A long-expected overhaul of the
The first stage of the system becomes operational on Friday - and will apply fully by the end of the summer.
Ministers say the changes are the biggest for a generation - and will allow the
But the Conservatives say they want an annual cap on the numbers allowed in.
Simba Makoni is due to start his election campaign in Zimbabwe’s crucial rural areas this week and will address his first-ever political rally as presidential hopeful on Saturday. Peta Thornycroft reports that Makoni appears absolutely certain he will win, but says he is up against two powerful contenders, President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Zimbabwean presidential candidate Simba Makoni says he is overwhelmed with support from the ruling Zanu PF, and the MDC parties as well as from people who were not politically aligned.
He said he has no doubt he will win the March 29 election with at least 70 percent of the vote.
Share ThisChild rape has increased 42 percent in Zimbabwe, the U.N. children’s agency said Wednesday, linking worsening child abuse to family tensions caused by the nation’s economic meltdown.The U.N. Children’s Fund launched a new campaign calling on children, relatives, and church and other groups to fight what it called the “staggering statistics on the unspeakable evils of child abuse.”
UNICEF said the number of cases of rape of minors reported to police surged from 2,192 in 2003 to 3,112 in 2006. Many other cases likely went unreported in a climate of secrecy and denial, it said.
Share ThisThe head of Zimbabwe’s prison service has ordered his officers to vote for President Robert Mugabe and said he would resign if the opposition won next month’s election, official media reported on Friday.The southern African country holds joint presidential, parliamentary and council elections on March 29 in which Mugabe faces former ally Simba Makoni and long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Retired Major General Paradzayi Zimondi, who now heads the prison service, which is part of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, said he would retire to his farm if Tsvangirai or Makoni were elected to lead the country.
Share ThisZimbabwe votes in a month’s time, yet there is little evidence on the ground that the country is about to hold one of its most crucial elections since independence from Britain in 1980.
For the first time, Zimbabweans will elect their local councillor, parliamentary representative, senator and president in one poll on 29 March. But there are hardly any signs of the usually frantic campaigning ahead of any election: no posters, no door-to-door canvassing. So far the political parties have put on a lack-lustre show. Useni Sibanda, the national coordinator of Christian Alliance, an organisation of church leaders advocating for the return of democracy, told IRIN: “We have structures throughout the country, including rural areas, and our members say there is nothing to indicate that we are almost 30 days away from the elections.” As a result, few people were aware that elections were taking place. “Many say they have not received any voter education from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC].”
Share ThisThree foreign nationals were beaten up on Wednesday in an ongoing conflict between residents of the Itireleng informal settlement, just outside Laudium, and foreigners living in the area, said Pretoria police.Captain Thomas Mufamadi said the three were beaten up by residents after residents accused them of committing crimes in the area. He said others had only suffered minor injuries.
“At the moment the situation is tense because residents are accusing all foreign nationals in the area of committing crimes. Many of the foreigners have moved up the mountain in the area in efforts to get away from the residents,” said Mufamadi.
Share ThisThe supermarket shelves are empty, inflation has topped 67,000 per cent and power cuts are a daily event – but Zimbabwe is about to have a party.
Robert Mugabe turns 84 tomorrow and no amount of suffering is going to stop him spending a small fortune in precious currency on a lavish celebration.
Marking the President’s birth has become synonymous with extravagance in the impoverished southern African country – and the ruling party’s aggressive “21st February Movement” makes sure everyone joins in.
Share ThisZimbabwean journalist TONY NAMATE describes life under the world’s highest inflation rate in Zimbabwe.
Share ThisAn asset management company with offices in Harare reckons that European investors remain interested in Zimbabwe as an investment destination because of the promise of a relatively rapid turnaround in the economy once the politics return to normal.
John Legat, the Harare-based chief executive of Imara Asset Management, part of the Botswana-registered Imara financial services group, reported on positive feedback from presentations in investment conferences in London and Munich.
Legat said that there was a good deal of discussion about the Imara theory that parallels existed between Brazil in the 1980s and Zimbabwe today.
Share ThisA fourth presidential candidate last week filed his nomination papers to contest next month’s elections. The Zimbabwe Election Commission presiding officer Ignatius Mushangwe confirmed that Mr. Langton Toungana had successfully lodged his papers.
No one seem to know who Toungana is or which party he represents. So far he has not held a press conference or presented his election manifesto. But some analysts believe his entry into mainstream politics is a CIO plot, aimed at trying to dilute the opposition vote.
Simon Muchemwa, our Harare correspondent, said Toungana’s registration to stand as an independent could have been a last minute scheme by the CIO to try and confuse the electorate, after Makoni entered the presidential race.
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