Tag: zimbabwe

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Asia News Bangladesh

Bangladesh ready for white ball series against Zimbabwe

Preparing for the T20 World Cup and striving for 2023 Cricket World Cup qualification, Zimbabwe will certainly be battle-hardened, also taking on India and Australia in the next two months after Bangladesh’s visit…reports Asian Lite News

Bangladesh will look to carry on from where they had left off on the West Indies tour when they take on Zimbabwe in a limited-overs series beginning in Harare on from July 30.

While Bangladesh lost both the Tests by big margins and also suffered a T20I series defeat against the West Indies, the tourists clean-swept the One-day International component of the tour and are currently in Zimbabwe for a white-ball series that includes three T20Is and an equal number of one-dayers.

Zimbabwe meanwhile are buoyant following the qualification for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, winning the all-important Qualifier B semifinal over Papua New Guinea to secure they place in the showpiece event later this year. Zimbabwe then capped off the campaign with a win over the Netherlands in the tournament final.

Sikandar Raza claimed the ‘Player of the Tournament’ honours at the qualifier, though the entire playing group, led by skipper Craig Ervine, contributed to the success. Sean Williams made an impressive return with the bat, while a number of players contributed in a strong bowling effort, spearheaded by quick Blessing Muzarabani.

Preparing for the T20 World Cup and striving for 2023 Cricket World Cup qualification, Zimbabwe will certainly be battle-hardened, also taking on India and Australia in the next two months after Bangladesh’s visit.

India return after a six-year gap, with their three ODIs part of the ongoing Cricket World Cup Super League. Zimbabwe’s matches against Australia in August and September are part of the same competition, where they lie in 12th position (35 points) with three wins and a no-result, according to ICC.

For now though, Zimbabwe’s focus is firmly on Bangladesh, not only in terms of preparation, but to maintain strong rankings in both formats.

Zimbabwe sit 12th on the ICC T20I Rankings and are on the threshold of potential automatic qualification for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the US, and in 15th in the ODI format, behind fellow Super League contenders Netherlands.

ALSO READ-Asia Cup 2022 likely to be moved from Lanka

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Africa News

New House for Zimbabwe Democracy

China to hand over completed new parliament building to Zimbabwe  … a special report by Gretinah Machingura and Tafara Mugwar

Zimbabwe’s new parliament building, constructed and fully funded by China as a gift to the southern African country, is now complete and ready for occupation. It took 42 months to complete the project, instead of the original 32-month timeframe due to COVID-19 disruptions. Construction began in November 2018.

Sitting on the historical Mount Hampden Hill, about 18 km northwest of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, the six-story building is a fine piece of magnificent architecture that fuses both Zimbabwean and Chinese characteristics.

Shanghai Construction Group Company, the contractor, on Wednesday conducted a guided media tour of the building ahead of its official handover to the Zimbabwean government in the near future.

SCG project manager Cai Libo said the completion of the project was a major milestone for the China-Zimbabwe friendship which continues to blossom.

“There will be no doubt that the new parliament building will become a landmark building in Zimbabwe and even in the whole of southern Africa,” Cai said. “The project commenced on Nov. 30, 2018, and was completed on May 27, 2022, and we spent 42 months completing this project. From 2020 we faced a lot of challenges due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. We were supposed to complete this project last year but we were delayed because of the COVID pandemic but now, we have come to the end and are waiting to hand over this building to the Zimbabwean government.”

The new parliament building was one of the most important projects in China-Africa cooperation, aimed at strengthening friendship and solidarity between the people of Zimbabwe and China while improving facilities in parliament for better service to Zimbabwean people, he said.

“The project strongly supports democracy in Zimbabwe while boosting the country’s image,” Cai said.

Completion of the new parliament building, which borrows heavily from the iconic Great Zimbabwe ruins, also heralds the start of a new capital city as the Zimbabwean government plans to put up off-site infrastructure such as residential areas, shopping centers and access roads to establish a self-contained new city to decongest the capital Harare.

The government also plans to put up structures for two other arms of the state — the executive and the judiciary in Mount Hampden.

The imposing building has a combined floor space of 33,000 square meters, with two main sections — a six-story office building and a four-story parliament building. The office building and parliament building are connected by three bridges on each floor.

With the current parliament building having been built during the colonial era and now old and small to accommodate parliament business, the National Assembly at the new parliament building has more than enough space, with a capacity of 400 seats against the 270 House of Assembly members. The new Senate chamber has a capacity of 150 seats, against the current 80 Senate members. The new structure has extra facilities for conferencing, 15 committee rooms and adequate space for office staff and parking.

ALSO READ:STOLEN CHILDHOOD IN AFRICA

The office building contains 600 rooms, including offices for VIP, Members of Parliament and parliament officials. In total, the building has the capacity to accommodate 1,000 people.

