WEEKLY NEWS ROUND-UP

Monday

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa thanks India for donating medicines worth US$ 100 000 to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

The President said the assistance demonstrated the cordial relations that exist between Zimbabwe and India. Writing on his Twitter handle, President Mnangagwa said:“Thank you to our dear friends in India for the delivery of these important Covid-19 related medicines. Your donations touch our hearts and are a true expression of the close friendship between our two nations.”

Tuesday

Water levels in Lake Kariba continue to rise steadily, peaking at 41,6 percent, which was above the first peak recorded at the end of June before starting another modest decline.

Buoyed by relatively higher water levels than the previous year affected by drought and heavy drawdown during power generation in the 2018/19 season, Zimbabwe Power Company has increased power generation at Kariba Power Station.

Wednesday

Structural works on the imposing six-storey Parliament Building in Mount Hampden are 100 percent complete, save for internal and external fittings. Speaking on the sidelines of an Appreciation Tour of the New Parliament Building by Service Chiefs yesterday, Ministry of Local Government and Public Works acting Permanent Secretary Mr Christopher Shumba said: “The final details are with the engineers, but we are happy that we are ahead of schedule. As you can see the tour indicates that we are almost through.”

Thursday

President Mnangagwa says the Government is considering an employment insurance scheme for workers as part of measures to mitigate the impact of global pandemics and consequent loss of jobs in future.

While addressing a virtual meeting of Heads of State, labour unions and employers, which was convened by the International Labour Organisation ( ILO), the President said although Covid-19 had resulted in the loss of lives and livelihoods, global unity would result in success in combating the novel virus. Zimbabwe, just like most of the world nations, has not been spared by the global plague, but has put in place a raft of measures, as recommended by the World Health Organisation ( WHO), to curb the spread of the contagion, he said.

Friday

The Government says all political parties and public figures must be responsible and avoid events with the potential to spread Covid-19 during the lockdown, particularly as locally transmitted cases are on the rise.

This follows social media messages calling for mass action.