The Gold Mafia – Zimbabwe

April 14, 2023 by thephraser

The evidence is on the table, threading through cyberspace – the shame of Zimbabwe.

Al Jazeera has pieced together a painstaking trail that leads right into the golden core of the country’s corruption, exposing some of those who enable it, and the extent and ease of it. Even more shocking is the thought that what has been shown is probably only a fraction of the rot that exists.

The documentary of four episodes, shown on YouTube, showcases how some of Zimbabwe’s so called ‘elite’ – its politically powerful, its prophets, and its perfectly ordinary chancers – are dancing on the destitution of others. They are covered in wealth while around them the health, education and care systems for the majority of Zimbabweans are in a state of collapse, or propped up by other nations.

The Al Jazeera documentary passes no judgement. It reveals.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

Zimbabwe – “I think we’ve got the gist of it…”

January 21, 2019 by thephraser

What next?

The telephone connection sounds thin. I turn up the volume to catch the reporter’s voice. A few horrific details staccato down the line then stop…suddenly the voice is gone.

There’s an awkward silence, a brief in-between space, and then a curt announcement from the show’s host: “I think we’ve got the gist of it…”

Papers shuffle and a new topic fills the air.

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