JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa has issued an arrest warrant for Zimbabwe’s former first lady Grace Mugabe over an alleged assault in an upmarket district of Johannesburg last year, police spokesman Vishnu Naidoo said on Wednesday.



“I can confirm that a warrant for the arrest of Grace Mugabe was issued last Thursday,” Naidoo said, adding South African police were seeking Interpol’s help to enforce the warrant.



There was no immediate comment from Mrs Mugabe or from authorities in Harare.



Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by James Macharia

Why South Africa’s NPA issued an arrest warrant for Zimbabwe’s Grace Mugabe

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s inflation soared to a fresh 10-year high of 31.01 percent year-on-year in November from 20.85 percent in October after prices of basic goods spiked, amid an acute shortage of dollars that has made imports expensive.



On a monthly basis, prices increased by 9.2 percent in November compared to 16.44 percent in October.



Zimbabwe adopted the U.S. dollar in 2009 after its own currency was made worthless by hyperinflation.



But Zimbabweans have watched as the dollars in their bank accounts, known as ‘Zollars’, have lost value against cash U.S. dollars. That is because there are more Zollars in banks than actual U.S. cash dollars available, analysts say.



Central bank data shows that some $10 billion were being held as electronic dollars in bank accounts but less than $250 million in cash dollars.



On the black market, one needs $3.50 to purchase $1 in cash, a situation which has seen some businesses charging multiple prices for their goods.



Zimstats said prices of food, including bread, of beverages and clothes, had pushed the consumer price index higher.



The finance minister said in a budget statement last month that inflation would end the year at 25 percent before falling to single digits in 2019.



Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Joe Brock and Gareth Jones

Zimbabwe inflation hits 10-year high, what you need to know…

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Alexander Forbes has released interim results reflecting the challenged economic climate in South Africa which the company has been operating in. The results for six months ended September reports headline earnings per share down by 25 per cent compared to the same time last year. 
Group Chief Executive, Dawie De Villiers joins CNBC Africa for more.

