Zimbabweans must be patriotic and must move away from the “big brother” syndrome where everything done by ZANU-PF is acceptable and whatever is done by the opposition is condemned, Makoni Central; legislator David Tekeshe said. Contributing to the motion calling for the barring of those pushing for sanctions from holding public office, Tekeshe said Zimbabweans...

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has outlined six things that he says his administration intends to do to attract innovators who can prop the country to an upper middle income country in the next eight years. Writing in his weekly column in the Sunday Mail, Mnangagwa confessed that Zimbabwe had not always shown faith and belief...

It’s not about the bigger home or the better vacation. Financial stability helps people escape the everyday hassles of life, says research by Jon Jachimowicz. When we wonder whether money can buy happiness, we may consider the luxuries it provides, like expensive dinners and lavish vacations. But cash is key in another important way: It...

About US$113 million was allotted to 2 579 businesses in May with US$94.5 million going to 682 large firms and US$18.5 million to 1 897 small and medium enterprises. Total forex paid out in May amounted to US$641 million with US$517 million coming from foreign currency accounts and only US$10.3 million from the interbank market....

Zimbabwean public servants have rejected an offer for a 100% pay increase from the government of the Southern African nation where inflation surged to 132% last month. Workers “flatly rejected” the state’s offer to double their pay, the Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions said in an emailed statement Friday. They demand that the...

Guruve South legislator Patrick Dutiro says if a political party does not have an internal democratic process, it must not contest national elections. Speaking during the debate on the motion calling for the barring of those who advocate for sanctions from holding public office, Dutiro said some Zimbabweans did not understand what democracy was all...

Zimbabwe’s foreign currency auction system has disbursed US$3.2 billion since its launch in June 2020 with the bulk of the money, US$2.77 billion going to large companies. Figures released by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe show that the market disbursed US$112.98 million in May and has allotted US$641.1 million in the past five months. The...

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is to tighten conditions for companies to obtain loans from banks following an investigation which revealed that some corporates were obtaining loans and dumping the money on the black market to obtain foreign currency thus undermining the local currency. According to the investigation one entity obtained $6.5 billion from 12...

Exiled Zimbabwean politician Jonathan Moyo yesterday said a political party is not a brand like Nike or CocaCola. It is a structure. “No structure, no political party.” He said this after being blasted by Citizens Coalition for Change supporters after Moyo had said CCC had no members and could therefore not claim that Moreblessing Ali...

China’s Sinomine Resource Group today launched a US$200 million project to build a plant and expand existing mining operations at its recently acquired Bikita lithium mine in Zimbabwe. The southern African country holds some of the world’s largest deposits of lithium, a key battery mineral, and hopes for an economic boost from a global drive...

Zimbabwe is not a choir where everyone must sing to one tune, Gweru legislator Brian Dube told Parliament on Tuesday. People must, however, all agree that Zimbabwe is the only home that they have. He said this during the debate on the motion calling for the barring of those advocating for sanctions to be barred...

Zimbabwe Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe yesterday urged politicians not to clothe offences with political parties adding that despite concerted efforts to paint the country in bad light, Zimbabwe would never become ungovernable. He said the country’s police will ensure that anyone who commits an offence is arrested and the law will take its course....

Beitbridge East legislator Albert Nguluvhe says no one should sacrifice the people to get to State House. Seconding the motion calling for the barring of those calling for sanctions against the country from assuming public office, Nguluvhe said: “We may have our differences, but when it comes to defending the interests of this country, we...

Zimbabwe will wipe out its banking sector completely if it dollarises, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube told Parliament yesterday. He said dollarising was a bad idea and no finance minister would do that. He was responding to question in Parliament over dwindling salaries for civil servants and was asked why not simply dollarise. “Let me …explain...

The Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) launched legal action to challenge Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP). The ZEP, which ended on 31 December 2021, will not be extended. Those with a permit have a 12-month grace period to either apply for another type of permit or leave the...

Opposition legislator David Tekeshe has asked whether people would still be declared heroes if the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front is defeated. He asked this because he was totally ignored at the recent burial of a provincial hero in his own constituency. His presence, he said, was not even acknowledged while that of the person...

Rebounding from decades of corruption, chaos, and economic turmoil, Africa is on track to record significant growth in the coming years, as founders and businessmen leverage its vast human and natural resources to create wealth in an era driven by the Internet and technology. According to a recent report by Henley & Partners in collaboration...

