Germany committed to supporting Zim
Germany Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr. Albrecht Conze has stressed his country’s commitment to offer technical and financial support to Zimbabwe to ensure the success of the inclusive government.
Germany Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr. Albrecht Conze has stressed his country’s commitment to offer technical and financial support to Zimbabwe to ensure the success of the inclusive government.
In an interview granted soon after emerging from a courtesy meeting with Acting President Cde Joyce Mujuru, Ambassador Conze hailed the current socio-economic recovery initiatives by the inclusive government and said it is his country’s wish to assist Zimbabwe reclaim its position as a globally competitive economy in the ear future.
Mr. Conze said, among other issues, the two politicians discussed possible strategies to deal with the current global economic crisis which has affected most economies in Europe including Germany.
Germany’s relations with Zimbabwe have greatly improved with the European country recently availing over US$30 million as financial aid to Zimbabwe.
A couple of months ago, the Germany government revoked travel warnings which discouraged its nationals from visiting Zimbabwe – a move which is expected to see an increase in the number of Germany tourists visiting Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe gets new airline
As Zimbabwe’s economy begins to recover after a decade of crisis, a group of local investors announced Thursday it was setting up a low-cost airline to rival the nation’s state-owned carrier, the country’s only airline until now.
The airline, Fly Kumba, is scheduled to begin operations in September, and will ply both domestic and regional routes, officials said.
Airline chief executive Lloyd Muchaka said Fly Kumba had been modeled along the lines of low-cost carriers in Europe and elsewhere, and was confident of securing viable business in this market segment.
“We intend to become Zimbabwe’s preferred low-cost airline, delivering the cheapest air fares with the highest consumer value and offering world-class service to price sensitive consumers,” he said.
He said aircraft had been secured, but did not say where Fly Kumba had got the planes nor reveal how much had been invested in the project.
Muchaka said the main route for the airline would be Harare-Johannesburg, tapping into the more than three million Zimbabweans estimated to be living and working in South Africa.
A visa-free regime between the two countries, introduced two months ago, has also increased travel between them.
Until now, state-owned Air Zimbabwe was the only local airline in the country, plying domestic, regional and international routes.
Zimbabwe’s economy has started to pick up again after a coalition government that includes the opposition was formed in February.
Baby black rhino adopted by rescuers after mother killed
A baby black rhino called Tatenda which weighs around 500kg has been adopted by its rescuers after its mother was shot by poachers. The rhino noses up to the dinner table for food, and enjoys being patted and playing with his other unusual animal friends.
Rangers found Tatenda near death and alone with his mother and another two rhino dead nearby in 2007 at Imire Safari Ranch, in Zimbabwe. They had been shot and slaughtered for their horns.
Vets did not expect the baby to survive but it is now going from strength to strength at its new home with ranch owners John and Judy Travers and its new best friend warthog Pogwash.
Keepers are now hopeful Tatenda will go to sire a new generation of black rhino.
Johnny Rodrigues, from the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said: “We knew Tatenda’s mother before she was killed and she was part of a breeding programme on the ranch.
“He was only a couple of weeks old and would never have survived without the mother.
“He grew up on the ranch just like a child with Pogwash, and they were inseparable and they still are.
“They slept together in the same bed and they were orphaned at the same time, so they grew up like brother and sister.
“It’s a hell of a thing when you get a rhino coming into your bedroom and trying to push you off the bed because it’s tired.
“There was even a baby Hyena called Tsotsi, who is actually still friends with Tatenda and Pogwash.
“When he was little he got through more than 60kg of milk powder and 24kg of glucose a day, so it wasn’t cheap costing more than .
“Rhinos drink milk up to two years and we are gradually weening him off that now.
“He and Pogwash grew up together, running around the house and even sleeping on the bed together
“He’s coming up to two years now, he’s quite big now and probably weighs 500kg.
“Tatenda is coming up to the age now when he will be able to breed and it is a good thing that he may now hold the key to his species future despite the poachers.”
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