263Chat - Zimbabwean media organisation focused on encouraging & participating in progressive national dialogue

The Harare Wetlands Trust (HWT) has appealed to President Emerson Mnangagwa to intervene on wetlands mapping, policy and reforms amid concerns of widespread developments on the remaining ecosystem. In a letter to the President, HWT raised concern over developments on 50 percent of wetlands areas which has seen the flooding of many houses built on marshes. ”Spurred by recent events, particularly the flooding of many houses situated in wetland ecosystems we are excited to see growing recognition of the need to immediately…

The government has assured the nation that they have enough resources to vaccinate 60 percent of the population, with US$100 million set aside for the Covid-19 vaccination roll out programme. Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube said through the Afrexim Bank, government is going to ensure that more than 60 percent of the country’s population is vaccinated. “The vaccine will be free for all Zimbabweans. We have got our own resources to the tune of $8,3 billion which is the US$100 million.…

Human rights pressure group, the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) has called on the Government to stop the use Statutory Instruments (SI) to bypass good governance protocols. The call comes at a time the Government gazetted SI 50 of 2021 which will displaces more than 12 000 Chilonga villagers in Chiredzi to pave way for the Lucerne grass project. In a statement, ZPP national director Jestina Mukoko said a year ago the government announced that it had engaged a private investor to grow Lucerne grass that will benefits the…

Government’s agricultural programs are absorbing local banks’ liquidity at the expense of private players leading to limited participation of the private sector in primary production, said Graeme Murdoch, operations director at PHI Commodities- a subsidiary of National Foods Limited. Speaking at the ongoing 2021 Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Economic Outlook Symposium, Murdoch said private sector is lacking adequate support from government to improve productive capacity. Instead, priority was given to…

With SAA out of the picture for more than a year, international media reports indicate that Qantas could be relooking at introducing a direct Johannesburg-Perth flight down the line. According to simpleflying.com, Qantas began flying the Joburg-Perth route in the 1950s. In 2000, the airline signed a codeshare with SAA on flights between Australia and South Africa where SAA operated the Jo’burg-Perth flight and Qantas operated the Jo’burg-Sydney flight. Both airlines had monopolies on these routes, which are said to have…

Green Governance Zimbabwe Trust, an environmental rights group says the government’s move to evict over 12 500 villagers from Chilonga to make way for a lucerne grass project for a dairy farmer is a human rights violation on the Shangani People. Recently the Government gazetted Statutory Instrument 50 of 2021 for the removal of the Chilonga people in Chiredzi from their ancestral home to pave way for a dairy company, Dendairy to run a lucerne grass farming project. The Kwekwe based, private milk producer, is said to be…

MOBILE network operators Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and Telecel Zimbabwe are likely to adjust their discounts on mobile data bundles this month to offset rising costs, industry insiders have said. This follows State-owned mobile network operator NetOne’s announcement this week that it will be reviewing its bundle tariffs with effect from Friday, 5 March, 2021. Statistics from the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) show that the country has one of the lowest data tariffs in the region.…

EPIONE.NEt, an organization run by a team of four young Africans has developed ReOpen, an application which allows organisations to conduct digital screenings for their employees, guests and customers as the world gradually eases Covid-19 induced restrictions. Staff Reporter An in interview with a local publication, epione.net Chief Executive Officer Garikai Govati said the application was a game changer would go a long in reducing infections. We  created a new product suite – ReOpen. Here we have enhanced…