Zimbabwean Situation Research Articles

REGULATION OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP IN SOUTH AFRICA AND ZIMBABWE

Criminals despise transparency. Beneficial ownership transparency measures are aimed at ensuring that the structure of corporate vehicles is evident and that their real owners do not hide behind the corporate veil. South Africa and Zimbabwe have been struggling to prevent and combat money laundering, corruption and tax crimes. Competent authorities in both countries are starting to appreciate the importance of beneficial ownership transparency measures in the fight against economic crime. This paper examines whether South Africa and Zimbabwe have made progress in establishing effective legal frameworks on the beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements. It discusses the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act 1 of 2017 which establishes beneficial ownership transparency measures for South Africa. It goes on to discuss the Zimbabwean situation regarding beneficial ownership and its regulation. Lastly, it makes certain recommendations concerning the beneficial ownership regimes of both countries.

The role of the Eucharist in national healing, reconciliation and peacebuilding: A case study of Zimbabwe’s fractured society

This study examines the role of the Eucharist in national healing, reconciliation and peacebuilding with particular focus on Zimbabwe’s fractured society. The article is divided into two main parts. The first segment examines the Zimbabwean situation on the socio-political level and the need for unity, reconciliation and healing therein. The second section underlines the potential of the Eucharist as a game changer on Zimbabwe’s chequered religious, social and political landscapes. Thus, the role of the church in national healing shall be examined and evaluated. In view of the fact that Christianity controls over 85% of Zimbabwe’s total population, the article proposes to seriously consider the adoption of the Eucharist not just as a model for deepening ecumenical growth but also for national healing, integration and peacebuilding. For this reason, the article strongly argues that the Eucharist is an underutilised strategy in religious reconciliation, national healing and peacebuilding. As a nation with religious, social and political landscapes that have traditionally been dominated by Eucharistic exclusivity, denominational divisions, tribal tensions, animosity and political violence, among other challenges, the adoption of the Eucharist as a ‘peacemaker’ would signify not just a common Christian source of being in the one God and a fulfilment of the deepest African liturgical and enculturation aspirations but also the introduction of a new model and paradigm in Zimbabwe’s healing and peacebuilding thrust and trajectory.Contribution: The study used the association between the Eucharist and the uniting powers of food in secular contexts to underline the prospects and centrality of the Eucharist as an antidote for national healing, reconciliation and peacebuilding on Zimbabwe’s fractured society.

Applicability of Becker’s theory of allocation of time in modelling married women’s allocation of time between household duties and labour force participation in Zimbabwe

With the rise in women participation in labour force and gender equality campaigns on the one hand and cultural norms which characterise women as house makers on the other, most married women often find themselves in a dilemma as to how to allocate their time among competing needs. This paper used a theoretical approach in reviewing the applicability of the proposals of Becker’s allocation of time theory to the married women’s allocation of time between household duties and labour force participation to the Zimbabwean situation. It was concluded that though the model ignores the cultural norms of assigning household roles to specific gender, it explained to a greater extent the trends observed in which women spend more time in household chores to which they have a comparative advantage as opposed to their male counterparts. The substitution and income effects explained in this model are also applicable to the preferences and patterns of time allocation by married when faced with a change in wages.

Citizenship education and its relevance to Zimbabwe

Informal education systems in the traditional African systems were aimed at, among other things, passing on cultural values, norms and knowledge skills from one generation to the next. In addition, the youth were taught to preserve their cultural identity. Owing to fundamental shifts in classical family systems and educational practices in Africa, countries such as Zimbabwe have come to recognise the need for including societal values and norms, ethics, morals and responsibilities in thewhole school curricula in order to inculcate value systems and maintain the national legacy and cultural heritage. One strategy for achieving the desired cultural ethos is implementing a deliberate Citizenship Education programme which should be incorporated into the formal education system. Citizenship Education could also be inculcated through extra curricula activities such as sport.Besides the transmission of the cultural norms and values, Citizenship Education should incorporate humanitarian issues such as inclusion of people with disabilities in social processes. In the same vein, the Citizenship Education programme should be flexible to cater for the needs of learners with special needs. This paper explores the relevance of Citizenship Education to the prevailing Zimbabwean situation. In the long term, Citizenship Education has the capacity to improve the socio-political and economic advancement of a country. The paper concludes that Citizenship Education is relevant to the Zimbabwean situation, despite that it has been heavily politicised and has, in some cases, lost its original intention. In the long term, the programme has a propensity to improve the socio-political and economic conditions of the country. De-politicisation of Citizenship Education could be the first step towards re-aligning it to the intended national ethos and ideals. This should be policy driven.The programme should endeavour to inculcate values and norms that facilitate nation building and should not be used for partisan political orientation.

