Category: zimbabwe

Source: Zimra wants military solution to smuggling – The Zimbabwe Independent

THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) said this week security forces must play a bigger role in fighting fuel smuggling syndicates, as authorities escalated raids to reclaim lost revenue.

Francis Chimanda, head of corporate affairs at Zimra, spoke as the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) said it was worried about the Zimbabwean vehicle fleet’s safety because gluts of smuggled fuels were not being subjected to Consignment Based Conforment

Assessment checks, which are vital for eliminating contaminated products.

Both Zera and Zimra were not at liberty to disclose fuel volumes involved in the smuggling scourge.

But the country has recently recorded a sharp rise in the number of service stations.

 

In the past four years, Zera has licensed over 3 300 retailers, according to official data.

Of these, 910 operators entered the market last year alone, a marked increase from 733 in 2020, 848 in 2021 and 881 in 2022.

Investors are being attracted by opportunities stemming out of the growth of the domestic fleet, whose fuel requirements are now estimated at over one billion litres a year, from about 750 million litres over a decade ago.

 

There have been indications that cutthroat competition has triggered an explosion of vices including tax evasion.

 

But responding to questions from the Zimbabwe Independent, Chimanda said crackdowns would be increased and smugglers nabbed, as authorities battle to plug revenue leakages.

“Investigations are still ongoing,” Chimanda said this week, referring to reports of increased smuggling..

“Information is still being collated and will be processed to determine the legality of fuel importations by the companies. Zimra has total volume of fuel imported for domestic use and transit. Fuel abuse will be determined only after the data matching exercise is complete. Any revenue due to the State will be recovered and where prosecutions are required, these will also be pursued. The country has porous borders that require collaborative effort from all border stakeholders including the security forces and other law enforcement agencies,” Chimanda told the Independent.

Reports indicated that regulators have raided several small scale fuel retailers after discovering that petrol and diesel were among products being smuggled at a larger scale, leading to tax revenue losses.

“Zera and Zimra have raided various fuel dealers due to concerns that some companies have been smuggling fuel into the country. The government has been losing potential revenue,” a source said.

Reports said some smugglers were declaring petroleum as shipments in transit to avoid paying requisite duties.

But the fuel has ended up being sold in the Zimbabwean market.

The Independent was told that in September, several refuelling outlets were shut down in an extensive Zera crackdown triggered by the deliberate contamination of fuel with dangerous chemicals to increase volumes.

Edington Muzambani, CEO at Zera, confirmed at the time that the regulator had dispatched teams countrywide to probe fuel contamination following a drumbeat of anger by motorists.

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Source: Zim awaits Moza nod on US$3bn pipeline – The Zimbabwe Independent

Construction of Zimbabwe’s second petroleum pipeline, which its proponents say could transform the country into a regional fuel hub, is predicated on finalising agreements with neighbouring countries involved in the multi-billion-dollar plan, the deal maker told the Zimbabwe Independent this week.

Over the past 13 years, implementation of the US$3 billion strategic project, which involves Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana hung in the balance as the government worked on modalities to tie up the deal with a suitable suitor.

 

South African firm Coven Energy will inject capital into the project in which Zimbabwe’s government through the National Oil Company (Noic) will hold a 50% stake under a Joint Venture.

Eddie Cross, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s former adviser and a shareholder in Covern Energy, shared with this publication that implementation of the project was subject to approval by all involved parties.

Cross, who wrote Mnangagwa’s biography titled A Lifetime of Struggle in 2021, said Mozambican authorities were yet to give the project a nod.

 

“The project will be implemented in stages. Stage 1 will invove strengthening the capacity of Beira Port to handle the very large import needs of the region. At present Beira is handling nearly 10 million litres a day, half of which is being delivered inland by pipeline and half by road. Demurrage on shipping is very considerable,” he said.

“All three phases have to be the subject of a full feasibility study and agreement with the countries involved. We are waiting for Mozambique government approval,” Cross added.

Coven Energy, Cross added, will bankroll the project.

“The total cost of the project will be about US$3 billion and this has to be raised on the capital markets and the standard basis of such long-term financing is 30% equity and 70% loan term financing.

“Phase 2 will involve dualising the pipeline to Harare with a second pipeline. Phase 3 will focus on establishing lines linking Lusaka/Ndola and Francistown/Polokwane,” he added.

