Zimbabwe is an underdeveloped country that is suffering from the last few years due to the destructive condition of its economy. If we take a brief review of the last few years of the Zimbabwean economy then it can be seen that the main source of income of the country is its agricultural output which is also has decreased by 51%.

GDP per capita dropped by 40% also industrial production has encountered a downfall of 47%. The depriving state of the country’s economy suggests introducing a better technology that can revive the economy.

Economic analysts and futurists recommend some basic changes in the economic sector in terms of blockchain technology. Blockchain technology is a distributed general ledger that allows two parties who are willing to perform financial transactions securely without any involvement of a third trusted party like any bank.

The transactions which can be performed by blockchain technology involve the transfer of money, assets, and information. The blockchain technology includes digital money systems out of which bitcoin is the first-ever application to be used worldwide. Blockchain is successful in Africa.

The bitcoin era in South Africa has a success score of 96%. After observing the success score of blockchain technology in the rest of Africa, Zimbabwe also looks forward to its economy to shift to blockchain technology.

Shifting to blockchain technology will have several benefits for the economy of Zimbabwe which can be briefly explained as follows:

As it is already known that by using blockchain technology the users can securely transfer their finances anywhere in the world without even involving any kind of intermediary party i.e. banks. When the users of blockchain technology are not involving any banks, it means that they are not using any banking services which makes the transactions even more fast and efficient.

By using blockchain technology one can decrease the costs on their transactions. Even making transactions worldwide is almost free of cost. When there is a free of cost option which is even fast and efficient then definitely the general public is going to shift from old banking ways of making financial transactions to blockchain technology.

It’s not only finances which can be transferred by the blockchain technology but different crypto assets can be transferred by this technology. Even the energy can be traded by blockchain technologies allowing its users to sell excessive energy, to the people living close to them. Usage of this advanced technology helps the residents of Zimbabwe by removing the controls from utility companies.

Blockchain technology not only allows its users to perform transaction free of costs but also it is secured. Blockchain technology is a distributed general ledger which means all the transactions done by this technology are recorded in a ledger which can be verified and accessed by the people involved in the transactions at any point in time.

As it is mentioned earlier that blockchain technologies are also used to transfer confidential information which contributes not only to research fields of the country but also to the medical and health care department of Zimbabwe. In the healthcare sector, all the valuable and confidential reports of patients can send them by using this platform.

Different application developers are making efforts to develop some really easy to use and user-friendly applications based on the idea of blockchain technology. The availability of these kinds of applications makes it easy for users to make financial transactions. Because of this easy to use feature of this technology the general public is more likely to invest in cryptocurrencies which will help to thrive in the Zimbabwean economy.

Blockchain technology promotes decentralization in the country which means transferring more control to the general public which promotes new entrepreneurs to start new businesses which eventually helps in reviving the Zimbabwean economy.

By the passage of time the blockchain technology will evolve tremendously and the fact that how the central banks are also taking part in exploring the new technologies show the chances of incorporation of blockchain technologies into the financial system of the country as a whole.

Blockchain technology promises to resolve the basic problems of the online system. It’s a secure, efficient, fast, and cheap way of performing transactions that convince the residents of Zimbabwe to come and invest in cryptocurrencies by using blockchain technology which will evolve Zimbabwean economy.

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MOST women living in remote mining areas are failing to access contraceptives due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, which have limited members of the public’s travel.

This has placed them at the risk of having unwanted pregnancies and other sexually transmitted diseases.

In most mining communities, only male condoms are available as a form of contraceptive but the women are unable to force their partners to use them.

Speaking at the Zimbabwe Environment Law Association (ZELA) gender and extractive symposium, last week, female participants said the other challenges in mining communities was that a high number of girls would fail to return to school later this month as they had fallen pregnant during the four-month closure of schools and other businesses.

“We are failing to access family planning tablets at our rural clinic and this has resulted in many unwanted pregnancies,” said Barbra Nyoni from Zvishavane in the Midlands province.

“The only thing that is available are male condoms but as rural women, we cannot introduce the concept of using condoms at home. This will cause gender-based violence in the home. The husband will ask many questions once you raise the use of a male condom.”

A Chiadzwa Community Development Trust leader Luckmore Mataruse said due to the prolonged lockdown, some women had been forced into sex work to support their families as their husbands are no longer employed.

“Some women are indulging in paid sex with older men working at the diamond mining company so that they get paid to feed their families,” he said.

“Some married women are also leaving their husbands preferring diamond panners who are providing for them during this lockdown. We are also seeing a lot of child marriages because of the lockdown.

“I don’t think many young girls will return to school when they reopen because a lot of them have been married or impregnated.”

Clara Magodeyi from Arda Transua complained villagers were moved from the Chiadzwa mining diamond field and forced to settle in an area where the village head has to write letters for them to travel to seek medical attention.

“The police manning roadblocks want us to produce letters that we are going to get contraceptives,” she told participants.

“However, for some of us, we stay in an area without village head and for us to travel to the nearest District Administration (DA) offices to get a letter to travel, you also need a letter to get there.”

The post Zimbabwe: Women in Mining Communities Fail to Access Contraceptives Due to Lockdown Restrictions appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

Several international financial institutions are eyeing more than US$12 million or 37.7% of National Social Security Authority (NSSA) stake in ZB Bank after the shares went under the hammer last week, it has emerged.

NSSA announced it was seeking to dispose of its stake in ZB to raise capital to complete some of the investment projects which have been lying idle owing to the unavailability of funding.

It is primarily considering offshore bids.

NSSA’s shares are believed to be worth more than US$12 million dollars, according to the share price of the entity.

NSSA acting general manager Arthur Manase confirmed the authority was disposing of its entire stake in ZB adding more than three bids have been received without disclosing the names of bidders.

“We are in the process of finalising the due diligence and going through the necessary governance approval processes,” he said.

He, however, declined to comment on the issue of agents.

“This is in the interest of evaluating the transaction based on merit. As things stand, NSSA is not aware of the parties that are represented by the respective agents,” he said.

However, sources close to the transaction said foreign financial institutions are bidding to take over a major stake in ZBH.

“The ZBH stake has generated a lot of interest from large financial institutions in Dubai and Singapore. NSSA is looking for the much needed foreign currency to unlock projects meant to enhance the well-being of the people. As such there seems to be an appetite from NSSA to consider the offshore bids for the stake,” one of the sources said.

One economic commentator said international financial institutions were interested in the local banking sector because they believe the Zimbabwean economy will open soon and the country’s economy will be worth over US$100 billion in the next 10 years.

NSSA oversees the national pension scheme and has 66 528 608 shares in ZB.

