Econet’s innovation, Ecofarmer, a mobile-based insurance services programme epitomises the important role that technology can play in achieving gender equality. Ecofarmer is a mobile technology solution, which delivers weather-based insurance, real-time, location-based weather information and farming tips via cellphone, that is helping producers to combat the effects of climate change. Statistics show that Zimbabwe is…
By ZIMCODD On 24 June 2019, the government abolished the 10-year-old multi-currency regime in the country making the Zimbabwe dollar the sole legal tender. The Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) bemoans the apparent policy inconsistency and premature knee jerk reaction. The need for a local sovereign currency is not disputed, however the government…
By Kumbirai Mafunda Harare Magistrate Barbra Mateko on Tuesday 25 June 2019 dismissed the State’s bid to revoke the bail granted to Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) President Obert Masaraure and to commit him to prison for allegedly violating his bail conditions. The State had petitioned the Harare Magistrates Court seeking to revoke…
The Government of Zimbabwe, the European Union and the United Nations today launched a multi-year Spotlight Initiative to assist women and girls realise their full potential in a violence-free, gender-responsive and inclusive Zimbabwe. Delivering a keynote at the launch, President Mnangagwa in a statement read on his behalf by Hon. Minister Prof. A Murwira said,…
By Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights On the occasion of United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) urges government to promptly act to fulfil its past pledges to make torture a criminal offence and take adequate measures to combat this heinous crime. Commemorated on 26 June…
Zimnat, together with Sanlam, with which Zimnat is associated, last week donated roofing materials to yet another Chimanimani school affected by Cyclone Idai, Muchadziya Primary School in Ngorima. This follows a similar donation to Gatsi Primary School in Tamba village in Mutasa District barely a week earlier. The cyclone lifted the roof off a classroom…
The Strategic Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project will support the rehabilitation of approximately 50km of the Juba town distribution network and related works The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) on June 20, 2019, approved a proposal to commit $24.7 million to finance the South Sudan Strategic Water Supply and Sanitation…
Over 1500 delegates, including a record-breaking number of 16+ government ministers will attend the event in Cape Town As the leading event for Africa’s upstream, Africa Oil Week (Africa-OilWeek.com) is committed to staying at the cutting-edge of developments in oil and gas. Over 1500 delegates, including a record-breaking number of 16+ government ministers will attend…
The four nations tournament features Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe The Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) yesterday announced the Sables training squad for the Victoria Cup. Sables gets into camp on Monday the 3rd of July in preparation for the four nations tournament which features Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Victoria Cup has been revived…
By Tatenda Mujeyi Pro Plastics noted first quarter United States Dollar (USD) sales growth of up to 60% and anxieties brought through SI 142 as continuing Government’s constant policy shift at their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Harare. “Direct USD sales had improved significantly at the expense of the RTGS. At the beginning of the…
The young ladies team will be hosting their first international team, South Africa Under-20 in a two match series at Prince Edward High School on the 26th and 29th of June 2019 The Zimbabwe Under-20 national women rugby team has secured three commercial partners ahead of the historic bilateral series against South Africa Under-20 Women…
By Tatenda Mujeyi Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) is engaging in a research on the implications of corruption from a gender perspective. This emerged at a breakfast meeting the organization held today in Harare. The gendered challenges of corruption are argued to be affecting mainly women as the patriarchal nature of Zimbabwean society guaranteed male participation…
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Central Bank of Tunisia have signed an agreement for a $500-million Tunisia-Africa Trade and Investment Promotion Programme which will be used for providing financing aimed at promoting and expanding trade and investments between Tunisia and the rest of Africa. Under the terms of the agreement sign in Moscow on 22 June, Afreximbank will…
By Kumbirai Mafunda The trial of two pro-democracy campaigners charged with plotting to overthrow President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government got off to a false start on Monday 24 June 2019 after the State indicated that it was not yet ready to commence with trial despite undertaking to do so at the last remand proceedings. Pastor Evan…
By Veritas Yesterday morning an important statutory instrument was published in a Government Gazette Extraordinary: the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Legal Tender) Regulations, 2019 (SI 142 of 2019). The instrument can be viewed on the Veritas website [link]. The effect of the instrument is that from yesterday only RTGS dollars, whether in the form of…
