Week 9
A weekly selection from Zimbabwean newspapers
Water is a deal-maker for SDGs: UN
THE United Nations has urged Zimbabwe to ensure there is provision of safe potable water to promote socio-economic development and healthy ecosystems in the country. “A society can only achieve high rates of public health, food security and nutrition, gender equity, educational attainment, and economic productivity when all of its members enjoy their rights to water and sanitation.”
Attendance increased 35% at 5 Gokwe North schools, and here is why
FOR the last five years, Rise Against Hunger has worked with its partner ADRA International to address food insecurity in Gokwe North, Midlands province in Zimbabwe.
What began as emergency school feeding evolved into a sustainable agricultural project as communities in Gokwe North established school gardens and income-generating activities. This is the story of remarkable, real change in these communities — and what’s to come. Food insecurity impacts education, and Gokwe North saw low primary school attendance and a dropout rate of 40%.
AfDB warns Zim against debt-backed loans
THE African Development Bank (AfDB) says it is not advisable for Zimbabwe to mortgage its natural resources to access lines of credit. AfDB’s comments are the latest of several concerns by other organisations and international lenders including the World Bank (WB). Last year, the WB also warned Zimbabwe against seeking resource-backed loans.
The next frontier for Zimbabwe’s lithium
THERE has been a scramble for Zimbabwe’s lithium deposits by multinationals in the past five years. Exploration projects that kicked off in 2018 are now at advanced stages of implementation, and Zimbabwe is slowly turning into one of Africa’s largest producers of the mineral. Lithium ore has been discovered in Mutoko, Mberengwa, Buhera and Goromonzi, where the largest mines have already been established. Chinese mining houses have established most lithium mines in Zimbabwe.
EU says ready to deploy observers
THE European Union (EU) says it is ready to send an observer mission to help Zimbabwe hold free, fair and inclusive elections this year, which will guarantee the bloc’s increased economic development support to the country. Speaking to NewsDay after the second structured dialogue platform meeting on debt arrears clearance in Harare, EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Jobst von Kirchmann said if the country holds credible elections, there would be increased appetite for the bloc to assist it to clear its debt currently standing at US$17,6 billion.
Kirchmann said the EU would help Zimbabwe by providing its election observation mission.
Unregistered children cause for concern
MANY children across the country have no birth registration certificates, which is posing a headache for policymakers, a Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) official has revealed. A survey conducted by civic groups recently revealed that over 40% of children in Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and Bulawayo provinces did not have birth certificates.
The reasons that were given included lack of information on requirements for birth certificate applications, inability to pay the required fees and delays experienced at the Civil Registry offices.
NDS1 exceeds expectations . . . as infrastructure projects transform lives | The Herald (state owned)
A section of the expanded Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport is slowly taking shape. The Government is accelerating the momentum through enhancing aviation infrastructure modernisation in line with global standards. On completion, the new terminal is expected to increase the airport’s holding capacity to six million people per annum from 2.5 million.
Zimbabwe abstains from UN vote over Russia/Ukraine war
ZIMBABWE is among the 32 countries that abstained from voting in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine on Thursday.
Since the invasion of Russia in Ukraine last year, Zimbabwe has either abstained or voted against several UNGA resolutions on Moscow.
No comment could be obtained from the Foreign Affairs ministry on why the country abstained from the UNGA vote.
Botswana, DRC, Kenya, Malawi and Zambia are some of the African countries among the 141 member states that voted for Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine. Only seven countries, which are Russia, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua, and Syria and Belarus voted against the UNGA resolution.
Thermal power generation drops lowest | The Chronicle (state owned)
THE country’s thermal power generation has dropped lowest today with the giant Hwange Thermal Power Station producing only 74 megawatts while the three small thermal stations – Bulawayo, Harare, and Munyati have zero output.
According to power generation figures from the
Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), Hwange Thermal Station production levels at 74 MW are the lowest for the country’s biggest thermal station, which has an installed generation capacity of about 920MW.
Zimbabwe’s skills flight crisis: UK work visas up 1,500%
The number of Zimbabweans granted work visas to work in the UK has gone up by 1,576% since 2019, showing the extent of Zimbabwe’s brain drain crisis.
The number of Zimbabweans who were granted ‘Worker’ visas to the UK grew from 499 in 2019 to 8,363 in September last year, according to the UK’s Office of National Statistics. This places Zimbabwe fourth on the list of Top 5 nationalities granted the UK’s ‘Worker’ main applicant visas over the period. This is despite Zimbabwe having a far smaller population than other countries in the top five.
Zimbabwe has just 3,500 doctors for 15 million people, according to the Zimbabwe Medical Association, which last year estimated that it had lost over 4,000 health workers to other countries.
Zimbabwe makes Commonwealth inroads | The Herald (state owned)
ZIMBABWE continues to make headway in its quest to rejoin the Commonwealth after a Cabinet minister was invited to attend the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisations Ministerial Alliance for Digital Nations meeting in the United Kingdom.
This invitation, analysts say, portends well for Zimbabwe, which has been receiving positive signals from the Commonwealth since expressing its desire to rejoin the organisation under the leadership of President Mnangagwa.
We’re importing over 50 000t of maize monthly to cover local supply: GMAZ
The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) says it is importing at least 40 000 to 50 000 tonnes of maize every month from Zambia and South Africa to augment local supplies following poor harvests last year.