A review of the epidemiology and control of gastrointestinal nematode infections in cattle in Zimbabwe

In this review, the main gastrointestinal nematodes infecting cattle in Zimbabwe and the epidemiological factors influencing their occurrence are reviewed and discussed. Nineteen gastrointestinal nematode species that belong to seven families have been found to occur in cattle in Zimbabwe. The main genera reported to date are Cooperia, Haemonchus, Trichostrongylus and Oesophagostomum and the dominant species are Cooperia pectinata, Cooperia punctata, Haemonchus placei and Trichostrongylus axei. The mixed infection by several species from the genera is the cause of parasitic gastroenteritis in cattle in Zimbabwe. Production and husbandry practices, season, host age and environment are considered to be the main factors that influence gastrointestinal nematode infection in cattle. The geographical distribution of the gastrointestinal nematodes is also reviewed in relation to the climatic conditions of the country. Various control options are discussed and how they are applicable to the Zimbabwean situation. Based on reports and existing data on the epidemiological features of the gastrointestinal nematode infection in cattle, practical control measures are critically reviewed and recommendations are made for a national control programme.

HIV/AIDS: The Zimbabwean Situation and Trends

Although there are many Zimbabwean published manuscripts reporting on different HIV/AIDS research areas on what has been happening over the years concise national reviews are rare yet such reports are not only important to the respective researchers and policy makers of the native country but are also of great value to potential donors and/or collaborators who may wish to have a quick and deep understanding of disease burden and trends of the nation they may wish to work with. Recent data from general population surveys point to a remarkable decline in the HIV prevalence attributed mainly to changes in sexual behavior and to some extent to effective preventive programmes such as male circumcision, prevention of mother to child transmission of the virus (PMTCT) including improved access to antiretroviral therapy among the infected that has consequently reduced transmission at population level. This review seeks to give a simple and clear Zimbabwean HIV/AIDS perspective detailing the geographical, demographical, social economic status including HIV related legal aspects that could have shaped the observed disease burden and trends. Milestones, impact, and challenges around the control of the HIV/AIDS pandemic will be discussed.

Strugglers and Stragglers: Imagining the “War Veteran” from the 1890s to the Present in Zimbabwean Literary Discourse

Summary This article interrogates the diverse images of the combative participant in the struggle for Zimbabwean independence. The war for independence took close to a century – from 1890 to 1980. The numerical inversion in the dates ironically mirrors the radical transformation in the perceptions of the hero. The article makes a historical survey of the rifts and shifts in the cultural memory and literary configurations of the African armed combatant. It deals with three genealogical periods of conceptualisation: the participant in the First Chimurenga, the guerrilla in the Second Chimurenga, the Ndebele “dissidents” and the “war veterans” in the “Third Chimurenga”. Genocide, xenophobia and massacre, too much, are unspeakable in the discourse of modernity because such crimes against humanity defy description and, as Adorno (1955: 34) submits, are impossible to write after Auschwitz. But to remain silent over the flare of systematised and authorised purging of dissenting chromatic configurations in the Zimbabwean situation is to be complicit in the enactment of both past and current horrors. Dialogue between Zimbabwe and the West, aid and media houses, is charged and polarised. Zimbabwe is sceptical about the purity and altruistic character of the West, global media and humanitarian workers, while the West imagines Foucaldian “biopolitics” (the ability to control populations) has contributed to the implosion in (an)other African state.

<em>Mugabe Must Go:</em> Textual Meanings of the Representation of the Zimbabwean Situation by the South African Press

This article is a textual analysis of the South African press representation of the political, economic, and social situations in Zimbabwe. The article argues that the South African press presents a stereotypical and sensational view of Zimbabwe, as the international press portrays all of Africa. Further, it argues that the press's deeper agenda is to get Mugabe to go so that Western norms of democracy and human rights can be realized. Although most international press coverage of Africa is negative, the coverage of the Zimbabwean situation merits some degree of coverage. However, this coverage should reflect the extent to which the public discourse among South Africans and Zimbabweans agrees with the negative analysis of what is happening in Zimbabwe. The South African press is reflecting the views of South Africans and Zimbabweans that, seemingly, lean towards the fact that Zimbabwe is faced with a problematic situation. The article examines the headlines, photographs, captions, and cartoons used to represent the situation in Zimbabwe. It also analyzes the metaphors, analogies, and intertexts in selected stories to thematically unpack their meanings. The representation of Zimbabwe is achieved through icons and symbols that connote the existence of a problematic situation in the country. The textual analysis of the representation indicates that for Zimbabwe to restore democratic practices and recover economically, Mugabe must go.

