HARARE – The budget deficit has ballooned from $400 million to $1,7 billion, creating a major fiscal crisis for government. To plug the deficit, government is resorting to heavy borrowings. Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa said yesterday central to the cash shortages is mismatch between the stock of foreign currency available, as represented by hard currency…
HARARE – Government has set aside $132,2 million for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to successfully conduct the 2018 harmonised elections. The vote is a far-cry from the $274 million demanded by Zec. Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa said the allocation was “over and above resources provided for voter registration under the 2017 budget.” Independent election…
HARARE – A policeman who torched the house of police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri before exchanging fire with heavily armed soldiers appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court yesterday. Hardlife Maukazuva, 27, is facing charges of unlawful entry into Chihuri’s property in aggravating circumstances, malicious damage to property and attempted murder. He was denied bail when he…
HARARE – Registrar General Tobaiwa Toneth Mudede will not be forced out of his job even though he has reached the compulsory age of retirement, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare minister Petronella Kagonye has told the National Assembly. Kagonye’s remarks fly in the face of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s decree to permanent secretaries just after…
HARARE – As the country enters the homestretch of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) blitz, Civic Society Organisations (CSOs) have upped their voter education campaigns. As of December 5, at least 3 599 459 had registered to vote, according to national elections management body Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec). [GoogleAd] The elections body is targeting to…
HARARE – Prosecutors yesterday dropped charges of undermining the authority of the president against war veterans’ leader Victor Matemadanda, reflecting greater judicial independence under new President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Matemadanda — who was represented by leading rights attorney Beatrice Mtetwa — was a strident critic of former president Robert Mugabe who was pressured to resign by…
HARARE – Former deputy prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, pictured, has drawn up a proposed road-map for elections in Zimbabwe, amid high tension between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the opposition. There had been some expectation that Mnangagwa would bring in figures from outside Zanu PF, from Joice Mujuru’s National People’s Party (NPP) or from the various…
HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government will soon reintroduce the Zimbabwean dollar which will be anchored by international goodwill, Special Advisor to the President Chris Mutsvangwa has said. The revelation comes as economists have called for the bond notes to be demonetised in favour of hard currency borrowed abroad. Government abandoned the Zimbabwe dollar in…
HARARE – Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) has apologised for unusually long queues at Norton toll plaza due to the use of cashless payment methods. “Zinara and its partners have developed cashless solutions for paying toll fees as an innovative solution for the future. We are pleased that the innovative solutions for paying toll fees…
HARARE – The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) has banned the importation of fuel by members of the public. In a notice issued yesterday, Zera said the Statutory Instrument which allowed the public to procure fuel has been repealed. The move seems aimed at curbing an illegal but thriving parallel market of liquid fuels, but…
