Govt to Liberalise Gold Sector?: P3

GOVTTO LIBERALISE GOLD SECTOR?: P3

News Worth Knowing 2pc tax reprieve for importers: P4

November 26-December 02, 2020 ESTABLISHED 1969 @ FingazLive wwwﬁngacow Facebook: The Financial Gazette Z$260

ZSE Report TRADING on the Zimbabwe Stock Ex- change (ZSE) was weaker yesterday amid losses in the blue chip stocks Delta, CBZ, Snarl-ups Econet, Innscor and Padenga. Bindura was the biggest losser after easing 12,79 percent whereas Masimba advanced the most with a 19,92 percent surge. Innscor trades at $30,2 million and Econet at $18,7 million contributed about 48 percent of the total daily turnover which closed at $85,4 million. endanger The Old Industrial Index closed 74,65 points lower and the Mining Index lost 347,95 points.

Currencies (Bloomberg) % change ◀ ◀ USD:ZAR 15,2559 0,34 EUR:USD 1,1903 0,09 GBP:USD 1,3341 0,12 ◀ USD: JPY 104,4300 0,01 Zim’s key ◀ Stock Markets ZSE All Share 1,600.73 1,71 ◀ Top 10 1,040,75 2,55 ◀ JSE 57 756,28 0,01 ◀◀ FTSE 100 6 391,66 0,63 ◀ Dow 30 046,24 1,54

Commodities ◀ cargo port Gold 1 816,30 0,30 Platinum 955,85 0,71 ◀ ◀ Paul Nyakazeya etary policy committee (MPC), described the Brent Oil 48,28 0,88 Grains (Grain SA) Group Digital Editor situation at the country’s border posts as “very ◀ serious”. White Maize ZAR 3,370,00 1,00 Soya ZAR 8,370,00 61,00 HERE are growing fears about the long- “This situation is very serious. At one stage ◀◀ term viability of Beitbridge Border Post, about a week ago I estimated we had 10 000 Wheat ZAR 4,867,00 32,00 with Zimbabwe continuing to lose mil- trucks in queues. This costs millions every day Tlions of dollars in revenue a month due to bot- and is a real restraint on any regional economic All eyes on Ncube tlenecks at the vital cargo port. recovery. This comes as a frustrated Federation of “This has been a problem for years and I FINANCE minister, Mthuli Ncu- East and Southern African Road Transport often wonder why the authorities cannot get to be is today expected to present the Associations (FESARTA) has revealed that grips with this and sort out the problem,” he 2021 National Budget setting the regional transport operators are losing at least told The Financial Gazette this week. tone for the government’s efforts R620 million a month, with trucks spending Trust Chikohora, a former Zimbabwe Na- to breath life into the economy in up to seven days parked at the vital Sadc trade tional Chamber of Commerce president, also the wake of the Covid-19 pandem- gateway due to poor traffic management and said the delays at the country’s borders were ic and a devastating drought which co-ordination by both Zimbabwe and South needlessly costing transport operators and the left more than half the population Africa. economy millions of dollars. in need of food aid. An estimated 1 300 trucks pass through “This has a knock-on effect on all other sec- Already, from his department’s Beitbridge Border Post daily, with operators tors that rely on cross border transport as this is strategy paper, Ncube is bull- saying that the situation at the port of entry has a bottleneck in the system. ish about the country's recovery been complicated in recent months by the fact “Delays can be reduced by revamping the prospects banking on hopes of an that Zimbabwe and South Africa are on differ- border systems as well as employing advance improved rainy season and firmer ent lockdown levels — resulting in business clearance techniques,” he said. commodity prices. operations being impacted upon even more Osbert Shumba, the Beitbridge Commer- Edworks Mhandu is the new SeedCo Zimbabwe managing director. On its part, industry has made it negatively. cial Association chairperson, also told The The seed maker is considering consolidating with its off-shoot, SeedCo clear that it is strongly concerned Eddie Cross, an economist and member of Financial Gazette that “things are bad” at the International, to strengthen the latter’s listing on the recently launched about the impact of the two percent the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s (RBZ) mon- country’s busiest border post. To Page 2 Victoria Falls Stock Exchange. To Page 8 Page 2 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette National News Snarl-ups endanger Zim’s key cargo port From Page 1 This was why it was very frustrating for We do not have exact figures of how transport operators to see that it was taking much in potential revenue the country is los- a minimum of three days just to get to the ing weekly or monthly, but from the situa- front of the queue, and another day to be tion on the ground, its a significant amount processed through South African and Zim- which has not only affected us but many oth- babwean customs. ers on a regional level. Mike Fitzmaurice, the FESARTA chief A lot of production time is being lost, executive, said that working on an estimat- with most transport firms failing to meet ed cost of US20 an hour, this translated to their targets or to deliver raw materials need- about R620-million per month a figure ed at defined dates to ensure that various sec- which did not include the inventory cost to tors of the economy perform, he said. industry, loss of production and damage to Wilfred Ramwi, the general manager of goods in transit which could be double the the Transport Operators Association of Zim- above figure. babwe, would only say it was not business Aside from the increased costs, which as usual at the busy border. directly affect transport companies and On his part, Shipping and Forwarding indirectly the regional economy the situa- Ncube, Mangudya headline Agents Association of Zimbabwe chief ex- tion also had a humanitarian impact. ecutive, Joseph Musariri, pinned the wors- The drivers spend three days in the ening delays at the border post on Covid-19. queue with little or no sleep, because if Henry Ruzvidzo, the Confederation of they sleep they lose their place in the queue. post-budget Breakfast Forum Zimbabwe Industries CZI president, said There are no sanitation facilities, no running the continued delays at Beitbridge were of water and nowhere to prepare food safely, INANCE and Economic Devel- Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries Agribank as a must-attend. major concern to business across all sectors. Fitzmaurice said. opment minister Mthuli Ncube, president Henry Ruzvidzo, Bankers The post-budget interface is an While the challenges have been attribut- The trucks are transporting a variety Fpictured top left, and Reserve Association of Zimbabwe president event not to be missed as it is coming ed to necessary Covid-19 protocols, authori- of cargo, including petrol, diesel, acid, fer- Bank of Zimbabwe RBZ governor Ralph Watungwa, veteran economist at a time Zimbabwe has just launched ties are encouraged to expedite processes on tilisers and other mixed chemicals. One slip John Mangudya will officiate at the Naome Chakanya from the Labour an ambitious economic blueprint both sides of this critical port of entry. by an over-tired driver and we have another Daily News post-National Budget and Economic Development Research the National Development Strategy The one-stop border concept which will Kasumbalesa on our hands, he added. Business Breakfast Forum at Rainbow Institute of Zimbabwe and chief exec- NDS1 whose key deliverable is go a long way to making processes faster Kasumbalesa is the border post between Towers in Harare on Monday. utive of Zimbabwe Womens Microfi- a sustained national economic growth should be prioritised. the Democratic Republic of the Congo and The forum which will be moderated nance Bank, Mandas Marikanda. for our country. The decision to pre-clear goods is a Zambia. In 2014, an accident involving two by prominent Harare lawyer, Nqobile Other industrial and commer- Given that NDS1 is key step in Munzara, will take place four days af- cial representative bodies such as the Zimbabwes drive to attain Vision 2030 step in the right direction and other options fuel tankers led to a fireball that consumed ter the delivery of the highly anticipat- Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe and of achieving an upper middle income for larger repeat users of the border to clear about 50 trucks and caused the deaths of at ed 2021 National Budget. the Zimbabwe National Chamber of economy .., we are confident that the goods inland need to be encouraged, Ruz- least four people. Ncube and Mangudya will lead dis- Commerce will also be represented. business forum will provide a platform vidzo said. Over and above this challenge is a grow- cussions at the event with the help of a The Associated Newspapers of to share perspectives that will improve Persistence Gwanyanya, an economic ing corruption scourge that sees clearing panel composed of experienced econo- Zimbabwe ANZ publishers of the performance of our economy, and analyst, said while Zimbabwe had managed agents collaborate with traffic police to ad- mists and businesspersons. the Daily News and the Daily News on the well-being of our citizens, said to contain the spread of Covid-19 relatively vance trucks to the front of the queue at the The panellists include Institute of Sunday have described the event ANZ commercial director Lewis Chi- better compared to other nations, the country border gates for a facilitation fee of R300. Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe being sponsored by the Infrastructure kurunhe. Staff Writer being a major importer of many goods, still One South African exporter who supplies chief executive, Gloria Zvaravanhu, Development Bank of Zimbabwe and [email protected] meant that the pandemic was negatively af- Zimbabwe with maize and wheat for human fecting the transport industry and the overall consumption told FESARTA that the ex- economy. cessive delays are seeing trucks taking six As a commodity-dependent economy, to seven days to cross into Zimbabwe. As a which also relies heavily on imports, Zim- result, we have been put on notice that trucks babwe was not spared from the effects of are being withdrawn and our loss thus far is Covid-19 which were more pronounced on 100 trucks from the system. the impact of global commodity prices. Put differently, that is 13 600 tonnes of Generally, the environment was charac- maize and wheat that will not reach Zimba- terised by easing global commodity prices, bwe on time due to the congestion at the bor- with negative ramifications on export reve- der. According to Fitzmaurice, the problem nues for a commodity dependent country. is also on the South African side and is com- However, firming gold prices due to its pounded by the siloed approach in which the safe haven status will mitigate the revenue various agencies operate. loss from softening global commodity pric- All of the inspections by Customs, es, Gwanyanya said. Port Health, the Cross-Border Road Trans- All this comes despite the fact that cur- port Agency and so on should be con- rent lockdown restrictions in Botswana were ducted at once. such that truck owners had found it more This is not happening, which means a convenient and profitable to divert their truck needs to wait for each one. There is trucks away from Botswanas ports of entry no communication between agencies, he to Beitbridge which should have been an said. — additional reporting from Daily advantage for Zimbabwe. Maverick The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 3 National News Government ‘to liberalise’ gold sector Adelaide Moyo With the average capacity utilisation for bul- of gold and... Zimbabwe’s economic develop- local market unattractive. Staff Writer lion producers at 58 percent down three points ment and growth prospects. Failure to craft pol- “In order to bring transparency and fair share from 2019 — another economist Respect Gwenzi icies that encourage investment in the gold sector of government in minerals exploitation, NDS1 IMBABWE is seriously contemplating to "liberalise" not only says Zimbabwe risks losing out on and mining sector in general, derail the coun- will prioritise formation of an investment commit- its gold sector, as part of measures to stem black mar- the current gold price boom, but its trys efforts to reconfigure economical- tee comprising the president's office, Zimbabwe Zket leakages and attract capital into the key mining small-scale miners remain vulnera- ly,” he said. Investment Development Agency in assessing ca- industry sub-sector, it has emerged. ble to side marketing. Gold buying in most countries pable investors and overseeing investment agree- This comes as the country's new economic blueprint, Policy makers should find is mainly reserved for the central ments,” the blueprint said, adding unlocking the the National Development Strategy (NDS1) says Harare is a balance between shoring up bank, but the difference is that sector's potential requires guaranteed long-term to "strengthen its metallurgical and monitoring mechanisms scarce forex and encouraging settlement is done through an financing. to contain smuggling", and organisations such as the Zimba- production, lest the benefit of efficient scheme benchmarked “...establishment of a gold reserve fund will be bwe Miners Federation, and Better Brands Jewellery have tighter controls be outweighed on the LBMA where prices are prioritised as a vehicle to mobilise finance. This hailed the new mineral-beneficiation moves. by the loss of production and set twice daily and meaning pro- will be complemented by setting up of a minerals “...naturally within the gold sector we want to continue higher receipts in a boom year ducers can easily liquidate their commodity exchange, which will trade all other with reforms so that we can increase deliveries to Fidelity such as 2020,” he said. earnings on the foreign currency minerals, except for gold,” the NSD1 said. Refiners and Printers FPR," Finance minister Mthuli Ncu- Assuming the country would market. “Growth of the mining sector will be anchored be (pictured) told The Financial Gazette last week without have met its target of 40 tonnes, net annu- While Ncube and institutions such as on opening of new mines... closed ones, projects going into detail about whether the Reserve Bank of Zimba- al gold receipts would have swelled past the US$2 the CoMZ project gold deliveries to end the year expansion... and value addition and beneficiation. bwe (RBZ) subsidiary's monopoly would be broken. billion mark, at US2,2 billion for the first time in at 28 tonnes, this was a reflection of poor FPR Key flagships during NDS1 include platinum, “We can offer gold producers a fair price and pay them the history of Zimbabwe, Gwenzi said. prices — amid a boom on the international stage chrome, gold and coal projects,” it said. on time. It will be critical that all (bullion) is accounted for “The magnitude shows the relative importance — and probably the high taxes, which make the [email protected] and we are able to maximise on our gold as a hard currency mineral,” he said. “We want to maximise on gold deliveries, so that (it) can go a long way in supporting our balance of payment position. It will also support our desire to access additional credit lines from abroad. "We have tried to support the sector through productive sector loans for small scale gold producers. We have a fund through Fidelity and we will be capacitating that fund to ensure more... is produced and sold there,” Ncube said. With official statistics showing that yellow metal deliveries have declined by 43 percent — to 1,4 tonnes in October as compared to 2,4 tonnes last year, and a majority of which private players, including Skorous Investments say is being carted to places like Dubai — the government plan also includes the establishment of minerals commodity exchange, increasing exploration, revisiting current agreements and ways of "bolstering the surveillance as well as quantification capacities of various regulatory bodies or institutions". “In order to curb under-declaration, the government will upgrade its metallurgical laboratory to meet internationally-accredited standards and ensure mandatory valuation of all export consignments. This will be complemented by in- stallation of weigh bridges at all ports of exit,” the recently launched economic document said. “To reduce smuggling, the government will strengthen metallurgical accounting by capacitating the Minerals Mar- keting Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), Minerals Fau- na and Flora Unit. Further, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) will address transfer mispricing of minerals ..,” the NDS1 said. On his part, MMCZ general manager Tongai Muzenda has also confirmed monitoring was being scaled up and at a time it is also believed FPR's high taxes amounting 17,5 percent were also partly responsible for encouraging leakages. Part of our mandate is to monitor mineral exports and we have systems in place to strengthen metallurgical accounting to curb leakages, we don’t deny that there are leakages. We will further enhance them as we continue to strive to make sure the country gets maximum benefits from its minerals, he said. However, analysts such as Victor Bhoroma believe a liberalisation of the gold sector would be a tall order — an issue central bank governor John Mangudya has previously hinted on. “The government will undoubtedly push for a policy where it maintains control while opening more gold buying centres across the country. Without doubt the monopoly has its downside in terms of denting viability and inducing ineffi- ciency in the mining value chain. The loopholes are to blame for the rampant smuggling where gold worth over US1,5 billion is smuggled to South Africa (SA) and Dubai every year by various syndicates,” he told The Financial Gazette. What is needed from FPR is paying a competitive price benchmarked on the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and... on time. In the absence of this mechanism, there is need for liberalisation provided the central bank has oversight and control on the marketing and exportation of the precious mineral," Bhoroma said. He said the inefficient settlement process where payments are delayed and 30 percent is exchanged for a local currency at prices below open market prices scares away investors. “Remember miners are paying for almost all costs of production in US dollars or through Zim dollar prices indexed to the US dollar using parallel market rates,” Bhoroma said. His statements also come as the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CoMZ) has said a majority of its members have said their ability to raise capital to the tune of US$300 million is being impaired by myriad challenges, including production costs, currency and power shortages. “This depends on authorities addressing matters raised by lending institutions, which include the... setting up of collection accounts with lending banks to guarantee repayments, minimise counterpart risk and allowing gold producers to sell their gold through.. banks either individually or collec- tively through... CoMZ,” it said in a recent white paper. Page 4 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette National News Two percent tax reprieve for importers Tendai Kamhungira previously argued that the levy is an expense Senior Staff Writer and not a tax on revenue. “IMTT, therefore, is in fact more of a HE government has exempted pay- cost or expense, and should qualify as a ments for the importation of goods deduction in the same way that other trans- Tand services from the two percent action-based taxes such as customs duties, Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT). stamp duties are allowed as a deduction. The exemption also covers transfer of It cannot be emphasised enough how the funds involved in the Reserve Bank of Zim- IMTT has a compounded effect on the sup- babwe’s (RBZ) foreign currency auctions, ply chain due to the incremental tax charged and payments. from the producer to the consumer. This follows the promulgation in Octo- “To cushion the supply chain players ber, of a statute that extended the IMTT to against the increased cost of production, the cover foreign currency transactions, with cost is passed on to the consumer in the form effect from August 01, 2020. of price increases across all goods,” ZNCC “The ministry of Finance and Economic said in a submission to Treasury earlier this Development wishes to inform the transact- month. ing public and taxpayers that the following First announcing the new revenue mea- additional transactions are exempt from sures in the mid-term budget review in July, IMTT: the transfer of foreign currency Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said the awarded to any bidder on the Foreign Cur- move to add forex transactions to the IMTT rency Auction System operated by the RBZ regime was due to the preference by some to the foreign currency account of any au- businesses to use hard currencies, which was thorised dealer… the transfer of Zimbabwe compromising the tax head. dollars by an authorised dealer to the RBZ “Current legislation exempts the transfer in settlement of foreign currency awarded to of money into and from nostro foreign cur- any bidder on the Foreign Currency Auction rency accounts from IMTT. Following the System operated by the RBZ,” Treasury said legalised use of foreign currency in domestic in a statement. trade, there has been an upsurge in electronic “… obligations for the importation of transfers of foreign currency for transaction goods and services… the transfer of foreign purposes. currency by traders to the RBZ for sale on “The current exemption has, thus, created the Foreign Currency Auction System… the an unfair advantage for taxpayers transacting transfer of Zimbabwe dollars by the RBZ to in foreign currency, thereby raising equity traders or authorised dealers as settlement of considerations. Furthermore, the preference foreign currency sold on the Foreign Curren- for foreign currency by most business has cy Auction System.” undermined the revenue generating capacity The government has been under pressure for IMTT. from business which has been calling for the “I, therefore, propose to extend IMTT scrapping of the IMTT — arguing that this to cover foreign currency transactions, with amounted to double taxation on commerce effect from August 1, 2020. For the avoid- and industry. ance of doubt, transactions for organisations The Zimbabwe National Chamber of accredited in terms of the Privileges and Im- Commerce (ZNCC), one of the biggest pro- munities Act (Chapter 3:03) remain exempt ponents for the scrapping of the IMTT on from IMTT,” he said then. local currency electronic transactions, has [email protected] RBZ to regulate cryptocurrencies HE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has no bearing of the money in the ac- (RBZ) is working on a regulato- count of the individual, it then becomes Try framework for cryptocurrency phantom money, it becomes fictitious trading platforms operating in the coun- money, it becomes fake money, thereby try, the governor, John Mangudya has increasing money supply in the econo- revealed. my, which increases inflation, exchange Responding to a question posed rate instability,” said Mangudya. during the 2020 Institute of Bankers of “Such and others, we are against Zimbabwe summer school on digital them. We are against those who are currencies, Mangudya said the central abusing the financial services products bank was in the process of crafting the through what they call innovation. necessary framework. "Do not be innovative to destroy the We are not against financial devel- economy. So, we need you to come to opment. We have formed the national the sandbox, bring your proposal. That Fintech group at the RBZ to look at digi- is why we have the fintech group, he tal currencies and we have sent a circular further said. to bankers about the sandboxes, asking Ralph Watungwa, the Bankers As- for their proposals. We are not against sociation of Zimbabwe president, con- innovation,” he said. curred with Mangudya saying that there “But currently, like any other country was need for regulation if the country in Africa and the world over, your cryp- was to trade in cryptocurrencies. tocurrencies or your bitcoins, they are “The problem with that kind of devel- not allowed in this country,” Mangudya opment which can be good in the long further said. term, is when innovation overtakes reg- The RBZ banned domestic banks ulation. from transacting in cryptocurrencies to "You now have products that are not protect the public and safeguard the in- governed by any framework and there tegrity and safety of the countrys finan- are many examples of pyramid schemes cial system. which have come up and when it col- Mangudya added that loose controls lapses, the pyramid scheme, or when a around digital financial services in Zim- cryptocurrency collapses, the customers babwe had resulted in the abuse of the have a tendency of wanting to blame the platforms. supervisor. They expect the regulator to “What was happening with the mo- intervene on a product that was not ap- bile banking transactions? They were proved,” he said. — Staff Writer creating money on the platform, which [email protected] The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 5 Page 6 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette National News Banks’ lack of customer diligence concerns RBZ Omega Ukama the customer, you have not done your KYC ism financing, but have formally committed banks,” Watungwa said. Senior Staff Writer and diligence, you only see money flowing to working with the FATF to develop action On his part, Webster Rusere, BAZ’s immediate into the accounts and you do not even know plans that will address their Anti-Money past-president said the country's grey listing is down HE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe where it comes from. Laundering and Combating the Financing to standards. (RBZ) has raised a red flag over “Today, we can get a customer transact- of Terrorism (AML/CFT) deficiencies. “What exactly are we doing, are our systems po- T “low standards” in know-your-cus- ing $10 million, but the banker cannot even Mangudya said improvements in banks’ rous, allowing illicit money to flow through? tomer (KYC) and customer-due-diligence tell us what line of business the customer is KYC and CDD would put Zimbabwe in a Those are the issues, so we need to get ourselves (CDD) practices within the local banking in… we have some who come to the auc- good position to move up from the grey list. to a certain level in terms of the standards, to make industry. tion asking for US$500 000 on behalf of “We also need to improve on knowing sure that whoever is dealing with us knows that we Speaking at the Institute of Bankers of their clients, but they do not even know the the ultimate beneficial owners of all the can match any internationally recognized standards. Zimbabwe’s 2020 Summer School in Ha- profile of that client,” Mangudya said. funds we transfer as banks,” he said. This comes as Zimbabwe has continued to lose rare last week, RBZ governor John Man- He said banks risk bringing weaknesses Speaking at the same event Ralph Wa- millions of dollars through illicit financial flows, gudya said the industry should comply with into the economy through poor KYC and tungwa, the president of the Bankers Asso- with a 2019 Financial Intelligence Unit report indi- international best practices. CDD. ciation of Zimbabwe (BAZ) and the chair- cating that nearly $1 billion per year was laundered “We need to adhere to KYC principles “Banks need to attend to these issues as man of the IOBZ said it is important that between 2014 and 2018. and CDD without fear or favour. I have no- a matter of urgency to ensure the integrity the financial sector spearheads the delisting Earlier this year, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corrup- ticed that these are now lower than before of the financial system,” he said. of Zimbabwe from the FAFT’s grey list. tion Commission said it had identified over US$7 in certain banks,” the governor said. Zimbabwe is currently on the Finan- “Issues of money laundering and com- billion in cash and properties stashed outside the “How can you compromise on KYC cial Action Task Force (FATF)’s grey list. bating terrorism financing directly affect country by former and current senior government when you are giving someone a digital Countries on the grey list represent a much access to international lines of credit, as officials and captains of industry. platform, it is dangerous… you do not see higher risk of money laundering and terror- well as our relationship with corresponding [email protected] Coal ban must be gradual: Experts Paul Nyakazeya Group Digital Editor

