HARARE – Zimbabwe’s intensifying power cuts are a result of the country’s and its northern neighbour, Zambia’s failure to heed early warnings of depleting water capacity in Kariba Dam, a top engineering body has said. Engineering Institution of Zambia president Bernard Chiwala said the Zambezi River Authority ordered utilities in the two countries to cut…
HARARE – Zimbabwe and its creditors this week agreed on an arrears repayment strategy which entails the clearance of the country’s $1,8 billion outstanding amount by April 2016, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa has said. The Treasury chief on Thursday said the strategy was for Zimbabwe’s three preferred creditors — the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World…
HARARE – Zimbabwe must facilitate for a devaluation process of the United States Dollar to lower basic commodity prices and improve the country’s export competitiveness, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has said. In 2009, the country ditched its infamous local currency and adopted the multi-currency system, dominated by the United States dollar and South…
HARARE – The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) says business sentiments in the country have reached an all-time low due to the deteriorating economic situation. Launching CZI’s Business Confidence Index (BCI) — which assesses the level of confidence in the industry and strength of the institutions — in the capital yesterday, CZI President Busisa Moyo…
HARARE – The World Bank (WB) says Zimbabwe must quickly reduce its “huge wage bill” as it is affecting infrastructure development in the country. In a conference call with Sub-Saharan Africa, WB acting chief economist Punam Chuhan-Pole on Monday said while Zimbabwe’s astronomical wage bill was not peculiar to the country alone, government still needed…
HARARE – Cottco Holdings Limited (Cottco) shareholders are meeting next month to consider government’s proposal to take over the struggling company’s debt and convert it to equity. The agriculture concern’s acting company secretary, Petros Piki, said shareholders will decide Cottco’s fate at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) slated for November 5, 2015. “The government of…
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s financial services institutions have slashed interest rates by more than 50 percent in compliance with the central bank’s directive. Earlier this year, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya announced that banks had to reduce their interest rates, which were in some cases over 30 percent, with effect from October 1,…
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s largest platinum producer, Zimplats Holdings Limited (Zimplats)’s, indigenisation plan has been approved but the country is yet to give Mimosa Mine the green light to implement its proposal. The miner’s chairman Sydney Mufamadi said government authorised the platinum giant to sell 10 percent of its equity to employees as a way of…
HARARE – London-listed Mwana Africa Plc (Mwana) is rebranding to Asa Resources Group Plc to reflect the new Chinese shareholding structure. The pan-African resources company, active in diamond, gold and nickel mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbabwe and South Africa, recently fell into Chinese hands after ousting its founder and former chief…
HARARE – The European Union (EU) says it supports Zimbabwe’s debt repayment strategy and will facilitate for “progressive” discussions with creditors at the upcoming multilateral lenders meetings in Lima, Peru. The EU ambassador to Zimbabwe, Philippe Van Damme, yesterday told delegates at the signing ceremony of the €89 million under the 11th European Development Fund…
