guest column:Emmanuel Zvada

Whenever you are asked whether or not you are ready to retire, you will laugh and say “Of course not”. I have met a lot people who are in their late 50s and still working and whenever l bring up the topic on retirement, they often shudder. In fact, just the mere mention of the word makes their mood shift to “down”. They have acquired many skills and knowledge, but still those nearing 60 years of age feel more than agitated about the mere thought of retirement. I think it’s an old belief that being 60 years of age means being “old and tired”, the reason is that people should retire to something, not just retire from something.

The word retirement essentially means a time when you leave the workforce, but that does not mean becoming inactive, nor does it mean you even stop working. One can retire, but still become active and join other jobs that have less pressure or less demanding or even decide to do their own business. Retirement planning is simply nothing, but spreading your earned money to provide a living after you retire.

What it then means is that when you begin retirement planning now and start saving or investing for the future, you will definitely enjoy the peace of mind when you stop working and the reason for peace of mind is financial independence and security.

Readiness to retire is willingness or a state of being prepared for retirement. It is very possible to be afraid of it. When people reach their 50s, it is not uncommon for them to realise that retirement or whatever they choose to call that phase of life which comes after fulltime work, is no longer such a distant concept. The only problem with them is that they have fear of the known “will it work and how will l survive after?” Once you are in your 50s and the end of fulltime work is no longer a distant concept, it’s a good time to get serious about planning for the next chapter of life. If you are in that age group and have not yet focused on that looming reality, it is a right time to get serious about planning for your retirement.

Most anticipate retirement negatively. If only they can postpone it, they would. However, as this is inevitable, the only thing to do is to plan. Retirement will only be pleasant if you are prepared emotionally and financially. Preparation of a retirement strategy and plans should commence as early as possible for one to enjoy the future. On the same note, being retired does not necessarily mean your life is simpler, it can change for the worse due to responsibilities that one has to meet.

It might be hard to imagine that retirement is just around the corner in your 50s. But by keeping these ideas in mind, you will put yourself in the best possible position to retire with the financial security you want. The transition to retirement is not easy, most people find it very hard to let go of their professional life.

Start saving

Retirement is all about saving enough to live the retirement you want. Some people never get started with retirement saving. Year after year, they spend their time and resources on their current needs. Then one day they realise that retirement age is approaching fast and they are totally unprepared. Do not let it happen to you! The earlier you start to save, the quicker you will get there. If you are almost ready to retire, but you have nothing saved, you are in a tough spot, but it is never too late. You need to save for the future and saving should start the moment you realise that you have a future.

Investment principles

When we talk of saving many think of depositing money in a savings account in banks, but we can also talk of savings by converting money into tangible assets. Learn about your plan’s investment options and ask questions. Put your savings in different types of investments. By diversifying this way, you are more likely to reduce risk and improve return.

In many cases, buying a home is just one part of a larger, overall retirement strategy. Your investments are likely a stream of income you plan to use in retirement. Besides your portfolio and retirement savings, you should think of other ways to increase your earnings, like getting a side hustle.

Get a side hustle now while at work.

You may consider being an entrepreneur; or starting a side hustle while you are at work, the reason being that you already have experience and it will act as an advantage in putting up your own company. Even a few hundred dollars a month in side hustle income can go a long way. Whether it is to earn a bit of extra cash, the fact is that it is necessary to have a “side hustle” to prepare your hustle into a big business. Whether it is to earn a bit of extra cash, or to keep up a hobby, it’s becoming more and more common for individuals in fulltime employment to take on a “side hustle” to complement their day job.

Get a health plan earlier

Medical treatment is expensive and you must have a plan to cope with its escalating costs, especially way before your retirement. Getting a health insurance will be an option so that you will be covered whenever you need treatment after retirement. The main reason for this is that medical emergencies are very expensive and they are common. If you have the misfortune of undergoing a medical emergency without insurance, it is easy to find yourself with a crippling amount of medical debt, and seemingly no way out of the mess, hence having a health plan will be beneficial even after retirement.

Volunteer for as long as possible

Discover a new purpose as a volunteer during your retirement. By volunteering, you can find meaning and purpose in your retirement. There are diverse organisations that need volunteers to help with their cause and programmes. You can help others. It may be mentoring disaffected young people, helping children to read, or improving the lives of isolated, older people.