IMBABWE should consider a gradual shift from reliance on coal in line with international trends and invest Zin clean renewable energy sources, experts have said. Speaking during The Financial Gazette ’s executive dialogue held under the theme, "International coal ban: The future of Zimbabwe’s coal mining" last week, Melania Chi- ponda a coal expert, said Zimbabwe should look beyond coal as a source of energy, but the process should be done in manner that does not disrupt power generation and livelihoods of people who rely of the commodity to survive. “There is a lot of contention about whether or not to ban coal mining. Let us stop coal mining now. Yes, it will affect a lot of people and industry if the shutdown is abrupt, but the future is not in coal but renewable energy. Coal has a lot of health concerns; it appears cheap especially to those who live-in disaster-prone areas.” “They are the ones paying the price of producing coal as they suffer from cancer, lung diseases and other diseases associated with coal. These diseases do not affect the investor of coal but those hosting the coal power plants,” she said. She said while Zimbabwe was facing energy challenges, it was noble for the government to start looking beyond coal production. “We have a dilemma in this country... So are we going to shut down Hwange Colliery now, definitely not but we should be looking at what a just transition would look like. How do we embark on a transition to renewable energy in a way that protects the workers and everyone who depends on coal by abruptly shutting down the power plant…We should ask ourselves why investing in something that will be redundant very soon when there are other alternative clean energies?,” she said. She said Zimbabwe risks being a dumping site for coal because many countries are discarding the mineral. Kurai Macheza, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries energy committee chairperson said there was a need to transition to renewable sources of electricity but taking into consideration coal's contribution to the country’s Gross Domes- tic Product (GDP). “We do not have to shut down Hwange now, we need to look at technologies that allow for cleaner coal, technology will continue to play a part and make it high efficiency and low emission. We need to look at coal and what it does. Coal is used for energy that is electricity which is a major contributor to the country’s GDP growth and has been a steady source of power, yes it is dangerous to the environment now, we need to work on technologies that allow it to be cleaner. We should not ban it completely.” “We need to transition to renewable sources of electricity, but there is no formula that says we can exclude the others. All are important,” said Macheza. Speaking at the same dialogue, Lorraine Chiponda, Afri- ca Coal Coordinator for the International Coal Network said there has been pressure on the World Bank and Africa Devel- opment Bank and other financial institutions to stop funding coal production due to pollution and global climate change. This should show us where finance could be heading in the future. Scientists have even said that 80 percent of the global coal reserves has to remain underground, if we are to amicably respond to the climate challenges we are faced with,” she said “By saying we should not fund coal plants does not mean we do not want electricity but there are other cleaner sources of energy that have become cheaper such as solar or hydro whose efficiency is determined by the availability of electricity. Monitoring global trends as far as energy generation is concerned should give us a clear picture of what is shaping the energy sector,” she said. [email protected] The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 7 National News RBZ ropes in banks to clear FX backlog

Nelson Gahadza foreign currency auctions, as commercial banks Staff Writer have also been given the latitude to trade. He said the auctions are being fed by a certain HE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has ap- portion of the foreign exchange that the country proached local banks to help clear a two-week back- gets, the balance is still with the banks and they Tlog of unpaid importer’s invoices amid indications that have been given latitude to be able to trade at the auction is struggling to keep up with demand for foreign about 3,5 percent on either side of the weekly auc- currency, an official has said. tion rate. Eddie Cross, a member of the RBZ Monetary Policy Meanwhile, John Mangudya, the central Bank Committee (MPC), told The Financial Gazette, that the stan- governor, says the apex bank is applying a conser- dard processing at the start of the auction system was seven vative approach in injecting money into circula- days. tion in order to maintain the current stability. “To stop this slide, we are increasing the foreign exchange sisting the process by liquidation of their surplus accepted this. We have injected enough money to keep us released to the market and also asking the banks to fund the foreign exchange. As of Tuesday, the RBZ weekly auction alive, but not enough to fuel inflation. We are en- cash flow for a week. We have agreed to aim for 14 days to According to Cross, the banking system is showed that the local currency continued to weak- suring that money grows in a manner that can be clear all applications, he said. holding in excess of US1,3 billion in foreign cur- en against the US$ dollar although still trading controlled,” he said at a Bankers Association of When the auction started in June, the central bank was rency accounts FCA. within the cash range of 82. The Zimbabwe dollar Zimbabwe BAZ summer school. settling about US15 million every week and this has grown Of that amount, over US400 million is in depreciated 0,13 percent to 81,8151. He said the RBZ focus is to broaden foreign to over US30 million. cash,” he said, adding that the Central Bank has At a Chamber of Mines meeting recently, reserves and ensure the auction system is sus- He said the RBZ has covered this increase in demand so asked the banks to cover any short term lag in Ashock Chakravati, a member of the RBZ MPC, tained and continue to stabilise the economy. far and will continue to do so with the Finance ministry as- settlements of seven days at the most they have said importers should not just rely on the weekly [email protected] Molai launches $1m capital fund LOBAL business- man Adam Mo- Glai (pictured) has launched a US1 million fund called JUA Kickstarter JUA to provide African entrepreneurs, with capital to kickstart or expand their businesses. This comes as the Pacific Cigarette Company (PCC) founder has emphasised that the current coronavirus pandemic presents the continent with huge opportunities to boost its economy — by being the world’s supply — and African governments have to do more to provide a stable environment for investors. Without entrepreneurs, economies cannot grow and countries cannot advance. But entrepreneurs unfortunately do not get the support they need... for a myriad reasons. Yet Africa is full of enterprising people,” Molai said from his South African base yesterday, adding the venture fund was aimed at “providing start-up capital and mentoring for upcoming businesspeople. Wherever there is adversity, there is opportunity. Afri- ca is rife with adversity, wherever you turn... prospects are abundant. Entrepreneurs provide solutions to societal challenges, while creating space for the advancement of their communities", he said before stating JUA and its supporting partners TRT Investments “would do everything in their power to ensure that this potential is cultivated, realised and unleashed. With nearly 140 equity fund transactions worth US1,4 billion having been concluded in the 54-member bloc last year, Molai says their “meritocratic” fund application, de- ployment and turnaround time is within 12 weeks for successful candidates or their shortlisting. Crucially, support for small-to-medium enterprises was “so key and indispensable for Africa’s economic recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 devastation and capital-raising was one of the biggest challenges on the continent, with banks requiring collateral that most of them do not have. Molai, who cut his teeth in business at 10 by hawking matches and later graduating to food in his early university days, says he hopes JUA and the success of other business persons “will inspire young Africans to start their own enterprises and not wait to seek out jobs. “Unfortunately, too many young people today access opportunities to higher education, study for jobs, as youth unemployment continues to rise — producing a schooled, unskilled and unemployed generation. Others dont pursue education or entrepreneurship because they think that be- coming part of political patronage networks is an easier path to wealth, he said. An American-trained and Lakeside University first-class graduate, Molai has built the former Savanna Tobacco group from a threshing business to a multi-listed investment company and now into the petroleum, fast moving consumer goods, mining and hospitality industries. And the 48 year-old mogul not only operates a charity foundation, which has helped his native Zimbabwe and other regional countries during the Cyclone Idai and coronavirus pandemic, but has built a multi-million dollar empire — including TRT which spans Africa, America and Europe. Using his personal friendships with the likes of Indian billionaire Ravi Jaipuria, Molai has even brought the Pepsi Cola franchise to Zimbabwe and Zambia through Varun Beverag- es, and where he wants to empower as many as 5 000 people and in addition to the 7 000 locals empowered as contact farmers to his main tobacco business. Having brought a novel and low cost housing concept into the country about five years ago, the group is now headquartered in SA. Staff Writer [email protected] Page 8 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette Leader Page

News Worth Knowing All eyes on Ncube From Page 1 tax intermediated money transfers tax (IMTT) on business viability. The tax which was introduced back in 2018 to try and widen the tax collectors’ reach to the country’s ever-growing informal sector compounds costs for formal business which have to deal with a plethora of other taxes and levies at a time demand is depressed. And now that the IMTT has been widened to include foreign currency transactions its impact on business cannot be overstated. So, in the absence of a timely bailout package to support local businesses, it will be interesting to note what tax concessions Ncube will be willing to make to allow industry some breathing space. Noteworthy, is the decision announced by the Treasury this week to exempt transactions relating to import payments and the foreign currency The new Nestlé Zimbabwe’s third roller dryer plant which was commissioned last week — coincided with the launch auction from paying the IMTT. of two products, Cerevita Instant Sour Porridge and Cremora Milk — is expected to increase output by 30 percent. The What is also comforting are reports suggesting that Ncube will table an world’s largest food and beverage processing company eyes more investment in Zimbabwe’s coffee industry after the envelope in the region of $400 billion after turning down funding requests success of the Nespresso project. The World Coffee market size is estimated at US$102.15 billion (2019) and projected by different ministries and government departments which would have to pick at US$156 billion by 2026. At its peak, Zimbabwe produced 15 000 tonnes of coffee a year. taen the figres to , trillion This signals that the minister is keen on cutting government expenditure to levels in line with revenue. But with the threat of the Covid-19 still lingering, it will be again inter- Today’s crisis demands partnership esting to see just how much more the government is prepared to spend to safeguard public health without upsetting monetary supply. Because the economy is largely informal and also because the govern- and accelerated digitalisation ment has never been too keen to publish reliable economic and demo- HE fate of small businesses in connect firms to investors work well. SMEs. Using technologies to market, graphic data, we can never know the real impact the virus has had on the the Covid-19 crisis will make The expertise of the accountancy buy, and sell online is not a simple task. country. or break the economy of Zim- profession in financial reporting and This is also a space for SMEs to Neighbouring South Africa is set to spend at least R5 billion on access- T babwe. assurance services, among many other look to the accountancy profession: ing Covid-19 vaccines and Pretoria has already allocated R500 million for The crisis the country faces de- offerings, is exactly what these organ- with its increasing focus on multidis- the country to be part of an international vaccine distribution consortium. serves the attention of everyone con- isations need to scale up their opera- ciplinary approaches to advisory ser- We await to hear what measures the government will announce to sup- cerned with the lives and livelihoods tions, and to work with SMEs to get vices, the profession is leading the way port the foreign currency auction platform, which since its launch has of the people of Zimbabwe. Progress them investor ready. in tailoring digitalisation to firms of all shored up the domestic unit and brought a semblance of stability — kill- will depend on how well the public and The 2020 edition of the report notes sizes. ing off a once thriing parallel maret and taming raging inflation policymakers understand the stakes— that Covid-19 has driven many govern- Some obstacles to digitalisation in But in the long term, Ncube’s success as head of treasury will depend and especially on how well Zimbabwe ments — well aware of the economic Zimbabwe are structural, and beyond on his willingness to recognise that the volatility of the exchange rate was can use the wave of digitalisation to its importance of small business — to be the control of SMEs. The extent and re- just but a symptom of an economy scarred by corruption, government advantage. And at nearly every turn, creative in supporting the SME sector. liability of electrical grids and Internet excesses and inefficiencies the accountancy profession emerges as Some jurisdictions are extending more connections, for example, is a national It will certainly require much more than a stable currency and rhetoric an essential partner of the SME com- generous financing terms to SMEs concern. to resurrect an economy in which more than half the population is deemed munity. some are indirectly supporting these The government’s national Infor- extremely poor. About 70 percent of businesses businesses with direct cash transfers to mation Communication Technology According to a report jointly prepared by the World Bank and the in Zimbabwe are small- and medi- their employees. (ICT) programme rightly focuses on Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, the number of extremely poor peo- um-sized enterprises (SMEs). Strong financial management will the expansion of geographic access ple rose to six million between April and May 2019 from 4,5 million in They account for roughly 20 per- be necessary to carry out these pro- to ICT, among other fundamental im- 2017. cent of GDP and employ about six grammes with transparency, account- provements to the infrastructure and So, this means a great deal of work is needed to put food on the table million people — three-quarters of all ability, and efficiency. education programmes necessary to of the most vulnerable families, and prevent small businesses from going workers in Zimbabwe. But the threat to A pivotal enabler of this is digi- support SMEs amid digitalisation. bankrupt. these businesses is immediate and dire talisation as Covid-19 has shifted our This is important work: it would be as the pandemic exacerbates an already “business as usual” reality and pro- unfair to ask SMEs to embrace aspects tough operating environment. SMEs pelled the use of technology to enable of digitalisation that they simply cannot generally operate with relatively low growth. reach. Professional accountancy organ- cash reserves. To illustrate the swift impact of new isations around the world — including Help is hard to come by: SMEs technology, just 20 years ago Internet several in sub-Saharan Africa — have EDITORIAL MARKETING have limited access to financing. Only users in Zimbabwe numbered in the been training their members in the Advertising Manager about 3,8 percent of Zimbabwe’s bank thousands. Now there are millions of technological skills that governments loans go to SMEs. Most cannot survive them. and businesses need to manage their Brand Executive Sales & Advertising Deputy Editor a few months of lost income the way digital transitions. some larger businesses can. Many have Open Forum All stakeholders in Zimbabwe’s Senior Assistant Editor Senior Sales Consultant already disappeared, and an alarming technological progress would benefit with Markets Editor Senior Sales Executives number of jobs have vanished along from the accountancy profession as a with them. The longer the pandemic valuable partner in designing and im- Group Digital Editor Alan Johnson Sales Representatives - Harare lasts we are likely to see more business plementing programmes. closures. Although many of the trends in the Chief Sub Editor Aside from the direct impact on This information revolution has business environment for SMEs are

Staff Writers Sales Representative - Bulawayo jobs and livelihoods, the loss of small brought its own considerable chang- clear and often alarming, the immense Clever Pedzisai: [email protected] businesses is felt in other parts of the es to daily life: in the ways people uncertainty of this public health crisis Brand Executive - Events economy. communicate, make connections, and makes it difficult to predict the long- The world’s largest businesses rely manage their basic needs. It has also term impact on businesses and citi- Brand Executive - Subscriptions heavily on small businesses across their opened countless ways to do business zens. SMEs will continue to respond as Production Supervisor Subscriptions Representatives supply chains. When any piece of these differently and more efficiently. known problems evolve and new ones sophisticated globalised supply chains For example, fixed lines can be arise. break, the entire system—from the hard to come by. The infrastructure The hard work and ingenuity of the SME, to the multinational company, to necessary to make these kinds of con- people of Zimbabwe will be the most the global consumer—is in jeopardy. nections is expensive, and installing it important resource in rising to this oc- Part of the answer to this structural takes time. Digitalisation has offered casion. Digital tools will help, and they challenge to the SME sector is in the in- cost-efficient and practical solutions, are the future for many industries. The stitutions that handle domestic and for- such as cloud-based data storage. accountancy profession will be here as eign investment—and the accountancy These services can be a crutch for a partner along the way. profession’s role in them. As the UN businesses during social distancing, Keeping this in mind will guide a deputy secretary general’s SME Com- boost mobility, and give smaller firms more successful and sustained long- petitiveness Outlook 2019 notes, big access to resources formerly available term recovery and could boost Zimba- VOLUNTARY MEDIA COUNCIL OF ZIMBABWE e Financial Gazette newspaper subscribes to a Code of Conduct that promotes truthful, accurate, fair and balanced investments — especially from abroad only to larger competitors, such as big bwe businesses for years to come. news reporting. If we do not meet these standards, register your complaints with the Voluntary Media Council of generally flow to many SMEs at data services. n Johnson has recently been ap- Zimbabwe at: No 34 Colenbrander Rd, Milton Park, Harare. Telephone: 04-778096 / 778006 24 Hr Complaints line: 0772 125 659 once. But large amounts of money can The possibilities of digitalisation pointed the president of the Interna- Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Twitter: @vmcz http://www.vmcz.co.zw | Facebook page: vmcz reach SMEs only if the institutions that might exceed the capabilities of many tional Federation of Accountants. Zimbabwe The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 9 National News ‘Sub-optimal power tariffs discouraging investors’ Tendai Kamhungira of the utility and when people are coming into a we speak for domestic, the tariff is at US6, 33 Mazambani said it was a balancing act, Senior Staff Writer country for investment, they look for the balance cents per unit. meant to ensure consumers are protected while sheet of the utility and say can we get into this "The level that is supposed to be achieved is at the same time making sure the utility remains IMBABWE Regulatory Authority (Zera) chief ex- country, at a utility, which is going to sell around US10 cents there are a number self-sufficient. ecutive officer Edington Mazambani says the elec- power at below optimum price? Its of varieties of costs that are incurred He said there were a number of issues being Ztricity tariff regime is still not cost-reflective despite not sustainable. by Zesa in order to bring elec- put into consideration to attract investors into the three successive 50 percent increases this year. Currently, consumers pay tricity to our houses. energy sector. Speaking during an online engagement with the Zimba- 1, 67 per kWh for the first “For instance, there is “Efforts to attract investors into the energy bwe National Chamber of Commerce ZNCC, Mazamba- 50 units in a month, $3, 65 importation and there is sector are quite multi-faceted to include the ni said the current power tariff was sub-optimal and does for 51-200 and 9, 92 for also internal generation tariff we were talking about, we need to correct not encourage investment into the energy sector. 201-300 units. by independent power that position, so that we can attract investors into The reason why we want cost-reflectivity is that they Energy minister producers who are being the sector. Zesa Holdings can be able to provide the service efficient- Zhemu Soda recently told paid. "We have recently launched the national rely and ensure supply of energy. Parliament that the govern- "In all fairness, if Zesa newable energy policy, which has got some in- "It also allows Zimbabwe as a country to be a destina- ment was subsidising do- is supposed to be running centives, which are clearly spelt out in the policy tion of choice for potential investors in the energy sector, mestic, agriculture and indus- without losses like everybody to attract investors. because potential investors in the energy sector look at the trial consumption, claiming the here would want to see happen- We are intending to host in the first quarter price to see if they can make a reasonable return and if its power tariffs are still very Edington Mazambani ing then the cost must be ab- next year around February, a conference on in- not cost-reflective, they do not come through, Mazambani low. sorbed through the tariff and vestment opportunities in the energy sector, right said. What Zesa is attempt- the tariff as we speak is still across the whole energy sector, the fuels and the Non-cost reflective tariffs weaken the balance sheet ing to achieve is to get to sustainable levels. As very low, Soda said. electricity, he said. [email protected] Prime SeedCo develops 80-plus vegetable seed varieties Nelson Gahadza Staff Writer

