Top news items in major Zimbabwean media outlets

HARARE, April 20 — The following are the news highlights in Zimbabwe’s major media outlets on Friday:
–The Zimbabwean government will not be distracted by the matter of illegal Western sanctions as it is focusing its energy on reviving the economy, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Thursday.
The West imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in early 2000 after the country embarked on land reform to redistribute land to the majority blacks, the owners before colonial occupation by Britain. (The Herald)
–Former United Nations secretary-general and chairperson of The Elders, an African progress panel, Kofi Annan, says Zimbabwe is on the road to recovery and that ongoing national renewal processes will enable the country to reach its full potential.
In a message congratulating Zimbabwe’s 38th Independence anniversary commemorations on Wednesday, Annan acknowledged the political and economic reform processes under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration and encouraged Zimbabweans to work together towards restoring integrity and transparency during the whole transition process. (The Herald)
–The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development of Zimbabwe on Thursday summoned former President Robert Mugabe to appear before it on May 9 to explain a claim he made in February 2016 that the country could have been prejudiced of more than 15 billion U.S. dollars in unrealized diamond revenue from Chiadzwa.
The committee also invited former Vice President Joice Mujuru to explain reports linking her to diamond mining in the area. (The Herald)
–Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has allegedly taken the law into his own hands and unleashed Gushungo Holdings employees and security personnel to violently eject small-scale gold miners at Smithfield Farm in Mazowe.
Mugabe’s employees allegedly took over several mining claims, including gold ore destined for processing, and vandalized the small-scale gold miners’ equipment.
The miners were chased away before Mugabe’s people took over the area and started prospecting for gold themselves. (NewsDay)
–Defense secretary Martin Rushwaya Thursday claimed the Zimbabwe Defense Forces’ diamond mining claims in Chiadzwa were grabbed by police in a “mafia style” after the government ordered all miners to cease operations in 2016.
Rushwaya made the claims when he appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines, where he confirmed that the military had entered into a 50-50 joint mining venture with Chinese company, Anjin, as Treasury was struggling to provide their needs. (NewsDay)
–Former President Robert Mugabe has snubbed the mediation team led by Roman Catholic cleric, Father Fidelis Mukonori, which is frantically trying to get him to close ranks with his successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa. (Daily News)
–Zimbabwean Opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has appealed to the military, which played a key role in the ouster of former President Robert Mugabe last November, to withdraw from villages in order to ensure free and credible elections.

Xinhua