The post Zimbabwe: International Banks Eye NSSA’s U.S.$12m Stake in ZBH Takeover appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

The water deputy minister, Douglas Karoro, has appealed to defaulters, who include government ministries, to settle a combined $150 million bill they owe Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) for water services.

The deputy minister was speaking in Binga on behalf of Minister Perrance Shiri at the commissioning of a new US$2 million water treatment plant in the district.

Karoro said defaulters included government ministries and departments, local authorities, irrigation schemes, mines, agricultural estates, domestic users, and various institutions.

“I am also advised that ZINWA is owed in excess of $150 million in unpaid water bills by a range of its clients that include local authorities, mines, agricultural estates, domestic clients and institutions,” he said.

“This is a very unsustainable situation considering the need for ZINWA to keep water supply infrastructure in sound shape, to procure water treatment chemicals, meet statutory obligations, and expand service to new areas.

“This can only be possible if people honour their part of the bargain. So as we celebrate this new piece of infrastructure, let us remember to pay our bills and help the water authority to effectively and sustainably deliver its mandate. ZINWA will be rolling out pre-paid water metering system to improve collection of revenue and eliminating the use of estimates for charging clients.”

He said the installation of prepaid water metering systems had already started in after successful trials in Mvurwi and Chivhu areas.

Karoro said the new water treatment plant in Binga will usher a socio-economic development in Binga and provide safe water for the district known for its hot and dry weather resulting in severe water challenges.

“It is partly for this reason that government through ZINWA found it highly prudent to invest in improving the water situation in Binga Centre. The treatment plant is expected to ensure daily availability of potable water.”

The construction of the plant was funded by the government under the Public Sector Investment Programme.

It is expected to increase water purification to 100 cubic metres per hour from the current 60 cubic metres per hour and Karoro said this will capacitate Binga to connect 300 new users at Binga Centre and Manjolo business centre.

Binga draws its water directly from the Zambezi River.

The post Zimbabwe: Minister Orders Water Defaulters to Settle $150m Zinwa Debt appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

The Paris Club has spurned the Zimbabwean government’s appeal for a bailout saying no financial assistance will be extended to Harare until satisfactory reforms implemented.

Paris Club comprises major shareholders in international financial institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank,

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube wrote to the IMF, World Bank and Africa Development Bank last April passionately requesting for financial assistance.

He pleaded that the money was urgently needed to save Zimbabwe from total collapse.

“Zimbabwe’s economy could contract by 15-20 percent during 20202 with very serious consequences. Already 8.5 million Zimbabweans (half the population) are food insecure,” Ncube wrote in his letter.

“The global pandemic will take a heavy toll on the health sector with many lives being lost and raise poverty to levels not seen in recent times, including worsening food insecurity.

“A domestic collapse would have also have potentially adverse regional effects, where spill-overs are significant.”

But Paris Club president Odile Renaud-Basso wrote back to Ncube stating that the institution was not in a position to help Zimbabwe.

“Paris Club members insist on the fact that the government of Zimbabwe’s desire to normalise its relations with the international community can only advance following the implementation of substantive and sustainable political and economic reforms, in particular the respect for human rights, especially the freedom of assembly and expression,” reads Renaud-Basso’s letter, which was submitted to Ncube on June 12, 2020.

The Paris Club also said Zimbabwe had missed its opportunity to access IMF loans by failing to successfully implement its staff monitored programme (SMP) of May 2019.

Renaud-Basso said the Club can only talk to Zimbabwe after clearing its outstanding debts to the Bretton Woods institutions.

“To this end, a successful implementation of an IMF SMP when the country has demonstrated its readiness to begin such a programme would be an important step as would be progress on political reforms.

“Poor performance under the SMP for May 2019 is a missed opportunity in this regard. We encourage you to press forward with a credible reform programme to stabilise the economy and strengthen economic governance,” the letter further reads.

“Before any Paris Club treatment, a prior condition is multi-lateral arrears clearance. The normalisation of relations, including any potential debt treatment, can only begin once Zimbabwe has cleared all arrears to international financial institutions.

“In addition, Paris Club be closely monitoring international financial support to Zimbabwe for Covid-19 assistance programmes which should be implemented transparently, and in full compliance with its goals and rules. Once the country has met these criteria, it can request to enter formal discussions with the Paris Club for debt restructuring,” Renaud-Basso wrote.

The post Zimbabwe: IMF, World Bank Spurn Begging Mthuli Ncube, Demand Reforms appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

State-owned Agriculture Development Bank (Agribank) has completed a due diligence to ascertain its asset value before calling for bids from prospective strategic partners willing to inject capital in exchange for equity.

The partial share disposal is part of broad measures by the Government to improve the performance and viability of State enterprises as well as parastatals to ensure that they contribute optimally to efforts aimed at growing the economy.

About 38 out of 93 State-owned enterprises audited in 2016 incurred a combined loss of US$270 million as weak corporate governance practices and ineffective control mechanisms took their toll.

SOEs now contribute less than 2 percent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) against 40 percent at the peak of their powers.

A number of the State-owned entities have perennially depended on Treasury for handouts, despite the fact that the Government itself was leaving on a shoestring budget.

Government has identified several SOEs and parastatals for privatisation, restructuring, dissolution or integration into relevant line ministries, as part of efforts to reduce financing burden on Treasury and enhancing the performance and viability.

Among entities earmarked for privatisation or restructuring, dissolution and integration were Agribank, Zisco, AirZimbabwe, National Railways of Zimbabwe, POSB, TelOne, CMED, Industrial Development Corporation, Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries.

Notably too, the agriculture development bank has evolved over the years into a fully fledged commercial bank, which has grown its appetite for funding in order to fulfil its mandate of supporting agriculture, as well as other strategic productive sectors.

This comes after the financial institution received $200 million from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe under its $2,5 billion support facility for the productive sectors, which has all been disbursed to clients desperately in need of the funding.

While many clients have borrowed, the bank says available resources fall far short of the $1,3 billion pipeline loan applications for funding from the bank, given farming remains the fulcrum of Zimbabwe’s agriculture driven domestic economy.

It is against this background that the bank believes the coming on board of a strategic technical partner, to inject both critically needed resources as well as the relevant modern technology, would augur well for growth of agriculture in Zimbabwe.

Chief Accountant in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development Memory Mukondomi told Business Weekly after the bank’s Annual Meeting this week that transaction Advisor, Ernst and Young (EY), had completed the internal valuation.

“We appointed a transaction advisor and a lot of work has been done, the due diligence and evaluation of the asset was done.

