Category: zimbabwe

Source: Ingwebu workers protest poor working conditions – NewsDay Zimbabwe

BY NIZBERT MOYO
WORKERS at Bulawayo City Council’s (BCC’s) privatised Ingwebu Breweries are up in arms with their employer over poor working conditions, including unfair dismissals.

Some of the works council members told Southern Eye that a number of workers had been dismissed unfairly for demanding a pay rise and improved working conditions.

“There are also a number of workers whose jobs are on the line. Going to a hearing is just a formality, otherwise decisions to fire workers are predetermined,” the workers said on condition of anonymity.

“We suspect they want to fire all permanent workers and remain with contract workers.

“This is what the managing director Dumisani Mhlanga did when he came, he fired all the security guards and other staff.”

They also accused management of backtracking on an agreement to pay part of their salaries in United States dollars.

But Mhlanga dismissed the claims, before accusing some workers of stealing company property.

“There is a lot of stealing in this company by workers. When I came in 2018, I had to retrench some security guards. Unfortunately, when you are trying to clean the mess, you do not get support because the people whom you are supposed to get support from are benefiting from that,” he said.

“Two things that get people fired are stealing and drinking beer at work, those are dismissible offences.”

The post Ingwebu workers protest poor working conditions  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: MRP activist trial postponed – NewsDay Zimbabwe

BY SILAS NKALA
THE trial of Mthwakazi Republic Party National (MRP) activist Partone Xaba failed to continue on Thursday after the State failed to serve his defence with closing submissions.

The matter has been before the courts since November last
year.

The case was further postponed to July 8 for continuation on Thursday when Xaba was appearing before Bulawayo magistrate Tawengwa Sangster.

Xaba’s lawyer, Dumisani Dube yesterday confirmed the postponement.

“The matter has been postponed to July 8 for ruling. The state was yet to serve us with their closing submissions,” Dube said.

Xaba is being charged with inciting public violence. Initially he was charged with theft of
US$14 500, a gun licence and a laptop from an alleged farm invader Ambrose Flyod, but the theft charges were later dropped.

Xaba denies the charges and is out of custody on $20 000 bail.

Xaba was arrested alongside other MRP activists after they stormed Ntabazinduna to protest an attempt to evict white former commercial farmer Brian Davies to pave way for Flyod, who reportedly had Zanu PF links.

Last week, nine MRP activists were slapped with three-year jail terms each for public nuisance and violence after they staged a protest outside the Bulawayo Central Police Station.

MRP leader Mqondisi Moyo on Thursday petitioned President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his deputy Constantino Chiwenga, prisons and police bosses including magistrate Sangster protesting their conviction and sentence.

He also copied the British, United States and Australian embassies, including the United Kingdom’s House of Lords.

The post MRP activist trial postponed  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

By Desmond Chingarande 

The High Court has confirmed the acquittal of land developer Felix Munyaradzi who was arrested on allegations of violating his bail conditions in a case he was accused of fraud against police commissioner Erasmus Makodza.

High Court judge justice David Mangota had discharged Munyaradzi after a Harare magistrate dismissed his application for exception of the charges saying the facts did not disclose an offence.

Makodza had accused Munyaradzi of fraud, however he again caused the arrest of Munyaradzi saying he violated his bail conditions of not interfering with state witness after he allegedly sent Shadreck Homera to convince him to drop the charges.

But Munyaradzi denied the offence saying he never interfered with state witness.

Munyaradzi accused Makodza of having a vendetta against him and had caused him to be locked in remand prison for no offence committed.

Magiatrate Vongai Muchuchuti-Guwuriro dismissed Munyaradzi’s application.

Aggrieved by Muchuchuti-Guwuriro dicision, Munyaradzi approached the High Court for review.

However justice Mangota set aside the magistrate dicision and acquitted Munyaradzi saying he was not supposed to be remanded on fresh charge but the magistrate was supposed to carry out an inquiry which was going to have the accused commit from prison for his trial.

After the acquittal by the High Court, the complainant who is a top police officer allegedly influenced the court to issue a warrant of arrest on Munyaradzi.

After the issuence of warrant of arrest by another magistrate Samuel Kandiyero, Munyaradzi’s lawyer Charles Warara challenged the warrant saying Munyaradzi had been acquitted and had no reason to appear in court.

Warara also told court that there was influence in persecuting Munyaradzi from top policeman who was recently acquitted of criminal abuse of office.

Kandiyero then asked for the reason of judgement to acquit Munyaradzi from the High Court.

However Mangota said the witness should have been enquired into to verify if indeed Munyaradzi breached his bail.

“He alleges that the decision of the court in placing him on remand on a complaint by one Erasmus Makodza that he sought to influence him to withdraw charges against him through a third party, one Shadreck Homera, should have been inquired into.”

“The court, be insists, furthered the injustice which the police did when they arrested, and lodged, him in police cells and bringing him before it without complying with due process as required by sections 49((1)(b) and 50 (1)(e) of the constitution of Zimbabwe.”

