Zimbabwe Minister of Education David Coltart is unequivocally on a mission. And his mission is particularly unique here in Zim – it is supported on both (if not more) sides of the proverbial aisle. It is common knowledge that education is a pillar of infrastructural stability, allowing a nation and its respective citizenry to develop [...]
Blackrock, the world’s largest money manager, today warned that “resource nationalism” was a growing trend, on the rise globally. Their investment chief for natural resources, Evy Hambro, particularly singled out the regimes of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe and Hugo Chavez in Venezuela as extreme examples of government intervention, ultimately hinderances to foreign investment. “We’re seeing a [...]
Sir Richard Branson recently denied a report in a leaked US embassy cable that he bankrolled a diplomatic effort to sweeten the exit of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, writes Alex Duval Smith in the Independent. A confidential memo released by Wikileaks says that in July 2007, Branson was due to hold a secret meeting with South [...]
Zimbabwe again hinted it might show flexibility in its stance towards foreign mining companies, with a government official saying a law forcing them to surrender 51 percent stakes to local people was “an aspiration“, not a hard target. Reuters reports the rather groundbreaking remarks took place at a mining conference today by Prince Mupazviriho, the [...]
Zimbabwe, threatening to withdraw the mining license of its largest platinum company, Zimplats, may produce less of the metal next year, preventing a global surplus, Standard Bank Plc said. “Lost supply from Zimplats could be the difference between a platinum market remaining in a deficit next year and a possible surplus,” Walter de Wet, head [...]
The full summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Sandton last weekend was a setback for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party. They had lobbied hard for the summit to rescind a highly critical report of the SADC’s security organ troika in Livingstone, Zambia on March 31. The Livingstone communiqué, squarely [...]
Zimbabwean journalists marking World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday in Harare told Information Minister Webster Shamu the country must open up its airwaves and repeal repressive laws under which Zimbabwe remains a difficult working environment. VOA reports that journalists attending the event organized by the new Zimbabwe Media Commission said that while there has been some [...]
We as an international community have a duty in newfound opportunity: we must pay close attention to the booms in present-day Zimbabwe in order for them to respectively blossom in to sustainable pillars of development. We must also accept and address certain realities hindering our ‘getting on-board’. The Zimbabwean mining sector is expected to grow [...]
In a bold yet controversial move, Kimberley Process Chairman Mathieu Yamba of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has authorized Zimbabwe to resume exports of its rough diamonds, including back stock, IDEX Online reports. In a recent letter to Kimberley Process members, Yamba said that all unresolved issues surrounding Zimbabwe’s diamonds (which unfortunately are many) [...]
Amnesty International and a conglomeration of human rights activists have stated that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union have betrayed the people of Zimbabwe by ignoring human rights abuses by President Robert Mugabe’s supporters while paying lip service to implementation of political reforms. Amnesty International Africa director Erwin van der Borght [...]
