Mermaids scare off Zimbabwe reservoir workers

Counstruction workers are refusing to build new reservoirs in Zimbabwe after being left terrified by mermaid sightings.

Government minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo said that labourers have been so spooked by the presence of the mythical creatures in towns Gokwe and Mutare that they would not return.

"All the officers I have sent have vowed not to go back there," he told a parliamentary committee.

According to the country's Herald newspaper, mermaids are apparently present at other sites and can only be scared away through a combination of sacred rites to appease spirits and traditional beer.

The reservoirs are crucial to providing Zimbabwe's population with adequate water and boosting agricultural production.

A belief in mermaids is said to be relatively widespread throughout the country.