Cai said skills sharing and transfer were one of the hallmarks of the project.

“This building is a landmark building in Zimbabwe. This is a show of solid friendship between China and Zimbabwe. This is a gift from the Chinese government to the Zimbabwean government. It was funded by China Aid funds, it’s a grant to Zimbabwe and not a loan so there is no payment to be made in the future. All Members of Parliament will use this building and parliamentarians serve the whole nation and therefore this is a gift to the whole nation,” Cai said.

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News

Zimbabwe Defends Aid From China

Zimbabwean president defends Chinese investment in Africa against Western incitement

 Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has praised Chinese investment for changing the economic landscape in his country and other parts of Africa, while blasting the West for plundering African resources for decades.

In his weekly column for the government-run The Sunday Mail newspaper, Mnangagwa said that the Chinese investment’s late entry into Africa had made a telling difference over a short time.

“They have brought value and employment to our economies and societies, enabled through mutually painful partnerships never experienced before in our troubled history as a continent,” he wrote.

“We have seen Chinese capital supporting landmark and iconic infrastructural projects across the African continent,” he noted, adding, “Here in Zimbabwe, China has helped fund and implement several projects in the sectors of energy, air transport, water, real estate, industrial value addition, mining and defense.”

“All these have secured and bolstered our independence while changing the structure of our economy in this season of punitive Western sanctions,” the president said.

However, the West, Mnangagwa said, has been unhappy about the Chinese footprint on the continent and advising African leaders to be wary of the Chinese, as well as the Russians, Indians, Brazilians and Arabs.

“Apart from generous grants, interest-free or light loans, they have now come back to the continent they helped liberate as new, non-traditional investors. Read against time and historical circumstances, they are new and latecomers in this domain, unlike Western interests which have been exploiting our continent even well before its formal occupation,” he said.

“Including here in Zimbabwe, we have seen some Western governments sponsoring several false environmental and mining advocacy groups which seek to agitate communities against non-Western mining interests,” he said. “Their advice to us is false and cynical; we reject it with utter contempt it deserves.”

ALSO READ: Inflation Dogs Zimbabweans

Citing as an example Bikita Minerals, situated in the Bikita hills of Masvingo province in Zimbabwe, he said it is the West that sponsors the opposition to protest against the presence of Chinese miners in Bikita as the community’s claims are old ones traced back to when the mine was run by the Western owners.

“Ironically, Bikita Minerals was only taken over by a Chinese investor earlier in the year, after being owned and exploited by Western interests for many years since the resource was discovered back in colonial days.”

“While those mining properties were in Western hands, both long before our independence and after, not once did the host communities benefit. Nor were host communities incited, mobilized and sponsored to defend their depletable resource and environment,” he said.

The mine was on the brink of collapsing until the new investor rescued it and expanded its operations with fresh capital, thus securing jobs for Zimbabweans, he said.

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Africa News

Conservation Through Carvings

Zimbabwean artists raise awareness about conservation through carvings … A special report by Tafara Mugwara

One small piece at a time, Chamunorwa Shuramatongo is in his own way fighting a noncombat battle against animal poaching with his exquisite artwork of wood-carved animal figures.

The talented artist from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, uses wood from dried-out trees to make hand-carved pieces of art that portray Zimbabwe’s wildlife diversity.

“What I am saying is let’s conserve our wildlife so that when tourists come and see them, they will leave foreign currency for the government and support us by buying so that we can eke out a living,” Shuramatongo told Xinhua at his workshop.

To him, art is not just a passion, or a way to earn a living – he believes that it can be employed as a medium to spread awareness about burning issues in society. He said each of his carvings, which are made from ironwood, speak of endangered species in the country’s vast wilderness.

Zimbabwe, a top safari destination, is home to some of Africa’s most iconic animals, but rampant poaching is threatening their survival.

Shuramatongo and many other artists from Bulawayo depend on tourist revenues, and the destruction of wildlife and the environment has a direct impact on their livelihoods.

To play their own small part, they are using art to raise awareness about the scourge of illegal animal trade. Their art pieces made of ironwood, in different sizes, cover all animals, ranging from the big five animals including elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo and leopard to other species including giraffes and warthogs.

Ironwood, which is abundant in the Matabeleland region, whose capital is Bulawayo, is exceptionally hard and dense, which makes it ideal for sculpting.

The sculptors, who mostly depend on foreign tourists, say they are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic since the number of tourists visiting Zimbabwe for safari purposes has fallen drastically over the past two years.

“Lack of tourists is affecting our work because there is a third person who is not an artist who is now actively buying products. I no longer have access to tourists, they are now dealing with the third person and we remain behind the scenes,” Shuramatongo said.

Bulawayo is rich in cultural history and is one of the oldest and historically important cities in Zimbabwe.

