Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: Privatisation of parastatals takes shape | Daily News

Finance minister Mthuli Ncube says government will appoint transaction advisors to spearhead the privatisation of five key State-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The targeted five enterprises are Zimpost, NetOne, TelOne, Telecel and the Peoples’ Own Savings Bank (POSB).

“Government has targeted five public enterprises for immediate reforms and work is already underway to identify transaction advisors,” he said.

According, to the 2019 National Budget, the five key enterprises are to be privatised under joint venture agreements and were given between 12 to 18 months to conclude the privatisation deals.
The entities used to contribute 40 percent to the economy, but poor management, corruption and weak corporate governance systems ran them down.

As a result, a total of 38 out of 93 SOE’s audited in 2016 incurred a combine loss of $270 million.
Ncube said government will realise at least $350 million from the initial process.
Meanwhile, according to the latest Treasury report, cost containment and revenue enhancement measures pronounced in the 2019 National Budget statement presented in November last year,  are now delivering positive results after a surplus of $113 million was recorded in January.

The document shows that revenue expansion and expenditure management strategies which form part of the core reforms entailed in the economic reform programme Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) are bearing fruit as proven by a sharp decline in the monthly budget deficits from $651,2 million in August 2018 to $39,8 million in September and $242,1 million in November and preliminary indications point to a surplus of $732,7 million in December 2018.

“With regards to January 2019 preliminary figures, revenue of $508,5 million was realised against disbursements/commitments of $395,5 million, indicating a surplus of about $113mln,” read part of the document, which details government’s progress on policy reforms.

Ncube noted that government introduced a two percent tax per dollar value transacted in October last year, replacing a previous tax of 5 cents per transaction.

As a result $52,5 million was raised in November and $103,8 million in December 2018 giving a total of $166,2 million for 2018.

“By January 2019, the Electronic Transactions Tax raised $98,5 million and it is anticipated that $600 million will be raised during 2019,” he said.

According to the policy progress document, treasury said government has struck out more than 3 000 ghost employees who have been forming part of its bloated workforce.
However, economic growth is now forecast at four percent, primarily driven by agriculture, mining and services.

Strong economic activity is, however, confined to the first nine months of the year, with challenges related to prices increases, fuel and foreign currency shortages stalling the economy to reach higher levels of growth,” he said.

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Source: Invest in pharmaceuticals manufacturing, govt urged | Daily News

MEDICINES Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) director-general Gugu Mahlangu yesterday said government needs to invest more in local pharmaceutical manufacturing and in research and innovation to improve medicinal manufacturing and supply in the country.

Speaking before Parliament’s Health and Child Care Committee yesterday  Mahlangu revealed that MCAZ continues to license few locally-manufactured medicines even though they have reduced registration fees for local companies to register with the regulator.

“The majority of 249 medicines that we registered in 2018 are for infectious diseases followed by heart and BP medicines, then miscellaneous then ARVs, cancer, pain control, digestive system, brain and nervous system

“Of the 249 registered in 2018, 96 percent where imported from outside and outside Sadc, two percent came from Sadc countries only and two percent were locally produced,” she said.
While the committee quizzed Mahlangu as to what was causing the low registrations and applications by locals, the MCAZ boss said that there is lack of innovative research in the country citing the current economic challenges.

As an independent regulatory authority, MCAZ issues out licences and carries out quality control of medicines and medical testing devices before they are rolled out to the market. “The registration fees for locals are even lower than international applications…”
“In 2018 only four products were received from local manufacturers,” Mahlangu added.

She further noted that this was also despite the measures instituted to promote ease of business, speeding the review and issuance of licences by the regulator. Zimbabwe’s pharmaceutical sector has not been developing significantly owing to low capital and investment.
Coupled with this, the sector which relies largely on imports has been failing to meet local demand for medicine owing to shortages foreign currency in the country.

Medicine accounts for a big chunk of Zimbabwe’s import bill.
An estimation of US$85 million is needed to procure medicines annually. Mahlangu revealed that 1 443 import permits were issued in 2018 an enormous difference from 95 export permits issued in the same year.

