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Source: Zimbabwe borrows $985 million from African banks, what you need to know… – CNBC Africa

HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank has borrowed $985 million from African banks including Mozambique’s central bank and the African Export and Import Bank to purchase fuel and other critical imports, governor John Mangudya said.

Zimbabwe is in the grip of a severe dollar crunch and last month ditched a discredited 1:1 dollar peg for surrogate bond notes and electronic dollars, merging them into a lower-value transitional currency called the RTGS dollar.

Mangudya said the loans would be repaid from future gold earnings and had a tenure of between three and five years.

“These loans are well structured facilities contracted last year,” he told a parliamentary committee.

Mangudya also said government borrowing from the central bank reached $2.99 billion in December, about three times its permissible overdraft limit.

The government has promised to curb borrowing in 2019 as part of reforms to revive the southern African economy, after the budget deficit soared last year following a spike in spending ahead of elections.

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Source: Chamisa failed MDC target: Mwonzora | Newsday (News)

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

TENSION continues to rise in the MDC ahead of its elective congress with secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora saying party president Nelson Chamisa failed to meet a target of attracting 4,5 million votes in the July 30 general elections.

His fiery comments come after some party bigwigs loyal to Chamisa led by deputy president Morgen Komichi, said the youthful leader has already been endorsed to lead the party in the 2023 general elections because structures feel it was unwise to change a leader in the middle of the battle.

Yesterday, Mwonzora said although Chamisa had a good show in last year’s elections, he fell short of the 4,5 million votes targeted by the party and that his impressive showing does not mean he could not be challenged.

“The MDC targeted 4,5 million votes, that was what was in our strategic plan, we did not achieve that, we did a very handsome score, but maybe those who are going to challenge him (Chamisa), if I get to challenge him, I have to prove that I can score more, that I can score better and I have my own opinions about myself and that is a question for another day,” he said on Sunday.

According to Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) figures, Chamisa pulled 2 147 436 votes or 44,3% of the total, but lost out to President Emmerson Mnangagwa who polled 2 460 463 or 50,6% of the votes.

Going by Mwonzora’s logic, Chamisa should have won 94% of the votes to meet the target the party had set. The consolidated voters’ roll for the 2018 harmonised elections contained more than 5,6 million registered voters, but only 4 775 568 cast their votes.

In the parliamentary elections, the MDC Alliance won 1 624 875 or 34,33% of the votes compared to Zanu PF’s 2 477 708 or 52,35% of the votes. A total of 4 732 851 votes were cast.

“The fact that in this election we won so many votes, its attributed to many factors; the brand of the party itself, the candidate and so on. I have heard people say that people must not contest because the president scored so many votes. Well my answer to that is that’s not the basis under the constitution why a contest cannot be done,” Mwonzora said.

“A person who is contesting is in fact holding himself or herself to be saying that they can score more and there is no reason to underestimate them because you have never seen them in a presidential election. So how do we judge them that they cannot score more than that, or score like what Advocate Chamisa scored?

But it’s not to undervalue what he did. He performed very well as a candidate in that election even in spite of what the Zec went on to do. This is what the challengers have to convince people that they will get 4,5 million votes,” he said.

If Chamisa falls at the elective congress, this will likely end the standoff with Zanu PF over allegations that the presidential election was stolen and resolve the question of Mnangagwa’s legitimacy, paving way for MDC talks with Zanu PF, according to insiders backing Mwonzora.

Chamisa has accused Mnangagwa and Zec of electoral theft and has spurned dialogue with Mnangagwa unless the talks address the question of legitimacy.

Mwonzora himself said he would want to end the standoff between the MDC and Mnangagwa because he saw the continued standoff as unhealthy.

“Stand-offs are not a good thing, we are hoping that we will be involved in dialogue one way or the other,” he said.

However, Chamisa’s backers have accused Mwonzora of contributing to the failure by the party to meet its electoral target by sleeping on duty and failing to field presiding officers in last year’s elections.

“He would be lying if he says he did anything to mobilise for the July 30 elections. As we speak, the party does not even own a wheelbarrow, yet he is the head of administration. He talks of the 4,5 million votes — how did he want them to be gathered when he did nothing to make us get those votes?” a source said.

Chamisa refused to comment on the matter, saying he will respect party structures and processes.

“We currently don’t have any candidates for any position, people are nominated by provinces and I cannot even speak of me contesting for the presidency before I am nominated, I go into congress were I hang the jacket I am wearing and if I would have been nominated by then I will contest,” he said.

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Source: Mamombe’s arresting officer a soldier: Lawyer | Newsday (News)

BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE

A STATE witness who is also the arresting officer for Harare West constituency legislator, Joana Mamombe (MDC Alliance), who is accused of trying to subvert a constitutional government yesterday stunned court when he failed to name the department he works for at the police’s Law and Order section.

He also failed to name his immediate bosses that led to an accusation by the defence that he was a soldier masquerading as a police officer.

