By Kundai Marunya Stakeholders in the art and craft sector have reinforced the importance of education as a prerequisite of development if the nation wants to benefit from craft work. In an informative discussion during the Basket Trade Policy Dialogue Conference held at Rainbow Towers Hotel, stakeholders representing different groups including crafters, civic society, art…
By Trevor Makonyonga A devastating tide of panic that has hit Norton, as residents are being served with summons for unpaid council bills. The local governing body has engaged lawyer and former cabinet minister, Paul Mangwana to try and recover the owed dues. Reason for the panic is that the letter is headlined, “Notice of…
By Trevor Makonyonga The appointment of Sithelelwe “Kwinji 15” Sibanda as assistant coach of Tsholotsho FC marks a new era in Zimbabwean football. Her roles as player and coach at the Zimbabwe National Women’s team were not out of the ordinary, but this new role bestowed on her is an important landmark in sporting history…
Art is often seen as a window to better understanding of humans and their values. In many cases it is seen as the gateway to socio economic development. Though, government has acknowledged the importance of arts and culture by forming the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ), art funding has largely remained in the hands…
By Trevor Makonyonga It only costs US$0.50 to get busy for hours in Zimbabwe in an environment where most people in the productive age group are jobless. One only requires 50 cents to get something to do and if they are really good, the 50 cents can last them up to four hours busy on…
By Trevor Makonyonga It always starts with the women ululating uncontrollably, the men whistling hysterically, the children giving poems of praise and the artists singing songs of praise to the leader. That leader is said to be loved and always promises to bring a better position for the majority yet in turn all they want…
By Kundai Marunya City of Harare (CoH) junior council is set to host the inaugural Harare Air Day at the Borrowdale Race Course on Saturday May 23. The aimed at educating members of public on aviation, will run from morning till nightfall. Addressing a press conference at Town House, Harare junior mayor Ebenezer Nobela said…
By Kundai Marunya Zimbabwe United Nations Association (ZUNA) board member and project director Ronald Mubaiwa said the country has dismally failed to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed upon at a United Nations summit in 2000. The summit held in New York saw 189 head of states, President Mugabe among them, endorse the MDGs,…
By Kundai Marunya Provincial preliminaries for Zimbabwe’s premier annual youth dance festival, Jibilika, will kick off this Saturday May 16 at the Charles Austin Theatre in Masvingo The festival which usually draws a great number of contestants battling it off in the preliminaries to book a place in the nationals is this year expecting an…
By Kundai Marunya Local blog, The African Hip Hop Blog continues to shine, this time on a continental level winning an award for the Best Blog About Africa at the second African Blogger Awards. The blog which was founded by a Zimbabwean, Ross Hagan in 2008 while he was a student at Rhodes University record…
Kundai Marunya Most people visiting Zimbabwe for the first time after over a decade of economic meltdown and political chaos come bearing this negative image of a nation of barbarism, widely underdeveloped, a notion often pushed forward by biased media reports. The same counts for artists staging in the country for the first time, and…
by Kundai Marunya The mid day sun was at its acme when a woman emerged from a semi built hut in Chief Nyashanu’s area of Buhera, heavily pregnant she was. However, her importance does not depict a child bearing woman as she is probably supposed to be at school doing her form two. Tariro Gondo…
BY BYRON MUTINGWENDE A man from Harare’s high density suburb of Kambuzuma has finally won back his house after many years of torturous struggle in which a fraudster had illegally acquired its ownership for more than a decade-and-a-half years, rendering him and his entire family destitute. Luke Mhlanga’s parents acquired House Number 1709 in Section…
by Kundai Marunya The inclusion of female rugby teams at the Dairiboard Schools Rugby Festival in 2012 was a well-received development that could see the growth of the sport largely dominated by men in the coming years. Gradually the participation of female teams has grown, and three years later, this year, the numbers are a…
Celebrated South African group, Beatenberg has denounced xenophobia as a barbaric act by uncivilized South Africans. This comes at a time when Zimbabwean locals have threatened a boycott on South African acts at the festival. In an interview at the ongoing Harare International festival of the Arts (HIFA) the group said they represent a united…
BY FARAI MAPOSA Many women in some parts of the country are smiling all the way to the bank owing to them collecting plastic waste which they sell to plastic recycling company. A plastic recycling entrepreneur Mary Wazara spoke to this paper saying they have empowered most women through plastic waste collection. “We are empowering…