This means that Zimbabwe’s import bill continues to mount above the export bill. The independent medicines regulator in the same period also licensed more than 700 pharmacies, about 100 wholesale dealers and less than 20 manufacturers.

Local manufacturers on the other hand have been incapacitated by the economic marsh which has lasted for almost two decades causing the pharmaceutical industry to lag behind Coupled with this, MCAZ revealed that the number of institutions applying for licences has also declined from about 1089 in 2017 to 507 in 2018.

Apart from that, MCAZ also recorded a sharp increase in the number of Section 75 applications for prescriptions for “medicines from other sources” – these may be medicines not necessarily registered under MCAZ. Mahlangu also revealed that over 10 000 prescriptions had knocked their doorstep for licensing mainly owed to the drug shortages in the country.

“Our traditional medical practitioners do not seem keen to bring their medicine for registrations. “We now have a new avenue, a new regulation that relates to complementary medicines, so they would fall under complementary medicines,” she said.
She, however, highlighted that at least one traditional medicine manufacturer who was licensed last month under the Complementary Medicines regulation is set to attract more to register.

On Aguma, the herbal supplement which Walter Magaya claims has medicinal properties against cancer, HIV and Aids Mahlangu said: “Aguma did not come through us, it came through the back door.
“Apparently it’s from a root that is indigenous to the country but the studies, the prophet claims were done elsewhere, he hasn’t given us the studies yet so we are still waiting, but we were involved in that whole saga because obviously he was making claims on a product that had not been tested.”

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A young woman from Mvuma has threatened to sue her lover after her nude pic went viral on social medial. Tinotenda Masvimbo (21) of Mushayavhudzi Residential area in Mvuma confirmed to The Mirror that her picture went viral and added that this happened after her mobile phone was stolen. However, sources said that Masvimbo suspects […]

A war veteran from Mashonaland Central Province who went berserk late last year and savagely assaulted 116 pupils at a local primary school for alleged indiscipline has been jailed. Solomon Samu was handed a three-year sentence by magistrate Tendai Muchena who suspended one-year and left him to serve an effective two years behind bars. It was the State’s case that Samu, who hails from

Source: The world doesn't owe us a living | Daily News

ZIMBABWE has accumulated a gigantic debt which is creeping towards US$20 billion but with very little to show for it.
A huge portion of that debt went into consumptive spending, with meagre amounts supporting infrastructure development and the productive sector.

A significant component of the domestic debt (US$9,5 billion) was incurred not so long ago through Treasury Bills that were dished by the ministry of Finance like confetti at a wedding to fund Command Agriculture and the ruling party’s election preparations.
Whenever our leaders embark on foreign trips, their mission has always been to accumulate more debt never mind the flowery catchphrases used — facility, credit line, re-engagement etc.
They even plead with those whom we owe to advance more credit to be repaid using borrowed funds.

But once their request is granted, they never bother to repay which is why Zimbabwe now has a national debt and poor credit worthiness.
No serious lender wants to deal with us anymore and yet not so long ago our leaders were the darlings of multilateral lenders and donors, some of whom pity us for their role during colonialism.

What our leaders seem to forget is that those whom they look up to for bailouts have an immediate obligation to their citizens who do not countenance serial loan defaulters with atrocious governance issues in their backyards. Hardly do our leaders — who should be ashamed of gallivanting with a begging bowl; cap in hand — ask themselves the following pertinent questions: What other options are there besides begging? What are we borrowing for? Does it help us to produce more in future? Are we effectively and efficiently using our own internally-generated resources?

Even in their personal capacities, our bureaucrats do not honour their debts, including electricity and water bills. Because of their enormous influence on home soil, they are not even ashamed to ride roughshod over Parliament or the central bank to compel the State to assume their debts.

It’s usually after they have left office that utilities and banks are able to close in on them.  Zimbabwe needs a new crop of bureaucrats who disavow handouts and who appreciate the fact that the moment the role of donors goes beyond mitigating catastrophes such as earthquakes it demonstrates leadership failure.

A mind-set change is therefore required in reclaiming our dignity.
We cannot delegate our destiny to citizens of other countries who should not pay the price for our mistakes.
If we don’t take responsibility for our actions, who then will? No one owes us a living.

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