Zimbabwe's annual headline inflation still compared favourably with economies in the region, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said on Tuesday, adding that the projected stabilisation of international oil prices this year might also help in lessening price pressures. - But Gono expressed worries over the state of the balance of payments, saying it remained “precariously difficult” at a time when growth in manufactured exports was slow while the country had insufficient foreign currency reserves at its disposal to finance the current account deficit. He said consumer prices remained low and stable in much of last year and at a rate below 5 percent, within the g…

The Zimbabwe economy grew an average 9.3 last year as it continued to bounce back after a decade of economic decline, and will expand further in 2012 on the back of increased output in mines and farms if the political climate remains stable, treasury estimates predict. - Political instability had seen real gross domestic product (GDP) fall by an excess 40 percent, while hyperinflation ground business to a screeching halt and put millions of Zimbabweans out of employment. The establishment of a government of national Unity (GNU) in February 2009 and the adoption of a multi-currency regime brought about economic recovery and price stability, and strong recovery will continue this year, with…

- JUSTICE ZHOU Euromoney Conferences will hold its second annual investment conference in the capital Harare to highlight Zimbabwe’s attraction as a destination for investors, it has emerged. Slated for 21 and 22 March 2012, the second Euromoney Zimbabwe Investment Conference will provide a platform for government and private sector organisations to promote investment opportunities and commerce. The organisers have lined up policymakers, businessmen, financiers and other key overseas speakers for the forum. “We will look into different sectors with potential for investment and showcase the opportunities available. This is the must attend event if you are investing or…

- By Justice Zhou Harare An official of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s beleaguered Zanu (PF) has revealed his party was nervous that allegations of politically motivated violence against it might be taken up for discussion at the United Nations Security Council. Speaking at the weekend after the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Troika Summit in Livingstone, Zambia, minister of justice and Mugabe loyalist, Patrick Chinamasa, accused Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party of “lying through their teeth” about the political situation in Zimbabwe. "The purpose is to first delay the elections, which is understandable, but more devilis…

A flurry of concerns has erupted within sections of civic society and other observers over the possibility of Zimbabwe holding its general elections when the life span of the volatile transitional government expires next year. These concerns stem from the likely risk of the voting being done under a less than ideal electoral climate. - Reports of turmoil surrounding the drafting of a new constitution, and the messy state of the voters’ roll are cause for numerous such worries. How much longer should a wretched and disenfranchised Zimbabwean populace wait? Is the Southern African nation on the threshold of installing its rather elusive new democracy this time around? A Zimbabwean civ…

- BY Justice Zhou Johannesburg The African Diaspora Forum will next month launch Africa Week to commemorate the2008 xenophobic attacks in South Africa , in which 62 people were killed. This comes in the wake of renewed attacks on about 2 700 Zimbabwe migrant farm workers and asylum seekers at De Doorns near Cape Town in February, as local residents blamed them of “stealing jobs”, and tore down their shack dwellings, forcing them to flee to safety camps. “The Africa Week will be an opportunity for individuals and organisations to arrange and engage in activities which will highlight the challenges of xenophobia as well as promote and celebrate diversity, tolerance…

- BY JUSTICE ZHOU Embattled power utility ZESA’s tariff hikes are unhelpful and Zimbabwe faced chronic power shortages unless the country strived for an improved credit rating to attract major financial lenders, an energy expert Luka Moyo has warned. Consumers decried the parastatal’s routine electricity blackouts of up to 15 hours a day, along with tariffs that were not worth the service. Analysts have also cast aspersions on its management for the poor service at a time industry was operating way below maximum usage. “Such a tariff regime was ill-thought out because it does not match the prevailing economic situation. What ZESA has done is to ignorantly pass on its…

