Illegal gold panning and related mining activities have a left trail blazing environmental destruction at Globe and Phoenix Primary School in the Midlands city of Kwekwe. Recently a classroom had its floors dug out by illegal gold panners in their quest for the yellow metal, which is of abundance at the school premises.
As a result of the availability of the precious mineral at the school environs, the school has had its football pitch completely destroyed in 2006, and rendering all school sports unattainable. The school now depends on hiring sporting grounds from nearby schools or using makeshift pitches for soccer and netball, which has negatively impacted on the pupils sporting attitudes.
“The School used to be a powerhouse in some sporting activities like athletics and soccer in the Midlands Province. When the illegal panners invaded the school premises, they completely rendered the sporting fields useless. Even the other school grounds are now being destroyed by these daring illegal gold diggers, posing a threat to pupils who might fall in the pits and galleys left by these panners”, said a teacher, who refused to be identified from fear of reprisal from the marauding panners.
The makorokoza, as they are popularly known in Kwekwe, have now moved into the school premises, pouncing on classroom blocks, resorting to digging out classroom floors, thereby destroying buildings, resulting in creating a negative learning atmosphere at the school. Classroom number 12 has on several occasions fallen victim of having its floor dug out because panners believe it is sitting on a “gold belt”. According to the teacher who uses the ‘The Gold Classroom’, it had its floor dug out on more than three occasions this year alone.
“We would find large gaping holes when we open the classroom every morning, and this has significantly disrupted our learning schedules, as we could not conduct lessons in the classroom, even its foundations are frequently excavated by the panners. We now close the windows and lock the doors; we have now filled the gaping holes with concrete mixture to deter the gold diggers from digging out the floors. These people mess in the classrooms; you can even find empty beer bottles in the morning. We are operating under very difficult conditions, added the teacher.
The Deputy Headmaster of the school, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the school had declared some areas within the school yard to be no go areas to the pupils in avoiding children from falling into deep pits and trenches.
“The school yard is now dotted around with pits and gulleys which are now dangerous to our pupils, forcing us to declare no go areas, we have got an enrolment of over 1000 pupils and the playground at the school is shrinking by the day. The school yard is swept every night by these panners in their search of gold, causing soil erosion. This school is now an environment disaster. Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) used to guard this place, but they failed to control illegal gold panning at the school”, said the Deputy Headmaster.
The once thriving school garden and orchard has also fallen prey to illegal gold panning at the school. The garden is now dotted with deep pits. Even the makeshift playground has not been spared either. Vandalism of the sewer system is rife as illegal gold panners seek water to process their ore. The school fence has been completely pulled down.
“Globe and Phoenix Primary school should be relocated as illegal gold panning activities will continue threatening the survival of the school. The mining activities at and near the school will also continue to cause environment degradation at the school. Some prominent business people and politicians are products of the school; I urge them to form an association in order to help alleviate the situation, which is threatening to swallow the school, summed up Joseph Chirinda, a local prominent business person.
Illegal gold panning and related mining activities have a left trail blazing environmental destruction at Globe and Phoenix Primary School in the Midlands city of Kwekwe. Recently a classroom had its floors dug out by illegal gold panners in their quest for the yellow metal, which is of abundance at the school premises.
As a result of the availability of the precious mineral at the school environs, the school has had its football pitch completely destroyed in 2006, and rendering all school sports unattainable. The school now depends on hiring sporting grounds from nearby schools or using makeshift pitches for soccer and netball, which has negatively impacted on the pupils sporting attitudes.
“The School used to be a powerhouse in some sporting activities like athletics and soccer in the Midlands Province. When the illegal panners invaded the school premises, they completely rendered the sporting fields useless. Even the other school grounds are now being destroyed by these daring illegal gold diggers, posing a threat to pupils who might fall in the pits and galleys left by these panners”, said a teacher, who refused to be identified from fear of reprisal from the marauding panners.
