HARARE – Let us start at the beginning to drive this important point home: No sane Zimbabwean wants ousted former president Robert Mugabe back, or to see him influencing the country’s national politics in any way. This is why hundreds of thousands of people — of all political persuasions, colour and creed — willingly and…
HARARE – When Morgan Tsvangirai passed away on Valentine’s Day, the young nation came together to mourn its former Prime Minister. Tsvangirai received many eulogies from as far afield as Washington to Pretoria. In fact, after news of his death spread, there were dozens of mourning ceremonies. Even though government turned down requests for national…
HARARE – The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has said general elections should be held on any date between July 21 and August 21. Zec chairperson Priscilla Chigumba said under the constitution, the current president’s term of office expires on August 21, 2018 and according to Section 158 (1)(a) the next general elections should be held…
BULAWAYO – Home Affairs minister Obert Mpofu has said the new dispensation has zero tolerance for corruption, amid calls for him to quit over an allegation that he demanded a bribe of $10 million for a licence to mine in the verdant Chiadzwa diamond fields. The scandal threatens to weaken President Emmerson Mnangagwa politically who…
HARARE – Our staff writer Farayi Machamire sits down for a wide-ranging interview with European Union head of Delegation Philippe Van Damme. Find below, excerpts of the interview. Q: We have heard President Emmerson Mnangagwa stating that foreign observer missions would be welcome to monitor the polls, a change from the previsions regime that tended…
HARARE – Government donated $200 and a coffin to the families of victims whose lives were tragically ended by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) on Thursday night. Three unarmed civilians were fatally shot by police during a government-backed operation to remove commuter omnibuses and informal traders from the Central Business District. While the ban was reversed…
HARARE – Scandal-ridden Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec)’s reputation may have been irreparably damaged after the November 2017 Ordinary Level English Paper 2 exam materials were leaked in the latest example of how the cheating epidemic is roiling the country’s education system — educationists and academics have said. Zimsec announced last week that the overall…
LAGOS – Nigeria’s oil-rich Bayelsa state is threatening parents who do not make sure their children go to school with jail terms. The state signed the new law into the books amid concerns children were not attending class despite the fact that it spent 70bn naira ($200m; £140m) on new school buildings and equipment. “We…
AUCKLAND – A former regional newspaper editor, Michael McCormack, has been chosen as Australia’s new deputy prime minister. He replaces Barnaby Joyce as leader of the Nationals, the governing coalition’s junior partner. Mr Joyce resigned on Friday over his affair with a former staffer, after holding the post for two years. Mr McCormack, a relatively…
The International Committee of the Red Cross said 21 staff members have been dismissed or resigned for “paying for sexual services” since 2015. An additional two staff members suspected of sexual misconduct didn’t have their contracts renewed, Yves Daccord, the ICRC’s director-general, said in a statement Friday. “This behavior is a betrayal of the people…
