Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: Cost of products hits foundry industry | The Sunday News March 17, 2019

Thandeka Matebesi, Business Reporter

THE high cost of production has significantly affected capacity utilisation at most foundry companies in the country, an official said.

Zimbabwe Institute of Foundrymen (ZIF) vice-president Mr Itai Zaba said the foundry industry’s capacity utilisation has been hovering around 40 percent largely due to a sharp increase in raw materials used in the production of cast iron.

“Suppliers of raw materials such as coal and scrap metal are either charging exorbitant prices or demanding paying in US dollars. It has to be noted that coal is a basic raw material in the production of cast iron but of late it has become difficult for most players to source it as a number of suppliers are demanding payment in foreign currency, which is difficult to access considering that we market our finished products locally,” said Mr Zaba. 

He also said there was a need for the Government to expedite the banning of scrap metal exports so as to enhance production capacity at foundry companies as well as the downstream industries benefiting from iron cast production. 

“We have made a number of submissions to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce seeking the banning of scrap metal exports but we are still to get a response. Scrap metal is still being exported to date despite the fact that it’s difficult to obtain in the country as most of it is attained after care and maintenance programmes that would have been done by companies at their plants. Continued exportation of scrap metal is likely to ground the foundry industry,” said Mr Zaba.

It is estimated that Zimbabwe could save more than $10 million per month and hundreds of jobs if it stops exporting scrap metal and beneficiate it locally. The main foundry end product are millballs, which are used in gold mining, especially in small-scale operations and the sector uses several tonnes of millballs per month.

The industry also manufactures iron bars for local and export markets mainly used in the construction industry, chain links for conveyor belts, agriculture products like plough wheels, bearings for the sugar industry and several other steel products.

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Source: New law to deepen democracy | Sunday Mail (Top Stories)

Lincoln Towindo

The successor law to the Public Order and Security Act (Posa), which will be promulgated soon, will further open up democratic space by entrenching the right to demonstrate and present petitions, among other far-reaching freedoms that Government is determined to promote.

It is believed that the Maintenance of Peace and Order (Mopo) Bill will also align the law to several Constitutional Court rulings that outlawed Section 27 of Posa, which allows police to issue a temporary prohibition order on holding of public demonstrations in cases where there is a likelihood for public violence.

However, the proposed law will introduce a robust mechanism for negotiations between police and conveners of a demonstration before a prohibition order can be issued.

In cases where the conveners are aggrieved by a prohibition order, the envisaged law creates an option of immediate remedial action by the courts.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told The Sunday Mail that the Bill will be taken to Parliament soon.

“The Posa amendment (Mopo) has gone for gazetting now.

“As you know, once they have been drafted, we then have to gazette it for 14 days before it goes to Parliament, so I think this is being done.

“Once we have completed the process, then we go to Parliament to give notice of presentation of Bills, then the Parliamentary process will begin.

“Very soon we should be able to see some activity in Parliament.”

The draft, which this publication is in possession of, also balances the freedom of demonstrators with the rights of both innocent individuals and property owners by placing civil liability on organisers of demonstrations, especially in cases where protests would have turned violent, resulting in loss of life and destruction of property.

The law will also provide for independent arbiters to help moderate negotiations between the police and the conveners.

A more robust mechanism for negotiations between police and conveners of a demonstration before police can issue a prohibition order will also be introduced.

It further creates an option for immediate remedial action by the courts in cases were conveners of a demonstration are aggrieved by a prohibition order.

It reads in part: “The regulating authority may invite, or allow to be present, representatives of such public bodies, including local authorities, and civil society groups, as in the opinion of such regulating authority ought to be present at such meeting, in order to discuss any amendment of the contents of the convening notice and such conditions regarding the conduct of the procession, public demonstration or public meeting as he or she may deem necessary.

“Discussions shall be held on the contents of the convening notice, amendments thereof or additions thereto and the conditions, if any, to be imposed in respect of the holding of the procession, public demonstration or public meeting. . .”

However, in cases where a prohibition order has been issued, the law provides for a prompt appeal mechanism, directing the area magistrate to handle the matter urgently.

