Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Nestle's milk linked to Zimbabwe prez
Swiss food giant Nestle is being accused of aiding and abetting the theft of a Zimbabwean dairy farm, which was seized from its white owners and is now run by the wife of President Robert Mugabe. Stephen Beard reports.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Zimbabwe Takes Over Supermarket, Hotel Chain Meikles
By Brian Latham
Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe’s government has ordered that Kingdom Meikles Africa Ltd., which owns the country’s biggest supermarket chain and best-known hotel, be placed under state administration, a lawyer for the company said.
Kingdom Meikles and its associates -- the Tanganda Tea Co., Thomas Meikle Centre Ltd. and Murlis Investments Ltd. -- have been “specified” under Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption laws, which allows them to be placed under administration, according to a government decree made on Sept. 11, Sternford Moyo, a lawyer for Meikles, said in an interview from the country’s capital today. The order is illegal, he said.
“The specification of these entities is null and void,” Moyo said. “The joint ministers of home affairs aren’t legally entitled to specify anyone or any company.”
On Sept. 16 President Robert Mugabe told foreign investors at a mining conference in Harare that the country respected property rights and the rule of law. Mugabe began a program of seizing white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to black subsistence farmers and has repeatedly threatened to nationalize mines. Zimbabwe is seeking foreign investment to help it recover from a decade long-recession that ended this year.
The companies are accused of “externalizing foreign funds,” Zimbabwe’s state-controlled Herald newspaper reported Sept. 15.
“This is a disaster for a country that is trying to attract foreign investment,” Gilbert Muponda, an independent investment analyst, said by e-mail today. “After this asset seizure it is now clear that Zimbabwe remains a high risk investment destination and investors could easily lose serious amounts of money.”
Kembo Mohadi and Giles Mutsekwa, the co-ministers of home affairs, didn’t answer calls to their mobile phones today.
In February Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the former opposition leader, set up a coalition government after intervention by the Southern African Development Community of neighboring states to end a 10-year political crisis.
Mohadi is a member of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front while Mutsekwa belongs to Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change.
Under Zimbabwean law, “specified” companies must be administered by a government appointed official.
The MDC condemned the specification as a “mafia style grab of assets which erodes all hope’’ of attracting investment, the party said in an e-mailed statement.
Calls to Kingdom Meikles weren’t immediately answered today. Calls to John Moxon, Meikles’ biggest shareholder, similarly weren’t answered. On Sept. 15 the Meikles asked for trade in its shares on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to be suspended without giving a reason.
Kingdom Meikles owns the TM supermarket chain in Zimbabwe and the Meikles hotel in Zimbabwe. It has a market value of $90 million. Tanganda is the country’s biggest tea producer.
Johannesburg-based Moneyweb, an Internet news site, reported the action earlier.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Latham in Durban at blatham@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: September 18, 2009 03:52 EDT
Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe’s government has ordered that Kingdom Meikles Africa Ltd., which owns the country’s biggest supermarket chain and best-known hotel, be placed under state administration, a lawyer for the company said.
Kingdom Meikles and its associates -- the Tanganda Tea Co., Thomas Meikle Centre Ltd. and Murlis Investments Ltd. -- have been “specified” under Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption laws, which allows them to be placed under administration, according to a government decree made on Sept. 11, Sternford Moyo, a lawyer for Meikles, said in an interview from the country’s capital today. The order is illegal, he said.
“The specification of these entities is null and void,” Moyo said. “The joint ministers of home affairs aren’t legally entitled to specify anyone or any company.”
On Sept. 16 President Robert Mugabe told foreign investors at a mining conference in Harare that the country respected property rights and the rule of law. Mugabe began a program of seizing white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to black subsistence farmers and has repeatedly threatened to nationalize mines. Zimbabwe is seeking foreign investment to help it recover from a decade long-recession that ended this year.
The companies are accused of “externalizing foreign funds,” Zimbabwe’s state-controlled Herald newspaper reported Sept. 15.
“This is a disaster for a country that is trying to attract foreign investment,” Gilbert Muponda, an independent investment analyst, said by e-mail today. “After this asset seizure it is now clear that Zimbabwe remains a high risk investment destination and investors could easily lose serious amounts of money.”
Kembo Mohadi and Giles Mutsekwa, the co-ministers of home affairs, didn’t answer calls to their mobile phones today.
In February Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the former opposition leader, set up a coalition government after intervention by the Southern African Development Community of neighboring states to end a 10-year political crisis.
Mohadi is a member of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front while Mutsekwa belongs to Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change.
Under Zimbabwean law, “specified” companies must be administered by a government appointed official.
The MDC condemned the specification as a “mafia style grab of assets which erodes all hope’’ of attracting investment, the party said in an e-mailed statement.
Calls to Kingdom Meikles weren’t immediately answered today. Calls to John Moxon, Meikles’ biggest shareholder, similarly weren’t answered. On Sept. 15 the Meikles asked for trade in its shares on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to be suspended without giving a reason.
Kingdom Meikles owns the TM supermarket chain in Zimbabwe and the Meikles hotel in Zimbabwe. It has a market value of $90 million. Tanganda is the country’s biggest tea producer.
