Zimbabweans can get permits to stay legally in South Africa for six months, the authorities have announced. Some three million Zimbabweans are believed to have crossed the border to escape the economic collapse and human rights abuses at home. The permit gives migrants the right to work and get healthcare and education.

The South African Broadcasting Corporation SABC, has produced a remarkable documentary about conditions in Zimbabwean prisons which will be screened nation-wide on Tuesday. Produced by SABC’s Special Assignment team, the film entitled “Hell Hole” takes viewers into Zimbabwe’s prisons – which it ways have become virtual death traps for prisoners.

cc Zanu PF 'must demonstrate, by concrete positive actions, that it has turned over a new leaf and is now worthy of the nation’s trust' writes human rights lawyer Dewa Mavhinga, as he ponders the importance of trust in human relationships in general and for the future of Zimbabwe in particular, both in terms of the parties to the inclusive government and that government's contract with the country's citizens and the international community.

South African ruling party leader Jacob Zuma on Friday criticised Western powers for holding back aid to Zimbabwe while President Robert Mugabe was still in power."This is very unfair to the Zimbabwean people. Because here is Mugabe, he is a factor. He is there. He leads a party that has been in government for over 20 years," Zuma told Reuters in an interview.

Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said that anyone invading farms will be arrested - in an apparent challenge to Robert Mugabe. Mr Tsvangirai said the recent land invasions "are actually acts of theft". President Mugabe has said that the government would continue to seize white-owned farms as part of his land reform policy.

Zimbabwean professionals, many of them teachers, are coming home and seeking readmission into the public service, in response to a move by the country’s new inclusive government to pay civil servants in foreign currency and relax conditions for rejoining the sector. The influx is a response to calls from President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai for the more than three million exiles, who sought refuge from their country’s chaotic economic situation in Southern African Development Community, SADC, countries and abroad, to return to Zimbabwe to help rebuild the country.

Giles Mutsekwa, Zimbabwe’s co-Home Affairs Minister, says a truth and reconciliation commission should be put in place as a way of promoting national healing in a country smarting from unprecedented politically-motivated violence. Mutsekwa told cheering supporters at a rally in Dangamvura township in Mutare those responsible for brutalising Zimbabweans should voluntarily come forward and apologize to the nation.

Zimbabwe's new inclusive government should carry out comprehensive justice reforms without delay to ensure accountability for past abuses, the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday. The New York-based organisation noted that as the first year anniversary for Zimbabwe’s controversial elections approached on March 29, the country’s neighbours should take the opportunity to press the unity government to demonstrate its commitment to human rights reforms before releasing development aid.

Girl Child Network (GCN) turns 10 years on 21 March 2009, and in this regard, girls, GCN staff, stakeholders and friends in Zimbabwe are all looking back and reflecting on this noble path travelled. All of us are busy preparing for the official commemoration of GCN’s 10th Anniversary scheduled for 28 March 2009. A summarised informative document regarding GCN’s work and the commemoration will be issued soon by GCN’s Communications and Development Office, which will also include the program of the day.

Members directly engaged schools in Bulawayo on issues of education as part of an ongoing campaign to demand affordable education for all children. Community-based demonstrations were held at five schools in Bulawayo whilst representative groups met with school heads at another five schools to outline the concerns of parents. These activities will be duplicated across Bulawayo at other schools in coming days.

Following the South African brokerage of a power-sharing deal between Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Zanu (PF) Patrick Bond explores whether, in the face of myriad threats to the country’s democracy, the wishes of the Zimbabwean people – as expressed in the People’s Charter adopted at a convention in February – could prevail. As South Africa and the African Development Bank join the Bretton Woods Institutions in calls for Tsvangirai to repay Mugabe’s odious debts, and South African firms hover in the wings to buy up the country’s assets for a song, what is at stake says Bond, is who will win the new economic chimurenga (liberation war) being waged in Zimbabwe. This article was presented at seminars in February, prior to the introduction of the Short-Term Emergency Recovery Programme and revised 2009 Budget.

cc With Zimbabwe in the grip of an economic freefall, Richard Kamidza analyses the country's financial woes and the failure of multiple macroeconomic strategies to revitalise the economy. The collapse of public infrastructure facilities and utilities along with persistent, entrenched difficulties within the education system are just some of the pressing problems the country faces, which combined with its chronic inability to satisfy its population's food needs add up to the most serious humanitarian crisis the country has faced. In light of Zimbabwe's decade-long failure to effectively revitalise its economy through domestic resources, Kamidza argues that the country will indisputably require a financial package backed by other regional and international players, a package that will call upon civil society groups to collectively offer effective monitoring of both the use of economic resources and the move towards genuine political transition.

We were advised at the beginning of this week that two prisons in Harare had cut rations to a quarter of what prisoners were meant to receive; two days later, we were told that food had completely run out. There are between 1,300 and 1,500 inmates in Harare Central Prison and without outside help and donations, they may starve. Many in Zimbabwe’s prisons are already dying like flies as a result of food shortages and disease.

The Transparency International Zimbabwe is greatly disturbed by the reports of massive corruption rocking Harare City Council. Consequently, we urgently call for a forensic audit to determine the magnitude of the rot that has dogged the Town House to date. This includes the periods of the illegal and legal commissions. The issue of the cattle is just a tip of the iceberg and we believe that the forensic audit will lay the cards bare for public scrutiny.

Harrison Nkomo, a top Zimbabwean human rights lawyer known over the past decade for defending journalists in Zimbabwe, has been nominated for the Bindmans Law and Campaigning Award by Index on Censorship. Nkomo has in the past few years been arrested, intimidated and assaulted by state agents in Zimbabwe while trying to do his job. In March last year he was arrested for allegedly insulting President Robert Mugabe.

The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart has announced and appointed a new National Education Advisory Board which will advise him on ways to improve Zimbabwe's primary and secondary education. The board's immediate task is a rapid assessment of the state of primary and secondary education, as the foundation for a long-term plan and funding for the Ministry, a statement from Coltart says.

sure faces up to the position in Zimbabwe and makes it clear that the MDC needs the support of the world and particularly the neighbouring SADC Governments. South Africa has been the creator of this "mule" and should be the country now supporting the MDC and a proper legal system. Currently S Africa refuses aid to Zimbabwe because it knows ZANU PF corruption and power is still overwhelming and aid money will dissapear. If S Africa is unwilling to commit funds how can you expect the rest of the world to do so. Currently thousands of Zim refugees are treated like criminals in S Africa. (However),

Zimbabwe's finance minister gave warning on Thursday that the country's power-sharing government will fail, with potentially disastrous consequences, unless international donors urgently inject cash into its treasury. Tendai Biti welcomed Australia's move to boost humanitarian spending by $6,5-million but said donations channelled through international aid agencies would not save the transitional government that was sworn in last month.

Zimbabwe’s widespread cholera epidemic has now claimed over 4,000 lives since August, and almost 90,000 people have contracted the deadly disease, according to the latest United Nations report on the outbreak. Some 2,151 new cases of cholera were identified last week, down from 8,000 per week at the at the start of the year, noted the joint UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and World Health Organization (WHO) report.

Zimbabwe will shortly have a new daily newspaper Mr. Trevor Ncube the chairman of the Zimbabwe Independent and the Standard newspapers announced this week. The paper to be called NewsDay will be published everyday except Sunday. The company’s other titles namely the Zimbabwe Independent and the Standard will continue to be published as at present on a Friday and Sunday.