Zimbabwe's finance chief will deliver the 2026 national budget at Parliament in Harare, outlining spending priorities as the country wraps up its first five-year development blueprint and prepares to launch another ambitious economic roadmap targeting middle-income status within four years.
Mthuli Ncube projects a 5 percent expansion for the economy while keeping the deficit capped at 3 percent of national output. The fiscal package channels substantial funds toward power generation, roads, and housing while maintaining strict discipline that bars central bank financing. Agriculture gets bolstered support after drought disrupted food production, and digital skills training becomes mandatory for government workers.
Business groups want...
Zimbabwean authorities are advancing extradition efforts to return the Vumbunu brothers, Abraham Temayi and Elijah Temayi, who allegedly masterminded a $4 million Ecobank cash-in-transit robbery. The half-siblings fled after the October 2023 heist and remain in South Africa while legal proceedings continue. One accomplice, Bhekani Mlilo, has already been brought back from Botswana and appeared before a Bulawayo magistrate on armed robbery charges, with his trial set to begin in December.
Police Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed that regional cooperation with South African officials remains strong as they work to secure the brothers' return. The pair, raised together in Bulawayo's Mzilikazi suburb, have a lengthy criminal history...
Treasury authorities have eliminated the option for smugglers to reclaim confiscated merchandise through duty payments, mandating automatic forfeiture of all illegal imports under strengthened enforcement protocols. Commissioner General Regina Chinamasa confirmed that undeclared cargo crossing national boundaries will permanently transfer to state ownership as officials invoke statutory powers granted under the Customs and Excise Act.
Revenue collection agents have intensified surveillance along transportation corridors linking Beitbridge to Bulawayo, Victoria Falls to Harare, and other strategic routes where contraband detection rates confirm widespread noncompliance. The zero-tolerance framework aims to shield domestic manufacturers...
Zimbabwean authorities have accelerated livestock health screenings at border crossings as part of an aggressive biosecurity campaign protecting agricultural revenues from devastating animal diseases. Veterinary Services director Pious Makaya revealed the government rolled out weekly cattle dipping protocols, replacing the previous fortnightly schedule, while administering vaccines to 100,000 head against January disease and treating 40,000 more for babesiosis and anaplasmosis in vulnerable zones.
The intensified surveillance targets foot-and-mouth disease, Newcastle disease and tick-borne infections during wet months when pathogen transmission peaks. Officials submitted documentation seeking international certification of the nation's...
Regional nutrition specialists have lauded Zimbabwe's collaborative framework for combating food insecurity after witnessing community initiatives during a multi-day study mission to Murehwa District. Delegates from Botswana, Zambia, Kenya, Ghana, Eswatini and the SUN Movement Secretariat observed agricultural programs, childhood feeding schemes and household support systems coordinated by the Food and Nutrition Council.
District council chairman Amos Gutu highlighted strategic grain reserves managed by traditional chiefs, nutrition gardens spanning nearly all 30 constituencies, and livestock breeding operations. Chief Mangwende credited presidential conservation agriculture for enabling families to achieve self-sufficiency, while...
Harare sealed a historic agreement with the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development to conduct the capital's inaugural workforce competency assessment targeting municipal service modernization. Mayor Jacob Mafume emphasized the partnership addresses urgent needs for digital literacy, climate resilience capabilities and youth employment readiness while establishing benchmarks for staff development across all departments.
Ambassador Rudo Chitiga confirmed the metropolitan examination will serve as a national blueprint for similar reforms throughout Zimbabwe's urban centers. The permanent secretary stressed the evaluation must identify existing talents, determine necessary qualifications and bridge employment deficiencies through...
Zimbabwean authorities have sounded alarms over surging gender violence, psychological disorders, cyber threats and narcotics plaguing tertiary institutions during Harare Institute of Technology discussions. Youth ministry permanent secretary Solomon Mhlanga challenged stakeholders to back student initiatives tackling campus crises, while Canadian envoy Adler Aristilde revealed one-third of women suffer physical attacks and a quarter endure sexual assault nationwide. Depression grips over 25 percent of undergraduates, yet minimal mental health access persists.
Aristilde highlighted digital harassment victimizing young women as cyberbullying intensifies psychological trauma. HIT administrator Willard Gwarimbo warned substance dependency...
Zimbabwe National Defence University launches an artificial intelligence summit examining how machine learning threatens and advances stability across borders. Air Commodore Michael Mushati revealed the academic gathering will probe regulatory frameworks, security vulnerabilities and developmental prospects as experts from government, private enterprise and international institutions convene to debate policy approaches without predetermined conclusions.
Astro Mobile chief Munyaradzi Gwatidzo warned that insufficient African data risks distorting continental narratives through Western-trained algorithms, urging massive infrastructure investments exceeding one billion dollars for AI-capable data centers. The executive stressed that...
Mashonaland East Province has exceeded expectations by preparing over two million Pfumvudza conservation agriculture plots, surpassing its 1.8 million target as 600,000 households adopt climate-resilient farming methods. Provincial Affairs Minister Itayi Ndudzo launched the 2025/26 season at a Hwedza District ceremony where farmers received government inputs aimed at securing food supply for three million rural beneficiaries nationwide.
Host farmer Misilani credited the presidential program with transforming his family's fortunes after expanding from two plots in 2022 to fourteen this season, delivering consistent harvests despite erratic rainfall. Fellow participant Marian Ruvimbo echoed his success story, confirming she achieved food...
