• Zimsec O levels exam results are out today – congrats to the Board, Director and staff for improving the service to Zimbabwe schoolchildren #
• Zimbabwe Cabinet has its first meeting of 2012 tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how the Christmas hols have treated everyone. #
• Here's all of us wishing @KirstyCoventry well as she moves to the US to complete her preparations for 2012 Olympics. Famba zvakanaka Kirsty #
• It is trying to rain in Bulawayo after weeks of drought – come on rain we desperately need you to come down – our crops are stressed! #
• Zimbabwe just about to start their 1st 50 over match against NZ. Heads up lads – put the test behind you and move ahead positively. Go Zim! #
• Delighted that Stuart Masikenyeri has been given another chance to play for Zimbabwe – thoroughly well deserved selection. Go Stu! #
• Williamson caught by Taibu – not given out. Taylor did not seek DRS and as a result Zimbabwe lose out. Need to be more positive – heads up! #
• Zim really haven't had much luck today – Guptill lucky, Williamson should have been given out. But you have to make your luck Zim #
• After 3 innings against New Zealand it is quite clear that we are sorely missing Vusi Sibanda. Case of cutting off nose to spite our face? #
• As in the Test not a bad bowling performance but we are being let down by our batting top order. Do we need to swallow some humble pie? #
• Thank goodness Pricey is showing some character as usual – the top order need to borrow some of his determination. Never, ever give up! #
• Now a reverse sweep from Pricey for 4! I just love this fellow! Frustrating the hell out of New Zealand. This is the spirit Zimbabwe! #
• We should never forget that Ray Price opened the batting for his school Watershed College – he has the second highest score today against NZ #
• Nice to see all the Zimbabwean exiles in the crowd at Dunedin supporting Zimbabwe. Seems as if there are more Zim supporters than for NZ #
• "How had UN res. 1973 on Libya and South Africa's naive and treacherous role in it impacted on Zuma's candidature?" Manheru in Herald today #
• Zim boy set to star for Scots in 6-Nations http://t.co/v1mKyi7g . Pocock, Beast now Denton – Zim is the breeding ground for world rugby #
• Cricket: Olonga softens on Zimbabwe world tours – Cricket – NZ Herald News http://t.co/KbDI5f2w via @nzherald #
• Good game by 8th man Denton for Scotland yesterday against England. Zim produces great loose forwards. Imagine Denton and Pocock together! #

The Standard

By Albert Marufu

5 February 2012

Where to Zimbabwe football? This is the question hovering in many soccer fans’ minds following Zifa’s decision to suspend 82 players who allegedly accepted bribes to lose matches in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia between 2007 and 2009.

The 82 players include senior players such as Thomas Sweswe, Nyasha Mushekwi, Method Mwanjali, Ovidy Karuru, Edward Sadomba, Zhaimu Jambo, Washington Arubi, Daniel Vheremu, Khama Billiat and Willard Katsande.

The players will only return to national duty after being cleared by the independent Ethics Committee headed by retired judge Justice Ahmed Ebrahim and that rules them out of the February 29 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Burundi.

The scandal has already claimed the scalp of former Zifa chief executive officer Henrietta Rushwaya who has already been arrested while the mastermind, Wilson Raj Perumal, is languishing in a Finland jail. Questions have been asked about the impact of the decision to suspend the players or the ultimate ban that may be instituted if the offenders are found guilty.

Veteran soccer journalist Charles “CNN” Mabika believes that when the worst comes to the worst and most of the players are found guilty by the commission, then the nation should draw lessons from the Zambians who built a winning team after the demise of their best in the 1993 airplane crash.

“I am not hoping for the worst, but if such a thing happens we have to draw lessons from the Zambian experience. They lost an entire team in the middle of a World Cup qualifying process, but in two months, they had assembled a team good enough to reach the Africa Cup of Nations finals.

“We will have to do with what we have and the right thing to do is to give the national team coaches all the help they require,” he said.

Mabika said the game against Burundi should be fulfilled as the association risks being fined heavily by Confederation of African Football if they pull out.

Former national team midfielder Stanford “Stix” Mtizwa concurred with Mabika. “If most of the players are found guilty, then that will be a disaster for the sport in the country. We would have to start afresh as a nation and maybe focus on the 2018 qualifiers. Moreover, our image as a nation would be tainted,” he said.

