BY BRIDGET MANANAVIRE

A COURT application by an aggrieved prisoner’s family has exposed some of the brutality and ill-treatment being endured by inmates at some of the country’s correctional facilities.

Charles Meda said his brother Nyasha Ndangarazi was brutally assaulted by about 10 prison officers using fists, kicks and baton sticks, on allegations of smuggling an MP3 player into his cell at Harare Central Remand Prison. It later turned out that the allegation was false.

As a result of the assault, Ndangarazi is now having trouble breathing, one of his feet is swollen and he has also developed back pain.

In an urgent chamber application filed at the Harare High Court by his lawyers, Denford Halimani and Idirashe Chikomba of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Meda is seeking an order to compel the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) to allow his brother to get private medical attention and to declare the assault unlawful.

ZPCS Commissioner-General Paradzai Zimondi and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi were cited as first and second respondents, respectively, in the matter.
The case has also exposed the poor state of medical facilities in the country’s prisons.

“This matter is extremely urgent. My brother’s life is at stake because of the fast rate that his health is fading away,” Meda said in his affidavit.

“I visited him yesterday (Thursday October 10 2019) and my heart sank.

“His leg continues to swell to the extent that he no longer feels anything when you press it because the nerves and veins were affected by the assault.

“The prison doctor and State doctor have both recommended that he be urgently attended to at a private hospital facility.

“He is also having trouble in breathing as well. He was complaining that whenever he inhales deeply he feels a sharp pain which pierces through his chest.

“This is a problem that he started experiencing recently. This problem needs expert examination and proper treatment and cannot be solved by painkillers.”

“Furthermore, what alarmed me the most about Nyasha’s condition is that he also divulged to me that he was now urinating blood.

“This is an indicator of a kidney problem that a doctor at Harare Hospital detected.

“It seems they want to drag their feet as long as they can, hoping that my brother will heal naturally. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The opposite is happening.”

Meda added: “Nyasha is in so much pain that he is now in despair and has been saying lately that it is better for him to die than to live everyday, while the system watches his foot rot from an act of their own doing.

“My greatest fear is that this inhumane treatment, if unrectified might result in the eventual death of my brother, or if he is fortunate enough to survive, he will be paralysed and a terminal patient on dialysis.”

In an August 30 letter to ZPCS, ZLHR accused 10 prison guards identified as Mhene, Nyambuya, Jakara, Mupambi and the Member-in-Charge of committing the brutal assault.

“He was assaulted on August 13, 2019 for allegedly being in possession of an MP3 player. It was later discovered that this was a wrong assumption and that the assault was unwarranted,” the lawyers said.

In response, ZPCS said it would investigate the matter and denied they had barred Ndangarazi’s visitors from seeing him.

According to a certificate of urgency by the lawyers, Ndangarazi now has to be carried around by fellow inmates to the toilet, bathroom or attend to his visitors because he can no longer walk on his own.

“The injuries sustained were and are grave that the said inmate cannot walk. In fact, two months after assault the inmate has to be carried around by fellow inmates in order for him to visit the ablution facilities. The ZPCS does not appear bothered at all,” the lawyers wrote.

“Following the beating, the inmate sought medical assistance within the prisons medical facilities, but this was systematically denied or delayed presumably in a futile attempt to cover up the savage assault.

“When the prison doctor eventually attended to him, he referred the inmate to Harare Hospital where another State doctor recommended him to visit a private medical facility for urgent medical treatment.”

The lawyers said an X-ray scan showed that Ndangarazi’s veins were damaged during the assault, but he was only being given painkillers.

BY SHARON SIBINDI

RISING Bulawayo-based imbube outfit Ukukhanya Kwezwe is ecstatic after scooping the Best Isichathamiya Music Group award at the just-ended Amagugu Music Awards held at the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

The group leader and composer Mayibongweinkosi Madihwa confirmed the developments to NewsDay Life & Style yesterday.

“The group visited Eastern Cape last year where we attended the National Arts Festival and the people loved what we presented to them. Then in February this year, they sent forms for nomination and we got nominated,” he said.

“We were the only Zimbabwean group nominated among the eight groups. Two groups remained and we were part of it and in July we went for the finals. Then the winners were announced last week when we went to South Africa to attend the award ceremony. We were presented the award and medals for each member in the group.”

Madihwa said they felt honoured to win the award against stiff competition.