RIME SeedCo, a vegetable subsidiary of SeedCo Zimbabwe says it has developed over 80 registered Pand commercialised hybrid vegetable seed varieties in Zimbabwe since 2015 making substantial contributions to the agriculture sector. Felistus Ndawi, the SeedCo Vegetable general manager, said the production of the seed varieties has been supported by the companys access to the best technology from its joint venture partner, Limagrain. Since formation of the company in 2015, SeedCo Veg- etables has made substantial contribution to the agriculture sector and in particular, the horticulture industry through development, production and provision of top seed varieties for agrological zones, she said during the companys field day commemorations yesterday. She added that the varieties attributes are in terms of yields, disease resistance, quality of the fruits, storability and other key attributes that a farmer seeks in a crop. Ndawi said the company has expanded into other seed varieties over the years to include orange maize, pasture, sunflower, sorghum, indigenous vegetables, and beans, among others. We are operating in a competitive environment therefore, we need to move in line with new technological seed advancements, she said. Ndawi said taking cognisant of the government's desire to revive the horticulture sector, Seed Co Vegetable is geared to play a key role in particular the vegetable seed industry. Prime Seed Co was established in April 2015, after the acquisition of Prime Seeds, which was a wholly-owned Zimbabwean company formed in 2002. In 2017, the company was renamed Prime SeedCo, in order to relate to the group company Seed Co, and also trades as SeedCo Vegetables. In the same year, the company was restructured after a joint venture partnership with Limagrains subsidiary called HM.Clause which is a global leading vegetable seed company. We are proud of the partnership because we have access to the best technology in the world, Ndawi said. She noted that apart from Limagrains partnership, Seed Co Vegetables also represents some leading international seed companies that also include Syngenta Vegetables. Ndawi said the company imports and exports seeds which are produced in Zimbabwe to other countries. John Bhasera, the ministry of Lands and Agriculture Permanent Secretary, said the government is driving the concept of climate smart agriculture which has potential to produce more on small pieces of land. Farmers should diversify their crops and spread risk and broaden the market. SeedCo Vegetables should assist this through provision of seed varieties that are adaptable to the local climate, he said. He said through the government horticulture recovery plan, the government is targeting enhanced foreign currency earnings. Therefore, government will be providing guarantees to farmers to enable them access to financing from banks, he said. [email protected] Page 10 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette Foreign News South Africa descends deeper into junk OUTH Africa fell deeper into chief economist for Africa and the Mid- enue collection and raised the cost of labor groups that are already in a legal junk territory after Moody’s In- dle East at Standard Chartered Bank. borrowing. battle with the government to honor an Svestors Service and Fitch Ratings “The market implications of the lat- Mboweni’s medium-term bud- agreed pay deal. lowered the country’s credit ratings on est rating action looks more benign,” get last month showed plans to pare If state salaries can’t be cut, there’s Friday. Khan said in an emailed note. “If any- the government salary bill, which has limited room for offsetting measures in The ratings cuts come after the thing, reform momentum is looking surged 51 percent since 2008, as part of other expenditure areas. coronavirus pandemic pummeled the more positive near term.” an effort to start bringing its debt trajec- The central bank has signaled it governments finances and pushed the Moody’s cut the nation’s foreign- tory down after 2026. won’t reduce interest rates any further economy into its longest recession in and local-currency ratings to Ba2, two However, that wasn’t enough to and there’s no room in the budget to in- almost three decades. levels below investment grade, from stave off ratings downgrades until af- crease spending to boost growth. Finance minister Tito Mboweni said Ba1. ter the February 2021 budget, as many There is “an urgent need for gov- on Saturday the downgrades will have The outlook remains negative. Fitch economists had predicted. ernment and its social partners to immediate implications for borrow- cut its ratings to BB-, three levels be- “The key driver behind the rating work together to ensure that we keep ing costs and will constrain the fiscal low investment grade, from BB, also downgrade to Ba2 is the further ex- the sanctity of the fiscal framework framework. with a negative outlook. pected weakening in South Africa’s and implement much-needed structur- Still, South Africa had already Only five of 23 economists surveyed fiscal strength over the medium term, al economic reforms to avoid further dropped out of the FTSE World Gov- by Bloomberg predicted Moody’s Moody’s said in a statement. harm to our sovereign rating,” Mbowe- ernment Bond Index after Moody’s would lower its rating, while just four Tito Mboweni Fitch said in a separate release that ni said Saturday. removed the nation’s last invest- out of 21 expected a downgrade from companies could be even further cuts “GDP is expected to remain below S&P on Friday kept its assessment ment-grade rating in March. Fitch before the end of the year. that would signal an increased proba- 2019 levels even in 2022.” of South Africa’s foreign-currency debt That may reduce the impact of the The negative outlook on both rat- bility of a default. The proposed wage freeze risks a three levels below investment grade, downgrades, according to Razia Khan, ings mean the next moves from these The pandemic has weighed on rev- backlash from politically influential with a stable outlook. — Bloomberg ... as government Billionaire Bezos backs start-up laments ratings in maiden Africa investment downgrades EFF Bezos agreed to back Africa-focused fi- Chipper Cash enables instant cross-border nancial technology company, Chipper Cash, mobile money transfers in Africa and abroad and RETORIA — The decision by international ratings making it his first start-up investment on the will use the funds for expansion into countries it agencies Fitch and Moody’s to downgrade South Jcontinent. will announce in 2021. PAfrica further is a painful one, Finance minister Tito The world’s richest man’s personal venture The company has 3 million users on its plat- Mboweni said on Saturday. capital fund, Bezos Expeditions, supported the form across Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, "Government notes the following credit rating decisions Series B funding led by Ribbit Capital, which Rwanda, Nigeria and South Africa, and pro- made by the ‘big three’ rating agencies (S&P, Fitch, and raised 30 million for the San Francisco-based cesses an average of 80,000 transactions daily, Moody’s)." company. according to the statement. SP has affirmed South Africas long-term foreign and Bezos’s backing of Chipper Cash will “widen “We are responding to the demand from local currency debt ratings at ‘BB-’ and ‘BB’, respectively. the company’s product suite through inclusion of customers on our P2P platform who also have According to S&P, lockdowns associated with combat- more business payment solutions, crypto-curren- business enterprises,” Chipper Cash chief ex- ing the Covid-19 pandemic plunged South Africa into its cy trading options, and investment services,” the ecutive Ham Serunjogi said in the statement. sharpest quarterly economic contraction in the second quar- company said in an emailed statement. — Bloomberg ter of 2020, leading to a large widening of the fiscal deficit Jeff Bezos and rapidly rising government debt. Nevertheless, there were indications that the economy was beginning to rebound in the third quarter. Fitch had downgraded South Africa’s long-term foreign and local currency debt ratings to "BB-" from "BB". The agency maintained a negative outlook. According to Fitch, Kenya seeks $2,3bn loan from both the downgrade and negative outlook reflected high and rising government debt exacerbated by the economic shock triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Treasury said. Further, the very low trend growth and exceptionally IMF to help economic recovery high inequality would continue to complicate fiscal consolidation efforts. ENYA is seeking a loan of as much If Kenya goes ahead with the G-20 deal, it Moody’s had downgraded South Africa’s long-term for- as 2,3 billion from the Internation- may conserve about 70 billion shillings ($640 eign and local currency debt ratings to "Ba2" from "Ba1". Kal Monetary Fund under the lend- million) to 75 billion shillings, according to The agency maintained a negative outlook. According to er’s extended fund facility. Yatani. Moodys, the downgrade reflected the impact of the pan- Talks on a possible 3 12-year loan program Investors are closely watching sovereign demic shock, both directly on the debt burden and indirect- are expected to conclude early next year, with debt, with governments seeking payment paus- ly by intensifying the country’s economic challenges and Kenya targeting an initial disbursement of es in the wake of the economic hit from the the social obstacles to reforms. about 725 million in the fiscal year that runs pandemic. Earlier this month, Zambia become Furthermore, South Africa’s capacity to mitigate the through June, National Treasury Cabinet Sec- Africas first sovereign default since the virus shock over the medium-term was lower than that of many retary Ukur Yatani said in an interview. struck after bondholders rejected the govern- sovereigns given significant fiscal, economic, and social Among objectives of the loan is “continu- ment’s request for debt relief. constraints and rising borrowing costs. ous support of Kenya’s Covid-19 response,” “We have no intention at the moment to "Government’s policy priorities remain economic re- Yatani said. renegotiate any debt,” Yatani said when asked covery and fiscal consolidation, as outlined in President “We are also looking at areas of reduced about possibly reviewing terms of external Cyril Ramaphosa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recov- debt vulnerabilities through a revenue-driven debt under a longer-term arrangement. “We are ery plan and the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement fiscal consolidation. looking at other alternatives. We are cutting on released in October. Yatani wants to raise and conserve funds as the number of expenditures to fit within the fis- "The social compact agreed to between government, part of a plan to support sub-Saharan Africa’s cal framework.” business, labour, and civil society prioritises short-term third-largest economy after the pandemic hit The IMF in May approved 739 million for measures to support the economy, alongside crucial struc- public revenue and further clouded plans for Ukur Yatani Kenya under the rapid credit facility to help the tural economic reforms," the Treasury said. fiscal consolidation. of the disbursement” from the World Bank, nation deal with the virus fallout. In the same “The decision by Fitch and Moody’s to downgrade the Yields on Kenya’s 2048 dollar bonds fell 7 Yatani said. “It will all depend on a number of month, Kenya received $1 billion from the country further is a painful one. The downgrade will not basis points to 7,41 percent on Monday, 12:47 factors including our ability to manage within World Bank, which followed the lender’s ap- only have immediate implications for our borrowing costs, p.m. in Nairobi. the fiscal framework. proval of a $750 million package for the coun- it will also constrain our fiscal framework. There is, there- World Bank loan Kenya is also still weighing the pros and try last year. fore, an urgent need for government and its social partners Funding constraints have forced the gov- cons of participating in the Group of 20 leading State companies to work together to ensure that we keep the sanctity of the ernment to scale back on some projects under economies’ Debt Service Suspension Initiative. The IMF’s new program will also help ad- fiscal framework and implement much-needed structural President Uhuru Kenyatta’s so-called Big Four It’s aimed at allowing low-income countries to dress weaknesses in state-owned enterprises economic reforms to avoid further harm to our sovereign agenda to boost housing, manufacturing, health concentrate resources on fighting the pandem- that were exacerbated by the virus shock. rating,” Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said in the state- care and farming, according to Yatani. The Na- ic. Kenya has been hesitant to participate on the The government is doing a financial eval- ment. tional Treasury expects economic expansion grounds that pausing payments could potential- uation of as many as nine state companies, in- Rating agencies had indicated that South Africa’s rating this year will be under 1 percent, compared ly hurt it given the nation’s debt mix. cluding Kenya Airways Plc, Kenya Power and strengths included a credible central bank, a flexible ex- with growth of 5,4 percent in 2019. G-20 debt initiative Kenya Electricity Generating Co. change rate, an actively traded currency, and deep capital Separately, the government is holding talks “We have not yet made any formal applica- The state may provide “extraordinary sup- markets, which should help counterbalance low economic with the World Bank for a development policy tion to join this arrangement,” Yatani said. “We port in line with the fiscal framework that we growth and fiscal pressures. operation, or DPO, loan of about $1 billion to are still studying the effect it’s going to have have, including injecting resources,” Yatani Government implored all members of society to adhere $1,5 billion. on the economy. We are going to make this de- said. The study will include debt evaluation to all the necessary health and safety protocols to avoid a We hope toward the end of the financial cision in the course of time based on our own and governance of the companies, he said.— second wave of Covid-19 infections which would have sig- year, around May, June to even access part domestic situation.” Bloomberg nificant adverse implications for the economy and plans to boost employment. — African News Agency The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 11 National News Lion Microfinance to resume operations Omega Ukama ing the financial institutions deposit-taking Teckdain, however, was not able to put up Senior Staff Writer operations owing to its failure to resolve the the US$5 million required as consideration in flagged concerns. the deal. Still, Mukonoweshuro and others at HE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) The firms curatorship was originally in- Teckdain ceased to treat Finsbury as a share- this week re-licensed Lion Microfinance tended to be lifted at the end of July this year, holder at some point in 2018. T(Lion) to resume operations following but the Reserve Bank deferred this too. Finsbury also claims that Teckdain failed the lifting of the micro-lender’s curatorship at Mukonoweshuro was suspended in July last to comply with provisions of the Companies the end of September. year, around the same time the microfinance Act relating to the calling of shareholder and Lion was placed under curatorship in July institution was placed under curatorship fol- directors’ meetings, failed to call for annu- last year on account of “undercapitalisation lowing a reserve bank investigation in March, al general meetings, and to provide financial and weak management,” and in January this amid various allegations of misconduct. statements. year, seasoned banker Lynn Mukonoweshuro In an arbitration in January, Peter Lloyd Teckdain argued that Finsbury ceased to lost a legal battle to control the firm. ruled that Mukonoweshuro — through Teck- be a shareholder in Lion upon entering into It is hereby notified that following uplift- dain Investments (Teckdain) — “purported, an agreement for disinvestment in 2018, but ment of curatorship on September 30, 2020, through outright attempted fraud and attempt- Lloyd said it was clear that the conditions Lion has been re-licensed and authorised to ed theft of trust property, to be the sole share- agreed in the deal were never fulfilled. commence deposit-taking microfinance busi- holder in Lion”. “To put it another way, the transaction was ness in terms of the Microfinance Act, with Lloyd heard that in 2018, Teckdain entered never completed, and the agreement lapsed. effect from November 23, 2020,” the central into an agreement with Finsbury Investments Given those circumstances I fail to see how bank said in a statement on Wednesday. (Finsbury) for the acquisition of the Zambian it can possibly be contended that the claimant Last year, the central bank allowed Lion registered firms 90-plus percent stake in the ceased to be a shareholder in Lion,” he said. to resume lending, but it had delayed licens- micro-lender. [email protected] Lynn Mukonoweshuro Local firm in EU/Sadc agric deal Tendai Kamhungira Senior Staff Writer

LOCAL firm has partnered with Sadcs Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Develop- Ament for Southern Africa in an 180 000 European Union (EU)-funded programme aimed at ramping up production in the agriculture sector and mitigating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on livelihoods. This comes as Zimbabwe's agriculture sector suffered a massive drought which left more than half the country's population in need of emergency food aid. The Covid-19 global pandemic has had significant negative impact on the economies of countries globally. In the agriculture sector, this pandemic has increased food insecurity and the number of people needing humanitarian assistance. It is for this reason that regional institutions have been looking for immediate opportunities for alleviating the impact of Covid-19 on the agriculture sector, especially on the small-scale farmers,” Kudakwashe Manyanga, Grow a Tree Foundation executive director, whose organisation is the local partner for the project, said in a statement. The 18-month long programme themed — Mitigating the Impact of Covid-19 on Food and Nutrition Security Using Climate Smart Technologies is set to benefit four southern Africa nations, including Eswathini, Mozambique and Zambia. Manyanga said the project will see the setting up of two model biogas digesters, efficient cook stoves, two solar powered boreholes for irrigation of nutritional gardens and plots, solar-powered incubators for free range chicken (roadrunners) incubators, among other provisions to the benefitting communities. In Zimbabwe's Rushinga District, Gwavava Village will be set up as a model climate smart village, while a tree forest plot will be put up at Gwangwava Secondary School. Zimbabwe, once the bread-basket of southern Africa, suffered many unproductive years of drought and lack of resources, resulting in food shortages, leaving the country importing maize from Zambia. In a July 2020 report, the World Food Programme (WFP) said the number of food-insecure people in Zimbabwe was expected to surge by almost 50 percent, to 8,6 million by the end of the year. “Many Zimbabwean families are suffering the ravages of acute hunger, and their plight will get worse before it gets better. We need the international community to step up now to help us prevent a potential humanitarian catastrophe,” Lola Castro, WFPs regional director for southern Africa, said, then. WFP, which has been instrumental in the provision of food relief in Zimbabwe, has been promoting the cultivation of drought-resistant, nutritious and indigenous alternatives such as sorghum and millet, as a way of busting the dry-spell induced hunger. “Subsistence farming families who make up three-quarters of Zimbabwe’s population and produce most of its food are also hurting because of a third successive drought-hit harvest this year. It yielded only 1, 1 million MT of maize, the staple cereal, well down on last year’s already poor 2, 4 million MT and less than half the national requirement. This, in turn, presages even more severe hunger in early 2021, the peak of the next ‘lean’ season,” WFP said. [email protected] Page 12 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette National News Card fraud now under control: Zimswitch Omega Ukama card cloning have come down,” Cyril UnionPay in China and another ser- Senior Staff Writer Nyatsanza, Zimswitch's chief exec- vice from West Africa. We want to utive told the Institute of Bankers develop relationships with these or- IMBABWE’S national pay- of Zimbabwe’s Summer School last ganisations so that we do not have to ZPC surpasses Q3 ment system, Zimswitch, says week. reinvent the wheel, some of the things Zcard fraud cases have gone “It has not been a single-handed that we have been trying to achieve down after efforts it extended in part- effort, but it is something we have have been achieved elsewhere,” he nership with the Reserve Bank of achieved as a team. We liaised and said. power supply target Zimbabwe (RBZ) and the National asked ourselves what it is that was This also comes as debit cards and Prosecuting Authority (NPA), to plug bringing up those loopholes and the credit cards have gained prominence Adelaide Moyo “A further allocation of two billion loopholes. gaps have been closed. in the southern African country amid Staff Writer cubic meters for each utility was made It comes as instances of card “And because of this, we are quite serious cash shortages. by ZRA after a review by the JOTC on cloning had risen dramatically in the proud and happy that our desk that Reserve bank governor John Man- HE Zimbabwe Power Company July 16, 2020, bringing the 2020 annu- country with the police recording was looking into that has produced gudya told the same meeting that 800 (ZPC) says it surpassed its third al water allocation to 13,3 billion cubic more than 600 cases last year. the results,” Nyatsanza said. 000 new debit cards were issued be- quarter power production target meters,” the power company said. “Zimswitch has a desk that looks T To enhance the integrity of the tween January and October this year. by 2,92 percent to 1 756,21-Gigawatt As at the end of September 2020, the after cyber-security… so, ourselves, local payments system, he said Credit cards moved from 18 000 hours (GWh) attributed to an increase station had utilized 11,40 billion cubic the RBZ and the NPA have lately put Zimswitch has also collaborated with to 327 000, and 10 000 prepaid cards in water allocation at Kariba Power Sta- meters meaning that the station remains a special focus on card fraud, and the international card schemes such as were issued during the period, the tion. with 2,10 billion cubic meters for gener- amounts and the numbers of fraud Mastercard and Visa. governor said. In a quarterly update, the power com- ation for October and December 2020. that was happening, especially around “We are in discussions with [email protected] pany said output of 20,06 percent was “The station is encouraged to contin- above the output for the same period last ue adhering to the generation levels as year. agreed with ZRA so as to avoid penalties In the year to date, ZPC sent out 4 due to over consumption of water and 485,74GWh which is equivalent to 82 allow the lake levels to improve,” ZPC percent of the target for the period. said. “Output at Hwange Power Station, According to the energy supply bal- however, remained constrained as Unit ance, Hwange Power Station contributed 3 and Unit 6 continued to be unavail- 48 percent of the total energy production able due to extended outages owing to to the grid, while Kariba Power Station funding challenges and delays caused contributed 51 percent of the total ener- by the Covid-19 pandemic. Age related gy production. failures at the small thermals (Harare Small thermals contributed one and Munyati) resulted in the frequent percent. ZPC said construction of the shut down of the small thermal power Hwange 7 and 8 expansion project is stations,” ZPC said. on-going at 52,88 percent actual prog- The company said output at Kariba ress against planned progress of 67,49 South Power Station received an annual percent for the third quarter. water allocation of 11 billion cubic me- “The overall schedule progress is be- ters from the Zambezi River Authority hind due to the effects of the coronavirus (ZRA) which corresponds to an annual which has adversely affected procure- average capacity of 275MW. ment and manufacturing of equipment An upward review of 0,5 billion cu- as personnel could not travel to or from bic meters for each utility and the av- China for manufacturing and procure- erage annual capacity to 294MW, ZPC ment of equipment,” ZPC said. said. [email protected] November 26-December 02 2020 Page 13 The Financial Gazette Companies&Markets ‘Vaccine launch good, but no quick turn around for tourism’

Nelson Gahadza Staff Writer BRIEFS FRICAN Sun this week said the recent announcement of a Covid-19 Avaccine, though a positive develop- Cimas introduces US$ packages ment, is unlikely to quickly turn things around for the tourism industry, which is currently in IMAS Medical Aid Society (Cimas) has introduced a slump due to the contagion. three new foreign currency medical aid packages, A fortnight ago, American drug manufac- intended to give those able to pay for medical aid turer, Pfizer said its late-stage trial of its novel C from a domestic nostro account access to healthcare ser- coronavirus vaccine had shown promising vices. results. Membership contributions for the three new packages, “The recent announcement of a vaccine dubbed Secure Packages will be paid from the member’s is positive news, but the headline number local nostro account. Claims will likewise be settled by says little about what kind of cases are being payment into domestic nostro accounts. prevented and the challenge of storing at ul- Martin Mushambadope, Cimas’ managing director said tra-cold temperatures plus the myriad logis- the new packages were intended to give members a wider tical challenges surrounding production and choice. distribution means we still believe our indus- “These new packages are local nostro packages aimed try will face challenges in the medium term,” at members with access to domestic nostro funds. Claims African Sun said in a trading update for the settlement will be through domestic nostro accounts. quarter ended September 30, 2020. “The packages give access to both private and public “After a marked reduction in new healthcare institutions subject to the annual global limits Covid-19 cases from June to August 2020, and sub-limits applicable to the different packages,” he our key source markets, Europe, the United said. — Staff Writer States of America and Asia are now unfortunately experiencing a significant resurgence in coronavirus cases. Resultantly, their governments have reintroduced partial or complete Zim’s digital banking booms lockdowns in a bid to control the Covid-19 second wave. ESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe governor, John Man- “The group expects this resurgence to neg- gudya says the Covid-19 pandemic has boosted atively impact international business at least Zimbabwe’s digital banking. in the short to medium term,” it said. R Speaking at the IOBZ’s 2020 Summer School in Harare The company, however, noted that it is en- last week, Mangudya said the value of digital transactions couraged by the opening of international trav- had grown from $15 billion in January 2020 to $70 billion el in South Africa, one of its “tourism hubs.” by the end of October. On the domestic front, the quarter under “Zimbabwe has moved significantly on the digital review saw the government allowing intercity banking platform during Covid-19, and this shows that travel in September 2020, with the resumption macro-economic performance continued to duced closures earlier this year. banks did not forget about their customers during the lock- of international flights starting on October 1. be subdued, “largely due to foreign currency “The group expects the September and down, they continued to assist them through the digital “Despite the reopening of borders and re- shortages, low disposable incomes, high un- October 2020 relaxation of travel restrictions platforms,” the governor said. sumption of international flights, most trav- employment and the curtailed business activi- to boost domestic and regional demand going He said the number of point-of-sale machines in the ellers are discouraged by the requirements to ty due to the Covid-19 lockdowns.” forward,” it said. country grew by 7 000 to 129 000. self-isolate or quarantine for extended periods “On the positive side, the interbank and Meanwhile, the company this week said its Mobile payment points increased from 29 925 to 31 upon arriving at the holiday venues. inflation rate seem to have stabilised on the offer to acquire all shares in Dawn Properties 801, while 800 000 new debit cards were issued, according “In the short-term this will continue to back of the foreign currency auction system was “successfully accepted.” to Mangudya. Credit cards moved from 18 000 to 327 000, hamper efforts to boost international tourism,” introduced in June 2020. As a result, African Sun now owns 91,06 and 10 000 prepaid cards were issued during the period, he African Sun said. Operationally, the group said it has now percent of Dawn Properties. said. — Staff Writer On the economic front, the company said opened all of its hotels after the Covid-19 in- [email protected] Page 14 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette Companies & Markets Gold business spurs Padenga Adelaide Moyo He said revenue from skin sales was tonnes. Initiatives are in place to develop Construction of the consolidation Staff Writer only five percent below the prior period. the local market to absorb this product un- phase of the proposed effluent treatment Dallaglio’s gold sales volumes for the til the international export market returns,” plant for the crocodile division in Kariba ADENGA Holdings (Padenga) nine months to September 2020 increased Sibanda said. is 60 percent complete. says it recorded a 221 percent in- by 20 percent to 544,2kg from 452,8kg The United States operation, Tallow The company said it is well posi- Pcrease in revenue during the quarter in the prior period, with the spot price of Creek Ranch, skin volumes were up 29 tioned to meet the current challenges and ended September 30, 2020, spurred by gold firming by 27 percent from an aver- percent to 16 916 skins compared to the generate long-term growth across all its the mining business which contributed 70 age of US$1 364 per ounce to an average prior period. business units, which should in turn drive percent of the income. of US$1 735 year-to-date. The total harvest to date for 2020 is 14 enhanced shareholder returns. Padenga, acquired Dallaglio Mining In the Zimbabwe operation, skin sales 015 skins and the total harvest for the year Padenga also owns Pickstone Peerless Group in August last year, in a deal aimed volumes were down 42 percent to 8 286 is expected to be 18 149 skins. Mine near Chegutu and Eureka Mine near at consolidating it’s already export orient- skins compared to the prior period as a re- “The market for watch band size skins Guruve, which is under development with ed business. sult of Covid-19 induced lockdowns. remains very weak because of over-supply a target to eventually produce 140kg of Thembinkosi Sibanda, Padenga’s By the end of the third quarter, 22 796 and reduced demand in this sub-sector of gold per month by 2020. chairman, said Covid-19 related disrup- crocodiles had been harvested and the the market. The situation is slightly better Padenga said gold production volumes tions impacted the sales of crocodile and skins were awaiting sales grading to be for medium and large skins but prices beat Pickstone Peerless mine will exceed alligator skins with “no meaningful turn- convened when international travel re- Thembinkosi Sibanda ing offered are not viable,” Sibanda said. prior year. over being recorded since April 2020.” sumed. “Demand for crocodile meat in Eu- He said commissioning of the second The rehabilitation of Eureka Mine is “Performance in the period under re- The size and quality of the harvestable rope remained subdued despite restau- phase of the renewable solar energy plant on schedule for completion mid-2021 and view was enhanced by the consolidation crop in the pens was consistent with ex- rants opening towards the end of the sec- was delayed due to the lockdown but will significantly increase gold production of Dallaglio mining business with effect pectations to achieve the budgeted harvest ond quarter. At the end of the third quarter, finally occurred in the beginning of No- volumes and profits for the group. from January 1, 2020,” he said. by year end. European export stocks amounted to 68,1 vember. [email protected] Nestlé targets US$10 million from exports Adelaide Moyo Staff Writer

ESTLÉ Zimbabwe (Nestlé) is anticipating a 30 percent increase in its production capacity next year, Nwhich it says will see its exports growing to over US$10 million. The milk and cereals producer last week commissioned a US$2,5 million cereals manufacturing line in Harare, bringing its local investment to over US$40 million since 2010. Bruno Olierhoek, Nestlé's East and Southern Africa region managing director, said the line expansion will allow the company to be positioned to service local demand and increase exports into the region. “Our current exports average US$400 000 per month and the target is to triple that in the medium term. For next year we are hoping to export over US$10 million worth of products,” he said. The company exports its products to neighbouring countries such as Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and South Af- rica. He said Nestlé has in the past two years streamlined its operations to reduce reliance on foreign currency. “In the past, we had a business model where we needed a lot of forex to be able to operate. And in Zimbabwe we had challenges in getting the foreign currency so we decided to change our business model to be less forex dependent. We needed over 80 percent to operate and by changing the model we are now less than 20 percent forex dependent. Despite Covid-19, 2020 has been a year where we have been able to increase our volume and production,” Olierhoek said. Eunice Ganyawu-Magwali, Nestlé’s managing director, said the commissioning would help the company along its plan to provide accessible and affordable nutrition. “The transformation plan, which was rolled out towards the end of 2019, is focused on future-proofing the business in Zimbabwe through import substitution, local value chain development, expanding manufacturing capacity, increasing capacity utilisation, innovation and renovation of our product portfolio focusing on use of local ingredients, digital transformation, empowering communities and leading the sustain- ability agenda,” she said. During the commissioning, the firm also launched two new products, Nestlé Cerevita Instant Sour Porridge and Nestlé Cremora with Milk. According to the company, the new products have over 80 percent local content, which it says will enhance affordability on the local market and competitiveness in export markets. “We remain focused on evolving our strategies and making changes needed to deliver balanced growth and sustainable value for all our stakeholders anchored on the guiding principles of our purpose: We unlock the power of food to enhance the quality of life to everyone, today and for genera- tions to come,” Ganyawu-Magwali said. Industry minister Sekai Nzenza said the equipment will contribute towards the country’s industrialisation agenda and improve capacity utilisation in line with the recently launched National Development Strategy 1. This investment indeed attests to the confidence that your company has in the potential and future of Zimbabwe. Hav- ing a strong presence in about 189 countries, we are proud that you continue to find Zimbabwe a favourable investment destination,” Nzenza said. [email protected] The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 15 Companies & Markets RTG banks on domestic tourism Nelson Gahadza this development, it will promote local and regional Staff Writer holiday packages in the Victoria Falls region. “The group is expanding the scope of the Gate- AINBOW Tourism Group (RTG) expects way Stream platform with the launch of Gateway domestic tourism to continue to anchor its Stream Music in December 2020 which will further Rbusiness for the remainder of the year, as enhance the group’s revenue generation efforts,” he international bookings remain depressed due to the said. Covid-19 pandemic. In terms of the trading performance, during the The group, however, says it remains optimistic nine months to September, the groups inflation ad- about a full recovery in the near future. justed revenues closed at $586 million. The oper- “Domestic tourism will continue to drive busi- ating margin for the period under review closed at ness activity in the remainder of the year and the 35 percent, which is three percentage points above group will be driving holiday packages around the prior year. country in order to enable residents to get outdoors “This resulted in a positive cash position which and experience their country,” the company said last was driven by the cost containment measures. De- week in a trading update for the period ended Sep- RTG says it will promote holiday packages in the Victoria Falls region. spite the challenging operating environment, we are tember 30, 2020. pleased to report that the group managed to close the In recognition of the long cycle nature of the Studies have indicated that Africa remains “The resuscitation of regional airlines such as nine months in a profit position, the company said. international bookings, the group says it remains amongst the continents least affected by the pan- Airlink, which has partnered Fly Emirates to pro- The group’s cumulative occupancy declined to actively engaged with its regional and international demic, and as a result, RTG’s strategy for the next vide air services to 20 destinations in Africa, is a ma- 22 percent from 47 percent recorded in the prior tour operator partners and representatives in filling 18 months will focus on emerging opportunities that jor boost for the recovery of inter-Africa travel,” the year due to global Covid-19 restrictions. the long pipeline. are “awash” on the continent, it said. company said, adding that in order to capitalise on [email protected] Government to list debt securities

