International tourist arrivals grew 4% from January to June 2019, compared to the same period last year, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer published ahead of the 23rd World Tourism Organization General Assembly. Growth was led by the Middle East (+8%) and Asia and the Pacific (+6%). International arrivals in Europe grew 4%,…
By Sue Edmonds What is really under our feet these days? Is there still any life down there? I still remember a field day I was covering some years ago, where the featured expert stood in the field and asked a goodly crowd of farmers what they thought they were standing on. There was…
The Government of Equatorial Guinea, represented by the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Planning (http://bit.ly/2lJ4Mqo), has concluded a successful mission at the 28th World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa, which was held last week in Cape Town, South Africa. H.E. Minister Cesar Mba Abogo led a team of officials that joined more than 1,500 regional…
Old Mutual, Zimbabwe’s leading insurance provider, has partnered with ACE Air and Ambulance Pvt Ltd to offer an emergency air and road ambulance medical rescue package to its existing and new customers with effect from 1 September 2019. In his opening remarks at the launch, Old Mutual Insurance Company Managing Director, Shepherd Fungura, said that…
Air Zimbabwe has partnered the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority for Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo 2019 as the official domestic carrier, an official has said. Head of Corporate Affairs at ZTA Godfrey ‘Chief’ Koti, confirmed yesterday that the national airline is the official carrier for the domestic travel for Sanganai/Hlanganani. “Air Zimbabwe has several flights to the…
By Joyce Mukucha As Zimbabwe re-engages the international community to foster goodwill and understanding in line with the nation’s mantra, ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’, the elected 2020 Junior Chamber International (JCI) World Presidential Candidate, Itai Manyere who will represent Africa and the Middle East is expected to use the opportunity to raise Zimbabwe’s profile….
Providence Pangira, who achieved brilliant results at Ordinary and Advanced Level despite his deprived background but lacked the funds to go to university, may be able to fulfil his dreams after all thanks to a scholarship provided by Zimnat. The young man’s plight was highlighted earlier in the year on social media and in a…
By Joyce Mukucha As the Zimbabwean economic situation continues to dwindle with unemployment rate increasing, most women in rural areas are becoming creative and innovative as they thrive to uplift their living standards, feed and support their families. In the 10 provinces of the country, venturing into agricultural activities is one of the captain projects…
Information communication technology (ICT) stakeholders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are meeting in the resort town of Victoria Falls to deliberate on the health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) to users of telecommunication equipment and come up with measures to ensure a safe environment for telecoms users. Officially opening the meeting in Victoria…
By Arvin Donley The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations on Sept. 6 released a new Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, raising its July forecast for global cereal output by 22 million tonnes to 2.7 billion tonnes, 2.1% above the 2018 outturn. The revisions mostly reflect improved expectations for U.S. corn production….
By Charles Dhewa Instead of competing for external extractive investors and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), African countries should start building home-grown economies anchored on Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) which continue to keep rural communities resilient. IKS have traditionally been adept at strengthening relationships, trust, social fabrics as well as people’s passion and commitment to grow…
Climate, Indigenous and youth leaders, environmental activists and musicians will be among 700 delegates meeting to hash out vital restoration strategies at the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) in New York on Sept. 28, in preparation for the launch of the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The decade will provide a framework for landscape conservation and restoration, a process…
The Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) made a strong pledge by Africa and Japan to invest in health in efforts to end infectious diseases, strengthen health systems and deliver universal health coverage. In the final Yokohama declaration, TICAD7 resolved to invest to reinforce primary health care and promote resilient health systems, including…
By Sue Edmonds For most of the 18 years I’ve been writing about farming issues the buzzword has been ‘sustainability’. Of late it seems to have morphed into ‘regenerative farming’, which aims to do a lot more than sustain, including rebuilding eroded soil and reintroducing the necessary soil life to create the nutritive food the…
By Abigail Mzimbawakhe (Midlands Correspondent) Participants at a discussion that was recently held at the Gweru Memorial Library by the Civil Society and Churches Joint Forum (CSCJF) blamed sanctions for fuelling Zimbabwe’s economic crisis. Whilst members of the forum blamed sanctions, many people were of the view that corruption and bad governance were the twin…
