Home / Columns

Columns

Blogs geschreven door de columnisten van Zimbabwe Watch.


All visitors came with low expectations and all of them left with a much better understanding of the opportunities Zimbabwe offers. One delegation member (an expert in red meat processing) expressed it in simple words: ‘What I looked for in Zambia, I found in Zimbabwe!’

Lees verder →


I can't stop but think about one of my favourite soul singers Sam Cooke who sang 'a change is gonna come...' It is difficult to predict what this change will look like in Zimbabwe, but ultimately it will lead to a more democratic Zimbabwe, for like Martin Luther King concluded: 'We shall overcome because the arch of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice'

Lees verder →


Economists belong to an interesting species. In Zimbabwe they are easy to study, since they write articles in the various newspapers, you hear them on the radio and you see them often at gatherings of important people.

Lees verder →


If Europeans poke their noses into the Zimbabwean folklore, firebrand Mugabe will use every opportunity to blend them ''imperialists'' and ''racists.'' Mugabe isn't prepared to listen to an ''unAfrican'' solution, whatever that means.

Lees verder →


It was not the type of engagement which we saw in Egypt and other frail states. There were no fists, I did not see anger. I saw tears and uneasy shuffling. People were whispering to each other. A hush-hush public. As if they were part of the show itself.

Lees verder →


What is sometimes difficult to understand, especially when you hear about the political environment in Zimbabwe, is that you can actually 'live a good life' in Zimbabwe. If you have money that is... The question I ask is 'to what extend can you enjoy Zimbabwe's beauty if you are aware of what is going on?'

Lees verder →


Zimbabwe Defense Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, some two weeks ago, has threatened to seize foreign owned companies’ shareholding unless they urgently denounce sanctions put in place by Western countries. Addressing a ZANU PF meeting in Mutare, Mnangagwa said that companies’ bosses will soon be summoned to appear on national radio and denounce western sanctions, if not they will lose 90% of their shareholding.

Lees verder →


In order to escape my office I regularly do airport transfers for our clients. Our clients are people from all over the world. They work for NGO’s and governments and visit Harare on certain “missions”; we have the occasional tourist and also business people who are sniffing out the opportunities Zimbabwe has to offer. They al have their own perceptions of Zimbabwe.

Lees verder →


I remember answering the not-so-simple-question of what I did learn during
the years that I studied mathematics. My answer - I think it was quite
brilliant - was this: to make things simple and to keep them simple.
The "thing" of Zimbabwe is quite complex.

Lees verder →


Southern African Development Community members this week threw their weight behind Zimbabwe’s US$8 billion aid appeal. Unsurprisingly, they did not commit any of their own money to the desperately-needed financial package required to lift their neighbour out of the economic quagmire resulting from three decades of corruption and misrule by Robert Mugabe and his thievocracy.

Lees verder →


Columnisten

Goof de Jong

Goof de Jong werkte 11 jaar als leraar in Zimbabwe, zowel op het platteland als in één van de townships van Harare. In de jaren negentig startte hij met een Nederlandse collega een reisagentschap in Zimbabwe, Nyati Travel.


Bruce Mutsvairo

Bruce Mutsvairo is a lecturer in Journalism at Amsterdam University College. He writes in his personal capacity.


Hugo Knoppert

Since January 2010 Hugo Knoppert is the coordinator of Zimbabwe Watch. He will write about his work for Zimbabwe Watch, which includes activities in the Netherlands and Europe, his travels to Zimbabwe, and surpising experiences along the way.


Francisca Midzi

Towards reconstruction

Francisca Onai Midzi is the gender and human rights officer for the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU).She writes in her personal capacity.


Collen Chibango

Collen Chibango is a former student leader with the University of Zimbabwe SRC and Zimbabwe National Student Union (ZINASU) and founder President of the Zimbabwe Youth Movement (ZYM). He is now studying in the Netherlands after failing to complete his studies in Zimbabwe.


Wilf Mbanga

I write as I please

Wilf Mbanga is de oprichter van de onafhankelijke wekelijkse krant "The Zimbabwean". Sinds janari 2009 schrijft hij weer voor Zimbabwe Watch. Wilf Mbanga woont in het Verenigd Koninkrijk.


Pascal Richard

Zimbabwe solidarity

Pascal Richard is the former coordinator of Zimbabwe Watch, linking human rights activists and causes between Zimbabwe, Southern Africa and Europe. He contributes whenever compelled to by developments around Zimbabwe.


Garikai Chimuka

The struggle continues unabated!

Garikai Chimuka is een voormalig studentenleider aan de University of Zimbabwe. Momenteel studeert hij aan de Wageningen University in Nederland. Hij is ook actief voor de Wageningen Students Organisation (WSO).