Zimbabwe snagged the rights to host the permanent headquarters for this African Continental Free Trade Area company that runs the big trade expo every couple of years, and the finance minister is promising they'll cover rent and logistics going forward. The government pledged office space and conference facilities to handle exhibitions where African businesses can push their products to international buyers.
Parliament will pass new legislation through some finance bill to officially establish the organization's base in Harare, which should boost tourism numbers and foreign investment while raising the country's profile across the continent. The trade agreement behind the whole operation aims to create the world's largest free-trade...
That massive Chinese-backed steel plant down in Mvuma just fired back up after shutting down for two months to fix equipment and upgrade systems. The 1.5 billion dollar Dinson facility wrapped maintenance work and got everyone back on the job while collecting a bunch of industry awards for quality standards and export performance.
The company grabbed international certification for meeting global manufacturing benchmarks and snagged recognition as exporter of the year. Projections suggest the operation will eventually pump out five million metric tonnes of steel products annually across different phases, which could bring hundreds of millions in foreign currency into the country. The parent group runs coal mines in Hwange and smelting...
Zimbabwe's president keeps pushing this whole "build your country yourself" thing, and it apparently turned a bunch of connected business guys into mega-rich construction and mining bosses who are spreading cash around through charity projects. The government gave them sweet deals on imports and contracts, and these dudes are throwing up stadiums, donating buses to schools and churches, and funding free hospital treatment while their companies keep expanding into neighboring countries.
One transport operator hired 1,500 people after getting duty-free bus imports approved, while mining magnates are building soccer complexes and pledging clinics across Harare's high-density suburbs. The whole setup is getting credit for creating this new...
The army's VIP driver training program at Khumalo Barracks just wrapped up another round, and some lieutenant colonel is calling out the massive gender gap after only one woman made it through with 19 dudes. He wants the school fixing that ratio by getting more female candidates into future classes instead of keeping things this lopsided.
The five-week course teaches selected drivers how to chauffeur high-ranking officials around during peacetime and war zones, covering everything from security protocols to first aid and etiquette. The commanding officer told graduates they need to stop wrecking government vehicles because the country can't afford to keep replacing them, and he reminded everyone that human lives matter more than...
Over 300 people just finished up at some vocational center outside Harare, and the government showed up to tell them their new carpentry and mechanics skills should keep them off drugs while building the economy. Youth minister Tino Machakaire basically said learning a trade gives you purpose beyond getting wrecked on substances, which is apparently becoming a bigger problem with younger crowds across the country.
They launched a tech hub at the same event that's supposed to pump out climate-focused digital entrepreneurs with backing from the EU and UNICEF. The facility will train graduates in green tech and sustainable business models, which seems like the standard development pitch these days. Provincial officials praised everyone...
Some Zimbabwean lawmaker who attended the climate summit in Brazil is calling out the whole thing as basically pointless because the biggest polluters just ghosted the event. America, China, and India never showed up, and the US is apparently dropping cash to bring back coal plants while everyone else is trying to hit emissions targets.
The guy wants parliaments across Africa to stop messing around and start writing actual binding laws that force companies to report environmental spending and dedicate real budget percentages to climate stuff. He points out that African countries are getting wrecked by climate disasters despite producing almost none of the emissions, while G20 nations are pumping out over 80 percent of greenhouse gases...
Zimbabwe's housing minister went to Nairobi and basically begged development partners to throw more cash at the Global South for building stuff, and he wants climate-proof designs baked into everything. The country keeps pushing to get a UN-Habitat office set up locally, and they're flexing about their spot on the executive board through 2029.
The government is trying to squeeze out affordable units through private deals and community projects, but money is tight, and their data tracking systems are apparently a mess. They're backing some global housing database that would let countries swap strategies and measure progress, which seems pretty basic, but whatever.
The whole conference centered on getting three billion people worldwide...
Bobi Wine showed up ready to grill Museveni about his 40-year reign at a presidential debate, but the incumbent totally bailed on the whole thing. The opposition leader wanted to ask him what exactly the NRM is protecting with their campaign slogan, since public hospitals are falling apart, schools are crumbling, and roads are full of massive potholes everywhere.
Wine basically called out the president for living in the past while everyone else is trying to figure out where the country goes next. Museveni has been defending his "Protecting the Gains" theme by pointing to economic growth numbers, but critics think it just means keeping the elite class wealthy after decades of dominance. The debate happened without him, and Wine made it...
A teenager working construction got fried by power lines in Kabalagala while plastering a half-finished building, and cops are calling out the whole industry for cutting corners on safety. The 19-year-old was up on the second floor when he touched some high-voltage cables that were way closer to the structure than they should have been, and he died instantly. Another guy tried pulling him away and ended up in the hospital with serious burns.
Police grabbed statements from everyone at the scene and moved the body to the morgue for autopsy work. They're hammering contractors about keeping their distance from live wires, checking with the power company before starting jobs near electrical infrastructure, and using proper gear when heights...
