Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

HARARE – Diversified investment group Meikles Limited has agreed to sell its stake in the partnership that operates the iconic Victoria Falls Hotel to its long-standing joint venture partner, African Sun Limited, marking the company’s complete exit from Zimbabwe’s hospitality sector.

The transaction brings to an end Meikles’ involvement in the country’s hotel industry after previously disposing of the historic Meikles Hotel in Harare in 2019.

In a statement, Meikles said the board had initially intended to retain its interest in the Victoria Falls Hotel as part of its continuing operations. However, the company subsequently accepted an acquisition offer from African Sun.

“The Company had initially resolved to retain the operation as part of continuing operations, but subsequently received and accepted an offer from its joint venture partner to acquire its interest in the Partnership,” Meikles said.

The company said proceeds from the disposal will be redirected towards strengthening its core retail business, particularly its majority 51% shareholding in Pick n Pay Zimbabwe, reflecting a strategic shift towards retail-focused operations.

The Victoria Falls Hotel has been jointly operated by Meikles and African Sun on a 50:50 basis since 1998. The landmark property itself is owned by Emerged Railways Properties, a joint venture between the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and Zambia Railways.

Operational performance at the hotel remained largely unchanged during the financial year ended February, with average room occupancy holding steady at 39%, matching the previous year’s performance despite continued growth in Zimbabwe’s tourism sector.

For African Sun, the acquisition further consolidates its presence in Zimbabwe’s hospitality industry. The listed hotel operator already manages several of the country’s leading tourism assets, including Elephant Hills Resort, Hwange Safari Lodge, Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga and the Holiday Inn hotels.

The purchase also follows African Sun’s recent portfolio rationalisation programme, under which it disposed of the Great Zimbabwe Hotel, Monomotapa Hotel and Caribbea Bay Resort as part of efforts to optimise its asset base and focus on strategically important properties.

The acquisition gives African Sun full operational control of one of Africa’s most recognised heritage hotels, while allowing Meikles to sharpen its strategic focus on retail and consumer markets as it reallocates capital towards its core business segments.

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NEW YORK — Oil prices are easing on Monday and helping to calm Wall Street’s worries that inflation could potentially get even worse. That has U.S. stock indexes rising, but sharp swings are continuing to roil financial markets underneath the surface.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% following its wild July, where it swung up and down as oil prices shot higher because of the war with Iran and worries grew about whether Big Tech’s massive investments in artificial-intelligence technology will translate into profits and whether chipmaker stocks soared too high in the euphoria around AI.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 624 points, or 1.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.

Some of the strongest action was in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 4.9% to $83.65. It dropped after President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he decided to hold off on ordering U.S. forces to carry out new strikes against Iran at the urging of allies in the region.

Brent careened between $72 and $102 last month as worries rose and fell about when the war with Iran would allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf again to deliver crude to customers worldwide.

The latest acquiescence by Trump on Iran helped to ease worries about inflation potentially getting worse, and Treasury yields correspondingly fell in the bond market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.68% from 4.75% late Friday. It, though, remains well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran.

That jump is threatening to undercut prices for stocks and other investments, while slowing the economy by making borrowing more expensive for U.S. households and businesses. The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate has already leaped to its highest level in a year.

The drop in oil prices helped airlines and other companies with big fuel bills lead the market. United Airlines flew 5.6% higher, while American Airlines climbed 5.7%. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings steamed 5.4% higher.

On the losing end of Wall Street were stocks of companies that make computer chips, which have been swinging sharply on worries about whether their surging revenues because of the AI boom are sustainable.

If AI ends up produce less profit and productivity than hoped, Big Tech companies could curtail their spending sprees on data centers that have helped chip stocks soar to tremendous heights.

Micron Technology fell 4.9% Monday and was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500, but its stock is still up more than 170% for the year so far. Advanced Micro Devices fell 2.7 % to trim its surge for the year so far to 116%.

The manic swings for AI stocks have been most dramatic in South Korea, where the Kospi index is dominated by just two tech titans, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Seoul’s Kospi fell 5.1%. It was coming off a 17.9% surge from Friday, which was its best day in history.

In neighboring Japan, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9% after the United States and Japan confirmed they had moved together to to prop up the value of the Japanese yen against the dollar. A stronger yen would help to limit inflation in Japan, but it could also potentially hurt Japan’s exporters.

Source: AP

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CHINHOYI – A dark shadow has been cast over one of Chinhoyi’s private educational institutions following the sudden expulsion of a Form Four student who held the influential position of vice headboy. The student stands accused of allegedly sodomising younger pupils, a scandal that has stripped the academy of its veneer of prestige and left […]

The post SIM 2 LULA LULA-loving Vice Headboy EXPELLED for sodomising other school children first appeared on My Zimbabwe News.

