Zimbabweans Wary of Another Stolen Election

Gibson Muzungu’s hope for a free and fair election on Jul. 31 has faded after local Zimbabwe Africa National Union-Patriotic Front party officials seized his identity card, apparently to check if he was a registered voter.

Smallholders Feed a Nation as Land Reform Fails

Moses Chiengerere is one of the Zimbabwe’s hundreds of thousands of smallholder maize farmers keeping this southern African nation’s granaries stocked with the grain.

Women in Zimbabwe’s Parliament Will Change Widow’s Lives

When Maude Taruvinga* votes in Zimbabwe’s elections later this year, she will be voting for her local female politician as she has placed her hopes for a better future on the presence of more women in this southern African nation’s legislature.

Rebuilding Zimbabwe’s Health System

A newborn baby lets out a feeble cry as midwife Anna Mungara tends to a small wound on its head, at the provincial hospital in Masvingo, a town in southeast Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean Farmers Adrift Amid Power Struggles

For the past five years, farmer Melusi Mhlanga has spent nearly 200 dollars each season for inputs, but the maize yields have not matched his investment. 

Making a Business Out of Water Rationing

For 61-year-old Sarah Chikwanha from water-starved Chitungwiza, a town about 25 kilometres outside Harare, Zimbabwe, there is no choice. She must buy her water from illegal water traders, whose businesses have sprung up across the country.

Reviving Zimbabwe’s ‘Growth Points’

More than three decades after Zimbabwe’s independence, the idea of developing its rural areas seems to have been laid to rest, as points intended for development have been turned into beer outlets, which seem to be more lucrative than industry.

Zimbabwe’s Ruling Party Militias Spread Fear of Voting

For the last month Gibson Severe and his wife, Merjury Severe, known opposition supporters from Hurungwe district in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland West Province, have been hiding out in the country’s capital Harare.

Giving Women in Zimbabwe’s Informal Sector Rights

Mollin Siyanda, 46, a single mother of three from Harare’s low-income suburb of Hatcliffe, is scared of being arrested by the council police as she sells fruit, vegetables and second-hand clothes on the pavement of the city centre without a permit.

Clampdown on CSOs Worldwide

As Zimbabwe is expected to head to the polls in a little less than two months, clampdowns on civil society in that southern African nation have increased, according to Godwin Phiri, western region chairperson of the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations in Zimbabwe.

Villagers Become ‘Water Scavengers’

For the last 13 years, Trynos Mbweku, the headman of Mwenezi district in southeastern Zimbabwe, has had to use a cart to fetch water from the only remaining borehole in his area, which lies some 10 kilometres from his home.

No Zimbabwe Media Reforms, Just More Intimidation

As Zimbabwe heads to the polls later this year, media analysts and journalists are concerned about increasing crackdowns on both the judiciary and the media.

Children Learn Lessons of Commerce on the Streets of Zimbabwe

Susan Sithole* is 14 and should be in grade nine or Form Two, according to Zimbabwe's education system, learning her lessons in Mathematics, English and other subjects.

Beitbridge Still Counting the Cost of Floods

The Beitbridge area in southern Zimbabwe was hit by serious flooding earlier this year. Those affected are still trying to get back on their feet.

Zimbabwe Struggling to Pay Laid-Off Workers

As former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe employees went to the Labour Court in Harare this week hoping for a ruling in favour of the finalisation of their retrenchment packages, the country’s public and private sectors continue to lay off workers without paying the promised compensation.

Electricity for All but Those the Kariba Dam Displaced

Indigenous people who were displaced from the Zambezi Valley almost six decades ago for the construction of the Kariba Dam say they have not benefited from the development they made way for.

Zimbabwe’s Railroads Riding to Extinction

Zimbabwe’s rail transport system may be nearing extinction if the government does not take drastic action to solve the series of operational challenges that have made commuter and goods train services rare here.

Arrests, Intimidation and No New Zimbabwe

Heightened political tension between the major rivals in Zimbabwe’s coalition government and increased clampdowns on civil society have left questions about the country’s readiness for a true democracy just days after people voted to adopt a new constitution.

Constant Checks Necessary to Maintain Integrity of Kariba Dam Wall

Lake Kariba is one of the world largest artificial lakes.  The wall that holds the water in the resevoir was built between 1955 and 1959. Since then it has remained a work in progress. Each working day a team of experts checks the integrity of the dam wall to ensure it does not collapse under the weight of the water it holds back.

Voting Will Change the Lives of Zimbabwe’s Women

“Ten reasons why women must vote ‘Yes’ for the draft constitution…” says the Constitution Select Committee’s campaign radio jingle that plays over the airwaves in a grocer’s store at Mukumbura border post business centre on Zimbabwe’s northeastern border with Mozambique.

Water, Water Everywhere – and No Early Warning in Sight

Muzeka Muyeyekwa from Mapfekera Village in Zimbabwe’s  Manicaland Province wonders what he will feed his three children for lunch.