BY BLESSED MHLANGA

SCHOOLS have received a blank cheque to increase school fees according to market forces despite government’s earlier moves to block “unjustified fees hikes”.

Acting Primary and Secondary Education minister Amon Murwira yesterday confirmed the development, saying only tuition would remain unchanged.

He said levies could be increased in line with market forces, only after at least 20% of the parents vote to approve the increase.

“The issue that I talked about is no tuition fee increases. Boarding fees, food
fees are subject to market forces. Therefore, that one will be charged reasonably,” Murwira said.
“They have been given guidelines on how to proceed with boarding fees. What we are talking about here are tuition fees and that there will be no tuition fee increases in our public schools.”
This came a week after President Emmerson Mnangagwa warned school authorities against hiking fees without government approval.
Schools collect levies, which are controlled by School Development Committees (SDC), and most government schools charge $10 per term as tuition, which is managed by headmasters.

Murwira said government had allocated $8 billion to the ministry, which would be used to finance procurement of stationery, owing to a shortfall that will be created after blocking tuition increases.

“We must also know that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has a budget of $8 billion. The tuition fees are going to move towards helping this, but they are not a complete solution to it,” he said.

“Government is investing a lot to move towards free basic education as per the Constitution, so that’s why the ministry is given such a budget. It is important to note that public schools are not only funded from tuition, they are funded (by) the taxpayer.”

Government has been failing to fund schools over the past years and even owes a number of institutions a lot of money in unpaid Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) fees.

Treasury has also been accused of failing to pay fees for war veterans’ children.
Murwira said this mistake would be corrected starting this year.

“We have allocations from Treasury for that. If there have been no speedy releases in the past, we are talking about the future here,” he said.
On private schools charging fees in foreign currency directly or indirectly, Murwira said: “Government has also learnt that some private schools are charging directly or indirectly in forex. Responsible authorities of such schools are warned that they risk deregistration of such schools,” he said.

Government teachers have threatened to down tools and not show up next Tuesday when schools open over a salary wrangle with their employer, but Murwira ducked the question saying he was spurred by hope.
“We are obviously concerned, but the reason I wake up every day and work is because I have hope. At this point, we are not talking about that because it’s in the hands of the Public Service Commission. We are talking about school fees at the moment,” he said.

ACCORDING to a very brief, but incisive synopsis on the web-based free content encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, in 1950 a Zimbabwean philanthropist by the name Jairos Jiri set up an organisation in his name in the City of Bulawayo. The association he formed was meant to support and train disadvantaged people mainly people living with disabilities (PWDs).

NewsDay Comment

“Jairos Jiri, using Christian principles, wanted to help individuals who previously had been marginalised and rejected. Initially the association supported arts endeavours and training and set up craft outlets selling tourist souvenirs, such as carvings, paintings, tiles and furniture. In the 1970s legal representation and affiliate support groups were founded in the United Kindgom. Jairos Jiri Association now houses the disadvantaged, support music and dance groups, and is a powerful advocacy for those who would otherwise have no voice in Zimbabwe,” writes Wikipedia.

However, 70 years down the line, Jiri’s legacy largely lies in tatters with every institution set up in his name facing collapse due to neglect and obviously poor management and lack of appreciation of what the visionary philanthropist bequeathed nation Zimbabwe. When Jiri died in 1982 he left behind 16 centres across the country catering for the disadvantaged, especially PWDs. But today the man Jairos Jiri must be turning in his grave as those institutions, which were all developing into self-sustaining organisations through income-generating projects, are turning into empty shells with the latest being Jairos Jiri Masvingo which closed down a few weeks back due to lack of water.

While the prevailing harsh economic situation in the country has obviously not spared the institutions Jiri bestowed to the country, it is, however, sad that centres which had stood the test of time are being run down to the point that they can no longer sustain themselves. All Jairos Jiri Masvingo centre needed was adequate and constant supply of water to sustain its agricultural programme. And given the food situation in the country with enough supply of water it is difficult to even imagine how the centre could not have managed to flourish through growing and selling farm produce or even rearing livestock.

