‘IncEnTIvISE ExporTErS To BooST ZIm Economy’: p3

News Worth Knowing High prospects for private equity: P11

March 18-24 2021 ESTABLISHED 1969 @ FingazLive www.fingaz.co.zw Facebook: The Financial Gazette Z$260

ZSE Report TRADING on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) continued to weaken on Wednesday. However, the small caps Business continued with the bullrun adding 1207,44 points, the Mining Index also gained 80,48 points. The total volume traded was 4,9 million shares worth $59,8 million. Market breadth remained bearish following 20 de- cliners against 12 advancers with Cafca at 20 percent and General Beltings 13,16 per- cent leading the advancers and the decliners optimism respectively. The biggest trade values were in Natfoods at $26,7 million and Nampak at $11,9 million. There were no trades on the VFEX Currencies (Bloomberg) % change ◀ USD:ZAR 14,8846 0,01 ◀ EUR:USD 1,1910 0,06 ◀ GBP:USD 1,3902 0,08 ◀ surges as USD: JPY 109,1700 0,16 Stock Markets ZSE All Share 4,263,36 2,02 ◀ 2,440,65 Top 10 ◀ 2,87 66,615.55 1,0

JSE ◀

FTSE 100 6,769.84 ◀ 0,50 Dow 32,825.95 0,39 ◀

Commodities Gold 1,729,05 0,14 Zim heals ◀ Tabitha mutenga ers who said this year’s good agriculture Platinum 1,199,00 1,42 ◀ Associate Editor season would likely anchor significant Brent Oil 67,48 1,33 gross domestic product (GDP) growth. ◀ Grains ( ) Grain SA ◀ USINESS is getting more up- “Our economy is expecting strong White Maize ZAR 3,208 2,00 ◀ beat on the back of the country’s growth of 7,4 percent despite the impact Soya ZAR 8,072 10,00 stabilising economy, this year’s of Covid-19 ... the measured optimism is Wheat ZAR 5,111 27,00 B ◀ good agricultural season and the fact based on the expected significant growth that Covid-19 finally looks like it’s under in agricultural output. US$640mln allotted control. “The composite plan of action drawn Captains of industry who spoke to The in the Agriculture and Food Systems on forex auction Financial Gazette this week said 2021 Transformation Strategy launched last THE Reserve Bank of Zimba- promised to be “a good year for busi- year by the government depicts how the bwe has allotted US$640 million ness” — especially because of the ex- sector can contribute to ... the revival of to different companies under the pected rebound of the agricultural sector, the economy. foreign currency auction since which would have positive ripple effects “It (agriculture) is an integral part of the system was launched last on the whole economy. our national development agenda. The June, official data has shown. This comes as the manufacturing sec- good season will mean increases in im- Cooking oil producers Can- tor’s capacity utilisation levels are seen port substitution, and in exports value grow, Surface Wilmar, Willow- reaching 61 percent by the end of the year addition and beneficiation in other down- ton and United Refineries were — on the back of improving production stream industries. among the top beneficiaries, re- performances that have been triggered by “This can boost our foreign currency ceiving a combined US$32 mil- lion. the country’s much-lauded foreign cur- auction system, which has brought about Airports company of Zimbabwe (AcZ) acting chief executive, rency auction system. the stability in inflationary pressures The auction has given local Tawanda Gusha, says expansion of the robert Gabriel mugabe businesses a new lease of life and Zimbabwe National Chamber of through price discovery,” Manzungu International Airport is progressing well, with 46 percent of the work halted depreciation of the ZWL$. Commerce (ZNCC) president, Tinashe said. complete. The AcZ was unbundled from the civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, in 2018. See story on p6 This week, the domestic unit Manzungu, was among the business lead- To page 2 traded at 83.98 to the US$. Page 2 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette News Business optimism surges as Zim heals From Page 1 sector’s expected recovery was “With more good seasons, “good news” for the economy, I have no doubt that we can especially agro-based industries achieve a US$8 billion agricul- which were heavily reliant on ture economy by 2025,” he add- output from farms for raw ma- ed. terials. Industrialist Davison Norupi- “As business, especially man- ri also said the anticipated good ufacturing, we depend a lot on agricultural season would have the agricultural sector for raw a double positive impact on the materials. When that sector’s local economy, which had been production volumes increase, facing severe challenges in re- then the rest of the supply chain cent years. thrives. Business also thrives on “It means, the government well-fed citizens,” she said. will save on the more than Economist Pheneas Kadenge US$600 million that it has been said a good agricultural season using to import maize, and also it was crucial for both the econo- means an increase in exports — my generally and ordinary peo- bringing more foreign currency ple. into the country. “Whether the recovery is sus- “Foreign currency will also tainable is another issue, as this be saved as maize imports will is merely because of good rains. be reduced and the money can be It may, however, create posi- used to stimulate other sectors. tivity which spills over into the “Capacity utilisation will cer- economy as a whole. tainly go up this year as demand “The food industry should see In Delta Beverages’ fi nancial bill,” he said. then rampant parallel foreign curren- emanating from more disposable increased production capacity. results, the group’s chief execu- On its part, the Meikles Group said cy market. incomes will create demand,” But again, remember the econ- tive Pearson Gowero also said a the good rains had put its agricultural “When the survey was launched Norupiri told The Financial Ga- omy needs structural changes to good agricultural season would units on a likely growth trajectory. last year, there was a sense of disillu- zette. create a new growth trajectory bring many benefi ts to business “The good rains received this sionment …but we are beginning to “It is a good year for business and that is the aim of NDS1 (the and the country. season bode well for the group’s see light at the end of the tunnel in and industry as a whole because government’s National Develop- “The anticipated good agri- agriculture segment and growth in our economy. The foreign currency of the expected bumper harvest,” ment Strategy). cultural season is expected to export crops is expected in the forth- auction system has brought a remark- he added. “In other words, we shall see benefi t the economy by increas- coming fi nancial year. Our dams are able positive result. Foreign curren- Businesswoman and former a temporary relief, but not nec- ing disposable incomes and im- full and power, which is essential for cy availability … is enabling us to ZNCC president, Marah Hativa- essarily permanent change,” proved food supplies, resulting irrigation and estate factories, will be increase production,” she said at the gone, also said the agricultural Kadenge said. in net savings on the food import available not only from traditional launch of the CZI report. sources, but also from the solar proj- CZI chief economist, Tafadzwa ects,” Meikles company secretary, Bandama, said as of February 2021, Thabani Mpofu, said in a recent trad- more than 70 percent of the foreign ing update. currency which had been allotted at At the same time, data released the forex auctions had gone towards last week showed that Zimbabwe had the importation of raw materials, ma- planted maize enough to produce 2,8 chinery and equipment. million tonnes this year — compared “Projected capacity utilisation in to 900 000 tonnes last season. The 2021 is expected to increase to 61 data also indicated that the country percent ... It is encouraging to note would harvest 160 000 tonnes of soya that business can now access foreign beans and 200 million kilogrammes currency through the formal chan- of tobacco — one of Zimbabwe’s nels, although it’s now taking longer most important exports. to access foreign exchange. Certainty Authorities have also said that the and predictability have been intro- anticipated good agricultural season duced in the economy. The auction will likely slash Zimbabwe’s food is fostering some measure of confi - import bill. dence and trust in the policy making The food import bill rose signifi - and implementation process,” she cantly in 2020 to US$591,6 million said. — a 204 percent increase form the RBZ governor John Mangudya US$194,3 million registered in 2019, has also said things are going to get after domestic stocks for maize, better this year on the back of an an- wheat and rice failed to meet demand. ticipated bumper agricultural season. Maize imports rose sharply from Addressing a well-supported Dai- US$26,7 million in 2019 to US$297,8 ly News webinar last month, which million in 2020 — refl ecting the im- analysed the central bank’s latest pact of two consecutive droughts. monetary policy statement, Man- This comes as business was al- gudya said the good agricultural sea- ready bullish following the recent son would see the government saving unveiling of the Confederation of signifi cant sums of foreign currency Zimbabwe Industries’ (CZI) 2020 — which resources would be chan- Manufacturing Survey, which proj- nelled to social development. ects capacity utilisation to reach 61 “We are banking on a favourable percent this year. agriculture season to contain food “In our foreword to the 2019 Man- prices. We, therefore, anticipate in- ufacturing Sector Survey Report, creased food production due to the we described industry then as being favourable agriculture season, which on a precipice. This was indeed the will support exports, reduce imports situation for the fi rst half of 2020,” and ease pressure on the fi scus. CZI president, Henry Ruzvidzo, “We also expect infl ation to fall said at the launch of the 2020 report because of the favourable agriculture — which showed that industrial ca- season. Our food infl ation is mainly pacity utilisation in the country had because of imported infl ation. We grown by 11 percentage points to 47 have been importing maize, wheat percent. and crude soya oil, whose prices have Industry minister, Sekai Nzenza, been going up... So, when we grow attributed this to the foreign currency more food we expect the price of auction system — which was intro- maize and wheat products, as well as duced by the Reserve Bank of Zim- cooking oil to stabilise,” Mangudya babwe (RBZ) last June, to tame the said. newsdesk@fi ngaz.co.zw The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page 3 National News Adelaide Moyo Staff Writer RADE experts have urged the government ‘Incentivise exporters to move with speed to incentivise export- Ters, if Zimbabwe is to get maximum returns from its entry into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The free trade area — which was operation- to boost Zim economy’ alised in January this year — is expected to im- prove Zimbabwe’s exports into the rest of the con- test. The AfCFTA must be implemented to the fact that other African countries Economic Commission for Africa esti- tinent, a market with a combined Gross Domestic alongside complementary measures would reduce their exports to the rest mates that in the free trade agreement, Product (GDP) of about $3,4 trillion. to address existing supply-side of the world once the agree- Zimbabwe would see its intra-Africa ex- ZimTrade chief executive, Allan Majuru (pic- challenges. Zimbabwe has ment were in place,” Sewor- ports increasing by 40 percent in industry. tured), was among those who called on the gov- developed an inclusive noo said. It estimates that exports would also ernment to do more to incentivise exporters and AfCFTA implementa- He added that Zimba- increase by 25 percent in agriculture and reap from "massive opportunities" presented by tion strategy. Zimba- bwe, alongside Malawi food, with a five percent uptick in energy AfCFTA. bwe would still expand and Namibia stood to and mining. “I appreciate that there are a lot of efforts being its exports to the rest of gain more from AfCFTA However, the country’s imports from made by the government to make sure that the ease the world by 35 percent as a result of increased the rest of the world would decrease by 28 of doing business is improved for us to be able to in industry, 20 percent in exports due to reforms to percent in industry, 27 percent in agricul- be competitive. agriculture and food and the trade agreement. This ture and food and eight percent in energy “More needs to be done. The import bill for Af- 17 percent in mining, owing comes as the United Nations and mining. [email protected] rica is around US$570 billion and a chunk of it is coming from other continents, not Africa,” Majuru told an executive meeting organised by The Finan- cial Gazette. The event was sponsored by the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of Zimbabwe. “The borders are going to be opened, we are going to get new markets, but where we have mar- kets, we are going to get competition, so obviously, people are going to go for the competitive good that we have. Most of the focus is on trade, which is good, but this has given us an opportunity to move trade with investment. “We need to move away from a volumes game to a values game and for that to happen, investment has to come through. “Trade and investment have to move together for us to benefit from AfCFTA,” Majuru said fur- ther. Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries chief executive, Sekai Kuvarika, said industry was pre- paring to participate in AfCFTA because it realised there were huge opportunities there. “For a long time, our businesses have had an onward approach in terms of the development of enterprises but with the coming of the continental free trade area, we are looking at how to re-organ- ise industry and business for co-operation or com- petition on the external markets. “It’s important for us to have a strong and cohe- sive business community to tackle the continental market. Our strategy is premised on having a com- petitive private sector,” Kuvarika said. “We are also looking at the Sadc industrialisa- tion agenda and the regional value chains and as we progress our participation in the regional value chains we begin to plug into the continental market as well,” Kuvarika added. Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agen- cy chairman, Busisa Moyo, said there was need for policy clarity and consensus to position the coun- try for the huge opportunities in the AfCFTA. “In changing and reorienting the way business and industry works, we are certainly going to need political will. “I believe political will is there because the president has reached out to people like myself to assist. “We just need consensus and clarity and a para- digm shift among ourselves as players,” Moyo also told The Financial Gazette dialogue meeting. “We can’t have a policy and change it in six months. If we do that, we are going to have lots of challenges. “When we make adjustments, they shouldn’t be wild and big swings that destroy things. We should be incremental so that we can start to see invest- ments that are geared towards exports. We need to look at stability and guard it,” Moyo also said. Guest speaker and AU-AfCFTA senior advisor, Peter Sewornoo, said expected business and in- vestment opportunities under AfCFTA would not materialise unless it was implemented at national level. “The implementation of AfCFTA is the real Page 4 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette National News Cooking oil output seen doubling Farai Mabeza throughput for March, we are projecting source of forex for the country’s man- which is a big change from last year at this time”. Staff Writer 60-70 percent capacity up from the 30- ufacturers — a huge change from last Moyo says formal companies would like to see 40 percent range on refi ning capacity. year when the parallel market was domi- the auction become more entrenched as it is more OOKING oil production is ex- “The local soya crop will soon be nant — will be crucial for stability in the agreeable to formal businesses’ needs. pected to double due to an in- available and will see improvement on cooking oil sector. “Lack of audit trail, the high incidence of fraud Ccrease in soya bean production crushing capacity and local solvent ex- “The macro economic environment and other legal risks make the parallel market less this year, Oil Expressers Association of traction of crude soya bean oil, which is fairly stable due to the auction mar- preferred for formal businesses in spite of its abil- Zimbabwe (OEAZ) president, Busisa is currently below 20 percent rising,” ket framework, which is a good start- ity to pay promptly. We continue to proffer sug- Moyo, has said. Moyo told The Financial Gazette. ing point to move towards a full market gestions on how the auction can be strengthened Soya bean hectarage doubled from “Local crushing can only produce 25- framework, provided that the banking ... while growing exports and substituting import- 2020 levels but oil producers say local 30 percent of requirements from May and bureaux de change sector is willing ed raw materials with local inputs,” he said. production of the crop is still not enough to July but … this may go further in and develops the capacity to facilitate According to Industry minister Sekai Nzenza, to meet all the country's oil demand, 2021 due to the anticipated large crop, sellers and buyers of foreign currency as the government is stepping up efforts to increase which stands at 150 million litres per which shows hectarage at double that we go forward,” he said. soya bean production amid a growing shortfall annum. of 2019/20. We trust crop yields are to “The formal, legally registered and that has increased the country’s import bill. During the 2019/2020 agriculture sea- expectation and late rains don’t affect taxpaying sector is now accessing over “The intention with this new strategy is that son, the country produced only 40 000 harvest.” 80 percent of its requirements through we get to a point where we will not be importing, metric tonnes (MT) of soya bean. Moyo believes the foreign currency the auction market system and less but growing all our needs locally, thus promoting “Our tonnages are rising…for our auction market, which is now the main through the ‘street’ or ‘black market’, food security and creating employment as well as implementing our import substitution strategy,” Nzenza said on the sidelines of a tour of a cooking oil factory in Harare recently. Production of soya bean, which is also used for livestock feed production, has dropped from around 140 000 MT in 2000 to below 40 000 MT in recent seasons, resulting in the country turning to imports to plug the defi cit. Statistics from the Zimbabwe National Statis- tics Agency show that, soya crude oil imports in 2020 rose to US$128 million from US$73 million in 2019. Nzenza added that for the country to meet its demand for cooking oil, production of other oil seeds such as cotton and sunfl ower should also be increased. newsdesk@fi ngaz.co.zw Caledonia added to GDXJ index ALEDONIA Mining, which runs Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe, has been included in the CGlobal Junior Gold Miners Index (GDXJ) on the New York Stock Exchange with effect from March 19. The GDXJ Index forms the basis of various passive gold sector investment funds in the North American market, the most signifi cant being the US$5,2 billion VanEck Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF. “I am delighted with our imminent inclusion in the GDXJ Index. The listing of our shares on the NYSE American has increased our liquidity signifi - cantly and our inclusion on the Index should further raise our profi le among retail and institutional in- vestors. “The addition of Caledonia to the Index will be an important milestone for our business and will come at an exciting time for the company with the commissioning of Central Shaft, due to be com- pleted in the fi rst quarter of this year," Steve Curtis, Caledonia chief executive said. The company, has spent about US$60 million developing the Central Shaft project, which is key to the fi rm’s ambition to ramp up output to 80 000 ounces of gold a year by 2022. “We have invested approximately US$60 mil- lion in this project since we fi rst announced it in 2015 and it has been owner-built and fully funded through internal cash fl ow and has been completed at a cost that is well below initial quotes received,” Curtis said. Central Shaft represents one of the most recent largest gold mining investment projects in Zimba- bwe, and is seen as a game changer to Caledonia’s Zimbabwean interests. “…our target production is set to increase by 45 percent to 80 000 ounces by 2022 while our long- term all-in sustaining costs are expected to drop to $700-$800 per ounce. "Central Shaft will also position us to step up our deep level exploration which, if successful may extend Blanket's life of mine, which is currently to 2034.” — Staff Writer newsdesk@fi ngaz.co.zw The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page 5 National News AfDB calls for forex market stability Adelaide Moyo 2020, up from 226,9 percent in 2019, while not agreed to a new arrangement, which Staff Writer poverty stood at 70,5 percent in 2019, and would be aimed at helping Zimbabwe unemployment remained high at over 21 clear its arrears. HE African Development Bank (AfDB) says percent, the lender noted. “As a result, the country will have to it is vital that the government implements ef- AfDB said the banking system was sta- continue to rely largely on domestic re- Tfective and creative measures that will sustain ble and banks had some room to increase source mobilisation and borrowing from the foreign currency exchange market. credit. non-Paris Club members like China. This comes as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe The loan-to-deposit ratio was 38,8 per- “The international financial institutions (RBZ) has predicted more stability in the econo- cent in 2020 against a benchmark of 70 will not resume lending until debt arrears my — on the back of improved foreign currency percent. are cleared,” the AfDB further said in its inflows which continue to shore its forex auction Zimbabwe’s total public debt was $11,1 report. system. billion (53,9 percent of GDP), of which Meanwhile, African economies are ex- It also comes as industry has forecast capacity 95,6 percent was external including $6,4 pected to grow by an average of 3,4 per- utilisation to increase significantly as a result of billion in arrears to international financial cent this year, the AfDB said, as the conti- improved access to foreign currency at the auction institutions, bilateral, and private creditors. nent recovers from its worst contraction in system — credited with smoothening timely acqui- The southern African nation has been in half a century. John Mangudya sition of raw materials for its needs. default since 2000. The 54 economies shrank by 2,1 per- “Zimbabwe’s economic situation will remain The AfDB also said the collapse of the meant Zimbabwe had to continue looking cent as the coronavirus crisis disrupted challenged in 2021, although the foreign exchange one-year Staff Monitored Programme — inwards for resource mobilisation. economic activity across the continent. reforms, especially the weekly forex auctions, intro- between March 2019 and March 2020 — “The government and the IMF have [email protected] duced in June 2020, could create price stability and create room for modest economic recovery. “Modest economic recovery is projected in 2021 if effective measures are taken to stabilise foreign exchange... But the outlook is clouded by a number of factors,” the AfDB said in its latest African Eco- nomic Outlook report. The pan-African lender also predicted the econ- omy to grow by 4,2 percent this year and three per- cent in 2022 — a figure which is lower than the 7,4 percent projected by the government in the 2021 National Budget. Since June last year — when the country intro- duced a foreign currency auction system and oth- er monetary and fiscal measures — the ZWL$ has held steady against the US$ and other currencies. The local unit has been trading at below $85 to the coveted greenback — a move that has signifi- cantly snuffed out the once rampant black market for foreign currency. As a result, prices of goods and services which at one time triggered fears of a return to the 2008 hyperinflationary environment — when the ZWL$ became worthless against the US$ — appear to have been contained by availability of forex on the official market. This comes as RBZ governor John Mangudya has said the ZWL$ will continue to hold steady against the US$ and other currencies, as the cen- tral bank would maintain a stranglehold on mon- ey supply growth through its monetary targeting framework to entrench the relative stability of the exchange rate. “The bank reiterates that banknotes, new or old, do not cause inflation in an economy since they do not increase money supply. “Cash payments are an alternative to other meth- ods of transacting and do not constitute money cre- ation. “Price dynamics are influenced by the level of money supply in an economy as opposed to its composition (electronic money, transfers, cash, etc.), hence the bank’s firm commitment to keep- ing the level of money supply growth under control through its conservative or hawkish monetary tar- geting framework,” Mangudya said when present- ing his Monetary Policy Statement last month. Meanwhile, the AfDB said the Covid-19 pan- demic and government policies to contain the dis- ease would affect production levels across all sec- tors. “The industrial and mining sectors are equally faced with reduced competitiveness, low commodi- ty prices, and interruptions in electricity supply that disrupt output. “The problems are exacerbated by debt distress and arrears, and low international reserves that can cover less than one month of imports,” the AfDB said in its forecast of last year’s economic perfor- mance It said before the Covid–19 pandemic, Zimba- bwe’s economy was already in recession, contract- ing by six percent in 2019. The lender said then output fell because of eco- nomic instability and the removal of subsidies on maize meal, fuel, and electricity and suppressed for- eign exchange earnings. The AfDB also highlighted that the onset of the Covid–19 pandemic and continued drought led to 10 percent contraction in real GDP in 2020. Inflation soared, averaging 622,8 percent in Page 6 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette National News ACZ, Caaz set to split assets, liabilities Farai Mabeza tity and ACZ’s key mandate will be to expecting a response, either in the form The deficit was despite a two percent growth Staff Writer acquire, establish and manage airports in of a letter or approval of the statutory in- in total revenue from US$38,5 million in 2016 to Zimbabwe. strument”. US$39,2 million, as finance costs and an exchange HE Airports Company of Zim- “There is supposed to be the gazetting The latest publicly available financial loss of US$15 million stemming from the foreign babwe (ACZ) is waiting for the of a statutory instrument that allocates statements dated December 2017, show legacy loans ate into the top line. Tgovernment to gazette a statutory and separates assets and liabilities so that that Caaz is technically insolvent, with A huge chunk of the loans are denominated in instrument that will spell out the separa- the two entities can fully function as sepa- officials raising a red flag over its go- euros and pound sterling. tion of assets and liabilities, as the firm rate bodies,” ACZ acting chief executive, ing-concern status, as the regulator con- In 2018, Caaz secured an additional US$153 completes its unbundling from the Civil Tawanda Gusha, told The Financial Ga- tinues to pile on fresh debt despite failing million debt from the China Exim Bank to finance Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (Caaz) zette this week. to service its current obligations. an upgrade of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Interna- The process, which started in 2018 “We have done the enabling works That year, Caaz reported long-term tional Airport. seeks to avoid a conflict of interest and of getting all the asset valuations done borrowings of US$416,2 million against “… we have also started the process of opening comply with International Civil Aviation and we submitted that to the Transport a non-current asset base of US$444,5 mil- our own bank accounts to pave way for our finan- Organisation regulations. ministry, which also submitted them to lion, while current liabilities of US$279,8 cial reporting because come the end of the year, Under the previous structure, Caaz was Treasury for verification of the assets and million outweighed current assets of we are supposed to present our own financial re- both player and referee as it had regula- liabilities. Towards the end of February, US$38,1 million. ports as a separate entity. We expect to be audited tory oversight, while it also operated air- the Transport permanent secretary wrote For the full year, Caaz reported a deficit by the Auditor General as a separate entity. So, for ports. to the Finance permanent secretary (on of US$29,9 million compared to US$5,7 all those things to happen we need that statutory Caaz will maintain its name and iden- the issues), so any time from now we are million in the previous year. instrument to be able to then give us those assets and liabilities that are specific to the company,” Gusha added. Meanwhile, expansion works at the Robert Ga- briel Mugabe International Airport are about 46 percent complete, according to Gusha. The project will add four more aerobridges and see the construction of new fire stations. The international terminal building is also being rehabilitated and expanded to accommodate up to six million passengers annually, while the domes- tic terminal building will be refurbished. The ACZ board is chaired by Devnada Popatlal who is deputised by George Manyaya, while the other members are Tinotenda Ndewende, Rumbid- zai Dihwa, Tendai Mabvure and Snikiwe Gwatid- zo. [email protected] Govt to wean off land bank in two years