The witness and arresting officer, Dennis Muroyiwa failed to answer questions pertaining to his employer and to name the rights of the accused persons.

Muroyiwa told magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa that they did not have a warrant of arrest when they arrested Mamomombe because the warrant was not needed.

Mamombe’s lawyer, Obey Shava objected and asked the court if the witness was a police officer to which he said he joined the police force in 2011.

Muroyiwa, however, failed to name various departments of the Law and Order section and the names of the inspectors that head the department.

“Are you a police officer and which department are you attached to?” Shava asked.

“Yes, I am a police officer. I joined the police in 2011 and I am attached at Law and Order section,” Muroyiwa replied.

“You’re not a police officer what exactly are you in society, you failed to name the departments and the name of your bosses you purport to work for. Who exactly is using you? When are you going back to the barracks?” Shava asked.

“Why is it your identity is questionable, you refused to show your identity document to the accused and now you seem not to know the police procedures when it comes to arrest a suspect?” Shava further asked.

“I did show Mamombe my identity document and I even told her the rights of the accused person before I arrested her,” Muroyiwa replied.

The witness was asked to produce his police identity document to which he produced an identity card which has no picture of his face. He was asked why it has no picture of his face; Muroyiwa said the picture was wiped off by sweat.

Muroyiwa failed to explain how Mamombe committed the offence if she only addressed a Press conference.

Another witness, who is the investigation officer Raphael Chakama, told the court that he was given the docket yesterday.

Chakama said he brought the accused to court after noting that 48 hours period was about to lapse.

Mamombe narrated events which led to her arrests. She told the court that she received a call from her mother at around 11 pm while she was attending parliamentary business in Nyanga at Monte Casino Hotel. Her mother told her that she was wanted by police officers who gained entry into the house by jumping over a precast wall.

Mamombe said on March 25, she saw eight people following her at the hotel in Nyanga and she suspected that they were the assailants who visited her mother’s place.

Mugwagwa postponed the matter to today for ruling.

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Source: Name, shame loan defaulters, Parly demands | Newsday (News)

BY VENERANDA LANGA

PARLIAMENT has demanded that Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya make public the schedule of beneficiaries whose loans were taken up by the Zimbabwe Asset Management Company (Zamco) amid allegations that the scheme only benefitted political elites.

Zamco, a company established by government to buy non-performing loans (NPLs) in a bid to clean up the books of banks which faced collapse, bought at least a billion dollars in bad debts, adding to the country’s mounting debt.

Harare East MP Tendai Biti (MDC Alliance) and former Finance minister, who leads the Public Accounts Committee on Monday quizzed Mangudya on why the debts which Zamco accepted were not approved by Parliament, and why the central bank was always lending to government without Parliament approval to the extent that the current overdraft facility to government was at $2,99 billion.

“We have had a situation where government has been running deficit financing, and as a committee, we are concerned by the new TBs (Treasurery Bills) that have been levied on the Consolidated Revenue Fund without the Finance ministry coming to seek condonation from Parliament,” Biti said.

“Parliament also wants to know the criteria used to decide which NPLs go to Zamco because we hear the criteria is based on political muscle and the list of the people that have benefited from Zamco are political heavyweights, and you need to hand over the list to Parliament in two weeks,” he said. In his response, Mangudya said Zamco cleared 1 160 NPLs from banks at a value of $1,13 billion since 2014, adding that to date $460 million was repaid, giving a net amount of $832 million still outside payment.

On why RBZ was not seeking condonation from Parliament on NPLs and government’s overdraft facility, which resulted in $7 billion TBs issued, Mangudya said all these were included in the budget statement which MPs passed without also doing due diligence.

“The Finance minister Mthuli Ncube brought the budget to Parliament wherein he was clear that he was limiting Zamco to $1 billion and no MP asked where the figures were coming from, and so it will be remiss on my part to say that the Zamco figures did not come before Parliament,” Mangudya said.

Zamco chief executive officer Cosmas Kanhai said the Zamco NPLs were issued on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis. But Biti said he must explain why ordinary people failed to get the loans while political heavyweights had theirs taken over by Zamco.

“Our criteria are clear in that the loan has to be a NPL, the bank has to be willing to sell the NPL,” Kanhai said.

Biti then asked why Mangudya had not wound up Zamco as recommended by Ncube in his budget statement when he described it as a toxic instrument which must be wound up.

“As far as we are concerned, Zamco has done very well for this economy. Without Zamco, the economy would have collapsed including companies like Rio Zim, Star Africa and others. When you (Biti) were Finance minister banks were charging 50% to 75% interest rates and there is no company that can perform in a US$ environment at 50% interest rates,” Mangudya said. He then said he was not the author of Ncube’s statement and cannot further explain why Zamco must not be disbanded.

Buhera Central MP Matthew Nyashanu (Zanu PF) asked Mangudya to explain why almost $1 billion loans were borrowed from Afrexim Bank without the central bank seeking Parliament condonation.