It is quite disturbing that when asked about the centre’s predicament, Jairos Jiri Association national director Wilson Ruvere initially said all was well at the centre before admitting that the institution had shut down. Trying to hide the truth tells a lot about what could be happening at Jairos Jiri because if the association is still operating along Christian principles then all those working there, especially the directors, must be honest people who are never evasive. In fact, Ruvere should have been the first one to contact the Press or beam an appeal via the media after problems visited Jairos Jiri Masvingo. But alas he and his colleagues just shut their mouths and even tried to lie that everything was fine when it was not.

What has happened to Jairos Jiri Masvingo could just be a tip of the iceberg to what is taking place at one of Zimbabwe’s biggest privately-owned institutions that has for 70 years done sterling work, looking after PWDs. There could be more happening to Jairos Jiri’s legacy which is escaping public scrutiny and it would be quite sad if one day we wake up to hear that the association is no more. And predictably, those who will be in charge when the institution collapses will blame donor fatigue. But some of us will always remember that most of the institutions Jiri left behind were almost self-sustaining. Many of us will also remember that those running Jairos Jiri after the death of its founder have been acting dubiously and at one time in 2010 sought to evict Jiri’s window, Betty, from a house in Bulawayo’s Nguboyeja. It took the late former President Robert Mugabe’s intervention to stop the eviction. We also know that Jiri’s son fought those who were left running the association. So it would be prudent for those running Jairos Jiri Association to pose a little and go back to basic founding principles of the association if it is to last a little longer.

The Bulawayo City Council is looking at other options of destroying mosquito-breeding spaces in the city after abandoning the idea of hiring a forking machine for US$15 000.

BY PATRICIA SIBANDA

The matter came up during a full council meeting on Wednesday.

Town clerk Christopher Dube said hiring a forking machine would bleed the already cash-strapped local authority.

“In our budget, we had proposed hiring a forking machine to get rid of the adult mosquitoes, but now that the economy is facing challenges, we will not do so. The last time we hired one it (cost us) US$15 000. What about now? I am sure it costs more than that,” he said.

Health services director Edwin Sibanda advised that residents must make sure that they also get rid of mosquito -breeding areas in their homes.

“We are doing our utmost best to destroy the breeding sites. As for residents, it’s important that you clean gutters in your homesteads to avoid mosquitoes breeding in those areas,” he said.

Sibanda said some of the areas in the high-density suburbs had been cleared as of last year, but the local authority had run out of some of the chemicals they use.

“The section had continued with streambank clearing exercise and the following streams had been cleared: 975m Bulawayo Spruit, 1 390m along Nketa 9, 3 080m along Emganwini Island, 1 275m along Senzangakhona and 1 435m along Nketa Park Mpopoma streams,” council’s latest minutes read.

“Breeding of mosquitoes had been encountered along the streams. Spotters had continued monitoring streams for mosquito breeding and attending to interdepartmental requisitions. All mosquito control chemicals were out of stock.”

THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) needs about US$700 million to rehabilitate three quarters of its road network, mayor Solomon Mguni has said.

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

In his New Year’s message, Mguni said the city has a road network of 2 389km with 70% of it in poor condition, requiring urgent rehabilitation.

“Lack of funding has affected the current state of the road network and approximately US$700 million is required to bring the network to good condition. Current funding levels are way below this figure,” Mguni said.

“Despite the challenges of erratic fuel supply, limited road repair materials coupled with constant plant and equipment breakdowns, council made progress in rehabilitating roads.”

Mguni said last year, 2,3km of roads were constructed, while a total of 5,5km of completed sections were awaiting surfacing.

He said resealing was affected by budgetary constraints, while 8,4km of overlays were done on Fort Street, Robert Mugabe Way, Matopos Road, Jason Moyo Street, Samuel Parirenyatwa Street and 8th Avenue.

He said 5,4km of regravelling was done in wards 10, 11, 12, 17, 27 and 29.

In partnership with the community, the city cleared 16,3km of drains, 20,3km of median cleaning and 5 032 square metres of pothole patching, while 26km of road marking was outsourced to private contractors.

“It is our hope that we will be able to meet the funding requirements necessary to bring our road network to a good condition. We will continue to use funds disbursed by the Zimbabwe National Road Administration to attend to the city’s road infrastructure in 2020 and beyond,” Mguni said.

He said the year 2019 presented numerous challenges and obstacles to the optimal implementation of municipal services.

