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Zimbabwe: Stock Prices Fall As Investors Pull Out
allafrica.com (July 9, 2007)

Harare - THE stock market began last week's trading on a
recovery note but apprehension in the markets following
the prices crackdown saw the risk averse investors pulling
out leading to a fall in stock prices for the rest of the week.

The previous week's loses were followed by a modest
recovery of prices on Monday and Tuesday as liquidity
started to improve on the money market.

Following the cut in prices people suddenly found
themselves in need of cash and quite a number of individual
investors on the bourse pulled out to join the rush for
cheaper goods on the shelves.

Apart from the individual investors pulling out, there is
now some negative sentiment that is being attached to the
bourse given that over 70 percent of the listed firms have
been affected by the price crack down.

While it is a known fact that the ZSE in its crazy bull run
in the past few years has respected no fundamentals at all,
the consequences of last week's developments will be a
bitter pill to swallow for most firms particularly those in
the retail sector.

It might also not be surprising for investors to lose confidence
in most counters and thereby lead to a massive exodus from
the bourse.

However, I am of the opinion that the slide in the stock
prices is just a temporary trend which will be reversed soon,
as the stock market is the only inflation beating investment
vehicle in the country.

As money market rates remain way below the inflation rate,
investors will have no option but to come back to the bourse.

On a year to date basis the main index has risen by over 7 000
percent while the resource index has surged a heavy 5400
percent since the beginning of the year.

Looking at other developments on the ZSE, last week saw
FML being suspended from the bourse for the second time
in the past three years.

The Life assurance giant never seems able to keep itself
out of trouble and this time it has clashed with the ZSE
committee for trying to go ahead with a deal that had been
blocked by the authorities.

I understand now that FML has dragged the ZSE to courts
for unfair suspension and therefore I shall not comment
about this issue any further for now .

The ZPI initial public offer is also of keen interest on
the bourse.

The initial share price has been set at $1500 per share,
almost double the initial proposed price of $720. The market
sentiment, however, is that the share price is going to move
to greater levels on the back of the bullish nature of the
stock market this year.

The last listing on the local bourse was that of Redstar
in January 2007.

Currently, ZPI has a portfolio in Harare consisting Nicoz House,
Wetherby House, Old Shell House, Zimra Centre, Roadport,
Chinhoyi Street Redevelopment site, Uniprops, Valiben properties
and Glenview stands.

It also has other properties in Bulawayo (Nicoz House), Kwekwe
(TM supermarkets and other commercial stands), Mutare and
Masvingo. It is important to note that prior to the IPO, ZPI acquired
some properties from selected investors through private placements
aimed at bolstering its capital base and creating a well diversified
portfolio.

The acquisitions include the Fidelity Life Tower in Harare and
other Fidelity life properties in other parts of the country.

Borrowdale Brooke cluster houses were acquired from
Imara Asset Management.

According to a Kingdom stockbrokers report, at the moment the
company's strategy seems to be hinged on more property
acquisitions as 72 percent of the IPO proceeds are going
towards acquisitions, 18 percent to property development,
5 percent to working capital and approximately another 5 percent
to expenses of the IPO.

The hyperinflationary environment currently besieging the
economy has raised increasing interest in the property sector
as real properties are perceived as an excellent hedge against
inflation. Returns are expected from capital appreciation, trading
profits and rentals therefore ZPI potentially provides good yields
for investors emanating from the property portfolio.

ZPI is somewhat comparable to other counters in the property
sector namely Mashonaland Holdings Limited and Dawn
properties which was unbundled from Zimsun and listed in 2003.
Unlike ZPI, Dawn mainly focuses on tourism owning most hotels
that are managed by Zimsun.

Mugabe rules out new constitution for Zimbabwe
guardiannewsngr.com (July 9, 2007)

ZIMBABWE'S President Robert Mugabe over the weekend said
that there was no need to create a new constitution and resisted
opposition demands for a new charter before elections next year.

State radio, citing the president at a meeting of his ruling
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party
said: "President Robert Mugabe says the current constitution
serves the nation well and there is no reason to change it."

Critics say Mugabe, 83 and Zimbabwe's sole ruler since
independence from Britain in 1980 has manipulated the existing
constitution to tighten his grip on power.

The opposition has demanded a new draft before next year's polls,
in which the veteran leader says he will run.

Mugabe's government has amended the constitution adopted
at independence 17 times and last month proposed new
changes to allow joint presidential and parliamentary polls in 2008.

Refer.

Zimbabwe Announces Price Cut Law
washingtonpost.com (July 7, 2007)

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe's government announced a
new law Saturday making it an offense to defy steep price cuts
ordered in an effort to control runaway inflation and a growing
economic crisis.

A rush to buy cheaper goods have depleted stores of corn meal,
bread, meat and other staples since the government ordered a
50 percent cut in the price of basic goods last week. The falling
prices have caused stampedes and near-riots in shops. Some
businesses have shut down.

