Category: Uncategorized

Wheat harvesting is nearing completion in Mashonaland Central province with […]

The post Zimbabwe Wheat harvest delivery increase appeared first on The Zimbabwe Mail.

Source: Nssa mulls forex pay outs – The Zimbabwe Independent

KUDZAI KUWAZA

THE National Social Security Authority (Nssa) says it is considering paying pensioners in both local and foreign currency to cushion them from the spiralling cost of living.

Pensioners’ monthly pay outs have been ravaged by inflationary pressures stemming out of the rapid depreciation of the local currency against the greenback since its reintroduction last year.

Zimbabwe’s year-on-year inflation was estimated at 659% last month, the second highest rate in the world after hyperinflationary Venezuela.

In an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent, Nssa acting general manager Arthur Manase said the authority was seriously looking into the issue.

“With the recent implementation of reforms that saw the contribution rate increased from 7% to 9% split equally between employer and employee, as well as the increase in the maximum pensionable salary from ZW$700 (US$8,64) to ZW$5 000 (US$61,73) we are now able to effectively deal with the core issue of benefit payouts. We have already instructed our actuaries to conduct an actuarial valuation to determine the level of benefits that the scheme can afford to pay with implementation of the necessary reforms.

As usual, the reviews will be taken with consideration on the long-term sustainability of the schemes,” Manase said. “Nssa is also evaluating the feasibility of paying part of the pensions in US dollars, in line with what the government is doing for those on the Public Service Pension Scheme.”

He said Nssa had awarded several increments throughout the year in view of the spiralling cost of goods and services.

“Nssa’s mandate is to provide social security for its members and the generality of Zimbabweans. As such we are always mindful of the plight of our beneficiaries and will always strive to pay them decent benefits.

“Just in the last year alone, Nssa awarded the following: a discretionary bonus equivalent to a month’s pension to all pensioners in July 2019; reviewed the minimum pension from ZW$80 (US$0,99) to ZW$200 (US$2,47) for Pensions and Other Benefits Scheme and ZW$240 (US$2,96) for Accident Prevention and Workers’ Compensation Scheme in October 2019; a bonus equivalent to a 13th cheque in November 2019 and most recently another discretionary bonus equivalent to a month’s pension in April, May and June 2020.

“In July we awarded them another discretionary bonus equivalent to 150% of their monthly pension. All this was done to cushion the pensioners against the rising cost of living,” Manase said.

Nssa has investments in banking, insurance, hospitality and property sectors.

Its investments have surpassed US$1 billion. Nssa was created through the National Social Security Authority Act (Chapter 17:04) of 1989. The legislation empowers the Minister of Labour and Social Services to establish a social security fund.

The post Nssa mulls forex pay outs  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

MASVINGO –Leader of the African Reformed Church, Bishop Besaniel Macheka […]

The post African Reformed Church Bishop Mundondo dies appeared first on The Zimbabwe Mail.

HARARE – An associate of Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya implicated first lady Auxillia Mnangagwa and her twin son, Collins, after Rushwaya was arrested for gold smuggling on Monday, it has emerged.

Source: Rushwaya accomplice implicates Auxillia Mnangagwa, son Collins – The Zimbabwean

An internal police memo says after Rushwaya’s arrest at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport with 6kg of gold in her handbag, Gift Karanda tried to intercede on her behalf.

Karanda, 44, told police officers that the gold Rushwaya was carrying “belonged to the First Lady and one Collins, a son to the First Family who was supposed to have brought it but due to other commitments had requested Rushwaya to transport it on his behalf.”

Collins, who was previously linked to a Covid-19 procurement scandal involving US$60 million, has denied the claims to friends, online tabloid ZimLive reported quoting sources close to the family.

In the National Assembly on Thursday, Zanu PF MP Pupurai Togarepi stood up to deny that Rushwaya was related to President Mnangagwa, a claim made in the House of Lords in the United Kingdom on Tuesday.

Togarepi fumed: “Why is Lord Peter Hain lying, who lied to him that Henrietta Rushwaya is President Mnangagwa’s niece? Is there anything honourable in parroting and reproducing falsehoods from social media platforms in the so-called House of Lords, perhaps House of Lies?

“In his ignorance, Hain insinuates that what Henrietta Rushwaya did had the blessings of the President. What a load of rubbish from a supposed Lord.”

Police on Thursday confirmed the arrest of six people, including Karanda, who allegedly misrepresented that he was a Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operative.

Karanda, whose business address is listed as the Zimbabwe Miners Federation in the police memo, is being charged for defeating or obstructing the course of justice.

Police also confirmed the arrests of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s security aide Stephen Chenjerai Tserayi, 45, CIO operative Raphios Mufandauya, 37, and 52-year-old Pakistan businessman Ali Mohamad who owns a vehicle import company, Japan 786.

When she was arrested, Rushwaya told investigators that the gold worth US$333,000 belonged to Mohamad, who had given her instructions to take it to Dubai where she was to deliver it to an unnamed individual.

The police communication from the Criminal Investigations Department’s Minerals Flora and Fauna Unit (MFFU) says Mohamad is charged with smuggling, the same as Rushwaya.

Tserayi and Mufandauya, meanwhile, face charges of criminal abuse of office as public officials for “using their positions as members of the Central Intelligence Organisation to escort Rushwaya while evading all security check points at the airport with the intent to facilitate smuggling of the gold.”

Police say Rushwaya – who has been remanded in custody until Friday when a magistrate will rule on her bail bid – will face additional charges of money laundering and bribery. She allegedly offered a US$5,000 bribe to a Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe employee and an intelligence officer to secure her freedom.

The post Rushwaya accomplice implicates Auxillia Mnangagwa, son Collins  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

SUSPENDED Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president Henrietta Rushwaya’s woes continue to mount after the State added two more charges against her. Rushwaya was initially charged with contravening the Customs Act after she was caught trying to smuggle 6 kilogrammes of gold to Dubai via Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport. When her hearing resumed Friday, the […]

The post JUST IN: More trouble for gold smuggler Henrietta Rushwaya as State adds 2 more charges against her first appeared on My Zimbabwe News.