Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: Govt targets 10pc growth in exports | Herald (Business)

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Source: Editorial Comment – Chitungwiza council: Something must give in | The Herald 18 OCT, 2019

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Source: ‘Zim to cut expenditure in 2020’ . . . However economic activity will improve beyond next year, says UK think-tank | The Herald 18 OCT, 2019

Business Reporter

ZIMBABWE is likely to cut public expenditure next year on the back of falling revenues and economic contraction, according to a report by United Kingdom-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

However, the UK headquartered think-tank, a unit of the Economist Group, has projected that economic activity in Zimbabwe would improve beyond next year and this will boost revenue collection and public spending.

“The Government expenditure will decline in 2020 as revenue falls and as avenues for financing to support expansive programmes remain limited,” said EIU.

“In 2021-24, as revenue increases, expenditure will rise steadily, as the Government seeks to repair infrastructure following years of underinvestment, support broader economic growth and maintain the substantial public-sector wage bill.”

Aid inflows into the country will remain sizable, given the mounting humanitarian crisis stemming from the economic crisis, and exacerbated by the ongoing drought.

“Greater access to external credit will arise only if Zimbabwe successfully implements reforms and clears arrears to international institutions,” said EIU. “Currently, we do not expect to see a resumption of IMF financing within the forecast period.”

Fiscal deficit is expected to narrow slightly to 6,3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 due to improved revenues.

Zimbabwe is currently financing fiscal deficits through domestic borrowing, mainly using Treasury bills as the country remains largely cut off from international financial markets.

Lately, Treasury has struggled to raise targeted amounts through TBs, underlining the huge disconnect between inflation realities being experienced by investors and expectations of policy makers.

Market analysts say investors believe inflation will continue trending upwards, despite the Government seeing monthly inflation dropping to 10 percent by of this year.

The EIU said the Zimbabwean dollar is expected to largely stabilise next year before it starts firming against the US dollar on the back of growing confidence in the domestic currency.

The local currency would fall to an average $16 against the US dollar next year, but will be considerably weaker on the black market. It said the suppression of demand through limited access to the currency would continue to temper depreciation, which “we believe would be much more rapid otherwise”.

According to EIU, the domestic currency would firm to an average of $10 against the greenback in 2021, and to an average of 6,1 the following year, as inflation moderates, exports increase and the country realises more foreign direct investment.

In February, Zimbabwe moved away from the fixed-rate regime after it introduced the interbank market to allow importers and exporters to trade the RTGS dollars and other foreign currencies with the rate initially pegged at 2,5 against the US dollar. Since then, the exchange rate of the RTGS has dropped to 14,9 against the greenback on the interbank.

The local currency is, however, even weaker on the parallel market where it is trading round 20.

While the think-tank projected a deepening economic crisis this and next year, it has projected the “crisis” to abate, largely due to improved domestic energy, agriculture and mining production. This would improve Zimbabwe’s foreign reserves position, supporting the currency and moderating soaring inflation, said the think tank.

“We expect inflation to average 165,5 percent in 2020, after averaging an estimated 205,2 percent in 2019,” said EIU. Rapid inflation has been driven by sustained currency weakness, particularly on the parallel market, foreign-exchange shortages and the ongoing drought, which has severely reduced agricultural and hydropower production. Inflation would, however, fall sharply in 2021, to 8,3 percent, owing to a strengthening of the currency and the high base of comparison.

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Source: City Parking rakes in $1,3m a month | The Herald 18 OCT, 2019

Herald Reporter

Harare’s traffic parking utility, City Parking, has given the authority about $1,3 million from parkades and parking lots across the city.

Since its inception in 2013, City Parking has contributed $9 320 000 and a new contribution model agreed with the local authority has seen a jump in contributions in the past few months.

“This year, City Parking has contributed an average of $1 320 000 per month from May-September on a rate agreed upon by council, whereby we pay 16 percent of what we collect, and we have religiously paid plus or minus $400 000,” Mr Simon Muzviyo, managing director of City Parking, told The Herald yesterday.

