Week 39
Een wekelijkse selectie artikelen uit Zimbabwaanse kranten
Zimbabwe held fair elections, it’s time to lift sanctions, Mnangagwa tells world leaders at UN
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday in New York boldly told the world that his re-election was free and fair – and then asked for sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe to be removed.
He was addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78).
“Zimbabwe continues to entrench democracy, constitutionalism, good governance and the rule of law, following the recently held 2023 Harmonised General Elections.
“I am pleased to highlight that our country enjoyed peace, before, during and after our free, fair, transparent and credible elections,” he said.
SADC holds virtual Troika meeting to discuss Zim Election report
Zambia, which is the current SADC Troika Chair, convened a virtual meeting on Wednesday, where among other issues discussed the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) report on Zimbabwe’s just ended disputed harmonised elections as well as other security challenges taking place in the region.
The opposition in Zimbabwe including concerned citizens were pressing for an urgent Extraordinary SADC Summit to settle the political challenges in the country following the flawed August 23 elections.
SADC Council of Ministers congratulates Zim on polls The Herald (state owned)
THE SADC Council of Ministers yesterday congratulated Zimbabwe on holding free, fair and peaceful elections last month, in line with the region’s principles and guidelines.
The meeting was held to consider the Draft Budget for the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC).
Speaking during an Extraordinary Council of Ministers Meeting held virtually, Angola’s Minister of External Relations, who is Chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers, congratulated Zimbabwe “on holding free and fair elections in a climate of peace and tranquillity, in accordance with the regional body’s principles and guidelines”.
China is becoming an important source market for Zimbabwe’s $1.2 billion tourism sector
Zimbabwe is looking to attract more Chinese tourists, particularly during the Spring Festival period.
The country heavily depends on its tourism industry, making it the nation’s third-largest sector, following mining and agriculture.
The total number of tourists grew by 50 per cent to about 530,000 in the first half of 2023, and tourism revenues grew by 16 per cent to 343.1 million U.S. dollars.
Zimbabwe is looking to attract more Chinese tourists, particularly during the Spring Festival period.
“China is becoming an important source market for Zimbabwe, and we are expecting a huge jump (in tourists) as we go into the festive season,” Barbara Rwodzi, Zimbabwe’s minister of tourism and hospitality industry, said at a press conference ahead of the World Tourism Day falling on Wednesday.
‘TB elimination on the horizon’ The Chronicle (state owned)
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday said Zimbabwe is fully committed to the elimination of Tuberculosis (TB) in line with targets set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the “End TB Strategy”.
The President said this while addressing a high-level meeting on the fight against TB at the ongoing 78th United Nations General Assembly.
He added that the meeting allows countries to identify gaps and challenges towards concrete steps for the eradication of the TB epidemic.
“May I reaffirm that Zimbabwe is fully committed to the elimination of TB in line with targets set out in the SDGs and the ‘End TB Strategy’.
“This has led to the removal of our country from the list of 22 high-burdened countries”.
President Mnangagwa also said Zimbabwe continues to prioritise equitable access to TB prevention, quality diagnosis, treatment and care services for all Zimbabweans.
‘Zimbabwe acts on healthcare brain drain’ The Chronicle (state owned)
ZIMBABWE continues to pursue rigorous human resources development by training more personnel to plug gaps created in the health sector due to brain drain, President Mnangagwa has said.
For years, Zimbabwe has lost experienced health personnel mostly to the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States.
“My Government has scaled up research and development oriented innovation hubs to foster localised diagnostic and treatment solutions,” President Mnangagwa said.
Zimbabwe has a free user policy for all primary care services, said the President, and a free package of services is provided at clinics across the country.
Further, Zimbabwe is strengthening its community health centres systems by building healthcare centres in every village to enable the early screening and detection of diseases.
Doctors save speared man’s life The Herald (state owned)
DOCTORS at Mpilo Central Hospital saved the life of an artisanal miner from Inyathi in Bubi district of Matabeleland North who had a spear thrust into his skull during a fight over a woman.
During the fight, Mr Tshabalala was struck with a spear on the head and the spear was stuck in his skull.
Dr Garikai Mwale, a specialist neurosurgeon at the hospital, who was among the doctors who conducted a surgical operation to remove the spear, said Mr Tshabalala was lucky to be alive after sustaining life-threatening injuries.
“The patient had a penetrating skull injury coming from the front and going out to the side. It passed through the bone, the brain and went to the other side. The patient sustained a serious injury but fortunately when he came to the hospital he was fully conscious,” he said.
President appoints first female Attorney General The Herald (state owned)
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday appointed the country’s first female Attorney-General, Mrs Virginia Mabhiza, with effect from November 1.
Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Martin Rushwaya announced the appointments in a statement.
He said Dr Joram Gumbo will assume, with immediate effect, the position of special advisor to the President responsible for Monitoring Implementation of Government Programmes.
‘ED never wanted to sign PVO Bill’
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa never intended to sign the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVOs) Amendment Bill, but made noise about the Bill as part of plans to intimidate civil society organisations ahead of the August 23 and 24 polls, non-governmental organisations have claimed. Mnangagwa referred the PVOs Bill back to Parliament just before the polls.
The Bill, which had sailed through the National Assembly and Senate, but had not been signed and published in the Government Gazette, lapsed when Parliament was dissolved on the eve of the harmonised elections last month.
Representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who spoke to NewsDay this week, said the PVOs Amendment Bill was only meant to intimidate and suppress the NGOs which were viewed as a threat to Mnangagwa’s bid for re-election.
San community hit by water shortages
Chief Goledema said villagers were living in fear due to an influx of wild animals which he said had invaded the area from the Hwange National Park in search of water
CHIEF Goledema of Tsholotsho in Matabeleland North has lamented shortages of water in his area saying this has led to villagers sharing water sources with animals.
Chief Goledema told Southern Eye that villagers have been facing with water challenges for several decades.
Masvingo’s history making mayor ready to deliver
Twenty five year-old Shantel Chiwara became talk of the town after she landed the coveted post of Masvingo mayor, but for her the milestone did not come as surprise.
Chiwara, who made history by becoming the city’s female mayor, said her journey in politics has not been a stroll in the park as she was introduced into the game at a young age.
Her father, James, is a former Masvingo deputy mayor. Chiwara said she joined the political train in 2013.
“My father is a former deputy mayor of the city under the then MDC-T and one of my mentors,” she said. “He served from 2013 to 2018.”
Chiwara said she was elated to become a mayor at a tender age and would go to the extremes to ensure that she delivered her pledge to the electorate.
Zimbabwe too risky for business: Report
In a move that will dent Zimbabwe’s chances of attracting foreign direct investment, an international risk assessment firm has ranked the country as the most risky for doing business and with the least score of reward after investment.
The damning report released by Control Risks and Oxford Economics Africa showed that Zimbabwe’s chances of safer returns were slightly more than 2%.
Control Risks is a specialist risk consultancy that helps create secure, compliant and resilient organisations.
Oxford Economics is a leader in global forecasting and quantitative analysis with a worldwide clientelle base comprising more than 1 500 international corporations, financial institutions, government organisations, and universities.
While President Emmerson Mnangagwa has touted the “Zimbabwe is open for business mantra”, the country continues to attract negative publicity on the backdrop of political instability, high inflation and inconsistent economic policies.
The Africa Risk-Reward Index 2023 puts Zimbabwe as the country with lowest reward scores and highest risk.
