How banks and mobile money platforms are robbing farmers and citizens

By Charles Dhewa Mobile money continues to be touted as a solution to the financial exclusion of many people in developing countries. However, examples in Zimbabwe are showing the need for cautious optimism. As an economic hub, Mbare mass market in Harare has more than 500 mobile money agents and the number is increasing. Why? …

Read More

Econet leads Zimbabwe’s telecommunication sector

By Byron Mutingwende Telecom regulator Potraz releases quarterly industry report Econet maintains top spot in mobile sector   The local telecommunications regulator, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Potraz) has just released its second quarter report (covering May to July 2017) highlighting how the sector’s performance, based on how key players in the industry performed…

Read More

Wife of Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Donates to Children with Disabilities

By Muchaneta Chimuka ZIMBABWE and China continue to maintain bilateral ties back in history and the relations continue to cement through the unwavering humanitarians supports that they Chinese people are rendering to the vulnerable communities. This Monday Mrs Wang Wei, wife of the Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe donated goods US$2 300 to children with disabilities…

Read More

Africa emerges as a major market for Russian grain

Russian grain exports reached a record high of 72 million tons in the fiscal year that ended June 2024. This is according to information the Russian Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut disclosed. The minister also revealed that Africa became a significant destination for Russia’s grain exports.   During an interview with Sputnik, Arkady Zlochevsky, President of the…

Read More

PayPal agrees to invest $500M in Uber as it extends partnership

PayPal on Friday revealed that it’ll pump $500 million into Uber as it extends a partnership the companies have maintained since 2013. As part of the extension, the online payment company will look into developing the ride-hailing service’s digital wallet. PayPal boss Dan Schulman mentioned that deal in a LinkedIn post early Friday. “This is another significant milestone on our journey…

Read More

Let’s guard against fuelling the spread of COVID-19: Dr. Betty Kaseke

As COVID-19 cases gain traction in Zimbabwe with infections over 2000, Zimbabweans must be responsible and avoid events with the potential to fuel up Covid-19 during the lockdown, philanthropist, and former Kuwadzana legislator, Dr. Betty Nhambu Kaseke has said. The former legislator expressed worry over today’s (31 July 2020) planned demonstrations’ potential to escalate the…

Read More

Innovative HIV Prevention: DVR Gains Momentum Across Africa

Innovative HIV Prevention Product for Women That Promotes Choice – Dapivirine Vaginal Ring (DVR) – Gains Momentum Across Africa; With Use Approved in 11 African Countries, Women Can Access the Ring Now in a Growing Number of Implementation and Pilot Studies Across 6 of the 11 Approved Countries ·       Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia,…

Read More

Infrastructure Africa Forum Highlights: AUDA-NEPAD Hosts Pivotal Infrastructure Project Deal Rooms

The Cape Town International Conference Center hosted on 16-17 July 2024, the Infrastructure Africa Forum. The Forum saw attendance from a diverse group, including government officials and policymakers, international and regional development partners, private sector investors and financiers, infrastructure development experts, and practitioners, as well as civil society organizations and advocacy groups. Africa’s infrastructure development…

Read More

UNICEF calls for USD 84.9 million to respond to El Nino emergency in Zimbabwe

UNICEF’s appeal will provide emergency support to 866,000 children UNICEF is urgently appealing for USD 84.9 million to fund its emergency response aimed at assisting children and women affected by the El Nino crisis in Zimbabwe. This funding will provide life-saving interventions to 1.34 million people, including 866,000 children, amidst a complex humanitarian crisis exacerbated…

Read More

SADC initiates development of its Regional Climate Resilient Water Investment Programme

Ahead of the Summit of Heads of States of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on 17 August in Harare, Zimbabwe, the SADC secretariat initiated a regional initiative to bolster climate resilience and water security in the region through the SADC Regional Climate Resilient Water Investment Programme (SADC -AIP).   The programme is in collaboration…

Read More

Africa Regional Mechanism Of The Major Groups and Other Stakeholders (ARMMGOS) launched

