Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Harare – Businessmen Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe have been found guilty by the High Court in Harare in a landmark corruption trial that has gripped the nation.

The two were convicted this afternoon after weeks of intense proceedings that exposed deep-rooted irregularities in government procurement and tender processes. The ruling marks a significant moment in Zimbabwe’s ongoing fight against corruption.

Mpofu and Chimombe, who have been prominent figures in local business and political circles, were accused of misappropriating public funds in a controversial government project. Details of the judgment and possible sentencing are expected to be delivered soon.

More updates to follow as this story develops.

Source – Byo24

The post Mike Chimombe and Mpofu Found Guilty in High-Profile Corruption Case first appeared on The Zimbabwe Mail.

Inflation has risen in South Africa, with meat inflation reaching a seven-year high as South Africans spend more at the tills for beef, pork, lamb and chicken.

The latest data from Stats SA states that annual consumer inflation rose slightly from 3.3% in August to 3.4% in September.

The monthly change in the consumer price index (CPI) was 0.2%, with annual inflation accelerating across several product categories. This includes transport, restaurants & accommodation.

However, food & non-alcoholic beverages (NAB), alcoholic beverages & tobacco and furnishings, household equipment & routine maintenance recorded lower rates.

Food & NAB showed mixed results over the month, with meat and maize meal inflation remained high while price decreases were recorded for products such as milk, eggs and white rice.

Meat inflation reached 11.7%, the highest annual rate since January 2018 (13.4%). 

Although month-on-month increases for beet products have slowed, price levels have remained high.

Stewing beef, for example, recorded an annual rise of 32.2%, even if this showed no monthly change.

Beef prices have shot up in South Africa as suppliers have struggled with an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Other meat categories seeing significant increases are pork and lamb, which Stats SA said rose notably in September.

Chicken inflation has also risen, even at a slower rate. IQF (individual quick frozen) chicken climbed from 4.4% in August to 5.0%.

That said, the milk, other dairy products & eggs category remained in deflationary territory for a fourth straight month, with prices on average 1.6% lower than a year ago.

Most varieties of milk were also cheaper. The prices for fresh full-cream milk decreased by an annual 2.1%.

Egg prices saw a massive 8.2% decrease, with the cost of 18 eggs dropping to R62.58 in September 2025, down from R69.36 in September 2024.

Cheese inflation up, with Gouda rising by 6.4% and cheddar by 6.3% compared to a year ago. The annual rate for cereals grew slightly from 1.5% in August to 1.6%.

Prices for white rice fell 7.8% compared to a year ago, while maize meal inflation accelerated to 9.5% from 8.2% in August.

NAB eased from 4.9% to 4.1%, a marked decrease from the 9.5% rate seen in September 2024. Inflation for hot beverages also eased to 9.0% from 10.0% in August, and lower than 15.8% recorded a year ago.

Coffee lovers again saw the largest increase in the category, with prices rising 12.2%. This was well ahead of fizzy drinks in a can (7.8%), black tea (7.1%) and Fizzy drinks in a bottle (-1.3%).

Higher rents and cheaper travel

Outside of food, the September CPI also contains results for the latest quarterly survey of housing rentals.

Annual rentals increased by 3.2%, up from 3.0% in June. Townhouse rentals saw the largest annual rise, increasing from 4.1% to 5.4%. Imputed rentals also accelerated to 3.0% from 2.5%.

In positive news, the transport category saw its thirteenth straight month of deflation, with the annual rate at -0.1% in September.

Motor vehicles are 1.4% more expensive than a year ago, but passenger transport is 1,9% cheaper.

Fuel prices also dropped by 0,3% between August and September. The annual rate for fuel was a negative 2.2%.

The post Worst news in 7 years for meat lovers in South Africa first appeared on The Zimbabwe Mail.

Inflation has risen in South Africa, with meat inflation reaching a seven-year high as South Africans spend more at the tills for beef, pork, lamb and chicken.

The latest data from Stats SA states that annual consumer inflation rose slightly from 3.3% in August to 3.4% in September.

The monthly change in the consumer price index (CPI) was 0.2%, with annual inflation accelerating across several product categories. This includes transport, restaurants & accommodation.

However, food & non-alcoholic beverages (NAB), alcoholic beverages & tobacco and furnishings, household equipment & routine maintenance recorded lower rates.

Food & NAB showed mixed results over the month, with meat and maize meal inflation remained high while price decreases were recorded for products such as milk, eggs and white rice.

Meat inflation reached 11.7%, the highest annual rate since January 2018 (13.4%). 

Although month-on-month increases for beet products have slowed, price levels have remained high.

Stewing beef, for example, recorded an annual rise of 32.2%, even if this showed no monthly change.

Beef prices have shot up in South Africa as suppliers have struggled with an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Other meat categories seeing significant increases are pork and lamb, which Stats SA said rose notably in September.

Chicken inflation has also risen, even at a slower rate. IQF (individual quick frozen) chicken climbed from 4.4% in August to 5.0%.