A Zimbabwean legislator yesterday called for laws that will bar those disparaging the country or calling for sanctions from holding political office either as councillors or Members of Parliament. Gutu South legislator Pupurai Togarepi yesterday introduced a motion in Parliament calling for the banning of holding of government office positions by those who continue to...

The Zimbabwe dollar today eased by $13.16 to average $338.4921 against the United States dollar but it ranged from $460 to $600 on the black market. It was trading at $333.4552 on the interbank market. A total of US$24.5 million was allotted at today’s auction with US$21.1 million going to large firms. Offers ranged from...

Zimbabwe’s Grain Marketing Board, which is the sole buyer of the country’s staple maize, is now paying farmers within 72 hours, Lands and Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka says. He said the GMB had 1 800 collection points and farmers were being paid at collection points. “The resources are availed by treasury on a weekly basis. ...

Zimbabwe’s Deputy Finance Minister Clemence Chiduwa says yes. Economist Gift Mugano says yes, too, but the two do not see things the same way. Mugano says the local currency will collapse this month. Chiduwa says the forex madness will soon run out of steam. “Currency volatility is the elephant in the room when it comes...

More than three months since the start of the war in Ukraine, people globally are facing a cost-of-living crisis not seen in more than a generation, with escalating price shocks in the global food, energy and fertilizer markets – in a world already grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. An estimated 1.6 billion...

Citizens Coalition for Change deputy leader Tendai Biti yesterday said Local Government Minister July Moyo was the most corrupt minister in Zimbabwe. He said this before he was kicked out of Parliament yesterday after an altercation with the Speaker Jacob Mudenda over the Pomona dump site deal with Biti arguing that the matter was not...

Zimbabwe has recruited 3 900 teachers so far this year but it is short of another 25 300, Education Minister Evelyn Ndlovu told Parliament on Wednesday. More than half of the teachers are for the infant level which covers ECD to Grade 2, she said. According to her breakdown, Zimbabwe needs 25 331 teachers with...

The Pomona waste management deal which was signed with a Netherlands company yesterday raised a stink in Parliament with opposition legislators saying the government was interfering with the operations of the Harare City Council as the deal was prejudicing ratepayers of US$22 000 a day. Higher Education Minister Amon Murwira, however, said the deal was...

Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti, a strong proponent of dollarization, has called on the government to scrap the Zimbabwe dollar component of the maize producer price and pay farmers in United States dollars so that they are adequately remunerated. Speaking during question time yesterday Biti said the new incentive of US$90 that the government had...

Zimbabwe could be a different country in just one week says economist Eddie Cross. “The only solution, and I want to emphasis that, the ONLY solution is to completely dedollarise our economy, make our own currency the sole means of exchange for all purposes,” he writes on his personal blog. He says Zimbabwe should use...

The Zimbabwe dollar today fell by $16.18 to average $325.3314 down from $308.5201 last week but it is still chasing the black market rate which ranges from $420 to $520 depending on the method of payment. The auction rate is, however, above the interbank rate which today stood at $312.0164. The government is encouraging businesses...

Zimbabwe has asked Russia for more supplies of agricultural commodities and to start fuel supplies, an official says. The Ukraine war has disrupted supplies of wheat from Russia, the world’s number one wheat exporter. Russian exports to Zimbabwe, a major importer of Russian wheat and fertilisers, have been hit. At a meeting of the Russian-Zimbabwean...

Members of a sub-committee appointed by Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube to look into what is stalling the turnaround of the Cold Storage Company, which was placed under a corporate rescue plan in December 2020, were locked out of the CSC offices and had to meet in the car park. The CSC,...

With debate about who is going to replace Kembo Mohadi as the country’s vice-president, former Minister of Higher Education Jonathan Moyo seems to be on a name-dropping frenzy. On 30 May he twitted that President Emmerson Mnangagwa could surprise the nation by naming Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube and Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa as his deputies....

The R2-billion takeover of sugar giant Tongaat Hulett by the controversial Rudland family of Zimbabwe has potentially crashed and burned. A key shareholder resolution paving the way for the deal was declared a “nullity” yesterday by the Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP), a unit of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. This followed an investigation...

While blaming China exclusively for COVID-19’s apparent emergence in Wuhan, US authorities have suppressed inquiries into the role that US scientific research institutions may have played in creating the conditions for the pandemic. Yet if the coronavirus did indeed come from a lab, US culpability is almost certain. When US President Joe Biden asked the...

The Zimbabwe foreign currency auction rate today remained above the interbank rate which fell to $304.4223 to the United States dollar against yesterday’s auction rate of $308.5201. The black market rates remained unmoved at $360 for cash to $450 for swipe and zipit transactions. The interbank rate is based on a willing-seller-willing buyer concept, making...