Johannesburg-based Moneyweb, an Internet news site, reported the action earlier.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Latham in Durban at blatham@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: September 18, 2009 03:52 EDT
Consumer prices
Consumer prices moved up by an average of 0,44% in August, according to the Central Statistical Office. Their figures show that food prices were almost unchanged against the July figures at an increase of 0,08%, while alcoholic drinks and tobacco went up 1%, clothing and footwear down by 0,24%, fuel and power for households up by 3,1% and health services up by 1,63%. Slight price decreases were recorded for transport, communications, recreational facilities, restaurants and hotels and miscellaneous goods. The index, which was rebased at 100 on the December 2008 US dollar figures, had declined to
89,9 by May this year, but it has moved onto a rising trend since june and it reached 91,7 in August. - from John Robertson
89,9 by May this year, but it has moved onto a rising trend since june and it reached 91,7 in August. - from John Robertson
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Zimbabwe inflation eases further
The Zimbabwean dollar has virtually disappeared from the streets
Zimbabwean inflation slowed again last month, thanks to the lower cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks, the Central Statistical Office (CSO) has said.
The month-on-month rate was 0.4% in August, compared with 1% in July.
While it is the latest indication that Zimbabwe is recovering from the hyper-inflation of 2008, the CSO still does not publish an annual rate.
Last year, Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate soared as high as 231,000,000% as its economy collapsed.
This prompted the CSO to abandon releasing the annual rate every month.
Currency move
The national unity government, formed in February, has since started efforts to both help the economy recover and try to get inflation under control.
While you have to take the figure with a pinch of salt, it is really the only even vaguely reliable source
Philip Walker, Economist Intelligence Unit
One of its first decisions was to allow people to use foreign currencies, a move that has now in effect removed the worthless Zimbabwean dollar from circulation.
Analyst Philip Walker of the Economist Intelligence Unit, said the CSO's latest inflation data appeared to be broadly accurate.
"While you have to take the figure with a pinch of salt, it is really the only even vaguely reliable source," he said.
"Zimbabwean inflation is certainly not at the level seen this time last year ago... the fact they have abandoned the Zimbabwean dollar has certainly helped."
IMF loan
Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund said it would give Zimbabwe a $400m (£241m) loan to boost its cash reserves.
However, political tensions remain in the government between President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change.
Mr Tsvangirai has said his party members continue to face violence and intimidation.
Commentators say this political instability will continue to deter badly-needed overseas private investment.
Zimbabwean inflation slowed again last month, thanks to the lower cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks, the Central Statistical Office (CSO) has said.
The month-on-month rate was 0.4% in August, compared with 1% in July.
While it is the latest indication that Zimbabwe is recovering from the hyper-inflation of 2008, the CSO still does not publish an annual rate.
Last year, Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate soared as high as 231,000,000% as its economy collapsed.
This prompted the CSO to abandon releasing the annual rate every month.
Currency move
The national unity government, formed in February, has since started efforts to both help the economy recover and try to get inflation under control.
While you have to take the figure with a pinch of salt, it is really the only even vaguely reliable source
Philip Walker, Economist Intelligence Unit
One of its first decisions was to allow people to use foreign currencies, a move that has now in effect removed the worthless Zimbabwean dollar from circulation.
Analyst Philip Walker of the Economist Intelligence Unit, said the CSO's latest inflation data appeared to be broadly accurate.
"While you have to take the figure with a pinch of salt, it is really the only even vaguely reliable source," he said.
"Zimbabwean inflation is certainly not at the level seen this time last year ago... the fact they have abandoned the Zimbabwean dollar has certainly helped."
IMF loan
Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund said it would give Zimbabwe a $400m (£241m) loan to boost its cash reserves.
However, political tensions remain in the government between President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change.
Mr Tsvangirai has said his party members continue to face violence and intimidation.
Commentators say this political instability will continue to deter badly-needed overseas private investment.
Zimbabwe Won’t Restore Currency, Plans Simpler Taxes
By Carli Lourens and Brian Latham
Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Tendai Biti said he plans to simplify taxes to lure investment, cut debt and won’t restore use of the country’s currency until annual exports more than double.
Zimbabwe needs to cut the number of taxes, restore annual exports to between $3 and $5 billion, a level last seen in about 1996, and tackle its debt “overhang” before it restores its own currency, Biti said. Exports totaled $1.52 billion last year, according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
“The challenge for us is to broaden our tax base and to simplify it,” Biti told a mining conference in the capital, Harare, today. “Our thinking generally is to move to a flat rate of tax.”
In February, President Robert Mugabe and former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai formed a coalition government after intervention by the Southern African Development Community of neighboring states to end a 10-year political crisis. The economy, once the second-biggest in southern Africa after South Africa, suffered a decade-long recession that ended this year.
In mining alone, there are 15 different tax rates and a number of exemptions have cut the “effective” tax rate in that industry to 8 percent from 15 percent, he said. The top personal income tax rate is 47.5 percent.
Zimbabwe may look to emulate a simpler tax code adopted by Georgia, Biti said
500 Billion Percent
Under Georgia’s tax code, introduced in 2005, the number of taxes was cut from 21 to six, including a flat personal income tax rate of 25 percent that will fall to 15 percent by 2013, according to the government’s Web site. The country has no capital gains, inheritance or social taxes.
The government of the African country abandoned the Zimbabwe dollar this year in favor of currencies including the U.S. dollar and the South African rand in a bid to tame the world’s highest inflation rate. Inflation reached almost 500 billion percent in September last year, according to the International Monetary Fund. It is currently running at a monthly rate of 0.4 percent. Annual figures are not available.
Biti has forecast positive growth this year and Elton Mangoma, the minister of economic planning and investment promotion, told the conference that the country will expand at “double-digit” levels from next year.
Zimbabwe plans to consider new mining laws and will aim to make the country “attractive” for investment, Mugabe said in a speech at the conference.
