Berthollet Bwira Kaboru, PhD

Summary: The Swedish Embassy refutes claims by The Mirror article, stating the decision not to renew agreements with organizations like LRF is unrelated to the PVO Bill. They clarify their strategic focus, deny funding court construction, and emphasize commitment to Zimbabwe's development within legal boundaries.

Swedish Embassy refutes allegations by local publication Story by ZBC Reporter The Embassy of Sweden has refuted allegations published a by a local media house, The Mirror, 28 March – 4 April 2024, in an article titled *“Sida pulls out as PVO Bill sets in-Ramifications for JSC and LRF”.* In a statement, The Embassy of Sweden refers to the information presented in the article as malicious and totally divergent from the truth. "This is totally false information which the Embassy wants to categorically dismiss. For over a decade, the Embassy has been supporting LRF, with agreements spanning three to four years. The most recent agreement expired in March 2024. All agreement partners are aware that when an agreement comes to an end it is not automatically renewed. "The renewal of agreement is determined by several factors, including availability of funds, Embassy strategy’s focus areas and of course the results achieved over the years. The decision not to renew LRF agreement and some other partner organisations agreements that ended last year, and some this year, is not in any way related to the ongoing deliberations in the parliament on the new version of the PVO Bill as purported by the article, rather it is driven by strategic imperative to create space for the pursuit of new strategic areas particularly within Economic Empowerment and Environment and Climate Change," reads the statement. The statement further clarifies the relationship between Sweden and Zimbabwe. "The Embassy is currently in fruitful dialogue with a number of government ministries regarding its current strategic focus in support of Zimbabwe Government development efforts. "Contrary to the assertion in the article, the Embassy has no mandate neither to relocate nor to enter into agreement with entities outside of Zimbabwe. In fact, Swedish Embassies in Zimbabwe and Zambia are governed by separate strategies that determine the operations in the respective countries," adds the statement. Regarding the funding of court construction in Zimbabwe, The Embassy had this to say, "Furthermore, the Embassy wishes to clarify that Sweden has not financially supported court construction projects in the country, although the Embassy has had some good working relationship with JSC through programme implemented by our partners. The Embassy of Sweden continues to value development aid and pledges to support efforts aimed at alleviating poverty and improvement of living conditions for the people of Zimbabwe, within the confines of the laws of the country." facebook.com/share/p/VxCaxM…

A recent article in The Mirror contained inaccuracies regarding Sweden's development support in Zimbabwe. We have released a press statement to clarify the misinformation. Read the full press release here: 👉🏼

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