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☆ Zimbabwe president pledges economic revival as election campaign kicks off
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Nyasha Chingono | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The election comes amid a raging economic crisis, with high inflation and a currency that plunged more than 50% this month against the U.S. dollar. In remarks aimed mostly at his rural support base at the weekend, Mnangagwa pledged infrastructure developments. Mnangagwa toppled independent Zimbabwe's first president, Robert Mugabe, in a coup in 2017, eding his 37-year rule. The opposition CCC party enjoys considerable support in towns and cities, while ZANU-PF's supporters are mainly in rural areas. Zimbabwe has endured over two decades of economic failure following land seizures by Mugabe, plunging the southern African country into an economic crisis.

Persons: Emmerson Mnangagwa, Nelson Chamisa, Mnangagwa, Robert Mugabe, eding, Mugabe, Nyasha Chingono, Carien du Plessis, Emelia Organizations: ZANU, Citizens Coalition, U.S ., CCC, Thomson Locations: Zimbabwe, Chipinge, Harare, Chamisa

☆ Zimbabweans hit by rising prices as local currency plummets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Nyasha Chingono | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HARARE, June 14 (Reuters) - Zimbabwean businesses and households are fearing a repeat of the hyperinflation seen more than a decade ago as prices of basic commodities spike after a sharp weakening in the local currency, despite government efforts to boost it. "I went into the supermarket to buy bread and other groceries items but I was shocked to see that prices had gone up. While some retailers have hiked local currency prices, others are trading exclusively in U.S. dollars to cushion themselves from the weakening Zimdollar. "It is not possible for the retailer to procure goods with U.S. dollar and sell them in local currency," Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers president Denford Mutashu said. As panic over the weakening Zimdollar spreads, there have been calls for Zimbabwe to again fully dollarise the economy.

Persons: Denford Mutashu, Gift Mugano, John Mangudya, Mangudya, Nyasha, Olivia Kumwenda, Mark Potter Organizations: U.S ., of Zimbabwe Retailers, Reuters, Thomson Locations: HARARE, Zimbabwe, Reuters Zimbabwe

☆ In Zimbabwe, female rugby team seeks to keep girls off the streets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Nyasha Chingono | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Shingi Chigegede, a member of the Zimbiru Rugby Academy Club, an all-female rugby team, makes a try during a legue match against Old Georgians sports club in the capital Harare, in Zimbabwe, April 29, 2023. REUTERS/Philimon BulawayoDOMBOSHAVA, Zimbabwe, May 30 (Reuters) - Bridget Magasu is the first to arrive for the training session, clutching a rugby ball while she waits for other members of her all-female rugby team to arrive. Domboshava, a hub for transporting farm produce, has become a hotspot for sex work. "We wanted the girls to stay away from the streets," team coach Takudzwa Ngirazi, 25, a former club rugby player said. Jobs are scarce, pushing teenage girls into sex work - sometimes for as little as U.S. $2.

☆ African Devt Bank proposes 'fast track' compensation for Zimbabwe white ex-farmers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Nyasha Chingono | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HARARE, May 15 (Reuters) - The African Development Bank (AFDB) has developed financial instruments to "fast track and front load" $3.5 billion in compensation to white farmers whose land was taken from them by Zimbabwe's government, the bank's president said on Monday. Zimbabwe agreed in 2020 to compensate local white farmers whose land was taken by the government from 2000 onwards to resettle Black families, in one of the most divisive policies of the Robert Mugabe era, while foreign white farmers were allowed to apply to get seized land back. Adesina said the new proposal to former white farmers would "help leverage the capital markets to fund the compensation without adding debt to Zimbabwe," without providing further details. Adesina said that 91% of Zimbabwe's multilateral debt and 61% of its bilateral debt is in arrears. "The government takes full ownership of the debt process and the implementation of reforms," Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube told the press conference.

[1/2] Mourners hold a poster during the state funeral of Zimbabwe's longtime ruler Robert Mugabe at a national sports stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe, September 14, 2019. Still, some farmers say they will reject the government's $3.5 billion compensation package for being inadequate financially and for paying scant regard to land restitution or restoring property rights. Farmers say the plan was agreed by the Commercial Farmers Union in July 2020 and subsequently revised without adequate consultation. "The offer of bonds represents a very significant reduction in value with a prolonged redemption period," Gilpin, 67, told Reuters. The government was continuing discussions with farmers over appropriate payment methods and time frames, Ncube said.