“An appeal in terms of subsection (1) shall be dealt with on an urgent basis and in any case before the date of the proposed gathering unless, due to the fault of the convener, the appeal is not lodged timeously.”

Mopo also regularises the way the military is deployed to assist the police in maintaining law and order.

The Motlanthe commission on post-election violence noted contradictions between Section 37 of Posa and Section 231 of the Constitution.

It urged Government to urgently align the contradictory provisions.

Section 37 of Posa empowers the Minister of Defence to authorise defence forces to assist police at the request of the commissioner-general of police.

As such, it is in direct contradiction with Section 213 (1) (a) which stipulates that “only the President, as Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, has the power to authorise the deployment of the defence forces”.

And Mopo duly corrects the anomaly.

“If, upon a request made by the Commissioner-General of police, the Minister is satisfied that any regulating authority requires the assistance of the defence forces for the purpose of suppressing any civil commotion or disturbance in any police district, he or she may request the President to authorise the defence forces to assist the police in the exercise of their functions under this Act in the police district concerned,” reads Mopo.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has set up a high-powered Inter-Ministerial Taskforce to oversee legislative reforms aimed at deepening civil liberties, individual rights and entrench political and electoral reforms.

The committee, chaired by Minister Ziyambi, will feed off from recommendations made by the various election observer missions during last year’s harmonised elections, the Motlanthe post-election violence report and input to be generated from the ongoing inter-party dialogue.

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Source: Harare prisons up for sale | Sunday Mail (Top Stories)

Lincoln Towindo

Government will soon dispose Harare Central and Remand Prison in order to raise money to construct two new modern holding facilities at Chikurubi and in Marondera.

Inspection of the holding facilities, by Government experts, have concluded that the complex can no longer be rehabilitated and continues to deteriorate for human habitation.

Authorities intend to leverage the complex’s location in prime urban land, on the periphery of central Harare, to secure a lucrative deal with real estate developers.

It is understood that a deal would be structured to ensure the real estate firm first builds a new remand prison at Chikurubi and an open prison in Marondera, before assuming ownership of the old prison complex.

The medium-security prison facility was first opened in 1910 by white colonial settlers and primarily used to incarcerate blacks and later nationalist politicians.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said Government is intent on reforming the prison rehabilitation system and would soon be introducing the concept of community rehabilitation centres.

Community rehabilitation centres are a form of open prisons where certain categories of offenders are offered life skills training during incarceration.

Said the minister: “What we intend to do with the Ministry of Local Government (Public Works and National Housing) is to find mechanisms of working with land developers.

“We have Harare Central and Remand Prison, which was built many years ago and is now located on prime urban land owing to the expansion of the city.

“We believe that the state in which it is in cannot be reconstructed or revamped.

“So, we have been given the go ahead to find a developer, then we will evaluate its fair value which we believe could be quite substantial given that it is now on prime land.

“Once we have agreed with the developer and before we demolish the complex, they will build a new prison for us at Chikurubi and an open prison in Marondera.

“Only then will we demolish the place and move our prisoners to the new structure which will house modern facilities that are in line with international standards.

Minister Ziyambi said the introduction of community prisons was part of an exercise to remodel the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services.

“Once the requisite Act is enacted, we want to come up with community correctional centres which will basically be open prisons.

“We want to introduce this concept of open prisons were some of our offenders can be taken to concentrate on the correctional aspect and rehabilitation through providing them life skills to enable them easy integration into society when released.

“The community rehabilitation centres would be interactive with society.

“They will be conducting certain training and jobs in conjunction within the communities.

Cabinet recently approved changes to the Prisons Act in order to ensure prisoners are accorded more constitutional rights.

The rights include access to consult a medical practitioner of their choice and at their own expense.

Further, the parole system will be broadened to accommodate all categories of prisoners.

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Source: Government concerned over Bulawayo SEZs | The Sunday News March 17, 2019

Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu

Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Business Reporter 

THE Government has raised concerns at the slow uptake of Bulawayo’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) designated areas.

Addressing captains of industry recently, Industry and Commerce Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu said the Government deliberately designated four areas as SEZs in Bulawayo as part of efforts to accelerate the revival of its industries, which have been on a slump due to a myriad of economically related challenges over the last two decades.

