Week 1
A weekly selection from Zimbabwean newspapers
Chinese miners create water crisis for Hwange’s Diki villagers
Two Chinese miners, South Mining’s Mutargech division (SMMd) and Zimbabwe Zhongjing Heli Energy Pvt Ltd (ZJHL), have allegedly drilled 11 boreholes and laid a pipeline to divert water from Hwange’s Kalope Dam, disadvantaging the Diki Village community.
The dam is one of the main water bodies providing water for the mining town of Hwange, and is located in Diki village.
According to the natural resource watchdog, the Centre for Natural Resources Governance (CNRG), Diki Village’s community leaders are taking decisive action to address the activities of SMMd and ZJHL.
These actions are being taken as the activities of the two miners are threatening the livelihoods of 282 families who depend on the Lukosi Irrigation Scheme, which draws its water from Kalope Dam.
Zimbabwe to work with Russia, IAEA to establish nuclear energy
Zimbabwe is working with the International Atomic Energy Agency and Russian investors to establish nuclear energy as part of its efforts to end the country’s chronic power shortages, government officials said Thursday.
The nation has expressed its interest in nuclear power to the IAEA, said Edgar Moyo, minister of energy and power development, and hopes to develop small, modular reactors.
“They have indicated their willingness to take us through paces until we get there,” Moyo told journalists.
Edgar Moyo, minister of energy and power development in Zimbabwe, told journalists Dec. 26, 2024, in Harare that the government was working to establish nuclear power as part of efforts to end power shortages. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)
Establishing nuclear power is expensive and complex, said Joseph Siegle, the director of research at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, which is the reason countries such as South Africa and Egypt have sought Russia’s assistance.
The process is also ripe for corruption, he said, so transparency is critical.
Zimbabweans Clash On X Over ZANU PF Rule Vs. Ian Smith’s Rhodesia
A heated debate has unfolded on X (formerly Twitter) among Zimbabweans, as many have drawn comparisons between the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the infamous Ian Smith-led Rhodesian regime.
Some argue that despite Rhodesia’s deeply entrenched white supremacy, the Ian Smith administration was more efficient and less corrupt than the current ZANU PF-led government.
These critics point out that, even under international sanctions following Rhodesia’s illegal declaration of independence, Smith’s regime invested heavily in infrastructure, leaving behind well-developed roads, hospitals, and schools.
In contrast, they claim that much of this infrastructure has deteriorated under the so-called “New Dispensation.”
Amidst the controversy, former CCC MP Fadzayi Mahere, known for her progressive views, has refrained from directly engaging in the debate.
Yet, she did share a powerful statement on X, saying thousands of Zimbabweans who fought for the country’s liberation did not do so for the ZANU PF elite to merely replace the colonial elite. Instead, they fought for the collective empowerment of all Zimbabweans, to ensure the fruits of independence were shared by the people.
Zimbabwe’s CSOs under siege from spooks
At least 94% of Zimbabwe civic society organisations (CSOs) are facing surveillance as well as infiltration by state agents and are operating under a restrictive environment that stifles civic and political participation, a new report says.
The report, titled The State of Civic Space in Zimbabwe produced by ZimRights and the Observator for the Protection of Human Rights, says Zimbabwe’s civic space has increasingly faced aggressive government crackdowns.
At least 67 CSOs were surveyed including diverse organisations such as national-level non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations, faith-based entities, trade unions, and residents’ associations, to ensure broad geographic representation.
The Senate passed the PVO Bill on October 17 without amendment.
Critics have condemned the Bill as anti-democratic and meant to silence dissent and other government opponents as well as interfere with operations of CSOs.
Zim abolishes death penalty (The Herald, state owned)
President Mnangagwa has signed the Death Penalty Abolition Bill into law, a development that effectively marks the end of capital punishment in the country’s legal statutes.
The Bill, which sailed through Parliament last month, is set to save more than 65 convicts facing the gallows, as the Government takes bold steps to remove capital punishment from the statutes.
Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Martin Rushwaya, made the announcement in an Extraordinary Government Gazette published yesterday.
Zimbabwe now accommodating 85,000 Chinese nationals exploiting resources under the guise of investments – Cross
Zimbabwean economist Eddie Cross has expressed concern over how natural resources worth billions of dollars are being looted to China yet there is no real investment that benefits locals.
In a blog titled “What is the Chinese Motivation in Zimbabwe”, Cross said he had learnt that Zimbabwe now accommodates 85,000 Chinese nationals accusing them of exploiting Zimbabweans and their resources.
Although the Chinese have invested millions into Zimbabwe, incidences of abuse on locals by some of them and exploitation continue to mar their partnership and development efforts.
