DECEMBER, 2023
Abductions of members of the opposition
The year 2023 concluded on a sad note. ZPP recorded
activists from the opposition CCC party, human rights defenders,
incidents of continued abductions targeting opposition
and journalists. The neglect of duty by law enforcement agents
political activists and government critics. A student at
to investigate the abductions and prosecute the perpetrators has
Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), was reportedly
resulted in a widely held suspicion that state security agents are
kidnapped and tortured on 5 December following a violent
responsible for these heinous crimes. Between January and
police raid. The abduction of Valentine Ziko happened barely
December 2023, ZPP has recorded a total of 15 cases of
a month after the fatal abduction and killing of opposition
abductions which have not been concluded by the police despite
CCC activist Reverend Tapfumaneyi Masaya in Harare.
some citizens filing complaints with the police. Some of the
Former CCC spokesperson Advocate Fadzayi Mahere,
notable cases have been the abduction and torture of human
highlighted that Ziko was taken by a group of unknown men
rights lawyer Obey Shava, CCC Youth Taskforce and Member of
who attacked, covered his eyes and shoved him into a
Parliament Takudzwa Ngadziore, Womberai Nhende, James
vehicle. In a statement, Mahere, a senior official in the
Chidhakwa, Noel Rungano and Fanuel Madimba. These
opposition CCC mentioned that Ziko was questioned about
incidents have not only intimidated and traumatised victims, but
his association with the party. Most incidents of abductions
also limited citizens in exercising their political rights freely,
have targeted government critics, state opponents including
enjoying their freedoms of association and conscience, and
gravely some victims losing their precious lives.
2024 Budget and the worsening economic conditions
On 30 November 2023, the Minister of Finance, Economic
Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube
announced the country’s budget for 2024. The budget theme was,
“Consolidating Economic Transformation”. The Z$58.2 trillion budget
was marked by high taxation schemes spread across sectors such as
on civil servants, toll fees, fuel levies and new mansion taxes. Other
increases included a hike in passport fees, electricity and new vehicle
registration fees. It is important to note that despite a budget review by
Ncube following a public outcry from stakeholders, the budget still
records a 100% increase in the existing tax burden, affecting ordinary
residents, civil servants, motorists, miners, and traders. The budget
pegged the PAYE tax-free threshold to Z$750 000.00 from 1 January
2024. In the context where most of the services and products are
offered in US dollars, most civil servants still receive their salary in
ZWL and the bank rate still lags behind parallel market rates which are
used in most retail shops. Taking into account rates Taking into
account the rising cost of living, civil servants will be earning less than
US$310.00 leaving a few with meaningful disposable income. High tax
loads placed on businesses and individuals will inevitably lead to price
increases, and as cost of living increases, more people will not be able
to afford social services like health care and other necessities.
Zimbabwe "is currently experiencing an annual loss of 1.2 billion in
revenue due to gold leakages, equating to 100 million per month,"
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according to a report by the economic analysis unit Equity Axis. To
curb the economic challenges faced by citizens, the government of
Zimbabwe should look into more revenue-generating opportunities
that also ensure low taxes on groups like civil servants, traders, and
those in the informal economy, thereby raising their standard of living.
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