Omega Ukama Senior Staff Writer

INANCE minister Mthuli Ncube says Fthe government will starting in January next year, list debt instruments on local exchanges to reduce costs and to broaden Zimbabwe’s capital markets. The country’s three securities exchanges — the Zimbabwe Stock Ex- change (ZSE), the Finan- Mthuli Ncube cial Securities Exchange (FINSEC) and the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) — currently do not have any listings of government paper, and have a narrow list of instrument options. “In order to reduce the cost of borrowing and deepen the capital markets, government during the National Develop- ment Strategy 1 period (January 2021 – December 2025) will target the issuance of medium to long term securities and listing of Bonds on the securities exchange market,” Ncube said in the document that was launched last week. “This will reduce the costs of domestic borrowing and create fiscal space for social expenditures and the capital budget. In addition, government remains committed to its engagement with concessionary lenders through the IMF Staff Monitored Programme to achieve an amicable loan arrears clearance agreement,” he said. The minister said deepening money and capital markets through issuance of different instruments of different ma- turities would allow portfolio flexibility by investors. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has also said its planned exchange rate-indexed bonds — announced in July — will be listed on the ZSE. The Insurance and Pensions Commission (Ipec) recently said the industry has had to bear considerable losses in the money market due to a lack of investing options in Zim- babwe. Faced by hyperinflation, the countrys second episode in a decade, insurers and pension funds — the economy’s biggest investing group — have scampered to equities and properties, which now account for more than a third of all the industry’s assets. Still, they have to hold some cash and money market instruments to cover their liquidity requirements. Ipec statistics show that short-term insurers had, on aggregate, $782 million in cash and money market investments at the end of June, which represented about 15 percent of the sub-sector’s total assets. To deal with the lack of investing options, government has also said it is pushing for the introduction of alternative investment instruments such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and in particular, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to improve liquidity in the local property market. ETFs are mutual funds that track movements in other assets and REITs are special purpose entities owning and typically operating real estate. Investors can gain indirect exposure to property by investing in publicly traded REITs. [email protected] Page 16 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette Companies & Markets Export sales boost CAFCA

Nelson Gahadza percent “partly due to the slight increase in tonnage Staff Writer but mainly due to sales mix.” The company recorded more copper conductor AFCA Limited says increased export sales sales, but registered less aluminium conductor sales. into the region offset dampened local demand Its balance sheet remained strong with a net posi- Cduring the year ended September 30, 2020. tive bank balance of $82,5 million and debtors main- The company said volumes improved from 1 735 ly being foreign US dollar balances, according to the conductor tonnes in 2019 to 1 444 conductor tonnes update. during the period under review. It said liabilities were mainly customer deposits “Covid-19 related downturn, together with damp- and Zimbabwe dollar suppliers. ened local demand was offset by improved export Group earnings improved by 667 percent histori- sales in the region,” the company said last week in cally and 69 percent in infl ation adjusted terms. a trading update, adding that the holding of fi nished The company noted that as the stability of the cur- stocks and consignment stock arrangements in the re- rent exchange regime is not certain and requirements gion negated logistical and supply side constraints. for future working capital unknown, it could not de- Revenue from customers in Zimbabwe amounted clare a dividend. to only 10 percent of the total revenue. The company has budgeted for an increase in vol- During the period under review, CAFCA’s turnover umes in 2021, which it believes is attainable if there in historical terms improved by 822 percent, while Cafca shares have gained 3 326 percent on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange are no changes in the economy or regional economies. turnover in infl ation adjusted terms increased by 24 Exchange this year. newsdesk@fi ngaz.co.zw OK Zim defies demand slump Adelaide Moyo Staff Writer

ETAIL group, OK Zimbabwe says it successfully opened new stores despite the effects of Covid-19 Rand constrained demand that resulted in a 26,9 percent drop in volumes during the six months to Sep- tember 30, 2020. The group opened a new OKMart store in Victoria Falls and an OK store in Harare’s Sanganayi Inn area. “The new stores were well received in the respective markets and are expected to contribute meaningfully to the group’s revenue. The group’s refurbishment programme will continue and eight stores have been targeted for completion by the end of the fi nancial year, Herbert Nkala, the listed retailer’s board chairman said. This despite the challenges faced by the company such as limited production, supply chain disruptions, logistical bottlenecks and reduced aggregate demand, which Nkala said were caused by Covid-19 control measures. “Earnings did not keep pace with increases in prices and this, in addition to the effect of Covid-19, constrained demand. As a result, sales volume for the period declined by 26,9 percent compared to the same period in the prior year, in an environment where aggregate demand has declined,” Nkala said. He said the company will continue to work with supplier partners to ensure that its stores are adequately stocked for the festive season and beyond. OK Zimbabwe's profi t during the half year to Septem- ber 30, 2020 decreased to $999,483 million compared to $1,496 billion recorded in the prior period. Revenue for the half year was $11,643 billion compared to $13,794 billion recorded in the comparative period. Overheads grew by 680,6 percent over prior year, impacted by the groups response to fi ght Covid-19 pandemic, particularly RDT and PCR tests, purchase of face masks, thermometers, hand sanitizers and staff passage costs. Contingent rentals, repairs and maintenance, bank charges and cleaning expenses also signifi cantly contributed to increase in overheads. Capital expenditure for the half year was $384,9 million, up from $51,5 million for the same period in prior year with most of the capital expenditure being on store refurbishments and equipping new stores. Nkala said between allocations from the auction and the foreign currency sales generated in the business, the group was able to pay for all its import requirements. newsdesk@fi ngaz.co.zw The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 17 Column 99-year lease: Lending models in other countries Nigeria lending model Ghana 1992, provides that all public lands are vest- receivables, investment property, business assets, Government to establish laws that regulate ware- HE 1999 Nigerian constitution provides that all citizens ed in the President in trust, for the people of Ghana. household assets, machinery and equipment, live- house receipts. have the right to acquire and own immovable property. Public lands are leased to citizens of Ghana for 99 stock, crops, intellectual property, patent, license, Non-Governmental Organisations such as US- THowever, the Land Use Act or the Land Use Decree na- years and non-citizens 50 years. copyright, goodwill, financial instrument, bonds, AID and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa tionalised all land in Nigeria, formally replacing the customary A few land owners hold title of the land on which cash, etc. immovable properties such as land, build- (AGRA) have partnered with Banks to fund agricul- system of land tenure. they farm in Ghana. Security of Land Tenure is also ing, farm land. ture. AGRA entered into a partnership with Stanbic Under Nigeria’s Land Use Act, all land in Nigeria is vest- an issue when it comes to financing farms using the where AGRA guarantees loans paid by the Bank. ed in the government. The Land Use Act recognises two types land as security in Ghana. USAID also embarked on Financing Agriculture of occupancy rights. The two types of occupancy rights rec- Commercial Banks in Ghana have been tradi- Ghana Project that invested in financing in agricul- ognised under the Land Use Act in Nigeria are Statutory Occu- tionally sceptical to fund agriculture through lending ture. As shown above, due to challenges regarding pancy Rights and Customary Rights of Occupancy. citing reasons such as a history of defaulting pay- security of tenure Ghana has had to become innova- Under the Land Use Act, individuals and entities can ob- ments by borrowers as well issues regarding securi- tive in financing agriculture. Using land as collateral tain a statutory right of occupancy for urban and non-urban ty of land tenure. Several strides have been taken to is favourable, but other avenues are also being ex- land. Statutory occupancy rights are granted for a definite term, encourage funding of agriculture in Ghana. plored to ensure funding for agriculture. which is set forth in the certificate granted to the occupant. Re- The Government of Ghana established a col- Conclusion cipients of certificates of occupancy are obligated to pay the lateral registry to encourage lending through the The Ghana Grains Council established a ware- In conclusion, it can be accepted that: state for any unexhausted improvements on the land at the time Borrowers and Lenders Act of 2008. The Collateral house receipt system to increase the forms of collat- The 99 year lease is bankable but requires the recipient takes possession and must pay rent fixed by the Registry Body is a body established parliament to eral acceptable for funding in Ghana. A warehouse some amendments to improve certainty; state. Rights are transferable with the authorisation of the state enable borrowers to register their collateral in order receipt is a financial instrument that confers security Emphasis has to be placed on the internal credit governor. to get loans. interest in a commodity stored in a warehouse, al- policies to ensure that lenders conduct a thorough While there is this form of land occupancy granted by the Lenders can attach collateral in the registry with- lowing the commodity to serve as collateral for a due diligence on prospective lenders; and state, most citizens, especially most rural citizens, are unaware out going to court in the case of default. The list of loan. In the case of farming, agricultural goods are With other African countries, the Banking sec- of the Act and very few Nigerian individuals have applied for properties that may be registered include movable the commodities used for warehouse receipting. tor determines the lending policies and the govern- certificates of occupancy. Even in urban areas, where the ma- properties such us motor vehicles, inventories and The Ghana Grains Council is working with the ment also assists through state owned institutions. jority of the population lives in informal settlements, customary and Sharia law govern rights and obligations relating to land. Land is perceived as a good investment in many rural areas as well as in urban areas. However, most land transactions are carried out in the informal market, and commercial players and other interested parties have brought up rights to smallhold- ings on the informal market. In less common means, land is acquired through certificates from the government. Government efforts to support formalisation of land through certification of occupancy in cities such as Lagos have been costly and largely unsuccessful. Nigeria has three types of land markets: 1 a market for allocations of certificates of occupancy from the government (formal market); (2) a market for the transfer of land rights documented by certificates of occupancy formal and informal markets and 3 the market for land that has no certificate of occupancy (informal market). Formal markets are limited. A study of land allocations and transactions in Lagos and Kano states found that only an estimated 1 percent of land allocations and transactions occur on the formal market, i.e., in compliance with the Land Use Act. Roughly 25 percent of urban land transactions involve land for which there is a certificate of occupancy, but the transactions are done without the required consent, payment of taxes, and registration. The balance of transactions involve land for which there is no certificate of occupancy. Almost all rural land is in this last category. For purposes of land acquisitions, the Land Use Act defines public purpose to include: exclusive government use or general public use; development of industries and public works; economic, industrial, agricultural, urban, and rural development; and development for educational and other social services. The occupier loses his or her right of occupancy upon receipt of notice of the revocation of the right. A holder of a certificate of occupancy is entitled to compensation for the value of his or her unexhausted improvements on the land at the time of expropriation, any rent paid by the occupier during the year in which the right of occupancy was revoked, and the value of any crops on the land. Uganda lending model Uganda recognizes customary, freehold, mailo (traditional) and leasehold tenure systems under Article 237 of the Consti- tution. The Constitution of Uganda restored the right to ownership of freehold land which had been limited by the previous regime of leasehold tenancy. However, non-nationals can only have access to land through 99-year leases. The 1975 Land Re- form Decree had abolished freehold tenure and mailo tenure of land. Under the Land Reform Decree, all the land vested in the State as the land trustee leasing out land to the people. The Government of Uganda realised the importance of land and its role in the development of the country that led to successive political regimes reviewing and reforming the land tenure relations in the country. Fundamental legal, policy, and structural institutional changes were made since 1995 to restore the ownership of land to the people of Uganda. However, despite the strides made in restructuring policy, financing for farmers is still not easily accessible. In a newspaper article titled “Banks still don't trust farmers with agriculture loans, the head of agriculture finance at a certain institution stated that it is risky to lend to farmers because they lack collateral and it is hard to assess a farmer using only his land as collateral because they may not be sure of their harvest. Banks like the Centenary Bank require land as collateral for loans whilst other banks such as Finance trust are more lenient, ac- cepting even “proof of land rental” as collateral. Internal credit policy seems to drive the manner in which the financial sector in Uganda treats borrowing clients in the agricultural sector. Ghana lending model The Government of Ghana developed a National Land Pol- icy in 1999 with a view to ensure that the land is used for the benefit of all citizen of Ghana. Ownership of land is divided into two, public or state lands and private land. Public land is land appropriated by the Government, vested in the President and held in trust for all the people of Ghana. Legislation such as the Administration of Lands Act, Land Registry Act and State Lands Act regulate access to land in Ghana. The Constitution of The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 18 Column Nine reasons why every HR dept needs an analytics professional

UMAN resources (HR) analytics With analytics, HR will be able to link core HR processes. refers to the process of getting HR practices and business outcomes. However in cases where HR has people with HR H business insights from HR data. 2.The challenge for most HR profession- training who have the necessary numerical reasoning This is new to most HR people in the sense als is that HR analytics requires above-av- to transition to HR analytics, they could take that that they have not fully embraced analytics. erage numerical reasoning. This skill is not route as well. I strongly believe that looking at the fu- found in abundance among pure HR pro- 3.With HR analytics you would be able to do ture of the profession, no HR department fessionals. workforce planning and predict with a high degree will be able to give maximum value without My call is for HR professionals to bring of accuracy the number of people you require for the an analytics professional within their team. in people with statistics or applied maths business both in the short and long-term. Here are my reasons for that proposition. to assist them. These people could come in When combined with optimisation, you would be 1.HR analytics provide the best chance as graduate trainees and then graduate into HR Perspective able to even know the optimal staff cost for the busi- for HR to be on par with other more busi- full analytics. ness, now and in the projected future. ness-oriented professions like finance and with As part of their training, they should That is a big win for HR, if only they could em- sales. Memory Nguwi be allowed to understand the business and brace HR analytics. 4.HR analytics enables HR departments to check the effectiveness of training programmes using t-tests to look at the before and after data. As an example is there any differences in sales between a group that has gone through sales training and a group that has not. With HR analytics it is easy to check for those statistical differences. 5.With HR analytics you can also predict staff turnover with a degree of accuracy. You would able to use several internal factors and demographic vari- ables to predict who is likely to leave the organisation and when. Besides the ability to predict turnover, the pre- diction models are capable of identifying ... you would be the factors that drive able to do work- turnover. force planning This should allow HR professionals and and predict with business leaders to a high degree put together interven- of accuracy the tions to reduce staff turnover. number of people 6.Using HR ana- you require for lytics you would be the business both able to do compensation analytics. You in the short and would be able to cal- long-term. culate compa-ratios, range penetration etc, and link these to performance of employees and staff turnover. You can also use compensation analytics to predict staff turnover. 7.There is also scope to do performance analytics. Under compensation analytics, you would be able to dig deeper into HR and business data and find out which factors predict the performance of departments and business units. As an example, does the level of education of managers or employees in the department predict the overall performance of the department? Globally, what internal factors seem to drive sales in the department or business unit? All of this can be done easily with HR analytics. Imagine the value that you are going to give to the business as HR professionals should you embrace HR analytics. 8.You could also do recruitment analytics. Under this, you dig deeper into what factors predict top per- formances but looking at historical records in your organisation. These could be interview ratings, reference check ratings and performance on psychometrics. These can all be linked to employee performance records. 9.One of the great opportunities created by HR analytics practices is the ability to link your employee engagement data to actual business outcomes. If you have been collecting and tracking employee engagement data over some time, you can easily link this data to actual business indicators like sales, market share, staff costs, turnover and many other business outcomes. This will allow you to then come up with interventions to improve the performance of the business. There are many more human resources practices where HR analytics could be applied. You need to have the skills internally to be able to run an effective HR department. n Nguwi is the managing consultant of Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd. He writes in his personal capacity. The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page S1

WILLOWVALE MOTOR INDUSTRIES FEATURE WMI launches Mazda CX30 ILLOWVALE Motor Industries (WMI) you. focusing on the noise, vibration, and harshness recently launched the all new, pure beau- “It is for you too if you are scaling down from (NVH). Every aspect of the CX-30 was measured, Wty of less is more, the MazdaCX-30, and a large family vehicle to a compact, economic and from the tyres to the headliner, to minimise any is available to order now at WMI or any other Maz- versatile vehicle, without much compromise on road noise. da dealer in Zimbabwe. premium quality, comfort and safety,” he said. The CX-30 has a feeling of oneness that extends During the online launch, Dzi Matanhire, act- “The Mazda CX-30 is it is engineered to feeling beyond the drive. It is a five-seat, crossover made ing manager at WMI, the home of Mazda in Zim- not to spec! It is for you to enjoy alone, with friends for a wide range of fans, especially young people babwe said the company was looking back with or with family for an expanded range of activities who are approaching significant life transitions. nostalgia to some of the iconic Mazda models like together.” Mazda wants the CX-30 to be able to help these the 323 Standard, the B1600, the 323 Familia, the The all-new Mazda CX-30 crossover SUV is fans enjoy those milestones to the fullest and be- Mazda 626 Cronos and the legendary T3500 – the second Mazda model to adopt the latest evolu- come an essential partner in their daily lives.Wil- models that served Zimbabwe’s industry and the tion of Kodo design, a more mature interpretation lowvale Motor Industries (Private) Limited was motoring public and left lasting memories to this of the striking design ethos. Based on sleek and established in 1961 when Ford Motor Company of day. bold styling, beautifully designed CX-30 evokes Canada imported a complete assembly plant to as- “At Mazda and at WMI we love cars and we creativity in ones life combining the flowing beau- semble the Ford range of vehicles in the then Fed- believe our brand-new generation product will im- ty of a coupe and the strong proportions of an SUV. eration of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (Central Afri- prove our bond with the Zimbabwean customers The interior is equipped with many premium fea- ca). It closed down in 1965 for political reasons. through innovative car ownership experience pro- tures, yet remains spacious and comfortable. The industrial Development Corporation (now vided through our dealers at retail. Willowvale Mo- The CX-30 is made for a wide range of fans, IDCZ) bought the company in 1967 and opened it tor Industries is excited to launch another addition especially young people who are approaching sig- for contractual assembly. to our product portfolio from completely built-up nificant life transitions. The brands that the company assembled includ- vehicles section of our business; the Mazda CX- The human-centric cockpit helps the driver feel ed Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Nissan (Datsun), Toyota, 30, a Compact Cross-over Sports Utility Vehicle. connected with the vehicle but is not isolating from BMW and Mazda. “The Mazda CX30 is for you if you are a spir- the other occupants. A focus on interior comfort The Mazda CX-30 is now available in Zimba- ited young professional or entrepreneur on the up- and everyday user-friendliness makes this all-new bwe directly from Willowvale Motor Industries or ward rise to the top of your game, it is for if you compact crossover a car for everyone. through our Authorised Dealers; Amtec Motors, if you have an eye for beauty and style, if perfor- With an inviting cabin, the engineers have Cloverleaf Motors, Faramatsi Motors and Croco mance, technology and premium feel matters to strived to preserve the peaceful environment by Motors. Page S2 | November 26-December 02 2020 WILLOWVALE MOTOR INDUSTRIES MAZDA CX-30 LAUNCH SPECIAL FEATURE The Financial Gazette Croco Commercial: Agriculture and Logistics

ROCO Commercial is a one-stop-shop for commercial farmers, miners and logistics players. CWith offices at the Harare Showgrounds as well as along Enterprise Road in Highlands, this is the Com- mercial division of the biggest motoring conglomerate in Zimbabwe-Croco Holdings. The massive automotive player is the franchise holder for UD Trucks, Volvo Trucks, Eicher Trucks, New Holland Agriculture, Fieldking farming implements, Sfoggia planters, Yutong Buses and Higer Buses. This means that all discerning players in the mining sector can engage Croco Commercial for their heavy-duty vehicle requirements ranging from UD to Volvo Trucks whose spec vary with requirements. Specialised trained members of staff at Croco Com- mercial are available to provide expert knowledge in these vehicle brands and equipment. After-sales support is available for all vehicle brands from parts, warranty, and customising van bodies. In the commercial or mining space, drop side body trucks can be custom made to suit the requirements of the customer. Paida Tabengwa , Croco Holdings group head of marketing said: Within the Croco Group, we provide the full range of aftersales support, and this entails all aspects of the vehicle maintenance. This is to ensure the journey continues in safety. Of late we have installed Covid-19 safety measures at all of our facilities nationwide including sanitisation booths and mandatory vehicle sanitization of all vehicles coming in for service or repairs, before and after taking the vehicle into the workshop, with a focus on high-contact areas including the steering wheel, dashboard, rear-view mirror, and gear knob. to ensure the safety of our customers and our staff.” Croco Commercial is part of the Croco Holdings, a multi-franchise automotive dealership with more than 30 years presence in the Zimbabwean motoring industry. The franchise holders have over the years provided special training to Croco workshop staff to ensure safety and longevity to the vehicles, implements and equipment sold by Croco Commercial. The Financial Gazette WILLOWVALE MOTOR INDUSTRIES MAZDA CX-30 LAUNCH SPECIAL FEATURE November 26-December 02 2020 | Page S3 Introducing the Mazda CX-30 ... making you feel alive AZDA believes in the For example the accelerator pedal is power of cars to move hu- placed exactly where your right foot natural- Mman emotions, to awaken ly falls. The result is a relaxed, natural driv- senses, heighten reflexes and make ing posture allowing you to operate the ve- pulses race. They believe the joy hicle just as you desire, with minimal stress of being alive comes from what we and effort. discover on our journey, and the in- Mazda harmonic acoustics spiration we find in every mile. Mazda Harmonic Acoustics was devel- The Mazda distributor in Zimba- oped to create a quiet cabin that insulates bwe, Willowvale Motor Industries you from unwanted and distracting outside WMI, has started to roll out new noise while still allowing subtle sounds from exciting SUV and passenger mod- the road and engine that add to the driving els to complement its BT-50 bak- pleasure. kies. On October 29, 2020, WMI The audio system to delivers the same rich revealed the all-new Mazda C-30 sound at both low and high volumes. Par- that “makes you feel alive”. ticular attention was paid to speaker place- The CX-30 belongs to a New ment to give deep, satisfying bass and clear, Generation of products that embody well-localized mid- and high-frequencies, Mazdas new brand essence: Cele- resulting in detailed, natural reproduction of brate Driving”. music with astonishing depth and clarity at Mazda is all about the exhilarat- any volume. ing and captivating driving experi- Human-machine interface (HMI) ences that “Make You Feel Alive!” Knowledge is power. Mazdas HMI is The Mazda C-30 is a Compact entirely human-centric in its design, keeping Crossover-SUV designed and en- you informed while leaving you free to con- gineered to stimulate the creative, centrate on driving. self-directed lifestyles that make Constantly changing high-priority infor- every day so much more rewarding. mation is delivered in real time in the Active Design Driving Display just below your line of sight: Mazda C-30 exudes the pure essential driving information is shown in the beauty of less is more with clean meter cluster LCD directly in front of you, curves and undulating surfaces, em- and information related to entertainment and bracing and reflecting the surround- convenience comes via the 8.8-inch centre ings. display. Sleek, bold proportions lift and Prioritising and presenting information in energise the spirit, a new departure this logical way helps you to maintain a com- in the art of creative living. fortable, natural posture as it supports you in Inside, the cabin is a study in driving safely and enjoyably. premium materials and superior Vehicle Control Technologies craftsmanship, an enticing and in- Mazdas G-Vectoring Control GVC Plus timate space, inviting you to relax is one more way Mazdas human-centric en- contributing to smoother acceleration, braking and Reassring safety technologies and savour every moment. Lavishly gineering makes vehicle movement more re- cornering on dry roads. Confidence-building, reassurance for the driver appointed, with controls exactingly sponsive, more confidence-inspiring and just Off-Road Traction Assist helps you get free when and an enjoyable driving experience for all occupants planned around the driver the C- more comfortable. stuck in mud or deep sand. The system optimizes are the fundamental aims of Mazdas Proactive Safety. 30 delivers a perfect harmony of GVC Plus seamlessly reduces the need for torque distribution, suppressing wheel-spin by sending Mazda expanded the concept beyond the conventional form and function, designed to take mid-bend steering corrections, smoothes the motive power only to the wheels with grip to maxi- thinking to also include the driving position, informa- you places and reward all the sens- effect of G-forces to reduce body sway, and mize their driving force and get you smoothly back tion layout, visibility and driving dynamics. es. lowers stress and fatigue on long drives. in motion. Mazda engineers also developed the i-Activsense, Packing Mazdas i-Activ AWD four-wheel drive leaner, more efficient energy a suite of advanced safety technologies that includes The Mazda C-30 is equally at system not only supports a more stable, reas- Conventional internal combustion engines only Driver Monitoring, Front Cross Traffic Alert FCTA home as an easy-to-handle city car suring ride in almost any driving situation, it harness around 30 percent of the potential energy in and Cruising Traffic Support CTS to further en- or an out-and-out explorer in the also achieves real-world fuel economy close the fuel they consume the rest is wasted. So Mazda hance the drivers awareness of potential hazards. wilds. The C-30 adds Mazdas to that of a front-wheel drive vehicle. developed Skyactiv-G, a high-efficiency engine that Driver Monitorings infrared camera and LED unique driving pleasure to every- An overriding goal in the development compresses the air-fuel mixture to a much higher de- mounted in the centre display constantly check the thing you do. And its not just for of C-30s dynamic handling was to always gree than in conventional power-plants, squeezing far driver for drowsiness, inattention and fatigue. If the the driver the Mazda C-30 offers maintain a margin of grip in all four tyres more energy from every drop of fuel. This high com- system determines the situation is dangerous, it sounds the space and comfort to let loved regardless of road surface conditions. This pression ratio, unparalleled among mass production an alert and primes the Smart Brake Support SBS ones and friends truly relax and en- keeps the vehicle primed to handle slippery engines, delivers both sheer driving pleasure and out- system. To Page S4 joy the journey. road conditions as they occur, while also standing fuel economy. No matter what your familys needs, today or tomorrow, C-30 is the perfect partner designed around you to make daily life feel more natural and enjoyable. The cabin is a haven of relax- ing comfort. And this concept of relaxed, human-centric comfort carries over to the design of the luggage room, with enhanced practical- ity and generous capacity to satisfy most lifestyle requirements. The stylish looks and unbeatable ease of use combine to give you a rich and rewarding experience every day in everything you do. Bring some magic to every road you drive. Comfort in command Mazdas Skyactiv Vehicle Archi- tecture enables you to fully maintain your balance even inside the vehicle. With human characteristics as the overriding design directive for the seats, body and chassis as a whole, Skyactiv-Vehicle Architecture rea- lises ride comfort, handling stability and vehicle motion that perfectly matches human sensibilities and always feels familiar and natural to driver and passengers alike. Your driving position affects every interaction you have with the car. Its where driving pleasure be- gins, and its one more place where Mazda puts the focus on you to as- sure natural posture and ultimate ease of operation. Page S4 | November 26-December 02 2020 WILLOWVALE MOTOR INDUSTRIES MAZDA CX-30 LAUNCH SPECIAL FEATURE The Financial Gazette Introducing the Mazda CX-30