BY TAPUWA MASAWI As the Zimbabwe grapples with food insecurity, two women from Harare South province which is home to many shanty settlements like Hopley and Southley have ventured into a lucrative potato production business. Speaking to this reporter, Josephine Moyo one of the beneficiary of the project Sofaneti Badza her partner is the brains behind the project. “It was Sofaneti…
BY FARAI MAPOSA Farmers at Mbare Musika in Harare, Zimbabwe are complaining on the available ablution facilities provided by the city council as a ‘ticking health bomb’. Most of the farmers who are women said they are concerned with their health as most of the toilets are not cleaned timely but they pay the city…
Widely travelled theatre production Twenty Fifteen left a lasting impression at the ongoing Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA). Staging in a once off show at the ZB Reps Theatre this morning, the Kuenda Arts production was nothing short of amazing. The cast showed a very refreshing multi-role play, embracing different characters across genders,…
by Kundai Marunya Rural women who earn a living through arts and craft are well represented at the ongoing Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA). Their art is being exhibited at different stands in the British American Tobbaco Zimbabwe Crafts and Design Centre by different organisations notably the Zienzele Foundation, Step Zimbabwe Trust and the Lupane…
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ), Bulawayo branch is set to celebrate the country independence with an exhibition titled Phindu’phenduke. The exhibition which will run for 24 days will be a first of its kind at the arts hub. NGZ acting regional director and curator Cliford Zulu said the exhibition will mark the reopening of…
Rapper, Pee Kay (real name Patrick Kahari) has encouraged record companies and musicians to embrace new marketing methods instead of crying over piracy. The musician who is well known from his yesteryear hit Ma1 which features Peace Ndlovu a.k.a BaShupi said piracy is positive. “The only negative of piracy is to those stuck in old…
Accolade winners for the 14th National Arts and Merit Awards (NAMA) which were held at Rainbow 7 Arts Theatre in February will receive additional prices at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo. The winners who were not well rewarded for coming victors on the national award platform due to lack of sponsorship will…
Despite having enacted the new national constitution in 2013, Zimbabwe is still to realign most of its laws to work in line with the document. This, according to legal experts, has created confusion in the judiciary system. Addressing journalists at Quill Club last week, the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) president Vimbai Nyemba said most…
The Monkey Nuts, Hip Hop alternative 3 member band is billed to launch their forth coming album titled Boom Bap Idiophonics at the Harare International Festival of Arts (HIFA) at the Hivos Poetry Lab on the 1st of May. Boom Bap Idiophonic, the 8 track album features other artists from different walks of life as…
Celebrated local artist, RayDizz who made his mark on the international scene when he represented Zimbabwe in Las Vegas for the Miller Sound Clash last year has strike again; this time with a high quality video befitting of international accolades, way above the local standards. RayDizz, real name Rayhaan Jassat, collaborated with fellow party stopper,…
The British Council, a longstanding partner of the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA), has once again teamed up with the festival to showcase the best of British and local talent by bringing four acts to the HIFA stage. This year’s line up at HIFA includes a hip-hop dance performance by Bird Gang Dance…
BEITBRIDGE. The Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) has mobilised volunteers, pre-positioned relief packs and hygiene kits in Beitbridge for the victims of xenophobia attacks who are returning from South Africa. More than 400 expatriated Zimbabweans have so far received humanitarian assistance in the form of relief packages and telephone services from the ZRCS. At least…
Zimbabwe is set to compete in the Africa T20 Cup tournament to be in South Africa from 4 September to 4 October this year. The tournament which also hosts Kenya and Namibia will include 12 Cricket South Africa (CSA) affiliates as well as associate member, KwaZulu-Natal Inland. The tournament will consist of four pools of…
Three-man group consisting of Harare born twins and a New Zealand national is set to light up the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) with a fusion of hip hop and other traditional and contemporary music influences. The trio, True Vibenation which is made up of Australian based twins Verbaleyes and Native Wit and…
Superstar Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi has castigated the xenophobic violence that has spread across South Africa claiming at least seven lives. Several thousands of foreign nationals, Zimbabweans among them have been displaced from their homes to find shelter at camps set up across South Africa in fear for their lives. In a media release, Tuku said…
Young entrepreneurs were encouraged to embrace the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to explore business opportunities during the Global Youth Service Commemorations held at SADACNET Parkade in the CBD on Friday. Speaking at the event held by the Zimbabwe United Nations Association (ZUNA), SADACNET representative Kudzaishe Marega said ICT connects entrepreneurs to more stakeholders….
