Week 50
Een wekelijkse selectie artikelen uit Zimbabwaanse kranten
Major breakthrough for city’s new dam
Bulawayo City Council has raised over US$21 million out of the required US$100 million for the construction of the Glassblock Bopoma Dam in Matabeleland South province’s Insiza district.
The construction of the dam is expected to ease perennial water challenges in Bulawayo and usher in rural industrialisation through irrigation.
The revelations were made during a boardroom meeting at the just-ended three-day 2024 Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Market Days that was held in Rabat, Morocco, last week.
The event was hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Govt shuts down unregistered health facilities (The Herald, state owned)
The Health Professions Authority of Zimbabwe (HPA) shut down 22 unregistered health facilities in 2023 in a move to combat the rise of unlicensed medical practices to ensure patient safety and uphold professional standards within the healthcare sector.
The facilities were discovered by the authority during investigations which revealed that some of the facilities had not renewed their licenses while others were operating without relevant statutory licensing.
Speaking during the Authority’s annual congress, secretary General Mrs Clotilda Chimbwanda said there had been a rise in unscrupulous health workers who were opening facilities unlawfully.
Govt restructures model for major infrastructure (The Herald, state owned)
Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube intends to restructure the sinking fund and expand the e-tolling system to broaden funding sources for key infrastructure development, particularly roads.
This represents a major stride towards establishing sustainable sources of revenue to finance the country’s road and infrastructure development needs.
Minister Ncube, in his 2025 national infrastructure budget, said “Sustaining the current momentum in financing and implementation of road development projects necessitates that there be credible and predictable cash flows to aid in planning and execution as well as reduce costs associated with standing time charges.”
People-oriented policies propel Zanu PF to success (The Herald, state owned)
Zanu PF will remain a formidable political force in Zimbabwe whose existence cannot be wished away because of its trusted organic grassroots connection with the masses, sound and meaningful policies, and the ability to preserve the country’s heritage for future generations.
At a time, some political parties in the region are being shaken, and some sliding towards extinction, Zanu PF’s influence, strength and resilience have grown.
Even its local opponents, sponsored by the West to effect regime change, have realised they also need to work with the revolutionary party since it has withstood external pressures internally and externally. After losing elections in 2018, opposition leaders like the NCA’s Professor Lovemore Madhuku coined the phrase: “Losers must work with winners”, while Douglas Mwonzora of the MDC-T raised concern over growing toxic politics and coined the phrase: “Politics of rational disputation”.
Zimbabwe’s malnutrition crisis worsens under El Niño drought
As Zimbabwe is facing a severe drought, families in rural areas are unable to feed their children. The government and international agencies are falling short of addressing this growing crisis.
In 2024, Zimbabwe faced the impact of a strong El Niño event that spilled over from the previous year. It resulted in above average temperatures and below average rainfall. The country then experienced a mid-season dry spell. The last time such extreme weather conditions were seen was during 2015 to 2016.
The ongoing extreme weather conditions have affected food harvests across the country. The majority of poor families that rely on subsistence agriculture are now unable to feed their children and must rely on handouts.
Mnangagwa walks out in darkness…..as power outage plunges Parly
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been forced to ditch Parliament proceedings after a power cut engulfed the New Parliament Building as soon as finance minister Mthuli Ncube finished presenting the 2025 National Budget.
Mnangagwa abruptly left the chambers as the power outage plunged the National Assembly into darkness while a live broadcast feed was also cut.
The incident occurred shortly after Ncube had finished the government’s financial plans for the upcoming fiscal year, drawing instant reactions from Members of Parliament and spectators alike.
Zimbabwe has been struggling with persistent power cuts with the country plunging into darkness on Sunday this week leaving millions without electricity.
Legislators reject ‘betting, pizza budget’
Opposition legislators have rejected Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion minister Mthuli Ncube’s 2025 national budget, citing its failure to address key economic fundamentals.
Ncube unveiled a ZiG276,4 billion budget at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden yesterday which critics say was short on major economic turnaround initiatives or major relief measures for the troubled citizens.
Dzivarasekwa legislator Edwin Mushoriwa criticised the budget, calling it a “betting and plastic budget” that neglects the country’s economic challenges.
Mushoriwa argued that government is technically broke and the budget’s assumptions on inflation and exchange rate are not credible.
Zim, EU mend relations
Government and the European Union yesterday commenced dialogue to mend relations with authorities saying the engagement offers fresh impetus to the relations between the bloc and the southern Africa nation.
Speaking at the Zimbabwe-European Union Partnership Dialogue held in Harare, Foreign Affairs and International Trade permanent secretary Albert Chimbindi said Zimbabwe was seeking to mend relations with EU.
Head of the EU delegation, ambassador Jobst Von Kirchmann said dialogue provided an essential platform for frank and constructive engagement.
“We are particularly committed to promoting a strengthened relationship that opens doors to increased trade and investment in Zimbabwe,” he said.
Ex-Finance Minister Tendai Biti Slams Mthuli Ncube’s 2025 Budget as Failing Zimbabwe’s Working People
Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe’s former finance minister, has fiercely criticised the 2025 National Budget presented by current Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube. In a series of pointed tweets, Biti labelled the budget a “dishonest anti-people ritual” and accused it of failing to address Zimbabwe’s pressing economic issues.
“A Tough and Challenging Year”
Biti painted a grim picture of the year leading up to the budget announcement. He described it as a time of severe hardship for ordinary Zimbabweans, marked by spiralling inflation, a manipulated exchange rate, and crippling poverty.
Thousands of Teachers Go Unpaid: Union Cries Foul Over Missing Salaries
Thousands of teachers in Zimbabwe reportedly face financial hardship after failing to receive their November salaries and bonuses. The Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA) has described the situation as a “breach of contractual obligations” and demanded immediate action from the government.
According to Maphosa, teachers rely on the ZiG component to meet critical financial needs, especially as year-end expenses pile up. He warned that the delay could damage morale and evoke memories of Zimbabwe’s hyperinflationary crisis in 2007-08.
Gwanda Solar Project. 10 Years Later. US$5 Million Spent
Startling pictures of the Gwanda Solar Power Project site have resurfaced on social media, reigniting public outrage as Zimbabwe battles severe electricity loadshedding. The site appears abandoned a decade after the US$172.8 million tender was awarded to controversial businessman Wicknell Chivayo. With power cuts lasting between 18 to 30 hours at a time—some areas receiving only two hours of electricity in the middle of the night when power is restored—frustration is mounting over the project’s failure to deliver.
A visit by the Energy Parliamentary Portfolio Committee in March 2024, six months ago, revealed the project’s dire state. The 262-hectare site is overgrown with bushes, termite-infested wooden buildings, missing roof tiles, and a single solar panel meant for security lighting.
Lunch On A Stick – Cathy Buckle
Come with me on a drive in Zimbabwe this late November and see what I see through the windscreen.
Sprouting crops are emerging in lines in newly ploughed land. Largely gone are the views of big commercial farms stretching away into the distance along the highways. Every now and again you see a big farm with circles of pivot irrigation watering new tobacco crops, but they do not dominate this landscape anymore. Most have been carved up and replaced by small self- sufficiency plots with round, mud-walled thatched huts and little fields. Where in the past you saw tractors and big gangs of farm workers here, now you see pairs of oxen trudging backwards and forwards pulling a plough, turning the soil and a woman following them, dropping seeds by hand into the red earth. How on earth do they survive you wonder, and the answer is right there to see if you care to look.