From Page S3 Smart Brake Support – Rear (SBS-R) rear-facing ul- Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS) employs trasonic sensor detects low obstacles behind the vehicle a forward-sensing camera to monitor lane markings on when reversing at speeds under 8 km/h. If the system de- the road ahead, constantly checking whether the vehicle termines the driver is unaware of the obstacle and judges is correctly centred in the lane. When unintentional lane that a collision is imminent, it applies the brakes to help departure is detected, LDWS warns the driver by vibrat- reduce collision damage ing the steering wheel or sounding an alert. The system Smart Brake Support – Rear Cross (SBS-RC) de- operates when the car is moving forwards at speeds tects vehicles approaching from the vehicle’s left and higher than approximately 60 km/h. right rear blind spots when reversing at speeds below 10 Cruising and Traffic Support CTS helps reduce kmh. If the system judges an impact is unavoidable, it driver fatigue and promote safe, comfortable driving ex- operates the brakes to mitigate potential collision dam- perience in traffic jams. When engaged, CTS automati- age. cally controls vehicle speed to keep a suitable distance Product availability from the vehicle ahead, and also assists with steering The Mazda CX-30 is available for you in four model torque to maintain proper lane position through bends. variants, all powered by a 2.0L Petrol engine, pumping Front Cross-Traffic Alert FCTA system uses front 121kW of power and mated with 6-Speed Automatic side radars to monitor and warn the driver of vehicles Transmission. You can choose between 2WD and 4WD approaching front left and right blind spots when enter- and also from three trim levels, the Entry Grade, Core ing a T-junction. The system operates at speeds up to Grade and the High Grade. Pre-order yours NOW from 10 km/h WMI or your favourite Mazda Dealer! The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page S5

FARMING SPECIAL FEATURE

Agriculture key to economic recovery OVERNMENT says the agriculture sector has of agricultural production, lack of collateral Establishing an agricultural revolving Partnerships; potential to drive economic growth and sustain- among 70 smallholder farmers, high transac- fund with appropriately structured lines of Implementing of smart subsidies Gable development. tion costs and limited affordable lines of cred- credit; Reviewing contract farming provisions to Zimbabwe’s new economic blueprint, the National it in the country. Promoting weather-based agriculture, in- become more binding and also include timely Development Strategy (NDS1), says the key to unlock- In order to increase access to affordable cluding the localisation of seasonal weather payments; and ing the potential is resolving the security of tenure on agriculture financing, the following strategies forecast and weather-based index insurance Establishing a stop-order system to the land in order to attract investment. will be implemented during the NDS1 period: mechanisms for smallholder farmers; strengthen and promote contract farming to “Further, measures will be put in place which will - Strengthening the use of Public- Private cover all crops and livestock create conditions for bankability of agricultural projects. Equally important will be restructuring of Agrib- ank into a Land Bank, and expansion of contract farming to other crops and livestock as well as strengthening existing contract farming arrangements,” the NDS1 document said. “Further, government will incentivise banks to lend to agriculture and persuade them to move away from the current practice where most banks are investing in non-productive short-term instruments. "In order to drought proof agriculture, irrigation rehabilitation and expansion, promotion and adoption of research that improves productivity of seed and animal varieties, upscaling of climate smart agriculture prac- tises such as Pfumvudza/Intwasa, and capacitation of extension services will be prioritised.” To improve predictability in the marketing of agricultural produce, the strategy under the NDS1 will be to operationalise the commodity exchange, supported by a well-functioning regulated warehouse receipt system. The NDS1 will focus on enhancing the resilience of social-ecological systems to be supported by continuous learning and experimentation. For agriculture, learning and experimentation through adaptive and collaborative management is key in building resilience. Access to agriculture finance remains key in unlocking the full potential of agriculture and strengthening the food supply system through facilitating the adoption of improved crop varieties and livestock breeds as well as the purchase of other inputs. The agricultural sector’s share of commercial lending has been gradually declining due to the inherent risk Almin continues to improve lives LMIN Metal Industries Limited (Almin) has continued to supply aluminium for architecture, irrigation Aand general engineering to Zimbabweans. The company, situated in Willowvale, has been a standing feature and part of our society since 1969. It has gone through the test of time and it is not only still standing today, but moving forward. "Looking back to 2017 when we took over from previous management, we will be honest that it has not been an easy road as we have been rebuilding, restructuring and recap- italising so that we can stand as one of the relevant solid businesses in Zimbabwe. We have come a long way, but we admit, we still have a way to go. "Opening our new branch along Cam Road in Graniteside will see us venturing into other new exciting developments as we introduce new products to our much appreciated customers. Very soon our valued customers will be able not only to purchase Aluminium products but also suspended ceilings and dry wall partitions to name a few. "Also in the pipeline is our much awaited Alusol range, which is a solar mounting system that will relieve our Zim- babwe Solar Suppliers from the cost and time it takes to import this material as now it will be available right here at their doorstep. "For our longstanding Architectural clients, we still continue to be innovative. Our target is to offer a good service to our customers and to meet their requirements, and we know that in these tough economic times, price is an important factor driving purchasing decisions. "That is why we are introducing the new Eco-klip range which has different lengths ie 4,4m, 5,9m and 6,4m. This is an attractive offer to our clients as the price will be cost effective, but we will maintain our well-known standard 6,5m Alu-klip range. All these innovations are geared to meet the needs of our wide range of customers", the company said. Page S6 | November 26-December 02 2020 FARMING SPECIAL FEATURE The Financial Gazette Rotary Club Harare eyes business linkages HE Rotary Club Harare Central will awareness of business opportunities within rates can get involved in include support for host an event aimed at bringing busi- Rotary family thereby giving all local mem- the countrywide wheel chair distribution proj- US$26,6 million boost Tnesses together and establish mutual- bers an opportunity to display and market their ect as well as other humanitarian projects the ly-beneficial relationships. businesses, goods/services to each other and club is involved in. Rotary is a global network of volunteer the public,” said Gomwe. The club, working with its international for smallholder farmers leaders from different professions all over the She said the Business Showcase is aimed partners, has donated over 1500 wheelchairs world who offer humanitarian service to the at encouraging and supporting each other in countrywide since 2017. IMBABWE has received a US26,6 million communities they live in. business. Gomwe said the membership of the “We seek partnerships with companies grant from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to Membership is over 1,2 million in over 200 Clubs was made up of people from various into logistics and transportation for moving Zrevive irrigation schemes, enhance water and countries worldwide. business back grounds hence there was need to the wheelchairs among other various poten- soil moisture management and water use efficiency, The Rotary Club of Harare Central is in- tap into this network to maximise on business tial synergies so this Business Showcase is the promote climate-resilient agriculture, improve access volved in a number of service projects aligned opportunities. best platform to build these relationships,” she to climate information and markets, and building part- to the areas of focus of Rotary International. “The Business Showcase is a platform for said. nerships with the public and private sectors. The Business Showcase 2020 is the first of the members of the 13 clubs within Harare to Business and individuals are expected The project will benefit 2,3 million rural small- its kind for the club and seeks to harness exist- fellowship and network and represents our to pay 10 for a table and can have as many holder farmers, mostly women in Masvingo, Mani- ing and potential business opportunities within leap of faith into building deeper synergies tables as they can to showcase their various caland and Matabeleland South. the Rotary family as well as other independent than those existing currently,” said Gomwe. products during the Showcase scheduled for Washington Zhakata, diecctor in the Ministry of entities. She said like-minded corporate entities are Saturday, November 28, 2020 at the Botanical Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality In- Rotary Harare Central Club president, welcome to showcase their products as well as Gardens. dustry, said the programme will be implemented with Sikhetile Gomwe said there was a lot of un- see how they can synchronise their Corporate All Covid-19 control measures will be ob- support from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Wa- tapped business opportunities within the Ro- Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives with served and in place. ter and Rural Resettlement and the United Nations tary membership and the showcase seeks to the humanitarian work undertaken by Rotary Funds raised from the event will go to- Development Programme (UNDP) in co-ordination unlock that potential and bring it to the fore. International. wards supporting service projects for the club. with the Climate Change Management Department “The aim of the showcase is to create She said some of the CSR work that corpo- CCMD. “We have received a grant of US$26,6 million from the Green Climate Fund with an objective aimed at strengthening the country's capacity to integrate climate change considerations into planning, design and implementation of development activities in agriculture and sustainable land management, forestry and energy sectors," he said. The project comes as a vital intervention to build smallholder farmers' resilience to shocks created by the climate crisis. Extreme events such as droughts, mid-season dry spells, floods and tropical storms cy- clones) have historically adversely affected the country. “By giving farmers the tools, training and information, they need to adapt farming practices and build resilience in face of the climate crisis, we are investing in: the economic and social future of our country; better early warning systems; ending poverty and hunger, and keeping temperature rises below 2 degrees Celsius as outlined in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change,” Zhakata said. He said the project focuses on scaling up climate resilient agricultural production, diversification and access to climate information and services to help smallholder farmers increase productivity, secure markets and build climate-resilient livelihoods that will improve the overall productivity of the agricultural sector. Zimbabwe is one of the 195 countries that submit- ted its intended Nationally Determined Contributions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Cli- mate Change. The fund is instrumental in the implementation of the United Nations' Interim Strategy Note for the country and supporting its economic blueprint towards the attainment of Vision 2030, which seeks to transform the country into an upper middle-class economy.

Natural Air to distribute new global brand WhirTrix

ATURAL Air, one of Zimbabwe’s leading air conditioning and refrigeration companies, has Nbeen appointed as a distributor for a new global brand, WhirTrix. This is part of Natural Air’s efforts to add to their range of leading brands offered. Natural Air is a proudly-Zimbabwean company that has been supplying and servicing the air-conditioning and refrigeration market, for both the residential and commercial sectors, for over a decade. Natural Air is already distributors of LG, TCL and Samsung air conditioners. This new deal with WhirTrix will enable it to broaden its product offering and value for its customers. Whir- Trix is based in China, and the company manufactures high-quality air conditioners as well as a range of up-market small appliances under the WhirTrix Home brand. WhirTrix specialises in air conditioners that are designed for markets, such as Zimbabwe, that have variable voltage parameters. “We are excited to team up with WhirTrix as their products are manufactured in some of the most technolog- ically-advanced factories ..,” said Patson Ndlovu, Natural Air sales director said. We are launching first with new WhirTrix Multi- Range Voltage Inverter which is a split-type air condition- er that we believe is ideal for the Zimbabwean market”. WhirTrix and Natural Air are working closely together to bring the market a product that is reliable, high performing and keeps customers cool this summer! The Financial Gazette FARMING SPECIAL FEATURE November 26-December 02 2020 | Page S7 Page S8 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette STOCKBROKERS FEATURE About Lynton-Edwards Stockbrokers YNTON-Edwards Stock- Financial Securities Exchange stock broking, qualified as a reg- Langton is also a licensed securi- brokers (Pvt) Limited n We execute Over the istered stockbroker in 2005 and ties dealer, licensed by the Secu- L(Lynton-Edwards)is one Counter trades was appointed director – Equities rities and Exchange Commission of the leading stockbroking firms Block trades Trading, a position he held until of Zimbabwe. in Zimbabwe, and a member of n We do counter-party he left to join Renaissance Stock He holds a Bachelor of Com- the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange searches for block deals broking (Pvt) Ltd (not Rencap) in merce BComm and a Masters (ZSE). We negotiate and execute 2008. in Business Administration De- Lynton-Edwards has provid- block trades on behalf of our cli- afa chera finance and gree (MBA) both from the Na- ed personalised and professional ents admin manager tional University of Science and services since the firms inception Deal structuring Murray Lynton-Edwards Onard Mazorodze Wafa has been with the firm Technology and is an associate in 2004, and has since established nWe pride ourselves in our since inception. Having worked of the Institute of Bankers and itself as one of the bigger stock- unique ability to structure deals n Post trading, our dealers cABC. He then established his at Deloitte and Touché and ABC a member of the South African broking companies on the market. and provide advisory services for always try to give an indication of own business, Lynton-Edwards Stockbrokers prior to joining Institute of Financial Markets. The firm has transacted for, corporate actions market colour, including updates Stockbrokers (Pvt) Ltd in 2004. Lynton-Edwards, Wafa has over Langton has over 14 years stock- and assisted a number of world- Transaction Sponsor on deals that have been concluded He has been involved in the run- 12 years of experience in the in- broking experience at the highest class companies, and currently n We provide transaction and those still outstanding ning of the ZSE and has occupied dustry. level. has a diverse client base made sponsor services on listing, cor- Team members numerous positions on the ZSE Jeniffer Zindere - accounts Rumbidzayi Sengu - Re- up of both local and international porate restructuring, mergers and Murray Lynton-Edwards - committee during his career. administrator and compliance search and sales investors. acquisitions and corporate actions executive director Onard Mazorodze - manag- officer Rumbidzayi holds a Bachelor The firm is committed to both on the equity and debt mar- Murray Lynton-Edwards, the ing director Jeniffer has worked at Lyn- of Commerce Honours Degree in Zimbabwe and its economy, and kets companys founder and princi- Onard started his career as ton-Edwards since 2008. Having Finance (1st Class) from the Na- strives to play a significant role Research pal stockbroker, gained his stock a banker with Barclays Bank studied a Bachelor of Account- tional University of Science and in the investing community by n We have a functional re- broking license in 1995, while of Zimbabwe in 1989. He rose ing at Africa University, Jeniffer Technology. She joined the firm improving the quality of service search department to provide tai- employed by Sagit Stockbrokers. through the ranks to become an completed her Articles of Clerk- in 2018 and has risen through offered to investors on the ZSE. lored research of specific count- In March 1997, he co-founded assistant branch manager, a posi- ship with Ernst and Young before the ranks to be part of the dealing Execution ers, sectors and industries Bard Stockbrokers and worked tion which he held when he left to joining the company. team. n We execute trades on the n We also provide timely as the director responsible for join the then Edwards and Com- Langton Nyatsanza - stock- Rumbidzayi is currently a ZSE on behalf of individual and market updates and commentar- dealing until June 2001, when pany in 1994, which later changed broker Level 2 candidate in the CFA pro- institutional clients ies he sold his shareholding to Ban- to Fleming Martin Edwards (now Langton is a registered stock- gramme. n We execute trades on the Market updates Imara). He covered all aspects of broker and a member of the ZSE. The Financial Gazette STOCKBROKERS SPECIAL FEATURE November 26-December 02 2020 | Page S9 Omsec: Achieving success through service excellence

LD Mutual Securities (Pvt) Ltd (Omsec) was formed in 2010 and has since grown to be a formidable player in the securities market Oin Zimbabwe, due to the company’s commitment to Econet remains relevant: Omsec achieving success for itself and its clients through CONET Wireless Zimbabwe remains es and other economic headwinds. tional costs as the company required over three excellence, service and teamwork. relevant in the provision of services that The firm said the consumer sector is expected million litres of diesel to operate optimally Omsec is a member of the Zimbabwe Stock Ex- Ecapitalise on the infrastructure they have to be the first to recover from the current eco- during the peak of load shedding. Going for- change (ZSE). Its client base includes institutions developed, Old Mutual Securities (Omsec) has nomic slowdown that has been precipitated by ward we expect the margin contribution from and high net-worth individuals, and it is able to said. a liquidity deficit, hyperinflation and Covid-19. data and overlay services to recover as the service these discerning clients due to the stringent In an analysis of the mobile operators fi- “Econet has taken the initiative by adopting economies of scale on invested infrastructure trading and service guidelines under which it oper- nancial results Omsec said Econet remains a and adapting technological advancements as it begin to yield benefits from the growth in the ates. mobile telecommunications company but it has continues to expand its product portfolio in line number of transactions and upward price re- Trading and service guidelines: diversified its revenue generating capability with available technology and in most cases be- views of the company’s products,” Omsec said. Sell and buy orders to be executed within a rea- which now incorporates data and other overlay ing the first to bring innovative products to the Operating margin compression in the current sonable period. services. market,” Omsec said. year arose from the overlay business’ increased Adhere to clients specified limits. “The advantage of this is that with techno- Omsec said it should be noted that the diver- costs but should improve going forward. logical advancement enabling movement away sification of revenues has had a positive impact Electronic distribution of price sheets and re- The major factor behind the fall in the firms from voice, Econet remains relevant in the in terms of defending revenue base on the one return on capital employed (ROE) has been an search output to clients timeously. provision of services that capitalise on the in- hand whilst altering the firms profit margin increase in operational costs. Provide quality and consistent research. frastructure they have developed,” Omsec said. level on the other. The main contributor being the acute power Attend to queries timeously. The securities firm said Econets advantage Despite the revenue increase from this disruptions that forced the company to switch Meet clients as and when requested. is that with technological advancement en- business segment, profitability dropped from to diesel power which is very expensive and Licensed market maker for the OM-ZSE Top 10 abling movement away from voice, Econet has 11,36 million in full year 2019 to a negative unsustainable. ETF continued to generate strong cash flows despite 999,92 million in the current period. The ROE has performed in sympathy with Ethical guidelines the economy suffering from liquidity challeng- “This was underpinned by increased opera- the ROCE as it declined to 2,4 percent. Client confidentiality must be respected at all times by all staff, that is, client orders and trades to remain strictly confidential. Professionalism is insisted upon at all times, that is, no front running or shorting. Ethical behavior is insisted upon at all times.

Corporate Status: Subsidiary of Old Mutual Zim- babwe Limited Bankers: CABS,First Street Branch, Harare, Zim- babwe CBZ, Samora Machel, Harare, Zimbabwe Stanbic Bank, Park Lane Branch, Harare, Zimba- bwe Lawyers: Old Mutual Zimbabwe Limited Legal Department Auditors: KPMG Client Base: Institutions and High Net-Worth In- dividuals Team members Reggies Mtambo (Registered Stockbroker) chief dealer Reggies holds a BComm Finance (Hons) Degree from the National University of Science and Tech- nology (NUST) in Zimbabwe. Reggies is studying towards an SMBA with NUST and is registered (RPE) with the South Africa Institute of Financial Markets (SAIFM). Reggies is a registered authorised dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZ). He joined Old Mutual Securi- ties from Imara Edwards Securities where he worked as an equities dealer from 2002 to June 2010. He has experience as a back-office manager with a local stockbroking firm. As principal broker, he is responsible for leading the dealing team and driving the companys client acquisition and retention strategy. Tevian Chauraya (authorised dealer) Tevian has a BSc. Honours degree in Statistics from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ). She joined Old Mutual Securities from FBC Securities where she worked as chief equities dealer from 2005 to March 2010. She has experience as a back-office manager with a local stockbroking firm. She is a registered authorized dealer with the Securities and Ex- change Commission Zimbabwe (SECZ). As dealer, she is responsible for order execution and growing the client base. Trevor Mhlophe (investment analyst) Trevor holds a Bachelor of Business Studies Hon- ours degree in Finance and Banking from the Uni- versity of Zimbabwe (UZ). He transferred to Old Mutual Securities from CABS in 2020. As an investment analyst, he is responsible for producing and disseminating quality research to clients. He is also responsible for generating in-house Buy and Sell recommendations. Tofarasei Mamvundwi (back office administrator) Tofarasei has a Bachelor of Business Studies Hon- ors degree in Finance and Banking from the Uni- versity of Zimbabwe (UZ). Tofarasei is highly experienced having recently worked for Green Mining Capital as a finance executive. He also worked for a local stockbroking firm as an equities dealer from 2007 to September 2010. Prior to that, he worked for a local stockbroking firm as a back-office administrator from 2005 to February 2007. He is responsible for the back-office functions of the company. Sponsoring Broker Transactions: RioZim, PGI, Interfresh, Willdale, OM-ZSE Top 10 ETF Research Output: ZSE daily price-sheet Morning note Weekly and monthly foreign trades report Quarterly Digest Company reports Page S10 | November 26-December 02 2020 STOCKBROKERS SPECIAL FEATURE The Financial Gazette WealthAccess: Stockbroker of choice AVING commenced operations in January 2020, Research services Fidelis Chimhuka: Managing Director WealthAccess intends to grow its market share WealthAccess offers tailor-made research solutions Fidelis worked for several stock brok- Hthrough the wide network of its management’s and information management requirements for its clients. ing firms over a 16-year period after hav- many years of experience. The firm is focused on deliver- The aim of our research unit is to become a one-stop in- ing started his career as a dealer at Rapid ing consistent quality service to its clients. formation data bank for the investing public. Stockbrokers in 2003. He accumulated The company offers an efficient platform for individu- Some of the reports available from WealthAccess Re- vast experience in equities dealing, scrip al and institutional investors to execute their trades in the search Team’s wide array of offerings include: management and equities research before following products: The Weekly Report, is produced weekly with infor- assuming the position of stockbroker Zimbabwe Stock Exchange listed stocks mation on financial markets performance, company news, with FBC Securities in 2006. He joined BondsTreasury Bills forex markets, international equities markets, commod- NDH Equities Pvt. Ltd in April 2009 and Trading on Financial Securities Exchange Finsec ities markets, market outlook, stock picks and trading was part of the Platinum Securities for 10 Trading on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange strategy. years following the acquisition of NDH Advisory services Tailor-made Research Note, this is an ad-hoc report Equities by new shareholders. At Plat- inum Securities, he was the lead broker The firm is made up of a team of experts who have, on company results, policy statements, analyst briefings in various transactions on the Zimbabwe over the years, actively participated in the advisory mar- and Annual General Meetings. Company valuations and Stock Exchange. He joined WealthAc- ket through the following services: investment advice is also offered in the report. Such re- cess Securities in January 2020 as the Sponsoring Broker Services ports may be produced for specific client needs. founding principal broker and managing director. Fidelis is a holder of a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree in Finance Profiles of WealthAccess team members and Msc Banking and Financial Econom- ics from National University of Science Njabulo Siso Obvious Khumalo: Research analyst and Technology. Fidelis is a registered Sibanda: Director/ Obvious is a holder of a Bachelor of stockbroker and a member of the ZSE. Stock Broker Commerce Honours Degree in Banking Njabulo has over and Investments Management from Na- eight years experience tional University of Science and Technolo- Don Masayiti: in the stock broking in- gy. He was among the first participants who Executive Director / Stockbroker dustry and is responsi- took part in the CFA Research Challenge Don's exposure to the capital markets ble for compliance and Competition and were crowned the local spans over 18 years having begun his information technology champions of the event. They qualified for career as a sell side analyst with King- at WealthAccess Secu- the regional finals of the competitions held dom Stockbrokers in 1999. In 2002, he rities. Njabulo is a reg- in Zurich Switzerland in April 2019. He joined Sagit Stockbrokers as a sell side istered member of the has also participated in the C-Trade pilot senior analyst responsible for investment ZSE. Prior to him join- test. He also had an opportunity of work- research and advisory up until 2005. He ing WealthAccess Secu- ing for Deposit Protection Corporation then changed his career path and moved rities he worked for First (DPC) as a risk analyst intern in the Busi- into trading, a position he held up to Securities (Pvt) Ltd and ness Operations Research. Obvious Joined mid-2007. Don joined Platinum Secu- Bethel Equities (Pvt) WealthAccess Securities (Private) Limited rities formerly NDH Equities in 2007 Ltd. He holds a BBA in October 2020 as an equities research an- and spent close to ten years in research, Finance Degree and alyst. Currently he is studying for his CFA advisory and trading before joining First SAIFM qualifications. qualification. Securities at its inception in April 2018 as an executive director. Currently he is a founding director of WealthAccess Secu- rities which opened its doors to the public in January 2020. Don is a sine metu product, a NUST graduate and holds an Executive Certificate in Investments and Portfolio Management.

