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Source: Politburo meets today – herald

Advocate Jacob Mudenda

Joseph Madzimure

Zimpapers Politics Hub

ZANU PF’s top leadership is set to convene a series of high-level meetings beginning today, with the party expected to review the implementation of key resolutions, assess its organisational state and finalise preparations for this year’s Annual National People’s Conference.

The meetings, which will bring together members of the Politburo, Central Committee and National Consultative Assembly (NCA), are being convened on the advice of the party’s Secretary-General, Advocate Jacob Mudenda.

In a statement, ZANU PF Secretary for Information and Publicity Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa said the first meeting, the 394th Ordinary Session of the Politburo, will be held today starting at 10am.

This will be followed by the 131st Ordinary Session of the Central Committee tomorrow at 10am, before the party concludes the programme with the 27th Ordinary Session of the National Consultative Assembly on Friday, also commencing at 10am.

All three meetings will be held at the ZANU PF Headquarters in Harare.

“The above meetings will be held at the ZANU PF Headquarters, and all members are expected to be seated by 9.45am sharp,” Ambassador Mutsvangwa said.

The Politburo, Central Committee and National Consultative Assembly are among ZANU PF’s principal decision-making organs and play a pivotal role in shaping party policy, reviewing organisational programmes and deliberating on matters of national importance.

The meetings are being held in terms of the party’s constitution and come on the heels of a successful National Cell Day held across the country last Saturday.

The nationwide programme saw party structures convening cell meetings aimed at strengthening grassroots mobilisation, verifying membership registers and recruiting new members as part of efforts to consolidate the party’s support base ahead of this year’s conference.

Cell structures constitute the foundation of ZANU PF’s organisational framework at village and community level. They provide the primary interface between the party leadership and the grassroots by articulating community concerns, mobilising members and coordinating development initiatives within their respective areas.

Each cell executive committee serves a one-year term, a system designed to promote active participation, accountability and continuous renewal of leadership at grassroots level.

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Source: CAB3 Senate amendments sail through – herald

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi gives his remarks at a special Parliament sitting in Harare yesterday. — Picture: Joseph Manditswara

Farirai Machivenyika and Nyore Madzianike

Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 will now be transmitted to President Mnangagwa for assent and signature after the National Assembly yesterday adopted amendments proposed by Senate last week.

The National Assembly, which was recalled from recess by President Mnangagwa last Friday to consider Senate’s proposed amendments, voted 226 to 41 in favour of the changes.

Speaking to journalists after the adjournment of the House, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the Bill would now be sent to the President for assent.

“What will happen now is that Parliament will transmit the Bill to His Excellency for his assent and signature. Thereafter, it will be gazetted and will become part of our Constitution,” he said.

Minister Ziyambi said the timing of the assent would depend on when the President receives the Bill.

“His Excellency, normally assents to Bills as and when he gets them,” he said.

Minister Ziyambi said some of the amendments proposed by the Senate included Clause 3, which provides for the election of the President.

“The Senate has refined Section 92, Subsection 5, which governs the conduct of that election in the form that the National Assembly passed.

“The subsection provided that ZEC would preside over the election and that the procedure would follow the standing orders of Parliament.

“The amendment provides, instead, that the election shall be conducted by ZEC in accordance with the electoral law and the standing orders. The refinement, Honourable Chair, is one of precision,” said Minister Ziyambi.

He explained that ZEC will conduct the election, not merely preside over it, adding that an election of this constitutional importance should rest not on the standing orders of Parliament alone, but also the electoral law, which will be aligned to the manner in which the President is elected in Parliament, “and the amendment secures that footing”.

“I, therefore, move that the amendment be adopted,” Minister Ziyambi said. Earlier, Minister Ziyambi said Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 lays the foundation for the country’s future development.

“The law that has been made will enable the progressive building and development of this country,” he said.

“What was decided here, Mr Speaker, was decided not for today but for those who will come after us, the beautiful Zimbabweans not yet born who will one day live under it.

“History will vindicate them, for what is done for posterity is not judged by the present but by the verdict of the years to come.”

Minister Ziyambi thanked legislators for the work they undertook from the time the Bill was gazetted.

“Honourable members have carried this Bill all the way from the first reading through the second reading debate, through its examination clause by clause to the confirmation of the Senate’s amendments, a legislative process that gives credit to Parliament,” he said.

Minister Ziyambi also commended the House for reconvening at short notice to consider the Senate’s amendments after Parliament had adjourned for recess two weeks ago.

“Nothing in that is taken for granted, Mr Speaker Sir, and the Honourable House should never take it for granted.