Police and government inspectors have raided businesses to
force them to slash prices. The price of gasoline was also halved,
creating long lines at stations _ most of which were out of
supplies Saturday.

Industry Minister Obert Mpofu issued an official notice making it
an offense to defy the price cut edict or fail to display new price
tags, state radio reported.

On Friday, police arrested 17 business leaders for flouting
the order, police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka said. He said
some managers had gone into hiding or taken vacation to
avoid police action.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the story.

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Asylum Seeking Journalist Prefers Botswana Prison To Zimbabwe
swradioafrica.com (July 6, 2007)

A Zimbabwean journalist who formerly worked for the state
media says he prefers to remain in a Botswana prison rather
than go back home, following the refusal of his asylum
application. Ever since his application was turned down in 2002
David Mpofu has been in detention for 5 years at Jerald Estate
Prison, 20 kilometres outside Francistown. The Association
of Zimbabwe Journalists in the UK report on their website that
Mpofu fears for his life in Zimbabwe, following death threats
after he published an article exposing electoral rigging by
Mugabe’s regime. He worked for the government controlled
Herald newspaper before becoming an editor with the now
defunct Plumtree Post.

James Mushandu, a relative of Mpofu who escaped from the
same prison, told the website that despite poor living
conditions the journalist has opted to stay there rather than
face certain death in Zimbabwe. Mpofu says after covering a
story on vote rigging in 2002 he received numerous death
threats from Zanu PF supporters and state security agents.
This prompted him to escape into Botswana and attempt to
seek political asylum there. Mashandu also told of how
Mpofu’s health was fast deteriorating because of the poor
conditions in the cells.

CLICK HERE for the full story.

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Botswana: Mining Exploration Booms
allafrica.com (July 5, 2007)

Exploration activity is the lifeblood of the mining industry and it
is necessary to boost the industry.Principal Economic Geologist,
Maureen Mokgaotsane from the Department of Geological
Surveys, revealed to Mmegi Business that exploration for various
mineral commodities are on the increase in Botswana.

She revealed that there are 86 registered and active companies
in Botswana and 25 are into precious stone exploration while 61
follow a variety of minerals.

"The number of companies and licenses keep changing as new
licenses are granted, existing licenses expire or are relinquished,
and new companies are granted new licenses".

She said energy and industrial minerals are in demand
regionally. These include among others, diamonds, coal,
coal-bed methane, aggregate stones, sand, cement and
ornamental stones.

READ MORE...

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Botswana Adopts Vienna Declaration
United Press International (July 5, 2007)

July 5 (UPI) -- GABORONE - The 2 000 delegates who attended
last week’s UN Global Forum on reinventing government in
Vienna, Austria, have declared that to secure the confidence
of citizens in their governments, the state must be and be seen
to be legitimate, fair and institutionally strong. Delegates adopted
what is now called The Vienna Declaration. Fifteen countries
drafted the declaration, Botswana being the only African countries
among them. The Director of Reforms in the Office of the
President, Dr Mpone Kereteletswe served in that drafting
committee. The inclusion of Botswana in the drafting committee
was not a surprise as delegates were impressed by President
Festus Mogae’s address during the opening ceremony and later
the presentation of Minister Pandu’s Skelemani during one of the
seven plenary sessions. A delegate who listened to Mr
Skelemani’s presentation but declined to disclose her identity,
said in an interview, “it is just that presentations were not graded,
but your country’s presentation was the second best after South
Korea, at least that is the view of most delegates”. The declaration
now becomes the UN’s tool on building trust in government. The
Vienna Declaration defines the word legitimacy as deriving from
the respect and adherence to fundamental human rights and
the constitution, including the separation of powers between the
executive and legislative branches of government and the
independence of the judiciary. Elections, states the declaration,
confer and sustain political legitimacy when they symbolise and
reflect the overall choice of the people. The Declaration also
stresses the importance of a constructive relationship between
parliament and the executive for the building of trust as well as
the observance and safeguarding of the rule of law. The Vienna
declaration also addressed issues on prioritising service delivery
and access, increase transparency and accountability to combat
corruption, improve access to ICTs, support effective civil society
engagement, engage the constructive interest of a free media
and bringing government closer to the people. On prioritisation
and service delivery, the declaration states that public sector
performance creates trust in government by delivering public value
via reliable public services that not only address market failures
but produce value by creating equity, equality and social capital.
Delegates recognised that corruption is one of the greatest
challenges facing the world and that the one involving officials
from the private and public sectors “is a grave and corrosive
abuse of power” the declaration states. Furthermore, it states
that in order for citizens to have confidence in government, civil
servants, elected officials and other stakeholders must conduct
themselves according to the highest ethical standards and in
compliance with the law. Regarding civil society engagement,
the declaration states that civil society must be empowered as
a full partner in governance in order for trust to thrive in government
institutions. It stresses that meaningful dialogue and regular
face-to-face involvement in civil society organisations are the
most direct and effective ways of building trust and trusting
communities.

