Zimbabwe

HARARE, July 1 (NNN-Xinhua) — Zimbabweans to a great extent took heed of the enhanced COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown measures announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday.

Police warned that those who wanted to connive with rogue officers to circumvent the regulations would be punished.

Although the measures were supposed to take immediate effect on Tuesday, enforcement was difficult as many people had been caught unawares.

HARARE, May 18 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Zimbabwean government on Monday announced the termination of the appointment of Moshe Itzhak Osdaicher as the country’s honorary consul in Northern Israel.

The termination is with effect from February 2021, Spokesperson for Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Constance Chemwayi said in a statement.

The ministry did not give reasons for the termination of the appointment.

(Reuters) --- Zimbabwe's justice minister accused the country's judiciary of being "captured" by foreign forces seeking to destabilise the government after the High Court ruled it was illegal to extend the tenure of the chief justice by five more years.

Three judges of the High Court said in a judgment on Saturday that Luke Malaba had ceased being a judge and chief justice after he turned 70 years old. 

HARARE, Oct 26 (NNN-Xinhua) — Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa thanked China and Russia for standing by Zimbabwe in its consistent call for the unconditional removal of Western sanctions.

In a speech to mark the Southern African Development Community (SADC) anti-sanctions day, Mnangagwa paid tribute to the two countries, SADC, the African Union, and other countries around the globe for their support.

“The People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation, among other nations, have been our dependable pillars for many years,” said the president.

HARARE, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday appointed Vice President (VP) Constantino Chiwenga as new Minister of Health and Child Care.

Chiwenga takes over former minister Obadiah Moyo whom was fired by Mnangagwa last month over corruption allegations.

This means Chiwenga will double as VP and health minister.

Misheck Sibanda, the chief secretary to the president and cabinet, confirmed the appointment of Chiwenga in a statement.

Sibanda said Chiwenga's appointment was with immediate effect.

HARARE, June 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zimbabwe abruptly suspended all mobile money transactions, the most widely used platform to make and receive payments in the crisis-ridden country, claiming the move would tackle crime and economic sabotage.

The government also suspended all trade on the country’s stock exchange, which it accused of being complicit in illicit financial activities.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s health minister on Saturday was charged with criminal abuse of duty as a public officer, accused of illegally awarding a multi-million-dollar contract for COVID-19 medical supplies to a shadowy company that sold the government $28 face masks and other materials at inflated prices.

The country’s anti-corruption agency arrested Obadiah Moyo on Friday and the government cancelled the contracts following public uproar.

HARARE, May 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Zimbabwean President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, expressed Zimbabwe’s gratitude to the visiting team of Chinese medical experts, for sharing their experience and knowledge with Zimbabwe’s front-line medical staff in fighting the COVID-19.

He extended the appreciation in a letter, read out by Zimbabwean Health Minister, Obadiah Moyo, at a joint press conference at the conclusion of the team’s two week visit to the country.

He said, Zimbabwe’s medical staff had benefited immensely from the team’s front-line knowledge in fighting COVID-19.

HARARE, May 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Zimbabwe’s second biggest city of Bulawayo limited access to tap water to just one day a week as reservoir levels fall to dangerously low levels amid the country’s worst drought in years.

After a devastating drought in 2019 and patchy rains this year, water shortages have worsened in Bulawayo, in the west of the country, forcing families to trek to unsafe wells as taps run dry.

HARARE, May 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A team of 12 Chinese doctors have arrived in Zimbabwe to help in the fight against coronavirus.

The southern Africa nation has confirmed 36 cases in total and four deaths.

The doctors, from China’s Hunan Province, arrived in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, on Monday with test kits and protective gear, the state-run Herald newspaper reports.

The 12 doctors have “front-line experience in the prevention and control of Covid-19”, Chinese state-owned China Global Television Network reports.