“They came up with an independent opinion and information they will give us to share with the shareholder,” she said.

Government, the current sole shareholder in the bank was, however, still to digest the full contents of the valuation report before inviting expressions of interest from deep pocketed prospective buyers who can inject capital in return for shares.

The due diligence exercise and its recommendations will help the Government fully appreciate the implications and benefit of roping in an equity partner against the bank’s mandate of providing affordable financing to the agriculture sector.

Chief executive Elfas Chimbera said due diligence was important in the process to rope in a technical partner, given the exercise will provide a scientific basis determining the true value of the bank, which is critical for bargaining purposes.

“I have a value that I can place on the bank because I am internal, but of course being internal means I may be subjective in my valuation of the bank’s true value.

“So, to shy away from that subjectivity and ensure transparency and something that can withstand public scrutiny, we had to bring in independent advisors,” he said, adding the valuation would help show strengths and weaknesses of the bank.

Mr Chimbera said the need for independent opinion to evaluate the agriculture development bank was the reason behind the engagement of transaction advisors in reputable accounting firm, Ernst and Young to carry out the due diligence.

He said due diligence exercise entailed the process of coming up with a document that will be used in the “road-show seeking suitors who would buy their asset”.

Mr Chimbera would, however, not share details of what the evaluation found saying the report had not yet been seen and commented upon by the shareholder, which is the Government of Zimbabwe.

“In terms of bringing in a technical partner, the envisaged advantage, remember this was conceived in 2018 and the environment since then has changed, we need access to international markets.

“We need cheap funding, in terms of capitalisation the Government discovered that if we search locally we may face some constraints, remember we were under a closed environment economically.

“The country is under sanctions, even Agribank was under sanctions before they were lifted, so if you bring in a technical partner, they have access to international markets,” he said.

Mr Chimbera said the process of seeking a technical partner was critical for the raising of capital required to optimally execute the bank’s agriculture support operations and compliance with US dollar linked regulatory minimum capital thresholds.

Further, Mr Chimbera said the current state of ‘closed’ economic environment meant that the bank required an external technical partner to leapfrog the financial institution in acquiring the latest technologies consistent with trending dynamics.

The post Zimbabwe: Agribank Finishes Disposal Roadmap appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) Zimbabwe has secured an investor to build and operate a 32MW solar power plant in Collen Bawn, Matabeleland South.

The development of the solar project is aimed at providing the cement producer with 16MW, while the remainder would be fed into the national grid.

Last year, PPC announced the intention to set up the solar power plant at its clinker factory in Collen Bawn.

In an interview on the sidelines of the launch of the company’s new product, Surerange in Bulawayo last week, PPC head of operations Mr Marvellous Sibanda said:

“We ran a tender system and we have selected the prospective provider of the technology.

“We have signed everything, so now they are at the stage where they are raising the funding to implement the project.

“At the moment we can’t disclose, but it’s a local company based here in Zimbabwe with technical partners in South Africa.”

He said 38 bidders drawn locally, regionally and in Europe responded to the tender from which the number was screened down to four.

“A number of them were constrained by the aspect that we want to be paying for the electricity in local currency,” said Mr Sibanda.

He said the plant will produce 32MW, but the cement plant requires 16MW so the excess will be fed into the national grid.”

Mr Sibanda said the business model of the planned solar plant includes producing in excess of what PPC Zimbabwe requires.

He said the timeline for the construction of the solar project is 18 months from the conclusion of the funding arrangements.

PPC expects that in a month or so, they would be knowing whether the funding arrangements would have been concluded successfully.

Asked about how much funding was required for the project, Mr Sibanda said he cannot disclose such details as the investor was presently out in the market sourcing capital.

“Once we conclude this one successfully, we will do one here in Bulawayo and we have already done the ground work,” he said.

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The pegging of fuel prices to the auction exchange rate almost a fortnight ago and the pegging this weekend of bread to the same rate must be the start of an interim measure to bring pricing under control, especially where the basic product is either wholly or largely imported or made of imported raw materials.

Indeed, in its initial statement announcing the auction system, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) made it clear that it wanted to see prices quoted in supermarkets in both local currency and in US dollars, but using the forthcoming auction rate as the exchange rate.

This dual pricing was not intended to dollarise, but to ensure that when businesses agreed to accept US dollars, as they can do under lockdown regulations although must still accept local currency, they were using what was to become the real rate. And, more importantly, their customers could see this match.

That measure has yet to be made a legal requirement, but it must remain a goal, and at some stage there could well be an interesting statutory instrument with all the penalties carefully written down. But hopefully market forces could make that unnecessary.

Businesses, unofficially, are saying that despite the successful introduction of the auctions, they still have stocks costed at the black-market rates and will suffer serious losses if they have to move to the auction rate. That excuse might wash for another week or two, but will not hold forever.

Between the first auction and the second auction there was a dramatic rise in the number of importers prepared to treat the auction system seriously and the third auction tomorrow will no doubt see more progress as Zimbabweans settle down to enjoying a real, open market in foreign currency, that does do what is intended, matching what our exporters earn to what our importers need.

Already the black market is seeing the effects of this, as major importers start withdrawing from the streets and talking to their banks. The cash-to-cash exchange rate offered by the street runners for American banknotes is now slightly below the auction rate, although buyers of those banknotes will have to pay more once the mark-ups of runners and middlemen are taken into account. But it is a sign of progress.

Buyers of foreign banknotes offering electronic transfers and shops offer higher exchange rates, but already they are receding, in some cases quite sharply, from the peaks seen just before the first auction. Falls of over 15 percent are no longer uncommon as reality strikes home.

This has, regrettably, not been translated into local currency prices, although there are now more “special offers” or “promotions” that tend to suggest smarter supermarket operators have spent a bit of time reading the writing on the wall.

We moved into a hyper-inflation cycle because everyone in a supply chain, including the final retailer, was costing towards expected replacement value of the stock.

And the easiest way of doing this, especially after the Government allowed retailers to accept foreign currency payments if the customer offered that, was to track the black market rate.

Unfortunately that led to ever greater speculation in the black market, with people even borrowing to play in the markets. So more and more the black market was not about people buying foreign currency to fund imports, but about people buying foreign currency to sell at a profit next week, or to try and preserve the value of their savings if they did not want to invest.

And that explains the other three measures the fiscal and monetary authorities have taken over and above the fundamental and long-term switch to the auction system, which is the most crucial since it creates a real open market for export earnings and with its other rules, such as importers having to show their invoices, creates a market-related exchange rate for legitimate business and trading.