Retirement is an opportunity for you to use and develop your skills and talents further than you thought possible. Retirement can be one of the most wonderful times of your life, but deciding what to do during retirement can be difficult. Many retirees choose to start a new hobby or take the time to help out with their loved ones.

Others give back to the community and get involved in local projects that offer voluntary work for pensioners. One of the biggest decisions you will make is when to retire and another is how much to spend in retirement. Your retirement is something that you should have been planning for your whole life. Once you have retired, your income will come solely from your life annuities and any other income producing investments or savings you may have. It’s wise to start your retirement preparation now.

 Emmanuel Zvada is a human capital consultant and an international recruitment expert. He writes in his personal capacity.

BY KENNETH NYANGANI

UNITED Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Zimbabwe representative Shana Kaninda yesterday said they had issued almost 3 000 documents to Cyclone Idai survivors in Chimanimani. This was made possible with the government’s assistance.

Thousands of people lost national documents in the tropical storm-induced floods which hit Chipinge, Chimanimani and Masvingo early this year.

Kaninda made the remarks yesterday at the close of the UNHCR-organised workshop in Vumba where his organisation was dialoguing with parliamentarians on issues regarding Statelessness.

The documents include identity cards and birth certificates.

He said they had completed the exercise of issuing documents in Chimanimani and they were heading to Chipinge.

“With the support of the government of Zimbabwe we have issued more than 3 000 documents to Cyclone Idai victims in Chimanimani, we are all aware that some people lost their documents during the Cyclone Idai in March this year, I do not have the actual figure of last week because I am here in Vumba, but I believe the number has gone above 3 000,” he said.

“We have completed the exercise in Chimanimani and we are heading to Chipinge, and this is an opportunity to people who lost their documents to have proper documentation, no one should be left behind,” he said.

“We are committed to work with the government so that everyone in the country has proper documentation to address issues of Statelessness,” he said
The UNHCR representative said undocumented children were failing to attend school.

“This was a fruitful workshop and we are going to continue engaging MPs so that we address issues of Statelessness in the country. There are many people who do not have identity cards and there is nothing you can do without documentation. We have children who have failed to go to school because they have no documents,” Kaninda said.

BY MOSES MATENGA

NEWLY-APPOINTED Local Government deputy minister Marian Chombo says she has put all her political setbacks behind and will focus on the key mandate assigned to her to eradicate corruption in local authorities.

Chombo was in the political wilderness for long during the reign of the late former President Robert Mugabe, who once publicly chastised her over her protracted divorce process with former Finance minister Ignatius Chombo, who once held the Local Government portfolio.

Speaking after she was sworn in at State House yesterday, Chombo said she was forward-looking and ready for the challenge.

“Every politician has a journey and this was my journey and at least, there is light. I still have to prove to Zimbabweans that I can deliver. We were in a meeting with the President and he said we shouldn’t tolerate corruption and I will make sure I will do my best in that regard,” she said.

Ironically, Chombo’s ex-husband was at the centre of alleged corruption during his long tenure as Local Government minister.

During their divorce processes, Marian exposed Ignatius’ vast wealth, prompting critics to say the former Zanu PF secretary for administration was one of the most corrupt people in Mugabe’s government.

Ahead of the July 31, 2013 elections, Chombo was attacked by Mugabe after her decision to stand as an independent candidate.

She joined the former Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s National People’s Party and later re-joined Zanu PF.

“If you lose, you lose, let us look forward. You are not the party. The party is still moving forward and so support the party. To those who lost, I do not know how many you are. There is Marian Chombo. Is she still a Chombo? She is refusing to be ditched, yet she was ditched by the party. She is saying she will stand against Chombo. Get away, you lost. We did not involve ourselves in your disputes (with Chombo), but this is our Zimbabwe,” Mugabe said then.

Ignatius was removed as minister and secretary for administration when Mugabe was deposed during the November 2017 military coup.

The new deputy minister said her new post was challenging, but she would be equal to the task.

“I am happy and also it is a challenge since there are lots of issues to deal with, including the issue of water,” she said.

BY MOSES MATENGA

A FRESH storm has hit the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) after the parastatal proposed to award a million-dollar deal to its perennial contractor Univern, a deal seen as a corrupt way to award political cronies, it has emerged.