Soccer administrator Nelson Matongorere sees it from a different angle and said this would avenues to a better future.

“A scandal has happened in our football and whoever has been fingered should come forward and clear their name and that applies to players as well. It is bad for our football, but these guys are facing serious allegations. My major concern is with Zifa as they are taking too long to solve the issue,” he said.

“I have confidence that justice will prevail as we have a retired Supreme Court judge presiding over the matter. However, if our biggest fear happens, then we will have to look to the future and maybe use our junior teams in major tournaments. What use will it be for us to qualify for a tournament with tainted players and then have problems four years later?”

However, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart’s view is that it is not all doom and gloom for Zimbabwean football. He praised Zifa for the attempts to weed out corruption from football.

“I think the best thing to do is to avoid speculation on this issue. Zifa has set up an independent Ethics Committee to investigate the alleged match-fixing so let us give the committee time,” Coltart said.

“I believe that something positive will come out of this and Zifa must act swiftly so that the innocent players will be cleared. I do not think every player implicated is guilty. My hope is that we can still put together a strong team for the game against Burundi later this month,” he said.

“I understand we still have players such as (Knowledge) Musona, Tinashe Nengomasha, Lincoln Zvasiya and Tapiwa Kapini who can form the backbone of the team,” he said.

Former Zifa chairman Rafiq Khan said while it would be a major setback if the players were to be banned, the Zimbabwean league is still good enough to provide players for the national team.

“It takes many years to develop a player. However, I have always been a firm believer in home-based talent. Remember I insisted on the use of local players while I was still the (Zifa) chairman and we won the Cosafa Cup, beating Zambia and Angola in the process.

“I am looking at countries at the nations cup and most of them would have never competed with us six years ago. Something is going terribly wrong in our football. The team has to be assembled now and we should help it mentally and physically,” he said from his South African base.

New Zealand Herald

By Andrew Alderson

5 February 2012

Henry Olonga has changed his tune. The once controversial Zimbabwean cricketer – who has become a professional musician-artist-public speaker in England – now endorses his country touring the world to play cricket.

That is a significant turnaround from where the 35-year-old stood on the issue in the aftermath of the 2003 World Cup in Africa. As members of the Zimbabwe team, Olonga and Andy Flower wore black armbands against Namibia in Harare to mourn the ‘death of democracy’ in their country.

Driven by the words of 18th century British politician Edmund Burke when he said, “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”, Olonga made his protest.

He hasn’t returned to Zimbabwe since. In his book Blood, Sweat and Treason Olonga says he feared arrest after the World Cup when his father received a note via the Zimbabwe central intelligence organisation saying: “tell your son he needs to get out of Zimbabwe before the World Cup ends.”

Olonga claims the only thing stopping him being sent to prison was the presence of foreign journalists and the fact Zimbabwe made the Super Sixes.

They flew to South Africa for those matches and Olonga made his getaway from Johannesburg once they exited the tournament.

This week – nine years on from the armband incident – Olonga wants Zimbabwe to play more international cricket.

His softening of stance comes as the Movement for Democratic Change gains some policy wins in its awkward government coalition with President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party.

Olonga’s position has been influenced by his friend David Coltart becoming minister for education, sport, arts and culture. Coltart originally suggested the idea of the black armbands to Olonga and Flower.

As a poster child for sporting boycotts, Olonga was also invited to New Zealand in 2005 by the Green Party to add a credible voice as to why the Black Caps should cancel their proposed tour. It didn’t happen, but Olonga brought pressure to bear.

“I’ve stepped back now,” Olonga says. “I don’t have the same political will to effect positive change. All the average Zimbabwean wants is a decent life, minding their own business, irrespective of the politics,” Olonga says.

“I still feel strongly about some of the nonsense at the highest level of politics but I’ve reluctantly backed off calling for boycotts. The way things are, I may as well support the boys because they can be role models and influencers at national level if they choose to be.”

Olonga acknowledges Zimbabwe’s record capitulation in Napier last weekend set things back but insists there is genuine talent in their ranks.

