ZIM LOSES $200M in GOLD CASH: Page 3 $2
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ZIM LOSES $200M IN GOLD CASH: Page 3 $2 News Worth Knowing Car scandal rocks govt: Page 2 December 6-12 2018 ESTABLISHED 1969 @ FingazLive www.fingaz.co.zw Facebook: The Financial Gazette ZSE Report THE All Share index dropped further by 0,03 percent yester- day to close at 158,06 points. Budget Delta dropped $0,0231 to close at $3,2500, Simbisa lost $0,0058 to trade at $0,7400. Nampak traded $0,0107 higher at $0,2520. Amalgamated Re- gional Trading gained $0,0098 at $0,1098. The industrial In- dex lost 0,04 percent to close at 530,67 points, while the Top 10 index was down by 0,28 per- cent at 160,63 points. The Min- ings index was flat at 208,71 surplus points. Currencies (Bloomberg) % change ◀ USD:ZAR 14,8338 1,63 EUR:USD 1,1316 0,26 ◀◀ ◀ GBP:USD 1,2764 0,46 ◀ ◀◀ USD: JPY 113,2900 0,14 Stock Markets ZSE (All Share) 166,82 1,49 ◀ ZSE (Mining) 217,34 0,36 ◀ JSE 16 366,00 0,16 illusory, FTSE 100 7 142,33 1,52 1,48 Dow 25 243,54 Commodities (Bloomberg) 0,82 Gold 1 212,90 ◀ Platinum 836,31 0,02 ◀ 0,42 Brent Oil 75,59 ◀ Grains (Grain SA) White Maize ZAR 2 101,36 1,0 ◀ Soya ZAR 4 483,09 2,7 ◀ Wheat ZAR 2 687,49 1,8 experts ◀ Zim schools Adelaide Moyo fect on October 13 — economist Persistence fees shocker and Ndakaziva Majaka Gwanyanya said this had come “at the expense ZIMBABWEAN parents are in Staff Reporters of bleeding Zimbabweans”. for a high-jump as most schools, “There is nothing to celebrate from the mainly private institutions, have HILE observers have welcomed primary surplus because it did not come from hiked their fees for 2019 by exor- government’s commitment to im- expenditure containment, but rather from tax bitant margins. Wproving its fiscal discipline — as payers who are already heavily taxed. With schools such as Riv- affirmed in Finance minister Mthuli Ncube’s “Admittedly, this (the October surplus) is a erton Academy, Gateway, Bor- maiden budget — they say its claim that it start, but a more ideal situation would be hav- rowdale’s St Johns, Hellenic, St attained a budget surplus in October is “illu- ing the minister contain government expendi- Georges and Convent charging sionary”. ture because it is the main reason for the deficit rates from $9 600 to hard cur- This comes as the country continues to bat- in the first place,” Gwanyanya, who is also a STANDARDS Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) director-gen- rency-based fees, it would seem tle to pay for critical imports such as pharma- banker, said. the trend of excessive pricing is ceutical drugs and fuel, as biting foreign cur- Tendai Biti, a former Finance minister eral and businesswoman Eve Gadzikwa at the National Annual Quality Awards at Meikles hotel in Harare last also spreading fast to other elite rency shortages worsen. during the government of national unity, said th colleges. In their argument, the And while Ncube attributed the surplus it was “poor accounting to claim Zimbabwe week. Gadzikwa is the 13 and first female president of the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO), a schools are citing Zimbabwe’s that he announced to collections flowing from had recorded a surplus” when the country was fast-deteriorating economic situ- the country’s new two percent intermediated expected to close 2018 with a budget deficit of continental intergovernmental standardisation body under the African Union. ― Picture by Freedom Mashava ation as justification for their ac- money transfer tax — which came into ef- more than $2 billion. To Page 2 tions. — Staff Writer Page 2 | December 6-12 2018 The Financial Gazette National News Furore over car disposal scandal Budget surplus John Kachembere “This is a general practise, which government vehicles at such low added. and Adelaide Moyo happens in most companies. But as prices. Meanwhile, Ncube said govern- Staff Reporters CMED we service different types of “...when the said vehicles have ment is putting in place measures to illusory: experts government vehicles, we don’t em- reached a specified mileage or age efficiently manage its fleet, which PROPOSAL to sell a 2016 ploy people. The employer is the one according to conditions of service, was bleeding the fiscus. Isuzu KB250 truck for responsible for disposing the vehi- will be sold to civil servants who “Consumptive fiscal policy has $1,500 to one of govern- cles,” Mhaka said yesterday, adding were using them,” he said. been worsened by high spending on A From Page 1 ment's principal directors has touched the sale and offer to Mazemo was in An agricultural sciences profes- luxury car expenditures. Refocusing off a storm amid concerns that Pres- line with his "contractual conditions sor, Mpepereki noted that CMED expenditures towards developmental “The Finance minister’s