Week 45
A weekly selection from Zimbabwean newspapers
2 800 more schools required: Govt
Primary and Secondary Education minister Torerai Moyo revealed this in Parliament during a pre-budget seminar while responding to a report tabled by the education committee, which indicated that there is a shortage of 2 800 schools.
He said there was a need to promote public-private partnerships in the construction of new schools to address the country’s critical shortage, especially in resettlement areas and high-density suburbs.
Government once announced plans to construct 3 000 new schools by 2025.
Police stations fall apart: Minister
HOME Affairs deputy minister Chido Sanyatwe has appealed for increased funding for the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to enable it to effectively fight crime.
Speaking in Parliament during the pre-budget seminar ahead of the 2024 national budget announcement, Sanyatwe said most police stations were so dilapidated that it was now dampening police officers’ morale and making it difficult for them to carry out their duties.
2024 Budget: What to expect | The Sunday Mail (state owned)
“The 2024 National Budget will seek to scale up domestic resource mobilisation, deepen economic transformation and promote both domestic and foreign investment in support of programmes and projects that will deliver on the NDS1 priorities,” reads part of the 2024 Budget Strategy Paper, which outlines the fiscal strategy that guides wider budget consultations.
Zimbabwe expects to become an upper middle-income economy within the planned period for the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) (2025-2030), the successor to NDS1.
Two cyclones forecast, 250 000 at risk — experts | The Sunday Mail (state owned)
The Government has mobilised $37 billion for disaster response and management as it emerged that the country could be affected by two tropical cyclones during the 2023-2024 rainy season.
The Department of Civil Protection (DCP) also projects that about 250 000 people are at risk of being affected by adverse weather conditions — including tropical cyclones, flash floods, landslides and hailstorms — during the period.
Inclement weather has already affected 5 000 people, killing 13 and injuring 16 this year.
According to the Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum, at least 13 cyclones are expected to hit Southern Africa this season.
This is above the average nine cyclones that make landfall every season.
Low healthcare budget cause for concern
Speaking at a pre-budget meeting hosted by Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) yesterday, Hwange Central MP and chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health, Daniel Molokele expressed disappointment over the current situation.
CIVIL Society Organisations are concerned that the country continues to fall short of the Abuja Declaration target of allocating 15% of the national budget to the health sector.
He said Zimbabwe’s heavy reliance on external funding for its health sector was another cause for concern.
“We heavily rely on Global Funds, it allocates US$500 million on medicines and other things on our health sectors and that is how dependent our country is. Our national budget is smaller than the funding that we get
Anglo-Ndebele war celebrated 130 years on
The epic Anglo-Ndebele war, fought 130 years ago, was commemorated at the weekend in honour of the thousands of Ndebele men killed while resisting seizure of their ancestral land.
UMhlahlo Wesizwe SikaMthwakazi deputy chairperson Greater Vodloza Sibanda said this year’s commemorations were aimed at remembering the brave Matabele warriors.
“The commemorations are aimed at remembering the Matabele warriors of that time, their bravery and determination in the face of the new maxim weapons, to educate and inform our publics about the history of the war, which was a decisive war that led to the deposition of the kingdom and to preserve Gadade area so that it remains a sacred and tourism site,” Sibanda said.
Parastatals pay for undelivered goods | The Sunday Mail (state owned)
SEVERAL State-owned enterprises paid millions of United States dollars for goods and services that were not delivered, the Auditor-General’s Office (AG) has revealed.
According to the AG’s latest report, for the financial year ending December 31, 2022, public entities also incurred crippling financial losses.
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), for example, suffered a $209 million (US$1,7 million) loss after buying 35 Toyota Hilux double-cab cars and 50 Toyota Corolla vehicles. While payment was made on February 24, 2022, only 15 Toyota Hilux vehicles were delivered and none of the Toyota Corolla vehicles had been received as of December 2022.
Human rights lawyer Douglas Coltart in solo protest against abductions of opposition members
HUMAN rights lawyer Douglas Coltart, Wednesday staged a solitary protest against the alleged abductions of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) members by suspected state agents.
This follows the abduction of opposition Member of Parliament Takudzwa Ngadziore, on Wednesday, while on his way to Parliament.
According to the party, Ngadziore was forcibly undressed, subjected to torture, injected with an unidentified substance, and dumped in Christon Bank, Mazowe.
In a one-man demonstration, Coltart marched along a street in Harare holding a placard with the message: “No to abductions! No to barbarism.”
Before his abduction, Ngadziore streamed a brief live video on Facebook to alert people that he was being followed, capturing the faces of his abductors, one of whom was armed.
Diaspora remittances hit US$1,17b mark
ZIMBABWE has received remittances amounting to US$1,17 billion from the diaspora community in the first nine months of this year, up 8% compared to the same period in 2022, new data from the central bank show.
Diaspora remittances — money sent by a person in a foreign land to his or her home country—have become one the biggest foreign currency sources for Zimbabwe after exports.
In the first half of 2023, diaspora remittances contributed 16% to the country’s total foreign currency receipts. Exports accounted for 55%.
Economist Stevenson Dhlamini said the growth in diaspora remittances was “impressive” considering the challenging global economic climate.
“Diaspora remittances serve as a lifeline for many Zimbabweans, supporting families, communities, and the overall economy,” he told Standardbusiness.
Lithium-powered batteries a game changer in mining sector | The Sunday News (state owned)
THE country is making notable strides in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, increasing energy efficiency while reducing electricity utilisation at the back of world class innovations driven by value addition in the lithium mining and processing sector.
The country also generated US$209 million in export receipts from the mineral in the first nine months of the year and has vast potential to power the country’s future through exploitation of new opportunities. Innovations such as lithium powered locomotives as well as the advanced lithium loco conversion are among some of the world class innovations that are expected to be a game changer in the mining industry that will spur its production targets.
Mudenda grilled over MP recalls
THE International Parliamentary Union (IPU), a global organisation of 180 national parliaments, has grilled Zimbabwe’s Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda over his decision allowing the recalling of 15 MPs from the Nelson Chamisa-led Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) based on a letter from an imposter, Sengezo Tshabangu.
More pressure is looming for Mudenda after the CCC also wrote to the Sadc Parliamentary Forum, Pan-African Parliament and the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific-European Joint Parliamentary Assembly over the controversial recalls of opposition MPs which the party has described as “continued abuse” of Parliament and Zimbabwe’s constitution.
EU, US condemn Ngadziore abduction, call for swift investigation
European Union and US embassies in Zimbabwe have both condemned and further urged thorough investigation into the shock abduction and torture of CCC MP Tafadzwa Ngadziore by gun-toting men captured on phone footage charging at the youthful lawmaker.
Ngadziore was seized from his Harare home moments before leaving for parliament Tuesday.
He would later be taken to hospital by colleagues to nurse assault and torture injuries suffered during his ordeal.
