Category: Southern Africa

Zimbabwe has imposed restrictions on imports of a list of basic goods, mainly from South Africa, to protect local industries and stem an outflow of scarce dollars from the drought-hit economy, industry minister Mike Bimha said on Wednesday. Importers of the affected products – from bottled water to furniture and canned beans to fertlisers according…

South African power utility Eskom has raised its wage offer to 7 percent from 5.75 in negotiations with workers, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) spokesman said on Wednesday. “NUM is going to seek a mandate from its members about Eskom’s latest offer, then we will respond to the management,” Livhuwani Mammburu said. The offer…

South Africa’s rand pulled back from seven week highs against the dollar on Wednesday, with traders and analysts expecting caution to prevail on the eve of a British referendum on whether to remain in the European Union. Domestic economic headlines have taken a backseat in moving the currency this week, although inflation data due out…

Although intra-African National Congress (ANC), election-related, factional violence is being currently ignored by markets trading on external factors, it remains worrying, said emerging markets economist Peter Attard Montalto of Nomura. He said at the moment, nothing is relevant to the market except the imminent Brexit referendum, and a shift to a yet more dovish view…

THE kwacha closed last week trading at K11 against the US dollar, its weakest since last March when it appreciated from K11.50. And financial market analyst Maambo Hamaundu says the local market continues to face low supply of foreign exchange but demand continues to remain substantially high. According to the market experts, the kwacha lost…

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority has suspended the implementation of statutory instrument number 64 of 2016 which sought to tighten screws on imports of basic commodities following protests by travellers at Beitbridge Border post on Saturday. Zimra had started rolling out the new regulations which made the import of food items, building materials , furniture, toiletries…

Secretary for Mines and Mining Development Professor Francis Gudyanga reportedly fired the entire management of newly formed Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company and appointed his former student at the University of Zimbabwe to lead the diamond firm. Parliamentarians yesterday heard that Prof Gudyanga’s appointee, ZCDC acting chief executive Dr Ridge Nyashanu, who is an expert in…