situation is pathetic and disgraceful to Masvingo as a province and Zimbabwe at large. One shudders at the horror youths have been subjected to as a result of Tokwe-Mukosi dam disaster.
Thousands of youths absconded school and lived in open spaces for months. Food was a problem. Exposure to chilly weather was a hazard.
The former Masvingo Residential Minister, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, barred all organisations which wanted to render assistance. All donations were supposed to go through him to ensure transparency and accountability.
Now we wonder why people are still suffering given that the donations went through the highest offices in the province. Surely, there is something fishy.
Reports coming from Nuanetsi Ranch where the victims were resettled are not pleasing at all.
"Because government just dumped us in the middle of the jungle without giving us resources and money to restart new lives, we are now failing to send our children to school and our girls have run away from their homes to nearby growth points to sell their bodies," narrated one victim of the disaster.
Surely this is a subtle genocide on the people of Masvingo and the youths who are the future generation. A holocaust targeting tomorrow's entrepreneurs and scientists. It is a shame that this happening in a country which is highly regarded in Africa and the world.
Certainly, this is the right time youths stand up for their rights. Youths in Zimbabwe and Masvingo in particular should pick up their courage, march to the offices of the new Residential Minister, Shuvai Mahofa, and demand an end to the suffering our fellow youths in Nuanetsi Ranch.
Youths should pressure the government to probe former Resident Minister Bhasikiti. The government and well wishers gave him millions of dollars to cater for the welfare of the victims.
The inhuman conditions these people are subjected are indication that the funds could have been misappropriated.
They should also insist to know what happened to over 400 children who dropped out of school due to poor living conditions and poverty following the floods.
This is high time information on what happened to over 100 small girls who fell pregnant at the Chingwizi transit camp be made public.
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Musavengana Hove is a human rights and youth activist. Email soldierjournalist@gmail.com for feedback.
The situation is worrisome given that the majority of these girls are victims of the Tokwe-Mukosi floods disaster. It is reported the government dumped their parents at Nuanetsi ranch and the girls are now engaging into prostitution to make ends meet.
Weekend Post this week reported that hundreds of girls, including those as young as 13, are swarming beer halls at Ngundu Halt, Lundi, Rutenga, and Chiredzi selling their bodies for as little as $1. We are told these juveniles have assumed a commercial sex trade name "ZviTokwe-Murkosi."
If these stories are not figments of journalists' imaginations, then the situation is pathetic and disgraceful to Masvingo as a province and Zimbabwe at large. One shudders at the horror youths have been subjected to as a result of Tokwe-Mukosi dam disaster.
Thousands of youths absconded school and lived in open spaces for months. Food was a problem. Exposure to chilly weather was a hazard.
The former Masvingo Residential Minister, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, barred all organisations which wanted to render assistance. All donations were supposed to go through him to ensure transparency and accountability.
Now we wonder why people are still suffering given that the donations went through the highest offices in the province. Surely, there is something fishy.
Reports coming from Nuanetsi Ranch where the victims were resettled are not pleasing at all.
"Because government just dumped us in the middle of the jungle without giving us resources and money to restart new lives, we are now failing to send our children to school and our girls have run away from their homes to nearby growth points to sell their bodies," narrated one victim of the disaster.
Surely this is a subtle genocide on the people of Masvingo and the youths who are the future generation. A holocaust targeting tomorrow's entrepreneurs and scientists. It is a shame that this happening in a country which is highly regarded in Africa and the world.
Certainly, this is the right time youths stand up for their rights. Youths in Zimbabwe and Masvingo in particular should pick up their courage, march to the offices of the new Residential Minister, Shuvai Mahofa, and demand an end to the suffering our fellow youths in Nuanetsi Ranch.
Youths should pressure the government to probe former Resident Minister Bhasikiti. The government and well wishers gave him millions of dollars to cater for the welfare of the victims.
The inhuman conditions these people are subjected are indication that the funds could have been misappropriated.
They should also insist to know what happened to over 400 children who dropped out of school due to poor living conditions and poverty following the floods.
This is high time information on what happened to over 100 small girls who fell pregnant at the Chingwizi transit camp be made public.
--------------
Musavengana Hove is a human rights and youth activist. Email soldierjournalist@gmail.com for feedback.
Source - Musavengana Hove
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