This icon died on June 29 in 1997.
Philip Mushangwe, Paraffin. For me the greatest to ever do it.
The ‘Zino Episode’ still rules…😀
Couple goals…
Mai Sorobhi couldn’t talk because of her tooth ache. So, Paraffin did as one does; he started talking to her in sign language.
The time Paraffin disguised himself as a woman and got himself a job as a maid - then ended up winning the highly prestigious Miss Borrowdale Housemaid Pageant
Paraffin was the king of shade…
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When CBZ tried to buy ZB, they had an eye on Mashonaland Holdings’ $86M property portfolio.
🧵 Here are some Mashold buildings
1/ ZB Life Tower. Built in 95, designed by legendary Vernon Mwamuka, who said: “It’s a model for rebuilding a city where highrise living is inevitable”
Another round of the “white farmers in Zambia now feeding us” lie. Again: great propaganda against Zanu. But doesn’t help us learn how others have grown their yields, farming.
Fact: +90% of Zambian maize is grown by small scale farmers
🧵 With links: zimfact.org/analysis-are-e……
2/ According to FAO, Zambian small-scale farmers produce 80% of their country’s food. Give them credit, and not diminish their work just for ‘we chased away whites propaganda.
How are they doing it? Yields.
3/ Zambian farmers have better yields than Zimbabwe’s. Many reasons: but overall, Zambia invests better in farmers than we do. Example: Zambia’s fertilizer consumption and maize yield per hectare significantly exceeds Zimbabwe’s
🧵 Unpopular facts thread on lithium:
First, about Bikita, then Zim lithium in general. 1. Bikita does NOT export “lithium”, and certainly not 500 tons/day. Facts below:
Bikita exports petalite. Used in ceramics (tiles, glass, kitchenware). The petalite Bikita exports is fully beneficiated; added AS IS in manufacturing.
The company does not yet mine spodumene, which bears the lithium used for batteries
3. Now, what about “Chinese” takeover?
Bikita been mining for 50+ years. Who owns it?
74% held by African Metals Management Services & Southern African Metals and Minerals (owned by German investor Wilfried Pabst). Other shareholders are Bishop Mutendi & Dzikamai Mavhaire
Greetings.
Celebrating #ZimAt42 with a thread of my Top 25 Zim songs of all time.
Far too many songs to pick from. But each of these songs on my list carries a special memory of growing up in Zim for me.
(Save for # 1, not in any order)
🧵Here goes🧵
1. Simukai - Pied Pipers
Not just my fave Zim song, but just my fave song, period. Takes me back to my childhood, on the lawn, in those ridiculous adidas shorts and North Stars, Simukai playing out of the Tempest radio, eating a sherbet.
It lifts my spirits. Every time.
2. Spirit - Andy Brown
This was Andy at the top of his creative game. Two-minutes into the song, Andy delivers one of the best guitar solos of all time, by any guitarist, anywhere.
🧵 Delta (Coke) vs Varun (Pepsi): Two brands slugging it out on the streets in Zim. ‘Ngoro’ at every corner as they push product straight to market.
At play? A market that loves drinking sugar. Varun reckons that a Zimbo drinks 65 bottles of fizz per year…
🧵thread
When they first tested the Zim market about 6 years ago, first thing Varun did? Undercut big brother Delta’s prices. Then in 2018 they built a plant, set up a $250m warchest. Said we want 35% of market share in 5 years and at least half the market in a decade. Bold.
Commissioning his plant in 2018, Varun head honcho Ravi Jaipuria said he was “not too concerned about profits at this stage”, but market share. Boss moves ka. And then some luck: Delta drinks shortages started soon after. Varun milked it.
[Small thread on current solar projects, and planned ones]
This is Harava, building a 20MW solar farm in Seke. Initial phase of 6MW done and company is now scaling up. According to Harava, the plant would provide power to 45 000 home
This is in Mutoko. It’s the 2.5MW Riverside Solar Power Station by Nyangani Renewable Energy. It’s one of the first independent power producers to feed solar power into the national grid. It went live in 2018
Solgas is building this solar farm at Cross Mabale, Dete, Hwange. Solgas has recently completed 5MW and has applied to build a further 10MW. This project is on a 100 hectare site, where there’s space to build up to 88MW