By Abigail Mzimbawakhe (Midlands Correspondent) Kwekwe based musical band ‘On-One’ was the winner at Chibuku Road to Fame Provincial Finals that were held on Saturday at Mkoba high-density suburb in Gweru and will represent Midlands at the national competition. The competitions were held at Mkoba 4 Beer-hall were all music bands from across the province…
By Nyasha Mutena The National AIDS Council has intensified the fight against HIV and AIDS by imploring men to seek HIV and AIDS services and engage in systematic dialogues through the behaviour change communication strategy, a platform to develop positive behaviours, promote and sustain individual, community and societal behaviour change to end the pandemic. In…
As part of President Félix Tshisekedi’s first state visit to South Africa, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will host its first ever InvestDRC Forum on November 22, 2019 in Johannesburg. Organized under the auspices of the Government of DRC. InvestDRC (www.InvestDRC2019.com) is the premier platform for networking and high-level discussions on the…
Platform important tool for learning lessons from each other and to help move Africa to a more dynamic agriculture The African Development Bank (AfDB.org), the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have relaunched a platform to assist African agriculture ministers and other key stakeholders to promote strong growth in agricultural production and…
By Rev Dr. Kenneth Mtata (Secretary-General, Zimbabwe Council of Churches) People are mourning the death of one of the remnants of the rare generation of Pan-African and Frontline States leaders. Robert Gabriel Mugabe will be remembered for the great achievements in his earlier period and also the many challenges under his watch in the later…
Health and Child Care Minister Obadiah Moyo has said he would prefer not to gazette fees for health services with no foreign currency component but might have to do so, as Government cannot continue watching people suffering and dying. In a speech read on his behalf by United Bulawayo Hospitals chief executive Nonhlanhla Ndlovu at…
By Joyce Mukucha The Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Rtd. Gen. Hon Perrance Shiri said Climate change was a cross-cutting issue affecting all socio-economic development sectors and urged line ministries to integrate climate change into their policy planning and budgeting frameworks as a way of mitigating the consequences. He was…
By Abigail Mzimbawakhe (Midlands Correspondent) MDC National Organising Secretary, Honourable Amos Chibaya yesterday donated 50 bags of cement each to Mkoba 3 High School and Takunda Primary School in a bid to build infrastructure needed at the mentioned schools. In an interview with Spiked Online Media, Honourable Chibaya said the cement was purchased under the…
Abigail Mzimbawakhe (Midlands Correspondent) GreenWorks Company, which was founded by Sebastian Sibanda is aiming to provide the whole of Zimbabwe with organic fodder for livestock. The company provides organic fodder for all species of grazing animals that include cattle, goats, sheep, pigs as well as all poultry. The founder, Sibanda said that he is aiming…
The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) and Ethiopian Airlines (ET) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU.) The African Aviation Giant, Ethiopian Airlines are the official airline for the 12th Edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo. ZTA signed an MOU with ET today ahead of the tourism expo. Speaking on the sidelines of the signing…
By Byron Mutingwende Celebrated traditional healer and spiritual leader Sekuru Banda has expressed disdain at the on-going xenophobic attacks in South Africa. Addressing journalists in the capital soon after touching down at the Robert Mugabe International Airport from Asia where he had gone for an international herbal conference in China and Japan, Sekuru Banda…
By Joyce Mukucha The business community from different sectors voiced concerns over persistent challenges they face in implementing the ease of doing reforms and pleaded with the Government to come up with best policy intervention options in the 2020-2021 Ease of Doing Business Reform Programme which was launched in Harare on the 5th of September…
World record adventurer and conservationist, Holly Budge, is part of an A-list of luminaries set to grace the 12th edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo. Budge has two world records under her belt, including being the first woman to skydive Everest and race semi-wild horses 1000 kms across Mongolia in just nine days will…
Power couple Munya Chidzonga and Adiona Maboreke Chidzonga are the ultimate celebrity couple success story, and can trace a sizeable measure of their fame to MultiChoice. Each gained a strong spotlight through reality TV: for Adiona it was Idols Africa, while for Munya it was Big Brother Africa. These two shows have made a major…
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will allocate $500 million from its Nigeria-Africa Trade and Investment Promotion Programme to support Nigerian manufacturers to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) agreement, Bank President Prof. Benedict Oramah, has announced in Lagos. Prof. Oramah, who was the Guest Speaker at the…