Alexander Forbes cans Zimbabwe deal

By Oluyede Ajayi, Senior Programme Coordinator at the ACP-EU Technical Center for Agriculture (CTA) based in the Netherlands
Walmart. Amazon. Tesla. Many of the world’s biggest businesses started small &#8211; and would not be where they are today without the help of start-up loans.
But in sub-Saharan Africa, the small businesses providing on average <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/09/what-is-africas-agriculture-potential/">24 per cent of GDP</a> across the continent are receiving a meagre one percent of bank lending.
These are Africa’s smallholder farmers, who constitute over half the continent’s population, and are tasked with feeding an ever-expanding and increasingly hungry population.
One reason funds are so hard to come by, is the inherent risk involved in farming that is so subject to erratic weather.
Sufficient investment will never be unlocked while farmers’ future profits remain so uncertain. Yet the African food and beverage market is projected to be worth $1 <a href="http://www.farmingfirst.org/africanag">trillion dollars</a> by 2030, if the right investments are made. We need to find ways to open up African agriculture to this investment, even in the face of a changing climate.
READ: <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/technology/2018/11/16/autonomous-farming-has-arrived-what-africans-should-know/">Autonomous farming has arrived, what Africans should know</a>
Over 4,000 farmers in Uganda’s mountainous south-western region of Butare are one step closer to achieving this. They have set up <a href="https://www.cta.int/en/article/all-eyes-on-the-sky-sid0b22d7569-15c0-4a7f-b07b-638524d829c1">digital profiles</a>, which map the location, size and productivity and their farms.  Unmanned aerial vehicles have been surveying the skies to collect complementary information. When combined, this data is able to act as collateral for these farmers to receive fertilizer and credit to grow their business. The data gives a credible forecast of what farmers need, and whether they will be able to repay loans.
This approach of digitally profiling farmers is among our best bets to strengthen their operations, and unlock financing.
Centralizing data on farmers’ needs makes it easier to deliver bespoke advice, and services like weather forecasting to help improve resilience to weather shocks. In southern Africa, 74,000 farmers have been digitally profiled in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi to this end.
<a href="https://www.cta.int/en/blog/article/climate-change-in-southern-africa-information-is-power-sid0a9c9e9aa-dc94-4172-9078-9cc0044b2fa6">Phineas Muyabi</a> is living proof that this works. When he retired from the Zambian army in 2001, he invested his lump sum payment in seeds and other agricultural inputs. But drought destroyed his crops and over the next few years his family had to rely on food aid.
Now, he receives weather alerts and farming tips via SMS, as part of a regional project to improve the resilience of cereal and livestock farmers in Southern Africa, led by CTA. A digital platform hosted by the Zambia Open University collates data collected by the Zambia National Agricultural Information Service.
In neighbouring Zimbabwe, this alert system is offered together with a weather insurance product, known as the <a href="https://www.ecofarmer.co.zw/subscription-services/zfu-ecofarmer-combo">EcoFarmer</a> “combo”, which allows farmers to insure their crops against the risk of excessive rainfall and excessive dry days for as little as $1 per month.
These digital innovations will be the key to unlocking the investment that African agriculture needs to reach its potential. What will be the key to ensuring their uptake?
Some technology roll-out programmes rely on the appeal of their products alone. For cash-poor, risk-averse farmers, this is rarely enough to entice them on board. This is why the EcoFarmer combo is a “bundled” solution. It provides access to agronomic advice, seeds, and weather insurance (a relatively new concept for farmers) as well as funeral insurance (a product that is well known to farmers). This offers farmers multiple layers of protection, and creates an entry point for new technological approaches to take hold.
Funding to improve telecommunications infrastructure is also going to be extremely important. Between 1998 and 2008, total private sector investment in telecoms in sub-Saharan Africa reached <a href="http://siteresources.worldbank.org/AFRICAEXT/Resources/258643-1271798012256/ICT-19.pdf">$49 billion</a>, mainly in the mobile market. To ensure this type of investment can continue, African governments need to pave the way for telecoms markets to thrive, by providing the necessary investment-friendly policies, and well-functioning regulatory institutional frameworks to ensure this type of private sector investment can continue into the future.
Encouraging countries with similar climatic conditions to come together and pool resources, will also reduce the risk involved in setting up systems for something as complex and technical as weather-based insurance. The seeds have already been sown for this type of collaboration in southern Africa and will allow significantly more farmers to benefit from the technology.
The United Nations climate change conference in Poland is an important moment to make this case. While actors <a href="https://ccafs.cgiar.org/agriculture-advantage-20-event-series-cop24">debate how to transform our food system</a> under a changing climate, boosting investment in the region that is home to six of the ten countries most vulnerable to climate change must be a priority.
Back in Uganda, a newly trained 25-year-old air-to-ground surveillance expert summed up the potential digital innovations present for African farming as he flew a drone over the Igara tea factory plantation. “With this technology,” he said, “the sky is the limit.”

Op:Ed: These digital innovations will be the key to unlocking the investment that African agriculture needs…

By African Development Bank and the Africa Union Commission
Benin made the most progress in opening up its borders to African travellers, moving from 27th place in the 2017 edition to 1st place in the 2018 report. These findings were made in the 3rd edition of the <a href="https://bit.ly/2KDifYQ">Africa Visa Openness Index Report 2018</a> published by the African Development Bank and the Africa Union Commission.
Zimbabwe also broke into the top 20 with the introduction of a visa-on-arrival policy for SADC members. Overall, when compared to 2017, Africans do not need a visa to travel to 25% of other African countries (up from 22%); can get visas on arrival in 24% of other African countries (same as last year); and need visas to travel to 51% of other African countries (down from 54%), see table below.
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“Regional integration and trade based upon the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital is at the core of the business of the African Development Bank” 
Akinwumi A. Adesina, President, African Development Bank Group
However, the fact that Africans still require visas to travel to just over half of other African countries shows that more progress is needed to realise free movement of people continent-wide. As infrastructure expands across Africa, and tangible trade and investment opportunities are put on the table, Africans will need to travel with greater ease. Solutions such as the African passport, visa-free regional blocs, multi-year visas, or visa-on-arrival schemes should continue to be promoted.
“Looking at the recent development this year, such as the announcement by Ethiopia, Africa’s diplomatic capital, on the establishment of a visa-on-arrival regime for all African passport holders, Africa is indeed on an upward trajectory towards seamless borders and the free movement of its people. Commendable work has also gone into the actual roll-out of the African passport to the citizenry.” 
Amb. Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission.
The Visa Openness Index assesses the progress African countries have realized in relaxing their visa regimes. Analysis go into the visa requirements set by each member state of the African Union for other member states seeking to enter their borders. The report aims to show at a glance which countries are facilitating travel for citizens of other African countries and how; whether they allow people to travel to their country without a visa; if travellers can get a visa on arrival in the country; or if visitors need to get a visa before travel.

