Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

FORMER President Robert Mugabe refused to resign even though he was in the middle of a military coup, leaving the military with no option but to rely on the impeachment process for him to be removed, a parliamentarian has said. Norton independent legislator and former (Mashonaland West) Zanu PF provincial chairperson, Temba Mliswa, bust the Zanu PF and army bubble saying their coup had

MDC-Alliance youths aligned to party president Mr Nelson Chamisa on Friday disrupted the party’s Harare provincial meeting and threatened to harm members perceived to be seeking to dislodge Mr Chamisa at the forthcoming congress. Harare [...]

Former president Robert Mugabe’s son-in-law, Mr Simba Chikore used his family ties to manipulate processes, corrupt people and enter into shady deals involving several stakeholders during his time at the national airliner, Air Zimbabwe, The Herald reveals today.  Mr Chikore, married to Bona Mugabe, was chief operating officer of the flag carrier between October 2016 and November 2017. During

Source: ED must come for ‘real talks’: Chamisa – NewsDay Zimbabwe March 11, 2019

BY XOLISANI NCUBE

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has invited his Zanu PF counterpart President Emmerson Mnangagwa for urgent “real talks” to rescue the country’s sinking economy, saying the opposition had capacity to initiate the process on neutral ground.

Chamisa made the call in Chitungwiza on Friday while addressing stakeholders during commemorations of the International Women’s Day.

“We are saying there should be dialogue in this country. Threats will not work. Soldiers and police (must) follow the Constitution and respect people. No dictator can ever remain in power. That is why I am asking this man to come forward for these talks,” he said.

“There shall come a time when we will not tolerate his behaviour. How will I do that? I can easily pray until nothing moves on for him. In this country, everything is malfunctioning and he cannot even apologise for failure. A country with no fuel, transport, bad roads and no water, but one cannot even
humble himself.

“I am not tough as he (Mnangagwa) says; I have always done what people advocated for. He wants me to go back to Parliament. I have been in Parliament since 2003, what for? I was given a mandate by people, but Mnangagwa wants me to be a casual worker again. That’s why we are saying this country needs dialogue. They are refusing to have this dialogue. I have been patient with him for too long and I am considerate. I can easily mobilise a committee and call for an emergency dialogue, the Constitution allows for that.”

The youthful opposition leader said Mnangagwa should stop wasting State resources holding talks with minor opposition parties with no representation in Parliament and local authorities and leaving out the MDC.

Mnangagwa has, in the past few weeks, held two meetings with at least 20 losing presidential candidates in last year’s elections minus Chamisa and Joice Mujuru, of National People’s Party, who snubbed the indaba, accusing the Zanu PF leader of being insincere.

Since then, other opposition leaders have also pulled out of the talks, demanding an independent convener and neutral venue.

Those who have pulled out include Daniel Shumba of the United Democratic Alliance, Build Zimbabwe’s Noah Manyika and Alliance for People’s Agenda’s Nkosana Moyo.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara made similar observations last week, saying Mnangagwa should dump other minor parties and just engage Chamisa’s MDC.

Responding to Chamisa’s invite for talks, Zanu PF national spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo challenged the opposition leader to “do the basic things, recognise that Mnangagwa is the leader and then engage him directly”.

“He should stop dialoguing in newspapers, but get to the President directly if he thinks he needs that attention. The President’s doors are open and he can go there. But first things first, he must recognise the President, then be able to talk to him,” Moyo said.

Chamisa narrowly lost last year’s hotly contested elections to Mnangagwa and has refused to accept Mnangagwa’s legitimacy even after losing the presidential election challenge at the Constitutional Court.

Several international bodies, including the European Union, have called for dialogue between Mnangagwa and Chamisa to address the legitimacy issue, which has been cited as the major stumbling block to the country’s engagement efforts and economic revival plans.

Some local church groups have also offered to broker the talks, but both Zanu PF and the MDC have remained deeply entrenched in their hardline party stances.
Mnangagwa has insisted that he would only engage Chamisa if the latter recognises his legitimacy.

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Source: Beta Bricks to build US$10m plant | The Herald March 11, 2019

Beta Bricks employees work at the plant under construction at Melfort in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East Province

Business Reporter
BETA Bricks, Zimbabwe’s largest clay brick maker is investing about $10 million in building a factory in Goromonzi – about 40 kilometres east of Harare – as it seeks to double capacity to meet growing demand, chief executive officer Godfrey Manhambara has said.

The factory — with annual capacity of 180 million bricks — is expected to be completed in two years and will create about 400 direct jobs. The company’s three factories in Mt Hampden in western Harare have annual capacity of about 170 million bricks.
“Beta Bricks will be investing between US$8 and US$10 million in core and support plant and equipment over the next two years towards establishment of the Melfort plant,” Mr Manhambara said in e-mailed responses to questions by The Herald Business.

“At its completion, the plant will be the most advanced brick factory in Zimbabwe and one of the largest in sub Saharan Africa. The latest technology in clay brick manufacturing and systems will be incorporated in the factory.”
Apart from direct employment, the offshoot businesses are also expected to create more jobs.

The growing demand for bricks, partly driven by increased construction activity across the country, has seen brick makers struggling to satisfy the domestic market.

Speculators also took advantage of pricing distortions arising from the fixed exchange rate, which pegged the United States dollar against all forms of local currencies at par.

Mr Manhambara said the site of the factory had suitable soils for brick production and its proximity to key markets as well as road and rail infrastructure made it an ideal location.

“We have also responded positively to Goromonzi Rural District Council’s re-branding exercise in line with the ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ mantra,” said Manhambara.

“Beta Bricks is therefore expecting and very hopeful of getting maximum enabler support from ZESA, Zimbabwe National Road Authority, the central Government and the local district council to ensure that this project is timeously executed.”

Beta Bricks is currently the market leader in the clay bricks supply industry. It is projecting further growth in demand in the short to medium term as the restructuring of the economy over the next there to four years is expected to drive sales.

“Beta Bricks will consolidate its leadership position even further and will maintain its position as the second largest clay brick manufacturer in Sadc,” Mr Manhambara said.

Beta Brick is a subsidiary of Beta Holdings, which also incorporates Beta Concrete and BETA Logistics. Beta Bricks is the first brick manufacturing entity in Zimbabwe to receive international certification for integrated International Standards Organisation (ISO) management systems.

These include ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Management System), ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management System) and OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System).

In addition, all Beta Bricks products are also approved by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe. Beta Bricks is the flagship of the Beta Group being the largest subsidiary both by production and market share.

The company offers a range of clay bricks ranging from the popular common brick and over 21 different types of face bricks. The company currently operates a Steele 50 and Steele 75 plant as well as a specials (facebrick) plant in Mt Hampden.
The Mount Hampden factories are operating at 90 percent capacity producing about 170 million bricks annually.

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