Irish Aid-funded UN volunteer programme sends 'development worker' on one year holiday to Zimbabwe

The Irish Times carried an opinion piece in 2011 by one of its then most prominent columnists with the heading, 'Africa is giving nothing to anyone — apart from AIDS'. It was a screed against the giving of aid by western countries to Africa, but it was much more than that as well. To cut a very long story short, and to give an indication of the reaction, that article is no longer on that paper's website, nor does the writer still pen articles for it. So 'aid' is as controversial in the 'donor' countries as it increasingly is in Africa and elsewhere, mainly over its effectiveness versus its cost. Why then is Irish Aid sending a young Irishwoman with no particular 'development' skills on an effective one-year holiday in Zimbabwe?

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What the Affirmative Action Group fails to understand about banks

The Affirmative Action Group is a 'pressure group' for 'economic empowerment.' As such, a big part of their reason for existence is just to be provocative, to make various parts of what can be considered 'the establishment' (government, banks, industry, etc) squirm. At this rabble-rousing role the AAG is very effective. As the claimed representatives of a section of aspiring entrepreneurs, they more broadly seek to make the general operating environment more favorable for up-and-coming businesspeople. That necessarily means a big part of the AAG's focus is on access to finance. Their expressed thoughts on this matter suggest that they may have completely unrealistic expectations about this issue.

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Why digitilization of Harare passport office may not bring better service

For decades now, the process of obtaining or renewing a passport has been a soul-destroying struggle and example of so much of what is wrong with the way Zimbabwe's public services interact with their public. Long queues just to obtain the passport application forms were the earliest sign of the deeply dysfunctional process, and also of the attitude of the institution about its 'customers.' Now the application forms can be filled in online, in theory potentially making the whole process much more efficient and much less traumatic. Here is why that hoped for result may not be achieved in the short term.

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Why some find Julius Malema's views on Zimbabwe so provocative

South African political rabble rouser Julius Malema was in Zimbabwe over the weekend. During and immediately after his brief visit he ruffled a lot of feathers in his host city as well as at home. It is clear that he finds Zimbabwe's 'revolution' inspiring for his own battles, but what he means as praise for Zimbabwe sometimes comes out sounding as mockery. Still, his views are partly provocative because they offer a a view of the events in Zimbabwe that is diametrically opposed to the dominant South African and western narrative of the country as a 'failed state' that South Africa should carefully avoid emulating.

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Iran's Zimbabwe experience

Iran is besieged by economic sanctions by the western world because they are not happy about its desire and plans to be nuclear-armed, just like the sanctioning countries. There are strong parallels between what Iran is experiencing now and what Zimbabwe went through in the several years up to the beginning of gradual economic normalization in 2009.

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