Cross also expressed concern about how the Chinese are leaving behind a trail of environmental destruction which will take generations to heal.
“We have the best Chrome deposits in the world, 9 billion tonnes of it worth a conservative US$100 trillion. We have enormous Lithium reserves and they are loaded with other critical minerals that are in fact worth more than the Lithium and we do not understand what that means.
‘Starlink entry to enhance competition in Internet service’ (The Chronicle, state owned)
The Competition and Tariff Commission of Zimbabwe (CTC) has said the entry of US satellite Internet service company Starlink in the country will ultimately enhance competition in the Internet service provider (ISP) industry.
Starlink’s entry into the country’s ICT sector is expected to help cut the cost of digital and internet services, a critical element of business processes in the digital era.
A potential game-changer, Starlink’s satellite internet service is expected to bring faster, cheaper and uninterrupted connectivity in a revolutionary manner that experts predict could redefine the future of data and digital services in the country.
Zimbabwe’s civic space in crisis: New report details growing operational obstacles and legal threats to civil society
In Zimbabwe, a survey administered to 67 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) by ZimRights and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, shows that in 2024 nearly all surveyed CSOs reported operating with severe restrictions. Out of the 34 national-level organisations surveyed, 94% mentioned facing surveillance, infiltration by state agents, material destruction, and intimidation of staff and members. Community-based organisations also reported demands for bribes, intimidation by local authorities, and barriers to free community engagement. These are only some manifestations of the growing shrinking space for civil society in the country detailed in this new report titled “We are coming after them” The 2024 State of Civic Space in Zimbabwe.
Govt clarifies retirement age extension (The Herald, state owned)
The extension of the retirement age for uniformed forces and civil servants seeks to leverage their skills and vast experience, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has said.
In an interview in Harare yesterday, Minister Ziyambi said the move also takes into account the rising life expectancy in the country, with middle-aged adults now on average reaching their 80s.
Effective immediately, the retirement age for members of the uniformed forces and the three civilian public services has been raised by five years.
This change aligns Zimbabwe with international trends, as seen in countries like China and France, which have also adjusted their retirement ages.
Without such adjustments, either pensions would have to be reduced or the working population would have to support far more older people as technology and medical advances mean that people live longer and in any case, most jobs do not require backbreaking physical work.
The Growing Global Water Crisis – Eddie Cross
The spectacle in this part of the world of the great Victoria Falls bone dry for most of its length,is always disturbing. This year it is compounded by the fact that the massive Kariba Dam, still the largest manmade lake in the world, is unable to feed more than one turbine at the wall and we can walk across the Zambezi River below the wall towards Chirundu. The Kafue has suffered the same fate and Zambia is down to a few hours of power per day. Even the Caborra Bassa Dam in Mozambique is struggling to maintain power production.
The accelerated growth in our urban populations,as people leave the rural farmlands for the Cities and Towns is yet another factor. In Zimbabwe our urban population has grown up in an environment where we seldom see water coming out a tap in our homes and gardens. Bulawayo has a perennial problem with water and is down to severe rationing right now. In Harare it’s not so much a shortage of water as simply bad management of what there is available.
Harare residents fret over dry taps
Harare residents associations say they fear another wave of cholera outbreaks as a number of suburbs have gone for weeks without running water following a breakdown at the municipal waterworks. In Harare, cholera is endemic with the worst outbreak experienced in 2008, which led to 4 288 deaths.
In August this year, the government declared that the 18-month long cholera outbreak, which began in Chegutu before spreading to Harare and other cities was over.
The outbreak affected up to 35 000 people and claimed more than 700 lives.
With the ongoing water challenges in the capital city and raw sewage flowing in some streets, residents associations said it might be a question of time before another outbreak hits Harare.
US ploughs over US$30m into landmine clearance in Zimbabwe
The noise has somewhat died down, but the problem is still there, though far smaller than three decades or so ago.
In the 1980s and 1990s in particular, hardly a day would pass without news of people or livestock being blown up by anti-personnel mines in villages in Mashonaland Central, close to the border with Mozambique.
Between 1974 and 1979, Ian Smith’s Rhodesian Front security forces planted an astonishing number of anti-personnel (AP) mines to counter guerrilla fighters during the war of liberation.
Estimates from HALO Trust—a global leader in mine clearance—and Zimbabwean historian Martin Rupiah suggest that over one million landmines were strategically placed along the borders with Mozambique and Zambia, creating some of the most densely mined regions in the world.
HALO is responsible for clearing 83% of all mines in Zimbabwe.
Since then, over 1,500 people have lost their lives or suffered injuries due to landmines, while approximately 120,000 livestock have perished.