This came as Zinara has fired 30 tollgate cashiers for alleged fraud and theft. Fourteen of them were stationed at Skyline tollgate along the Harare-Masvingo Highway, while the other 16 were from Dema, Shurugwi and Shamva tollgates.

This also followed the resignation of board vice-chairperson Runyararo Jambo recently over a reported “tenderpreneurship scam” at Zinara running into several millions of dollars.

Documents seen by NewsDay show that Zinara has again approached Univern, a firm whose other dealings with the parastatal have been under scrutiny, to take over key operations under the guise of a tollgate co-management action plan.

However, the move has reportedly caused discontent within Zinara and government with some viewing it as sinister and opening doors for graft by individuals
given the links between parties involved.

Univern chief executive officer Phillimon Mushosho confirmed the Zinara proposal, but could not give details on the matter.

“It hasn’t happened. It is still a proposal. The best will be for Zinara to comment because they approached us, but there is nothing concrete on the ground,” he said.

“I think it is to try and minimise leakages because we have in the past demonstrated that we are able to bring efficiency in the revenue collection process,” Mushosho said.

Zinara board chairperson Michael Madanha said fears of looting in the proposed deal were being raised by “thieves”.

“I don’t know who gave you that story because it is still a proposal. I think in Zinara there are people who leak information to the media. Some of those things will be rectified so just talk to the CEO because it is implementation but overally the strategic objective is to improve revenue collection. Right now we are facing a lot of leakages.”

On allegations that the move was meant to open serious looting, the former Transport deputy minister said: “Those people are the real thieves we are chasing away. It is logical that we are trying to close on leakages and somebody thinks otherwise. We have people who have been doing what they want and definitely they are the ones leaking this information.”

Ironically Madanha, who is also Zanu PF deputy provincial chairperson for Mashonaland East, was appointed by his party provincial chairman, Transport and Infrastructural Development minister Joel Biggie Matiza, a development critics were now using against them.

Under the arrangement, Zinara wants Univern to co-manage tollgates ostensibly to improve operational efficiencies and reduce revenue leakages.

“Objectives of the co-management arrangement will improve tollgate safety and security, strengthen the internal control environment at the tollgates,” the documents read in part.

Among the challenges outlined by the current system were under-banking of collected revenue, abuse of exemptions (residential and government exemptions), abuse of pass lanes and illegal detours.
Under the arrangement, Zinara will furnish Univern with all tollgate employees’ information for review while the same company will have to procure using Zinara funds.

Employees view the move as a way to push them out and recruit cronies to allow looting though it has been presented as a way to eliminate bank variances, reduce revenue leakages and improve the revenue collection process.

Eyebrows have also been raised on the proposed procurement protocol that will see Univern participating on the technical specifications of items to be purchased.

“There must be an agreed turnaround time to procure requested items. Failure of which, Univern will go ahead and procure using Zinara funds,” the document read.

Under the arrangement, overall responsibility of the tollgate operations will still be done by Zinara that will also continue to manage its staff while Univern will manage the processes and procedures with regards to revenue collection.

According to the plan, the process will require change management, retraining and operational realignment and will be done in phases.

The board chairperson is reportedly racing against time to fire at least 246 employees on fixed term contracts and replace them with his new people.

At least 17 workers have won their hearing cases, but were given dismissal letters amid fears of capture of the tollgates.

Concern has also been raised on the capacity of Univern that entered into an agreement with Zinara in October 2012 to computerise tollgate revenue collection operations on a public-private-partnership (PPP) agreement basis.

“Univern has never serviced their gadgets, not even changed their computers since 2013 to date. We have books and up to 20 000 recorded errors showing malfunctions of their system.

“Their system is defective and deficient such that we can spend the whole day denouncing it,” a source privy to events at the parastatal said.

The suspicions also come at a time eyebrows were raised after Madanha engaged a security company, Ex-Combatants Security Services, allegedly linked to cronies to man tollgates across the country ignoring an existing bidder that won the tender after being approved by the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.

He, however, denied involvement with the said security company.

Sources said the manner in which Univern was always being picked to do work for Zinara and other companies in government was now raising suspicion of possible looting.

