Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace built up a huge personal fortune and property empire while their countrymen suffered in the starvation and grinding poverty that his brutal regime brought about. Mugabe, who died in Singapore today at the age of 95, owned a lavish 25-bedroom mansion in Harare and a luxury villa in Hong Kong while his playboy sons lived in luxury in Dubai and South Africa. Leaked diplomatic cables estimated the family wealth at more than $1billion, including six residences and a series of farms around the country. The controversial land seizures which the Zimbabwean President claimed would distribute land to poor black people also boosted the Mugabes’ own property empire, while causing economic crisis. The Mugabe mansion in Harare’s Borrowdale suburb
First Capital Bank Zimbabwe (FCB), formerly Barclays Bank, has laid off 120 workers as the economic crisis continues to take a toll on the beleaguered financial services sector, NewsDay can exclusively reveal. The workers were served with the retrenchment letters early last month and ceased reporting for duty on August 31. “We confirm that Barclays retrenched a total of 120 workers of which 97 were our members. Workers have since been notified that the last day to report for duty was 31 August 2019,” said a source.The bank’s spokesperson Emily Nemapare said they were still in the process of finalising the restructuring exercise in terms of legal and other applicable requirements. “This has come on the back of a review of the operating model aimed at creating ope
Zimbabwe now faces a second major descent into inflation and economic despair in the space of 12 years. The first, in 2008, involved almost metaphysical rates of inflation – 231m% at one point that year according to some reports, with other estimates even higher. The crisis resulted in hugely controversial elections, which the opposition surely won – but which saw Robert Mugabe re-installed as President in a power-sharing deal with the opposition. To stabilise the economy, the worthless Zimbabwean dollar was jettisoned and people were given the option of using a basket of foreign currencies, the US dollar chief among them. The problem was then how to source US dollars – and this was done largely by borrowing. Fast forward to 2019, nearly two years after Mug
Masiyiwa says he is oftentimes shocked when even the media who should know better, feed into the incorrect public narrative that he owns Econet when in actual fact he does not even have 50% shareholding Telecomm mogul Strive Masiyiwa says contrary to public sentiment, he does not actually own Econet, Zimbabwe’s largest mobile telephony operator.The billionaire Econet Wireless founder and Executive Chairperson says he is just one of the tens of thousands of investors in Econet, a publicly listed tech giant. ”I have never personally held more than 50%, since Econet was listed. So I actually don’t own the company. I’m simply the largest single shareholder,” writes Masiyiwa on his widely followed Facebook page.Masiyiwa adds that even though Econet empl
Health minister Obadiah Moyo has disclosed that the country is losing about $400 million annually on overseas medical treatments. Moyo made the disclosure in Nyanga, while officially opening the second annual general meeting and conference of Private Hospitals Association of Zimbabwe. “Having our own up to standard facilities will make wonders and no-one will be airlifted out of the country for health treatment and I have shared this with the President,” Moyo said. Government and ruling Zanu PF party officials have largely bled the country by flying out to seek medical treatment overseas, running away from local health institutions that have been run down through neglet over the years. Former President Robert Mugabe and incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his deputies C
President Mnangagwa yesterday negotiated a fresh financial package for Zimbabwe from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) after meeting the bank’s president, Professor Benedict Okey Oramah. The President met Prof Oramah on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) underway here. Speaking to Zimbabwean journalists after his meeting with the President, Prof Oramah said Afreximbank had agreed in principle to provide Zimbabwe with a financial injection for emergency food imports as well as a separate kitty for infrastructure development. “Those are the kinds of things we discussed (financial package) especially to be able to support food imports and also to enable the development of certain infrastructure, including ir
The price of everything is going up in Zimbabwe and Econet are firmly in the race. For the second time this month Econet have reviewed upwards the prices of their social media bundles. Econet have telecommunication businesses all over the world from Africa , Europe & Asia. Starting 29th August 2019 Econet Will charge the following prices for data bundles. Something needs to change because the people of zimbabwe are suffering everying is going up except salaries and job creation. Econet Offices In Harare Zimbabwe In a shocking move last week State Media BILLIONAIRE and Zimbabwe’s telecoms mogul, Strive Masiyiwa’s Mauritius incorporated Econet Media Limited, has put up for sale its shares in the satellite broadcast business in 13 countries, mostly Africa
Zimbabwe, the country I serve as finance minister, has been in the news for restricting the use of the US dollar and other international currencies as legal tender. Why would we want to return to our own currency, given such recent, home-made, experience of monetary turmoil? The answer can be found in our recent history. Following hyperinflation at the close of 2009, and to stem the instability produced by bad governance and fiscal ill-discipline, a mixture of other nations’ bills — the US dollar, British pound, South African rand, the euro, the Chinese renminbi and the Botswanan pula — became Zimbabwe’s medium of exchange in place of the Zimbabwean dollar. But while this curtailed household prices — its primary purpose — today it is outdated. It is ov
President Mnangagwa yesterday told the high-level Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) that his administration is committed to comprehensive economic reforms and making the country a safe destination for investment. He lauded Japan, saying the world’s third largest economy had a “critical role to play for Africa’s economic transformation, diversification and industrialisation”. The President made the remarks while addressing a plenary session at the three-day TICAD 7 Summit, which was officially opened yesterday by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A number of African Heads of State are attending or are highly represented at the summit which seeks to stimulate trade and investment between the continent and Japan. President Mnan
Embattled former Old Mutual CEO Peter Moyo has lodged an urgent application for the board of Old Mutual and its chairperson Trevor Manuel to be declared as having deliberately interfered with the functioning of the courts. In a new affidavit, the on-again, off-again Old Mutual head stated that his second axing by the financial services giant on August 22 was “deliberately calculated to undermine the efficacy of the judgment of this court”. In an open letter published on its website last week, Old Mutual said it took the step to terminate Mr Moyo’s tenure as CEO for a second time “after legal advice and on careful reflection by directors, with proper regard to their fiduciary duties to the company”. Mr Moyo is currently challenging in court h