“As the group we are so excited, it is not easy to come first in a foreign land. This also is a birthmark to the group and we strive to aim high. We also learnt a lot from other groups like how to market our music well. We cherish the moment and time we got as we feel this exposure has become an eye opener to the group,” he said.

Madihwa said he believes that hard work and perseverance made them win the award.

“We really pushed hard and utilised all the social media networks which helped us in scoring high. We went to the radio stations and we asked fans to vote for us and we would like to thank the fans who supported us through this,” he added.

Imbube genre is slowly beginning to gain recognition although still facing challenges like lack of promoters as well as support.

Cliff Chiduku

IN Proverbs 13:20, King Solomon, the biblical wisest man ever, wrote: “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”

To Solomon, walking with a person implies admiration and attachment; and it is impossible not to imitate those we love.

Similarly, it is said: “Let me know the company he keeps, and I shall easily guess his moral character.”

Our current friends define who we are. A friend is someone we choose to spend time and associate with. The people we choose to be around with shape our personality — the way we think, speak and perceive the world.

Whether we are aware of it or not, the people we choose to pay attention to and consider friends frame our reality. They are a barometer of what is normal, what is possible. Dan Pena could have been right when he said: “Show me your friends and I will show you your future.”

When the new dispensation chose to befriend countries with a poor human rights record such as Uganda, Rwanda and Belarus, some of us knew that Zimbabwe had taken a longer route to freedom.

The recent crackdown on opposition leaders and the media in Uganda is clear as crystal that the east central African country is slowly and surely sinking into anarchy.

Led by Yoweri Museveni, once hailed as a freedom fighter and liberator, the President, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, is turning into an autocratic leader, bent on silencing the opposition and civic society activists in his unbridled quest to retain power.

Uganda is one country that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has befriended since he assumed the top post in the wake of a November 2017 coup. Museveni was in the country to officially open the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo in April.

In a gesture of a good turn deserves another, Mnangagwa was the only head of State and government who graced Uganda’s 57th independence anniversary celebrations held a fortnight ago.

Mnangagwa was accorded the highest honour in Uganda of the Most Excellent Order of the Pearl of Africa, The Grand Master, in “recognition of his contribution to the liberation of Zimbabwe and other southern African countries”.

Museveni spoke glowingly of Mnangagwa, who he described as a “visionary, pragmatist, pan-Africanist, peacemaker and unifier”, who is committed to improving the quality of life of the people of Zimbabwe. The chase for narrow interests and intolerance to divergent views — especially from the opposition activists and civil society organisation — have tainted Museveni’s image in the eyes of both Ugandans and the international community.

Events unfolding in Uganda for the past decades are a clear proof that absolute power corrupt absolutely. Uganda is a good example of how some leaders hurt their own people out of fear of being chucked out of State House.

In July, Mnangagwa was criticised for spending scarce resources in attending Rwanda’s 25th commemorations to mark the end of genocide at a time Zimbabwe was literally burning. Mnangagwa was trying to emulate his Rwandese counterpart Paul Kagame’s economic development model, which blends authoritarian practices and home-grown solutions with international best practices.

Last month, opposition leaders in Rwanda raised a red flag over their safety, following another murder of a prominent opposition activist, even though the government denied any wrongdoing. Rights activists believe the killings, abductions, torture and disappearance of opposition activists were politically-motivated and warned that many more would die under the regime which is described as a dictatorship.

Mnangagwa was in Belarus where he opened a consulate in Minsk in January. President Alexander Lukashenko has been ruling Belarus with an iron fist since 1994.

The country has faced sanctions owing to its poor human rights record. Belarus is one of the least democratic countries in Europe, and is Europe’s only country that still has the death penalty on its statutes. Minsk has been generous to Zimbabwe as it supplied Zupco buses to ease transport woes.

Mnangagwa is a secret admirer of Museveni, Lukashenko and Kagame. These three leaders have striking similarities — they all rule their countries with an iron fist. At one time, Lukashenko boasted that it was “better to be a dictator than gay” when responding to criticism over the country’s poor human rights record.

After November 2017, despite being held in high regard within the international community, where he had goodwill, Mnangagwa will nonetheless go down the annals of history as a liberator who betrayed his people and a leader who knew what needed to be done, but chose to look the other way.

