Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Zimbabwean police have released the names of 39 more people who died when a Rural Infrastructure Development Agency passenger ferry capsized on Lake Kariba, taking the number of positively identified victims to 83. The latest list includes 21 children, among them a one-month-old baby, a seven-month-old infant and several toddlers. The names were released as […]

The post Police release NAMES, AGES & ADDRESSES of 83 people who died in Lake Kariba ferry accident… 6 bodies can’t be identified first appeared on My Zimbabwe News.

HARARE — Econet Wireless Zimbabwe is planning to create up to 15,000 new EcoCash agency opportunities by Christmas as the telecommunications group seeks to help absorb Zimbabweans returning from South Africa into the domestic economy.

The initiative, spearheaded by Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa, forms part of a broader effort to identify employment and enterprise opportunities for returnees through mobile financial services, construction and agriculture.

Econet chief executive Douglas Mboweni said management had held discussions with Masiyiwa to identify projects that could complement government programmes aimed at reintegrating Zimbabweans returning from South Africa.

The most immediate opportunity is expected to come from EcoCash, Econet’s mobile-money platform, through a planned expansion of its nationwide agency network.

EcoCash expansion could support 30,000 jobs

Econet intends to appoint 15,000 additional EcoCash agents across Zimbabwe by Christmas, potentially creating income opportunities for about 30,000 people based on the company’s estimate that each new agency can support at least two jobs.

The initiative does not mean Econet will directly employ 30,000 people. EcoCash agents typically operate as independent businesses, generating income through commissions from transactions such as cash-in, cash-out, transfers and other financial services.

For returnees, however, the agency model could provide a relatively low-barrier route into self-employment and small-business activity, particularly for those with retail, financial-services or customer-service experience.

Mboweni said Econet was looking at the initiative as both an employment intervention and a commercial opportunity to expand the reach of its mobile financial-services platform.

EcoCash’s wider network could also strengthen financial access in communities where conventional banking infrastructure remains limited.

Mobile money becomes employment infrastructure

The proposed expansion highlights the increasingly important role of digital financial platforms in Zimbabwe’s informal and small-business economy.

Rather than relying exclusively on conventional salaried employment, the EcoCash model allows individuals to operate small agency businesses while earning transaction-based income.

That distinction is important for Zimbabwe, where absorbing a large number of returning workers through formal payroll employment would be difficult in the short term.

The agency network could therefore function as a form of distributed employment infrastructure, allowing thousands of individuals to generate income through relatively small businesses linked to a national financial platform.

The commercial benefit for Econet is equally significant. A larger agency footprint can increase customer accessibility, transaction frequency and wallet activity while deepening EcoCash’s presence in underserved communities.

Construction offers faster employment opportunities

Econet is also examining the possibility of accelerating construction work at Econet Tech City, potentially creating about 2,000 temporary jobs.

The company has not disclosed the investment required or the duration of the employment opportunities, but construction could provide relatively rapid absorption of workers with experience in building, engineering, logistics and associated trades.

The proposal comes as Econet reshapes its corporate structure following the delisting of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and the subsequent listing of its infrastructure business, Econet InfraCo, on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.

The infrastructure business holds telecommunications towers, property and power-related assets, potentially creating additional scope for investment and construction activity across the group’s asset base.

Agriculture provides another employment channel

Agriculture is the third pillar of Econet’s proposed response.

The group is considering expanding its agricultural technology operations, including production of fruit for export to China. Management said the expansion could create hundreds of additional jobs, although no specific employment target or implementation timetable has been announced.

Agriculture could provide an important avenue for returnees with farming experience while also supporting Zimbabwe’s broader export diversification strategy.

The sector’s capacity to absorb labour is particularly relevant where workers returning from South Africa possess practical experience but may not immediately find opportunities matching their previous employment.

Some agricultural opportunities, however, are likely to be seasonal rather than permanent.

More than 32,000 opportunities possible

If Econet achieves its stated targets, the combined impact of the initiatives could potentially exceed 32,000 employment and income opportunities, comprising the estimated 30,000 jobs associated with the new EcoCash agencies and around 2,000 temporary construction positions, before additional agricultural opportunities are included.

The figure should nevertheless be treated as a projection rather than a confirmed employment total.

Econet has not indicated that all positions will be exclusively reserved for returnees, nor has it provided a consolidated investment budget for the programme.

The distinction between direct employment, agency-based self-employment, temporary work and indirect employment will also be important when assessing the programme’s ultimate economic impact.

Return migration creates pressure and opportunity

The initiative comes as Zimbabwe confronts the economic consequences of a significant return migration from South Africa.