The makorokoza, as they are popularly known in Kwekwe, have now moved into the school premises, pouncing on classroom blocks, resorting to digging out classroom floors, thereby destroying buildings, resulting in creating a negative learning atmosphere at the school. Classroom number 12 has on several occasions fallen victim of having its floor dug out because panners believe it is sitting on a “gold belt”. According to the teacher who uses the ‘The Gold Classroom’, it had its floor dug out on more than three occasions this year alone.
“We would find large gaping holes when we open the classroom every morning, and this has significantly disrupted our learning schedules, as we could not conduct lessons in the classroom, even its foundations are frequently excavated by the panners. We now close the windows and lock the doors; we have now filled the gaping holes with concrete mixture to deter the gold diggers from digging out the floors. These people mess in the classrooms; you can even find empty beer bottles in the morning. We are operating under very difficult conditions, added the teacher.
The Deputy Headmaster of the school, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the school had declared some areas within the school yard to be no go areas to the pupils in avoiding children from falling into deep pits and trenches.
“The school yard is now dotted around with pits and gulleys which are now dangerous to our pupils, forcing us to declare no go areas, we have got an enrolment of over 1000 pupils and the playground at the school is shrinking by the day. The school yard is swept every night by these panners in their search of gold, causing soil erosion. This school is now an environment disaster. Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) used to guard this place, but they failed to control illegal gold panning at the school”, said the Deputy Headmaster.
The once thriving school garden and orchard has also fallen prey to illegal gold panning at the school. The garden is now dotted with deep pits. Even the makeshift playground has not been spared either. Vandalism of the sewer system is rife as illegal gold panners seek water to process their ore. The school fence has been completely pulled down.
“Globe and Phoenix Primary school should be relocated as illegal gold panning activities will continue threatening the survival of the school. The mining activities at and near the school will also continue to cause environment degradation at the school. Some prominent business people and politicians are products of the school; I urge them to form an association in order to help alleviate the situation, which is threatening to swallow the school, summed up Joseph Chirinda, a local prominent business person.
Illegal gold panning and related mining activities have a left trail blazing environmental destruction at Globe and Phoenix Primary School in the Midlands city of Kwekwe. Recently a classroom had its floors dug out by illegal gold panners in their quest for the yellow metal, which is of abundance at the school premises.
As a result of the availability of the precious mineral at the school environs, the school has had its football pitch completely destroyed in 2006, and rendering all school sports unattainable. The school now depends on hiring sporting grounds from nearby schools or using makeshift pitches for soccer and netball, which has negatively impacted on the pupils sporting attitudes.
“The School used to be a powerhouse in some sporting activities like athletics and soccer in the Midlands Province. When the illegal panners invaded the school premises, they completely rendered the sporting fields useless. Even the other school grounds are now being destroyed by these daring illegal gold diggers, posing a threat to pupils who might fall in the pits and galleys left by these panners”, said a teacher, who refused to be identified from fear of reprisal from the marauding panners.
The makorokoza, as they are popularly known in Kwekwe, have now moved into the school premises, pouncing on classroom blocks, resorting to digging out classroom floors, thereby destroying buildings, resulting in creating a negative learning atmosphere at the school. Classroom number 12 has on several occasions fallen victim of having its floor dug out because panners believe it is sitting on a “gold belt”. According to the teacher who uses the ‘The Gold Classroom’, it had its floor dug out on more than three occasions this year alone.
“We would find large gaping holes when we open the classroom every morning, and this has significantly disrupted our learning schedules, as we could not conduct lessons in the classroom, even its foundations are frequently excavated by the panners. We now close the windows and lock the doors; we have now filled the gaping holes with concrete mixture to deter the gold diggers from digging out the floors. These people mess in the classrooms; you can even find empty beer bottles in the morning. We are operating under very difficult conditions, added the teacher.
The Deputy Headmaster of the school, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the school had declared some areas within the school yard to be no go areas to the pupils in avoiding children from falling into deep pits and trenches.