Patrick Soon-Shiong, a South African-born biopharma billionaire, has seen his net worth fall by more than US$956 million since the start of the year as investors continue to sell off shares in the biotech industry as part of a strategic move to preserve wealth and reduce exposure to risky assets. According to data obtained by...

Economist Eddie Cross says only four things are required to get Zimbabwe’s farming industry, and the country, back on its feet. “If we do not do this”, he argues, “we will continue to wallow in poverty and to experience shortages and high costs for products that we are otherwise able to produce ourselves at globally...

The Zimbabwe dollar today fell by $17.63 to average $308.5201 to the United States dollar down from $290.8876 last week. It has narrowed the gap with the black market rate which now ranges from $360 to $450 depending on the mode of payment but was $7 more than the prevailing interbank rate. Zimpricecheck noted the...

“Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.” This famous quote by Milton Friedman is most often used by monetary economists (such as Greenwood and Hanke) to explain inflation. Inflation has to be financed whether it is from demand-pull or cost-push factors and excess money is the financier. An economy needs money growth for nominal...

The United Kingdom has a longstanding arms embargo on Zimbabwe but it never discussed arms sales to Zimbabwe from Indonesia, Junior Foreign Minister Vicky Ford said. She had been asked by Lyn Brown whether the Foreign Office has had any discussions with her Indonesian counterpart on the potential impact of supplying arms to Zimbabwe on...

Zimbabwe’s inflation for May soared from 96.4% in April to 131.7% this month but United States economist Steve Hanke put it at 244% as of 19 May. Month-on-month inflation rose from 15.6% to 21% with the local currency falling from 159.35 at the last auction in April to $290.89 yesterday narrowing the gap between the...

Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa has lost over half a billion dollars as a result of a drop in the value of his stake in Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (Econet Zimbabwe) in less than a month. The news comes not long after a staggering US$1.7-billion surge in his net worth above the US$4-billion mark earlier this year....

The Zimbabwe dollar today shed $32.35 to average $290.8876 against the United States dollar down from $258.5404 last week. The local currency has lost $124.90 in the past three weeks but remains way off the black market rate though the gap with the interbank rate has narrowed. The interbank rate today was $295.6945. The black...

After several weeks of being ranked as Southern Africa’s second-richest Black billionaire, Patrice Motsepe has staged a comeback, recouping wealth losses and surging ahead of Zimbabwean telecom billionaire Strive Masiyiwa. Motsepe now, once again, wears the crown among the region’s richest Black businesspeople. An exclusive report by Billionaires.Africa nearly three months ago confirmed that Masiyiwa...

In a few days, we shall be celebrating Africa Day to mark the founding of our Continental Body, the Organisation of African Unity, OAU, now African Union (AU) far back in 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Then, only a handful of African countries had attained sovereign Independence, with the greater part of Africa yet to...

The United States is the world’s largest enabler of financial secrecy, surpassing notorious tax havens like Switzerland, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, according to an analysis by the Tax Justice Network released last week. For the first time, the US tops the biennial Financial Secrecy Index, TJN’s global ranking that measures how much each country’s...

Sinomine, the Chinese lithium company that is buying Bikita Minerals, says it plans to invest an initial US$200 million to build a new plant and expand existing operations. Bikita is Zimbabwe’s oldest miner of lithium-bearing minerals, but has only so far produced petalite, which is used mainly in the glass and ceramics industry. Sinomine now...

Zimbabwe cannot stabilise its local currency the way Zambia or Uganda or Tanzania did because their situation was different. This was said by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube in response to questions in the Senate on Thursday. “Zambia was never in our situation, which is a situation where you have debt arrear, sanctions, whichever way you...

Some 20.8 million Nigerians, more than the entire population of Zimbabwe smoke mbanje according to the Global Cannabis Report for 2019. Zimbabwe has an estimated 14.9 million people but the actual population will be known within the next three months following the national census carried out last month. Nigeria has a population of about 206.1...

Zimbabwe Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe says there are only two ways to end corruption in Zimbabwe. Responding to a question from Senator Watson Khupe who wanted to know what the Ministry of Home Affairs was doing to curb corruption after a study said Zimbabwe police were the most corrupt government department, Kazembe said, the...

A British lord yesterday said the United Kingdom had signed an agreement with Zimbabwe to accommodate refugees deported from Britain but this had never been published. It was only the agreement with Rwanda that went public after the UK signed a £120 million economic deal that could see thousands of migrants sent to the African...