In 2012, the company won a tender to supply 40 motorised graders worth $8 million to Zinara before it won a deal with Zinara in 2013 to supply vehicle licensing software.

The deal was allegedly awarded without going through a tender process since it was a PPP agreement.

Impeccable sources said the strategy was to hand over tollgates to Univern for 10 years.

The source added that a draft memorandum of understanding was already in place and Zinara will only get deposits of what has been collected by Univern but without control.

“The Roads Act speaks to road user charges being collected by Zinara not Univern. It can’t be a board chairman issue without Matiza announcing it himself. Definitely it’s not a clean transaction.”

by sport reporter

Milan — Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly left the Allianz Stadium before the final whistle of Juventus’ 1-0 Serie A win over AC Milan on Sunday after being substituted for the second match in a week.

Paulo Dybala replaced Ronaldo on 55 minutes with the Argentina striker going on to score the winning goal 22 minutes later to keep Juventus top in Serie A ahead of Inter Milan. Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo looked glum as he came off and directed some words at coach Maurizio Sarri before heading to the changing rooms and Sky Sport Italia reported that the 34-year-old had left the stadium three minutes before the match finished. However, Sarri said he did not know whether Ronaldo had left the stadium early.

Substitute Stefano Sturaro, who was sold by Juventus in January after a lengthy injury spell, scored two minutes after coming off the bench.

“Disrespectful to his team-mates? Like I said, I don’t know,” Sarri said. “If it’s true that he left before the end it is a problem to be resolved with his team-mates.”

“I have no problem with Cristiano, he should be thanked because he made himself available despite not being in the best condition,” Sarri said.

“In the last month he has had discomfort in his knee and this is a little problem for him.”

Ronaldo had reacted furiously after being substituted in his team’s 2-1 win against Lokomotiv Moscow midweek which saw Juventus advance to the Champions League last 16.

“The important thing is that he made himself available. If he gets angry when he comes out, this is part of the game,” continued the Juventus coach.

“It’s only natural a player is going to be irritated about leaving the pitch, especially when he worked so hard to be there.

“All players who are trying to give their best will have at least five minutes of being annoyed when they are substituted, but a coach would, in general, be much more worried if he didn’t seem upset.”
— AFP

by sport reporter

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hailed his side’s ”incredible goals” after they beat Manchester City 3-1 on Sunday to move nine points clear of the defending Premier League champions.

The European champions took a huge step towards a first top-flight title in 30 years by opening an eight-point lead at the top of the table, with Leicester City in second place.

Goals from Fabinho and Mohamed Salah gave Liverpool a dream start before Sadio Mane’s diving header early in the second half sealed City’s fate.

Bernardo Silva pulled a late goal back, but a third defeat in eight league games leaves City down in fourth, nine points behind Liverpool, and with a mountain to climb if they are to claim a third straight league title.

”They (City) were good,” Klopp told the BBC. ”Oh they were good and we had to defend with all we had, but we scored incredible goals.

”It was so tough to play, the intensity of the game was so clear. It was all worth it, really great.”

”The boys were completely focused and concentrated,” he added. “It was so good. It is the only way we can beat City. Maybe other teams can do it a different way but this is the only way we can beat them.”

City boss Pep Guardiola said his side had shown why they were Premier League champions.

”What happened today, we showed why we are champions,” Guardiola told Sky Sports.

”I am so proud of my team, more than ever. We can be proud of how we played against the strongest team in Europe.”

”We played like back-to-back champions,” he added.

”We cannot deny how good Liverpool are, but the way we played, the personality, it was good.”
— AFP

NATIONAL Foods Limited has reported a 36% decline in sales volumes in the first quarter ended September 2019 owing to reduced consumer spending power.

BY TAFADZWA MHLANGA

Zimbabwe has been facing hyperinflation and liquidity challenges, forcing consumers to opt for less value products as prices of basic commodities have been rising almost on a daily basis. In June, annual inflation reached an all high of 175,66% before the publication of inflation figures was banned. In September, month-on-month inflation reportedly decelerated by 0,35 percentage point to 17,72% from 18,07% in August.

“Volumes were subdued, closing 36% below the same period last year. The sustained inflation further restrained consumer spending power, impacting volumes across all categories,” said National Foods in a trading update.