☆ A tour guide recalls the terrifying moment he was swallowed by a hippo and had his arm crushed
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Paul Templer barely survived a hippo attack after a pod capsized his group's canoe when he was 28. He found himself inside a hippo's mouth three times and was swallowed up to his waist twice. "It was as if I had suddenly gone blind and deaf," Templer told The Guardian in 2013. Templer survived being in the hippo's mouth three timesA hippo is shown in Botswana. A third time, Templer found himself inside the hippo's mouth, this time with arms and legs dangling either side of its mouth.

☆ Lawmakers meet with Apple, Disney CEOs as part of talks on competition with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

High-profile tech and media executives shared their experiences of working in and competing with China with lawmakers who visited California this week. Over the three-day trip that kicked off on Wednesday, lawmakers were scheduled to meet with Disney CEO Bob Iger and Apple CEO Tim Cook, as well as high-level executives from Google , Microsoft , Palantir and Scale AI. The trip highlights the key role tech and media industries play in America's increasingly complex relationship with China. In Hollywood, the group of lawmakers from the select committee learned about a range of topics related to competition with China. The group was also slated to meet with venture capitalists on Thursday, including Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures and SV Angel.

☆ Is the U.S. falling behind China in Africa’s lithium industry?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Sydney Boyo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The demand for lithium is rising as it has become a critical component needed in electric vehicle batteries. Zimbabwe has been mining lithium for 60 years and the government estimates that its Chinese-owned Bikita Minerals Mine, which is located 300 kilometers south of the capital Harare, has about 11 million metric tons of lithium resources. In December 2022, Zimbabwe passed the Base Mineral Export Control Act that banned the export of raw lithium. That includes Chinese firms Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt , Sinomine Resource Group and Chengxin Lithium Group which have invested $678 million into lithium projects in Zimbabwe. Both the Bikita mine, which is the largest lithium mine in the country, and the Arcadia Lithium mine are Chinese owned.

Zimbabwe has been mining lithium for 60 years and the government estimates that its Chinese-owned Bikita mine, which is located 300 km south of the capital Harare, has about 11 million metric tons of lithium resources. In December, the country passed the Base Mineral Export Control Act, which banned the export of raw lithium. However, companies that are already developing mines or processing plants in Zimbabwe are exempt from this ban. This includes Chinese firms Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt , Sinomine Resource Group and Chengxin Lithium Group , which have invested $678 million into lithium projects in Zimbabwe. CNBC explores Zimbabwe's mining sector to find out why China has a stronghold on the country and why it matters to the U.S.

☆ LIV Golf finalizes all 12 team rosters for second season
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

February 21 - LIV Golf announced its 12 rosters of four-players teams for the upstart league's second season Monday night, making official the reported signings of Thomas Pieters, Danny Lee, Dean Burmester and Brendan Steele. 35 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of this week, joined Bubba Watson's team, RangeGoats. Players who finished in the top 24 of the 2022 Invitational Series were guaranteed spots for the 2023 LIV Golf League, according to a press release. "In less than a year, LIV Golf has reinvigorated the professional game and laid the foundation for the sport's future. In 2023, the LIV Golf League comes to life," LIV CEO and commissioner Greg Norman said in a statement.

☆ Zimbabwe cuts policy rate to 150% after inflation falls
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HARARE, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's central bank has cut its policy rate by 50 percentage points to 150%, it said in a statement on Thursday, driven by a downward trend in inflation since late last year. Monthly inflation fell to 1.1% in January from 2.4% in December, while yearly inflation dipped to 229.8% from 243.8%. "The moderation in interest rates is important and necessitated by the downward trend in the month-on-month inflation since the last quarter of 2022," said the bank, adding it expects the trend to continue into 2023. "The Bank will continue its tight monetary policy stance," it added. Reporting by Nellie Peyton and Nyasha Chingono Editing by Alexander WinningOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Zimbabwe police arrest 25 opposition members ahead of presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HARARE, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Zimbabwean police on Saturday fired teargas at an opposition party gathering in Harare and arrested 25 of its members, including two members of parliament, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) said. The arrests come after a wave of politically motivated violence against opposition supporters in rural Zimbabwe, raising fears of repression ahead of the presidential election this year. Police confirmed the arrests of members of the Citizens Coalition for Change, Zimbabwe's main opposition political party, and said a detailed statement would be released following investigations. Police allegedly fired teargas at the gathering, and beat up several opposition members before they were bundled into a police truck, she added. The opposition party, born out of the old Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), enjoys massive urban support and is seen as a threat to ZANU-PF's 43-year-old stranglehold on power.