But the drying up of liquidity by bringing the mobile-money systems under control and banking rules, and by raising interesting rates so speculation becomes expensive, was a big help, with the legitimate interests of those wanting to preserve the value of their holdings in local currency being met by the new bank instruments.

All of that moved a lot of honest and dishonest people from the markets.

The upshot of a real market for foreign currency, and the drying up of the black market, should see the collapse of hyperinflation. There is a little room for manoeuvre still, since so many were pricing at black market equivalents, but as markets continue to settle down and inflation dies, we should see more conventional pricing strategies.

For in the end the retail price of a product should be the actual cost plus a mark-up. And when costs vary slowly that system works very well, and very simply.

If there is adequate competition in the markets, and in Zimbabwe there is need for more competition at the production stages, then market forces ensure producers keep costs down.

That brings up the interesting point for Government planners, that the economic expansion being set for the next decade must include a significant element of encouraging newcomers into the production world, rather than just increasing the size of existing producers, although they must be allowed to grow as well.

Zimbabweans have become too used to living in abnormal economies.

We need, and deserve, a real economy that rewards hard work and makes it ever harder for the slippery and dishonest to milk us dry.

The post Zimbabwe: Pricing Starting to Follow Auctions appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

Farmers have been encouraged to venture into horticulture and explore regional and international markets to improve Zimbabwe’s foreign currency earnings.

Presently, many farmers are involved in traditional and cereal grains production to ensure national food security, although farmers have struggled to produce enough maize, soya beans and wheat due to a number of reasons including erratic rainfall patterns, high temperatures and financial constraints.

This has seen Zimbabwe using the little foreign currency available to import the grains to avert starvation.

After exploring various international markets, a newly resettled farmer who recently embarked on extensive horticulture at his Delaros Farm, about 7km from the now defunct former mining settlement of Mhangura, Tafadzwa Nyikadzino (37), urged both A 1 and A2 farmers to venture into the highly rewarding horticulture business.

Mr Nyikadzino, who has 60 hectares under sugar beans, peas, tomatoes and ginger and passion fruit for regional and international markets, and another 50 hectares under winter wheat, said a lot of foreign markets demanded the crops.

He was speaking during a “Horticulture Promotion Field-Day for Regional and International Markets”, held at his farm on Saturday.

The DRC, Mozambique, Zambia and United Arab Emirates, were some of the top markets for horticultural produce.

“There are a number of unexplored markets that we as a nation should focus on. Our agricultural practices have to transform from perennial cereal production and diversify, putting cognisance on horticultural produce as it brings quick foreign currency,” he said.

“We shouldn’t be inward looking as farmers and as a nation, but look for better external markets. Zambia, which is 3 hours’ drive from here (Mhangura) is being serviced by South African farmers who take probably two days to deliver the produce.”

He said Zimbabwean farmers should take advantage of their proximity to Zambia to supply their produce and help the country generate foreign currency.

Mr Nyikadzino said horticulture farmers were expected to produce quality and standard produce so that they do not only takeover foreign markets, but also raise the country’s flag.

He has 120 permanent workers at his farm, which draws water from a dam located about 7 km away.

Officiating at the event, Minister of State for Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mary Mliswa-Chikoka, challenged beneficiaries of the land reform programme to emulate Mr Nyikadzino.

“He has shown great resilience despite facing economic challenges and this is shown through his appreciation of Government’s effort to empower the nation through land as he established a vibrant horticulture enterprise targeting local, regional and international markets,” she said.

“Farmers should emulate these good works and help cut the import bill.”

She urged farmers to create synergies with neighbouring nations and take advantage of the business opportunities in their areas.

Mashonaland West Provincial Agritex officer, Mrs Edna Shambare, who was standing in for Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement, Dr John Basera, encouraged farmers to take advantage of the revival of farmers’ clubs to penetrate international markets.

She said the agriculture mechanisation programme recently launched by President Mnangagwa was a sign that Government was determined to support farmers to produce enough for the nation.

Mhangura MP, Cde Precious Masango called on farmers to explore new avenues in farming and desist from underutilising land.

Field tour lectures were done by Seed Co agronomist, Mr Phillip Matombo and Agritext provincial agronomist, Siyena Makaza.

The post Zimbabwe: Explore Foreign Markets, Farmers Urged appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

PETROL and diesel allocations to rural bus services will be cut by 25 percent from July 1, a Government spokesman said yesterday.

He said: “The business sector has already contributed considerably towards foreign exchange savings and it is now felt that bus operators should make their contribution to the national effort.”

Urban services will not be affected since “adequate transport is essential to carry employees to work”.

Nor will the tourist industry be affected, because it is a major earner of foreign currency.

The spokesman said the fuel cuts could give rural bus operators an opportunity to cut out unprofitable and inessential services.

The number of new buses available to bus operators will also be restricted to conserve foreign exchange.

“No buses will be built for rural operation without the authorisation of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and this will be granted only in exceptional circumstances,” the spokesman said.

The suspension or reduction of any bus service will need the approval of the controller of Road Motor Transportation.

But the Minister of Roads and Road Traffic, Mr Roger Hawkins, has agreed that application for suspension or reduction of rural services will be approved because of the reduced allocation, the spokesman said.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

During the mid-1970s, the Rhodesian government was now feeling the effects of sanctions imposed on them by the international community, so they resorted to drastic measures to save the few resources they had.

Fuel was in great demand as the Rhodesian forces were moving all over the country, fighting the freedom fighters.

All non-essential services were downsized, including rural bus operations, which were seen as not generating foreign currency for the nation.

Fast forward to the new millennium, fuel remains a challenge in the country due to scarcity of foreign currency and high demand for the product. Stakeholders must work hand in glove to find lasting solutions in the fuel sector, in order to make the make the economy productive, and achieve the Vision 2030 objectives.

The post Zimbabwe: Looking Back – Fuel Prices for Rural Buses Slashed By 25pc appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

Police have arrested another suspected thief believed to be part of a gang that broke into Jet Stores and another boutique in Harare and got away with goods worth $1 325 345 and US$13 640.

The gang shared the loot and one of them, Jealous Phiri (34) took his share to Mvurwi Town Centre where he sold the goods including clothes, to shop owners.

Phiri appeared in court on Saturday last week and was remanded in custody to today for bail application.

His alleged accomplice Robert Mhandu is already on remand facing similar charges and was denied bail, while Trustme Kauzani is said to be still at large.

According to the State, Mhandu was caught wearing some of the stolen clothes and driving the vehicle which they allegedly used as a getaway car.

Phiri was not asked to plead to two counts of unlawful entry in aggravating circumstances when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Barbra Mateko.

