Author: Giza Mdoe

The U.S. has announced that at least two of Zimbabwe’s national banks are now allowed to operate without sanctions.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control which operates under the US Treasury Department said Zimbabwe’s Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe and the Agricultural Development Bank of Zimbabwe are now removed from its black list.

It is now almost 20 years of sanctions for Zimbabwe so this development comes as a breath of fresh air for the otherwise economically suffocating country. The U.S., backed by the European Union imposed the sanctions back in 2002.

Ever since then, several state organs like the said banks and a host of several government officials were black listed for sanctions and restriction of movement following allegations of widespread human rights abuse.

Zimbabwe’s economy has ever since been on murky ground, inflation rate has been overboard hitting the highs of 600 percent. Only in May this year …

In an interesting development, while demand for gold is on the rise all over the world, gold output in Zimbabwe has fallen 17 percent in the last four months.

Why? Well, because of Covid-19. Strange because it is a result of the pandemic that world demand for gold is on the rise as people try to store the value of their money in gold.

Yet in Zimbabwe, small scale miners in the country are failing to conduct their mining activities because the country does not have the needed cash to buy mining inputs. Well let’s not say the country doesn’t have cash because it does, its just that no one will accept the Zimbabwean dollar.

Also Read: Barrick Gold back to business with Tanzania

So the trouble is that, Zimbabwe relies on other currencies, like the US dollar to make large and small payments alike like explosives among other things. …

As hotels in East Africa are closing their doors as the effects of the global pandemic continue to bite, Tanzania is making moves to ward off the negative effects of Covid-19 by resuming business as usual, including in its tourism and hospitality sector.

In fact only this past week, Tanzania has announced that it will host its first Mafia Island Tourism Exhibition Week. The ambitious and bold move is in line with other measures that the country is taking to revive its tourism sector.

The country has already set aside millions of dollars to improve tourists experience at one of its major attractions, Mt Kilimanjaro. Tanzania has set aside money to cut out a new route to climb the mountain. This new route is exclusive for VIP tourists and other VIP personnel and is expect to boost tourism in the region.

Also Read: Tanzania’s Tourism Board unveils luxury route to

Zimbabwe is on the verge of another economic crump that is bound to be far worse than what it has been suffering for the last decade. 

Already, the nation has been on an indefinite national lockdown for the third month running, and now, the pandemic is really taking a dire toll on the economy. Well, it is not the coronovirus effect that is bound to doom Zimbabwe into an economic crunch (yet again) rather, it is the country’s tendency to simply print money whenever it deems fit; if only life were so easy! 

Zimbabwe, like all other countries is looking to cushion its business sector from the coronavirus crunch. However, the way Zimbabwe is looking to fund its proposed ZW$18 Billion stimulus package is if anything, questionable, if not downright unadvisable, or to be blunt, shall we just o ahead and call it, rudimentary. 

Well how else would you …

When rich folks want to climb to the highest peak of Africa, they no longer have to scrimmage with the rest of us along the old narrow foot tracks, no, they now have an exclusive route cut just for Very Important People (VIP).

In an unprecedented move, the government of Tanzania has decided to construct 25-kilometre of road up Mount Kilimanjaro in a bid to provide for the needs of the World’s richest.

The features of this VIP route have not been made public but it is expected to be exclusive, private and only for select few who can afford it. Tanzania, has some of the World’s must see tourist attractions that attract some of the World’s elite.

Arguably, a Prince so and so along with CEOs of multibillion dollar companies as well a Hollywood famous faces, would like to visit these attractions without attracting too much attention.

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For decades now, the word Somalia has become synonymous to malnutrition. You hear Somalia and the first picture that comes into your head is that of the scrawniest infant you have ever seen; hairless, ribs, collar bones and cheeks bones protruding so much it seems the child has no skin, just a pigment on the skeleton. 

That is the poor, malnourished Somalia we have all grown up to hear about. In fact, the only other picture of Somalia is not any better, now you hear Somalia and you think pirates; thin, malnourished pirates wielding the menacing Russian made Kalashnikovs.  

Why? History would have us believe it is just ill fate that befell the country, it geographical location is its very curse, a desert by the sea. If you don’t give it a second thought, you may just end up feeling sorry for Somalia. 

However, what is the difference …

The wheels of economy would have it that, where there is oil/gas exploration, the multiplier effect is that businesses blossom within and all along the value chain.  

From accommodation that is hotels and guest houses to catering services ranging from high end restaurants for expatriates to Mama Ntilie for the wage workers and everything in between. 

That is the smaller picture, the micro-economics of things, however there are sectors like construction, transportation, electricity and water supply, health and financial services. The list goes on and on, both for small, and medium sized companies, the opportunities available at and around an exploration site are enormous. 

Also read: Oil price drop should nudge Africa towards clean energy

So what aisle local content in Tanzania’s energy sector? In this case let’s focus on the oil and gas sectors and more so the oil sector which is still at the exploration stage. …

It is hard to see how African economies will bounce back to the vibrant fast growing hubs that they were over the past two decades, the pre-corona era. Countries like Rwanda that led East Africa (and most of the World) with annual economic growth averaging 9.4 percent now looks at annual growth rates of a mere 2 percent. 

When the tourism and hospitality industries reopen their doors, will tourists and holiday maker flock in triple and quadruple their previous numbers and will they do so long enough for the industries to stabilize and resume growth? Will air travel shake off the blow it has taken, will it be willing to pocket less profit to attract business or will it hike prices to capitalize the anticipated initial high demand post the pandemic? 

How individual industries will raise from the ashes of the pandemic is anyone’s guess but should recovery of global …

Tanzania relays heavily on the tourism sector for its foreign exchange earnings and to save this vital sector, the country has announced plans to have all hotels and other tourist facilities across the country bear Covid-19 certificates that basically declare the facility a Covid-19 free area.

According to the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) the tourism sector is Tanzania’s top foreign exchange earner clocking USD 2.44 billion last year.  It only makes sense that the country would do all in its power to save the sector in the wake of the pandemic.

The move, to have tourism facilities display Covid-19 free zone poster is expected to build the trust of tourists and allow them to regain confidence in the hotels or related facility.

The said ‘posters’ will be the kind that health officers place in the windows of restaurants abroad with the grade of the said hotel in full display. The …

For over two months now, companies in Tanzania are holding back contractors and supplier payments blaming it on a lack of funds due to the global coronavirus crisis.

Chinese companies are particularly in the spotlight with suppliers complaining of delayed payments for goods delivered and services done. In an exclusive with this paper, an aggregate mine operator (name withheld) said payments due to the company from Chinese companies are still pending two months down the road.

This is the exact scenario that the government tried to evade when it throughout the Central Bank, Bank of Tanzania, it released a stimulus package to cushion the economy to ensure business stay liquid and are able to make all due payments.

It is not far fetched to think companies are taking advantage of the ongoing health crisis not to pay their debts or even government taxes and fees. I mean, non performing loans …