That said, the milk, other dairy products & eggs category remained in deflationary territory for a fourth straight month, with prices on average 1.6% lower than a year ago.

Most varieties of milk were also cheaper. The prices for fresh full-cream milk decreased by an annual 2.1%.

Egg prices saw a massive 8.2% decrease, with the cost of 18 eggs dropping to R62.58 in September 2025, down from R69.36 in September 2024.

Cheese inflation up, with Gouda rising by 6.4% and cheddar by 6.3% compared to a year ago. The annual rate for cereals grew slightly from 1.5% in August to 1.6%.

Prices for white rice fell 7.8% compared to a year ago, while maize meal inflation accelerated to 9.5% from 8.2% in August.

NAB eased from 4.9% to 4.1%, a marked decrease from the 9.5% rate seen in September 2024. Inflation for hot beverages also eased to 9.0% from 10.0% in August, and lower than 15.8% recorded a year ago.

Coffee lovers again saw the largest increase in the category, with prices rising 12.2%. This was well ahead of fizzy drinks in a can (7.8%), black tea (7.1%) and Fizzy drinks in a bottle (-1.3%).

Higher rents and cheaper travel

Outside of food, the September CPI also contains results for the latest quarterly survey of housing rentals.

Annual rentals increased by 3.2%, up from 3.0% in June. Townhouse rentals saw the largest annual rise, increasing from 4.1% to 5.4%. Imputed rentals also accelerated to 3.0% from 2.5%.

In positive news, the transport category saw its thirteenth straight month of deflation, with the annual rate at -0.1% in September.

Motor vehicles are 1.4% more expensive than a year ago, but passenger transport is 1,9% cheaper.

Fuel prices also dropped by 0,3% between August and September. The annual rate for fuel was a negative 2.2%.

The post Worst news in 7 years for meat lovers in South Africa first appeared on The Zimbabwe Mail.

ABU DHABI,- Rich countries should not approach trade with Africa as a game of Minecraft in which they secure supplies of natural resources, but rather as a relationship based on mutual respect and the need for Africa to develop, Nigeria’s foreign minister said.

Yusuf Tuggar also said that Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and a crude oil exporter with chronic problems including a huge power deficit, was less affected by U.S. trade tariffs than other countries and was focused on a range of trading partners.

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“Sometimes it’s like the game Minecraft: There’s oil, there’s gas, there’s critical minerals, rare earths. We put a bit of this, we invest in this. No, that’s not the way it goes,” Tuggar told the Reuters NEXT Gulf summit in Abu Dhabi.

“The engagement should be based on mutual respect, based on shared interests and based on the fact that Africa needs to develop. If it doesn’t develop, we continue to deal with irregular migration, with all these other challenges.”

The popular video game Minecraft involves players exploring a 3D world made of cubes in which they can mine materials, craft tools and build structures.

RELATIVELY INSULATED FROM TRUMP TARIFFS

Tuggar said Nigeria was better placed than some other countries to withstand U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs policy, which imposes a 15% levy on goods from Nigeria including oil and gas.

He cited Nigeria’s huge internal market with a population of 230 million, expected to grow to 400 million by 2050, and its relationships with other trading partners such as China, India and Brazil.

Asked about measures to create jobs and boost investment, Tuggar pointed to the stabilisation of the exchange rate and renewed availability of foreign exchange after years of crisis.

He also mentioned tax cuts, a power reform that decouples different components of the sector to make it easier to invest, and feed-in tariffs for renewable energy.

Successive Nigerian governments have talked for decades about improving the power supply across the vast nation, with limited improvement on the ground, which investors cite as one of the main obstacles to doing business in the country.

Four in 10 Nigerians do not have access to electricity, according to the World Bank, while in big cities power cuts lasting hours or days on end are a daily reality. Those who can afford to rely on noisy, polluting diesel generators to get by.

CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION CLAIMS ARE MAJOR CHALLENGE

Tuggar also referred to a recent surge in claims of a “Christian genocide” circulating online and amplified by some U.S. media figures. Nigerian officials have rejected the claims as gross distortions of its complicated reality.

“One of our major challenges at the moment is the false narratives that are being created about Nigeria, this issue of religious persecution, Christians are being persecuted, which couldn’t be further from the truth, and it’s something that I think the investors need to come and see for themselves,” he said.

A nation of more than 200 ethnic groups practising Christianity, Islam and traditional religions, Nigeria has a long history of peaceful coexistence. Its cities are dotted with mosques and churches and both Muslim and Christian prayers are said at most public events.

It also has a long history of violence breaking out between groups, in which religious differences sometimes overlap with other fault lines such as ethnic divisions or conflict between herders and farmers over scarce land and water resources.

For 15 years, the extremist Islamist armed group Boko Haram has terrorised northeast Nigeria, an insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly Muslims.

Source: Reuters

The post Trade with Africa not a game of Minecraft, says Nigerian minister first appeared on The Zimbabwe Mail.