With negative coverage largely by the media on state procurement, this article aims at exploring challenges and issues that militate against public procurement in Zimbabwe. The exploration is done through content analysis of statutes and procurement practices that currently obtain in the country. The study shows that despite the presence of some regulations public officials manipulate tender procedures for personal gains. There is need for improved political will to enforce the law on errant behavior. The value for money that the procurement system should promote is lost. There is no mechanism for feedback to inform management and policy makers. The article provides recommendations for the government in pursuit of public procurement best practices.

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Zimbabwe’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have a significant role to play in providing service delivery for basics like electricity, health, water, transport and communication. With such socio-economic importance, it is imperative that any SOE should be, transparent, accountable, effective, efficient, profitable and sustainable. However, incompetent performance has stalked most of the country’s SOEs and the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has not been an exception. It has been caught up with successive failures and forced to rely heavily on grants from government for its sustainability. This study sought to identify the challenges in the NRZ and suggest measures to solve them and sustain the entity. A descriptive research design was employed based on a critical review and analysis of extant literature. The information and data used in this study were obtained mainly from the audit reports, research and media reports on this enterprise. Issues of governance, accountability and transparency are examined. Polices in place for good corporate governance and monitoring meant to provide guidance, and sustainability are critiqued. In light of the challenges and gaps identified in running the NRZ, recommendations to revamp the system operations are given. A field for further research is suggested which could direct future management controls.

Commonly, international human migration is blamed for corroding states sovereignty, especially stemming from policy circles, academic literature and citizens of the host countries. This has attracted the attention of the media highlighting hazards of being a migrant, with some countries viewing migrants as enemies; and, Cuba provides a vivid case. Yet in other countries, migrants are viewed as important contributors to social and economic development, with Mexico, the Dominican Republic and India serving as examples. This article locates migrants in the framework of human rights as guided by international law without prejudice to the demands of state sovereignty, but linking the two in the context of developing international standards. Migration is seen as a feature of human history dating back to primordial time. Nothing appears surprising in the movement of people across borders, defining a migrant through emigration and immigration while giving due respect to the sovereignty of states, both sending and receiving. The article discusses the nexus between migrants and state sovereignty in order to highlight the mutual benefit grounded in international law. It attempts to portray a more positive image of the migrant person in light of the global world, socio-economic development and human rights fundamentals. The main challenge remains that of implementing human rights, which appear to be at the crossroads of individual rights and state sovereignty. The paper reveals how the challenge can be overcome while maintaining the structure of rights and freedoms without infringement on states’ sovereignty. It concludes that migrants remain on the periphery of effective protection from the vagaries of the citizens, partly because the state has a tendency to confine certain rights to its citizenry. States possess discretionary authority to control the ingress of foreign nationals into their territories though sometimes they fail to do that as evidenced by hundreds of millions of irregular migrants around the world. The paper reveals that, the symbiotic relationship between migrants, regular or irregular, and state sovereignty should be strengthened.