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China’s pledge may hurt Zimbabwe’s coal plans

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BY JEVANS NYABIAGE

If there is a country likely to be hurt the most by President Xi Jinping’s decision for Beijing to stop building new power plants overseas, it is Zimbabwe.

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Among several African countries with large deposits of coal, it is heavily dependent on China after it had sanctions imposed on it by the United States and some European countries because of former president Robert Mugabe’s human rights abuses and policy of seizing land from white farmers.

It was planning to build several coal-fired power plants costing a total of US$15 billion, with Chinese lenders initially committed to them.

Private funding was not forthcoming, partly because of growing opposition from environmental campaigners.

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But on Tuesday, in a pre-recorded speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Xi sounded a death knell for several coal projects, including in Zimbabwe, for which Chinese lenders were expected to provide financing.

The southern African nation’s demand for power exceeds its supply, causing it to seek to build more plants.

Its electricity shortage means it cannot attract power-intensive manufacturing companies.

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Xi’s pledge could halt dozens of coal power projects in Africa, although there had already been a notable slowdown in new financing since Xi last year announced a target for net-zero emissions by 2060.

China is the single largest financier of coal-powered plants overseas as well as the largest producer and consumer of coal.

But Beijing has not funded any coal projects abroad in the first half of this year and the country’s largest financier of such projects, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, said it would start phasing out coal from its portfolio.

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The bank in July declined to fund the US$3 billion Sengwa coal project, in Zimbabwe’s north, as pressure grew from activists and communities.

Independent climate change think tank E3G says Zimbabwe is among the laggards – also including Botswana and Mozambique – who continue to pursue coal-fired plants, bucking the global trend of retiring or not funding the environmentally destructive energy source.

The Zimbabwean government has been vocal in its continued pursuit of new coal, even as Chinese financiers pull out, E3G said in its latest report about the collapse of the global coal pipeline.

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The country has 990 megawatts of coal power plants under construction and 4.5GW in the pipeline, but the Chinese government’s freeze on funding them is likely to force it to seek alternative sources of financing or shift to solar and hydro power.

Besides Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique, other countries that may be forced by China’s pivot to stall their coal plant plans include Kenya, Djibouti, Madagascar, Malawi and South Africa.

Xi’s statement means “existing and agreed projects will be honoured but new projects will be off the table”, according to Yun Sun, director of the China programme at the Stimson ­Centre in Washington. Groundwork, an environmental justice organisation working in South Africa, welcomed Xi’s statement, calling it a victory for the thousands of community activists in countries including Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast and South Africa who had “challenged their governments and China, and said no to coal”. “We challenge President Xi to end support from all Chinese institutions … that keep Africa’s coal mines, plants and other infrastructure under construction or planned,” Groundwork said.
Lauri Myllyvirta, the lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said the announcement signalled a major policy shift for China and “leaves no international financing for new coal”.

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“Making any new financing or equity investment commitments to coal power projects overseas would be toxic for any Chinese bank or power company,” Myllyvirta said.
“For projects that haven’t yet achieved financial close, that’s likely to be the end of the story.”

However, Myllyvirta said it was not yet clear what forms of involvement in coal power projects had been ruled out, and where the line would be drawn for projects that were already initiated. According to Boston University Global Development Policy Centre, the Chinese state has funded coal projects worth US$43 billion since 2000, mainly in Asia and southern Africa. “Now that the world’s major governments have led by example and banned overseas coal plants, it is time for the private sector, which finances 87 per cent of overseas coal, to follow suit,” said Kevin Gallagher, the centre’s director. “We will not meet our global climate and development goals if the private sector continues to finance overseas coal.”
Christoph Nedopil Wang, the founding director of the Green Belt and Road Initiative Centre, said Chinese financial institutions and engineering companies had historically been an important source of financing and engineering capacity for overseas coal development.

“The door has been shut to [governments] in coal-rich countries to ask for Chinese financing and engineering in new coal projects,” Wang said. But he said there was not yet clarity on whether the announcement would halt already announced coal-fired projects. Rishikesh Ram Bhandary, a climate finance and international climate negotiations expert, said China’s decision was “likely to bolster the voices calling for a greater focus on renewables within these countries”. However, he said it was unlikely to have an immediate impact on South Africa and Zimbabwe. “As our database shows, the coal-fired power plants funded by the Chinese policy bank are already under construction or in operation,” he said.
“Of course, we need further details from the Chinese government to fully understand what the announcement includes and excludes.

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“With the last source of major public finance for coal-fired power plants being removed, countries such as South Africa and Zimbabwe will need to think carefully about the policies they need, and the infrastructure required to significantly scale up renewables.” – China Morning Post

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National

Zimbabwe on track for 6% growth as economy recovers from drought

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BY REUTERS

Zimbabwe is on track to achieve a forecasted 6% economic growth in 2025 helped by good agricultural output and strong commodity prices, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said on Thursday.

The Southern African country’s economy has shown signs of recovery in the first half of the year following a severe drought and currency turbulence in 2024 that pushed GDP growth down to 2%.

