Hwange Power Station employees feel the mandatory stay in company site to contain COVID-19 is violation of labour rights. Image by Ngage

BY LETHOKUHLE NKOMO | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | OCT 5, 2022

To halt the spread of COVID-19, many companies implemented different strategies including making it mandatory for employees to stay in company sites. However, employees of several companies operating in Hwange feel that the measures leaned more towards violation of labour rights than just containing COVID-19.

Failure to access sexual reproductive health services during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic led to many unwanted pregnancies. Image by NAWEC

BY LETHOKUHLE NKOMO | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | OCT 5, 2022

COVID-19 surfaced as a coterie of challenges for women residing in rural areas. Access to sexual reproductive health services is one of the many challenges they had to deal with in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Hwange, orphans and children living with disability fell into acute poverty as COVID-19 halted food handouts from well-wishers. Image by Unsplash

BY LETHOKUHLE NKOMO | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | OCT 5, 2022

In Hwange, COVID-19 left a trail of damage, but vulnerable children were the most affected.

In Hwange, girls of school going age fell pregnant as a result of idle minds during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Image by Graphic Online

BY LETHOKUHLE NKOMO | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | OCT 5, 2022

COVID-19 may be gone but in Hwange, the effects of the extended lockdowns are visible—young girls are now mothers, and school dropouts have spiked.

Hwange hospitals are battling with a lack of resources despite the presence of various mining and safari companies. Image by Unsplash

BY CALVIN MANIKA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | OCT 5, 2022

Despite wrecking millions from mining, companies operating in Hwange failed to donate substantially to the COVID-19 cause. As a result, local hospitals failed to cope with the pandemic as a result of unavailability of resources.