HARARE – Because there is no minimum threshold, we now have a staggering 78 political parties registered to contest the 2018 general elections. Yes, seventy-eight! As small parties multiply, the large ones are rocked by shocking elite fractures, pointedly the largest political grouping in Zimbabwe, the MDC led by the ailing former prime minister Morgan…
HARARE – During the inclusive government between long-time rivals — deposed president Robert Mugabe and opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai — a statement which goes; “We eat what we kill” became very common. The phrase, commonly used by then Finance minister Tendai Biti, simply meant living within the budget. At the time, the “living within…
EDITOR — The Election Resource Centre (ERC), Heal Zimbabwe Trust (HZT), Women Institute in Leadership Development (WILD), National Youth for Development Trust (NYDT) and Christian Alliance note the significant increase in voter registration figures over the last three weeks. The overwhelming response to the voter registration mop up exercise, which has seen over 260 000…
HARARE – The trial of former Harare town clerk Tendai Mahachi has kicked off in the High Court. Mahachi, along with other top council officials, are facing charges of awarding tenders to companies that did not participate in the bidding process. During his time at Town House, councillors were up in arms with Mahachi whom…
HARARE – There are 75 political parties registered to contest in the looming elections in Zimbabwe — up from 35 that existed prior to 2017. The so-called big league has the MDC Alliance‚ made up of seven political parties whose leaders Morgan Tsvangirai‚ Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube were part of the original MDC that…
HARARE – When it comes to winning back lost investor confidence and trust, it seems deposed president Robert Mugabe’s successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has a long way to go. Fed up of policy inconsistencies and lack of respect for property rights during the greater part of Mugabe’s 37-year rule, most investors withdrew from Zimbabwe, with many…
HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa needs to act decisively on acts of violence by party thugs who appear hell-bent on continuing with their barbaric acts in the post-Robert Mugabe era. It is a long known fact that violence is heavily-rooted in Zanu PF and that whenever the party feels threatened — physically or otherwise, it…
HARARE – The appointment of Justice Priscilla Chigumba as head of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has been met with mixed feelings. Pessimists are frightened by her appointment. They are arguing that none of her predecessors was independent from the appointing authority, thus the new Zec chair is a chip off the old block incapable…
HARARE – Elections can sow the seeds of good governance when adequately managed. But most of the times here in Zimbabwe, elections trigger widespread political violence because they exacerbate tensions in this fragile, conflict-prone, and oppressive society. National People’s Party (NPP) president Joice Mujuru hit the campaign trail last week, fronting the People’s Rainbow Coalition…
HARARE – The reported temporary complete shutdown of Morton Jaffray Water Works — Harare and its neighbouring towns’ source of water — does not auger well for residents given the cholera and typhoid cases that have claimed a number of lives in recent days. Harare also supplies water to Chitungwiza, Norton and Ruwa implying that…