“It can’t have been pretty to watch. That’s unfortunate because when New Zealand were in Bulawayo last year Zimbabwe performed admirably [falling just 34 runs short of the 366-run target]. They promise to be a competitive side which makes it extra disappointing to be outplayed in New Zealand. Getting bowled out two times in a day is embarrassing but other teams have also had failures recently, like Australia making 47 in Cape Town.”

Olonga was the first black cricketer and youngest Zimbabwe player at the time to make his test debut, 17 years ago last week. He has continued playing cricket for the Lashings celebrity XI in festival matches across England but now devotes most of his time to the arts and his family of wife Tara and daughter Talika with another baby on the way.

“I’ve got plans to do more spiritual, gospel and covers music,” Olonga says. “I’m working on another album which should be released mid-year. I have a home studio and while the albums take time to put together, you can do it easily with the technology. You don’t need to be signed to a label. I just upload my music to online music stores.

“It can be tedious, monotonous and repetitive… but ultimately rewarding. I like the idea I can be earning money at 3am in the morning,” he quips.

“There are other projects brewing. I’ve been commissioned to do a painting of a headmaster who is leaving a local school. I also do a lot of public speaking in schools, universities and churches, telling my story of faith, politics and cricket.”

Olonga says writing the book about his experiences helped shed the cloak of his past.

“It was a traumatic experience but it helped to visit those places in my past. I lost a lot of my cricket career but moved on and decided I wanted to live ‘in the now’.”

New Zimbabwe

4 February 2012

Olympic champion swimmer Kirsty Coventry has announced she is moving back to her former coach in the United States as she prepares for the London Games next year.

The Zimbabwean, who has been based in South Africa for the last three years, had previously hinted she would be hosted by the Royal Couple of Monaco in the months leading up to the 2012 Olympics.

But the 29-year-old announced on Twitter she was returning to Texas, her previous base.

“Moving back to my coach Kim Brackin in the US, because I trust her 100 percent and I know she has my back!,” Coventry said.

She added in two other tweets: “I’ll be leaving Africa for Texas on 7th February. My base will be Austin and training with the girls at the University of Texas. Yeehaah!

“Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement over my decision to move back to the US. You’re all awesome!”

Among those backing Coventry’s move was Sports Minister David Coltart, who also used his Twitter account to wish her well.

“Here’s all of us wishing Kirsty Coventry well as she moves to the US to complete her preparations for 2012 Olympics. Famba zvakanaka (Go well) Kirsty,” the minister said.

Brackin was at the helm of the bulk of Coventry’s top successes, including two Olympic gold medals in the 200 backstroke at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. Coventry also has four silvers to her credit, and a bronze.

In long course world championship competition, she also won three world titles and placed runner-up five other times.

“I’m thrilled to have her back at Texas,” Brackin told Swimming World. “She raises the bar for everyone and brings a level of experience that my team will benefit from being around.

“I’m excited to challenge her and help her prepare to race at her best in London. Besides being a great athlete, she is just someone I enjoy being around every day.

The London Olympics get underway on July 26, running through to August 12, 2012.

NewsDay

2 February 2012

Parents at Plumtree High School have reportedly threatened to transfer their children following a resolution passed at the annual general meeting on Saturday to scrap debts owed by the school development committee (SDC) members, who have not been paying for their children for the past four years.

The parents were angry their children were regularly expelled from school if they delayed school fee payments, while SDC members children were not paying.

Law enforcement agents were in attendance as chaos was feared at the meeting. The meeting was supposed to start at 9am, but was delayed until 12pm.

SDC chairman Elson Shava reportedly expressed concern over leakage of sensitive information to the Press prompting an investigation by the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture into the school operations.

School head Prince Mange reportedly admitted at the meeting SDC members were not paying levies for their children and asked parents to agree on having the outstanding amounts owed by SDC members written off.

Two parents seconded the proposal making it a binding resolution. Calculations showed the SDC members had not paid a combined total of $8 300 per term which parents cited as a serious deprivation of funds for the cash-strapped school.

A parent told NewsDay the move was a sad development since the 10 SDC members have two children each at the school.

We had better withdraw our children from this school. We cannot continue to be swindled like this. We will be writing to the Auditor-General soon to express our concerns over this issue, said a parent.

Irate parents exposed alleged corruption activities to the Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart in October last year. The government immediately dispatched a probe team to the school, but its findings are yet to be made public.