It is alleged that on June 12, Phiri and his alleged accomplices went to Jet Stores along Jason Moyo Avenue while driving a Nissan Sylphy.

Upon arrival at the shop, the gang allegedly used an unknown object to break the display window and burglar bars before gaining entry.

Whilst inside the shop, it is alleged that they stole various types of clothing items and other goods worth $1 325 345, which they loaded into their vehicle before driving away.

Two weeks later, Phiri went to Mvurwi were he sold the clothes, the court heard.

On July 21, the gang proceeded to Celestial Boutique which is located at Number 62, Sam Nujoma Street, and used the same method to enter into the shop and went away with various goods worth US$13 640.

The court heard that police was alerted and viewed the closed circuit television (CCTV) footage leading to the arrest of Phiri and Mhandu on separate occasions.

The post Zimbabwe: Jet Stores Loses Goods Worth $1,3m appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

THE US$153 million Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport expansion project is on course despite delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic with the contractor Jiangsu International of China having completed 27 percent of the work.

Expansion will see the construction of the international terminal building and aprons, installation of four new bridges, a secondary radar system, construction of a VVIP pavilion and an airfield ground lighting and communication system.

The international terminal building and the domestic terminal building will also be refurbished, with the project increasing the airport’s holding capacity to six million people per annum from 2.5 million.

Modernisation of the airport is in line with Government’s thrust to rehabilitate aviation infrastructure across the country as it seeks to attract more international airlines and visitors.

All the raw materials required for the project are already on site. However, the contractor has had to cut down on the number of employees on site from 500 to 100 due to limited accommodation for the workers.

Speaking after the tour of RGM International Airport expansion project, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Monitoring Implementation of Government Programmes, Dr Joram Gumbo said he was pleased with the progress.

He commended the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development for the continued implementation of the project during the fifth cycle, despite the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“In the past, the implementation of Government programmes has been hindered by various sector performance deficiencies. In a bid to address these anomalies associated with project implementation, Government adopted the 100-day target based programme to expedite project implementation.

“The adoption of the programme therefore, symbolises commitment by Government to expeditious implementation of projects for the benefit of our citizens,” he said.

He said the rapid results approach was yielding positive results and contributing to an improvement in the livelihoods of the people.

“It is our expectation that the programme will lead to the realisation of developmental goals as set out in the Transitional Stabilisation Programme and subsequently, the attainment of Vision 2030 through close monitoring and evaluation of priority projects by Government,” said Minister Gumbo.

The Covid-19 pandemic had resulted in serious economic consequences and all sectors had been affected.

The post Zimbabwe: Us$153m Airport Expansion On Course appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

Last winter, the Government partnered sugar manufacturing giant, Tongaat Hulett, to produce 1 186 tonnes of irrigated winter maize in the Lowveld.

The maize produced under the initiative was meant to enhance food security in Masvingo, which faces perennial food deficits owing to droughts typical of the agro-ecological region the province is situated in.

Now, there are even possibilities of expanding the programme to cover other crops, thanks to the huge success of the winter maize programme, which will obviously feed into Government’s Vision 2030 in which the country is expected to transform into an upper middle income economy in which food deficits are expected to be a thing of the past.

The winter maize project was introduced by former Masvingo governor, Josaya Hungwe, after the 1992 drought.

The success of the project essentially challenged the rest of the country to introspect and see if there are no areas where similar projects can be established to boost food security, which is usually the first casualty when there is a drought.

Apparently, Masvingo Province is not alone in the quest to eradicate food deficits and neither is it the only region with the right climatic conditions for the production of maize or any other food crop in winter.

The high temperatures of the Lowveld always ensure that conditions resembling summer are created, while farmers will only be expected to provide water for irrigation.

Mashonaland West can also produce winter maize in districts such as Sanyati and Kariba, which have relatively high temperatures during the winter season.

It’s refreshing to note that Government has since contracted Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) Sanyati, which falls under natural 3 and 4 to produce maize under the Winter Wheat Maize Programme.

ARDA Sanyati will be planting 240 hectares of maize this winter and will draw water to irrigate the crop from Munyati River.

Kariba district has favourable temperatures for maize production during winter and water can be sourced from the Zambezi River.

The only worry may be in the form of wild animals that roam the district most of the time.

There is also Charara Estates located some 20km from the resort town of Kariba that has been producing and supplying the Kariba market with green mealies twice a year using both natural rains and irrigation.

Apart from Sanyati, areas located along the Zambezi Valley from Mashonaland West to Mashonaland Central naturally have great potential for winter maize, although they need to be developed, especially in irrigation and power supply.

Matabeleland South province has great potential to produce winter maize, although that will only be possible after irrigation facilities are refurbished, as most of them are in bad shape.

Beitbridge and Gwanda districts have the ideal climate to grow the maize, especially for harvesting as green mealies and selling.

But this can also be done with food security in mind to avoid over-harvesting.

Temperatures in the two districts are conducive for maize production from 15 July to October when there is no frost.

This means all irrigation schemes under Gwanda and Beitbridge districts have the potential to produce winter maize and take care of the province’s perennial food shortages, as well as avail residue for feeding of livestock.

In Manicaland province, a total of 424.95ha have been put under winter maize in a move that demonstrates that everyone is now aware of the need to boost food security by converting disadvantages into advantages.

Chipinge has 325ha at the early reproductive stage, while Mutare has 54.95ha and Makoni has 45ha, also at the early vegetative stage.

For Mashonaland East, districts such as Goromonzi, Mudzi, Mutoko, Murehwa and Marondera have some places where it is possible to produce maize in winter, but the problem lies with the unavailability of natural sources of water to be used for irrigation.

In Mashonaland Central, areas situated along the Zambezi escarpment where there are high temperatures have the needed climatic conditions for winter maize production.

Districts like Muzarabani and Mbire in most cases record poor maize harvests from the summer season, hence the need to tap into the perennial high temperatures to produce the cereal in winter under irrigation.

Water can always be drawn from the Zambezi River and other rivers that feed into it.

Government recently revealed its intentions to green all arid areas along the Zambezi Valley after noticing that there are good climatic conditions for the production of maize all year round.

The move will leave the country food secure and without need to import food, which will slash the import bill, which has been nagging the economy in recent years.

Some areas along the Zambezi Valley receive rainfall amounts in the region of 727mm annually, with temperatures of around 25 degrees Celsius or higher throughout the year.

When Vice President Constantino Chiwenga visited Siakobvu in 2018, he stressed that there should be farming projects in the Zambezi Valley to ensure food security.