The country currently has less than $2 million in import reserves, Biti said in an earlier interview. Total national debt is $4.7 billion, he added.
To contact the reporters on this story: Carli Lourens in Harare at clourens@bloomberg.net; Brian Latham in Durban at blatham@bloomberg.net.
Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Tendai Biti said he plans to simplify taxes to lure investment, cut debt and won’t restore use of the country’s currency until annual exports more than double.
Zimbabwe needs to cut the number of taxes, restore annual exports to between $3 and $5 billion, a level last seen in about 1996, and tackle its debt “overhang” before it restores its own currency, Biti said. Exports totaled $1.52 billion last year, according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
“The challenge for us is to broaden our tax base and to simplify it,” Biti told a mining conference in the capital, Harare, today. “Our thinking generally is to move to a flat rate of tax.”
In February, President Robert Mugabe and former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai formed a coalition government after intervention by the Southern African Development Community of neighboring states to end a 10-year political crisis. The economy, once the second-biggest in southern Africa after South Africa, suffered a decade-long recession that ended this year.
In mining alone, there are 15 different tax rates and a number of exemptions have cut the “effective” tax rate in that industry to 8 percent from 15 percent, he said. The top personal income tax rate is 47.5 percent.
Zimbabwe may look to emulate a simpler tax code adopted by Georgia, Biti said
500 Billion Percent
Under Georgia’s tax code, introduced in 2005, the number of taxes was cut from 21 to six, including a flat personal income tax rate of 25 percent that will fall to 15 percent by 2013, according to the government’s Web site. The country has no capital gains, inheritance or social taxes.
The government of the African country abandoned the Zimbabwe dollar this year in favor of currencies including the U.S. dollar and the South African rand in a bid to tame the world’s highest inflation rate. Inflation reached almost 500 billion percent in September last year, according to the International Monetary Fund. It is currently running at a monthly rate of 0.4 percent. Annual figures are not available.
Biti has forecast positive growth this year and Elton Mangoma, the minister of economic planning and investment promotion, told the conference that the country will expand at “double-digit” levels from next year.
Zimbabwe plans to consider new mining laws and will aim to make the country “attractive” for investment, Mugabe said in a speech at the conference.
The country currently has less than $2 million in import reserves, Biti said in an earlier interview. Total national debt is $4.7 billion, he added.
To contact the reporters on this story: Carli Lourens in Harare at clourens@bloomberg.net; Brian Latham in Durban at blatham@bloomberg.net.
Zimbabwe Eyes Tourism Spillover From 2010 World Cup Next Door
By Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye Washington15 September 2009
Zimbabwe hopes to revive its ailing tourism sector by providing more than 6,700 hotel rooms to soccer fans and sports organizations and associations during the World Cup of Soccer to be held in South Africa next June-July, a senior official in the sector said Tuesday.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Chairman Shingi Munyeza in an interview with VOA dismissed news reports that talks with hospitality agency Match, named by the International Federation of Football Associations, or FIFA, on the provision of hotel rooms had collapsed.
Munyeza told reporter Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that he is pleased with the progress so far in ensuring that Zimbabwe benefits from the Cup
Zimbabwe hopes to revive its ailing tourism sector by providing more than 6,700 hotel rooms to soccer fans and sports organizations and associations during the World Cup of Soccer to be held in South Africa next June-July, a senior official in the sector said Tuesday.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Chairman Shingi Munyeza in an interview with VOA dismissed news reports that talks with hospitality agency Match, named by the International Federation of Football Associations, or FIFA, on the provision of hotel rooms had collapsed.
Munyeza told reporter Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that he is pleased with the progress so far in ensuring that Zimbabwe benefits from the Cup
Saturday, September 12, 2009
UPDATE 1-Engen, KenolKobil to buy BP, Shell Zimbabwe assets
UPDATE 1-Engen, KenolKobil to buy BP, Shell Zimbabwe assets
Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:34pm IST
HARARE, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Engen Petroleum and KenolKobil plan to acquire BP and Shell's Zimbabwe assets in anticipation of economic growth under a unity government formed earlier this year, the companies said on Friday.
They will acquire more than 75 service stations in a deal now under consideration by Zimbabwean authorities.
BP and Shell's move would be the highest profile exit by a major foreign investor since President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai set up a power-sharing government in February in a bid to end a political and economic crisis.
Engen -- one of South Africa's leading petroleum products retailers -- and east African KenolKobil said they were to acquire all the shares in Shell Zimbabwe and BP Zimbabwe.
BP and Shell, whose joint Zimbabwe operations employ about 400 people and whose blending plant in Harare has a capacity of 30 million litres per year, were not available to comment.
Engen has existing operations in Zimbabwe and Jacob Segman, managing director of KenolKobil, said the joint venture would seek to benefit from the country's reconstruction.
"While Zimbabwe's economy has declined sharply over the last decade, it still boasts good infrastructure and we believe that this will form the basis of renewed economic growth under the new government of national unity," Segman said in the statement. (Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Dan Lalor)
Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:34pm IST
HARARE, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Engen Petroleum and KenolKobil plan to acquire BP and Shell's Zimbabwe assets in anticipation of economic growth under a unity government formed earlier this year, the companies said on Friday.
They will acquire more than 75 service stations in a deal now under consideration by Zimbabwean authorities.
BP and Shell's move would be the highest profile exit by a major foreign investor since President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai set up a power-sharing government in February in a bid to end a political and economic crisis.
Engen -- one of South Africa's leading petroleum products retailers -- and east African KenolKobil said they were to acquire all the shares in Shell Zimbabwe and BP Zimbabwe.
