Week 51
A weekly selection from Zimbabwean newspapers
Patrick Kluivert congratulates President Mnangagwa on re-election | The Sunday News (state owned)
FORMER Ajax Amsterdam and Barcelona legend, Patrick Kluivert has congratulated President Emmerson Mnangagwa following his and the ruling Zanu-PF’s victory in last week’s harmonised elections.
Congratulating President Mnangagwa in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), the Dutch football great also hinted on visiting Zimbabwe.
“Hi, this is Patrick Kluivert speaking and I want to congratulate President Emmerson Mnangagwa for your selection and I hope to see you guys in Zimbabwe,” said Kluivert.
Bulawayo Mayor to hold Christmas visits to hospitals
BULAWAYO MAYOR Senator David Coltart will be holding Christmas Visits to the Hospitals and a Mayor’s Christmas Cheer fund lunch with Sandra Jones on Monday, 18 December 2023.
The council in a notice to stakeholders that the Christmas Visits to Hospitals and Homes will start from am and the targeted institutions are Ingutsheni Hospital, St Francis Children’s Home, Mater Dei Hospital, CURE Hospital, United Bulawayo Hospitals, Mpilo Hospital, Thorngrove Hospital and Flexi Clinic, Lobengula.
Integrity Pledges: Over 1 000 individuals commit to clean governance The Herald (state owned)
OVER 1 000 individuals have signed the integrity pledges of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, while this year a record number of dockets have been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority for prosecution.
So far this year, ZACC has completed 36 case files with an estimated value of US$145 million of tainted assets recovered from corrupt individuals, this against a target of US$1 billion.
By 14 December there were 29 convictions and 15 acquittals from the 239 dockets referred to the NPA. In an interview, ZACC spokesperson Commissioner Thandiwe Mlobane said a total of 65 high-profile individuals were part of the 247 arrests that were made by the organisation this year.
Zimbabwe: Unmanned Border Posts By Next Year The Herald (state owned)
Dubai to have an unmanned border post by the end of next year, which will see travellers entering and exiting the country using their e-passports and having fingerprints and faces scanned without having to go through the traditional manned border control point.
This system uses biometric data recorded on the passport, such as fingerprints and facial recognition, to verify the identity of the traveller whose face and fingerprints are scanned and compared.
Once the traveller’s identity has been verified, the boom lifts and they are allowed to pass through the unmanned border post.
Zim enjoys trade surplus with ‘megatrend’ China | The Sunday Mail (state owned)
RELATIONS between Zimbabwe and China continue to scale dizzy heights after the trade volume between the two nations surged 29 percent to US$2,42 billion last year, with a surplus of US$170 million in favour of Harare, Beijing’s local office has said.
China is also now Zimbabwe’s largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI), after Harare attracted US$2,3 billion between 2019 and 2022, representing a staggering 76 percent of the FDI received by the Southern African country.
Trade and investment cooperation between the two long-time friends is estimated to have created more than 50 000 new job opportunities for the people of Zimbabwe, at a time when the country is battling to overcome the impact of the Western economic embargo that has been in place for over two decades.
Southern Africa: SA Rescues Over 400 Zimbabwe Children From Child Trafficking
The reality of child trafficking between South Africa and its neighbouring countries became apparent when local authorities rescued 443 children being transported without parents.
The kids – all under eight years – were from Zimbabwe and have been handed over to the Zimbabwean authorities.
South Africa’s newly launched Border Management Authority (BMA) said it was not clear how the children passed through undetected from the Zimbabwe side.
BMA Commissioner Michael Masiapato said: “They were able to stop and search about 42 buses trying to enter the republic and found about 443 children under the age of eight in those buses without any parents or guardians. Cleary, they were being trafficked into South Africa.”
Teachers demand US$700 salary
GOVERNMENT should immediately increase teachers’ salaries to at least US$700 to improve their living standards, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) has said.
Zimta secretary-general Goodwill Taderera said educators were saying this in line with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s promise to improve their welfare in the second republic.
Taderera told NewsDay that government should improve the salaries before schools open next year.
“Right now, we know that we are supposed to be getting upwards US$1 000, but teachers have not been able to get even half of that,” he said.
“We hope that this time around, the government will meaningfully improve our salaries by giving us at least US$700.
Traditional leaders top rights abuse list
TRADITIONAL leaders are responsible for nearly half of Zimbabwe’s human rights violations in rural areas, a leading human rights watchdog has claimed.
Civil society organisations (CSOs) have been tracking human rights abuses across Zimbabwe amid concern that the traditional leaders have abandoned their role of leading development in their communities to meddling in partisan politics.
The reports also come after the traditional leaders have been accused of intimidation, abuse and politicisation of food aid distribution programmes.
In an interview with NewsDay yesterday, Heal Zimbabwe Trust advocacy officer Tapiwanashe Chiriga said the traditional leaders accounted for 40% of all the country’s human rights violations this year alone.
Basic Commodities Prices Humble Mnangagwa
Prices of essential commodities have soared ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, with the government targeting retailers accusing them of sabotage.
Basic goods such as mealie-meal, sugar, cooking oil, rice, and soap have experienced significant price hikes, even when sold in United States dollars.
Retailers have increased the cost of a 2-litre bottle of cooking oil from US$3 to US$4.50, while a 2kg pack of rice now costs US$3.50, up from US$2 according to a snap survey conducted by NewsDay. Other items such as Mazoe Crush fruit drink and washing soap have also seen price increases.
In addition to this, some schools have announced plans to raise fees by up to 100% in the coming year.
Zanu PF MPs press Ncube for salary boost, houses and Toyota Land Cruisers
Zanu PF MPs pressed finance minister Mthuli Ncube to raise their salaries and commit to give them houses and Toyota Land Cruisers before passing his budget on Thursday.
Comparing themselves to ministers, MPs complained that the US$60,000 budget for each MP’s vehicle was too little.
CCC MPs missed the sitting which passed the Z$59 trillion budget after they were expelled for singing and heckling Mabvuku Tafara MP Scott Sakupwanya, who became a lawmaker after a CCC candidate was banned by a court from standing.
Murewa South MP Noah Mangondo said: “If you look at it, a minister has cabinet allowance, housing allowance, salary, workers who are paid by the government, telephone bills, fuel and everything. What about an MP?
Inmates wallow in jail without trial
NEARLY a quarter of the country’s prison population is awaiting trial, with revelations that some have been in remand for more than three years.
Latest data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStats) show that out of 21 619 prisoners in the country, 5 403 prisoners are not sentenced.
“Out of the 21 619 persons who were in prison, 16 216 (75%) were sentenced and 5 403 (25%) were unsentenced. The proportion of unsentenced male and female prisoners was 24,6% and 39,2% respectively,” ZimStats acting director Matiwonesa Phiri said.
Sentenced prisoners increased from 15 329 in the second quarter to 16 216 in the third quarter, while unsentenced prisoners saw a rise from 5 306 to 5 403.
“The highest proportion of new prisoners was in the 20 to 24 years followed by those of age 25 to 29 years,” Phiri said.
“The number of new prisoners from Zimbabwe increased from 11 492 in the second quarter of 2023 to 12 111 in the third quarter.
Dry festive season for Byo residents
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has called upon the government to declare the city a water crisis area as residents endure punishing long periods without the precious liquid.
Mayor David Coltart on Thursday said the city was experiencing acute water shortages, which required urgent attention.
“We need to engage in both short-term and medium term measures, the future water supply committee resolved that the city be declared a water shortage area,” he said.
“A resolution will be brought to full council meeting and we anticipate that resolution will be passed that we request government to declare the city as a water shortage area.”