“The school yard is now dotted around with pits and gulleys which are now dangerous to our pupils, forcing us to declare no go areas, we have got an enrolment of over 1000 pupils and the playground at the school is shrinking by the day. The school yard is swept every night by these panners in their search of gold, causing soil erosion. This school is now an environment disaster. Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) used to guard this place, but they failed to control illegal gold panning at the school”, said the Deputy Headmaster.
The once thriving school garden and orchard has also fallen prey to illegal gold panning at the school. The garden is now dotted with deep pits. Even the makeshift playground has not been spared either. Vandalism of the sewer system is rife as illegal gold panners seek water to process their ore. The school fence has been completely pulled down.
“Globe and Phoenix Primary school should be relocated as illegal gold panning activities will continue threatening the survival of the school. The mining activities at and near the school will also continue to cause environment degradation at the school. Some prominent business people and politicians are products of the school; I urge them to form an association in order to help alleviate the situation, which is threatening to swallow the school, summed up Joseph Chirinda, a local prominent business person.
Illegal gold panning and related mining activities have a left trail blazing environmental destruction at Globe and Phoenix Primary School in the Midlands city of Kwekwe. Recently a classroom had its floors dug out by illegal gold panners in their quest for the yellow metal, which is of abundance at the school premises.
As a result of the availability of the precious mineral at the school environs, the school has had its football pitch completely destroyed in 2006, and rendering all school sports unattainable. The school now depends on hiring sporting grounds from nearby schools or using makeshift pitches for soccer and netball, which has negatively impacted on the pupils sporting attitudes.
“The School used to be a powerhouse in some sporting activities like athletics and soccer in the Midlands Province. When the illegal panners invaded the school premises, they completely rendered the sporting fields useless. Even the other school grounds are now being destroyed by these daring illegal gold diggers, posing a threat to pupils who might fall in the pits and galleys left by these panners”, said a teacher, who refused to be identified from fear of reprisal from the marauding panners.
The makorokoza, as they are popularly known in Kwekwe, have now moved into the school premises, pouncing on classroom blocks, resorting to digging out classroom floors, thereby destroying buildings, resulting in creating a negative learning atmosphere at the school. Classroom number 12 has on several occasions fallen victim of having its floor dug out because panners believe it is sitting on a “gold belt”. According to the teacher who uses the ‘The Gold Classroom’, it had its floor dug out on more than three occasions this year alone.
“We would find large gaping holes when we open the classroom every morning, and this has significantly disrupted our learning schedules, as we could not conduct lessons in the classroom, even its foundations are frequently excavated by the panners. We now close the windows and lock the doors; we have now filled the gaping holes with concrete mixture to deter the gold diggers from digging out the floors. These people mess in the classrooms; you can even find empty beer bottles in the morning. We are operating under very difficult conditions, added the teacher.
The Deputy Headmaster of the school, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the school had declared some areas within the school yard to be no go areas to the pupils in avoiding children from falling into deep pits and trenches.
“The school yard is now dotted around with pits and gulleys which are now dangerous to our pupils, forcing us to declare no go areas, we have got an enrolment of over 1000 pupils and the playground at the school is shrinking by the day. The school yard is swept every night by these panners in their search of gold, causing soil erosion. This school is now an environment disaster. Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) used to guard this place, but they failed to control illegal gold panning at the school”, said the Deputy Headmaster.
The once thriving school garden and orchard has also fallen prey to illegal gold panning at the school. The garden is now dotted with deep pits. Even the makeshift playground has not been spared either. Vandalism of the sewer system is rife as illegal gold panners seek water to process their ore. The school fence has been completely pulled down.
“Globe and Phoenix Primary school should be relocated as illegal gold panning activities will continue threatening the survival of the school. The mining activities at and near the school will also continue to cause environment degradation at the school. Some prominent business people and politicians are products of the school; I urge them to form an association in order to help alleviate the situation, which is threatening to swallow the school, summed up Joseph Chirinda, a local prominent business person.