These are Africa’s most open countries when it comes to visas

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Zimbabwe government recently introduced a number of austerity measures as to boost the ailing economy, some of these aimed at attracting foreign investors into the country; but still many investors remain wary. Joining CNBC Africa to speak more on the current investment climate in Zimbabwe is Tafadzwa E. Muguti, Zanu PF Director, Investment and Economic Transformation.

Zimbabwe all out to lure investors

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwean miner RioZim is demanding $92 million from the central bank in a lawsuit brought to force the Reserve Bank to pay for more of its gold purchases from the company in U.S. dollars, court documents showed.
Miners are struggling as Zimbabwe grapples with an acute shortage of dollars.
Producers sell all their gold to the central bank’s subsidiary Fidelity Printers and Refiners, which then exports it. RioZim, however, says that since 2016 the central bank only paid for 15 percent of gold it purchased from the company in dollars, breaching its policy to pay for 30 percent in the U.S. currency.
The central bank has not commented on the lawsuit.
RioZim first announced on Oct. 9 that it would take legal action against the central bank, signalling impatience by miners over the dollar shortages.
In its summons filed with the High Court dated Nov. 14, RioZim says it failed to receive $48 million due in payments from the central bank for its sales in dollars and suffered losses of $44 million due to lost production.
“The plaintiff suffered a direct loss of money and the devaluation of the purchasing power of its earnings &#8230;,” RioZim said in the documents seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The company says failure to receive dollar payments left it unable to import equipment and materials for capital projects, putting its operations in jeopardy.
The gold miner shut its three mines last month due to the dollar crunch until it can find a solution.
RioZim CEO Bekhinkosi Nkosi did not answer calls to his mobile phone for comment, while company attorneys Devittie Rudolph and Timba refused to comment.
The southern African nation adopted the U.S. dollar in 2009 to tame hyperinflation, but it is facing acute dollar shortages and that has sent prices of basic goods spiralling and inflation rising to double digits.
On Monday, in a change of policy, central bank Governor John Mangudya and the deputy minister for mines announced that the government would allow gold, platinum and chrome mining companies to retain up to 55 percent of their earnings in dollars, up from 30 percent. The move is aimed at ensuring operators remain viable.
Mangudya could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Susan Fenton

Zimbabwean miner RioZim is demanding $92 million from central bank in lawsuit, what you need to know…

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Zimbabwe marks one year after the removal of Robert Mugabe from power, for a discussion on the changes that have happened so far CNBC Africa is joined by Trust Ndlovu, Chairperson for MDC Alliance South Africa.