They came and came to work. That is the final proof of a commitment to national duty that no words of mine can improve upon because they came, Mr Speaker, and because they finished the job that they started. The House is now free of the Bill.

“When Honourable members return from their recess, they will return to a clear table; the matter that called them back is settled and behind them and they may take up the rest of the pressing business of the House that gave way to it.

“What the House has done, Mr Speaker, is its constitutional duty; it has made law, that is the one task the Constitution places in the hands of this Honourable House and of no other, and in discharging it, the House has done the highest thing a Parliament can do,” he said.

Among the proposed changes contained in the Bill are the extension of the electoral cycle from five years to seven years, the creation of a Zimbabwe Delimitation Commission responsible for setting electoral boundaries, the election of the President by Parliament and the transfer of management of the voters’ roll from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to the Registrar-General’s Office.

Following the National Assembly’s adoption of the Senate amendments, the Bill now awaits Presidential assent before it can be gazetted and become part of the Constitution.

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Source: SA crisis: Govt scales up repatriation efforts – herald

Thupeyo Muleya and Ivan Zhakata

GOVERNMENT has intensified the repatriation of Zimbabweans stranded in South Africa, deploying dozens of buses to ferry returnees from major South African cities to  Beitbridge Border Post.

It has also assured the nation that resources have been mobilised to bring home Zimbabweans who, like many foreigners based in South Africa, were given an unofficial deadline by xenophobic groups that expired yesterday to leave that country.

At Beitbridge Border Post yesterday, which is teeming with not only returning Zimbabweans but also Malawians, dozens of buses were preparing to cross over to South Africa to ferry Zimbabweans back home, where Government has assured them of smooth reintegration into society.

The Civil Protection Committee team, working hand in glove with an Inter-ministerial Committee, were seen busy allocating people buses based on their final destinations with those with children being prioritised.

In an update issued yesterday, the Deputy Chief Secretary (Presidential Communications) in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Mr George Charamba, said the repatriation exercise was progressing smoothly, with hundreds of Zimbabweans already processed while more buses had been dispatched to collection points across South Africa.

Three buses carrying returnees departed Cape Town for Beitbridge, while two more buses travelled from Cape Town to Johannesburg to collect additional Zimbabweans before proceeding to the border.

Mr Charamba said about 1 000 Zimbabweans remain at the Epping Repatriation Centre in Cape Town and will be transported to Zimbabwe once processing and profiling by South African authorities is completed.

Following discussions between the two countries’ authorities, it has been agreed that profiling will now take place at the Beitbridge Border post to speed up repatriation and ensure the security of returnees.

“Three buses have already departed Cape Town for Beitbridge Border Post, while two buses have left Cape Town for Johannesburg for quicker processing before onward movement,” said Mr Charamba.

“Epping Repatriation Centre still has some 1 000 Zimbabweans who will be ferried home once their processing is complete. Buses are already available for the purpose.”

Two buses from Port Elizabeth were also headed to Beitbridge as of last night.

In Johannesburg, 11 buses are on standby at Zimbabwe’s Old Chancery, where approximately 600 Zimbabweans are being processed for repatriation.

Another five buses had been deployed at Power House in Johannesburg, wher e about 300 Zimbabweans were undergoing documentation before departing for Zimbabwe.

Mr Charamba said 12 buses also left Johannesburg on Monday night from other assembly points, including Durban, bound for the Beitbridge-Musina Border Post.

Government said the repatriation programme is being fully financed by the State.

“All these far-flung relocation operations are being wholly funded by the Government of Zimbabwe, which has availed all buses on which Zimbabwean returnees are travelling,” said Mr Charamba.

To ensure the operation proceeds efficiently, the Government has redeployed all staff at Zimbabwe’s Embassy and Consulates in South Africa to support the exercise, while spouses of embassy officials have volunteered to assist.

Mr Charamba also commended the support being provided by United Nations agencies and the cooperation extended by South African authorities.

“Cooperation between the Government of Zimbabwe and the Government of South Africa remains excellent and empathetic,” he said.

Government reiterated its committment to assisting all Zimbabweans wishing to return home and pledged support for their reintegration into communities upon arrival.

“Government is ready to come to the assistance of all Zimbabweans wishing to come back home. Above all, the Government assures returning citizens that they will be assisted to reintegrate into their communities in Zimbabwe,” Mr Charamba said.

The repatriation programme follows the displacement of Zimbabwean nationals and other Africans in parts of South Africa.

The Zimbabwean Government has said that every citizen wishing to return home will receive assistance through the ongoing evacuation.

Stakeholders from the Civil Protection Unit, along with the Interministerial Committee, held a review meeting in Beitbridge yesterday to enhance operations around the dignified evacuation of the Zimbabweans from South Africa.