In contrast to artists from the capital Harare who predominantly use stones to make expressive sculptures, artists in Bulawayo mostly use ironwood which is found in abundance in surrounding areas. This year, curio sellers in Bulawayo are banking on the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) to market their products.

The ZITF, which ended on April 30, is the leading international exhibition in Zimbabwe, and thousands of exhibitors showcase their products and services every year.

Nigel Mhlanga, a curio seller said he expects to make more sales this year due to increased traffic to the city as a result of the trade fair.

ALSO READ: Zimbabwe marks 42nd independence anniversary

“As people who are in the arts industry, we want to grab this opportunity with both hands so that people visiting the trade fair will support us,” he said.

This year’s trade fair is anchored on the theme: “Rethink, Reimagine, Reinvent Value Chains for Economic Development.”

A carver makes a sculpture of a lion in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on April 25, 2022. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua)

Photo shows wooden sculptures of a lion and an elephant in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on April 25, 2022. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua)

A carver shows a sculpture of a buffalo in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on April 25, 2022. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua)

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Africa News

Inflation Dogs Zimbabweans

With inflation hovering at 72 percent for the month of March, prices have been rising. As a result, supermarkets are now forced to frequently adjust their pricing in the local currency… writes Tafara Mugwara

 The last week of the month is always a struggle for Natsai Bwanali as her shopkeeper’s meager earnings can barely keep up with her monthly expenses.

To add insult to injury, the 33-year-old single mother’s paltry salary is further eroded by inflation, making it challenging for her to take care of her two young children.

“It’s like you are trapped in an endless tunnel,” Bwanali told Xinhua. “At first we had to cut expenses but there isn’t room anymore.”

“Now I have to rely on borrowing. Month-end you repay debts, pay rent and buy food with the little that’s left and the cycle starts again,” she said.

Her dire situation mirrors the reality of many Zimbabwean families who are trapped in an endless cycle of poverty. Even white-collar jobs, once the envy of many, are not an exception.

According to the World Bank, extreme poverty in Zimbabwe worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 49 percent in 2020. With inflation hovering at 72 percent for the month of March, prices have been rising. As a result, supermarkets are now forced to frequently adjust their pricing in the local currency.

Last week the price of bread rose by 30 percent following an increase in the price of flour.

“We just see it (bread) from shelves. My children can only smell it from the neighbors,” laments Bwanali.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the primary trade union federation in Zimbabwe, recently raised concern over the price hikes on necessities.

“The bread price will hit hard workers who are already on their knees after recent other price hikes on foodstuffs,” the union said on its official Twitter.

On Monday, the government announced another increase in fuel prices, a development that is likely to result in hike in prices.

To cope with the inflation, last week the central bank released a new 100-dollar note. Despite being the largest note in circulation, the new note is equivalent to about 60 U.S. cents using parallel market rates which currently stand at 1 U.S. dollar per 300 Zimbabwean dollars against the official exchange rate of 150 Zimbabwean dollars per 1 U.S. dollar.

The persisting currency volatility brings back memories of the economic crisis of 2008 when Zimbabwe’s inflation reached historical levels of 500 billion percent, rendering the local currency worthless.

The country then adopted a basket of currencies to bring stability to the economy. In 2017, the government reintroduced the local dollar, which has been in use alongside the U.S. dollar.

However, the local currency has been rapidly devaluing, resulting in many business owners pegging their products to the greenback.

Many people are now reluctant to use the local currency since some businesses give massive discounts to those using the U.S. dollar.

Last year, the government gazetted regulations to compel businesses to peg their prices in line with the official exchange rate and threatened to penalize those failing to adhere to that directive. However, the measures have not yielded much in bringing currency stability, as the parallel market continues to determine the pricing of goods.

Recently the government has been tightening the screws on financial institutions in the country by closing several monetary companies and suspending one bank in an effort to punish businesses accused of undermining the local currency.

In response to the currency volatility, workers across sectors are increasingly demanding to be paid in foreign currency. In February authorities suspended striking teachers for three months without pay after they declared incapacitation due to currency volatility.

ALSO READ: Growing concerns over China’s indiscriminate mining in Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU) is demanding at least 600 U.S. dollars per month for mine workers.

In February the Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers Union (ZIBAWU) threatened a job action, as they escalated demands for U.S. dollar indexed salaries. With the local dollar facing rejection, some political leaders are now calling for the ban of the U.S. dollar in local transactions.

However, in a statement last week, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), the country’s largest industry lobby group, said a balanced approach should be taken to bring back the local dollar from the brink of rejection that it faces.

“We must also, by all means, avoid the rushed decision to prematurely introduce a mono-currency as consequences of such are known from the past,” reads part of the statement

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Africa News Arab News Travel

Zimbabwe On Fast Track To Revive Tourism

The Zimbabwe government has implemented a recovery and growth strategy launched in 2020, seeking to grow the tourism industry to US $5 billion by 2025

 Investments in Zimbabwe’s tourism sector grew from 86 million U.S. dollars in 2020 to 142 million dollars last year, boosted by a raft of government investment promotion measures.