BP and Shell, whose joint Zimbabwe operations employ about 400 people and whose blending plant in Harare has a capacity of 30 million litres per year, were not available to comment.
Engen has existing operations in Zimbabwe and Jacob Segman, managing director of KenolKobil, said the joint venture would seek to benefit from the country's reconstruction.
"While Zimbabwe's economy has declined sharply over the last decade, it still boasts good infrastructure and we believe that this will form the basis of renewed economic growth under the new government of national unity," Segman said in the statement. (Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Dan Lalor)
Friday, September 11, 2009
EU ‘Will Not Lift Zimbabwe sanctions
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeld
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – The European Union is not ready to end its sanctions against Zimbabwe, Sweden’s Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said on Thursday after calls by southern African leaders for them to be lifted.
“I want to be clear: the EU is not prepared (for) lifting the restrictions we have on Zimbabwe,” said Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
“It is not the restrictions that are creating problems in Zimbabwe, it is the mismanagement … not respecting of human rights,” he said in response to a question at a public address in Johannesburg.
Reinfeldt meets his South African leader Jacob Zuma later Thursday with Pretoria having come out strongly in support of the dropping of sanctions, ahead of a landmark EU visit to Zimbabwe at the weekend.
A high-level EU delegation will leave for Zimbabwe after the summit in a landmark trip to work on normalising ties, the first such visit since sanctions were imposed in 2002.
Both the EU and the United States maintain a travel ban and asset freeze on President Robert Mugabe, his wife and inner circle in protest at controversial elections and alleged human rights abuses.
Reinfeldt said Zimbabwe will be an “important part” of the meeting with Zuma, following the regional call for sanctions to end by the South African Development Community (SADC) at a summit on a Tuesday.
“I am interested to hear what President Zuma’s views are on the outcomes of the SADC summit. We depend on African leaders to be there and present, and to also influence,” he said.
The EU visit to Harare follows the first official talks in seven years held three months ago with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who joined Mugabe in a unity pact nearly a year after chaotic polls pushed Zimbabwe deeper into crisis.
Swedish International Development Cooperation Minister Gunilla Carlsson and EU Aid Commissioner Karel De Gucht leave for Zimbabwe after an EU-South Africa summit on Friday.
On Saturday and Sunday they will meet Mugabe and Tsvangirai, as well as other ministers, officials and representatives of non-governmental organisations.
Zimbabwe’s unity government was formed in February but has been plagued by power struggles over key posts and claims of continued persecution of Tsvangirai’s supporters.
South Africa on Wednesday defended the regional call on sanctions, saying it was “a very responsible approach” to Zimbabwe’s troubles as it attempts to claw its way back from economic ruin.
“This call for the lifting of sanctions is not aimed at protecting and defending President Robert Mugabe as an individual. It is meant to attract necessary investments into Zimbabwe so that their economic recovery plan can take effect,” said Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Additional reporting: Yahoo News
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – The European Union is not ready to end its sanctions against Zimbabwe, Sweden’s Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said on Thursday after calls by southern African leaders for them to be lifted.
“I want to be clear: the EU is not prepared (for) lifting the restrictions we have on Zimbabwe,” said Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
“It is not the restrictions that are creating problems in Zimbabwe, it is the mismanagement … not respecting of human rights,” he said in response to a question at a public address in Johannesburg.
Reinfeldt meets his South African leader Jacob Zuma later Thursday with Pretoria having come out strongly in support of the dropping of sanctions, ahead of a landmark EU visit to Zimbabwe at the weekend.
A high-level EU delegation will leave for Zimbabwe after the summit in a landmark trip to work on normalising ties, the first such visit since sanctions were imposed in 2002.
Both the EU and the United States maintain a travel ban and asset freeze on President Robert Mugabe, his wife and inner circle in protest at controversial elections and alleged human rights abuses.
Reinfeldt said Zimbabwe will be an “important part” of the meeting with Zuma, following the regional call for sanctions to end by the South African Development Community (SADC) at a summit on a Tuesday.
“I am interested to hear what President Zuma’s views are on the outcomes of the SADC summit. We depend on African leaders to be there and present, and to also influence,” he said.
The EU visit to Harare follows the first official talks in seven years held three months ago with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who joined Mugabe in a unity pact nearly a year after chaotic polls pushed Zimbabwe deeper into crisis.
Swedish International Development Cooperation Minister Gunilla Carlsson and EU Aid Commissioner Karel De Gucht leave for Zimbabwe after an EU-South Africa summit on Friday.
On Saturday and Sunday they will meet Mugabe and Tsvangirai, as well as other ministers, officials and representatives of non-governmental organisations.
Zimbabwe’s unity government was formed in February but has been plagued by power struggles over key posts and claims of continued persecution of Tsvangirai’s supporters.
South Africa on Wednesday defended the regional call on sanctions, saying it was “a very responsible approach” to Zimbabwe’s troubles as it attempts to claw its way back from economic ruin.
“This call for the lifting of sanctions is not aimed at protecting and defending President Robert Mugabe as an individual. It is meant to attract necessary investments into Zimbabwe so that their economic recovery plan can take effect,” said Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Additional reporting: Yahoo News
New Highway Toll System in Zimbabwe Pulls in US$676,000 in First Month
By Sithandekile Mhlanga Washington
10 September 2009
Tollgates recently introduced on Zimbabwe's highways collected US$676,000 in the latter part of August following their introduction, funds that will be spent repairing deteriorated roads, Transport Minister Nicholas Goche told the state-run Herald newspaper.