- BY JUSTICE ZHOU The MDC have no responsibility or control over external private radio stations, a spokesperson for the London-based SW Radio Africa Gerry Jackson said last Wednesday. She was commenting to a simmering argument in recent weeks by Zanu (PF) officials that the two MDC formations had done nothing to fulfill some key elements of the Global Political Agreement. They said these include ending the activities of what they refer to as “Pirate Radio” stations, adding speed to the accord’s increasingly emerging fault lines. “SW Radio Africa and VOA broadcast legally and they do not require the permission of the MDC. It has nothing to do with th…

- Harare - Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party cabinet ministers stormed out of a meeting on Sunday to appraise the work of Zimbabwe’s government since its formation, in protest over remarks Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara made that last year’s elections were rigged. "We, members from the Zanu-PF side, walked out in protest at the reckless and irresponsible utterances by Professor Mutambara because they are intended at undermining the legitimacy of a party in the inclusive government," Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said. Chinamasa said Mutambara’s comments had angered the angered the Zanu-PF camp, prompting them to abort the retreat held in the ho…

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe on Monday met South African President Jacob Zuma to discuss escalating tensions that threaten to wreck Zimbabwe's inclusive government. They held discussions at Chief Albert Luthuli House, the ANC party headquarters, in central Johannesburg. - Zuma assured support of the MDC grievances. He undertook to help address the latest stalemate concerning implementation of outstanding issues in the six-months-old unity pact, pledging to express his worries with SADC and his Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe pertaining to his intransigence. "The prime minister is here to talk about what progress has been made in Zimbabwe and what issues are …

Medical humanitarian assistance group Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) is expanding its operations in Zimbabwe to help improve the country's collapsed health delivery system. The non-governmental organisation also known as Doctors Without Borders, has launched a massive recruitment drive to lure back health professionals. - "We have continued to advertise vacant posts for medical doctors especially in Southern Africa and other countries. At present there is a critical shortage of skilled personnel and that is affecting our operations severely," said an MSF official in Johannesburg. MSF has since 2007 been offering basic primary health care and emergency medical treatment to vi…

- Independent media groups in Zimbabwe have welcomed the lifting of a 40 percent import duty on foreign newspapers distributed in the country. Finance Minister Tendai Biti announced the removal of the tax on 16 July 2009 while presenting his Mid-term revised budget to Parliament. The duty which was imposed in June this year had inflicted a huge import tax burden to newspapers such as The Zimbabwean and The Zimbabwean on Sunday published simultaneously in Johannesburg and London by exiled Zimbabwean publisher Wilf Mbanga. Biti said the levy was equivalent to breaching the people’s right to information. Its removal iimediately brought some relief within the country’s independ…

In a new campaign to clear the country's image and woo investment, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will deliver a keynote address at a business initiative forum gala dinner to be held on 31 July 2009 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. - Tsvangirai is expected to brief delegates on the conditions and merits of investing in a new Zimbabwe at the banquet organized by Mlilo Projects Building and Civil Engineers. The indaba will focus primarily on matters to do with the business climate, investment opportunities, and property protection rights. Zimbabwe’s image as a safe investment destination had been dented by years of dictatorial laws…

Progressive forces within Zimbabwe's volatile coalition government have vowed to press ahead with efforts to bring about a new democratic constitution for the country despite threats by hardcore politically-motivated elements to derail the process. - An All-Stakeholders Conference to discuss the constitutional –making process was last Monday disrupted after a group of Zanu-PF extremists stormed the Harare International Conference Centre, the conference venue, demanding the removal of Western-imposed sanctions before their party could seriously partake in the process. Riot police had to intervene to quell the flaring tempers as delegates from the rival MDC and Zanu-PF parties w…

Humanitarian organizations have stepped forward with aid to help save alarming conditions at Zimbabwe's 55 prisons that have been reported to be death traps. - The International Red Cross Society along with other human rights groups have in recent months committed assistance to cover food, medical care and other basic facilities to rescue prisoners who faced death as prison authorities had run out of funds to meet the running costs. Administration at Zimbabwe's prisons had been undercut by years of political and economic turmoil before a coalition government was formed a few months back following a disputed election in March 2008, but rights groups hope their direct initiatives …