The Nexus Between Equitable Land Distribution and Poverty Reduction: An Overview of the Zimbabwean Situation

Developments in Zimbabwe at the turn of the new millennium have been characterised by efforts to ensure that the land redistribution exercise takes place across all communities. This was done at a faster rate than witnessed anywhere in the world for the past two decades. The overall aim was to grapple with the rising levels of poverty and unemployment that led to discontent among the populace. Land redistribution represents the desire to increase participation in agricultural activities and place land in the hands of those who till the land. Economically, land redistribution makes a great deal of sense as it leads to a redistribution of income in favour of groups who are expected to spend their money on the domestic rather than international markets. The aim of this paper is to examine the linkage between inequitable land distribution and the socio-economic deprivations underlying poverty in Zimbabwe. The need to investigate arises from the standpoint that other societies have seen the gaps between the rich and the poor closing but having sought other models of reducing poverty other than of land redistribution. The examination provides a basis upon which justification for land reform can be carried out in some developing countries with similar land ownership patterns as in Zimbabwe in the pre-fast track land reform era. It also forms the basis upon which poverty can be reduced. The paper unearths controversies surrounding land reform, to be specific, the fast track land reform and its concerns the poor in Zimbabwe.

Language development: Progress and challenges in a multilingual Zimbabwe

Monolingual communities are an extremely rare phenomenon. Instead, most communities are multilingual in that there is usually more than one language spoken. Although multilingualism has been viewed in some circles as an asset in that different languages can be assigned different functions, it sometimes poses a multiplicity of challenges to language planners and researchers. Taking the Zimbabwean situation as a case study, this article highlights some of the problems and challenges that language researchers face in their bid to develop the country's languages. It specifically focuses on issues of language development that came as a challenge to language researchers involved in lexicographic and other language-related research in the African Languages Lexical (ALLEX) Project as well as in the African Languages Research Institute (ALRI). Some such challenges discussed include issues like language selection for development, absence of clear language policy and the important issue of attitudes of respective language communities towards language research programmes. The article also looks at how the project and the institute have managed to make meaningful contributions within the context of the research-unfriendly environment that the researchers found themselves in. The article is based on the writer's experiences as a researcher of both the ALLEX Project and ALRI.

AFTER MUGABE GOES – THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL RECONSTRUCTION OF ZIMBABWE

AbstractThis Presidential address briefly outlines the developments in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 leading up to the current political and economic crisis. The Zimbabwean situation is assessed within the conceptual framework of patrimonialism and predatory states. The origins of the Zimbabwean crisis are then analysed in their economic and political context leading to an eventual “fragile” or “failed” state. Evaluation of the crisis suggests that institutional damage has proceeded to the point at which only large scale economic and political reconstruction offers sustainable long term solutions, irrespective of when President Mugabe leaves office. The address concludes with an examination of the regional implications for Southern African Development Community – as well as the role of the global community – and outlines some of the core components of any reconstruction process‐to‐be in Zimbabwe.

The HIV epidemic in Zimbabwe—The penalty of silence

This paper traces the rise of the HIV pandemic in Zimbabwe and also traces the history of official silence about it. The paper argues that women are a particularly vulnerable group, but are often the most deprived of treatment. The spread of the disease within the Zimbabwean diaspora is also described and it is pointed out how British asylum procedures can discourage bearers of the disease from seeking medical opinion and help. The medical profession within Zimbabwe itself is castigated as not having been ready to take a stand against silence and on behalf of patient choice and empowerment, and the Zimbabwean situation is contrasted with those in Uganda and South Africa. The paper makes a passionate call for engagement nationally, professionally and internationally with the Zimbabwe pandemic.

Critical Educational Studies in Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT What advanced study ought to be available to teachers? This paper presents an account of a study conducted in the University of Zimbabwe. This study is characterised by critical features: it demonstrates historical, moral and political awareness. The Zimbabwean situation is such that the function of schooling in relation to its religious origins and in relation to political authorities is demonstrably problematic. It is suggested that what is problematic in Zimbabwe is also so elsewhere. But in today's crisis in educational studies there exist no obvious successors to the churches as custodians of moral authority. It falls to the reconstructed ‘universities’ to rescue what may be rescued from the centralised and mechanistic prescription governing today's in‐service education for teachers in Britain.

An Interview with Nathan Shamuyarira and Comment on the Zimbabwean Situation

An Interview with Nathan Shamuyarira and Comment on the Zimbabwean Situation