“Most challenges were not unique to the City of Bulawayo and are prescribed by the general macro-economic environment. Unique solutions continue to be explored by the city in order for service delivery to be sustained.”
He said implementation of capital projects as well as maintenance of council infrastructure was affected by the unstable economic environment and pricing regimes.

Other persistent challenges affecting service delivery include inadequate manpower, limited and obsolete plant, equipment and vehicles, erratic fuel and electricity supply and water shortages due to drought.

Mguni said the change in the macro-economic environment negatively impacted on the completion of various projects.
“One of the projects affected was the Basch Street Terminus (Egodini Mall) and phase 1 of the project is now anticipated to be completed either at the end of the first quarter of 2020 or beginning of the second quarter of 2020,” he said.

“The prevailing inflationary environment and increase in interest rates further affected the completion of the transportation hub. Despite the highlighted challenges, there was progress in the project with 90% employment opportunities to local residents.”

Vice-President Kembo Mohadi is still being haunted by the 2008 alleged abductions of opposition activists, with one of the victims, Pieta Kaseke, still pursuing her US$1,2 million compensation claim.

BY CHARLES LAITON

Kaseke, who filed a US$1,2 million claim in July 2009, is still waiting for the determination of her lawsuit which she filed against Mohadi, his then co-Home Affairs minister Giles Mutsekwa, former Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa, former State Security minister Didymus Mutasa, former Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri, former Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) director-general Happyton Bonyongwe, Senior Assistant Commissioners Nyathi and Chiobvu and several other senior police officers.

Kaseke was allegedly abducted on October 31, 2008 in Banket during a period several other MDC-T activists were facing “trumped-up” charges of banditry, sabotage and terrorism.

However, soon after being released from detention following a pact between the late former President Robert Mugabe and the late MDC-T president Morgan Tsvangirai, through a power-sharing agreement, Kaseke petitioned the High Court for compensation and her matter is yet to be finalised.

On July 23, 2019, Kaseke’s lawyers Mbidzo, Muchadehama and Makoni wrote to High Court judge Justice Edith Mushore pursuing the compensation claim.

“We write to advise that the parties have not yet reached a settlement as anticipated. We are advised by the defendant’s (Mohadi and others) legal representatives that the relevant government departments are still in the process of obtaining the necessary approvals in order to finalise the issue,” the lawyers wrote.

“To that end, we kindly request that the matter be set down possibly at the beginning of the next term (end 2019).

That will give the parties more than sufficient time to finalise the negotiations.”

However, at some point towards the end of last year, the matter was set down for hearing, only to be removed from the roll following indications of an out-of-court settlement.

But since then, the matter is still before Justice Mushore and waiting to be set down for hearing.

Kaseke is claiming US$500 000 for unlawful abduction, enforced disappearance, unlawful detention incommunicado, unlawful arrest and unlawful deprivation of liberty.

She is also claiming US$100 000 for assault, US$300 000 for torture, pain, shock, suffering, psychological trauma, contumelia and loss of amenities and US$300 000 for malicious prosecution.

According to court papers, Kaseke was abducted on October 31, 2008 by police officers and instead of being taken back to Banket, she was handed over to CIO agents who subjected her to further unlawful detention and torture.

“Plaintiff was unlawfully detained and thus unlawfully deprived of her liberty by defendants jointly or one or more of them acting in complicity to one another from October 31, 2008 to December 22, 2008 when defendants then conspired as they had been doing all along to detain plaintiff officially at a police station,” Kaseke said.

She later appeared in court charged alongside Concelia Chinanzvavana, Fidelis Chinanzvavana, Fidelis Chiramba, Violet Mupfuranhewe, Colin Mutemagawu, Manuel Chinanzvavana, Audrice Mbudzana and Rodrick Takawira.

TWO senior employees at Defence House appeared before a Harare magistrate yesterday charged with fraud after they allegedly raised fake invoices valued at $306 135 claiming they were for cleaning services, and later converted the money to their own use.

BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE

Peter Muchakadzi (55), a director in the Defence ministry, and Kunofiwa Marvyn Madondo (58), an accountant, appeared before magistrate Francis Mapfumo, who remanded them to January 23 on $5 000 and $3 000 bail, respectively.

