Sanlam’s outlook on investing out of China

Satrix’s outlook on investing out of China

GABORONE (Reuters) &#8211; Botswana will ration fuel from Thursday, President Mokgweetsi Masisi announced, in a bid to ease a crippling shortage that has seen some consumers rush to stock up.



Long queues formed in recent weeks at fuel stations in Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, as some ran dry. The shortages have disrupted businesses and threaten to exacerbate the woes of an economy already expected to shrink 13% this year.



Mokgweetsi said in a televised address that sales will be limited to the value of 250 pula ($21.40) worth of fuel, though the limit would not apply to front-line workers and public transport operators.



“We have also started to import fuel through Namibia and Mozambique to complement supplies from South Africa, where there are disruptions in the transportation industry,” he said, adding the government did not want strategic reserves to fall to below five days’ supply, from eight days’ currently.



The southern African country, which consumes about 3.3 million litres a day, normally keeps reserves at 12 days’ supply.



It has lifted a lockdown imposed to contain the coronavirus but its borders remain closed, with only essential imports allowed and truckers tested for the virus and quarantined before they enter.



($1 = 11.6822 pulas)

Word Investment Forum 2018

Botswana to ration fuel amid shortage

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; A South African court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by administrators in charge of South African Airways (SAA) against a ruling which prevented them from laying off staff.



The failure of the appeal means the administrators may have to start consultations about layoffs from scratch if employees do not accept severance packages they have been offered.



South African labour law stipulates a minimum two-month consultation period for layoffs.



The Labour Appeals Court upheld a May ruling that consultations on layoffs at SAA should wait until after the administrators published a rescue plan for the loss-making state airline.



That plan was published last month and tweaked earlier this week, after repeated delays and months of wrangling with the government and unions.



But the administrators, who took over SAA in December, issued notices to consult on job cuts in March, prompting some unions to approach the courts.



“The formulation of a business rescue plan is the central task of the business rescue practitioner,” read the Labour Appeals Court judgment seen by Reuters.



“As the business rescue plan must be published within a short period, retrenchments would be contained in the plan as opposed to a piecemeal reconstruction of the company which would allow a decision on retrenchments before the plan was published.”



The administrators said they were studying the judgment. The general secretary of the NUMSA union, Irvin Jim, celebrated it as a victory on Twitter.

Airbus_A330-200_South_African_AW_(SAA)_F-WWYL_-_MSN_1223_-_Will_be_ZS-SXX_(5838450879)

South African court dismisses appeal against SAA layoff ruling

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has sacked health minister Obadiah Moyo with immediate effect for inappropriate conduct, a statement from the presidency shared by information ministry secretary Nick Mangwana on Twitter on Tuesday said.



The statement did not elaborate further. Moyo was arrested in June over allegations of corruption related to the government’s procurement of $60 million worth of medical equipment for the country’s fight against the coronavirus.



Calls to Moyo’s phone went unanswered on Tuesday.

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Old Mutual said on Friday acting CEO Iain Williamson had been made permanent, ending a year of uncertainty over who will lead one of South Africa’s biggest insurers.



Williamson has held the interim position since May 2019, when then-CEO Peter Moyo was suspended and subsequently sacked in a dispute over a conflict of interest.



Since then, he has had to contend with a court battle with Moyo and the coronavirus crisis, both of which have hurt the insurer’s bid to remake itself, improve performance and assuage some frustrated investors.



“His steady hand, strategic mind, and authentic leadership style has been both refreshing and truly welcomed,” Chairman Trevor Manuel said of Williamson, an actuary by profession and Old Mutual veteran of almost three decades.



The decision clears up the last big question following the saga with Moyo, a difficult period for the 175-year-old insurer whose share price &#8211; and reputation &#8211; was dealt a hefty blow throughout.



It endured a series of losses early on in litigation bought by its former boss, including a block on seeking his replacement. These have been overturned, but Moyo still plans to pursue a case seeking permanent reinstatement or damages.



Williamson will now be tasked with reviving Old Mutual’s performance more broadly. The company has seen profits slide since it re-listed in Johannesburg in June 2018.



Some investors thought an external candidate would be better able to reset the dial. But Jacques Plaut, portfolio manager at Allan Gray, Old Mutual’s No.2 shareholder, was pleased with the choice.



“(Williamson) knows the business very well and he speaks sense,” he said. “There are definitely some things to fix there, and part of me thinks maybe it needs an outsider to do it, but not necessarily.”



