Latest news with #Harare
News24
8 hours ago
- Business
- News24
Implats triples platinum smelting in Zimbabwe with new plant
Impala Platinum's Zimbabwe unit is tripling its processing capacity in the country and plans to handle concentrates from other mining firms at its new smelter. The plant, part of Zimplats's $1.8 billion expansion plan, has the capacity to process 380 000 tons of concentrate annually, Zimplats Chair Thandi Orleyn said at the smelter's commissioning ceremony in Selous, 80 kilometers west of the capital Harare. The country's biggest platinum miner has already allocated $1.1 billion of its 10-year investment plan, which runs through 2031, she added. The plant 'is well positioned to handle feeds from other PGM producers presently in existence and in the future,' she said, referring to so-called platinum group metals used in several industries for their resistance to corrosion and heat, as well as catalytic properties. The expansion reflects a wider push across Africa to add value to natural resources before exporting them. Several mining operations in the continent have been seized or disrupted due to disputes with governments over taxes and investments, such as Barrick Mining's Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex in Mali. In Zimbabwe, the central bank's retention of hard currency from exporters has been one of the challenges faced by producers. Orleyn told Bloomberg on the sidelines of the ceremony that the company has raised concerns about the country's currency volatility with the Zimbabwean authorities. 'There is a sense that this is a long-term relationship and the currency volatility in a geopolitical environment as we are facing at the moment is something to be expected,' she said The Southern African nation has the world's third-largest platinum reserves after Russia and South Africa. Zimbabwe generates more than half of its revenues from exports of minerals including gold, chrome and diamonds.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Impala Triples Platinum Smelting in Zimbabwe With New Plant
Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. 's Zimbabwe unit is tripling its processing capacity in the country and plans to handle concentrates from other mining firms at its new smelter. The plant, part of Zimplats Holdings Ltd.'s $1.8 billion expansion plan, has the capacity to process 380,000 tons of concentrate annually, Zimplats Chair Thandi Orleyn said at the smelter's commissioning ceremony in Selous, 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of the capital Harare. The country's biggest platinum miner has already allocated $1.1 billion of its 10-year investment plan, which runs through 2031, she added.
News24
a day ago
- Politics
- News24
Zimbabwe: Can patriotism be legislated?
Zimbabwe's ZANU-PF is pushing to criminaliSe government criticism further, introducing 'patriotic' education and national ideology initiatives. Activists and opposition denounce the motion as repressive, claiming it suppresses freedoms and violates democratic principles. Citizens and organisations view the Patriot Act as unconstitutional, urging reforms to protect rights and democratic governance. Lawmakers from the ruling ZANU-PF party in Zimbabwe are moving a motion to further criminalise government critics. They're advocating for a comprehensive strategy to promote patriotism and national identity. Proposed measures include formalising a national ideology, establishing a national institute of ideology and integrating 'patriotic' education into the curriculum. The motion comes on top of the contested Patriotic Act of 2023, which was seen to effectively closed the door on dissent In Zimbabwe. It makes provision for criticism issues such as provision of healthcare, basic services and accountability to be judged criminal. The government dismissed criticism, saying the legislation was necessary to hold accountable individuals who threaten 'national interests'. It said the legislation was modelled on the Logan Act in the US, which bars citizens from engaging in certain unauthorised communications with foreign governments. In Zimbabwe, violations could result in life imprisonment and death, termination of citizenship, suspension from voting or holding public office. Another layer to repressive legislation In a recent parliamentary debate, ZANU-PF MP Ophious Murambiwa suggested that it should be criminal to speak 'evil' about Zimbabwe. 'The most important issue is to love our country, let us praise our country in all circumstances, whether in good or bad times, during the night or day,' Murambiwa said. The motion has prompted opposition lawmakers and human rights groups to push back harder. 'Patriotism is not blind loyalty. It is not empty slogans. True patriots question injustice, challenge corruption and demand systems that serve people not a selected few,' Prosper Mutseyami, an opposition MP, said. Our patriotism must ignite participation, ensuring that every Zimbabwean plays an active role in shaping the future. Prosper Mutseyami Human rights activists say it's another attempt to silence dissent. 'You cannot necessarily legislate patriotism,' Nigel Nyamutumbu, the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe programmes manager, told DW. 'It is a concept that can naturally clamp down on the requisite freedoms. Patriotism is not a legal concept but rather a political nationalist ideology.' Activists have in the past been accused of treason and unpatriotic behaviour for expressing concerns over human rights abuses, corruption, and governance in Zimbabwe. Is it really 'business as usual' in Zimbabwe? Citizens have expressed concern over what they fear are attempts to enforce a one-party state. ZANU-PF, with its absolute majority in parliament, is seen to be abusing its authority and violating the constitution. 'As parliamentarians we are supposed to uphold the constitution,' Gladys Hlatshwayo an opposition MP told DW. 'Section 119 of the constitution demands that parliament protects the constitution and democratic governance.' In June 2025, Zimbabwe's High Court struck down sections of the Patriotic Act. The court ruled that the drastic penalties prescribed by the Patriotic Act infringed on various sections of the country's constitution. Several civic organisations and private citizens had petitioned the court, arguing that the legislation was overly broad and vague and had high potential for abuse and misuse. 'The most patriotic people are those who hold their government to account. A government must not be seen as the most dangerous institution,' Eric Chisora, a political analyst, told DW. 'Whatever they [ZANU-PF lawmakers] are doing is unreasonable and irrational. Citizens' rights must be protected.' A need for law reforms Political and civic rights activists are calling for the repeal of colonial legacy laws which they say are retrogressive. Laws such as the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act, with provisions have been used to incriminate government critics, date back to Zimbabwe's pre-independence era when they were used to suppress black majority rule. The activists are concerned over the shrinking of democratic space under Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe's president since 2018. 'We are now living in a country where there is no freedom of expression due to the number of pieces of legislation being passed by the ZANU-PF regime,' Blessing Vava, executive director of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, told DW. 'When you see a government passing repressive laws, just know that it is not a popular government. Zimbabweans must fight to defend the constitution.'
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Bloomberg
Meet the UK's Visa Scam Vigilante
When a staffing crisis during the pandemic forced the UK to open its immigration system to foreign social care workers, thousands of trained staff in developing countries saw an opportunity to relocate and perhaps make a better life. Five years later, many instead have found themselves still in their home country with their savings gone. On this episode of Bloomberg Investigates, we meet a few of the victims of an insidious scam that's relieved care workers of untold thousands of dollars. We meet Tadiwa, a young man from Zimbabwe whose family scraped together everything they had to secure him a job in the UK. But the documents a business agent promised him, which would have allowed him to apply for a visa, never arrived. Sheila, who wanted to move from Harare to the UK with her daughters, gave most of her savings to the same agent, and received nothing in return. To get by, she's had to sell bricks she bought to build her house and even her refrigerator.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Zimbabwe Says Informal Sector Dominates 76% of The Economy
Zimbabwe estimates that more than three-quarters of economic activity takes place in the informal sector, depriving the government of much-needed tax revenue, according to the findings of its first economic census. While the high level of informalization has 'increasingly become a significant source of livelihoods, its contribution to government revenue remains minimal due to non-compliance with the formal tax system,' the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency said in a report released in the capital, Harare, on Wednesday.