Goche told the Herald in an article published Thursday that US$608,000 was transferred to the Zimbabwe National Road Agency after deducting a 10% handling fee.
He said his ministry will respond to public complaints of congestion at tollgates by instituting prepaid tolls for state and company vehicles to minimize delays.
Light motor vehicles pay one U.S. dollar at toll stations while minibuses and heavy trucks pay two dollars and five dollars, respectively. The government decided to levy tolls to meet costs of upgrading highways following a series of deadly bus crashes.Parliamentary Transport Committee Member Albert Mhlanga told reporter Sithandekile Mhlanga of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that that repairs will begin with the Beitbridge-Victoria Falls highway followed by the Beitbridge-Harare and Harare-Kariba highways
10 September 2009
Tollgates recently introduced on Zimbabwe's highways collected US$676,000 in the latter part of August following their introduction, funds that will be spent repairing deteriorated roads, Transport Minister Nicholas Goche told the state-run Herald newspaper.
Goche told the Herald in an article published Thursday that US$608,000 was transferred to the Zimbabwe National Road Agency after deducting a 10% handling fee.
He said his ministry will respond to public complaints of congestion at tollgates by instituting prepaid tolls for state and company vehicles to minimize delays.
Light motor vehicles pay one U.S. dollar at toll stations while minibuses and heavy trucks pay two dollars and five dollars, respectively. The government decided to levy tolls to meet costs of upgrading highways following a series of deadly bus crashes.Parliamentary Transport Committee Member Albert Mhlanga told reporter Sithandekile Mhlanga of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that that repairs will begin with the Beitbridge-Victoria Falls highway followed by the Beitbridge-Harare and Harare-Kariba highways
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe Have $2.09 Billion in IMF Arrears
By Sandrine Rastello
Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe have overdue financial obligations to the International Monetary Fund, bringing total arrears to the lender to about $2.09 billion, the lender said today.
Somalia accounted for 18 percent of all unpaid dues and Sudan owed 75 percent of the total as of the end of June, the IMF said in a policy paper posted on its Web site today. Zimbabwe accounted for the remaining 7 percent.
“Overdue financial obligations to the fund continue to impose a significant financial cost on the fund and its membership,” the Washington-based lender said in the paper. The cost for most of the deferred charges “is borne by debtor and creditor members through the burden-sharing mechanism,” it said.
The three countries also have financial obligations with the World Bank and the African Development Bank, according to the IMF. The IMF’s tally of arrears was down about $17.3 million in the 12 months to June 30 from the year-earlier period, the fund said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Sandrine Rastello in Washington at srastello@bloomberg.net;
Last Updated: September 9, 2009 18:55 EDT
Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe have overdue financial obligations to the International Monetary Fund, bringing total arrears to the lender to about $2.09 billion, the lender said today.
Somalia accounted for 18 percent of all unpaid dues and Sudan owed 75 percent of the total as of the end of June, the IMF said in a policy paper posted on its Web site today. Zimbabwe accounted for the remaining 7 percent.
“Overdue financial obligations to the fund continue to impose a significant financial cost on the fund and its membership,” the Washington-based lender said in the paper. The cost for most of the deferred charges “is borne by debtor and creditor members through the burden-sharing mechanism,” it said.
The three countries also have financial obligations with the World Bank and the African Development Bank, according to the IMF. The IMF’s tally of arrears was down about $17.3 million in the 12 months to June 30 from the year-earlier period, the fund said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Sandrine Rastello in Washington at srastello@bloomberg.net;
Last Updated: September 9, 2009 18:55 EDT
Sunday, September 6, 2009
IMF provides $510m loan for Zimbabwe amid worries that Mugabe party will grab funds
IMF provides $510m loan for Zimbabwe amid worries that Mugabe party will grab funds
• Move is another step in country's rehabilitation• MDC fears cash may be diverted to Zanu-PF
Zimbabwe's crippled economy received a boost when the IMF sanctioned a $510m (£311m) loan, its first to the country in a decade.
But the move stirred conflict between the partners in Zimbabwe's unity government amid fears it would used to shore up President Robert Mugabe's regime.
Gideon Gono, Zimbabwe's reserve bank governor, said the IMF had paid it $400m via a fund for developing countries hit by the global recession, with a further $110m to follow next week.
"I can confirm that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe did receive the funds," Gono told the state-owned Herald newspaper, adding that he and the finance minister, Tendai Biti, would discuss how to deploy the funds.
The money will be used to replenish Zimbabwe's dwindling foreign currency reserves and has been released on condition it is not diverted to other projects.
Political leaders hailed the decision as a sign that Zimbabwe's unity government is ending the country's spell in the international wilderness.
The IMF wound down its programme there 10 years ago and formally withdrew in 2002, adopting a "declaration of noncooperation" with Mugabe's government.
Eddie Cross, an economist and policy co-ordinator for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said: "This is the first significant IMF involvement with Zimbabwe for more than a decade.
"The magnitude is very substantial, about half our total budget this year. It's a very large contribution."
But the MDC opposed Gono's appointment at the reserve bank and will be anxious to ensure he does not control the funds in case they are directed to the coffers of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party instead of the impoverished population.
"Gono is part of the reactionary elements fighting the unity government," said Cross. "He's been the principal culprit for the meltdown of the economy. We've been successful in … circumventing him and that's what we'll do with this money.
"It will be controlled very carefully, otherwise it will be used and abused and find its way to all sorts of nefarious activities and corrupt institutions."