Parents were infuriated by the schools failure to settle a debt of $60 000 owed to the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) and Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa).

They also accused school authorities of failing to account for $80 000 meant for the purchase of a power generator.

Mange reportedly told parents it was normal for institutions to owe Zesa and Zinwa such amounts.

He said the money meant for the purchase of a generator was used for refurbishment of infrastructure.

The Guardian

By David Smith

1 February 2012

National team players alleged to have taken bribes to throw matches played in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Eighty Zimbabwean footballers have been suspended because of alleged involvement in Asian betting syndicates linked to match-fixing.

The country’s sports minister said football was “riddled with corruption”, and called for politics to be rooted out of the sport.

The players, including leading members of the national team, are alleged to have taken bribes to throw friendly matches between 2007 and 2009.

The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has set up an independent ethics committee to investigate the alleged fixing, which it believes took place when the national team played in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.

The games were not part of any competition. In fact, it is now suspected they were arranged specifically for the purpose of betting. The scandal has been dubbed “Asiagate” by the Zimbabwean press.

Jonathan Mashingaidze, chief executive of Zifa, told the state-owned Herald newspaper: “Every player who was mentioned in the ‘Asiagate’ report, regardless of how many matches played, are suspended and will only be cleared by the ethics committee and, for now, they are not eligible for selection in any national duty commitments.

“We are saying everyone involved in Asiagate should step aside until the case has been finalised. There shouldn’t be favouritism. We are not convicting them and we are not saying clubs should convict them as yet.”

David Coltart, the education, sport and culture minister, said: “This doesn’t come as a surprise. We’ve been aware of match fixing allegations for some time. I have called for the introduction of a zero tolerance approach to this and I was expecting action to be taken.

“Obviously this will affect Zimbabwe’s performance in the short term but football has been riddled with corruption and that must be one of reasons why we haven’t performed as well as we should.”

Coltart, a member of the Movement for Democratic Change, described the national administration of the game as “shambolic”.

He continued: “The structure of the professional game has declined in Zimbabwe. At the core of this are a few administrators who’ve led the players astray through greed.

“It would be unfair to align them to [president Robert Mugabe’s] Zanu-PF. But football has been highly politicised in the past and that has to be rooted out.”

An investigation into the Asiagate scandal last year led to the dismissal of the former Zifa chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya, seen as a Mugabe loyalist.

The player suspensions are likely to affect Zimbabwe’s bid to qualify for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. Matches start this month, with Zimbabwe facing Burundi on 29 February in the first qualifier.

The Herald reported that the 80 blacklisted players include Ovidy Karuru, Zhaimu Jambo, Washington Arubi, Daniel Vheremu, Khama Billiat, Gilbert Mapemba, Willard Katsande, Thomas Sweswe, Method Mwanjali and Edward Sadomba.

The players are dispersed around the world. They can continue playing club football although a ban could be imposed by Fifa if they are found guilty by Zifa’s ethics committee.

Zimbabwe is already under investigation by the world football governing body.

Its chief executive, Sepp Blatter, warned during a visit to Harare last year that players and officials found guilty of graft would face life bans.

Steve Bloomfield, author of Africa United: How Football Explains Africa, said: “Football in Zimbabwe mirrors almost exactly the country’s politics.

“It’s sad for the players involved because they were just pawns in a wider political game. This is what happens when football and politics collide in a corrupt, autocratic regime.”

The Zimbabwean

By Jane Makoni

1 February 2012

Authorities at schools such as Dimbe Primary in Marondera East Rural continue to defy government instructions that no child should be denied access to education for failure to pay fees. Three weeks after schools opened hundreds of poor children are yet to set their feet in the classroom.

“My seven orphaned grandchildren were sent back home on the opening day of school and continue to be chased away on sight, as fees have not been paid. I have no regular income and cannot afford the $10 per term. I do not remember when I last put a US dollar in my pocket. For now, the idle grandchildren pass time herding our neighbours’ cattle for a pittance,” said Mbuya Neria Murimi of Musunze village.

The headmaster at Dimbe Primary, who only identified himself as Sangare, said those who had not paid 2011 school fees were being sent home.

Children without stationery such as exercise books were also being sent back home since UNICEF no longer donate the items to schools. “As a school we are not in a position to provide children with the required stationery hence the dismissals,” said Sangare.