Zimbabwe economy is worse off one year after Mugabe left office – MDC Alliance SA

Zimbabwe diaspora entrepreneurs see opportunity in Zim amid economic crisis

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwean gold mines have been allowed to retain 55 percent of their earnings in dollars, from 30 percent previously, the deputy mines minister said, as the government moves to ensure their operations remain viable.
Polite Kambamura said miners of gold, the country’s largest mineral export, should be allowed to earn up to 70 percent of their sales in dollars.
The mining sector like most of businesses in the southern African nation, is struggling to pay for imports like spares and other consumables due to a severe dollar crunch.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Adrian Croft

Zimbabwe gold mining firms have been allowed to retain 55 pct of dollar earnings, what you need to know…

By Trust Matsilele, follow him on twitter <a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/trustmatsilele">@trustmatsilele</a>
A two-bedroomed flat shared with six others in a South London estate with a supportive mother was all Percelle Ascott needed to become a world-famous actor. Now he has a leading role on Netflix series &#8211; &#8220;The Innocents&#8221;.
“I remember riding my bike everywhere, playing football and making treehouses. All the kids who grew up on my estate knew each other, and it was probably where my love of acting grew from,” Ascott remembers of his childhood.
“I had a wild imagination for all the things I didn&#8217;t have. I would make something out of nothing.”
The 25-year-old born British actor’s family moved to London when he was three. His recollections are a mixed bag- struggles and triumphs and in his story, he has a mother who is his role model and a figure behind his successes.
“I&#8217;m sure every family has struggles especially financially when you live in London, but I was blessed to have a hardworking mum and aunt who always provided for me and my cousins,” he says.
His parents are part of over seven hundred thousand Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe’s former colonial master, most jokingly call Harare North.
“My bug for acting started when I was 11 years old. I played the lead in my school play as Mowgli in Jungle Book, and my Mum told me how I would recite everyone&#8217;s lines if they forgot them. But it wasn&#8217;t until I went to a secondary school where I came across an exceptional Drama teacher who instilled so much confidence in my ability”, says Percelle.
He dreams to be part of exceptional storytellers.
“We only remember the stories that shaped us, shaped our perspective on the way we view the world. I hope I can create meaningful real characters that people can relate too, that can laugh with me, cry with me and go through a journey together,” says Percelle.
“I remember watching the film &#8216;Philadelphia&#8217; starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington and couldn&#8217;t help but think about Denzel&#8217;s character. The journey his character goes through is so powerful given the timing of the film. At the start, he has this ignorance toward[s] HIV and AIDS which is shaped differently when he meets Tom and becomes his lawyer fighting his case. I&#8217;m sure it must&#8217;ve informed the opinion of audiences who had the same perspective on HIV and AIDS.”
On his new role in &#8220;The Innocents&#8221;.
“The casting process for me started in February 2017 and I received the role in June. It was a lengthy process that required me to do a few rounds plus chemistry tapes with different actresses, but I guess that&#8217;s what it takes when you&#8217;re trying to find Harry and June. Their romance being so crucial to the story, that energy between being something that just has to fit,” he says.
Percelle proudly represents a country many wish they never came from.
“Since the launch of the show on Netflix, I&#8217;ve had a huge number of fellow Zimbabweans reach out to me. I find that special because it&#8217;s not something a kid from Zimbabwe has as their career trajectory, to be a lead on a Netflix show”
Percelle is planning to lead film projects in Zimbabwe in the future, a move that will reshape the country film industry that has been in decline since investors turned their backs on the country following former President Robert Mugabe’s “less than pigs and dogs ” comments at Zimbabwe Book Fair in early 2000.
“There are more and more projects being funded in Africa as a whole. South Africa has a fast-established industry growing there. Why not Zimbabwe? I told my dad already we&#8217;re going to build a film studio in Zimbabwe one day. There are so many stories from Zimbabwe because of its vast history. Let&#8217;s show the world what the real Zimbabwe looks, the kings and Queens of Great Zimbabwe! Maybe I&#8217;d play a warrior prince from the kingdom of Zimbabwe.”
With another leading Hollywood actor in Danai Gurira who made it to one of the most watched movies of all time, “The Black Panthers” and “Pursuit of Happyness’s” Thandi Newton, Percelle’s dream might soon be a reality
For now, he is working on a short feature film “Shiro&#8217;s Story”.  The just released part three in the trilogy has garnered around 2.2 million views on Youtube in 24 hours.
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“So, the plan now is to go and pitch this series to a bigger broadcaster maybe someone like Netlfix,” he tells me.
Other than acting Percelle produces as well as writes and directs films.
“I am also the co-owner of the “The Wall of Comedy”, a platform across social media with a following of eight million people. So, day to day we create content, nurture new talent and are building a network in which is run by the people and for the people.”
For young aspiring African actors, he has some advice.
“Hard work, determination, and perseverance. Ultimately, I would say love. A love of what you do. A love of why you do it and to always use that as a compass for the choices you make.”