Farai Mabeza Staff Writer

HE government expects the recently estab- lished Land and Agricultural Development TBank of Zimbabwe (LADBZ) to be self-sus- taining by the end of 2023, a Cabinet minister has said. The LADBZ was set up following a restructuring of the state-owned Agribank. It will this year receive $700 million from the national budget. The govern- ment has also said it is earmarking investment sup- port from pension funds, among other sources. The new institution will be renamed the Agricul- ture Finance Corporation but trade as LADBZ. It will expand the provision of agricultural financial services across the entire value chain and support activities such as irrigation, infrastructure develop- ment and mechanisation. The bank will have four subsidiaries; Land Bank, Leasing Company, Insur- ance Company and Agribank. “…It (the board) must develop self-sustaining financing mechanisms for the LADBZ and its sub- sidiaries by December 2023…improve internal ca- pacity, capability and competencies to generate the requisite efficiencies for the delivery of seamless services and … ensure that the above objectives are met through robust strategies and plans generated and approved by July, 2021,” Agriculture minister Anxious Masuka said. The board is made up of former Seed Co chief executive Denias Zaranyika, Syndicate Resources chief executive Nancy Guzha, former First Mutu- al chief executive Ruth Ncube, Zimbabwe Com- mercial Farmers Union of Zimbabwe president Shadreck Makombe, legal practitioner James Mu- tizwa, farmer Wilson Nyabonda and Agriculture ministry representative Rutendo Nhongonhema. Masuka however, did not name the LADBZ board chair, saying he would do so after “adminis- trative processes in progress” but appointed chair- persons for the subsidiaries. The Land Bank will be chaired by Guzha, Nya- bonda will chair the Leasing Company while Ncu- be will head the Insurance Company with Godfrey Matemachani chairing Agribank. [email protected] The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page 7 Page 8 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette Leader Page

News Worth Knowing Openness in foreign currency allocation induces confidence THERE is an old adage that says transparency is the hallmark of ac- countability and the best disinfectant of corruption. The government has, since the beginning of the year, been fitting the transparency bill by opening up its books to scrutiny by the public. First, it was Finance and Economic Development minister Mthuli Ncube disclosing to the world that the country was indebted to the tune of US$1,4 billion to the African Export and Import Bank (Afrexim- bank) since 2017. The money was contracted from Afreximbank to bankroll acquisi- tion of strategic commodities, currency reforms, and prop up the econ- omy. Chinese officials inspect a consignment of Covid-19 vaccines donated to Zimbabwe at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Yesterday, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) made public the International Airport in Harare on Tuesday. Zimbabwe received 400 000 more vaccines that include 200 000 doses of the top 100 beneficiaries of the Dutch foreign currency auction system the Sinovac vaccine and another 200 000 from SinoPharm. government introduced in June last year to, among other things, im- prove hard currency liquidity to key economic enablers and stem the then run-away parallel market rates. The auction system, carried out openly every Tuesday, has seen the local currency holding steady against the US$, trading at below $85 to Remote work experiment — the coveted greenback since June last year. There has been relative price stability since then and economic pre- dictability — an ingredient for business planning. now comes the hard part From the RBZ statistics, the apex bank allotted US$640 million to local businesses since the inception of the hard currency competitive n March 2020, companies they navigate the next phase of this will no longer be considered a spe- bidding. across the world abruptly shut- grand work experiment. cial perk. There has been a significant increase in both the number of bids tered their offices and instruct- "Many companies succeeded Now here comes the hard part and the value thereof from just under 100 bids weekly valued at US$11 I ed employees to work from home working remotely in 2020 largely Despite the challenges, Hewitt million at inception, to the current levels of over 500 bids valued at indefinitely as a result of the pan- because everyone was doing it — says the past year has been easy around US$40 million. demic. there was no built-in preference for compared to what will come next. This exhibits a great deal of confidence by local firms in the auction At first, many thought the shut- office workers or stigma against "We've been playing remote system. Trading updates released by businesses across the spectrum testify to its usefulness. downs would last a couple months. remote workers," said Andrew work on easy mode. We've all been The hope is that more foreign currency and concessionary loans But one year later, millions of Hewitt, senior analyst at market re- doing the same thing, everybody would continue to be availed to industry for retooling and upping ca- workers are still working remotely. search firm Forrester. has had equal access to informa- pacity utilisation. The pandemic has forced a large The initial shock tion and promotions," said Hewitt. The spinoffs would be more exports, meaning more hard currency segment of the global workforce to In a matter of days, companies "It will get harder in 2021 with hy- generation for the country, which will result in cheap local products, go through a remote-work experi- across the globe were shutting their brid." social-economic development, infrastructural growth and job creation. ment on a scale never seen before offices and many had little to no Inequality between remote and But while ramping up the availability of foreign currency to compa- — and a lot has changed in the last time to prepare their employees for in-office workers can become an nies, the RBZ should keep a hawkish eye on vultures bent on abusing 12 months. getting work done entirely outside issue among hybrid workforces. the auction system. Already, the central bank has banned 12 compa- The boundary between our of office walls. People in the office get more face nies caught abusing the system, while 62 entities are under the Finan- work and our personal lives has be- US-based artificial intelligence time with the boss, which can lead cial Intelligence Unit's watch list. We urge the authorities to rein in the banned entities’ respective come blurred. Working at the kitch- software company, Coveo, emp- to better relationships, increased bankers and bring them to book. en table has become common and, tied its offices in early March 2020. access to information and top as- The auction system has allowed for the outward movement of disin- for parents, juggling virtual school With more than 600 workers across signments. vestments and repatriation of dividends by foreigners. while trying to hit work deadlines the globe, employees were used to "There was the stigma (before We applaud the central bank for the transparency, which will go a has become a daily challenge. working in different time zones the pandemic), that remote work- long way in building confidence across the market. Employers have also been and locations. Still, in-person col- ers were less productive and career forced to become more nimble. laboration and gatherings are an focused," Hewitt said. Southern Africa’s Leading Business and Financial Newspaper They've had to loosen restrictions important part of the company's And companies have grappled Established 1969 Publisher: Modus Media on where employees can work, culture. with allowing remote workers in equip them with the tools do so and the past. In 2013, Marissa May- EDITORIAL MARKETING support them both professionally er, then-chief executive of Yahoo, Associate Editor Advertising Manager Open Forum and personally. sparked controversy when she end- Senior Assistant Editor Brand Executive Sales & Advertising We've learned many lessons with ed the company's work-from-home as a result: meetings aren't always option citing the need for better Markets Editor Senior Sales Consultant necessary, working a standard Kathryn Vasel communication and collaboration eight-hour shift may not be the best among staff. IBM called back some Companies Editor Senior Sales Executives schedule for everyone, sitting at a From the start, the company of its remote workers in 2017. desk doesn't always mean you're focused on making sure workers Training managers on how to Group Digital Editor Sales Representatives - Harare being productive and perhaps, you were well-equipped at their home equally incorporate remote and Chief Sub Editor miss your co-workers more than office by allowing things like tech in-person workers in meetings and Sales Representative - Bulawayo Clever Pedzisai: [email protected] you thought you would. equipment and noise-canceling decision making, as well as how Senior Staff Writer Now that more people are get- headphones to be expensed, as well they communicate is a critical step Brand Executive - Events ting vaccinated and children are as offering subsidies for high-speed in equalizing workforces. Staff Writers Brand Executive - Subscriptions going back to school, things ap- internet. And it didn't come cheap. At Yelp, the majority of em- pear as if they might get back to It wasn't just figuring out the lo- ployees worked in the company's Subscriptions Representatives Farai Mabeza: mabezaf@fingaz.co.zw "normal," but the workplace as we gistics of how to work from home offices before the pandemic. The

Senior Photographer knew it may be forever changed. that challenged employers and their company is now giving most em- Editor-In-Chief Guthrie Munyuki: munyukig@fingaz.co.zw Some companies plan to remain workers at the start of pandemic. ployees a choice to continue work- Production Supervisor Managing Director 100 percent remote post-pandemic, There was the mental and emo- ing remotely or come into the of- while others — including compa- tional toll it took as well. fice a few days a week. Head O ce nies like Reddit and Microsoft — To help employees cope with Workers who move to areas Editorial, Advertising & Circulation 2nd Floor, Green Bridge South, Eastgate Complex, will take a hybrid approach, giving the changes and uncertainties of with significantly higher or lower P.O. Box CY 376, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe. workers more flexibility about the pandemic, some companies cost of labor could see their pay Tel: +263-242-781572 Advertising Media Association Website: www. nancialgazette.co.zw Distributed by: ANZ where they work. enhanced their benefits, offering adjusted. And, of course, some compa- things like free counseling, sti- The company created a VOLUNTARY MEDIA COUNCIL OF ZIMBABWE e Financial Gazette newspaper subscribes to a Code of Conduct that promotes truthful, accurate, fair and balanced news nies will want everyone to come pends for childcare and office set- three-tiered system to han- reporting. If we do not meet these standards, register your complaints with the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe at: No 34 Colenbrander Rd, Milton Park, Harare. Telephone: 04-778096 / 778006 24 Hr Complaints line: 0772 125 659 back. no matter what the approach, ups and increased days off. dle compensation chang- Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Twitter: @vmcz http://www.vmcz.co.zw | Facebook page: vmcz Zimbabwe workers and employers can expect But when it comes to the work- es for workers that relocate. to hit a few bumps in the road as force post-pandemic, remote work — CNN The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page 9 National News Tackle IFFs, govt told Adelaide Moyo Staff Reporter