Another MDC source added: "Gono has tried to take the money but Biti is trying to take charge." The source added that Zimbabwe may be unable to draw down the funds until it has shown it can repay a debt of $5.7bn to various creditors. "The funds will come but it will be in the context of Zimbabwe having committed to clearing these debts," he said.
The IMF told Zimbabwe two weeks ago, in a letter obtained by Reuters, that it would not receive the $510m until it repaid arrears of $142.2m. In a letter to Biti, the IMF's acting director for the African Department, Mark Plant, said countries with arrears would not receive aid until they had cleared them.
"Thus, although Zimbabwe is eligible to receive the SDR (Special Drawing Rights) under the general allocation, it will not receive its share under the special allocation ... until its arrears have been cleared."
G20 leaders agreed in April to treble to $750bn the IMF's capacity to help struggling economies. According to the IMF's website, all 186 members were eligible to receive the money from 28 August in proportion to their existing quotas with the fund.
Zimbabwe has suffered a decade of economic meltdown and record hyperinflation, worsened by the withdrawal of western aid over policy differences with Mugabe's previous administration, before he formed the unity government this year with rival Morgan Tsvangirai.
Western donors have demanded broad political and economic reforms before giving direct aid to the government. Donors currently provide only humanitarian aid. Dominique Davoux, the EU's head of economic co-operation and food security in Zimbabwe, told a business conference in Harare this week that efforts to restore ties were being made.
"Zimbabwe's international relations are on the mend, with bilateral and multilateral re-engagement efforts taking centre stage, starting with the prime minister's visit to Brussels in June," Davoux said. "It's moving very slowly and we want it speeded up to deal with areas of concern on both sides."
Davoux said any possible financial assistance to the unity government -which says it requires about $10bn to rebuild the economy – depended on successful negotiations.
• Move is another step in country's rehabilitation• MDC fears cash may be diverted to Zanu-PF
Zimbabwe's crippled economy received a boost when the IMF sanctioned a $510m (£311m) loan, its first to the country in a decade.
But the move stirred conflict between the partners in Zimbabwe's unity government amid fears it would used to shore up President Robert Mugabe's regime.
Gideon Gono, Zimbabwe's reserve bank governor, said the IMF had paid it $400m via a fund for developing countries hit by the global recession, with a further $110m to follow next week.
"I can confirm that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe did receive the funds," Gono told the state-owned Herald newspaper, adding that he and the finance minister, Tendai Biti, would discuss how to deploy the funds.
The money will be used to replenish Zimbabwe's dwindling foreign currency reserves and has been released on condition it is not diverted to other projects.
Political leaders hailed the decision as a sign that Zimbabwe's unity government is ending the country's spell in the international wilderness.
The IMF wound down its programme there 10 years ago and formally withdrew in 2002, adopting a "declaration of noncooperation" with Mugabe's government.
Eddie Cross, an economist and policy co-ordinator for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said: "This is the first significant IMF involvement with Zimbabwe for more than a decade.
"The magnitude is very substantial, about half our total budget this year. It's a very large contribution."
But the MDC opposed Gono's appointment at the reserve bank and will be anxious to ensure he does not control the funds in case they are directed to the coffers of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party instead of the impoverished population.
"Gono is part of the reactionary elements fighting the unity government," said Cross. "He's been the principal culprit for the meltdown of the economy. We've been successful in … circumventing him and that's what we'll do with this money.
"It will be controlled very carefully, otherwise it will be used and abused and find its way to all sorts of nefarious activities and corrupt institutions."
Another MDC source added: "Gono has tried to take the money but Biti is trying to take charge." The source added that Zimbabwe may be unable to draw down the funds until it has shown it can repay a debt of $5.7bn to various creditors. "The funds will come but it will be in the context of Zimbabwe having committed to clearing these debts," he said.
The IMF told Zimbabwe two weeks ago, in a letter obtained by Reuters, that it would not receive the $510m until it repaid arrears of $142.2m. In a letter to Biti, the IMF's acting director for the African Department, Mark Plant, said countries with arrears would not receive aid until they had cleared them.
"Thus, although Zimbabwe is eligible to receive the SDR (Special Drawing Rights) under the general allocation, it will not receive its share under the special allocation ... until its arrears have been cleared."
G20 leaders agreed in April to treble to $750bn the IMF's capacity to help struggling economies. According to the IMF's website, all 186 members were eligible to receive the money from 28 August in proportion to their existing quotas with the fund.
Zimbabwe has suffered a decade of economic meltdown and record hyperinflation, worsened by the withdrawal of western aid over policy differences with Mugabe's previous administration, before he formed the unity government this year with rival Morgan Tsvangirai.
Western donors have demanded broad political and economic reforms before giving direct aid to the government. Donors currently provide only humanitarian aid. Dominique Davoux, the EU's head of economic co-operation and food security in Zimbabwe, told a business conference in Harare this week that efforts to restore ties were being made.
"Zimbabwe's international relations are on the mend, with bilateral and multilateral re-engagement efforts taking centre stage, starting with the prime minister's visit to Brussels in June," Davoux said. "It's moving very slowly and we want it speeded up to deal with areas of concern on both sides."
Davoux said any possible financial assistance to the unity government -which says it requires about $10bn to rebuild the economy – depended on successful negotiations.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Rural Zimbabwe fights to survive on foreign currency
By Reagan Mashavave (AFP) –
MUDZI, Zimbabwe — Nyoko Nyazvigo counts out her slim earnings in this remote Zimbabwean village, neatly arranging her few US dollars, South African rands and Mozambican meticais.
