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BULAWAYO – The stillness of the night in the high-density suburb of Nkulumane was shattered by a horrific act of domestic savagery that has left a family broken and a neighbourhood in deep mourning. In the early hours of 24 July, around 1:00 AM, what s…
BULAWAYO – The stillness of the night in the high-density suburb of Nkulumane was shattered by a horrific act of domestic savagery that has left a family broken and a neighbourhood in deep mourning. In the early hours of 24 July, around 1:00 AM, what should have been a place of sanctuary became a scene […]
The post Bulawayo man ruthlessly kills wife, leaves axe stuck in her head, then beats his kids to stage robbery scene first appeared on My Zimbabwe News.Source: Local authorities urged to remain fully operational – herald Remember Deketeke Municipal Correspondent Local authorities across the country have been ordered to remain fully operational and continue providing essential services today despite proposed shutdowns, demonstrations and marches. Those who fail to report for duty will face the full force of the law. Addressing a […]
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Source: Local authorities urged to remain fully operational – herald
Remember Deketeke
Municipal Correspondent
Local authorities across the country have been ordered to remain fully operational and continue providing essential services today despite proposed shutdowns, demonstrations and marches.
Those who fail to report for duty will face the full force of the law.
Addressing a Press conference in Harare yesterday, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said all urban and rural local authorities were expected to discharge their constitutional and statutory mandates without interruption today.
“The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works wishes to reassure the nation that all local authorities across the country are expected to continue discharging their constitutional and statutory mandates without interruption on Friday, 31 July 2026, and beyond,” he said.
Local authorities are responsible for a range of essential services, including water supply, refuse collection, public health, housing administration, road maintenance and sanitation.
Minister Garwe said the uninterrupted provision of these services was critical to the socio-economic well-being of communities.
“Accordingly, all mayors, chairpersons, councillors, town clerks, town secretaries, chief executive officers, management and employees of local authorities are directed to ensure that it is business as usual in every urban and rural local authority throughout the country on 31 July 2026,” he said.
Minister Garwe said local authorities should not participate in or facilitate activities that could disrupt normal socio-economic activities or the provision of public services.
“The Ministry unequivocally states that local authorities, being an integral part of Government, must not participate in, facilitate or support any proposed shutdowns, demonstrations or marches intended to disrupt normal socio-economic activities or the delivery of public services,” he said.
“All local authority officials and employees are expected to remain at their duty stations and continue serving the public in accordance with their legal and professional obligations.”
The Minister said members of the public should continue accessing council services as usual, as offices and departments would remain open.
“The public is assured that all local authority offices and departments will remain open and fully operational. Residents are therefore encouraged to continue accessing all public services as normal,” he said.
Minister Garwe also directed local authorities to work closely with law enforcement agencies and other Government institutions to maintain peace and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of essential services.
“The Ministry further calls upon all local authorities to work closely with law enforcement agencies and other Government institutions to maintain peace, uphold law and order, and ensure the uninterrupted provision of essential public services,” he said.
The directive comes as Government and various stakeholders continue to assure the nation that essential services and economic activities will proceed normally on 31 July.
Minister Garwe said the Government remained committed to ensuring that residents continued to receive critical municipal services without disruption.
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Source: Mthuli keeps 2026 budget intact citing economic stability, no supplementary funding required -Newsday Zimbabwe HARARE, Jul. 30 (NewsDay Live) – Zimbabwe will not introduce a supplementary budget this year after stronger-than-expected revenue collections and restrained government spending left Treasury with enough fiscal space to finance planned programmes through year-end, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said […]
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HARARE, Jul. 30 (NewsDay Live) – Zimbabwe will not introduce a supplementary budget this year after stronger-than-expected revenue collections and restrained government spending left Treasury with enough fiscal space to finance planned programmes through year-end, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said on Thursday.
Presenting the 2026 Mid-Term Budget and Economic Review in Parliament, Ncube said the economy remained on course despite global headwinds, maintaining the government’s full-year growth forecast of 5% while projecting continued low inflation and currency stability.
“The approved budget remains adequate to cover planned programmes and projects through to the year’s close, without the need for a Supplementary Budget,” Ncube said.