“Given the positive economic developments during the period January to June, we are confident that the projected economic growth of 6% alluded to in the 2025 National Budget is achievable,” Ncube told parliament in a mid-year budget review.

“All sectors of the economy are expected to record positive growth in 2025, mainly on account of a favourable agriculture season, improved electricity generation, stable exchange rate and inflation rate,” he said.

He did not give an update on the budget deficit, which was seen at 0.4% of gross domestic product in 2025 during the budget forecast last November.

Zimbabwe’s fiscal position remains under strain from grain imports, drought relief spending and the public sector wage bill. While the government has collected more revenue than in the same period last year, analysts say containing the deficit may prove difficult without new fiscal measures.

The local currency, the ZiG, launched in April 2024 to replace the Zimbabwe dollar, has largely remained stable against the U.S. dollar but is still overshadowed by widespread use of the dollar in everyday transactions.

Ncube reiterated the government’s commitment to the gold-backed unit and said the currency had benefited from tight monetary and fiscal policies.

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Malaria cases surge in Zimbabwe

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Zimbabwe is experiencing a dramatic surge in malaria cases, with 111 998 cases and 310 deaths reported as of epidemiological week 23 in 2025.

This is a significant increase from the same period in 2024, which saw 29 031 cases and 49 deaths.

According to Dr Memory Mapfumo, an epidemiologist at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), “This surge is no coincidence. Prolonged rains have fueled mosquito breeding, while activities like gold panning, fishing, and artisanal mining are exposing more individuals to risk, especially during peak mosquito activity hours.”

The situation is worsened by the low use of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), leaving communities exposed and placing further strain on already stretched health systems. Across Zimbabwe, 115 out of 1 705 health facilities have been affected, highlighting the widespread impact of the disease on healthcare infrastructure.

Mashonaland Central Province has accounted for 32% of all malaria cases, while Manicaland reported 25% of the malaria-related deaths. The interconnectedness of the countries in the region has also contributed to the spread of the disease.

Zimbabwe’s malaria outbreak is part of a broader regional trend. Other countries in southern Africa, including Botswana, eSwatini, and Namibia, are also experiencing significant increases in malaria cases.

In Botswana, 2 223 cases and 11 deaths have been reported, with Okavango being the hardest hit. eSwatini has recorded 187 cases, with children under 15 and farmers being particularly affected. Namibia has seen over 89 959 cases and 146 deaths, with the majority of cases being local transmissions.

The Africa CDC emphasizes the need for continued vigilance and investment in malaria control. Governments must enhance their efforts to improve the use of ITNs, strengthen community engagement, and address environmental and social factors driving the outbreaks.

Dr Merawi Aragaw, head of Africa CDC’s Surveillance and Disease Intelligence, notes that “as climate change accelerates, we are witnessing shifts in temperature and rainfall that are expanding the range of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, introducing vectors into previously unaffected regions.”

According to Dr Aragaw, “sustained vector control measures – including environmental management, strengthening surveillance, drug and diagnostic resistance monitoring, and fostering cross-border collaboration – will be critical in mitigating the growing threat of vector-borne diseases, especially malaria.”

The regional surge underscores a broader global trend, with malaria cases worldwide climbing to 263 million in 2023, up from 252 million the previous year, and Africa accounting for 95% of all malaria-related deaths.

Despite these alarming figures, there have been significant successes: Cabo Verde was certified malaria-free in 2023, and Egypt is poised to achieve the same in 2024. Yet for many countries in southern Africa, the road to elimination remains steep, with outbreaks threatening to reverse years of progress.

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Government unveils plan to curb road accidents

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Minister of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services, Jenfan Muswere, has outlined a series of measures to combat the rising tide of road traffic accidents in the country.

Zimbabwe has been witnessing a worrying surge in road traffic accidents, with the latest incident claiming 17 lives last week, along Seke road.

Yesterday, Muswere addressed the cabinet, outlining measures to curb road traffic accidents. Below is his statement, word for word:

“So capacitation of the vehicle inspection is ongoing and the sourcing of the vehicle inspection department. Compliance to legislation is also one of the parameters that we are utilising.Standardisation in terms of driving schools, the training of drivers, speed limits as a governance to traffic monitoring, the utilisation of traffic management, the utilisation of cameras for number plate recognition and facial recognition in order to curb over speeding and traffic offences. The capacitation of the Zimbabwe Republic Police in order to apprehend and also deal with traffic offences. Legislation amendments that are taking place in order to ensure that our roads are safe. As the minister (Felix Mhona) has also highlighted that the Civil Protection Unit is being capacitated in order to deal with the challenges that we might not have been able to deal with as part of an architecture under the hall of government approach.”

Background statistics from the Zimbabwe Republic Police reveal a concerning trend. During the first six months of 2025, the country recorded 28 159 road traffic accidents, up from 25 968 in the same period last year. Fatal crashes also increased by 11% from 784 to 870, while road deaths rose by 4.9% from 1 037 to 1 088. The majority of accidents occur in known danger zones, often due to commuter congestion and erratic driving by public transport operators.

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