Category: SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

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
SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

One Company’s Balance Sheet Is Holding Up the Republic. Here’s Why That Should Terrify Us.

Last week on Wednesday, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority gave Econet Wireless an award for customs and excise compliance at a Taxpayer Appreciation Day marking the agency’s 25th anniversary. The ceremony is not the interesting part. The interesting part is what it reveals about the relationship between one company and the state. In the fiscal year ended February 2024, Econet paid ZWL3.8 trillion to the government … Continue reading One Company’s Balance Sheet Is Holding Up the Republic. Here’s Why That Should Terrify Us.

Unknown's avatarKumbirai Thierry Nhamo5 Comments
Politics, SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

A Government That Cannot Follow Its Own Plan Has No Business Enforcing One

Zimbabwe has a problem with informal work. It also has a problem with pretending that its policies are solutions. This year, the government adopted the National Informal Economy Formalisation Strategy. The strategy recognizes what successive governments have often preferred to ignore: Informal work is not a temporary nuisance or an obstacle to urban order. It is a central part of Zimbabwe’s economy. The strategy calls … Continue reading A Government That Cannot Follow Its Own Plan Has No Business Enforcing One

Unknown's avatarKumbirai Thierry Nhamo13 Comments
SYSTEMS ON TRIAL

When the Sky Breaks Twice in Three Years

The soil has not yet forgiven the heat of 2024. In the dry lands of Buhera and the low-slung valleys of Matabeleland, the earth remembers how the maize stalks curled and browned before the cobs could form. It remembers the dust storms that stripped the topsoil away, and the cattle that dropped dead beside empty boreholes. That disaster was supposed to be the exception. Now … Continue reading When the Sky Breaks Twice in Three Years

Unknown's avatarKumbirai Thierry Nhamo7 Comments