The Minister of Education, David Coltart, has repeatedly said it is against government policy to send home children who fail to pay fees. “Education is a right not a privilege for every child,” says Coltart.

The plight of poor children has been worsened by government’s failure to sustain the Basic Education Assistance Module due to lack of financial resources.

The future of many rural children remains bleak. Stella Mujoma (10) of Village 19 Nhowe said: “My grandmother cannot pay my fees so my dream of becoming a medical doctor look shattered.”

The Zimbabwean

1 February 2012

Every time Kirsty Coventry romps to victory in an international swimming competition, Zimbabwe cheers.

Even President Robert Mugabe, with his well-documented allergy for the white minority, has not been spared the wave of awe. Calling her the “Golden girl” after her medal haul of three Silver and one Gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, he gave her $100 000 and a diplomatic passport.

The 28-year-old became the third sportswoman from Africa to earn a gold in women’s swimming at the Summer Games, after Joan Harrison (Helsinki’ 52) and Penny Heyns (Atlanta’96).

Yet she has never won a major competition at home. Reason – there is no state of the art facility to host such tournaments here.

The Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex, which hosted the 1995 All Africa Games, is now in an embarrassing state of neglect. Its dilapidated infrastructure has left it deserted by swimmers who must flock to it.

The complex is equipped with an Olympic size swimming pool, a practice and children’s pool. It boasts electronic timing equipment and a boiler house that should warm water to allow year-round swimming.

But at 12:36pm (the time on the giant clock) some day in March 2002 a “tornado” hit the venue.

Paddington Songori, SRC Events and Functions manager from 1995 to 2011, said the automatic valve holding water in the pool broke and water flooded the basement.

“From the time it was switched off in 1994 until it broke down in 2002, the valves must have been exhausted. It was not a matter of negligence, but just a common fault. It was a daily routine that we switched-off the whole plant after knocking off for work, but when we came back one day, water had flooded the basement, covering all the mortars, electrical board and the pumps. we called the fire brigade who drained it but the damage had been done.”

Songori said repairs would cost around $2 million. The facility is government property managed by the SRC. Under the contract with the Ministry of Public Works the commission is responsible for minor repairs, while the ministry attends major repairs.

SRC Director General, retired Colonel Charles Nhemachena, proposed annual budgets to renovate the venue – but they have come to naught. The pools remain unusable.

A recent visit showed walls peeling, while rain water collected in the giant “pits” had was covered in algae and floating litter. Rust-coated steel rails around the pools and deserted spectator stands, and the boiler room made it look like a haunted mansion in horror movie “Bones”. Unknown somebodies have flocked the multi-purpose hall to hold music shows, beauty pageants and church services. What ideally should be a “sports bar” has been turned into a beer-hall.

Songori said that was for fundraising, but for what, as the centre continues to deteriorate? Funds raised are never enough ever to cover the electricity bill.

Fans are not impressed. The Zimbabwe Aquatic Union, now using Harare’s Les Brown Pool for provincial and national competitions, has admitted challenges of grooming a star like Coventry without top facilities.

Secretary General Neil Bradshaw told The Zimbabwean that the African Swimming Confederation was always looking for hosts for major continental events, but dilapidated Zimbabwe could not bid.

“If Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex was revamped, it would certainly be hosting all national events and bidding for international ones,” he said.

“We have not assessed the cost of repairs and regrettably, the cost of reinstating the country’s pools and building new ones could cost tens of millions – we just do not see where that kind of money would come from.”

Bulawayo’s Khumalo Hockey stadium was renovated last year after Hockey Association of Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Public Works and Minister of Education, Arts, Sports and Culture, David Coltart, united for the common cause. The Chitungwiza complex is crying out for the same favour.

Nhemachena said they were going to hand it over to the ministry of public works, hoping that it would get the 2002 fortunes of the National Sports Stadium.

“We recently had a meeting with them to discuss the modalities of us handing over the facility. The impression was that the ministry of public works now wants to do the (renovations) job,” he said.

“If the big pump can’t be repaired, any cheaper modifications that make small pools functioning and get things going would be fine.”

Should the commission divorce itself from such facilities, would the Ministry of Public Works manage, with the best interest of sport at heart?