The announcement was made to energy sector stakeholders at a sideline event held during the Africa Energy Forum, which took place in Lisbon, Portugal The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) announced a EUR 40 million investment from the European Commission for the Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI), a new platform for financing small-scale renewables in Africa. The…
By Tatenda Mujeyi Non Governmental Organisations led by Katswe Sistahood, at their Harare office, have lobbied for the institution of an education policy that considers re-entry of impregnated students to school. The NGOs argue that education is a human right that is guaranteed by the constitution and sustainable development goals that should be guaranteed. “Recognising…
By Alex Magaisa The most significant news from Zimbabwe today is the dramatic return of the Zimbabwe dollar. Zimbabweans woke up to the news of a legal instrument, Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019, which reintroduces the Zimbabwe dollar and ends the multi-currency regime. The purpose of this note is not to assess the legality of…
By Nevson Mpofu Zimbabwe has been encouraged and pushed forward to increase its National Budget on Nutrition from 0, 45% to 3%. An Expert in Nutrition Kudakwashe Zombe of Zimbabwe Civil Organisations Society Scaling Up Nutrition Alliance (ZCSOSUNA) speaking in Harare highlighted the need to consider Nutrition Health as the only way-forward to eradicate or…
By Charles Dhewa As buying patterns signify ordinary people’s priorities, developing countries should invest more in finding pockets of opportunity from micro-markets than pursuing mega deals. In most African countries, much of the overlooked growth is within open food markets from which the majority get food and income. An outside observer may see open markets…
The President will be presented the award during the conference, during which he will also present the keynote address Africa Oil & Power (https://AfricaOilandPower.com) will present the award to H.E. Macky Sall at its annual conference in Cape Town; H.E. Macky Sall is renowned for his efforts to revive Senegal’s economy and create an attractive…
Digital ventures already have more than 33 million registered users, according to study by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and Dalberg Advisors. More than 90 per cent of the market for digital services that support African smallholders remains untapped and could be worth more than €2 billion (US$2.26bn), according to a…
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will pay a total of $69 million to its shareholders as dividend from its 2018 earnings, according to decisions reached during the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) of the Bank which ended in Moscow yesterday. The shareholders also appointed one new member to its Board of Directors and decided…
If you’re a Linux gamer who prefers Ubuntu, you might want to look for another distribution in the near future. Valve is dropping official support for Ubuntu in Steam as of the operating system’s upcoming 19.10 release, which will cut 32-bit x86 components. The Steam crew aims to “minimize breakage” for existing Ubuntu users, according to Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais,…
The US launched a cyber-attack on Iranian weapons systems on Thursday as President Trump pulled out of air strikes on the country, US reports say. The cyber-attack disabled computer systems controlling rocket and missile launchers, the Washington Post said. It was in retaliation for the shooting down of a US drone as well as attacks…
By Veritas Both the National Assembly and the Senate sat last week and this week. Two Bills were passed and progress made on two others. Bills Passed Consumer Protection Bill Following the announcement of the PLC’s non-adverse report on the extensive Committee Stage amendments made previously, the National Assembly passed the amended Bill on 13th June. …
Africa’s output grew by 3.4 per cent between 2017 and 2018 despite the slowdown in global growth during that period, a new report by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has shown. The African Trade Report 2019: African Trade in a Digital World, launched today in Moscow during the 26th Afreximbank Annual Meetings, states that Africa’s total merchandise trade in 2018 had…
By Byron Mutingwende Eminent Zimbabweans have heaped praises on human rights defender and peace advocate Misheck Gondo on the launch of his inaugural novel, “The Terrible Heat-break” at a colourful event in Harare on Thursday. Prominent businessman and President of FreeZim Congress party, Joseph Makamba Busha, who was Guest of Honour at Gondo’s…
Another attempt to control the news regarding African football affairs In another attempt to control the news regarding African football affairs, the journalist Nazim Bessol, working for Algerian newspaper Botola, has seen his accreditation for the African Cup of Nations revoked. Initially Bessol received a confirmation approval letter with accreditation number 1206. However yesterday Bessol…
The smell of sweet ginger coffee being prepared in a little tin hut manages to waft above the putrid smell of green sludge – it’s the smell of life going on. It lingers in the air, and somehow, just like the people here, manages to rise above the suffocating conditions of a Protection of Civilians…