Thousands of Zimbabweans who previously worked in South Africa’s construction, agriculture, retail, domestic services and informal sectors are now back in the country and require pathways into employment, enterprise or productive investment.

The challenge is not simply to provide jobs but to prevent a large increase in economically inactive households and instead convert returning workers into productive participants in the domestic economy.

That requires a combination of employment, entrepreneurship, skills development, access to finance and markets.

Econet’s proposed approach is notable because it does not rely entirely on conventional employment. Instead, it combines digital financial services, construction and agricultural production — three sectors capable of creating different forms of economic participation.

A test for corporate-led employment creation

The programme also raises a broader question about the role of large corporations in responding to structural labour-market pressures.

Government can provide policy support, training and incentives, but private-sector companies ultimately control much of the productive capacity required to create sustainable income opportunities.

For Econet, the challenge will be turning the announcement into functioning businesses.

The success of the EcoCash programme will depend on whether 15,000 new agents can be recruited, financed and supplied with sufficient transaction volumes to make their businesses commercially viable. Construction employment will depend on how quickly projects are brought forward, while agricultural expansion will require land, capital, markets and reliable production infrastructure.

Mboweni has called on other companies to identify similar opportunities for returning Zimbabweans.

The broader economic significance of Econet’s initiative may therefore extend beyond the number of agents it eventually appoints. If large Zimbabwean companies begin treating return migration as an opportunity to expand productive capacity rather than simply a social problem, the influx of workers could become a catalyst for new small businesses, deeper financial inclusion and renewed domestic investment.

For now, Econet’s 15,000-agent target provides one of the clearest private-sector attempts to translate Zimbabwe’s returnee challenge into an enterprise-creation programme.

The post Econet targets 15,000 new EcoCash agents as Zimbabwe prepares for returnees appeared first on The Zimbabwe Mail.

A 38-year-old Goromonzi man has been jailed for six months after digging up his aunt’s grave in a desperate search for gold rings he believed had been buried with her. Challenge Jasi appeared before Murehwa magistrate Panashe Matongo, where he pleaded guilty to disturbing and desecrating the grave of Rosina Dipazhi, his aunt who died […]

The post Skull, ribs, green skirt & black petticoat: Goromonzi man jailed after walking into Highlands Police Station carrying human remains first appeared on My Zimbabwe News.

MUTARE — Tanganda Tea Company Limited is pursuing a value-addition and diversification strategy to rebuild growth, with packed tea, avocado oil production and a US$8 million capital injection emerging as key pillars of the agricultural group’s recovery plan.

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed diversified agro-business is seeking to extract greater value from its plantations and orchards after lower production in some of its traditional commodities weighed on performance during the nine months ended June 30, 2026.

Tanganda said the operating environment remained relatively stable during the third quarter, although adverse weather conditions and subdued demand in some export markets continued to affect parts of the portfolio.

Bulk tea production fell 28 percent year-on-year after management suspended out-of-season plucking when yields fell below economically viable levels.

The decision reduced reported production in the short term but allowed the company to undertake maintenance across its tea-processing facilities ahead of the new season.

Tanganda chairman Addington Chinake said the approach was designed to protect the long-term productivity of the business rather than pursue volumes that were economically unattractive.

Packed tea emerges as growth engine

While bulk tea production declined, the company’s export sales volumes increased 9 percent, supported by stocks carried forward from the previous year.

The strongest performance came from packed tea, with volumes soaring 145 percent compared with the corresponding period.

The sharp increase demonstrates the potential of moving further down the value chain instead of relying predominantly on bulk commodity sales.

Tanganda attributed the improvement to sustained demand for its core brands and route-to-market initiatives implemented during the period.

The company is now seeking to strengthen domestic and regional distribution partnerships, with packed tea providing an opportunity to capture a greater share of the final consumer value generated from its agricultural output.

For an integrated agricultural producer, the shift is strategically important. Selling bulk tea exposes the business more directly to international commodity prices and export-market conditions, while branded and packed products create greater opportunities to control pricing, distribution and customer relationships.

Avocados provide another value-addition opportunity

Tanganda’s horticultural portfolio delivered mixed results, with macadamia production declining 5 percent and export sales volumes falling 45 percent amid weak international demand and an oversupplied nut-in-shell market.

Avocados, however, provided a significant counterweight.

Production increased 95 percent year-on-year as the company’s orchards matured, creating a growing supply base for its avocado oil operation.

The extraction plant, developed with Netherlands-based Trade Link Global BV, began operating in May 2025 and provides Tanganda with an alternative route to market for its expanding avocado crop.

The strategy is particularly relevant because oil extraction allows the company to monetise fruit that may not meet the specifications required for fresh-market sales.

