Sex, trucks and alcohol

“We sell mostly to middle-aged men who drive expensive vehicles but we also get younger guys here and there,” he says.

When asked whether men use condoms after swallowing or applying his wares, Mashamba just shrugs. It’s not his concern.

For up to three weeks they wind their way from central Africa to the ports of Durban, Walvis Bay and Mombasa: the long-haul drivers manoeuvring hefty 18-wheelers across the region’s borders.

These men — for it is still very much a male-dominated profession — battle road hazards, monotony and fatigue as they push to meet tight delivery deadlines with their valuable cargo of minerals, equipment and stock for stores.

But delays at border crossings can make the truckers wait for hours and even days, and sex and alcohol help to pass the time. And, at truck stops along the route, they are approached by sex workers who often offer not only distraction but also a break from the confined space of the truck.

Too little sleep, bad eating habits and long days leave the truckers feeling drained and not able to perform, they complain.

But not when they use Congo Dust, the traditional herbal mix that has gained near-mythical status among large parts of the trucking community for the sexual stamina it allegedly bestows on the user.

Nearly a third of long-haul truck- ers in Zimbabwe use sexual enhancement substances, a recent study on the high-risk heterosexual behaviour of long-distance truck drivers found.

Besides Congo Dust, they use a product called Gonazororo, which is extracted from the baobab fruit, and Enzoy, a powder mix for a “vitality drink”, which can be bought in bars and at lodges along the transport corridors between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, as well as between Harare and Chirundu, on the northern border with Zambia.

The research, released in February, was commissioned by the National Employment Council for the Transport Operating Industry (Nectoi).

Although it was not published in a scientific journal, it was approved by the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe and will be used