By Kudzayi Zvinavashe South African rugby arguably has the best rugby players in Africa, the much talked about Craven week has been one particular platform that has seen most of our local promising and upcoming rugby players getting scholarship offers to be part of South Africa`s grassroots level of rugby. One of the reasons that…
ZANU PF Sanyati Member of Parliament Blessed Runesu Geza has denounced sanctions as the major cause if the county’s economic meltdown. Speaking from his farm in Sanyati, Geza popularly known as Bombshell said gross financial mismanagement has caused the nation’s untold suffering. “Its time we stop blaming sanctions for our own failures because they are…
Ten years ago one would have hardly come across strip tease in Harare, except of course through movies. When two years ago, a Harare business man Biggie Chinoperekwei opened the city’s first strip joint, his venture was riddled with criticism. Many members of the public openly attacked the idea while others only showed their support…
Problem Masau Local councils are failing to collect refuse from companies and residential areas through out the country. Roadsides and streets have been turned into dumping sites and other people have resorted to burning or burying the litter. Residents in Highfield suburb said they have resorted to making composite with the litter, but the problem…
Member of Parliament, Joseph Chinotimba should be ashamed for backing touts that have caused the masses unbearable trouble. From passing sexist comments to women, undressing our fellow sisters whom they feel are not properly dressed, one cannot stop but wonder who defines what is short or indecent clothing? Would our ancestors’ regalia be regarded as…
Youth against Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (YADD), , an organisation that advocates against drug and alcohol dependency among young people has expressed concerns over the recent reduction of excess tax on alcoholic beverages from 45 to 40 percent by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development which has seen prices of alcohol beverages going down….
Following Bob Marley’s inaugural visit to Harare in 1980 when he performed at the independence celebrations at National Sports Stadium, reggae music has slowly grown to be a greater part of our city’s culture, some may argue that he sow a seed of reggae music culture following how the majority has grown to love the…
As the country’s capital, Harare receives many young people who flock in with a dream for employment and a better life having been frustrated by unemployment in different parts of the country. The current economic situation however, knocks them down to destitution and in the end, the streets becomes their home. Some people especially children…
The newly appointed coaches for national rugby sides are expected to deliver good results if they plan to stay on the job for the next four years. The coaches who were appointed upon the expiration of their predecessors’ contracts are expected to successfully take their teams to various international tournaments. Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) director…
So goes an old saying, ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’. While this may sound as mere statement, a visit to The Borrowadale Country Club where second hand goods sale like hot cakes will bring to life to the saying. Low income earners are turning ‘waste’ from the elite into valuable treasure. The Borrowdale…
As the rains continue to soak the country, farmers are busy cultivating their crops and in urban areas, most of the crops take up available open spaces. Urban farming has always been a large part of the city. Residents, in the high density suburbs take advantage of undeveloped land – whether it is land…