Sources close to the deal told the Independent that an interministerial committee between Zimbabwean and Mozambican authorities had been established to steer the project.

“Authorities in the Mozambican government have indicated that a ministerial steering committee with their Zimbabwean counterparts has been set up to administer the project,” one of the sources with intimate details of the project told this publication.

However, Cross said he was not aware of such a committee and indicated that Covern Energy and Noic had established a platform where the matter was being handled.

“I have no information on any such committee,” Cross told the Independent.

“The Zimbabwe government through Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency has given approval for the study and we are waiting for the same from Mozambique. We understand it is imminent. “(However) We are on the steering committee of the project with Noic,” he emphasised.

Cross indicated that US$2 million had so far been spent undertaking feasibility studies.

 “We have so far spent about US$2 million on studies and negotiations,” he said

Energy and Power Development minister Edgar Moyo had not responded to questions sent to him at the time of going to print.

Broadly, this publication wanted to gain understanding relating to the pipeline’s projected carrying capacity, how Coven Energy would recoup its investment, and the profit-sharing ratio between the involved parties.

The same questions sent to Energy and Power Development secretary Gloria Magombo were not addressed.

Commenting on the profit-sharing structure Cross indicated: “That will be negotiated and agreed between the consortium of Coven and Noic after the full feasibility studies are complete.

“We will follow the example of the present pipeline which has worked well for all parties in the past.”

The only existing pipeline is wholly owned and managed by Pipeline Zimbabwe, a subsidiary of Noic.

Noic assumed full control of the Feruka-Harare pipeline when it snapped 50% equity then held by Lonmin, formerly known as Lonrho.

Mozambique owns the length of the pipeline that runs from Beira to Feruka. Private fuel trading firms pay Noic to use the infrastructure.

In 2021, Noic was charging US$0,07 to move a litre of fuel through the Feruka pipeline. Construction of the Coven Energy-Noic pipeline is expected to utilise Zimbabwe’s underutilised storage capacity, which stands at 500 million litres.

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Source: Zera crafts new rules for EV charging ports – The Zimbabwe Independent

THE Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) is crafting a framework that will dictate how electric vehicle (EV) charging ports are created and used in the country as government moves to promote e-mobility. The EV market is projected to reach US$623,3 billion globally by end of this year as countries increasingly move away from combustion engine vehicles.

With Zimbabwe holding a significant amount of lithium, the main substance used for EV batteries, the government is pushing for mass adoption of EVs.

This was revealed at the 2024 International Renewable Energy Conference Expo held in Victoria Falls hosted by The Standard, one of three publications under the private media firm, Alpha Media Holdings.

“We have been working with various stakeholders with some policy directions in terms of how we should promote and provide incentives to the public in terms of charging stations,” Zera engineer Man’arai Ndovorwi said, on Thursday at the expo.

“So, you will find as the permanent secretary (Ministry of Energy and Power Development permanent secretary Gloria Magombo) alluded to that we did work with some partners and did come up with a framework that is going to inform the policy direction when it comes to e-mobility.”

 

He said the policy framework basically looked at what was the current EV status within the country and which areas they were going to be looking at in terms of improving that level.

“And also, the issue of the charging modes that we are going to be having in the country. Fast chargers, slow charges, depending on the needs, perceptions, and also the infrastructure grid stability in which we are going to have those chargers installed,” the Zera official said.

In May 2020, Zimbabwe’s motorists were first introduced to EVs through a fleet of new vehicles from the local ride-hailing firm, VAYA Africa.

 

It was later followed by state entity, the Central Mechanical Equipment Department (CMED) Private Limited buying six electric vehicles from a Chinese company in August 2021.

 

“Currently, the CMED is in the process of procuring electric buses to add to its fleet,” a source in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development told the paper.

To date, there are 10 EV charging standards throughout the country with most of those guidelines focusing on safe charging.

“We are also looking at the incentives that are going to be coming with the technology. Chargers at workplaces, what incentives will you get? If you put your chargers at the shopping malls, what incentives will you get?” Ndovorwi said.

“If you put up your rooftop solar and you are using that to charge your vehicles there should also be incentives that come with that kind of technology. As the regulator, where we are coming from is also to deal with standards. So basically, we have been working with the Standards Association of Zimbabwe to actually develop standards for EV charging.”