Old Mutual shares climbed off earlier lows on the news, but were still 1.33% down at 1300 GMT.

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Old Mutual makes acting CEO permanent, a year after sacking predecessor

As I write this a huge load of farm machinery is lurching across the Indian Ocean in the bowels of a transport ship bringing with it a supreme irony.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="972" height="647" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Belarus-equipment-reaches-Zimbabwe-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-375515" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Belarus-equipment-reaches-Zimbabwe-1.png 972w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Belarus-equipment-reaches-Zimbabwe-1-300x200.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Belarus-equipment-reaches-Zimbabwe-1-768x511.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Belarus-equipment-reaches-Zimbabwe-1-696x463.png 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Belarus-equipment-reaches-Zimbabwe-1-600x399.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 972px) 100vw, 972px" /><figcaption>Farming equipment from Belarus arrives in Zimbabwe</figcaption></figure>



The shipment is part of a plan by a far off country, on the road to Russia, bent on teaching Zimbabwe – a country that could once teach the world – how to farm. In a $58 million deal six grain harvesters, 100 tractors, 16 seed drills, five fifth wheel trucks, five semi-trailers are on their way from the former Soviet state of Belarus to the ports of Beira in Mozambique and Durban in South Africa. The shipment is expected by the end of July. Fourteen grain harvesters and 36 units of seed drills are already in Harare. Ships will bring another 20 grain harvester, 340 tractors and 138 seed drills to Zimbabwe by December 2020.



The idea is being nurtured by the consul general for Zimbabwe in Belarus Alexander Zingman. He is the head of AFTRADE DMCC and spends much time travelling between Zimbabwe and the country of his birth. The project is being financed through the Development Bank of Belarus supported by The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank. The export credit facility has been provided on a long-term basis with competitive interest rates.



&#8220;The aim is to totally mechanize agriculture in Zimbabwe using a comprehensive set of machinery &#8211; tractors, planters, harvesters and trucks &#8211; to cultivate and harvest maize and wheat. This will prevent the harvest losses that Zimbabwe normally faces. It will boost Zimbabwe&#8217;s food security and save the country valuable foreign currency. We will train each farmer who uses this modern equipment. More than 1,000 farmers will get special training courses in Zimbabwe. 10 specialists from Zimbabwe will also be sent to Belarus for two months for training at our manufacturing plants, “he says.



Ten trainers from Belarus are also in Harare, with five more on the way, in a year of training of farmers in Zimbabwe that is hoped will kick start a struggling industry that was once the pride of Africa.



The irony is that 30 years ago such a programme would have been looked upon as an agricultural equivalent of teaching your grandmother to suck eggs. In the 1980s and for most of the 90s Zimbabwe was the breadbasket of Africa with a small, efficient, band of mostly white farmers who fed Southern African and exported food to Europe. It couldn’t last amid the lack of a clear plan for organised land reform and growing political pressure. &nbsp;&nbsp;



When the farm invasions were unleashed by the people in power in 2000, it led to bloodshed and random confiscation that reaped a bitter harvest of lost production and exports that persists until this day. That year with all of its fumbling fury fuelled with the idea that to get rich you merely had to own a farm, is always seen as a turning point for the industry. It created a large slice of the country’s GDP and as it fell, so did the fortunes of Zimbabwe.



The World Bank Zimbabwe production figures for maize – that used to feed the region – tell the story. In 1996 Zimbabwe was growing more than 2.5 million mt of maize; by 2016 that figure had dropped to a mere 500,000 mt of maize. A further sign of lean times, according the World Bank, is that the fertilizer industry was at 75% capacity before 2000 and as low as 30% now. In the halcyon days of 1996, many Zimbabweans would have been incredulous at the idea of trainers and combine harvesters making their way half round the world to teach them farming. In difficult times for the Zimbabwe and its economy almost anything is worth a try.

Belarus tractors for Zimbabwe

How Zimbabwe farmers will be trained how to farm with a scheme from Belarus with love

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s National Treasury said on Friday there was “no further action” planned to bailout struggling national airline SAA except to settle guaranteed debt as attempts to revive the airline hang on a knife edge.



The South African government wants creditors to back a restructuring plan for South African Airways (SAA) but did not allocate new bailouts for the loss-making state airline in an emergency budget last week.



In its strongest statement yet that it doesn’t plan on giving SAA more bailouts, the National Treasury told lawmakers they would not provide any new money to the airline as they are “insolvent” and turnaround plans have not been finalised yet.