The Africa Regional Mechanism of the Major Groups and other Stakeholders (ARMMGOS) – formerly known as Africa Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (ARCSEM) – under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission of Africa (UNECA) was officially launched on the 24th February 2020 at the sixth session of the African Regional Forum on Sustainable…

Read More

Advancing tourism in Kadoma: MCE Lodge charms the market

By Lovemore Chazingwa From the day it started operating, MCE Lodge has brought remarkable comfort to the market through services rollout within the serene surroundings of Kadoma. Arguably, the lodge is on a roller coaster in the hospitality industry with its customized services that match any top-of-the-range utility. It is located in the plush Mornington…

Read More

Media critical in assisting cholera fight, detection of health outbreaks

Writes Elvis Dumba Chinhoyi – The media plays a critical role in events and surveillance-based reporting that assists in early health outbreak detection. This was said by Mashonalnd West Provincial Nursing Officer, Farai Marufu, during a UNICEF-sponsored cholera media briefing. “The media plays a critical role in assisting the Ministry of Health in the fight…

Read More

Standard Bank Group Publishes Fossil Fuels Financing Policy

By Staff Reporter Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe’s parent company, Standard Bank Group, in pursuit of improving its management of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks, and contributing to the sustainable development of Africa, has published its Fossil Fuels Financing Policy. This follows the adoption in 2019 of policies on lending to Coal-fired power projects and Coal-mining…

Read More

Tiens Group seeks to increase investment in Zimbabwe

By Byron Mutingwende   Chinese healthcare giant, Tiens Group, seeks to invest more in Zimbabwe following President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s call for opening up the country to the international community, the company’s chairman, Li Jinyuan has said. “I met President Mnangagwa and he revealed to me that he wants to open Zimbabwe for both local and…

Read More

School opening: Income generating programs comes in handy

By Elvis Dumba Yomba, Zvimba North – The opening of schools this week puts a strain on parents and guardians who have school-going children under their care but various income-generating projects produced by Zvimba North Constituency lawmaker, Marian Chombo, have come in handy as they can use proceeds from the projects to support their children’s…

Read More

Solar is becoming the new king of the world’s electricity markets: IEA

By Anyway Yotamu HARARE – Solar output is expected to lead a surge in renewable power supply worldwide in the next decade, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said. Renewables account for 80%  growth in global electricity generation under current conditions. In its annual World Energy Outlook released on Tuesday 13 October 2020, the IEA…

Read More

PAP resolves to work with civil society to speed up ratification of legal instruments

The East African Regional Caucus meeting has concluded in Nairobi following days of consultations between members of Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and civil society organizations from the region. The overarching recommendation from the three-day meeting called upon the PAP to collaborate with civil society organizations to build regional consensus in the promotion of African Union (AU)…

Read More

COVID-19 an opportunity for decision-makers to know how African food markets function

By Charles Dhewa African countries are called less industrialized economies for genuine reasons. If the majority of people in a country depend on more than 80 agricultural commodities and less than 10 can be turned into processed products, such a country is obviously less industrialized. For instance, in Zimbabwe, only maize meal, flour, sugar, wheat…

Read More

Parliamentary Budget Offices provide fiscal oversight amidst economic downturn, pandemics

Zimbabwe is hosting the 5th African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices (AN-PBO) which will be exploring the different roles played by African PBOs in supporting their Parliaments’ fiscal oversight over the Executive. In his keynote address during the official opening of the workshop today, Mr. Kennedy M. Chokuda, the Clerk of Parliament of Zimbabwe said…

Read More

PAP called upon to promote continental policies in the context of COVID-19

African Union (AU) specialized institutions and committees have turned to the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) to advocate for the domestication of policies adopted at continental level and aimed at mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on key African socio-economic sectors. This includes civil aviation and labour migration around the continent. Members of the PAP Permanent…

Read More

Finding strengths in local food markets amid the pandemic

By Charles Dhewa Since March 2020 when COVID19 first showed up in Africa, mass food markets have continued to play their critical functions although policy support has continued to be directed to processing companies and supermarkets. In 2021, COVID19 did not just confirm the importance of a strong immune system but has also revealed the strengths…