FRICA is losing an estimat- ed US$50 billion a year from Aillicit financial flows (IFFs) through a variety of methods, from tax evasion and deliberate mis-in- voicing, the United Nations Commis- sion for Africa (UNECA) has said. Allan Mukungu, the UNECA of- ficer-in-charge of Economic Gover- nance and Public Finance Section, said this money which is being si- phoned out by multinational corpo- rations could be used to develop the mineral-rich continent. Fradreck Kunaka Africa remains one of the poorest once again shone the light on rampant continents in the world, with analysts corruption and poor prices affecting blaming its underdevelopment on the sector. corruption, illicit financial flows, lack Experts said a raft of cumbersome of good corporate governance and taxes, including refining and royalty sheer incompetence among other ills. payments totaling nearly 18 percent, “African countries must establish could be one of the major reasons comprehensive governance frame- why people continue to smuggle works for tackling illicit financial gold. flows,” he said during an online con- Bomba expressed concern over ference hosted by Trust Africa. loopholes in the taxation system. “These must be underpinned by “We are dealing with an archaic comprehensive policy and up to international taxation architecture date laws and regulations that pro- which traces back to a century, this is vide IFFs combating agencies with way out of date and presents a chal- broad mandates and the legal basis lenge for us in terms of advocating to enforce IFFs curbing efforts, sen- for a new arrangement. The main sitization programmes for the pub- imperative back then was to design lic and for relevant duty bearers and a taxation regime that addressed tax inclusive governance frameworks to jurisdiction questions on an industrial oversee and guide IFFs cubing pro- era TNCs revenues,” he said. grammes in a collaborative and coor- Specific tax regimes for multina- dinated fashion,” he said. tional enterprises have been intro- He added that the continent should duced, for example, by the United establish an apolitical dispute settle- Kingdom and Australia with diverted ment and trade facilitation authority profits taxes and by the US with its to promote regional efforts to curb base erosion and anti-abuse tax. corruption, tax motivated and trade- “IFFs severely undermine domes- based IFFs and money laundering. tic resource mobilisation or sources “African countries should also of development finance to achieve establish a mutual administrative as- Sustainable Development Goals sistance legal instrument at a region- (SDGs). IFFs are correlated to low al level, interoperable with national government spending on key so- systems and international standards cio-economic areas and they foster for mutual support in efficiently set- dependency on external sources of tling disputes and enforcing action on development,” Bomba said. trade mis-invoicing, tax fraud, money He added that poor coordination laundering and corruption,” Mukun- across multiple institutions make it gu said. difficult to fight IFFs. Although the continent, under “We have terrible coordination the leadership of the African Union within our countries and a plethora (AU), has been following the issue of of institutions that are dealing with IFFs at the highest level through the issues that touch on IFFs whether appointment of the High Panel led by its ministry of finance or the minis- former South Africa president Thabo try of mineral resources. The lack of Mbeki, several governments have coordination across our government failed to aggressively investigate institutions is one of the reasons why and prosecute money launderers and we are not making progress and that’s companies that evade tax. why we need an all of government Speaking during the same event, approach to tackling the problem we Briggs Bomba, Trust Africa’s pro- are dealing with,” he said. grammes director, said corruption “The issue of beneficial ownership contributes five percent to IFFs while registries is another cause of concern. criminal activities and corporate con- We continue to have our countries al- tribute 30 percent and 65 percent re- low transactions to take place where spectively. the beneficial owner is unknown and He said the most vulnerable sec- I think this is something that should tors include the telecommunications, be a thing of the past.” the financial services sector and ex- African countries have been heav- tractive sector with gold being the ily relying on limited FDI and unpre- most vulnerable value chain account- dictable donor aid to raise resources ing for 77 percent of all losses to for the continent’s development, yet, IFFs. for every dollar of development aid Recently, Fidelity Printers and that comes to the continent, ten dol- Refiners (FPR) general manager- Fr lars have left in the form of IFFs, tax adreck Kunaka said Zimbabwe is los- evasion and avoidance as well as cor- ing 1,5 tonnes of gold every month ruption. [email protected] due to leakages — a situation that has Page 10 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 Page 11 The Financial Gazette Companies&Markets BRIEFS High prospects GMB introduces e-wallet HE Grain Marketing Board of Zimbabwe (GMB) has launched an e-wallet in a bid to im- Tprove farmers’ access to their grain proceeds. As a result, farmers will now be able to “receive funds in real time and transact swiftly”. “What will happen is that we load money into that for private equity card. The farmer can use that card to go and transact. He can go to a supermarket and buy his goods using Omega Ukama that card. He can go to any input supplier and buy us- Companies Editor ing that card,” Rocky Mutema, GMB’s chief executive said. IMBABWE’S capital-starved “The advantage of the card is that unlike bank-to- firms present investment oppor- bank, where there is a time-lapse between transac- Ztunities for private equity, a local tions… with this one we load money into the e-wallet, wealth management firm has said. immediately, without any loss of time.” – Staff Writer A highly-volatile economic environ- ment headlined by high inflation and currency fluctuations, has kept both domestic and foreign lending to the pri- Takura takes over Interfresh vate sector at a minimum. AKURA Capital (Takura) has taken control of In- According to the Reserve Bank of terfresh Limited, in a bid to revive the agro-pro- Zimbabwe (RBZ), most local banks cessor. have adopted a cautious approach to T The private fund has, in recent years, rescued and re- lending, especially in foreign currency, launched many struggling companies, among them with the average prudential liquidity Cairns Foods and bread-maker Lobels. ratio for the sector remaining high at Takura’s Interfresh transaction was approved by the around 70 percent. Competition and Tariffs Commission on March 4. “Private equity remains a promising “Takura is acquiring 100 percent shareholding in alternative investment opportunity in Interfresh Mauritius, which in turn holds 100 percent Zimbabwe given the absence of long- shareholding in Ice-Jay, the majority shareholder (with) term funding and the priority status the IRISH-AMERICAN financial services and software provider, Stripe, this week 82,4 percent in Interfresh Limited. The remaining 17,6 sector was given by the government in became the most valuable private company Silicon Valley has produced, af- percent is passive investment. Takura will acquire these the national budget,” Akribos Capital ter investors struck a deal valuing the online payments processor at $95 billion. as second phase acquisition,” the competition watch- (Akribos) said in a note last week. Picture: Bloomberg dog announced. – newzwire In an attempt to attract more capital, government is adding private equity — an alternative asset class that consists of “Opportunities to upgrade infra- presents opportunities for private equity capital not listed on a public exchange structure in the energy, mining and funding. OM, PPC suspension extended — to the list of investments that can be road transport sector continue to make “A common difficulty for general conferred ‘prescribed asset status’. Zimbabwe an attractive destination for partners seeking different-sized transac- INANCE minister Mthuli Ncube has extended by But already, the government is hav- investors,” the firm said. tions is finding well-run companies that another year, the suspension of Old Mutual and ing challenges with insurers and pen- The country currently requires an meet all the requirements for private eq- FPPC’s fungibility on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. sion funds who are at law required to estimated 2 200MW of power, but pro- uity, as smallholder farming continues The fungibility of the counters was suspended in March invest in prescribed assets. duces approximately 1 667MW. to dominate.” 2020, and trading in the stocks was halted in August of Both insurers and pension funds cite “The power deficit can be met The funding constraints have creat- the same year to allow investigations into allegations of the challenging macroeconomic envi- through private equity deals,” Akribos ed challenges for businesses in various speculative activity, which the government believes was ronment and absence of attractive infla- said. sectors. driving inflation that had surpassed 700 percent at the tion indexed instruments. Akribos also noted that support to Capacity utilisation in Zimbabwean time. Akribos said private equity ventures agribusiness remains depressed as most mines is this year seen increasing by 20 “ I… hereby order the suspension, for a period of 12 that are likely to receive favourable con- businesses in the sector are small and percentage points to a record 80 percent months from the publication of this general notice ending ditions of operations from the govern- medium-sized enterprises with limited in anticipation of firm commodity pric- on the 11th March, 2022, of every authority, directive or ment include those that focus on import collateral. es, but the sector could do much better order granted by any exchange control authority allowing substitution, agriculture-based indus- “Commercial bank loans to the if funding can be improved, a survey by the fungibility of shares of… Old mutual, PPC,” Ncube trialisation, mineral beneficiation, and sector are much lower than would be the Chamber of Mines found last year. minister said in a Government Gazette last Friday. — export-led industrialisation. necessary to sustain expansion, which [email protected] Staff Writer Page 12 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette Companies & Markets Nedbank withstands Covid-19 headwinds Nelson Gahadza more than 25 00 people up and run- Sibiya noted that the group was reconfigure the balance sheet and op- Staff Writer ning for business continuity across also able to narrow expense growth erations of its Zimbabwe unit, adding the group including in Zimbabwe,” by a marginal one percent despite the that “this is primarily driven by the re- HE Nedbank Group (Ned- Sibiya told journalist during a virtual challenges. ality of hyperinflation that the unit is bank) defied disruptions presentation of the group’s 2020 re- He also indicated that the group operating in”. Tcaused by the Covid-19 pan- sults Wednesday. The group saw an worked with various regulators in- “On group level, we have reported demic in 2020 as it managed to con- improved financial performance in cluding the Reserve Bank of Zimba- on consolidated headline earnings, tinue to provide clients with cash flow the second half of 2020, with headline bwe to ensure the soundness of the particularly for the Nedbank Africa support. earnings declining by only 56,5 per- financial services sector in the wake business, a net monetary loss of R89 Terence Sibiya, Nedbank’s manag- cent, compared to a decrease of 69,2 of the pandemic. million was achieved. While it may ing executive, said the bank supported percent in the first half. Further, the group was able to re- not affect the balance sheet, on consol- clients with R121 billion relief loans Sibiya said the headline earnings spond to customer needs through digi- idation we need to work with our bank while remaining well capitalised, liq- for the year were affected by higher tisation, Sibiya said. locally to ensure that we configure the uid and profitable, albeit at levels low- impairments and lower revenues, with “Our key strategy will be to refine balance sheet of that monetary loss,” er than in the prior year. the impact on the latter mainly attrib- Terence Sibiya our operations but primarily driven by he said. “Given the Covid-19 pandemic, utable to lower levels of client activity sharp increase in business in the sec- changing customer needs and behav- The managing executive said the we had to respond to share-up our and the impact of lower interest rates ond half of the year across all the busi- ior,” he said, adding that this also re- group is also, through organic growth, resilience, which meant we had to on endowment income. nesses in South Africa and across the quires the group to relook at its branch moving towards meeting the regulat- quickly as the first lockdown were “At half year we predicted that region. Therefore, overall, financial network where a lot of the cost base ed minimum capital requirement of being announced, needed to pivot to the year would end with declining performance improved in the second sits. US$30 million by 2023 a more resilient organization, getting headline earnings, however, we saw a half of 2020,” he said. Sibiya said the group is looking to [email protected] Masholds’ revenue rises 50pct Nelson Gahadza Staff Writer

ASHONALAND Holdings (Masholds) says revenue increased by 50 percent Mduring the four months to January 31, 2021, buoyed by rental reviews and payment of rentals in US$ by some tenants. In a trading update last week, the property investment and development company said its revenue for the period amounted to $95 million, adding that the growth was also supported by a three percent improvement in occupancy. “Collections remained resilient at 94 percent despite the lockdowns and we continuously im- proved the internal processes on on-boarding new tenants and credit control,” the company said. The company said its occupancy levels closed the period under review at 79,4 percent, while its rental income grew by 50 percent. “Sales for the period were also buoyed by Statutory Instrument (SI) 185 of 2020 which al- The crucial question to ask is lows dual pricing,” the company said. what needs to be done to end TB? It said operating costs increased during the pe- riod due to inflation, “as most service providers Prevention, are continuing to peg prices of services in line with parallel market exchange rates”. prevention, and While the company's operating profit margin prevention! reduced by 17 percent, its operating profit in- creased by 24 percent to $54 million. The company reported a pre-tax profit increase of 52 percent to $94,8 million from $62,4 million recorded in the same period last year driven by revenue increases. Its total assets increased by 0,4 percent to $11 billion from the audited September 2020 position due to an increase in investment property. “Investment property increased due to project investments in respect of the Bluff Hill Cluster Houses project,” the company noted. Net asset value per share increased by 1,2 per- cent to $5,65. The company noted that it is pur- suing several strategies to diversify the property portfolio. Some of the initiatives include projects such as the repurposing of Charter House building — an office block in Harare’s central business dis- trict — into a boutique hotel. Masholds also plans to develop the sub-ur- ban office park at 9 Natal Road and the 12 Van Praagh, Milton Park medical facilities. [email protected] The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page 13 Companies & Markets Nampak in depressed outlook Nelson Gahadza quarter of 2021. The company says it requires a on prior year. Staff Writer “… the socio-economic en- minimum of US$3,5 million per “The Cortons, Label and Sacks vironment has not undergone month to purchase raw materials. division had increased sales vol- AMPAK Zimbabwe any material improvement… the Meanwhile, the managing di- umes by 77 percent on prior year (Nampak) does not fore- group’s gross margins remained rector said revenue in inflation due to robust sales of self-open- Nsee any significant uplift under pressure as cost pressures adjusted terms for the fourth ing bags.” to Zimbabwe’s socio-economic intensified, but overall, the group quarter of 2020 was 20 percent Hunyani manufactures corru- environment for the rest of 2021, has remained profitable.” ahead of prior year as a result of gated containers for a wide va- especially in view of the Covid- He said the company has con- improved sales volumes, greater riety of commercial packaging 19 pandemic, which has disrupted tinued to face challenges sourcing availability of foreign exchange requirements, as well as special- economies the world over. foreign currency, despite the Re- and inflationary pricing. ised packaging for the tobacco, John Van Gend, Nampak’s serve Bank of Zimbabwe’s week- At Hunyani Corrugated Prod- horticulture, floriculture and cit- managing director told a virtual ly auctions, which a number of ucts division (Hunyani), Van rus sectors for local and export annual general meeting last week companies say have eased foreign Gend said the tobacco sector re- markets. that the company’s volumes had exchange scarcity since they were how much we are getting and the mained vital to ongoing packag- The business is also a key increased during the quarter to launched last June. timing of that will continue to ing operations, particularly the supplier of the large double-wall December 31, 2020, but were “While the auction system has hamper our daily trading,” Van export business. He said sales board cases for tobacco exports. seen decreasing during the first helped, we are still restricted on Gend said. volumes were up by eight percent [email protected] Weakening US$ ‘threatens price stability’ Omega Ukama Companies Editor

NDUSTRY says the weakening of the US$ against the South African rand has raised Icosts of imported raw materials, which has affected the pricing of certain goods in Zimba- bwe. South Africa is the country’s largest trade partner and the rand has gained about 26 percent on the greenback over the past 12 months, while Zimbabwe’s economy has increasingly dollar- ised. “Prices in the food sector and related products have been affected by escalating costs of raw materials and factors influencing price forma- tion for these commodities include… the firm- ing of the South African rand against the US$ (which) raises costs of imported raw materials and affects the pricing of goods,” the Confeder- ation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) said. Apart from raw materials, Zimbabwe is de- pendent on imports to a great degree. The coun- try’s trade deficit increased by US$75 million to US$590 million in 2020. Imports from South Africa during the year amounted to US$2,5 billion, compared to ex- ports to that country of US$1,7 billion. Zimbabwe reintroduced its own currency in 2019 after a decade under a multi-currency sys- tem, which was dominated by the US$. Harare had banned the use of foreign curren- cies in domestic transactions in 2019, but this was reversed last year amid fears that a sin- gle-currency regime would not hold up to pres- sures from the Covid-19 pandemic, and this has made the greenback a major component of the country’s currency system once again. Fuel is now almost exclusively available in US$ and prices in shops are now displayed in both the domestic currency and the greenback. A number of government departments have also started accepting US$. It also comes as the proportion of the coun- try’s money supply accounted for by foreign currency deposits – a widely accepted metric for currency substitution – has been reported by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to have in- creased to 55,4 percent by December 2020, from 37 percent in 2019. Meanwhile, the US$’s weakening is likely to last at least another six months as investors con- tinue to shift to risky assets and higher returns, a recent Reuters poll of currency strategists found. Zimbabwe’s inflation, however, has contin- ued to subside after reaching 800 percent in July last year, at the climax of what was the country’s second episode of hyperinflation in a decade. [email protected] Page 14 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette Companies & Markets Choppies in positive profit warning

Adelaide Moyo cus on Zimbabwe and a few others, having suffered Staff Writer running shortfalls. In its year ended June 30, 2020 financials, Chop- EGIONAL retailer Choppies anticipates pies noted that the challenging environment in Zim- profit after tax for the half year ended De- babwe impacted revenue performance as hyperin- Rcember 31, 2020 — yet to be reported — flation wiped away the value of disposable incomes. at between US$2,15 million and US$4,67 million “With hyperinflation in three digits, concerns compared to a loss of US$12,59 million recorded in surrounding the economy, changes in the money the prior period. market and public disturbances, Zimbabwe is one In a statement, the Botswana Stock Exchange-list- of the most challenging markets to operate in,” the ed retailer said it is finalising its financial results for company noted. the half year, but expects basic earnings per share As a result, revenue declined by 18 percent to P4 within a range of 4,3 thebe to 2,4 thebe from basic 141 million from P508,5 million in 2019 resulting earnings per share of 9,5 thebe previously. from an 87,5 percent weakening of the local curren- “The profit before tax for continuing operations od HY2020, hence there is no ma- trading in its securities “until such cy against the pula during the previous 12 months. for the half year period is expected to be approxi- terial impact on the profit before tax time as the actual results are released”. Gross profit margins improved slightly to 19 mately between one percent and 10 percent lower for continuing operations,” Choppies In 2019, the regional retailer exit- percent compared to 18,8 percent in prior year with (P84,8 million and P93,3 million) than the profit said. ed South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and operating income on a comparable basis at P15,7 before tax of P94,2 million reported for the peri- The company urged caution when Mozambique but said it will keep fo- million. [email protected] OM ETF now highest demat counter on ZSE Nelson Gahadza Staff Writer

HE Old Mutual (OM) Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) Top Ten Index Exchange TTraded Fund (ETF) is now the highest de- materialised (demat) counter on the local bourse, at 100 percent, Chengetedzai Depository Company (CDC) has said. Demat is conversion from physical certificates to electronic book-keeping. In an update, CDC last week said 25 counters are now demat and the average penetration ratio is now at 51,27 percent. “We are currently going through a process of acquiring top 20 shareholders in every counter from transfer secretaries and implementing a tar- geted approach to encourage major shareholders to dematerialise. All new listings are also being en- couraged to insist on dematerialisation, like OM did with its ETF,” Campbell Musiwa, CDC’s chief executive told The Financial Gazette this week. The ratio, which had largely remained static at 45 percent for more than two years, improved to current level after CDC embarked on various ini- tiatives to encourage dematerialisation of shares by investors who are yet to deposit them onto the central securities depository. Proplastics, which has a demat ratio of 98 per- cent, had over the years led the market, but it is now second to the OM ETF. The Old Mutual Investment Group Zimba- bwe-sponsored instrument, which was launched in December last year and started trading on January 4, was a first for the country. According to CDC, only 10 companies have dematerialisation penetration ratios of over 90 percent — Masimba Holdings, Dawn, ART, ZHL, Seed Co limited, Ok Zimbabwe, BNC, RTG and FMP. Musiwa says getting to full dematerialisation will result in a lower settlement risk, as well as less costs of servicing shareholders by listed compa- nies. Meanwhile, 539 accounts were opened with CDC’s Central Securities Depository (CSD) in February compared to 367 accounts opened in Jan- uary 2021. This brought the cumulative number of accounts to 31 757. Local investors now account for 94 percent of all the accounts, according to CDC. In February, a total of 129 deposits were pro- cessed on the CSD compared to 170 in the month of January 2021, bringing the cumulative number of deposits to 89 182. [email protected] The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page S1

Tobacco marketing season modalities released HE 2021 auction tobacco marketing sea- son opens on Wednesday April 7, 2021. TContract tobacco sales will open a day lat- er on April 8. State of preparedness of tobacco auction floors in line with Covid-19 regulations The following recommendations were agreed upon by the tobacco industry and provide general guidelines on 2021 sales procedures. These are minimal requirements and stake- holders are encouraged to draw up more strin- gent ones. - All selling points shall actively spearhead Covid-19 awareness campaigns at their respec- tive premises including displaying relevant post- ers and fliers. - The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) will enlist all relevant authorities, which include the Zimbabwe Republic Police and local government authorities, to enforce the complete closure and removal of all flea markets and all vendors around the perimeter of auction and con- tract sales floors ahead of and during this year's marketing season. - The farmer shall be notified of his or her tentative selling time at the point of booking and only one farmer/representative to attend the sales. - Selling floors shall accept tobacco deliveries as from 6am to 5pm, with trucks arriving outside the permissible time being turned away. - A maximum of only two people are allowed on-board the tobacco delivery trucks (driver and assistant only). - The “delivery today and sale tomorrow” pol- icy will be enforced in full. - Banking facilities at sales floors should meet all ministry of Health and Child Welfare-set Covid-19 guidelines. - Premises, and in particular areas that have high human contact and moving traffic, will be continuously disinfected before, during and af- ter sales. Schedules and records of disinfection should be displayed. - No children under the age of 16 shall be al- lowed into tobacco sales premises and sales ar- eas. - Each sales point shall have a designated iso- lation area in accordance with guidelines and recommendations from the Health ministry, wo will also shall be engaged to give guidance on how to handle suspected Covid-19 cases referred to the isolation centres at the selling floors. - Foot baths, full body cover mist sanitising sprays, hand washing facilities, comprising of running water with either an alcohol-based disin- fectant or soap, will be installed at entrance gates for use before entry, during and after sales. All vehicles driving into the selling points should be sprayed. - Canteens should follow all Covid-19 regula- tions and will only be allowed to sell take-away meals with strictly no sitting arrangements. (This will be reviewed in line with further develop- ments in national Covid-19 regulations) - The wearing of face masks is mandatory for everyone entering the floors i.e. all staff members for the floor, buyers, TIMB staff, and farmers. - All sales points shall have at least a qualified state registered nurse on site. - All selling points should have technological capacity to enable growers to follow their virtual sales away from sales floors. Page S2 | March 18-24 2021 TOBACCO MARKETING SEASON SPECIAL FEATURE The Financial Gazette Duly’s AgriQuip: Home of farming implements ULY’S AgriQuip, a division of Duly Holdings, has a wide range of farming Dequipment from reputable international brands such as New Holland tractors, Fieldking implements and Sfoggia planters. Under the reputable Fielking franchise, Dulys AgriQuip has a wide range of implements such as square bailers, hay racks, mowers, rippers, ploughs (reversible, fi xed and topido), disk har- rows, boom sprayers, fertiliser spreaders, tipping trailers, 4-row and 6-row planters, seed drills, coil cultivators, rigid cultivators, sub-soilers, ro- tary mulchers, and rotor verters among others. Dulys AgriQuip is an agricultural and mining mechanisation partner who also has a wide range Byron Mabuzane from of implements and provides after sales support Duly’s AgriQuip (right) for New Holland tractors and implements parts hands over a tractor and and accessories. Fieldking-branded mer- The key farming implements player also has chandise to a farmer re- cently. Sfoggia 4-row and 6-row planters imported from Italy. Duly’s AgriQuip is the leading Zimbabwe- an Motor Company specialising in the retailing and servicing of Ford vehicles, Renault cars, Nissan cars, UD trucks, Volvo trucks, and bus- es, Higer buses, Eicher trucks and buses, Yutong buses and wide a range of New Holland tractors. Established in 1902, the company is reputed for a sound and stable reputation throughout Zimbabwe for good product, excellent customer after-sales service, fair dealing in the industry and integrity that has held true in over 100years. Having a knack for providing an exceptional level of service in the motor industry to valued customers, Duly Motors opened a dedicated bulk parts department, which subsequently launched the fi rst depot in Harare in 1932, motorists head here for genuine parts, car batteries, car acces- sories or car care products to keep vehicles in great shape. Duly’s branches are located in Harare, Mu- tare, Gweru and Bulawayo to enable customers for vehicle sales and after-sales support. Dulys AgriQuip provides farm visits for cer- tain special servicing requirements to ensure productivity on the farm is not compromised.

Under the reputable Fielking franchise, Dulys AgriQuip has a wide range of implements such as square bailers, hay racks, mowers, rippers, ploughs (reversible, fi xed and topido), disk harrows, boom sprayers, fertiliser spreaders, tipping trailers, 4-row and 6-row planters, among others.