“The Ministry of Public Works builds schools and hospitals they do not run. Why should it be different with sporting facilities?” questioned Nhemachena.

“It would be good for sports if the complex is renovated because most major competitions being held in South Africa would come here. It is among the best pools in the world and if it gets to work again, we would attract big events and sponsors.”

Bulawayo 24News

By Ndou Paul

31 January 2012

The Minister of Education David Coltart has congratulated the Zimsec board for releasing the ordinary results on time.

On his twitter account, @DavidColtart, David Coltart wrote “Zimsec O levels exam results are out today – congrats to the Board, Director and staff for improving the service to Zimbabwe schoolchildren.”

The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) released the 2011 November Ordinary Level results today 30 January 2012.

This follows the release of the Advanced Level results on 19 January.

The early release of O-Level results is an improvement on the part of the Zimsec Board considering that results for the 2008 November examinations were released in July 2009.

Radio VOP

31 January 2012

The Minister of Education Sports and Culture, Senator David Coltart on Monday told a European Union delegation touring Matabeleland region that imbalances between Mashonaland and Matabeleland region started during the Gukurahundi atrocities that claimed more than 20 000 lives in Matabeleland and Midlands region.

He said then grants to build schools were only allocated to the Mashonaland region.

He also added that Zimbabwe required billions of dollars in order to solve historical imbalances that exist under education sector between Matabeleland and Mashonaland region. He disclosed that most of the pupils in Matabeleland region walk more than 30km to school on a daily basis. In addition there were few ‘A’ level schools that offer mathematics and science subjects hence it was not worthy for the government to set up science and technology universities in the region.

He added that Zimbabwe must prioritse basic education to all the pupils in the country and make sure that they meet the budget allocation for education sector for it is the backbone of a progressive nation.

“Last year we got a budget allocation of US$14,8 million and this meant that it was equivalent to US$5 per pupil but other ministries like Home Affairs, Justice and defense got more money than education, which is not fair,” said Senator Coltart.

Addressing Journalist at Bulawayo Art Gallery, after touring EU projects the UNICEF Representative, Dr, Peter Salama said that he was very much pleased with the Education Transition Fund programme in Zimbabwe as it had achieved a ratio of one to one textbook per pupil.

He said that they are now working on the second phase of ETF programme that will see the rehabilitation of schools sanitation, training of teachers and buying of school furniture.

“We are grateful about Zimbabwe’s ETF programme. World-wide this country has achieved the one to one ratio of pupil textbook allocation in 18 months and we will continue to fund the education sector in Zimbabwe and the main partners in EU have pledged to support Zimbabwe because they have proved to be a working country,” said Dr Salama.

Zimbabwe is working towards achieving the 2015 millennium development goals of universal access to education to all children.

Meanwhile EU’s ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell’Ariccia said Monday targeted sanctions imposed on President Robert Mugabe and his allies will be removed, if the country holds free and fair elections.

EU, alongside the United States, Australia, Switzerland and New Zealand imposed targeted sanctions on Mugabe and his top military, and business associates as punishment for allegedly stealing elections, perpetuating human rights violations and failure to uphold the rule of law.

However addressing a press conference in Bulawayo today (Monday) EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell’Ariccia said that there will be no reasons not to remove targeted sanctions imposed on Zanu (PF) leaders if free and non violent elections are held in the country.

“There will no reasons for European Union not to remove these restrictive measures if free and fair elections without any intimidation are held. Those elections should also follow guidelines set by Africa Union and SADC. Voter education should be conducted before the elections are held, the media should be free and results should be accepted by all elections contenders,” said Dell’Ariccia

Dell’Ariccia said EU will currently continue to support Zimbabwe through Aid and dismissed allegations that targeted sanctions are affecting the Zimbabwe’s economy.

“There is no way travel restrictions imposed on a certain individual not to travel to Europe can affect the country’s economy, that’s not true,” he said

Dell’Ariccia said his delegation is touring Matebeleland region the whole of this week in order to improve its linkages with and its understanding of the specific issues of region.

He said that the delegation is committed to an inclusive approach towards supporting Zimbabwe’s development. The EU envoy added that this has been particularly evident since the inception of the current government, with a clear mandate that the EU Delegation has received to support the implementation of the GPA.