Category: Southern Africa

Zimbabwe will shut down foreign-owned companies on April 1 if they don’t comply with a law that requires them to sell or cede 51% of their shares to black Zimbabweans, Indigenisation Minister Patrick Zhuwao said. “Comply by that date or close shop, comply by that date or face the full wrath of the law,” Zhuwao…

Cape Town – South Africa has put in place laws and policies to help businesses thrive in the country, President Jacob Zuma told the United Arab Emirates business community on his official visit to the Gulf state. South Africa is open for business – thriving business, he told the business community in a prepared speech…

Cape Town – Durban has beaten Cape Town and Johannesburg to gain the best position among South African cities on the latest Knight Frank Global Residential Cities Index. The index takes property consultancy Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index one step further by tracking mainstream residential prices on a city rather than country basis. The…

THE eight sleek, military-grey patrol boats sitting on the concrete of Maputo port would not look out of place in a James Bond movie. Their mission? To protect Mozambique’s new fleet of tuna-fishing boats from Indian Ocean pirates. But the vessels, which have been largely idle, are the focus of a multimillion-dollar international controversy. It…

The value of the country’s exports declined 13,05 percent in the two months to February due to weaknesses in global commodity prices, the appreciation of the dollar against regional currencies which makes products uncompetitive and a generally slower growth in world trade. Zimbabwe’s main export goods are minerals and tobacco and there are constant calls…

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma and his supporters managed to railroad the African National Congress’ (ANC) executive into toning down strident criticism of the Gupta family and its influence on Mr Zuma. After a week of disclosures of the family’s apparent reach into the Cabinet and an exposé by Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas effectively accusing Mr…

Harare – Zimbabwe’s government began evaluating farms to determine whether their previous owners should be compensated after they were seized by the state, the Commercial Farmers Union said. “We have been in touch with government officials and we welcome government attempts to address the issue of compensation,” Marc Carrie-Wilson, deputy director of the union, said…

Cape Town – The Automobile Association (AA) is predicting an increase of between 31 cents and 35c a litre for petrol – on top of the 30c a litre increase in the fuel levy which becomes effective from April. The increase in the fuel levy was announced by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in his National…

JOHANNESBURG – Business people and banks want to operate in a certain, clear environment, while South Africa needs stability and certainty as a society, says Stephen Koseff, group CEO of Investec. “Politicians must sort their problems out. They have an obligation to the people to sort their stuff out, we need certainty and clarity,” Koseff…

The African Development Bank Group announced on 16 March a US$ 24 million loan to support Rwanda’s contribution to the development of the Multinational Ruzizi III Hydropower Project. The project is a joint initiative of the three Great Lakes Region countries – Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda – and will increase electricity trading…