guest column:John Legat

Funds held in the banking system at RBZ, the interbank market or in cash notes totalled $ 14,8 billion.
Some $7,4 billion was held in FCA accounts.

The remainder of the assets of the banking sector were held in contingent assets, non-financial assets and other assets. In theory then, the banks could reduce their liquidity to lend more to the private sector or buy more government securities.

Threat of bank failure
The reality is different, however. First, the bulk of bank deposits are demand deposits. This explains the large amount held in the banking system to cover customers’ use of swipe cards and mobile money. Second and more concerning is the level of bank capital and reserves which stood at $3,9 billion or just US$257 million.

This compares with “other liabilities” that have grown rapidly to $4,6 billion (US$300 million), which we have to assume are foreign exchange linked liabilities given their rapid rise since February 2019 when they represented 31% of bank capital.

This is another scary number that we would like to look into in greater detail as it might be highlighting the possibility of a bank or banks failing. Put another way, banks need to maintain very high liquidity levels and restrain from lending medium and long term either to government or the private sector.

We noticed this at the end of last year when a number of the listed companies we speak to highlighted the difficulty of obtaining loans of any meaningful amount from their banks.
No lending capacity
Further in our last Notes we made mention of the fact that bank balance sheets were falling rapidly in real terms as compared with their client base as a result of bank assets largely being held in Zimdollar denominated assets, whilst their clients’ revenues and profits could move more in line with inflation. Put simply, banking sector borrowers have become far greater in balance sheet terms than the banks themselves.

This in turn has forced the private sector and government to turn to the pension funds and the insurance sector for liquidity. As we have highlighted above, these two sectors have very little liquidity and it is entirely held in $ denominated assets. The private sector’s needs though are based on the US$ rather than the Zimdollar.

Farmers have no source of funding as liquidity bites
For example, to plant and grow a hectare of maize is estimated to cost around US$800 for dry land or rain reliant maize which covers mainly diesel, fertiliser, spare parts, among others. All of which are US dollar denominated.

So a crop of one million tonnes, assuming an average yield of say 4,5 tonnes per hectare, would require say US$180 million which, at the interbank rate at the end September, would have equated to $2,7 billion. At the parallel rate of $19 at that time, this number would rise to $3,4 billion and at today’s rate of $24 would imply a need for $4,3 billion.

For large commercial farmers with access to irrigation on the other hand, the cost per hectare would rise to US$1650 per tonne but the yield will rise to maybe 8 tonnes or more per hectare. In reality, Zimbabwe relies on both dry and irrigated land but the amounts involved provide a good illustration that can be compared to the current size of the domestic capital markets.

Anecdotally, we saw this at the end of 2019 as we were approached by a number of agricultural commodity consumers seeking capital to provide farmers for the 2019/2020 planting season, capital that they would normally obtain from the banks. Sadly the pension and insurance industry could not fill those shoes and as such we assume that the number of hectares planted was substantially down on the previous year.

We were very interested to see CBZ Bank last week offering a $500 million bond together with a US$50 million bond in order to raise a total amount of US$80 million at current interbank rates.

Late ‘planting’
These funds would be used for the current agricultural season, 2019/2020, specifically to grow maize (170 000 hectares) and soya (30 000 hectares). The offer closed last Friday on January 10. This strikes us as being rather late as we understood planting needed to take place by the end November in time for the rains, which have yet to materialise in any consistent way.

We note, however, in the risk clause within the term-sheet that should farmers not be able to supply the products to the Grain Marketing Board for whatever reason, government will step in and supply the necessary amount of Zimdollar to allow for the conversion by the RBZ to cover the US$50 million repayments together with interest at 9,5% in USD terms.

That equates to an unlimited liability in the Zimdollar. The same is true for the local $ bond, with the government guaranteeing the repayment plus an 18% coupon all in $.

There appears to be no risk to CBZ. Given the lateness in the placement of these two bonds from an agricultural perspective and the likelihood of drought, the default risk must surely be high and could therefore prove expensive for government in 270 days’ time which is the maturity date of the two bonds.