“An accused who breaches his conditions of bail does not have a charge which arises from the alleged breach preferred against him. Practice and procedure do not allow that occur to him. Such an accused is subjected to an inquiry which the court before whom he appears mounts in terms of section 127 or section 133 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act and, where the breach is established on a balance of probabilities, the court which is inquiring into the circumstance of the breach of the conditions that commits him to prison until his trial,” Mangota ruled.

Mangota said preferring a fresh charge against the accused was a serious travesty of justice which cannot be condoned let alone countenances.

“The procedure which the magistrate adopted was akin to the act of putting the cart before the horse.”

He said the magistrate misdirected herself in an unconscionable manner vis-a-vis the applicant’s alleged breach of his conditions of bail.

“The proceedings and the decision of the court of the magistrate of 20 March, 2021 be and are hereby quashed. Each party shall pay its own costs,” Mangota ruled.

The post High Court confirms land developer acquittal  appeared first on NewsDay Zimbabwe.

The post High Court confirms land developer acquittal  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

The participation by retail investors has grown globally significantly in the last few years. Compared to global standards, the participation by retail investors as a percentage of population is still low in Zimbabwe, but it has been growing.

Many young investors are trading stocks, forex & other asset classes to grow & protect income from growing inflation & currency risk. We looked at some factors that have & will continue to drive this growth of retail investors in Zimbabwe.

History of Trading Exchanges in Nigeria

Let’s first understand the history of the exchanges in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) is one of the oldest exchanges in Africa, and was established in 1894. Although ZSE has stock listings across major industries, it is still relatively unexplored.In 2015, ZSE automated its trading system and brought an end to manual trading, further opening up the capital market to more investors.

The Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) which was founded in 2020 as a subsidiary of ZSE offers an opportunity to trade stocks in United States dollar currency. This is intended to protect foreign investors from the currency risk associated with Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWL).

In addition, the government of Zimbabwe recently launched the commodity exchange known as Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) to facilitate the trading of all agricultural commodities in the country.

Growth Factors Contributing to Retail Traders Participation

Increasing number of Stockbrokers

There are 18 registered stock brokers licensed by the ZSE. These registered stock brokers are the link between you and the ZSE and allow you trade various listed companies

More importantly, with a minimum initial capital of 500 ZWL, you can register with any broker, and start trading stocks listed on the ZSE. More stockbrokers are expected to open shop and this will attract more retail participation to the capital market.

ZSE Direct Mobile App

Firstly, the ZSE Direct Mobile App was built for you to monitor your CSD holdings as well as trade. Some stockbrokers in Zimbabwe don’t have the capacity to develop proprietary mobile apps, so the ZSE Direct app, is a central one where you can choose your stockbroker from the drop down menu and trade.

Secondly, after selling your shares using the ZSE Direct app, you no longer have to wait for T + 3 or four days for clearing to take place before your account is credited. It is now instant as you get credited on the same day.

Low ZSE Transaction Cost

The low transaction charges for buying and selling stock on ZSE are part of the factors that will encourage more inclusion. Beginner traders particularly look out for low transaction costs when they want to trade for the first time.First, buying Stock and an Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) listed on the ZSE will attract a transaction cost of 1.6884% while it will cost 2.4384% to sell stock and ETFs.

Secondly, it will cost 0.109425% while buying and selling debt securities. Examples of debt securities include government and corporate bonds.

Capital Gain Tax

Capital Gain Tax (CGT) are taxes you pay from the sale of an investment which you have profited from. It should be noted that it is the profit (gain) you make that will be charged.

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) has a capital gain tax of 1% which has the potential to encourage new investors and increase retail traders. This is far below the 18% CGT charged in South Africa, and 5% CGT in Kenya.

Introduction of the Odd Lot Board

An odd lot board is a board that allows retail and small investors to afford investment in expensive stocks. While the standard set contract value of an asset is typically 100, an odd lot board allows you to trade below 100 (99-1).

To be clear, shares are usually sold in multiples of 100 and so it is difficult to buy an odd number say 75 or 55. Sometimes when companies reward shareholders with bonus shares, these shares are often in odd

numbers. For such an investor to sell such odd numbers of shares, they must be separated and listed on an odd lot board.

The introduction of the Odd Lot Board by Justin Bgoni a former Chief Financial Officer of the New Zealand Stock Exchange, and current CEO of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, has the potential to increase retail participation in the market.

Introduction of ETFs

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are funds that use investor’s monies to invest in a basket of various securities such as bonds, stocks, etc. to help the investors diversify and have broader exposure. When you buy shares of an ETF, you become an owner of shares in all the companies in that basket.

There are three listed ETFs on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. The Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF was listed in 2021, the Morgan & Co Multi-Sector Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) was listed in January 2022 and Datvest Modified Consumer Staple Exchange Traded Fund was listed in March 2022.

For example the Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF comprises shares of the following companies in its basket:

• Delta Corporation Limited,
• Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Limited
• CBZ Holdings Limited
• Cassava smartech
• Foods holdings
• Innscor Africa
• British American Tobacco
• Hippo valley estates
• Meikles limited
• Simbisa brands

This implies that when you buy shares of the old mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF you own shares of all these top 10 companies.

