HARARE – Government wants to legalise hundreds of thousands of small-scale miners, colloquially known as makorokoza, who scrape out tiny amounts of gold from abandoned mine shafts using dangerous and polluting techniques. This emerged in Masvingo last weekend at a national dialogue conference on artisinal miners, sugar cane cutters and farm workers organised by leading…
CAPE TOWN – “I always thought I would be the last one to leave Zimbabwe. But with the current situation, I had no choice but to come down here to fend for my family,” said 42-year-old Calvin Kavara. The skilled engineer and father of three feels betrayed by his Zanu PF party which has failed…
HARARE – First Lady Grace Mugabe celebrated her 50th birthday on July 23 with the climax being a “controversial” fundraising dinner in her honour which was held on Saturday at the First Family’s Blue Roof residence in Borrowdale, Harare. The dinner reportedly raised over $3 million and comprised an attendance of over 2 000 delegates…
HARARE – The trip to Harare’s Roadport to meet my cousin who was travelling from Namibia for the first time in 10 years was exasperating, given the day’s unusually high temperatures. It was mid-morning but the temperatures were already unbearably high. As we journeyed back home along Seke Road, the new houses just before Chinhamo…
HARARE – “DEAR God, I know that you will bring my father back,” is a prayer that Nenyasha, daughter of the missing journalist-cum-human rights activist Itai Dzamara recites every night before going to bed. The three-year-old, who has not seen her father for almost 100 days, is obviously affected psychologically and emotionally by her dad’s…
JOHANNESBURG – As we got out of the cars and looked around the village, it was the silence we noticed. It was as if a neutron bomb had struck, destroying all living creatures while leaving structures intact. Not a dog. Not a chicken. Not a laughing toddler. For a village in communal lands just 20km…
HARARE – Ashley Shamba (not real name) is due to graduate in December, she is the first to acquire a degree in her family and naturally she is expected to make a significant financial contribution soon but that dream may be shattered as she is now pregnant. Ashley’s family expects her to assist siblings with…
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s disease burden continues to get heavier as cases of chronic illnesses and stress-related conditions rise. The country has approximately 1,3 million people living with HIV while an estimated 1,3 million people suffer some degree of mental disorder — a development Health minister David Parirenyatwa says has to do with social pressures. Although…
HARARE – At the back of President Robert Mugabe’s recent and historic visit to South Africa (SA) — premised on cementing trade and other bilateral relations — Zimbabweans were starkly reminded about the shameful state of their infrastructure, especially related to the development of border points such as Beitbridge. From a “speculative line” on private…
HARARE – Thirty five years ago, Zimbabwe’s biggest integrated steelmaker, Ziscosteel, was the pride of the nation, a source of livelihood for a population of over 100 000 people in Redcliff. It used to employ over 6 000 workers. But today, it is a pale shadow of its former self, with the plant mothballed since…