That of course assumes that both bonds are subscribed for which given the liquidity numbers we have outlined in these Notes, suggests that this will be a tall order. The Ministry of Finance must be hoping as much!
Starting the printing press
This brings us back to a point that we made in our last Notes published in October where we surmised that “the RBZ has become the lender of ‘first resort’” given the constraints of the domestic capital markets.

We explained that if government was unable to fund itself through taxation and the issuance of Treasury Bills, then one of the few options would be to print money thereby undermining the currency by boosting reserve money.

This of course happened in August 2019 as we highlighted in our October Notes and resulted in the currency halving on the black market in a matter of weeks. That action by the RBZ has also put at risk the IMF’s Staff Monitored Programme (SMP).

Returning to the domestic capital markets and specifically prescribed assets (‘PAs’), IPEC is encouraging the insurance industry as a whole to move to 15% of assets in PAs. That would require investing an extra 2% or $216m as at September 2019, the equivalent of US$14m at the time.

Pension dilemma
For the pension fund industry, the IPEC level stated in their quarterly report is 10% (until December 2019) implying a further $230m or US$15m. Although these could be funded out of money market assets, in reality this could not be the case as liquidity is required to pay pensions, insurance claims and run the various businesses.

In the overall scheme of the economy US$29m (at September 2019 rates) does not fund very much even if these sectors coughed up those funds.

IPEC or government could force the insurance/pension sectors to sell down their property and equity assets but in reality that would be very difficult indeed; outside of strategic shareholders local pension and insurance funds are the largest owners of domestic property and equity which implies that foreign investors would be required to purchase these assets from the local institutions. This seems highly unlikely as foreign investors remain net sellers of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE).

Further, as IPEC states in its report, equity and property have proved to be the best performers of local assets even if they haven’t kept pace with the decline in the local currency.

Local debt assets have lost significant value in real terms by contrast. Herein lies the dilemma for pension fund trustees.

On the one hand their fiduciary duty to their stakeholders (employees and pensioners) is to protect the real value of the pension funds under their supervision as best they can.

If they then knowingly buy an asset that will likely lose real value — if not all of it compared to other assets such as property and equity which both have proven to be excellent assets to hold in the event of the demise of the Zimdollar (eg 2009), then they risk being sued for negligence by those stakeholders and maybe their unions. Under the new Company’s Act passed in the latter half of 2019, that would mean being sued in their personal capacity.

On the other hand IPEC may fine the pension fund for not meeting the targets.

For now IPEC is giving trustees the time to attempt to comply with their targets all of which would delay implementation. In a hyperinflationary environment, the longer this implementation takes the better for the stakeholders as value would be preserved to some extent.

Most of the prescribed assets on the market are debt orientated and denominated in $. In the event of the demise in the $ at any point, these assets would cease to exist — and become valueless – as occurred in 2009. We have found few such debt instruments that have a clause that protects investors should such an event occur, by for example an immediate conversion to US$ or into a related equity instrument.

We have seen one such instrument in the making but it is not a prescribed asset. It is even harder to find an equity-related prescribed asset and those that exist may not make economic sense to the investor.

The search for US$
As stated in our previous Notes during 2019, we have looked at a number of private equity investments as alternatives to equities and property.

Similar to agriculture though, the difficulty is that all of these projects usually have some need for US$ or the Zimdollar capital requirements are linked to the US$. That implies an unlimited liability for $ investors should the Zimdollar continue to decline.

Take for example, a solar project of which there have been a number approved in recent months. An US$10 million investment either in debt or equity (usually a mix) equates to $170 million at today’s interbank rate or more appropriately $240 million at the black market rate.

That might provide 10 megawatts of power. Since the equipment has to be imported, the solar company may well have US dollar debt on its balance sheet which would need to be funded and eventually repaid.

But Zesa can only pay in Zimdollar even if the tariff paid to the solar company is in some way linked to the US dollar. The risks therefore remain extremely high. As illustrated above, the pension and insurance industry do not have the free funds to invest in such a project. The project may be scaled back into smaller bundles at which point the economics of power generation start to fall away.

A time to sell or buy?
Meanwhile, as highlighted in our October Notes, the valuations of listed equities in US dollar terms remain extremely low and cheaper arguably as compared with the latter days of the Zimbabwe dollar in 2008. That of course is not surprising; foreign investors have been net sellers of equities over the past twelve months and domestic investors have had little surplus money to buy more.