Pastina Musame: Accountant / Company Secretary Pastina is a holder of Certiﬁcate in the- ory of Accounting (CTA) and a Bachelor of Business Administration majoring in Accounting from Solusi University. She completed the required articles of clerk- ship at AMG Global Chartered Accoun- tants Zimbabwe in 2018. She has more than four years audit experience. Her background in audit includes, separate, multinational and group audits reporting under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Pub- lic-Sector Standards (IPSAS) while applying the International Standards of Au- diting (ISAs) and assisting clients with relevant laws including corporate governance and tax statues. Pastina joined First Securities (Private) Limited in February 2019 as the accountant and administrator, a position she held until she joined WealthAccess Securities as its accountant and company secretary in January

Thomas Makanyire: Assistant Administrator ac fﬁce ssistant Thomas holds Bachelor of Economics Honors Degree from Midlands State Uni- versity which he completed in 2017. He worked as graduate trainee for both Plati- num Securities (Pvt) Ltd and Platinum Investment Manag- ers (Pvt) Ltd for two years. During that period, he gained vast of experience in the back-ofﬁce department for both companies. He joined WealthAccess Securities Pvt Lt in January 2020. The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page S11

FIRST LADY PHILANTHROPIC WORK SPECIAL FEATURE

First Lady applauded for uplifting women

OMEN who recently exhibited at the Zim- which affected their health and was undigni- for me. But ever since I started using my planes, but because of using my hands, I ex- babwe Agricultural Show in Harare have fied. She described the First Ladys empower- hands, I can now afford a decent living and pect to visit all countries representing Zimba- Wpraised the First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa ment programmes as beneficial. sending my children to school. Were it not for bwe and the womenfolk.” for her interventions in the community through various I see this programme as beneficial be- Covid-19, I was among those who had been So charmed was Masvingise-Godzongere projects. cause I am among those who struggled to get selected to attend the Dubai 2020 which is that she said she was now ploughing back into The women said the First Lady and her Angel of shelter, food, clothing,” she said. something new for me to fly out of the coun- the community through teaching other women Hope Foundation has brought in bringing change in the “Things were generally not going on well try. I did not have opportunities to board about the importance of using their hands. lives of many women across the political and social di- vide. “We are a group of 13 women who formed a co- operative called New Ideas,” said a member Rejoice Maketo. “We were encouraged when we heard Amai saying for women to succeed, they should use their hands and work hard. Amai Mnangagwa gave us the opportunity to make our own products after she had trained several women through her foundation. She has been going around the country telling women that it is possible to earn a living through self-help projects.” Maketo said she was grateful for the First Lady’s interventions, which made her and members of the group and other women countrywide learn about the Women’s Bank, which assists women with finances in addition to expert advice on cash management and how to run their business ventures. She said they had embraced the bank and were willing to work with it for the success of their programmes. “The loan we are going to get from the Women’s Bank will enable us to continue with our works,” said Maketo. “She was happy with the encouragement she gave us and the products we produced that include detergents, petroleum jelly, lotions, juices and peanut butter, among other products. She is encouraging every woman and I urge those who are at home doing nothing to come on board. “The First Lady is encouraging us to forge ahead as women with the aim of empowering the womenfolk. As New Ideas, we followed her wise counsel and did as she had advised. We are fulfilling Amais vision to uplift women.” Caroline Masvingise-Godzongere of Picmost Col- lection, which specialises in macrame products, shared a similar tale and expressed gratitude to the First Lady. “I wish to thank the First Lady for the programmes she is rolling out for women countrywide,” she said. “She is encouraging every woman to use her hands whether or not one is formally employed. There are some people who work, but they do not get enough, so if they use their hands they can improve their income. I make cram hand products which do not require machinery. I make beads, bed runners and table mats, cushion covers, travelling bags and decorating bottles, among others. I would like to express my gratitude.” Masvingise-Godzongere said her wish was to make other young women see the light and shun prostitution

First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa Page S12 | November 26-December 02 2020 FIRST LADY PHILANTHROPIC WORK SPECIAL FEATURE The Financial Gazette Feeding scheme for urban children IRST Lady Auxillia Mnangag- these children and all women in the com- wa has said children in urban munity to continue with this initiative. It Fareas deserve to benefit from the should not end here today which is why ongoing nationwide school feeding we have made you to be part of the feeding programmes since food challenges programme,” she said. brought by successive droughts affect- The Angel of Hope Foundations patron ed the whole country. encouraged those in business to donate to- In her recent visit in Bulawayo, wards the worthy cause for the benefit of the First Lady said it was her role to children in the communities in which they ensure that children were well-nour- operate. ished. “We hope to have a mini granary to “We all know that the government stock the ingredients where the mothers can is doing all in its capacity to assist peo- take whatever is needed in preparing a meal ple in both rural and urban areas. As for the young ones. a mother and on behalf of my Angel “Please support this initiative in our of Hope Foundation, food prepared quest to fight hunger in schools, thereby by a mother soothes and is satisfying. creating a conducive learning environ- A mother’s presence in all processes ment,” she said. makes things flow in a positive direc- The First Lady expressed hope that the tion,” she said. irst ady xillia nangagwa says children in ran areas will also enefit from the ongoing nationwide school feeding programme should be con- “I am not leaving behind children school feeding programmes tinued and said it was her wish that all chil- in urban areas because hunger affects dren in the country were well fed and ready everyone despite their physical loca- she fed, among many other pupils, Si- live in a safe and clean environment inadequate, specific deficiencies are more to learn and further donated maize seed, tion. Diseases are not selective; they busiso Ncube who is epileptic and has and should have a fair chance in life. likely in the face of inadequate dietary in- grain, maize meal, rice and cooking oil to affect all the children. As a mother, cerebral palsy. It is unfortunate that Zimbabwe take. Nutritionally disadvantaged children schools for continuity of the programme. I will work hard to ensure that I will “May God be with her. I have nev- has experienced huge devastating suffer more frequently from health prob- She further reminded the nation not to satisfy their nutritional requirements er seen such kind of a woman who problems that have seen her fighting lems such as anaemia, weight loss, colds lose guard and closely follow World Health irrespective of where they live. leaves the comfort of her home to hard to cover many areas that need and many infections. Intake of insufficient Organisation guidelines to keep corona- The First Lady is the country’s bring cheer to the vulnerable and en- urgent intervention. We are in a con- food is associated with impaired growth virus at bay. Bulawayo Provincial Affairs health ambassador with a passion for sure their needs are catered for, said a tinued drought, we were also affect- and mental development,” she said. Minister Judith Ncube praised the First the welfare of children, women and woman whose visually-impaired child ed by Cyclone Idai and now we are In schools, the First Lady observed, nu- Lady for her vision in rolling out the school other vulnerable groups. was also fed by the First Lady. in Covid-19, not forgetting that the tritionally disadvantaged children had been feeding programme. Her intervention with the school In her address, the First Lady said sanctions given to Zimbabwe for the shown to have higher rates of absence and “Mama, we welcome you to our prov- feeding programme, which she em- there were 17 Sustainable Develop- past two decades have heightened our learning impairment compared with their ince. The school feeding programme will phasises was meant to complement ment Goals that were interlinked and plight as a country,” she said. peers. go a long way in boosting the health of ongoing government efforts, has been designed to be a blueprint to achieve a The First Lady said the country Adverse effects in psychosocial func- our learners. It will also boost the school an instant hit in Mashonaland East, better life for children. could not grow its economy if it did tioning are normally seen in children who attendance rate because a healthy mind is Manicaland and Matabeleland South The overarching areas are five not export its products to other coun- experience chronic hunger and these chil- an alert mind. We are assured of improved and North. which mainly state that every child tries and this had seen families failing dren lose concentration and it affects their pass rate and attendance rate,” she said. Plans are afoot to spread it to all survives and thrives and should be to buy food necessary to provide a bal- social interaction with others. I am comple- “Surveys show that there is hunger provinces countrywide. protected from violence and any form anced and adequate diet for the family. menting efforts by Government in feeding in Bulawayo with some households only It was an emotional moment when of exploitation. Every child should If overall nutritional intake is our children in schools.” managing one meal a day. The First Lady implored the people of Where there is no food in the home, Bulawayo to embrace Pfumvudza which its the mother and children who suffer a lot guaranteed food self-sufficiency at house- especially pregnant and lactating mothers. hold level. This programme is commendable and as We are now in the time of Pfumvud- the health sector we welcome this initia- za, let us not plant our maize once a year, tive,” she said. but wherever there is access to water in There were representatives from the order to make sure that our families never Ministry of Womens Affairs, Community, go hungry. Community gardens should be Small and Medium Enterprises Develop- resuscitated so that our children can have ment and the Women’s Bank who taught nourishing food straight from the garden. the women on financial literacy and in- I would like to implore the mothers of come-generating projects.

lans are nderway to spread the feeding scheme to all proinces in the contry

he irst ady has a passion for the welfare of children The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page S13 Page S14 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette

Leading Engineering & Construction Companies in Zimbabwe

BAW for all electrical and mechanical solutions

OTTON Armature Winding (BAW) cal repair service of rotating machines and IS09001:2008 standard for quality manage- Provide customers with back up services at has been in operation in Zimbabwe transformers is the very essence of BAW. ment systems. In implementing total quali- affordable rates on site since 1968 and has branches in Ha- The company provides value for money ty management, BAW strives to: Continuously improve quality management B rare and Bulawayo. Since its inception, the electrical and mechanical solutions, servic- Satisfy and even surpass the custom- system at all levels in the organisation company has grown to become a regional ing lectric motors, transformers and gener- er’s needs in repair work and services pro- Continue to upgrade repair work standards so leader in repair and rewind of transformers ators for mining, agriculture, power gener- vided as to achieve and maintain a good reputation of con- and electric motors. ation markets and other industries. Provide customers with a service of stant quality products and services in the regional The provision of high-quality electri- The organisation is accredited to high quality and competitive prices markets Comply with all relevant requirements, legal, regulatory or any such statutory Continuously review policies for sustainabili- ty and effectiveness The Financial Gazette LEADING ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES SPECIAL FEATURE November 26-December 02 2020 | Page S15 Tencraft: The construction industry leaders

ENCRAFTConstruction (Tencraft) is a wholly-owned Zimbabwean company that T focuses on hot asphalt production, asphalt paving as well as other road surfacing capabilities to general civil engineering construction. Established in 2006, the company has made substantial growth in size and capabilities with a varied compliment of skills and equipment. Tencraft does a lot of land servicing, road construction and rehabilitation, periodic and routine maintenance as well as concrete works construction in all its different forms ranging from small drain- age structures to major structures. Additionally, the firm executes different engineering activities for the mining sector as well as the building industry. Tencraft is active in the optic fibre provision at both small scale to large network development. The diverse plant and equipment is also available for private hire by the rest of the industry and clients.

Grader

Excavator

Water bowser

10m3 Tippers Page S16 | November 26-December 02 2020 SPECIAL FEATURE The Financial Gazette Stanbic donates US$34k sun protection products

TANBIC Bank has donated sun protection as the economic and social challenges some face daily. The products worth US$34 000 to the Albino bank is all too aware that some are ostracised and stigmatised Charity Organisation of Zimbabwe (Al- over and above the fact that the sun protection products are coz as part of its annual Corporate Social priced well beyond the reach of many,” said Mugavha. SInvestment CSI contribution towards the wel- Albinism is a rare, non-contagious, genetically inherited fare of people living with albinism. condition which occurs worldwide regardless of ethnicity or The financial services institution handed over gender. It commonly results in the lack of melanin in the hair, 1 000 units of sunscreen lotions; 1 000 units of skin, and eyes, causing vulnerability to sun exposure. antibacterial soap; 1 000 units of antiseptic liquid, He said while this donation is now a fixed calendar event 1 000 units of lip balm and 1 000 sunhats, as well for the bank, this year’s contribution is even more essential as spectacles for 12 beneficiaries. as it is coming against a background of the coronavirus pan- This years donation marks the fifth consecu- demic which has worsened an already challenging economic tive year that the bank has assisted Alcoz as the situation. financial services institution continues to play its “The prevailing economic environment coupled with the part in cushioning people living with albinism menacing covid-19 pandemic, which has eroded people’s in- against the weather elements, particularly the sun. come and revenue streams, has moved Stanbic Bank to stand Stanbic Bank head of marketing and com- in that financial gap and support Alcoz and its members with munications, Palmer Mugavha, said the plight these products,” added Mugavha. of people living with albinism is often taken for People living with albinism need protection from the granted as most people are yet to fully appreciate tanic an mareting and commnications officer lic Relations, atherine enga ac harmful effects of the sun owing to the lack of melanin in the consequences of exposing their skin to the sun row left, and eents and staeholder relations manager, cy lodlo front row right flan their skin which serves as a shield from the sun. They rely in addition to other challenges they face. lco memers shortly after handing oer an assortment of sn protection eipment at the on sunscreens lotions, special oils and lip balm for protection “As Stanbic Bank we fully appreciate the vul- organisations ase in hitngwia from the sun. nerability of people living with albinism as well Last year, Stanbic partnered Zimplats in the mining company’s “Beyond the Skin” initiative and purchased spectacles for individuals and groups identified by Zimplats. Beyond the Skin’s focus is also to support people living with albinism. The partnership saw 27 people living with albinism from Binga, Hwange and Lupane districts in Matabeleland North Province receiving spectacles and sunscreen lotions. “In terms of the acquisition of spectacles, we have worked with the same partners we worked with last year. Therefore, we would like to thank Zimplats for arranging for the beneficiaries of spectacles to get their eyes screened before we could make the necessary purchases. We also appreciate Optinova’s assistance by providing discounted rates for all the eyewear we purchase for this cause. Such partnerships help in creating greater impact and we are truly grateful”, Mugavha added. Alcoz founder and director Loveness Mainato, wel- comed the donations saying Stanbic Bank was proving to be an “all-weather friend” especially during this covid-19 pandemic era. Mainato said the organisation has not been spared by the effects of the skewed economic environment worsened by covid-19, and Alcoz knew that support from its various do- nors would be difficult this year as many businesses were not performing well. “We are deeply touched by Stanbic Bank’s gesture amid this Covid-19 period. We were thrilled beyond measure when we were told that Stanbic is ready to assist us as they have been doing for the last four years. "The heat has been overwhelming and it makes us worry that our children might end up with skin cancers. This donation has indeed come at a serious point of need. Many thanks to Stanbic Bank and their partners,” said Mainato. Standard Bank in drive to link African clients with export opportunities TANBIC Bank’s parent company, Standard Bank is hosting digital matchmaking events which connect Af- Srican exporters with Chinese importers, to complement its physical participation at the China International Import Expo CIIE in Shanghai. African clients from across the continent will be virtually “matched” for discussion on opportunities with potential Chinese buyers who are interested in importing African products. These buyers or importers are clients of Standard Bank’s strategic partner, the Industrial Commercial Bank of China ICBC. The digital event comes in response to challenges brought about by the covid-19 pandemic. Digital matchmaking fo- rums also allow African exporters to participate in the activities of the import-led trade show without having to be there physically. Standard Bank has participated in the CIIE since its inception in 2018, as it looks to grow trade and investment relationships between Africa and China. Philip Myburgh, head of Africa China Banking at Stan- dard Bank said the third CIIE arrives at a time when the facilitation of trade is crucial to offsetting the economic consequences of Covid-19. It is critical that we find new ways of connecting our customers to the markets that hold potential for African businesses to expand and grow. “Covid-19 has created opportunities on both fronts. Af- rican businesses are looking for opportunities to diversify and make up for losses experienced during the year. At the same time, Chinese importers are considering new markets to source products from amid geopolitical uncertainty. Many Chinese buyers are even looking at entering extended com- mitments over one or five years as opposed to agreeing to a single deal,” he said. Standard Bank has received increased interest from its African client businesses who want to access China, and from those who are already exporting to the Asian country. Page 19 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette Column Covid-19 and the consumer wallet UESDAYS and Thursdays are crucial days Our conclusion is that the global economy is un- for foodies and pizza-lovers in Zimbabwe as likely to return to pre-pandemic levels until end of T there is the ongoing “buy one and get one free 2021. offer” — which is a promotion by Pizza Inn known We also assert that spending will remain restrict- as Terrific Tuesday/Thursday. ed as price-conscious consumers will prioritise Pizza Inn is one of the flagship businesses of Sim- spending on staples. bisa Brands which is a quick service restaurant group Big-ticket items as well as clothing and out-of- with an established pan-African footprint. home recreation will continue to struggle. Pre-Covid, the common feature at most Pizza Inn Based on this prognosis, consumer companies outlets would be long and winding queues as hordes that focus on defensive goods and essentials such a of customers waited for their pizza orders. food and alcohol are likely to be the winners in 2020 However, the dynamics might have changed. and 2021. A report by the Economist Intelligence Unit titled These include Delta, Econet (data is now an es- “Worldwide Cost of Living 2020 - How is Covid-19 sential), Innscor, OK Zimbabwe, Meikles (TM Pick affecting the prices of consumer goods?” has some n Pay) and Dairibord. interesting insights. This supports our BUY calls on these counters. The report states that the Economist Intelligence atsia is head of research at organ o, Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) index, and founder of piggybankadvisor.com. He can be which reports the prices of 138 goods and services reached on +263 78 358 4745 or batanai@morgan- in about 130 major cities as at September 2020, has Breakdown of Gumbo’s monthly income ($18 750/USD188). Source: Morgan & Co Research zim.com / [email protected] risen by just 0,3 points on average over the past year. According the WCOL survey, most prices for consumer goods and services have remained flat over the past year in the world’s major cities. However, the pandemic has impacted consumer goods categories differently. With many shops closed during lockdowns, the prices of essential products have been more resilient than those of non-essential goods, while prices for products that appeal as impulse purchases have been hard-hit.

Economics & Market Intelligence with BATANAI MATSIKA

What consumers see as essential has also shifted. Low demand has had a particular impact on clothing prices, for example. Alcohol prices have exhibited an upward trend, with prices of local beers holding up better than those for the top brands. While bars are shut in many cities, overall demand remains strong. All in all, many countries have seen a sharp fall in disposable incomes, despite government support. Consumers have responded by increasing precautionary savings and slashing spending. These global trends are not very different from what we have witnessed in Zimbabwe given that consumers have become more price-conscious and are opting for cheaper products. As part of our analysis, we looked at Tonderai Gumbo, a 35-year old Zimbabwean male employed at a local construction company but with no college degree. He is a family man and has five children. We have assumed that Gumbo’s earnings are at the poverty datum line (PDL). We note that Zimba- bwe’s PDL for a family of 5 increased by 4,4 percent to ZWL18,750 in October 2020 as the cost of living moved in line with inflation. The PDL is the minimum amount of money that a family requires for food and other essential requirements for them not to be deemed poor. The infographic above depicts Gumbo’s monthly budget. Our research points to the fact that a significant portion of household income is being directed towards essentials such a food and rentals (60 percent), debt repayments (mostly micro-finance debt) takes up to 20 percent while transport costs take 15 percent. There are strong signs that savings are minimal or non-existent given the low disposable incomes. Ex- penditure towards insurance also remains very low as supported by the insurance penetration rate numbers that are well below 10 percent in Zimbabwe. It should also be highlighted that the continued rise in the cost of living in Zimbabwe has come against low wages and salaries especially at a time companies continue to battle for survival after the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 20 Companies Nedbank Zimbabwe: Banking sector runner-up 2020 Farai Gwaka on a worldwide basis for the benefit of its clients. This has made it one of the leading banks for EDBANK Zimbabwe Limited international banking and trade finance. (Nedbank Zimbabwe) has over the Financial performance 2019 Nyears remained a consistent performer Nedbank’s net interest income was up 172 percent anchored by its strong corporate governance from $22.5 million in prior year to $61.2 million as structures and conservative banking approach. at December 31, 2019. Non-interest income was up 1 Nedbank Zimbabwe was established in 080 percent from $25.3 million in prior year to $298.9 July 2004 after changing from Zimbabwe’s million in 2019. oldest merchant bank, Merchant Bank of The bank’s total income grew by 653 percent from Central Africa Limited (MBCA), which was $47.8 million in prior year to $360 million in 2019. incorporated on July 31, 1956. Nedbanks profits after tax increased by 924 percent Nedbank Zimbabwe is part of Nedbank from $14.3 million in prior year to $146.8 million in Africa Regions which has operations in 2019. Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe The bank’s cost to income ratio improved from 70 and operates representative offices in Kenya percent in 2018 to 59.2 percent in 2019. and Angola. Return on capital for the bank improved from 19.89 The bank’s strong global networks has percent in prior year to 53.6 percent in 2019, while return enabled it to access high level technical on total assets improved from 5.86 percent in prior year expertise and sources of competitive finance to 11.34 percent in 2019. Balance Sheet – Nedbank’s loans and advances grew by 285 percent from $117 million in prior year to $450 million in 2019, whilst total deposits grew by 497 percent from $343.7 million in prior year to $2 billion in 2019. The bank’s customer centric strategy and strong brand has contributed immensely to growth in total deposits. Nedbank’s loans to deposits ratio decreased from 34 percent in 2018 to 22 percent in 2019, mainly driven by the growth in total deposits relative to loans and advances. The bank’s non-performing loans improved from 10.6 percent in prior year to 0.23 percent in 2019, whilst its non-performing loans to capital ratio also improved from 17.21 percent in prior year to 0.38 percent in 2019. Liquidity – Nedbank’s cash to total deposits ratio improved from 23 percent in 2018 to 80 percent in 2019, driven by a 640 percent growth in demand deposits to $1.8 billion and a 158 percent growth in term deposits to $210 million in 2019. The bank’s liquid asset ratio also improved from 81 percent in 2018 to 88 percent in 2019. Capital Position – Nedbank’s tier 1 capital grew by 180 percent from $63.5 million in 2018 to $178 million as at December 31, 2019. The bank’s total regulatory capital grew by 280 percent from $72 million in prior year to $274 million in 2019.