“In support of industrial development in Bulawayo, Government designated four SEZs in the City and these are Belmont/ Donnington/Kelvin corridor, and Umvumila Industrial Park, which are targeted to enable them to attract accelerated investments. I wish to acknowledge that I’m not quite happy with the progress made there, I want to be appraised if there is any investment that has come through as a result and we need to interrogate the bottlenecks that are slowing progress,” said Minister Ndlovu.

Bulawayo was once revered as the industrial hub of the country. However, the closure of hundreds of companies and relocation of others has left it a pale shadow of itself. Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Matabeleland chapter president Mr Joseph Gunda said there was a need to expedite the implementation of SEZs in Bulawayo to increase the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

“We have the SEZ, it also needs to be implemented for Bulawayo though there are a few companies that have already made applications. That (SEZ) to us is a path to development, revival and resuscitation of Bulawayo (industries) and it will certainly assist in attracting FDI and the mantra that ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’,” he said.

Bulawayo is part of the six zones designated by the Government as SEZ, the others being Beitbridge, Harare-Sunway City, Victoria Falls and Mutare-Fernhill.

A SEZ is a geographical region that has economic laws that are more free-market-oriented than a country’s typical or national laws. “Nationwide” laws may be suspended inside a special economic zone. The category “SEZ” covers a broad range of more specific zone types, including Free Trade Zones, Export Processing Zones, Free Zones, Industrial Estates, Free Ports and Urban Enterprise Zones. Zimbabwe Special Economic Zones Authority (Zimseza) chief executive officer Mr Edwin Kondo said all the designated zones were at various stages of development.

“These zones are at different levels of development and the authority together with its key stakeholders have resolved to commence the development of Bulawayo (two zones), Sunway City and Beitbridge as they are the lowest hanging fruits out of the six zones,” he said.

Mr Kondo said three companies had already applied for SEZ status in Bulawayo. 

“The technical working group for Bulawayo SEZs are finalising the implementation plans for project implementation. Bulawayo comprises two zones, Umvumila and the Belmont/Kelvin/Donnington corridor collectively. Three companies have already applied for SEZ status in Bulawayo,” he said.

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Source: Govt seeks to increase Science teachers | The Sunday News March 17, 2019

Prof Amon Murwira

Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter

THE Government has spent $3 million on Science and Mathematics teacher training in a bid to improve the quality of students that are churned out to teach the critical subjects.

Mathematics and Science have been hot topics in the education sector with the Government advocating for the promotion of teaching of the subjects in schools.

The Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Professor Amon Murwira, said the logic was to ensure that there are enough teachers in the schools who could then teach the subjects. Last year, he said the ministry invested $3 million in the training exercise.

“So, we felt that this model has to be inverted so that we start by teaching teachers so that they can teach students. This therefore means that, the increased output of trained Science and Mathematics teachers will improve the quality of teaching, culminating into the production of Science and Mathematics-oriented students who will take up STEM related careers towards modernisation and industrialisation for growing the economy in order to achieve Vision 2030 of an upper middle-income economy,” he said.

The country has over the years faced an acute shortage of Science and Mathematics teachers.

The current average output of 856 science teachers per year from the three secondary school teacher training colleges; Belvedere Technical Teachers’ College, Mutare Teachers’ College, Hillside Teachers’ College and universities is not enough to meet the projected demand of 5 000 by 2023 needed in schools.

“We found out that this number would not be adequate to meet this and satisfy this, so we started on a programme to train Science and Mathematics teachers and these are colleges that previously were not training secondary school teachers — which are Mkoba, Masvingo Teachers’ College and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic,” said Prof Murwira.

He stressed the importance of empowering training institutions.

“If we desire industry from our education system, therefore we should give the universities that mandate which we have done. Because of the above intervention, by 2022, the total number of Science teachers will be 3 003 and Mathematics teachers will be 792 in addition to the total number of 1 660 from the three secondary teachers’ colleges. The total projected number of Science and Mathematics teachers by 2023 would then be 5 455,” he said.

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