Mining Weekly SOLAR power is driving Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology’s world-class facility in Zimbabwe, already saving the company over 400 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Promoting Sandvik’s sustainability goals, the Harare-based operation kicked off its solar power journey in 2017 with an 18-month Phase One project. This included strengthening the roof of the remanufacture
By Staff Reporter THE Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) has released 40 000 tonnes of maize initially reserved for non-essential services to help alleviate the shortage of the staple during the current government imposed 21-day national lockdown period. This comes as attempts to observe the social distancing requirement to avoid the spread of coronavirus
By Alois Vinga THE ongoing three-week long coronavirus lockdown will affect Blanket Mine’s gold production targets as the mining giant is forced to reduce its workforce for social distancing purposes. In a statement, Caledonia Mining Corporation which operates Blanket said the corresponding measures they will take will generate such an output level. “A key measure
By Alois Vinga THE Covid-19 pandemic will seriously reduce Zimbabwe’s projected tobacco farming earnings and other export commodities, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has said. In a position paper, the labour group said this was going to leave the nation poorer and in urgent need for social safety protection from government. The paper
By Alois Vinga FINANCE Minister, Mthuli Ncube’s newly introduced agriculture financing model has not done much to lower costs previously incurred under the Command Agriculture Scheme, International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported. The details contained in the global lender’s 2019 Article (IV) report show existing weaknesses in the new financing arrangement. “Agriculture spending has remained
By Alois Vinga FINANCE Minister, Mthuli Ncube has established a Coronavirus crowdfunding scheme to beef up resources for national use. The scheme, code named COVID19 National Disaster Fund was launched Wednesday against fears that the pandemic may not end anytime soon. The funds will supplement the resources which government has since set aside to
By Alois Vinga ECONET founder and executive chairman, Strive Masiyiwa has urged African governments to turn to their Chinese friends for help in fighting Coronavirus. In a statement posted on his blog, Masiyiwa said it was time the Africans turned to China for assistance and take advantage of the vast resources and expertise the Asians
Financial Mail With Zimbabwe’s health-care sector crippled by a strike by doctors and nurses, underfunding and years of general neglect, fears are growing that Covid-19 will hit the troubled country very hard. Already, the disease — confirmed in the country just two weeks ago — has claimed its first victim: Zimbabwean broadcaster Zororo Makamba. At
Staff Reporter Access Forex has committed an initial USD 200 000 to assist the most vulnerable segments of society and communities across Zimbabwe who are now reeling from the negative impact of drought and the global Coronavirus pandemic. The recent drought, which has resulted in a food crisis in the country coupled with the economic
By Robert Tapfumaneyi UNPLANNED cancellations on hotel bookings and restricted travel due to the outbreak of COVID-19 has led to one of the country’s leading hoteliers, African Sun Limited to close some of its hotels and strategic business units. In a statement to stakeholders Monday, African Sun said the hospitality organisation was monitoring the situation
BBC British Airways is expected to announce it will suspend around 36,000 staff. The airline, which grounded much of its fleet due to the coronavirus crisis, has been negotiating with the Unite union for more than a week. The two sides have reached a broad deal but are yet to sign on some details. The
By Alois Vinga THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) will be trading for four hours a day during the 21-day Coronavirus national lockdown to avoid a total halt of the economy. In a trading brief issued this week, ZSE chief executive, Justin Bgoni said Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube gave the equities market permission to trade. “After
By Robert Tapfumaneyi AFRICAN Medallion Group (AMG) has announced a US$5 million financial aid package to Zimbabwe to help the country fight the Covid-19 outbreak which has claimed one life among seven confirmed cases so far. The firm, which has bases in Zimbabwe and South Africa, also extended a R10 million facility to assist the
By Idah Mhetu GOVERNMENT has moved to bail out struggling power utility ZESA Holdings through settlement of a US$890,000 debt owed to South African power generator, Eskom. This was announced by Energy Minister Fortune Chasi Monday. Posting on his twitter, Chasi said ZESA has managed to pay all the money it owed Eskom and was
Fin24 The United Nations Development Programme has issued a call to action from the international community to assist developing countries with the enormous fallout they are expected to face due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The UNDP said in a statement that the international community has to think beyond the immediate impact of
Bloomberg ZIMBABWE tycoon Strive Masiyiwa is offering renewed support for the country’s health-care workers days after services were cut back because of a lack of protective equipment to deal with the coronavirus in the country. The assistance includes protective clothing, cash, life and health insurance and transport for nurses and doctors, according to a statement
By Business Reporter THE impact of COVID-19 has adversely affected ZIMASCO chrome’s production in Kwekwe after its stainless steel making markets Europe and Asian stopped operations. ZIMASCO is the country’s biggest ferrochrome producer which announced that it had temporarily halted its smelting operations in the face of coronavirus. In a statement ZIMASCO chief executive, John
By Alois Vinga CALEDONIA Mining Corporation has bemoaned the decision taken by the South African government to lock down the country for 21 days as it battles to contain the fast spread of the coronavirus saying it would affect the importation of spares needed for use in their operations in Zimbabwe. The lockdown is aimed
By Alois Vinga THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has lifted its ban on the use of foreign currency in carrying out domestic transactions saying this was to facilitate ease of transacting during the current coronavirus period. The surprise policy pronouncement is among a slew of measures introduced by the apex bank in the ostensible
By Alois Vinga MOST companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) are finding it difficult to release their annual financial performance results due to the demanding hyper-inflationary reporting standards. The reporting format is set out under International Accounting Standards 29, which requires companies to avail historical information and the selection of a pricing index.