Illegal gold panning and related mining activities have a left trail blazing environmental destruction at Globe and Phoenix Primary School in the Midlands city of Kwekwe. Recently a classroom had its floors dug out by illegal gold panners in their quest for the yellow metal, which is of abundance at the school premises.
As a result of the availability of the precious mineral at the school environs, the school has had its football pitch completely destroyed in 2006, and rendering all school sports unattainable. The school now depends on hiring sporting grounds from nearby schools or using makeshift pitches for soccer and netball, which has negatively impacted on the pupils sporting attitudes.
“The School used to be a powerhouse in some sporting activities like athletics and soccer in the Midlands Province. When the illegal panners invaded the school premises, they completely rendered the sporting fields useless. Even the other school grounds are now being destroyed by these daring illegal gold diggers, posing a threat to pupils who might fall in the pits and galleys left by these panners”, said a teacher, who refused to be identified from fear of reprisal from the marauding panners.
The makorokoza, as they are popularly known in Kwekwe, have now moved into the school premises, pouncing on classroom blocks, resorting to digging out classroom floors, thereby destroying buildings, resulting in creating a negative learning atmosphere at the school. Classroom number 12 has on several occasions fallen victim of having its floor dug out because panners believe it is sitting on a “gold belt”. According to the teacher who uses the ‘The Gold Classroom’, it had its floor dug out on more than three occasions this year alone.
“We would find large gaping holes when we open the classroom every morning, and this has significantly disrupted our learning schedules, as we could not conduct lessons in the classroom, even its foundations are frequently excavated by the panners. We now close the windows and lock the doors; we have now filled the gaping holes with concrete mixture to deter the gold diggers from digging out the floors. These people mess in the classrooms; you can even find empty beer bottles in the morning. We are operating under very difficult conditions, added the teacher.
The Deputy Headmaster of the school, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the school had declared some areas within the school yard to be no go areas to the pupils in avoiding children from falling into deep pits and trenches.
“The school yard is now dotted around with pits and gulleys which are now dangerous to our pupils, forcing us to declare no go areas, we have got an enrolment of over 1000 pupils and the playground at the school is shrinking by the day. The school yard is swept every night by these panners in their search of gold, causing soil erosion. This school is now an environment disaster. Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) used to guard this place, but they failed to control illegal gold panning at the school”, said the Deputy Headmaster.
The once thriving school garden and orchard has also fallen prey to illegal gold panning at the school. The garden is now dotted with deep pits. Even the makeshift playground has not been spared either. Vandalism of the sewer system is rife as illegal gold panners seek water to process their ore. The school fence has been completely pulled down.
“Globe and Phoenix Primary school should be relocated as illegal gold panning activities will continue threatening the survival of the school. The mining activities at and near the school will also continue to cause environment degradation at the school. Some prominent business people and politicians are products of the school; I urge them to form an association in order to help alleviate the situation, which is threatening to swallow the school, summed up Joseph Chirinda, a local prominent business person.
Illegal gold panning and related mining activities have a left trail blazing environmental destruction at Globe and Phoenix Primary School in the Midlands city of Kwekwe. Recently a classroom had its floors dug out by illegal gold panners in their quest for the yellow metal, which is of abundance at the school premises.
As a result of the availability of the precious mineral at the school environs, the school has had its football pitch completely destroyed in 2006, and rendering all school sports unattainable. The school now depends on hiring sporting grounds from nearby schools or using makeshift pitches for soccer and netball, which has negatively impacted on the pupils sporting attitudes.
“The School used to be a powerhouse in some sporting activities like athletics and soccer in the Midlands Province. When the illegal panners invaded the school premises, they completely rendered the sporting fields useless. Even the other school grounds are now being destroyed by these daring illegal gold diggers, posing a threat to pupils who might fall in the pits and galleys left by these panners”, said a teacher, who refused to be identified from fear of reprisal from the marauding panners.
