Category: Southern Africa

South African retail sales slowed more than expected in June with purchases of credit-linked items declining sharply as consumer spending remained under pressure despite a recent pause in policy tightening by the central bank. Retail sales grew by 1.7 percent year-on-year in June according to Statistics South Africa data on Wednesday, much slower than the…

Stadic Petroleum (Private Limited) was on Monday taken to court by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) for allegedly selling contaminated fuel. The company, which was being represented by its security advisor who is also accused number two, Augustine Mahwana (39), is facing charges of selling contaminated diesel in contravention of section 4 (2) of…

South Africa could lose 60,000 jobs in the beverage industry due to a proposed tax on sugary drinks, chairman of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, Phil Gutsche, said on Tuesday. The National Treasury has proposed a 20 percent tax on sugar sweetened drinks under a plan that delighted health campaigners and angered drink makers. The sector employs…

Zimbabwe plans to deploy aerial drones in its biggest wildlife sanctuary in the west to combat poaching of elephants, a parks official said on Monday, as the country aims to protect one of its top tourist attractions. Tourism contributes 11 percent to Zimbabwe’s $14 billion economy, according to Ministry of Tourism data, with the country’s…

Government is now satisfied with the level of co-operation it is receiving from mining companies in the crafting of a fiscal regime for the sector, following initial resistance by some players, a Cabinet Minster has said. The Government, together with its partners, is developing a new fiscal regime for the mining sector which is designed…

Zimbabwe will only issue mining rights to companies listed on the local stock exchange and will not allow the export of raw minerals without ministerial approval, according to a draft mining bill published on Friday. The bill, which has been in the works for more than a decade, will now be sent for debate in…

The rand’s recent rally reduces some risk to the inflation outlook, South Africa’s central bank deputy governor said on Thursday, but he was unsure how long its strength would last. The rand hit 10-month highs against the U.S. dollar this week, as investors bought into higher yielding assets on expectations that interest rates in G7…