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Source: Employers salute MPS | The Herald March 22, 2019

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)

Africa Moyo in KARIBA
Employers have saluted the bulk of measures contained in the 2019 Monetary Policy Statement, particularly the establishment of an interbank foreign currency market and the review of forex retention levels.

This emerged on Wednesday during the highly interactive Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe (Emcoz) 2019 human resource indaba.

Addressing delegates while tackling the topic, “Unpacking the Monetary Policy and its impact on profitability and wages”, a business consultant with Lopdale Consultancy, Simon Kayereka said despite lack of consumer protection mechanisms, the MPS is positive.

“I think the Monetary Policy is positive. There are several positives from the Monetary Policy which include the introduction of the interbank exchange market which, when it kicked off, the rate of RTGS to the US dollar was 1:2,5,” said Mr Kayereka.

He said while the rate is now moving towards 1:2,7, the move by the RBZ is designed to eliminate multiple pricing as traders can now peg prices in one currency, RTGS dollars.

“The interbank market also enhances the valuation of imports, which are now valued at the correct RTGS rate,” he said.

However, Mr Kayereka said the valuation of imports in RTGS dollars has a downside as it makes the price of imports expensive, a move worsened by high duty payable at border posts.

Mr Kayereka’s remarks come as the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is now charging duty on imported products in RTGS dollars in tandem with the MPS. For instance, if a company imported goods worth US$10 000, their value becomes RTGS$25 000 at the rate of 1:2,5, attracting a fairly higher duty. While importers are concerned about the high cost of duty, manufacturers have applauded the move saying it would reduce the influx of cheaply priced imports and result in growth of local production and promotion of the Buy Zimbabwe campaign.

Meanwhile, in his welcome remarks on Wednesday, Emcoz acting president Dr Israel Murefu, called for a “convergence of exchange rates” to ensure prices of goods continue to fall for the benefit of consumers.

Dr Murefu said once exchange rates converge, the multi-tier pricing system would be eliminated.

“A convergence of the exchange rates would be useful in terms of doing away with the multi-pricing system and bring certainty in planning and budgeting,” said Dr Murefu in a speech read on his behalf by Dr Edward Muvuro, the chairman of Emcoz training committee.

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New York –State security today arrested documentary filmmaker Zenzele Ndebele and charged him with “possession of offensive weapons at public gatherings,” under Section 43 of Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law Code, according to his lawyers and news reports.

Source: Zimbabwe must release filmmaker Zenzele Ndebele – The Zimbabwean

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The post Zimbabwe must release filmmaker Zenzele Ndebele  appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Econet Zimbabwe has harnessed the power of technology to help survivors of Tropical Cyclone Idai. Two drone pilots, Charles and Michael have been deployed to assist in search and rescue efforts to locate people in [...]

Source: Foreign partners ditch telecom firms | The Herald March 22, 2019

Enacy Mapakame Business Reporter
Zimbabwe’s telecommunications companies are being deserted by their foreign partners that service and upgrade their systems due to inability to meet payment obligations in foreign currency.

Telecommunication companies are not being prioritised in terms of foreign currency allocations by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), which has resulted in recent network problems.

However, the regulator the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), is engaging the central bank to prioritise the telecoms sector in foreign currency allocation.

“Our networks have been facing upgrade challenges and service support partners are owed a lot of money, they want to be paid,” said POTRAZ director general Dr Gift Machengete speaking to journalists during a sector performance briefing.

“Potraz has been engaging the RBZ to prioritise the sector on foreign currency allocations and we will continue to do so,” he said.

The country has been grappling foreign currency challenges that have affected business operations, resulting in supply gaps in some sectors such as the manufacturing. The telecommunications sector has net been spared.

Of recent, the country has been experiencing network hiccups with mobile money platforms being the worst affected, causing some disruptions in transactions.

Late last year, Potraz appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Information Communication Technologies and Courier Services, and made calls for the sector to be prioritised on foreign currency allocations as it was highly dependent on imports.

“Currently there are no local suppliers of telecommunications equipment. All spare parts are imported and supplied by foreign vendors such as ZTE, Ericson and Huawei amongst others. This requires foreign currency.

“Spare parts for telecommunications equipment are not on the priority list for international remittances.

“This has negatively impacted equipment servicing, replacement of faulty, damaged and malfunctioning equipment, network upgrades and network re-dimensioning,” said Dr Machengete.

ICT has been identified as a key enabler to economic growth with its services used in all the key sectors of the economy such as mining, agriculture, education, health as well as industry and commerce.

According to the World Bank, there is a strong correlation between ICT growth and GDP growth.

In a 2009 report titled “Extending Reach and Increasing Impact,” a 10 percent increase in broadband penetration accounted for a 1,38 percent increase in per capita GDP growth in developing economies.

The sector is also crucial in promoting ease of doing business especially at a time transactions are now largely skewed towards digital platforms such as internet banking, real time gross settlement (RTGS) and other electronic platforms.

However, economic challenges such as limited foreign currency, high cost of machinery and the current liquidity and cash crunch the country is experiencing are posing
challenges for the sector as it has reduced consumer spending.

In 2018, the entire postal and telecommunications sector’s total investment went down 18 percent to $160 million, while operating costs rose 22,6 percent to $1 billion on inflationary pressures.

According to POTRAZ, the Average Revenue Per User per month (ARPU) for the mobile networks has gone down to $3,98 per month in 2017 from $4,97 per month in 2015.

Additionally, incremental cost studies, done in 2013 and 2014 and reviewed in 2017 revealed that Zimbabwean operators were being charged higher prices and higher interest rates for telecommunications infrastructure by international telecommunications vendors, such as Ericson and Huawei amongst others, as compared to the prices charged to operators in other countries.

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GENEVA (Reuters) – At least 259 people were killed in Zimbabwe by Cyclone Idai, and some 217 are missing, the U.N. migration agency said on Friday. Hundreds of people had been injured and authorities had [...]