☆ Zimbabwe's night markets cushion crisis-weary citizens from inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Nyasha Chingono | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Clothes and shoes are displayed for sale at a roadside night market in central Harare, Zimbabwe December 12, 2022. Tinotenda Taruberekera, a 21-year-old clothing vendor, says he makes more money selling at night than during the day. "In the afternoon, there are constant battles with police so selling at night helps," said Taruberekera. The street traders often undercut prices in mainstream shops, which have costly overheads, and this can eat into the retailers' market share. For college student Obert Chinganyama, street vendors offer bargains he cannot get in stores.

☆ IMF sees Zimbabwe's 2022 real GDP growth slowing to about 3.5%
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's real GDP growth is expected to slow to about 3.5% in 2022 from 8.5% last year, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday as it concluded its mission to Harare. Multiple shocks such as a surge in inflation, erratic rainfall and electricity shortages will continue to weigh on Zimbabwe’s growth prospects, it said in a statement. Zimbabwe is engaging with the World Bank and IMF over how to clear its debts with international financial institutions, finance minister Mthuli Ncube said in October. Uncertainty remains high, however, and the economic outlook will depend on the implementation of key policies and the evolution of external shocks, the IMF said. It has not received funding from lenders like the IMF and World Bank for more than two decades as a result.

☆ Cemetery workouts help Zimbabwe township residents feel alive
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Nyasha Chingono | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/6] People take a break during an early morning exercise inside Warren Hills cemetery in Harare, Zimbabwe, November 24, 2022. But due to lack of facilities in the townships, residents have had to improvise and the leafy, multi-faith Warren Hills cemetery is proving a popular venue for some, if a bit worrying for others. A few paces from where Madubeko is training, footballer Tichaona Macheka, 19, is holding an aerobics class. "The Muslim section of the cemetery was gracious to let us train here and I am glad more people are joining the class." Reporting by Nyasha Chingono; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Zimbabwe power shortage to worsen as hydro plant halts generation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A motorist drives on top of the Kariba Dam wall in Kariba, Zimbabwe, February 19, 2016. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File PhotoHARARE, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's prolonged power shortage is set to worsen after the entity that manages southern Africa's biggest dam ordered suspension of electricity generation at its main hydro plant because of a water shortage. The ZRA manages the Kariba Dam on behalf of the Zimbabwean and Zambian governments. Zimbabwe has suffered acute power shortages for several years, as successive droughts have resulted in poor inflows into the Kariba Dam and as ageing coal-fired power stations have repeatedly broken down. Kariba South has an installed capacity of 1,050 megawatts but has been producing well below that due to low water levels in the dam.

☆ These currencies have tanked this year — and one is down over 75% against the dollar
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The cedi hit a fresh record low against the dollar on Wednesday last week, at one stage hitting the 14.24 mark before recovering slightly. In second place is the Cuban peso, which is down 56.36% against the dollar, behind only the Zimbabwean dollar, which has lost a staggering 76.74% of its value against the dollar since January. A man holds Zimbabwean Dollar Bond Notes Dan Kitwood | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesHanke said last week that Zimbabwe's "economic death spiral just keeps spinning." Similar to Ghana, authorities in Zimbabwe have attempted to support the local currency and fight inflation by cracking down on Zimbabwean dollar payments. EgyptThe Egyptian pound last week slumped to a fresh low against the dollar, sliding to 24.42, making its way onto Hanke's list of the top 10 worst-performing currencies of 2022.watch now

☆ Zimbabwe's new mineral royalty policy comes into force
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A worker attends to machinery at a smelter plant at Anglo American Platinum's Unki mine in Shurugwi, Zimbabwe, May 16, 2019. The southern African country has struggled to capitalise on its significant mineral reserves and a resource boom due to policy uncertainty, a lack of ancillary industries to support mining, currency volatility and electricity shortages. The cash component of the royalties would be made up of 40% Zimbabwean dollars and 10% in foreign currency, according to the notice. Zimbabwe's royalty rates range between 5% for gold and platinum group metals and 10% for diamonds. The Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines, which represents major mining companies, has said it is not worried about the new royalty policy because it does not amount to an increase in existing royalty rates.

☆ Zimbabwe coach critical of decision to play on in Hobart
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Zimbabwe's players had complained about wet conditions in the outfield and fast bowler Richard Ngarava left the field injured after he slipped. "Obviously we're not too happy about the fact he's not in a great space for bowling at the moment. Conditions were difficult right from the start and only got worse, the former Zimbabwe captain said. "I understand the need to try and get these games on for the public and for TV," he said. "I understand the need to try and play in slightly inclement weather to try and get a result.

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