The makorokoza, as they are popularly known in Kwekwe, have now moved into the school premises, pouncing on classroom blocks, resorting to digging out classroom floors, thereby destroying buildings, resulting in creating a negative learning atmosphere at the school. Classroom number 12 has on several occasions fallen victim of having its floor dug out because panners believe it is sitting on a “gold belt”. According to the teacher who uses the ‘The Gold Classroom’, it had its floor dug out on more than three occasions this year alone.
“We would find large gaping holes when we open the classroom every morning, and this has significantly disrupted our learning schedules, as we could not conduct lessons in the classroom, even its foundations are frequently excavated by the panners. We now close the windows and lock the doors; we have now filled the gaping holes with concrete mixture to deter the gold diggers from digging out the floors. These people mess in the classrooms; you can even find empty beer bottles in the morning. We are operating under very difficult conditions, added the teacher.
The Deputy Headmaster of the school, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the school had declared some areas within the school yard to be no go areas to the pupils in avoiding children from falling into deep pits and trenches.
“The school yard is now dotted around with pits and gulleys which are now dangerous to our pupils, forcing us to declare no go areas, we have got an enrolment of over 1000 pupils and the playground at the school is shrinking by the day. The school yard is swept every night by these panners in their search of gold, causing soil erosion. This school is now an environment disaster. Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) used to guard this place, but they failed to control illegal gold panning at the school”, said the Deputy Headmaster.
The once thriving school garden and orchard has also fallen prey to illegal gold panning at the school. The garden is now dotted with deep pits. Even the makeshift playground has not been spared either. Vandalism of the sewer system is rife as illegal gold panners seek water to process their ore. The school fence has been completely pulled down.
“Globe and Phoenix Primary school should be relocated as illegal gold panning activities will continue threatening the survival of the school. The mining activities at and near the school will also continue to cause environment degradation at the school. Some prominent business people and politicians are products of the school; I urge them to form an association in order to help alleviate the situation, which is threatening to swallow the school, summed up Joseph Chirinda, a local prominent business person.
Illegal gold panning and related mining activities have a left trail blazing environmental destruction at Globe and Phoenix Primary School in the Midlands city of Kwekwe. Recently a classroom had its floors dug out by illegal gold panners in their quest for the yellow metal, which is of abundance at the school premises.
As a result of the availability of the precious mineral at the school environs, the school has had its football pitch completely destroyed in 2006, and rendering all school sports unattainable. The school now depends on hiring sporting grounds from nearby schools or using makeshift pitches for soccer and netball, which has negatively impacted on the pupils sporting attitudes.
“The School used to be a powerhouse in some sporting activities like athletics and soccer in the Midlands Province. When the illegal panners invaded the school premises, they completely rendered the sporting fields useless. Even the other school grounds are now being destroyed by these daring illegal gold diggers, posing a threat to pupils who might fall in the pits and galleys left by these panners”, said a teacher, who refused to be identified from fear of reprisal from the marauding panners.
The makorokoza, as they are popularly known in Kwekwe, have now moved into the school premises, pouncing on classroom blocks, resorting to digging out classroom floors, thereby destroying buildings, resulting in creating a negative learning atmosphere at the school. Classroom number 12 has on several occasions fallen victim of having its floor dug out because panners believe it is sitting on a “gold belt”. According to the teacher who uses the ‘The Gold Classroom’, it had its floor dug out on more than three occasions this year alone.
“We would find large gaping holes when we open the classroom every morning, and this has significantly disrupted our learning schedules, as we could not conduct lessons in the classroom, even its foundations are frequently excavated by the panners. We now close the windows and lock the doors; we have now filled the gaping holes with concrete mixture to deter the gold diggers from digging out the floors. These people mess in the classrooms; you can even find empty beer bottles in the morning. We are operating under very difficult conditions, added the teacher.
The Deputy Headmaster of the school, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the school had declared some areas within the school yard to be no go areas to the pupils in avoiding children from falling into deep pits and trenches.