The announcement will reassure investors and businesses that Treasury intends to maintain fiscal discipline after years in which supplementary budgets fuelled concerns over public spending and inflation.
Government collected ZiG137.8 billion in revenue during the first six months of the year against expenditure of ZiG123.6 billion, generating savings that were channelled towards servicing public debt and clearing arrears owed to service providers. VAT remained the largest source of revenue, contributing 28.3% of collections, followed by personal income tax at 16.6% and corporate income tax at 13.8%.
Ncube said Zimbabwe’s economy continued to benefit from macroeconomic stability, with annual inflation averaging 4.2% during the first seven months of 2026 after slowing sharply from nearly 96% a year earlier. GDP growth is forecast at 5% this year following an 8.3% expansion in 2025, supported by strong mineral prices, improved agricultural output and reforms aimed at reducing the cost of doing business.
Mining and agriculture remain the principal drivers of growth.
Gold production is expected to rise to 55.6 tonnes this year from 50 tonnes in 2025, while lithium exports surged nearly 230% in the first half of the year to US$782.2 million. Manufacturing capacity utilisation is also projected to improve to 63.5% this year, supported by investment and funding under the Industrial Development Fund.
Zimbabwe’s external position also strengthened during the review period.
Foreign currency receipts jumped 47.8% to US$10.7 billion in the first half, while the current account swung to a US$616.3 million surplus from a deficit a year earlier. Merchandise exports rose 41.6%, helping usable foreign exchange reserves increase to US$1.6 billion by the end of June.
Treasury acknowledged, however, that geopolitical tensions continued to pose risks. Ncube said the conflict in the Middle East reduced fuel tax collections, costing government more than US$74 million in lost revenue, while preparations were already under way for a possible El Niño-induced drought during the 2026/27 agricultural season.
To sustain infrastructure investment without putting further pressure on the fiscus, government plans to establish an Infrastructure Development Fund that will leverage financing from domestic and international lenders.
As part of that initiative, Treasury has arranged a US$400 million facility with local financial institutions to complete the remaining section of the Harare-Beitbridge Highway and finance upgrades to the Harare-Chirundu and Bulawayo-Victoria Falls roads. Government has already secured the first US$100 million, with repayments to be ring-fenced from ZINARA revenues.
Despite the positive outlook, public debt remained elevated.
Zimbabwe’s public and publicly guaranteed debt stood at ZiG580.9 billion, equivalent to US$21.7 billion, at the end of June, while government continued servicing legacy obligations under its debt resolution strategy. Ncube said Zimbabwe had met all but one of the quantitative targets under its IMF Staff Monitored Programme, a key step towards restoring access to concessional international financing.
The minister said government would maintain its tight fiscal stance during the second half of the year while expanding social protection and protecting macroeconomic stability as it pursues its Vision 2030 economic agenda.
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Source: How exactly do Zimbabweans expect a head of state to behave? Zimbabwe can be a strange place. When a national daily newspaper turns the simple, mechanical act of a man bending down to retrieve a fallen piece of cloth into a front-page testament to statecraft, it reveals a profound rot in our national psyche. […]
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Source: How exactly do Zimbabweans expect a head of state to behave?
When a national daily newspaper turns the simple, mechanical act of a man bending down to retrieve a fallen piece of cloth into a front-page testament to statecraft, it reveals a profound rot in our national psyche.
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The Herald recently published a photograph of President Emmerson Mnangagwa picking up a soldier’s dropped headdress during a guard of honour inspection, plastering it with the grand label: “SERVANT Leadership.”
Pause and consider the sheer absurdity of that moment.
A human being saw an object fall, reached down, and handed it back.
In any functional household, workplace, or street corner, this is not an act of heroism.
It is not even an act of extraordinary kindness.
It is the basic, automatic reflex of a person existing in proximity to another.
Yet, in Zimbabwe, this mundane gesture is packaged by state media, applauded by sycophants, and held up to the public as a magnificent exhibition of presidential grace.
How exactly do Zimbabweans expect a head of state to behave?
This is not the first time we have been asked to drop to our knees in awe over the absolute minimum standards of human decency.
We are routinely expected to swoon when the president sits on the bare ground during Marange Apostolic sect gatherings, as though sitting on grass requires a heroic suspension of his divine nature.