Nedbank’s regulatory capital ratio and tier 1 capital ratio both decreased from 29.4 percent and 26 percent in prior year to 21 percent and 13.7 percent in 2019, respectively, due to mainly the growth in risk weighed assets relative to capital. Qualitative attributes We assessed the performance of Nedbank Zimbabwe on ﬁve key qualitative metrics, namely corporate governance, social responsibility, management quality, disclosure and shareholder backing. Qualitative attributes had a weight of 30 percent in the overall banking sector rankings. Nedbank Zimbabwe was ranked overall 3rd position from a qualitative perspective, within the banking sector. Community involvement Nedbank Zimbabwe is very active in the community and has supported the following projects over the last recent years, to name a few: Matthew Rusike, a home for disadvantaged and orphaned children from the Epworth community. SODA, a home for abandoned and destitute elderly in the community. With Love Foundation, which works with underprivileged girls and women. Tariro Organisation, a psychiatric home which caters for individuals whose mental health is affected due to various causes. Khayelihle Children’s Home for underprivileged and orphaned children. Winning qualities The bank, despite being relatively small continues to punch above its weight in terms of key performance metrics. From a qualitative perspective, the bank was ranked overall 4th for 2019. Against this background, we strongly believe that Nedbank Zimbabwe was a deserving 1st runner-up winner in the 2020 Top Company Survey Banking Sector Awards. Page 21 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette Column Is internal marketing slowly being forgotten? ANY organisations have their focus on It may be helpful to appoint "champi- to help position and grow your business. engagements will provide a consistent tw- external marketing. Plans and budgets are ons" to live the brand values and embed The opportunity to take part in deci- way communication, where leaders can M made all in the name of external market- them through the organisation. sions not only helps employees to feel trial and pitch their ideas to staff before ing, yet there seems to be very little being done on These individuals will be typically valued, but also gives business leaders the disseminating to them. the internal marketing side. drawn from all departments and work to chance to hear what they think, and yet in It is however, important to embrace an Are companies slowly losing the important fo- keep the rest of the employees on past, most cases, a company's mission is often honest and open culture because it is of no cus on internal communications, to reinforce values present and future marketing campaigns. decided by the senior team without some use to test ideas on someone who will not and create a sense of belonging for employees? Involving people from the start and mak- employees knowing what it is, or why it give or take constructive criticism. What are the most effective strategies for mar- ing them feel part of things is the key to is important. To build brand understanding and be- keters tasked with consolidating and disseminating success. While an organisation’s internal Face-to-face engagements lief with employees, companies should the brand message? team is one of its most powerful assets, it Nothing beats face to face workshops, balance between big-bang creative cam- All businesses need advocates in order to sur- can also be the its with business paigns and regular reinforcement of their vive in this VUCA environment, and the best ones cruellest "dimin- leaders meeting values through internal marketing. are your employees. As dynamic as today’s busi- isher". employees. Un- n Munyonga is the corporate com- ness environment is, having and keeping everyone If people who derstanding the munications & marketing manager of on board is critical for survival. work for you rec- reasons behind the the Zimbabwe National Water Author- In the same way companies market themselves ommend your Marjorie Munyonga company mission ity (ZINWA). She is a qualified Zim- to the outside world, companies need to create an product or ser- will help staff back Chartered Marketer, member of MAZ- on-going dialogue with internal publics. vices, you already the company and (Senior Executive member). She writes This basically means explaining to all employ- have a strong team of brand ambassadors drive the mission forward. Face-to-face in her personal capacity. ees at every level why the company mission, vision, values, strategies, successes and challenges matter to them, and how important it is for everyone in the company to contribute towards its success. There is a temptation by many companies, in their bid to make profits, to unconsciously forget the internal stakeholders as an integral part of the business success. It is the duty of marketers to stress the importance of internal marketing to the C-suite and ensure that the same amount of energy channelled towards external marketing is equally put into internal marketing, if not more. Internal marketing is about linking business to its staff members and taking them in the direction the business intends to go. Connecting with employees has therefore, become more important than ever because companies need to be able to listen to a wide range of people, and understand what it is they are really saying and then develop messages that engage them both. Use the available platforms Companies need to create an internal marketing plan to get the messages out to their employees, using available platforms to make sure the internal audience is involved in the conversation. They cannot believe in the vision if they do not feel they are part of it. A good brand is delivered from the inside out. Put simply, your staff will make or break your brand. It is therefore, important for companies to use platforms available to them to connect and relate with their internal audiences. The presence of this connection is crucial to every company because when employees and management share a positive relationship, employee engagement, productivity, motivation and morale are high. Employees will work harder, produce better work and ultimately keep the customer happy and the business thriving. Communicate clearly and often In any relationship, communication is the key. In some organisations, employees get to hear of developments in the organisation through the media or from customers. It is important that the staff under- stands why change is happening, before being told how it affects them. Marketers must engage employees from the beginning – defining a brand’s aspiration should come from the whole business, not the whole boardroom alone. Ensuring that all areas and departments are represented at the initial stage provides a more round- ed and inclusive view, helping to identify gaps between reality and aspiration. Also crucial for marketers is to be clear about the brand’s values and vision. An engaged employee will know where the business is heading and why. Marketers can reinforce this with an internal launch so as to bring the brand to life with training materials, office branding, the intranet and other internal publications. It is important to come up with a clear message that is easy to say, remember, and understand, and find ways to keep pushing it. This becomes much easier if companies reinforce messaging from the beginning. Marketing should work with HR and set expec- tations with new employees and include company values in the job description, interview process and induction. Appoint champions Page 22 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette Column Be alive to the hazards of suretyship URING my many years of private ty”) undertakes to the creditor of another ing of a suretyship, B proceeds to append his signa- practice, I have encountered sever- (“the principal debtor”) that if the principal ture, most crucially, driven by the feelings of human- D al individuals who have been left debtor fails to perform the principal obliga- ity for his relative. destitute and penniless after rushing to sign tion, the surety will perform it. It is there- This document at times is signed by B in the faith deeds of suretyship with little understand- fore, a contract formed between the credi- that A will obviously not default on the installments ing of the implications of their action. tor and the surety. and that no danger will accordingly visit him. Only when the messenger of court A more illustrative example may be cap- Time passes and A defaults on the monthly in- or sheriff of the High Court would have tured in the following fact situation. stallments that he would have been expected to pay pounced on them and attached their assets A, a relative of B has gone to Edgars towards Edgars stores. to recover the principal debtor’s dues to- stores to acquire clothing items on cred- Consequently, when suing A, Edgars stores will wards the creditor, will they spring into it, and the shop has placed the condition join B as a defendant based on the suretyship and action. that such credit can only be extended if a may end up getting judgment even without his On many such occasions, such action Legal Matters surety undertakes to indemnify the creditor knowledge. will be belated since their signature to the with through a deed of suretyship. After the Sheriff’s execution process, all hell will suretyship documents would have sounded VOTE MUZA A then approaches B, his cousin, with a break loose after B would have discovered his indis- the death nail. request for B to sign the deed of suretyship cretion of signing the deed of suretyship. Careless- It becomes necessary therefore, to bring (which on many occasions is part of the ness and at times outright negligence on the part of ing to acquire goods on credit or to borrow into light the hazards that a suretyship doc- credit forms that A is called upon to com- B results in his misery. loans. ument pauses to those good Samaritans plete.) Having committed to indemnify the creditor in By definition, a “suretyship” is a con- who may be persuaded to assist those seek- Without applying his mind to the mean- the event of the principal debtor defaulting, B will tract in terms of which a person (“the sure- lose complete interest in the matter the moment he signs the document. A diligent surety would be expected to constantly check on A to ensure that he is up to date with his installments towards Edgars stores. In the event that A would have become financially indisposed, B would have to take up the installments without first having to wait for the creditor to institute court action. The obligation of the surety towards the creditor only arises in the event of the principal debtor’s default. What the surety is expected to pay is limited to the extent of the principal debtor’s indebtedness such that if a larger portion of the debt would have been extinguished, the surety would be expected to pay the smaller portion of the debt remaining outstanding. The unpleasant experience of one’s act of kindness turning into bitterness and regret is not right and must be avoided at all costs.

There is ordinary suretyship, then there is when a surety binds himself as both surety and co-principal debtor. In such a situation, the surety becomes jointly and severally liable with the principal debtor. There are certain defences that are available to a surety but these are better not shared in this forum as they are material for consumption for legal minds. Where a surety would have paid a debt on behalf of a principal debtor, there are certain remedies available to him and one such remedy is a claim against the principal debtor. Such a claim will be for the capital debt that would have been paid to the creditor as well as interest and legal costs. In the event of the surety having suffered dam- ages, like in a situation where his goods would have been attached, removed and auctioned, he can also claim compensation. Where the principle debt has been discharged by operation of law, like through prescription, automat- ically, the suretyship also lapses. It also lapses by the simple fact of the principal debtor settling all his indebtedness towards the creditor. It must be made clear that the principal debtor’s insolvency does not release the surety because the very purpose of requiring a surety is to make sure that payment to the creditor is done in the event of the principal debtor failing to pay. The major lesson to be learnt is that, a suretyship should not be signed unless one is fully aware of the consequences of his actions. Further, once signed, there must be a consistent monitoring of the principal debtor to ensure that his obligations towards the creditor are settled. The unpleasant experience of one’s act of kindness turning into bitterness and regret is not right and must be avoided at all costs. n Muza is a Harare-based legal practitioner. He writes in his personal capacity. Page 23 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette Analysis SMEs will drive Zim towards a middle-income economy

Mungai N. Lenneiye and formal sectors as a way of innovating old regulations in a radically different glob- Step 9. Adopt respectful dialogue and the whole economy into new sectors and al economic climate. In this paradigm shift, business practices. Respecting the rights IMBABWE is a entry-level lower Middle-In- sub-sectors. underlying causes of vending problem are of different players in the economy will come Country (MIC) — with a Gross Na- Step 6. Close the gap between policy tackled instead of focusing on symptoms of help build an integrated economy between Ztional Income (GNI) per capital of between content and its drivers. Evidence-based a decayed economic structure. vendors, traders, small and large retailers, US$1 036 and US$4 045. The quality of health care, policy making approaches are inadequate, Local government by-laws and national wholesalers, distributors, manufacturers, education, housing, sanitation, jobs, and other mea- and this hinders innovation in the “Infor- spatial planning guidelines therefore, need producers, and other players; to build a sures of human development gives meaning to these mal-Formal Economy Arc” as formal em- to inform a new framework for utilising foundation for an inclusive economy. GNI numbers. ployees become self-employed with inade- revenue from the informal economy instead Step 10. Empower MSMEs to create the The mining sector, export of raw materials, some quate expertise in value addition. Lack of of driving its players out of the market. new economy. Dialogue and collaboration value addition, and improved economic governance appropriate financial systems to help this Step 8. Connect MSMEs with formal between MSMEs and large corporates can can drive Zimbabwe towards the top of lower MIC transition of employed individual on the economic structures and systems. Nearly help build the new economy. With a unified by 2030. road to greater formalisation needs urgent 85 percent of informal economic players do voice from a representative organisation, However, to maintain the lower MIC status, grad- attention while policy pronouncements give not belong to a Business Membership Or- those who drive the informal economy can uate to upper MIC (GNI per capita of between US$4 way to implementation. ganisation (BMO). be more effective partners for the corporate 046 and US$12 535), and enter the High-Income Step 7. Shift paradigm to a 24-hour While the cost of membership to BMOs players in the economy and leverage on Country (HIC) status will require a restructuring of economy. The traditional formal “8-hour is an obstacle, non-membership weakens each other’s strengths. the economy to tap the energies and skills of produc- economy” has over the years died at the the voice of informal players in the national n The author can be reached on Twit- ers organised as micro, small, and medium enterpris- hands of disconnected macro-economic pol- economy. Without networks and linkages ter @lenneiye_nm FB https://www.face- es (MSMEs). icies. The growth of “24-hour economies” with formal businesses, these players lack book.com/nginya.lenneiye.7 and https:// Improved collaboration between informal players is now the norm in a number of cities shed an effective voice. udugu.org/acaciatalk and the formal players (government and corporates) will lay the foundation for Zimbabwe to make this economic transition. Recent policy discourse among stakeholders has put forward 10 steps to enable this transition. Step 1. Stop the selective criminalisation of labour. Players in the informal economy are self-employed instead of being sellers of their labour to others. Global lessons suggest the need for a systematic approach to the regularisation and mainstreaming of informal economic activities. Decriminalisation would promote a self-employment policy (SEP) to transform existing informality. An appropriate SEP would moderate the movement of individuals from formal employment to self-employment, and sometimes back to formal employment as the economy changes. Individual “consultants” are treated differently from “vendors” and yet they are both are sellers of labour. Under SEP, “decent jobs” would give way to “decent work” and get rid of selective criminalisation of labour. Step 2. Create a nurturing developmental State. The vision of self-reliance, sustainable livelihoods, and empowerment through the informal economy has in many East Asian countries driven the removal of structural constraints to economic transformation. This had spurred the growth of enterprises from micro to small through to medium and large sizes through a partnership between public and private sector, enabled by a State that promotes inclusive growth. A developmental State operates on the principle that “government should enable” business through appropriate self-employed persons; paying attention to economic policy-making and a sound regulatory framework, while moving away from competing with and seeking to control private sector economic players. In a developmental State, the informal economy must “move from being on the table” discussed as a problem) to “being at the table” (as a partner engaged in dialogue). Step 3. Recognise MSMEs as the main economy. Estimates are that 94 percent of Zimbabweans are in this economy; and that US$7,4 billion is circulat- ing in this economy, which is over 50 percent of the country’s GDP. An informal trader once observed: “Government and the formal economy have no money, but people have the money. Lack of investment finance is a policy issue, not just about foreign direct investments. If the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe puts in place the right polices, we in the informal sector could finance capital investments instead of being just traders.” Step 4. Improve financial inclusion. Recent find- ings are that more than 50 percent of cross-traders make less than US$100 a month. What they need are appropriately-structured financial products. Further, 70 percent of players in the informal economy are financially excluded, indicating that existing financial instruments are woefully inadequate to respond to the needs of this new economy. A key element in the evolution of supportive financial inclusion is the need to reconcile the culture of loan non-repayment with good banking practices in order to support the design of sound financial products. Step 5. Support innovation from traditional sub-sectors. The perspective was that as long the formal economy is “stuck” in the old ways of doing business and the informal economy remains in “vending” mode, innovation into new areas of business will remain difficult. There is need for better responses from all players to address the missing links between informal Page 24 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette Motoring Toyota Starlet 1,4 Xr Is it a Toyuki or a Suzota ... Whichever, it’s effective but bland

suspension arrangement that delivers a pleasantly cushioned ride on most surfaces, albeit that bigger surface irregularities and dips can mildly defl ect the relatively light weight machine off TOP GEAR with its chosen course. Roll is resisted Richard Wiley well enough while the light power steering earns plenty of marks HE process of badge for its fl uid feel from lock to lock. engineering is common Straight line stability is also most Tin the motor industry assured. for the simple reason that sharing And that 5-speed manual box technology cuts production costs. is a gem, snicking through the When the badge engineering oc- ratios with a slickness that almost curs within the ranks of the same encourages unnecessary shifting. group – for example VW/Skoda/ This gearshift works in perfect Audi/Seat – it’s hard to argue, harmony with a lightweight, but when the badge manipulation cushioned clutch endowed with a occurs across what were once spot-on take up point that makes wholly competitive brands, the smooth shifts ever-so-easy. The questions begin to mount. brakes too are fully effective and So it is with the Toyota Starlet endowed with a pleasant level of which is unashamedly a Suzuki boost. Baleno with different badges, Smart alloys and lots of shiny bits on this Xr Starlet Under the bonnet, youll fi nd a mildly manipulated grill and, Suzuki’s familiar 1.4 litre nor- I gather, a few different paint mally aspirated VVT four that shades, but why they bother with generates an unremarkable 68kW that I don’t know as 120% of at a rapid 6 000 rpm and a torque South Africa only buys white and peak of 130Nm that’s reached at a silver anyway. Oh, and I near- rather rapid 4 200 rpm. ly forgot. Just to make sure you Because of the relatively light think you really are driving a Toy- weight of the platform, there’s ota, the importers dropped in a set enough grunt on hand, at least at of garish but practical striped fl oor sea level, to make progress easy mats with prominent branding in- enough without the need to use a laid thereon and they prized out bucketful of revs, at which point the Suzuki logo from the centre the mill can get a tad frantic. All of the steering wheel and pressed out, the Starlet will breach 100 in in a Toyota-branded centre cap in 10.9s and go on to 180 km/h but lieu. more importantly, that engine is India also is a common factor frugal in regular use such that I re- in this game of badge switching as corded a very competitive overall that’s where the Baleno starts life fi gure of 6.5l100km in a weeks and that’s also where the elderly use. Again, the low weight must Rear space is exceptional, the fl oor mat less so! Etios hatch, ostensibly replaced Good equipment levels mark out the Xr model be a signifi cant contributor. in Toyota SA’s armoury by the For anyone looking for a good Starlet, came from. And for those value, economical and practical who keep up with the process of set of wheels that are well suited cost-cutting in motor assembly, to the daily traffi c grind, the Star- the Indian connection is no lon- let has a lot going for it. Put in ger a recipe for dodgy assembly different words, it’s a convincing standards as manufacturers gen- A to B car but it’s also one that’s uinely seek to standardise, across so mainstream in its rather bland the globe, how their cars are glued execution that it lacks what I will and stapled together. call soul. Sure, it’s hard to argue I clearly recall going on the with the practicalities of this Toy- launch of the Baleno in the East- ota-badged Suzuki but practical ern Cape just as I recall having virtues and spark are not necessar- sampled a derivative for a week ily mutually exclusive attributes in not far short of a year ago. Mem- the world of motoring. ory tells me that the model earned good marks in the value for mon- Tribute to Nigel Launder ey stakes as an easy driving, prac- IN the world of human endeav- tical and spacious sub - “B” seg- our, there are few who achieved ment contender. And so it is with so much across so many disci- the Toyota version, tested here in plines as my late friend Nigel top spec Xr form. Launder who passed away this Compared with the Xi and Xs last weekend in Harare. A cre- models, this range topper Xr gets ative mind found fruition in so a touch screen infotainment unit, many ways, not least in the fi eld rear park sensors, rear camera, of photography and in using his cruise control, fancier air con, Roof spoiler and rear privacy glass for the Xr hands to great effect in fi nessing three times the number of airbags sport a respectable surface fi n- advantages, one of which we’ll ready to attract every dust particle windows are present and correct mechanical devices of all kinds, at six, LED lamps and daytime ish. Closer inspection, however, come to in a mo, but let it be said while the seating is swathed in a and that central touch screen, but especially motorcycles and driving lights plus chrome door revealed the presence of acres of that this shell doesn’t convey a decent quality blue and anthracite complete with rather tatty graph- cars. We last saw each other handles and a vestigial rear spoil- orange peel, even on horizontal bank-vault-like feel even if it’s en- fabric. ics, incorporates Apple CarPlay almost exactly two years ago er. Smart polished/black alloys are surfaces, that put the Starlet right tirely free of squeaks, rattles and Those seats are heavily bol- and Android Auto both of which but shared many on-line calls shared with the mid-range model near the bottom of my “beautiful shakes and carries a Toyota logo stered and a tad shapeless up front were simple to activqte. All Starlet during which the lamentable and house 185/55R16 rubber that paintwork” chart. I may just be into the bargain. but offer respectable support and models are also equipped with the state of Formula 1 was a com- looks a little overwhelmed by the talking out of turn here, but I sur- Open one of those lightweight grip. As already hinted at, the rear Toyota Connect telematics system mon subject as was our shared mid-size hatchback shape notable mise the source paint shop in India doors and you’ll be greeted by a quarters are particularly spacious that incorporates an in-car Wi-Fi love of rear-engined Porsches. for a steeply sloped rear window is about as old as the Himalayas. surprisingly spacious if blandly by the standards of the class with hotspot loaded with 15Gb of data. Nigel, your sudden passing and relatively long wheelbase. On the plus side, panel align- executed cabin that’s awash with the folding backrest split 60:40 to And there’s even push button start will be mourned by so many but Unusually, the test unit ditched ment is just fi ne and the doors hard plastics that are nonetheless increase luggage space in the deep on board but I’m not one who sees most especially by your fami- the usual white or silver paintwork open and close nicely, but they do reasonably disguised thanks to but short boot from 345 litres to 1 the purpose of this so-called con- ly to whom I extend heartfelt and arrived in a coat of attractive feel awfully lightweight. Suzukis matt surface fi nishing. The usu- 045 litres. venience. sympathies. Rest well in your but dust-attracting metallic blue are noted for their low overall al diffi cult-to-clean Oriental As we’ve come to expect Underpinning the Starlet is a garage in the sky. — Richard which, at a glance, appeared to mass which confers a number of woolly roof lining is present and these days, air con and electric MacPherson strut/ torsion beam Wiley The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 25 Page 26 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 27 Page 28 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette Foreign News Pepkor profit falls but market share grows OUTH African retailer Pepkor measure in South Africa from con- Holdings is hopeful of a quick tinuing operations fell 34,4 percent to Srecovery in profitability, its CEO 62,6 cents and Pepkor swung to a R3 said on Monday, citing a rise in market billion loss from a profit of R2,1 billion share driven by price-conscious shop- after writing down the value of its busi- pers even as the coronovirus crisis sent nesses by R4,8 billion. annual profit down 34 percent. Lourens told investors he was very The budget clothing and furniture re- confident and bullish that the group tailer’s stores were barred from trading can get to at least 2019 profitability lev- during an initial five-week lockdown els quite soon. early this year, resulting in about R5 bil- Its the first year in many that we ha- lion 325,2 million in lost sales, with vent been able to grow our profits and the group unable to sell its full range of that is something we want to set right as merchandise range until June. soon as possible. Hopefully, with a bit However, increased social grant pay- of luck, this year well be able to do. ments that helped shoppers to satisfy Pepkor said it reduced net debt by their pent-up demand when stores re- R6,9 billion to R7,1 billion, thanks opened in May served to offset a sales to strong cash generation, good cred- slump in the third quarter of its financial it book collections and a R1,9 billion year to September 30. share sale. This lifted overall annual sales by The retailer, majority owned by 3,6 percent to R63,7 billion 4,15 bil- Steinhoff, also said that expansion into lion, with the company reporting con- East Africa is no longer feasible and it tinuing sales momentum since the end will close its 13 stores in Uganda by the of its financial year. end of December. Consumer focus on less discretion- Hurt by the devaluation of currencies ary and more affordable products result- in countries such as Angola, Zambia and ed in “substantial” market share gains in Zimbabwe, Pepkor said it is not opening clothing, footwear, homeware and cel- any new stores outside of South Africa lular, said group CEO Leon Lourens. or allocating more capital as part of con- However, full-year headline earnings solidation plans until market conditions per share HEPS the main profit turn favourable. — Moneyweb Spur expects Covid-19 effects to linger longer

