ZIMBABWE’S banking sector is skating on thin ice due to a illiquidity crunch that has drastically reduced the financial institutions’ capacity to lend following the reintroduction of a local currency, a report has revealed. According to the report by brokerage research firm IH securities titled, The Zimbabwe Banking sector: Navigating a challenging monetary space, released on Friday, the currency reforms created a mismatch between foreign currency-denominated assets and liabilities on some banks’ balance sheets. The distortions have stifled the financial institutions’ lending capacity, the report says. “The floating of the Zimbabwe dollar resulted in the translation of foreign currency denominated assets at the interbank rate,” reads part of the
Government yesterday came down hard on errant service stations countrywide, closing them for refusing electronic modes of payment and only accepting hard cash. Ruyamuro service stations in Glendale, Harare and Nzvimbo Growth Point in Chiweshe were shut down for refusing alternative payment methods, except cash. Engen at the corner of Harare Street and Robert Mugabe Road was closed for the same reason. Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi said Government, through the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera), was in the process of revoking licences for filling stations breaching the law, following several warnings a few months ago. He said stern measures being taken against irresponsible filling station operators were appropriate in the circumstances,
if ecocash is paying more than 70% of zimbabwean mobile money transfer,why the gvt not putting a glims on the extrem charges being done by the Eco cash agences and certain individuals acting as agences. _For example if you want to cash out 10 Rtgs you have to be charged 35%± which means that from 10rtgs you will walk away with 6.50 RTGS±_. Why cant this issue be addressed,Zimbabweans are crying foul but they dont know where to forward their grievance…
TREASURY failed to account for about US$1,03 billion it paid to Sakunda Holdings, a company owned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s close ally and adviser, Kudakwashe Tagwirei, under the fabled Command Agriculture programme from 2017 to date, it has emerged. Command Agriculture is an agricultural scheme that was introduced in 2016 aimed at ensuring food self-sufficiency through supporting farmers with irrigation and farming inputs. According to the 2017/18 Command Agriculture payment schedule provided by Treasury to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday, in 2017, Sakunda was given US$378,73 million and US$235,95 million last year by the Finance ministry under the Command Agriculture scheme. Under the Presidential scheme, another similar agricultural sche
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority has announced new fuel prices for week starting Monday 26 August 2019. In Harare diesel will be selling at $10.32 and blend at $10.01, Bulawayo prices are at $10.69 for diesel and $10.39 for blend and Hwange its $10.82 for diesel with blend going for $10.52. ZERA said the difference in prices takes into account the transport costs. Find the full prices below:
BILLIONAIRE and Zimbabwe’s telecoms mogul, Strive Masiyiwa’s Mauritius incorporated Econet Media Limited, has put up for sale its shares in the satellite broadcast business in 13 countries, mostly African, after going insolvent, having reportedly racked up millions of dollars in liabilities. The Mauritius-headquartered group, which mainly traded under the brands Kwese TV or Econet Media, is also selling its interest in free-to-air television and digital distribution of media content. Econet Media, a unit of Econet Wireless International, which operated as Kwese TV in Zimbabwe, but closed after finding the going tough, had racked up over US$130 million in external liabilities before being placed under voluntary administration after failing to pay suppliers. The business
On September 18 2018 Media houses were abuzz with the news that the then newly appointed Finance minister Mthuli Ncube was considering cryptocurrencies as an option for Zimbabwe’s economic turnaround programme. The learned professor had clearly articulated the Switzerland central bank’s stance on cryptocurrencies and how they had helped turn around that country’s ailing economy Ncube went on to challenge the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to “invest in and understand cryptocurrencies”. This stance was well-received by all Zimbabweans who understand the current digital world. A cryptocurrency is defined as a digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of
Zimbabwe’s rulers are finding that two decades of economic mismanagement and brutal repression have led them into a trap, from which there’s little chance of escape. If they implement the political and democratic reforms needed to win the financial support the economy needs from international donors, they’re likely to lose the next election. If they don’t, their people, propelled by the extreme hardship brought about by austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, may remove them through an uprising. Already, a currency devaluation effected in February has slashed the value of wages by 90% in six months. That dilemma was manifest on August 16, in full view of journalists and tourists watching from the terraces of the best-kn
