Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

THE Zimbabwe Republic Police has transferred a number of officers as part of efforts to transform the organisation into a people-oriented force. In Bulawayo, most of the junior officers at Pumula Police Station were transferred to other stations. National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday said there was nothing amiss with the new transfers […]

Source: Zimbabwe’s new currency weakens on interbank market | Reuters

HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s new currency traded at 2.7 against the U.S. dollar on the interbank market on Thursday, its weakest level since the central bank last month removed a peg for its surrogate bond notes and electronic dollars, official data showed.

Harare ditched the discredited 1:1 dollar official peg on Feb. 20, and merged the bond notes and electronic dollars into a transitional currency called the RTGS dollar.

The value of that currency had held unchanged at 2.5 to the U.S. dollar since Feb. 22, leading to accusations the central bank was manipulating the exchange rate.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) data showed the mid rate was at 2.7 to the dollar on Thursday. Banks are allowed to buy and sell U.S. dollars at 2.5 percent either side of that rate.

Governor John Mangudya told parliament on Monday that he expected the RTGS dollar to weaken further by the time important tobacco auctions open next Wednesday.

Tobacco is Zimbabwe’s second-largest earner of foreign currency after mining and last year brought in more than $800 million.

On the black market, the RTGS rate was unchanged at 3.8 to the dollar.

Dealers at local banks said the central bank was still drip-feeding the market with some dollars, which some saw as an attempt to influence the exchange rate.

“The message from the RBZ is that ‘we don’t want irresponsibility’ from the banks, which has been taken to mean that they want a gradual weakening of the exchange rate up to a certain level,” a dealer at a local bank said.

Zimbabwe’s economy has been crippled by a cash crunch that has caused shortages of fuel, food and medicine, the latter of which doctors say is crippling public hospitals.

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The MDC today received with sadness disturbing news of the death of Blessing Toronga – a member of the MDC District Executive in Highfield.

Source: MDC Mourns Blessing Toronga – The Zimbabwean

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A Mauritius-registered company, Grandwell Holdings, a shareholder in Mbada Diamonds (Pvt) Ltd, has lost a bid to secure a contempt of court order against government after the High Court dismissed its application with costs.

Source: Mbada Diamonds shareholder loses contempt of court case against govt – NewsDay Zimbabwe March 14, 2019

BY CHARLES LAITON

A Mauritius-registered company, Grandwell Holdings, a shareholder in Mbada Diamonds (Pvt) Ltd, has lost a bid to secure a contempt of court order against government after the High Court dismissed its application with costs.

Sometime in July last year, Grandwell Holdings petitioned the court seeking contempt of court charges against the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), its chief executive officer Morris Mpofu and Commissioner-General of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), Godwin Matanga, over the alleged continued theft of its diamond ore in Chiadzwa.

Through its chief security manager, Jabulani Mkoko, Mbada Diamond had accused Mpofu and Matanga of deliberately scoffing at the court orders and instructing junior police officers not to comply with any court order.

But in his judgment delivered on March 7, 2019, Justice Jacob Manzunzu said the Grandwell Holdings application was founded on broad, generalised and sweeping allegations of breach, which were being disputed by the four respondents.

“The first, second and fourth respondents’ (ZCDC, Mbada and Matanga) position is that there is no act of spoliation after the orders of the court were made. As far as they are concerned, the second respondent’s diamond ore is under judicial attachment by the Sheriff as at January 21, 2017. In short, they deny acting in breach of the court orders,” said Justice Manzunzu.

He said the initial order did not deal with Mpofu yet he was cited in the matter as the third respondent. “He is alleged to have acted in his official capacity yet the order sought is for his imprisonment in his personal capacity. There is a disconnect, he cannot be held for contempt”.

“For the reasons already stated, I find that the applicant has failed to make a case for contempt of court. Despite such failure, there is nothing adverse to attract costs at a higher scale as prayed for against the applicant (Grandwell Holdings).”

The court application by Grandwell Holdings followed claims that ZCDC, through Marange Resources, had continued to collect diamond ore from Mbada Diamond’s concession area in Chiadzwa despite a plethora of court orders barring the government firm from doing so.

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A 46-YEAR-OLD woman from Bulawayo allegedly tied up her 11 year old daughter and poured boiling water on her hands and feet as punishment for failing to cook supper on time. Sithweleni Ngwenya of Pumula South suburb allegedly lost her temper after finding the minor playing with friends around 7pm instead of cooking. Ngwenya told […]