As part of their bail conditions, the duo was ordered to surrender their passports with the clerk of court and report three times at Mabelreign and Warren Park Police stations, respectively.

The two were also ordered not to visit Defence House unless with the investigation officer and not to interfere with State witnesses.

The complainant in the matter is Defence permanent secretary Gray Marongwe.

Allegations are that from March to June last year, the accused connived with Danison Muvandi, who is on the run, in misrepresenting that Defence House had received cleaning services from Maids on Wheels (Pvt) Limited when no such services had been rendered.

It is averred that Muchakadzi then fraudulently sourced fake invoices with a total value of $306 135.

Muchakadzi allegedly further fraudulently originated a loose minute dated June 19, 2019 addressed to the director of finance and human resources, Muvandi, the owner and signatory to Maid on Wheels bank accounts, which was supposed to be prepared by the Procurement Management Unit.

Audrey Chogumaira appeared for the State.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe National Army has clarified that Muchakadzi is not a member of the military as had been reported in the Press, but a civilian employed by the Defence ministry.

In a statement, ZNA spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Alphios Makotore also said reports that 30 tonnes of beef disappeared at Mbalabala barracks in Matabeleland South province were not true.

SUNGURA music godfather Nicholas “Senior Lecturer” Zakaria has inked a brand development deal with a local public relations and communications company which will see him venturing into community development work, mentorship and corporate marketing.

BY LIFE & STYLE REPORTER

The one-year renewable deal will see Zakaria broadening his career path with various innovative engagements and activities.
Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style after signing the deal with Esteem Communications, Zakaria said he was grateful to God for the opportunity.

“The Lord has kept me this long for a reason and I am grateful for the opportunities that continue to come my way,” he said.

“My deal with Esteem Communications helps professionalise my career and will create even exciting opportunities for me and my backing group.”

The renowned guitarist and composer said he had seen it all in the industry and was ready to give back to the community.
“I strongly feel there are so many important causes I should lend my voice and hand to. I will be part of various campaigns, among them women and children’s rights, fighting domestic violence, promoting abstinence and safe sex as well as advocating for a drug-free generation,” he said.
Esteem Communications marketing and operations officer Charlene Kuipa said Zakaria was a consistent, cultured and respected musician who deserved all the good things in life.

“We feel humbled to work with one of the most respected musicians of our time. Zakaria has been consistent and he leads a controversy-free life. Our goal is to help him advance his music career while creating as many opportunities for him as possible to impact the communities around him,” she said.

The old music war horse said the deal, which commenced this month, would see Esteem Communications handling his corporate affairs, public relations as well as other community development-related initiatives while his management would continue handling music show bookings.

“Our management will continue to handle general show bookings, but the corporate side of things will be under Esteem Communications,” he said.

Zakaria had an exciting 2019. Following the release of his 27th album Inzwa Unzwe, he embarked on a nationwide tour to promote the latest offering.

“We had a very encouraging 2019 following the release of Inzwa Unzwe. It is our hope that 2020 will be a better year for us musically and we believe this branding deal spells good things for us,” he said.
Zakaria is renowned for having trained and groomed many local sungura musicians who went on to become household names.

The late former President Robert Mugabe’s niece, Zalerah Hazvineyi Makari (nee Tendayi), who tied the knot with Samson Tichatonga Makari in August 2010, has approached the High Court hoping to nullify the couple’s union.

BY CHARLES LAITON

Zalerah is also former Epworth legislator, representing Zanu PF in the august House.

In her summons filed in December last year, the former MP said all efforts by her relatives to save the couple’s marriage had failed and that their affection for one another had also hit rock bottom.

According to court papers, she said the couple’s marriage had irretrievably broken down to the extent that they have not been staying together for the past two years.

“Plaintiff (Zalerah) and defendant (Samson) were married to each other in terms of the Marriage Act Chapter 5:11 at the Catholic Cathedral in Harare on August 21, 2010 and the marriage still subsist. One child has been born of the marriage,” she said.

“The plaintiff avers that the marriage between the parties has irretrievably broken down to such an extent that the parties can no longer live together as husband and wife and there are no prospects for the continuation of a normal relationship in that the plaintiff and defendant have been emotionally separated for two years and were not sharing a bedroom during that time.”