The Southern African People’s Solidarity Network (SAPSN) which has just concluded its SADC People’s Summit that ran parallel to the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government in Dar Es Salaam has called for urgent action against the inhumane violence levelled against fellow African brothers and sisters in South Africa and condemns it in…
Abigail Mzimbawakhe (Midlands Correspondent) The water crisis in Gweru will soon be addressed as the Gweru City Council (GCC) received pumps on Tuesday that will help to pump raw water from Ampongokwe Dam. Ampongokwe Dam is almost 65% full so it will be able to provide adequate raw water that will provide most of the…
By Joyce Mukucha The Contact Centre Association of Zimbabwe (CCAZ) has partnered different stakeholders in hosting the Zimbabwe’s first Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Contact Centre Conference in an effort aimed at forming part of the first large scale developmental initiative that will position Zimbabwe as a global BPO and Contact Centre destination. The BPO…
In September, the “2019 HWPL World Peace Summit” will be hosted in over 130 locations in 87 countries including South Africa, United Kingdom, Russia, and the United States of America in cooperation between international peace NGO Heavenly Culture, World Peace Restoration of Light (HWPL) and international civil society organisations and governments. With the theme of…
The International Trade Centre (ITC) and Visa (NYSE: V) today launched a partnership to increase the participation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and women-led businesses in international trade. The announcement was made at the 28th World Economic Forum Africa taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – outlining a framework of…
NMBZ Holdings, NMB Bank’s holding company, recorded a profit before tax of ZWL74 452 137 for the half-year ended June 30, 2019, resulting in total comprehensive income of ZWL61 425 194. This compares with a before tax profit of ZWL11 757 594 and total comprehensive income of ZWL9 086 483 in the same period last year. The…
MultiChoice Africa has launched the first graduates of its MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy for Southern Africa into the African film and television industry, hosting the graduation ceremony for the class of 2018-19 that included two Zimbabweans. The 20 students have completed a rigorous 12-month film training programme, honing and sharpening their skills for careers within the…
Roger Nkondo Dang, the President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has learnt with sadness and great dismay, the reports of acts of violence targeted at foreign African nationals in some parts of our sister country, South Africa. The violence and tension are seemingly spreading into other parts of the Continent, leading into displacement of helpless…
Telecommunications giant NetOne has been awarded a license by the Reserve bank of Zimbabwe to operate as a Bureau De Change. Bureau de change is the fastest growing sector in the African financial services industry in terms of the number of institutions that have developed over the last 10 years. The Zimbabwe dollar became the…
Primary and Secondary Education Minister, Professor Paul Mavima has officiated at the ground breaking ceremony for the establishment of Glenview Mufakose District Resource Centre and a Secondary School for Science and Technology. In his keynote address at the groundbreaking ceremony in Glenview on 4 September 2019, Professor Mavima said the Glenview Mufakose district had secured…
The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) has urged the government and doctors to re-engage to avert the impending strike that could plunge the country’s already ailing health sector further into crisis, with patients being the major victims. Government doctors last week gave notice that they would go on strike following their rejection of a…
By Kumbirai Mafunda The City of Harare (CoH) has been ordered to pay more than US$3 000 to a motorist as compensation for damage to his vehicle which was battered after it fell into an unmarked ditch, which was left uncovered by the local authority’s employees. With the assistance of Fiona Iliff of Zimbabwe Lawyers…
From next week Zimbabweans living in the UK and South Africa will be able to send money home direct to an EcoCash Foreign Currency Account that they control – for just 2,5%. This represents an almost 80% reduction in fees normally charged. The service, which will be available to anyone who downloads the Sasai App,…
By Byron Mutingwende The Green enterPRIZE Innovation Challenge has been hailed for creating employment for the youths and supporting sustainable enterprise development. The Acting Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Mr. Ziyambi Ziyambiat made the remarks at the official launch of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) 2019 Northern Region Green enterPRIZE…
The African Energy Chamber secured over $1.4bn in intentions to invest in Africa’s bankable projects in mining, oil & gas, power and renewables The African Energy Chamber (https://EnergyChamber.org) has just concluded a one-week working visit in Beijing where it met with senior officials from the Chinese government, heads of state-owned energy companies, and executives and entrepreneurs…
