Opinions
-
Chinese investors have created over 100,000 jobs in Zimbabwe: Spokesperson
Chinese investors have created over 100,000 jobs in Zimbabwe, a spokesperson for the Asian nation has said following what he termed groundless accusations in a press release by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) on October 25. “The Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe has noted the press release by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions…
-
PAP needs to clarify the concept of Deliberative Organ
By Dr. Maurice Ezuruike The ongoing review process of the Pan-African Parliament’s (PAP) Rules of Procedure presents a unique opportunity to clarify by definition the true interpretation of the concept of “any other deliberative organ” as reflected in Rule 6 of the PAP’s rules of procedure and invoked generally as a synonym to National Parliaments…
-
Transforming Education Summit – the global moment of truth
By Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General and Jutta Urpilainen, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships As parents, teachers, and students got ready for a return to school this autumn, few were thinking of the fact that across the world, education is in deep crisis. This is a slow and often unseen crisis, but its…
-
ZHRMP analyses roadmap to 2023 elections
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Monitors Platform (ZHRMP) has said as the country is heading towards the 2023 elections, there is a lot hanging on the recommendation of the Monhlante commission and the 2018 election local and international observer recommendations. In this edition of its National Election Watch (NEW), the organisation observed that human rights violations…
-
Africa Climate Week: Community Involvement Key for a Just Transition
By Masutane Modjadji As we commemorate Africa Climate Week, the Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW) affirms that the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is inevitable. The energy transition in Africa must respond to the continent’s realities. A just energy transition in Africa must be people-centred. We firmly oppose the imposition of commitments…
-
National heroes an inspiration to conquer life challenges
By Gerald Chinogara Last week Zimbabwe celebrated the Heroes holiday, a public holiday observed on the second Monday in August each year; a day of remembrance to commemorate the commitment to the struggle for Independence, which got me reflecting that living in a time of unprecedented challenges, overwhelming complexity and unparalleled volatility, our world…
-
Pelosi provocation: Africa challenge to stand with China
By Wesley Mashambanhaka On August 2, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, disregarding the strong warnings of China, and even some cautious dissuasion from within the US, including by President Joe Biden in the run-up to the controversial visit. The visit was in breach of the “One-China Principle”, recognized…
-
The HIV response is in danger—the promise of ending AIDS is under threat
By Sophia Mukasa Monico, UNAIDS Country Director Data just released in the new UNAIDS global AIDS report, In Danger, reveals that the world is not on course to end AIDS by 2030. For Zimbabwe, the hard-won progress against HIV is threatened by the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the country’s worsening economic circumstances, including currency volatility…
-
South Africa encourages participation of black-owned businesses in economic transformation
By Ayanda Holo, Government Communications Director: International Media Relations South Africa is on a drive to broaden the existing pool of Black Industrialists. The objective is to accelerate transformation, ensuring that Black-owned businesses become active players in the mainstream economy. Over the past seven years, the South African Government has helped black-owned and managed…
-
A focus on transition: Zimbabwean Politics is no Football Game
By Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi The Zanu PF Congress is less than three months away and many hold their breath to await the much-anticipated outcome. Lest we become so consumed in the euphoria that almost switched off our brains in the political transition of November 2017, it’s time for a retrospective. It is necessary to remind…
-
Dr. Andrew Hama Mtetwa deserved national hero status
By Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi The late Ambassador Dr. Andrew Hama Mtetwa was an eminent scholar, historian, and father, who served Zimbabwe in civil and diplomatic service since independence and in my view, deserved the honour of a national hero. Amb Mtetwa joined the Ministry of foreign affairs as an undersecretary and rose through the ranks…
-
Give youths priority in development programmes: Temba Mliswa
Hon Temba Mliswa, the independent legislator for Norton has called on the government and critical stakeholders to put the youth at the centre of sustainable development programmes. He was contributing to the motion moved by Hon Mathias Tongofa on 21 June 2022 who had encouraged youth to be well acquainted with youth-centred policies, especially the…
-
Veritas adds a voice on International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
By Veritas June 26th has been declared as the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture by the United Nations General Assembly. This day was institutionalised in the hope that there will be a world free from torture or other cruel, degrading, and inhuman treatment inflicted on our fellow human beings. Torture Torture is…
-
Zimbabweans receive news of Alex Magaisa’s death with shock
Zimbabweans from all works of life have received the news of Alex Magaisa who reportedly died of cardiac arrest this morning with great shock. Alex Tawanda Magaisa (born December 9, 1975) was a United Kingdom-based Zimbabwean academic and lecturer of law at the Kent Law School of the University of Kent. He served as the…
-
Toes and riches saga: Sekuru Banda urges youths to work hard
Zimbabwe’s most trusted traditional healer, Sekuru Banda, touted to be among the richest and most famous traditional healers in the country, has castigated youths for believing that the sale of toes by some individuals brings wealth and urged youths to work hard. Sekuru Banda becomes the first traditional healer in Zimbabwe to rubbish the acts…
-
Mutare Accident: United Freedom Party blasts police
By Tafadzwa Muranganwa A new opposition outfit, United Freedom Party has accused the police of being complicit in the fatal accident near Mutare. The accident occurred on Tuesday along Vumba Road when a commuter omnibus plying the Mutare-Chigodora route veered off the road and overturned after a police officer allegedly threw a spike. According to…
-
ZEC has broad powers to ensure a free, fair, and credible election
By Alex Magaisa There is a video clip in which the Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Justice Priscilla Chigumba claims that she and her organization have no power to perform functions that the public demands in the running and supervision of elections. She argues that stakeholders must approach parliament so that she and ZEC…
-
Suspending elections: Right time to revisit the Sabbath call?