Among the projects, which he said could be undertaken, was the setting up of citrus plantations and maize production that he astutely said could capitalise on the availability of vast waters in the Zambezi River, as well as the Kariba Dam.

Already, Charara Estates in Kariba is doing it and has even gone the extra mile to establish a banana plantation from which they supply local markets, as well as in neighbouring Zambia.

The positive thing is that some seed houses have also been undertaking research into resilient seeds that can thrive under harsh climatic conditions like those being singled out for winter maize production across the country.

They are usually arid areas with very little or no rain during summer, which makes it critical to grow crops all year round, but with irrigation, especially during winter.

Results from winter maize projects show that producing maize under irrigation in semi-arid regions such as Masvingo’s Lowveld, Kariba and the Zambezi Valley is viable, especially during winter.

The post Zimbabwe: Time Winter Maize Production Becomes a National Project appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

The Swiss embassy in Harare can now generate 160kW through its eight large solar panels, the largest solar facility at a Swiss embassy in the region.

Zimbabwe is a great place to invest in solar energy given its climate and conducive regulatory framework, Switzerland’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, Mr Niculin Jager said during the joint commissioning with Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi.

The eight-panel set up, which started in 2010, can power the entire mission and its residences, leaving about 90 percent excess energy at peak.

The project dovetails with Switzerland’s goal of becoming a zero carbon emission country, and fight climate change.

Ambassador Jager said they were proud to have done one of the largest solar installations by a Swiss Embassy in the region.

“Solar power is a key part of our ‘sustainable embassies’ programme and further proof of Switzerland’s global commitment to environmental protection. I hope this project will inspire others.”

Minister Chasi said solar energy was the way to go if uninterrupted power supplies were to be guaranteed.

“Solar power is a practical solution for Zimbabwe, not only because the country has high levels of sunshine, but also because it is clean and could save the country money that is used to import electricity,” said Minister Chasi.

“Climate change means that we have to look at alternatives, and I am happy with this investment from Switzerland which is in line with Zimbabwe’s energy policy that promotes a transition to clean energy.”

Zimbabwe has put in place policies aimed at encouraging use of renewable energies.

Some of the policies are the Electricity Act of 2003 that resulted in the liberalisation of power generation.

The Act allows independent power producers (IPPs)in the renewable energy sector to generate and sell power to the national grid.

In 2019, Government approved renewable energy and biofuels policies, which seek to speed up the adoption of renewable energies by opening up the energy space to private players.

To date over, 10 IPPs are operating in the renewable energy sector. Five other small solar power plants expected to feed an additional 14MW into the national grid are under construction.

Private companies and individuals have installed rooftop systems at their properties as a result of the new policy regime.

Available electricity from renewable energy is about 135MW, which is fed into the national grid, representing about 6 percent to the total electricity mix in Zimbabwe, excluding large-scale hydropower from Kariba.

The post Zimbabwe: Swiss Embassy Goes Green appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

The national devolution policy promotes fair distribution of resources critical for the growth of provincial economies, but provincial ministers must as a result prioritise economic growth in their provinces, President Mnangagwa said yesterday.

The President met the 10 ministers of State for Provincial Affairs at State House in Harare to discuss progress in devolution and provincial growth and lay down the policy priorities in line with Vision 2030 that sees Zimbabwe reaching middle income status by 2030.

The provincial ministers are: Eng Oliver Chidau (Harare), Cde Ruth Ncube (Bulawayo), Cde Mary Mliswa-Chikoka (Mashonaland West), Cde Apollonia Munzverengi (Mashonaland East), Cde Monica Mavhunga (Mashonaland Central), Cde Ellen Gwaradzimba (Manicaland), Cde Larry Mavima (Midlands), Cde Ezra Chadzamira (Masvingo), Cde Abednico Ncube (Matabeleland South) and Cde Richard Moyo (Matabeleland North).

Vice President Kembo Mohadi and several Cabinet ministers also attended the meeting.

Devolution is provided for in Chapter 14 of the Constitution with its main goal being the equitable allocation of national resources and the participation of local communities in the determination of development priorities within their areas.

Government has since started the disbursement of devolution funds to local authorities as part of the policy.

“We set out to implement devolution not merely as a political empowerment tool but as a means to achieve equitable economic development and equalisation for all parts of our country,” President Mnangagwa said.

“We boldly declared an end to red tape, bureaucracy and lopsided development associated with the perception of Harare province being ‘bamba zonke’.

“By so doing, we envisaged the development of vibrant provincial economies with distinct provincial gross domestic product. This model is and still is an important building block to the achievement of Vision 2030. I, therefore, exhort us to keep in mind this goal and work tirelessly to achieve the desired results.”

President Mnangagwa said the provincial ministers were important in the implementation of Government programmes and policies and must facilitate development in the context of national priorities and resources in their provinces.

He challenged them to take advantage of their competitive advantages in crafting their development policies, paying attention to strategies that promote production and value addition.

“The ease of doing business reforms that have been implemented to date must be a stepping stone to the attraction of productive investments into the provinces and districts.

“Provinces must identify, implement and track high impact flagship projects across all sectors of the economy. Opportunities must be created and facilitated for our citizens in the diaspora to invest and participate back in their home provinces,” President Mnangagwa said.

Provinces should, in the future, have economic and social indicators to track their development in terms of productivity, employment creation, export earnings and import substitution initiatives as part of the periodic provincial reports and briefs they present.

Turning to the economic sectors, President Mnangagwa said agriculture remained central to Government’s development agenda despite the effects of three successive droughts and the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai.

“Government recently launched the Agricultural Recovery Plan, to ensure agriculture transformation and modernisation for the attainment of food self-sufficiency through smart agriculture practices.

“In addition, the plan seeks to facilitate the diversification of food production and consumption, speeding irrigation and mechanisation programmes, the creation of green belts in areas such as Masvingo, Bulawayo Kraal, Kanyemba among others; improving and capacitating our extension services as well as the overall innovation and modernisation of agriculture, among other aspects,” said the President.

He said the ongoing downsizing of farms to viable maximum sizes for each ecological zone will free more land for new farmers and pledged Government’s continued support to farmers through the Presidential Input Scheme and the Command Agriculture Programme under the new financing model.

The President said vulnerable groups would continue to receive Government support.

“Projects, which accelerate the improvement in the quality of life of the people must be timely implemented and constantly monitored. The rehabilitation and construction of roads, bridges, dams, water and sanitation infrastructure, which are important economic enablers must remain a priority.

“In line with our modernisation and industrialisation agenda, deliberate strategies must be made at the provincial levels to attract and facilitate investments for the development of green energy solutions and ICT infrastructure,” President Mnangagwa said.