South Africa’s National Treasury says “no further action” to bailout SAA airline

LUANDA (Reuters) &#8211; When the Angolan government imposed its coronavirus lockdown in late March, local entrepreneur and innovator Claudio Kiala saw a gap in the market when it came to virtual entertainment.DJ Ritchelly livestreams a show for his fans amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Luanda, Angola, June 17, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Bogata



Kiala and his team had been developing a performance platform known as Soba Channel App, before the crisis struck, where artists would be able to stream live shows and fans would pay to gain access.



The lockdown meant they had to accelerate its launch to help artists earn some income during the lockdown, and give viewers a chance to be entertained in the comfort of their homes.



Soba is the first virtual entertainment platform in Angola, that allows artists to charge for their shows. Social gatherings remain prohibited in the country.



“This pandemic situation led us to accelerate a few of the ideas that we already had and we decided to create the platform where artists could still host concerts and other types of gathering with their fans and be paid for that,” Kiala said.&nbsp;



Popular local DJ Ritchelly was one of the first to jump on the platform after his income was slashed to zero because of the lockdown.



“This virus has brought us a new environment and ways to live. And this is a survival way for artists that want to keep doing their job,” Ritchelly said, as he prepared for his virtual live performance via the app.



Fans, stuck indoors, are happy to pay between $2-$6 per hour depending on the performer, to see their favourite artists.



“It gives me a better experience because I’m alone. I don’t have to listen to the other people screaming (like at outdoor live shows). I just have to sit there and watch,” said 17-year old Ekumbi Dias.



Performers keep 90% of the ticket costs, a business approach Kiala says is noble but necessary.

shutterstock_347798435

The African entrepreneur who made it by streaming sweet music to the locked down.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa recorded its first current account surplus in 17 years in the first quarter of 2020 as the trade balance more than doubled, central bank data showed on Thursday.



The current account swung to a surplus of 1.3% of gross domestic product, or 69.7 billion rand ($4.12 billion), in January-March from a deficit of 1.3% of GDP or 68 billion rand in the previous three months. The last recorded surplus was in the first quarter of 2003.



The trade balance showed a wider surplus of 208 billion rand in the first quarter, versus a 102.5 billion rand surplus in the previous three months.



“With the domestic lockdown restrictions only effective as from late March, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on South Africa’s imports and exports were still limited in the first quarter of 2020,” the central bank said in a statement.



The current account is the part of a country’s balance of payments that shows transactions of goods and services with the rest of the world, as well as primary and secondary income.



South Africa shut down much of its economy at the end of March in one of the world’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns. That will have affected imports and exports at the start of the second quarter.



The lockdown has been partially eased to allow key sectors like mining to resume operations, but the economic outlook remains gloomy. The economy was already in recession before the coronavirus pandemic hit South Africa in March.



($1 = 16.9314 rand)

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South Africa records first current account surplus in 17 years

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Administrators at South African Airways (SAA) aim to publish a revised restructuring plan on July 7 incorporating some ideas from committees representing the airline’s creditors and employees, the administrators’ spokeswoman said on Thursday.



The administrators published a restructuring plan for the struggling state-owned airline last month after repeated delays and months of wrangling with the government and trade unions.



But a vote on the plan was delayed until July 14 at a meeting last week after the NUMSA, SACCA and SAAPA unions and some creditors argued the plan was deficient and objected to the vote happening.



Louise Brugman, spokeswoman for SAA administrators Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, said the airline’s creditors’ and employees’ committees had submitted proposals for changes to the plan which were being discussed. It is not clear how significant revisions to the plan could be.



The plan published last month envisaged scaling back SAA’s fleet while keeping most routes intact. It needs the government to find at least 10 billion rand ($590 million) of new funds to pay some creditors, fund thousands of layoffs and restart the airline as COVID-19 travel restrictions ease.



The government has not said where that money will come from, although it has alluded to interest from private sector funders and potential partners. The finance minister allocated no new money for SAA in an emergency budget.



The Department of Public Enterprises, the ministry responsible for SAA, warned on Thursday of the “devastating impact” if creditors rejected the restructuring plan and the airline was liquidated.



It said four unions &#8211; NTM, SATAWU, AUSA and Solidarity &#8211; and some non-unionised SAA staff were ready to sign voluntary severance packages if creditors approve the plan on July 14.



All four unions confirmed to Reuters that they were prepared to do that.



($1 = 16.9248 rand)

SAA administrators aim to publish revised plan on July 7

The Zimbabwean economy seems to go from bad to worse, as authorities leave behind a trail of policy missteps.