Valuations of any asset around the World tend to fall when few want to buy whilst they rise to very high levels when investors refuse to sell as prices rise, sometimes to astronomical levels as we have seen on Wall Street in the recent past. The best time to buy an asset is therefore when nobody else wants it, or indeed is able to buy it and that is usually when assets can be bought at a huge discount to their intrinsic or real value.

Equally, the best time to sell is when there are no sellers despite rising valuations.

In this regard we have been asked by a number of our pension fund clients whether now is not a good time to wind up their pension funds as they have lost so much real value since 2016 (US dollar terms). There seems little point they argue in making contributions if they will lose real value, better to spend that money now.

The answer of course is that now is very much not the time to be selling undervalued assets and indeed it is the best time to be buying into such low valuations by continuing to make contributions to their pensions.

Recent history has shown that to be the case when valuations in US$ terms rose exponentially between 2008 and 2013 as the economy recovered. We have no idea when this may occur again but as with 2008, the current economic situation is unsustainable ultimately. Something will have to give.

If what “gives” leads to stability in Zimbabwe’s monetary foundations as occurred in 2009, then the prospects for the domestic pension and insurance industries will be excellent so long as they enter that period with solid or real assets such as the ones they hold today. In other words, valuable stakes in Zimbabwe’s finest companies and secure property assets.

Meaningless numbers
The International Monetary Fund team was in Harare in early December to continue negotiations with regard the SMP and the Article IV Report, the latter is expected to be published in February 2020. This will give us an idea of how the IMF is thinking and whether indeed the SMP will be extended or cancelled.

With inflation running at 521% per annum (December 2019), the economic numbers that government, the IMF and economists are dealing with are fairly meaningless. This was apparent in the national budget where the numbers both in real and nominal terms bore little resemblance to any prior budgeted figures.

As we write, the rains have been worryingly erratic. Early warnings back in September suggested above or normal rains prior to January with below average for the rest of the season.
Rains prior to January have been below normal with long periods of no rain and if there is little change to that between now and the end of the rains in April, agriculture will suffer dramatically. Dams are already below 50% whilst the water table has not recovered implying that boreholes will likely struggle through 2020.

This would cause a contraction in the agricultural sector with knock-on effects across the economy. The World Food Programme has already issued an alert to the international community to raise funds for Zimbabwe in the likely event of a severe drought. Even if we receive food aid, the logistics of bringing that food in will be enormous not least in terms of the number of trucks required to ship it in and of course the fuel to drive those trucks.

Low dam levels suggest that electricity from hydro-power plants will remain constrained. Without external assistance, 18 hour power cuts are likely to persist well into 2020 with the consequent strain that this will put on the industrial and farming sectors. With more foreign exchange directed to food imports, the ability to source petrol and diesel will also be tough and hence we expect shortages to continue during 2020. A weaker economy is, therefore, more likely than a stronger one.

2008 rewind?
The prospects for Zimbabwe in December 2008 looked bleak and uncertain. Industry was devastated after years of neglect and under investment.

The domestic savings industry was in a far worse state than it is now but thanks to the ZSE it was at least invested in non-monetary assets. The banking sector could not lend back then due to the second highest hyperinflation the World had ever seen.

Real disposable incomes had been destroyed with a large part of the population on the poverty line. But then in 2009, something “gave”, and the country dollarised in its entirety providing the economy with a stable monetary foundation from which to grow. It grew rapidly from then on.

We knew back then that the status quo was unstainable and that something would have to “give” but it was hard to predict how it would end. When it did end, asset values grew rapidly in US dollar terms enabling the domestic capital markets to once again provide capital to those that needed it.

BY LIFE & STYLE REPORTER

AFTER a series of conversations and lively studio sessions, the Dreams of a Better Zimbabwe riddim on a reggae/dancehall tip that features some of the country’s top voices was recently released on the Song Zimbabwe’s YouTube channel.

In a statement, Song Africa said through the Dreams of a Better Zimbabwe riddim, whose themes centre on hope, love and resilience, they seek to uplift music enthusiasts especially Zimbabweans and encourage them to hold onto their hope and deep love for the country.