Currently, uncertainty looms with regard to where Zimbabwe is heading. The country is heading nowhere fast. Rampant corruption in virtually all government institutions continues unabated. The Auditor-General Mildred Chiri’s reports are testimony to this.

More often, police and the military officers, armed to the teeth, are unleashed on peaceful demonstrators, who are exercising their constitutional right to register their anger on how the country is being administered.

Tear smoke canisters and water cannons have been imported in large quantities, while consumables and drugs are out of stock in local hospitals.

Roads are dilapidated, hospitals have only become worse and even the HIV/Aids successes have stalled.

To imagine the country has run out of life-saving anti-retrovial drugs barely two weeks after Zimbabwe “pledged” US$1 million to the Global Fund is confounding.

In Uganda, the dozen arrests of a renowned musician and opposition activists, Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, at the instigation of the country’s chief executive is a pointer to how far Museveni will go to consolidate his grip on power.

Bobi Wine was last year arrested after Museveni’s motorcade was “attacked” by unknown people.

The government critic was later arraigned before a military court and charged for illegal possession of arms, a charge which was condemned by the international community as politically-motivated.

When Bobi Wine came to Zimbabwe in May this year, he was detained and interrogated by State security agents at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

Boby Wine had been invited to preside as guest of honour at Nelson Chamisa-led MDC congress in Gweru on May 26. That such repressive regimes worldwide are interconnected is an open secret.

These traits are also found in Mnanagwa, who has been working towards entrenching his rule by using legislative and constitutional amendments.

In an interview with State media recently, Mnangagwa’s Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi revealed that the Executive was toying around with the idea of amending the Constitution so that the President is not compelled to select a running mate. The running mate clause was introduced in the 2013 Constitution, but was suspended for 10 years. However, the clause will take effect in the 2023 elections.

“Another amendment has to do with removing the running mate clause,” Ziyambi said.

Mnangagwa seems afraid of upsetting the applecart in Zanu PF by appointing a running mate, who would naturally take over from him in case of incapacitation, resignation or death without necessarily going through the party selection processes. Mnangagwa is looking beyond 2023, no wonder he told he world that 2030 ndenge ndichipo (2030 I will still be around).

Mnangagwa’s conscience may have died, but he knows that democracy, equality, good governance and Zimbabwe is open for business mantra he preached now look somewhat awkward.

The Zanu PF government should shake off the old self and seek new friends, who can influence Zimbabwe to adopt international best practices in terms of governance so that Zimbabwe can be readmitted back into the family of nations.

Mnangagwa squandered the goodwill he had in November 2017, thanks to his power retention shenanigans. Surely, Mnangagwa is not only Museveni, Kagame and Lukashenko’s best friend, but their good student.

Rising Bulawayo based gospel musician Engineer Panganai Muvhunzwi is elated about launching his fourth album titled Epikaizo set for release on 28 November this year.

Speaking about the album Muvhunzwi said he was talking about God’s mind upon his people, focusing on Jesus Christ as the one and only so that God will raise the standard in what he has termed the ‘kingdom mentality’.

“ I am a musician with unique if not rare principles, l don’t record an album because we are in another year but l record according to Lord’s voice so if he keeps quiet that means I have to be silent too. This has kept me going and I am so pleased that I managed to keep my own lane” he said

The title of the album Epikaizo is a Greek word that means the manifestation of heaven on earth.

“I am so hopeful that this album will have an impact on many people’s lives. My last album did quite well with songs such as Kupenya having a favourable airplay on different radio stations. On Radio Zimbabwe chats it lasted for at least six months” he said

Speaking on how his track corroborates with the current socio-economic issues Muvhunzwi said nothing is impossible with God and above all there’s always light at the end of every tunnel.

“With our current socio-economic issues I have managed to reflect on this era, I know nothing is impossible with God, these socio-economic ills reflects that something good is coming and above all God’s hand is about to be felt with something amazing on its way” he said
“I also want to allude my salutations to Baba Charles Charamba, Blessing Shumba and Mathias Mhere. These people have been my source of inspiration and I look up to them as great gospel artistes” he added

The album launch will be graced by Bulawayo Metropolitan state Minister Judith Ncube, Mayor Solomon Mguni, MDC national organiser Thabita Khumalo and also the deputy Mayor Tinashe Kambarami.

The album was recorded by a variety of producers that include lyton Ngolomi from Harare,Olin from Mutare ,Danmag and BMC based in Bulawayo.