Small and medium enterprises were an important sector and the re-opening of the sector in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic must continue to be monitored and within set health guidelines.

“In the tourism sector, new, robust and innovative strategies must be implemented to attract both domestic and external tourists. I challenge provinces to also look beyond the obvious to develop new tourism products and places of interest,” he said.

The post Zimbabwe: Prioritise Economy, Ministers Told appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

Bread prices had slumped by around $10 a standard loaf with prices in the $55 to $68 range depending on brand yesterday after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe ensured millers could import wheat with foreign currency supplied at the ruling auction rate.

Last week, the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) announced that millers would reduce the price of the flour and that in future flour prices would track the standard auction rate.

Supermarkets and shops still have variations in the price of a standard loaf from the big three commercial bakers of Lobel’s, Proton and Bakers Inn, ranging from $66.90 to $68.43 depending on how they apply mark-ups, with in-house brands being sold for as low as $55.

In-house brands are normally cheaper as there are no transport costs to factor in.

The bakers were being charged $3 150 for a 50kg bag of bread flour, but the millers, now able to use auction rates to import wheat, are charging just $2 136 for the same 50kg.

“There are still stocks of higher priced flour by bakers, but most are already diluting this with lower-priced flour, so pushing down prices closer to what their competitors charge.

Bakers Association of Zimbabwe president Mr Dennis Wallah yesterday confirmed that the price of bread had started going down, but said any movement on the foreign currency would affect the price .

“The reduction in the price of bread shows that our members are responsible, but any movement upward or downward in the exchange rates will affect the bread price,” he said.

In future bread prices will track the auction rate, making bread the first non-subsidised essential product where prices will track the auction rate, not the black market rate.

Bread prices started soaring in May this year when Grain Marketing Board (GMB) advised millers that they had run out of wheat and millers had to import using free funds.

GMAZ chairman, Mr Tafadzwa Musarara recently confirmed that prices would be guided by the foreign currency auction outcomes.

In a few months, as the present winter wheat crop is harvested, there could be more price adjustments with the price of flour for the next year being dependent on what farmers are paid for their crop and the storage and other costs incurred by buyers, mainly the GMB.

Zimbabwe has always been a wheat importer, but this winter the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement has pushed hard to contract enough competent farmers in the hope that Zimbabwe can be self sufficient or close to self-sufficient.

The country requires around 400 000 tonnes of wheat a year at present demand.

The post Zimbabwe: Bakers Reduce Bread Price appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

The United States government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has donated US$60.55 million through the World Food Programme (WFP) to assist Zimbabwe during its lean season.

In a statement Monday, the US Embassy in Harare said the money will go towards the World Food Programme’s (WFP) 2020/21 Lean Season Food Assistance programme for the troubled country.

According to WFP, more than seven million people in Zimbabwe face starvation and are in urgent need of food aid and these include those living in urban areas, a traditionally self-dependent population.

The lean season assistance begins in August and will feed nearly one million people during the peak of the season – from January to April 2021 according to WFP.

Announcing the aid, American Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Brian Nichols said, “The United States remains committed to responding to the humanitarian situation, providing critical food assistance to Zimbabwe’s most vulnerable, while responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and maintaining essential services.”

In June, USAID announced a US$10 million to ensure that nearly 100 000 people in Zimbabwe’s eight urban areas have access to adequate food supplies between July and December 2020.

A few months ago, WFP made an appeal to the international community to donate aid as Zimbabwe was facing its worst food security crisis in a decade.

WFP Country Director and Representative (OIC), Niels Balzer welcomed the donation.

“WFP would like to thank the American people for their generosity and steadfast commitment to the people of Zimbabwe at this critical time. Our Lean Season Assistance programme addresses the urgent food needs of the most vulnerable Zimbabweans, who are facing a triple threat of climate induced drought, economic crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Balzer.

The Zimbabwean hunger situation has been worsened by the combined effects of failed economic and agricultural policies, corruption, consecutive poor agricultural seasons, the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, and now, the Covid-19 pandemic.

The United States has however, committed itself to remaining the largest bilateral donor of emergency humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe.

During the 2019/20 lean season, USAID provided more than $86.9 million to reach more than 1.8 million food insecure Zimbabweans in 22 rural districts throughout the country.

Since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, the United States has invested nearly $3.2 billion in Zimbabwe through projects, including initiatives to increase food security.

The post Zimbabwe: U.S. in U.S.$60.55 Million Donation to Hunger-Stricken Zimbabwe Through WFP appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

Zimbabwe’s funeral assurance companies might struggle to remain viable as they continue to lose business to life assurers, the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) has warned.

Although life assurers are within their rights to write funeral business, the impact of traditional funeral assurers cannot be ignored.

The trend has been noticeable over the last few years, and latest figures from the sector’s regulators report on funeral assurance for the quarter to March 31, 2020 points to a weakening funeral assurance segment.

According to IPEC, during the quarter under review, life assurers wrote inflation-adjusted funeral assurance business worth $39.27 million.

Comparatively, funeral assurers wrote 6.73 percent of the total funeral business that was written in the market, which IPEC said was “approximately fourteen times less than the funeral business written by the life assurers.”

During the quarter, inflation-adjusted Gross Premium Written (GPW) written by funeral assurers was down 50.33 percent to $2.83 million, attributable to a “notable decrease in GPW in real terms was on account of the decrease in real incomes following inflationary spikes.”

With life assurers claiming a huge portion of funeral business, IPEC says traditional funeral assurers should be innovative and be able to tap into other markets.

“Increasing competition from life assurers in writing funeral assurance business is also a threat that the funeral assurance sector should always put on its radar going forward,” said IPEC.

“This threat underscores the need for funeral assurance sector players to be innovative and aggressive in terms of writing new business and tapping into the uninsured market.”

The local funeral assurance sector is constituted by eight main players namely: First Funeral, Foundation, Moonlight, Orchid, Passion, Ruvimbo, Sunset and Vineyard.

Moonlight remains the dominant player in the sector, accounting for 61.51 percent of GPW for the quarter under review.

The balance accounted for 38.49 percent of funeral assurance business.

Over the past year, the local funeral assurance sector has been affected by a difficult operating environment typified by hyperinflation and currency depreciation. This has resulted in increasing the sector’s costs of doing business, shrinking premiums in real terms due to reduced disposable incomes of consumers and limited viable investment options to invest policyholder funds, which could have long-term consequences on their viability.

The latest numbers show that rising operating costs are becoming a concern for the sector.

Operating expenses increased by 285.24 percent and, according to IPEC, were largely concentrated in one funeral assurer, which accounted for 68.34 percent of the total operating expenses ($8.71 million).

