HARARE – You could almost hear the tills in foreign bank accounts going ‘ka-ching, ka-ching’ when the news came out that 81 people were likely to be removed from the EU sanctions list. In between the sound of rustling British Pounds and the hasty booking of airline tickets, was that also the sound of diamonds…
HARARE – Zambia’s worry over a possible violent poll in Zimbabwe ahead of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) event it is co-hosting with Harare is of great concern to the local tourism sector. Zambia and Zimbabwe will co-host the 20th UNWTO General Assembly from August 24 to 29, 2013 in Victoria Falls and…
HARARE – President Robert Mugabe took his family to the inauguration of Pope Francis at the Vatican recently. Mugabe has often been described as a “devout” Catholic. One would assume he met the costs of his trip. Even when invited, still one cannot justify a taxpayer-funded visit to such occasions. Zimbabwe is a secular State….
HARARE – The referendum has come and gone and if we are to believe the pronouncements, it was approved “by an overwhelming majority”. They were not a majority, let alone overwhelming. But where was everybody? Surely, a quarter of the population cannot make such gestures of electoral permanency on behalf of the majority and the…
HARARE – The administration, environment and outcome of the constitutional referendum on the draft constitution held on March 16 were quite interesting in a number of ways. A critical analysis of the results is especially interesting as Zimbabwe prepares for a general election to be held sometime this year. Firstly, my observation is that the…
HARARE – The image projected by western-funded civic society organisations of Mbada Diamonds to the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) and the entire world diamond industry, through a heavily-resourced and coordinated sting operation, makes Italy’s Mafia look like boy scouts. The success recorded to date that sees Mbada Diamonds and other diamond mining entities in…
HARARE – The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) never ceases to amaze. Only that many times the shenanigans on this so-called national police force are not jokes but a serious violation of citizen rights. This week the ZRP was involved in another drama, refusing to respect a High Court order for the release of lawyer…
HARARE – Yesterday, police arrested two caretakers at the Prime Minister’s communications office at Bath Road, Spiwe Vera and Elizabeth Banda. Police detectives picked up the two at the Avondale office, where four other aides to Tsvangirai were arrested on Sunday and charged on Tuesday with breaching the official secrets act, impersonating the police and…
HARARE – The popular new head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, inaugurated his papacy on Tuesday with a rousing address calling for the defence of the weakest in society, saying that the alternative path was one of death and destruction. Addressing an estimated 200 000 people and many foreign leaders gathered under bright…
HARARE – News that diamonds were discovered in Bikita, an area which is fast turning barren and desolate drifted in and out of my mind for the past week. Most people from that area are still gripped by anxiety as to what the discovery will mean for them. Most people are just pinning their hopes…
