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Former Education Minister David Coltart says sanctions on Zimbabwe, which have been on for nearly two decades, have long exceeded their sell-by date and are now benefitting the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front. He told [...]

LONDON (AP) — Soaked by the rain swirling around Arsenal’s stadium, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watched helplessly as his dream Premier League start as Manchester United manager was brought to a halt on Sunday. After 12 [...]

Source: ED pleads for sanctions removal | Daily News

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has pleaded with the United States of America (USA) to remove sanctions arguing that they were not what the country fought for during the liberation struggle.

He was speaking at the burial of the late army brigadier-general Emilio Munemo who died on Sunday from a short illness and was declared a national hero. Munemo is revered as one of the founders of the Chitepo School of Ideology.

Mnangagwa’s sanctions plea comes as the USA extended sanctions on the country last week for another year.

“I am aware that as I make this exhortation, the American government has renewed sanctions against us. We call for the unconditional removal of the illegal, spiteful and completely unjustified sanctions on our country which continue to violate the basic human rights of our people.

“We fought for peace, we believe in peace and we do not pose any type of threat to any country in the world,” Mnangagwa said.

Mnangagwa and his senior government colleagues were recently given a stay of execution by the European Union (EU), which last month decided against hitting the country’s under-pressure ‘‘new dispensation’’ with fresh sanctions.

This comes as Trump had last year raised hopes that his government could finally end nearly two decades of frosty relations between the USA and Zimbabwe — after he sent a powerful delegation to Harare to engage with Mnangagwa, ahead of the country’s historic elections.

Meanwhile, the president described the late Munemo as a reservoir of knowledge on the ethos and ideology of the liberation struggle.

“…Munemo was a mobiliser and reservoir of knowledge on the ethos, history, norms and values of the liberation struggle. The late national hero served the country with loyalty and distinction,” he said.

The President challenged researchers to take a leaf from Munemo to be catalysts in instilling a new and patriotic mind-set in learners. “I challenge educators in the country to draw lessons from Cde Munemo and to inculcate a new mindset in our learners, a mind-set that is patriotic,” the President said.

The post ED pleads for sanctions removal appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

A 51-YEAR-OLD teacher who smashed a Grade One pupil against a desk, inflicting a deep cut on the girl’s forehead was last week sentenced to two years in prison by a Kwekwe magistrate. Mejulla Matina, a teacher at Amaveni Primary School in Kwekwe pleaded guilty to assault charges when she appeared yesterday before magistrate, Mr […]

Source: Food security remains key for any economy | Daily News

The reality of a drought this farming season is beginning to dawn on most people as crops they grew with positive expectations fail under their watch.

After the heavy downpours some time ago during which places like Buffalo Range in Chiredzi had a record 203mm pounding the arid cane-farming area of Masvingo Province, most regions have gone for weeks without rains, compromising the potential yield farmers expected to harvest.

However, what is perhaps disturbing is the lethargy by government in mobilising food aid for communities that have real prospects of a drought. Already, there are places where crops have experienced severe moisture stress.

Authorities actually got early warnings from specialised organs like Famine Early Warning Systems (Fewsnet) on the prospects of an El Nino-induced drought ravaging Zimbabwe and the sub-region but conveniently chose to ignore completely.

It is difficult to guarantee the security of a hungry nation and there are several examples that have been witnessed all over the African continent and beyond.

Government should have started planning for anticipated food shortages well on time and obviously this would have allowed Treasury some bit of elasticity in the mobilisation of resources for that purpose.

Rural subsistence farmers could be the hardest hit given that they grow crops for domestic consumption and if the year is good enough may only spare a little surplus to sell in order to raise money for their children’s school fees.

Some urban families have found farming helpful as

they complement meager earnings with the food they grow on little plots on the outskirts of the their areas of residences.

These little plots have wilting maize crops, clear evidence of severe moisture stress, meaning they may not harvest anything substantial from these plots.

Once this crop fails, it impacts negatively on the families concerned who have had to rely on such agricultural activities in these difficult economic times.

The bigger picture is that government then struggles in its obligation to ensure food security for its people, while at the same time being forced to redirect resources meant for developmental purposes for the sourcing of food.

Provinces like Matabeleland North had already written off some crops by mid-January, implying that authorities there, especially the provincial administration, were well aware of the situation on the ground and should have escalated the issue to central government.

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