By Rev Dr. Kenneth Mtata In 2019, the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD), the largest platform of church bodies in Zimbabwe, proposed a moratorium on elections for a seven-year period. The proposal was made out of the realisation that (a) the citizens were too impoverished for meaningful participation in democratic processes, (b) the cost…
-
Stop brutal killings in South Africa: Ramaphosa, ED Mnangagwa urged
By Jacob Kudzai Mutisi I am urging President Cyril Ramaphosa and President Emmerson Mnangagwa to urgently stop the killing of helpless Zimbabweans on the streets of South Africa. Images of Zimbabweans being set alight and being killed in broad daylight are becoming common. There is a perception that these are state-sanctioned killings. We now have…
-
Timely funding and response critical as Ethiopia’s Agriculture sector recovers from multiple disasters
By Ms. Fatouma Seid (FAO Representative in Ethiopia) Agriculture is a source of livelihood for over 80 percent of the population in Ethiopia. However, the sector has faced complex and overlapping threats over the past decade. Since 2019, the country has been responding to the worst desert locust invasion in over 25 years. Although the…
-
Eradicating polio would eradicate so much tragedy
By Dr. Moeti Matshidiso In the outskirts of Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, just beyond where paved roads transition to dirt, an undiagnosed polio infection paralysed a three-year-old girl. From one day to the next, the child’s life was changed forever. Among Africa’s public health community, we had looked at our successes against wild poliovirus as…
-
International Women’s Day 2022: “Breaking The Bias: Realising Women’s Rights”
By Linda Masarira International Women’s Day is a day set aside every year on the 8th of March to celebrate women’s achievements in all spheres of life. This year’s theme is a clarion call to all women to ensure that they play a participatory role in advocating for gender equality and ensuring the protection of…
-
To the women that have shaped my life
By Jabulani Jonathan Mhlanga I am not a woman myself, but women have shaped so much of my learning. From the earliest years of my education, the best teachers I have had were women, and they have left an indelible mark on my development. The first and most important teacher I had was…
-
By-election update: CCC candidate optimistic of overwhelming win
By Takudzwa Mahari The aspiring Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) candidate for Epworth, Ethrage Kureva has vowed to retain the constituency to improve the livelihood of the residents, especially the youths. Epworth is one of Harare’s 12 constituencies that fell vacant after the Douglas Mwonzora led MDC-T party recalled Nelson Chamisa loyalists across the country.…
-
Address grey areas ahead of by-elections: RACER
The Residents Association Coalition for Electoral Reforms (RACER), an alliance of Residents Associations advocating for electoral and local governance reforms has flagged out grey areas that need to be addressed including but not limited to the continued lack of access to national registration documents, political intolerance, lower voter registration turnout, and poor service provision ahead…
-
Unpacking the 2022 Monetary Policy
By Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) What is Monetary Policy? On the 7th of February 2021, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) announced its 2022 Monetary Policy. Monetary policy details policies by the monetary authority to control either interest rate or money supply to influence macroeconomic variables like inflation, consumption, liquidity, and economic…
-
Councillor bemoans increase in drug abuse in Hatcliffe
By Desire Tshuma A Hatcliffe councillor has bemoaned an increase in drug abuse among the youths despite efforts by non-governmental organisations working with the government towards eliminating the scourge. Crystal meth,dagga, mutoriro, guka, musombodhiya are the most abused drugs among youths, especially in high-density suburbs. Following this, there has been a spate of robberies in…
-
ED doing his best to promote sound economic governance
By Rongai Chizema President Emmerson Dambudzo (ED) Mnangagwa is trying his best to promote sound economic governance – one of the strengths of the new dispensation so far. Economic governance is an area a few people have paid attention to, but we have done a lot as a nation in that area. An example to…
-
First, Second Republics budget transparency comparative analysis
By Coalition on Debt and Development In November 2017, the country witnessed a change of leadership from the Mugabe administration which held the reins of power since the attainment of independence in 1980 to the current administration led by President E.D Mnangagwa. The current administration promised to reform the country including in the political, economic,…
-
The Power of realising your purpose
By Timothy Mutizwa It is the nature of life that negative things come and sometimes they pull you down leaving you discouraged and hopeless. The majority will start to dance according to the tune focusing on the torrential and then leave their life goals undone. One should know that bad things do happen but how…
-
Implement Electoral Reforms: ERC urges ZEC
As it welcomed the proclamation of 26 March 2022 as the day for by-elections through Statutory Instrument 1 of 2022 by the President of Zimbabwe, the Election Resource Centre (ERC) called upon the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to ensure that the elections become transparent, free, fair and credible by implementing electoral reforms. It emphasised that…
-
Residents challenge ZEC on voter registration