New Holland tractor with plough disc in action. The Financial Gazette tobacco Marketing season special feature March 18-24 2021 | Page S3 Countdown to 2021 tobacco marketing season rices for this year's tobacco 9. Equinox Leaf Tobacco P/L selling season will be deter- 10. Green Golden Leaf Tobacco P/L pmined via the bidding system 11. Genotab Traders P/L at the auction floors, and this will 12. Inter-Continental Leaf Tobacco commence when the marketing sea- Co. P/L son starts on April 7, 2021. 13. Leaf Tobacco Africa P/L Mode of payment for farmers 14. Majestic Tobacco P/L • Tobacco growers shall be paid 15. Mashonaland Tobacco Company 60 percent of their sale proceeds in 16.Northern Tobacco P/L foreign currency and the 40 percent 17.Norton Leaf Tobacco P/L portion shall be converted at the pre- 18. Premium Leaf Zimbabwe vailing auction exchange rate on the 19. Premier Auction Floors day of sale in local currency. 20.Shasha Tobacco P/L • The 60 percent portion shall be 21.Sub Sahara Tobacco P/L paid directly into the growers’ for- 22. Torryblue Investments P/L eign currency accounts. Similarly, 23. Tian Ze Tobacco Company the 40 percent local currency shall 24. Victory Tobacco Company be paid directly into the growers’ 25. Vision Leaf Tobacco local currency bank accounts or e- 26. Voedsel Enterprises wallets. 27. Whitecard Incorporated • Tobacco growers who opt for 28. Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco Co. P/L 100 percent of their tobacco sales proceeds being paid into their ZWl Licensed Contractors bank accounts shall also be accom- The following 39 companies are modated. the authorised contractors for the Tobacco growers shall be paid 60 percent of their sale proceeds in foreign currency and the 40 percent Licensed auction floors upcoming season: portion shall be converted at the prevailing auction exchange rate on the day of sale in local currency. Three auction floors will operate this season. These are: 1. Achievers Leaf Tobacco 22. Majestic Tobacco P/L 31.Servemox Investments P/L (i) tobacco sales floor limit- 2. Agritrade Leaf Tobacco P/L 23. Mashonaland Tobacco Company 32.Shasha Tobacco P/L ed (TSF), Gleneagles Road, Wil- 3. Aqua Tobacco P/L 24. Mbaluk Tobacco P/L 33.Sub Sahara Tobacco P/L lowvale, Harare 4. Bergattal Incorporated 25. Munakiri Leaf Tobacco P/L 34. Tian Ze Tobacco P/L (ii) Boka Tobacco Floors (BTF), 5. Bigway Investments P/L 26. Northern Tobacco P/L 35. Trowbar Enterprises S. Mazorodze/ Stoneridge Roads, 6. Boostafrica Traders P/L 27. Onhardt Tobacco P/L 36. Victory Tobacco Company Waterfalls, Harare 7. Bullion Leaf Zimbabwe 28. Pamuka Leaf P/L 37. Vision Leaf Tobacco (iii) premier tobacco auction 8. Central Leaf Tobacco P/L 29. Petrana Farming P/L 38. Voedsel Enterprises Floor (PTAF), Stand 334, Affirma- 9. Consolidated Tobacco Processors 30. Premium Leaf Zimbabwe 39. Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco Company (ZLT) tive Way, Willowvale, Harare (pvt) ltd 10. Curverid Tobacco P/L The following 28 “A” Class 11. Dynamic Tobacco Merchants buyers were licensed for 2021 12. Ethical Leaf Tobacco season: 13. Grandincore Investments 14. Golden Barn Tobacco 1. Achievers Leaf Tobacco 15. Gold Leaf Services P/L 2. Associated Central Africa Ltd 16. Heritage Tobacco Handlers 3. Boostafrica Traders P/L 17. Huruyadzo Farming P/L 4. Bullion Leaf Zimbabwe P/L 18. Intercontinental Leaf Tobacco 5. Chevron Leaf Tobacco P/L company 6. Classic Tobacco Company 19. Interol Trading P/L 7. Country Agro International P/L 20. J & P Tobacco Golden Leaf P/L 8. Curverid Tobacco P/L 21. Leanrise Investments P/L

Three licensed auction floors will operate this season. Page S4 | March 18-24 2021 Tobacco MarkeTing season special feaTure The Financial Gazette Hästt: Leading manufacturer of agricultural implements

ÄsTT Zimbabwe private limit- designs and production processes to de- as well as long usage of equipment which plements of choice. To mitigate against the ravag- ed, is the leading manufacturer of liver excellent quality, consistently and is generally passed down as a heritage to es of climate change knocking-on rainfall pattern Hagricultural implements, transport timeously. the next generation. uncertainty and resultant low yield, Hästt offers a equipment and agricultural discs in Zim- Hastt Zimbabwe is the only manu- Hästt Zimbabwe provides effective versatile range of equipment that supports mini- babwe and the southern african region. facturer of agricultural discs in Zimba- repair and maintenance of implements to mum tillage (bateleur plough, minimum till plant- since 1971 Hästt Zimbabwe has de- bwe with the capacity to produce plain guarantee sustained product performance er), rainwater harvesting (ripper, bateleur plough, veloped and continues to produce a wide and scalloped plough and harrow discs, as per design specifications. confertiller, magoye ripper, pot holer) which all range of agricultural machinery. coulters, and spiked discs with sizes rang- capacitating and enabling the modern work together at ensuring maximum soil and water as part of the vast array of our innova- ing from 6” to 35”. as such these discs are farming sector, is part of our contribution conservation efforts driven by improved available tions, Hästt is the inventor of the sugar- well suited to our local and regional soil to the development of our country. To en- moisture content, maximum root penetration, aera- cane haulage self-loading trailer (the perry conditions and are an authentic proudly sure the total achievement of this national tion, ground cover, humus content and water table loader). Zimbabwean product. objective, Hästt Zimbabwe provides war- recharge which all work together at reducing the Hästt Zimbabwe also manufactures The wide range of implements manu- ranty cover for six months as a show of effects of midseason droughts through lengthening highly functional municipality amenities factured at Hästt Zimbabwe support both our confidence in the Chirambakusakara the duration that plants can go without rainfall as (refuse dumpers as well as independent large- and small-scale farmers. investing range of implements, machinery and trail- well as improving recharge of water banks in the and trailed skip bins). given the long in Hästt Zimbabwe’s chirambakusakara ers. event that the need to irrigate arises. experience in the manufacture of farm- (indestructible) agricultural equipment en- as Zimbabwe and the region enter Hästt also provides water bowsers which can be ing implements and transport machinery/ sures that the farmer reaps benefits of very into the 2020-2021 farming season, Hästt used for emergency crop watering if required. — trailers, Hästt Zimbabwe has fine-tuned low-down time and optimum operability products are again in demand as the im- Staff Writer

Stringent Covid-19 rules for tobacco sales obacco industry and Marketing board (TiMb) chief executive, andrew Matibiri says Tall tobacco staff will be classified as frontline workers and will be vaccinated before the selling sea- son opens next month. This comes as TiMb this week announced a slew of stringent measures for players in the tobacco sec- tor to avert a covid-19 calamity during the upcoming selling season, which begins on april 7. it also comes as Zimbabwe embarked on an inoc- ulation drive last month after receiving sinopharm vaccines from the government of china. During the first stage of the vaccination, health workers, police, military, prison, immigration, cus- toms officials and journalists were classified as front- line workers and have been receiving the doses. apart from the vaccination, Matibiri said TiMb had enlisted the Zimbabwe republic police and lo- cal government authorities to enforce the total closure and removal of all flea markets and all vending sites around the auction and contract sales floors ahead of the date. appearing before a portfolio committee on lands, agriculture, Water, fisheries, climate and rural re- settlement this week, Matibiri said all selling points must actively spearhead covid-19 awareness cam- paigns at their respective premises, including display- ing relevant posters and fliers. “The farmer shall be notified of his or her tenta- tive selling time at the point of booking and only one farmer/representative to attend the sales. a maximum of only two people are allowed on-board the tobacco delivery trucks (driver and assistant only). “The ‘delivery today and sale tomorrow’ policy will be enforced in full. banking facilities at sales floors should meet all Health ministry set Covid-19 guidelines,” Matibiri said. He said premises, and in particular areas that have high human contact and moving traffic, must be con- tinuously disinfected before, during and after sales. schedules and records of disinfection should also be displayed. “no children under the age of 16 shall be allowed into tobacco sales premises and sales areas. each sales point shall have a designated isolation area in accor- dance with guidelines and recommendations from the Health ministry. “The Health ministry shall be engaged to give guidance on how to handle suspected cpvid-19 cases referred to the isolation centres at the selling floors,” Matibiri added. The outgoing TiMb boss said farmers would not be permitted to sleep over at the sales points and un- der no circumstances will sales floors offer overnight accommodation to farmers. Zimbabwe is expecting a good tobacco yield this year after experiencing good rains while farmers were also able to access key inputs on time. — Staff Writer The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page S5

Importance of knowing weights in a poultry production system G.H Marutsi

GOOD farmer is one who is aware of poultry production parameters. One parameter which Afarmers must never skip to consider is the weights parameter. Weights are important in broiler production for an accurate assessment of productivi- ty. We use a scale for taking weights. Basically, we have two types of scales, mechanical scales and digital scales. In broiler production, there is no bird that just forgets to grow at 6 or 7weeks of age. Taking weekly weights alerts the farmer on the health status of the bird and can help farmer to set alarm before situation gets out of hand. We weigh feed that we give to our poultry to en- sure we have a proper economic assessment in order to determine our farming profits. By weighing feed, we will be in a position to notice feed theft, we can notice poor feed management (feed wastage), we will be in a position to support performance and so on. For example, for Profeeds broiler feeds we need 3.5kg/bird of feed for budgeting purposes. Weights also come in handy when we want to change feed phases. We advocate a change in feed phases after we a certain of flock weights. Underweight birds will have a challenge in accepting next feed phase. For ex- ample, a change from Profeeds broiler starter crumbs to Profeeds broiler grower crumbs/pellets will be a challenge to a chick that is <175g (on starter phase). This chick cannot swallow well the Grower crumbs/ pellets. Whereas a chick that is ≥175g can be given grower feed phase even from an earlier age (12days). For growth of layer chicks, we need the chicks to develop the right frame, to get to laying age at the right weight. Getting to point of lay at the right weights allows the flock to uniformly come into lay. This means farmer will start selling eggs early and usually flock has good laying persistency. This means farmer at- tains more profits. For layers in production, we need ~110g/bird/day. Delivering the right amount of feed to your birds will support growth in broilers and egg production in layer pullets. When the feeding patterns start to deviate from the norm then we become suspi- cious and investigate cause. Taking egg weights is key, although most farmers disregard it. An underweight egg is usually indicative of poor nutritional uptake. A drop in egg weight comes in earlier than the drop in egg production. Oversized eggs indicate ex- cess nutrient intake. These two extremes have their consequences, lower egg weights may be accompa- nied by reduced number of eggs since nutritional up- take is low. Excess egg size may lead to damage of vents or internal egg laying. Ultimately both situations nega- tively affect profitability. It is advisable to take note of egg weights in con- junction with body weight trends. With good weight feedback you can make good management decisions as most deviations are language to the farmer and can be deciphered to tell a story. ●Dr G.H Marutsi is the resident veterinarian at Profeeds. He can be contacted on 0777 586 262 or [email protected] Page S6 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette The Financial Gazette BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL FEATURE March 18-24 2021 | Page S7 Kundiona pursuing excellence

FTER venturing into in search of employment. For Dr education and assisting Kundiona, independence gave him Athe government in re- an impetus to fulfi l his long-cher- vamping the educational sector, ished dream of becoming a strategic Dr Cleopas Kundiona has ex- player in the country’s education celled well in that fi eld. system. Thirty years after taking such “Although it was diffi cult to kick a bold step, Dr Kundiona stands start the project, quitting was not tall among the giants who have an option. I wanted to demonstrate immensely contributed to the that without oppression, we would education sector by setting up be able to develop ourselves, and learning centres across Zimba- education was the easiest way to do bwe. it,” he said. Dr Kundiona is one of Zim- When UMAA was launched, it babwe’s respected education- started with technical subjects and ists and founder of the coun- later incorporated courses on tour- try’s pioneering private college ism and hospitality, a sector which in the country, UMAA Institute. was slowly on the rise owing to the In 1988, he launched UMAA stability which had been achieved Institute, joining institutions through political independence. like Speciss College and The introduction of computer ZDECCO owned by veteran engineering and electrical section educationist and late national within UMAA raised the institu- hero Dr Sikhanyiso Duke Ndl- tion’s brand among locals, while ovu, which were also trying to Cleopas Kundiona (centre) with some of his students at UMAA Institute in Marondera. attracting several students from cater for a divergent and vary- neighbouring countries. ing client. Dr Kundiona has made great the years. These centres are not ment, which should have its own “The vision was becoming clear- A respected educationist, he strides in the academic sector merely educational institutions, dividend. It is for that reason that er than before. Even those who had has managed to build a good by establishing several educa- but they have become reputable we have been working fl at out to been on the sidelines and were scep- reputation through contributing tional centres in the country. centres of academic excellence ensure our pupils get the best results tical about the project realised that immensely to the knowledge His story is that of persever- that are churning out good pass- that will give them a competitive we were indeed forging ahead.” industry in the country. ance, which is beginning to bear es in O, A-Level and profes- edge anywhere,” Dr Kundiona said. Barely a few years after its launch, From the time he start- fruits, judging from the success sional courses. Dr Kundiona, who is passionate UMAA established a few more ed UMAA Institute in 1988, his institute has recorded over “Education is capital invest- about education, said his decision branches in surrounding towns and to start an academic institution was cities. From its initial class of less not driven by fi nancial gains, but than 20 when it opened its doors to by the desire to address serious dis- the public in 1988, UMAA now has crepancies that happened during the an enrolment of over 1 000 pupils colonial era. and a staff compliment of 150. “The best education and choic- With a legacy spanning over two es of academic subjects to pursue decades in education, Dr Kundiona were reserved for the whites and a says the institution is yet to reach its privileged few, while the majority zenith. of blacks were confi ned to limited Even the entrance of several pri- choices,” he said. vate institutions in the education UMAA INSTITUTE He said the need to offer best has not miffed UMAA, says Dr alternatives in the education sec- Kundiona. Zimbabwe - Marondera tor stuck with him, such that when “Being in the education sector Zimbabwe attained political inde- for over 30 years is a legacy that we In association with Cambridge International Examinations pendence in 1980, he realised that are proud to talk about and uphold. he could now turn his dream into "We are not worried about new Form 1-6 Places Available reality. players in the sectors, because we He, however, said the dawn of Cambridge (UK) and Zimsec Exam Centre have become a brand name in the a new era saw most of the politi- education system and we are happy cally emancipated blacks rushing with the complementary role that enmasse to join the formal sector Form 1 and 2 subjects availabe we are giving to the country. Geography, Mathematics, Science, History, Principles Of Accounts, Commerce, Computers, Business Studies, Religious Studies, Shona and English Language

'O' Level form 3 and 4 subjects available Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Physical Science, Geography, Human and Social Biology, Accounting, Business Studies, Enterprise, Commerce, History, Literature in English, Shona, English Language, Religious Studies, First Language English, Law, Environmental Management, Computers, Sociology

'A' level form 5 and 6 subjects available Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Business Studies, Accounting, Economics, Divinity, History, Shona, Literature in English, Computer Science and Sociology

Boarding places available-enrol now Pass rate 95% and above

Enrolment details call or apply or come in person-the Principal's Office Whatsapp: 0787 339 054, 0774 065 282, 0774 817 045 Call: 0773 404 494, 0712 752 118

UMAA Harare Offices 0774 065 278 Elite College, 94 Selous Avenue 0774 065 284 UMAA Msasa, 23 Neil Avenue

Visit our facebook page UMAA Group of Institutes, Website www.umaainstitute.com Holiday lessons available for all classes UMAA now has an enrolment of over 1 000 pupils and a staff complement of 150. Page S8 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette

HIGH ACHIEVERS COACH

H C INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY (HACIA)students today find it difficult to sit down es the student in the driving seat and the A and stay focused in class because the de- coach sitting besides the student coaching 80 1 Helvetia Drive | Borrowda le { H alivery ra re of traditional| Tel :lectures (0 24) used 2882798 in many essential concepts. According to Margaret school does not grasp the attention of all Mead, “Children must be taught how to Director of Studies : (0 24) 2882 798learners. | C e llOur : tutors+ 263 have 772727117 taken advanced think, not what to think.” Exams are rarely courses to learn special remediation skills duplicated. We do not advocate for spotting to deal with common learning problems. the exam but we encourage our students to What is Academic Coaching? master the requirements of a given syllabus ACADEMIC COACHING and REMEDIAL TUTORING According to Pat Conroy, “Good and the expectations of the examiner. The Central Primary School Program Check Point 1 and coaching is good teaching and nothing According to Plato, “Do not train a 2 International General Certificate of Secondary Education else.” Academic coaching is a compre- child to learn by force or harshness; but (IGCSE) Advanced Subsidiary (AS Level) and A2 Advanced hensive student support service for stu- direct them to it by what amuses their Level (A- Level) dents who want to improve their academic minds, so that you may be better able to and self- management skills, such as time discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of LIFE SKILLS AND ATTITUDE COACHING management, organisation and study skills. the genius of each.” HACEC believes that • Dreams Come True HACEC offers this support to help students each student is unique and it is our duty to • I Believe I Can Succeed achieve their academic goals along with discover and polish the rare jewel in each • Getting value out of the Investment in Education self-advocacy and independent, life-long one of them. • Evicting Toxic Characters from one’s life learning. The content and structure of each According to Peter Drucker “No one • Positive Attitude Coaching individual coaching session is determined learns as much about a subject as one who • Preparing learners for an ever-changing global world cooperatively by the student and the coach is forced to teach it.” The tragedy in most • The Power of Focus to identify unique learning strengths, devel- schools is that the teachers have continued We endeavor to develop students’ skills and learning op individual plans for academic support, learning the details of their subject at the habits needed to be lifelong learners, adaptable in a world and promote self-confidence and indepen- expense of the learners who are forced to of increasing uncertainties. These 21st Century Compe- dence. Academic success is a product of learn. HACEC encourages all students to tencies include creativity, critical thinking, communication, positive attitude. Coaching is nothing more join the revision camps willingly. multilingualism and comprehension of cultural dynamism. than eliminating the learners’ challenges MONITORING WELCOME TO THE HOME OF EDUCATIONAL EXCEL- before final exams and engagement with There is strict monitoring during the LENCE not create our own CODES. All our facilitators are trained the rugged terrain of independent adult life. entire camp. All learners’ assignments are Over the years, High Achievers Coach Educational by CAIA in Syllabus Interpretation and in their Remedial SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE controlled by the Task Master Control Sheet. Centre (HACEC) has become Zimbabwe’s finest Centre for Coaching Activities; they make use of Cambridge Assess- The Blast Master Approach/Task Methodology Examination, Academic and Life Skills Coaching, attract- ment Official Syllabi, Question Papers, Mark Schemes and Master Approach centres on the revision of The coach/teacher presents a spe- ing accolades from different walks of life through traceable Examiners Reports. Our margin of error in coaching and concepts over and over again through spe- cially selected Blast Task to the learner references of success stories. We take pride in our years remedial tutoring is next to zero. Our subject theory base is cially selected past KEY Examination and equivalent to the learner’s level, for exam- of unmatched experience in ushering diverse learners into anchored by a wide variety of Endorsed Resources, highly Coaching Tasks. It is essential for the stu- ple, Checkpoint, IGCSE, GCE, Advanced famous universities and colleges Worldwide. appropriate for Cambridge Assessment programmes. dent to attempt many past exam questions Subsidiary or Advanced Level (Task booklet Our success stories have created The Brand HAC/ It is important to note that the main area of study and master the examiners’ expectations are provided per subject). The student is ex- HACEC which is driven by the belief that there is a jewel at Ordinary Level/Form 4/Grade 11 is International Gener- during normal coaching sessions, well be- pected to respond to the task given, within in every learner and that it is our duty to discover, cut and al Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE). There are fore the final examinations. The student is a specified period of time. The coach then polish these jewels. Our Flagship Taskmaster Booklets are some learners/schools doing the General Certificate of Ed- expected to complete challenges in task 1, assesses the student’s work. If the task is now being used in many established institutions as they ucation whose tasks are carefully planned to satisfy their 2, 3 and 4 and the teacher/coach provides out of 3 and the student satisfies the ex- contain condensed Cambridge Assessment International (GCE) needs. remedial coaching in Task 1, 2, 3 and 4. pectations of the coach/examiner scoring 3 Education examination tasks. HACEC aims to develop deep subject knowledge, Honestly, if a student is given Task 5, he out of 3, then no remedial/coaching will be SOLID REFERENCING STRATEGY conceptual understanding and higher order thinking skills. or she is expected to overcome that task provided and the student moves to the next High Achievers Coach Educational Centre’s vision ZIMSEC without any hustles. Assuming that the final task. If in the next task the student scores was birthed in 1998 when the Founder and current Di- Hacec offers ZIMSEC Syllabi remedial coaching upon exam is Task 7, that student is expected to 3 out of 5, then the coach explains to the rector of Studies, Dr Tapera Chikandiwa was teaching at request. The terms special education and remedial edu- pass that exam convincingly. This is why student where he/she went wrong and the St Faiths’ High School. Years of perseverance and cour- cation are often used interchangeably, a deeper look into Michael Jordan says, ‘I have failed over age resulted in the establishment of this unique institution the two reveals they are very different. Both special and and over and over again in my life and that buttressed by a team of dedicated facilitators (coaches). remedial education programs are specialized, structured is why I succeed.’ Many students fail be- The majority of HACEC coaches have travelled to different programs that are designed to help students who need ex- cause of lack of seriousness and negative countries around the worldHIGHLIGHTS in search of wisdom to upgrade tra attention succeed academically. attitude to school work. Given below are their teaching/coaching skills. HACEC does NOT ADVER- OBJECTIVES OFW HIGHe endeav ACHIEVERSor COACH to EDUCATION-develop students'some famous quotes from sports persons TISE its programsü asA it CADEMICdepends of referrals C fromOA satisfiedCHING andAL CENTRE REMEDIAL COACHING who have discovered the jewel in the Task stakeholders. Hacec is askills Specialist and Remedial learning Centre NOT habits a Special needed Master Approach. to HACEC is a REGISTEREDREMEDIAL CAMBRIDGE TUTINTERNATIONALORING School. We focusbe on lifelong providing remedial learner coachings, adaptable pro- • “There in maya be people who have more SCHOOL grams for learners who have low, average or higher intel- talent than you, but there is no excuse High Achievers TheCoach EducationalCentral Centre Primar is a Cam-y lectualSchool abilities whoworld are not osatisfiedf incr byeasing their performance uncer tainties.for anyone to work harder than you do.” bridge International School and is also a Registered Cam- - Derek Jeter in school. Typically, remedial studentsst do not struggle be- bridge Assessment PrInternationalogram ExaminationsCheck P Centre.oint 1cause and of their2 intellectualThese abilities 21 butCentur instead becausey Compet they • encies“If you only ever give 10% in training HACEC’s Blast Master Library was officially opened by may be facing challenges with areas like reading, writing, then you will only ever give 10% when Michael O’Sullivan duringI n thise tenurer n a ast CIEi o Chiefn a Executivel G equestionn e r a interpretationl include or any othercreativity disruptive ,influences. critical thinking,it matters.” - Michael Owen. Officer in recognition of quality performance in many facets Disruptive academic influences include among many • “You cannot get much done in life if you of Cambridge InternationalCer Schooltific expectations.ate o fThe acad-Secoothernd afactors;r y healthcom challenges,munic aexcessivetion, sportingmul ten-ilinguonlyal iworksm on the days when you feel emy is a fully enrolledEducation and adequately (IGCSE) staffed institution gagements, negative peer influences, unstable family dy- good.”- Jerry West. with the capacity to assistHIGH learners from A otherCHIEVERS established namics, high teacher anCd turnoversO coAm andCHpr otherehen socio-economicsion of •cu “Theltu onlyral place where success comes local and internationalAdv collegesanced and schools.Subsidiar Assistancey (AS challenges Level) . Our Flagship Remedial programs are designed before work is in the dictionary.” - Vince way it was supposed to be answered. Each to learners from otherINTERN schools is available duringATION both the to ALhelp give A thedynamism. CADEMYlearners, individual attention they need to Lombardi learner is required to complete 14 Tasks per H schoolC term and schooland holidays. A2 build their skills and their confidence so that they can live • “If you train hard, you’ll not only be given subject and all missing points must SYLLABI OFFERED (HACIA)up to their potential in and out of examinations. hard, you’ll be hard to beat.” - Herschel be further investigated as homework. A All Cambridge Assessment International Education Walker Learners who fail to complete as- Adv80 1 ancedHelvetia LevDriveel | (A-Borrowda Level) le { H aHacec ra re Remedial | Telü : WEL(0programs 24) 2882798C OMEoffer learners TO special THE one- HOME OF (CAIE) subjects are carefullyDirector CODED of byStudies CAIE and : (0 we 24) do 2882 on-one 798 attention| C e ll : +using 263 the772727117 Blast Master Approach. Many • “You are never a loser until you quit try- signed work are detained for more days. ing.”- Mike Ditka All students who have passed through this EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCEThe above quotations highlight the revision camp with a positive mindset have ü LIFE SKILLS AND ATTITUDE most important success element - A pos- made it. I appeal to all students joining us to Over the years, High Achievitive attitudeer stowards work and training. realise that we have no time to waste and COACHING “The mediocre teacher tells. The show off. Coach Educational Centre (HAgood CEC)teacher explains. The superior teach- TOP TIPs FOR EXAM SUCCESS Ÿ Dreams Come True er demonstrates. The great teacher in- Get comfortable with the materials to has become Zimbabwe'sspires.” fin Williamest Authur Ward. the point where you can tell someone about Ÿ I Believe I Can Succeed TASK MASTER /BLAST MASTER a certain topic anywhere, anytime and Centre for Examination, Academic APPROACH practice doing past exam papers to famil- Ÿ Getting value out of the and Life Skills Coaching, attractingGood assessment is at the heart of iarize yourself with different question types good education. Hacec Blast Master Tasks and answer styles. Practice makes perfect. Investment in Education accolades from different walksare designed of with the aim of helping stu- EXAMINATIONS ARE NOT MEANT TO DE- dents develop deep subject knowledge, STROY LEARNERS. Ÿ Evicting Toxic Characters life through traceable referencesconceptual o understandingf and higher order High Achievers Coach from one's life skills critical for success in examinations. International Academy (HACIA) success stories. We take prideAccording in to Confucius, ‘I hear and is determined to redefine the Ÿ I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I Positive Attitude Coaching our years of unmatched experienceunderstand.’ This is an essential teaching/ art of learning in Zimbabwe and Ÿ coaching technique. Learning is like flying, beyond. Preparing learners for an in ushering diverse learneryous may int beo taught how to fly a helicopter ever-changing global world and you may see someone flying it, but if ENROLMENT INTO ALL CLASSES IN 2021 famous universities and collegesyou do not sit as a pilot being shown the IS CLOSED. Ÿ The Power of Focus rope by your trainer, you will find yourself 2022 to 2023 Enrolment NOW OPEN worldwide. crushing. The Task Master Approach plac- Contact: (0242) 882304, 882798 Success Is Just An Atude, If You Believe You Can.

HIGHLIGHTS We endeavor to develop students' ü ACADEMIC COACHING and skills and learning habits needed to REMEDIAL TUTORING be lifelong learners, adaptable in a The Central Primary School world of increasing uncertainties. Program Check Point 1 and 2 These 21st Century Competencies I n t e r n a t i o n a l G e n e r a l include creativity, critical thinking, Certificate of Secondar y communication, multilingualism Education (IGCSE) and comprehension of cultural Advanced Subsidiary (AS Level) dynamism. and A2 Advanced Level (A- Level) ü WELCOME TO THE HOME OF EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE ü LIFE SKILLS AND ATTITUDE Over the years, High Achievers COACHING Coach Educational Centre (HACEC) Ÿ Dreams Come True has become Zimbabwe's finest Ÿ I Believe I Can Succeed Centre for Examination, Academic Ÿ Getting value out of the and Life Skills Coaching, attracting Investment in Education accolades from different walks of Ÿ Evicting Toxic Characters life through traceable references of from one's life success stories. We take pride in Ÿ Positive Attitude Coaching our years of unmatched experience Ÿ Preparing learners for an in ushering diverse learners into ever-changing global world famous universities and colleges Ÿ The Power of Focus worldwide. Success Is Just An Atude, If You Believe You Can. The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page 15 Column Banking in post-lockdown environment

Nyasha Choga digital banking platforms proliferated In answering the call to provide con- 19while still giving the customer pride across the country and the use of these tactless transactions by digitising bank- of place. HE recent announcement of the relaxation platforms should remain the first port of ing, banks have catapulted their custom- It is vital that the quality of the cus- of the Covid-19 lockdown, introduced in call when accessing banking services. ers to the next level of financial services tomer experience not take priority over TJanuary to curb the spread of the coronavi- The work done by Zimbabwean banks provision. the transaction. rus, was met with relief as life for many across the to reduce the need for their customers to As transacting digitally becomes country could now pick up the pace. visit branches is commendable. the new normal, it is crucial to protect With this has come a flurry of activity as Zim- The banking public has had a taste of passwords, PINs and to be aware of cy- babweans begin to catch up with the rest of the the future of banking through service op- bersecurity protocols to safeguard hard- world. tions that include video and online bank- earned finances. With the economy opening up, the need to ac- ing, mobile banking via apps and USSD Should it be necessary to visit a bank cess banks and banking services is likely to in- platforms that cater for those without in person, it is equally important that crease. smartphones, home delivery of cards and customers continue with the wearing of However, the same personal safety protocols chatbot customer service driven by Arti- This is a feat that may have taken the masks, washing of hands, and social dis- applied during lockdown should remain in place ficial Intelligence (AI). banking sector much longer to achieve tancing. to stay safe. It is important to note that the bulk of without the pandemic’s demand for no- In addition, it would be wise to carry The relaxation of lockdown rules does not sig- these innovations have been availed to touch environments. Success in this area a pen and avoid those that are used com- nal victory over the virus, so, how does one pro- customers while the majority of the em- all but guarantees the safety and pro- munally. Stay safe and wear a mask. tect oneself in a post-lockdown environment? ployees in many banks have been work- tection of both customers and bank em- ● Choga is the head corporate During the just-ended lockdown, the use of ing from home! ployees from the scourge that is Covid- affairs at Steward Bank Mobile money transactions decline 10pct Omega Ukama Companies Editor

HE number of mobile money transactions in Zimbabwe declined by 10 percent during the Tthird quarter of 2020 as the government tight- ened controls in the sector which it blamed for fuelling the parallel market for currency, a Postal and Tele- communications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) report has shown. During the quarter, the Harare administration placed a number of limits on mobile transactions, in- cluding an outright ban of certain types of wallets. A report published by POTRAZ this week shows that 295 million mobile transactions were recorded during the three-month period, down from 328 mil- lion transactions reported for the third quarter. There was, however, a growth in the value of trans- actions from $12,8 billion to $19,4 billion. “Cross network mobile money transactions record- ed the biggest growth of 92,1 percent; cross network mobile money transactions are expected to increase gradually as interoperability is fully implemented in line with Statutory Instrument 80 of 2020 on Banking Money Transmission, Mobile Banking and Mobile Money Interoperability Regulations,” the regulator said. Cross-network transactions grew from $200 833 during the third quarter to $385 831. The total number of active mobile money subscrip- tions as at December 31, 2020, was 6 495 682. This represents a 2,7 percent growth from 6 325 700 re- corded as at September 30, 2020. POTRAZ said Telecash was the only operator to record a decline in active mobile money subscriptions, whereas One Money recorded the biggest growth of 9,6 percent. “Generally, active mobile money subscriptions have been fluctuating over the course of 2020,” the regulator said, adding that the total number of active mobile money subscriptions at the close of 2020 is much lower than that recorded in December 2019 – 7 334 639. Meanwhile, the total mobile operator revenues grew by 37,5 percent to $12,3 billion during the peri- od from $8,94 billion in the previous quarter. “Staff costs, depreciation and bandwidth costs con- stituted the bulk of mobile network operating costs. “Capital expenditure by the mobile operators in the fourth quarter of 2020 was $74,8 million. This is a marked growth from $9,8 million invested in the third quarter of 2020,” POTRAZ said. [email protected] Page 16 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette Column Covid-19 vaccines tax treatment HE lockdowns, which many gov- especially those requiring customer con- In light of the fact that most govern- fi rst part of the discourse, the general design of the ernments have put in place since tact to survive are pressing their govern- ments’ vaccination plan prioritises front- income tax law is that any amount paid by an em- Tthe emergence of the Covid-19 ments for the compulsory line health workers and ployer to its employees has an umbilical cord with pandemic, have placed involuntary trade administration of the vac- other vulnerable sectors, the services rendered. embargoes within or without their na- cines on everyone. The private sector employers For this reason, the law deems almost all tional borders and this has had a severe narrative is very clear that are taking charge and are amounts paid by employers to their employees as economic impact especially on establish- leaving vaccinations to in- beginning to procure vac- compensation for services rendered and therefore, ments relying on actual customer contact. dividuals is one in which cines for their employees. subject to employment tax unless the amount is These are also threatening the liveli- personal choice does not The big concern to them specifi cally exempted in terms of the law. Fur- hood of the low-income earners. There is necessarily coincide with is whether the cost rep- thermore, s 8(1)(f) of the Income Tax Act brings no doubt that the regulations were com- the public good. Aside resents an additional com- into gross income of an employee of “an amount pletely necessary and unavoidable for the this, there are many un- pensation of employees equal to the value of an advantage or benefi t in re- immediate protection of people’s health. answered tax questions subject to payroll taxes or spect of employment, service, offi ce or other gain- Although some nations continue to im- raised by the voluntary Tax Matters not? Their second wor- ful occupation or in connection with the taking up pose restrictions, the distribution of the administration of the vac- with ry is whether such cost or termination of employment, service, offi ce or vaccine is giving the world hope in the cine. Key among them is Marvellous Tapera can be deducted in the other gainful occupation”. absence of a universal cure for Covid-19. whether the cost of vacci- computation of their tax- A benefi t or an advantage broadly covers board; It is this vaccine that many businesses nation incurred by the by able incomes. The latter the occupation of quarters or of a residence, the use and societies at large are pinning their an employer on behalf of its employees question is discussed in our next series of furniture or of a motor vehicle, the use or enjoy- hopes on for now, for the return to nor- would constitute a taxable benefi t to the of “Covid-19 vaccines tax treatment the ment of any other property whatsoever, corporeal malcy. With this mind, some businesses employees. employer perspective”. Focusing on the or incorporeal, including a loan, an allowance or waiver of school fees in the case of a member of the teaching or non-teaching staff of a “school, a passage benefi t (relocation allowance) or anything given in place of a remuneration. Dorstein has stated that it includes anything giv- en by an employer, which has saved the employee from cashing out of his/her pocket. It also covers amounts or advantages given to a spouse or child of an employee by an employer or an associate of an employee. The Act however, specifi cally states that a benefi t or advantage does not include any amount consumed, occupied, used or enjoyed, as the case may be, for the purpose of the business transactions of the employer or for the connivence of the employer. This is also supported by case the ITC 1626 (1996) 60 SATC 17. Whether or not the vaccines procured by em- ployers on behalf of their employees are deemed consumed, used or enjoyed for the benefi t of the employer is a question of fact. As stated above, the lockdowns have resulted in a number of businesses especially the customer facing ones losing a lost business. There is however, no doubt that these had been necessary and completely unavoidable to preserve the lives of the same customers which the business would rely on for its survival. The admin- istration of the vaccines gives this assurance and is the balancing act to ensure lives are preserved and consequently business survival. The two are intertwined such that the overall conclusion is that the vaccination is administered also for the connivence of employers. Therefore, the discussion on splitting the benefi t between em- ployer and employees becomes an irrelevant eco- nomic matter. In the fi nal analysis therefore, the provisions of Covid-19 vaccinations to employees constitutes an exempt benefi t in terms of the Act. It can also be regarded as analogous of work place health and safety measures which the employers are required by law to institute in order to ensure safety of their employees and the general commu- nity. This also supports our notion that the benefi t should be exempt to employees notwithstanding the fact that some employees may refuse to take the vaccines. The argument for exemption stems from the fact that all employees are equally sus- ceptible to contracting the virus and when this hap- pens this could produce undesired impact on the employer’s production. It is tax effi cient for companies to incur the cost on behalf of their employees. This is because the cost would be deductible to them while at the same time representing an exemption to employees. If borne by the employee, the expenditure is con- sidered a private expense, which neither qualifi es for deduction nor a credit to the employee. Fur- thermore, having the cost borne by employers aids the government objective of ensuring compliance with the vaccination programme by the majority is attained. We therefore, implore the government to consider providing further fi scal incentives to em- ployers supporting this programme and also bring clarity in the law regarding exemption status in the hands of the employees.  Tapera is the founder of Tax Matrix (Pvt) Ltd and the CEO of Matrix Tax School and he writes in his personal capacity. Meanwhile, Ma- trix Tax School (Pvt) Limited hosts a webinar short course in Managing Tax Practice (Basic Theory & Practice) every Wednesday and Sat- urday. The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page 17 Column The non-fungible tokens boom or many years now, investing was driv- According to Music Business World- for much more than their original value. investors could potentially transform en by ticker symbols and traditional asset wide, more than US$25 million in mu- Global wealth managers have report- the investments space. Fclasses such as properties and commodi- sic sales via NFTs have occurred in the ed that clients are asking for help with overall, one may consider collecting ties. past month. investments in collectibles and non-tra- “things” in anticipation of a shift in the However, this is fast-changing as there is now American band Kings of Leon re- ditional asset classes such as art. universe of assets considered as alterna- room for passion-aligned investing that extends cently announced their next album will Unlike shares, bonds and commodi- tive investments. from digital art to sports clips and cat cartoons. be available as an NFT. ties, for instance, each work of art is a This may even entail collecting paint- A new trend that is baffling many is that of the The Shift to Alternative Investments unique entity that cannot be replaced by ings, old records, cigar rings, marbles, investment in non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs A global trend that we are witnessing another. coat hangers or better-still an electronic can really be anything digital (such as drawings, is that investors are looking at new cate- The rarity of a work of art is what version of this article. music and games) but a lot of the current ex- gories of “things” or “valuable objects” gives it value. The boom in NFTs is a n Matsika is the head of research citement is around using the technology to sell that have had striking advances in mar- good example of how investors are at Morgan & Co, and founder of digital art. ket value over the years. looking to other alternatives to store piggybankadvisor.com. He can be Twitter co-founder and chief executive (CE), More and more investors are looking value and speculate on price trends. reached on +263 78 358 4745 or bata- Jack Dorsey recently put his first tweet up for at collectibles as an alternative to tra- Morgan & Co research contends that [email protected] / batanai@pig- sale as an NFT. The highest bid for the Twitter ditional investment assets. Collectibles the increased focus on alternative in- gybankadvisor.com CE's tweet which reads "just setting up my twt- are items that can be purchased or sold vestments among retail and institutional tr" is currently, US$2,5 million. The auction will end on March 21, 2021. Dorsey plans to convert the proceeds to bit- coin and donate them to charity. Meanwhile, Tesla and SpaceX CE Elon Musk withdrew the offer to sell one of his tweets as an NFT even though a bidder had offered more than US$1 million for the digital asset.