We are supposed to marvel when he sits in Parliament to observe a debate.
We are instructed to applaud when he stands in a queue to cast a vote in his home constituency, as if the ballot paper ought to have been delivered to his bedside on a silver platter.
The fact that these ordinary actions spark front-page headlines and breathless commentary is not proof of a humble leadership.
It is damning evidence of how deeply we have normalized political arrogance.
When basic decency becomes news, it means our default expectation of power is imperial detachment.
We have been so thoroughly conditioned by decades of autocratic posturing, motorcades that clear entire highways, and leaders who rule like monarchical deities that we view the slightest hint of normal human behavior as an act of condescending charity.
We treat the president like a sun god who has momentarily agreed to step out from behind the clouds to touch the dirt, and we congratulate ourselves for being allowed to witness it.
In a healthy constitutional democracy, public office is a contract of service, not an elevation to royalty.
A head of state is a public servant paid by taxpayer funds to manage state resources, safeguard the constitution, and uphold the rule of law.
Picking up a hat, standing in line, or sitting on the floor are not markers of greatness; they are the baseline standards of living in a shared society.
Why do we continue to fall for this theater?
Because political machinery thrives on performance over substance.
It is vastly easier for a state apparatus to capitalize on a photograph of a president retrieving a hat than it is to build functional hospitals, stabilize the economy, or ensure that the soldier whose hat fell earns a living wage.
Performance costs nothing.
It demands no policy overhauls, no accountability, and no sacrifice.
It asks only that the public remain naive enough to mistake cheap symbolism for genuine governance.
The tragic reality is that our collective amazement exposes our own broken relationship with authority.
By celebrating the bare minimum, we lower the bar for what leadership actually owes us.
We accept symbolic gestures of humility in place of structural integrity.
We clap for a leader who picks up a hat while ignoring the fact that the system over which he presides regularly drops the ball on human rights, economic stability, and constitutionalism.
It is time to end this enchantment with the mundane.
We must stop treating ordinary human manners as revolutionary acts of benevolence.
A president who picks up a hat has done nothing more than show he has functioning limbs and basic spatial awareness.
Until we start demanding that our leaders demonstrate humility through accountability, transparency, and respect for the citizenry—rather than through calculated photo opportunities—nothing will change.
We will remain trapped in a culture that worships the ruler rather than holding the servant to account.
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Source: Municipal police to be retrained following new Bill -Newsday Zimbabwe Harare mayor Jacob Mafume has announced plans to retrain municipal police officers after the force was granted direct powers to arrest, investigate and prosecute offenders under the newly approved principles of the Municipal and Courts Bill. The proposed legislation will enable local authorities to […]
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Source: Municipal police to be retrained following new Bill -Newsday Zimbabwe
Harare mayor Jacob Mafume has announced plans to retrain municipal police officers after the force was granted direct powers to arrest, investigate and prosecute offenders under the newly approved principles of the Municipal and Courts Bill.
The proposed legislation will enable local authorities to handle minor offences, traffic violations and by-law breaches independently.
In an interview with NewsDay, Mafume said the city would identify “bad apples” within the municipal police ranks as part of efforts to rebuild public trust.
“It’s a welcome development that there is a bill on municipal police to have arresting powers and courts. We applaud the government for that,” Mafume said.
“But there are qualms around the behaviour of certain municipal police officers. We have some bad apples and we are going to identify them and retrain the police officers.”
The mayor expressed confidence in the leadership of the municipal police, highlighting that the unit is headed by former assistant commissioner Obey Law Moyo, a former deputy director of the Zimbabwe Republic Police Investigation Department’s Commercial Crimes Unit.
Mafume also praised the calibre of senior officials, including senior legal officer and acting chamber secretary Ernest Mushava and acting town clerk Warren Sean Chiwawa.
“There is a trust deficit among the citizens, and we are trying to rebuild that at all cost,” Mafume said.
“You know Harare City Council is a city of three million people, and you cannot police by persuasion and by morale issues alone. We have a lot of issues to deal with, such as by-laws.”
Mafume warned officers against harassing residents, adding: “If you detain someone illegally, you can be sued.”
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