Category: SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

Gweru Has a Sewer Problem. Naturally, the Residents Are on Trial.

On 9 October The Herald reported that Gweru City Council is battling sewer blockages it blames on residents flushing plastic bags, nappies, sanitary products and rags, with sewage spilling into homes and streets in Mkoba, Mtapa, Senga and Ascot. The council has the contents of its pipes right. Mayor Martin Chivhoko told councillors that crews had responded to more than 300 blockages in a single … Continue reading Gweru Has a Sewer Problem. Naturally, the Residents Are on Trial.

Unknown's avatarKumbirai Thierry Nhamo6 Comments
REALITY BITES, SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

Zimbabwean Government, A Forecast Is Not a Disaster Plan

Hurricane Isaias came ashore near Destin, Florida, United States, on Friday night last week as a Category 2 storm. Its winds were 105 mph at landfall. By early Saturday, more than 726,000 customers in Florida and Alabama had lost power, and some Panhandle counties had briefly suspended emergency response because conditions were too dangerous. Everyone saw this coming. Forecasters had warned of storm surge of … Continue reading Zimbabwean Government, A Forecast Is Not a Disaster Plan

Unknown's avatarKumbirai Thierry Nhamo1 Comment
SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

The Next Battlefield May Be the Data Centre Down the Road

In the early hours of 8 October a drone set fire to a Yandex data centre in Sasovo, a town in Russia’s Ryazan region. Yandex told AFP that the facility had stopped operating entirely. The outage reached Yandex Cloud and the products built on it, such as Yandex Disk and Yandex Documents, and Yandex shares fell more than 3 percent on the Moscow Exchange. The … Continue reading The Next Battlefield May Be the Data Centre Down the Road

Unknown's avatarKumbirai Thierry Nhamo22 Comments
Ruins Of Democracy, SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

Bangsamoro Just Held an Election Forty Years in the Making and It Wasn’t a Clean One.

Voting opened Monday across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for the first parliamentary election in the region’s history. It was a milestone that took longer to arrive than most elections take to matter. The vote had been postponed four times since it was first scheduled for May 2022, pushed back to 2025, then October 2025, then March 2026, before finally landing on September … Continue reading Bangsamoro Just Held an Election Forty Years in the Making and It Wasn’t a Clean One.

Unknown's avatarKumbirai Thierry Nhamo9 Comments
SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

The Philippines Wants To Criminalize Disinformation and Zimbabwe Should Pay Attention.

The Philippines is debating a question Zimbabweans should recognise immediately: what happens when a government gives itself the power to decide what counts as false information? On June 3, the Philippine House of Representatives passed the Digital Media Anti-False Information Act bill by an overwhelming 286-3 vote, with seven abstentions. The bill would criminalise knowingly publishing or spreading false information with the intent to cause … Continue reading The Philippines Wants To Criminalize Disinformation and Zimbabwe Should Pay Attention.

Unknown's avatarKumbirai Thierry Nhamo7 Comments
SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

New Zealand Is Welcoming the Tourists Whilst Its Workers Can’t Afford to Stay.

New Zealand’s tourism officials had reason to celebrate last month. Visitor arrivals in July surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time since the border closures of 2020, reaching a milestone that the government’s Tourism Growth Roadmap had targeted for the end of this year. Infometrics data showed arrivals to Queenstown up 20 percent from the previous year, while national visitor numbers have returned close to … Continue reading New Zealand Is Welcoming the Tourists Whilst Its Workers Can’t Afford to Stay.

Unknown's avatarKumbirai Thierry Nhamo9 Comments
SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

Zimbabwe Has Become So Expensive to Govern That Government Is Now Cutting Its Own Taxes

Zimbabwe is cutting 291 licences, permits, levies and fees to reduce the cost of doing business. Good. But who made it expensive in the first place? These charges were created, approved and collected by the same system now removing them and presenting the change as reform. Zimbabwe has a habit of creating problems, living with them for years, then fixing part of them and asking … Continue reading Zimbabwe Has Become So Expensive to Govern That Government Is Now Cutting Its Own Taxes

Unknown's avatarKumbirai Thierry Nhamo1 Comment
SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

You Can’t Medal Your Way Out of Corruption

From Sept. 17 to 19, more than 800 anti-corruption officials from eight SADC countries will gather in Victoria Falls for an event featuring exhibitions, cultural activities, netball and volleyball. The theme is “Scaling Up Integrity Actions Across SADC.” Vice President Kembo Mohadi will open it. The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission is presenting the event as a regional demonstration of commitment to fighting corruption. It is also … Continue reading You Can’t Medal Your Way Out of Corruption

Unknown's avatarKumbirai Thierry Nhamo2 Comments
SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

Thirty-Five Thousand Reasons Not to Ask What “Electrified” Means

“Solar is the mainstay because we have not been able to reach access.” Energy Minister July Moyo said this in Victoria Falls during the International Solar Alliance’s Africa meeting. He was explaining the government’s plan to equip 35,000 rural villages with solar-powered business units. He was also saying something more important. Zimbabwe has struggled to extend its electricity grid to much of the country, particularly … Continue reading Thirty-Five Thousand Reasons Not to Ask What “Electrified” Means

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SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

Why Perth Became the Capital of Zimbabwe’s Mineral Dilemma

Last week, a Zimbabwean government delegation arrived at the Pan Pacific Perth to court Australian investment in platinum refineries, lithium processing plants and ferrochrome smelters. The visit exposed an uncomfortable fact about Zimbabwe’s mineral policy. The government has decided that the country must stop exporting minerals in an unprocessed form. It has not yet built the industrial capacity required to make that policy work. In … Continue reading Why Perth Became the Capital of Zimbabwe’s Mineral Dilemma

Unknown's avatarKumbirai Thierry Nhamo22 Comments