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Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
FINANCIAL difficulties in the wake of poor harvests over the last farming season, have resulted in many girls in Zhombe resorting to sex work and early marriages.

Zhombe Chief Weight Ndabezinhle Gwesela has condemned the development.

Poor rains received this farming season badly affected crops in most parts of the country, including Zhombe.

The situation resulted in more households needing food assistance and the Government has already put in place measures to continue distributing food until year end.

In an interview on the sidelines of the commissioning of Gwesela-Bhalimasvese Primary School recently, Chief Gwesela said cases of child marriages and sex work are on the increase in Zhombe as girls resort to immorality to escape hunger that has hit the area.

He said some parents have resorted to marrying off underage girls to gold panners for survival.

“The situation is bad in Zhombe and it has pushed many girls into prostitution and early marriages.

The situation is forcing girls to turn to immorality.

As you are aware this is a gold rich area and the illegal gold panners are now taking advantage to lure the young girls with money,” said Chief Gwesela.

He said recently, he reunited three girls who had eloped in Manzimnyama area, with their families.

“The parents were looking for their children and they approached me.

After I heard where these girls were, I went there and intervened and they were returned to their homes.

Two of them were in Form 2 while the other one is in Form 3, that is how bad the situation is,” he said.

The chief urged the Government to consider increasing the maize meal being allocated for the area.

“Yes, we are receiving food aid but if only Government could consider doubling the volumes it would ease the burden on families,” he said.

In his keynote address, Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister, Senator Larry Mavima castigated child marriages and prostitution.

“Our First Lady (Dr Auxilia Mnangagwa) is always preaching the gospel of ending child marriages and drugs.

I also preach to you from the same Bible that let us shun child marriages and prioritise that our children go to school,” said Minister Mavima.

He also condemned drug use among the youth saying it was threatening to destroy the current generation.

“The First Lady is also saying let us stop this culture of doing drugs which is bad behaviour which leads one into trouble.

Let us concentrate on our studies so that we can become leaders of tomorrow,’” he said.

In an interview, Ward 10 Junior Councillor Sithembinkosi Ncube said child prostitution was rife in her ward.

“We have Joel Growth Point in our ward where child prostitution is rife.

Some of the girls were expelled from school for untoward behaviour and they turn to sex work.

“Girls from the ward have become wild as they are lured with money by illegal gold miners,’ she said.

Clr Ncube said boys were also dropping out of school to venture into illegal gold mining activities.

“They use the same money to lure school going girls and they end up impregnating them,” she said.

The councillor hailed the Government strategy of returning dropouts to school saying it was paying dividends.

Recently Kwekwe District Remedial Tutor in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Mr Ardmore Shava announced that 1 182 pupils had returned to school through their ‘Catch-up Strategy’.

He said among the causes of the dropouts in the district were early marriage, pregnancies, mining activities and non-availability of tuition fees.