Economics & Market Intelligence with BATANAI MATSIKA

Another example involves a bidder at Christie's auction house (New York) who paid US$69.4 million to own an NFT artwork by Mike Winkelmann (Beeple). This was the third biggest sale by a living art- ist to date. An NFT is a unit of data on a digital ledger or blockchain that can represent a unique digital item and provide proof of ownership. NFTs are commonly created by uploading files, such as digital artwork to an auction mar- ket. This creates an entry on the blockchain's digital ledger, which includes a reference to the cryptographic hash of the digital file which the NFT represents. The tokens can then be bought with crypto- currency and resold. NFTs can also be thought of as “bitcoin for art”. Just as bitcoin created the ability to spend and save a sort of digital money without any cen- tralised authority, so too do NFTs allow for pic- tures, videos, music, or anything else that can be digitally represented, to be wrapped up in a for- mat that can be traded, stored or authenticated without needing to turn to a gatekeeper. once an NFT is created, it can be digitally traced for ever. And unlike a simple image file, for instance, an NFT cannot be duplicated, giv- ing it a similar cachet to an original artwork. NFTs are not new as they have been around since 2017, when a company called Dapper Labs began selling NFTs in the form of unique digital cat cartoons called CryptoKitties. Those kitties were the subject of a short-lived craze and some sold for tens of thousands of dol- lars before the craze quickly fizzled. The market for NFTs has resurfaced in 2021, as trading volumes have been on the increase. It appears that each day, there is new evidence that people think NFTs are valuable and will pay good money to own one. Page 18 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette Column Cognitive ability facts you need to know ognitive ability is defined as Below i share some of the facts that 2.Cognitive ability predict success in training a “mental capability that involves every individual need to know about as well. We see most organisation wasting training Cthe ability to reason, plan, solve GMA or cognitive ability. resources when they enrol people who cannot problems, think abstractly, comprehend 1.Cognitive ability or GMA is the learn and also transfer what they will have learnt complex ideas, learn quickly and learn biggest predictor of job performance to practical work situations. Imagine the wastage from experience” (gottfredson, 1997). compared to all other factors. by organisations in this regard. It is huge. Wikipedia defines cognitive ability as GMA is the highest predictor of 3.GMA or cognitive ability predicts success “brain-based skills which are needed in job performance across all jobs. The in all endeavours of life. generally, people with acquisition of knowledge, manipulation contribution of cognitive ability increases higher cognitive ability tend to do well across all of information, and reasoning. with the complexity of the role. facets of life. there is plenty of research to show they have more to do with the HR Perspective this means that if an employer that people who are generally intelligent do much mechanisms of how people learn, with underestimates the role of cognitive better in life than less intelligent people. remember, problem-solve, and pay Memory Nguwi ability in their hiring, they are likely This assertion is true assuming the persons attention, rather than with actual to end up with people who have no concerned do not have serious personality defects. knowledge.” for selecting employees. capacity for their roles. Mata analytic 4.People with high cognitive ability tend to do the other term used to refer to Despite the value of cognitive ability studies have so far shown that cognitive well in life generally regardless of the environment cognitive ability is general mental ability. on life outcomes, very few people have ability contributes 40 to 65 percent to the they are operating in. Because such people are general Mental Ability (gMA) put facts about how cognitive ability impacts variation in job performance. clever, they tend to find solutions to problems simply is the ability to reason and find life outcomes. Such facts can be used to this is nearly half, and there is no other quickly. solutions to problems. positively impact national policies and factor that contributes to job performance 5.Countries with citizens with a high cognitive there are various tests of gMA used organisation specific policies. with this level of magnitude. ability on average tend to outperform those with low cognitive ability. Singapore, Japan, South Korea etc outperform those Organisations countries with low that employ cognitive ability. The average cognitive cognitive ability of citizens ability testing has been used to as part of predict the socio- their employee economic prosperity of nations. selection this is why process tend some countries are to outperform in investing heavily in the cognitive those that do development of their not. citizens especially investing in pre- school education. 6.Cognitive ability is largely hereditary and partly develops from childhood experience. this means after adulthood, no matter how much you try, there is unlikely to be any change in cognitive ability for adults. 7.Good nutrition is a major factor in increasing the cognitive ability of a child during their childhood years. in other countries, they know the value of nutrition on the cognitive development of their future workers, therefore, they have deliberately come up with feeding schemes for kids in pre- school and some in primary schools. this is a worthy investment for any government. 8.Cognitive ability can be impacted negatively by substance abuse during childhood. Try by all means to ensure that your children are not subjected to substance abuse during their childhood years as this impacts negatively on their cognitive ability development. 9.A good home environment, free of abuse positively impacts on the cognitive development of a child. This means that parents can benefit a lot if they can create a conducive home environment for children. the unfortunate part is that most parents realise the damage done to their children due to a poor emotional environment, when they are already in adulthood. As can be seen from the facts above, cognitive ability plays a big role in the prosperity of nations and individuals. Organisations that employ cognitive ability testing as part of their employee selection process tend to outperform those that do not. Low cognitive ability countries struggle economically, compared to those countries with high cognitive ability. An understanding of how cognitive ability affect life outcomes can help countries and organisations to put policy interventions that will benefit their nations and organisations respectively. n Nguwi is an occupational psychologist, data scientist, speaker, & managing consultant with Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, a management and human resources consulting firm. Email:mnguwi@ ipcconsultants.com or visit our websites https:// www.thehumancapitalhub.com/ and www. ipcconsultants.com The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page 19 Column Is your board a window dressing? n Zimbabwe, we have a situation when you look keenly, these structures Most companies will say they have a ment and population and stay on the job. In effect, whereby organisations set up systems are in place but not effective. board of directors but you find the mem- these are window dressing boards. They are there Ifor the sake of it. To the outsiders, you (a) Incompetent internal audit bers are relatives of the owner, are just to project that companies are well-managed, yet in think the system is working when actually You have the internal audit, but the in- friends and cannot provide independent practice they are not adding any oversight and risk it is not functional. ternal auditor just gradu- oversight. They can- management value. As they say, the fish starts rotting from ated in Business Admin- not question how The challenge we have is that most of these the head, when it comes to governance; istration and does not things are being done. companies, given the nature of their set up, are it also starts rotting from the head. If the understand what good Good governance is supposed to be successful. For example a para- quality of the board is not good, the or- internal auditing is all all about the quality of statal is not set up to be competitive, their main ganisation will not succeed. about. the people you have; it focus is on collecting of revenue. They don’t need Signs of window dressing boards He does not possess is not about just hav- to compete, as long as they collect revenue, they We have had situations whereby for a qualifications commensurate with the ing something. will get the money. now that is different from an given business to access certain services, task. The value from audit is not there. (c) Board involvement in fraud organisation in the private sector, where you have it has to project an image of being well (b) Unregulated external audit You have seen cases in government to look for business and to get customers you have governed. An image of good governance People have external audit but the ex- and at top companies where the board has to be competitive. comes when they see you have for exam- ternal audit are not members of PAAB. been involved in high level fraud. Under Good governance entails that all boards should ple a board of directors, internal audit, They are not regulated. The quality of normal circumstances, in cases involving be active. external audit, anti-fraud policy and pro- work they are doing leaves a lot to be de- fraud, the board chair should resign. You For more information please contact us on cedures and management structures. But sired. can’t cause that kind of loss to the govern- [email protected] We are against contraband: PCC ACIFIC Cigarette Company (PCC) chief executive Yves Le Boulengé says they sup- Pport British American Tobacco (BAT)’s push for a probe into the regional cigarette con- traband market with a view of cleaning up the industry. This comes as an Ipsos report revealed that the sector had been invaded by cartels selling billions worth of under-tax cigarettes and the Zimbabwe- an firm had been accused of being part of these troublemakers by a regional publication. “It is often stated that… conjecture has short legs and we feel exonerated by this report. Pa- cific cigarettes, despite their popularity, have not been… to be a source of the concern highlighted (as) they continue to be legally available in all the markets (we operate in),” Le Boulengé said. “We always welcome constructive criticism as a way of strengthening our processes and proce- dures against the scourge of illicit cigarette trade highlighted… by BAT. What is most satisfying is that the Ipsos report identifies our Pacific brand as one of the most upstanding..,” he said. During the February 11 to 16 research, mystery shoppers bought 20 packs of cigarettes below the R20 minimum collectable tax (MCT) rate from nearly 4 600 small shops to large retailers. As cartels continue to undercut established companies, BATSA commissioned the indepen- dent report to see how the contraband trade was prejudicing companies like itself and competitors like Pacific, which continue to operate within the law, customs duty, American dollar revenues and other established tariffs for economies like Zim- babwe. On the other hand, a recent Atlantic Council report said illegal trade between the two countries was rampant. “The illicit tobacco market in southern Africa is distinguished by two key facts: first, SA pro- vides the largest, most profitable, and therefore most important consumer market… Zimbabwe is the biggest tobacco producer in the region and in- deed the continent,” it said. Zimbabwe-produced cigarettes are smuggled into all its neighbouring countries, with the clear majority being smuggled into SA.” However, the SA Tobacco Organisation says it was skeptical about the BATSA report, as it fol- lowed an Organised Crime and Corruption Re- porting inquiry showing that the company was benefitting from the illegal trade in west Africa. With some of its brands being Storm, Breeze, Accacia, Mist, Blue, Branson and Pegasus, PCC is a Mauritian-domiciled entity with its headquar- ters in Zimbabwe. It is also in Lesotho, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia. “We comply with… rules and regulations, and market requirements wherever we operate. That is why we welcome BATSA’s report (on) indus- try’s current developments and dynamics,” he said. — CAJ Page 20 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette Column US$ or ZWL$: Solving currency dilemma in litigation HEN litigants go to government from February 2019 this is to grant orders in foreign had authorisation to recover the court seeking orders to date have caused a lot of con- currency, albeit with the caveat funds in US$ by operation of SI 64 Wsounding in money, it fusion. Some litigants may be con- that the amount due be payable at of 2001. This SI specifi cally enti- is with the intention of securing fused about what currency they are the interbank rate. tles tobacco companies to recover maximum value. So, when the entitled to claim. The result is a lot SI 212 of 2019 funds loaned to tobacco growers in question of whether to claim for of judicial offi cers have to deal This SI provides that the Zim- US$. Litigants can also argue ex- foreign currency as opposed to lo- with not only the substantive dis- babwe dollar is the exclusive ceptions to the general rule, which cal currency arises, it goes without pute between the parties but also currency to be used in domestic include showing that the funds in saying in which direction clients the currency in which an award transactions. In terms of the SI no question were accessed offshore. tend to lean. should be given. The relevant le- person shall settle any obligation, Other than that, litigants are better As legal practitioners, it has gal instruments that guide such de- Legal Matters display or advertise or charge for of claiming local currency espe- with grown ever more important to cisions ought to be outlined. HILARY K MUZA any goods or services in any cur- cially when claiming damages. advise clients on not only when SI 33 of 2019 rency other than the Zimbabwe Does SI 85 apply to judgment it is prudent to litigate, but also Statutory instrument 33 of 2019 however, change the position that dollar. It purports to alter the po- debts? on what currency is claimable (SI 33) signalled the departure parties can contract in a curren- sition that one can transact in the On one hand it can be argued through litigation. This aspect of from the multi-currency system cy of their choice. For example, currency of their choice. SI 85 of that claims that would ordinarily legal practice is made even more that had been in use prior to Feb- local NGOs could still pay their 2020 amended SI 212 of 2019 in be made in local currency can be diffi cult by the plethora of statuto- ruary 22, 2019 when it came into employees in foreign currency. a climbdown that allows parties to made in foreign currency in terms ry instruments one has to navigate effect. It provides that all assets Those employees would however, transact in foreign currency using of SI 85. The basis for such a claim to make sense of it all. and liabilities that were denomi- have to convert their earnings into free funds (foreign currency that is would be that once the judgment In this article, I will clarify what nated in United States dollars were local currency in order to transact legally acquired and available to debtor is ordered to pay foreign the law says about the currency converted to RTGS balances at a locally. the holder to spend). currency, they have the election to regime in Zimbabwe and high- rate of 1:1. The Supreme Court in The period February 22-June SI 212 nevertheless does not pay the debt in local currency at the light instances where one ought Zambezi Gas Zimbabwe (Private) 24, 2019 apply retrospectively and so the interbank rate. On the other hand, to claim either foreign currency or Limited v N.R. Barber (Private) Litigants who have causes of point can be made that causes of a strict reading of SI 85 shows that local currency. Limited & Anor SC 3/20 ruled action arising within this period action arising before it came into its effect does not extend to judg- Historically, the courts have that an RTGS payment satisfi es a can make a case for recovery of effect on September 27, 2019 are ment debts. This point is ultimate- always contemplated that court or- debt that was previously denom- debts in foreign currency. In this not subject to it. Reading all the ly for the courts to decide but one ders can be granted in foreign cur- inated in United States dollars as period, the legal position that par- relevant SIs together, the latitude must exercise caution in trying to rency. The Supreme Court in Mak- at February 22, 2019. The correct- ties can transact in the currency of for claiming foreign currency in use SI 85 to justify a foreign cur- windi Oil Procurement (Pvt) Ltd v ness of this judgment is a matter their choice had not been altered. court is limited to very specifi c rency claim, because that argu- National Oil Company of Zimba- for another day, but that is the law It follows that parties are en- circumstances. A litigant can only ment will have to pass a number bwe (Pvt) Ltd said, “Our courts are as it stands. titled to claim the currency they claim foreign currency if they of thresholds such as whether the at liberty to give judgments in for- SI 142 of 2019 (SI 142) transacted in. SI 142’s provisions have express authority to do so as other party has consented to pay- eign currency”. The reasoning for This SI, gazetted on June 24, together with those of SI 33 were was the case in Zimbabwe Leaf ing in foreign currency. this was that it is lawful for parties 2019, declared the Zimbabwe dol- incorporated into the Finance Tobacco Company (Pvt) Ltd v  Muza is a lawyer prac- to enter into a contract sounding in lar to be the sole legal tender in (No.2) Act of 2019. Since SI 142 is Mushayakarara HH 220/20. It was tising under the fi rm, Muza & foreign currency even if it was not Zimbabwe. In other words, one still in place, a court must be wary decided in that case that the appli- Nyapadi Legal Practitioners. He legal tender in Zimbabwe. can only use the Zimbabwe dollar of granting judgment in a curren- cant was entitled to payment of a writes in his personal capacity. The raft of exchange control in exchange for goods and services cy that is no longer legal tender in debt in US$ because it had sourced He is reachable at muzahilary@ statutory instruments gazetted by within the country. SI 142 did not Zimbabwe. A simple way around the funds offshore and in addition, gmail.com or 0773 042 628

For the week ending 17 March 2021

For the week ending 06 January 2020 The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page 21 Column Leadership lessons drawn from sports