Raised in a cramped flat, this Zimbabwean actor is now making waves on Netflix

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; President Emmerson Mnangagwa will retain John Mangudya for a second term as governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, a state-owned newspaper reported on Thursday.
The announcement follows speculation this week that the bank chief, who was first appointed for a five-year term in May 2014, would lose his job in the face of a worsening dollar crunch.
But the president’s spokesman George Charamba told the Herald newspaper that Mnangagwa would keep Mangudya in his job.
“The President is very clear on the Reserve Bank Governor’s tenure and his performance. Not only is he there to stay but the President is about to renew his contract for a second tenure,” Charamba was quoted as saying.
Charamba declined to comment further when contacted on Thursday.
Two years ago, after the country was rocked by hyperinflation during the rule of former president Robert Mugabe, Mangudya introduced the surrogate “bond note” currency, supposedly pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Dollar shortages have caused prices of basic goods, taxis and medicines to rise in recent weeks.
The central bank chief has defended the use of bond notes, which have lost value against the dollar on the black market. He says a government budget deficit of 11.1 percent of GDP and a high import bill are the main causes of the U.S. dollar shortages.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia and Andrew Roche

What you need to know about Mangudya’s second term as Zimbabwe’s central bank governor

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s gold miner RioZim has closed its three mines due to a shortage of dollars, the company said in a letter to the central bank seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
RioZim is the southern African nation’s third biggest gold producer and early this month threatened legal action to force the Reserve Bank to pay it more U.S. dollars for part of its output.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia

Why Zimbabwe’s RioZim closed three of its mines

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CNBC Africa’s Karabo Letlhatlha speaks to Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, Founder &#038; Chairman of global telecommunications group Econet about the state of governance in Africa, Zimbabwe&#8217;s political and economic problems and why he won’t stop investing despite political troubles.