BY CHARLES LAITON

Former Mazowe Estate residents who were evicted from their land to pave way for the expansion of late former President Robert Mugabe’s family business, Gushungo Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, have made a beeline to the High Court seeking to evict the ex-First Family’s business from their properties.

On Monday this week, another Mazowe miner, Ngoni Mutopo, who is one of the victims who were chased away from his operation, petitioned the court seeking an order to interdict Gushungo Holdings from barring him to access his gold mining claims.

Mutopo’s application came two weeks after another miner Langton Chapungu, also petitioned the High Court seeking eviction of Grace Mugabe together with two other individuals only identified in court papers as Tongai and Jemwa from Mazowe Citrus Estate.

In his application, Mutopo, accused Gushungo Holdings of interfering with his operations.

“The applicant (Mutopo) was unlawfully chased from his two blocks of mines Iron Mask 68 and 69 in Iron Mask Estate in Mazowe, where he has been lawfully mining and is being denied the right by the respondent (Gushungo Holdings), who is acting unlawfully and without a court order authorising him to act in that manner,” Mutopo said in his papers.

“The applicant’s ore on the mining site is being stolen by illegal panners who are working in cahoots with the respondent’s employees. The applicant is being prejudiced by the respondent’s unlawful actions, hence is seeking urgent relief.”

Since Mugabe’s ouster from office in November 2017, the former First Family has never enjoyed peace following several lawsuits against them mainly by those whose land was allegedly seized by the once powerful family.

In his application, Chapungu accused Grace, Tongai and Jemwa of interfering with his farming activities at his plot.

“The first and second respondents (Tongai and Jemwa) are doing illegal mining activities in my plot and the third respondent (Grace) is also doing her farming activities in that same plot of mine, to an extent that she had even erected some structures at my place,” Chapungu said.

“The defendants have gone further threatening me with unspecified action if I continue disturbing them from their illegal activities in my plot. In spite of the demand to vacate, the defendants has refused and offered flimsy and fabricated reasons to justify their continued illegal stay at my place, leaving me with no option except to approach this honourable court for relief.”

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

ZIMBABWE has good quality products that can compete internationally, but the challenge is that local businesses are not well capacitated to satisfy global demand, a new research has revealed.

In its latest research, ZimTrade, the national trade development and promotion organisation, noted that local companies were struggling to make inroads into the global market due to lack of capacity.

“Without doubt, Zimbabwe is home to some of the best quality products that are recognised around the world. Products such as Mazoe Orange Crush, Tanganda Tea and many others have carved a mark in the global export market,” ZimTrade said.

“From formal exporting channels to “suitcase” mode of exporting – where an individual carries a few items as they travel to bring family and friends, locally-produced products have been used around the world, with feedback that Zimbabwean products are competitive,” it said.

In regional countries such as Zambia and Botswana and further afield in England and the Unites States of America, a sizable number of buyers testified to having procured Zimbabwean products.

“The comment is always the same, Zimbabwean products are of good quality and can compete with products from any country.”

But researches done by ZimTrade have indicated that in most cases, local businesses were not well capacitated, leaving customers wondering what happened to the good Zimbabwean product they had gotten used to.

“Thus, it is important for local exporters to understand market requirements and make the necessary arrangements to ensure that they meet demand and have enough distribution reserve in order to increase brand visibility,” ZimTrade said.

“Before engaging with any market, it is important for local companies to understand leverage points for successful market penetration.”

Local businesses are weighed down by a plethora of challenges, chief among them obsolete machinery, shortage of foreign currency for retooling, lack of long-term funding and power cuts, among others.

As a result, manufacturing sector capacity utilisation is sitting at 48%, according to the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries 2018 survey, and is projected to drop to about 30% this year due to negative macro-economic factors.

ZimTrade said there were opportunities for local businesses in countries such as United Arab Emirates (UAE), Botswana, Zambia, United Kingdom, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo and Namibia among others. For instance, the consumption of fruits, vegetables and meat products in the UAE is growing which, therefore, presents opportunities for Zimbabwean products.

There is also a market for canned fruit and fruit-based products, cabbages, potatoes, citrus and leaf and stem vegetables. ZimTrade said Botswana presents a ready market for fast-moving consumer goods such as dairy products, confectionaries, condiments and cordials, while the Democratic Republic of Congo offers opportunities in the insurance industry which is still in the infancy stage.