announcement about the ident Emmerson Mnangagwa’s gov- of service. — which is the custodian of all gov- projects and programmes has made $29 million surplus is nonsensical, it is used by some- ernment was "aiding and abetting “If you are employed by govern- ernment vehicles — does not set the it imperative that government further one who does not understand the issues. state-sponsored theft, and plunder ment as a director they give you a car depreciation prices for vehicles, but reviews the unsustainable budget “You cannot qualify what you have done in a of public goods" through imprudent as part of your package. It is your per- follows “clearly laid out policies” and outlays on vehicle procurement and month as a surplus because government is using the remuneration policies to public offi- sonal car and it is an agreement be- only approves requests for clearances usage,” he said. accrual basis of accounting in which it can take weeks cials. tween the employer and the PSC on that come from the PSC. The Treasury boss indicated that before some expenses or receipts are reflected. The shocking August 2018 offer how much they dispose them. This However, former Finance min- going forward, eligible grades in the “We don’t use the cash basis kind of accounting to one M. Mazemo by CMED man- evaluation was specifically for this ister Tendai Biti said the new devel- public sector shall only be consid- ... His (Ncube’s) statements are just not correct,” he aging director Davison Mhaka has car,” he said. opment was tantamount to “theft of ered for replacement or purchase of said. surfaced ― on social media ― after With Mhaka insisting the para- public assets”, which did not occur another motor vehicle if the vehicle John Robertson, another economist, said while the Finance minister Mthuli Ncube has statal "was not to blame for the pric- during the lifespan of the coalition they were allocated has completed surplus was a welcome development — taken against also revealed that government was ing of the car", fears abound that the government between 2009 and 2013. 150 000 km or five years, whichever the backdrop of an anticipated $2,86 billion budget working on a plan to dispose of cars skint Zimbabwean government has “I think that there must be a law comes first. deficit at the end of 2018 — Ncube now needed to beyond five years or 150 000 kilo- lost hundreds of millions of dollars that regulates the disposal of public “Hence, outside this framework, ensure that this was sustainable. metres in mileage, as part of a new through this senseless policy ― in- assets at value,” he said. vehicles will not be replaced even “This surplus was only for the month of October. cost-management and austerity re- herited from Robert Mugabe ― giv- John Robertson, a respected econ- where the employee is assigned an- But we don’t know what will happen come year-end. gime. en that some of the beneficiaries and omist, said there was no justification other portfolio within the public ser- “It’s good that we achieved that $29 million sur- With Mhaka and company chair- top bureaucrats have served the gov- for selling a government vehicle at vice. The employee will continue to plus, but it may not be the case when it comes to man Sheunesu Mpepereki confirm- ernment since 1980. such low prices when Treasury is use the same vehicle until the vehicle year-end ... we know our government is good at over- ing the authenticity of the letter, and And with some departments hav- broke. has completed 150 000 km…. spending, and so we are not guaranteed that a surplus longstanding government policy, ing up to four principal directors ― “It’s quite extraordinary that “In the event of a promotion or will be consistent,” he said. analysts said the sale of a taxpay- and meaning there could be as many government is doing this when they re-assignment involving a different Robertson added that going by history, “fiscal dis- er-funded and $46 000 vehicle for a as 80 officials in this cluster alone are encouraging everyone to accept type of vehicle, all vehicles below cipline has not been high on government’s agenda, song was not only "insensitive, but ― and ministers such as Mnangag- austerity measures. The government one year shall not be offered for sale but we are hoping for the best”. makes nonsense of Harare's austerity wa serving government for three de- should contract independent evalua- to eligible officers, but will be surren- “One important thing to note is that the surplus posturing and five percent pay cut be- cades-plus, the "scale of plunder and tors to help them determine fair value dered to the relevant government en- was an outcome of panic buying, which may not be cause the same bigwigs have a way prejudice" could be staggering of a car before it is disposed to a civil tity as a pool vehicle,” he said.