That will change after Brasília as, with at least 900 points guaranteed in the event, the two have not only passed compatriots Joana Mäder and Anouk Vergé-Dépré, but also built a 360-point lead over their rivals with just a few tournaments left in the qualification period.

The Swiss had the toughest day among the four semifinalists on Saturday, having to win two matches to advance. In the Round of 12, the Europeans topped Canadian Olympians Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes 2-1 (18-21, 25-23, 15-10). In the quarterfinals, they needed only two sets (21-18, 21-16) to down Brazilians Ágatha Bednarczuk and Rebecca Cavalcanti.

Brasília Elite16 – Match Schedule and Results

Their opponents Kloth and Nuss played just once and prevailed over China’s Chen Xue and Xinyi Xia in two sets (21-13, 21-13). The other two quarterfinal duels had Duda and Ana Patrícia beating world champions Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng of the United States in straight sets (21-19, 21-15) and Schoon and Stam defeating Brazilian veterans Bárbara Seixas and Carol Salgado in the tie-breaker (18-21, 21-19, 15-13).

File pic: The Fozeu have declared industrial action when schools open tomorrow to press the government to pay teachers a minimum wage of US$1 260.

A Serious fallout is simmering among unions representing teachers over differences in tactics to force the government to give in to their demands when schools open tomorrow.

The friction has resulted in the unions splitting into two different camps — Federation of Zimbabwe Educators Union (Fozeu) and the Federation of Educators Union of Zimbabwe (Feuz).

Fozeu members are Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz), Educators Union of Zimbabwe (EUZ) Zimbabwe Visually Impaired Teachers Union and Professional Educators Union of Zimbabwe

Under the Feuz, there is the Zimbabwe Teachers Association(Zimta), Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Ptuz), Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (TUZ), Zimbabwe Democratic Teachers Union (ZDTU), Zimbabwe National Educators Union (ZiNEU), Zimbabwe National Teachers Union (Zinatu), Zimbabwe Rural Teachers Union (Zirutu) and the Zimbabwe National Union of School Heads (Zinush) .

The Fozeu have declared industrial action when schools open tomorrow to press the government to pay teachers a minimum wage of US$1 260.

However, the Feuz, which has the majority of the teachers’ representatives, has stated that their members will report for duty to give room for dialogue.

Feuz is demanding a minimum wage of US$840.

Leaders of teachers unions have thrown accusations at each other as the government refuses to give in to their demands, with those opting for dialogue labelled sellouts.

The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Ptuz) pulled out from Fozeu following its decision not to negotiate for better salaries under the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC).

Fozeu chairperson, who is also Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) president, Obert Masaraure said they could not negotiate with the government because there was no forum for such negotiations to take place.

“We are not part of the NJNC because its establishment is unconstitutional,” Masaraure said.

“Our position at Fozeu is that we do not participate in the NJNC because it is a fraud.”

In a statement on Friday, Fozeu said it had resolved during the Workers Day celebrations to call for its members to down tools as schools open tomorrow.

But teachers represented under the Feuz said their members would report for duty tomorrow.

Feuz leader Akuneni Maphosa, who is also president of the Zimta, said they believed in progressive negotiations with the government for better salaries.

“As Feuz we have no position of a strike at the moment,” said Maphosa.  “Our position is that unions must carry out their consultations. We are still following the trajectory of negotiation where we talk with the government and push for better salaries.

“We want US$840 as basic salary. We believe in consultations as the way to go at the moment.”

Ptuz secretary general Raymond Majongwe said the union was not apologetic about leaving Fozeu.

“We believe in collective efforts,” he said.  “We must speak with one voice rather than going separate ways. We need to unite workers.

“We are a very small working class, so if we are going to create so many splinters, we are not doing justice to our cause. The employer will be threatened if we speak with one voice and act collaboratively.”

The government in March offered teachers and other civil servants a US$20 pay increase and other incentives, such as free school fees for their children and housing loans.

But the teachers have rejected that offer as insignificant.

In 2022, authorities suspended striking teachers for three months without salaries in a pay dispute.

The pay dispute goes back to October 2018, when the government stopped paying teachers in United States dollars, switching to the reintroduced Zimbabwean dollar in 2019.

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Tourism and Hospitality minister Barbara Rwodzi

INVESTMENTS in the tourism sector dropped by a huge 45% to US$172,2 million last year, despite a 27% increase in tourism receipts to US$1,14 billion, it has been revealed.

The drop in investments is from a 2022 comparative of US$312,5 million while total tourism receipts in the same year were US$911 million.

Local companies are facing increased inflation-induced costs, limiting their ability to inject fresh capital, while the country also suffers from increased country risk and this is turning away fresh investments.

Soaring public and private debt is also preventing investors from injecting fresh capital. 

The drop in investments was revealed on Friday at a two-day Zimbabwe Investment Summit 2024, hosted by the diaspora in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion, with other partners in South Africa.

“Our national strategic intent is to become upper middle-income country with people that have self-respect and dignity by 2030,” said Tourism and Hospitality minister Barbara Rwodzi.

“Tourism and hospitality in addition to agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and other sectors.

“The tourism and hospitality industry is the third largest contributor to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”

Zimbabwe’s risk factor is associated with the abuse of property rights, human rights abuses, closing of independent spaces, violent attacks by the state, increased cost of living from an inflationary environment, and taxes.

Such challenges have turned away tourists and fresh investment in Zimbabwe.

Rwodzi said tourism and hospitality contributed a significant 5,7% to the national gross domestic product and 3,5% to the total employment in the country, indicating room for more growth.

“Our goal is to promote and develop our tourism so that it moves two places up to become the single largest contributor to our national GDP or at least to double its contribution to the same,” she said.

Part of the strategy by the Tourism and Hospitality Ministry will be to target specific clusters for growth.

These include the rural tourism cluster, sports tourism cluster, religion cluster, business cluster, culture and heritage cluster, wildlife cluster, holidaying cluster, and medical tourism cluster.

“Our Zimbabwe tourism investment promotion strategy is pursued within the 11 clusters with particular focus on (1) programming infrastructure, (2) workforce training infrastructure, (3) physical (facilities) and digital infrastructure (ICT related) and (4) tourism financing infrastructure,” Rwodzi said.

“Tourism and hospitality industry is a low hanging fruit that is ready for picking.”

Brand Africa founder and chairman Thebe Ikalafeng said Zimbabwe needed to create tourism products that were branded as Zimbabwean to improve its tourism receipts.

“We need to be in the list of the largest tourism receipts as Zimbabwe because we have got the wealth of tourism products, whether it’s Victoria Falls, Hwange, Matopos, Great Zimbabwe in Masvingo or Kariba; and this is just a selection,” Ikafeleng said.

“As the minister says, we need to get Zimbabweans first to love Zimbabwe, get Zimbabweans to travel Zimbabwe, because if Zimbabweans love and travel Zimbabwe, others will come visit Zimbabwe and we will be able to tell them a better story of Zimbabwe.

“Because, who runs the tourism companies coming into our countries? Foreigners, because our own people do not know the country so well.”

Domestic tourism remains untapped owing to the increased cost of living, driven in large part by currency volatility.

“If you look at Africa’s top countries for untapped tourism, Zimbabwe is in the top five or 10,” Ikalafeng said.

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