“Artists and creatives play a critical role in society. They can inspire citizens and communities to dream and work together for the Zimbabwe we want. Throughout history when societies have been stuck in the dark ages, it has been artists who have been able to break the impasse and lead the way to enlightenment,” read the statement.

“We hope that we will see a better Zimbabwe where generations will thrive and be proud of their country, the intense love so many of us have for this beloved Zimbabwe and the resilience to remain standing and not succumb to anything that wants to eat away at our hope and love.”

Song Africa saluted the artistes who featured on the riddim among them dancehall sensation Guspy Warrior, Amara Brown (pictured), Ras Caleb and Ishan, describing them as amazing musicians who expressed what is in their hearts in an electrifying and passionate way.

“The reggae and dancehall genre, which has such a wide base among our people in Zimbabwe, has historically been associated with messages which are conscious, uplifting and inspiring.”

Some of the songs on the Dreams of a Better Zimbabwe riddim are Stand Tall Zimbabwe that features a group of powerful voices on the music scene who include Ras Caleb, Ishan, Amp, and Dhadza D.

The other track, Rise Like Eagles, features a wonderful mix of gifted artistes such as Guspy Warrior, Ammara Brown, Ninja Lipsy and Amp, Nutty O, while the Easy on the Ears instrumental was produced by DJ Tamuka and Amp, Rodney Beatz.

BY FIDELITY MHLANGA

THE United Nations(UN) has painted a bleak picture of Zimbabwe’s economic outlook saying the economy shrank 5,5% last year and is envisaged to contract by another 2,5% in 2020.
The UN’s annual report, the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020, forecasts a modest acceleration in global growth, reaching 2,5% in 2020 and 2,7% in 2021.

“The economy of Zimbabwe is experiencing a severe crisis amid foreign currency shortages, elevated public debt and uncontrolled inflation. In a number of countries, however — particularly those with severe macroeconomic imbalances — inflation is elevated In Zimbabwe, economic and financial conditions have deteriorated substantially, prompting the return of hyperinflation,” reads the UN report.

Authorities in Zimbabwe are, however, anticipating a 3% economic growth in 2020.

According to the global body there is also an elevated risk that difficult economic conditions in some countries in southern Africa could become more entrenched, leading to prolonged recessions in Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

The UN said political conflicts, social instability and security concerns are major downside risks across the continent and can affect the short-term outlook in many countries in the region
The 236-page report, produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the UN Conference on Trade and Development and the UN’s five regional economic commissions, chronicles that public debt levels exceed 100% of gross domestic product in countries such as Cape Verde, the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Mozambique and Sudan. It also revealed that some economies with lower debt ratios, including Zimbabwe, face increasing repayment burdens.

Economist Persistence Gwanyanya said a contraction of 5,5% last year could be conservative as the economy underwent serious challenges in the past year.

“I am not so sure how the UN arrived at its projections, but I am pretty confident the economy contracted in 2019. I actually think the 5,5% economic contraction is on the conservative side as the government, which is normally unrealistically conservative is even estimating a decline of 6,5% in 2019.”

“Government’s initial projection of 3% reflects the effects of unforeseen eventualities namely the devastating effects of drought and Cyclone ldai. Importantly, the estimated contraction reflects the impact of monetary reforms, which I am now convinced our policymakers did not anticipate. The mere fact that we did a supplementary budget of $10,5 billion in July 2019, which was even higher than the initial budget of US$8,2 billion bears testimony to my assertion of lack of deeper understanding of the true nature of our country’s economic challenges and, importantly, the effects of monetary reforms,” Gwanyanya said.

He added that a contraction of 2,5% was overambitious due to the fact that the economy is still wallowing in great distress.

“We still see the projected 2,5% as overambitious in light of the number of downside risks to growth this year. The 2019/20 agriculture season is not promising to be good due to late and erratic rains as well as poor preparedness on behalf of farmers who were previously supported by Command Agriculture programme, which was transformed into Smart Agriculture at a time prices of agricultural inputs shot up due to the effects of monetary reforms.