“Flour volumes were most heavily impacted, closing 50% below last year, on the back of intermittent supply and increased cost of wheat. Volume performance in the remaining categories was largely reflective of consumers downing in favour of more affordable commodities, with groceries (mainly rice and salt) closing 47% down, snacks and treats 37% down and stockfeeds 25% down.”

The maize category was least affected with volumes falling by 5% lower than the previous comparable period due to subsidies on raw maize, which assisted maize meal affordability and drove consumption.

The company’s profitability met expectation, driven by the lag in both raw materials and operating costs.

Last week another blue chip company Delta Beverages recorded a plunge in all beverages volumes, the highest being lager beer which declined by 40%.

Economist Christopher Mugaga recently said the decline in companies’ volumes reflected their struggle in the current economic environment, as it shows the shrinking consumer earnings, pushing citizens to go for cheaper products.

National Foods has initiated a programme for both white and yellow maize to cover the expected maize deficit for the first half of 2020. The company said it has a solid pipeline for raw materials, but its replacement will need to be a key focus area for management in the months ahead as subdued local liquidity and devaluation continue to affect them. National Foods launched a new cereal product under the Pearlenta nutri-active brand in October which has been well-received in the market. The company also launched Allegros popcorn and Iris cream biscuits under the snacks and treats category which have also been well-received by consumers.

WITH the current surge in Bitcoin, prices, sellers and holders are struggling to find the perfect break in the market to sell their Bitcoin in order to guarantee the best possible profit.

By Continentino, Our Reader

According to Coinbase’s trading portfolio, Bitcoin passed the US$10 000 mark on October 26, but failed to maintain the price for more than a couple of hours. As of October 24, the prices were stable at between US$9 000 and US$9 500.

Cryptocurrencies were first introduced to the world after the market crash in 2008, but for the most part, were only used and invested upon by a few who saw these new technologies as a future promise. Almost 10 years later, investors have gained thousands, if not millions, in profits from their investments. But the implementation of these currencies in our modern world would not be plausible if not for a big market crash or a huge failure in the banking systems. This statement might be true for developed and stable economies like most in the “West”.

It comes as a very big advantage for the emerging and developing world, with technologies being easily implemented to the foundation of these emerging economies. We can observe this with the implementation of Fintech in Sub-Saharan Africa. For instance, payments can be made to or from individuals with a simple text message. Services like this are being used by millions of people in countries such as Nigeria, Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. A sizeable population of these countries utilise cryptocurrencies every day for simple things, like buying a snack or a soda, to more sophisticated actions, like paying for commodities and making fairly large monetary transactions.

Even though the Fintech market is growing, the transactions are mostly limited to a single country or the same carrier operator, while Bitcoin, for example, can be transferred to another wallet almost instantaneously to an individual in any part of the world.

To make transactions and to purchase a cryptocurrency, the individual must buy the currency through a currency wallet. To purchase the currency, you must find a wallet that allows transactions in your country. There are dozens of websites and apps that already accept the purchase from African countries.

During last year’s SingularityU South Africa Summit, the former CEO of Google Africa, Stafford Masie, spoke about the importance of cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, more specifically). He mentioned emerging economies, but because of the context of the summit and where it took place, we can assume Masie referred mainly to Africa: “The third economy is an economy where people don’t have access to electronic forms of distributing value or cash … Think of the people who live two hours outside Shanghai, China’s central coast. They will use Bitcoin to trade and unlock international transactions outside of the existing frameworks in a manner that you and I cannot imagine”.

The usage of cryptocurrencies, as said by Masie, is very important to individuals that live far from the main region of a country, and can be very important in countries where transportation is difficult and cities/villages are somewhat isolated from one another.

At the end of October, just a few weeks ago, Bitcoin saw a huge surge in its price. With this huge surge came a large number of speculations regarding the stability of the new price and whether or not it represents a market equilibrium. It turns out that contrary to what many people believe was the result of a huge Chinese investment in Blockchain technology was, actually, nothing but a hoax.

Indeed, China invested millions in Blockchain technology, but the cause of the price increase was much more of a customer response to China’s investment. The fear of another cryptocurrency market collapse led to an increase in over 1 000% the quantity and number of transactions made between October 23 and 24. A drop of a few percent may be inevitable but, considering the elasticity of Bitcoin, investors need to be aware of the risks while trading large amounts.