Rather than treating lower-grade fruit as waste or accepting substantially lower returns, processing it into oil creates an additional revenue stream and increases the value extracted from the same agricultural asset.

US$8 million strengthens balance sheet

Tanganda’s recovery strategy is being supported by a US$8 million capital raise completed earlier this year through a renounceable rights offer.

The funds are being directed towards working capital, supplier obligations and investment in productive infrastructure.

Key projects include the replacement of the Tingamira water bottling plant, infrastructure refurbishment and grid-connection work for solar installations at the Ratelshoek, Jersey and Tingamira estates.

The capital injection is significant because Tanganda’s performance has been constrained not only by commodity-market conditions but also by the need to maintain and modernise its operating infrastructure.

Improving the availability and reliability of production assets should allow the company to convert its agricultural capacity into higher commercial output.

New shareholder changes strategic landscape

The rights issue also materially altered Tanganda’s shareholder structure.

Innscor Africa’s subsidiary, Rutanhi Beverages Limited, underwrote the offer and subsequently acquired a 27 percent stake in Tanganda.

The investment introduces a significant strategic shareholder at a time when Tanganda is attempting to rebuild its operating platform, strengthen financial controls and move further into value-added food and beverage products.

Management said the first four months following completion of the capital raise were focused largely on rebuilding leadership structures, reviewing critical operations and strengthening financial reporting, export systems and accountability processes.

The restructuring is intended to establish a more sustainable operating model supported by an appropriate capital structure and stronger financial position.

Recovery depends on converting assets into higher-value products

Tanganda’s latest performance points to a business in transition.

The decline in bulk tea production and macadamia exports demonstrates the vulnerability of traditional agricultural commodities to weather conditions and global supply-demand cycles. At the same time, the surge in packed tea and avocado production highlights the opportunities available through value addition and market diversification.

The strategic challenge is now to ensure that these newer growth channels become large enough to offset weakness elsewhere in the portfolio.

Packed tea provides a route into higher-value branded consumption markets, while avocado oil offers an industrial processing outlet for the company’s expanding orchards.

Meanwhile, the US$8 million capital raise provides the financial resources required to address working-capital pressures and restore infrastructure.

For Tanganda, the recovery therefore depends on more than simply producing larger agricultural volumes. The company needs to produce efficiently, process more of what it grows and capture a greater share of the value between the farm and the final consumer.

If management succeeds in combining stronger packed-tea distribution, growing avocado oil production and improved estate infrastructure, Tanganda could gradually reduce its exposure to volatile bulk commodity markets and build a more diversified earnings base.

The next stage of the turnaround will be whether the capital investment and operational restructuring can translate into higher utilisation, stronger margins and sustained cash generation across the group’s tea, horticulture and beverage businesses.

The post Tanganda targets value addition and US$8m investment to rebuild growth appeared first on The Zimbabwe Mail.

HARARE – Treasury has warned government suppliers and contractors against using consultancy firms or other intermediaries to recover unpaid bills, saying the state will not recognise or pay commissions charged for pursuing outstanding arrears.

Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said some government creditors were engaging third parties to chase payment claims in exchange for fees or a percentage of the contract value.

“Government will not entertain claims or obligations arising from arrangements entered between Government creditors and consulting firms or other third parties for the recovery or facilitation of payment on Government arrears,” Ncube said in a statement.

He said the government would not assume responsibility for any fees, commissions, percentages or other costs arising from such arrangements.

All ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) had been directed not to entertain claims from consultancy firms or other third parties claiming to represent suppliers in recovering government arrears.

Ncube also warned government departments against sending suppliers and contractors to Treasury to follow up on payments, saying this was contrary to established government procedures.

“Treasury would like to unconditionally advise that officials will not entertain or engage any such suppliers or contractors who visit or call on them,” he said.

The minister said creditors should instead pursue outstanding payments through the MDAs that contracted them and follow established procedures for verification, processing and settlement of legitimate claims.

The warning also extends to holders of Treasury Bills, who have been told not to use third parties to follow up on matured bills or their liquidation.

“Treasury will not entertain any third parties,” Ncube said, adding that the government would also not consider requests to discount Treasury Bills because their maturity profiles had been set in line with government cash flows.

Ncube said no consultancy firm, agent or other third party had authority to facilitate, guarantee or secure payment of money owed by government.

“Government creditors who choose to engage such entities do so at their own risk and should not expect government to recognise or settle any resulting fees, commissions or other associated costs,” he said.

The warning comes as government continues to manage substantial obligations to suppliers and contractors, with Treasury seeking to enforce centralised procedures for the verification and settlement of state debts.

The post Treasury reads riot act to creditors hiring debt collectors chasing government arrears appeared first on The Zimbabwe Mail.