Zalerah further said Samson had already initiated and completed customary procedures for ending the marriage and had also moved out of the couple’s matrimonial home.

“The defendant moved out of the matrimonial home in March 2019. The defendant initiated and completed the customary procedures for ending the marriage by paying gupuro (divorce token), the customary token to end the marriage and the plaintiff’s family accepted the token,” she said.

Zalerah also said the couple had already executed a Deed of Settlement to regulate their issues pending the nullification of their marriage by consent.

“The parties no longer have any love and affection for each other and on March 22, 2019, they both executed a Deed of Settlement to regulate their issues pending a divorce by consent. All attempts by plaintiff and her relatives to reconcile the parties have been futile. It is anticipated that this divorce will be by consent as already agreed in the Deed of Settlement,” she said.

“In the event that this honourable court grants a decree of divorce, it is in the best interest of the minor child born of the marriage that custody be awarded to the plaintiff, who has already been living with the child in the matrimonial residence, which is the minor child’s familiar residence.”
The matter is still pending.

HOW much more can we take? I was talking to a Zimbabwean of Asian extraction over the break and he told me that his father came from India in 1958. I remarked to him that we were doing pretty well then — we had peace, a rapidly growing economy, we were part of the wider world and it seemed that our politics was going in the right direction.

When the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland broke up, the white population rejected change and the first shots with live ammunition were fired after more than 60 years of no violence. The nationalists launched their armed struggle for change and from 1965 onwards we were increasingly isolated from the world around us.

What followed was 15 years of mandatory UN-backed sanctions and an armed conflict that drew in all our neighbours and in which we killed each other with enthusiasm. The Rhodesians won most of the battles and lost the war, leading to 37 years of dominance by Robert Mugabe and his liberation war colleagues. They never really settled down and by 2000 we were again locked in a toxic mix of international isolation, stagnant or declining economic output and domestic conflict and violence.

International and regional intervention hardly helped but did change the course of our history at key moments — the break-up of the Federation, the intervention of the Americans in 1976, then Lancaster House and finally the Thabo Mbeki-managed Sadc initiative that brought us four years of recovery and compromise from 2009 to 2013. But for the most part we mismanaged our political, economic and social situations ourselves and as a result we brought on ourselves political instability and increasing poverty and disparity.

During the 90 years of white settler control and government, the whole country worked for the welfare and interests of a small white community. After 1980, the whole country worked for a tiny minority of politically connect individuals who supported the systems that kept the Mugabe government in power and control. All other concerns were secondary. Whatever the system, the effect was the same — the majority suffered and experienced marginalisation and poverty.

Then came November 2017, the first time we took action as a people to rid ourselves of a regime that had run out of time and space. Like the decision in 1923 when we decided to stay out of the new Union of South Africa, this event was not in any way sponsored or engineered by outside forces and for the first time found almost universal support among all Zimbabweans. It was assisted by the military who overnight became heroes of the people. However, it did not change the centre of real power which had become the small group of people who ran the Joint Operations Command under the leadership of Emmerson Mnangagwa and General Constantino Chiwenga.

The first post-November government was drawn from this group and was dominated by elements linked to the military. Then the elections in 2018 when Zanu PF engineered a convincing victory with three-quarters of all council seats and two-thirds of Parliament. Mnangagwa could then claim, for the first time, to be the legitimate leader of government, even though his victory was with a tiny majority. It was only at that moment that we saw a new dispensation of sorts emerge in the form of the first really Mnangagwa-controlled Cabinet.

The President broke with the past at two crucial moments — after the march in November 2017 and then after the elections. In both cases he clearly committed himself and his new government to fundamental changes and to re-establishing a working relationship with the international community after decades of isolation and hostility. The response to these clear indications of intent was immediate, and the international community said that if we followed through on these undertakings, it would support our economic recovery and re-engagement efforts. It seemed at last that the world was at our feet again.

But it was not to be. We quickly appreciated that the President did not have the unfettered power that Mugabe had exercised over the country for 37 years. The first Cabinet was a divided house and little was achieved in respect to the reform agenda in the first seven months. This changed significantly with the elections but again there was evidence of conflict in the corridors of power where key decisions are made and executed. Then towards the end of 2019, the President restructured his Cabinet and made a number of key appointments.