PUR, the owner of RocoMamas, by 22,3 percent, with sales from its in- John Dory’s Fish Grill Sushi and ternational restaurants decreasing by SNikos Coalgrill Greek, expects the 16,7 percent. economic devastation of Covid-19 and May sales were down 87,2 percent in the subsequent lockdown to linger over South Africa compared with the previ- the medium term. ous year, while group sales for June de- Spur was on its way to achieving a clined by 83,6 percent compared to the six percent increase in restaurant sales prior year. in South Africa in the eight months to Restaurants were allowed to resume February 2020, even opening up 21 new sit-down operations from June 29, but restaurants in South Africa before the were still subject to strict Covid-19 pro- lockdown started. tocols of social distancing. But in the weeks leading up the lock- The ban on the sale of alcohol and down, the company says its South Af- the nighttime curfew proved to be “chal- rica sales declined by 46,7 percent for lenging according to Spur. March 2020. The Hussar Grill was the brand most The company expects the weak eco- impacted by the restriction on the sale nomic environment to continue to place of alcohol and the ban on foreign travel strain on consumer pockets, despite the into South Africa. easing of lockdown restrictions. Revenue for the year declined by The fragile economy could worsen in 19,4 percent to R761,6 million. the wake of a resurgence of the virus or Revenue from the South African op- further widespread job losses, the com- erations, which accounted for 95,7 per- pany said in a statement on Friday. cent of total group revenue, decreased In this tight consumer environment, by 19,3 percent, while international rev- the group will continue to capitalise on enue declined by 20,9 percent. the strength and appeal of its brands and Headline earnings decreased by 56,1 customer loyalty, and we remain com- percent to R72,5 million and no final mitted to offering value and a safe and dividend was declared. entertaining family restaurant experi- Following the further easing of re- ence, Spur chief executive Pierre van strictions in July, the franchisees started Tonder said. to report stronger turnover levels. The group’s restaurants in South Af- The South African restaurants trad- rica were closed from the start of the ed at 92,8 percent of the prior years lockdown at the end of March until May turnover for the month of October, im- 1, 2020 and it did not earn any income proving from 36,5 percent for July, 56,7 during this period. percent for August and 73,8 percent for When restrictions under alert level September. three eased in June, restaurants were By the end of October, 612 of the only permitted to provide delivery ser- groups 631 restaurants had reopened. vices to customers. The group plans to open 21 restau- On Friday, the group reported a 21,7 rants in South Africa in the year ahead, percent decline in total restaurant sales mainly under the Spur, Panarottis and to R6 billion for the year ended June 30, RocoMamas brands. 2020. Eight new international restaurants Sales from its domestic franchised are planned across Zambia, Eswatini, restaurants, which represent 88,5 per- Ghana, Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia. — cent of the groups total sales, declined Moneyweb The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 29 Page 30 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 31 Page 32 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette The Financial Gazette November 26-December 02 2020 | Page 33 Page 34 | November 26-December 02 2020 The Financial Gazette National News Zim sugar sales down 13,7pc IMBABWE’s sugar industry recorded a 13,7 “Work on the 4 000 hectares cane development percent decline in sales during the six months project (Project Kilimanjaro) being undertaken by the Zended September 30, 2020, amid efforts to company in partnership with sister company Triangle combat speculative trading and illegal sugar exports. Ltd, the government and local banks has seen a total This comes after the government put price con- of 2 700 hectares of virgin land being bush cleared trols on basic commodities, after fears of shortages and ripped and 588 hectares planted to sugarcane, were raised as industry was under lockdown due to he said. the Covid-19 outbreak. Project works have been slowed down on account Aiden Mhere, Hippo Valley Estates chief execu- of delays in obtaining the requisite funding from fi- tive said industry sugar sales took a knock to 158 000 nancial institutions at the back of adverse economic tonnes from 183 000 tonnes in 2019, due to measures conditions. taken by the industry in the early part of the financial “While alternative funding structures for comple- year to minimise speculative trade and illegal exports tion of the project are being considered, some 80 hect- to neighbouring countries. ares of maize has been planted on the cleared land, Such practices are common in hyperinflationary whilst an additional 1 500 hectares will be planted to environments as some traders capitalise on pricing sorghum in partnership with the government as part distortions on account of exchange rate differentials. of efforts to improve food security in the country. Consumer spending power also came under pressure The sugar industry recorded a decline in sales during the six months ended September 30, 2020. On completion, Project Kilimanjaro will contrib- as salary and wage adjustments in the country gener- imports by Kenya in June 2020. “Efforts to maximize sugar production through ute significantly to the industry target of full utilisa- ally lagged behind inflation, he said. Total industry sugar production from the current yield improvement initiatives are on-going for both tion of installed milling capacity of 600 000 tonnes of Industry export sales recorded a 43 percent harvesting season is forecast at between 430 000 company owned and private farmer owned cane sugar by 2024/25, positioning the country to be one growth to 67 000 tonnes from 47 000 tonnes for the tonnes and 440 000 tonnes compared to 441 000 fields through strategic partnerships to resuscitate of the most competitive sugar producers in the region six months despite a temporary suspension of sugar tonnes in 2019. non-productive land to above break-even yields. and globally. — Staff Writer Zim poverty levels Legacy debts choke firms: CZI HE issue of legacy debts denomi- dy caused by the coronavirus (Covid-19) nated in foreign currency should be hence the issue of legacy debt should be Tconcluded as they are affecting the urgently addressed, he said. viability of several companies, the Confed- The RBZ committed to assuming the worsen: World Bank eration of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) said. foreign legacy debts to rescue companies. This comes as financial results an- The financial results indicated that some Adelaide Moyo on poverty changes, the report said.. nounced during the second half of the year, companies were keen to offload their debts Staff Writer Consumption expenditure fell for all welfare and reports by CZI members showed that to the RBZ with some still waiting for their groups except the richest 10 percent, or decile. local companies with significant foreign applications to be approved. IMBABWE recorded a 38 percent increase in “The welfare groups in the lower end of the debts were sinking deeper into dire straits Some have indicated that they have extreme poverty from 30 percent while gener- income distribution (lower deciles) had the largest due to currency volatility and exchange engaged their creditors to restructure the Zal poverty increased to 51 percent during the proportional declines in consumption expenditure. rate fluctuations, with their balance sheets debts in line with directives and guidelines. period between April and May last year, latest data Consequently, inequality rose as the Gini index being increasingly eroded and foreign cur- “We expect continued efforts to remove has shown. increased from 44,7 in 2017 to 50,4 in 2019, the rency liabilities ballooning. distortions caused by the use of dual cur- According to a report jointly prepared by the report said. "This has left some companies techni- rencies to be removed, the completion of World Bank and the Zimbabwe National Statistics The increase in inequality was driven by a rise in cally insolvent and on the brink of bank- currency reforms is necessary to restore Agency, the number of extremely poor people rose inequality within urban and within rural areas rather ruptcy function of monetary policy and to sustain to six million during April to May 2019 from 4,5 than between urban and rural areas. Henry Ruzvidzo, CZI president recent- the competitiveness that is now threatened million in 2017. The profile of the extreme poor changed slightly ly said the debts were denominated in for- by the re dollarisation, said Ruzvidzo. The number of poor people measured by the as their proportion that is engaged in income-gen- eign currency following far-reaching cur- He said a projected full return of the lower-bound poverty line rose from eight million to erating activities other than working on their own rency reforms by the government in June Zim dollar was a welcome development 8,9 million during the same period. farms rose by 10 percentage points. last year. to restore competitiveness of Zimbabwe’s “The increase in poverty rates and the number of “Some characteristics of the extreme poor did not “Industry is concerned by the delays industries “so that we can increase export extremely poor and poor people during the period change. They still live mostly in large households in bringing finality to the issue of legacy and perhaps reduce imports coming into under review can be attributed to high inflation cou- and tend to have low educational attainment. About debts that are owed by the private sector. the country. pled with the contraction of the economy and a poor one-third live in a female-headed household, similar "You know the historical debts which “The doing business regulatory envi- 201819 rainfall season, the report which used data to the population as a whole. Furthermore, children we have been working with through the ronment must encourage investment, the from the Mini Poverty, Income, Consumption and younger than 15 years formed almost half of the Reserve bank to resolve. key institutions in this area, Zimbabwe In- Expenditure Survey (Mini-PICES 2019) said. poor and the extremely poor, but they only made up "I think we really need to put finality vestment and Development Authority and “These negative changes in the economy are four-tenths of the population, the report said. to that matter so that companies can begin the National Competitiveness Commission likely to have stressed the livelihoods of many Zim- During the period under review, household heads to enjoy credit from their suppliers outside must be strengthened and supported. babweans, thereby affecting households in urban ar- with secondary education were a little more affected the country, he said. "Additionally, we believe that the Indus- eas more in relative terms compared to households by the economic downturn than other groups. Following the declaration of the Zimba- trial Development Corporation also needs in rural areas. The proportion of the extreme poor covered by bwe dollar as the sole legal tender through to play a meaningful role in developing the The number of extremely poor people in urban social assistance programs increased between 2017 Statutory Instrument 142 last year in June, manufacturing sector, he said. areas increased by about 327 000, it rose by 1,1 mil- and 2019, but such programs still reached only half which effectively outlawed the use of the “Some of these issues I highlighted are lion in rural areas. of the extreme poor. United States dollar and other external inputs by industry in the upcoming bud- Although extreme poverty increased in both ur- Simulations show that the rapid price increases currencies, some companies have suffered get. We expect the 2021 budget to stimu- ban and rural areas, in relative terms, extreme pover- that affected Zimbabwe between April and May and exchange losses mainly arising from their late exports…We also proposed a tax sys- ty rose more in urban areas, the report said. December 2019 may have increased extreme pover- foreign obligations. tem that is pro-growth, said Ruzvidzo. “The continued economic instability, coupled ty from 38 percent to 52 percent. “Stability is the best stimulus that can — Staff Writer with the Covid-19 pandemic, is likely to have further The study shows that the price increases of be given to industry following the trage- [email protected] worsened the poverty situation in 2020 and demon- maize, bread, and cereals had the largest impact on strates the need for even more rapid data collection poverty. [email protected] ProChoice seeks to improve agriculture productivity Freedom Mashava strength and reliability. These affective and seri- life but also increases the net profit farmers make vanced care ambulance units on minibuses, off Staff Reporter ously tough rippers break the pan, shatter subsoil from mechanisation technologies, he added. road vehicles and aircrafts, said Muchenje. and lift and loosen the ground, leaving an aerated Established in 2013, ProChoice has also de- Products designed by ProChoice include ar- ROCHOICE Logistics and Agritec (Pro- but firm finish, he said. signed an ambulance with a water running system moured vehicles, transit vehicles, police vans, es- Choice) has introduced new machinery The company also specialises in the supply and enhanced power voltage outlets to accommo- cort vehicles, mobile clinics, mobile kitchens and Paimed at increasing agriculture productivity of farming equipment such as shellers, planters, date a wide variety of medical equipment includ- bars, rescue vehicles and funeral hearses. and enhancing farmers’ earnings. combined harvesters, tractors and other new gen- ing ventilators. The 2020 Zimbabwe Agricultural Show which The local engineering company showcased eration agricultural equipment. “We took our time to carry what we call re- ran from October 28 to October 31 was strictly some of its state-of-the-art machinery at this Muchenje said ProChoice’s maize sheller verse engineering where we disassemble vehicles for business exhibitions, with some of its events year’s Zimbabwe Agriculture Show in Harare. machine helps farmers to get the best from their like an ambulance and came up with an impro- held virtually in an effort by the Zimbabwe Agri- Prosper Muchenje, ProChoice’s managing di- products. vised mechanism and contribute to our nation’s cultural Society to curb the spread of the Covid-19 rector, said the company’s new generation culti- “The major steps involved in the processing of re-emergence to productivity and self-sufficiency, pandemic. vation rippers were equipped with technology that maize are harvesting, drying, de-husking, shell- through cost effectiveness and quality. It ran under the theme: “Synergies for allows the soil to breathe, thus allowing improved ing, storing and milling. All these processes are “Our ambulance conversion department is our Growth-Cooperate. Collaborate. Complement plant production. costly, and for rural farmers to maximise profits business flagship epitomising our craftsmanship to rally support for the cause of agriculture and “Combined with robust engineering — the on their produce, appropriate technology that suits in vehicle conversion. attendant value chains for increased “Production, highest speculation on the market — the cultiva- their needs must be used. “Combining tested designs with forward think- Productivity and Profitability. tion rippers are recognised for their exceptional “Maize processing not only prolongs its useful ing solutions. We build basic intermediate and ad- [email protected] Life & ArtsNews Worth Knowing November 26-December 02 2020 Page 35 Keep fit and party until dawn on Boxing Day TIR Up Sunday, the last Sunday If that seems too anti-social, adopt before Advent, when cooks put on water-backing and drink a glass of wa- Stheir aprons and mix up the ingre- ter after each alcoholic drink. dients for a Christmas pudding, fell this Take things a step further, and enrol year on November 22. at MiGym in Fisher Avenue, Rolf Val- Large quantities of dried fruit (pre- ley. Sign up for one of the many cours- soaked in brandy), nutmeg, mixed es on offer at this world class, state-of- spice, shredded almonds, suet, eggs, the-art gym, and you could be brown sugar, flour and grated apple, are well-muscled and beautiful by Christ- mixed together with milk, turned into a mas Eve. greased basin, and steamed for several Choose a customised workout rou- hours. tine with any of the instructors, and find On Christmas morning, the seduc- yourself doing Turkish getups, Bulgari- tive aroma of cloves, cinnamon and an split squats and Russian twists, with nutmeg will fill the kitchen, as the pud- occasional burpees, plank holds, skips ding is steamed once again, before and lunges. serving with brandy butter or ice cream. Different physical activities are rec- There are dedicated fans of the ommended for different age groups, so ready-made who prefer shop-bought whether you're 15 or 75 years old, Christmas puddings, boxed mince pies you'll find the right programme. and Christmas hams, already baked in After your early morning work out, brown sugar and studded with cloves stop by at Freshly Ground coffee bar and red cherries. adjoining the gym, for a healthy green Convenient this may be, but who smoothie, poached egg and avo on would miss out on the chance to wield toast, or a freshly baked croissant gen- a large wooden spoon to stir up the pud- Ham and cheese croissant from Freshly Ground at MiGym, Rolf Valley. erously filled with ham and cheese. ding, always from east to west, while Barista Jeffrey is on hand to make making that all important Christmas In spite of dire warnings by CDC Little Bighorn. ries, stewed venison, wild rice, wild you a perfectly blended cappuccino, wish? and advice to stay at home, many will Instead, however, of dwelling on the plums, cactus fruit and smoked salmon, hot chocolate, latte or espresso, while Following on from Stir Up Sunday have travelled long distances to be at past, Chef Sean wants to focus on the all traditional native American favour- manageress Shamela provides a cheery is Thanksgiving, an annual national that all important sit down feast of roast values that apply today to everyone — ites. welcome to all patrons, and makes sure holiday in the United States, when turkey, mashed potato, gravy, green togetherness, generosity and gratitude. Preparing for a healthier festive sea- everything is running smoothly. Americans re-enact a harvest feast, cel- bean casserole, corn, sugared yams and son can start now, in the weeks between You're unlikely to become super fit ebrated in 1621 by the Pilgrim Fathers in the remaining days until Christmas, pumpkin pie. A Matter of Taste Thanksgiving and Christmas. and the Wampanoag people. Native Americans, considering the Bearing in mind that you'll drink a but whatever exercise you do undertake Today, the fourth Thursday of No- death and destruction caused by their with few glasses of mulled wine on Christ- now, will give you more energy, im- vember, Americans all over the world prove your self-confidence and reduce colonisers, have a different perspective Charlotte Malakoff mas Eve, Bucks Fizz Champagne and will be celebrating in one way or anoth- on Thanksgiving. orange juice) at breakfast on Christmas all stress levels. er. Chef Sean Sherman, author of The Day, wine with the roast turkey and Best of all, you can exchange those At this time of the year, family Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen, re- pigs in blankets with lunch, and brandy elasticised trousers and caftans for your members like to hang out with each lates how his great grandfather helped The dishes he'll be preparing for this in the evening, why not forsake alcohol flyest outfits, eat your fill and party un- other, putting aside minor quarrels and fight off General Custer at the Battle of year's feast will include manzanita ber- for the time being? til dawn on Boxing Day. Comments differences. to: [email protected]

For the week ending 25 November 2020 TOTTENHAM boss Jose Mourinho says the return of supporters to games provides "a good feeling" for his players and for the "passion of the fans". A maximum of 4 000 fans will be allowed at outdoor events News Worth Knowing in tier one areas when the four-week lockdown in England ends on December 2. Up to 2 000 people will Sport be allowed in tier two areas but none in tier three. Page 36 November 26 - December 02 2020 SPORT SHORTS ‘Hamilton deserves knighthood’ THREE-time Grand Slam tennis winner Andy Murray be- The great Diego lieves Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton deserves to join him as a British sporting knight. Reports have suggested that Hamilton, who won a re- cord-equalling seventh title last week, will be awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours. "In terms of what he has achieved as an athlete, of course he deserves it," Murray, 33, told Good Morning Britain. "He's one of the most successful sportspeople in the coun- Maradona dies try's history." OCCER legend Diego Mara- scribing the news of Maradona's pass- Murray, given his knighthood in the New Year Honours dona, one of the greatest players ing as having a 'worldwide impact'. in 2017, added: "He supports some great causes as well away Sof all time, has died at the age of The sad news was confi rmed by from the racing track, so yes I would say he defi nitely de- 60. Maradona's lawyer. Soon, tributes serves it in terms of his success." The former Argentina attacking were pouring in from all over the Hamilton, 35, who was made an MBE in 2009, recently midfi elder and manager suffered a world of football. told the BBC's Sally Nugent that it would be his "happiest heart attack on Wednesday at his Bue- Maradona left hospital on No- day ever" if he got the chance to be honoured by the Queen nos Aires home. vember 11 just eight days after being again. — bbc.com He had successful surgery on a admitted for emergency brain surgery. brain blood clot earlier in November The iconic former Argentinian and was to be treated for alcohol de- footballer was driven away from the Ex-France rugby legend found dead pendency. private Olivos Clinic last afternoon on FORMER rugby international Christophe Dominici, who Maradona was captain when Ar- November 11 as hundreds of fans of was found dead at the age of 48 in a park near Paris on Tues- gentina won the 1986 World Cup, photographers tried to get a glimpse day, was undoubtedly one of the legends of modern French scoring the famous 'Hand of God' of him. rugby. goal against England in the quarter-fi - Maradona was hospitalised the Dominici was best known for helping France knock New nals. previous week and had to have an Zealand out of the 1999 Rugby World Cup. In a statement on social media, emergency operation to remove a A witness saw him climb the roof of a disused building the Argentine Football Association blood clot from his brain. at Saint-Cloud park, near Paris, on Tuesday before falling, expressed "its deepest sorrow for the Argentinian TV reporters travel- offi cials say. death of our legend", adding: "You ling on motorbikes fi lmed the ambu- The diminutive Dominici – he was 1.72m and 82kg – will always be in our hearts." lance carrying him leaving before fol- scored 25 tries in 67 tests for France, including eight tries Maradona played for Barcelona lowing the vehicle to transmit every across three World Cups. and Napoli during his club career, inch of his journey. He had perfect balance, a deceptive change of pace and winning two Serie A titles with the Maradona, who was the coach a shimmy that could lose and confuse defenders, as it did on Italian side. of Gimnasia y Esgrima in his home 31 October, 1999 when his try against a Jonah Lomu-fuelled He scored 34 goals in 91 appear- country, had been admitted to hospital New Zealand helped France to the greatest comeback in the ances for Argentina, representing on several occasions since his retire- history of the World Cup. — supersport.com them in four World Cups. ment. He almost died of cocaine-in- Maradona led his country to the duced heart failure in 2000 and under- 1990 fi nal in Italy, where they were went years of rehabilitation. ‘Tennis players should take Covid vaccine’ beaten by West Germany, before Maradona, who was well known ANDY Murray thinks tennis players should "probably" be re- captaining them again in the United for having a wild lifestyle during and quired to take a Covid-19 vaccine to be able to continue to play RIP ... The Argentinian soccer legend Diego Maradona, 60, died States in 1994, but was sent home after his playing days, had a gastric on the tour. of a heart attack just two weeks after being released from hospital after failing a drugs test for ephedrine. bypass operation to lose weight in World number one Novak Djokovic said in April he after treatment for bleed on his brain. During the second half of his 2005 and was once more hospitalised "wouldn't want to be forced to take a vaccine to be able to travel". career, Maradona struggled with co- two years later for alcohol-induced But Murray hopes players would "do that for the good of the Having briefl y managed two sides He subsequently managed teams caine addiction and was banned for hepatitis. sport, providing everything has proved to be safe". in Argentina during his playing career, in the United Arab Emirates and 15 months after testing positive for He also fell ill at the last World "I'm confi dent that players would be into it if it meant the tour Maradona was appointed head coach Mexico and was in charge of Gimna- the drug in 1991. Cup in Russia, where he was fi lmed going back to normality," said the Briton, 33. of the national team in 2008 and left sia y Esgrima in Argentina's top fl ight He retired from professional foot- passing out in an executive box when "I guess we're not going to know the long-term effects poten- after the 2010 World Cup, where his at the time of his death. ball in 1997, on his 37th birthday, Argentina took on and beat Nigeria in tially for a while. But what I've been hearing on the TV and on side were beaten by Germany in the The Argentine news outlet Clarin during his second stint at Argentine Group D. the news is that there shouldn't really be any long-term effects." quarter-fi nals. broke the news on Wednesday, de- giants Boca Juniors. Djokovic, who tested positive for Covid-19 in June, accepted he would have a diffi cult decision to make should taking the vaccine ever become a condition of entry to tournaments. ...Diego’s long history of drugs and alcohol abuse "I also read - a few weeks after he'd said he wouldn't be keen on doing that - that if it was something that had to be done for aradona began taking ing positive for cocaine. Later in career. pass surgery, and in 2007 he was him to play the sport, he would," Murray said. — bbc.com cocaine in the mid- the same year he was arrested in In 1995, he moved to Boca Ju- back in hospital again, this time 1980s - during the height Buenos Aires for possessing half niors but two years later he failed suffering hepatitis. Mof his playing days, going on to a kilo of cocaine, and was given a drugs test for the third time in It is then understood he SA training in separate groups develop an addiction to drugs and a 14-month suspended sentence. six years, putting an end to his stopped taking drugs, telling a SOUTH Africa are training in two groups before their lim- alcohol over the next two decades. In 1994, Maradona was back playing career. Offi cially, a 'pro- journalist in 2017 that he hadn't ited-overs matches against England to limit the risk of further His drug use began in 1982 and in the fold with the Argentina hibited substance' is all that has taken drugs for 13 years and was coronavirus infections. reportedly grew worse in 1984 national team, making headlines been revealed about that test, but feeling 'great'. Two players have tested positive for the virus and a further when he moved to Napoli and had around the world for a now-fa- Boca president Mauricio Macri He has been drinking alcohol two have been placed into isolation. connections with the Comorra. mous screaming celebration has said in interviews that cocaine since 2004, though, hitting the The Proteas cancelled intra-squad warm-up games planned In 2014, Maradona said of his into the camera lens after a goal was found in a urine sample. headlines at the 2018 World Cup for Saturday and Monday. drug use: 'I gave my opponents a against Greece. His tournament In 1996, Maradona said pub- for his bizarre antics at a num- "It's been quite bizarre," said fast bowler Kagiso Rabada. big advantage. Do you know the was to come to an early end, licly: 'I was, am and always will ber of Argentina games. A video "We have to take that extra precaution." player I could have been if I hadn't though, after he was expelled days be a drug addict.' emerged of him drinking tequi- The fi rst of three Twenty20s is on Friday, with three one-day taken drugs?' later for testing positive for fi ve In 2000, the footballing legend la on a plane, and he claimed he internationals being played from 4 December. His fi rst real punishment came variants of ephedrine, a banned suffered an overdose, and in 2004 'drank all the wine' ahead of their "We have to train in groups - a group of non-contacts and a in 1991 when he was banned for substance. He was banned for 15 he had a heart attack. A year later, win over Nigeria. group of close contacts," added Rabada. 15 months by Napoli after test- months, ending his international he was forced to have gastric by- — bbc.com/dailymail.co.uk "The team is doing well at sticking to strict rules." The series will be played behind closed doors in Cape Town and Paarl, with playing and training the only time the players leave their hotel. For Rabada, it is the second 'bubble' experience in quick suc- cession after playing in the Indian Premier League in the Unit- ed Arab Emirates, where his 30 wickets made him the leading bowler in the tournament. — skysports.com