Strive Masiyiwa optimistic about Mnangagwa, calls for removal of sanctions

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/robert-rotberg-171817">By Robert Rotberg</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/harvard-university-1306">Harvard University</a>
When President Emmerson Mnangagwa <a href="https://theconversation.com/zimbabwes-first-mugabe-free-election-mnangagwa-promises-western-cash-but-little-else-99228">campaigned</a> in July for Zimbabwe’s presidency, he promised to be a business friendly leader, and to return his country’s economy to twentieth century times of plenty and prosperity.
But Mnangagwa has already shown himself incapable of jettisoning the state centrist, rent-seeking predilections of his predecessor. A “big-bang” sharp break with Zimbabwe’s recent past is essential to reassure consumers and capitalists. Yet Mnangagwa and his cronies have so far rejected anything forward-looking and sensible.
Mnangagwa’s administration is struggling to overcome the national <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/shops-shut-doors-as-zimbabwe-financial-crisis-deepens-17414862">economic destruction</a> wreaked on Zimbabwe over two decades under Robert Mugabe. This included profligate spending, immense debt pileup, colossal corruption, and ravaging of the country’s once immensely productive agricultural sector.
As a result, Zimbabwe now lacks foreign exchange with which to buy petrol and ordinary goods to stock the shelves of its supermarkets. In the last few weeks many shops – such as Edgars, a long-time clothing store; Teta, an eatery; KFC, a fast food outlet – have simply <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/shops-shut-doors-as-zimbabwe-financial-crisis-deepens-17414862">shut their doors</a>. Queues for petrol stretch for miles.
<a href="http://nehandaradio.com/2018/10/13/zimbabwe-currency-crisis-no-cash-no-bread-no-kfc/">Banks have no US dollars</a>, or South African rands or Botswana pulas (the notional national currency), and therefore cannot supply stores or customers with the funds to carry on business as usual.
The locally created <a href="https://zwnews.com/latest-us-dollar-zimbabwe-bond-note-trgs-exchange-rates-today-9-october-2018/">Zimbabwe bond note</a> which is officially supposed to trade 1 to 1 with the US dollar, has been trading as high as 10 to 1 on the Harare black market according to unconfirmed local shopping experiences. In its October 20th edition The Economist reported that the bond note, known unofficial as <a href="https://www.news24.com/Africa/Zimbabwe/zimbabwes-bond-notes-being-traded-outside-borders-report-20170516">the zollar</a>, was trading for as little as 17 cents, or roughly 6-1.
The new administration has naturally resorted to <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/international/zimbabwes-currency-crisis-shows-little-sign-of-abating-17052960">printing</a> its own faux money. That inevitably has led, as always, to hyperinflation and monetary collapse.
China may yet help Mnangagwa – but in exchange for multi-years worth of precious minerals and Virginia tobacco at discounted prices. With Zimbabwe’s leadership so thoroughly tainted by decades of peculation and mendacity, and devoid of any real notion of “the public interest,” Mnangagwa’s regime is otherwise unlikely to clean up the prevailing fiscal mess because of its refusal to break sharply with the fiscal derring-do of the Mugabe era. Its principals continue to profit from Zimbabwe’s economic mayhem.
<h2>What went wrong</h2>
Zimbabwe’s economic weaknesses are unsustainable. Governments in such parlous straits would turn, even now, to the International Monetary Fund, for a bailout – as <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2168507/pakistans-khan-slams-imf-then-seeks-bailout-why-change">Pakistan</a> has just done. But Zimbabwe is already in arrears to the international lending institutions and has very few helpful friends left.
Government is running a hefty overdraft. And it’s been unable to collect as much as it needs from the national tax base. Its now attempting to impose a <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/Africa/zimbabwe-slaps-catastrophic-tax-on-electronic-transactions-20181001">2% tax </a> on internal electronic financial transactions. This only shows desperation. If implemented, it could yield twice as much revenue as is derived annually from VAT. But that losing manoeuvre has already helped drive commerce underground. It has also undermined what little confidence consumers and financiers have in their current rulers.
The Mnangagwa government has also reimposed import and <a href="http://businessdaily.co.zw/index-id-national-zk-38015.html">exchange controls</a>, thus creating additional incentives to avoid regular channels of commerce. Those controls also permit officials to allocate “scarce” resources and licenses to import, export, and so on. These are well-known occasions for corruption and for giving rent-seeking opportunities to cronies.
It wasn’t always this bad. Despite the massive loss of formal employment that occurred under Mugabe, the informal sector flourished and Zimbabwe’s poor probably benefited. This was partly because under the unity government of 2009-2013, when Tendai Biti of the Movement for Democratic Change was finance minister, there were no such controls and there were plenty of US dollars and no questionable bond notes and Treasury bills. Hard currency (the US dollar) permitted Zimbabwe to start growing economically after the long Mugabe slide, and individuals and businesses to prosper. The country ran a budgetary surplus.
But this all came to an end when the government of national unity <a href="https://pindula.co.zw/Government_of_National_Unity">collapsed</a> in 2012.
<h2>What needs to happen</h2>
To begin to restore the economy, the government needs to acknowledge corrupt dealings and repatriate the huge amounts of cash that have fled the country as laundered money.
The regime could also try to take <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/17/robert-grace-mugabe-missing-millions-money-zimababwe">ill-gotten gains</a> away from Mugabe and Grace Mugabe, as <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2018/0703/Former-Malaysian-leader-arrested-for-theft-money-laundering">Malaysia’s new government</a> is doing to its previous kleptocratic prime minister and his wife.
Gestures in that direction would help to begin to restore confidence, a step towards eventual prosperity. So would promises to restore the rule of law. Investors might also return if a sound currency was likely. But that would only follow shedding of ministers, civil service layoffs, military reductions, and many other indications that Mnangagwa and his minister of finance were serious about reducing the debt hangover.
Cutting some sort of deal with the IMF would also be worthwhile, but that could mean giving control over the Treasury to foreign advisors. Zimbabwe is and, since Biti’s day, has been, a basket case. It’s time to acknowledge that fiscal reality and to do something about it.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104960/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/robert-rotberg-171817">Robert Rotberg</a>, Founding Director of Program on Intrastate Conflict, Kennedy School, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/harvard-university-1306">Harvard University</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/zimbabwes-economy-is-collapsing-why-mnangagwa-doesnt-have-the-answers-104960">original article</a>.