Mangudya said the total exposure was $985 million, with Afrexim Bank ($641 million), PTA Bank $152 million and other loans Banco de Mocambique ($25 million), PTA Insurance Corporation ($9 million), African Development Bank ($15 million) and others, adding that these were in US$.

When Biti insisted that the committee was not concerned about the nature of the loans, but that the RBZ acquired $1 billion loans without Parliament approval, Mangudya said he was empowered by the RBZ Act to do so. But Biti said the Constitution in section 2 required Parliament condonation, and was the Supreme law.

Mangudya’s defence was that section 7 of the RBZ Act stipulated that he should get the Finance Minister’s consent, adding that the Attorney-General’s Office had also okayed the loans saying it was legal to do so.

Biti, who pointed out that section 327 of the Constitution stipulated that Mangudya can be sued for not seeking Parliament condonation and that the loans were not valid, the RBZ governor then admitted the error, saying that in the future they will ensure Parliament condonation was sought.

Asked to apologise to the nation by Biti, Mangudya responded: “Go to yourself (Biti) during your tenure as Finance minister – I have files that show you signed loans without first coming to Parliament.”

But Biti said Mangudya was out of order, adding these were issues that happened during former RBZ governor Gideon Gono’s tenure, and not his (Mangudya’s) tenure.

Paurina Mpariwa (MDC Alliance PR MP) then asked Mangudya to explain how government got $2,9 billion TBs from the RBZ without Parliament approval.

Biti said he must explain whether that was money which was raided from depositors’ accounts or from the RBZ balance sheet.

“It was from our balance sheet and RBZ service bonds that were at $3, 2 billion and bigger than the $2, 9 billion. It came from investments which was $3, 2 billion versus $2, 9 billion. The answer is no, I did not take from people’s deposits,” Mangudya said.

He was further grilled for failing to adhere to legal provisions that he should not borrow more than the stipulated 20% limit of the previous year’s debts.

Asked whether he slept on duty, Mangudya responded: “I do not supervise the minister. Parliament would not have approved this budget if there was not enough money, and now Parliament says there was no compliance. The actions do not comply with the law and we all erred.”

Mangudya said the country has $500 million US$ reserves, but the committee queried how he had the guts to lend $2,9 billion to government above the $500 million reserves the country had, which contravened the RBZ Act?

The RBZ governor said there were sufficient reserves, including gold and other assets to cover the liabilities, adding that they were backed by investments.

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Source: GMAZ to mobilise $80m for wheat contract farming | Herald (Business)

Michael Tome Business Reporter
GRAIN Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) has appointed National Wheat Contract Farming Committee (NWCFC), a technical committee to lead the winter wheat contract farming for the next three years.

The NWCFC appointment is a private sector response to Finance and Economic Development’s Minister Mthuli Ncube’s sentiments in the 2019 national budget statement where he called upon the private sector to be proactive and conduct contract farming activities to compliment Government agriculture support interventions.

NWCFC comprises of seasoned agriculture sector specialists that include Walter Chigodora (SeedCo), Bruce Mawere (Export Trading Group), Roopak Bandra Holland ( Holbud Limited), Brendan Smyth (Origen), Keith Bell (Agro Chemicals Association), Adrian Carbutt (Rift Valley), Prosper Chiyanike (Metbank Limited), Johnson Mahanya (Ecobank), Exodus Donzvambeva (Wintertons), Andy Pascoe (Commercial Farmers Union), Shadreck Makombe (Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union) and Tapiwa Mashingaidze (Fertilisers Manufacturers Association).

Key responsibilities of the committee encompass:

• Promotion and expansion of contract wheat farming in all districts of the country through attraction of new local and international investors.
• To design, promote and supervise agro extension services for the contracted, negotiation of wheat producer prices and subsidies with Government and farmers’ unions.

The committee will also focus on developing of legally binding contract farming agreements as well as coordinating an efficient farm inputs and machinery mobilisation programme locally.

NWCFC will be chaired by GMAZ chairman Mr Tafadzwa Musarara, deputised by Graeme Murdoch of Paper Hall Investment.

In a statement released by GMAZ, the aim of the committee is to stimulate wheat production in the country with a bid to acquire a minimum of 150 000 tonnes for the next three years.

“The national wheat contract farming committee will be chaired by GMAZ chairman Tafadzwa Musarara and deputised by Graeme Murdoch of Paperhole Investments (PHI) and will be charged with responsibility to mobilise inputs and machinery for the production of at least 150 000 metric tonnes of wheat valued circa $80 million,” said GMAZ.

The Initiative comes at a time when Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri is on record saying the country is working on increasing the hectarage of wheat from 43 000 to ensure self-sufficiency, save foreign currency and create more jobs for youths and women.

Zimbabwe requires at least 450 000 tonnes of wheat per year to meet the national bread requirements of nearly a million loaves per day.

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