Plans to introduce REITs

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are investment companies that own, operate, or finance income-producing properties such as offices and home apartments.REITs companies lease out properties and make revenue from rent. The company will thereby distribute the income as dividends to shareholders.

The ZSE Chief Executive Justin Bgoni said that the ZSE plans to list REITs in 2022 through some pension fund managers. This will subsequently lead to more diversification which will attract more investment and increase retail participation.

Short selling is Banned in Zimbabwe

The concept of short selling stocks is not allowed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. This is a measure to protect new startups and the young capital market.Short selling is when you borrow shares of a company and sell them at the current market price. You then wait for the price to drop then re-buy and return to the broker thus pocketing the price difference as your win. This however comes with great risks and it negates the tenet of the long term stock investment.

Experts argue that short selling in large volumes, further drives down prices of struggling companies, and investors could engage in unethical practices, to drive the price of a stock down.

Therefore, the ZSE’s ban on short selling will encourage young companies to keep going and give ailing companies time to recover. This will result in stability in the Zimbabwe capital market which is too young to withstand massive short selling.

Availability of View Only Terminal (VOT) Service

The ZSE has launched a View Only Terminal Service (VOTS) which enables traders and investors to view and monitor live trading on the Automated Trading System (ATS) even at the comfort of their homes or offices.

VOTs were designed to move the ZSE closer to retail traders and to encourage inclusion & transparency. Although you cannot trade using View Only Terminal, it allows you to monitor the market performance very closely.

Easy access to Financial Reports

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Website provides detailed and comprehensive financial reports of listed companies on its website.

As a trader you need to look at a company’s balance sheets, income and cash flow statements to ascertain its financial health. This information has been made easily available by the ZSE on their website.

Free Investors 101 Course Available

The ZSE provides educational resources and a comprehensive guide to investing in the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.These free investor 101 courses which include understanding exchange-traded funds ETF, and understanding the stock market among others are designed to educate stock traders.The free courses will be very useful in helping beginner investors and driving retail traders’ adoption. 

Increased Risks for Investors & Traders

Two of the main reasons for the increased trading are inflation & currency risk. So, many Zimbabweans are turning to investing in alternate asset classes to earn extra income & save their capital from losses due to inflation. This has led to growth in trading in cryptos, forex, stocks & other asset classes.

Many of these markets are unregulated, still, there has been fast adoption. For example, online forex trading is not regulated, however, there are estimated to be over 45,000 Zimbabweans trading forex.

In order to access the forex market, Zimbabweans have to open accounts with foreign forex brokers who deploy online platforms for trading.

According to research by Safe Forex Brokers South Africa there has been a 120% growth in 2021 in the number of retail forex brokerages that accept traders from Zimbabwe. Many of these brokers are also regulated in South Africa where retail forex trading is regulated by the FSCA, but there are also many scams & offshore regulated brokers which are targeted Zimbabwean traders.

There are around only 30 credible forex brokers that accept Zimbabwe based traders & hold dual licenses from Tier 1 regulators like the FCA and tier 3 regulators like South Africa’s FSCA.

Many scammers are also targeting unsuspecting investors, promising them very high returns, but in the end, they run away with their money.

Need to be Careful

While increased participation is good for the markets, retail traders & investors need to be more careful in choosing who they are dealing with. Zimbabweans should only invest via regulated stock brokers & in regulated asset classes to protect against counter party risks.

The post Retail Traders in Zimbabwe are Growing but watch out for Risks appeared first on NewsDay Zimbabwe.

The post Retail Traders in Zimbabwe are Growing but watch out for Risks appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA
LATE constitutional law guru Alex Magaisa reportedly spurned Zanu PF attempts to lure him to support the ruling party following the 2017 coup.

Magaisa died from a cardiac arrest in the United Kingdom on Sunday at the age of 47.

Addressing guests at Magaisa’s memorial lecture held in Harare on Thursday, journalist-cum activist Hopewell Chin’ono said: “Contrary to the   nonsense I was reading on social media, they (Zanu PF) approached Alex and I just felt that out of respect, after the period of mourning if they continue, I will set the record straight.”

“We know the people. We have got names and some of them came through me. But Alex said, ‘No. I am a Zimbabwean. If you do things right, you do not need Magaisa’s support. Do not look for individuals. Do the right thing and the whole country will support you’.”

Top human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa said: “I believe that we should have regular lectures to celebrate each other. Alex was a vital core in the Constitution-making process which culminated in what we now have which I consider a decent Constitution.”

The Constitutional Law Centre, which he founded, declared Magaisa, the people’s national hero and set aside five days of mourning, with various activities including the Big Saturday march in remembrance of his famous blog the Big Saturday Read.

But police refused to sanction the Saturday candlelight commemoration that was scheduled for today in the Harare Gardens.

In a letter dated June 9, 2022, police said, Heal Zimbabwe, a civic society organisation that had sought authority for the march, had not complied with provisions of the Maintenance of Peace and Order.

The post ‘Magaisa spurned Zanu PF co-option’ appeared first on NewsDay Zimbabwe.

The post ‘Magaisa spurned Zanu PF co-option’ appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.