Trying to keep up with the crisis in the platinum sector? Here’s a thread of our recent coverage of the collapse in global prices, and how this will hurt the economy’s already bleak prospects in 2024

🧵 In 2022, Tharisa plc started building a new platinum mine in Zim, Karo, investing US$391m. It had hoped to open the mine in 2024. But low prices forced it to postpone.

Karo would be Zim’s 3rd biggest platinum producer after Zimplats and Unki

Stats agency @zimstat has just released migration figures from the 2022 census.

Highlights 🧵

Zimstat estimates Zim Diaspora of 908,913 people, with 85% of the Zimbabweans abroad living in South Africa According to @zimstat, 13.6% of all households surveyed had relatives outside the country. Mat South had the largest proportion of households with family members abroad (33%), followed by Mat North and Masvingo

After 130 years in the country, Standard Chartered is leaving Zimbabwe. The group announced today it is exiting from a number of operations around the world to cut costs

Details ➡️newzwire.live/standard-chart… In Zimbabwe, Stanchart had already cut its branch presence to focus on digital services. The bank was conservative on lending, accounting for 3.25% of all loans, making it the 7th biggest lender

In a national address, President @edmnangagwa says the COVID-19 situation in Zimbabwe is “worrisome and threatens to become dire”, but he says there’s hope in rising recovery rates ED speaks on vaccine: “We will spare no effort, spare no resource to save the lives of Zimbabweans. We will spare no resource to save our frontline workers, who have been the heroes in the pandemic.”

He says health workers will receive the vaccine first, once it arrives

In an address this morning, President @edmnangagwa says his administration, since inauguration, has been undermined by the divisive politics of the opposition, sanctions, cyclones, successive droughts and now COVID19, and foreign economic aggression. ED: "Although our progress has been slowed, our goal remains clear and stable. Forward ever."

In an address to the nation, President Mnangagwa has declared the coronavirus crisis a national disaster, even if the country has no confirmed case, in a bid to raise resources to fight the pandemic, which threatens to engulf the region.
#COVID19ZW Mnangagwa: Major ports of entry will remain open, with rigorous screening, but smaller border posts will be closed.

Thread on NSSA audit:

According to the auditors report into NSSA, covering the period from Jan 2015-Feb 2018, the fund was prejudiced of a total of $175.2million. Much of the losses were due to dealings with Metbank; the $62m TB exposure and land deals linked to the bank How Mupfumira leaned on NSSA to bail out Metbank, according to the audit report. This was done in the name of “indigenisation under ZIMASSET”

Tourism Minister Prisca Mupfumira has now been arraigned before Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi. Prosecutor Michael Reza has read out the 7 counts of alleged criminal abuse of office. The prosecution wants Mupfumira remanded in custody for 21 days. Defence lawyer Charles Chinyama now arguing against the prosecution’s application for extended detention. Says Mupfumira is a high ranking public official and is of fixed abode.

With exports of US$250m and US$100m in remittances per month, against imports of US$330m, Zim shouldn’t be facing forex shortages, RBZ chief Mangudya says this morning. He says the problem has been the inefficiency of the forex market. RBZ govenor John Mangudya says US$9m was traded on the interbank market last week.
“We are not controlling the exchange rate,” he claims.

ZESA 9 years ago paid US$4.9m to a firm called Pito Investments for transformers. They were never delivered.
The Zimbabwe Power Company also paid $560K to the same firm, and again no equipment was delivered.
This is according to the latest report by Auditor-General Mildred Chiri More highlights from the Aud-General report:

In 2016, the Zimbabwe Power Company paid R196 064 to a company called York International for gas. It has still not been delivered.

Mangudya says ZAMCO was created to remove non-performing loans from bank balance sheets. The asset manager has so far acquired 1,016 loans worth $1.13bn. Of that, $260m has been repaid Mangudya: Without ZAMCO, many companies would have folded, jobs would have been lost.
#MangudyaPAC

President Emmerson Mnangagwa today announced a 24-member advisory council from areas in finance, infrastructure, industry, health, ICT, the church, civil society and others.

Brief thread on some of the less known members of the new council: Representing religious leaders on Mnangagwa’s new council is Kenneth Mtata (@kennethmtata), general secretary of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches

President Mnangagwa releases #August1Inquiry report.

Key findings:

• Deaths were caused by the actions of the military & police
• Use of live ammunition, sjamboks and batons disproportionate
• Political rhetoric incited violence
• Victims’ families must be compensated Key recommendations of the Motlanthe #August1Inquiry commission;

• Provide medical support for injured
• Legislation to shorten time taken to announce presidential election results
• Retrain ZRP to make it professional, non-partisan