“All these mean greater need for the country to import food to support the vulnerable groups of the population at a time the strategic grain reserve of the country is depleting. The increasing trend towards dedollarisation is going to take a heavy toll on revenue performance due to a sharp decrease in the 2% intermediated money transfer tax. Also worrying is the political impasse which will certainly weigh down on economic performance,” said Gwanyanya.

Economist John Robertson pointed out that a prediction of a more than 10% contraction would be realistic because nothing has changed to transform the country’s economic fortunes.

“Projections of more than 10% are realistic for 2020 because of power, water, fuel shortages that have not changed. Investor confidence is till at its lowest. Government has not done much to improve investor confidence. We need to work very hard to overcome the handicap of not keeping promises. If promises are not kept, investors lose confidence. We are in for a difficult year. Government should fulfil its promises on improving the ease of doing business,” Robertson said.

United Kingdom-domiciled global business intelligence entity, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), early this month projected the economy to shrink by 13% this year.

Zimbabwe featured among the worst performers, coming second to Venezuela whose economy is envisaged to contract by 20,5% according to the EIU report released early this month.

BY SHARON SIBINDI

BROOKLYN Films International 2020 director Tinashe Gijima said his current production, Scars/Amanxeba, whose third episode shooting started yesterday is a feminist project.
In an interview with NewsDay Life & Style yesterday, Gijima said part of the feature film’s episodes seek to unpack some of the causes of the girl children dropping out of school and also amplify on the importance of culture.

“Scars is a Zimbabwean feature film set in an old village where there is no electricity or any type of public services. This is a youthful creative project which shall unpack the facts and myths of our Zimbabwean society,” he said.

“The film’s richness roots from the empowerment of women, the importance of the education of a girl child, gender equality and a lesson to men to stop gender-based violence. It also highlights the impact of culture, HIV and Aids yesterday and today.”

Gijima said Scars/Amanxeba, written and co-produced by John Mabuyane of Kingbubble and Nothando Vuyiso Moyo unpacks the inner voice and unveils the untold.

“I was born in a primitive society in which women had no voice or rather less or no education at all, their rights not recognised, suppressed by the demands of a typical patriarchal society. A society that pigeonhole women into stereotyped roles,” he said.

“It is in such a society where we find principles, morals and values remaining stagnant and core roots of the challenge a girl child faces today. In this rigid setting we find culture being the four pillars of the community. It becomes a catalyst to the rampant spread of HIV, the disease that cripples the society giving birth to certain myths surrounding the cause of many deaths in the village.”

He said the film dates back to an era that questioned the impact of culture on HIV and Aids and young women and how its branches have stretched to date.

“Will one woman’s story marked with hope and stoicism be able to change people’s hearts?

Domestic violence, child marriages, teenage pregnancies become a serious concern in this village and young girls drop out of school as a result and arranged marriages become the order of the day,” he said.

“How do we curb these effects and close the tap to the new generation? Scars leaves one in a state of self-introspection. Change must begin with the community. This is a film that will be seen for decades as it holds part of our social and cultural history.”

Some of the cast of the film shot in Umguza, include Donna from SkyzMetro FM who is the lead actress, Charmaine Mudau of Urban Culxure, award-winning model and ambassador of Mr Zimbabwe BenChest.

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

TELECEL Zimbabwe says its operations have been affected mainly by limited funding for a long period of time, in the face of challenging economic conditions in the country.
In a statement, Telecel said though it faced some challenges, it was not on the brink of collapse and continues to offer quality service to its customers.

“Like all other local organisations, Telecel Zimbabwe’s operations have been affected by a host of factors, both macro and micro economic, but attributed mainly to limited funding for the company over a long period of time, in the face of challenging economic conditions in Zimbabwe.

“Specifically, rapid depreciation of the local currency and the levels of tariffs increases approved, which continue to lag behind inflation, have affected the ability to meet the foreign currency-denominated obligations, especially spares for equipment and service level agreements and support,” the company said.

Government is the major shareholder after acquiring from Amsterdam-based VimpelCom (now Veon) 60% shareholding in the third largest telecom company and is in the process of buying the remaining 40%.