he game of sports is very unpredictable, Muzarabani, Joe Root (england), Ben b. encouraging growth-when feathers about competition is a key success factor and the results can go either way. The re- Stokes (england), Lungi Ngidi (SA), JP are too have and are becoming a hin- for a successful organization. Tsults can manifest in different ways. It can Duminy (SA), Adam Zampa (Australia), drance, pluck them off. f. Doing things your way- Organisa- be a tie, win or a loss. The team reacts to the re- Glen Maxwell (Australia) just to men- c. Building trust- Trust is earned and tions should be guided by their belief sults differently. Some feel happy, bruised, or feel tion a few. Cricket requires thorough we all work based on trust. Where trust and philosophy in order to create value injured or pained by the loss. preparation whether you are going to be has broken down, it takes time to rebuild for shareholders. Players cannot be all In each case, the coach bears the brunt. It can a bowler, wicket keeper it. Lionel Messies of the day but should be be a praise, or the job will be on the line. or will be batting. Substi- d. Learning from guided by their skill, agility, speed, re- There is variety of sports codes including the tutions are made as well failure- try, try, try silience, versatility, vision, and aggres- popular soccer, cricket, hockey, wrestling, net- where results are not com- again is what I learnt siveness in front of goal post. Business ball, handball, karate, just to mention but a few. ing through. Organisation even during my primary opportunities should be tackled head-on. What determines the success of the organisation renewal takes place. I and high school days. In conclusion, where there is barbed- are the results. Organisations do not bank excus- have noticed situations Philemon Chitagu You perfect from try- wire competition, there is no room for es. When results are positive, people feel happy. where the old guard will ing. Failure is success grabbling or gravelling. It is time for se- When results go the other way, people feel deject- be leaving and allow new blood to take turned inside out. rious business. ed. The dejection count to nothing though when over in the game of cricket. e. Analysing competition- An organ- There is need to watch out for there is no reflection of what would have caused What lessons are then getting from isation should not just enter a business non-productive big names which may the loss. The dejection count to nothing when the game of game of sports? before analysing the strength of the com- weigh down the business or institutions. there is no holding each other to account for the a. Cultivating unwavering discipline petitor. That is a fatal mistake. Being in n Chitagu is the current IPMZ performance. In sport, players are substituted if and focus-all eyes on the task. Abide by business is about creating a competitive president and writes in his own capac- performance is going down. At times, players are the rules of the game or else you are out. edge over competition. What you know ity. loaned to other leagues so that individuals perfect their skills or gain experience. In other situations, they are sold to other teams permanently and new players are brought in — what is know as organ- The Financial Gazette @FingazLive isation renewal. Renewing an organisation is not an easy task. It calls for leaders to be tactical, shrewd and bru- tal in some situations. Over a long time, relations are built, and it becomes very difficult to untan- gle such relationships. We have noticed big teams like Manchester United letting go of big names in the name of organisation renewal. Yes, renewal is key if an organisation is to compete on the market. It is not about big names, Develop financially it is about performance and creation of sharehold- er value. If performance is not satisfactory, big names do not count. Great and lethal soccer play- ers like Romelu Lukaku, Xavi (now coach), Javi- literate business leaders er Mascherano; Mario Baloteli, Ronaldo, Neymar Jnr, for example, have been allowed to leave for other clubs in the name of organisation renew- al. At times, big names are costly to maintain in the organisation, hence it can be advantageous to let them go and bring fresh minds to strength- en weak areas. We have seen coaches come and go when the results are not coming through. We know some of the teams which are very brutal in this area. They have more coaches in their history than the number of trophies they won. The num- ber of coaches whose contracts were terminated are almost equal to two football teams. Yes, there is no reason to keep deadwood. even when the eagles grow heavy feathers, they retreat and unpluck such feathers so that they can fly at high speed. Some of the organisations are weighed down by big names at the expense of the profitability of the company. The danger of big names in the organisation is that there will be demands for big cars, high amount of fuel, hefty salary perks (school fees, holiday allowances; personal drivers; etc) but all these are not even linked to productivity. heavy feathers must be pruned if one is to run fast, effectively, and ef- ficiently. honest conversations are key at times. When the football team is not grinding results, honest conversations and honest feedback is proffered. Some serious reflections of performance is - car ried out and players are told to shape up or out. Subscribe for your former We have noticed this when Manchester coach Sol- skjaer, told his strikers to be hungrier and score goals. It is not about big names but performance. & your child’s school We have seen him rotating his players includ- ing goalkeepers. It is about results not hot air. It is not about explanation but performance. It is Contact our subscriptions team on: about value creation. The playground is for seri- ous business and should not be used for bedrest. [email protected] As the renewal is taking place, we should not also forget that we will be building the organisation for the future. At other football clubs or in the sport of cricket, the rebuilding of the team revolves Subscribe Now around few positive minded individuals who can show the new players the way. In cricket, we have also noted renewal process taking place. It is ei- ther one is a bowler or is able to bat or is a wicket keep. All these roles require agility and versatil- ity. The roles require someone to be very alert. I have noticed the prowess of Sachin Tendulkar, a former Indian Cricket team player, our own Andy and Grant Flower, Sikandar Raza, Blessing Page 22 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette Motoring Honda ballade elegance 1.5 Cvt ly enough with respectable defl ection of mechanical as well as road and wind in- . . . anonymity guaranteed duced disturbances. Please don’t believe the claimed TOP GEAR combined fuel fi gure of with 5.5L/100km though. In pri- Richard Wiley marily urban use, you’re HERE are so few new much more likely to see saloon cars around 8.0L/100km. these days that if you But the story does not T end there. Having grown want to remain anonymous, it’s not the type of car you annoyed by the wailing and need as the genre, despite its gnashing of teeth under the rarity, now stands out like a bonnet and the transmission sore thumb among a sea of tunnel, I decided to bite the SUVs and bakkies. There bullet and drive as though I is an exception to the rule was on my way to the hair- though and that’s the lat- dresser to get my blue rinse est iteration of the 110mm refreshed. I pressed the longer Honda Ballade, es- green economy button, drew pecially one painted in an- a deep breath, and drove thracite grey that blends into around with a newfound the background. The model sense of calm that was re- tested was the mid-range El- warded by the Ballade in the egance which is hemmed in form of much more peaceful by the RS at the top and the If rather tardy progress. If Comfort at the foot. that’s how most owners will The design of this lat- drive, they’ll rather like life est model is so conserva- in this Honda as time passes tive that despite its relative them by! Owners will also like the newness, no-one will pay Awkward cabin rearward styling is very evident here too much attention. Such composed and comforting visual obscurity may have halogen headlamp clusters more laborious-to-operate eight-inch central infotain- per, adequately muscular ride from the MacPherson advantages for some owners (complemented by LED wheel adjustment is far su- ment unit with voice control at 89kW/145Nm but that’s strut/torsion beam suspen- who like to fl y under the ra- running lights) which rath- perior with its fi ner calibra- and Android Auto/Apple a sea level fi gure, so at al- sion set-up that’s doubt- dar, but sadly, the mere fact er fl atter to deceive when it tion so why more manufac- CarPlay compatibility that titude, prepare for a modi- less massaged by those old that the Ballade lacks visu- comes to swoopy shapes as turers outside Germany tend worked an absolute treat, cum of lethargy. Dig deeper fashioned 60-profi le tyres al interest will surely count far as the rest of the metal- to avoid this superior mech- along with two USB ports, into the fi gures though and and they’ll also like the against it when it comes to work is concerned. anism is a mystery. Maybe a power point, a centre arm- you’ll need climbing ropes feelsome brakes that seem sales. Smart alloy wheels are it’s money! rest, overhead grab handles, and cleats in your shoes to adequately powerful despite As with most modern home to predictably conser- It’s in the back though two illuminated vanity mir- scale the heights at which the presence of miniscule Hondas, the front and rear vative 185/60R15 Maxxis that the Ballade earns 5 rors, electric windows, air the engine has to revolve to rear drums. The steering too screens are heavily raked rubber that simply looks stars. By the standards of the con, electric mirrors and lots produce those fi gures. The is pleasingly weighted and and the wheelbase is rel- overwhelmed by the body- class, knee and foot room of unlined oddments spac- answer is 6 600 and 4 500 telegraphs with reasonable atively long which helps work that gets a measure of is exceptional, headroom is es with enough cup holders rpm respectively. faithfulness what is going on release remarkable cabin protection from rear park adequate and the angle of re- to trigger a rise in the share That tells you immediate- at the front wheels. space, but more of that in a sensors. Take a look at the cline of the shaped-for-two price of coffee vendors. ly that the bottom end muscle All of which tells you moment. The fl anks too are photos and you’ll get the backrest with centre armrest Full marks to Honda for of this engine is very hard to the Ballade isn’t a bad drive typically endowed with deep drift – but the fundis always is perfectly judged in terms hiding away no less than detect so if you’re in a hurry if time is not an issue, but creases just below the shoul- say you shouldn’t judge a of achieving a restful angle. six airbags in a cabin that’s or have to ascend gradients if you’re in a hurry to get der line while the somewhat book by its cover, so let’s If we can leave those mostly devoid of soft surfac- every day as I do, there’s an from A to B, especially with exposed wheel arches tele- peel back that cover and take back seat drivers snoozing ing but which is suffi ciently absolute need to up the revs. a load on at altitude, you’d graph that the inner reaches a peek inside. away and return to the front, well-wrought to create an That’s not the end of the best look elsewhere. of those arches are mostly Lo and behold, those let’s record that the steer- appropriately comforting problem though as the CVT, If you can cast that per- devoid of plastic liners, an- smaller wheels and the long ing wheel is adjustable, and rather than cosseting ambi- irrespective of whether it’s a formance issue aside, and other Honda India trait that wheelbase liberate a cabin leather-wrapped, and that ence. Don’t look too closely tweaked design as claimed, that’s a hard thing to do, exposes some rather nasty that’s big enough for a posse it’s festooned with paddle at the fl oor covering though makes absolutely sure that there’s no doubting at all that fi nishing detail within. of paparazzi pursuing Har- shifters and controls for as the grade of carpeting isn’t the distressed sound of the the new Ballade’s forte is its It’s a pity that this par- ry and Meghan with their niceties such as Bluetooth, exactly the nicest. It isn’t small four is exaggerated by interior, fi rstly in terms of ticular shortcut seems in- long lens cameras. Provided ‘source,’ volume and cruise any better in the boot either slippage. The effect is aural- space and secondly in terms grained as the fi nish of the with keyless entry, occu- control. The driver enjoys a but the space in there is jol- ly unpleasant and frustrating of very good equipment lev- more visible bodywork is pants will fi nd good quali- clear view of a very simply ly good at 506 litres. Given to boot. els for the money. The looks very good with tight and ty self-patterned anthracite marked pair of analogue in- that every journey involves Maybe that’s why Honda are debatable - no thanks in even panel gaps comple- cloth wrapped around seats struments that fl ank a rather- exposure to the cabin, the quotes no performance fi g- part to those small wheels - mented by good paint gloss that are generously propor- too-busy central digital dis- Ballade makes a better case ures, an unusual omission but that’s a subjective issue and by doors that open and tioned and padded. Comfort play, but to my annoyance, for itself inside than out but to be sure, but to add a little to be sure, so this writer is close with precision. The up front is high and talking I noted that Honda has seen the question to be answered gloss, let me state that the strongly recommending a LED tail lamps owe more of elevation, the driver also fi t to axe a simple analogue is: “how does it drive?” The paddle shifters do provide test drive that encompasses than a smidgin to the latest gets height adjustment, but temperature gauge in favour answer is simple to provide: the frustrated driver with a hills or a heavy load or both 3-Series Beemer while the rake (recline) is changed of a dreaded warning light “It depends how you drive.” modicum of control and out before anyone opens their arrow-head frontal design is via coarsely calibrated le- so beloved of the opposition Allow me to explain. on the motorway, at least purses. And that even in- notable for its chrome high- vers that make for big steps at Mazda. The normally aspirated 1.5 when the ribbon of tar is fl at, cludes honourary members lighting and its swept-back between each selection. A Other details include an litre injected four is, on pa- the Ballade cruises peaceful- of the blue rinse brigade! The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page 23 News

Seed Co group finance director John Matorofa, left, with the group’s chief executive Morgan Nzwere. Seed Co receives US$25mln support

rOPArCO has extended a May or June instead of September and US$25 million seven-year loan to thereby considerably reduce losses due Pone of Zimbabwe’s largest seed to disruptions in rainy seasons,” the fi- house, Seed Co for the development of nance house said. The institution added maize dryers and expansion of opera- that the investment will also contribute tions. towards reducing the vulnerability of ag- The loan will go along way to im- riculture to climate change. prove farmers’ production capacity, dou- “In addition, the investments in re- ble harvest and address climate risk. search and development financed will Proparco is a major player in Zim- develop varieties that are more resistant babwe and Zambia’s agriculture sector to weather conditions.” and the loan will see the institution ex- Agriculture is a key sector for social panding its footprint in Africa through and human development in Zimbabwe improved access to financial resources. and Zambia. It employs 65 percent and In a statement, Proparco said the loan 75 percent of the population, respective- will allow Seed Co to increase its pro- ly, and accounts for 15 percent and 19 duction capacity in the two countries, percent of Gross Domestic Product. enter new markets (West Africa) and Seed Co group was set up in Hara- diversify its activity through the devel- re in 1940 as a cooperative. It selects, opment of new types of seed such as rice produces and markets hybrid field seeds, and vegetables. including maize, wheat, soya beans, “By supporting Seed Co group, sorghum, groundnuts, beans and cow- whose activity is improving food secu- pea. It has an extensive infrastructure rity in the region by helping to increase base with six production plants and 18 agricultural yields, Proparco is contrib- research stations in East and southern uting to the development of the econom- Africa. ic fabric of the region, job creation, the The Seed Co group enjoys a very promotion of quality industrial facilities solid and healthy relationship with its with high environmental and social stan- main shareholder, the French group dards and the adaptation of sub-Saharan Limagrain, which is the fourth largest agriculture to climate change,” Proparco seed company in the world, and a leader said. in vegetable seeds in the world. “It is estimated that over the next five Proparco is a development finance years, a million more people in Zim- institution partly owned by the French babwe and Zambia will have access to Development Agency and private share- corn from Seed Co seeds. The project holders from the developed countries should contribute to creating some 95 and developing nations. additional direct jobs and should support It finances companies whose activ- some 14 000 in-direct jobs. ities contribute to creating jobs and de- “The installation of a corn drying unit cent incomes, the provision of essential by Seed Co will allow external farmers goods and services, and the fight against to harvest their wheat earlier in the year, climate change. — Staff Writer Absa holds dividend OUTH African lender Absa said on The bank said it expected to gradually Monday it would not declare an an- return to payouts from the first half of its Snual dividend after profit fell 58 per- next financial year, and that in the absence cent, pushing its shares down almost two of appropriate loan growth it could “return percent as it fell out of step with rivals who excess capital to shareholders”. have restored payouts in recent weeks. CFO Jason Quinn told a media briefing After the central bank cautiously re- that in the medium term that could see ei- laxed guidance advising lenders against ther a share buyback or special dividend. dividends, investors had been widely ex- “Those would probably be the two pre- pecting a restoration of payouts from some ferred mechanisms,” he said. lenders but were less certain about others, CEO Daniel Mminele added that prog- including Absa, whose capital position is ress against a 2018 turnaround strategy not as strong as some peers. had been “respectable”. — moneyweb Page 24 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette National News ‘Silos ready for MMCZ to set up diamond harvest season’ processing firm Farai Mabeza and infrastructure upgrading were Staff Writer already at an advanced stage, with HE Minerals Marketing Corpo- In 2019 diamond production again 665 Cotton Company of Zimba- ration of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) tumbled to a paltry 1,6 million carats, HE GOVERNMENT says bwe collection and buying points Tplans to set up a diamond pro- with the ZCDC citing a number of eco- grain storage facilities will being earmarked for use by the cessing firm under a venture capital nomic challenges, chief among them be ready in time for the GMB as additional collection partnership with a yet to be identified power cuts and fuel shortages. This T local company. year ZCDC is targeting diamond out- harvest season, with the last of points. the country’s silos scheduled to The country’s harvests have The corporation, mandated to mar- put of three million carats. be fully refurbished by the end of long faced challenges with ket and sell all minerals produced in As part of efforts to revive the sec- April. post-harvest grain losses due to Zimbabwe except silver and gold, on tor, the government has drafted Rus- Zimbabwe is expecting a maize poor crop handling practices by behalf of the state, has since gazetted sian global leader in diamond mining surplus of 1,2 million tonnes while farmers and lack of adequate stor- an invitation for bids from potential Alrosa, as well as the Chinese backed the country has 12 silo facilities age facilities by both producers partners. Anjin. with a capacity of 750 000 tonnes. and the GMB. ‘…MMCZ wishes to provide ven- AIM listed junior miner, Vast Re- The Grain Marketing Board According to research find- ture capital to an identified partner for sources, is also finalising arrangements (GMB) can also store bagged ings by the University of Zimba- diamond processing,” it said. to set up shop in Marange. maize and other grains under can- bwe Department of Soil Science “…participation in this bidding Anjin has invested US$38 million vas. and Agricultural Engineering, procedure is restricted to Zimbabwean to resuscitate operations and intends to Milling companies, who are Zimbabwe has an average maize bidders and firms…”. achieve production of 900 000 carats in Anxious Masuka GMB’s main customers, will also post-harvest loss of about 18,5 The country’s diamond output has 2021. provide additional storage facili- April 2021,” Masuka said. percent. remained depressed since the govern- After extensive resource definition ties. “There has been improvement The post-harvest losses are ment kicked out miners in the Marange and quantification works, Alrosa has Agriculture minister, Anxious in storage preparedness. Current- mainly due to destruction during fields and nationalised their operations revealed a rare and high value species Masuka, told The Financial Ga- ly GMB has a storage capacity of storage by insects and pests. to form the Zimbabwe Consolidated of diamonds at the Malipati Diamond zette that refurbishment of five 2,295 million metric tonnes (MT), These losses translate into mil- Diamond Company (ZCDC) in 2016. Project in Matabeleland South. silos was complete and two more excluding compact ground which lions of dollars’ worth of grain. At its peak in 2012, Zimbabwe’s Zimbabwe expects to increase di- in Chegutu and Concession were can also be used for temporary Research conducted by the UZ diamond output reached 12 million amond output to 11 million carats by scheduled for completion by mid- storage. Cumulatively, the GMB in 2016 in Mbire and Hwedza dis- carats but production plunged spectac- 2023 as part of an ambitious plan to March. has up to four million MT storage tricts, showed that hermetic bags ularly to a paltry 961 000 carats in 2016 raise mining output and earn US$12 “Mobilisation of materials for capacity. The GMB also engaged and metal silos were effective in The following year output reached billion a year but concerns abound Lions Den, Banket and Norton third parties for an additional 65 protecting grain from pests and 1,8 million carats and then leapt to 2,8 about lack of transparency and corrup- is at 55 percent and work will be 000MT storage capacity”. rodents but these remain largely million carats in 2018. tion in the sector. — Staff Writer completed by April 7, 2021. Bu- The government recently an- inaccessible to smallholder grain lawayo will be done last and is nounced that modalities for grain producers. targeted to be completed by end of mobilisation, purchase, storage [email protected] New regulatory body for medical aid societies Nelson Gahadza sion of medical aid societies from the Staff Writer Insurance and Pensions Commission Bill,” she said. HE government says it will The amendments to the Bill, when establish a separate regula- it comes into law, mainly seeks to en- Ttory body under the Ministry sure the maintenance of a fair, safe and of Health and Child Care to oversee stable insurance and pensions sector medical aid societies. for the benefit and protection of policy This comes after industry experts holders and pension fund members. questioned proposed amendments to Ipec had over the years made a case the Insurance and Pensions Commis- to the government for medical aid so- sion (Ipec) (Amendment) Bill, 2020, cieties and NSSA to be placed under which would have brought medical its regulatory purview to improve aid societies together with the Nation- governance and protect policyholders’ al Social Security Authority (NSSA) funds. under the ambit of Ipec. This comes after thousands of pol- Monica Mutsvangwa, the Infor- icy holders have been struggling to mation minister, told journalists af- get medical services on fully paid-up ter cabinet that the government had schemes due to the high prevalence of considered submissions made on the corporate governance malpractices in- regulation of the medical aid space as cluding corruption, misappropriation proposed in the Insurance and Pen- of funds and revenue leakages. sions Commission Bill. The Bill also gives Ipec the powers “Since medical aid societies are to accredit actuaries, auditors, asset not for profit enterprises and repre- managers, credit rating agencies and sent members’ efforts to pool funds other service providers. to assist in covering health bills and Through provisions of the pro- expenses, it is best international prac- posed Bill, the Commission will con- tice for such entities to be regulated by duct investigations where it sees fit for independent authorities with expertise the purpose of preventing contraven- to deal with the complex and peculiar tions in the insurance sector. aspects of the medical industry and Government is also in the process should be under the oversight of the of amending the Insurance Bill, 2020 Ministry of Health and Child Care,” which when passed into law seeks to she said. repeal the Insurance Act and introduce “Accordingly, the cabinet ap- best practices in Zimbabwe’s insur- proved that medical aid be separated ance sector. from general insurance, that is, exclu- [email protected] The Financial Gazette March 18-24 2021 | Page 25

VACANCY NOTICE Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates to fill the following positions that have arisen within the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) – an equal opportunity employer. PUBLIC NOTICE COMMISSIONER CUSTOMS & EXCISE – LEVEL 2 (1 POST) Key Responsibilities  Provides strategic leadership to the division, with particular attention to strategies for taxation of e-commerce and formulating risk management strategies.  Develops and implementsAVOID divisional strategic THE and operational RISK plans, dashboard OF and WCOCOVID-19 strategic plans and initiatives. VIRUS  Develops strategies that eradicate corruption and reduce revenue leakages.  Collaborates with ICT division on new IT-based systems that will result in automation of Customs processes, deterring tax evasion and smuggling and broadening the The Zimbabwerevenue Revenuebase. Authority (ZIMRA) hereby wishes its valued clients to stay safe and cau- REGION TELEPHONE E-MAIL tious byDeals reducing with visits Customs to ZIMRA & Excise offices Legislation this season of and COVID Procedures 19 virus outbreak. with emp As hasisa mitigating on bilateral, multilateral and international transit protocols and conventions.  Large & Medium Clients: Ms. P. Dzangare – 0712424729 [email protected] measureEnsures against customisationthe spread of COVID-19 and accurate virus, clients application are encouraged of international to access, utiliseconventions the avail -and instruments to fit and enhance theAuthority strategies and initiatives.  Builds and motivates high-performance teams to fulfil the mandate of the division and the Authority. Mrs. J. Sibanda – 0772172518 able ZIMRA e-service facilities on (www.efiling.zimra.co.zw) and reduce the risks associated with  Develops and implements stakeholder engagement programs for effective compliance management partnerships.Mr. O. Matarutse – 0712406809 travelling or handling manual tax submissions. Did You Know that, with ZIMRA e-service platform  Establishes, develops and maintains strategic relationships, knowledge sharing, partnerships and collaborationMrs. K. Furayi between– 0712617643 ZIMRA and multi-lateral organizations such you canas do AfDB, the following: ATAF, IMF, WCO, World Bank and WTO, and with regional organizations such as SADC, COMESA, ESAMI and bi-lateral relations with major trading part- 1. Onlineners. registration in order to obtain a ZIMRA Business Partner Number (BP) Mrs. R. Tarinda – 0712624292 2. OnlinePromotes Submission a good of Tax industrial Returns (currentlyclimate throughIncome Tax, the PAYE, timeous Value conclusi Added Tax,on ofand disciplinary Capital Smallcases. Clients: Mrs. R. Sandada – 0712 424728 [email protected]  GainsProvides Tax) the Authority with effective leadership anchored on high ethical standards.(Kariba, Bindura, Chinhoyi Mrs. T. Matsangura – 0772328201 & Marondera) 3. OnlineProvides application policy for analysis Tax Clearances and advice (ITF263) in revenue collection and trade facilitation. Ms. L. Mkabeta – 0712617646 4. OnlineIntegrates verification policies and validationand procedures of existing to Tax enable Clearances corporate (ITF263) level integration of operations.  Mr. B. Lembacharu – 0772126940 5. ViewingTransform of Taxpayers’ the business Accounts to Status enable and continuousBalances. operations in the Covid-19 impacted environment. Job Skills and Competencies Mrs. J. Muzhandu – 0772277358 6. Online updating of information (submission of REV2 Form)  Knowledge of Customs & Excise legislation and procedures with emphasis on bilateral, multilateral andMrs. international C. Nyaungwa – 0772404088 transit pr otocols and conventions.