The 43-year-old widow fetches water from wells, cleans houses across the nearby Mozambican border and tends her arid fields of groundnuts, sorghum and maize in her struggle to earn foreign currency -- the only money now accepted in Zimbabwe.
Despite the hardship, she says she does not regret the government's decision to scrap the Zimbabwe dollar, which had been left worthless after years of hyperinflation.
"With the Zimbabwean dollar, prices changed almost every day -- and sometimes every hour," Nyazvigo said.
"With the US dollar and rands, even with the few meticais I get, I know I can save for a week and buy something," she told AFP.
On a good day Nyazvigo earns about 30 rands (about four US dollars), which she saves to send her four children to school.
Even that meagre income puts her among the more fortunate Zimbabweans. The government estimates that 65 percent of the country's 12 million people live in the rural areas and survive on less than one US dollar a day.
The dollarisation of the economy has resulted in stable prices, allowing shopkeepers to restock their once-empty stalls as the unity government of long-ruling President Robert Mugabe and new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai tries to rebuild the economy from collapse.
But Nyazvigo's struggles in Mudzi, 260 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of the capital, typify the plight of rural Zimbabweans who have little access to the foreign currency now needed to pay for everything from food to medicine to school fees.
Her village benefits from its proximity to the Nyamapanda border post, a key link in southern Africa's highway system.
Unemployed young men in the area work as baggage carriers for traders travelling to Mozambique.
Young women sometimes turn to prostitution at the border post, where truck drivers from across the region spend about three days for customs and immigration clearance.
But peasant farmers who depend on their crops for their income are struggling to find buyers because most people simply have no money to pay for them, said local councillor Fungai Mahachi.
"It was a good move for us to use the US dollar but people here are poor. They don't have access to that money. We don't have industry or companies to employ people," Mahachi said.
"We are failing to sell the little harvest we have because there are no buyers," he added.
Many people are being forced to barter for goods and services, such as having their maize ground into the flour used to make the staple food sadza.
"People are resorting to paying two tins of maize to have their maize ground at the grinding mill," said Newturn Kachepa, a lawmaker who represents this district.
"The community just doesn't have the US dollars."
Bartering food for services means that many people could run out of food stocks long before the next harvest in May, said Oxfam Zimbabwe director Peter Mutoredzanwa.
The United Nations estimates that 2.8 million Zimbabweans will need food aid before the next harvest -- an improvement from the nearly seven million who needed aid to survive until the just-ended harvest.
"Because of lack of access to foreign currency, especially in rural areas most people are being forced to barter their harvests to pay for basic goods and services," Mutoredzanwa said.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
MUDZI, Zimbabwe — Nyoko Nyazvigo counts out her slim earnings in this remote Zimbabwean village, neatly arranging her few US dollars, South African rands and Mozambican meticais.
The 43-year-old widow fetches water from wells, cleans houses across the nearby Mozambican border and tends her arid fields of groundnuts, sorghum and maize in her struggle to earn foreign currency -- the only money now accepted in Zimbabwe.
Despite the hardship, she says she does not regret the government's decision to scrap the Zimbabwe dollar, which had been left worthless after years of hyperinflation.
"With the Zimbabwean dollar, prices changed almost every day -- and sometimes every hour," Nyazvigo said.
"With the US dollar and rands, even with the few meticais I get, I know I can save for a week and buy something," she told AFP.
On a good day Nyazvigo earns about 30 rands (about four US dollars), which she saves to send her four children to school.
Even that meagre income puts her among the more fortunate Zimbabweans. The government estimates that 65 percent of the country's 12 million people live in the rural areas and survive on less than one US dollar a day.
The dollarisation of the economy has resulted in stable prices, allowing shopkeepers to restock their once-empty stalls as the unity government of long-ruling President Robert Mugabe and new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai tries to rebuild the economy from collapse.
But Nyazvigo's struggles in Mudzi, 260 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of the capital, typify the plight of rural Zimbabweans who have little access to the foreign currency now needed to pay for everything from food to medicine to school fees.
Her village benefits from its proximity to the Nyamapanda border post, a key link in southern Africa's highway system.
Unemployed young men in the area work as baggage carriers for traders travelling to Mozambique.
Young women sometimes turn to prostitution at the border post, where truck drivers from across the region spend about three days for customs and immigration clearance.
But peasant farmers who depend on their crops for their income are struggling to find buyers because most people simply have no money to pay for them, said local councillor Fungai Mahachi.
"It was a good move for us to use the US dollar but people here are poor. They don't have access to that money. We don't have industry or companies to employ people," Mahachi said.
"We are failing to sell the little harvest we have because there are no buyers," he added.
Many people are being forced to barter for goods and services, such as having their maize ground into the flour used to make the staple food sadza.
"People are resorting to paying two tins of maize to have their maize ground at the grinding mill," said Newturn Kachepa, a lawmaker who represents this district.
"The community just doesn't have the US dollars."
Bartering food for services means that many people could run out of food stocks long before the next harvest in May, said Oxfam Zimbabwe director Peter Mutoredzanwa.
The United Nations estimates that 2.8 million Zimbabweans will need food aid before the next harvest -- an improvement from the nearly seven million who needed aid to survive until the just-ended harvest.
"Because of lack of access to foreign currency, especially in rural areas most people are being forced to barter their harvests to pay for basic goods and services," Mutoredzanwa said.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
Rural Zimbabwe fights to survive on foreign currency
By Reagan Mashavave (AFP) –
MUDZI, Zimbabwe — Nyoko Nyazvigo counts out her slim earnings in this remote Zimbabwean village, neatly arranging her few US dollars, South African rands and Mozambican meticais.