The remaining shareholding is controlled by James Makamba through Kestrel Corporation, the Indigenous Business Women Organisation through Jane Mutasa’s Selporn Investments, Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation, Affirmative Action Group, War Veterans’ Association and Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union
The mobile operator has, however, been the subject of a share ownership battle over the years. In October last year, the High Court ruled in favour of once-exiled Makamba in a long drawn-out Telecel Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd share ownership battle with a war veterans’ organisation, Magamba eChimurenga Housing Trust.

Workers at the mobile network operator last wee raised a red flag over the state of affairs at the company, saying it faces imminent collapse unless government urgently intervenes to rescue the entity.

In order to mitigate these challenges, Telecel said it had been on a very aggressive import substitution and local skills transfer drive.

It also decried power outages which have resulted in the company’s operating costs ballooning due to the use of alternative power, particularly diesel, and has in turn affected base station availability in many parts of the country.

The company is, however, in advanced discussions with the power authorities and officials in the Ministry of Energy to ensure a dedicated power line to its switching centres.

In addition, the company is investing in alternative power solutions such as Tesla solar batteries for its base stations.

Telecel said it continues to engage all the relevant authorities to ensure that the tariffs are adjusted in line with the cost movement of other basic operational costs.

“The Telecel board and shareholders are aware of the ongoing challenges. Plans are underway to address the issue of recapitalisation and in this regard, a five-year strategic plan has already been formulated and adopted,” the statement reads.

“The finalisation of all outstanding financial statements is on course and this will open avenues for new funding from financial institutions.”

BY HENRY MHARA

WARRIORS striker Tino Kadewere has reportedly snubbed what could have been a lucrative move to the English Premier League (EPL) – widely regarded as the best league in the world – after weekend reports suggested that he has decided to stay in France with a move to Olympique Lyonnais imminent.

The 24-year-old former Harare City striker is hot property across Europe after his impressive goal-scoring record this season for Le Havre, where he has netted an impressive 18 goals in 20 games as well as providing four assists to lead the goal-scoring chats in Ligue 2.

Reports suggest that top European teams are jostling for the striker, including EPL teams Tottenham, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Southampton.

Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt and Turkish giants Galatasaray and Besiktas, as well as Spanish league side Real Valladolid are some of the major clubs that have also reportedly inquired about Kadewere.

Warriors fans, most of them popular with the EPL, were hoping that Kadewere would follow his compatriot Marvellous Nakamba to England by joining one of the sides who had shown interest in him.

Nakamba plays for Aston Villa.

However, the fans will be disappointed to learn that the lanky Highfield-born marksman has decided to remain in France, where he has reportedly agreed personal terms with Olympique Lyonnais, popularly known as Lyon.

Local daily Paris-Normandie reported at the weekend that what is only left is for Lyon and Kadewere’s club Le Havre to agree terms.

The French Ligue 1 side has reportedly tabled €15 million after their initial €10m offer was rebuffed last week.

The new offer, according to the media outlet, would be difficult for the French Ligue 2 side to turn down.

The media outlet reported that the deal could be announced as soon as today.

“At the beginning of this week, there would be a huge transfer that is expected to happen in Le Havre. On Monday (yesterday), or perhaps Tuesday (today), Le Havre and Lyonnais leaders will meet around a table in order to finalise the conditions for the transfer of Tino Kadewere. Even more serious, it will also involve sealing an agreement concerning the immediate departure to OL (Lyon) for the current top scorer in Ligue 2,” reported the outlet.

The newspaper reported that Lyon wanted the player as soon as he signs the contract, while Le Havre want a deal which will allow them to take their star back on loan for the remainder of the season.

Le Havre are fighting for promotion to the Ligue 1 and they fear that losing their star striker would disrupt their season target.

“Kadewere seems to have his mind turned already towards Lyon although he remains grateful to Le Havre. Le Havre have high hopes of a return to Ligue 1 next spring, even going through the play-off route. Without its main striker though, it would be difficult for them. Without his goals, Le Havre would indeed be down on the log standings at the moment, perhaps not even in contention for league promotion,” the report read.

Le Havre are currently sixth on the log standings, just one rung from a promotion play-off position.