“The information technology and banking are other service industries that local players can consider. Opportunities in the banking sector include automation technology and electronic banking facilities; investment and asset management; and accounting and tax consultancy,” ZimTrade said.

The Namibian economy offers opportunities for Zimbabwe to supply products and services in the mining, tourism, fishing, manufacturing and agriculture sectors.

“Zimbabwean firms can export services such as engineering, surveying, instrumentation, transport, plant maintenance, environmental management and artisanal services to the Namibian mining sector,” ZimTrade noted.

There are also opportunities in the tourism industry. ZimTrade said the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union presents a huge opportunity for Zimbabwe to grow its trade relations with the UK.

Over the years, the United Kingdom has been one of the major source markets and export destinations for Zimbabwean products in the European Union.

“Local products with potential export growth in the UK largely consist in the organic food market with products such as dried fruits and vegetables, fresh fruits and vegetables, among others,” the export promotion body said.

“Organic products have a premium price of about 30% more than other products and could prove profitable to many local producers as this is also a more than billion-dollar business in the UK.”

The Zambian economy also offers opportunities in the mining sector for supplies and services.

Winstone Antonio

THE collapse of the once popular weekly jam session that was commonly known as KaMonday Kanenge Friday, held at City Sports Bar in Harare, appears to have further stifled the country’s untapped music talent.

The jam session used to provide emerging talents a platform to hone and showcase their skills on stage. Female artistes, including Ammie Jamanda and Diana Samkange, at one time, performed at the Jam Session.

Award-winning music promoter Biggie Chinoperekwei of Devine Assignment had come up with the noble idea for budding musicians across genres to showcase their talent, while giving a new lease of life to many “forgotten” musicians at a time some music promoters and venue owners had been targeting seasoned and established artistes to leverage their businesses.

The jam session had become popular on the showbiz scene, with music fanatics gracing the weekly event to see their favourite artistes on stage.

Apart from the performing artistes, the event would also attract arts promoters and stakeholders in the creative sector, according them the opportunity to spot talents.

The music industry has always been considered not to be rosy for upcoming artistes, because they perpetually struggle to get the much-needed exposure that comes with performing at live concerts, and sharing the stage with seasoned performers.

The event had become a “perfect” rendezvous for those arts enthusiasts. There is no doubt the platform would definitely be missed, not only by artistes, but many others.

While it must be appreciated that music promoters are also feeling the heat of the economic meltdown, it is however, a bitter pill to swallow for those artistes who used to perform at the jam session as they struggle to find a “new home” to showcase their talents.

There are suggestions that this could be the right time for the upcoming artistes and female artistes to join hands and take the ball out of the promoters’ hands and try something else on their own.

Many artistes are on record complaining that they are getting peanuts from music promoters, but there is very little they have done to come up with their own initiatives that would wean them from the promoter dependent syndrome.

But if they are to start something, they should come up with initiatives that really market their brands, a total shift from how some used to do business at the jam session.

Also, at the back of their minds, they must remember to really shine when given the opportunity. They must present their potential to the people and not blow away the opportunity by performing cover versions of either departed or surviving music legends or popular international artistes.

Yes, it’s understandable that some rising artistes might not have a catalogue of songs that can last their accorded time at a concert, however, with the few songs they have, they must try at least to sell their own brands to the potential investors and promoters.

Sadly, last year at the Only the Divas Concert organised by music promotions and marketing organisation Jive at Padziva in Harare, both the seasoned and rising female artistes instead of promoting their own music they resorted to cover versions.

This was a great and exclusive opportunity for the female artistes to prove their prowess at a show, where everything was put at their disposal so that they could shine at a time music promoters were being accused of discriminating against female musicians.

Most local female musicians, if not all, have expressed unhappiness over what they termed discriminatory tendencies by male promoters and their bias towards male performers. But sadly, when accorded the opportunity some female musicians decide not to impress and leave footprints for further engagements.

As a recommendation, musicians should try to be pro-active and move from the traditional way of doing business whereby they wait to be paid by the promoter.

BY FIDELITY MHLANGA

THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is cracking the whip on officers suspected of prejudicing the taxman millions of dollars in potential revenue, in the wake of reports of an elaborate illegal vehicle importation scandal that has rocked the entity, NewsDay Business has learnt.