The Residents Associations Coalition for Electoral Reforms is set to engage Parliament to summon the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) over the distortion of the numbers of registered voters. Speaking in an interview on behalf of the Residents Associations Coalition for Electoral Reforms, CHRA Programmes Manager, Reuben Akili said the coalition was also concerned over…
-
Discrimination Contributes to Mental Health Problems:Transgender Community
By Joyce Mukucha The transgender people have bemoaned stigma and discrimination from family members, friends and the community at large highlighting that it had a negative effect on mental health. The trans community is incredibly diverse. Some trans people identify themselves as trans men or trans women, while others may describe themselves as non-binary, genderqueer,…
-
Zimbabwe to Convene Covid-19 National Intra-action Review Meeting
By Wallace Mawire HARARE-Zimbabwe will today convene a Covid-19 national intra-action review online meeting to provide an opportunity to share experiences and collectively analyse the on-going in-country response to Covid-19 by identifying challenges and best practices amongst the different sub-committees. A-two-day virtual meeting will be running until tommorow (15 December 2021). Covid-19 National…
-
ERC Celebrates International Day of Human Rights
By Joyce Mukucha The Election Resource Centre (ERC) has joined the rest of the world in commemorating the International Day of Human Rights which is running under the theme: Equality: Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights. The day provides Zimbabwe with an opportunity to review the state of democracy and human rights including electoral rights…
-
Crisis Coalition concerned over the continued clampdown on civil society actors
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition has noted with concern the latest unfounded and misleading claims by the government mouthpiece [The Herald] that some foreign embassies are training civil society activists to engage in anti-government protests. The coalition said the story appeared in the Herald of 9 December 2021. Crisis Coalition said the false accusations are meant…
-
Lack of Vaccines Hindering Africa from Reaching Herd Immunity: CDC Officials
By Joyce Mukucha As the emergency of the new Omicron variant rattling countries around the globe with new cases surging in Southern Africa, and nations in the region trying to step up preparedness measures aimed at detecting and controlling its spread, it has been highlighted that lack of adequate vaccines was hindering Africa to reach…
-
HIV/AIDS Activists Urge Government to Provide Improved Treatment, Care for PLHIV
By Joyce Mukucha Following that more countries are now revising their HIV service delivery models and recognize that it is time to deliver differently, Government of Zimbabwe has been urged to prioritize health sector and put more focus on ensuring that a differentiated service delivery is extended to People Living with HIV(PLHIV). Speaking on HIV…
-
Traditional Leaders, Activits, Experts Speak with One Voice on GBV Against Women
By Joyce Mukucha Gender Based Violence (GBV) manifests differently in different regions of the world and no country is immune. The UN Women continue to emphasize that action should be taken in every single locality to elevate the status of women and girls and eradicate the pervasive violence against them. On a normal day in…
-
Let’s fix the Pocket, to Erode Poverty !
Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo writes : There is need for proper understanding, or rather political and economic orientation of what exactly is on the ground. The budget must be defined in simpler terms, and refined for ordinary people to understand, exactly what is going on the ground. Literally, the focus is more improving the economy,…
-
ZESN Urges Civil Registry’s Office to Expedite Issuance of National Identify Cards ahead of Elections
Following Zimbabwe Electoral Commission(ZEC)’s postponment of the Mobile Voter Registration which was set to commence next month, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) has implored government to resource the Civil Registry in order to empower it to conduct an inclusive exercise of issuing national identity cards to eligible citizens. In a statement, ZESN pointed out…
-
ERC Bemoans Voter Registration Blitz Postponement
The Election Resource Centre (ERC) has noted with dismay the postponement of the Voter Registration Blitz by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) which was scheduled to begin on the 6th of December, 2021. ZEC previously announced that the voter registration blitz was set to begin next month, but unfortunately, on November 17, in a recent…
-
‘Greater Investment Crucial for Africa’s Vaccine Manufacturing Capacity’- Expert
By Joyce Mukucha The unprecedented times brought by the global Covid-19 pandemic has caused African countries to struggle with limited access to vaccines to cater for their populations with the major reason being failure by the continent’ most nations to produce their own medicines. Meanwhile, many developing countries have not been able to deliver even…
-
Ratification of African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance pleases ERC
By Joyce Mukucha The Election Resource Centre (ERC) has welcomed the ratification of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) by the Government of Zimbabwe. The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance is a roadmap setting out continental standards on democracy and good governance in Africa, setting out rules for free and…
-
46 years on… Remembering the famous Green March
Exactly 46-years ago, King Hassan II of Morocco rallied his country’s citizens, urging them to embark on a long, peaceful march to the south, to liberate the Sahara from Spanish occupation. It is that historic speech – on November 6, 1975 – which heralded the famed Green March, a hitherto unprecedented event in the history…