The 43-year-old widow fetches water from wells, cleans houses across the nearby Mozambican border and tends her arid fields of groundnuts, sorghum and maize in her struggle to earn foreign currency -- the only money now accepted in Zimbabwe.
Despite the hardship, she says she does not regret the government's decision to scrap the Zimbabwe dollar, which had been left worthless after years of hyperinflation.
"With the Zimbabwean dollar, prices changed almost every day -- and sometimes every hour," Nyazvigo said.
"With the US dollar and rands, even with the few meticais I get, I know I can save for a week and buy something," she told AFP.
On a good day Nyazvigo earns about 30 rands (about four US dollars), which she saves to send her four children to school.
Even that meagre income puts her among the more fortunate Zimbabweans. The government estimates that 65 percent of the country's 12 million people live in the rural areas and survive on less than one US dollar a day.
The dollarisation of the economy has resulted in stable prices, allowing shopkeepers to restock their once-empty stalls as the unity government of long-ruling President Robert Mugabe and new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai tries to rebuild the economy from collapse.
But Nyazvigo's struggles in Mudzi, 260 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of the capital, typify the plight of rural Zimbabweans who have little access to the foreign currency now needed to pay for everything from food to medicine to school fees.
Her village benefits from its proximity to the Nyamapanda border post, a key link in southern Africa's highway system.
Unemployed young men in the area work as baggage carriers for traders travelling to Mozambique.
Young women sometimes turn to prostitution at the border post, where truck drivers from across the region spend about three days for customs and immigration clearance.
But peasant farmers who depend on their crops for their income are struggling to find buyers because most people simply have no money to pay for them, said local councillor Fungai Mahachi.
"It was a good move for us to use the US dollar but people here are poor. They don't have access to that money. We don't have industry or companies to employ people," Mahachi said.
"We are failing to sell the little harvest we have because there are no buyers," he added.
Many people are being forced to barter for goods and services, such as having their maize ground into the flour used to make the staple food sadza.
"People are resorting to paying two tins of maize to have their maize ground at the grinding mill," said Newturn Kachepa, a lawmaker who represents this district.
"The community just doesn't have the US dollars."
Bartering food for services means that many people could run out of food stocks long before the next harvest in May, said Oxfam Zimbabwe director Peter Mutoredzanwa.
The United Nations estimates that 2.8 million Zimbabweans will need food aid before the next harvest -- an improvement from the nearly seven million who needed aid to survive until the just-ended harvest.
"Because of lack of access to foreign currency, especially in rural areas most people are being forced to barter their harvests to pay for basic goods and services," Mutoredzanwa said.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
MUDZI, Zimbabwe — Nyoko Nyazvigo counts out her slim earnings in this remote Zimbabwean village, neatly arranging her few US dollars, South African rands and Mozambican meticais.
The 43-year-old widow fetches water from wells, cleans houses across the nearby Mozambican border and tends her arid fields of groundnuts, sorghum and maize in her struggle to earn foreign currency -- the only money now accepted in Zimbabwe.
Despite the hardship, she says she does not regret the government's decision to scrap the Zimbabwe dollar, which had been left worthless after years of hyperinflation.
"With the Zimbabwean dollar, prices changed almost every day -- and sometimes every hour," Nyazvigo said.
"With the US dollar and rands, even with the few meticais I get, I know I can save for a week and buy something," she told AFP.
On a good day Nyazvigo earns about 30 rands (about four US dollars), which she saves to send her four children to school.
Even that meagre income puts her among the more fortunate Zimbabweans. The government estimates that 65 percent of the country's 12 million people live in the rural areas and survive on less than one US dollar a day.
The dollarisation of the economy has resulted in stable prices, allowing shopkeepers to restock their once-empty stalls as the unity government of long-ruling President Robert Mugabe and new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai tries to rebuild the economy from collapse.
But Nyazvigo's struggles in Mudzi, 260 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of the capital, typify the plight of rural Zimbabweans who have little access to the foreign currency now needed to pay for everything from food to medicine to school fees.
Her village benefits from its proximity to the Nyamapanda border post, a key link in southern Africa's highway system.
Unemployed young men in the area work as baggage carriers for traders travelling to Mozambique.
Young women sometimes turn to prostitution at the border post, where truck drivers from across the region spend about three days for customs and immigration clearance.
But peasant farmers who depend on their crops for their income are struggling to find buyers because most people simply have no money to pay for them, said local councillor Fungai Mahachi.
"It was a good move for us to use the US dollar but people here are poor. They don't have access to that money. We don't have industry or companies to employ people," Mahachi said.
"We are failing to sell the little harvest we have because there are no buyers," he added.
Many people are being forced to barter for goods and services, such as having their maize ground into the flour used to make the staple food sadza.
"People are resorting to paying two tins of maize to have their maize ground at the grinding mill," said Newturn Kachepa, a lawmaker who represents this district.
"The community just doesn't have the US dollars."
Bartering food for services means that many people could run out of food stocks long before the next harvest in May, said Oxfam Zimbabwe director Peter Mutoredzanwa.
The United Nations estimates that 2.8 million Zimbabweans will need food aid before the next harvest -- an improvement from the nearly seven million who needed aid to survive until the just-ended harvest.
"Because of lack of access to foreign currency, especially in rural areas most people are being forced to barter their harvests to pay for basic goods and services," Mutoredzanwa said.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
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