Why Mnangagwa doesn’t have the answers to Zimbabwe’s troubled economy

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; The World Bank and IMF have endorsed Zimbabwe’s road map to clear more than $2 billion in foreign arrears at a meeting in Indonesia on Wednesday, the finance minister said, adding that the lenders had also backed his two-year economic recovery plan.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has promised to revive the struggling economy, pay foreign debts that the country has defaulted on since 1999 and restore ties with West after becoming a pariah under Robert Mugabe’s near four-decade rule.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, who is attending the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings in Bali, Indonesia, said in a statement his plans to clear the arrears to the World Bank, African Development Bank and European Investment Bank had been accepted.
“All the cooperating partners and creditors present uniformly expressed their support for Zimbabwe and its arrears clearance Road Map,” Ncube said.
The lenders and Western donors also urged Ncube to “judiciously” implement his two-year economic recovery plan announced last Friday.
Ncube’s plan will see cuts on spending and the government’s wage bill and privatisation of loss-making state-owned firms.
Zimbabwe, which adopted the U.S. dollar after hyperinflation left its own currency worthless in 2009, is gripped by acute shortages of cash dollars. Prices of basic goods and medicines have risen in the last few days.
Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia

World Bank, IMF support Zimbabwe’s plans to clear more than $2 billion in foreign arrears, what you need to know

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwean opposition lawmakers walked out of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s state of the nation address to parliament on Tuesday, signalling their lingering bitterness after losing a disputed July 30 presidential and parliamentary election.
Members of Parliament from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that is led by Nelson Chamisa heckled Mnangagwa when he started reading his speech before filing out.
Chamisa &#8211; who is not a member of parliament and lost a court challenge to Mnangagwa’s win last month &#8211; maintains that he was cheated of victory by the electoral board and says the 76-year-old president lack legitimacy.
After leaving parliament, the MDC lawmakers broke into song denouncing the ruling ZANU-PF party. “As the MDC we cannot sit there and be addressed by a person who does not even respect the rule of law,” MDC national chairperson Tabitha Khumalo told Reuters.
ZANU-PF’s chief whip in parliament Pupurai Togarepi described the lawmakers’ conduct as unfortunate, adding: “We hope that over time they will come to their senses, it’s not about grandstanding but building the country together.”
Mnangagwa, who has previously called for unity among political parties to help rebuild the shattered economy, said the elections were now in the past.
“The election period is decisively behind us. It is now time for us as members of parliament and political leaders to exert our efforts towards delivering promises we made to the electorate,” Mnangagwa said in his speech.
The president promised to bring a series of bills to parliament, including on giving more power to Zimbabwe’s 10 regions, revamping the process of registering companies and creating a one-stop investment agency.
A mining amendment bill passed by parliament in June, which removed clauses requiring foreign mines to list their shares on the local stock market, would be brought back to the assembly to fix “inadequacies” and provide for online registration of mining rights and titles.
Mnangagwa, who came to power in November after Robert Mugabe was removed in a coup, faces the huge task of ending Zimbabwe’s international pariah status and fixing an economy afflicted by high unemployment and foreign currency shortages.
He told lawmakers that his government had negotiated $500 million in foreign credit facilities, some of which would be disbursed to companies this week.
Mnangagwa, however, said the country would not immediately re-introduce its own currency that was dumped in 2009 after it was made worthless by hyperinflation of 500 billion percent.
Editing by James Macharia and David Stamp

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