HARARE – The move by the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) to licence local indigenous companies is more of a fundraising campaign than a genuine cause to help the struggling firms. NIEEB, which was created to implement government’s indigenisation programme that compels foreign owned companies to cede 51 percent shareholding to local people,…
HARARE – The mobile telephone revolution in Africa has indeed expanded the public sphere. As the country gears towards watershed elections this year, civic organisations linked to elections have began to use mobile phones to spread their gospel. I received a message from the Zimbabwe Election Support Network urging me to register as a voter…
HARARE – Has there ever been an economic tragedy simultaneously so profound and so disregarded as Zimbabwe? The situation is so much more tragic because it has raised so little attention in the capitals of the world. No outraged editorials in the New York Times; just vast, international indifference. Zimbabwe’s financial collapse resulted in an…
HARARE – Reports that police yesterday swooped on Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (Zimrights) offices and took in for questioning director, Okay Machisa should have sent shivers down the spines of those who have given their lives to seeing a democratic Zimbabwe. What really scares us is the realisation that this could be the beginning of…
HARARE – On December 14 last year, the minister of Environment teamed up with officials from parastatals in his ministry and political activists to clean the perennially dirty Mbare Musika terminus. There is no doubt that such a move was well-intended and meant to be beneficial to all residents and travellers who throng the popular…
HARARE – Elections the world over function on the basis of a larger portion of the population registering and participating as voters, making it mandatory for every loyal citizen to encourage undocumented people of suffrage to register for national polls. After the disputed elections in 2008, Zimbabweans are excited and sitting on edge about the…
HARARE – “Cost of living is so high, rich and poor they start to cry, now the weak must get strong, they say, ‘Oh ,what a tribulation!’ Them belly full, but we hungry; a hungry mob is an angry mob.” I have quoted some of the lyrics from Robert Nesta Marley’s hit song, Them belly…
HARARE – The talk outside churches was about how many 16-year-olds received a car and $150 for Christmas. The cars are second-hand cheap Japanese imports and the $150 is for buying a driving licence. Ever tried to get a driving licence without paying a bribe? Every step of the process from the learners’ licence to…
HARARE – Since 2009, Zimbabwe has been making half-hearted attempts at democratisation following a disputed election the previous year. The piecemeal reforms so far are attributable primarily to the dearth of political will and lack of financial resources. Of the political parties involved, Zanu PF in particular has demonstrated an aversion to democratic reform; it…
HARARE – A surprise confession was made recently by Julius Malema. The former ANC Youth League president said that he was now an ordinary person and would no longer be “selling policies that are not sellable”. In order to avoid any distortion, there is need to take a direct quote of what Malema said in…