“Letting go of the Zimbabwean international would undoubtedly weaken the team, and this could potentially ruin relations between the club management and the coach who has often relied on his precious centre forward and intends to keep him until the end of the season. The supporters will also be naturally unhappy with the decision because they fear the club will not be able to find a suitable replacement.”

Lyon are desperate to sign strikers after injuries to their superstar forward Mephis Depay while striker Moussa Dembele is rumoured to be on his way to the EPL. They have reportedly agreed terms with striker Toko Ekambi, currently with Spanish league side Villarreal and want to wrap up Kadewere’s deal as soon as possible.

The giants, with seven league titles in France, are in the knockout stages of the Champions League where they will face Christiano Ronaldo’s Juventus.

BY TINOTENDA SAMUKANGE

It is early morning on Saturday as dark clouds threatened light showers, and possibly a heavy downpour. Dressed in dirty and torn garments, Charlton Chirenje and his three brothers head for the streets for their daily hustle.

They are in the business of collecting empty plastic bottles and disposed leftovers from dumping sites in some of Harare’s suburbs. They use some of the garbage to brew an illegal traditional distilled beverage called kachasu, which they sell in their neighbourhood of Dzivarasekwa and other surrounding suburbs to imbibers who can no longer afford formally-brewed brands.

Kachasu is an illegal traditional beverage common in Zambia, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi where it is consumed mainly in rural parts and poor urban suburbs.

It is normally brewed from maize, though finger millet and various fruits like banana peels can also be used. The process involves adding brewers’ yeast together with the carbohydrate sources such as maize husks to warm water and heating the mixture for a few minutes and then distilling it after it has fully fermented.

Chirenje told NewsDay that they dress like vagrants or insane people to attract public empathy for food or clothes and also to disguise their identity from family and friends as they go about their daily business.

As he scouts for empty plastic bottles something unusual happens, he finds a sealed black plastic bag.

It turns out to be a disposed 2kg chicken that was putrid, probably thrown away because of the incessant power cuts that have become a daily routine in Zimbabwe.

The quartet wastes no time to set the fire at the centre of the dumping site in Kuwadzana Extension. They appeared well-equipped with their cooking utensils — a pot, a bottle of water and salt ready to make their main meal of the day.

When conducting their daily hustle, the Chirenjes cannot afford a meal or anything decent to put in their stomachs. So throughout the day, they have to make do with whatever discarded leftovers they may come across in either bins or dumping sites as long as its palatable.

“If we get selective of what to eat, it means we have to spend the whole day without eating anything as food has become very expensive. We are trying to make ends meet so that we can at least feed our families,” Charlton said.

The World Food Programme on New Year’s eve said it plans to feed at least four million of Zimbabwe’s estimated eight million hungry people this year, but said the international community has not raised the money yet.

“We wake up around 3am, every Saturday because we know council normally collects refuse on this day so most households put their bins outside the gates and it is this time that we move around searching for empty plastic bottles and leftovers. So far we have covered parts of Kuwadzana and probably by midday we might be heading towards Whitehouse and Whitecliff areas” Charlton said.

With the prevailing harsh economic situation and high unemployment rate most youths, men, women and children are left with no option, but to engage in the informal sector for survival no matter how dangerous or hazardous it may be.

The quartet seemed unconcerned that they were consuming contaminated food that could have long-term effects on their health, but rather believe that God was on their side and would continue to protect them as long as they are still alive.

“We have survived similar hard times before, God is for the poor and he will not leave us to starve. You don’t know what our friends are eating, some are eating dogs as we speak. We are so lucky we picked a chicken. It just needs proper boiling so that we kill all the germs.”

“I have a wife and five children. My eldest son is 22 years old, he works as a car park guard in Dzivarasekwa Extension earning about $20 per day. My wife also collects bottles with us, but today we left her as she is the one running the brewery and sales while we are moving in search of more bottles” Charlton added.

The USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Network System, or Fewsnet in December said scorched Zimbabwe looks set to continue being barked into 2020 in the wake of another devastating drought. And if that happens it will leave the poverty-stricken Zimbabweans scratching for food until at least March 2021, and with about 90% adults outside formal work, most people face poverty.

