Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: All eyes on SA's Ramaphosa, ED. . . as Harare looks for economic help from Pretoria | Daily News

With Zimbabwe’s long-running economic challenges stubbornly refusing to go away, all eyes will be on President Emmerson Mnangagwa and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as the two leaders meet in Harare today — amid local hopes that Pretoria will extend critically-needed financial assistance to Harare.

Ramaphosa is formally in Harare to co-chair the third session of the Zimbabwe-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) — which was established in 2015 — in a bid to strengthen relations between the two countries.

The crucial meeting will see the two leaders reviewing the progress which has been made with regards to the implementation of the commission’s 45 key bilateral agreements — which span trade and investment, health, labour, migration, defence, taxation, tourism, water and the environment.

Among the agenda items that Harare and Pretoria are expected to look into, are the plans for a one-stop border post at Beitbridge and permits for the millions of Zimbabweans living in South Africa.
But it is the prospects of South Africa extending financial assistance to Zimbabwe that most locals will be watching out for.

“With the West renewing and extending their sanctions on Zimbabwe in recent weeks, we are all hoping that our South African brothers will come to the party in terms of supporting us,” a ruling Zanu PF official told the Daily News yesterday.

This comes as Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya told Parliament yesterday that the country was choking under the weight of sanctions which had been imposed on Harare by the West — which he said was blocking Zimbabwe from accessing much-needed international lines of credit.
“Zimbabwe has very limited access to foreign finance, yet we are so dependent on foreign currency.
“The country is going through difficult times because of many factors. It’s only a few banks that can take Zimbabwe’s risk today because we are under sanctions,” he said.

“These sanctions are in three parts. First is Zidera which states that no one should give Zimbabwe development finance and this includes the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

“Then there is the Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) which states that Zimbabwe’s transactions must be scrutinised for compliance risks … and Agoa (African Growth and Opportunity Act) that deprives Zimbabwe of access to markets.

“Based on these, I am surprised why parliamentarians are asking why we are getting foreign currency from other institutions to help Zimbabwe,” Mangudya told the Public Accounts and Budget, Finance and Economic Development committees in Parliament yesterday.

The Mnangagwa-Ramaphosa meeting also comes as Zimbabwe has borrowed nearly one billion United States dollars from the African Export and Import (Afrexim) bank — which it plans to repay mainly through gold earnings for the next five years.

Mangudya revealed yesterday that the central bank was paying about US$5 million a month towards settling the debt, when the country was earning about US$16 million a month from its gold resource.
Zimbabwe was first slapped with a raft of sanctions by the United States and the European Union nearly two decades ago, following the country’s chaotic land reforms, as well as the government’s then vicious crackdown against the independent media and opposition parties.

The fall of former president Robert Mugabe, whose ruinous four decades in power was ended by a stunning military coup in November 2017, raised hopes that both the EU and the US would scrap the sanctions.
However, following the post July 30, 2018 poll killings in which six civilians died after the army used live ammunition to break ugly demonstrations in Harare, and the recent riots in which up to 20 people lost their lives, both the EU and the US have kept their sanctions.

“On March 6, 2003, by Executive Order 13288, the President declared a national emergency and blocked the property of certain persons, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706), to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States constituted by the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other persons to undermine … democratic processes or institutions.

“These actions and policies had contributed to the deliberate breakdown in the rule of law in Zimbabwe, to politically motivated violence and intimidation in that country, and to political and economic instability in the southern African region.

“The actions and policies of these persons continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States.

“For this reason, the national emergency declared on March 6, 2003, and the measures adopted on that date, on November 22, 2005, and on July 25, 2008, to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond March 6, 2019.

“Therefore … I am continuing for one year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13288,” US President Donald Trump said last week when he extended sanctions against Zimbabwe.

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Source: Zimbabwe Records Lowest Rains in 40 Years – allAfrica.com

ZIMBABWE is facing its most devastating drought in four decades after recording its lowest rains in four decades regional hunger watchdog the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has reported.

The extreme weather pattern will according to officials leave least 5 million people facing starvation, in Africa’s former bread-basket.

In its latest food and security outlook for February to September 2019, FEWS NET said most poor households will harvest grain enough to cover three months’ food supplies.

“The Sadc February Agromet update preliminary analysis suggests that the rainfall totals from October – January may have been amongst the lowest in 40 years over central and western parts of Zimbabwe,” FEWS NET said.

“In these areas, some farmers did not plant this season, others planted for the first time in February, while some replanted following the February rainfall,” the group said.

According to the famine watchdog, the only areas in Zimbabwe to receive normal rains included parts of Mashonaland provinces and northern Midlands.

“The only areas to receive normal rainfall this season include parts of the Mashonaland Provinces, northern Midlands Province and extreme southern areas,” FEWS NET added.

It predicted prices of grain and the staple food maize meal will increase due to this year’s poor harvests.

“In typical deficit southern, eastern, western and extreme northern areas, most poor households will produce enough crops for two – three months of food supplies. The prices of grain and maize meal are expected to remain above average during this period, decreasing poor household purchasing power.

“Seasonal activities like gardening will be affected by anticipated water shortages. Most households are expected to engage in livelihoods and consumption coping strategies in response to food gaps experienced,” said FEWS NET.

It noted that besides the poor rains, economic hardships in Zimbabwe are expected to continue.

“Economic hardships are impacting livelihoods and the food security situation for poor and other household groups across the country. Foreign currency shortages, the parallel market, multiple-pricing systems and high and speculative pricing will likely continue during the outlook period,” the group said.

According to the United Nations, a total of 5.3 million Zimbabweans will need food aid and it has started efforts to raise funds to bridge the deficit to avert a massive humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe has for almost two decades now been struggling with hunger but last year government announced a surplus under a military assisted program known as Command Agriculture. The country’s agricultural sector was wrecked by government’s haphazard land redistribution exercise at the turn of the century resulting in widespread food shortages.

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Condolence Message following the sudden death of Cde Judith Tendesai Makwanya, 12th March 2019 On behalf of his Excellency the President, Cde Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, I wish to express my deepest and heartfelt condolences to the Makwanya Family on the passing on of Judith. A seasoned and committed journalist, the late Cde Makwanya leaves behind […]