Meanwhile, apart from EVs, local engineering consulting firm SouthPole Consulting P/L founder Tendai Musasa announced that the firm would in June introduce the country’s first hydrogen fuel cell EV (HFCEV).

“As you may well know, if you have researched about EVs and hydrogen mobility, hydrogen mobility and HFCEVs are basically what engineer Ndovorwi has just presented and we are basically just saying these are EVs with just a small twist,” he said.

“Instead of an electrical charger you are talking about an EV integrated fuel cell basically carrying its fuel resource within itself. And with the advantage of saying that, in the sense of what we are used to in putting petrol and diesel or whatever, you can charge your hydrogen fuel in three minutes or less and have your range of 700 or so kilometres.”

He said the government had been supportive of the concept since its inception during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Source: Zimstat abandons US$3m head office – The Zimbabwe Independent

It is the latest of several mismanagement claims at the tax payer funded statistical agency, which courted public attention after the suspension of director general, Taguma Mahonde last year.

A US$3 million Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) mansion has been abandoned in Harare, which led to vandals causing damage worth over US$ US$600 000, according to an investigation by Truth Diggers.

It is the latest of several mismanagement claims at the tax payer funded statistical agency, which courted public attention after the suspension of director general, Taguma Mahonde last year.

An official said Zimstat acquired the property, which is located in Eastlea, Harare, to set up its head office. A source said up to US$3 million was involved.

The executive said some officials were not aware of the property until news of its destruction emerged recently.

“I didn’t know anything about that property until we were told we have a property in Eastlea that was vandalised,” the official said.

“However, the person who may know all the details is our director of administration and the acting director general,”  the official added.

Tapiwa Zimbveka, the director for admin-istration at Zimstat said the case was still under investigation. As such, he could not give full details.

“Unfortunately, the matter is under investigation, and we cannot comment lest we jeopardise the process. “Zimstat will only be in position to comment when the investigation has been concluded,” Zimbveka said.

“It is office space, Zimstat HQ,” he added.

But sources close to the developments were worried that the rot at Zimstat mirrored problems in government agencies.

“The incident happened in the Eastlea area where Zimstat recently suffered a loss of property worth US$600 000 due to vandalism,” a source said.

“The building had been left unattended for a significant period of time without any security measures in place. Specific reasons for not having security are known only to the institution. This lack of oversight and responsibility is concerning and reflects poorly on management within the government. Leaving such a valuable asset unguarded is not only a waste of taxpayer money, but it also puts the property at risk of theft or damage,” said the source, who noted that the property may have been intentionally abandoned to pave way for looting.

The source said assets destroyed or vandalised at the property included tubs, electric motors, doors, electricity equipment, plumbing equipment, windows and chambers estimated at over US$ US$600 000.

“There were suspicions that the building was purposely left unguarded to allow thieves to carry out their activities. Zimstat has both a risk manager and a director for administration and finance that are qualified to ensure the provision of security guards and prevent such incidents of vandalism.

“This incident at Zimstat is just one manifestation of a larger problem within the Zimbabwe government. If such negligence and clueless management continue to prevail in critical positions, the financial losses are likely to continue, potentially hampering the country’s economic growth and development,” the source added.

In October last year Mahonde was suspended after anti-graft investigators combed through the agency’s documents following a swell of allegations.

Mahonde and another executive whose employment status was queried in a report lodged with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) slipped into investigators’ radar after whistleblowers claimed top range vehicles had been abused by “untouchable” bigwigs for personal gain.

Whistle blowers also claimed there were dodgy transactions taking place over school fees allowances by some of the agency’s top officials, one of whom admitted wrong doing when approached by the Independent.

The eight-page paper submitted late 2022 prompted Zacc to probe the agency.

The report also claimed that a top Zimstat executive misappropriated funds donated by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to help the agency bolster its vehicle fleet by an additional eight cars.

It also claimed that the looted funds were also supposed to be deployed towards purchasing 150 motor bikes for the agency.

The report also claimed that a few years ago, Zimstat purchased airtime for tablets that was more than the value of the gadgets, which looters then parcelled out to their cronies for sale on the black market.