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY.

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Zimbabwe's Frenzied Shopping Spree
BBC Africa (July 4, 2007)

A barefoot woman in Zimbabwe with a supermarket basket at her feet, toes squeezing the wires to prevent anyone grabbing it, was throwing pots of half-price moisturising cream into it as fast as she could.

Around her desperate shoppers at the Harare supermarket, with trolleys piled high, were lunging at shelves, fighting, shouting to get to products that had suddenly been cut by 50%.

"The staff had all evacuated apart from the till operators.
At the back, even the storeroom doors were wide open and the
place had been ransacked - there was nothing left, nothing
on pallets," a bystander said.

CLICK HERE for full article.

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“Botswana Is A Success Story - But More Still Needs To Be Done”
The Botswana Gazette (July 4, 2007)

The outgoing representative of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation,
Dr Marc Meinardus, says Botswana has done a lot to promote
participatory democracy, but there is still a lot of work to be done,
especially in regard to the empowerment of women. The Friedrich
Ebert Stiftung (FES) - Stiftung is the German word for foundation -
is a non-profit, private educational and cultural institution
committed to the concepts and basic values of social democracy
and the labour movement.

Speaking in an interview with The Gazette, Dr Meinardus said
their main objective in Botswana is the support of major institutional
and political reforms that foster the democratic process, and the
promotion of the involvement of non-State Actors in shaping
policy and democracy. FES is a co-operation partner, not a
funding agency. Activities are jointly planned and carried out in
close coordination with our local partners. Instruments include
national, regional, and international workshops and conferences,
studies and publications, as well as international exchange
programmes, he said.

The challenges of a globalised economy and the need to cope
with the social impact of rising unemployment, regional migration,
and - most pressing - the scourge of HIV/AIDS - define the
political agenda in Botswana, therefore the activities of FES in
Botswana concentrate on major political and socio-economic
reforms.
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Viewpoint: Kaunda on Mugabe
BBC Africa (June 12, 2007)

Photo: Kenneth Kaunda

Leaders in the West say Robert Mugabe is a demon, that he has destroyed Zimbabwe and he must be gotten rid of - but thisdemonising is made by people who may not understand what Robert Gabriel Mugabe and his fellow freedom fighters went through, says former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda.

In 1960, Harold Macmillan, then British prime minister, made
a statement in Cape Town referring to what was taking place
in southern Africa as "the wind of change." He had correctly
read the feelings of the black masses.

Eventually, the British government abolished the Federation
of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In 1964, Northern Rhodesia
became Zambia and Nyasaland became Malawi.

To read more on this article CLICK HERE

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Mugabe Stripped Of Degree Honour
BBC news (June 6, 2007)

Edinburgh University's Senate has agreed to strip Zimbabwe
president Robert Mugabe of his honorary degree.

It comes after years of campaigning by politicians and
students because of Mugabe's brutal regime. In 1984 Robert
Mugabe was honoured by Edinburgh University "for services
to education in Africa".

The formal process to withdraw the degree will now begin.
Mr Mugabe will be contacted in writing and given the
opportunity to respond.

University secretary Melvyn Cornish said that much more
evidence about Mr Mugabe's regime has come to light since
the degree was conferred. Announcing the Senate's decision,
he said: "The university has been acutely aware of ongoing
developments in Zimbabwe and of recent representations
made by the Edinburgh University Students' Association
(EUSA) with regards to Robert Mugabe's honorary degree.
"It has responded to those representations by taking this
unprecedented decision to revoke the degree."

To read the full article, please CLICK HERE.
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Little To Celebrate On Zimbabwe Birthday
BBC Africa (April 17, 2007)

As a man of God, Archbishop Pius Ncube is used to the
hearing the knock at the door.

Members of his congregation in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's
second largest city, regularly turn to him for spiritual guidance.

But these days many need more than food for the soul.
They turn up on his doorway hoping he can save them from
starvation.

"The situation is desperate," he told the BBC, during a recent
visit to Johannesburg.

"There's many a family that I know spending two or three days
without food. A lucky family will have one meal a day."

The outspoken archbishop has called on the people of Zimbabwe
to take to the streets, to free themselves from President Robert
Mugabe. But he acknowledges that many are afraid.

'Occupational hazard'

They have plenty to fear. Just ask the opposition. Challenging
the regime can result in beatings, imprisonment or death.

I asked opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader
Morgan Tsvangirai if he feared for his life after he was attacked
in police custody last month.

"It's an occupational hazard," he said, with a smile.

CLICK HERE for more on this story.

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