Emmerson Mnangagwa - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Hunger grips southern Africa as Zimbabwe declares drought a disaster

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa declared Zimbabwe's drought a national disaster and said the country needed more than $2 billion in aid to feed millions facing hunger. Mnangagwa's statement follows similar announcements by Zambia in late February and Malawi in March, as drought induced by the El Nino global weather pattern triggers a humanitarian crisis in southern Africa.d More than 2.7 million people in Zimbabwe will go hungry this year, Mnangagwa told journalists at the state house in Harare, adding that 80% of the country had received poor rains. "Preliminary assessments show that Zimbabwe requires in excess of $2 billion towards various…

Feb

2024

By NYASHA CHINGONO

Zimbabwe to link exchange rate to hard assets, create currency board

BUSINESS

ZIMBABWE is working on new measures to stabilise its local currency including linking the exchange rate to hard assets such as gold and creating a currency board, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said. The Zimbabwean dollar has fallen about 40% since the start of the year, hurt by increased foreign-currency demand from civil servants being paid December bonuses and weaker commodity prices denting inflows. Last week President Emmerson Mnangagwa said authorities were looking to introduce a "structured currency", without explaining how that would work, and the central bank governor said that work was ongoing. "The idea going forward is to make sure that…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe cabinet scraps colonial-era death penalty law

NEWS

ZIMBABWE'S cabinet agreed to abolish the death penalty following months of debate in parliament, choosing instead to impose lengthy prison sentences for the worst offences. The cabinet passed a private member's bill introduced last year in the National Assembly to abolish the death penalty inherited from British colonial rule. "In view of the need to retain the deterrent element in sentencing murderers, it is expected that the new law will impose lengthy sentences without violating the right to life," the cabinet said in a statement. "The existence of aggravating circumstances may attract life sentences." Zimbabwe carried out its last execution…

Oct

2023

By BERTIE JACOBS

Nepotism is stealing Africa’s future

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Nepotism is not limited to isolated cases in Africa, but a trend throughout the continent. Allowing nepotism practices through family, friends and those least qualified to occupy leadership positions is tantamount to stealing Africa’s future from its young generation. The liberation movement of the 1960s has not succeeded in addressing nepotism successfully as we see today that the post-colonial project has failed to resolve many socio-economic issues. ZIMBABWEAN President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently raised a number of eyebrows – and elicited no shortage of criticism – when he appointed his son, David Mnangagwa, as Deputy Finance Minister. What further irked opposition…

Jul

2023

By NYASHA CHINGONO

Boxing legend Mayweather attends political rally in Zimbabwe

NEWS

FORMER world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather attended a political campaign event in Zimbabwe, part of the ruling party's attempts to woo youth voters ahead of a general election next month. Mayweather was welcomed with song and dance by ZANU PF party supporters in Mabvuku, one of Zimbabwe's oldest townships, on the outskirts of the capital Harare. One of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's closest allies, gold magnate Scott Sakupwanya, who is looking to reclaim a parliamentary seat from the opposition, said he had invited Mayweather. "People thought I was lying when I said I would bring Mayweather, but he is here. This…

Jul

2023

By TAKUDZWA CHANGADEYA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Dream or reality: Zimbabwe’s 12 billion dollar-a-year mining target

NEWS

ON July 5 2023, a Chinese mining company officially opened a lithium processing plant worth US$300 million in Zimbabwe. The Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt plant is located in Goromonzi, about 80km southeast of Harare. Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who officiated at the commissioning, told those gathered for the event that the investment would help the country's mining industry grow its value to US$12 billion by the end of 2023 and contribute to achieving the country's Vision 2030 to elevate Zimbabwe to an upper middle-income economy. "This investment will undoubtedly contribute to the mining sector targets set out in the national development…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe president pledges economic revival as election campaign kicks off

NEWS

NYASHA CHINGONO ZIMBABWEAN President Emmerson Mnangagwa vowed to do "what we can to remain in power", promising to revive an economy that has collapsed under his watch as he launched his bid for a second five-year term. Zimbabwe will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on August 23 which are expected to pit Mnangagwa, 80, of the ZANU-PF party against pastor and lawyer Nelson Chamisa, 45, of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). The election comes amid a raging economic crisis, with high inflation and a currency that plunged more than 50% this month against the U.S. dollar. In remarks aimed mostly at…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe’s ‘Patriotic Bill’ outlaws criticism of government before election

NEWS

ZIMBABWE'S parliament has outlawed criticism of the government ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections in August, with violations of a new law punishable by up to 20 years in jail. The Criminal Law Code Amendment Bill, widely known as the "Patriotic Bill", contains a clause that criminalises "wilfully damaging the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe". Opposition activists said the law, passed late on Wednesday, was designed to punish citizens, civil society organisations and political adversaries of the ruling ZANU-PF party. It has raised fears that the government could launch a crackdown on dissent ahead of the general election on August 23,…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe to hold general election on Aug. 23

NEWS

ZIMBABWE will hold its presidential and parliamentary elections on August 23, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said, as the southern African country continues to battle a raging economic crisis. Mnangagwa, elected president in 2018, will be seeking a second term in office. His election followed a military coup that deposed Robert Mugabe in 2017. The 80-year-old's main rival is lawyer and pastor Nelson Chamisa, 45, who leads the newly formed Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). The election proclamation comes amid parliamentary debates over electoral reforms. Chamisa's party is demanding access to and an audit of the voters' roll, as well as public…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe health workers could face jail for striking under new law

NEWS

ZIMBABWE signed a bill into law that outlawed organised protests by healthcare workers who could now face a fine or imprisonment of up to six months. The signing by President Emmerson Mnangagwa comes after health workers were locked in a protracted fight with the government over poor salaries last year. Thousands of nurses and doctors at state-run hospitals in the southern African country went on strike last year demanding a hefty raise and wages in U.S. dollars due to a slide in the local currency and steep inflation that eroded the value of their earnings. An exodus of doctors and nurses has…