The balance accounted for remaining 31.66 percent of operating expenses.

The expense ratio for the period stood at 64.87 percent.

“This ratio continues to be very high and is unsustainable in the long term, especially if funeral assurers have an excessive run on the book where claims are concerned.

“All funeral assurers are therefore reminded of the need to rationalise their operating and management expenses to levels that are sustainable,” said the regulator.

In terms of earnings, five funeral assurers reported positive profit before interest and tax, while the remaining three reported losses during the period under review.

“However, the reported losses experienced by the three funeral assurers were insignificant as the overall net effect was an increase in profit before interest and tax by 21.37 percent from $3.6 million for quarter ended March 31, 2019 to $4.37 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

“The increase in profit before interest and tax was on account of a sharp increase in nominal GPW written emanating mainly from premium increases in line with the general increase in prices during the quarter under review.”

The sector is struggling to meet minimum capital requirements, with just two out of eight funeral assurers reported capital positions above the regulatory minimum capital requirement of $62.5 ima million.

The post Zimbabwe: Life Assurers Bury Funeral Companies appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

The uncomfortable truth about last week’s announcement of a partnership between the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and chrome ore miner, Zimasco, is that it exposes the parastatal.

Zimasco, realising that its business would be affected by the potential of erratic deliveries to markets and that the market does not wait for it — because competitors abound — decided what any alert and competitive operator would do. That is explore alternative solutions.

In this case, the solution was hiring locomotives from South Africa.

These would be dedicated to transporting the chrome miner’s ore, domestically and to markets abroad.

Zimasco does not own railway lines, and is not in the business of running railways. Therefore it sought “partnerships” with the NRZ.

The outcome of the partnership will result in Zimasco increasing its capacity to move chrome ore exports from the miners’ operations in Mutorashanga, in Mashonaland West province, to the ports.

Zimasco and NRZ entered into the deal early this year after the chrome miner realised that the rail operator was having challenges transporting Zimasco’s ore destined for the export markets.

But herein lies what could be the problem; as the backbone of the national transport system, the NRZ should have been at the forefront of exploring ways of meeting the requirements of companies or organisations that require its services or those with a potential for needing its services.

This can be established by conducting a market needs assessment survey.

Approaching mining companies and industries that require movement of their raw materials throughout the country and to and from the sea ports ought to be part of the NRZ’s brief.

It should not be the other way round.

The reason why today there are so many haulage trucks on the country’s road network is precisely because of the NRZ’s failure to anticipate and put in place systems that answer to the needs of industry.

The substantial migration of business from rail to road clearly speaks, in part, to issues of unreliability and inconsistency in delivery.

In hiring locomotives from South Africa, Zimasco realised that in order to meet export orders consistently, it needed dedicated transport to ship the chrome ore to the seaports.

The point is that because the parastatal is in the business of providing transport for the various industry needs, an assessment of the industry’s requirements would have brought to the fore areas requiring focus and then re-equipping the parastatals to meet the demands of its existing and potential clients.

While it might mean spending in order to gear itself up to meet customer needs, the NRZ would still be able to make money from billing industry for transporting orders domestically and for exports.

Issues of reliability, consistency and security are among key considerations that have driven industry to road transportation instead of depending on the NRZ.

Even as Zimasco entrusts the locomotives to the NRZ, it is on the understanding that deliveries to export markets will be on target, every time.

Failure to observe these could prove costly for Zimasco as there is a risk of losing export orders due to breach of contractual agreements on delivery schedules.

In this instance, it is Zimasco that has demonstrated strategic leadership.

In putting together this arrangement, the expectation is that NRZ will be able to consistently provide the logistics required for exporting the high-grade Zimasco exports that earn the country much-needed foreign currency.

NRZ is presently transporting 45 percent of Zimasco’s exports. It cites shortage of locomotives. So there is enormous scope for reclaiming the remaining 55 percent that is presumably being transported by road.

So far this year, Zimasco has exported 160 000 tonnes of ore from Mutorashanga and is targeting to ship 300 000 tonnes by the end of the year.

To place matters in perspective one has to ask: Where is the NRZ when the country is reeling from failure by the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) to move the public to and from their places of work?

Even during this lockdown phase, the NRZ would be moving the bulk of workers who are struggling to get to and from work every day if, in the case of Harare for example, there were passenger trains running on time from Inkomo Barracks/Nyabira/Mt Hampden; Norton; and Marondera.

The same could be said of Bulawayo and other cities where there is scope for passenger trains.

Yet evidence abounds that during the period January-June 2019 the NRZ moved more than half a million passengers.

That level of demand for transport by the public should have informed the parastatal on how to anticipate and plan a response to public transport requirements.

Members of the public are having to pay exorbitant fares because of inadequate transport.

The NRZ would offer value for money for the majority of people, if it was up to the task.

Railway reduces the cost of doing business.

But efficiency, consistency and reliability will attract more business to the NRZ and in the process, remove a lot of the haulage trucks on the country’s roads, thus contributing to reduction in road traffic accidents.

The post Zimbabwe: Key Considerations in Zimasco – NRZ Deal appeared first on Zimbabwe Today.

The central bank foreign currency auction system Tuesday set the exchange rate at 1:65 against the US dollar, registering a 3 % decline when compared to last week.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) update on the latest trades shows that US$13.6 million was available on the system with the highest bid rate ZW$90 lowest bid rate ZWL$30 lowest accepted rate ZW$55.

However, the average weighted rate settled at ZW$65.87 registering 3% decline from the figures declared last week.

Out of the available foreign currency, the manufacturing sector was allotted US$5.6 million, retail and distribution US$1.9 million, services US$1.8 million, agriculture US$1 million construction , engineering and electricals US$1 million, energy US$575 421.

The figures show that trade volume by allocation down by +16%

Speaking shortly after trading, the RBZ governor John Mangudya urged Zimbabweans to stop peddling fake news on social media saying it undermines confidence and affects the nation as a whole.

He made the remarks after taking note of reports suggesting that the central bank has failed to stabilise the exchange rates.

“As Zimbabweans we need to exercise self-respect and love our country. Why would someone send fake news on social media to cause mistrust of the central bank? It is not the RBZ officials or the Monetary Policy Committee who need this foreign currency but industry players out there.

“At the end of the day it is the industry and Zimbabweans who will benefit the most out of this if the trades stabilises.

Meanwhile, exchange rates on the parallel market stabilised and in some places are beginning to go down to the margins of between 1:75 as opposed to the rates 1:100 registered in the previous weeks.

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