“We have to keep moving and searching for more bottles despite the threatening rains. This year doesn’t look good in every aspect. We couldn’t afford maize seed, but we tried mapfunde (sorghum) hopefully by the beginning of February we can also gamble with sweet potatoes” Charlton said.

The elder Chirenje brother added: “We brew about 60 litres of kachasu per day and sell an average of 20 litres per day. A pint of kachasu is 500ml. We sell it for $10 each, that means we get about $400 in cash per day. We then convert that money into EcoCash at a premium of 30% and we get about $520.

“Since we stay at the same compound, we cook in one pot and we share everything we eat. But on better days, we can convert our cash into EcoCash so that each person can get at least $130 as pocket money for their personal use” he said.

To people who have lost hope in government, Charlton and his brothers seem neither bothered nor affected by the current political tussle.

According to Fewsnet’s November report, “the persisting poor macro-economic environment continues to impact livelihoods and remains a key driver of the near-record levels of rural and urban food insecurity. The high parallel market exchange rates for foreign currency still largely influence the pricing of most goods and services”.

BY EVERSON MUSHAVA

CHURCHES have vowed to pressure President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration to come up with strict measures to ensure that all millers who get grain under the government maize subsidy programme sell mealie-meal at subsidised prices.

Speaking to NewsDay after the national executive meeting of the Zimbabwe Amalgamated Churches Council (Zacc), a grouping of indigenous churches, held in Harare on Thursday last week, patron of the grouping Jimayi Muduvuri said the churches had resolved to push Mnangagwa to ensure that subsidised commodities remain affordable.

The call comes at a time maize meal is in short supply and mostly found on the black market.

“This year, as churches, through our branch of consumer power, we will work tirelessly to make sure that government acts to ensure that the prices of commodities from companies that are supported by government remain low,” Muduvuri said.

“Right now, mealie-meal is in short supply and can only be found on the black market highly priced yet some millers are getting subsidised maize. This should come to an end.”

Last month, the government scrapped maize subsidies, but reintroduced them after a public outcry over high prices. To control the prices, government introduced a roller meal subsidy programme that required millers to be registered with the Industry and Commerce ministry.

However, the Grain Millers’ Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ), a voluntary business organisation representing the interests of millers, raised the red flag after 60 of its members were denied registration, claiming the registration process was clandestinely done to favour big companies, leaving small-scale millers in the cold.

This, GMAZ said, was creating an artificial shortage of the staple food. Muduvuri said the wave of price hikes, especially on the staple food was synonymous with exposing the population to a new wave of economic sanctions.

“We are crying against the Western-imposed sanctions on the country, but the prices by profiteering businesses in Zimbabwe are a form of sanctions on the population,” he said.

Akon is set to build his own city, which is going to be known as Akon City. Reports are that this city will be powered by cryptocurrency.

At first, there were so many doubts concerning this issue but the African superstar confirmed this himself on his Twitter account. In the tweet, he talked about how agreements between him and the country of Senegal had actually been finalised. This means that Akon City is coming to life as he started on real money online casinos. In the Twitter post, he went on to say that he was looking forward to hosting people there in the future.

Back in 2018, CNN reported that Akon’s Akon City was going to be built on a piece of land that was 2,000 acres big. The CNN article also noted that the piece of land was going to come from Macky Sall, who is the president of Senegal, as a gift.

Back then, it was reported that Akon City was going to be just five minutes away from the country’s international airport. However, at the moment, it is still to be confirmed if the piece of land that Akon was gifted is the confirmed site for the star’s city.

Akon City to be Cryptocurrency Powered

It came as a surprise to a lot of people that the city was going to be powered by cryptocurrency only. Another huge surprise was the fact that it wasn’t any of the known cryptocurrencies that is going to be used in Akon City. Instead, Akoin is the cryptocurrency that will be used there. If you are wondering what this is, let us explain. Akoin is Akon’s own cryptocurrency. In 2018, it was reported that all transactions in Akon City are going to be done using Akoin. So far, it’s really hard to gauge what Akon’s cryptocurrency is worth as there hasn’t been any paper work yet.

At the moment, it seems all we can do is play our favourite best payout casino online games and see how things pan out.