Mr Muzviyo said City Parking, a privately-run company in which Harare City Council is the sole shareholder, had tightened control on financial management to avoid leakages while the company’s books of accounts are audited by external auditors.

He said the parking operation had perennially made losses.

“Before privatisation, the parking account at City of Harare used to incur a deficit, and was being bailed out by the rates accounts,” he explained.

“The privatisation strategy had the immediate effect of eliminating the deficit situation from the parking account.

“We are now talking about the parking function contributing to council fiscus, instead of the City Treasury subsidising the parking function.”

He said the company wanted to ensure a functional and efficient system.

“A well-functioning parking operation is one that creates adequate parking bays to enable the transacting of business in the CBD,” said Mr Muzviyo.

“Availability of parking space in the CBD is regulated by limiting parking time per area per motorists through the levying of higher fees for long parking bay occupation, penalties for overstaying in parking bay and application of punitive measures for non-compliance.

“An effective parking system is one that encourages high turnover and use of a parking bay in the CBD.

“Such a system creates parking space for other persons to park and transact business in the CBD.

“The failure to provide parking space in the CBD to those wanting to do business militates against the growth of business in the CBD.”

He said their mandate was to ensure that parking in the CBD is shared by motorists who want to transact business in the CBD.

“It is impossible to have adequate bays for all motorists who want to transact in the CBD: accordingly, the parking fee actually acts as an incentive for motorists to vacate bays so that others may use them to transact business,” he said.

There are about 6 000 parking bays in the CBD.

He revealed to The Herald that the operations of touts and street people who  charge less for their services than City Parking was a challenge.

A total of 1 200 bays had been rendered unoperational as they hd been illegally taken over by different stakeholders.

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Source: Varsity uniforms proposal sparks outrage | The Herald 18 OCT, 2019

Prof Murwira

 Blessings Chidakwa Herald Correspondent

People from all walks of life, including Government officials, yesterday reacted with outrage to a proposal by the Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) for tertiary institutions to introduce uniforms for female students, ostensibly to avoid sexual abuse.

Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni equated the proposal to the abuse of women.

“We shouldn’t respect the uniform, but the person,” she said. “It means we are saying our men have no respect for women, but uniforms. The issue is not about uniforms, but respect for each other as human beings. There is no reason why we should abuse other people.”

Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira said the idea was not a law.

“Universities Acts have no statutes that regulate wearing of uniforms,” he said.

“However, it is a very free country and everyone is entitled to his or her opinion as this is not a directive.”

University of Zimbabwe’s Zimbabwe Congress of Students Union secretary-general Wilbert Muzaruwetu said the issue was not about what one wore, but perceptions.

Instead, he said, ZGC should do a survey of at least 50 000 people and see if it would come up with such recommendations.

SAYWHAT, a non-governmental organisation, said a dress code for the  students would be an act to further reinforce the dictates of patriarchy in which society was always policing the dressing of women.

“Having a dress code cannot be sustainable way of addressing the issue, what needs to be changed are the attitudes of the perpetrators, transformation of gender norm is needed in which men can respect women and their rights irrespective of what they are wearing,” said the organisation in a statement.

“The proposed solutions must not be skewed towards putting the blame on women. Having a dress code is tantamount to direct indictment that women are being sexually harassed because of the clothes they wear.

“There is limited correlation on the two as societies have witnessed that even women who dress in the so-called modesty and decent ways are sexually harassed, while others become victims of rape while dressed in long skirts and dresses.”

The uproar arose after ZGC legal and investigations manager Ms Delis Mazambani is alleged to have said: “During the weekend, the students can then wear whatever they want, but when attending lectures, they need to be guided on how to dress and this makes it easier for lecturers to pinpoint that according to the university’s policy you are not dressed appropriately.”

Following media backlash, ZGC through its chairperson Margret Mukahanana said the message was blown out of proportion, as one of their officials only made reference to the uniform issue as an example during a public lecture with a local university.

“The commission’s series of sexual harassment at tertiary institutions continues this morning (yesterday) at ZOU,” she said in a statement. “Our previous engagements with such institutions have been very successful.

“We look forward to get another progressive meeting with students and staff at ZOU.”

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