And so we came to the end of a disastrous year in many respects. The Transitional Stabilisation Programme had required savage cuts in government expenditure, a controlled devaluation of unmanageable domestic debt accumulated in the past five years and a restructuring of costs in the economy to bring them more in line with regional realities. It has been a tough year for everyone, except a few individuals who seem to thrive no matter what happens to the rest of us. One young Zimbabwean drives around Harare in a Bugatti — perhaps the most expensive car in the world. His friends all boast luxury cars with brand names that put them in a similar bracket. Wealth with no visible means of support.

But we must look beyond these disparities and problems and recognise that our pain as a nation has borne significant fruit: our domestic debt is now a tiny fraction of what it was and is manageable, our international debt has only increased marginally and is now being serviced to some extent. Our civil service was costing us 100% of all our taxes a year ago, it now consumes 35%, our fiscal deficit was massive and equal to 40% of the entire budget of government, is now positive and we ended 2019 with nearly $2 billion in the bank. We have liberalised our foreign exchange market and restored the viability of our export industries which are now expanding rapidly with the result that we now have nearly US$1 billion in our bank accounts and government has a small surplus in the Treasury in hard currency.

These are not small achievements and what annoys me is that so little recognition has been given to the government and the President for their stance on these issues which have been very tough on the entire nation. I am pleased that at least the International Monetary Fund found sufficient reason at the year end to give us a cautious thumbs up for what we achieved last year despite some serious deviations.

So where are we going in the next decade? Is it more of the same? We just cannot handle that plus the changes now being inflicted on us by climate change. Everyone, and I mean everyone, not just those in power, must accept and acknowledge this — we have to start doing things differently. For me 2019 has set the stage — now we must move on and decisively. I hear that the MDC is planning a series of large-scale demonstrations in early 2020. Is that really the answer? Will it really bring change or simply lead to more street violence. I agree with Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo when he called for the police to escort demonstrations through the streets of our towns and make sure they do not spill over into looting and violence. But we all know that these events can only be managed so far.

Rather I think we need to work together to get things right in our country. Is that so difficult to understand and accept? But it will only happen if we put the country first in all that we do — and not the pursuit of power or wealth.

Eddie Cross is an economist and former MDC legislator. He writes in his personal capacity.

SEVERAL companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) have been forced to defer publication of their financials for 2019 to allow for finalisation of reviews of inflation-adjusted financials by auditors in line with the new reporting standard – IAS 29.

BY FIDELITY MHLANGA

This comes after the Public Accountants and Auditors Board (PAAB) last year advised companies to adopt inflation-adjusted financials in line with the requirements of international financial reporting standards.

One of the affected firms, CFI advised stakeholders that its 2019 year-end financials would be released before the end of this month, a month behind their scheduled release.

“The board wishes to advise its stakeholders that its year-end financial results publication that were due for publication no later than December 31, 2019 have been deferred with approval by the ZSE to no later than January 31, 2020. This is to allow finalisation reviews of inflation-adjusted financials by the group’s external auditors,” said CFI group company secretary Panganayi Hare.

Falcon Gold and National Tyre Services also said they were still realigning their financials with the hyperinflation reporting standards.

“National Tyre Services limited hereby notifies its shareholders and other stakeholders that it has delayed the publication of the unaudited financial statements for the half year ended September 30, 2019. These were supposed to be published by December 31, 2019. The company will present inflation-adjusted financial statements as its primary financial statements and these are still undergoing the necessary review processes,” said the company’s secretary Stewart Mandimika.

Only a few firms, among them Delta Corporation, Cassava Smartech and Econet Wireless have published their financials using the IAS 29 reporting standard. Under the new reporting system, companies are expected to have two columns on its financial statements — one for historic cost and another one for inflation-adjusted figures.

One of the indicators of hyperinflation is when cumulative inflation over a three-year period approaches, or is in excess of 100%.

In its hyperinflation reporting guideline unveiled last November, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe recommended companies to use the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (ZimStat)’s data as the official source of all national statistics including inflation figures and the consumer price index to restate figures.

Preparers were advised to refer to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe website which has been publishing implied annual inflation rate based on month on month inflation figures from ZimStat.

As of November last year, the annual inflation rate was at 480%.