The government announced late on Friday that monetary transactions on mobile-based money platforms are suspended, potentially impacting up to 80% to 90% of all transactions.



This unprecedented move leaves Zimbabweans stranded with almost no mode of transacting. Residents with money stored in any of these mobile providers need to visit a local bank to liquidate their accounts.



The most prominent players in the industry include EcoCash, One Money, MyCash, and Telecash. EcoCash is the biggest non-banking financial institution and holds no less than ZWL$8bn on its mobile money platform.



In a statement following the announcement, the company urged its 10 million users, most of whom do not have bank accounts, to remain calm.



The government is accusing mobile money providers of economic sabotage and malpractice, which have led to the creation of a parallel central bank.



The government’s animosity towards non-banking financial institutions is nothing new.



Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor John Mangudya voiced his support for the government and issued a monetary policy statement over the weekend specifying revised conditions to the ban.



“The unprecedented measures have been necessitated by the need to protect consumers on mobile money platforms which are being abused by unscrupulous and unpartisan individuals and entities to create instability and inefficiencies in the economy,” the statement read.



Meanwhile, trade on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) is also suspended and investors are frantic and deeply concerned over what has happened to their money.



This is a blow for Zimbabweans who usually turn to the local bourse to safeguard the value of their money against rising inflation and currency depreciation.



Yet not long ago, officials were still upbeat about the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) and the foreign investment it would unlock.



On Tuesday, June 30, the RBZ proceeded to hold the second weekly foreign exchange (FX) auction.



Last week saw Zimbabwe’s currency peg to the US dollar end after the weighted-average rate was calculated at ZWL$57.4/$, thereby setting the new exchange rate. At the latest auction, this rate was calculated at ZWL$63.7/$.



The Zimbabwean dollar has been in freefall since the start of the year as a lack of confidence erodes its value. We believe this trend is likely to persist while foreign exchange reserves remain at distressingly low levels.



The latest move is simply another desperate attempt to enforce the use of a currency with no credibility.



We have stated before that the economy is in a state of dysfunction, characterised by irrational policy measures.



The banning of mobile money services further exacerbates confusion and turmoil in Zimbabwe’s monetary environment.



Jee-A Van Der Linde, Economist

Hello?  – How Zimbabwe’s got the wrong number when it comes to mobile money

#BusinessTomorrow: The role of DFIs in rebuilding African economies after COVID-19

Malawi – the land of Hastings Banda the former president-for-life – may have seen a minor miracle in a clean, just, peaceful, transfer of power in defiance of the ballot box cheats. Now it is up to the new president Lazarus Chakwera to perform a bigger miracle by turning around a struggling economy in one of the poorest nations in Africa where three quarters of the people live on little more than a dollar a day.



Chakwera held his nerve as he stormed to victory over incumbent Peter Mutharika with 58% of the vote after losing the first, crooked, ballet in May 2019. They called it the “tippex election” because that was what was used to cover up people’s crosses before a false cross was put next to the ageing Mutharika’s name. The courts overturned last year’s result, on February 3, ordering the rerun that has given Chakwera a golden opportunity to shake up his country’s small and sleeping economy that barely feeds all of its 17 million people. &nbsp;



In this task, Chakwera is an outsider in more ways than one. Even though he leads the monolithic Malawi Congress Party – the party of Banda – he is a former preacher and not a career politician unlike most who have walked the country’s corridoors of power. At the very least he promises a different approach to the job that is likely to prove tough. &nbsp;



“He comes from a very different environment. He believes in the values of a Christian. He is new in politics and he comes from a Christian community and is going to bring a lot of fresh air. He is certainly likely to be a man of his word,” says Mercus Chigoga patron of the Malawi chapter of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.  



Chakwera will need to be in cleaning up one of the biggest messes Malawi faces- corruption. For years Malawians have complained bitterly about the looting of their country’s tiny coffers by its large political elite. Chakwera has put down his marker saying he will crack down on corruption and work towards the return of ill-gotten gains to the public purse. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Malawi needs the money. For a start, fewer than one-in-five Malawians can switch on a light bulb, as the country has less electricity than almost any other on the continent. Roads leave a lot to be desired and struggle to move the agricultural products that bring in 80% of the country’s earnings and jobs.



Overall, Chakwera has his work cut out to revive an economy that has been in virtual paralysis since the disputed election last year. People close to politics in Malawi say indeed Chakwera is a man with a vision and could repay the faith of the people by changing his country’s economy for the better.