Read More

Chinese partnership strengthens Zimbabwe’s educational leadership in Africa

By Byron Mutingwende   In a quest to improve the quality of education and consolidate Zimbabwe’s status as the leading country on literacy levels in Africa, a Cabinet minister has proffered a cocktail of measures to improve the sector.   Speaking during the official handover of the Zimbabwe-China Friendship High School in Harare on Thursday…

Read More

Beauty Mutanga, a story of perseverance, determination, and hard work

Zimbabwe Women Empowered in Business (ZIWEB) empowers women in Zimbabwe with the opportunity to start and sustainably run their own business by becoming sub-distributors for Nestlé East and Southern Africa (ESAR) From seeking to survive and sustain her family, to be able to afford luxuries that she once only dreamt of is the story of…

Read More

Safaricom Launches Affordable 4G-Enabled Smartphones in Kenya

Safaricom has launched a smartphone campaign by introducing the most affordable 4G-enabled smartphones—Neon Ray and Neon Nova—in Kenya. The launching of the smartphones aims at delivering a digital experience for those who do not have smartphones. Sylvia Mulinge, Chief Customer Officer at Safaricom, said:  “At Safaricom, we aim to transform lives by providing solutions to our customers. With…

Read More

Commonwealth Disability Taskforce assigns Zimbabwean award-winning disability journalist

The Commonwealth Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) Taskforce has assigned a two-time Disability Journalist of the Year award winner, Nyasha Nhau, to engage the nineteen (19) Commonwealth countries in Africa to rally behind the DIAP document proposed to be adopted at the Commonwealth Heads Of Governments Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled for the week of 20 October…

Read More

The only market where knowledge exchange is part customer experience

By Charles Dhewa What differentiates African food markets from the rest is that they do not just sell commodities but educate consumers. Where the majority of workers in formal markets like supermarkets focus only on selling commodities, traders in African food markets are always ready to educate consumers on different ways of preparing food. Farmers…

Read More

CSOs should develop local initiatives for resilience building: ZICHIRe

By Byron Mutingwende and Patricia Mashiri In a bid to shun donor dependence and create home grown interventions that build resilience among communities, the Zimbabwe Community Health Intervention Research project (ZiCHIRe) has extended a giving hand to an orphanage in Marondera. In his address while handing over the donation of an assortment of goods sourced…

Read More

Local population exhibits interest in Domestic Tourism Festive Season Campaign

The Domestic Tourism Festive Season Campaign, initiated by the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), managed to promote local tourism and enhance the festive season experience for both locals and the diaspora. Simultaneously, the Meet and Greet Campaign at selected ports of entry sought to warmly welcome…

Read More

Demolitions amid COVID-19: Vendors appeal for cushioning fee

Vendors representative associations are concerned about the delays in the payments of the cushioning grants that were supposed to cushion them and informal traders following the COVID-19 lockdown and government-sanctioned demolitions of their working spaces. As a result, they are calling upon government through its relevant ministries to provide information on progress made so far….

Read More

SARW Opposes Attempts by First Quantum Mining to Silence it through Court Action

The Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW) has lodged a notice of intention to defend a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) brought against the organisation by a Canadian mining company, First Quantum Minerals (FQM) at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. SARW is an independent, nonprofit organisation that monitors corporate and government conduct in the…

Read More

Kadoma City Mayor Ruzario emphasises importance of stakeholder collaboration

Writes Thomas Faranando On the sidelines of a strategic meeting with stakeholders at a local hotel on Friday, Kadoma City Mayor, Nigel Ruzario highlighted the significance of collaborative efforts in driving the city’s development. He stressed that stakeholder engagement is crucial for the growth and progress of Kadoma, the only city in Mashonaland West province…

Read More

WHO calls for massive health investments

Writes Marlvin Ngiza The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called upon nations to prioritize investing into the health sector for more equitable and prosperous societies and economies. This was said by WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, during a press briefing on global health issues. In his remarks, Ghebreyesus said that low-income countries were failing to rebound…

Read More