“The DG is abusing the name and reputation of the Office of the President and the party (Zanu PF) for his personal benefit,” the whistle blowers claimed in the reportwhich they submitted to Zacc, along with evidence.

“He is ever boasting that he is highly connected and untouchable. He is abusing agency vehicles, fuel and travel and subsistence allowances. Currently, he is in possession of five agency vehicles, two personal drivers for his private use, which is outside the provisions of good corporate governance practices as a good corporate citizen.”

The post Zimstat abandons US$3m head office  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Zimstat abandons US$3m head office – The Zimbabwe Independent

It is the latest of several mismanagement claims at the tax payer funded statistical agency, which courted public attention after the suspension of director general, Taguma Mahonde last year.

A US$3 million Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) mansion has been abandoned in Harare, which led to vandals causing damage worth over US$ US$600 000, according to an investigation by Truth Diggers.

It is the latest of several mismanagement claims at the tax payer funded statistical agency, which courted public attention after the suspension of director general, Taguma Mahonde last year.

An official said Zimstat acquired the property, which is located in Eastlea, Harare, to set up its head office. A source said up to US$3 million was involved.

The executive said some officials were not aware of the property until news of its destruction emerged recently.

“I didn’t know anything about that property until we were told we have a property in Eastlea that was vandalised,” the official said.

“However, the person who may know all the details is our director of administration and the acting director general,”  the official added.

Tapiwa Zimbveka, the director for admin-istration at Zimstat said the case was still under investigation. As such, he could not give full details.

“Unfortunately, the matter is under investigation, and we cannot comment lest we jeopardise the process. “Zimstat will only be in position to comment when the investigation has been concluded,” Zimbveka said.

“It is office space, Zimstat HQ,” he added.

But sources close to the developments were worried that the rot at Zimstat mirrored problems in government agencies.

“The incident happened in the Eastlea area where Zimstat recently suffered a loss of property worth US$600 000 due to vandalism,” a source said.

“The building had been left unattended for a significant period of time without any security measures in place. Specific reasons for not having security are known only to the institution. This lack of oversight and responsibility is concerning and reflects poorly on management within the government. Leaving such a valuable asset unguarded is not only a waste of taxpayer money, but it also puts the property at risk of theft or damage,” said the source, who noted that the property may have been intentionally abandoned to pave way for looting.

The source said assets destroyed or vandalised at the property included tubs, electric motors, doors, electricity equipment, plumbing equipment, windows and chambers estimated at over US$ US$600 000.

“There were suspicions that the building was purposely left unguarded to allow thieves to carry out their activities. Zimstat has both a risk manager and a director for administration and finance that are qualified to ensure the provision of security guards and prevent such incidents of vandalism.

“This incident at Zimstat is just one manifestation of a larger problem within the Zimbabwe government. If such negligence and clueless management continue to prevail in critical positions, the financial losses are likely to continue, potentially hampering the country’s economic growth and development,” the source added.

In October last year Mahonde was suspended after anti-graft investigators combed through the agency’s documents following a swell of allegations.

Mahonde and another executive whose employment status was queried in a report lodged with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) slipped into investigators’ radar after whistleblowers claimed top range vehicles had been abused by “untouchable” bigwigs for personal gain.

Whistle blowers also claimed there were dodgy transactions taking place over school fees allowances by some of the agency’s top officials, one of whom admitted wrong doing when approached by the Independent.

The eight-page paper submitted late 2022 prompted Zacc to probe the agency.

The report also claimed that a top Zimstat executive misappropriated funds donated by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to help the agency bolster its vehicle fleet by an additional eight cars.

It also claimed that the looted funds were also supposed to be deployed towards purchasing 150 motor bikes for the agency.

The report also claimed that a few years ago, Zimstat purchased airtime for tablets that was more than the value of the gadgets, which looters then parcelled out to their cronies for sale on the black market.

“The DG is abusing the name and reputation of the Office of the President and the party (Zanu PF) for his personal benefit,” the whistle blowers claimed in the reportwhich they submitted to Zacc, along with evidence.

“He is ever boasting that he is highly connected and untouchable. He is abusing agency vehicles, fuel and travel and subsistence allowances. Currently, he is in possession of five agency vehicles, two personal drivers for his private use, which is outside the provisions of good corporate governance practices as a good corporate citizen.”

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