The main processing point for returnees is the Government-run Reception and Support Centre in Beitbridge, which can handle 1 000 adults and children every day.

The chairperson of the local civil protection committee, Miss Sikhangezile Mafu, who is also the Beitbridge district development coordinator, said they met with all State agencies and agreed on the need to ensure a seamless process.

“We are using the Whole-of-Government approach so the process becomes seamless. All sub-committees have been activated for health, transport, resource mobilisation and social protection,” said Miss Mafu.

She said on arrival, each person is registered and profiled by officials from the Departments of Social Development and of Immigration while the Ministry of Health and Child Care checks for medical needs.

In addition, the Department of Civil Registry was seen yesterday assisting children with birth certificates and those with lost or damaged documents.

“We want the children to be quickly absorbed into the education system and hence we are streamlining the issuance of birth certificates,” said one official.

The returnees are also getting immediate help in the form of food, water, counselling and psychosocial support. The goal is to reduce stress and help them settle before the next journey.

At the border post, immigration officials said operations remain stable, although they continue to process high numbers of Zimbabweans and Malawians who are self-repatriating as well as those getting State assistance to leave South Africa.

The Regional Immigration Officer in charge of the southern region, Mr Joshua Chibundu, said they are processing high numbers of Malawians and Zimbabweans returning from South Africa.

“Even with the extra numbers, normal movement of people has not been affected. Commercial trucks, tourists, and daily travellers are still moving as usual,” said Mr Chibundu.

He said the Department of Immigration has deployed manpower strategically to reduce queues and keep traffic flowing.

Mr Chibundu said the movement of Assisted Voluntary Returnees is well co-ordinated.

“The Embassy of Zimbabwe in South Africa leads the process with returnees there. The local Civil Protection Committee manages support on the Zimbabwe side and they send passenger manifests early. We receive the lists of passengers and buses ahead of time. This helps us plan desks, health checks, and onward transport,” he said.

Malawi’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Retired General Peter Namathanga, visited the Beitbridge Border Post yesterday to assess how Zimbabwe is assisting Malawians travelling from South Africa.

He toured the transit area, the clearing desks and the bus terminal and engaged with immigration officers, health teams, and Malawian nationals who were being processed for onward transportation.

Ambassador Namathanga was pleased with the support from the Zimbabwean Government.

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Source: Cadastre system to boost mining investment – herald

Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Martin Rushwaya (right) and Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Zhemu Soda share a lighter moment at a post-Cabinet media briefing in Harare yesterday. – Picture: Charles Muchakagara

Mukudzei Chingwere

Senior Reporter

GOVERNMENT is set to strengthen governance in the administration of mining rights after Cabinet received and noted an update on the mining cadastre registration system.

Speaking after yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Zhemu Soda, said the Mining Cadastre Management Information System is designed to achieve improved competitiveness within the mining industry and attract increased investment.

He added that the system will support more effective management of mining titles by enhancing oversight and streamlining the processes involved in the allocation and administration of rights.

“The Mining Cadastre Management Information System will improve competitiveness in the mining industry in order to attract increased investment through strengthened governance in the administration of mining rights,” said Minister Soda.

To date, he said, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has a repository of over 60 000 licences, spanning from blocks of claims, special grants, mining leases, exclusive prospecting orders and sites, among other permits.

“The computerised mining title platform will address technical challenges experienced, which include disputes from overlapping titles and processing delays,” said Minister Soda.

Meanwhile, Cabinet has approved the Zimbabwe National Quality Policy (2026-2030).

Minister Soda said the Zimbabwe National Quality Policy 2 (2026-2030) will provide a coordinated framework for strengthening Zimbabwe’s quality infrastructure and engender a competitive and fair business environment, thereby enabling local companies to compete favourably in regional and international markets.

“The Policy will ensure that goods are produced to agreed standards of measurement through accurate testing and certification,” said Minister Soda.

“Ultimately, consumers will be protected from unsafe or substandard products.”

Minister Soda said the Zimbabwe National Quality Policy 2 is anchored on six pillars that are standardisation, metrology, accreditation, conformity assessment, technical regulations and quality promotion and use.

He said the key interventions under the pillars include, among others, the enactment of a Standards Act to recognise the Standards Association of Zimbabwe as the National Standards Body, the development and implementation of programmes to promote Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, and the strengthening of the National Metrology Institute under the Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre (SIRDC).

“The interventions include offering accreditation services for testing, calibration, certification and inspection bodies and the development of a National Conformity Assessment Framework, the National Technical Regulatory Framework and a structured National Quality Awareness Programme,” said Minister Soda.

“A comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework will underpin Policy implementation and results measurement.”

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