Thousands of Zimbabweans have in recent days been braving cold and rainy weather conditions to apply for passports at the Zimbabwe Consulate in Johannesburg. Home Affairs officials from Zimbabwe have resorted to processing Emergency Travel Document (ETD) from an open basement outside the embassy building. - The move is to deal with the overwhelming applicants as the office at number 20 Anderson Street in Marshalltown is too small. “I came here early in the morning and I have submitted my application .It’s very chilly out here but I would rather wait here and get my papers sorted than risk being bothered by police,” said Sakhile Ndlovu. AfricaNews reporter said condi…

- JUSTICE ZHOU, JOHANNESBURG – Zimbabweans living in Johannesburg have welcomed news of a power-sharing deal between sworn political rivals Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai albeit with skepticism. The Mbeki-brokered accord was perceived to be skating on thin ice recently due to Mugabe’s alleged disdain of its provisions, but many Zimbabweans believe that although not the “change” they prefer, the negotiated political settlement may be the path out of nearly a decade of political and economic decay. An estimated 3 million “human Tsunami”of Zimbabweans is believed to have fled poverty and political persecution into neighboring South Africa in re…

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has expressed outrage at the abuse of migrant Zimbabwean workers by Gavin Radcliffe who owns the Kingfisher, a boat that capsized and sank with 19 fishermen on board, killing 14 of the crewmen in the Indian Ocean last December. - The Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) which is affiliated to COSATU said the owner of the Kingfisher exploits desperate immigrants, offering inadequate training and subjecting them to poor working conditions. “Instead of meeting workers demands, vessels’ owners are employing poorly trained workers and skippers thereby risking their lives,” said FAWU spokesperson Katishi Masemola. He also dem…

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has urged the African Commission to dispatch a delegation to Zimbabwe to assess the country's ongoing human rights violations. It has also requested that the United Nations Human Rights Council take all necessary measures to get hold of the situation there. - In a statement released to the media, the SAHRC said life remains precarious for millions of Zimbabweans despite calls from various quarters for drastic steps to be taken to address the dire state of affairs. It cited the recent cholera outbreak which is weighing heavily on the “country and on SADC’s already over-burdened health care system” as clear proof that …

The Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CORMSA) has petitioned the South African Human Rights Commission to hold an inquiry into the May 2008 xenophobic violence which left 62 foreigners dead and thousands others displaced. CORMSA believes the carnage was politically aroused. - Duncan Breen, a spokesperson for the refugees and migrants watchdog, said local leaders were actively involved in fuelling the violence. "Therefore their involvement in strategies to address xenophobia is of grave concern. Unless these leaders are held accountable, they will continue to base their campaigns and positions on an agenda of hate and violence," he said. The reluctance by gove…

Disabled Zimbabwe immigrants escaping hardships in their country turn to face even more difficulties in South Africa. Not only do they struggle to put food on the table, handicapped refugees fail to access safe accommodation and health facilities too. Some sleep in the open on street pavements. - Others illegally occupy abandoned apartments, sharing the squalid buildings with potentially dangerous strangers. They risk evictions and live in constant fear of police and criminals. Since 2007, the number of blind beggars and amputees of Zimbabwean origin has been swelling significantly on the streets of Johannesburg. Their only meaningful alternative source of income is by soliciting aid from…

Truckloads of children of schooling age are being secretly smuggled each night through the porous borders to the crime hotbed city of Johannesburg. A syndicate of human traffickers is cashing in on Zimbabwean youths escaping hardship into neighboring South Africa lured with false lucrative job offers. - Once there, the refugees are held hostage, to their surprise, in isolated bungalows where money is extorted from them. At times hostages are ordered to surrender their belongings, raped or beaten up. The coyotes would then free boys whilst girls, some as young as 12 years of age are kept and traded to brothel magnates operating in the notorious central Johannesburg suburb of Hill brow. The…