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Nelson Chamisa gives 24-hr ultimatum

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President Chamisa

President Chamisa, the MDC T and MDC Alliance leader has threatened to mobilise the opposition party’s supporters to picket at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) head office starting tomorrow until July 30 if the electoral management body fails to address their demands for transparency in the printing of ballot material by end of business today.

MDC Alliance co-principal Tendai Biti confirmed the development yesterday, saying they had started mobilising mobile toilets and tents for the thousands of opposition supporters expected to participate in the vigil.

“We will be leading from the front, we will be living on the streets. We are not going to allow this election to be stolen.

They can kill us. We are prepared to die for free, fair and credible elections.

We have given Zec a deadline and if they don’t address the issues raised in the petition by Monday, then we will be living on the streets,” Biti said.

“We have said this over and over again, there will be no voting. Some people talk about us boycotting the election, I don’t know where they get that. We are not boycotting, there will be no election.”

Addressing supporters at Mucheke Stadium in Masvingo yesterday, President Chamisa insisted that there would be no elections if Zec does not meet his grouping’s key demands — transparency in the printing of the ballot papers and security of the votes.

“We have to agree on the ballot paper. We say no to a bond ballot, a fake ballot which is pre-determined, but we want a ballot that we all agree on. So Zec is joking when it says they have finished printing the ballot paper. We say to hell with that.

We are going to the poll after agreeing on a proper ballot paper,” said President Chamisa.

MDC-T deputy treasurer-general Charlton Hwende said they were planning to hire 500 mobile toilets for use during their protest at the Zec headquarters in downtown Harare.

“Companies renting mobile toilets, please get in touch urgently looking for 500 mobile toilets,” Hwende said in a Facebook post yesterday.

He also threatened to mobilise for disruption of elections at all the 10 895 polling stations on election day if Zec does not give in to their demands.

“If our demands are not met on the 30th of July at all the 11 000 polling stations (sic), no voting will take place.

The only election that will ever take place in Zimbabwe will be a free and fair one. 2013 was the last disputed election. Going forward, the (sic) vote of the people will count,” Hwende said.

This came amid reports that Zec had agreed to a meeting with the youthful opposition leader and other opposition parties, under the auspices of the multi-party liaison committee to iron out their differences.

“We respectfully advise that the full Zec has agreed that your requests are best dealt with at our multi-party liaison committee in order to build consensus with the other political parties that are going to the election,” Zec’s acting chief elections officer Utoile Silaigwana said in a recent letter to MDC Alliance President Chamisa’s chief election agent, Jameson Timba.

“In the absence of a legal framework to guide us on how best to accommodate your request, a consensus approach is the next best alternative.”

The MDC Alliance threats set a grand stage for civil unrest ahead of an election which is at the heart of Zimbabwe re-joining the international community of nations.

But Zanu PF deputy legal secretary Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana dismissed the MDC Alliance President Chamisa and the opposition threats as “inconsequential”.
NewsDay

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DIASPORA

Zimbabwean Students Find Opportunities Abroad in Nursing

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Zimbabwean Nursing Students in Poland

A growing number of Zimbabwean students are looking to Poland for nursing education, hoping to find employment in other countries after graduation. Vincent Pol University in Lublin Poland and the University of Economics and Innovation are among the top destinations for Zimbabwean students pursuing nursing degrees.

Over 500 Zimbabwean students are studying in Poland, with the majority enrolled in nursing programs. The reasons for this trend include the high quality of education offered at these institutions, affordable tuition fees, and the potential for employment opportunities abroad after graduation.

“Poland has a very good reputation in the field of nursing education, and the curriculum is aligned with international standards,” said one Zimbabwean nurse who studied in Poland and now works for the NHS in the United Kingdom. “The education and training I received in Poland prepared me well for my nursing career in the UK”

After completing their nursing degrees, many Zimbabwean students are finding employment opportunities in countries like the UK, Canada, and the United States. These countries are currently experiencing a shortage of nurses, and are actively recruiting qualified professionals from other countries to fill these positions.

“The demand for nurses in these countries is high, and the qualifications and experience that Zimbabwean nurses bring make them highly sought after,” he said. “Many Zimbabwean nurses are able to find well-paying jobs with good benefits, and are able to provide a better life for themselves and their families.”

While the prospect of working abroad is attractive to many Zimbabwean students, there are concerns about the brain drain and its impact on the healthcare system in Zimbabwe. “It is important for us to address the root causes of the shortage of nurses in Zimbabwe, and to invest in education and training programs that will help us retain our healthcare professionals,” he added.

Despite these concerns, many Zimbabwean students continue to pursue nursing education in Poland as a means of achieving their career goals and improving their standard of living. With the demand for nurses expected to remain high in the coming years, the prospects for employment abroad look promising for those who are willing to take the leap and pursue their education abroad.

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NEWS

Kembo Mohadi resigns amid sex scandal

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Kembo Mohadi sex scandal

Zimbabwe Vice President Kembo Mohadi resigned on Monday following local media reports he had engaged in improper conduct.

Kembo Mohadi, along with Constantino Chiwenga, was a deputy to President Emmerson Mnangagwa since 2018, but without a political power base, he was not seen as a potential successor to the president.

In a rare move by a public official in Zimbabwe, Kembo Mohadi said he had taken the decision to step down “not as a matter of cowardice but as a sign of demonstrating great respect to the office of the President”.

I have been going through a soul-searching pilgrimage and realised that I need the space to deal with my problem outside the governance chair,” he said in a statement released by the Ministry of Information.

Local online media service ZimLive has in the past two weeks carried reports that Kembo Mohadi had improper sexual liaisons with married women, including one of his subordinates.

Mohadi, 70, denied the accusations last week saying this was part of a political plot against him. On Monday he continued to deny the accusations saying he would seek legal recourse.

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BUSINESS

Zimbabwe agrees to pay $3.5 billion compensation to white farmers

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Zimbabwe White Farmers

Zimbabwe agreed on Wednesday to pay $3.5 billion in compensation to Zimbabwe white farmers whose land was expropriated by the government to resettle black families, moving a step closer to resolving one the most divisive policies of the Robert Mugabe era.

But the southern African nation does not have the money and will issue long term bonds and jointly approach international donors with the farmers to raise funding, according to the compensation agreement.

Two decades ago Mugabe’s government carried out at times violent evictions of 4,500 Zimbabwe white farmers and redistributed the land to around 300,000 Black families, arguing it was redressing colonial land imbalances.

The agreement signed at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State House offices in Harare showed white farmers would be compensated for infrastructure on the farms and not the land itself, as per the national constitution.

Details of how much money each farmer, or their descendants, given the time elapsed since the farms were seized, was likely to get were not yet clear, but the government has said it would prioritise the elderly when making the settlements.

Farmers would receive 50% of the compensation after a year and the balance within five years. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube and acting Agriculture Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri signed on behalf of the government, while farmers unions and a foreign consortium that undertook valuations also penned the agreement.

“As Zimbabweans, we have chosen to resolve this long-outstanding issue,” said Andrew Pascoe, head of the Commercial Farmers Union representing  Zimbabwe white farmers.

The land seizures were one of Mugabe’s signature policies that soured ties with the West. Mugabe, who was ousted in a coup in 2017 and died last year, accused the West of imposing sanctions on his government as punishment.

The programme still divides public opinion in Zimbabwe as opponents see it as a partisan process that left the country struggling to feed itself. But its supporters say it has empowered landless Black people. Mnangagwa said the land reform could not be reversed but paying of compensation was key to mending ties with the West. Reuters

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