Zim News Flash mailings
Idasa are doing daily mailings of short news extracts. To receive these, send an email to this email address: ewellman@idasa.org.za. Spread the word. Today’s issue appears below:
Dear Reader
Zim News Flash 9 July 2009
Gono slams Zim banks
Gono has slammed some local banks for allegedly holding on to millions of US dollars, the Herald reported on Wednesday. The money was intended to be used for loans to credible businesses, the newspaper said. Gono was quoted as saying that by the end of May some banks were sitting on $600-million in deposits and that some banks with as much as $190-million had only lent $2-million. Gono added that while he was under pressure to crack the whip on such banks, he believed the errant banks should carry out “self-introspection” to assess their relevance in the national economic matrix.
AIDS number one cause of maternal deaths
A new maternal mortality study names HIV and AIDS as the cause of one in four maternal deaths in Zimbabwe. The first comprehensive assessment of deaths resulting from pregnancy or childbirth revealed that 725 Zimbabwean women out of every 100 000 who deliver, die due to complications. “The study findings have confirmed our worst fears: that indeed the maternal mortality ratio and the perinatal mortality rate are high, and present the biggest challenge for attainment of MDGs [Millennium Development Goals],” said Hilary Chiguvare of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which partnered with the University of Zimbabwe and other UN agencies to produce the report.
Zimbabwe Cabinet Gives Unity Gov’t Principals Ultimatum To Resolve Disputes
Zimbabwe’s power-sharing cabinet issued an ultimatum Wednesday to the three principals in the national unity government to resolve numerous issues that have been straining relations between the Movement for Democratic Change and ZANU-PF sides of the government. MDC and ZANU-PF sources told VOA that Wednesday’s cabinet meeting was tense with extended and heated debate as members from the MDC formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai clashed with their ZANU-PF counterparts. The latter were said to have been agitated over last week’s MDC boycott of a cabinet meeting.
Church pivotal in national healing, PM
Prime Minster Morgan Tsvangirai says the church has a critical role to play in the national healing programme adopted by government. The exercise is meant for people from across the political divide to bury the hatchet and work for the development of the country. Speaking at the Federation of Methodist Eastern and Southern Africa Women’s Seminar in Harare, Prime Minister Tsvangirai said the church provides a moral compass that is critical in promoting national reconciliation and healing.