Opposition Malawi Congress Party leader Lazarus Chakwera addresses supporters after a court annulled the May 2019 presidential vote in Lilongwe

Does a man of God have a prayer when to comes to saving Malawi?

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; The South African government target to stabilise its ballooning debt by 2023 will be very difficult to achieve and unlikely, ratings agency Moody’s said on Thursday.



The Treasury on Wednesday presented a supplementary budget in response to the coronavirus crisis that projected a wider budget deficit, while public debt was estimated to be more than three quarters of gross domestic product in the medium term.



“In its ‘active scenario’, the government hopes to achieve a primary surplus by fiscal 2023 that would stabilise debt,” Moody’s said in a research note on the budget.



“Given South Africa’s weak track record of fiscal consolidation in recent years and the weak medium-term economic outlook, debt stabilisation by 2023 will be very difficult to achieve.”



The economy was in recession before the COVID-19 outbreak ravaged it, and the lockdown that followed late in March has put further strain on businesses and consumers.



The Treasury projects the economy will contract 7.2% this year.

gettyimages-658357218-594×594

Moody’s says South Africa unlikely to stabilise debt by 2023

South Africa’s budget deficit is projected&nbsp;to widen sharply while debt is seen ballooning significantly, the Treasury said&nbsp;on Wednesday, as the COVID-19 pandemic further stifles the recession-hit&nbsp;economy.



In a supplementary budget in response to the coronavirus crisis, the&nbsp;Treasury projected the budget deficit would widen to 14.6% of gross domestic&nbsp;product in the current 2020/21 fiscal year, from a shortfall of 6.8% of GDP seen&nbsp;in February.&nbsp;



The projected deficit would be the highest in South Africa’s post-apartheid&nbsp;era.



The Treasury said gross government debt will rise to 81.8% of GDP in the current fiscal year from 63.5% last year.



“Debt is our weakness. We have accumulated far too much debt; this downturn will add more,” Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said in his budget speech.



President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a 500 billion rand relief package in April, equivalent to 10% of South Africa’s GDP, to cushion the economic blow of the pandemic on an economy that was in recession when the virus outbreak hit the country.



A strict nationwide lockdown from late March severely curtailed production across key sectors like mining and retail, with the Treasury now predicting a&nbsp;GDP contraction of 7.2% this year.



Some lockdown restrictions have since been eased to allow key sectors to&nbsp;resume operations.

Southern Africa

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Botswana to ration fuel amid shortage

South African court dismisses appeal against SAA layoff ruling

Zimbabwe’s health minister, accused of corruption, sacked: statement

How eThekwini Municipality plans to help businesses survive COVID-19-induced economic downturn

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How Zimbabwe farmers will be trained how to farm with a scheme from Belarus with love

South Africa’s National Treasury says “no further action” to bailout SAA airline

The African entrepreneur who made it by streaming sweet music to the locked down.

South Africa records first current account surplus in 17 years

SAA administrators aim to publish revised plan on July 7

Hello? – How Zimbabwe’s got the wrong number when it comes to mobile money

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Does a man of God have a prayer when to comes to saving Malawi?

African Parliament calls on AU members to strengthen healthcare systems in response to COVID-19

Moody’s says South Africa unlikely to stabilise debt by 2023

South Africa’s budget deficit, debt seen widening as virus hits economy

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Southern Africa

Satrix’s outlook on investing out of China

Botswana to ration fuel amid shortage

South African court dismisses appeal against SAA layoff ruling

Zimbabwe’s health minister, accused of corruption, sacked: statement

How eThekwini Municipality plans to help businesses survive COVID-19-induced economic downturn

Old Mutual makes acting CEO permanent, a year after sacking predecessor

How Zimbabwe farmers will be trained how to farm with a scheme from Belarus with love

South Africa’s National Treasury says “no further action” to bailout SAA airline

The African entrepreneur who made it by streaming sweet music to the locked down.

South Africa records first current account surplus in 17 years

SAA administrators aim to publish revised plan on July 7

Hello? – How Zimbabwe’s got the wrong number when it comes to mobile money

#BusinessTomorrow: The role of DFIs in rebuilding African economies after COVID-19

Does a man of God have a prayer when to comes to saving Malawi?

African Parliament calls on AU members to strengthen healthcare systems in response to COVID-19

Moody’s says South Africa unlikely to stabilise debt by 2023

South Africa’s budget deficit, debt seen widening as virus hits economy

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