This comes following reports by our sister paper, The Standard, that a syndicate comprising the tax authority’s employees and car dealers had manipulated tax clearance systems to fraudulently import 200 top of the range vehicles.

The vehicle importation scam, orchestrated by the syndicate was fuelled through the manipulation of the tax authority’s manual customs clearance systems.

Zimra officials are under fire for facilitating the illegal importation of cars and in some cases, smuggling. It is also alleged that prominent individuals and businesses were benefitting from the illicit activity.

Sources said Zimra has undertaken massive recruitment in the ICT department to plug off the haemorrhage.

This was linked to adverts for numerous ICT posts announced by the taxman over the weekend. Some of the crucial posts set to be filled include customs systems support analyst, data warehouse analyst, taxes systems support analyst and SAP support analyst, among others.

The tax authority told NewsDay Business it has started identifying culprits and heads will roll, with some cases currently before the courts.

“Yes, we have managed to identify the culprits and yes, heads will roll. In addition, we will invoke our code of conduct to determine their fate over and above allowing the cases to go through our courts. Some of the cases have already appeared before the courts,” Zimra said in a statement.

The taxman admitted some of its scandalous employees had resigned, while others were now on the run.

“Yes, admittedly, some of our staff members are involved in the scam, however, our crusade against corruption has revealed that members of the public and other parties are involved.
Already, some employees have tendered in their resignations, which does not stop the legal process, while some are on the run,” Zimra said.

A fortnight ago, a Zimra official Tecklar Ndlovu (55) appeared before Plumtree magistrate Sharon Rosemani charged with three counts of fraud.

It is alleged that she was a member of a syndicate that smuggled vehicles worth millions of dollars into the country through Plumtree Border Post.

The smuggled vehicles include Toyota Land Cruisers, Toyota Fortuners and Hummers.

Ndlovu was not asked to plead and was remanded to October 24 on $1 000 bail.

Her alleged accomplice, Semukelwe Maphosa, is still at large.

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

CALEDONIA Mining Corporation Plc (Caledonia) has commended power utility Zesa for pricing electricity in United States dollars for the mining industry, saying the move had stabilised power supply.

Electricity for the mining industry is now priced in US dollars, at a cost which is slightly lower than the pricing structure prior to the recent monetary devaluation.

The electricity supply authorities have also implemented an uninterrupted power supply agreement for the mining industry in an effort to support the sector and electricity supply has stabilised following these changes.

“The disruptions we experienced early in the third quarter necessitated a larger than normal utilisation of our diesel generator back-up. We have been pleased by the rapid and decisive response from both government and industry which has resulted in the alleviation of the supply shortages and a more stable US dollar-based pricing structure,” Caledonia chief executive officer Steve Curtis said.

The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority recently approved a 320% electricity tariff increase to 162,16 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).

Caledonia, which operates Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe, said its mining concern continues to operate normally and electricity pricing in US dollar terms was stable and not affected by the recently-announced increases.

“As previously disclosed, Blanket did experience electricity disruptions during the month of July and in early August and relied heavily on its installed diesel generator back-up capacity. Prior to this time, Blanket had installed back-up generator capacity of approximately 12,5 megawatts (MW), sufficient to run the entire mine at full capacity but insufficient to sustain both the mine and the Central Shaft project,” it said.

In response to the increased risk of electricity supply outages Blanket has purchased an additional 6 MW of diesel generator capacity.

The additional generators are on site and are currently being installed and are expected to be operational within this month after which Blanket’s operations will be fully insulated from the risk of unstable electricity supply, it said.

Caledonia is also in the advanced stages of evaluating a project to install solar photovoltaic generating capacity at Blanket to further reduce dependence on the electricity grid, reduce operating costs and ensure a more environmentally sustainable electricity supply.

It said advanced engineering work is underway and Caledonia is in the process of applying for the relevant regulatory approvals and will shortly embark on a tender process from interested parties to build and operate the project.

“Caledonia expects to fund the project itself, but the tender process will also invite proposals from potential funders who may be able to offer a more cost-effective funding structure,” it said.

“In the future, Caledonia anticipates that Blanket will have a blended electricity supply from grid, solar and back-up diesel generators which will deliver greater levels of operational reliability, lower operating costs and improved environmental sustainability,” the statement read in part.

Caledonia has a 49% stake in Blanket gold mine.