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Clients A are degree advised in to Accounting/ scan and email Economics/ completed copies Commerce/ of the failed Business tax return/form, Studies/ ITF12B Fiscal (QPDs), Studies/ Region Business 3: Management/Mrs. C. TapfumaSocial – Studies 0772277663 or [email protected] ITF16, A or Masters’ Withholding degree Taxes or [REV5 equivalent Forms] postgraduate using the applicable/relevant commercial emailqualification. address selected  Mr. S. Ncube – 0772413783 from theAt listleast below: 7 years’ experience in a Customs & Excise and or Domestic Taxes environment in a senior managerial grade.  Experience in organizational management or other aspects of public administration would be an addedMrs. advantage. A. Sithole – 0772153640 1. [email protected]  Expert knowledge of ASYCUDA World and or SAP is a pre-requisite. 2. [email protected] Custom and Excise Measures to Ensure Business Continuity In Light Of the Corona Virus Pandemic 3. [email protected] HEAD CORPORATE RISK & COMPLIANCEIn light of the – current Level Corona 4 (1 POST) Virus pandemic and the State of the Nation address by His Excellence, Duties4. [email protected] and Responsibilities Comrade E D Mnangagwa, on the Corona Virus National Status and measures to contain its spread, 5. [email protected] and quantifies the organisation risk appetite’ and ensures the risk approach is aligned. the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority is putting in place the following measures to ensure the safety of its 6. [email protected], maintains and updates risk governance framework in consultation with management. staff and valued clients. 7. [email protected] management with risk identification, assessment and development of response strategies. 8. [email protected], aggregates, analyzes and interprets the results of risk assessments to extract risk intelligence.  a. All stations to maintain skeleton staff, with only critical areas to be manned to limit human inter- 9. [email protected] the Risk Management and Business Continuity Plans (BCP) frameworks to all stakeholders and monitoring implementation.  Continually drives for enhanced efficiency and client service in all risk and complianceface. processes. 10. [email protected]  Coordinates risk orientation, risk assessment and action plans. b. Data Processing Centers (DPC’s) – 11. [email protected]  Develops a combined risk-based assurance plan with other assurance givers suchi. Allas theDPC Office staff will of not the interactAuditor-General. with any member of the public, all interaction to be limited to elec- 12. [email protected]  Develops, manages and refines qualitative and quantitative risk reporting which meetstronic the means needs of the Board, to support effective decision-making (including report- 13. [email protected] risk intelligence to Management and the Risk Management Committee). ii. Queries and Amendment Staff to only interact with clients or agents via electronic means 14. [email protected] compliance with regulatory obligations whilst taking a practical approach to risk-based challenges and offer appropriate solutions. iii. Only the listed documents to be stamped after processing of a bill of entry: 15. [email protected] divisional BCPs for adequacy and comprehensiveness and ensuring that they are in sync with the Authority’s BCP. • F21 – Bill of entry 16. [email protected] lines of business have risk capacity both in personnel and risk systems. • Invoices 17. [email protected] senior management remain informed of regulatory, legislative and best practice changes and their obligations under these changes.  • Manifest 18. [email protected] and reviews activities undertaken by departments and identify areas of improvement focusing on the Authority’s risks across functions.  Manages the successful delivery of compliance projects ensuring technical excellence• Origin and Certificates a practical / business-driven approach. 19. [email protected]  Partners effectively with third parties, regulatory bodies and others, as appropriate• Release and serving orders as a role model for high personal and corporate ethical values and 20. [email protected] standards of integrity. • Consignments notes (exports only) 21. [email protected]  Prepares long-range divisional strategic plan, annual operational plan and annual• financialCD1 (exports budget only) for the Enterprise Risk Management portfolio embedding a positive 22. [email protected] of confident and informed risk-taking and disaster preparedness through education and training, communication and promotion of the agreed risk framework. c. All applications for Immigrants Rebate shall be suspended until further notice, in line with the 23. [email protected] closely with key stakeholders to understand the business requirement for projects and develop effective working relationships during project implementation. Presidential Proclamation 24. [email protected] the business to enable continuous operations in the Covid-19 impacted environment. d. All communication on rebate applications, appeals or letters to be submitted through email to the Job25. Skills [email protected] and Competencies  Ability to produce and present effective presentations and training sessions. relevant Office as listed below: 26. [email protected] 27. [email protected] to influence behaviours at all levels of the organisation.  Good analytical, report writing and communication skills. 1. Office of the Commissioner Customs & Excise - [email protected] 28. [email protected]  A high degree of computer literacy and data manipulation for risk profiling. 2. Office of the Customs and Excise Regional Managers 29. [email protected]  Highly professional with thorough knowledge of Risk Management and Audit techniques.• Region 1: [email protected] 30. [email protected]  Must be able to demonstrate a broad technical knowledge and expertise covering the• conductRegion of 2: [email protected] matters, corporate governance matters and regulatory risk 31. [email protected] change matters. • Region 3: [email protected] 32. [email protected] practical and commercial approach to problem-solving.  Proven track record of delivering enhancements to process efficiency. • Forbes Region: [email protected] • Beitbridge Region: [email protected] QualificationsClients are reminded and toExperience use the above email platform to submit their accurate tax returns as well as remitting Degree all their in paymentsBusiness through Studies, their Riskrespective Management, banks. For ZIMRA Accounting, bank details, Auditing, please Fiscalvisit the Studies, Finance or Economics or equivalent.  e. The use of electronic payments to be encouraged for payment of duty and other charges or fees. ZIMRAProfessional website www.zimra.co.zw. qualification Please e.g. noteCIA, all CRMA,emails must CISA, be less Risk than Management 10MB those with Certificate. emails  Postgraduate degree an added advantage. f. 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No ed.Interested For any queries candidates or correspondences, should submit don’t applications, hesitate to contact accompanied the below listed by managersa detailed in yourCurriculum Vitae and certified copies of academic and professional qualifications, by 30 applications will be accepted over the counter and no manual TIP’s will be issued. Marchrespective 2021. stations All ORapplications regions as follows: should be emailed to [email protected] clearly indicating the position you are applying for as your E-mail Subject Reference and addressedg. All face-to-face to: meetings with clients are suspended, and the use of electronic means of communi- The Commissionercation General is encouraged. Zimbabwe Revenue Authority 6th Floor ZB Centre Corner PublicFirst Street Notice / Kwame Number Nkrumah 17 of 2020 Avenue P. O. Box 4360 My Taxes – My DutiesHARARE – Building My Zimbabwe!

Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be responded to. Page 26 | March 18-24 2021 The Financial Gazette Life & ArtsNews Worth Knowing March 18-24 2021 Page 27 Future of eating out post-lockdown HERE was a time when says Munjoma, and renovations of tomatoes and onions from Dom- wearing a mask was the this historical five star hotel are boshawa, small grains from farm- Tpreserve of doctors and due to commence in April this ing centres in Mutoko and free- nurses in operating theatres, felons year. range guinea fowl from Mt planning bank robberies and the Zimbabweans love to eat out, Darwin will have decreased, leav- occasional geeky-looking individ- and in the before time there were ing farmers pondering alternative ual on public transport or in the numerous food outlets to choose ways to make a living. supermarket. from, ranging from roadside Talented young and mid-career It's almost a year since March shacks to upmarket restaurants. professional chefs, eager to con- 30, 2020, when President Emmer- Put out of business by the pan- tribute to the culinary arts in Zim- son Mnangagwa declared the demic, vendors are no longer sell- babwe, are also finding it difficult coronavirus pandemic to be a na- ing roasted maize on the corner of to make their way in the stalled tional disaster, and decreed a Teviotdale Road, and restaura- hospitality industry. three-week national lockdown. teurs, unable to serve sit-in diners, De Ankarra Chef, aka Tafi Ani- Since then, looping the elastics of fasi, is a personal chef who hosts a mask over one's ears before A Matter of Taste special events and prepares spe- leaving the house has become al- cialised meals for clients. He has most second nature, partly to with spent a quiet 2020 on his farm in avoid spreading the virus, and Charlotte Malakoff Kwekwe, honing his culinary also to avoid a fine of $1 000. skills and planning for a post-pan- Instead of being a time to take demic future. on exciting new projects, travel Blessed with an adventurous around the country and make new have turned to takeaway and de- and highly-developed palate, De friends, 2020 proved to be a year livery service meals. Business is Ankarra Chef has created an Af- of loss and destruction. Some have reduced to 15 percent of previous ro-fusion cuisine blending the lost more than others, but every- levels, but overheads haven't de- many flavours encountered on his one has had to make changes in creased and staff on furlough travels locally, and in Italy, Ethio- their lifestyle; where jobs have while waiting for restaurants to re- pia, Botswana and Kenya. been lost, the challenge has been open, still have to be paid. The latest mouth-watering cre- to find new ways to make a living. Many people eking out a living ation to appear on his Instagram In the hospitality industry, ho- on the streets of Harare from dawn account is a dish of jerk-flavoured tels, restaurants and travel have to dusk are happy to be able to buy pork trotters simmered in a rich Mopani worm tapas from De Ankarra been particularly hard hit. When a takeaway meal before returning chocolate sauce, on a bed of pea- protocols are in place, a restaurant is a After two and a half months of clo- everything came to a screeching home. nut butter rice, with a side dish of safe place to be. Bongai Zamchiya, sure or takeaway-only, permission has halt in March, Meikles Hotel was Others, whose lifestyle re- cinnamon-flavoured butternut. Ta- president of ROAZ (Restaurant Opera- been given to restaurants to open for the only hotel, for some months, to volves around dining out, may fi's jerk seasoning is home made, a tors' Association of Zimbabwe) is con- sit-down diners, who are the key cus- remain open. 'Since Meikles Hotel have tried with limited success to combination of cumin, nutmeg, cerned about the thousands of jobs lost tomer base of the restaurant trade. opened in 1915, the doors have re-create the meals they once en- allspice, smoked paprika and cin- during lockdown. ●Comments to: [email protected] never been closed,' said general joyed at their favourite restaurants. namon, with red pepper flakes for manager Tinashe Munjoma Frequent culinary disasters and heat and brown sugar for depth of proudly, when I interviewed him the spectre of washing up after- flavour. recently on WhatsApp. wards, will inevitably lead these On a virtual visit to India during With zero occupancy, only a individuals (myself included) to lockdown, Chef presented his fans skeleton staff was required for ordering a takeaway to eat in front with a plate of butternut curry tem- cleaning the empty rooms, but in of the TV. pered with fresh green chillis, Ma- mid-May, when several metric Hospitality influencer and leg- lawi rice, tenderly flaking puris tonnes of personal protective endary chef Alain Ducasse, who and a raita of yoghurt and thinly equipment (PPE) for health and owns 30 restaurants in Paris, Lon- sliced magaka (horned melon). medical workers in Zimbabwe ar- don and Las Vegas, cannot come De Ankarra Chef already grows rived at the airport, crew members to terms with takeouts. 'Having a butternut and chillis on his farm, checked in to the hotel. meal delivered is not life,' he says. but he plans to focus on a range of With the resumption of Emir- Small scale farmers and suppli- micro herbs and edible flowers, to ates flights into Harare occupancy ers will also have suffered a de- add a burst of colour and intensity is picking up. There is a glimmer cline in business during lockdown. to almost every dish. of light at the end of the tunnel, The demand from restaurants for Many people feel that where all

Virtual trip to India with De Ankarra Chefs butternut curry and rice. LEBRON James has become a minor partner in Fenway Sports Group (FSG), the owners of Liver- pool FC. FSG announced on Tuesday the basketball legend has invested in the group, which also owns the News Worth Knowing Boston Red Sox. James has been a part-owner of Liv- erpool FC since 2011 and has a 2 percent stake in the Sport club, which he bought for £4,7m (US$6,5m). Page 28 March 18-24 2021 SPORT SHORTS Tiger Woods returns home TIGER Woods has returned home and will work on "get- Zimbabwe lose ting stronger every day" following the car crash that left him with significant injuries. The American, 45, needed surgery after suffering a fractured leg and shattered ankle in the crash. The 15-time major champion was moved to Ce- dars-Sinai Medical Center for follow-up procedures on 27 February. On Wednesday he tweeted: "Happy to re- to Afghanistan port that I am back home continuing my recovery." He added: "I am so grateful for the outpouring of sup- FGHANISTAN earned an emphat- port and encouragement that I have received over the past ic 48-run win over a Zimbabwe few weeks. Aside who were shown just how far "I will be recovering at home and working on getting behind they are in the shortest format. Zim- stronger everyday." – bbc.com babwe did not get the opportunity to qualify for the T20 World Cup, due to the tempo- Zlatan Ibrahimovic recalled rary suspension of their board, but Afghan- SWEDEN'S record goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic has istan will feature in that tournament and the been recalled to the national team five years after an- difference in intent, aggression and style of nouncing his retirement. play between the two sides was evident from The 39-year-old scored 62 goals in 116 internationals the get-go. before quitting after the team's Euro 2016 group-stage Zimbabwe opted to chase on a surface exit. that captain Sean Williams thought 170 He opened the door to a return in a newspaper inter- would be competitive on, but their attack view in November 2020 and Sweden coach Janne An- went on to concede 198, including 11 wides, dersson then flew to Milan to meet with the striker. against an Afghan top-order that took no Ibrahimovic has 14 goals in 14 Serie A appearances prisoners. Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for AC Milan this season. Sweden face Georgia on Thurs- plundered a 44-ball 87, shared in an 80-run day, 25 March before playing Kosovo three days later in first-wicket stand with Karim Janat and 74- their opening two 2022 World Cup qualifiers. run second-wicket partnership with Asghar Ibrahimovic has responded to Sweden's announce- Afghan to ask Zimbabwe to chase a target ment of their squad by tweeting: "The return of the God." they have never successfully got to in the – bbc.com past. Without power-hitters in their team and against a well-balanced Afghan attack, Zim- F1: Red Bull versus Mercedes babwe were never really in the hunt, despite AFTER a truncated pre-season testing programme, cut in half being 106 for 1 after 12 overs. Afghani- by the pandemic, there is one tantalising question. stan's well-balanced attack shared wickets Is Formula 1 finally poised for that longed-for straight fight between seam and spin and it was Rashid Afghanistan have now won nine out of 10 T20Is against Zimbabwe. between Mercedes and Red Bull, Lewis Hamilton and Max Khan who headlined their effort once again. Verstappen? His 3 for 28 kept Zimbabwe in check and over. With no runs to his name on the trip so do it a second time, gave himself too much It's hard to believe Mercedes will not be the team to beat extended his already impressive T20 record. far, he may have had his heart in his mouth room, was beaten by pace and turn and this year, after winning the championship double for the last Since Rashid made his debut in October when he drove the first ball he faced to extra bowled. That wicket prompted a mini-col- seven years, with teams required to carry over large parts of 2015, he has taken more T20 wickets than cover, and it seemed to hang in the air a lit- lapse, with Zimbabwe losing five for 28 and their car designs from a 2020, a year which Hamilton and his anyone else, with 92 to his name. Ish Sodhi tle longer than intended. But, he nudged the their way in the chase. Rashid also bowled team utterly dominated. is next on the list with 64. next one to square leg to complete his first Richmond Mutumbani with a googly and But Mercedes did not have a good test in Bahrain, and the Afghanistan have now won nine out of single of the series. As Madhevere reached Madhevere out lbw, missing a slog sweep. drivers are struggling with the behaviour of their car. Red Bull, 10 T20Is against Zimbabwe. the non-striker's end, he got a congratulatory Zimbabwe's bowling comeback by contrast, gave many in F1 the impression that they were in The drop that more than-doubled fist bump from umpire Aleem Dar, who jok- Afghanistan scored at 10.4 runs for the the best shape over three days in Sakhir. – mirror.co.uk Zimbabwe's troubles ingly convinced him to raise his bat as well. first 15 overs of their innings and were well Gurbaz enjoyed a rollicking start and It was a sheepish half-lift with folded arms set to top 200 but Zimbabwe pulled it back Andy Murray handed wildcard scored 41 runs off the first 20 balls he faced but provided a rare moment of fun on an and gave away just 42 runs in the last five. but Zimbabwe had an early opportunity otherwise disappointing trip for the 20-year- Donald Tiripano, Ryan and Muzarabani all BRITAIN'S Andy Murray has been awarded a wild- to end his innings. Though the pull short old Madhevere. He added just one more run bowled fuller in that period. Asghar Afghan card for this month's Miami Open. worked for him off Richard Ngarava, when before he was dismissed lbw. reached a 37-ball 50 in that period, when It will be the two-time title winner's first appearance Gurbaz attempted the same off Blessing Khan't play that he hit a Muzarabani slower ball for six but in the event for five years. Muzarabani he hit the ball straight to deep Zimbabwe's nemesis from the Test series, there were only three other boundaries in an Murray, 33, was ranked second in the world when square leg. Wesley Madhevere, whose first Rashid, continued to trouble them and took innings that was otherwise punctuated with he last competed in Miami in 2016 and returns with a three Test innings resulted in three ducks, the wicket that turned the match decisive- them. ranking of 118 after a long lay-off with hip problems. put down a simple chance to only worsen ly in Afghanistan's favour. Opener Tinashe Afghan scored two fours with the pull British 19-year-old Jack Draper has also been given an already tough tour. Gurbaz went on to Kamunhukamwe, playing in just his second shot, then the six that took him to his mile- a wildcard for what is the first Masters series tourna- score 87 and was on track for a century but T20I, set himself up well to bat through the stone and then Rashid pulled out the helicop- ment of the year on the men's tour. did not meet the pitch of a Ryan Burl slower innings and form the spine of Zimbabwe's ter shot over Muzarabani's head before he Earlier this month, Murray was knocked out in the ball and top-edged to point, where Donald chase. Though he only scored at a rate of was caught behind off the penultimate ball second round of the Rotterdam Open by world number Tiripano held on. 118.91, he was strong against the short ball, of the match. Zimbabwe took three wickets eight Andrey Rublev after also receiving a wildcard. Raise the bat, even if just for one especially those from Amir Hamza and en- for 7 runs in 13 balls in the last two overs to The three-time Grand Slam champion earned Madhevere was in to bat at No. 7 and ergetic in his strike rotation. Rashid greeted keep Afghanistan a shave under 200. Still, his first tour-level win since August by beating arrived at the crease with Zimbabwe all but him with a googly which Kamunhukamwe it was too much for their line-up to match. fellow wildcard Robin Haase in the first round. out of the match, on 123 for 5 in the 17th played off the back foot, but when he tried to — espncricinfo.com – skysport.com