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The Embassy of Sweden in Zimbabwe’s partnerships are driven by the strategic imperative to create space for the pursuit of new strategic areas, particularly within Economic Empowerment and Environment and Climate Change.
The remarks, through a press release, come as the Embassy has been made aware of an article circulating published by The Mirror, 28 March – 4 April 2024 titled “Sida pulls out as PVO Bill sets in – Ramifications for JSC and LRF”.
The Embassy of Sweden said the information presented in the article is both malicious and totally divergent from the truth.
“This is totally false information which the Embassy wants to categorically dismiss. For over a decade, the Embassy has been supporting LRF, with agreements spanning three to four years. The most recent agreement expired in March 2024. All agreement partners are aware that when an agreement comes to an end it is not automatically renewed. The renewal of the agreement is determined by several factors, including the availability of funds, the Embassy strategy’s focus areas, and of course the results achieved over the years.
“The decision not to renew the LRF agreement and some other partner organisations agreements that ended last year, and some this year, is not in any way related to the ongoing deliberations in the parliament on the new version of the PVO Bill as purported by the article, rather it is driven by the strategic imperative to create space for the pursuit of new strategic areas, particularly within Economic Empowerment and Environment and Climate Change. The Embassy is currently in a fruitful dialogue with a number of Government Ministries regarding its current strategic focus in support of Zimbabwe Government development efforts,” said Dr Berthollet B. Kaboru, the Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden in Zimbabwe.
Contrary to the assertion in the article, Dr. Kaboru said the Embassy has no mandate neither to relocate nor to enter into agreements with entities outside of Zimbabwe.
“In fact, Swedish Embassies in Zimbabwe and Zambia are governed by separate strategies that determine the operations in the respective countries. Furthermore, the Embassy wishes to clarify that Sweden has not financially supported court construction projects in the country, although the Embassy has had some good working relationships with JSC through programmes implemented by our partners.
“The Embassy of Sweden continues to value development aid and pledges to support efforts aimed at alleviating poverty and improving living conditions for the people of Zimbabwe, within the confines of the laws of the country. The Embassy believes that this press release puts an end to any speculation and disinformation regarding this matter.”