The workshop, themed: “The Consolidation of International Correspondent Banking Relationships in Africa,” was attended by representatives of the main correspondent banks operating in Africa he African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org), Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A) (www.MFW4A.org) and the German Cooperation (BMZ/GIZ) held a two-day international workshop in Frankfurt, Germany, to improve participants’ understanding of trade…
By Tatenda Mujeyi Microfinance bank GetBucks has held an extraordinary general meeting to notify on resolutions the bank has taken to raise additional capital of up to RTGS$47 million through right issues in Harare today. “At a meeting of Shareholders held this morning, GetBucks Microfinance Bank Limited (GetBucks) shareholders approved resolutions that would allow the…
Zimnat, in association with Sanlam, has donated roofing materials worth more than RTGS $60 000 to Gatsi Primary School in Chimanimani, which was left reeling with an accommodation crisis after Cyclone Idai swept through the area. Zimnat donated 60 roofing sheets, 320 units of roofing timber and 30kg of roofing nails to repair the roof of teaching…
The International Trade Centre (ITC) today unveiled a new version of Market Access Map, its popular online trade analysis tool. The revamped portal will further enhance market transparency and facilitate the analysis of trade-related policy issues. Market Access Map responds to users’ specific needs depending on their profile and will continue to provide free and user-friendly access to…
26th annual Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy begins its work in Tbilisi The Pan-African African Parliament (PAP) is among international Parliamentary organisations invited to take part in the 26th Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (I.A.O) currently underway in Tbilisi, Georgia. The Assembly is being held from 19 to 23 June 2019 under the theme: “The contribution of…
By Tatenda Mujeyi The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) conference held in Harare ended yesterday with multiple recommendations that Zimbabwe can employ to better the free trade process. Recommendations that the conference made on the Free Trade agreement include capacity building, effective communication, transparency, information flow, renewable energy promotion, improvements on macro-economic environment and…
Cassava Smartech Zimbabwe’s EcoSure has unveiled US dollar denominated packages that will give Zimbabweans the opportunity to get insurance cover without worrying about the challenges of value erosion on their policies brought about by economic volatility and currency fluctuations. Announcing the move, Cassava Smartech Zimbabwe CEO Mr Eddie Chibi said the new packages would…
By Tatenda Mujeyi Zimbabwe’s only integrated media house, Zimpapers, is experiencing positive first quarter performance, Chief Executive Officer, Pikirayi Deketeke announced at the company’s Annual General Meeting in Harare today. The profits were broadly attributed to the diverse business lines the company operates despite classifying the Newspaper division, radio and the television network ZTN as…
After more than a decade of success and nearly 2,200 maternal deaths prevented, international partners mark handover of program After more than a decade of incredible success, preventing over 2,200 maternal deaths, the international partnership behind the Maternal and Reproductive Health Program in Tanzania held a handover ceremony today in Kigoma, marking the final transition…
20 June is the World Refugee Day. There are now 68.5 million forced from home around the world—more than at any time in modern history. As such, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is featuring stories of survival, a collection of testimonies and first-hand accounts from people who have risked everything for a chance at safety. As…
By Tatenda Mujeyi The World Sickle Cell Day was held in conjunction with the launch of Sickle Cell Anaemia Trust Zimbabwe (SCATZ) in Harare last night. Sickle Cell disease is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders that turns red blood cells hard and C-Shaped like a Sickle, and is believed to be affecting…
By Farai Chirimumimba It has become clear that power is vested with the people. Therefore let the people and not resource sucking commissions of inquiry take responsibility. The Zimbabwe propensity to rely on commissions of inquiry that sadly never resolve crises, redress gross mismanagement and punish wrongdoers is no longer sustainable as it never worked….
Beitbridge-Bulawayo Railway chief executive Thembi Moyo was yesterday (Wednesday) elected president of the Southern African Railways Association at the first SARA board meeting of 2019. Namibian railway TransNamib chief executive Johny Smith was elected vice-president. Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Joel Biggie Matiza, in a speech read on his behalf by his human resources director,…
By Tatenda Mujeyi Chrome miners convened at a consultative workshop organised by the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) have aired out the challenges they experience within the industry. This emerged at workshop held in Harare yesterday.The event was commended as a positive step in the coordination of chrome mining considering government’s efforts to implement…
By Tatenda Mujeyi The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) held a consultative workshop to inform the process of implementing the AFCFTA in Harare today. The consultative workshop is aimed at informing the process of implementing a national…
