There was a dramatic turn this week in the ongoing row between Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who revealed that the Public Service Commission had illegally recruited 10,000 new staff members and among them were 4,600 soldiers. The revelation was surprising because the defence ministry had recently demanded $2.5 million from the treasury, insisting the funds were needed to feed soldiers who are going hungry in the barracks and to pay for an additional 5,000 new recruits. Mnangagwa went as far as threatening violence, vowing to send army generals to Biti’s offices.

As a treatment provider for tens of thousands of HIV+ people across the globe, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says it is deeply concerned about the proposal outlined in the editorial piece 'ARV Programme Not Free Entitlement for Those Affording' which appeared in The Herald 15 May 2012 issue. The article proposes to shift the financial burden of purchasing antiretroviral medication (ARVs) to HIV+ people who can 'afford' as a response to the looming funding gap for ARV treatment (ART). While the increasing funding retreat by international donors is a serious concern that needs to be dealt with, making the already vulnerable group of HIV+ people pay for their treatment is the last option that should be considered.

The Kimberly Process intersessional in Washington, with Human Rights Watch (HRW) urging the diamond monitor to tackle what it calls continuing human rights violations in Zimbabwe's Marange fields. The meeting, which ran from 4-7 June 2012, will take up a range of topics related to the mining and trading of conflict-free rough diamonds. Human Rights Watch Africa director, Daniel Bekele urged the Kimberley Process, under the chairpersonship of the United States, to address the ongoing rights abuses in Zimbabwe’s Marange fields and the lack of transparency by mining companies operating there.