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s foreign currency receipts climbed sharply during the first six months of 2026, highlighting stronger export performance, resilient diaspora inflows and a significant recovery in foreign direct investment (FDI), according to the latest economic data.

Figures released in the Zimbabwe Economic Review show total foreign currency receipts reached US$10.72 billion between January and June 2026, representing a 47.8% increase from US$7.25 billion recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.

Exports remained the dominant source of foreign exchange, generating US$7.53 billion, up from US$3.95 billion a year earlier. Export earnings accounted for 70.3% of Zimbabwe’s total foreign currency inflows during the six-month period, underlining the growing importance of the country’s mining, agriculture and manufacturing sectors in supporting external balances.

Diaspora remittances continued to provide a stable source of foreign exchange, rising to US$1.55 billion from US$1.09 billion in the first half of 2025. The increase reinforces the significant contribution made by Zimbabweans living abroad to household incomes, consumption and national foreign currency reserves.

Foreign direct investment recorded one of the strongest performances among the various inflow categories. FDI more than doubled to US$269.9 million, compared with US$119 million during the same period last year, representing growth of 126.8%.

The sharp increase suggests improving investor confidence as Zimbabwe continues efforts to attract long-term capital into strategic sectors including mining, manufacturing, energy and infrastructure.

Private sector loan proceeds totalled US$984.9 million, while income earned from Zimbabwe’s foreign investments increased to US$88.9 million, reflecting continued diversification of external foreign currency sources.

However, receipts from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) declined to US$296.6 million, down from US$550.1 million in the first half of 2025, while private loan inflows also moderated from US$1.47 billion recorded a year earlier.

• Key first-half 2026 foreign currency inflows
• Total foreign currency receipts: US$10.72 billion (+47.8% year-on-year)
• Export proceeds: US$7.53 billion (70.3% of total inflows)
• Diaspora remittances: US$1.55 billion
• Private loan proceeds: US$984.9 million
• Foreign direct investment: US$269.9 million (+126.8% year-on-year)
• Income from foreign investments: US$88.9 million

The latest figures indicate that exports remain the backbone of Zimbabwe’s external earnings, while rising diaspora remittances and renewed foreign investment are providing additional support to the country’s balance of payments and foreign exchange position. The strong growth in total receipts is expected to strengthen foreign currency liquidity and provide greater support for economic activity during the remainder of 2026.

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HARARE – Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court has dismissed an application seeking direct access to challenge the constitutionality of a ZANU PF conference resolution that critics argued could pave the way for extending President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure beyond the current constitutional limits.

In a unanimous judgment, Deputy Chief Justice Paddington Garwe, sitting with Justices Ben Hlatshwayo and Bharat Patel, ruled that the applicants had failed to satisfy the legal requirements for bringing the matter directly before the country’s highest constitutional court.

The application was filed by citizens Moreprecision Muzadzi and Pardon Gambakwe under Section 167(5) of the Constitution. They argued that a resolution adopted during ZANU PF’s National People’s Conference in Mutare in October 2025 threatened constitutional guarantees of regular elections and presidential term limits by proposing an extension of the presidential term from five to seven years.

The applicants further alleged that President Mnangagwa had failed to uphold his constitutional oath by not publicly distancing himself from the party resolution.

However, the Constitutional Court held that the application was procedurally defective and that the applicants had not demonstrated why the matter should bypass the High Court, which shares jurisdiction over constitutional disputes.

“The application is not properly constituted for adjudication,” Justice Garwe said, adding that merely alleging a constitutional violation does not automatically entitle litigants to direct access to the Constitutional Court.

The judges also found that the dispute was premature because no Constitutional Amendment Bill proposing changes to presidential term limits has been introduced in Parliament.

According to the judgment, the court was being asked to rule on a political party resolution rather than an enacted law or an active legislative process.

“What the applicants invite this Court to determine is the constitutionality of a possible future legislative process, contained in a political party resolution, which may or may not occur,” the judgment stated.

“Such a dispute remains eminently speculative and hypothetical. It is not justiciable.”

The court reaffirmed the legal principle of constitutional avoidance, under which courts generally decline to determine abstract or hypothetical constitutional questions until an actual legal dispute has crystallised.

It also emphasised that granting direct access to the Constitutional Court is an exceptional remedy reserved for cases where the interests of justice clearly require litigants to bypass lower courts.

Having concluded that the applicants had failed to establish both the procedural requirements for direct access and the existence of a justiciable constitutional dispute, the court dismissed the application. No order was made as to costs, consistent with the court’s usual approach in constitutional litigation.

The ruling leaves unresolved the wider political debate over possible constitutional reforms relating to the presidency. Any proposal to amend presidential term provisions would still need to follow Zimbabwe’s constitutional amendment process, including parliamentary consideration and any other constitutional requirements before taking legal effect.

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