Tourism was adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, resulting in the loss of 9,000 jobs and closure of 37 facilities, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa told a post-cabinet media briefing. However, there has been notable progress in reviving the sector. The government has implemented a recovery and growth strategy launched in 2020, seeking to grow the tourism industry to 5 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.

Several strategies to revive the sector include campaigns to boost domestic tourism, increase investments in new and existing facilities and increase the accessibility of the country through air transport.

Vaccination Drive

Zimbabwe aims to vaccinate 70 percent of its population against COVID-19 by the end of July, after launching a vaccination blitz this week to ramp up the process. Up to 35 percent of the population has so far received two doses of the vaccine since the country began its inoculation program in February last year.

Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the nation had enough vaccines to cover the eligible population.

“The main aim of the campaign is to reach 70 percent of the total population by end of July 2022 in line with WHO regulations,” she said.

Mutsvangwa said out of the 22,405,000 vaccine doses procured by the country, 8,034,932 had so far been administered.

The vaccination blitz launched this week, after a slow down in vaccine uptake, will run up to May this year targeting children aged 12 and above.

As of Monday, Zimbabwe had recorded 244,685 COVID-19 cases with 234,895 recoveries and 5,429 deaths.

Covid in S. Africa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the easing of some lockdown regulations on Tuesday night in light of decreasing COVID-19 cases in recent days.

He said the Cabinet decided to ease a few restrictions as part of adjusted alert level 1 based on consultations and recommendations from the National Coronavirus Command Council.

According to the president, gathering restrictions are significantly changed as venues are allowed to accommodate up to 50 percent of their capacity, as long as proof of vaccination is shown or an updated COVID test is conducted within 72 hours. This change in the restrictions on gatherings will be of great benefit to the sports, culture and entertainment industries in particular.

“The maximum number of people permitted at a funeral will increase from 100 to 200. As before, night vigils, after-funeral gatherings, and ‘after-tears’ gatherings are not allowed,” Ramaphosa said.

He added that people still need to wear masks when in shops, malls, offices, factories, taxes, buses, trains or any other indoor public space.

International travellers will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test within 72 hours before entering South Africa.

“We intend to lift the National State of Disaster as soon as a public comment on the health regulations published by the minister of health has been completed,” he said.

Health regulations intended to replace the National State of Disaster have been released for public comment. The public can comment on the proposed health regulations until April 16.

ALSO READ: South Africa relaxes Covid lockdown regulations

“These regulations, when finalized, will replace the State of Disaster as the legal instrument that we would use to manage the pandemic,” he said, “The end of the National State of Disaster will not mean the end of the pandemic. It just means that we are changing the way we are managing the pandemic.”

The president said some 60 percent to 80 percent of the population has some form of immunity to the virus, either from previous infection or vaccination, and the most important defence against the disease is vaccination.

In South Africa, there have been more than 3.7 million cases of COVID-19 and nearly 100,000 deaths related to the pandemic over the last two years.

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Africa News News Politics

Kenya, Zimbabwe Sign MoU

Kenya, Zimbabwe Sign MoU

Kenya and Zimbabwean governments signed seven bilateral agreements aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries…reports Asian Lite News

The deals, all memoranda of understanding (MOU) on political and diplomatic consultations, tourism and wildlife conservation, and civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents investigations were inked in the Kenyan capital Nairobi at the start of a three-day visit by Zimbabwean Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Other agreements were on women empowerment and community development, youth affairs, cooperatives, and sports and recreation activities.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement issued after holding a bilateral meeting that the agreements will enable Kenya and Zimbabwe to cooperate in addressing challenges facing them, particularly youth unemployment.

Kenya, Zimbabwe Sign MoU

Kenyatta said his Zimbabwean counterpart’s visit had not only renewed the two nations’ friendship and brotherly ties but also re-invigorated the strong historical relations that exist between the African states.

On his part, President Mnangagwa said his visit to Kenya was aimed at deepening the strong and historical bilateral relations between Nairobi and Harare.

He said the unity of purpose would help Kenya and Zimbabwe to effectively deal with emerging challenges such as terrorism and the COVID-19 pandemic.

ALSO READ: UAE hails historic Arab-African ties

“We affirmed the need for cooperation with bilateral commitment at global levels to deal with pandemics of this nature now and in the future. Both Zimbabwe and Kenya are committed to enhancing cooperation towards mitigating the adverse effects of climate change and other environmental issues,” the Zimbabwean leader said.

Zimbabwe donated to Kenya 100 metric tonnes of medical oxygen to boost the fight against COVID-19 during the bilateral meeting.