“The school yard is now dotted around with pits and gulleys which are now dangerous to our pupils, forcing us to declare no go areas, we have got an enrolment of over 1000 pupils and the playground at the school is shrinking by the day. The school yard is swept every night by these panners in their search of gold, causing soil erosion. This school is now an environment disaster. Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) used to guard this place, but they failed to control illegal gold panning at the school”, said the Deputy Headmaster.
The once thriving school garden and orchard has also fallen prey to illegal gold panning at the school. The garden is now dotted with deep pits. Even the makeshift playground has not been spared either. Vandalism of the sewer system is rife as illegal gold panners seek water to process their ore. The school fence has been completely pulled down.
“Globe and Phoenix Primary school should be relocated as illegal gold panning activities will continue threatening the survival of the school. The mining activities at and near the school will also continue to cause environment degradation at the school. Some prominent business people and politicians are products of the school; I urge them to form an association in order to help alleviate the situation, which is threatening to swallow the school, summed up Joseph Chirinda, a local prominent business person.
Illegal gold panning and related mining activities have a left trail blazing environmental destruction at Globe and Phoenix Primary School in the Midlands city of Kwekwe. Recently a classroom had its floors dug out by illegal gold panners in their quest for the yellow metal, which is of abundance at the school premises.
As a result of the availability of the precious mineral at the school environs, the school has had its football pitch completely destroyed in 2006, and rendering all school sports unattainable. The school now depends on hiring sporting grounds from nearby schools or using makeshift pitches for soccer and netball, which has negatively impacted on the pupils sporting attitudes.
“The School used to be a powerhouse in some sporting activities like athletics and soccer in the Midlands Province. When the illegal panners invaded the school premises, they completely rendered the sporting fields useless. Even the other school grounds are now being destroyed by these daring illegal gold diggers, posing a threat to pupils who might fall in the pits and galleys left by these panners”, said a teacher, who refused to be identified from fear of reprisal from the marauding panners.
The makorokoza, as they are popularly known in Kwekwe, have now moved into the school premises, pouncing on classroom blocks, resorting to digging out classroom floors, thereby destroying buildings, resulting in creating a negative learning atmosphere at the school. Classroom number 12 has on several occasions fallen victim of having its floor dug out because panners believe it is sitting on a “gold belt”. According to the teacher who uses the ‘The Gold Classroom’, it had its floor dug out on more than three occasions this year alone.
“We would find large gaping holes when we open the classroom every morning, and this has significantly disrupted our learning schedules, as we could not conduct lessons in the classroom, even its foundations are frequently excavated by the panners. We now close the windows and lock the doors; we have now filled the gaping holes with concrete mixture to deter the gold diggers from digging out the floors. These people mess in the classrooms; you can even find empty beer bottles in the morning. We are operating under very difficult conditions, added the teacher.
The Deputy Headmaster of the school, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the school had declared some areas within the school yard to be no go areas to the pupils in avoiding children from falling into deep pits and trenches.
“The school yard is now dotted around with pits and gulleys which are now dangerous to our pupils, forcing us to declare no go areas, we have got an enrolment of over 1000 pupils and the playground at the school is shrinking by the day. The school yard is swept every night by these panners in their search of gold, causing soil erosion. This school is now an environment disaster. Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) used to guard this place, but they failed to control illegal gold panning at the school”, said the Deputy Headmaster.
The once thriving school garden and orchard has also fallen prey to illegal gold panning at the school. The garden is now dotted with deep pits. Even the makeshift playground has not been spared either. Vandalism of the sewer system is rife as illegal gold panners seek water to process their ore. The school fence has been completely pulled down.
“Globe and Phoenix Primary school should be relocated as illegal gold panning activities will continue threatening the survival of the school. The mining activities at and near the school will also continue to cause environment degradation at the school. Some prominent business people and politicians are products of the school; I urge them to form an association in order to help alleviate the situation, which is threatening to swallow the school, summed up Joseph Chirinda, a local prominent business person.
